MENACE

CHAPTER SEVEN : Double the Trouble

Rita surprisingly had a good sleep. Thus when she woke up in the morning, her body felt so revitalised. She kindly asked what she could do in return for the free sleepover at the restaurant owner's house, however they firmly only said:

"Please don't worry!"

" Just relax and take your time here~"

"Eat and rest a bunch... Due to some instances, I'll send you there by weekend."

Hence, Rita felt a bit restless.

She NEED to do something. Even though they seem overly generous, Rita felt like she's been treated much better than a guest or a stray person who knows nothing about the place called Moriah.

It's been exactly 3 days since she'd arrived, and Rita still couldn't get over the feeling of being in a new setting and atmosphere.

The air also felt slightly colder than she imagined and the sun variably shone through the town. Aside from the first three people she had met and properly conversed with, some people— customers, and few locals also got curious to the young woman who had stayed at the Higurashi Ramen shop.

"Are you Yohan's girlfriend?"

Rita almost spilled her drink and she quickly shook her head. Yohan, who was wiping the table looked like a puppy who's name being called.

"No, she isn't! Rita Onee-chan (sister) is our dear guest -" Reina popped out from behind Rita and tightly hugged her waist. She's really that clingy. Her adorable brown eyes twinkled like a small child clinging to her mother. Rita felt suddenly anxious, does teenage girls usually act like this towards other older women? When she was 14, Rita couldn't even properly make an eye contact with her mother, afraid she would throw a blatant judgement about her life situation.

"Ho ho, I see you're such beautiful young woman. " An old man also commented while drinking saki (wine). As Rita knew, he was a regular customer and the owner's timely friend. He was also famous for his strange hobbies, and alcohol drinking.

"Hands off, Sato-san! Rita-san is a goddess and this must be destiny's work to meet us."

Yohan expressed out of nowhere, as if a sincere poet addressing his muse. Rita sighed for his exaggeration, and chuckled. He's 2 years younger than her, and even that gap , she still only see him as resemblance of her younger brother, Peter. He used to often brag about his love interest, and was really good at interacting girls in general.

So Rita could only smile, as if being immune to such kind of interaction. However, there was one thing she didn't expected.

***

Rita thought there was something wrong when she woke up another day at the Higurashi house. It was Friday and she'll be going out soon, as promised by the Owner regarding a place for rent.

As Rita went downstairs to buy some essentials at the near convenience store, she had made a bizarre encounter with someone by the doorstep.

" Who are you ?" An unfamiliar voice echoes like bass, caressing her skin to shiver. However, he looked like Yohan.

"Uhm .. Yohan? did you get a new haircut?"

Rita asked when she saw him, maybe he got sore throat or something? Yet for his looks, instead of long blonde hair tied in a ponytail. He had a short hair cut that was neatly trimmed, making his forehead visible.

"You look nice."

Rita thought she could atleast give a compliment. But she only received a long silence as response.

'This is totally awkward.'

Rita just wanted to get through him and buy her groceries.

But he questionably spoke, which made her froze like a dumb statue.

"So you were that woman ? "

His voice which sounded too low, echoes around the corners. It suddenly felt eerie to her. She had a bad feeling.

"What do you mean ? "Rita asked in confusion and suddenly fell into deep thinking. She had that strange feeling, and it was confirmed when she further questioned.

"Who are you? You are not Yohan."

"Don't steal my question."

He remarked, and casually entered the house while taking off his shoes. He slowly strode his way towards Rita and stopped infront of her. Now, she also realized he's a bit taller than Yohan who was bright and cheerful around her. The blue jewelled eyes that looked like the radiant sea, currently appeared to be deep and raging like a thunderstorm.

"... I'm Rita, I currently borrowed some space at the Higurashi house before I'll settle away."

As if a pressure suddenly broke inside her, Rita felt like she couldn't escape such serious gaze.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Higurashi Rouhan." Rita felt surprised of such information and she slightly bowed.

"Likewise. I apologize for bothering you and your family for my presence. "

"...." He didn't spoke anything for a moment, and Rita felt being criticized.

" What's your complete name ? "

Thump.

Rita almost had a brief heart attack.

' Am I being suspected ? '

However, Rita tried to appear untethered and fixed her thick glasses.

She felt relieved when she didn't forgot to wear them, while her hair was fixed on a bun. Rita was also wearing a dark trench cloth and white gloves as she felt chilled by the morning coldness.

Rita almost forgot about the question being pounded on her first thing in the morning. Until then, no one seemed to mind asking about her surname or other personal information. But she thought the reason was when she heard their one conversation. . .

"I think we shouldn't pry much about her personal life -"

"She looked like runaway girl to me."

"Her husband must've abused her. The way she act so cold towards men like us speaks so!" She heard Yohan's voice and they teased him in return.

So she didn't bother telling about anything and stayed on her timid and quiet character. But that seemingly ends now that she had met such unexpected circumstances.

This might be my karma.

Rita thought as she had put her guard down and chose to ease her mind from those who may know her from her past.

"I see, you can't say it."

The person named Rouhan took her strange silence as a response. He walked right pass her like a storm and she couldn't decipher right away what he said.

As if she's looking at a huge puzzle, Rita could only stare at his back when he suddenly disappeared to one of the rooms.

A ghost? An absurd thought made her pinch herself and confirm reality.

"No, he might be Yohan's relative, or possibly a twin.Why didn't they say so?"

Do you even have a right to know?

Rita felt suddenly embarrassed of such thought when she had realised that for such short but timeless week, her heart became soft to the few people she came to know for the first time. However, it still doesn't change the fact that she was a complete stranger to some unknown place for her.

She held back herself from getting easily swayed. Rita had always thought that building relationships only lead to disaster, thus she try to keep her emotions at bay. She needed to steel her heart and mind for whatever threat may resurface–perturbing what she had been trying to build and fix.

But as what life has always reserved; everything may only drag her back into a dark pit of misery. To the point of no return.

"Nothing always seems to go my way.."

Rita mumbled and immersed herself of such possibility of someone discovering her reason of moving into the town.

Rita could only get herself to get low as possible, blend in, and quietly live as how she can do.

Most importantly, she wanted to redeem and find her reason being alive.

Rita always wanted to know.

Unforgetting of the scarred memory she had kept at the deepest part of her mind. As Rita felt like being inside a game of someone she never knew existed.

"I need you alive, Miss Rita."

"Ugh, I feel like throwing up.." Rita curled down on a bench at the small mediation park just located a few meters between the convenience store and the Higurashi restaurant.

"Rita-san?" A youthful voice called her and pulled her attention back to the present.

Oh it was the original one. Rita thought as if the guy she met much earlier was only a carbon copy who she kinda familiarised.

"Hello Yohan, today's kinda cold isn't?"

Rita nonchalantly said while hugging her knees.

She wanted to start a conversation and check out if she was only imagining assumptions about twins having a polar opposite traits. Ain't it double the trouble too? Rita shrugged as she stared out at Yohan who always seem to wear a gentle prince charming look. Yes, she just didn't expect to meet such villainous contrast.

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