Chapter 25: Injured

When Rina woke up, she had already returned to the second bedroom of the Hisaki Apartment.

She was back.

Using her uninjured left hand to prop herself up on the mattress, she carefully sat up.

Looking down at her right hand, her index finger was completely wrapped in layers of clean gauze.

She gently moved her finger, and a deep, dull ache pulsed from the base of her nail. The pain wasn’t excruciating, but it was real and sharp, making her shoulder twitch involuntarily.

She was still wearing the same loose-fitting light-print short-sleeved T-shirt, paired with side-pleated shorts.

The hem of her clothes was slightly wrinkled, but the outfit was intact—no signs of anyone having changed her clothes without permission.

It seemed Hisaki had brought her back from the hotel, settled her into bed, carefully treated and bandaged her wound, and done nothing else.

She hadn’t touched or moved her body while she was unconscious.

“At least she has some limit left.”

Rina thought to herself.

But even the mere thought of the word “kidnapper” was no longer possible.

Just silently uttering those three characters in her mind caused a wave of instinctive fear to surge from her stomach, sending chills through her entire body.

So this is what it feels like to be intimidated by a yandere.

She was momentarily distracted, and her right hand unconsciously pressed down on the mattress.

“Hiss~”

Rina sucked in a sharp breath, quickly lifting her right hand, staring at the white bandage as tears immediately welled up in her eyes.

Just lightly pressing on the bed was enough to bring such intense pain.

With this petite, fragile body of hers, what could she possibly use to fight against an adult woman whose strength far exceeded normal limits?

Let alone resisting or escaping—she couldn’t even match the other’s strength.

She let out a long, stifled breath and gently rested her right hand on her knee.

“Forget it. I can’t escape.”

[Ding.]

Rina’s entire body went rigid.

[Detected that the host has developed a negative will to give up on escaping.]

“Shut up.”

[Host, your current mission status…]

“I said shut up!”

She abruptly sat up from the bed, raising her uninjured left hand to point at the air, her sky-blue eyes burning with the fury that only ignites when one is cornered.

“Do you ever stop! My right hand is injured, and it hurts like hell if I put any pressure on it. Tell me, how am I supposed to escape right now? Bash my head against the door? Or teleport away with sheer willpower?”

“You’re just a system—what else can you do besides broadcasting information in my head and creating anxiety! Huh?”

She grabbed the pillow and hurled it hard against the mattress, her emotions completely erupting.

“I’m just a weakling who can’t even use her hands properly and has to rely on others just to twist open a bottle of water! If you’re so capable, come down here and face Hisaki yourself!”

The system was silent for a moment.

[Host, please pay attention to managing your emotions.]

“Get lost!!!”

Rina yanked the blanket over herself, curling up inside it, pressing the pillow hard against the top of her head, wrapping herself into a tiny ball, trying to block out the voice only she could hear with the bedding.

But the system’s notifications weren’t sounds heard through the ears—they echoed directly within her consciousness. The blanket and pillow offered no obstruction whatsoever.

[Host…]

“Ahhh I can’t hear you, can’t hear you!”

Rina frantically shook her head inside the blanket, her silver-white hair crackling with static against the bedding, puffing up into a messy mess.

Just then, the second bedroom door was gently pushed open.

Hisaki stood at the doorway, holding a glass of warm water, wearing a dark gray loungewear shirt.

She had come to check if Rina had woken up, and immediately saw the trembling lump of bedding on the bed.

From her perspective, she could only see a trembling girl curled up under the covers.

Hisaki lightened her footsteps, setting the glass steadily on the nightstand without making almost any sound.

She didn’t sit on the bed, afraid the mattress sinking would startle the other. Instead, she bent her knees and crouched down beside the bed on the fluffy carpet.

Inside the blanket, Rina was still pressing the pillow over her head when she suddenly sensed someone approaching.

The shaking of her head abruptly stopped.

In the past, she would have thrown off the blanket and snapped back, scolding the other for barging in without knocking.

But now, all those sharp words were stuck firmly in her throat. The pain and fear from that night at the hotel were lodged in her throat like a blockage.

Before, she had dared to provoke recklessly because she harbored a sliver of hope that even if the other was obsessive and crazy, there were still limits—that she wouldn’t truly harm her.

Now she finally understood with crystal clarity that the so-called bottom line was fragile to begin with.

The thin paper of self-deception in her heart had been completely pierced, leaving only a heavy, lingering fear underneath.

Hisaki reached out and slowly lifted the blanket covering Rina’s head.

Revealing a small face with flushed cheeks, hair all frazzled and messy from static.

Her sky-blue eyes were wide open, a thin layer of moisture glistening beneath them.

Hisaki’s fingertips accidentally brushed against Rina’s shoulder.

Rina recoiled backward as if struck by an electric shock, her back hitting the padded headboard with a dull thud.

Her hands flailed wildly in the air, then clenched together and pressed in front of her chin as a trembling cry laced with thick sobs burst uncontrollably from her mouth.

“I’m sorry! I won’t run! I’ll stay home obediently and won’t go anywhere!”

Hisaki’s outstretched hand stopped midair, her expression calm and unreadable.

“I just came to check if you were awake.”

Rina didn’t respond, biting her lower lip hard, her tear-filled eyes fixed unwaveringly on Hisaki’s hand, her body trembling uncontrollably.

The next second, her body suddenly went weightless.

She was lifted into a steady princess carry.

The moment her body touched Hisaki’s arms, Rina shuddered violently, her legs kicking wildly in the air twice before stiffly curling up.

The warm lamplight fell into her moist eyes, tears trembling at the corners.

Her lips quivered uncontrollably.

“Really… I’m not lying to you.”

“Something has been forcing me—forcing me to leave your side.”

The moment she finished speaking, the accumulated tears finally rolled down, tracing paths along her cheeks to the corners of her mouth.

She wasn’t lying—she was just phrasing it differently.

If Hisaki could believe that some invisible existence had been forcing her to escape, then perhaps there would be no next punishment.

But she also knew deep down how absurd this explanation sounded.

An invisible threat?

A voice only she could hear?

Even she found it hard to believe herself.

Hisaki held her, saying nothing.

Rina couldn’t guess what she was thinking at this moment, had no idea how much of it the other believed, and a ridiculous glimmer of hope even rose in her heart—wishing Hisaki would trust her.

Warm breath gently brushed across Rina’s neck, making her breathing instantly rapid, her whole body tense with unknown dread.

“Shiro.”

Hisaki pulled back slightly, her gaze landing on the thin sheen of sweat on the girl’s neck.

“You’re sweating. Sleeping like this will be uncomfortable.”

“Your right hand’s wound can’t touch water. I’ll help wipe you down and clean you up.”

Rina’s mind went completely blank.

In the past, she would have talked back stubbornly, spitting out a barrage of sharp words.

But now, all thoughts of resistance vanished.

Her vocal cords fell silent, her body froze, and even the voice in her heart that she used to curse at the other went completely quiet.

She said nothing, just gently closed her eyes.

Hisaki looked down at the silent, compliant girl in her arms and said no more. One hand slowly threaded through the silver-white hair, her fingertips gently and slowly stroking through the strands.

Then she took a step forward, holding Rina in her arms, and walked toward the bathroom.