The street was more crowded than usual that day. Maybe it was because the weekend had begun and high schoolers were spending their free time in the streets of Yokohama – shopping at the various stores and laughing louder than they needed to while crowding the sidewalk.
(Y/n) passed through a large group of teenage girls, turning sideways as they continued laughing as they barely went around her. She kept her hands in her pockets and her head tilted downwards.
She watched as her boots hit the ground. The sound they made against the sidewalk was a mix between a squeak and a clack – it was strange yet comforting at the same time.
She wasn't quite sure where she was going or what she was doing. She just knew that she needed to get out of the agency and step away from what had occurred in the meeting area. She couldn't bear to be in the same room as Hinami's bloodied hair. She couldn't bring herself to look at Hibiki – or even watch his unconscious body.
There was only one other time she felt this much guilt.
Her body suddenly stopped, her legs not taking her a step further. She looked up from the ground and towards the nearest building – finding the large sign and the cardboard over the broken window in front of her.
The Ripped Page.
(Y/n) looked towards the sign in the window, noticing that it had been turned to CLOSED. She knew that that would soon turn into CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. That transition would make the process harder than it already was.
She stepped towards the store, looking into the darkened window. She let out a sigh, her breath fogging up the glass in front of her.
There, among the shelves, was a small stool in the back. It was often available for patrons who wanted to sit for a moment to look at a story or just for them to get off their feet. (Y/n) wasn't sure how long it had been there, but she knew that it was something that she kept close in her mind.
Amongst the guilt...
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One year ago...
(Y/n) held the book in her hand, flipping through the pages. She was no longer worried about being in the way or holding the story that another person wanted, only that she was able to finally take a look at it.
The pages were yellowed and the cover was torn. But instead of it looking raggedy or destroyed – it was pleasing to look at. The book wasn't in the best shape, but it was certainly meant to be that way.
She thumbed through the pages, skimming them. She stopped as her eyes caught onto a quote in the book: "A life without him is one that I do not wish to have. My life and his are intertwined for all eternity."
(Y/n) felt her eyes water, her vision blurring through the tears. The tears eventually began running down her cheeks, a droplet dripping onto the page. She quickly closed the book, a slight thud echoing throughout the nearly empty store.
