ʏᴀɴɴɪ | ᴏ.ꜱʜᴏᴛᴀʀᴏ

-I'm Not Interested In Her...-

9:12 AM

You groaned, feeling the heat of the morning sun burning half of your face which caused you to flutter your eyes open. They landed almost immediately on the floor where you last remembered seeing Shotaro, but he wasn't there anymore.

His spot lay vacant, but part of you didn't care; you didn't want him to stay that long anyway.

At least at the start...you think...

Your phone vibrated in between the couch cushions, and one of your hands glided along the leather padding to retrieve it, your screen soon brightening with two messages, one from your plug just a couple of seconds ago, and the other from Shotaro about an hour or so ago.

You dismissed the message from your plug and opened the one from Shotaro.

"Had to dip. Business
meeting with Pops.
Call you later."

A...phone call...?

Now when was the last time you actually held your phone up to your ear to speak to anyone for the fun of it?

If your scuffed, clouded memory served you right, the last time anybody ever phoned you was Daiya, on New Year's Eve to confirm your plans for that night.

Though the details were mundane, you could remember everything about the conversation you two had...it's kinda funny to you, how selective your memory could be...

It took you a minute to realize that your eyes were glued to the table where the brown envelope still lay, unmoved and untouched. Since your pains had subsided, standing up and walking around was no longer a problem.

So now, there you were, standing over the tabletop with your eyes still trained on the envelope. One of your hands rose to grab the flimsy container, but shook as the distance closed, bringing your movement to a short halt as you waited for your hand to stop shaking.

You fully swiped the envelope off the table, using your nail to cut through the seal, and at first glance, you could already figure out what was resting inside.

Aside from what appeared to be an index card in the envelope, the gold chain you gave Daiya was visible to you – you only knew it was that exact chain because you could see your nickname still engraved on the nameplate.

You nearly lost your grip on the envelope but went to grab the card before you did – the handwriting on the card you recognized as Daiya's mother.

"I figured you'd want
the necklace back.
I missed you at her funeral, but I
understand why
you didn't want
to come; Dee
meant a lot to
you as much as
she did to me and
it hurts knowing
she can't come back.
I'm wishing you
the best, Yanaida,
and keep rapping.
I know you can
get places with your talent."

You let out a breathy chuckle, a familiar sting burning your eyes the more you stared at the card and you dropped both the card and the envelope, your knees slowly breaking into a quiver.

Before you could think of taking a step backward, you collapsed to the floor. "Fuckin' hell, Dee..."

You wanted to grab the chain – desperately, but physically couldn't bring yourself to lift another hand, as one had already made its way into your hair, nails clawing at your scalp in a shitty attempt not to break down.