Obsession (Ayano x Budo)

Chapter 16

"Oh, you actually still want to do this."

Taro was at his frontdoor, geared in a thick jacket and scarf. He looked calm today, as per usual - expression in a permanent state of awareness and serenity, eyes always connecting directly with the speaker, and he did so now as Budo swung open the door.

Budo was immediately blasted with a cool breathe of wind and he shivered automatically. "Ugh, it's so cold, and it's a weekend too. Do I really have to come?"

Taro blazed. "You're not backing out now after promising to come visit Osana with me," he said severely. Now his eyes were as sharp as a sword and just as unrelenting, and from under them, Budo knew he would have to go. "You know I'm worried about her."

This is going to be difficult to explain when we get there Budo's mind humored. But as of yesterday, he'd been in a reasonably good mood, so he thought I may as we spend some time with my friend, even if he is my rival, and even if we are going to our dead friend's house. He almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of his thoughts.

Budo pulled his hood over his head and stepped out the door while Taro walked down the porch steps. He looked up and caught his first sight of the cold winter morning.

The trees that lined the long road on either side were leafless, their barks a ghostly white. Huge, packed hills of leaves littered the gutters of the street in the dirty colours of decomposing oranges and browns. The lighting was weirdly bright, as if the unnaturally white light of a movie set was cast strongly on ground, while the sky was deep, thick-grey mass of charging energy, just waiting to burst any minute.

Any day now, it would begin snowing. Even as Budo looked outside, he saw his own breathe form clouds of steam in the icy air. Every lungful of it stung his lungs like needles.

It was, he reasoned, by all means a perfectly ordinary scene, but something in Budo's gut grew uneasy. It was too still. There were no people, no cars nor birds calls.

"There's no hurry. I'll just slowly freeze to death here while I wait," Taro commented sarcastically. Budo gave him a small smile, but beneath it he still felt unsettled.

"Hey, isn't it unusually quiet on the street today?" he questioned his friend.

Taro shrugged his shoulders and looked to the sky, considering, face feeling the bitter cold sunshine. He watched the dark grey blanket of the clouds that spread uniformly over the horizon. After a few seconds he answered, "It's still early, and it's becoming colder everyday. I think everyone is just sleeping it away in comfort of their beds."

"Yeah, and thanks for dragging me out of mine."

"You didn't really have a choice," Taro replied dryly. "This is payment for when you forced me to go to your club with you. Come."

Budo cast another uneasy look down the street, and Taro finally caught the reluctance he was feeling. "Tell me, what's wrong?"

"I dunno," Budo finally said. "I've got a weird feeling."

"If that's all it is, don't worry about it. Honestly, sometimes I don't know what's going on in that cute little head of yours."

"I... what?" Budo gave Taro a blank, uncomprehending stare.

"Joking. Nevermind," Taro sighed, and broke eye contact to look over his shoulder at the road before them. He put his hands into his pockets. "Let's just go."

Budo nodded once, shut the door behind him, and locked it with the house key. Still, he couldn't shake off the feeling he had in his gut that was telling him to stay. He ignored it. With a final glance at the sides of the house, he stepped off the porch and joined Taro in the walk down the road.

Their footsteps sounded to Budo like gunshots in the quiet street. As they walked on, their steps became fainter and fainter, until the sound was barely audible and their forms were like dark blobs in the distance.

That was when Ayano decided to come out from behind a hedge near the neighbors house. She took a second to stretch out her legs and arms that had grown stiff while waiting in the cold, and then she turned resolutely to face the house. This is for you, Senpai.