Whispers in the Winter Wind

"Hmm…not much yet, huh?" Yasushi muttered, leaning over the stack of documents Yunxue handed him, glancing through the pages with a brow furrowed.

"Gathering substantial evidence always takes time, like anything in police work. Just having a few clues here and there won't be enough. It's not like back in high school where we could go on scraps," replied Jingliu, sitting close by, her tone firm as her eyes scanned the papers. Yunxue stood silently on Yasushi's other side, hands clasped behind her back, waiting.

"True. Still, given the resources we have and the people helping us, I thought we'd be further along by now. But for now, this is okay." Yasushi turned, meeting Yunxue's eyes briefly. "Thanks for putting in so much effort."

Yunxue blinked, a bit startled, her face suddenly flushed as she replied with a stammer, "Th-thank you!"

Yasushi nodded before his eyes drifted back toward the laptop screen, where today's date glared back at him. "That reminds me…" he murmured, almost to himself. "Tomorrow's Valentine's Day."

Both Jingliu and Yunxue immediately perked up, Yunxue's face still colored as she smiled, "With your reputation, and even if plenty of people keep their distance from you, I bet you'll get a few chocolates tossed your way, Yasushi." She giggled lightly, hiding her smile behind her hand.

Yasushi let out a long sigh, feeling a familiar dread creeping up at the thought of tomorrow. He knew his reputation attracted attention, an odd sort that kept a distance but always seemed to keep a watch on him. And with Valentine's Day right around the corner, he half-expected one or two of those admirers to make an attempt. He could only hope he wouldn't have to deal with it tomorrow.

"Well, let's just get through it one day at a time," he said, running a hand through his hair. He gave a quick look toward both Yunxue and Jingliu. "Make sure you're ready too — can't be too sure what might happen."

With that, he closed up his work for the day, feeling the weight of it slide off his shoulders as he walked out alongside them. The night stretched ahead, a small reprieve from the week's demands, and they left together, aiming to make the most of whatever calm it offered.

But tomorrow…he couldn't shake the thought. What might come out of Valentine's Day this year? He wished it would pass quietly, hoped for a day without surprises. Yet, deep down, he suspected that calm was never guaranteed — not in his life. Normalcy, as much as he craved it, rarely seemed to be on his side.

+-+

"Um…" Yasushi muttered, his voice trailing off, utterly taken aback by the sight before him.

"Jesus Christ, man," Furuya muttered beside him, equally stunned, as they sat across from Catherine and Jingliu in the college-owned restaurant, their lunch now forgotten in the face of this unexpected delivery.

"Haha~ sorry about the surprise," the woman delivering it began, her tone apologetic but with a hint of amusement. "This is the college-wide Secret Valentine event that happens every year, and this year's recipient…is Yasushi Futakao." She bit her lip, perhaps bracing herself for his reaction as she set down an enormous box full of letters and chocolates beside him.

"We went through everything in here and counted it up. There are three hundred and fifty-two items in total — mostly chocolates, but some letters mixed in," she added, a hint of sympathy on her face as she reached into her bag and began pulling out more. She handed one each to Furuya and Catherine, and then, turning to Jingliu, handed her a stack of fifteen. "These are all for you guys too. Good luck with them!" She gave a small, encouraging smile before hurrying out of the restaurant.

Catherine stared at the enormous box next to Yasushi. "…That's…a lot," she remarked, looking from the box back to him, her expression mirroring a mix of disbelief and curiosity about what he'd done to attract this level of attention.

"I'm definitely gonna need help with all this chocolate, but I want to sort through the letters first," Yasushi said, eyeing the mountain of gifts. "I'll send a message in the group chat. If any of you are free afterward, come by mine and Jingliu's place later to help."

He typed out the message, attaching a photo of the overflowing box, then hit send.

Furuya gave a small laugh, shrugging as he pulled out his phone to send a quick text to his college friends. "Looks like we've got our snack supply covered," he joked. "I'll let my friends know I'll be tied up after lectures."

They went back to their meal, but it was impossible not to notice the occasional glances from the other people around. Most were either bewildered or quietly entertained, their expressions betraying just how curious they were about the sheer number of chocolates and letters Yasushi had managed to collect.

+-+

Once classes wrapped up, everyone found their way to Yasushi and Jingliu's living room, where the mountain of letters and chocolate boxes was spread out across the table. They each took a spot, settling into the job of sorting them — letters on one side, chocolates on the other.

"Wow, some of these are from big-name brands, but others look, well…a bit on the cheap side," Furuya noted, glancing around the room, the pile seeming endless. His expression carried a hint of amusement mixed with plain bewilderment. "Seriously, Yasushi, what'd you do to rack up this many admirers?"

Yasushi shrugged, taking a handful of letters. "Beats me. I just go about my business, hang out with my society now and then. Nothing that'd get me…this," he replied, glancing at the haul, clearly as baffled as everyone else by the level of attention he was somehow getting.

At that moment, Yinhaie entered, carrying a tray of drinks, her footsteps drawing the group's focus as she set the tray down on the low table in front of them. She looked at Yasushi and raised an eyebrow.

"You're telling me you don't know?" she asked, her tone catching everyone's attention.

"What're you talking about?" Yasushi asked, glancing up from the letter in his hand, meeting her questioning look as she placed a glass by his side.

"The Halloween incident's what did it. Word got out that you stepped in and kept things from getting worse that night. Whatever negative rep you might've had started turning around," Yinhaie explained, glancing at him as she continued. "Plus, you're involved with that organization helping people out on the streets. It's no wonder you've got a bit of a name for yourself now — and it's reaching beyond just the college."

Yasushi sat there, taking this in. He hadn't tried to control what people said or didn't say about him after Halloween, but he also hadn't exactly gone around explaining it either. To think this was the cause of the sudden attention — it felt strange, almost uncomfortable, like he'd been put in a role he'd never tried to play.

"Guess that explains it," he said, rubbing his neck and looking at the pile around him. "Still, getting this much… it's a bit much to deal with. And all the cleanup afterward's gonna be a nightmare," he added, sighing as he eyed the mound of boxes and letters.

"Free food, though," Furuya quipped, drawing laughs from the group.

"Yeah, I guess," Yasushi replied, eyeing the mountain of chocolate and boxes. "But I don't need this much. You guys can take some if you want, and whatever's left, we'll hang onto a bit, but I'm thinking we pass most of it along to people who could use it out there." The others nodded in agreement, seeming on board with the plan. "But right now, let's see what these letters actually say. I'm curious."

With that, they turned their attention back to sorting, hands moving through the letters, reading out a few, laughing now and then at lines that came off either way too earnest or overly dramatic.

But for the most part, the letters held nothing surprising, no deeper message — just the usual appreciation, flattery, and barely hidden admiration. However, as they neared the last ten or so, Catherine pulled out one letter and stopped, eyes narrowing a bit as she read it.

"Yasushi. I think you'll want to take a look at this," she said, passing the letter over without a word of explanation.

Yasushi took it, glancing at her, then started to read, his brows drawing tighter as his eyes moved over the words. The message was vague, strange enough to make him pause, even unsettling. He glanced back at his friends, his voice low as he read out the lines, each word turning over in his mind.

"Dear Master Yasushi,

My dearest and most beloved uwu darling, I wanna snuggly and muggly you uwu. I know you go to sleep around ten or eleven every night, and I just want to glomp glomp you and love you forever~! Please leave that white-haired skank and be mine uwu~ I will challenge her to a love fight tomorrow~! So please prepare!

-Kind regards, 

Selene."

Yasushi held the letter up, staring at it, completely thrown by the… strange tone. The language alone was a bizarre mix he hadn't come across in years — an odd echo of internet slang and memes from his previous life. But here it was, appearing out of nowhere, and the way it filled the page struck him as off-putting in a way he hadn't expected.

The others leaned over his shoulder, taking a look at the letter. They started off with expressions of confusion, which quickly shifted into something closer to horror as they absorbed the words on the page.

Furuya, however, let out a loud laugh, practically doubling over. "What the hell is this?!" he choked out, still laughing as Yasushi exhaled, feeling the strange weight of the letter's tone still hanging in his mind.

Xinyi took the letter and read it out loud, each word seeming to hit everyone else in the room harder as she continued. Some of them cringed, others shook their heads in disbelief, as if hoping they could somehow erase the words from memory.

"So, do you even know who this 'Selene' is?" Xinyi asked, her tone sharp as she turned to Yasushi, her expression full of accusation, like she was half-convinced he'd done something criminal to invite this.

"I'd love to say I don't," he replied, scratching his head. "But there is a girl with that name in a few of my lectures. We've hardly spoken, though, so… maybe a stalker or something?" He glanced around at his friends, as if hoping they'd reassure him that there was a better explanation.

Furuya finally stopped laughing, just long enough to chime in, "Man, our group seems to be a magnet for people like this. How many of us have been stalked at this point? It's just… way too much."

The others nodded, thinking back to their high school days. They'd somehow always attracted strange people back then, way more often than they ever thought possible. Now, even in college, things hadn't fully changed — maybe not as intense, but they still managed to draw in the occasional bizarre admirer.

"So, what's your next move here, Yasushi?" Yinhaie asked, standing behind the couch where he sat, her voice carrying a bluntness that suggested she was ready for a straightforward answer.

"Me?" he said, stalling for a moment. "I mean... it's got to be Jingliu, right? I'm not the one who got challenged — she practically called her out for a fight," he muttered, glancing over at Jingliu, who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, processing the absurdity of it all.

After a long pause, Jingliu looked up and said, "Fine, I'll 'face' her, if that's what she wants. But it'd make a lot more sense to bring in the authorities, or someone, to shut this whole thing down before it goes any further. I'll still show up, though, to get this over with — confront her and get the process moving faster."

Her matter-of-fact approach surprised them all, though they quickly saw the practicality in it and nodded in agreement, each of them mulling over how strange the situation had become.

"Alright then," Yasushi said, exhaling as he accepted her plan. "If that's what we're going with, we'll roll with it. There's no exact date or place, but if I had to guess, she'll probably try to catch me at one of our lectures. So, let's just stay on standby until then, I guess."

"Alright, that's the plan then. I'll get the details set up," Yinhaie said, as she led Jingliu, Yunxue, and Layena out of the room.

The three left without much discussion, going along with her, while the others stayed back, quickly launching into speculation about what might go down if things escalated.

"What if she actually brings weapons?" Laura asked, her face showing just how concerned she was about how far Selene might take things.

"Well, Jingliu did say she'd notify the college, so the authorities should be ready and aware of where and when this might happen. They'll probably step in before things get too out of hand — or at least right when they need to," Reina replied, trying to sound calm, though she looked like she was mulling over every possibility in her head.

Their conversation drifted into scenario planning, discussing everything from who might intervene first to whether they'd have to handle things themselves if things got tense before anyone else arrived.

Between the speculation and organizing the letters and boxes of chocolate piled up around them, the time passed in a mix of conversation and minor tasks. They stayed together until they shared a meal, letting the small talk and laughter ease the tension for now, before everyone finally headed out for the night.