𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐝 - [ʜɪᴀᴛᴜs]

𝟎𝟓𝟑: 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭

"You're not a burden to me! No matter how dark your thoughts are, I'll gladly help you overcome it!"

~

Your eyes shot up. For whatever reason, you dreamt of a past memory. It was after the fight with Tenjiku was done. When Mikey came to check on you and you tried to comfort him after what happened...

You check your surroundings and you were in Chifuyu's BMW. "Someone awake," You turn and it was Kazutora in the driver's seat. "Chifuyu told me to stay while you slept."

You look ahead, you were parked at a Honda dealership. You didn't even notice you dozed off during the ride there. Kazutora laughs at your lost-looking expression, "Did you sleep last night at all?" He asks.

You've been up all night going through Pah's wedding photos and thinking about Sanzu's plan to kill you. You rub your forehead, "Man... I need coffee." Kazutora lowers the car seat, relaxing.

Must be nice living without worrying about a pink-haired psychopath wanting to murder you, you thought as you watched the man get comfy.

"You could just sleep more," he says. "You probably need it!" You take his suggestion and start to lower your seat. Closing your eyes. You were already wide awake though. "Kazutora?" The man turns his head to look at you. "I want to know your opinion on something."

"Shoot."

"Let's say, a person wants to kill you," you start. "And they're like... A shitty person, really shitty person. Do you just ignore them or do you kill them yourself?"

Kazutora wasn't expecting that kind of question, let alone from you. "Why are there only two options?" He questions. "Are they trying to kill you all the time or is it just a one-time, in-the-moment, type thing?"

You think. "Uh... One time?"

"Then ignore them. They're probably just bluffing anyway. Like how Smiley always threatens to kill someone when he gets annoyed!" Kazutora jokes.

"What if they've been planning it?" You pose another question for the man, "Like intricately. Deceiving and luring you. Until you're vulnerable enough to be attacked unexpectedly."

"How would you know they're deceiving you?"

"Uh... You... Overhear their plan?" Oddly, Kazutora seemed to be interested in answering your not-so-hypothetical, hypothetical questions. "If you know..." He thinks harder about his answer, "Could always beat the shit out of them. If they have a weapon though, then it's self-defence if you kill them."

He's right. I shouldn't stoop to his level and try to kill him. He is from Bonten. If I keep him alive, I'll leave it to the police to arrest him. Same with Mikey...

"So... Who's tryna kill you?" Kazutora asks. His voice was slightly deepened. His tone was more intense than usual.

Your eyes widened. He caught on quickly that these questions were hypothetical at all. Or maybe you were just too obvious.

"Hey!" Kazutora jumps out of the seat after Chifuyu pops in front of the window. "Put the seats back up!"

Kazutora gets out of the driver's seat after putting the seat back up. Chifuyu gets back in the car and Kazutora takes a seat at the back. You, too, put your seat up. "How's your nap?" Chifuyu asks, starting up the car. You sigh, "I still feel groggy, can we go to Starbucks?" Chifuyu pulls out of the parking lot and starts to drive. "Yeah, I could use a coffee too."

"How was browsing?" You asked Chifuyu, he shrugs in response. "Nothing felt... Takemitchy, you know what I mean?"

"Fuyu, even if you gave him those drivable kiddy cars, I think he'd appreciate it," you say. You could tell he was stressed. He's been wanting to gift Takemichi a car for a while now, stressing himself on the specific model to get him. "There's always Hot Wheels!" Kazutora suggests jokingly. As if the two of you weren't getting a little serious earlier.