Chapter 19: Doomed To Be Yandere Trope’d?
“Mio, are you heading to your part-time job?”
“Yeah, the afternoon shift at FamilyMart Convenience Store. It won’t be too late, same as yesterday—off at eight.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Mom just wanted to give you a small gift.”
Natsume Chiho held a small box and walked up to Natsume Mio, unzipped her backpack, and stuffed it inside.
“Huh?” Natsume Mio was slightly stunned and said, “Mom, what is this?”
“Something to protect yourself with.” Natsume Chiho smiled faintly and waved at Natsume Mio. “Come back early, okay.”
“Oh, okay…”
Natsume Mio reached into her backpack while heading out the door and took out the thing her mom had just put in.
She took one glance and hurriedly shoved it to the very bottom of her backpack.
It was actually a box of condoms… How could it be something like this!
She glanced back at her home’s main entrance. Natsume Mio grumbled inwardly—it must be because of what she told her mom that morning, which made her think of this…
That scene was just like back in junior high when she got her first period; her mom had said the exact same thing.
“Mio, here’s a small gift for you~”
Then she stuffed a pack of sanitary pads into her hands.
At the time, seeing the bloodstains on the sheets for the first time, she was so embarrassed she wanted to secretly wash the quilt herself.
Now, six or seven years later, it was still a small gift, but the thing inside the small box had changed…
Her backpack suddenly felt heavier…
But she didn’t need her mom to worry about stuff like this. She wasn’t that little girl from back then anymore.
Clearly… she had already prepared herself…
Mio touched the small pouch on the side of her crossbody bag.
Actually, yesterday when she went to the convenience store for her part-time job, she had already put one in there.
Of course, she hadn’t used it.
She didn’t know if she’d need it, but it was definitely better to be prepared. What if A Jian hadn’t bought any?
If it came to that moment and they had to pause to run to the convenience store, all the mood would be gone.
First the train, then transferring to the bus, she made her way along the familiar residential area path.
She still had a bit before her shift started, so she leisurely walked up to the apartment where Sakamoto Ken lived, leaned against the wall, and took a look.
Her gaze swept over window after window, stopping at the middle one on the second floor—that was A Jian’s room.
But she couldn’t see anything. In the bright daylight, the room inside was darker than outside, so looking from the street could only show the sky reflected on the glass.
Though there was nothing interesting about a rundown apartment, Natsume Mio still stood there for nearly five minutes.
Until her mobile phone alarm went off, reminding her she had only five minutes until her shift, then she turned and hurried toward the convenience store.
……
Inside the room.
Sakamoto Ken had slept from six in the morning until noon and had only woken up a little while ago.
He had just heated up last night’s bento in the microwave oven and eaten it, and now he sat by the window flipping through the manuscript in his hands.
The daylight here was good; pulling open the curtain meant no need for lights.
He’d noticed Natsume Mio the moment she appeared downstairs and had been silently watching to see what she wanted.
Sakamoto Ken was certain Natsume Mio couldn’t see him inside the room; after all, he’d tested the glass reflection himself before.
Once, in broad daylight, passionate sounds came from next door—even carefully distinguishing, it seemed like three different women.
So, with a mindset of gathering material, he went downstairs to try peeking through the windows.
But with the light difference between inside and outside during the day, he could only see the boring sky reflection.
He tidied the manuscript paper and picked up his pen, but suddenly lost the will to keep drawing.
He picked up his mobile phone and browsed a few manga apps he often checked.
Kadokawa Bookstore had updated a very famous series a few days ago《 Steins;Gate: Pandora of Eternal Recurrence》’s manga adaptation.
Actually, in his previous life he’d already read it; this was the bridge between the main story and the sequel 0.
If it were before, seeing the《 Steins;Gate》 title wouldn’t have stirred any special feelings in him.
But now…
“Everything is the choice of the Steins;Gate.”
Sakamoto Ken silently recited the line.
The world wasn’t a single timeline but composed of countless parallel realities, each representing a possibility.
If you tried to change a tiny event in the “past,” the entire world line would shift because of it, similar to the butterfly effect.
But in Steins;Gate, the key was that the many world lines converged; in the same convergence world line, no matter the changes, it would lead to one predetermined ending.
So, if his rebirth to ten years ago, and the changes he made in the “present” world line, were equivalent to changing the “past” from his previous life’s perspective?
Wouldn’t that mean he’d still end up getting the yandere trope in the end?
Once bitten by a snake, afraid of ropes for ten years.
Sakamoto Ken rubbed his temple. He’d thought he’d desensitized himself mentally, but subconsciously he still hadn’t escaped that psychological shadow.
I’m definitely overthinking it…
The yandere trope premise was meeting all three of them again and developing intimate relationships with them at the same time.
Most crucially, after developing those intimate relationships, getting caught by them.
Sakamoto Ken had reviewed it—in his previous life, if he’d been just a bit more cautious, he wouldn’t have reached that ending.
Now reborn, no matter what, he wouldn’t develop the same plot again.
At least, right now he only knew Natsume Mio in person offline.
Even though he’d formed some kind of connection with Mikazuki Haruna, at most she was just a manga serialization rival he’d never met.
According to his previous life’s timeline, it would still be nearly half a year before he first met Haruna.
By then, he’d already moved out of this rundown apartment to somewhere closer to school.
……
Mikazuki Haruna contacted the chief editor directly on LINE.
Though it was weekend rest time, the chief editor replied immediately.
Ono Tomohiro: 「Miyuki Haru Sensei, the editor-in-chief said that if there were no particularly strong rivals recently, your work would be scheduled for main magazine serialization, but we can’t confirm yet.」
Miyuki Haru: 「Chief Editor-san, do I look hopeful?」
Ono Tomohiro: 「This week’s reader survey is out. Your ranking is decent, but there’s another work performing exceptionally strong.」
Miyuki Haru: 「Which one?!」
Ono Tomohiro: 「《Chainsaw Man》, currently ranked first among new works. You’re second.」
Miyuki Haru: 「…I’ve read that one. How far behind am I?」
Ono Tomohiro: 「《Chainsaw Man》 has 6719 recommendations. Miyuki Haru Sensei, your work has… 2811 votes.」
Miyuki Haru: 「That much behind?!」
Ono Tomohiro: 「Don’t lose heart, Miyuki Haru Sensei. We tally the full month’s votes. If your later content gains popularity, it’s still possible to surpass it.」
Mikazuki Haruna leaned glumly against her chair back. The computer screen in front of her displayed the《Chainsaw Man》 serialization page.
《Chainsaw Man》’s second chapter already had over three hundred posts in the comment section, while hers had just over a hundred, many of which were her own.
Haruna hadn’t expected Chainsaw Man to manage two updates a week.
When she drew《Young Lady》, it was because she had complete illustrations in her mind that she could draw so fast.
Was this Sakamoto Ken really a genius?
Thinking back carefully on her dream experiences, that Sakamoto Ken rented an apartment near Kanzaki Art Academy, and she’d visited several times.
That means, if the dream was real, I should be able to find him.
With that thought, Haruna grabbed the car key on the desk, got up, and headed downstairs.
She hurried to the garage in the yard and started up her Porsche.
