Hey to all! UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of He Knows, which in my mind is called Senpai Simulator. Good to see there's some support for this fic so thank you and I hope you stick around for more. Anyway, a quick answer to a review from MEleeSmasher: You're actually talking about Rival-chan, the initial design for Osana before she was updated. It's very possible that Rival-chan will be taken out or used for something else when the full game is out, which is gonna take a year or two at the rate YandereDev is going. Anyway, let's get started.
Load Game… Start!
Chapter 2: The One Worth Protecting
That night, I couldn't sleep.
The thought of someone after Osana was keeping me up and I couldn't get it out of my head that she was in danger. Am I just over-thinking this? I mean, I did invade someone's privacy and I have no business in how they feel about certain people, including my childhood friend.
But… Osana's been really distant with me lately. We've stuck together ever since we were first years. All this time, I've seen Osana as another sister. A sibling. Someone who'll stick with me until the end.
But… is Osana really in love with me?
And… do I really see her as more than a friend?
More importantly, am I being stalked?
(Tuesday)
Taro Yamada yawned as he walked to school. He barely slept a wink last night and Osana wasn't waiting for him like usual so he walked to school alone. It was strange. Osana always walked with him to school, despite acting like she was annoyed by it. Hell, he almost didn't get out of bed this morning if it wasn't for his little sister waking him up. He was rather worried for his childhood friend, especially with the possibility that she might get hurt but he shook his head. "It's not your business." Taro told himself. "You're just being paranoid." As he approached the gates of Akademi High, he breathed in the air. "It doesn't concern me." He told himself for what felt like the millionth time. But at the back of his head he knew.
He knew it deeply involved him.
Meanwhile, Ayano Aishi shifted her panties a little as she walked to school. The knife tucked her underwear was uncomfortable and she was sure she was going to cut her thighs or worse, but she had no choice. The pockets in the school uniform were too small for the knife to stay concealed and she needed those pockets for her wallet and phone anyway. But Senpai would not like a scarred vagina. She wondered if she could get Info-chan to change the school uniform into something more practical other than sailor fuku.
Sailor fuku was meant for middle school girls after all.
She also heard around the school about the complaints about the length of the skirts and how it was banned to wear anything underneath them to cover their panties. Something about disgracing the founders of the school or something. Ayano guessed Info-chan had something to do with that, but decided to not dwell on those thoughts any longer.
She had a target she needed to eliminate after all.
But first, she needed information on Osana Najimi. She looked around, but all the faces she saw she didn't recognize nor cared to pay attention to. Actually, she had no idea what Najimi looked like. Before meeting her Senpai, everyone was basically faceless to her. Their personalities, looks and voices just blended into each other for her. The only person she truly wanted to know was…
Suddenly, it hit her.
She quickly called Info-chan. "Info-chan, I need all the information you know about Senpai. His daily routine. His schedule. Everything." Ayano said. She guessed if she knew Senpai's schedule, Osana Najimi wouldn't be too far from him.
"Already sent. I knew you'd need to know everything about your Senpai." Info-chan said. "I even sent all the information I have about you just for fun. But remember, you have to get a picture of the person you want if you want their details." Ayano only grunted and hung up. A few seconds later, she was received an two emails with PDFs attached to them. She opened up one of them and saw that it was her own profile. She had to admit, Info-chan practically knew everything about her. She even had her stalk-observation times of her Senpai down to the last second in her daily schedule. She quickly saved the PDF to her phone before opening up Senpai's profile.
"Taro… Yamada…" Ayano whispered to herself. Finally, she knew the name of her Senpai. The name was like poetry to her. She thought the very letters of the name were specifically created just to create such an incredible name. It was such a beautiful name that she couldn't help but space out a little, imagining herself as Ayano Yamada.
Or, her Senpai being Taro Aishi.
Now that she thought about it, 'Taro Aishi' did have a sort of ring to it.
She quickly snapped herself out of her trance and check Taro's schedule. "If this is right then Senpai should be-" Her mutterings were interrupted by someone bumping into her and causing her to drop her phone.
"Oh! Sorry!" Taro quickly apologized. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't see where he was going. He quickly caught the phone before it smashed into the ground. He mentally winced at the model of the phone before looking up and seeing it was the girl from yesterday. "Oh, hi. Um, thanks again for finding my phone for me… Oh. I didn't get your name."
"I-I-I…" Ayano stuttered out. The very presence of Taro Yamada caused her to freeze. Her heart felt like it was going burst out of her chest. She wanted to speak. She wanted to say something. She wanted to yell to the heavens that she was in love with Taro Yamada, that she was his and he was hers.
That anyone who dared taking him away from her would die.
But she knew there was that little bitch after his heart and she wasn't mentally or emotionally prepared to give a confession. Not when there were others. So she just stood there. Stuttering like an idiot.
'What's up with her?' Taro thought before shaking his head. "Er, here's your phone." Taro said as he handed Ayano her phone back.
"I-I-I…" 'I love you…' Ayano tried to say but instead shouted out. "I-I-I… card GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES!" Taro only looked at her weirdly while the Yandere herself was getting ready to use the knife in her panties on herself.
"Um… okay…" Taro chuckled out as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Er… I'll see you around. I guess." He said as he walked away. Ayano could literally feel her heart breaking piece by piece with each step Taro took. She knew she needed to act fast or else Senpai would think she was a freak, meaning he wouldn't love her, meaning she needed to make sure no one else will take him away from her.
"Ai-Aishi!" Ayano managed to call out, getting Taro's attention. "A-Ayano Aishi." Taro looked back and saw that she was blushing madly and shaking. He guessed she was extremely nervous, but wasn't exactly sure why.
"Well, Aishi-san. I'm Taro Yamada. Nice to meet you." Taro replied with a smile before making his way to his shoe locker, completely missing the fact that Ayano fainted right on her feet, unlikely to wake up until the end of the school day. Taro looked around and saw that Osana was sitting at the fountain in the courtyard.
"Osana!" Taro called out as he went up to his childhood friend. Osana looked up and felt her body tense. She really didn't want to talk to him right now. She couldn't face him after hearing about what he might know. As if the gods were answering her prayers, the bell rang, indicating that it was time for class. Without another word, Osana just got up and headed to class, not daring to look at her crush's face. "O… sana…" Taro said weakly as he watched Osana walk away from him. He felt his heart ache as he just watched Osana leave.
He sighed and started making his way to class. He just wanted the day to end now.
(Wednesday)
Osana knew she was being an idiot.
Actually, right now she was considering herself to be the biggest idiot on the planet.
How could she let this happen? She swore she told no one about her crush on Taro and yet somehow he knew that she at least liked someone. Sure, there were certain physical traits she liked but no one in the school had those and she doubted anyone knew what she liked in a guy. And while Taro had none of the traits that attracted her, she had liked him since they were little. At first, she thought she was crazy. Boys were gross so she started acting a bit meaner to Taro, but there was always something stopping her from pushing him away completely, always walking with him to school, buying him sweets and hanging out with him.
All with the excuse of making sure he wasn't going to do something stupid. Like going out with another girl.
As she sat in class, she wondered if she would really go through with the myth. Suddenly, all the nerve she built up over the years was completely gone. For the past couple of nights she had been trying to write confession letters but ended either sounding way too creepy or pathetic. And she couldn't exactly talk to him now. Every time he tried, she would just calm up and make up an excuse about needing to do something before leaving. She was missing her morning and afterschool walks to and from school with him and it was killing her inside. She missed his cheerful voice, his annoyingly bright smile and…
She just missed him all together.
Her heart was aching for his love, and she didn't know what she wanted to get rid of. Her feelings or the ache in her heart.
She didn't know it, but Ayano Aishi was going to decide for her very soon.
Anyway, class ended and she was feeling hungry. It was lunch and she wanted some fresh air so she decided to take her lunch on the roof. Taro rarely went up to the roof and usually spent his lunch reading at the fountain so it was the perfect place to avoid him. As she made her way up to the roof, she noted all the students in the school. There were a lot of faces missing from last year, including this year's Student Council President Megami Saiko. Apparently, she was still attending school but from home using the internet. Many questioned why her father forbade her from attending school physically, leading to various rumours that Osana didn't really care about it. It was odd, sure, but it wasn't her problem. Anyway, after seeing Midori Gurin texting on her phone, she knew she was at the roof. Seeing that no one else was on the area apart from the Basu Sisters and a light blue-haired girl, she set her bento down on a bench and approached the green-haired girl.
"Hi Midori." Osana greeted. "Still sending emails to that game developer?"
"Yep." Midori replied before sending another email. "I heard he's working on a big new feature and I really wanna know everything about it."
"Is this game more important than actually attending classes?" Osana had to ask.
"Not really. But I always get looks whenever I say something in class, and you know my parents won't let me drop out. They paid a lot of money to get me to attend here after all." Midori answered. Osana had to feel a little sorry for the girl. Practically everyone disliked her in some way. Hell, Osana was the only one who would really talk to her or classify as a friend and yet her feelings towards the green-haired girl were neutral at best. "And I really don't know why."
"Maybe you're dyslexic." Osana guessed.
"…What's dyslexic? Is that a type of diet food or something?" Midori asked with a confused look on her face. Osana mentally face palmed before answering.
"No." Osana deadpanned before leaning over the rail, looking down at the courtyard, watching the hundred or so students talking to each other. But, Osana only focused on the boy sitting at the fountain reading a book. "Taro…"
"Why don't you say something to him?" Midori asked, surprising Osana.
"Th-That's stupid, Midori! It-I-I-It's not li-l-like I l-l-like hi-h-him or anything!" Osana exclaimed, a bright red blush on her face.
"What makes you think I know you like him?" Midori asked, causing Osana to want to melt into the ground. Suddenly, realization hit Midori's eyes. "Wait, YOU LIKE-" Midori was quickly shut up by Osana, who covered her mouth.
"Shut. Up." Osana said through gritted teeth before calming down. "I-I'm just not ready."
"Fwhen argh few gowing tew fee freddy?" Midori asked, her voice muffled by Osana's hand before pulling Osana's hand away. "When are you going to be ready?" Midori repeated.
"Fr-Friday." Osana answered. "U-U-Under the cheery blossom tree on the hill."
"Why not now?" Midori asked.
"I told you before. I'm not emotionally ready right now." Osana said before sighing. "And… I believe that if I do it then and there… Taro would be with me forever. I can't imagine a life without him by my side and just the very thought of it hurts. I've been with him in sickness and in health, when he was happy and when he was sad. And without him in my life… I'd feel empty."
"…But why?" Midori asked, still looking rather confused.
"Ugh! Because I, Osana Najimi, love Taro Yamada!" Osana called out as she bopped Midori in the head. "Why can't you get it through your thick skull, baka!"
"Oh… you didn't have to hit me…" Midori whined as she rubbed the sore spot on her forehead, both she and Osana not noticing Taro stumbling back from the door to the roof before running away and Ayano messing with Osana's bento. Osana's stomach then growled, cuing the Yandere to hide. Osana sighed before going back to the bench and opened up her bento of takoyaki, rice and some cute little octopus-shaped sausages her mum knew she liked. Meanwhile, Ayano was observing the scene, desperately trying not to laugh. She had poison Osana Najimi's lunch with a little something she stole from the Nurse's Office. She had no idea what Zinigiber Officinale Pills were, but she was sure she put enough of it to make Osana Najimi's lunch the last meal of her pitiful life.
'Eat it, Najimi. Eat it and I'll make sure Senpai is in my hands.' Ayano thought as a mad grin broke her face. She was wondering if she could get some free stabs in Osana Najimi's body when no one was looking just to make sure the ungrateful whore of a bitch was dead.
She watch in anticipation as Osana picked up the sausage octopus, slowly moving it closer and closer to her mouth. Closer and closer to her death.
Suddenly, her breath stopped as soon as Osana started choking.
Ayano's eyes widened as her pupils shrunk as she experienced a new emotion. Thrill. But was 'thrill' an actual emotion? She didn't care. It was happening. Her first kill. The first death of a Rival for her Senpai's heart. She also felt a sort of sadistic joy out of watching the bitch writhe, desperately trying to cling on to her pathetic life.
She wanted more.
She wanted her to feel more pain.
She wanted her to suffer for even thinking about Senpai.
She deserved all the pain she was experiencing for loving her Senpai.
She no longer cared that there were witnesses. Osana was taking too long to die. She wanted bl-
"Ack! Went down the wrong pipe." Osana swore as she spat out the piece of sausage before eating getting another and eating it. "Oh, I deserve this."
For those uninformed, Zinigiber Officinale Pills are commonly referred to as Ginger Pills, used for treating seasickness. Which Info-chan happily explained to her at home.
The next day, Ayano wore her Study Panties to school.
(Thursday)
"Have you heard? Some second year wore her panties on her face today." Taro overheard Saki say. He was currently at the fountain, finishing up a book while Saki and her rainbow-haired group of friends gossiped about the latest rumour. "Kept saying to herself 'Must study for Senpai' or something. Weird."
"Well, there are some students who'll do anything for good grades." Mei chuckled out. "I guess she wanted a head start on exams this year, huh?"
"Though, you mentioned she was studying for her senpai. I wonder who it is." Yuna wondered out loud. Taro only turned back to his book. But Osana was still on his mind.
She loves him. Osana Najimi was in love with him.
He kept repeating Osana's confession in his head while also going through his memories and evaluating himself. Why did she love him? How did she fall in love with him? When did it happen? Was it purely infatuation that would fall through after a couple of years or was it genuine and that it would last a lifetime and beyond? He didn't know but at least he knew why Osana was avoiding him.
But then there was the stalker who wanted her gone.
He didn't know what to do now. If someone was out there willing to hurt Osana, he… well, he wasn't the ideal guy. He was just… Taro Yamada. Just some guy. He wasn't popular, or that attractive and a little bit of a perv if his nurse fetish (and his sister who happily reminds him about said fetish daily) had anything to say about it.
He knew what he had to. However, he felt like it was an impossible task. But, he felt like if he didn't do this, Osana wasn't going to live long enough to make it to next week.
All he had to do… was talk to her.
Meanwhile, Ayano has had enough. She was done being stealthy. She wanted Najimi to burn in Hell. After checking Osana's schedule on her phone, she quickly formulated a plan of action and went with it.
But first, she needed to stop by the Drama Club.
(Some time later…)
"Najimi! It's your turn to clean up the gym today." The gym teacher, Kyoshi Taiso, announced as the bell rang, indicating that it was time to go home. Osana sighed as she stood up and started cleaning up as everyone started prepping for home. To be honest, she needed the extra time to think.
"Tomorrow I confess." Osana told herself as she put away the balls. But there were doubts clouding her mind. What if he rejected her? Would they still be friends? She was starting to get cold feet and she was thinking about abandoning the plan. She hadn't talked to Taro in three days and now she was starting to think that he thought she hated him. Even the rational part of her mind that was telling her that it was preposterous was doubt its own judgment. But she needed to know. She sighed to herself again. Whoever told Taro about her crush on him was-
Suddenly, the gym lights turned off.
"Huh? Wh-What happened to the lights?" Osana muttered to herself. It was completely dark in the gym and she couldn't see anything. "Is there a power outage?" She wondered out loud. Suddenly, the door to the gym opened and closed, causing her to jump in her skin. "Huh? Is anyone- AAHH!"
Suddenly, she was tackled to the ground. Before she could even react, a knife went straight through her left hand and pinned her to the floor.
Osana Najimi was going to die.
(A few minutes earlier)
Taro was wandering around the school, asking everyone he knew where Osana was. He couldn't remember Osana's schedule so he tried talking to his classmates, which was pretty difficult considering he wasn't that much of a social person to begin with. Anyway, he saw that almost everyone had left the school, with only a few students staying behind either because of detention or club activities. He sighed, thinking Osana had left already until he saw Kuu Dere taking her shoes out of her locker. Taro hadn't talked to her yet so he decided to approach her. "Hey, Dere-san."
"Hm?" Kuu said as she looked up. "What?" She asked tonelessly.
"Do you know where Osana is? I've been looking everywhere for her." Taro said.
"She's at the gym." Kuu answered before putting on her shoes and leaving.
"Er, thanks." Taro said awkwardly as she left. He quickly switched his shoes, went outside and started making his way to the gym. He was quickly going through the questions he wanted to ask Osana, discarding a few of them in case they drove her away again. He stopped thinking, however, when he saw someone coming from behind the gym. Now, this wouldn't be cause for any alarm but he noticed four small details that caused his heart to stop.
It was girl wearing the Akademi uniform, a mask of a demon that was probably stolen from the Drama Club, wielding a knife.
And a buzzsaw.
At first he was frozen. He knew. It was the stalker. The… Yandere, a term he recalled from a book. Defined as someone whose obsession with someone becomes destructive in nature, often expressed through violence and/or brutality.
But then he remembered Osana was still in the gym.
So, he ran. Intending to save his friend from death.
"AAHH!" He heard Osana scream in pain. The noise pierced his ears and heart. He was never the most athletic student, even now his body was screaming for him to slow down, but he kept running. He let this happen. If he just told Osana, she would've at least be aware someone was about to end her life.
He wasn't going to let anyone die because of him.
As soon as he heard the buzzsaw turn on, he burst through the doors of the gym. "OSANA!" Taro yelled out. Suddenly the stalker froze just as she was about to dismember and rip apart her Rival while her victim's eyes widened.
"T-TARO!" Osana screamed out, tears running down her face.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Taro shouted out as quickly tackled the Yandere to the ground, causing her to drop the buzzsaw onto Osana's head. Luckily, the saw part didn't hit her. Unluckily, it still left her bleeding from the head along with a concussion. Taro wasn't aware of this, however, as the Yandere tried to push him off while scrambling for a weapon.
But Taro wasn't going to let her.
He tore off the mask and punched her in the face, knocking her out in an instant.
It was too dark to see who the Yandere was but he was more concerned for Osana more than anything. He quickly got off his stalker and quickly rushed to Osana's aid. "Osana! I'm so sorry!"
"Wh-What?" Osana asked, still dazed from the experience. Then she remembered the knife pinning her hand to the ground and was bleeding heavily. "T-T-Taro… the knife!"
"Huh?" Taro said before noticing the knife in Osana's hand and in the ground. "Wh-What the-!? How did she do this?"
"I-I don't know but PULL IT OUT!" Osana shouted out. Taro quickly nodded and helped her pulled the knife out of the ground and out her hand. Taro then used the knife to quickly rip apart of his uniform to create makeshift bandages for Osana's wounds. "T-T-Taro…"
"We need to get you to a hospital." Taro said desperately.
"B-But…" Osana said as she looked at the unconscious form of her attacker. "T-The person wh-who…"
"We need to get you to a hospital." Taro interrupted his childhood friends, slowly saying the words as tears flowed down his face. Seeing that there was no room for argument, she nodded and they both started making their way to the nearest hospital, leaving the Yandere there.
If they had thought to call the cops, Yandere-chan would've been arrested for attempted murder. But they didn't. Taro and Osana just ran. Only a few minutes later, Ayano would wake up, get rid of all the evidence of the struggle, went home and cried, with only Info-chan preventing her from committing suicide by telling her Senpai still didn't know who she was.
But Ayano knew her life was over, Osana Najimi would confess her love to Senpai and they would be dating. But in the back of her mind, there was a lingering hope that said Senpai would reject her.
Either way, she was bring a knife to school tomorrow.
(Hospital)
Osana only stared at her bandaged hand.
The doctors had quickly stitched up her wounds and right now were informing her parents of her location and state. They told the doctors that she had tripped and fallen, her hand getting stabbed by some stray glass bottle, both knowing that the Yandere would be long gone by now. Taro hadn't left her side for one side, stoking her right hand, either out of worry or comfort. They were alone and the sun had set hours ago. Taro had also called his parents, saying that he was going to stay with Osana even if she was released from the hospital. The constant guilty look he had on his face was killing her. Anyway, the room was completely silent. They didn't know what to say after everything that occurred. Right now, they were just glad they were alive.
After a few more minutes of silence, Osana wanted to say something. "Taro… I-"
"It's my fault." Taro interrupted, his voice cracking from sadness.
"No it isn't." Osana quickly said. "There was no way-"
"Yes there was!" Taro shouted out, tears starting to well up in his eyes. "I knew! There was someone after you, and I could've stopped it! I could've told you, yet every time I tried, I thought it was just me being paranoid. I-I… I'm sorry Osana… I'm such an idiot!" Taro then started crying freely, only to stop when Osana hugged him.
"N-No…" Osana sobbed, now crying as well. "I… I'm the idiot here. I avoided you. I didn't want to even see your face. I… I was a coward. To be honest… I was scared. I was afraid to face you after what you said. I-I-I couldn't live with myself knowing that you might hate me!"
"O-Osana… I would never hate you." Taro said. "Osana, I-"
"Yes." Osana said as she sniffed some mucus in her nose, looking down at her hand.
"Huh?" Taro was now confused, but his eyes widened as Osana looked up at him, love in her eyes.
"Yes… I do have a crush."
And then, she kissed him.
The kiss was warm. Pleasant. The world seemed to fade to black as they kissed. Taro felt Osana's tongue wanting permission into his mouth, which he happily let her. There was no battle for dominance as he expected. She let his tongue in just like he did. Sure, this was his first kiss, and he was sure they were screwing it up due to their inexperience but to both of them, it was magical.
They pulled away for air, a leaving single string of saliva being left behind before snapping.
"…I know." Taro whispered out before Osana pecked him on the cheek.
"I know it's only Thursday, and I know it's only at a hospital. But I love you, Taro Yamada. Please… will you be my boyfriend?" Osana asked, her face close to Taro's. Suddenly, Taro saw her in a different light.
Her eyes. Her long hair. Her pale complexion. Even her voice and personality. He flashbacked to all the good times he had with her throughout his childhood and smiled.
That's why it was so hard to say the next few words.
"No." Taro said quietly.
Osana felt her entire world shatter when heard that little two letter word. The expression on her face told Taro everything.
Shocked. Hurt. Sad. Angry.
Heartbroken.
"I'm sorry. You're my childhood friend, and maybe I do love you. But… you're also someone worth protecting." Taro explained as he stood up. "And I can't let you get dragged into this."
"T-Taro… wa-w-wait." Osana whimpered out, unable to comprehend his words. She reached out to him with her injured hand, trying to stop him.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Taro said tiredly before leaving. Osana could only stare at the door, the sounds of the hospital being the only things she could hear.
No longer able to hold it in any longer, she broke down crying.
Save Game… Quit!
Whew! Done! Well, that was depressing and I felt like I was starting to lose steam back there but hey, for the sake of drama and the plot. Up next is the Cooking Club President: Amai Odayaka so stay tuned for that.
UknownHero signing off, my friends!
