Underneath the Moonlight: REBOOT! || Osorō Shidesu x OC

37 - A Lingering Shadow

Week 8

As the week progressed, I continued to feel a lingering shadow clinging to me in the background, stalking me. I knew it was Ayano. Despite being frequently seen around Osorō, I still felt like I was in danger.

On Tuesday, I realized there was a girl next to Taro-senpai at the fountain — but this girl looked exactly like a younger, girl version of himself. Does Senpai have a sister? I wondered.

Sitting next to him was a younger girl with black pigtails and a heart-shaped pin in her hair. She looked eerily similar to Taro-senpai — but did he really have a sister? He'd never told me about it, so I'd always just assumed he didn't, but maybe he did.

Noticing me, Taro-senpai waved me over, and I sat on the other side of him. "Athena-sama, I'd like you to meet my little sister, Hanako. She just transferred to Akademi Academy, and today is her first day."

Hanako-chan smiled brightly at me. "It's so nice to meet you, Athena-sama. I've heard a lot about you," she added with a giggle.

Taro-senpai's cheeks turned pink. "Hanako," he warned. She simply giggled again before apologizing.

"So, I guess that makes you Athena-senpai, doesn't it?" Hanako-chan asked me, her eyes sparkling. I smiled. She was adorable.

"Well, I guess it would be nice to have at least one person at this school not calling me a goddess," I joked, snickering and making the other two Yamadas laugh. "Yes, you may call me senpai."

"Yay!" She grabbed her brother's arm and asked, "So, how did you two meet?"

I glanced at Taro-senpai, and he decided to explain, "I met her right here — on this fountain. I was reading a Shakespeare book, and she came up and asked me about it."

Hanako blew a raspberry. "That's so boring!"

He shrugged. "Well, we're not in the same class, so we couldn't meet there."

"Do you always sit on this fountain?"

"Yes, I do. It's a beautiful spot."

I nodded. "I agree, it is. Sitting with you for long enough has made me see that, too."

Taro-senpai smiled warmly at me. "I knew you'd understand me."

I giggled and stood. "Well, in any case, I've gotta get going before Kizano throws a fit. This is our second-to-last week to rehearse the play; next week on Friday is our opening night."

"Oh, you're in a play?" Hanako perked up. "What play is it? What role did you get?"

I smirked. "Beauty and the Beast... and I'm Belle."

"Wow! You're so pretty, I'm not even surprised."

"It's about more than just looking the part, Hanako-chan. It's about acting the part, too. That's how I got the role."

"Awesome! Well, go break a leg, Athena-senpai!"

I smiled and waved at the Yamadas, hurrying over to the gymnasium. Hanako was really cute — and it was nice to have someone call me senpai. Honestly, the fact that she didn't call me sama was enough for me to adore her instantly.

The rest of the week, surprisingly, went well, without so much of a hitch. No more notes, no death threats, no attempts on my life... I continued to hang around Osorō, having lunch with him, Aru, and the gang every day, and rehearsing every day before and after school. One day, Kokona even joined us, wanting to have lunch with me. She was nervous around the rest of the gang, and had also brought Riku, but once everyone lightened up, she and her boyfriend joked and bantered along with everyone else.

Until Friday.

On Friday, I got a note to meet Osorō in the science lab just before class started again during lunchtime, when everyone was in the cafeteria. When I got there, I found him waiting for me with a small smile. I smiled too as I approached. "So, why did you want to meet me here?"

He frowned. "What? But you left a note telling me to meet you here..."

We realized too late that it was a trap. The doors to the science lab locked behind us, and we rushed to them to bang on them. "H-hey!" I protested. "Let us out!"

On the other side, my blood ran cold when I locked eyes with Ayano Aishi, who held a lit match and had a psychotic grin on her face. She dropped the match as Osorō and I moved away from the doors, just as they lit on fire right before our eyes. She quickly ran away, leaving us alone to deal with the fire.

"Damn it!" Osorō cursed, looking around the room as the flames spread. He took off his blazer and wrapped it around my head, blocking the smoke from my face as he covered his. "Damn it!" he repeated, moving me to the back of the room, as far away from the flames as we could get.

Looking out the windows, I wondered if we'd have to jump. It was only the second floor, we'd probably survive the jump.

"Don't even think about it," Osorō warned me.

"But it might be our only choice!" I exclaimed, not seeing another way out.

"Damn it!" Osorō cursed again. "Okay, fine." He took out his crowbar and smashed one of the windows, clearing off the broken glass and grabbing my hand. "On three."

"Okay!"

"One... two... three!"

We jumped into a bush below, clasping his hand as tight as I could as I screamed. Sirens sounded in the distance as firetrucks pulled up, and it was then I realized the fire alarm was going off inside, and students had piled outside and noticed us jumping from the burning science lab. A few students cried out from below as we jumped. A few came up to us to ask if we were okay, and Osorō grumbled that we were as he helped me out of the bush, picking leaves out of my hair.

We watched as fire trucks put out the fire, and then looked at each other. Ayano was still after me, it seemed.