Kato Megumi: Don't Look Back, I'm Tomoya-kun

[Looking at the girl standing before you, who shared your goal, an idea began to stir in your heart.As long as you can make the girl in front of you let out a moving voice that echoes through the building and reaches Izumi Sagiri's ears, you might be able to lure her out of her room. The two of you could not only achieve your shared ideals but even reach the peak together! And if you want her to cooperate obediently, perhaps you could use the fact that she's still a pure bitch to force her into submission]

"What you're saying makes sense, but I'm not listening!"

Izumi Yuu immediately rejected the narrator's suggestion without hesitation.

What would happen to Sagiri if I stooped that low?

And most importantly, the girl standing before him clearly had no intention of turning anything fake into something real.

"I don't want to be hated by Sagiri—and I definitely don't want to end up with a pair of silver bracelets."

Ignoring the narrator entirely, Yuu glanced at the girl beside him and said coolly, "This level of effort won't achieve anything."

"Huh?! Don't underestimate me! I have plenty of experience!" Megumi jinno voice trembled as she tried to sound confident. But her slight shaking betrayed her unease. She wanted to press further, yet shame tugged at her, holding her back.

An internal battle raged on her face, but then, as if steeling herself, she shut her eyes and reached a decision.

Without a word, she stretched out her pale, delicate hand toward Yuu.

"Hiss~!" Yuu couldn't help but gasp as her hand caught hold of him.

Isn't this girl supposed to be a pure bitch?!

He froze, startled by her boldness. How could she make such a move?

Caught off guard, Izumi Yuu hesitated but ultimately decided to follow his instincts.

"This is too… too much! I'm going to die!" Megumi jinno suddenly exclaimed, her face a fiery red. The moment she felt Yuu's reaction, it was as if she had been electrocuted. She let out a startled cry, leaping to the other side of the sofa to distance herself from him.

"D-Damn it! Is this hypocrite's real goal actually Nii-san?!"

At the same time, upstairs on the second floor, Sagiri Izumi, with her unusually sharp senses, detected the tense atmosphere brewing below. Her face darkened.

The air downstairs was growing heavier, more suffocating by the second. She couldn't stand it.

Sagiri stomped her foot against the floor with all her might. The resulting sound echoed like an earthquake, shaking the walls and startling everyone downstairs.

"Never forgive! Never tolerate!" she seethed, her fair and delicate face twisted in anger. "This hypocrite must pay the price!"

---

The earth-shaking stomp brought the awkward tension between Izumi Yuu and Megumi jinno to an abrupt halt.

"Ha! See? I knew Sagiri-chan must care about Yu-kun. What do you think? My plan's not bad, right?" Kamino Megumi asked with a smug grin. Despite her flushed face, she tried to mask her embarrassment with pride.

"You mean it's a terrible idea." Yuu's tone was dry as he shot her a glance.

"But Sagiri-chan still won't come out!" Megumi jinno ignored his comment, turning her gaze to the second floor. Seeing that Sagiri's door was still shut, she pouted in frustration.

Her plan had been to provoke Sagiri with her closeness to Yuu, hoping to stir jealousy strong enough to draw her out. After all, Megumi had noticed something peculiar: Sagiri seemed to harbor strange feelings for Yuu.

So far, however, the results were disappointing. Her ploy had only confirmed her suspicions—Sagiri did have feelings for Yuu—but it wasn't enough to make her leave her sanctuary.

"I already told you," Yuu sighed, "only a lot of genuine love could make Sagiri-chan leave her room on her own."

"Then…" Megumi tilted her head, her curious eyes locked on him. "Shouldn't Yuu-kun just… go for it? You know, it'd be easier to win her love that way, right?"

Yuu stared at her, his expression unreadable.

After a long silence, he confirmed something to himself.

Hmm… that wasn't the narrator's voice this time.

Looking between Kamino Megumi and the constant chatter in his head, he concluded:

These two are just as bad as each other. I can't even tell who's worse anymore.

"It should be easier for megumi." Izumi Yu glanced at the girl and said lightly.

"Huh?! I suddenly remembered I have something else to do, so I'll go back first!" Hearing Izumi Yuu's words, Megumi jinno instantly froze, then blurted out hurriedly, "I'll be back!"

[Looking at the girl desperate to flee, you can't help but sneer. Once you've set your sights on prey, it has never escaped your grasp. She runs, you chase; she can't fly away even if she had wings! You decide to capture her, lock her in the dungeon, savor her as you please, and tame her completely…]

What a ridiculous boss-forcing-love plot!

Besides, I'm a decent human being! Where on earth would I even get a dungeon?!

Izumi Yu waved away the voice of narration in his head like swatting at an annoying fly.

He glanced at Megumi jinno, now fumbling with her bag, and said gently, "No matter what, I want to thank you,megumi , for your concern about Sagiri."

Izumi Yuu could sense that the girl truly cared for Sagiri, and her actions, though misguided, came from good intentions.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have tried so hard to coax Sagiri Izumi out of her self-imposed isolation, despite knowing how slim her chances were.

Even if... her method was a little hard to justify.

"Yuu-kun, you're too polite. I just want to help Sagiri-chan however I can. She's my classmate, after all~!" Megumi jinno bowed her head politely. Her face flushed red before she abruptly turned on her heel and fled from the Izumi house.

"Hmm… Her shyness just now was odd." Watching her retreating figure, Izumi Yu fell into thought.

Am I too scary?

No, that's impossible.

Izumi Yu touched his face as if confirming his own gentleness, then sighed. There's definitely something off about Megumi jinno herself.

Shaking his head, Izumi Yu headed upstairs and knocked on Sagiri's door.

"Damn it! That insidious and cunning hypocrite is finally gone!" Sagiri exhaled in relief, her fists unclenching after confirming Kamino Hui's departure.

Hearing the knock, Sagiri shouted angrily, "Stupid Nissan! Why did you bring her home?! And you were chatting with her!"

Izumi Yu sighed, sensing the girl's dissatisfaction radiating from behind the door.

"She's your classmate, Sagiri. She came to help you. It wouldn't have been polite to just send her away," Izumi Yu explained helplessly. "Since you won't see her, I had to entertain her."

"Hmph! No matter how many times she comes, I won't go out!" Sagiri huffed. She lay on the floor, pounding it childishly with her limbs, a picture of willful defiance.

"Yes, yes, I understand," Izumi Yu said, conceding as usual.

"And… you two didn't do anything weird, right?!" Sagiri's tone suddenly sharpened, the concern evident in her voice.

"How could anything weird possibly happen?" Izumi Yu replied gently. "She just said some strange things, that's all."

"Really?" Sagiri squinted at the door, doubtful. "But I heard her say something about dying, didn't I?"

"That's true," Izumi Yu admitted calmly. "She got herself worked up over some misunderstanding and thought her life was in danger."

"I see." Sagiri nodded slowly, though her unease lingered.

Something doesn't add up.

Sure, being scared of dying was one thing, but what sort of evidence could provoke that kind of panic from Megumi jinno?

And why does my brother act like he has some hidden leverage he doesn't even know about?!

The girl's curiosity burned hotter.

---

"Hah... It's... It's too scary!" After leaving Izumi's house, Megumi jinno leaned against the wall on the side of the road, trying to steady her breathing and calm her pounding heart.

Her mind was spinning with the horrifying evidence she'd stumbled upon just moments ago.

"Will Sagiri-chan be in danger?! After all, Yu-kun and Sagiri-chan don't have a proper family relationship no matter how you look at it! They both clearly understand they aren't related by blood." Megumi face twisted into a mix of worry and envy as she muttered to herself, "But Sagiri-chan must be so happy, it's unfair~! Having such a perfect brother, and being the one closest to him—it's like winning the ultimate prize! She's already a winner in life~!"

Megumii walked down the street, her mind wandering aimlessly as she tried to process everything.

Because she was so distracted, she nearly collided with a boy wearing black-rimmed glasses who was walking towards her.

Luckily, Megumi jinno noticed just in time and sidestepped to avoid him.

"Sorry!" she quickly apologized, bowing slightly.

The boy, however, completely ignored her, walking past as if she didn't exist. His lips moved as he muttered, "Something was off about Eriri yesterday. I should check on her today."

"Tsk, what a rude otaku with glasses!" Megumii puffed her cheeks in annoyance, watching him disappear into the distance. She couldn't help but silently complain, He didn't even acknowledge my apology!

Even from a brief glance, she could tell the boy was a stereotypical otaku—a type that seemed out of place in the modern world.

---

The arrival of megumi jinno was just a minor blip for Izumi Yu.

As he was about to enjoy a relaxing weekend afternoon, his phone buzzed with a message from Eriri.

Kashiwagi Eri: " Izumi Sensei, there's a problem with the first draft. Can you come to my house?"

Izumi Yu frowned, confused. Didn't they finalize everything yesterday?

Could it be that this Eriri just likes having deep, private talks with me? What a greedy little kitten!

Before he could dwell on it, another message popped up.

Kashiwagi Eri: "I was so focused on perfecting the shyness of the female character that I completely forgot about the male protagonist, Bin! To avoid issues later, I need your help finalizing his design. Please come over!"

After thinking it through, Izumi Yu decided he might as well go. He didn't have other plans, and he could use the opportunity to ask for a signed album for Sagiri as a peace offering.

He replied: "Got it, I'll head over shortly!"

After putting away his phone, he threw on his jacket, informed Sagiri of his plans, and left the house.

The Sawamura household was only a few meters away. After walking a short distance, Izumi Yu reached the door and rang the bell.

Ding Dong.

The sound of quick, light footsteps echoed from inside.

"Hello~!! Welcome to our home~!"

The door opened, revealing a young woman in a kimono with a sweet smile on her face.

"Huh?!" Izumi Yu froze, staring at the woman in front of him.

She looked strikingly similar to Eriri—about 70%, to be exact.

Eriri didn't say anything about someone else being home!

The woman's twin ponytails, however, were purple, contrasting with Eriri's blonde ones. Despite her mature aura, her facial features were almost identical to her daughter's.

And her figure... Well, it was apparent where Eriri had inherited both her assets and her flaws.

"You must be Izumi-sensei, right? You're so young! Eriri told me you two are classmates and neighbors. Such destiny—you two are practically made for each other~!"

Before Izumi Yu could process the situation, the woman grabbed his arm and cheerfully ushered him inside, her warmth and enthusiasm leaving no room for refusal.

She guided him to the living room, gently pushed him onto the sofa, and sat across from him. Smiling sweetly, she introduced herself:

"Ah, I almost forgot! My name is Sayuri. I'm Eriri's mother. Feel free to call me that!"

[Looking at the enchanting young woman in front of you, you feel the stirrings of The Great Housewife Whisperer awakening within you. Your eyes drift to the blue pills on the table near the TV. The middle finger of her manicured hand lacks nail polish—a subtle clue. These details confirm one thing: something is wrong with the man of the house. A woman like this, at the peak of her elegance, surely deserves better than endless lonely nights. As the self-appointed savior of all neglected housewives, it falls on you to step up. But, of course, you know she wouldn't just embrace your heroic intervention so easily. Fortunately, you've heard rumors of something in her bedroom locker that might just make her see the light of your magnanimous efforts...]