The Light of my Life

The Modern Yandere

With a heavy sigh Tamotsu reached into his vest pocket and plucked his phone from its confines. The caller ID was both expected and unwarranted. It wasn't as if he didn't know what to do. While one usually had to be mindful of what they said or did on principle, there were those who would twist even good intentions for a profit. There was always an escape plan, a means prepared to circumvent this kind of publicity. 

He always turned to the channel at this time. For one reason or another some trashy tabloid report would be aired, giving him an additional reason to hate the paparazzi. As if one needed more. As of late the reports on Demon activity in the business world have been on the raise. Ever since the Antipode Agency's founding members were ousted after allegations of harassment and racial discrimination against Humans, people who had sided with the Demons began to doubt their decisions and those who believe Demons are violent, murderous monsters now had more ammunition for their zealous headhunts. During the reign of the aforementioned CEOs: Humans hired were kept in the lowest roles of the company with zero chance to climb the ranks while Demons and other Hybrid races were given priority. Now Japanese companies were known for their competitiveness and how brutal it was to secure promotions, even with hard work and loyalty. Even if only family friends or the token foreign worker were promoted: all walks of life were treated like all the same cogs.

It was the first time Humans had to pass a law that had to protect them, as a whole, against bigotry from another racial group. Since then the Agency was taken over by one of the younger board members that had owned the majority stock in the company upon the removal of the founding CEOs. The news cycle for the proceedings had made record ratings for studios and papers who were able to keep the story feeling fresh and new, which sometimes meant exaggerating or outright fantasies of mythological levels.

Tabloids were the main ones to profit as most respectable news outlets did not run stories that did not concern the typical 'sex, drugs, and rock & roll' brand of coverage. Some of the popular stories ran by tabloids at the time were such things like: 

【The CEOs are actually Nephilim?!】

Or nonsense in the vain of:

【A Demon possessed by a Human sports star?!】

Utter bollocks.

~*Tamotsu's PoV*~

I'll kill them. I'll kill them. I'll kill them. I'll wipe them off the face of this planet. They pick through the garbage for pieces of words to paste together into a coherent plot that is as thought provoking as taking a shit. They put any halfway, backstepping celebrity into their reports.

And now? Well now they wanted to print Lily's name into their shitty print. On their 100 yen programming! All they did was objectify women, turning their pride and presence into jokes. I've seen how they take one perfectly timed photo of a blink and turn it into propaganda. Despite the increased strictness of slander and libel laws, so long as they claim their prints parody, a joke, or didn't make a statement -- ! So long as the reporters merely altered their wording to ask a question rather than state the truth that can usually slip by unharmed. But this was too much. 

If Lily saw this it would damage her honor!! Freedom of speech my ass!

I could feel myself squeezing my phone as I watched the text scroll by on screen and the deeper I thought on it the angrier I got. 

Lily didn't deserve their scorn. She worked hard, despite being a little clumsy with her chores. She worked harder than anyone seemed to realize.

Nevertheless I calmed my thoughts, setting aside the twisting vexation to find the individual who had the balls to sneak into the studio and take that picture and tear into their intestines like a magician pulling a multicolored rope of handkerchiefs from their hat. You can be sure I'll be calling senpai later to help me handle this.

And I abhorred going to senpai unless it was absolutely necessary. But I knew if I didn't, I'd try to handle it myself.

...shit.

Putting the phone to my ear I would do my best to withhold my emotions, but. I was finding it difficult. 

"Sir, you're calling late. Is everything alright?" They called it the customer service voice, yes? But even I could hear the scowl in my tone.

"Don't bullshit me Mori." Ah, my boss was attentive to my personality.

He was much like senpai in that my surface persona was like a crystal to them. They easily saw through it and could peer into the monster sleeping in my heart. It was because of this:  senpai had become attached to me. He is similar to me in many ways, which made work like this ideal, seeing as I couldn't be swayed by simplistic emotions like greed or lust. 

"Yes sir. I apologize." I was sincere in recognizing my mistake. "What will you have me do?"

"Nothing yet. I will be discussing this in the morning with the board and find a satisfactory method." I can understand his hesitation. 

But that was unacceptable. It was easier to simply punish those responsible. They couldn't be called men otherwise.

"After the drama with Antipode we cannot risk the Agency over something so benign."

Benign?! Those pieces of shit are defaming Lily's name! They are grinding her efforts up until now into dust between their grubby little fingers. I flinched when I heard my phone's screen crack under the pressure of my grip. 

"Relax Mori. I didn't say it was a matter to be ignored, but compared to what she needs to prepare for by the end of the month it isn't something that needs to be focused on."

Right. Fashion Week in Tokyo. Because of other obligations Lily wasn't able to participate in the Spring show. I was making sure to organize her schedule so she could participate in the August event without exhaustion, but timing it while making sure she maintained a steady stream of jobs was difficult. She had a few commercials but more intensive roles involving Voice Acting and traveling to do some meet and greets to promote her role in the new anime. 

"No," I finally took this into account. I hadn't time for this. Lily's work needed to be seen to so she could join the show with optimal health. "You're right sir. Lily's obligations come first." How could I call myself her manager otherwise? "I will await your decision. What should I do until then?"

She was going to see this. It was going to hurt. She was a kind soul and quite sensitive when it came to her reputation. She didn't want others to be afraid of her or see her as if she was some reprobate who couldn't control herself.

"Keep it from her as long as you can. Since it's her busy day tomorrow, keep her moving. The more time I have to find a solution the better it is for her."

Lily's reputation was on the line.

"I know what to do sir. Thank you for calling. I have reached a lower intensity decision on the matter." I don't know whether the boss knew the reach of my resolve or not, but nothing got in my way. With that I hung up the line. 

I suppose the Peril of Futaba Highschool wasn't too far off. I really hated seeing things like this. Humans and Demons are far from the immaculate beings we try to present ourselves as. But hard work paid off. As the son of a salaryman I saw it everyday in my father's efforts. Even now: living among the Xie my determination has been solidified. 

Fools call me a Yandere. 

As I looked over the damage I've done to my phone in my temper I would make sure to order a new one to be delivered by the end of the day. 

"Yandere... as if. Love has nothing to do with this. Seeing her happy though... This is what responsibility is. They won't stop me again."

Checking the time made me realize how late it's become. Turning off the television I made a mental note to get up an hour earlier to prepare Lily a full breakfast. Of course I was no idiot and set the reminder on my phone. 

Heading to the room which Lily had graciously allowed me to store some spare clothes so I could better complete my role efficiently: I gathered a clean pair of underclothes and my outfit for the morning. I went to the bath located closer to the third bedroom which was in the middle of the apartment's floorplan. I didn't want to intrude on her space.

I would take the time to do my evening routine, which with my work was a rare delight, and would bathe, do a bit of grooming (such as trimming excess hair, moisturizing, a little manicure, pedicure, and double checking Lily's schedule. There would be no room for error tomorrow. I designed tomorrow's tasks to allow her to return home early to give her a break.

... she's seemed stressed lately. Had she been taking on too much work? I need to be mindful. We have less than a month until August...