Only Mine

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Due to the way Hana had looked the night before, Shouta had half expected her to not show up to work that morning. However, even with large bags under her eyes and the phantom tears trailing down her cheeks, she still showed up on time. Shouta tried many times throughout the day ask Hana what had happened, but anytime he went near her, she would magically have something to do. Knowing this was an obvious ploy to evade him, Shouta became even more confused.

During his lunch break, Shouta decided to call Kichirou to see if he could help the situation. Since Hana was Kichirou's sister-in-law, there were many things he might know. Luckily, Shouta caught Kichirou on a break as well and he answered on the second ring

"Did you find out what was wrong with Hana?" Shouta asked without even saying anything else. He wanted to get to the point as quickly as possible. He hated not being able to talk to her and considered her a friend.

There was rummaging from the other side of the phone and Shouta heard the clanking of something. There was a sigh and then Kichirou answered, "Don't you work with her? You should be able to ask her now."

Shouta ran a hand through his hair and leaned further back in the chair he was sitting in. "Should is the key word there." Mumbling under his breath, Shouta told Kichirou, "She's avoiding me. Blatantly."

"Oh," Kichirou breathed, all sound on his side of the phone ceasing. There was a sigh before he said, "I was afraid of that."

A bark of laughter escaped Shouta as he rubbed his stomach, feeling nauseated. "You knew she'd act like I was some sort of disease?"

"I wouldn't put it that way, but I had my suspicions." Kichirou muttered, the sound of a chair creaking in the background.

Curious as to what had actually happened the night before, Shouta stared at the door, knowing that Hana wouldn't walk through it. She was avoiding him after all. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Well," Kichirou began, "it seems she was confessed to."

Even more confused now, Shouta pulled his phone away from his ear to look at it. He felt like he had been transported into another dimension. Questioningly, Shouta drawled, "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Not to her apparently." Kichirou clarified, tapping his fingers against his desk in his office. The children were out for recess which was the only reason he had been able to answer the phone. But he didn't have much longer, and it seemed like Hana's negativity was carrying over to Shouta, which was not the best thing that could occur.

Jun had spent the entire night consoling his little sister, and eventually they had gotten her to fall asleep. Misaki had slept beside her the entire night, keeping her company. What Kichirou had learned had not stunned him, but he had thought, deep in his heart, that it was about damn time those two did something about their relationship. They had been pushing and pulling for so long that if it had gone on any longer, Kichirou was prepared to pull out his ace and shove the two at one another. However, the events of last night had changed that.

"Do you know who it was?" Shouta asked quietly, thinking he already knew the answer.

A loud shattering sound broke the calm silence within Ren's cafe. All eyes snapped to the young, blonde alpha who was frozen, staring at the broken pieces at her feet.

"Akira," Ren called out, his face a mask of frustration. He sighed out loud, grabbing the nearby broom and dust pan. "What's wrong with you today? That's the fourth time in three hours."