Chapter 3 – Two Yandere 【3】

Last summer.
I was in the club room with the president, debugging a game featuring a yandere heroine.
After silently repeating monotonous tasks for a while, the president suddenly muttered something.

“Haah… If only a yandere beauty would fall from the sky…”

I calmly pointed out the issue.

“Um, President. Beauties don’t fall from the sky. Even if one did, the physical law F=mg would ensure that the moment she hit the ground, she’d stop being a beauty. And if you tried to catch her, you’d just physically become one with her. Sadly, the world would lose one handsome guy and one beauty.”

The president smiled wryly and shook his head.

“You’re quite the realist.”
“That’s what you get from thinking about it in an ordinary way. More importantly, why a yandere?”

When I asked for the reason, he answered with a serious expression.

“Because yandere don’t betray you. They only look at me, and it has to be me. So much so that they can’t even live without me.”

Back then—and even now—I couldn’t agree.
The yandere I knew were insane criminals who’d easily kill their beloved over nothing and immediately search for a new victim, or collect the bodies of people they’d killed.
However, the president denied my view.

According to him:

“Ordinary love changes with circumstances, but a yandere’s love remains unwavering even when circumstances change.”
“Yandere never betray the one they love.”
“Yandere will choose you even if the whole world becomes their enemy.”
“Without this kind of affection, it’s not a yandere—just a lunatic.”

Perhaps the president once had a girlfriend or someone close to that, but after circumstances changed for some reason, they broke up in a way that felt like betrayal.
In that context, he might have stumbled upon a yandere character and mistaken the yandere’s obsessive madness for love.
Well, that’s just my own speculation.

In any case, the president back then was hooked on games featuring yandere heroines.
So until now, I’d assumed his love for yandere was limited to 2D.

However, the moment he rejected Renka-senpai’s confession, I finally realized.
The president wanted a yandere as his partner in real life too.

◆ ◆ ◆

The president’s words were shocking.
But Renka-senpai’s words were even more shocking.

“Why won’t I do? I’ve been working so hard all this time to become the type of woman Shimura-kun likes, you know? I’ve been stalking Shimura-kun every day, constantly thinking about Shimura-kun, sniffing Shimura-kun’s body odor, licking Shimura-kun’s saliva, taking photos of Shimura-kun, and recording and listening to Shimura-kun’s voice! It’s been 2 years, 6 months, and 1 day since I started making an effort, and I have 3,659 photos I’ve taken and 890.355 GB of audio files and 7,318 emails I’ve sent to Shimura-kun as proof of my love! I don’t have anyone but Shimura-kun anymore! If Shimura-kun wants, I’m willing to die with you! I love Shimura-kun this much, so why are you rejecting me!?”

Good grief. Apparently Renka-senpai was an even heavier girl than my kouhai.
I reflexively glanced to the side and saw Eri with a pale face.

“A-a stalker… There’s a real stalker here, senpai! W-we need to report this quickly…”
“You’re one to talk.”
“Huh!? D-do I look like that to other people too!?”

Eri looked shocked. Admittedly, that might have been a bit too harsh.
I comforted the stalker-in-training.

“No, you’re nowhere near that bad, so don’t worry. For example, if Renka-senpai’s love intensity—stalker level—is the first-place Ryonacon game, ‘The Labyrinth is Full of Hope!’, then your love intensity—stalker level—is merely the second-place Ryonacon game, ‘Mental Breakdown ~Girls Who Became Dolls After Physical and Mental Training~’. In other words, you’re perfectly normal.”
“You just said ‘stalker level,’ didn’t you!? And the second-place Ryonacon game is the one you made, right!? I-I can’t take this anymore. I’m reporting Renka-senpai and turning myself in too.”

Oh no. The light disappeared from Eri’s eyes. What could possibly be the problem?
I desperately tried to persuade my kouhai, who had actually pulled out her phone to make a report.

This was a harmless exchange.
However, because of this exchange, we missed part of the conversation between the president and Renka-senpai.

Changing the subject slightly, the bug I installed converts surrounding sounds into electrical signals and sends them to the receiver we’re holding.
And the receiver only has the function of receiving electrical signals and playing back audio.

Therefore, I usually prepare a recorder as well, but recording a girl’s confession on top of eavesdropping seemed like going too far, so I didn’t record this time.
What kind of conversation could have taken place between them?

I don’t know, but by the time I succeeded in calming Eri down and felt relieved, Renka-senpai was somehow in a good mood.

Had she received a positive response from the president?
As I was thinking that, she said to the president in a cheerful tone:

“Then just wait a bit, Shimura-kun. I’ll take care of everything today! Witness my love! Ehehehe.”
“Wait…!?”

The moment the president suddenly raised his voice and started to say something.
With a loud noise, the voices of the two suddenly disappeared from the receiver.

I operated the receiver’s dial and changed the frequency.
But all I could hear was noise.

◆ ◆ ◆

Back in the club room, we stared at the bug’s remains with dark faces.

When we went to retrieve the bug, it was broken.
That loud noise we heard at the end was the bug’s death cry.

Suddenly, Eri muttered.

“What was all that about in the end?”
“Yeah…”

I pondered while looking at the bug’s remains.

This bug is fairly sturdy, so it shouldn’t break unless deliberately destroyed.
And at that time, only President Shimura and Renka-senpai were there.
So that means one of them broke the bug.

…But why?

Of course, eavesdropping on someone’s confession isn’t right. Moreover, with a bug.
I can’t complain even if it was destroyed.

However, I painted the bug the same color as that tree and installed it higher than eye level.
Therefore, it shouldn’t be noticed that easily.

Besides.
Even if someone happened to notice it, would they recognize a round object the same color as the tree as a bug?
…Unlikely. But if it’s Renka-senpai, maybe…

I recalled her.
As a maiden in love, she might have recognized that device as a bug.
If she noticed it mid-conversation, it would explain the current situation.

No, wait. Did she really notice it midway?
A senpai whose love is extraordinarily heavy… Ah, there’s no point in hiding it anymore. Let me be frank.

She’s a genuine stalker. Yet we didn’t notice her true identity.
Could it be possible that we were stalking the same target for several months without noticing each other’s existence?

…Let me think about this more.
In the last conversation we heard, the president was trying to say something.
But the bug broke, and we couldn’t hear anything.

So what if I assume the following:

‘Renka-senpai already knew that Eri was stalking the president and acted to avoid overlapping with us.’
‘She deliberately told Eri the confession location today not only to make her romantic rival give up, but also to pinpoint where we’d install the bug. In other words, she was watching us install the bug the entire time.’
‘When the confession was rejected, she panicked and forgot about the bug’s existence, but after regaining her composure, she destroyed the bug before we could hear anything.’
‘In this case, what she didn’t want us to hear was the “something” the president was about to say.’

…Am I overthinking this?

I looked at the president’s seat. He wasn’t there, just his bag hanging on the chair.
The president’s, of course.

Worried about the president, we waited until it got somewhat dark, but he never returned.
He didn’t answer his phone either.

…Surely Renka-senpai hasn’t confined him, right?

Agh, no good. Because of Renka-senpai, my thoughts keep jumping to extremes.
Let me cool my head with a drink or something.

I opened the door to the club room’s refrigerator. But there was nothing inside.
Strange… I thought there was some left. Did someone drink it?

The intellectual beverage I prefer can’t be bought at the school store. Maybe I should go to a nearby convenience store.

“I’m planning to go to the convenience store to buy drinks. Want to come with me?”

I suggested to Eri. She seemed to share my anxiety and accepted my suggestion.

Let’s wait just one more hour, and if the president still doesn’t come, we’ll go home.
It might be better to see Eri home today.
Thinking this, I headed to the convenience store with Eri.

—Confirming compatibility factor. Third factor: going to a convenience store—confirmed.

◆ ◆ ◆

The convenience store is about a 10-minute walk away.
On the street that had already darkened, we were the only ones there.
Naturally standing on the road side, I held Eri’s hand and walked slowly to match her stride.

“What do you think happened to Shimura-senpai?”

Eri looked up at me anxiously.
I was a bit anxious too, but I couldn’t let my kouhai feel anxious.
Thinking this, I made a smile to reassure her.

“Let’s just wait a little longer. Even if he doesn’t come back today, I’m sure he’ll show up at school tomorrow like nothing happened. Even if Renka-senpai is a crazy stalker, I don’t think she’ll take extreme action. She’s intelligent.”

In fact, Renka-senpai is an honor student whose grades rank within the top 10 of her year, and she’s also the captain of the track team—a talented woman excelling in both academics and athletics. There’s no way she’d take extreme measures.
If she did something like that, she’d end up separated from the president.
She should know that much.

Wait, hold on.
Knowing the president, maybe he’d actually welcome being confined?
No, surely not. But, however.

“Sugar-senpai, you’ve started using the term ‘stalker.'”

Crap.
I’d successfully covered it up with the phrase ‘maiden in love’ until now, but I’ve ruined it all.
No, maybe I can still recover.

“U-um, that’s…”
“It’s okay. I actually knew. But I couldn’t accept it. So that’s how I look to other people.”

No good. I desperately tried to comfort Eri, who was looking down with a gloomy expression.

“No, that’s not true at all. There’s a difference between Renka-senpai and you as vast as heaven and earth. Yes, for example, if senpai is the first-place Ryonacon work…”
“…That’s not comforting at all, you know? Actually, that’s a huge shock.”

Eri looked up at me as if exasperated, then smiled softly with a small chuckle.

“Ah, forget it. I feel silly for worrying about all this. If you planned that, senpai, you’re quite the strategist. But yeah… What I did really was terrible, so should I stop? The stalking, I mean.”

It was a surprise attack.
I’d never even imagined that she, a stalker, would try to stop stalking.
While I was at a loss for words, Eri continued.

“I didn’t understand anything until now. It must have been hard for you all this time, senpai, since you like being ordinary. But even so, you’ve indulged my selfishness ever since last winter…”

I wanted to say that wasn’t true.
Because the time I spent with Eri was surprisingly fun for me.
However, the surprise attack was so effective that I couldn’t say anything.

“The photos of Shimura-senpai were taken by Sugar-senpai, and Shimura-senpai’s voice was recorded by Sugar-senpai too. On Valentine’s Day, I was able to give him chocolates thanks to you. I was so happy to receive a present on White Day. I was able to join the game development club because you invited me, and my first birthday party ever was so happy and fun I cried. And you helped me with so many other things… Huh? Looking back, it’s all memories with Sugar-senpai.”

Eri kept talking.

“I still haven’t even had a proper conversation with Shimura-senpai, but I can talk normally with Sugar-senpai, and now we’re even holding hands like this. Come to think of it, my first handmade chocolates also went to Sugar-senpai—”

After that, Eri tried to continue saying something, but I wasn’t listening to her anymore.
Because of a certain strange woman.

At this moment, we were passing in front of a certain alley.
I was on the road side, Eri on the alley side.
Incidentally, at the entrance to that alley stood a woman wearing a raincoat despite no rain.

How did I know it was a woman? Because even with the raincoat on, her curves were evident in all the right places.
Of course, there was the possibility of a man with something stuffed in the chest area, but I didn’t think that far.

She was so suspicious that the moment I focused my attention on that strange woman—
The raincoat woman pulled out a kitchen knife from inside her coat and suddenly came rushing toward us.

What!?

I was shocked. At the same time, I realized something.
Right now, we’re the only ones on this street. And Eri is in the direction of her advance.
Which means—

She’s targeting Eri!

There’s no time to run. Making that judgment, I immediately pushed Eri away.
Then I moved forward a bit and deliberately let myself be stabbed by the knife.

—Confirming compatibility factor. Seventh factor: getting stabbed by a blade while protecting a girl—confirmed.

“Kyah!? Why did you suddenly… senpai…?”

Eri, pushed down by me, looked at me and froze.

Well, of course.
The senpai she was walking with was suddenly stabbed by an assailant. It would be stranger not to be surprised.

Ah, while I was dazed, the knife was pulled from my stomach.
Blood gushed from my abdomen, and intense pain came with severe dizziness.
I concentrated my mind and quietly confronted her.

“What are you, doing all of a sudden, Renka-senpai?”

At this distance, I could tell. The murderer’s true identity was Renka-senpai.

“Getting stabbed while protecting a bug—too predictable to be interesting.”
“What…”
“Just stay still for a bit. I’ll kill you both nice and together—”

The murderer was saying something, but because of the ringing in my ears, I couldn’t understand what she was saying at all.
My consciousness was growing hazy too.

However, I understand this much.
At this rate, not only me but Eri will be in danger too.

…Like hell I’ll let that happen.
I concentrated my consciousness and brought up the topic most likely to get a reaction from her.

“What did you, do with, President Shimura?”

Ah, damn.
I’m not coughing up blood like in manga and anime, but the intense pain and dizziness are making it hard to speak properly.
However, I’m still conscious and can still think. So it’s too early to give up.
I might be done for, but I have to protect my kouhai somehow.

Now, I’ve thrown out a topic that should interest her—how will she react?

“Ahaha, Shimura-kun is in our love nest right now! Geez, he’s so stubborn.”

Fortunately, the murderer took the bait I offered.
I felt relieved that I’d bought some time while secretly putting my hand in my pocket.
However, the moment I tried to operate the phone in my pocket with my trembling hand—

“Hey now, listen when people are talking to you!”

The murderer stabbed my arm. I think the knife touched bone.
So she noticed.

My right arm won’t move anymore. But at this depth, the knife shouldn’t come out either.
If she tries to pull it out by force, I’ll tense my muscles and stop her with everything I’ve got.
Now the murderer is neutralized—

“Huh? What’s this? I-it won’t come out… But! I! Have! Another! One! Too bad for you, bug-boy! Kyahahaha!”

…Just when I thought she was neutralized, another knife appeared.
Another knife. Just how much does this person like knives?

Ah, I’m really done for now. If only Eri could escape…
Now that the murderer’s attention is on me is the best timing.

However, my kouhai just sat there slumped down, making sounds like “Ah… uh…” without forming words, staring blankly at me.
Well, that’s a natural reaction.

…What should I do?

As I desperately searched for a breakthrough with my increasingly foggy mind, a truck heading this way entered my field of vision from a distance.
At that moment, I came up with a certain breakthrough strategy.

Considering the route and speed, the truck will pass right beside us soon.
And this road is narrow, barely enough for the truck’s width.
In other words, if I time it right and lean toward the road, I can easily get hit by the truck.

So when the truck approached, I hugged the murderer, who was saying something, with my left arm as hard as I could and jumped straight into the road.
Actually, I could barely manage to fall forward, but let’s say I jumped.

Now then, the truck is already quite close.
At this rate, even if the driver hits the brakes, both the murderer and I will definitely get hit.

I’m sorry to the driver, but this is to protect my kouhai.
I’ll be taking advantage of you without permission.

As I was falling, the murderer’s shocked face came into view.
According to one theory, when you’re facing death, you see your life flash before your eyes.
By the way, why am I seeing the murderer’s face?
I’d rather see Eri.

…Speaking of which, what happened to Eri?

I turned my face sideways to look for my kouhai.
She was still staring blankly at me as before.

I smiled at my cute kouhai with all my might—though the expression is strange—before turning my face back toward the murderer.

Actually, I don’t want to look at the murderer’s face, but when I get hit by the truck, I’ll probably make a terrible expression.
I can’t let Eri see that. It would traumatize her. I know from experience.
Rather than give my cute kouhai a trauma, it’s better if the murderer’s face is the last thing I see.

That aside, is this how my life ends?
Getting hit by a truck after protecting my kouhai from a murderer—that’s not ordinary at all…

How did it come to this? I wanted to live an ordinary life.
Well, still, for a high school boy to protect his cute kouhai is ordinary—or rather, natural.

…Then it’s fine.

While hearing the loud sound of brakes, that’s what I thought at the end.

—Confirming compatibility factor. Zeroth factor: getting hit by a truck—confirmed.
—Confirming compatibility factor. Fourth factor: dying or near-death situation—confirmed.
—Confirming compatibility factor. Fifth factor: death or absence of parents—confirmed.
—Confirming compatibility factor. Sixth factor: complete memorization of game walkthrough—confirmed.
—Confirming compatibility factor. Eighth factor: experience with school refusal—confirmed.
—Confirming compatibility factor. Ninth factor: programmer or software creator—confirmed.
—Confirming compatibility factor. Tenth factor: existence of handsome or superior classmates nearby—confirmed.

—Confirmation of compatibility factors for all living beings in world [Unique Number: N1898ET] completed. Summoning the individual with the highest compatibility factors, [Individual Name: Suzuki Sugar] as the ‘Offering’ to the labyrinth.
—Death of ‘Offering’ confirmed during summoning. Will perform resuscitation process after summoning.

◆ ◆ ◆

“S-senpai…?”

Because it was so unreal, the girl couldn’t even scream and sat there dazed and collapsed.

A man got out of the truck and hurriedly called someone, but the girl couldn’t register it.
Soon the sound of sirens echoed, but the girl couldn’t register that sound either.
The girl’s brain endlessly replayed only the smile the boy had shown her just before he was hit by the truck.

Yes, just like a broken music box, endlessly.