After school, Baku headed behind the second building, the same place where Erity told him to meet up with her. The whole campus was almost empty since every other student had already left. The school had some after-class "club activities," so the only ones on the school grounds were teachers and the club members.
When Baku made it to the meeting point, Erity was nowhere to be seen. The sun was once again close to sunset. The second building was remarkably close to the third one, and because of that, there was a long dark alley between the two buildings. Baku stood in the middle. There was nothing to look at but four trash cans and the pitch-black 'alleyway' ahead of him. A horrid scent of rotten food penetrated his nose. The dumpsters were filled up with bags of food that was leaking; hence the smell. He noticed there were many lights high above him on the left and right walls that were supposed to be on, but for some reason, they were not. He felt unwell.
The air was musty, and it was incredibly quiet, until finally, as five minutes passed, he heard footsteps. He thought that the footsteps were Erity's, but soon after, the footsteps started to sound more like more than one person was walking. And as expected, two students who seemed to be "third years," entered the alleyway. The first one was short and had his head shaved with a lot of piercings on his ears, mouth, and nose. He even had one connecting his tongue and left ear together with a small golden chain. The other one was very tall, had pitch-black long hair, and was extremely muscular, it was noticeable even while he was wearing the uniform.
As soon as Baku saw them walking towards the alley, he felt his body moving on its own, hiding behind one of the four large dumpsters. Then, seconds after, the students walked further inside and after reaching where Baku was hiding, they stopped. The short student grabbed the lighter, one he was hiding inside his shoe, and the tall one opened a pack of cigarettes. Baku sat there hidden, unsure of what he was supposed to do. This whole scene was very unsure, and he felt that something bad was about to happen.
Suddenly though, he got an unbelievably bad gut feeling, so he attempted to leave towards the opposite way from whence he came before it was too late, but for some reason, at the worst time, as his heart raced, Baku felt this tiring feeling…. As he was leaving, he felt his body heavier than before. That resulted in him tripping and falling on the ground, right in front of the students.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!
"YOU! Come here…. You aren't going anywhere.
The students stood above Baku, seeing that he was still on the floor. At that moment, Baku looked up at them and saw something strange. Both had this scared look on their face. A shocked expression was mostly visible on the short student's face while the tall one was trying to hide his fear by blankly staring at Baku.
The short student with the piercings grabbed Baku from his shirt and lifted him. Baku resisted and as a reaction, the short student punched him in the face. His fist was strangely fast, and Baku's nose was now bleeding.
Baku fell to his knees. Then the tall student looked Baku in the eyes and looked away as he kicked him on the head, making him fall headfirst on the floor. The left side of his skull was now also bleeding.
"That is what you get for spying, you fucktard.
"You talk too much, Yota… just do what you are told.
"....
After the kick, both students backed off. Baku then slowly got himself up.
"Are you ready for the second round already? We aint done yet…" said the short one with a smirk on his face.
The tall black-haired one took off his vest and white long-sleeved shirt, leaving his body shirtless. Without his clothes, his muscles were all exposed and Baku just now realized how strong he looked. Following that, he wore the set of plastic gloves he kept in his right pocket.
"Let us teach this 'fuck' a lesson…" said the tall student taking the first step.
"Why do you have to strip every time we beat someone up?
"I do not want the filthy blood of this piece of trash to stain my clothes.
Baku got up, then took a deep breath, and stood in a defensive stance. He had zero experience in fighting. This could get extremely dangerous quickly, and escaping felt impossible. He had to defend himself somehow since they looked like they were out to kill him. In an instant, the black-haired student charged fist-first towards Baku. The student attacked him with a series of fifteen punches. Baku tried to dodge or block all of them but unfortunately, four hit his face and another three hit his chest and arms. Without realizing it, Baku was moving so much that he was almost pinned on the third building's wall.
As a final blow, the tall student tried to punch Baku with both hands at the same time from both sides. Baku blocked both attacks with his forearms and kicked his stomach. Baku's hands were almost numb because of all the hits he had taken, though he ignored all the pain and focused his mind on surviving and nothing else. The kick he gave was powerful and the tall student slowly walked backwards in pain.
Baku saw that as an opportunity and decided to try to fight him, so he let himself lose control and then ran fourth with all the strength he had towards the tall student, but before he could get close to him, the short one, Yota, dashed in the middle. They quickly became violent with each other, Yota was faster than Baku, though he was terrible at defending, so both landed many punches and kicks.
After a few seconds, they both stopped. Yota looked tired and Baku saw that. He pretended to let himself off guard, and just as Baku thought, Yota saw that as another opportunity, so he attacked. Baku then, in a flash, tightened his right leg and jumped forward, punching Yota on the forehead. It was a sloppy move, though it did stun Yota for a few seconds. The tall student was shocked when he saw Yota lose balance.
Baku managed to make him fall on the tall one. As he walked slowly towards them, they both moved at the same time, the black-haired one shifted his body downwards and he kicked Baku's legs with a swift sliding movement, resulting in him falling to the ground. Soon after the kick, Baku got up faster. He slowly started feeling less tired than before and he tried his best to keep it that way. Baku then gave another punch, but the tall student blocked it with a fast slap on the hand and smacked Baku in the face with the other.
As Baku had his whole attention on the tall student, Yota who was now behind him, pulled out a knife. This whole time Yota was trying to find an opening. He held the knife tight and as Baku was being beaten to death by the tall student, Yota dashed and stabbed him in his waist, his skin being pierced within halves of seconds.
One important detail about the school uniform was that it was handmade. The vest's wool was so thick that when Baku was stabbed, yes it pierced through, but the blood was not visible. The vest had absorbed it without even changing color. The two students were aware of that.
The knife was short but looked sharp. When he pulled it out, Baku saw his own blood that was dripping from the tip of the blade. Yota's hands were covered in dark red. Baku screamed in pain, but mid-screaming, his voice got cut in half. Suddenly he felt like he could not talk anymore. He wanted to throw up. He fell to his knees again, and the tall student kicked him again with his left leg. On the head this time, and it was his hardest one yet. Baku's head slammed on the right wall. And he was almost unconscious. Baku felt as if he were about to die. He held the wound, but that did not stop the pain. He covered it with one hand and tried to stabilize his breathing, but it was only getting worse. The only thing he could hear was the two savages above him, breathing heavily.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Baku heard something different. A new set of footsteps. Erity, who seemed to have come rushing, saw Baku and ran towards him. Baku was in pain and his head was all messed up. There and then, when he saw her running at him in fear, he decided to hide the fact that he had been stabbed.
Baku, with his arms, pushed himself upwards and sat on the floor. He looked around, in an attempt to find the two delinquents but they were nowhere to be seen. As soon as they saw Erity they ran the opposite way, throwing the knife below the dumpsters, and fleeing towards the outer gate. When Erity reached closer to Baku, she saw his nose covered in blood and his head badly bruised. Erity's eyes started watering up.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?! Who were those two guys? Why did they do this to you? Are y-you, okay?
Baku was barely talking. He was all over the place. He held his wound with one hand and covered his bloody nose with the other.
"I'm still breathing, so I am okay…. I do not know... Who they were… or why they attacked me… They were smoking, and I tried to leave but—
"Oh no…. You don't know the rules... Do you? The most important one is that you should not do drugs or smoke on campus…
"Oh… So they thought that I would tell on them… to the principal…
"UGH… If I ever see them again… they are in big trouble.
".....
As she was talking, Baku with his second hand, not the one holding the wound, rubbed his head and wiped some of the blood.
"Y-Your head…. Baku… I should take you to the nurse. Your nose looks awful...
"No. Do not." Said Baku, thinking that if they were to go and see the nurse, they would see the stab wound.
"Don't be stupid. We are going!
"We will get in trouble over nothing. I don't want anyone to get expelled.
"Are you kidding me?! That should not worry you! What they did is unforgivable! You should report them to the principal or even the police!
"I said no. I am not going to do any of that. Do not act against my will.
"Then at least let me take you to the hospital. Your face is still bleeding... do not try to hide it.
"I said no. See, I'm fine!
To prove that he was okay, Baku tried to get up, though he almost fell to the ground. Erity had a feeling that he would fall, so she stopped him from falling by awkwardly hugging him. Baku then paused for a second and took a deep breath as he rested his bloody head on her shoulder.
"N-no. You are not fine, stop lying to me...
"Erity… listen. We absolutely cannot go to the nurse. Please. Do me a favor and just let this one slide… I'll get in trouble. I don't want anyone to know about this. Yeah, they messed me up, but it is nothing to worry about. It's just my head and nose. These kinds of wounds heal quickly.
"If you don't want to go to the nurse's office nor the hospital, what are you gonna do?
Baku then felt a sudden hit of tiredness. His eyes were closing and his movements started getting slower and slower with every second that passed. His mouth now felt numb, his breathing got heavier and his ability to speak was getting difficult.
"I.. wi..ll probably go… to my h..ouse. You shh..ould p..probably get going.. I don't want to keep y..ou f..rom doing that t..t-triple homework.
"Are you out of your mind?!
"I'll go… to t-the h…...hospital tomorrow…... I promise.
"Even if you do go to the hospital tomorrow… What are you gonna do today? Why wait for tomorrow?
"I'll t-treat myself…. When I get….. back to my house… if I… if I really need to be hospitalized…. then I will go….
Just talking was making him feel more tired. He was thirsty and dizzy, and his breathing was heavy and slow at the same time. Even his heart rate had gotten slower.
"You cannot walk there alone, and your house is too far away. If you do not want to go to the nurse's office that badly, come to my house then... I have a med kit there. I can take care of you…
That line alone made his heartbeat faster.
"W..why the hell do you have a med kit in your h…ouse?
"Well, my father works in a hospital. He always keeps drugs in our house!
He then lifted his head from her shoulder and looked at her worried face. She had already teared up. Baku suddenly felt a little stronger than before. This whole time he had let his guard down without realizing it, so he took control again and got a hold of himself.
"Won't I just be more trouble for you?
"Are you kidding me?! It's partly my fault this happened to you... I could have come faster... The principal kept me in his office. He wanted to talk about my grades… so I feel guilty….
"F..fine if you don't mind…
"Great! For now, please stay alive so that I can clean your face!
Erity helped Baku to walk and escorted him towards her house. Baku was barely walking beside her but was feeling better than the state she found him in. Since she could not convince him to go to the nurse, the only other option she thought of was her house which was the next closest location, about fifteen or twenty minutes from their current momentum. Baku's mouth was not numb anymore. His wound was no worry for him now since he felt his body easier to move.
It was still spring, the middle of the day. The sun above them had almost set. The streets in Erity's neighborhood were all filled with Sakura trees. Baku's bloody face ruined the whole sight. Ultimately, the bloody red did not go well with pink…
Erity was still worried about him. Baku's heart was not the only one beating fast. After each step, Baku could fade right in front of her. She was feeling a strong portion of guilt inside her. Why though…?
"Did they hurt your legs as well?
"Yeah... you noticed?
"You are barely walking…
"...By the way... What was it that you wanted to talk about this time?
"Seriously? You are asking me?? Haven't you noticed all the weird stuff happening around us?
Baku sighed in relief. And let himself laugh.
"Took you long enough…
"What?
"I'm relieved that you noticed.
"Wait, you knew?
"Yes, I did. But before I reveal anything, why dont you tell me what you think that you know.
"Why don't you just tell me everything yourself?
"It is funnier like this.
"Hmph…fine, at least it will lighten up the mood. Let me think....Everything started right after I met you, exactly after we talked at the front gate. It felt strange walking beside you… It was like you were constantly being watched. In fact, I saw someone following us, but I did not want to say anything. I thought that I was just being paranoid... When we got to your house that sensation got lost. With all that… I have been so curious that I cannot think of anything besides you… And do not let me start talking about the fact that we slept for a whole week... Like, how crazy is that?! I don't remember waking up any time other than today, the 10th of March and I have never experienced something like that. All of those insane things keep dragging me further and deeper…It's all so new to me…...Yet you seem like you have re-lived all these things before…
"While in our class today. The cloaked figure, in the middle of the yard. You saw it too, right?
"YES, right after I saw him, I got the same feeling as before. I knew that it must have been what was following us.
".... finally," Baku thought to himself.
"Whatever it was, I am sure that it was at least 8 feet tall.
"Well, the 'It' you are referring to, was a person. I can confirm that. A male. Well, excellent job! Some things you said were correct, but one thing that you got wrong was when you said that everything started from the moment you met me. This is something that started years ago…I can't reveal much. One thing I can say though is that there is a reason behind everything. You have heard about "The Day" in school, right?
"Well yes… Ever since I moved to Uragiru I have been hearing about it almost every day. Every grownup is overly obsessed with "The Day" and for some reason, I seem to be the only one that does not get it.
"It's true… It's not a myth.
"You are saying that "The Day" will happen?
"Yes, and it's me who is being followed.
"....what? Is he stalking you?
"That's a story for another time.
"Oh, come on… What does "The Day" have to do with you being followed and us sleeping for a whole week straight?
"I.. am involved with a company that studied "The Day" as an upcoming phenomenon. Well, you could say that I am no longer a part of it.
"Why were you involved with them in the first place?
"Because of my family. One thing about your questions. They better not be about them.
"Oh. Okay. Then what exactly about "The Day" is it that they study? I remember that "The Day" must have something to do with the moment humans were born.
"Not exactly. "The Day" is something much more complicated...."The Day" is supposed to be the day when the divine will come down to earth and judge us.
"This sounds surreal…
"Believe me. This is more than just a mere theory. There have been discoveries of an ancient text which says the exact thing I just told you. When "The Day" comes, the almighty "Theon" will "Save" us.
"Stop" Was word Baku heard inside his consciousness.
"Proof exists… I just cannot show you yet... I can't talk about everything just yet. My th-theory is that s..some people know that "The Day" will be our las-st day. They j-just haven't told the public yet…
"Our last day….?
As Baku kept talking, once again he felt his body getting weaker. Erity also noticed that he was getting heavier. His mouth got numb once again. He was barely speaking to her. She held his hand, and she felt how cold it was.
"Baku… Let's cut the conversation here… Let us talk about this after I take care of you. I still feel very guilty over this..
She knew very well what was happening. When they reached Erity's house, Baku sat on her couch in the living room. After sitting on the couch his body suddenly felt extremely hot. Erity got some medicine and water to clean Baku's nose. When Erity returned, she saw that his nose started bleeding a lot more than before. Baku was exhausted.
"Baku you are bleeding.
"No, I'm not—
"WAIT!!
"I'm feeling dizzy… I think I'm gonna throw up…
He started seeing colors and shapes instead of what was really in front of him. In a way, he was panicking. This whole time he was holding so much loose blood inside his body and now that he felt so weak he was about to release it all.
"YOU SAID YOU WERE FINE.
"Well… I didn't want… to—-
"Are you kidding me? Just let me clean you..
With a towel, she rubbed his face and tried to hold the wound. She then took the medical tape and wrapped it with it. Erity's hands were covered in Baku's dark red blood. Her uniform also had bloodstains on it, yet she did not care about that nor the metallic smell that had filled her apartment.
"Why does she care?" Said the voice in Baku's head.
"I can do it on my own… I don't need help.
"Shut your shithole, you are losing too much blood… you idiot….
As much as she closed the wounds the blood would always come out of somewhere. Erity had managed to bandage every visible wound on Baku's face. She felt as if she had done it.
"How can a nosebleed be that bad?!
"…I… I don't …. I don't feel so good…
Baku without delay, grabbed the water bucket and threw up even more blood... After that, he fainted on the spot.
"BAKU?!
Erity, afraid of him dying, gripped him from his shirt and tried to wake him up, but he would not respond. She then removed the bandages and cleaned the wounds for a second time, then closed them with more medical tape. After some time passed, she had completely cleaned Baku's face, but blood was still in Baku's mouth. He looked like he was about to choke on it. She did not know what to do, so she just held his hand as she teared up again. Erity prayed for him. At that moment, she felt she needed him. She did not want to lose him. He was… different. When she tried to wipe the tears off her face, she saw that the hand that she held… the palm was covered in cold blood. Just now she noticed that this whole time Baku was holding his waist… very tightly. She immediately removed his vest and saw the half white half dark red shirt. Scared… She removed his buttoned shirt and saw the open wound from the knife. She went nuts... She started running around the house in circles trying to think of how she was gonna patch his wounds. Even more, tears came, and she did not know what to do.
"I have never seen that much blood in one place in my entire life... Thank God my father works in a hospital... Should I try calling him again?!
After an hour of trial and error, she managed to patch Baku's wound… The med kit came in very handy. Baku's waist was now patched and then wrapped in bandages. Then she placed her head on his naked chest and to her surprise a slow and weak heartbeat was still beating. Thanks to her, Baku survived.
After saving his life, she thought of getting him a pair of clean clothes. She rushed into her father's bedroom. Since she lived with her father for many years, her father still had his clothes in his bedroom.
"Say Baku… you don't mind me changing your clothes… right...? I will take that as a no…....
She took a clean shirt and a pair of jeans and changed Baku's bloody uniform. Then she washed it inside her washing machine in the bathroom. The white shirt was still red, so she washed it two times, the second time separately from the other clothes, and when it was finally clean, she took it back to the living room. Baku was sleeping soundlessly. She touched his neck right below his jaw and felt his heart beating normally.
"Thank God…." She said after finally breaking down on the floor to cry. She slowly slithered next to the couch where Baku was asleep. She touched his forehead and felt relieved that he had a normal temperature. After so much worrying, she slept on the floor with her head on the couch. This guilt she was feeling had eaten her whole. Her bright purple eyes were still dripping from tears even when she was asleep. Her blonde hair did not glow that day… she had made a grave mistake.
Then… the next morning came, and Baku was the one to wake up first. His vision was blurry again.
"My ... whole body hurts…
As he stretched his body, he felt something on his waist. He then removed the shirt he was wearing and saw that his wound was wrapped all over with medical tape and gauze. His face was also covered in many bandages.
"What the hell?! Erity…. You did all this? Did I faint yesterday?! It is starting to get annoying.
When Baku tried to get off, he saw Erity, who was sleeping on the floor grasping his hand, the one that was covered in blood the day before. Quickly but gently, he moved her from the floor onto the couch and covered her with the blanket she gave him yesterday. Then he thought of bringing food for them both to eat.
It was still early in the morning. Baku took her house keys from her living room table and then got out. After wandering aimlessly for a little while, he found a 24-hour market and walked inside. He waved at the employee and went further inside the shop. The employee saw that he was hurt but did not react. Baku passed the sweets section, and something caught his eye. Leaving the shop, he bought two croissants. He remembered when his mother would buy him croissants to eat every morning. She would heat them up and then cut them in half.
For someone stabbed the day before, he acted calmly. When he returned to the apartment, he saw that he forgot to close the front door. Worried, he rushed inside. But thankfully no one had entered.
Baku left the croissants on the living room table. Her house was not small. The kitchen was in a different room. He did not want to snoop around just yet so he could not heat the croissants up. When he sat down on the floor again, he decided to finish the homework Eiichi gave them. He was tired but managed to finish everything sooner than expected.
He looked behind him at the sleeping Erity. He remembered all she had done for him. It was all too much. He had no idea how he would repay her. He thought that for now, the least he could do was to finish her homework as well. After about an hour, he finished his and Erity's homework. For saving his life, this act was too little. Erity was still asleep. He thought of leaving. And he did…
Before leaving though, he looked back at her and eventually he sat next to her. He just stared. For ten minutes. It was dark in her house. He did not even know what time it was. He kept staring at her. Her soft short hair. Her closed eyes. Her breathing lips. And her round nose. He felt the desire to get intimate, so he moved closer to her. This sudden desire…. It was a first for him.
But as time passed, the room got filled with light. Erity's house had a window that faced towards the sunrise. Her golden blonde hair was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. That color made him feel warm inside. All those feelings she made him feel… it was all too new for him.
Just then though… Baku remembered the reason he wanted to leave, so he found a piece of paper and a pen in her apartment, and wrote her a letter, thanking her for saving his life. He grabbed his bag, wore his torn uniform, left the clothes she gave him, and looked at her once more. And then he did. Leave.