Ripples in still water { Rinharu }~{ Free! }

Chapter 3 ~ Intruder

Makoto trudged down the steep steps, lost in the thoughts of Haru's words. With him, you could never break through to his true emotions, always left with an unpassionate carcass of a blank stare. This feature of his friend angered him, at the moment it was playing with his mind even more so. Did he hate him? He did what needed to be done after all, for Rins sake. In fact, he didn't have any idea at all on what Rins sake might be, and why he was asked to discontinue the break ins. Yes, he knew that he would want it stopped completely, but why did he just ask for him to be stopped, and not Haru? Shaking his head as if he was trying to thoroughly rid his clogged mind of such thoughts, he looked out to the vast emptiness. The pure shimmers of blue no longer glimmered, reflecting the suns beams. Instead, there lay a corpse of the ocean, a dusty wasteland, all marine life on the brink of extinction. When it had all occurred, many rushed out to the decaying waters, grabbing what wild life they could, bringing them back to their homes to care for or for future sales. Finding the view unsettling, he turned his head away, finding it almost unbearable. He didn't feel the biggest passion for the water, so he couldn't even begin to imagine Haru's emotions.

"Hey, Tachibana."

Echoed a deep sounding voice through the closely packed houses, making its way up to where Makoto was standing. Appearing up the slightly decaying steps was a sturdyly built man, his hands dug into the pockets of his clean black trousers, his wrists covered by the hem of the tuxedo.

"Huh..?"

Confused, he put a hand over his eyes, resting on his brows to block out any sunlight from obstructing his view. The mans appearance was new to his gaze, his face greeting him with much inscrutability, reminding Mokoto of Harus own deadpan stare. Upon reaching a few steps just under his position, the man stopped, still giving no sign of a smile.

"Have you seen Nanase Harkua lately?"

With no introduction of who this person was, he stepped back and upwards, distancing himself. With hesitation he shook his head, protecting Haru of any threat this man might bring.

"I-I haven't...sorry."

"I see...it's okay. Later."

Causally dismissing himself, he brought a hand out of his pocket, flinging it up slowly to signal some sort of a goodbye, turning on his heel and walking away, his hand diving back into his pocket. Mokoto watched the stranger stroll away, finding himself incapable of making any attempt to follow him in the direction he had been walking in. Instead, he sat himself down onto the step, bits of decay crumbling off from his weight, leaving himself replaying the incident in his mind.

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Using the pitch black shadows as a cover, Rin slipped into the open window, trying to enter as quietly as possible. The tight mask covering his features was proving hard to breath through, but at least he was able to see. His hands softly pressed against the floor, his body entering a slight bit more clumsily, both knees banging against the floor. Muttering under his breath, he cursed which was further muffled by the cloth of the mask. The light was dim, only the moon giving him sight, its rays reflecting off the shiny screen of the television. With minimal noise, he crept up the stairs, making his way deeper into the house. As he protruded more and more into the household, the frames of mirrors and pictures reflected the subtle light, the weapon he had enveloped in his sweaty palm shot beams back up too. As his free hand pushed the door to an extent of being fully open, the soft yet loud breaths of his target filled the room, Rin's pace of breathing over taking, small tremors overcoming him in waves. The gun hovered over the deep black hair, his fringe spilled out over his face from moving about in his sleep. As he pressed on the trigger lightly, he moved the gun away, removing his finger and discarding it across the room. He fell to his knees, his face burying into his gloved hands. Bringing his face back up, he leaned over, his lips coming into contact with the object's cheek, refusing to let this be his final moments.

"Goodnight...Haruka.."

Haru's eyes flickered open, the open curtains letting the sun fill the room with light. Groggily, he swung his legs out of bed, rubbing his eyes lightly. Upon bringing one down and opening up his eyes fully, his gaze rested on the gun, causing the corners of his lips to curl up into a small grin.

"Rin came again."