I Was Oblivious to the Subtle ‘Yandere’ Side of My Nonchalant Sex Friend Gyaru - Chapter 16-17

Chapter 16: 

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“Wow, look, look! That stuffed animal is so cute!”

“Is that the one you want? In that case—”

“Geez, don’t rush me so much! We’ve come all the way here, so let me enjoy it for a bit first.”

It was after school. We had come to the same arcade as before, but Yumekawa was bouncing around excitedly without even telling me what prize she wanted, and it made me a little anxious.

Hurry up already. I need to get home quickly…

“Hey, Minato, do you have plans later?”

“Huh? No, not really. Why?”

“Because you keep glancing at your watch.”

“Oh, uh, that’s…”

“Could it be…  Asou-senpai?”

“Huh?”

“You said this morning that there was nothing going on between you two, but I was totally suspicious. I mean, she’s so pretty, it wouldn’t be weird if you fell for her.”

“Wait, wait, don’t just jump to conclusions. I don’t see Asou-san outside of work.”

“Really?”

“I’ve been saying that from the start.”

“Hmmm. Then why are you so fidgety?”

“That’s… Because I’m expecting a package to arrive this evening.”

“Oh, really? Sorry. By the way, what did you buy?”

“It doesn’t matter. Come on, just tell me what you want already.”

“Okay, okay, I get it.”

Yumekawa headed toward the section with the small crane games clustered together. What she pointed at was a rabbit keychain I recognized.

“There it is, Lover Rabbits.”

“Wow, you even know the name. I really, really want the keychain for this one.”

“This looks like it’ll be easy enough to get.”

“I tried it yesterday, but I totally couldn’t do it at all. Please, will you give it a try?”

She put in a 100-yen coin and looked up at me, before saying “please” again.

“Haah… Alright, let’s see.”

Unlike last time, I examined the prizes a bit more seriously, searching for a gap in the pile of keychains. There—right there. It looked like a good spot to hook one. I made a couple of small adjustments to the arm’s position—click, click. Then I pressed the button.

“…Oh?”

With a scraping sound, the claw dug in just right, and two keychains ended up dangling from it. They were carried over to the chute—and both fell neatly into the prize hole.

“Wow! Amazing, amazing! Minato, you’re seriously a genius!”

Yumekawa was bouncing with excitement as she picked up the prizes, but I couldn’t help feeling exasperated that she’d spent all day on this and still couldn’t get one.

“You just have zero sense for this.”

“Aw, so mean! But you have such sharp eyes, Minato. I can’t believe you lined it up so perfectly.”

“Who knows.”

I remembered how people used to tell me that a lot, that I had good eyes. After quitting baseball, I thought having good eyesight wouldn’t ever come in handy again. I never imagined it’d end up being useful for something this ridiculous.

“Hey, hey, look~ They’re cute, right?”

“I don’t really get it, but… I’m glad you’re happy.”

“Hehe, I’m so happy. Here, this is for you.”

“Huh?”

Of the two keychains, Yumekawa held one out to me.

“No, I don’t really need one.”

“It’s fine! I only wanted one anyway. And it’s a thank-you for protecting me the other day.”

“…I’m not going to actually use it, you know.”

“Fufu~ I know that. Here~”

I took the keychain from her and slipped it straight into my pocket.

“Alright, let’s go. I’ll walk you home.”

“No, it’s okay. Let’s just say goodbye here today. You have to hurry home, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Her thoughtfulness made things awkward. There was no way I could tell her the real reason I was in such a rush.

We said goodbye in front of the arcade, and then I left.

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Chapter 17: 

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“…There she is.”

Just as my apartment came into view in the distance, I saw a figure standing in front of my door. A girl with long brown hair. It was Kurenai.

“Good work today.”

“…Where were you?”

“Oh, uh, just wandering around the neighborhood.”

“Hmph.”

Kurenai, sitting on the ground in front of my door, looked up at me with a sharp stare, making me feel a bit awkward. 

It’s not like we were dating or that we had any plans today, so whatever I’d been doing and wherever I’d been shouldn’t have mattered to her.

Even if I told her honestly that I’d been at the arcade with Yumekawa, there was no reason she could criticize me. Yes. There was no reason… There shouldn’t…

“Well, whatever. Hurry up and open the door.”

She looked like she wanted to say something, but Kurenai didn’t press me with any more questions. I unlocked the door, and she walked in ahead of me, heading straight to the bathroom. As I sat down on the bed, I remembered the prize I’d put in my pocket earlier.

“…What should I even do with this?”

It was a typical cute design—a deformed cartoon rabbit. I didn’t really get why people wanted things like this, maybe because I had no interest in it myself.

“I need to give her that thing today.”

I glanced at the stuffed animal sitting in the corner of the room. Then I quietly placed the keychain beside my pillow, hiding it a bit.

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“…”

Tonight, as soon as we finished doing it, Kurenai turned away and started messing with her phone. It felt just like the first time… No, back then we were both awkward, but today it felt a bit different.

Is she… Angry?

“Hey.”

“…What?”

“Are you… Mad?”

“Not really.”

Even when I tried talking to her, all I got were blunt replies.

“…Are you mad because I kept you waiting?”

I asked hesitantly, staring at her beautiful back, and for a moment her shoulder gave a tiny twitch.

“…I’m not mad.”

“Then why are you like this today—”

“I said I’m not mad.”

“…Hey, why don’t you take that stuffed animal home?”

When I said that, she turned slightly to glare at me.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you trying to butter me up? If you think that’ll work—”

“That’s not it. The other day, you fell asleep hugging it, right? And there’s no way I can give something like that to the manager’s girlfriend.”

“…Oh, I see. Well, if that’s the case, I’ll take responsibility for it.”

Kurenai turned her gaze back to her phone. What was she looking at so intently? I casually peeked over her shoulder and saw an online shop on her screen.

It was a page for Lover Rabbits keychains. The exact same keychain I’d just won earlier today.

“You like those?”

I blurted out, and she snapped back.

“Don’t just look at someone’s phone without asking.”

She turned around quickly, tilting her phone screen away from me.

“Oh, uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s not like I want it or anything. It’s just trendy at school, so I was curious what it looked like.”

“I-I see. So… Do you think it’s cute?”

“…Well, it’s kind of cute.”

Hearing her answer shyly like that made my heart skip a beat.

Guess she doesn’t completely hate it.

“…I have one, so you can have it. Here.”

When I took the keychain from beside my pillow and held it out, her eyes widened in surprise. She reached for it but then pulled her hand back, narrowing her eyes.

“…Why do you have that?”

“Oh, um, that’s… I went to the arcade with Yumekawa the other day and—”

“Liar. This keychain was released yesterday.”

“Wait, really?”

“Hmph. I’m not going to pry into what you were doing or with whom, but if you’re going to lie, at least don’t make it so obvious. It’s irritating.”

She turned away again without taking the keychain.

“…I wasn’t trying to hide it. Yumekawa asked me today to help her get it.”

“Oh. So you’re close with her.”

“She just wanted me to win the keychain for her. I ended up getting two by accident, so I brought one home.”

“Are you going to put it on something?”

“I don’t need it. So… Well, I know it might feel like my leftovers, but if you don’t mind—”

Before I could even finish, Kurenai turned to me again. This time she slowly took the keychain from my hand.

“If you don’t want it, I’ll take it.”

She said while placing it next to her pillow. Then she turned her back to me once more and went back to fiddling with her phone. I didn’t know what to say to her anymore. While I sat there fiddling with my own phone, I gradually drifted off to sleep.

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