Kouhei's gaze locked onto Himeno Yui.
His heart pounded with a strange, unshakable certainty.
He didn't know how—hell, he didn't even know why—but just by looking at her, something inside him screamed the truth that she was the one who did this to him.
This world, this fake reality, this suffocating illusion—she was the one who had trapped him here.
The hows, the reasons, the mechanics of it all remained veiled in mystery. But that gut-deep knowing was impossible to ignore.
It had to be her. No one else.
"That hurt, senpai~," Yui cooed, voice light and teasing, but laced with venom just beneath the surface. Her lips curled into a mock pout as she tilted her head. "Calling me Himeno-san all of a sudden… after all this time of affectionately calling me Yui-chan?"
There was a bitterness hidden in the sweetness of her tone. A playful jab masking something deeper.
But Kouhei didn't waver.
That nickname… he hadn't used it out of love.
No.
