#Japanese otome game

[toshiakikijima]

Shunichiro Tachibana’s Last Season Spoiler

I have to be honest.

I’ve been a huge reader of Irresistible Mistakes since 2017, when I was just a freshman in high school. Back then, I was captivated by its melodramatic flair, and the plot had this exciting, forward-moving energy that kept me hooked. I vividly remember when Kijima, Kiriya, and Shunichiro’s first season debuted on the standby app—it felt fresh, engaging, and full of promise. But after season four, the magic started to fade. The pacing became unbearably slow, and the storylines dragged on without delivering any real payoff for the readers. It became a frustrating read.

Take Tachibana’s arc, for example. In his final season, the first part opens with the MC reflecting on changes within the company, which had become a more progressive and liberal environment. By now, the MC is a part-time employee because she’s juggling her career as an award-winning novelist. That’s when the familiar trope hits: she starts feeling sick, notices she missed her period, and takes a pregnancy test. She’s pregnant. Yay, right? Except, this is where it all feels strangely… underwhelming.

Tachibana, noticing her odd behavior, asks what’s wrong, and to my surprise, he reacts to the pregnancy news with happiness—totally different from his panicked reaction in season three during the pregnancy scare. They visit a maternity hospital (which I’m sure surprised Kings of Paradise fans), and it’s confirmed she’s six weeks along. He tells her to take it easy at work, and she eventually informs her co-workers that she’ll be working from home. Kiriya, Yuuki, Minoru, Sakura, and a couple of others are supportive, but here’s where things start to crumble for the MC.

Morning sickness hits her hard, to the point where she’s losing weight and can’t keep anything down without getting sick. Tachibana advises her to take it easy since it’s her first pregnancy, and there’s a lot of internal dialogue between them—mostly arguments. Then, Tachibana’s parents drop by, furious they weren’t told about the pregnancy sooner. His father asks the MC if she plans to contribute anything to the family or if she’ll be ‘lazy’ unlike Shunchiro’s mother, who supposedly did it all without help. This scene just grates. After they leave, Tachibana pleads with the MC to stay with her parents for the remainder of her pregnancy, but she refuses.

Part two of the last season focuses on them making amends, and now she’s going on maternity leave. Minoru and Toma are emotional, telling her she can always come back after the baby is born. Tachibana, trying to be thoughtful, makes her dinner when she returns home, and she starts reminiscing about their breakup in NYC. He apologizes for his earlier comments about sending her home and promises she can always lean on him because pregnancy isn’t easy.

And yet, despite all this support, the MC continues to feel sick and tired constantly. Things get so bad that Tachibana secretly hires a maid to take care of the chores she can’t manage. This, of course, leads to another fight. The words of her father-in-law echo in her head, making her feel useless, and it drives her to argue with Tachibana again. Eventually, he sends her to stay with her parents for a few weeks, and she feels much happier there. However, Minoru reaches out, wanting to meet up about a project she helped with before leaving. During their meeting, he confesses that people at work see Tachibana as distant and depressed.

When she returns, she and Tachibana make up, and then—boom—the baby girl is born. And that’s it. The storyline feels like it builds up to this massive crescendo, but the conclusion falls flat, like an ending that was filtered through just to tie up loose ends.

The last three seasons really dragged. Instead of exploring more nuanced themes—like political family dynamics, which is what initially drew readers to Shunichiro’s arc—they spent far too much time portraying Tachibana as this ‘flawless’ man while the MC came across as a complete mess. Voltage missed the opportunity to introduce new characters or develop more meaningful family drama. And honestly, I was hoping for a boy instead of a girl, which could’ve added more layers to the family dynamic.

Ultimately, this chapter felt like a slow march toward nothing significant. It lacked the emotional depth and plot progression I was hoping for. I haven’t even bothered to read the other endings yet, because frankly, this one left a bad taste in my mouth.

[thecuddlymuffintop]

Tonight, at 7 pm CST, I will be playing Fyhir's game pick for Short Game Fridays.

The cursed My Horse Prince.

Feel free to join when I'm live with the above link.

[rs-camroll]

|| unfortunately, I've forgotten the name of this game, so in case y'all know the name! Pls do share ||

Yokai-ish otome game !!

It was the bird dude for me y'all ✋😳 remember downloading this game cause I fell so hard for him. Couldn't continue playing it, due to the constant need of an translation app in order to understand the dialogue😞

Wish they would have an offical english version of this game 😩🙏

#∆

[xinyuehui]

ᓚᘏᗢ Yes, Cat Caretaker ♡

[theyareweird]

Diabolik Lovers: All Species Explained (Requested)

Diabolik Lovers* is a Japanese otome game franchise. In it, a human girl finds herself in a reverse harem with thirteen demons total; depending on the source material. Due to there being several different types of demons, this article will explain all the races of demons and their place in society. Please note: No fan theories or headcanons (fan interpretations or additions of a fictional story that aren't canon or confirmed to be canon by the creator) will be included in this article.

Demons: Ancestor

The Ancestors, also known as the Founders, are the first demons to exist in the Demon World. As such, they are a superior demon race as the highest rank of demon. The most powerful type of demon race belongs to the First Blood Clan (DL game: Dark Fate). Being the ancestor race of all the demon kinds, they possess all the basic racial skills of the four superior demonic sub-races, but they don't possess their weaknesses. Ancestors have the ability to transform into bats, snakes, wolves, and eagles. They also have the most powerful strength, speed, regenerative abilities and healing saliva. In addition, Ancestors have the most enheightened vision, smell, and hearing. Finally, they can use magic, summon familiars, mind control, turn humans, teleport and fly whenever they please. The only way ancestors can die is by decapitation (DL manga: Young Blood & OVA anime). Due to all of this, They are the strongest race in the Demon World and the Human World. Despite this, Ancestors are at their most powerful during a solar eclipse [mistranslated as lunar eclipse] (DL Seas 2). As the original demons, they're active at night (DL game: Haunted Dark Bridal, Laito's Maniac Epilogue).

Known Clan Members: Carla and Shin Tsukinami, Cordelia Sakamaki, Yui Komori [has Cordelia's heart], Menae [deceased], Krone [deceased], Gisubahha [deceased], and Felzein [deceased] (DL manga).

Due to being a hybrid, Cordelia is considered a First Blood Clan member because a half-breed demon's rank is determined by the strongest blood flowing through their vains. Thus, her vibora blood doesn't matter. However, it's likely Cordelia doesn't possess all the same powers of an ancestor. If she does, they're all weakened versions of a founder's abilities.

Demons: Vampire

Pureblood Vampires are one of the four superior demonic sub-races, which are all equal to one another in rank. They belong to the Bat Clan. This is because vampires have the ability to turn into bats (DL game: Haunted Dark Bridal & manga). Vampires also possess inhightened smell, vision and hearing. Other abilities include: using magic, summoning familiars, regeneration, healing saliva, teleportation, turning humans, super strength and super speed. During a full moon, a vampire's power is at its peak to fly and use mind control (DL game: HDB, Reiji's Route). They can die if their heads are cut off or if they are stabbed in the heart. However, if a vampire's body is too damaged to heal fast enough, it can be life-threatening, even if not directly. Their weakness is silver; specifically, silver weapons. Vampires are weakened during a solar eclipse [mistranslated as lunar eclipse] (DL Seas 1). Additionally, a vampire's vision diminishes in sunlight. They can eat human food, but it doesn't nourish them. Although all races suck blood, only vampires have blood as the main source of food.

Known Clan Members: Karlheinz, Beatrix, Christa, Richter, Shu, Reiji, Laito, Kanato, Ayato, and Subaru Sakamaki.

Demons: Vibora

Viboras are one of the four superior demonic sub-races, which are all equal to one another in rank. They belong to the Snake Clan. This is because viboras have the ability to turn into snakes. Viboras also possess inhightened smell, vision and hearing. Other abilities include: using magic, summoning familiars, regeneration, healing saliva, turning humans, teleportation, super strength and super speed. During a full moon, a vibora's power is at its peak to where they can fly and use mind control (HDB, Reiji's Route). They can die if their heads are cut off or if they are stabbed in the heart. However, if a vibora's body is too damaged to heal fast enough, it can be life-threatening, even if not directly. It's unknown if they possess the same weakness for silver as vampire's do. However, Pureblood viboras are weakened during a solar eclipse (DL Seas 1). Their vision also diminishes in sunlight (HDB Laito's Maniac Epilogue). Viboras can suck blood, but human food is their main source of nutrients.

Known Clan Members: Burai [deceased] (DL manga), Cordelia Sakamaki, Yui Komori [has Cordelia's heart], Zweig (DL game: Lost Eden, Reiji's Maniac 10) and Zweig's unknown younger sister.

Demons: Wolves

Wolves are one of the four superior demonic sub-races, which are all equal to one another in rank. They belong to the Wolf Clan. This is because wolves have the ability to turn into the canines. Wolves also possess inhightened smell, vision and hearing. Other abilities include: using magic, summoning familiars, regeneration, turning humans, healing saliva, teleportation, super strength and super speed. During a full moon, a wolf's power is at its peak to where they can fly and use mind control (HDB, Reiji's Route). They can die if their heads are cut off or if they are stabbed in the heart. However, if a wolf's body is too damaged to heal fast enough, it can be life-threatening, even if not directly. It's unknown if they possess the same weakness for silver as vampire's do. However, Pureblood wolves are weakened during a solar eclipse (DL Seas 1). They are also active at night (HDB Laito's Maniac Epilogue). Wolves can suck blood, but human food is their main source of nutrients.

Known Clan Members: Gottfried [deceased], Eberto (DL manga).

Demons: Adler

Adlers are one of the four superior demonic sub-races, which are all equal to one another in rank. They belong to the Eagle Clan. This is because Adlers have the ability to turn into eagles. Adlers also possess inhightened smell, vision and hearing. Other abilities include: using magic, summoning familiars, regeneration, turning humans, healing saliva, teleportation, super strength and super speed. During a full moon, an adler's power is at its peak to where they can fly and use mind control (HDB, Reiji's Route) They can die if their heads are cut off or if they are stabbed in the heart. However, if an adler's body is too damaged to heal fast enough, it can be life-threatening, even if not directly. It's unknown if they possess the same weakness for silver as vampire's do. However, Pureblood adlers are weakened during a solar eclipse (DL Seas 1). They are also active at night (HDB Laito's Maniac Epilogue). Adlers can suck blood, but human food is their main source of nutrients.

Demons: Impure Vampires

Impure Vampires are an inferior demon race as "half breeds." They’re either half biologically human or they're humans who were turned into vampires. As such, impure vampires maintain their human appearances, memories, thoughts, emotions, skills and habits from their human lives. Despite being part of the Bat Clan, their rank is beneath the four sub-demon species due to not being a pureblood demon. Pureblood vampires hate the scent of impure vampires because they "smell like the dead." This is due to them being reborn as animated corpses upon being turned (DL Seas 2). Impure vampires have increased strength, speed, vision, smell, hearing, healing saliva, turning humans, regenerative abilities and can turn into a bat. But they’re much weaker and slower than a purebloods. During a full moon, an impure vampire can fly and teleport because their powers are at their strongest. They can't use magic or sommon familiars. Impure vampires are also weak to silver weapons. It's much easier to kill them, especially with hunter bullets, because their skills and defences are weaker. Unlike pureblood vampires, they see perfectly in sunlight (DL game: More Blood). Impure vampires' powers aren't affected or weakened during a solar eclipse. This likely applies to all inferior sub-races/impure viboras, wolves and adlers. Finally, all human food nourishes them, but blood is still their main food source (DL, Seas 1).

Half breeds from the three remaining superior sub-species are never mentioned or shown in the franchise. However, considering all demons suck blood, it's likely the impure Viboras, Wolves and Adlers can turn humans as well.

Additional Clan Members: Ruki, Kou, Yuma and Azusa Mukami.

Demons: Dream

There isn't much known about these type of demons, let alone what clan they belong to. However, they are likely an inferior demonic sub-race. Succubus/Succubi [female/females] and Incubus/Incubi [male/males] are dream demons. They enter people’s dreams and take their life energy. The naughty demons do this by causing humans and other demons to have lewd dreams (HDB Laito's Maniac Prolonge). These demons are immortal and are active at night. It's quite obvious they possess magic as well.

Demons: Ghoul

Ghouls are at the bottom of the hierarchy in the Demon World. They're an inferior demon sub-race who are compared to humans and used as slaves by the four superior sub-demon races. Ghouls belong to the Crow Clan. This is because they can turn into crows. Although ghouls are immortal like all the demons listed above, they don't possess any magic. Ghouls don't have enheightened senses, super speed, super strength or regenerative abilities. They also can't teleport or fly in their anthropoid forms. As a result, ghouls are the easiest demon to kill. Finally, they're active at night (HDB Laito's Maniac Epilogue).

Known Clan Members: Yuuri, unknown Sakamaki family butler and unknown male (DL game: Lost Eden, Kino).

Humans

Most humans live in the Human World unknowingly alongside the demon species as some demons prefer to live in the human world. Some humans, like Seiji Komori, are Vampire Hunters (HDB & DL manga). But they keep their occupation a secret as Yui was unaware of this about her father. Vampire Hunters hate vampires, yet they can be hired by vampires to kill their own kin for the sake of having one less demon roam the earth (HDB Reiji's Route). Although they're considered the weakest species to ever exist, humans can climb the social hierarchy in the demon world. They can have romantic relationships with demons and reproduce with them due to demons requiring their blood. However, the best way for a human to integrate into demon society is to have their heart replaced with a demon's heart. Unfortunately, this turns the human into an unknown race.

Demons: Unknown Races

Depending on the demon heart's rank, the human will be considered the same rank as the demon heart they possess because it's pumping the specific demon race's blood throughout the person's body. As such, the person is no longer completely human. Yui has the heart of a half Vibora Princess and a half First Blood Princess. Due to this, the human girl is considered as such and is treated equally to both said demon races. Thus, she can continue any demon race bloodline (DL Seas 1, DL manga, DL game Haunted Dark Bridal & DL game Lost Eden, Reiji's Maniac 10).

Kino is another unknown demon race. He's a creature created from the essence of Karlheinz. Due to this, it can be argued he is his illegitimate son in a strange sense, thanks to being made from his DNA. After all, another living individual related to someone's genetics is the definition of a person's offspring. However, Karl doesn't consider Kino his son because he wasn't conceived naturally. His demon rank is unclear as he possesses a seemingly perfect copy of Karl's powers despite not being a vampire (DL game: Lost Eden, Kino's Route).

What do you think? Does this information help you understand the species and various demon races better? If not, why? Please share with me!

Requested: @nunezs-stuff

[equinox-86]

𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐲!!

⋆┈┈⋅───⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰───⋅┈┈⋆

Shin was playing too rough... or maybe he wanted blood?

MY GOD HIS WHINING IN LP IS SO CUTE

Shin is a big boi in my hc. I have no idea how accurate their size difference is here. I might make Shin even more bigger and bulkier in his doggo form.

[vynnyal]

Of all games why this one

[majunju]

I found so many new cool games from you:0 Can you do a list of what you play, please? It’s mostly otome, right?

oh of course! these are the otome games that i'm currently playing/have played recently:

virche evermore (switch)

birushana: rising flower of genpei (switch)

jack jeanne (switch)

even if tempest + even if tempest dawning connections (switch)

lovebrush chronicles (this one's a phone game but it's still classified as an otome game)

yumekuro (same as above)

[drawnbync]

Obey Me Beel

•

•

Happy belated birthday for my fav sin, gluttony~ (of course happy bday to belphie as well) I can't believe obey me ended... I need to finish the game fr

•

•

[blupengu]

Felt obligated to share my favorite sketch from the Virche fan book!

Sweeties 😭

[toshiakikijima]

VOLTAGE 😭

LET ME HAVE HIM

[letimerald]

Praying for an FD y´all-

[blerdyotome]

Japanese Indie Otome You Can Play in English

[xinyuehui]

⁺˚⋆｡°✩ Celestial ₊ Message ✩°｡⋆˚⁺

[theyareweird]

Diabolik Lovers: How Turning a Human Works (Requested)

Diabolik Lovers* is a Japanese otome game franchise. In it, a human girl becomes a sacrificial bride to thirteen demons; depending on the source material. Some character routes depict the girl having turned into a demon. Due to this, the process of turning will be explored in this article. Please note: No fan theories or headcanons (fan interpretations or additions of a fictional story that aren't canon or confirmed to be canon by the creator) will be included in this article.

Turning a Human

There are two ways in which a human can be turned into a vampire or some other demon: The first is the long process. This involves a human having their blood sucked repeatedly and/or having sexual intercourse with a demon, but the latter isn't necessary. Regardless, the human will gradually become a demon (DL game: Haunted Dark Bridal, Shu's End 2).

Second is the short process. This involves having a human drink a demon's blood. A human will then be automatically turned into a demon. However, Karlheinz [possibly Carla and Kino] are the only demons capable of doing this due to their immense power. Karl demonstrates this on the four Mukami brothers as the children were on the brink of death (DL anime, seas 2 & DL game: More Blood). Despite this, demons like Shu and Laito are still able to use their blood to speed up the process of turning Yui (HDB game, Laito's Route Dark 4 & End 1).

Karlheinz offering Ruki life as a vampire (anime).

Yui's Exception

As the Diabolik Lovers franchise progressed, many things about the universe were further explored. Although Yui could become a vampire in Haunted Dark Bridal, later games go into detail about her special circumstance of possessing a demon's heart. The moment a human becomes a demon is called, "the awakening." Laito admits he wanted to turn Yui into a vampire, but he couldn't. She had yet to change despite how the process should have been completed already. "I don’t know whether your heart’s the blame for that, or if it’s something entirely different…" (DL game: Dark Fate, Laito's Maniac Epilogue). Despite Yui already being an unknown demonic sub-race, Ruki realizes he can't turn Yui into a vampire, nor can anyone else turn her into another race, until she chooses her partner (DL anime seas 2).

Sacrificial Brides

Since the Sakamaki brothers were told to live in a mansion in the human world, they have been receiving sacrificial brides every now and then. This occurrence doesn't happen often as the brothers had no idea why Yui entered their home outside of Shu, who had been notified by their father but failed to inform them (DL anime, seas 1).

Prior to Yui, all the brides were directly sent over as food (HDB, Laito's Maniac 7). They have all died because no bride is typically strong enough to withstand the intense blood-drinking needs of the Sakamaki brothers. Since the brothers are Purebloods, they require a significant amount of blood to survive because human food doesn't nourish them. As such, a bride's blood is highly sought after. Being drained of blood by one or two vampires on a daily basis can be overwhelming for a human body to handle. In addition, the more aggressive brothers might not always regulate their feeding from lack of control. Overall, a bride is often not prepared to handle the intense feeding sessions as their drained of life and killed. Due to this, none of the girls were around the Sakamaki brothers long enough to be turned into vampires.

Because neither of the Sakamaki brothers have ever turned a human into a vampire before, Laito speaks his mind and says he wonders what type of demon Yui will become (HDB Laito's Maniac Epilogue).

What do you think? Does this information help you understand how humans are turned into demons? If not, why? Please share with me!

Requested: @nunezs-stuff

[alicescaling]

Season 2 Volume 1 After #026 ft. Tsubaki & Yuusuke

<— Previous || Masterlist || Next —>

Just to clarify beforehand, this chapter takes place in Tsubaki’s POV.

It’s also the last chapter of Season 2 Volume 1. Please enjoy!

After #026 ft. Tsubaki & Yuusuke — To a rival in love, beyond the smoke.

I used to think that the more time I had off, the better.

But lately, I feel as though I don’t quite think that way anymore.

For example, today. This morning, she said this to me.

“I have today free. So I thought that I could spend it cleaning my room, so that I can finish it all in one go.”

Once upon a time, I may have replied,

Tsubaki: “Ehhhh–, but today’s a precious day off, though, why would you wanna do that! You can clean anytime you want, go somewhere with me instead!”

Or something like that, I think. Or better put, I would have definitely said that.

And yet, today, I’d replied like this,

Tsubaki: “Ah, I see. I’m also gonna be home today, so feel free to let me know if you need a hand–”

Which totally sounds like something that Natsume would say, right? What’s up with that, me pretending to be a good person.

Plus, in the end, she got a phone call from a friend and went out anyway.

Well, to my relief, her friend seemed to have been a girl, but still– the idea of me just silently seeing her off before would have been crazy talk.

(But that’s what I said I’d do, after all.)

Back at Makuhari Messe, after the anniversary event, I took her to the coastside and we talked.

And I heard about what happened with Azusa and Natsume.

I knew I had to do something about it, promising to speak to the two of them.

And so I did. I confronted them both separately, and seriously scolded them.

Luckily, the both of them listened, and stopped troubling her.

…. that should be enough. I mean, it’s perfect.

But the thing is, because of that, it’s also been difficult for me to bring myself to talk to her, too.

Naturally, of course. No matter how you put it, trying to make a move on her after saying that stuff to Azusa and Natsume would be downright conniving.

Plus, when I actually did try, Azusa had told me,

Azusa: “Hey, Tsubaki. …. that’s what we call stealing a march on. Understand?”

– all terrifyingly. What’s more, Azusa had said it with this super scary smile. This super, super scary smile.

(Well, I guess it can’t be helped for now–)

That’s what I tell myself.

…. but because of that, the unbelievable started to happen– I’m left with way too much free time on my days off and nothing to fill it with.

★☆��

With nothing to do, I laze around all morning until the afternoon comes around.

(I’m getting kinda hungry.)

I head to the kitchen on the fifth floor.

There, I find Yuusuke collapsed face down on the table.

Tsubaki: “What’re you doing?”

Yuusuke: “Huh? .... oh, Tsuba-nii.”

Yuusuke looks over at me with vacant eyes.

Yuusuke: “This’s the worst…. I’m so hungry.”

Tsubaki: “Huh? Is there nothing to eat or something?”

I open the fridge. It’s empty.

I look in the cupboard, too.

Usually, at worst there would at least be some sweets, but today, there’s nothing.

Yuusuke: “Kyo-nii called me just now.”

Yuusuke mumbles.

Yuusuke: “Said he’s gonna get home late.”

Tsubaki: “Eh? You’re joking, right?!”

If both she and Kyo-nii are gone, that means that there’ll be no food to eat.

(Nothing here’s gonna be enough to satisfy my hunger.)

I think for a moment. At times like this, my brain starts racing something fierce.

Suddenly, an idea pops into my mind.

Tsubaki: “Hey, Yuusuke. I’m pretty sure that you’ve got your driver's license, right?”

Yuusuke: “Yeah. Why’re you askin’?”

Tsubaki: “I’ve decided!”

I exclaim as I give Yuusuke a slap on the back.

Yuusuke: “Ow! The hell, Tsuba-nii?”

Tsubaki: “Go get the car. We’re gonna eat us some yakiniku!”

Today’s been suuuuuper boring. At times like this, you’ve gotta eat a bunch of delicious food to try and turn the mood around. Besides, nothing beats the feeling of a full stomach!

Yuusuke: “For real? Yay!”

Yuusuke gives a shout of joy. However, suddenly, his expression changes, and he eyes me with deep suspicion.

Yuusuke: “Hey… hold on, is this one of your schemes or something, Tsuba-nii?”

Tsubaki: “Huh?”

Yuusuke: “Just so y’know, I don’t have any money.”

C’mon, is this really how a little brother should be acting towards his big bro who’s just offered to treat him?

Tsubaki: “I’m not gonna try and sponge off you–”

Yuusuke: “In exchange for treating me to meat, are you planning on asking me for some crazy favor in return?”

Tsubaki: “Hey–”

As one would expect, I reply.

Tsubaki: “Don’t doubt me like that. I just thought I’d be nice and treat you to some precious, delicious meat you could eat to your heart’s content.”

Yuusuke: “Uuu…”

Yuusuke’s complexion changes.

Tsubaki: “I know a good place, but it’s pretty far from here.”

I tell Yuusuke about a restaurant that I went to with some fellow voice actors a little while ago. The food’s real good, but it’s in Shinjuku, which means getting there without a car’d be difficult.

Tsubaki: “I don’t mind going on my own, but if I do, I won’t be able to drink. So if you drive, I’ll pay for the food. That’s all.”

Yuusuke: “... okay, I get it. I’ll go.”

Yuusuke stands up.

Yuusuke: “Lemme go get ready. I’ll call you on your cell when I’ve got the car outta the driveway.”

Finally, he leaves the kitchen.

(That guy’s not charming in the least.)

But I guess that’s also kind of a relief, in a way.

(If I just wanted someone to drive me, Natsume would do, but I don’t wanna do anything one-on-one with him.)

If the two of us are alone together, the topic of her might come up. And right now, I’d rather avoid that.

(In that respect, Yuusuke’s a hundred percent safe. He might seem carnivorous, but in reality, he’s a total herbivore.)

★☆★

… naive. I was naive.

Yuusuke’s such a damn carnivore it’s almost offensive.

Yuusuke: “Excuse me! Can I get three servings each of some sirloin, kalbi, n’ skirt steak? Oh, and pile ‘em all up as much as possible, please.”

Hey, so, whatever happened to having a little modesty? Some reservation? Where the hell’s that much meat supposed to even go?!

(It’s kinda strange…)

I find myself growing curious.

Yuusuke likes her doesn’t he?

I mean, there’s absolutely zero chance of anything coming from it, but still— Yuusuke really, absurdly likes her, right?

If that’s the case, then isn’t his situation pretty difficult? Shouldn’t he be brooding about it?

To be honest, if it were me in his shoes, I don’t think I’d be able to just sit there and shove my face with yakiniku like him.

Tsubaki: “... hey.”

I can’t help but stay curious, the thought weighing on my mind, and decide to ask about it.

Yuusuke: “Huh? Tsuba-nii, you not gonna eat that kalbi?”

He isn’t listening at all.

Yuusuke: “If you aren’t, I’ll take it…. mmm, delicious! It really melts on the tongue!”

Tsubaki: “Oi.”

Yuusuke: “Ah, ‘scuse me. Could we get some zabuton? Three servings, please.”

Tsubaki: “Well–”

Yuusuke: “Aw, I’m outta kimchi. Excuse me, can I get another helping!”

Tsubaki: “Listen up!”

I raise my voice, shouting, and finally, Yuusuke lifts his face from where he’d been looking only at the table before now.

Yuusuke: “What’s it, Tsuba-nii?”

I peer through my mug of beer to see Yuusuke’s cheeks are stuffed full of meat, all puffed out as if he’s some sorta squirrel.

Tsubaki: “I’ve got something I wanna ask you.”

I take a swig of my beer before placing the mug back on the table.

Tsubaki: “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

Yuusuke’s face is puzzled.

Yuusuke: “Her?”

Tsubaki: “When I say ‘her’, there’s only one girl that comes to mind, right?”

Yuusuke: “..... ah.”

At last, Yuusuke’s face shifts to one of understanding. He gulps down the meat in his mouth before speaking.

Yuusuke: “You’re talkin’ about her.”

Tsubaki: “Yeah, her.”

I lean forward in curiosity.

Tsubaki: “You do, don’t you? Still love her, I mean.”

Yuusuke: “Ahh.”

Yuusuke nods.

Yuusuke: “I love her.”

His voice is incredibly clear.

Yuusuke: “I’ve always loved her. Even now, my feelings haven’t changed a bit. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving her.”

Yuusuke smiles. It’s a perfectly clear smile.

(W-what?)

I’d expected his answer to be yes. But his behavior’s totally different than what I’d imagined.

There was zero trace of hesitation or embarrassment in his response.

It was super confident.

(What’s up with this guy? What happened?)

Yuusuke looks at me with a confused expression.

Yuusuke: “Tsuba-nii, you good? The meat’ll burn if you don’t eat it.”

And then he starts eating again. After he says that, he acts like nothing even happened.

Tsubaki: “Hey, do you think that your feelings for her will ever amount to anything?”

Yuusuke: “Huh? …. I wonder.”

Yuusuke chews as he answers.

Yuusuke: “Of course… it’s not like… I’m giving up.”

He swallows. Immediately afterwards, he goes to shove more meat into his mouth.

Yuusuke: “If I had to pick between yes or no… I’d say it ain’t likely… that’s… what I feel… yeah.”

Tsubaki: “If that’s the case, then there’s no point, right?”

Yuusuke: “In what?”

Yuusuke places some more meat on top of the grill.

Tsubaki: “I mean, if you love someone like that, and you don’t have any hope with them, that’s painful, isn’t it?”

Yuusuke: “.... I guess.”

The smell of cooking meat wafts up from the table.

Yuusuke: “Hey, Tsuba-nii.”

Yuusuke sets his chopsticks down, and stares directly at me.

Yuusuke: “But isn’t that what it means to love someone?”

Tsubaki: “Huh?”

His voice is calm.

Yuusuke: “When you love someone, I don’t think it matters that much whether or not you end up together.”

Tsubaki: “Hah?!”

The hell’s he talking about?

Yuusuke: “When you love someone, it isn’t for some sorta reason or motive. You love them, so you love them. There’s no turning off those feelings. If you’re gonna just suddenly stop loving someone because they won’t look your way, then maybe you didn’t have the right to love them in the first place, y’know.”

Tsubaki: “.......”

The aroma of grilling meat grows stronger.

Yuusuke: “Aw, it’ll burn.”

Yuusuke goes back to wolfing down the meat again. Meanwhile, I’m left dumbfounded, completely speechless as I watch on.

(Who is this guy? It isn’t the Yuusuke that I know, is it?)

There’s gotta be a zipper on his back where some other guy’s gonna pop up from any second, right?

(.... I give up.)

I feel like someone’s completely beat my head in with a thwack!.

…… someone that you love.

…… someone that you’re with.

Until now, I’ve always thought of them both as the same thing. No– until now, I’d never thought about it, because I’d considered it a universal concept.

But then Yuusuke said that they’re separate.

And then.

If you stop loving someone just because you can’t be with them, then you had no right to love them in the first place.

He’d gone as far as to say that.

(.... what the hell.)

Irritation begins to well up in my mind.

Unbelievable. Before now, I’d never thought that Yuusuke’d ever teach me anything.

And yet he’d taught me something as important as this.

Tsubaki: “.... hah.”

I let out a large, deep sigh.

(But isn’t what he said right?)

Yuusuke’s words begin to sink into my mind, little by little.

Tsubaki: “..... I get it.”

A considerable amount of time passes before I open my mouth.

Tsubaki: “Yuusuke, you’ve got some real cheek, y’know.”

Yuusuke: “Haah? What’s this all’ve a sudden, Tsuba-nii?”

Tsubaki: “Shut up, I’m gonna head to the bathroom.”

I finish up the rest of my beer, and get up from my seat.

Tsubaki: “Eat as much as you’d like.”

Yuusuke: “Thanks! In that case, I’ll help myself. ‘Scuse me!”

I get up from the table, leaving Yuusuke behind as he yells out with the menu in his hand.

★☆★

After I leave the restaurant, I head to the parking lot and get inside of the parked car.

A little while after this, I call Yuusuke on my cell.

Yuusuke: “.... hey.”

Tsubaki: “Yo, Yuusuke. Y’see, the truth is, I forgot my wallet.”

There’s silence on the other side of the call.

Tsubaki: “My bad, but I’m gonna have to ask you to foot the bill. I’ll be waiting in the car.”

Yuusuke: “Y-you’ve gotta be joking!”

I suddenly hear a loud voice yell out.

Yuusuke: “I THOUGHT YOU WERE TREATING ME!!! Besides, I don’t got that much money on me…”

Tsubaki: “Don’t worry. If push comes to shove, you can always just call Kyo-nii to bail you out.”

I disregard the shouting from the other side of the phone before hanging up.

I lean back into the passenger’s seat.

Tsubaki: “.... I won’t lose.”

Right. I won’t lose because of something like this.

Tsubaki: “Even if…..”

My cell rings.

Yuusuke: “Tsuba-nii!”

When I pick up the phone, I’m again met with the sound of Yuusuke screaming.

Yuusuke: “Bastard, you already paid with your card ahead of time!!”

Tsubaki: “Huh, really? Sorryyyy, I must’ve forgot.”

Yuusuke: “Don’t screw with me! Y’know how freaked out I was ‘cause of that!?”

Tsubaki: “This much should be fine.”

I say.

Tsubaki: “Even if it was just for a moment, you got ahead of me, so you’ve got to endure at least this much.”

Yuusuke: “HAA?! Tsuba-nii, I don’t understand a word of what the hell you’re saying!!”

Tsubaki: “It’s okay, just get outta there and head over to the car. C’mon, hurry up so we can get home quick.”

After I say this, I ignore Yuusuke’s still-angry yelling, and hang up the phone again.

Tsubaki: “...... no matter what.”

I mumble.

Tsubaki: “No matter what happens in the future.”