「secret empire」ー 折原 臨也

Ch. 6: Memento Mori

"Keep the change," she quickly muttered and placed the bill on the counter in a hectic manner, before grabbing her bags and turning away.

She didn't care about the fact, that she just spent Izaya's money, worth an entire week, for a stop at the grocery store, only to get ingredients for dinner. She didn't care about the fact, that he surely enough was going to be quite angry because of it.

She just cared about the urgent need to leave as soon as possible.

Ignoring the cashier's perplexed face, she proceeded to approach the door with big steps. Once the automatic door opened, she froze once again. But it had not only been the chill wind that sent shivers down her spine.

That voice made her freeze to the core.

"Wait! You dropped something," they said, their voice right behind Yuzuki's figure.

She wanted to ignore it, pretend she didn't hear them and just keep on walking, but unfortunately for her, that person had other intentions. They kind of ran in front of her, their hand offering her the bottle of water she had dropped.

Her stomach felt heavy and a sour taste harassed her tongue, stained her teeth and filled her entire mouth up to her throat. If she allowed herself to gulp now, she feared she might throw up.

"...sick," she mumbled with a hoarse voice from her dry throat.

"Come again?" he asked.

At the sound of his voice, Yuzuki's hands gripped tightly onto the grocery bags. She clenched her teeth as she basically ripped the bottle from the man's hand and ran past him without granting him another word nor even a simple look in the eye.

She could never manage to look up at him. Never.

As fast as her legs could carry her, she began running and taking so many twists and turns, that even the familiar streets of Ikebukuro suddenly seemed like an endless maze.

However, she thought it to be quite relatable. Not that she exactly understood the situation, but she knew she had to run from him. She knew it was necessary, she knew it was important. Otherwise something horrible could have happened.

Ultimately, she found herself at the all too familiar apartment that belonged to none other than the informant Orihara Izaya. Using her keys to open the door, she was greeted by the usual "Aaah, there you are!", followed by the raven spinning around on his chair, before getting up and approaching her.

"Now, what took you so long, Tsuski-chan?" he sighed theatrically and sarcastically. "You're so pale, too. Don't tell me you've seen a ghost."

At his words, Yuzuki's muscles tensed up.

"Don't be silly. And stop call me that," she simply replied through still clenched teeth as she began spreading the groceries on the table.

"My, my. No need to be so grumpy, is there?" Izaya chuckled, his arms slowly snaking around her waist from behind. "But I guess you're right. Sad to think, that something like the after-life is just a mere human imagination. A wishful way of thinking. Or used to scare little kids and you."

For once, Yuzuki couldn't stand his mocking attitude. His characteristics that made him speak philosophically about stuff that didn't even matter, as if he was a small child excited over the most trivial things. She couldn't stand him teasing her on purpose like that. Not today.

Turning around, so she was now leaning with her back against the edge of the table, while Izaya still had his arms wrapped around her, she was now facing him. She shot him a glare of annoyance and furrowed her brows.