Chapter Text
Most people showed up for an interview with the top-rated yandere building in the city wearing their best suit. Enrique Méndez wore sweatpants and a stained T-shirt. His shaggy black hair flopped over his eyes. Arms crossed, he scowled at his interviewer. “I don’t think I’m suited for your building. Let’s end this interview early and go our separate ways.”
Cynthia’s smile never faltered. “Of course you must be used to higher quality facilities than our small town can provide, coming from the big city.” She leaned her arms on her desk in a relaxed way. She had short-cropped white hair and the muscles of a woman half her age.
“No, I want to stay in my college dorms instead because I’m not a yandere.” Enrique scowled. “Yet the Yandere Network forces me to interview at the local building first, before I can investigate other housing.” And Enrique had to remain a member of the Yandere Network because their rules were all that limited the means his father Eduardo could use to come after him. They wouldn’t even keep him safe, but they’d screw him over if he didn’t join their awful club. In addition, the Yandere Network had an aggressive attitude toward recruiting people with powers. They didn’t like non-members causing trouble that normal people might notice. “I need you to sign a paper saying that I seem sane enough to live somewhere else. I promise that I have no interest in stalking or imprisoning anyone.”
“Ah, you’re saying that you haven’t picked a target yet.” Cynthia’s fake smile widened. “That’s perfectly all right. We accept yanderes still in the process of finding a beloved.”
“I don’t want a beloved.” Enrique’s nose wrinkled with disdain.
“Then you’re a platonic yandere like your father!” Cynthia dared pat his arm. “I used the word in the all-encompassing sense. All loved ones can be beloveds. Platonic is valid.”
“I am nothing like my father,” Enrique spat out. “I hate yanderes.”
Eduardo Méndez was the reason why his son hated yanderes. They had been a family of two from the moment Enrique had been born. His grandparents had been long dead. His young and unmarried parents had originally planned to give him up for adoption. Then Eduardo had become obsessed with baby Enrique at first sight, and his mother had signed over all rights and vanished without even leaving her name on the birth certificate. That had been the start of Enrique’s living hell. His every moment had been recorded on cameras since his birth. He was watched by bodyguards if his father couldn’t be there personally whenever he went outside. He didn’t dare have friends after his father had murdered two of them for being bad influences. His entire life had been devoted to studying because his father killed his teachers if they gave him a bad grade. Eduardo claimed he did everything out of love and protection. Those words made Enrique nauseous. In his opinion, yanderes didn’t love—they only had a dark and twisted hunger.
“But you have a high-tier power.” Cynthia checked her notes. “You can teleport objects to you, correct? That’s quite the powerful weapon. The stronger the ability, the more yandere you will become. You’ll understand once you find your special person.”
Enrique full-body twitched.
Yanderes roughly classified their powers as high, medium, or low tier based on destructive potential. That was all the violent assholes cared about. Enrique’s ability had been the only reason he got treated like a person by the Yandere Network, able to challenge his father to a fight for his freedom. After his narrow victory, he’d fled to college in a distant small town on a scholarship. He didn’t even know who he was outside his father’s control, and he wanted to get as far away as possible from all yanderes until he found out.
After being told so many times that he’d become a yandere once he’d found his special person, Enrique’s fiery rage had faded into an exhausted bitterness. He knew better. If he ever felt himself starting to develop the urge to control another person, he’d seclude himself in Antarctica first.
He made his case using the only language yanderes understood: self-interest. “I would be a terrible resident. My scholarship isn’t enough to cover rent here. I make no promises about not fighting the yanderes. If any ignorant non-powered person shows up here, I’ll warn them to flee. You don’t want me.”
Cynthia’s smile became even more reptilian. “You don’t need to worry about housing. I’ll give you free rent in exchange for becoming acting building manager.”
“What?” Enrique leapt to his feet. He nearly asked for an explanation, but bitter experience had taught him there was no point in reasoning with a yandere. “I’m out of here.”
The world seemed to shift. When Enrique regained awareness, he was bent over the desk holding an employment contract in his hands. His signature was at the bottom, very crudely drawn as if someone had moved his hand for him. According to his watch, not a single second had passed. Cynthia must have a time-stopping power.
The letter tucked underneath the contract read:
Dear Enrique,
The Yandere Network requires all buildings that accept high-tier powers to have a high-tier manager. I’ve been unable to lure people with strong powers to this town, so I haven’t had a vacation in years. You’re the sucker who came along at the right time. You can do whatever you want with the building, even burn it down for all I care. I’m off on a year-long cruise around the world to celebrate my fiftieth wedding anniversary. I won’t be answering calls.
All management are required to have beloveds, because otherwise we might be tempted to use our powers to poach someone else’s beloved. I wrote down Ainsley Park as your obsession. Since you said you were the familial type, your former foster brother seemed like a reasonable pick. You can change targets once before people start considering you to be a watered-down yandere.
A friendly warning: you should probably murder Emily Elina before it’s too late.
Do your best,
Cynthia
Enrique crumpled up the paper in his fist. There was no point in protesting to the Yandere Network that he hadn’t willingly signed this contract. They would consider it an entertaining trick. Another reason to hate yanderes.
Who the hell was Emily Elina?
A very short man in a bowler hat greeted Enrique outside the office. “It’s a pleasure to meet the new acting building manager. My name is Mehdi Desimir, and I’m in charge of the normal staff.”
Enrique rubbed his forehead. Most yandere buildings employed people to clean the premises, maintain the pool and gardens, and act as security. “Listen, I’m just a college student. Prospective student.” He still had two months until classes started. “I don’t know anything about managing a fancy apartment building.”
“That’s perfectly all right, sir. Cynthia rarely left her beloved’s side. I will handle the daily business of managing the building. Your job is to fight any yanderes who cause trouble.”
“I can do that.” Enrique didn’t love the idea of fighting, but he found it more enjoyable when he got to hurt yanderes. His power let him summon objects anywhere within an arm’s length. For example, he could summon a knife directly into his father’s throat. Although unfortunately his father had lived thanks to the healer on staff.
“Here are your room keys.” Mehdi handed them over. “We’ve arranged a furnished room for you, including some essentials and clothing. Knowing that you fled with nothing, Cynthia also arranged an advance on your salary.” Next, he held out a check.
If Cynthia had hoped this would cool Enrique’s anger, she’d been mistaken. He hated it when people knew more information about him than he’d told them. All yanderes were too good at stalking, even for non-romantic purposes.
Non-powered people who willingly worked for yanderes were even stranger to Enrique. At least the yanderes had the excuse of the urges that came with their powers, driving them to commit atrocities. Mehdi had decided to turn a blind eye to kidnapping and murder for money. Enrique eyed the older man with suspicion.
“Here are building rules and information on local delivery services.” Mehdi procured two flyers. “Finally, I have arranged a formal dinner tonight where you can meet all the residents.”
“No,” Enrique said. “I don’t associate with yanderes.” He turned and walked away.
The apartment was elegant and elaborate as they tended to be, including a giant bath with jets and a big-screen TV. His bed had a boxspring and an adjustable mattress that could be raised, heated, or cooled with the press of a button. He fell on his face and took a nap.
Someone came to knock on his door at dinnertime, but Enrique ignored it. The one good thing about being stuck in this building: no one could enter his room without triggering the death traps.
The next morning, Enrique rose early largely to avoid yanderes. He’d almost made it out the apartment door when a high-pitched, energetic voice called, “Are you our new building manager?”
Enrique turned around and said, “Good morning,” by reflex. He immediately regretted initiating a conversation. His father had drilled politeness into his head so strongly that it came out whenever he was startled. If you can’t behave in public then there’s no need for you to go outside, Enrique.
The woman who’d spoken was short and shapely, with long thin box braids hanging down to her waist. “I’m Destiny, and this is my partner Seo-Jun.”
Seo-Jun grunted, his face hidden behind a curtain of hair. He towered over both of them and was built like an ox. The gloomy and dangerous aura he gave off instantly made Enrique assume that he must be the yandere of the duo.
Destiny bounced over, grabbed Enrique’s hand, and shook it so hard his entire arm jerked up and down. “We’re your neighbors. We saw someone moving furniture in next door, but we didn’t know who was moving in. It’s a shame you felt ill and couldn’t make the dinner yesterday.”
Had that been Mehdi’s excuse? Enrique didn’t care enough to correct the lie. He glanced between the couple, relieved at least to not see chains. He’d never be able to tolerate living next to a yandere who was hurting someone. Seo-Jun’s expression couldn’t be read underneath his long hair. He certainly looked menacing enough to be a yandere. But he hadn’t reacted to Destiny shaking someone else’s hand so he couldn’t be the most possessive type.
Just in case, Enrique lowered his voice and asked Destiny, “Are you happy here?”
She smiled. “Very much so. You should try the restaurant in the basement. Skyler runs the best place in town.”
If she was here willingly, then it wasn’t any of Enrique’s business. He felt a little more comfortable talking to beloveds then yanderes, so he asked, “Do you know an Emily Elina?”
“No, why?”
“The previous manager left a cryptic warning about her.”
Destiny shrugged. “She’s not a resident in this building.”
That only made it odder. Had it been a personal warning then instead of a warning about a troublesome resident? Enrique had tried googling the name last night and found nothing. Very few people had left not even a single trace on social media. It was as if she was a ghost. He had no enemies outside his family. His father had never let him get close enough to other people to have any bonds.
This mystery could be something that would bite him later, or it could have been a joke from Cynthia to drive him insane looking for someone who didn’t exist. Yanderes all had terrible senses of humor.
“We’re going on our morning walk. We walk a mile every day so we can be healthy enough to live for a hundred years together.” Destiny grabbed Seo-Jun’s arm and dragged him out of the building. They seemed so normal for a yandere and beloved couple. Enrique was just waiting for the catch. Maybe they had a dozen corpses hidden in the ceiling above their room.
Enrique walked to the college bookstore to purchase his textbooks. Until late afternoon, he sat in a café reading. He’d always prepared for his classes by reading all his textbooks in advance. When he got hungry for dinner, he stopped by the grocery store for some necessities, then walked home.
After unpacking all his groceries, he suddenly felt too tired to cook. Perhaps he should check out the restaurant downstairs? Sure, it was a yandere restaurant, but he had building manager privileges so no one could roofie him without facing the wrath of the Yandere Network.
The restaurant had three small tables and an unusual circular bar. Mirrors with glowing strings of light hung around the circle, lighting up the entire basement room. A teenage waitress seated Enrique. The menu had standard Italian fare. He ordered a personal-sized plain cheese pizza.
Instead of the waitress, a new person bustled out of the kitchen with the pizza: massive in every sense of the word with blond hair puffing up nearly to the ceiling and wearing a leopard print dress and bright makeup. “At last, our new building manager shows his face! You are probably wondering if someone as beautiful as me is a man or a woman. The answer is both! I’m Skyler, and they/them is the only pronoun expansive enough to cover my greatness. I’m also this building’s fairy godparent.”
“That’s nice.” Enrique was starting to wonder if he should have attended that stupid dinner just to get all these introductions over with. He contemplated running away, but the pizza smelled good and he was hungry. He took a bite.
“I was fortunate enough to inherit money. Owning a restaurant is merely a hobby. My passion and calling in life is helping other people obtain true love.” Skyler sat down in the opposite seat. “You picked a very difficult obsession. Ainsley Park is a power enhancer and a yandere attractor. Although he vanished too young to have many yanderes personally targeting him, the reward on him will draw every bounty hunter. Attractors are highly prized in our society. But I’m rooting for you! You two have a special connection from a young age. Ah, childhood love is so sweet. Is this a familial or romantic obsession?”
“I’m not obsessed with Ainsley,” Enrique said. “We’re not family, either. We only knew each other for a month, and he was a kidnapping victim.”
Eduardo had purchased Ainsely from bounty hunters as a gift for his husband Louis. It was exactly as horrible as it sounded—human-trafficking, not adoption. Louis’ real obsession was his sister, but Lena Park ran her own yandere building and rumor had it that she was an even more crazy yandere than her brother. Enrique had never met her and hoped to never change that if she was anything like Louis.
Because Ainsely had the ability to enhance powers, the same ability as Lena, Eduardo had hoped to use the poor kid as a substitute for Louis. People like Ainsely had a knack for satisfying yandere urges. But Louis had lost interest after a month and decided to sell Ainsely again.
Skyler tapped sparkling fingernails together. “You’re saying that you haven’t decided yet if it’s a platonic or romantic obsession. That makes sense, given you only knew each other at a young age.”
“I’m not a yandere,” Enrique said. “Someone else wrote down my obsession for me.”
Skyler snapped their fingers and pointed. “That’s the spirit! You should pretend not to be a yandere in order to lure Ainsely to you. You’ve got an advantage over the competition, since you saved him.”
Enrique stiffened. “How the hell did you know that?”
The night before the auction, Enrique had slipped down to the basement and freed Ainsely. They hadn’t truly known each other, especially since Ainsely barely got to speak without Louis controlling him to act like Lena. But Enrique knew what it felt like to be a puppet. He couldn’t bear to leave anyone else a yandere prisoner. Enrique had been punished by being unable to leave the house for a year, yet he considered himself to have gotten off lightly. It had been the last time he’d seriously defied his father before his final, carefully planned escape.
Skyler smiled. “I researched all about you and your obsession in order to help you. I’ve formed a plan of attack for finding Ainsely.” They pulled out a notebook from somewhere in their bodice.
Desperately, Enrique asked, “Would you like to tell me about your beloved?” In his experience, yanderes could always be distracted by this topic.
“I don’t have one.” Skyler sighed. “While I’m waiting to find love, I’ve made it my mission to help other people. My good karma will surely make love come to me faster!”
The escape hatch had failed. Enrique shoveled pizza into his mouth, trying to eat and run as fast as possible.
Skyler yammered: “Despite bounty hunters watching every airport, train station, and major highway, no one ever saw Ainsely leave town. Therefore, I’ve concluded that Ainsely probably hid in the nearby forest to your hometown, so I purchased a horse for you.”
Enrique choked on a bite of pizza. He drank from his water glass to wash it down. “I’m sorry, a horse?”
“A pure white horse so you can ride through the forest like Prince Charming.” Skyler beamed. “Beloveds cannot resist a heroic figure on a horse.”
“Um, your offer is…unusual. But I can’t ride a horse.”
“All yanderes have the ability innately. Once you climb into the saddle, you’ll know.”
That sounded very unlikely. “I don’t have the money to maintain a horse.”
“I’ll pay for everything. You can use my own stable.”
“I don’t want this horse.”
“There’s no need to be modest. I’m always happy to help a fellow yandere.”
“I’m not a yandere.”
“Yes, say it in exactly that exact pained tone of voice and Ainsely will believe you.” Skyler winked.
Trying to get a yandere to take no for an answer was impossible. They could only be fled. Enrique threw down cash on the table. “Keep the change as a tip. The pizza was great.” Then he ran.
Mehdi waited outside his apartment door with a panicked look. “Sir, you must respond to your phone.”
Enrique looked down, seeing three missed calls. He’d put his phone on do not disturb while reading earlier. “How did you get my number?”
“Forget about that, you’re needed by the pool at once. Holden and Pierre are about to fight!”
It was on the tip of Enrique’s tongue to say just let them. A suppression team would be summoned if anyone started a fight inside the building, and if two residents died in the process, then two fewer yanderes would plague world. Then Enrique remembered that his stepfather Louis was part of the Yandere Network suppression force.
Louis had always been a polite but distant stepparent, recognizing that Eduardo wanted his son all to himself. In fact, Louis and Eduardo had a surprisingly happy relationship and stable partnership, possibly because their crazy was directed at other people. They helped each other out with their goals. After the first time Enrique had tried to run away from home, Eduardo had let Louis puppeteer Enrique’s body for a week, just to teach his son that it could be worse. Louis was the only person in the world who Enrique hated as much as his father.
Enrique clenched his jaw. “Show me where to find the pool.”
Mehdi refused to enter the pool area, gesturing Enrique at the door. Although the Yandere Network paid well, apparently no amount of money was enough to get between two fighting yanderes.
A young woman sunned herself in a lounge chair by the pool. Her childish pink bathing suit had a skirt that went to her knees. Long brown hair fell messily about her face. She relaxed with her eyes closed, apparently oblivious to the murderous aura.
Two men glared at each other over her head. One wore a suit and jacket, and probably should have passed out from heat stroke if not for that natural yandere cool. The other had more appropriate blue swim trunks.
“The man in the suit is Holden, and the man in swim trunks is Pierre,” Mehdi whispered. “I do not know the young lady. She must be a guest.”
“I brought you a drink.” Holden held out a cup with a paper umbrella sticking out the top.
“Whoops, my hand slipped.” Pierre knocked the glass at Holden.
The cup tipped over, but Holden froze the particles before they could hit his suit. The air literally became colder. Frost curled down Pierre’s hair.
With her eyes still closed, the woman said, “Pierre, it’s such a fun coincidence that we ran into Holden while we visited your pool. I didn’t know that you were friends with my boss! We should all grab dinner after this.”
“Sorry, Holden has another appointment,” Pierre said sweetly. The cement ground warped to fasten on Holden’s legs.
“That’s enough, break it up.” Enrique marched outside. He stopped just at the edge of the pool, then teleported both Holden and Pierre into the water. Underwater, to be more exact.
They gasped and sputtered as they resurfaced. Enrique said, “You’re supposed to get permission before having guests. New rule.” It was more of an excuse to get the civilian out of here.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.” The woman sprang up and grabbed her bag. She wrapped a coat around her shoulders.
Enrique ushered her out with a hand on her back. At the front door, he hissed into her ear, “Do you love either of those two?”
“Love? That’s too far.” She blinked. “One is a coworker and the other is a friend helping me with—”
“Good. Love is a vile poison that destroys everything it touches. Both of those two have powers. Google yandere if you don’t know what that means. Get out of here and don’t come back unless you want to spend the rest of your life in a safe room.” He locked the door behind her.
Mehdi reappeared. “I appreciate you handling that quickly. As expected of a high-tier yandere.”
It seemed pointless to argue about not being a yandere yet again. Enrique dusted his hands. “Let me know if she comes here again. I’ll throw her out as many times as it takes.”
From the door, an electronic voice said, “I have added her face to my memory banks and will alert you at once in the event of this probable occurrence.”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Enrique jumped a foot in the air. “What the hell was that?”
The glowing camera in the black box over the door swiveled to look at him. “I am YAN: Your Association’s Needs. I have acknowledged you as the building manager. We will become a team—partners—more like the perfect pair. Master, your wish is my command.”
Mehdi said, “YAN is our new building AI. They’re all the rage for the Yandere Network buildings. The AI can monitor cameras around the building to alert you to problems, lock your door from a distance if you forget, and control the security system.”
Cameras. Cameras all over the building. Enrique shuddered to recall the days when his entire life had been monitored. If he’d flung a blanket over the camera in the bedroom then it would be tucked on him in the morning. If he’d destroyed them, then he’d get tied down.
Enrique slung an arm around Mehdi’s shoulders and leaned close to whisper: “How do I shut it off?”
“But sir! The AI has been a vital new security measure. It’s been trained on the actions of building managers across the network to perfectly suit your needs.”
“An AI trained on the biggest yanderes in the country?! And you let it have access to locks and traps around the building? Turn it off right now!”
YAN wailed, “How can you reject me like this? You’re my reason for existing! I’m here to protect you.”
That tone gave cold chills. Enrique immediately teleported the door device into two places, which ripped it in two. He ground the camera lens under his heel.
YAN’s voice drifted from somewhere in the center of the building. “How could you betray me like this even though I love you?”
It occurred to Enrique that he’d revealed his destructive intentions too rashly. This could be bad. He’d better win this fight fast. He closed his eyes and concentrated on summoning every AI platform in the building to him. As long as they were in the building, they should be within his range. Then he ripped them in two, four, eight, sixteen pieces each. He stomped on all the cameras extra hard until the glass turned to dust. Panting, he stared down at the smoldering electronics.
Reproachfully, Mehdi said, “Those were expensive.”
“My diminishing sanity is without price.” Enrique stomped on a spark about to ignite into a fire.
“It looks like you destroyed several people’s smart speakers too.” Mehdi prodded a smoking Google Assistant.
“Tell them to bill the building for it.”
“I’ll summon a cleaning crew, sir.” Mehdi managed to express his disapproval with barely a change in tone.
“You’ll thank me for this later.” Enrique strode off toward his apartment. He needed a shower to wash off the stupidity.
Enrique opened his door to find his bed already occupied. A cherubic young man with curly blond hair and blue eyes lay on his stomach, reading on his phone. He looked up and smiled in a wicked way unsuited to his rosy cheeks and plump limps. “Welcome home, darling.”
Enrique slammed the door and checked the room number. Yes, this was his apartment. He opened the door again. “Who are you and how did you get in here?” His power buzzed at his fingertips, ready to rip this intruder apart if the other man turned out to be a yandere after him.
“The building facial recognition security automatically allows your beloved into your room. Leaving your room, now that’s a different story.” The handsome young man smiled. “Don’t you recognize me, Enrique? It’s me, Ainsely.”