Taki groaned, realizing that she was lost.
When she left Sarah's office, a lot was going on in her mind and she desperately needed some fresh air. In search of solace, she allowed her feet to roam the bustling streets of Tokyo, aimlessly navigating without any particular destination in mind. Her only desire was to drown out the cacophony of thoughts swirling within her head.
Thirty or so minutes into her walk, she realized she had walked into an unfamiliar part of the city and couldn't find her way back to Sarah's building.
"Fantastic, simply fantastic!" she grumbled, scanning her surroundings for any clues that could lead her back on a familiar path. "Do you see where running away from your emotions get you? Lost."
Her stomach grumbled loudly, almost as if the universe itself was mocking her: "Lost and hungry, hooray!"
From where she stood, she caught sight of a charming little café that emitted an inviting scent. However, her expression turned troubled as she gently tapped her empty pockets, murmuring an exasperated curse.
In a state of overwhelming desperation, her eyes deepened into the darkness, consumed by a mysterious and dark aura that surrounded her. This aura unleashed her alter ego, shrouding her rationality and impairing her ability to think clearly. With a sinister gaze, her eyes fixed on the innocent figure of a tall man, who was walking in the opposite direction.
"Maybe you can help," she whispered, slowly lifting her hand and beckoning him with a single finger.
The man suddenly came to a halt, a clear indication that her enchanting spell was taking effect. She couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction, even though she was a little surprised since it had been quite a while since she last practiced any kind of spell.
"Come to me," she ordered. The man obediently pivoted and began inching closer, his pace deliberately unhurried, setting him apart from the bustling individuals who hurriedly passed by.
But as he drew nearer and the crowd of other pedestrians moved out of the way, she was suddenly brought back to reality by the sight of his familiar face. At that moment, her wicked sorcery was shattered, and his enchantment was lifted.
Her first instinct was to turn around and run away as instant regret consumed her, but as his brown eyes locked with hers, locking her place and consuming her with guilt.
"What the-I swear I was over there just a second ago," he looked behind him then at her, blinking in confusion, "you again."
"What a coincidence, it's you again!" she chuckled, feeling a nervous jolt as she absentmindedly scratched the back of her neck, a little quirk she had inherited from her brother.
Still confused, he looked around not being able to wrap his head around how he went from point B to point A in the blink of an eye.
"Yeah-yeah uhm, yeah," he looked, still confused. "Did I space out? how long have we been standing here?"
Taki nervously looked around, avoiding his eyes, "I-I'm sorry, I bumped into you."
"You did? I swear I was walking in the opposite direction," his confused and clueless state on made her drown in more guilt. "I was on my to get my morning cup of coffee-"
As his gaze landed on the café, his senses were instantly awakened. The irresistible scent of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods filled the air, embracing him with its mouthwatering charm.
"Well since we've once again crossed paths, the universe is clearly trying to tell us something," he said, sending a charming grin her way, "why don't you join me?'
'Huh? It worked???' She was genuinely surprised with herself.
This was called daylight robbery.
The thing that weighed heavy on her conscious the most was that if he didn't feel so familiar, she would have gone ahead with it without any regrets.
"Come on, you're not going to leave a man hanging in the middle of the street, are you? I'll pay," His beautiful boyish smile took over his features.
She cleared her throat, "I do like free food," she nodded as she led the way to the café.
"It's not technically free if I'm still paying for it, but sure," he chuckled, holding the glass door for her as they entered.
"Do you want it free?" Her eyes flickered between two different colors as she surveyed the café.
"What? Do you have coupons?" he playfully asked, guiding them towards the checkout counter.
Shaking her head trying to get a clear mind, she laughed dismissively, "never mind."
She was experiencing a whirlwind of emotions, and it became increasingly challenging for her to maintain control. She could sense that she was gradually losing her sense of self.
They placed their orders and went to take a seat at a booth.
"So I'm assuming the only reason you hadn't made use of that number I gave you is because you're still phone-less," he said the moment they sat down.
As if in a cruel jest, the universe taunted her with an abrupt ping from her jacket - a notification for her iOS update.
Kenji raised an eyebrow.
"I'm still trying to find my way around this thing," she avoided his eyes.
He held out his hand, "well, let me help you with that."
Sighing, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it to him after unlocking it.
"Thank you," he smirked, he typed in his number then handed it back to her, "now I'll call you."
Taki looked down at her phone to see that he sent himself a text and saved his number as "Kenji<3".
Their orders arrived and she didn't hesitate to dig in.
"Whoa, you really were hungry, huh?" Kenji chuckled as he took a bite of his waffle, washing it down with a sip from his black coffee.
"I'm sorry, I've been away from home for over thirty minutes now," she said sheepishly, avoiding his amused glare.
"Ah so you ran away from home?" he asked as he continued to eat, feeling he watched her enough.
"Not really but yeah," she shrugged, then decided to further elaborate after seeing the confused look on his face.
"I live alone in an apartment across from my twin brother, my great-aunt owns the building so she gave us separate apartments, which works out I guess."
"Sounds alright, why did you run away?"
"I didn't run away, I just went out for some fresh air and now I'm lost," she said shamefully, "there was a bit of tension between the three of us, we were dealing with some...things, we lost our grandmother a few days ago in a fire accident and buried her yesterday."
"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss," he said as the mood turns somber.
She nodded as she kept her eyes trained on the plate of food in front of her, fighting the tears which were at the brim of her eyes.
Crying in public to a stranger was not how she planned her day.
She needed to get her feelings in check and learn how to control her powers, she was blessed not cursed.
She will act like a blessed person.
Kenji gently held her hand from across the table, "it won't get any easier."
"What?" Taki looked up to a smirk on his lips.
"I felt your presence even before you stepped foot into the city, you're a loose one...insecure even," his head tilted as he studied her, his thumb gently rubbing her hand, "your brother is the most confident of the two of you, and yet his fear gets in his way."
"Wha-what are you talking about?" she stuttered, feeling a new type of fear settle at the bottom of her heart.
Kenji's smirk only grew wider, "I'm sorry for your grandmother's death, honestly, nobody deserves to go that way, it's just a shame that you were too blinded by your insecurities to realize how powerful you are, and your grandmother's life would've been spared."
"You mean, I could've saved my grandmother?" she choked out, feeling her chest tighten.
Kenji sat back in his seat, folding his long arms behind his head, "Taki, you don't know who you are, do you? Where you're from? What you're made of?"
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm just the messenger sweetheart," he smiled sweetly.
"Messenger? Of what? Of who?"
"I have been observing your every move, Taki, for several months. I knew that you would eventually make your way to Tokyo, even before your grandmother could contemplate such an idea. It was inevitable that our paths would intersect, unfortunately," he said with an air of false disappointment.
"What are you talking about? What- have you been stalking me?" bile rose to her throat as her knees buckled.
Kenji smiled that convincingly innocent smile that could fool anyone, "Stalking is a strong word, I was only doing research," he got up from his seat, "as much as I enjoy our nice conversation, I have other things I need to do." With a nod, he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black pants and walked out of the small café.
"Wait, you didn't answer any of my questions!" she exclaimed, following him out of the café. Frantically scanning the bustling street, she desperately searched for any sign of him, but he had vanished without a trace.
"Don't worry sweetheart, you'll see me when I want you to see me," his voice was in her ear, but as she spun around on her heels, there was still no sight of him anywhere.
"Where-where are you? Who are you? What are you?" she asked aloud, not caring that passersby were looking at her as if she was crazy.
His voice chuckled, "your carelessness will get you killed, watch your back."
With that, she felt his presence leave.
With a sigh she let dragged her feet back into the café to finish her food, she was still hungry.
Scared and hungry.
After finishing her meal, she gathered every ounce of courage and the last fragments of her social energy to approach the barista and bravely ask for the directions back to Sarah's building.