Intertwined Desires

“Another screw-up…”

Takuro Ochi stood lifelessly on the balcony, staring blankly at the sky.
The weather was so clear, yet his heart was shrouded in darkness.
He had made the same mistake again.

Looking back, his life was like dog shit—abandoned by the girl he loved, ostracized by classmates, dropping out of high school, falling out with his family, losing his job… Sometimes, he even thought it’d be better to just die.
No one would pity him anyway.

There was nothing worth holding onto.
Ah, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to die… If he died, maybe he could start a new, beautiful life, right?

As these thoughts swirled, a gentle voice came from the neighbor’s house.
“Yurina, can you help Mom hang the laundry?”

Soon after, a girl carrying a basket of clothes stepped onto the balcony.
Her name was Yurina Shizuki, a high school student who had recently moved in next door with her family.
She was cute, brimming with energy… Noticing Takuro’s gaze, she turned her head and greeted him with a smile.

“Hi, Uncle!”

“H-Hi.”

Takuro froze.

Unlike the fake smiles or mocking grins he was used to, her smile was so bright, so warm, that the darkness clouding his heart was instantly swept away.

Though they didn’t speak further after the greeting, Takuro felt like a drowning man grasping at a lifeline. His heart ignited with adoration, burning uncontrollably.

For the rest of the day, his mind was filled with Yurina Shizuki.
In his fantasies, Yurina always smiled so gently. Whenever he felt defeated or faced setbacks, she was there to comfort him. In time, they became a couple, got married, had children…

That evening, Takuro giggled foolishly at the mirror on his desk.
“Don’t worry, Yurina, I’ll work hard to better myself.”

Takuro was only twenty-four, but a string of misfortunes had left him looking worn and haggard. For Yurina, though, he resolved to turn his life around.
“Alright, looking sharp!”

After tidying his appearance, he nodded in satisfaction, already imagining Yurina praising his handsome look.

The next day, for the first time in ages, he didn’t sleep in. He even put on a suit, waiting by the door until Yurina left for school before stepping out.
“Ah, good morning!”

As expected, the girl in her school uniform greeted him with that gentle, adorable smile.
“M-Morning…”
“Oh, I’m gonna be late… See you next time!”

Watching her figure disappear into the distance, Takuro grinned smugly.
He was certain Yurina had fallen for him at first sight. Why else would she smile at someone like him and say so much? She must just be too shy to confess her feelings.

It had to be true.

After that, Takuro secretly took countless photos of Yurina Shizuki, looking at them over and over at home. Outside, he schemed to “bump into” her, even if each encounter was just a brief greeting.

He was thrilled, convinced their relationship was growing closer.

Until that day.

As usual, Takuro waited on the balcony for Yurina to return from school.

But what he saw was a handsome boy walking home with her.
Watching them laugh and talk, so happy and intimate… Takuro’s grip on the railing tightened unconsciously, then loosened.
“Don’t scare yourself.”

Yurina already had him. Cheating was just an illusion—they must be ordinary classmates… No, wait, Yurina’s smile was forced.

She must be coerced—

As he thought this, the two suddenly leaned their heads close together.

Yurina even pulled out her phone, seemingly to post their intimate photo on SNS to show off.
Takuro’s hopes shattered.
“Why?”

Yurina’s betrayal plunged him into despair.
“Why is it always like this?”

Life toyed with him, offering a glimmer of hope only to snatch it away… God, why treat him like this? Why so cruel? Why curse him so?
Did he not deserve happiness?

Staring at the laughing couple below, Takuro’s face twisted, rage erupting from his heart.
Filthy woman and her dog, I’ll make you both pay!

Later, he tore up all of Yurina’s photos in his room, scrawling vicious curses on the walls with paint. The next day after school, he waited at the school gate for Yurina and the boy, then tailed them.
“Damn pretty boy, die, die, die…”

He muttered obsessively, his face consumed with madness.
He would kill that boy and take revenge on Yurina.

He didn’t know where the boy lived, but since they walked home together, they’d likely take the same train.
He’d push the boy onto the tracks, make Yurina watch her lover be crushed to pulp, and let her live out her days in sorrow and guilt.

Soon, the two entered the station.

Seeing their affectionate gazes and perfect harmony, Takuro could no longer hold back.

He rushed forward, grabbed the boy’s collar, and roared,
“You bastard, how dare you touch my woman!”

Yurina was utterly stunned, frozen in place.

“I think you’ve misunderstood. My relationship with her isn’t what you think…” The boy tried to explain, but something seemed to dawn on him. “Wait, are you—”
“Shut up!”

Takuro swung a punch, but the boy ducked.

Clearly, the boy was athletic.

With his handsome looks and tall frame, he was the kind of sunny youth who could charm countless teenage girls—the exact type Takuro despised most.

Takuro unleashed a flurry of punches. The boy, no trained fighter, was overwhelmed, stumbling and falling onto the tracks.
“Kanzaki-kun!”

Yurina snapped out of her shock, rushing to pull Takuro back, but he easily shook her off.

Ignoring the train’s approaching chime, Takuro jumped onto the platform and began pummeling the boy.

Perhaps due to lack of training, or perhaps because his evildoings had finally caught up, after landing a punch that sent the boy flying, Takuro tripped and fell heavily onto the tracks—just as the train roared in.

Was he going to die?
Truly, harming others only harmed himself.

And really, what right did a failure like him, who’d accomplished nothing, have to take another’s life?

Deep down, he’d always known Yurina felt nothing for him. It was all delusion.
Everything he’d done was just impotent rage, senseless tantrums.

Let this shitty life end like this… With that, Takuro closed his eyes.
“Don’t give up!”

A voice rang in his ears.

Someone hoisted him onto their back.

Takuro opened his eyes to see the boy pushing him to safety.
“Live well—”

Good things are sure to happen.
The boy seemed to want to say that.
But Takuro couldn’t hear anymore. The iron beast devoured everything, blood scattering like snowflakes.

The world froze, silent as death.
His vision went black, and he plunged into an abyss.

Ah, another irredeemable mistake.
All he wanted was to die as a villain.

When he woke again, he faced an unfamiliar ceiling.
A dream?
No, it was all real.

He was a worthless stalker, a murderer.
How awful. Why was he such a disgusting, ugly scumbag?
“Ah, my head hurts…”

Maybe from a blow to the head, many things were foggy. Even the details of his crime were fragmented… It seemed the old him had mentally collapsed to escape responsibility.
“I’m so disgusting…”

But sifting through his remaining memories, he realized his real name was “Mana Ochi.” He’d used “Takuro Ochi” as an alias, likely because his true name sounded too feminine.
Or maybe it was to make committing crimes easier. A scumbag like him was capable of anything.

The headache soon faded, but Mana didn’t want to get up.
He wanted to die.

He knew the law wouldn’t sentence him to death. With a lawyer’s help, he might only serve a few years.

But he couldn’t accept a sinner like himself living on.

Live well, and good things will happen?
He didn’t believe it. Better to die and stop troubling others.

“Yurina, Mom’s heading out. Can you look after Misaki?”

That was the voice of Yurina’s mother, Ryoko Shizuki, familiar to Mana. But why did it sound so close, like it was just outside the room… Was this not a police station? Or had she come to testify against him?

As he pondered, a small, timid face appeared in his view.

It was Yurina’s younger sister, Misaki Shizuki, still in elementary school. A shy child, she clutched a round cat plushie, staring nervously at Mana.

“Sis, can… can you play with Misaki?”

What was this kid saying?
Mana frowned, confused. Startled, Misaki buried her face in the plushie and scampered off.

What was going on?
Why would the Shizuki family let a murderer like him into their home and allow a little girl near him?

Mana sat up, finally noticing something wrong with his body.

Silky shoulder-length hair, a swollen chest, slender limbs beneath cute pajamas, and a strange empty feeling down below… Combined with

everything just now, Mana bolted to the dresser.
“How could this happen?”

In the mirror was the girl he’d been “obsessing over.”
He had become Yurina Shizuki.