October, 2nd Friday
"(Y/n), are you ok...?" Lala gently shook her friend's unmoving form, as the girl could only stare at the ceiling with a dazed look. "(Y/n), do you want some hot chocolate...?" The girl remained unstirred by her friend's offer and simply focused all her attention to the white canvas above her, as her mind swirled with nothingness.
"What's up with her?" Saki peeked over her sister's shoulder to take in the catatonic female.
"She's been like this since I woke up," Lala stealthily leaned in to her twin so as to whisper her concern, "I don't think she's even blinked all night." The female looked back at the paralysed girl.
"(Y/n)! You want something from the shop? I can quickly run out and get you something..." But as she realised none of her words were getting through to her friend, Saki exhaled and went back to collecting her school equipment.
"Are you alright, dear?" Lala tenderly touched the girl's head to confirm that she was not suffering an ailment that effected her mood. "Hey, how about you go freshen up in the bathroom, come on." The girl had to struggle at lifting her friend up at a sitting position until (Y/n) finally found the motor functions to perform the other half of the task. "Good girl!" Lala patted the female on the back as encouragement.
(Y/n) melancholically made her slow progression to the bathroom and as she was left to her lonesome in the white surroundings, she looked at herself in the mirror. There were shadows of dark circles under her eyes and dilated pupils and red scleras, to indicate her night of unrest. 'Why...?' It had been the only question that would circulate through her subconscious the entirety of the night. She reached into the pocket of her pyjama pants and took out the device that would constantly send her into nightmares. She stared at the phone as irritated huffs were created from the female exhales. Like magic, it began to buzz against her palm, causing tingles to run up against her back.
"Hi angel! Guess what day it is today?!" (Y/n) grunted at the boy's disgustingly cheerful mood. "Today is the day I get to hold you in my arms again! Isn't that exiting?!" The girl could practically feel the spring in the boy's step as he talks about her return like a regular occurrence.
"I'm not coming back..."
"Aaaww don't be like that, angel. I'll buy you so many gifts when you come back, you'll forget that everything even happened." Ryo chirped up in a positive tone.
"Ryo, can't you see I'm not well...? After all, you seem to have me under surveillance." (Y/n) pinched the bridge of her nose and the start of her eye muscles to bring a relaxed sensation to her nerves.
"Yeah but...I can't see you at the moment." The girl raised an eyebrow at the claim.
"How profound...you were so high and giddy when you had an eye on me." The male huffed out in annoyance at the girl's comeback.
"Don't talk like that, I could still see you."
"Really? Because I think I found a blind spot in your little technique." Ryo pouted at the female's consistent mockery.
"Well, if you only accepted my gifts then maybe..." The boy quickly trailed off but no sooner before the girl caught on to the unintentional confession of his statement.
"What?"
"W-what?"
"What did you mean by that?" The girl was given a confirming gulp from the boy, knowing very well she had taken a step at uncovering his method of watchfulness.
"I mean...then maybe you would be accepting of me-"
"Ryo don't even try! What do your gifts have to do with your stalking?" There was a long moment of silence that she had to go through before getting a response in the form of a joyful chuckle, and a buoyant tone.
"See the bunnies sleeping till it's nearly noon
Shall we wake them up with a merry tune?
They're so still, are they ill?" The male soothingly hummed the joyful tune as realisation quickly began seeping through the female's mind. "Wake up little bunnies!
Hop little bunnies, hop hop hop~"
"RYO!" (Y/n) screamed out to the boy who simply burst into a slew of laughter after he finally got through to her.
"Bye bye angel~" With those last words, he ended the call for the girl and left her to boil at the discovery.
(Y/n) burst out of the bathroom and stomped into the room where she ignored the bewildered glances from the pair of girl who had finished preparing for a day of school. The girl strode over to the sitting bunny that was still resting on the night stand and looked straight into its honey, glass eyes.
"(Y/n)...? What are you-?" Before the female could finish her inquiry, her friend reached over the bed to open the window, and wordlessly flung the toy out into the outside world. "W-what did you do that for?!" Lala ran up to window to check on the condition of the plushy, more confused than angry at the girl's actions.
"He's been spying on me with that thing..." (Y/n) quietly said, meaning for it to be mostly an observation for her privacy.
"Who?" Saki walked up to the girl to take notice of the device tightly clenched in her hand. "What's that?" She reached out to snatch the phone but its owner pulled away before that could happen.
"Uuh, it's..." (Y/n) attempted to search through her mind for an excuse that could be handed to the girls, but her brain became frozen as the device in her hand began buzzing, demanding for her attention. By that time, Lala had also been notified of the mobile and as each ring echoed through the walls, increasing the intoxicating ambiance until (Y/n) built up the panicking courage to answer. "What?" It was a flat, rolling response with an undertone of annoyance.
"Am I going to be seeing you today darling?" Kaito happily spoke out.
"No!"
"Why so irritated? Do you honestly think that this choice would benefit you in some way?"
"It'll benefit me in all ways if it means I don't get to see you guys again." But she knew what a risk it was in actuality. With her response, she was endangering the health and safety of her friends and wasn't sure what to expect with her reply. However, to her amazement, she received an unexpected reaction when the boy light-heartedly chuckled at her reply.
"I guess I should have expected this from you. You don't exactly like agreeing with me." For a moment, the girl had hope that she would receive some sort of mercy from the male and some motivation rose her spirits. "I completely understand your decision (Y/n). I'm glad you chose to be honest with me."
"D-do you really mean that?" Relief overwhelmed the girl as a confirming response was indicated.
"After all, it's on your conscience what happens to your friends." As the allegation she had felt a moment ago quickly dissolved to leave terror in its place, the girl intently hung on each word sent her way. "It's best you wish Kenzan a safe trip back." Click.
(Y/n) was left to be engulfed by the silence that accompanied the boy's absence. As his words wrapped themselves around her head, adrenalin began circulating through her veins and she fearfully took the phone to call the boy back.
"(Y/n), what's going on?" Saki approached her frantic friend, but was given no response as she was in a bubble of self paranoia.
'Please, please, please, please...' Her grip on the device became lubricated from her sweating hands, and her vision became hazed and merging as tears came to her eyes after alarming thoughts and images began filling her psychosis. After five attempts at calling the ruby haired male and receiving no answer, she tried to take the same chance with the rest of the group.
For a total of 3 minutes she remained undisturbed as she frantically called each one of the boys, to only be left for a voice message. When she was about to take another round at distraught calling again, the phone was relentlessly snatched from her slippery grip. "NO!" (Y/n) hurled herself at the individual to take back the object. Saki jut barely dodged her friend's assault and ran to Lala for cover.
"(Y/n), dear just take it easy and tell us what's wrong?" Lala put her hands out to gesture soothingly for her friend to cease her frenzied state. However, the girl had her eyes locked on the phone like a life line, and carefully calculated any sort of trajectory that would lead to her success in getting the it back.
"Out of my way! There's no time for this!" (Y/n) approached the two girls with heavy and unwavering strides. While Saki took the option of backing away from her unstable friend, Lala stood her ground and sternly watched the female. "I said move!" The blond chose not to budge, glaring at the girl that was now standing tall in front of her like a towering army of one. "There's no time for this, give me the phone!" The tomboy further retreated to let her sister take the verbal assault and work as a human shield. "Damn it all, get out of my way-!" (Y/n) felt a sharp sting against her cheek as her neck was forced to the side by the piercing pressure that grazed her face. With the pain, came the reality of the situation as the girl's mind started to clear up, and her gears proceeded to work at a calming pace. After her snap back to the real world, she was allowed to speculate her friend's enraged expression.
The girl touched her stinging cheek and stared, wide eyed at the petite girl in front of her while Saki also seemed taken aback by the turn of events. "Don't you dare...don't you dare speak to me like that! Don't you dare talk to me like I'm some street dog! You have the nerve to keep something like that from us," she threw her finger to point at the device that was still held in her sister's hand, and shot her stunned friend a scornful glare, "and then you still have the nerve of expecting us to willingly comply with you! (Y/n), the moment you entered this home, your problems became our problems because we agreed to trust each other. We're here, as a team! You've got no right to be keeping something, that has to do with that group of psychos, from us. What might be a threat to you, is a threat to us, because as much as you might underestimate it, you're not just our 'friend.' We're all involved in this scheme and in order for us to get out of this mess we can't depend on working alone in this. Now you either explain what that thing is meant for, or you can expect my trust towards you as nonexistent."
"You go girl..." Saki silently whispered under her breath, unsure how the term had come to mind.
(Y/n) stared at the vexed blond and guilt began taking its turn in attacking her. "I-I'm sorry...I didn't...I didn't want...-I'm so sorry..." Lala sighed and softened her stance as she placed one hand on the female's back.
"I'm going to guess you were doing this with good intentions, but enough is enough...now explain to us what's happening."
(Y/n) ran around the town in desperate pursuit to find the endangered boy. 'He should have arrived around here 20 minutes ago, according to what Saki said. I need to find him before anything happens.' She turned a few corners, having little success in her findings. 'Damn it! Where could he be...? Ok, let's think logically, they wouldn't attack him around a place that would have people, then where would they...?' As she paced around the street, she thought hard over the location she should be searching for. After careful consideration, an area seemed to pop into mind as she recited what way Kenzan would take to return home. 'He would take the bus from town to the large shops, then...' As she put herself along the path of each given checkpoint, a specific destination seemed to stand out that could possibly mean danger. She took the second phone in possession and sent two messages before jogging to her assigned point.
As she neared the desolate pathway, her breath became unsteady as the puffs of clouds that emerged out of her mouth became uneven with the cold air surrounding the environment. When she came closer to her destination, she slowed her approach after hearing a loud clatter and crack close to her location. The girl cautiously walked towards the corner that held the noise beyond it, and pressed herself to the wall to belittle her presence and peeked behind the edge to see what was making the ruckus.
Kenzan was thrown to make an ungraceful collision with the rough surface of the bricks, as a small crack was heard from the impact his head made with the rocky substance. The boy's breaths were almost inexistent, without the soft puffs of vapour emerging from his mouth, instead a large trail of crimson fluid dripping from the brim beyond his lips. Droplets of the dark, ruby liquid trickling down his bruised face, caressing each black and blue patch on his skin, covering the marks and scratched in a layer of a velvet red.
Bako calmly walked up to the boy's limp body and stared down at the slumped form with an unadorned expression. The azure haired male's own build was decorated in the scarlet stains from his opponent's blood, but didn't seem to faze him as he wore each blot and spray as a badge of honour. His unreadable eyes gazed at the other student's condition, an unintentional smile played on his lips at the handy work he had made on the boy. Bako raised his foot to thrust it at the unconscious teenager's chest, forcing the last remanence of breath to escape his wounded chest. "What do you mean to her...? You can't give her anything..." He continued to apply pressure against the blond's rib cage, progressively hearing the hinging sound of the bones fracturing under his merciless assault on them. "I can give her so much. So much love, so much security, so much provision...what the hell do you have to offer?" He received no response from the unmoving boy and scoffed at his state. "Exactly...nothing." Bako brought his foot back prepared to build momentum for a strike that would undoubtably cause serious damage to the defeated male.
"Bako, stop!" The teenager in question halted his attack with skilled control, inches away from his opponent's face and glanced at the person interrupting the confrontation.
"(Y/n)~" He breathes out her name, having waited a long time to finally lay his gaze on the girl that he dearly missed. "My darling, you actually came-" Just as Bako made steps toward approaching the female, she equally took steps back to add on distance. The boy frowned at the action and turned back to glare at the direction that (Y/n)'s eyes were intently locked on. "So you came for this wretch...how cute." The girl was slightly taken by surprise at the last comment, and anxiously watched as Bako approached the numb body and knelt down to proudly look at his work, and speak to his lifeless rival. "Kenzan my boy, you should be considering yourself the luckiest person on the planet. My sweetheart has come all the way here to save your sorry a**, even after the way you abandoned her. Shouldn't you be at least thankful." He reached out his hand toward Kenzan's head, immediately alerting the girl's hind sight.
"Don't touch him!"
"Sshhhh sweetness, I want to hear his response." (Y/n) bit back every shout and warning she had at her tongue as Bako grabbed a handful of the male's hair and brought his face closer. The cobalt eyed boy pretended to carefully listen and await for a reply until he simply sighed in disappointment at the lacking reaction. "Well...chivalry is hard to come across these days, so I do hope you can forgive him." He let go of the boy's garnet smeared locks, letting his head hang down, and smiled towards the miserable girl.
"Oh Kenzan...I'm so sorry." She tried to hold back the tears that came with the sight of her friend's worn down body. Bako picked up on the unintentional whisper and glared at the female.
"You're apologising to ｈｉｍ? After what you've made us go through, after how worried we were, after so many sleepless nights you apologise to this scum?!" The girl gulped and slowly began backing away as the boy proceeded to pace towards her. "After what he made you feel, after how upset this parasite made you, you still apologise to him...?! I don't like that (Y/n), it disgusts me at the injustice of your apology..." Closer and closer he came towards the retreating female. "But it's alright, I don't care now that you're here. You'll stay, right?" (Y/n) shook her head in firm disagreement before sprinting away from the scene. "Where are you going darling?! Don't you know the lion always catches the prey?!" The boy bolted in pursuit at the escaping girl.
(Y/n) knew she had no endurance that would allow her to flee from the male's targeting eyes and knew if she didn't think quickly for an escape, there would be little point to her plan. She didn't dare glance behind her, knowing it would only hinder her hopes and kept a dashing speed as much as her legs could allow her. 'I should have taken PE more seriously.' She regretfully thought until noticing a moving shadow at the corner of her eye. As she approached a large, unused car park, she could hear the rumbling of an engine emerging from the small tunnel made on one part of the brick wall. An idea came into mind as the she heard the car approaching the end of the makeshift cavern, 'I'm probably gonna die...' She quickly sprinted to the oncoming vehicle, Bako closely following in her lead, completely lost and confused at what the girl had in mind. With a last inhale of breath, she gathered up momentum for her risky stunt.
As one half of the car had surfaced from within the exit of the tight space, (Y/n) leaped up onto the hood and instantaneously jumped on top of the roof of the vehicle, and with impetus force sprung off the exterior of the conveyance and latched her hands onto the very top of the wall and used the rushing adrenalin and spurt of motivation to utilise the caused friction of the grooved surface with her shoes to haul herself up, taking the chance to rest on top of the safe checkpoint. "I-I...made it..." She heavily panted, having trouble intaking the proper amount of oxygen to allow control over her natural bodily functions.
(Y/n) took the opportunity to look down on her stunned pursuer, who stared up at his prey in bewilderment at her bold risk before an unnatural grin spread across his features. "Hahahahaha! AMAZING! Amazing, (Y/n)! You beautiful creature! You know how to exceed my expectations (Y/n)! Well played, darling! Very well played!" The female noticed the owner of the car had stopped halfway through the tunnel, blocking out anyone from entering, and passing through to the other side. She knew the driver must have had some sort of temporary shock at her sudden, unorthodox actions, so she took the chance to jump down to the other side.
Bako stayed behind, knowing very well he would not be able to reach her with the car in his way, and instead took the moment to admire her quick performance.
(Y/n) collapsed as she hit the concrete from the hight of the fall, and heard her bones crack upon impact. As she got up, she thankfully didn't feel anything broken, beside the exhausted tightening of her muscles that came with the unheard of running she was forced to put her body through. The female ignored her aching body, taking the advantage of her safe pathway to run back in the direction she had come from. 'Never. Again.'
"(Y/n)!" Lala threw her arms around the exasperated girl, and had to virtually carry her into the house and leave the female to collapse onto the couch. "Did you run a marathon? You look absolutely beat." The blond handed the girl a glass of needed water. (Y/n) quickly chugged the contents down and only paused for a large intake of breath at the very end.
"How...how's Kenzan?" Lala gave her a shrug as a rejoinder.
"We just made it back a few minutes ago. Carrying our brother all the way back wasn't exactly an easy task." (Y/n) smiled that her plan had worked. After explaining her position and the situation to the twins, she was sure she could use their involvement in some way to aid in the boy's rescue. And to her gratefulness, the whole execution had gone smoother than she had originally presumed. "After you distracted Bako, Saki was ready to run after you but I had to remind her three times that we needed to get Kenzan and exit while he was gone."
"Gees, you don't have to give details." The other twin ascended from the second floor, seeming exhausted from the events she had to endure as well.
"How's Kenzan?" The (e/c) eyed female sat up to regard the newcomer.
"I don't really know...I think he'll need to go to the hospital, I tried to do some handy work with the medical kit, but he'll definitely need some professional attention on him." (Y/n) slouched at the news, though she expected an answer similar to the one she was given. After witnessing his condition and wounds inflicted on him, it would seem impossible for a person to survive a beating of that sort without proper attention. "You're lucky our parents won't come back until 8, so we have time to think over what we have to do." The trio gathered on the couch to take a small moment of relaxation and to glorify their small, temporary victory.
"Haha, you wouldn't believe what I had to do to get away. I almost died." (Y/n) chuckled when Saki shot her sister a look of spiteful irritation after realising what she had missed to be a part of.
"Don't give me that! You know I couldn't carry him all the way here on my own. Plus, you probably would have gotten in her way." Lala playfully flicked her sister's forehead, for purposeful aggravation.
"'Get in the way'?! That's a load of-" The naturally mischievous air around the three girls was briskly interrupted by the familiar, traumatic vibrations of a certain phone that rested against the table. The females all looked towards the device with silent glanced being exchanged between them for the longest time, before Saki swallowed the lump in her throat and dared to take the first step in speaking out what was on all their minds. "That's..."
"Yeah...it's them."