"It seems you experienced a hallucination, Sakura," Lucas murmured, crouching gently beside her. His voice, as always, was soft and reassuring. "I only arrived a few minutes ago. You and Takeshi were just as you are now. At first, you were understandably curious about my arrival alone. I explained that I'd been separated from Mr. Bennett. He'd dropped me off to search for something he'd lost nearby."
He paused, letting his words sink in. "After that, I told you to leave, but you suddenly warned me not to kill Takeshi and ran off. We were both startled, momentarily frozen, and nearly lost you. But you're safe now, and we can report back to Charlie."
Sakura's eyes, still clouded with doubt, flickered to Takeshi. "Is that true?"
Takeshi patted his chest, a relieved chuckle escaping his lip
