'Mutsumi... is right there?'
A chill surged from her spine to her crown, Soyo's limbs turned colder, as if plunging into an ice cave.
Seeing her looking as terrified as if she had seen a ghost in broad daylight, Kaito shook his head and finally stopped watching from the sidelines.
Flick!
A knuckle flick lightly landed on Mortis's forehead, "No more playing mysterious."
"Ugh…", The light green-haired girl held her little head, puffing up angrily, "Onii-chan, that's mean!"
"There's worse coming," Kaito bent his index finger slightly, pretending to flick again, "Want to try?"
Regarding Mutsumi's current state, he already had some guesses in mind. Plus, he hadn't sensed any malice from Mortis, so his attitude toward her wasn't too harsh.
'Mutsumi, see that?'
Mortis puffed up her cheeks and placed her hands on her waist, like an angry green pufferfish.
'So-called 'little sister' has such a powerless position in front of a girlfriend.'
Wakaba Mutsumi: "..."
The cucumber sword maiden hesitated for a moment, but couldn't hold back and softly thought, ["So, should I take over instead?"]
Perhaps it stemmed from some sixth sense, or perhaps it was the instinct of the soul.
The girl couldn't help but feel that the second personality born from her… wasn't as reliable as she imagined?
'Don't worry, just watch my operation, guaranteed carry.'
Seeing that Mutsumi seemed to be losing trust in her and vaguely planned to take back control, Mortis quickly patted her chest in reassurance.
Finally getting a chance to show her face, and not yet having had the chance to shine, she certainly didn't want to bow out so soon.
However, before that...
"Let me introduce myself properly first," The girl gently lifted the hem of her skirt and gave a graceful lady's curtsy, then smiled slightly, "My name is Wakaba Mutsumi. Wakaba as in young leaf, and Mutsumi as in Mutsumi."
"Of course," she then playfully winked, "You can also call me by my other name—"
"Mortis."
"So that means…", Nagasaki Soyo lifted her head and looked at the all-too-familiar face of her friend, her tone hesitant, "You… are actually a second personality born from Mutsumi?"
"That's right~", Mortis sat on the sofa, cheerfully swinging her feet in white ankle socks.
Nagasaki Soyo bit her lip, hesitating to speak.
She had only seen settings like dual personalities in novels or movies before.
But now it had suddenly happened to her own friend… No matter how you looked at it, it was too unbelievable.
Kaito, on the other hand, accepted this setting quite quickly. He had already had similar suspicions, and now it was just confirmed by the person involved.
'It's just…'
"Why are you calling me 'Onii-chan' too?"
Since she was just a newly born second personality, and this was their first meeting, there was no reason for her to be this intimate, right?
"Hmm?", Mortis tilted her head and said as if it were natural, "Mutsumi and I are one. Mutsumi's Onii-chan is also my Onii-chan. Or are you saying, Onii-chan hates me? Doesn't want me to call you that?"
By the end, her tone was already full of grievance, looking over pitifully like a little beast afraid of being abandoned by its owner.
"...It's not like that," Kaito felt a bit complicated. His originally well-behaved and sensible little sister had suddenly split into two completely different individuals. This feeling was rather strange.
Compared to the quiet and reserved Mutsumi, the Mortis before him was obviously more lively and outgoing, and had all sorts of tactics for acting cute and pitiful at her fingertips.
However, her affection for him was clearly the same as Mutsumi's.
Staring at the just-Google-searched encyclopedia entry on her phone screen, Nagasaki Soyo was silent for a long time.
The birth of a dual personality usually results from a person experiencing immense grief or pain, leading to severe psychological trauma, thus triggering a natural defensive mechanism of the human psyche.
Just a few days ago, Mutsumi had still been normal. Although she didn't talk much, her mental state had been relatively stable.
'What exactly happened that severely stimulated her and even led to the birth of a new personality?'
'There hasn't been anything strange happening recently… Wait.'
Soyo suddenly remembered something she had said to her friend.
("Mutsumi, you wouldn't understand, right?")
'Could it be… because of that?'
Even if Mutsumi didn't understand what she meant at the time, since she always lived with Kaito, she would definitely find out from his words that the two of them had started dating.
So, was it because of her unintentional showing off that caused Mutsumi to feel fear of being abandoned by her Onii-chan? And in the extreme anxiety and fear, the second personality was born?
No wonder she would think that.
A young girl in her first bloom of love, only to have her crush snatched away by a friend.
Such a blow could severely damage a normal person.
After not seeing her friend for a few days and realizing her mental state had changed, and then realizing the culprit was herself?
Nagasaki Soyo felt at a complete loss, even a little afraid to look at Mortis in front of her.
Even though, by timing, she had been the first one there, the guilt still lingered in her heart and wouldn't go away.
After hesitating, she grabbed Kaito's hand, "Kaito-kun, can we go to your room for a bit? I have something to talk to you about."
"Sure," Seeing his girlfriend's heavy-hearted appearance, Kaito nodded slightly and didn't say more.
"Eh?", Mortis tugged at his sleeve, softly acting spoiled, "Can't you say it here? Mutsumi and I are very curious too~"
"Nope~", Soyo crossed her fingers, forcing a gentle smile, "Mortis-chan, please just wait quietly in the living room for a while. We'll be back very soon."
"Alright then."
Mortis looked a bit disappointed but didn't push further. She obediently sat back on the sofa, placed her hands on her knees, and straightened her back, sitting like a model elementary school student.
———
Soyo and Kaito entered the bedroom together and locked the door behind them.
Before Kaito could speak, the brown-haired girl took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Sorry. It's all because of me… that Mutsumi became like this."
She didn't beat around the bush and spilled everything she had done like pouring out beans, then lowered her eyes like a criminal awaiting trial.
'Kaito-kun… must be really mad, right?'
After all, a bad woman like her, even she couldn't forgive herself, how could she expect forgiveness from someone else?
The dim room wasn't lit, and in the silence, they could only hear each other's breathing.
Then, someone flicked her on the forehead.
"Overthinking again," After listening to Soyo's self-blame, Kaito didn't take it too seriously.
'No matter what, Mutsumi won't be fragile enough to be severely traumatized just because her Onii-chan got a girlfriend, right?'
'There are many reasons why a second personality might form, you can't jump to conclusions so easily.'
'More important than taking the blame right now… is figuring out how to deal with Mortis.'
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