Part 1
As the girl began walking towards the street ahead of them, Yuuko found himself conflicted. It was wrong to follow people, but he felt it especially wrong since he was following a girl.
"Still..." he whispered to Toshi. "I still want to know why.....why......"
Why. There were many reasons why. There were so many reasons that he couldn't even think of one....well, that wasn't entirely true.
I want to know.........why you always look down.
It was a miracle she could even tell where she was going. Through the narrowly lit orange streets, she passed by houses and stores without even acknowledging their presence.
It was as if the world existed one step at a time for her.
As she was walking, Yuuko and Toshi took great care in hiding behind garbage bins and the corners of the walls. The girl stopped in front of a small convenience store that couldn't have been more than three or four blocks from the park; and the pair silently hid behind the corner of another store twenty meters down the block. Taking a risk, Yuuko peeked around the corner to find something very strange.
"She is.....fixing her hair?"
It was less fixing and more....swiping? Clawing?
In front of the convenience store's window, Yuya was violently tugging down on a piece of hair that stood up at the top of her head. Licking the palm of her hand, she pulled the hair all the way down the side of her head, and then pushed it behind some other loose hair. She had a triumphant look on her face, until the strand exploded out of the side and stood straight back up again, which
made her look angrily at it. Now that it was obvious, Yuuko could remember seeing that at the school yard earlier today; it was less......firm, but definitely still there.
Her hair is messy though..... why does she care about that piece?
In a way, Yuuko thought it suited her, since her hair looked messy in an organized way; like she just woke up, but still looked nice. The girl repeated this process another two times before kicking the wall in frustration and stomping inside the store.
"No no boy," he said, holding back a curious Toshi. "We can not follow her in there, she would see us.."
And it was true, if they were to go any closer Yuya would undoubtedly see them when she leaves. From behind his hiding place across the street, he wouldn't be able to see the inside of the store, but he would be able to see her when she leaves.
Even with all the thoughts and questions bursting in his head, Yuuko still thought about how she was able to do this. His own mom would be angry with him if she knew he was out this late, especially if he was alone like she is. There was the occasional person that passed by, but that would worry his mother even more.
Does she always do this after school?
Finally, the girl left the shop with a small bag in her hand, and continued making her way down the street. After she turned the corner, Yuuko immediately ran as quietly as he could, with Toshi following close at his heels. Peeking around the corner, he saw her walking at the far end of another street, except this one....
"There are no lights here!" he whispered in a furious tone to his dog. "Toshi this isn't safe, what is she doing!"
While it wasn't entirely true, the street had much less light than where they were just a few moments ago.
Why are you here, and stop looking down— it's dangerous!
Using the same routine, Yuuko followed her at a distance, moving as fast as he could while doing his best to not make any unnecessary noises. The pair of them walked another two streets like this, and perhaps it was his imagination, but the roads seemed to go on for much longer the more he tailed her.
YOU ARE READING
The Promise of Yuuko Asahino - Volume 2
רומנטיקהIt's been ten months since the incident, and Yuuko's moved to a new school. But there's one student there who's different from the others, and his father's words won't stop playing in his ears.... How do you cope with something lost? And what is it...
