Welcome to the Monster Club

“That’s him.”

Hoshimiya’s voice dropped like a guillotine into the dead silence of the abandoned classroom.

Instantly, the scene from the infirmary flashed before my eyes in vivid, agonizing detail. My hand clamped around her freezing wrist. Her wide, panicked eyes. And my own monumentally stupid, filter-free question: “Tell me… Are you a vampire?”

I cursed myself into oblivion. Cursed my loose tongue, cursed my uselessly sharp observation skills, and cursed the fateful day my parents signed that damn overseas contract. Who the hell asked me to play detective?! Why couldn't I have just kept my mouth shut, played dumb, and strolled back to class like a normal human being?

What was going to happen to me now? Would they drag me out into the misty woods? Feed me to wild beasts? Or just drain every drop of blood right here over the floorboards?

From the cluster of girls, the one with wolf ears and a massive, bushy tail stepped forward. She prowled toward me with slow, deliberate steps. Up close, her beastly traits were terrifyingly real. Her pointed ears twitched at the faintest sound, and a feral glint flickered within her golden eyes.

She loomed over me, planting her hands firmly on her hips, her voice dropping into a low, menacing growl:

“Human… you know our secret now. Which leaves us with no choice but to…”

“Kill me?!”

The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could bite my tongue. My voice cracked in a humiliating tremor.

The girls froze, exchanging bewildered glances. Then, the one lounging in the back—the one with nine lavish, golden fox tails—narrowed her eyes with a mischievous glint. A sly, predatory smirk spread across her lips.

“My, aren't you a perceptive little boy?” she purred smoothly. “It saves us so much trouble when you connect the dots yourself.”

A wave of ice-cold sweat instantly drenched my back.

This is it. Game over.

My life was ending at seventeen, tied to a creaky wooden chair in the condemned wing of some rural high school. Murdered by monster girls. No epic climax. No final words in the arms of a lover. Just a pathetic, nameless death in the middle of nowhere.

My heart hammered violently against my ribs, threatening to shatter bone. Sucking in a frantic, shuddering breath, I squeezed my eyes shut, hunched my shoulders, and blurted out:

“Just… please. Make it quick. And painless.”

I curled in on myself as tightly as the ropes allowed, bracing every muscle in my body for the impact—a claw to the throat, a bite to the jugular, or a burst of hellfire.

One second. Two seconds. Five.

Nothing happened.

The classroom remained dead silent, broken only by… a weird, muffled snorting sound.

Very cautiously, squinting through a wall of dread, I peeled one eye open.

The girls were standing in the exact same spots, but their faces were completely flushed from exertion. The wolf girl was clapping both hands over her mouth; the fox girl had turned away, her entire body trembling violently; and the horned girl was biting her lower lip so hard tears welled in her eyes.

And then, the dam broke.

The room exploded into a deafening chorus of pure, hysterical laughter. The wolf girl laughed so hard she practically doubled over, slapping her knees. The fox girl daintily covered her mouth, but her melodic giggles rang loudest of all. Even the icy Hoshimiya had looked away toward the wall, struggling to hide the faint, unmistakable smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.

I sat there bound to the chair, sporting a look of absolute, slack-jawed idiocy.

“Hey…” I croaked out, feeling like the biggest clown on the planet. “What’s going on? What’s so funny?”

“I can’t—I can't breathe!” the wolf girl wheezed, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “‘Quick and painless!’ You should’ve seen your face! Like something out of a dramatic soap opera!”

“We aren't going to kill you, silly,” the fox chimed in, finally catching her breath as she brushed a golden lock behind her ear with effortless poise. “We’re high school girls, not serial killers.”

A massive, shuddering breath escaped my chest, air hissing out of my lungs in sheer, unadulterated relief.

Alive. I’m actually going to live.

Then my brain kicked back into gear, tossing up the next obvious puzzle.

“Wait a second,” I frowned. “Then what are you going to do with me? Hypnotize me? Wipe my memories?”

“Nothing,” the fox girl replied with a careless shrug.

“What do you mean, 'nothing'?! I know what you are now. I saw your tails, horns, fangs…”

The girl with the neat horns and the slender, spade-tipped tail stepped forward, her tail swishing gloomily from side to side.

“Well, what else can we do?” She let out a melancholy sigh, all her earlier playfulness evaporating in an instant. “We’ll just have to drop out of school. Pack our bags, withdraw our paperwork, and go back into hiding. It’s a shame… I really liked it here. But there's no turning back now.”

I blinked, stunned. “Drop out? But… why?”

The wolf girl slumped heavily onto a desk beside me, her bushy tail drooping over the edge.

“Because you’re going to blab to everyone that there are real monsters at this school. The number one condition for us being allowed to attend school alongside humans in the first place was total secrecy. Not a single human can know what we really are.”

They looked so deflated, so genuinely heartbroken, that a strange pang of guilt pricked at my chest. The menacing aura had vanished completely, leaving behind just five ordinary high school girls about to have their lives upended by a stupid accident.

“Uh…” I cleared my throat awkwardly. “I’m not going to tell anyone.”

Silence descended upon the room once more. This time, it was pure bewilderment.

The girls exchanged stunned glances, as if convinced their ears were playing tricks on them.

“You aren't?” The fox narrowed her eyes with open suspicion.

“No,” I said, giving the best shrug my bound shoulders could manage. “First of all, if I walk into homeroom and declare that Hoshimiya is a vampire and there's a nine-tailed fox holed up in the old wing, I’ll get laughed out of the room at best, and shipped off to a psych ward at worst. Who needs that headache? And secondly…”

I paused, taking in their bewildered expressions.

“You’d have to leave school and your friends because of me. Look, I might not be the most altruistic guy in the world, but I definitely don't want to be the reason someone else’s life gets ruined. Your secrets aren't burning a hole in my pocket. Whether you're monsters or not—it's none of my business.”

The girls froze. For five long seconds, they stared at one another in total silence, having what looked like an intense telepathic conference. Then, almost in unison, their eyes lit up.

They snapped their heads back toward me, asking in a chorus of desperate hope:

“Really?!”

I flinched at just how ridiculously synchronized it was.

“Y-Yeah. I swear, my lips are sealed.”

That was all it took. The wolf girl let out a delighted squeal, bounced over, and made quick work of the ropes that had seemed like an inescapable death trap just moments ago.

Groaning, I pushed myself out of the chair, rubbing my stiff wrists before dusting the grime off my uniform slacks.

“Hey, why did you even come to our door in the first place?” the wolf girl suddenly asked, tilting her head. Her ears flicked inquisitively.

I froze mid-brush. My hands hovered over my trousers.

Confessing the real reason was humiliating beyond belief. It would have sounded so much cooler to claim I was chasing urban legends or investigating mysteries. Instead, I let out a defeated sigh, avoiding eye contact, and forced the words out:

“To… join your club.”

“Join our club?!” the horned girl echoed in disbelief.

“Yeah,” I rubbed the back of my neck miserably. “Just… don't go thinking I’m some noble do-gooder whose lifelong dream is to lend a helping hand to fellow students.”

I laid it all out for them. My master plan to spend the entire year holed up at home. The endless gaming. How my deranged aunt confiscated my console's power brick, effectively taking my sanity hostage, and delivered an ultimatum: join the Student Support Club, or say goodbye to video games for an entire year.

The girls listened in rapt silence.

When I finally finished my pathetic confession, bracing myself for the inevitable barrage of mockery over my gaming addiction, the wolf girl’s face broke into a broad, radiant smile.

“Well, we think that you're…”

And then, in sweet unison—barring Hoshimiya, who merely rolled her eyes and turned toward the window—they chimed:

“…actually really sweet!”

I froze, heat flaring across my cheeks. For the first time, caught completely off guard, I saw them not as dangerous supernatural threats, but simply… as girls.

And a sudden realization struck me like a freight train.

They were absurdly, breathtakingly cute.

Each of them possessed her own distinct, captivating charm. Coupled with their otherworldly features—fluffy ears, tails, demonic horns, and frosty mist—they looked like heroines straight out of some high-budget fantasy anime I’d accidentally stumbled into.

“Well, since you're one of us now, let’s do proper introductions!” the wolf girl declared cheerfully, planting her hands on her hips. Her tail was wagging at such high velocity it was kicking up dust from the floorboards. “I’m Haru Inugami! A werewolf! Sorry for tackling you in the hall earlier, by the way—totally misjudged my own strength!”

“Reiko Kitsuragi,” the kitsune purred, gliding closer as she twirled a golden lock around her finger. “You're welcome to consult me on matters of the heart, boy.”

“Yuki Shirokawa,” the girl radiating a frosty chill introduced herself in a soft, polite voice. “A yuki-onna. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Mei Yumeji!” The horned girl waved eagerly, her spade-tipped tail tracing a playful heart in the air. “A succubus!”

I gulped hard at the word succubus. But then, my gaze landed on the final member of the club.

She remained by the window, arms crossed defensively over her chest. Noticing every eye in the room pinned on her, she clicked her tongue in annoyance, letting out an aggrieved sigh like she was being subjected to manual labor:

“We already know each other. But fine. Kyoka Hoshimiya. Vampire.”

She turned her head away, but not fast enough to hide the faint dusting of pink across the tips of her ears.

I stood in the center of the dusty room, clutching the strap of my school bag, taking in this surreal ensemble.

A werewolf, a kitsune, a yuki-onna, a succubus, and a vampire.

And then there was me—an ordinary human guy.

Sure, I’d get my power brick back. But what in the actual hell was I supposed to do with this new reality?!