Chapter 84

"Hey, Yuki, stop crying. You're a big boy, aren't you? You shouldn't cry."

— Yuki, you're a big boy now. You shouldn't cry in front of Mina.

Back when Mina was still a newborn.

As my mother spoke those words and gently stroked my head, her hand was warm and kind, and it gave me strength. I thought it must have some kind of magical power.

So when I tried to comfort Mina, I mimicked her.

I hoped that even a fraction of that power, even a tenth, would be passed on to her.

I suddenly remembered this just now. The forgotten gentle touch of her hand.

But my mother is my mother, and Yui is Yui. She is a completely different person, no longer here. What a ridiculous misunderstanding.

Besides, I'm not a helpless child anymore. I shouldn't burden her any further or rely on her like this.

Yuki raised his head and looked straight into Yui's eyes.

Finally, the words he needed to say came to him.

"Yui..."

Just as Yuki was about to speak,

Yui's hand, which had been touching his head, quickly pulled away.

"Just kidding!"

Her voice suddenly became unusually bright.

Yui, who had bent down slightly, looked up at Yuki with a mischievous smile,

"Just kidding, all of it was a joke! Yui is super strong, no worries! I'm not just saying that! Anyway, did you see that? I returned the head pat! Hey, hey, Yuki, did you get all flustered seeing Yui trying so hard? Did you fall in love with the head pat? Did you fall in love?"

She laughed teasingly and leaned in, even twirling her index finger in front of her face as a new trick.

I fell for it again.

I snapped back to reality, and my body almost went limp, but... I realized I felt a sense of relief.

To hide this, Yuki took a deep breath and shrugged.

"So it was a lie. I almost fell for it."

"Perfectly done! A critical head pat, it really hit the spot! One hit and you're down for the count!"

Hehehehe, Yui looked extremely pleased. She couldn't stop laughing.

On the other hand, I was beyond angry and beyond exasperated, having no words to respond.

But Yui was laughing happily.

Just seeing that made me feel like everything else was fine.

"This perfect flow! I'm scared of myself! And Yuki's face just now! Hehe, I wish I had taken a picture! Hey, hey, how do you feel now? How do you feel?"

Yui grinned and swayed from side to side, changing angles to look up at Yuki.

I almost wanted to take back my previous words. She's persistent.

"Ha~ You're out of words, huh? Zero~la? Zero~la?"

"No, but maybe I misunderstood Yui a bit."

"Eh?"

"I mean, the 'seatmate killer' thing... maybe it's not all that bad."

Regardless of the process, the result was good. Reflecting on it, the same was true with Mina.

It might not be right to simply label someone as evil.

So, it's not just about getting rid of the 'seatmate killer'; it's about recognizing that as one of her aspects and accepting it.

As Yuki started to think this,

"No... I mean, the 'seatmate killer' thing... it's a lie, okay?"

"Huh?"

Yui suddenly returned to a serious face and replied.

Confusion started to set in, caught off guard by her response.

"But didn't you tell Ryou that you're a 'seatmate killer'?"

"No, no, that was just a ruse... even Ryou understands that. Only you don't get it."

"What do you mean? So everything just now was a charade?"

"Don't call it a charade."

Yui denied it matter-of-factly, but if that's the case, things don't add up.

"So if you're not really a 'seatmate killer,' what was all that about? And what about all the hints you've been giving?"

"Seatmate killer. I'll definitely kill you."

And with that, the sudden flip.

Yuki was speechless, but Yui looked up at him challengingly and said nothing more, so he had to think hard.

In other words... to completely win over Ryou, she temporarily pretended to be a fake 'seatmate killer.'

And while she was at it, she decided to mess with Yuki too.

It was a highly advanced and hard-to-understand move, but that's what it was.

"I see, I get it... if it wasn't me, I would have missed it."

Yui immediately started to say something but quickly clamped her mouth shut.

Then she glared at him resentfully, and Yuki reached out to pat her head.

"It's okay, I'm not angry."

Yui, startled, blushed and, for some reason, stretched out her arm to pat Yuki's head in return.

"Yuki, you're hopeless!"

They ended up in a strange situation, patting each other's heads, but Yui showed no signs of backing down.

In fact, she was patting his head quite forcefully.

"Ah, I completely won over Ryou. I won again... I want to know the taste of defeat... Yuki, cry and declare your defeat, come on, come on."

Finally, she patted Yuki's head hard and stuck out her tongue, taking a big step back.

Clearly, she had completely gotten the upper hand.

(Maybe I've been too lenient...)

Sometimes, being strict is for their own good.

Maybe I should take a page from Ryou's book, Yuki thought.

"Come on, stop spacing out and let's go!"

Yui, who had already moved ahead, turned back and urged him on.

The headlights of passing cars illuminated her silhouette in the backlight.

Yui waved her arm widely, smiling and saying, "Hurry up, hurry up!"

Nodding at her elusive smile, Yuki followed her.

Rei, who had been completely charmed by Yui.

Yui, the 'seatmate killer' who had thoroughly broken the 'seatmate breaker.'

Either way, the path to rehabilitation is still long.

There it is again. The button is below.