shoutout to my spanish teacher for giving me nostalgia by using class dojo to give us points and keep us motivated

You didn't expect Kagekao to be so...civil? No, wrong word. Courteous was a better word for his behaviour.

He entered your house through the front door, wiping his shoes on the mat before taking them off and placing them next to the wall. When he sat down in the living room, he took the corner of the sofa, both feet on the floor. His appearance never glitched, making it easier for you to focus on what was going on. In a way, you were thankful for the lack of glitching.

It was difficult to imagine him as the thing in the forest that had made you so paranoid.

'So, how long have you and dear Jack known each other?' Kagekao questioned, white eye glinting.

'A while,' you said, not wanting to give the exact length of time. (To be honest, you weren't exactly sure how long you had known EJ for. It felt like ages, but it couldn't be any longer than three weeks at most.)

'A while, huh? Why'd you meet? Have you been seeing us around for so long that you decided to befriend him?'

What is this? An interrogation? 'He wanted something of mine.'

Kagekao leaned forward, intrigued. 'Oh?'

'A knife I bought,' you added, 'it used to belong to him, so...' You trailed off, suddenly filled with nerves. 'Can I ask you something, Kagekao?'

'Of course.'

'Why're you so interested in my friendship with EJ?' Despite your apprehension, you forced a somewhat defensive tone. 'Are you trying to gain something?'

He let out a laugh, shaking his head. 'Oh, how precious. Do you think I'm going to ruin your friendship and cause him to turn on you? If I didn't like you I'd feel incredibly offended by your suspicions.'

'I-I didn't mean to upset you!' you rambled, fear levels spiking, 'I just—'

'(Y/N), your suspicions are entirely understandable,' Kagekao soothed, 'to you, I am just a stranger asking into your relationship, but rest assured, I mean no harm. EJ is a very good friend of mine, and I merely wanted to see who was keeping him company.'

You tilted your head. 'He's a...friend of yours?'

'Of course. Why, are you jealous?'

'No, I just never really expected serial killers to bond with other serial killers.'

'Many people don't,' he said with a small chuckle, 'but demonic entities do tend to stick together whether we like each other or not.'

'I'm guessing that you two do actually get along.'

'Your guess is correct. He won't admit it, but he enjoys my company. By the sound of it, he enjoys yours, too. That little road trip really brightened his mood.'

'Really?'

Kagekao nodded. 'Of course. You know what the five love languages are, right?'

You nodded.

'Good. Now, don't tell him I was the one who said this, but even though he's split pretty evenly amongst the five, he prefers to spend time with people. A few kind words and some physical contact won't go amiss, but quality time is more important. That's why the trip made him happier. He got to spend time with you.'

You felt your face grow warm at his last comment but brushed it off. 'Thanks for telling me.'

'No problem-o.' He suddenly burst into a fit of giggles. 'I came here to learn more about you and here I am, giving you—a human—advice on how to keep a kidney-eating demon happy. Oh, how ironic.'

You didn't dare ask what was ironic about it and instead kept your mouth shut, waiting patiently for his laughter to subside before saying, 'I appreciate the advice. We may be friends, but sometimes I have difficulty figuring out what he's thinking.'

'Yeah you get used to that. You either learn to read him or you don't, there's no in between.' He got to his feet, stretching. 'Well, your friend should be on their way back, so I'm going to leave before they get here. It was wonderful talking to you, (Y/N). Jā ne~'

You said goodbye and waved him off from the front door.

Why do none of these people stay for long? Do they have an internal timer that goes off and makes them leave?

The thought amused you slightly, but you pushed it aside as you went to the window of the spare bedroom and stuck the note to the glass with sellotape. Once a pencil was placed on the windowsill, you hurried back inside, shutting the door behind you. There was nothing to do but wait for Socks to return.

'Socks I swear to God I am going to pay you back.'

'It'll just end up back in your bank account, (N/N). Two can play that game.'

Hands on your hips, you glared at Socks, who was holding a large bouquet of flowers out for you to take. The box contained Peruvian lilies, yellow roses and pink tulips, all of which were considered to be 'friendship flowers'.

'You didn't have to get me flowers,' you said.

'But I did, so take them.' The box was pushed into your hands. 'No arguing.'

'I will argue internally.'

'You do just that. Where do you keep the vases?'

'Uh, just in that cupboard there.' You gestured vaguely to the cupboard in question. 'But the box is so nice...'

'But they'll look nicer in a vase,' Socks pointed out, picking one of the various vases you had inherited from various relatives. 'What about this one?'

'Yeah, that's a nice one.'

With Socks' help, you trimmed the stalks of the individual flowers and placed them in the vase. The two of you fell into a natural rhythm: check, cut, pass, arrange. You left Socks to the arrangement, as that was more their area of expertise.

'How was the walk?' you asked, sparking up a conversation.

'Not bad, to be honest,' they replied, 'there were a few times where I felt a bit fidgety. Like a ghost was following me, y'know?'

'I wouldn't be surprised if this forest was haunted,' you said, 'it's old and creepy.'

'It's got different vibes to any of the haunted forests I've been in before. More...I dunno. Demonic, I guess.'

You paused, scissors halfway through a tulip stem. 'You think there's a demon living in the forest?'

Please don't suggest an exorcism.

'Maybe.' They shrugged. 'I don't think it's one of those "argh I'm going to come and eat your bones and possess you" kind of demon. More of a "don't piss me off and we can vibe in peace" kind of demon.'

You snorted. For someone who had never met EJ, they had given a surprisingly accurate description of the vibes he gave out.

'If that type of demon lives here I'm more then happy to co-exist with him,' you said with a quiet laugh. 'Don't shit on me and I won't shit on you kinda deal.'

'If you ever get tired of your demon send him over to me.'

'Will do. No promises, though.'

The two of you spent the rest of the night binging an anime that the two of you enjoyed. Once Socks had fallen asleep around one in the morning, you silently got up and left the room, heading towards the front door. As soon as your boots were on your feet and your fleece was over your tee shirt, you opened the door and marched out into the forest, a torch in one hand and EJ's knife in the other.

You were pissed that something had been following Socks and making them uncomfortable. You didn't know who it was and if they were human or not, but you didn't care. Socks wasn't getting hurt or stalked on your watch.

As you ventured into the darkness, you were met with absolutely nothing at all, making you regret your decision. What would you do if you met someone experienced in fighting? Sure, you had a knife, but you didn't know how to use it properly.

Fuck that. I'm tired. Tiredness equals stupid decisions.

You turned around. You'd had enough; it was time to go home. No point in getting yourself killed in the middle of the night. You'd just have to walk with Socks whenever they went outside.

It was a good thing that you were unaware of the eyes following your figure as you traipsed your way back home.

So cute, the owner of the eyes thought.

i'm churning out chapters in a desperate attempt to reach a bit where i can go 'FUCK IT INCREASE YANDERE BY 100%' and go all out even though i have no idea what the rest of this plot is???

- gravity