The silence is deafening.
Kage sits frozen in place, as if her fear —every subtle flinch she tries to hide whenever he so much as breathes too loud— weighs on him like lead shackles binding him to the cold floor.
His chest tightens. For a moment he considers just leaving. Running away always works, after all. But his thoughts are interrupted by her voice.
It's small, but sharp at the edges, almost spiteful in its coldness.
"If I ask you a question, are you just going to lie your way out of answering me?"
He starts to shake his head no, but then stops and slumps against the wall, sounding defeated. "Probably… but I'll try. I promise."
Tsubasa studies his features, trying despite herself to find anything about him she can trust. Her teeth grit as she responds, "don't sound so desperate. It pisses me off… Just answer yes or no. Are you Kurai?"
His response comes slow, the dim light of the hallway hiding his expression in shadows. "I am."
She feels her chest tighten. Breath hitching before she forces herself to stay calm. "Th-that wasn't a yes or no, dummy…" She tries to deflect, but her voice trembles.
"I'm sorry." He looks away, grasping for anything to distract himself, but the dark offers no escape.
"Don't apologize now."
"S-sorr—" He cuts himself off when she glares at him.
She doesn't say anything, and neither does he.
Both afraid of what this conversation means.
And how it ends.
Tsubasa breaks first, standing abruptly and moving for the door, pulling her hand away from Kage as he tries to reach for it. She already has one shoe on before she hears his voice from the hall.
Small.
Regretful.
Not like him at all.
"I'm sorry…"
She refuses to look back at him. "I told you not to say that."
"…I'm sorry I ruined everything."
Tsubasa snaps. She whirls around and jabs her finger into his chest.
"YOU don't get to be sorry. Its YOUR fault. YOU lied! YOU made this hard! YOU made me fall for y—" Her words are cut off by shallow sobs. Her tears rolling down her cheeks despite her best efforts.
He reaches for her but she pulls away.
"What do you want from me Kage? You keep saying you're sorry, but what am I supposed to forgive you for? Lying? If I did, would you stop?"
He doesn't say anything.
He doesn't have to.
His silence answers for him.
And just like that, she's gone.
The only sounds left are the patter of rain and his own breath.
***
It's cold.
And wet.
Every inch of his clothes soaked.
His bare feet sliding on the pavement as he trudges his way down the street, each step heavy and compulsory.
His body moving on its own —training dragging him along her faint trail— while his eyes remain unfocused, staring past everything and at nothing.
He stops.
Trail gone.
His heart slams against his chest as he searches desperately for any trace of her.
Nothing
His back slides down the wall behind him, the shock of the cold tile grounding him just enough to breathe.
"Why do I care so much?" he mutters. His fingers dig into the concrete under him, nails scraped raw as he fights the sound of the rain pounding in his skull.
"You don't care. Your emotions are still where you buried them when you put on that mask."
"That's not true! I do care! I hate this! I hate lying to her!"
"You hate that you don't have a choice."
His teeth grit.
"I could choose. I could run away."
"Could you?"
"Yes!"
"….You even lie to yourself."
A slow, mocking clap echoes down the alleyway.
Kage stiffens and stumbles to his feet to look toward the sound as Hitoshi steps into view — blurry through the curtain of rain, but unmistakable. And kneeling beside him is a woman, small, trembling… and the red of her hair lights a fire in Kage's chest.
"What did you do to her?" Kage's voice is low, and tired, but filled with all the rage his body can muster.
Hitoshi laughs — joyless and hollow, but sharp. "What did I do? What did you do? I found her curled up in an alley, sobbing so hard she couldn't breath."
"Leave her out of it…" Kage steps forward, every muscle pulled taut, instincts screaming.
Hitoshi removes his red Oni mask and lets it fall into a puddle. The smile he wears is a sadistic mix of hatred and pure enjoyment. "You know, I would. I really would." His voice is almost gentle. "But you'll be so much more fun if I don't.~"