Author's Note: Super short chapter today! And to make up for that and my absence, I've decided to post two chapters this time. Enjoy!
Chapter 8
The next few days pass fairly normal. She comes to the roof as usual and shares her bento, and we'll talk about the latest released light novel. Sometimes, I'll walk her home from school. Sometimes, she'll join me in wandering around the city.
Then, she comes to the roof bleeding.
"When do they do this?" I ask, appalled as I glance over at her injuries. None of them are major, but they just look . . . bad.
"They try not to do it on school grounds," she says. "Or when teachers are around, obviously. To and from school. During lunchtime, like now."
"That's it," I declare.
"Huh?"
"I'm going to walk you to school now. And from the moment you leave your club, I'll walk you back home, too."
"Senpai, I don't think that's really necessary."
"They can't keep doing this to you! It's this or tell someone."
Her brow wrinkles. Then she says, "What about your reputation?"
"My what?"
"What people think about you."
"I know what a reputation is!"
"What I mean is, Senpai, if you walk me all around school, people are going to think we're dating. That'll totally ruin the cool bad boy personality you have going for you."
"My — what?"
"Forget I said that. Nobody even really knows that you're a giant nerd on the inside."
"Will you stop changing the subject! This is nonnegotiable," I say. "Not an option. Well, I mean, unless you're choosing to tell someone."
She sighs. "It's not like I'm going to object to you walking me to school."
Funny, the way she says it now makes my cheeks heat up.
And so, we make a routine of getting up around the same time, meeting outside of our apartment rooms, then heading to school together. After her club ends, I'll escort her from the school, and sometimes we'll explore the city, searching for new or old bookstores and the light novels they might contain, or we'll go over to her house and have dinner.
It becomes comfortable. Too comfortable, maybe.
That's probably why no one expects it.
There's a knock on my door in the middle of the night.
For several moments, I heartily believe it's a part of my dream and simply ignore it.
Then, I realize, it's real. I jolt upright so quickly, that even if it wasn't so dark already, I'm sure I'd be seeing black.
I quickly throw on a loose t-shirt and move to the doorway, where the person won't stop knocking. At this point, I'm pretty sure there's only one person who it could be, but I have no idea what she could want at this time of night.
I peek through the eyehole to make sure I'm not going to open to some stranger, and when I see a flash of red, I unlock the door, and —
"Mayuzumi-senpai!"
She throws herself at me, wrapping her small arms around my torso and — She's crying.
Oh, goodness, she's crying.
"W-what's wrong?" I ask, grabbing her arms and pulling her slightly away from me. "Tsukiko, what happened?"
"M-M-M-Mom!" She can barely speak through the tears streaming down her face. Her eyes are so big, so dilated that the pupils look like they might burst. Her fingers grip my arms so hard I'm afraid I might have bruises later. "I can't wake her up. She won't wake up! Senpai, help me! I don't know what to do!" She's wailing now, clearly losing it.
"Have you called the ambulance?" I ask, trying to keep my own calm.
She nods, still sobbing. "T-they're coming. But it's going to take so long! She's not waking up! She's not waking up! Please, tell me what I should do!"
I grasp her arm, and say, "Take me to her."
She nods, her breath frantic and heavy, and nearly drags me through my door and into the apartment next door. She doesn't even bother to turn the light on in her apartment, but stumbles through the dark, leading me to her mother's room.
"Kiyabu-san?" I say, my voice tentative. I flip the switch on in the room, and pale shadows appear across the walls.
Tsukiko's mother lies in the middle of the bed, the covers slightly rumpled. She looks ghostly pale, and her eyes are closed. If it weren't for the dull tone of her skin, the sallowness of her cheeks, it might appear as if she were sleeping.
I can tell, even before my eyes dart to her chest to see if it's moving up or down.
She's dead.
A/N: Well . . . not really sure what I should say here. You guys were probably expecting it, yeah? Anyway, next chapter will explore how Tsukiko reactions (and as well as Mayuzumi, I suppose). Thanks for reading!
~ J. Dominique