anguish ; yttd

prologue

The vacant streets of the town were eerily quiet, the only noise being the wind whistling in the bushes and two quiet footsteps trudging on the hard concrete. (Name) Hiyori walked beside their coworker and close friend, Melyssa, who's only care in the world was how much she didn't want to work.

"Ah, what a long day..." Melyssa, sighed as she took off her jacket, letting the cool air hit her skin. "I seriously hate having to work."

The two walked through an alley after a long and exhausting day at work. It was completely dark other than a few street lights and the moon that lit up the scenery. While Melyssa continued to complain, (Name) couldn't help but think about some more pressuring issues on their mind.

(Name) was starting to regret even getting involved with Asunaro, the "medical" research organization where the two of them worked. In the past, it felt like their obligation to work there and figure out the strange mysteries surrounding the company. While they ended up finding what they were looking for, (Name) couldn't get rid of the lingering feeling that there was more than what met the eye.

"You seem pretty deep in thought," Melyssa's voice completely interrupted (Name)'s thoughts. "Something up?"

"No, it's nothing," (Name) lied. It was a lot more than just nothing.

Weeks before, (Name) made a discovery that they were sure they weren't supposed to find. Their brother—who was supposedly to be dead—was actually alive. They spent ages trying to accomplish it, but were finally able to reach some of Asunaro's hidden files. And there, they found out the truth about their brother's death. Since they found out, a sequence of strange events began to occur. Their mother continued to deny it, even bringing up the option of therapy to help with "grief." Their coworkers acted strange, more strange than usual, as if they were all in on something that (Name) knew nothing about. And while (Name) had been eager to get more answers, they suddenly couldn't even get back into the system in the way they had before, as if something was purposely keeping them out.

"Hmm," Melyssa said, "you're a horrible liar. Whatever's on your mind, you shouldn't let it bug you too much. We've got tons of super important things to think about. Like for example, what're we gonna do tomorrow since we don't have to work. Hang out at the ice cream shop, perhaps?"

(Name) looked over to their friend, who gave them a wide beam. Her brown skin gleamed because of the streetlights and her curly hair blew softly to the side as a gust of wind blew. She always had a way of making anyone feel better. Her personality made her such a likeable person. In a way, (Name) was almost jealous.

"How about you go and hang out with that girlfriend of yours?" they teased.

She nervously chuckled, diverting her eyes. "I haven't talked to her much recently. Besides, it's been a while since we've hung out, just us two."

It had been a while. Lots of things really did change after (Name) found out the truth.

Melyssa took their hand and pushed her glasses higher on her nose. "Hey, didn't you say you needed to check on your parents? In case you forgot, they told you to come over earlier."

(Name) had indeed forgotten. After being bombarded with multiple calls at work, their parents told them that they needed to talk about something urgent later.

"Ah, you're right," (Name) muttered. "Are you sure you wanna come along with me though?"

"Duh! I've gotta make sure no creepy people try to cross you. It's dangerous here at night, y'know. You can handle yourself and all but I'm also quite nosy, so I've gotta hear what they needed you for!" Melyssa tugged harder on (Name)'s arm. "Now, c'mon! Let's go see what they want!"