Stalker

"Um, Homura-niisan, we should be on our way too."

Tsumugi took the phone from Sagiri and spoke gently.

"Originally, we were planning to wait for you before leaving, but it's getting late. My butler will come to pick me up if we wait any longer, and I don't want to trouble him..."

"Nah, it's okay, I get it." Homura said gently, reassuring Tsumugi. "We'll have plenty of chances to meet again later, like at your school festival, for example. It's starting soon, right?"

"Yes! Our Sakuragaoka should be one of the earliest! Homura-niisan, you'll definitely have time to come watch, right?" Tsumugi asked, her anticipation clear.

"As long as you girls are on stage, how could I not go?"

"Great! We'll make sure to practice hard!"

"Practice hard? Heh, I'll believe that if it's not for Yui and Ritsu." Homura said while chuckling. "Well, I'll definitely look forward to it."

And so, after a brief chat, everyone from the Light Music Club said their goodbyes to Homura over the phone, also praising his tea eggs in passing.

Eventually, the phone returned to Sagiri's hands.

"They left..." Sagiri muttered, her voice containing a faint reluctance.

"Yeah, our home has never been this lively... Anyway, there will be plenty of opportunities like this in the future, so cheer—"

Homura tried to console Sagiri but suddenly paused midway as he noticed something.

'Why is she here?'

Homura noticed Mafuyu ahead of him.

"What's wrong, Nii-san?" Sagiri asked curiously.

"Nothing, I just saw Kirisu-sensei."

"Kirisu-sensei?" Sagiri repeated the name, catching the attention of Fumino, Rizu, and Uruka nearby.

"Minamiya-kun saw Kirisu-sensei?" Fumino couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing Fumino's question, Sagiri finally remembered who Kirisu-sensei was.

"I was thinking whether to go say hi, but... she seems a bit strange though..." Homura said with a frown.

Indeed, Mafuyu looked a bit strange, with a nervous expression, as if avoiding something.

"But Nii-san... Aren't you supposed to be 'at home' now? Is it really okay to show yourself like this?" Sagiri immediately remembered his big brother's plan and reminded him.

"...It's fine." Homura replied after being silent for a moment. "Well, I think it's safe now."

"In that case, just go." Sagiri said with a comforting tone. "You're worried, right? In case Kirisu-sensei encounters a stalker or something, you can protect her..."

'Stalker? Sagiri really thought too much.' Homura chuckled inwardly, then responded, "Gotcha, I'll hang up for now."

After putting his phone in his pocket, Homura walked toward Mafuyu, but as he approached, his exceptional hearing picked up footsteps behind her.

Realizing what was going on, Homura's mouth couldn't help but twitch as he remembered what Sagiri had casually mentioned earlier.

'A stalker? Seriously? Isn't it still dusk? For fuck's sake, this is so conspicuous!' Homura couldn't help but complain in his mind.

Nevertheless, considering Mafuyu exuded a charm that seemed to overflow, someone stalking her wasn't that surprising.

As Homura got closer to Mafuyu, he could hear the footsteps behind her quickening—it seemed like the stalker knew this particular alley had no surveillance!

With a couple of quick steps, Homura appeared in front of Mafuyu, who was startled at first but then relaxed upon recognizing him.

"Stalker?" Homura asked briefly.

"I... don't know..." Mafuyu muttered while shaking her head. "I went to my mother's place yesterday, but because I have to work tomorrow morning, I immediately took the train back. But as soon as I got off, I felt someone following me, and it seemed they got closer and closer..."

Hearing her explanation, Homura sighed, then spoke up.

"Listen, someone is surely following you."

While other possibilities existed, on a quiet alley with no surveillance like this, he didn't mind suspecting the intentions of the one following Mafuyu in a more malicious way.

As Mafuyu heard Homura's words, she shivered and grabbed onto his arm in fear.

Just then, a man in his forties, dressed formally in a suit with glasses and carrying a briefcase, sprinted around the corner and appeared before them. Despite fitting the image of dignified professions like a teacher or a company manager, however, his gaze was excessively sinister.

Upon seeing Homura and Mafuyu together, the man discreetly spat on the ground.

Although there was no evidence to prove the man was bad, judging from his series of actions earlier, he definitely didn't have good intentions.

"Hey, why are you following her?" Homura asked bluntly as he stared at the man.

Upon hearing the question, the man stopped in his tracks and looked at Homura.

"Huh? Who's following her?"

At this response, Homura sneered and pulled out a right-angled metal pipe from his backpack.

Seeing this, both Mafuyu and the man were shocked, thinking Homura was about to attack, but fortunately, he didn't.

Homura simply gripped the metal pipe with his two hands before suddenly straightening it and forcefully smashing it on the ground!

*DING!*

As a loud metal noise resounded, it proved that the pipe was truly made of hard metal!

Seeing this, the man was about to wet himself.

Homura took out his phone, snapped a picture of the man, glanced at it, and then smirked.

He had to admit that the more he looked, the more the man resembled that scumbag teacher named Shidou from Highschool of the Dead.

Naturally, that was only in terms of his 'refined-outside-but-corrupt-inside' appearance. If this man somehow blended into the world of Highschool of the Dead, Homura predicted he would probably act like Shidou.

"I will remember your face... Finding you through this photo and tracking you down in various ways is a piece of cake, so I advise you not to do anything out of line, or else, this pipe won't just be hitting the ground."

*DING!*

Another hit, but this time, the cement floor near the point of impact cracked open.

In an instant, the man fell on his butt in terror, and a look of fear appeared on his face.

Surprisingly, the man actually wet himself!

"AHHH—!!!"

Screaming in terror, the man scrambled to his feet and ran away using both hands and feet!

Homura smirked, loosening his grip on the metal pipe.

"I'm alright, I just forgot to release the force earlier, so my hand got a little numb from the impact."

Homura reassured Mafuyu with a smile as he watched the worried look she gave him.

In truth, he hadn't forgotten.

He understood that smashing hard objects like a metal pipe onto the hard ground was primarily about raw force, which led to a huge recoil.

However, since Mafuyu was holding onto his left arm, he couldn't release the recoil through his entire body to mitigate the force, or it would hurt her.

As a result, his right hand, holding the metal pipe, bore the brunt.

Mafuyu pursed her lips before smiling and breathing a sigh of relief.

"I say, Kirisu-sensei, how did you end up in this alley anyway?" Homura asked curiously.

"Obvious… if there's a stranger following me, how could I go home?" Mafuyu replied, her usual catchphrase came back.

Homura sighed and shook his head.

"Kirisu-sensei, this alley has no surveillance cameras or the like. If you hadn't run into me, guess what would have happened?"

"Uhh..." Mafuyu was at a loss. "Miscalculated... I actually forgot about this... I should've walked toward crowded places."

Seeing her like this, Homura couldn't help but give her a headpat before offering her advice.

"Normally, you'd be fine, but there are always some people who don't know when to give up. In situations like this, you should head straight to the main road and go to the police station."

"Anyway, if a situation like this somehow occurs again... just call me, okay?"

"My home is nearby, and I rarely go out, so just call me, and I'll come to you as soon as possible."

It was unknown whether Mafuyu heard his words or not, as, at this moment, she froze, her mind filled with questions.

Did she just get headpatted by a man who wasn't her father?

A student, no less?

For a moment, Mafuyu's mind was in chaos.