Bridge 36 ( ....Totally normal girl)

“Aww, looks like your little admirer is still following you.” Ringo shot out with an annoying smile on her face. I looked over at what she was looking at already knowing what I would see.

Standing behind a tree making a poor attempt at hiding herself was that pink haired child I had healed. She was peeking out of it like it was some sort of video game mechanic. No reasonable person would think they were hidden by this point but she was a child so she got some slack. 

Well, I say child but I was fairly certain she was older than I was, I was not too sure of the exact numbers but it can’t be too much. It was hard to tell considering most commoners did not exactly have a stable diet and proper nutrition. Then again there was nothing that screamed unhealthy about the girl before me.

“She is surprisingly stubborn about following you. What exactly did you do to garner such interest?” Tsuyukoi asked with a glint in her eyes as she looked over at the child hiding.

The both of them have been ribbing me about this for a good long while. At first, they were worried about someone following me near constantly but that faded quickly when it became apparent that the child was very incompetent in her stalking.

“I don’t fucking know. I just healed her. Sure I get childhood crushes can be born from the smallest things but this stalking bit is concerning.” I voiced my own frustration out loud for once. The two red-heads looked at each other before shrugging and going back to studying the books in their hands.

They picked up on the language of this world pretty quickly so now they had moved on to learning to read. It was necessary since I planned on us staying here for a good long while.

Seeing them be so unhelpful was expected but equally frustrating.

I looked back at the girl who had a notepad out and was taking notes about me yet again. I had gotten a look at that thing with my coat and it was really fucking concerning. The information on it should not be things a girl that age should be considering.

It had lists of traits and characteristics about me. My features were written down to a tee and she had a surprisingly deep read on my feelings and personality. Beyond that, she appeared to be trying to fit me into a mold that made sense to her.

Titles like Exiled Noble or Heir to the rulers of the Underworld. Things like that were thrown out constantly trying to tie the traits that she knew to the proper mold that fit. She even had a fucking vampire prince listed there but crossed it off after seeing my visual growth throughout the months.

I had been using the ID create skill to grind out and accelerate my age so I would be in the proper bracket to join the crown prince. I also admittedly did not like being a pipsqueak so I have been trying to change that.

I can’t believe she came so close to the truth but I should have seen it coming. My pale unnatural skin and hypnotic ruby eyes only really fit were traits that defined vampires in most fictions.

Her uncanny ability to dissect me and her stalkerish behavior did not really paint a pretty picture. I think I had stumbled upon a fucking yandere in the making and I was not sure what to do about this.

I could only hope that when I got to the academy I would be able to avoid her. She was a commoner so she had little to no shot in interacting with me when I went there. Sure, she could pay to attend the school like I was planning on doing but that was unlikely.

Considering how she dressed it was highly unlikely that her family could earn the amount of money needed to apply. Sure, she was in better condition than the other street rats here but she was clearly not the young lady of a noble family or a merchant's daughter.

I went towards the girl with a flat look on my face. I figured if I let her down gently I could avoid this whole awkward mess. Ringo snickered as I walked toward the pink haired girl and Tsuyukoi wore a teasing smile on her face.

The girl in question froze at seeing me walking towards her but she blurred into action. Putting away her little book and fixing her appearance to the best of her ability. She then tried to appear innocent and nonchalant as she kneeled down by the tree as if lost.

I blinked at her actions but just let out a sigh and approached the girl. As soon as I was close enough her eyes lit up and she got up from the ground eyes gleaming in joy and tears that seemed to scream she had given up hope but had finally found salvation.

“Ito! I’m so happy to see you! I got lost and I have no idea where I am!” She shouted out with tears falling from her face as she tried to appear as a sweet innocent angel that could do no wrong. Again I blink at her actions and look at the two red-heads that are supposed to protect me.

I was met with my contained laughter. I let out a sigh and refocused on the girl before me.

She was really good at trying to show a certain image but I knew all the facts here so I was not going to fall for this act. I was just going to ignore it for the most part. Calling her out on her stalking might lead to her furthering her yandere development.

“Of course, I can help you. Just follow along and we will be back to the school in no time.” I spoke out lightly while leading the way. She brightened up at that and followed along like a little duckling.

She remained surprisingly quiet during the walk but I was more than fine with that. Although I could see she was shooting dirty looks at the two red heads accompanying me but they just snickered at her as well. Any time I looked over at her those dirty looks would be replaced with the image of an innocent angel who could do no wrong.

Really manipulative for a girl of her age but Yandere’s were a different breed. Actually, manipulation and knifework were kind of the bread and butter of girls like that.

Pretty soon we reached the academy. The girl behind me looked a little crushed that things were going to end like this but there was a determined look in her eyes after that. 

“It’s nice to see this place again. I had not seen it since I cleared all those tests. I am going to miss the teachers here.” I spoke out softly trying to lead the conversation in a certain direction. Again the girl seemed to brighten up as she took in the words I said

I did not mean a single word I said but I did not really need to be that truthful with this girl.

“Well, you could always come back after the harvest season. I’m sure the teachers would be really happy seeing you again Ito!” She spoke out enthusiastically and had a bright smile on her face. For a moment I felt myself dazed by that smile but knowing the other side of her personality held off on that mood.

So instead I gave her a wry smile.

“I am going to be rather busy next year,” I spoke out vaguely as I looked over at the building in fake nostalgia. I would think my words would bring her some discomfort but the glint in her eyes only furthered. It was like her eyes were screaming she called it.

“Oh? Are you going to start looking for work? You have the diploma from school so you should be able to get a good paying job Ito.” She spoke out with that glint surfacing again. I blinked at her words as they fit too well with the outcome I was going for. I shrugged it off for now but this girl really was odd.

“No, I’m not exactly strapped for money. I do work as an adventurer but it does not take up a large chunk of my time. Next year I am going to be attending the Royal Academy and the curriculum is going to have me really busy.” I spoke out softly again hoping she would get the hint and stop following me around.

Commoners usually did not want to get involved with Nobles as it would only lead to bad outcomes for them. Especially for pretty girls like her.

The best case for common girls that catch the lord’s eye is that they become mistresses for said lord. Sure, love might actually bloom between the two but the more likely outcome was the girl would be used and discarded when the lord got bored.

More likely they would be raped and forgotten. If they managed to score that mistress position the Lady of the house would most likely assassinate the poor girl who did not know any better. Like I said only bad outcomes waiting for those touching upon the ugly undertones of high society.

That triumphant look in her eyes sharpened further and she looked like a cat that caught the cannery for a moment. Then it faded and she looked dejected and sullen at my words. Tears renewed in those green eyes again. I really had to give her props on being able to shift moods at the drop of a dime. It was really impressive.

“So I can’t see you again.” She spoke out lowly and I could have sworn actual rain clouds were hovering over her head. Honestly, all of this was a ploy to let down a young girl gently but her reactions were really concerning.

It was like I was saying exactly what she wanted to hear. Every word and action is perfectly poised to bring us to this moment. It made me question if this really was my plan or if she had been making me dance to her tune this entire time.

“That right…but that’s fate,” I spoke out softly while looking at her. My gaze was a bit sharper but it faded quickly. She may be plotting something a little more concerning so I needed to look further into this.

“Fate?.....Well then I trust that Fate will lead us to meet again!” She shouted out brightly with that innocent smile back on her face. It really was such a nice smile but I knew that none of this act was really her. Or at the very least she was hiding her self behind this fake naive image.

“If that is what Fate has in store for us then that is fine young lady but don’t get your hopes up.” I spoke out softly while ruffling her hair before walking away.

She seemed like she had more to say but held back for now. Once we had gotten away from the girl the soft smile on my face fell away.

“Look into her. She is hiding more than just a childish crush.” I spoke out firmly to the two Ninja behind me. Ringo looked like she wanted to say something but she just nodded in the end. Same for Tsuyukoi.