Chapter 70
[96]
It was the beginning of October when Haru finally returned to school.
There had been a large funeral service for him and a smaller one for Kirumi, whose body had been recovered several days after Kunikazu’s murder. Haru couldn’t look anyone at the funeral directly in the eyes. All she could think was that somewhere, someone in that crowd was Sugimura, waiting for his chance to strike.
She did listen to them speak though, hundreds of voices all speaking about stocks, salaries, and their positions in the corporate ladder. Not one person there seemed to feel any sadness for the man that had lost his life. So when the time came for her to speak on her father’s behalf, she was nowhere to be found. She’d hidden herself away in the lady’s restroom, crying softly in one of the stalls.
When the police had initially questioned her about her father’s assassination, she’d told them how she’d found Sugimura standing over her father’s dead body with a knife in his hand. Upon telling them about his suit, that he could change his appearance at a moment’s notice, they gave her a skeptical look and dismissed it as hysteria. There was no video feed to back up her claims either, all of the cameras in her home had been disabled an hour before the murder took place.
After she was asked more about Sugimura, she came to the realization that she barely knew the man. Where he lived, what he did for a living, hell they were engaged and yet Haru didn’t even know his first name! Using what information Haru was able to give them, the police did a background check on the man. As it turned out, no documents about Sugimura existed before this year, shortly before she met him. Everything that she’d known about the man was a falsehood created to get close to their family!
She considered all of the events of the past two weeks while she stood in Maruki’s lab before classes began, absent-mindedly watering the plants in Iggy’s terrarium. She was an orphan now, living in her father’s home by herself. She had just recently turned 18 so she was able to live on her own now, not that she had any relatives willing to take her in.
“..ru...Haru?”
But she was fine with that, she’d practically been living by herself for years now with how little her father was around. The thing that occupied her thoughts more than anything was what she’d found earlier that morning. Posted on the outside of her front door, was a photo of Haru at the funeral, taken from mere inches away. Clearly Sugimura, or whatever his real name was, had taken it as a way to frighten her.
“Haru?”
Suddenly Haru felt a hand on her shoulder, reacting quickly she took her spray bottle and sprayed her assailant in the face.
“Ah!” Ren stepped back, rubbing his eyes.
“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry!” Haru apologized as she realized what she’d just done.
“It’s fine, just water. You just...surprised me is all.”
“I should be telling you that!” Haru grasped at her chest to calm her heart.
“Sorry about that, but you didn’t seem to hear me before so I thought I’d get your attention.”
The girl merely stared at him, waiting for what he had to say.
“How...How are you doing? I heard about what happened to your dad. I wanted to offer my condolences and check in with you.” When he reached a hand out to place on her shoulder, he was surprised when Haru backed away in fear, tripping over her own feet and nearly knocking over the terrarium.
“Whoa! Are you okay?” Ren reached out to help her, but she once again avoided his touch.
“I-I’m fine! I just...don’t feel well today. You shouldn’t touch me.”
Ren clearly didn’t buy that excuse, but he did refrain from trying to touch her anymore. “Haru, what’s going on? Something’s clearly bothering you. I’d like to help if you’d let me.”
“It’s...it’s nothing. You don’t need to worry about me.” Haru said, her breathing becoming heavy as she spoke. “I um...I need some fresh air. If Dr. Maruki comes, could you tell him...I-I don’t know, something. I just really need to go.” By the time Haru finished her sentence, she was already out the door.
She ran through the hallways, her breathing became even more erratic, her heart beating faster than before, and a nauseous feeling overwhelming her senses. She climbed the stairs of the third floor and ran out onto the school’s roof. Normally, students weren’t allowed up here, but Haru didn’t care, she just needed space, she needed to be by herself, where she was safe.
“Haru!” The voice of Ren called as he too stepped onto the roof.
No.
No no no no! He couldn’t be here right now! She needed to be alone!
Haru backed away from the roof entrance, her eyes never leaving Ren. “W-What are you doing up here!? Y-You shouldn’t be here!”
“I could say the same about you.” Ren replied, concern audible in his voice.
“Why did you come up here? Why did you follow me?” She asked, afraid and suspicious of Ren.
“Because the last time a friend of mine came up here, she tried to end her own life. I just don’t want that to happen again. Haru, please back away from the edge.”
What? She didn’t come up here for that! She wasn’t even anywhere near the-
She turned her head and saw that she was indeed, mere steps from the roof’s edge. The school had meant to put a fence in after the incident with Shiho, but that project had been put on indefinite hold after the gym coach murdered the principal and attacked the school.
Haru turned her eyes back to Ren. One of her only friends at this school, he actually knew her pretty well after only meeting earlier this year...Just like Sugimura. Actually, how much did she really know Ren Amamiya? He rarely ever talked about himself, always more interested in her. And what were the odds that they just happened to be paired up together as lab assistants to Maruki?
“...You’re him aren’t you?” Haru said, her voice less shaky now, more aggressive.
“What?” Ren was confused by the question, or maybe just pretended to be. “Haru, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“You’re just another character. A persona. Well I see through your mask Sugimura!” She took another step backwards, her foot hitting the edge of the roof.
“Haru be careful!” Ren began to run forward.
“STOP!” Haru yelled at him, holding out her hand. “Don’t take another step forward!” She stepped up onto the ledge. Beneath her was a three story drop onto the school’s lawn. “If you do...I’ll jump!”
“Are you crazy!? Get down from there! It’s dangerous!” Ren was panicking now, but he had stopped moving forward.
“Oh you don’t like that do you? Then your sick little game is over, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about! Please just come down and talk to me!”
“It wouldn’t matter anyway. If you are him, then you’re just trying to trick me. If you aren’t, then you’ll just think I’m crazy.”
“Haru, I don’t think you’re crazy! I think you’re confusing me with someone else. Please, whatever it is, I’ll believe you! I promise!”
For a moment, Haru thought about it. The way he spoke, the fear and concern in his voice, maybe he was telling the tru-
Before she could think further, the bricks beneath her cracked, a large chunk of it breaking off. The missing section caused her to lose her balance and she began to fall backwards.
“HARU!” She heard Ren shout.
Things began to slow down for her as she began to fall. She became much more aware of her surroundings, and of herself. She felt her stomach drop, like the feeling one would get on a rollercoaster, only more sickening and full of fear. She could hear car horns honking on the streets below, people unaware of what was going on and just trying to go about their day. That was a nice thought.
Before she could fall from the roof, she suddenly felt something stick to the front of her sweater. This was immediately followed by a pulling sensation in the opposite direction. Before she knew it, she was rushing forward across the rooftop and straight into Ren’s arms.
The boy clasped her tightly in his arms, but there wasn’t a hint of malice in his touch. Only warmth, as his panicked breathing began to slow. The pair stood there for what felt like an hour, feeling the beats of each other's' hearts begin to slow as the adrenaline faded from the both of them.
Finally, when their pulses became semi-normal again, Ren released her and Haru slowly took a step back. She examined the string attached to the front of her sweater, and followed it up to Ren’s wrist.
She paused for a moment, then for another.
When her thoughts finally caught up to her, tears began to fill her eyes once more. Only these tears weren’t sad, for the first time she could remember, Haru cried happy tears. She placed her head against her savior’s chest and let out all of the emotions she’d been holding in up until this point. She didn’t even realize she was holding back so much until she let it all go, finally feeling safe in someone’s arms once again.
After another minute of crying, Haru looked up into Ren’s kind grey eyes. The eyes of a hero.
The eyes of Spider-Man.