Sunday, 21st June.

It was the day we were going to find out who Shinomiya's stalker was once and for all.

In the morning, we met up in Shinomiya's apartment and prepared to head into the Drachma forest. We each took a transceiver, for communication purposes, and a flashlight, for visibility, as well as a body cam to record everything that was happening.

We also took some spare batteries and a small GPS tracker that would share our location with everyone else via a remote device, since we quickly found out on our test run that there was no signal to use our phones in the forest.

Afterwards, we got into our positions and began the operation. We were spread out in a circular formation, with me near the entrance, Asukai and Miura flanking my sides, and Sanou and Masaoka guarding the rear end.

Since we were the physically strongest members in the group, the five of us were tasked with actually catching the stalker. The other two, Nibiiro and Jouji, had roles that were a bit different.

To ensure Shinomiya's safety, and because he was a physical liability, Nibiiro would be accompanying her today to make it look like she was spending time with her friends like usual.

It'd be suspicious if she was alone all day and hadn't met up with anybody since she was quite a social person. If we changed her behaviour, it might tip the stalker that something was off, making them less likely to follow her today.

Conversely, the stalker might not want to follow her if she's with someone, so if they weren't biting, Nibiiro could split from Shinomiya, leaving her on her own. That way, it'd lure the stalker out.

While it may sound risky to make Shinomiya alone and defenceless, it'd be fine because Jouji would be there, moving alongside her silently in the shadows. His role was to "stalk the stalker", keeping an eye out for their presence and reporting it to us.

Also, to make things look less suspicious, Shinomiya didn't have a transceiver on her. Instead, she had an ear piece that let her listen in to everything that we were saying, as a crucial part of our plan was for her to move into the forest once Jouji confirmed the stalker's appearance.

This plan would require a lot of patience and a little bit of luck, since there was no guarantee that the stalker would show up today. However, we felt confident that they were already here, just waiting somewhere in Drachma Red.

Despite the fact the post office was closed on Sunday, we all received another round of death threats in our letterboxes today. The only way this could've happened is if the stalker hand delivered them to us.

If that was the case, then the stalker must've arrived this morning. This would give them a chance to blend in with everyone else too, as no one would be awake that early to notice an A Class student step foot into Drachma Red territory.

They could even start stalking Shinomiya right away, as she lived in an apartment rather than the dorms. Their only roadblock would be Nibiiro, who lived with her, but Shinomiya was the quite independent woman and didn't hang around him all the time.

There were plenty of opportunities to spy on her while she was alone, since a lot of her schedule revolved around activities that she did by herself, such as going to the gym. It was only recently that she started hanging out with others for her own safety.

This stalker really chose a good target to stalk, huh...?

I was starting to get concerned as nearly two and a half hours had passed, but we'd still yet to hear anything from Jouji.

Waiting in the forest sucked, partially because it was rumoured to be cursed, partially because there wasn't any signal. I couldn't even kill time by playing on my phone.

The most I could do was read the light novels I had saved for offline purposes or snack on some Ritz crackers I brought with me. Even so, I still felt kind of anxious doing that.

We might need to strike at any moment, so if I was distracted when that crucial time came, the whole plan could fall apart. It'd be my fault why Shinomiya's stalker escaped.

Granted, I wasn't the only one having difficulty concentrating at hiding. Sanou gave Masaoka and Miura some keys they could jingle with to distract them during this long waiting time, and Asukai had nearly fallen asleep multiple times from boredom.

To pass some time, me and Sanou chatted with each other. During which, she had given me permission to call her by her first name, Nozomi. Likewise, I gave her permission to call me Yuuto. I found that we were surprisingly similar.

Our conversation was cut short when our transceivers crackled.

"Guys, Jouji here. I've found the stalker. I repeat, I've found the stalker."

Jouji had finally caught wind of their existence.

"I think it's a man, judging by the size of their body... I can't see their face, though. He's wearing a black hoodie with the hood up. On half of the hood, there's a design of two white stripes and one red stripe."

I pulled out my device and looked at everyone's positions. Like we had planned, Shinomiya began moving towards the forest from her spot. Nibiiro was no longer with her too, instead he was far off somewhere else.

"I repeat, the stalker is most likely male, and is wearing a black hoodie with white and red stripes on half of the hood. Proceed to—"

Before Jouji could finish his transmission, there was a loud thumping noise followed by a loud scream.

"Oi, Jouji! Oi, respond to us!" Asukai exclaimed.

The transceiver crackled. A faint laugh could be heard over the static.

"Heh, what's this, Monma-san?"

It was an unknown voice— no, it was the stalker.

"Son of a... give it back!"

We could hear Jouji scuffle with the stalker through the transceiver's audio.

"Jouji! Jouji, are you okay?!"

"He's going to be just fine once I bury him six feet under."

The stalker laughed again, before the transceiver went silent.

"Jouji?! Jouji! Oi!"

Despite Asukai's insistence on trying to communicate, everyone else knew it was a bad idea to use the transceivers to talk now since the stalker had gotten their hands on it.

All we could do was follow through with the plan like we had agreed upon, instead of diverging and having multiple people run around doing different things.

The transceiver crackled again, this time with the harrowing cries of Jouji yelling in pain.

"Catch me if you can."

Instead of running away from the situation, the stalker actively challenged us to hunt him down. Either he's realised that he's been cornered, or he's that confident he can give us the slip.

"I'm going to find Jouji, you guys follow through with catching him!"

Taking the role of leader temporarily, Nibiiro ordered us to stick to the plan despite this unexpected turn of events.

"Huh, so you're involved too. I wonder, who else is hunting little old me down... Sanou-san, perhaps?"

The stalker continued to taunt us through the transceiver he stole from Jouji.

"I swear to god, when we find you...!" Asukai growled.

"If you do find me, I hope you're ready for the fight of your life. It'll blow whatever petty fights you had in middle school out of the water."

"Haaaa? You sound pretty confident in your fighting abilities, punk. I was the king of delinquents back in Karaikai, don't underestimate me!"

For once, Asukai's misfit past was coming in useful. However, the stalker sneered at that, unfazed by Asukai's capacity for violence.

"I think you're the one underestimating me."

The transceiver went silent again.

"Arrogant jackass! If you want a fight, come out and show yourself! I'll happily beat you to a pulp for giving Mai-san hell!"

"Show myself? How about you show yourself if you're that desperate to fight me?"

"Come then, I'll meet you outside the forest! We'll fight there!"

"That haunted place, huh?"

For some reason, the stalker sounded disinterested.

"Funny you say that. Shinomiya-san just entered it."

My grip on the transceiver tightened.

"Don't tell me... you're hiding in there?"

"What the?! Don't be ridiculous, I might be a monkey brain, but I don't live in trees!"

Thankfully, Asukai was smart enough not to give away our positions. Even though the stalker suspected we were inside the forest, due to Shinomiya's entry and Asukai's proposal, he had no way to confirm whether Asukai was actually there or not.

"Well, I'm outside the forest like you said. Come on, come out and fight me."

"Yeah, yeah, give me five to get there at least!"

"You're not even nearby? You chose an awful place to meet up at."

"Shut up! All that matters is me battering your face in!"

"We'll see about that."

The transceiver went silent again. I checked the device and saw that Asukai was on the move, recklessly heading towards the entrance from his spot. Miura seemed to follow him, but Masaoka and Nozomi stayed put.

"...to think I'd run into you here of all places."

I turned around, meeting eye to eye with a man in a black hoodie. On half of his hood was two white stripes and one red stripe.

"Yo, Takanori-san. Surprised to see me?"

Stepping out of the shadows with a deranged smile, I could see his face clearly. My eyes widened at who it was.

"No way..."

I rubbed them repeatedly to see if I was seeing things, but... the man currently standing in front of me was unmistakably Nibiiro.

"It was you...? You were the stalker all along...?"

"That's a cute device you got there. Mind if I take it?"

Dodging the question, Nibiiro moved in to snatch the GPS. I got up and weaved to the side to dodge, but for a guy with a chronic heart disease, he was surprisingly nimble.

"Sorry, but I'm keeping this."

I stashed the device away into my back pocket and got ready to fight. Judging by what happened with Jouji, this was Nibiiro's preferred way to settle things.

Knowing he was the stalker, I didn't feel like holding back. However, knowing he was Shinomiya's best friend, I wanted to restrain myself so I wouldn't needlessly hurt him and make her upset.

Well... she's going to be upset either way finding out Nibiiro's her stalker, but I might as well try to soften the impact a little bit, I guess.

"Oi, where are you?! I don't see you outside the forest!"

Asukai's voice came through both mine and Nibiiro's transceivers.

"Change of plans, I'm fighting our perverted kouhai instead."

"Our perverted kouhai...?"

"He's talking about Takanori-san, you dumbass! Everyone, head over now!" Nozomi exclaimed.

Nibiiro clicked his tongue and put away his transceiver.

OST: I will get my revenge

"Looks like we'll be fighting on limited time, Takanori-san. Hope you don't mind."

"I only need five seconds to beat you. Bring it, Nibiiro-senpai."

"Huh, aren't you a cocky one? Hora, take this!"

Nibiiro's laughter rang out around me as he went in for a punch.

I took a deep breath and steadied my fist.

If I had the choice, I'd kill you right here.

I blocked his incoming fist with my forearm and retaliated with my own punch.

However, Nibiiro glared at my rocketing fist and narrowly dodged it, returning the favour with another punch of his own.

This guy really loves to throw right hooks, huh?

Likewise, I stepped back to dodge his swing, but he followed up with another from his left. I parried it with my own fist before shifting to his right to avoid bumping into the tree behind me.

It'd be bad if Nibiiro trapped me there, since he could start fearlessly unleashing blows on me to put me on the defensive. I needed to find a more open space to throw more powerful punches of my own back at him.

Also, since we were fighting in the forest, I had to be wary of where I was stepping. All over the floor were roots that were potential trip hazards, not to mention the array of trees that made our fighting ring small and narrow.

"Ha, you're not bad at all. You're really as tough as the rumours say you are... my blood's boiling right now!"

Nibiiro laughed once more, charging at me with a raging tackle. He must've figured I was good at hand to hand combat, so he's switched up his strategy to using brute force.

I crossed my arms to try and lessen the blow, but Nibiiro recklessly barged into me with his shoulder, pushing me into a tree using his weight. He was heavier than I expected...

While he had me pinned down, Nibiiro threw a cheap punch at my face, knocking my sunglasses off. He moved back, putting some space between us. If he didn't, I would've kicked him in the shins.

"Don't be scared! Come at me! You hate me for stalking your precious senpai, don't you?"

I spit on the floor and pick up my sunglasses. Putting them back on, I sigh.

"Don't bother crying for mercy later."

Throwing myself back into the fight, I launched a light speed punch at Nibiiro, smashing him in the face.

Nibiiro screeched, falling to the floor while clutching his broken nose that was pouring out blood.

Maybe I should've held back a little... not even Ritaka had it this bad.

I looked at my dirtied fists and shook off his blood. I steadied my breathing and stepped forward, lurching over him.

As I looked down on him, he looked back at me, his blood smeared all over his face and leaking from his cut mouth.

Despite the immense pain he must be feeling in his broken nose and swollen cheek, Nibiiro remained calm, showing no signs of panic.

"This is game over, huh...?"

"Yeah. Unless you want me to punch you again, I'd suggest surrendering now while you're still ahead."

"While I'm ahead with these broken bones...? You're joking. I can't accept that..."

Nibiiro laughs, before springing back to life and grabbing me by the throat with his left hand.

"Not until I get my revenge on you!"

Nibiiro tightened his grip around my neck, asphyxiating me.

"Now hurry up and pass out!"

Before I could grab his wrist with my right hand and crush it, someone swiftly kicks his back, causing him to release me.

"You cheeky little—! Running away from me and fighting a 1st Year, huh?! Just how much of a coward are you?!"

It was Asukai, who had arrived with Nozomi, Masaoka, and Miura in tow. Nibiiro growled seeing their appearance.

"Shame on your family, shame on your cow!"

"Yuuto-san, are you okay?"

Nozomi came over to help me up. I nodded.

"Yeah... I'll be fine."

I coughed a little, but I was far better off than Nibiiro in terms of injury. He sighed, turning to face Asukai.

"Dude, what the hell happened to your face?! Did Takanori-san step on you a thousand times or something? You're gonna need plastic surgery to recover from that!"

Seeing his beaten up face, Asukai burst out laughing. Masaoka and Miura also joined in, but Nibiiro ignored them. Instead, he used this as an opportunity to punch Asukai while he was distracted.

"Oi, that's dirty!"

"Like I said, you're in for the worst fight of your life!"

Nibiiro laughed boldly, but now he was surrounded on all sides by five of us. There was no way he could win in a 5 v 1.

"If it was a 1v1, maybe, but if Ape-X taught me anything, it's the importance of the teammates you play with. Unfortunately for you, I've got four S Class teammates when it comes to fighting!"

Asukai grinned, getting into a fighting stance.

"If there are five of you, then it'll make my victory even more impressive, and your loss even more pathetic. Try not to embarrass yourselves now, eh?"

Nibiiro laughed, switching targets from Asukai to Nozomi. He leapt forward and went to punch her.

"Damn it! Nozomi-san, watch out!"

Nozomi, caught off guard, was unable to defend herself and took Nibiiro's fierce punch to the gut.

"You bastard...!"

She groaned, dropping to her knees and clutching her shaking stomach.

"Huh... this is what you'd consider S Class? How disappointing."

"She'd be S Class if you didn't play dirty! Going after the girl first is not cool man!"

"There's no such thing as playing dirty on the battlefield. If you brought her here, it means she can take a punch or two. If you're dissatisfied, come on, hit me!"

"With pleasure! Haaaaaa!"

Asukai and Nibiiro exchanged blows, punching and smacking each other in the face.

Compared to my fight with Nibiiro, Asukai was a more even match for him. Both had equal levels of power and skill, with Asukai having a bit more technique due to fighting a lot in the past.

Despite that, the two of them were really going at it without holding back. The sound of punches connecting filled the air and blood was being spilled indiscriminately on both sides.

"Are you ready to give up yet?"

Nibiiro grinned, wiping the blood off his face with the back of his hand.

"Never! Not until we capture you and expose your identity!"

Asukai huffed, wiping the bruises that had formed on his temples.

"You can't tell who I am?"

"Like hell I can, that's just how messed up your face is!"

"Huh... you're in for the surprise of your life then. Isn't that right, Takanori-san?"

Nibiiro looked at me over his shoulder and laughed.

"Oi, focus on me! I'm your opponent here!"

"I've lost interested in a banana for brains mongrel like you."

"Running away again, are we?"

"Nah. I'm just going back to face the stronger opponent."

Wounding his pride, Nibiiro laughed at Asukai, making him growl.

"Now then... let's continue where we left off, Takanori-san!"

Cracking his knuckles, Nibiiro flew at me with his fist raised.

"You coward! Takanori-san, watch out!"

Asukai yelled, trying to chase after him, but Nibiiro was too fast. His punch was centimetres away from hitting me.

In that split-second, my instincts kicked in, and I raised my right arm to block it.

However, just before his punch could land, someone grabbed my free arm and yanked me to the side.

Nibiiro's right hook missed, swinging wildly into a tree, before he was tackled to the ground with a loud thud.

"Takanori-san!"

Holding me close to her, the one who saved me from being punched was Shinomiya, and the one who tackled Nibiiro to the ground was...

Nibiiro?

"Shinomiya-senpai... why did you...?"

"I said I'd protect you from danger no matter what... didn't I?"

As she held onto my arm, I could feel her shaking.

"Me, Suzui-kun, and Jouji-kun all rushed over here as soon as possible when we heard he was fighting you. Are you okay?"

I looked over, and saw Jouji had also joined us. Slapped across his face was a large purple bruise, probably courtesy of Nibiiro.

More importantly, if was Nibiiro with her, then how was he here fighting us the entire time? This didn't make any sense...

"Yeah... I'm fine... but senpai, are you okay...?"

"...I'm a little shaken up, but I think I'll be fine. Once this is all over, of course."

To try and steady her nerves, Shinomiya took a deep breath. She held onto me, using my body as support.

"Itsuki, Takanori-san, now! I can't keep this bastard down forever!"

After tackling the stalker, Nibiiro was struggling to keep him down. I didn't want to let go of Shinomiya, but I didn't have a choice. Securing the stalker was more important.

Me and Asukai moved in, each grabbing the stalker's left and right arms respectively, restraining him in Nibiiro's place.

"Ah... so this is what checkmate in real life feels like, huh?"

The stalker sighed listlessly to himself. Staring at him up close, I still thought it was Nibiiro, but there's no way it could be him if the real one was over there, standing with Shinomiya...

That's when it clicked for me.

"Quiet. You can continue your loser's speech after we see just who you are."

Walking over to the stalker and meeting him face to face, Nibiiro narrowed his eyes.

"Oozora, you bastard..."

The stalker was none other than Nibiiro's doppelgänger, Oozora Yuudai.

"Shinomiya-san... I love you!"

Driven into a corner and with nothing else to lose, Oozora confessed his feelings to her with a desperate smile.

"What...?"

Shinomiya gasped, taken aback by both his identity and his feelings.

"Don't give me that crap... if you loved her, you wouldn't have stalked her! You would've confessed your feelings properly to her like a man, not watch her from afar like some kind of sleazy pervert!"

Holding Shinomiya close to him, the usually calm and gentle Nibiiro exploded in Oozora's face, ruthlessly berating him.

"How does it feel to ruin someone's life and make them paranoid of going out just to satisfy your own creepy fetish, huh? How does it feel, you creep?! You disgusting person! And to think you're the leader of A Class... you make me sick! You're pathetic, Oozora!"

"This is between me and Shinomiya-san. Keep your nose out of this, Nibiiro."

Nibiiro grabbed Oozora by the collar of his hoodie, making the hood fall down. I could now see clearly the black tattoo on Oozora's neck that separated the two of them.

"Between you and Mai...? Piss off with that! This is between you, me, and everyone else here! The moment you threatened our dear friend was the moment you threatened the rest of us too!"

It was like I was watching someone argue with themselves, literally. Seeing Nibiiro and Oozora next to each other only made their looks even more uncanny.

"I mean the love confession, dumbass. I'm not looking for an answer from you."

"The answer should be obvious!"

"I want to hear it from Shinomiya-san herself."

"No. You won't get that pleasure. I won't ever let you talk or even get near her ever again!"

While these two argued, Jouji and Nozomi were working in the background to try contact their homeroom teacher, Hiryuu Sousuke-sensei, to come over and deal with the situation now that we knew who the stalker was.

"Angry, Nibiiro? Angry that I stalked her?"

"Yeah, I'll never forgive you! No matter what, I'm going to get you expelled from this school!"

"Bold words from the man who dropped down to E Class. I'd have a better chance expelling you first."

Oozora laughed fearlessly in Nibiiro's face.

"To hell with that! I refuse to lose to you, Oozora!"

"I won't let myself lose to you either, Nibiiro!"

"Then let's settle it... right here, right now!"

Nibiiro took out a dark green deck box from his pocket.

"You want to cardfight me? What do you have, a death wish?"

"I'm playing to my strengths. I don't want to fight you physically like everyone else."

"Oh that's right, with a body as flimsy as yours, you'd die if I even so much as breathed on you."

"Besides, aren't cardfights your expertise, o Great Sky Hero? It'll be more satisfying beating you in your speciality."

"Don't forget I'm from A Class. Everything is my speciality, including proving who's superior between you and me."

Me and Asukai let go of Oozora, letting him take out his pale purple deck box from his pocket.

"Ku ha ha ha... let's begin our death match, Nibiiro!"

"I'll crush you Oozora, you bastard!"

"Stand up, Vanguard!"