The Wolf’s Revenge

(Akane's PoV, continued)

—

Then, Daiki suddenly moved before he'd even finished processing what had happened.

He lurched forward, one step, then another, already heading for the street, the crowd, the direction Izumi and that guy had disappeared. His fists were clenched so hard I could see the tendons standing out in his wrists.

"I'll fucking ki—" 

Luckily, Shin caught him.

Both hands came down on Daiki's shoulders as he planted his feet and hauled him back. He knew exactly what this kind of anger felt like. Way too well.

"Daiki. Stop—" Shin tried to hold him.

"LET GO OF ME, I MUST—! LEAVE ME!" He exclaimed, trying to break free, but Shin didn't move.

"No."

"SHE'S A FUCKING LIAR! SHE JUST CHEATED! HOW THE FUCK COULD SHE DO THIS TO ME?!?" Daiki kept shouting, not caring about the people watching.

"I know." Shin's voice stayed low. "I saw it too."

"THEN LET ME—"

"And do what, Daiki? Chase them through the streets? Yell at her in front of fifty strangers?" Shin tightened his grip. "Then what? Do you think that it would fix anything and that she'll come back?"

Daiki was still fighting him, but there was less force in it now.

"Stop..." Daiki said. "Stop talking and leave me, Shin—!"

Then, I stepped in front of him.

"Daiki," I said, "look at me."

His eyes found mine. Red, wet, barely focused. But, for some reason, he stopped trying to free himself.

"Anger doesn't take you anywhere useful," I said. "Trust me. I've sprinted down that road more than once. You'll always end up alone, staring at a mess you made worse. No matter what you do."

His breathing was rough, and his fists were still shaking.

"I know what you want right now, Daiki," I continued. "You want to confront her. I know that every single cell in your body is screaming at you to chase her down and demand an explanation." 

Daiki flinched and gritted his teeth before looking down. 

"But rest assured that if you do that right now, the only thing you'll get is a fight instead of answers. She'll probably end up crying, and you'll be the one who looks crazy, because that's how these things work. The person who reacts is always the one who loses.

"..." He couldn't reply, but I saw some tension leaving his body.

"So here's what you're going to do," my voice softened. "First, take a deep breath. Then, you're going to call her, and you'll listen to every single word."

Daiki's eyes widened. "Call her? Are you serious? What's that going to—"

"Just call her, Sakurai. Ten seconds. That's all you need."

He stared at me for a long moment, and then his hands slowly opened. 

After taking a deep, shaky breath, Daiki pulled his phone from his pocket.

Shin loosened his grip but stayed right behind him, close enough to grab him again if he needed to.

Then, Daiki tapped Izumi's name and lifted the phone to his ear.

One ring.

Two.

She answered on the third.

"Daiki?" Her voice came through bright and casual. "What's up? Is everything okay?"

Daiki's jaw locked, and he tightened the grip around his phone.

"Where are you?" he asked.

Then, a pause. Tiny. Almost nothing. But still too long.

"I-I'm at home. Why? What happened?" Another pause. "Are you going to come over again?"

Despite him not putting the call on speakerphone, we could still hear Izumi.

In that moment, Shin's hands curled into fists beside him.

I watched Daiki's face change. The anger disappeared first, replaced by something worse. A feeling of something that had just shattered.

"No," he said. "Not anymore." His voice sounded empty.

'Not anymore.'

"Daiki? What do you—"

And then he immediately hung up. The screen went black in his hand.

"There's your answer," I said quietly.

He kept standing there, staring at the phone. His lower lip trembled while his eyes shone, and he kept blinking hard, his jaw tightening, his throat moving as he swallowed whatever was trying to come out.

"I don't even know who that guy is," he said, his voice barely there. "She never mentioned another boy to me. Not once."

Then, Shin stepped closer.

"His name is Masaru Fujiwara. He's in her class." His voice tightened. "During today's meeting with class 2-B, they were arguing like they'd known each other forever. First-name basis. Finishing each other's sentences. Bickering like..." He stopped. He didn't need to finish.

Then, Daiki closed his eyes. "So that's what it was." He breathed out slowly. "In the best-case scenario, I was an excuse. Something to make him jealous." He opened his eyes again. "A prop." His fingers tightened around the phone. "Worst case, she just didn't give a shit."

Neither of us said anything.

"Either way, what she did is still a betrayal." Something changed in his face. Something colder than anger. "She has to pay for this," he whispered. 

"I photographed them," I said.

Both of them looked at me.

"I have the photo of everything. Them outside the love hotel, their smile, everything." I met Daiki's eyes. "She's going to receive a beautiful surprise tomorrow morning. Don't worry about it."

Daiki stared at me. "Akane... What are you going to do?"

"Do you trust me?" I asked, my voice sharpening.

Shin stepped in immediately.

"Akane, we shouldn't get involved in this. He should end it and walk away. She's not worth any more of his time."

I looked at him, and I understood exactly why he was saying it. I also disagreed with every word.

"Normally, I'd say the same thing: don't jump to conclusions and make sure you know what happened first to avoid any kind of misunderstanding. Well, I know that's the only logical thing to do." I looked back at Daiki. "But she just lied to his face while we were standing here watching her walk away from a love hotel with another guy." 

Shin said nothing.

"And that girl has been on my nerves since the first time I saw her. She has the face of a serial cheater. The kind who enjoys having people wrapped around her finger." I said, moving my gaze to Shin.

I saw his fists clenching, but he didn't argue.

Then, I turned back to Daiki and softened my voice.

"Hey. Look at the bright side."

He looked at me.

"At least you don't have to work for that worthless girl anymore. That's money back in your pocket and hours back in your life."

Daiki stared at the pavement.

"...Yeah." A few seconds passed. "You're right about that."

Then, he slipped the phone back into his pocket, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "I need to go home." His voice cracked slightly. "Now. I can't be on this street anymore."

"Then let's go," Shin said, almost immediately.

And then, we walked him home. The three of us stayed side by side through the residential streets between the old district and his building.

Nobody talked despite the city moving around us. Cars passed, and somewhere in the distance, a train rattled over the tracks. But nothing stopped our silence.

Daiki kept his hands buried in his pockets and his eyes on the pavement, and every few steps, his breathing caught. Just a little.

Shin and I pretended not to notice, and that was the kindest thing we could do in that moment.

When we reached his building, Daiki stopped at the entrance and took out his key.

For a few seconds, he just stood there turning it between his fingers.

"Thank you," he said. He still wouldn't look at us. "Both of you. For stopping me. I'm sure that I would've done something I might've regretted."

After his words, Shin's expression softened. "That's what friends are for, Daiki."

"Yeah." Daiki looked down at the key. "Friends." Then, after a pause: "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"We'll be there," I said.

He nodded, put the key into the lock, then turned toward us. That was when I noticed.

His eyes were redder, and his nose, too. And there was also a wet line that ran from the corner of his left eye almost to his jaw. After an instant, he sniffed hard and pressed his lips together.

He'd been crying, probably for the last block or two. Quietly, facing forward, where neither of us would see.

"...Goodnight," he managed. The word barely came out. Then, he stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind him.

Shin and I stood there looking at the door for a few instants.

"This is just unfair..." I sighed. "Too unfair..."

Then, Shin exhaled through his nose. "I'm going to..."

"No, you're not." I grabbed his hand before he could finish. "You're not going to do anything that could put your position in danger, Shin. Remember that you're an important person for the school festival's organization, and sticking your nose into someone else's drama won't surely help you. This is something that Daiki should figure alone..." My lips curved into a malicious grin. "...Maybe with a little help."

He looked at me like he hated the fact that I was making sense. "Since when are you the reasonable one?"

"Since about five minutes ago. So enjoy it, because it's temporary." I replied, then took his hand and started to walk.

But we made it maybe twelve steps before I took out my phone with my free hand.

"Wait a sec, Shin," I said.

"What is it?" He asked, but I didn't reply.

Instead, I opened the camera roll, selected two photos of Izumi and Masaru, and sent them to Hoshiko almost automatically.

AKANE: "Urgent. I know you've probably closed up already, but I'm coming to your studio. I need you to print these photos. Now."

Her reply came less than fifteen seconds later.

HOSHIKO: "Oh oh. I smell drama. I LOVE drama. I'll stay open for you. Get here fast, baby wolf!!! 🐺🔥"

I then put my phone away and squeezed Shin's hand.

"Shin. We need to make a little detour to Hoshiko's studio."

He looked sideways at me. "Akane, what are you planning?"

"The only way to humiliate cheaters is to show people what they are so that they can feel the consequences of their actions," I said, my voice sharp.

His expression immediately got worse. "Akane."

"Those two walked out of that hotel laughing as if nothing happened while Daiki started working only to buy a gift for a girl who was sleeping with someone else," I added, my grip tightening around his hand. "No. I'm not letting that disappear quietly."

Shin watched me for several seconds, his expression almost unreadable.

"I still don't understand what you're going to do," he said.

"I'll explain when we get to Hoshiko's. I promise, Ghost boy." I smiled. "You're gonna see how dangerous I can be." I took my phone out again. "For now, just trust me."

Shin narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, come on? When have my plans ever gone wrong?" I asked.

"Do you want me to answer that honestly or supportively?" Shin sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"Supportively. Always." I opened the taxi app. "I'm calling us a ride."

"Okay. I won't talk..." He sighed again.

"Good boy. Just stay close to me." I said, squeezing his hand even more.

The taxi arrived eight minutes later.

We climbed in, I gave the driver Hoshiko's studio address, and the car pulled away from the curb.

Shin sat beside me, our hands still linked between us on the seat.

Outside, the city slid past in streaks of neon, streetlights, and dark windows.

I watched them for a while.

By tomorrow morning, that disgusting mangaka was going to learn exactly what happened when you cheat on a kind person.

As I watched the city blur past the window, I didn't feel guilty. Not even a little....