Chapter Twenty-Four: Man to Man:

Cassius raced over to me from across the street. I gave him a puzzled look.

“How did you find me?” I asked. He came over and sat down next to me.

“It was just a guess,” he said. I frowned to myself.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked. I shook my head.

“I don’t really know,” I admitted. “It’s just one bombshell after another. Plus, I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”

“Oh,” he said. I looked over at Cassius.

“How can you guys live so care-free?” I asked.

“It’s all we know how to do,” he admitted.

“Lucky,” I muttered. Cassius shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, not exactly,” he said. I gave him a strange look.

“Huh?” I asked.

“You see,” Cassius went on. “We all have our problems that we still can’t really deal with.”

“Like Sakura-hime?” I asked.

“Not as bad as her,” he admitted. “But damn near close.”

“Oh,” I muttered. “What about you?”

“Me?” he asked. “I’m trying to get by for the time being until I have the answers for myself. I dropped my shoulders.

“Must be nice,” I said under my breath.

“Excuse me?” he asked. I shook my head instead of outright answering him. My friend looked out at the empty street in front of us.

“The bus doesn’t come today,” he said. I looked up at him.

“It doesn’t?” I asked. “Why is that?” Cassius pointed to the bus schedule in front of me. I read down the list until I came to Sunday.

“Oh…” I said after I read that no buses came on Sunday.

“Exactly,” he said. I shrugged my shoulders.

“I wasn’t going to take the bus anyway,” I said.

“So where were you headed?” Cassius asked. I shook my head, shrugging.

“I can’t really answer that myself anymore,” I said.

“That’s okay,” he told me. “Most of us don’t know our future.”

“That’s not it,” I said. “I was going to Tokyo University, but I think I’m going to miss the deadline to take the entrance exam.”

“Haven’t you been studying for it?” Cassius asked with an eyebrow raised.

“I’ve tried,” I said. “But I can’t seem to focus like I used to. Plus, I still don’t have any answers as to why Hitomi killed herself.” I leaned back against the bench. “I probably will never know.”

“Did you try talking to her mom?” he asked.

“That won’t work,” I said. “Besides I already pissed her off today. Long story, I don’t want to get into it.”

“You sound like you have so much,” Cassius replied. I nodded as I pressed my lips together.

“Pretty much,” I said. I turned around to face him. “What am I supposed to do?” My gay friend put up his hands in a shrug.

“Hey now, I can’t answer that for you, man,” he told me.

“I guess you’re right,” I said. I sighed, frustrated. “I just wish there was some way to…” Suddenly, our phones buzzed. We reached into our pockets and pulled them out.

“I got a text from Isaac,” I said.

“Same here,” Cassius said as well. We both read it together.

We’ve got a serious problem. Sakura-hime’s gone missing. It’s not normal this time. I think she might actually do it this time. We’ve got to stop her! I’ll meet you over at the park to form a plan if we don’t find her.

I looked up at Cassius. “What does he mean that ‘she might actually do it this time’?” I asked. “He can’t possibly mean…” My words trailed off as I began to see the picture. Cassius and I took off running towards the city.