Chapter 29

Iyori looked over her shoulder once more while she and Shuya walked down the streets of Otaru, but she quickly felt Shuya squeezing her hand a little tighter and when she turned her head, she looked into his caring eyes, telling her to take a deep breath and just keep walking.

“I’m glad you took a break from your work,” said Shuya. “How did you boss react?”

“He was very understanding,” said Iyori. “He was also a little worried. Apparently it’s not the first time we’ve had a case of stalking in our company. Most girls quit, so he was scared I would do the same. I think that’s why he was just relieved when I asked for a break. He told me to take all the time I need.”

“Good,” said Shuya.

“He also said to tell him if I found out anything about this... person. He would try to look into it.”

“That’s kind of him, but won’t it be better to contact the police?”

“The police won’t care about a case like this before there’s been any real contact. On this level they wont.” Shuya let out a sigh, knowing very well how right she was.

“Well, I’m just happy you get to rest, and besides, this means we don’t have to go to Sapporo every time we study,” said Shuya as they reached the library.

Iyori looked up at the huge building. 

“It really feels strange,” said Iyori and laughed. 

“It does,” said Shuya and started walking inside. Iyori followed right beside him as he opened the door for her and they both stepped inside. 

A lot of students frequented the library in the late afternoon. Iyori felt her heart racing when she saw all the people around her and she tried to get a good look at all of them. Everytime someone walked by them, she moved out of the way, almost bumping into Shuya, who just held onto her so she wouldn’t fall.

“Are you okay?” asked Shuya time and time again, to which Iyori simply nodded.

“Let’s just hurry up and find a place to sit,” said Iyori and Shuya agreed, moving on more quickly, making their way around the library until they found a quiet corner with no one else to bother them. 

When Iyori sat down, her heart slowly calmed down a little. The large bookcases blocked Iyori’s view of the rest of the library, and for a while, she felt like they were the only two in the whole library.

“Alright, shall we begin?” asked Shuya after taking out the books, and Iyori looked at him with a determined look.

“Yes,” said Iyori.

Looking back on the amount of fighting they did when he first started tutoring her, it had gone down by a lot, but that surely didn’t mean it was a dance on roses. They still fought, disagreed and had times when they wanted to quit. Being boyfriend and girlfriend didn’t change anything either. Iyori still rolled her eyes at Shuya when he was being annoying, and Shuya sighed just as much as he always did, when Iyori didn’t understand what he was trying to teach her. But in the end, they both knew that it actually made a difference on Iyori’s grades, and this point helped them to move forward every time.

“So, do you feel ready for the 2nd semester finals?” asked Shuya after they went over all the points for their study session. Iyori leaned back in her chair and looked at all the materials in front of her.

“I... I don’t know... I feel like there’s just too much to cover, I don’t know if I’ll be able to remember everything,” said Iyori. “But I bet you don’t know how that feels, mr. 100%”

“Don’t call me that,” said Shuya and Iyori suddenly remembered the midterms and wanted to burry herself.

“I’m... I’m sorry...” said Iyori and looked at Shuya.

“It’s okay,” said Shuya. “I did this to myself, I’ve always been bragging about my grades since I came to this school. I deserve to be ridiculed when I make mistakes like last time.”

“No way, nobody deserves to be ridiculed if they did their best,” said Iyori firmly. “And I’m sure you’ll do fine this time.” Shuya looked at Iyori and forced out a smile, half fake, half real.

“You’re right,” said Shuya and held out his hand. “Let’s both do well.” Iyori looked at Shuya’s hand whereafter she shook it firmly.

“Yes!”

After laughing slightly at their cheesy conversation, they both started packing up their things, gathering their belonging and putting on their jackets, when suddenly, Iyori felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and her heart stopped for a second. Shuya immediately noticed when her face grew pale and he took a step closer to her, but she held out his hand to stop him.

“I’m fine... I just get a little nervous when I get a text,” said Iyori and tried laughing away the fear. She reached out with her shaking hand and looked at her phone, whereafter she let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s not him,” said Iyori and Shuya felt a sense of relief wash over him.

“I just don’t know if taking a break from my job is the best thing to do right now,” continued Iyori. “Maybe this will anger him more.”

“I don’t care what angers him, your safety comes first,” said Shuya. “This will give him some time to cool off and maybe find something else to devote his time to.” Iyori nodded, trying to imprint his words into her mind.

“Alright, let’s go,” said Iyori.

After leaving the library, Shuya argued with Iyori for several minutes about whether to walk her home or not. Feeling her continued fear, Shuya didn’t want to leave her alone, but Iyori felt embarrassed having him walk her home, so she stood her ground and shook her head.

“I’ll be fine,” said Iyori again. “If it helps, I’ll text you when I get home.” Shuya stood with arms crossed and tapped his foot impatiently, thinking deeply to himself.

“Are you sure?” asked Shuya after a while, and Iyori nodded.

“Yes, don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine,” said Iyori and smiled.

“Fine,” said Shuya and let out a sigh. “But you have to text me when you’re home. If you don’t, I’ll come running immediately.”

“Yes yes, I’ll text you, now go,” said Iyori and pushed Shuya away from her. He stood still for a while, looking at her, but eventually started walking away, waving goodbye to Iyori, who waved back at him.

Once he turned around completely and looked ahead, Iyori started walking in the opposite direction towards her home.

The sun had already set and all her senses where alert. Every sound felt louder. Every puff of wind made her turn her head and speed up her pace. Her breathing was heavier and she was sure it could be heard miles away, giving away her position to anyone out to get her.

Did her house always feel so far away from the library? Did the road always feel so long? Maybe she should’ve let Shuya walk her home? Maybe she should call him?

She reached for her phone, but quickly put it away again. No, she had to keep going. She was almost home anyway. Almost there.

Another sound caught her attention and she stopped in her tracks. While the rustling sound continued, she slowly turned around, looking in direction of it, but she couldn’t see anything. As if she was frozen in time, she stayed put, feeling her heart beating faster and faster, until the rustling sound stopped and turned into a loud noise when a bird flew out of a bush and Iyori let out a scream from the top of her lungs. She grabbed her chest and exhaled, before she started laughing, thinking about the poor bird she probably scared the life out of. 

After regaining her senses, she started walking again, this time with a slower pace. She could almost see the street her house was on from where she was. The streetlights lit up the road there, all she had to do was stay on the path and keep walking.

The sound of her footsteps echoed in the silence, making for a soft beat, almost like music. At first she didn’t care, almost disregarded it, until she listened closer and noticed that the echo she heard, was in a different pace than her footsteps. 

Different pace.

Different footsteps.

She suddenly felt a cold sweat run down her back. This time she didn’t dare stop and turn around. She just walked faster, and faster, but the other footsteps did the same. The presence of someone was strong and it felt like they were closer than before.

With nothing to lose, and with the sight of her home not far away, Iyori went into a spurt.

She ran with all her might, using the last strength she had in her, until she ripped the door open and stumbled into the hallway of her house.

After quickly securing the door and locking it behind her, she leaned her back against it while trying to catch her breath, feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

“Iyori?” The voice of her mother made Iyori yell out in surprise, and the sudden reaction from Iyori, made Hina do the same, making both of the yell out and jump up in the air, attracting the attention of every other person in the house.

“What’s going on?” asked Akihito as he went to the hallway and looked at his wife and daughter.

“Hey, is everyone okay?” asked Aiko, who came running out of her bedroom with the little one in her arms.

“What happened?” asked Hanako as she popped out from behind Aiko.

“Oh, sorry everyone, I just surprised Iyori, that’s all,” said Hina as she reached for her chest, feeling her heartbeat slowly calming down again.

“Is everything okay, Iyori?” asked Aiko when she looked at Iyori’s pale face.

“I... I’m fine...” said Iyori and started walking, but her head wasn’t up to speed yet and she nearly fell forward, if it wasn’t for her father who caught her before that happened.

“You’re white a sheet,” said Hina and went over to Iyori. “Come on, we’ll get you some water.” Hanako and Aiko watched as their parents helped Iyori to the kitchen where they brought her a glass of water. 

“Are you feeling better?” asked Hina and looked at Iyori with a smile after she finished drinking all the water.

Iyori just nodded.

“You sure? You’re not feeling sick?” asked Akihito and Iyori looked at him with an uncaring look.

“I’m fine,” said Iyori. “I just felt a little dizzy all of a sudden. I’m going to bed.”

Iyori got up slowly, making sure her head was following her pace this time. Once she felt herself standing firm on the ground, with a clear vision of everything in front of her, she looked at her parents, wished them goodnight and walked to her room.

“Iyori, are you sure you’re alright?” asked Hanako, who came rushing in just behind Iyori. “Do you have a fever?” She put her hand on Iyori’s forehead, but Iyori pushed it away before she could get a sense of her temperature.

“I’m fine, I just felt dizzy after running all the way home,” said Iyori and started getting ready for bed.

“Why did you run home? Did someone follow you? Are you in danger?” asked Hanako, speaking faster with every sentence she finished. Iyori looked at her sister who had the same scared expression she wore herself earlier in the day. She opened her mouth, clutching her phone while thinking about whether to show Hanako everything, but a second later, she put it away and let out a sigh.

“Don’t be stupid, it’s nothing like that,” said Iyori and rolled her eyes at her sister. “You know I’m scared of the dark, so I wanted to get home as fast as possible.”

“That’s it? Here I thought some murderer or rapists was out to get you, and you’re just scared of the dark?” said Hanako and Iyori shrugged her shoulders. “Well, next time come home earlier, before the sun sets, if you’re gonna give your whole family a scare like that.”

Hello everyone

I looks like Iyori won’t get over this fear that fast, and she won’t accept Shuya help that easy either.

What do you think? How would you react? Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below.

And as always, I hope you’re doing really well and are happy and healthy.

Love, Annalise~