Chapter 6 – Yandere and Seduction

Ever since the incident of Tsubaki breaking into my room, I haven’t been stalked…as if such a convenient turn of events would happen! Tsubaki still follows me around, sometimes messing with me and sometimes running away from me.

I tried everything to see if there was some way to get her to stop, but none of it worked. Fleeing was futile, hiding was useless, running was pointless, and stopping was a failure.

In this case, I guess I’ll have to adopt the “if you can’t pull, try pushing” strategy. It’s a method I’d rather not try, but it’s worth a shot… Or so I think.

“How are you, senpai?”

Tsubaki appeared from behind a pillar. Normally, I would cuss Tsubaki out here, and after a short exchange of words, I would finally be released. But not today. Don’t think that things will always be the way you expect them to be.

“Ah, Tsubaki. You look cute today, too. Glad to see you this morning.”

Tsubaki stands cowering, eyes wide open, not moving an inch. It’s as if time has stopped only around her. Should I keep pressing her?

“What’s the matter, you’re so stiff. Show me more of your beautiful eyes, come closer…”

As I took a step forward, spouting my very own snappy lines, Tsubaki quickly ran off like a wary stray cat.

The response was better than I had expected. It was as if all the hard work I had put in up to this point was for naught. I almost made a gut pose on the spot when I thought I had finally found a way to repel Tsubaki. Or rather, I did.

Finally, some peace of mind for me!

“Thank you for always looking out for me, Tsubaki. I’m a lucky guy to be liked by a woman like you.”

“How about we go on a date sometime? I’ll take you anywhere you like. As long as I’m with you, I can have fun anywhere.”

“Tsubaki, don’t keep running away and look at me…”

Since then, every time I see Tsubaki, I try to hit on her with some snappy lines. The effect was extraordinary. Tsubaki would run away without even replying when I said something that would make her wince. I, on the other hand, could even afford to smile.

I can easily fight off that nuisance. Lately, I’m even starting to enjoy getting rid of Tsubaki. It’s payback for all the times I’ve been screwed over. The saying “revenge doesn’t bring you anything” seems to be a lie. Just watching Tsubaki’s back as she runs away is an exhilarating experience.

Originally, Tsubaki had an unhealthy look with dark circles in her eyes, but recently they have become darker, and her eyes look bloodshot. It’s as if she hasn’t slept at all. She looks extremely weak.

She probably has nightmares every night because she can’t understand my senseless behavior. She’s only human after all. She can’t handle the stress that comes with the sudden change in environment. It’s only a matter of time before Tsubaki starts to feel the effects of the change.

Come at me anytime, anywhere. I’m not afraid of you anymore.

One day, a while after I had established the method of repelling Tsubaki, I arrived at my apartment after finishing my part-time job and found Tsubaki at the door. I lightly brushed my hair and talked to Tsubaki in my usual tone.

“Oioi, it’s dangerous to be alone here in the middle of the night like this. Come on, I’ll hold your hand and take you home.”

As soon as Tsubaki heard my snappy line, she turned over and started shaking slightly. That’s strange. Normally, she would have run away by now.

“What’s wrong? Not feeling well? Don’t worry, I’m here for you.”

“Ku…”

“Ku?”

“Kukuku… Fufu… Fuahahahahaha!”

Suddenly, Tsubaki started laughing like a lunatic. I flinched for a moment at the sight of her. Why? Why isn’t she running away?

“T-Tsubaki…”

“I’m happy. I’m so happy. Senpai is taking me home. Ahh, ahh, I wish I could hold out a little longer, but I can’t anymore. I’m going crazy if I let this happiness go on any longer.”

I have a bad feeling.

[Tsubaki, just looking at your face is enough to make me keep going for the rest of the day.]

[Just keep your eyes on me.]

[I missed you, Tsubaki… My heart has been beating loudly all morning, wanting to see you as soon as possible.]

My embarrassing lines are being played from Tsubaki’s phone. It’s a little hard for me to hear it again… No, rather than that…

“You, that’s…”

“I couldn’t record the first one, but I was able to record almost all of senpai’s words of love. I would have liked to hear more, but I can’t really ask for too many luxuries. Thank you very much.”

“B-But you were… You were so weak that you couldn’t sleep…”

“Ah, you’re worried about me. I’m happy, I’m so happy. Lately I’ve been listening to senpai’s voice until late at night, and I haven’t been able to sleep. Every day I hear more and more variations, so I even bought a 3-D sound system.”

Tsubaki spoke with an ecstatic look on her face. It’s not counterproductive. I must have had the worst possible effect on Tsubaki.

“I’m only human, so it’s difficult for me to watch over senpai 24 hours a day. I have to make sure I get my sleep. But from now on, we’ll always be together. Even when we’re apart, I can hear senpai’s voice in my ear… Ahh, ahh!”

This is bad. Her eyes are completely that of a drug addict. My foolish ploy has only fueled Tsubaki’s obsession, instead of driving her away.

“Come on, senpai. Let’s go back to my house together? Together.“

“Who’s going with you, idiot! Go home by yourself! Stupid!”

“Oh my. Senpai is back to normal.”

Tsubaki tilted her head in disappointment. Her deliberate attitude was on the nose.

“Get the h**l out of here! Damn it!”

[Tsubaki, you’re all I can see.]

“You…! Stop that!”

[Did you get a haircut? Well, any haircut looks good on you.]

“I told you to stop!”

[Hey, do you want to go to the herb garden later? I have something important to talk about.]

“Oh, my God! Stop it!”

“Ufufufufu…”

With a lurid laugh, Tsubaki quickly disappeared into the darkness. Still hearing my collection of too-snappy lines for a while, I felt like biting my tongue in self-loathing as I was left alone.