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❝The 20th day of February is the day I celebrate my birthday and every human being or living species has their own. Every year I, all each always take a step closer to turning older and this year is no exception like the previous ones.

The older you get the more you understand how the world truly works, and how people are.

The older you get, you will notice that the burden you carry on your shoulders feel heavy and they're dragging you down.

And the older you get, you will miss the feeling you felt when you were once a child. You have this wish or desire to revert back to the you. One that was truly happy and

...My brain told me to write this-❞

♪♫.ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı.♫♪

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【, 】

people; teenage boys all walked out of the juvenile detention center building and passed the gate at the same time, completely free.

Among the group, a boy with white hair was the first to notice the two figures standing not too far away from where he and his friends stood. It doesn't seem like they noticed him yet as both of their eyes were focused towards the squirrel on the tree.

Seems like the three of them were having a staring contest.

Meanwhile, Izana's thinking of how it's been a while since he last saw the faces of those two kids, his friends. Of course, he still finds that certain [h/c] annoying...mhm, he'd rather trip or choke than admit out loud that he's come to enjoy her company and view her as his friend now.

"Huh?" The tallest among the group, Mochi, was the second notice the two kids that were waving at them, well, more like towards the man they consider leader. "Whose friends are those two midgets are?"

"Mine." Izana answered curtly without looking away from the said midgets.

"I wish some cuties would also come to pick me and Rindou up." The eldest Haitani spoke while his younger brother let out a scoff and muttered that they should go to the arcade, drink some nice alcohol or something to celebrate which a boy with a tattoo on the left side of his head agreed with a lazy grin while their other second tallest friend, Mucho continued on keeping his mouth shut.

Ran puts a hand behind his neck. "I'd rather head back home and sleep though." he voiced out, head cocking to the side before his eyes landed on Izana.

His eyes slightly turning wide as what he saw made him in disbelief. He was seeing a smile that seemed genuine on Izana's face instead of being blank. That guy is capable of smiling like that?

What's more was his gaze was soft and Ran could make out the happiness twinkling in those orchid color eyes of his that's usually dull.

It was an unusual sight to see a new expression on his face but nonetheless a good feeling. He thinks that it's pleasant to see that look on the white haired boy's face other than those scary and hollow like gazes he'd give or show countless of times during their time inside the juvenile.

Is this really the same guy he and the others met, the one who brutally beat up their fellow prisoners, including the guards??

Ran's doubt and sea of thoughts halted when he, along with the others, notice the two kids approach them. The boy with black hair arrived first as he ran his way towards them, specifically Izana, due to excitement as sheer joy were visibly seen in the youngster's dual colored eyes.

Meanwhile, the [h/c] girl was nonchalantly making her way with steady steps towards them – the white haired boy.

"What're you two doing here?" Was the first that left Izana's mouth, his expression reverting back to its usual poker face. "I don't think I told any of you two or anyone at all about the date of my release."

Kakucho points his forefinger to the girl who finally caught up. "[Y/n] told me." He said with a winsome grin.

"The guards were kind enough to share the information." She informs with a mischievous smile while doing a peace sign before her eyes showed a playful look and the corners of her lips turned up even more.

Izana narrowed his eyes at what he saw. Nothing good comes when she shows that taunting look of hers. It's frustrating. She's frustrating.

"Come on, I know you're happy that me and Kakucho came." [Y/n] cooed which made the boy to frown and scrunch his nose. "Admit that you missed us, too. Izzy." She continues to tease, a small giggle coming out of her next due to the sight of her friend's grimacing face which changed into a threatening look.

He hates that nickname. It's stupid. She's stupid. Why is she so exasperating? Although he must say, only to himself, that seeing her smile, hearing her laughter and that idiotic nickname she calls him...he missed that. He missed her. Both Kakucho and her.

"Anyways, I see that you made new friends." [Y/n] turned to face the tall and scary boys. Of course their features didn't fazed her as she only showed a bright and welcoming smile.

"Hello," she starts with a little bow of her head. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is [Y/n]." The boys, expect Kakucho and Izana, stood their stunned in their places. What was that? What's with this lil' girl?

The air around is something else when she did that introduction. It's elegant and graceful even though she didn't moved or did that much.

They're skeptical about the vibe they're feeling from her. She feels...uncanny. Her presence feels pleasant yet at the same time she felt like someone who's dangerous and shouldn't be missed with. There's this faint feeling of deja vu and it's bothering them.

There were so many questions that were running through their heads. It's safe to say that the [h/c] indeed gave a good and strong impression in their first meeting...or not.

"They're not my friends." Izana spoke, expression still slightly annoyed. "They're servants like Kakucho and you."

[Y/n] stifles a laugh. "Okay, granpa." She snarkily remarks making for the boys with the exemption of the white haired to let out a snort and try their hardest not to laugh out loud or else they'll be in for a good beating, especially now as Izana's balefully looking at them.

"Witch." He muttered in a harsh voice with a scoff before walking ahead with Kakucho following suit like the cute he is puppy to catch up with his friend/king.

"Wow, he just left without harming you or whatsoever." Rindou was the first to speak his thoughts out loud after Izana left, well, just walked meters away from them while the others nod their head in agreement with his statement.

"Did you want guys wanted him to punch me or something?" [Y/n] asks with a little tilt of her head to the side before laughing. "Even if Izana's a violent boy or whatsoever, he would never harm me." She says with an enigmatic smile plastered on her face while they all stared at her. Rindou glances at his older brother before raising a brow.

What a weird ass girl. Well, considering that she is friends with a vicious guy such as Izana and the fact that she was just welcoming towards them with the smiles she gave without showing an ounce of fear at the sight of them who are all fresh out of juvie already says a lot about her...

"Anyways, you're the Haitani siblings, right?" [Y/n] asked, her eyes sparkling with admiration towards the two while also being accompanied by a dazzling grin that reached her eyes. "You're both handsome and pretty in person!" She compliments them with clear excitement shining in her [e/c] eyes. She looks like a kid who's about to receive some delicious sweets.

Huh, it seems that even if she does acted like some type of dignified adult she's still a cute. She's cute. Is something that went through the boys' minds.

The girl continues to admire the two siblings. "I'm a fan!" She shows a toothy smile, her eyes moving towards the two tall and huge teens; Mucho and Mochi. They weren't even being subtle with their stares. 'She's small.'

"Really now?" Ran hums, the corners of his lips curling up. "It is an honor to have a cute girl like you as our fan." He smiles to which was returned by a bright one by the girl.

"D'ya want some autograph or something from us, kid?" Rindou asks with a smug look on his face. A friend of Izana's a fan of them? Ha, of course! They're not just famous delinquents after all. They're also famous because of their looks and how they style themselves. It is no wonder that they'll meet a fan as soon as they get out of juvie. With that said, his ego has been boosted like his older brother.

"Thank you for the offer!" [Y/n] says, tone a little bubbly and with enthusiasm as the sunny smile on her face continues to stay present. "But being able to meet you, talk to you like this, and admire your faces is already enough for me."

Shion rolls his eyes and puts an arm around her shoulder after bending down a little. "Just them?" he rolls his eyes at the snickering brothers. "Jealousy looks good on him, right, Rindou?" He hears Ran say while he sees the younger Haitani nod his head in response.

Their sneering faces made him want to beat them, destroy those so called handsome features of theirs but he knows that he doesn't stand a chance since they always like to gang up on their opponents. 2 vs 1.

"Assholes." He huffed, eyes and attention going to someone else which is [Y/n]. He peered at her before proceeding on to speak up. "Hey, kid. How old are you? And are you also from a rich family like these two fuckers? Because you sure do feel like came from one!" He finishes his babbling with a winsome grin.

"Watch your language towards the kid, Shion." Mochi scolds with a frown to which Mucho agrees with a silent nod of his head as he along with the others start to finally move from their spots to head over where Kakucho and Izana both stood.

Silence fell on the group when they saw their leader swiftly grab Shion's arm and harshly free it from his grip. "Get your hands off her." Izana says in a menacing tone and a grim look on his face then turned around and walked away without saying another more word.

"We'll be going now. Sorry..." Kakucho bows his head with a troubled gaze before glancing at [Y/n]. She smiled at him and gestured for him to go on first then gave a look that she'll catch up. Kakucho took the hint as he silently nod his head to answer before dashing on ahead. "Izana! Wait up!"

"Your arm's okay, right?" The young girl questions the boy with the tattoo on his face that reached his neck. "Yeah, I guess." Answered Shion with a small groan making for her to shoot him an apologetic look before turning her head to see that Kakucho and Izana are both waiting for her. The latter seems impatient about it though.

"Yeah, I'll get going. Cranky kid." She chuckled lightly, head now back to face them after muttering those last words to herself. They still heard it though. "It was nice meeting you all, and don't worry. We'll all meet each other soon and have the chance to get to know one another." While waving her, she takes a step backward with another smile showing on her face.

"Until then, see ya, boys!"

...

"Any thoughts about Izana's friend?" Rindou inquires, his back leaning against the couch as he sees his older brother drinking water from the plastic bottle after coming out of the kitchen.

"She's cute. I wanna see her again." Answered honestly the older Haitani with a smile. "She's oddly familiar even though I'm sure we just met her today. Somewhat." He sits down on the couch but across from his sibling, his eyes focused on him to study the look on his face. He seems troubled. "What about you, dear brother?"

Rindou leans his head back. He stares at the ceiling for a couple of seconds in complete silence. "She's familiar." He finally replies to the inquiry given to him. "She reminds me of the woman who keeps on appearing in my dreams..." He pauses for a short second, his hand running through his hair as it appears that the person's face flashed in his mind when he mentioned them.

"Only she's older."

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, Inside the Haitani siblings' house, the living room to be exact Ran and [Y/n] both sat close next to each other on the couch with a big and warm blanket that stopped just on top of their abdomen while in their comfortable clothes or pajama.

The lights were turned off and the only source of light and noise they're getting is from the large television. Sheet masks rest on both of their faces which didn't show any emotion aside from boredom despite the fact that someone was getting tortured and also slowly getting killed in the process of the horror/thriller movie they're watching.

Rindou, who went for a quick toilet break, was now returning back to his spot on the couch which is next to the [h/c] girl. She always sit in between the two brothers whenever it's just the three of them, just like now. He lifts the blanket that was occupying his place before sitting down and letting the fabric go and rest on top of him.

He leaned his body against the [h/c] girl's side, just like his position earlier. How comforting and heart thumping, and that feeling will only be known to him.

"This movie is stupid." He comments in a monotonous voice to which was agreed by the two by nodding their heads. "I told you so. We should've just watched My neighbor Totoro." He hears [Y/n] say with a sigh. Since the movie wasn't worth looking or watching, he Instead focused to the person sitting beside him.

Rindou watches [Y/n] take off the sheet mask on her face, fold it in half, set it on the table and grab some junk food to eat. His heart skipped a beat while his stomach fluttered. 'She's so fucking pretty without even trying.' His inner self says and feeling her warmth against his caused for his heart to pick up its pace. Stupid organ. Annoying thing.

"Well since this movie's about to end soon," Ran trails while the young Haitani glares at his smirking brother. "You two can watch that next." He ends his statement in beaming smile. And as if on cue, the movie ends, only the credits playing.

Taking off his sheet mask and tossing it on the table, the tall boy stands up and waves his hand. "Good night, you two!" He says, the smile on his face not going away but when he turned around and walked away to go to his room, who knows?

Rindou's brows furrowed and the look in his eyes were undecipherable when Ran was no longer nowhere seen in the room with them. 'He's so annoying.'

"There he goes again." [Y/n]'s voice broke the silence, along with her munching on her food or chips while looking at her friend. "That brother of yours hates staying up late but is still the one who always insist on doing this slumber party." She deadpan as she watches Rindou silently stand up from his seat and stride towards the tv.

"You know how he is." He mutter, his back facing her as he's in the middle of putting a different CD after taking out the previous one. "He's always...like that, a weirdo, an idiot." He whispered the last part with a frown on his face but when he turned to walk back to his seat, his expression was blank.

"Want some?" [Y/n] kindly offers her food to him with a smile while the movie plays. "No thanks." Was the answer she received before seeing and feeling him lay his head on her lap with eyes closed, his glasses now set aside on the table.

"You know, I'm really grateful towards you," she raised her hand and gently started to run her fingers through his dual toned hair. She knows he likes that even if he hasn't verbally admitted it. "But you don't always have to accompany me whenever I stay over by staying up late with me." The girl voiced softly, purple eyes now peering at her.

"It's my choice." Rindou remarks, his tone the same but voice slightly deeper and held a hint of gentleness when he delivered those words. "Let me just," feeling at ease, he closed his eyes again.

"I just need to recharge." He hears her hum in response. Even just by humming he finds that pleasant to hear that it made the corner of his lips to slightly turn up. "Be sure to wake me up when the movie ends."

"Okay." The girl answered then resumed to watching the movie, her hand still playing and running through the hair of her friend.

It must be because of how comforting her presence is, or how calming and relaxing to have her fingers run through his hair...either way, he's happy, but just when sleep was about to get to him, he felt guilt slowly creep its way into his system. He feels conflicted yet again.

Oh, what should he do with that stupid older brother of his? He loves him but why is he like this? Why does he have to so kind and selfless...be such an amazing brother to him. He's vexing.

Sure, that's one rival off the list but he just can't help it.

And it's not like it's a secret to him now that he also came to like [Y/n]. Ran may be good and subtle that it took Rindou some time to notice it but he still came to realize it in the end, which didn't angered him. Not one bit. He understands.

What him is how his older brother continued to help set him up with her, act some kind of his wingman while setting aside how he felt just for him.

And what's most frustrating about Ran is how he's just been putting up with all of this for years, just for him.

But what Rindou hates the most is...himself for just letting it all happen.

What if he was the first one who caught feelings towards the [h/c] girl? He's not even sure if he has a chance nor that confident to win her but is still trying his hardest to do so!

If he likes her then he should also fight to win her heart! There's no need to give up like that because of him.

If one day, out of all the people who were trying to completely win over [Y/n]'s love and affection, happened to be Ran, then he'll congratulate him.

He may be bitter about it, at least he knows that the girl he loves is with a good person who will treat her like a queen and be sure to make her the happiest girl/woman alive.

He's extremely grateful to all the things his brother has done for him but this all needs to end today. He needs to confront that stupid but amazing brother of his later. Even if he hates having serious conversations.

He can do anything for Ran, too, after all.

For now, he'll enjoy this blissful moment as he knows it'll be the last and it would take him a while to experience this again.