Senji approached the lunch table with his tray of nutritious food and a small carton of milk. He sat down next to Kaito who was quietly eating while Daiki was munching away like a starving dog. Aoi and Kanako were chatting away like they were already best friends, both of them had a literature book sitting in-between their trays. He was quite happy seeing them getting along. Kaito tapped Senji on the shoulder getting his attention. He faced Kaito.

"Listen. Me and the guys here were uh... Thinking of taking a walk in the woods Saturday. Rumor has it that there's some old building deep in the woods. Wanna' join us?" Kaito asked. Senji's interest suddenly peaked.

"Wait for real?" He replied in surprise.

"Yup. Yo Aoi. What do you know about the rumored old building in the woods outside of town?"

Aoi glanced over to the two of them away from Kanako, who's expression showed interest as well that she immediately shut herself up to listen.

"Oh that! Well Senji fun little history lesson for you about Nakamura. This town started as a small fishing village. There's a long, flowing river near the town that goes for dozens of miles. It's near the woods too believe it or not. Eventually more people began settling here. The village grew and grew into what we see now. The suburbs here near the school were actually where the village was started from. The park then became the cornerstone of Nakamura and the land expanded way past the suburbs. As more people settled and built homes here, shops and businesses began to crop up over beyond the park to make room for all the residents. Time went on, technology and the way of live evolved and here we are! Okay history lesson over. No clue what this rumored structure could be but it's worth checking out. Couple of guys who regularly hang out down by the river wanted to venture further into the woods and I guess saw the structure but were too afraid to check it out. Kaito our fearless leader says we should do what those guys could not." Aoi explained thoroughly.

"Wow... Nice summarized lesson of our town's history there." Kanako commented with a giggle. "I cannot stand the wilderness so frankly I won't be joining you. Sorry."

"Wasn't gonna' ask you anyway." Kaito replied sharply. Daiki snickered at his snarky response.

"Hey! You jerk..."

"Just bein' honest."

Senji was more curious then ever now after Aoi's long-winded explanation. He looked to Kaito and nodded confidently. Kaito smirked, giving him a thumbs up.

"It's settled then. Senji is going! Huzzah!" Daiki said cheerfully.

"The four of us have nothing to fear. I'm quite looking forward to this..." Kaito stated with a wide grin on his face.

The skies above were shrouded with clouds blocking out the sunlight. A light rain drizzled down upon the freshly cut grass in Nakamura Park. Katashi and Isamu strolled through the park taking a look around. The two approached the fountain where Katashi had to pause and take in the beauty of the fountain's design. Isamu couldn't help but grin, standing behind him observing. Katashi brought a hand up to his chin. He was fascinated by the minute intricacies in the sculpting and the way the water poured out from the top in eight directions.

"Quite a beauty yeah? Truly the cornerstone of Nakamura. Centered perfectly in the middle of the park too." Isamu commented. Katashi turned around to face him.

"I must say it is quite a lovely fountain. Whoever created this work of art must be proud." He responded.

"It was a husband and wife actually. Sadly they passed away ages ago. This fountain was finished in eighteen-sixty three. Took over two years apparently. The park just kind of grew around it. I guess that was their intention when making it. This park sees a lot of foot traffic year-round."

"I see. Hmm... Well, you know this place better then me. Where should we start to look around?"

"You know I'm not too sure. There's the playgrounds, the shrine, the bathrooms, the gazebo, the dog park, the tables with chairs under shaded structures and a walkway that goes through the wooded area behind the shrine. Honestly I would find it very hard to believe anyone could be led here then vanish from the public eye. I mean... The wooded area could be a start."

"Lead the way then officer."

Isamu guided Katashi away from the fountain over to where the pathway leading through the wooded area started. The two walked among the many trees and bushes isolating the path from the rest of the park and the streets. A bench could be seen just ahead.

"There's some benches along this path too. It's nice and quiet. Away from the laughter of children, barking dogs and passing cars." Isamu explained.

Katashi just remained quiet glancing constantly to his left and right while they traversed the walkway. His eyes were narrowing at every nook and cranny he could spot where someone could slip into from the pathway, potentially hiding from others by the shrubbery. They arrived at the first bench where Katashi stopped to take in his surroundings.

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"Of all the places in this popular park... This walkway seems to be the most isolated. It's not impossible to assume the sick individual or individuals responsible for this are luring these young ladies here, or dragging them here against their will." He said coldly.

Isamu felt the mood from earlier darken. He can't forget why they're really here. He simply nodded.

"Yeah... You aren't wrong. The disappearances started in March. The weather around here is rather peaceful for the most part after winter. Sure there's stormy nights here and there, at least once or twice a week but considering the reports indicated that on the days they went missing the weather was either cloudy or sunny with only one account having been on a rainy day, surely some bystander would have noticed something unusual. Of course, everyone is always in there own little world around here so going by unnoticed is a possibility..."

"Isamu. We should also take into consideration that this may not be the only possible location where any missing girls could be. Who's to say the perpetrator hasn't taken or lured these victims to multiple places?"

"It's starting to sound more like a murder mystery now then anything..."

"Unfortunately that may be the case. I've dealt with many missing persons cases before and most of the time they end with a body devoid of any life. The worst-case scenario is that these girls have not only disappeared but also were killed. Best case? They're trapped and helpless. Either way we need to keep moving forward with the investigation. Let us continue down this path."

"Y-yes. Of course."

Isamu was beginning to feel a wave of dread clouding his mind. He hadn't fully considered the possibility that the missing girls could very well be dead. His hope for finding them alive was diminishing the more time he spent with Katashi.

Senji approached the art room, heart pounding inside his chest with anxiety. He was never one for joining clubs but without the many avenues of shopping and entertainment that Tokyo offered to occupy his free time outside of school, his options were limited. The door was cracked open slightly. He pushed it open to head inside. A small group of two girls and a boy were standing around a very voluptuous, feminine statue from waist to head in the center of the room. Senji felt awkward just glaring at it, like he was peeking at a model practicing her poses before a photo shoot.

"You made it look 'too' good Akashi. It's actually kinda' scary." One of the girls, a light brunette with short twin-tails said.

The other girl, slightly shorter then the both of them with long red brown hair and black-rimmed glasses, remained silent. Her mouth was covered by a hand and her freckled cheeks were blushing a light red. The boy with spiky short cocoa brown hair and a silver nose ring wore a smug grin on his face.

"So? Miss Fujiwaka gave me an A-plus on it. She adored it. Did you see the look on her face when she came to look at it? Her face was as red as a tomato!" Akashi cackled. "Admit it Nanami you're just jealous. Look at Machi. She's speechless!"

"I- Ugh! Maybe I am okay?! I swear you must read a lot of perverted men's magazines. How else could you have sculpted the figure s-so perfectly! And why the big bust?!"

"I see the way Fujiwaka looks at Miss Koyami whenever they're chatting in the hallways after classes. She's totally into her. She can appreciate a fine figure when she sees one."

"Goddamn you Akashi I swear to God..."

"Tell me I'm wrong Nanami!"

"I- Well you... Shut the hell up! Machi help me out will you??"

Senji just casually stood against the door frame eavesdropping on the conversation, picking up on the juicy gossip spouting from their mouths. None of them had noticed him yet. He had to just approach them and ask to join. So he approached the group.

"Um. Hello? I... I'm here to potentially join the art club." Senji said.

The three students all turned their attention to him. He politely waved to them. Nanami walked up to him and extended a hand. He shook it firmly.

"H-hey there! Oh you're the new guy! I recognize you! You're in my history class. Um, d-did you hear any of what we were uh... Talking about?"

"Every detail."

Akashi started cracking up. Machi just sighed and shook her head.

"Ugh! Just ignore Akashi he's an idiot even if he's really talented. My name's Nanami. The perv behind me is Akashi and next to him is Machi. We're the art club students. You said you were interested in joining??"

"Yeah. Name's Senji. I'm really into manga and the artwork that accompanies the stories they tell so, I'd love to maybe learn to draw really well. I-I'm not sure what all you do here besides sculpting apparently. Similar to the art club at my old school it seems."

Machi shyly waved. Akashi got closer, pressing his hand on Nanami's shoulder. He stuck his thumb out, directing it at himself still wearing a smug grin.

"I'm the best artist here. If it's drawing you wanna learn then you're looking at your new tutor. We're all about expression and get different projects or assignments every few weeks to work on. Or ya' know Fujiwaka will just give us a 'free period' as she calls it. That's when we can just do whatever we want for the task. You're in luck my friend because drawing happens to be our next assignment!"

Senji's eyes lit up. He may have finally found his calling in life he thought.

"That's great. Um so do I like, have to talk to your teacher or-?"

"Don't worry about it. Consider yourself accepted. Fujiwaka is always looking for new members. As you can see here we... Lack that many members. There's a couple other members besides the three of us but they're also in other clubs so they're pretty busy. You won't see them as much. Besides as the leader I can approve new members. Welcome aboard, Senji! We're looking forward to having you with us!"

Nanami, Akashi and Machi all smiled at him. He could feel his heart fluttering. For the first time in his life he had joined a school club. With what little time was left, Senji stuck around to get to know them all some more. He wasn't in a rush to get home and needed to sign a form before receiving some papers regarding their upcoming assignment. Akashi even promised to teach him his tricks when it comes to anatomy and form. Come Monday, Senji will have his first day in the art club and get to meet it's teacher. For once he was looking forward to the next week ahead.