18 . Reunion with friends

Another two weeks passed and Reno now is fully healed, he didn't go outside since the last time and he intends to keep doing so, he wants to stay low profile for a while, now that he has no problem with money and shelter he will continue his training while enjoying his meals, now his meals will be more nutritious Wich will play a big factor since he is still growing.

Reno is sitting at a table eating a grilled steak, it was made of deer meat, this was one of his favorite meals when he was on earth after he finished eating he drank some orange juice, even tho he wanted to drink some wine, he knew that it will be counterproductive since he is still growing.

after that he started eating some almonds and walnuts, all of this was prepared by his maid Wich was nonother than Shiho who was sitting across from him, and strangely enough, she was silent.

Reno looked at her and he noticed her strange behavior, she looked like something was bothering her, she was here with him but her mind was wandering somewhere else.

"What's bothering you Shiho? you are acting strange today" asked Reno while chewing some cashew nut.

"huh?" Shiho was brought back from whatever she was thinking of, she looked at Reno and replied "It's nothing".

Reno crushed a walnut in his hand gaining the full attention of Shiho.

"You know that I hate to repeat myself" asked Reno again.

Shiho went tense for a moment then she sighed and started telling Reno what bothered her.

"It's my old friends, they heard that I paid my debt and they wanted to make a party to celebrate that, they said that they miss me and want us to meet and go high as the old times" replied Shiho.

Reno noticed that she was still contemplating her decision, she was indecisive and didn't know what to do.

"So why don't you invite them here, I'm sure they will be astonished when they discover that you live in such a luxurious house, they will praise you like there is no tomorrow, I bet they will even lick your feet when they see the quantity of drugs you have here" suggested Reno.

Shiho looked at him in shock, after all, she didn't tell him because she was sure that he will refuse, she was even afraid that he will call her an idiot, she didn't expect him to allow it, and this made her happy, after all, she passed most of her life with those friends of her, they drank together, went high together, and they were the ones who praised her the most and made her feel like a princess, the truth is even tho they abandoned her, she still missed them.

"Are you sure about that? won't that be a problem for you? after all this is your house" asked Shiho with a look of expectation in her eyes.

Reno knew what she wanted, he smiled at her and told her "You are wrong Shiho, this is not my house, this is OUR house, and you are my beautiful maid Wich I care about, if this reunion with your friends makes you happy, then I have no problem with that".

Seeing Reno smile and hearing his words made Shiho very happy, after all, Reno fought a pro hero for her, robbed a bank for her, solved her problems, and now is willing to make her happy, what more can she ask for.

She just rushed toward Reno and sat on his lap and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you so much"

"No need to thank me silly, just don't give them the address of our house, meet them in another place and bring them here, that way they will be surprised when they see it"

Reno replied and patted her head Wich made her feel like a pampered cat, she enjoyed this feeling and buried her face in his chest.

___later in the evening___

Shiho was sitting in a coffee shop, and across from her sat her friends, two males, and two females, not all the people she knew came, and not all the people she knew could be considered her friends, but it was different for these four, they were her closest friends, and if Reno's mother wasn't in prison she would've been here with them too.

Shiho looked at her friends with complicated emotions, she knew that they turned their backs on her when she was in dire situations, but deep down she couldn't just part ways with them, after all, they spent more than 12 years together, they shared many happy and great moments, it was very hard to put an end to such a long relationship.

One of the two females broke the silence and addressed Shiho "I'm so happy to see you again Shiho, I have missed you a lot during the past year, to be honest, the parties without you were boring, after all, you were always the star of our meetings, the drugs didn't do us great effect without you cheering the mood".

Then one of the two males added: " That's right Shiho, the parties were boring without you, we wanted to reach you many times to check on you but we knew you were busy collecting money to pay your debt, so we didn't want to bother you".

The other female added " that's true Shiho, we were always worried about you, we wanted to give you space to finish your things, that's the only reason we didn't contact you during this period".

the final man said "It's like they said Shiho, we had confidence in you that you will pull this one out, after all, you are our princess, I had full confidence in you that you will deal with your problems easily, so I hope you didn't get the idea that we have forsaken you, we have known each other for so long, so we can't give up on you, and here is the fact, after we heard that you solved your problems we immediately contacted you, that just show how much we missed you".

Shiho listened to the four of them and looked at them, she saw them looking at her with pleading and worrying eyes, and even tho her mind was telling her that they were bullshiting, but deep down she wanted to believe them.

'It must be my imagination, how can my friends betray me, as they said, if they did forsake me then why come now, they could just keep ignoring me, yes that's true, they didn't want to bother me and they let me solve my problems, they knew I'm strong enough to deal with this, I must be a horrible friend to think that they betrayed me'.

As soon as Shiho finished her thoughts she relaxed and a bright smile flashed on her face.

"it's okay guys, you are my best friends and I truly missed you a lot, I knew you didn't call me because you knew I'm strong enough to deal with this shit"

When her friends heard that they relaxed and then started praising her.

"Of course it is, there is no way a little problem like that would stop the magnificent Shiho"

"Yes, you are the strongest among us, we always believed in you Shiho"

The praise only boosted Shiho's ego, and she puffed her chest, she completely forgot the shitty year she has been through, and soon the five of them started laughing.

This was Shiho's character, a weak-minded girl, and unfortunately, there are many people like her in the world, people who rather believe the sweet lies than face the cruel reality.

people who are too afraid to face a reality where they have been cheated on or betrayed, they will believe any excuse thrown at them just to avoid facing the bitter truth.

Those people tend to have a golden heart, but sadly for them they are doomed to be exploited their whole lives.

After some chit-chat, the group of five started walking toward Shiho's new house.

When they arrived there, the four of them were shocked to the core, their eyes popped out, and their jaws dropped, they simply couldn't believe what they saw.

To call it a house is an understatement, it was a freaking castle, with a large Jardin and a beautiful fountain.

Shiho enjoyed the look on their faces, this was the ultimate pleasure for her.

one of the girls looked at Shiho with a dumbfounded look on her face "Shiho are you high?" she asked.

"huh? why are you saying that?" replied Shiho with a question.

"I think you got the wrong address, there is no way that you live here, you must be high for sure"

"Hahahahaha" Shiho couldn't help herself but burst laughing.

"of course I'm not high, I can't start the fun without you guys" said Shiho, then she walked to the door and in front of all of them unlocked it.

"come on in" said Shiho while looking at them from above, this gave her a sense of superiority.

The four of them walked to the house, still in a state of disbelief, when they entered inside they were even more shocked.

luxurious furniture everywhere, expensive carpets, sofas made of silk, and all the thing that pointed to a rich life.

the four of them looked at each other and could see the dumb look they all had on their faces, after all, no matter how much you think about it, there is no way that Shiho could afford all this, how can a person who was on the edge of hell ascend to heaven suddenly?.

"Don't stand there like a bunch of headless chickens, come here guys, I want to show you something that will surprise you" said Shiho with a smug look on her face.

the four of them wore the expression that said 'what else could surprise us after all this', but they complied and followed her to one of the various rooms in the hall.

Shiho opened the room, and when they looked inside they were indeed shocked.

inside the room was a large quantity of drugs packed in large packages.

the amount was too much for even a drug dealer, Shiho could stay high for the next two years without walking out of the house.

Not only that, but there was also a large quantity of liquor, wine, beer, and vodka..., the four of them were drooling over all that they saw, and couldn't help growing curious about how could Shiho achieve all that.

They exchanged looks and knew what to do, they have to uncover all of Shiho's secrets tonight, and knowing Shiho they already saw themselves basking in money and drugs, they even started planning to move and live here, one thing was for sure, their future was bright.. or that's what they thought.

But soon they were all interrupted by the sound of footsteps.

the five of them looked back and saw a teenager walking down the stairs from the second floor, he had black ink hair and blood-red eyes, he wore casual clothes but they were fancy, his body was very fit for someone his age and his slow movements gave off the aura of an elegant noble.

Shiho couldn't help but tense up when she saw him, her smug look turned to a nervous one, she subconsciously straightened her back and stood still, she looked like a solider.

She was praying that Reno won't order her or say something that will embarrass her in front of her friends.

Sure she grow used to his domineering attitude, but that was when they were alone.

The group of four noticed the change in Shiho's expression and couldn't help but be curious about the identity of the teenager, and why Shiho had such a reaction seeing him.

"Who is this handsome teenager" one of the women couldn't help but ask Shiho.

Shiho didn't know how to respond, if she says he is her master it will sound weird, but she was also afraid that any other response will upset him, she was in dilemma but Reno's casual words brought her back from it.

"Hi aunt Shiho, I didn't know we were having guests tonight" said Reno while smiling.