eight

nanami sat down in his usual seat in advisory next to haibara. he didn't say much but he did look at his phone the entire time. for the past two weeks, nanami has looked at the photo of y/n's conversation with this unknown number. he analyzed everything from the way they typed, to the punctuation, the timing and even the way he took the photos of her. every angle was taken into consideration. his heart hurt, knowing that y/n needed his comfort and protection right now. nanami wanted to stop it all. this week was different from last week. something didn't feel quite right.

"yo, guys. when is the music video coming out for your song?" haibara asked, glancing to each of them. nanami stayed silent. he didn't feel like speaking to anybody today. y/n sensed that he was in a bad mood and decided to answer instead.

"it's releasing today. plus, a bunch of other people have different promos so our professor figured that we should just have an assembly to do it all."

"oh? we skipping class? i like the sound of that." shoko grinned.

"what do you think, kento?" haibara shook his friend's shoulder, but there was no response. the blonde-haired boy just stared out the window, ignoring their existence. haibara took it that he just didn't want to interact so he talked to shoko instead. gojo looked at nanami, then to y/n who directed her eyes to him. she shrugged her shoulders in confusion. she knew as little as gojo and she was not going to take the blame for something she didn't do. gojo stared at nanami with worry, his gaze was still fixed to the window.

nanami heard his phone vibrate from a notification from his phone and he opened it to see a message from UNKNOWN.

UNKNOWN: check your window. 

UNKNOWN: i'm at your window :)

nanami's heart was uneasy after reading the message and he checked the surroundings outside the window. his eyes landed on a tall man wearing a red goblin mask standing in a unnerving stance outside the gates. he squinted his eyes as he caught a glimpse of a knife that the man was holding. at one glance, nanami knew he was the man that had been stalking y/n. rage flared in nanami's eyes as he looked daggers at the culprit who was ruining y/n's life. 

"... nanami. NANAMI!!!" a voice yelling in his ear affected his focus and he turned his head around to see his friends crowded around him. 

"are you even listening to us? what's so interesting outside anyways?" shoko glared at him while crossing her arms.

"can you guys shut up for one-" nanami mumbled but he stood up instantly in breakneck speed, which startled the rest of them. he turned his head around to face the window, and...

the man was gone.

without hesitating, nanami opened the window in a hurry to try to spot the man. his eyes searched everywhere near the college's buildings, but it was like he vanished into thin air. he struggled to conceal his shock and trembled as he felt a hand on his shoulder. the others all gave a sideway glance to each other. 

"nanami, are you okay? you're scaring us." yuki asked with a concerned look.

nanami hung his head as he clenched his fists and punched the table which made his veins pop out. i lost him, he thought. he groaned deeply and sat back down on his chair. his friends were all feeling worried about him, but they were too nervous to talk to nanami. it seemed like he was really mad. 

y/n coughed and whispered to nanami, "what happened?" 

before he could reply, the bell rang for the next class. nanami took one last look at y/n and grabbed his bag. he was out the door before the others could even muster up a word. they were all speechless at what they just witnessed, and y/n was the most baffled. gojo sighed and ran after nanami who was pretty far down the hall. he used up all the strength in his legs to sprint towards nanami. gojo finally caught up to him and stopped him while panting heavily.

"nanami, what's wrong?"

"nothing." nanami replied calmly.

"i'm not fucking dense. don't lie to me." gojo leaned against the wall while frowning at him.

"i said it's nothing." the blonde-haired repeated.

"so you're gonna casually lie to my face? i know something's up, nanami." gojo moved forward and was face to face with nanami.

"do you have a problem then? i don't like repeating myself, gojo." nanami threw down his bag and stepped up to gojo. they were only a few inches away from each other. everyone around them slowed down to watch the commotion. nanami kept his eyes pierced on gojo. the white-haired boy stared into them. despite the front nanami had up, gojo could see the hurt in his eyes. gojo scoffed and turned away. nanami was left alone with a crowd of people gaping at him.

✰

y/n walked into the music room and scanned the area. the boys were in their usual spots. she sighed as she looked at nanami. he had been silent all day and by the looks of it, she figured that he was going to be continuing to be quiet at the assembly as well. she put her stuff down in one of the desks and grabbed her chorus binder. she went over to gojo who was approaching her as well.

"what the fuck is wrong with him? did you tell him anything?" y/n glared at gojo as if he was the one responsible for this situation.

"i didn't tell him shit, i thought you did something." gojo retorted with an eyeroll.

"i already hurt him once. do you seriously think i'd hurt him again?" y/n snapped back as they both walked towards the chorus stands.

gojo jammed his hands in his front pockets and exhaled, "i'll try to get it out of him but i'm not sure if he's gonna budge right now. he'll probably talk to you."

"i can't face that, gojo."

y/n shook her head and stood in her spot. after everyone got ready, their professor went to the piano and started doing warm-up exercises. y/n took a quick peep at nanami in her peripheral vision. normally, he would make sure everybody knew he was singing. he loved to show off his vocals. but today, y/n could barely see him move his lips; she wouldn't have been surprised if he never did to begin with. 

after warm-ups, nanami moved out of the way and spoke, "i'm going to the bathroom."

before the professor could even give his response, nanami slammed the door behind him, making everyone flinch. they never saw nanami in this manner. y/n slowly took deep breaths to prevent herself from getting emotional. gojo and haibara stared in y/n's way, looking concerned. all she could do was shrug.

✰

the group found each other before they sat down together in the auditorium for the assembly. the only people who weren't sitting with them were y/n and nanami who were sitting with their songwriting class. the assembly was a way for the songwriting class to get some exposure before their concert the following week. y/n and nanami's music video was going to play and everyone was super excited.

their whole friend group have noticed the awkward tension. it was pretty obvious that there was a problem that no one was mentioning. even utahime sat there, lost and puzzled about what was happening. they all just really hoped that this video showcased the connection nanami and y/n have because they know it's very special. the songwriting professor stood up at the podium, while people cheered, the boys booed him. the girls rolled their eyes as he started to speak into the mic.

"good afternoon, tokyo. as you all know, this is the time of year that the songwriting class has their own concert to showcase some of the songs they have been working on throughout the year. i have gotten the chance to listen to some and frankly, some are... questionable." some students were already dozing off while the professor talked, turns out that his voice really puts people to sleep.

"anyway, this assembly is a great way for you all to see some of these great and awful songs this class has put together. first up we have ... "

y/n was sitting next to nanami in the front row. she clapped as her classmates walked on stage to begin whatever they did for their promo. y/n glanced over to nanami who was massaging the back of his neck. she admired him for a little bit; and she noticed how tense he was, he seemed to be nervous and sweating a lot.

"hey, nanamin."

nanami immediately cocked his head on one side, facing y/n as she smiled. she seized his hand and held it tightly, while paying attention in front. his whole demeanor softened but nonetheless, he was still furious. he wanted to get this stupid assembly over with, go home and read. and then sleep. he had so much running through his mind that it was actually driving him crazy. he kept his hand interlocked with hers until it was their time to present.

"next up, we have y/n and nanami." 

they both stood up and made their way to the podium. y/n stood closer to him and began to speak with a huge grin on her face.

"hi everyone, i'm y/n and this is nanami. we were partnered up to do this EP together. what we decided to do was a music video to our song 'best part'  which was filmed and edited by our good friend mei. this so-" 

nanami shifted the mic from y/n, signaling that it was his turn to talk. "the song is about these two people who have a real connection. they both appreciate each other's beauty and flaws and the song is essentially a love letter to a partner who is adored beyond words."

y/n stared at nanami with affection and awe as he continued speaking, "when i was writing this, i was in a position where i had to tell a girl she was all i could ever think about. i'm willing to protect and risk it all for this girl. i feel like you'll see it captured perfectly on the screen. it felt like i wasn't even acting, considering the girl i'd risk it all for was the leading lady. anyway, enjoy the video." 

nanami moved out of the way as the music video appeared on the screen. y/n stared at nanami fondly as he smiled back at her. he pointed at the screen for her to watch the video. she clutched his hand again as the two watched their love story unfold on the screen.

✰

gojo and nanami were sitting in gojo's backyard. his parents were away for the weekend and leaving the house to himself. nanami had a cigarette in between his fingers. the both of them got back from hanging out at mei's who insisted they all get together for the release of the video. nanami went back to gojo's after gojo insisted he came to talk about what happened.

"i'm sorry." nanami murmured before he put the cigarette in between his lips.

"what for?" gojo replied as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"i snapped at you in the hall. i didn't mean to do that, i just really have a lot going on right now."

"nanami, what's going on? you need to tell me. i'm here to help you." gojo reassured him.

"you're not gonna believe a word i say, gojo."

"you know i can handle anythi-"

"y/n has a stalker."

gojo immediately sat up straight and his mouth dropped open slightly when nanami mentioned this. he didn't know how to respond but all he could utter was, "oh?"

"i know right? she's been avoiding me all this time because of him. everything makes sense now. all i need to do is get her to tell me who it is." nanami looked into gojo's face and noted his rounded eyes, raised brows, and slack expression, realizing that his words had surprised him.

"she wishes she knew too." gojo mumbled to himself. he covered his mouth as nanami was staring through him with piercing eyes.

"what did you just say..?" 

"nothing." gojo exhaled.

nanami gave him a death stare that was even detectable through his thick glasses. "gojo, i know you said something. i'm not fucking stupid. what did you say?"

gojo finally sighed and leaned forward while uttering, "i said. she wishes she knew too."

"what do you mean? the only way you would've known is if... hold on. did you know about this?"

nanami was standing up now. he put out the cigarette in the tray and glared down at gojo. the white-haired boy stood up too so he could look at nanami properly. gojo breathed heavily and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"nanami, calm down. please."

"WHAT THE FUCK GOJO?! you knew my girl was in danger and you didn't do shit about it!" nanami clenched his fists so hard that his nails cut into his skin. a fresh swell of rage rose in him as he felt betrayed by his own friend. 

"i'm only looking out for you dude! you think i didn't want to tell you?!" gojo screamed back.

"fucking selfish asshole!" 

nanami punched gojo in the face with all his strength. gojo took the blow and looked back at nanami after the hit. he wiped his nose which was now covered in blood. the blonde-haired boy was steeped in guilt. he bitterly regretted having punched gojo recklessly without a thought. 

"she's protecting you. we're both trying to protect you! nanami, please don't go looking for him. your life is on the line." gojo tried to warn him, but it was no use. nanami was already heading to his motorcycle.

tears overflowed nanami's eyes as he avoided eye contact and he angrily wiped away his tears. "fuck that. i'm finding that man and he's getting what he deserves."

he reached his motorcycle and his phone buzzed with a notification.

UNKNOWN: koen dori. meet me there and we can talk

✰

nanami sat on his motorcycle driving at a extremely high speed. he was itching for a fight. he already punched one of his best friends for being so selfish. now, he knew he needed to beat that stalker's ass. he didn't give a fuck.

several cars drove past this dark street with no lights illuminating. nanami usually would've found this place to be suspicious but at this point, he didn't care. he needed to know the truth.

he checked his phone and walked to a dim alleyway that was stated in the address the stalker sent to him. the flickering lamplight made this place a bit more eerie than nanami expected. he picked his head up and was soon face to face with a stranger with the same red goblin mask and black hood. before nanami had time to react, his arms were tied behind his back and he was shoved to the ground. he strugged to flee but the hooded figure stepped on his head.

"not so tough now, huh? oh, i really just want to kill you right now. drag your lifeless body to the forest and just leave you there. but i'm not gonna do that. let's talk, shall we?" the hooded figure let nanami loose. he stood up and pushed the stalker to the wall.

"who the fuck are you?" nanami huffed and tugged at his shirt collar.

"i'm y/n's man." an amused smirk appeared on the man's face.

this earned him a punch from nanami and the man reacted by striking him back with his fists. nanami choked the man by the neck and pushed him up against the brick building.

"i don't think you understood what i said. WHO ARE YOU?!" resentment clouded nanami's thoughts as he pressed his hand even tighter to the man's throat.

"look kento-"

"don't call me that." nanami plunged the man's head against the brick, causing him to drop to the ground. he was laughing as he stood up. the laughing continued for about a minute or so. this was starting to creep nanami out, he was beginning to think that he should've listened to gojo's warnings. the laughing eventually halted.

"you're playing a dangerous game, nanami." 

"just tell me, what do you want exactly? money? i'll give you anything if you leave y/n alone." nanami gulped and let out a harsh breath.

a devilish grin split the man's face, teeth gleaming in the flickering lamplight. "i've been in love with y/n before she even came to tokyo. she should've given me the chance i wanted and none of this would have happened." 

"what..?" nanami wasn't in a good mental state to process all of this information. he was running purely on adrenaline now.

"i've said too much now."

nanami punched him again, causing the man to fall to the ground once more. he got on top of him and started pounding his face with his fists. eventually, the man pushed nanami off of him and began raining blows on nanami as well. nanami's whole body was throbbing in pain as he tried to endure it. he kept fighting but it was too much for him. he just stopped. the man paused and looked down at nanami. he cackled as he knelt beside him.

"you're pathetic, kento."

nanami screamed in anguish as he felt a point pierce his stomach. the man pulled it out and stabbed him five more times. once he was done, he stood up and kicked nanami's blood-soaked body. nanami pressed against the stab wounds with his hands. his eyes slowly started to close as he whispered. 

"y/n."

✰

y/n put away her toothbrush as she finished the last of her nightly routine. she grabbed her phone and turned off the music that was playing. she thought about the music video today.

the video was absolutely amazing and she couldn't stop thanking mei for filming it the entire party. she felt that it captured exactly what they wanted. she also couldn't stop thinking about nanami's little speech at the beginning. y/n's heart couldn't help but burst listening to him. his words made her adore him even more, yet made her sad. she just wished that she could make this all go away soon. as the days go by, it seems like nothing has changed. she went to charge her phone when she suddenly received a message from nanami. she smiled like a fool as she opened it.

nanamin: prince charming tried to save you but it didn't work. he's lying on the ground with 5 stab wounds. koen dori. better hurry before something goes wrong.

y/n let out an ear-piercing scream filled with terror throughout the house, causing her parents to come into her room.

"y/n, what happened?!" 

"nanami was stabbed mom! we need to get him to the hospital, NOW!"  y/n cried out as she stared at the message and reread it again. 

"alright, call an ambulance and get ready!" 

her tears were fogging up her vision and her hands were trembling with fear so much so she could barely type. she didn't think nanami found out. how did he find out? why did he go alone? why did he even go? all these questions were running through her brain at once but the only thing she wanted to know was if nanami was okay.

"119? he's hurt. my boyfriend needs help."