Kaito's Obsession

Chapter 11 Above them All

CLASSROOM / SCHOOL GROUNDS - NEXT DAY

The resentment toward Xhilo simmers just below the surface—sharpest among three classmates who burn with jealousy over her perfect grades, her respect from teachers, and how easily she commands attention without even trying. They’ve targeted her for months: muttering insults as she passes, hiding her notes, knocking books from her desk, whispering lies to turn others against her.

Xhilo knows it well. She simply straightens her things, keeps her head high, and walks on—fighting back only drags you down to their level, she tells herself. It never bothers her enough to stop her focus. She thinks their words and petty acts mean nothing… but Kaito sees every single one, and he tolerates none of it.

He watches from his seat beside her—calm, still, his expression unreadable—but behind it, every slight is marked, weighed, and assigned its price.

FIRST BULLY

That afternoon, the ringleader shoves Xhilo’s shoulder hard in the hallway, sneering loud enough for others to hear. Xhilo only steadies herself and keeps walking, unbothered.

Before sunset, he takes a shortcut home—only to be cornered by two large, quiet men who say nothing at all before striking. They beat him hard enough to leave bruises, split lips, and cracked ribs—painful, humiliating, but not fatal. They vanish as quickly as they appeared, leaving him gasping on the pavement.

Word spreads fast: no one knows who did it… but everyone notices he never bothers Xhilo again.

SECOND BULLY

The second girl—who’d slipped false answers onto Xhilo’s worksheet—continues her taunts the next morning, thinking she’s safe.

Later that evening, while crossing a quiet side street, a dark car accelerates without warning and swerves straight toward her. It clips her hard, sending her flying to the asphalt—breaking bones, leaving her bruised and terrified, but alive. The driver speeds off before anyone catches a plate.

She recovers, but never steps within five feet of Xhilo again.

THIRD BULLY

The last one tries to be clever: she dumps something into Xhilo’s lunch tray when no one is looking—thinking it’s just a messy prank.

That very same afternoon, her own food—bought from the school canteen—makes her violently ill within an hour. She’s rushed to the hospital, where doctors confirm mild but deliberate poisoning: strong enough to keep her bedridden for a full week, weak and shaken, but far from deadly.

When she returns, she keeps her eyes down and her distance—forever afraid to cross the line again.

KAITO’S ROOM / LATER THAT NIGHT

Kaito sits before his screens, watching Xhilo study peacefully, unaware of what has happened to her tormentors. He traces a photo of her face with slow, careful fingers—his tone soft, satisfied, and utterly cold.

Quiet, certain, as if stating the simplest truth. "They thought they could touch you, speak ill of you, or disrupt what belongs to me… and face nothing? No. Every insult, every shove, every small cruelty—I collect them all. And I pay them back exactly what they are owed."

He leans closer to the display, eyes dark and possessive, admiring how calm and unknowing she looks. "You are too kind to fight them yourself… so I do it for you. No one hurts you. No one disturbs you. I am the only one allowed to come close—and the only one who decides what happens to anyone who tries otherwise."

SCHOOL - DAYS LATER

The whole atmosphere has shifted—dead quiet, careful, terrified. No one whispers anymore. No one bumps her shoulder or hides her things. Classmates step aside before she even comes near; teachers hand her assignments already marked “excellent” before she even turns them in; even the strictest principal greets her with unusual softness, as if she carries an invisible, dangerous aura.

Xhilo notices, but tells herself it’s because they finally learned their lesson—that kindness and hard work win respect. She never guesses: they aren’t respecting her—they are terrified of what happens to anyone who touches her.

And right beside her, always calm, always composed, sits Kaito—smiling like he’s just admiring the view, when he built the whole world around her.

One afternoon, she drops her pen; before it even hits the floor, three students rush to grab it—trembling, desperate to be useful. Kaito watches with cold amusement, leaning close enough only she hears. "See? Everyone knows their place now. Just like they know yours—above them all… and entirely mine."

RESTAURANT - SAME EVENING

At work, the change is even more impossible to ignore. She gets the easiest, best shifts automatically; rude customers are never seated in her section; orders are always perfect, supplies never run low. Even the manager usually gruff and demanding.