"The number you have dialed is unavailable, please try again later."
Yukari choked back a cry and made her way out of the car, the raging rain coming down on her like a typhoon. Her clothes, along with every other part of her body, was wet, but she didn't care. Frantically, she tried calling the familiar number again, hoping for a response.
"The number you have dialed is unavailable, please try again lat-"
"Damn it!" She smashed the phones shut a little harder than necessary, "Saito please pick up. Please pick up!" She dialed the number again.
"The number you have dialed-"
"Argh!" She gripped the phone tightly and resisted the urge to throw it. She was being unreasonable, and she knew it. Her usually calm demeanor was all but gone, to be replaced with paranoia and fear, "I shouldn't have let him go alone. I knew it was dangerous to investigate that house!"
Saito had taken a job to investigate a suspected a suspected serial arsonist, something which neither her or Aria had readily approved of. Both of them argued that something like this was too dangerous, but she knew that Saito wouldn't let that bother him.
It was all going well, to be completely honest. They'd identified him, found his usual modus operandi (using wires to burn down the infrastructure) and even found out where he lived. Saito had chosen to skip school that day and investigate his place of residence for clues.
It all went to hell after that.
When she tried to call his cellphone earlier, it said that the number was unavailable and she should try later. She didn't exactly find this odd because of his introverted nature. He probably just turned off his cellphone in order to not get interrupted during his investigation. With that thought in her mind, she made her way home.
Then she got a call from Aria. She'd told her that she should use her phone and look at the latest news. When she did so, she instantly felt her heartbeat stop and her blood freeze over.
"Three story mansion burns down in Shinjuku Street"
Shinjuku street, the same street where he was conducting her investigation.
She'd never run so fast in her life. Shinjuku street wasn't anywhere near her and there wasn't any train station that was nearby, but she ran. She ignored the odd stares the others on the street gave her and continued to run to the destination.
She didn't like what she saw.
Both concerned citizens and firemen alike filled the the streets; the former being kept out by the latter. She distinctly remembered trying to get past the firemen, exclaiming Saito's name over and over. She didn't have a any luck and resigned herself to calling his cellphone over and over again, begging for a response.
No one did.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was nighttime now. Both her and Aria, along with Saito's parent's, had spent all day searching for the blue haired teen - no luck so far. Suppressing a sob, she went up the stair's to her room, the floor getting wet as the water dripped down from her body. She didn't care if she got sick or whatever.
The automatic doors of her room opened with a metallic chime, and she found herself back in her bedroom. The room was dark, without a single source of light to be seen. She might have been uncomfortable just a few hours earlier, but right now she found the darkness calming. In the dark, so one could see her when she was weak. She pressed her face against the door and let the tears flow, consequence be damned. Besides, the rainwater on her body would mask it well enough.
She didn't know how long she stayed in that position. Maybe it was a few seconds, or maybe it was a few hours. Either way, none of it mattered when a familiar voice interrupted her.
"Took you long enough...." She felt herself stiffen at the sound of the soft male voice, "That guy is insane. He wired his own place to blow with a floor trap and barricaded all his window's so no one could escape. Can't believe that guy...."
She stepped away from the wall and looked to the bed. There, sitting on the bed like there wasn't a single problem, was Saito. His right shoulder was burnt, covered in a makeshift bandage made of his right sleeve. Other than that, however, he looked none the worse for wear.
Slowly she made her way towards him, as if she was worried that he would disappear if she made any large sounds, "I had to leave my cellphone since the material got burnt and started melting. Running back home with nothing but an umbrella isn't something I want to repeat," He complained.
"....Yukari, what's wrong?" He gave her a questioning look as she stopped in front of him. He wanted to ask her again before a look of realization crossed his face, "Did you think that I-"
He didn't get to finish. Her right hand touched his cheek softly, making sure he was real and not some kind of hallucination. Yukari felt tears going down her eyes again, but this time it wasn't because she was sad.
"Yukari.....don't worry about me," He looked up and gave her a smile, "I'm not going to leave you or anyone else. I may not be the next heir, but I'm tougher than I look. It takes more than a mad arsonist to kill me." He sighed, "It's a good thing he's male, or I'd be worried about him pulling an IS out or something."
He made to get off the bed, but her hands pressed down on his shoulders, stopping him. He gave her another questioning look, but she didn't care. She leaned down and caught his lips in hers. Saito's eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't pull back. Taking this as a sign, she deepened the kiss and pushed him down onto the soft bed.
They didn't know how long they spent there, just enjoying each others company. They didn't really get very far. After pushing him onto the bed, Yukari seemed to realize her actions and pulled back quickly, a large blush spread across her cheeks.
"I'm.....I'm sorry..." She apologized.
"It's alright....." He nodded slightly at her, "It's understandable, given the situation. When a person is stressed, they tend to mistake one feeling of emotion for another. It's called the suspension bridge effect."
".....What?" Her voice was flat and devoid of emotion at his explanation.
"You were stressed and your mind went into overdrive. In that state, your mind must have confused one feeling to another," Yukari still have him a flat look, "Um....it's like when a person thinks they're in love with someone in the middle of a high stress situation, hence the name of the effect. You must have been pressured to find me, and in your relief, confused the feeling of stress for love." He placed a hand on her shoulder, "I understand that you might regret your actions, but you don't have to worry. I won't tell anyone."
Yukari had a look of quiet disbelief as she heard him rattle on about the 'suspension bridge effect'. He had completely ignored her actions and taken things too logically again, just like he always did. She felt something inside her snap.
"......Idiot!"
She suddenly jumped at him again, pressing her lips tighter against his. He found himself lacking the air to breath, and soon he found his vision swimming and fading. As he felt himself lose cognition, one thought pressed into his mind.
'It's okay, it's just the suspension bridge effect!'