CH 22

Chapter 22 – Yandere and Stubborn Guy

When I arrived at my apartment after finishing my part-time job, I found a familiar creature sitting on the floor next to the door. The creature’s long hair hid its entire face, giving it an eerie appearance. I’m used to it so it’s fine, but if my next-door neighbor Yoshimoto-kun had seen this, he would have been horrified and wondered if a ghost had appeared.

Tired, I ignored it and opened the door, and as I hurried to close it, I felt a foot inserted into the gap in the door. Is this some kind of religious recruiting ploy…?

“Why…are you…ignoring me…?”

Tsubaki forcefully pushed her body through the gap in the door. Combined with her appearance, it was completely a scene from a horror movie.

“Begone, evil spirit. Begone.”

“You’re so terrible to call such a pretty girl an evil spirit.”

“Pretty girls don’t trespass, you know.”

“Then let me break in legally.”

Despite my desperate efforts, Tsubaki was able to get inside the room, slowly but surely. I managed to push her back, but she rebounded with a force that I couldn’t have imagined from her slender arms, and in the end, I was pushed aside.

Having wasted all our energy, we both fell down on the doorstep.

“Damn, a power-type yandere is just too nasty.”

“I’m not crazy. But I admit I’m madly in love with you.” (T/N: To understand this line, you need to know what yandere means. Yandere = Person with an unhealthy/crazy romantic obsession.)

“Where do you get that kind of power from when you’re so skinny?”

“From the power of love.”

“Stop giving me the chills.”

I’ll figure out how to get rid of Tsubaki later, but for now I just want to rest. Why do I have to do something this exhausting after my part-time job…

For the time being, maybe I should have a cup of tea.

“Hah… I get tired of wasting my time when I see you.”

“I love it when senpai prepares tea for me despite saying this and that.”

“Drink this and go home. So, what do you want today?”

This question may have been pointless for Tsubaki who is always getting involved with me whether she has something to do or not, but I decided to ask her anyway.

“Ah, that’s right. I have something I wanted to say to senpai today.”

“What is it?”

“Lately, senpai has been hanging out with other girls all the time but not with me! Don’t you think that’s strange?”

“It’s your head that’s strange.”

“I’m the original heroine, aren’t I!?” (T/N: Damn… Breaking the fourth wall…)

“What are you talking about?”

Tsubaki’s wacky story has started again. I want her to leave by bedtime, and I’ll let her go home somehow while playing along accordingly…

“I thought if I repeated my odd behavior, no woman would ever approach senpai…”

“So you did that on purpose! Thanks to you, I haven’t had a girlfriend since I started college!”

“If you want a girlfriend so badly, why don’t you just go out with me? That will solve the problem.”

“You don’t eat cement no matter how hungry you are. It’s the same case.”

“If it’s raw cement, you can eat it if you force it down the throat, can’t you? Look, it’d be similar to fresh chocolate or whipped cream.”

“That’s torture.”

But is it really Tsubaki’s fault that my college life has been so dull? That’s unforgivable. Someday I’ll get my just rewards…

“Anyway, what were you doing for a year before I met you, senpai? I mean, everyone was floating around when they just started college, and there must have been plenty of opportunities.”

“That’s… There’s a reason for that. I wasn’t in any circles…”

“But you’ve been working part-time since your freshman year.”

“At my part-time job, you see, I’m a stiff character…”

“So in the end, you couldn’t have gotten a girlfriend with or without me, right?”

The argument was easily debunked. Actually, if Tsubaki hadn’t been here, Would I have had a girlfriend…? No, let’s not imagine that or I’d feel empty.

Besides, isn’t she a little harsh towards me? Does she really like me?

“I love you.”

“Stop reading my mind.”

“Senpai, I love you, and that includes your bad and pathetic points. I also find your despicable side endearing.”

“I would have been a little happier if you hadn’t said that.”

“Ah, can I have another cup of tea?”

“I told you to go home…”

Because of all the shabby parts of Tsubaki I’ve seen recently, I had forgotten that she was the most troublesome of all.

Asai-sensei and Rii-chan also take their own pace, but they probably won’t do anything that I truly dislike. Tsubaki, on the other hand, jumps into my arms without regard to my convenience. I wonder if she had ever thought about what if she didn’t like me. Can I ask her once?

“Tsubaki…”

“Hnn? What is it?”

I looked away for a moment, and Tsubaki had collapsed onto the beaded cushion and shut her eyes. She has no intention of leaving, does she?

“Not ‘Hnn’! Why are you sleeping there!?”

“Ah, you don’t mind if I sleep on the bed? Well, excuse me.”

“Get off, you stupid b*****d.”

It’s not difficult to pull the sleepy-eyed Tsubaki down from the bed, but this exchange is every bit as tedious.

If push comes to shove, I can throw her outside while she’s sleeping, but I don’t want her to get sick or anything. Just what should I do?

“What are you really here for…?”

“I’m having a sleepy day. If you’re my boyfriend, you should know that.”

“You’re so sleepy you’re mixing up fantasy and reality.”

“It’s not a fantasy, it’s an ideal.”

Fantasy, ideals… Ah, I see. I didn’t realize there was that way to do it.

“It’s late. You should go home.”

“I’m so sleepy I can’t take a step. I’m terribly sorry.”

“Then, I’ll carry you home.”

“Eh?”

I see, it seems that this kind of thing works on Tsubaki after all.

After more than a year of being followed around, Tsubaki’s personality is becoming more and more apparent. She’s a personality-defying person, but she’s not without her human side, either.

Tsubaki has a tendency to think of herself as a heroine in a story. Therefore, she has a strong yearning for certain situations. The right to be carried home by the man she loves would be an irresistible temptation.

“Well… But…”

She’s wondering if it would be more beneficial to stay in the house or to have me carry her home. I need to make one last push here…

“Come on, hurry up. It’s not safe for you to go home alone, is it?”

“Yes!”

Took you long enough, a*****e. I’ll get her out of the house, and we’ll be on our way. I’ll shake her off a short distance away from the apartment.

Tsubaki is snoozing defenselessly on my back, unaware of what I’m up to. But really, she’s really light… I wonder if she’s eating properly.

As I left the apartment with Tsubaki on my back, the crescent moon was standing alone behind a street lamp. It’s a cool and comfortable night.

“By the way, I don’t even know where you live.”

“Ah, it’s about 100 meters west of here.”

“That’s really close! You could’ve gone home by yourself!”

“Ugh… It’s too hard to move.”

Tsubaki groaned weakly as she rested her weight on my back. Normally, she would have wrapped her arms and legs around me, trying to resist my attempts to get away from her. I guess it’s true that she’s tired. I wonder if she used up all her energy trying to force her way into my house.

It doesn’t feel right to just drop her off in the middle of the road when we’re so close to her home, so I’m just going to give her a ride… But somehow, this is kind of aggravating.

“Senpai’s back is really warm.”

Tsubaki whispered quietly in my ear. I have to admit, I don’t mind the situation where I have to carry a girl home. If this wasn’t Tsubaki, I might have been somewhat moved by this.

“I’m very lucky to be cared for by such a kind senpai.”

…I’m not going to be caged in by all this. Maybe, not yet.