Chapter Text
“Goodnight, my princess,” Zen says softly, wrapping an arm around your waist to pull you closer to him. You snuggle deeper under the blankets and finish typing your last message for the night to the RFA chatroom – Thank you for letting me be a part of this organization. I hope to help you with many more parties in the future.
You dim your phone screen and set it aside, letting out a deep breath. It was a long day, but worth it. The party went off without a hitch, Zen’s press conference went well, and you got to meet all of the RFA members in person. And now you were back at Zen’s apartment, snuggled safely in his arms. Nothing could be more perfect than this feeling.
Bzzt bzzt.
A familiar sound jolts you partially awake. It’s your ringtone, but your old one – the one you had on your phone two weeks or so ago before you joined the RFA. Well, maybe your phone downloaded a software update overnight or something and it reverted to your old tone. You’re reluctant to open your eyes and reach your hand blindly towards where you think Zen’s bedside table should be. Your hand brushes against something that is not your phone and it falls to the floor with a dull thump. You make a little sound of frustration and open your eyes at last.
This is not Zen’s room.
This isn’t even Rika’s apartment.
This is… your apartment. Your old one. The one you lived in before you moved to Rika’s apartment to help the RFA. You still technically owned the apartment until the end of the month, but… your stuff should not all be here. You’d moved most of your belongings to Rika’s apartment.
Bzzt bzzt.
You’re so caught up in your confusion over waking up in your old room that you’d nearly forgotten your phone was buzzing. You haphazardly click a button and it quiets, then pick up the book you’d knocked to the floor. You slowly raise yourself into a sitting position. It’s 10am, according to the clock across the room. A clock you were positive should be in Rika’s apartment now. What…?
Wait. Where’s Zen? You’d fallen asleep in his arms and now… and now what? He knows where Rika’s apartment is now, but he certainly shouldn’t know where your old apartment is. So he probably didn’t take you here for some reason.
You’re getting more confused by the minute. Standing up, you make a small circuit around your apartment. All of your belongings are just as they were before you moved them to Rika’s apartment. You still have that bunch of extremely ripe bananas on your counter that you’re certain you got rid of while you were packing up your things. That weird poster you’d held onto since high school and ultimately threw in the trash before you’d moved out. Some dishes in the sink that look like they had pasta on them the night before. But you haven’t eaten in this apartment for almost two weeks.
You should… call Zen. Or maybe Seven. Someone has to be able to explain this. You return to your room and pick up your phone.
The date. What’s with the date? It’s twelve days ago. Maybe downloading the RFA app did something weird to your phone when it downloaded software updates. You open your phone app and click ‘Recent’ to find Zen’s phone number.
It’s… deleted, you suppose. It looks like all the call records are erased until two weeks ago. You open your address book, but Zen doesn’t even have an entry.
It’s an insane thought, but just for a moment you wonder if your time with the RFA was all a dream. And now that you’ve thought that, it’s hard to quell the rest of your thoughts. Your heartbeat picks up as you sift through more applications, more ‘recent’ messages. Nothing from the past twelve days. What if the date on your phone really is correct?
Oh… the RFA app! It’s still on your phone. Feeling marginally relieved, you open it and sit down on your bed.
Suddenly, your screen flashes and beeps, and green text flashes up the screen. This feels… familiar.
This conversation is too familiar. You press him for details and he sends you a photo ‘of himself’.
There’s a loud bang from somewhere outside your bedroom. It sounds like part of your wall caved in. What? You look down at your phone and try to close the RFA application.
Nothing happens. You click frantically at the buttons, but it seems to be frozen. Shit. Did Unknown hack your phone? You didn’t bother getting a landline in your apartment because you always used your cell phone. Shit, shit.
You turn the lock on your bedroom door and look at your window. Well, this is the best bet. There’s no guarantee that whatever made that sound is out to get you, but after nearly getting kidnapped in Rika’s apartment, you’re not taking any chances. Better to get outside and call the police.
You’ve got one leg over the sill when the door handle jiggles. Then it’s shaken violently against the door frame. Your heart in your throat, you carefully bring your other leg over the sill. Rushing will only make things worse. You tell yourself that, over and over, scraping your sweaty hands along the brick to try to find purchase. If you can just get to the next window, the fire escape is right there beside it.
Your foot slips and you nearly scream. Okay. Okay. Why the hell was the apartment on the seventh floor? Not as bad as the fourteenth, but still a fatal fall. Don’t think like that. Stand on the raised brick line by the window. Let go of your window frame. Shuffle. Just a little bit more.
There’s a tremendous crash, but you don’t look. You have one hand inside the crevice of the window that leads to your living room. Shuffle to the right a bit more. Don’t lose your balance. Put your foot on the sill. Just a little bit farther.
The sound of footsteps comes from the window to your bedroom, but you focus on the fire escape. You’re almost there. One more step. Don’t lose your balance.
The living room window opens. A push. A feeling like going over the top of a roller coaster. White hair and mint eyes. Windows flying past your face. Fingers scraping against stone.
Red, and then black, and then nothing at all.
Bzzt bzzt.