Yandere? Menhera? Bring It On, If You're Confident That I'll love You For Who You Are - Chapter 52

Love for Sister

As the chime signaling the end of classes echoed throughout the room, I turned my gaze to the right.

It seemed the other students were deeply intrigued by Shimazu Yuuna, the trainee teacher.

Questions typical of what you’d see in movies or manga directed at a transfer student (though she’s not exactly that) bombarded her.

Where did she come from? Was she a university student? What about her family?

I, myself, wanted to talk to her at least once, but considering my infamous reputation, it wouldn’t be good for me to cut in. I couldn’t discern her motives for appearing before me now, but I could easily imagine becoming the subject of students’ gossip if I forced my way in now. Better to quietly wait for another opportunity.

“Ahaha, looks like a conquest today is impossible, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh? Are you interested in her too? Then, how about we, as men, have a strategy meeting?”

Since we were in the same class, there would be plenty of opportunities to talk in the future.

I stood up with Yuuya, collecting the few personal items I had. As I slung my bag over my shoulder, my smartphone in my pocket began to vibrate.

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12/1 (Thu) (16:12)
Good work today, Minato-senpai. This is sudden, but could you spare some time after school today? I’d like to have a proper talk with the two of you. (Read)

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The message was from Hina. I immediately composed a reply to her.

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12/1 (Thu) (16:12)
No problem. I’ll be waiting in front of the rooftop.

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“Hm? What’s up? Aren’t you going home?”

“Ah, sorry. I’m meeting Hina in a bit.”

“Ah? Then…”

Yuuya’s expression changed. He’s quick to react at times like these.

“Well, that’s the case, huh? If you hear from Rio, try to smooth things over for me.”

“Leave it to me. Then, I’ll be taking my leave.”

“Ah, wait a sec.”

Considering what happened this morning, it’s like today of all days. I stopped Yuuya from leaving.

“Just one thing I want to ask you—if Hina ever asks you for help instead of me… will you have the courage to accept it this time?”

Yuuya stopped in his tracks. It was the same question I had asked him this morning.

At the time, he had responded to my question with another question, perhaps because I asked it in jest. But now, as I was about to meet with Hina, I needed a clear answer.

“…Well, I guess I’d like to talk it out, just this once.”

“Alright then, I’ll be off.”

Yuuya still stood there, but without paying him any more mind, I started to jog down the corridor.

I arrived at the staircase leading to the firmly closed metal door marked “No Entry” at the end of the hallway.

I had intended to arrive quite early, but it seemed the girl I was meeting had gotten there even earlier.

“Hey, you got here pretty early. Were you already here when you called me out?”

“I figured you would choose this place, Minato-senpai.”

Ignoring Hina’s smug expression, I took something out of my pocket and inserted it into the door’s keyhole.

With a clicking sound, the door opened to reveal the scene beyond.

“Brr… It’s really getting cold this time of year.”

“…Yeah, this is freezing.”

The school rooftop was already chilly with good airflow. Hina and I shivered from the cold.

“What do you want to do? Should we change locations? We were originally talking about going to eat anyway.”

“No. It’s not unbearable. Besides, I wanted to talk with you here, Minato-senpai…”

While saying that, Hina took out two small cans from her inside pocket.

“It’s my treat. You like hot cocoa, right? It hasn’t been long since I bought these, and holding onto them will keep you warm for a while.”

“Thanks.”

I wrapped my hands around the can she handed me. Just like she said, it felt like my core was warming up.

“I’ve always wondered, did Asagami-senpai have anything to do with you being able to use this place freely?”

“Yeah. Apparently, she randomly gave some money to a contractor who was here and had him make a key. And after she transferred, it became my private room.”

“As expected… That person is always doing bad things, isn’t she?”

Hina, somewhat exasperated, started walking. She glanced at the swaying fence and let out a small murmur.

“It all started here…”

Her voice was barely audible, yet it was filled with all her emotions.

“Do you remember when we first met? Back then, I convinced myself that I was never truly loved. I took pleasure in seeing others suffer, in causing it. I was only lamenting things that I shouldn’t have bothered saying, like harshly criticizing the guys I had dated, or speaking slanderously about the girls who had lynched me. But he listened to me. He understood everything about me. The feelings I had for him since then haven’t changed.”

“I see… That guy’s a lucky one. If any other guy heard this, they’d definitely be stabbed.”

“If that happens, please get stabbed gracefully. It’s not often we get to see you like that, Minato-senpai.”

Hina laughed jokingly. But it was only a moment.

“That’s why I won’t ask for anything more. I thought it would be wrong to be any greedier. Even if it’s not me, I’ll bless the person he chooses. I don’t have the right to stand by your side, Minato-senpai. But… I just couldn’t stand to see you get hurt by her—the woman who chose you, who put the stigma of a murderer on you. But…”

Her eyes were filled with unmistakable sadness.

“You realized you were doing the same thing?”

“…Yes. In hindsight, I should have realized it when… when you kissed me, Minato-senpai.”

Hina looked up to the sky as if she had come to some understanding.

The winter sky dyed with the sunset seemed to ironically reflect her feelings.

“At first, I really just wanted to save you. Because you were the one who saved me. So now, it was my turn to help you. I wonder when it was that I felt you were in a

completely different place from me…”

“That was when you faced off against Kanade’s father, right?”

“Ahaha, you see right through me, don’t you? That’s exactly it…”

Yes, that day when she confronted Kanade’s father in the Asagami Group, what Hina felt towards me was fear.

Fear that I, myself, had instilled in her.

And that was proof she still had time to make things right.

“You can start over.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. I continued to speak.

“Originally, after entering high school, our only contact was through Yuuya. We hardly ever met alone. Well, there’s no need to purposely keep our distance. I think you’re more than capable of getting by without me now.”

Indeed, she had chosen the wrong approach.

But whatever the catalyst, she had come to recognize and accept her own sins.

“I’ve told Kanade too, but I have no plans to date anyone right now. Even if an opportunity arises, it’s unlikely that I would turn to you.”

Hina said nothing.

Just… small droplets fell from her eyes and eventually reached the ground.

“So, I’m sorry. I can’t answer your feelings.”

The words were too blunt, too merciless a rejection.

Perhaps I should have been kinder.

However, without the resolve to reciprocate her feelings, any half-hearted kindness would turn into hope.

“You said it earlier, didn’t you? That you convinced yourself no one could ever love you. Maybe you already realized it? That the person who cares about you more than anyone else is ‘him’.”

Hina’s complexion changed. But it was still just confusion.

“No matter how bad of a guy he is. Family… especially a sister gets special treatment. He might not be the most reliable brother, but maybe you should give him a chance just this once? At least when it comes to affection for a sister, he’s much better than I am.”

With those words, I turned my back on Hina.

“I’m going ahead. Don’t stay out too late.”

Without looking back at Hina, I left the rooftop.

After confirming the metal door had closed completely, I thought about the unreliable brother. Honestly, whether things go well is up to him.

He’d never been deeply involved with others, afraid to understand their pain. How much he could share with his sister, I didn’t know…

With a hope I unexpectedly harbored within me, I started to walk away.