Everyday, Without Fail
(High School AU) Kano is a stalker. Not in the way you would think, though.
There she was, again – silently going about her daily routine without paying any heed to the world around her. Likewise, it seemed as if the world paid no mind to her, either. She would go to school every day silently and leave just as inconspicuously. In fact, the only person who seemed to recognise her existence was me.
The way her green locks would cascade down her perfectly straight back was mesmerising. Her jaw was always set and her eyes were so sharp that a glance could dismember a limb. Her height easily overcame mine – she could have been a model had she smiled more.
This seemed to be the way school life went for a while – homeroom would begin and she'd walk into class on the dot. She would seat herself in front of me and lay out her stationery for the first lesson – the ever dreaded mathematics. And, as she went about with her movements, I'd watch her with a rather bored expression on my face. I probably seemed like a stalker, but I wasn't – honest.
Subtle – yet noticeable – changes occurred during the months that I watched her. Sometimes, she would down a pill or two. Sometimes, her face would be overcome by a pained expression. Sometimes, she would have a couple of bandages wrapped around her arms and neck. Sometimes, I would even notice stains of blood upon her uniform. But I never said anything; the daily routine was only to watch and be mesmerised. Never to initiate contact.
That was, until the day that the girl did not show up for our silent routine. Sweat dripped down my blond hair as I contemplated the situation. She isn't here today. Never has she taken a sick leave. Something must have happened. I shook in my seat, wondering what I was to do. Wait, tomorrow's another day. I'll wait to see if she shows up tomorrow.
So I did wait for the next day to come. And the next. And the next. And, before I had realised it, a week had passed without any contact with the invisible girl. Not that there had been any contact in the first place. Yet, I was still worried. I knew how it was in class – I was the only person to ever look at her. Everything would drown out her existence, yet I would still be able to see her. She could easily be out there without anyone to save her.
School was out so I decided to begin my search. I began by searching through the local pharmacy for the pills that she had been taking. My efforts led me to sightings of green flashes within the immediate vicinity. I had changed out of my school uniform into a much more comfortable black hoodie so as to make myself a little less conspicuous.
I searched everywhere. Shopping centers, parks, restaurants, cafes, even the basketball courts fifty metres from the pharmacy. Throughout my search, one thought kept prickling the back of my mind.
Why? I held no connections to the green haired object of my search. The only bond we had was our little routine at the start of each school day – a bond I did not even think was mutual.
What was it? Admiration? That couldn't have been it – I was rather popular, so I saw no reason for me to admire her. Love? It might've been, but I wasn't sure if that was it either. All I could really say was that I felt an unbelievably strong pull that attracted me to her – almost as if we were once a couple in a past life. Of course, that theory was absolutely absurd.
My thoughts were cut short, though, as I began to hear light groans coming from a nearby alley way. I hurriedly stepped into the dark, narrow walkway to be greeted by a very familiar face.
Well, it would have been familiar – if not for the splotches of blood that masked her pale complexion. Her green locks were also died with red and all that I could smell in that alleyway was a stinging, metallic scent. Standing above her near lifeless form was a dark figure with a maniacal look on his face. Everything about him screamed danger.
As I stood there in shock, the stranger slowly walked past me – a grin still plastered on his face. I paid him no mind, though. My only line of sight at that point was focused on the girl who lay in front of me. Slowly, I picked her up and rushed her to the nearest hospital (and did I think of calling an ambulance? Nope).
The doctors told me that she had 4 fractured ribs and a broken collar bone. Cuts and bruises covered her body and her throat was also quite close to being smashed. It seemed like most of the wounds were derived from dates prior to that point. The pills that she had been taking were pain relievers to help ease away all the aches that had accumulated within her body. She needed 4 months to recover.
When the doctors had left, I remained within the suffocatingly white room alongside her unconscious form. She was absolutely broken; guilt welled up within me. Had I said something to her sooner, would the situation have changed for the better?
The heart monitor fluctuated as she slowly awoke from her induced slumber. She looked at me, her dead eyes showing a look of confusion. Something akin to 'Who are you?' and 'Why am I alive?' I looked back at her and decided – then and there – that there would be silence between us no more. Our routine was already broken when she stopped coming to school, so I would fix it anew.
My eyes brightened as I looked at her, a sly grin shifted my lips.
"Nice to meetcha, Kido. The name's Kano, your stalker."
Her eyes widened a tad, before she closed them again and fell back to sleep – a hint of a smile ghosting her lips.
No longer would our routine be silent, without any contact. No longer would I watch while she ignored. This was the beginning of our new days together.
(Ugh, so I decided to write something to take my mind off things. Uh, yeah – I needed SOMEONE to be the abusive boyfriend *coughs Kuroha. Actually, I never mention that he's her boyfriend so he could really be anyone you want. Kido's daddy. Kido's brother. Whoever you like, really. I am not gonna check this over for mistakes, I am too tired to at the moment.)