The arrived household member stared at the fuming woman before her, failing to comprehend the reality that was weighing down on her in the form of a pair of glaring eyes. (Y/n) slowly entered the premises, hesitating on closing the door, -and her only means of escape- leaving her bare and vulnerable in front of the authoritarian figure before her.

"Hey mom..." She mutely uttered, remaining at an approximate distance from her parent as she tried to maintain a genuine enough smile to cover her guilt. She swiftly turned a glaring gaze towards the kitchen where she saw her two siblings carefully observing the situation and her confrontation. "Which one of you told her?" She aggressively hissed through clenched teeth, causing the interrogated pair to point at one another in attempts to shift any blame away from themselves.

"They have nothing to do with it." (Y/n) lightly winced at the stern and cross tone that edged between her and her analysis. "You see, I woke up this morning and thought to check on my bank account to see if you were all looking after yourselves and how much I'll be re-earning." The woman fervently tapped her foot in agitated frustration as her synthetically sweetened voice sat deadly thick in the air. "Only to see that I've been actually gaining money since I've taken a break." She tossed her face into her daughter's hidden one, forcing her to look at her annoyed features as she spoke in an indignant tone. "I thought that there was no way that my daughter would go against me and act on her own accord. Sadly, I came back to be proven wrong." The woman folded her arms, scowling at the girl who maintained her gaze situated downwards in hopes of avoiding her mother's line of sight to decimate the impact of her scolding.

"You just came from the hospital...?" The younger female questioned silently, trying not to pique her parent's already agitated temper.

"Yes! I came as soon as I realised. I didn't even give myself time to change out of the hospital gown and slippers." The woman pointed towards the floor at the pair of white, hygienic shoes that she hadn't bothered taking off before directing the girl's gaze back to her irritated features. "Frankly the ride home was not the most stylish but I was so infuriated I didn't even care." (Y/n) took a moment to process the information and before she could stop herself, the image of her mother riding the bus in hospital attire with an angry expression, like some sort of escaped mental patient made her briefly snicker out of the absurdity. "I know what you're imagining so stop it!" Her mother embarrassingly barked, causing the girl to hang her head in shame.

"Sorry ma'am..." She whispered, holding her hands tightly behind her back as she tried to comfort herself in the cornered situation. Her mother waited a moment to assess the female in front of her before groaning with frustration.

"Go to your room. I'll come up and speak to you later." The woman nodded towards the second floor of the building before turning herself around to enter the kitchen. (Y/n) pumped her feet up towards her room, merely glancing towards her siblings who were giving their condolences in sympathetic gazes.

(Y/n) was trying to distract her bustling and irritable mind with a few entertainments on her phone, only for her disoriented thoughts to linger at the very back of her consciousness, residing as the itching irritation that she could not satisfy. The girl sighed to herself before gazing out of her window, involuntarily allowing her brain to form scenarios and dialogue that would be exchanged between her and her parent.

She watched the leaves of the tree swaying gently in the placid wind, staring at the rounded stump that had formed on the side of the plant that she was facing, as though it were dismembered out of its many arms and forced to live with one large branchless. She felt her blood boil at the sight of the healed wooden limb as she glared angrily towards the covered wound before her ears perked at the sound of her door handle turning.

Looking towards the slowly opening frame, the girl expected to see her mother's angry features rounding the corner. Instead, she was faced with the limp, woollen beak of a childhood memory as large, googly eyes rolled towards her direction. She stared at the floppy toy with a stiffened body, for a moment under shock enough to think of the item as sentient.

"Hey, what are you doing?" A gruff and forcibly childish voice resonated as it shifted its beak up and down in synch with the question, causing the loose black optics to juggle with the movement. When the girl remained too bewildered to answer the toy seagull, the synthetic creature tilted sideways in equal confusion. "No seriously, what are you doing? I can't see from behind the door." It squawked before its body slouched to rest as another visitor entered the room.

"Where did you find Capcha?" (Y/n) questioned, gazing at the limp cloth that made up the doll as her mind was swept into nostalgia by the familiar companion. Her mother gave a convivial but bashful smirk before sliding the puppet out of her hand, momentarily taking away its life.

"He was inside one of our old storage boxes. Thought I'd bring him along to lighten the mood..." The woman hushed out her words as her voice minimised into a silent awkwardness. The two strayed their gazes away from one another, creating a wall of thick air between themselves. As the pair remained unmotivated to share words between one another, the older female lightly scoffed under her quiet breath. "If you think I'm angry at you, it's honestly not the case."

The younger girl's brow came injunction into a dubious expression before huffing out a fraction of her frustration towards her mother's cryptic attitude. "Sorry if I misinterpreted your rage back there..." The woman had to try to gather her smile as she felt her mannerisms misguided her daughter's judgement on the situation.

Her mother began to lightly preoccupy her restless hands that began unwillingly fidgeting out of habitual anxiousness. Attempting to gather the proper contextual explanation within her mind, the older female turned towards her daughter with the simplest answer she could muster. "(Y/n), it's honestly not what you think it is. I have my reasons for why I didn't want you to work."

The two kept their tactful gazes on one another, holding a stillness in the atmosphere between them as they tried to interpret one another's thoughts in their deportment. "I'm not apologising..." (Y/n) soon bitterly muttered as she assumed her parent to be waiting for her pleading forgiveness. The woman's face lightly neutralised as she seemed slightly taken aback by the sudden claim, but neither showing any hopefulness or expectation for her daughter's alibi or justification. "What I did; I refuse to apologise for something I don't regret." The girl clenched her body towards herself as she retracted her gaze away from her mother's, holding instinctual worry over the woman's response to her. She would be fabricating the truth if she wasn't to admit to herself her concern over her parent's judgement, but kept her heels dug deeply in her views.

Instead of the stern and cross reaction the female was preparing for, she was granted a few amused chuckles and scoffs while the woman lightly shook her head to denounce her expectations. "I didn't expect you to."

The (h/c) haired company sparked her tone, raising her annoyed sights towards the woman before sulking. "Why are you condemning what I did? I wouldn't have done it if..." Her words faded slightly as her mind searched for excuses or reasoning to ease the tension before hesitating on her response. "If you took something like sick pay or more holidays or come home early, then I wouldn't feel so concerned." (Y/n) watched for any indicative reaction on her mother's face. However, when the older female simply stared back with a blank and unreadable expression, the girl simply retracted in on herself and stubbornly glanced away. "I'm not apologising for going against you..." In response, her mother started lightly chuckling in amusement. (Y/n) was left wondering over what the humorous indication behind her serious claim.

"Haha, I'm not really angry for you going against me. That's the least of the problem." The older woman's tone slightly dulled as her light-hearted energy slowly dissolved as a thoughtful and heavy smile attached to her features. Her thoughts clouded over with anxiousness and nervousness as her original worries began surfacing. She could feel the weight on her shoulders becoming intensive to bear and could feel her own guilt accumulating. "I'm just a bit scared."

(Y/n) lightly scoffed at the explanation and had to raise a doubtful eyebrow. "Scared of what? Didn't know cleaner mortality rates were at an all-time high..." Her sarcastic vocals caused the woman to lightly giggle at the amusing interpretation only to proceed on shaking her head.

"That's not what I mean." Her silent voice muttered as she had to prepare her speech on annunciating her main concerns. She had built up her unspoken explanation for many years back, hoping to never be put in a position to admit it to any of her children. As she took her details one step at a time, she felt the hard labour of acceptance finally washing over her. Followed by relief over her final judgement. "I just don't want you to feel obligated to start working at such a young age. I'm so scared that I'm forcing concerns onto you that you shouldn't be even thinking about."

(Y/n)'s features softened before slowly trailing her eyes away from the slumped figure that sat at the foot of her bed. The girl could see the pain and insecurity behind her parent's smile, making her feel slightly discomforted at the responsibility her mother was claiming. "It's not your fault things are the way they are." Despite her attempted comforting words the woman lightly shook her head in merciful denial before beginning to fumble with her thumbs once more. The more she considered mentioning her past regrets, the more perturbed she felt.

"You know that I dropped out of school before I can even graduate."  Her reminder acted as a stabbing recollection of her early failure in life and the younger girl tensed up when she heard the admittance that would usually send her mother into a solemn state of enclosure. However, the woman held her shaky ground as she tried to keep on a brave and forged smile for the sake of covering her insecurity while the girl was reminded of her mother's past. "And I spent my entire life just working, searching and getting by. I don't always feel like I'm the perfect role model as a parent." Her daughter stared at her with a disbelieving glare before internally shaking her head.

"How can you say that? Everything you've done so far is for us-"

Her daughter's reassurance was interrupted as the aged female knew her naive and rose-tinted judgement might hold a bias against her own bias. "(Y/n), let me at least say something that will hopefully redeem some of my regrets." The student forced down her words to remain silent as she knew her consistent reassurance would hold no ground against the hard exterior that formed a barrier between them. "I don't want you to follow my steps and think that you need to work in order to feel needed."

(Y/n) remained silent, as she now felt her own perception being challenged while remembering moments of her own weakness and uselessness. She couldn't deny her interpretation of bringing finances to the family would carry the burden she perceived herself to bring. "I already know that."

"You say that..." Her mother remained unconvinced through her assurance but kept her doubts internally. Once the dense air between them seemed to stabilise, the older female couldn't help but innocently snigger once she reminded herself of the elements in her life that were going right. "I'm so proud and glad Mikah is going off to college. He's doing the thing that makes him feel happy. And I really wish the same for you." Her daughter stared at her with a conflicted gaze, her blood freezing as she sensed a peeving speck of guilt in her own heart, remaining unable to identify the cause. "Cherish these days of freedom (Y/n), you'll have plenty of time to work when you go out and make a life for yourself." The girl was unsure whether to answer her or reassure her before the solemn woman stood up from the bed to prepare for her depart, leaving the conversation with her last words. "Until then these are precious moments, so spend them the way you want to spend them. And I'll do what I have to do as a parent."

(Y/n) wanted to speak up her own side to the woman, only to retract on her words and simmer down into silence. "Alright, mom." The young student stared at the other side of her room to form a distraction for her muddled mind. As she felt her consciousness drifting off and separating from the rest of her surroundings she felt a tap against her forehead as a finger retracted to reveal the ostracising expression on her parent's face.

"I forgive you for this time, but that doesn't excuse you. If I catch you doing something stubborn like this again, I'll get rid of that keychain collection of yours." The threat put the younger girl on the defence as she scrambled to the edge of her bed in immediate protest to her leaving mother.

"Those are my babies! That collection is the single thing I've worked the hardest for in my life. Would you do that to someone else's hard work?" The woman watched the girl for a few moments with a blank reaction before she unwillingly smiled to herself.

"Would I destroy and tarnish someone else's hard work for my own selfish gratification and satisfaction?" Her inquisitive tone held a hint of mischief and as she led her straying eyes back on the younger female, the woman responded with a glint in her sights. "You don't know about my guilty pleasures, do you?" (Y/n) retracted and settled on eerily staring at her parent with a slightly incredulous gaze.

"You can be so morbid sometimes." She hushed her comment, eyeing the woman with doubt over all their years as a family before a recollection struck in her mind. As she pulled open one of her drawers on her small desk, she swung her hand around through the papers and textbooks within before her fingers recovered a rigid object made of sharp angles and folds. Emerging with her lightly balled hand around the item, she bloomed her fingers open to reveal the paper in her hold. "Here. You said you wanted me to make one. Hope it looks good enough."

She extended her hand out with the bird-like figure made of a single sheet of paper towards her parent. As the woman stared at it for a moment to gather the reasoning behind the offering, the younger girl kept her gaze down as she tried to hide her slight embarrassment at the display of fondness. Her mother's lips soon stretched into a wide and satisfied smile before cupping the paper crane in her own palms.

"It's wonderful (Y/n)!" She gushed over her expected present before referring back to the girl with a gladsome grin. "Alright, I forgive you now!"

"But you said you already did..."

The woman seemed to passively brush off her comment before stretching her tense and stiff limbs up to the ceiling. She released a heaving breath of air that was held in her lungs before her body overflowed with energy and vigor to prepare her for her next cause of actions. "Well, I have to go to work now. Duty calls!" As the woman made her way to the door, her daughter distractedly nodded as she closed her desk's drawer before snapping her disbelieving stare towards the leaving female once her brain processed the statement.

"What?! But you just came out of the hospital! Are you kidding me?!" She crawled to the edge of her bed where she focused all her disapproval in one glare which was responded with a pleading and desperate visage on the part of her parent.

The woman immediately began fidgeting and shifting her feet on the spot in prominent agitation. "I've been restless for the past week! I need to go do something. It's like the cleaning equipment is calling to me." Her voice raised and lowered octaves in a sense of queasiness as her whining tone gave away her desperation for action. "In any case, take it easy for today. I'll be back at the usual time." She quickly weaved out of the door before the girl had a chance to protest and indicated her quick retreat with frantic steps.

"This is why you faint from exhaustion!" (Y/n) screamed out with all her might before throwing herself back on her bed. She began twisting and turning on her single mattress, remaining perturbed by her parent's decision. 'Seriously, does she have a death wish...?' After a few moments of venting and counting in her head, she let out a harrumph in her throat as she began staring out of the window into the clear, blue sky. 'I guess my working days are over for now.'

Nori glanced at the boy for the dozenth time as there seemed to be little change in his intents. Concerned over the number of times he had passed through the central passage, only to be greeted by the same expectant male, the staff member approached the student with a composed and worried disposition. "Master Seok, I can assure you I will inform you if Miss (L/n) comes back." However, despite his ensuring statement, the boy gave him little attention as he chose to focus on the bending and folding of the piece of paper in his hands. Nori tilted his brow inwards in an anxious manner before giving a final attempt at consoling the awaiting boy. "I promise I'll direct her straight to you if she does return. You don't even know if she's coming back, maybe she'll be gone by tomorrow-"

"She will come back." The blond responded in return, denying the man a glance as he ignored his guarantees. Nori stared at the boy, watching him intently concentrating on forming the piece of paper into a distinct creature, before sighing and giving in.

'Kids these days...' He proceeded to walk away from the busy boy as he continued his activity that he took up when he reserved a step of the stairs for sitting.

Seok involuntarily slowed down his motions as the man's recommendation echoed in his thoughts. He forced out any doubts that would insinuate of the girl's absence and remained under the bias figment that she would inevitably return soon. The idea of her absence seemed too unwelcoming and dark, causing him to impatiently suppress any inclinations of her leave. Suppressing any lonely feeling with the recollection of her voice and words, holding her image in a state of perpetual glorification.

As his mind began clouding with deluded excuses and scenarios, his ears quickly picked up on the sounds of footsteps approaching the entrance. When the feet transitioned from the soft pads of ground to the cement step, Seok jumped up from his sitting posture to quickly approach the door.

Taking the handle in his grasp, he quickly pulled on the heavy frame to open the entrance for the arrival. "Welcome-" Seok prepared a greeting smile for the individual behind the door, only for his features to freeze in shock as he gazed on the person, "back...?" His words unwillingly finished as his eyes refused to focus on the newcomer, reflexively looking for a specific individual beyond.

"Oh, hello dear." The woman reciprocated, equally surprised to see the inactive boy welcoming her. As she walked past him, Seok refused to follow her entering form, staring ahead of himself in desperation to catch the figure of another female. "Wow, never thought I'd see you outside of your room, let alone greeting me at the door. Were you expecting someone?" She politely questioned him with amusement in her tone, making the boy turn his clouded gaze towards her.

"Where's (Y/n)...?" The woman was slightly surprised at the mention of her daughter before dismissively waving him off with an assuring grin.

"She's back home. It's time I came back and took things over." Her chirpy vocals were ineffective at settling the male's nerves as he kept watching her with frantic disbelief.

"When is she coming back?" The older female stopped her ascent up the stairs to confusingly glance back at the anxious boy.

"What? She doesn't need to come back. She was only replacing me until I got better." Seok's mouth hung slightly agape as his gaze became distant when his mind entered a rush of thinking and denial. Meanwhile, the woman interpreted the inquisitiveness as a positive display and thankfully smiled at him. "I'm glad to hear (Y/n) has made a good impression while she was here. I'll see you later." As she began departing from the boy, Seok remained in a state of internal crisis and external shock.

He looked down at the paper bird in his hand, staring that the inanimate creature with spite, as though it was the cause of his fervent frustration at that moment. "It didn't come true..." He let the crane flutter to the ground before leaving it as he walked by to nowhere specific.

(Y/n) descended the stairs with a wondering look, thinking over her entire schedule changing due to the unexpected arrival of her mother. She considered options ranging from going out with her friends to spending the day at home. As she seemed to come to a dead end, she noticed her two siblings dressing themselves in appropriate attire for an outing. "Where are you guys going?"

Mikah lifted up his backpack to lazily hang it up on his shoulder as an indication towards their intents. "We were going out to the park. I have to practice jogging and Mai-"

"I'm feeding the duckies!" She interrupted with an excited yelp before hugging a brown bag of, what could be assumed to be bread and any other consumable duck food. The girl considered their intentions before internally shrugging to herself.

"Mind if I come then? My day is pretty much free." She questioned, earning confirming agreements by both her family members. As she put on proper shoes for the occasion, she looked back on both her siblings. "Are you all ready?"

While Mai eagerly nodded her head, Mikah became slightly considerate before his expression snapped into realisation. "Oh, not yet." (Y/n) prepared to question him on what he needed, but was silenced as the male proceeded to remove his shirt and expose the bare skin underneath in the usual routine. "Ok, ready." He simply stated before walking towards the door, remaining unaware to his sister's disapproving glare.

The girl sucked in a deep breath to calm her nerves before helping push her sister's wheelchair towards the exit, muttering bitterly under her breath. "Calm down, it's summer, plenty of guys have their shirts off in summer." Her silent grumpiness was followed by a consulting self-comfort as she tried to look positively on the peeving situation. "At least he still has his pants on..."

The male seemed to pause at the threshold of the doorway as something seemed to strike his mind at the moment. Once his reminder gathered, he proceeded to begin unbuttoning his jeans. "Oh yeah. Almost forgot." As he started sliding the garment of clothing down, he heard a booming, furious voice from behind.

"Oh come on! That was on purpose!" (Y/n) angrily screamed, earning and oblivious and bewildered stare from her older sibling.

Akai distractedly sipped on his juice as his feet worked automatically to lead him through the corridor of the house. The male found it difficult to shake off the embarrassment of his confrontation with the girl. The more times he rewinded the scene over and over in his head, the more ashamed he seemed to grow, unaccustomed to the new feeling that came with the intended offer. He had wondered over what had possessed him in that moment and the regret of failing to promote his emotions to the girl.

He shook away the incessant reminder before his temper could spark once again. He instead concentrated on the events afterwards as Gennai's statement bore deeply into his psyche. 'What was that...it felt like I was talking to someone completely different.'

As he thoughtfully looked down the corridor, his blood froze as a cheerful form strode towards him. Akai bared is teeth at the male in a display of hostility as he glared a warning at him.

"Not you! Lilito, if you so much as look at me I'll kill you!" He snapped before the male had a chance to act against him. Instead, Lilito simply continued bounding up the walkway. "I swear you better not try anything!" The hot-headed boy warned once more as his neighbour began approaching his vicinity. "Don't you dare!" Spitting once more his threat, he tensed his body once the smirking boy had come level with him, preparing to strike back against any hint of assault. "I'll make you pay for it...huh?" Akai remained completely stunned as his harasser casually walked by him without a single glance. The ruby haired male gaped at the action before feeling even more uneasy at the male's even more questionable motives. "You're...not going to do anything?"

Lilito finally seemed to give him some regard as he responded with wonder to the question. "Hm? Oh no, I'm letting you off the hook for a while. Can't have you breaking my egg in a fit of rage." Akai remained under further bewilderment as he couldn't pick up what the mischievous boy was putting down.

"Break your egg...? Is that some sort of euphemism?" He questioned the disinterested student, making Lilito chuckle at the cluelessness.

"Glad you asked! Darling (Y/n) told me that if I kept this baby safe, she would go out with me." He displayed the egg to the stricken male as he cradled it with a happy grin. "Don't be surprised if you see me preparing for a date with (Y/n) soon." As Lilito prepared to continue his journey once more, he was momentarily halted as he felt his wrist getting sternly gripped, causing him to slightly unintentionally loosen his grip around the egg. He looked back to see the unnervingly calm anger that was shown on his neighbour's face and had to backtrack to realise his situation. "Huh? Uhm Aki, could you let go of my arm, LJ might drop if you keep blocking out blood circulation to my hand..." Lilito carefully asked as kindly as possible, feeling more perturbed than usual at his neighbour's rage.

The navy eyed male had been accustomed to the unbridled fury that Akai would carry himself with, during their aggressive interactions. However, the anger that he was witnessing seemed to come from a much deeply stemming area in his bubbling mind. His face wasn't twisted in his usually grimace of aggravation, heeding anyone in sight to watch their step. Instead, it held an uncharacteristic silent preparation, like a snake stealthily taking its time right before it makes the final kill. Lilito stared at his burning eyes that seemed to be the only readable indication on his expression of the ividity underneath.

"What's with that face, Aki...? Never seen you make an expression like that before." Despite Lilito's intent on lightening the mood with a blithesome nuance in his voice, he held an undertone of caution and worry.

"What did you say?" Akai questioned in his own level and low sound, getting his hostage to tense up at the hinted danger for his attitude.

"I...asked what that face-"

"Not that." Before Lilito could jokingly respond to him, Akai interrupted in his dominating deep voice before turning his fuming gaze towards the food item in the male's hand. "This thing is supposed to earn a date for you?" Lilito tried to quickly answer his captor, sensing danger while the ruby eyed boy's attention was on the object in his weakening hand.

"What's the matter with you man? First you try to kill me for giving you too much attention and now that I've laid off you're still coming in for more. Talk about mixed signals." He facetiously inferred, slightly grunting when he felt his wrist tightening under his housemate's grasp.

"Are you boys at it again? Please keep it to this area if you can." A familiar voice scoldingly requested, causing both males to turn their attentions away from one another and onto the speaking individual. "Aww, but I did miss this. Carry on then." She passively told them as she walked past the bewildered boys.

Akai let go of his neighbour, abandoning any intent of interrogating him and replacing his main concern as the woman's return. "You're back..." He commented, unsure what transition onto his actual urging wonder would be considered appropriate. "Does that mean (Y/n) will be back tomorrow...?" The older female raised an eyebrow at the wishful assumption and shook her head.

"She doesn't need to. She only took over until I was fit to work again." The two boys were stunned to silence and as the woman prepared to proceed on to her daily tasks. Lilito quickly ran past the disbelieving figure of his attacker and approached the female before she could leave.

"But wait. Is she going to come visit at any time? Possibly in regards to a deal..." The playful urgency in his execution didn't mix well, earning a confused and sympathetic look from the woman who remained uninformed of any such scenario.

"Not that I know of...maybe I can ask her about it." She assured him before turning away to continue her previous intent.

Lilito was left standing in a flurry of emotions as he was too taken aback to even comprehend the situation. He glanced back to ask his beginning company if the reality he was grounded in was true, only to find himself alone as empty space surrounded him. "He's gone..." When his mind was able to finally slowly wrap around the situation, Lilito found himself flinching at an oozing sensation that trickled down his hand and between fingers.

Looking towards the source of the moist, congealed texture and sharp prickles, he found his fist tightly clenched as clear and yellow streaks slid past his digits to drip to the floor where prices of a shell had crumbled down. The dark haired boy hadn't noticed until that moment the unnecessary force he had placed on the item he had been nurturing up until his loss of control, and was wondering for how long it remained at the current state before he realised. However, he seemed unfazed by the scene, and instead felt uncaring to the worthless object that he once cared for. Lifting his tainted hand, Lilito stared at the glossy coat that had exploded in his grip, feeling cheated in some twisted way.

He couldn't help but give a bitter and wryly scoff at the sight before tightening his fist in spiteful frustration. Malignantly smiling to himself, he let out his hostile thoughts under his breath to feely loop around his form. "Shakespeare did say that expectation is the root of all heartache."

The younger child wearyingly stared at the silver feathered creature with deep suspicion, multitasking from glaring at the specific bird to feeding the rest of its kin. "Mai, that duck won't bite you again. I'm sure it didn't mean harm." (Y/n) amusingly comforted the girl, remembering the humorous scene where the creature, in its blind excitement for scouting out crumbs, had nibbled on the little girl's food-dusted foot.

The younger sibling simply continued her distrustful staring while the specific duck kept its distance in parallel worry. "Mean, ugly-duckling wannabe..." She mumbled under her breath before pitying the creature and throwing it its own small chunk of bread.

(Y/n) busied herself with ending a text conversation with her male friend, preparing to switch off the phone before another priority entered her thoughts as she proceeded to request for a response from her boisterous female companion. Only for no reply to come out of her note, only piling on her own messages for the past few days.

'Maeda, what's going on? Did you just drop from existence or something?' She was unable to call her as all attempts led straight to a request for a voicemail, neither had she been in any contact with her since their last exchange. 'Maybe I should go visit her house after school tomorrow...' She settled on on the decision, anxiously gazing at her mobile device that seemed useless at the moment with scouting out her close friend.

Padraig frantically scribbled down designs of elegant creations turning rough-edged and undistinguished on his notepad, desperately trying to contort his track of thoughts that became invaded by unwanted images he refused to admit to. After his pencil broke for the tenth time throughout his scampering efforts, he completely shut off any reasonable sense of rationalising and before he could process his actions, his drawing equipment was slathered across the floor, leaving his deteriorating thoughts muddling his perception.

The boy threw himself back on his chair as he began running his nails through his scalp, attempting to scratch away the invading figure that would singe crevices of his sanity. "Damn, pathetic, useless, worthless, lowly, common-" As he continued listing through shallow insults for the main image in his thoughts, his blood boiled through as he began speedily pacing the room. 'Clam down, calm down you moron! She's a nobody. Why are letting her get inside your head?'

As his quick steps began increasing in energy the more his mind raced, his perception managed to pick up on indicative sounds beyond his cramped notion. He swiftly turned his attention towards the door as he heard a light knock against it. Swallowing down the worry within him, Padraig also felt slight relief to the sound as he became assured of the person behind the entrance. The vexation within him slowly disappeared as he was elated by the idea of her coming back to him.

Quickly jittering his head to compose himself, he took a deep breath before steadying his shaking feet to walk towards the door. 'It's her. It has to be.' As he proceeded on his course, he began slightly hesitating in his steps. 'What...what do I say to her? Is she here for an apology or something?' His heart tremoured in his chest as he quickly tried to play through a scenario in his head, surrounding her visit. Once he found himself clutching the handles of the door, he clenched his eyes shut before opening up to the visitor, throwing his face away in stubborn refusal to yield. "Just so you know, I don't owe you any explanation! So if you're here for an apology or something, then though!" He angry responded before he could give the visitor a chance to even introduce their presence.

"Oh...alright then." An uncertain but accepting voice replied, taking the boy aback by the different vocals he hadn't been expecting. When Padraig turned his head towards the newcomer, he was left speechless, staring at another woman's confused smile. "Sorry dear, but I need to get your laundry. Excuse me." She gently spoke out before walking past his unmoving form.

Padraig followed her walking frame with bafflement, still under denial she was even there. He quickly scouted out the rest of the surroundings in the corridor, searching for another familiar face, but was rejected on his search.

As he cautiously approached the woman, he kept his fiddling fingers intertwined with both hands while he was finding the voice to quiz her with and annunciate his main concern. "Is...(Y/n) somewhere else?" In contrast to the student's unnerved manners, the woman chuckled before shaking her head.

"Well, she's home." She simply answered, picking up the basket of washable clothing and proceeding to depart.

Padraig quickly rushed behind her to stop at the threshold as she prepared to distance from the room with her duty performd for that moment. "Is she going to be back?!" He frantically asked, making the woman further bewildered at all the businesses the males have with her daughter.

"No, I don't think she will..." She simply responded.

As the returned worker watched the boy flick his sights to different directions, he felt himself losing his grasp on reality as the violet-eyed boy became faint. 'Is this...a joke?' He quickly shut his door, isolating himself from everything around him, leaving the woman bemused at the actions.

Once she turned away from the scene, she was immediately greeted by a pair of large eyes. She slightly hesitated to move forwards once she fell upon the dulled and solemn gaze of the boy ahead. "Gio, where did you come from?" She lightheartedly simpered, fixing a surprised stare once the boy responded in an unexpected style.

"So she's not coming back...?" His gentle tone was muted, all life in his voice stripped away to reveal the pure agonising disappointment in his words.

"Yes, that's how it is..." The worker reiterated, earning an unreadable stare from the boy as his body slumped, all hope deteriorating into his surroundings.

Giovanni proceeded to hang his head low before he hushed to himself. "I see." In front of the woman's nurturing eyes, he entered his room, leaving her to wonder over the events that had been following her throughout her return.

"Alright then..." Trying to spin a positive side to the mysteries behind her interactions, she couldn't help but laugh to herself at the inclinations. "Glad to see I was missed." She humoured before proceeding with her chores.

"You're shameless, you know that?" (Y/n) commented, trying to distance herself as far away from her brother on the other side of the bench, so as to avoid any association with the half-naked boy.

"It's summer. It's soothing to have some layers off." He responded, causing his sister to immediately become defensive towards his argument.

"You do this even in winter! Stop using the weather as an excuse." She snapped, crossing her arms to sulk at the disobedience of her sibling.

Mikah let out a slightly frustrated sigh before quietly rebutting back. "You use it to make me put on clothes..." As the boy passively ignored his relative's comment, he noticed a ball slowly rolling towards him, coming to a slow halt before looking up to see a random visitor running in its direction.

(Y/n) intriguingly watched as her brother stood up to hand the item to the girl who was immediately stricken by the young fit male's physic. She gave him a shy smile before, what (Y/n) could interpret by the body language, thanking him for his manners. The (h/c) haired girl watched as the young female seeming to tie some sort of conversation with the boy, appearing to find him attractive and interesting enough to give him her time.

(Y/n) squinted slightly to get a proper look of the girl ahead as she tried to make out details on the female that could be used to remember her by. She felt as though she had seen the newcomer from somewhere before, but was unable to put a name to the unclear form far ahead of her position. Eventually, she gave up and began assessing the situation as a whole, unwillingly wondering to herself. 'I wonder if he does to be eye-candy?' She considered, trying to appoint a reasoning behind the male's habits, only to eventually shake the notion off due to its unlikeliness. 'Nah, he's not self-aware enough to be doing it for an actual logical reason. He has the cluelessness of a toddler.'

As the female worker made her way towards the adjoining bedroom, she gently knocked on the door until she heard a happy welcome from the resident inside. She hadn't expected the childlike positivity from the boy within, but made her entrance regardless of how uncharacteristic it seemed.

Gennai turned his excited features towards the threshold in anticipation to see the girl he expected, immediately sinking his expression once he recognised the visitor and the elucidating indication behind her comeback. "Hello Gennai, how are-?"

"Where's (Y/n)?" The young boy was quick to analyse the scene before him, as well as the implication behind the woman's arrival and her daughter's absence. His tone remained as level for as long as he could control while catching the woman off guard with the most direct inquiry she had encountered so far.

Sighing slightly out of frustration to repeat herself, she regarded the boy with a reassuring smile. "She's home. She was only replacing me for a little while so-"

"But she'll come back right?" His eager interruption was bereft of any covetous intent to hide his actual desire, and was slowly losing composure of his facade as his voice deepened with urgency and incredulity.

The worker quickly put up her guard at the hostile ambience that began engulfing the messy room and had to state her own side in a reluctant portrayal. "Well, no not anytime soon-"

"Why?!" The woman flinched as she could no longer hold a placid smile to regard the boy with, and had to labour in standing her ground as his loud voice reverberated through each inch of the environment. She stared at him wide-eyed as he progressively seemed to get more feral with each second. "Why did she leave?! She'll be back! I won't allow it!" Each demand and statement seemed appointed at the woman, bring about the sense of blame over the younger worker's absence. His fists clenched into balled up yarns of pure rage as his eyes sparked with a new found source of unadulterated bloodlust. "I WON'T LET HER LEAVE!"

The staff member was gaping at him with her jaw hanging open as her instincts beaconed her to run out of the room as she felt the area would explode from the mere booms of his voice. "...Well, I see you have your own thing going here. I'm not ill-mannered enough to interfere. I'll just go and let you regain your sanity back on your own, before I take your laundry. Good luck!" She quickly dodged out of the room, her escaping form being followed by the vehement growl that was no short of that of an animal.

As she distanced herself from the area, she couldn't help the thoughts that flooded through her perceptions as she ran through the events of a moment ago.

'What happened back there...? That wasn't one of his usual tantrums, what's got over him...?' As she distractedly carried herself through the hallway, her attention was directed to another individual as she crossed paths.

Eban smiled at the lost woman who found some solace in his welcoming grin. "Welcome back Miss, glad to have you on board again." He congratulated while the woman could do nothing else but rub her aching temple as she felt a headache coming along.

"You seem to be the only one. I'm surprised you haven't asked me where (Y/n) is yet." She half joked, suspiciously eyeing the boy in expectancy to hear the dreaded question. The blond merely chuckled before shrugging his shoulders.

"I can assume that she's not coming back. She was supposed to replace you for the time being after all." He reminded. The woman felt near tears as she was spared the explanation and was given understanding.

"You were always a gold star Eban. Well, I have to go now. I need to find Nori and tell him I'm back. I'll see you around." Waving herself off, Eban watched her with humoured knowledge in his gaze before turning his form towards his room.

Upon entering, his emerald eyes were greeted by the expected shaking figure of his sibling who remained in his own world where his mutters only made sense to him. Approaching the unstable boy, Gennai trailed his lost gaze towards the only form that would give him comfort and alleviation.

Eban kneeled down in front of the shaking boy and opened his arms to him, allowing the male a place where he could pour out his shattered mind and punctured heart. Gennai crawled into his embrace where he began bringing control in his speech as he voiced his comments and remark to the older boy.

"This isn't right. She needs to come back. This isn't how it's supposed to be. I need her back!" His requests became frantic screams as he felt his body firmly held in his brother's grasps, holding him in a stable reinforcement as he could not maintain himself. "She's supposed to be with us. She's my friend, where the hell is she?! I want her back!" His sense of entitlement over the female began growing and exposing, leaving the boy shouting with his sharp optics became layered with the young worker's image. "I didn't give her permission to leave me! She's not meant to be anywhere else but with us! I didn't allow her to go! I NEVER SAID IT'S OVER!" As Gennai's voice ran dry and worn out, he had to settle on clenching his teeth together until his gums began searing with pain.

Eban soothingly stroked his hair and rested his chin on top of the male's quivering head, encouraging him to collect himself. "Calm down, Gennai. You can't change what's done." At his words, the younger boy clung on the male's shirt, dragging his attention down to his pleading features.

"Big brother, bring her back! Please bring (Y/n)! I need her, I want her to be with us! Where is she?!" He desperately tugged on the male, expecting immediate results as though a miracle could be performed.

"I cannot do that Gennai." Eban calmly answered, avoiding on agitating the boy further on. "It's outside of my power. She has free will, I can't do anything about that." At the sound of his reasoning, Gennai was flickered with a new agenda as he rejected the reality.

"Then I'll take it way!" He sternly called out, sending his voice loud and clear, warning the female wherever she was to heed herself. "I'll take her free will away and make her come back." As his mind began gathering and piecing together his sanity, he began calculating through numerous plant and schemes as well as their expected outcomes. "This isn't over. This isn't how it's ending."

"It's ok, Gennai. Settle down." Eban assuringly smiled at the devastated devising boy as he entrusted his brother with knowing words. "Trust me, she will come back."

"Well, he said he wanted to practice into the night..." (Y/n) told her little sister, watching far into the sunset inside the park where a figure jogged on the path.

"Mikah has a ton of energy." The younger girl commented as she also gazed at her running sibling.

The (h/c) haired female looked up to see the shades of crimson, gold and bronze transitioning to dark indigo and navy above them, scattering millions of light points in the sky where the shinning of the moon can bring its radiance in the astral dance. While (Y/n) stared in awe at the beauty of the cosmos, her attention was grabbed by a weak, shy voice yearning for her regard.

"(Y/n), could you..." Her uncertain tone slightly trailed off, seeming to think over the request and deciding whether it would be appropriate to ask at that window of opportunity. The older sibling intently watched the child as she nodded along to encourage the question. "Could you tell me...because I've forgotten..." Her vocals held a melancholy that didn't seem to be regular child dullness, but something any young or old human could exhibit as lamenting. "Could you tell me...how it feels like to run and walk?"

(Y/n) was visibly startled by the question and thankful her sister was looking away so she could me play witness to her dumbfounded and stunned reaction. The older girl took in a deep breath to settle her distraught nerves as she felt out of place in the conversation. And when a heavy feeling of grief and guilt began pinning her to the ground, she knew she had to dodge. "Hey Mai, let's get home before it gets completely dark, ok? Maybe mom would be back by now."

The child looked up at the forced smile on her sister's face and immediately knew the intended avoidance of the question. She shut away her inquiry for the sake of her family member's convenience and simply gave a passive nod. "Ok." (Y/n) felt ashamed at the meaningful enquiry the girl had proposed for, and her irresponsible reply to her sister's feelings. But she didn't feel ready to acknowledge and forgive her own faults.

Upon entering the home, the pair were greeted by fresh cooking that they had missed throughout the past few days, and immediately knew the cause of the scent. "Hey mom." The two younger girls entered the room as they sat down to prepare for their evening meals after explaining the reasoning behind their brother's absence.

"Does he have something warm for the night?" The woman queried, earning a raised eyebrow from her daughter as the only reply. "Alright, fair point. How was today Mai?"

"I got to feed the ducks and one of them bit me." The woman gasped in shock as she neared her daughter.

"Really? What a mean and naughty little ducky. Is he here to apologise?" She questioned in a grumpy tone before the child shook her head in amusement. Mai squealed with delight as she was swiftly lifted up by her parent's strong and experienced arms where she beamed a smile up at the younger sibling. "Well, next time invite him over for dinner and I'll prepare the best bread he'll ever have! That way, he has to apologise to a kind princess like you." She reassured the giggling girl before pecking her a kiss and settling her down to eat.

(Y/n) began consuming the cooked goods before noticing an off-putting atmosphere surrounding her parent as she washed the dishes on her own. "Mom, is everything alright? You seem a bit sad there."

The woman flinched into reality before shuddering her had to rid herself of the suspicions in her mind. "Oh no, sorry, I hope I didn't worry you. It's just that, things didn't seem quite right when I came back to work today." As she recollected back on the day, she couldn't help but feel slightly defensive and eery over the events.

(Y/n) was sparked with worry whether her own work had somehow obstruct her parent's job. "How so?"

"Well...I can't quite put my finger on it but...the environment didn't really seem all that 'welcoming' to put it lightly..." Before she could completely be lost in the worries and concerns, the female shook away the flooding doubts and put on a dismissive smile. "I've probably just forgotten what it felt like to be back at work, haha. Don't mind me."

Despite her assurance, (Y/n) felt concerned over the implications her mother made and thoughtfully wondered on the reasoning behind them before surrendering and leaning back to push these concerns to the back of her mind. "If you say so."