Chapter Four: The Hunt Begins:

I sat there in the bed, naked and confused. I tried to piece together what had happened in my mind. Yesterday was my birthday. The girls and I went out to the bar. Then, I met a cute stranger named Kaoru at the bar. I ordered many drinks and hung out with him. And then… It goes hazy from there. I took a moment to think about all of that. I must have blacked out at the bar. Then, where am I and who carried me here? Then, I looked at the text message again. I shuddered at the words. That’s when my deepest fear struck me.

“Oh no!” I said softly to myself. Did I… cheat on Aki? I shook my head. No, I couldn’t have! It was just a drunken one-night stand! I love him too much to stray! No, I couldn’t have. It was just a one-night stand. Yeah, that’s it. It was only a one-night stand. I got too drunk and don’t remember a thing. I just need to get up, get dressed, and get out of here—where ever this place is. I quickly shook my head. Can’t think about that now. I have to get out of here. Right! I quickly leapt out of bed and looked around for my clothes. It took me a minute, but I managed to find most of them. I couldn’t find my panties, however. I’ll look for them later. Once I got dressed, I quickly and quietly left the room.

I looked around in the hall in hopes not to be seen. The maid was cleaning the rooms at this moment. She must have been in another room at the moment. I took a guess of how long I had until she came back. The elevator was just down the hall. I drew in another breath before taking another look around. “Okay,” I thought. “Here we go!” I quickly raced down the hall to the elevator. I didn’t look back one I pressed the down button. I took one glance while I waited for the doors to open up wide. No one was still in sight. I’m good so far. It’s good so far, but I’m not out yet. I looked up at the elevator. “Damn, this thing is taking too long!” I thought. I began to pace around a little bit. If this thing doesn’t open up soon, I’m in big trouble. I shut my eyes and breathed heavily. Freaking out is not going to help at all. I need to calm down. I kept breathing until I felt better. I slowly opened my eyes when I heard the elevator bell ring. Finally, I could get out of here. I drew in another breath and walked inside. The doors slid shut as I hit the ground floor button. I began to plan my next move as the elevator began sinking downwards.

Okay, I’m dressed and I have left that room. So what comes next? I nervously bit my lip. I paced around the elevator as I dug around in my brain to find the answer. Okay, I made it out of the room; where can I go next? My friends are most likely having breakfast in the dining hall right now. If I could make it to the breakfast bar without being seen, I will be fine. But what will I say to them? I don’t remember much about last night. I can’t tell them that I cheated on Aki with some stranger that I met at the bar. That would just ruin everything. So what could I say?

I shut my eyes again as I took in another breath. “Calm down!” I thought to myself. “Just don’t tell them unless they ask for the details.” I slowly drew in another breath. Suddenly, I felt better all over again. I can actually do this. The elevator doors opened to the ground floor. I straightened myself up some. “Just act natural,” I thought. I walked off the elevator into the lobby. I waved at the lady at the front desk as I walked by. She smiled and waved back at me. Normal so far. I just need to get to the dining hall, have some breakfast, find my friends, and everything will be fine. I hope…

I made all the way to the dining hall. I took my time looking all around me. Everything looks normal so far. I breathed in heavily. Just act natural. I slowly walked into the dining hall. After a short trip through the buffet line, I looked around for my friends.

“Hey Setsuna!” I heard someone yell. I quickly looked up and saw a hand waving at me. I recognized the silver charm bracelet hanging down from the arm. “That’s Chika!” I thought. I hurried over to the arm near the window. And sure enough, my friends and boyfriend sat near the window with their breakfast plates in front of them. Acting suddenly became easy for me.

“Hey guys,” I said. My friends all looked me up and down for a moment. I blinked at them once.

“What?” I asked.

“What happened to you last night?” Hikari asked me. I gave her a little shrug.

“Oh,” I said lightly. “I got so drunk I blacked out and ended up in a random room. I fixed myself up and came down here.” I added a little chuckle to seal the deal. My friends looked at me for one moment. I kept up a brave face while hoping they would believe my story. They all nodded at me.

“Fair enough,” Aki replied as he returned to his rice. I relaxed without showing it on my face. Kiku patted the chair at the other head of the table next to her.

“Come sit with us, Setsuna,” she said. I nodded as I forced myself to smile.

“Sure!” I said without thinking. However as I sat down with my friends and boyfriend, I was unaware that I was now the prey in a sick, twisted hunting game of obsession with Kaoru as being the hunter.