Yandere? Menhera? Bring It On, If You're Confident That I'll love You For Who You Are - Chapter 2

You’re just my childhood friend, after all.

A few minutes after parting ways with Yuuya, we sat down on a bench in a deserted park not far from school.

It was the first day of the new semester, and school had ended after only the opening ceremony—a welcome change after such a long hiatus.

And starting tomorrow, my sister, who had been discharged from the hospital, would be returning as well.

Most importantly, that’s a separate matter. I shifted my gaze back to the girl sitting next to me on the bench.

When I did, our eyes met. She had apparently been watching me too, and upon seeing my face, she smiled.

“Hm? What’s up?”

“Nothin’ really? Just thinking you seem really concerned about that girl~”

Despite her words, I felt I could sense a faint anger in Kanade’s expression.

As she said, my mind was preoccupied with the exchange I had with my sister the day before.

I couldn’t possibly say out loud that I had no choice… that I had to act that way.

Why did I provoke my sister in that moment?

Had I just accepted the situation, could I have prevented her hand from approaching the girl?

An inner voice continued to blame myself.

But—

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Do you… do you hate me?”

“…Well, what do you think~”

She gave an ambiguous response, seemingly enjoying my reaction, then stood up from the bench.

She took a deep breath, as if savoring the air of the town.

“This place really hasn’t changed at all.”

She looked out at the familiar town. Our hometown, Touka City, was small with few people and not many buildings. Perhaps it would be more fitting to call it a village.

She herself seemed to enjoy the unchanged atmosphere from our childhood.

“I thought I understood Minato’s feelings. That’s why I thought I should respect your wishes. Even if we’re not lovers anymore, it doesn’t mean our relationship is over. To each other, we’re just the one and only childhood friend.”

Her eyes, as she spoke, had changed from before, now filled with a certain loneliness.

“But, it can’t be helped, can it? It seems that incident has become an unforgettable memory for me.”

“I do feel bad about it.”

“Your words always sound so light. But as I said before, I think I understand Minato’s feelings.”

Her forlorn expression almost made me avert my eyes.

Our grandmother, who showered us with love, had died, our older sister had abandoned us, and during those times when I couldn’t trust anyone, she was the one who approached me, even though I didn’t ask for help.

That’s why I was drawn to her. And she loved me in return.

That’s also why it had to end.

I stood up from the bench and turned my back to her.

“Hey, Minato.”

I didn’t turn around. I couldn’t afford to.

“I, Asagami Kanade, still love you. I understand your desire to protect Rio and your everyday life above everything else. But even so, I want to be with you…”

As I turned away, she wrapped her arms around me from behind. I could feel her face buried in my back, even without looking.

“Sorry, but I don’t love you anymore. The relationship I have with you now is nothing more than that of a childhood friend. Look elsewhere.”

“No. I’ll never give up.”

I deliberately used harsh words, but her grip around me tightened even more.

“What do I have to do to make you give up?”

“It’s too late for that. No matter what you say, I will never acknowledge it. You already know my personality, don’t you, Minato?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

With those words, I slipped out of her grasp. When I turned around, there she was, standing with a meaningful smile.

Her eyes held absolute confidence.

She had never experienced failure because she possessed an unrivaled “power.” In a sense, she was a successful person in every aspect.

This woman knew nothing of defeat.

Because—everything had always gone her way.

“Let go of me!”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, a shout echoed through the deserted park.

Looking toward the source, I could see students from our same Hoshimiya Academy, a boy and a girl, in a dispute.

“You’re in the same class as that guy, right? Seems like you’ve got it tough. I can listen to your problems.”

“Please…”

The girl, showing a confused expression, was approached by the boy in a familiar manner.

She shook her head and replied angrily.

“Thank you for your concern, but I’m really fine. I’m in a hurry, so please excuse me.”

Despite her polite tone, she tried to distance herself from the boy.

She bowed and quickly tried to leave, but her slender arm was suddenly grabbed.

“You don’t have to hold back.”

Her delicate impression turned into one of fear and weakness.

“No, I don’t want to…”

“Then give me your number. That’s fine, right?”

Was it kindness from the boy, or just a pretext?

Either way, it was nothing but a nuisance to the girl, and from my perspective, a rare and troubling case of flirting.

Now, how to get out of this… As I watched carelessly, I made the unfortunate mistake of making eye contact with the girl.

“Haah…”

I sighed, realizing I couldn’t just ignore the situation.

“Sorry, but could you go ahead without me? We’ll talk about this some other time.”

“Hmm. In the end, it’s always the same with you. Fine, if that’s what Minato wants.”

“Yeah, for both of us.”

Though we exchanged sarcastic remarks, Kanade left as if pretending not to see.

I moved quickly toward the boy, trying not to draw attention.

“Hey, you might want to stop that.”

I approached from behind and grabbed his shoulder. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice my presence, and his surprised reaction was palpable.

“What? Who are you?”

“It’s obvious she doesn’t want you around, isn’t it?”

The boy’s shoulder trembled, and his voice was tinged with anger.

I knew he wasn’t someone I could talk sense into.

“Frustrated because you’re not popular? If you don’t want to get hurt, just be quiet—!?”

As he turned around with force, I released his shoulder and placed my foot where he was going to land, pulling it away instantly.

He lost his balance and fell to the ground.

“What the—You bastard—”

Enraged, he quickly got up and his fist aimed for me.

I braced myself for some rough treatment, but just before it could happen, his fist stopped as if he had been paralyzed.

“You’re—you’re the parent killer…”

It seemed he knew who I was.

Parent killer… Judging by this term, it appeared that today’s rumors had been exaggerated.

If that was the case, I could use it to my advantage.

Without doing anything, I just stared at the boy, and he, in contrast, backed away in sheer terror.

“Ah, ah!”

He ran off as if fleeing from a monster, stumbling and hurting his knee but never taking his eyes off me.

To him, I must have seemed like a monster indeed.

“Good grief…”

I was relieved that it didn’t turn into a violent situation, though it was quite concerning for the first day of the new term.

“Um, you’re Kurogane Minato, right?”

In the narrow alleyway, the girl who had been harassed approached me.

Her long straight hair was neatly groomed, and she was almost as tall as me, a male. Her face, like a mix of an adult woman’s and a child’s, was undoubtedly beautiful.

“Uh, we’re in the same class. Amano Mio. Thank you for your help.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.”

She avoided eye contact and spoke to me, a peer, with respect.

Was it fear of me, known as a parent killer, or something else…?

“Good. Be careful from now on.”

I quickly tried to leave.

“Wait, please!”

Stopped in my tracks, I tilted my head and thought I saw a slight smile on her lips.

“Uh… sorry, this isn’t anything important, but if you don’t mind…”

She fumbled and pulled out a ticket from her pocket.

It was white with possibly the name of a shop next to it, and the words “One Male Customer Only!” written beside it.

“The date… today…”

She pointed to a small inscription with today’s date.

“This is my father’s shop. It’s for men only, as you can see. If you’d like, would you take it as a thank you? It’s worth up to 3000 yen for free.”

Though the shop was small, the waitress uniforms in the picture seemed quite revealing.

I had no reason to refuse.

“Really?”

“Yes, it’s a thank you.”

“Thanks. I’ll take it without reservation. I’ll use it for dinner.”

I nodded politely to the girl and started walking away, feeling like it had been a while since I had a proper conversation with a classmate.

“(Well, it seems everything is going according to plan.)”

And with that, I was lured into the invitation.

For a year since entering Hoshimiya Academy, that girl, who had been observing every detail about me, had invited me…