Yanderes have become increasingly popular among men in recent years, and their rising appeal can be attributed to men's deep desire to be loved unconditionally. Some of these men wouldn't even mind being locked away in a basement if the price was having someone who truly loved them with complete devotion.
This phenomenon could certainly be attributed to the modern male loneliness epidemic. There are countless men who struggle to find even basic friendships, much less romantic partners, and even more so someone who could genuinely love them for who they are.
However, if we were to dig deeper into this phenomenon, we would discover that the first demographic to become obsessed with yanderes was actually women themselves.
A significant portion of women genuinely enjoy reading erotica featuring dark and oppressive themes, where the female protagonist is being pursued, dominated, and coerced into relationships with the male lead. Popular examples include series like 'Twist Me', 'Tears of Tess', 'Fear Me', and 'Fifty Shades of Grey'.
This underlying preference also explains why werewolf romance novels and overbearing CEO clichés in Webnovels have become so extraordinarily popular among female readers.
So in conclusion, everyone desires to be loved unconditionally by someone and longs to experience the intense devotion of a yandere. However, what most people fail to realize is that being loved by a yandere can easily transform into an absolute nightmare.
She would readily destroy your life and harm the people closest to you, all with the purpose of making you completely miserable, mentally broken, and utterly helpless.
Only when you have reached your absolute lowest point with no one left to turn to would she finally appear, positioning herself as your sole source of comfort and making you entirely dependent on her for survival.
Unlike fiction, real yanderes don't follow "rules." Their love isn't conditional upon you being the "right" person for them; instead, it stems entirely from their own twisted delusions and distorted perceptions. This is the same as real-life stalkers or abusive partners who trap victims in cycles of fear.
As the saying goes: 'Falling in love with a yandere is a story, but a yandere falling in love with you is an accident'
"Murayama? What do you want?" Just from listening to Murayama's tone, Yusuke immediately sensed that something was amiss. They may have spent only a few days together, but he already knew a fairly substantial portion of Murayama's personality and behavior patterns. Usually, when they were alone together, she would address him as 'Master' rather than using 'Yu-kun'.
Her calling him Yu-kun over the phone immediately made Yusuke suspect that something terrible had happened. After all, the only time she had ever used that particular nickname was before he had given her a harsh reality check and forced her to accept becoming his devoted pet.
Her reverting back to her previous calling habits meant that she felt she was now qualified to once again attempt to forcefully keep him with her, kidnap him, and lock him away in that dark, suffocating basement of hers.
Yusuke may not have been the smartest person in the world, and his genius was certainly not as frightening as that of a certain main character, but he had developed remarkably sharp observational skills from his previous life after being dumped by countless women.
He became exceptionally attentive and observant, always remembering their specific habits and the subtle changes in their tones of voice. In the previous timeline, this hadn't served him well because the idea of a woman falling in love with him had never entered his mind, causing him to selectively ignore these crucial observations.
But now that he understood the truth of his situation, he naturally became even more vigilant and attentive to such telling details.
"I am on my way home. What do you want?" Yusuke's tone was completely indifferent, and his voice carried that same cold detachment.
"...Can we meet?" Murayama, on the other side of the phone, remained silent for a long while before finally asking her question.
"Sure... where?" Yusuke answered directly without any hesitation.
"The park on the way to school," she provided him with the specific location.
"Alright, I'll be there in a while," Yusuke said curtly before hanging up the call.
The conversation between the two moved quickly, both sides sharing a tacit understanding. It was as if each of them could grasp the other's intent. They both knew that only by meeting in person could they resolve this problem once and for all.
"Murayama, I gave you a chance before, but this time there won't be any more." Yusuke held his phone tightly and spoke in a dangerously low voice. His eyes grew colder with each word.
He had previously tried to forgive her for what she had done to him in the previous timeline because he had felt that it would be unfair to punish her for crimes she hadn't yet committed. But it seemed that he had still been far too naive in his approach.
This time, he would cut down this unstable source of trouble once and for all. He had already earned his rewards, and there was no need to tolerate her any longer.
"Hmm? Who has been calling so many times?" The notification displaying a red '99' for missed calls suddenly caught Yusuke's attention. It was from an unfamiliar number that had apparently been calling him persistently since yesterday.
Last night, he had put his phone on silent mode and left it in his pants pocket, so he hadn't noticed the constant calls while he was busy 'working out' with Tsubaki.
{Wiggle ♪, wiggle ♪, wiggle ♪}
Just then, the phone rang again. This time, it was that strange number calling him. Yusuke frowned before answering, "Who?"
"You finally answered, Yusuke-kun~! Ahn~ I missed your voice so much~" Kalawarna's sultry voice poured through the phone from the other side. He could easily imagine her excited expression just from listening to her tone alone.
"Kalawarna? What do you want, bitch?" Yusuke narrowed his eyes and spoke bluntly. He didn't bother asking her where she had obtained his phone number. After all, how difficult could it be to acquire a simple phone number these days, much less for a fallen angel with supernatural powers who also worked as his teacher?
"How cold~ You didn't miss me even a tiny bit, Yusuke-kun~? I, on the other hand, am dying from loneliness after not seeing you for such a long time~" Kalawarna began speaking in a pitiful, almost wounded tone, but soon shifted back to that of a sultry, excited woman.
"Speak. What do you want?" Yusuke asked again.
"Hmph! I was trying to be nice, but you don't know what's good for you." Kalawarna's voice turned instantly cold as she let out a sharp, disdainful snort. "I guess by now you've realized that your beloved woman is missing, right?"
'Who is she talking about? I just spoke to Murayama… is it Aika!?' Yusuke's indifferent expression twisted into fury. "What did you do to Aika!?"
"Hahaha, it seems you really like that masochistic freak!" Kalawarna laughed proudly, then added in a teasing, playful tone, "If you want to see your lovely kinky slut, then come to the abandoned church in two hours. If you're late, perhaps you'll only find her head left."
"See you later, my beloved Yusuke-kun~ I'll be waiting for our date~" With that, Kalawarna ended the call.
"..." Yusuke stood completely motionless, his face contorting with unbridled rage, and his entire body trembling from the sheer intensity of his fury. He had expected these bitches to go after his women, but he hadn't imagined they would strike so quickly. Kalawarna and Raynare had actually decided to target Aika instead of going after him!
If they had targeted Murayama, Yusuke would have been angry, but not this furious. Unlike that crazy bitch, Aika was a sweet, cute, pervy girl. She was such a sweetheart! How dare these bitches harm her!?!!!!
"Calm down, calm down. Aika should be safe for the time being. Their real target is me, so they will keep her unharmed if they want to successfully lure me in," Yusuke took several long, deep breaths to steady himself and regain his composure. After a while, his facial expression returned to normal, but his eyes were still blazing with barely contained fury.
'System, show me the random skill I obtained,' Yusuke turned toward the direction of the park and issued his command to the system.
The arrangement was to meet them in two hours, but he didn't know whether Raynare and Kalawarna were currently stationed at the church or if they would only appear at the designated meeting time. To avoid any potential complications, Yusuke decided it would be best to arrive at the agreed upon time. Therefore, he resolved to meet with Murayama first and deal with her situation before confronting the fallen angels.
He could also blow off some steam while he was at it.
[Activating the reward: Random skill...] The system obeyed his command. Soon, a spinning wheel appeared before him, turning at such a speed that Yusuke could barely make out its contents.
The wheel continued to spin for a few seconds before finally stopping on a single skill.
[Congratulations! You have acquired the skill: Observation Haki!] A glowing golden notification appeared before him.
'Observation Haki?' Yusuke's eyes widened slightly in pleasant surprise. He hadn't expected to receive such an exceptionally useful skill. It seemed that he could acquire abilities from anime and manga as well. Up until now, the two skills he had previously acquired appeared to be original abilities created by the system, but this one was clearly from the One Piece universe.
For those who might not be familiar with Observation Haki, it is a power that grants the user an extrasensory sixth sense, allowing them to detect the presence, strength, and emotional states of others around them. Additionally, it provides limited precognitive abilities that can help predict incoming attacks or movements.
This skill was incredibly well-suited for Yusuke's current situation. His spirit stat was extremely high at the moment, ranking among his strongest attributes, and by using the Observation Haki, he could now finally guard against any wild yandere's sudden attacks or ambushes. He could even detect if any of them were secretly stalking him from a distance, and would no longer need to rely on the system's unreliable detection abilities.
'Somehow I regret using my free skill point earlier,' he thought to himself. Back then, he had gained a skill point from completing Murayama's quest, but he had chosen to use it on the Healing Touch skill instead.
...
"As they say, the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime," Yusuke muttered to himself. Less than five minutes later, he arrived at the park after running without stopping at over 150 kilometers per hour. This park was the exact same location where he had fought that stupid male fallen angel and had his first kill.
"Well, it is a suitable place to settle things," Yusuke observed as he looked around and noticed that there were only a handful of people present throughout the entire park. He walked slowly toward the fountain located at the center of the area.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, the sharp sound of something cutting through the air rang out behind him. It was a purple-black object moving at an astonishing speed, aimed directly at his leg.
Bang!
Just as the blade was about to reach Yusuke, he lightly stepped to the right. The blade continued on its path, cutting through the ground and leaving a deep mark. Yusuke's eyes locked onto the figure of the woman who had appeared. "It's been less than a day, but you've sure changed, Murayama."
"Is this how you greet your master? What a disobedient dog you are."
After the tremendous increase in his spirit and agility stats, Yusuke's senses and reaction speed had reached inhuman levels. Sneak attacks were no longer effective against him, and with the addition of his new skill, Observation Haki, it became even more hopeless for most people to successfully manage a surprise attack on him.
Murayama, still gripping her purple sword tightly, slowly turned around to face Yusuke directly. Her eyes now burned with a crazed, obsessive intensity as she spoke in a sweet tone, "Do you like the new version of me, Yu-kun~?"
...
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