Distant Truth

Meg: Hey, everyone. This is a little plot bunny that has been haunting me a little. I've been meaning to write it but I am completely overwhelmed by self-doubt. That's why you guys, from , are going to be my test readers. I'll therefore hope you will be kindly enough to leave me some impressions and decide who will be the love pairing. It can be: Hibari Kyoya, Sawada Tsunayoshi, Gokudera Hayato, Yamamoto Takeshi and eventually Mukuro. I just don't trust Mukuro to let me write him IC. Or Ryohei. I could try but I really don't want to have to stare at the screen and wonder how to add in all the extreme speech pattern.

Now, allow me to welcome you in my first chapter. The one that had like about 58 failed attempts before it pleased me enough to think of it as a chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the OC and the writing.

-Looks-

He had seen you.

"—shoot—"

His brown pupils had stared straight at you as if he had singled you out from all the possible things he could be looking at. The suddenness had made you tense up, your entire body seeming to have grown heavier, tighter and the string had felt harder and harder to pull. It had gone off without you meaning to, the aim suddenly off and the string not drawn far enough and you had found yourself ducking, hoping that maybe, maybe you had been paranoid and that he had been looking at the object of his crush, Kyoko Sasagawa, who might have seen him from the second floor and waved at him. You had then listened closely, hidden and barely able to make out the sound of the crowd because of your haggard breathing. You had wanted to look, see what you had done, but you had been scared he had actually seen you. You could not afford to get caught. So you had run to your club—your alibi—, vaguely aware of the lack of screams—you must have missed, because no one had screamed bloody murderer.

"—arrow—"

You hadn't reached your full draw, the arrow had probably hit a little short and fallen into the ground. At best, you must have nicked Tsunayoshi Sawada's cheek—and he should be dead by now, the poison you had coated the tip with would have ended his life. Though you had serious doubts about that as his rather extraordinarily competent friends, Hayato Gokudera and Takeshi Yamamoto, would have probably thrown themselves in front of the arrow to protect him and considering their physical abilities, you believed they would succeed—but then again, you had been shooting toward Tsunayoshi's back, they shouldn't have seen it.

"—forgotten gloves—"

Not that shooting when they were leaving had helped you. When you had been close to the perfect shot, the brunet had turned around and looked toward the school as if realizing he had forgotten something and stared straight at you. His eyes had met yours, or at least, it seemed to have and it had scared you. It had felt like he had seen through you and unmasked your presence, your goal, as if he knew you were targeting him and trying to kill him. And it had utterly terrorized you. You had lost all your composure, failing even the most basic shots with your longbow. You had been preparing this for weeks, neglecting your exams so you could prepare the perfect arrow, the perfect spot and the perfect moment. And you had failed if the lack of blood and the missing arrow were any clue. The arrow was probably in their possession, studied to find you. Not that they would, it had taken you time to gather the money to buy your hunting arrow without leaving any trail but you had managed, because, God forbid, your employer was not someone you wanted to ask help from.

'Rather than employer, maybe I should call him, my disgusting and detestable supervisor.'

"—Masumi?" A hand grasped your shoulder, jolting you back to reality. You looked sideway, meeting the worried glance of your boyfriend, Shin Haruka. "Are you ok? You seem so… unfocused today, are you sick?" He immediately reached to feel your forehead, his hand feeling cool against your skin. "You don't have a fever…"

"I-I'm fine, Shin." You were if you forgot the failed murder attempt, your futile effort at calming your nerves down and the dreadful knowledge you probably have to try again. "I just… I just have a lot on my mind, okay?" You bit your lip, hoping the short answer would be enough for him. He was like a dog with a bone if he wanted to know something you hid and you had been pushing your luck lately.

"Did something happen?" He gently stroked your hair, the gesture so intimate and gentle you felt your heart break a little. "You know you can tell me anything…"

Your throat tightened. He had been your boyfriend for months now, but the two of you had never shared more than a sweet hand holding as if both of you had been scared of endangering your long-time friendship but it had been more him than you—even though he had been the one that asked you out. You didn't understand and you had never bothered to breach the subject, scared to know the answer..

"Nothing," you lied, the most sincere smile you could muster on your face. You had gotten better at lying. Besides, if Shin insisted to know, you would bring the subject toward the lack of kissing on his part. He would probably get flustered again and try the hardest to run away. "I just worry about the exam results. I didn't do very well this time. My mom is going to kill me if I don't pass them."

"Well, if you have to take make-up classes…" he put a hand on his chest, releasing the most unconvincing dramatic sigh. "I will take it upon myself to help you with your homework."

'It worked.' You glanced toward your laced hands as you walked toward your home, wondering what you did to have such a perfect boyfriend. Shin was particularly good at what he did, seeming almost too perfect to exist. He was very good at studying, sports and had a rather attractive appearance. He could probably date a prettier girl, someone nicer and more loving, but he had chosen you. Maybe it was because of the convenience? From the first day he got transferred, fate had brought the two of you together. Your interest in archery had brought you together and before you knew it, you two had become friends. You shared similar tastes in food, music and movies, it was almost like he was your long lost twin.

And one day, he sat on the desk in front of you, watching you pack to leave for the archery club. The sun was setting then, making his purple hair seem almost silvery. He had seemed bored for a few minutes, before he turned and reached to touch your hand. The movement had startled you, making you look at him and he had met your eyes, looking at the determined glint in his eyes. He had simply whispered, "Hey… would you be my girlfriend?" You would have been a fool to refuse. You were still young and this was an experience you had always wanted. It had felt like those fairy tales where the perfect prince would come and sweep you off your feet, it had felt so right to say yes but at the same time, it had never felt so wrong.

You should break up with him, you realized. The relationship you two shared was not Love and he probably had realized it by now. This was pure friendship, fueled by deep affections, but it was not Love. Even if it had been love, you would have still lied to him, because what was happening to you had nothing to do with him. It hurt to lie to him and you would probably have to do it a lot more from now on. Especially if you were going to kill someone.

"—ah, we're here." He stopped in his track, his hand tightening around yours slightly. "Ah, um, I guess… you should go in." He released your hand so he could hand your messenger bag—bag he always carried because he wanted to dote on you. Then, he brushed his hair back, releasing a slightly annoyed breath. "I just don't know what's up with you, [Name], but, uh…"

"I love someone else!" You were looking down, you could not bring yourself to look at his face now. It hurt so much to lie to him but if he showed you that pained look of his, you were going to break. "I… I'm sorry, Shin. I thought… I thought I would love you. I sincerely thought I could fall in love with you, you're so nice, you're always looking out for me, helping me when I'm hurt… but it's just not working!" You felt your body tremble, all this tension you had been hiding for weeks starting to show. You could not bask in his kindness if you were going to do these things they asked you to. "Let's break up."

His hand, his big, warm hands moved to rest against the wall, barely an inch away from your face. They trapped you, he trapped you with his body. His chin almost touched the top of your head, you could feel the heat from his body. His voice, hushed and low, whispered, "Look at me." You flinched, recognizing danger and you tried to look lower, much lower, as if you could shrink into the ground and hide. And he squeezed his hands into fists next to you before he repeated again, angrier, "Look at me!"

You did. You had raised your face, your eyes watering with fear. There was so much to be scared of, so much to worry about.

His eyes narrowed into slits, his entire body tense with emotion. He took a minute, scrutinizing your face. It felt like he knew something you didn't. "Tell me this while looking at me." You did. You told him you wanted to break up, that you liked someone else, and it made him angrier. He moved his right hand, taking the necessary distance so he could hit and you froze, not knowing what to do. But he wasn't aiming at you, he had punched the wall, and he had bled. Even though you had not been hurt, the tears had run down your face and a sob broke through your façade. It was followed by another, then another and you had ended up crying. Shin had immediately calmed down and with his left hand, he had then brought you into his arms to rub your back. "Shhh…"

He had turned to press his body into the fence of your house, raising his eyes to the sky as he whispered, "I know when you lie." You were still crying, barely listening and definitely unable to answer. "I know you lie when you say nothing is wrong, I know when you lie when you tell me you love someone else." He paused as if thinking what to say next before he ruffled his hair and sighed, defeated. "We've been friends for months and when we started dating, I thought we got closer… It hurts to know you're in trouble and you won't tell me."

"I-I'm not," your breathing itched. You rubbed your eyes angrily as the tears refused to stop, your nose was running and you probably looked disgusting right now. "I'm not l-ly-ing." You repeated stubbornly. "I-I'm just ti-tired of this." You tried to leave his embrace, but he was still holding you close as if refusing you parting with him. You brushed it off, pushing him on the chest. "S-stop this, Sh-Shin." You inhaled deeply a few more times, forcing yourself to gather whatever composure you had left and what little pride you still had so you could look at him in the eye and say this without hiccup, "I am in love with Tsunayoshi Sawada."

He snorted. "Pleaaaase. Do you even know what he looks like?"

You stubbornly raised your chin and persisted in your lie. "Brown hair, brown eyes, slightly taller than me, a first year."

He was not buying it. He was studying you as he asked, "His birthday?"

"May 8th."

"His blood type?"

"AB."

"Favorite food?"

"Tuna."

"…"

"…"

"You are just making this up, aren't you?"

"No." But you were, not that he could prove it at this instant. "I just asked around to know more about the man I like."

"I'm not breaking up," he said, staring at you with so much intensity you had to look sideway, avoiding his gaze only to focus on the red print on the wall—his punch was still visible on the wall. "I won't break up."

"Then kiss me." You bit back, your eyes meeting his in a challenge. "If you love me so much, prove it. Kiss me, not on the forehead, not on the cheek, but here." You almost jabbed your thumb in your lip at the violent jerk of your hand. "On the mouth, like you mean it, like you love me, like you can't live without me. Then I'll tell you everything you want to know." Your mouth curled into a taunting leer as you continued, the self-satisfied laugh almost audible in your tone, "And don't serve me your 'I'll only kiss you when we will be at the altar' shit, it was sweet the first time, but afterward, it was clear you were bullshitting me."

And he grabbed your shoulders, his face lowering. His eyes were staring straight at yours, you had angered him again, you realized, but you were tired of it. Of his insincere love and his limitless kindness. But even mad, he was hesitated, he was so close, so damn close and he refused to close the gap. Even riled up, you were not attractive enough for him to cross the line, to kiss you. You tightened your hand by your side, turning it into an angry fist as he turned around and spat an angry, "I'm still not breaking up," before leaving.

Nobody would be able to pick up the pieces of your broken pride and the laugh you heard behind you would definitely not help. You turned around to look at the source of this familiar laugh. You scowled at the sight of his amused face. "You have to admit, though, he is persistent," you heard your uncle say. "I didn't expect you to actually have a boyfriend, [Name]. Do you still have time to date after all the assignments I give you?"

You threw him a look of pure disgust, before you crossed the door. "What I do in my free time is none of your business."

"Did you kill the boy?"

"…There were some… unexpected complications." You paused, closing your eyes to erase the sight of your target's chocolate eyes. "But I'll manage."

End of 'Looks'

Meg: You will probably see the verb 'look' a lot. Blame my lack of imagination when it comes to verbs. ...Does Shin sound psycho? Because I think he does. Now, tell me what you thought about Shin. About yourself. How do you imagine yourself to be, personality-wise, when you read all this? What kind of role do you think you hold in the general? Mafia? Powerful hitmen? Simple idiot? Can you imagine what is going to happen after with Shin?