This couldn't have been an accident.

Fires don't start randomly. Especially when there was no one in the house at that time, and our house was the only one to have caught on fire.

Recalling the uneasiness from a few days before, it all pointed towards one answer.

Somebody was trying to kill my mother and I.

But who? And for what reason?

The motivation seemed unclear, there couldn't have been a detrimental reason for them to loathe me as much so to even want to kill me.

I may have started fights, but would someone really try and murder me out of spite and revenge?

No. That would be simply childish, to the point of lunacy.

So what was the reason? Digging through my memories, I pondered as I desperately thrashed throughout, trying to find the answer.

Wait. 

There was one outlier, an independant variable that has influenced the manga's plot: 

Me.

The 2 heroines that should have been in love with the main character, is now hanging out with me.

Was it really possible?

For a person to despise me over a relationship with the heroines, to the point of conceding to their demons whispering to murder me?

...Unfathomable. 

Who?

...No. There's no way. Touma.....?

I can't believe it.

But, everything would fall into place.

The motivation.

The timing.

Everything.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick-

-----

A week has passed then. 

I can't help but glance at Touma every few seconds. 

Touma, oblivious from my suspicious glances, was talking to Akari Fujiwara, as well as the other two girls that had been recently hanging around me.

I could finally take a breather, partly due to the onslaught of Mei and Chiaki teasing me day in and out, and the fact that I was finally able to observe Touma without the girls asking me what I was looking at.

It felt like my heart strings were slightly being pulled when I saw them together, but I knew it was originally supposed to be this way, so slapping my cheeks together, I shook the slightly sad emotion away, and continued to observe the whole situation.

I can't tell the girls about Touma. After all, he was the actual main character, and the person who provided a lighthouse to their lives.

To me, I didn't have the right to break that notion. Nor did I believe I deserved to "have" these girls. They were no longer simple drawings that once existed in the form of manga, but rather real people. They had real emotions, beliefs, and thoughts, not some drawing that was programmed to act in a certain way or follow a certain plot line. I've seen it firsthand, the way they express themselves, and especially how they were interacting with me in the first place.

Everyone in the classroom was real. They were not "NPCs" but all real people with their own families and friends. While they behaved a bit stereotypically in "romcom" situations, they still had their own hobbies, and personalities. This further made me hesitate commiting to the voice that had recently sprung from the depths of hell. I knew it was wrong. Immoral, dirty like the sewer that reeks from the streets, it was everything that went against my beliefs. But...

...I'm not even sure if Touma is actually the perpetrator of the whole incident in the first place. I didn't have any evidence, just speculation.

He was as usual, kind with a charming smile that radiated across the entire classroom. 

Seeing him like this, it's really hard for me to see him as the suspect.

As I glanced away, I stood up from my seat, and exited the sliding wooden door.

I eventually made it to the bathroom, before standing in front of the basin and mirror.

Twisting the tap on, I gathered a scoopful of water and splashed it into my face.

The cool sensation enveloped my face, as I raised my head back up to stare at the mirror.

The strands of my bangs, tainted with water, dripped as it fell in the basin below me. 

My black hair dully shone from the sunlight from the window, as the droplets of water glistened on my face and bangs.

...Touma may not be the one.

But at this point, it doesn't matter who it is.

Whether it is Touma, or some other fucker, I swear, in my own blood and flesh, that I will kill the motherfucker who tried to murder my mother. 

My muddy jet black eyes cleared up, revealing a crystal clear iris, with a dangerous red glint to it.

-----

[3rd Person POV]

"Hey, Touma! How's it been?" (Mei)

"It's been fine. I haven't seen you in a while." (Touma)

Her body slightly shook with a tremour, before opening her mouth again.

"Huh? Um, yeah, that's true I guess."

"You've been hanging around another boy right? Um, what's his name again? Uhh... I.. Isamu Ishikawa?"

Meekly, she nodded, as she glanced at the boy across the classroom.

"...He looks really dangerous though, are you sure you're fin-"

Chiaki jolted slightly, as she felt the burning surge creep up from within herself, as she opened her mouth-

Mei twisting her head back to face Touma, she snapped-

"Isamu isn't like that." (Mei / Chiaki)

Touma seemed shocked. His eyes were widened, as if had never seen Mei and Chiaki like this before. He lightly smiled, as he murmured,"Hmm... I see."

Returning back to his usual bright expression, he opened his mouth once more, "Sorry, guys. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that."

"As long as you know." 

Mei lightly let out a 'hmph,' as Chiaki just looked away and gently clenched the hems of her skirt.

(Hmm?) (Chiaki)

Her eyes followed a particular figure exit the classroom. 

(Where's Kawachi going?)

A few seconds passed, as she continued staring at the door.

"Hey guys, I'm just going to the bathroom for a bit. I'll be back."

"Yeah, sure, go for it."

"Thanks."

Trottering along the smooth concrete floors, she exited the classroom as she turned her head left and right, trying to find Isamu.

Capturing a glance of Isamu's back as he rounded a corner, Chiaki followed him.

As she rounded the corner, she bumped into a person.

"Huh!?"

Collapsing on her butt, she reopened her eyes as she looked at the figure before her.

"Are you okay?" (???)

It was an unknown boy. His facial features were covered slightly with a long blonde bang that covered one of his eyes, and a hoodie that encapsulated his torso and head. Offering a hand, the unknown boy extended his hand towards the fallen Chiaki.

"Ouch... Yeah, I'm fine, thanks."

Grabbing her hand, the boy pulled her up, as she stood back on her feet. 

"Why were you in such a rush?"

"Huh? Um, I was chasing after a particular boy- Wait! Where did he go?"

"Hmm? Were you talking about the guy with ear piercings? I think I saw him go back that way."

Pointing his finger in a particular direction, he offered, "Do you want me to take you there?"

Suddenly, Chiaki felt a sense of unease towards the particular boy. At first glance, he seemed like a normal person. However, it felt like something was squirming from within him, as if his body was slightly jittery, as if he couldn't hold back his giddy happiness for something.

As Chiaki took a step back, she lightly bowed as she said, "No, it's fine, thank you. I'll be okay on my own. Thanks for offering."

The smile on the boy disappeared. 

"Is that so? What a shame. Be careful then."

"Thank you."

Turning on her heels, Chiaki continued across the hall in the direction the boy showed her.

Thinking back to the words the unknown boy had said, something stood out to her.

(...Why did he say it was a shame?)

Chiaki reached the end of the hall. There was only one corner, which turned left. 

However, when she turned to look, what stood in her way, was a stairwell, leading to the rooftop.

At this point in time, there was barely any students around her, maybe a few at most. 

(Did Kawachi go to the rooftop? But that shouldn't be possible, it should be locked.)

Traveling up the stairwell, she eventually stood in front of the rooftop metal door. The chains that locked the door were not there.

Something wasn't quite right. It felt like she had swallowed a jar of worms, and they started wriggling inside her stomach.

However, Chiaki was desperate to see Isamu right now, as she never got to interact with him up until now due to wanting to keep it a secret from Mei and the whole school. 

So, grasping her hand around the door knob, she pushed the door open, revealing a grand plane of checkered concrete, with green fences that travelled on the ourskirts of the rooftop. There were a few metal green benches laying around, as the sunlight radiated upon the whole platform. The smell of fresh air entered her lungs, and the soft wind gently caressed her face.

There were no signs of Isamu here.

Her gut was telling her to turn back right now, before it was too late.

Finally listening and giving up, she closed the door back up, before turning back around only to bump into an object.

To be precise, not an object, but a person.

"Ouch! I swear this is the second time alre....."

"Like I said, it's quite a shame."

"Huh?"

A pair of arms shot out and wrapped around Chiaki, as she was slammed against the metal door, with a rag smothered across her mouth and nose. The smell of a slightly pleasant sweet odour entered her nostrils, as she jolted from the pain from hitting the back of her head on the door.

Rattle!

Desperately trying to scream, she thrashed her arms and legs, trying to kick and injure the boy in front of her, but, to no avail.

Gently, and gradually, her thrashing slowly came to a solemn still, as her eyelids lightly drooped down, as they eventually shut, leaving her last with the memory of the hooded unknown boy with a disturbing grin on his face.

-----

A/N: Aight boys, time to raise your pitchforks and torches. >:)