CREEEAAK.

  The door slid open, slow as a horror movie jump scare. Reina, Arisa, and Nao, still mid-panic in their underwear, froze like deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car. Then the light from the hallway spilt in. And standing there, cool as a cucumber dipped in ice cream, was Yuki.

  She held a drink pouch and wore pyjamas.

  "What are you three doing?" she asked, one brow raised as if she had just stumbled upon a cult meeting of the fully unclothed. Arisa practically lunged toward her. "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

  Nao scrambled after her, finger jabbing toward Yuki like a courtroom prosecutor. "Did you kiss him?! What did you say before the scene?! Why didn't you tell us you were auditioning?!"

  Reina, usually the quiet one, joined in with a softer but firm, "Why didn't you at least mention it to us?"

  Yuki blinked.

  Once.

  Then she sipped her drink pouch.

  “…”

  "… You're half-naked," she muttered.

  "DON'T DODGE THE QUESTION!!" all three yelled in perfect unison.

  Yuki took another long sip, as if buffering her response.

  "Didn't think it mattered," she finally replied, her eyes never met any of theirs. "You three were already in it. So me doing one doesn't really change anything, does it?"

  Arisa threw her hands up. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! That's like saying, 'I didn't bring an umbrella because I thought everyone else would get soaked with me!'"

  "I didn't plan on auditioning," Yuki said, deadpan. "But then I saw her."

  And like a flick of a switch, all three sisters fell silent.

  "Shiori," Reina murmured.

  Yuki nodded slowly, her expression unreadable. "She's good. Focused. I don't trust that kind of ambition."

  Nao crossed her arms. "Wait, wait, wait. So you joined just to stop her?"

  Yuki took another sip. "Yeah… That's pretty much the gist of it."

  "That's… Kind of badass, actually," Arisa muttered, begrudgingly impressed.

  "But you didn't warn us," Reina added softly.

  Yuki looked at them. A palpable pause passed. Her hand grasped the carton a bit tighter before then, awkwardly, almost too subtly to catch.

  "…Sorry."

  The room fell still.

  Yuki? Apologizing?

  Nao blinked hard. "Did she just-"

  "I heard that," Yuki interrupted.

  "Damn," Arisa whispered. "I thought the first time Yuki apologized would be at my funeral…"

  "I can arrange that," Yuki replied.

  Reina chuckled.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  "No! Arisa, you can't die yet!!" Nao cried out.

  And for the first time in what felt like forever, all four girls were… Just sisters. Arguing, annoying each other, but no longer holding daggers in their words.

  "Anyway," Yuki said, turning back toward the hallway. "I'm tired. Put some clothes on."

  As she started to leave, she paused again, glancing back at her sisters.

  "… I'm not letting Shiori win."

  Then she left the door ajar behind her, sipping the last of her juice pouch like she had just mic-dropped her soul. The girls stood there, blinking, still half-naked.

  "Damn, it seems this competition has really brought out the badass in Yuki," Arisa finally said, starting to get changed.

  "Hm! It feels like Yuki's gearing up for a head-to-head showdown with Shiori!" Nao replied.

  "Either way, even with Yuki's appearance, I'm still hoping for my victory!" Arisa tapped her chest with a smug grin."

  "But… Why is she doing this now? Is it really just to stop Shiori from acting with Souta?" Nao said softly. Both Nao and Arisa stopped and exchanged glances before shrugging their shoulders.

  *

  Eventually, time passed, and I went to my room and found the girls asleep. You're probably thinking, "Souta, what did you get upto?" And to answer your question... I did nothing, except have my head in my hands and just think about all the possibilities of this entire thing going extremely badly. I lay down on my futon and drifted off to sleep until, not too long into my very, very PG-friendly dream, I found myself waking up and having the worst dry mouth ever. I look around, still a bit groggy. The room was dark. Only the sound of Nao's snoring rhythmically bounced off the walls like a ticking clock. I sat up in my futon, hair a mess, mouth dry.

  "…Water," I muttered. "Must need water," I repeated, sounding like a zombie. I grabbed my hoodie, yawned, and slipped quietly out of the room, making sure to close the door.

  The hallway was eerily silent. The kind of silence that made every soft footstep feel illegal. I padded toward the vending machine near the end of the hall, coins jingling in my palm. As the machine clunked to life, humming while it spat out a bottle of cold barley tea, I paused. Something wasn't right. I didn't know what it was, but I got that feeling. The kind that crawls up your back without asking permission.

  I turned my head toward our room… And froze.

  The door was ajar.

  Just a crack.

  Barely noticeable, but.

  It was definitely closed when I left. I stared at it for a few seconds, slowly starting to feel my heart rate quicken. Maybe one of the girls got up? Maybe Nao sleepwalked? No, if it were her, there'd be screaming involved.

  Come on, come on, must have been the wind, or I must have accidentally not closed the door, probably. I sighed and started back toward the room.

  "What could have happened in the space of a couple of minutes? These girls really love messing with me", I thought to myself. As I got to the door, I peeked inside. Everything looked normal. Shapes of sleeping bodies under blankets, soft breathing, no lights on, no sign of anything weird.

  "…Guess it was nothing," I whispered to myself, stepping back in.

  I slid the door shut.

  The lock clicked.

  His breathing was calm, his footsteps steady. He was careful now. Pressing his hand gently against the sliding door, he gave way with a soft creak. Inside, four sleeping bodies lay peaceful and vulnerable.

  Perfect.

  He stepped inside with practised silence, the faint scent of their shampoo lingering in the air. His hand trembled, but not from fear; instead, it was from need, from joy. From his pocket, he withdrew a folded piece of paper, delicate and clean, with a single sentence penned in perfect script:

  "If this note is lying on you by morning… You're the one I want, so please give me a response."

  He whispered the words to himself, a sadistic smile curling his lips as he carefully placed the note on her blanket, right at her waist. "Oops," he muttered, his foot accidentally landing on something hard. He froze, staring at her face illuminated by moonlight, her chest rising and falling slowly. He leaned in ever so close to her face before just gently grazing his finger across her hair.

  "I hope to touch your hair "every day, He softly spoke, before a quiet smile spread across his face. Then, satisfied, he stood, turned, and slipped out the door.

  Thank you for reading.

  DeadEndYuto!