Disclaimer: I still don't own DRRR! or Rideback! :D
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Emboites aka. boxed-in.
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Emboîtés
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Around seven, a young blonde man was standing in front of a girls apartment, palms sweaty like he was on a first date –which he almost was- and wondering if he should be there at all.
He swallows hard before lifting his hand to knock. But pauses, he can see through the window lining the door, a silhouette moving inside.
Fluid arms moving in ripple movement, arms slowly lowering to a crossed position. A leg slowly raises then steps forwards in one smooth motion into a fondue. The other leg – boot, lifts, but suddenly all he can hear is a whimper and see the figure toppling sideways. He doesn't have to ask who it is.
Two raps to the door. That's normal, right?
Some shuffling was heard inside before the door finally opened.
"Hey," she smiles and opens the door. Her cheeks were blood red, but the rest of her face was pale. It almost looked like she was in pain, but it was hard to tell.
Shizuo didn't say anything though, he just pretended not to notice, "I'm not sure what time to come so…"
"You could've called?" Rin says and shuffles to the side to let him in.
"Not really…" Shizuo mumbles and retrieves a hand-full of cellphone shrapnel from his pocket, "It broke."
"I see… you tried to kill somebody with your cell?" she laughs and pokes the once pristine –now shattered- screen, "That's awesome."
"I had a run-in with that damned Flea again… he's everywhere these days… " Shizuo grumbles and starts tapping his foot against the floor, "Whatever it is… smells like shit…."
"What? she feigns a shocked look and holds her hand to her heart, "My cooking?"
"You don't fool me anymore," he grins and steps inside.
The inside of the apartment was a strange mixture of smells. Lilies, bread, and something sweet too. Strangely homely.
"Where'd you like to eat?"
"I don't care," he smiles and looks around, fascinated with the paintings that decorated the walls.
"Everything's ready in the kitchen if you'd like?" Rin says and they decide on the spot that the kitchen was the new dining area.
"You never did tell me… what did the X-rays say?" Shizuo says half an hour later, before Rin appears with the dessert.
"You ran off before I could tell you", she grins and hands him a dessert bowl of chocolate mousse.
"It was Izaya…I just know that damn flea is up to something," he growls and munches on the creamy mix.
"… it's broken… my ankle…"
He looks down at the boot, but stays silent. He knows the pain that comes with that, all to well. But he knows his anger at broken anything isn't quite the same as hers.
He was usually challenged or provoked into fights, which led to those broken bones or fractures. He didn't need mobility beyond needing it to defend himself or Kasuka.
But, she needed it for her job. And the more he knew about her… the more he knew, it wasn't just a job, dance was her life. So, he stayed silent, and let her talk.
"I somehow managed to break several of my ankle bones in that stupid fall… the radiologist told me that it was most likely stress fractures that finally caved in… I had it for months and I never knew… I just thought…"
He finally interjects, "It was a muscle strain?"
"… how'd you-"
"I broke almost every bone in my body before I turned eleven… once, the only reason I found out that I had a broken finger, was the fact the bone had nicked one of the veins and my finger turned purple…"
Her eyes widened in shock and she almost choked on the chocolate dessert, "… didn't that hurt?!"
"… I don't notice pain that easily…"
"Are you kidding me?"
"…."
"But… that's dangerous…"
"… why?"
"Well…" Rin pauses, stirring her dessert for a while before shrugging, "pain lets you know when there's something seriously wrong with you… or when you've been injured… you won't know when it's serious if you don't feel it! You can be dying and not know it!"
"What are you getting so worked up about?"
"I'm not-! It's just…" she stops and blinks, frowns and suddenly bangs her dessert bowl on the counter, "Thank you for coming…"
Shizuo decided it was best not to argue just yet. He just stood up and dropped the bowl in the sink, "Thank you… for dessert…" he says and smiles tiredly. He knows how it feels to be stuck in her position, "Look…. If I-"
"Sorry, Shizuo, I'm just… " Rin ushers him out the door and finally relents a smile, "I'm just tired…. I'll see you later, okay?"
… She's standing outside one of those warehouses, garbage lining the street and a certain man standing in front of her with a grin on his face. She sighs, "You said you had a deal for me?"
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Thanks for reading!
Next Chapter... the deal?
