[Laura] When in doubt, kiss him out!

"I am in a bit of a dilemma," Glooming over, C said. Whenever he was worried about us, his tone of voice would change drastically, both inside and out.

"Talk to us, darling. What seems to be troubling you today?" Rachel stroked his hair lovingly. I had been keeping a close eye on her, and there were definitely hearts in her blue eyes. Without a doubt, she had already given her all to him. And she would do everything in her power to make him happy, just like me.

Although I wanted to shake her hand off of his hair, at this moment, it would be better to focus on C rather than trivial matters. Fighting over him could wait once Kurokawa's event had been cleared. Thanks to his help, to me and Rachel, time was no longer of the essence. Its effects only mattered to C and to that bookworm who ran away.

"You can tell me, C. I'm still your one and only girlfriend. Lawfully, too." Of course, I needed to remind a certain pesky being her place. By glaring at that blond-haired girl, Rachel should know what I was aiming at.

To answer my gaze, that blond-haired woman only winked. She even showed a cheeky expression out of nowhere, seemingly trying to get a rise out of me.

"I... don't really know where to start..." My faceless boyfriend answered hesitantly. "All I know right now is that I probably messed something up."

[Again... And maybe I have already made make her event worse somehow. Again! What will happen to the bookworm this time? I have no freaking clue. Whether or not my actions had done something terrible is now a possibility to think about!]

As his face slowly sank down because of self-doubt, I quickly held him with both hands and lifted him up so he could focus on his girlfriend instead of his thoughts: "And why would you say that?"

"Trust me, darling. You did not do anything wrong." Rachel nodded heavily. "Never did and never will. Even if this world breaks apart, it is not your fault. I can guarantee it."

I did not think her comparison was needed. There was no correlation between Kurokawa's event and the world breaking apart. Nevertheless, I had to concentrate on C. I did have to agree with her, though. Even when everything turned to dust, C would never be the one we held accounted for. He was too precious.

"That seems a bit farfetched, isn't it." C shook his head from left to right. "Besides, I hurt Kurokawa badly. You girls were close, right? Then you must have heard her cries. That was because of me. If only I didn't come here..."

[If only you kept your fucking ass where it belonged, you fucking dumb piece of shit!]

The words that came from C's mouth felt like they had been torn straight out of my heart, and his thoughts behind those words were more painful than any physical wounds. My eyes were moist after knowing what he had inside his mind. Never could I ever stand him hurting like that? Not now, not in the future. There must be a way for me to help him.

"C!" I raised my voice a little, trying to keep him from sinking further down the depths of his heart, but just enough so that he would not think of me as angry or rude.

After hearing my sudden call, C's body jumped: "Yeah?"

Staring at him intensely, I tried to find the right words. Scenarios quickly ran through my mind, yet none was good enough as the results kept returning to his self-doubt. No matter how hard I thought, nothing seemed to work. Each attempt ended up making things worse.

"I heard it all. And from my point of view, it was not your fault, but ours. After all, the bookworm wanted what we had. Kurokawa wanted you all for her own. That is just like the rest of us. Rachel and I share the same feeling of monopolizing you all to ourselves." My voice became as soft as my throat could, barely passing the audible mark.

"She would not have behaved like that if I didn't come. Her sudden explosion was my responsibility. It happened not because of you or Rachel but me and me alone. You girls didn't do anything." He argued.

Frankly, getting my boyfriend out of that mental swamp was much more complicated than I anticipated since simply saying it was not his fault would travel elsewhere rather than remain in his heart. If I wanted him to stop blaming himself for Kurokawa's sudden outburst, it needed to make sense not to me but to him. That was a big hurdle to pass.

"I sought her out and hurt her by default. It was my fault. If only...then Kurokawa would never..."

At that point, it was clear to me. Whose fault it was mattered naught to C. It mattered because she was hurt because of his appearance. Everything would be fine if Kurokawa behaved normally. Instead, she went the most unexpected way possible. Her sudden emotional distress must have been some trigger to his tragic past.

Throughout millennia, C tried to save us and failed, making the event worse than it originally was. He was afraid of that just yesterday, but his fear was subsidized thanks to my and Rachel's change. However, after seeing that anxiety unfolding in front of his eyes, he blamed himself for Kurokawa's pain. That was what he truly believed, and there was no way I could let that slide.

Even when I did not want him to do it, the very fact he took action meant he cared deeply about her feelings.

To make him calm down, my hands were reaching out to his. Unfortunately, Rachel moved faster.

"Darling, you know how much I love you, right?" She came closer to his face.

"Eh? Yeah, I do. What are y...? HMPH?!!?"

[Ah yes, here comes that familiar static in my brain.]

Eyes frowning, I immediately jumped between Rachel and C, separating the two. She even had the nerve to say: "Boo!" when I did it.

How I wished I could erase her existence entirely at once...

"RACHEL!!?? WHAT THE HECK?! Are you freaking kidding me?! This is the second time. IN FRONT OF MY FACE, NO LESS! Have you no shame?!"

"What can I say except..." Licking her lower lips with an ecstasy-filled expression, she suddenly spread her hand and turned the palm toward her. "You were out-Racheled."

Oh. My. God. She was behaving no less than a child!

"We're here to help him, not joking around, you damn fox! Keep it in your panties!!"

"Trying to, Reppy. I really am." She said so while smiling mischievously.

If I did not know any better, I would never have thought of that thieving cat as someone who could teach me ways of dismantling a corpse. No one would ever know what kind of monster lurked behind Rachel's gremlin-like facade unless they experienced it face-to-face.

"Stop playing already!" I then turned to my boyfriend. "C? Are you there?"

Even when I shook the collar of his shirt, C was still in a daze.

"Look at what you did!" Another fiery stare was thrown at Rachel, who clearly did not falter.

My blood boiled to a ridiculous temperature seeing her lips touching his. Honestly, I would have kicked her in the stomach if I could. And while she was writhing in pain on the floor, I would cut that smug face of her using her favorite knife until it became mush. Sadly, unless there was a way to render her strength useless, I would refrain from a direct confrontation at all costs. The blood of our school bully was still fresh on my hands, and that disgusting corpse was only half-done in the ladies' room, still waiting to be disposed of.

She still had some usage left, especially when many of the yanderes were yet to come. That said, the kiss would never be forgotten. She would have to pay one day.

"Calm down, Laura. Calm down. C comes first. Rachel can wait. C comes first. C comes first." Mumbling some words to keep my sanity up, I reverted my gaze back to C.

Although what she did was...unconventional, to say the least, I could not help but to agree that it was the best method to stop C from drifting too far. He was stunned after her... touch, unbothered by anything. Perhaps his mind had a flashbang of some sort.

"Y'know, Reppy. This is a good chance for you to get a kiss." Rachel whispered into my ears like a succubus.

Biting my lips and hiding my regrets, I rejected her: "It's indeed tempting, but no. I do not want to take advantage of C like this. Plus, I would love for my first kiss with him to be unbothered by you. Or anyone else for that matter."

"You're very serious, Reppy."

"I know. And stop calling me that."

(Pirates are getting restless. I can repost the full chapta!)