Frontiers Unexplored

18) Tides of Tragedy

When Takuya woke up next, the first thing he noticed was that he was alone. 

Midnight had come and gone, and Takuya assumed it was about two in the morning. His gaze fell upon the bed Chihiro was meant to be occupying, and he let out a sigh when he realized that they were no longer there. Takuya swung his legs over the side of the mattress, stretching his arms above his head, before padding towards the door. He realized upon getting closer that the door was cracked slightly, further proof that Chihiro had left to go elsewhere. 

Takuya let out a sigh upon realizing that Chihiro wasn't in the main area of the apartment, and the bathroom door was wide open, meaning they couldn't be there as well. He glanced around in confusion until his gaze fell upon the balcony. He dashed over and opened the door as slowly as possible. 

There was nobody on the small outcrop, but Takuya did see a familiar figure down on the beach below. Bullseye. Takuya dashed back inside, carefully sliding the door shut once again, before leaving the apartment and heading for the stairs. He silently walked out of the hotel and towards the beach, blinking against the darkness that greeted him. 

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the sight, but Takuya was sure that the figure on the beach was Chihiro upon getting closer. Their hat was pulled down, obscuring their eyes from view, as they picked up rocks from the shore and chucked them out into the sea. The water rippled and splashed, a gentle blur of white noise at the back of Takuya's head. 

"Hey," Takuya began, sitting down next to Chihiro. He pulled his knees up to his chest and realized that he had been running around barefoot as sand filtered its way between his toes. He looked out at the beach, sensing that Chihiro wasn't in the mood for eye contact. 

Chihiro's intense gaze did not leave the water on the horizon. "Hey," they replied, picking up yet another rock and chucking it. The stone skipped three times along the surface before disappearing from view. 

"Do you want to talk?" Takuya questioned, finally turning to face Chihiro properly. "I'm here to listen to anything that might be on your mind. I always have been, after all."

Chihiro was silent at first before letting out a sigh. "I think talking might be a good idea," they muttered. They looked at Takuya slowly. "I don't know how to feel about all of this."

"What happened wasn't your fault," Takuya said quickly. "You were being manipulated by Cherubimon, and there was no way for you to know that this was going to be the outcome. You shouldn't blame yourself."

"I know that realistically, but... At the same time, I'm so damn disappointed in myself for letting it happen," Chihiro sighed with a shake of their head. "I thought I was better than this. I've been keeping my anger under control for such a long time, but he... He just kept pressing the rewind button, and it all came back again and again. I hate it." Their hand clamped around another rock, but rather than throwing it, they held tightly to its surface, and indents formed in their palm from the jagged edges of the stone. 

"What was he making you think about?" Takuya questioned carefully. He knew that Chihiro understood they weren't required to answer any of his inquiries, so he allowed the sentence to hang in the air without further explanation. 

Chihiro hesitated before offering an answer. "My parents," they whispered. "It's been a long time since I saw them, but that doesn't necessarily make it easier to deal with."

Takuya swallowed dryly. "I understand," he said softly. He had heard about Chihiro's parents many times, and the story that his friend had painted was far from being a pretty one. 

"It was just a constant repeat of how worthless they made me feel. They were the ones in control, and I couldn't do anything to fight back. They had the upper hand always, and it was sickening to me. I can't stand to think about what they did to me, and it would have kept going if I didn't do anything to get them to knock it off," Chihiro admitted.