Mygo, are you all yanderes?

He carefully removed his hand from her back and gently placed it next to her eye socket, stroking it softly.

"Did you stay up late?"

"……Um."

Gao Songdeng nodded slightly, feeling the warmth on her back disappear, and lowered her head with some regret.

Why are you like this too? Is something bothering you?

He looked at the person in front of him with concern. Unlike Shiina Ritsuki, he had always regarded her as someone who needed to be protected, so he was naturally more worried about her than about Shiina Ritsuki.

"I had a dream."

Sensing the other person's concern, Takamatsu blinked and said this.

Volume 1: Chapter 84 (2k)

"Dream?"

"Ah."

Takamatsu Akira stared blankly at Kusano Akira in front of her and described the scene that flashed before her eyes while she was on the phone.

"It can't really be called a dream; it's more like an illusion..."

"So, what appeared in the hallucination, a lamp?"

Kusano Akira gently patted Takamatsu Akari's body and whispered to her.

"I see... Ming, you don't want me anymore, and you don't want everyone in the band either..."

Although her body gradually calmed down under Kusano Akira's comforting words, the panic that had been lingering in her mind since yesterday's phone call wouldn't dissipate, and it was precisely because of this panic that she couldn't sleep all night.

“I wanted you to stay, but you wouldn’t…”

"That's just an illusion."

Seeing Takamatsu Akira's forlorn expression, Kusano Akira sighed and hugged her again, this time much more proactively than before.

"Did my distance yesterday scare you, Light?"

"……I have no idea."

Should she say "that's not how it is" at this point? Takamatsu Akari knew that saying that would make Kusano Akira happier, but she was also unwilling to lie to him.

These troubles, this illusion, may really be related to this person.

"Sorry, light."

Kusano Akira spoke apologetically to Takamatsu Akari, expressing his genuine reluctance to have his actions hurt the girl.

"..."

"It's all because of me that you're having these hallucinations."

"Don't worry, it's all just an illusion. I will never leave you."

[Lamp, I will stay by your side for the rest of my life.]

【…】

"...Is it just talk?"

The illusory voice overlapped with the words of the person in front of her. She released her hand that had been gripping Kusano Akira's back and instead touched his face. Her soft fingers roamed over every inch of his features, as if she were playing with a precious toy.

"Of course it's not just talk."

"...But I don't believe it."

Takamatsu Akira was willing to trust Kusano Akira, but Kusano Akira never reciprocated her trust.

We promised to stay together, but I forgot her without her consent; we promised to hug, but if she hadn't been so insistent, I would have refused; we promised to be together forever, but the illusion felt so real.

Perhaps, just as she said in the hallucination, Kusano Akira is a liar.

"You don't believe me? Well... then what will it take for you to believe me?"

Kusano Akira let out a helpless sigh, accepting the fact that he was not trusted.

After all, aside from the principle of "not being a jerk," I don't think he can be considered sincere in other aspects, so it's only natural that he's not trusted.

Even his principle of 'not being a jerk' seems a bit ridiculous—he developed feelings for both Chihaya Aine and Takamatsu Akari within 24 hours of each other.

Maybe he's just a scumbag by nature, only he's constrained by his own principles.

"...From now on, we'll be together every day."

"Aren't we together every single day now?"

"It's not just that."

"What I want is the future, every day, every moment, every minute."

Even if I graduate from Yugaoka, even if the band disbands.

"..."

Takamatsu held Kusano Akira's face in her hands, gently tiptoed, and spoke softly, her eyes, more captivating than amber, revealing an unprecedented seriousness.

"..."

"Light, do you like me?"

The girl's sweet breath sprayed onto Kusano Akira's face. Hearing Takamatsu Akira's words, which were practically a confession, his expression froze for a moment. Then he put his hand on the other girl's shoulder and asked seriously.

This is no longer a problem with the high school students' radio wave system. He can no longer pretend to be stupid and deceive himself with such obvious actions.

He would have to talk to Shiina Tatsuki and Chihaya Aine about this in a little while.

"Yeah, I like you."

"...We've only known each other for a short time, why would you..."

Before Kusano Akira could finish speaking, Takamatsu Akira covered his mouth.

She didn't want to hear Kusano Akira utter a single word of rejection.

"It's definitely not that kind of thing."

"I like you a lot, I really, really like you, but I absolutely don't have those kinds of thoughts."

So... don't distance yourself from me, okay?

"..."

Kusano Akira nodded silently.

Seeing that Kusano Akira had agreed, her eyes narrowed with joy, and she removed her hand from Kusano Akira's mouth before continuing to speak.

"Ming, we've actually known each other for quite some time now."

"What you mean by that is...?"

"You've forgotten, but I think about it every day. I remember you taking me to collect stones, you catching rhinoceros beetles with me, and you telling me we'd be together forever."

"Wait, turn off the light for a second."

Kusano Akira called out to Takamatsu Akari, looking at the beautiful girl in front of him, who was immersed in her memories, with some surprise, and asked her a question cautiously.

7. "Do we...know each other?"

"Ah."

1. "When you were a child?"

"correct."

Jiu "..."

“I’m so happy to see you here again—even though you’ve forgotten everything about me.”

He started by saying, "...I'm sorry, light, but that's..."

8. "I know your reasons, so I won't blame you."

"Even though you've forgotten me, I'm still very happy because you've come back to me."

"Just being able to see you is enough."

"So... don't distance yourself from me anymore, don't leave me anymore, okay?"

"..."

"No wonder you asked such a nonsensical question before, suddenly asking about specimens and such."

After Takamatsu Akira finished speaking, Kusano Akira finally understood why Takamatsu Akira had such a high level of affection for him.

Although there was still a risk that Takamatsu Akari might actually fall for him, he was undoubtedly relieved.

"So you knew me before? I'm so sorry, Deng, I actually forgot about you without thinking."

"It's ok."

"So, Ming, you still haven't agreed to me."

"what?"

"We're together every day."

"...Lamp, I really hope so too."

Although hesitant, Kusano Akira still rejected Takamatsu Akira.

"A lifetime is possible, but the level you mentioned is definitely not enough."

"..."

"You will have your own family in the future, and everyone in the band will have their own families in the future—even now, we all have our own lives, and it's absolutely impossible to be together every moment."

Why will I have my own family in the future?

Takamatsu Akari tilted her head in confusion, not understanding the conflict between Kusano Ryumei's words and what she had said.

"I don't want to be with anyone else."

Volume 1: Chapter 85 (Eighty-Three). Unable to Hate It

"But you'll always end up on this path."

"why?"

Takamatsu Akari continued to stroke the boy's face, her delicate nose twitching slightly as she gently inhaled the unique scent of shampoo and laundry detergent mixed together on his body.

This time, it smells like a blend of orange and lavender?

Unsure, Takamatsu raised her heels a little more and pressed herself closer to Kusano Akira to get a better feel for it.

"Because your parents would never let you live alone in this society...wait, wait! You're getting too close!"

As Kusano Akira spoke, he closed his eyes to avoid looking at the girl's delicate face, but a warm breeze kept blowing on his face, accompanied by a faint dampness. When he opened his eyes, he found that Takamatsu Akira was constantly closing the distance between them.

The two were so close that Kusano Akira could taste the girl's soft, pink lips with just a slight tilt of his head. Seeing that Takamatsu Akari seemed to want to get even closer, he quickly stopped her and, without bothering to be gentle, placed his hand on her cheek to block her fierce advance.

"Then let's be together."

"Didn't you say you had no feelings for me?"

"Oh right, no."

Takamatsu Akira grabbed Kusano Akira's hand that was covering her face and pressed it down quite forcefully before looking at Kusano Akira with her big, innocent eyes.

"Then what do you mean by that!"

He hurriedly shook off her hand and staggered back a few steps, looking at Takamatsu Akira as if she were a monstrous beast.

In his view, Takamatsu's threat level was no less than that of a single Safi'jiiva.

"Ming, you don't dislike me, right?"

Even if you don't dislike it, you shouldn't do this!

Kusano Akira felt that Takamatsu Akari must have gone astray, or that he hadn't seen her true nature before. The girl in front of him wasn't some cute little animal girl at all; she was clearly a super carnivore at the top of the food chain.