As they watch Arata walk away down the mansion's driveway, Rei feels that he seems discouraged as she sees that his shoulders are slightly slumped as he walks without much enthusiasm.
'Is it possible that Arata also wanted to walk back with me, and having to leave alone, he feels sad?'
Thinking that way, Rei suddenly smiles as her cheeks turn a soft pink. In her mind, the thought that Arata is sad because he can't be with her makes her heart beat rapidly in her chest.
Saya looks at her with raised eyebrows and a confused expression.
"What's wrong with you all of a sudden? Why are you smiling like an idiot?"
Rei quickly shakes her head and hides her silly smile.
"N-Nothing! It's nothing important."
Saya narrows her eyes suspiciously but decides not to press the issue any further.
"Anyway. That doesn't matter now. I have something much more important to discuss with you."
Rei is actually quite upset at the moment. She really wanted to walk back with Arata as they always do, but this pink-haired girl suddenly told her to stay without explanation. Because of Saya, Arata had to leave alone, and that's why he looked so sad and discouraged.
She crosses her arms over her chest and looks at Saya with a pout.
"What's so important that it couldn't wait? And why can't Arata hear it?"
Saya adjusts her glasses and her expression becomes serious.
"Because it's specifically about Arata. And I need your help with something."
×××
"Um... why are we following Arata?"
Rei asks this with her cheeks pink with embarrassment. She cautiously pokes her head out from behind a low concrete wall and looks ahead. About thirty meters away, Arata can be seen walking down the road, seemingly unaware that he is being followed.
Saya is crouching next to Rei, also peeking out from behind the wall.
"Rei, haven't you ever been curious about why Arata always runs away or changes the subject when talking about his home or family? It's pretty suspicious, don't you think?"
Rei blinks at her childhood friend's question. In fact, Rei is also very curious about this. She has thought about it many times over the years they have been friends. Her personal conclusion has always been that Arata probably doesn't get along with his family, which is why he flatly refuses to talk about them. Maybe his parents are strict or cold towards him.
That's why she no longer asked him about such personal matters, as she didn't want to make him uncomfortable or upset by stirring up emotional wounds he preferred to keep hidden.
Still...
Rei glares at Saya, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"That doesn't justify us following him like this! We look like stalkers!"
She waves her arms up and down, closing her eyes as she shouts.
"If someone saw us from a different perspective, we would definitely look like a couple of stalkers chasing a guy through the streets. It's super embarrassing, Saya-chan!"
Saya's serious and determined expression is completely destroyed by those accusatory words. Her entire face blushes intensely, from her cheeks to her ears. She shakes her head desperately from side to side, causing her twin pigtails to shake in the air.
"I-I'm not a stalker!"
The pigtails hit Rei's face, causing Rei to flinch.
"Just... just...!"
Rei stares speechlessly at the tsundere who is completely stuck, not knowing what to say to defend herself. It's obvious that Saya hadn't thought about how this situation would look from the outside.
Rei sighs in resignation.
At that precise moment, she sees Arata suddenly turn his head back toward where they are hiding. They are about thirty meters behind him, which should be enough distance. But surprisingly, from the way he narrows his eyes and looks directly in their direction, he seems to have heard them or sensed their presence.
"Ah! This is bad!"
Fortunately, Rei reacts quickly. She grabs Saya by her twin pigtails and pulls down hard, causing Saya to crouch completely behind the wall. The pink pigtails stretch painfully.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"
Saya protests the pain in her scalp as she manages to hide just in time.
"That hurt, silly Rei! Why did you pull me so hard?"
Rei quickly silences her by covering her lips with her palm as she whispers.
"Shut up! Or do you want Arata to see us and think we're a couple of weird stalkers following him? He looked right over here!"
Saya walks away with an indignant snort once Rei removes her hand.
"I'm definitely not a stalker. That's ridiculous."
Rei shrugs as she gives Saya a skeptical look.
"Then what exactly are we? Because we're silently following Arata through the streets without him knowing. At school, I was taught that that's the definition of stalking."
A moment ago, when Arata said goodbye to them at the Takagi mansion, Saya had only said mysteriously that they needed to talk about Arata. Then, without giving any further explanation, she had dragged Rei through the streets following Arata from a safe distance. Now she has only said that she is curious about his private life. But is that really all there is to it? Rei has a feeling that there is something else that Saya is not saying.
Saya shows a conflicted expression on her small face. Her eyebrows are furrowed and she bites her lower lip as she seems to be struggling internally with something. After resolving some doubts in her mind, she finally begins to speak.
"I find Arata's physical condition very strange. He is extremely pale, and I thought that maybe he could be a ghoul in disguise."
"A ghoul? Arata? Don't be silly, Saya-chan! Arata is not a monster!"
Rei displays on an angry expression. She didn't like that a guy as cool and kind as Arata was being seen as a monster. If a monster can be so kind and loving, then could it still be considered a monster?
Arata doesn't scare her. She finds him charming. She even secretly thinks about marrying him when they grow up. With her train of thought heading in that direction again, she feels a warmth on her skin.
×××
20 advanced chapters on Pá treon.
pá treon.com/OlwinMoriarty