Chapter 1: ForAi/Memorable Meeting
No one expected that "after" would only last more than a little over four years.
The tragedy that was the murder of Ai Hoshino would set in motion a chain reaction of events which rocked the idol industry significantly, stunting the progress of a lot of projects and advancements as her death shook the entire entertainment world.
Often seen as a bright beacon of joy for many, the absence of Ai in the mainstream idol scene caused hordes of fans to lose their passions for idols and the culture associated with it. Behind the scenes, the aftermath would lead to several budding entertainers to quit altogether out of fear for their own safety. The most significant departure within the industry would be the abrupt resignation of President Saitou who also served as a guardian for the deceased idol.
With his disappearance, Yamasaki Hiroshi was freed from the written agreement he had with the former President of Strawberry Productions where he would refrain from interacting with Ai and her children outside of work to protect her secret.
The agreement never really bothered him though as he was always given time to speak with her whenever she made visits to his studio either alone or with some company. Discreet purchases and deliveries of essentials for her twins were the only indirect ways he could connect with her babies.
As the years after their birth passed, he would be given the chance to see them closely on the rare occasions they accompanied their mother. He was always beaming whenever he saw or heard Ai's affection for her children. After years and years of deceiving others through lies of love, she had finally found the avenue to allow a pure form of love to seep from her heart.
Witnessing her growth as a person and supporting her all the while would however make it exponentially more devastating when the day the light in her eyes faded arrived.
For several months, Hiroshi had to physically force himself to work, his mind bogged down by the untimely death of someone he had truly cared for. The quality of his compositions wouldn't suffer but his mental health plummeted, unable to come to terms with the nature of her passing.
What made it hurt for him even more was the fact that Ai never had the chance to listen to a special, personal song he had composed for her. Years and years of trying to formulate the perfect acoustic song just for her seemed to be a waste as his reason for working on the project was no longer alive.
And so, after tweaking it a couple of times, Hiroshi would abandon the song, storing it in a USB Drive and stowing it away in a wardrobe at his home, never to see the light of day again.
From time to time though, he would remember the last tribute he could've given to Ai and often contemplated releasing it publicly. However, it was too personal of a work for others to appreciate properly so he resigned to, instead, possibly giving it to her children when they were older.
That was the plan…which would unfortunately not come to fruition in his lifetime.
Three years after Ai's death, he would be diagnosed with a disease that would not leave him until it took his life less than two years later.
"I'll be here, just waiting,
Forever, for an answer,
Before I can see you once again…"
Through the darkened route leading to a residential complex atop a hill, a figure walked tiredly, his frame briefly illuminated by the street lights bathing him in a brilliant light every time he moved past one. The outskirts of the city he was going through had a completely different evening atmosphere as compared to the heart of it, lacking the bustling noises and general cacophony.
That made for the perfect opportunity for Yamasaki Takuma to listen to a song through a pair of earphones without the need to blast the volume all the way up.
The weather had turned tolerable since the sun had set and the sweat that drenched him previously had begun to dry with each step that he made towards his home. The lingering ache on his left shoulder blade didn't bother him as the longing for rest after another day of work at a construction site dominated his mind.
Like a lumbering zombie, he didn't bother to register the people and vehicles passing him by, instead staring blankly forward, flinching at intervals when the headlights of a motorcycle would temporarily blind him. Luckily, his shabby work shirt and pants deterred most pedestrians from walking close to him.
The eighteen year old only had a couple of weeks left before he would leave for college, following in the footsteps of his older brother Shou who already had graduated and was currently working as an understudy for their late father's colleague.
Rubbing the middle finger on his right hand subconsciously, he imagined how his life as a college student would pan out.
He would unceremoniously be knocked off his train of thought by a voice calling out to him.
"Nii-san!"
That shrill voice of a boy three years younger than him would almost startle him.
Takuma sighed in annoyance, realizing that his energetic younger brother was nearby. A quick glance to the turn in the sidewalk in front of him would confirm that Naoto was indeed right there.
"Why aren't you at home?" he asked lazily, barely having the capacity to interact with his brother.
With their mother and their older brother having day jobs, it often meant that either he or Naoto would be the ones to prepare dinner for the rest of the family. Fortunately, it was never that difficult of a task to conjure up a meal all were satisfied with.
Seeing Naoto outside was a cause for concern though as it meant there would be no one at home and that could always prove to be a huge security risk if the often absent-minded boy had forgotten to lock the doors behind him.
"We ran out of salt" Naoto replied, practically shoving a packet in his brother's face.
"So soon?" Takuma raised his eyebrow, "And did you remember to take the fish out of the fridge?"
The older Yamasaki sibling stared intently at his brother, expecting an affirmative reply.
Naoto's lips would form an uneasy smile as he looked to the side.
Takuma sighed again as he realized that he would have to do it all himself as his brother had so obviously forgotten that simple task.
"I told you I-"
"I saw this really cute girl leaving our school today…I think she's enrolling" Naoto quickly blurted out to disrupt the scolding that was flying his way.
"Huh?
It took a moment for Takuma to understand that Naoto was talking about his school, Yoto High School and the interviews being conducted for the newest batch of high schoolers. Naoto himself had just finished his first year and would be the senpai to all who passed the interviews.
But that bit about a "cute girl" had some wheels spinning inside of Takuma's head. Naoto might not have possessed many useful skills but he had a good judgment of character…and attractiveness, though subjective the latter may be.
"…you're an adult now…you're an adult now…"
Takuma repeated the mantra internally, not wishing to fall back into…old habits.
"I hope she passes" Naoto chuckled.
After shaking his head to regain his composure, Takuma shoved his brother to get him to walk towards their residence.
"You can talk about that at home" he said sternly, "Mom will be home any time soon. Plus, I don't want you to go on a whole monologue again like you did with that actress girl."
"Ah~" Naoto instantly cooed, "Kana-chan~…she's a heartbreaker!"
Takuma's eyes twitched, no longer able to keep his cool. His brother was being an insufferable idiot again and he had enough of his antics.
Clutching a handful of his collar, he practically escorted Naoto in the direction of their house by force.
"I SAID SAVE IT FOR LATER!" he said aloud.
The next moment, a deafening silence would follow.
A look on horror would form on Takuma's face as he realized that he had just shouted right in the middle of an empty and quiet street. The decaying echo would linger in his head, mortifying him to no end upon knowing that he had acted like a maniac in public.
That completely went against the cool, calm and mature image he was trying to portray in front of friends and family.
"J-Just go!"
Not wanting to be caught as the one screaming in public, Takuma awkwardly quickened his pace, wishing to hide himself within the confines of his home before anyone familiar had seen him. The constant snickering from Naoto would not disappear any time soon either.
It had been a while since he had screwed up but in some twisted way, the universe always seemed to put him in embarrassing situations just when his mind was on track to believing he had his life together.
The only solace he could take out of that brief incident was that the timer for his next brush with misfortune was reset.
The Yamasaki family would reunite in time for dinner in their home which once housed six but now only had four occupying it.
It had been more than six years since the father of the household had passed, yet a certain melancholy still haunted the family members. The flow of time did not fully heal the wounds caused by his absence but it did not break the remaining bonds they shared either.
The three brothers- Shou, Takuma and Naoto all had the upper floor of the house to themselves, each one of them being provided with rooms to call their own. Previously, Takumo shared a room with his younger brother but as his late father's unused study was cleared recently, he was free to claim the spacious room as his own.
And in that same room, he slowly changed into more casual clothing, having finished showering to wash off the wear and tear of the day. The tiredness from a day's work would catch up to him and he soon found himself close to dozing off as 9 o'clock rolled around.
"Mesmerized, dazed and hypnotized,
Headlights flashing in our sights,
Melancholic smiles seen for miles, going down our way"
A pop song played from his laptop as he laid on his bed, wrestling with the desire to sleep or browse the internet first.
His gaze then fell upon the calendar hanging on the wall. He smiled, knowing that he was on the verge of another important milestone of his life: college.
In just a matter of weeks, he would begin his journey as a young adult in a university, starting off with a clean slate and forging a new identity. That was what excited him most about the near future.
And that was also the reason why he had been trying to keep up an image of a calm, unbothered person despite it going against everything he had been up to that point.
Entering a new world meant having a new image to go with it.
But for the first day, he also had to dress not too sharply but not too gaudily either.
"…I'm around his size now, aren't I? They'll probably fit me."
Sitting up from his bed, Takuma took a couple of steps before he stood in front of his father's old wardrobe which had been left to gather dust in study, left barely touched since his passing.
It stood more than a foot taller than the young man and the brown varnishing had faded with time, indicating how old it was.
A buttoned shirt was his first choice for his first appearance and since he had none that fit him since his growth spurt, checking his father's wardrobe for one that would fit him perfectly was an option he could take before making the decision to buy one.
The doors creaked as he pulled back on them, revealing the interior which was full of shirts and pants. Some were plaid, some striped, some floral and a handful of them were the plain buttoned shirts he had been looking for.
From a simple glance, Takuma could already tell that the shirts were of his size…though they would have to be thoroughly washed first before he could try them on.
As he carefully moved his hands through them, the sound of a minute metallic object dropping to the floor of the wardrobe took his attention.
"Huh?"
Believing it to be a button or a tie clip, he shifted his eyes to where the sound emanated from.
The moment the object was in sight, he raised his eyebrow in confusion as it wasn't an ornamental accessory.
Rather, it was a silver USB drive.
"What's this doing here?" he audibly asked as he bent down to pick it up.
It had collected a bit of dust but it wasn't anything a wipe couldn't clean. The name of the brand imprinted on the drive couldn't be read as there was a scratch running through it but other than that, the plug seemed to be intact.
As he eyed it while holding it with his left hand, a pleasant smile came across his face.
"Nice! I won't have to use the spare one if this works!"
With a new objective in mind, he cleaned the remaining layer of dust on the sleeve of one of the hanged shirts before taking it to his laptop which was propped up right next to his bed.
Plugging the drive into the side of the computer, he turned off the music playing software and anxiously waited for the notification sound to pop up, thus confirming that the tiny piece of hardware was working.
"…come on…"
PLOPP!
The fourth time he tapped his finger on the desk, a notification appeared at the bottom right corner of the screen.
"There might be a problem with files contained within the drive…"
"That's nothing"
The message was nothing terrifying. A quick scan and repair was all he would need to make the device usable. He couldn't care less about whatever corrupted files were present inside the drive as long as it was functioning properly.
…
…
…
Five seconds later, he was given access to the now cleansed drive.
No name was attached to it save for the generic title of "USB Drive". That typically meant that it wasn't used for overly important tasks.
"Wonder what's in this though…"
A couple of clicks later, a window would appear, showing the contents of the drive.
"Eh?"
Takuma's eyes widened in surprise as he leant closer to the screen, trying to make sure he wasn't reading anything wrong.
Inside the drive was only a singular file.
An audio file titled…
" 3" Takuma mumbled, hovering the cursor over the file, "ForAi? For Ai?"
He then leant back, wondering if he had accidentally stumbled upon one of his father's USB drives used to work. If that was the case, it would be unwise to claim it as his own if it contained important audio files related to his father or his accomplices.
Out of sheer curiosity though, he double-clicked the file. The queue already present on the tab would be overwritten by the presence of the file simply named "ForAi".
Listening closely, he could hear the clear strumming of a guitar's strings.
A second later, he stared at the screen in pure astonishment.
"E-Eh?"
His father's voice would suddenly ring from the speakers of his computer, accompanying the melody being played on the acoustic guitar.
"Every day, I see the freedom of birds as they fly through the sky,
The sight of them makes me yearn to lift this weight off my heart,
There's no place for love in this begotten world,
So, my heart longs to soar through the skies."
The song being sung by his father completely took Takuma by surprise, no longer able to hide his emotions behind a blank stare. It had been ages since he had heard his late father's voice and right at the moment, his heart raced as he felt he was right next to him.
"If I had wings like angel, I could fly and see this world from afar,
Tell me, what is love like in your corner of the world?
'Cause I want to find a place in this world where love reigns free."
Leaning on his chair, Takuma put a hand to his chin, blinking as he was totally engrossed in the bittersweet melodic nature of the song. The vulnerability of the lyrics and the eeriness of hearing his father sing it had converted the whole experience into a haunting one.
"Will the heavens open and guide me?
Will the end bring revelation?
Because there is no place for love in this world,
The only road left is to dream.
I want to spread my wings and find a peaceful place where love is still safe,
Even if a storm comes and the world breaks apart,
I will stay hopeful."
The song would end abruptly as both the vocals and the strumming stopped.
Takuma inhaled and then exhaled methodically, trying to get his bearings together upon realizing that he had discovered one of his father's compositions that he had never heard before.
From the initial couple of seconds, he had assumed it would be a bittersweet listen but once he had finished the entire audio file, he could not help but feel a sense of otherworldly sadness overcoming his heart, unlike anything he had felt for years.
A longing for his father crept back after having been hidden in the depths of his heart. Hearing the song had opened up old wounds in his mind.
"So…this is your song, dad…I…I don't even know what to think…"
But the passage of time had imbued a hardened heart to him and his advent into adulthood had instilled a stronger outlook on the topic of losing a loved one. He wasn't going to break down and cry because he had made an unexpected discovery for that night…but the sadness would not easily dissipate.
Letting out a heavy sigh, he put his hands together and stared at the screen once more, his mind now devoid of thoughts.
Perhaps it was a coping mechanism, an effort to stop himself from shedding a tear. The answers were unknown to him.
"I had always thought your brother would stumble upon that before you did."
The unmistakable voice of his mother lifted Takuma out of his brief state of contemplation.
As he shifted his head towards the door, he saw his forty six year old mother enter the room, a warm smile on her face.
Takuma took note of how she seemed to recognize the audio file he had just listened to. But it came as no surprise to him given that his mother had worked with his father in the music industry and there was no doubt that she would be aware of almost everything that her husband worked on during his career.
"Huh? You know about this?" he asked for confirmation.
"Of course" she said, leaning a bit to catch a glance of the computer, "Your father worked on that for nearly five years."
Instinctively, Takuma arched his eyebrow in surprise.
"Five years? People work on songs for that long?" he inquired, finding that particular detail quite unbelievable.
"I'm not sure…" his mother answered, "But he often mentioned how he wanted the song to be special as it was for someone who he cared for very much."
"It's for someone else?" Takuma narrowed his eyes at her before shifting his gaze to the window still open on his computer, "For someone else…"
He focused on the name of the file.
"For Ai? For Ai?" he pursed his lips, "This song was for someone named Ai?"
His mother nodded.
"I'm surprised you don't recognize the name" she chuckled, "Shou-kun and Nao-kun are both familiar with that name seeing that most of her songs were composed by your father."
That additional bit of information did not help at all.
""Her"?"
Not wanting to confuse her son any further, Yukiyo opted for a direct explanation.
"Hoshino Ai was an idol who-"
""Was"?!"
Takuma stared at her mother with his jaw hung open, hoping for an answer but before long, he realized he had interrupted her abruptly when she was about to speak.
"Sorry for the interruption" he hastily apologized.
With a smile, Yukiyo continued.
"Hoshino Ai was an idol who broke into the industry at the young age of twelve" she said, "Your father was often asked by the company she worked for to compose songs for her and her fellow idols. They worked together on song after song and they had some sort of a father-daughter dynamic going on."
Takuma instantly found it intriguing the moment she mentioned the dynamic they shared.
"Her career would stall when she got pregnant and had twins at the age of sixteen…"
The young man quickly cupped his mouth to prevent himself from interrupting his mother again. However, he could not hide his shock upon learning that someone that famous had kids at such a young age.
It was simply unfathomable for him to see someone younger than him ever bearing children. Those kinds of things always were for adults in his eyes but as he had just learned, he had to acknowledge the unbelievable detail as fact…given that his own mother was telling him that.
"Your father was among a handful of people who knew of Ai's secret. It was around the time when Nao-kun was born as well so he had a lot of things to handle during that period" Yukiyo added, "Things got better when the twins were born" she then looked at his son, "I don't know how you don't remember her. You were the only one who had the chance to meet her and her children."
"What?!" Takuma exclaimed, flummoxed, "I met an idol? A pregnant one at that too?!"
"Yes" she nodded, "I'm surprised you don't remember that. Your father took you along to see her on the week that she had her babies."
"He did? How old was I at the time?"
"Hmmm…I don't think you were three yet."
Takuma put a hand to his face and groaned.
"Then how do you expect me to remember that?!"
"Oh! I had always thought you knew that" she simply replied with a smile, "Shall I continue then?"
A nod from the young man followed.
"At the age of twenty, she was unfortunately killed by a fan at her home" her tone grew somber, "Your father had been secretly working on the song for years, trying to make it perfect for her sake but shortly after her death, he chose to no longer work on it. Afterwards, he kept it in that device, hoping that at least her children could receive his final gift to her when they were older…but that never happened."
Takuma had to take a second to breathe deeply. All that he had learned about the idol named Hoshino Ai, an accomplice of his father were beyond the realm of what he had thought idols would have to go through.
Pregnant at sixteen? Murdered by a fan? Those details were too surreal for him to comprehend immediately.
While he felt proud of his father for being there for the poor girl who had to endure all of that, he was disturbed by the undeniable fact that such situations could happen to individuals that most assumed to have lives that reflected their on stage personas.
"That's…very messed up…" he mumbled.
"That's the entertainment world for you. The deeper you dive into it, the more dirt you will uncover."
Takuma could do nothing but nod and continue to ponder about what lied behind the curtains. Obviously, his parents had both seen the best and worst that the industry offered and were wary enough to not let him and his brothers be acquainted with people they had worked with.
"Now that you have discovered your father's song for Ai, perhaps we should give it to her children" Yukiyo smiled, counting with her fingers, "They'll be around Nao-kun's age I believe."
"Hmmm…yeah…dad would've wanted it."
Staring at the USB drive, Takuma was glad to have learnt more about his father and the connections he had. For someone who was as popular as he was in his prime and beyond, it used to bother him that his father's colleagues rarely showed their faces around their home. Now, he understood that his parents had wanted to keep him and his brothers safe from the grasp of the industry they worked for until they were old enough.
Yukiyo gently placed her hand on her son's shoulder.
"Please keep Ai's secret safe with you, Tak-kun" she told him softly, "Do not speak of this to anyone else unless they mention it first."
His mother was right to ask him to do that. He could tell from her words that Ai's pregnancy and subsequent motherhood had not been revealed to the public yet, most likely to protect her reputation.
Knowing that it was his mother who requested that from him, he gave her his honest answer.
"I promise" he replied in an assuring tone.
"You're a good boy, Tak-kun."
Nodding, Takuma removed the USB drive from his laptop before placing on top of his desk.
"Now…how can I get this to Ai's children? I don't even know their names, let alone where they are."
"Don't worry about that" his mother quickly answered, "I have the contact number of their guardian. I will give her a call and ask them to pick it up."
"Mooommm!" Takuma groaned, resting his chin on the desk as well.
"What is it?" Yukiyo raised an eyebrow.
"I'll give it to them if you can get me their address" he grumbled, "I don't want important people coming over when I've just barely changed rooms!"
There was no chance in hell that he would risk outsiders stumbling upon the unkempt area in their abode which he called his room. He still hadn't made the final decisions on the positions of his furniture and that had left the room in a mess. Sure, visitors would most likely just stay in their living room downstairs but he was not taking any risks.
"Oh! Is that so?" she giggled, "Well then, I'll give Mikayo a call. If possible, you can head into the city and deliver that in the forenoon."
"Sounds good to me."
Despite his aversion to going into the city, Takuma found it quite strange he managed to agree to his mother's proposal without making a fuss out of it.
He then chalked it up to him wanting to carry his father's wishes, reuniting him and Ai once more through the modest act of delivering a USB drive. In his mind, he wondered if learning about the idol's backstory had swayed him into going through with the task.
"Alright then" his mother said with a smile as she walked towards the door, "Don't forget to close the windows when you want to sleep, okay?"
"Got it" he lazily gave her a thumbs up.
The second she closed the door after her, Takuma grabbed the USB drive before falling backwards on his bed, arms and legs spread out as he eyed the ceiling above him, blinking at intervals.
"…what a crazy story she has…" he thought, gazing at the small device in his hands.
Closing his eyes, he replayed his father's song in his head, taking note of what the lyrics conveyed and how it matched what he learnt of Ai's journey so far.
He found it strange how much the word "love" was thrown about in the song but the more he thought about it, the more he understood the main selling point of idols was their image as talented individuals who wholeheartedly loved their fans. Of course, it would be fitting that the idols themselves would be looking for love…just not manufactured ones, born from deception and not the ones they kept spouting themselves.
He was old enough to understand that the "love" idols had for their fans were totally different from conventional love. Ai seemed to have been someone who mastered the act in that case.
As such, there was a burning desire to have known what she was like if she was really like a daughter to his father. He wasn't necessarily sure if he'd have been a fan of hers if he knew about her earlier but he was certain he would, at the very least, not hate her if her father had such a relationship with her.
As for her children, he held no strong feelings towards them. Perhaps they would be indifferent to being given a special song written for their mother…it didn't matter to him as long as he finished what his father had set out to do years before.
There was another thing he had to be focused on though.
"What am I gonna wear tomorrow?"
Sitting up, Takuma shifted his gaze towards his own wardrobe and drawers containing his clothes. Because he had not yet bothered to move his belongings to their proper locations, the furniture were left standing at rather awkward spots.
Instead, it was time to make the final decision on how he would present himself in the eyes of the general public. A perfect choice of shirt and pants to enhance the image he wished to highlight was required…
…but unfortunately, fashion wasn't his expertise.
Swiftly, he sat back up in front of his laptop, rapidly typing in the side bars.
"Nice cool semi-casual looks for young men."
At times like those, he often praised the internet for always being there for him.
The jitters in her stomach weren't close to fading any time soon. Thoughts about how she conducted herself in the interview at Yoto High School the previous day would not leave her and she wished she had the ability to take it in stride just like her brother…well, at least not the degree that he did so.
Watching her mother's performance from her earlier days through online means was how Ruby sought to calm her nerves.
"W-What's the matter with me? I didn't feel this nervous yesterday when I had the interview!"
As she was the only person in the living room of the Saitou household, she was free to increase the volume of her phone to maximum as there wasn't anyone nearby she could bother.
In the off chance that someone like Aqua scolded her for watching videos so loudly, she could always fall back to her usual reasoning of it being "research" for her future idol career. That wasn't entirely a lie though. There was belief in her heart that emulating her mother's signature moves to perfection would help her in finding her own groove.
With Aqua in his room busy with who knows what and their adoptive mother Miyako not anywhere near the house, it was a fairly quiet forenoon.
"Thank you everyone for coming to see our live show. I love all of you!"
"S-So cute!"
Ruby let out a small squeak of adoration as the video reached its end.
Even in digital form, her mother was as stunning, cute and elegant as she was while she was alive. It never felt like Ai was dead for decades whenever she put on a video of her performance and fully immersed herself into what was shown on screen.
The first step in her own idol career was close by and she could not wait to be introduced to the glamorous stage that her mother had made her own all those years ago. She was sure she would be extremely supportive of her endeavors if she was still alive.
A quick swipe downwards on her phone revealed the current time.
"There's still time for one more video!" Ruby happily smiled, ready to play the next video in her queue.
RINGGGG!
The unignorable tone of the doorbell reverberated inside the house, telling its residents that someone was at the door.
Ruby glanced at the door across the room, a bit ticked off that a visitor had interrupted her.
"…maybe after this…" she sighed as she got up from the couch.
Taking a moment to check herself for any discrepancies, she proceeded to approach the door, hoping that the interaction wouldn't too long lest it would rob her of her precious time.
CLICK!
With a turn of the knob, she pulled the door open, giving her full view of the person who was standing in front of her.
"Hello-….W-Wha"
Ruby abruptly stopped her greeting before gasping.
The black hoodie, pitch black pants and the black tinted shades on the visitor's face instantly sent a chill down her spine as a sensation of utter dread began to wash over her. His intimidatingly large frame and obstructed face set off several red flags immediately.
Horrific flashbacks of a traumatic incident from over ten years ago would resurface in a split second as she found herself in a similar position and in the mercy of the individual looming over her.
With eyes widened, mouth ready to scream but unable to, all she could muster was a shocked expression as she froze in place, rendered incapable of even stepping backwards.
"Hoshino Ruby?" the visitor asked.
Everything about him, from his attire to his cold voice, unnerved her to say the least.
And to add to the terror, he had also known her name. The unreadable glare he had put on failed to show his true intentions but Ruby was already convinced that he was up to no good and possibly out for something malicious. There was no other reason for someone as shady as to him to be right there, on the doorstep of her home.
She needed to be absolutely careful with her words and actions.
"Y-Yes? T-That's me…" she made the decision to answer.
"Heh…"
Ruby stopped herself from letting a scared yelp to escape from her mouth the moment he smirked.
"W-What does he want? S-Should I shout for help? W-What should I do?"
As she watched, terrified beyond words, he slowly reached into the pockets of his hoodie.
An unspeakable fear instantly gripped her as she went through all of the possibilities after seeing him apparently rummage for a weapon inside of his pockets.
"W-What should I do?" she repeated frantically in her head, unable to breathe properly due to panic taking hold of her.
However, as she clenched her hands, she realized she was still holding onto the door.
"N-Now's my chance!"
Giving the stranger no time to react, she channeled whatever remaining strength she had into her arm, slamming the door shut with authority.
The second the door lodged itself neatly back to its usual position, Ruby moved quickly to lock the door, hastily pushing her entire body against it to prevent any attempts to pry it open before she could turn the lock.
As soon as she felt the door lock tight, she cautiously backed away, keeping her sights firmly on it. Her sweat continued to drip down as her heart raced wildly. She didn't know if the stranger would simply give up or would attempt to break into the house.
"I-I need to call for help!"
She then darted towards her phone, swiftly scrolling through her contacts before dialing the number of her adoptive mother. Her breath quickened as the phone rang.
The presence of the stranger outside was undeniable, owing to the frantic footsteps she could hear clearly.
"…W-What does he want?"
"I want to give it to her but she slammed the door on me, mom!...Isn't there someone else I can give this to?"
Takuma let out an annoyed groaned as he paced outside the Saitou household, taking off his aviators and pulling back the hood he had on his head.
"Well, Tak-kun, you must've done something to spook her."
"I did nothing! I just asked for her name. That's all!" he crossed his arms.
"Hmm…let me call Miyako again. Perhaps she can set things right if the doors are locked."
Takuma then put his hands on the door's handle and twisted it a bit, confirming that it was indeed locked. A muffled gasp seemed to emanate from within for a split second.
"Alright…I'll wait for your call then."
With his phone still in his hand, Takuma glared at the locked door, thoroughly fed up that his forty minute walk into the city had ended with someone slamming the door in his face like he was some sort of a creep.
"Can't believe this…of all the days…" he mumbled.
At that point, he was starting to be convinced that the girl who opened the door had a few screws loose with the way she reacted to his appearance. It was becoming increasingly more and more difficult to maintain the cool guy image he had left home with.
Clenching his fists and pointing it at the sky, he gritted his teeth.
"It's only been a day! Give me a break!" he complained to no one in particular, shaking his fist.
There was an urge to knock on the door again or call Ruby by her name but something told him that it would be difficult to have the door be opened for him that way.
Luckily, the sound of his phone ringing would give him hope.
"Hello?"
Before he heard her speak, Takuma could hear his mother giggle first.
"Tak-kun, did you really leave the house dressed like that?"
Narrowing his eyes, he mumbled his answer.
"Yes…? Why is that relevant?"
Another chuckle could be heard on the other end of the life.
"I called Miyako and she told me that Ruby had just informed her of a person wearing all-black attempting to break into the house."
Takuma could only sigh in defeat as he understood that his bizarre choice of clothes and other accessories were indeed the reason for the awkward interaction he had just had with Ruby. Though he vehemently wanted to deny it, his mother's words confirmed that his attire was the source of the misunderstanding.
"Don't worry. She told me that she'll clear things up with Ruby" Yukiyo told her son, "Be nice to her, Tak-kun~"
"…okay…" he grumbled before the call ended.
As he heard footsteps from within the house steadily approach the door once more, Takuma facepalmed, fully pissed off that he had basically ruined what should have been a straight forward interaction.
With eyes blankly staring forward and a slightly slouched posture, he stood in front of the door, waiting for Ruby to show herself again.
"Internet…go fuck yourself…"