Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 127 Shiina Maki Wants to Die
Six o'clock in the evening.

As the school bell rang to signal the end of the semester, Akizuki Makoto said goodbye to the student council members and then picked up his bag and left.

Strangely, Ji Yexue still didn't come to the club activity today, and I wonder what she's been busy with lately.

However, this had nothing to do with Akizuki Makoto, and he didn't care what Ji Yexue was doing.

He went to the craft department, picked up Fuyuko, and went home together, but he didn't see Shiina Maki. He only saw the Kaede sisters accompanying her.

Seeing this, Akizuki asked curiously, "Where's Shiina? Didn't she come?"

"No."

Fuyuko gently shook her head and replied, "After Maki-neechan arrived, she told Fuyuko that she had to leave early, and then she left."

"so."

Akizuki nodded thoughtfully, said nothing more, and left with Touko.

He had already guessed why Shiina Maki left early; it was probably because she was still feeling down and wanted to go back and be alone to isolate herself.

But this can't go on forever. If she continues to drain herself of energy, her mental state will break down and she'll collapse.

After returning home, Akizuki Makoto stood in front of the door and said to Fuyuko, "Fuyuko, you go in first. I'll go find Shiina and talk to her."

"Good~"

Dongzi nodded obediently, took the shopping bag from Qiuyue Cheng's hand, and walked into the entrance hall.

Akizuki Makoto closed the door, went next door, and rang the doorbell.

The doorbell rang repeatedly, but there was no response, and no sound was heard from inside the house.

"Looks like he was holed up in his bedroom and didn't hear it..."

Thinking this, Akizuki Makoto took out his phone and called Shiina Maki, but still didn't receive a response, which made him frown.

He was worried that something might happen to Shiina Maki, but he couldn't force his way in.

The apartment building uses high-end password and fingerprint security doors. To break in, you'd need at least a pickup truck ramming you at full speed.

"...Wait, can't I still use superpowers?"

Suddenly remembering that he still possessed the system, Akizuki Makoto immediately redeemed a minute of invisibility from the shop and used its properties to pass through the door.

It's no wonder he forgot about the system; the system's presence has been so weak lately, and it hasn't given him any tasks to do.

He doesn't receive any notifications when he completes his daily tasks; he just silently accumulates points.

To this day, Akizuki Makoto has earned approximately three thousand points solely through daily tasks.

Passing through the door, Akizuki Makoto entered the foyer. The room was silent and dimly lit, without any lights on, giving off a gloomy and oppressive feeling.

He continued walking forward, heading straight for the bedroom, but did not go in immediately. Instead, he listened to the sounds inside through the door for a while.

The bedroom was also very quiet, without any sound.

If Akizuki Makoto hadn't seen Shiina Maki's shoes casually placed next to the shoe cabinet when he entered the foyer, he would have doubted whether Shiina Maki was even home.

"Are you asleep?"

With that thought in mind, he broke into Shiina Maki's bedroom and immediately noticed the large bulge on the bed.

Shiina Maki curled up completely under the covers, not even showing her head.

Seeing Shiina Maki lying in bed, Akizuki Makoto felt a little relieved. As long as she was home, that was good. It would be really worrying if she were outside and didn't answer the phone.

After all, Maki Shiina is now truly isolated and helpless.

She abandoned her mother and moved here, and is about to lose her only support. It's hard to imagine how much she is suffering.

Makoto Akizuki understands this, but it is necessary.

He had to make Shiina Maki realize the consequences of recklessly using her superpowers in order to prevent him from being stopped in time again.

He never wants to experience being forced to help someone by the hand again.

But then again, what should we do now that things are like this?

If I were to wake Shiina Maki up directly, it would probably startle her and make her wonder how he got in.

Furthermore, it would be too cruel to forcibly wake Shiina Maki from her sleep and then judge her for her crimes.

After careful consideration, Akizuki Makoto confirmed that Shiina Maki was simply asleep and otherwise unharmed, and then left her house.

There's no rush to talk. Once she wakes up and sees his Line message, she'll probably come to him on her own. We can talk then.

So, Akizuki Makoto returned home and began preparing dinner.

……

the other side.

An hour after Akizuki Makoto left, Shiina Maki's eyes suddenly opened.

"No, no, don't leave me!"

"Akizuki-kun, I really... really only have you left..."

"Without you... I don't know how I can go on living..."

She muttered to herself in a panic, reaching out to touch her cheek, feeling a warm, moist sensation.

She didn't know when it started, but she was already in tears.

The reason she became like this was because she had a nightmare.

In the dream, Akizuki Makoto learned everything, whether it was her using time stop to do whatever she wanted to him, or before she gained time stop, she followed Akizuki Makoto like a perverted nymphomaniac, collecting the things he had used and secretly smelling his clothes.

Upon learning everything, Akizuki Makoto, his face filled with disappointment and fear, told her that from now on, they would have no further connection and would only be ordinary classmates.

In fact, she has been having this dream for the past two days.

Every time she closes her eyes, the image of Akizuki Makoto saying to her in a cold and distant tone, "We're just friends, don't cross the line," comes to mind.

Without a doubt, at that time, Akizuki Makoto genuinely wanted to sever ties with her.

That's why she didn't dare close her eyes or sleep, afraid of dreaming about Akizuki Makoto and seeing his expression full of disappointment and fear.

"...I had that dream again, it's so scary."

Looking at the dimly lit room, Shiina Maki murmured to herself. An overwhelming sense of loneliness overwhelmed her, causing her to curl up and sob softly.

The moment when you feel most lonely is when you wake up from a nap and find the room dark and the house empty.

Maki Shiina is not only facing this situation, but she is also truly alone.

"Mother, is this my punishment for abandoning you?"

Shiina Maki muttered to herself in a daze, then laughed self-deprecatingly.

She thought of the day she proposed separating from her mother, and what her mother had said to her.

Now it seems that her mother was right. There are so many people around Akizuki Makoto, and he and she are from completely different worlds.

Although she was pretty and had a good figure, her appearance was insignificant compared to Akizuki Makoto's many suitors.

Akizuki Makoto wouldn't be moved by her beauty; what truly touched him was her sincere and genuine affection. She clearly understood this and had been restraining herself, pretending to be that way.

But pretending is really tiring. Forcing herself to change also causes her pain, especially when she is trying to make changes, those who have everything keep attacking Akizuki Makoto.

Feeling a sense of crisis, she couldn't help but waver, feeling that everything she had done was meaningless.

Therefore, she succumbed to her desires, revealing her morbid side, constantly exerting pressure on Akizuki Makoto, morally blackmailing him, and demanding that he take responsibility for interfering in her life.

The worst part is that, even after realizing that something was wrong, she continued to use time stop on Akizuki Makoto and act recklessly.

It was no coincidence that Akizuki Makoto's fingers trembled on the day he activated the time-stopping technique.

She had been deceiving herself and unwilling to admit it, but the harsh reality was right in front of her, and she had to admit it.

"I really want to die..."

In her extreme negativity, Shiina Maki even contemplated suicide. Given her current state, it's estimated that she'll break down both mentally and physically within a week.

For the past two days, she hasn't eaten anything, only drunk some water. Her body is extremely weak, and her spirit is like a taut string, ready to snap at the slightest pressure.

It's better that she died like this. Anyway, she already had nothing left. Continuing to live would only cause her inner turmoil.

She is someone who is very afraid of loneliness and is very dependent on others.

Back then, she relied on her mother. Even though her mother treated her badly and beat and scolded her at will, she could feel that she was not alone, so she was able to survive.

But now she has abandoned her mother, and then because of her own foolishness, she has been abandoned by her only support, Akizuki Makoto. She suddenly feels that she has no future.

She was inherently cowardly, so it's understandable that she wanted to escape her break with Akizuki Makoto by dying.

but……

"As expected, I still don't want to die. I want to continue to feel Akizuki-kun's warmth."

Shiina Maki couldn't help but sob, large tears rolling down her cheeks.

She recalled the flutter in her heart when Qiuyue Cheng treated her gently, and the warmth and affection she felt when she hugged him.

Whenever she recalls these memories, she regains her hope to live.

So she picked up her phone, wanting to meet with Akizuki Makoto and have a talk.

Even if she were to die, she should wait until she had no hope left and had been completely abandoned by Akizuki Makoto before she died.

She still has a chance; she can still meet with Akizuki Makoto.

If we invite him to talk, he will come. They haven't gotten to the point where they won't even greet each other when they meet.

"Eh?"

When Shiina Maki picked up the phone and unlocked the screen, she discovered that she had several missed calls and unread messages from Akizuki Makoto.

The message from Akizuki Makoto was concise and to the point. It simply expressed his concern for her and asked her to see the message so that he could find some time to meet and talk with her.

"Akizuki-kun..."

Shiina Maki stared at the message in the chat box for a while, then finally laughed.

As expected, Akizuki Makoto still harbored some feelings for her and wasn't so heartless as to truly sever all ties with her.

Akizuki Makoto noticed that she was not in a good mood and then came to care for her, which made her very happy.

"Hehe, Akizuki-kun, I'm coming right away..."

Shiina Maki laughed happily, immediately got up from the bed, and rushed to the next room in her school uniform without even changing her clothes.

Standing in front of Qiuyue's house, she placed her hand on her full breasts, took a deep breath, suppressed her excitement, and rang the doorbell.

"Here it comes~"

It was Fuyuko's voice coming from inside the door. She ran to the entrance, opened the door, and upon seeing Shiina Maki outside, immediately turned to the kitchen and called out, "Brother, Maki-neechan is here!"

Akizuki Makoto quickly came out of the kitchen, carrying a freshly prepared dish.

He looked at Shiina Maki standing outside the door, paused for a moment, and then said, "Come in, it's time for dinner, sit down and have something to eat."

"Oh...Okay."

Shiina Maki nodded nervously, shrank her head, and walked into the entryway, sitting down on the sofa.

Although it had only been a few days since she last visited Akizuki Makoto's house, it felt like a long time had passed.

"Qiuyue-kun invited me to his home for dinner. Does that mean he wants to make up with me?"

Shiina Maki secretly thought to herself, an irrepressible joy making her unable to contain herself.

However, she was overthinking it. Qiuyue Cheng simply noticed that she looked unwell and weak, and that he had just finished cooking dinner.

"Eat."

After placing all the dishes on the table, Akizuki Makoto called out and started eating first.

During the meal, Shiina Maki remained unusually quiet, her mind preoccupied with how to apologize to Akizuki Makoto.

As expected, he had to first kneel down and admit all his sins.
"..."

Looking at Shiina Maki, who suddenly broke into a silly grin for no apparent reason, Akizuki felt that she was thinking something strange, but he had no proof.

The innocent Fuyuko, without so many reservations, asked directly, "Maki-neechan, what are you laughing at?"

"Eh? Ah..."

Fuyuko's sudden question snapped Shiina Maki out of her daze. After a moment of surprise, she said awkwardly, "N-nothing, I just suddenly thought of some happy things."

"Really."

Dongzi nodded as if she understood, continued eating, and chatted with Qiuyue Cheng about what happened at school.

"By the way, brother, someone confessed to Dongzi today."

"Snap!"

The moment Fuyuko said that someone had confessed their feelings to her, Akizuki Makoto's chopsticks slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

After a moment of stunned silence, he asked breathlessly, "Who...who is it? Which guy?!"

Unexpectedly, his worst fears came true; sure enough, some clueless blond-haired guy had his eye on his cute little sister.

Dongzi had only been a student at the school for a week, so anyone who liked her must have been attracted by her cute appearance.

How could someone like that possibly agree?

"Um……

After thinking for a moment, Fuyuko replied, "He's a classmate, I think his name is Takeda?"

"And then? Did you refuse?"

Akizuki Makoto felt that his question was rather unnecessary. Fuyuko would never agree to such a frivolous guy, but he was afraid that Fuyuko was too naive and would agree without thinking.

"You declined."

Dongzi shook her head, smiling brightly, and said, "After all, Dongzi loves her brother the most."

(End of this chapter)