Book 3: Chapter 2: Patch 1.0: The Latest Addition

Ryouta realizes the biggest change in Aiko. It took him a while – it took long enough that he is ashamed and feels unworthy of considering himself an anime-addicted degenerate, but now he knows how Aiko has changed.

She has become a total yandere, hasn’t she?

But, she seems like she isn’t just any yandere. No, she is the best kind of yandere. Ryouta has always rolled his eyes at anime whenever he’d see hyper-violent and extremely-jealous yanderes willing to kill people for even looking at their loves, or willing to even kill their loves if they do something wrong! What kind of love is that? That isn’t love, that’s just insecurity!

When Ryouta analyzes Aiko’s behavior thus far, he sees patterns from the much-less-popular variety of yandere.

The extremely obsessive kind – the kind who thinks that their love could never do any wrong and is willing to do literally anything if it results in their happiness. A normal yandere would want to be cutting off his girlfriends’ heads right now to eliminate any and all competition, but instead, she’s making peace with his girlfriends and considering herself just another member of the relationship.

Well, it’s either that or she’s just pretending to get along before going on a murdering spree when they’re all asleep. He should probably make sure there aren’t any sharp objects around… but throwing out all of his knives might be suspicious.

Then again, he is sure that Aiko would never be that kind of girl. He didn’t expect her to become any type of yandere, though. She was clingy and devoted to him as a child, but what caused this drastic… evolution of her devotion?

It may be cute to call her a yandere and align her with some character trope out of anime, but doesn’t there have to be a serious reason behind this behavior – something that made her this way? As much as Ryouta wishes he could freely enjoy the devoted obsession of a yandere childhood friend, he knows that no normal person would ever behave like this and that it is extremely unhealthy behavior.

“What are you thinking about, husband?” Aiko asks, standing on her toes with her face only inches away from Ryouta’s.

Cassandra may be intimidated by Aiko, but she isn’t going to settle for a girl she isn’t familiar with getting all close to her boyfriend! Cassandra places her hands on Aiko’s shoulders to pull her away from Ryouta.

That’s when Aiko turns her head around and glares into Cassandra’s eyes.

Cassandra lets go of Aiko’s shoulders.

The more Ryouta sees this behavior from Aiko, the more he knows that it can’t be allowed to continue. He can tell that Cassandra is feeling jealous and uncomfortable from her softened expression and how she’s not really making eye contact with anybody. Seeing her like this – seeing her feeling threatened isn’t something that Ryouta is alright with. Even if Aiko is his childhood friend and sure that she’ll be his wife someday, Cassandra is his girlfriend right now.

Ryouta places his hands on Aiko’s shoulders to gently push her away some and then grabs Cassandra’s hand to pull her closer, wrapping his arm around Cassandra’s shoulders to hug her against his side.

Cassandra doesn’t say anything nor look at anybody, but she does timidly grab onto his shirt.

He doesn’t have to say anything either for Aiko to get the message. She looks at the contact between him and Cassandra, her brow twitching, and sighs. “I’m… sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just don’t like anybody trying to get between me and my husband. After what my parents did, I’m not going to let anybody else do that ever again!” Aiko explains.

“You wouldn’t like it if we were dating and a girl you barely knew was clinging to me and putting her face in front of me, right?” Ryouta asks her.

Aiko slumps her shoulder. “I – I don’t have a problem if you want other girls as long as you want me, too, but… no, I wouldn’t like it,” she answers.

“Then try to understand how Cass and the others might feel.”

Aiko lifts her head back up and looks at Cassandra. “Sorry,” she apologizes. Then her eyes light up as if she’s just realized something. “Wait! If you were getting jealous because of me… then we totally understand each other! We’re the same! We both want Ryouta and get jealous when we’re not getting attention!”

Cassandra blinks a few times. “I – I don’t get jealous! It’s just,” Cassandra’s voice gets quieter and quieter, “Ryouta is mine a-and you’ve been on him ever since I got here,” she quickly whispers, barely loud enough for anybody to hear.

“Alright! I know what to do,” Aiko announces, opening the door to Ryouta’s apartment and then walking behind Ryouta and Cassandra to push them both out of it. “I’ll let you have some alone time with my husband to make up for it!”

Aiko shuts the door, leaving Ryouta and Cassandra alone in the hallway.

One of the elderly neighbors down the hall looks over at the commotion, shakes her head, and enters her apartment.

Ryouta and Cassandra are left standing side by side and confused by the sudden situation. However, before Ryouta can say anything, Cassandra tugs his shirt and leads him down the hall.

She doesn’t know where exactly she’s going. All she knows of this building is Ryouta’s apartment, the elevator, and the lobby. But, she lucks out and finds a maintenance closet to enter with Ryouta.

There is hardly enough space in it for both of them, their bodies pressed up against one another.

“What’s up?” Ryouta asks, his voice concerned. “We could’ve just went into the staircase or up onto the roof if you actually wanted privacy.”

“I – I don’t know where those are! And you can go on your roof?” Cassandra asks.

Ryouta takes her hand and leads her out of the closet they only just entered. The stairs are only a few steps away from where the closet was, and when Cassandra notices this, she blushes and looks away.

He is slightly worried about what might be going on in his apartment, but only Serra, Aiko, and Alice are in there. He’s sure that Serra will keep Aiko in check since they’re friends.

“Such a selfish girl. Alice just came here from across the ocean and you’re taking me away for some alone time already,” Ryouta teases.

“Shut it! You’re the one leading me somewhere!” Cassandra huffs.

“I’m just making sure my girlfriend is taken care of.”

“Dog bastard.”

At the top of the stairs is a heavy door that, when opened, reveals the spacious rooftop overlooking the city. Tall fences stand along its edges and lounging chairs are scattered around.

Cassandra slips out from Ryouta’s grasp to walk up to the edge of the roof and look out over the city. “You can really see everything from up here, can’t you?” she asks.

“Almost everything. This place is taller than most buildings, but all those financial ones in the business district are crazy,” Ryouta answers. “So, did you actually have something you wanted to talk about in private, or did you just want to listen to Aiko and have some alone time? I’ve got to say, she’s a lot pushier than I remember. Got pushed out of my own apartment.”

Cassandra turns around and looks at Ryouta with a serious expression. It’s the kind of expression which screams “we need to talk,” but fortunately, those dreadful words are not uttered. Instead, her expression softens and she has to try her hardest to maintain eye contact. “Never tell anybody about what I’m about to say,” she orders him.

“Alright. I promise I won’t. Unless you’re about to tell me that you’re planning on killing me or the others or something like that.”

Her expression turns serious again.

“Alright, alright. Seriously, I won’t.”

“You better not, you bastard… a-anyways, what’s going to happen with her?”

“Who? Aiko?”

Cassandra nods.

“Uhhh, I’m not sure what you mean. We’ll be friends and stay in touch, I guess?”

“What about all that husband talk? You knew her better than you know us, and you used to be friends as kids, and you almost got killed for her – you saved her, and she seems obsessed with you.”

Ryouta pats her head and hugs her. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you feeling this jealous before.”

“Shut it! I – I am, alright? How am I supposed to feel when some girl I don’t know is in my boyfriend’s home and acting all clingy then getting possessive when I try to pull her off you?”

“It’s alright. I would be jealous, too.”

“I’m sure Serra and Alice feel the same… they’re just better at hiding it than me. I just – you’re not going to forget about us now that she’s back, right?”

No words are spoken.

The only response that Cassandra gets from Ryouta is gentle shaking. It almost feels as if he’s crying while hugging her still. After what she said, and him supposedly crying… is he really going to leave? Cassandra’s heart sinks into her—

Ryouta bursts out laughing.

“La-laughing?! Why are you laughing, bastard?!” Cassandra shouts, pushing him off of her.

Ryouta has to wipe away his tears from how hard he’s laughing. “Am I going to forget about you and the others?” Ryouta repeats her question, still laughing. “Of course not. That’s the most ridiculous, hilarious thing I’ve ever heard you say. Sorry, but no matter who comes back into my life, even if they’re offering me billions of dollars to forget about you all, there’s no way I’m ever going to do that. Now, if they offer a trillion dollars, I might have to consider it.”

Cassandra punches his shoulder before hugging him. “You’re a bastard,” she says into his shirt.

“I’m your bastard, and it’s going to stay that way. Now, feel better?”

She nods her head against his shirt.

“Alright, then let’s get back to the others.”