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[indent][i][color=f7976a]This is getting old...[/color][/i] the thought came with a sigh as Kousuke locked his phone, sending the image of the news report to the reflective black of the screen, [color=f7976a][i]It doesn't even feel real anymore... How is anyone supposed to care when there isn't even time to process what's happening before it happens again and again?[/i][/color] Tucking the device away, he started down the street, making way for a yatai that had become a permanent fixture not far from the school, surely keeping their ground there for the increased business brought by the students of Shirubashedo.

His lunch hour had come fast, so much so that he found it hard to believe. After being dropped off at campus, saying goodbye to his parents and future family, his classes had been nothing but a blur. Part of him wondered if he had even gone to any of them, though he knew that he certainly had. The dull droll of his professors still rang in his head, the pounding that had been there all morning somehow only growing worse as the day went on.

[color=f7976a][i]I should have just stayed home...[/i][/color] he thought, [color=f7976a][i]I'm probably getting sick...[/i][/color]

As he continued along down the street, Kousuke took note of a heavy feeling resting on his shoulders. He was used to such feelings. Feelings of guilt, mostly. Shame in himself for the way he approached the world around him. It was easy to ignore. This feeling was different, though. Less of a feeling of remorse, and more of a feeling of dread. They couldn't quite place [i]why[/i] they were feeling panicked, but something in the air was setting them on edge.

Soon enough, Kousuke arrived at the stand and waited their turn to step up to the counter. He listened to the conversation around him. Everyone talking about the recent news. Usually, he would be invested in such discussions, but at the moment, the words being passed caused his stomach to churn. They scowled, blocking out the chatter, and focused instead on the vendor as their turn arrived.

"Takoyaki," he spoke shortly, pulling off his sunglasses as he took a seat below the noren curtains. The man behind the counter gave a nod, then took the yen from Kousuke as the younger man offered it over, before calling the order off to the other workers and jumping over to another who had approached the counter. While they waited, Kousuke set his dark gaze on the glasses he still held in his hand, tilting them back and forth as he watched his reflection. They had done this a few times throughout the day. Finding their image in anything with a surface that served such a purpose. Most of the time it was just them, looking dead as always, but now and then, Kousuke could swear he saw the rabbit once more, and this moment was no exception. Every other flick, he could make out the ears of the creature, long and white, sticking straight up, alert. Alert just like him. The feeling of dread still wouldn't let up, he felt just like that rabbit, vulnerable to predators unseen.

When his order was set in front of him, Kousuke gave a polite nod and spoke shortly again as he said, "Arigato," before taking the intricately folded cardstock box, the pair of wooden chopsticks provided, and his sunglasses in hand, and rose to leave the yatai behind as he made way back towards the school. Checking his reflection in the lens of his glasses, he gave a shake of his head and returned the frames to their place, before cracking his chopsticks apart and opening the box to eat while he walked.

[color=f7976a][i]I'm definitely coming down with something,[/i][/color] he concluded, though it was more of a strive to convince himself than an actual belief...[/indent]