Realistic or Modern The Paranormal Investigation Club's Daily Activities

[takki]

I tried to escape by attempting to unlock the door, but my effort was futile. As it turned out, the door wasn't even locked. It was as if, it was fully stuck to that place, as if the hinges suddenly disappeared, making the door immovable. "You can't resist here, Hiroshi-kun," said Mizuki, fiddling with her hair in a circular motion. Her voice sounded calm and and carefree as if this was something she'd done multiple times before. "You're inside the store, and this store is my space. I can control what's inside my space, so escaping is practically useless. If I were you, I'd rather sit down, relax, and have ourselves a good cup of coffee before your friends come here and ruin our little date." I regretted going alone. If I was going to die because I was practically disobedient and ignored what Maika said, then whatever should happen next would be my responsibility.

I shouldn't have came here alone.

Realizing that I have no power over her, I sat back down in front of her and relaxed, just a little bit. The best I can do right now is to gather information. "How did you know about us? I haven't seen you before, and I doubt anyone knew who you are." As I asked the question, I realized that the last part that I said was wrong. Maika knew who she was, and she was being careful of her. "If I can only tell you how dangerous she is without endangering myself and others, then I would've done so a thousand times before!" Her words echoed my mind. What did Mizuki do in the past that made Maika terrified of her?

"Well, I'm a stalker. Of course I'd know you five," She said, though there was an undertone that said, "That's obvious. What else could I be doing?" Mizuki continued talking. "I hide my presence and take note of what you're doing. I started doing it since last year." My eyes widened. Last year?! "You've been stalking me for that long? I wasn't even awake at that time, and I was still in middle school! Why did you that anyway, in the first place?" I complained. Mizuki responded. "Because that's what I'm supposed to be doing." The answer that she gave me didn't help me at all. My instinct was telling me to forget asking the question once more as it would only serve to waste time.

If she's human, her power is dangerous. No wonder Maika's scared of her. Making a space of matter her own and control everything in its vicinity. However, I still don't understand why she's attacking us if she's ever human. She claims she's human, but I don't believe her. "To add, reading the books inside your clubroom is helpful. The ones inside the cabinet, specifically." I ignored what she said, but I'll remember that just in case.

This girl was answering me plainly and honestly, at least that's what it sounded to me, yet I still didn't trust her. Even if what she's saying were lies, I don't have a solid confirmation that they really were lies. It's better to remember what she's saying, as they might be useful in the long run. I still have a lot of follow-up questions for her but... "Oh-- Seems like we're out of time. Here are my last words for today, but let me reintroduce myself first." She smiled, then she stood up from her seat as that playful smile was still visible in her face. Her long dark green hair started to levitate and the bright convenience store lights flickered. "My name is Mitsumine Mizuki, and I'm a half." A half? What did she mean by that? I already knew the answer, but I couldn't believe if it was possible. How does one become a half-demon if they were originally human before? "There is one girl in your club that I consider as an enemy. I consider everyone other than her as an ally. It's up to you if you'll be cooperative but if I were you, for the sake of everyone, for the sake of the whole world, I'll be obedient."

There are only three girls in our club. Maika, Sylvia, and Aiko. One of them is her enemy, and that's got to be none other than Maika. I was sure of it, since she's the only female in our club that has a clear connection to Mizuki. Even so, what she's saying is nothing but an illusion to me. She's not going to manipulate me.

"And what if I don't follow you?" I implied. Mizuki had a surprised reaction in her face, which then turned into the same playful smile that she has earlier. "The survival of humanity is at stake, Hiroshi. I wouldn't waste this chance to save it if I were you." Her gaze turned outside of the window. Four of them; Takahashi, Sylvia, Aiko, and Maika were all there. Aiko seemed like she was concentrating, with both her arms extended and palms facing towards the door. Maika shouted, enough for me to hear through the window. "Hiroshi! Away from the door, as fast as you can!" I flinched at the worse possible timing ever, but at the same time my power activated at the best possible timing.

Before I reacted, Mizuki said something to me. "Answering your question earlier, if you won't be cooperative, I'll try to kill--" My power activated before I heard the rest of the sentence.

[My future sight activated. One second. From the corner of my left eye, Mizuki's arm was extended towards the door. All of the objects inside the store vanished, except for the windowed door and me and Mizuki. Two seconds. Something came out of Aiko's hand. A ball of steaming ice was now hurtling towards the door. Three seconds. I heard a loud explosion. Four seconds. My vision turned red. Five seconds. I blacked out. Probably dead.]

After the future sight ended, I immediately ran towards the back of the store. Thankfully, the rear door was unlocked. As soon as I reached for the door handle, a deafening explosion threw me off balance, falling on my stomach, and made my ears rang. As I slowly recovered, I stood up and looked at the door. Fortunately, the explosion didn't seem to hurt me. The smoke and the dust cleared and saw Mizuki rushing towards Aiko. I ran towards my friends impulsively. Takahashi stepped in and formed a forcefield with his power, while Sylvia and Maika stepped beside Aiko to counter Mizuki's attack in case she manages to break the boy's shield.

Instead of attacking, Mizuki jumped on top of the shield and used it like a trampoline to propel her jump towards the rooftop of the tall apartment buildings. And just like that, she disappeared from our sights. "She's... gone." I heard Aiko say in relief as I caught up with the group. When I was about to relax as well, Maika punched me in the stomach so hard I could've puked what I ate last lunch if I wanted it. I reflexively fell on my knees and coughed as my ears rang from the pain circulating my body. One arm was clenching my stomach in hopes of easing the pain while the other supported my chest from falling down. "M-Maika-san! That's going too far!" Aiko said in concern as she approached me. "But he also went too far. If that demon wanted it, she could have killed us in mere seconds. It's even a miracle that she didn't kill us after you exploded her space." After she was done reasoning with Aiko, she stood in front of me.

"You're an idiot. You stupid little-- if we didn't have Aiko-san's Absolute Zero, no one would be able to save you. But if you hadn't gone off without telling anyone in the first place, we shouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place!" She shouted at me as loud as she can. She's absolutely mad at me. I couldn't say anything back and I doubt apologizing would be of any help. I didn't stand up and kept kneeling instead as I thought that I was helpless after I dragged them into something that would cost them their lives. For Aiko and Takahashi, this was the second time they almost died because of me.

"We'll talk later. The police are coming." Sylvia said. I looked at her and stood up and I couldn't look at Maika after what I'd done. It was my fault that I caused this mess, after all. "Hold hands. Don't make a noise. Avoid bumping into anyone." I blindly followed. The ones closest to me were Aiko and Takahashi, thankfully, and we turned invisible. Sylvia's power. The demons disguised as a living human from nearby houses and apartments came out and looked outside of their living spaces to see what caused the explosion. The convenience store and an empty restaurant, both of which had a big hole on their entrance, were on fire. A result of Aiko's destructive power, which was also my fault.

Quietly, we made our way towards school.

---

22:00 | August 23 | Wednesday

As the five of us entered the club room, no one spoke up. Maika and Sylvia needed to talk privately so they went to the storage room, while us three who remain seated on the glass table.

The silence was deafening.

>> Do nothing.

>> (Write-in: Anything related to previous incident.)​

 

[takki]

22:30 | August 23 | Monday

The silence was deafening.

And that silence gave me time to think. While it was already nighttime, none of the people inside the club room, excluding the other two females who were talking in the storage room, had the energy to sleep as ironic as it sounded. Both Aiko and Takahashi were blankly staring at a random direction, their minds probably trying to process what had happened earlier. For Takahashi who was scared of the supernatural, it was a miracle that he kept his calm when they walked from the exploded convenience store until now. Aiko may have been awake for around the same time as Maika, but I doubt that she already had an experience as intense as this.

Sylvia and Maika told me everything, right? I pondered about that thought for once, but I gave myself a reason to doubt myself, and them as well. Are they really saying the truth? And if they are, then is that everything we need to know? So far, we've only been told about the truth of this world, the demons, what happened in the past, our powers, and what we need to do in order for humanity to survive. As I looked back at the train of thought, I realized something very crucial that I cursed myself for missing it. I don't usually make mistakes, but when I do, it usually cost me something very important.

At first glance, Maika and Sylvia told us everything we needed to know, but that's exactly my mistake.

I need to know what I don't need to know. I need them to tell us, not only me, everything they know about this world. If they keep hiding their secrets from us, we wouldn't be able to work fully as a group. I'm sure that they know that, so why did they drag me in this hellish reality? Are they using me? Sylvia told me that my power can make me look five seconds into the future, but how helpful is it in any way? It's true that it saved my life and my friends multiple times already, including that encounter with the demon nurse from the other day, and also from the explosion earlier, but it's not like we'll get into life and death situations every day. It's not like I can control how my power activates, too.

As I was thinking about all of that, a ball of condensed emotions stirred up inside me. What happened in the past few days, discovering the truth while still not being able to fully accept for what the world has came to be, and our encounter with that supposed half-something named Mizuki. What's a half, anyway?!

At that point, I couldn't hide my emotions anymore. I wanted answers.

I banged the table with both my arms and stood up, causing the wooden chair to fall down from its place. "What's wrong, Hiroshi?" asked Takahashi, but I ignored him as I stormed the already-lit storage room. I forcefully opened the door, following a loud bang and a crack that probably punched a hole on the wooden wall by the knob on the other side of the door.

"Maika! Tell me, what's really happening?! Who's Mizuki? What does mean by she's a 'half'? What's your connection with her? How long have you known this? How long have you known everything? If you won't tell us everything you know, how are we supposed to follow you? How am I supposed to trust you? In fact, why did you even drag me in here in the first place?!" I raised my voice towards her, my tone filled with anger, confusion, and the desperation to know more about this world. I clenched my fists and any more of my shouting would allow my emotions to take over me and probably hurt her as well. I found Maika a few steps away from me, managing something that looked like a documents tray, her knees bent as she stared towards me. Maika's face looked troubled, but it still possessed a small bit of her nonchalant expression. Sylvia was standing a few meters behind her, looking at me with a surprised expression while holding a couple of notebooks and other things I couldn't make of on her arms.

Maybe she was surprised about the fact that I let my emotions take over me. Even I myself was surprised, but with the sheer amount of 'new things' in this world and the rules where I still haven't accustomed to, I reached the point where I let everything overwhelm me. I stopped talking for a short moment, took a deep breath in and out, and my mind finally cleared. I continued to speak, this time my voice was calmer. "So, will you answer me?"

Maika didn't speak, thinking and trying to come up with her decision. She closed her eyes for a moment, looked down, and nodded. "I understand." Sylvia's expression tightened with the face of worry, taking a single step towards her and trying to confirm her decision, "Maika, are you sure-" But she waved her off. All it took was single nod from Maika, and Sylvia immediately understood what she meant. The blonde looked like she still wanted to object but she eventually gave up. "Go to the table where your friends at. We'll tell you everything."

I didn't expect her to come up with a decision so quickly, I expected her to say "I'll tell you everything soon. Don't worry." at the least of it, but I guess that this was the best course of action. I gave them a single nod. "Thank you. Sorry for letting my head get to me." I apologized in a gentle tone before walking back to the table. I also apologized to both Aiko and Takahashi. The way I shouted probably surprised them back to reality as well, since their faces were filled with expression compared to earlier. The whole club room was dimly lit by the full waning moon, with the moonlight passing on the windows.

---

23:00 | August 24 | Thursday

It only took Maika and Sylvia a full thirty minutes to tell us everything she knew about the current situation.

Mizuki Mitsumine was someone Maika knew when she was still in middle school. She was the reason why she woke up, and she was the one who gave Maika the order to wake me up when I was still in middle school. Mizuki was also a half-human, half-demon. Even Maika herself didn't know about the true meaning of 'half' but there are possible meanings of it. One is that Mizuki was a hybrid of a human and a demon, and the other is that Mizuki was once a human, who became a demon. She also knew the other information, such as the story of how the demons conquered Earth and how the humans pleaded the demons to let their race survive even for just a little bit of their population remaining, the concept of powers, the vaccine that erases the demon's memories about every human they encountered, and etc., from Mizuki herself.

For a reason Maika couldn't say, she wasn't allowed to talk any more about Mizuki. She claimed that it would cost Maika her own life, and that it was a curse. A suitable punishment for her, for someone who knows too much. Whatever Maika knew about Mizuki, the other four couldn't know. They have to experience it firsthand, the way Maika experienced it as well. Did I believe what Maika said? I did. When she told me that she'll tell everything she knew, I felt that she will actually tell everything to us in her power.

Sylvia accidentally woke up from the illusion in a full moon, where it caused her almost mentally break down from what she was seeing: the destroyed buildings, the scent of the air filled with the smell of cement, and the demons lurking inside the ruined houses. She decided to ignore it at first until she met Maika, who became her friend when she knew that she was the same as hers. Sylvia also said that if it wasn't for Maika, she would've died back then. She was her savior.

I was caught in an explosion earlier and I just realized that I was covered in dirt along with my school uniform until Aiko pointed it out after we were done talking. I couldn't go to school looking like a hobo so Maika advised that I and Takahashi go to the hot springs again to clean myself. I suggested that I should the gym shower room, but I was quickly shot down when Sylvia reminded me of the demon nurse. I shivered, and me and Takahashi sneaked out of the school on our way to the hot springs.

---

We arrived at the hot springs, and the old lady-demon, the owner of this hot springs, let us in for free since she said midnight baths are considered free. What a nice old lady, even though she's a demon, I thought. I brought with me my extra clothes, of course.

As soon as I sank in the warm waters, I dozed off to sleep. I tried to fight it, but sleeping was a greater enemy of mine than the demons themselves.

---

"Dear sir."

A voice from the darkness called. I felt myself floating, literally, and I tried to open my eyes.

"Dear sir, please forgive me for interrupting your sleep, but the hot springs is now closed for cleaning." My vision formed, and in front of my eyes was the hot springs lady's face turned upside-down. Waking up and the first thing you see is an old lady's face whom I didn't even know was definitely terrifying in itself, but what's more terrifying is the fact that the morning sky was blue and water where they were sleeping at was cold. I sat up on the hot springs and bowed my head down, apologizing to the owner of the hot springs. "I'm sorry for sleeping. Please give us a little time for us to prepare ourselves."

Once the old lady went out of their sight, I looked at Takahashi, who was still comfortably sleeping under the water. If I give him a little push, his head would sink on the water and it would be a good wake up call.

I checked the digital clock hanging on the top wall, and it read:

08:50 | August 24 | Thursday

Yup. Classes have definitely started. Considering the fact that not even one of the girls from our club came to check on us and wake us up, I assumed that they weren't worried at all. Or they probably knew that our absence was caused by us sleeping on the hot springs. Well, in any way, we can still go to school but we'll be late and it's very likely that we'll be called into the principal's office to talk to us and ensure that we weren't cutting classes. That will happen, if we don't give them a valid excuse. Wherever I go, Takahashi will probably come with me.

>> Cut classes and go to your house to change clothes, to wander around the city.

>> Sneak your way inside the school and attend classes.

>> Sneak your way inside the school and stay inside the club room.​

 

[takki]

I have posted! Also, the previous post marks the start of the second chapter, so expect more intense stuff to happen soon~
Thepotatogod ElenaIsCool Idea Fill

 

[takki]

It was almost nine o'clock, and just about time for the second period to start. It wouldn't take us too long to go to school since the hot springs were just a ten-minute walk away from school, but the security guard on the entrance would certainly be suspicious if we were to enter the school at this time. Maybe sneaking in would be the best move to make? We can go the rear entrance of the building and sneak our way into our classroom, and make up an excuse for our second period teacher. I thought that it would be our only choice, since we have nowhere else to go. The only clothes we have in hand were the school uniform and if someone were to spot us, they'll definitely think that we were cutting classes. I decided to do what was in my mind and tried to wake up the sleeping boy. "Takahashi. Wake up." I tapped his head a few times, but he didn't even budge. I bet he's feeling like heaven right now, sleeping in the water without a problem in this world.

I showed him no mercy and pushed his head into the water, fully submerging him in the cold water and almost drowning him. His hands flailed across the water before he realized how shallow the water is and sat up, coughing the water out of his stomach. "W-W-What the hell, Hiroshi? Are you trying to kill me or something?!" He exclaimed as he stood up from the water and distanced himself away from me. "We overslept, so let's get going," I stood up from the water as well and showered, rinsing off the hot springs water from my body as Takahashi did the same.

"Wouldn't it be better if we not go to school? We'd be suspected for cutting classes if we still go." Takahashi suggested, and I shook my head as a response. "If we do the former, we'll literally be cutting classes." I continued to explain. "We don't have anywhere to go anyway, and knowing the fact that everyone are demons is something that I still haven't adjusted to. Plus, we're in our school uniform. We'll get tapped by security guards if we wander around."

"That makes sense..." Takahashi picked up a bucket of water and poured it over himself, almost in sync with me as I also did it the same time as him. "Well, whatever you do, I'll just go with you."

---

16:30 | August 24 | Thursday

Finally, today's classes have ended and the day passed without me and Takahashi getting in trouble. While Aiko was extremely worried about us, the other two weren't worried at all. Did they trust as that much? Or did they just know that we slept in the hot springs? Well, either way, it wouldn't change what had actually happened.

The five of us are currently in the club room. Takahashi and Aiko were talking about what happened earlier this morning, Sylvia was doing something in the storage room, probably organizing stuff, and Maika was reading a hardbound book titled "What Remained". As for me, I was just slacking off. This time was a time where I won't have to think that much and a time where I can safely turn off my brain and nothing will happen. But due to my habit of 'not' slacking off, I was constantly looking for something else to do other than sit and do nothing. I don't want to interrupt whatever Sylvia was doing in the storage room and also Takahashi's and Aiko's conversation, so the only option remains. I'm pretty sure Maika wouldn't mind if I wanted to talk to her to a little bit, so I stood up and approached her.

As I walked, I decided to ask her a crucial question. Though I am opposed to it, I couldn't run away after agreeing to kill my demon-human parents.

"Maika, are we still going to do the killing?" I asked her, and the term killing means to erase the memories of every human in a demon. I expected her to say yes, but she gave me a very confusing answer that I didn't expect. "What killing?" I tilted my head and decided to repeat the question to her. "Like I said, the killing. Aren't we supposed to do it yesterday?" And she gave me another confusing answer. Maika tilted her head back at me. "If you mean the demon nurse the other day, no. We only need to apply the syringe once, there's no need for a second one."

She doesn't remember? Maika was the one who proposed about killing my demon parents to ensure that we'd be completely hidden and the risk of exposure wouldn't be there anymore. And I'm pretty sure she won't forget about it that easily. This time, I realized what Mizuki Mitsumine said to me yesterday. "I'll consider you as an ally, and I'll help you in any way that I can."

I have no proof that Mitsumine was connected with this memory lapse and even if I did, I still didn't trust her. I decided to hold it off. "Nevermind." I said to her before I went back to my seat. After that, Maika called Sylvia and told everyone to gather at the table. She must've something to tell us.

When we were finally gathered, Maika stood on the shorter side of the table and began to speak. "I'll begin with an introduction with that we're really doing in this club. You may know this from checking internet forums, there have been a slight increase of paranormal events happening around our prefecture. Some are fake, but I can confirm that some are legitimate." From what she was saying, I can deduce what we're about to do this weekend. It's in the club name after all.

"H-Hold on! We're going to investigate those paranormal events?" Takahashi asked Maika in a slightly panicked voice. Maika nodded and spoke in a tone as if the answer to his question was obvious, which is true in fact. "Yes. What else are supposed to do?" Takahashi arched his back on the chair, clearly looking that he already had enough of all this. I patted his shoulder and encouraged him, or discouraged him, by saying, "These things will be a regular occurrence now. Don't worry." Takahashi replied with a tired groan.

"We're doing these because I have a theory, and it is as follows: Paranormal events are happening increasingly in a slow rate, and said paranormal events are caused by demons morphed as humans going out of control. Me and Sylvia... and also Mizuki, we started to do this since last year. If we find out the reason why the demons are going out of control and letting their powers expose even when the sun is high, we might have a chance in driving the demons away.

Maika continued to talk. "I have finally collected enough information that are worth investigating this weekend. I have these three locations and the paranormal event associated with them. As newcomers, I'll let you three decide where to go." She placed three papers on the table, with each of the papers containing the details about what happened in that paranormal event. Aiko and Takahashi both looked at me hopefully, but technically they were just throwing the work towards me. Well, it's up to me where we'll go.

>> The Kinzou Shopping District is an old shopping district near a popular mall in the area. After the mall was built, the shopping district was overshadow and its popularity quickly decreased. The regulars of the shopping district, mostly composing of old people and adults buying ingredients and raw meat for their food, were the ones who remained. A week ago, a rumor spread on the internet about the shopping district that quickly became popular. There said to be a small flying creature of some kind who snatches fruits from the shops and shiny accessories, such as, but not limited to, cellphones, earrings, and mirrors. It became an inconvenience to the regulars and the shop owners that they called the police for it, but the police never found anything and assumed that it was just a thief or a certain bird that steals anything that shines.

>> A certain car wash located somewhere in an empty residential area. There was a rumor that crying voices and high-pitched noises made by a machine were heard in that car wash, and what's more peculiar is that someone chose to make a business in washing cars in the middle of an empty residential area. It wasn't a strategically good position to make a business and even a grade-school student would know it. The person who made the car wash might know what's happening.

>> Jamie's Art Showcase is a newly opened shop and exhibit near the shopping district. The shop showcases the works of Jamie who's also the owner of the shop, and said art are usually uneasy faces of people and if not, random objects with an equally disturbing art style. A rumor spread that the pictures were moving like a video from a live feed because the pictures were making noises as well.

>> Go to Kinzou Shopping District.

>> Go to the car wash.

>> Go to Jamie's Art Showcase.​

 

[takki]

After looking at the three bond papers placed over the table, packed with information regarding a location and the supposedly paranormal event associated with them, I have decided to go with the Kinzou Shopping District paper. Why, you may ask? I have plenty of reasons, with supporting details at that. Compared to the two other papers, this shopping district had the least scariest paranormal event associated with it. High-pitched screams, crying, and machine squeaking? It sounds like some kind of human torture chamber of some sorts. I'm not taking my chances with that. Moving pictures at night? It didn't sound scary to me, but I'm more particularly concerned with that one other person in our club, and I thought of that as I looked at him pitifully. "Huh? Hiroshi, why are you giving me that look?" Takahashi remarked, at which I didn't respond to. Instead, I asked the two girls, Sylvia and Maika, a question regarding our meals.

"How are we going to eat our meals, by the way? I understand that we can eat at the cafeteria during school days, but only lunch. How about breakfast and dinner, and our meals during weekends and holidays?" I asked them. Sylvia responded, "For breakfast, we usually order bread from the bakery nearby. For lunch, we eat at the cafeteria during school days, otherwise we eat convenience store meals. For dinner, we order near the ramen place nearby." I noticed some problems with their habits regarding meals. If something were to happen that wouldn't enable them to order food outside, they're going to starve. The other problem was the money. So, I asked them about the problems.

Maika responded to me this time, "We do have a few boxes of canned food stored in the storage room and almost four months' worth of mineral water. If an emergency were to happen, of course me and Syl would be prepared to stay inside for at least three months. But with the addition of you three, I'm guessing that we wouldn't even last three weeks," She continued speaking. "About the money, me and Syl have multiple part-time jobs over the weekend. It gives us about two weeks' worth of money for essentials, such as food and the hot springs. Again with the addition of you three... You guys better find a part-time job soon, or you'll starve to death."

I looked at light hanging over the ceiling as I analyzed their answers, with my hands placed over the table and the papers, but it was interrupted with Takahashi speaking his thoughts out loud. "Wait a minute... Something isn't right." The other four glanced at the orange-haired boy, waiting for his other input. "How can Fukari and Furuka earn that much money in a short period of time?" He put his hand on his chin and looked down the table, as if he was actually on to something that would blow their minds off. "Don't tell me... You guys are selling yoursel--" Before the perverted man finished what he was about to say, Maika smacked the back of his so hard, his head crashed on the table. It took Aiko a few seconds to realize what Takahashi meant by that, and when she finally did, her face went full red. "N-N-N-No way!"

"Don't believe what the pervert is saying, Aiko-san," Maika carefully explained what they meant by 'part time jobs' to the clueless girl. "We have various day jobs, such as cleaning facilities, cashiers, organizing documents, coaching teams, and more. Our last day job ends before sundown." Aiko blinked a few times as her gaze keeps darting at random directions in the room. Probably because she was still embarrassed. "O-Of course! Ehehehe..." was the only response she could muster.

"We'll go to the Kinzou Shopping District, and hopefully investigate the demon that snatches shiny objects. Not only we can buy what we need for the following weeks, but me, Aiko, and Takahashi may also get a part-time job. I've read that this shopping district became unpopular after a mall nearby opened, so there might be at least a few shops that would need help from a few youngsters." I explained to them, and the four them seemed to be in agreement with what I said.

Maika nodded, "Let's go with that, then." And with that, our club meeting ended for the day.

---

7:25 | August 26 | Saturday

As I woke up, I found myself laying down on some soft foam. It had some sort of slippery texture, and I could smell a certain girl's scent on this. A sleeping bag used by Maika, I thought. I felt cold, yet I was sweating intensely for some reason, and my vision blurred. The room was dark, and I couldn't make out where I actually was, right now. I wanted to go back to sleep in hopes of easing the pain in my head, when I heard something terrifying that knocked me out of my sleep.

A deep, menacing growl echoed the room as it vibrated the walls. It was a growl I'm almost familiar with, yet this one sounded more terrifying. It was the sound of a demon's growl. My hairs stood on each end, motivating me to stand up and exit the room and go to the half-open door, with light leaking on the gap. As soon as I stood up, I almost fell back down the floor, if it wasn't for the shelf that I grabbed on to and supported me. The pain in my head increased twofold, but that still didn't stop me from trying to escape this room. I reached for the doorknob, and I instantly saw everyone. Maika, Sylvia, Takahashi, and Aiko. They were all talking to each other, and each of them were wearing casual clothes. They glanced towards me, and the first to come to me was Aiko. "Hiro-kun, you shouldn't!" And when I was about to force myself to come to them, she said to me, "You have a fever."

A fever now... of all times? I internally cursed. Aiko opened the lights in the storage room and checked my temperature, and the thermometer read: 38°C. There was basin of cold water and a towel placed beside the sleeping bag, and after she set me down on the sleeping bag, she placed the cold towel over my head. Maika entered the room and spoke to me, "You should be grateful that I'm letting you sleep at my sleeping bag. If I was heartless, I would've forced you to sleep on the floor." And I didn't even have the energy to properly respond a counter to what she said, so I just said, "Mm, thanks."

Aiko and Maika told me to not push myself too hard and rest for this day, so they'll handle everything today for my sake. If all goes well, and I feel better by the time they go back to the club room, we would still be able to continue the investigation tonight. Otherwise, we might have to cancel it all together.

---

8:00

And with that, they've went off for the day, and I was left alone in the club room. There was a medicine and convenience store lunch prepared for me on the table outside the storage room. I couldn't be sitting here all day, waiting for them to come back. My head still hurt, yet I forced myself to stand up and sit at one of the chairs, and attempted to think of something to do. That growling earlier... It was a hallucination, right? I thought, and I hoped that it was just something that formed in my imagination. My gaze darted at the closed cabinets in the club room, and the closed boxes on the storage room. I'm just a little curious, but what's inside them?

>> Check the cabinets.

>> Check the storage room.

>> Ignore the thought and rest.​