Yandere? Menhera? Bring It On, If You're Confident That I'll love You For Who You Are - Chapter 20

Kanade’s Sin

In the midst of a silence that dominated the surroundings, the only sound that could be heard on the rooftop was that of the passing wind.

Hina, wearing a smile, and Kanade, and even I, lacked the means to break this silence.

It was only natural.

The truth that should have been concealed by mutual agreement in the past was now being spoken of so abruptly by a junior who should have known nothing about it.

“You look surprised, Minato-senpai. Did you think I didn’t know?”

Hina declared with her usual bright smile. Reflected in her black eyes, which seemed to see right through everything, was my figure—I felt as if I could perceive her absolute confidence.

“I’m shocked. Could it be you heard it from Rio? Or did you?”

“Don’t worry, I haven’t spoken to Rio-chan or brother even once. Of course, that includes the wound on neck as well.”

She smiled joyfully. Except for her eyes, her usual innocent and cheerful smile was there.

“(I tried to fish for information, but did I fail? She even knew about the wound on the neck…)”

That day, the fact that I had killed my aunt and uncle. Indeed, it was only a matter of time before Hina and Yuuya would hear of it.

However, the ideology… the root of all evils whose truth not even the police, not to mention the victim Rio, could know. The only ones who knew the truth, other than me, the person involved, was Kanade, who was present here.

Until just a while ago, I had no doubt that this was the case.

“You’re not looking so bold as usual, Minato-senpai. Are you worried about Asagami-senpai?”

“No.”

I decided to reset my feelings.

Hina’s smile did not falter, but it was certainly not her true feeling.

She was calmly seething with anger.

And now, the one who held the sovereignty of the hierarchical relationship at this place was her.

It was obvious to anyone who looked, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that even Kanade’s future life was at Hina’s whim. Hina continued to speak.

“Hehe… But really, Asagami-senpai keeps surprising me. With her studies, her looks, and at one time, even your heart, Minato-senpai, was turned towards Asagami-senpai. As for the latter, it’s something I’ve always wanted…”

Hina let her shoulders droop exaggeratedly. Her expression was still the same innocent cheerfulness, but only her eyes were not smiling.

At the same time, I could see Hina reaching into the pocket of her uniform.

“Ah, sorry. I was careless. The one thing Kanade-senpai has, that we don’t is──”

Hina made an exaggerated gesture with her right hand, forming the shape of a gun. She aimed it at Kanade.

“Money, right? The princess of the Asagami Group.”

Hina released a bullet from her right hand. To anyone looking from the side, it would seem nothing more than the handplay of an innocent child.

However, for Kanade, it must have felt like being hit by a real bullet.

Asagami Group—the house where Kanade lived.

It was called so by people because of its mansion-like size.

Especially when Kanade was in elementary school, she was always managed by SPs during her commute to and from school, and if it was money or power, she would undoubtedly reign at the top of this town without complaint.

“…I knew it.”

“Hehe… Finally, you speak up.”

Hina finally changed her expression. It was a dark smile mixed with pleasure and excitement, different from the smile she wore earlier while displaying her anger.

However, Hina’s true intentions could even be felt as gratitude for what had triggered Kanade.

“But you really did it well, didn’t you? Was it twenty million yen? Taking advantage of the fact that Minato-senpai was obsessed with martial arts, and that the uncle and aunt didn’t care about Minato-senpai or Rio-chan—you tried to get them to kill Rio-chan.”

“!!”

“(She said it…)”

Now, it was Kanade’s turn to show a change in her expression.

In the midst of the summer heat, a hot wind blew across the rooftop, and it was clear to see the sweat running down her cheeks.

In just a few seconds of speaking, a truth that should never have been known by anyone other than me—a reality that could not escape even as a mere mistake—finally attacked Kanade.

“I’ve really fallen for you, Minato-senpai. Even though it was just for show, you killed your own kin and were the cause of Rio-chan’s mental breakdown. If you had just realized Asagami-senpai’s true intentions, it would’ve been one thing, but you’ve been treating her the same as before. Really, what kind of mental strength do you have!? I want to point out. But still, you’re human too, Minato-senpai, and maybe you hate Asagami-senpai inside your heart.”

While saying so, Hina turned her gaze towards me.

It was a fact that Kanade used her family’s wealth to encourage her uncle and aunt to abuse Rio.

But how did Hina, who was practically a layperson, obtain information that not even the police, after thorough investigation, had leaked?

As I first suspected, this was information that even the biggest victim, Rio, could not know.

Countless questions filled my mind.

“Sigh…”

Having thought that far, I decided to change my thinking. No matter how much I thought about it, I wouldn’t find an answer.

Right now, the biggest barrier I had to solve was right in front of me.

“Hey, Asagami-senpai. After all that, do you really think it’s convenient to want to mend your relationship with Minato-senpai? It’s the ultimate attention-seeking behavior. It’s too much to even try to pin the blame for murder on Minato-senpai.”

“…What do you know about me?”

“Oh?”

“Hey, Kanade, stop it. That’s enough…”

Until that moment, Kanade, who had been talked down by Hina, spoke with increased force. Hina seemed slightly surprised, but there was no sign of disturbance in her expression. If we went any further, it might really be beyond redemption.

I tried to stop her on the spur of the moment, but it was already too late.

Everything was moving just as Hina wished.

“I! I loved Minato so much…! How much Rio got in my way…!! Do you understand!? That’s why I thought I’d kill her! But even then──”

“Ding-dong! Game over!”

As Kanade was about to expose her feelings, Hina declared a timeout.

Regaining her composure, Hina stepped back from Kanade and took out her smartphone from her uniform pocket and showed it to us. Then she turned the screen toward us.

“I’ve been recording our conversation. Asagami-senpai, you never denied my hypothesis, did you? And I’ve captured it clearly. ‘I thought I’d kill her’—this is now evidence beyond a confession!”

“!?”

“(Oh no…)”

At that moment, I felt like I could clearly see the slight crack in Kanade’s heart.

Now, more than ever, I regretted my shallow self for not having stopped her by covering her mouth if necessary.

“I’d hate to do something like sell out a senior, but it can’t be helped. The bad one is Asagami-senpai. If I show this data to the police, both you and the Asagami Group are finished, right? From now on, Asagami-senpai, you will pay for your crimes. In prison, forever love unrequitedly. Oh, don’t worry, I’ll prove Minato-senpai’s innocence properly. The Minato-senpai you hurt, I’ll gently heal him. So, never again—don’t show up in front of ‘my’ Minato-senpai, okay?”

Hina was smiling.

With the innocent and cheerful smile that suited her small figure. From the bottom of her heart, she was mocking the girl before her.

Only one sentence, filled with hatred, disgust, resentment, and rage, was excluded…

The next moment, something broke inside Kanade, who was confronted. Was this the second time I’ve seen it?

At the same time, I made up my mind.

It seemed it was no longer the time to be choosy about methods.