It had already been over 2 weeks since Kuro walked Akari home and yet the whispers and rumors were still spreading around the school.
"I heard they're neighbors!" They would say.
"I heard they're secretly living together." Others said.
"I heard they are in a secret relationship and she came from the country side to be with him!"
"She's pregnant."
Akari just wanted to have a normal high school life, but just a little over 2 weeks in and she was already in a mess of drama. She heard that floods of girls were approaching Kuro with love confessions after hearing he walked her home. Apparently, they thought that if Akari had a chance, they had an even better one. She shook her head. This was just getting absolutely ridiculous.
She stomped her foot, stopping in the middle of the school hallway, gaining even more stares and whispers. That was enough! How could they possibly think they were secret lovers when they weren't even literally neighbors? He just happened to live a few houses down from her apartment complex. She hardly even saw him! In fact, she only saw him once after that day. Akari scratched the back of her arm and blushed. It was an unexpected meeting.
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She had gone to the local bookstore after school one day. When she went to the desk to buy her book, the cashier was distracted and hadn't noticed her. At first, Akari waited patiently for him to turn around. When he still didn't notice her, she tried knocking on the counter, but he didn't seem to hear her over the music playing in the shop. She knocked a little harder and even coughed, but there was no reaction.
"Excuse me?" Someone suddenly appeared beside her and Akari jumped in shock. She glanced up, and to her horror, she found the third-year prince standing before her. He never looked at her and instead, put his own book on the counter. Akari looked at the title and scrunched her nose. He sure enjoyed reading really boring texts.
The cashier turned around, finally noticing their presence and apologized to them both for making them wait. Akari smiled and glanced at Kuro. He called the cashier's attention for her.
Akari began to hand the book to the cashier, but Kuro beat her to it. He handed his own purchase and the cashier took it first. She snapped her attention to him and her humor faded instantly. He didn't catch the attention for the cashier for her at all! He had the audacity to skip her even though she waited there first! Maybe he didn't recognize her? Akari's mouth settled into a grim line. Even if he didn't recognize her, it was wrong to skip someone. She bit the inside of her cheek in annoyance.
The cashier finished the sale and handed Kuro his purchase. As Kuro turned to leave, he looked Akari straight in the eye and then walked out without muttering a word.
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"Are you done for today, Akari?" Chiyo walked into the classroom and snapped Akari back to reality. Chiyo set down the garbage can and dusted off her hands. Akari quickly nodded in response and began to gather her bags. "Mao is already changing for practice, so we can head over to the courts now." Chiyo pointed in the general direction of the tennis courts and Akari clapped her hands excitedly. They were going to watch Mao practice today.
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It was last week when Kuro was walking up the hill and he noticed Akari walk into the local book store. He cursed silently to himself. She was the last person he wanted to see. Even so, he quietly entered the book store and watched her through the bookshelves behind her. He watched her pull out a book and walk to the checkout counter, only to stand there silently. At first, she tried to politely wait for the man, but he didn't notice her. 'Say something, you stupid girl...now isn't the time to be shy...' Kuro thought to himself. He was starting to feel annoyed. Before he realized what he was doing, Kuro grabbed a random book and walked to the counter. He just couldn't stand watching her any longer.
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"Kurooooo." Someone called his name in a sing song voice. He was walking down the hallway when he paused mid-stride. The owner of the voice ran up from behind and stopped in front of him. It was another female student to approach him that day. She held her hands behind her back and she glanced up at him, flirtatiously.
"Kuro, will you help me study this weekend? My grades are falling and since you are the smartest guy in the school, I thought I could ask you to help me?" She asked and then stepped towards him. "My parents won't be home, so you don't have to worry about distractions." Her voice fell to a whisper. He felt disgusted. Kuro was about to push past her when someone threw an arm over his shoulder.
"Daito." Kuro said and picked his friend's arm off his shoulders. Daito gave him a side smile and then leaned towards the female student.
"Sorry sweetheart, but he has a date with me this weekend." He winked at her and gave her a charming smile. The student responded with a disappointed scowl, but then glanced at Kuro again.
"In case you change your mind, let's exchange phone numbers." She said and pulled out her phone. Kuro ignored her and continued down the hallway. Daito let out a short laugh and watched the female student scoff, as if insulted. She stormed off and Daito caught up to his friend.
"Another broken heart....you probably lost another member of your fan club." He joked, throwing his arm over Kuro's shoulder again. "What number does that make it this week? ...20?...30?" Daito teased.
"Not nearly enough." Kuro said, annoyed. Daito was the only person Kuro allowed to talk to him. It started during their first year when Daito approached him and wouldn't stop babbling to him. Despite the many times Kuro ignored him, Daito never gave up and eventually Kuro just gave in. As time went on, Daito was the only person he could tolerate for long periods of time.
"That's too bad for you. They'll rejoin the club within a couple days. They never stay away for long." His friend said and then quickly stepped in front of Kuro, putting a hand out to stop him.
"Let's watch the tennis team practice." He winked. Kuro glared at him.
"Why would I do that?" He asked and walked around him.
"Oh c'mooon~" Daito whined. "I look desperate if I go watch all by myself!" He said and then stopped Kuro again. "That sexy chick Makiko is in the tennis club. I want to go watch her in action." He smiled and wiggled his brows. If Kuro didn't know Daito any better, he would think Daito was a creep. Kuro went to walk around him when Daito stopped him again. "I overheard that your girlfriend is there too." Daito gave him a sly smirk.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Kuro said and continued walking. Kuro surprised himself when Akari popped into his mind even though Daito hadn't specified a name.
Recently, he had seen quite a lot of her around school and even when he was traveling to and from school. She never saw him, but he always seemed to catch a glimpse of her. He expected to never see or deal with her again, but he was seeing her everywhere. She was even the cause of his recent problems. She was like a parasite he couldn't get rid of. Kuro felt impatience fill him.
"It's finally Friday and you have nothing better to do anyway." Daito stuffed his hands in the pockets of his slacks. "Quit being a bore and help a friend out." He said. Kuro wanted to argue that accompanying him while he gawked at women was not 'helping a friend out' but he remained quiet. When Daito realized that Kuro wasn't arguing with him, he smiled and slapped his arm. "Alright!" He said.
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"This wasn't what I meant when I said we would watch the tennis club practice..." Daito said but Kuro ignored him. They stood on the other side of the fence of the tennis courts, quite a distance from where the club was practicing. Kuro simply chose to read, but grew irritated when he couldn't seem to concentrate. He found himself glancing over to the sidelines where Akari, the parasite, sat with her friend. Kuro looked away. Why was she everywhere he went?
"I should have joined the tennis club..." Daito shook his head with regret and then gave Kuro a side glance. It didn't go unnoticed that Kuro was staring at someone and was obviously feeling quite bothered by it. Daito smirked and kicked the dirt with his foot. "So uh...tell me about this rumor going around about you and the new transfer student." He sniffed.
"It was just a favor for our teacher." Kuro answered, bringing his attention to his book. Daito urged him to continue.
"What kind of favor?" He asked. Kuro tried to continue reading.
"I showed her the way home." He said, simply. Daito raised his eyebrows in seeming bewilderment.
"Ah...I see." He answered and then looked into the crowd. "Is she here like I heard she would be?" He looked at Kuro again. Kuro slightly lifted his gaze from the book, but did not look in the parasite's direction.
"I don't remember her face." He responded. Daito let out a small snort, but left it at that. Kuro turned his back to the practice and leaned against the fence.
What a strange girl she was. To be fair, he didn't exactly try to make conversation with her. Even so, he never found himself in a situation where the other person did not try to at least say something. Not only did she not say a word, but when they arrived at her place she just ran off after giving him a piece of melted chocolate. Was that supposed to be her way of thanking him...giving him a piece of old candy?
'...definitely a weird one...' He thought again for what must have been the millionth time.
"Heyy! Sensei!" Daito suddenly yelled and was waving to someone behind them. Kuro turned his head and their old homeroom teacher was walking towards them. Kuro stood up straight from leaning against the gate to greet him.
"Ahh...! Daito! How nice to see you!" Their teacher chuckled, happy to see his old student. He then turned his attention to Kuro and thanked him again for showing Akari the way home. Kuro just gave him a curt nod in response.
"Akari seems to be fitting in just fine." The teacher said, straightening his glasses.
"Oh, is that her name? Akari..." Daito said, considering the name.
"Her uncle asked the school to help her in any way possible. I thought maybe having a fellow student show her the way home would help her get more comfortable with the city." He said and then put a hand on Kuro's shoulder. "Was it difficult for you, Kuro?" He asked him, but he spoke again before Kuro could respond. The teacher raised his eyebrows and shrugged a shoulder. "Ah well...I suppose it would be difficult to communicate with someone who is mute..." He said. Kuro abruptly snapped his attention to him.
"What??"
Daito was taken aback by Kuro's sudden outburst. Kuro couldn't believe his naiveté. The girl didn't speak because she couldn't speak? How could he not have realized she was mute? The teacher nodded as if he hadn't noticed his sudden change in disposition.
"I was worried that she would be ostracized, but she is getting along just fine!" He smiled with satisfaction. He glanced down at his watch and then let out a short exclamation. He was late and had to rush off. He said goodbye to the both of them and headed off. Daito waved goodbye and then turned his attention to Kuro with a cheeky grin.
"Did you know she couldn't speak?" Daito scratched his chin and chuckled, enjoying Kuro's obvious frustration. Kuro cursed under his breath and stared at Akari through the fence. 'That girl...' He thought, furiously. How could she not tell him? He slammed his book shut, placing it under his arm.
"I'm leaving." He said and walked away before Daito could protest.
"I'll text you later." Daito yelled after him and just chuckled, shaking his head.
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Akari shielded her eyes from the blazing hot sun and fanned herself. She was dying in the heat, but she enjoyed watching Mao practice nonetheless. Chiyo wasn't kidding when she said Mao was really good at the sport. She was destroying her other team member.
"Hey..." Chiyo suddenly nudged Akari in the gut and pointed somewhere in the distance. "...isn't that our teacher and Kuro talking?" She said. Akari strained her neck and just as Chiyo said, there they stood behind the fence. "I wonder what they are doing there." Chiyo said exactly what Akari was thinking.
There was another male student who she did not recognize. She was surprised that Kuro actually had friends. From where she sat, she could see that he was also very handsome. Despite his good looks, her eyes were still drawn to Kuro. The teacher was saying something to him and to her surprise, Kuro suddenly exploded. She could tell by the way his friend jumped at his response. She blinked, straining to hear them even though she knew it was impossible. The teacher glanced at his watch and quickly left them. Kuro and his friend passed a few words before he began to walk away, seemingly in a bitter mood. Akari watched him with anxiousness. He looked even more intimidating when he was upset.
'Thank goodness I have nothing to do with it.' She thought in relief. Her sigh of relief was instantly sucked back in and she held her breath. As if he heard her from that distance, Kuro turned his head and Akari could have sworn he was looking right at her.