@malik-fall-out
"Sir - sir, we’re about to close. I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”
How late has it gotten? He could’ve sworn that this place was open until midnight-
Oh, it’s eleven fifty-five. That’s... How did it get to be this hour? It feels like he’d just opened the book he’d been reading a few minutes ago. He’s not even through annotating chapter ten. If he refocuses, though, it appears that his handwriting in the margins has gotten progressively sloppier as the night has gone on. His cup is empty. There’s no denying the passage of time, it seems.
Ryou rubs at the corners of his eyes and nods, rising to his feet.
The cafe worker backs up a few steps to give him enough space to put his things together. She takes his empty cup with an understanding smile when presented, and allows him to slide past her towards the exit.
The night air on the other side of the door is cool, a little damp. It must’ve been raining a short while ago. It’s a wonder he didn’t notice.
Behind him, he hears the lock click and is acutely aware that he’s now alone, outside, in the dark. This doesn’t usually bother him for the most part - he’s wandered around many strange and potentially dangerous places in Domino before. It’s just... it feels like he has eyes on him. It feels like someone is watching him already. Kind of like when the spirit of the ring is prowling in the back of his mind, but his senses tell him that it’s external. His entity is quiet for now.
He sighs, shifting and checking the battery on his phone. Still mostly full - at least he’s got a lifeline. Beyond the glowing screen, he can’t see much movement. Under the pools of light left by the streetlamps, in the dim glow of the neons on storefronts, he does see some life - a couple, chatting in front of the book store he’d left earlier that day, and a man walking towards downtown. Nobody that could potentially be looking in his direction.
Still, the feeling remains.
He can’t stay here forever, though. He’s probably just being paranoid.
His feet begin to move. The quicker he gets back to his apartment, the sooner he can let it go.
















