Once the trio had all gotten their fill of laughter, Yuuki and Yui walked Mina back up to the apartment before returning outdoors to head to the train station. Mina seemed to have returned to her usual high-spirited self by the time she waved goodbye to Yui for the night. She even excitedly invited her back soon, which made Yui happy.
Now, the faux couple walked down the dark, deserted streets, with only the occasional streetlight to keep them company.
“Sorry you had to stay out so late because of me,” Yuuki apologized.
“No worries! I feel like my sister’d be on my case if I came home too early anyway,” Yui chuckled.
Yuuki had kept his thoughts to himself while Mina had been around, but now that they were alone, he couldn’t let Yui leave before he addressed the elephant in the room. So, at the first opportunity, Yuuki stopped beneath a bright streetlight and bowed his head to Yui.
“Thank you for what you said to Mina,” he said.
“Oh, no need! I’m the one who came up with that silly ‘fake-girlfriend’ idea and put you into this situation in the first place.”
“I mean...” Yuuki stumbled, at a complete loss on how to respond to her honesty. He felt a strange wringing sensation in his chest as indescribable feelings that were completely novel to him began to overcome him. He remained silent, his head still bowed as he tried to make sense of these strange new feelings.
“What’s wrong, Yuuki? You got so quiet all of a sudden. Ah, I get it!” Yuuki couldn’t see it, but he could just hear the smirk that had appeared on Yui’s face, “Did you finally fall for me? Hmmm?”
Those words were like a thunderbolt that blasted through Yuuki’s system. His head shot up, and his body quivered with fear. He’d finally remembered something awfully important, something that had managed to slip his mind altogether up until now.
That’s right, she... she’s the—The Seatmate Killer; the experienced hunter who’d made light work of countless unsuspecting victims whose only crime was sitting next to her. His entire relationship with Yui began to flash before Yuuki’s eyes, and he began to construct a quick theory of his own. To his horror, he began to consider the likelihood that everything that had happened recently was all part of an intricate and grand scheme that she had masterminded.
Damn, there’s a chance that she even used unplanned events to her advantage, too, he pondered. Yuuki had now gotten a taste of the true power of The Seatmate Killer; yet he had only caught a glimpse of a fraction of the frightfully deep darkness that dwelled within. Just what the hell made her this way?
Nevertheless, Yuuki had already resolved to watch over her no matter what, so he couldn’t simply throw in the towel when he felt like it.
We’ll take it one step at a time. Both of us. There’s no need to rush anything, he thought as he made eye contact with her once again. “Yui,” he said, his gaze as fond as he could manage. Yui’s expression, which had been a genuine, broad grin until that point, suddenly tensed up. “Yui, I... I...”
“Y-Yes?” she asked, so nervous that she moved nary an inch. She found the strength to awkwardly look away, perhaps because she was shaken that Yuuki had finally seen through her plans, or so he thought. Still, Yui was full of many more surprises, and she soon stared right back at him, scrutinizing his every action. Yuuki realized that she was still up to the challenge.
A devil dwelled deep within her heart, so deep-rooted that it often surfaced and compelled Yui to cause all sorts of mischief, eventually earning her that appalling nickname. She was a formidable opponent, and Yuuki knew that any misstep would risk destroying her very selfhood. That was why he believed the only path forward was to gently indulge her rather than collide with her head-on.
“I will never give up on you, Yui. You don't have to worry,” he continued.
“Hwhat. What do you mean?”
“Huh?”
The silence that stretched between them would get more uncomfortable by the second as the two of them exchanged puzzled looks. Yuuki could at least understand that Yui wanted him to elaborate on account of her stunned expression and inquiring tone. Still, words escaped him, and instead he opted to wrap his arms around Yui, embracing her and stroking her back just as he had with Mina in the apartment lobby.
✦ ✦ ✦
“GAAH!!!” she yelped. Her agonizing scream that echoed throughout the otherwise calm streets was more befitting of a dying demon than a highschool girl.
She’s finally purified, Yuuki thought to himself, deeply moved now that Yui was free of her curse.
Suddenly, a pair of hands blocked his line of sight. They grabbed onto his skull with the force of a thousand sailors, the nails nearly ripping into his flesh. Soon enough, Yui was able to tear herself away from Yuuki’s grasp.
She took a few swift steps backwards and covered herself with both arms. She shouted at him, red-faced, “Wh-What has gotten into you?! Stranger danger! Stranger danger!”
“You didn’t like that?” he asked cluelessly.
“I-It’s not about liking it or not! There’s an order you do things in! And anyways, what were you even thinking?! D-Didn’t you pull this exact same thing on Mina just a dang second ago? It’s not a move you can just keep spamming to win!”
“Well, I suppose we could take it easy.”
“Take what easy?! Y’know, like, I did tell Mina to go at her own pace, but when it comes to you, we should probably be panicking! Something’s definitely wrong with you if you keep randomly hugging people out of the blue like that!” she cried out.
“Keep it down. It’s pretty late,” he shushed her by pressing a finger to her lips. It was an effective technique, but Yui continued to glare at him furiously. Hmm, she’s a tough nut to crack.
Whatever the case, Yuuki decided to not pursue the matter any further tonight. He turned back and again began walking in the direction of the station. Yui followed him without uttering a single word.
The train station soon came into view. Yui, who appeared to have finally calmed down, caught up with Yuuki and walked right beside him.
She let out an exaggerated sigh before speaking, “Looks like I’ll have to be your fake girlfriend for the time being. I was kinda forced to say that for Mina... S-So if it becomes way too much of a pain, we could just become a real coup—”
“You went way too far back there,” Yuuki suddenly admonished her. “You can’t just boast about being funny, then fail immediately. Especially not in front of strangers.”
“That’s uncalled for! I know, maybe my Yui Finger technique will knock some sense into you! Ora ora!” she screamed while raising her arms menacingly. Yuuki only smiled, finding it amusing how quickly Yui could change moods. Yui stood still for a moment before lowering her arms. “Gosh, what am I gonna do with you,” she grumbled to herself.
They reached the train station soon after. It was bustling with people despite the late hour, and several groups of young guys and girls gathered near the entrance. Yuuki and Yui slowly made their way to the ticket gate.
“You sure you’ll be fine on your own? Want me to tag along?” Yuuki asked, turning to face Yui.
“No thank you! I can handle myself just fine!” Yui protested. She was about to say goodbye, but something about Yuuki’s expression made her speak up again in a serious tone. “I was kinda surprised, you know? You usually look pretty out of it and super relaxed... but watching you with that stern look on your face made me realize that you really are an honest and caring older brother. And I thought that was nice.”
“Damn, I should be more careful in the future, I guess. My bad,” he said abruptly.
“What are you apologizing for?” she hesitated.
“I didn’t mean to get such a weird, sincere reaction out of you. If you praise me any more, I’ll start getting the creeps.”
“... Huh?”