The Loop

Chapter 5: The Breaking Point.

Not exactly my best, but I hope for your reviews!

^8^

He'd waited in the exact same convenience store ever since. He would sit on a bench on its front in the morning. Patiently waiting for a certain person to show up. Beside him was an entire basket of canned coffees, still cold from being taken out of the refrigerator.

Lazily he slumped on the bench, eyes closed, taking bits of sips from the can. Today marks the third time he's done this. He knew exactly when he would show up, how to approach him, exactly what he would say and how to respond to all of them. The only thing changing was what they were doing that day.

A breeze passed by, the cold air around the can got pulled by it and brushed against his wrist. He shivers slightly. His subconscious mind is beginning to slow down. Or was it because he hasn't used it for so long that his mind simply stopped calculating? This was the first time this happened, so he can't exactly pinpoint why it's happening. Whatever it is, he couldn't care any less.

His ears caught the sound of a shoe tapping. For the past few days he'd repeated this, the streets were always empty of any passerby. Except for one.

The louder the sound, the closer it is. His subconscious mind can pinpoint this too, knowing it all too well. It's a certain pungent odour, a familiar scent.

"They're out of coffee, Kamijou" He blurted out. Not loud, just enough to be heard.

Touma can only eye him with a confused look on his face. Even without seeing it, he knew. It was in his voice, plain as day. "Umm... excuse me?"

'What do you mean they're out?' Touma would've said had the albino not intercept the question. All with just his index, pointing at the basket.

The black haired teenager feels suspicious of the stranger. How does he know why he was here? How does he know his name? Was he one of those people from his past that he could not recall? All of them were his exact thoughts. He told him all of it yesterday after all. The albino knew better not to tell him these lest he wanted to scare him off.

"You want one?" He offers one. Finally opening his eyes, fingers gripping on a can of coffee.

For a second, he didn't say anything, hesitation settled into his thoughts. Every single impulse in him demanded him to not say anything. To keep it all inside for now. Distrust uncoiled in his eyes, he reached for the can, heaving a slight sigh of relief when nothing happened after.

"So... who are you again?" He asked finally.

The albino shrugged. "An old friend, I guess?" His eyes twitched slightly at the mention of the word 'friend'. He's still not used to the word, hearing or even saying it had always been strange for him.

"Really?" He merely nodded.

His stiff shoulder loosened, a small nervous laugh escaped his lips. "Yeah... I suppose so. I mean, I don't know a lot about you though." He uncapped the can of coffee. "You were acting strange, you made me kinda paranoid. You know that right?"

How other people see the albino had never really been much of his concern. He'd been called a monster many times. Most would refer to him as the devil himself. It's kind of hard to tell how he sees himself, or if it's even the same. Even to the innocent people, his figure has always been covered in malice and mystery.

If there's one thing that humanity had always feared, it would be of the unknown.

"... Sorry." Surprisingly it was him who murmured the word. He blinked at how easy it was for him to say it. Why did he say that? He didn't know what came over him, even though he could feel it was right.