Shattered Relations | Aru Shah AU |

XIV

ARU
"Hey, Hira, could I have another latte?" Brynne asked, pushing aside the first empty cup.

Hira, the only waitress at the café who put up with Brynne's multiple demands, nodded, a slight smile on her face.

Hira went to Woodstover too, but, since she didn't find dead bodies on a regular basis, she managed to handle a job as a waitress at the Night Bazaar Café.

Aru eyed the two from behind her History books.

It was glaringly obvious that Brynne had a crush on Hira, and vice-versa, but they refused to admit it, how much ever Brynne blushed whenever Hira was mentioned.

Aru couldn't do anything related to Shakhuni's murder, they had exhausted every lead, and she knew it would be dangerous to look further.

Which was why she was reduced to aggressively pairing Hira and Brynne, and Mini and Rudy together.

Aru violently underlined a date in her textbook, leaving a deep impression of the pencil in the next page, before checking her watch.

6:57. Mini should have been here by now, they had agreed to have dinner at the diner.

Although they had stopped the case, Aru couldn't help but feel paranoid. Supermundus was still out there, ready to hurt them... a bead of sweat trickled down her neck, leaving behind a trail.

Just as Aru was pulling out her phone to spam Mini's chat with texts, the door opened to reveal an exhausted-looking Mini.

"Hi," she mumbled, dropping her bag into the seat beside Aru.

Hira, ever-observant, brought over an extra-strong Americano, and placed the cup in front of Mini.

"For our resident doctor," she said encouragingly.

Mini sent Hira a weak smile, before bringing the cup to her lips, shooting Aru a furtive look.

Aru, herself, was confused, but focused on her books (the saddest sentence in human history, in her opinion).

A few minutes passed. Mini shot Aru two more nervous glances, before Aru couldn't take it any longer.

"What happened, Mini? Spit it out, there's no point in lying."

Mini gently set her cup down on the table, and whispered, like, if she spoke any louder, everything would fall apart.  "She looked so much like you."

————

Aru remembered hearing about a myth that seven people in the world looked exactly like each other.

Aru always thought that myth was stupid, but she couldn't help but think of it when she leaned forward, and asked Mini, "Who did?"

Brynne had ceased her conversation with Hira too, and leaned forward to hear Mini's answer.

"The new biochemistry teacher. The resemblance is just... uncanny." Mini said, staring into her coffee mug.

Aru frowned. Was it a cousin? Or a relative?

"What's her name?" She asked.

Mini shrugged. "Kiki Sadhu. Kinda weird na—"

Aru choked on her coffee. She spat out the coppery taste on her tongue, hardly daring to believe what she had said.

"Are–are you sure it's that?"

Mini nodded. "Pretty sure, I always pay attention in class."

Aru's breathing felt more like wheezing—too fast, as she felt her brain process this information.

She stumbled up, dropping change onto the table. The coins rolled, the noise they caused fading into white noise in Aru's head, trumped by the questions: She's alive? She better be—

"I—I have to go," she said, stumbling, searching for words.

"What's wrong, Shah?" Brynne asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, you went green to pale in the matter of half a second—" Mini began, but Aru interrupted her.

"I'm fine. I just need to go home, take some aspirin. I'm fine." The words escaped her numb lips before she realized what she had said.

Mini's eyes were filled with unease, but she nodded. "Okay. Take care. Do you want us to get you something?"

Aru shook her head, and managed to stumble out the diner, before breathing in the sharp, night air.

She's alive? The question knocked around in her skull, as the next thing she thought of was an old memory, of sixteen year old Aru, and twenty-six year old Kara, on the floor of their apartment.

"I doubt any guy in school likes me, though. I am Aru Shah, Menace to Society. Menace with a uppercase 'm'."

"Impressive resumé," Kara snorted. "Did you know that the word Shah comes from the word 'sadhu' which means 'saint' in Sanskrit?"

"Thank you for impressively segue-ing from my sordid love life to etymology of our last name. Brilliantly done, Kiki didi."

"Lame nickname," Kara sighed. "It has the exact same number of syllables as "Kara"."

"It annoys you, which is why it's so effective."

Aru felt the wind sting her cheeks, as she rushed toward Woodstover, her heart in her mouth.

With a foggy brain, and unsteady gait, she found herself right outside the campus.

Displaying her student ID to the security guards, she quickened her pace, and entered the main building.

Her feet moved of their own accord, until she reached the office of one 'Kiki Sadhu', which she remembered, from the orientation day, that it was located on the fifth floor.

Aru's hand quivered. Kiki could just be a random person—but what if she wasn't?

Her pulse quickened, as she rapped on the door, every part of her aching with equal excitement and fear.

"Come in," a voice called. A very familiar voice.

Aru opened the door, her gaze traveling to the woman at the desk.

Her black hair was exactly like her mother's: curly and long. Their mother's.

She was writing something, her face was angled in a different direction.

But Aru knew who she was. Not Kiki Sadhu. Not even their biochemistry teacher.

Trusting her vocal chords to work, she managed to whisper out, her voice hoarse with anticipation: "Kara?"

————  

a/n: asdfghjkl; these last few days feel like a vibe check from the gods—i am legit drowning in schoolwork, y'all. my exams are looming near [blech], so... i might not update for a few weeks. anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and see you when my exams end!