10th of January, 10:00 pm, Miyako's house
Ruby hastily gets up from the bed and starts walking towards Aqua. Her expression is worried — maybe from the shallow cut on Aqua's face, maybe from something completely else.
The sound of Ruby's bare feet hitting the floor, coming closer, snaps Aqua out of his trance-like state of mind. He takes an uncertain step back, away from Ruby. "Ruby, don't come closer, I'm a danger… Just stay right there, I will be gone in a second," he says, continuing to back up even further, until Ruby stops moving towards him.
Aqua steps into the room. He makes sure to keep a good distance from Ruby, whose worried expression is not disappearing, as he edges closer to his desk. Aqua uses his hand to feel around for the right drawer. Just when he is about to find it, another jolt is sent through his body. Ruby took another step towards him. "Why are you here? What are you searching for?"
Aqua's hands dart forward. He is holding them in front of himself, his arms fully extended and his palms facing towards Ruby, who is still another meter away. "J-Just stay away, Ruby, please. I don't want to risk hurting you again." His voice is shaky.
Ruby takes another step. "Only if you tell me why you are here," she says with a pressing voice.
Aqua, who has panic written on his face, looks around the room, searching desperately for another way. A moment later, he sighs and lowers his arms. "I need the videotape mom gave us for our birthday… But I can't tell you why," he says, voice quiet.
Ruby's expression, which had begun to turn brighter, darkens again. This only added more questions to her already troubled mind. "Oh… I understand." Her voice is cold and detached as she takes a step back again.
"I'll lea-" Ruby starts, but stops again as she hears one of the floorboards on the stairs quietly creak, almost too quiet to hear it. She dashes forward, surprising Aqua, who tries to raise his hands again. But he's too slow, she already grabbed his frail wrists, and opened the closet behind him. A moment later, he finds himself in almost complete darkness, just a few bright rays landing on him through the small airholes in the door.
He just wants to push them open again; he really has no nerve for these games whatsoever. But something makes him halt, then he hears it. A strong, male voice. "Is everything okay in here? I thought I heard voices, and wanted to check if he returned."
Aqua freezes. His palms, which he presses against the inside of the wardrobe, feel like they would be on fire compared to the cold sweat on his forehead.
The reason his house looked so clean just 24 hours after wasn't out of kindness or courtesy. The police had planned to catch him in case he returned home. Aqua tries to steady his breathing and stay as still as possible — a single noise and it could be over.
Ruby's response follows shortly after the officer spoke. "I think you might've heard me talking to my friend, Kana. We were just on the phone, I just needed to talk to her… But no, Aqua didn't come back, yet."
An unexpected but really welcomed warmth fills Aqua's heart as he realizes that she is covering for him. Even her voice is a lot brighter than just a moment ago.
"Interesting…"
Aqua can hear steps on the hardwood floor, yet he doesn't dare to take a peek through the airholes just yet.
"You just referred to your friend as 'her'... But I believe I heard a male voice." The voices get muffled by the walls of the closet. But they are still loud enough for Aqua to understand every last word.
A cold shiver runs down his spine as he realizes that the officer doesn't back off, where most officers would
"Is that so? Uh- Then you must be mistaken… Kana is female," Ruby speaks. But even Aqua can hear the small crack in her voice.
Really Ruby? That's the best you can come up with?
Aqua finally peeks through the small airholes in the door of the closet. He can see Ruby standing just one meter in front of him, while the officer slowly approaches.
"Why are you even standing there… Unless…" The officer reaches his hand out, past Ruby and towards the door.
Aqua makes himself ready to run, to shove the officer aside and pray that he isn't gunned down. But the door stays shut tight. Then the room is filled with a high-pitched scream. The officer's hand shoots back, and his expression turns to one of shock.
The room is filled with loud sobs coming from Ruby as she hugs herself, slowly backing away from the officer until her back hits the closet, making it impossible for her to back up further. "P-Please don't touch me… I don't want this."
The officer looks pale as a ghost. "I-I I'm sorry, I didn't want to-," he begins to stutter out, as he reaches out to try and console Ruby.
This only prompts Ruby to scream again, cowering down in the corner between the foot of the bed and the wall, covering her head with her arms while making herself as small as possible. "Pwease- Pwease go away," she stutters out in between her sobs.
The officer is just about to turn around when he is roughly shoved out of the way, Miyako emerging from behind him as he tumbles to the side.
She kneels down and gently embraces Ruby's shaking frame while caressing the back of her head. She only speaks when Ruby's sobs begin to quiet down again, "You seriously have no sensitivity whatsoever… You know what she just went through, and you still think that this is the best way to handle this situation? I seriously hope you don't have a daughter, for her sake."
Miyako strokes Ruby's hair one last time before standing back up, her demeanor turning to anger as she looks the officer up and down. "Why are you still standing here?"
The officer, clearly taken aback by all the reactions, regains his composure before he speaks. He tries to sound firm, but there is a slight crack in his voice. "Ma'am, I have a strong-"
Miyako interrupts him, as she sees a dirty spot, unnoticed by everyone else, on the ground. "You'd better move your ass downstairs right about now, or the only thing you will have is a strong lawsuit on your desk by tomorrow morning." Her voice is cold; it's enough to make a shiver run down his spine.
"I-I understand, ma'am," The officer says as he looks at the wardrobe one last time, hesitating for a moment. Then he turns around and walks back outside and down the stairs.
Miyako stands still. Then she looks around the room, first at the patch of dirt, then at Ruby, who had stopped sobbing completely, and then finally at the wardrobe.
She takes a step towards it, her eyes filled with conflict and sadness as she carefully places her hand against its hard wooden wall, gently gliding over it. "Thanks, Aqua… For protecting Ruby," with that, she turns away and heads downstairs, too, leaving Aqua and Ruby alone once again.
Aqua's heart is threatening to jump out of his chest. Goosebumps had begun to form on his entire body when the officer glanced over to him about two minutes earlier. His ears are ringing so loud that he can't hear what's going on around him. Suddenly, the doors of the wardrobe are pushed open.
Before him is standing Ruby, her face smeared with tears. "We're even now… You helped me, so I helped you. Don't read too much into it," She says. Stepping away from the closet, letting Aqua step out of it.
"So all of that was a charade?" Aqua carefully asks while looking Ruby up and down.
Ruby smiles at him. "Of course it was… But I think Miyako looked through it."
Aqua looks into her eyes for a short moment before turning away. "Thanks," he mumbles before turning his attention back to his desk. He opens a locked compartment. The lock was broken, probably by the police, yet its contents remain. He rummages around for a second before grabbing the tape and silently inspecting it.
"Killing Kamiki really didn't help, huh." Ruby's words bring Aqua back out of his thoughts
He slides the tape into his pocket in a single, swift motion. Just when he wants to walk past Ruby, she stops him, holding her arm out in front of him. "You should forget about her… It's the only way you can ever find joy again."
A glint of hatred flashes in Aqua's eyes as he registers Ruby's words. Luckily, she can't see it since her eyes are aimed at the ground. Aqua's hand instinctively forms a fist, but this time, he is quick enough to relax it before he loses his temper the way he did last time. After a moment, he just keeps walking, not giving Ruby the response she was hoping for.
Ruby continues to stand in the doorway as she looks after Aqua, who is walking further and further away. "Aqua-" she quietly calls out.
This makes Aqua stop and slowly turn around, now facing her again. The room remains silent for a long moment. Then Ruby speaks. "...Forget it."
Aqua turns back around and heads down the stairs. Ruby stood in the doorway long after he had left. Eventually, she steps back inside his room, quietly shutting the door before walking back over to his bed, sitting down in the exact position Aqua had found her in half an hour ago.
"Why did I lie to him?" she asks herself. Wrapping her arms around her legs, which are pressed against her chest. "When the officer reached his hand out… it terrified me…"
The hold on her legs tightens. "I'm doing exactly what he did to me… But I wanted to be better, not repeat his actions…"
Ruby remains silent for a long moment; even her mind is clear of any thoughts. Then she speaks again, her voice sounding somber. "Is this how he felt after lying to me? Because it feels horrible… Probably even worse than the times he lied to me."
She reaches under the blanket and pulls out one of Aqua's hoodies from beneath it. It is crumpled up and warm. She buries her head in it and breathes in. Aqua's scent floods her lungs, making her lose herself in the sensation.
After inhaling the aroma for a minute, she pulls the hoodie over her head. It is far too big for her, so it's exactly what she needs. She pulls it over her legs, too, which are still pressed up against her chest, making her more hoodie than human. "Maybe I should at least thank him for what he did for me…" She fidgets around with the ribbon of the hoodie, her eyes void of their usual sparkle.
Ruby sighs while pulling the hood over her head. Then she pulls on both ribbons, almost completely engulfing her head, too; only her eyes remain uncovered, just in case. "Ahh, this is all so confusing."
"Maybe Kana knows what to do… And I should apologize for being so rude earlier. She just wanted to look out for me." Ruby pulls out her phone from beneath the hoodie and begins to scroll through her contacts, stopping when she finds Kana's name.
Then she presses on the dial. The ringing of her phone filling the entire room.