I almost forgot to transfer this one to BOTH books, instead of just into my Yandere X Reader book. Sorry to those who might have been waiting for something like this to show up in here!
I let out a small whimper as my hand went to the bruise I could already feel forming on my hip, right were the desk had hit when the girls had rushed over to talk to Kurama, the idol who attended class these days. With a sigh, I limped over to my desk and sat down, uninterested in the flurry of activity that often seemed to surround the charismatic but egotistical boy the other girls seemed to adore.
"Hey, are you okay? That looks like it hurt." I looked up and saw Nanami gazing at me in concern, her eyes filled with worry.
"I'll be okay, it's just a bruise. Besides, the day's pretty much over. The girls just wanted to get one last rush of fangirling in before their Idol left for the day." Letting out a weak laugh, I tried to wave her off as I began gathering my stuff to head home.
She refused to leave me be, grabbing my hand and gently dragging me to the nurses office to 'treat the wound' as best she could. I really couldn't understand her determination, since it hadn't been her fault and it wasn't like we were friends. We just shared a classroom.
I stood there awkwardly as she looked around for the nurse, my fingers plucking at my skirt as I turned my head from side to side, eyes wandering from desk to bed to cabinet and back as I waited. Maybe the nurse had left for the day and I could just go home, avoiding the whole situation...
"Hey, Nanami! What the heck are you doing in here?! You're supposed to head straight home to the shrine, not play around and leave me waiting!" An agitated voice came from the doorway, my head turning quickly as I jumped in place, pain shooting through my hip.
I let out a moan as I turned to lean against the nearby bed, missing the widening of the white-haired young man's eyes as he turned towards me.
"Tomoe! Thank goodness you are here! I can't find the nurse, so do you think you can help me? She banged her hip pretty hard against a desk in class and it needs to be treated!" Nanami's voice rang through the room from the far corner.
"What the heck do you want me to do?!" The young man, Tomoe, questioned loudly as he began stalking across the room, looking ready to drag the girl out by force if he had to.
I simply stayed where I was, draped partway across the bed as I felt my hip start to throb. My (e/c) eyes began to tear up a bit from the pain, my fingers clenching against the bed sheets.
"If you can find me a painkiller, I'll be fine with that. After that, you can go. I'm used to dealing with stuff like this on my own." I managed to say quietly through the pain, managing to keep my voice from trembling too much. I didn't notice Tomoe pause mid-step before turning gracefully towards the cabinet that held the medical supplies.
"What do you mean, used to dealing with stuff like this?" Nanami asked, her voice filled with worry and suspicion as she shifted closer.
"Likely not what you are thinking. I just bruise really easy, always have and likely always will. This one's just a bit worse than I usually get. Next time I'll just be more careful to stay in my seat until after the girls have raced over for their fangirling session." I tried to sound cheerful about it and failing as I felt my hip muscles twinge, causing my to flinch in pain.
"Here." The short word was accompanied by the sound of rattling as a small bottle of pills was thrust towards me, Tomoe's head turned to the side as he avoided looking my direction.
Taking the pills with a slightly trembling hand, I managed to give him a small smile as I said thanks, quickly twisting the cap off the bottle and shaking out two small white tablets. As soon as I had the cap back on, a paper cup filled with water was held before me, bringing a bigger smile of gratitude to my face.
"Thank you again, Tomoe-san." I said softly to him, popping the pills into my mouth and easing them down with a few small gulps of water. Sighing in relief that the pain would soon be relieved, I once more leaned across the bed, waiting for the pills to kick in.
I barely noticed the two as they slipped out of the nurses office quietly, barely managing to mumble a goodbye before they were gone, the door sliding shut gently as I was left with nothing but the slowly easing pain and thoughts about the strange kindness from someone who had at first seemed so unwilling to help.
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Over the next few weeks, I found myself spending more and more time with Nanami, a strange sort of friendship arising from that one incident. Even Tomoe would show up from time to time, seemingly caught somewhere between enjoyment of the time spent together and being conflicted about something that seemed stuck in his mind.
I sometimes caught him with a look of uncertainty on his face as he gazed into the sky, his usually steady hands tapping out a quick rhythm on the blanket as we sat eating lunch on the rooftop. One day, I finally decided to see if I could help him solve whatever was bothering him so deeply.
"Tomoe, you've been looking worried for a while now. Is there something bothering you? Maybe I can help." I gave a cheerful smile, trying to lighten his mood as I waited patiently for his answer, happy when I noticed the corners of his lips twitch upward for a moment before he put on a serious expression.
"What do girls these days look for in a guy? What makes them choose one over another?" The intensity of his gaze as he waited had me almost breaking a sweat, fidgeting until realization had me dropping my jaw in front of him.
"There's someone you like? Oh, oh! Let me guess! Is it Nanami-chan?" I was bouncing slightly in place as I clasped my hands together in front of me, excited at the idea of the only two friends I really cared about getting together.
"No. Please just answer the question, (y/n)." He tried to put on a bored face, but I could feel the intensity of his gaze as I stood there, still sure it had to be Nanami that he was falling for.
I spent the rest of our lunch break describing the various things I had heard girls talk about when mentioning their ideal guys, slipping in the things I always admired in the few boys that I knew, even the stuff I saw strangers doing for their loved ones that caught my eye.
There were so many things I mentioned that soon I found myself being interrupted by the bell signaling the end of lunch.. After saying our goodbyes, I headed towards the classroom, not knowing that simply turning around would have given me sight to the calculating gaze that followed me.
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I couldn't believe what I'd just heard from his lips. Was that really a confession? Someone was confessing to me? Standing there shocked, all I could do was nod and watch on as the quiet boy from the classroom next door let out a loud cheer as he suddenly jumped forward to pull me into a hug. At that point, I couldn't help but start grinning a bit, growing excited at the thought of telling my friends about this unexpected turn of events.
After talking a bit and agreeing to meet at the gates after school today, I headed off to class, lunch nearly over at this point. I'd explain things to Nanami during break and hope she would be willing to pass my apologies to Tomoe until I could do so myself next time he visited.
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The rest of the week passed quickly, seeming almost normal if not for the after school walks me and my new boyfriend would go on as we got to know each other. Well, that and the sudden, unexpected distance that grew between me and Nanami.
I wasn't sure why it happened but suddenly I found myself alone on the rooftop during lunches. She even started avoiding me during class, refusing to meet my eyes as she gave poor excuses to why she wasn't able to meet me for lunch or rushing over to someone else for the group assignment we were given that day.
Although my feelings were hurt, at least I had my boyfriend to turn to when I felt like crying from the feeling of my friend abandoning me. The thing that nagged the back of my mind was the complete disappearance of Tomoe, something that left me to wonder if he was avoiding me because Nanami was or if there was something else going on.
Whatever it was, I missed having those quiet conversations on the rooftop.
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Two weeks. That's all it lasted before my happiness had ended in a confusion of shouting and screams before everything went black. Hours must have passed before I woke up the first time, the smell of incense filling the room as I struggled against the ropes that bound my wrists and ankles. I'm not sure how long I tried to loosen the ropes and free my hands but it proved useless, leaving me with nothing but raw, aching flesh in return for my efforts.
Exhausted, I fell asleep again, barely hearing the sound of footsteps approaching as I slipped into an uneasy slumber.
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"I'm not letting you go. I'm not going to be abandoned again by someone I care about. I refuse to go through that again, so just stop asking! I'm taking good care of you, aren't I? I feed you the best foods, dress you in the nicest clothing and give you have the prettiest jewelry to wear. I keep you safe from anything that might hurt you. I even let you out in the garden once in a while, so what is there to complain about? I love you! Isn't that enough for you to be happy with me?!" His eyes had an almost feral look as he stared at my still figure sitting in front of him.
Even after months of being his captive, I'd still held some hope that someday he would return to being the friend I once had. As each new week passed, that hope dwindled until all that had been left was a tiny, flickering flame. Raising my head slowly, I looked in his eyes and felt that flame flicker one last time before dying out.
"I'll never leave here, I see that now. Even if I could find a way out, you'd just come after me until you caught me again. Whether I want it or not, I shall remain at your side." Looking down again from the intensity of his gaze, I ran my fingers over the silk sleeve of the kimono he had dressed me in today. "Maybe someday I can learn to be happy here, but right now I'm not."
I almost flinched when he moved closer to me, closing my eyes when I felt his hand touch my head, his clawed fingers running through my hair. Oh, the bewilderment I had felt when I'd noticed the claws on his fingers and the ears on top of his head the first time, slowly turning into fear when the reality of everything settled into my mind. My onetime friend wasn't human, had never been human. In time the fear of what he was faded, but the knowledge that he was something I'd once believed to be a simple legend remained and was reinforced with every look and touch.
And oh, how he liked to touch. Everything from running his fingers through my hair as he brushed it, not allowing me to do so by myself, to helping me get changed when I woke up and again in the evenings at bedtime. That had taken some time to get used to, although I was still uncomfortable with it.
"I can wait. After all, soon we shall have all the time in the world." I felt my heart sink as he pulled something old and powerful from deep within his sleeves.