Mygo, are you all yanderes?

Kusano Akira had only said a few words when he realized that Wakaba Mutsuki's mind was not on him, but rather that her attention had been drawn to something else.

He followed Ruoye Mu's gaze with some curiosity and saw that Ruoye Mu was staring intently at the cabinet.

Author's note: I originally planned to update four times today.

But my friend dragged me to play O and Yun.

I am guilty

There will be another one later

Volume 1: Chapter 60 (Fifty-Eight) - Discovery (2k)

"Are you curious about this cabinet?"

Kusano Akira walked up to the cabinet, patted it, and said to Wakaba Mutsu with a smile.

"There are some."

Wakaba Mutsu nodded; she was indeed curious about the ancient object that appeared in Kusano Akira's modern-style room.

"The reason I brought you here to find the photos is actually related to this."

Kusano Akira crouched down, took out a small key from his pocket, and awkwardly inserted it into the keyhole.

"The photo I told you about is... Damn it... We have to get it from here...!"

As soon as Kusano Akira put the key in, he found that it was stuck because the lock on the cabinet was too old. He tried hard to pry the lock open.

"Damn it, I'm definitely going to change this lousy lock this time...!"

Kusano Akira grumbled under his breath. He had noticed a year ago that the lock was old and unusable, and he had thought about replacing it every time, but he always forgot about it.

"I'll do it."

Wakaba Mutsu slowly walked to Kusano Akira's side, gently patted Kusano Akira's hand twice, and gestured for him to move aside.

"Oh, then you can come."

Seeing that Wakaba Mutsu was coming over to help him, Kusano Akira obediently moved to the side.

He was quite confident in Ruoye Mutsu's strength, after all, he really couldn't compare to this quiet little girl in terms of sheer power.

"Don't use too much force. The wood in this cabinet is quite old, and the quality is rather poor. Be careful not to get scratched by the wood splinters."

Just in case, Kusano Akira still reminded Wakaba Mutsumi.

"Ah."

If Ye Mu didn't turn around, she responded and gently covered the key with her fair hand. With a slight exertion of her arm, she pulled the key and the entire lock off with a 'click'.

"Excuse me……"

Wakaba Mutsu didn't expect that even the chain lock would be pulled down. When she realized that she had damaged the cabinet, she subconsciously wanted to apologize to Kusano Akira.

"It's nothing—by the way, why have you been apologizing to me so much today? Are you an apologetic personality?"

When Kusano Akira saw the cabinet open, he walked over and waved.

"Besides, I've wanted to remove the lock from this cabinet for a long time; it's always been intermittent, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."

"I just often forget about it the next day after I sleep on it."

"……Oh."

Wakaba Mutsu squatted on the ground, supporting himself with his hands, watching Kusano Akira's hands constantly groping for something in the cabinet.

What's in this cabinet?

"Pack some... how should I put it, things from my childhood?"

Upon hearing Wakaba Mutsu's question, Kusano Akira spoke with some uncertainty.

"Actually, I don't really understand either. Anyway, that's what my uncle said. He said it's something from when I was a child."

"I think maybe so, after all, there are photos of me when I was a child here."

"Ah, found it, here you go."

4. Kusano Akira took a photo out of the cabinet and handed it to Wakaba Mutsu, but before Wakaba Mutsu could take it, he quickly took it back.

Zero is a little dirty, wait a minute.

Akira Shikusano took a piece of paper from the table in the room, wiped the dust off the photo, and handed it back to Mutsumi Wakaba.

"Give."

Wu Ruoye Mu took the photo and carefully examined the pattern on it.

The image above is still of Kusano Akira—only this time it's a size smaller than the one Wakaba Mutsu had just seen, like a kindergarten student.

Unlike his previous melancholy and depressed appearance, he is smiling happily and brightly in this photo, radiating sunshine. He looks exactly like the Toyokawa Shoko of the past.

Beside him stood a person whose face was very blurry. The two of them held hands tightly. Although the face of the person next to him was not clear, it could be seen from their clothing that she was a little girl.

"..."

Ruoye Mu always felt that the little girl gave her a familiar feeling.

"This is a photo of me when I was a child. I'm giving it to you."

"Hmm...who is this girl?"

For reasons unknown, Ruoye Mu asked a question out of the blue, pointing to the little girl in the photo.

"do not know."

Kusano Akira looked at Wakaba Mutsuke's person and smiled with some regret.

"? Why don't you recognize me...?"

Wakaba Mutsu looked at Kusano Akira with a blank expression.

"Is it because it's been too long?"

"No, it's just that I don't remember."

Kusano Akira continued clearing things out of the cabinet, talking without turning his head.

While Ruoye Mutsu was busy breaking the lock on the cabinet, he took the opportunity to pack everything up and buy a new, better quality cabinet later.

"I don't think I've told you yet, but I had amnesia once before."

“...You really didn’t say that.”

"I think I lost my memory around the first grade of elementary school? I don't remember very clearly, but according to the people around me, it was around that time."

“This photo is from before that, so I naturally don’t remember it at all.”

"Then... these things, are they all yours from before...?"

Wakaba Mutsu hesitated as he looked at the strange and unusual things that Kusano Akira pulled out: insect specimens, a rattle drum, a kendama, a flute, and a very familiar dark green stone.

Hmm? A stone?

Ruo Yemu frowned and picked up the stone to examine it closely.

This stone... she vaguely remembered seeing it somewhere before, only the color was slightly different. Apart from the color, everything else about it was exactly the same as she remembered.

Where exactly is it...?

When Motoyuki Wakaba recalled the time during the Crychic era, when Akari Takamatsu was first pressured by Tatsuki Shiina, she was holding a stone tightly in her hand, looking like she was in great pain.

She remembered the stone in Gao Songdeng's hand back then... was it like this? Except that it was red.

Ruoye Mutsu picked up the photo again and looked at it. If she hadn't realized it, she would have been fine. But once she did, the more she looked at it, the more she felt that the little girl was practically Takamatsu Akari.

Whether it's short hair, a stone, or that insect specimen... I can't think of anyone else besides Takamatsu Akari.

"So...you don't care about any of these things? You just gave them to me like that?"

If Ye Mu felt that his throat was dry, as if it hadn't been moistened by rain for a long time, his throat would rub and pull incessantly just by opening his mouth, as if it were about to be torn apart.

"Of course, I can give you all of them if you want them." (Saki)

"After all, I'm a complete 'live in the moment' advocate. Rather than the vague and uncertain past, I'd rather seize every moment of the present and the future."

Kusano Akira chuckled as he spoke, noticing Wakaba Mutsumi's slightly off voice, and turned back with concern.

"Mu, would you like some water?"

Author's Note: ok肆

Let's rest for a while.

Whether there will be any updates depends on the lights-out time.

Take a moment to calm down.

good night

Volume 1: Chapter 61 (Chapter 59) Control (2k)

Throw it away.

Let it disappear.

Never to be seen again

[Perhaps it was thrown into the sea]

[Perhaps smashed into pieces]

Let it disappear.

[Prevent it from appearing]

You know, you know.

Caught in deep malice and desire, dreamlike murmurs lingered in the depths of Wakaba Mutsu's mind, constantly bewitching, hypnotizing, and seducing her.

Wakaba Mutsumi saw the 'illusion' once again.

She saw two familiar figures embracing tightly, she saw a lonely figure hiding in a corner; she saw the red and green comets shining brightly in the darkness, she saw the lonely figure shedding clear tears; she saw the two bright pearls meet, she saw the clear tears gradually turn blood red.

She could see their faces clearly.

It is Takamatsu Akira, it is Kusano Akira, it is Wakaba Mutsumi.

Do you want happiness, my dearest Mu?

If Ye Mu saw himself weeping blood and tears, his lips twisted into an unnatural grin, staring strangely in her direction, his mouth not moving, yet his voice was as clear as if it were coming directly to her ear.

Answer me, Mu, do you want happiness?

Happiness? Why use that word?

Do you want happiness?

The eerie figure emerged from the depths of the shadows, then reappeared with a mournful cry. Countless puppets also appeared in the shadows, each with a strange, blood-red light emanating from its eyes.

【Mumi, I know~】

The figure resembled the greatest conductor, waving her hands as if directing a baton. She moved her body with both elegance and wildness, leading the pile of dolls below the stage.

The dolls emitted sharp laughter in response to its commands, sounding like mockery or crying.

I know, I know, you'll think so too~

A chaotic cacophony, restless emotions, and disordered music—the puppets formed a somber and mournful chorus, singing with grotesque ferocity, joyful exuberance, and painful agony.

Happiness is right here; destiny is right here.

what are you guys saying?

Ruoye Mu opened her mouth, wanting to say something to these strange things, but no matter how hard she tried to squeeze out a sound, her vocal cords seemed to disappear, and she could only make a hoarse hiss.

The time has come, the future has arrived, join us!

New dolls emerged from the shadows, and Ruo Yemu saw them clearly this time. They were people she knew and people she didn't know, people who were completely different from those eerie dolls.

Motoyo Nagasaki, Shoko Toyokawa, Akari Takamatsu, Ayane Chihaya, Tatsuki Shiina… Akira Kusano… A girl with short blue hair… A girl with red hair…

One by one, dolls of strangers and familiar people appeared before her, emerging from the shadows, surrounding the conductor, encircling her, trapping her.

The conductor collapsed to her knees in agony, using her baton to drive away the puppets that kept clinging to her. The choir members who resembled her, having lost their conductor, also fell to the ground, only able to scream in pain.

No matter how hard the conductor tried, the dolls surrounded her and she couldn't get rid of them at all.