Chapter 3: Club meeting

The club was quiet, the only sound the rustle of papers as Reina, the club president, placed a large, weathered map on the table. Her fingers lingered on the edges of the map. Her expression was calm, but her tone carried weight as she spoke.

"The last major case," she began, eyes scanning the group, "involves a series of strange incidents near Street 07 Forest."

The room quieted. Seven members of the Phenomena Research Club sat around her, their curiosity slowly sharpening into something more serious.

Reina tapped a spot on the map. "Fifteen years ago, a string of disturbing reports came out of this area. People who wandered too close to the forest began experiencing severe anxiety, panic attacks, hallucinations, and overwhelming dread. Some were found unconscious shortly after."

She paused. "Those people… never woke up."

A tense silence fell.

"No way…" Koharu whispered, her usual playfulness gone in an instant.

"They've been in comas ever since," Reina continued. "Doctors never found a cause. No injuries, no toxins.

Just... nothing. And when the police tried to investigate, they couldn't find anything. No evidence. No explanation."

Haruki leaned forward, brows furrowed. "Like the forest just swallowed them whole."

"Creepy," muttered Minato, his voice low. He glanced out the window as if expecting the forest to be waiting outside.

Ruri's eyes narrowed, thoughtful. "And now it's just… forgotten?"

Reina nodded. "Over time, it became little more than a rumor. But if you talk to the old locals, they'll tell you something different. According to them, that forest is part of an old spiritual history. It was once used as a seal—meant to contain something."

"Contain what?" Ruri asked.

"They never say clearly," Reina said. "Only that the forest holds an unnatural presence. That's why they posted warnings. To keep people away."

A heavy pause settled over the group.

Koharu leaned closer to Ruri, her voice hushed. "Okay, but... doesn't this feel more intense than our usual ghost stories?"

"It does," Reina admitted. "Which is why we're going to investigate it ourselves."

In the corner of the room, Ryo remained quiet, his eyes on the map. He didn't flinch at the mention of comas or seals. If anything, his gaze grew sharper, more focused.

Ruri noticed. Her eyes flicked to him. "You seem really into this."

Ryo looked up, meeting her gaze evenly. "It's interesting. That's all."

But Ruri wasn't convinced. There was something too calm, too practiced in his response.

Why are you really here, Ryo? In her thought

The meeting wrapped up not long after, but the mood in the room had shifted. The playful air was still there, but beneath it lingered a quiet tension. Something about this case felt different.

Unfinished.

Waiting.

One by one, the club members gathered their things and filed out of the room, their chatter fading down the hallway. Reina was the last to leave, casting a final glance at the now-empty table before pulling the door shut behind her with a soft click.

Only two remained.

Ruri sat cross-legged on the old couch near the window, a paperback novel resting in her hands. She flipped a page with practiced ease, but her eyes weren't truly focused on the words. Every so often, she glanced over the top of the book, subtle, almost bored.

But her gaze kept drifting to Ryo.

He stood in front of the bookcase on the far side of the room, a faded leather-bound journal open in his hands. One of the club's old archives notes, theories, and scribbles from members long graduated. The light from the desk lamp nearby cast shadows across his face, making his already sharp features seem more distant.

Ruri watched him in silence.

Most students ignored those records. Reina checked them now and then, but even she treated them like folklore, unreliable and half-lost to time.

But Ryo was reading them like he was looking for something. Not a casual interest purpose. His fingers traced along the underlined sections, flipping between pages with a strange kind of urgency, though his face remained impassive.

She turned back to her book but didn't read a word. Her eyes flicked to him again.

Finally, she spoke quietly, almost too casually.

"You like old stories?"

Ryo didn't look up. "Sometimes the old ones are the most honest."

Ruri raised an eyebrow behind the book. "Honest, huh?"

He nodded slightly, closing the journal with a soft thump and sliding it back into its place. "Even rumors start somewhere."

She didn't answer that. Just watched as he stepped away from the shelf, moving with quiet purpose, as if he'd found what he was looking for or at least a part of it.

As he headed for the door, Ryo paused for just a moment, glancing in her direction.

"See you Saturday."

Ruri didn't respond until the door closed behind him. Then, slowly, she lowered her book into her lap, her eyes narrowing slightly in thought.

He hadn't said much. But something about the way he read those records—like he wasn't reading them for the first time sent a chill down her spine.

She stared at the bookcase for a long moment before finally turning back to her novel.

But this time, she couldn't focus at all.