As to Not Let Go of That Hand [Kanade x Reader]

Chapter 8 - Encounter

Kanade-San

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| ... |>
| I would believe you but... |>
| Truthfully |>
| I havent known you for long so i can't be so sure |>

<| I understand that sentiment... If I were you I wouldn't believe myself as well. |
<| Would you like to meet in person again? |
<| I've finished up another song and my groupmates are forcing me to rest |
  | for a while before starting another...   |
<| I get that I might sound sketchy, so you don't have to come... |

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I've had nothing to lose. Everything in my life already fell apart and everything is already messy and uncoordinated. Even if she somehow ends up a murderer and decides to kill me, it's for the best of it. It would end this inconsequential life of mine's. 

And that was how I was going to this diner with what was supposedly 4 people in a music group to supposedly have a chat or get acquainted with them. Or I might get kidnapped and murdered or sold by someone who hacked Kanade's account, whichever ends up happening. 

Shibuya's streets are icy cold. The sky was mid-tone blue and the sun was no where to be seen, yet it was still moderately bright, partially from the streetlights and the many street-side shops. I let out a puff of white air, and watched it as it disintegrated in the air. It was getting increasingly colder, so I picked up my steps and lifted my scarf over my ears in an attempt of keeping them as warm as possible. As I ran, I saw a blur of a shop that... wasn't the best memory for me. 

It was New Year's Eve and my family went out to shop for little gifts we could exchange with each other. We encountered a shop with many little trinkets that I had absolutely loved at the time, and we decided to go in. But as me and my sibling was distracted, looking through the various keychains we could buy for mom and dad, I overheard our parents fighting about... parental issues. At the time, they were still supplying my tuition to a private elementary school in an attempt to get me into what they thought was the best middle school for my future. But, through their words, I learned that my sibling was still in a public school, as my middle-class parents didn't have enough money to pay for both of our's tuitions. That was the first time I've learned of this, and I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to fight with my parents for my sibling; I never liked fighting. I didn't want to fight with my sibling about not standing up for themself. I didn't want to fight with myself on why I was going to a private school while my sibling wasn't. Most of all, I didn't want to keep existing like this where I was the one who was preferred over the other. And when I told my parents that I wanted to go to a public school, they were enraged, but more at themselves, that they hadn't picked such a decision for me at the start and give up on the dream of getting me into a famous college. 

In the blink of an eye, while I was immersed in the way memories curled around me and suffocated my self-esteem, I was there. Standing in front of a diner I've never seen before. Going to meet a group of girls around my age, or rather possibly, a group of men in a gang searching to kidnap me. 

I communicated with Kanade over LINE and searched for them. I was unfamiliar with the diner, and kept walking in circles trying to find the right numbered booth. Then, I heard a warm and welcoming voice behind me: "Nice to see you again, Aoi-San."