Kaoru is not what he seems.
There was no way I could take my mind off that mysterious message that had come to me that morning from an unknown number; it was just as I was thinking about how I could tell my parents the truth so it wouldn't come as a surprise to them, and the sound of the message had pulled me out of my thoughts. I couldn't figure out who would send me such a message or what he meant but somehow he must have found out what I was doing with the club surveillance and had found my number.
All my movements were robotic because I couldn't stop thinking about it.I was so distracted that now even the people around me couldn't ignore it.
Instead of my chopsticks finding my mouth at breakfast, they let the food fall into my pants and if mom hadn't yelled I wouldn't have noticed. At a slow pace I had gone and changed once by shuffling to the door.I could feel their anxious looks on me but luckily I had the excuse of my first rejection so they didn't ask so as not to hurt me.
"Move!"I heard Chizu's voice from behind me and only at that moment I realized that I was stuck in front of the front door without moving.I walked forward with the bag in my hand without remembering when I had taken it or put on my shoes.
The only thing about what was going on around me that I could tell was that my sister was following me because her aura was enough to make me so irritated even when I was completely lost in thought.
"How long are you planning on following me for?" I asked suddenly and her head shook because I hadn't said a word since this morning and she probably expected our ride to be silent.She looked at me with half-open eyes and an expression that showed I should also be grateful because she had been forced to follow me.
"All the way to school.The way you're going not only could you get lost but you'll get hit by a car!" she said with her indignation evident in her voice and she passed me to continue on ahead towards the road to my school.I sighed because I definitely didn't want her with me all the way to school but I kept walking because I knew that I would end up making her late for her own classes.
"And you have a problem with either of those things happening?"My question was drenched in irony exactly the same as the one on her face when she turned to look at me.Actually she had her nose wrinkled up in a sour expression while smiling fakely.
"If it were up to me,one of the two would have already happened.Our parents made me do it."Once she finished we both sighed as if the whole situation had exhausted us.
We quickened our pace because her high school was quite a distance from my high school.The irony was that her presence alone was enough to pull me from my preoccupations so she wouldn't have to help me with anything along the way.
I was aware of her eyes looking at me briefly with the corner of them before she turned back to the front.Whether we wanted to admit it or not, we cared about each other and she continued to keep me in mind since my behavior was weird.
"What?" I asked her a little abruptly when she did it three times with little time between them and she turned forward again quickly as if to hide the fact that she was looking at me every once in a while.She finally gave in because she knew i had seen her.
"You look better now..That."She whispered and for some reason that phrase had the opposite effect.It was as if it reminded me of the whole affair and the mysterious message.
I had already ruled out the possibility that it was a hoax because it had been sent specifically to me and the words that had been used were not random. Someone knew that at first I was trying to prove that the president of the cheering club was not as kind and innocent as he seemed and had expressed it that way to get my attention. But I didn't know what I was supposed to do next.For some reason I felt something like fear while at the same time wondering if I should do some research on Kaoru.Maybe some other message would come and explain what it was all about.
I didn't know which of these things would eventually happen but I decided to wait.
"Thanks for the walk."I said to Chizu when she dropped me off a little past the main entrance and she nodded affirmatively before turning around and starting to run towards her own school.
Luckily we had arrived at mine a little early and she was quite athletic as a person so she would probably make it on time or a little late. I felt a chill run through me at the thought that she wouldn't hesitate to tell the real reason why she was late.The whole high school would know that I had embarrassed myself by asking a girl out over the loudspeakers and she turned me down.
I walked in hoping that I would be able to forget about this especially if I thought about the message but how wrong could I be!
As if there was any chance that heartless teenagers would give up so easily the chance to tease someone openly!
Many girls were pointing at me and laughing or muttering things to each other that on the one hand I didn't want to hear but on the other hand I would have preferred to know because my imagination was filling in the blanks and I was definitely thinking of much worse things.
The boys who passed behind me,patted me on the back in a friendly way some just to tease me while others to tell me it was okay.So many passed by and patted me on the back that my back hurt while it was still the beginning of the day.
I had to find a way to avoid the rest of the people that would come in during the rest of the day but for now I hurried into the classroom.I thought that I could hide there but as soon as I entered,all eyes fell on me and all faces turned towards me.
The fact that I had saved Tanji supposedly when she was sleepwalking had started to be forgotten because of the reputation of the one who had tried to peek into the girls' bathrooms.
But now that one was getting old while my case was fresh and because no one had noticed me before,now I was drawing their attention and curiosity even more.It was the exact opposite of what I wanted but I tried to endure it because I knew it was worth it. Tanji was with me through all of this and neither my parents nor the rest of the school had found out about my stalking so this was much better.It was the necessary solution and it certainly didn't make me look as weird as if they knew I was following behind a random club of guys because I had no life.
That could be considered a crime but even if it wasn't, no one would want to approach me; they would be scared of me.
"And she didn't come to school today?"
"It might have made her uncomfortable about all this." I heard two of my classmates whisper a little further back in a way as if they wanted me to listen. I intended to ignore them but my mind processed the information and as soon as I realized what they meant,I got up so abruptly from the chair that I made it rub while slamming my hands hard against the desk.
I never dared to look anyone in the eye and that was definitely not the right time but I didn't care about anything else at that moment.I cleared my throat and looked at them so intensely that they backed away a little as if they were afraid I would react badly.
"Is that true?She didn't come to school today?"I asked with an urgency that made me look desperate and in response they simply nodded.I turned my attention to the classroom door and saw the teacher enter at that exact moment.
If I had just left before he came,I would have gotten an absence.But now there was no way he was going to let me leave so easily just as the class was starting.It was worth the effort though.I had to make sure that what they had said was true.
"Sir!" I started to say from a distance and ran towards him.He looked at me a little surprised because i never made any noise let alone run into the classroom. Especially after his failed attempts to talk to me both during the field trip and later,he didn't expect me to address him with such passion.
"If you have a question,Haga,you can tell me later."He was stern but that wasn't enough to stop me.My nerves were on edge because I was worried about that message and now there was something else added to the pile. I rested my hands on the seat and leaned forward looking him in the eye with no intention of pulling away if he didn't listen.
"It's urgent." said my voice firm and full of insolence; the surprise that shone in his eyes was suppressed by his intense sense of duty. He dropped his eyes to his books and prepared to resume his lesson.
He probably thought that in his effort to appear friendly towards us, he had unwittingly given us the leeway to take advantage of him. Maybe the principal or some other older teacher had made a remark to him, and maybe it was the way I pushed him away as if he were some annoying insect while he was my teacher.
"I'm sure it can wait until the five minute break. I'll talk to the teacher you have next period and he'll be understanding. "I didn't mind nor did I think he was wrong for trying to assert himself and show power but that was the worst time for that. I lifted my hands from his desk to give him the impression that I was backing away so he wouldn't expect my next move.
I had tried to do it the good way and ask his permission first but since he didn't want to listen to me, I could do it the bad way.
I could hear his voices behind me and then his footsteps as he ran after me, but nothing would stop me.I had to get to class B-1 to make sure of the information those two had given me.
I hoped with all my being that it was only rumors and I didn't care if I was given some harsh punishment afterwards.I didn't want to think that what I had done to protect myself had affected her so much that she decided not to come to school. I pulled the sliding door open at a brisk pace due to my acquired speed and also because I wanted to get a look inside before Inoya-san caught up with me.
"Is Tanji Shizu here? "I had already noticed her absence but I wanted there to be no doubt.Everyone turned towards me and some laughed because they thought I was so desperately in love that I had come to find her to convince her to go out with me.Their teacher cut me off with her eyes and the look in her eyes made me feel like my life was in danger.
"No" was all she replied although it was obvious that once she finished her lesson,she would say more.Now she didn't bring it up so as not to do it in front of her entire class but also so as not to lose control of them.If she interrupted the lesson and started a conversation with me,the students would go ballistic.
I opened my mouth despite the fear she had caused me and prepared to ask her the address of the girl's house.I wanted to go there and drag her here.If someone was to stay away from the school,then it had to be me.
But I didn't have time to ask anything because I heard the teacher had caught up with me and was right behind. I didn't want to let him catch me before I got to where Tanji was and make sure she was okay so I started running again even though I knew that by doing so I was putting more and more strain on my position.
It was like I had taken a shovel and was digging my own grave with gusto and haste but after the help and support she had shown me,I couldn't leave her like that.
As I was running,I was trying to throw things behind me and follow slightly more unfamiliar paths that I knew only because I wanted to go unnoticed.I was starting to get away with the whole situation but once you've started it's a bit hard to stop.I could now try to explain to him once he had heard what I had asked but after all I had done to avoid him,I don't think he was particularly keen or understanding.
My feet led me to the club on their own as it was a route I had followed too many times.I intended to go to the next room and lock myself in before I found some way to get out without being noticed or stopped,but something caught my attention and I stopped to look inside the club room.
It was empty but that wasn't surprising as all of them would be in their classes.The odd thing was that everything they had set up looked torn or abused.The place in general gave off an aura as if a battle had taken place in there and it gave me the creeps.
"I found you Haga Ryo!"The professor's voice was more hostile than it had ever been.I had obviously irritated him with my movements but it was also because he was out of breath so the words came out more harshly.
In my panic, I walked into the club room and closed the door tightly. Since I didn't have a key I just held the handle hard so he wouldn't be able to open it but I knew that wouldn't last long.I started to frantically look around to see if I could find any furniture but since I had my back turned to hold the handle,I couldn't really find anything.
My feverish search was interrupted when something very hard hit me with too much force in the back of the head.My knees buckled and I fell down and at that moment I thought to myself that club doors are normally locked when this one was wide open and that should have seemed odd from the start.
I tried to put strength into my arms to get up as my body hadn't yet realised it had been hit but the person stepped on my arms; followed by another blow to my head to make sure that now I wouldn't even have the strength to open my eyes.
The metallic sound it made as it collided with my skull echoed in my ears while I could feel the warm, thick liquid running down the back of my shirt. I should have talked to someone about the message that had come to me,I was sure it was connected somehow,but then I didn't want to because I would have to reveal my truth.
"I'm sorry but you've seen too much.Don't worry.If you can be of any more use to us,you won't get hurt." The voice was probably a woman's but I wasn't sure because the banging was distorting it.
The last thing I saw was the door opening and a blur entering who was probably the professor but he couldn't help me.We had already moved away.I think they had picked me up and we had gone out the window from the confusing images and the feeling of the air but then everything went black.
When I opened my eyes I felt the pain start in my head and go through my whole body like electricity.I tried to move but I was tied to a chair.The space around me was dark and dank but after a while my eyes got used to it,I could make out shadows and shapes.
"Hel-...!"
"Don't bother.No one can hear us here. "I heard a very familiar voice that for the first time was directed at me.I tried to locate him by shaking my head and found him chained to the wall. It was as if they thought that if he was as simply tied up as I was,he could escape much more easily.
"Where are we?" he didn't answer me.I was sure he not only knew where we were but had an idea why.He was probably to blame for what had happened even though I knew that wasn't entirely true.
Maybe it was my fault that I had gotten myself into this situation without it being my business but as much as they say that curiosity killed the cat,it kept moving towards the things that spurred it on. It could have been this danger from the start that makes it want to know what's behind the mystery but basically I didn't care about any of that at the time.I had more serious problems to bitch about.
"Just so you know,I hate you" I told him and instead of answering,he gave me another one of those wide smiles of his that so got on my nerves.I was beginning to think he did it on purpose but maybe I would never get the chance to ask him.