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ʚ 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 ɞ
Megumi felt her heart plunge to her toes as she comprehends Momiji's words. She listened dutifully as he described their unforgiving situation and how he believed they deserved to know in case they wanted to avoid the familiar boy. The blonde's hoodie abruptly seemed too constricting as the many 'what if?' situations played out like a movie in her brain, each ending worse than the last. She clung to her phone tightly in her hidden palms, ducking her head lower in fear.
She couldn't make sense of it. Akito had no reason to haphazardly decide to show up to their school. He had asked nothing of her or Yuki to her knowledge, and Hatori and Shigure hadn't hinted to him wanting something either, so it was clear they were also left out of this perplexing loop. Restlessly, Megumi fretted with her bracelet, running the cool, calming stones over her wrist in a repetitive fashion in a poor attempt to remove the pernicious notions filling her head.
Before she allowed herself to panic and hyperventilate, she counted her breaths, zoning out the rest of Momiji's words. She favored counting in clumps of four like Hatori had advised her and kept her breathing under control with effort. Ironically, the cold air she was resisting early now felt like heaven-sent as it gave her something else to complain about and focus on other than their distressing situation.
By the time Momiji stopped talking, the hallway was dead silent, the lively mood from before being swept away. Megumi couldn't bring herself to look up, scared that it would solidify what she feared in her heart.
When the tears that brimmed in Megumi's verdant eyes dried before they could escape, her eyes spotted a faint movement. Deliberately, she brought herself to dart away from the speckled tile beneath her leather shoes and towards the direction. In looking it revealed to be Yuki, whose head was ducked similarly to hers, but his breathing was nowhere as under control as hers, and his hands shook vigorously before he clenched them.
His pupils dilated an alarming amount as he stared off into nothingness, not here or there. Megumi longed to reach out and hold his hand to stop himself from cutting crescent moons unforgivably into his innocent hands, but knew that it would be hypocritical. Seizing his larger hands while hers still shook with dread, whispering encouraging words while foreseeing the worse would help neither of them.
So, instead, she watched attentively with bated breaths. Her green eyes, so wide with horror and surprise, were glued to him and his shaking form, praying that he reached out for her and asked for her help. But he never did, only silently took the pain until he could regain his composure and draw his face into charming neutrality. Ultimately, he turned to leave the hollow hallway without a word, his hands still trembling.
Not knowing what else to do, Megumi took a shaky breath and quietly followed the boy like a shadow. She stayed three paces behind him at all times, close enough for him to know she was there, yet also far enough to not feel cornered. He showed no signs of acknowledging her presence for the first few minutes, steeping quietly in his emotions as they simmered violently. Megumi was fine with this, even if he didn't address her, he still knew she was here for him, as she hoped he was for her whenever they were ready.
