The next evening, Sakura Airi returned to the dorm. After showering, she habitually opened the private messages in her blog dashboard.
The moment her finger tapped the screen, Sakura's body stiffened.
A new message sat on the screen, cold and slick with a revolting, oily menace.
"Shizuku-chan, you haven't been very good these past few days. There's someone new by your side who shouldn't be there. Did you think finding a few companions would help you find me? Heh... How naive."
"Uncle is very disappointed in you. I didn't want to break the secret that only the two of us know. After all, what a wonderful thrill it is to be the only one who knows the real 'Shizuku-chan'..."
"But if you keep letting those filthy eyes get close to you, close to my secret, I'll have no choice but to make a painful decision."
"You know what will happen, Airi-chan. If your real identity, 'Shizuku,' is exposed on the school intranet and forums, you know what the consequences will be, don't you? Will you still be able to keep your peaceful school life?"
"Behave yourself. My love is mine alone. Don't make me destroy this secret."
Sakura Airi stared at the words on the screen, her mind going completely blank. The courage and trust she had only just managed to build were utterly crushed in that moment.
He didn't just know she had asked Ichinose for help; he even knew they were investigating his "territory." He was more terrifying—and closer—than they had imagined.
He knew everything.
Fear surged over Sakura Airi like a rising tide, drowning her completely. She trembled, unable even to grip her terminal. She knew this threatening message wasn't a joke. If her idol identity were exposed within the school, her life would fall apart completely.
Her first instinct was to run. She needed the voice that made her feel safe.
Sakura Airi didn't hesitate. She immediately called that number—Natsukawa Sosuke.
Those last two sentences were devastating to Sakura. They struck directly at her deepest weakness: her fear of being watched. Having her identity exposed would not only affect her career; in this enclosed school, it would strip away the protection of her ordinary life and make her the center of everyone's attention.
The phone was answered before it had rung twice.
"Hello, Sakura?" Natsukawa's voice was as steady as ever, without a trace of panic or surprise, as if he had expected her call.
"N-Natsukawa!" Fear tore through Sakura Airi's voice, leaving it thick with tears. "He... he messaged me again... He knows Ichinose is helping me... He said if I keep investigating, he'll... he'll expose my... those photos and everything about me..."
Her breathing was ragged. Each word came with a hurried gasp, broken and uneven.
"Don't panic, Sakura." Natsukawa's voice came clearly through the terminal, carrying a strength that could pull someone out of a panic. "Take a deep breath. Where are you now?"
"I-I'm in the dorm..."
"All right, listen to me." Natsukawa's tone softened, but there was an unmistakable steadiness to it. "First, lock your door. Then take a screenshot of that private message and send it to me."
Sakura Airi followed each instruction, mechanically locking the door before using trembling fingers to take a screenshot and send it to Natsukawa.
About thirty seconds later, Natsukawa spoke again.
"I've seen it."
"Sakura, what you and Ichinose have done these past two days has been very effective." He started by acknowledging her efforts, giving her confidence.
"He didn't send that message to expose you. He sent it to stop you from investigating." Natsukawa dissected the stalker's motives with precision. "Having your fear and secret all to himself satisfies him more than the brief commotion of exposing you. He needs you to keep cowering in the shadows and accept his surveillance."
"That means we're on the right track. We've already trespassed into his territory. Your actions have made him feel seriously threatened."
Sakura Airi sobbed on the other end of the phone. Guided by Natsukawa, the reason she had nearly lost to fear slowly began to gather itself together again.
"But..." Sakura's voice quavered. "If I keep going... he really will... post those photos on the forum..."
She could already picture it: everyone staring at her with mocking, disgusted eyes, watching her freeze with fear, watching her cower in a corner and tremble in shame. That was more terrifying than any punishment.
Natsukawa didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked her a question, his voice gentle but full of guiding strength.
"Sakura, we have two choices now."
"Choice one: you stop now. You don't investigate anymore, and you don't let me or Ichinose get involved."
"The consequence is that he'll be sure you'll submit as long as he threatens to expose you. After that, he'll frighten you more often and more viciously to get the satisfaction he wants. He'll control your life like a puppeteer, keeping you forever within his sight."
"Choice two: we keep investigating, risk him exposing you, and drag this lurker out of the shadows."
"The consequence is that your life may become very difficult for a while. You'll have to face the thing you fear most—being watched by many people and enduring their strange looks. But once we catch him, you'll be free of the threat hanging over you and finally gain true freedom."
Natsukawa slowed his voice, each word striking home in Sakura's mind.
"I won't make this decision for you, Sakura." He gave the choice back to her, with complete respect. "I'm not the one who has to bear the cost. You are. So you need to think it through for yourself."
"Are you willing to hand your future over to him forever, or endure a little pain in exchange for your true freedom?"
Silence fell on the other end of the call, stretching on and on.
Sakura Airi clutched her terminal tightly and buried her face in her knees. A violent storm raged within her. She wanted to hide, to return to that corner where no one knew who she was. But Natsukawa's words were like a thorn embedded in her heart, making it impossible for her to keep running away.
To live forever under his watch.
To endure a little pain in exchange for true freedom.
In the end, the humiliation of being constantly watched and the helplessness of being controlled overcame her fear of losing her ordinary life if she were exposed. She couldn't let that person use her weakness to enslave her forever. She had already taken the first step toward changing herself. She couldn't go back now.
Sakura Airi suddenly raised her head. A glimmer of determination flashed in her red, swollen eyes.
"Natsukawa..." Her voice still sounded nasal, but it no longer trembled. Each word came out clearly and slowly.
"I..."
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