NOVEL WEB #5 Sukuoka Harua (1/2)
Sukuoka Harua was talented in her studies since she was little.
But at the same time, she was also the type of person that was quite shy and didn't know how to socialize with others.
She suffered from social anxiety for the longest time, but afraid of being called weird by people around her, she'd kept the fact hidden even from her parents.
But Harua knew herself. She couldn't stay this way forever.
It was that kind of girl, that met with a boy who moved into her neighborhood one day.
It was so out of the blue, but Harua remembered every single detail that day.
"My name is... Nice to meet you!" The boy's cheerful voice seemed to have shook her heart greatly.
Harua's first impression of the boy was laced with both curiosity and favourable feelings.
Harua learnt of even more strong qualities he had as she knew him longer.
For one, the boy was patient.
Unlike the other kids his age, the boy never felt impatient towards her and stuck by her during her lonely childhood.
And friendly.
And considerate.
Delicate of her feelings.
Careful and surprisingly gentle for a boy. The subtleties that should have went unnoticed, were picked up by Harua.
Harua, who sought for company at that age and kept many thoughts to herself... would naturally begin to develop feelings for the boy.
Even though their exchanges were only limited to the times where they would bump into each other on the staircase, or when they would appear at the same supermarket when Harua was out shopping with her mother, the girl appreciated such fleeting company.
Walking home together was one of the greatest joys she had, and it would make her giddy with happiness for the rest of the day. It was to an extent that she began to actively camp at the supermarket each day just to get a chance at his company again. Harua's mother chalked it off as her girl's little willfullness and didn't think much of it. Harua was a responsible child her age, so she was allowed to do so as long as she didn't return home too late.
...And thus, it was natural for a little girl who'd begun to stretch the meaning of accompaniment to 'following him home' without anyone correcting her actions, that a seed of derangement was planted deep within her subconscious. It was normal, she believed.
For a bystander, they would've called what Harua had, an immature infatuation. A crush that's affected by adolescence.
But in the girl's mind, it was much, much more different.
She wanted more than just to follow him till the entrance of his house. No, Harua wanted to enter it. But even Harua understood the weight of such an action. Harua at her age was still sensible at the time.
She thought that if she were to enter the boy's house, she would do it openly as his lover instead.
There were plenty of time for him to notice her. She believed her appearance stood out in appeal among her peers.
She was definitely the only one for him.
...
A few years pass, and the two entered the same middle-school.
Harua had made disappointing progress with her plan to make the boy fall in love with her.
Still, she knew she would be chosen in the end. After all, her beauty had blossomed even more as she grew older. The guys began to notice that a flower was blooming near them. It was to the extent that Harua had received at least one confession letter in her shoebox a week.
She had not completely gotten used to her new popularity in school so Harua still had some relative trouble with adjusting from her introverted personality. In the end, she decided to shoot down all of the confessions at once by saying that she had a boyfriend. The proclamations of love had died down since then, but it was clear that her popularity still persisted despite so.
... ... ...
Harua prepared early that day, and waited at the school entrance just to take her small chance at a greeting as usual...
"Wow, what a coincidence!" The boy would laugh, and Harua would smile in return. Even listening to his chuckle sent slight shivers down her spine. The boy's existence had become something that her body instinctively needed.
She had looked into the boy's habits and routine to know he'd come at this timing. And it was all worth it. Of course, this was a privilege as a childhood friend. It was normal.
The boy himself didn't seem that interested in the other girls, so it was natural for her to feel slightly more superior than them. The only time when she'd felt threatened by a girl sitting next to her soon-to-be, Harua had scared her off using her status so she would no longer talk to him. But she must've overdone it, because the girl transferred schools the next day. But Harua felt no remorse over her actions.
She liked her chances. And she would actively keep it that way.
In addition, Harua knew that the boy had enrolled to the same school for her sake. To protect her. She knew the boy had feelings for her, but was simply too shy to admit it.
Fufu, how cute... It was only when she was thinking about the boy, that her personality had become more assertive and open. He was a key that made her feel empowered and confident.
Harua's mind was filled with heart shaped marks, and it seemed that something strange stirred underneath her abdomen whenever she thought about he boy at night. Those heated, sugary thoughts became the only thing that filled her head at some point, and the rest of the boys no longer entered her sight.
At that time, Harua believed that the boy was her destined one.
...But not long after, the boy had transferred away from some family issues.
That day, Harua felt something crack in her heart. Her beliefs were upturned, and her mind was in a chaotic mess. Harua's parents would never forget the look she had when she'd learnt of the news.
She felt betrayed. Lost.
Her only confidant was gone.
Why? Why? Why did he move away?
Family issues? But he promised... he promised to stay with me forever...
No. The boy never said anything like that.
Harua had not realized that those words were only fabricated in her mind, and the number of conversations the two had could be counted with both hands.
The days, weeks, months... years became a muddy drag for the girl.
It felt like she was empty. At some point, she'd stopped attending school altogether.
Although he had already moved away for a long time, Harua never managed to forget about him.
If only she cherished the days with the boy, if only she managed to talk a little more with him... and share even more important memories together... She regretted. Regretted.
And regretted.
In the blink of an eye, the girl had already graduated middle-school. She had scored incredibly well having taken her exams from home, yet she couldn't see a future ahead of her. During the year-end break, Harua lived her life like a zombie. She had discarded her social life at this point, because it was meaningless if the boy wasn't around.
Harua locked herself in her room for a whole week once, and had to be admitted into the hospital due to malnourishment. Her parents didn't know what was wrong with her, even after sending her for counselling many times.
The source of her depression could never be found.
Ah, I should just kill myself.
On the day that she decided to end her own life out of despair...
...by chance, a figure pass by her.
Her nose picked up on a familiar smell, and the light in Harua's eyes lit up.
"A...Aahh..."
She'd caught a quick glimpse.
Even though his appearance had matured a little, those eyes sharper and his body rougher like a man, Harua could tell immediately.
"...-kun?"
Harua chased after the boy... no, young man.
The man, unaware of her presence behind a lamppost continued to walk ahead.
Of course he couldn't. Harua had the presence of a ghost. Her expression edged towards a look of insanity, as she patiently stalked from behind.
She quickly noticed from the direction he was headed towards...
This is... my house?
The man stood before her doorstep, slid something into the letterbox, and left before she could catch up to him.
Feeling dejected, Harua returned to the letterbox and took a look inside.
"...A pamphlet?"
...High-school orientation for... Yandere High?
Her expression brightened up.
High school... the boy didn't forget about her!
He must have slid this into her letterbox, letting her know that he was going to attend this school!
...Harua's chest tightened.
"All these years..."
And now, he shows up before her with something like this.
It was as if her love for the boy had blossomed once more.
No, it never died out in the first place. Instead it thrived and grew in darkness. When it lost sunlight, that demented adoration had became something much more repulsive.
That's it. Harua would take the entrance exams for Yandere High... and get into this school with the boy, just like how he'd done for her before. He must have wanted this for her too.
With a smile all too wide to be considered anything but abnormal, Harua took great strides and returned home in a hurry.
"Haru-chan? What are you..."
"Mom!"
"E-Eh?" Sukuoka Haruka was visibly astonished at the change in her daughter's eyes. As if the past two years had been a lie, Harua continued as her facial expression lit up in excitement.
"I have decided. I'm going to Yandere High!"
