Chapter 10: Episode 10

Yuki was sitting on the bus stop bench, rereading the text that Akise had sent her. Today, she was going to the movies with Akise. Where it had been just the other day that she first met the boy that tensions were running high, Hinata turned out to be possessing her father's diary, and Yuto nearly ending another life, it might seem strange that she was about to go to the movies with someone who she thought to be a fellow diary user.

An outing ought to bring a sense of normalcy into her hectic life though. And heaven knows that that was what she desperately needed. The corner of her lips curved upwards. It might not be so bad, after all; Akise Aru was certainly a good-looking guy, and him asking her out was like striking gold.

"Yuki."

She looked away from her phone, seeing Yuto standing in front of her, grinning down at her. "Y-Yuto?" Yuki blinked bewilderedly. "What are you doing here?"

From behind, she heard the bus make its stop. Yuto reached down and grabbed her hand, bringing her onto her feet. "Come on, or we'll miss the bus," he urged.

"What are you doing? I'm meeting Akise-kun here."

"I got a text from Akise about that," Yuto chirped. With a firm tug on her hand, he pulled her inside the bus.

"What about Akise-kun?" Yuki wanted to know.

"Here." Yuto flicked open his phone and presented the screen to her. Yuki briefly read it and was upset to find out that her plans with the other boy made their impromptu cancellation. But what really got her? The fact that he recommended Yuto to drag her with him to go to a free wedding trial even, and then imply that she wanted Yuto to take her there!

"If Akise-kun texted me and then texted Yuto, could only mean we were set up!" she whimpered. She looked over her head to find that the door had shifted to its close. "No way!"

"Geez, Yuki, I never knew that you had that girlish side of you," Yuto chuckled. "Let's go find some seats, shall we? Oh, and I'm guessing that you didn't eat breakfast, right? It's a good thing that I prepared for that."

Ever since Yuki made her announcement on that day in front of Hinata, Mao, Kosaka, Akise, and, more importantly, Yuto that Yuto was her boyfriend, Yuto became even more of a nuisance. Ecstatic that their relationship was officially a dating one, he would chase after her in the hallways, seek her out on breaks, call and text her twice as often, and shout out her name in that loud cheerful voice of his. It was a nightmare.

Granted, she did it in order to evade any of Yuto's petty jealousy for her attention, who was under the impression that if she befriended anyone then she would forget all about him; in doing so, however, she not only prevented Yuto from breaking his promise of not putting Hinata's life on the line but also fed Yuto's hankering for romance.

A girl in her class once told her that she was lucky to have a cute dork as a boyfriend after Yuto waved her goodbye to go back to his classroom when lunchtime was over—and Yuki recalled clearly Yuto shamelessly exclaiming, "I'll wait for you here after school, girlfriend!" and her having to bear the burden of people snickering at them, the now dubbed dorky couple. In any other circumstances, as Yuki would usually tell herself, she would be lucky. However, knowing who and what Yuto was changed everything.

Yuki had to admit, the food tasting was amazing. The meals were so exquisite and each bite was bursting with unique flavor. After that followed the music selection and the wedding themes, which were interesting in their own way. Never did Yuki knew that there were so many choices to plan one event of a couple's life, but she supposed that such a case should be done under careful planning when going through a ceremony of love and unification.

Bit by bit, Yuki learned to relax and enjoy her time here. Yes, she was spending her day with Yuto, but it would seem strange if she did it with anyone else by now. And if she was being honest, she would say that she was, in fact, having fun. She hated having to agree with any of Yuto's typically nonsensical comments, but perhaps weddings did bring out that girly side of her.

The final step of the free trial was the dressing up. Yuki wasn't sure what to feel about this; she usually found clothes shopping to be exhausting, much to her mother's disappointment, but she was about to try on a wedding dress. How would that look on her? Yuto appeared to be excited about it, in contrast.

Now, if only they could bypass one obstacle. Standing before them was a particularly intimidating short old woman. The lady's hands were clasped behind her back as she stared obtrusively at them.

"What's with you youngsters?" she sneered.

"Excuse me," Yuto decided to bravely go head on, "but I heard that my girlfriend here could try on a dress."

"Ha! Don't speak of nonsense!" the old woman scoffed. "I don't have any dresses for children!" Contradictory to her statement, she whipped out a measuring tape with gusto. Instantly, the senior stepped into her personal bubble and began to take her measurements while rambling on, "You brats should go home! Honestly, children these days have no respect for their elders. All they care about is making themselves pretty."

It doesn't seem like this lady minds too much, Yuki thought dryly.

Yuto was taken to another room where he could fit into a groom's suit whereas Yuki stayed to find a dress for her. The old woman finally finished measuring her and, without stopping her grumbling and complaining, managed to fish out the perfect gown for her. According to her, it would compliment Yuki's body type, whatever that meant.

The lady pushed her into a mirrored room with the dress and ordered her to get changed. Yuki sighed and did so, and then inspected herself in the mirror. The neckline was dipped low, exposing a wide expanse of her upper back and baring her shoulders. There were ruffles where the torso hugged her chest, and Yuki realized that it was supposed to give the illusion of bigger breasts. She snorted and shook her head.

The skirt flared out where her hips were. When she did an experimental twirl, dress delicately flew up to the point where it didn't display her underwear but her upper thighs. Yuki…actually didn't look so bad.

There was impatient knocking on the door. "Are you done yet, missy?"

"Ye-yes, ma'am."

The old woman entered, and then smiled proudly. "I did good," she congratulated herself. "I knew it would look great on you—hold it! What are you wearing on your feet?" she cried out disgustedly.

Yuki looked down. "Um, sneakers?"

"You came here wearing those? Are you mad? No, no, no! This is not going to happen!" The senior left, only to return with a pair of shiny white flats. "You're going to wear these or else! And while at it, let me get you a tiara—you look like the tiara-type."

When all was finished, Yuki walked out. It was to her surprise that Yuto was standing next to Kurusu Naomi decked in a white suit. The apparel made his shoulders appear broader and him taller. He looked amazing.

"Wow, Yuki," he breathed out, "you look amazing."

She blushed and ducked her head. "U-um, you too, Yuto."

"No, I mean, you really look amazing! You look so cute!" he continued to shower her with approbation.

"Alright, that's enough," giggled Naomi. "It's time to get your pictures taken to remember this special day!"

They had Yuki sit on a chair with a bouquet on her lap, and Yuto standing next to her. She sent a quick glance at Yuto who was wearing a proud, happy expression on his face. Her insides felt warm and she found herself oddly content. The cameraman instructed them to look at his way before setting the lights to flash.

"That's weird. It's open. I must have left it unlocked."

Yuki blinked out of her sleepiness. There was something hard against her cheek. A shoulder…?

"What?" she murmured blearily.

"Oh, you're awake, Yuki!" she heard Yuto pleasantly say. "I hope you don't mind me taking you to my house, but I guess it'd be only appropriate since we just got married." With that said, he laughed merrily.

Yuki was too tired to let that comment bother her, or the fact that she was given a piggyback ride as she took a nap from the long and tiresome day. Her sleepy brain wasn't working fast enough to register what was so wrong about Yuto's home in the first place.

Yuto entered the building and offered to take her to one of the guestrooms, but Yuki declined and requested to be set down. As Yuto disappeared to the kitchen, Yuki walked absently down the dark corridor; when she found the light switch, she pushed it on, but the halls remained pitch black.

"The power is still out," someone said. Stepping out of the shadows and into the dim illumination of what the moon could provide was Akise. "Good evening, Yukiyori-san."

Her eyes widened. "Akise-kun?"

"Was the free wedding trial interesting?"

"Why…" What was Akise doing here? Why…

Oh. Of course.

During the few days that she got to know Akise, he emphasized how his dream was to become the greatest detective there was. She never questioned his investigative acumen, learning very quickly just how intelligent he was. However, along with an impressive asset of skills was paired with an unquenchable curiosity that Yuki was sure was going to get him in trouble one of these days.

So it made sense why he set Yuki and Yuto to go on that wedding trial—it was to distract Yuto long enough for Akise to inspect his house. Being one of the witnesses of Yuto's belligerent behavior would stir inquiries. Hinata and Mao got firsthand experience to know what Yuto was capable of, and Kosaka had enough common sense to steer clear away. Akise, alas, didn't have a sense of self-preservation to keep away from danger.

What a fool, Yuki sadly thought.

"While we were gone, you looked around Yuto's house, didn't you?" she softly said.

Akise smiled. "Very good. I did have fun exploring, in case you were wondering."

She warily glanced at the door that she once made a grave mistake in doing. "Don't tell me y-you opened that door…"

"Yuki, are you there?" called out Yuto.

"This room isn't normal, Yukiyori-san," Akise said, placing a hand on the paneled door.

Footsteps pattered closer to the corridor that Akise and Yuki were standing in. "Yuki, I thought I heard another voice." Yuto stopped in his tracks. "Oh, it's Akise. When did I let you in here?"

Yuki turned back to Akise, grimacing. "Why would you—don't you know—!"

"Yes, I figured that there would be something like corpses here, but…" He slid the door to the side, letting Yuki see it for herself. For what she thought was supposed to be emaciated bodies was now replaced with a room that had its wall broken down and open to the backyard. It was as if a bulldozer had crashed through because the planks that held the wall and the ceiling together stuck out like jagged teeth of the mouth of the opening, and the floorboards of the outside walkway were smashed and splintered.

Yet what was the most shocking was the gargantuan crater that was supposed to be the backyard.

"What on earth," Yuki gasped.

"Now, just how did he manage to dig that huge hole?" mused Akise, peering down next to her. "It's so deep that I can't see the bottom."

How? No, the important question was why he dug up the hole. "Yuto," Yuki said, looking over her shoulder, "what did you do with the corpses?"

Yuto walked forward with a puzzled look on his face. "Corpses?"

Frustration grappled her. Why was he acting clueless? "When I came here before…!"

"What?" He placed a finger on his chin, as though he was trying to remember when there was a time. It was as if he was genuinely lost… Like the memory just didn't exist…

He couldn't possibly be… "Yuto, you…"

"Anyway, it's getting cold. Come back inside and I'll show you the guestroom." He smiled, tilting his head to the side. "Make yourself at home, Yuki, since this is the first time you're visiting my home."

Yuki stiffened. She was indeed cold, but it wasn't the nighttime air that was causing the hairs on her skin to stand up straight.

Akise smoothly took over. Lucky for her since she didn't think that she could speak now. "Sorry, Gasai-kun, but Yukiyori-san and I have a class project that we need to work on. I just remembered that we had to do it, but I didn't want to interrupt your date."

"Oh, well, that's unfortunate."

"It is. I'll walk Yukiyori-san home as we discuss about the project." Akise smiled disarmingly. "I hope that's alright with you."

"I guess so," Yuto said cheerfully. "Just as you know that Yuki is my girlfriend, everything is fine."

Yuki blanched. He just had to put it so bluntly, didn't he?

It didn't take long for them to leave the building, though Yuki felt that they couldn't leave fast enough. Once they were at what she believed to be a safe range, she heaved a sigh and let her shoulders slump.

"You know, it's a possibility that he could have falsified his own memories," said Akise.

"Falsified his memories?"

"His mental balance is apparently so fragile that he needs to resort such measures."Akise stopped walking to tell her seriously. "Yukiyori-san, I thought I had to bring everything to light for his own good, but I was wrong. Gasai-kun is too volatile if he's not with you."

Yuki lowered her eyes. "Mm."

The way Akise said it wasn't to enlighten her with new information. She knew that he knew about her awareness of the instability of Yuto's framework of his mind. No, what Akise was doing was reminding her that the Yuto who she spent the day with was more than what met the eye.