#< there

yesterday i had 3 seizures

the twitching is back

the muscle spasms are back

not being able to walk around for long periods/walking weak and stumbling is back

holding onto counters for support is back

not being able to think is back

my vision going blurry and loss of muscle tone is back

what is happening

It was not an uncommon occurrence for the investigator to work herself to sleep. The bed in her small house was almost dusty from disuse. Her true bed was the sofa, next to the coffee table with all her case notes. Ever since Zero took over Neo Tokyo, it wasn’t easy to earn a simple living, not with those 24 Tribe goons wandering about. She was, however, lucky to have the support of a group that called themselves the “Trash Tribe”. Though, she didn’t get to see them often. She wanted to live a rather simple life, at least, at first. It seemed that fate frowned on her, throwing that…actor at her, time and time again.

Her body was rudely awakened by the faintest gust of a misty night wind, the foreign smell of stew suddenly greeting her nostrils. She was still drowsy, eyes barely able to open, but opened enough to see someone with brown hair cooking in the kitchen, and the window wide open, if smashed to near smithereens counted as open. If she could groan, she would.

“Did you break in? Again?” Adalyn’s voice was still raspy, her body feeling heavier than the ocean.

The sound of chopping stopped, as Shiloh turned to smile at the other. “Ahh, you’re awake. Surprisingly early, might I add.”

Adalyn scoffed. That smile definitely meant he was up to something. But then again, he was always smiling… Which was not any more reassuring. Adalyn tried to lift herself up, but found her body weighing her down, as if she completely lost control of her muscles.

“Did you—?”

“Yes, I did.” Shiloh resumed cutting… whatever was on the chopping board, his slim figure was still sufficient to cover the food from her sight.

“Again?!” It was an expression of annoyance rather than surprise. He never changed, but… neither did she.

“Haha, so?” That chuckle was almost proud, earning a scoff from the red-haired investigator.

“Bastard.”

“Maybe get some proper rest and maybe, just maybe, you don’t need to get drugged every week you have a deadline.” Shiloh was done chopping, sliding what seemed to be vegetables into the stew. “You know, it’s so troublesome to have to keep upping your dosage when you wake up too early.”

“…And how long do you think this paralysis medication will last?”

“With the current dose? Maybe an hour or two. If it were up to me? Forever.” With his words, he did a cheeky twirl of the chopper in his hand. It almost felt like a threat. “Buuut, it wouldn’t be as fun, now would it? Go on, get your Zs. Don’t make me give you a second dose.”

Adalyn seemed surprised, but decided to… heed his advice. Closing her eyes. It was not easy when she remembered the man cooking, with a cleaver mere feet away was a criminal, but… they knew each other a bit too well. If he wanted to kill her, she wouldn’t have the chance to open her eyes, or admire that stew… She never knew he was a decent cook. One more question to the many mysteries of Shiloh Monroe…

However, she knew that if she wanted to, she could expose his laundry list of new crimes, ever since they both came here. Not that it was an easy life worth toying around with, but to the law, a crime is a crime. It felt illogical, keeping so many secrets of his from the eyes of others. It felt indulgent, even. They held secrets of the other deep in their hearts, where no other could see.

Her mind wandered. Even now, after all this time, Shiloh felt like a puzzle she had yet to solve. In their greener days, they had an intense rivalry, yet, rivalries were wars, not tangos.

To describe their back-and-forth as a dance was the most accurate description she could plaster on it.

Yet now, when they were both out of water, one would expect them to tear each other apart. Yet, they did quite the opposite. They still took and took from each other, like hungry wolves from deer corpses, but… it was as if they started to give back too.

“Your boss sounds annoying… No one would suspect anything if I killed him, right?”

“Wh— you can’t just—! Ugh. Do you WANT to go to jail?”

“Aww, look at your face~ it’s not that bad to be a criminal, you know?”

“Seriously, work’s enough. I don’t want to deal with the Numbers and the other tribes as well.”

“Tch, booooring.”