"Don't you like it, Holy Light-sensei?"
Yakumo stared at Hikari with confusion. The Holy Light-sensei in her mind was completely different from the one standing before her.
In her imagination, Holy Light-sensei was a sleazy, perverted man with a disgusting appearance and behavior.
But the real Kamizuki Hikari was handsome and even rejected her offer, which puzzled her. If possible, she really wanted to keep him as her puppet and study him thoroughly.
"Well, if I said I didn't like it, I'd be lying."
Hikari felt it was better to be honest.
"But Yakumo, living in this world means we can't always act solely on our own desires. Deceiving others, manipulating their lives—it might feel fun at first, but over time, you'll find it incredibly dull. Just like this mansion—you feel comfortable here, but in a way, it's also what's trapping you."
"You're still young. You have a bright future ahead. Before, your health was poor, but with proper care, you'll eventually recover and become just like any other healthy person. When that time comes, you'll meet someone you truly love, someone who loves you back. You'll get to know each other, stay together, marry, have children, and live a happy life."
Yakumo looked at him, uncomprehending.
In her young mind, everyone except herself was just a toy—even Hikari was merely a special toy.
She truly didn't understand how to interact with people normally.
"Since Holy Light-sensei says so, I'll give you a chance."
After some thought, Yakumo realized she couldn't alter Hikari's mind right now. As for Kurenai, she had only temporarily influenced her subconscious—such control was unstable.
She needed time to slowly find the cracks in Hikari's heart, to perfect her ability to manipulate others.
"You said my body can recover, right? Starting now, I'll listen to you. If you can restore my health to that of a normal person within half a year, I'll keep following your advice. If not... well, don't blame me for altering Kurenai-sensei's mind and making her stay with me forever."
"Deal." Kamizuki Hikari agreed without hesitation.
(Kurenai: You two bastards, does no one care about my opinion?!)
Unfortunately, Kurenai was completely under Yakumo's influence. For a jonin specializing in genjutsu, this was truly pathetic.
"So, do I stay at your place or Kurenai-sensei's?"
Having decided to leave, Yakumo wanted to settle things quickly. Both of them were her targets—Kurenai was her favorite toy, and Hikari was her most unique one. She wanted both.
No matter whose place she stayed at, she wouldn't lose out.
"You should go with Kurenai."
Hikari wasn't worried about Yakumo's abilities—he was more concerned about what Tenten and the others would think. If Yakumo came over, Anko and Ayame would probably visit often too, which would disrupt his writing career.
A mature writer needed a quiet environment to work. Women would only slow down his typing speed.
"Alright, I'm really looking forward to what you'll do with me next, Holy Light-sensei!"
Yakumo's ambiguous words made Hikari frown.
"You're not allowed to call me 'Holy Light-sensei' in front of others from now on. Got it?"
"Why?" Yakumo was confused by the firm order, but seeing Hikari's serious gaze, she backed down. "Fine. Then what should I call you?"
"Just 'Hikari' or 'Hikari-senpai' is fine."
"Then 'Hikari-senpai' it is!"
"Good. Now release Kurenai and let her handle the arrangements."
"Okay!"
Yakumo snapped her fingers, and Kurenai's eyes fluttered open.
"Hikari, you cured Yakumo? That's amazing!" Kurenai praised.
Hikari remained unmoved, his gaze shifting to the empty space beside them.
"These little tricks won't work on me. Save it."
"Hikari, what are you talking about?"
Kurenai looked around in confusion, seeing nothing, before turning to Yakumo.
"Yakumo, let's go home."
"Sure, Kurenai-sensei!" Yakumo replied sweetly.
Kurenai took Yakumo's hand and walked briskly toward the gate, soon disappearing from Hikari's sight.
"Having fun?"
Hikari's eyes turned cold as he lightly tapped the ground with his foot.
*Crack!*
A sound like shattering glass echoed.
Yakumo was still sitting there, and Kurenai hadn't left at all.
"I just wanted to see if Holy Light-sensei—"
"Hmm?"
Hikari glared at her, and Yakumo immediately corrected herself.
"Hikari-senpai! Happy now?"
Hikari nodded. "Good. Remember that from now on. Also—have you dealt with the 'Ido' in your mind?"
If he hadn't confirmed that this was the real Yakumo, he would've suspected she was an illusion created by Ido.
"Of course I have!"
Yakumo stood up proudly and waved at Kurenai.
"Thanks to what you wrote in your book, Hikari-senpai—'Whether light or dark, I am still me. Whether good or evil, I remain myself.' After reading that, I realized Ido was just a manifestation of my negative emotions, born from my uncontrollable spiritual power."
"As long as my will is strong enough, Ido is nothing more than a joke."
Hikari sucked in a sharp breath.
No wonder something felt off—Yakumo had absorbed her own negative emotions, strengthening her spiritual power by fully embracing her dark side.
In other words, she had "blackened".
As the saying goes, "The dark side makes characters ten times stronger, while redemption weakens them by a third."
Yakumo's mental strength had already been formidable. Now, with this dark awakening amplifying it tenfold, it was no wonder Kurenai had fallen victim to her.
"Can you promise not to use this ability on Kurenai in the future?"
Hikari glanced at Kurenai, who stood there like a puppet. If she remained under Yakumo's influence for too long, who knew what would become of her?
"That depends on you, Hikari-senpai. If you can restore my health within half a year, then sure. If not... well, I can't make any promises!"
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