EGOiST (Ayato K x OC)

Part 15

Eto wasn't an unkind person, and she was surely more welcoming than Ayato had been in the beginning, but it wasn't until they were apart that Anri realized exactly how close she had gotten to the brash teen.

There was a newly bought scarf folded on the couch where the black-haired girl slept, one she hadn't particularly planned on buying, but did anyway as Ayato was the only thing plaguing her mind. She thought of it as a Christmas present for him, but knew she wouldn't get to spend it with him.

Eto brought Anri with her almost wherever she went, except for anything that had to do with her author persona, so the girl would encounter Ayato every now-and-again in the Aogiri headquarters, but their interaction was minimal. They would exchange a look and purposefully graze each other's arms.

Although it had only been a week since she moved into Eto's apartment, it felt like months, forgetting how horrible the transition had been from her lifestyle to the Aogiri and Ayato's home. But the void in her heart had yet to be filled as she tried to forget about him, to abandon the partnership she had gotten used to.

And of all the time she spent thinking and reading the books 'Takatsuki Sen' had written, she realized the true reason why she no longer loved Eichi. Her heart and mind had been taken over by someone else, and she cursed herself for falling for such a person.

"Anri." Eto suddenly spoke to her, pulling her from her thoughts. "I need to meet with Tatara, so will you be ready in a minute?"

"Oh, yeah." The girl scribbled a few hiragana characters on a scrap piece of paper and shoved it in her pocket.

The proceeded to one of the higher levels of the headquarters, and as the two women headed up the stairs, Ayato above them, heading downwards.

A strange expression crossed his face, but was gone with the blink of an eye as he resorted to his generally frown.

Anri stood on one side of Eto strategically so that she would bump into Ayato's arm when they walked by. Using the little contact, she passed the crumpled piece of paper into his sweatshirt pocket.

He acted as though nothing happened, but as soon as the two reached the next level and turned out of sight, he quickly unfolded the note and comprehended the characters.

He turned on his heal, expecting the freckled girl to be there, smiling brightly. But, of course, she wasn't there.

He crumpled her note in his hand and clicked his tongue, furrowing his brows and clenching his eyes closed as he hissed, "I miss you too."

++++++++

It was Christmas day, although it didn't feel like it was to Anri. She promised the day to Ayato, but she couldn't fulfill that anymore.

The thought hung over her head gloomily throughout the day as she listened to the faint Christmas music that could be heard from central Tokyo. Normally, she'd be singing alone, but she couldn't find the emotional strength to sing.

Eto left for some kind of event where she had to appear as 'Takatsuki Sen' and told Anri that she wouldn't be back until eleven o'clock that night. She was in such a predicament with Aogiri's lack of trust in her that she hadn't even thought of escaping to possibly meet with Ayato or even act for herself.

She curled up on the couch and watched a Hallmark Christmas movie while slowly sipping a hot mug of coffee, wearing the boy's sweatshirt. She was casually aware of the sun setting and the sky turning dark as night came and her spirits continuously fell.

There was a sharp tap on the window, startling the girl and causing her to nearly spill her coffee. When she looked through the glass nothing was there, so she allowed herself to calm down.