Mygo, are you all yanderes?

Toyokawa Shoko shook her head, gently picking up a strand of hair that had fallen beside her ear and tucking it behind her ear.

"It's only a little past eight o'clock now, and we agreed to meet at nine o'clock."

"Toyokawa-kun, didn't you also leave early? My home is nearby, so it didn't take me long to get here. You're already here, so you probably left even earlier than me."

Kusano Akira replied with a smile.

"I left early because I knew you'd be out so early..."

After muttering a few words under his breath, Toyokawa Shoko straightened his expression and looked seriously at Kusano Akira.

Volume 1: Chapter 131 (2k words)

"But since we're out so early, that's perfect, let's get started now."

Toyokawa Shoko looked up at the sky. The morning mist had not yet dissipated, but the sunlight was already so bright it was almost blinding. It pierced through the mist and poured down impatiently. She squinted slightly, as if she was not used to the light.

"Let's begin... but what exactly we're going to do, Toyokawa-kun, you haven't told me yet."

A gentle breeze swept through the surroundings, slightly lifting the hem of Toyokawa Shoko's skirt. Kusano Akira blinked, his fingertips unconsciously twirling the fabric on his sleeve, his tone somewhat helpless.

"About this..."

Toyokawa Shoko did not answer Kusano Akira's question directly. Instead, she stood there and pondered for a while before slowly speaking.

"Kusano-kun, have you ever been to Shimokitazawa?"

"Shimokitazawa? I've never been there."

However, I might have to go this afternoon.

"Really? I've never been to Shimokitazawa..."

Hearing Kusano Akira's answer, Toyokawa Shoko felt somewhat relieved.

It seems that the butterfly effect caused by her and Mortis is not as big as imagined. At least from what was just said, Kusano Akira has not yet made contact with Shimokitazawa and the others.

Since Shimokitazawa is a tentatively designated danger zone, it means that Shimokitazawa is absolutely off-limits.

In other words, the places Kusano Akira took her to in Shimokitazawa and the memories she had there are no longer relevant.

Although Goto Ichiri and her group didn't seem like a threat until the very end, it's always better to be safe than sorry. Who knows if they might become the next Takamatsu Akari?

"Um... Kusano-kun, would you like to watch a movie now?"

Thinking of a place that would be perfect for them to go together right now, Toyokawa Shoko's lips curved slightly, her expression like spring after the ice and snow melted, her golden eyes filled with gentle light, just like melting amber.

"Movie?"

"Yes, the movie."

Toyokawa Shoko nodded slightly. Recalling the distant past, she was in a very good mood, and even her tone became lighter.

"There's an old-fashioned movie theater across from the ramen shop, you should know that, right? There's only a very thin old man running the theater, and there aren't any new movies, it's all those old DVDs from the last century—you should know that, right?"

At this point, Toyokawa Shoko looked gently at her interlaced fingers, her nails unconsciously rubbing against her palm.

She still can't forget how Kusano Akira excitedly told her there were great movies here, and she actually believed him. She even deliberately delayed the creation of Crychic just to accompany him to see these so-called 'good movies'.

Then Kusano Akira wasted her entire afternoon by making her watch the whole series of "Bio-Paperman vs. Candy Vengeance".

At the time, she had a heated argument with Kusano Akira because he took her to see such a terrible movie that made her feel physically uncomfortable. Then, the old man, who looked very serious, gave her a hard thud on the head for the reason that no noise was allowed in the movie theater.

After that, when she tried to cut ties with Akira Kusano after Crychic disbanded, he forced her to watch terrible movies like "Bucktooth Girl and Bald Guy," "The Call of the Morgue," and "Hot-Blooded Man vs. Arcade Man."

She still remembers that her legs were weak on the way home after watching it that day.

"I don't think I know."

Kusano Akira shook his head; he had never noticed that there was a movie theater nearby.

"That's it..."

Shoko Toyokawa felt a little disappointed; it seemed that due to the butterfly effect, Akira Kusano hadn't gotten in touch with that movie theater.

But it doesn't matter, it won't affect her plans anyway.

"Come with me, I'll take you there."

She naturally reached out her hand to the boy in front of her, as if she had done the same thing hundreds or thousands of times before. But as soon as her fingertips touched Kusano Akira's hand, she pulled back as if she had been burned, and then turned around with a calm expression.

"okay."

Although he didn't understand Toyokawa Shoko's strange behavior, Kusano Akira responded and followed the girl in front of him.

Toyokawa Shoko quietly turned her head and secretly glanced at Kusano Akira. Seeing that the other party did not seem to notice that her behavior was wrong, she let out a suppressed sigh.

That was close! She had just instinctively tried to hold hands with him again, but thankfully she quickly realized her mistake.

Things are different now than before; how could she so easily make such intimate gestures? What if the other person misunderstands? What if she couldn't control herself?

But actually, if it's just holding hands... there shouldn't be anything wrong with that, right?

If she remembered correctly, Kusano Akira was quite insensitive to physical contact at this time, and didn't react much to physical intimacy.

That's probably why she attracts so many admirers.

He only started paying attention to these things after he got together with Hiroi Kikuri, but by then it was too late. Everyone, including her, couldn't stand the sudden estrangement.

"..."

Out of Kusano Akira's sight, Toyokawa Shoko pinched her face hard, her nails grinding red marks into her skin. Only after the pain completely cleared her mind did she slowly release her grip.

Honestly, why does she always act like this? She promised Lu that she would truly cut ties with Jiu Fang this time, but her brain always keeps thinking in that direction.

"Speaking of which, Toyokawa-kun."

With her face still throbbing, Kusano Akira's voice rang in her ears. Toyokawa Shoko was so startled that she bit her tongue, tears welling up in her eyes from the shock.

She looked to the side and saw that Kusano Akira had walked up to her at some point, with only two fingers separating them.

"Did you call me today just to see a movie? It can't be just that, can it?"

"...Huh? Why are you crying?"

As he spoke, Kusano Akira turned his head slightly and saw Toyokawa Shoko covering her mouth with tears welling up in her eyes. He asked her with some curiosity.

"...Every time it seems like nothing's wrong, I get bitten on the tongue by the snake."

Toyokawa Shoko covered her mouth tightly, staring ahead with a resentful look, and said indistinctly.

"...Did you bite your tongue?"

"Ah."

"I didn't realize you were such a natural person, Toyokawa-kun."

"..."

If it weren't for the constraints of not being too intimate, Toyokawa Shoko would have definitely pinched that soft part of the other person's waist hard and twisted it forcefully.

Author's Note: I was a bit out of sorts this chapter.

I'm a total idiot, I get carsick even on trains.

Volume 0: Chapter 132. You (2k)

"Hmm... let me see..."

After following Toyokawa Shoko to the building with the movie theater she mentioned, Kusano Akira poked his head out and looked around.

"No, Toyokawa-kun, did you remember the wrong location?"

Looking at the deserted old building in front of him, Kusano Akira asked Toyokawa Shoko, who was standing in front of him, with some doubt.

The wind occasionally blew past the half-hanging rusty signboard, and the paint on the wall was peeling and mottled with time. The only sounds here were the conversation between the two of them and the booming shouts of the ramen shop owner across the street.

No matter how hard Kusano Akira searched, he couldn't find the movie theater that Toyokawa Shoko had mentioned. Only a few lifeless old shops remained, and even these few shops showed that no customers had visited for a long time, with a layer of dust covering the glass windows.

"If I remember correctly, you just need to come with me."

Toyokawa Shoko gently shook her head, the ends of her blue hair brushing lightly against her arm as she swayed.

She had the same reaction when she first came here with Kusano Akira, and even thought that Kusano Akira had come to the wrong place, since this place really didn't look like a movie theater.

Before encountering this place, she thought that so-called 'movie theaters' were all the kind with luxurious decorations and large scale.

"But it's really absurd. The ramen shop where you work, Toyokawa-kun, is right across the street with so many customers every day, but this place, just across the street, is so desolate."

"I feel like if I take a picture here, I might win an award."

Kusano Akira kicked aside the pebbles at his feet and sighed. He followed Toyokawa Shoko's steps, walked around the front of the building, and came to a secluded path. The ramen shop owner's shouts became more and more faint, and gradually only the sound of the wind blowing across the ground remained.

"How did we end up going off track? Toyokawa-kun, you brought me here, are you not going to find a secluded corner to take care of this 'super scumbag'?"

"..."

Toyokawa Shoko suddenly stopped, the sound of her canvas shoes crunching on the fallen leaves abruptly ceasing. She turned around, the shadow of the building obscuring half of her face. Although her expression remained calm, Kusano Akira could discern a hint of turmoil in her golden pupils.

"...Kusano-kun, please don't joke about things like death."

"—Oh, I'm sorry, I was just being careless with my words."

Upon hearing Toyokawa Shoko's words, Kusano Akira was taken aback for a moment, then quickly apologized.

"...I'm not blaming you, it's just my own fault. That's why I had to apologize twice and got angry with you." <∽⊥

Toyokawa Shoko pursed her lips, remained silent for a while, and then softened her tone. After saying this to Kusano Akira, she turned around again.

"..."

"..."

Looking down at her shoes, and sensing the boy behind her disappear from the conversation, the atmosphere became awkward. Toyokawa Shoko sighed secretly, suddenly slowed down, and pretended to casually move to stand next to Kusano Akira. Her slender fingers twisted her skirt tightly.

"Kusano-kun, what do you usually like to do by yourself?"

Toyokawa Shoko loosened her grip on the skirt, then pinched a stray strand of hair that had fallen beside her ear, and asked in a casual tone.

"...Oh, you mean me?"

Kusano Akira, who was troubled by the thought that she had touched a nerve with Toyokawa Shoko, was thinking about how to apologize to her when she heard the other party's suddenly indifferent tone and looked at her in surprise.

"Yes."

Toyokawa Shoko nodded, then, without giving Kusano Akira time to think, continued.

"If it were me, I would prefer to read extracurricular books; I'd like to read all kinds of books."

"A friend once said that I am the kind of person who only exists in other people's memories, a kind of beautiful image."

Toyokawa Shoko put her hand in front of her mouth, coughed twice, and then deliberately deepened her voice, speaking in a pretentious manner.

"Xiangzi, you like to read those literary books, you can play the piano, and you always have that rich girl's quirk. You're practically the literary girl character that appears most often in romance novels."

"No wonder everyone is so infatuated with you, Su. Luckily, I wasn't fooled by your appearance. What if you had stolen my heart? How would you have taken responsibility?"

"You're the kind of person who likes to deceive people and then run away; you're practically the embodiment of irresponsibility."

"No, I have to tell everyone your true nature. I can't let them continue to be fooled by you."

As she was talking, Toyokawa Shoko burst out laughing.

"What he said was really too much. What did he mean by saying that I'm someone who likes to deceive people and then run away—although it seems to be true."

"But in my opinion, he fits that image better than I do. He steals my heart and runs away, not even giving me a chance to catch up..."

"...Toyokawa-kun, you...?"

"Kusano-kun, what kind of person do you see me now?"

Toyokawa Shoko turned her head and looked seriously at Kusano Akira.

"..."

"You have the same idea as my 'friend,' right?"

"...Should I say yes or no?"

"Just say what you really think."

"Hmm...that's roughly the impression I get."

"That's a familiar answer..."

After muttering "ba" softly, Toyokawa Shoko raised her head, her eyes fixed on Kusano Akira. ↓∧∠∮er[

"Kusano-kun, my 'friend' actually had more to say about me than that. I haven't finished yet."