"You're ready, right?" I say.

"Mhm." Hinami nods her head, her light brown hair swaying along.

I take her hand and begin walking in the direction of the cafe. I can see the light coming from inside the building but it doesn't provide us any light. We're too far away for it to do anything for us. Our only source of light comes from the occasional street light and the dim radiance of the moon.

As we walk, I can't help but feel like we're being watched. It's like someone's eyes are burning holes in the back of my head.

I know I'm not paranoid. Someone's watching us. They're intent however... That's what I'm not sure about.

Instead of keeping straight, I take a left across the street. It's surprisingly empty and inactive so I don't have to worry about traffic.

"Where are we going?" Hinami says.

"Don't say anything." I mouth those words in particular so the person who's watching won't hear me. "I just figured we should stay outside a little longer. It won't do any harm." I speak aloud this time, hoping that they haven't realized I figured out what was going on.

"Oh...ok. I like it outside anyway." She smiles but it vanishes from her face almost as soon as she does. A look of worry and confusion takes its place.

"Everything will be fine." I whisper.

We both become quiet and it becomes much easier to pay attention to our environment and the sounds in the background. It's relatively silent except for the noise of crickets chirping.

Suddenly there's a noise that's louder than the crickets. It sounds like someone scraped the bottom of their shoe against the concrete. Not long after, footsteps are heard.

Yeah, just as I thought. Someone really is following us. From the sound of it, they might've temporarily lost balance or stumbled. But I don't hear them anymore...

I look across the street at Anteiku and then back ahead of me.

We'll just have to deal with it for now... Or are they even there anymore?

I inhale and exhale, trying to take in the scent of anyone nearby. I do and they appear to be running away from us. With each second, their smell begins to become faint.

"We can go back now." I say.

"Are they gone?" Hinami asks, fear showing in her voice.

"Yeah, they're gone. But just to be sure, we'll go in through the back entrance."

We cross the street again and go around the building to get to the backdoor. I slowly open it and we both go in, attracting the attention of everyone inside.