Yandere and Menhera - Suddenly Having a Yandere Older Stepsister and a Menhera Younger Stepsister Makes Every Day Difficult - Chapter 1 - 29/30

Just after 7:30 in the morning, as I was walking to school, deep in thought about something that had happened earlier, Sakagami, who usually doesn’t take this route, appeared from behind and slapped me on the back.

“Morning!”

“Ah, Sakagami. Good morning.”

“Oh?”

“What’s up?”

“You’re looking pretty lively, aren’t ya?!”

“What’s with that way of speaking?”

A little smirk crept onto my face, amused by Sakagami’s odd way of speaking that slightly lit my mood.

Then, Sakagami smiled brightly, swinging his bag around as he happily skipped ahead of me toward the school.

I would be happy if something good had happened to him. Seeing Sakagami happy makes me happy too, but things don’t seem to click right.

By 8:00 a.m., I had arrived at school and was on my way to my classroom when Nakazato appeared before me, jogging my way.

“Good morning. You’re Ryusuke, right?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“We plan to hang out after school today, but could you please not come?”

“If you don’t want me to come, I won’t, but why?”

“Because with a guy like you around, I can’t make a move on Saeka.”

“I see. Then, tell Saeka that you said I shouldn’t come.”

“…”

Nakazato fell silent, saying nothing further, but whether the timing was good or bad, Saeka showed up.

“Hey, Nakazato, Ryusuke!”

“Good morning, Saeka.”

“Oh, good morning, Lady Saeka.”

Nakazato, perhaps nervously, referred to her with an odd title. I found Nakazato’s behavior amusing and thought that whether I went to the outing or not, the result would be the same.

“Hey, both of you, it will be fun!”

While I was thinking this, Saeka looked forward to the afternoon with a joyful leap, full of anticipation. I thought it would be wrong to crush her excitement now, so I decided not to mention that I wouldn’t be going and kept quiet until after school.

☆☆☆

After school, as everyone started cleaning, heading home, or attending club activities, Saeka seemed to have met up with Nakazato and a girl named Hashimoto. I tried to leave without being noticed because what I was about to do felt terrible, but I had planned to contact Saeka once I got home.

However, Saeka spotted me almost immediately.

“Ryusuke!”

“Ah…”

“Huh?”

“Ah, haha.”

“Are you going home?”

“Nakazato said he didn’t want to hang out with me. It was supposed to be just the three of you, right?”

“Did Nakazato say that?”

Saeka, looking saddened, grabbed my hand and asked.

“Going home?”

“I guess so.”

“Okay. See you then.”

Although I felt sorry for her, I didn’t want to interfere with someone else’s love life, even if they had ulterior motives. Besides, I was curious about what Matsuri and Ririka were up to, and I wanted to get home quickly.

I grabbed my things and hurried home.

I arrived home at 4:30 p.m. Checking my phone, I saw a message from Saeka.

“I ended up not hanging out with everyone and went home.”

That was all she wrote.

I was left wondering whether going home was the right or wrong decision.

As things around me began to change, I felt increasingly anxious, with the National Middle School Tournament drawing closer.

◆　◇　◆

It was the next morning. At 5:30 a.m., I received a call from the coach, and, rubbing my sleepy eyes, I answered the phone to hear him speaking in a panicked tone.

“Miyuki has collapsed, and I can’t go to the national tournament with you. I’ve asked Kumagai to go instead!”

“Eh, that Kumagai-san?!”

Kumagai-san, who would be accompanying me to the national tournament in place of the coach, was known to be scarier, stricter, and a worse verbal abuser than the coach himself. Honestly, I was not fond of him, to the point where I considered withdrawing from the national tournament, but with no option to back out now, I reluctantly contacted Kumagai-san to thank him in advance for his support.

“Ah, hello? Kumagai-san?”

“Hey, Ryu?”

“Yes, it’s Ryusuke!”

“I’m looking forward to your performance at the national tournament. If you lose, I’m gonna beat you up.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best to meet your expectations. Thank you for your support on the day.”

“Meet at the venue.”

“Yes!”

After the call ended with a click, I let out a sigh. The fear instilled by his gruff voice was something my body and ears still remembered. As I sighed deeply, Matsuri approached me from behind, unnoticed until then, which made me let out an embarrassed sound.

“Good morning, Ryusuke-kun.”

“Good morning.”

“You were sighing this early in the morning; are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine!”

“Ryusuke-kun, come here.”

Matsuri spread her arms wide, inviting me to hug her. I felt I was too old for such coddling. When I shook my head to refuse, Matsuri pouted and hugged me anyway.

“Hey, Matsuri!”

“Just let yourself be pampered for once.”

“No, thank you.”

Matsuri smelled nice, and that scent made me feel strangely uncomfortable, making me want to escape as soon as possible, but she wouldn’t let me go. And then, at the worst possible timing, Ririka appeared.

“What are you doing so early in the morning?”

“Ri-Ririka-chan.”

“Onii-chan, you really like Onee-chan, huh? Wow, not me then. Fine.”

Ririka looked visibly upset and stormed off to her room as if to lock herself away.

Matsuri, adding insult to injury, commented.

“Doing the whole ‘I’m so hurt’ act again? Isn’t that just tacky?”

“What?”

“That’s why Ryusuke-kun doesn’t get close to Ririka.”

“Shut up. You wouldn’t understand since you’re all lovey-dovey. Forget it.”

“Hehe. Then I’ll monopolize Ryusuke-kun.”

Matsuri seemed to enjoy teasing Ririka, and all I could feel was fear. But what was even more frightening was the softness pressing against my chest.

I had to get away quickly. With that thought, I patted Matsuri on the head, hurriedly pulled away, and, while nibbling on a slice of toast, sat down to meditate in an attempt to regain my composure.