Hints?

I stared wide eyed as I saw Ryuu's face coming closer.

I... need to stop this, right? Wait, do I? It's not like Ryuu is the character from the game anymore. But, he's also not 100 percent okay either. If I give in now, I doubt I'd be able to stop Ryuu from doing whatever he wants from now on...

*Chu*

"...T-This is fine, right?"

I had turned my head at the last second, so Ryuu kissed my cheek.

"You said you wanted a kiss, so," I nervously explained as I slowly slid towards the door, "y-you got one! Anything else will have to wait. Let's go!" I quickly opened the door and escaped.

That was a close one!!!

After that, tutoring was... awkward, to say the least.

Ryuu was a diligent student like always, but the furrow between his brows and frown were very prominent. I couldn't help but feel a pinch of guilt, so I refrained from making unnecessary contact and chatter.

I mean, at least he didn't force me into a kiss, right? I'm sure if this scenario was in the game, Ryuu wouldn't have let me go. He would've forcefully and harshly kissed the MC with no thought to her well being.

But, I can't feel relieved at all with how upset he looks.

"Suzuki-kun." Sato-sensei beckoned from her desk. I glanced at Ryuu, who didn't pay me any attention, before getting up and heading to her desk.

"Yes?" I forced a polite smile.

"What happened? What's with this heavy atmosphere?" Sato-sensei asked with genuine concern.

Oh, you know, just avoided a confession and mouth to mouth kiss with the Dragon. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"Uh, just some... argument." I stiffly answered.

"Can I help at all?" Sensei offered.

"Er, no, I don't think so." I awkwardly answered.

"Hm." She seemed unsatisfied. "If you change your mind, you can come to me anytime." I nodded.

"Whatever is going on, I hope you two solve it. You're such good friends for each other." Sato-sensei smiled weakly.

"I'll do my best." I honestly answered.

The bell rang for class.

"Good job, you two." Sensei put on refreshing grin. "Let's keep this up, so you two can have fun during your break for a change." 

*Snap*

I turned around to see Ryuu had snapped his pencil in half.

"I-If you get a decent score on the next test, Yamamoto-kun, I won't force this tutoring on you anymore." Sensei continued hesitantly. Ryuu didn't answer as he placed his broken pencil down. "W-Well, here, Suzuki-kun. The next lesson." Sensei slid the folder across her desk to me.

"Yeah, thanks." I grabbed the folder and headed back to the table to gather my stuff.

Now, I know why he would get so riled up when I mentioned tutoring ending before. This was alone time between us.

When I looked up after packing, I saw Ryuu had left without me.

"I hope you make up soon, Suzuki-kun." Sato-sensei worriedly said from her desk.

"I'll work on it." I sighed as I left my bag. "I'll be going now." I bowed and left.

Ugh, when's the next time I can sit and chat with Ryuu? Not today thanks to Yuu. Tomorrow's lunch? But, what if he avoids me? Maybe I should skip festival prep tomorrow and head to the cafe? I definitely don't want to push this off longer than necessary. Ryuu's unstable as it is. Leaving him with extreme emotions is the last thing I want to do.

When I entered the classroom, I noticed said person missing. I slumped down.

Did he just leave school? Is he going out to fight to relieve his emotions? 

I rubbed my face exhaustedly.

"Pft."

Hm?

I looked towards the noise and saw Tatsuya with a slight smirk, but when our eyes met, he swiftly dropped it and looked down at his book.

Hm???

"Haru!" Akira ran from his desk and gave me a once over. "You okay?"

"Yeah?" It took me a second to remember what Akira had witnessed. When it hit me, I blushed again.

"I'm so sorry I left you like that! I was shocked and scared, honestly. Having the Dragon glare at you is pretty traumatizing." Akira rambled while looking pitiful. 

"Y-Yeah, I get it." I covered my face again in shame.

Doesn't seem like Akira took that image as romantic. I'm relieved?

"What happened after I left? You must've went to tutoring after, so nothing major, right? Or, is it something you can hide like last time? Was tutoring stressful then?" Akira pelted me with questions as we walked to our seats.

I was about to brush him off until that second to last question.

Like last time? He knows it was Ryuu? Why? How? What???

"Oh, and since you're back, shouldn't he be back, too?" Akira obliviously asked and looked around.

"Yeah, I guess he decided to skip." I stared at Akira suspiciously.

"Well, isn't that unusual? Something must've happened." Akira turned his attention back to me and blinked. "Hey, what's that look for?"

"..." I wanted to ask him now, but classes are about to start. I get the feeling that once I ask him, it won't be a conversation I want cut short. "Nothing."

"Hmph, I'm just worried about you." Akira frowned sullenly. "Is that so wrong?"

"No, you're right." I sighed. "We'll talk later." 

"Why later?" Akira asked doubtfully.

"I-We have some things to talk about." I answered tiredly.

"...Okay." I was surprised by Akira sudden serious demeanor. He must know this won't be a simple conversation.

Once sensei entered, lessons resumed. I didn't have the energy to pay attention and instead doodled. I ended up drawing warped chibi figures of everyone.

It's been a while since I last saw them in 2D. It was kind of refreshing in a weird way, a small reminder that this was a game.

Last period came around, and I stood up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Akira asked as I took my bag with me.

"Since I'm still excluded by the class, I thought to head to the library and do some research." I shrugged as I answered.

"Alright. Be careful." Akira fist bumped my arm. "You know why." I nodded.

I should probably tell Akira that I know who the stalker is later, too. I wonder how his attitude towards Yuu will be affected since he already doesn't like him. Maybe pure hatred?

"That's why you pushed our practice back." I jumped when I heard Yuu speak from beside me.

The ninja strikes again!

"What are you researching? We don't have any papers to write." Yuu asked as I started walking towards the door.

"It's just some personal research. Nothing to do with class." I slid the door open. "I'll get going now. It looks like the others are waiting for you." I said as I inched out the door.

"Okay! Don't forget our practice!" Yuu called out after me gleefully.

Damn, why did I let myself get bribed! Tch, why'd I have to get stuck with him for the three-legged race in the first place!?

I took my time in heading to the library as I wallowed in my despair.

Now that I think about it, this might be the first time I get to explore the library and not have to worry about Tatsuya. He has a meeting with the festival committee and principal, so he shouldn't appear here during this period.

When I arrived, the library was pretty much empty. Since everyone was busy with prep, that wasn't a shocker. 

I made a beeline towards the science section and glanced around. I'm pretty sure inter-dimensional travel has to do with physics, so I looked into that side of things.

I spent a decent amount of time scanning through books and found nothing.

Well, if books won't help me, the Internet's the next best step!... Maybe I should've started there. Libraries do be pretty outdated nowadays.

I sat at one of the school's computers and started online research.

Oh, jackpot!

"Could There Be An Alternate Universe?" was the title of the news article.

Seems like there was potentially a space-time rift discovered near one of the poles recently. However, only one machine detected it, and it was only for half a second. There's currently not enough data to confirm the hypothesis, so they're on the look out for anymore anomalies.

When was this dated? Hm, a bit later than when I arrived... I wonder if it has anything to do with me? I don't know. There's not enough information!

I sighed and rubbed my temples.

I think I've found as much as I could on my own. I'll have to keep track of any updates from the lab the rift was discovered at.

I pulled out my phone and glanced at the time. I still had time before the dreaded practice, so I wondered around the library to waste time.

When I walked by the magazine and newspaper stand, a headline caught my attention: "The Heart Stealing Reaper Strikes Again!" I picked up the newspaper out of curiosity and read the article.

According to this paper, a serial killer has appeared and killed a total of 5 victims over the past 2 years. The most recent one being murdered a few months ago, and there were several common traits shared with each crime.

The victims were teenage girls. They all went to this high school. Every single one was raped before their death. They had their hearts, which are also all missing, taken out, and it's assumed the murder has them as keepsakes/trophies. And all victims had a number carved onto their stomachs, likely as a way for the killer to keep score.

It's said the police have no conclusive leads and warn the students of our school to be careful.

...

There's no way this is a coincidence, right?

This setting was for a yandere dating sim. To have a serial killer nearby fits.

But, there was never a mention of this in the game.

Could this have to do with the hidden route? If the hidden character was the serial killer, I could believe that. The forums did hint that the hidden route was totally different from the rest of the game. That it was what really made the game stand out and be different.

Is this what they meant?

"Suzuki-kun?" I dropped the newspaper from being startled. "Oh no, did I scary you?" I turned around.

It was Ando-sensei.

"O-Oh, sensei, it's you." After reading that article and getting ideas, I felt tense. Sensei bent down to pick up the paper for me.

"Yes, it's me." He smiled warmly as he handed the paper back to me.