Log 3 : When "I" became "i"

 "One what? One camera?"

I frenetically searched everywhere, only to be left with the disappointment of finding nothing. 

I sat down, putting my head in my hands.

No one really interacted with me except Oku. He isn't much of a threat aside from the fact that he tried to shoot me but other than that, he just seems to enjoy putting cameras everywhere.

But why? For leverage? Thinking about it, the forum has been inactive lately, and the basis of the site is to document murders.

 This means no one has died in the past few weeks.

I saw what they did, and I know that a "Character Ending" isn't fiction; it’s a real murder.

Are they operating in the shadows, or are they taking a break? All I know is that now, they want me gone.

"I’m quitting the job..."

"What, right now?"

"Sorry, I can't work anymore."

"Well, here is your pay for the month. Goodbye, take care."

"Thank you, goodbye."

$1,350. I guess that will be enough for now. I sat on a nearby bench.

I have two options:

Find a new job and keep living my life, letting people die. That would be cowardice, and there is always a non-zero chance that they’ll kill me anyway.

Try playing their game, infiltrate, and cut them off at the source. But in exchange, I lose my friends, my life, and I might die myself. 

Beep

Gosuto_raita01 replied to Oku_56: «I'll take care»

I didn't have a choice.

I headed to a shop, trying to find what I needed.

"Woah..."

I didn't recognize myself: blue contacts, short black hair, and fake glasses. 

It felt like playing a character in a game where "myself" had become the threat.

I pulled out my phone to access my forum account in an incognito tab. I clicked on the sign-up page.

Username: Ryoshi_21

I checked the thread to find Oku’s user.

«Message him» Yes.

Ryoshi_21: «Hello»

I looked away, waiting, but was surprised to already see the word 

"Typing..." appear.

Typing...

Oku_56: «Who are you?»

Ryoshi_21: «I'm Ryo.»

Oku_56: «And?»

Ryoshi_21: «I saw this one thread about character endings. I wanted to ask, what’s your favourite one?»

Oku_56: «Oh yeah, probably Kujo on the last episode.

»

Ryoshi_21: «Kujo? From what anime?»

Oku_56: «Oh, it's a live-action film!»

Ryoshi_21: «Right… so well-filmed it almost looks real, as if it was...»

Oku_56: «?»

If I told him too much, they might figure out I'm Shido. I needed to play with hints while luring him out.

Ryoshi_21: «Come on... It must have been tragic, no?»

Oku_56: «Well, it was.»

Ryoshi_21: «You sound cool. Wanna hang out in real life?»

Oku_56: «mmkay... where do you live?»

Ryoshi_21: «Kyoto. Wanna meet up at the central station?»

Oku_56: «See you tomorrow.»

I headed home to sleep with a smile on my face.

Tap tap tap tap

Someone was running behind me.

A robotic voice announced: «Kyoto station, buses departing in 30 minutes.»

Someone huffed behind me.

"H-hi, are you Ryo?"

I turned to see an average guy with brown hair, glasses, and a school uniform. I thought he’d be much older than this.

"How did you know?"

"I asked everyone around."

"Well, what's your name?"

He straightened up and mumbled,

 "My name's Raiku. And you?"

Raiku. Interesting. I noted this in my head.

"Mine is Ryo."

"A-ah, yes, Ryo. And what was the reason for this meeting?"

"I thought you were interesting."

"Me?"

"No, the wall behind you," I said with sarcasm, hiding my sweaty hand behind my back.

"Let's go somewhere where we can talk; it's too noisy here."

He looks like a nerd, but I doubt he's harmless. I mean, he broke into my house twice.

"Sure."

We sat on a bench. I looked at him, trying to memorize his face.

"So... let's talk about something."

"What’s your favourite anime?"

"I think... The Favourite Dragons of the Gods."

"Meh. And your hobbies?"

"Technology... and, uhm, I'm not sure."

I looked troubled. How could he be so nonchalant about it?

"I like... I like looking through forums and searching the internet. I guess we can count that as its own hobby."

"So, anything else happening in your life?"

"Yeah, pretty much. A lot of things are happening."

"What?"

"Why would I tell you?" I said flatly. He's obviously too naive unless this is a trap.

"Yeah, sorry..."

"And you?"

"Yeah, me too. I have things happening."

"I guess I shouldn't ask."

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

He smiled, and my stomach twisted. He’s a creep, and I couldn't even resist making an explicitly disgusted face.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah, I'm just a bit sick."

"Wanna go drink something?"

"No, I'm fine. I'll go home. Let's talk later, bye."

"Oh, okay. Goodbye, take care."

He looked almost disappointed before walking away.

I took out my notepad to sketch him quickly and wrote down all the information I knew:

Name: Raiku (Oku_56)

Hobby: Technology and probably stalking others.

Favourite Anime: "The Favourite Dragon of the Gods"

I later returned to my house to check for anything, but today nothing had moved. This proved that the writer was really Oku. 

But I needed more informations.