Controlee

21. Make Time

Rule 33: Don't get close to people.

"Hey Kaos."

She'd just reached for a book when the world decided to crash down on her. She'd been having a normal day when the world decided to crash down on her. She was peaceful and happy when the world decided to crash down on her.

Slowly, taking careful breaths, Otsuka's head turned towards him.

"Don't look." Her head whipped back and she pulled out the book she'd reached for. "I'm sorry but pretend you don't know me. I'm not here. We're not talking."

She leaned the book against her stomach to hide the tremble in her hands, turning to the back cover and dropping her head low to read the blurb. "All I ever hear from you is apologies and cryptic, stupid stuff. You better have a damn good explanation prepared for me, maybe starting at the fact you're alive."

"There's not enough time for me-"

"Make time."

"Emi-"

"Don't you dare," Otsuka hissed, struggling to force her voice low when she wanted to scream at him. She glanced back to find a tall male in a black hoodie looking through the books on the shelf just behind her. "Why are you here?" She opened the book to the first page and let her eyes flow thoughtlessly over the words, hoping anyone glancing her way would gloss right over her. She was just another bookworm, nothing to see here.

"I figured you deserved something more than a letter, especially after the festival."

Otsuka almost snorted, she definitely deserved more than that.

"I had no idea you were going to have one of your episodes, but, honestly, I should've known."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

He hesitated and she had to take a deep breath and remind herself not to do something impolite like punch him in the face. "The people I'm working for-" His voice had lowered even further but Otsuka could still make it out easily enough- "they have someone with a quirk that lets them 'see' things, future things."

"The one day I needed it," she muttered, more to herself than him.

"I know, I'm sorry." At least he sounded sincere.

"Who are these people?"

He moved to her other side as he continued to look through the books, reminding her to turn the page. "I can't-" He sighed. "They're dangerous, really dangerous."

The dots seemed to connect in her mind. "The letter, you want me to keep him safe from them."

"Yeah."

Otsuka shook her head, this was insane. She was having some sort of clandestine meeting with someone she thought was dead, it sounded like a bad movie. "If they're so dangerous then why-"

"They're threatening my family."

Otsuka knew how much TT cared about his family. After he'd shared his identity with her, years ago now, he'd barely shut up about them. He'd always missed them so much; she wondered if he still felt that way. "How are you even alive?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Otsuka saw him check his wrist and assumed he had a watch. With practiced ease, he stepped back and accidentally knocked into her. He immediately spewed apologies people around heard while she waved him off and got back to her book. Nobody but them was any the wiser to the new weight in her pocket. "Could you give those to my mother? She's still in the same place she was. They're her favourites."

"Of course." She'd have to find some way to be sneaky about it but she'd manage, somehow. "Wait, why can't you go yourself?"

"It's too dangerous for her." He checked his watch again, seeming more distressed as he turned worried heads both ways in the corner of her eye. "I have to go, I'm sorry, please keep an eye on him for me."