CREEK.

  "Shit… Someone's coming," the man muttered as he was just inches away from the sofa. Nao and Reina had both held their breaths, bracing themselves for the inevitable, but then, the sound of the door opening and closing echoed through the room. The two girls both let out a big sigh, shaking as they slowly peeked over the couch, fully expecting the man to still be there. But thanks to the sound of new footsteps approaching, whoever this other mystery person was had just saved them from a difficult struggle. Nao slowly pushed Reina, since she still had her eyes closed.

  "Hey Reina, he's gone, but someone else is coming…" Nao whispered.

  "H-he's gone…" Reina muttered as her eyes opened; her blonde hair had stuck to her forehead, and she slowly brushed it away.

  "Yeah, yeah, we're lucky girls," Nao replied, forcing a grin.

  Reina didn't answer right away, "But… Who's coming towards us now?" She asked, but Nao could only shrug her shoulders in return.

  "Not sure, but whoever it is, it's surely better than a crazy creep," Nao responded with a smile.

  "Yeah, you're right," Reina replied, and both girls waited for the second mystery person. The presence drew nearer as the two girls waited, but this time, though they were curious about who this person was, the fear hadn't yet faded as they waited to either confide in this person or run.

  They came closer.

  And closer.

  Until the moonlight shone across his face, the face of a very familiar person, but at the same time not so familiar.

  "S-souta?!"

  Souta froze.

  "Huh!"

  *

  I was just walking down the corridor after getting bamboozled by a Yuki finishing move when I spotted them out of nowhere. Nao jumped up and shouted my name like I was some kind of genie.

  "Huh?! Nao? Reina?! What are you guys doing?" I asked, bewildered.

  The two girls rushed over to me, both looking sweaty and flustered.

  “Did you guys potentially find yourselves doing-”

  “SOUTA, LOOK! LOOK!” Nao interrupted, not giving me a chance to voice my thoughts. She shoved a weird object straight into my face. “LOOK! LOOK! IT'S A CAMERA!” she shouted.

  The moment I heard the word ‘camera,’ my mind instantly switched back to that creepy moment. I took the camera from Nao’s hands and began to flip through it. And, of course… I saw everything. Every last picture. Every last video.

  Of her. Of Yuki.

  “That son of a-” The fury that had built up over the past day, combined with this discovery, had me ready to break down the entire building. My hands shook as my grip on the camera tightened, almost to the point of snapping it.

  Until a soft hand pulled me back to my senses.

  “Souta… please. Don’t worry,” Nao's voice spoke softly.

  “Nao…” I murmured, feeling it was only fair I told her everything. But before I could part my lips to speak.

  “Nao,” Reina called out.

  “Huh?” Nao replied, now facing toward Reina.

  “What the, Reina!?” I shouted as Reina bowed.

  Nao tilted her head as she let go of my arm.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “I’m sorry… I lied to you!” she shouted.

  "Lied..." Nao replied, her voice filled with confusion.

  “I knew about him… and I kept it a secret from you because I thought I was helping.”

  “Reina… you can’t just…” I murmured before joining her.

  “I’m sorry, Nao; I was the one who knew about it. It was me who found out about this guy and hid it from you both, including Reina. If you want to hate anyone, please don’t take it out on Reina; take it out on me!” I shouted in sorrow.

  Nao hesitated, her smile faltering for just a moment.

  “I-I don't really get it yet... but I don't want to be angry right now..." she said, tilting her head slightly.

  “Wha-” I managed to get out before lifting my head. The moonlight gently illuminated her face, as her golden-blonde hair glowed under the light.

  “I mean, Souta, if you think keeping a secret is for the better for us… Then I guess I could see Yuki getting angry, but I don't want to. And if you think Reina can help you, then I guess that's your decision to make.”

  Wow, Nao, you’re really mature. I wish someone would take a hint! Not naming or shaming; I’m not that evil.

  “Are you s-sure, Nao?” Reina asked, her voice shaky.

  Nao smiled as she rubbed Reina’s head. "Of course. After all, you are my sister, no matter how many mistakes you make, I will always forgive you." She said, softly rubbing Reina's hair.

  “Nao…” Reina muttered.

  Hello, me?! I stood there just waiting for my head rub, but it never came. Nao looked at me, still smiling, before giving me a thumbs up.

  “I'm trusting you, Souta,” Nao smiled, "So don't mess this up."

  Great, so Reina gets that legendary head rub, and I get summoned like a bloody Pokémon to solve this mystery. I almost laughed, not because it was funny, but because my nerves needed something to cling to. Either way, I was thankful that Nao could have been angry. She could have hit me with a right hook. But instead, she chose to have faith in me. And though she didn't say it outright, I had a feeling Nao forgave Reina and me. So the least I could do was go all out and solve this once and for all.

  “Thank you, Nao,” I muttered under my breath before standing up straight, now feeling a fragile confidence settling in. I will solve this; that bastard will be taken down. But if anything was going to happen, we needed to go back to our room and inspect this camera. All of our answers were in here.

  “Let’s go back before the owner comes back,” I said, walking ahead.

  “Yeah, about that…” both girls said in unison. I could hear the awkward tension building up as the words left their mouths.

  “What…” I said, but deep down, I knew what they were about to say.

  Nao twiddled her thumbs as she spoke.

  “He was just here not too long ago; literally, the moment you came in, he heard you and ran away, I think.”

  “What did you just say?” I replied, filled with disbelief, "And you could not have started with that the moment you saw me!” I continued.

  Nao looked anywhere but directly into my eyes.

  “Haha, cameras are more important? It’s evidence, yes? Yes, I’m right, aren’t I, Reina?” She said, scratching the back of her head and nodding toward Reina.

  “Yes… Nao is right,” Reina said, but her eyes drifted back down the corridor.

  For a moment, both girls stood in silence, exchanging a look...

  "ARE YOU SERIOUS? We need to go then!!!" I shouted, pulling both of them along. As we speed-walked through the corridor and back into our new room, now much closer to the teachers' and staff's room, I opened the door and instantly saw another note.

  "Oh, you've got to be kidding me... we've just moved here!?" I muttered, the girls behind me freezing, their eyes wide.

  "Another one…" Reina muttered, her eyes still wide.

  "No, wait, wait, wait, Souta, open it," Nao responded.

  "Why me?!"

  "Because you're a guy!" she shot back.

  Fair enough.

  I walked over to the still-unfolded futons, slowly grabbing the tip of the letter like it was some sort of bomb.

  "First, close the door, Nao!" I whispered-shouted.

  Now that the door was closed, all three of us looked at the letter, which was folded neatly. Too neatly. I took a deep breath.

  "You've got this, Souta. If you die, I'll be there for your wake," Nao muttered in my ear.

  Guys, it's not a bomb.

  "Yeah, Nao and I will even leave you flowers," Reina whispered in my other ear.

  For the last time… just forget it. I slowly unfolded the paper, piece by piece, until the contents inside were revealed to us.

  "NO FREAKING WAY!!!" Nao shouted.

  "I can't believe it," Reina muttered under her breath.

  And me? Well, to be honest, I was actually kind of annoyed. I blinked, read again, then read aloud:

  "Me and Arisa will be staying in another room for the time being."

  Which, you know, was all well and good, saved me from having that awkward conversation now, but at the bottom of the letter from Yuki was a message I just didn’t want to think about.

  "And if you read this, Souta, then I want to speak to you tomorrow after the announcement."

  My stomach dropped.

  "Of course, Nao was clueless. But Reina had an idea."

  "Oh… I wonder why Yuki wants to speak with you," Reina said quietly.

  "Hehehe, let's just say Nao handled the whole ‘I lied’ thing much better," I said, letting out a dry chuckle.

  "Huh?" Nao responded.

  "Is she upset with you?" Reina asked.

  I sighed before explaining everything that went down during the whole 'Souta gets slapped' arc.

  "Holy… She actually slapped you, Souta!" Nao jumped up.

  "Yes, for the third time, Nao, she did."

  "OHH, you're dead then! I will be at your grave," she replied, bowing.

  Not helping.

  "Is your cheek feeling okay?" Reina asked as she came slightly closer.

  "No, brain… don’t," I said to myself, as my inner desire wanted to transform the wholesome sight into something else.

  "Yeah, don’t worry. Let’s just get some rest. It seems tomorrow is going to be a big one."

  "Hm. I hope I'm the princess," Nao said as she ran to the bathroom.

  "I don’t mind… but, Souta," Reina said as she too began walking to the bathroom.

  "Yeah?" I replied, still holding the camera in my hand.

  "If I were the princess, would you be happy?"

  "Well… of course I would be," I replied.

  She smiled before nodding her head.

  "Me too." Then she joined Nao in the bathroom.

  That was wholesome and all; don’t get me wrong, but this machine in my hand was a danger, and the person using it was a menace to society. For now, I needed to keep my head straight.

  But wait. There are Yuki pictures here.

  Ohhh.

  I glanced at the camera once more... Then turned it face down.

  No. Not tonight.

  I laid down, completely exhausted, and soon after, my eyelids got heavier and heavier until everything went black. The camera lay beside me, silent. But not gone.