Stalker

Monday came before I realized. I was sitting at my desk towards the back of the classroom, waiting for home room to start. With winter being a few weeks away, most students had already made the switch to their winter uniforms.

I looked to my left, trying to gaze out through the window to pass the time. It was at moments like these that I wished I had the window seat. But I supposed that seat was reserved for main characters. God if you're watching, isn't it about time I got the spotlight?! To be honest though, I didn't care much for attention. I was 100% in it for the window seat!

My internal monologue was interrupted by a girl with two strands of hair framing her facial features. She wore a familiar cheeky grin as she approached my desk.

"Sajocchi, I bet you can't stop thinking about last night huh?" said Ashida, phrasing it in a way that left much to the imagination.

"Can you please not say it in a way that could be easily misunderstood?"

"Whaa? Whatever do you mean?" She grinned at me, fully knowing what I meant.

According to Ashida, me and Ichinose were being followed during our outing on Saturday...

*

"You probably didn't notice it but... you were being followed"

"Followed? By who?"

"It was a girl with black hair. I'm almost certain I'd seen her at school before but... I can't quite put my finger on it"

"That's... kinda creepy. But if even you didn't recognize her Ashida, then we can't do much about... this... Hold on. You said this girl is from our school?"

"Yep"

"Ashida, don't you find this a bit weird?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

Ashida was pretty popular, and knew pretty much all the girls in the classes next to ours. If there was a girl that she didn't recognise, then she must've either been a senior, or a someone from the East building. The latter was more likely, because she would at least be familiar with the faces of the East building's seniors.

"You said you've seen this girl at school before. But if she's someone you frequently come across, then you would've at least recognized her, correct?"

"I guess so?"

"So then... What if she's someone from the West building?"

"...You know Sajocchi, you can be pretty smart sometimes. Only sometimes though"

"Gee, thanks"

*

And just like that, we spent some time over a phone call coming up with a plan, which we were going to enact today. It was a simple one. However, it hinged on whether or not the unidentified stalker would continue stalking me on school grounds.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" I asked.

"It doesn't hurt to try" she shrugged

And so, the first half of the day went by at a snail's pace. It was a case of time passing by slowly when you wanted it to go by fast. When lunch finally arrived, I stood up, nodded at Ashida, then headed out of the classroom.

We didn't waste any time at all and went straight for the West building. The plan was to be seen walking around by as many students as possible. I rarely walk around in that part of our school, so seeing me there might pique my stalker's interest. That was the hypothesis Ashida and I came up with the night before at least.

The classrooms in the west building had the same layout as the ones in the East. However, all equipment seemed newer, and the walls were freshly painted. Since I rushed here as soon as lunch started, the hallways were just starting to fill up with students. As such, I hoped that our target was still around.

I was walking through the hallway alone. The plan was for Ashida to stalk me from behind. That way, she can tell if someone started tailing me.

As for my part, all I had to do was head to the roof of the building. Afterall, I had to give off the appearance of someone up to no good. What better place for a clandestine meeting that the roof?

As I got closer to the stairway leading to the roof, the crowds thinned, and I could sense someone following me a few paces behind. I didn't dare look back, so I couldn't confirm if it was Ashida or somebody else. But I thought that Ashida would have the sense to not stick so close to me.

When tailing somebody, it was important to keep the right distance. Too far, and you'd lose your target. Stay too close and you're target will get suspicious. Since Ashida already knew my destination, she could afford to stay back further away than my actual stalker. It was a foolproof plan.

Once I reached the top of the stairway, I stopped and took a deep breath. In front of me was the door to the roof. It was, obviously, locked. Slowly, I turned around...

There was no one there.

But that was to be expected. I waited patiently and soon heard the sound of footsteps. Two people were coming up the stairs!

A few moments later, Ashida showed up. She was grinning from ear to ear. In front of her was a girl with long black hair. I had the vague feeling that I'd seen her somewhere before, but I couldn't quite remember when.

"Sajocchi! Mission complete~! I can confirm that she is the one" Said Ashida

"Well done, Lieutenant Ashida. I hereby promote you to Captain" I couldn't help but get in the role. What we'd just done was something you'd see in a movie afterall.

Ashida's eyes widened as she caught on to the act. She then put her hand to her forehead in a formal army salute, stomping her foot on the floor. "Thank you very much, General Sajocchi"

Silence.

We looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. The unserious nickname Ashida called me by did not suit the title of General at all.

All the while, my stalker stood there astonished. Finally she broke her silence: "So what did you want with me? You made me come all the way up just to watch this little act of yours?" she asked Ashida.

"That's my line. What do you want from me? You were following me around afterall. Today and on the weekend at the shopping centre" I said

"That's-!" She couldn't bring herself to deny such a specific and accurate accusation.

Sighing, she went on to introduce herself: "I am Yoshino Kyo. Just like you, I'm a first year student. Though unlike you, I am heir to the Yoshino estate with all its businesses" She whipping her hair back over her shoulder.

"Okay... So, why were you stalking me?"

"I was NOT! Actually this is a favourable development for me. This way, I can get right to the bottom of this. Is there something between you and Marika?" She folded her arms, gazing straight into my eyes.

"..."

Everyday, my life felt more and more like a comedy. One thing led to another, and I always found myself in troublesome situations like this one. That hadn't always been the case though. It all started when I decided to help out the cultural festival committee.

I redirected my attention back at Yoshino and sighed.

"Not a thing. What made you think that?"

In truth, there was an incident that occured between us. But that was a secret that no one could find out about.

"Well, I saw you eating lunch together the other day. Also, last weekend you visited that book store. I can tell something is up"

It honestly made sense that she'd get suspicious. Shinonome started acting differently towards me recently, and we'd been interacting more often. So- wait. What did she just say about a book store?

"Do you mean the book store at the Shopping Centre where you were stalking me?"

"I wasn't stalking you! And yes, that's the one."

"I don't follow. What does that store have to do with Shinonome-san?"

She then looked at me like I wasn't making any sense. Hey now! That's the look I should be giving you! She'd completely lost me 2 sentences ago.

"That store is run by the Shinonome family. Did you not know?"

"No, I had no idea..."

To think that I'd walked into one of their establishments without even realizing it. But it really didn't mean much. I was there as a customer. Who owned the store had zero significance to me.

"So... that was a coincidence?"

"Stalker-san, you're overthinking all of this. As for lunch the other day, it was to discuss some student council matters. As you may already know, I'm the VP's younger brother." I didn't like describing my self that way, but if I was desperately trying to resolve a misunderstanding here. I silently decided to buy Big Sis a steamed bun on the way home as repayment for using her reputation.

"I-! Stop calling me that! Adding an honorific doesn't make it any less rude, and I won't accept such treatment from someone beneath me. I will let you off the hook for now. Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding. But that's for me to confirm."

She turned to walk away, but stopped and added one more thing.

"Oh and, seeing as your the VP's brother, you probably have some plans for the Student Council. Don't go thinking you'll have things go your way. Once the current council is gone, things will go back to how they used to be."

And with that, she stormed off.

Ashida had an amused look on her face. She was leaning back on the stairway's railing, hands folded in front of her body. She followed Yoshino with her eyes as she sped off down the stairs. She then looked at me and said "Was I not meant to hear some of the things she said?"

"Nah, you're fine." I reassured her, then continued, "but I have a bad feeling about this."

As we headed back to the classroom, I couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to get a whole lot messier. It felt like someone I barely knew just declared war against me. No, scratch that. It didn't just feel like it, that's literally what happened.

I decided to put those thoughts aside for now. After all, I needed to be in top form for tomorrow. I.e. Natsukawa's birthday.

I can't afford to be distracted. After all, tomorrow I need to...

As we entered the class, my eyes landed on a girl with light hazel hair. She seemed a little lost. Perhaps because her best friend Ashida had disappeared without a word at the start of lunch. When they reunited, the corners of her mouth curved up slightly. But it was nothing compared to her usual smile. She was still feeling down.

...I need to set things right.