~~Behind the Images We Made~~

[Note to readers that read this series before 16th of November 2025, please reread the past chapters since I’ve made some big changes, thank you.]

[Disclaimer: This series is 100% made for entertainment purposes and is set in a fantastical world so it doesn’t have any direct connection with the real world.]

(What is this…?)

(Another dream…?)

(All I can see is…)

“Wakey wakey sleeping beauty, you shouldn’t sleep in here.”

(Whose voice is this…?)

“Ehhhhhh~~~he meant me?~”

(Whose memories are these…?)

“Your name is Yu-“

In her deep cloudy dreams, she slowly regained her consciousness…

(HUH?!)

(Wasn’t I supposed to be in…P.E.?!)

"Urkh, uhmmm…”

She wakes up.

The breezy winds blew across the field…

”Eh…?”

It took quite a time for her to realize.

She noticed someone had been next to her.

She slowly pushes herself away and then she stutters, "So-so-sorry, se-se-se-se-se…”

(This guy…the one from before was it…?)

(What was his name again?!)

"No problem, we’re glad you finally woke up. Sleeping randomly is bad, especially if the teacher sees you."

"Sorry, but can you stop getting close to Shii?" 

It was Murazuki Suzu who said that, "Shii is a bit shy and she can't speak that well, she spent an entire night just for her introduction in front of class, so can you stay away from her?"

(Can’t speak well…?)

(Spent an entire night…?)

(Sorry, who…?)

"Ah of course...sorry,” Seinosaki quickly apologizes.

"Thanks...Shii, can I talk to you for a bit?"

(Since when did the two meet like this?)

(I didn’t remember seeing them before I went to sleep.)

"I didn't plan to do anything, but isn’t she a bit ca-"

"Can you stay out of our family relations? Please don't interfere any further!”

"Ah, sorry. I’m leaving it to you then. Excuse me,” Seinosaki backed away.

"Let's go, Shii,” Suzu took her hand and helped her stand.

Suzu dragged her to the side.

There she started to talk to her.

“Shii, can you be more careful and aware?”

“Eh?”

(What kind of?)

“I know you’re trying to avoid attention so you don’t bring problems to me but…”

"But?"

"Please try to stay away from the others. Girls are no problem, but not for boys. They may look kind, but it’s a must for us to avoid any possible relations. We don't know when they will start to aim at us as their lust object."

(I prefer to remain silent since denying my sister will only cause more problems.)

(Sometimes silence is the best option.)

(The words from our spicy mouth are nothing but weapons of war.)

(Once it’s released, there’s no stopping the roller coaster of emotions.)

(That’s why I prefer to shut it down.)

(Words are making me too emotional.)

(Things I don’t mean to say, things that I accidently say.)

(I don’t like arguments, people won’t listen to us anyways.)

"Sorry onee-chan. I won't do it again."

(The casual NPC move of avoiding battle.)

"Thanks, I know you're a good girl Shii. We, Murazukis, will have our own fiance chosen by the headclan so it's not necessary for us to search for one. Same goes the other way, no need to seek attention from them.”

She might have avoided the battle, but…

(Tradition this, tradition that, with no reasons.)

(Controlling us like a marionette.)

(I was born as a human, not as a doll.)

(I know they won't let us go that easily.)

She started a world war inside…

“The time is almost over, let’s change, Shii.”

Shizu nodded.

(Descendants are what they want.)

(A perfect one, built and tied by the headclan himself.)

(Fiance your eyes, it’s just political, economic, and genetics.)

(They also have some eyes on onee-chan’s ‘unique’ stuff.)

(She has been with me since our birth.)

(Our parents…don’t wanna talk about them.)

(They care nothing about us.)

(Mouth is all they have.)

(Onee-chan always was by my side and carried it all herself.)

(I don't know what those old men are planning, but I won't let them take everything as they please.)

After she finished changing, she quickly went to the toilet.

(Urkh…what a pain.)

(Sometimes I ask myself, what would it be if I was born as a boy instead of a girl.)

(Not like I will have children anyway.)

(No interest in marriage or whatever.)

(Those boy classmates also look friendly, things might be easier to grab some friends.)

(Strong physics, strong muscles, they also look confident.)

(Having many fans, many followers, and many girls.)

(All might feel like a king’s daily school life.)

Sometimes she envy people around her.

(Ahhhhh, I just want to live alone and die young.)

(This trashy world doesn’t deserve any living.)

Shizu flushed the toilet, washed her hands, and glanced at her reflection in the mirror.

(Those glitchy fellas are responding to negative emotions are my guess, but…who knows?)

Then she went back to class.

(Ah, this was the last subject was it?)

(Time to pack up and go home then.)

(I can finally doze off and watch some anime.)

Sleeping whole morning then goes home with a bright smile is the kind of person she is.

On her way back…

Inside class…

“Ah, Murazuki-san, going home now?”

“Ah-“

(Say something.)

(Meee…say it.)

(But…is it normal to speak that way?)

(Is it correct?)

(What will she think of-)

She froze.

“Nevermind, be careful on your way home,” the girl waved.

Shizu walks away.

On her back…

“What was it?”

“Uhm, nothing. It’s just our classmate Murazuki Shizu is more shy than I expected.”

“Oh, that sleepy Murazuki?”

“Yeah.”

(They’re wrong.)

(I’m not shy…I’m just unable to interact with people that’s all.)

(I need to try better tomorrow.)

(Before onee-chan waits for me.)

The two went back and Shizu quickly did her daily stuffs then hit her bed.

(Just as I thought so, time feels so fast.)

(Anime and game took no long to speed up the time.)

(It’s already midnight.)

(What the demon was that?!)

She thought further…

(Hmm, onee-chan won’t be awake to know anyways.)

(Time to read romcom manga overnight!)

This is the culprit behind her sleepy days.

(I may not be interested in romantic relations, but…)

(IT’S NOT THE SAME FOR FICTIONAL STUFFS!!!)

She lost it again and started talking extremely fast in her head.

(It’s just so wholesome to see how they interact and so.)

(Cute girls and handsome boys being lovey dovey and bashful to each other, kyaaaa~)

(Spending time together, going to some love spots, iconic festivals, and lastly love confessions, ahhhh~)

(I’m getting enough sugar intake today.)

By the way, this is the same Murazuki Shizu that is known as a quiet girl in class…

(At first I was just curious about romantic relationships.)

(Who even thought it would be this fun?!)

(Even if the troupes are similar, they still caught my eyes to watch how they spend their time together.)

(Especially the bed scene, the girl is sick, and that one handsome boy came over to her house.)

(With his ideal husband traits, he made a soup for her and spoon-feed her, then she asks him to stay with her when she’s asleep, kyaaaaa~)

(It could never be me.)

(By the way, how many have I read lol?)

She checked her manga list.

(Ah well, I overdid it, 70+ romcom manga on my list, how ruined is my life?!)

(Recently some of them have been getting some anime adaptations too.)

(Well this is who I truly am.)

(From the outside a gloomy and shy girl.)

(On the inside, I’m just nothing but a good for nothing living human.)

(A quiet girl who doesn’t know how to interact properly who is actually an otaku hiding behind her sister’s shadow, about like that perhaps.)

As she spent her time complaining all night while reading mangas, she finally realized something.

(Ahhh- wasn’t today the deadline for today’s assignment?)

(Hmm, whatever, I’m doing it after this last one.)

(It will just take a few minutes to finish.)

(Might as well do it before sleep.)

(Just a bit more.)

And she finally reached her limit.

(Urkh, I’m getting sleepy~)

(02:46 AM? So late!)

(About time to finally sleep.)

(But the assignment…)

(It sounds like a lot of trouble.)

(Waking up early will do it.)

(I’ll just set my alarm then…)

(Good night…)

(I await my ideal boyfriend in my dreams…heheh~)

—

Downstairs…

(As always I did my best to hide my secrets by avoiding people and crowds.)

(Being born with something special in this family.) (Not because I have a twin sister or being the so-called a genius by people, but because I have a pair of long elf-like ears.)

(It's a bit troublesome, but we managed, a bit of surgery and bandage did the job.)

(Sure it hurts, but this is my life.)

(The life of lies and burdens.)

(All I want is just to protect my little sister.)

(I won’t let anyone touch her.)

(Even my family and the headclan.)

(They can do everything to me.)

(I will do everything for them.)

(But in one condition…)

(They must not harm her…)

(Talking about Shii, not just sleeping in class, today she even slept while leaning on a male student.)

(Hahhhhhhhhhh, what did she even think?)

(Recently she’s been getting so lazy and sleepy.)

(I wonder what changed her this much?)

(As I thought it’s possibly puberty.)

(Where she gets rebellious, makes her own world, and is being distant to her family.)

(She’s a shy person.)

(Ever since she was little she was never able to speak properly and get close to her friends.)

(She may be talkative to me back then, but with others…)

(She just froze and fidgeted.)

(I overheard that sometimes her friends did some stuffs to her.)

(That’s why…at least I want to protect her.)

(Not the older people…not our parents…just me.)

(I don’t need them…they abandoned us in the first place.)

(Same goes for classmates and friends.)

She‘s still not letting go of that one scene they had today…

(By the way, that guy…)

(”She suddenly fell on me so I don't know what to do. Please help me, pretty please…”) (this is her imagination)

(Use your brain idiot.)

(Can’t imagine what could’ve happened if I wasn’t there.)

(She might look like a gloomy girl to people, but she’s still a girl with a quite good looking face.)

(A little bit of mistake, she can fall down to a deep cliff.)

(Romantic and sexual sins are more of a chain than people think.)

(Especially looking at how shy and bad of her at interacting with others.)

(She won’t be able to call out for help.)

(She’ll just cry alone in her room.)

(With bad people taking both her body and soul.)

(She will lose her will to live, filled with stress, guilt, and despair.)

(Eventually…took her own li-)

Suzu suddenly slapped her own cheeks with both of her hands.

(Don’t overthink or imagine weird things.)

(Concentrate…focus…I must study for tomorrow’s lesson.)

(You can do this, Murazuki Suzu.)

(Even more, Ojii-sama’s next meeting isn’t that far.)

(I must become more and more…for my cute and cute and adorable imouto.)

(All I want…is her smile…)

[Note: “Ojii-sama” means “Grandfather” in an honorific way to say.]

—

The thread of life clouded their days as deep mists…

Trying to live up to their heart, their sins began to unveil…

To be continued…