"Right, Souta, stay calm..." I said to myself as I made my way through the hallway. After Reina ran off, she left me standing there, alone. And well, what can a man do in that situation but prepare? Entering the lounging room, the sounds of students playing pool and chatting echoed around me.

  But me?

  I was consumed with thoughts of how to avoid messing this up. How does one person solve a mystery that feels like something out of Sherlock Holmes?

  "First, if I see the girls, I need to make sure I don’t give them any hint that I have a part to play in this," I muttered as I walked around the room.

  "I think Souta's lost it," one of the other students muttered, watching me pace around like a restless animal. But honestly, let them call me weird; at this point, I couldn't care less. What I did care about was the sight of three heads peeking ever so slightly out from behind one of the walls, the last heads I wanted to see right now.

  "Arisa, Nao, and Yuki," I muttered under my breath before slowly edging away from them. I did my best to act as if I hadn't seen them, but each time I turned to leave, they followed me like a shadow.

  They were definitely not trying to be sneaky...

  "Guys..." I muttered, but as soon as the words left my mouth, they ducked behind the nearest wall. I blinked, struggling to comprehend their mediocre levels of stealth. "I'm pretty sure Lloyd would be disappointed in their stealth mission..."

  I took a deep breath, and just as I was about to call them out.

  "Hey! He's going to spot us, Nao!" Arisa said, her volume was far from subtle.

  Welp, that's one way to sink the ship.

  "Girls," I finally spoke aloud.

  “EEK! See, he’s seen us now!” Yuki squeaked, although “squeaked” would be generous. Silence settled for a moment before a deep voice, all too familiar, broke through the air.

  “Oh... I think you have the wrong person, son. I’m not the girls.”

  Oh my God, why doesn’t Nao just admit defeat? How can one person be this stubborn...

  “Nao, that was single-handedly the worst impression of a man. Please, can you all come out and stop following me like you’re my bodyguards? I'm pretty sure it's meant to be the other way around?” I echoed, and this time, the culprits emerged one by one.

  “S-sorry, heh?” Nao chuckled, sticking her tongue out. Behind her, Arisa and Yuki followed suit.

  “Well, this is going south,” I murmured, my gaze wandering everywhere but at any of the girls “Oh?” Arisa chimed in, instantly clocking my nervous energy.

  “By any chance, has anything happened between you and Reina?” Arisa asked, her eyes slightly narrowing, and that was when my brain started to shut down.

  “N-no! Of course not! What makes you think that?” I stammered, my heart racing under her scrutinising gaze. "Hmmm, it's just that we saw her run away as if something had just-"

  “Just drop it, we're here for something else.” Yuki interrupted, unintentionally, saving me, but also dooming me at the same time.

  Oh crap…

  Before Yuki could say another word, I needed to ensure those critical words, "Hey, do you know anything about him?" Didn't make it out.

  “Hey! Yuki, where are you going?” I exclaimed, pointing at her luggage.

  “…Hm?” She tilted her head, narrowing her dark golden brown eyes at me.

  “Why do you think, dummy? Maybe because some random stalker decided to invade our room, and so we’re moving?” She scoffed.

  “Oh, ha-ha, yeah, yeah!” I replied, scratching the back of my neck, trying to suppress a nervous laugh.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “And speaking of that stalker, Souta… You saw him, right? On the first day? I’m pretty sure you did?” Yuki asked, looking at both Nao and Arisa, who nodded in agreement.

  Shit, that's my plan out the window.

  I could feel my hands shaking as I did everything I could to avoid eye contact. “I don’t remember, sorry,” I replied, hoping to deflect the situation.

  “Oh…” Yuki blinked, glancing at the other girls. By now, a little crowd had formed around us, drawn in by our drama. This is bad… If I stay here any longer… This whole thing could be over before I know it.

  “Sorry, I need to go. I’ll meet you in the new room, and please be careful!” I managed before rushing out.

  “Wait, Souta!” Nao, Arisa, and Yuki called after me, but I didn’t stop; there was no way I could. The girls watched as I sprinted off down the corridor until I disappeared from view.

  “What the…,” Yuki muttered, bewildered.

  “I’m not saying I know Souta inside and out yet… But he’s hiding something, isn’t he?” Arisa remarked, glancing at Yuki.

  “He is, and it’s frustrating. What could it possibly be, and how serious could it be?” Yuki replied, while Nao sighed; the stress was getting to her.

  “L-let’s just go to our new room… We’ve already caused enough commotion,” she suggested.

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Arisa agreed, and with that, they made their way toward the new room, a whirlwind of thoughts lingering behind.

  *

  Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

  I’ve just made this situation worse; the next time I see them, I’m finished. Running my way down the corridor, I had no idea where I was going. All I knew was that if I just kept running, I could avoid my problems, at least for a little while longer. Leaving the main building behind, I sprinted down the gravel pathway that led deeper into the village until my lungs finally gave out. Instinctively, I grabbed my knees and gasped for air.

  “Damn, I'm so out of shape,” I wheezed in between breaths.

  The fact that my lungs kept going this long was a sign I wasn’t meant to be there. After finally catching my breath, I looked around to see where I’d ended up. And, truth be told, I had no idea.

  “Crap baskets. The way home is… Backwards?”

  Now, now you might be thinking, "Souta, you idiot! How did you get lost just by running straight?" Well, let me stop you right there. I wasn’t running straight; I was zigzagging, left, right, I dunno. To put it simply: head down and gunning it.

  The night sky, illuminated by the moon, offered some indication of my surroundings. It resembled a forest, something straight out of a horror movie. The sound of the cicadas, which usually calmed me, now made me feel on edge, as if something, or someone, was watching me.

  “Come on, Souta! If there was ever a time to learn the power of sensory awareness, it would be now!” I shouted at myself. But of course, no matter which direction I looked, nothing helped, and thanks to every single path I had taken, this forest was a maze; every pathway looked the same.

  “Ah, screw it! I’m going East! After all, that’s where Luffy first went!” I convinced myself on the worst excuse known to man, now making my way through the trees, but to be honest, every step I took made my heart race. Every sound of movement sent shivers down my spine.

  “EEK!”

  Oh, wait, it’s just a frog.

  “EEK!”

  Oh, wait, it’s just a bunny.

  "EEK"

  Oh, wait, it’s just a tent.

  “EEK!”

  Oh wait-

  Wait.

  Holy shit, what the-!

  The moment I saw it, I ducked behind a tree, unable to believe what I was witnessing.

  “Is this where Slenderman lives?”

  “No, wait, Souta, it can’t be! He’s not even real.”

  Right in front of me stood a green tent, adorned with some weird army camouflage. I narrowed my eyes, noticing how poorly it was put together, like it was barely hanging on, just like my life at the moment.

  “This is sketchy,” I murmured under my breath, slowly inching around to the front of the tent. As soon as I could see it clearly, I spotted the remnants of a fire nearby. But what caught my attention the most was that the tent zipper was wide open. At that moment, my mind kicked into high gear.

  “Who the hell could be living out here?”

  My heart began to race with the realisation that this could be the hideout of that creepy guy, after all, it did make sense, he's always hiding until certain moments, so having a tent out here where no one really walks through just adds up.

  “Could it be… Him, that bastard?” I whispered under my breath.

  Even though it felt like my heart was about to pound out of my chest, I pushed forward, closer and closer, using every tree and bush as cover from this unknown place. I had to; there was no way I was leaving this place unexplored, after all, this could be the ticket to my worries. The smell of burnt firewood filled my nostrils as I stepped closer; I could see a light green bag inside the tent, a colour that definitely wasn't suited to someone trying to hide in the woods.

  Standing in front of the dilapidated tent, I glanced around one more time, just in case I might catch a glimpse of some weirdo lurking, waiting for the right moment to strike. Thankfully, there was nothing there.

  Taking a deep breath, I got down on my knees and crawled inside. Instantly, the smell of burnt wood vanished, replaced by an overwhelming stench.

  “Oh God!” I shouted under my breath, quickly covering my nose.

  Inside, there was a sleeping bag, that same green bag I’d seen earlier, and on top of it lay a note.

  “What the…?”

  Without wasting a second, I crawled toward the note and opened it.

  Fumbling the paper ten times, I finally managed to open the thing, even with my hands shaking.

  And when I read it.

  I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

  “Y-y-you’re a bastard…” were the only words that came to mind.

  DeadEndYuto!