BAREFACED

Chapter 26

"What did he mean by that, Aimi?" Hana walks closer towards to Aimi. Aimi slowly looks down. "Aimi?"

"I'm leaving at the beginning of next month..." Aimi slowly says. Your eyes widen. You didn't think she would leave so soon.

"Why?" Hana softly asks.

"Because..." Aimi slowly looks up at Hana. You can't tell if Aimi is about to cry or not because of how wet she is from the rain, but she has a really sad look on her face. "I'm transferring schools..." Aimi continues.

"What? Where?" Hana's eyes widen.

"The United States." Aimi answers. Hana stands still staring at Aimi.

"You... are... going to be far..." Hana lamented looking down.

"I'm sorry..." Aimi sniffles. "I don't want to go but I have no choice..." Aimi continues. Hana slowly looks up at Aimi and frowns.

"My brother is right... and I deserve this... I'm a bad friend... a bad daughter... a bad person in general. I lie... hide things... I-" Aimi starts.

"Aimi..." Hana sniffles. "You aren't a bad person..."

"I am though..." Aimi sobs. "I'm fake... and pretend to be something else..."

"So am I" You randomly comment. Aimi, Hana, and Eli look at you. "I am horrible too... remember? After my mother passed away, I treated everyone badly... but you all act like I didn't..." You add.

"Because we knew you were just having a hard time..." Aimi replies.

"But still... I treated you all horrible..." You sigh.

"Yeah, but we forgive you. We understand you were going through a tough time... you were sad... sometimes when someone's sad they can get really angry... and lash out. You aren't a horrible person Yuki... things just happen." Hana replies.

"Exactly... things just happen..." You say looking at Aimi. "You are having a hard time, Aimi. You aren't a horrible person... sometimes people may need help. That's okay. We don't think you're horrible Aimi... I don't think your dad thinks the same way." You add.

"Maybe you should finally talk to him. Maybe then... you both can meet eye to eye." Eli comments. Aimi stares at Eli with a sad look on her face before nodding. 

"You're a great friend Yuki..." Aimi replies. 

"So are you..." You speak. "Even if you're thousands of miles away... I will always be waiting here for you... but it's okay because when you get back home, we will be here for you. You mean that much to us." You sooth.

"Yes... and I don't care what you have done in the past... You're a great person Aimi... just a little broken and that's okay." Hana comments. Aimi frowns slowly nodding her head. Hana hugs Aimi and Aimi hugs her back tightly. You softly smile at them. 

rooooooarrrr

You hear a motorcycle in the distance. You look into the direction you hear the noise from.

"We should go somewhere warm and dry..." Eli implies.

"Yeah... let's go..." Hana says pulling Aimi with her. You walk past them towards the noise. Eli notices and turns to look at you.

"Yuki... where are you going?" Eli asks.

"Uh-" You turn around to look at them. "I need to go get something... I will join you all in a bit... don't worry about me... keep going." You say motioning them to continue walking. 

"Are you sure?" Hana asks.

"Yeah." You reply turning around. They continue walking. You quickly walk towards the noise. You exit out the trees and towards a staircase. You stop and look around. There's only an empty parking lot and a warehouse. You notice someone on a motorcycle in the parking lot. You squint your eyes to get a closer look at them. They are leaning back on their motorcycle. You slowly walk down the stairs and over towards him. You notice the braid and the dragon tattoo on his head as you approach the guy.