A/N: I feel like I should mention a few things beforehand (which I somehow always feel like) because of this fic being the first continuous one I have ever written. So it is basically going to be a complete shot in the dark to me since I actually prefer writing one shots. However, this fic is going to deal with some serious and sensitive topics later on. The rating is probably going to be changed to M due to that.

And as usual, I'm going to provide you all with music recommendations which are probably going to be the songs I have listened to while writing. I feel like every story needs music to add to the storyline but that is just my opinion. And I am talking too much again.

Music rec: BANKS - Beggin For Thread

Prologue

She was the type of person one would never fail to recognize in a crowd. Marvellous, magnificent even. A sparkling glimpse of sun light on a rainy day, a sight of light where there is only shadow.

She was something else, something one would never dare to reject, yet she was untouchable, inaccessible, a faint haze of smoke that would vanish eventually, no matter how hard one would refrain from admitting the truth.

She was different in a strange way - In a way one would never be able to understand. One would never be able to seek behind her facade, get to know the side she kept in the shadows.

Looking at her came with a rush of adrenaline, a pleasant and vibrant feeling that would spread throughout your body, that would leave you breathless. Looking at her differed from looking at one's surroundings, no appearance would resemble the elegance she had within her in the slightest adequate way.

And despite the unduly great impact she had on her surroundings, there was aloofness hidden inside of her, a hint of her distant attitude, her veiled emotions bottled up inside of her. A simple message of yet such a cryptic content, no one could ever translate its meaning.

And perhaps, it was a good thing. A good thing, no one could seek behind her facade because even the most marvellous woman to ever discover in a crowd, even she had her darkest secrets. A part of her was always hidden in a shadow where no sunray could ever shine upon it.

And perhaps, it was a good thing.

"Who are you looking for?" Sometimes, her voice would shake her up, would make her tremble, would make her loose her temper. Yet, this time was different from every other encounter with Nishikino Maki; different, yet so familiar.

Her voice was raspy, coarse even. She could not tell: Was it because of her being around or had her voice changed into this husky caw that sent chills down her spine?

She gritted her teeth, keeping her gaze on a spot in the background as she turned around, concealing her hesitance with scorn sparkling in her rubies. Nothing could have ever prepared her for the situation she had gotten herself into and nothing could have ever helped her to smother the revulsion and disgust she felt rising inside of her at the plain sight of amethysts.

Amethyst that felt like a sheer stab into the stomach. Vivid violet that gazed at her with contempt as strong as her shaken feelings.

"Certainly not for you, that's for sure." She replied frosty, the voice coming out of her throat was not her own, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself of that fact. The derisive tone that mixed up with the softness of her usually melodic voice - It was not her own. It couldn't ever be.

Whoever the woman talking was, it was not her.

Forcing herself to remain focused, to remain collected although she could have punched her opposite in her beautifully shaped face in that very moment, she met glistening orbs, glancing at her with abomination and bittersweet mockery. Her pinks lips curved into a chuckle as she tilted her head slightly, causing crimson curls to fall loose onto her bare shoulders, each tip of deep red strands curled into a precise shape.

"I figured so far." She stated dull. "Then I get it you're here for the quality entertainment?"

"Not quite."

"Enlighten me then. What caused the splendidly grand Yazawa Nico to come here? Is it because she has finally come to the realization that her dreams were a mere imagination of her delusion?" She spat her response and it felt like running one's hands through an ocean of shards where each letter left its individual cut behind. She kept her gaze on the black haired woman in front of her, knowing she had this intimidating vibe encircling her, an awfully daunting aura surrounding her presence.

Nico averted her gaze, feeling acrimony swallow her whole.

Those amethysts were cold and frosty, returning her taunting gaze would leave her frozen solid.

"I'm here with a friend." The black haired admitted brusque. She was not sure whether her voice had failed to break through the noisiness around them or not. Her head was spinning, the ground underneath her shaking immensely.

"Is that so?" The red haired asked amused. "Did you actually get someone to show interest in you? Must have missed out on that."

Nico's ears absorbed the words, but her mind was not able to convey the meaning of them. Everything was getting blurry, her vision failing to tell illusion from reality.

"Let me tell you one thing, Nico." Her opposite continued talking as her fingers ran through her scarlet fringe, "If you really think you can get through with this, you underestimated me. I know what kind of bullshit you are pulling with this and I'm not in the mood to be put up with it." Her voice was slow despite her complacency, the raspy tone of it causing endless shivers down the other woman's spine as she spoke; a careful whisper, yet so confidently said in its way.

The air around them felt heavy, heavier than the weight of anything could ever resemble. This certain kind of heaviness was not measured in such invalid aspects as weight.

"I'm not here to pull any shit." The black haired clarified, forcing a conceited smile upon her face. "I'm starting to believe you're the delusional one here."

Maki chuckled even brighter at her response than before it seemed, her soft featured face making space for the expression of the pretentious hypocrite she was to Nico.

"You've got nothing but empty phrases to back you up, Yazawa. And you know it. Say, do you still run away from your problems instead of facing them?" Nico hissed as a response, brow twitching in fury at the other woman's words.

"Thought so." Her opposite was quick to react and even quicker to bite holes into Nico's tediously built-up self-confidence. "I didn't expect you to change, so that's refreshing to hear."

"Whatever you're trying to point out, it's none of your business." Nico replied curtly, "If you can't handle me being back in the city, how will you deal with me having applied for this specific job?"

The other woman's expression turned grim in an instant, the pretentious smile fading immediately, vanishing restlessly.

"What the fuck are you even going to do here?" The fury in her voice was unavoidable to notice, her eyes were glimmering in wrath as her response cut through the air. "Aren't you too noble for a job like this?"

"I'm not working in your preferred field, don't you worry."

"Oh right. Because that's only a job for underclass folks. Filthy scum, if I remember your words correctly?" She paused briefly. Nico noticed her fingers trembling as she spoke, "I won't let you get through with this."

The black haired's mouth curved into a lopsided smile, fully aware of the effect her permanent presence had on the other woman.

"I'm afraid there's little you can do. I've practically got the confirmation to this job offer already. Reputation comes with perks and drawbacks, it seems. In this case, if you didn't notice, I would clearly call it one of the many perks my prestige as a celebrity has to offer."

"You're a joke of a celebrity. I don't care about your reputation, I'm gonna make it suffer as much as possible. Don't you think I would hesitate." The crimson haired replied, gritting her teeth.

If Nico didn't know better, she would be of the opinion that Nishikino Maki was fragile, way too fragile, to even exist in a world of such cruelty and injustice.

Fortunately, she knew better.

"Bring it on, Nishikino." She stared right into her amethyst eyes, noticing the piercing sharpness in their core, "I almost forgot what it felt like to live in your shadow."

"Who were you talking to earlier?" Kotori asked quietly, the softness in her voice as relaxing and calming as ever. The younger woman leaned forward in her seat, taking a sip of her drink before setting her eyes onto the black haired next to her.

"Nobody. Believe me." Nico replied curtly, making the lack of interest in delving into the subject clear. "Shouldn't you refrain from drinking alcohol though?" The older woman asked, changing the conversation purposely. She raised an eyebrow in anticipation, awaiting an answer from the brown haired sitting next to her at the bar.

The flashing lights gave Nico a headache, the conversation from earlier still running through her mind, restlessly and merciless.

The revulsion the red haired had clarified towards her made Nico shiver, yet, the feeling was mutual after all. Despite being aware of that fact, she still couldn't let go of it. The crimson haired had never been this edgy and resentful.

Nico could not help but wonder what must have happened in all those years she had been absent.

"Well, I know I shouldn't," Kotori replied, expression astute, "that doesn't necessarily imply that I want to." Her slender fingers traced along the vitreous glass ware containing the alcoholic beverage, forming a pattern in a slow motion.

"Just make sure things don't get out of control." Nico demanded carefully, lowering her voice as she continued, "You know how things got out of control last time I was here." Kotori nodded slightly, seeming absent-minded. Her light brown strands covered her dark eyelashes for brief moments every now and then.

She smiled faintly when she spoke up, "Things have changed, Nico." She stated sadly, voice husky. Her amber eyes were still busy darting the content of the glass in front of her, glistening increasingly with each word that left her lips. "And as much as I'd like to think they haven't, they did. Everything changed, everyone changed. Nothing's the way it was before you left."

The black haired noticed the other woman avoiding her piercing gaze by averting her eyes.

Quite frankly, she had figured that things had changed. Drastically. It had been a long time after all. But had things changed that far that even one of her closest former friends would not talk to her about her worries anymore?

Then again, she might not be as close to Kotori as she used to be anymore. She had said it herself, things have changed. Nothing had stayed the same ever since she had left.

"I sometimes wished you had called more often." Kotori suddenly admitted, chewing on the straw of her beverage as she put on a pensive expression. Nico knew, she was trying to change the topic of their conversation and she did not want to push the other woman. That was beneath her consent. The Kotori next to her was not the Kotori she had known back then. She had changed. Just like everyone else around her had.

Everyone but her herself.

She scratched the back of her head, smiling apologetic in a weak attempt to make up for the lack of communication between them. She had called the other woman every now and then, once in two months, perhaps. But once in two months just wasn't enough to catch up with a permanent changing process of someone.

"I know, I should have and I wanted to, honestly," she explained herself.

"But?" Kotori interrupted, setting her amber eyes onto the older woman.

"There's no but. I became detached from the world I used to live in." Nico frowned slightly, propping her elbow onto the bar's counter. "I wanted to detach myself from all of this," She gestured towards their surroundings, the noisiness being overly present, "so desperately. But there seemed to be a more powerful force that pushed me back into it."

The black haired's gaze focused onto the crowd surrounding them, everyone laughing, everyone chatting, everyone enjoying themselves. It was no use pretending not to be looking for her, she would always find her in a crowd, she would always be too remarkable, too significant not to be found.

And the moment Nico set her eyes onto the crimson haired, stared at her from the distance, watched her talk with people encircling her, she felt her heart clench inside of her chest. The way she laughed, the way she talked, the way she stood there – With each action of hers, the revulsion Nico felt towards her increased.

And the more she stared at the other woman, the more she had to fight back the urge to empty the content of her stomach, to empty the content of her mind, to just leave this world behind again.

She had done it once already, there was nothing to lose.

Right?