"I don't want to play music anymore."
—~—
Third Person POV
(Y/n) remembered their faces.
She thought it over long and hard the past two days while Maya was having her surgery, and wondered why those two men attacked her sister. She knew they looked familiar but brushed that fact aside as her only worry was to protect Maya.
She thought that was the least she could do— find the perpetrators and report them to the police so they'll deservedly end up in jail. She could also tell Rindo, but there's an inherent problem with that... Those two guys were from Valhalla, the gang Rindo supervised back in October.
... Was it wrong of her to think that Rindo was using her?
She didn't think so, but she didn't know what spurred their actions. All she knew was that she asked if Rindo was inside the hideout at that time. She also pieced together that they were after her sketchbook— which was strange— and thought back to Ogawa Mina's warning. She had no evidence, but this could all trace back to Hirose Kasumi. However, despite the idea of whether or not Rindo was betraying her, she couldn't get one thing out of her mind: his safety.
If he was being used or will be used in Hirose Kasumi's plan to keep her out of the competition... she didn't want him to get hurt. Much like Maya, she loves him more than her dream of being a fashion designer.
She was willing to break things off.
|—~•~—|
"Rindo, for the love of god," Ran started with an irritated yet monotone voice, "If you're that worried about her, go see her. You've been pacing around for the past ten minutes and I'm trying to sleep."
The younger Haitani actively ignored the older one trying to take a nap on the couch, walking back and forth the length of the living room while staring at his last message to (y/n). Normally, it wouldn't bother him as much, and in the past, would conclude that she was probably busy. But for some reason, he can't rid of the terrible pit in his stomach when she hasn't even so read his text for the past two days.
He had good reason to worry, however, he wanted to respect (y/n)'s decision and give her space like she wanted... but something just felt off and he didn't like it. When you have a significant other, is there some sort of telepathic signal that lets you know something is wrong with the other? Before you ask, yes, he does think so.
"Wouldn't she hate that—?"
"Rindo, please, you sound like a dumbstruck idiot," Ran commented and Rindo resisted the urge to throw his phone at him, "She wants space, not for you to be nonexistent in her life. If she wants more time alone, she'll tell you but it seems like she can't do that right now. Maybe she didn't see your text, I don't know."
"But—!"
"Aaand I'm blocking you out," Ran turned to his side where he faced the couch and Rindo frustratedly pouted, "Wake me up when you're no longer whining."
"You're no help," the blonde groaned, grabbed one of the couch's throw pillows, and chucked it at his older brother.
"Ooh, thanks for the pillow," the long-haired male stated and hugged the comfy item in his arms.
Rolling his eyes, Rindo turned back to his phone and pursed his lips in thought, 'Am I just overthinking things...?'
Maybe he was reverting back to the time where he was being overprotective of (y/n). He is worried about her...
"Ran, I'll be off," Rindo suddenly announced and headed out the front door.
Ran smirked while keeping his eyes closed, "Kay."
The violet-eyed boy mumbled incoherent words as he eyed down (y/n)'s number, debating whether he should call her or not. Some people he passed by glanced at him warily at the fact a Haitani brother seemed like he was one misfortune away from straight up punching somebody in the face for no reason at all. They easily mistook his look of apprehension as one of agitation.
'Ah, fuck it,' he thought and dialed her number.
Bringing the phone up to his ear, he anxiously waited for the constant ringing to suddenly turn to hearing his girlfriend's voice and reassuring him that she was alright, and that he was just overthinking the possibilities. That was the best case scenario.
"(Y/n), please answer the phone..." he murmured and sped walked to the train station to visit her apartment.
"They got a fair share of money, huh?"
"Fuck, we should've helped them out. We would've gotten at least a few 10,000 yen out of it."
"Yeah, but I don't want to be involved with the Haitani's again."
Rindo stopped in his tracks, 'The hell?'
Bringing the phone down, he looked back at the alleyway he darted by without sparing a second glance. He narrowed his eyes and waited for another response.
"But I heard the job was pretty fucking simple. All they did was rip a notebook or some shit like thaATT—!"
The group of five blinked in astonishment watching one of their fellow gang member fly by them. It was too fast to see him decked across the face and, suddenly, somebody on top of him with their fist raised.
Violet hues darkened to amethyst. Haitani Rindo might just kill somebody right then and there.
"Tell me what you know now."
|—~•~—|
"Nee-san," Maya whispered as (y/n) broke out of her thoughts and immediately attended to her sister, "Is Rin nii-san visiting?"
The (h/c)-nette was taken aback and she felt her body tense as she backed up a bit, 'Speaking of the devil...'
She knew that her sister noticed the hesitation so the older female smiled and nodded her head.
"Yeah... yeah he will," (y/n) murmured before moving on to a different topic, "You'll get better in no time, Maya. I'll always be here to take care of you and I'll do a better job at protecting you. I should've done a better job but I failed. I failed you as a big sister."
"Nee-san..." Maya spoke and tears quickly filled up her eyes, "I'm sorry, (y/n) nee-san! It's all my fault so don't apologize, please! I just w-w-waaAnted to see you and these guys said they knew where you were. But they took-took away your sketchbook and I bit them and th-that's why they fought baaA-back."
"Oh Maya," (y/n) cradled her sister's head and Maya cried into her shirt, "Material items I can always replace but do you know what I can't replace?"
Maya pulled back and sniffled whilst (y/n) wiped away her tears, "I can't replace you, Maya. You are so much more valuable than anything else in this world. I appreciate that you fought for something that was mine, but I appreciate it more if you came back to me safe."
Maya nodded her head and noticed (y/n)'s phone lighting up and vibrating once again on the hospital table. The older (l/n) merely ignored it as if it was a conditioned response; however, the younger one knew that that her older sister wasn't answering the phone in the past couple of days.
There was a simple reason to that— (Y/n) was both too busy to care and felt conflicted about the idea of breaking up with Rindo so she avoided all texts and calls. She wanted to stay in this relationship as much as she could.
Maya became noticeably quiet before speaking up, "Nee-san... Why are you avoiding Rin nii-san?"
She blinked, "Huh? I'm not avoiding—"
Instead of a text message, (y/n)'s phone lit up and rang her usual ringtone. The word 'Rin' was clearly displayed on the small screen of her flip phone along with the crown and strawberry charms laid next to it. As if it was automatic, (y/n) unhesitatingly silenced her phone.
The older female sighed, "I'm not avoiding him I'm just... distancing myself. I don't want to be emotionally driven the next time I talk to him."
"But shouldn't you let him know that?"
"And shouldn't you be resting?" (Y/n) quipped to brush past the topic of her boyfriend. Geez... this girl was only nine and she sounds like a therapist, "I'll let him know right now. I'm gonna take a breather out in the hallway, okay? Press the button for the nurses to come get you if you need anything."
With that and a small kiss to Maya's head, (y/n) quietly exited and slowly slid the door shut. As soon as the 'click' of the door sounded, tears instantly rushed down the girl's cheeks and she took that opportunity to speed-walk away from the room and towards the exit. This was the first day where she let her emotions out because she didn't want to appear weak in front of her sister... and all of that bottled up and overflowed til she couldn't handle it anymore.
It was Sunday, two days after the incident. Her parents immediately gave the doctors the 'go' to give Maya surgery for her broken wrist; however, that meant more work for her parents to pay for the hospital bill. That left (y/n) to tend to her younger sibling, to which she did not hesitate to do. She already gave up on the fashion contest a long time ago, so her only focus was on Maya.
'I...' (y/n) abruptly halted in the middle of the hallway, 'Oh god, I... I took away Maya's talent. Fuck, this is all my fault, huh? If this continues, my parents or Rindo could get hurt as well... I...'
The past couple of days felt like a lifetime, an eternity, a day without end. She hated it.
She hated life.
She wanted it to end.
Please... please let it end—
Her sobs became increasingly louder and louder and— just as she was about to turn the corner of the hospital building— a hand grabbed her left arm and she was turned around. Violet eyes gazed back at her (e/c) ones in worry, and almost immediately confirming that it was his girlfriend, Rindo unhesitatingly embraced her.
"Why haven't you answered my calls?" He firmly questioned whilst (y/n) weeped into his shirt and listened to his rapid heartbeat. He wasn't upset with her but after gathering some information, he knew that some gangsters were after his girlfriend and expected the worse when the location ended up in a hospital.
'No, wait...' She thought.
"Ma... Maya...!" (Y/n) exclaimed in between her sobs, "Maya was attacked and-and I— Friday night— she's hurt, R-Rindo...!"
'Not now...'
(Y/n) was hyperventilating as her words became an incomprehensible mess. She couldn't calm down her breathing and she panically tried to grasp for any air that escaped her lungs. Everything hit her at once and her body didn't know how to handle it.
'Why are you here...?'
"(Y/n), listen to me. Hey, (y/n)," Rindo called out, however, the distraught girl couldn't even hear him. He cupped her face so she could, at least, try to focus on him.
'I don't want to do this yet—'
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you, but I'm here now. Let me be here for you now, (y/n)."
She calmed down enough to finally understand him but that quickly diminished as a different wave of sadness washed over her. She's reminded once again of how happy she is to be with Rindo and yet... she has to break up with him to keep him safe.
'It's so unfair!' She thought in absolute rage. Rindo pulled her back into his arms when her crying turned into a painful, heartbroken wail. Her heart was screaming, 'I... I was only falling in love...!'
(Y/n) desperately clung to the back of her boyfriend's shirt as if he was going to disappear as soon as she lets go. The (h/c)-nette choked back a sob before it could escape her lips and felt a lump in her throat. She knew that she had to do it now... or else she couldn't build up the courage to do so in the future.
"Rin-Rindo..." the female's words faltered a bit but it was just enough for him to notice. She became oddly still as the only movements that came from her were the reoccurring sniffles, "I'm... sorry. I can't do this anymore."
Silence. She felt his breath hitch.
"(Y/n)..." he said with such a heavy tone that it kinda scared her. He slowly pulled away and yet, every movement was made with intent— that none of this was a joking matter to him, "What do you mean that you can't do this anymore?"
"I—" She tried to inhale a deep breath but ended up choking back another sob, "I can't be with you anymore, Rindo. Let's... Let's end this."
God, she couldn't even lie. Every word she spoke did not even sound convincing as she hiccuped, her voice cracked, and her body trembled— resulting in a shaky tone.
The (h/c)-haired girl pressed her lips into a thin line and looked away. She couldn't bring herself to look at the person she loves in the eye, already knowing that all she would see is betrayal written all over his face.
"No."
Well... that wasn't what she was expecting.
Baffled, (y/n) sniffled and wiped her tear-stained cheek with her sleeve, "H-Huh?"
She finally took a good glance to see Rindo frowning, but other than that, she couldn't tell what he was feeling. 'Upset' is the most obvious one; however, since she never saw him like this before, she couldn't tell what part was upsetting him the most.
"Even though I think you didn't mean anything you said, I don't know what you're feeling right now and I can't just dictate what that is," he responded in a calm yet stern manner, "But let me be selfish again, (y/n)."
She peered up at him like a deer in headlights, "Wha—?"
Rindo tugged (y/n)'s right wrist towards him as his other hand cupped her left cheek. He swiftly leaned forward and captured her lips in his. It was desperate. He knew he couldn't stop her but, god, he wanted to be with her one last time.
'I love her...' he thought, a blanket statement in the back of his mind.
Soon after, he reluctantly pulled away just enough to see her eyes and saw how conflicted they were. Her eyebrows were furrowed and tear-filled, (e/c) hues looked up at him with regret.
"I'm in love with you, (l/n) (y/n)," Rindo declared without hesitation. He's never been more sure about anything, "I'm so fucking in love with you. So please... reconsider."
(Y/n)'s bottom lip trembled into a frown and as soon as more tears spilled out of her eyes, she tackled her boyfriend into a much needed hug. Not the type where she was afraid he'll leave, but the one that desperately needed comfort. The one where she asked for help. She was drowning and, for once, she called for a lifeline.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Rindo!" She profusely apologized as he patted down her (h/l) (h/c) hair, "You were right, I didn't mean any of that. I was just stressed and worried and didn't know what to do. I thought... I thought I could handle this by myself."
"You don't have to explain yourself, (y/n)," he replied and hugged her tighter. His own shaking couldn't stop, "I'm just glad you're okay. If I couldn't convince you, I would've let you end things. Your happiness is much more important to me."
"But— fuck," she hiccuped, the lump in her throat making it hard to speak— much less, breathe, "I never wanted to break up and I'm sorry I doubted our relationship that much. I told you in the beginning that I wanted this to work out even after knowing the risks, and I went back on it. I didn't want you to get hurt..."
"You're so fucking dumb sometimes, you know that?" He released a chuckle of disbelief to ease his nerves. He didn't want to pull away in fear that the earlier panic might make his knees buckle and collapse, "I can't believe your reason to end things was for my own well being... You should worry about your own, dumbass."
"But—!"
"(L/n) (y/n), shut up for once," Rindo finally pulled away with a grin of amusement, which was more of a coping mechanism, if anything. He leaned towards her face and kissed her lips once more, "You have no right breaking up with me for a reason like that. If you ever do something like that again, you best bet I'll bring you back every time. So please... tell me what do you want."
"Rindo..." (y/n) trailed off, her lips pressed together like a child about to cry, "Please help me..."
"I'm sorry I didn't know how to help you then, but I know how to help you now, (y/n)."
—~—
PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some important notes:
I wanted to emphasize that (y/n) felt more bad for taking away Maya's talent than her being hurt (as terrible as that sounds). Of course she was worried, but I wrote more on the idea that Maya would no longer play instruments. Almost as if she was projecting her insecurities and how her parents compared them. I wanted to point out the guilt that she felt responsible for something like that despite Maya implying that she wished she never had that talent in the first place.
Also, I wanted to emphasize that Rindo tried a lot of things to comfort (y/n) over the past few chapters and how he got nowhere. How he motivated her to try the contest, how he adjusted to take care of her well-being while letting her do her work, how he decided to just be there. Now, I want to focus on his new approach and what he realized (y/n) needed the most... In the next chapter 😉
ANYWAYS, heavy chapter, huh? 😅 Yall had no faith in me, I swear 😂 You guys know I wouldn't do angst but it was so funny seeing your comments in the previous chapters
That said, take care and see you in the next one :)