The Villainess (2)

Reiji quickly tried to think of how to approach her. he had never interacted with her before, which made things easier because he didn't need to worry too much about his dogwater reputation.

Though she had probably still heard of him, so it might not be easy by any stretch of the imagination.

He glanced at the box of macarons in her hands and made a decision. She was walking towards him, still wearing the prickly expression that seemed like she was thinking about stabbing someone, and he shortened the distance.

"Hi, sorry to bother you but could you tell me where you bought those macarons? It's so hard to find well made ones around here," he said with the warmest smile he could muster.

It seemed like a stupid way to strike up a conversation, but don't underestimate how much she liked sweets.

In fact, there was cutscene that lasted 4 minutes and 13 seconds in the game where she just blabbered on about the importance of using the right amount of sugar....

She wasn't even talking to anyone specific, just her underlings who used to do her dirty work and they did not care a single bit about desserts.

He had thought it would be the best way to start the conversation, but....

She was just staring at him blankly. Not a single word, emotion, or even a movement. It was like she had frozen in place.

"Ummm.... Hello? Are you ok?" Reiji asked hesitantly.

And then she finally broke the silence.

"....You! How old are you?" She asked, her eyes glinting strangely.

"What?"

Reiji's confusion was evident, his eyebrows raised with a slightly quizzical tilt of his head.

"Your age. How old are you?"

"Er.. I'm 16? Why?"

Yui's eyes widened a little, a smile blossoming on her face. Normally, it would've looked beautiful, and there were even some men passing by who almost tripped over themselves at the sight, but Reiji couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his back.

'Why is she looking at me like that?'

"A year younger than me, but that's ok. I'll overlook it! From today onwards, you are my boyfriend," Yui declared as if it was set in stone, crossing her arms in satisfaction as her eyes wandered all over his body.

"....What the fuck?"

Reiji's mind stopped working.

That's not an exaggeration.

Not a single thought could form in his mind after uttering that response, not even surprise or shock. It was complete blankness because he couldn't process what had just come out of her mouth, his eyes spinning slightly at the randomness of the situation.

"Hmm, yes. Since we're dating now, buy me some iced coffee!" She continued as she pointed to a cafe nearby, either ignoring or unaware of his stiff state.

Reiji slowly started to regain some clarity, his brain pumping again to try and figure out what was happening.

'What is this? Yui never showed interest in a man in the game.... Is this some sort of twisted new way to bully someone that she's testing out on me?'

"I-I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean. Are you teasing me?" he asked slowly.

"What's so confusing about this? Isn't buying coffee with your partner a normal thing?" It was Yui's turn to show some perplexity as she tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"...It's not the coffee that I'm worried about, it's the dating part! What do you mean we're dating?"

"Huh? I find you attractive so you'll obviously be my boyfriend. What's so hard to understand?" she responded with a puzzled look.

'Oh my head hurts.'

"That's... You're skipping a lot of steps, why would you assume I'd be okay with it?"

"Am I not beautiful?"

"....You are, but-"

"Then what's the issue? Come, let's get coffee!" Yui clapped her hands happily and started to walk towards the cafe, a noticeable spring in her step.

Reiji blinked in disorientation. This was the most ridiculous curveball he had ever seen.

Why on earth was she acting like this??

He jogged a little to catch up with her, determined to find out what was going through her head.

"Wait, wait! You can't date someone just because you find them attractive, personalities are just as important," he persuaded in slight panic, striding alongside her.

Yui paused at his words and turned to him.

"Don't people go on dates to see if they are compatible and like each other's personalities?"

"Huh?..... Uh, yeah I guess?"

"Then let's go on dates! I'm pretty, I'm rich, and I'm interesting! So what's not to like?" She said confidently.

From her words, one would think she took great pride in herself and was extremely confident.

But Reiji knew better.

Though her face looked resolute and poised, her hands betrayed her true feelings.

They were trembling. Almost unnoticeable, but they were trembling.

Reiji struggled internally, knowing that his next words were very important. He couldn't refute her logic, so turning her down not matter the reason would definitely affect her.

Hell, she might even go crazy like she sometimes did....

After a few seconds of contemplating, Reiji finally responded to her.

"Well, all of those things are definitely true.... But going on a date so spontaneously is a little random don't you think? How about we just hang out? Who knows, you might not find me that appealing after a while," he chuckled, trying to brush it off as a joke.

Yui hummed to herself, clearly thinking about something. Suddenly, she took a step forward and rubbed Reiji's stomach, her fingers brushing against his defined abs.

"What are you doing??" he muttered in exasperation.

Yui smiled even more widely than she did before, nodding to herself with affirmation.

"Nah, I won't get tired of that face or that body! Let's date!" She said, borderline ordering him.

"...."

Reiji's mouth opened and closed repeatedly like a fish. His eyes darted around, as if looking for some sort of crack in the space that would dictate that this was a dream or an illusion.

Was he not attracted to Yui?

Of course he was!

But this woman was fucking crazy!! He knew more about her than anyone else in this world!

He had decided to help her through her mental issues and what caused them in the first place, but this was an extremely dangerous line to cross.

If it didn't work out, it would hurt her badly. Maybe even worsen her condition.

He was also not willing to date someone he didn't like, it was just his own ideals. That talk with Haruna was not filled with lies, he was a little old-fashioned in that sense.

Plus it would feel like he was taking advantage of someone vulnerable and that left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Miss, I don't even know your name yet. Like I said, why don't we hang out first and see where it goes? Let's not put a label of dating on it just yet?" He said almost pleadingly.

Yui gave him another smile, but this one was more obviously darker. Her bright red eyes surrounded black pupils that seemed to hold no emotion whatsoever, staring right into his soul like it had finally found something to attach itself to.

It was a smile devoid of warmth, one that came from her brain, not her heart.

"No. We're dating now."

A declaration, a decree, a command.

***

At the same time, in a different part of the mall. Riku and Hina left the game store with satisfied smiles.

"This game looks really fun, I can't wait to play it with everyone! I gotta let the boys know," the boy said, taking out his phone.

"Riku, isn't this plushie really cute?" Hina asked excitedly, pushing forward a small black plushie of a dragon with a permanent frown and deep blue eyes.

"Oh, isn't that from 'A Dragon's Wrathful Rise'? That game was trash, you wasted your money," Riku snorted in disdain.

Hina's smile faltered slightly as she pulled it back.

"I don't know where it's from, I just bought it because it looked cute," she pouted and hugged the plushie closer.

"That's so stupid haha, you should have gone for something that people would actually know about, or like. That game got taken off the servers after just two months," he replied sarcastically.

"Why does that even matter? I bought the plushie, I'm not playing the game.... It's not like it makes a difference."

"It does! the moment you bought it, the plushie lost almost all of its value. If you had bought something with more popularity, you could have maybe played the game it's associated with, told your friends about it, or even have more appreciation for it! Now it's just trash," Riku smirked as he typed on his phone, presumably chatting with his friends.

Hina didn't respond, just hugging the toy as tight as she could. They walked onwards in silence, the girl lamenting to herself and the boy giggling cheekily as he stared at the screen.

'Why does he have to be so mean....'