Chapter Text
She was standing there in complete silence, nothing but fog surrounding her in every corner. By the looks of it, moving wasn't an option and all that she could do was stay where she was. How weird, being in this unknown space with no freedom or nothing to do. Her vision was also sort of blurry and fogged out from the sides, unable to see her whereabouts quite clearly. Nothing felt accessible and Ran hated it. Even speaking words wasn't possible at all, her lips wouldn't budge, and closing her eyes was a challenge in itself. Just as she was losing all hope, a very familiar figure appeared in front of her. It was someone she knew quite well.
Minato Yukina, it has been merely a few months since they started going out and living as partners, however, something felt quite off. All she could see was her figure, her hands that were behind her back, and her bangs that were covering her eyes, which she could barely catch a glimpse of. Another point that was bothering her was this eerie sound, like a chalk being scratched on a blackboard, ringing in her ears and it was a little distant though the more she got aware of it the closer the sound got, despite it not having any physical form. What was going on anyway?
“Mitake San…”
Ah. Yukina started to speak, and just hearing her voice alone made her heart at ease. She wasn't alone, she had Yukina with her all along. But….Yukina seemed off. She was glitching a little, as if she was a hologram of some sort, coming closer with a small grin. It was very unlike her to do so, her heart getting quite heavy.
“Thank you,..”
What? What was she going on about.. her worries just started to grow bigger and bigger. The girl in front of her just swiftly turns around and tilts her head to her side with a small giggle. This felt really creepy, Ran didn't like this at all.
“Good bye, Mitake san.”
With those three words escaping her lips, Ran came to realize another familiar shadow just behind Yukina, the other’s childhood friend Imai Lisa. She couldn't really see her that well from this angle but it was definitely her. What happened next, simply tore her heart to shreds; Yukina hops over to Lisa, getting extremely close and hugging her arm tight with a content smile she's never seen Yukina produce.
Wait no. Come back. Where are you going?
She hugged Lisa hard, and smiled while she spoke to her and went far into the distance, not even batting an eyelash towards her. She was being completely ignored. No. No.
She wanted to speak, but nothing came out.
As if she was restrained, chained to the ground and tied to a pole. All she could do was let out heavy, muffled breaths, tears forming in her eyes. No, this couldn't be. This can't be. After all, Yukina promised she'd stay by her side, that she will be devoted to her and her only no matter what happens. But, she did see her leaving her for sure. She wasn't being deceived.
The more she struggled, the louder the chalk like noise started to ring inside her head, and it wasn't going away. Minato san… Minato san…!
It was no use. She wasn't coming back.
“I love you,
Lisa.”
Eh…? Everything went silent. Her breathing just stopped. She stood there like a deer caught in headlights, not moving an inch. But...you never said that to me…
No…
Am I just a fill in? did she hate me from the beginning after all? Her sight became shaky, finally able to move but her legs failed her and she just fell onto her knees, screaming, but no voice came out. Instead of the fog that was surrounding her, her sight started to fill with the words “goodbye” all around her.
No. No. No.
But I….. I don't want to say goodbye.
I… finally…. Became your equal
Someone you can acknowledge. But..
That's all gone now. No no no no no no
NO.
With a sharp gasp of air, Ran found herself sitting up straight, her shaky breaths barely coming out of her, her face covered in cold sweat. Her eyes were wide open, clenching onto her beating chest tightly, wrinkling the cloth as she did so. She swallowed, realizing that she was in her own room, the sound of the bedside clock, tick, tock, in her ears instead. So noisy.
What she also noticed was that the left side of her body felt unusually heavy. Once she turned around, a concerned pair of emeralds looked at her sympathetically.
“Mitake san….” The girl’s voice was wavering slightly, although it was quite quiet too. Ran took a while to figure out that all that she saw recently was nothing but a dream, gradually calming down after reaching that conclusion.
“Are you okay?” A soft voice called her, reaching her slightly smaller hand out to touch her cold cheeks, Ran unable to do anything but stare blankly. She was still a little woozy from just waking up from that nightmare, so she took a small breath.
“Yeah..I'm fine.” No she wasn't, her heart felt like it could shatter into millions of pieces, her gaze going to a random corner to not face her rival's worried face.
A sigh. “Here.” A gentle hand wiped away the tears she didn't realize were coming out of her. It made her sniffle to herself and go back to wipe them away herself. This was probably the first time she cried in front of her rival and lover. Embarrassment slowly started to come over her, which led her to let out a sort of a small scoff. “Ridiculous, isn't it? Seeing me crying like this…” Ran’s voice was on the quieter and hushed side, not really wanting to face Yukina like this.
But, the other didn't seem to think much of it; if anything, it was quite the opposite. She was torn to see her crying like this, concern and worry washing over her.
“Not at all, Mitake san.” Yukina started. “Was it a dream?”
Asking worriedly, the older girl came closer to Ran, urging her to talk to her. She's never seen her act this way before so it took her by surprise. What could Mistake Ran dream about that would make her break down like this?
Ran gave her a silent nod, making sure all her tears were gone, but there was some redness present beneath her tired, ruby eyes. “mmhm, I guess.” She huffs, laying back down to calm herself down, Yukina following right after, not tearing her face away from her at all, which started to concern Ran. “W-what?”
Yukina heaved out a tired sigh, and as drowsy and sleepy as she was, she made sure to stay close, holding her hand tight in the process. “What was it about…? We can talk this out.”
Never in all these months has Ran seen Yukina with that concerned face. It baffled her entirely, however that wasn't what was important right now. What she should focus on was talking to her. At the beginning of their relationship she didn't really like sharing her problems with Yukina, however she soon started warming up to her and talking to her about all sorts of stuff and vice versa. She took a deep breath and let it out, her eyes rolling to the side with her brows furrowed.
“About you...leaving me….
for Lisa san.”
It was hard for her to say out loud, since she didn't exactly hate Lisa, however she hated the times she'd catch the two together looking closer together than what they've been up to. It always looked like Yukina was more happy by her friend's side rather than by herself.
How they'd hold hands from time to time, sharing their food, laughing and smiling together. It felt surreal to her and that's probably why she had this dream to begin with. She was overthinking things, always keeping others in her head before hers. It was devastating.
It wasn't long before Yukina pulled her in for a tight embrace, holding her as close as she could. “You idiot, you know I'd never do that.” Ran swallowed, quickly feeling her heart race. It was the first time they hugged ever since they started dating, so it was a little awkward if anything but… something about this somehow made her feel at ease. Her uneasiness just flew away right that second and all she could think about was being right in this moment with Yukina in her arms. “Mhm.” Ran nodded, hugging her back just as tightly, nuzzling into her shoulder for comfort and warmth.
Feeling her next to her made her have a sense of safeness, in wanting to let go of her anytime soon. Ran took a deep breath. “May I….stay like this for a while?” She hesitantly asks, which Yukina gave an immediate response to. “Of course, take all the time you need.” She whispered with a soft hush, simply stroking her hair and keeping her as close as she possibly could. Though, something felt off for a second, looking down at Ran and to her surprise, she was already fast asleep again. It brought a smile to her face, seeing how peaceful she got in merely a few minutes. “Good night, Ran.”
Maybe they should stay like this till morning.