::::::Rio::::
If anything, she hopes that her words wounded him just a little bit. She wants to know if he is capable of feeling regret or responsible for someone's sorrow. Although, she didn't wanted it to happen this way at all.
She sits on the wet tiled floor looking at the sink. It's rusted and dripping water at a certain rhythm. It seemed calmer than her heart. She calmed down just a little bit... But the thought of never having her loved ones close to her ever again still makes her upset. Even more the way he acted like it wasn't a big deal.
Though, at the same time, she knows it's not entirely his fault. She should of at least shared that detail about her. Or maybe remembered about sticking those clothes somewhere in his room. Yet, it really happened and the only thing she can do now is move on, remember they're close to her heart, and forgive Izaya.
It seems foolish but her bigger idea is to not part from him with soiled emotions and bitter views.
He never meant to do it. But at the same time she doesn't want to stay in an environment where one's feelings don't matter. She'll carry out her plan on leaving but not until they make up.
Rio didn't quiet understand how long she's been in there but hopefully it was enough time for him to calm down as well. He was scary but she knows she was just as bad. She looks down at her wrists which were still red. She sighs and tries coming up with an excuse to exit the bathroom... And then her stomach growls. She hugs her pillow knowing she's not ready to face him just yet. She's afraid that she doesn't know him well and is still angry. She's afraid he might be selfish and makes her apologies to him followed by an evil glare as he kicks her out of the entire building.
Her heart beats faster and she realizes she's just making herself scared. She needs to stop assuming things. It just makes her feel terrible.
She gets up and adjusts her ankle comfortably. She takes her pillow and walks to the door. As she exits, she hears nothing. She just notices that it's darker than before. She clutches onto her stomach and does her best to walk to the kitchen. For a second she thought he was gone... But she then spots him sitting on the counter eating strawberries.
He sees her as well while she tries looking away from his stare. It was awkward even though it was his plan to let her have some in the first place. Knowing it won't really fix anything, he remembered that she could probably use some food so he looked in his fridge for them. Now he can't even think of something to say.
She goes to the sofa, setting her pillow down, and he still doesn't make a move to apologies. Rio sees this as a sign that maybe she needs to say something first.
But honestly... What is there to say?
"Listen..." He finally says. She didn't want to look at him as he enjoys the food. "I didn't know they had something in the pockets and I should of checked. I'm sorry."
She was taken aback from his apology. She didn't mean to look up at the only window in the room and just completely become silent. She was honestly and un doubtfully very surprised.
He, on the other hand, expected her to yell something like, "I don't care about your sorry! Bring back my photo! I hate you!"
But that's not what happened.
She just stands up and still doesn't look at him. Maybe she's thinking of ways to kill him or maybe she gave up on a friendship and realizes how bad of a person he is. That's all she really ever has been doing around him.
Or perhaps she's just going to ignore him until the end of time.
"Thank you..." She says.
...
She sounded very grateful. It was strange.
Izaya realizes he's been frozen by her words for only a second when he drops his half eaten strawberry into his bowl. He turns his gaze up to her and she finally looks at him. "I thought a lot on it and... I just feel like maybe most of the things I said was an overreaction... And I'm very sorry too."
He narrows his eyes trying to find out if she's just saying it to get some food. Though... She's been in there for such a long time that it's almost not reachable to think that all she's been doing was let her hate grow more. She's not like that. It's weird how he let himself think that she is. She's not predictable at all.
He presses his lips together, looking at the strawberries, and pushes the bowl gently across from him. "I lost my appetite. Do you want some?"
She notices that he changed the subject... And for some reason she admired that from him. Any longer and they both would of suffocated of the awkwardness that surrounded the room after a full fledged word fight between them. Especially when she hasn't yelled like that in a while. It just gave her the chills thinking that she knew him well for that moment. Maybe he feels the same way.
Despite all that, she smiles and walks over to sit down. She thanks him quietly and eats as he doesn't say a word and stays quiet.
This is a good mood to Rio. This is what she wants to escape from. She knows he won't be hurt that she leaves. She'll be glad to show him how tough she has become when she leaves.
In all the thoughts, Rio suddenly felt empty inside. Why does she keep thinking that they will see each other again? As if she wants them to still be friends in the future?
She sighs quietly and continues to eat. She always goes towards the light of the situation, she can't help it.
Her eyes wonder and she gazes at him. He notices her as he moves his gaze to her as well. She doesn't say anything for a while but then, she picks up a strawberry and asks him to hold out his hand.
He fights the urge to snicker as he does and she places the strawberry on his hand.
"Eat, sleep longer, take care of yourself more." She says. "I won't always be around and it's no brainer that you should really hire a maid to clean this place."
His smile slowly fades. He looks down at the strawberry on his hand. He closes his fingers gently closing in the strawberry and he looks back up at her. "Don't say it like that." He says gently.
She stands her ground and doesn't move an inch. "Why not...?"
"Because it sounds like you're saying good bye when you say it like that."
She shapes her hands into fists and takes them off the table. She tries her hardest to smile and she says, "yeah, sure. Say what you want to get out of cleaning this place with me when I get all better." And she stands up to limp to her bed. It was impossible to try and not look back but she managed. She did her best to set the couch and lie down trying not to hurt herself more. She finds it odd how he didn't say anything else to her. It was almost like he let himself lose this little talk without having the last word. She almost felt so paralyzed as the time went on and he was still in the kitchen. Just cleaning and sorting things. It's impossible to sleep but if he thinks she is then that's fine with her. The fight they had is in the past... Now it's the fact that if they talk any longer he might find out on what she is planning to do in about three days from now. Leave and be happy on her own sounds way more fun than slowing him down.
She almost felt inhumane as he stood where she slept and he called her name only to not get an answer from her because she was still pretending to sleep. He seemed like he really wanted to say something... But she guesses it wasn't important enough to wake her because he just turns to go to his room as she finally drifts off into deep sleep.
::::: the next day:::
Rio is the first one to wake up.
It may seem like something that might have never happened ever but it did. Anything really can be possible.
She stands up looking out the window. There's some light coming in that she can tell it's probably 5 A.M. It's not a fair awakening but she just couldn't sleep. Also, she couldn't risk him leaving and she had to find out later how long he's been gone. She wants to time it correctly to get as far away as she possibly can just so that he doesn't follow her.
Rio feels like she suddenly became a spy of some sort. An undercover agent with the only motive being leaving in three days without being too suspicious. Maybe he might catch on at the last minute and just let her leave. She hopes that would be something that might happen.
She smiles and makes her bed. After that, she walks to the small kitchen being careful with her ankle. She opens the fridge and takes out some juice. As she pours in her drink, she thinks about maybe serving him some too. It would be funny to Rio if she waltz right in with a simple glass of juice and wakes him up just to drink it. A harmless small prank that she feels is better than leaving a biter in the middle of the living room.
She fills up another cup and begins walking to the hallway. She stops and looks up ahead to where his room is. The door is closed... How come?
This doesn't make sense... He always tells her to leave the door open when she's sleeping in there...
She walks over to the door and turns the knob. Surprisingly enough, it opens. She sighs in relief and walks in very quietly. She shuts the door behind her and looks up at where he sleeps. She suddenly thinks that it's not really a good idea to wake him. They might start to talk and he might find something out about her. She doesn't at all believe that she's dumb enough to slip something out about her plan. She just really thinks he's too smart for his own good.
She works up the nerve to get near him and sets the glass down on the night stand next to his bed. Perhaps she can just leave it there...
He suddenly moves a little and she winces at the thought that he woke up to see her standing there suspiciously... But he just turned around soundly with his back facing her. She suddenly peers over to look at him. He's done it to her... Why can't she do it too?
His face was covered with the blanket and it just took a light finger to pull them away. She smiles a little at the sight, trying not to snicker. Suddenly, he grabs onto her wrist and pulls her in. She bites back an urge to scream and closes her eyes tightly.
"Oh. It's just you." He says.
Rio opens her eyes slowly. He has her pinned to the bed at her wrists. She couldn't move the lower part of her body and she's surprised her ankle isn't hurt the slightest. It's almost scary.
"If it's 'just me', can you let me go?"
He gets up from her and she quickly fixes herself up not letting him see that he got to her in that second.
"What are you doing in here? You're suppose to be asleep."
Rio quickly realizes that it's very out of character for her to be up this early... How is she barely realizing this?
"I... I sort of woke up early and brought you something to drink." She hands him the glass of juice. "Surprise..."
He sighs and sits back on the bed. "You had me thinking someone finally broke into this old dusty place." He takes the glass and thanks her.
She quickly turns to leave and he calls her name. She turns to look at him. "Yes?..."
His stare becomes unreadable and there's really no telling if he meant to say her name or not... There was just something stuck in the air. Something like a broken promise or a sudden warmness. He just stays quiet as he hands the empty glass to her. She hesitates and then walks her way over to take it. Leaving the room soon after that felt rewarding. She was able to take in a breath.
To Rio, it almost feels like he knows something but he doesn't want to say...
Maybe he will let her leave when the time comes...
Maybe he's just tired of dealing with her.
She sets the cup on the counter. She's suddenly bothered by the thought.
:::::::::
Rio watches from the couch as he walks to the bathroom to take a shower. This is the first Rio has seen him wake up and take a shower. It feels so reliving to see him in his most vulnerable moments. Almost like she has found a hidden egg on his life.
By the time he comes out of the restroom, he asks her if she needs anything.
Naturally, she says no and he left soon after.
The girl quickly goes over to the pile of newspapers next to the file cabinet on the corner. She searches for the newspaper she crumbled up yesterday and began taking note of the time. Normally she'd probably wake up ten minutes later from now or more. She's a much heavy sleeper than he is. He's too light in fact. Sneaking off during the night is a no.
It has to be during the day and during the time he's absent from the entire building. This can't be that tough, right?
:::::::::
Staying awake during this whole time quickly made Rio... Bored.
There was just nothing entertaining about the place. There was only junk, newspapers, some pieces from the walls all over the floor. The worst part is that she can't even clean up because of her broken ankle. She's just staring off at the mess and doing nothing all day. Well... Maybe just writing the moments where an hour passes but in general, she's doing nothing at all.
She gets up from the sofa to get herself something to eat. Fruit is great but she's starting to get tired of it. She keeps telling herself that beggars really can't be choosers in her type of situation though...
Looking at all the items there, she sees there's enough for her to stuff half of the items in a backpack while not leaving him dry. She hopes its still this full in three days.
She takes a can and goes over to open it up. She takes a knife out a drawer since apparently a can opener is too much of a delicacy.
She tries staying focus but she then under stood one thing. Her ankle oddly enough has been feeling a little bit better. Shinra had said it would be better in about three weeks... What if... It gets better earlier than that?
Thinking hard on it was a big mistake. She learned this when she lost her hold on the knife, slashing the very skin between her thumb and index finger. She grits her teeth and puts the knife down carefully. She stammers as she quickly reaches for a towel and presses it onto the wound. She curses at herself as she walks to the shelf where Izaya had the first aid kit stored in. Before, she would just tie a clothing around it and get over it... Now she has something to take care of herself with. She's grateful for it... But she tries to dismiss it. It only makes her feel worse about her plan. In reality, no amount of excuses can cover up this accident.
::::::Izaya
Going deeper into the abandoned side of the city really payed off. There was plenty of items there that could be useful to the apartment and even more extra clothes for Rio. Normally Izaya would always skip the women's clothing stores in broken down malls... But this time, he sort of had to go in.
He enters the room and the first thing he notices is that it's too quiet and Rio is no where in sight. He sets the bags down on the sofa and looks to the kitchen. She pops up and says,"ah... Welcome home!"
Izaya drags his right hand across his face. "How come you find it so hilarious to try and make it seem like someone took you away or that something bad happened?"
Rio awkwardly shifts where she's standing, afraid he might see the medical bandages on her left hand. "I-I'm sorry..."
"It's fine, I'm just really tired from today. "He turns his back to her as he takes a bag from the sofa.
Rio quickly walks closer to see what he brought. She hopes he brought a decent can opener.
"This bag here is for you. Whatever is in it, you keep."
He hands it over and she takes it with her right hand. She couldn't stop staring at it as if it's Christmas morning and she woke up to find a present under the tree. She wasn't able to say thank you clear enough but he got the gist of it.
"No... Seriously... Thank you..."
Izaya noticed her sudden change in character. Was she really that sorry about yelling at him yesterday? Or is it something else...?
He decides to shrug it off. Knowing her, if she was able to leave here like he can, she would probably get better things for herself.
He turns to the sofa that has the bags of food he was given today and he feels her light touch as she pulls onto his sleeve. To Izaya, it's so hard to describe the times when they make physical contact. He just knows he hasn't had it in a long time. He wanted it to stay that way but it really can't be helped.
She mumbles something and he gives her his full attention as he turns towards her. She doesn't meet his eyes and she repeats herself as she says, "I... I have to tell you something..."
He hears the seriousness from her voice and he slowly comes in closer to prevent missing anything she has to say. He suddenly sees this as a bad idea. He can feel her temperature hitting warm. Being so close to her made everything else become so silent. He closes his eyes to to try and un imagine the fact that they're now only inches away from each other, when she raises her left hand up.
"I... Sort of cut myself severely with your knife..."
::::::::
Of course that ruined the moment entirely and Izaya just acted like an angry knife professional all day. He said things to her like, 'were your hands wet? They can't be wet, Rio!' And even 'this is how you hold it- no, wait- show me how you were holding it and then I'll tell you what you did wrong.' While the entire time, he took off her bandages and told her she even did that part terribly.
The whole time though...Rio, oddly enough, was smiling. She was feeling a sense that maybe... Just maybe... He felt just a little bit worried about her and her stupidity.
The day came to a close as the sun finally sets. It's back to darkness and back to sleeping on the old couch for Rio.
She makes the bed, remembering about how something terrible can turn to a great bonding moment. She always sees the more human part about him when it's just treating her to her wounds or just serving her something to eat. He's just strange all on his own. It's like he puts on a fake mask once it's noticeable that they're getting too comfortable with each other.
He then walks in front of her vision and sets down a ramen noodle cup on the coffee table. "I thought it was time to stop eating fruit for now." He says.
She smiles as she sits down and waits for it to cook.
"I... Like the clothes you got me..." She says. Rio can't pass an opportunity to just let out some conversation going after the awful events from yesterday.
"I'm glad you find them okay. I've never really took my time to get someone else something to wear."
She feels herself wanting to let out some form of laughter. She never really did that sort of thing either. She sees how she would of been able to go with him on these types of things if her ankle wasn't messed up. He probably brought along those other four people... Who ever they were...
"So... Do you know anything... About what's going on with those two men they found..?" She asks him.
He swallows as he takes a good look at her expression. Not exactly hopeful... Not sad either.
"No. Not really." He says. She nods as she picks her cup up to her mouth slowly. He sits back on his chair and says, "are they both... People you care about?" He asks breaking the silence.
She lowers the cup to her lap and doesn't look away from him. It took her a while but she says, "they were members of a certain bandit group that was terrorizing my group. Their group attacked us and some of us split up. I was left all alone wondering the woods for such a long time... I didn't know I was so close to the safe guard walls..." Her voice breaks and she tries wiping a tear that never had the chance to fall. She shakes as she tries brushing away hair from her face, "whatever happened to them... I just hope they understood the error of their ways..."
She stays silent. Izaya sees nothing but her agonizing regret of many things that she has done. It's something new to him. Something new about her. It's like she's crawling with different tragedies... It almost feels like a cliff hanger when she stops talking.
He gets up from where he was siting. She meets his gaze, making a confused expression.
"I've never really experienced that sort of thing before." He says. "But I can tell you that they probably deserve whatever punishment they're getting right now."
Before, he didn't exactly want to let her know how this government works. He knows how cruel they can be. It's almost savage. He kept quiet thinking that they were important to her. There's no point on holding that in anymore...
He picks up his empty cup and goes over to the kitchen. She concentrates on what he said and took comfort in the words. The only real reason she let Izaya take her in here in the first place was because... In that attack, no one was really getting out of there alive. She realized there was no one to turn to or to go back to. She was alone. Alone all over again until she can find a new home that might shatter just the same.
I just want to quickly say that I am so grateful that you are still reading/ it means a lot to me
Even if it's just one review a chapter it still makes me very happy?! Ahaha it's just the best thing out of this (aside from trying to bring a couple like this one to life ahah;;; )
Thank you again and I hope you still continue reading/!