Mygo, are you all yanderes?

Even if Takamatsu Akari wasn't like this now, Nagasaki Motoyo wouldn't have asked her for help to get out of the predicament.

Shiina Riki looked at her with a gloating expression.

From the moment she returned, she showed no sign of trying to help Nagasaki Motoyo out of her predicament; on the contrary, she seemed pleased to see it this way.

Honestly, when did the Shiina Ritsuki she knew become such a perverse child?

Yoro Nai — a child who understands nothing at all, pass.

"Is it possible that Su Shi really dislikes your nickname, but doesn't say it out of consideration for your feelings?"

Just as Nagasaki Motoyo was caught in a dilemma, Kusano Akira's voice came from beside Chihaya Aine. He quietly walked up to Chihaya Aine and teased her.

After eavesdropping for so long, Kusano Akira finally figured out the whole story. It was simply that Nagasaki Motoyo couldn't accept Chihaya Aine's nickname.

He noticed the troubled expression on Nagasaki Motoyo's face, and combined with their conversation, he naturally understood Nagasaki Motoyo's current situation.

Since Nagasaki Motoyo is so troubled, Kusano Akira is naturally going to step in and help her out—this is such a good opportunity to win Nagasaki Motoyo's favor, Kusano Akira certainly can't miss it.

So he seized the opportunity, stepped forward, and interrupted their conversation, diverting Chihaya Aine's attention from Nagasaki Motoyo to him.

"Huh?" (Translated by: 泀ˉ跁∞℃贰俬%坽×∧五)

Chihaya Aine noticed Kusano Akira appear beside her and was just about to show him that her taste wasn't bad, it was just that Kusano Akira wouldn't appreciate it, when she heard what Kusano Akira said.

Noticing the meaning behind Kusano Akira's words, Chihaya Aine gave a confident smile, waved her hand dismissively, and said with self-assurance.

"There is absolutely no possibility of that. The nickname I gave her is so good that Su Shishi would never dislike her in the slightest."

Chihaya Aine was full of confidence. She seemed to already see a future where Kusano Akira would no longer be able to make fun of her taste and would only be able to admit with a humiliating look that her taste was not good enough.

"Then why don't you look over there?"

Kusano Akira pressed down on Chihaya Aine's head, turning her face towards Nagasaki Motoyo.

After Kusano Akira came to her rescue, Nagasaki Motoyo patted her chest with a look of relief, thanking Kusano Akira for coming to her aid.

It seems that, apart from being a chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) and a jerk, Kusano Akira is a decent person. If he weren't a jerk, Nagasaki Motoyo wouldn't have to be so wary of him.

Then I noticed Chihaya Aine's somewhat dazed expression as she was being held down by Kusano Akira, and Kusano Akira's face, which was ready to mock Chihaya Aine.

What Nagasaki Motoyo had been trying so hard to hide was clearly seen by the two of them.

Taking back what I said earlier, Nagasaki Motoyo felt that even if Kusano Akira wasn't a scumbag, he definitely wasn't a good person.

"Hiss, this shouldn't be happening..."

Chihaya Aine snapped out of her daze, biting her thumbnail in frustration, pondering why.

"Why does Su Shishi have to make that face too? Is my taste really that bad...?"

"Aion, growth means overcoming your immature self from the past."

Kusano Akira pretended to wipe away non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes with his fingers, put on a relieved look, and placed his hand on Chihaya Aine's shoulder.

"I was able to break free from my past chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) self, and I believe you can too..."

"Do not."

Chihaya Aine didn't turn around; she simply placed her hand behind her back and covered Kusano Akira's mouth.

She quickly recovered from her self-doubt and regained her confidence.

"My taste is definitely not bad, and I'll make you all look at me in a new light sooner or later."

"Friend, you're hopeless."

Kusano Akira patted Chihaya Aine's shoulder twice and said with a smile.

"Sooner or later, I, Chihaya Aine, will tear this sky filled with inferior taste to shreds..."

"It's really hopeless."

........................

The noise from the two naturally attracted the attention of Takamatsu Tō, who had been staring blankly at the table since earlier.

She gripped the crystal-clear red stone in her hand tightly—or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a gemstone, since ordinary stones couldn't possibly display such a beautiful color.

The girl's fair and soft, yet somewhat rough, fingers rubbed the surface of the stone repeatedly and rapidly, while Gao Songdeng's face showed a fear that he himself did not realize.

Takamatsu Akari increasingly felt that she was destined never to become human.

First, Kusano Akira, her best friend who had promised to stay with her for life when she was a child, not only did not end up in the same elementary school as her, but he also promised Takamatsu Akira that they would keep in touch. However, she stopped receiving any news from him when she was in the first grade of elementary school.

Then she kept trying to find Kusano Akira until she ran into him again in high school.

Since then, she has been alone because she is unable to communicate normally with others. Although she has not been bullied, no one has been able to understand her.

This situation continued until junior high school. She only leaned her body slightly out of the overpass when Toyokawa Shoko tackled her to the ground. From then on, under Toyokawa Shoko's guidance, Takamatsu Akari was able to escape loneliness for a short time.

But it was only temporary.

Although Takamatsu Takamatsu did gain a precious memory in their band, Crychic, Crychic's appearance was so inexplicable and wonderful, like a dream.

But dreams are ultimately illusions, and they will always come to an end one day.

Thus, after its first live performance, Crychic met its end.

After U's first performance, Toyokawa Shoko, who had never missed a performance before, began to skip daily practice without any reason, and no matter how people tried to contact her, they received no response.

S, who should be closest to Toyokawa Shoko, Wakaba Mutsuya refused to reveal anything, and whenever someone asked her, she would just turn her head away, completely ignoring them.

Takamatsu's unease grew stronger. Everything had become strange since the first live performance, and the once warm and quirky atmosphere had become increasingly oppressive.

Finally, on a gloomy, rainy day, Toyokawa Shoko arrived—but she brought not good news, but the final piece of the puzzle for Crychic's disbandment.

Unlike the usual sunny atmosphere, the feeling that Toyokawa Shoko gave her that day was like the weather itself—foggy and gloomy, with no trace of the warmth of the past.

"Starting today, I am leaving Crychic."

After entering the house, Toyokawa Shoko ignored Nagasaki Motoyo's concern and Takamatsu Akari's questions; she simply said those words with a cold face.

After that, Takamatsu Akari couldn't remember much—or rather, she didn't want to. Her mind could only vaguely recall two things.

One is that Crychic disbanded amidst arguments, and the other is that Crychic's disbandment was her fault.

After that, Takamatsu Akari returned to the life she knew best.

She attended classes on time every day. She left get out of class on time. She collected stones on time, hoping that one day Kusano Akira would suddenly jump out and tell her with the same smile she had when she was a child that she would never leave again.

Although Takamatsu Akari felt that it must be her own fault that caused her to always lose, if there really was a god of fate in the world, Takamatsu Akari would definitely want to ask it.

Why is she always so unlucky? Why does she always seem to encounter sad things?

She had finally managed to force herself to accept life without Kusano Akira, but then Crychic forcefully barged into her life and then immediately left, leaving her all alone.

Takamatsu Akari hates this, she really hates this.

Author's Note: 6k

This chapter was originally supposed to be part of the next chapter, but I'm too exhausted to write any more. Sorry.

good night

Volume 1: Chapter 43. The Timid Her and the Courageous Her

And so, Gao Songdeng drifted aimlessly into high school.

Perhaps the gods took pity on her and granted her this gift, or perhaps her long-held prayers had finally been answered.

In any case, after experiencing so many unhappy things, Gao Songdeng finally encountered the first good thing in a long time—she encountered the biggest turning point in her lonely life.

She was simply attending the high school's routine opening ceremony, and neither the principal nor the former student council president paid any attention to what Gao Songdeng was saying.

Only someone next to her, who seemed to be late, caught her attention.

Gao Songdeng glanced at him curiously to the side, but that one glance was enough to make her unable to look away.

Why does this person look so much like the person she's been dreaming about?

When Gao Songdeng discovered at the opening ceremony that the person next to her looked so much like her childhood friend, she felt her heart was about to jump out of her chest.

What followed was an uncontrollable ecstasy and an almost uncontrollable longing.

She longed to rush into his arms immediately, to tell him how much she missed him, how she had been searching for him all along, and how she had never forgotten everything about them—

Hedgehog 4-fold ⊥○代′〉buy…,：Er__Jiu＊40★+＠∶=`焐陆≠死高松灯 had a hundred reasonable reasons to do so, but she still didn't.

Is it because Takamatsu Akari still believes that Crychic's disbandment was her fault, so she doesn't dare to acknowledge Kusano Akira, fearing that she and Kusano Akira will end up the same way?

She did have that thought, but this level of setback was not enough to stop Takamatsu Akira from heading towards Kusano Akira.

She persisted in searching for almost ten years. No matter what, Gao Songdeng would never give up as long as there was even the slightest chance of recognizing each other.

What truly prevented Takamatsu Akari from doing so was the concerned voice of Kusano Akira sitting next to her when she bit her tongue because she was too excited and couldn't say what she wanted to say immediately.

"Classmate, are you okay?"

The voice was gentle and pleasant to listen to. Although it wasn't the warm and enthusiastic one from when I was a child, like a little sun, it still made people feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze—but that wasn't the case for Gao Songdeng.

The sound made Gao Songdeng feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

It's normal for a voice to sound different from when you were a child; after all, so many years have passed, and voices always change. It's also normal for a person's demeanor to be different; after all, so many years have passed, and personalities always change. It's normal for your eyes to look different; after all, so many years have passed, and your eyes always change…

No, this is not normal.

Gao Songdeng refused to believe that the person she had been longing for would one day use a tone and voice unfamiliar to her, and look at her with the eyes of a stranger.

Why are you looking at her like that? Didn't Kusano Akira tell her that they were friends for life?

Has Kusano Akira completely forgotten about her? Or did he never even care about her at all?

An indescribable, intense dizziness, accompanied by nausea, overwhelmed Takamatsu Akari, and the joyful smile that had appeared on her face froze.

An unimaginable chill swept over her body. Takamatsu Akari trembled, and in the midst of her unfinished speech, she fled completely from the worried Kusano Akira, and from her shattered illusions.

She didn't run far after she ran out; she just squatted on the lawn of Haneoka, covering her mouth tightly with both hands to suppress her nausea. Large tears streamed down her wide-open eyes, which were filled with pain, and patted the ground.

Takamatsu Akari felt only immense pain.

She had fantasized countless times about the possibility of meeting Kusano Akira again, and she had also wondered if she could be as close to him as she was when they were children, and what if they became distant. She had also imagined what Kusano Akira would say to her when they met, and what she should say to him...

But she didn't feel like she was being looked at by Kusano Akira as if she were a complete stranger.

Her friends no longer recognize her; people as important to her as her parents no longer recognize her; the people she dreams about every day no longer recognize her.

　中☆〉转n：柒…ˉ∥ˉ←燯￠柒岜★蕶Will she be unwanted again, just like she was in Crychic?

Takamatsu Akari is really heartbroken. Why did the reunion she was supposed to have have turned out like this?

After running away, the dizziness and nausea gradually subsided over time, but along with them came intense fear and regret.

Why did she run out just now? Even if she was a stranger, she might not have recognized her at first glance. It's perfectly normal; she's just overreacting.

Then Takamatsu Akari saw Kusano Akira running out right after her, looking around as if trying to find her who had suddenly appeared.

However, upon seeing Kusano Akira, she instinctively hid to the side, concealing herself completely so that Kusano Akira wouldn't notice her at all.

Why is she hiding again? Is Kusano Akira some kind of monster?

Gao Songdeng didn't know; she just instinctively hid.

Perhaps she was afraid—afraid to see Kusano Akira look at her with that unfamiliar gaze again, afraid to learn everything from him and discover that Kusano Akira truly didn't care about her.

Maybe this person isn't Kusano Akira?

It just happens that they look alike. Maybe they're related to him or something. Although I've never heard him mention it, I can ask him where Kusano Akira is sometime in the future.

Or perhaps it really is just a genetic miracle? After all, the world is so big.

Using statements she herself didn't believe, Gao Songdeng repeatedly deceived herself, as if saying it enough times would make it come true. (Nine)

However, her pathetic self-deception was shattered the next day when she discovered she was in the same class as Kusano Akira.

How could there possibly be another person in this world named Kusano Akira? Even if there were someone named Kusano Akira, it's impossible for them to look so alike, right? Lin

So, in other words, the boy who looked at her like a stranger was indeed the person she had been thinking about day and night.

After learning that the person was Kusano Akira, Takamatsu Akari fell into confusion once again. 3

She was overjoyed; she had finally found Kusano Akira again. After ten years, they were finally reunited, and her ten years of hard work had finally borne fruit.

She was heartbroken that her best friend didn't remember her at all, and hadn't even brought the stone she promised to carry for a lifetime.

Perhaps their promise of a lifetime together was just wishful thinking on her part. After so many years, Kusano Akira had long since forgotten about it, and his only memory of her was that of a childhood friend, a perpetually dirty child. (Kou)

Although it is indeed a possibility, Takamatsu Akira is unwilling to think in that direction.