ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱɪxᴛᴇᴇɴ

୨⎯ Playing With Fire Is a Risky Move ⎯୧

So it all comes down to this. Repent and you shall be forgiven for your sins... Why am I still not forgiven? I told the truth, didn't I? What else should I do aside from being honest? Are we really just a...failure? No, that can't be. I love her, only her.

I'm certain I don't want to give up. Not after everything I went through, everything I have heard from her side. I know too much about her to just forget what happened between us in the past and in the current timeline. Staying by her side regardless of the conflicts ahead of us is the only proof I can show her.

I'm not proving to her that I have changed for the better. No, that's not the whole point. I'm proving my love for her. That it is real. What I am feeling is real and I am fully committed to it, to Y/n.

As I search for Y/n inside this house, I get a bit sidetracked and tour myself. Turns out, this house is a three-story building. I still don't know what the kidnappers' intentions are. Is it for money or just attention from the media? Though I am sure about one thing. They don't intend to murder us inside this house.

Reaching the final floor, I find a secret room. Well, it is hidden unlike the rest of the rooms I bump into. This one has no door and can only be open when you are observant enough to find the slightest odd thing in the area.

I push forward the fake window and see that the room is quite spacious. The third floor is a trick to anyone who is wondering what could be upstairs only to find out it is a room with a single window with no furniture, just a window to gaze at the sky whether it is real or fake.

Upon sneaking inside the secret room, I notice Y/n's clothes are scattered on the floor. First is her shoes and next is her soaked shirt. The only thing she's wearing right now is my coat covering her whole body.

I see we have the same mind to quickly find out about this secret room or maybe her desperation led her here. Next thing I know is I found her lying upside down on top of a dusty drawer, her back bends as if her body will be split in half. Is she unconscious? Did she slip and fall?

I rush towards her with fear creeping up on the back of my neck. What if she had an accident and hit her head? Is she okay? What the hell happened here?

"Y/n?" I call. "Y/n. Hey." I call again but now I nudge her by the shoulder. "Y/n, are you alright? Hey, are you hurt?"

"I just wanted to be alone and think in a quiet room with no person in sight." She says with a sigh escaping her lungs. Her body rises up and sits casually on top of the drawer.

Y/n stares at me with a pained expression and asks me, "I am just so hurt and I don't want to get hurt again. Do you understand where I am coming from? Why I keep pushing you away from me."

"You don't have to explain it further for me to comprehend." I reply, hoping for her to just sit in silence and let her emotions sink in and calm down.

Y/n hides her face as she buries herself in her palms. "There is no such thing as right person, wrong time but every time I look at you, I believe it. I really do." She speaks, her voice cracking. I feel her pain. I feel all of it.

I walk closer to her and lightly pull her hands away from her face. Her eyes are swollen from crying. It's my fault. I didn't want this. I didn't want to make her cry. It wasn't my intention to break her heart even more. Forgive me, Y/n, for I forced you to hate me.

I kiss her lips gently then pull back as I look into her eyes, showing her that I finally hear her voice loud and clear. That she doesn't need to shout my name so I can hear what she has to say.

I am about to let her be just like what she needs right now, but Y/n places her hand on my jaw and kisses me back. Confusion hits me in the head and digs deeper into my brain as we now stare into one another. "Why?" I mutter to her in a whispery voice.

Unfortunately, Y/n doesn't respond to my question as she takes her leave, hopping off the drawer and picking her belongings up from the floor. I am left alone with my puzzled thoughts scrambled in a hot pan with no fire heating it up.

Why did she kiss me back when she hates me the most?

It's not right to chase after her and ask for her direct response. She is obviously hurt by my past actions. I will just leave her alone for now and wait until she is ready to talk to me again. Yes, this is how mature people deal with adult problems. Let the fire down and then try again.

Maybe she just needed one right now? Wait, no, what? That doesn't make sense. Or maybe she envisioned that guy she is with or something on my face before kissing me...? Because, I don't know, she needs some way to heal herself?

After hours of not seeing her, of course I still watch out for her since we are still in the enemy's base. I can't let this conflict between us hinder myself from protecting someone I love. Sounds cheesy but it is what it is. Without Y/n, I don't know how to act. I am just... used to her being there. Living inside my mind.

I sit on the end of the couch inside the living room, awkwardly waiting for something to happen. May it be the kidnappers' appearance again or just her. In the end, she does come inside the room a few minutes after I do.

Y/n sits on the other end of the couch and just faces front. I have no clue how to start a conversation with her condition right now, being broken and destroyed, as I might step on another land mine like before. We have been stuck inside this house for who knows how long. There are no clocks and our things are gone, of course.

"Say." She utters where I have my eyes wide open. "What are you willing to do for love?"

I inhale a large breath and ask her question first, "Who are you asking?" Y/n looks at me with a blank stare. I continue my question, "Rinnie or Rindou?"

"Who am I speaking to at the moment?"

I answer her shortly, "Well, Rinnie would not know what you're talking about. He would just think it's some kind of nonsense since he doesn't know how to love nor what love is."

Y/n chooses to remain silent, unable to pick up words to describe what she is feeling right now by hearing my response.

I then add, "...But, Rindou would definitely say something like this. I will choose the woman I truly love every second of the day. Love is a subjective word, but choosing you always is one thing I will not hesitate to do, Y/n."

"Hmm." She noises before breaking eye contact with me. Did she... not like what I answered?

Y/n says while her hands are clasped together, "Thank you for being honest with me. It's the only thing I wanted to hear coming from you. It's what I waited for eight whole years...Rindou." She then breaks down as she collapses onto my arms, weeping heavily.

She weeps until she doesn't have the energy left to cry a single tear. I listen to every cry she lets out and with every one of those, I gently rub her back, telling her that I'm sorry. As I feel her heartbeat close to distance, I can say that this proper conversation freed me from the dark atmosphere and so did her.

Patience really is difficult to balance out, but if you care for someone, you will follow it with all your heart until you are sure that it is already fine. That it is already okay to speak. That no one will hesitate anymore to reach the person they want to reconcile with. I acquired that and now, I think we will be alright.

It isn't long before I realize that the door finally unlocked itself. I swiftly shout Y/n's name in hopes of escaping with her together. However, this is not a trap, right? It is completely fine to exit through the front door...?

"What?" Y/n asks with a bitter look on her face. I point to her the door being unlocked and slightly opened to which she gasp and run towards it to check if it is real. She then faces me and asks again, "When did this happen?"

I reply, "I just happened to stumble upon this a minute ago right before I called you. But, I don't think this is a smart move for us." She seems like her old, usual self again.

"Yeah, it does look like the kidnappers are baiting us into a mouse trap." Y/n says with a thinking gesture. She looks like she is planning something or just thinking how we can get out of this place without running into deeper trouble than we already are.

I plainly suggest, "I'll look if it is safe to go out. You stay here and wait for me."

"Still playing the brave guy, huh?" She says with a doubting expression. "It's not like I can't fight. I still know how to put up my fists, okay?"

I shake my head, disagreeing with her, "No. That's not my point. What I'm saying is I just don't want to risk your life here. You still have goals to achieve, right?"

"And you don't?"

"Well, I think I'm already content right now knowing I have been forgiven and my message has reached the person I wanted to talk to." I softly smile at her.

"Why don't we just go together? It won't be so bad. Trust me." Y/n says in a firm tone.

I do trust you. I just don't trust myself with how things will unfold. I already messed up at the bar and now I seriously cannot mess up any longer.

I give in, saying, "Okay. Just stay behind my back and watch out for anything odd-looking. I mean the oddest thing there is right now is the huge wallpaper we are living in."

"Again, it's called a set." Y/n squints her eyes at me as she speaks in a sarcastic manner. "Let's leave before those kidnappers realize all this."

I give her a quick nod and start walking towards the outside world. It really is a set and the house is the only 3D building there is in this cube-like structure. It cannot possibly be that the people who kidnapped us are... familiar with who we are.

As we both are heading towards the north, Y/n grabs my hand and says, "Wait." I look back and strike her a question mark on my face. She then continues, "I kinda got a hold of what is happening here. Do you also get it?"

"Like who the kidnappers are?" I ask, unsure where she is headed with this sudden discussion.

Y/n nods her head and replies, "This set is owned by the company we are accustomed with, so which means..."

"Uh-huh. Right. But why...?" I say with a more confused expression. "Why would they kidnap us? I just don't get that part."

"Because..." Y/n pauses before staring directly at me with an answer reflecting within her eyes. "It is because of me. I am the reason for this."

♥ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴛɪɴᴜᴇᴅ...