Step, step, crunch!

Leon whipped his head around in the direction of the noise, handgun in hand just in case. He narrowed his eyes into slits, looking around him cautiously. There was something following him, something in these woods. What that was, he had no idea. Finding nothing unusual, he pressed on toward his objective. He had to find the whereabouts of his client's wife who had been missing for a few months now. The hard part was finding her, and it was even harder now that he knew something was following him.

A mercenary, probably, he thought. That wasn't too odd, given the people here would attack him without any words exchanged. Leon didn't care, though. He'd gone through similar, if not worse, situations. He blew at the hair that tried to obscure his vision as he walked, his eyes darting back and forth between each and every tree as they passed. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit nervous. Jobs like this always left him nervous, but he always got them done, and for a good price, too.

CRUNCH.

"Okay, who's there!?" he yelled, more agitated than worried. "Come out and face me!"
He looked around just like he had before, but this time spotting a black figure dashing around in the not so distant cluster of trees. His eyes widened. This thing was big, or at least from what he could tell. Leon squeeze the handle of his handgun tight. If he was forced to fight, then he would do so.

His eyes tried to keep up with the creature as it made its way closer to him. Leon gulped. It was odd in the way it moved, almost blindly in Leon's vision. Almost like it was… teleporting. As soon as the creature was close enough to him, he gasped. In that second, it was gone in a flash. Leon didn't want to be playing these hide and seek games any longer, but he wasn't about to move from where he was standing.

"Alright, man," he started to say, swallowing a lump in his throat. "I'm serious. I don't want to keep this up all day. I have a job to get done, so if you want to kill me or something, let's get this over with, okay?"
"Kill you? Oh, no, no. Is that what you- Oh gosh, no, that's not- Fuck, sorry," came a raspy, deep voice from behind him. Leon tensed. He could feel a very tall, very large figure looming over him from behind. In all honesty, he was fucking terrified.

He slowly turned his upper body around to face whatever it was that decided to approach him, and his blood ran cold. A faceless, tall creature that resembled a man in a suit stood there ominously. Blank features and a cold voice. There what seemed to be tentacles sprouting from his back, moving slowly in curiosity as Leon stared at them in horror. Quickly, he jumped away, handgun pointed at the one before him. It shook violently in his hands. "Wh-what are you?! And how can I even trust you won't kill me? Actually, I don't even know how you're even able to talk considering you don't even have a face!" screamed Leon.

The creature stood silent for a second, staring at Leon. Or he at least assumed he was staring at him, but hell if he knew. The thing didn't even have a face! "You could call me Slender," said he, monotone. "You're Leon S. Kennedy, right?" Slender held out a hand.

Leon pushed his handgun out further as a half-baked threat. "How do you know my name?" he questioned. He squinted at him, suspicious. "Are you a merc? You've actually come to kill me. Well, you can't! I have a mission to fulfill. So, get out of my way, or else."

Slender laughed. Leon scrunched up his nose. How could he even laugh?! "Oh, no. Your empty threats are so cute! Anyway, I knew you wouldn't believe me, but it's fine. The reason I'm here is… I'm actually your biggest fan! And I um… I wanted to ask you on a date…"

Leon dropped his handgun in surprise and it set off a shot by accident, somehow killing a nearby crow. It made him jump onto on leg, startled. Once composed, he sighed heavily. "Okay, what?" he asked, confused. "Alright, this isn't some sick joke, right? Okay, it's Slender, right? One, I don't know you. Two, I'm in the middle of a mission. And three, what the fuck?! I mean, what even are you? Also, sorry to break it to you, but you don't even have a face."

"What I am isn't important. I know this is all a lot to take in, Leon, but I've been following you for a while now, and I've really come to admire you."

Leon let out a loud, frustrated sigh. This was just perfect. "You're not going to leave me alone until I agree with you, aren't you?" He saw Slender nod, and somehow he could pick up the faint remanence of a smile on his no-face. "Great."

"I want to get to know you better," persisted Slender, stepping closer. Leon pulled a knife in self-defense. "Will you at least give me a chance? I'm not all that bad… sometimes. Oh, but you don' t need to worry about that! So, please accept my date proposal? Or at least think about it?"

"You're a freak, you know that?" spat Leon, waving his knife at Slender as he spoke. "I don't want to go on a date with you, but I guess I have no choice. If you let me finish my job, I'll go on one with you, capiche?"

Leon was suddenly swept up into a hug, black tentacles tickling his face. He blushed slightly at the sudden contact. "Oh, wonderful! You won't regret this, I swear! I'll kill anyone who tries to ruin our date!" exclaimed Slender, squeezing Leon a little too tightly. He was a little concerned about that last part.

Slender dropped him not so gently and fumbled with his hands. Leon landed with an oomph as he ate a pile of leaves on the ground. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, then," commented Slender, acting shy. "Hope to see you around, Leon S. Kennedy!"

And with that, he vanished.

Leon sat up, rubbing at his arse and spitting leaves out from his mouth in annoyance. Sometimes he wondered why he ever took these jobs in the first place. They paid well, but were they even worth it? Who knows?

"One of these days I'm not going to come back from this job." Leon put his knife away, recovered his handgun, and set back out on his quest. He had a feeling he wasn't going to find that poor guy's wife, though.