Midnight Pumpkin, the first antagonist you face in [You are mine] no matter what path you choose.

After playing the game several times, each one focusing on one heroine, Chris thought he knew everything about it that he could learn. A ruthless killer that the game says it killed more than a hundred persons. No hints in where it came or where it hides. The only information they had was that it only attacked at night, so a curfew was made before the sunset in order to prevent any more murders.

Even so, the avatar could go out if he wanted to instead of sleep and skip the night. There were some events and items you could collect around the city, but you can only access it after encountering Midnight Pumpkin for the first time.

After that encounter, it was a random system that determined where and when you would face the killer afterward, but one thing for sure: it's always watching you from the shadows.

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-...That is it about her.

Remembering all the knowledge about the girl, the only things that Chris recalled was just general information about her in the game. Besides the fact that each heroine had a certain connection with the girl, there wasn't anything else about her.

If you played the game normally, you would face her in the first two hours, with the last encounter being after fifteen. Compared to the other heroines' antagonists, Midnight Pumpkin could be compared to be just stepping stone for the avatar relationship with the girls, with her death being the trigger for other events. After that, there wouldn't be any more relevant mention of her.

And that made Chris conflicted about how he should deal with her. Accepting the fact she is here and nothing he knew could change that, she probably doesn't have a home to stay or any family she may call for support. She was a lost girl in a world that wasn't her own and only he knew the truth.

But that also doesn't change the fact of who she was. The moment they faced each other for the first time, she was trying to kill him. The way she acted with him was exactly like in-game with the avatar, giving hope before appearing out of nowhere near him, continuing this circle of actions until she was satisfied.

If, by any chances, she does try to kill him again...there was nothing Chris do. Being around her would be like a time bomb he didn't know when it would blow. It was too much risk for him to take, not only for himself but his mother too.

(She is too dangerous to be around...and yet...)

It wasn't only the fact of her being a killer. That time, when he could talk with her behind the screen, was the first time Chris could learn more about who the girl actually was.

A ruthless killer that only takes pleasure by the suffering of its victim...she wasn't like that after their encounter. She wanted to talk with him, learn more about him, and have fun together, just like he wanted with her. She wasn't a monster in human flesh but a girl just like the others.

(When we stayed together to visit places, she never tried anything against me...)

But, why did she attacked him? It didn't make any sense. Just what was going on inside her mind? Who really was this girl? All but questions were being made in his mind without any sign of answers to them.

(...Why is this so difficult to decide!)

In frustration, the boy hit his leg.

Was the girl bad? Was the girl good? He saw her both sides but which one is her true self? She was created to be a bad guy in the game but he discovered she wasn't just a bad guy and thought she was a secret character of some sort, and now he can't think of anything more about her.

This wasn't a game. One mistake and he could die. But, even if he got it right, what next? Continuing getting the correct answers until he fails? Would she really kill him then? Or was this all irrelevant and he was just over thinking and she was just a normal girl?

(But normal girls don't try to kill boys with a giant scythe at night!)

She couldn't be called "normal" after tonight. The strength she had shown on each attack was enough to pierce brick walls like it was paper. Let alone her strength, there were no injuries from when she had fallen on the stairs with her head.

There was no place on this Earth where that could be called normal. She was really a mystery to the boy. From who she was to how she existed, there was no explanation to clear his doubts. And now to let her live in the same house as him? If it only was that simple for Chris to say "Yes" or "No".

(...Even then...she is the only one now that could help me.)

Everything wasn't clear and that wouldn't change. How was the girl here? What happened to the game? Why had everyone in the world forgotten about it? Chris was alone and there was no that he could talk to, except for her.

It was a double-edged sword for him.

In one end, she is with him and could help him understand what was going on but there was no guarantee of her collaboration nor that she wouldn't try to kill him.

In the other, she doesn't stay near and it would make him feel a bit safer, but there was no way of knowing where the girl would be or what she would do next time.

High risks, high rewards. All-or-nothing. No matter what he chooses, there wasn't a hundred percent safe option. It was a gamble he couldn't exit and be forced to play.

A knock on his door made the boy stop all his thoughts. Maybe he spent too much time thinking and hadn't noticed his mother already brought his dinner.

(Anyway, there is no meaning continuing to think like this.)

Expressing his relief with a sigh, the boy makes a faint smile on his face.

-It's open, c'mon in.

Opening the door after his permission, a person wearing an apron comes in bringing a tray with a plate of food and a cup of soda. But the one who entered wasn't an adult woman he had known since he was born.

It was the girl whom he had met this night.