The Yandere

Chapter 19: Missing

The next morning, I awoke once again beside Kaito, which was a bit strange but I knew I could easily get used to it. Reluctantly, I hopped out of bed to go about my usual morning routine of getting dressed and eating.

"Why so early?" Groaned Kaito, still half asleep. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, his hair in an adorable mess.

"I always get up at this time, lazy!"

"Ugh, you're crazy." He sighed in defeat.

"You're telling me I'm crazy?" I raised my eyebrow, trying to suppress a smile.

"No comment."

Turning away from him, I looked through my bag and found Baxter's old leash I used for when we went out in the woods. He didn't need it anymore since he'd gotten used to things. That's when I realised.

"Baxter?" I called out.

There wasn't the usual 'woof' as a reply and I quickly looked around the small but now empty shed. He was always in there, no matter what.

"What's the matter?" Asked Kaito, suddenly alert as he stood up.

"Baxter should be here, he's always here."

"Maybe he stayed outside?"

"No, he's always in here. He wouldn't stay out there!"

I quickly rushed outside in my panic and looked around. I glanced at the bodies on the ground, most of them missing limbs with pools of blood flowing around them. Kaito did it so effortlessly, it was kind of scary.

"Over here," he said suddenly, crouched by a tree.

I walked over, peeking over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. Below him, there were a few medium-sized paw prints in the mud. They were his, I knew they were because they were his kind of size and fresh.

"Baxter!" I yelled, hoping for a reply.

Nothing.

"He'll come back, dogs always do," Kaito tried to ensure me but I could hear the doubt in his voice.

"Baxter isn't just any old dog."

"I know." He sighed sadly.

We walked back inside and I grabbed my bag, throwing it over my shoulder. Kaito watched me, trying to figure out what I was doing.

"I'm going into town." I stated simply, walking out the door.

"Wait Haru, he might come back." He called after me, following behind.

"Something's wrong." I replied simply and found myself at the gates moments later.

"Back so soon, Pistol?" Asked the gate lady, surprised.

"Open up." I called up and she hurriedly obliged, seeming to be afraid of going against me.

The gates opened and I gestured for Kaito to follow me inside. He did and even his presence alone calmed my nerves slightly. He was like my shadow.

"You're back? Who's this?" Kimi asked as I strolled over to the trio.

"Baxter is missing." I informed them, keeping a straight face. "Have you heard anything?"

The three gasped in shock, looking upset afterwards as they'd all grown to love Baxter just as I did.

"I'm sorry Haruka," Gina stepped forward, "we haven't heard anything."

My heart broke once again. You could say Baxter was just a dog but to me, he was family. He was my only friend in the world for a year.

"O-okay," I turned away from them and put as much distance between us as possible before letting out a shaky breath.

"Haru," Kaito murmured, stealing close to me and placing his arm around my shoulder in comfort. It only hurt a little bit from the healing bruises.

"I just want him back," I sighed, looking out at the market.

"I know you do, I miss him too from back at the mansion."

"Come on," I put on a brave face again, "lets go home. He could be back there again, right?"

"Mhm," he said, and walked with me.

Much to my dismay, when we got home the place was empty, just how we'd left it. No wagging of the tail greeted me as I walked through the door, making my heart sink into a small pit of despair inside my stomach.

"We'll find him." Kaito assured me, but it was just a fantasy we had.

"I don't know how long we can go on for. We have hardly any food to feed the both of us." I gestured to the chest in the corner, barely full.

"Then I just won't eat. We both need to go out and hunt anyway, that will be okay for now."

"I won't let that happen, you're just as important." I replied, smiling half heartedly.

"Then lets go on a hunt." He suggested, nodding towards the door.

I happily stood up, my spirits lifted as I grabbed my bow from behind the door. It was a great weapon, quiet and effective.  

I lead Kaito out into the woods, feeling a little more optimistic despite the loss of my best friend. There was still hope though, and I gripped onto that like my lifeline.

"Here," I whispered to him and crouched down, pulling him down with me so hard that he almost fell. I smiled apologetically and he didn't seem to mind.

For a while, we sat in silence, watching and waiting for our meal to come along. I wanted to say something but decided not to. My social skills were lacking and definitely needed work.

Finally, a lone rabbit hopped along, twitching it's cute little nose at the ground, looking for its own meal. I stared at it, readying my bow into the perfect position.

The rabbit was stood in the perfect spot, it's fluffy small ears rotating to listen for danger. It luckily hadn't picked up on us in our hiding space yet.

I let out a small breath that I'd been holding as I let go of the arrow, watching as it soared through the air like a rocket on a mission to outer space. It came to an abrupt end in the rabbit's face, causing the rabbit to widen it's eyes before collapsing to the ground, losing it's fight.

Satisfied, I stepped out from behind the bush and walked over to the rabbit, picking it up and inspecting it.

"That was awesome, Haru. You have amazing aim."

"Thanks," I smiled, "you're a good hunter's assistant."

My smile faded and I quickly shoved him down, simultaneously pulling out my pistol and shooting the approaching zombie in the head, killing it instantly. It had been merely a centimetre away from Kaito. Any closer and he'd have been bitten.

"Whoa, thanks," he said, in a state of shock as he stared at the corpse on the ground, rotting and falling to pieces.

"Repayment for saving my life back before."

"I'm glad I did," he grinned, getting back to his feet. "Now, time to get home again?"

"Lets go," I nodded, taking the rabbit with us.