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Six friends went camping, six friends wandering around the woods collecting stones and wood. The sixth tall friend walking behind, on the watch, counting their friends, there were six heads walking in front of them...

The Journalist married an Aishi, and please hear me out as I while I explain why I believe this

№1

Let's run back to the Journalist own words on his tapes

Mysterious Tape 6:

Finding employment was nearly impossible. I drifted between part-time jobs, and spent my free time drinking to ease the pain of becoming the national punching bag. It was around this point in time that I met my future wife. I still don't understand what she saw in me. I was an absolute wreck, not to mention the laughingstock of the entire country. But as soon as we met, she wanted to spend every waking moment with me. She wouldn't let me out of her sight, and got possessive if another woman so much as looked at me.

That is literally Aishi behavior

№2

He mentioned that he doesn't know what could she have possibly seen in him, he was a wreck, a punching bag, the laughingstock of the nation

But Aishi do not care about their senpai's flaws, they just care to have them all for themselves, they care about having them near, they care about how they make them feel

and we know that she didn't care about his flaws because of what he said on...

Mysterious Tape 6:

Despite all my flaws, she accepted me. And that's all that I needed.

№3

Mysterious Tape 6:

I quickly began to depend on her for everything. It wasn't long before I couldn't live without her. I certainly wasn't in any state to take care of myself... I was like an adult-sized baby. Helpless and vulnerable. Who knows... maybe that's what she was attracted to. Maybe she just wanted to experience the sensation of owning a person. Maybe she wanted to keep a human pet. Maybe all she wanted was someone who she could emotionally depend on.

This is literally how the first Aishi had her senpai

Another thing worth mentioning is that "Pet" is also how Ayano refers to her dad

№4

It's confirmed there was an Aishi who had no competition and got her senpai with no effort

Literally no one wanted the Journalist after Ryoba convinced everyone he was a "fame-seeking journalist" and a "dirty pervert who enjoyed lurking at school girls"

№5

Related to my previous point

It's possible that after that trial he probably hates the name Aishi and very likely wouldn't be with an Aishi

But!

It's confirmed that there have been some branches who took the husband's surname.

And!

it's been confirmed that most Aishi tend to lose contact with their families because the hereditary "Aishi condition" makes them apathetic to everything that's not their senpai, often isolating them from others. Once they "cure" themselves by finding their Senpai, they become distant viewing family as less important than their beloved

Both of these facts combined could mean that there are Aishi whose last names aren't Aishi and do not know they are related to those whose last names is Aishi

___

So my theory is he married an Aishi whose last names wasn't Aishi and she wasn't aware of her connection to the Aishi bloodline due to generations of losing contact

So

Where does Info-chan lands in all this?

Well, I think she too is an Aishi, here's why:

Mysterious Tape 7:

Sometimes she comes home with blood on her clothing. I can't tell if it's her blood or someone else's blood, I...try to stay out of her business. It's partially out of respect for her privacy... ... but it's mostly out of fear.

Info-chan is a hacker who spends most of her time in front of computers, she would have absolutely no reason to walk around covered in blood Unless...

Info-chan too was a yandere

Another important thing to take into consideration is her lack of empathy for the lives Ayano takes, the willingness to give her tips, the fact she encourages Ayano to kill

This are all things that Aishi do when they meet up every four years

Nels didn't stay because divorce wasn't normalized at the time

He stayed because he loves Harriet, he stayed because he doesn't regret marrying her

They fight, they argue, and they don't agree with each other, that's not because they don't love each other, that's because they are different people with different personalities

He complains, she complains, that's not a lack of love, that's what marriages look like when the honeymoon phase is over

That phase doesn't last eternity, the butterflies in your stomach don't live forever, after that phase comes comfortability and routine, and come arguments because when you live years with someone you don't agree with, you see the flaws, you don't like the flaws, and you disagree with them, that's how it will always work

After you marry someone you'll see the flaws and you won't like them but you'll learn to live with them because you love your partner

To a corpse:

Aishi: *Shakes her head in total disbelief and terror* Mother! Father!

Anahiki: *Covers her mouth, completely horrified* *She flees to safety, taking her parents and siblings with her and grabs her Anahiki tightly just in case*

Sameba: *She falls to the ground completely terrified* *She gets up and flees to a safe place*

Oga: Oh God! Mother where are you?! *Runs in search for her*

Kijiyose: Oh God! I'm out of here! *Runs out of that village/town/city and never returns*

Kugi: *Smirks with no empathy* ‹Heh, I won't miss them› *Runs in search for Hiki hoping she'll be okay* Hiki we have to find our parents and hide!

Hiki: OH DEAR GOD! Kugi! Mom! Dad! Where are you?! *Runs looking for them while screaming* Murder! *Finds Kugi* Kugi! We need to find our parents and leave! There's a murderer on the loose!

Azebiki: Oh God, this can't be happening... I have to tell a teacher!

Arisa: *Feels absolutely no sympathy for the dead one, and is weirdly drawn by the violent scene infront of her. She stares at the corps for a few moments before running to safety*

Kataba: *Will asume that they died due to poor living conditions that were a result of the war, but if they're bleeding she'll assume it was a fatal accident or a disease they catched due to the terrible living conditions. Regardless she'll get close to the corps, hold their hand, and cry, praying for their soul. However if it was clearly a murder, she'll run home as fast as she can, praying that her parents are alive*

Dozuki: *Will scream, and feel absolutely disgusted and terrified by the scene infront of her. Then she'll get out of the room and yell* THERE'S A CORPS IN THERE!

Ryoba: Oh God! *Runs out of the room* There's someone there who needs help! *She enters the teachers room and calls the police*

Cousin: *Smiles with a sadistic enjoyment* Heh, about time something interesting happen around here *Runs away to safety*

Ayano: *Feeling a mix of appalled and uncertainty* ‹Should I ran to a safe place? Or do I tell a teacher? Or a cop?›

... But if it was something they love

Aishi: *Her knees buckle up, everything seems to fade into black, and a loud beeping sound echoes in her head. She's crying but she cannot seem to feel the tears, she can't even realize because everything goes blurry* *And then... she faints*

Anahiki: *Tears stream down her face* *She hugs the body like a lifeline* *After their funeral she'll carve a statue of them out of wood*

Sameba: *She falls to the ground and crawls towards the corpse and cradles it. Crying till she falls asleep*

Oga: *Crying* Oh God, No! This can't be true! (__)! *She runs to their side, desperate for a reaction* (__)! (__) answer me! *The moment she gets none, she starts crying, cradling her close to her*

Kijiyose: *Absolutely frozen* *She rushes to their side* (__)! (__)! *Violently shaking their body* *The second nothing happens she starts crying. It's likely after this she either won't want to move out that village/town/city, or visit it very often*

Kugi: *Absolutely frozen* (__)! (__)! Answer me! *Desperately trying to get them to say something* (__)! Tell me who did this to you! I'll kill them for you! (__)! No! Don't leave me alone!

Hiki: *Crying nonstop* (__)! *She rushes to their side and cradles their body, soaking their face with her tears* *She picks up the body running towards a crowd* Help! Please! A doctor!

Azebiki: *She screams, a high-pitched scream filled with anguish, tears of desperation falling down like waterfalls* *She runs to their side as she keeps crying desperate for them to react* (__)! Wake up! Please! I'll... I can treat your wounds and you'll be fine! Oh God! Please! (__) No!

Arisa: *Tears prick at the corner of her eyes* *But instead of sadness she feels an gnawing, consuming rage in within her* ‹Someone will answer for this... The culprit will fall, and the court won't decided their fate, I WILL! And I'll decide something far worse than DEATH!›

Kataba: (__) *Tears fall endlessly down her face* *She slowly approaches the body, and kneels down beside them, covering her face with her hands as she breaks down in sobs*

Dozuki: *She screams of horror. Unable to move, unable to talk, the only thing she can do is cry loudly*

Ryoba: Oh god... (__)... (__) Please... Don't do this *She falls to her knees and cries*

Cousin: *She feels absolutely enraged. She feels an immense urge to kill their murdered* *She will run to the nearest authority figure for help*

Yeah, I don't know what villains you grew up with, but the ones I grew up with would sacrifice their "partner" alongside the world to save themselves. Most of them only had a partner for convenience, people who they didn't care for, hated, manipulated, mistreated, and worst abused, and they only kept them around because they made themselves useful

And there's something about the absolute nothing that is happening in that very normal and unremarkable living room that is so terrifying for a reason, and you can wrap your head around why that is

Hey... so... trauma is pretty much what makes the character... them

It's what their entire story is about, it's what gave them the motivation, their personality, character development and every other aspect about them.

Jiro and Oume longed to start a family together, dreaming of the laughter and warmth a child would bring into their home. Every day, they imagined the small joys of parenthood - the first words, the pitter-patter of little feet, the memorable moments they would bond over. Yet, despite their wishes, they faced the heartbreak of being unable to conceive. Fate had decided they would be childless

One day, while walking together in the forest nearby their village, they spotted a wolf sniffing at a bundle of cloth on the ground. When the wolf noticed them, it darted off into the wilderness. When they approached the bundle, they were shocked to discover what it was: a baby, wrapped up in cloth, with a small piece of wood on its chest. Carved into the wood were several symbols:

あいし

It was apparent that someone had abandoned their infant child here in the woods, leaving it to be eaten by wild animals. The couple quickly checked the baby for injuries, and were relieved to discover that it was unharmed

The couple recognized the symbols on the piece of wood - pronounced "A I SHI" - but were not sure what these symbols were meant to communicate. "Ai" and "Shi" were words that both held multiple meanings, but none of them seemed to justify abandoning a newborn in the forest. Whoever left the child here wanted to communicate *something* with these symbols, but their intentions were unclear

Just then the infant woke up and started crying

Snapped out of the initial shock of discovering an abandoned baby in the woods, Jiro and Oume realized that the one thing they wanted more than anything else in the world - a child - had just fallen into their laps. Perhaps the infant was a blessing from the gods above. They resolved, right then and there, to adopt this baby and raise it as their own child, with as much love as possible

Oume picked the infant up and started rocking the baby to calm her down, slowly the baby's cries subsided replaced by cooing sounds

They decided to name the baby "Aishi"

Although this should have been the beginning of a heartwarming and touching story of a couple whose lifelong dream had finally come true, Jiro and Oume were destined for a much crueler fate

As the years passed, Aishi grew into a very joyful child, it was incredibly easily to make her happy, so much that Jiro and Oume didn't even have to make any attempts to do so - merely seeing her parents made her happy

Jiro and Oume did their best to provide Aishi with a warm and loving home, and Aishi was grateful for every bit attempt regardless of how small it was, because even tho it was small they were successful, Aishi felt love and warmth

However some of the other children living in the same village as Aishi attempted to bully her - remained her that her real parents left her to be eaten by wolves

"My parents didn't left me to be eaten by wolves" she'd say. "They were wolves... I'm half wolf". Followed by this she'd run around trying to "catch them" (in reality she stopped chasing after a minute)

No one really wanted or succeeded to bully her because she always scared bullies off, but not many wanted to bully her either way since she was really nice person

But despite acting like that, deep down Aishi had a gnawing sadness inside of her and those comments made that sadness gnaw more of her... she wondered what had lead her real parents to decided that she was such a burden she deserved to die alone in a forest when she was merely a vulnerable infant

"Maybe they were too poor to afford to raise of me, or maybe they knew they weren't fit to take care of me... or maybe I was just a leach that didn't want in their lives"

Aishi loved her adoptive parents, but she couldn't help but want to know who her real parents were, what were their motivations for abandoning her, who could she have been if her real parents hadn't abandoned her (This was her most guarded secret that she would absolutely not let anybody know, especially not her parents)

Aishi didn't just brought light into her adoptive parents' lives, she brought it to anyone in need

Jiro and Oume raised her with love, good values, and kindness, as a result Aishi grew into a very kind young woman who was always very happy and willing to give a hand to those who need it, especially her parents. Helping with household chores, stopping thieves, putting up shops, helping with shipments, taking care of the animals, etc.

One day, around 18 years after she had been adopted, Aishi bumped into one of the young men living in the village, and dropped the basket of fruit she had been carrying. The man being so kind and helpful and helped her collect the fruit that had spilled onto the ground

As the two of them reached for the same piece of fruit at the same time, his fingers brushed against hers - and in the span of a single instant, his entire world changed. It felt like for the first time, the sights and sounds and smells surrounding him suddenly meant something bigger; like the world before was a dull and grey place - now, every sensation was suddenly exciting, stimulating, and meaningful

Tapestries were not just random colors, but were beautiful works of art. Birdsong was not just random noise, but was lovely music to listen to. The clothing against his skin did not merely exist; it brought warmth and comfort

He felt an avalanche of new sensations for the first time. It was overwhelming

Immediately, he sought an answer. "What changed? What caused this? What made my world better?" His eyes flew to Aishi, the young woman who had lightly grazed his hand, and he knew; he simply knew. It was her. Somehow, touching her had "unlocked" a better version of life, so that he could finally experience the world in a more wonderful way

It took him no longer than a single moment to decide what he wanted to say to Aishi: "I love you. I can't live without you. Spend the rest of your life with me." But, the tsunami of sensations that he was experiencing was so overwhelming that he could not force a single word out of his mouth

Then, he made the first of several very important discoveries. As Aishi rose to her feet, apologized for bumping into him, and walked away, he felt the world growing colder, duller, greyer. The implications were obvious; his ability to experience the world more beautifully was tied directly to his proximity to the farmer girl. Without her presence, existence felt meaningless

And then, the next revelation was made. As his eyes followed her, he saw where she was walking to - *who* she was walking to. A young man. Who was he to her? A brother? A stranger? A friend? A lover she had sworn her heart to? Before he knew the answer to any of these questions, he had already drawn his conclusion:

"Whoever he is, I need to kill him"

The next 10 weeks in Aishi's village were a whirlwind of tragic events. One after another, various men in the village died in horrific ways, or mysteriously vanished without a trace. The same words were on everyone's lips: "Our village is cursed!" "Evil spirits are plaguing us!" "We've angered the gods!"

Each of the men who died or went missing was connected, in some way, to Aishi, that kind-hearted farmer. Once regarded in high esteem by the rest of the village, she was now a social pariah - "Everyone you interact with dies! You're the cause of all this!" Even Aishi herself began to believe it; she began to wonder if, somehow, she had become a blight on his own village

Jiro and Oume tried to defend their child, they were firmly opposed to the idea that their daughter was cursed, refusing to believe she was the caused of this, but the villagers refused to listen to them. Infact they believed that Jiro and Oume were cursed too and gave them an ultimatum: Either they get rid of the cursed child, or they leave with her too. But the couple didn't let that affect them and continued to defend their child. They argued that if it was truth and she was actually cursed, then they should of been dead as well

But instead of making her feel better, that phrase made her believe that she was a danger to her parents, the people who she loved the most could be in danger because of her... that's when she made the realization that in order to save their lives, she had to abandoned them... permanently

Then, one day, she found herself in the edge of a tall cliff... she knew exactly what she had to do to save her parents and save the village from further misfortune...She turned around, closed her eyes, lifted her arms... and suddenly the wind seemed faster and her life was flashing through her eyes... and the question that haunted her seemed to have answered itself after all these years

"Mother... Father... I guess I finally know why my real parents left me... I think they knew from the beginning I was cursed and not worth take the risk... Thank you for the love and the warmth... and I'm sorry I couldn't be the child you longed for"

But as the question that long haunted the back of her mind seemed to answer and the fog was lifting in her head, the wind seemed to stop, and her wrist felt heavier. And suddenly she was back on the edge of the cliff

She opened her eyes and there stood a young man - one who she instantly recognized as the village helper - a man she briefly interacted with 11 weeks ago

After taking a moment to gather his courage, he opened his mouth and simply let his feelings pour out. "I know everyone thinks you're cursed. I know you think so too. I know you think you might be unlovable and you don't deserve to exist because of that matter. But... for some strange reason I don't even fully understand, I don't care, I don't care what the villagers say about you, I don't care about anyone else but you. You fill my world with color and light and warmth. If I had to pick a word to describe this... I guess I'd have to say that it's love"

When you feel like the entire world is against you and wants you dead, and then someone enters your life and makes you feel wanted... it doesn't matter if there's something wrong with them; you ignore whatever warning signs you would normally recognize, you open your arms, and you invite them in. Obviously, it's a bad idea, but a sufficiently vulnerable person will make unwise life decisions

The young man knew this. That's why he killed those guys in the exact ways that he did, and created a tense atmosphere of suspicion and distrust in the village; to make sure that the love of his life would be shunned until she was so desperate that she'd run straight into his arms if he offered her comfort and solace in a world that was showing her nothing but pain and shame...

... And his plan had worked perfectly

Aishi gave birth to three daughters; one in 1818, one in 1819, and one in 1820. When naming her children, she did not hesitate; apparently, she had already decided what to name her children before they were even born. Her husband considered each of these names to be terribly inappropriate - but he did not protested because it made his wife happy - she insisted that these were the names she wanted for her daughters

"In life, you must carry three blades," she said. "One blade for crafting, one blade for protecting, and one blade for cutting the Red String of Fate"

She named her first child "Anahiki," after a saw used for carpentry

She named her second child "Katana," after the type of sword carried by samurai

(An alternative universe where the Aishi curse doesn't cause them to feel a permanent sense of emptiness and numbness until they met a person who can "Fix them", but instead makes a random person become obsessed with them)

Anahiki Aishi was born in 1818. Her mother had chosen to give each of her daughters symbolic names that held deep personal value to her, and had named Anahiki after a type of saw used for rough woodworking. This was deeply unusual, and Anahiki complained about her own name countless times. When asked to explain how a saw could hold deep personal value, she would only say, "Hard work is important, you might not understand the importance of the blade you're carrying now, but you'll do when you're older"

Exasperated, Anahiki didn't push the issue further. Because they lived in poverty, they almost always had work to do, yet very tight money, naturally Anahiki had nothing to play with, so she decided that she had to contribute with the work. Because she had been named after a saw, she felt as though it was her destiny to cut wood; in her eyes, her fate had been pre-ordained by her name. And, so, while other children her age were playing with toys, Anahiki was learning how to *make* toys with her own hands

By the time Anahiki was an adult, she had developed the skills necessary to carve wood at a professional level. She carved everything from utensils to toys to religious items; from spoons to dolls to furniture to Buddhist statues. She specialized in fine craftsmanship, excelling at small and detailed pieces with intricate designs

Even though construction work was dominated by men almost exclusively, she felt curious about what it felt like to work with the saw that she was named after - the anahiki. It was a large saw that was designed for crosscutting large timbers, which was physically demanding labor. Even though it was absolutely nothing like the work she normally did, she decided to give it a try, anyway

It was physically draining to work with the anahiki, but the act of pushing her body to her absolute limits felt surprisingly satisfying; she enjoyed it immensely, and didn't want to stop. However, the more she worked with the blade, the more flaws she identified with it; she felt as though the tool could be re-designed to be more comfortable to wield, and also more effective at cutting

Anahiki illustrated a design for a new type of saw - one that she named "kijiyose" from "kiji" meaning "wood" and "yose" meaning "pull" - and took her design to a blacksmith. Upon handing him his design, her fingers brushed against his... and he felt as though he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. Suddenly, the world was full of new colors that had been absent before

Anahiki's father had recited a story to her countless times - the story of how he met Anahiki's mother. Anahiki had listened to her father describe it dozens, possibly hundreds of times... the way that the world suddenly seemed to be full of light and music and warmth as soon as he met the woman. The way that the blacksmith felt after touching Anahiki's hand matched that description perfectly

It took every ounce of the blacksmith's willpower to maintain his composure while speaking to this woman, who he had just fallen deeply in love with and decided to spend the rest of his life with. Anahiki, completely unaware of this, placed a commission for the saw and then excused herself, the blacksmith was grateful for that, he urgently needed to put some space between her and himself in order to recover from the intense overstimulation he felt while in her presence

From that day forward, the blacksmith stalked Anahiki stalked obsessively - not because he had problems with her commission, but because he desperately needed to know if any other man had their eyes on her. As fate would have it, there were, in fact, several other men who seemed interested in her. Men who, the blacksmith decided, were threats that must be eliminated

After spending so many years working with blades, the blacksmith was intrigued by the different used he could give a saw... a used no other carpenter had thought of

The beautiful woman who hexed him was named Anahiki... so he decided what was a perfect way to honor her

Each time he sawed off one of his victim's limbs to make their body easier to dispose of, he couldn't help but admire the way the dead man's blood glistened on the blade of his anahiki

After 11 weeks of unexplainable disappearances targeted at people she cared about Anahiki felt alone and desperate, so when the blacksmith offered her comfort she immediately open her arms at him

They got married and when the blacksmith asked about her unusual name, Anahiki told him about her mother's words. The blacksmith responded with only one sentence, which Anahiki thought meant how they met... but never understood the real meaning behind them

Suffering it would it:

Pride: someone who is excessively self-centered, who loves their own excellence, placing themselves above God and others

Greed: a greedy person with an excessive desire for material possessions and wealth

Wrath: a hot-tempered person who would blow up your head over the smallest inconvenience

Envy: someone who wants everything you have

Lust: a sex addict

Gluttony: an obese food addict and/or an alcoholic

Sloth: the laziest thing ever, with a deep spiritual apathy, indifference, with a willful lack of effort in their physical and spiritual duties, especially towards God, themselves, and others

And drawing it out of others would be:

Pride: someone who will praise you till you become absolutely arrogant

Greed: someone who could offer you everything you want, with deals and offers that are way too tempting

Wrath: a rage baiter who knows how to get on your every nerves

Envy: someone who has everything you want

Lust: a very appealing person who presents themselves as your most lustful form you desire

Gluttony: a five star chef who makes your favorite dishes