"Huh? This woman kidnapped you, darling?"
"I regret my actions, and I'm terribly sorry, but you have some nerve to call my future husband your darling, Takagi Noriko."
"I'll overlook your future husband comment, how do you know my name when we haven't been introduced?"
"Right, we haven't been introduced. I'm Shinozaki Rin. I know who you are because I was the one who was going to spend my life with Yuji until you came along and took him from me."
"Oh, you were the girl who was with him that day at the park. I remember now. I thought you were no good, and since I had already known Yuji, I asked him to play with me instead. It's your own fault he left you behind."
I had to interrupt. If I didn't, things were going to get ugly fast. Not that I wasn't used to it.
"Noriko, stop it. Rin has been through a lot of psychological and emotional pain and she doesn't need harsh words to deepen her wounds."
I turned to Rin to give her some encouraging words.
"Rin, what happened then wasn't your fault, it was mine. I shouldn't have left you, I'm sorry. Truly. I had lots of other opportunities to spend time with Noriko yet I-"
Then, she was the one comforting me.
"It's okay. Everything's okay now, because we're reunited."
I just nodded.
Silence filled the air for a second. Then, I felt malicious intent from across the room. The moment before it happened, I felt it coming. I grabbed Rin and pulled her down to the ground with me. My heightened reaction speed really came in handy. After I had pulled Rin down, I felt it fly past me. That aura, that malicious intent. It was just a knife.
"What the hell, Noriko? What's the problem?"
I couldn't resist getting angry at her. I would have let it slide if it was me she was aiming for. I needed practice, anyway. But I can't tolerate any violence toward my guests.
"I'm sorry, Yuji. It's just that her showing up out of the blue with you made me angry, and her talking about you being her future husband and saying 'you're reunited' caused my jealousy to get the better of me and-"
"And what? You logically deduced that the best course of action is to fling a knife at her? I don't care if you despise her that much as a love rival or however you see things. Do you have any idea how lonely, forsaken, and hurt Rin has felt all this time since back then? What we did that day has caused her an immeasurable amount of pain that neither of us could imagine, so the least you could do to atone for it is to make her feel welcome here as a guest!"
"I- uh, I'm sorry!"
Noriko ran off to her room. But I was too angry to care about her at that moment.
"Are you okay Rin? Any injuries? Or did what she said hurt you in any way? I want you to forget what you just heard. I'm sorry if she got to you."
"It's okay. It doesn't bother me. She may also be my love rival, but I have respect for her feelings. That's just common decency."
"She really is sorry for that freakout. I want you to know that should you need anywhere to go, you're always welcome here. Think of here as your home."
"Actually, to be truthful, the place I brought you to when you were restrained is where I'm currently living, due to extremely complicated family circumstances."
"Then please live here for a while and allow me to take care of you when you need it. I can't let you live somewhere like that."
"Then, I'll accept."
"Great, let me go get a room prepared for you. It'll be right across from mine, so you're not far if you need me. By the way, welcome home."
Rin gave the the most heart-piercing smile I had ever seen. I had felt a sense of completion within me. It's odd that I'm taking in and taking care of another yandere type. But it's my fault she's become this way, and it's my responsibility to look after her as atonement. I might have to marry her to keep an eye on her.
"Uhh, I feel like I'm imposing."
"Not at all, Mochizuki. There's actually a reason I wanted you to come. But please chill for a bit longer, Ayumi has yet to come over and I still have to work through things with Noriko. When I'm done with Noriko and Ayumi gets here, I'll call Miwa down."
Honestly, I forgot that Mochizuki was there until she spoke.
I went up to Noriko's room to have a chat with her. She didn't resist, which I thought she would have.
"Can I come in?"
"I'm in my underwear."
"I don't care if it's fine with you."
Clothes or not, Noriko is still bonafide crazy, and rule number two is "Don't sleep with crazy". If I think of her as a yandere, I don't feel lustful. Not that I felt lustful toward her before I died. I'm a pure man.
"Come in."
She wasn't lying, she was in her underwear. I don't go into detail about her undergarments in case she ever sees this documentation, but, teddy bear panties.
Sorry not sorry, Noriko.
Her door was unlocked, so there was no need for me to use magic to pick the lock.
"You're not uncomfortable, nervous, or turned on?"
"Nope."
"I would say that I'm relieved you're not a pervert, but in this case I'm a bit insulted that you aren't turned on in the slightest."
"I could be turned on if I wanted to. I'm simply not letting the sight of you in your underwear excite me."
"Whatever, what did you want with me?"
"I wanted to apologize for losing my temper at you. But saying such harsh words to a guest and hurling a knife at them is unacceptable."
"I understand, and I'm sorry."
"As long as you understand not to go out of your way to harm others, be it physically, mentally, or verbally, we're okay. I'll admit that Rin was also out of line getting angry at you from the get-go when you haven't seen each other in years."
"I provoked her far more than she did me, so I'm mostly at blame."
"Let's just drop it. I assume you were in the middle of changing when I bothered you, so I'll leave you to it."
"Wait, don't leave me."
She started to unhook her bra. I could have let things go further, but the truth is I wasn't comfortable with that.
"I will part take in no erotic activities with you."
"Am I not good enough?"
"I never said that. You're great, the ideal woman in fact. As a bonus, your boobs are big. I see no reason why you wouldn't be good enough."
"Then why haven't you made any moves on me? I know you had interest in me before. Is it because you're expecting me to initiate the serious side of things? It's not nice to make a lady do that. But I know that's not it. So why?"
"Because I died. And it's not just that, it's also that I've realized that I'm not ready for a relationship. I'm still preparing for the responsibility that my new job will put on me when it starts. I can't take care of a girl if I can't take care of myself or the bills. I'm not paying bills, but you get it."
"I get it. But, that's not a no?"
"I suppose not, but it's not a yes. With that, I'll be taking my leave. Remember, no killing or hurting neutral people or guests of this inn."
"Got it. But you remember, Yuji, that I love you, and I will kill anyone that gets in my way."
She wasn't joking, and I knew that. I knew it was a matter of time before her possessively aggressive behavior became a manslaughter. And I was okay with that for the time being.
"For what it's worth Noriko, In my own weird way that I haven't figured out myself, I love you too. But don't get the wrong idea."
I really need to watch my mouth around her.
"Oh, and I thought you should know that Rin will be staying here for a while. Before you enter yandere mode, consider that she has felt alone most of her life and had been living in a abandoned storage unit until now."
"I got it. I'll back off. But I won't tolerate any of her funny business."
"Yeah yeah, I'll keep her in check. I'm going downstairs. Come down so we can discuss things."
"I'll be down shortly."
"...yandere mode?"
The meeting wasn't super important, it was only to update the unaware people on how I got to my current situation.
"Ayumi's here, now we can begin. As you all know, I'm Sasaki Yuji. We all attend the same school, except for Ayumi, who teaches, and Miwa, who I have no idea what she does."
"The truth is, on the morning of May 5, the first day of school, I died."
"You died?" Asked Mochizuki.
"Saying I died made it sound natural. Rather, I was killed. My murderer is Noriko."
I must have angered Rin, because she pointed a previously concealed firearm at Noriko. Noriko only had a knife on her. I say only as if were normal to be heavily armed all the time. Even with only a knife, that petrifying gaze of hers was just as deadly of a weapon. This little standoff was supposed to be over, but I decided to experiment.
"Oh my, it seems that Noriko has angered you, Rin. Do you want to shoot her because she killed me?"
"I do."
"If you really mean it, if your desire for her blood is that strong, then pull the trigger."
"Yuji, does my life mean nothing to you?" Noriko said.
"The opposite. Your life means quite a lot to me, actually. Now, Rin, I'd like to make this as quick as possible. Please shoot her if you desire."
She emptied the entire magazine into Noriko. without hesitation. There was no sign of fear or doubt on her face.
I didn't allow the bullets to touch Noriko, nor did I have the intention to. I shattered the bullets while they were flying. I just wanted to know how crazy Rin really was.
"I would never put your life in harm's way. You're still important to me, even as my killer. I'm sorry for using you for my little experiment. I was gauging Rin's seriousness and craziness. She knew very well who you were to me even before my death, and she knew that you are important to me, yet she displayed no hesitation in gunning her down in front of me."
I now had an idea of what my life would be like from now on. I have to watch my back, and tell everyone else I meet to watch theirs. Otherwise, those two will eliminate anyone in their way of pursuing me. This could be a problem, but I could make use of the situation. But is it wrong to enjoy those two caring about me so much, they're willing to kill for me?
"Please disarm yourselves, I'd like to continue. After I was killed, I woke up on a deserted island in the middle of an ocean. Then Kawakami Miwa showed up, laughing at a replay of my death. After that, she let me return to the living world in exchange that I act as a rogue spirit exorcist and negotiator. That's also when I learned how to use spirit magic and when I tested a bunch of different demon weapons. In short, I'm a ghost, and that's how I'm here."
"I'm in love with a ghost." Thought Mochizuki, Noriko, and Rin. Perhaps Ayumi was thinking it too, but she wasn't one that I was sure about. The question was "But will it work out?"
Maybe. But other events were soon to occur and I wasn't even aware of them.
Let's skip about a week and a half into the future. You didn't miss anything, just bickering between Rin and Noriko.
Anyway, a week and a half in the future.
"Today's the big day Yuji." I hyped myself up for my first day on the job. It was my first target. I was very eager to start, so I inquired about my target with Miwa after I ate breakfast.
She said "Remember Yuji, this is a tough job. You'll be exterminating spirits that share resemblance with humans. They can even talk to you and fully interact with you. They're essentially people, except they're already dead, and resisting the process of passing on into the afterlife. The method may not be pretty, but you're still doing them a favor by ushering them into the afterlife. So even if they scream, cry, or try to persuade you, you must go through with your job. And if it makes you feel any better about it, there is no heaven or hell. Only the afterlife. So if the uncertainty of someone's destination would trouble you, you have nothing to stress over."
That briefing was a bit reassuring, and I was glad that I didn't have to worry about sending someone I thought was good to hell with zero control over it. The existence of only one destination after death eased my worry a bit, however my morals were tainted a bit knowing that "horrible" people end up at the same destination as "good people". Of course, the line between right and wrong is drawn all over the place depending on who draws it.
"Here's all the information we have on your target." Miwa sent me the documents she had on my person to my phone. On my first mission, I was being tested.
The target was a super attractive girl.