𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 || 𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐲𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟜

Or so she thought.

Everything happened so quickly that she wasn't able to process it immediately. Shira opened her eyes as she catches her breath and flinched when she found out that she was still on the rooftop, only realizing that she was laying on top of someone.

'I swear I jumped off...'

[Flashback ———> 5 minutes earlier]

'I can do this. There's no turning back now.'

The rain crashed down and gets heavier and heavier every passing minute. Shira's body shivered because of the cold as she continuously gets soaked but she remained unfazed.

Meanwhile, ??? came running up the stairs of the rooftop and forcefully kicked the steel door. Upon hearing the pitter patter sounds of the rain from outside, he was lucky enough to bring an umbrella that time.

When he finally got out, he opened his umbrella to prevent him from getting wet. But what he didn't expect was the sight that's in front of him.

In the corner of his eye was a girl's figure who seemed familiar to him. He took a good stare at it only to realize it was Shira, who's on the verge of jumping off. He didn't waste any more time and  as his body moved on it's own, running towards her position hoping he wasn't too late.

As he was running towards her, he felt like time stopped and his pace slowed down which made him panic more. His grip on the opened umbrella loosened, sending it flying unto the air.

He didn't even bother to look back and grab it. He didn't even realize he was already soaking wet from the rain too. Nothing was on his mind that time, but only to save the girl who's about to lose their life.

??? groaned and hurriedly reached for the girl's hand but he failed.

'F*ck it!'

It might just be that luck was on his side but in that intense moment followed by shivers and a rapid heartbeat, he got a hold of the girl's uniform and took that opportunity to pull her back.

Because of the heavy rain and the wet floors, he unexpectedly slipped which ended up with the girl falling on top of him. His eyes widened by what happened but he felt a sense of relief knowing he saved her.

[back to present]

??? groaned in pain, only feeling how painful his back is minutes after he fell. He opened his eyes and took a look at the girl who's laying on top of him. He got startled when Shira shot up all of a sudden.

"I swear I jumped off..." he heard the girl mumble to herself.

"But I prevented it." Shira flinched and just then found out she was on top of ??? when he spoke.

She panicked for a bit but was caught off guard when ??? sat up and placed his hand behind her head as he pulls her for a hug.

"Mitsuya?!" Shira unexpectedly blurted out his name with eyes still widened because of the sudden action made by the guy in front of him.

"I don't know what a person like you was going through, but it isn't right for you to just end your life like that. There's more than only one reason to live on. Life goes on, and yours must also." Shira was still confused but her heart was touched hearing such comforting words.

"I—" Shira wasn't able to finish her sentence when she felt him tightening his embrace.

A smile formed on Mitsuya's his lips and caressed her back. Shira's cheeks beet red because this was never a part of her expectations.

Being embraced like this was so unexpected. But though, deep inside, she felt grateful towards him. A mere stranger who she only knows by name, helped her the second time around and also spoke such words that she didn't expect to hear from a person she's been told to avoid interacting with.

".... Are you feeling okay now?"

"I think so... Thank you Mitsuya."

---

[A Month Later...]

A whole month had just passed and Shira still can't seem to forget about what happened that day. An almost suicide attempt was made but it unfortunately failed. Though she just did that to find out if she can die or not.

But she didn't stop and instead continued experimenting. Though knowing how dangerous it is, she attempted stabbing herself multiple times, which is not really advisable.

⚠️Trigger warning: self-harm⚠️

She cutted her wrists.

Stabbed her arm with a pocket knife.

Banging her head on the wall until it bled.

And many more attempts that could possibly kill her,

Until she was finally satisfied with the answer she was looking for.

Shira loosened her hold on the pocket knife as it drops on the floor while looking at her bleeding stomach in horror as it goes back to it's normal state.

"So this is really it... I'm never gonna die, huh?" Shira then dropped on her knees and cried all her anger and frustration out. Her loud cry echoed through the four corners of the dark bathroom as she hugs herself.

'I'm hopeless.'

---

Feeling miserable as it is with no hope nor motivation, Shira still continued going to school everyday, wearing a mask to hide the fact that she now feels depressed.

Quite impressed by her skills in pretending because she survived a whole month without her friends finding out how she's in a bad state.

"Waaa Shira, wanna check out this new cafe that just opened across the street? It's going to be so fun! And I've got coupons too!" Ashide exclaimed looking all excited and showed the food coupons she's holding.

"No fair! Where did'ya get those?! I wanna get a discount too, their food are so cute but expensive, hmph!"- Rin

"Bleh, it's a secret! Kidding. I have one for you too. Hehe, C'mon Shira!"

Normally Shira would immediately agree as she always loves to hangout and go to places with her best friends. But this time, she had to refuse.

"That's good and all and I really wanted to go but... I kinda feel tired." Shira said as an excuse and turned down her offer.

"Bummer. But like we said, health always comes first! We'll go now. Head straight home so you can rest, okees? See ya tomorrow!"

Ashide and the others left, leaving Shira alone in the classroom as the sun starts to set. Shira slumped on the table, her eyes getting a bit teary for the reason that she haven't got enough sleep for the past few weeks. She was about to doze off when she sensed someone's presence.

"You okay there?" she raised her head to look at him and she was right about thinking that it's Mitsuya.

This didn't come as a surprise anymore. Ever since that scene at the rooftop happened, Mitsuya had been following her around, not in a creepy way as if he's like a stalker, but he seems to always watch over her from afar incase something bad happens. He would sometimes put a drink on her desk and would approach her to talk if he wants to.

However, he can't explain or state the reason why he's doing this. It's just that he unconsciously does.

Day after day, Mitsuya would continue to follow her but maintaining his distance as he respects Shira's personal space. Though she would always get told off by Shira for following her, this didn't stopped him from trying to get to know and watch over her.

Their little to no interactions paved the way for them to grew just a bit closer to each other. Mitsuya's consistency finally got him to be noticed by Shira.

End of Chapter 4