Kunikuzushi pov:

The alleyway was dark and the rain hit hard. The drops meeting the ground almost sounded like a shootout, combined with the metal dumpsters residing in the alley.

It was all normal for a night in the neighborhoods. Perhaps it was, for others, that is. But it wasn't for me, with a crowbar over my shoulder. A man kneeling in front of me, blood oozing from his arm. Another guy unconscious further into the alleyway, this one had blood running from his head.

He wasn't dead though. I hit him with the duller side of the crowbar. He was fine. Probably.

The guy in front of me wheezed and coughed. I rolled my eyes and gave him a kick to the leg, hearing him groan.

I scoffed. "I gave you his address did I not? Why did I see you following her around again? You're lucky she didn't notice you. If you'd ruined her day again this would be a lot worse for you."

I give him another kick. He gives me another groan. "Fucking bastard. When I get my hands on you... you and your little bitch... I'll bury you both, alive and all." He coughs more blood.

I hum. "You shouldn't say that, you know. Makes me want to kill you." He stops moving and looks up at me. I smirk down at him.

"You wouldn't. You ain't got it in you... punk..." the man wheezed.

I don't reply. Instead I simply raise my crowbar over my head, gripping it tightly. I swing it down, hoping to kill him with one blow.

"No wait!"

I manage to stop the momentum, the crowbar stopping right before piercing the top of the man's head. The man was quiet, staring at me with wide eyes and a frozen look.

I look up and further into the alley, the other guy was the one to speak. I raise my crowbar over my shoulder again and look at the second guy, who was now awake. He limps over to us, supporting himself on the wall.

The guy gives me a scared and fake confident smile. "We are all bad people here... we... we'll leave the girl alone... we- we'll leave her whole damn family alone! Money will be all forgotten alright?" He coughs but quickly straightens up, blood covering his face and his mouth.

I look down at the frozen guy laying in front of me. "See? That wasn't so hard was it?" I chuckle. The guy forces a smile and crawls a few feet away from me.

I look up at the other one. "I don't care what you do with the rest of them. Continue bothering them for all I care. But if she ever mentions the two of you again-"

The guy rapidly shakes his head. "We- she'll have no reason to! None! I swear!" The guy helps his buddy up from the ground.

I smirk at them. "Good. And... surely... you don't want to get the cops involved... after all... I'm sure they wouldn't mind getting a hold of a pair of loan sharks... especially ones like you." I say. They quickly shake their head.

I lower the crowbar, making it tap the ground. "Good. I'm sure we understand each other." I gesture to the exit of the alley. "Get out of here."

The two quickly scramble towards the exit. "Give me a reason to kill you, I dare you." I tell him before they disappears around the corner.

-

Kunikuzushi pov:

The memory vanishes from my eyes and I'm brought back into reality. Standing in the bathroom, the bloody crowbar lies in my bathtub.

I rub the back of my neck and sigh. Thankfully Y/n hadn't seen this when she went to the bathroom earlier. Or else she would've mentioned it, right?

How the hell did I forget about it? Can't believe I was so careless. Gosh, if she'd seen this...

What if she did see it?

I draw the curtain in front of the bathtub, hiding it. I turn around and walk out into the living room.

The food we had picked up was eaten and we'd just been hanging out for hours after we got home.

I walk around the couch and see Y/n sleeping, curled up in the corner, a slight blush on her cheeks. My eyes fall upon the opened soju bottle on the table.

I offered a drink when we finished eating. The truth is that I wanted her to tell me about why she was sleeping in the backroom of the convenience store.

But we ended up drinking more than that. I asked her about how she was doing and she lost it. She just started crying. I comforted and she fell asleep.

I step around the couch and sit down on the opposite side of where she slept. I lean back and rub my forehead, feeling the alcohol affecting my mind. In Teyvat, alcohol never interrupted my system this easily.

I lay my head back on the couch and close my eyes, hoping to doze off.

I'm interrupted when I hear her stir and yawn. My eyes open and I look over at her. She sits up properly and rubs her eyes.

"Gosh... did I really fall asleep?" She asks. I chuckle. "Yeah. Just lay down if you're tired. You can take my bed if you want. I'm not tired." I say and stand up. I walk over to the small balcony and open the door to let some fresh air in.

I turn back towards her. She stands up but stumbles slightly before she can stabilize herself. I sigh and try to focus my own eyes as much as possible as I walk towards her.

"I'll get you some water." I say and walk towards the kitchen. I grab a glass and pour some water, returning to the living room.

I find Y/n standing on the balcony, so I walk towards her. She leans on the railing and I offer her the water, leaning next to her.

"I guess that means you've had a shitty week." I say. She has tears in her eyes but manages to keep them from spilling. She downs the glass of water and sighs loudly, seeming to relax.

Y/n nods, giving me my answer. "You sleeping in the convenience store?" I ask. She sobs and turns her face away from me. I feel my heart squeezing. Without realizing it, I put my arm around and her pull her closer to me, she leans her head on my shoulder as she sobs.

"Everything is going downhill, I don't know what to do..." she whispers while tears fall down her face.

I kept quiet. Her knees give out and she falls to the ground, I lower myself with her and hold around her as we sit on the balcony. She pulls her knees to her chest and cries.

As she cries. The scene grows more familiar in my mind. Only she was the one holding around me. Long, long ago...

When she comforted me like this, did her heart hurt as much as mine does now?

Her cries die down slightly but she still sniffles and takes a few sharp breaths.

I run my fingers through her hair. "It'll all be alright. Eventually. You can figure this out." You always do.

"You're stronger than you think. You'll see that eventually..." I tell her. Y/n doesn't reply for a moment.

She sniffles and hums.

"Alright?" I confirm.

She sniffles again. "Alright." She says with a slightly shaky voice. Her teary eyes look up at me. "Thank you." She says and stands up, walking inside again. I stand up and walk in too, closing the balcony door behind me.

"I-... I should get going... it's getting late." She says and walks in front of a mirror to check herself.

I scoff. "As you said, it's getting late. And you're not exactly sober." I cross my arms and sigh. "Where would you go?"

Y/n stops moving and realizes my points. "I've been here for hours. I fell asleep and you paid for our dinner. I don't want to intrude more than I have..." she says.

I scoff. "You'd be intruding my mind more if you walk out of here in your situation. I wouldn't be able to stop worrying. Just... take my bed, alright? I'll take the couch." I say and cross my arms.

She sighs, looking at her fingers and fiddling with them. "I could... probably sleep at Minato's. It's not problem. I can leave if you want." She says.

I felt annoyed at the mention of Minato or the thought of her staying at his place. "Y/n, please. It's no problem you staying here. I'd feel a lot better knowing you're resting comfortably at mine tonight. But... if you really want to leave. I won't stop you." I tell her. She stays quiet, her back turned to me.

"But at least let me walk you wherever you're going, just to be sure." I add on. She keeps quiet.

I watch her as she quietly wiped her eyes again while she stands quietly. I sigh and walk over to a shelf, grabbing a key.

I walk over to her, standing in front of her. "Here." I hand her the key. "Take this. You can lock the bedroom door if you want. Just please, go rest." I tell her.

Y/n looks at me in slight surprise. "Why... why are you so nice to me?..." she asks, catching me by slight surprise.

I stumble on my words. "I- I... just... uh..." I seem stupid as I try to find a believable reason. Telling her it's because I love and her I owe her my everything doesn't seem like the most believe thing to say right now. I could scare her away...

Y/n sighs. "I suppose you're just a nice person. Thank you." My eyes widen when she gives me a hug. Her arms wrapping around my waist for a small moment. The time freezes as her head rests on my chest.

My hands raise and wrap around her. "Just... know you can always come to me..." I say in a low voice, almost scared if I speak too loud she might run away. She nods. "Thank you..." I get a whiff of her cheap but nice perfume, inhaling it slightly.

After a few more seconds, she lets go of me. I hold her for one more second, before letting go of her as well.

She steps past me and towards my bedroom before stopping, instead she makes a turn towards the bathroom. My eyes widen and I freeze as I see her walking in and closing the door behind her.

My blood runs cold as I stare at the bathroom door, waiting for a scream. My nerves calm slightly as I remember I drew the curtain in front of the tub.

I mentally pray she doesn't grow curious. I just stare at the door, waiting for her to leave. The toilet flushes and the sink starts running. I sigh in slight relief. She then exits from the bathroom and enters the kitchen.

She leaves the kitchen with a glass of water, walking towards my bedroom. "Good night." She says and enters, closing the door behind her.

"Good night."