Jikirukuto: Takoyuki Arc

Yuki slumped on the bench, swiping her forehead in an over-the-top, dramatic way like a character in some cheesy soap opera. So, Yuki's just chilling, right? She wipes her face all dramatic, like she's living in a slow-mo soap moment, and goes, "Bro, can we not do the 'relive your cringe childhood' thing right now? My brain's playing reruns like it's bored."

"Bro," she groaned, letting out a big sigh, "can we not do the whole 'relive your cringe childhood' thing right now? My brain's out here running reruns like it's got nothing better to do." She'd already dealt with enough drama to keep a therapist busy for weeks, and now her brain decided to hit her with memories of baby Yuki crying over crayons. Like, seriously? Her brain's just trolling at this point—throwing in scenes of her bawling on the way to school like, 'Here's some bonus trauma for you.'

Meanwhile, Alepou stood stiff as a board, scanning the area like she was guarding top-secret government files. Alepou's over here acting like she's patrolling Area 51, ready to catch a UFO sneaking by.

Yuki glanced at her, a tiny smile sneaking onto her face, but you could tell she was still kind of freaking out inside. Yuki side-eyes her, trying to look chill, but yeah, she's definitely low-key panicking.

"Yo, Alepou," Yuki asked, half-laughing but also kind of serious, "you ever get hit with those random, embarrassing childhood memories outta nowhere? Like a mental slap to the face?"

Alepou gave her a blank stare, eyebrows pulling together like she was trying to decode Yuki's words. Alepou's just standing there like, 'Is Yuki okay, or is this an emotional meltdown in disguise?'

"Uh…no?" Alepou finally said, her voice hesitant. "Are you…good?"

Yuki snorted, letting sarcasm take over. Yuki snorts like, 'Oh, here we go.'

"Oh yeah, totally," she said, rolling her eyes. "Just remembered how I used to cry like a little gremlin because I didn't want to share crayons. Real top-tier trauma content. Bet you're glad you didn't meet me back then."

Alepou blinked slowly, her brain finally catching up. Processing… still loading…

"That…sounds…rough?" she said, trying to sound supportive.

Yuki shrugged like it was no big deal. Yuki shrugs it off like she didn't just overshare.

"Eh, it's whatever," she said. "Life throws cringe moments at you just to keep you humble. Like, 'Yo, Yuki, remember when you were a total disaster? Good times.' But hey," she added with a smirk, "at least it's over now. If I've learned one thing, it's that life will never be as bad as reliving your childhood like some cursed Netflix special."

Then, Yuki suddenly turned to face you, breaking the fourth wall like she was in a YouTube vlog. 4th Wall Demolition: Yuki straight-up turns to the camera like, 'Let me drop some wisdom real quick.'

"When life hits you with cringe childhood flashbacks," she said, acting all serious, "it's probably because you're tired, hungry, or just really need some takoyaki. Pro tip: don't freak out if your 'boobies' disappear outta nowhere. They'll come back. Probably. I hope."

And just like that, Yuki snapped back to reality, her attention locked on the takoyaki stall. Boom. Yuki's back, barely holding it together while waiting for her octopus snack like it's the most important thing in the universe.