Kiril sat with her knees curled up, arms wrapped tightly around them as she stared down. Light from outside cast soft glows across the fabric of the tent.
Yuuto sat beside her, chewing on a packed sandwich, casually drinking all her water.
"Thanks," he said after finishing, flopping down on the tent floor; limbs sprawled like he didn't have a care in the world.
"…What now?" she asked, eyes drifting toward him.
"Now we wait until tomorrow," Yuuto replied, gaze fixed on the tent's ceiling. "I still need to decide if I'll explain why I joined this trip or keep hiding. Either way, I plan to leave here as a registered hunter."
"I see…" she murmured, looking away.
Questions circled in her head like gnats.
'How did you even get here? What about everything Uncle Wren told you? Did that mean nothing? Why would you hide being a hunter from me…?'
But curiosity quickly gave way to fear. Hojin's sneering face surfaced in her mind. She bit her lip, pressing it tight.
"What about that мудак…? He might still say something. You know… to everyone."
Yuuto turned toward her.
"So?" he said plainly. "What if he does?"
"…!" Her breath caught.
"If you want…" Yuuto sat up, eyes locking with hers. "I can make an announcement before he does."
"…What?" she blinked, thrown off.
"Something like... hmm. 'Hey, Kiril's flat.'" His face was completely serious.
"…дурачок!" she snapped, cheeks burning. "I told you, it's bandages! My chest isn't that small! It's at least—!"
"It's not that," Yuuto said, suddenly steady. "You're scared we won't be friends if he outs you, right? And tells everyone you're a girl."
"…!" Her breath hitched. She lowered her gaze.
"How… do you know that…?" her voice trembled.
"I heard it via a bug I planted on Hojin," Yuuto deadpanned.
"…Be serious," she muttered, frowning.
'I am,' He thought smugly.
"Naturally—I 'asked' that big oaf what the rush was about." He looked at her. "You held off on telling me because of that? Because you were worried we'd drift apart?"
She looked away, unsure how to answer. Haruno was never this blunt. Never this bold.
It almost felt like a stranger was sitting beside her.
"…Just…" she bit her lip. "Who are you? You're not… Haruno, are you?"
Yuuto flinched subtly.
"Haruno wouldn't defy his uncle. Wouldn't talk like this. So what changed?"
Silence fell between them, with crickets filling the stillness.
He stared at her as she struggled to maintain her gaze at him.
He gave it a moment.
'Hmph. If I were Haruno and had proper character development… I'd probably say something like this.'
"I realized who matters and who doesn't. That's all," he said finally.
"…!" Her eyes widened.
"I won't stop hanging out with you. Or act scared anymore." He spoke evenly. His gaze was clear, certain.
"That way, you won't have to worry about it getting out, right?"
"...." The moment hung. Kiril took that moment to form yet another question that gnawed at her.
"Why… why did you act scared, Haruno?" she asked softly. "You're so strong… why would you let someone like him push you around?"
'Bad writing.' Yuuto thought, before answering aloud:
"Out of respect for Uncle Wren," he muttered. "He told me not to tell anyone, after all. It wasn't that I feared Hojin."
He looked down, frowning.
'Yeah… you could've crushed anyone who tried to step on you. But the reason you didn't...' Yuuto thought, the words forming as he spoke.
'Was probably this...'
"I was scared to hurt that shitty uncle's feelings." His voice darkened as Kiril's breath hitched at his remark.
"An uncle who only likes me when I suffer in silence. A manipulative piece of shit who thrives on me needing him…"
His fists trembled.
"Haruno…?" Kiril whispered, watching him shake.
"Someone who stomps on the broken so he can feel tall," Yuuto growled. "A bastard who calls it love...!!"
He clenched harder.
"…Unforgivable..!!!"
"Haruno..!" Kiril called out again, louder this time.
Yuuto blinked, exhaled. Her concerned expression reeled him back in. He let out a breath, voice quieter now.
"…Anyway. It's not that I acted scared. I was scared. Just not of Hojin."
He looked up at her. Steadier now.
"And I realize Uncle Wren's not worth it. Not when this is happening to you."
'That's right. Haruno got a "bad feeling" about the trip and wanted to go. But he stayed behind… because Uncle Wren told him to. And that choice got Kiril killed.'
"Either way," Yuuto added, voice dry again, "when should we tell everyone you're a girl?"
Kiril remained silent. Her gaze fell. But after a tight breath, she looked up at him—calmer now. Resolved.
"No. Don't tell anyone," she whispered.
A blush rose to her cheeks.
Yuuto watched her. Eyes narrowing—just slightly.
"So it's just our secret now," she added, the blush deepening.
Yuuto blinked.
"Ours and Hojin's, you mean," he deadpanned. "He did get close enough to see you naked. Wonder if he thinks you're flat."
"MUDAK!" she shouted, lunging at him in a burst of indignation.
She landed on top of him, straddling him, hands on his shoulders—breathing hard, flushed, alive.
"I… If… you… I mean…" she stammered, eyes darting away. "I… can confirm it for you…"
"Kiril." Yuuto cut her off.
His voice was firm.
He looked up at her, his expression flat at her bandage-covered chest.
"Get off."
A beat.
"I'm not even sure if I see you that way."
Kiril's lips parted. A sob rose in her throat, but she stayed where she was, breathing through the ache.
"…Yeah. You're Haruno, alright…" she whispered bitterly as she clutched the fabric on his shoulders. "She's still in your head, isn't she? That… Misaki."
"Nah." Yuuto shook his head. "She's just an attention whore. I don't care about her anymore."
He was calm. Cold. Certain.
'That's not someone I want to be with.'
Kiril searched his face, looking for something, anything, to tell her he was joking.
But there wasn't even a flicker of hesitation.
She let out a quiet breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. It grazed Yuuto's cheek.
"Then… w-why… don't you… want me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Am I not… to your liking, after all?"
Yuuto looked at her.
"It's just…" he exhaled.
'I'm not Haruno.' He thought of saying it. But didn't.
Instead, after a long beat, he answered plainly...
"I have a mommy fetish."
Kiril blinked.
Yuuto continued, completely deadpan:
"For me to like a woman, she has to be at least twice my size, and twice my muscle—but not like… bulging. She still needs to look feminine. Big curves. You don't fall into that category."
Her lips parted.
"…What the…"
She stammered, unable to finish the sentence. Yuuto gently moved her hands off his shoulders and slid out from beneath her.
"I'm going to sleep," he said, shifting to the far side of the tent. He lay down, back turned, and closed his eyes.
Kiril stared at him.
She had made up her mind.
She was going to throw herself onto him. She thought she'd found him—the Haruno she dreamed of. One who hated Misaki. Who defied Hojin. Even Uncle Wren.
All for her.
But this… this was too much.
Her chest tightened. A wave of dread and nausea rose in her throat.
'Of course…'
Her eyes widened. She began inching backward on instinct; his last remarks snapping her out of the haze. The gratitude she'd felt twisted into unease as she finally connected the dots. This wasn't the Haruno she knew.
'Haruno would never say something like that. Or… anything he just said.'
Her heart thumped in her ears.
'This isn't Haruno...!!!'
"Uhm… Uh… T-that was your fetish?" she asked, her voice shaky. "I see. Wh-what a bastard… trying to be funny, haha…"
She forced a smile.
Yuuto didn't respond.
'Fuck… FUCK… What did this fucker do to Haruno!?'
Her breath turned erratic. She tried to keep it quiet.
She looked toward the tent flap.
She needed to get out. Now.
"...."
But what if he's dangerous? If he really took care of Hojin, he's strong. She has to get to the hunters immediately.
"G-Good night, Haruno… I'm just… going to get some air by the fire, okay?" Kiril murmured as she crawled out of the tent.
Yuuto stayed lying there, sighing softly in annoyance.
'I bet she would've killed herself after Hojin blackmailed her. Guess I stopped that. So now I'll just lurk around this gate until we leave... and that's it. Guess I'm cutting her off too.'
Yuuto sighed again, rolling onto his side.
'Sorry, cuck,' he thought dryly. 'I'm sure you dreamed of it; me claiming your precious childhood friend, living out everything you missed. But that's not my style.'
'I'm—'
TITLE CARD.
'...—R Man.'
Yuuto closed his eyes and smiled.
'My sole purpose here is to survive, thrive... and after that...'
An image flashed in his mind.
Voluptuous. Roughly 2.3 meters tall. A curved, abundant body. Flowing purple hair. Luscious lips. A beauty mark just beneath her right breast; those half-lidded eyes with a knowing smile - a motherly presence...
Ava Lavender.
His mouth watered at the thought.
'Fuck you, you disgusting author piece of shit,' Yuuto sneered internally. 'Creating her... and leaving her hanging for that Haruno simp's obsession with some useless whore...'
'Maybe you're an angel after all. Maybe you created her for me.'
He chuckled lowly, biting his lip to stop himself from drooling.
"Ava Lavender... I'm coming for you," he whispered against the darkness, grinning like a madman.
The tent rustled faintly as he shifted, still smiling.
----------
Kiril stepped out into the night, hugging herself as the cold air wrapped around her.
'I know it. I feel it deep inside. This is the right call…'
She broke into a hurried stride toward the nearest guard post, her breath sharp in the chill.
"There's—!" she began, her voice catching as the stationed hunter turned toward her. She shivered, face pale, struggling to catch her breath.
'This guy... That's not Haruno. I'm sure of it.'
"There's a stranger in my tent!" she shouted. "He's pretending to be someone I know!"
The hunter's expression shifted instantly—his eyes narrowing, posture tensing.
'An infiltrator? Someone bypassed our perimeter? No... a shapeshifter?'
'I haven't heard of monsters like that in the dungeon!'
"Show me the way, kid!" he barked. "If this is a false alarm, you'll be severely punished!"
"Hurry!!" she snapped, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the tent.
In that moment, as her heart pounded, Kiril could only hope...
That Yuuto wouldn't deny it.
That he wouldn't try to twist his way out of this.
And that she was right about this, despite being so sure of herself.