Disclaimer: I do not own anything

Proofread by: Black Psych

Chapter Nine

~※~

The moment I took my hand away from covering my left eye, I faced Nishino. To her credit, she didn't even wince in the slightest and only stared dumbfounded at me with widened eyes. She heaved a deep breath and paused, releasing it as she opened her mouth again.

And just when I expected her to scream at the top of her lungs and run away, she pointed a finger at my face and remarked, with an awed tone:

"That was both the coolest and scariest thing I have ever seen in my entire life."

I was flabbergasted at first, but I tried to smooth my expression over after breathing deeply. Then I stared straight in her eyes, holding a finger up to point at my left eye. "Nishino... you mean this... right?"

Of course, I wasn't sure if she really saw what I tried to show her. Thus, to be certain, I took my phone out and used its front-facing camera as a makeshift mirror.

Lo and behold, staring back at me were a pair of mismatched eyes. The right one was rotten-looking, most of it covered in a moist, white surface along with its black iris peeking under the lid. The left eye, however, was more unusual — even when compared to the other one. The sclera was colored black and it had a tangle of red pulsing veins connected to the twitching iris of the same color.

It was almost a disappointment to see it there again, after I tried so hard to vanish the thought away from my head and pretend there was nothing to be worried about. On top of that, there was this girl I had to deal with.

"Um, yes... what else would I mean?"

Tilting her head and blinking repeatedly, Nishino posed a question I would have expected a retard to ask. At first I thought she was joking with that offhand remark, but when I saw the genuine confusion on her face, I realized, with great bafflement, that she was actually serious.

I took about a minute of silence, giving myself a few moments to recall the events in chronological order, so as to analyze everything with a clear head.

First, and foremost, I spouted many rude words towards Nishino, prompting her to run away in tears. Then, not long after I started walking home, some random bastard wielded a knife at me. But instead of getting disemboweled, I found the assaulter kneeling on the ground with a broken knife at hand.

And, according to what Nishino had implied earlier, it's possible that she witnessed all of that from start to finish.

This girl — the one who had just witnessed her supposed stalker attack another person she knew — was looking at me with a confused expression, even after I showed her something that would have made anyone run away.

It took a great deal of effort to suppress the shudders that ran through my spine just now.

Just what the hell is this girl made of?

I put a hand on my forehead, flicking the bangs sticking onto it. "Just... just why are you taking this so well?" I asked, my voice hoarse and slightly frightened.

"I don't know," Nishino replied with the same expression and asked, in a confused, flat tone, "why are you taking this so seriously?"

I couldn't stop myself from inhaling another deep breath, so I ended up doing so. Backing away a little, I huffed a sigh once more to ease my strained nerves.

Just what kind of response was that?

But as I almost doubted who Nishino Yuuki actually was, the girl in question urgently shook her head and interrupted me, walking a few steps closer.

"I... I mean, is this even something you should be worrying so much about?" she asked, stretching her hand towards my face, only to pull it back in hesitation.

"...Aren't you even scared?"

"Well, I said it's both scary... and cool. So in a way, the scary side of the look somehow fades in comparison with, uh... the weirdness."

I found the whole look shocking and horrfying, while Nishino just found it weird. No words could describe the mixed feelings I was having at the moment.

"No, more importantly — what's that? Contact lens?"

But then she asked me that, leading my tangled state of mind to form a reasonable conclusion. Of course, there was the possibility that she mistook this change in my appearance as cosplay on my part.

"No... not at all. It's, uh... oh, come to think of it, I'm not sure either."

"H-Hold on... you mean, that... that's natural?"

And, of course, I couldn't help but correct her assumption — like an idiot. Still clutching my forehead, my shoulders slumped as I lamented about how easy it would have been to get away without explaining anything... if I had just kept my mouth shut.

But since there was no point in crying about spilt milk, I reluctantly agreed. "It's weird, but yes... I didn't put anything on."

If not for my current situation, I would have admired the sudden twinkle that possessed Nishino's eyes as I said that. It seemed that, rather than being scared by this... this disgusting left eye, she found it fascinating.

Nishino appeared eager to touch it, which made me feel extremely uncomfortable since it gave off the weird impression that I was some kind of a zoo animal.

But as I was about to say something along the lines of 'No touching!' in an admonishing tone, Nishino squeaked in surprise and pointed at my face. "Oh! Look, look! It's fading!"

I didn't even have to ask what she meant by that. Instead, I raised my phone with the camera app still open to my face. "Yeah, it's gone now," I said with a breath of relief.

I didn't get the chance to see the actual vanishing process, but both of my eyes were back to their usual distasteful form... somehow eliciting a smile on my face.

"Does that happen often?" Nishino asked and I looked up to see her worried face glancing in my direction. During the time I wasn't looking, she ended up standing beside me.

"...No, just now. What do you mean?"

"Oh, I mean... maybe that's an... um, an eye complication, or something..."

That cued me to pause from examining my eye and look back and forth between it and Nishino. With that attempted stabbing from earlier, the possibility of this strange change being beyond a natural symptom actually sounded spot on to me. But now that I was finally able to think straight, I realized just how silly I had been. The failed stabbing part was still bugging me though...

"A complication, huh... or maybe an infection. But how would that explain it suddenly vanishing?"

Having no answer to that, Nishino stayed silent.

"Meh, whatever. There are still a lot of things I need to ask you about than just that." I stretched before putting my phone back into my pocket and glanced at the opening that led to the road outside. "So, uh... can we get out of this place now?"

Nishino nodded wordlessly and the two of us, coming to the same agreement, headed side by side out of the filthy alley.

~※~

The café we ended up going to was your usual one; not the best out there, but not too bad either. The place was nothing to be awed at, though it was probably the serenity of the atmosphere that made it stand out to someone like Nishino.

We both took seats near the window and faced each other. It was a bit unnerving how I went over the whole process of picking the best seats and ordering something so smoothly, as if out of habit. Looks like my practice dates with Isshiki bore fruit after all.

But it's not like I think of this as a romantic date. If anything, this feels more like a business meeting, so that was probably the reason why I didn't feel awkward at all. I mean, initially, I was here to pick up the books she offered to lend me and to talk... about some things.

Recalling that part, I shook my head, clearing the other mundane thoughts inside it. That was the main reason why I decided to come here with Nishino, after all.

I cleared my throat, prompting the brown haired girl to look up from the book she was examining. It was one of the books she was supposed to lend me and, after that fiasco from earlier, it seems she took it upon herself to inspect if some had been damaged.

Just looking at her act like that made me wonder just how obsessed this girl was with her books. I cleared my throat again. "Let's get this straight, okay? I'll just confirm something. So, to make this quick, all you have to do is answer either yes or no, alright?"

Nishino snapped the book shut and quirked a sarcastic brow. "Is that your way of trying to act cool, Hikigaya-kun?"

"My, thanks for that interruption."

Sighing after receiving that unexpected comeback, I continued, "Okay. That guy back there, you know him, right?"

Like I requested, Nishino answered with one word. "Yes."

"And, he's your stalker?"

"Yes."

"And you saw him as he, uh... tried to stab me?"

Nishino looked down, swallowing hard. "...Yes."

"Alright," I leaned on my chair, narrowing my eyes. "Tell me what you meant exactly by 'tried to'."

"Hikigaya-kun," she began, suddenly flashing me a sweet smile. "I thought all I had to say was either yes or no?"

"Is that your way of trying to act witty, Nishino?"

Seemingly satisfied by my reaction, Nishino giggled a bit before adjusting to a more serious expression, her voice lowered, "Yes, he tried to stab you... with, uh, a knife, of course."

"Then?"

"Well, he ran towards your direction and swung that knife to your stomach."

"Oh..."

It was honestly alarming how that sentence came out of her lips so casually, as if she was just chatting about the latest gossip. Nishino must have noticed my reaction and cleared her throat in an urgent manner, shaking her head at the same time.

Then, back in the tone I could only describe as her usual one, she continued, "The thing is, the knife made contact, I'm certain of it..."

"I can sense a 'but' in there."

She nodded gravely. "But, when it did... the knife broke."

I let out a deep breath that I unknowingly held. I didn't have any idea why I felt a sense of relief from hearing that, so I set it aside to mull about later. For now, I would let myself bask over the obscurity of how I was still alive — despite everything.

"Hikigaya-kun..."

Out of the blue, Nishino's voice snatched me out of my thoughts. I looked up, seeing her stare back at me with a conflicted look on her face. Then, after closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she asked me something in a very solemn tone.

"Are you Superman?"

Only a cold, long silence could describe my response to that.

Realizing the blunder on her comedic attempt, Nishino looked down and giggled sheepishly. "Sorry, I couldn't stop myself."

"No, thank you. That clarified something, at least," I assured with a wave of my hand. "It calmed me down a bit to know what actually happened, despite how... absurd it is."

At the same time I leaned back on my seat after saying that, the waitress arrived to hand us our orders. Since we both lost our appetite, courtesy of a certain incident, we just ordered something to drink.

Nishino took a sip from her iced coffee, prompting me to do the same. And right after I put down my glass of barley tea, the girl before me spoke while cautiously looking around.

"Um, about that eye thing. Don't you think you should have some precaution, at least? You said you're not even sure about it yourself, so what if that suddenly occurs when you least expect it?"

I raised a brow, trying to lighten her up with a joke. "What, you want me to wear an eyepatch or something?"

But, rather than what I anticipated, she took my words seriously. "Not really — though that's a good idea. What do you think?"

"I don't think so..." I trailed off, not expecting this outcome. "An eyepatch may be a good precaution, but it'd be troublesome in the long run. I mean, I wasn't even serious when I suggested that."

Nishino frowned at that, but I was not done yet.

"My point is, wearing something like an eyepatch would cause me more trouble than it's worth, so no, I guess."

"But what will you do in the worst case scenario?" she persisted, but even before I could ask her to clarify, she continued with a tone reeking of urgency, "You don't have to worry about me since I'm willing to be quiet if you want to keep this as a secret, but what about other people? I don't want to force you to do anything, but... are you aware of the danger behind all this?"

"...Danger?"

Except for that echo, that was all I could utter.

"Look here, Hikigaya-kun," she called to me so formally that I actually had no other choice but to look. "Let's say what happened to your eye was not just some weird anatomical reaction and that you broke the knife back there by somehow experiencing a body mutation in a spur of the moment... and what if that eye is proof that something inside you changed and you're no longer normal? Why would that suddenly happen? Did you just change overnight? You slept, then you suddenly woke up with the ability to bend knives with your stomach?"

"Whoa, hey, slow down. Gee, tone down the scifi, won't you..." — I mean, what the hell? Anatomical reaction? Body mutation? You can't just casually drop phrases like that, you know?

I couldn't stop myself from looking at her with disbelieving eyes, a gesture she took heatedly.

"Do I look like I'm joking, Hikigaya-kun?"

I frowned in response, trying to see through her for reasons why she reacted that way. But all I could see was a slightly irritated Nishino and it was hard to think of other reasons as to why I drove her mad.

"N-No, I mean... why are you suddenly getting worked up about this?"

"Isn't it normal to be worried when my friend is in danger?"

That instant answer was something I only ever expected to hear from a certain pinkhead, so it left me with a weird feeling inside my chest. And I'll tell you what, it was far from pleasant.

Thus, I posed a change of subject to distract both her and myself.

"No, just... what's this danger you're babbling about?"

Nishino gently shook her head. "Answer me first. Was that the first time you experienced something like that? I mean, over your whole life, so far?"

"—First time..."

And just like that, a series of gruesome images flashed inside my head; I saw a braided girl lying in a pool of her own blood, then I saw another girl with blood trickling down her cheeks — alive, but holding a look of murderous intent on her face.

And lastly, I saw myself in a picture with my stomach ripped open.

I already had an answer but, despite all that, I responded differently.

"...Yeah, that was the first time."

"Are you sure?"

As expected, Nishino didn't buy it. I was sure since my tone didn't sound convincing, after all. "You know, we won't be getting anywhere if you insist on keeping everything to yourself. If you don't want to tell me everything, alright, just answer either yes or no like I did for you."

She stared intently at me again but, unlike before, her gaze seemed to be wavering, as if she was close to tears.

"But please, be honest with me... I'm just trying to help."

Hearing her plead like that, there was no way I could refuse.

Feeling defeated, I corrected my words, "...I mean, no, this is not... the first time."

A smile of relief bloomed on her face as I admitted that, emitting a blinding aura which caused me to avert my eyes. I sighed, frowning at how lame I reacted to that, and looked back again.

Nishino had reverted to her serious look.

—Oh wait, come to think of it, this girl actually has a habit of changing her expressions quite easily. One moment she was crying, the next she was spouting science fiction terms. I hate to say it, but it would really take some time before I could get used to this weird quirk of hers.

Well, it's not like I think we're close enough to require some level of acclimation. But as my head drifted back to its usual thinking process, a distant voice echoed inside my ears.

You don't have to know a lot about someone to become friends with them, it's the other way around. You try to become friends to know them more.

I slumped my shoulders after remembering those words. Alright, I really should stop deluding myself like this. Nishino helped me realize this after all, so it made sense to try applying this change of pace with her.

I shook my head, keeping that reminder to myself, and pulled myself back to the present to look at Nishino once again, who had taken that as a cue to start talking again.

"Now, try to think back," she said in a low tone. "If this is not the first time you encountered something strange like this, can you remember a certain incident — a very unusual one that marked the beginning of this series of weird events?"

A frown found its path towards my face and I kept silent. That was because right even before Nishino asked that question, I already figured out the answer.

That day, right even before that cursed meeting in the Student Council room, I was sure that was the point that marked the beginning of all this.

I looked at her, shook my head, and asked about her stalker as a way to change the subject.

That event is definitely best kept to myself...

~※~

Maruyama Jun was, at the very least, content with his role in life. Even though both of his parents died in an accident a year ago, he dropped out of high school, and his grandmother, the only family member he had left, was recently hospitalized — as long as he had a camera with him, everything would be just fine.

He was aware that this sentiment was immoral and unreasonable, but so was life — wasn't it?

Life was always moving fast and he couldn't seem to ever catch up. That was why he took the initiative to just take life for himself and suspend every gorgeous moment with a picture.

It was about taking a shot in the dark and praying the film would develop just right the next day, after slaving for hours in a dark room. It was photo after photo after photo; being told by random phonies that you have talent, that you have promise, all the while being compared to elementary school artistry.

There was no difference there. Life and photography. But he couldn't let go of it, because behind all that pain and rejection was his happiness. For Jun, there was nothing more unusual than the euphoric feeling he always had whenever he pressed the capture button and the shutter rung out.

Nothing could ever be more unusual than that.

That was what he believed, until now.

The moment he ran into an alleyway, with a broken knife in hand, only to be greeted by the muzzle of a gun pointed straight at his face.

Yes, nothing more unusual indeed. Screw the euphoric feelings and sentiments, the level of weirdness of this situation was even beyond his comprehension.

A man listlessly stood before him, aiming the gun as if doing such a thing was the most boring, casual skill of all. He frowned and the second he asked, "Can I request you to please forget everything you saw back there?" Jun felt himself shiver at the realization that this weird day was far from over.

For goodness sake, he was just running after witnessing something he thought could only happen in superhero movies. It was not everyday that you tried to stab someone with literal rock-hard abs, after all.

And only seeing those mismatched pair of eyes immediately afterwards was enough for him to flee. No more, that was enough stabbing for today, he chastised himself. He was scared, not because he might have attacked an android from another planet, but because... he recognized one of those mismatched eyes.

Jun had already seen something like that before.

"Ahem."

The stranger cleared his throat and Jun looked up, remembering that there was a gun currently pointed at his face.

Jun was usually calm, but not now. "A-Are you in cahoots with that... that, monster back there?" he squeaked, trying to sound brave. Just uttering the word "monster" sent shivers down his spine.

The man snorted as he shrugged, still pointing the gun at Jun. "Ah you know, I'm quite a busy man and, unlike you, I have a lot of... adult duties to do. Let us deal with this quick, shall we?"

His tone was casual and lacked any sign of aggressiveness, but Jun knew better. The calmer the person was, the more dangerous they were. If a person could point a gun at point blank range and act all bored like that — that person was certainly someone to be wary of, even for someone like Jun.

"Let me repeat," the man looked at him again, his tone becoming more firm, more threatening. "Are you willing to keep silent about this?"

"Don't play with me..." Jun gulped, backing away a little, only to hit his back against a wall, "not like I have a choice at all, do I? Either way, you're just going to kill me!" Having his only path of escape blocked caused Jun to panic and raise his voice.

The man sighed, "Fool, you don't go shouting things like that in a place like this. Do you want to get in deeper trouble with the authorities?" He peeled the gun and pointed it at himself, then back to Jun again. "Between us, a doctor and a filthy stalker, who do you think would be at a disadvantage?" Then, he slipped his free hand into a coat pocket, fishing for his phone before showing its screen to him. "And tell you what, you were not the only one taking pictures."

The display showed a picture of the long haired boy, holding a knife against another person. What a shot, Jun mused. Not bad.

"What?" Jun replied with feigned relaxation, flicking his shoulder length hair. "Are you threatening me with those photos — which shows how he broke my knife like a goddamn man of steel? Yeah, good luck with that."

Just who in the world would believe something like that, anyway? Jun knew that what he saw back there was true, but just seeing it with his own eyes was not enough evidence at all.

"I like that attitude. You're like a maggot squirming around, it's funny," chuckled the unknown man. "Tell me, who do you think would believe that story of yours after I report you for physical assault? And mind you I'm no photographer, but I caught a clear shot of someone attacking another person with a knife. Pretty solid evidence here, don't you think?"

He was right, Jun agreed glumly to himself. The shot showed how Jun attacked that person, not how the knife broke upon contact. No matter which way one would look at it, Jun was still the villain in the picture.

"Just what the hell do you want with me? If you want me to shut my mouth about this — sure, okay, I won't trouble you any further! I just wanna make sure you won't kill me!"

"I said don't shout..." the man put his phone back into his pocket and, much to Jun's surprise, lowered the gun from his face. "And to clarify, I really do not intend to kill you at all — well, unless you keep being annoying of course. Point is, this humble uncle stranger here wants to offer you a nice deal."

Relaxing for a second, Jun asked, "W-What deal?"

"Two deals, actually. But don't you worry, I'm sure you won't mind them." He walked closer, one hand still holding the gun at his side. "First one, as I said, is to make sure you keep silent about this. Do that and I'll leave you alone. You have my word."

Jun eyed the gun cautiously and looked at the man. "Can I really trust you with this?"

"You know," the man palmed his forehead and wiggled the gun again in front of Jun's face, "this is not a discussion regarding who can trust who, it's about trying my best not to resort to violent procedures." Then his hand steadied and, before Jun knew it, the gun was pointed directly at him again. "Now tell me, I'm in a hurry here."

Swallowing hard, he agreed, "...Deal." Jun had plans for that monster, but dying wouldn't be a good price to pay, so he set it aside. And besides, it was not like he actually had to follow his orders.

If this man would go as far as to threaten him about keeping the whole thing a secret, it was obvious that his whole focus was on that person. So unless he tried to do something direct, this man wouldn't notice anything.

For now Jun needed to convince this man that he was scared shitless, so he wouldn't have to resort to killing him.

The man frowned for a second and Jun placed extra effort into making himself look unsightly by scrunching his face into a cowardly expression as he met his eyes.

"Splendid." After a moment, he nodded and abruptly snatched another thing from his coat pocket, prompting Jun to genuinely shrink away. "Now, for the second one... here, take this."

The man threw a thick bundle of money at him. Jun caught it by reflex and he couldn't stop himself from sending an awed look at the large amount of bills in his hands. After composing himself, he heaved a deep breath and politely raised his brow at the man.

In response to Jun's confusion, he explained, "In exchange for you to stay away from those brats."

Jun furrowed his brows, not fully realizing the requirement at first. Eventually he did. "Y-You mean... away from Nishino-san?" he gasped in horror, forgetting to keep up his front.

"If you mean that girl you've been fantasizing over, then yes. Leave her alone, leave her sappy crush alone, and we all will live happily ever after."

In the blink of an eye, the man had moved closer to Jun and pressed the muzzle of the gun against the latter's forehead once more."But if by any chance you try something funny, I'll have no choice but to play the villain after all."

Jun wanted to do something, to protest or to at least throw away the bundle of money in his hands — but he couldn't do a thing. Like a paralysis poison, the cold metal against his forehead stopped him from moving an inch. "H-How..." he uttered, his words feebly coming out, "n-no, there's no way I'd stay away from—"

"What? Are you serious?" The man mocked him, laughing scornfully. "After attacking her precious childhood crush like that, do you still think that girl would ever forgive you?"

No, even if he hadn't attacked that guy from back there, the girl he worshipped would have never accepted him to begin with.

Nishino Yuuki, one of Jun's classmates from a year ago — back when he was still a student in Tokyo. They were not even friends. He doubted she even knew he existed. But Jun admired her. Not because she was perfect and beautiful.

It was the opposite, actually.

It was because she seemed incomplete, a beautiful puzzle with a missing piece. An enthralling mystery, full of secrets and hidden glamor. The way she smiled, the way she talked to people — they felt empty and only Jun noticed that.

Her smiles were vibrant and dancing but, in Jun's eyes, they appeared to lack something. That was what made Jun obsessed with her. He wanted to know why Nishino Yuuki was empty. He wanted to be the one to fill that gap within her. Jun wanted her to smile her best, so that he could take his most wanted picture.

Nishino Yuuki's true smile, Jun always wanted to capture that.

So how, how could Jun achieve that if he was to stay away from her? Perhaps he had never even gotten close enough, but that was his role; to stay away and wait for a time when he would be able to make her smile. But now, if he insisted, he might get killed. And dying meant he would no longer be able to capture his anticipated masterpiece.

What should I do? What should I do?

Jun opened his mouth, realizing just now that he had been sweating so much. "But... if I can, at least... glance at her from afar—"

"Spare me from that, please."

But he stopped, hearing the annoyed tone in the stranger's voice. He glanced upwards, seeing irritation apparent in the face of the man holding his life hostage. Come to think of it, he wasn't even that young to begin with. All of his hair was gray and he had wrinkles on his face, so Jun figured this was an old man, at least.

After looking at the stranger's appearance, he recalled something.

Jun loved his grandmother, the one who took him in when his parents died. She used to tell him a lot of stories in the past but, after she had been hospitalized, she could barely even talk anymore. Jun had been very sad about that.

Maybe that was the reason why he had a soft spot for the elderly. It was because they looked weak and helpless, as if they would fall with a single nudge. Perhaps it triggered Jun's protective instincts.

So Jun started to wonder; this man before him was the same... no? Just how could he be weak and helpless? He might have the same wrinkles and gray hair his grandmother had, but this man was different, wasn't he?

Jun could never imagine his grandmother smiling like that. It was a smile full of ominous intent, something that dug through your soul with a shovel.

Just how could an old person be so frightening?

"...Alright, if that's what you want... fine." Jun lowered his head and clutched the bundle of money in his chest, resolving to not let it go. This could be useful for his grandmother. "Just... just leave me alone."

"And how can I make sure you're not lying?"

You can't, Jun admitted with a snort to himself while he slowly moved away, keeping a downcast expression on his face. After debating about it for a moment, he reluctantly took the lace of the camera dangling on his neck and threw it in the man's direction. He didn't hear a crashing sound, so he assumed the man caught it.

"That's yours now... do whatever you want with it, I don't give a damn anymore."

Jun had his doubts that this man would really spare him, so he needed to get out of this place as fast as possible. If Jun were the stranger, he would doubt his own actions too, so the former needed to look convincing at the very least.

This man believed that Jun was a stalker and, judging by the norm, he might also believe that this camera was a sacred item. So by giving the object up, it would create the impression that Jun had truly lost his motivation.

What a perfect move.

The camera Jun had given the man was just his old, battered model and the newer one he used for his blog was safely hidden inside his room, along with his prized captures. Of course, the old one had sentimental value since it came from his parents, but a little sacrifice for his own life would not make him feel bad at all.

Trying his best to not look back, he continued dragging himself forward in the most depressed-looking way possible. "...Just leave me alone," he uttered one last time.

He didn't hear a response, so he walked faster. By the time he turned a corner, he ran as fast as he could for his dear life.

~※~

After about a half hour of explaining things out to each other, we both went our separate ways. Nishino, being the one with information about the person who attacked me, told me everything she knew about him. During our talk, it had been cleared to me that this guy (someone named Maruyama) was once her classmate back when she was still a student in Tokyo. That part baffled me the most, considering how far Chiba was from Tokyo; only the bullet train could help you out if you're making this commute everyday. I found it hard imagining that guy travelling back and forth between two places everyday, so it was likely that he moved here in accordance to Nishino transferring schools.

Just imagining how determined that guy was for following Nishino, no matter where she went, made me doubt just how lucky I was to have her as a childhood friend...

Not that I felt pity for him. But still, Nishino was here trying her best to be my friend while he was out there — being a miserable sod since he couldn't get over her.

Damn, scratch that. Maybe, just a bit, I felt sorry for that guy.

Well anyway, since he seemed scared shitless of me already, I could trust that he wouldn't dare come back at me for another confrontation. So Nishino and I did our best to ignore that issue altogether. And so, the stalker issue had its last curtain call.

However, just when I thought that everything had been addressed, Nishino suddenly offered to help me find out about the peculiarities that occurred today. Namely, the red eye and metal bending things.

Her reason?

It was simple: She was curious about it.

Was her real name Chitanda, or something?

Sitting in front of my desk, I let out a breath. Since Nishino was being so adamant about it, I let her have her way. It was just research, after all. And it's not like I had a say on what she chose to do, even if it was my own body she was researching about...

Just how petty had I become?

That aside, from unexpected reconciliations to stalker assaults, this day had really exhausted all of my reserved energy for a whole week. It's not that much of a complaint, but I would probably end up being a sloth until Monday.

However, regardless of my beaten physical state, I still had to do something important in preparation for other troublesome matters. I'm sure Nishino was serious when she offered to do some research; there was no way I'd be lazy and have her do all the work alone.

And thus, for the sake of my conscience, I was currently in my room doing some goddamn research on a Saturday evening — when I should be sleeping!

Heaving a deep sigh, I looked at my laptop with an empty search engine on display. I already spent quite some time researching random things revolving around 'red eye complications' but, aside from a certain internet thread, all I could find were a bunch of medical articles about sore eyes and normal stuff.

Useless. Utterly useless. If this thing was just a sore eye, then why the hell did it look like something out of a manga or whatever? Apart from being disgusting, it looked completely different; something almost nonhuman.

With no other choice, I clicked on the last search item on the list. The title of the thread was about a photo of a particular person with a red eye, taken a few months ago. At first, I was hesitant to peek through it, because it seemed painfully obvious that it was just a shitpost — but it really bugged me how the red eyed part sent me goosebumps.

Upon clicking, the screen loaded and, finally, I was transferred to a certain blog site of someone named 'Jun'. I scrolled through the stack of meticulously taken camera shots until I found what I was looking for; a small picture labelled "red eyed".

With the mouse cursor slightly shaking since my hand was doing the same, I maximized it.

Lo and behold, in front of me was a fair-looking woman with the same hair color as Yuigahama. She was wearing glasses and seemed oblivious to the camera in front of her. There was a dazed look on her face and I found it really creepy. It seemed that the picture was taken at night, since it was so dark and I could barely make out her face.

But one thing stood out the most. Staring back at me with hostile intent were her eyes, both of which had a similar appearance to my left eye from earlier.

It was definitely the same, no doubt about it. Since I was terrified, every detail of its appearance was left in an afterimage at the back of my mind. I glanced back at the screen once again, examining the pair of black scleras, red pupils, and a bunch of red nerves surrounding each eye.

Finally, regardless of how stupid the whole thing was, I found an answer to all of my doubts. After flexing my fingers, I copied the email address associated with the person who ran the blog site.

I breathed deeply, and started typing my message, "...Alright, Jun-san. You need to tell me where you got this picture."

…

As planned and expected, I spent the whole Sunday recovering after that damn strenuous Saturday. I think I slept for more than ten hours; before I even realized it, it was Monday and I was on my way to school.

I couldn't help feeling uneasy about going to club today though, since I was sure Yuigahama would pester me about what happened with my supposed "date" until I gave up. Not that I planned to keep everything to myself, but there really was no roundabout way I could talk about it. I mean, should I just sack up and tell them everything? I was sure Yuigahama would find the whole dramatic flair between Nishino and myself a big deal; if not, it was Yukinoshita who would fuss about the stalker affair. I also got a feeling that, if they heard the whole story, they would go and run to console Nishino and just brush my near death experience aside.

I sighed. Yeah it's a bit against my new principles, but just the sitting in the café part would do. At least I'm sure Isshiki would be happy to know that I could finally use everything she taught me in the field... right?

The school came into view and I commenced my usual routine after I passed through the gates: locked my bike at the racks, changed into my indoor shoes, checked the text message I sent last night, and climbed up the stairs to the rooftop, after making sure no one else was around.

Oh, did I say usual routine? Alright, you can scratch that.

As for the text message, it was definitely something unusual for someone of my status to have initiated. Before this year began, I had a just few contact numbers in my phone — and by few, I meant the total wouldn't even reach the amount of fingers in either of my hands. But later on, Yuigahama, Totsuka, and even Hiratsuka-sensei were added to the list. It was still a short list, but much longer than you'd expect from a loner.

But I digress, because of my scarce amount of contacts, I had come to memorize each and every one of them. From names to their corresponding numbers — heck, I could even recite them in alphabetical order if someone asked me to. Point is, I knew my contact list like the back of my hand, so I would definitely notice if something had changed about it.

Last night, while screwing around with my phone, I felt a sudden surge of guilt when I remembered how I deleted Nishino's number from my phone, right in front of her. Good thing the message she sent me before was still in my inbox, so I could restore it without any problems.

However, while I was in the process of saving a contact labelled 'Four Eyes' again, I noticed something strange with the list.

There was a contact I couldn't remember saving.

The contact included both first and surname, and I felt myself suddenly shuddering. At first, I was puzzled about why her contact name would be in my phone when I didn't even really know the girl, much less asked her for it. Then I realized, she was probably the one who put it in there, knowing that I would find a use for it in the future.

I was the kind of person who felt uncomfortable when others touched something that belonged to me, so there's no doubt that I wouldn't let a person, who's barely an acquaintance, fiddle with my phone without my permission.

So how did she do it? The answer was simple.

She saved it while I was unconscious, on that awful day...

I took a quick peek at my phone, rereading the message I sent to that particular contact last night. 'Monday, school rooftop, before class. I need to talk to you, please.' it said. I chucked my phone back into my pocket, looked behind myself one last time, and huffed a deep breath before twisting the knob and opening the door to the rooftop.

The early morning breeze flew past my face once again. I closed my eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply and savoring the sensation, right before facing reality.

"Good morning," a sweet voice came from the girl standing before me, my ears almost numbing in the process. Her hair, tied into two loose and fluffy twintails, swayed with the wind. "I'm here, just like you asked."

"Yeah, thanks for coming."

I offered a polite smile and my upperclassman, Shiromeguri Meguri, smiled back.

Note: Been a little while, huh? I know I should at least apologize, but I won't, as I'm sure you already expected the lame late-update excuses. As you can tell, (if you're aware of my other written projects) that I have been sooo in love with my LOOP and decided to write a straight three-chapter update before going back to this. Not to mention I also took my time writing three sets of parodies... and another crossover.

It might seem like I'm neglecting neglecting this story, but I assure you, I am NOT in the slightest. My motivation is still as mad as it ever was, and I still have a lot of crazy ideas to share. If anything, that break feels more like a preparation for me to actually dive in seriously with this story. LOOP has been getting better reception and reviews, but that doesn't mean I will abandon this story because of that. This is my first story, and in here, I can see how I'm improving bit by bit through each update – so it has more sentimental value than you would expect.

Also, I created an AO3 account because I plan to post a much better version of this story there. It might not be that bad, but a little polishing won't hurt. I know you guys only care about updates, (I know) so I will just post the majorly rewritten one on another site.

HachimanOwlPlease: I really wish you make an account since I'd been itching to reply to you. That request about Hachiman being Owl is very tempting (really), but I have different plans for him. Something I think will be more believable and... cooler. If you really want something like that though, I'll say I'm curently considering adding an Owl in this story except for Yoshimura or Eto (maybe someone from the Oregairu side.)

Also, I'm already happy with the support this story is getting, so I'll just stick with this being a crossover. Because it IS, and labeling it otherwise would be, like... well, cheating. But thanks for the support, anyway!