"He keeps popping out of nowhere!" Renjiro cried out in frustration, running both hands through his hair until it became a complete mess. He looked as though he had reached the very limit of his little patience.
"No matter how hard I try to hide from him, somehow he's always able to find me! It's like he has some kind of tracking device attached to me or something! And his fan club is even in on it!"
He hugged himself tightly, his shoulders trembling as eyes glinted with exaggerated terror. He slowly glanced around the room as though expecting someone to suddenly emerge from behind of the walls.
"It's like I'm being chased by a bad spirit," he muttered darkly. Then his expression grew even more horrified as another thought crossed his mind. "No... maybe a demon...! A demon disguising behind that pretty face!" he turned toward Sato with a look of complete despair.
"I don't know what to do anymore, Hirota. I'm telling you I'm cursed."
Sato, who was sitting across from him, could only stare for a moment. He had listened quietly to Renjiro's increasingly dramatic complaints, and although the whole situation sounded somewhat unbelievable, he could clearly see that his friend was genuinely distressed. The sympathetic look on his face softened as he rested hands on the table.
"That's tough, Koizumi-kun," Sato said apologetically. "I didn't know Saito-senpai was giving you such a hard time. I'm sorry."
Renjiro let out a long sigh and leaned back in his seat. "You don't have to apologize to me, Hirota. It's not like you're the one summoning that crazy bastard every time I turn around." he paused, rubbing temples as if merely thinking about Masato was enough to give him a headache.
"Besides, I've still been able to get away from him somehow. So far."
His expression suddenly became serious. "And if he ever plans to do something to me again..."
Sato blinked.
[??]
Renjiro reached into his bag, rummaging through its contents for several seconds before triumphantly pulling out a small pepper spray. He held it up between them with almost proud smug look on his face.
"I came prepared," he declared. "Just in case he tried to kidnap me again."
"Kidnap you?!" Sato immediately perked up, his eyes widening in alarm. His entire body stiffened as he leaned forward.
"Don't worry, don't worry," Renjiro quickly said, waving one hand dismissively while still holding the pepper spray in the other. "I was able to get out of his car completely unscathed."
Sato's expression remained frozen. "Did he do anything to you?"
"Well, technically... something did happen." Renjiro trailed off before frowning. "What he told me really caught me off guard, that's for sure."
"But other than that, nothing dangerous happened!" he insisted, raising both hands defensively. "We only circled around the campus, which was honestly kind of weird. I seriously thought he was taking me somewhere far away or planning to bury me in some random forest."
Sato's brows furrowed deeply with worry. That explanation did absolutely nothing to make him feel better. If anything, it only made the entire situation sound more confusing.
He wanted to ask what was truly going on between Renjiro and Masato. Considering the upperclassman's unusually interested in him.
However, Sato hesitated to pry too much and he didn't want his questions to make him feel more pressured. And what could he really do to help a friend.
"Seriously, he's like a stalker," Renjiro complained again, slumping forward and dropping his head dramatically onto the table. "No, he's worse than a stalker!"
He continued, lifting his head just enough to glare into the distance As if demonstrating his point, he suddenly whipped his head around to look behind him. There was no one there. Then slowly turned back. "See? He's already getting into my head."
Sato pressed his lips together as Renjiro kept ranting while he listened intently, occasionally nodding whenever appropriate.
"My peaceful days is ruined because of that guy," Renjiro said dramatically, gripping the pepper spray as though it were his final weapon against evil. "Next time I see him haunting me, I'll surely spray this to him.
"I shouldn't trust anyone even in this room." Renjiro added with narrowed eyes, "Who knows. Maybe one of those girls is a spy he sent here."
Later that day, Renjiro made his way down the crowded school corridor with an unusual amount of caution. Students hurried past him from every direction, their voices blending into the usual morning commotion, but Renjiro barely paid attention to any of it.
His eyes constantly darted from one corner to another, scanning the hallway as though he were navigating a battlefield rather than simply walking to class. He kept his posture tense and alert, occasionally glancing behind him to make sure no one was following.
Every student who passed by earned a brief suspicious look, as if he were trying to determine whether they had been sent by a certain troublesome senior.
The bizarre action of Masato had clearly left him more paranoid than he cared to admit. Renjiro checked the corridor ahead, then the side passages, and finally glanced over his shoulder one last time. When he was finally convinced that the coast was clear, he released a quiet breath of relief and allowed his body to relax.
It doesn't look like he's here anywhere. We'll, that's good. I can at least have a peaceful day all to myself.
[...]
I wonder what I should do? Maybe I can read manga in the garden. But I need to find a quiet place, somewhere that guy won't find so easily.
As Renjiro became so absorbed in his thoughts, he failed to notice someone approaching from directly ahead.
"Oi~~!"
A familiar, cheerful voice suddenly rang out.
"Oi, Koizumi-kun!"
Renjiro froze as his eyes widened. Slowly lifting a head and standing directly in front of him was the last person he wanted to see that morning.
"Found you~" Masato said wearing that same dazzling smile, though an unsettling madness gleamed across his eyes.
"AUGHHHHH!"
Renjiro jolted backward so violently. And stepped several inches away from the boy as he felt an unhinged sensation crept down his spine.
"What are you doing here?! You demon!"
Reenjiro shouted at the sight of Masato, his eyes widening in utter horror as he hurriedly fumbled through his bag and pulled out his trusty pepper spray. With both hands gripping the small weapon, he pointed it directly at the approaching upperclassman, keeping his finger poised over the trigger as though his life depended on it.
Of course, pepper spray was hardly the ideal weapon to use against a demon, but considering the limited options available to him at such short notice, he would have to make do with what he had.
I knew I should've bought some salt instead! Renjiro thought bitterly, silently regretting his purchase.
But that doesn't mean pepper spray won't work on him, right? Maybe this stuff will burn his eyes and send him straight back to hell!
He tightened his grip on the canister, desperately trying to convince himself that he stood a chance against the terrifying upperclassman.
Meanwhile, Masato merely responded with a pleasant smile, seeminly amused by Renjiro's over the top reaction. In fact, the more desperately the boy tried to avoid him, the more entertaining Masato found the situation.
There was something undeniably amusing about watching Renjiro scramble about to escape whenever he appeared. And an irresistible temptation to tease him a little further often surge over... If that meant cornering the underclassman whenever the opportunity presented itself, then so be it.
After all, Masato had never been particularly bothered by Renjiro's attempts to avoid him.
"Aww, come now," Masato coaxed, voice soft and breathy as he raised his hands slightly in a gesture of peace.
His smile never wavered, and he seemed entirely unbothered by the pepper spray pointed at him. "I only came here to talk with you. I want us to be friends."
"Friends?!" Renjiro repeated incredulously, his expression twisting into disbelief. "You want me to help you get together with Yugen! And act like a stalker, that's not the same thing, senpai!"
"Hmm..." Masato tilted his head thoughtfully, as though considering the boy's argument. "True. It's because you kept running away from me. That hurts me, y'know. I swear, I don't bite, Koizumi-kun."
He regarded Renjiro with a curious glint in his eyes, almost as if he were conducting a little experiment to see how Renjiro would react to his words. Perhaps he just want to tease him that much.
Don't bite, my ass...! For all we know, he could be planning something behind that creepy smile of his!
Renjiro crossed his arms tigtly over his chest and turned his head away with an exaggerated huff. He had absolutely no intention of entertaining whatever ridiculous excuse Masato was about to offer.
"I already turned you down. Isn't that enough?" he grumbled, refusing to meet the senior's eyes.
"The least you could do is find a way for your feelings to reach the person you like, if you're really that desperate to be noticed. You should just focus on that instead of bothering me all the time. You'll be just fine, senpai."
"Oh, can I take that as advice?" Masato's smile widened a fraction.
Renjiro immediately froze.
[?!]
"Take it however you want. The fact is, I don't know your real intention for approaching me all of sudden, but this got to stop."
"..."
"What do you think people will think if they see you stalking a junior nobody like me? You wouldn't want a rumor to go around right?"
"As I thought," Masato chuckled lowly, "you really are worried about me. huh? I'm touched."
"I don't care about you at all! Not at all!" Renjiro barked back in full denial.
For a moment, his mind went completely blank. He hadn't expected Masato to respond that way, much less sound as though he genuinely intended to take his words to heart.
Slowly, Renjiro flicked his eyelashes and stole a cautious glance at Masato, only to find him still wearing that infuriatingly charming smile as always. Something about it made his instincts scream to get away before the situation became even more troublesome.
"Anyway, as you can see I'm busy. So I really can't help you, senpai."
Please let this be the last time I have to deal with him...!
Without making his intentions too obvious, Renjiro shifted sideways, carefully putting some distance between himself and Masato. He kept his eyes fixed on the boy, ready to bold the moment he sense Masato moving closer.
One small step to the side became anotherm and another, until he had quietly maneuvered himself into a position where he could make a quick escape.
"You're trying to escape again, aren't you Koizumi-kun?"
"S-So what if I am? I have class to attend to... Begone you demon!"
"Demon?"
"And what I said just now wasn't an advice, moron!" he snapped at last.
Without warning, Renjiro spun on his heel and sprinted down the hallway as fast as his legs could carry him.
I need to get away from here!
He didn't even bother looking back. All he wanted was to put as much distance as possible between him and that devilishly persistent upperclassman. He raced past classroom doors and hurried around other students, shoes squeaking against the polished floor as he searched desperately for somewhere to hide.
Perhaps as empty classroom would do, or maybe the library. Anywhere would be fine, as long as Masato couldn't find him.
For a brief glorious moment, Renjiro allowed himself to relax in relief. Then driven by an inexplicable sense of dread, he glanced over his shoulder...
And there Masato was, running after him.
Not only that, he was somehow managing to keep pace with him at full speed, his expression suggesting that he was enjoying this little chase far more than any normal person should.
The sight was enough to send Renjiro's soul practically leaping out of his body.
"AAAAAAUUGGGHHHHHHH!!!"
Renjiro screamed at the top of his lungs, pouring every ounce of terror and frustration into the sound as he ran even faster.
His arms pumped wildly at his sides, and eyes widened until they nearly resembled those of a frightened animal fleeing from a predator's radar.
WHY IS HE CHASING ME NOW?!
His mind was in complete disarray. All Renjiro knew was that if he stopped running—even slowed down for a second—his fate would be sealed.
"Stop following me, you demon!" he shouted over his shoulder, his voice echoing throughout the hallway.
"Not until you stop running away from me!" Masato called back.
"You idiot! That's exactly why I'm running away from you! I don't want to talk to you, and I definitely don't want to be your friend!"
"Koizumi-kun, stop...!"
"NO. LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Renjiro refused to listen. At this point, he couldn't care less about where his feet were taking him. He didn't care if he ended up on the opposite side of the academy, ran straight into a dead end, or accidentally stumbled into a faculty meeting. His only priority was to escape Masato's terrifying presence.
He continued sprinting down the corridor, his eyes squeezed shut as he screamed his protests at the top of his lungs, completely oblivious to the bewildered students and teachers who might be wandering nearby.
Unfortunately, running with eyes closed was not exactly the wisest decision. Just as Renjiro approached a corner, he abruptly turned without checking whether anyone was coming from the opposite direction.
THUD!
"Oof!"
He collided headfirst with someone, the impact sending him stumbling backward before he landed squarely on his bottom. Briefly, he could only sit there, stunned, hands braced against the floor as a sharp ache spread through his backside.
"Ouch..." he whimpered, rubbing the sore spot as he tried to gather his scattered thoughts.
Thankfully, the sudden collision had done what nothing else could: it finally snapped him out of his panic.
Renjiro blinked several times, slowly lifting his head to see who had been unfortunate enough to cross his path. And there standing right in front of him, was none other than Yugen.
"Renjiro, what are you doing running around the hallway?" Yugen asked, his voice firm with a hint of confusion as he looked down at the disheveled boy sitting on the floor.
Renjiro's eyes immediately lit up. "Yugen!"
He scrambled to his feet so quickly that one might have thought he had never fallen in the first place. Ignoring the lingering pain in his backside, he hurriedly grabbed Yugen by the arms, looking up at him with wide pleading eyes. His expression was practically that of a frightened puppy begging its owner for protection.