(Sunday Night — Hinata's POV)
My fingers trembled slightly as I opened Kiyomi's messages.
There were so many.
Lines and lines of text stacked on top of each other like a dam that had finally broken.
I took a deep breath and began reading.
The first message was short.
"Kiyomi: I'm sorry for disappearing yesterday."
Then the next one.
"Kiyomi: I didn't know how to talk to anyone."
Another message followed.
"Kiyomi: Minato confessed to me."
My eyes widened.
My heart skipped a beat.
For a moment, I thought I read it wrong.
But I kept reading.
"Kiyomi: He told me he loves me."
The room suddenly felt quiet.
Too quiet.
Outside my window, the night air moved softly through the trees, but inside my room, everything felt frozen.
I scrolled down.
More messages.
More pieces of her heart spilling out.
"Kiyomi: I didn't know what to do."
"Kiyomi: I panicked."
"Kiyomi: I cried."
My chest tightened as I read.
I could almost see her in the restroom again — sitting alone, crying with her phone in her hand.
More messages appeared.
"Kiyomi: Hinata… I said something horrible."
I swallowed hard.
My thoughts pondered as I read the next one.
"Kiyomi: I told him I don't do love."
I leaned back against my chair slowly.
My eyes moved across the screen again.
"Kiyomi: But that's not the worst part."
My stomach twisted.
"Kiyomi: I threatened him."
My fingers tightened around my phone.
"Kiyomi: I told him if he didn't leave me alone I'd tell Sakura and the others."
I covered my mouth with my hand.
Hinata: Kiyomi… (I whispered softly).
I kept reading.
"Kiyomi: I didn't mean it."
"Kiyomi: I just panicked."
"Kiyomi: That word scares me."
I knew exactly what word she meant.
Love.
Another message appeared.
"Kiyomi: Hinata… why does love hurt so much?"
My chest ached.
Because for the first time, I understood something clearly.
Kiyomi wasn't just confused.
She was afraid.
Terrified.
Another message appeared.
"Kiyomi: I think I broke him."
My eyes softened.
"Kiyomi: When I walked away… I didn't look back."
Then the final message appeared.
"Kiyomi: What do I do now?"
Silence filled my room.
I stared at the screen for a long time.
My mind replayed Friday.
Her red eyes.
Her trembling voice.
Her refusal to leave the restroom.
Everything suddenly made sense.
I slowly placed the phone on my lap.
Across the call, Asahi's voice came through the speaker.
Asahi: Hinata?
I blinked.
Hinata: Oh — sorry.
Asahi: What happened?
I hesitated.
Then I sighed softly.
Hinata: It's Kiyomi.
There was a pause.
Then Asahi spoke again, gently.
Asahi: Is she okay?
I looked at the messages again.
Hinata: No (I whispered).
Another pause.
Asahi: What happened?
I took a deep breath.
Hinata: Minato confessed to her.
There was silence on the other end.
Then Asahi muttered quietly;
Asahi: Oh.
I leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling.
Hinata: Kiyomi panicked.
Another pause.
Then Asahi spoke again.
Asahi: So she rejected him?
I shook my head slowly.
Hinata: No.
My voice softened.
Hinata: It was worse than that.
Silence fell again.
Finally Asahi asked quietly,
Asahi: What are you going to do?
I looked down at my phone again.
At Kiyomi's last message.
What do I do now?
My fingers slowly began typing.
"Hinata: First, breathe."
I paused.
Then I typed again.
"Hinata: Second… we're fixing this."
I hit send.
Then I whispered softly to myself,
Hinata: Kiyomi… you idiot.
But there was no anger in my voice.
Only determination.
Because one thing was clear now.
This story between Kiyomi and Minato…
was far from over.