“Gimme some tits to squeeze!” Matsuda wailed. I leaned over to comfort him as we finished the last film of our erotic DVD marathon.
Arriving at Matsuda’s place after school, we happily began feasting on those forbidden delights. However, as the disks started piling up, our excitement cooled. My friends and I started asking ourselves why we were still single. The only thing that did was make us feel miserable; Matsuda had been crying nonstop for three whole videos now.
Motohama was pretending to keep his cool, but he couldn’t hide the tears welling up behind his glasses. Half an hour earlier, Motohama had murmured under his breath: “You know, a while back, a girl asked me to meet her behind the school gym… That was the first time I’d ever been mugged…”
Even I felt like shedding tears hearing such an awful tale. Why on earth were the three of us getting so depressed watching a bunch of dirty videos?
No, I know the reason.
It was because we were so unpopular. Dammit. Knowing there were guys my age making passionate love to girls right this very moment filled me with hate for the injustices of the world. As those dark thoughts swirled about in my mind, the last film came to an end. The sun had long since set.
When I glanced at my watch, I realized it was already ten o’clock. I’d told my parents I was going to Matsuda’s place, but they were bound to worry if I didn’t get home soon. It was a school night, after all.
“Well, I’d better head off,” I said. With that, we all rose to our feet and got ready to part ways.
“See ya,” Motohama and I said in unison as we took off.
“What a nice evening. A good night for watching more erotic DVDs…” Motohama sighed heavily as he stared up at the open sky. He must have been feeling pretty down. Regardless, I trusted that he and Matsuda would no doubt return to their usual selves by morning.
“See you tomorrow, then.”
“Yeah. Pleasant dreams, eh?” We parted ways, but Motohama seemed lifeless and sapped as he waved good-bye.
Maybe I’ll send him a text later to see how he’s doing.
A few minutes later, on the road home, my newfound nocturnal vigor began to surge. That strange nighttime force had struck again.
Yep, there was definitely something wrong with me. There was no way this could be normal. My eyes sharpened, and my senses were more finely attuned to my surroundings. My vision and hearing grew so sensitive that I could see clearly through the dark of night and even make out conversations going on in nearby houses.
Seriously! Being able to see down unlit streets with no problem is weird, right? I felt like whatever was happening to me was getting stronger by the day.
This was definitely more than my imagination. I mean, the chills coursing through my body were the real deal!
I had felt someone watching me for a while now. Some cold gaze had locked onto me. A foreboding aura hung over the path ahead. My body was trembling more and more by the second.
The source of my discomfort was a man dressed in a suit who was staring at me. It was closer to sneering, actually. If I had met his gaze head-on, I probably would’ve been too scared to move. I’d heard people talk about stuff like murder in the eyes before, but was this what they meant?
I could definitely feel his hostility. No, it was more dangerous than that. This suit bastard was out to hurt me! The man stepped toward me, silent and sure. There was no mistaking it; he was coming right for me!
Is he a slasher?! Something worse?! This is bad! Seriously, I couldn’t stop shaking! Why did I have to come paths with some psycho on my way home?!
“What checkered luck to meet one like you in a no-name town like this.”
………?
Huh? What is he talking about? No, it’s irrational to expect a psychopath to make any sense. Yeah, it was pretty safe to say I was in trouble! What was I going to do if he pulled out a knife or something?! I didn’t know any kind of self-defense. I’d never even been in a fight before!
That’s when I remembered that my strength powered up at night! That was it! I could make my escape! Taking a step backward, I tried to put some distance between us, but the menacing figure in the suit began quickly closing the gap.
“Trying to turn tail? Who is your master? Must be low-ranked to choose a place like this. What’s their game? Tell me, who is it?”
I didn’t have the faintest idea what the hell he was even talking about! With a sudden lurch, I took off at full speed, heading back the way I had come. I was fast, insanely fast. This might sound like a weird thing to say about yourself, but my legs were downright superhuman.
I tore through the darkness, turning down one unfamiliar street after the next. Strangely, I wasn’t out of breath. That being the case, I decided to keep going until I was sure the suit guy wouldn’t be able to follow. After about fifteen minutes, I found myself in a wide-open area: a park.
I slowed my pace to a normal walking speed and approached the nearby fountain to take a short rest. Glancing around, a curious thought caught me as I stood in the pale illumination of the streetlights.
I know this place…
This was the spot from my dreams—the place I went with Yuuma at the end of our date! I really needed to get ahold of myself. Was this a coincidence? A miracle? Had I brought myself here subconsciously? No way.
A deathly chill shot down my spine. There was someone behind me… I could feel it.
I turned around slowly, and a jet-black feather fluttered down in front me. Was it a crow?
“Did you think you could escape? You inferior creatures can be such pests.” The suited prick from before was back, this time with huge black wings sprouting out of his back.