Settling into a new school was difficult. Demanding teachers, mocking classmates, a campus that seemed like a maze and piles of homework stressing you out. By the end of the first week, you felt so overwhelmed you never wanted to come back to school again. It was Friday afternoon and you were in the library, holding back tears and trying to study for the impending maths test that loomed over you. However, once you got midway through chapter two of the massive textbook and realised you didn't understand any of it, you put your head in your hands.
Letting out a muffled sob and trying to postpone the mental breakdown, you gulped deeply before you heard a voice out of nowhere. "Is everything alright?" You jumped slightly in your seat.
"Where did you come from?" You asked, trying to keep your tone neutral and not give away any weakness.
"I was here all along. But why are you upset?" The stranger was a boy with light blue hair and calm matching blue eyes.
"I-I guess- I don't know. I just came here at the start of the week and I'm just finding everything overwhelming and-" you started crying, once the mangled sobs started, they couldn't stop.
To your surprise, the boy hugged you, holding you close. He didn't even say anything but this action in itself comforted you more than you could understand. When he released you, you felt so much better. He handed you a tissue and you wiped your tear stained cheeks and red, puffy eyes.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" You asked
"Everyone needs a friend." The boy said, "My name's Kuroko Tetsuya, do you mind telling me yours?"
"L/N Y/N." You said, in the Japanese custom of putting your surname first that you were so accustomed to.
"Well, L/N-San, just remember this." Kuroko said, "Nothing will be as bad as it was, now that you have a friend to talk to. I don't want to pressure you or anything, but for me it always helps to talk about what's bothering me. So if you want to now, I will gladly listen to you."
As you spoke of your many sorrows, you found the weight lift of your chest. Kuroko listened and you felt the anxiety ebb away as his quiet aura comforted you. By the end, you felt as light and weightless as a feather and the unspoken connection between you and Kuroko only seemed to grow as you kept talking. When you had finished, Kuroko squeezed your hand gently and you were so relaxed, it was as though you had just had a bubble bath.
From then on, school was a breeze. With Kuroko by your side, no hurdle was too big. His caring, sensitive nature was so refreshing from the indifferent attitudes of your classmates and teachers. His tranquil demeanour comforted you so much that even looming tests, brutal assignments and strict teachers couldn't bother you. His friendship was truly a gift.
But with the school stress gone, another ominous feeling took its place. Wherever you went. You felt watched.
No matter where you were, as soon as you left Kuroko's presence, a haunting feeling crept over you. Feeling paranoid, your eyes would dart around constantly, looking for the source of this discomfort. But you never saw anything, leading you to wonder if you were going mad. Nowhere was safe, even snuggled amongst your many quilted blankets provided no protection against this discomfit.
The worst bit was when you had to shower. You tried putting it off for as long as you could, but you were grimy and pungent so your Mum forced you to take one. You had never felt so nervous stripping, even though you had three separate shower curtains to hide yourself with. Yet even as the jets of hot water poured over your skin and steam rose to obscure the shower glass, you felt those eyes. Those shapeless, colourless eyes that were just out of sight. But always watching you.
You ignored it and didn't tell Kuroko of how unsettling this was. You felt selfish simply using him for just your comfort so you decided to provide him comfort too. You listened to him as he expressed his exasperating experiences and tireless efforts with basketball. You already had a crush on the sweet boy who had lifted you up when you were down, but when he began to talk about his ideals of teamwork and basketball, you began to fall head over heels in love.
He was so sincere. So...genuinely kind.
It seemed just as you had made this realisation, everything became so much worse. Shadows were everywhere. Always in the corner of your eye, moving and following you but as soon as you went to investigate. They were gone. When there weren't shadows physically, they lingered in your mind, clouding your thoughts and enhancing your fear.
Everywhere you went, there were always whispers. Loud enough so you could hear them, but you could never decipher what they were saying. Even when you covered your eyes, you heard them, their mischievous, taunting whispers that filled your head with nervousness.
Along with the eyes that watched you. It felt like every day, the tightly winded strings that held together your sanity were snapping rom the pressure, one by one. Thorns of dread wrapped around you, fear digging into your psyche and stitching the hole it made right up, so it was trapped beneath the surface, slowly sinking deeper and deeper.
Time with Kuroko was your only respite. You tried to spend as much time with him as possible and he always seemed eager (well as eager as Kuroko could be) to accompany you, walking you home, meeting with you after and before school, spending lunchtimes together, etc. Kuroko was one of the very rare men that understood subtle hints and so without you even telling him what was ailing you, he seemed to know that what you needed.
You needed him almost as much as he needed you.
However, despite your efforts to stick by him; sometimes you were forced to be alone. Every day, your fear got worse. Worse and worse. You felt alienated everywhere. You were that strange girl that was always by herself or with Kuroko, whom people didn't see mostly.
Fear crept in even more. At this point, everything seemed to scare you. You tossed out most of your things, closed the windows, locked the doors, kept blindingly bright lights on at all times and rarely went out anymore. Not even to your own family.
Fear was now your own personal prison. Caging you from happiness and security. Your grades deteriorated and your teachers being so harsh on you wasn't helping your mental state. Finally, you decided you would confide in Kuroko about what had been happening the last few weeks.
He listened as he had the first time he had listened to you, giving you his full attention and nodding every once in a while to make you feel acknowledged and as a way to encourage you to continue. Once you had finished, he squeezed your hands assuringly.
"Do you think I'm crazy?" You asked him, afraid of the answer.
"Not at all, Y/N-Chan," Kuroko said, "Listen, you are a very kind, sweet but most all, innocent girl and the world is dangerous."
He began to tell you the horrors of the world and of Teiko, with every new topic, your hands trembled more and more until Kuroko stilled them.
"But you shouldn't experience any of them," Kuroko said, "The students here are cruel, the teachers are mean and there are people here out to get you."
You burst into tears at this and so Kuroko hugged you, he then whispered in an oddly familiar voice, "But I won't let them. They haven't gotten to me because I've stayed in the shadows. Stay in the shadows with me, Y/N-Chan, I'll protect you."
And when you embraced him tightly back, Kuroko knew it was worth playing those mind games on you. The look of vulnerability in your eyes made all the hassle of plucking at your nerve strings worth it.
From then on, you found solace rather than misery in your isolation. Nobody could be trusted, so why would you want to spend time with them? People other than Kuroko were cruel, sadistic and nasty. Who cared if your grades were deplorable? Kuroko didn't care of you were smart. Who cared if you had no friends other than Kuroko? Kuroko loved having you to himself.
There was nothing more to worry about.
After all, there is no fear in the shadows.
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Hi guys!
Next up is Kise! I'll update every couple days or so. Thank you for reading!
-Pandora
