Chapter 9: Strings of Attached Feelings

Shocked by the sounds of a firearm just got fired on me, right away, I order Analysia to turn on night vision on my eyes just because all the lights in my house were shut off by this childish sound girl. But seconds after I order her, I can hear a second shot was fired, and hit the right side of my wall, which probably serve as a warning shot.

"I-If you dare to walk in, I will shoot you!", Said the voice cloaked by darkness.

In that voice, I Immediately sensed a scent of fear in her words. "And what if I keep dodging like the first time you shot from that gun, how would you react?", I said with confidence, "You know that I would kill you if I caught you right?".

A slight gasp of fear comes out from the dark before silent fell on this conversation, after it feels like five or seven seconds, the girl finally said with a slight element of fear heard on her voice as she stutters:

"I-I dare you".

Hearing that reaction, my mind was quickly scrambling for answer for how she can even obtain that kind of bravery, before it reached a conclusion and with full of my usual confidence, I asked:

"May I ask, is there something else scarier than me, chasing you right now?".

Without a second of delay, the voice answer with fear still creeps on her voice:

"W-What if I answer y-yes? What would y-you do to me?". With her saying that, I felt a strange affection for her, which I don't even know where it is from, and just like that, I answered her with:

"I would help you if both of us agree to not hurt each other".

Shortly after I said that, a sound of a firearm dropped to the floor echoed through the house, with I finally turn on the lights, seeing the long white hair girl with a childlike appearance that I saw earlier at the auditorium, sit on the floor and crying, sobbing her tears, while keep saying:

"P-Please, I don't want to die yet, please don't kill me".

Good thing that my bloodlust wasn't triggered by the sight of it, but what was triggered is something that I never felt before since I got here, affection of both sadness and the feeling of wanting to help, I don't know why that was triggered inside of me, but all I can see is something...no, someone that went through almost the exact same thing that I went through four days ago.

But to make myself be the one that's more superior than the other and also maintain my relations with her for now, with my cold toned voice, I asked:

"Is there someone chasing you right now".

With a straightforward face, she answered:

"Y-Yes...", as she was still sobbing.

"Can you describe it for me?", I said, still with a cold voice, even though I was already trying to tone it down.

"T-There's a guy, w-with red bright hair and w-with a red jacket carrying a gun, y-you know?", with sobs still heard from her throaty voice.

"A guy with red hair and a red jacket?".

"Y-You know, the one that started a-all of the shooting".

Immediately, I know that it is Fuyuki-san and I'm starting to feel a strange feeling of strong hatred towards him. Usually with matters like this, I didn't even care about anything, but after that hearing that, my mind starting to boil out of pure hatred and vengeance, with this strange hatred, I didn't know where it even came from, but somehow, I know that both I and Fuyuki aren't destined to be partner anytime soon.

"I-I don't care I-If you're an old student, w-will you help me?", After hearing that, I asked:

"Why did you presume that I'm an old student?".

"Because the new students don't have special outfits like you?", She replied with her tone like saying: "Haven't you heard that already?

"Ehh, Fair enough", I shrug it off while also thinking about what I should do next, and I remember that she probably needs something to protect herself first of all.

"Ohh yeah, let's get you a gadget, I will get you to i-".

"D-Don't worry about it, j-just point out the way and I will go there".

Hearing this, I got a little bit surprised by her reaction, I told her about the school holographic map, and she just leave quietly without even leaving a thank yo-

"T-Thank you".

I-I mean, I misremembered, she did say thank you to me. After that wild meeting, I take the gun while still thinking about how she even got the gun, store it into Analysia's storage that I didn't even know existed until Analysia told me and I lie at my soft sofa upstairs, thinking about what I should do next, while also getting the answer that she probably takes the gun from a student that already died.

After discussing with Analysia about that stupid nonexistent grace period, I checked every house to see if she touches something that I didn't know, until I got to the bathroom that Analysia told me that the water has an acid on it, while also told me that only Epic and Legendary gadget can scan something like this, later when I knew that the water will be changed after it hits twelve o'clock, midnight, I left the bathroom and still lying at the sofa, thinking what else that I could do.

"Master, how about if you check the mall in this place".

Hearing this, I immediately jumped in excitement, "T-There's mall in this dorm? H-How could that even...You know what? I will stop asking questions". With that, I opened my door and readied myself to go to the mall.

***

Along the way, I stopped at the place where the pile of corpses stacked up three days ago, with not even a skull or blood puddle were found.

"Analysia, I know that I saw corpses and blood puddles everywhere here...Where does it go?", I asked with a slight dread in my voice.

"The road absorbs them".

Surprised and terrified, I asked Analysia again: "How...could that even work??".

"Just trust the school, Master, they already sort all the stuff that you don't want to see out".

I quickly nodded and continued my way to the mall, before I met someone, someone that I know, and someone that will be my enemy from this point forward.

"Good morning, Kiyoko-san, how's your day?". With a dark smile, he greets me while both of his friends are just silently watching this discussion happen from a distance, presumably three meters away from Fuyuki-san's back.

"Great, I guess", I replied to him with a clearly frowned face.

"Is there a problem? Also, what with those new clothes of you-".

"I want to ask you something, may I?", I asked him after I had already cooled my attitude and head for a while.

"Sure, what is it?", he replied with his usual annoying friendly personality, but just for today, I don't know why his reply carries more weight than usual, but after hearing that, I continued.

"Is there a white hair girl that maybe you're chasing at the auditorium yesterday?", even though I expect a reply from him saying to give her the girl just because I knew about this whole ordeal, but what I don't expect is his tone change.

"Did you met her? If so...Can you give her to me?", Immediately, his voice turns dark and sinister after a second of delay, which instantly sends shivers down my spine. "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮? 𝘏-𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺!", with this sentence, I know that both Analysia and my brain told me to go and run away from this dude, but I pressed on.

"I-I will swear to protect her! So if you touched her, I expect your head to be on my han-".

"Kiyoko-san, is that supposed to be a threat?", said Yuki-san with a serious tone out of nowhere, cutting my conversation with Fuyuki-san and also startling me in the process.

"Is there something wrong with it? I just want to protect he-", I retorted to Yuki-san before it got cut by Fuyuki-san, saying with his most sinister voice that I ever heard since I got here.

"Kiyoko-san, did you forget what this school's last rule is?".

With this, my body begin to sweat uncontrollably with my brain currently screaming that I need to go from that place as fast as I possibly can before something bad happen, but before I can even make a solid decision, I heard a gunshot and saw a gun pass through my hair with immense speed that it even burns a couple strain of my hair.

After that, they walk to the other street without me even knowing that they already left me alone, knowing this, I dropped to the floor and without noticing that my mouth is foaming and my eyes went completely white, with my heart beating so tensely that if any normal person goes through, I'm sure they would die on the spot.

With thirty to forty-five seconds later, I finally realize that I'm in a trans like state and quickly got up and remember that my purpose to go out is to the mall.

***

A couple minutes later after I went conscious, I finally reach the inside of the mall, and with a straight face, I said whilst I walk to see the building:

"I knew that it wouldn't be many people who will go here",

With I finally spot a resting spot inside one of the mall's shops, I sat down on the chair an-

"Good afternoon, customer. What do you want to order?".

"WAAAAAH!", I scream in fright as my scream echoed throughout the mall, "𝘐 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦?" With this question still lingers in my mind and as I close my mouth with both of my hands, creating the awkward silence, the AI finally asked:

"Is there something that you want to buy, customer?"

"O-Oh yeah, can I buy your Takoyaki please?", why do I ask for Takoyaki? You know what, I don't even know why I ask for Takoyaki, it's probably just because I liked them, that's all.

"What kind of Takoyaki, customer?".

"What kind...hmm, can you just give me the original Takoyaki?", I said with a slightly cheer up tone just to get by the events that happened today.

"Are...you going to kill me afterwards?".

Unsettled by the words that came out from the right of my ear, I looked at the source of the voice to see a girl with light blue hair and yellow eyes, just sitting there with such a leisurely position, like it came from someone who has no business whatsoever and just sitting there to relax, until I looked at her face to see a depressed and gloomy expression.

I decided to stay quiet just because I don't know what to make of that question in particular. Because of my decision, there's an awkward silence that happened with both of us in particular saying basically nothing.

Annoyed by the silence, the girl asks again:

"May I presume that...that's your answer to killing me?".

I can't be bothered with another new student today as long as the problem with Fuyuki-san and the white hair girl hasn't been solved yet, and so after I quickly got my order of Takoyaki, I immediately lef-

"Please, answer...my question".

The girl grabs my jacket while she's saying that. Surprised but not unpredictable, I look at her with a distant and solemn sight to find a cold but desperate look on her face, I guess everyone is afraid of death.

After a slight sight, I turned back on her with a faint smile, and said, with a caring voice, the same that Kazuto has, but with a minor detail of coldness still left:

"I will never kill you".

I turned back my face and walk my ways towards the mall exit, without even a single look to see how she would respond, until this day, I don't know why I even did that in the first place, I never expected to answer her with such a cold impression, but if you ask me if I ever regretted what I've done to her that day...I would say, not even a single person could convince me that what I said and do at that moment, at that single moment, is wrong in any way, shape, or form…May the sunflowers bloom in you, Izu-san.