*Chapter 9*
A rumbling noise alarmed Ayano in the middle of her sleep next to her head. When she flew open her eyes to check in the darkness, she noticed her phone screen was lit up for a short moment. Curious enough, she slowly reached for the device laying on her nightstand and disconnected it from the charger since it was already on full battery. She then proceeded to see what the notification was once she entered her passcode. As she did so, she checked the time at the top of the screen, which read 5 o'clock in the morning. What could bother me this early?
After clicking on the message app with a red bubble above it, the page with all her text messages appeared and a familiar name was in bold letters at the very top of the list.
"Info-Chan. What does she want now?," she groaned softly as she went into the private messaging column between them.
Info-Chan: Today's the day my dear. :-)
Ayano: Is it Friday already?
Info-Chan: Yes, and if you want to start putting your plan in motion, then it is time to rise and shine. It would be best to arrive at school early, when it barely opens at 6.
Ayano: Do I have a choice?
Info-Chan: You can either do as you please and lose the potential love of your life, or do as I say, complete the mission and still have a chance to keep your Senpai. The choice is really up to you.
As much of a pain she was to Ayano, she knew she could somewhat trust her gut instincts on this mysterious being, especially since this situation involves a very stubborn bug to smash under her foot. Although she wasn't entirely sure that Osana would propose and confess her feelings to Senpai this very day, she didn't want to take a risk and witness it happening before her very eyes because she wasn't willing to take on the mission assigned to her. It was time to take matters into her own hands.
Ayano: Just let me write the letter and I'll be there.
Info-Chan: Good choice. Good Luck. I should be hearing from you soon.
Ayano: Alright. Bye.
She creepily crawled out of bed, went into the bathroom to take care of her hygiene business and got dressed in her school uniform as casual as possible. Once she fixed her hair into a ponytail nice and tight, she went to her desk to retrieve a piece of paper and a black pen. She walked to the kitchen so she could make herself breakfast and placed the items on the table for a moment to get food.
"I'll probably just make toast. It's quick enough," she thought as she pulled out the toaster from one of the cabinets, placing it onto the countertop.
She grabbed the half-full loaf of white bread, took out two slices and placed each one in its own slot, finally pulling the small black lever downward to start it up. While pulling out a glass and a milk carton for a drink, she had to think thoroughly about what she was going to say in the pretty pink note. There were a couple of options to approach when trying to lure Osana into a figurative corner and she needed to be clever without giving off red flags too easily. That was to be the first time she would actually do something seemingly dreadful, but the approach required extra care and planning. Info-Chan was no help at all and her imagination was limited since she doesn't care to do much with anyone or anything. This letter needed to persuade Osana to walk into a different direction and leave herself open for Ayano to "go for the kill".
"Should I leave it anonymous? Or does she have any friends that she's close to other than-! Senpai… Senpai! Maybe I should pretend it's from him. That will surely grab her attention. But I'm not sure if she could recognize his handwriting," she thought curiously, "Just in case."
Ayano texted Info-Chan to see if she had any file or an exact copy of Taro's signature and handwriting to forge into Osana's letter. It took a few minutes for the toast to pop out and for the hopeful message to ding on her phone with the information. She unlocked her phone and to her advantage received a couple of document files that she downloaded on her phone and observed precisely. She enlarged the picture and studied every word and detail of the hand strokes. Her cheeks flushed as she took a bite out of her toast imagining Senpai writing on those sheets of paper with his attractively masculine pale hands. Boy, did she wish she was the pen he grasped so tightly those days. To feel his warm skin wrapped around hers. To know that the only thing he should touch is her. The daydream made everything tingle inside her body and couldn't help but sigh of admiration for the upperclassman.
However, seeing how she shouldn't waste any more time mind-violating Senpai, she shook herself back into reality and began copying his handwriting on the one sheet she had under her arm. She tested her abilities for about seven minutes before realizing she needed to grab a few more sheets to practice on and to do the final draft of the Osana letter.
"I need to be convincing. Pretending to be Senpai seems slightly extreme, but it must be done," she whispered to herself as she retrieved more paper and sat back at the table.
She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly as she mentally prepared for the carefully detailed letter she was about to write.
"She must be stopped, like I said before, at all costs," she added sternly narrowing her dark eyes. The red shine reflected once again in her iris displaying the beginning of the evil brewing within her very soul.
Ayano made it to school before 6:30 a.m. At first she thought she wasn't going to finish the letter in time, but luckily she jotted down all she needed to say in Senpai's imaginary voice and had it in her bag for delivery. It would take a while before some of the students would start to arrive for whatever reason, so she needed to take care of the first few steps as soon as possible.
She pushed past the double doors and made it to the hallway of lockers in the front of the school. Of course as she expected, the section was empty, no sign of life anywhere, which is what she preferred. Grabbing her cellphone for assistance, she unlocked it to access the information on Osana's locker number and combination. Every step she took on the tile floor down the quiet room echoed and bounced off the walls, clicking underneath her shoes. She scanned for the matching numbers of the locker, eyeing the metal labels carefully since they were kind of small. It only took a minute until she spotted the exact set of numbers as it showed on the picture on her phone. She focused her eyes on the combination lock like as if she could unlock it with her mind, but unfortunately, she has no such powers.
"This is it. Osana's locker," she told herself silently.
Even as she was all about getting it over with and tempted to start figuring out the combination, Ayano suddenly paused her hand right above the lock. A random thought came up before she could act out the plan she already had in store.
Should I put the letter in there now? It might be too early to try because how would Senpai have been able to slip it in if they're with each other all the time? It already disgusts me that they're together a lot… I could just rip those stupid ponytails off her he-!
"Ayano. He-!," a deep voice startled her from behind, instinctively enabling her to thrust her elbow back into something seemingly soft. A loud and sudden sound followed after along with a thump on the floor.
Ayano hastily turned her body around and prepared for a fight with her hands clenched into fists, also keeping her legs and feet firm on the ground. But once she examined the person who snuck up from behind, her eyes slightly opened more and grew softer. She slowly let her guard down but not all the way, since she still felt the need to be cautious even around "him".
"Agh! My stomach…," Budo groaned grasping his abdomen while on the floor.
"I-It's you," she said in a surprised tone. She kneeled down to the same level as him to get a better look.
"Boy, you're a pretty strong girl. As they say, looks can be deceiving," he commented, catching himself after the blow.
"I would've thought the Martial Arts Master could evade that," she said.
"Huh? H-How did you know I was?"
"It's actually quite obvious. Budo, what are you doing here?," she questioned him in monotone.
"I could ask you the same thing," he pulled a smirk as he finally shook the pain off and kneeled with her, "It's seems a bit early for you to be showing up at school. In fact, I've never seen you arrive this early before."
"I just… Just didn't feel like staying home this morning," she hesitated, starting a lightly blush.
"Why? Are you alright? Are you having problems with your parents?"
"My parents aren't home. They're overseas."
Ayano refused to make complete eye contact with him. She wasn't sure why she was having any trouble casually talking with him all of a sudden. She just couldn't do it.
"Oh. I see. Well, is there something else bothering you? Your cheeks are turning red. You look flushed. Do you have a fever?," he continued to investigate.
Budo reached his hand out to try and feel her temperature, but she swiftly grabbed his surprisingly warm hand and held it tightly in hers. The action she took made her flush even more that her head was about to transform into a tomato. Her heart began beating rapidly and uncontrollably being near him. Her mind was going everywhere and she couldn't contain herself at the moment.
"Ay- Ayano?," he called to her soft toned, "What's wrong? You're not sick are you?"
He carefully moved closer to her and was merely inches away from her face. His deep dark eyes innocent and concerned as he gazed upon hers so wearily. This put Ayano's nervous level higher and maybe even unbearable. She glanced and noticed how uncomfortably close he was to her and fell back on her bottom startled and let go of his hand.
"N-No! I-I mean, no. I'm fine. It's only a bit toasty in here," she lied miserably.
"Oh, well, if you say so. But anyway, I wanna add that I'm actually impressed with your swift defenses. We could use someone like you in the Martial Arts Clu-!," he paused as Ayano scrambled and stormed off down the hall, "H-Hey! Wait! Where are you going? At least consider it," he shouted as she vanished, out of sight.
"Please," he added under his breath.
Budo was greatly puzzled by her actions, but tried not to dwell on it too much. He merely thought she was simply a very shy girl, which he also found appealing and adorable. His cheeks turned rosy from the assumptions and hoped in his mind that she would consider his offer to join the club to see her again. To get to know her better through the club activities. He rose from the cold floor and headed for the Martial Arts Club classroom to work on the day's exercises and lessons.
Ayano hid inside the girls' bathroom to recover from her embarrassing scene with Budo. She panted and stared straight into the long mirror, brushing back the tiny strands of hair floating on top of her head.
"What was that about? Really?," she spoke to herself out loud.
She still couldn't comprehend what was going through her mind and body when she was around him. In fact, it almost felt similar to when she's around Senpai, but it was certainly different.
What is this hold he has on me? What is so special about him? I don't understand! He's just some other guy that has been popping up recently. He is not my priority. Isn't he?
Completely conflicted, she paced the floor struggling with not only the Budo situation, but when to slip the fake Senpai letter into Osana's locker. Obviously, she hesitated to do so because it seemed too soon. However, she needed to figure out when as soon as possible. She couldn't afford to lose a single moment when it came down to her lovely Senpai as her destined prize.
"Maybe I can deliver it during lunch? Ah no. They'll most likely be together for that too. How the hell is this going to work? Wait a minute! How could I have forgotten?!"
An imaginary lightbulb burned bright above her head as she remembered something very important. Osana was in the same class as her!
How could I have completely been so oblivious? She sits in the same class as me. Meaning, I need to do it when she and Senpai separate from each other. But, what if she doesn't go to her locker at all for the rest of the day? Or would Senpai follow her everywhere? Of course, she would have to be alone when she delivers the first love note into Senpai's locker. I must stalk her. Watch her every move today, even if it means I'll be late to class. I must put a stop to her, once and for all.
She shook off whatever nervous vibes she had from earlier and sighed to calm down emotionally. Her stone cold face came back and she remained firm for a period of time before the other students arrived. Mission mode had started and her concentration was vital. Objective: eliminate the threat.