Gradual Growth

"Thump, thump, thump, thump."

At this moment, a series of knocks on the door interrupted the trio's conversation at an inopportune time.

"Who is it?"

Bai Yuze turned around, clutching a kitchen knife as he stared toward the doorway.

Yukino also walked over to the male corpse, pulled the scalpel from its neck, and gripped it in her hand.

"It's me, Yamauchi Haruki. I'm finished."

Creak.

The wooden door was pushed open by Yamauchi Haruki. He stood sheepishly in the doorway, freezing in place as he stared at the gleaming kitchen knife in Bai Yuze's hand and the blood-stained scalpel in Yukino's.

It was then that he noticed the corpse in the room, which already appeared to be stone cold.

"Y-you guys! You killed someone?!"

Yamauchi Haruki was so terrified that his voice trembled, and his legs couldn't stop shaking.

"H-help me!"

Yamauchi let out a shriek and then bolted from the scene. At that moment, his feet felt like they were stepping on cotton, but his instinct for survival forcibly drove his ability to flee.

Yamauchi Haruki's running posture at this moment was incredibly wild; a professional zombie actor would call him an "expert" upon seeing it, and even a real zombie might shout, "Zombie!"

"Uh, should we go after him?"

"It's a bit late now; I don't recommend taking the risk."

"But what if he runs around aimlessly and attracts some anomaly?"

The three of them fell silent.

The phrase "more of a hindrance than a help" was perfectly embodied at this moment.

"You two wait here, I'll go find him."

Bai Yuze sighed helplessly. He pushed the door open, intending to step out, but his hand was grabbed by someone.

"I'm going with you."

Yukino's determined gaze made Bai Yuze swallow the words of persuasion he had prepared.

"Mm-hmm! I want to go too! We're a team, after all!"

Yuigahama Yui also chimed in, full of energy. Tuanzi's words brought Yukino back to her senses; she hurriedly let go of Bai Yuze's hand, clutched her left hand with her right, turned her head away, and said stubbornly.

"Y-you, don't get the wrong idea... I... I only suggested going with you because I was afraid something would happen to you! You'd better not have any improper thoughts!"

Having said that, Yukino turned her head away and ignored Bai Yuze.

"Eh? Xiaoxue, why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?"

"I... I'm fine. Yuigahama-san, you don't need to worry about me."

"But it's really red, it's even red up to your ears! Xiao Ze, come take a look, is Xiaoxue sick?"

Yuigahama Yui hurriedly called out to Bai Yuze, but the more she made a scene, the redder Yukino's face became.

"No need, she's perfectly fine. Perhaps it's just too hot."

The young man understood the girl's heart; sometimes there was no need to point things out. Maintaining a state of balance was best.

Bai Yuze stepped out of room 102, gripping his kitchen knife tightly, not daring to be careless.

"Eh? Is it really that hot?"

After Bai Yuze left the room, Yukino followed closely behind, leaving only Yuigahama Yui in the room to feel the temperature.

"Let's go, Yuigahama-san."

"Ah? Oh, oh!"

Hearing Yukino's reminder, Tuanzi hurriedly followed, but she couldn't tell if she had seen it wrong—she thought she saw the male corpse twitch...

"Where do you think Yamauchi-kun ran off to? Do we have to search room by room?"

Tuanzi looked around, taking the opportunity to make a gesture of peering into the distance to show she was searching diligently.

"No need. After Yamauchi ran off earlier, I heard a thumping sound. He must have run toward the stairs."

Bai Yuze tapped Tuanzi on the head, drawing a look of dissatisfaction from her. He couldn't explain why he liked tapping Tuanzi's head so much, but he just felt like doing it.

"Yes, that's right. Plus, the stairs on the second floor are a bit sticky; he would have calmed down after running a few steps, and then, unable to go forward or back, he could only stay in place and huddle there crying."

Yukino also provided her answer, so the three decided to head to the stairwell to check.

"By the way, Tuanzi, don't you have anything to say?"

Suddenly, Bai Yuze said casually.

"Ah? Tuanzi? Me? I don't have anything to say."

Yuigahama Yui was a bit confused. Wasn't it enough for Yukino and Bai Yuze to use their brains? She might as well just be a mascot.

"Don't you have any suggestions?"

"I didn't, I'll just listen to you two; you guys can handle the brainwork."

Tuanzi blurted out exactly what was on her mind. In her eyes, just not causing trouble was already a blessing, so how could she dare to offer any suggestions?

"Are you addicted to being a mascot?"

Bai Yuze stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked at Yuigahama Yui with a serious expression.

"Huh? A mascot?"

Tuanzi didn't know how to answer; she only knew that playing dumb was the best way to muddle through.

"How much longer are you going to keep acting? Do you really like catering to others that much? Is your life meant to be spent following the 'orders' of others?"

Bai Yuze felt a bit irritated and couldn't help but raise his voice. He knew he had no right to judge how others chose to live their lives.

But even Yukinoshita Yukino was growing, and while Yuigahama Yui clearly had the potential to grow and transform, she simply refused to take that step, always wanting to keep herself closed off.

She appeared to be a sunny, cheerful girl, yet she kept her inner self locked away, bottling up her own thoughts and spending every day doing things just to please others.

"But... but I'm afraid of holding everyone back..."

Tuanzi's mood dipped, her eyes beginning to redden, and even a few ripples of emotion surfaced.

"Compared to being held back, I'm more afraid of my teammate being a soulless empty shell."

After saying this, Bai Yuze turned and walked away. There were more important things to do now, and he even felt a pang of regret—why had he started preaching for no reason?

Just because he had once peeked at someone's life from a god's-eye view, did that give him the right to criticize them? How was this any different from a piece of trash casually judging others?

Bai Yuze felt a sense of remorse, mixed with confusion. When had he become like this?

How was he any different from a loser who gets drunk and beats his wife and children?

But words spoken are like spilled water; whether Tuanzi hated him or was annoyed by him, it didn't matter.

He only hoped that Tuanzi could take that first step, to transform from Tuanzi into the real Yuigahama Yui.

Watching Bai Yuze's figure gradually fade into the distance, Tuanzi lacked the courage to chase after him.

At that moment, a sigh sounded beside Tuanzi; it was Yukino.

"Although his words were indeed a bit excessive, expecting a primate to speak with gentleness is like a fantasy. However, Yuigahama-san, you really should make some changes."

"I used to fantasize about people changing the world, but under his influence, I've slowly realized that I've changed myself. It's truly... incredible."

Yukino patted Tuanzi's head to comfort her. She didn't notice that not only had her personality changed under Bai Yuze's influence, but her preferences had also shifted in subtle, imperceptible ways.

This time, the one who grew was one person, but the ones who wanted to grow... were three.