That Time I Ran Into a Stalker in the Corner of the School

The morning sun filtered through the window of Room 403, spilling across the face of Sosuke Natsukawa. He opened his eyes slowly, his mind immediately flooded with the final function module he had completed the night before. The sensation was extraordinary—knowledge of programming felt like an instinct he had mastered long ago, and the muscle memory in his fingertips as they danced across the keyboard was so natural, it felt as if he had been coding for years.

"System-granted divinity, kid," Sosuke muttered to himself as he slowly sat up. "Though, while the system can provide direct access to knowledge, the mindset required to solve problems still has to be honed by oneself over time."

It was Sunday, and nearly a week had passed since the entrance ceremony. During this week, Sosuke had listened attentively in class, and after school, he had continuously refined his forum data-scraping program. As he had expected, the classroom atmosphere in Class D was plummeting toward the horizon like a rocket, a bizarre spectacle of chaotic, unbridled "vitality."

On the first day of school, everyone had still been putting on an act, taking notes. But as the days passed in peace, more and more people began to let their guard down. Kanji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi, sitting in the front rows, had already started secretly trading manga during class—and, of course, occasionally playing on their new handheld consoles. Students in the middle rows boldly played with their phones under their desks, while the girls shared daily gossip via chat apps. Even Yosuke Hirata, who usually carried himself with propriety, had been caught by Sosuke dozing off during Thursday's math class.

"Truly blinded by this false paradise," Sosuke thought, recalling how even their homeroom teacher, Chabashira, had turned a blind eye to students sleeping openly in the back during Friday's history class, simply droning on from the textbook as if completing a chore unrelated to her.

Today was Sunday, with no classes scheduled. Sosuke had holed up in his dorm all day yesterday, so it was time to head out and clear his head; he had no intention of going bald by the age of thirty. After washing up and changing into casual clothes, he decided to wander around the campus aimlessly, letting his feet take him where they would.

In the April campus, the cherry blossoms had begun to fall, pink and white petals dancing in the wind and carpeting both sides of the walkway. Sosuke walked without a destination, letting his thoughts drift. He thought of that twenty-million-yen debt, the capabilities and limitations of the system, and the "old faces" he had met this week—Ayanokoji with his perpetual dead-fish eyes, the cold and aloof Horikita, the sunny and cheerful "cherry bomb" Kushida, and that girl he had met at the electronics store, Sakura Airi, who always kept her head bowed.

"Sakura is so cute~ᕕ(◠ڼ◠)ᕗ"

As Sosuke was lost in thought, his footsteps had unknowingly led him to a relatively secluded area. The buildings here looked aged, appearing as if they had been abandoned long ago.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, his peripheral vision caught a hint of unusual movement—behind a nearby bush, a figure was crouching with their back to him, peering furtively toward the direction of the abandoned school building.

Sosuke's instinct was to avoid trouble; after all, he didn't want to approach some random, inexplicable person. But the person's muttering made him freeze in his tracks.

"Shizuku-chan... Shizuku-chan... Shizuku-chan..."

The voice was low and fanatical, repeating the same name over and over again.

Sosuke's heart skipped a beat—wasn't that the stage name Sakura Airi used as a gravure model? He immediately realized the gravity of the situation: had Sakura's idol identity been discovered by a crazed fan?

He quietly moved behind a tree and looked in the direction the person was staring—it was indeed that abandoned school building. Sosuke guessed that Sakura had likely accidentally included the building in the background while taking photos there, exposing her location and allowing a fan from this school to track her down.

"WTF, doxxed."

Sosuke muttered under his breath. He decided not to alert the fanatic, but instead to circle around to the other side of the building and find a way inside to check on the situation.

Walking along the perimeter wall, Sosuke found a half-open window. After checking left and right to ensure no one was watching, he braced his hands on the frame, kicked off the ground, and swung his legs, vaulting inside with ease. The interior was dim, the air thick with the smell of dust, clearly unused for a long time.

Sosuke walked softly down the hallway, trying to find traces of Sakura. Just as he turned a corner—

"Eek!" A short, sharp cry rang out.

Sakura Airi stood at the corner, a look of visible panic on her face. She was wearing an oversized jacket, but the edges of a swimsuit were vaguely visible underneath. Her face still bore traces of makeup she hadn't fully removed, and her hair was slightly messy, with a few strands clinging to her flushed, terrified cheeks. Those large eyes hidden behind her glasses were wide open, like a startled deer.

"S-sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" Sosuke quickly raised his hands to show he meant no harm. "I'm Natsukawa, from Class D. We met at the electronics store before. There's a suspicious person outside constantly muttering 'Shizuku-chan,' and I was worried someone might be in danger from a stalker, so I came in to check."

Sakura first stumbled back two steps, her hands clutching the front of her jacket so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her legs trembled slightly, looking as if she might bolt at any moment. But when she recognized Sosuke, her tense body relaxed just a fraction, though she likely didn't even realize it herself. However, once she realized her current situation, the girl's cheeks turned bright red, like a ripe apple.

"Na-Natsukawa-kun..." Her voice was as thin as a mosquito's hum, her eyes darting around, never daring to meet his gaze.

Sosuke noticed her shoulders trembling slightly; she was clearly quite shaken. He kept a safe distance and said in a gentle tone, "So you really are Shizuku-chan. It's nice to meet you, even if the way I found out your name wasn't exactly formal."

"No... my name is... Sakura... Airi. Shizuku... Shizuku is my stage name."

"Oh, my bad. Sakura-san, it's nice to meet you. Using a stage name... are you a celebrity?"

"No... not really, just a blog idol who posts photos online sometimes."

"That's still impressive. I never expected Sakura-san to have such an amazing side to her."

"No... it's nothing like that."

"Why have you been staying in this place, Sakura-san?"

"I, I had some photos I needed to take outside, but when I walked to the entrance, I suddenly felt like I was being watched by a very uncomfortable gaze... so I didn't dare go out."

Sosuke noticed her shoulders trembling again; she had clearly been terrified just moments ago. He maintained a safe distance and said gently, "Your instincts were right. There is indeed someone outside who looks like a crazed fan of yours. Let's not rush out; we'll wait here for a while. Maybe they'll leave if they can't find you."

Sakura nodded softly and carefully sat down against the wall. Sosuke also kept his distance and sat opposite her, avoiding any pressure.

"Why did Natsukawa-kun come here?" Sakura asked in a small voice after a while.

"I was just wandering around, taking a walk to clear my head," Sosuke smiled. "After coding for so long, my brain needs a break. I didn't expect to end up in such a secluded place."

"Co-coding?" Sakura looked up slightly, a flicker of curiosity in her eyes, but she quickly looked down again.

"Yeah, it's just a little hobby of mine," Sosuke didn't explain further, instead asking, "Do you come here to take photos often?"

Sakura nodded gently: "Here... very few people come, so it's perfect for taking... photos where I won't be recognized." Her fingers unconsciously twisted a strand of her red hair into circles. "But today, while I was taking photos, I had a bad feeling..."

"Being an idol isn't easy," Sosuke sighed. "You have to constantly be careful to hide your identity from fans to avoid real-life encounters."

Sakura kept her head down: "Na... Natsukawa-kun, can you keep this secret for me? I don't want too many people to know about this. Especially my classmates... if they knew I was 'Shizuku'..."

"Are you worried that everyone will look at you differently?"

Sakura was silent for a moment, then gave a soft "Mm."

"Don't worry, Sakura-san," Sosuke paused. "I promise you, I will never tell anyone."

"This is your personal privacy, after all."

"And if you don't want me to bring it up again, I can act like none of this ever happened. Of course, if you ever need help or just want someone to talk to, I'm always here."

Sakura looked up, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately swallowed her words and just kept her head bowed in silence.

The two chatted for a while longer, and Sosuke noticed that Sakura's state was gradually relaxing. Although her speech was still intermittent, she was at least able to express her thoughts relatively fluently. This was already a huge improvement compared to the time at the electronics store when she could barely speak at all.

"It's about time; we should figure out how to get out of here." Sosuke stood up and looked at the sunlight outside. He brushed the dust off his pants. "That fan might have left by now, but we should still be careful."