Thursday 13th of July, around 21:00

„Akito, shhh! You gonna wake her up"

"That's what we're here for, moron!"

"But you need to be gentle when you wake a girl! Like playing with her hair, kissing her forehea- Ow! What was that for!?"

"If you do that, she'll be disturbed 'til the end of her days."

"...Whatever. Just leave this to me"

[y/n], who had been awake since quite a time, listened to the boys' irrelevant discussion with arched eyebrows. Now she sat up on the mattress and turned her head towards the slowly opening door. As expected, Shiro appeared in the doorframe, his white locks falling over his face as he greeted her with a bright grin.

"Good evening [y/n]! I hope you slept well" The silverhead paused his cheerful vocals as if he was awaiting an answer but continued unimpeded as the female remained silent. "Breakfast is waiting for you, along with some chores for the day." He opened the door further, stepping fully inside the room. "Take a shower and join us!"

The girl threw a glance over his shoulder, but the red haired housemate was nowhere in sight. Her gaze travelled back to the visitor's smiling face and fell on the pile in his hands.

"Here, these are for you" Shiro explained as he noticed her look and handed her a batch of folded clothes. The smell of washing powder filled the air. He remained on his spot some more seconds before he pushed the girl's uncommunicative behavior on her tiredness and departed from the chamber with a shrug, leaving the door open for her to start her tasks.

As soon as the male was gone, [y/n] exhaled deeply. Her fingertips stroke over the textiles in her hand, her legs felt too heavy to be moved and every part of her body seemed trying to persuade her to go back to sleep. But eventually, the captive pushed the alluring demotivation aside and got up. God knows what the day, or rather said the night would bring her, she couldn't afford to strain her nerves already.

The hot water ran down her skin with a caressing gentleness, but the female couldn't find any relaxation in the comforting sensation. Her head rested against the tiled shower wall, it felt twice as heavy as it was supposed to be. As if all the thoughts that spun around her mind actually had a physical weight. And yet all her cogitations dealt with the one and only topic: How she could escape from this place and how she could prevent herself from going crazy until then. She knew the longer she would stay in the shower, the harder it became to get out, so she turned off the tap, toweled herself and slipped on the new clothing that didn't really differ from the previous one.

Strange sounds came from the living room as the lass reentered the chilling area, mixed up with groans and complaints of the person on the couch whose eyes were glued to the TV screen. [y/n] observed the redhead for a moment, wrapping a towel around her [h/c] hair. The way Akito acted as if he were caught in the video game's world for real had something amusing.

"[y/n]!" Shiro attracted her attention and waved her over to the dinner table. He placed a filled plate where the female sat down before plumping in the opposite chair. And started to watch her insistently. She raised an eyebrow to which he only responded with an innocent grin. She silently shook her head at the boy's expectant and confusing behavior and was about to sink her fork in the food- but paused as she noticed the contents unusual look.

"Uhm... Shiro, are these... melted toasts?"

The male seemed truly surprised by her question. "What? No, these are pancakes." He furrowed his brows. "[y/n], have you never seen pancakes before?"

The lass could only sigh. "These weren't made by Isamu, were they?" She poked her cutlery against the thick substance. The appealing look and sweet smell of the good the ravenhead had served her yesterday was nowhere recognizable in the current matter she was supposed to eat.

"No, I made them!" The male raised his chin and pointed his thumb at his chest. She almost thought to see a sparkling aura around him.

"I wouldn't eat that, [y/n]!" The redhead's voice suddenly reported from the sofa corner. The addressed girl couldn't overlook the fact that he actually used her real name.

"Akito, so mean!" Shiro shot an insulted frown in his direction before turning back to his companion. "Don't listen to him, give it a try!" He shoved the plate closer to her.

The lass let out another quiet exhale of defeat before bringing the food to her mouth- And fell into a fit of coughing. "Sh- Shiro, these are spicy!" She didn't expect the pancakes to taste as good as Isamu's. But this wasn't appraisable as delicious or not; it was simply hot as pepper.

"He-Here..." The silverhead passed her a glass of water which the girl gladly accepted and emptied in one gulp.
After the paining sensation on her tongue slowly disappeared, she flashed Shiro an apologizing grin. "These are really good, but actually I'm not that hungry right now".

The boy raised his brows before he gave an understanding nod. But still, [y/n] could see the slight pout on his lips as he gathered her dishes and brought them to the kitchen.

"So, there are some things you can entertain yourself with today." The male began with an encouraging grin as he returned, putting his hands on his hips and blowing a strand of platinum hair away. "Like helping me in the kitchen, helping Akito in the arsenal. And of course preparing dinner, and..." His voice softened and his gaze trailed to the floor. He suddenly lost his confident posture and fiddled with his hands. "...And maybe you should clean your room. I don't think it's pretty healthy to sleep in there..." Shiro's vocals almost faded with the end of his sentence. He seemed to feel pretty uncomfortable with his request and was aware of the big irony it held.

This was the point where another sarcastic, offending comment could have left the her lips, but the slight appreciation for his concern kept her quiet. "Yeah, might be a good idea."

The cooking area was a bigger mess than the captive's mind. It made the appearance that the complete housework of months was saved for her. Anyway, the two of them kept washing dishes, cleaning and finished other urgent necessary stuff in a somehow not uncomfortable silence. She dissociated repeatedly, her motions rebotic and static. Her mind had no actual point to focus on kept slipping away from her form.
Shiro started a small talk once or twice in between, which died down due to the female's mental absence. Nevertheless the atmosphere was irritating calm, along with some outbursts of collaborative snickering when Akito lost his temper due to the digital game; and threw pillows in their direction when Shiro shouted teasing comments. But still, [y/n] was in a state of alertness- due to a certain reason. While she dried a plate in circular movements, her orbs kept roaming the area, watching out for certain individuals whose presence could announce any kind of vexations. From the corner of her eye she could see Shiro's gaze lingering on her.

"Shiro... Where are the others?" The girl tried to make her question sound casually, referring to the three absent members of the household.

The addressed male quickly averted his focus. "Uhm... I think Yasu had some kind of mission, and Katsuro and Isamu..." His gaze wandered to the ceiling. „...Some business stuff I guess. They don't really talk to us about that kind of things. But I doubt I would be allowed to tell you anyway."

The female nodded gingerly and placed the dry porcelain on the pile.

"What exactly do you think we are."

Her thoughts travelled back to the previous day- But soon came to a sudden stop as a soft but wet, lukewarm sensation tickled her cheek.
"What the..." She traced her hand over the skin. She furrowed her brows at the single, little blebs sparkling on her fingertips.

Shiro grinned at her broadly, foam from the kitchen sink dripping from his hand. "Come on, stop making that kind of face" His voice was teasing, just like the look in his eyes.

[y/n] huffed out- And another cluster of bubbles met her front. "Don't you dare...!" She couldn't dodge the third attack right on her forehead. The whitehead's grin got even broader, but suddenly his eyes widened in surprise as water ran down his visage. He hadn't seen the captive's counter move coming. And the next one followed. The two of them exchanged assaults of flying detergent foam, the bubbles sparkling on their hair and clothes, and soon all over the kitchen.

"Shiro, give me a-" Akito entered the battlefield- [y/n] dodged Shiro's toss- and the cloud of vesicles landed in the middle of the redhead's face. As soon as they realized the interruption, the competitors froze in place. Silver and [e/c] orbs watched wide- eyed how the water dripped from the tip of the perplexed newcomer's nose. Fear rose with the anticipation for Akito's reaction. In the next second, the girl stumbled to the side as the redhead flung past her, his hand dipped in the kitchen sink, gathering all the left foam in one quick motion- And held Shiro in a firm headlock.

"Akito wai-" The rest of the whitehead's begging died down in coughs and muffled screams for help while his face got dived in spume. Akito truly seemed to enjoy his housemate's suffering; each pleading only caused him to widen his devilish grin. But the two of them, Akito's vicious laugh and Shiro's complaints, hushed down as a light, gentle chuckle resounded in the kitchen.

The two males gaped at the girl with surprised looks.
[y/n] supported her trembling form with one hand on the counter and hid her grinning mouth behind her palm. "I can't believe you two are supposed to be dubious mafia members."

The redhead let go of his captivated housemate. He stepped over and threateningly planted himself in front of the femal . But even if she would had tried to, the circumstances didn't demand her to take the male serious. She poked his nose, better said the extension of tiny bubbles that built up on top of it. Akito raised his eyebrows, he seemed taken aback by the unexpected move. However, he turned his head swiftly. In the same second, the relaxed atmosphere vanished.

"Enough with this childis**t. Imagine Katsuro would see us right now." The redhead passed by the slightly puzzled girl who couldn't comprehend his sudden change of acting, bumping her shoulder as he stepped around the bar that separated the kitchen from the living room. "We got better things to do. [y/n], follow me."

The addressed individual bandied questioning looks with Shiro before stumbling after him.

"I told you to use the blue cloth for the knives!"

"In which world is this not blue!?"

"That's turquoise, brat!" He snatched the cleaning utensil from her hand. [y/n] rolled her eyes again; her annoyance had reached an unknown new level in the last passed hour she had spent alone with the scarlet haired male. He ordered her around to wipe the dust from the different show cases in the arsenal, polishing every single knife, and kept complaining about anything she did or did not. Whatever she touched or moved, cleaned or polished, even if she followed his orders in minute detail- it always was not right or not clean or not whatever enough. The female let out her sixth groan of aggravation. On top of that, Akito strongly took care that the girl didn't step too close to the larger part of the room. Even though she had no serious intentions, she could clearly feel his mistrust towards her. She could imagine what kind of plans he thought she could have, but the graveness he used to keep her away from the area where the firearms were stored was beyond her comprehension of necessity.

At the same time, she wondered that he easily left the thrustings to her hands. That his watchful acting stood in contrary to his demands didn't seem to bother him, which only could mean that she wasn't the merest hint of a threat to him. Somehow this thought made [y/n] feel insulted.

She kept polishing the fighting utensils while her gaze in abstraction wandered around the hall. The whole building looked like a copied villain- hideout from some kids- action- hero-cartoon series: The crumbling walls, the unsymmetrical groundplan, the contrast to the gallant furniture. "Akito... what exactly is this place?"

The addressed male who took over the other half of the vitrines' cleaning lifted his head. "Huh?"

"I mean... Is this a kind of hideout? Or do you actually live here, like it's a home? Or..." The words stopped on the girl's lips as she noticed that the redhead had already turned his back on her. His eyes focused on the floor, but his gaze was somewhere in another dimension.
"Well... It's something in between, I guess"

[y/n] quietly nodded. She pondered on the boy's unclear answer but was ripped out her thoughts as the his voice went harsh again. "Anyway, it's none of your business. Better make sure you finish your tasks."

The lass silently sighed in incomprehension as she turned back to the showcase and grabbed the next silverware. She didn't get what had caused his impolite acting. But rather than taking it personal she assumed it to be an own feature of character.

"Hey, brat."

[y/n] looked over to Akito who stood in front of a glass- case and examined the content with furrowed brows.

"What's wrong?" She asked, placing the cloth on the glass surface. He directed his look at her.

"Have you taken something?"

"...What?"

"I ask you if you have taken something. From the virtine."

"No, I haven't." Of course the girl immediately knew what he was talking about, and of course she immediately recognized the certain cabinet. She felt the pressure of the baton on her skin and even if she had checked it several times, she suddenly was afraid that he could see the stolen item underneath her clothes. The redhead throw a skeptical glance at her, to the vitrine and back to her, before he shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe one of the others took it with-"

"No."

[y/n] blinked, surprised how he could be so sure about her faked assumption. While both of them went back to finish the cleaning chores, her orbs examined the silver knife in her hand.

If he already notices such a minor loss, I can't simply take one more with me... At least not while he's around...

"Akito, one more question by the way, how often do you clean in here?" She broke the silence, regarding the rag that had changed its color from an intensive turquoise to a dark, dirty grey.

"Dunno, maybe once in a year? No one really cares about it."

With a smack, the cloth hit the ground.

"...Is that so?" Slowly, she turned around. The redhead was startled by the sudden creepy expression she wore, a smile on her lips while her [e/c] eyes shot piercing glares.

"If no one gives adamn about it, how comes I'm supposed to clean this mess!?" Her voice got louder with every word she spoke.

"That's what Isamu ordered, I don't..."

[y/n]'s boiling temper only rose further by the mention of the arrogant male's name. "I'm done here!" With determined steps she approximated the exit.

"Hey! What do you think you're..." But the puzzled boy's words didn't reach the addressed person who shut the door with a heavy bang.

Akito stared after her for a long moment. The sudden silence filled the room and aggravated the effect of the irreverent action he just had been confronted with. He narrowed his eyes at the closed exit and his grip on the cleaning tool in his hand tightened. Disrespectful brat. I'm gonna make you learn your place.

Shiro hummed a light melody while putting the towel away which he had used to clean the left marks of his previous battle with the female. To be able to see the girl smile, even just for a short time, despite her situation, brought a slight relief to his guilty consciences. As his thoughts travelled to her, he realized the individual and his housemate hadn't crossed his path for quite a while now. He chose to look after them. After all, he knew pretty well how unpleasant Akito's company could become. The boy left the kitchen and turned into the corridor- Where he abruptly stopped. His eyes widened in shock at the scene in front of him. A cold shiver made his body tense up.

[y/n] limped around the corner, wheezing and coughing, pressing herself to the wall to support her slack body.

"[y/n], are you alright!?" The male immediately sprinted towards her. In the moment he arrived, the panting girl's legs collapsed. He barely managed to catch her. "Hey, what's wrong!?"

The female continued to be shaken by heavy coughs. She gasped for air, her orbs red and wet. Shiro was overchallenged by the sudden seizure. He started to knock on her back, gently at first, but soon stronger as his help showed no use. Her wheezing aggravated, she pressed her hand to her mouth to keep her stomach's content inside.

"I- It's the dust" She brought out, single tears streaming down her cheeks. "I- I'm allergic".

The whitehead's face was filled with fright and concern. "Just- Just wait here, I'm gonna get you some water-" He stood up, but she tightly clinked onto his shirt.

"Shiro please... I need air, I feel like I'm suffocating, I need air!"

The panic in her [e/c] hues triggered a feeling of intensive uneasiness inside the boy. The thought of leading her outside crossed his mind, strengthened by worry about the girl's unstable condition. But he didn't even finish his thought as a new feeling hit him: The fear of Katsuro's reaction if something serious would happen to the captive. Under his watch.

He looked down at the person in his arms, her stomach cramped at uneven intervals.

"Shiro, I..." [y/n] called out, her voice trembling like her body. The male took a deep breath.

"Okay." He put her arm around his shoulders, half- leading, half- carrying the being down the hallway, towards Katsuro's office.

Excitement, delight and a big amount of hope build up inside of the female like the burst of a flame, stronger and more overwhelming with every step they took. [y/n] hoped Shiro wouldn't notice the big grin that slowly and surreptitiously crept on her lips. The sweet voice of freedom called out for her, somewhere from behind the gleaming ebony doors.