The forest lay hushed.
The three of them—Tatsuki, Yukino, Haruno—stood in a silent triangle, facing one another.
Yukino crossed her arms. "Nee‑san, tell me everything that happened between you and Tatsuki-kun."
Haruno threw Tatsuki a glance. For the first time in front of her little sister she lowered her head and spoke in a subdued voice, recounting the past. Tatsuki, listening, felt himself drawn back to that time as well.
It had been a simple, almost clichéd tale of hero saving maiden—yet they had rescued each other. Tatsuki had saved Haruno's life; Haruno had saved Tatsuki's heart.
When Yukino heard it all she was stunned. She could hardly picture a Tatsuki devoid of laughter, stripped of lightness, stumbling on in numb despair—but then she remembered the apocalyptic secret he had borne alone and the crushing pressure. It made sense: an unspeakable burden can drive a person mad. Now she understood what they meant to each other—they were mutual saviors.
Yukino pressed her lips together and asked, "Then, Nee‑san, why did you leave Tatsuki back then?"
"Because of Mother… and because the Yukinoshita family needed me."
Mother. The Yukinoshita household. Yukino wasn't naïve; she pieced it together at once. Nee‑san did it for me…
The family needed an heir—yet there were only two daughters. If both married out, the line would end unless a husband were brought in and his child became heir—a classic political marriage, the kind zaibatsu and politicians love. If Haruno married for alliance and produced an heir, Yukino would be free to choose her own love.
Haruno didn't confirm it; she merely lifted her face and gave a radiant smile. "Yukino, be happy with Tatsuki‑kun, okay?"
Yukino's fists clenched—she hated such compromises.
"Would you two quit deciding everything by yourselves?" Tatsuki's cool voice cut in. Before either sister knew it he had pulled them both into his arms.
"Care to hear my opinion?" Two pairs of eyes blinked up at him, lost.
He looked down, decisive and overbearing. "I'm choosing both. I won't let either of you go."
"!" They were dumbfounded.
"Do you have any idea what you're saying?" Haruno asked, wondering if she'd misheard.
"I do. I'm not choosing." Tatsuki enunciated each word.
"That's impossible," Haruno said, glaring as though he'd gone insane.
Tatsuki scratched his nose awkwardly. "What's impossible? Ever heard of a mother‑and‑daughter pair?"
"Ha?!" Haruno yelped.
"Don't shout—Yukino already knows." Haruno's gaze snapped to her sister, searching for truth.
Yukino, cheeks aflame, looked aside. That was admission. Haruno's mind cracked—her little sister accepted even that?
She glared at Tatsuki, voice rough with fury. "What on earth did you feed Yukino? How did you pull off something this outrageous?"
Tatsuki coughed, a bit guilty. "Frankly, Haruno, you trained me too well." It was true: her past guidance had made him someone who wanted to help, who couldn't watch a girl who loved him be sad—he only wished to give them a warm home.
"All my fault, huh? If I'd just let you stay a wreck, none of this would've happened—now my own sister's become another of your victims!" Haruno tried to wriggle out of his embrace, but he tightened his grip.
"Yup, I'm a scoundrel," he admitted shamelessly, sticking to her like glue.
"Yukino! Say something!" Haruno expected her sister to remain rational.
But Yukino lowered her lashes, voice deep. "If it's Nee‑san… I can accept it."
"Huh?"
"I understand your feelings. I can't leave Tatsuki-kun anymore either. Only today did I grasp how much you love me… I'm sorry. I'll try to accept it."
Yukino had changed—visibly, even to Tatsuki. Haruno was left adrift: My sister agrees… Do I still resist? Deep down, the moment Tatsuki voiced his proposal she'd known her own answer.
"Bastard… I give up." Haruno's eyes were smoky with resignation.
"You agree?!" Tatsuki beamed. "Yukino, you're the best! I love you to death!" Everything owed to her.
Tatsuki bent down toward Yukino.
A few seconds of irresistible kissing later, Yukino regained her senses and gently pushed him away, ears bright crimson. "Stop… Nee‑san is still here…"
Haruno's eyelid twitched. Why didn't you act this shy back home? And what about all that you two did in the house? She pinched Tatsuki's arm. "Bullying Yukino right in front of me?"
The tone sounded less scolding than coquettish.
Tatsuki smirked. "Then how about I bully you?" He lowered his head again.
Haruno neither dodged nor flinched—she looped her arms around his neck.
Yukino's eyes went round; she stared without blinking.
Minutes passed. Haruno never even panted; she merely licked her rosy lips and, still hanging on Tatsuki, teased Yukino. "Well? I'm better than you, right?"
Yukino had no words. She had to admit her sister's stamina surpassed hers—she herself could not last a minute.
Haruno waggled her eyebrow. "Want lessons? I'll teach you!"
"Teach! You must teach!" Tatsuki agreed with hands and feet.
"I… I understand. Please teach me," Yukino said after a deep breath; her logic was simple—if Tatsuki liked it, she would learn it.
"Tch." Haruno had hoped to see Yukino flustered, not this immediate acceptance. She threw Tatsuki a glare—all your fault.
She sighed, then dropped the mask entirely and traced circles on Tatsuki's chest with one fingertip, making his heart itch. "But tell me, what's Tatsuki planning to do about our mother?"
The Yukinoshita matriarch—a formidable woman.
Tatsuki rested his chin against Haruno's forehead and promised, "I'll speak to her myself."
"If she doesn't agree—hmph—I'll just blow up Earth and move us to another world. Who needs this planet anyway?"
"?" Haruno thought he was joking.
Yukino spoke earnestly. "Tatsuki, please don't. I'll help persuade Mother. At worst we leave the Yukinoshita house."
"Ha?" Haruno frowned. "Wait—can you really blow up Earth and hop to another world?"
"Of course. I'm not joking," Tatsuki replied without hesitation, making Haruno's eyelid twitch again—she had underestimated how much he'd grown in two years.
But if he was that powerful… Haruno's eyes lit up. "Tatsuki, can you let someone else see evil spirits or youkai?"
"Why ask that? I can, though." For him, opening spiritual vision was child's play.
Haruno's smile turned… devious. "Give Mother spirit‑sight. Let her see how freakish the world is—then she'll understand and agree, right?"
"?" Yukino was stunned by the plan.
Tatsuki tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Isn't that a bit harsh on Mother‑in‑law?"
Haruno sighed. "You don't know her—she's too strong‑willed. Ordinary persuasion won't move her."
"Mother really is very forceful," Yukino agreed.
"Fine," Tatsuki said after thinking. "With me there, she won't be hurt."
Haruno wasn't finished; she lay on Tatsuki's chest, smiling in pure delight. "And of course, if you have the skill, taking her down isn't off the table."
"Ha?!" This time Yukino and Tatsuki were both dumbstruck.
Haruno teased, "You've already got a mother‑and‑daughter pair. Why not ours?"
"Bu‑but—" Yukino couldn't even frame a protest.
Haruno pressed on. "Don't you want to see that cold, domineering woman act all meek once she's conquered?" The very picture made her oddly excited—delight, delight, delight!
"Ugh…" Yukino lowered her head. She wanted to object, yet Haruno's words painted vivid images, and a faint, guilty curiosity bloomed inside her. She had no idea what to say.
Tatsuki kept his face perfectly blank. Like I'm going to say a word while my girlfriends plot against Mother‑in‑law and I'm the one who benefits.
Yukino never quite agreed, but she never refused, either—she merely said everything should follow fate.
"If Mother herself develops feelings, I could accept that," she whispered.
Haruno was already smiling inside. Given Tatsuki's power, how could a long‑separated, lonely mother resist? She could practically see the poor woman's future.
Tatsuki peeked at Haruno's expression—he felt the devil in her waking. And he could only think: Go, devil, go!
...
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