Yuri in Which the World Will End in Ten Days

Day 9

I\'ve gone and done it now. I slept with my ex-girlfriend\'s little sister.

If my ex-girlfriend finds out, I might be killed before the end of the world gets me.

I just couldn\'t help it, though. If things weren\'t the way they were, I probably wouldn\'t have made my moves.

"Riri-chan, let\'s go on a date. One last time before the world ends. Catch a train to Hayama, check out the beach, it\'ll be great."

"No."

Despite her sounding so charming in bed, Riri is now as icy as ever.

"Why not?"

"Even after all this time, you still want to kill my sister?"

My axe is still left untouched at the entranceway.

"Can\'t you ever let the past go?"

She has a serious look on her face. Always so innocent, this girl -- though I\'ve already known that from the start. I probably shouldn\'t say anything unnecessary. But then again, now might already be too late for that, too.

"It\'s complicated, you see. A problem between one woman and another."

"Again with that... I\'m not a kid, so stop with the vague answers already."

I peck on the edge of her mouth.

And then, seeing that her momentum is dying down, I proceed to kiss her fully on the lips.

"...Please answer me."

Ah, how nice it is to be young. I wonder if I used to be like her, back when I was seventeen.

"She doesn\'t even care what happens to you anymore. But here you are, holding on to your grudge; don\'t you think that\'s what hurting you?"

She sounded quite hurt herself.

Well, I\'m sure she\'s right about Ruru, though. That woman was strong, smart, beautiful, and so arrogant; she just knew that she was the best. That\'s probably why she would never be so vengeful as to contemplate murdering someone.

But I\'m not about to say all that out loud.

"Oh, Riri, you\'re so sweet."

"Again, please don\'t dodge the question..."

I don\'t want to expose this kid to the ways of this world, where people tear each other apart, where people treat others like trash; at least not yet.

"If you say you love me, then I might just stop myself."

"Uh," Riri groans, as if something is holding her voice back.

I can see her gradually reddening up. She hasn\'t even said anything yet; now that\'s almost way too endearing.

"I love you, Riri."

That\'s why I went ahead and said it first. To declare so is nothing to be ashamed of. It\'s just the truth, after all.

"...It\'s not fair."

Red to her ears, she wrings out a retort.

"But I really mean it. You\'re so cute, Riri."

Resisting my urge to embrace her, I look her in the face, fixing my eyes on hers. Riri shakes her head, as if trying to break herself away. However, I\'m not about to let her go.

"I love you."

I tell her, again and again. So that she never forgets me. So that, even when the world falls to pieces, she may always remember me.

Riri looks at me, her face suggesting she\'s on the verge of tears.

"I hate you. I hate your guts, Yune-san."

"Hmm, I wonder how many hours it\'ll take from here to Hayama. I\'ll say to Ruru that if she\'s gonna curse someone, then curse her li\'l sis, alright?"

"I hate you!"

Riri\'s face is now all bright red.

"My axe should be pretty powerful and all, but that\'s all I have, you know. She might have to suffer through it quite a bit."

"I hate you."

"So where\'s the villa at, anyway? I know it\'s got a view of the ocean, but that\'s it. After killing her, I\'d like to tear that house down too, if I can."

"I hate you."

"I mean, it\'s an axe, so it\'ll chop wood just fine, I guess. I\'m sure things will work out if I put my back into it."

"......I love you."

She was so quiet, I almost didn\'t even hear her.

"You said something?"

"I love you!! That\'s all I have to say, right!? Well, I said it! Now you won\'t kill my sister, right!?"

"There\'s not enough time for that anyway."

"Then you should\'ve said that first!"

Even if I head out now, and somehow manage to find Ruru there, I\'ll probably be out of time by then. Seems I\'ll need a great deal of strength to actually wield the axe, too, so in reality, it\'s only good as an ornament of the house now.

"She might even kill me instead, you know, for making a move of her lovely li\'l sis here."

I pull Riri in for a hug. Seeing that she\'s not shaking me off, I take the chance to tighten myself around her.

"She doesn\'t care about me."

"But you\'re so adorable..."

"Stop it!!"

After a bit of an outburst, Riri winds down, docile in my arms. I reach to comb her hair with my fingers. With a sister like that woman, it\'s a miracle that she grew up to be this pure-hearted.

"...Is my sister that important to you? More than me?"

Forget all that Hayama stuff -- with her being such a darling, of course I\'d want to stay in this house, forever with her. Her body warms me; her fragrance brings me joy.

I wish things would stay this way.

But whatever we do won\'t make it last any longer.

Come tomorrow, it\'ll be all over.