Yandere? Menhera? Bring It On, If You're Confident That I'll love You For Who You Are - Chapter 0

Chapter 1: The Distorted and Pure Girls

Declaration of War

Bathed in the bright sunlight, my consciousness was awakened. I glanced at the clock I had placed beside me.

It pointed at 8 am. Reluctantly, I got up from my warm futon and surveyed my home.

It’s only been a week since I moved here after a long hospital stay. It was an emergency, so the best I could arrange was a tattered, two-story apartment.

“Hmm? Are you awake?”

A voice came from the kitchen in the small room. Turning around, I saw a girl in a school uniform standing in front of the kitchen counter.

“Oh, you are. Good morning, Minato.”

“Ou.”

Half-awake, the girl shamelessly approached and peered into my adolescent face.

“It’s rare for you to wake up this early.”

“It’s the day of discharge, after all. Plus, it would be terrible to leave all the housework to you at this time, right?”

“Yes, that’s a lie. Minato, you’ve never helped me even if you wake up early.”

The girl who teased me with a smile and a finger on her lips was a childhood friend, a grade above me. Her lively hairstyle, exposing her forehead and slightly wavy long hair, might well represent her maternal side, always caring for others.

“What do you mean help, you always chase me out of the kitchen whenever I try to do something.”

“But Minato, you only eat instant noodles or frozen food when you’re alone, right? I want to eat something you make with love sometimes.”

She said with a mischievous face, her personality as good as ever.

“You made breakfast, right? Then, let’s eat quickly.”

“Ugh, ignoring your cute childhood friend’s approach? Big sister is quite hurt.”

“Is that so? Then it’s no problem. If you have to say it out loud, it means it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Mou! You’re so mean.”

Ignoring Kanade, who was puffing her cheeks in an exaggerated manner, I washed my face and threw the used towel into the washing machine. As I was about to leave the bathroom, Kanade called out to me again.

“Oh, that’s right.”

As I turned around, Kanade brought her face close to mine again—

“Welcome back, Minato. I’m looking forward to seeing you again!”

She welcomed my return with a beaming smile.

Except for her jet-black eyes, which didn’t let a single ray of light in…

***

My parents were the worst. At the time, I lived with my sister, younger sister, parents, and grandmother, a family of six.

My mother didn’t do much housework, nor did she go out. My father got fired shortly after my younger sister was born and clung to my grandmother’s pension and savings, spending his days gambling.

Honestly, I barely remember us all sitting around the dining table as a family.

In such an environment, it was my grandmother who cared for us three children. She took the initiative in doing housework, accompanied us to school entrance ceremonies, represented parents at class observations and home visits, and even cheered us on at sports festivals.

All of that was my grandmother. However, that way of life didn’t last long.

When I was in fifth grade, my grandmother, who had always been frail, fell seriously ill, and the doctor ordered her to rest completely.

But my father and mother forced such a sick grandmother to do housework.

“It’s just a mild illness.”

“Don’t just lie around, freeloader.”

They showered her with what could only be described as abuse, and as a result… my grandmother died half a year later.

The official cause of death was frailty, but I, who was closer to her than anyone else, knew right away. Given that my parents wouldn’t hesitate to use any means to get money, they dumped us on my aunt and uncle as soon as I graduated from elementary school and disappeared.

Their reason was refreshingly clear: “He’s in the way of our new life.” My aunt and uncle were stunned, but they must have realized that it was futile to argue. As a result, we spent several years under the care of my aunt and uncle.

“(I’m weird, aren’t I… even to myself…)”

My aunt and uncle, who had taken us in practically by force, seemed to be quite troubled by us siblings, and I often heard them arguing about it. In that sense, it might have been inevitable.

What they tried to do to my little sister.

“Minato?”

“Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought.”

“Mou, get it together. It’s the day of your discharge, right?”

Our destination was a so-called police hospital. Although it’s often misunderstood as a place to detain suspects and injured persons involved in incidents, its main function is similar to a general hospital, and anyone can use it without a problem.

However, there are exceptions to everything. I was able to pass the examination smoothly and, within a few minutes of completing a brief procedure at the reception desk, a detective came to see me.

I was escorted by the detective to a white hospital room. There was nothing in the room except the bed in the center, everything wrapped in pure white.

The room was small for a private hospital room, about six tatami mats in size, and only a soft sound like a feather echoed.

“Ah, Nii-san. And… Kanade-chan came too.”

The girl lying in the middle of the bed smiled as soon as we entered the room.

Her bright brown hair tied in a short ponytail, she was dressed in a pure white outfit that didn’t suit her appearance…

She was my only little sister.

“Yo, Rio. Congratulations on your discharge. You seem to be in better shape than I thought.”

We exchanged light greetings and sat down on the pipe chairs that had been prepared in advance.

The room was small, so it was a bit cramped when three high school students, including my sister sitting in the middle of the bed, occupied it, but it wasn’t unbearable.

“How are you feeling?”

“Yeah, I think I’m almost fine. They said I can go to school from the day after tomorrow, if there are no problems after observing for a day.”

“Don’t overdo it.”

“That’s what you’re saying? I think you’re much more so than Rio.”

My sister, Rio, who knew the circumstances, understood my feelings. Moreover, she turned her gaze to the last person who came to visit… Kanade.

“Sorry for the trouble, Kanade-chan.”

“No, not at all. Are you feeling okay now?”

“As you can see! —— I wish I could say, but I’ve been in the hospital for so long that eating is the only thing I look forward to, and I might be a bit out of shape.”

“Ah-cha, that’s a big problem. I’m sorry, I’ll try to bring low-calorie stuff for you from now on.”

“Haha, I don’t need it anymore…”

Rio, with a dry laugh, scratched her head. Even from my perspective as a childhood friend, I think she has a good figure, but maybe this is a problem that can only be discussed between women.

“But it was tough, wasn’t it? With your uncle and aunt… all of a sudden, and in so many places. I’m glad you’re safe. It was scary, wasn’t it?”

“…… Yeah. I’m sorry for making you worry. But I’m okay now. Because Nii-san was there for me when it was tough.”

Saying that, Rio, with her cloudy eyes, wrapped her small fingers around my left wrist.

“Anyway, I’m glad Rio is safe… right? But you’re really loved, Onii-san~, aren’t you?”

“Right?”

“Ah, you say it yourself! Your popularity is going down.”

The room was filled with laughter. The tragedy that had come at the end of irreparable sacrifices was over, and the ordinary days that had been reclaimed were back. In fact, that expression was not wrong.

Yes, it wasn’t wrong.

“By the way, brother. You moved near the school, right? Are you cooking properly? Your uncle and aunt are not around anymore, so you can’t waste money, right?”

“Ah, that’s fine. Cheap——”

“Yes, yes. Your housekeeper is here! Just kidding.”

Silence.

It continued for a very long time… it felt like an eternity.

The moment when time stopped again in my sister.

The moment when time started moving again in me.

“…… Could it be, Kanade-chan is helping you?”

“Well, it’s terrible. Minato didn’t even contact me about moving. Plus, the room was a mess. He only eats instant food. That’s why it’s time for the free housekeeping service, right?”

Kanade teased me with a mischievous smile. Meanwhile, Rio’s pursuit didn’t stop.

“Brother, are you living with Kanade-chan?”

“No, not really. I just go there to cook sometimes. I was okay with that, but I was rejected. Right?”

“I wonder.”

“There you go, you’re not honest. But it’s okay. Onee-chan will take care of you until Rio comes back.”

The meddling of my childhood friend who loves to take care of others. Amid the peaceful conversation that hadn’t changed at all from before, Rio quietly muttered.

“Haha, thank you. Nii-san has always been taken care of by Kanade-chan, hasn’t he?”

“Why are you saying thank you, Rio?”

“It’s not a big deal. I just thought I’d say it while I can.”

With her cloudy eyes, Rio showed a smile that looked as if she had torn her mouth sideways.

At the same time, there was a knock on the door of the room.

When I checked my smartphone in my pocket, it was already past 15 minutes.

It must be a sign that the visiting time is over.

“It’s time. Kanade, you go ahead. I’ll leave after I take care of Rio’s discharge.”

“Yeah, I got it. See you, Rio.”

Leaving those words behind, Kanade left the hospital room. It was an excuse that came to my mind on the spot, but since I had been going to this hospital myself, it seemed that they accepted it without any discomfort.

“……”

“……”

Silence fell in the small hospital room. The knock signaling the end of visiting hours had already disappeared. I wonder how much time has passed. Just a few seconds, a few minutes, or even tens of minutes. Just quietly, without any conversation. The sound of feathers echoing. In the time that felt like an eternity, it was my sister who spoke first.

“Liar.”

My sister said, smiling. The same welcome smile she showed her visiting friends and family earlier.

But, the intention of my sister now was completely different.

“Why… why do you lie, brother?”

My sister’s jet-black eyes, not a single ray of light piercing through—

“You said you would accept Rio, right? You said you would accept selfish and self-centered Rio, right?”

She was staring straight at me.

“Or could it be another lie? In that case…”

My sister reaches for the bandage wrapped around her neck.
Slowly, slowly, the white bandage falls onto the bed.

What was there was… a wound on my sister’s neck that will never fully heal.

“I’ll tell you again, okay?”

The wound on her neck.

A knife cut, a hole gouged out with a screw, a burn mark made by a cigarette.

Yes, that day.

The scars… that my sister inflicted on herself.

“But I was happy, you know. At that time, big brother chose Rio. Not anyone else, but Rio. That means the one in big brother’s heart wasn’t ‘her’, but Rio, right?”

My sister says it with her usual bright smile.

In her black eyes, as if seeing through everything, reflects the nightmare that seems like it happened just yesterday.

Why didn’t I realize it until now? Or maybe, was I pretending not to realize it somewhere in my heart?

The regret of having saved my sister once still remains in me.

“…Hey, big brother”

Before I knew it, my sister was holding my hand from atop the bed.

Cold.

Her body, as cold as a corpse, far from the warmth of a human, is just like a dead body.

In my sister’s eyes now, she only sees an ideal relationship that suits her.

“Rio will do anything to have big brother, okay?”

The second time I heard those words.

That night.

The moment I saw my sister, who kept bleeding red blood from her neck, and the aunt and uncle who surrounded her, I realized the biggest mistake of my life.

What is this.

It’s a lie.

I hate it.

I won’t admit it.

Can I accept something like this…?

This is a bad dream…!!

No matter how much I try to convince myself, reality won’t change…

I don’t remember much about what happened after that. When I came to, I was beating the two of them.

I was pouring out everything I had learned and mastered for the sake of my loved ones, onto my aunt and uncle, who had been my foster parents for several years.

──All at the whim of the devil who had set it up.

“I won’t… give you to anyone… not even that bitch… if you get in the way──I won’t forgive even big brother. So, this is a punishment. For looking at a girl other than Rio. You knew this… right?”

What my sister said was true.

I knew it.

That’s why I looked away.

Even though this is the responsibility that was rightfully given to me…

I accepted my sister, who was selfish and self-centered.

Without knowing that it has created the devil with an angelic smile in front of me.

──Who was it that said they would listen to my sister’s story that day?

──Isn’t this the path you chose for yourself?

──So, accept it.

──You’re the only one she has.

──Listen to her story.

──And accept her.

──Fulfill your responsibility for creating the devil in front of you.

──That is the sin of reaching out to “them” irresponsibly.

──And the punishment for having saved them.

“Big brother has to be with Rio forever, okay? Because Rio has decided so.”

My sister hasn’t changed since then.

She’s selfish, self-centered, and tries to get whatever she wants by any means necessary, just like a child.

Of course, my answer to that was already decided.

“Ah, shut up, shut up. After calling people liars over and over again, you repeat the same lines. Think about how the one listening feels for a change.”

My sister’s hand, gripping mine, stopped.

“What are you going to do this time? Hurt your own neck again? Or like her, use your wealth to have a third party kill you? Or──like that time, make me kill the obstacles with my own hands?”

My sister was always smiling.

So, I also smiled.

“Give it a try. If you’re really confident that I’ll love you. But just this time, I’m going to resist a little.”

In the narrow hospital room, we laughed together.

Yes, this is… a story of resistance.

A story of a miserable loser who, due to a love that is too pure and too devoted, has his everyday life irretrievably broken by his own actions… a tiny one.