Killer x Reader || drive, darling

02: off to a rocky start, huh?

Drive, Darling

02:
[real life stories don't always follow the simple stasis, rising action, climax, falling action, conclusion formula. sometimes, right after the Beginning, there's a little hitch. an unexpected turn without any foreshadowing so you couldn't have ever predicted it. like falling into a freezing canal. oh, sorry. warning: spoilers, you fell in.]

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The moment you felt yourself falling, you ripped your backpack off. The strap caught onto one of the handles, tipping the bike right as you fell left.

You kicked away your bike, only ending up with bruised ankles and legs tangled in the bars. You abruptly stopped as the bike caught onto something, and you tried to bend your body to reach the air.

You couldn't swim, much less move in the right way to reach the surface. Your arms didn't move like you wanted them to, only slowly flailing around in the water. You never learned how to swim. Why would you ever need to swim?

It was cold, and it only got colder, before you felt like you got used to it. Almost like it was warm. A soothing type of warm that put your mind to sleep but was harsh enough to put your heart and lungs into a panic.

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He didn't really want to be there. Islands like that weren't his style; he preferred the ones where he could stab a guy, drag him into a dumpster in an alley, and no one would notice. Not that he planned on it, it's just that if push came to shove, he wouldn't have that little bit of wiggle room, so to speak.

But it was also the safest place to be. Yeah, there weren't gangs roaming the streets, so it was safer on that end, but the World Government couldn't get there. It had no control over the island, and they don't need control over it. It's peaceful, and it's rich enough to stay that way.

He was a little surprised, at first. He'd seen a lot of stuff. It was natural: he'd been traveling from island to island for years. But he'd never seen one so terribly unguarded. Yeah, an island over you might die if you're simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, but an island over, you probably can't get in or out so easily. The cameras were at least hidden, and there were guards along the Dividing Lines.

But the cameras were painfully obvious, and not a single person was out standing guard to catch him. And he bet no one was going to; whoever was behind those cameras couldn't be so stupid as to think they could get him, anyway. He'd probably be kept a secret.

He found himself right, at least for a while. He'd been walking along the canal for half a day at that point, and nothing. No surprise, no one coming after him. No government could be that stupid, he supposed.

It was peaceful, but he was way too antsy for peace. A while ago, he would've appreciated the quiet and the few day break he'd get because of how long it'd probably take to get to the other side of the island, but a few days of silence seemed torturously long now. Hell, he was tempted to turn right around and go back, even if it meant he'd probably be caught and executed.

He saw some kid go tumbling into the canal, breaking the thin layer of ice. They tried to swim up, but the angle was awkward with their leg caught within the bars of their bike, which was stuck on the little ledge on the side.

He walked past without a word, expecting them to get themselves out sooner or later, but when he was a few steps past them and the thrashing in the water stopped, he paused. He wasn't a good person, don't get him wrong. He was a bad guy, really. Maybe he was normal in terms of the rest of the world, but as least at that island, he was a bad guy.

He just, did good things sometimes.

He'd taken countless lives, but it's not like he hated life. It was more of that he took lives that needed to be taken. And for other's lives that could be saved that wouldn't put him into any direct danger... then he supposed it wouldn't bother him that much. He wasn't growing soft, and he didn't let that stupid thing affect him. At least, that's what he told himself as he fished the poor kid out of the water. He couldn't be bothered to untangle her from her bike, opting to lift the whole thing.

He carried them to the wall, letting her body lean against it. He checked her pulse, satisfied with the light beats. He left her there, knowing she'd probably be up in a quick minute, and he'd rather not deal with her.

He wiped his cold hands on his pants before shoving them in his hoodie's pockets as he continued on, pretending he didn't do anything.

Truth be told, he didn't actually know whether or not she'd be up in a moment. Everywhere else, a teenager might be up in a quick moment. He didn't mean to be so clueless, it's just he'd never been to that type of island, and deep down, he really expected her to be out for a few hours and catch a cold. And with an island so advanced, she was probably used to medicine. A cold could never kill anyone outside, but he assumed the island's citizens were extra weak.

So yeah, skin him if he was surprised when a couple minutes passed and she'd already woken up. 'Never underestimate anyone' was a little message he'd engraved in his head, but he usually used it with enemies. Not some harmless teenager.

"Hey! You!"

Her voice trembled and cracked, and he only thought her stupid for shouting out. He didn't turn, instead shaking his head and walking a little faster.

He heard unbalanced, hurried footsteps behind him. He knew he could outrun her with ease, but he thought it would be pretty lame if he ran. So he turned, crossed his arms, and waited as she panted, elbows on her knees as she tried to catch her breath through quivering, discoloured lips.

She tried to catch her balance as her body wavered back and forth. Her eyes couldn't focus on one thing, probably seeing double of everything, lightheaded.

"Don't fall," he said.

"Yeah, that would be a helpful objective," she agreed, nearly choking on her own words from a dry, cold throat. "Hold on, yeah?"

He stared at her hunched body for another few seconds before growing impatient. "You've got ten seconds."

"J-jeez, hold on f---" she swallowed--- "for a second." Her vowels were dragged out through shaky inhales and exhales.

He mentally counted to ten before walking away without another word, ignoring the small cries from the girl. He didn't have time for that. He had places to be. Well, not really, but if he couldn't convince himself he had better things to do, then he may as well turn himself in.

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So, I'm 59 minutes late, apologies. I think you guys can just, expect tardiness lmao my bad.