"A pure human, huh?"
In the bustling commercial district, Toa Matsubara strolled leisurely along the sidewalk. Her hands clasped behind her back, her fair, innocent face radiated a first-love charm. Dressed in a cute skirt and casual outfit, she kicked a pebble with her shoe, her adorable demeanor drawing glances from passersby.
Her eyes, however, carried a subtle hostility toward Muxiao.
It was as if the lovely, charming girl was his girlfriend. Toa's sweet, beaming smile and the way she gazed at the boy beside her screamed "smitten lover." Though no longer human, her human appearance retained stunning beauty, enhanced by a unique aura from her transformation.
In short, she was gorgeous.
The two had left the Yotsuya household, where Miko's father had ascended. Having witnessed it all, Toa found his claim about Muxiao's "pure" soul intriguing.
"Flirtatious and sleazy, tangled up with multiple women in ambiguous relationships, and they call you pure… Pfft, just kidding," Toa teased, dodging Muxiao's glare. She sidled up, wrapping her arms around his tentacle arm. "Tentacle-kun's just wild on the surface. Deep down, you're a good guy. I knew it from the moment we met." Otherwise, you wouldn't have saved me.
Muxiao yanked his arm free, his face darkening. A good guy card? Not thrilled about that.
"Spirits, huh? Such strange things, able to see souls directly… Shame he didn't check out my soul," Toa mused.
"No need. It's probably black as coal."
Surprisingly, Toa didn't snap back or argue. Her expression faltered, turning dim and dejected.
The air grew quiet, the mood heavy.
Muxiao scratched his nose awkwardly. "Uh, well, that wasn't quite right. Not black—more like pure yandere vibes, so…"
"No need to explain, Muxiao-kun," Toa sighed softly, calling his name for the first time. "You're not wrong. My mind isn't like normal people's."
"Compared to them, I'm a bit darker."
She glanced at the passersby, feeling their sporadic stares, and spoke with malice. "I hate how they look at me. Even if I killed them all right here, my heart wouldn't waver."
"…"
Muxiao's mouth twitched. Don't say such terrifying things!
Toa reined in her malice, flashing him a smile as if it were all an illusion. "Muxiao-kun, am I a bad girl?"
Yes, absolutely.
"But strangely, I'm not completely bad. I want to slaughter them, but I hold back—not out of conscience, but for someone. I don't want to trouble him or make him hate me."
"That's normal. Even villains aren't heartless. Your type's usually in some tragic love story… Wait! You meant me?!"
Muxiao pointed at himself, stunned. "Shouldn't it be your precious Onii-chan?!"
Toa giggled at his exaggerated reaction. "Of course it's you. If you hadn't saved me, if those monsters had toyed with me that day, I might've gone fully dark. But now, I've kept some底线."
Muxiao fell silent.
"As for Houichi… I haven't sought him out much lately. I've been with you instead," Toa said softly. "I don't know why, but being with you feels easy. I don't have to hide my monster identity or feel rejected."
"Though I've had to overhear a lot of… moments. Honestly, I'm still a pure maiden~"
"…"
Seeing Muxiao's odd expression, Toa suddenly hopped in front of him, blocking his path. They stopped, and she leaned forward playfully, hands behind her back, blinking with a cheeky smile. "Tentacle-kun, let me tell you a secret."
"There's a queen among us tentacle monsters. Back at my old school, those creatures invaded to birth her," Toa said casually, her words chilling. "Even now, the queen urges me to collect beautiful women to nourish her… but if I did, you'd never forgive me, right? So I ignored her."
"Shouldn't a queen collect men, not women?" Muxiao couldn't resist quipping, earning an exasperated eye-roll from Toa.
"What, you'd apply for the job if it was men? Typical you, not even sparing monsters!"
Toa's eyes glinted mid-sentence. "Besides, pure monsters like that don't think like humans. Their logic's alien. You'd better not get your hopes up."
"But if you're into monster girls… you've got me, don't you?"
Muxiao pushed her face away as she leaned closer. "Matsubara-san, you're joking, right?"
"Why? I'm serious! And stop with the 'Matsubara-san'—call me by my name!"
"…Keep this up, and your brother will cry," Muxiao facepalmed.
"Why bring him up? He's probably still chasing your Natsumi," Toa said, glancing at the blue sky, a leaf drifting past her hair. "Remember when you saved Natsumi at our old school?"
"I thought back then, maybe I could push all the girls around Houichi—especially Wakumaku-senpai—to you, let you claim them. Then he'd be mine alone."
Why bring this up now?
"But, Tentacle-kun, I take it back."
"…Huh?"
Toa smiled brightly, locking eyes with the stunned boy. "It's not too late to retract that, right?"
"…"
Before Muxiao could respond, Toa spun around. "Oh, look! A crepe stand! I'm gonna grab one~"
Watching her skip away, Muxiao's shock faded, though his eyes remained uncertain. What did she mean by that?
No way it's what I'm thinking, right?
That's unscientific! How does this fit your yandere brother-obsessed character? Houichi's gonna cry!