"B-Boss?!"
The gang members were scared witless, their boss, with whom they had spent every day, had suddenly turned into a monster?
Swoosh!
Yukino dodged the beastman's attacks with her agile speed.
"M-Monster?!"
Haruno was stunned, she had never seen such a terrifying monster.
"It seems the strange rumors are all true."
"But why is that monster targeting Yukino and calling her a Nekomata?"
Kiyomi maintained her calm and composed demeanor even when faced with the astonishing scene before her. She was just even more worried about her youngest daughter.
The beastman charged wildly, continuing to attack Yukino frantically.
One punch broke a large marble pillar in the courtyard, sending it flying in Haruno's direction.
"Sister!"
Yukino's heart jolted, and she instinctively burst forth with speed, instantly rushing in front of Haruno, extending her hand, and striking, shattering the flying marble pillar.
"Yukino, you're... okay?!"
Haruno's eyes suddenly widened. She saw that her sister's palm had transformed into a black cat's paw, with sharp, gleaming claws extended from it.
"Sister, I..."
Yukino instinctively retracted her exposed cat paw, lowering her head, unsure of what to say.
"Don't be afraid, Yukino."
"We are your family."
"That will never change."
Kiyomi's calm words soothed her daughter's flustered heart.
"Mom!"
Yukino's eyes welled up, deeply moved.
Although her mother was always very strict with her, deep down, she still loved her dearly, no matter what she looked like.
"Haha! I understand."
"You're not a Nekomata at all. You're just a human who coincidentally gained the power of a Nekomata."
"In that case, give it to me."
The beastman seemed to have figured out Yukino's true nature. After a sinister grin, he opened his mouth and spewed dark red magma.
Everyone felt a wave of intense heat wash over them. Several unfortunate gang members who were close by were splashed by the magma and were roasted in a second, filling the air with a disgusting smell of roasted meat.
"C-Can something like this actually happen?" Haruno stood frozen in place.
However, before her shock could subside, an even more astonishing scene occurred.
Yukino spewed blue flames from her mouth, and when they touched the ground and potted plants, they didn't burn, instead, they instantly froze.
Boom!
The collision of magma and ice flames ignited a massive amount of energy, and the shockwave spread in all directions.
"Sister, mom!"
Yukino turned without hesitation, tackling her sister and mother to the ground, shielding them with her body.
The shockwave hit her back, blocked by a protective barrier.
It's him!
He's protecting me!
Upon seeing this, Yukino's heart immediately settled, as if she had found her backbone.
"Yukino? You..."
Under the astonished gazes of Haruno and Kiyomi, Yukino further released the Nekomata's power, and her body began to change. Most striking were the cat ears on her head and the two cat tails behind her.
"Sister, mom."
"You two stay here and don't move. I'll be right back."
Yukino turned resolutely, her eyes filled with determination.
The rolling dust dispersed, revealing the beastman's body, and then...
It fell.
"Eh?!"
Yukino had just made up her mind to use all of her Nekomata power.
And now you're telling me the enemy has been defeated?
"Yahallo~ Yukino."
"I'm not too late, am I?"
Tenya's figure flashed, he leaped over the wall, and landed in the courtyard.
Instantly killing the beastman as soon as he arrived was merely a casual act, not worth mentioning at all.
"..."
Yukino bit her lip tightly, glaring at him with an incredibly resentful look.
It was as if she was saying: You don't come early, you don't come late, but you just had to wait until I revealed my cat demon form to show up?
Actually, this was intentional on Tenya's part.
He had sensed a strange aura approaching the Yukinoshita family from afar, but he believed that this level of threat was not a big problem for Yukino.
At the same time, he also wanted to take this opportunity to properly train Yukino's fighting will.
As for revealing her true form in front of her family, it was not a big deal at all.
True family members wouldn't care how your appearance changes.
It could also resolve Yukino's inner conflict.
"Tenya-kun? Why are you here...?" Haruno was startled at first.
Kiyomi, on the other hand, looked at the fallen beastman, whose chest was severely caved in, and who was spitting blood and had died.
She couldn't help but be shocked. It seemed this Tenya belonged to the mysterious side of things, but she didn't know what his relationship with Yukino was like?
"I came to visit Yukino." Tenya spoke truthfully.
"Then all this..."
Haruno looked at the surrounding area, which was damaged and pitted, and the beastman who had been defeated at some unknown time, and for a moment, she didn't know how to explain it.
"It's fine."
"It's just insignificant trivial matters."
"The important thing is the safety of Yukino, Haruno-san, and Mrs. Yukinoshita."
Tenya lightly brushed over the bizarre events before them.
What could be more important than the Yukinoshita sisters and their mother right now?
"Oh my."
"I knew Tenya and Yukino had a good relationship."
"I didn't expect that even I, as her older sister, would benefit from it."
After confirming that the crisis was resolved, Haruno returned to her usual eloquent and sociable self.
"Yoshida-kun, thank you very much for your help."
Kiyomi's expression was serious as she bowed deeply to him.
Wearing a loose kimono, when she bent over and lowered her head, a proud expanse of her snowy peak was inadvertently revealed.
See, this is what you call sincerity!
"Mrs. Yukinoshita, you're too kind."
"My house is quite large, if you don't mind, why don't you temporarily stay at my place?"
Tenya didn't beat around the bush and directly invited the three of them to stay at his house.
As soon as Tenya's direct invitation came out, the three Yukinoshita women had varied expressions.
"You don't need to worry about that. My rental apartment is also fine to live in."
Yukino's rental apartment only had two rooms, but the three of them could manage to squeeze in and live there.
"But is the rent okay?" Tenya asked the most crucial question.
Although the room Yukino rented wasn't as big as his house, the rent was by no means cheap.
After all, she and the landlord weren't fellow countrymen.
The market price isn't low by any means, and this didn't include utilities like water, electricity, gas, and sanitation.
In the past, Yukino could certainly have rented it without batting an eye.
But now that the Yukinoshita family was bankrupt, the rent became a big problem.
"Tenya-kun, don't underestimate us. I, your older sister, can work to earn money, you know."
Haruno's university major was in business management. Although she hadn't graduated yet and it was difficult to get into a company, taking on some outsourced part-time jobs was more than enough.
"That's true."
"But it's already the end of the month, and rent is due in a couple of days."
"There won't be enough time, will there?" Tenya replied.
"This..."
Haruno was speechless for a moment.
The two sisters exchanged glances. Both were strong-willed, very proud girls, and letting them live for free at someone else's house was truly difficult to accept.
"That's enough, Haruno, Yukino."
"Being overly stubborn is, on the contrary, a sign of weakness."
"Yoshida-kun, thank you for your kindness."
"For the next period of time, we will be imposing on you."
Surprisingly, Kiyomi, who was usually seen as cold and aloof, now appeared very humble, gentle yet elegant.
"Mom?"
"Mom?"