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[GRAVITY]

prologue

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His mood was stilled, confused.

When he had returned, the temptation to dive back-first into his cosy blankets, and to sink into the inviting depths of his mattress was non-existent. Sprawling onto his bed was warranted after what he had dealt with. However, if he were to lie down, he knew he wouldn't get up again. Lying down meant he'd have to admit how devastated he was and, well, he wasn't ready for that.

Not yet...not ever.

He had opted for the seat by the computer desk; his common position. The place where he felt the most useful.

His fingers hovered over the keyboard, but he couldn't bring himself to move them. No. He could not lose grip. If he let himself sink any deeper, everything else would crumble around him. He had to keep going. People relied on him and- but you can't help the dead, can you?

"Fuck!"

He slammed his fists onto the desk. His neck craned downwards and it was then that he caught the navy, striped satin that dipped in his line of vision. He still hadn't changed out of his formal wear? Loosening the tie, he undid it and he threw it away.

Running his fingers through his hair, he was not all surprised that the gel (his mother had insisted him put on that morning) hadn't kept his hair in place. His hairstyle was back to its disheveled form - if only his life was like that.

A week ago, he had been laughing about winning that basketball bet against his junior. Now he knew he would never experience that feeling again. Perhaps he should have gone to sleep after all. The emptiness was debilitating. How long had he been sitting there, in that very same fixed position? Time was unforgiving. Outside of the window, it teased darkness. The sun was out the last time he had checked. He leaned back, staring at the ceiling. When was the last time he had done that? Everything had been moving face-paced until then, and one incident that week had to ruin it all.

He kept staring at the ceiling that toyed with his thoughts.

And maybe because it was too quiet, Koushiro noted unfamiliar footsteps gradually grew louder. It dragged him out of his momentary grief. Each step had a steady staccato rhythm that echoed against the floorboards. It lacked his mother's graceful stride, nor was it the arthritic-induced limping gait of his father's.

His parents...were they safe? How foolish he was! He would have heard something if they had been attacked. His room was near the living area, he wouldn't have missed it. He kicked himself though, for being too idiotic to not keep monitoring the CCTV, despite the sorry state he was in. There was no time to put himself in a vulnerable position. Perhaps he should contact the tiger-

Knock, knock.

Immediately, he flipped open the second drawer and reached for the grip. As he usually was behind a screen, his methods were never violence-driven. Those methods belonged to the boys, but never him. However, whenever pushed to a corner, he knew how to protect himself and he'd do what he have to do.

Cautiously standing up, he pointed the gun at the door.

Knock. Pause. Knock, knock. Pause. Knock, knock, knock, knock.

His shoulders dropped at the sound. No, the person wasn't a trespasser. No trespasser would ever knock in the peculiar pattern.

...only Sora did that.

"Just get in there, Sora dear!" His mother called out, confirming his thoughts.

Before the door knob rotated, he quickly threw the gun back into the drawer and closed it shut. He barely managed to sit on his seat when she ambled in.

Of course, the first thing she did was turn the lights on.

He then saw her, folding her arms and raising her eyebrows at him in an odd manner. "Koushiro-kun you weren't doing anything suspicious, were you?"

"God no!" he groaned.

That was the problem with old childhood friends - especially when they were female. Then again, Sora was probably the only female childhood friend he had.

She was a pretty one too. Not in the way that she'd wear expensive dresses, put on freakishly tall heels, or cake her face up with make-up. She was never like that. Her taste was minimal. Even then, she wore a black beanie, grey denim jeans and a white shirt. Dull colours, but Sora was nothing but dull. Her tanned skin, lively eyes and bright smile, she naturally made the mood better whenever they'd hang out.

Koushiro observed the silver-glossed, metallic luggage behind her.

He commented, "You're either back or you ran away from home?"

Instead of replying straight away, Sora rushed over to him and enveloped him in a hug. It was warm; and it felt good. In fact, it was the warmest he had felt all day. She let go of him seconds later and wandered backwards, collapsing onto his bed. It was a good thing that a couple of days ago, he had stashed his porn mags away. Sora already had enough blackmail on him to last a lifetime.

"I'm back. Thought I'd drop by yours first since your place was on the way," she said, manoeuvring her body towards the edge of the bed. "Miss me?"

Koushiro smiled. "Yeah."

How long had it been? A year? Two? She had moved to Kyoto to work at this botany lab. After years of helping with her family-owned florist, she had developed an interest for plants and their properties.

"Why are you dressed up?" she asked him, only noticing then that he was not donned in his typical attire that consisted of slacks and plain shirts.

"Uh-"

"And your eyes are red. Have you been on the computer too long? Haven't I told you that it's nice to get some sunlight once in a while? We're not plants, but we need to photosynthesise too!" Sora sighed, getting up. "Let's catch up over some oolong tea at the cafe nearby?"

"How are we going to absorb sunlight by transferring to a cafe?" Koushiro couldn't help but remark.

"Don't turn me down. I know how much you like your oolong tea." She brushed him off. "Let's go. I'll pay. You know what they say...free things taste better when you're not paying."

"I-I don't really feel like it." He had to smile at her efforts though. His parents had already given up, but Sora was really trying hard to cheer his mood. Koushiro actually already had a year's supply of oolong tea in the kitchen's cabinet.

"You're being silly," she insisted. "I'm going to turn off your computer and then we're going to head out. Wait, this screen isn't on, it's already off. Oh-the same goes for this one! Actually, none of them are on...what's wrong, Koushiro?"

By then she was already gazing at him, frowning. Sora had always been the most observant one out of his friends - and he knew, that from the look on her eyes, that she could tell he was hiding something from her. He gulped. She inched closer, and when her face was right in front of his, nose almost touching his, he used his computer desk to and the wheels on his chair to push himself further away from her.

However, what he did not anticipate that the piece of paper - he had on his lap the whole time - to slip off.

His eyes widened when he dove for it, but Sora's reflexes had always been faster. She pivoted her whole body so that she used her body as a barrier to prevent him from snatching it from her. Kourisho only could apprehensively watch on, witnessing as she processed the piece of paper before her.

It didn't take her long to realise what the paper was referencing...

Sora gasped, hands covering over her mouth, body trembling. Her face turned a shade paler, and tears threatened to fall down from her eyes. She shook her head, passing the paper back to Koushiro, holding onto the surface of desk to steady herself.

Koushiro frowned down at the piece of paper in his hands. The words 'in loving memory' was the printed text that caught his eye, followed by the person's birth year to the current one. It was something unbearable that Koushiro wasn't sure he could ever accept. What was worse was the image that was selected; the photo was taken when the kid was in his late teen years, wearing a basketball jersey and giving a wide, toothy grin to the camera.

"Takeru?" her voice broke. "This can't be true. How? Why?"

Koushiro had been in a state of denial, but he knew he had to tell her. He loathed every moment of it. Relaying the details to Sora out loud made everything seem real again. It was a reality he didn't like speaking of.

"I need to see him."

"Sora, the last viewing at their house was this morning."

Something told Koushiro that she didn't care. Her eyes were focused, jaw taut. Even if he tried to talk sense into her, he knew that she wouldn't listen. She was too stubborn for her own good.

"No. I'm going to see him one last time."

He didn't even bother to call out when she turned away and stormed out of his room. Her luggage remained at the doorway. He knew she'd come back for it, but that wasn't what was important right then.

Koushiro leaned back onto his chair. He pondered whether it was best to call Wolf. He really didn't want to. Wolf hadn't been in the best state of mind, granted the current situation. However, if he wasn't warned, Sora could be in potential danger.

Sighing, Koushiro dialled Wolf's number. After the third attempt, he gave up and called Tiger. He rolled his eyes when Tiger didn't pick up, but instead of texting Wolf he thought it was best to inform Tiger instead:

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Incoming. Takenouchi Sora. Female. Mid twenties. Red hair. Athletic build. Friend with the deceased and old acquaintances with Wolf. Reinforcements not needed. Subject is not a threat.

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As soon as the text was sent, Koushiro received an instant reply from Tiger. 'Is she hot?' Koushiro snorted when he read the text, he tossed his phone onto the desk. Ironic that he did not bother to answer the call, but could text back. What was he expecting though?

Either way, Koushiro he knew was screwed.

Wolf wasn't going to be happy about the upcoming interference.

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(a/n) Amidst the crazy, this new story creates itself. It's been brewing in my mind for a while. It's a different genre that I don't think I've ever posted on this site. I've missed writing action/adventure. I have on other platforms (asianfanfics, fictionpress), but never here...so don't expect it to be like any of my other sorato fanfics. Think of this as more of an experiment. (I'm kicking myself because I really wanted Lifelines to be my last fanfic on this site xD). This story will probably be written through multiple perspectives. Mainly Sora's POV. I'm not 100% sure yet. We'll see how this writes itself...

Anyway, I hope you've all been doing well during these difficult times. The world's a mess, but let's get through this together. PPE. Protect yourself. Look out for each other. Facetime with the people who are dear to you. Exercise (this is hypocritical coming from me). Wash your hands. Stay safe xox

P.S. I'm going to watch the new episode now xD