Identity Disorder {A Juuzou Suzuya Story}

Chapter 17

"He stepped out."

"Where did he go this time?"

Emiko was silent on the line for a few moments while she quietly shrugged. She bit her lip when the feeling of shame settled into her body once more. Her chest felt heavy and her gut like lead. Every second she spent with Juuzou after he found her mark has been filled with the sound of her heart pounding almost painfully in her chest.

He was so upset.

Even the drive to the hotel was in silence. The company car that came to collect them was only filled with tension and Juuzou's silent anger. But Emiko could only find relief in the fact that her father had been a few hours away when he was contacted about the attack.

Relieved he had not shown up within the blink of an eye.

"He feels betrayed. Said I was using him." Emiko muttered the words into the phone. She did not think it would get this far. Deep down she hoped any attacks would happen when she was capable and alone. Putting Juuzou into the equation was not really her part of the plan. She wanted for it all to be a one off thing. That the scarred man would let her go from the grisly place he shackled her to. Every same trigger felt as if she could hear their loud clinks with every movement.

"He wanted to protect you on his own. What are you not telling me?" Emiko swallowed at the sound of the monotone coming from the speaker of her phone. She chewed at her lip as her nerves got the better of her again. But she tried so hard to shove it back down again.

"The one he sent was marked the same as me. Juuzou cut his belly and saw it. He did not know there was an organization after me. He's upset, dad." Emiko voice cracked somewhere in her last sentence and she cleared her throat soon after with the hopes of pulling herself together. It was too embarrassing to fall apart with someone listening. But if she ended the conversation, she could be human once more.

"People become upset when they learn things they did not know. He is allowed to feel how he feels and the most you can do is wait until he's ready. You cannot control people's feelings. But if you feel threatened, I'll be there."

Emiko nodded quietly and felt the need to leave the room grow smaller. It remained but she was no longer seconds from sprinting away.

"Thanks, dad."

"Crying and falling over boys was never your thing. You're becoming your own person, Emiko. Goodnight."

The call ended and she felt the rush of blood fill her cheeks at the sound of her father's voice repeated in her head.

Falling?

Her lips rolled into her mouth as she fought the urge to steadily chew away the skin of her lip. She was never really sure what love meant in the context her dad was insinuating. She spent her whole teenage years ignoring everything with a pulse that was not Arima up until the moment Juuzou carried into her days.

The crush that ruled over her brain and body anytime he breathed in her direction was getting to be more annoying than anything. Even when he was angry with her, one of the things she focused on was the way his breath had fanned her face so warmly.

She wanted to puke.

She was so foolish.

It was all so foolish.

Juuzou was completely in the right for being upset. She should have been transparent about being hunted by an organization. That the ghouls he killed were not just looking to eat someone.

Maybe it was because if she admitted it, it made her past that much more real. But the way he had cut down one of the ghouls in her living room was so effortless. The way he was so willing to even kill to keep her safe reflected back into something she was not sure how to deal with. The warmth she felt at hearing his protective words made her feel safe for the first time in her life.