Tangent | Soukoku; AU [✔]

42 ➳ confront // d.o

next thing i know, it was already the following day. some hours ago, i had my fun. now we're back to the regularly scheduled serenity.

as always, all i do is wander the roads and streets of yokohama -- feel the city air kiss my face, read a good book at cafes or even near the waters, or just walk around endlessly. this has been my life ever since quitting the team. in fact, you could also say that i quit the video game life as a whole now.

today, my feet has dragged me all the way to ren's trash, the art shop owned by none other than the seaside picasso. it was dark inside and the doors were locked in my attempts to check that maybe she's there and just pretending to have the shop closed.

i stared at the door for a solid minute, keeping the grip of my left hand held on the door handle. some moments later, i sensed a familiar presence approaching, and i think i know too well on who it is before i heard the voice.

"tch, what luck do i have to run into you today?"

i turned around and saw that my intuition was (always) right. it was a certain short vermillion-haired hatted man in a coat.

"why hello there, hat rack," i teased on purpose, knowing that it will trigger the shit out of him. "what brings you here on this fine afternoon?"

as expected, chuuya took the remark to his offense. "who are you calling hat rack, suicide freak?!"

the short man fumed for a bit more before proceeding to his next sentence. he seems more agitated than normal, but i guess that's just his normal form around me.

"moreover, what are you doing here at ren's?" chuuya followed.

i gave him a shrug; to be fair i don't really know how i ended up here nor how i ended up doing what i was trying to do earlier.

"i'm gonna be honest with you - i don't really know, chuuya. what about you?"

"don't play dumb, dazai," he retorted rather more aggressively than he already is. "you were attempting to open the door. you're here for her aren't you?"

oh, the irony, i thought in my head. nothing changed a bit with this guy's attitude - he's still the same old chuuya from all those years that i've known him. apart from that, the only thing different about him now is wherever all this spite is coming from.

"can't i say the same for you then? that you're here for her?"

"she's not answering her phone, we're supposed to have practice," chuuya stated, still in spite, but also as a matter of fact. the first sentence already had made me concerned. "so stop being suspicious of me, i'm not trying anything funny!"

i just gave out a small laugh and an inaudible sigh. at this point, while we're here, best that i tell him everything while we're at it already.

"chuuya. stop putting the girl in the middle of our disputes."

chuuya gave out a confused look, followed by a "what the hell do you mean?"

"i mean, if you have a problem with me, then why don't you say it here, right here and then?" 

oh, well, that slipped.