Not My Type

十三

[A/N]: Again, a trigger warning for drowning and thoughts of su*c*de.

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Even as her surroundings blurred, [Name] ran as fast as her short legs could take her. Not an ounce of pain registered in her mind when the small, sharp rocks wounded her bare feet. All she knew was that she wanted to get away from her mother. She was tired of the obscure hatred the elder woman had shown her.

Run. [Name] sped up and let out a scream. The muddy ground under her feet caused her to lose her balance. She didn't even have any time to register what had happened when she fell into a body of water. [Name] struggled to swim, holding her breath. Her parents never taught her how to swim, so how was she supposed to go back to safety?

Safety? Just what was safety? Maybe her mother would even be happy to find out that she had died.

Eventually, the girl relented. The clutches of the water pulled her with ease as she closed her eyes. It was then that she felt someone grab her by the wrist. The feeling was faint, but it was there.

 "Hey! Wake up! Don't die on me!"

As soon as [Name]'s [eye color] eyes opened, she sat up and choked the water out of her system. Her hand clutched the cloth of her shirt while she tried to catch her breath. She had failed to notice her savior, who merely stared at her from the spot beside her. The two children were inside a cave which was illuminated by the [favorite color] gems stuck on the walls. When [Name] regained her breath, she turned to Mizu.

 "You look weird," she commented.

Mizu's eyebrow twitched. "Well duh, I'm not human like you."

[Name] giggled at this. "You're a joker, you know?"

 "I'm not, but whatever floats your boat." He crossed his arms before huffing. "Don't I get a thanks in return? I just saved your life. What were you doing here, anyway? It's raining."

Memories of her mother's words made the smile on [Name]'s face disappear. Mizu noticed this, and bit the bottom of his lip. Perhaps that wasn't the right question to ask her. [Name] heaved a sigh, resting her head on her knees. "I don't think my mother likes me anymore. She hasn't played with me for a week now, even when she's not doing anything. It's all because I broke her favorite vase."

Mizu stifled the laugh building up in his throat. "Um, not to be rude, but isn't that stupid?"

 "I know." Much to his surprise, [Name] agreed. "It's just a vase. I don't think even grandma and grandpa would be angry about it. Because of that, I don't have anyone I can play with anymore."

 "That's all you're worrying about?" Mizu asked. "I'll be your playmate then."

His words made [Name]'s eyes light up. "Really?"

 "Of course."

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 "Since then, I'd return to the waterfall to play with Mizu. There were times when mother and I would be in good terms, but they didn't last very long." A miserable smile formed on the girl's face. "We got along for years. Naturally, the day when we would have an argument came. Since that day, I haven't seen him."

Mizu furrowed his eyebrows, shaking his head vigorously. "I went to see you so many times!"

Akane couldn't be any more confused. With the way [Name] was acting, it was as if some of her memories were removed. "Did you do anything with your mother after your fight with Mizu?"

 "I visited that house."

 "What house?"

 "The house we headed to earlier."

Unease started to build up inside Akane. "What?!"

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 "Mama, where are we going? Isn't papa going to come with us?" [Name] asked, still quite unaccustomed to her mother finally holding her hand. It shocked her when the woman woke her up early in the morning to say that they were going to go outside. Just the two of them. Mother and daughter.

[Mother's Name] let out a chuckle. "This is a date! We haven't had one with just the two of us in a while, right?"

The child couldn't help but nod. Her mother's behavior always came across as peculiar to her. It was something akin to a fresh, sea breeze that tickled her [hair color] hair. A part of her had thought that the love her mother had shown her had overshadowed the obscure hatred that bothered her at night.

It was as if she had never been hated.

 "We're here."

Flowers of all kinds littered the other side of the gate they were in front of. The two-storey house was nothing less of grand. It carried a vintage feeling and to [Name], it seemed like a wonderland. [Mother's Name] could only laugh at her child's excitement. She wasted no time in opening the gate and guiding her inside.

 "Mama, this place is beautiful!" [Name] exclaimed. She let go of her mother's hand and checked her surroundings. Vases, flowers, paintings—even beautiful was an understatement of how dreamlike the interior of the house was. "How come we couldn't take father with us? I'm sure he would've been happy to see this!"

When she turned around to meet her mother's eyes, a chill ran down her spine.

 "Your father isn't allowed to enter this place. Ever. This is just for you and me, do you understand?" [Mother's Name] made her way towards [Name], gripping the child's shoulders. She knelt down to her level before flashing her a soft yet sickening smile. "Something bad will happen if you bring someone else here."

It took everything in [Name] to not let her smile falter. "What will happen, mama?"

 "You'll—"

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A scream escaped [Name]'s lips. Her legs wobbled; it didn't take long for her knees to sink to the ground. Pain pulsed through her head, sharp and seemingly unending. Mizu flinched and grabbed Akane's wrist.

 "Hurry! Get her out of here! She shouldn't remember anything else!"

Akane was quick to pull [Name]'s arm over his shoulder. Without saying anything else, he supported her and ran to the exit of the cave as soon as he could. Just what on earth had happened to her before?

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 "You'll watch that person die."

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[A/N]: Hello everyone! It's been a long time since I updated and I'm really sorry about that. I got sick and had writer's block afterwards; however, thanks to your comments, I managed to pull myself together and write again. Hopefully, the pacing doesn't seem too rushed nor too cringeworthy. Thank you for reading and I hope you all keep yourselves safe and healthy! I also hope that this fanfic will bring at least even a little bit of happiness into your day.