The Yandere

Chapter 20: Chasing Prints

Kaito had taken a nap in the shed after dinner. The past day or so with him was the best I'd had in over a year nearly. I missed the old times still but I knew I had to keep moving forward rather than dwell on the past.

I sat beside Kaito's sleeping form, his hair covering his eyes slightly as it had grown over the year. I smiled to myself, seeing how he didn't look so sad or angry while he was asleep. He looked normal. Carefully, I stroked the side of his face and leaned down to kiss his soft lips.

He didn't wake and I stood up, grabbing my bag. I made sure all my weapons and essentials were in there before grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil. Don't ask how we'd managed to get that pencil.

Kaito,
I know you're probably wondering where I am and you're probably also worried about me. Don't be.
I've gone to find Baxter. I know those paw prints must lead to somewhere and I just have to follow them! Trust me, Kaito, I have to do this.
I'll be back soon, just wait for me please. If I'm not back after a few days, assume I'm dead and move on without me.
I love you Kaito, always have and always will.
- Haru <3

Happy with the note, I placed it on the worn out table where I knew he would see it. If I didn't leave it there, I knew he would come after me and I definitely didn't want that to happen in case there was some sort of danger.

I sighed, finding the courage to do what I was about to do, and walked outside to where the paw prints were. They were still there, still visible in the dark of the night. I looked at them closely, knowing they were Baxter's.

Letting the paw prints lead me, I walked into the woods, a little on edge and jumpy at any kind of sound. I had no source of light so just relied on my vision, which was slowly adjusting to my surroundings.

I carried on through the woods until I heard a kind of groaning sound, followed by shuffling, like a lion dragging it's prey across the ground. Quickly, I froze in my spot, instantly realising it was a zombie.

In the black haze, I saw a silhouette and pulled my knife out quietly, stalking forward towards it. I then lifted myself onto my tiptoes to reach it's head and sliced the knife straight through it's face, moving back as it fell down.

It was dead.

I looked around and noticed that I had lost my trail. Panicking slightly, I started speeding up in the direction I was heading, hoping to find a clearing or something other than trees and bushes.

At last, I did find something. It was a farmhouse in a small area of grass. There was a barn at the side of it, separated from the trees by a rusty old fence.

Apprehensively, I neared the house, my knife in my hand to protect me from any sudden enemies. It was just too eerily quiet in my opinion. The door screamed open on its hinges, making me cringe at the loud sound breaking the silence. Still, nothing happened. There didn't even seem to be any of the undead lurking around.

I checked the whole house, still on edge about the farm in general. There wasn't really anything worth taking in there because someone must have raided it beforehand. Next, I started creeping toward the barn, wondering if any animals still resided in there.

Just as I was about to open the door, I heard a sound from the inside. It sounded like Baxter and my heart sped up. I opened the door, readying my knife for an attack.

"Haruka!" Someone greeted from in front of me.

A lamp was lit up quickly and I was absolutely shocked as to who was standing in front of me, Baxter tied up next to him. It was Sora. He was grinning ecstatically, holding the lamp up to reveal himself.

"S-Sora?! What are you doing here?" I questioned, entering the barn.

"Oh, you know," he smiled, "I just came to see you."

"Me? Why?"

"Because I want you. You were my girl before and I messed things up. I want you back Haru!" He stepped closer to me, placing the lamp on the floor.

"I'm not sure... I have Kaito now."

"Oh yes, him." His expression darkened and he was suddenly extremely angry. "That's why I'm here. I will get rid of him and we can finally be together, just like we used to be."

"No, that's crazy. I love Kaito, I want to be with him." I replied, shaking my head.

"You're just blinded by that man. When he's gone, you will finally agree with me!" He laughed, his face literally terrifying me and I tried to step away, knowing he'd lost it completely.

"N-no. Stay away..."

He stepped closer, grinning weirdly at me before grabbing my arms, his strong grip hurting me a little. No matter how hard I tried, his hold was like a bear trap, holding me hostage there helplessly. I cried out and tried to kick him but he already saw that coming.

"Calm down now," he tried to comfort me but I was past being calmed down at that stage.

"Stop!" I yelled as he started to tie my hands behind my back in a piece of rope that must have come from the barn.

"Don't worry, I'm doing this for you Haru!" He smiled sweetly. He then tied me to a stall, sitting me down in the hay. "Now we just wait for perfect little Kaito to come along!"

I started crying, unable to contain it any longer. He didn't even flinch, just carried on staring at the door with a psychotic look.

"Kaito will kick your ass," I spat, a hostile anger corrupting my chain of thoughts.

It was then that he actually looked at me, seeing my tears but most of all, my stubborn frown. He stood up robotically and slapped me extremely hard around the face.

"You're naive, Haru." He stated calmly. "Kaito isn't in love with you."

"What do you mean?" I questioned, confused by what he was trying to tell me.

"Kaito is insane! He can't think straight. First his sister killed herself, him finding the body and then both his parents dying." He scoffed, amused in a sick way. "His mind is completely screwed up but it just so happens that naive little Haru comes along just in time."

"How do you know all this?"

"Just like I said a year ago. We knew about the mansion. People know things about the Imari family, I was just lucky enough to be told about it." He paused momentarily, as though in thought. "Oh yes, that's where I was. Kaito was using you. He is emotionally unstable, he is not able to think or love like a normal human being anymore."

"Lies!"

"Oh poor Haru. You've been thinking all along that he's so in love with you." His smile turned into more of an evil, sadistic one. It angered me. "It was just lucky you came along for him, otherwise who knows where he would have been. That's why he killed Ryo you know. Just think about it, okay?"

He walked away to sit elsewhere and I did think about it. A lot. And it finally started to make sense in my mind.

Kaito had been through a lot of things in his lifetime. It made sense that he was using me. Pure coincidence meant that I was there just in time for his mental collapse, it didn't take a genius to solve this. I would just be a thing to distract Kaito from his past, someone to be obsessed with.

Coming to this conclusion tore my heart in half. It was like the world's cruel joke on me, to convince me that we were in love only to show it meant nothing.

I was hurt, but I knew I wouldn't be able to stop loving him despite being meaningless.

A/N
So Kaito never loved Haru in the first place? Do you agree with this theory of Sora's or do you think he is truly in love with her?

Only a few chapters left to go by the way everyone and there will be two endings!!! I did this because I know some people will want different things and I can't decide which would be better to have so for everyone to be happy, there will be a choice!

You need to choose one but you'll understand when the time comes ;)