Yandere? Menhera? Bring It On, If You're Confident That I'll love You For Who You Are - Chapter 21

Even if it were a broken daily life…

Kanade had started running before she realized it. Did she think she would back down? Or was it all according to plan? Hina collapsed, resigned to her fate.

Kanade’s head was completely filled with rage. She mounted Hina, who lay beneath her.

“Don’t destroy it…!”

Kanade’s hand reached for Hina’s throat.

“Don’t destroy it…! Stop it already…!”

Kanade, as if insane, hurled words at Hina while straining her own arm. Hina tried to pull the hand away, but she was no match for the strength difference.

Kanade’s movements were clearly amateurish, but with the disparity in physique and physical abilities, Hina could only be overpowered.

I was blankly watching the whole scene.

Would it be easier to just let things go as they are?

In a sense, I might be the root cause of their breakdown.

Had I not been there, wouldn’t they have had a different everyday life? The one who destroyed that everyday was none other than…

“(No…)”

I dismissed the question that had arisen in my mind. It seemed I had considered something out of character for me.

I caught Kanade’s hands, which were gripping Hina’s neck, with my own left hand.

“Hey, that’s enough.”

“Ah…! Let go!”

Kanade desperately tried to resist, but the difference in strength was clear. I easily pulled her away from Hina.

“Ha… Ha… Ahaha, you did it, Asagami-senpai. Is this a retraction of what you said before?”

Despite being pushed to the brink of suffocation, Hina showed no anger.

Why could Hina, who should be an outsider, hold information that only I and Kanade knew?

I didn’t understand, but the voice recorded on the smartphone was the truth.

Even if I denied it vehemently, there was enough information for the police to act on.

If so, Kanade’s life would be essentially over. I had to prevent that at all costs.

“You don’t look like yourself, serious as you are, Minato-senpai. Is that person so important to you?”

“Well, even though it’s over, she was my girlfriend. Besides, I hate the idea of a childhood friend I’ve been through thick and thin with going to jail.”

“…Really, you’re always the same.”

She said, with her usual angelic smile overflowing with charm. However, that was brought to an end by her next words.

Her eyes, devoid of any light.

It was what I had faced when confronting Rio, but now I truly felt it.

No other girl could suit those eyes as she did.

It wasn’t about looks or expressions. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that those eyes represented the girl called Saotome Hina…

“Through thick and thin? What kind of hardship has that person ever experienced? Always pampered by the boys, never bullied by anyone… Such a princess life Asagami-senpai has, you can’t even compare to Minato-senpai. Well, that’s fine. That’s not the issue. “She” did something unforgivable. She broke Minato-senpai’s heart. So, I’ll teach her. I’ll make her feel the frustration of having her precious love taken away. Despite being in a position to protect him more than anyone else, to understand Minato-senpai more than anyone else, she broke Minato-senpai’s heart? I’ll never forgive her!! And yet…! Why do you protect her!? She hurt you, Minato-senpai, and tried to saddle you with the stigma of a murderer!? Cut her off already!! In front of me, say “You’re the worst. Never come near me again”!! Why, Minato-senpai, do you always…!!”

Having said what she wanted, Hina was panting. Whether it was because she had laid bare all her emotions, despite being in an absolute position before, my mind was completely calm. However, that did not mean the situation was improving.

First of all, her argument was valid.

The cause of the madness that befell my family, my sister, my everyday life, was undoubtedly Kanade.

Silent about her evil deeds, let alone trying to extend a helping hand to save her, perhaps I was just as mad as they were.

“(Well, even so…)”

I closed my eyes.

I didn’t want to lose it anymore. The daily life.

“Hey, Hina.”

“…?”

I approached the furiously angry Hina quietly. Kanade was silently watching us.

In this unprecedented situation, as I steeled my resolve, I placed my hand on Hina’s shoulder.

“Minato-senpai…?”

“Stay still.”

Within less than a meter’s distance, despite being a boy and girl with a difference of more than ten centimeters in height, her face, still retaining some of its immaturity, looked all the more innocent the more I looked at it.

If I forcibly took the smartphone, I could easily imagine how the enraged Hina might react.

There was also the possibility that she had backed up the photos or even kept the actual prints at her home.

Provoking her carelessly would be the end for Kanade.

But the Hina at this moment was not someone who could be persuaded with words. My resolution was already made.

Lastly, I apologized to Rio, Kanade, and even Mio in my heart.

My lips slowly approached Hina’s.

And they easily met.

“!?”

Though invisible to the eye, I could feel the sharpness of Kanade’s feelings on my back.

Ignoring Kanade, what began as a mere touch gradually became a stronger press of my lips.

“Mmm… *kiss sound*… *sound of lips parting*…!”

I kissed Hina, traced my tongue, and engraved my existence into her mouth.

Slowly, over time, I calmed her anger and sorrow.

Just for now, it’s enough for just this moment. If I could stop her rage and madness for this instant. As the thread connecting us pulled from our mouths, I quietly parted my lips.

“Minato-senpai…”

Before me, Hina was flushed. Realizing it, her darkened eyes had returned to normal.

Of course, I had taken advantage of that moment.

“Sorry, I need to borrow this for a second.”

“Ah…”

Ignoring Hina, who couldn’t yet grasp the situation, I distanced myself from her and, feeling the smartphone in the back pocket of my uniform, opened what I had taken from her.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to have any auto-lock or personal identification.

Swiping brought up the voice memos. I immediately hit the delete button.

The evidence tampering was complete.

“Hehe… *giggles*… *maniacal laughter* Ahahaha!!”

Hina, tears of joy mingling, collapsed to the floor.

She must have been overjoyed, rolling on the floor like an innocent, undisciplined child, shouting.

“Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Minato-senpai finally…! Ahaha, ahahaha!!”

On the rooftop, off-limits and poorly maintained, with traces of dirt on her hair, clothes, and cheeks, I silently watched, feeling a cold sweat run down my face.

Indeed, this time the difficulty level seems quite high.