ba-dump.

ba-dump.

ba-dump.

Your neglected emotions come toppling forward in full. And as Shiro nonchalantly held someone's fossil, you're quivering with fear. He's fixated on the exhilarating expression that you wore.

Sure, you were wretching where you sat.. but he found it adorable. He'd give anything to cup your pale cheeks and give them a comfortable squeeze. As he turned slightly, a strict silence accompanied him. He reached for the sheet and it would flutter when he threw it on top of the skeleton. The souvenir he took pride in is in his dominant hand... So the body.. it's not really of any importance to him.

"In any case..." He cleared his throat, "The truth here is making things a little... awkward." In spite of being described as unstable, the young man projects his fondness for you. "But, you still love me.. don't you [Y/N]?"

The truth of reality is spitting at his face. No one could love a murderer, no one sane, at least.. and the fact that he couldn't see that terrified you. Pressure behind your eyelids caused your tears to come bursting out-- it's worrisome what kind of madman he is. "Shiro..." You fought to say more. This moment in time feels somewhat nostalgic... You knew it must've meant that he was correct on one note; you were definitely down here once before.

'Try not to say anything you'll regret, [Y/N].' You thought. You'd heave out a heavy hush of breath, your shoulders in which quakes are beginning to decrease dramatically. "Do you think you'll be able to hide all of this forever? I..-- ha... have you realized this could ruin your life? Leo is Sasori's protege, for Christ's sake! They're both--"

"They're both a hindrance." A dark shadow obscured his face. Under his bangs, he's grovelling at the expense of Leo's minor slip-up...

He stepped up to you, and in doing so your knees were nearly bound to jump back to slide your rear further away. Shiro's truly acting like a wolf whose eager for it's hunt. "I found some useful information that could benefit us. Did you know that the detective's nephew is actually that talkative wannabe?" He smiled, "Yeah, they had the same surname but that's common for us Japanese folk. I didn't actually think they'd be.."

Shiro suddenly loosened up by letting out faint, whimsical laughter. Whatever he was thinking about... It must've been hilarious. "Related..." He leaned in, offering his hand to you. "Which is why I have a strange proposal for you, my little lover."

Your stomach turned again. Whatever he's going to say... You needed to be prepared to hear. Fingers trembling after you reluctantly grasped his warm palm, in between wanting to flee and subjecting to your curiosity-- taking the ladder seemed very unlikely. You didn't have the gall to open your mouth and humor him.

The young man helped you stand, scanning your pale face habitually. In the meantime, his thumb gently caressed the muscle between your index and thumb while he never failed to stare you deeply into your eye, analyzing your weaknesses.

Also... Given the fact that you weren't responding... he gladly resumed.

"We should... kill them together."

Upon his unique offer, you'd yank your hand away with a look of disgust overcoming you. You couldn't hide it, Shiro knew that well... Your human response is something he considered admirable. He can't say that his empathy is very high-- if that then not at all-- he wishes he could feel the same way, too.

"I know what you're thinking!" He started to wave his hands gently, as if to defend his character. You're looking at him like he's some lunatic. "I only make offers like these when I find that someone important. Truth be told, I'd rather do it myself, but..." His cheeks are flushing. He's beginning to fantasize every second in which you'd stain your hands in blood.

Seiichiro's aware; how Shiro looked so elated when he killed their own parent. Their protector. And now, it was also your turn.. this time however, you are going to do it with him. It's going to be fun and enjoyable, just you see. "But you're my girlfriend.. and lovers are supposed to do anything for each other. That means you're going to kill for me, just as I would kill for you."

You're a little too stunned to reply. What kind of psychopath is he..? It already feels like he's laying a knife in your hands as we speak. "Hey... That's... asking for too much here.." To let him down easy is your goal. Risk angering him and who knows what he might do to you.

He didn't look surprised. Shiro's trying to uphold his smile, although it's deteriorating slowly. No simply isn't part of his rule of thumb.. so once you denied him, his fingertips twitched near his side. Afterwards, he'd scratch his jaw contemplatively, simultaneously tilting his head away from you. "Hm.. I.. guess I figured you'd say that. You do have a good heart... Which is one of the reasons I kept falling for you. You have something that I don't."

However, his general tangent is cut brief and he fixes his attention back to the stairway. Then he squinted his eyes before scrunching up his nose a tad. There's another sentiment bothering him...

"[Y/N], do you hear that?" His shoes collide against the floor, sauntering to the start of the brief flight of steps heading back up. You blinked. Of course, uncertainty is gathering fast-- it's a natural aspect. What more; apprehension is spotted in your gaze, almost as if you were worried.

"No..?--"

He calmly brought his index finger to his lips to coax you into silence. Kazuma even heard it too.. though he knew better than to start barking loudly when his owner is before him. His tail stops wagging and his ears twitch in intrigue. Clearly, he's eager to know what's going on up there-- Shiro wouldn't allow that though.

He started making his way back up, and in fear of being left behind with a skeleton you quickly tagged behind, following him while listening to the now somewhat comforting sounds of the wooden planks buckling beneath your weight. Shiro would glance back once you arrived at the top, passing you a look. "What about Kazuma?" You asked him, "You're just gonna.. leave him down here? Alone?"

Neglecting an animal-- talk about harsh. Shiro had yet to open the door and pass through. He's merely judging you, coming up with certain ideas that acted as gears within a cog. "Here."

He'd casually sit the skull of Neiji Iisei into your somber hands, and you're shocked for a moment. The guy's not really the kind of person who goes out on a whim and does something without a purpose; it's the true essence of a psychopath. He also ignored what you said earlier.. so that can't be good, either.

"Why are you... giving this thing to me?" Your tone trembled. There, you saw it; the stark contrast between his brutality and kindness. You felt nauseous again, simply from the chills you earned once he pressed his hand against your shoulder.

He's not really smiling much anymore. Strange, given it's a habit once he's got something dubious on the brain. "It's just, I can't hold onto it, so I want you to do me a favor and do it for me." His voice sounds so calm and endearing, yet you'd given up your trust for him a long time ago. Trusting a murderer, or even loving them for that matter, means you're unstable yourself.

....

When you think back to it, all of this stems from his confusion. Of course you can't justify it, still ... You can try reasoning with him. Even if it's a difficult, or an otherwise impossible task to achieve for the moment.

"...!"

Your wide-eyed vision is faltering along with your legs. Some kind of force is making you lose balance before you became familiar with the feeling of falling. There, Shiro stood atop the staircase, his hands outstretched with an indiscernible expression slowly piling to the surface. His eyebrows are bending because of his consciousness. "About Kazuma..."

"Someone has to keep you company down there, so I figured he'd be the closest match."

Gravity was pulling you down too fast-- you couldn't even muster out a scream if you wanted to. And just like always, he never bothered to spare you an apology as you hit the rock bottom head first.

All it took was one second to knock the air out of your lungs and for your ability to think to cease. You had effectively lost consciousness, leaving Shiro standing there overwhelmed by his actions. You weren't moving. Were you dead? Did he kill you? A plummet from that height would only knock you out for an hour maximum.

'Ah..a...' His thoughts shook. But he couldn't afford to worry about that right now because upstairs, someone is invading his privacy...

He quickly opened the door and then locked it swiftly behind him. That's when he happened to hear it again; the faint jingling of his house keys at the front door. It couldn't have been Seiichiro. His brother is imprisoned. So that could only mean...

Leo's smug face suddenly flashed his brain-- and so Shiro wasted not a single second and went frisking himself down for his house keys. To his displeasure; he ended up empty. "That... cunning bastard..!." He muttered. Leo's sneaky hands were adequate, but still a touché play nonetheless if you were to ask him. Now the twin just had to act accordingly. But how? If Leo enters this place with the notion of getting to the truth, he'll have to kill him.. he can't do that though, because that little genius probably already called his aunt before he even decided to enter his territory.

'Damn it, Damn it!' Shiro balled up his fists.

The door finally cracked open and Leo let out a celebratory sigh. "He has so many keys attached to this thing--" He whispered aloud, first peeking his head in. "Hello? Best pal? You left your keys outside so I..." The place looked surprisingly dark and desolate considering he saw light filling the windows close to ten minutes ago. I guess a lot could happen in such a short time.

He shifted his foot between the doorframe. If not for an overwhelming sense of alarm filling his veins, he could've easily ventured deeper. Beside him, he's graced with a pleasant surprise; Shiro hovered next to the door and made eye contact with the overzealous brune. For a moment there, they looked at one another. Leo was startled, that much was obvious.. and as for the twin... His lip had twitched before he forced himself to portray emotion.

"Oh! You said I left my keys?" He casually crossed his arms over his chest. Suddenly he's beaming up with a pretentious dose of friendliness. "That was rather nice of you, but you didn't have to unlock my door and intrude, now did you?"

He's looking to see what kind of lie Leo might come up with. After their chat outside, they've grown even more curious about each other. This is the necessary antidote for disaster. "Yeah you're right. You caught me." Leo closed his eyes and held up his keys, surrendering. "I came in here to figure out what's happening. Where my upperclassmen ran off to. You still haven't seen her, right?"

Just then, the albino-haired male couldn't keep his eyebrow from flinching. He's irritated by how much this guy talks about you. It's making him want to saw off his tongue. "No. Since you're so interested in her though, maybe I should just give her a call." He entered further into his home, giving Leo the leeway to also come inside. "Just get comfortable."

'Because this is probably the last time you'll ever see the light of night.'

[Chapter END]