Tuesday 1.6 - Coming Home

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

Something didn't look right to Aya-Chan as she approached the flower shop. It shouldn't be anywhere close to closing time, and yet... frowning, Aya-Chan stood outside for a few moments, wondering if she'd suddenly lost her mind. But the longer she stayed outside, the more paranoid she began to get. Taking several deep breaths to calm herself, she made her way in.

"Hello...?" Silence.

It was definitely a weird time for everyone to be missing, and Aya-Chan wasn't sure what to do.

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[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

[from Tuesday1.7]

Ran stood stock still at the top of the stairs, pale skin nearly blanched.

He recovered quickly. "A-Aya."

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

Aya-Chan found herself staring blankly at the pale man at the top of the stairs. It took her a moment to register who had just said her name. "Niisan..." she blinked. "Is something wrong?"

The teenage girl found herself unable to shake an unsettling feeling.

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

He swallowed thickly. "No." Ran cleared his throat, then said more strongly, "No. Aya -"

The first mission since she'd come home. And what would happen, if she woke to find him - any of them - bloody in the hallway? What if something happened - an intruder while they were gone?

He almost felt like turning right around and declining the mission. But - the money...

And the others. Maybe if things were calmer, the team less tense - but he couldn't in clear conscience let them go alone. Not as things were.

"Aya -" He repeated. "I need to go somewhere with the others tonight. Would - would that be okay? Will you be all right here, by yourself?"

He struggled to keep his voice steady. Act like it's normal, he instructed himself.

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

Aya-Chan opened her mouth to ask why she wouldn't be okay staying home alone but swallowed the question instead. Something felt almost awkward about the situation, but Aya pushed it away. Ran was just playing the worried, elder brother role.

"I'm fine," she said cheerfully. "Where are you going? Clubbing?" The thought of the current Ran - or even the old Ran - wearing provocative clothing at a club brought a smile to Aya's face.

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

It was painful when Ran swallowed.

She trusted him so much.

She would not love a killer.

Even if he killed those that deserved to die.

He couldn't stop the grimace that passed across his face. He would not lie, but he wouldn't correct her assumptions. "You'll be okay? Even if I'm back late?"

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

"Y-yes..." Somehow, this felt serious. But, how serious could a night out with the other guys be? The feeling of completely missing something that everyone else was getting slowly crept back. The teenage girl gave Ran a confused, searching look. "I'll be fine." The message - she hoped - was clear and firm. "Take as long as you need."

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

The stress of having only a few hours to prepare for the mission lent Ran a pinched look, but he forced himself to focus. "There should be leftover pizza," he stated. "And we all have keys, so don't let anyone in while we're gone."

His mind flicked to the psychopath's team, the only people he could think of who would want to get inside the Koneko. But they hadn't tried yet.

It will be fine. Should only take a few hours. In and out, that was all.

"Was your day all right?"

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

Aya-Chan forced back a sigh. "I'll be fine, really." Honestly... She wasn't a little child anymore...

She was glad when the topic finally changed to something other than the plans for tonight; whatever they were. "Yes, it was alright." She paused, and glanced past Ran towards the stairs. "Is Omi-Kun home? I don't think I saw him at school." She paused. "Come to think of it... where is everyone? I'm not sure I've ever heard it this quiet before."

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

"They're downstairs," Ran replied after a pause.

It felt surreal, to still be there, in his life, with his sister before him. Two lives, like parallel universes coexisting in the same space. The hidden parts of himself felt like a disease within him, secrets siphoning himself from the only part of his life that was pure.

She deserved to know who she was living with.

But they were the best option to protect her,

He felt spread too thin between these two lives. He hoped that for tonight, however selfish it might be, she would believe in him a little longer.

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

'Why?' was the first question to come to mind, but Aya-Chan rethought it. This entire conversation felt strange and awkward, and she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know. But curiosity got the better of her. "Is something wrong? Omi-Kun wasn't at school, and the shop is closed early."

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Ran's lips turned upward, not quite a smile. Irritation at the last-minute notice kept it from blooming. "He stayed up too late. He slept almost all day."

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

Forced smile. Nod. "I hope he feels better."

Everything felt like she was watching it as an outsider.

"I'm going to do some homework now..." she headed towards the stairs to go upstairs and then paused. "When are you leaving...?" Couldn't you at least stay for dinner?

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Ran watched her, summoning a smile despite the sad look he wore. "Soon. An hour or two at most." He was still hovering in the doorway, perhaps to shield her from the mission that was still being discussed by his teammates downstairs.

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

She brightened momentarily. "I could..." ... make dinner in a few minutes. The rest of her sentence was swallowed back. They had better things to do than entertain the interests of a little girl. Her mind rolled over ways she could possibly finish off the sentence she'd already started without sounding lame, but failed.

"I have homework to do," she said finally, hurrying up the stairs.

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Aya's older brother stared miserably after her.

"What could you do, Aya?" He asked softly. But she'd already fled up the stairs.

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

[Ran exits]