Can Lixi look at me alone?

"Does Xiaomu want to eat cucumber?"

I happen to have some cucumbers from the last time I bought them that I haven't eaten yet, so I can make some simple soups or something...

The sickly girl still wore a gentle smile, as if she were still the same as usual, without the slightest bit of unhappiness.

Jieyue skillfully shredded the cucumber, and also chopped some radish and sausage, preparing to use them to cook a light vegetable soup to make up for Xiaomu, whom she had abandoned.

Mortis, having successfully diverted her attention elsewhere, raised an eyebrow smugly. Although she wanted to pull Yuzuki to the living room to watch TV, she managed to resist the urge and remained standing beside Yuzuki, watching her tedious and monotonous work process…

The sharp blade grazed her slender fingertips, leaving a trace of blood on the cutting board. But the sound of the cleaver chopping against the board continued unabated.

After thinking for a moment and confirming that the white radish wouldn't cause bleeding, Mortis was about to check on the girl beside him when he heard her casually ask a question.

"Xiao Mu...do you like Crychic?"

Her dull, lifeless blue eyes remained fixed on the powdered food under the cleaver, but her thoughts had already returned to that last afternoon in Crychic.

Su Shi likes crychic, and so does Deng.

Yuzuki slowly turned her head to look at Aomine, whose cheeks were covered in cold sweat.

"Xiao Mu, do you like crychic?"

She repeated her question, as if urging or confirming.

Mortis, who was trying to figure out what she was thinking, narrowed his eyes.

Whether you like Crychic or hate Crychic doesn't matter; the point is to tell Yuzuki that she doesn't need to worry about us disliking her.

Mortis was teaching Mu how to handle this.

While doing this, he held Jieyue's abdomen with both hands and smiled as he spoke.

"I love Crychic with Yuzuki in it~"

Originally intended as a sweet nothing to bring them closer, Mortis, overestimating Yuzuki's thinking ability at that moment, successfully used this sentence to separate Yuzuki's feelings for Mutsuki from Yuzuki herself.

I like…crychic.

Yuzuki heard Xiaomu's reply.

Xiao Mu likes it, Su Shi likes it, and Xiao Deng likes it.

Where are Lixi and Xiaoxiang? Why didn't Lixi and Xiaoxiang tell me if they like Crychic...?

Is it because you're worried that you won't be able to give me the answer I want to hear?

The radical girl separated them from herself.

then…

Everyone on Crychic likes that band, except me.

I broke up their friendship because I didn't like it.

Su Shi wasn't wrong, I really am selfish.

Mortis forcefully snatched the kitchen knife that was about to cut Yuzuki's finger, threw it aside, and shook her body.

"Yuzuki...?"

The pink-haired girl smiled at her, ignoring the kitchen utensils that had fallen to the ground, and casually threw the chopped ingredients into the pot to stew.

"Xiao Mu, keep an eye on the kitchen for me."

She left the kitchen after giving the only order she'd ever given to Harmony. Mortis, feeling that nothing serious had happened, pursed her lips. She sat in a chair, swinging her legs as she waited.

Back in her room, Yuzuki took out a dress from the closet that she had only worn once—a performance outfit from Crychic.

Then he took the scissors and began to destroy the clothing designed by his former companion, one snip at a time.

My selfishness destroyed Crychic and hurt everyone.

Let's pretend I never joined Crychic, then everyone won't feel sad because of me, right?

Yuzuki kept cutting her own performance costume, letting the scissors cut her fingers and her blood smear onto the fabric, turning the beautiful clothes into a large wad of blood-stained rags.

When Mortis, who was so bored that he started tasting rock sugar and white sugar to see which was sweeter, finally heard a series of footsteps, one heavy and one light.

"Yuzuki~ How boring...?!"

He ignored the girl, who was still holding a blood-dripping rag in her arms, lifted the pot lid, and threw everything in his hands into the soup that had no seasonings added.

Mortis was startled and quickly tiptoed to pat her shoulder, but received no response whatsoever.

Yuzuki watched the fabric churning in the boiling liquid, then picked up a ladle and began stirring. She wanted to erase every trace of her time at Crychic, hoping that once all traces were gone, no one would remember her joining Crychic.

Then no one will be hurt by my selfishness...

Yuzuki gently sucked on her finger, which had just stopped bleeding.

Mortis also realized that she was more seriously ill than he was, so he gave up struggling and silently stayed with her to see what she really wanted to do.

Time is passing by, second by second.

The contents of the soup pot are gradually becoming inedible.

The eerie color made the blue-haired girl, who was already exerting all her strength just looking at Yuzuki, unable to help but look away and take a deep breath to compose herself.

Fabric, blood, radishes, sausages, cucumbers—the final color of cooking these things together is... indescribable.

If I absolutely had to describe it, it would be the color of 'you'd die if you ate it'. So, Xiao Mu, remember, you can't cook like that, okay?

While chatting with Xiaomu, Mortis turned her gaze back to Yuzuki and stared wide-eyed in horror.

She was certain that Yuzuki was drinking the soup from the pot, sip by sip, and chewing on the cooked fabric.

Unable to bear it any longer, the girl grabbed Yuzuki by the collar and forcibly dragged her out of the kitchen.

But Yuzuki, who always went along with Mutsuki's wishes, did not follow this force. She forced her scarred fingers to grip the edge of the stove and tried to drink more... soup.

The two forces got into a fight, which ended with the soup pot being overturned on the ground.

Fortunately, both of them were wearing slippers, so they didn't have to worry about getting burned by walking barefoot in boiling water.

But everything else is something Mortis needs to worry about.

He immediately turned off the stove, then grabbed Yuzuki's fingers... He felt a warm, smooth touch, and when he looked down, he realized that because of Yuzuki's resistance, the wounds on her hands had reopened and were bleeding again.

Feeling completely overwhelmed, Mortis spent a considerable amount of time bringing the girl, who was staring blankly at the floor and letting herself be manipulated, back to the living room.

Exhausted, she plopped down on the sofa to drink mango juice and rest, no longer having the energy to deal with the mess in the kitchen.

Oh right, I need to open a window to let the smell dissipate for a while... the smell of blood is too strong.

"Why…"

She glared at Yuzuki, who was standing beside her like a doll, with annoyance.

"It's Yuzuki! What exactly do you want?!"

The pink-haired girl gazed at the messy kitchen and softly gave her answer.

"Leaving Crychic is like pretending I was never a member... Wouldn't that be a good thing for everyone?"

Yuzuki looked at Mutsu, who was already gritting his teeth.

"This is a good thing for Xiaomu, so why are you stopping me?"

Yuzuki calmly stated her point of view, indicating that she was no longer considering Mutsuki's idea.

"Soyo, you're absolutely right. I'm selfish, selfish and obsessive. I make everyone accommodate me, and just because I'm unhappy, I want to destroy Crychic, which is supposed to make everyone happy."

Yuzuki recounted her sins.

"So... sob..."

Unable to resist her body's instincts, the pink-haired girl bent over and retched repeatedly under Qingmei's complicated gaze, vomiting up all the fabric she had just swallowed with difficulty.

A disheveled and ridiculous Yuzuki collapsed onto the sofa, finally emptying her stomach.

Mortis, who had been fed two sips of mango juice to help her regain her strength, pouted and asked her impatiently if she felt any better.

These two sips of mango juice successfully replenished Jieyue's fluids and sugar, giving her enough to cry out loud.

Escape is shameful, but useful.

Avoiding failure is not only useless, but also even more shameful.

Yuzuki wanted to maintain Crychic, but ultimately failed.

Yuzuki realized that she was the reason Crychic couldn't continue. So she tried to leave, but ultimately failed.

The lamp was still crying, reaching out to her, pleading for help.

She continues to evade, ignore, and let the lamp drown alone in sin.

Because she didn't want to drown.

Because she... didn't want to go back into darkness and become an abnormal patient because of this.

But the result?

The lamp is in pain.

Xiao Mu is also in pain.

Everyone is suffering, and the reason for all of this is my selfishness.

I want to make amends, but I don't know how. No one has taught me what the right thing to do right now is; all I can do is…

Making mistakes constantly.

Making more and more mistakes drives away those who like you.

Ultimately, I returned to the state I had been in not long ago, all alone.

Tears streamed uncontrollably down my cheeks.

The girl, believing that her wickedness and selfishness had caused all of this, choked herself.

The suffocation, the pain, and the sensation of blood leaving her body brought her a sense of relief.

I am being punished.

She was telling herself this.

My sins will be lessened by punishment.

She fantasized like that.

Unable to bear it any longer, Mortis grabbed her hands and pinned the coughing girl to the sofa.

Mortis, who was still worried about how to handle the situation if he did this, lowered his head and forcefully pried open the lips and teeth of the girl beneath him, which still tasted of mango juice.

The negative emotions that Yuzuki had been venting were forcibly pushed back by Aome little by little, waiting for the next, even more turbulent and violent outburst.

But what can we do about it?

At least for now, for quite some time, Jieyue won't be sad anymore.

Mortis, having returned control of her body to Mu, savored the sweet taste she had just experienced and fell into a deep sleep.

……

After greedily taking what she wanted for a while, Mu finally loosened her grip, and the two girls hugged each other tightly, feeling each other's body heat.

The pink-haired girl, who had regained her composure, belatedly covered her lips with her hand. Only after tasting the metallic flavor did she clean and bandage her wound with Mu's help.

Mu, who had been watching all this, gently poked the wound under the band-aid and, as she wished, saw Yuzuki's face contort in pain.

"It hurts when you get your period."

She gave Yuzuki a reproachful pat on the head.

Since menstruation is painful, you can rest assured.

If menstruation is painless, then you need to pay attention.

The pink-haired girl didn't answer, and Mu didn't try to start a conversation. A slightly awkward atmosphere lingered between them; they had just been kissing, but now…

Mu didn't like this atmosphere.

Just like when I watched Yuzuki hurt herself, I'm unhappy.