--
"Cough."
A soft cough, so faint it could dissolve into the specks of light, sounded. Kiyono thought it was an illusion and automatically ignored it.
"Cough, cough."
Ah, not an illusion. Though still intermittent, the cough was a bit stronger. Kiyono turned his head and saw Yukino cough delicately twice, as if trying to speak to him.
"What's wrong?"
"Tha—"
The black-haired loli's gaze flickered. She believed in correctness but wasn't pedantic; she understood that violence sometimes had to be ended by greater violence. Although Kiyono's methods were a bit extreme, he was ultimately helping her. From the position of being helped, she should say that one sentence…
No, that's not right.
This wasn't for her present self.
It was for her past self—filled with indignation and powerlessness, suffering alone, deciding alone. That kindness and enthusiasm miraculously crossed time and dreams to reach the heart of that girl from back then.
So.
She pressed a hand to her chest, slowly curling it into a fist.
"Tha—"
"Little brother! I heard you bullied the entire class by yourself?"
She was interrupted by a woman who suddenly appeared.
Yukino's delicate brows arched. She looked at her sister—who was affectionately pressing Kiyono's shoulder from behind—with eyes cold and sharp, like a sword slicing through air.
"Don't talk nonsense. That was just friendly interaction and bonding between classmates. If you don't believe me, ask them if our relationship is good!" Kiyono denied immediately.
Speaking of which, did you install a camera on me? How is your intel so fast? That's a little scary!
"Oh, I'm not some righteous hero; I won't condemn you. You did all this for Yukino, didn't you? I, your elder sister, think it's really cool to stand against an entire grade for one person!"
Yukinoshita Haruno glanced at her sister inexplicably, then withdrew her gaze and smiled, patting his head.
"I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed. I just did a small job to make the class more harmonious and loving, to stop the quarrels."
Kiyono said with a serious face, then paused and asked curiously:
"What if I accidentally offend a rich young lady from a zaibatsu family?"
"Hmm? Then I, your elder sister, can only sacrifice myself and personally go perform a dogeza to apologize for you, little brother."
"To prevent you from making such a sacrifice, I'll handle things more appropriately."
Yukino watched the two of them banter with a frosty expression.
"So that's roughly how it all happened, Mother."
After chatting with Kiyono for a while, Yukinoshita Haruno went to her mother's room. Smiling, she happily recounted what had happened at the elementary school.
The kimono-clad beauty listened quietly. Her hands paused over the tea set, and her expression turned peculiar.
They had long been aware of Yukino's experiences at school, and it had been a lingering problem. But as parents, it was difficult to directly intervene when it was merely petty bullying among girls—an invisible sort of harassment.
Yet now, an elementary schooler had stepped forward.
He dared to oppose the entire grade alone, to unite allies, threaten opponents, spread rumors, ignore rules… What was even more remarkable was that none of his actions had been noticed by the teachers so far. This approach was truly…
Very suitable to be Yukino's adopted son-in-law.
To possess such courage and cunning at such a young age—when he grows up, won't he be even more adept at manipulating people's hearts?
Inwardly, Yukinoshita's mother raised his score.
Not only because he had strength and determination, but more importantly, because he was willing to do all this for Yukino.
"Haruno, what do you think?" the woman asked softly.
"Very exhilarating—much stronger than that Hayato fellow."
Yukinoshita Haruno smiled, though her gaze was somewhat cold and distant. Her sister's elementary-school troubles had always been a thorn in her side, and as the direct fuse of the incident, Hayama Hayato's behavior had utterly disappointed them.
He did nothing; he merely observed.
Hearing that name, Yukinoshita's mother sighed quietly and said nothing more. In truth, she shared her eldest daughter's view. Originally, they had considered Hayama Hayato—whose background they knew well—as a future son-in-law. But now, an obviously more excellent candidate had appeared.
Although his background was somewhat lacking, in the eyes of the Yukinoshita family, that wasn't a flaw; on the contrary, it made her feel more at ease.
The question was… which daughter would Kiyono be more suitable to assist?
The kimono-clad beauty's gaze shifted to her eldest daughter's face.
After that, Yukino's shoes were never lost again, and no one dared to throw trash in her locker. The girl enjoyed a rare stretch of leisurely school life, and, as the price, no one dared to approach Kiyono anymore.
He, too, was left alone.
The girl noticed all of this. She didn't say much, but she accompanied him for every activity and during every lunch break.
That morning, third period was art class.
Elementary-school art class is simple: four kids to a table, draw whatever you want. The teacher's requirements are lax.
At a back-row table, the school's famous young lady gently lifted her brush, her smile elegant and confident.
—It's time to show off in front of everyone!
I, Sawamura Spencer Eriri, a well-known online artist and the ace of the high-school art club, returning to elementary school with this level of skill, am destined to become an invincible Dragon King!
Then she heard her tablemates chatting.
"Wow, look at Aki—he actually brought anime character stickers to copy from!"
What character? That's Magical Girl Melrily! A classic masterpiece!
"How awful."
It's not awful at all!
Eriri put down her brush. She didn't need to look up to know Aki Tomoya was waving the magical-girl drawing excitedly, explaining his favorite character.
She had originally wanted to join her childhood friend.
To loudly declare she liked those things too, but… she glanced around the classroom. Most people wore obvious looks of repulsion toward "otaku" culture.
"I…"
Anyway, they're just elementary-schoolers. Eriri opened her mouth, let the first syllable slip out, then slowly closed her lips again.
Because it wasn't just "elementary school"—she was too conspicuous. Once labeled an otaku, that impression would follow her into middle school and high school.
She wasn't ready to face so much hostility alone.
"We should stay away. Sawamura probably hates that kind of thing, right?" A princess-cut girl dragged her desk aside.
Under the stares, Eriri grew increasingly irritable. The raised voices drew the attention of the front rows. Aki Tomoya looked over too, and the girl suddenly found herself in a dilemma—why am I, a high schooler, still facing such an awkward situation!
Across the room, Kiyono raised an eyebrow. The pure-love warrior's iron fist had already fallen—would anyone still dare to bully?
He watched for a while and realized this wasn't quite the same as Yukino's situation. In an era before the internet had fully blossomed, otaku culture was widely disliked. Children, influenced by what they heard and saw, were simply going with the flow.
They kept their distance, but no one maliciously bullied them.
Kiyono clicked his tongue at Eriri's forced smile. These defeated heroines—each more troublesome than the last.
Bathed in the class's collective gaze, Eriri's cherry lips parted—about to speak, helpless—when a voice cut in.
"The teacher said Sawamura's drawing skills are very good. If you don't mind, could you let me learn from you?"
They turned to see the smiling Great Demon King—Kiyono.
"Y-y-yes, of course…" The girls trembled.
And just like that, no one cared about two-dimensional culture anymore.
Eriri quietly lifted her gaze to Kiyono. Her eyes, clear as a blue lake, shimmered with light. Could it be… he was helping me on purpose?
But how did he know I'm an otaku?
As a clever girl, she knew of Kiyono's private acts of violence. To be honest, she felt a certain satisfaction—the person who had forced her break with her childhood friend had also been intimidated and handled by Kiyono.
She felt a bit envious of that aloof girl too—someone willing to go that far to protect her.
Ah, the more she looked, the more special he seemed. He dared to disregard everything, to face things head-on—even braver than she was, a high schooler… Could he be the legendary hidden character?
Class passed uneventfully.
During lunch break, Eriri's gaze followed Kiyono's back. She quietly tailed him down the stairs, along the corridor, and into the courtyard.
Only after confirming his dining spot did she stride to the campus vending machine and lavishly buy several bottles of drinks—don't misunderstand, this was only because she didn't know what flavors he liked; it wasn't an excuse to deliberately help him out!
Even if Kiyono hadn't helped her on purpose, giving him these would make things even!
Hugging the armful of drinks, the blonde girl cheerfully headed to the spot—however…
"Where is he!?"
Staring at the empty seat, Sawamura Eriri was utterly bewildered.
Hmph, a pure-love warrior's flag isn't so easily raised!
From a secluded corner, Kiyono peeked out. Seeing the blonde girl's back slowly recede with the drinks, he raised an eyebrow, smug.
Fifth-grade summer vacation—
Yukinoshita Haruno took Kiyono and Yukino to see fireworks. They ate yakisoba and takoyaki together from a quiet, elegant special seating area, creating their first memory of a family outing.
Sixth grade—
After his body became smaller, his sense of time seemed dulled. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed. That year, he spent both summer and winter breaks with the Yukinoshita family.
Among those day-to-day moments, several things left a deep impression on Kiyono.
One was the birthday the Yukinoshita family celebrated for him. Haruno prepared a cake and gave him a fountain pen, hoping he would become a great writer as he wished. The younger Yukino and the older sister each gave different gifts.
The bonds between family members, it seems, are built little by little like this.
Haruno would also sometimes find different ways to give him pocket money—an absolute fortune for an elementary schooler. Although Yukino was the one who brought him home, in daily life it was actually Haruno who took care of him—after all, Yukino herself was still an elementary-school student.
This is what a sister three years older is like!
March, early spring.
It is the season of beginnings and endings. The lingering chill of late winter still hung in the air, yet the streets burst with color—cherry blossoms and winter snow seemed to dance together.
Soft sunlight cascaded down as Yukinoshita Haruno stood still, calmly taking in the scene before her.
She was on a middle-school campus, surrounded by boys and girls in black-based uniforms. Vibrant corsages pinned to their chests, they walked shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand, faces filled with the reluctance of parting.
Clearly, they were attending the school's final graduation ceremony. On such a day, excitement and sentimentality always arrived together.
The people in her sight would probably drift apart after graduation. Of course, if someone was valuable, one could deliberately maintain enthusiastic contact.
Haruno, also wearing a corsage, strolled through the grounds where students chatted and took photos everywhere.
After taking photos, the uniformed girls didn't immediately disperse. Instead, they found more to talk about and continued their conversations, even speaking more slowly than usual.
"Yuka, are you going to a public or private school? I wish we could still be in the same one."
"My parents want me in a private school, but I think public would be fine—I prefer the atmosphere there."
"Me too. I want to open a nail salon in the future, so a normal high school is good enough for me."
Voices full of vitality and dreams reached her ears. Yukinoshita Haruno turned her head to glance at them. The paths of their lives seemed shrouded in mist—unclear, yet they were making choices according to their own will.