The person who likes me is a yandere.

"How dare you underestimate Mimi Luo Suo!"

And so began the life-or-death game of hide-and-seek between me and the most powerful female boss in Kanto.

Chapter Thirty-One: You're a complete scumbag.

"Ha~, ha~, ha~, ha~..."

I feel like several hours have passed, but I don't know how long it actually was.

"Ha~, ha~, ha~, ha~..."

When the pain is intense, it feels like an eternity. My chest hurts, my stomach hurts, my head hurts, my feet hurt...

"Ha~, ha~, ha~, ha~..."

In a deserted alleyway in a quiet residential area, I lay on the ground like a tattered rag, panting heavily.

"Ha~, ha~, ha~, ha~..."

I really admire myself for escaping.

Escaping so many motorcycles on foot is no easy feat. Constantly pumping oxygen into my lungs made them feel like they were burning, pushing myself beyond my limits caused sharp, stabbing pains in my sides, and the lack of oxygen made my head buzz and feel incredibly awful. Even so, I managed to barely escape. I did a fantastic job; people who disregard everything are truly amazing.

"...By the way, where exactly is this place?"

I forced myself to sit up straight and looked around, but I had absolutely no recollection of my surroundings in any direction. Could it be? Am I lost again? Damn it, people who act recklessly are truly terrifying.

I adjusted my breathing, wiped away the sweat, and calmed down before looking around again, but what I saw was still the same as before.

What should I do? Should I call Luo Tianyi from a public phone and ask her to come pick me up? No, I can't, I'm out of money. Besides, that girl will probably think I skipped finding anyone and went to a coffee shop to eat parfaits instead. And, if I contact Masaki while I'm lost, will she even come to pick me up...? She might come back and kill me.

"Let's just walk around and see if we can find a familiar path."

I cherish this life I was given a second chance at, and once I made the decision, I took the first step.

I'm currently retracing my steps. Initially, I chose to turn right because the road ahead was the brightest, then I took the wider fork in the road. After walking for a while, I came to a three-way intersection… I instinctively went left, and continued forward…

Okay, you guessed right.

I finally arrived at the familiar road. I wouldn't mistake this slope leading up the osmanthus hedge; it's the same path Ayase and I walked together earlier today. But...

"We'll have to go uphill here..."

And it's quite long.

"hateful……"

How could I stand still? So I mustered all my strength and took a step forward.

The sweat, which had briefly stopped, poured out again like a waterfall; lactic acid relentlessly attacked my legs; fatigue made my body sway. Ah, so tired. Why am I suffering like this? My side aches again, my breathing is erratic, and my lungs hurt. Even so, I must keep going.

Why would I go to such lengths to find Ayase?

Am I that worried about Ayase?

Because she's reckless? Because she's a younger sister who can't even properly go home alone?

Stop kidding me. Even someone like me with amnesia can find their way. How could she, a native of this town, not be able to get home? So why am I still walking forward?

Hey, I'm totally confused. She's not my sister, she's Aki's sister. To me, she's just someone I've just met.

That's why Ayase's smile was so clear. Because she wasn't looking at me, because her gaze pierced through me, looking at someone else. Ugh, my legs hurt so much. Even so, I couldn't stop. Ah, I have a bad feeling. Right, I remember now. This ramp turns into stairs near the top.

"Is this disgusting? I can't stand it..."

I stared at the long stone steps that seemed to lead to the sky and began to curse.

"No problem, the two of them can go up together in no time."

Ayase always had a smile on her face as she climbed these steps. She pulled me along, even though I was reluctant, and we climbed up the stairs with a cheerful rhythm.

"—Come on, one, two! One, two!"

I stepped onto the stone steps and felt a wave of dizziness, but I still climbed up step by step.

"—Come on, one, two! One, two!"

I kept pace with Ayase, never stopping or looking back, until we reached the mountaintop together to admire the best night view. That's the rule for our date…wait, what's with the night view? Was this really the place we were during the day? Ah…this is the last part…

"Ayase is number one!"

Ayase let go of my hand and leaped up joyfully. It's always like this; Ayase always abandons me in the last part, going ahead first.

"—Waaah!"

When I came to my senses, I had already climbed all the stone steps.

My right foot suddenly missed its mark, and I fell forward. I quickly reached out my right hand and caught myself against the stone torii gate.

"...Where is this place?"

After climbing the long flight of stairs, I arrived at a place I had absolutely no recollection of. In the dim light, I quietly emerged a torii gate, a stone-paved floor, tall cedar trees, and the old main shrine.

...Is this a shrine?

Why would I come to a place like this? This is so strange. I followed the route I took for my date during the day, so why am I back in this unfamiliar place?

I wandered aimlessly through the torii gate, walked along the cracked approach, paused for a moment in front of the main hall, and subconsciously turned to the right. Next to the main hall was a small shrine, behind which was a long, narrow stone staircase leading upwards. And then, in front of that… no way, here we go again.

My feet touched the gravel, and I stopped. I noticed a group of oddballs sitting in the solemn shrine. I felt like throwing up… My feelings towards this group of four went beyond familiarity; they were downright repulsive.

"Oh, that guy's here again!"

...That's what I was just thinking of saying.

You need to stop this now. Why do I always see you wherever I go? Have you installed a GPS tracker on me?

"Enough is enough, Qianyu!"

Why do we always see you wherever we go?

"Did you install GPS on us?"

The other side even shared the same feelings as me. The Kurobe, Seki, Ryoumura, and Tangjima formed a unit and all started shouting.

"What the hell? What are you doing here?"

You've said what I wanted to say again. Oh well, the cigarette butts, empty cans, and charred remains scattered around your feet make it clear; there's no need to ask.

"Say something!"

"...Do you have a permit to set off fireworks?"

"What?"

I'd love to hear it. But the moment I opened my mouth, the arrogant smile on Kurobe's face vanished.

"What is Qianyu saying?"

"He really wants to join us, doesn't he?"

Wow, that's still 10 years early!

"So funny!"

Okay, that's questionable. That joke wasn't funny at all, and Kurobe seems to agree with me.

—Whoosh!

An aluminum can flew over, grazed my shoulder, hit the main hall behind me, bounced back, and made a spray of foam on the wall.

"Hey, don't get too cocky..."

The jar rolled to the ground, and the liquid inside gurgled out.

"You've really gotten quite the talker, haven't you? You take advantage of a little bit of kindness, don't you?"

Kurobe staggered toward me. He was probably drunk; his speech and steps were unsteady, but the fierce glint in his eyes was unusually intense.

"Are you listening, Shallow Whisper!"

"—"

He kicked me in the chest. I couldn't breathe for a moment and almost fell to my knees.

"Go, Kurobe! Take him down!"

"Qianyu, go back!"

"Go back! Go back!"

My comrades behind me cheered and supported me, pinching my chest.

"Qianyu, that's enough. Go back home. Go back to your house, get out of school. Amnesia? Do you think that one sentence will forgive everything you've done? What's there to be proud of? You're a piece of trash, understand?"

A strong smell of alcohol hit me. At that moment, for some reason, I felt that Kurobe's burning eyes revealed his true intentions.

Ah, I see. I was wondering why he kept bothering me; now I know. Basically, it's because I look different from how I was before the incident that these guys are confused.

To outsiders, I am indeed different from Aragaki Asahi before the incident. It's as if I'm using amnesia as an excuse to despicably erase my past bizarre behavior. Naturally, they're not happy to be warned about playing with fireworks by someone who doesn't even follow school rules and has caused bloodshed.

"What are you laughing at!"

He gripped my chest even tighter.

"Don't you understand? Everyone hates you. They all regret that you weren't hit by a car and killed. Nobody wants someone like you to come back."

"...Yes, I think so too."

"What?"

...I know. You don't need to come all this way, practically kissing me, to tell me this. Stop looking down on me; I am the very person everyone dislikes. I've felt this for the past three days. I didn't come back because I wanted to, and I didn't want to return to Aragaki Asagiri's life.

"If I could go back, I would have gone back long ago!"

"Huh? Why is this guy so angry?"

But alas, I can't go back. There are three reasons.

First, I'm exhausted. I've been running around town all night, being chased around by motorcycles, and just now I climbed such a long flight of stairs. I don't want to walk anymore.

Secondly, how should I put it... seeing what you're doing makes me very unhappy. Who's going to clean up the mess you've made? Who's going to wipe the stains on the walls? This is a sacred place, not a place you can defile. I don't have any particular faith, but this is the only place I can't tolerate, absolutely not. Simply put, I'm furious with you.

The third reason is that I saw it. I found it, right behind Kurobe, on the fourth step of the stone steps.