"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents." - H.P. Lovecraft

Chapter 9 - Shoes of Glass (Part 2.)

"You see, I think I'm jealous, Raku." stated Chitoge with a brittle, glassy smile lightly laced through the surface of her lips much like lip gloss, letting out a slightly embarrassed giggle as her delicately pale fingers sheepishly ran through the thickly shimmering strands of her precious golden locks. "No," she continued, swiftly nodding her head in denial with her sky-blue eyes slightly narrowed to the brim. "I am jealous. I mean, by a hundred percent."

Meticulous, extravagant...beautiful; a flattering triad of all positive factors that are in fact nothing but a flurry of unworthy understatements to the gangster heiress' insanely captivating beauty. Heck, even the beansprout couldn't even make out the perfect word which possibly lurked within the delicately thin pages of a dictionary to suitably describe his girlfriend as of that fraction of a second... Well, if it weren't for the dense bastard carelessly dropping his phone towards the ground like the clumsy bloke he is, Raku would've seized the moment, donning the scenery as the source material for his new lock screen. Heh, as if the blatant use of technology would be more than enough to preserve the mood.

Wait, why is he even thinking about something so awfully casual at such a worrisome time like this? Shouldn't the beansprout be on his way towards the Onodera residence by now before a lot of things get way too awry for him to possibly fix? After all, emotional scars are indeed the hardest ones to mend, and of course, he wouldn't want to be the central cause of someone else's personal Elysium of heart-wrenching sorrows...eh, even exacting the meager act of thinking about such depressing things would only make him feel like the biggest hypocrite the world has never seen.

"Hey," Sparkling starlit eyes flaring up like a pair of azure cinders, cheeks deeply flustered with her hands tightly clenched, the heiress frantically called out to the young lad as he idly stood before her, pondering about with a nervous expression subtly etched across his face. "Don't you ever leave me hanging like that after having to go through the act of saying something so unimaginably embarrassing, you stupid-ass beansprout!"

"S-Sorry!" he swiftly responded with his arms raised like he was caught stealing something. "I was just...thinking hard about something else."

"Oh, wow. 'Something else'?" inquired Chitoge with that typical bitter-sweet tone of conspicuous sarcasm sizzling deep within that shaky high-pitched voice of hers. "Yeah, sure. Just like what you've said at the park yesterday, there are indeed a fuck ton of 'somethings' that are far more important than how a woman relays her deepest and darkest feelings to the one she cares about the most. Idiot, now's not the time for that super-dense black hole of a mind of yours to go flying overseas to go looking for a decent job at Walmart."

"Chitoge, I-"

"Darling," she immediately called out to him, abruptly cutting him off right before the beansprout could even finish whatever he's about to explain to her as the heiress gently caressed his lightly flustered cheeks. "would it kill you to take me with you? If that's the case, I would be willing to kill you over a thousand times."

"This isn't some kind of 70's platformer, you know. " muttered Raku as he darted her a look of pure hesitance. "And plus, you can't just go bu-"

"Butting into your own problems, right? Of course, I can. I know this may seem too much for me to say, but I'm your girlfriend, Raku. And knowing that alone makes me think I can do absolutely anything."

"It's hard to let go of someone who gave you so much to remember." - Anonymous

"I'm also in love with Ichijou-senpai."

Damn. And believe it or not, that statement was actually one of the hardest things she's ever said in her entire life...yet the words just slipped right out of her tongue into the unseen air like they never meant anything at all. Seeing those thick streams of warm tears involuntarily trailing through the warm surface of her mildly glowing cheeks as her lips quivered, watery light-brown eyes widened with her body on the verge of flinching, you can clearly tell how scared she was as her neck stiffened.

Fear; is that really the best word to describe it? That warm shivery sensation which gently crept throughout the soft flesh-colored patches of her fair skin like that of a spider to a wall? The incessant chattering of her small slightly uneven rows of teeth? The sudden blankness present within her head? Probably not. After all, who would get their pants wet out of telling someone that they mutually share the same love interest?

Her.

And of course, a few other of those frail cowardly chumps such as herself scattered across every corner of the globe. But despite of being fully aware of that indisputable possibility, Haru just couldn't shake off that particular feeling of being isolated from the rest of the universe. Perhaps this was a common trait shared among the international minority of insecure people sharing the same emotional struggles? Maybe, maybe not. With that being said as the coin clumsily spins, how could she be so sure if the mini-brunette hadn't met each and every one of them in person?

"Eh?"

Her sister's shocked yet brittle voice finally shattered the eloping silence which gradually clouds the atmosphere outside of her deeply troubled mind.

"H-Haru-chan..." the brunette reluctantly called out to her sister before trailing away, cupping the surface of her gaping mouth with the slender rows of her jittery fingers failing to properly do so. "...why?"

"Who knows?" mused Haru, briefly faking out a rather swift smile, only to be followed by a series of loud sniffs. "Maybe I've always hated the fact that I'm silently stabbing you in the back...maybe I've always hated the thought of living with the guilt of liking him more than I should have...maybe I've always liked and hated the fact that I'll have to hurt myself for the sake of your happiness."

"...So, you're doing all this for my happiness?" The brunette inquired once more as she staggered aback against her chair. "Oh, so that's how it is...Haru-chan, look...you don't have to spend all of that time doing such an-"

"Of course, I don't have to, silly!" she exclaimed, subconsciously clutching onto the very last strand of primal aggression slowly welling up inside of her ever passionate soul. "After all, what kind of idiot selflessly sacrifices their own feelings for the sake of someone else? Oh, don't tell me. Could it be one of those cheesy super heroes hiding in one of those old comic books of yours?"

When it comes to her own raw pride, she hated it; the indubitable thought of swiftly crumbling and breaking down right in front of someone else, especially her sister. It's like all that greatly amassed effort of her steadily putting up such a fiercely impeccable bravado of feminine strictness over the past few years ceased to exist in the first place. But putting all of that accumulated hate aside, love is what caused her to do so. In fact, the very concept of love is what actually made her world go round, much like the bounded earth and its gravitational rules.

"Yeah, of course, I don't. But regardless of that matter, I went all ballistic and did it anyways. Stupid, aren't I? Yeah, obviously! I'm nothing but a shameless little hypocrite who couldn't even tend to what she really wanted the most! I'm no better than him, nor anyone else who disgusts me!"

"Would you please stop saying that!?" replied Kosaki with her half-angry voice still muffled by her palms. "Please, promise me that you'll stop saying those stupid things to yourself. Trust me, it wouldn't make you feel any better."

"You see, I...I just wanted the both of you experience the impeccable joys of mutual love , that's all." explained Haru. "It would make me so happy to see you two regularly go on dates, casually kiss, heck, even get married at the right time and place and whatnot. I just wanted to watch you guys from time to time with a smile of my face, knowing that I've put a hand on making that dream come true. And to see you crying in the darkness makes me feel rather..."

"Guilty?" The brunette continued as she bit her lip. "You aren't the one who told me he liked someone else."

"Yeah, and I'm the one who didn't do anything before the situation's gone shitty."

"You didn't know."

"I did." Haru replied, nodding her head as her throat gradually narrowed. "Well, technically. I saw it as a slim possibility, and I didn't do anything about it."

"You didn't want to force him. Even if you did, he wouldn't have liked it and neither would I."

"Let me help you. Even if it's too late, I need to do my part to help you fix this-"

"Nothing can fix this stupid mistake of mine, Haru-chan!" shouted Kosaki as her voice slowly shrunk into the brink of oblivion. "Nothing and nobody can. Not even you..."

"I tried to...but you wouldn't let me." stated Haru.

"No, you've watched, and you've offered your flowery words and your shady services just when the damage has already been done."

"Onee-chan!"

"I'm done, Haru-chan. I'm done with this silly little talk of ours, and I'm done with it all."

"You get to the point where you just want to run away from everything. But you can't run. And it's not going away." - Monica Kubena

Kosaki immediately stood up, with her smooth and wet hands gently grazing upon the table's flat and wooden exterior, albeit swiftly but in struggle. Who could even blame the poor lass? Her legs felt like a lanky pair of fiddlesticks due to all that sitting she's done.

"Are you going out?" Haru anxiously asked with the added brittleness stuck in her voice. "If so, are you going to..."

"Yeah, I guess." The brunette sighed as she looked away from her, tears still wet in her emotionally tired face. "Maybe a bit of fresh air is all I need. Don't worry, Haru-chan. I'll finish your curry. Just...heat it up for me when I get back, okay?"

"I'm coming with you." The mini-brunette impulsively stated with her brows slightly furrowed with determination. "I know, it's too late for me to make a difference with your situation. I know it's impossible for me to change the past, and I know I sound like a persistent menace who wanted to look clean and honorable in your eyes, but please, let me watch over you as you did with me. Let me stop you from doing something stupid."

"You know a lot of things, Haru-chan. I get that." Kosaki bluntly replied as she took a quick glance at her little sister right before turning her back on the latter. "But here's what you clearly don't know; I'm a strong woman by my own right, and I can't possibly see myself doing some real damage."

"I'll be an idiot to believe in such nonsense." retorted Haru. "Anyone is capable of doing anything, plus, they have a good set of limbs in their aide. I won't let you get past that door, no matter what it takes. I'd even knock you out if I have to."

"Go ahead." The brunette apathetically replied. "The force of your fists wouldn't hurt as much as the beating of my heart. Maybe I'd forget about that by the time I'll come to. Maybe I'd forget about him, about everything. That alone could free me without even knowing about what happened in the first place. That could fulfill your constant desire to save me from this 'suffering'. Wouldn't that be beneficial for the both of us?"

"Talk about asking me to stop degrading myself! I've never thought I'd say this, but honestly, you're starting to scare me."

"Haru-chan...I'm-"

"Is he really that important to you?" inquired Haru. "If so, are you willing to spend the rest of your life knowing that he chose someone else?"

"What's the point in humoring me with those questions?"

"Onee-chan, just answer them quickly." she sternly demanded. "Look, I get that you're obviously still in love with him, but I need to fully understand the degree of affection you have towards the guy...just to check if it's healthy or not. Plus, doing it would be really easy for you, I reckon."

"All I wanted to do right now is to clear my mind, Haru-chan, to properly asses everything that has happened today." Kosaki stated. "You see, I'm not the kind of person who plans on doing something dirty and devious to solve someone else's problems. I suggest you'd do the same."

"I swear, you aren't as fickle-headed as you are right now."

"Oh? That's probably due to the fact that I wasn't always the rebellious one in the family." The brunette replied as she wiped her face with the silky edge of her sleeves before exiting the room. "Well, I guess a little deviation from my usual self is always a nice thing to do once in a while...if you know what I mean."

"Um, Onee-chan...?"

"What?"

"Do what you must, but I think it's best for you to stay for a little while longer, if that's okay for you." suggested Haru with a glint of nervousness in her tone.

"Believe me, Haru-chan, I'd stick around if I could. But I really need to do this right now. I could find no better solace than that alone." stated Kosaki with an unexpected smile finally etched across her lips. "I'm sure you'd understand."

"There are a lot of things I need to fully understand." The mini-brunette replied. "And that includes you."

"Sure it does. We may cook at the same kitchen, eat at the same table and watch the same programs at the living room, but we always sleep in separate rooms. Remember that."

"Oh, I'll remember that alright." nodded Haru with her seemingly seamless gaze fixated towards her older sister. "I always remember."

"If you love and get hurt, love more. If you love more and hurt more, love even more. If you love even more and get hurt even more, love some more until it hurts no more." - William Shakespeare

"Are you sure we're going the right way, Darling?" asked Chitoge. The way she effortlessly sprinted away with her hair parried through the wind made her look like a supermodel rather than an experienced athlete, or possibly a good combination of both.

"Well, you're talking to someone who works there as a part-timer during the weekends. You decide!" replied Raku, who was running a few meters behind her, clearly out of breath as he continued to stare off into the winding path which directly leads to Kosaki's house.

"Can you blame me for being forgetful?"

"If that's the case, you should thank your lucky stars I'm here."

It had been nearly over 9 minutes since they've last left the gates of Kirisaki Manor at full speed. Though their houses are indeed a couple of walks away from each other, walking towards the center of town wasn't even an valid option for them due to how dire the situation has become after all that idle talking they've just did. Well, for all that's worth, at least she got what she wanted...sort of.

The heiress may have gotten the chance to scuttle in with her boyfriend, but would it really be a good idea for her to bust into a brokenhearted girl's place, holding hands with the man who rejected her? That's probably the main reason as to why Raku never wanted to drag her into this squabbled mess of his in the first place. To protect her from his own personal dilemmas; to protect her from himself.

"Just so you know, I'm not really the superstitious type." said Chitoge with a smile. "Plus, talking to bright balls of gas isn't my sort of thing."

"Oh, really?" inquired Raku. "I'm not the only one who knows about that nifty little lucky charm of yours."

"Good." she winked. "They'll all know who unknowingly proposed to me."

As expected, the netted doors to the shop were indeed closed to the brim, yet the windows sitting at the sides still emanated a rather dim and yellowish glow.

They're still awake. Raku thought to himself as he hurriedly picked up his cellphone. I'll have to tell Haru before we go—"

"You don't have to." said Chitoge, cupping the trapped device right before it even reached his ear. Her grip was partially strong; the kind of dexterous strength that feels overwhelming yet restrained at its weakest. "Look, simply calling her up to let us in wouldn't even change a thing. So, the best thing we can possibly do right now is to knock until they answer."

"I've always thought you had a penchant for violence. But it turns out that you're kinda old fashioned when it comes to this sort of thing." The beansprout said jokingly. "You'd normally kick the shit out of that door with your front legs."

"I'm not a fucking horse, you pathetic moron. Jeez, it's not like I'm capable of lifting a small house or something..." Chitoge replied bashfully.

"Of course, you can." informed Raku before heading towards the entrance. "And that's not even a fraction of how awesome you really are."

"Nice save, asshole." she started with a smile. "Back at it again with the constant touching of my insecurities and complimenting them like they're shitty pieces of modern art."

"What're you talking about?" he asked, brows slightly furrowed with confusion. "It's like you're calling The Mona Lisa a piece of crude wrapping paper."

A quick little sigh managed to escape her mouth. "You know what? Let's just get on with what we're supposed to do before we get croaking, shall we?"

"Roger that, princess." The beansprout nonchalantly stated as he gently pressed the surface of the doorbell with the tips of his incessantly shivering fingers. "Back me up when I'm cornered, okay? It's pretty hard for me to go talking to her at a time like this."

"You can do this, Raku." stated Chitoge with her light-blue eyes fixated towards his. "I know you can."

"Hey, what's with the sudden change of na—"

"Senpai!" a familiar voice suddenly called out from the bell's built-in speaker. "Senpai, is that you?"

"Haru?" Raku nervously asked right after receiving a series of rough nudges from his girlfriend. "Um, I know this isn't the right time to ask you this, but...can we come in?"

"Isn't it pretty obvious? I've been waiting for you for like half an hour. What the hell happened back there?"

"I've dropped my phone." he explained before exhaling. "Is she okay?"

"Oh, you mean Onee-chan?" inquired Haru. "Well, I can't really tell whether if she's currently in bad shape or not. I guess you'll have to go and see her for yourself, and of course, the rest is up to you. I'm sure she'd like that very much."

"Well, I'm pretty sure I'm the last person she'd want to see right now." The beansprout stated with a glint of sadness in his voice. "You know, after all that's—"

"Bullshit." The mini brunette replied. "I'm sure she'd like to see you guys at the table. Care to join us?"

"Um, about that..."

"We'd like to." answered Chitoge swiftly. "I hope we wouldn't be a burden to you."

"Not at all." affirmed Haru. "In fact, there are a lot of things I wanted to ask of you, Kirisaki-senpai."

"And what would that be?" The heiress enthusiastically inquired. "Does it have something to do with how I look? Or..."

"Oh, that would be our dirty little secret."

A/N

Oh, I guess I'm back from the dead, I suppose.

Putting that awkward intro aside, I'd like to apologize for the 3 month wait. I'm sure you guys are probably moaning and groaning right now after reading this portion of the author's note, but I'm actually pretty serious about this. I'm truly sorry for letting all of you wait, and for giving you an overused reason as to why it's so.

Look, for the past 2 months, I've been pretty busy when it comes to moving from Japan, settling in a new apartment and enrolling in a university. Well, it may seem easy to do when written on paper, (Well, that's what I've thought.) but in fact, those are 3 of the most tedious things I've ever done in my life. And the funny thing is, all this time I've been desperately trying to find a way to update this story as soon as possible. I hope you'll all understand.

I'm sure you've all noticed some changes when it comes to the summary and the second half of the genres. That's because the tag "Supernatural" doesn't even fit as to where the story's going. Silly me!

I'd also like to thank all of you for your continued support for this story despite of the various hiatuses dragging it into the dust. You guys are the best, seriously.

As for the next chapter, I'll probably update it whenever I'm free. So, since I'm still a freshman, I wouldn't have to worry about that anymore.

I hope this chapter's somehow worth the wait. If you have something to say about this, please, just let me know!