"Yuk... Yukino?!"
A flash of panic crosses Yukinoshita Haruno's eyes. But then she thinks, I'm helping Yukino and little Ryosuke, aren't I? So what am I panicking about? Haruno quickly reverts to her usual smiling self and waves at Yukino.
Yukinoshita Yukino walks up to Haruno with her head full of questions. A hint of curiosity flashes in her calm eyes. While her sister usually seems cheerful and sociable, she always maintains a certain safe distance from others. So why does she seem so familiar with Hiratsuka-kun? Sister has never been this close to a boy before.
Initially, Yukino's impression of Ryosuke was simply that he was a competent peer with whom she could have a conversation. She isn't the type to show much interest in a person she's just met, but seeing Haruno's unusual behavior makes her genuinely curious about Ryosuke.
Yukinoshita Haruno stands in the middle, glancing between the two. She then takes each of them by the hand and stands up. With a radiant smile, she announces, "Perfect, you're both here! It's the last day of the annual festival, so let's go have some fun!"
A short while later, the three of them are at the night market. Playing games at a festival night market is a great way for a boy and girl to get to know each other. Haruno's initial plan was to get Yukino and Ryosuke closer, but the atmosphere between them is a little different than she had imagined.
They arrive at a goldfish scooping booth. Yukinoshita Yukino holds a paper net with a calm expression and carefully places it in the water. She slowly guides the paper net under a goldfish and tries to scoop it up.
Plop~
Every time, as soon as the fish is out of the water, it flops twice and breaks the net. Since this is her first time playing, the competitive Yukino rolls up her sleeves and gets ready to try again. The booth owner laughs to himself, he loves customers who are stubborn enough to keep trying even when they keep failing.
But then, Ryosuke says something that makes Yukino stop.
"Yukinoshita Yukino, you just made two mistakes."
Yukino frowns slightly and asks calmly, as if in an academic discussion, "What mistakes?"
Hiratsuka Ryosuke holds up two fingers and says seriously, "First, you placed the paper net horizontally. That causes a lot of movement, and it makes the paper net soak up water too quickly and tear easily."
"Second, you placed the paper net too deep. Paper nets don't get much water on the surface, so the deeper you go, the more force is applied. That's another reason why you can't scoop up the fish."
"Try placing the net vertically and don't go too deep. Gently approach the fish and slowly move upward." Hiratsuka Ryosuke's expression is serious and stern, like a teacher giving a lecture.
Yukino nods and tries his method. Sure enough, she scoops up a lively goldfish.
"Hiratsuka-kun, your method is very effective," Yukino says calmly as she places the goldfish in a bag. Her eyes narrow, and she prepares to scoop up another. With her first success, she gets the hang of it, and another, and another...
The owner, seeing more and more of his goldfish being scooped up, can't stand it anymore. He approaches the two with a mournful expression. "Miss, please go to another booth. Otherwise, I'll go out of business."
Aren't these games supposed to be playable after paying? Just as Yukino is about to start an argument, the sound of a bell from the opposite booth catches her attention.
Ding-ding-ding~
"Cork gun shooting game! New prizes just added!"
Yukino looks over, and her eyes widen when she sees the prizes on the shelf. Her clear, starlike eyes sparkle with an unprecedented brilliance.
"It's Mr. Panda!" Yukino whispers. Mr. Panda is the mascot of this world's version of Disney, a humanoid panda. Yukino has a strange passion for anything related to cats.
Haruno, who knows her sister's tastes well, has already paid at the shooting booth. She waves Yukino and Ryosuke over. The goldfish booth owner breathes a sigh of relief as the two leave.
On the prize shelf, there's a variety of prizes. The goal is to shoot a cork from a toy gun and knock over a prize to win it. Yukino's target is clear: she wants to take Mr. Panda home. Her eyes are filled with an unprecedented seriousness as she aims and fires.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The corks hit the panda doll one after another. But because the doll is so big, it just sways on the shelf and doesn't fall down. Seeing her sister fail, Haruno goes to Ryosuke and nudges the boy with her elbow.
"Little Ryosuke, why are you just standing there watching?" Yukinoshita Haruno whispers. She then continues to lecture him, "It's a great way to earn points with a girl to offer help when she needs it."
"Little Yukino loves anything related to cats. If you can help her knock this down, she'll be so grateful to you. You're welcome, hehe." With that, Haruno winks at Ryosuke without anyone noticing.
Ryosuke ignores Haruno's words. He can see that Yukino is being serious and wants to win the prize on her own. Seeing that the boy is unmoved, Haruno thinks of a certain weakness her sister has and decides to try it on Ryosuke. She draws out her words, saying in a voice loud enough for Yukino to hear, "Oh~ So there's something you're afraid of, too. Are you afraid you can't knock it down and will be embarrassed?"
Hearing this, Yukino instinctively turns and looks at the two people behind her. She realizes her sister isn't talking about her. She looks at Ryosuke with an expectant gaze, wondering what he will do.
"Heh, a clumsy provocation," Hiratsuka Ryosuke replies coldly. "Do you think Yukinoshita Yukino needs a handout from anyone else?" The first half of the sentence sounds strangely familiar to Yukinoshita Yukino, but the second half gives her a strong sense of validation. Can this person read my mind?
Yukino is a very strong-willed girl who has never needed handouts from anyone. Her sister's twisted affection is almost suffocating her.
Hiratsuka Ryosuke walks up behind Yukino, takes her soft hands in his, and lifts the toy gun. "Yukinoshita Yukino, watch closely. This is how you play a shooting game. Relax your shoulders, slow your breathing, and align your eye with the sight. While you hit the target before, the force was too dispersed. Try hitting the doll's forehead repeatedly."
Yukino's entire body tenses up. This is the first time she's been held from behind by a boy her age. But he doesn't seem to have any bad intentions. Just like with the goldfish scooping, he is seriously teaching her how to shoot. So Yukino doesn't resist. A light blush appears on her snow-white face.
After adjusting Yukino's posture, Ryosuke releases his hands and nods in satisfaction. "Alright, try it again like that."
Yukinoshita Yukino aims and shoots again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The corks hit the doll's head in rapid succession. The panda doll sways back and forth before finally falling. The owner hands the doll to Yukino. She hugs it and buries her face in its soft belly, rubbing her cheek against it. After a while, Yukino looks up and gives Ryosuke a knowing smile.
"Thank you." Her voice is still as cool as ever, but without any sense of coldness. The young Yukino now sees Ryosuke as a life mentor. Hiratsuka-kun is a truly admirable person. Just by following his advice and making a small change, I succeeded.
My idea was right after all. An excellent person needs to help those who aren't as excellent become excellent. Only then will ostracism disappear, and the world will become a better place. Yukinoshita Yukino's perfect theory of justice is now more cemented than ever.
Ryosuke gives the girl, who is so similar to him, a faint smile. "No one is born strong. Humans perfect themselves by learning. Change is a good thing."
Yukinoshita Yukino agrees completely with Ryosuke's words. She nods slightly, feeling that she has finally met a fellow traveler. Hiratsuka-kun is so admirable. No wonder my sister is so interested in him.
Behind the two, Yukinoshita Haruno's smile grows even brighter as she sees that her sister and Ryosuke's relationship has improved. But her smile suddenly freezes, and she feels a strange blockage in her heart. What is this feeling? Haruno frowns slightly. Her precious Yukino is so happy right now. Where is this emotion coming from? She shakes her head and takes a deep breath, telling herself the blockage was just a hallucination. She looks at her sister, who is now talking freely, then at Ryosuke's serious face. Yukinoshita Haruno's gaze softens, and she says to herself, All I want is for my sister Yukino to be able to live a happy life.