It was just that she had already promised herself the last time they met that she would never embarrass herself again, and that she would show Yukino what she could do!
That was all!!
No wild ideas!!
Haruno Yukinoshita was arguing with her mother.
For Yukino Yukinoshita, that was certainly a difficult thing to do, but for Haruno, it was nothing out of the ordinary. It was basic practice.
Ever since she was little, Haruno had been a brave, confident child who said what she wanted outright. As she grew up, whenever she wanted something or had doubts about something, she always voiced them right away.
If she had changed at all, it was probably that compared to when she was a child, Haruno now expressed herself and raised her doubts more tactfully, paying more attention to how she put things.
She could no longer remember how long it had been since she had argued so fiercely with her mother like this.
"Haruno, let's discuss this again when you're thinking clearly."
Her mother's voice on the other end of the phone was as clear and composed as ever.
She was practically a robot programmed to perfection. Whether speaking or acting, she followed the rules to the letter, with every word and action perfectly measured and not a single thing out of place.
She not only held herself to this exacting standard, but had also turned the entire Yukinoshita Family into an extension of her iron will.
Haruno didn't mind becoming such a perfectly functioning tool, but Yukino couldn't be allowed to become one.
"I'm thinking perfectly clearly, Mother."
Haruno did her best to make her voice sound respectful. "But Yukino is only seventeen. She's still too young, and not even ready to be a proper fiancée in a wealthy family."
In the past, whenever she tried to persuade someone, she spoke warmly and slowly. But now she was speaking at a breakneck pace.
---She was panicking.
Faced with Madam Yukinoshita, who had once personally led the Yukinoshita Family out of dire straits and, together with Mr. Yukinoshita, rebuilt it into the family it was today, Haruno couldn't claim to be handling things perfectly.
No matter how smart or capable Haruno was, she was still nearly twenty years behind her mother, who had been just as smart and capable at her age, in life experience, wisdom, and judgment.
"Arranging Yukino's engagement so early won't bring the Yukinoshita Family much benefit. You know that, Mother. Yukino has far more potential than she's shown so far. You need to give her some time to grow."
"And after the Yukinoshita Family gets through these next two years, we'll be able to climb even higher. When that time comes, we can arrange a marriage for Yukino..."
A quiet laugh came from the other end of the phone.
But hearing it made Haruno's heart tighten.
"Haruno, is that what you think of me? That I'd trade away my own daughter for profit?"
Haruno couldn't find the words for a moment. "...I'm sorry, Mother."
Madam Yukinoshita showed no sign of anger. Her voice was even calm.
"Over the past few days, Haruno has secured a partnership with Arakawa Corporation and successfully acquired Japan's fifth-largest publishing house at a bargain price. And a little over a week ago, you reached a successful agreement with a media company under the Shinomiya Family."
She continued in the same calm voice. "With Arakawa Corporation's well-established sales network, the Shinomiya Family's connections in the entertainment and media industry, the Yukinoshita Family's financial backing, and such an exceptional daughter of mine, it seems you've managed to carve a path even through an industry that's notoriously difficult to break into."
"Haruno really is a daughter I'm very proud of."
Madam Yukinoshita rarely smiled. Even in front of her eldest daughter, whom she took such pride in, she seldom offered such open praise.
"Haruno, are you trying to persuade me with these impressive results? To show that even without a marriage alliance for Yukino, you can take the Yukinoshita Family to greater heights?"
Without waiting for Haruno to answer, she murmured to herself, "I see. This is what you've been working so hard for since you were little... It hasn't changed at all."
Haruno fell silent. "Mother..."
"But Haruno, of all the options I've considered, a marriage alliance is the best choice for Yukino."
"Yukino is reserved and restrained by nature. No matter how much she changes, she'll still be a kind girl with strong principles. She isn't good at psychological games, nor is she suited to handling the dirty, sordid, cutthroat affairs of the business world."
---Haruno had always known that.
"Yukino needs someone to protect her, just as Haruno has always protected her."
Haruno gripped a pen on her desk so tightly she nearly snapped it.
She tried to keep her voice calm.
"There's no need to rush into it this year or the next, is there?"
Madam Yukinoshita said, "You're so smart, Haruno. Surely you can see the state Japan is in right now."
The Shijo Family, once driven out of Japan by the Shinomiya Family, had now returned in a force that threatened to turn everything upside down. A storm of bloodshed was on the verge of breaking out, and all of Japan was close to becoming the battlefield for these two families.
On that battlefield, some people were rushing in, eager to make a fortune, while others were so desperate to avoid getting caught up in it that they wished they could flee Japan at once, afraid they'd be dragged into the fray and utterly destroyed, without even a body left behind.
But once a war began, it wouldn't end easily. Every family and company on the battlefield would lose its freedom, from top to bottom, whether it survived or perished.
"Yukino isn't as smart or capable as you, Haruno. So as her mother, I have to make sure she has a final way out."
"The second young master of the Spencer Family, whose main branch is in England, far from Japan—that's the escape route I've chosen for Yukino."
Haruno didn't know when her mother had hung up.
She leaned back in her chair and let out a soft breath.
As expected, she couldn't persuade her mother, and she hadn't expected otherwise.
But even if it was her mother, Haruno wouldn't yield on this.
She opened her phone and saw a message from Hayama.
In the photo, Yukino looked just as clear and lovely as she did in Haruno's memories, like a crystal scooped out of water.
Compared to before, though, Yukino seemed to have a little more warmth and life about her now.
She had her head slightly tilted as she spoke to the pink-haired girl beside her, probably whispering some instructions. Her expression was as placid as a still lake, but the silent indulgence in her eyes was like ripples spreading across its surface.
Haruno stared at the photo for a long time, then opened the editing page and cropped out the distracting pink hair, leaving only Yukino.
Now Yukino, gazing over with that silent indulgence, her little sister, seemed to be looking at Haruno through the photo.
Haruno had always known that her little sister resented her for being so perfect, like an all-around superhuman. But Yukino had always admired that very side of her, too. That was why Haruno had never let her see the other side of herself.
The nasty, sordid, malicious side she showed others, and the awful, abnormal, possessive side she harbored toward her little sister.
---Absolutely.
---Yukino must never see it.
Compared to two months ago, Yukino really was a completely different person now.
It wasn't just her classmates who thought so. Plenty of people at Sobu High School felt the same way.
She was beautiful, came from a privileged family, ranked near the top of her class, excelled at sports, and even when she casually played music, teachers singled her out for praise.
Aside from seeming a little hard to approach, she had hardly any flaws.
She didn't seem embarrassed or upset about her Dark History. If anything, she seemed quite open-minded about it.
Of course, some people thought that since Yukino always wore the same expressionless face, she naturally looked open-minded about everything.
When people deliberately brought up Yukino's past Dark History, making snide remarks or speaking out of malice, others had even started standing up for her.
[Who doesn't make mistakes? Yukinoshita knows what she did wrong and has changed. That's already great.]
[Everyone knows Yukinoshita used to be awful, but there's no need to bring it up every single day, is there?]
[Other than being the Early Romance Crusher, what other bad things has Yukinoshita done? Is there really any need to insult her every day with such vicious words?]
[Besides, if Yukinoshita could steal your ex-boyfriend so easily, doesn't that just mean your ex wasn't reliable? Yukinoshita was helping you dodge a bullet, hehe.]
Of course, plenty of people still disliked Yukino.
[If saying you're sorry fixed everything, what would we need the police for? Besides, Yukinoshita hasn't even apologized!]
[She's ruined countless people's relationships. That alone makes her awful enough to go to hell!]
[I bet you people let your values follow your eyes! You forgive her unconditionally just because she's pretty? Give me a break!]
Even Yui had heard about the arguments on the Campus Forum, but Yukino wasn't affected in the slightest.
When Yui came to ask her a question and cheer her up, Yukino instead looked puzzled.
"That's a thing?"
But Yukino wasn't a celebrity who depended on people liking or disliking her to make a living. She had never bothered paying much attention to such things.
Besides, she was used to being disliked. In fact, she was more accustomed to being disliked than liked.
Yukino quickly put the matter out of her mind and made a conspicuous mark beside a problem in Yui's book of mistakes.
"Don't think about all that. This type of question can vary a lot, Yui. You need to be more flexible with your solution ideas."
"...How flexible?" Yui had a bad feeling about this.
"Obviously, you should start by trying twenty questions of the same type."
"Ehhh????"
Yui nearly cried as she held her face in her hands. "Have mercy, Little Yuki..."
Yui's hair was a gentle, fresh peach-pink, and her eyes were a slightly deeper shade of pale red, which made her look even more lively.
Her complexion was fair and her face was pretty, but more than anything else, she gave people a cute impression.
She was an adorable, top-tier high school girl with a perfect score in femininity, who could pout or act cute without a second thought.
She was the kind of sweet, kind, considerate, and super-cute girl most boys would want to marry.
If any other boy had been on the receiving end of those puppy eyes, he probably would have surrendered at once. But Yukino's expression remained unchanged.
She thought for a moment. "Yui."
Yui let out a little whimper.
She was more like a puppy than a cat, a needy little puppy who always looked to her owner and followed her around. When happy, she barked; when unhappy, she whimpered...
Yukino resisted the urge to pat her and turned her gaze away.
She was still wondering if she had been too strict with Yui when the pink-haired girl had already rallied on her own and perked up again.
"It's only twenty math problems! I-I-I'll tackle them all today!"
"Even though the problems are hard!" Yui said softly beside Yukino, "I won't let you down, Yukino."
She was certainly making a pretty convincing show of courage.
Yukino thought that adorable girl, Yui, was easy to read.
Even though Yukino had lost over a year of her life, and was only sixteen by psychological age—one year younger than Yui.
She opened her textbook and said casually, "You only need to make sure you don't let yourself down, Yui."
"Don't say something so heartless, Yukino. You're obviously super kind~"
"That's disgusting, Yui!"
Junko Kamizawa thought anyone in class could tell that Yukino and Yui got along very well.
Though it was possible that only Yui felt that way about Yukino. After all, Yui got along well with pretty much everyone.
Yui was kind, cute, and incredibly clingy. She was the natural enemy of someone as icy as Yukino.
Compared to Yumiko, a tsundere who never acted on her words, Yukino seemed more likely to have a crush on someone like Yui...
The possibility had popped into Junko Kamizawa's head out of nowhere, and she froze.
No, no, no. When Yukino had first transferred into Class 2-F, her special treatment of Yumiko had definitely been genuine.
But...
Thinking about it from the other direction, was it possible?
Could Yukino have treated Miura specially because Yumiko was Yui's best friend?
Because she knew her relationship with her best friend could never be repaired, perhaps she felt compelled to make up for it. That might be why she was especially gentle with her friend's friend?
---So.
Could it be that the person Yukino had a crush on was actually Yui???
Before you continue