Yandere? Menhera? Bring It On, If You're Confident That I'll love You For Who You Are - Chapter 35

Their Aftermath

“Fuwaah~… Good morning, Kurogane-kun. You’re quite the early riser today.”

“Haa… haa… Did you  finally wake up?”

Several minutes had passed since then, and I had finally managed to fully awaken Mio. Just doing that much left me so exhausted I was breathing heavily.

It seemed the effects of the drug Kanade had given me were still in effect; my body was far from being in perfect condition.

Unaware of my struggles, in front of me was the disappointing figure of a beautiful girl yawning carelessly.

Yes, this girl has a terrible time waking up. Absolutely terrible.

At first, I repeatedly whispered in her ear with a somewhat loud voice, but there was hardly any response. Just when I thought she had woken up, she would immediately fall back asleep for a second, third, fourth time, endlessly repeating the cycle.

I had had enough, so I decided to forcibly wake her up.

I glanced at her head. A small bump was visible there.

Well, regardless, now we can finally move the conversation forward.

Kanade, who was stabbed by Rio, and Hina, whose leg was broken by the sunglasses-wearing man, were likely taken to the hospital. What raced through my mind was, as expected, Kanade’s safety.

I had a mountain of questions for this girl. But—

“Fuwaah~… suu…”

“You・really・aahhh・”

“Hauu, s-sorry…”

Mio was still trying to enter the world of sleep.

Before me was the all-too-disappointing figure of a beautiful girl, clad only in cunning underwear, with messy long hair, scratching her eyes and rubbing eye mucus.

From Mio now, I couldn’t feel any of the imposing presence she used to have.

“(Really, it would have been better if she was just a little devil pretending to be a cat…)”

I decided never to say such lamentations to her.

“Anyway, go wash your face and change your clothes. We’ll talk in detail after that.”

“Yes, I’m sorry for the trouble──… suu…”

It goes without saying that the next moment, a second bump appeared on the girl’s head.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Kurogane-kun.”

“Yeah, really…”

Minutes later, Mio returned, wrapped in a pink dress.

She seemed to have put some spirit into it, as her messy hair and the swelling of her face from waking up had been fixed, and I was finally able to see the Amano Mio I knew.

“Uh, I’m sorry about earlier. I was actually thinking about making some okayu for you before you woke up, but instead, I ended up being the one who was woken up.” (tln : okayu is kind of japanese porridge)

“Well, I’m not that concerned. I didn’t expect you to oversleep that much.”

“N-no, this is different! Besides, I usually wake up with an alarm, you know? Today, I just happened to forget to set it…”

Mio, who was usually composed, became flustered and fidgety.

I had just expressed my disbelief at the girl who kept falling back asleep despite my calling out to her, but then I noticed the alarm clock placed on top of the dresser near the bed.

And not just one or two. Even from a distance, I could see there were easily more than ten, their small hands all pointing to nearly the same time.

“Hey, you don’t mean to tell me you wake up to this horde of alarms every morning?”

“Kurogane-kun, are you making fun of me?”

Mio puffed her cheeks in an uncharacteristic show of annoyance. It seemed I had misspoken.

No matter how you looked at it, if this many alarms went off at once, it would be a serious nuisance to the neighbors.

“About five of these are set to go off five minutes past the set time. Plus, look, there’s the same setup in the dresser, right? Despite how I may appear, I’ve never been late before!”

Mio proudly opened the dresser, and I was at a loss for words.

Over thirty alarm clocks on and inside the dresser were a sight to behold. I was truly glad I didn’t live in the same building as her.

“(But, no, that’s not important right now…)”

While my wariness towards this girl had completely faded, that wasn’t something I could afford. I had let too much time be wasted on trivial matters.

I switched gears in my head. I had been tossed around quite a bit, but now it was my turn to go on the offensive.

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but I’ll thank you for hiding me. If you hadn’t found me, I might have ended up on the other side by now.”

“Hehe… You’re welcome.”

“Now that you’ve gone this far for me, thinking I’m helpless, why don’t you answer some of my questions? What happened to Rio, Kanade, and Hina? How did you know about our troubles? Or did you see through Kanade’s scheme from the beginning?”

I directly pushed the various questions that came to mind.

Of course, not all of them. This girl knew the truth about Kanade and Rio that even the police didn’t.

Holding decisive photographic evidence, she had mentally cornered Kanade through Hina.

If this girl’s ultimate goal was me, it would have been easy for her to kidnap me in my powerless state and confine me.

In fact, when we first clashed at Pleasure Restaurant, this girl was clearly ready to do just that.

Yet, she protected me and even treated my wounds.

The more I thought about it, the more my doubts about this girl piled up. She seemed to know me one-sidedly, but at this point, that wasn’t even a hint.

But now, confirming the safety of Rio and the others was the top priority for me.

Even if she had been watching from the shadows, there was no reason for this girl, who shared the same madness as Rio and the others, to miss such a golden opportunity.

Logically, that possibility was the highest by far.

And if that were the case—

“Hehe… Such a scary face. But don’t worry. I intend to answer the questions you just raised. We have plenty of time.”

With those words, Mio’s smile was filled with meaning.

Despite the situation, I couldn’t help but loosen my lips at the smile that was the same as when we first confronted each other.

Despite the fact that things might have gone beyond repair, was there a part of me that felt relieved?

“First, did I see through Asagami-senpai’s scheme? That’s probably close to what Kurogane-kun imagined. I watched the quarrel between Asagami-senpai and Saotome-san, and Kurogane-kun’s actions… from a place far from the alley. I thought you’d notice, but you must have been desperate.”

Mio’s faint smile deepened my suspicions.

If her words were true, it meant Mio was the one who brought me here.

“Hina was the one who sent that photo? ”

“Don’t be hasty, Kurogane-kun. One thing at a time.”

She kept her smile and evasive attitude, continuing to speak.

“Next is probably what you’re most concerned about: their safety. Unfortunately, I have both bad and good news. First, your sister has almost no injuries. Fortunately, she was only shocked by a stun gun, and unlike the other two, she didn’t have to be taken to the hospital.”

“The others were different…”

It was quite a commotion. I knew that, but I listened silently to Mio’s truth.

“Next is Saotome Hina-san. Unfortunately, she severely fractured her ankle due to being slammed to the ground. From what I’ve heard, she couldn’t avoid staying in the hospital for a couple of days.”

“…I see.”

Hina’s injury seemed to be no more than what I had seen with my own eyes.

Given that Hina was thrown to the ground due to the man with sunglasses trying to capture me, I shared the responsibility.

“Are you ready? I’m sure you’ve already guessed, but the good news ends here. Sometimes, it’s necessary to turn away from harsh reality, don’t you think?”

“Stop beating around the bush. I’m ready. Let’s hear it.”

Mio looked at me with serious eyes, but I responded immediately. Was she trying to be considerate of me in her own way?

But I had no intention of running away after hearing this much.

The image that came to mind was of Rio stabbing Kanade with a fruit knife, and Kanade bleeding miserably.

Although there was barely a breath, that couldn’t be good news—I knew that much.

Of course, along with the perpetrator, my sister.

“Asagami-senpai is still unconscious. Fortunately, she avoided vital points, so her life isn’t in danger, but considering the situation, she’s still a high school student who has caused such an incident. The person who should be informed first by the doctors—who could it be…? You understand, don’t you, Kurogane-kun?”

That was, in a sense, what I feared the most.

Kanade had once used bodyguards like Akutsu and SP to try to get our aunt and uncle, who were our guardians, to kill Rio, but the truth of that never got out.

But that was because Kanade never dealt directly with our aunt and uncle.

The large sum of money that was part of the negotiation conditions was wasted by me.

No matter how much they investigated, there shouldn’t be any trace.

“Don’t worry. As of now, it seems the police haven’t connected the dots to that incident. Plus, your sister should have already returned home. She’s probably frantically searching for you, Kurogane-kun, right now.”

“…What did you say?”

“It’s quite strange, isn’t it? No matter how you look at it, your sister’s actions were clearly attempted murder. Normally, you’d think the police wouldn’t stay quiet about it. Don’t you agree, Kurogane-kun?”

Faced with Mio’s enigmatic smile, I racked my brain.

Any sane doctor who witnessed that scene would first notify the police. It wasn’t just me; considering Hina, who harbors mutual resentment, witnessed it, Rio’s crime would be undeniable.

It’s not impossible that Hina deliberately kept quiet about it, but given her current state, she would likely do anything to eliminate anyone obstructing her path of love.

“(No, wait…)”

Am I overlooking something crucial?

If the situation warranted police and medical attention, why am I here?

Despite being in such a weakened, bloodied state, Mio had brought only me to this room.

For her, Rio, Hina, and Kanade should be targets to be eliminated. Despite saying so herself, she extended a helping hand. Moreover, she didn’t restrain me even though she had kidnapped me.

Kanade, unconscious.

Rio, who stabbed her and returned home as if nothing happened.

Hina, who’s hiding the truth.

Mio, who watched everything from the beginning to the end.

Four words raced through my mind. I still don’t understand this woman’s true intentions.

However, there’s one thing I’ve come to understand.

“I see… It was someone from the Asagami Group who settled this matter.”

“Hehe… That’s Kurogane-kun for you. Absolutely correct!”

Mio’s innocent joy was as if it was her own affair.

In a small town, in an alley with almost no foot traffic, only the Asagami Group could have the financial power to cover up an incident of this scale.

And by overlooking the sister who stabbed their own daughter, Kanade, I’ve come to a realization.

Finally, it’s become known. To none other than Kanade’s parents. The full extent of the sins their daughter once committed.