Hero Complex

Chapter 005: tears of remembrance, aching hearts

❛ 思い出の涙、心痛 ‧ omoide no namida, shintsū ❜

☞ descriptions of panic attacks, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. °

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Daisuke sighed as he pulled down his face mask and closed the curtains, covering the sight of the grimly dark and rainy sky. It had been raining quite a bit this week, which he supposed was to be expected of spring.

The kettle whistled as he turned off the stove and started preparing two mugs of hot chocolate as Himikō sat on her empty apartment's couch wordlessly shaking and a baby pink blanket having been draped around her shoulders by Daisuke.

The stove clock's digital numbers flicked to one o'clock on the dot as midnight passed by and the boy placed the second mug down on the coffee table and took the other into Himikō's hand, holding it steady himself for a moment before deciding that she could hold it steadily enough.

"Himikō..." He started hesitantly, lips pursing in debate over his asking. "Who were those two? Four years ago...that's before we met—"

"IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Himiko shouted suddenly, slamming the mug down on the coffee table, spilling some of the dark drink over the sides.

However, the two startled at her sudden outburst, both seeming stunned at the out-of-character moment. Himikō's face burned as she bit her lip, almost trying to punish herself as she cursed herself for letting Daisuke see her like this.

Daisuke, on the other hand, seemed at a loss for words, his dark hair falling over his eyes as he was silent for a minute and clenched his fists tightly. "What are you talking about?" He finally spoke in a frighteningly low tone. "None of my business?"

"How much do you even think I—" Daisuke voice started to raise before he cut himself off with a 'tch,' sound. He looked down at her hunched over form, wrapped with the soft pink blanket and his face twisted in pain by the sight. Did she even realise how much she meant to him?

The sound of the past midnight rain was heard, smacking against the fifth-floor window from behind the pink and white patterned curtains as the soft light of the overhead lamp lit the room.

"...I'm sorry..." Was the quiet feminine response as the room went quiet. "Please...please don't look at me differently."

─

Though he was clearly upset, he wasn't mad enough to leave her on her own that night, sleeping on the couch in the living room, while Himikō sat in her room, arms wrapped around her legs as she sat on her bed, rocking back and forth sleeplessly.

She gripped her legs tighter as her hands started to shake again. What would happen if he learned her secrets? What would he say if he knew who she really was?

Her thoughts were accelerating inside her head to the point where she couldn't breathe, gasping for air and her vision blurring. He couldn't find out. What would she do? What would she do?

What would she do if he knew she was a murderer? Just as she felt the need to throw up, her phone buzzed and a notification popped up from a familiar sender with only four characters that sent a cold fear running down her.

『お父さん - Otōu-san 』

─

𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫/ 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙮

The chatter of the students made a low but pleasant background sound as Himikō rocked her legs back and forth, making bubbly conversation with her seatmate while Daisuke, who sat behind her, had his mask firmly on and didn't speak to a soul and waited for the teacher to arrive.

She still had that ugly feeling of wanting to throw up whenever she thought about what happened and whenever Daisuke turned his head from hers when she looked back at him. However, doing what she was best at, threw on a cute expression and had pink bubblegum in her mouth, blowing bubbles.

"Alright, quieten down and go back to your seats." The teacher entered the room, sliding the door open with textbooks under his arm.

"Now, I forget to mention it on Friday but this class will be having a transfer student."

This caused an excited buzz in the students, wondering on whether it would be a boy or girl. Their answer was given, however, when the light tapping of shoes entered the room and the teacher writing a name on the board in chalk.

『 黄泉 蓬莱 - Yomi Hourai 』

Himiko felt her temperature drop dramatically as she sat in an immovable, cold fear. Although she had received the text yesterday she knew then that it was all over for her.

"It's nice to meet you all," A cute, feminine voice entered the room, bowing politely to her new classmates. "My name is Yomi Hourai. I do look forward to studying with you all!"

It was the same girl who had stabbed the man that night.