Chapter 86: Symptomatic Treatment

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Translator: Soafp

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After walking Nodoka home, Airi, Yuzuki, and I returned to the apartment together.

Until we found a new place to live, Yuzuki would stay in the room next door, while Airi would stay in my room.

Apparently, Nodoka had at least told her parents about me, but it was difficult to find time for them to actually meet me.

After getting out of the bath first, Yuzuki peeked into my room and spoke.

“Senpai, you're next.”

“Alright.”

Airi, who had been sitting beside me, stood up and left the room.

Yuzuki, dressed in her pajamas, remained standing there awkwardly.

After Airi left, Yuzuki stared quietly at the empty space beside me.

“You can come sit over here.”

“O-Okay…”

Yuzuki timidly approached and sat down beside me.

Before, that had been perfectly natural.

But now, an unbearably awkward silence hung between us.

Then my eyes suddenly stopped on her pajamas.

(Have I seen those somewhere before…?)

They were the familiar pajamas Yuzuki had always liked wearing.

So there was nothing strange about her wearing them.

And yet now, instead of feeling like part of everyday life, they brought back another memory entirely—

“Ugh…!”

The moment I remembered, nausea surged up inside me.

I shouldn't have remembered that.

Regret crashed over me all at once.

“W-What's wrong? D-Don't tell me it triggered your trauma…?”

Forcing the nausea back down my throat somehow, I quietly answered.

“…Yeah. Seeing you wear those pajamas in this room reminded me of that dream where you slept with Nagasawa-senpai…”

“I-I'm sorry! I'll take them off right away!!”

Panicking, Yuzuki grabbed at the buttons.

Her fingers fumbled in her haste, and eventually she tore the pajamas off with enough force to rip the fabric apart.

Buttons scattered noisily across the floor.

“…Weren't those your favorite pajamas?”

“I don't like them anymore.”

“I see…”

The moment she stripped down to her underwear, the nausea faded away.

Apparently, my trauma could be violently shaken just by something as simple as what Yuzuki was wearing.

“I'll never wear these pajamas again. No, I'll throw them away right now.”

“Sorry. I ended up making you throw away something you liked because of me.”

“I'm not attached to something like this at all. What matters is your condition, Master…”

Without hesitation, Yuzuki rolled the pajamas into a bundle and stuffed them into the trash can.

The old Yuzuki never would've done something like that.

Apparently, in her mind now, I mattered far more than anything else.

(…Still, I really am twisted, aren't I?)

Why was that?

I'd made Yuzuki throw away pajamas she treasured.

Yet the very thought sent a dark little thrill running down my spine.

At the same time, the sticky discomfort unique to trauma faded away, as though a weight had been lifted from my chest.

Maybe the key to overcoming this trauma was hidden somewhere in this.

(Ah… I get it. It's because she was an unfamiliar Yuzuki.)

The Yuzuki from my memories had already gone to Nagasawa-senpai's side.

At least right now, I couldn't tear Nagasawa-senpai's shadow away from my memories of her.

But if it was a version of Yuzuki I didn't know, that was a different story.

(So our childhood-friend memories themselves have become poison…)

What irony.

The reason I fell in love with Yuzuki, and the reason Yuzuki fell in love with me, was because we were childhood friends.

And yet, the moment Nagasawa-senpai appeared, that bond had been severed completely.

“Hey, Yuzuki.”

“Yes…?”

“I just thought of something that might really help me overcome my trauma—”

I stopped myself halfway through.

Was this really okay?

My conscience suddenly slammed on the brakes.

Wasn't I just trying to use Yuzuki's feelings to manipulate her however I wanted?

Wasn't this going far beyond simply supporting her fragile mental state?

“…No. Forget what I just said. This isn't right after all.”

“P-Please wait…! If it can help you overcome your trauma… no, if it's for your sake, Master, then this time I really can do anything. So please, tell me. I'm begging you.”

Yuzuki spoke rapidly.

Then she lowered her head deeply.

“I want you to use me, Master. Please…”

Honestly, even now, I still didn't understand.

After everything, why could Yuzuki still love me this much?

I couldn't believe I was the kind of man worth such devotion.

“I'll say this again, but I might never be able to give you anything in return.”

“It's not that I want to be rewarded. No… just being allowed to stay by your side is more than enough. I don't ever want to feel abandoned again…”

Those words made my shoulders jolt.

I see.

Yuzuki was projecting her father onto me.

Back then, I'd filled the emptiness in her heart, and now that same person was trying to leave her.

That was why she'd become even more obsessed with me.

“Then, Yuzuki. Could you throw away everything about who you used to be for my sake?”

“Huh? W-What exactly do you mean by that…?”

The moment I explained honestly, Yuzuki's eyes widened exactly as I expected.

“T-Then I'd have to throw away all the memories we built together too…”

“Well, I know that'd be impossible. I'm not saying you should forget our childhood memories or anything. Just… don't bring them up on purpose anymore.”

Of course, even that wouldn't be easy.

We were childhood friends, yet I was asking her to pretend we weren't.

If I were in her position, it would probably feel unbearable.

“To be honest, this isn't even a fundamental solution. It's just a temporary coping method. All it'll do is burden you even more.”

“N-No…! I'll do it. If it means I can help you, Master, then I can do it. I want to prove that this time, when I say ‘anything,' I really mean it.”

I looked into Yuzuki's eyes.

There was far stronger determination there than I'd expected.

Maybe back when she lowered her head and begged Airi, she'd already made up her mind.

And if that was true, then maybe the least I could do now was answer that resolve.

“Alright. Then let's start with something relatively simple.”

“Yes.”

What did someone need in order to start thinking of another person as someone completely different?

“I guess the name comes first…”

“The name?”

“Maybe changing what I call you. Like using a nickname instead.”

Honestly, I felt like it would be better if the name sounded so different that I could almost mistake her for another person entirely.

I pulled out my phone and searched for alternate readings of “Yuzuki.”

“How about ‘Yui?'”

“Huh? Yui?”

“Yeah. Since Yuzuki(結月) can also be read as ‘Yuiki.' It'd basically be like a nickname, so shortening it to ‘Yui' might work.”

Besides, “Yui” sounded more natural than “Yuiki.”

“O-Okay. Then from now on… I'll be Yui.”

“And also… hmm. What about changing your image entirely?”

“Changing my image…?”

“You've had the same style this whole time, right? If you completely reinvent yourself into the opposite kind of look, maybe you'll feel like a different person to me.”

Her hairstyle, makeup, clothes—

What mattered was distancing her from the image I'd seen in that “nightmare.”

So I wouldn't associate her with those memories anymore.

“Talk it over with Nodoka and decide together. I'll explain things to her too.”

“O-Okay… Then once I buy new clothes, I'll throw away all my old ones immediately.”

“Huh? No, you don't have to go that far.”

“But those clothes trigger your trauma, don't they? Then I don't need them anymore.”

Standing there in only her underwear, Yuzuki smiled softly.

“I realized there's nothing more important to me than you, Master. I won't hesitate ever again.”

Hearing those words, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Maybe I was the one nurturing Yuzuki's obsession with my own hands.

I could feel the weight of her emotions growing heavier and heavier.

And at the same time, I realized something else too.

That obsession—her putting only me above everything else—was unconsciously making the corners of my mouth rise.

---

The next morning.

As usual, while I was asleep, Nodoka had brought Anna-chan over.

Then together with Airi, they woke me from my drowsiness with their “morning service.”

“I guess I shouldn't be the one saying this since I'm enjoying it, but… isn't it exhausting for you two to do this for me almost every morning?”

“Not really. Besides, it's also how we check if Ren's cheating!”

“…Huh?”

“You probably wouldn't understand, Ren-kun, but the taste changes a little depending on the time. Morning ones are the strongest.”

“Exactly! So if it's morning but somehow tastes weak, that means you secretly cheated on us during the night, right?”

“…”

I really don't think I'm that much of a cheater.

And honestly, isn't that method of checking a little weird?

There were countless things I could've commented on, but I decided to let it slide for now.

Instead, I told them about what happened with Yuzuki last night and asked Nodoka for advice.

“Huh, a makeover? Then leave it to me! That's my specialty!”

“Coming from someone who reinvented herself after starting high school. Though in Kitayama-san's case, I guess it was more like a summer-vacation debut?”

“What kind of style should we go with? Yuzuki—or rather, I guess we should call her Yui now too, right?”

Just as expected, Nodoka eagerly jumped into the idea.

Her personality might be questionable, but when it came to fashion and appearance, she was undeniably a proper gyaru.

She'd even surprised Kokoa-san and her manager, both professionals in the idol industry.

Maybe Nodoka actually had real talent in this area.

“Yui, let's go to the mall today! We'll buy clothes and redo your hair too!”

“O-Okay… But is there really a style that'd suit me?”

“Of course there is! Girls with as much natural beauty as you are seriously rare.”

“Really…? Then I'll leave it to you.”

It looked like leaving Yuzuki's makeover to Nodoka would be the best option.

Honestly, I didn't know enough about that stuff myself.

I was the one who suggested she change herself.

So naturally, I should cover all the costs.

Just as I was about to take money out of my wallet—

“Ren-kun, we have something very important to report.”

“Something important?”

Suddenly Airi spoke up and held something out toward me.

“Nodoka-san too.”

“Hm? Ah, right.”

Nodoka also pulled something out of her bag.

Looking closely, both were the same kind of medicine package.

There were lines and arrows printed on the packaging.

“T-The birth control is starting to work now. S-So…”

Nodoka's face turned red all the way to her ears as she continued.

“You'll keep your promise… right?”