I really hate you

The rest of the day turned out well for Taro and Kami, they were able to explain the situation to his parents, even if some of it was a lie, but never explained that Kami was an angel. Taro was worried that Kami would say something about what was going on at school. Kami didn't say anything to his parents, which was a relief on his end.

Taro's parents were really accomodating of Kami and even offered her a guest bedroom which she graciously accepted even though she would only be sleeping there for a few hours before she does whatever happens at midnight. They told Taro's parents that she had a job that started early in the morning before school and they seemed to buy into the lie.

Once it was time to eat, being with Kami got embarrassing. It turns out she has never eaten before, so Taro had to teach her. Of course, she had never had a body before, so it was understandable. It was like taking care of a child, Taro would cut her food up into little pieces and feed them to her. Even still, she nearly choked the first time, so Taro also had to teach her about chewing food.

This felt strange, if someone had told Taro that he would be teaching a god-like being to eat he would have laughed and called them insane, but being here now it still seems ridiculous despite it actually happening to him in the real world, he even had to pinch himself a few times to make sure this was all real and that he wasn't dreaming.

After dinner, the two decided to relax by the television. Kami reacted to it as if it was the most amazing thing she had ever seen, she wouldn't stop telling Taro that it "Looked like a window into another world." Taro had to stop her trying to reach into the TV more than once, she was convinced it actually was a portal to another world. Having an actual human body was bizarre for Kami, and Taro could see that. Maybe they were both getting something out of this relationship. This thought makes Taro smile.

Finally, the sun begins to set and Kami rests her head on Taro's shoulder which makes his face go extremely red. Suddenly the attention that was once given to the Action-Adventure movie they were watching is moved over to Kami.

"Taro... My eyes want to be shut..." she murmured. Sleep was a new concept to her too, honestly, Taro expected that at this point. He gets up off of the couch and, not being strong enough to carry anyone, gently pulls Kami to her feet.

"It is about time we went to bed." The boy said, his face still a little red. The two head upstairs, hand in hand. As a final lesson of sorts, Taro had to teach her how to brush her teeth. Basic hygiene was important and Taro was well aware of that. Knowing his own daily routine, Taro was glad he got Kami during the evenings. The amount of awkwardness that would ensue in the mornings was not something that Taro was completely comfortable with.

Lastly, Taro showed Kami to her room. Taro came to the conclusion that she might not know how to sleep, which was a problem because he didn't know how to explain how to sleep. Kami opened the door to the room and flung herself onto the bed. It seemed like he wouldn't need to explain how it worked after all. Taro chuckled to himself softly before closing the door and heading to his own room.

Taro changed into his pyjamas and got into bed where he then pulled the covers up over his body and shut his eyes. He thought of a lot of things as he drifted off to sleep, but one thing that kept him up was what happens to Kami at midnight: Would she vanish? Would she swap from having a body to being whatever she was made of before? Does she protect someone else too? The thoughts that swept over his mind kept him awake. Taro decided to write these thoughts down on a piece of paper, he'd ask them later.

Taro lay his head back down on the pillow, staring at the ceiling briefly. Soon he wouldn't be protected until he got back to school, and even then he would be unprotected for a little while during school. Taro tossed over to his side.

"I'm just happy she wanted to help me in the first place." He whispered as he finally drifted off to sleep.

Tap, tap, tap

The sound of tapping at the windows woke Taro up. He checks his phone to see the time... It's four in the morning. Taro gets up to look out the window, only to see the silhouette of someone staring at him. Ren had never done this before, so it definitely wasn't him. Kami has disappeared, so it couldn't be her playing a prank on him (if she even knows what a prank is).

Taro was lost as for who this shadow could be. Could it be Daisuke? How did he find out where Taro lived? He was really angry when they last saw each other, and he was probably more angry by the fact that he got hit by a car in front of him.

Tap, tap, tap

The tapping is more aggressive this time. Taro wanted to pull back the curtains to see who was there, but he was frozen with fear. This had never happened to him before and the urge to pull back the curtains was getting stronger. Was Daisuke really that mad that he would go to Taro's house at four o'clock? His heart was pounding in his chest, but curiosity got the better of him.

Getting up out of bed, he makes his way over to the curtains dividing him and whoever was outside. If he was watching a movie, then right now he'd be screaming for the main character not to pull back the blinds. Actually being in the situation is very different, Taro wants the answer to all the questions going through his mind.

Taro wraps his hand around the edge of the curtain.

Tap, tap, tap

He quickly draws back the curtain to see... Nothing. It was all in his mind, his nerves getting the better of him. Was nobody actually there? No, there's no way. That had to have been real. The sounds, the sight, they were all so real.

Taro draws the curtain again and climbs back into bed, still shaking from the nerves. He shuts his eyes tightly, and eventually falls back asleep as if nothing had ever happened. The sun soon rose again just as quickly as it had set.

Taro slept for as long as he could, and almost slept past his alarm. The buzzing of his phone was far too loud to ignore and rubbing his eyes he got up out of bed. Taro thought it'd be best to check in Kami's room just to make sure she wasn't there. The door slowly opened and as he had expected, she left during the night.

Taro heads downstairs after putting on some longer clothing, he decides he wants a bigger breakfast this time. Taro puts some rice into the rice cooker, boils the rice, and starts cooking an omelette too. Once the process is complete he puts the rice into a bowl and places the omelette onto a plate, and strides over to the table.

"Good morning, sweetie!" Taro's mom spoke softly as Taro sits and starts eating. Trying his hardest to swallow the spoonful of rice he's already put into his mouth. Finally, he gulps it down so he can respond to his mother.

"Good morning, mom!" Taro smiles at his mother. Taro's mom was more talkative than his dad so breakfast was more interesting when she was at the table. She would always talk about the day before if she went out with friends from her work. Taro didn't care in particular, but it made his mother happy, so he listened anyway.

Taro savoured his food, he was feeling good today and wanted this feeling to last for as long as possible. He would cut away pieces of his omelette and scoop some rice onto it. Every single bite was like a drop of heaven. Taro normally ate food like this when he felt like it, but for some reason, this felt special to him. Maybe it was because yesterday went so well and he was in a better mood, or maybe today was going to be even better. Who knows?

Once finished, Taro places his dishes into the sink and thoroughly cleans them out placing them back into the cupboard where they are usually kept. He then makes his way upstairs and into the bathroom.

Taro turns on the shower and just like yesterday, steps into the warm shower. It's still really sore, but he expected that. The wounds weren't going to disappear overnight. He soaped himself up and cleaned every part of his body. He didn't want to spend too long in the shower since he used extra time on breakfast.

After getting out of the shower he got dressed for school. Once he was ready, he started texting Ren. Taro had a feeling that he might want to meet up with him again, even if it was just to walk to school. Besides, Kami wouldn't be with him for about another four hours, so he could use the protection.

Hey, I'm about to start heading to school
want to walk with me?

Yeah, sure! I'll meet where I found you
yesterday

Cool, I'll see you in 5!

Taro hops off of his bed and rushes downstairs. Just knowing that he'd be with Ren was enough to get him excited. He got to the door and flung it open without any hesitation.

"Alright I'm off!"

"Is Kami not going with you?"

"No, she left for work hours ago." Taro lied, his parents weren't very perceptive so they probably wouldn't realise that he had lied to them.

"Alright, stay safe!" Taro's mom smiled as the boy flew out the front door and down the street. Taro ran as fast as he possibly could because it was more likely that Ren would be there first. Then, once Ren was in view, he only got faster.

Taro ran up to Ren giving him a hug tackle. Ren looks happy to see Taro being so energetic, it's almost as if he had become a totally different person overnight, Ren lifts the boy and himself to their feet.

"Hey, you've really perked up today. What's changed?" Ren asks, excited to hear what Taro is so happy about. Taro looks up at his friend and gives him an angelic smile before letting go of him and taking a step backwards.

"Nothing! Just feeling good today!" Taro replied with a big smile which in turn put a smile on Ren's face. He still didn't know why, but Ren was happy that he was feeling better than yesterday. He wrapped his arm around Taro as they begin walking to the school. Taro begins talking about Kami to him, specifically avoiding the fact that she is his guardian angel. Taro didn't think anybody would believe him if he said that Kami was his guardian angel.

"So, a new friend, huh?" Ren says, raising an eyebrow. This intrigued him, though he was happy that Taro made a new friend, he couldn't help but think something might be going on behind the scenes. Ren shakes off his worries. "Well, I hope you're looking after eachother."

"We are!" Taro nods with a child-like smile on his face. The boys approach the school gates just as the bell goes for homeroom to start. Ren gives Taro a high-five before he goes to class. Taro runs into the building, happier than ever before.

Before leaving, Ren looks around him for Daisuke, only to find he's nowhere to be seen. Maybe Taro beat him to school or maybe he finally realised that Ren was an actual threat to him and decided it was time to disappear. Ren didn't care either way, as long as Taro was happy, he was happy.

School life didn't change much for Taro. A lot of what happened yesterday got gossiped about among the students. For some reason, people think Taro went crazy and tried to kill Daisuke. The two goons who were with them that day must have spread the rumour, and as much as Taro wished that was true, it was a bunch of lies. He could never hurt another person, it wasn't in his nature to do that.

Taro never saw Kami in the halls in between classes, which he found a little odd. That's bound to happen though, you won't always see your classmates walking to their next class. But you would have thought they would have at least encountered each other once though, right?

There was one person who he wasn't excited to see roaming around the school halls: Daisuke.

He was covered in cuts and bruises from the car hitting him, and he even had a broken arm. It serves him right. Finally, Taro had justice for everything that had happened to him. It almost put a smile on his face but he knew the pain Daisuke was going through all too well.

Finally, the third class came and Kami started showing up to Taro's classes. They chatted almost the entire time and although Daisuke kept to himself for the last few classes, the two knew he was judging them for what happened the day prior.

If anything infuriated Taro, it would be the fact that everyone was giving Daisuke pity for what happened to him. If it had been Taro, they all would have just ignored it and moved on with their day. Taro just wanted to scream at Daisuke, but his heart wouldn't let him. Taro actually felt pity for those who were injured, unlike Daisuke. The fact that he was so popular was enough to annoy Taro.

"Why do they like him so much anyway." Taro whispered to himself, his eyes glued to the dark-haired douche sitting at the front of the class. One of the girls with Daisuke turns to Taro with an angry expression on her face. She gets up from her chair and storms over to Taro.

"What do you think you're looking at?" The girl shouts at the boy who is much less threatened by her than Daisuke himself.

"And you are?" Taro asks, looking back at the girl, not caring for what she has to say at all. She seemed to get angry at this, raising a hand, but then deciding it wasn't worth hitting him. She lowers her hand and sighs.

"Daisuke's girlfriend."

"I asked who you were, not your job title." Taro taunted as he twirled his pen around his finger. The girl's face went red with fury.  "Besides, if you're his girlfriend, then who are the other girls surrounding him?"

Defeated, the girl storms back to her chair and puts her head on the desk. Kami places a hand on Taro's shoulder.

"What was all that about?" she asks, looking at the girl. Taro shrugs, holding his hands up for Kami to see.

"I don't know, but I am so scared right now." Taro replied, his hands shaking from the fright. On the bright side, if she tells Daisuke about what just happened, what's he going to do? He's so battered that trying to do anything to Taro would ultimately fail.

After two more classes, the bell finally rings, dismissing everyone. Daisuke's the first to leave, but for an entirely different reason. Taro decides that he wants to follow Daisuke a little longer and Kami reluctantly follows.

At the exit of the school, Kami places her hand on Taro's shoulder, turning him around to face her. Her eyes are stuck to his feet, whatever's going on in her mind isn't good.

"Taro... I have a bad feeling about this." Kami worries. This caught Taro by surprise, but there was no other way out. Even if he did climb out the windows, there would be goons waiting for him.

"It'll be fine, I'm sure of it." Taro replies in an attempt to comfort Kami, but he knew that there was no convincing her. She was an all-knowing god-like being, she knew something was going to happen and yet Taro was ignoring these warnings.

The two exit the building and as expected, Daisuke and his Goons are waiting outside again. This time, however, the goons only hold back Kami as Daisuke marches up to Taro. Daisuke's breath is heavy as if he's already been drained of all his energy.

"You and me, right here, right now," Daisuke demands. Taro looks over to Kami, who is beginning to look nervous. "Unless you're ready to admit that you're completely worthless."

The school courtyard falls silent, even the faintest bird song can be heard. The tension is high and this next decision, according to Kami's expression is the difference between life and death.

"Let her go." Taro mumbles, staring at Daisuke's feet. His heart pounding hard as he mentally prepares himself for what might come next.

"What was that?" Daisuke chuckles "I couldn't hear you."

"I said... LET HER GO!" Taro screams as loud as he can directly into Daisuke's face stunning him slightly. Daisuke, at first, looks a little intimidated, but it quickly turns into arrogance. A smirk creeps along his face.

"Fight me for her." He demands. This is the worst-case scenario, Kami's too far away to support and it could all go wrong so quickly.

Taro's feet shift as he gets into a fighting stance, he did it without thinking. Taro had never actually fought someone for something, but Kami was worth it, even though they only met the other day, Taro knew that she had limits, if he could just get a little closer to Kami, then maybe she could help.

"Alright, you're on!" Daisuke shouts as he takes the same position as Taro. Daisuke was massive compared to Taro, it would be like trying to fight Ren. The two walk around each other, edging closer to Kami with each rotation.

Daisuke tries to punch Taro but ultimately fails as he misses his punch and falls to the rough gravel below him. This was Taro's chance to get back at him, but Daisuke whaling in pain makes him reconsider. Taro approaches the boy, who's now trying to crawl away from him.

It's amazing how someone can go from strong and bold to weak and scared in such a short amount of time. Tears start filling Daisuke's eyes. Nobody had ever seen Daisuke cry before, so all of his goons started chattering about it in front of him and some of them even started leaving out of second-hand embarrassment.

"I'm sorry! P-please don't hurt me," Daisuke cried. The whimpering mess was now on his knees but Taro still didn't trust him. Nobody but him went down that easy, right? "You don't know what I go through on a daily basis!"

"What you go through! People don't know what I go through either! I don't complain to people about the crap that you do to me because if I damage your reputation you'll just beat me harder! The things you do to me has made me shun all social interaction! You don't deserve my forgiveness, you don't deserve anything!" Taro vents, the whole courtyard's attention is now focused on Taro. For once people had their attention on him, under bad circumstances, sure, but at least they were listening. "I really, really hate you."