White Rabbit

Chapter 11: No Longer Running

ESSENCE

Those two from the diner really seemed to like each other. Indigo and Ink. A small smile forms on my face as I remember the way they acted towards each other. They're probably a couple, if not, they'd make a great one. Sometimes I wish I had someone to look after me like that, but I know they probably don't have it easy either, and I'm too scared to trust anybody. It's not that I want to be a coward, I fight when I have to, but I'm just the type of person who hides in the shadows and evades -- it's who I am. I continue to walk down the sidewalk in the more "broken" part of town, the area that has vines wrapping through the cement walls that house gardens on the tops of them, sidewalks that haven't been well taken care of in a long time, tall buildings that aren't that old but give off an older vibe, a charming one though, with the way the wooden porches and wooden railings compliment the buildings made of concrete that were painted over and had siding added to them, and a brick building or two here and there with neon signs lighting up the neighborhood every so often. I love this part of Shibuya. My white boots slosh through the puddles, drops occasionally splashing onto my black thigh-high tights, the scent of wet asphalt and warm rain in the air, and when the wind blows I pull my dark blue jacket closer around me.

"I'm telling you, I don't know why he ran off," A male voice comes from nearby and I slow my pace, sticking to the shadows as I approach.

"I'm not blaming you, Asylum," A girl I saw earlier in the market with Jace sighs, "I just want to make sure he's safe."

"You know he can handle himself," Asylum sighs, "Besides, this wouldn't have been an issue if you hadn't seen him run off."

"Are you saying you wouldn't have told me?" The girl glares at the boy and crosses her arms.

The boy rubs the back of his neck, offering her a nervous smile as his blond, spiky hair sways slightly in the occasional gusts of wind that come. He looks up at the sky and sighs as they continue walking.

"Man, this is a drag," Asylum sighs once more, "Misa, seriously, I know you're like his sister but trust me, he'll be fine."

The black haired girl crosses her arms and narrows her blue eyes at Asylum, who runs a hand through his hair before adjusting his mech goggles which rest on top of his head, his blue eyes flitting about between her and the scenery as they hold an emotion I can't quite place.

"Fine," Asylum says after a little while, "We'll keep looking, but I don't know why you wanted to come here of all places."

"We'll keep looking? Of course I was going to keep looking, but I wasn't going to force you to stay if you hated it so much," Misa says bitterly.

"I wasn't implying that I--"

"And aw come on," Misa smiles as she throws an arm around Asylum's shoulders, "Try to admire the scenery."

"Yeah," The blond snorts as the pair continues to walk farther away, "Scenery..."

I sigh once they're finally out of sight and continue walking along the path in the shadows. However, as I round the corner, I bump into a boy who's wearing a black jacket with the hood pulled up over his blond hair and his silver eyes widen slightly, his hands reflexively reaching towards the daggers strapped to his legs, sliding around on the asphalt and kicking up water with his dark brown, calf high combat boots with his pants tucked into his boots. He catches his daggers in one swift motion and points one of them at me while holding the other down at his side. I step backwards as my eyes widen and a dark blue energy orb begins to form and swirl around my right hand as we stand there, calculating each other's next move.

"You don't work for White Rabbit, do you?" We ask simultaneously.

"No?" I ask in slight confusion and he narrows his eyes at me.