Iori stopped running as soon as the lights went out. She stood there in the middle of silence and darkness in what felt like ages. Every cell in her body went still and she felt the cold air seeping through her clothes as if the frost was eating out the air around her in slow deliberate agony.
She thought she heard footsteps and something else in the background but she wasn’t sure if those noises were inside her head or actually from the real world. That’s when she felt it, the warm humid breath against her neck and the acid words as they whispered into her ear.
“I’m here to get you…” The all too familiar voice said, “you won’t get away from me this time, Suzuna-sensei…”
Fear gripped Iori’s heart and nausea flipped her stomach. This has become the case whenever someone called her by that name. Iori wanted to run, she wanted to scream but she couldn’t.
Her body didn’t belong to
Knowing that you have a deadline and working on it are two different things. There was always this deciding factor of whether you can get into the trance-like mood that would let you work through it nonstop until you finish.Jun couldn’t get into that mood. He knew that he was skirting the danger zone and that he would be screwed if he doesn’t start working, but, he just couldn’t. He was still reeling from the events that happened to them earlier that day.Iori didn’t seem to be having any problems, she had been cradling her laptop and typing away for a few hours now. She was on a roll, her fingers were moving on the keyboard so fast that he could barely keep up.She’d go for the laptop as soon as they entered the apartment and had been at it since then. Jun could only write two paragraphs since then and he was seriously considering deleting it.It ticked him that he was the only one agitated because of what happened, even th
Iori was reaching her limits. She was tired, sleep deprived, and the constant vibration in her phone were making her wince every time she hears it.She hadn’t slept in twenty four hours, which is a normal occurrence for a writer who could play Olympics in breaking deadlines. But, the stress was piled up more than usual and Iori felt more tired then she should have after staying up all night trying to meet their deadline she felt like she was dead on her feet and the bed was her only salvation.“You look terrible,” Jun commented from where he was sprawled on the couch leaning back and covering his eyes with his harm papers and books sprawled around him looking like the remainder of a battle field with their bookshelves.“That’s the pot calling the kettle black…” Iori responded her voice coming out in a slow slur as if she needed both the time and the low tone not to disturb the peaceful morning they were having after a n
“Yo!” Jun heard from behind him and turned to find Haruki walking toward him.“Fancy meeting you here, you mind company?” He asked and Jun motioned to the empty bar stool beside him with his half full whiskey cup.Haruki sat down beside him and motioned for the bartender to give him the same.“Drinking after a rough night?” He asked“Yeah, I spent the last two days juggling between my office and the family company. We really need Iori there if I’m going to survive until next year…” Haruki complained.“She’s going to be there next Monday, so hang in there…” Jun said with a smile.“Yeah, thank god for that…” Haruki complained. “How did the deadline go?”“Barely made it on time. I swear to god every time this happens that I will be more organised next time but it always ends up hap
The air in the bar was still and Jun felt as if he breathed he would disturb the equilibrium of the moment and lose Haruki’s words in the deafening silence. But when Haruki opened his mouth to speak, there was nothing to lose or confuse in his words.Everything was stilted black truth that could not be denied…“When I got the phone call, I still remember thinking that It was probably one of my clients. I answered and the police officer asked me to sit down before he told me everything…She was out on an evening jog when they got her. She had been with them for hours before someone found them. Apparently, they didn’t even bother to choose a well-hidden place, they took her to a deserted parking lot that was apparently still being used by a few people. And one of those people found them and called the police…”Haruki remained silent and Jun realized that he must be having a hard time talking about this… He
Haruki sat beside Iori’s bed in the hospital staring into space. Iori was sleeping, and it seems like all she did was sleep these days. Not that he was against it. She needed to recover and if sleep helped her with the pain, both physical and mental, she could rest all she wanted. After a few days, the doctor lowered her pain medication dosage and a hint of Iori’s true self was resurfacing back again. One morning she had looked at him when he entered the room and gave him a small smile. Haruki had felt like crying when he finally saw that small twitch of her lips. It's been two weeks since then and the investigation was reaching its end. Iori had asked about the progress steadily and was insisting he keeps her updated. It was the only thing she seemed driven about, she didn’t ask about anything and nothing seemed to be drawing her interest except for this. There was a knock on the door before it slid open. Kouru walked in looking like he rushed there. He had
Haruki was still staring at his cup as the minutes went by and Jun was pretty much lost in his thoughts when he started talking again.“We set up a trap for Shun because we didn’t have a concrete evidence by sending him a message from one of the supposed gang. He was supposed to meet him at the apartment and he came. I remember that Iori hadn’t even spared him a glace as we cornered him with evidence, she kept looking out the window as if she didn’t want to see his face.When we told him that we have someone that could Identify his face, he admitted to it. He transformed from this smart and educated young man to a crazy bastard in a matter of seconds. He kept ranting about how he and Iori were supposed to be together forever, and that this was his way of teaching her a lesson because she went on that matchmaking meeting.That’s when he pulled out a gun and shot the two officers that were in the room with us and aimed his gun t
The car stopped in front of the shabby building that Iori clearly recognized. Her body had long gone rigid since they entered the neighborhood she had avoided for years now.Still, the sense of every calm within her told her that she was no longer in a state to feel anything but reflexive emotions…Handing the driver a bill, she stepped out of the cab when she heard a voice,“ It would be better for you not to go in there alone, young lady…” he said looking back at her through the separation glass, “ a respectable person like you shouldn’t be somewhere like this…”“Respectable, huh…” she mutteredShe wondered if he would still say that if he knew what she was about to do. What she had done in the past…“I don’t have a choice. And I promise to be careful.” Iori said with the sweetest smile.The older man sighed shaking
While they were all trying to figure out where this building was and getting ready to head there, Jun was roaming the room andJun Stepped inside the room while everyone was in chaos and tried to think. What would he have done if he was Iori…“Iori is a very cautious person. And her self-preservation instinct is strong. She wouldn’t have gone there for you just like that without calling anyone…” Jun said pensively.Haruki lifted his head, “You’re right, this doesn’t sound like something she would do…”“If she thought that you were in danger, she would have called Rina before heading there,”“But we saw on the camera that Iori left the building alone. We caught her even taking a cab…”“Which means that she did go there, but, why?”“What do you mean?” Haruki asked“Why did she go there? She should know by no