Good Friends

Hasebe and Sakura arrived at the west side of the third floor of the club activities building as planned.

The stairwell on the west side of the third floor was originally piled high with cardboard boxes, blocking the way. In other words, this floor could only be accessed via the eastern staircase, and anyone who appeared in the empty hallway would be clearly visible. That was also why Hoshino had chosen this location.

"This is the place, right?"

"Mm... Hoshino has already confirmed that the 'reply letter' left in the shoe locker this morning has been taken. Once that person sees what's in it, he'll definitely come."

"Tch, why go through so much trouble for a pervert like that? Why not just have people lie in wait and grab him when he shows up?"

"But that might leave us without conclusive evidence," Sakura explained softly. "Only solid evidence can bring him to justice. That's..."

"That's what Hoshino said, right?" Hasebe interrupted with a smile. "Well, well. Airi keeps bringing up 'Hoshino' these days."

"Mm..." Sakura caught the teasing in her friend's voice, and her cheeks reddened slightly.

The two chatted and laughed, easing their tension and fear. Yet even as they talked, neither of them relaxed their vigilance, keeping their eyes fixed on the other end of the hallway.

There were still twenty minutes until the time arranged in the "reply letter," but there was no telling whether that person might arrive early.

"...He's here!"

At Hasebe's low cry, both girls tensed up.

A person came up from the distant stairs and entered the third-floor hallway. He was a man around thirty, of average build, wearing a dark plaid shirt and jeans. His somewhat long hair was slightly curly, hanging in greasy strands as though the styling had gone badly wrong.

Even from across the long corridor, he spotted Sakura and Hasebe. He immediately quickened his pace and headed toward them.

Hasebe and Sakura clutched each other's arms tightly and glared at the man. When they were about ten meters apart, Hasebe shouted, "Hey! Who are you?"

Holding her friend's hand and feeling the warmth from her palm, Sakura found a surge of courage rising within her. She stared hard at the man, then suddenly cried out, "It was you! I remember you!"

Hasebe hurriedly turned her head. "Airi, do you know who he is?"

"I recognize him." Sakura nodded. "He's a clerk at the electronics store in Keyaki Mall. He was the one who helped me when I bought a digital camera there before."

The man stopped in his tracks. He stood where he was, leaning his head slightly forward, his eyes beneath his bangs staring fixedly at Sakura.

"Ah~~~ Shizuku, I've finally seen you again! I like you so much... I've liked you ever since I first saw you in a magazine... Then we met again at this school! I recognized you the moment I saw you! This is simply fate!"

He spoke unclearly, a chilling smile spreading across his lips.

"What fate? There's no such thing! What a joke. If there's something wrong with your head, go see a doctor instead of having a fit here!"

Hasebe shouted angrily. At last, the man's gaze shifted away from Sakura and rested briefly on Hasebe.

"Who are you? What nonsense are you talking about? What do you know about Shizuku and me?"

"I'm Airi's best friend!" Hasebe yelled. "Everything you said is nothing but your own delusion! Airi could never like you, because you're just a disgusting, perverted stalker!"

For a moment, the man seemed stunned. But then Hasebe heard a grating sound of teeth grinding.

His eyes glinted red as he spoke with a vicious expression. "I understand... You're getting in the way of my love with Shizuku..."

"I-I don't like you!" Sakura abruptly stepped forward, placing herself in front of Hasebe. One hand still held her friend's, while the other pulled out a stack of items from her bag—letters. There were more than a dozen of them. Since receiving the first one a few days ago, she had received several like them every day.

"Why did you send me things like this?! How did you know my... my class, and my shoe locker?!" Sakura shouted emotionally. "You were the one leaving those messages online too, weren't you? Why are you doing this?"

"Of course it's because I love you..."

"Please stop doing this! You're really troubling me!"

As if she wanted to completely reject the man's one-sided feelings, Sakura forcefully threw the letters at him. The colorful envelopes scattered through the air before finally falling at his feet.

Over these past days, the online messages and letters she had received had become a heavy burden on her heart. They had even turned into nightmares that jolted her awake from sleep again and again.

But with that throw, it felt as though poison had been squeezed from an infected sore. All at once, she felt much lighter.

"...No! How could you do this... I'll make you understand my true feelings..."

"N-No, don't come any closer!"

The man suddenly lunged forward, rapidly closing the distance between himself and the two girls—

"Alright, that's far enough."

A voice suddenly rang out. Sakura only felt something like a gust of wind brush past her, followed by a heavy impact and a shrill cry of pain.

"Aki?"

"H-Hoshino?"

"Ladies," Hoshino said with a smile as he lowered his kicking leg and turned back to them, "it's all over now. You did well."

"Hoshino... Were you guarding us nearby the whole time?"

"I was hiding among that pile of cardboard boxes. We were trying to lure this pervert out, but there was no way I'd let you actually get hurt." Hoshino smiled. "The whole thing was recorded, and that's more than enough evidence. He's been stalking and harassing a female student for a long time, and now he even tried to attack her. Losing his job won't be the only consequence for him."

Hasebe glared at the man. Hoshino had suddenly appeared and kicked him squarely in the chest while he charged forward. The intense pain had affected his breathing, and he was now sitting against the wall to one side, gasping heavily.

"That's great, Airi. Now this pervert won't be able to keep bothering you anymore."

"Yeah... That's great..."

Sakura answered. The burden she had carried for so long had suddenly vanished, and her body slackened. Her legs felt weak, and she was about to collapse to the floor when two hands caught her arms from either side and supported her.

"Are you okay, Airi?" Hasebe looked at her worriedly.

"I-I'm fine... It's just that the excitement from before has worn off, and I don't have much strength left..."

In truth, Hasebe was not much better off than Sakura. Most of Sakura's weight was now resting against Hoshino, and Hasebe was still holding Sakura's arm only because of some complicated feelings.

Maybe... I should just let go? Hasebe let out a breath and quietly released Sakura's arm.

But the next moment, Sakura grabbed her arm again. "Kaka, thank you. It was only because you were here that I could say those things to him."

Hasebe froze for a moment, then a smile slowly blossomed across her face. "You're welcome, Airi. We're good friends."