A Family of Yandere Witches Living in Modern Day Won’t Let Me Go

I don’t particularly enjoy standing out.

I don’t assert myself much, nor do I have a desire to be in the spotlight… but I do take pride in having enough kindness to help someone in trouble right in front of me.

(She… Ria Saionji is in trouble. That’s why I need to help her.)

To begin with, it must be awful to deal with this right after transferring schools.

The guy from the neighboring class, Inoue, has a terrible reputation. He’s known for constantly hitting on girls and not hesitating to use violence on guys he doesn’t like… but so what?

(…Damn, this is a disgusting feeling.)

More than anything, I can’t stand the fact that someone like him is talking to Ria Saionji.

Is this jealousy…? It’s hard to believe I’m jealous of someone I just met, but it sure feels similar to that emotion.

Anyway, right now, the priority is to help Ria, who looks uncomfortable with Inoue.

“Hey, enough of this—”

“You’re the one who needs to stop.”

I grabbed Inoue’s hand just as he reached out to touch Ria’s shoulder. I held it firmly, enough to cause him some pain.

“Ow… What do you think you’re doing?”

“What do I think? She just transferred and is already in trouble because of you.”

“Huh? This has nothing to do with you.”

“It does. I sit next to her, and I’m in her class. That’s why I… no, all of us in this class want to help her.”

Let’s get everyone involved.

Many people wanted to help Ria despite knowing Inoue’s reputation, which made them hesitant.

“You just want to show off to the new girl.”

“Who wouldn’t want to look cool for a beautiful transfer student?”

When I said that directly, Inoue looked surprised.

“Well, that’s part of it, but I don’t want her to regret transferring here. So, I’m stopping you to protect her… so leave her alone. I’ll protect her.”

“Oh…”

Saying that made me feel embarrassed, but I couldn’t back down now.

(…This feels like deja vu.)

Yes, it felt like deja vu.

It seemed like this had happened before, even though I knew it couldn’t have.

Ria Saionji and I locked eyes. She looked surprised too, and her expression felt oddly familiar.

“You’re annoying.”

Inoue finally moved, angrily slapping my hand away and grabbing my collar as if he was ready to fight. He knew getting into a fight at school could get him suspended, but he didn’t care, shouting with spit flying from his mouth.

“Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong! I’ll kill—”

“Kill me, huh?”

“!?“

Honestly, I was confused by my own behavior.

I wasn’t particularly brave or strong, but I felt an unusual strength pushing me to be assertive.

I tightened my grip on his hand, causing him to grimace.

“Stop bothering her.”

I made him let go of me, squeezing harder. Inoue finally whimpered in pain and let go of me, backing away.

“Damn it…”

Inoue spat out a final curse and left the classroom.

After he left, I stared at my hands, wondering where that strength came from.

“That was amazing, Saegusa!”

“So cool!”

“We wanted to help too… but you were awesome, Saegusa!”

“Ah, yeah…”

Only then did I fully realize what I had done.

Despite my confusion, Ria Saionji broke through my thoughts.

“Thank you, Saegusa.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay, Saionji.”

“You protected me… oh, and you can call me by my first name at school.”

“Um…”

Isn’t that a bad idea…!?

Now everyone’s curious about our relationship, with boys giving me envious looks and girls watching intently.

How am I supposed to explain this?

When I looked at Ria, she blushed and said,

“He’s… Saegusa is the person I trust the most.”

“What!?”

Because of Ria’s words, everyone in class now thought there was something between us.

▼▽

“…I’m exhausted.”

Time passed, and it was finally after school.

There had been a lot going on, but Ria explained she moved near my house, and we became friends, which is why she trusted me.

After that explanation, no one pressed further… though the boys still gave me envious looks, but nothing more than that.

“…I’ve been acting strange lately.”

Since having those dreams, when I met Ria Saionji and Sena Saionji, something felt off.

Weird… just weird.

But it also felt nostalgic… had I met them somewhere before…?

“………”

“Hey.”

Just then, I heard something slicing through the air… I felt a sharp blow to my head and fell—at least I thought I would, but I was still standing.

“…Huh?”

I looked back, but there was no one there.

Only passersby… if it wasn’t my imagination, I thought I heard Inoue’s voice.

“…??”

…I must be really tired.

I might be hearing things because I’m exhausted… I should just go home and sleep.

As I turned around, I nearly bumped into someone and quickly stopped.

“Damn!”

But I couldn’t stop in time.

I lost my balance and fell into the person in front of me. They caught me, preventing a fall, but my cheek pressed against something soft.

“?!”

“Are you okay?”

The voice from above was cool.

I quickly realized what I was pressing against and pulled back. Looking at the person, I felt my soul leave my body.

“No way…”

It was her… the woman called Aria from my dream.

With long black hair swaying in the wind and an overwhelmingly beautiful figure visible even through her clothes, she was terrifyingly gorgeous… and she looked a lot like Ria and Sena.

“…”

And a wave of intense nostalgia washed over me.

It felt like my heart was being squeezed, almost making me cry.

“Ah… your soul remembers.”

“What…?”

It was slightly scary.

Her beauty had an almost witch-like quality, like something from an anime or manga.

Her passionate gaze stirred something inside me… and it scared me.

“S-Sorry!”

It didn’t matter who she was now.

I apologized and tried to leave… but she held my cheeks and kissed me.

“?!”