The question that had been nagging at her deep inside finally had an explanation.
Rui Tachibana finally understood.
She'd considered something like this before—the hero-saves-the-damsel scenario. Only if her sister had been in danger and Lin Ye had stepped in to help would it explain why her sister was so friendly toward him, even willing to hand over her own sister to him.
But if it were simply a matter of danger, why wouldn't her sister say so? Why wouldn't Lin Ye say so either? Both of them acted as if something held them back from speaking.
If it was something strange, though, everything made sense.
Rui Tachibana understood now. It all clicked into place.
She knew she just needed to find a moment to ask Lin Ye directly to confirm it.
As long as Lin Ye didn't flatly deny it, that would mean her guess was correct.
And afterward, she could use that to test her sister. If her sister didn't deny it either, then she could be certain—the doubt that had lingered deep in her heart would finally be explained.
Relief. And a sense of peace.
To be honest,
Rui Tachibana had once worried about something else entirely—that Lin Ye had feelings for her sister, had taken a liking to her, even done this and that with her.
And that in the end, her sister, with no other choice, had chosen her as a way to handle Lin Ye.
At the time she'd thought it quite likely. She'd asked about it more than once, but neither Lin Ye nor her sister would say a word.
That had only made her more certain.
But now, it was fine.
Now the doubt in her heart had finally found its explanation.
Rui Tachibana pressed her lips together, her eyes sweeping over their surroundings.
She really hadn't expected that after running into something this strange, she'd stumble onto the truth she'd longed for all along—even though she'd been willing to pay for it with her most precious possession, her own body, only for that man not to need it.
Every time she thought of this,
she felt a twinge of frustration. It had made her doubt herself for a while. She knew she wasn't some peerless beauty who could compare to a girl like Yukino Yukinoshita, but surely she wasn't so unattractive that even throwing herself at a man with no strings attached would get no takers!
It had made her wonder if she was actually ugly, if she just wasn't good-looking enough—if that was why Lin Ye wouldn't accept her, wouldn't touch her.
Now, though,
she realized it wasn't her problem at all. It was Lin Ye's problem—his own way of thinking, his own views, that made him hold back, made him unwilling to touch her.
Any other man would never have behaved this way.
And because of that, her feelings toward Lin Ye had become something unusual, something unexpected—starkly different from how she felt about ordinary men.
At the very least, Lin Ye showed no desire toward her—or if he did, he restrained it well, handled it with a clear head. Toward a man like that, Rui Tachibana's regard for him only kept growing.
And now that she'd guessed the reason behind it, her fondness for him had grown even more.
As for what happened at the hotel tonight… she found she didn't mind it at all. That wasn't lechery on Lin Ye's part.
She understood completely now.
Rui Tachibana's thoughts had spun through a whole cascade of realizations in her head.
"Student Tachibana, what are you thinking about?"
The voice suddenly pulled Rui Tachibana's thoughts back to reality. Only then did she realize she'd zoned out.
Cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
If something strange had suddenly appeared, she wouldn't even have had time to react, let alone run.
"Sorry, Student Yukinoshita, I…"
Yukino Yukinoshita shook her head. "It's fine. There's no danger right now," she said.
If real danger showed up and gave them no time to react at all, then no amount of vigilance on their part would matter anyway.
For now, the thing to do was trust Lin Ye—trust his judgment.
That was the best approach.
Wait here for Lin Ye. If some strange, dangerous creature appeared, the best choice would be to flee, to get away, and let Lin Ye come to their rescue.
Yukino Yukinoshita's gaze drifted toward the direction where Lin Ye's figure had disappeared.
Rui Tachibana caught the moment.
Those cool, composed eyes were bright, flickering with an indescribable depth of tenderness.
Yes.
Tenderness.
Rui Tachibana had never been in love before, but even she could tell at a glance that this was deep affection.
Yukino Yukinoshita had feelings for Lin Ye.
Could it be…
"Student Yukinoshita, are you and Lin Ye—"
Rui Tachibana asked carefully, as if worried Yukino Yukinoshita might get upset.
Some girls, when asked about their romantic lives, instinctively reacted with irritation, even outright rejection.
She wasn't sure whether Rui Tachibana was that type, but she'd rather be prepared just in case.
"We're a bit closer than you think,"
Rui Tachibana's eyes widened in stunned surprise.
Closer than she thought?
Then…
That gave her plenty to think about.
She truly hadn't expected Yukino Yukinoshita to give an answer like that.
"That makes sense, actually. Otherwise, how could any girl put up with something like what happened in the infirmary!"
Of course, some girls might also keep quiet about such things simply to protect their own reputation.
Even though Yukino was the victim in that infirmary incident, if word got out, it would be extremely damaging to her as a girl.
The students of Sobu High would chatter endlessly about it. Those piercing looks would keep coming, wave after wave. Without a strong heart and a resilient spirit, a girl could easily sink into extreme negative emotions—Devoured, swallowed whole, and eventually collapse completely.
Even someone like Yukino Yukinoshita, with all her family's standing, couldn't fully withstand that kind of malice from her peers.
At the very least, Rui Tachibana admitted to herself that she couldn't have handled it. She wasn't particularly bothered by most things, but even she couldn't have stood up to that kind of scrutiny and gossip.
In her heart, Rui Tachibana knew clearly she wasn't capable of that. Looking at Yukino Yukinoshita, she guessed the other girl's tolerance was probably a bit better, but even Yukino couldn't have been completely unaffected either.
Yukino Yukinoshita watched the realization dawn in Rui Tachibana's eyes, but she offered no explanation.
She and Lin Ye really were quite close now.
If Rui Tachibana could connect the dots on her own, that wasn't a problem.
"Student Tachibana, I hope you won't go spreading this around."
"I won't, I won't, I promise I won't spread it around. Please don't worry, Student Yukinoshita, I won't start any rumors."
Spreading it would do her no good anyway—it would only hurt her standing in Lin Ye's eyes.
Right now, Rui Tachibana cared quite a bit about how she looked in Lin Ye's eyes.
Without even realizing it, she'd become the kind of girl who worried about her image in some boy's mind.
Before, that would have been unthinkable to her.
The thought left her a little puzzled, but in the end she accepted it.
Accepting her true feelings in this moment—that was her choice.
Yukino Yukinoshita's trust in Rui Tachibana grew somewhat, based on her attitude and reaction just now.
This girl probably wasn't the type to gossip. If she had been, Yukino wouldn't have kept quiet about it either—she still hadn't told anyone about what happened between her and Lin Ye in the infirmary.
That jerk.
Every time Yukino Yukinoshita thought of Lin Ye, anger flared up inside her—she was furious, genuinely furious. That bastard had no restraint at all, no sense of when or where was appropriate, always stirring up her feelings wherever they were.
Lin Ye liked thrills.
Yukino Yukinoshita was more and more certain of it now.
Otherwise, why would he do things like that even at school? He craved the stimulation—he wanted to see how she reacted when their surroundings put her on edge, wanted to watch her interesting responses to that pressure.
Under the night sky full of stars,
the evening breeze blew on without pause.
The two girls stood beneath a streetlamp, feeling the warm orange glow it cast down on them.
For the two of them,
this light was one of the few warm, comforting things they could still feel right now.
Time passed, second by second.
Everything around them seemed to sink into an eerie silence—nothing but ambient noise remained.
Even the occasional car horn that used to drift by had vanished completely.
It was as if none of it had ever existed—all of it gone.
The silence was so unnatural it pressed down on the two girls like a heavy stone.
Rui Tachibana instinctively tried to steady her breathing, but her heart began pounding faster than expected.
'Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt…'
A faint crackle of electricity sounded.
Just as Yukino Yukinoshita turned to find the source of the sound, the bright streetlamp above them began to flicker with a buzzing static.
On and off, on and off,
the light shifted between blinding white and dim shadow.
This—
this abnormal sight instantly sent both girls' hearts into their throats.
Even without having watched many horror movies or ghost films,
they both instinctively understood that this sudden shift wasn't some random coincidence. Something must have disturbed or affected the streetlamp to make it behave like this.
Something strange had arrived.
The two girls instinctively drew closer to each other. With Lin Ye nowhere in sight at the moment, the two of them pressed close without thinking.
Only your own kind could be trusted.
Nothing else, right now, felt reliable at all.
"Bzzt, bzzt, bzzt."
The crackle of electricity grew stronger.
"Student Yukinoshita, should we…"
Nothing else had appeared around them—only the streetlamp, flickering and stuttering endlessly.
For Rui Tachibana, that unending flicker kept striking at her, casting a heavier and heavier shadow over her.
She wanted to leave, wanted to flee immediately toward the direction Lin Ye had gone.
Even so—
Rui Tachibana glanced over and saw that the direction Lin Ye had left in was completely dark.
The streetlamp there was lit, but its light seemed to be swallowed whole by some deep darkness, unable to illuminate the space it should have reached.
"Wait. We can't lose our heads."
Yukino Yukinoshita forced herself to stay calm, to think rationally.
Nothing strange had actually appeared yet.
If they panicked and fled now, it would only put them in greater danger.
So,
they should stay put.
"Should I… call Lin-kun back?"
Rui Tachibana thought of Lin Ye. If he showed up now, they'd surely be fine.
Because she trusted Lin Ye.
Lin Ye could give her a sense of safety.
"Wait. Just wait a moment."
Yukino Yukinoshita didn't immediately agree to calling out to Lin Ye for help. "We're still safe for now. It hasn't shown itself yet. If we call out now, we might disrupt whatever plan Lin Ye has in place."
"Then what do we—"
Yukino Yukinoshita took out her phone and typed out a message.
—We're safe for now, but the streetlamp has started flickering. Nothing strange has appeared yet.
She sent the text.
Rui Tachibana watched, a flash of astonishment crossing her eyes.
She hadn't even thought of that, but Yukino Yukinoshita had—and had acted on it.
It was probably the most sensible thing they could do right now.
At that,
Rui Tachibana couldn't help but marvel—no wonder Yukino Yukinoshita ranked first academically in their second year at Sobu High.
Even in a situation this dangerous, she could stay this composed.
There was no way Rui Tachibana could match that.
Lin Ye was probably drawn to her intelligence just as much as—if not more than—her outward beauty.
Compared to Yukino Yukinoshita, Rui Tachibana really felt she couldn't measure up at all.
The temperature seemed to drop even further.
Yukino Yukinoshita and Rui Tachibana kept their full attention on their surroundings, afraid to miss even the smallest detail.
Just then—
a loud, sharp clang rang out.
It sounded like something knocking over a trash can.
Rui Tachibana's heart lurched. Her eyes snapped toward the sound at once, locked on, unwilling to look away even for a second.
That direction—
something strange might be coming from there.
"Help…"
"Someone help me!"
A cry for help suddenly rang out.
Footsteps pounded closer—thump, thump, thump.
Rui Tachibana looked over and saw a figure suddenly appear from where the sound had come.
It was a woman.
Yes,
a woman. Her clothes were disheveled, and she ran with wild, desperate steps. Her long golden hair caught the faint light, unmistakable even from a distance.
"Help… help me…"
She spotted Rui Tachibana and Yukino Yukinoshita in the distance, and her eyes lit up, her desperation deepening.
At the same time,
she glanced back over her shoulder.
As if something were chasing right behind her,
a dark shape appeared.
It instantly seized both Yukino Yukinoshita's and Rui Tachibana's attention.
Was that… the Strange?
The golden-haired woman was being chased by something strange.
"Help, help me!"
The golden-haired woman staggered as she ran, with Rui Tachibana and Yukino Yukinoshita ahead of her looking like her only hope of salvation.
'Splat…'
But she was moving too fast.
After a few more steps, she lost her footing and fell hard to the ground.
"Uwaah…"
A hoarse cry of pain rang out. The golden-haired girl struggled to get up, but she seemed badly hurt, and she couldn't manage it right away.
"Help…"
"Help me, please help me…"
She kept struggling, reaching out a hand toward the two of them, hoping someone would help her.
Behind her, the dark shape moved forward slowly. A faint hissing sound drifted through the air now and then.
"Please… please help me…"
Rui Tachibana swallowed hard, a surge of impulse rising in her chest.
She quickly weighed the distance between them and came to a conclusion—she thought she could make it over there, help the girl up, and get her to safety in time.
'Tap…'
Rui Tachibana took a step forward.
But before she could take a second step, someone grabbed her wrist tightly.
Who was it?
She turned to look.
It was Yukino Yukinoshita.
.
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