🥀 Blinded by Rose Petals 🥀

Part 2 - She's always there

{Rantaro's POV}

It's raining today.

My sisters gave me a scarf to wear, but I went out without it anyway. Days with this kind of weather were really my favorite, and I wanted to enjoy them fully.

The only thing I took, that my youngest sister offered me, was a red umbrella. It was definitely wiser to not get myself wet, especially since I was heading to school. There's definitely nowhere to dry myself over there.

I'm on my way to school now. It's Hope's Peak - getting to attend there is the greatest achievement of my life. Well, maybe besides visiting over 30 countries at my age. I'm the Ultimate Adventurer after all, so I had to earn my title somehow.

But, in reality, every time I go outside can be considered a trip. After all, the world is constantly moving, people travel from one place to another. Everyone may think that a simple walk to school is in no way interesting, but I think otherwise.

Today is very foggy, so I can't really admire my favorite buildings around the school. However, the rain catches my interest immediately.

It's hard to stand still in a busy street. Everyone begins to avoid me, trying to walk around, then continue walking straight. My umbrella gets hit with a few others. But, I just stand there, looking upwards - where the raindrops are coming from.

They remind me of a time when I was in a rainforest. There was no way to bring an umbrella there, so my only hope were the leaves of the tall old trees to protect me from the weather. Tough conditions - that's what I love the most about adventuring. You can't guarantee yourself safety, and you also can't get much help if you're alone.

My spirits were up now. I had to get to school before I was late.

...

But, there was still something off putting that I'm feeling. As if someone was following me. Well, a dozen of other students are, that's for sure. But it's a strange feeling that i can't quite describe.

...It must be the weather.

. . .

"Kaede! Shuichi! What's up?" Before I can realize it's already lunch break, so I go to my usual eating spot where my friends already are. Kaede Akamatsu - the Ultimate Pianist - and Shuchi Saihara - the Ultimate Detective.

"Hey! How did your test go?" Shuichi asks me a question to which I would usually respond to immediately, and yet my voice suddenly freezes.

"Oh... right. It went ok." I almost forgot that I wrote a test today. The time had just gone by so fast that I didn't even realize. Shuichi gives me a confused look and Kaede just stares at me curiously.

"Ok? I helped you study, so I really hope my efforts didn't go to waste..." He sounds slightly disappointed, however Kaede pats him on the shoulder with a light smile. "Oh, come on! Rantaro would never fail a test!"

I sit down near the two and we begin to eat our food. My thoughts are really mushy, but I think it's just because of the weather outside. It's very strange though - I've never been affected by some simple rain this much.

We talk some more about school related things, trailing off to gossiping about some other students of our school.

"...Yeah, I've seen him sitting alone in the bathroom. It's pretty weird." Shuichi adds in to the topic of some person I have not heard of before. Kaede lets out a light chuckle and I just... listen in.

"Hey, Rantaro. You good?" Suddenly a question is directed towards me. I laugh at it briefly before replying. "I mean, what could be wrong?"

"You're a bit quieter today..." Kaede joins in the conversation too. I look at her confused. I'm clearly acting normally, so I can't tell what's their deal. "Is it about that girl that stares at you weirdly?"

...

"...What?" I ask nervously. What girl? I can't recall anyone staring weirdly at me. Maybe I just didn't notice or something.

"Oh yeah, her. I sometimes see that girl near our classroom - it's kinda creepy..." Shuichi adds in. For some reason, I am the only one who doesn't know that someone is secretly watching me. I guess the person is really good at it...?

"What does she look like? I seriously haven't seen anyone suspicious around." I ask again, but this time a bit more cautious. Either they're trying to pull some prank or me, or I could be actually getting stalked.

"Uh, long dark hair, yellowish eyes... - Oh! And she wears a black mask." Kaede replies. This is really weird. I feel like I can't make anything of this description, and yet it sounds familiar to me for some reason.

I feel like as if I'm panicking - the weird feeling from the morning, I can feel it return. It's not pleasant at all. I feel uneasy and my head is starting to spin. What's the cause of this?

I stare out of the window at the water droplets going down the glass window. My heart beats faster.

Is it really the weather?

"Rantaro! Hey!" I can feel Kaede shaking my shoulder with concern in her eyes. I look back at her finally, seeing Shuichi in the background who is worried too.

"Guys, everything is fine! Are you trying to prank me or something??" Kaede finally lets go off me as I back off. I would not stand getting lied to like this, especially by my closest friends.

"I would never joke about something like that!" Kaede replies quickly... I trust her. Truth is, the both of them would never deceive me for some prank. I sigh, looking down at my own legs.

"Ugh, I'll be fine. She probably doesn't have bad intentions anyway..." I repeat myself to make sure that it comes across to the both of them. Shuichi looks slightly more relieved, and Kaede just goes back to her lunch.

"Ok, come on then - the break's almost over. You still have half of your food left!" She tells me. I in fact have more than a half of my food left because of whatever just happened. I decide to keep eating with Shuichi and Kaede and hopefully return to my classroom soon.

. . .

It's finally afternoon, and I'm all done with my lessons. I follow Shuichi to change our shoes. I guess I feel a bit better than before?

The lessons were definitely a good distraction from what we were talking about. I don't want to mention it, since then I'll just start thinking about it again. I have to pretend I forgot to fool my own mind.

"You going somewhere now?" I can see that Shuichi is in a hurry - changing his shoes as if it was a contest. It's a bit funny, so a grin appears on my face, however Shuichi responds in a serious tone. "I have a date, so being late isn't an option."

"Wooow, look at you, being all grown up already." I smirk at him. Shuichi doesn't appreciate the compliment. I decide not to bother him anymore if what he said is really true. "Well, go chase your girl! I'll see ya tomorrow."

"...Yeah, see you-" Shuichi says, but immediately after his eyes grow wide as he stands back up with his already changed shoes. I look at him, startled thanks to his sudden change of expression.

"Don't look behind." Shuichi says in a very quiet tone. I want to nod at him, but... my curiosity gets the better of me and I turn my head around.

It's her.