"...He is still not responding," Kalawarna put down her phone, her face dark as she spoke to the other fallen angel standing on the opposite side of the abandoned church.
She had been trying to call Yusuke for hours now, but he never picked up. From her stalking, she knew his habits well and knew he was not the type to throw his phone out of reach. That left only two possibilities as to why he was not answering. The first was that he did not respond to unknown numbers. The second, and the one that hurt her the most, was that he was busy having sex with another woman.
"Wait for a short while and call him again. Perhaps he is busy," Raynare's expression was equally unpleasant. Half a day ago, she and Kalawarna had snuck into Yusuke's apartment. They rummaged through his room and took most of his personal belongings under the excuse of keeping them 'safe'.
After that, they raided Aika's house and kidnapped her. Their plan had been to do it quietly, but they had not expected Aika's mother to be nearby. She tried to help her daughter and ended up getting injured in the process.
Once Aika was secured, they headed to Murayama's house, but unfortunately, found no one there.
Thinking about this, Raynare glanced at the unconscious girl lying tied up on the ground beside her feet.
"It doesn't matter if we can't reach him now. Soon... soon, he will be the one looking for us," Raynare was far calmer than Kalawarna. With Aika in their hands, even if Yusuke ignored their calls, once he realized she was missing, he would be the one searching for them.
Their original plan had been to ambush Yusuke outside his house, but for some reason, he was nowhere to be found. Left without a choice, they came up with another plan: kidnap the sluts he was sleeping with and force him to come to the church, where they would make him theirs.
Of course, there was another part of the plan that both women kept to themselves, and that was to kill each other. For now, they were only cooperating to get Yusuke. Once he was in their hands, they would likely look for a chance to eliminate the other.
'Yusuke Aoki... soon... soon... you'll be mine~ We will live together forever~!' Raynare's thighs rubbed against each other, her hands clasped between her chest. Her head tilted upward, eyes closed, an expression of expectation, longing, and ecstasy etched across her face as she pictured her future with her man, her love, her life, Yusuke Aoki!
...
The rays of the morning sun failed to reach the windowless room. The air was humid, thick with the sour scent of sweat mingled with the intoxicating smell of sex. Yusuke's eyes fluttered open as he felt something heavy pressed against his chest. Looking down, he saw Tsubaki's upper body draped over him, clinging to him.
She had a peaceful, satisfied expression, the smile on her face showing it clearly as she slept.
'If only this could last.' Yusuke resisted the urge to pat her head, afraid of disturbing her sleep. Yesterday's sex with Tsubaki had been the absolute best, so good, far better than even with Aika and Murayama.
She was eager and aggressive, but never as aggressive as the other two. She never lost herself and shouted that she wanted him to be hers like they did, which was a big plus for him.
While that might turn others on, Yusuke only felt his PTSD creeping back whenever a woman said it.
He always remembered the months spent in that dark basement. Murayama never failed to whisper those disgusting words into his ears every day.
'System, you can show me the notifications now.' Since he didn't want interruptions, he had asked the system not to display anything unless it was important.
[Tsubaki Shinra's submission: 90.]
[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the quest 'Fight for Your Freedom'!]
[Task: Raise Tsubaki Shinra's submission value to at least 80.
Reward: 5000 XP, one random skill, 1 stat point.]
"90? So high?!" Yusuke was startled at first. He had lost track of her submission value when it hit 63. He expected it to rise around 80, but never imagined it would climb this high in just one night. Even Aika, the tamest and easiest to deal with, hadn't progressed this fast.
Tsubaki was just one point away from shifting from Dependent to Devoted.
According to the bitch system, at the Devoted level, she would no longer be a Yandere but a Goudere, someone extremely devoted to him and loving him unconditionally without any tendencies to harm him.
[Do you want to receive your rewards?] the system asked.
"Wait, not now," Yusuke replied. The increase he would get this time would be massive. Just the 5000 XP alone would push him up three levels, adding three points to each of his individual stats. That was a pretty big jump. Who knew how his body would react? He didn't want to alert Tsubaki or wake her up yet.
"Hmm~" Just then, a cute and soft voice drew his attention.
Tsubaki's eyes fluttered open, meeting Yusuke's gaze. Confusion appeared in her eyes at first, but then a smile spread across her face. She sat up abruptly and kissed him on the lips, cheeks, neck, and even his chest. Then she took his hand, staring directly into his eyes as she said, "It's real! It wasn't a dream! Yusuke-kun~! We are lovers now, right?"
"Right?" Her tone and expression were filled with clear expectation and a trace of nervousness, as if she feared Yusuke might suddenly leave her.
"Yes, we are." Yusuke blinked at her reaction, then smiled. He leaned forward and gave her a light kiss. "From now on, we are boyfriend and girlfriend." He had originally planned to drag things out until she reached the Devoted level, but seeing her expression, he found it hard to make her sad.
'Stupid Yusuke, you can't lower your guard against them. Get your shit together.' Almost immediately, he began cursing himself for being so easily swayed. Why couldn't his heart be as cold as stone and as indifferent as the wind, like those Chinese main characters?
[Weak ass loser!] The system did not miss the chance to jab at him.
"Really? I am so happy!" Tsubaki squealed with pure delight. She held her cheeks in both hands and began to laugh foolishly. "Hehehe~ Lover~ We are lovers~ Hehehe~ Me and Yusuke~! Lovers~ Kyaaa~!"
"Yusuke-kun's my lover~ My darling~ My sweetheart~" She kept muttering as she gripped his hand even tighter, her mind melting from the rush of happiness and excitement. The dream she had longed for had come true so quickly and so easily. "Hehehe~ I can kiss you whenever I want now~ And hold hands~ And feed you my cooking~"
"I'll be the best girlfriend ever~ Just you wait, Yusuke-kun~ Hehehe~ ♡"
"Yusuke?" Her laughter came to an abrupt halt when she noticed his unusual silence, his face set in a neutral expression as he stared at her. The sight made Tsubaki's heart clench, a wave of coldness sweeping through her and erasing the happiness she had only moments ago. Slowly, she lifted her hand to touch his face and whispered, "Are you... worried I might turn on you? Like those other girls?"
She still vividly remembered the vulnerable state Yusuke had been in when he spoke about his problems. Her hand moved gently to caress his face, and she spoke in the softest tone she could manage. "Yusuke... I will never harm you. No matter what happens, I'll always help you, protect you. Even if you did something... terrible, I wouldn't interfere. I'd only be there to support you."
"I just… I just hope that in the future, you... don't abandon me." Her colorful heterochromic eyes grew misty as she spoke, her voice beginning to crack. The thought of living without Yusuke was so unbearable that it made her feel as if she would rather die.
'Is she for real?' Yusuke was completely taken aback by her declaration. From her expression and tone, she seemed genuinely sincere, yet he couldn't bring himself to trust her words. It wasn't that he thought she was lying, but humans were unpredictable, and far too often they went back on what they said. Who knew if she might regret her promise someday and stab him in the back?
"Don't be silly. Why would I ever want to leave you, senpai? I'm happy that you love me and want to support me. You don't know how much that means to me." Yusuke smiled as he lifted her chin, looking straight into her eyes. "So never think about something so silly, Tsubaki… my cute Tsubaki."
Of course, he didn't mean everything he said. He'd be a dumb piece of trash who deserved to die if he completely trusted another yandere. But after learning from his previous mistake with Kalawarna, Yusuke simply told Tsubaki what she wanted to hear.
In his previous life, Yusuke was not great at lying. Sometimes he was brutally honest, which landed him in plenty of trouble. It was only after rebirth that he started to, strangely enough, lie. At first, just little white lies, but now he could feel himself getting smoother. He was on the fast track to becoming a manipulator. They say women turn good men bad, so maybe that is why. Or maybe it is because of his boosted Spirit stats. Or maybe it is the mental torture he endured in his previous timeline.
All in all, Yusuke had been changing gradually, not just physically but mentally as well.
She looked so sincere with those teary eyes, but he would not trust her unless she reached the 91 (Devoted). Yusuke leaned in and kissed her lips while thinking coldly. He was doing his best to bury any feelings that might grow from their interaction because feelings would only make him irrational and bring about his doom.
[Ding!]
Just then, a notification interrupted Yusuke's thoughts.
[Tsubaki Shinra's submission +1]
'What the fuck!?'
...
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