My deskmate is actually my yandere reader.

"vomit--"

He threw down his phone and began to retch—feeling disgusted and horrified by Fuyuko Kuchiki's nauseating and insane remarks.

When Fuyuko Kuchiki told him she liked him, he felt no joy whatsoever, only fear and disgust.

He even regretted writing a tragic ending, which led to him being targeted by such a person!

Knock, knock.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

At the same time, a voice asked, "Kurose? What's wrong? I think I heard you vomiting."

Upon hearing Shiraishi Chiren's voice, Kurose Izumi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress the nausea.

Then, he steadied his voice and said calmly, "...I'm fine."

"Are you really okay? You look like you're having a really tough time." Shiraishi Chiren asked through the door, her voice full of concern.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly feel a little dizzy and uncomfortable."

"Isn't that very serious?!" After saying that, Shiraishi Chiren opened the door and walked to the bedside in the master bedroom.

"I'm really fine, I just need to rest."

Kurose Izumi looked up at Shiraishi Chiren, whose face was full of worry because of him, and forced a smile.

"Don't push yourself. Lie down properly and rest if you're not feeling well."

As she spoke, Shiraishi Chiren placed her hand on Kurose Izumi's shoulder and pushed him down onto the bed.

Then, she placed her hand on Izumi Kurose's forehead: "You don't have a cold, so why are you dizzy?"

"I don't know." Kurose Izumi obediently lay down. "You should go to sleep too, it's getting late. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"Seriously, are you an idiot?!" Shiraishi Chiren's voice suddenly grew louder, faintly tinged with anger.

"If I don't worry about you, who else can I worry about? If I don't care about you, who will?"

Upon hearing this, Kurose Izumi's eyes widened slightly as she stared in astonishment at Shiraishi Chire's small face, which was furrowed with anger, her thoughts echoing with what she had just said.

"If I don't care about you, who will?"

He muttered those words to himself, and suddenly felt a dryness in his throat, a stinging sensation in his nose, and a heart full of indescribable emotions.

"Shiraishi."

Kurose Izumi suddenly called out.

At this moment, there was one thing he was certain of, and that was—

Can I hug you?

He asked softly, eager to embrace Shiraishi Chiren and confirm that she was right beside him—undamaged.

“Sure.” Shiraishi Chiren nodded readily, opened her arms, and smiled radiantly. “Come on.”

Kurose Izumi immediately propped herself up and hugged Shiraishi Chiren tightly.

His strength was so great that it seemed he wanted to squeeze out all the air between them and knead Shiraishi Chiren into his very bones, making them inseparable.

"Shiraishi, please stay with me from now on, okay?"

Kurose Izumi's voice was slightly choked up, like a plea, or like that of a helpless child who has lost their mother and is filled with fear.

Even though he had heard Shiraishi Chiren say that she liked him, he was afraid that one day Shiraishi Chiren would leave him, and he was even more afraid that she would suffer revenge from Kuchiki Touko!

Chiharu Shiraishi hugged Izumi Kurose's head, stroking it with one hand, and then said gently, "I will, don't worry."

"Will you really not leave me?" Kurose Izumi was still uneasy and fearful of Kuchiki Fuyuko.

Just as she said, Kuchiki Fuyuko has made Kurose Izumi remember her and never forget her.

Her existence was always a thorn, deeply embedded in Kurose Izumi's heart.

"Yes, I promise I won't leave you."

"...It's a date."

"It's arranged."

After that, the two remained in an embracing posture, showing no intention of separating.

Kurose Izumi buried her head in Shiraishi Chire's shoulder, inhaling the scent of her hair and feeling the ticklish sensation of her hair brushing against her cheek, gradually calming down.

Meanwhile, Shiraishi Chiren continued to gently stroke his head, patiently and tirelessly.

After a long while, sensing that Kurose Izumi had stopped trembling, Shiraishi Chiren, who was whispering in his ear, asked softly, "Have you calmed down?"

"Ah."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"Kuchiki texted me." Kurose Izumi closed her eyes and whispered, "She said she loves me, and I feel disgusted."

"Is that so..."

Shiraishi Chiren's hand, which was stroking Kurose Izumi's head, paused for a moment.

Even though she already knew that Kurose Izumi hated Kuchiki Touko, hearing him say that her love was disgusting made her feel inexplicably upset.

"Yes, she even threatened me. Actually, I'm not afraid, I'm just afraid that you, Shiraishi, will get hurt."

To be honest, Izumi Kurose doesn't care about herself at all, but she's terrified that Chire Shiraishi will get hurt.

This fear made his hands and feet cold, the pressure was so great that his stomach started to cramp, and his brain began to feel dizzy.

"No matter what, I will stay with you, Kurose."

Shiraishi Chiren slowly closed her eyes and solemnly and sincerely expressed her truest thoughts at that moment.

This is her honest and undisguised truth.

Sincere and innocent, merely the greedy, obsessive desires of a proud young girl.

77. A monster without emotion

Wednesday, lunch break.

In the Animal Research Department's office, the three sat facing each other at a birchwood table.

"Ciallo~ Two seniors!"

Inari Yuki made a peace sign with one hand, placed it in front of her delicate face, and greeted the two with a gentle smile.

"puff……"

Upon seeing this, Kurose Izumi couldn't help but laugh.

"S-senpai, that's so mean! You laughed out loud!" Inari Yuki's smile instantly vanished, turning into a look of utter despair.

It was during lunch when we were casually chatting about visual novels, and she casually mentioned that she had been playing some Yuzusoft games lately.

Therefore, Izumi Kurose casually asked what Yuzusoft's signature greeting was.

Then, she imitated the character from the game—Inaba Jun—and greeted everyone!

"Well, it's really funny." Kurose Izumi shrugged, a wide grin spreading across his face.

He didn't expect that Inari Yuki would imitate it, even though it would have been enough to just say it verbally.

"You're so cute, Inari." Shiraishi Chiren chuckled softly, but her words were considerate and gentle.

This caused Inari Yuki to clench her fists and glare angrily at Kurose Izumi!

"Ugh! Kurose-senpai is an idiot!"

"Why are you yelling at me?!"

"Because Kurose-senpai is an idiot!"

"Fine, fine, go ahead and yell..."

Adhering to the principle that a good man doesn't fight with a woman, Izumi Kurose conceded first.

Getting scolded a couple of times won't hurt you, so just ignore it.

He smiled as he opened the brown bento box—it was something he had made with Shiraishi Chiren that morning.

The menu is very extensive, featuring hot dogs that are spread out like octopuses, as well as black pepper fried pork chops, pan-fried salmon, and broccoli.

"Did Shiraishi-senpai make this?" Inari Yuki looked at her bento box, her eyes sparkling.

“Yes, Shiraishi did it. I helped with the processing and assisted him,” Kurose Izumi nodded in reply.

Wow~~~

After exclaiming in surprise, Inari Yuki picked up her chopsticks, put her hands together, and said, "Then I will start eating without being polite! I will eat with gratitude."

"That's too heavy." Shiraishi Chiren smiled. "I hope it suits your taste."

"Of course!"

Kurose Izumi answered first, before Inari Yuki could.

Then he added, "Shiraishi, your cooking is delicious. Even though I've eaten it more than ten times, I still never get tired of it!"

"Eh?"

Inari Yuki was stunned upon hearing this.

What does it mean to eat it more than ten times and never get tired of it, and even have someone help out?

The Animal Research Institute is newly established. I heard from them that they used to eat in the cafeteria, and the idea of ​​making bento boxes came to them suddenly...

Based on the above information, Inari Yuki draws a conclusion, which is—

"Are these seniors living together?"

Kurose Izumi, who had been leisurely eating a bite of food, immediately choked on her food upon hearing Inari Yuki's words!

He patted his chest forcefully, swallowed the food, and coughed a few times before saying:

"Cough cough! What nonsense are you spouting all of a sudden!"