Game Gyaru

Chapter 69: Stalker

"And that should be the last of it." Hakuta placed down his pencil and breathed a sigh of relief after finishing up his final problem. Now it was only a matter of time before he would be able to leave and get back to his own comfy room where there were some video games waiting for him.

"Geez, thanks a bunch." Ninka took advantage of this by giving him a nice tight hug to show her gratitude. Of course it made for a good excuse to get all handsy with him, which was easy since it didn't even attempt to hug her back. "Looks like our summer's going to be perfect this year."

"And boy do we got a lot planned for that." Rouko added in. She didn't provide any details about what they did have in mind for the next month, but whatever it was, Hakuta was unlikely to enjoy. "Maybe we'll have you come along if you're lucky." She spoke to the boys. Though from his point of view, this would be the case were he unlucky instead.

"Speaking of coming along." Said Yuusen. "Now that we're done with all the boring stuff. How about we have some fun around here?" He suggested they do anything teens liked to do while hanging out at someone's house.

"I won't." Hakuta was not like those kinds of teens though. "I'm tired and I didn't even want to be here in the first place. So I just want to go home."

"For once, I'll have to agree with him." Said Rouko. "But don't let us get in the way of your fun." She told them. "We can take care of ourselves."

"Suit yourself." Shiuka was among those who wanted to hang around here. While she wasn't interested much in Hakuta's friends. It had been a while since she had hung out here and it was nearly dinnertime. Soon enough they'd be able to enjoy some of Ninka's mom's cooking. Which while it wasn't high quality, was what some would call comfort food.

There was also the added benefit on her not having to worry about taking a different path than Hakuta on their way back to the house. "See you two later then."

"See you." They both replied in unison. Hakuta opened the door for the girl and soon enough they were out of the house.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask for any help." He said, engaging in a bit of small talk before they went their separate ways. "I was more than willing if you needed any."

"That's because I'm not a dunce like those two." She responded, mocking her friends. "There's no problem for me getting good grades. Usually I'm the one who'd gotta make sure they don't flunk out of school."

"Wow." He never took her to be smart, though it wasn't a high bar to pass when it came to competing against Shiuka and Ninka. "Then I guess I wasn't needed at all." He laughed. It wasn't a secret he didn't want to be there in the first place. "Anyway, I'll see you again in class."

"Alright." She gave him a simple smile and waved the boy goodbye. "See ya!" They took a fork in the road and went on their separate ways back home. At this point, it was nearly time for dinner, which meant the sun was on its way to setting. There was still plenty of light, but the light on the horizon changed how it glowed. Casting on the land a more warm orange rather than the bright yellow. Changing the atmosphere like when one changed the display settings on their computer.

The boy didn't think much about his new journey back towards Shiuka's house. He simply made sure his bag was properly over his shoulder to minimize discomfort and chose a good path where he could enjoy the views. Nothing about this trip should have any problems, yet his body felt concern.

Perhaps there was a bit of some gamer sense within him, but it felt like someone was following him. Like a horror game where the character walked around an empty location with nothing around them. Only the looming sense of dread as they braced themselves for a potential jump scare.