Hunter and Hunted

Part 1

A pair of birds watching over the calm ocean from above, waiting calmly for its prey to show themselves and give us the opportunity we needed. A school of fish came into view, and one of them will be dinner tonight.

Asahi and I are on top of a tree near the river filled with many people, watching silently from a vantage point and waiting for our prey to show itself. A small group of people entered the area, and among them will bring us what we need for tonight.

If I were to be in a hunter and hunted scenario, I would have never guessed I would be in the hunter role. I have never done anything like this so everything was new to me and I could only follow guides from Asahi for success.

She, on the other hand, was calm and collected, a hunter with a plan. Waiting and sitting there like a hawk patiently looking out for the 1 in a million moment for its perfect catch. It will do anything in its power to override that chance and make it a 1 in 10 chance or even lower.

They mustn’t know of our presence.

As the newbie, I felt quite nervous. What if I miss my mark? What if I overshot or undershot it? Whatever it is, I’ll leave all the commands up to our alpha leader, Asahi.

“Izumi, you’re gonna be the bait. Lead our targets more towards my way and try to separate them from the group and make them alone together.”

“You want me to go down there?”

“Yes, I have the camera. Lead them towards my way and don’t get caught. Even if you’re new they already know you’re working with me.”

I gulped slightly at her answer. Calming myself down wasn’t what happened, but instead it only made me nervous. My nervousness only made itself more noticeable when I nearly slipped and fell on the way down from the tree.

And even as I made it down on land, my landing wasn’t on point and I nearly tripped over. But my landing stance was steady enough for me to not facepalm my head on the dirt below.

And now for a plan.

…Wait, she never told me anything specifically. How am I supposed to draw them to her position?

The realization just kicked in. She left me with the planning, and managing my own way to get them together for the right photo.

Asahi will remain as the bird watching from above while I am the one near the fish and break away their formation for Asahi to swoop in and catch the prize for the both of us.

For now, let’s evaluate the situation.

Our targets were two people, the first was a girl named Yori Iwasaki, and the second was a boy named Kenshin Ando. They are both the school’s top students with the highest grades in the prefecture. Why they haven’t moved out of town to a prestigious school and instead remained at our school is a mystery, and for Asahi, it was a mystery worth looking into.

They weren’t alone by the river. Not to mention the bustling relaxation hotspot that is the street itself, they were accompanied by what we could assume was their group of friends composed of 6 people, including our targets. Walking alongside them as if to blend our targets away from public view.

This must be what Asahi was talking about yesterday. She stalked- I mean investigated them alone yesterday but her plan was foiled. Our targets strangely decided to come out again, but this time they brought bodyguards.

Saltwater fish like to swim in groups. One reason was so that they would confuse predators.

But we cannot assume that is the only line of defense they have.

I continued watching them from the bushes. Peeking my head only to the needed level to spot them from a distance. They all seem to come here to hang out and relax like other pedestrians.

The main attraction of this wide street was the river by one of its sides. The majestic view of water coming down from uphill, flowing down calmly was like a painting. The golden rays of the sun from behind the river only complimented the scenery.

It wasn’t a manmade river, it was all natural.

It was also fenced to keep visitors from jumping in and enjoying their time submerged in the water. That was available at the lake below where the river feeds into, but.

People walking up and down the stone road, with food vendors and benches on the sides. It could be summarized as a public park but without much grass and is surrounded by fenced woods to its sides.

And after a long day at school, Iwasaki and Ando were also having a relaxing time here.

They and their friends found an empty bench to take a breath, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it looks like they made one of their friends fetch a drink for them after he lost a game of rock paper scissors.

I wasn’t experienced enough to tell when was the right time to spring into action. Only 1 person left, but what about the others?

I figured another distraction was needed, so I backed off into the woods to look for one. Luckily, It didn’t take much time for me to find what I needed. A lone squirrel was minding its own business up on a branch of a tree. The branch wasn’t too high and I could easily jump up and catch the squirrel.

Which I did.

While crouching down and making as little noise as possible, I made my way to the squirrel and as fast as I could, jumped up and quietly retrieved the squirrel.

Naturally, the little brown creature cried in fear of getting suddenly attacked out of nowhere, but the louder the cries became, the better it suited my plan.

Sorry little buddy, endure it for now.

I’ve had enough animal abuse this week so I would really love to finish this quickly.

I ran back into the river street where they were, getting as close as I could to the boundary of the fenced area where I managed to get just behind them. As our distance got closer and closer, the cry became louder and louder, and soon enough, it wasn’t something they could easily ignore.

“Hey hey do you guys hear that?”

“Hold on shhhh.”

And soon enough, some of their friends began to discuss amongst themselves what the possibility of that noise was. But they weren’t the only ones. Some passersby also took notice of the strange sound, which could either benefit Asahi, or make the situation worse.

I could not control who was distracted by the squirrel and who was not. I could only pray our target’s friends were the ones getting baited and our target remained seated for Asahi to get the picture.

As all of the commotion was happening, I was crouching behind bushes to hide myself from being seen, and when I thought the time was right and when I'd distracted their friends, I released the squirrel from my hold and it ran away as fast as possible.

“Aww, look! It’s a tiny little squirrel!.”

“Whoa, that squirrel is fast.”

I can’t even see what’s going on beyond the bush besides me. And from all of the commotions that’s going on just right beside me I could tell my plan was a flop.

Clearly it doesn’t like me, but what motivates it to run that fast I wonder? To be frank, it was a strange sighting. It was definitely the fastest squirrel I’ve ever seen. However, there was no time for that.

While still laying on the ground, I tried to turn myself around and look at Asahi still sitting on a tree branch to see how she evaluates the situation. And as she noticed me, she had a dissatisfied look on her face and gave me a thumbs down to show that it wasn’t enough. My suspicion proves to be right.

Because she was far away from me and also because we needed to keep quiet and stay hidden from public view, she couldn’t tell me the reason. Therefore, I could tell what I did wrong.

I crawled ever so slightly to where Asahi was, and as soon as I reached her tree I hid behind it and started whispering.

“Hey, so uh, what happened?”

“I get your idea, but it didn’t work out as you intended it too and it only made our targets out of sight since everyone was walking in front of them. This camera is really loud, so I could only take one shot before we bounce.”

Sorry little squirrel, looks like your sacrifice was in vain.

“Okay and how about you suggest me some ideas?”

“Hm… How about making them stand alone by the river? Make sure to bait them properly this time.”

“And how do I do that exactly?”

“Tsk tsk tsk. Izumi, you should realize I’m testing your abilities for the club right?”

“Fine...”

Get them to stand side by side next to the river. How? I’m not Asahi who could manipulate people easily, and the people I am trying to manipulate are way smarter than me and could likely see when there is a trap laid for them.

But that makes the challenge all the more enticing.

I figured I couldn’t get to bait them to the river from here so I would need to blend in with the crowd and pull them there.

However, my biggest concern was that they might recognize my uniform, so I asked Asahi if I could borrow her coat and hat, which she willingly did. Trying to recover her items while also trying not to get caught is harder than it looks.

With the proper attire ready, I did what she did not and that is to wear the coat properly. And with a disguise in place, I walked all the way out of the forest behind all the fenced walls, and started from the entrance.

I made it back to where our targets were, and this time I had a different plan.

With all the people here, it’s bound to be slightly awkward to have a moment alone with your partner, so I figured they would only do such things casually. That is assuming they are actually dating but rumors are just rumors.

I may not have a plan, but I do know how to approach people.

I just hope I lure them into a perfect spot.

Part 2

Step 1, somehow get close without them noticing.

Step 2, think of a way to make them together for the perfect romantic shot.

Step 3, profit.

Wait, Dammit!

I don’t have any kind of plans at all!

In fact, now that I think about it, isn’t messing around people’s relationship really fucked up?!

Just now, as I was slowly approaching my targets, I realized the elephant in the room. But there’s no backing out now because I’m already too deep into this.

It’s not illegal if you’re not caught.

My coping mechanisms are starting to act up if I don’t do anything soon.

Well fuck. For now, I’m just gonna spill some drinks to make their friends go to the bathroom.

It was the only thing I could think of. How else would you make them disappear? There are a lot of people present here which I took to my advantage as I could spill the drink and run away into the crows as I retreated.

However, an opportunity struck.

“Hey guys! I got the drinks!”

The one who was sent on an errand came back with drinks in his arms. He was carrying a variety of drinks for 6 people, so he became a little wobbly here and there. If only the drinks weren’t plastic bottles, I could just appear in front of him from the crowd and make him slip. Showering the poor guy with whatever weird drinks they ordered.

But I have another idea.

*Bump*

“Whoa-whoa sorry man, I almost didn’t see you.”

“It’s alright…”

I lightly bumped into him and sneaked back into the crowd, as he continued his way back to the bench.

“I’m back!”

“Hey, careful now! You nearly tripped.”

“Yeah yeah. Anyway, here!”

“Thanks man… Alright so who was the one that ordered coke?”

“...? I don’t remember buying coke.”

“Really? Then if no one’s claiming it then I guess I’ll have it- Hyaaa!”

“Whoa! Hey, Nakata, what's the big idea?!”

“That wasn’t me!!!”

As soon as one of them opened the can of coke I bought, a gush of water rushed out like fireworks, drenching the poor guy who opened it with sticky sugary water.

Sleight of hand.

I got this idea when Asahi stole my phone.

You need only a distraction, get close to your target and also incredibly good hand motor skills.

He was carrying all of the bottles inside a plastic bag, so I only needed to sneak a can in and no one would notice. Sound wasn’t an issue either, as the crowds were already noisy enough to distract him from anything.

And now to look at the results.

“Look at what you did to me, now I wanna go take a shower…”

“I didn’t know there was a can of coke inside there…”

“Doesn’t matter! I’m going to the toilet to clean myself. Nakata, go find a towel or something.”

“I need to go again?!.”

“Shut up, this is your fault to begin with.”

2 down, 2 more to go

I rested my back on the fence wall by the river side this time as I observed our targets and prepared for the next attack. I couldn’t use the same trick twice, otherwise our targets will get suspicious.

However, I think they already are suspicious. More specifically, Ando.

I could already see it by their expression. I could guess what their thoughts were by the way he was looking around the area like a prey looking out for the sneaky predator. He was searching for something. Or rather, someone.

My theory was proven to be true when our eyes met.

He must’ve recognized where the coat I was wearing was from, as he immediately took Iwasaki’s hand and nearly made a dash for it.

“Iwasaki, She’s here. And she’s not alone. Hurry!”

“Ah, w-wait! Your hand-”

“There’s no time for that, let’s go!”

Shit!

“Hey, where are you guys going!”

The 2 friends that remained didn’t know what had happened, and were confused by what those two were doing.

“Sorry, we just remembered some really important homework we gotta do. We’ll continue our research later!”

Oooh so they came here for research.

But it wasn’t time for me to just stand around and idle while my targets were getting away. I had to figure out a way to get them to stay here. Or maybe this is something Asahi can benefit from.

“Oh man, that getting rid of coke stains is tough… Hey! Where are you guys going?!”

The voice came from behind. The other friend that has returned from the toilet spotted our two targets running away. He was close enough from me to be within arms reach. And he was close enough to the side of the river that I could push him over the railing and fall down to the water below.

I had to admit, the thought was tempting.

Just a little nudge and another scene would be created.

They could ignore a little squirrel all they want, but could they leave behind their friend? I had no time to think. The more time I spent pondering the more time I gave them to run away.

Quick, choose! Don’t let this opportunity fade away!

…

…..

…...Huh?

……..What am I even thinking?

Pushing someone off a cliff and potentially hurting them. Why did I even think this was an option to begin with? Where in god’s plan was there for me to commit literal murder attempts?f

Resist the urge, Resist!

That’s one line I refuse to cross.

And as if god has rewarded me for my patience. A miracle occurred.

The squirrel from earlier has returned. Faster than ever, the squirrel stopped in front of Ando and made him into a complete halt.

“Whoa there!”

“Hya!”

Newton’s first law, Inertia.

The sudden halt of Ando made Iwasaki launch forward. With no time to recover both himself and Iwasaki, they fell on to the ground. Iwasaki was above Ando in a very particular pose that should've been on their beds, yet here it is.

Time slowed down. The sun that was about to set was now the spotlight for our couple. The blowing leafs are floating down gently to compliment the atmosphere in a public space.

I didn’t have to interfere with their relationship as much as I thought. I need only to restrain myself from pushing their friend off the cliff and let nature do their work.

And like a script, I heard the sound of a camera shot being taken.

Now it’s my time to leave.

“That damn Asahi..! Iwasaki, are you okay?!”

“...mm…”

Ando was trying to get himself back up with Iwasaki having her head down low casting a shadow over her face. Ando managed to back up and get up before offering his hand like a prince to the seemingly weak Iwasaki.

I’m so sorry, you two. I won’t interfere with your private life anymore I swear!

Part 3

“Nice one, Izumi! That was really fantastic work!”

“I am never doing that ever again.”

We arrived safely back at our clubroom to take a breather and store our data in the computer.

“...Good work you two… I would offer you tea if I could…”

“Oh it’s fine Holmes you don’t need to do that.

Kiyama- or rather, Holmes, was still busy writing the witch report on her computer. I didn’t want to hinder her progress, so I let her continue to do her own thing.

After returning her coat and hat back to Asahi, I quickly went over to the chair next to where Holmes was sitting, and took one of the longest sighs I’ve taken.

“...What’s wrong, Watson…?”

“Oh it’s nothing.”

Today was a very tiresome day. I would like to regain my energy now that I did two tasks in one day.

While I was pondering wild thoughts to myself, I began to notice Asahi’s grumbling over the polaroid camera.

“Aaah damnit…”

“What’s wrong?”

“The picture didn’t come out right.”

I went over to fetch the picture pinched between her hands and looked at it myself.

“Oh I see what you mean.”

The result was a blurry image. You could still make out the distinctive features of two humans hugging in this shot, but the picture wasn’t clear enough to show who it was. Thus being useless in printing.

“This janky polaroid is hard to stabilize.”

“Why do you use a polaroid anyway, how old is that thing?”

“Look okay, I found it in my grandfather’s basement. It still worked when I tried it so I thought it was like a special calling! Like the red string of fate had intertwined.”

“Yeah, no, that’s not happening. Here, why didn’t you just borrow Holmes’ phone?”

“...I’m never lending my phone to her…”

“See? Unlike you, Izumi, she’s actually smart.”

I never lent you my phone! You just took it from me!

“Sigh… Then I guess there’s only one option.”

“…?”

“I’m gonna look for a new member. If no one here has a better camera, then we’ll just borrow someone else’s camera. Besides, we need five club members anyway.”

This will not end well…

As I was just beginning to help Holmes with her work, I noticed another pair of footsteps quickly walking down the corridor just like earlier.

“Asahiii! Don’t you dare use that picture!”

The door sprung open to reveal it was an angry ando looking for the disturbance that was Asahi.

“Oh hello Ando! How was your date with Iwasaki?”

“That was not a date, we’re just observing the scenery for art class!”

“Ok sure, sure- whoa whoa hey don’t come closer now-!”

“Where. Is. that. Photo!?”

“It’s over there on my desk-! Ow!”

His rage got the better of him and he uncharacteristically goes over to Asahi herself to grab her by the collar like what she loves to do with me. But I had to admit his face was really close to her.

“Let me see. hmm? It’s blurry.”

“Exactly.”

His face completely changes from that of a kid who had their favorite toy broken, to a confused look.

“You see? I can’t even use the photo anyway. Now can you put me down please.”

“Oh, right. What was I thinking? I’m so sorry.”

“Apology accepted.”

Ando finally settled down his emotions to let go of Asahi.

“Wait a minute. Aren’t you going to try to make us do that again for the sake of getting another clearer photo then?!”

“Normally, yes. But my pal Izumi over there has had enough for one mission. Besides, we already have another story to display.”

“Hmmm… I still don’t trust you. But for now I will retreat. Sorry for barging in, you two.”

He bowed to me and Holmes, but not Asahi, and exited the room with light footsteps this time. Everyone in the room was quiet. Trying to gather their senses over what just happened.

“...They’re definitely dating…”

Holmes spoke first.

“I know right!? There’s no way he’s not interested in her if he gets that defensive about it” I replied.

“...You’re speaking my mind, Watson… Truly a worthy partner…”

“Much appreciated”

And so, throughout the entire evening we worked inside the clubroom until it was time to go home, and so the night continued.

Part 4

“Hey hey! We got ourselves a new member!”

It was only the next day when Asahi had already found a new member for The Sunny Times. In her right hand was an arm of a male student slightly shorter than me who didn’t seem to mind being kidnaped by Asahi.

“Go on, introduce yourself.”

She let go of his hand as he walked in front to begin his greeting.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Arisu Nagasawa, from class 1-A. Akagi-senpai kindly invited me over lunch break. I hope we can all get along.”

Hang on, he’s an underclassmen?

It appears that Asahi isn’t very picky when it comes to her targets, not even first years are safe. Or maybe she couldn’t just find anyone in our grade since everyone had a bad reception of her.

“Likewise. I’m Satori, from 2-B”

“...I’m Kiyama, also from 2-B…Nagasawa… I think I’ve heard that family name somewhere…”

“Ah! That might be my family run theater. It has gotten quite a bit of attention over the past decade or so. Might I add that it would be exceptional to call me Arisu.”

“...Oh, alright… Are you an actor at your theater by any chance…?”

“Nay, I merely operate on background work. Such as lighting, and setting up props. However, I do take an interest in art, and I take my visuals very seriously.”

As a first impression, he does give off a very artistic kind of person. His speech manner as well is more inclined towards a Shakespeare fanboy. However, he seems like a nice guy, so everything’s well and fine I hope.

“Alright, that concludes our introduction. Arisu, you can start by watching Sora-chan and Izumi work.”

“Much obliged, Director.”

Asahi concluded the introduction and we went back to work. Only now a kouhai was watching us. I just joined the club a few days ago so I don’t really feel like a proper senpai. Luckily, Holmes was reliable enough to relax a bit and took care of this.

“Excuse me for observing you, senpai. Might I ask what you might be doing?”

“...I’m organizing our report for the newspaper to make it look fancier for readers… I’m having a hard time deciding what to emphasize… The size of the paper is limited so I have to be mindful… Watson- I mean, Satori-kun is helping me…”

“I will take this chair then if you don’t mind.”

He went over to take the chair next to Holmes and started observing seriously.

After a while, it got a bit awkward having a pair of eyes focused on us while we were working. But there was nothing we could say against as it was order from the director herself to observe how we work.

“Senpai, you should make this part bigger.”

“...!”

His sudden comment made both of us jump at our seats when we nearly forgot he was there.

“Oh, excuse my rudeness for startling you both. It was never my intention to do so. Moving on, I really think this part is more important than this one.”

“Hm… I think he’s right.”

Holmes did as he said, and wouldn’t you know it, it does look better this way.

“...How’d you know, Arisu-kun…?”

“I merely like to indulge myself in matters of composition. Do you notice how your eyes flow better with this kind of placement? It guides our vision to where we want the readers' focus to be.”

“I didn’t know that.”

I simply am baffled. I had no way to do a follow up comment with that so I only backed off into my seat again. I took a peak at the director’s desk where I visibly saw Asahi being happy. Like a mother being proud of their son.

“Do you have an interest in photography?” I asked.

“Hmm, I do admire the idea of it. However, I have never really ventured outside and took photography seriously. Perhaps I have done so with shooting at the theater, yet I can’t remember.”

His photoshoots might be really good for the newspaper.

“You’re thinking the same thing as I am, right Izumi?”

“HUA-! Oh, Jesus that scared me.”

Asahi’s face was directly behind mine. There were no footsteps heard and I didn’t even notice her presence before, and yet somehow, she just appeared out of nowhere.

“Anyway! It’s nice to see you all get along so well. Prepare yourselves, because at midnight we’re gonna set out.”

“Tonight?”

“Tonight.”

Asahi made another sudden announcement.

“What? Don’t tell me you didn’t expect this. If there’s a new member, I always test them to see their strength.”

“True…”

“Oh how exciting! Let me in on it!”

The newest member himself was excited about it. He must’ve not known of Asahi’s nature to be able to act like that. I envy his lack of awareness.

“And what a coincidence as well. I just got some new information from my crows about a potential backdoor smuggling.”

“Your crows? What’s that?”

Does Asahi train her birds to speak or what?

“That’s just what I call my informants. Anyway, take a look at this.”

She had in her hand some files which she laid down on the desk us three were at. Its contents were some photos of a really dark place. It looked cramped and really narrow. With the only source of light being a flashlight from the photographer.

“Where and what is this?”

“It’s a picture of a back alley, but take a closer look!”

We resumed to carefully inspect the images laid before us to see what she was talking about. It took a long while before Holmes pointed to it first.

“...Oh, I see it…”

She then moved her index finger closer to the ground in the image.

“...There’s multiple footprints…”

“Sora-chan with the keen eye as always.”

“What about the footprints?”

On closer inspection, there exists several pairs of footprints. Yet from what I can tell it doesn’t look anything out of the ordinary. I’m sure people walk up and down the alley to use as a shortcut or perhaps as a secret hang out spot.

“Come on, don’t they look strange to you?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Sigh… Well it certainly bothers me. And we’re all going to check it out!”

“We? Is it not just going to be you and Arisu?”

“Nah, when it comes to things like this, having the expert analyst Sora-chan will help a lot! And since she can’t bring her wheelchair into that cramped back alley, you’re gonna carry her.”

Think back on that day.

That day I agreed to join The Sunny Times.

I knew what I was getting myself into, there’s no point in complaining now. I knew we were gonna run around and do random stuff to random people. I knew I had to just follow her to even survive for a day. And with all those conditions, I accepted her offer and joined willingly.

“So, are you coming?”

We might run into someone armed, or we might not. We might be dealing with a drug trafficker, or we might not. We might get ourselves in danger, or we might not.

So of course my answer would be…

“Sure, why not?”

What is life without a little spice?

Those moments of thrills you only get to experience if you venture out of your comfort zone. That’s what makes life worth it.

~~To be continued August 8th, ch6 Stars that guides your way~~