MAD HATTER. haitani rindou

OO9

‍‍ ‍ ‍ emma sighed, taking out the handkerchief from her sling bag and wiping the remaining sweat that was rolling on your forehead. smiling, the female cocked her head to one side while her chin was resting on her palm. one of the reasons the cafe was packed today was because here was just one day left before submissions and every college student was rushing to finish their assignments. "gosh, you're twenty-five years old yet you still act like a kid."

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "you're such a mom, emma. getting ready to be a mom with draken's child?" you joked.

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "i wish– hey, someone could've heard you!" the blonde-haired gritted her teeth, "i'll go and order before the manager kicks us out for not buying anything from their cafe. what do you want to drink?" she stood up from the seat and grabbed her wallet from her bag.

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "you already know our usual order." yuzuha winked, earning a small smile from you.

‍‍ ‍ ‍ with a smile, your eyes trailed to emma's figure until she was already talking with the girl behind the counter. "uh... where's hina? she's not coming?"

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "she's on a date with takemichi. speaking of date, how's everything with sanzu? not having the thoughts of breaking up with him?" the red-haired girl questioned, placing her cellphone that she was holding on the table to look at you.

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "if i break up with him, do you agree for me to die?"

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "that's such a dumb question, i know sanzu wouldn't do that." yuzuha paused, after removing her glasses from the hot coffee that had caused them to get hazy, she met your eyes and stopped aimlessly working on her laptop to complete her documents from work. once the glasses were clear enough, the  female across from you grinned "if you'll get to finish him off first."

‍‍ ‍ ‍ you bit your lip, "let's forget about this whole conversation and pretend we never talked about it."

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "fine, just stay out of trouble."

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "that's not how taiju raised the three of us."

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "he's a bad brother and influenced you too quick."

‍‍ ‍ ‍ stepping out of the cafe, you inhaled the nostalgic smell of the road. the female gave you a quick peck on the cheeks before turning around to head back to the dorm; she was gone from your sight in less than a minute. the female gave you a quick peck on the cheeks before turning around to head back to the dorm; she was gone from your sight in less than a minute. when the cool zephyr bit through your exposed flesh, you welcomed it and slowly breathed the pure air that the earth distributes. the metropolis of tokyo was already surrounded by buzzing lights. the sun was already setting as the sky was slowly turning into a mix color of orange, pink and blue. a scenery you've been longing for to see, it wasn't too often to spend your day with the person that was important to you. you were more than ready to throw yourself on the bed as soon as you get home. night time can be relaxing but no one is safe during these hours. the sound of traffic filled your ears while the streets around you became more crowded by minute.

‍‍ ‍ ‍ a cold zephyr flew by over to your form as you shivered, snuggling with your pink jacket to keep yourself warm while walking. you tried your hardest to keep your cool, taking a seat on the bench, and waited for a moment for a taxi to arrive. it wasn't so obvious that you were freezing, too busy being oblivious to the weather. eventually, after waiting for quite a while, a cab came down the street towards you. you smiled at the sight of it.

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "sir, are we almost there yet?" you asked, turning your attention to the scenery outside before rolling the window down next to you.

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "yes ma'am, but we still have to stop for the checkpoint."

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "checkpoint? did something happen?"

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "i guess so. some teenagers, especially the girls who went missing for a week were found dead at the lake nearby. the police stated that the victims weren't from tokyo."

‍‍ ‍ ‍ your eyes widened, chills getting sent down to your spine. your grip on your jacket tightened as you couldn't dare to move yourself or even utter a single word, danger never tasted sweet. "oh god,"

‍‍ ‍ ‍ "what about you, ma'am? you don't look like from here, where did you come from?"

‍‍ ‍ ‍ with a surprised look carved on your face, you looked up at the rear mirror in front of the driver and answered his question with a smile. just like everyone's question, it was left unanswered. still, your mind was clouded with many thoughts. all sorts of question. your hands were trembling but he could tell that it wasn't because of the coldness; it was from fear. the driver could see the hesitations painted on your face, surely lost on what was happening. there were a lot of emotions whirling inside but none of them included happiness, it was all mixed in there with a lot of pressure. you could feel your heartbeat thumping rapidly against your rib cage. you concentrated on the tall structures that the car went by, instead. it seemed endless.

‍‍ ‍ ‍ when someone always asks you "where did you go for the past two years? why did you suddenly disappear? did you got sent from jail?" all these questions were left unanswered, and you couldn't find any answers to their questions. you had no reason to explain, no real reason at all. no one understood why or when you disappeared, no one knew what had happened, or why you decided to leave them all behind. they wondered why you chose this specific moment in time to stop talking to anyone; if your disappearance had nothing to do with the incident of "someone you knew very well, death" or with your parents.

‍‍ ‍ ‍ your siblings were the only ones who know the reason about your dirty little secret and no one else. looking back at the past, you have no idea what happened in the first place but it was too late to back out now. you're the youngest of four children, so it makes perfect sense why they'd be curious about your sudden change in behavior. you continually did have a rebellious streak, but it was once in most cases reserved for your older brother who used to be simply as cussed as you were when you got into trouble.

‍‍ ‍ ‍ everyone thought that being from a shiba family had its perk and that you ought to get away with trouble with your older brother and sister on your back. you'll agree with that, it was real, after all. yuzuha is talented in many ways, a sister that anybody wishes they had one like her and has a form soul that is inclined to help each person in trouble, all and sundry would've idea you were like her too. except, you were the whole opposite of her. there's every other aspect of you that is been hidden all the time, like a puzzle that needed to be completed in order for anybody to see its masterpiece. but alas, the whole world will simply look at your face, no longer pretty able to decipher its meaning, or possibly they'll simply marvel if you have usually been this way.

‍‍ ‍ ‍ do you take sanzu for granted?

‍‍ ‍ ‍ why were you dating him in the first place?

‍‍ ‍ ‍ are you a bad person?

‍‍ ‍ ‍ do you even know yourself?

‍‍ ‍ ‍ the nightmares— you have no clue when they'll stop and those bad memories will probably stay for the rest of your life. it was traumatizing. the worst is always him waking up screaming from the nightmares. that feeling of fear running down your back just at the thought of her. you hated it, you wanted them gone but deep in your heart you know that's impossible.

‍‍ ‍ ‍ the mental facility, that's where you came from.

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