31st of December, 6:00 pm, Miyako's house
Ruby had just returned from her trip to Kana's house as the last rays of the sun disappeared and darkness was cast over the surrounding houses. A loud thud pierced through the eerie silence as she shut the front door. The hallway she found herself in was just as dark as the outside world, perhaps even more so. She tossed her keys towards the wooden bowl in which they were stored, just like she did thousands of times before. She had already begun to turn away when she heard the keys jingle to the floor, sighing as she turned back. The dark room is flooded with light as she flips the switch, keys lying right before her.
She bowed down and swiftly swooped them off the floor before rising again. The keys almost fell again as she came face to face with a picture of Herself, Miyako and Aqua, taken years ago and conveniently placed right behind the key bowl. Her mind still remembered the exact day it was taken; it was a sunny day at the zoo. That day, she saw Pandas, Lions, Gorillas, and even Penguins. Even Aqua smiled a whole lot, looking like a completely different person. She remained frozen for a good ten seconds before turning away again, unable to keep up the eye contact any longer, even when it was just a picture. She placed the set of keys down, less reckless than last time.
The tips of her fingers glid over the wall on her way towards the kitchen. This time, when she entered the new room, she decided to turn the lights on before she made herself comfortable on one of the chairs.
When did you just change this much, Aqua? That smile...
That version of you would never do what you did…
Was it the world that changed you?
Our lives are so similar, yet you turned out to be so... weird… How?
I don't get it.
Ruby's eyes wandered to the dark window a few meters in front of her, with greasy marks all over it. "We should clean them once we find time," Ruby murmured while she drew the curtains shut since the outside world was too dark to see anything anyway.
Stop blaming the world for his actions and face the facts, god damn it.
Aqua has changed a whole lot; he turned into somebody that you wouldn't want around you.
I mean, what if he does it again?
What if I'm in danger and he really does sacrifice Kana?
She doesn't seem to be important to him anyways, at least he never visited her.
Ruby... Why aren't you finally cutting him off completely?
Ruby strolled over to the fridge and looked through it for a moment before she settled for a leftover sandwich. It wasn't quite what she had hoped for, but the alternatives next to the sandwich seemed even less appetizing to her.
All of this is his fault to begin with.
The reason Kana was injured? He.
The reason we didn't stop Kamiki sooner? He.
The reason why Akane is at another emotional low? He.
And the worst part is, he would do it all again in a heartbeat.
Ruby's attention was snapped to the door connecting with the hallway as, right on cue, Aqua entered the room, too. He only seemed to pay little attention to Ruby, perhaps none at all. Instead, he walked over to the fridge and quickly grabbed something to eat from it. He looked down at the food in his hand for a moment, clearly not too thrilled about it either, before he shut the fridge and sat down. As soon as he sat, she stood. The sandwich, a few bites missing, lay in front of her while still half wrapped in its foil.
"Please wait." Aqua's voice made Ruby, who was already on her way out, halt; the hair on the back of her neck stood up. A few seconds passed by like this before she reluctantly turned, betraying her own thoughts mere seconds after thinking them.
"What do you want?" Her tone was sharp and unyielding.
"I want you to know that I am sorry for how things went down. And for what I had to do." Ruby's face fell even further as she heard Aqua's wording. A single aggressive step towards him is what she took when she felt like what she feared deep down was about to come true.
"That's everything? Seriously? You think you can do all of that and you'll be forgiven just like that?" Ruby frowned as she threw her hands up in the air.
Aqua sat completely still; he looked calm, almost relaxed, at least when compared to Ruby.
"You haven't even tried to visit Kana once. Everybody else visited her... Even Akane did... Just you didn't, it's always just you... And now you'll look for excuses again, when in reality you just don't care." Ruby said as her hand involuntarily formed a fist.
Aqua's expression shifted as he touched the bridge of his nose like he would readjust his glasses. "Ruby, breathe. You are being irrational. If you don't regulate yourself, then you will only worsen the situation," he said with a certain coldth within his voice.
Ruby looked at Aqua, hurt, alongside realization flashed in her eyes. "What the fuck are you talking about? Why are you talking like that? Who are you?..."
A moment passed before Ruby spoke again, her voice quieter and more vulnerable. "I want my brother back..." She mumbled.
The moment of vulnerability passed by just as quickly as it came, as her demeanor changed back to her previous angry expression. "No. That's not the problem... The problem is that you don't think you were in the wrong... That you would do it again just like that... Or is it not?"
Aqua remained completely silent.
"That's what I thought. I just can't afford to trust someone like that any longer," Ruby said as her eyes flickered away from Aqua's.
Something inside Ruby shattered as Aqua's silence confirmed her earlier thoughts. She turned her back towards Aqua, unwilling to burst out in front of him.
"Wait!" Aqua quickly got up from his chair and slammed both of his hands onto the desk, "I am doing this for us. I am doing this to keep Sarina safe. Safe from the dangers of this world."
Ruby gasped before she turned around, almost crying from all the pent-up rage by now. "I AM NOT SARINA TENDOUJI ANYMORE, AND YOU ARE CERTAINLY NOT GOROU AMAMIYA EITHER. MOVE ON YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE."
Aqua was left behind in silence as Ruby stormed out.
Unbeknownst to both of them, they were not alone. Somebody who was standing in the hallway, mere seconds before Ruby stormed out, overheard what Ruby said.
Gorou Amamiya... Where have I heard this name before?
...
Ruby reached around herself, her face buried within her sheets, trying to reach for any of her many plushies. She had slammed her door so hard just seconds prior that the echo still rang through her head.
Why am I feeling like that? What are these feelings? I don't understand them.
I want my brother back. I want the guy with whom I made so many fond memories. I don't want to live with the fact that this is who he is now.
Isn't there some way for me to change it all? Why can't things just go back to how they used to be? I just want for all of us to have fun again. Is that really too much to ask for? Why doesn't he have the same goal?
My stomach feels like it is about to burst. Why can he hold so much power over how I feel? He barely even said anything. This needs to change asap. I can't have someone like him control how I feel.
Ruby tossed and turned; she desperately wanted to find another way, but the simplest way kept popping back up in her head, taking all space away from the other thoughts.
I know what I have to do. Even when it still hurts for now. I can't be with him anymore.
...
No matter what happens... He will never be my Aqua again.