He had never thought much about the girl, not since the first day he met her anyway. But now, it seemed the utmost importance to think about her every second. He ran a sweaty palm through his black hair as he nervously scanned the pages of the journal. He had learned little about her at their introduction but now he sat, in her old home, eyes wide as he skimmed through pages of an old worn out journal. He had learned that she was a relative of a Medusa from his sister but the idea never fully connected in his brain. The hikkikomori, traced his fingers over each handwritten word gradually, almost as though doing so would allow him to be within the story himself.
Each one of the journals was stacked on tables, and most of them filled the shelves of the tall oak wood bookcases that furnished the girl's old home. The boy had taken the single pale blue book which was the same shade as the girl's dress, which had gotten dusty from sitting on the table for so long. Each journal he took down was a similar pastel shade, all labeled different years, some from nearly a century ago! The black-haired boy couldn't believe that just mere minutes ago he had walked in to the old house, dead eyed and bored, only bothering to visit the desolate house in the forest under the shy girl's request, and because he wouldn't want to get on her or Seto's bad side. He had seen what those two were like when angry, or at least, ticked off.
The girl had run upstairs to grab something of her's , and Shintarou remained downstairs, with a cup of herbal tea which she had served him. He skimmed through the last few pages of the journal and jumped out of his seat abruptly and rushed over to nearest pile of books. He began to san the spines, looking at the handwritten years in a black ink that was scrawled out. When he didn't find what he needed there, he paced around the bookshelves, checking each one there, and he cursed himself when he couldn't find the next one of the journals.
He sat back down angrily and began to scan the journal again, rereading the lines that stood out to him.
"Mother died today."
"I buried her alone."
"…I spent another day inside."
"No one came today…"
"Another year goes by and I'm still alone."
"Mother always told me that I shouldn't look people in the eye or else I'll kill them, but today-"
And then a page was torn out.
Shintarou inferred that that was the day Seto came, and it was probably the same day he rescued Mary from all her troubles like the prince that Mary had read stories about for so many years. But, where was everyone else so many years before he showed up? Shintarou thought to himself as he clutched the pale book tightly. He was in such deep thought that he didn't notice the girl who had run down the staircase.
"Shintarou…?" She mumbled as she stood behind the man, unable to see what he was holding. "What's the matter?"
Suddenly, the man turned around and threw the pale blue book to the floor and grabbed the girl. At first she was stunned when he hugged her, for she knew him as a man that was mainly expressionless.
"Shintaro?!" She began to yell in surprise, as she grew dizzy from anxiety. She tried to push away from him so she could use her eye power, but every time she pulled away she felt his grip tighten and she ended up back where she started. Eventually, the man spoke, snapping her out of her panic attack.
"How long…"
"Hmm…?" She glanced up at the man.
"How long have you been alone?"
"About a century…I guess…It's been about a century since my mother passed..."
"And I thought being alone for two years took its toll on me…Mary, I'm sorry…" He suddenly let go of her but he asked her one final question, "Do they know how long you really have been alone for?"
"No, I don't think so. They know I lived alone but I don't think they ever realized how long it actually was."
Suddenly, the boy ran out of the house, pushing aside the girl. Mary ran after him, and in doing so she nearly drained all her stamina, for when she reached where he was, she was starting to wobble. The boy kneeled in front of a tombstone that was decorated in dried out flowers. His head was bent in front of it as he mumbled out loud to himself.
"So, you lost someone you cared about too...For no good reason right? I guess you and I really aren't that different after all…" Mary stared at the boy in awe as she watched him quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"You live with them, so you must have heard about Ayano, right?" The girl nodded as the boy stood up solemnly, "Well, from what I found out recently, Ayano's family adopted Danchou, Kano, and Seto. There is a reason that the three of them are trying to learn about their eye powers. They think it will help them find Ayano. Mary, when they get Ayano back, they won't have time to take care of you anymore. We already just recently discovered that it has something to do with your grandmother, so, to them, your nothing but a tool, no, more like a key, a key to unlock the door to Ayano. I admit I miss her, but I don't think Ayano wants us to forget the people we met. Unfortunately, Ayano didn't get through to them…" Mary had fallen to her knees and tears were falling into her hands. "Even when they get Ayano back," He kneeled down beside her, "I may miss her dearly, but I promise not to forget about you. I won't leave you behind…" He pulled her close to him and he kissed her gently on her forehead.