Chapter 3: The Past Always Comes Back to Haunt You

17th November 2013

Shifting his position, Mikoto turned to focus his amber orbs on the figure beside the bed.

Meeting Mikoto's gaze, Ayame flashed him a half-smile. Still haunted by the images from her dream.

"S-sorry for disturbing you, I just wanted to check on you to see how you were doing."

Grunting in response, Mikoto ran his eyes over the petite frame in front of him. Slowly examining her from head to toe.

Something seemed amidst. She looked pale, paler than when he first saw her earlier in the day. The light in her bright purple eyes were slightly dimmed and now held a haunted look in them. All these coupled with her slightly shaking hands which she had clenched into fists to hide the fact from Mikoto made it seemed like she had been shaken by something, badly.

"Did something happen," questioned Mikoto.

His curiosity peeked by Ayame's weird behaviour. It was vastly different when compared to what he'd been exposed to so far. Her usual cheerful demeanour was now replaced by a subdued version of the bright-eyed girl.

Afraid that her voice would betray how she was feeling, Ayame vigorously shook her head in reply to the Red King's question while forcing a smile. Cursing herself under her breath for letting her uneasiness show.

Her past and her nightmares were not things she wanted to discuss with someone she barely , it was not something she never wanted to disclose to anyone.

Mikoto's eyes narrowed at the her response. Somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding something from him. And, Mikoto didn't like being kept in the dark or, being lied to.

Regaining her composure, Ayame cleared her throat, opening her mouth to speak. Breaking the awkward silence that had descended on the room after Mikoto's alleged question.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to step out for awhile to get somethings for dinner."

Grunting in acknowledgement, Mikoto turned his back to Ayame, deciding to let the matter pass and return to his peaceful slumber.

In truth, Ayame didn't need to get anything for tonight's dinner preparations. She'd just wanted to escape her apartment which had all of a sudden felt stuffy and claustrophobic and, to clear her head which had yet again become muddled with images of her past.

Coming to a stop in front of the convenience stall, Ayame stepped inside walking down the isles of food stacked shelves, grabbing a few items off of them. Since she'd told Mikoto she needed to get somethings, she might as well grab a few thing before returning to her apartment.

Paying for her stuff, Ayame left the stall, making her way back to her apartment.

Halfway back to her apartment, Ayame noticed a blond-haired individual walking along the pavement some distance in front of her.

As his head turned slightly to the right, she noticed unmistakable black inked tattoo of the number '48'.

The sight of the tattoo and the unique mob of blond hair that stood out from the crowd made Ayame stop in her tracks.

Images from her past that she had just minutes ago managed to suppress came rushing back, flashing before her eyes. Images of decapitated bodies and the wide, surprised eyes of dead men filled her vision. Along with the colour of dark crimson, the colour of blood.

With her heart pounding and breath coming in short gasps, Ayame managed to duck into a near by alley before the blond could catch site of her, and before she could start hyperventilating in the middle of the streets.

Calming herself down, Ayame leaned her back against the alley wall letting herself slide down the wall as her legs became too weak to support her weight due to the overwhelming sense of relief that engulfed her from the simple fact of not been spotted and dragged back to 'Wonderland', where all your dreams came true. It was what her parents told her the day the men in black came to get her. They had lied to her, telling her that she was going to have such a great time there. The men in black had told her the same thing when she struggled against them.

They had all said the same thing, telling her that it was a place she would love, it was where she could make all her dreams and wishes come true without even having to lift a finger or say a single word. They had fed her with lies, telling her that she would be able to meet fairies and princesses like the ones she read about in storybooks and seen in cartoons. But, it was all a big fat lie. And some how she had known that it was all a lie from the very beginning, not believing a word they said no matter how many times they had fed her the same lie, trying to make her believe them. After all, fairies and princesses didn't exist. Especially in this world. This was a world where fairytales and happy endings were impossible.

And after all she had been right to not believe the lies fed to her. Because the place she had arrived at was far from a Wonderland. The only thing that came true in that place were your worst nightmares, far from the sweet dreams that any ordinary child would have in the safe confines of their own bed as they slept. It was a place filled with the most gruesome scenarios you could find a human being in. There were bodies modified and experimented on beyond recognition and other brutalities one couldn't even begin to phanthom. It was a place that instilled fear and stole all hope from its residents. It wasn't a place a 10 year-old child would want to find themselves in.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Ayame once again pushed the images from her past to the back of her mind, reburying them. Sparing the sky a quick glance, she caught the last rays of the sun as it dipped below the horizon.

Realising she had stayed out longer than she'd intended to, Ayame quickly gave her surroundings outside the alley a quick once over, making sure that the blond was no where in sight before hurrying back her apartment while, unbeknownst to her, the blond from earlier stood in the shadows of the street, watching her as she disappeared into the distance heading in the direction of her apartment.

Reaching her apartment, Ayame fumbled with her keys before hastily unlocking the door and slamming it behind her. Doing the safety latch back into place and locking the door securely before slowly sinking to the ground, reveling in the sense of safety her apartment provided her.

- NOTE -

Hello dear readers! Thank you for reading, I really appreciate it. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Also, a big thank you to those who've favourited or followed (or both) Second Chance so far. :)

Special thanks to Mirei-Chan again! Looking forward to your future reviews. And feel free to dish out any ideas you have, they are very much appreciated and welcome! :p