Innocent Insanity

Great, there's more of them

Ayano POV:
            It's late at night, and thanks to my nap after my friend's visit, I'm wide awake. I'm currently just sitting in my wheelchair, looking out the window.
            Then something taps on the door. I wheel around. Standing in the doorway is a black silhouette. Is it an attacker?
            "I'll scream If you come any closer," I say menacingly. The figure puts up their hands.
            "Ayano-San, it's just me," Oko says. I sigh in relief.
            "What are you doing here?" I ask. He sits down in a chair by my bed. "I mean, how did you even get in? It's," I check the clock on my bedside table, "It's two in the morning," I say. Oko flushes and shrugs.
            "I'm pretty good at not being noticed," He says plainly. I smile at him, rolling my chair over to where he's sitting. He gets up and wraps his arms around the top of my body.
            "I'm so sorry about what happened to you, Ayano-San," Oko says against my head. I hug him back gently. I tried to hug Aso when he left, but I squeezed too hard and my arms had hurt afterwards. I was more careful this time.
            "Yeah, it wasn't super pleasant," I said when the embrace ended. He held up a bag. Whatever was inside it smelled like complete heaven.
            "Um, I don't know if you really enjoy sweets, but I know this café on the street a few blocks away from school, so I thought I'd get you some treats. The guy who works there is super nice," Oko says. It clicked in my mind.
            "Are you talking about Amao?" I ask. Oko nods.
            "Yeah. Amao Odayaka. He's also the president of the cooking club. Nice guy and all, but he always, and I mean always, smells like sugar and vanilla. It can get over whelming," He laughs. I'm picking up on the fact that Oko is more comfortable when people can't see him. He likes it better in the dark.
            "Yeah. I met him on the day... well, on the day of... well this," I say. Oko looks angry for a moment.
            "Yeah. It makes me angry to think that you got hurt. I'm a little ashamed to say that I yelled at Amao for a few minutes before he explained what happened to me," Oko admits he looks down. That feeling of wanting to make him smile is there again. I think it's what other people call... sympathy. Empathy. Or pity. There's a fine line.
            Wait... He said he gave Amao hell after Amao told him I had gotten hurt. Wasn't that yesterday? But then how would Amao have known? Aso's not one to just blab about someone else's problems, so that leaves...
            "Oko, what day is it?" I ask. He looks at me kindly.
            "Today is Thursday, April 15th. You were asleep for the entire day yesterday," He says. I inhale sharply.
            "Damn it, Ayano!! You should be tracking Budo! You're a Yandere! Get you head in the game!" I think to myself. How did this happen? Ever since emotions began coming back to me, I haven't been able to really unlock my physical and mental limits. I'd have to get back to training soon.
            "Wow. A full day of sleep. How do I look after all that beauty rest?" I joke. Oko looks me in the eye.
            "You could never look anything less than gorgeous," He says simply. His face flushes. "I-I mean, um, well, yo-you always look good-great, an-and your eyes are pretty, and, Ayano! What's wrong?!" he says. I raise my hand to my now tear streaked face. No one in my life not even my mother has ever called me beautiful. Ever. I just assumed that all anyone saw in my eyes was the lack of emotions. That No one would ever look at me the way they looked at Kokona, or Musume, or any of the other gorgeous girls at school.
            "It's okay, Oko. I'm fine. That just means a lot to me," I say. I wrap him in a tight hug. I don't care if my arms hurt, which they do. How could anyone call this boy weird? He was so sweet. I gave him one last squeeze before I pulled back.
            "Well, the best thing for injuries is a lot of sleep, so I think you should get back to that," He says. He leaves the bag of goodies on my nightstand and helps me get from my wheelchair to the hospital bed. He pulls the white blanket over me and pecks me on the forehead.
            "I'm so glad you're alright, Ayano," He says. He smiles over his shoulder and walks out the door.
            That boy... He's just... He's Oko. I don't know how I missed him when I was at school last year.
            I close my eyes. I feel... at peace. I smile and think of all the wonderful people I've met over the few days that I've been in school. Oko, Amao, Aso, Kokona, Osano... I hope to meet more of the people who I can call my friends.

I fall asleep thinking of them.
          
Oko POV:
            Ayano being hurt was terrible. I felt horrible that I hadn't been able to stop it. My anger was overruled by the urge to make sure she was okay. And to get back at Aso. Aso was the one who had blabbed to a group of people about Osoro being friendly with Ayano. Osoro, being who he is, has enemies. He's embarrassed and hurt people.  I mean, had this guy ever seen a hero movie? The hero, who always has enemies, (Curse me for putting Osoro in the hero role), usually has a friend or a love interest that is potential leverage for their enemies. Ayano, being Osoro's friend, is leverage to hurt Osoro himself! And Aso couldn't see that! What an idiot!
            Now, Osoro's enemies would be coming after Ayano by default. I hated Osoro for what he did to people, but I couldn't let proximity hurt Ayano. I would have to tell him. Here goes nothing.

A WEEK LATER
Ayano POV:
            "Osano slow down!" I yell. I grip the side arms of my wheelchair in a vice, holding on for dear life. Osano whooped behind me. I yelled. He was currently pushing my chair at what seemed like a million miles an hour down the hill to school. I knew he would slow down if he felt like he couldn't control the speed, but for now I was just terrified that I would fall out!
            "I mean it, Osano! Slow down!" I yell.
            "Nope!" Osano yells gleefully. I can practically hear his smile. He must be so happy right now, jerk.
            We go a few more feet, drawing confused looks and laughs from the people on the sidewalks, until a black blob jumps out in front of me. I yell for Osano to stop, but he doesn't hear me. We impact the black blob. I know that if I don't do something, the forward motion of the chair will cause it to tip, sending me flying onto the road and the chair to fall on the blob, whom I have now decided is a person. I need to act fast.
            I lean forward enough to get my arms under the blob and pull them onto my lap. Then I hit the brake and lean as far back as I can. The chair skids to a stop and I let out a breath of relief. I look down at the blob. It unfurls and lies across my lap.
            "Oh my god! What happened? I'm so sorry! I should've been looking where I was going and...." The boy keeps going, but I'm fixated on his face. He looks exactly like Taro. Except, his hair is shorter and he has a heart clip in his bangs. His bag is lying on the ground a few meters back. Osano steps on it as he runs towards us.
            "What the hell, kid!" Osano yells at the poor boy. He pales and raises his hands in surrender. Osano keeps ranting at him. He tries to respond back, but Osano won't let him get a word in Edgewise.
            "Osano," I say. The other boy looks at me, but Osano just keeps yelling. "Osano!" I try again, louder this time. Still no response from the redhead. "OSANO!" I yell. This gets his attention. He turns to me, looking me up and down. I know he's checking for injuries. I'm totally fine though.
            "Osano, I'm totally fine. And it was our fault that we hit him. Now if you don't stop screaming at him, we're going to be late," I say. Osano seems to calm down a bit after hearing that I'm okay, and he begins to push the chair again. The black haired boy begins to collect his things as we make our way to the school gate.
            "Huh, his uniform looked... familiar..." I think. I look at Osano. While he's wearing an orange and white shirt and the uniform pants with his uniform jacket undone on the top, the jacket actually looks the same as the one the boy was wearing. Except he had it fastened all the way up to his chin. Just like Taro-Senpai used to do.
            "Wait... Why doesn't it hurt to think his name?" I think. That ever-present ache that flared up whenever I thought about Senpai had been absent for the 2 weeks that I had been back here. I wonder why that happened. I take one last look at the young boy who looked like Senpai. He glances up and waves to me. I give him a small wave in return. It's hard to see from here, but I think his face turns red. I turn back around and face the school gates. Many students stop and look at me now that I'm in a wheelchair.
            Kokona had been waiting by the school entrance and had seen Osano and I walk in. She came running up to us and threw her arms around me as best she could. With her bent over like that, I was sure her skirt had moved, but she didn't seem to care, so I didn't want to embarrass her. A few of the people behind her blushed though.        
            "Ayano-Chan! How are you? Feeling any better?" She asks. I'm just about to respond when a tall brunette approaches. He's the same guy from the bakery! Amao.. Amao something!
            "Hello Aishi-san! How are you doing? I really am sorry about leaving you that day. Had I known what was happening I never would've gone to get that dog..."He says. He's looking at the ground, ashamed to meet my eyes. I smile at him.
            "Don't worry Amao, I'm okay. And it was really amazing of you to go save that dog. I totally understand! And besides, I think you're just to sweet to have stood up to those attackers." I say. Amao looks up and smiles. His happiness brightens the air around us. Osano grimaces and Kokona just stare at his face. I'll have to talk to her about Amao later...
            "Thank you, Aishi-San. And if you ever need anything, please feel free to stop into the cooking club. We're, I'm always happy to have you," He says. I feel warm at his words. I'm starting to realize that I actually feel something other than... indifference, to what is going on around me. When I was being attacked, I felt scared and angry. When I saw Oko being harassed by those girls, I felt protective. When I met Aso, I felt happy. With Amao, I feel appreciated. With Osano, I feel like I have someone who will have my back, Kokona is that way as well. And with Osoro, I feel like I will always have someone to protect me.
            It's different than my old normal, but it's a welcomed change. I smile and continue to talk with my friends.

Amao POV:
            I can't believe she forgave me for my mistake of letting her go unprotected. She really must be an angel. Her skin, though bruised, is still flawless, and her eyes have more light in them than before. I may be one of the only people who know that she was a student last year, but her eyes looked so different then. She seemed like she just lived life for the sake of not dying. Now, she actually seems to enjoy being with other people sometimes. I'm glad she's making friends. I wish that she would spend more time with me than with the Rito boy, or with Najimi-kun, but I really can't fault her. Those boys are very sweet to her. Guess I'll just have to top it! And as everyone knows, I am very sweet!
            I walk into the school and down the hallway to the cooking club. But as I approach the doors, I hear the sound of an argument coming from the student council room. I step lightly over to the door and peek my head in.
            Inside the darkened room is the student council president, Megamo Saikou arguing with someone over a computer call. I can't really catch all of what they are saying, as they are speaking in some weird language. But I know someone who will.
            I quickly whip out my phone and press "video record" on the screen. I hold the camera up to the door crack and wait for about 3 minutes before the arguing ceases and I hear a loud sigh from Megamo. I quickly stop recording and put my phone into my pocket. Megamo walks towards the door and opens it. He looks at me disdainfully.
            "Odayaka... on your way to the cooking room?" he asks. It's polite, but he doesn't fool me. I've heard what he says to the council members about me. He thinks that cooking isn't something a man would do. He said that cooking was weak and that to be a real man I would have to have a few scars. Little did he know...
            "Yes sir! I plan to make something for someone I like," I say confidently. He smirks. I feel a little angry now, but I push that feeling down. Now isn't the time for rash emotions.
            "And this someone you like, does she like you back?" He says. I hold my breath for a moment.
            "Not yet, but I'm hoping to change that. Speaking of which, I better be off!" I say. I hurry down the hallway to the cooking clubroom to avoid further questioning. Once I walk through the doors into the pink and white room, I pull out my phone and text the video to a contact saved on my phone.

###-###-####: And what do you want me to do with this?
Amao: Translate it. It's Megamo and someone else arguing.
###-###-####: And this is relevant, why?
Amao: Would you just do it?
###-###-####: Since you refuse to pay me in images, text me 5 answer sheets and I'll get you the transcript. A copy of which will be kept with me for... Insurance purposes.
Amao: Done. They should call you barter-kun instead of Info-kun.
Info-Kun: Well, I guess they go hand in hand. Get what you owe me by tomorrow's lunch. I'll have the transcript ready by then.
Amao: Okay.

            I turn my phone off and put it in my pocket. As much as I didn't like Info-Kun, and as much as I thought his perverted ways of gaining information were horrible, he was really an asset in a pinch.
            I took off my uniform jacket and replaced it with my usual mint-green apron.
            Now to make something Ayano will certainly go crazy over...