October 9th, Friday

As the girl felt her slumbering state slowly stirring awake, she shifted in the sheets and turned her entire body to one side. When her eyelids began to also enter a more lucid state, they slowly unclenched to reveal her surroundings, nearly forcing the girl to scream in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here?!" She glared towards the red haired male that was comfortably resting against a chair, with a book in hand.

"I was waiting for you to wake up." He simply stated and proceeded to casually flick through a page in the novel.

"That doesn't explain anything!" She threw the sheets over herself, as though feeling completely uncovered to the analysing boy.

"You said you wanted to go out today, right? I was simply waiting for you to wake up so I can take you." He looked towards the nettled girl and mocked her with a calm smile.

(Y/n) felt herself boiling up at the sly grin until her whole body trembled with anger. "You...you..." She searched for the correct terminology she could label the smug male in her vocabulary.

Kaito simpered at the attempts of name-calling and shrugged his shoulders. "'You' what? Go on, I've already been called everything possible: 'douchebag', 'a**hole', 'b*****d', 'a**hat', 'monster', 'b***h'-"

"Pervert!" The boy ceased his confident listing to stare at the girl's words.

"Pervert...? Hahaha!" The girl squirmed back at the outburst of unexpected laughter that came from the boy. "Haha, alright, that's a first." As his tittering began to slowly simmer down, he felt the soft impact of a pillow hitting his head. He looked towards the fabric and traced his gaze back at the thrower of the object.

"Get out! I need to change if we're going anywhere." She irritatingly glared at the boy, awaiting for his departure.

"Why? I thought I was a pervert, so I might as well commit to the role." The male cockily smirked at the vexed girl, and received another round of pillows being thrown at him. As he indifferently dodged each launch, the boy kept a sly grin on his assured features.

"Out!" She used her pent up rage to grab the chair the intellectual was resting on, and scrape it all the way to the door. Kaito was slightly surprised at the burst of strength she displayed and was stunned up to the point of his positioning outside the female's room. "Stay there!" She slammed the door, separating both of them into either section of the house.

Kaito stared at the door for a few seconds before an amused chuckle erupted from his throat. "'Pervert'...stupid girl~"

(Y/n) emerged from her room with her new clothing attire, and a jacket to protect her from the cold. "Am I actually going to go outside?" She gaped at the male with a hopeful look as he nodded his head in a confirming answer. "Thank you...so who's going to escort me?" She glance around to spot any sign of the other residence that would accompany her on her outing.

"It's going to be just me...unless you want someone specific." However, he received a negative shake of the head from the girl.

"It's fine, I'm just happy I'll be finally going out." As the pair began making strides to the exit of the house, the boy noticed a spring in the female's step that gave away her eagerness to finally see the outside world again.

When the gate shut behind her, (Y/n) felt highly rejuvenated by the freeing sensation that came with her separation from the house and dared a glance towards the boy, with a sly grin.

"Aren't you afraid I'm going to try and run away?" The boy responded with a mocking smirk that seemed to challenge her nerve in escaping.

"Good luck with that, I've got all the others on speed dial. You try something, we'll be surrounding you like an animal." The girl grunted at the debunking statement, and proceeded to take her first steps outside while the boy followed in close pursuit.

As she walked around the streets and roads, there was a large relieving sensation, as her senses recognised the familiar surroundings, and graced the open world with open arms. She took in as much of the sights as she could, making sure to preserve them in her memory for when she would return to be a captive back in the house. As she walked around the environment, the female realised how valuable everything seemed. If it had been a few weeks earlier, every sight that brought her serenity would just have been a regular glance. But after experiencing the absence of all the sights, it seemed criminal to not appreciate the area.

The boy lightly smiled to himself as he watched the child-like awe the girl was going through, and kept a careful eye on her. When (Y/n) seemed satisfied with absorbing as much imagery as possible, she noticed the male perplexingly staring at her. "What?"

Kaito casually averted his eyes with a disinterested expression. "Where do you want to go?" Changing the subject, the male proceeded to walk beside the dead-panned girl, and awaited fro her response.

(Y/n) took a thoughtful moment until a light switched on in her head for the correct response. "I want to go to the park!" She excitedly stared at the boy with a hopeful look.

The male blinked a few times to process the request and scratched his cheek in contemplation over the plead. "It's very early. The sun hasn't even properly dawned yet, are you sure?" However, the girl positively nodded her head and turned towards the direction of her destination. Kaito sighed out his discomfort and quickly followed in the girl's pace.

The female began a slight jog towards the gated area, in an excited pounce. Entering the park seemed to bring a much more nostalgic feeling than she originally expected, and was unprepared for when the warming feeling hit her directly in the heart. She took a deep breath to inhale the fresh, morning scent and began making her way towards a bench that seemed weathered away, as the plant life had begun weaving itself around the legs of the outside furniture. Kaito seemed hesitant to join the female at the bench located right beside a steep hill that led to the other side of the Greenland, but forced himself to sit down with a clueless expression.

"What are we doing here? Are we just going to sit and do nothing?" (Y/n) gave him an irritated glare and proceeded to relax into the bench as the cold wind brushed her skin.

"I'm waiting for something...I'll show you when it's time, until then, the only interesting thing we can do is sit here." The boy rolled his eyes at her comment and reciprocated by also leaning against the back of the bench. After two elongated minutes of awkward silence, (Y/n) could feel her discomfort edging away at her nerves as she fidgeted her feet around. She looked about to find a source of entertainment or conversation when she spotted something that could break through the stillness. "Do you want some hot chocolate? The guy over there can make the best cocoa ever." She pointed towards a small, metal stall that opened at the top half of the front, to welcome any passers-by to buy from the array of sandwiches and beverages that an elderly man with a welcoming smile, was selling.

Kaito eyed the stranger warily with an unsure sensation. "Who's that?"

"Well...you know how you have that one person in every town that just seems to be best friend with practically everyone, and just has this weirdly trustworthy personality? That's Andy, he's been working at that stall ever since I can remember, and everybody just loves him. He's very friendly, and sometimes gives me these chewy candies for free...can I go over and ask him for some hot chocolate?" She looked at the boy pleadingly, like a desperate child that is begging for her parents to buy her a desired toy.

Kaito handed her a reluctant expression and looked around to find any reason to deny her plead, only to hand her some money for the girl to buy whatever she required. "Just go and get it, and come back quickly." He grunted out and crossed his arms in an awaiting manor.

"Yay!" The female exclaimed, making the boy unintentionally grin in amusement at her jubilant attitude. However, as the girl built up momentum to run to the stall, she halted herself and glanced back at the intellectual with an unreadable face. "Aren't you worried I'll try and run away?" The male simply shrugged at the inquiry.

"As I said before, I can easily the call up the others and capture you before you can even get out of this park. Plus, you trying something will not reflect well on your friends, especially if you attempt to say something to that man." The girl grumbled at the two sides threat and have him a slight glare. "Besides...I trust you." The female seemed to perk up at the statement, and give the boy a blank face. "W-what?!" Kaito scowled at the female's neutral expression, feeling the embarrassment rise to his cheeks. "My God, I can't make any comment without you staring at me like lost puppy!" (Y/n) couldn't help the mocking smile that slowly spread to her face, causing more shame for the teased male. "Just go buy your things!" He snapped at her with flushed features. (Y/n) satisfyingly turned back towards the small stall and quickly ran to it to greet the older, working man.

Kaito simmered down with irked murmurs. After a moment of collection he distractingly watched the female as she heartily spoke with the seller.

'What am I going to do with her...?' As he watched the girl's positive demeanour, he felt a guilty sting in his gut. 'Damn it, I can't allow myself to linger over her like this.' He made a laboured attempt to ignore the female's presence, only to bring back his attention on her as she kept a pure smile on her face as she awaited for her order to be complete by the worker. Kaito made desperate endeavours to keep himself from grinning at her joy and had to pinch his thigh to bring himself back to reality. 'Just remember Ryo, remember Ryo!' He inwardly scolded himself as he was reminded of what he was holding back for. 'Damn you Ryo...why did it have to turn out like this?' As he questioned his actions once again, he gave out a heavy sigh. 'Because I had to get too deeply involved.' He answered himself as he entered a deep state of contemplating thoughtfulness. 'I could have just left this girl live her life, and just let Ryo take up his own actions. But no, I had to get the idea of forcing things. I'm such an idiot for digging myself deeper into this. Yes, I am. Well, I don't need to be so harsh on myself, this was all in good intentions. But I certainly got more involved than necessary, like the moron I am. Well, I tried to fix it. Yes, because just 'avoiding her' was such a professional move. Shut up me!'

"Kaito, here."

"I have full control!" As the boy spoke out of his mental state back into his conscious one, he noticed the startled expression crossing the female's face as she stared at his unexplainable outburst. The boy stumbled around his bare mind for an explanation, only to fall humiliatingly silent.

"...A-alright...anyway, I hope you like hot chocolate." The intellectual had realised at that moment that the girl was handing him a styrofoam cup with steam escaping the top, hinting towards the warm contents inside.

"You bought this for me...?" He stated at the female, puzzled at her polite gesture.

(Y/n) simply shrugged in a casual demeanour and sat back down in her seat. "It's your money that you lent. I would feel kinda guilty if I just bought things for myself." She made a second move to hand the secondary cup to the boy, for him to hesitantly take it with an uncertain look. "You look like you're afraid of it. Are you allergic to milk or something?" She jokingly laughed as the boy continued to stare at the liquid with a wondering face. "...Oh my, are you actually lactose-intolerant?! I-I'll go and take it back, Andy will be more than happy to give a refund-"

However the male shook his head in a negative answer. "No, it's just...I'm not used to people treating me like this." The female rose her eyebrow at the comment.

"You're not used to people giving you hot chocolate?" She half joked with an underlying layer of questionability.

"I'm not used to people giving me anything, really..." (Y/n) took a small sip of the hot drink and kept her intended gaze on the male.

"What do you mean? I thought your family was rich." She reminded and turned herself towards the boy, as she sensed a conversation starting.

"Well...they don't exactly prioritise me in all honesty." He took his own sip from the warm drink and nearly spit it out as it burnt his tongue.

"Be more careful, give it time to cool down." The girl laughed at the male's pouting face and proceeded to carefully drink from her own container. "How long am I allowed to be out?"

"For another hour at the most. I need to get back before school starts." He proceeded to take another attempt at sipping his drink, only for him to get stung once more. "Did you request him to make mine extra hot or something?!" He complained at the temperature of his drink and began moping.

(Y/n) sighed at the intellectual's attitude and snatched the cup from the male and pushed her own in his hands. Kaito stared at the action for a few seconds before giving her a puzzled look. "Mine isn't that hot. So just take it, if it'll stop you from groaning."

"...Why are you being so nice to me?" The female gave him a shrug at the question and proceeded to stir the liquid around. "I'm serious (Y/n)...after what we did to you, why are you being so beneficent towards me? It would make more sense to hate me..."

She watched the mellow boy as he stared at her gift, and exhaled her frustrations. "I only say I hate people when I mean it...and it's usually too tiering to hate people so if it comes to that point, I'll say so...I just really dislike the actions you've taken so far, especially hurting my friends..." Despite her insurance of forgiveness, she attempted to remain as optimistic over this as possible. "Plus, take this as a thank you for allowing me to go out."

Kaito analysed her in tender thoughtfulness and quickly caught his thoughts before he could fully lose himself in the his speculations over her. "Th...-than...thank..." The boy attempted to choke out the unfamiliar words, but ended up stumbling at each sound as though it were a foreign sentence to his tongue. (Y/n) watched him struggling to speak out his gratitude, until she realised what was happening.

"Are you trying to say 'thank you'?" She cheekily smiled at the embarrassed male as he felt the heat of frustration, humiliation and bashfulness rise to his face.

"Tha-than-thank...yu..." He groaned out his stymie wording before growling in defeat. "Y-you keep looking at me! Stop that, i-it's humiliating!" He tried to make a natural-looking turn of his body to avoid the female's amused gaze, but ended up looking like a forced reflex more than anything.

"Oh my god, come on, I want to hear this!" The female ran to the boy's front to watch his skin flushing a shade that could rival that of his hair.

"G-go away!" He attempted to scream in her face, but came out as an unnatural, high squeak that stunned both the teenagers for a moment before Kaito could finally sense the heat radiating from every pore of his face.

"Hahahaha! Ahahaha!" The girl burst out laughing at the male's unheard of change in pitch and the abashed features he was trying to hide. As the girl continued to chortle at his moment of mortification, the boy could only hang his head in shame as he received all the embarrassment that was expected.

"Ugh...! THANK YOU!" He shouted out, inadvertently earning a bewildered state from a passing-by jogger. Kaito attempted to compose his flared emotions before realising a stiff silence from the girl's side. As he glanced towards her direction, he noticed her tilted head and mocking rise of the eyebrow.

"Can you say that again? I didn't manage to record it." She poked fun at the degraded male, only to have a lock of her hair being painfully tugged on by the boy.

"Enjoy it while it last. I'm not used to th-thanking people." The girl moved back to her original spot with a satisfied smile playing on her lips.

"Why are you so sensitive with some appreciation. You're acting like none had ever treated you kindly." She handed her statement replete with mockery, however received a blank gaze from the male. "...I mean, I'm sure you've been very privileged after you became wealthy, right?"

However, the intellectual became unbearably silent at the female's assumption and simply stare at the ground with a solemn expression. "As I said, my parent prioritise many things over me, so I'm sorry to say, I don't have many memories of people giving me unconditional kindness." (Y/n) furrowed her brow and kept her eyes fixated on the boy.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say that the closest person, I even consider as family is Ryo." He sipped his warm drink, that seemed to be more of a match for his senses, while the girl continued to stare at him.

"Why just Ryo...?" Kaito scratched his head in scrutinisation as he speculated around the situation.

"My parents are very busy and hardworking people...they don't necessarily have time for me, even when I was little...after all, it's hard to build up this much of a fortune by spending time with your family so..." As he felt his nerves flare up at his next thought, (Y/n) easily noticed the shift in tone in the male's features.

"What?" She pried further to learn what had caused the sudden change. However, the boy seemed reluctant to answer for her, as he simply fixated his thoughtful gaze towards the cup in his hands. "...Kaito?" The girl raised her voice to attract the male's attention once more. "Did you...have any friends while growing up?" The boy was taken aback by the sudden, unforeseen question and searched around in his head for a proper answer.

"No. I didn't see the point in making friends, so I simply just stuck to my own recourses." He proceeded to avoid the girl's calculating eyes, as she studied the boy in front of her, and made a move to take a drink from his cup.

"You seem like a very lonely person, to me." Kaito nearly choked on the liquid as the female's words entered his ears.

"W-where did you get that from?" He gagged out between coughs, and stared at her remark.

(Y/n) gave an awkward grin the his reaction and searched for the right analogy she could share. "Well...your way of attracting attention to yourself is fairy...'unconventional' but you seem so detached from everyone...at least, that's what I noticed." Kaito broke down her comment and sighed after using up the time to study her impression.

"Well, I was never a very social person so I don't exactly know how to work with people's emotions...you think I'm not aware of how much of a jacka** I am?" The girl scoffed slightly at the unorthodox words the boy added to his vocabulary and kept her gaze sternly on him.

"Why don't you try and change that?" The boy gave a low growl at the girl's pushing behaviour.

"Because I don't care enough to do so."

"You do realise this isn't something that will benefit you in life?" Kaito glared at the girl's prying nature, as though warning her to step away from the territory she was trudging in.

"As I said, I have little respect for incompetent morons."

"Just because we make mistakes and act the fool sometimes, doesn't make us filth." (Y/n) remained with a serious and composed tone as the boy's temper began to rise.

"Then don't act the fool. If people want me to treat them right, then they should act in a more proper manner."

"You mean 'they should act more like you'? You need to understand that people have different natures-"

"And you need to stop talking now." He gave the girl a vexed scowl filled with admonition towards her intruding statements.

"Why do you treat people so horribly just so they can notice you?"

"I treat people the way they deserve to be treated." As he spoke each word through clenched teeth, the girl's meddling never seemed to falter for a moment.

"Most of the people don't deserve that, the very first day I met you, you tripped me up just so you can see me humiliated."

"You were in my way." Kaito's wavering composure began to slip as his tone became more angered with each word.

"A simple 'excuse me' would have been just as effective."

"Well pardon me, but politeness isn't exactly a strength of mine."

"Why do you treat people so coldly? You seem to yearn for some affection yet you're not helping your case."

"They're just bugs underneath my shoe. I couldn't care less for how they felt."

"Haven't you heard of the saying 'treat people the way you want to be treated yourself-"

"That's how I've always been treated!" (Y/n) flinched back at the sudden outburst of suppressed rage, and experienced a moment of fearing threat as the boy glowered at her with triggered features. "You think it's easy to just treat people nicely?! Well of course, for you it must be an absolute joy to look at everyone like equals!" The girl squirmed back as the boy darted his hands out to corner her retreating frame. "But you don't know how much of a cruel life this is (Y/n). If you show even the slightest sign of weakness, people will get the upper hand on you...none will ever be nice to you and expect nothing in return. You need to know that in this world we compete, and one little act of kindness can expose you..." As the boy felt himself slowly pacifying as his anger dissolved away in each expression. After realising his affect of the startled girl in front of him, he backed away to see he had spilt his drink on the rocky ground, after his eruption. (Y/n) stood still in her position as she stared at the boy to see if he would have another explosion of emotions.

When she was sure the male had fully simmered from his break down, she took the chance in shuffling closer to him. "You don't have much experience with receiving tenderness, do you?" Her gentle speech made the boy sigh at his previous behaviour and look away from her.

"As I said before, my parents never honestly had time for me and usually I would just have to stick with my own recourses...no harm done." However, the girl could see the layer of lonesome sadness appearing behind the boy's glasses as he reminisced back to the past.

"Then why do you look so heartbroken?" Kaito fidgeted slightly in his place in discomfort at the question.

"I don't presume this is business you'd like to be bothered with..." Nevertheless, the girl shook her head as she proceeded to sternly gaze at him.

"I think I'll find the room in my head for your burdens..." The boy slightly shifted around to find a more comfortable position for himself as he prepared to speak about a subject that remained untouched.

"...I don't really have much to say, in all honesty...my parents were very busy people, and never allowed me to leave the house when I was young...Back then, they couldn't afford a babysitter and were always too afraid that I'll get into trouble or in danger...so they never permitted me to go outside. That's pretty much all I can say." The boy seemed more composed than the girl had expected as he spoke about his past, giving her the impression that he wasn't telling the full story.

"Why did you never make the attempt to be friends with anyone?" This seemed to strike a cord with the boy as he slightly flinched at the mention of acquiring companions.

"The kids where I lived...weren't exactly the most disciplined..." He spoke his mind with slight agitation which persisted the girl on inquiring further. "You see...my family and I lived in a very wealthy neighbourhood thanks to one of my father's contacts. We were very lucky to get the house where we were, but...it wasn't exactly a secret that were very poor...and it certainly didn't reflect well on my reputation." The boy clenched his arms as they remained crossed, he gave a disproving tusk, as he recalled his repressed past. "The neighbourhood kids were quite relentless...constantly teasing me, insulting me and my family, even the occasional physical altercations...every time fists would get involved, they immediately told me off despite them being the ones to throw the first punch." He lightly chuckled at the memory of his small form dodging each incoming attack with instinct. "And then I couldn't say anything...whenever I would deny it, their parents would just give me these disapproving looks...why would they believe a child of a lower class than them? It simply didn't suit their taste..." He solemnly looked to the concrete in an undignified manner as he brought memories of disgusted glares and seething scowls of his childhood.

"How often did you get bullied...?" Kaito went into a deep state of thoughtfulness as he recalled the encounters with vivid images.

"Almost every day of school really...it went on for about 4 years and it was very regular...I didn't care, though, why would I want the opinions of a bunch of spoilt brats?" He dismissively scoffed at the recollection and strained on an altered smile.

"Do you really not mind whatever they said?" The male gave another belittling huff as he repudiated any claim of more.

"Of course not, I was always at the top of my class, so I had what I could be proud of. And my parents were fairly proud of me as well, so I honestly have nothing to complain about." He relaxed against the spine of the bench with a satisfied smile plastered on his face.

"I don't think you're telling me the full truth." Kaito raised his eyebrow at her and attempted to play dumb at her claim.

"What else could I want? I'm being honest when I say I have nothing else to hide. Everything I've given you so far is the full truth. What more could there be?" He shrugged his shoulders in a dismissive manner, trying to mask any uncertainty under his words.

"I think you did feel something, but you didn't want to show it." The boy was taken slightly aback from the comment but waved his hand off in a denying manner.

"Why would I feel something from what a bunch of rich filths said?"

"Because you didn't have anyone to share your pain with." Kaito fell silent at the girl's claim and could only stare at blank space in deep thoughtfulness.

"...Haha, what are you talking about? What they said never hurt me. Nothing ever hurt me." He clutched onto his knees as each lie seeped out of his mouth like trained articulation.

"I think it did..." The female proceeded to push on with her analogy as the boy's defences seemed to slowly wither away.

"It didn't. I mean, I didn't care what anyone thought of me." The boy felt a poisonous stinging sensation entering his subconscious as he recalled each taunt. "Why would I care if they thought I was a worthless piece of scum? That never bothered me. Why would I care if everyone wanted me to die? That never bothered me. Why would I care if they said I was a waste of life? That never bothered me. Why would I care if they thought my parents were pathetic filths? That never bothered me. Why would I care if I had none to talk to or share this with? That never bothered me. Why the hell would I care if everyone considered me nothing but trash? That never bothered me. Why would I care that cried myself to sleep almost every night because I felt ashamed to exist? No, that never bothered me at all." As each word spilled out of his lips like a flowing stream of sorrow, (Y/n) watched the boy's slipping self-control.

"Kaito..." The female's voice seemed to break through the mocking ones danced around his head as they engulfed his thoughts.

"What?!" He snapped his head back to reality to glare at the girl, as he felt a trail of stinging liquid brushing along his cheeks. Taking notice of his state, the boy turned away from the female as he began wiping his face with his sleeves. "Damn it, you stupid girl! Look what you did..." He furiously began rubbing at his eyes to soak up any tears that dared escape his ducts.

"You must have felt so lonely. With none to talk to, or run to...you must have felt so cornered." Each word began piercing the boy's stretched nerves, making him growl at her prying.

"Shut up." He spat out, expecting the female to retreat back at his venomous vocals.

"No one to understand you, no one to listen to you."

"Shut up."

"You keep saying that these things don't bother you, but you're so on guard-"

"Shut up already!" He shouted at the girl, causing her to jolt back at the increase of volume. "What the f*** do you want from me?! What do you want me to say?! That I spent most of my childhood in an empty room?! That I was constantly around people who belittled me?! That I was always underestimated and hated by every single person around me?! That I never received affection from either of my parents?! That for the longest time I was convinced that my existence in this f***ed world was as valuable as the dirt on the floor?!" Kaito's alert posture began to sink down once more as his built up rage began to escape out of his system at every word. "That I was constantly left to my own devices? That I never received any kindness from anyone? That I had to bear so many threats and faults for doing nothing? That I felt like I was wasting away with every breath? That I had none there for me?" As his voice cracked and gagged with each syllable, he slowly slid back down in his seat, seemingly giving up in fighting back his denials. "That I wished every night I would just never wake up again...? That I wished so hard I would escape everyone around me...? There is no God...every time I would pray for someone to just end it all...I'm just standing like a fool, talking to nothing...That I wished so hard I would have at least one person there for me...? That I wished...there was some to just listen to me." As he fully became limp in his position like a rag doll, he felt all the life inside him drain and hung his head low in shame, as the female in front of him stared at his beaten nature.

"I'm listening." The girl's voice broke through the intoxicating silence to bring some colour into the broken boy's perception. "I'm here."

Kaito lifted his face to look at the speaking female, his eyes blurred with an unfamiliar liquid. (Y/n) watched the abstemious boy slowly straightening his posture up and finding the courage to make eye contact with her. "You're a stupid girl, you know that...?"

The female simply scoffed at the comment and placed her hand atop his head. Kaito seemed to melt into her touch as the warmth of her hand ignited a hopeful spark within him. After realising he had been pushing himself further into her palm, he retracted back to look at the girl before him. "I'll listen to you."

The male felt his heart halting any pulsation for a split second before his lip began to uncontrollably quiver. 'That's all I wanted to hear.' He moved closer to the girl to sit at a compacted proximity from her, and rested where he could feel her presence. "...Yeah, I was a...very lonely child...I honestly can't say how few the moments of tenderness really were...my parents were never around to really form a bond with me...I sometimes completely forget I even have a family." He played around with his fingers in an uncomfortable habit. "My older brother payed little attention to me really...he left the house to go study abroad very early on, so it was always so quiet...sometimes I would turn on the TV in the living room and read in my own room, just so I can have this synthetic feeling that there was someone in the house...I can't even count the times my parents would miss holidays like Christmas, Easter, Festivals...even my birthday seemed to be on a waiting list in their schedule..."

(Y/n) gave the male a saddened look as his features seemed hollow and lifeless as he spoke.

"Outside of the house wasn't much better though...It was a common occurrence for most of the children there to find entertainment in messing with me...and all I could do was let them. If I didn't anything they didn't like, my parents got to pay in the end which didn't help our reputation either..." The male glanced up at the dark clouds as he reminisced over past grudges of his youth. "Most of the time I would have to come home with painful bruises and ruined equipment because I knew if I were to say something...it would only make it worse for me and my family."

The male placed his fingers to his neck as an agonising reminder of emotional scars.

"I remember...a game they used to play. 'Who can make Kaito cry first.' Let's just say that in the end of each 'game' I was always the loser...I'll...spare you any details of what happened when this came up since you can very well guess what this play time consisted of." He sighed at his own self pity as he glanced back at the girl beside him. "And then one day...it all just stopped...no one touched me, no one spoke to me, no one even looked at me...I was so confused back then at what had happened and whether I should feel relieved or not. It didn't take a long time for me to figure out that rumour of my parents' promotions spread around, which meant our income would drastically increase for the family...it was at that moment that I realised it's all about ranking when it comes to being superior...it's all about showing your nobility in order to get respect...so, I became exactly what they thought of me. An utter scum." The male chuckled at the irony of his ideology. "I became the exact thing that got them actual admiration...the exact thing that finally got me noticed...I became my own enemies."

(Y/n) listened carefully to each word and comment as she worked hard to fully grasp at the male's mindset.

"...Treating people like they're bellow me, is the only thing that's worked in life for me...it's the thing I was raised up on, and I knew who stood where in rankings of power...I knew that in order to survive in this world of animals, you need to become an animal yourself...so, I had no problem in becoming one." He breathed out a lung of slight regret and felt a self-loathing irritation at his gut. "However, I did make an exception back then...the only person you could say I actually treated fairly was Ryo." (Y/n) perked up at this information as though discovering a hidden gem.

"What made Ryo stand out?" Kaito seemed thoughtful for a moment as he recalled a brighter side of his past.

"Ryo was a special snowflake...he was the very first person to actually make me feel like a human being...and no matter how much of an a**hole I was to him, he kept this optimistic nature that just helped my mood...certainly made my days a lot more worthy..." (Y/n) analysed the boy for a slight while before a wide, playful grin spread to her face, as she raised an eyebrow in a suggestive manner.

"Hhhmmm...still ship it~" She felt an irritated smack across her scalp and began rubbing the sore spot as she whined at the boy's stroke of violence.

"Did that feel funny?!" He aggravatingly scowled at her as she caressed the sore area. "In all seriousness (Y/n)...did you know this all started because of Ryo?" The girl stopped her healing actions and stared at the boy for more insight. "I mean...the only reason I first took interest in you is because Ryo took interest in you."

"...I...don't follow." She gave him a clueless look that made the boy grunt in frustration.

"You remember when I first requested your presence to tutor you on social studies...? Back then, my original plan was to gain intelligence on you and see how compatible you would have been for Ryo...I knew he had an eye on you so I wanted to make sure he would only get the best treatment." The girl wasn't sure what to make of this new information as she hadn't expected the turn of events. "And to my disappointment...you passed the trial without a fault..." As he felt guilt over attempting to undermine his best friend over the course of the few days he had set the plan, Kaito sighed in frustration. "I...I tried so hard to just forget about running after you...especially when I saw that necklace."

(Y/n) looked down at the locket hanging around her neck as she recalled the story behind it. "Yeah...Ryo told me what it was about..."

"Yeah I figured...that's why, I wanted to restrain myself and just let Ryo have you, but..." The boy breathed out with a slight growl laced in his exhalation, allowing the silence to take away all speech between the two.

After a while, the girl looked around to noticed a secondary colour shading the sky. "That's it!" She startled the male as she quickly jumped up from her spit, and began heading towards the stairs of the hill.

"Where are you going?!" Kaito raced after the buoyant girl as she continued along the path, seemingly chasing the wind. When both teenagers found themselves panting at the top of the hill, the female continued her journey forward, off the path. "Where are you going? The path is this way." He pointed to the right of him at the clear walkway towards another area of the park.

"That's not the path I want." She crunched through the bushes and leaves of a seemingly hidden destination, with the boy following her in close pursuit. After making rough steps in the uncharted ground, the pair came to a clearing at the edge of the range. "This is it!" The girl gazed at the rising dawn as the ascending sun graced the sky with fiery, exotic colours at its peak, while bing complimented with the sight of the grey skies.

"Be careful not to fall." The male stared at the steep edge of the cliff-like hill. "Seems like a dangerous height." The girl glanced at what had caught his attention and waved her hand off in a dismissive demeanour.

"It is, but I'm not scared of it anymore. I found this place a very long time ago, and you can get the best glimpse of the sunset and sunrise from here...isn't it amazing?" She glanced at the boy who seemed completely disinterested at the view. "What? Do you think it looks stunning?"

"It's fairly satisfactory but...the sunrise is right behind the larger buildings down town...the view is just spoilt with them in front of the burning star." He looked at the old, and slightly worn down buildings that were an itching sore against the canvas of colours.

(Y/n) pouted at the boy's nitpicking nature until an idea came into her mind. "Kaito? Are you long sighted or short sighted?" The male seemed slightly jumbled at the question.

"Uhm...short sighted, but why-?" He remained stunted for a split second as the girl grabbed a hold of his spectacles and took them off. "What was the reasoning behind that?" He eyed the girl's actions with suspicion as she forced him to turn his attention to the sky once more.

"If you keep focussing on the unnecessary details, you'll never recognise the bigger picture." She allowed the boy too take a new look to the sunset.

As his vision became distorted from the absent eye-wear, each colour of crimson and ginger seemed to mold together as the buildings that once obstructed the rising sun, seemed part of the landscape of the grey shade of sky that still hovered around the canary tones that circled around like a blooming flower of fire and rouge accents. The boy remained in a state of awe at the dazzling sight as he stared at the ombre blend. "Wow..."

"Haha! Well, I'm satisfied for the day. Come on, school starts in around 50 minutes. You don't want to be late, right?" She spun around on her heels and prepared to leave when she noticed the boy's attention still fixated in the distance. "Kaito?"

The male seemed to bee in an abyssal state of thoughtfulness before he could allow his dazed words to express his long-suppressed feelings.

"(Y/n)...I think I love you."

The entirety of Earth had stopped as the boy uttered his confession. There was no gravity. There was no sky. There was no world. In the female's perception, everything had completely frozen into nonexistence.

After a long moment of agonising silence between the two, the girl found the breath to utter a shaky snigger. "Haha, d-don't joke around with such a serious face...y-you really know how to mess with people, hehe..." As each desperate and forced claim escaped the female, she inwardly pleaded for any sign of sarcasm in the male's features. However, he kept a stoic stance at his claim, until turning around with a serious expression.

"What if I wasn't joking?" (Y/n) could sense all the colour drain from her face and felt her skin tingling from anxiety. "(Y/n)...I think...no, I'm very certain that I love you." The girl in question could only remain in a stare-down with the expectant boy as he approached her unmoving form. She sensed no heart beat inside her rib cage, or it could have been her own perception of a stand-still as her knees began shaking. "Please say something..."

(Y/n) was jolted back into reality and had her eyes unintentionally dart around her surroundings, to look anywhere else beside the male. "I-I...I...think it's time to get going." She handed the boy's glasses back to him without gracing him with a single glance, and began slowly retreating back the way they came from.

Throughout their journey back, (Y/n) could feel the male's calculating eyes at her head, and dearly hoped it was simply her imagination. Kaito kept his expectant gaze on the female, in a desperate wish that she would turn around and give him a proper answer to his confession.

'So you don't see me in that way (Y/n)...? You stupid girl...you don't realise that once I dig my nails into something, you'll need to rip yourself in half in order to escape me. I've endured enough and have kept my hands off for Ryo's sake...but you buried yourself too deeply with me, my dear...I'm tired of your rejections (Y/n)...all you had to do was keep yourself to yourself, but in the end you decided to get involved with my emotions...you can't just do that, and then expect me to take it lightly. I'll show you how long it will take to frolic with your own apprehension...my stupid girl~'