Twisted Distortions

Chapter 9: The Confrontation

Christopher looked up in surprise, quickly noticing Kitsune standing there. This situation surprised him for several reasons. For one, he hasn't heard someone call out to him so gently in years. Instead of looking even the slightest bit scared, the journalist girl looked rather concerned. And last but not least, she was the one who approached him.

"Oh. It's you..." Was all he could say.

"Yeah, it's me... I... wanted to talk to you." Kitsune stated, gripping onto her bag strap.

"Talk to me?" Christopher repeated, to which Kitsune nodded.

"Y-Yeah... If that's ok with you, anyways." She responded.

Christopher blinked before nodding. "Sure.." Was all he said. With a tiny smile, she sat down beside him. "You know... I'm a little surprised." The male spoke up, prompting Kitsune to look at him. "You looked quite terrified when we first met- not that I blame you, of course. But now you actively searched for me and just wanted to talk?" He couldn't help but smile a little.

"You're certainly an interesting one, my dear." He stated.

"Heh, yeah... I guess so, huh." Kitsune responded

"So... What was it you wanted to speak about?" Christopher asked. With a deep breath, Kitsune began talking.

"Right... So, I don't know how else to say this, but... I... found out about the stuff that happened here. With... your parents, Lilith... Belladonna..." She started off.

"Heh... I haven't heard those names in ages.." Christopher responded.

"A-And... I know this sounds... kinda strange, but... I... talked to them." She cautiously explained, a bit tense as she didn't know how to react.

Christopher hummed a bit. He did know about the ghosts' existence, he just didn't think about it much... Or care to think about it. Not to mention, he could easily tell she wasn't lying to him.

"You don't need to be so tense, dear." He spoke up. "I believe you. My family is somewhat infamous for our ability to detect lies. I'm not very surprised you didn't know that, you're clearly not from here."

Kitsune relaxed a bit. "Hm, I see..." She mumbled. "One more question- are you... Are you ok?"

Christopher paused. "Well... I don't know about 'ok'... When you just got finished dealing with your parents on the anniversary of your sister's death, I don't think being ok is all that possible..." He stated.

Kitsune hummed in concern. "Well... I..." Hesitating a little, she reached to place her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure that... Belladonna would want you to be happy..." She stated.

Christopher looked over at her, a bit surprised at the contact. Slowly, he smiled a bit. "You know... You're probably right..." He stated. "I just realized- this entire time, I've never gotten your name."

"Ah, right. My name is Kitsune. It's nice to officially meet you, Christopher." Kitsune smiled.

"Likewise. And... You can call me Chris, if you'd like." Christopher responded.

Kitsune was a bit stunned. Chris was what Belle called him. And she seemed really close to him. Does this mean.. That they were friends? That he was actually ok with being around her?

"I..." Kitsune smiled a little. "Ok. Thanks for taking me to the guest room, Chris." She said.

"Oh, it's no issue. I can't imagine it was easy to fall asleep in there. Also, I... couldn't bring myself to hit you with my bat. It just didn't feel right." Chris responded.

Kitsune smiled before looking at the door he was sitting against. "Your parents... They're in there, aren't they?" She asked, Chris sighing in response.

"Yes, they are... In a way." He responded, looking over at her with curiosity. "How'd you figure that out?" He asked.

"Uh... I might've... heard glass breaking and went investigating... And I heard you talking to two people in here... I actually hid behind this pedestal here." Kitsune stated, patting the object beside her.

The taller male stared at her in surprise before laughing a bit to himself. "You're a strange one, dear. I don't think many people typically approach strange noises- especially in a life or death situation." He stated.

Kitsune shrugged. "I mean, I was pretty concerned. Also... What's with the nicknames? Not that I mind, of course." She asked, mentally facepalming at her last statement. 'Why the fuck did I say that-' She thought.

"I didn't know your name at the time, and I needed something to call you." Chris responded before smirking at her. "Also, don't think I didn't hear that last part. You like the nicknames, don't you, dear~?" He asked, deliberately adding the dear to make her flustered.

"Yes- I mean NO- I mean maybe!" The redhead stuttered, making Chris laugh.

"I'm just teasing, darling. But at least you admitted it." He stated. "So... I suppose now's the time to let you leave..." He added, sounding less than happy.

"Yeah... But before I go, can I ask..." Kitsune started, hesitating a bit.

"Am I allowed to come back?"

Chris was a bit stunned. She... wanted to come back? Why? "You... You want to return here? What on earth for?" He asked.

"Well... I... I don't know how else to say it, but... I don't think..." She scooted a bit closer. "I don't think you should be alone anymore... A-And I'd like to... Maybe come back... If you'd let me..." She explained.

Chris sat in silence, processing what she said. "You... want to come back... for my sake?" He asked, to which Kitsune nodded.

"Yeah, I do... You look like you need a friend, if I may be honest." She stated.

"You know what, I... I think I'd like that." The male smiled. With a smile of her own, Kitsune hugged him- catching him off guard yet again. She seemed to be doing that a lot today. Nonetheless he slowly, albeit a bit hesitantly, wrapped his arms around her in return.

After a moment, the redhead was released. Standing up, Chris helped her to her feet and guided her to the front door. They bid their temporary farewell, and Kitsune left. It was time for her to return to town.

But she'd definitely come see Chris again. That was for certain.