¢нαρтєя ƒσυя

✎ I'm only afraid of losing you. I feel like you're gonna disappear.

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ᴅᴇꜱᴜʜɪᴋᴏ ᴛʜᴜɴᴅᴇʀʙᴏʟᴛ ꜱᴀᴛ on the edge of a bed. "Can't believe I'm saying this...but maybe we should stop. We've been trying to get out of this place for an hour. Let's at least have a break!"

Halara Nightmare frowned. "And leave Yuma to deal with whatever trouble he's most likely in right now?"

"Listen, my man's cool and all, but he gets in trouble every other day. He can handle himself!"

Fubuki Clockford said nothing as she laid down on the bed. The sweat on her face made it clear she had rewound time, trying to get to before they were transported to the apartment they were now in, and the sheer amount of it showed she rewound it a lot. Taking a break would be the most beneficial to her.

At the Nocturnal Detective Agency, Vivia and the rest of them were talking to Number One while still trying to move on from their chief Yakou Furio's death. The call ended when they saw a bomb had gone through the World Detective Organization's building, which followed by mist surrounding the Nocturnal Detective Agency and making them all pass out. They woke up in an apartment they decided was the CEO of Amaterasu's, Makoto Kagutsuchi, but Yuma Kokohead and Kurumi Wendy weren't with them. They had been trying to find a way out, but they hadn't had much luck.

It was ruining his plans.

"Are you sure we can't try a little more?" he said. "We can find a way out if we tried harder."

Desuhiko scoffed. "Since when were you so motivated to get outta a place like this? Is it cuz there's no fireplace to stay in?"

"He has a date," mumbled Fubuki.

"I don't have a date," said Vivia, though it seemed his input wouldn't change anything.

Desuhiko's jaw dropped. "Someone's interested in you? There's people out there that like guys who hide in fireplaces?"

"I thought you of all people would understand romance isn't a main priority right now," said Halara, narrowing their eyes.

Desuhiko looked him over. "What about you made her find you so interesting?"

"It's a guy," mumbled Fubuki, whom they listened to but not him.

"Guy, girl, doesn't matter! What about you makes people think, Wow, I wish I could date him?"

"Is that where you go when you're not in your fireplace?" asked Halara. "You're meeting with your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend."

Fubuki, who seemed to have more energy now, said, "I see them together a lot when I walk around Kanai Ward... They seem close."

"We're not together every time I go out."

She frowned. "You don't go out a lot though..."

"I can't believe the Joker-wannabe got a partner before I did," grumbled Desuhiko.

"Anyway," said Halara, "do we all really want a break?"

"Yes please." Fubuki closed her eyes.

Desuhiko shrugged. "To be honest, this place isn't half bad. There's food to last us for days, the furniture is nice, and honestly, I don't really see a point in leaving. My man can take care of himself, and I'm sure Kurumi can too."

"I do," muttered Vivia. How long would Chizue wait for him?

"You're only saying that because you have a date. Listen, I get it and all, but come on, Vivia, you can reschedule your date!"

He didn't bother trying to deny it wasn't a date—even though it wasn't. There was simply no point in denying it if they wouldn't listen. Although, he wasn't too upset at the idea of it being a date. Chizue might not look at it the same way, though, so it was better to not look at it like that.

From the rate they were going, though, it didn't matter if it was a date; he was missing it.

Vivia sighed and sat on the floor, leaning his back against the bed. "I wanna die someday..."

"If you say that, then you won't see your boyfriend again," said Fubuki.

He didn't bother trying to deny being boyfriends for the same reasons. He didn't feel too upset at the thought of being boyfriends, though. Chizue, however, might.

Halara reluctantly sat next to him, forced to take a break because of their colleagues. Four Master Detectives were taking a break from trying to find their way out of an apartment which anyone would have suspected would be easy for them while a trainee detective and a high schoolgirl were out somewhere most likely deep in trouble. How pathetic they were. If only Yakou could see them now.

After a few minutes of silence, Fubuki sat up. "Should I try rewinding time again? I feel as though I have enough energy."

"Don't bother," said Halara. "I'm guessing you've already tried a number of times. Pushing yourself more is unnecessary."

"But...then what do we do?"

"We can keep trying to look for an escape," said Vivia. "I can use my Forte to see if there's a way out."

"Didn't you already try that?" asked Halara.

"I can try again."

"You must really like this man if you're trying so hard." Fubuki smiled. "Are you in love? Is this what love looks like?"

"I wouldn't say I'm in love..."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I do not know much about romance. If you are not in love, then what are you?"

Vivia stayed silent, not sure how to answer.

"He's down bad, that's what he is," Desuhiko answered for him, though he wasn't sure if he liked the answer.

"Down bad? What does that mean?"

"It means he really likes this man romantically and would do a lot for him or whatever he wants just to keep him happy," answered Halara.

"How does Halara know what that means but not you?" Before either could reply, Desuhiko turned to Vivia and ruffled his hair. "I didn't know you could be so interested in someone!"

"What is his name?" asked Fubuki. "It is our job to make sure your boyfriend knows we accept him!"

"His name is Chizue Abe." Simply saying his name brought warmth to Vivia's chest, yet it also brought discomfort when thinking of how disappointed he would be when he realized he wasn't coming.

Halara's eyes lit up slightly in realization. "Him? I've seen him in the café. He always has this one seat and gets upset whenever someone else sits there, but he never asks them to move or sit somewhere else. He seems to be someone who pretends to tough but is actually very shy."

Vivia stopped himself from scowling, but he couldn't let Chizue's name be shamed like that. "He's very nice. He gave me a book he thought I would like just because he heard I liked books, and he was the one to convince me to be with the rest of you at the agency. Despite what you think, he's a very respectable man whom I have to see." He stood up. "If you excuse me, I will be trying to find an escape."

"You know what, I'm liking this motivated Vivia!" Desuhiko grinned at him. "If romance is the way to get him 100 times more pumped than usual, then we should invite his boyfriend over whenever we need him! Break time's over, guys! We don't know how long motivated-Vivia is lasting, so we have to take advantage of this! Let's get you to your man, Vivia!"

Vivia was happy just to have another chance of seeing Chizue.

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ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴇᴠᴇʀᴀʟ ʜᴏᴜʀꜱ of non-stop searching, they still couldn't find a way out.

Desuhiko tried to smile at Vivia. "Sorry, man..."

"Chizue will understand," said Fubuki with a smile.

"Romance shouldn't be a main priority anyway." Halara frowned at themselves. "Sorry. That was meant to be comforting."

Vivia looked around for a fireplace or something like that to crawl into and read Twilight in before remembering there were none, and he only read Twilight once when Chizue let him borrow it. He sighed, trying not to think of him waiting for him but him never showing up. He wasn't sure how he could fully explain himself without making either of them feel horrible, him for missing it and Chizue for being the one who made him go. The pure thought of it felt draining. "I wanna die someday..."