The setting sun washed the gates in amber, the kind of light that made everything look softer than it really was. Tsukimi wasn't fooled. Neither was I.
She skipped toward me, humming, her steps light. She looked happy. Too happy for someone who'd nearly crippled a senpai in a storage room less than an hour ago.
When her eyes found mine, she lit up, cheeks pink as though the world belonged only to us.
And then Takagi stepped out from behind the wall.
Bloodshot eyes. Tight jaw. His whole body coiled like a spring wound too far.
The air went heavy.
"Tsukimi… what's happening? You don't talk to me anymore. You don't even look at me."
Tsukimi slowed. For a moment, she tilted her head, then her gaze slid to me. Her lips curved into that faint, mocking smile I'd learned to fear and crave in equal measure.
"Because I don't need you anymore."
Her voice was calm. Final.
Takagi's hands trembled. He reached out, fingers locking around her wrist. Desperation leaked from him like sweat.
"Don't… don't say that. You're just... confused. You don't know what he's doing to you."
Her expression didn't falter. She didn't even try to pull away. She just looked at him like he was already gone.
My vision flickered.
[Warning: Rival attempting tether recovery.]
[Quest Directive: Break the Rival (Permanently).]
Takagi's grip tightened. His voice cracked.
"You said you liked me. You kissed me! You can't pretend that didn't mean anything!"
Tsukimi blinked, slow and deliberate, then smiled like winter ice.
"You're right. I did kiss you." she paused, eyes sharp as glass, "And it meant nothing."
[Rival Integrity — 82% → 74%]
Takagi's face twisted, veins standing out in his neck. His desperation had finally found its shape: rage.
And he turned it on me.
Takagi's grip on her wrist shook like he was holding on to the last rope before a drop. His voice cracked under the weight of desperation.
"That kiss meant something, right? You told me you cared. Please… don't let him take that from us."
Tsukimi's eyes, once soft, now looked like polished glass. A chill rolled through the air. Her words came clipped, as if she'd practiced this in her head a thousand times.
"Lucien told me the truth. You lied. You always lie."
Something inside me shifted. The system was waiting, hungry. And I let it.
I brushed a thread of intent across her mind, the Whisper Key unlocking like a click in her soul.
"He's just saying whatever it takes to keep you. He never loved you."
Her aura flickered. Acceptance settled like chains clicking shut.
[Rival Tether Severed — Integrity 74% → 49%]
Takagi saw it. The way her eyes hardened, the way her shoulders angled toward me like a compass needle snapping north. He saw the judgment fall and his whole face broke with it.
Then his fury turned.
"You. You're the reason she's acting like this. What did you do to her?"
My smile was steady, but my heart hammered like a guilty drum.
"Nothing you wouldn't have done, given the chance."
[Duel Condition Met: Rival Acknowledges You.]
[Verbal Duel Engaged: Lucien (Charm 114) vs. Takagi (Resolve 67).]
[Victory Condition: Break Rival's self-image. (Permanent)]
[Failure Condition: Rival restores tether. Affinity loss: Tsukimi -50%.]
This wasn't about fists. It was about who Tsukimi would believe stood closest to her when the world cracked.
The gates were quiet, but the tension made it feel like the whole school was watching.
Takagi's jaw trembled, his voice breaking as he clung to the last tatters of pride.
Takagi: "Tsukimi… listen to me. This isn't you. The girl I knew, she laughed with me, she trusted me. Don't you remember that? Don't you remember us?"
[Verbal Duel: Round 1. Charm vs. Resolve — Advantage: Host]
I tilted my head, words sliding like a blade across silk.
"You mean the girl you cornered when she was vulnerable? The girl you claimed because she was too kind to push you away? That wasn't love. That was convenience."
Tsukimi's lips parted, then curved.
Tsukimi: "He's right. You didn't love me. You loved the idea that I might."
[Rival Integrity — 49% → 30%]
Takagi flinched like I'd landed a physical blow. His voice grew louder, more desperate.
"No! Don't do this! Tsukimi, I was there! I cared when no one else did! He's just… he's just manipulating you!"
[Verbal Duel: Round 2]
I stepped closer, low and steady.
"If you cared, you wouldn't need to beg. Real care doesn't chain someone to your side, it sets them free. She chose. And it wasn't you."
Tsukimi's eyes softened, on me, never on him.
"Lucien told me the truth. You only ever wanted me on your terms. I'm done with that."
[Rival Integrity — 30% → 19%]
Takagi's breath turned ragged. His last defense snapped like brittle wood.
"You can't just throw me away! Tsukimi, he's poisoned you! Wake up!"
His hand shot out, desperate fingers trying to drag her back by force.
The sharp crack of skin on skin echoed like a gunshot.
Tsukimi had slapped him.
Her voice was low, final, ice-edged.
"Don't touch me."
Then she moved, just one step, but it was everything. She crossed the invisible line and stood behind me, her hand brushing mine like a vow.
[Final Round Condition Met. Rival Integrity — 19% → 0%.]
[Quest Update: Takagi — Broken (Permanent).]
Takagi staggered back, eyes wild, chest heaving like he couldn't breathe. For a second, he looked at me with pure hatred. But beneath it, worse: recognition. He knew he had lost. And Tsukimi didn't look at him again.
Takagi stood there, breathing like a man drowning, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles bled white. His eyes burned with hatred, despair, and something worse, understanding. He knew he'd lost. But he wasn't ready to stop fighting.
Tsukimi pressed against me, her fingers digging into my arm like claws, her breath hot and unsteady. She wasn't just claiming me. She was erasing him.
"Not convinced yet, huh?" I murmured, my voice low.
Takagi's chest heaved. "You... you monster...!"
I smirked.
Then I pulled Tsukimi against me and crushed my mouth to hers.
Her lips were soft, desperate, hungry, like she'd been starving for this, for me. I tangled my fingers in her hair, yanking just enough to make her gasp into my mouth. My other hand slid down her back, gripping her hip hard enough to bruise.
She moaned, a broken, needy sound that echoed off the alley walls.
"Ahn~! Lu-Lucien…!" Her voice was thready, breathless, her nails digging crescents into my shoulders. "Nn...! More...!"
I obliged.
My teeth scraped her lower lip, my tongue forcing its way past her teeth, claiming her like I was branding her soul. She whimpered, her body arching into mine, her thighs pressing together like she was trying to ease an ache only I could fix.
"Ah...! Nn, Lucien, I... I can't...!" Her voice cracked, her breath hitching as my hand slid under her skirt, fingers brushing against the lace of her panties.
Takagi made a choked sound.
I pulled back just enough to let Tsukimi pant against my lips, her eyes glazed, her cheeks flushed pink, her lips swollen from my teeth.
"You see this, Takagi?" My voice was cold, amused, my fingers tracing circles on her thigh, inching higher.
Tsukimi whined, her hips jerking forward, her voice a pleading, broken thing. "Lucien… Please...!"
I grinned.
"She's mine now." My fingers hooked into the fabric of her panties, yanking just enough to make her gasp. "Every sound she makes? Every breath? Every thought? They're all for me."
Takagi's face was white, his body trembling, his pants tenting in a way that made my stomach twist.
Pathetic.
Tsukimi moaned again, her body shuddering as my fingers brushed against her, her voice rising into a desperate, needy cry. "Ah...! Lucien, I... I need...!"
I leaned in, my lips brushing her ear, my voice a dark, intimate promise.
"Say it."
She shivered, her breath hitching, her body trembling against mine.
"I'm yours." Her voice was raw, broken, true. "Only yours. Forever."
I smirked, my fingers finally slipping beneath the lace.
And Takagi snapped.
"STOP IT!"
Tsukimi cried out as my fingers found her, her body jerking, her nails raking down my back.
"Lucien...! Ah... ! I... I...!"
Takagi lunged.
I caught him by the throat before he could touch her, slamming him against the alley wall. His eyes were wild, desperate, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"You lost," I hissed, my voice low, deadly. "She was never yours. She was always mine."
His face twisted, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"You bastard...!"
I leaned in, my grip tightening just enough to make him choke.
"No." My voice was soft, final. "I'm just the man who won."
Then I let him go.
He collapsed, his body crumpling against the filthy pavement, his breath coming in sobs.
Tsukimi panted, her body still trembling, her eyes locked onto me like I was her entire world.
[Quest Update: Rival Breakdown — 100% Complete.]
[New Title Unlocked: "The Uncontested." - No rivals. No competition. Just you, your harem of broken souls, and the crushing weight of your own guilt. (Congrats! You've won! What's left to live for?)"]
[Reward: +10 Endurance (Current: 34).]
[Warning: Rival's mental state is now "Irreversibly Broken." (Congratulations!)]
[Suggestion: "Why stop here? Permanent removal is so satisfying."]
Takagi didn't move.
Tsukimi clung to me, her breath still unsteady, her voice a whisper.
"…Is he okay?"
I looked down at the broken boy on the ground.
"Does it matter?"
She hesitated.
"No."
I smirked, pulling her closer, my lips brushing her forehead.
"Good girl."
Tsukimi tilted her head, her eyes gleaming in the dim light.
"…Should I?"
I considered it. Then I shook my head.
"No."
Her expression faltered. "But..."
"He's not worth the effort." I brushed a thumb over her lip, my voice cold, final. "Let him live with this. Let him remember."
She pouted, but nodded.
The system sighed, disappointed but amused.
I took Tsukimi's hand, pulling her away from the alley, leaving Takagi curled on the ground, his breath hitching in broken sobs.
She leaned into me, her voice soft, satisfied.
"…I like it when you're like this."
[Affinity Update: Tsukimi Chifuyu — 240% (Yandere++: "Would Burn the World For You"). Note: "She's yours now. Enjoy your new pet."]
I exhaled, staring at the blood-red sky.
"Yeah. Mine."
And for the first time, I didn't hate the sound of it.
Somewhere, in the darkness of the alley, Takagi whispered to himself, his voice broken, hollow.
"…I loved her."
The system chuckled.
[Psychological Damage: Irreversible. Prediction: "He'll either kill himself… or come back worse." Suggestion: "Place your bets, Host."]
[UPTADED STATUS]
[Flagged Rival: Takagi — Active (Broken) - "Formerly a person. Now a warning. (System Update: 'His mental state is currently: "Screaming into the void." Enjoy!') Current status: 'Emotionally bankrupt and one bad day away from becoming a school shooter.' (Not that we're judging.)"]
I just walked away, Tsukimi's hand clasped in mine, her laughter like bell chimes in the silence of the night.
And behind us, the echo of a soul cracking followed like a ghost
["Remember, Lucien: You're not a villain. You're just a man who makes practical choices. (Because I love you. I made you. )"]
[ :) ]