Once a mobster, now Masachika Kuze

Yuno let out a dark laugh, dripping with sarcasm and disdain. Her footsteps echoed through the room as she walked slowly toward a wall, clapping her hands theatrically.

"Congratulations, Ryan Gosting!" she declared, leaning against the wall with an acidic smile, gesturing dramatically with her hands. "Are you happy now? We did everything exactly the way your 'kind guy Masachika' side wanted. And me? I just stayed quiet, watching how pathetic you can be."

Her eyes examined Ryan like a predator as he stood silent, his head bowed, staring at the floor.

"Why so quiet, Ryan? Won't you defend yourself? You're a monster... and you know it." Her voice had a venomous sweetness, broken only by a cold laugh. "All your choices led to little Rika's death, didn't they? Ever thought about what would happen if you couldn't undo that mistake?" She tilted her head, as if expecting an answer, but his silence spoke volumes.

Stepping closer, Yuno crouched slightly to meet his gaze, a malicious smirk curling at the corner of her lips.

"But you know... don't dwell on it too much. Stay exactly as you are. This is your true self, Ryan."

She took a few more steps forward, stopping directly in front of him. "Hey, wait!" she feigned excitement, pulling something from inside her shirt with a theatrical gesture. "I've got a brilliant idea!"

Yuno extended her hand, revealing a weapon. Her voice took on a tone of cruel provocation.

"Go on, take it. Do whatever you want. Just like you did with my Yuu—"

"Can you shut up for a second, Yuno?" Ryan's voice cut through the air like a blade, cold and sharp.

Yuno smiled, stepping back slightly but maintaining her provocative tone.

"Oh, Ryan... don't overthink it."

He finally raised his eyes to meet hers. Yuno stood there, arms behind her back, that psychotic smile etched on her face.

"Go ahead, Ryan," she continued, almost whispering, each word dripping with venom. "Just go crazy and do... whatever you want. You've got nothing to lose."

The corner of Ryan's lips curled into a disdainful smile as Yuno laughed with almost calculated precision, as if pulling the strings of a puppet.

"Why hold back, huh, Ryan?" Her voice was melodic but laced with insanity. "Go on... show me who you really are."

Ryan stayed silent, watching Yuno with a calm, provocative expression as she slowly approached, radiating an air of superiority.

"If you've already decided to help," she snapped, her eyes locked on his, "then at least kill your enemies!"

Ryan sighed, his lips twisting into a sarcastic smile. Without warning, in a swift and unexpected move, he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her. The gesture was so sudden that Yuno didn't even have time to react. As the kiss ended, he released her and began walking toward the door, leaving a mocking comment behind:

"Consider that payment for annoying me."

Yuno stood frozen, completely stunned, for a few seconds. The shock quickly gave way to rage. She charged at Ryan, her eyes blazing with fury, clearly intent on tearing his head off right then and there.

However, as she tried to attack him with murderous intent, her body was thrown to the ground as if something invisible was holding her back. The force of the pact she had made with him now bound her like invisible chains.

"I'll rip your tongue out!" Yuno screamed in fury as Ryan walked through the door. He glanced over his shoulder and replied with a defiant smile, as if he had won a game on his own terms.

After leaving the room, Ryan walked steadily toward Rika's house, but his thoughts betrayed him, dragging him back to the confrontation with Yuno.

"You're a monster... and you know it."

Her words echoed in his mind like a distant but heavy refrain. Something about them had sparked an unsettling reflection. From the moment he awoke in this new life, Ryan knew there was something different inside him.

In his previous life, the environment he grew up in was suffocated by violence, lies, betrayals, and death. From a young age, he was exposed to the darkest side of people, learning to survive amid the rot. Trusting no one was his golden rule. He had never allowed himself to reflect on this in the past; regret was a luxury he couldn't afford. When things went wrong, his solution was simple: start over somewhere else.

But now, living as Masachika Kuze, everything seemed more... weighted. The consequences of his choices reached him in ways he hadn't considered before. He knew he didn't want to lose what he had built in this new life. The school's tranquility, the bonds he had forged, and even the occasional monotony held a value he hadn't recognized before.

"Tch..." He clicked his tongue, irritated at his own vulnerability. "Thinking too much is the beginning of the end, Ryan. You know that."

Even so, he forced himself to analyze the people around him. Alya, Yuki... even the stubborn little Rika. There was something about them that went beyond the cold pragmatism Ryan despised so much. People like Rika, who could very well abandon Hinamizawa, escape this hell, and live without carrying the weight of a hundred years of suffering.

But she didn't.

She stayed, even knowing the easier paths were within her reach. Rika's decision was guided by love and perhaps a small act of defiance against destiny—a living epigraph to human stubbornness. Ryan didn't know whether to admire it or call it stupidity.

"Don't tell me I'm starting to think it's worth saving people like her..." he murmured, chuckling softly to himself.

His eyes lifted to the path ahead as he let out a sigh.

"Yuno's right about one thing," he finally said, as if responding to a silent accusation she had made. "I'm a monster. But even monsters can choose what they want to crush."

A smile laced with sarcasm and self-loathing spread across his lips.

The night felt colder as he moved forward, the faint lights of Rika's house visible in the distance.

"And for now, my target isn't these little creatures who still believe in goodness. Maybe I just enjoy watching the world burn, but who knows, maybe this time, I'll decide to burn the right bastards."