Corpse Bride || Haitani Brothers/OC

:)

Ran's eyes widen as he gets knocked out of breath.

"Ran."

it was her voice, but her lips didn't move. blood trickled from them instead, along with cursing tears from her eyes.

"Hikari," he could barely say her name.

he looks down to find a blade in his hand. he looks up at her once more and she was in the silks of her nightgown again, not a spec of blood seen.

"what's wrong, Ran?" she says, touching his cheek.

relief washed over him at the feel of her touch as he rushed to grab her hand. he wasn't holding a blade. Hikari wasn't bleeding.

"sorry," he says breathlessly, "I was seeing things."

"it's alright...did you check with Yui recently?"

he shook his head as he pulls her in a hug once more. his heart was beating so fast. if he was a little more honest, he'd admit that it was aching terribly—a gaping hole that ate him alive.

the hollow feeling in his chest was entirely filled and forgotten as Hikari stood before him, tying his tie. she was mirroring his smile; her grin was beautiful.

"I'll be back early, alright?"

"you should, because I want to cook for us and the fridge is empty."

"just send me a list," he reassuringly says, planting his lips against hers before he pulls away, looking at her with a small smile.

"what?" she chuckles, cupping his cheeks. "nothing. you're just beautiful." he kisses her forehead, his eyes alight. "why are you so beautiful? whose wife are you?"

"yours, Ran," she sighs, rolling her eyes as she pushes him away, "go on now, you're getting clingy again."

+++

"are you purposely giving me a shit ton of work?" Ran scowls as he sat across Mikey.

the man stared at him with a small frown.

"why would I?"

"three years into our marriage, you still love to sabotage me."

"three years of marriage...is that so?" Mikey smiled.

Ran only rolls his eyes as he scans through the next document. he could feel Mikey's eerie stare, but he ignores it. as he read more and more of the documents, about costs, damages, maintenance, returns to the bereaved families of their men—he noticed something peculiar. they were all dated exactly three years ago.

"I don't remember any of this," Ran pensively says, "not that it matters. why the hell are you making me work with history?"

"what did you notice so far?"

"an unexpected incident. we weren't ready for it. a lot of our men died. civilians died. we had a lot of covering up to do. huh, it's funny that I don't recall any of this."

"you always forget by this time of year," Mikey says, taking the documents from his hands as his eyes half-heartedly scan through them.

before Ran could pry further, his phone vibrates on the tabletop. Mikey looked at it then back at him. somehow Ran didn't want to take the call, but he reluctantly looks at the screen.

Haru, it read.

Ran raises a brow. Haru? Hikari's brother. he declined the call. the kid has been texting him nonstop since last week.

"how is he?" Mikey says.

"I wouldn't know. same old, I guess? Hikari doesn't talk about him so much anymore—I somehow forgot too."