Ayumi was a sharp individual. In school she was always attentive and at home she was helpful. She answered questions as she should and did her work as those expected from her. She was a hard working class representative, who gave each of her peers a listening ear when necessary. She was aware of the hardships many of them went through, and was always there with a comforting smile and some encouraging speech. She was aware of her classmates. No 2-9er would deny that.
But, her watchful eye undeniably had a blind spot.
Ayumi never noticed the pair of gray eyes that watched her so carefully. She didn't see his guarding gaze as other male classmates came around her. She never noticed how he hovered by her in Home Ec, her worse subject, to make sure her pots didn't boil over, and when cutting the food, how Yoshiki always had a bandage on hand for her. She didn't pay much mind to his actions of generosity, when she forgot her lunch and he offered his to her. She never saw the meaning behind his little compliments to her art or her stories.
Kishinuma Yoshiki was just another typical friend to Ayumi.
A friend she never really expected to have, as well. Her interception that one day in the hall between the overly aggressive boy and the cruel teacher, Tsubota was something she would do for almost anyone. Still, that action drew his attention to her more than she ever knew. She hardly saw him the rest of the year, though his eyes were always glazing over the other students in an attempt to get a glimpse at the odd girl.
The next year, fate put them in the same class. She greeted him with a bright smile, telling him that he better not slack off this year. He had been surprised by her once again, because he had expected to be ignored. Eventually, in the class, a small group of friends formed into a tight-knit connection. Ayumi, Yoshiki, Satoshi, Naomi, Seiko, Mayu, and Sakutaro.
Ayumi loved her group of friends, though her affections towards one of her peers were obviously more than a feeling of friendship. She never noticed Yoshiki's eyes flicker in pain as she talked to Satoshi, a hand on his arm. She was oblivious to the cold shoulder's Yoshiki would occasionally give to his best friend.
Her blind spot never faltered, even that awful night where the earth fell from under them and they landed in hell. His blunt wordings and calm disposition angered her fear stricken mind. She was frustrated with his cold mind, as the corpses didn't pierce his cool exterior. She didn't understand that his focus was drawn from a determination to get her home. Ayumi didn't fully acknowledge the full length the boy went to for her, from jumping into a pool despite not knowing how to swim to his fear of her possessed state. He never faltered in protecting her.
The group had been reduced to Ayumi, Yoshiki, Satoshi, and Naomi after that blood-drenched night. Each one of them had been hit hard. Still, his gaze never strayed from the twin-tailed girl. If anything, it more firmly rested on her after the experience.
Ayumi continued to be attentive to her peers. She was attentive, she was sympathetic, and she was available. She pushed herself to try and act the way she did before Heavenly Host swallowed them up. Still, she would find her mind cracking at moments where she found herself missing the others. She hated the new homeroom teacher. She missed Seiko's loud inappropriate comments. She longed for Mayu's sweet encouragement. She felt pangs of grief that Sakutaro wouldn't be interjecting with a sarcastic comment anymore. At those moments, the tears couldn't be fought.
Yoshiki was quick to notice her mind breaking. He knew the expression her face took before tears spilled way too well. He took it upon himself to excuse the two out of the classroom. He'd suddenly complain about feeling really sick, like he may puke. The class rep was then expected to make sure he made it to the nurse's office in one piece. Instead of making their way to her office, though, he'd just pull her up to the roof.
The first time she had been angry that he pulled her out of class. She screamed at him for being an idiot and how they shouldn't miss class. She ranted about how he didn't take anything seriously and how students weren't supposed to be on the roof during class periods. The tears began to flow down her cheeks, her yells devolving into inaudible sobs. He just watched her with his hands crammed in his pockets. He had no words of comfort; he could only let her feel what she was feeling.
He spent months finding ways to get the two out of class when he noticed that grief-stricken look in her eyes. Even during these emotional times, she never once considered how attentive he was. She never once considered him doing it out of anything but friendship.
Eventually, her emotions got a grip. She didn't need to be pulled out onto the roof so she could cry and scream and curse the gods for how unfair all of this was. He was thankful that she was pulling her pieces back together again, because it made him easier to do that himself. Still, he missed the moments after her tears had subsided and she'd give him a small smile. That smile made it okay that she never formally thanked him for his actions.
Ayumi fell back into her old patterns of letting others lean on her. She remained close to her surviving friends, but she integrated herself back into the life of her classmates. Yoshiki felt a bit discouraged by the lack of attention he was getting as time went on, but seeing Ayumi genuinely laughing and having a good time soothed the ache.
Kishinuma Yoshiki was her blind spot.
But, his gaze would never falter from her, even if she never glanced in his direction again.