•On the Way Down•

More than Alone

Running away from Kyohei and the gang didn't just consist of heading straight back to her apartment. No. Jiro's adrenaline fueled her to walk half way across the city to one of the gardens just to waste away her time anywhere but a familiar setting. The tactic worked only for a little bit. When the woman then realized only twenty minutes at the public garden that she had to make her way back home alone with the sun already wanting to fade behind the skyscrapers. Great, this was the third dumbest thing she'd done today.

Unscathed all be it a little tired Jiro made it to her shared apartment unharmed. In fact even when the sun dipped behind the skyscrapers and she got nervous. It was for nothing when she realized nothing was more bystander than her absolutely unknown presence in the population. Why would she be a target? Not once had she ever done anything to draw attention to herself. And that was remarkable considering who her friend and roommate was.

Lost in thought with the nearing figure of her complex stairs off in the distance. Jiro had expected anything perhaps but the loud shrill cry of a horse echo behind her in the empty street. The Black Rider.

Unlike before in the day when she didn't even try to caught a glimpse. Now that she was alone it was almost a reflex to turn towards the sound. And as she did so Jiro felt her breath catch in her throat the moment a lightless blackened bike sped past her. Something that lasted probably mere seconds suddenly felt like a lifetime when she saw the reflection of her own unphased expression in the rider's shiny helmet lens. Had they slowed down just to force her to see that apathetic face like a sick joke? No, with how quickly the Black Rider looked away to continue zooming away down the deserted street showed her that Jiro was nothing special like the rest of the onlookers before.

"...I should be more scared of that thing." Jiro mumbled under her breath. Clutching her purse strap tight with the sinking feeling watching the rider disappear in the evening darkness. Where she thought her heartbeat would be raised from being alone when that monster came by, Jiro realize her breathing was as calm as her heartbeat. Nothing about her was scared. In comparison to before at the sushi restaurant, seeing the black rider all alone felt like nothing. Why was there anything scarier than a monster?

Heaving the deepest breath she could manage for the sake of her tired mind, Jiro turned her back to where the mysterious figure had disappeared to. Instead making it up the flight of stairs to her cramped little apartment. Casting a look down the breezeway Jiro's heart sunk seeing the lights as dark and empty as the evening before they left for work. No one was home. She'd open the door to absolutely no one but herself. Without any other choice Jiro let herself into her place. Closing the door behind herself barely before sinking to the ground on her bum. Face buried in her lap as she just let her keys and belongings drop onto the ground without a care.

'Why am I like this?' The question wracked her mind to no end. She'd ruined a perfectly good day for both her friends. Whats more is Shizuo probably found out she'd gone to see a certain someone and that's why he wasn't even texting her. Yet alone back home when she came back, 'I ruin good news and I'm too stupid to even be afriad of the monster outside my front door, what is wrong with me.'

Hugging her knees tighter with the threat of tears on the way. Jiro couldn't believe how shitty she felt in comparison to this morning. A good day drained just so she could what? Be upset over childish things? If this was so childish why did she want to cry so badly.

Drug up by the one fact she couldn't sit in the foyer this entire time. Jiro got back to her feet, barely grabbing her things just to drag them onto the table by the door and leave it all there. She'd get back to them, eventually. Now all Jiro could push herself to do was try and act normal. She hadn't eaten all day. Though her stomach wasn't growling at her. But she figured forcing herself to eat something was a better choice than going straight to drinking the left over beer in the fridge.