But now, Kiyono not only chose snowy weather, he also brought out two sisters with extremely complex, intertwined relationships—truly a hero among heroes!
He believed that with his courage and wisdom, he would definitely find a way to clear this stage!
7 p.m.
White snowflakes silently danced in the night sky, laying a thin layer of white over the streets. Under the starry night, the Ferris wheel shone with brilliant light, slowly turning.
Pink-and-white castles, miniature smoking volcanoes, and laughing children running about made it feel like they had stepped into a fairy tale world.
But in the next moment, the beautiful fairy tale turned into a dark forest occupied by witches and sorceresses.
"Kiyokun~, you're really bold, aren't you? Bringing both me and Yukino out at the same time. Could it be that as soon as you became a great writer, you wanted to imitate those literary seniors—embracing beauties left and right and building a harem?"
His neck was tightly locked by an arm.
Though that hand was slender and soft, it carried a strange strength he couldn't break free from.
"Th-this is a family outing. Of course everyone has to be together."
Kiyono coughed and patted her arm twice before finally breaking free from the sorceress. He tried to step back, but his lower back bumped against the tip of a transparent umbrella.
It was a true pincer attack.
The young man straightened his posture and looked at Yukinoshita Haruno with a serious gaze.
"If I called my younger sister but not my older sister, what would my older sister do?"
Tonight, Haruno wore a fitted beige trench coat, with a long knit sweater underneath that perfectly accentuated her graceful curves and figure. Her earrings glittered under the colorful lights, making her look like a low-key Hollywood star out for a stroll.
At this moment, she wore a bright, cheerful smile, as if nothing at all had changed.
"Hmm? I'd probably expose all of little Kiyono's dark history to Mother, and then broadcast it to the whole school."
Kiyono wisely turned around to face Yukino instead.
"...Uh, uh, never mind what you secretly got, Miss Yukino. If I called the older sister but not the younger sister, what would you think?"
Compared with Haruno's fashionable outfit, Yukino's clothes were more practical, focused on warmth. A white high-collared coat, gloves and scarf that covered her up thoroughly, and below, black skinny pants with long boots. Even though she looked very "family outing with childhood friend," her long, flowing black hair and cool demeanor still carried a strong allure.
Her cherry-red lips spoke words colder than snow.
"Death penalty."
"It was just a joke, why are you so serious!?" The self-proclaimed high-ranking family member frowned. "And your dark history isn't necessarily a bad thing!"
"Did Kiyono secretly look through my browsing history and photo folders? Oh no, all my preferences are exposed now!" Haruno covered her mouth in mock shock and patted him playfully.
"Since Kiyono-kun has confessed, the elimination plan can be executed immediately. That's what law enforcement is for, after all." Yukino narrowed her eyes and sneered.
…Huh? Something feels off here.
Kiyono fell into deep thought.
"But you—what kind of outfit is this?" Yukinoshita Yukino scanned him up and down and frowned. Hat, mask, scarf… he was wrapped up like a mummy.
"It's a rare chance for us to go out together. You don't want to be stared at the whole time, do you?" Kiyono raised his chin slightly.
That was true.
Yukino nodded. The three of them lined up at the ticket gate, exchanged their vouchers for passes, and began their Yukinoshita family amusement park trip.
The two sisters tacitly ignored each other.
Even though Kiyono had specifically chosen a non-holiday evening, there were still long queues in front of the rides.
While waiting, he glanced sideways at the young lady. Haruno's "condition" seemed to be getting worse; even when she saw Yukino, she didn't take the initiative to talk to her…
Just as the thought flashed through his mind, Haruno glanced at her little sister next to her and, as if telepathically, found a topic.
"Speaking of which, the last time I came to an amusement park with Yukino was right after we graduated elementary school, wasn't it? You even bought several Mr. Pans."
"Older sister kept making the Ferris wheel cabin sway on purpose…"
A mischievous and cunning older sister, a cool and helpless younger sister. For a moment, it felt like time had reversed; they hadn't changed at all.
Then, both Yukinos turned their gaze toward Kiyono's face, as if asking what he had been doing at the time—ah, right, he'd been staying up late sewing a giant Mr. Pan.
The younger Yukino gradually fell silent, quietly looking away, the tips of her ears slightly red.
The older Yukino raised an eyebrow, thought for two seconds, then, smiling, twisted his arm.
"Today's schedule was made by Master Kiyono. So, Master, where should we start?" Her voice was sticky-sweet.
"Following the usual route, let's start with the roller coaster." Kiyono stayed calm and natural.
"I have no objections. What about Yukino?"
"…Anything is fine." Yukino Yukinoshita replied with a poker face.
Although the pause lasted only a heartbeat, Kiyono—who knew Yukino well—had already seen right through her. This was Paper Tiger Yukino! Using a blank expression to cover her panic!
Of course, he wouldn't tease her as brutally as Haruno did, but a little bit of deflating her arrogance was necessary.
"It's okay if you're scared. You're still a girl, after all. We can start with bumper cars instead," Kiyono said with a sympathetic look.
"Does Kiyono think everyone else is a child like him?" the cool young girl said stubbornly.
Kiyono just smiled and didn't push it.
Soon, it was finally their turn in line, but the two girls both stopped.
The roller coaster cars had two seats per row, which meant… someone had to sit alone in front or behind.
In the past, Yukinoshita Yukino would definitely have chosen to withdraw, but this time… this time, for this particular roller coaster—Space Mountain—she didn't want to sit with her older sister!
"Well then, Kiyono, you go with Yukino."
Haruno paused for two seconds, then smiled softly, waving her hand in a magnanimous gesture as she went to find another girl to share a car with in the back row.
Yukino grabbed his sleeve.
Space Mountain was one of Disneyland's famous roller coasters. Just as the name suggested, its concept was to let every visitor experience the thrill of flying freely through outer space.
"Ahhhh!"
That was Haruno, laughing like a ringing bell.
"Uooooh—"
That was Kiyono, charging into the wind.
"…"
That was Yukino.
The three of them staggered to the Mr. Pan specialty store.
Kiyono had to admit—Yukino's fear had been justified.
Let's just go stare at Mr. Pan from a distance.
This was panda heaven: all sorts of Mr. Pan merchandise lined the walls—plushies, blankets, hand puppets, keychains. Even Kiyono's eyes lit up as he studied several detailed panda dolls, quietly trying to absorb experience points, hoping to give Yukino more variety in the future.
Yukinoshita Yukino's cool, pretty face glowed softly; her mood was surprisingly easy to read. For her, this place was basically a free cat café.
But what puzzled him was that even though she kept rubbing and squeezing the pandas' faces and picked up a few things, she eventually put everything back quietly, as if just touching them was enough. She couldn't bring a stray cat home—because the cat at home would get jealous.
"Yukino, you're not buying anything?" Seeing his little sister put the last Mr. Pan back, Yukinoshita Haruno smiled with narrowed eyes.
"Mm. There's no more room at home, so I'll pass." Yukino paused for a moment, then said calmly.
"I see."
Has Yukino become that attached to that idiot?
Haruno paused, about to say something, when a hesitant voice sounded from behind them.
"Um… excuse me…"
…We've been found!?
Kiyono raised an eyebrow and quickly pulled his hat down. Yukinoshita Yukino also grabbed his wrist, ready to pull him away—she didn't want to be surrounded by a crowd in a place like this.
Then, a timid voice came.
"Um, are you… Miss Haruno?"
The three of them turned and met the gaze of a girl standing to their right. She was still in her school uniform and looked like a student.
"Ah, Miss Haruno, um, I'm a fan of Kiyono-sensei. I saw you on TV, and I've always really admired all of you…"
The schoolgirl hurried over, face full of adoration, which immediately attracted surrounding gazes. People nearby began to look their way curiously.
Yukinoshita Haruno glanced sideways at the two beside her, sighed inwardly, then pursed her lips. That gentle, friendly big-sister smile bloomed again.
"I didn't expect to have such a cute fan… Na~na, can you tell big sister which part of the show you liked most?"
"Um… I liked every second that you were on screen! And also the part where Kiyono-sensei was wandering before he was adopted. Since Miss Haruno is here, then sensei must also be…" The JK's hands trembled as she pulled out her phone.
"Shh. He is, but please keep it a secret for us, okay?"
Haruno put a finger to her lips and gave the girl a playful wink.
As they talked, she scanned the slowly gathering crowd. These days, the name "Kiyono" held a strange magical power. Even people outside the store, hearing the commotion, squeezed in excitedly.
She tilted her head slightly toward Kiyono—Leave this to me, you two go first.
Kiyono frowned and shook his head. He didn't want to dump everything on Haruno alone. Besides, it wasn't that big a deal.
Haruno's expression was a mix of exasperation and amusement; her gaze sharpened from a glance into a glare—I know what you mean, but the longer you stay, the harder it is for me to slip away later! Finally, under her persistent eye signals, Kiyono reluctantly slipped away with Yukino and hid in a quiet corner.
Haruno herself wasn't all that well-known, so as long as they didn't hand over any juicy gossip, the crowd would eventually disperse.
Yukinoshita Yukino stopped and stared blankly at her older sister in the distance, watching her handle the sudden situation with effortless grace, her aura dazzling even in the crowd. Yukino's expression was complicated.
After a long while, a soft sigh floated up.
"Older sister really is amazing…"