Creak—Bang!
The door closed, and at that moment, Shiro finally relaxed completely.
His clothes were already drenched in sweat, he felt like he had just taken a trip to the gates of hell.
He never expected that a girl with a rough, almost old-man-like personality would end up turning into a yandere, and that she would even come all the way to Izu!
His high school was far from Izu, damn it!
Was this just a coincidence, or was it fate? Wait, could there be more high school acquaintances coming after him?!
No way! He just wanted to enjoy his college life in peace!
"I mean, Shiro, what's the deal? That girl looked pretty cute to me. Didn't you always say you were a carnivore? Why not just take her down~?"
Azusa nudged Shiro with her shoulder, grinning mischievously.
She might as well have the words I want to hear all the juicy gossip written on her face. (??ω??)
"Ugh! Azusa-nee… It's complicated…"
"Come on, spill it! Childhood friend? Ex-girlfriend?"
Somehow, Azusa pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds from god-knows-where, ready to hear all the drama.
Shiro's face darkened. This place was already such a mess, where the hell did she even find those seeds?!
Sigh…
Shiro sighed. Looks like there was no avoiding it this time.
"She's neither. Kiyoko and I were just high school classmates."
"Ohh, so her name's Kiyoko~ But why was she following you? She likes you?"
"Pretty much. We used to be each other's emotional support."
(′｀;)?
Azusa looked utterly confused. Was she getting too old? Why didn't she understand what he was saying?
"Wait, wait, simplify it for me…"
"Emmm, to put it simply, we were… really close."
"Simpler."
"We were fuck buddies."
"..."
Azusa fell silent. Her entire face was shrouded in shadow, making her expression unreadable.
"Ohhh… So that's the kind of relationship you had, huh?"
Whoosh!
Azusa suddenly stood up, heading straight for the door!
"Azusa-nee!!!"
Shiro lunged forward and grabbed onto her leg!
She could not open that door! If Kiyoko was still outside, he was dead!
"You bastard! How can you say something so scummy with such an innocent face?!"
"I told you, I'm a carnivore!"
"I didn't know you were this much of a carnivore! You actually just called your ex a fuck buddy?!"
"Azusa-nee, what are you talking about? I've never been in a relationship!"
"…That makes you even worse, you scumbag!"
"I even brought a gift for you, Azusa-nee!"
"..."
After a round of wrestling, Shiro finally managed to restrain Azusa. Thankfully, she had a pretty big heart and quickly accepted this… situation of his.
She stared at him with a look of disbelief as he tidied up her room. She had assumed he was just a cute little pup, but he was actually a damn wolf cub.
"Haaah, I feel like letting you in was a mistake… Your past makes me feel unsafe~"
Shiro's face went dark. This woman was drinking beer, resting her face on one hand, and her sleepwear's shoulder strap was barely hanging on—
And this was her definition of unsafe?!
What she really wanted was for him to become an actual beast, right?!
"You're overthinking it, Azusa-nee. It was always consensual, I never forced anything…"
"Eh?!"
Azusa was surprised. Very surprised. So he was telling the truth when he said he had never been in a relationship?!
"That girl never asked you to be her boyfriend?"
She had assumed that Kiyoko was a proper, serious girl; not the type to settle for just physical contact.
"Kiyoko? I told her I wasn't interested in dating, and she kinda just… went along with it. It's really a headache."
Scumbag.
This was definitely emotional manipulation.
She was seriously considering keeping Nanaka away from this little bastard. That girl was way too pure~
Azusa felt like this whole thing was getting more ridiculous by the second. Whatever. Drink! (??? 3 ??) 🍺 glug-glug-glug
"Ahh! Beer is the best!"
She sighed like an old man. Shiro watched her with a deadpan expression. Yeah, she and Kiyoko would definitely have a lot to talk about.
If he remembered correctly, Kiyoko's hobby was… horse betting.
"(ˉ?ˉ;) Shiro, so how did you two end up separating? Did she finally realize you were just playing with her feelings? But if that were the case, why is she still following you?"
"Emmm, I think it was because she saw me coming out of a love hotel with another close friend. …Tch, I let my guard down last time."
CRACK!
Azusa crushed the beer can in her hand!
"THERE WAS MORE THAN ONE?! YOU HAD ANOTHER?! YOU WERE TWO-TIMING?!"
"(′｀;)? I told you, I'm a carnivore."
!!!
"You're way too carnivorous!"
Scumbag!
At that moment, Azusa finally saw her junior's true nature! As his senior, she felt a duty to bring him back to the right path!
"Hey, Azusa-nee, where should I put this?"
Shiro held up an enormous bra with an innocent expression, as if it were the most normal thing in the world…
"Oh, that? Just throw it in that drawer over there."
Azusa didn't even bat an eye, casually pointing to the nightstand.
These two… They had zero sense of embarrassment between a man and a woman!!!
"Alright, enough cleaning! Shiro, come drink with me!"
"Come on, Azusa-nee, I've had enough for today. My head's still spinning…"
"Shut up! We're playing strip rock-paper-scissors!"
"Please, let me join!"
"Pffft! Hahahahaha!!!"
-------------
Izu University - Classroom
Shiro stared at the two weirdos slumped over their desks in front of him, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
"So… things turned out exactly as I expected, huh?"
Compared to their miserable state, Shiro had an amazing time last night. At the very least, he learned how to play strip rock-paper-scissors!
At first, when he played against Azusa, he was like a total idiot, losing every single round.
However…
The moment he was down to just his underwear, something inside him awakened!
From that point on, he never lost again!
Unfortunately, after hearing about Shiro's glorious comeback, even Azusa got cold feet. In the end, they both walked away with a combined total of three pieces of clothing left.
Any more, and things might've crossed into R-18 territory.
That night, Shiro crashed on Azusa's floor, there was no way in hell he was gonna risk a yandere camping outside his door.
Even coming to school today, he timed it perfectly to avoid any unwanted encounters.
Regardless of everything else… Shiro survived another day!
"Uhh… can you walk in a straight line? Watching you stumble around is painful."
Shiro side-eyed Kitahara, whose entire body swayed with every step. Even Chisa refused to walk near him, opting to stride ahead on her own.
"You bastard! And whose fault do you think that is?!"
Iori roared in frustration. This guy was the one who started all that crap yesterday!
The worst part? After stirring things up, Shiro had the nerve to pass out, leaving him and Kouhei to suffer another round of drinking games with the upperclassmen!
For the first time in his life, Iori realized that having a high alcohol tolerance could be a curse.
"I mean, you looked like you were enjoying yourself. You played strip rock-paper-scissors beautifully~"
As he spoke, Shiro casually pulled out a photo; one of Iori, completely naked, standing triumphantly on top of a table.
"You bastard, why the hell did you take a picture?!"
"To preserve the precious memories of your youth~"
"Who the hell wants memories like these?!"
"..."
Listening to their insane conversation behind her, Chisa wished she had four legs so she could run away faster!
For the first time, she realized… her house was way too far.
That's right, their destination was none other than the Kotegawa family's dive shop!
For Iori and Chisa, they were simply going home. But for Shiro, this was a formal visit! He even prepared a gift, some high-quality baijiu!
Now, he finally understood, this was the ultimate gift for a house visit.
Extremely practical!
"We're back." ×3
As the three of them pushed open the doors to Grand Blue, Shiro was no longer afraid of this place.
However…