Koroshiya 殺し屋 ⋮ Fushiguro Toji

Chapter 21

He sat on your couch. His arms rest nicely on his knees and his hands were together in a lowered steeple. The two of you share gazes briefly before the man looks away and down at his fingers. He looked exhausted. You didn't often see him in a business suit, but he wore one today and without a tie (who would've thought, ha). He was never one to come over straight from work either. Now that you're thinking about it, you've never actually seen the guy in his work attire before.

"Satoru?" You stay by the table where you had left your things, "When did you get back?"

"A couple hours ago." He responds sluggishly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" You wonder if he actually sat here waiting for those 'couple' of hours and it's likely that he did.

The guy shrugs. He doesn't say anything. His eyes, still fixed on his fingers which were now rubbing against each other; it gives away his anxious mood.

You saunter and settle down next to him and he finally looks at you but he looks away again just as quick. His unusual behavior, it makes you tense.

"Where were you?" He finally speaks.

You answer, "Togoshi Ginza Shotengai."

"With?"

"Megumi." You say.

"And?" Satoru asks like he knows that there had to have been someone else.

"Yuji."

He nods and he doesn't ask any further questions. You sigh in relief—inwardly. At the same time, you knew it wasn't over. You chew the inside of your cheek aggressively.

The guy wasn't dumb. It didn't take him long to put two-and-two together. It all began the night he called and you didn't answer. When you screamed someone else's name in bed. The night he called and you did answer—but you were out of breath. All those nights you smelled of cigarettes and more. How your kisses seemed different. How the affection didn't seem as prominent as it use to be. He knew and felt it all; that things were different. Unfortunately, for some, you don't know the significance of what you have until it's gone. And by then, sometimes it's too late (just sometimes).

Satoru, he could have came back the day after his grapple with Toji, but he didn't. He was avoiding confrontation. He was avoiding you. Avoiding the fear of losing you. He was avoiding the probability of losing everything; cause you were (and still are) his everything. He wasn't ready for this talk but neither were you.

Relationships, great ones, they don't come easy. They take a lot of hard work, a lot of commitment and sometimes a lot of forgiveness. It will never be perfect, because all things weren't made to be perfect. And one of the best things to understand in life is that the greatest enemy of good, is better. If you're always seeking for something better, you'll never be satisfied. All relationships go through hell at some point. Real relationships get through it, no matter what the cost.

The white-haired male pulls out a pocket knife and unsheathes the blade using the thumb stud method.

"Did you notice anything new on Toji recently?" Satoru asks. He runs a thumb over the blade of his knife.

"Toji?" Your heart drops to your stomach. The guy speaks like he knows you've seen him recently; like he himself has seen him recently. And both were quite true.

His switchblade makes you nervous. Had he always carried that thing around? With a roll and flick of his wrist, the white-haired male tosses the knife. The blade pierces the wood and the weapon now stands on the low table.

"Yeah." He asks again, "Did you notice anything new? On Toji."

You try to think but nothing comes to mind immediately. You look at the guy then to the knife, "No? I'm not....sure."