My Favorite Crime

chapter 19 - Pinky Promise

Thank you so much imjustastranger_002 and ERRIEPUDDING for reading! (ಥ_ಥ)

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Chapter 19 - Pinky Promise

"Hm.. Hmmm~" Shinichiro hummed as he tap Azula's body lightly. Helping her to sleep.

It's been an hour since Azula fell asleep. She cried for almost 2 hours straight before finally sleeping, tired from too much crying. She slept while still clutching on his shirt that's why Shinichiro decided not to move because he might wake her up. Besides, it's not like he had any plans to move after what Azula told him earlier.

Shinichiro's face got dim. How could such a small child get through so much? He thought as he remembered the little girls words that she blurted as she kept crying.

"Shinichiro... I did something bad. My friend... My friend died because of me!" The girl said hysterically.

"Sshhh... It's not your fault." Shinichiro tried to console her. But Azula just cried harder as she shook her head repeatedly.

"But it is! I killed her! With my own hands... I killed them. I'm dirty. I'm so dirty." She blurted. "I killed them just to survive! I should've died already. But instead, Aiko-san! Aiko-san died for me... She's gone because of me Shinichiro-nii-san! Aiko died... Gin too." Azula cried.

Shinichiro was shocked by this, remembering what the police said about how she might talk about her trauma caused by the place she's been to.

He had already been aware by the police. But he didn't think that it would involve killing. And hearing it directly from the little girl broke his heart. Just what happened to her?

Shinichiro couldn't say anything to the poor child. He could only assure her that it's over.

Of course it's over. And the damage cannot be undone. If only we found her sooner. He cursed. But blaming himself wouldn't change anything.

Shinichiro stared at her face, her eyes were swollen from crying while her nose was red from sniffing too much.

His eyes then fell at the tattoo on her neck. He didn't know what that number 10 meant. But he was sure that whatever it is, it's not good at all.

"If only I didn't leave you back then..." Shinichiro paused. "Is what you're probably thinking." He continued as he look at the doorway.

"How long do you plan on hiding there?... Izana." Shinchiro added.

It's been a while since he noticed him there but he didn't say anything because he thought that Izana will reveal himself eventually. Yet even after Azula fell asleep, Izana didn't come close nor did he leave.

There was a long silence after that before Shinichiro finally saw his brother.

"Since when did you notice?" Izana asked with a smile. But despite acting like everything's alright, it couldn't mask his swollen eyes that was obviously fresh from crying.

Shinichiro smiled at his brother. "Since you got here. You were painfully obvious that I started to wonder if you were actually trying to hide." He joked.

"Well, I had suspicions but I didn't think that I'll be that bad at hiding." Izana replied as he scratched his head. Looking at him, it was as if he hasn't slept for a long time now. The dark circles under his eyes were enough proof.