Night, mountain path.
Even though the moonlight tonight was bright, walking through grass taller than a person still made everyone feel uneasy.
Especially when the mountain wind picked up. The wind howled through the forest, dead leaves scattered through the air, and the white fluff on the tall grass drifted and swirled.
Moonlight, mountain wind, ancient path...
"Yuk... Yukinoshita-senpai!"
Hirasawa Ui followed closely behind Yukinoshita Yukino, looking around nervously as she carefully held up her phone, using its screen light to see her surroundings.
The howling wind and rustling leaves tightened her chest, making her fear that some beast or yokai might suddenly leap out from somewhere.
"There are no such things as ghosts in this world. Just stay close to me."
Yukinoshita Yukino's cold voice reached Hirasawa Ui. It sounded calm, reassuring.
Ui softly responded with an "Mm," nodding lightly as she looked at the somewhat slender figure ahead of her, her eyes shimmering with admiration.
Yukinoshita-senpai is really reliable!
But unseen by Ui, the girl walking in front, Yukinoshita Yukino, although appearing calm, was gently pressing her thin pink lips together. The hand holding her phone was also slightly pale at the knuckles.
Step.
Step.
Their light footsteps fell on the moss-covered stone steps, moving upward through the rustling leaves.
The night sky was filled with stars like scattered sand. The bright silver moon poured its light over the endless mountains and the girls, draping them in a thin veil of silver.
"Yukinoshita-senpai, what do you think Kato-senpai and Nohara-senpai will do to scare us?"
Ui tried to break the silence between them. The oppressive quiet, combined with the eerie surroundings, only made her more frightened.
"As for Kato-san, I'm not sure. But as for Nohara..."
Yukinoshita Yukino recalled what she knew about Nohara Sato and hesitated for a moment.
"He's someone with a rather mischievous personality."
She finally gave her judgment after a deep breath, then continued calmly,
"So he'll probably take this very seriously, in hopes of really scaring us."
Ui looked up at Yukinoshita Yukino's back and asked after a brief pause,
"Does Yukinoshita-senpai know him well?"
Some unknown birds called out faintly in the deep mountains, and insects murmured in the shadows.
Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly stopped walking. After a moment of thought, she continued forward and said softly,
"Not really. Or rather, I only know part of him."
"Part?"
"Mm."
Yukinoshita Yukino lightly nodded.
For example, the part where he also likes cats...
Crack.
Suddenly, a sharp sound of a branch snapping rang out.
Both of them froze and turned toward the grass on their right, their expressions changing as they stared cautiously in that direction.
The sound had been clear, as if something had stepped on a branch. It could have been a person, or something... else.
Only the tall grass swayed gently in the wind. Under the moonlight, the white seed tufts were clearly visible, their shadows facing away from the moon.
Hirasawa Ui's face turned pale. She trembled and said,
"Senpai, come out. We already heard you."
Yukinoshita Yukino stared into the grass, her heart also tightening.
Silence. Deathly silence.
After Ui's words, the surroundings fell completely still. No further sound came. But both of them were certain they had clearly heard a branch snap just moments ago.
"Maybe it was just the wind."
"R-really...?"
They exchanged glances and quietly let out a breath of relief.
But at that moment, their breathing froze.
From the corner of their eyes, they caught a glimpse of a shadow behind them.
"I was wondering... are you looking for me?"
Along with a faint voice, a light suddenly lit up from below, illuminating a blank expression from bottom to top. Light and shadow crossed over that face...
Time seemed to come to a standstill.
And then, the next second...
"AAAAHHH!!!"
A scream that could pierce eardrums echoed across the mountainside, reverberating through both the mountain and all the way down to the base.
Near the mountaintop.
Sato watched this scene through his enhanced perception and couldn't help but laugh.
It looked like Kato-san actually had quite the talent for scaring people. Having the Okuri-Inu snap a branch to draw attention, then silently approaching from behind for a surprise attack.
Hirasawa Ui's scream aside, even Yukinoshita had gone pale and taken a step back.
At the mountain base.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
Yui scratched her head and stared up the mountain path blankly.
"That sounded like Ui just now."
"It wasn't like it. That was definitely Ui!"
Ritsu also looked up in surprise, then grinned at the trembling Mio beside her.
"Looks like they've prepared a big surprise for us up there!"
Mio muttered blankly, eyes hollow,
"I'm not going. I want to go back."
"Oh? You're sure you want to go back alone?"
Ritsu pointed at the pitch-black road behind them.
"Uu..."
Mio let out a pitiful whimper.
Up on the mountain.
Yukinoshita Yukino steadied herself and sighed after seeing the completely innocent-looking Kato Megumi.
She then turned to Hirasawa Ui, who was still weak in the knees and teary-eyed, and said,
"Are you alright? Maybe we should just give up?"
As she spoke, she glanced at Kato Megumi, who remained calm and expressionless.
Having Kato-san be the one to scare people really was terrifying in its own way. Even she hadn't noticed when Kato Megumi had moved behind them.
Kato Megumi looked slightly troubled and said,
"Sorry."
Ui wiped away her tears and shook her head.
"It's not senpai's fault. I'm just too timid."
Then, forcing down her fear, she looked at Yukinoshita Yukino with determination.
"I-it's okay, Yukinoshita-senpai. Let's continue."