Chapter 5: Vol.1 Ch.5: The Culprit Strikes

-Chapter 5-

            Turning back the clock just a bit, before Kanna made her way to Yuko’s dorm room, she was engaged in a phone call, using the phone in her own room. Starlight Academy has its own internal phone lines that operate independently within each district. Most buildings have rooms with wall phones installed that connect to their district’s phone network, so there are plenty of phones for use. Naturally, each student dorm room has a phone installed, making for a popular means of communication among students.

            “Is there anything I should be doing tonight since I’m not joining you on patrol?” the voice on the other end of the line asked. It was the voice of Kanna’s partner; the other magic knight from Alviquan.

            “I do not believe so.” Kanna answered. “You are free to take the night off, or watch us from a distance in the event the culprit attacks. Regardless, I believe you are quite busy anyway, so a break is probably useful.”

            “True.” The partner replied. “It’s been tough keeping up with school work while still dedicating the nights to these patrols. I think I’ll take the night off and get some things done.”

            “Sorry again for taking up your time.” Kanna apologized, bowing despite there being no one there to see her. “Still, it is an urgent matter only we can deal with, and thankfully we might be approaching a resolution.”

            “So you’re certain that girl Yuko is innocent?” the voice across the phone asked.

            “I cannot be completely certain.” Kanna responded. “However, I find it exceedingly unlikely. I still do not know the true nature of her other self, but I cannot fathom it to be responsible. Especially considering the letter she received.”

            “A fair point.” The partner conceded. “But couldn’t the girl’s other personality have written that letter for her primary self?”

            “Unlikely.” Kanna shot down the idea. “Whenever Yuko changes, she appears to suffer a distinct lapse in memory. There would not have been an opportunity.”

            “Right, I understand. Well, I’ll leave her to you as usual. Contact me if you need to. I’ll be here.”

            “Of course. Have a goodnight.” Kanna hung up the phone.

            Kanna stood facing the phone for a moment. It’s not that she and her partner were unfamiliar with one another, they’d come to this world together after all, but they actually didn’t tend to interact much. They saw each other in passing on the school grounds plenty of times, and they did meet up once a month when reporting their status to the head priest of their world. But outside of such situations, they never tended to interact much. This bizarre situation with the magic beasts was the first time they’d had to actively work together to solve a crisis. They get along well enough, but there are times when Kanna could sense a kind of distance between them she couldn’t put into words.

            Regardless, they shared common history, both being from the kingdom of Alviquan, and holding status as magic knights who serve said kingdom. They were trusted allies with a shared secret.

            “Yet, the distance between us remains the same.” Kanna muttered. “Perhaps I am too standoffish.” she wondered.

            Maybe once this situation resolves, Kanna would try to get to know her partner a little better. Regardless, Kanna quickly set aside such lingering thoughts, instead moving on to preparing the crystals needed for her upcoming visit to Yuko’s room.

---

            “You asked about my partner, but there is really not much I can say.” Kanna spoke, answering Yuko, who was still curious about Kanna’s mysterious partner who was skipping the night’s patrol.

            The two girls were currently strolling through the empty business area. The water from the fountain shining just a bit as it reflected the stars in the clear night sky.

            “Well, you did say they were a secret, I suppose.” sighed Yuko. Truthfully, she’d only brought it up to try and forget about the awkwardness of their prior encounter in her room. But now that she thought about it, Yuko realized that she hadn’t fully processed the result of the whole thing with the crystals.

            “So, uh, hey…” Yuko began. “Earlier you said I had an affinity with fire?”

            “Correct.” Kanna answered, stopping beneath a streetlamp. “I was surprised as well. Normally, it would be impossible for a human of this world to have a natural affinity for any kind of magic.”

            “So by that you mean… I do have magic, and because I’m from this world, it’s unnatural?” Yuko wore a worried look on her face. This strange revelation about herself only raised more questions, but she took some small comfort in knowing Kanna was here to provide answers. However…

            “I do not know.” Kanna shook her head. “I may be a knight, with expertise in the basic principles and applications of magic power, but the broader concepts on why or how magic can or cannot work in any given circumstance is not something I can confidently answer.”

            “No way…” Yuko soured in disappointment.

            “I am not a scholar of magic…” Kanna dropped her head. “I can make theories based on what I know, but I cannot answer anything about the implications of the magic within you with confidence.”

            “I see…” Yuko responded. “But, earlier you said you only tested me in the first place because you had a feeling magic awoke within me, right? It was something to do with the magic beasts…”

            “Right.” Kanna answered. “Those specific types of magic beasts you saw channel magic within their fangs and claws. That is why I was able to detect traces of magic from the other victims as well.”

            “Then do you think maybe they developed magic too, like I did?”

            “I cannot imagine that is the case.” Kanna shook her head. “Just because a human of this world has magic introduced into their body does not mean it will integrate with them. I can trace it, yes, but it is not a part of who they are. Their wounds are still healing, after all. If the magic were a part of them, they would have healed quickly, like you did.”

            “Yeah, I guess that’s true.” Yuko nodded, thinking hard about it.

“Again, this is an area where my knowledge is fuzzy.” Kanna continued. “But I can confidently assume your case is different. There is an actual affinity, meaning it must be a part of you. As for why, I have no answer.”

            “I see…” Yuko simply looked at her hand.

            The two girls continued to walk. Making their way out of the business area, they were now up on some higher trails near the foot of the mountain. Both continued to keep watch, looking into the nearby woods and shrubbery for any sign of a magic beast.

            “So, if I have affinity for fire… Does that mean I can actually use magic like you do?” questioned Yuko, breaking the silence.

            “I suppose it is not impossible. But I do not know what danger you would be putting your body through to try utilizing magic. After all, humans in this world are supposed to be wholly incompatible with it. I cannot imagine how your fire affinity came to be.”

            “Ah, right…” Yuko sighed. With that, Kanna turned and gave her a small glance.

            I say that, but I have already witnessed the magical prowess of your other self firsthand, Yuko Maeda… That is something I still do not understand… It cannot be a mere split personality. There must be something else going on… But alas, I am at a loss.

            Kanna kept her inner contemplations to herself, still uncertain of how all of Yuko’s oddities could be explained. Meanwhile, Yuko was left to only ponder about these loose implications on her own.

            There’s no way I really have magic inside me, right? But, that might explain some things, like my recent lapses in memory, or that stuff from when I was younger… Oh man, I have no idea. This is all so weird…

            The two girls, both wrapped up in their own thoughts, continued to patrol the night together. In the end, however, they never came across anything unusual. Without a single magic beast in sight, the two eventually called it a night and returned to the dorms.

            However, unknown to either of them, the next phase of the culprit’s plot had already been set in motion…

---

            The next morning, Yuko followed her usual routine and went to class as usual. She was a bit tired due to staying up later than normal, but nothing she couldn’t handle. That morning she met up with Chisa for breakfast, and exchanged a brief greeting with Kanna at the gate. It was now the start of class, and class 1-B’s homeroom teacher Mariko Yamagata was giving the class her usual morning overview.

            “As I’m sure many of you are aware, Golden Week begins tomorrow.” she began. “That means tomorrow is a day off. The usual Saturday morning classes will not be held.”

            Several students cheered in response. Although classes were only held in the morning on Saturdays, even having those extra hours free was a cause for excitement to many of the students. Plus, with the other days off the following week due to Golden Week as well, they were excited to finally get some time to relax.

            “Of course, even during the holidays some clubs and jobs will still be operating, so please check with your club leaders or bosses to arrange your schedule.” the teacher continued.

            Hearing Ms. Yamagata’s words, Yuko remembered that she’d agree to take a shift at the café on Saturday, despite Golden Week starting. After all, with so many students free, it only made sense to have locales for them to hang out in open and running. Yuko figured it was the least she could do to work a shift on at least one of the days.

            “It’s probably gonna get super busy tomorrow…” Yuko sighed to herself quietly.

            After sharing a few more tidbits, Ms. Yamagata wrapped up the morning news and started getting ready for her lecture of the day. Students slowly began to get out their textbooks, notebooks, and utensils for class. Naturally, Yuko did much the same. However, as she reached into her bag, her finger brushed against something peculiar.

            “Huh…? Oh, wait!” Yuko suddenly remembered something.

            She quickly dug around in her bag, grabbing the strange object she’d just felt.

            “That’s right! I totally forgot about this… I should’ve shown it to Kanna…” Yuko muttered, holding a round purple gem in her hand.

            This thing… It was on the forehead of that magic beast, right? What the heck is it for…? I’ll have to bring it to Kanna later.

            Making a mental note so she doesn’t forget it again, Yuko put it into her bag once more as she took out her school supplies. Moments later, class began as Ms. Yamagata started her lecture.

---

            The day progressed swiftly, with many students just anticipating the final bell so they could be free of classes and their lectures. From where Yuko stood, it seemed to be just an ordinary Friday. But now that classes had ended, it was time to go see Kanna and return to dealing with her bizarre predicament.

            “I’ll see ya later, Yuko!” Chisa waved from the entryway.

            “Break a leg, Chisa!” Yuko cheered, as her friend went off to her usual afterschool theater club.

            “Now then...” Yuko muttered, as she turned and started walking back into the school building. Naturally, her destination was the student council office.

            After making her way there, Yuko gently knocked on the door. It was her first time coming here without specifically being taken or invited by Kanna, so she was a bit nervous. A few moments passed, but there didn’t seem to be any response from the other side of the door.

            “Was I too quiet…?” pondered Yuko, as she went to make a louder knock on the door.

            Once more, she was only greeted with silence. Feeling a bit perturbed by the situation, Yuko decided it’d be best to just try opening the door herself.

            “Excuse me…” she said, as she slowly opened the door and peeked inside.

            “What…?” Yuko spoke, getting a good view inside. “No one’s here…”

            Sure enough, the student council room was completely deserted.

            Are they all out working right now? I guess they do probably have to make sure everything’s ready for the break coming up, but… It’s weird that no one’s here.

            Yuko’s never had any reason to visit the student council before, so it’s not like she knew how often they were even in their office or not. But she’d had the impression that the council made a point of always being available for students, so even if they were busy it’s strange to not have at least one member on standby to deal with anything that might come up.

            “Oh well, I don’t have time to wait around.” Yuko shrugged, leaving the student council room. She had a shift to run at the café today, so she decided to worry about Kanna later and just head over to her job for now.

---

            “Any plans for golden week?” Tanabe asked. He was handling the register while Yuko was cleaning various dishes at the sink behind him. The early rush had just started to die down, giving the two some free time to chat while they worked. Though, it was still a little busier than normal due to the students already getting into the mindset of the upcoming break.

            “Nothing in particular.” Yuko smiled. “I decided to help out Boss and take a shift tomorrow, but I have no idea what I’ll do for the days off next week.”

            “The kendo club’s tournament against the middle school has been set for Wednesday. Some holiday for us, huh?” Tanabe sighed. “But I guess to the rest of the school, our competitions are the perfect piece of entertainment for a day off.”

            “Yeah, I guess so, haha.” Yuko chuckled. “I’ll make sure to go cheer for you though, so don’t lose heart!”

            “Thanks, I appreciate it.” Tanabe smiled. “But man, I’m definitely gonna spend Thursday and Friday just lazing around. I’ll need that recharge.”

            “You’ll have earned it, haha.” Yuko was happy getting to have this kind of small talk with Tanabe. It’s been less than a month since they got acquainted here at the café, but after sharing so many shifts together, they’ve really started to get along well.

            Even though it was a lot of hard work in dealing with so many responsibilities and customers, Yuko really enjoyed her time at the café. This week especially, it always served as a nice escape from the rather unbelievable turn of events she’d been going through since Monday. It was a piece of her everyday life that, despite everything else, had remained unchanged. And then…

            “Yuko!” a loud shout suddenly resounded throughout the café after the front doors burst open. Various customers all paused their own conversations and turned their attention to the front doorway. Yuko, too, upon hearing her own name turned around and looked to see what was going on. Standing in the doorway, was Chisa Ando.

            “Yuko, it’s bad!” Chisa began walking up towards Yuko, having spotted her. Baffled, Yuko could only blink in confusion.

            “Hey now, hey now!” Boss shouted sternly, as he emerged from the back rooms. “What’s going on here? Listen ma’am, Yuko here’s on the clock. You’ll have to save your chat for later.” he said, approaching Chisa.

            “Sorry sir, it’s an emergency!” Chisa bowed apologetically. “Yuko! The patients!” she once more turned in Yuko’s direction.

            “Huh? What do you mean? And Chisa, shouldn’t you be in club?” Yuko was supremely confused. She had no idea what Chisa could’ve come in here to talk about.

            “Honda and the other patients have disappeared from the clinic!” Chisa shouted. “Everyone involved in those animal attacks!”

            Yuko froze in place. At this point, she had the inside information that those were no normal wild animal attacks, but rather planned attacks by some kind of mastermind utilizing magic beasts from another world. Alas, even here in her haven, Yuko realized that she couldn’t escape the reality going on around her.

            “So that’s what was going on today.” the Boss spoke, after realizing something. “Kan-chan, er, I’m sorry, the student council president was out of class for most of the day because of some kind of emergency. That explains it.”

            “Kanna was?” Yuko muttered without thinking. A moment later, she realized this must be why the student council wasn’t in their office earlier. They were probably helping out the clinic and health club in resolving this crisis and finding the missing patients. If this involved the so-called mastermind that’s supposedly targeting her, Yuko began to wonder if she should go meet up with Kanna about this.

            “Still,” Boss continued. “I don’t see what this has to do with Yuko.”

            “Y-you’re right, but…” Chisa looked down. “She’s my best friend, I just needed someone to turn to… And also, uh, I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”

            The Boss tilted his head in response to this, before Yuko spoke up.

            “Boss, could I take the rest of the evening off?” she requested. “I think I should go with Chisa. Plus, I should probably talk with Kanna too.”

            “Well, if you say so…” Boss began to scratch his bald head. “If it’s that important to you, I’ll let it slide. Be careful out there, and I hope everything turns out well.”

            “Thanks Boss!” Yuko bowed.

            “Be careful out there.” Tanabe spoke up.

            “Right, thank you!” Yuko smiled in response, before heading into the back rooms. There she quickly changed back into her school uniform, grabbed her stuff, and headed outside to meet up with Chisa.

            Outside, the two friends began walking quickly. Chisa seemed to know where to go for now, so Yuko followed closely behind, asking questions as they walked.

            “So, what exactly’s going on, Chisa?” she asked.

            “I didn’t find out until I heard about it at my club.” Chisa began. “But early this morning when the health club came to do their morning checkups, they found the special patient’s room totally deserted.”

            “They were gone? But how? They were all pretty badly injured, right?”

            “Some of them, yeah. I know Honda in particular could barely stand, so I don’t know how she could’ve just disappeared like that!” the panic in Chisa’s voice was becoming more noticeable to Yuko.

            “The student council has been trying to find them all day. I’m going to go meet up with them now.” she continued. “The theater club advisor told me where they were basing the search. I was scared to go alone, so I came and got you. Sorry to drag you out of your job like that…”

            “Oh, it’s no problem at all, Chisa!” Yuko tried to reassure her friend.

            Soon, the two girls arrived at a small building. Taking note of the sign outside, Yuko realized it was the security building. As the two entered, they noticed a large table at the end of the lobby where several student council members were going over a map. The council members then looked up, taking note of the unexpected guests.

            “Who are you two?” a particularly stern-looking boy wearing glasses asked.

            “Oh, um…” Chisa stuttered. “W-we came to help with the search! You know, for those missing patients! O-one of them is from my club, so…”

            “How did you find out about this?” he seemed angry.

            “Th-the teacher, the advisor of the theater club…” Chisa shrunk back at his angry glare.

            “Damn it.” the boy ruffled his hair. “I thought we told those teachers to keep this a secret from students for now. We need to resolve this!”

            “Now, now.” a rather gentle-looking girl on the council replied. “One of the patients is their clubmate. Besides, we could use the extra eyes, considering how the search is going...”

            “Kh…” the boy snorted.

            At that moment, another group of people entered the lobby from outside.

            “Any progress? Have the security cameras regained functionality yet?” spoke a familiar voice.

            Turning around, Yuko realized who it was immediately.

            “Kanna!” she exclaimed, glad to see her.

            “Yuko Maeda!” Kanna was surprised. “What are you doing here?”

            After looking back and forth between her and the council members at the table, she was quickly filled in on the situation.

            “Please, let us help look too!” Chisa pleaded. Perhaps she still felt guilty about her exchange with Honda the day before. Regardless, she knew she wanted to help out any way she could.

            “Of course. That is acceptable.” Kanna nodded.

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            “President!” shouted the disgruntled glasses-wearing boy, before being stopped as Kanna lifted her hand to him. She then continued giving Chisa her answer.

            “I know you are eager to help, but much of the district has already been searched. However, if you still feel inclined, please try searching anywhere you believe they could be.” Kanna stated, glancing back at the two council members behind her, who nodded in turn.

            “May I ask your name?” Kanna asked, looking at Chisa.

            “Ah, right! I’m Chisa Ando. Nice to meet you, Ms. President.” Chisa bowed.

            “A pleasure.” Kanna bowed politely. “Here, you may go with these two and search where you think would be best.”

            The two other student council members went up to Chisa and introduced themselves.

            “Thank you so much!” Chisa beamed. “I’ll do my best to find them! Let’s go Yuko!”

            “A-actually, Chisa, I’ll search somewhere else with Kanna!” Yuko apologized. “I want to talk with her about something. Besides, it’s better to spread our eyes across more ground anyway. We’ll have a better chance of finding them!”

            “Oh, alright then...” Chisa felt a bit disappointed, but knew Yuko meant well. “Well, you two be careful.”

            “Take this.” Kanna stopped Chisa before she left, handing her a sheet of paper with some photos on it. “These are all four of the missing patients. I’m sure you recognize your clubmate, but please keep an eye out for the others as well.”

            “Right, I’ll do my best!” Chisa declared, taking the paper before swiftly leaving the building.

            After that, Yuko stood by briefly as Kanna spoke with the remaining student council members at the desk, exchanging some updates. Kanna then went into the adjacent room to check up on a small group inside, before finally returning to Yuko.

            “Shall we go?” she asked.

            “Yeah, let’s go.” Yuko nodded.

            The two left the security building and began heading towards the outskirts of the district. As they wandered around, the tall walls that separated this district from the others slowly came into view. After a bit of time passed with no leads, Yuko spoke up.

            “So what’s going on right now anyway?” she asked. “Do you think that mastermind of yours is behind this?”

            “That appears highly likely.” Kanna nodded. “In fact, that is why I doubt we will find the patients out here just by looking.”

            “You’ve been at this all day, right? And there’ve been no clues at all?” Yuko asked, baffled. Although the district was relatively large, it couldn’t be that difficult to search.

            “Correct. I was informed this morning during first period. The other members of the council and I all assembled to collaborate with the health club on this search.” Kanna began. “We first thought it would be easy to resolve. We began by going to the security room to check the security camera feeds from the clinic area, but unfortunately, the entire camera network is down.”

            “Wait, the security cameras are all down?!” Yuko was shocked.

            “Yes, and it was most certainly a planned event.” Kanna grimaced. “Though presently, I have everyone else convinced that it is just an unfortunate outage, merely hindering our search by coincidence. I have computer club members from my class working to restore the system as we speak.”

            “I see…” Yuko was amazed at Kanna’s diligence in handling the situation.

            “Until the cameras are restored, I doubt we shall find any lead pointing toward the culprit or the patients. Honestly, the searching is just to keep everyone busy and feign progress while we remain at this standstill.” Kanna sighed, exhausted. “Though if we are lucky, we can hope a clue may surface, regardless.”

            “Yeah, hopefully. Though… it doesn’t look like we’ll find anything around here.” Yuko looked at the barren woodlands around her. “Should we head back?”

            “Sure.” Kanna nodded. “By the way…”

            “Hm?” Yuko glanced at Kanna.

            “There is one secret location that has yet to be searched… I plan to check it on the patrol tonight. But…” Kanna hesitated. “If something surfaces there, the implications would be extremely troubling…”

            Yuko could only wonder what Kanna meant as the two girls slowly made their way back to the security building.

---

            “Thank you for your efforts, everyone, but we must end things here for the night.”

            Everyone was once more gathered in the lobby of the security building. Kanna had chosen to disband the search parties since the 8PM curfew was minutes away.

            “I will stay late with the group restoring the security camera system.” Kanna continued. “The rest of you should return to the dorms.”

            “No!” the one who immediately rejected the idea was Chisa. “We should come up with more ideas on where to search! The curfew shouldn’t matter during an emergency like this!”

            “Denied.” Kanna shook her head. “The danger regarding the wild animals lurking the school grounds at night has yet to be resolved. It is dark out now, and I cannot risk anyone being outside searching in this situation.”

            Chisa merely grit her teeth and clenched her fist as she looked down, frustrated.

            “Do not worry. I swear to find everyone and resolve this situation.” Kanna bowed to her. In this situation, Chisa had no choice but to go along with it.

            “Fine…” Chisa said quietly. Yuko approached and patted Chisa on the shoulder.

            “Don’t worry. I know Kanna can find them. She’s on top of things, trust me.” she encouraged.

            Soon after, Yuko, Chisa, and the remaining members of the student council all gathered their things and left the security building together. With all of them returning back to the dorms in one big group, just minutes after curfew, many curious glances came their way from the other students who were out and about inside the dorm lobby. Other than that however, everyone went their separate ways and returned to their evening routines without incident. That said, the events of the day continued to weigh heavily on their minds. Especially Chisa’s.

            After some time passed, Yuko had a quick dinner in the dorm’s cafeteria before heading back to her room. She’d wanted to take a bath, but remembered that Kanna would be calling on her for another patrol tonight. As she waited patiently, she passed the time in her room by browsing the school network on her computer.

            Every dorm room in the district came with a small basic PC. Students typically used it to complete online homework assignments and keep track of things for classes, but its more attractive feature was its open-ended online network. There was no connection to the larger world-wide web of the outside world, but rather a much smaller district-wide network that every PC was connected to. In a sense, it’s like the academy had its own kind of mini-internet, and any students skilled with computers were able to make use of it in various ways. Although there was a central social network managed by the school, colloquially referred to as ‘the Lounge’, many independent webpages created by students both past and present also existed. If you could find the various web addresses, the vastness of this small network ran surprisingly deep.

            That aside, Yuko wasn’t particularly tech-savvy or anything, so she mostly enjoyed browsing the simple stuff, particularly the Lounge. It was a convenient hub for students to add one another as contacts and share whatever they wanted, whether they were good with computers or not. It was here where Yuko noticed a recent post from Chisa.

            “If you’ve seen any of these people today, please contact me!” read her message, followed by the names of the four missing students.

            “Oh Chisa…” Yuko whispered to herself.

            The incident was supposed to be a secret right now. Though considering the theater club advisor had already spilled the beans, maybe rumors were beginning to circulate regardless. Still, Yuko could only hope Chisa doesn’t get into trouble with the council for posting this. Though, it’s not like she stated why she’s looking for the four students.

            Yuko continued to pass the time browsing through various posts on the webpage, when suddenly, a knock could be heard at her door.

            “Ah, that must be Kanna.” Yuko muttered to herself, glancing over to the doorway. “Guess it’s time to head out.”

            After closing the browser and shutting off the computer, Yuko got up and walked to the doorway.

---

            Turning back the clock, it was right around the time Yuko had decided to head downstairs to eat dinner. Alone in her room, Chisa was pacing back and forth, having just posed posting her message online.

            This is too weird… There’s definitely something wrong going on here.

            Chisa couldn’t help but be frustrated by the current situation. Not only because of her guilt and wanting to make amends with Honda, but also the unshakable feeling she had that this entire situation shouldn’t have been occurring.

            They were all injured, right? It’s not like many of them could’ve just got up and walked away… And even if they did, they couldn’t get far.

            During the search earlier, Chisa had heard from the other student council members that even before classes let out, most other buildings in the district had already been searched. This is why by the time Chisa and Yuko came and joined the search parties, most locations left to look were all the parks and empty woodlands. There are paths up the mountain too, but there shouldn’t be anything up there, so searches in that area were rather minimal.

            It doesn’t make sense… They couldn’t have left the district either…

            Naturally, the academy’s districts are all enclosed, surrounded by large stone walls that are far too tall for anyone to climb. Those walls even extend up the mountain to some extent, so even if one tried to climb the mountain, they wouldn’t be able to get very far. The only exit out of the eastern district is the large entryway into Central. But of course, that path is always closed and watched by adult security guards.

            Considering they were all mostly unable to move far on their own, and also had nowhere to flee, the next most logical assumption would be that the four students were taken somewhere. But that raises even more questions.

            Who could’ve taken them? And where could they be?

            Chisa wasn’t satisfied at all. Even putting aside her own personal involvement in the situation, her curious nature drove her to want to understand the meaning behind this situation. In the end, Chisa came up with the simplest solution.

            “I’ll go find out for myself.”

            Thus, Chisa left her room, opting to sneak out of the dormitory.

            It was a pretty simple escape. Many students were passing through the lobby going to and from the cafeteria for dinner, with others headed towards the baths. Chisa just relaxed on a couch in the lobby, trying to blend in. But really she just kept watch on the student at the front desk. Before long, whether to go use the restroom, grab some food, or whatever, Chisa eventually saw the student just leave their post. Making the most of this chance, once the amount of traffic in the lobby was minimal, Chisa quietly hopped up and dashed out of the lobby before anyone could take notice.

Of course, a record of her leaving would be left on the computer due to the scanners, but…

            That’s a problem for future Chisa!

            With that thought, Chisa had reached the dark outdoors, and left the dorm area in a hurry.

            When it came to places she wanted to investigate more thoroughly, there was one area that Chisa had in mind.

            I was already there earlier today, but at a time like this, just maybe…

            Focused, Chisa made her way to her destination with a strong sense of purpose. It didn’t take long before she was standing in front of a building she was quite familiar with: the theater.

            “This place… feels pretty different at night…” Chisa muttered.

            It’s not that she was unfamiliar with being here so late. Before the curfew was introduced, club practice would sometimes run up until 9 or 10. However, in those situations she was always surrounded by her clubmates, and the lights of the building would always be on. Chisa recalled fond memories of sharing dinner with her clubmates between practicing skits on those days when the club ran late. But now, the building felt so dark, lifeless, and empty.

            “So freaky…” a shiver ran up Chisa’s spine, but after slapping her cheeks, she steeled herself to go inside.

            Naturally, Chisa assumed the front door was locked. But as a member of the theater club, Chisa knew this building well. Pacing around the building’s perimeter, Chisa found a specific window. It was the window to a small office room that no one really used. When wandering around a few weeks back, she’d found the room and discovered that the lock on its window was broken, making it easy to open, even from outside. With a little bit of effort, she lifted the window and climbed through into the room.

            “Easy.” Chisa chuckled softly to herself.

            Despite coming here, Chisa wasn’t expecting to find any success in locating anyone. After all, it was a club building used regularly, and she was just in here earlier today. Leaving the small office, she paced around the main room, the stage, backstage, and eventually made her way to the front lobby. A few odd creaks and other sounds aside, Chisa didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

            “No luck, huh?” sighed Chisa.

            Thinking she’d leave and go search somewhere else, she made her way to the front doorway. As she approached, she stopped.

            “Oh wait. I gotta head back out through the window.”

            Just as she was about to turn and head the other way, she paused. She realized something was off, and looked at the front door again.

            “Wait a minute…”

            Dashing up to the door, Chisa swiftly grabbed and turned the handle with ease.

            “It wasn’t locked…”

            Chisa was a bit perplexed. It was routine for the theater club to lock the door every day when they left. Did they forget today? Now that she thought about it, Honda would usually be the one to lock up. Does that mean she still had the key, so no one else could lock it today?

            “Or maybe…”

            Chisa turned around and dashed back to the main room.

            Could she really be here…?!

            It really was just a guess. A hunch. Chisa had no proof, but she felt like if she didn’t search the theater one last time she’d regret it later.

            Just then, after reentering the main room and moving towards the middle of the rows of audience seating, Chisa saw it.

            “?!” she gasped. She could only wonder why she didn’t see it before. Was it even there earlier? She couldn’t recall.

            Regardless, before her eyes, Chisa saw the figure of a person sitting in one of the seats of the front row. Specifically, she saw the back of their head. It was dark in the theater, but Chisa could tell, even with the distance between them, that it was someone familiar.

            “Honda, is that you?” Chisa asked, in a shaky voice.

            Just then, the person seated before her rose. The person stood up slowly, with odd, slightly jerky motions. It was as if the person were being pulled upward, rather than standing up with their own body strength. Slowly this person turned around, and the face that greeted Chisa was indeed that of her clubmate Honda. However…

            “H-Honda?!” Chisa was frightened. The only windows the theater’s main room had were small and high up on the left and right walls. The moonlight beaming in was the only thing keeping the theater illuminated at all, but it was very dark. And at the moment Honda rose from her seat, the light just so happened to shift and land on her.

            Finally getting a good look at her, Chisa faltered. Honda’s eyes were blank as they peered toward Chisa. Her head hung to the side, limp, and her skin was extremely pale. But more than anything, her body was wrapped in small vines, and she was covered in what appeared to be moss.

            Chisa had no idea what she was looking at. Yes, it was Honda, but also, something here definitely wasn’t right. Just then, a voice rung through the theater.

            “Hello? Is someone in here?”

            It was an adult male voice. Chisa almost couldn’t register the voice at first, but she quickly got a hold of herself and recognized that someone else had just entered the theater. Turning around to the main room’s entryway, she saw who it was.

            “M-Mr. Taniguchi!” Chisa shouted with relief in her voice.

            “Oh, good, there you are… Wait, what are you doing in a place like this, Ms. Ando?” Taniguchi, seemingly confused by the situation, walked forward.

            “Sir! Um, o-over there. It’s Honda, one of the missing students!” Chisa was frantically trying to figure out how to explain the situation, as she pointed to Honda, who continued to stand still in her bizarre state.

            “Oh, right. We teachers were notified about what had happened at the clinic.” Taniguchi walked toward Honda with a serious expression.

            Chisa sighed with relief. She didn’t know why her math teacher of all people had suddenly shown up, but Chisa was glad to have someone else here to help her deal with the situation. Honda’s appearance had really frightened her, but now she was glad she decided to come here.

            Maybe, just maybe, whatever’s wrong with her right now can be worked out…

            Chisa began to think more positively. She didn’t know what those vines were, or why Honda had shown up here looking like this, but just finding her was a step in the right direction. Surely, they’ll be able to find the rest of the students too.

            While thinking such things, Chisa looked over at Taniguchi, who’d placed his hand on Honda’s shoulder. It was still dark, so it took her a moment to notice, but Chisa realized something odd… The vines on Honda’s body were slowly wiggling around.

            “Uh, sir, be careful… Those vines on her are moving…” Chisa cautioned, taking a step back, when suddenly…

            “Ahh!” Chisa tripped backwards and fell on her butt. “Oww! What tripped me…?”

            At that moment, Chisa gasped.

            The vines were all along the floor, and they’d started circling up her legs.

            “Eeek!” Chisa screamed, trying to kick the vines away, but they stuck to her, tightly wrapping around her skin. Chisa tried her best to flail her legs around, but there was no escape from the creeping greenery.

            “Mr. Taniguchi! Help! It’s getting all on me, too!” Chisa screamed, tears in her eyes.

            “Don’t worry.” the teacher spoke in a cold voice.

            “Huh…?” Chisa’s eyes opened wide in disbelief.

            “I could use one more person. You’ll do.” Taniguchi stared down at Chisa with a cold expression. Chisa just now noticed it, but a faint green glow was coming from his palm. It appeared as though… Taniguchi was manipulating the vines.

            The truth immediately dawned on Chisa: The one behind everything stood before her at this very moment. The culprit responsible for the disappearance of the patients… was Karuto Taniguchi.

[Chapter 5 END]

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