Chapter Text
---
‘The patient's name is Kary (S/n), born on 11/02/2002. The victim is 22 years old and passed away on 04/01/2025 due to drowning. Her lungs were filled with water when we examined her, although there were also major injuries all over her body. For this reason, we request Dr. Y/n, a crime specialist, to conduct a deeper autopsy to better understand what happened.’
That was just a clipboard outlining your task for today, but you couldn’t stop crying, curled up in the corner of your office in a state of panic, trying to convince yourself it was just someone playing a cruel joke on you. You threw the clipboard across the room while huddling on the floor, trying to breathe.
Your little sister couldn’t be dead. You spoke to her just… three months ago? How long had it been since you last talked to her? What did her voice sound like again? God, you couldn’t even remember the last conversation you had with her.
You grabbed your phone from the floor in a pathetic manner, dialing her number once, twice, three times... eight times, always receiving the same message: “The number you have dialed does not exist or is out of reach.”
The last thing you remembered was breaking the phone in half with your fists, blood covering your hands and staining the gray carpet of your office, your vision blurring.
-----
A sharp scream echoed from your throat as you fell out of bed with a loud thud, trying to gather your senses and sit on the cold floor of the room. You didn’t know what had happened, but you were having a full-blown crying fit.
Anyone who walked into your room now would think it was just a child with a bad nightmare, but your situation was much worse. Your breathing didn’t seem to want to work properly. After what felt like hours of uncontrollable sobbing, you managed to get off the floor and grab a bottle of water from the desk next to your bed.
Once you calmed down a bit by sipping water, you walked out of the bedroom, trying to reorient yourself. You couldn’t even remember what your dream was about, but your body refused to fully settle. This was something entirely new to you—having such an intense feeling. You’d always tried to remain neutral about your emotions. The last time you’d felt even slightly shaken was when Kary... no, your sister told you she was leaving for another city.
You constantly wondered how she’d been doing (you were far too proud to message her first) since she moved to the City of Freedom, “Ebotte.” It was apparently a friendly place, filled with monsters of various divisions—Tale, Fell, Swap... you forgot the rest after the number of broken barriers surpassed ten, all caused by some genderless orphan (almost like you, except you weren’t an orphan).
‘I think the last time I talked to her was on New Year’s Eve, but that was just me sending her my well wishes, nothing more.’ The thought of your last conversation came suddenly. Maybe both of you were too proud to openly express your feelings.
Ring Ring Ring
The alarm’s sound echoed through your room, pulling you out of your trance as you walked back to your bedroom to turn off the annoying sound. As you approached the alarm clock, you could see the time on your phone screen:
01/25/2025 - 6:30 AM
At least today was Saturday, your day off after so long. A sigh escaped your lips as you flopped back onto the bed you had just fallen out of minutes earlier. ‘At least I don’t have to deal with rotting corpses today.’ You stared at the ceiling for a while, organizing your thoughts with a vacant expression. ‘Corpses... was that what I dreamed about? But no body I’ve worked with has ever made me panic like that. Even though the face is blurry in my mind, I feel like I know that person.’
Shrugging, you stretched on the bed, your bones cracking and relaxing afterward with a sigh of relief.
After that brief moment of relaxation following your crying fit, you got up from the bed and headed to the kitchen to grab whatever junk food you could find so you wouldn’t faint around the house again like last time. You often forgot to eat, which had already caused many accidents.
Ding Ding
Hmm? You checked your phone at the sound of the notification. A storm warning appeared alongside a single message from Kary.
Kary Sis:
— Hey BroSis, I know you might not read this right away or even today... but I learned to cook something I think you’d like. - 6:16
Huh, seems like I’ve seen this message before… Whatever, it must just be déjà vu. Even so, I feel like I shouldn’t ignore this message. It’s like we’ve been through this before.
“Well, I guess I could take a mini-vacation. My days off are piling up anyway.” You spoke aloud as you headed back to your bedroom to pack a bag with clothes for the long week ahead.
---
Alright, what should I wear? It’s just a dinner with my sister, but I don’t want to look too casual. At the same time, dressing too formally might make the people she lives with think I’m trying to show off… Since when do I care about what other people think, though?
Ugh, I hate making decisions like this. Maybe I should just check the weather for the city and go from there, I thought as my mind started to spiral. I caught myself biting my nails and immediately stopped—if I wasn’t careful, I’d end up hurting my fingers.
How many people live with her, anyway? I wondered. If I’m lucky, maybe I won’t run into any of them. Letting out an audible sigh, I picked up my phone to check the weather for the week.
“Sunny all week? Ugh, how annoying,” I muttered to myself. I decided to pack my binder* just in case, even though wearing it in hot weather wasn’t ideal. The risk of overheating was always something to keep in mind, but better safe than sorry.
I started sorting through my wardrobe, picking out a variety of outfits for the week: a few dresses, some pants. Maybe I’d even bring a formal outfit just in case I decided to dress up for real. With that in mind, I threw an elegant (F/C) dress and a matching suit into my travel bag.
Once everything was packed, I headed to the bathroom for a quick shower—well, I told myself it would be quick. Truthfully, I didn’t want to show up looking anything less than perfect. At least I had done my skincare routine the night before. When it comes to my appearance, at least, I’m not lazy.
After finishing my shower, I returned to my room and slipped into an off-the-shoulder dress that reached just above my knees. I carefully pulled it on, making sure not to ruin my hair in the process. I paired it with sneakers that matched the dress, then stood in front of the mirror to examine myself from head to toe.
Hmm, this could look better, but I don’t have the time to fix it now, I thought, glancing at the clock. It was 8:10 AM already. I guess it’s time to leave.
Grabbing my travel bag, I took one last walk through the house, double-checking that I had everything I needed before heading to the front door.
---
Yuu:
— I’m heading out. I’ll be there in 3 hours. - 8:15
Kary Sis:
— Wow, I wasn’t expecting you to accept 😶 - 8:16
Yuu:
— Don’t want me to come? I can unpack right now. - 8:16
Kary Sis:
— No, I want you to come! I’ll start preparing everything.
— Luggage? Are you staying overnight? - 8:17
Yuu:
— I’m leaving now. - 8:20
---
After confirming the address she had sent you months ago, you grabbed your travel bag and left the house, double-checking that you hadn’t forgotten anything. ‘I think I’ve got everything I need.’ With that thought, you locked the door to your chilly house and walked toward the car in the garage.
‘Well, City of Freedom, here I come’ you thought with a sigh, immediately regretting your decision to leave home. Still, you could make this small sacrifice for your sister. With that in mind, you headed to the car parked out front, tossed your bag onto the passenger seat, and climbed in.
.
.
.
‘Huh... I think there’s still time to call her and say something came up at work’ you thought, now completely regretting leaving home to visit an unfamiliar city. ‘It’s not like we have much to talk about.’
‘Damn, she’ll be upset if I don’t go. Poor thing must’ve worked hard to send me the invitation, probably thinking she was bothering me… which, honestly, isn’t far from the truth. But I could see the smile in her message. She’s so predictable.’ With those thoughts, you stopped banging your head against the steering wheel, started the car, and followed the GPS on a two-hour-long drive.
---