Chapter 33

The soothing sound of Iyori’s breathing played over the phone speaker while Shuya focused on the textbook lying open in front of him. He read every line intensely, underlining the main points and writing down notes he could go over again in the future.

After a while he put down his pen and stretched out his body, feeling every part of it ache, as if he was already an old man. He let out a sigh and looked at the calendar in front of him. Time seemed to move by so incredibly fast when he had a deadline. 3rd semester had begun, midterms were coming up, and so were the entrance exams. It felt like there was so many things to do, and just too little time to do them all. How did he use to deal with it? How did he manage to stay ahead all the time? He didn’t have more hours in a day than he used to.

He let out another sigh and rested his chin in his hand, listening to Iyori’s breathing again. He already knew the cause of everything. 

It felt strange thinking back on last spring when he met up with her on their first date. He never would’ve expected things to turn out the way they did. He felt his lips curl up in a smile when he thought back on all their crazy moments together. He didn’t regret any of them, not even for a minute.

If only he had a way to make his mind focus on school and Iyori at the same time. Devote the same amount of energy to it and be able to get as good a result out of both of them. He didn’t want to leave her alone. He couldn’t. She needed him, and he needed her too. If he wasn’t careful, everything he held dear would fall apart.

He reached out for his phone and listened carefully. Her breathing was still calm, making it clear that she had drifted into dreamland long ago. After a few more seconds, he hung up the call and put his phone away. Hopefully he helped her get a good night’s sleep. If he did that, he had at least accompliced one good thing as her boyfriend.

Now, all he needed to do was focus. He had a long night ahead of him.

***

Days moved by quickly in the month of January. Shuya spend every minute of every day in the week on either studies or Iyori. Sometimes both. The entrance exams were coming up and the midterms were just around the corner. Shuya’s nights got shorter and his energy got lower. But he kept pushing. All the way through the midterms, like a zombie working from muscle memory. He wasn’t present in mind, he just ticked off the boxes on the sheet and handed it in, whereafter he went home and collapsed on his bed.

He slept. For hours and hours, for the first time in weeks. His phone could make any noise it wanted to, he slept through everything. 

The days after felt much better, his body was lighter and his head too. It felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. All until one morning when he opened his eyes and every part of his body hurt. 

He slowly sat up on the bed, but even a slight motion like that was enough to make him dizzy and feel like he was about to throw up. He grabbed his phone and turned off the other alarms, whereafter he got back in bed and closed his eyes. As if someone had turned a switch inside him, he went out as a light.

“Shuya?” the soothing voice of his mother made Shuya open his eyes slightly. “Shuya? Are you sick?” Himiko gently shook Shuya to wake him up properly. 

“Where does it hurt?”

“Mm... everywhere...” Shuya managed to say before he pulled his blanket further up to cover his neck and chin.

“Isn’t today the day you get back the results from the midterms?” asked Himiko carefully and Shuya’s eyes shot open. “I just wondered if you were feeling a little nervous, and maybe that was why–”

“Mom, I’m sick!” said Shuya in a firm voice and looked at her with wide bloodshot eyes. “I’m sick, I’m not going to school. I won’t.”

“Alright,” said Himiko and caressed him gently on his arm. “Of course not, if you’re sick, you should just stay in bed. Close your eyes, I will wake you up later so you can get something to eat.” Shuya nodded his head and turned around in bed, quickly falling back asleep again. Himiko looked at her son one more time, worry filling her mind as she got up and left his room. 

I must be a bad mother, thought Himiko to herself as she walked down the hallway. Hoping my son is actually sick, that isn’t a normal way to think.

***

Iyori walked down the snowy street with her phone in hand, looking at the GPS as she kept moving forward. Focusing on finding her way helped her forget all her fears, at least most of the time. Whenever she heard a sudden noise, she stopped and turned around, only to be left dumbfounded when nothing was there. 

The closer she got to her destination, the bigger the houses became. She couldn’t remember the last time she went to this part of the city, she didn’t know anyone here, at least not until now.

Only a few more steps and she would be outside his door, her head was going crazy and her heart the same. Would his parents be home? He rarely spoke of them so she didn’t know much, but judging from the sizes of these houses, his mother was probably a housewife. 

I wish this wouldn’t be how I met his mother for the first time, thought Iyori while walking up to the door. She knocked twice and took a step back, looking around in the large garden. It was hard to see because of the snow, but it seemed well kept, probably by a gardener. 

A sound of someone walking inside made Iyori turn her attention back to the door, and just a second later, it opened and a beautiful young woman looked at Iyori. She looked around 10 years younger than Iyori’s mother, probably in the beginning of her 40’s. She was tall and slender, wearing a blue dress and a white apron, probably in the middle of preparing dinner. 

“Hello,” said the woman and looked down at Iyori with eyes so gentle they could melt through ice. “How can I help you, young lady?”

“Um... hello,” said Iyori and bowed. “My name is Iyori Mikami. I’m a classmate of Shuya’s.”

“My my!” said Himiko and clapped her hands. “How wonderful, did you come to check on Shuya?”

“Yes... no.... actually...” stuttered Iyori, still a little startled by her cheerfulness. Even if her own mother was on the cheerful side, nothing seemed to compete with this woman. Her eyes looked so full of hope and joy.

“I came to deliver his results from the midterms.”

“I see,” said Himiko. “Oh no, sorry for my rudeness, I haven’t even introduced myself yet. My name is Himiko Hayato. I’m Shuya’s mother.” Iyori smiled at Himiko.

So she is his mother, so young and beautiful, thought Iyori to herself.

“Do you want to come inside?” asked Himiko.

“I... I don’t want to disturb you. I’m sure Shuya isn’t feeling great, giving how he didn’t come to school today.”

“Oh no, don’t worry, it’s nothing a little get-well-visit can’t cure,” said Himiko and laughed. “Please, come inside.” 

Iyori eventually caved in and walked inside the house. 

Not that the house didn't look huge from outside, but when Iyori stepped inside and took a look around, it felt even bigger. Every furniture and item looked like it had been hand-picked, standing in the perfect spot with nothing looking out of place.

“Makes sense,” said Iyori without realizing.

“I’m sorry?” asked Himiko and Iyori quickly continued.

“No, nothing.”

“Come on this way, Shuya’s room is over here.” Iyori followed behind Himiko as they walked down the long hallway with large paintings hanging on each side of the walls. Iyori couldn’t help but stare and she almost walked into Himiko when she stopped outside of Shuya’s room. 

“Wait here, I’ll go see if he’s awake.” Iyori nodded and waited outside, still looking around in awe. Only a few minutes went by before Himiko returned and told Iyori to help herself inside.

A bit nervous and awkward, Iyori took a step inside the bedroom, a room three times as big as the one she and Hanako shared. She quickly spotted Shuya sitting on his bed, looking like he didn’t really know what to do with himself.

“H... hello,” said Iyori nervously and waved.

“Hello,” said Shuya and tried to smile. “What brings you here? I hope you didn’t come because you were worried. I’m fine.”

“No... I mean... I came to give you this,” said Iyori and handed the papers from Fuyoko to Shuya. For a second, Shuya felt his heart and breathing stop, but he quickly pulled himself together and reached out for the papers.

“Thank you,” said Shuya, using all the strength in his body.

“And I was worried, so I’m happy Fuyoko made an excuse for me to come by,” said Iyori. “It meant I got to see this mansion you live in.”

“Mansion?” said Shuya and laughed.

“What? It’s huge!” said Iyori. “You’ve seen my house, it must look like a tent compared to yours.”

“Your house looks cozy, mine is more like a museum at times, it’s not very... home-y?” said Shuya and Iyori thought about it for a second.

“I see where you’re getting at,” said Iyori. “When we walked to your room, I couldn’t stop staring at the paintings on the walls.”

“Right?” said Shuya and laughed alongside Iyori. 

“Do you want to sit?” asked Shuya and patted the seat next to him on the bed. Iyori suddenly felt her cheeks turn warmer and she diverted her eyes for a second.

“S...Sure...” stuttered Iyori and walked over to Shuya and sat down. The bed felt soft under her and she unintentionally bounced a little when she sat down and moved even closer to Shuya.

“Ah... sorry...” said Iyori and tried to move away, but Shuya immediately grabbed her hand and she stopped. Iyori looked up, but Shuya was facing the other way. His hand was squeezing hers hard, while his other hand was squeezing the results from the midterms.

“So!” said Shuya with a deep breath and looked up. “How was your results?”

“Don’t you want to look at your own first?” asked Iyori but Shuya shook his head. “Well... my highest score was 83 out of 100. My lowest was 79 out of 100.”

“Iyori! That’s wonderful!” said Shuya and smiled, but it didn’t look joyful, only painful.

“Shuya... the results–”

“What about that stalker? Did anything–”

“SHUYA!” yelled Iyori and Shuya froze. “I know you’re scared, but dragging it out won’t help. Please, let’s just look at your results. I’m sure you did well.” Shuya looked down at the paper and then back at Iyori.

“I just... I...”

“I know,” said Iyori and squeezed Shuya’s hand even harder. “But the result won’t change whether you look at it or not. Come on, let’s get it over with.” Shuya looked into Iyori’s eyes, both of them flickering in the light from the lamp above them. He looked down at the paper and let out a sigh. 

While Iyori sat in silence, Shuya started looking through the papers. 

Unable to see what it said, Iyori looked at Shuya’s face, trying her best to get a good read of his expression, but there was nothing there. 

For half a minute, he just stared at it in silence. Iyori was just about to say something, when suddenly, he looked up with a smile. 

“What?” said Iyori, immediately noticing the underlying sadness in his smile. “Can I see?”

“Sure,” said Shuya in an almost sarcastic manner and handed her the paper. “Be my guest.” Iyori quickly scanned through the results.

“98 out of 100, 99 out of 100, 97 out of 100...” whispered Iyori while reading through it, feeling her heart beat faster with every line. “95... out of 100...” Iyori looked up and turned her head, only to find Shuya bend over forward, resting his arms on his thighs while staring at the ground.

“Shuya... this...” said Iyori and gestured with the paper, but no other words came to mind. She lowered her hand again, letting out a sigh. “I know you’re disappointed. What... what can I do?”

“Leave...” The word was spoken in a low voice. 

Iyori moved a little closer.

“What?”

“I said; leave!” said Shuya loud a clear, sitting up straight while staring into Iyori’s eyes with a fierce expression in his own.

“But–” Started Iyori, but the look on Shuya’s face was enough to make her give up. She slowly got up from the bed and put the result down next to Shuya. She walked over to the door in silence and gave Shuya one last glance before she left him alone in the room.

After closing the door behind her, Iyori looking around, trying to remember where she came from, but before she made it far, Himiko turned up again, same joyful smile on her face as before.

“Iyori, are you leaving already?” said Himiko, her smile faltering a little when she saw the look in Iyori’s eyes.

“Sorry... I think Shuya needs some time alone,” said Iyori and tried her best to smile. 

“I see,” said Himiko. “Please know that you’re always welcome to come visit us again.”

“Thank you,” said Iyori.

After a few more formalities, Iyori put on her overcoat and her shoes, whereafter she left the house and stepped out, into the dark, cold night. Iyori buttoned her coat all the way up to her neck and put her hands in her pockets, trying to keep warm as she began the journey home. 

For a moment, the cold and sadness made Iyori forget to check the directions on her phone and she simply kept walking on and on, down the street, following its every twist and turn. It wasn’t until later, when she took a good look around, that she realized she hadn’t been walking in the right direction, not even remotely.

Letting out a sigh, and internally scolding herself, Iyori took out her phone to check her GPS, but just as she was about to unlock it, a text message ticked in. Shuya’s face was the first to come up, but just a second later, her mind filled with horror.

“I SEE YOU.”

Iyori immediately turned around, looking over her shoulder, to her left and right, but no one was there. 

“YOU SLUT.”

The next message made her whole body shiver and she immediately started walking again, in no regards of the direction. 

She just needed to get away. Leave. Now.

The messages kept ticking in one by one, each one making Iyori’s steps go faster and her heartbeat the same. 

“DO YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING?”

“I KNOW YOU!”

“I SEE YOU!”

“YOU CAN’T RUN.”

In spite of the messages, Iyori’s fast walking had soon turned into running and she just kept running, following the street wherever it lead her. It suddenly got further and further between the houses. The streetlights weren’t many and some of them didn’t even work. All of Iyori’s senses and defenses were up while she kept running, her heavy breathing and pain in her feet and legs the only thing she could feel. 

She turned another corner and felt her phone vibrating again, when suddenly, a person appeared in front of her and Iyori screamed from the top of her lungs. 

“Stop, please stop, dear child.” Iyori opened her eyes and closed her mouth, only to see an elderly couple standing in front of her, looking like they were out on an evening stroll. 

As the adrenaline in her body disappeared, Iyori felt the tears pressing on and in a matter of seconds, she started crying uncontrollably, the old man and woman looking at her in great distress.

“Dear child,” said the old lady and put her arm around Iyori. “Don’t be scared, come on, just breathe now, and relax.” Iyori felt the warmth from the lady’s embrace make her body slowly calm down again. As her cries turned into sobs and slowly stopped completely, she took a step back and wiped her eyes.

“S... Sorry...” stuttered Iyori in a hoarse voice.

“That’s okay,” said the old lady. “But please, do tell us what is wrong?”

“Yes, did someone do something to you?” said the old man. Iyori quickly shook her head.

“No... not yet... I... I don’t know...” said Iyori and felt her eyes get teary again.

“Not yet? Dear, please tell us.” Iyori looked at the two elderly people, both of them looking back at her with genuine care. She held her phone firmly in her hand behind her back, trying to force herself to show it, but in the end, she couldn’t.

“Sorry, there’s... there’s nothing to tell...” said Iyori and wiped her eyes again. “I’m just really scared of the dark and I got lost on my way home and then I thought someone was following me, so I just got really scared.” It wasn’t all a lie and the couple looked at each other, trying to determine whether to believe her or not.

“Are you sure?” asked the old lady and Iyori nodded.

“Yes, I’m really sorry I gave both of you such a scare,” said Iyori.

“Alright, but at least let us walk you home,” said the old man. “We can’t have a young girl like you walking around at night.”

“Thank... Thank you...” said Iyori, too scared to keep her pride at this point.

After telling them her address, the couple walked with her until she was outside the door to her house. 

In the end, she hadn’t run in the completely opposite direction, at least it didn’t take as long to get home as she feared. 

She again thanked the couple many times and waved goodbye to them, whereafter she entered her house. Running past her mother, father, Aiko and her sister, Iyori locked herself in the bathroom, quickly taking out her phone to read through the new messages.

“YOU CAN’T HIDE FOREVER.” 

Iyori stared at the message for several minutes, her mind drifting away, out of the bathroom, out of the house, out of the world. For a moment, she even forgot to breathe, but quickly came back to earth and looked at her phone again. 

“Iyori,” yelled Hanako while pounding on the door. “I need to use the bathroom, are you done soon?”

“Yes, just a second,” said Iyori and flushed the toilet to buy herself some time. She opened the hose and let the water run while she typed in a message on her phone.

“Alright,” yelled Iyori and turned off the hose, whereafter she unlocked the door to the bathroom and Hanako rushed inside and locked it again. Iyori stood outside for a second, staring at the message.

“I will come back to work, so please just leave me, my family and my friends alone.” 

And... send!

Hello everyone!

I didn't get to post this chapter last week since I was really busy, but here is it! the dramatic follow up to the last chapter. I hope you liked it!

Also, I hope you all feel safe and are happy and healthy. 

Love, Annalise~