AUTHOR
driving to your brother's house was such a long drive. it was silent between the two of you but the music that was playing inside the car lifted the mood in any way nevertheless, the silence didn't seem uncomfortable. you remained on your seat, eyes focused on the tall buildings that the car passes by, and next to you was rindou, one hand on the steering wheel while the other one held a piece of cigarette. you weren't fully awake whilst the bright beam of the sun rays that peeked through the white curtains was one of the reasons why you never got good sleep, too bright. with a loud yawn, you rubbed your eyes slightly aggressive and ran your fingers to the soft locks of your hair out of frustration.
the warm streaks of afternoon sun rays were burning your skin when the male held your arms after opening the door for you and exited the car, the once sunny sky had turned into a mixed hue of pink, red, and orange color. pulling your long sleeve clothes back to look at your wrist that was still swelling, the memories of what happened last night clouded your mind again. "we're celebrating our brother's birthday today so i'm gonna stay here for the rest of the night. i'll be away for a day, don't miss me too much though."
"as if." the purple-haired spoke, followed by a small chuckle.
"hope you don't cry while i'm away," you teased, "see you tomorrow, goodbye! text me if you need me."
the male sent you one last glance, puffing the smoke right in your face with a smile, and in a second, he was already out of your sight. the fresh scent of zephyr that nipped through your skin was almost nostalgic, there was a mixed feeling of nervousness and excitement chilling through your whole body when you inhaled the air, and ran hurriedly inside.
you felt fresher than ever.
you hummed a lullaby tune after stepping inside, breath suddenly hitching when a masculine arms head locked you before you slapped the blue-haired's arm multiple times. you whipped your head to the figure of a man who suddenly appeared behind with a scrunched face. "that's not funny!"
"ah, it's you. i thought there's an intruder," taiju spoke, taking the bag that was hanging on your shoulder and took his phone out from his pocket to check if there was any text from you but there was nothing, but just a meme of a nun with a middle finger shown. "you didn't notify me."
"that's because my phone died, you dip shit! no one would dare to intrude here unless they're dumb, where's mom and dad? are yuzuha and hakkai already here?"
from the bright ceiling lights to the marble surface, your gaze shifted to the kitchen where the blue-haired pointed, and to your surprise, countless maids were scattered while the sound of plates clicked loudly as it echoed through the whole house. some were assisting your mother in the kitchen along with yuzuha, some were cleaning the house while almost all of them were arranging the table cloths. wow, rich people and their privileges.
"i thought you wouldn't come, what's keeping you busy these days?"
"oh, it's not worth your time to know about. i really have no interest in attending your birthday party but you blackmailed me, you know i'm a busy person."
"busy, my ass. you're just lying on your bed every day, only coming out if you're going on a party or something and blackmailed? i won't do ever such thing like that, hypocrite's like you keeps vomiting my kindness all around the place. follow me," taiju rolled his eyes, leading you to the room where you were staying in before.
you followed him like a lost puppy. taiju's penthouse was big, really. knowing the fact that he owns a restaurant so him, having a big house wasn't surprising at all.
"stop calling me a hypocrite. that's so unethical, grandpa."
you followed the blue-haired through the hallways, illuminated by bright lights and the sound of your footsteps was the only thing you could hear except for the continuous arguments between you and your older brother. passing to the hallways of large vases and paintings displayed over to the wall was enough for amusement to dance in your eyes. the whole house was painted with white color, there was no single dust that can be seen around. everything looks too angelic for your liking, even the floor was too shiny that you could almost see your own reflection. "i'm turning thirty-three years old, not eighty. stop calling me grandpa before i expose your dirty little secret."
"fucker, i can see some white hairs poking on your hair." you whispered, stealing your bag away from the male's hand before shutting the door right in front of his face after stepping inside your old room. "i'll take a quick nap, call me when the party's gonna start!"
traveling your gaze around the room, a familiar photo frame that was resting on the table caught your attention away. it was a picture of the shiba's family together, yuzuha and hakkai were sitting in front while your parents stood in the middle, next to both of your side were taiju and her. every faces printed on the photo was all smiling, looking like a perfect family. in an instant, there was a feeling that time has stopped around as soon as you picked it up. a familiar feeling took over your body, the feeling of electricity chilling up to your spine.
she held your shoulder, cold fingers trembling. "find a way to get out of here, i don't want you to get involved! in the meantime, hide here and don't let them hear you!"
"but they'll kill you! let's call the police instead!"
"be quiet, okay? stay here and be a good girl, do not tell anyone what you'll about to see or you'll pay the consequences." the moment her soft lips were pressed against your forehead with her soft smile reassured you for a while but that didn't calmed you down in any way.
an unfamiliar dark place with a popular face was scattered around the place. panic engulfed you as you heard a loud bang from where you were hiding, heart was beating at a rapid speed like it was about to get out of its cage. everything was in chaos, a bunch of dead bodies was discarded from where you were hiding and you were sickly pale at this moment. a lot of scenes came into your mind but the only thing that was clearer was that time, the cold giggles, tall figures, and merciless looks in their eyes were alarming.
your muffles were hiding behind your hands, eyes blurry caused by the tears forming in your eyes as you hardly swallowed the lump in your throat. suddenly, a pale body– her body, was thrown over at the dark spot where you were hiding, it was as if like your tongue were glued to the roof of your mouth. your cries are silent but your breath comes out in a rapid pattern.
everything was driving you crazy.
the smell of blood was lingering through your nose, it was too strong. there were a lot of voices screaming at the back of your head, softly stroking the female's bloody cheek that made your fingers to twitch as it was still shaking violently before unknowingly, covering your mouth with your palms that were soaked in red blood.
something inside your senses aroused. the pout on the corner of your lips slowly twitched upwards, settling for a cheshire cat smile to display on your feature. the stroke of blood was tainted on your mouth.
that was it, this was the time. the time when your trauma made you bonkers. the fate that was clinging in your life was worse than death.
you covered your ears in panic, screaming as if there was no tomorrow. the blue frame's glass was already all around the place, your knees falling on the sharp shards and before you knew it, loads of tears were already glistening on your cheeks. "y/n! hey, are you okay?! someone, get me some water!" you looked up, mumbling a word that taiju couldn't understand. your mind wasn't processing very well, still preoccupied with the memory you had.
the realization hits him with a small spark after seeing your head barely visible in his vision and immediately figuring out what was happening but it was useless to calm you down with his words because of his lack of reassuring words as if he was birthed to degrade people only.
"y/n, take a deep breath and look at me."
breath in.
"breathe out slowly."
breath out.
"do you want a hug?"
with a small nod, you buried your face in the crook of his neck. the blue-haired softly pressed his hands against the back of your head, slowly caressing it with care and the feeling inside his embrace reassured you enough. you may hate to admit it but your older brother, taiju gives one of the best hugs.
"hey, old man," you whispered.
the male tilted his head to one side, placing you on the bed before telling the maids to clean the shards out. "why?"
"you might wanna change your clothes after," you pointed. "there's a snot on your shoulder."
"i'm gonna freeze your credit cards."
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