next door ℘ sakusa kiyoomi

02

You walk back to your apartment quietly examining each of the envelopes addressed to Ayaka. Three of them are from her old Manager and one from an unnamed person.

Once you got back inside you sat the mail addressed to Ayaka in a box that was filled with more mail for her. You never planned on opening any of her mail, there was no reason to since it was none of your business and none of it was for you. You kept it however in case any of it was important and you had to read any of it at any point.

The green envelope that was for you was also from an unnamed sender which raised suspicions in you as you sat down on the couch. You decided not to open it yet though and sat it next to you on the couch.

You sat quietly in thought for a moment thinking back to your interaction a few minutes ago with Sakusa. You thought about his back muscles mostly and how stubborn he was. And the fact that he knows you have mail for Ayaka.

...

He knows you have mail for Ayaka. SHIT.

It didn't hit you at the moment but now that you could think properly you were freaked out. What if he tells someone? You didn't even want to think about what would happen then. Eating no time you got off the couch and headed straight for his apartment for the second time today.

When you reached the door you did 4 knocks way louder than the previous 3 from earlier. You waited and impatiently tapped your foot but this time you didn't hear nearing footsteps, so you knocked again.

3 loud urgent knocks.

Still no answer, you concluded that he left and now you were even more anxious. So anxious at the thought of him telling someone you grew hungry.

Rushing back to your apartment and you glanced over to the digital clock on the coffee table in the middle of the living room. "Seriously?" you mumbled aloud as you read the clock, '12:23 PM'.

You quickly turned in your heels in the direction of your room. The room directly across the hall from the room that was Ayaka's. It was smaller than hers but it was big enough for you. You didn't want to take over her room at all. Even if legally this place was now yours it would always be hers to you.

You scanned the closest for a jacket and settled on an all-black windbreaker and threw it on. You snatched your wallet off of your dresser and rushed out of your room and the apartment with the plan of heading down the street to the convenience store.

-

Your eyes scanned the shelves of the store aimlessly. You already grabbed some cup noodles you just needed to decide what drink you wanted.

All of the options looked pretty good to you so you just decided to grab one at random. You closed your eyes and moved your arm around in circles and zig zags to randomly select a drink. Just when you were going to pick one you heard the door open and a ring! Along with it.

Your eyes snapped over to see who it was and WOW. Just your luck. Walking in with a black cap, and a matching black sweatsuit was no other than Sakusa Kiyoomi. This was your 3rd sign you thought.

'How lucky could I be?' you thought as you watched him walk down the Dairy Aisle. 'I can explain the mail this is perfect.' you thought again as a smile fell on your lips. Without looking you grabbed a drink off the shelf and headed to the Dairy Aisle.

You wanted to explain yourself to him and beg him to not tell anyone about the mail. He was now the only person who knew about your connection to Ayaka and you didn't want anyone else to know.

As you turned the corner and into the aisle, you saw Sakusa grab a jug of milk and read the label carefully. You approached him quickly and got his attention. "Listen-" you tried to start but the broad-shouldered athlete stopped you. "Are you following me L/n?" he asked with furrowed brows.

'What the hell?'

"Woah!" you exclaimed with an offended look on your face. "I was here waaaaay before you!" you stated. "You just happened to walk in a few seconds ago and this is clearly my 3rd sign."

His face shifted into an even more confused look. "3rd sign?" he asked. "Not important," you dismissed with a wave of your hand. "just listen to me. Early with the mail and how it's addressed to..." your voice trailed off and you leaned in closer to whisper.

"Ayaka Hiyashi," you leaned back away and continued in regular volume. "I want to explain why," you paused to examine the look on his face to notice that it was back to his blank stoic one. "I was her caretaker since she was sick and she left everything to me, no I don't really know why but I do know that I wouldn't like word to get about it because it seems suspicious. I also don't want the press involved because dealing with her passing has been hard enough and I don't want the media to make it worse for me."

Sakusa's eyes widened ever so slightly that you barely noticed. If it wasn't or the fact that his mouth was slightly open now as if he was shocked. Processing that information even. "I wasn't going to tell anyone," he assured you. As he shut the fridge door that you didn't even notice he still held it open.

"Thanks, but I still wanted to explain you saw her name anyway. Just in case you thought I was like...I dunno some crazy person." you shrugged. He nodded slightly S if he understood what you were trying to say. "Right," he mumbled. "Well look," he began looking away from you. "I guess if you ever want to talk about her since I know now...I'm only next door." he sighed.

"Really?" you gasped audibly and raised your brows in shock before shaking your head. "Nevermind, thanks for the offer but I wouldn't want to bore you with that." A look of relief waned over his face, "Good because I'm not a therapist, I was just saying that because I didn't know what else to say." He said truthfully. You laughed in return.

You laughed, that was weird. You hadn't laughed in a while.

"Thanks for offering anyways though, even if you didn't mean it. I appreciate it." You said smiling before you turned to leave "See you around neighbor." you said leaving him in the dairy aisle and going to check output stuff.

'Sakusa Kiyoomi,' you thought as you left the store. 'What a guy.'