Yandere Dating System

Well, Aiden thought wryly, This certainly wasn’t a part of the plan.

 

He stood in the hallway entryway of a bright, well-lit home with clean and spotlessly white walls. A residence truly fit for the upper-middle class with it’s roomy, high-ceilinged structure and modern, stylish decor. 

 

A staircase led up to a second floor and built into said staircase was a door. Further beyond was the living room. And in the middle of that, looking at them in total disbelief, was a pretty young girl.

 

 “What?!” An apple dropped from her hand. “What do you mean, he’s going to be living with us?!” Rumi’s shocked, disgruntled and incredulous face was a perfect mirror for Aiden’s own inner feelings.  

 

“He’s gone through a tough time, Rumi. I should have brought him home ages ago, this incident just proves that I was right to want to.”

 

“What’re you even talking about?!” The girl held a hand up to her head, as Aiden felt was totally right. “W-Why would you want to bring him home? And how can you think it’s a good idea to anyway? What about me? You’re really going to let me live with some stranger?!”

 

Naoko patiently explained. “Rumi, Yuuji is not a bad person. You don’t know him, yes, but I vouch for his gentlemanly personality.” She pat her chest with a grin as if proud.

 

Rumi blinked. She looked from her mother to the fatty. Although he cleaned up well enough, what part of him was gentlemanly exactly? He still gave off the aura of someone suspicious!

 

But her mother wouldn’t hear of it.  “He’s perfectly harmless, okay?” The woman said, obviously having no idea about Aiden’s past conquests. “ You’ve been around him yourself often enough, you should know this by now. He’s a very good boy. Think of him like... a brother.” She nodded. 

 

The younger girl looked like she’d just swallowed a lemon when her mother said that. The two youths stared at one another. 

 

Aiden offered an apologetic smile.

 

Oh christ. Don’t tell me I’m this woman’s bastard? 

 

That was troublesome in various ways. For starters, once he slimmed down and muscled up he’d wanted to try his hand at thoroughly exploring every nook and cranny on the woman’s body. She’d be an excellent distraction from this strange situation. One he’d happily bury his face in.

But if this Yuuji is her son, he might feel bad about it a little bit. Well, more so than that she probably won’t be responsive to the idea to begin with. 

 

He’s pretty sure this is still somewhere in the United States of this world, but he didn’t think this was Alabama.

 

If Yuuji is the woman’s son it’d explain a few things. He felt Rumi had a personal dislike for him that went past just thinking of the boy as unhygienic. And the mother was too nice to him. He could feel it even just from the hour or so he’d spent with her.

 

Rumi might’ve caught onto that and started to suspect something. On a table nearby he saw a few photos of the two women with a somewhat thin, bright-eyed man. Rumi was much younger in the picture but that must’ve been her father. She caught him glancing at it and glared at him.

 

Oh yeah. Something about this is definitely suspicious, Aiden confirmed from her expression.

 

Yuuji being the son of a past affair could very well be the case. If he isn’t her son, he must be at least some kind of relative Rumi was never told about. But the woman didn’t explain anything. 

 

“Rumi, would you mind bringing some extra blankets to the guest room? Ah, and go start packing his other stuff from the old room. We’ll go over in a bit to help bring them over. As for you,Yuu-kun, you just follow me. I’ll help you get settled before we go. “

 

Aiden firmly stood his ground. “No. I don’t think I will.” He replied evenly. His voice was full of a confidence that surprised the other two.

 

Meanwhile Aiden was momentarily stunned.

--Favorability with Hasegawa Rumi has risen slightly--

 

--Your manner of speaking has changed the way people view you--

 

--Charisma increased by 1--

 

So acting a certain way can increase the stat, too? It made sense, he supposed. A change in tone can make one either seem very diminutive or very large even if the opposite is true.

 

Presentation is key, apparently. That’s good for Aiden. He was nothing if not a man who was confident in himself. 

 

“I appreciate all this, but I don’t know you.” He calmly continued. “ Maybe you know me, but you haven’t even explained how. And I’m not going to just barge into someone else’s home. So please just bring me to wherever I’ve been staying so far. There’s no need for you to do this for m--”

He was cut off. “Nope.” Naoko smiled. And dragged him along. “You’re staying where I can keep an eye on you. Please just trust me, Yuu-kun.”

 

He couldn’t help but be astonished at her strength. She had him in a vise-like grip and he literally slid along the wooden floor, pulled by his arm.

 

Is this what Cade meant when he mentioned people are a bit stronger in this world? I must be over a good two hundred pounds and she’s not struggling a single bit.

 

“Mother, that’s...I mean, he doesn’t want to be here either! Stop being unreasonable! This is kidnapping, you know? Kidnapping!” The girl may have acted a bit bitchy earlier, and she surely only said this to benefit her own self...but Aiden wholeheartedly supported her. 

 

Listen to your daughter, woman, He silently urged.

“Yuu simply doesn’t understand what’s best for him. What kidnapping? As his legal guardian, it’s my job to take care of him. If I don’t, who will?! He’ll thank me later. Anyway.  Blankets, go.”

“Oh my gods!” Rumi yelled to the heavens. “I hate you!”

 

The fuck? Don’t give up so easily.

 

“That’s nice, dear.” Her mother hummed happily without stopping. 

 

He shook his head at the younger of the two. “Weakness disgusts me.” He sighed.

 

“What was that?!”

 

“Don’t even bother to speak up if you’re going to just give in without a fight. It’s pathetic.” His words were clipped, harsh, and he meant them to be.

 

“Why you little…! How dare you talk to me like that...!

 

--Favorability with Hasegawa Rumi has moderately increased--

 

Oh?

 

He eyed the notification with interest.

 

“Stop looking at me! You doggy-eyed trash!” 

 

“Hey, now…” Naoko warned.

 

Aiden smiled. “The only trash here is you and your god-awful attitude. Haven’t you barked enough, doggy?”

 

“Are you calling me a bitch?!

“What, you prefer being called a sow?”

 

“GO DIE!” She was in full throttle, panting hard.

 

--Favorability with Hasegawa Rumi has increased--

 

So she’s one of those girls, huh. 

 

The ones who like being talked down to. 

 

“Rumi!” Her mother whipped around and gave a severe look. “Don’t yell at him like that! He just had a serious head injury! Of course he’s going to be grumpy!”

“You call that being grumpy? But he said--”

“Enough! Go, now!”

 

Rumi felt wronged. She gave the fatty a stink eye and ran off angrily, her twintails swishing like two lustrous whips in her wake. 

 

This guy! Since when did he learn to talk back to me, huh?! Although, it’s strange...I’m so pissed off, but why don’t I hate it?

Aiden snorted. He would have felt sorry for her if she wasn’t such a damn pushover just then. And if she didn’t like it. 

 

Still. He wondered what he should do? He could probably sneak out and head back to his apartment later, but he’s a minor. This woman is really his legal guardian. Things could get difficult if he just ran away. 

 

But being manhandled like this didn’t sit well with him. It made him feel like some weak-kneed pansy. However Aiden was also an adult and thought his temper made him want to give the woman a blow to the solar plexus he understood that she did mean well and that he should probably pick his battles.

 

He’s not exactly in a position to be unruly, now is he? He almost didn’t care. He thought about the ridiculous position he’d been thrown in and almost stopped giving a damn. But this woman didn’t deserve to be lashed at just to appease his sense of injustice and anger. 

 

He’d save that for Cade. Next time he saw that guy, if he ever did, it was a kick to the nuts.

 

Still, this wasn’t a situation he wanted. Again, what should he do? Aiden calmed himself. 

 

Right. Think. You’ve also handled women before.

 

And as soon as he let go of his initial impulsiveness the answer came. So he straightened himself, no longer just allowing himself to be pulled by the arm, and gave the woman a glance. 

 

“What?” She asked, noticing his look.

 

“Be honest, am I your bastard or not?”  He asked bluntly.

 

“My...my what?” Her mouth fell open. Her shock was so great she let him go and stopped in her tracks. 

 

“Then am I the son of a relative?”

“That’s...well…”

 

“What about my scars?”

Her lips pursed. “Don’t worry about those. I’ll tell you everything later. For now you should just focus on getting settled here.”

“I told you, I don’t want to live here.”

“That’s not up to you.” She folded her arms defensively.

“So she was right then? I’m basically being held against my will. That doesn’t exactly inspire good will.” His eyes turned cold.

The woman’s composure shook. “Yes. I know.” She spoke quietly.” But look what’s happened to you because I wasn’t there. Yuu, I know you must be confused about a lot right now, but please. Just--”

“Trust you? Yeah. You said that. But I don’t. If you want me to you have to try earning it. Keeping me here when I specifically told you I didn’t want to is doing the exact opposite.” He could tell she was starting to weaken. “In fact...if you really make me do this, you really don’t think I won’t end up hating you?”

 

“Hate me…” She swayed unsteadily and caught herself against a chair. “Yuu-kun will?” She held a hand to her lips. Her lashes fluttered and her eyes became moist. “No...why would you say something so terrible? Why would you ever...how could you ever...?” She trailed off and broke into a sob.

 

What. The hell.

 

Aiden was taken aback. He expected her to waver, but not break down. Isn’t a reaction like this a bit too exaggerated? What’s wrong with this woman? 

 

But he pressed on. 

 

“Think about it carefully, because if my memories never come back you’ll be stuck with whatever relationship you foster with me right now. So what’s it going to be? Do you want me to hate you, or do you want to earn back my trust?”

 

***

 

Alright. Now this really wasn’t a part of the plan.

 

Aiden rubbed his face and let out a long, tired sigh. 

 

“Yuu-kun, what are you waiting for? Come on, let’s go inside.” Naoko, wearing a simple cream-colored sweater, a dark skirt and black pantyhose, urged him into his own apartment. 

 

“Mom?” Rumi was busy packing various items into a box and was clearly surprised to see her mother. Probably because the woman carried with her a giant luggage case beside her. “What’s going on, why do you have that case with you?”

 

“Ah…” Naoko scratched her cheek and laughed embarrassedly. “Change of plans, dear. Actually he was really stubborn, so rather than him living with us I decided to just live with him instead.”

“You’re going to do what now?!” Rumi bolted up from her kneeling position. “What nonsense are you talking about this time?!” 

 

“Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone. I’m not so irresponsible.” Her mother waved for her to calm down. “You can move into the apartment next to us.”

“I...I will? Just what are you talking about here, hey….”

 

“Well, Yuuji doesn’t feel comfortable living with us but he still needs someone to look after him for a while, so I’ll do that myself. I can’t leave you by yourself, though, now can I? So you have to move too. I’m going to go get a copy of the next door’s keycard for you so just go ahead and put his things back, will you?”

 

With that, she left them alone. 

 

Rumi stared after her disappearing figure with amazement. What was even happening right now?

 

Aiden wanted a drink. He walked over to the kitchen area and poured himself a shot. 

 

“You want one, too?” He asked the girl generously. “I think you might need it.”

“I’m a minor…” She said in a daze.

 

“Since when has that ever stopped anyone?” He raised a brow and handed her a glass. Yes. Aiden is definitely a bad influence. So what? 

 

“...Thanks.” Her tone was numb. “Wait, no!” She roared. “What’s going on here, huh?! You fatty bastard, just what did you do to my mom? She’s acting insane!”

“Yeah.” He agreed and took another swig. “You should’ve seen her a few minutes ago. Woman started crying when I said I’d start hating her. She seems a bit unstable, that mother of yours.”

 

“Don’t talk about my mother like that!” She snapped. Then took a drink, downing it in one go and starting into a fit of coughs. “Hot! Bitter!” 

 

Expecting this, Aiden passed her a new cup full of milk before saying, “Hell, she might be our mother for all we know.”

 

“Bullshit.” She swallowed the contents desperately. Milk bubbles gave her a funny little moustache that was quite cute. “You take that back, stupid fatty! Y-You dun know whatchu t...t...Hic...talkin’ ‘bout” 

 

Ah. A lightweight. Neat.

 

He chuckled to himself. 

 

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Whatcha laughin’ at, stupid fatty? A-Are you gonna try makin’ fun of me again?!”

“No, no.” He placated. 

 

She hiccuped. “Really? You really won’t?”

 

“Not unless you’d like me to.” He grinned.

“Fuck off!”

 

“I’m kidding, jeez.” He chuckled once more before sobering. “Anyway, let’s get this stuff packed.”

“Huh?” A question mark formed above her head.

 

“I’m going to sell it all.” He explained simply. 

 

“Oh. Well...good! S’all disgustin’ stuff anyway!” She slurred. It was about ten minutes before she decided to speak up again. “Ew.”

 

“What is it?” He stopped and looked back.

 

“ I mean look at these things. They look just like me!”

 

She waved an auburn-haired figurine at him and gestured to all the other redheaded posters, figures and game covers littering the room. He didn’t notice that before she said it, but she was right. It did look like her, but didn’t they look more like her mother?

 

He wisely kept quiet on that part, though. 

 

...The smug look he saw a moment later, however, made him regret it.

 

“Eh, you must’ve had a crush on me I guess. Well, it’s not like I blame you. Heh.” He wanted to pinch her cheeks. Painfully.

 

“They look more like our mom though.” His words were very carefully picked for maximum effect.

 

“What did you say?!” She exploded. “You fatty pig, stop being so gross! And don’t call my mom your mom, either!”

But he was distracted by something else at the moment and failed to register her reply. 

 

--Favorability with Hasegawa Naoko has gone up--

 

The heck? He scanned the room and found a bright-eyed Naoko peeking in from the doorway. A chill went down his spine. 

 

An instant later she barged in with great aplomb. “Okay! I’m back, guys!”

“...Since how long ago, though?” He questioned.

 

“Huh? Just now, though?’ 

 

Aiden’s face was a blank slate. He grabbed one of the figurines and pointed. “See this? I think I got it because it looked like you. Don’t you think?”

 

--Favorability with Hasegawa Naoko has gone up--

 

“Oh? Haha. It does look a bit like me, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s just a coincidence?”

 

“Look around. Don’t I have a lot of stuff that looks like you, actually?”

 

--Favorability with Hasegawa Naoko...--

--Favorability...--

 

“Heh...hehehe…” 

 

“Mother?” 

 

“Ah. Yes?”

“Um...no...n-nothing.”

“Ahem.” Naoko cleared her throat. “Well, I don’t know, Yuuji. This doesn’t seem very appropriate, you know?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what the me of back then could have been thinking. I’m just going to sell them, don’t worry.”

 

“Obviously that’s what you should do. I can’t believe you had such a disgusting hobby, looking at my mom like that!” The daughter snickered. “What a greasy fellow, huh mom? We should just melt these things down!”

Naoko’s left eye twitched for just a fraction of a second before she delivered the most serene smile Aiden had ever seen in his life.

 

“Rumi, shut up.”

Yup. Now he gets it.

....Either I'm getting killed tonight, or raped

He really didn't know whether to lock his door or leave it open.