Paradise (MikaYuu)

55

(Mika)

"Hello?" I answered my phone as I drove down an unfamiliar road. I had a limited time to find him before the stress forced out a much more vicious me. I didn't know which one I was anymore, and I didn't want to take the chance of letting either out. I could hear all of them, not just two, not just three, all seven — all absolutely losing it. It felt like I was falling apart.

"Hey, is this Mikaela?"

"Yes, may I ask whose calling?"

"It's Shiho Kimizuki."

Oh, well fuck me. Do I just hang up?

"I guess your reaction makes sense. Um, I was wondering what Yuu's thoughts on what we talked about are?"

"Oh, hi, yes. Sorry," I felt spastic, I knew I should've calmed down, but I just felt anxious, "Yuu is just too distraught to go along with you."

The man on the other side of the line paused for a moment, "Can I talk to him? Because that just does not sound like the Yuu I know."

I let out an internal sigh and rolled my eyes, I didn't need this extra stress and I didn't want to talk to my biggest emblem of violence when I was trying to stay stable, "We've already talked about this twice, Shiho. Yuu is very unstable, he needs time to heal. He is so overwhelmed. The last thing he needs is someone telling him he's doing things that 'aren't like him'. So sorry, I'm really not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to do what's best for my partner," don't say it, don't say it, don't say it, don't say it, "you know how it is." Said it.

"Mm, yes. I understand. But none of us have heard from Yuu since Yoichi was found. Do you even realize how long that's been? However he's feeling, we aren't comfortable not hearing anything from him anymore. We weren't comfortable in the first place and at this point it's not 'healing' it's isolation." His voice typically held the same sing song anxiety as Yoichi's, but I was finally able to see their similarities in stoic anger.

"He's not ready for that, please don't push him into this." I said.

"Mikaela, I'm really trying to remain polite, but if you don't put his ass on the phone, I'm coming to see him myself," he threatened, "Yoichi is gone, Mikaela, but I'm still here and I see this shit isn't right. I know how Yuu is and this, this is not it. You keep talking like I don't know Yuu, he's my friend too."

I never really knew how to respond when things weren't going my way and the anger boiling in the back of my mind was only making my judgement cloudy, "No, I suppose it's not the usual Yuu. But that holds so little meaning when looking at the big picture. He tried to kill himself after Yoichi told him you two were getting married. You're his friend, but you're not Yoichi. He doesn't want to talk to you, he wants to talk to Yoichi."

"...You're fucking done. That's it, I'm calling Guren."

I silently cursed myself for saying that, but I was running out of time and I needed to pick up the pace. Everything was coming down around me and I hadn't even done as much as I had last time.

I had one possible place left to check before I would start to get irate. I had been meaning to check here for a while for another reason, so I suppose it only made sense for me to find him here.

The Hiragi family may have lost their cover because of me, but there was one family member who barely hid behind it: Seishirō.

...
(Yuu)

I knew my options were limited. I could either wait for Mikaela and take the risk of being with him until he mellowed out which wasn't a guarantee considering what was happening; or I could do something about him. I didn't buy that Mika had nothing to do with what happened to Yoichi, it didn't matter what they thought, I knew that mother fucker, not them.

Green eyes I've seen as my own met me with warmth. I wondered why he was still so in love with me and I wasn't. I had the same memories he did and I remember the feeling of being in love with him and I notice all the things on his young features that I had picked up on over decades of change. But I still wasn't in love with him anymore. Maybe it was the red hair?

"Hey," I said, " how have you been doing?"

"I've been better, but I can't complain." Ash shrugged, "You?"

"What? Oh- I'm uh, I'm pretty fucking bad if I'm being honest," I scratched my hand, "like really really not good. I'm all for sharing feelings and answering honestly, so believe me when I tell you this is my limit. There are so many times when I thought that it couldn't get worse, but one of the worst things that ever happened to me just happened to me again in the same mother fucking way and I could've done something to stop it if I would've just cut the sociopath off earlier," I took a deep breath, "sorry, I know you said you didn't wanna complain and then I just complain bombed you."

"No, it's fine. I knew this would really fuck you up because it fucked you up for your whole life last time." He waved his hand.

"I really didn't want to hear that." I snapped.

"Sorry..."

Oh, right, talking to a victim of domestic abuse, should dial down the cuntiness, "Shit, dude, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped like that, I'll keep it together more next time."

"If we get to next time." He added.

"Well, if you get to next time." I snickered.

"Thin ice, Yuu." Ash glared.

"I'm joking— I hope," I looked for his approval and found none, "don't worry, I have a plan that might solve our problem for good."