Favorite Fixation (Yandere boys x Reader)

104.) Ubiquitous

Once Keiji disappeared further down the shadowed trail, his footsteps and taunting voice fading with the wind, (Y/n) waited, her breath shallow, heart hammering so loudly she feared he might somehow hear it echo back to him. She remained in the tree, counting seconds under her breath, her muscles taut and coiled. The bite of cold wind numbed the exposed wounds on her neck and ear, both now throbbing with a relentless ache that begged her to slow down, but she wouldn't- she couldn't.

After a long moment of silence, she let herself slip from the branch, her feet hitting the ground with a muffled thud. She crouched low, her entire body attuned to the woods around her, listening for any sign of his return. Her hand was smeared with the drying blood from her ear, its warmth long faded, replaced by the cold sting that ran up to her scalp. She blinked against the ache, pressing her fingers into her ear to dull the throbbing even as she crept forward, each step careful and measured.

The trail she chose wound in the opposite direction of Keiji's, weaving through dense underbrush and tree trunks that stretched high and wide, casting twisted, creeping shadows that loomed in the dim light. Her bare feet sank into the moss and mud, cold biting into her skin as she pushed forward, the moon her only guide. She glanced over her shoulder, half-expecting him to appear from behind the nearest tree, but the path remained empty.

As she moved, the winter night pressed in, the November chill sinking deep into her bones. Thin patches of frost clung to the roots and leaves beneath her, crunching softly as she trod over them. The icy air whipped against her exposed skin, sinking into the torn fabric of her dress and stinging against every bruise and scrape. Her legs moved instinctively, muscles aching, her breath coming in short, quick bursts as she tried to quiet her steps.

Her heart thudded like a drum in her chest, the rhythm pounding in time with her footsteps. The pain in her ear grew sharper with every stride, radiating from the spot where a chunk of her ear had been torn away. She tried to ignore it, to bury it beneath the resolve that now drove her forward. She wanted only to be as far away from Keiji as she could get, to widen the distance between them before he noticed her absence and turned back.

The forest grew denser, branches clawing at her arms, the sharp twigs and brambles snagging what remained of her tattered dress. The fabric caught with each step, ripping further as she forced herself forward, ignoring the way the thorns scraped her skin raw. She barely felt the scratches that marked her legs and arms, her focus locked on the path ahead. Always on the path ahead.

Leaves rustled underfoot, dried and brittle in the cold, and the wind sighed through the trees, carrying with it distant, ghostly echoes that might have been whispers. Her mind spun with thoughts of freedom, a plan of escape unfolding in fragments that flickered through her head like broken film. Find the police. Tell them everything. They'll take me to safety, to witness protection if need be... and I'll be with my family again. With Mom, Dad, Akemi, Satomi...

The thought of them - of home, the warm lights and familiar scents, the sound of the kid's laughter - filled her with a surge of strength. She could feel tears pricking her eyes as she ran, a bittersweet ache settling in her chest. It was a memory she held onto with all she had, something bright and beautiful in the face of the darkness that haunted her.

The pain, however, brought her back to the present, grounding her as she stumbled over a root, catching herself against the trunk of a tree before her knees hit the ground. She could feel her legs trembling, her breaths coming in ragged gasps, each one burning her lungs with the cold. She wiped at her face with a blood-streaked hand, her palm clammy against her skin, but she gritted her teeth and pushed on, leaning into the pain, letting it fuel her.

The forest began to thin out, the trees growing taller and farther apart, allowing more patches of moonlight to spill onto the ground. (Y/n) scanned the forest floor as she moved, her mind still racing with the need to hide, to keep herself concealed in the shadows. She darted from one tree to the next, pausing behind the thickest trunks to listen for any sign of him, any hint of his laughter or his footsteps, but there was nothing except the steady rush of her pulse in her ears.