"Twenty-five years ago... which would be ten years ago for the me in this world."
So this happened when she was just fourteen years old.
"That day was a totally normal school day. Nothing special. On my way home, I got kidnapped by a woman. She was a neighbor who lived near my house—someone who'd smile and greet me every single day. That's why I let my guard down..."
"Kidnapped by a woman... that's pretty rare, honestly."
Usually, when young girls get kidnapped, it's some creepy guy behind it—either for ransom or for... other reasons. Women have a harder time pulling off something like that alone because of the physical strength gap. They don't usually participate directly in violent crimes, though they do show up as accomplices sometimes.
"That woman was completely insane. She was obsessed with some weird ritual—believed that if she infused herself with the blood of three young girls, she could stay young forever."
"Uh..."
Meeting a lunatic like that? That's just the worst luck imaginable.
Just hearing Kohaku-nee describe that madwoman was enough to guess what happened next. She must have had her blood drained—not killed instantly, but forced to watch as she slowly drifted toward death...
"She'd been planning it for a long time. She identified three girls in the neighborhood with the same blood type as hers, prepped all her tools in advance, tied the three of us up in her home, and got ready to drain enough blood for the ritual all at once."
"Because that woman followed the alphabetical order of surnames, and my surname starts with 'T'—I was last among the three. In the end, only I survived..."
"But the other two girls weren't as lucky as me. They got drained dry by that woman right in front of my eyes... until they died."
Having read Kaiji—you know, the manga where the second half involves that insane blood-drawing mahjong game—Kuroha Akira knew the stats. A person's total blood volume is usually around 3,500 to 4,000 cc. Lose 1,000 cc and you'll pass out from blood loss. Lose 1,600 cc and it's game over. Perma-death.
After a person dies, blood circulation stops, making it really hard to draw more blood. That's why the madwoman needed three victims' worth—three girls' blood would be roughly enough to replace her entire body's supply. Not that it made any logical sense, but crazy people don't exactly follow logic.
"When it finally came to my turn, I thought I was going to die there too. But just as I was about to lose consciousness, I saw the police burst in. They subdued that madwoman, rushed me to the hospital for a transfusion, and eventually saved my life."
After finishing her story, Kohaku-nee gave a bitter smile.
"Ever since that day, I haven't been able to trust anyone. I even felt scared around my own parents... because whenever people look at me with a smile, I always think of that woman. I can't help wondering what twisted thoughts are hiding behind their kind expressions."
This was the classic "once bitten, twice shy" situation—except way more extreme.
Social anxiety often comes from either family issues or traumatic experiences. Kohaku-nee definitely fell into the latter category. That experience was burned into her memory, causing years and years of suffering.
"So when I was young, I was actually just as cowardly as you are now. I was terrified of interacting with people. But later, when I lost my sight due to that accident... yeah, my world went completely dark. But for me? It was also a kind of liberation."
"I couldn't see anything anymore, so my fear of humans turned into a fear of darkness. I didn't actually overcome anything—I just replaced one fear with another."
"But precisely because I couldn't see, I was able to communicate with people more normally... Still, I'm genuinely glad you didn't lose your sight. Because as long as you can overcome your fear, you'll definitely live a better life than I did."
Kohaku-nee spoke her true feelings directly to her other self.
She was like those isekai protagonists who get reborn into the past—she just wanted to fix regrets. Make things right.
After saying all that, Kohaku-nee closed her eyes and handed control of the body back to her other self.
"..."
Original Kurenai-chan kept her head down for a while, silent. Then she slowly looked up at Kuroha Akira and asked,
"Then... what should I do? How can I overcome my fear of people?"
The tone of that last sentence wavered—like she was asking herself, and also asking him.
Kuroha Akira felt a wave of relief. After two rounds of persuasion, he'd finally managed to talk her down from those extreme thoughts. She was even opening up a little, willing to try changing. That was a pretty solid start.
But he didn't smile. Because a kind, gentle smile might actually trigger Original Kurenai-chan's phobia. She probably chose to become an undertaker because dead people's expressions don't change—they're way more honest than living humans.
So instead, Kuroha Akira kept a straight face and asked,
"Hey, Kurenai. Why are you able to talk to me normally, then?"
"Ugh... That's because my other self... she trusts you a lot..."
"So basically, as long as it's someone your other self trusts, you can talk to them just fine, right?"
"Mm... probably... At least I trust my other self. I know for sure that she would never, ever hurt me."
Original Kurenai-chan said this kinda dejectedly.
"That's why I thought about giving her my body... Instead of always switching back and forth, wouldn't it be easier to just become one person? Then a lot of problems would be solved, right?"
"I see. It would definitely be more convenient to become one person."
"Right...? So I really should just disappear after all..."
Inside, Kohaku-nee was watching this conversation like a horror movie. "AKIRA! What are you doing?! You're not supposed to agree with her right now! This is just making her retreat into her shell again!"
But Kuroha Akira couldn't hear that voice. He just kept talking casually.
"If there was a safe way to merge you two, I'd say go for it. That'd be great. But the problem is—nobody can guarantee that dangerous methods like suicide will actually make you fuse, right?"
From Kuroha Akira's perspective, Tashiro Kurenai's dual personality situation was definitely a hassle. Of course he'd want to solve it once and for all. But since that wasn't really an option, he had to come up with a plan B.
"And honestly? I don't think you need to become a 'normal person' anyway. What even is 'normal'? Does being able to chat with people like everybody else count as normal? That doesn't really mean anything, does it?"
"Eh...?"
Kuroha Akira said this with his arms crossed, and Original Kurenai-chan just stared at him blankly.
The thing was—these weren't sarcastic remarks. He genuinely believed what he was saying.
Even Kohaku-nee was surprised. Was this really how Kuroha Akira was "guiding" her? It felt more like he was pushing her other self deeper into the abyss. Was this some kind of destructive therapy? A reverse psychology thing?
Kuroha Akira kept going, laying out his personal philosophy.
"You meet tons of people in life, but how many actually become friends? And even if you genuinely try to connect with someone, there's no guarantee you'll get anything back. You might just end up getting hurt. So what's the point?"
"Because this world isn't some fairy tale where being nice to people means they'll be nice back. 'Good deeds get rewarded, bad deeds get punished'? That's total nonsense. The whole 'farmer and the snake' thing? That's the real normal. You're afraid of humans precisely because you can't read their hearts. And honestly? That's completely reasonable."
"Even my offer to have you be Shion's manager? That had ulterior motives. I wasn't doing it purely for your sake."
Original Kurenai-chan listened to all this with a dazed expression. Then, almost despairingly, she asked,
"Then... what can I still believe in...?"
"It's simple! Money!"
If it weren't for Tashiro Kurenai's fear of smiles, Kuroha Akira would definitely be wearing the most evil, smug grin right now.
"Kurenai. Stop believing in people. Come on—let's believe in money together!"