Chapter 1
2837 Words
***
Lunch break.
Yuuki set out to the bathroom after having lunch at his desk, only to run into a rowdy pair in the hall.
He tried walking past them, only to be approached by the needlessly well-maintained spiky, well-combed, silky haired duo.
“Yo, Yuuki. Fallen for the seatmate killer yet?”
“No need to put up a brave front, Narito. We’ll always be here for you.”
Standing in Yuuki’s way, blabbering their mouths off, were his classmates Keitarou Hayami and Kento Sonada.
Forming the seatmate killer casualty league, the two had once professed their feelings for Yui, only to be rejected.
As much as Yuuki would’ve liked to ignore them and walk away, the two stood in his path like a forced encounter. “You two seem to be getting along.”
“Yo, don’t go lumping me with this idol crazed p*****t over here.”
“Refrain from calling me that, please. I find no pleasure in being lumped with a failure of a normie like you either.”
The two locked gazes, sparks flying everywhere.
It appeared as though solidarity between the seatmate killer casualty league’s members was at an all-time low.
“This guy started raving about idols completely out of the blue.”
“Completely? Please, you make me sound like I’m some idol newbie.” Sonada pulled out his phone. “You don’t understand anything, Hayami.” He muttered, taking a step toward Yuuki. Yuuki took a step back, only for Sonada to forcefully close the distance. “Look, Narito.” He said, showing Yuuki his phone. “This is Miyorin-- my oshimen. Cute, isn’t she?” Shown on screen was a close up shot of a smiling girl.
She was cute, sure, yet Yuuki couldn’t help but feel an urge to show him Yui’s picture--the one--and say he liked this one better.
But why add fuel to the fire? It’ll only make him a hundred times more annoying.
Yuuki contemplated as Keitarou poked his head in from the side, peeking into the screen.
“Doesn’t she kinda remind you of Takatsuki? Bro, I thought you were over her!”
“N-No! Yui Takatsuki just happens to resemble Miyorin!”
“What’s the difference?!”
And so, the two started fighting. Shoving and pushing, they almost bumped into a girl walking down the hall.
She shot them an angry glare, having just barely dodged out of the way. “Go outside if you want to act like a bunch of children.” Her voice was cold, piercing. She wore a stern, rigid expression, her almond eyes alternating between Tweedle-dee and Tweedledum. “I could’ve gotten seriously hurt, you know?” She scoffed, scowling at them.
The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Undeterred, Keitarou, a wry smile on his face, went, “Sorry, sorry but you dodged it, didn’t you? Killer reflexes, by the way. Haha...”
“Haha? What if I impacted the floor at a weird angle and ended up a cripple? Would you be willing to take responsibility?” Keitarou fell silent this time. She stared him down, frowning. “Also, what’s with the get-up?”
Keitarou’s shirt wasn’t tucked in, his tie loose, his chest exposed down to the second button; Warranting a warning if caught by the wrong teacher.
It seemed like she’d continue the onslaught, only to suddenly close her mouth, averting her gaze then directing it toward Yuuki. She gave him a firm glare before silently turning around, her black shoulder-length hair swaying as she stormed off.
Keitarou shrugged as he watched her leave, whispering, “Yikes, that’s one nasty stare. What’d you do?”
“Beats me. Who even is that?”
“Knowing you, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d stepped on a landmine without even realizing.”
A landmine that left me completely unscratched? We’re strangers, what landmines are there to step on?
“Actually wait, you don’t know her? She’s fairly famous.”
“She is?”
Shock colored Keitarou’s face as Sonada stroked his chin, muttering, “Rio Hanashiro, Year 2 Class 4. One of the prettiest girls in school but certainly not without her issues, to put it lightly.”
Sounds eerily familiar. Yuuki now knew two of the prettiest girls in school.
She did, from what Yuuki had glanced, have a really well-put together face: commanding eyes, straight nose, pretty facial features. Add her slender figure and you had a beaut different from Yui in type.
“What you saw back there was her default modus operandi.”
“I know she’s in the disciplinary committee and all but what’s with the stuck-up tone? “Read one too many of those mangas, I bet.”
“No, she was in the disciplinary committee, up until last year. That’s just how she is.”
“That makes it so much worse. What’s got her panties in a twist anyway, talking down to an apologetic guy like me. Reminds me, this dude I know got into the same class as her last year. Said she’d nag him non-stop, 24/7. No wonder she’s hated. Actually, how do you know so much about her?”
“Heh, because she and I are in a constant tug-of-war over the top spot. Rivals, if you will. I’m sure she keeps tabs on me too.”
“Whatever you say.” Keitarou groaned, frowning. “Either way, no amount of hot can save that one. No charm, nada, only a permanent ‘watched my parents get murdered in cold blood’ face. Sitting next to her must be t*****e. I guess you could say she’s a seatmate killer... in a way.”
“If Yui Takatsuki is the seatmate killer then I suppose she’s the seatmate breaker. Instead of charming her seatmate, she nags them until their spirit is completely broken. Anything you’d like to add, Narito?”
“Wouldn’t it be fun to see them duke it out? ’Zilla vs Kong style.”
“Yuuki, I swear to... Wait, did she just go inside our classroom?” Keitarou went up to the door and peeked inside. “Get over here. Now.” He whipped his head around, gesturing us over with his chin. “Look. You’ll never believe this.” Keitarou pointed toward a seat in the back near the window--Yui’s seat--where the killers were having a nice, friendly chat.
“I’ve... I’ve never seen anything like it.” Sonada squinted, pinching the arms of his glasses.
A curious smile spread across Keitarou’s face. “Be a bro, Yuuki.” He nudged. “Go listen in on what they’re saying.”
“I don’t have the energy for it.”
“Energy? You put on that innocent face of yours, you sit down at your desk, and you listen. Easy, yeah?”
That innocent face of mine? Before Yuuki could voice his protests, Keitarou shoved him inside the classroom.
Defeated, Yuuki tottered across the back row, over to his desk. He took a seat, put on ’that innocent face’ of his, and listened or rather was subjected to their conversation.
“Pretty please with a cherry on top.”
“Oh, alright. If you insist.”
What Yuuki heard was Yui’s usual self and Rio’s unimaginably soft tone of voice.
He glanced over, only to see Rio standing beside Yui’s desk, all smiles. It’s like she’s a completely different person
“You haven’t even been taking notes? Come on, Yui.” Rio scolded her, giggling with a smile.
Yui sat at her desk, playfully swinging Rio’s arm around. “How you like my secret weapon, Yuuki?” She suddenly tossed the conversation over to him, lifting Rio’s arm up by the wrist. It appeared this secret weapon of hers was Rio all along. “Rio, Class four. She’s super smart, so I’m having her tutor me. I can already taste victory!” Yui explained as Rio locked a killer stare onto Yuuki.
Off-put, he tried not looking Rio’s way as much as possible. “You two seem to get along.”
“Oh, we’re max hearting it. No ribbon or ciao here.”
“Yui, please!” She said as her mouth busily shifted from closed to grinning and back.
She seemed awfully comfortable around Yui. Maybe they go way back.
“Are you childhood friends or something?”
“No but we were seatmates last year. What luck, right?”
The standard seating arrangement was boy, girl, boy, girl but exceptions did happen for one reason or another, this likely being one of them.
So no, they don’t go way back but they were also seatmates? Yuuki knitted his brow. I didn’t think much of their relationship at first but this piece of information, it changes everything. An intricate deductive web that would make Watson pale unraveled within Yuuki’s mind. A b****y, gruesome battle between the seatmate killer and the seatmate breaker has already broken out, and likely concluded as well. Judging by Rio’s demeanor, the victor was plain to see. She fell to the seatmate killer’s wrath, succumbing to her wicked charm. Such was the only reasonable conclusion. It appears the seatmate killer hunts both men and women alike.
“The dreaded seatmate killer...”
“Why are you giving me that face?” Yui feigned complete ignorance.
It was his first time seeing them together, so clearly, they didn’t spend much time in each other’s company.
Yuuki couldn’t help but imagine Rio being called upon to serve as Yui’s secret weapon. Yet another poor casualty. Rio was no doubt merely a pawn in the seatmate killer’s twisted games.
While Yuuki once feared meeting her gaze head on, he now looked at her with pity in his eyes.
“What’re you staring at? Got something to say?” She snarled, her voice strikingly colder than the one she addressed Yui with.
Of course I have something to say, but I can’t just tell Rio she’s under Yui’s influence, not with Yui around. Rio wouldn’t believe my words in her brainwashed state regardless. Yuuki fell deep into thought.
As if sensing something was about to go awry, Yui got up from her seat. “You’re making the scary face again, Rio!” She said as she got behind her and put her arms around Rio’s back, giving her a nice squeeze
“Nyuu?!” Rio let out the cry of an unidentified animal, her cheeks, her ears, her forehead turning pink in real time. “Y-Yui! G-Get off!”
“Relax, relax.” Yui the evil poked her head out, clinging to Rio’s back. “Look, Rio’s not scary, she’s moe!”
“And her face is as blushed as yours.”
“H-Huh? When have I ever blushed?”
“When haven’t you?”
“That’s just hot blood rushing through my veins. Double the power level!” Yui blabbered off some nonsense as she petted Rio’s head, playing with her hair. “Can’t get enough of that silky smooth goodness. I told her to grow it out, you know.”
“Can I try?”
“Stay away.”
I was just joking…
Yui brought her face toward Rio’s hair, sniffing it. “Mmm, what a lovely smell. Jealous yet?”
“Your smell is lovely too, Yui.”
“Pff!” Yui’s face instantly turned a shade of pink to rival Rio’s. “P-Perv! Watch out Rio, he’s got an odor fetish!”
“Why do you know what Yui smells like?” All the color suddenly drained from Rio’s flushed face, an aura so menacing you could almost hear the gogogo’s enveloping her.
Maybe I went just a little too far. Yuuki looked to Yui for help.
“What’re you looking at me for?! You brought this upon yourself!”
Yuuki had been abandoned.
Rio leaped in front of him, protectively bringing her hand out in front of Yui. “Oh, you’ve done it now. Also, what’s with those pity-filled eyes?” Her gaze was antagonistic, brimming with hatred.
Yui inserted herself between the two, frantically shaking her hands in front of Rio’s face. “Rio, you’re doing it again!”
“I don’t like the way he looks at me.”
“He’s a bit of an oddball, you see. Don’t just sit there Yuuki, apologize.”
“Sorry.”
“See? He’s a kind soul at heart. There, there, it’s okay.” Yui pretended to pat Yuuki’s head,
which only made Rio’s face twist even more.
She’s a wild one too... Having sworn to reform Yui, tending to her victims was part of Yuuki’s job. Introducing her to the other casualties might be beneficial.
Yuuki pointed toward the door, where Keitarou and Sonada were presumably spying on them. “Come with me. Your friends are there, waiting for you.”
“Huh?” Rio turned to the door, Keitarou and Sonada promptly taking cover like a bunch of veteran spies. “What friends?”
“The ones over...” Yuuki looked over, only to see Keitarou frantically beckoning him over.
They can sense her menacing aura all the way from there.
“Excuse me.”
A proper plan of action appears to be in order.
Yuuki hunched over, slipping past Yui and Rio, only to be greeted with, “Have you lost it?”
However, the duo promptly exchanged delighted glances.
“Did you see that? Man, what difference a single smile can make.”
“Indeed. She might hate our guts but that smile... certainly packs a punch. If utilized correctly in a carrot and stick approach, even I might bend to her will. She breaks her seatmate’s spirits, reducing them to thralldom; hence the seatmate breaker.”
“I see.” Yuuki nodded.
“Now hold on a second.” Keitarou frowned. “The seatmate breaker? You’re seriously trying to force that? What a talentless, stealing hack, right Yuuki?”
“I think it sounds cool. The seatmate breaker. Has a powerful ring to it, no?”
Keitarou fell silent, pinching the bridge of his nose.
They exchanged banter, observing the two from a distance, when Rio suddenly turned their way, making a beeline straight toward them. “What are you staring at? You’re starting to get on my nerves.”
Rio gave each of them a firm glare, settling on Yuuki once more. Yuuki turned toward Sonada, diverting Rio’s gaze to him.
“It appears your luck has run its course, Rio Hanashiro.” The diversion attempt failed but Sonada jumped in front of Yuuki and began monologuing, so it worked out in the end. Sonada approached Rio, a bold smile on his face. “I believe this is our first time meeting? Yes, it is I, Kento Sonada.”
“Who?”
With one word she almost broke Sonada but he persisted nonetheless. “I understand it’s difficult to accept that standing before you is none other than the constant thorn in your side, the top of the grade.”
“Who? You’re in my way.”
Keitarou hastily dragged him out of the way as Sonada still refused to back down. “You heard the woman.”
“I understand it’s difficult to accept that no matter how much you struggle and weep, I’ll always be just out of reach, the top of the grade.”
“Top? You came in fifth last time. Just admit you’re nothing but a filthy otaku already.”
“No, you don’t understand, the seatmate killer threw me off my game! If you sum up all my grades from last year, I’m easily at the top!”
The grade’s top filthy otaku explained when, suddenly, Yui appeared.
“You okay, Rio?” Yui poked her head out from underneath Rio’s shoulder, pressing her body against Rio’s back.
Rio jumped, her stern expression softening. “I-I’m fine. They just got on my nerves a little.”
“Keep them in check, alright?” Yui gazed over everyone as she came in to diffuse the situation. Seemingly weak to Yui’s stare, Sonada and Keitarou looked away. “Okay, bathroom time! Wanna go for a quick piss, Rio?” Yui egged her on.
Rio’s face caught fire. “Y-Yui. How vulgar.”
“Ohoho. Care to join for a wee tinkle, Rio dear?”
“That’s not any better...” Rio wasn’t fully pleased but she went with Yui anyway.
As the two walked away, she shot them one last angry glare.
“Cut. It. Out.” Yui blocked her eyes off, throwing them a smile.
Yuuki found her smile fake, almost like she was forcing it. Keitarou and Sonada, meanwhile, were entranced with the seatmate killer’s smile.
“Not bad. Not bad at all.”
“Indeed. Two beauts, chumming it up.”
The two exchanged nods as they watched Yui and Rio leave.
Yuuki slipped away in their mental absence, finally free to visit the bathroom.
- Writer
