Corpse Bride || Haitani Brothers/OC

10 - Mikey's mercy

Rindou had called Ran four times now, and he was still yet to answer. he had heard from Mochi that Sanzu had crossed paths with Hikari, and having seen so much blood on Sanzu, he shuddered to think what could've happened to Hikari.

"was she hurt?" he had asked, unable to hide his anxiousness.

he swears that Mikey had looked at him weirdly at that. the executives said she was just somewhere in the building. Kaku offered to help look for her, as did every single one of them and all for different reasons.

"no. there won't be any need," Mikey had said with an eerie smile. "just find Ran, and tell him that I want to see his wife."

at least two of them choked on their drink. Rin's eyes widened in surprise. a wife? since when did Ran have a wife? and without even realizing, Rin had spoken those words aloud.

despite the rudeness of his tone, Sanzu didn't even bother to scold him as he too was caught by surprise from Mikey's words.

"you really don't know?" Mikey asks, looking Rin in the eye. then he tilts his head to the side as if studying him.

"or do you not want to know?"

Rin frowned at that. he knew right then that he was talking about Hikari, yet he can't quite decide what worried him more—her being his brother's so-called wife, or Mikey somewhat knowing how he felt about her.

"I'll find Ran," he meekly says.

now he was out in the halls of their maze. he had checked Ran's office but he wasn't there. come to think of it, Ran did have a private room here too, just like the rest of the executives.

deciding it was worth the shot, Rin turns the other way as he heads to the opposite direction of where he initially thought Ran would be. the halls were silent, he could hear his own footsteps and even his breath.

for some reason, he felt so anxious. and deep down he knew that it wasn't just some reason. it felt like the inevitable was dawning on, and Rindou could only watch it happen, that if he were to interfere, nothing would actually change.

he didn't want Hikari to find Ran, but he's grateful if his brother did save her from Sanzu. an alive Hikari that won't ever look his way was far better than a dead one.

he stops before the door to Ran's room, listening for any voices inside. when he heard it was silent, he twisted the doorknob to find that it had been locked. Ran was indeed here.

that meant he did find his way to Hikari, else Ran would never stay put in a room if she was still in danger. he sighs deeply at the thought of what confronting Hikari would be like. he had lied to her, he had watched her suffer, and he kept quiet the whole time.

Rin could only hope that she'd understand why he did what he did. he knocks on the door, lowly calling out to Ran.

his brother still doesn't respond, causing him to scowl. by any chance, was he busy with Hikari? he shook his head to erase any image of them both together.

the doorknob broke all of a sudden, and Rin had the audacity to look surprised when he deliberately did it. the room was dark, but the yellow lamp was on by Ran's bed. he could only let out a breath of relief to find that they weren't doing anything.

Ran looked up at him momentarily before he went on with whatever he was doing.

"what are you doing?" Rin asks as he walks toward them.

Ran doesn't say a word as his fingers just carefully caress Hikari's face. her head was on his lap, her eyes closed. Ran had stripped her off her shirt, causing Rin to look at his brother accusingly.