An Old Friend.

Chapter Twelve: (Senku's View.)

Warning: Hints at abuse and sorry for the length. 

My arms crossed the moment she said she had to go out. Then she is spouting nonsense about some book. Now we were searching through the rubble outside of the village, my head worrying if she was okay. She hasn't even cried yet for this man. She felt around until she stopped in front of a couple of wooden doors. Something felt off, almost like we were being watched.

"If you feel like you are being watched, you probably are." She admitted, pointing to the best vantage point. "I want him to see. I am trying to upset him so much that he screws up. Now come along." She pulled open the doors, a foul odor sickening my stomach. Horror widened my eyes at all of the dead bodies. She was not even batting an eye, her eyes watching over all of the colorful mushrooms, and labeled glass jars.

"Could you hurry up?" I inquired, feeling scared for the first time in a long time. "Just get what you need." Holding my breath, she was in front of me, her satchel full. Where did she come from? The bag of poison shimmered in the afternoon sun, it only took ten minutes for us to get back. We stopped at the bottom of my lab, her face inches from mine.

"Go do what you are going to do." She insisted ,looking back at me. "I have some stuff to shift through. By the way don't bother including your special counsel. Don't worry your leeky little head, this mystery will keep me plenty busy." My lips parted, but closed tight. Chrome came running towards me, waving his arms around. Rubbing my eyes tiredly, he held a red envelope in his hand addressed to Britt. She was already gone, leaving me and Chrome.

"Can you help us with the new project?" He queried, holding up plans that needed some work. "We need your expertise." Putting my hands in my pocket, I felt the copy of the book she was talking about. The situation was fixed before dinner, the beginnings of it coming together. It was rather difficult to focus on anything, though. Going to my old man's grave, I knelt down in front of his cross.

"What do I do, old man?" I fretted, running my hand through my hair. "I am going to be an old man myself, and I don't want to screw up. Tears welled up in my eyes, my eyes looking up at the night sky.

The teacher was yelling at her to put her phone away, but she wasn't listening. Something was wrong, all the joy from the other day was gone. She yelled in English at the teacher, the beaker seconds from exploding in her hand. Fellow students were whispering amongst themselves, tears flooding from her eyes. The glass exploded in her hands, shards sticking out of her palm. Her shoes pounded away as she ran out of the classroom. Students gathered at the front doors, her body fallen to her knees. I called out to her, but she ran off towards home. For the rest of the day, my eyes kept going back to the windows, the information still sinking into me. The teacher from science approached me, looking full of regret.

"I am sorry for my outburst." He apologized, looking shamefully away. "Can you tell her that? I will buy her a new phone." Disgust darkened my eyes, my fists clenched tightly. He had no right to call her a stupid girl, after all she was second under me in terms of the school ranking.

"Save it." I retorted coolly, Taiju and Yuzu running towards me. "You will have to do it yourself when she comes back." They were speaking, but I wasn't hearing the words. My mind kept drifting back to the day the confetti was flying all around her. Her real smile came out that day, pride was burning in her eyes. Science club was difficult to get through, the time to go home finally came. Sweat dripped down my forehead, worry dashing through my mind. Skidding to a stop, her bag felt heavy in my hands. The door slid open, the house was dark. No smells of food being cooked alarmed me, dread filling me. A beautiful voice echoed in the house, raw emotion wracked the angelic voice. Just as I heard it, it stopped. Taking a deep breath, my hands clung to the handle of her door. Sliding it open, she laid on the floor in the fetal position. The glass was still in her hand, her face puffy with crying. Walking over to the window, a strange man in a black hoodie was staring at the house. His copper eyes looked straight into mine, a chill running through my body. She stirred behind me, her sad eyes meeting mine.