"Good work. See you tomorrow." Tomoko bid to her fellow members as she give them a slight bow before turning around on her heels and began walking away.
She didn't bother to see if they acknowledge her or heard their response since they were not really close to each other. They may be in the same group or same year, or even classmates, yet Tomoko never speaks to them that much, unless it's needed.
They watch her leave training grounds with the stoic face that they've gotten used to after being in the same club for a while now.
As much as her archery clubmates want to befriend her, she just won't open up to them. No matter what their feelings or attempts, she just pushes them away. They don't get why their tries are always fruitless but none tries to push further.
None try to pry into her personal life nor does anybody ask what she does behind closed doors during practice. They knew she doesn't like to talk about her life so no one pries into what her life is like because she doesn't share anything with anyone anyway.
That's just who Tomoko is, a mysterious third-year student of class 1-A, the biggest mystery of the school. And because of that, she's quite popular, but not in a good way. Sometimes, she would get weird and unpleasant things as 'gifts' for her.
Heaving out a sigh, she taps the point of her shoes into the ground before leaving the school ground, heading home to her very own apartment. She was not in a hurry as she lives alone and take her time walking back home, letting herself get lost in her own thoughts.
'What a strange day. I found out I have this weird rose marking on my neck and it hurts quite a lot but is still manageable. And I just remembered the boy that I saved a day ago. He didn't even at least leave a note of gratitude, that's more than enough you know.'
"How rude..." Tomoko murmured under her breath as she crossed the pedestrian lane.
"I thought he'd be thankful though, it did save his life after all." Tomoko walked through the empty streets, thinking about what happened a day ago. As she was walking, the brunette felt a shiver run down her spine all of a sudden. She paused from walking to check if there was some reason why she felt such a bad feeling.
However, she found nothing but the usual breeze blowing by her body. Shrugging it off, she continued her walk towards her destination. As she was only a couple of blocks away from her apartment, a sweet scent filled her nostrils.
It smelled exactly like the roses, the ones her aunt would grow in their garden back home.
'It's been a while since the last time I was back home. Maybe I should go visit for a bit when I'm free.'
A small smile formed on Tomoko's lips at the thought turned upside down as she felt her breath hitch when the scent got stronger. Something wasn't right, and she could sense it. A shiver ran down her spine when she saw pairs of hands slowly creeping their way towards her, grabbing onto her shoulders.
She tried to move away but the grip on her shoulder tightened causing her to wince in pain. The scent grew stronger and stronger, almost making her sick to her stomach.
"Let go! Let me go! Leave me alone!" Tomoko cried as more hands reached out towards her, taking her mobility away from her. She look at the source of the hands and as soon as she did, fear-filled her. The source of the hands was a bunch of young girls.
All looking at her and smiling viciously at her. Their teeth were sharp and dripping blood, and their eyes held no mercy and no pity towards her.
Tomoko started shaking and crying, trying to push the girls of her but they wouldn't budge. Tomoko thrashed about, trying to free herself from those strong grasp.
Her struggles were fruitless, however, as they managed to wrap themselves around her tightly and pulled her closer to them with a tight grip. She could hear their disgusting laugh echoing throughout the silent streets of Tokyo.
Then, suddenly, she feels something warm and sticky trickling down her cheeks and neck as if her throat was bleeding. As the blood flows down her body, she starts to feel weak, and tired.
The darkness slowly starts engulfing her vision, and before she knows it, everything faded to black.
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