"Ehehe," he chuckled. "Forgive me. Here, have some snacks, kid." He smiled and offered Kyle some snacks on the house.
'So this was where she came to rant whenever she felt down…' Kyle mused.
'Since she has not been here in a while, I guess it means she has been relatively okay for some time?'
He grabbed one of the snacks and stuffed it in his mouth, savouring its taste. Then he frowned. 'But if that is the case, why is she back here?'
Kyle glanced at Tsumi, only to see her swirling a glass of water in her hands as though it were wine. She seemed concerned about something.
The old man had retreated into the kitchen to prepare their food, and soon the lovely aroma of steaming meat and vegetables began to reach their noses.
Kyle had been silent, waiting for Tsumi to say whatever was on her mind, and it took nearly five minutes before she finally made a move.
He was staring at his phone while watching her in the corner of his vision.
Maybe she thought he was not looking, because she tapped her cheeks and raised her fists by her sides to psych herself up before she turned to face him.
"Kyle…"
When he looked at her, she was back to her stoic expression, her voice even colder than it usually was.
"Hmm? What's up."
"Hypothetically." She smiled playfully.
"What would you do if you found out that a friend of yours was secretly a criminal?"
'Huh? That was a strange turn,' Kyle mused.
Tsumi continued. "Let's say his identity was unknown, and although he broke the law, he never really did anything extreme."
Kyle's eyes narrowed slightly, the atmosphere turning tense.
She began to tap her finger on the table. "Let's say they were family… or maybe a brother?"
"What would you do then? Crime is crime no matter the shape or form, extreme or light."
Her expression faltered as she said the last part. "Would you be disappointed in them? C-considering all the bad things they must have done… or would it be possible to…"
Her voice died down at the last part, and she just sighed.
But Tsumi had said more than enough.
At first, she had made a weird, nearly impossible connection between him and the midnight vigilante on their drive here.
And now, Tsumi was asking a question that hit so close to home that it was concerning.
'What if she knows?' Kyle could not find an answer for what he could do if she did.
He could easily compel her to forget, but he already felt a little guilty about taking over her brother's body.
Compelling her to forget felt too much like betrayal—
"What are you sulking over?" Tsumi chuckled as she pulled out a crumpled paper from her pocket.
It was a cut-out piece of a newspaper.
"It's just a game I read in the paper today, no need to brood over it so much." She smiled. "You didn't strike me as an overthinker…"
"A game?"
Kyle grabbed the paper and read through it. Her question had been newly worded, word for word, save for a few alterations.
He sighed angrily as he stared at her. But before he could say a word of rebuttal, the old man placed the bowls of ramen on their table.
"Enjoy!" he said with a bright smile. "I made it extra special today!"
Kyle sighed and grabbed his chopsticks.
While he focused on his food, Tsumi picked up her chopsticks as well.
But as she leaned over slightly to start eating, she stole a glance at Kyle.
The expression on her face at that moment was a strange one, and even if Kyle had seen it, it would have been impossible to make sense of it.
Her hand shook slightly and she breathed out a sigh.
'Soon… everything will be over soon.'
The rest of their meal was filled with laughter as the siblings caught up on what had been happening in their lives, their voices filling the air.
They ordered bowl after bowl, something the old man was overjoyed about. They ate so much that they had to waddle back to their car.
And by the end of the night, Tsumi hoped that it could have lasted forever.
•••
Akiko woke up with the same stinging headache she had been having for years now, only this time, it was worse.
She stumbled to the toilet to wash her face, hoping to soothe the headache, then moved back to her room and sat by her dresser.
There was a creaking sound as she pulled the drawer open.
Staring at the dozens of pills neatly arranged in her shelf, Akiko couldn't help but sigh.
She placed her elbows on the dresser and rested her head on her hands.
"What is the point?" Akiko breathed out, her voice laced with grief.
The drugs had become progressively getting useless over the years, and now she could not get by without overdosing on the pills.
Without the drugs, her body would break down, she would die…
But if she continued to take the drugs in such large quantities, her organs would shut down, meaning she would die as well.
She was already dead, the only question was when.
It could be that very day, maybe the next? The constant thought of it was maddening.
A sharp pain surged through her head and Akiko doubled over, grabbing her temple with both hands.
When she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she could see her face covered in those green cracks.
The very quirk that had cursed her to this miserable existence.
Crash!
In a sudden burst of motion, Akiko grabbed the dresser and shoved it to the ground out of frustration.
The mirror shattered, spreading dozens of glass shards clattering over the floor, now there were countless reflections staring back at her.
But she soon forgot about them as a calm voice reached her ears.
"That looked expensive…"
Akiko turned around to see a man resting in the shadow of her room, his arms folded across his chest, his crimson eyes gleaming through the darkness.
"Who are…"
"Come with me." He said, cutting her off.
Like a puppet, Akiko lost all control of her limbs, and mindlessly walked towards the man, who took her in his embrace.