Chapter Five- A New Beginning

Book Series: The Chosen of Hina Book Title: Hina's Tears Chapter: Five

Chapter Five

A New Beginning

“Angel, wait.”  Kai caught up to her and matched her pace.  When she didn’t say anything, Kai touched her arm.  She jerked away and faced him.  “What exactly happened?”

“Kai…”

“Please, just tell me.”  His jaw clenched and concern filled his eyes.  With his lips slightly parted, Angel almost wanted to tell him everything.  

“I…”

“Kai, so this is where you were!”  Cameron walked up with his two lackeys behind him.  

When Angel saw them, her eyes grew wide, her heart beat faster, and her feet began moving before she could process them.  

“Angel!”  Kai called after her, but her legs kept pushing her forward.  

If Ryo hadn’t been there, what would they have done to me?  I’m too afraid to face them without Ryo with me!  

She ran until her chest hurt from the chilly air and slowed down.  Kai was nowhere as she came to a stop and tried to catch her breath.  She looked around and realized she was in the shopping district of the island.  The ocean wall was to her left, and she remembered the black feather she saw that was in her bag now.

Gradually, she started on her way home.  

I never imagined going to school being this hard.  

She got to her house, opened the door, took off her shoes, and shut the door behind her.  “Mom, I’m home!”  She called out.  

“I’m in here!”  The reply came from the living room.  Angel's mother was sitting on the couch with a photo album in her lap.  “Want to see some old pictures of me when I was your age?  I found this when I was unpacking a box.”

“Sure.”  Angel walked over and sat next to her mom.  

“See, this is me when I was starting high school as well.”  She pointed to a picture of a girl with a long ponytail and bright green eyes that filled with joy.  “Over here was during our spring festival.  I was in the chorus.”  This picture had a group of student singing.  “And this…”  She turned the page and pointed to picture of her when she was older with a boy.  “…this is your father.”  The boy had an arm wrapped around the girl’s neck, and both were laughing in the picture.

“What was he like?”  Angel asked while looking at the boy with short messy blond hair and blue eyes.  

“Richard was handsome.  He always had a group of people around him and loved to have fun.  Some people said that when we met, Richard changed.  They said he became calmer and softer.  He was in the same year as me, and during the spring festival of our third year, he asked me to be his girlfriend.  Of course, I said yes.”  Angel looked up at her mother and smiled.  

“He sounds like the perfect guy.”  

“He was.”  Her mother’s smile began to fade a bit as she touched the picture.  “After we graduated, he proposed to me.  I said yes, and a year later we got married.  It wasn’t until two years after that time that I found out that I couldn't have children.  Richard was okay with it though.  Then…” she sniffled and sighed.  “…then he died in that accident.  I was leaving here when I found you in the water.”  

“It’s alright mom.  I’m here now, and Dad would have been happy.  We have to stay happy.”  Angel hugged her mom and kissed her cheek.   “You’re right.  Richard used to laugh at me all the time for crying randomly.  Oh, sorry.  So how was school?”  She wiped her eyes and glanced at Angel.

I can’t tell her about Kai and those guys.  

“It was good.  I made two friends and joined the theater department.”  She explained.  

“What are their names?”

“Anna and Ryo,”  

“Oh, that’s wonderful.  You should go out with them this Saturday and invite them to come over for dinner that afternoon.”  She smiled and closed the photo album.  

“Sure, I’ll ask.  I have some homework and this monolog to work on so I’m going to my room for a bit.  Call me down when dinner’s ready.”  She hugged her mom again, grabbed her bag, and walked up the stairs to her room.  

She sat down at her desk and pulled out her notebook.  After grabbing a pencil, she opened the notebook and tried to think of a monolog.  After taping her pencil on the paper for ten minutes, she put her head down in her arms and looked at the pencil.  

What am I going to do about Kai tomorrow?  He will want to know why I ran away.  Should I just tell him?  Maybe he isn’t like those other guys.  But…what if he is?  I’m too scared to talk about it.  I just want to forget about it.  If I forget about it, maybe then it didn’t…really…happen.

Angel woke up when her mother was calling her name from downstairs.  She sat up, yawned, looked at the pencil lying on the blank paper, got up, and went downstairs.  

“Oh, there you are.”  Her mom said as she handed her two plates.  “I made curry tonight.”  They walked over to the dining room table and sat down.  Angel placed one plate in front of her mother and one in front of herself.  

“So you decided to do theater.  That’s good.  I wonder what type of play you will be doing.”  

“It’s a story about a girl with powers running away from a bad guy and a magician boy saving her.  After the evil guy is defeated, the girl is cursed and disappears.  So in the end, she is waiting for him to break the curse and be with her.”  Angel stated after swallowing her food.  

“What an interesting story.  I wish I had done theater.  The kissing scenes are the best!”  She giggled, and Angel felt her cheeks grow warm.  “Maybe you will get the main part.”

“I doubt it.  I’ve never done theater before, and besides, I’m sure Monica will get it.  She’s gorgeous and seems better at this kind of thing.”  Angel took a spoonful of curry and swallowed.  

“You are adorable too, and you might have a natural talent.  All you have to do is your best.”  

“You’re right.  I’ll just have to do my best.”  

After dinner, Angel did the dishes and went back up stairs.  She took a shower, pulled on her pajamas, and climbed into bed.  

I will work on everything tomorrow.  With Kai, I will just avoid him.  I can’t wait to see Anna and Ryo again.  

The next morning, Angel woke up and did her morning routine.  She walked to the train station and looked around.  Kai was standing a few feet away with his back to her.  She sighed and slipped into the crowd.  

The train came, and everyone pushed forward.   Angel was ready for the group's push today and got onto the train without a problem.  As the train pulled off, Angel glanced over at Kai and noticed his back was still to her.  

Maybe he doesn’t know I’m on the train.  

  “Angel, good morning,” Anna slipped by some people and got to her.  “How was your walk home?   You didn’t tell me Kai was also the first stop.  If I had known, I would have gotten off and walked you home.”  

“Good morning Anna.  No, it wasn’t bad.  I saw those guys again, but I ran away.  Apparently, I’m a fast runner when I need to be, but they didn’t chase me.”  Angel stated with a smile.  

“Well, I’ll get off with you this time.”

“I’ll be okay.  That reminds me, have you seen Ryo yet?”  

“No, why,”

“I was wondering if you guys wanted to hang out on Saturday then have dinner at my place Saturday afternoon.”  

“Sure, my mom and dad work a lot, so I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem.”  Anna smiled and adjusted the strap of her bag.  “Well, here we go.”  The train slowed and stopped at the station.  Angel and Anna got off the train and began walking up the steps.  

“Has Kai tried to talk to you yet?”  

“No, not yet, but I’ll see him in class.”  Angel sighed and walked through the open gate.  

“Good luck.”

“Thanks, I’ll need it.”  They laughed together and walked into the school towards their first class.  “See you after school?”  

“Most definitely,” Anna winked and waved goodbye as she turned towards a different hallway for her classroom.  

Angel walked to her class, took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked straight to her seat.  As she passed Kai, she noticed that his right hand was bandaged up and marks and bruises were across his face. 

“What happened?”  She asked then covered her mouth.  

Kai glanced at her and smirked.  “Those guys will never bother you again, and neither will I.”  

“W-what did you do?”  Angel asked quietly.  “You didn’t…”

“No, it was just a fight.  Anyway, I’m sorry.  I never knew what they tried to do.”  He mumbled as he faced away from her. His smirk vanished.  

He never knew.  He fought to protect me.  He’s hurt because of me!

“Why?”

“Why what,”

“Why did you fight them?  They were your friends.”  Angel felt her throat tighten as she swallowed hard.  

“No, they were people I knew that liked to follow me around.  I fought them because…” he stopped and looked at her.  “I fought them because it wasn’t right what they did.  That’s it.”

Angel gave a little smile and took a seat as class began.

“Thank you, Kai,”  Angel whispered.  

Is it okay if he doesn’t talk to me anymore?  Does that make me happy?  

Class went by as the bell rang.  Kai packed his bag and left the classroom without looking back at her.  Anna waited by the door with a frown.

“What happened?”  She asked as they hurried to their next class.

“Kai fought those guys.  He said they would never bother me again.”  Angel replied feeling her cheeks get warmed.  

“Well, what do you know, he can be a knight.”  Anna laughed and waved goodbye as Angel went into her next class.  

I should at least properly thank him somehow.  

The next class went by, and Angel glanced over at Kai multiple times.  Not once did he glance back at her.  He played with a pencil while the teacher spoke.  

I shouldn’t have judged him without knowing him.  I really should apologize as well as thank him.  

The bell rang and pulled Angel out of her thoughts.  She packed her bag and went to her next class without a problem.  Without Kai in it, she tried to pay attention to the teacher but was unable too.  So instead, she pulled out her notebook and thought about her monolog.  

I should just write what I feel.  

Slowly her pencil began writing and the words formed on the paper.  Before she knew it, the words formed into lines and then into a monolog from her heart.  As she wrote the last line, the bell rang for lunch.  

She hurriedly packed her bag and ran to get into line for lunch.  After grabbing some food, she started running towards the courtyard where Ryo and Anna were waiting for her.  

Ryo sat on the fountain and glanced up as she ran to them.  His eyes stayed on her own until she stopped in front of them and caught her breath.  

“Ryo, do you want to hang out with Anna and me on Saturday then have dinner at my place?”  Angel blurted out as she plopped down between them.  

Ryo blinked and glanced between Anna and Angel before slowly nodding.  Anna laughed and took a bite from her sandwich.  “We can go shopping and to an arcade!  It’ll be fun!”

“Yep,” Angel smiled and looked at her sandwich.  

“What’s wrong?”  Ryo abruptly asked as Anna got up to throw away her trash.

“Wrong?”  Angel blinked and looked at Ryo.  “I need to thank someone and apologize to them, but I don’t think they will listen to me because I judged them.”  

Ryo tilted his head and stayed silent for a moment before replying in his husky quiet voice.  “If you want to do something then go do it.  You are the only one holding yourself back.”  

Angel nodded, handed Ryo her sandwich, got up, and ran back to the school.

I have ten minutes until the bell rings.  I have to find him before then.

She ran to the door and was about to go in when a glimpse of black hair taught her eye.  She stopped, turned around, and caught her breath as Kai stood in front of her.  

What do I do now?  He’s just staring at me.  This moment is my only chance to fix my mistake!  Alright, time to get the courage and do it!  

“Kai, I wanted to tell you…” she gulped as he tilted his head, and a smile spread across his face.  

I never realized how gentle his eyes were.  

“Kai…” she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and said it all at once.  “I’m sorry that I thought you were like those guys.  I was too scared to find out, and so I assumed.  That was unfair for me to do and wrong.  So I’m sorry.  Also, thank you for fighting them although I wish you hadn’t because I don’t want to see you hurt!  So please forgive me and accept my apology!”  

Kai blinked then his smile grew as laughter came out.  He reached out his hand and patted Angel on the head.  

“It’s okay.  I forgive you.  Honestly, I was never mad at you but at myself for not realizing it sooner.  For that, I am also sorry.”  

“Oh no, please don’t apologize.”  Tears welled up in her eyes, and she tried to brush them away with her shirt sleeve.  

“Don’t cry!”  Kai laughed as the bell rang.  “Come on, let’s go to class.”  

Angel nodded and smiled.  She glanced back over her shoulder and saw Anna and Ryo standing there watching.  

Thank you, Ryo.