Fubuki: ""
Erica: ""
Mabel: "So, will Yukino be back in the morning?"
Rei Ao: "Since she's staying over, she'll at least stick around for breakfast. It's basic courtesy."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "Yes, I might be back a bit later."
Mabel: "Uuugh, does that mean I'm gonna go hungry?!"
Akame: "You could go hunt something to grill."
Shizue Izawa: "Self-sufficiency is quite nice."
Mabel: "Waaah I can't hunt! I can't grill anything either!"
Miko Yotsuya: "Then just fry an egg or toast some bread. That's how I manage when my mom's out."
Mabel: "I can't do that either."
Miko Yotsuya: "Huh?"
Rei Ao: "Don't mind her. Mabel's a useless beauty who's basically a living plaything."
Mikoto Misaka: "I get the 'useless beauty' part, but what do you mean 'plaything'?"
Saeko Busujima: "You didn't know? Mabel is Rei Ao-kun's ahem let's say, 'pet project.'"
Mikoto Misaka: "Huh?"
Mabel: "Uuugh, don't tease me like that!"
Yukinoshita Yukino: ""
Unnoticed, Rei Ao had pulled Yukino into his arms. She shot him a glare.
"So crude. Are you trying to embarrass me?"
Rei Ao only laughed, then slipped under Yukino's blanket.
"What are you doing?!"
"It's cold out. You wouldn't let me freeze, would you?"
"Cold? Freeze? You?"
Yukino couldn't connect the idea of himpowerful enough to destroy the planetwith something as trivial as catching a cold.
""
But she didn't kick him out. With her ears burning red, she mumbled:
"Don't try anything."
"Heh, no worries. I won't do anything."
Mabel: "@Yukinoshita Yukino. Uuugh, I'm useless, so you have to come back and cook for me!"
Yukinoshita Yukino: "There are snacks in the fridge. That should tide you over."
Mabel: "Nooo, but I want your cooking in the morning!"
Shiba Miyuki: "Mabel, maybe this is your chance to prove you're not useless."
Mabel: "I don't wanna!"
Hiiragi Shinoa: "Give up. She's hopeless."
Yomogawa Ayame: "Yes, it seems she's only good for being Rei Ao-sama's pampered plaything At least she's never short on food."
Ayame's companions all looked exasperated. In her world, Ayame was like an empress, yet in the chat group, her "kindly remarks" came quite freely.
"Sigh"
Watching Mabel flail about, Yukino sighed deeply. The more she treated Mabel like a child, the more Mabel used that as leverage against her.
"Yukino," Rei Ao teased, nudging her forehead. "That kind of approach won't work. If you bring up our kids this way, you'll spoil them rotten."
""
Hearing him casually mention children, Yukino's breathing hitched. Flustered, she tried to make an excuse:
"I-I've never been a mother before"
"That's no excuse. Just watch me handle this."
Rei Ao: "@Mabel. Tomorrow morning, come to my place. Tohru, have Mai prepare an extra breakfast."
Tohru: "You got it!"
Mabel: "But I want Yukino's cooking"
Rei Ao: "Mabel, when I give you an out, you don't take it. Let me remind you: 'stick or carrot.' ."
He attached an image showing Mabel begging desperately for mercy in the past.
Mabel: "!!!"
She knew exactly what kind of "education" that photo implied. A chill ran down her spine.
Mabel: "Fine! I'll head to Mai's tomorrow morning! I'm going to bed nowplease don't 'educate' me!"
Bibi-dong: ""
~~~
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Chapter 451: Late Night Fun, Haruno and Mrs. Yukinoshita can't sleep
Mikoto Misaka: "That pictureare you sure she didn't die? @Rei Ao, what are you even doing to her, you creep?!"
Rei Ao: "Don't go around accusing me. I haven't abused Mabel in the slightest. It's just the Taichi method, that's all."
Rei Ao: "And look, Mabel's still alive and kicking, being her usual silly self."
Mikoto Misaka: ""
She had no response. But stillwhat kind of weird phrasing was that?
"Yukino, I'm telling the truth, right? You were there that dayyou heard it all. I didn't do anything to abuse Mabel. The moment we started, she was screaming her head off, so what was I supposed to do?"
""
Yukino was speechless. "Is this really the right time to talk about that?"
"Why not? I think it's perfect timing."
They were both lying under the covers, after all, and nothing set the mood better for raising Yukino's temperature than remarks like these. Yukino's cheeks were already glowing with embarrassmentjust the effect Rei Ao wanted.
He grinned mischievously.
"I just solved your Mabel problem for you, so shouldn't you show me some appreciation, Yukino?"
He began making his next move. Yukino's eyes widened, her face burning.
"Waitdon't!"
Because the window in Mrs. Yukinoshita's room was destroyed, she ended up sharing a bed with Haruno for the night.
""
When the lights were out, the room was pitch dark. Mother and daughter lay on the bed, back to back, unable to sleep.
First, because it had been ages since they'd been this close physically. Haruno couldn't recall a time in her memory when she and her mother felt truly near. Under normal circumstances, they hardly ever interacted in such an intimate way, so this was inevitably awkward.
Second, the attack from that monster earlier still haunted them. Close your eyes, and it's therefresh as can be.
To top it off, both had serious thoughts swirling in their heads.
Mrs. Yukinoshita was worried that now that Rei Ao had discovered her secret, he might threaten her again. She couldn't help but overthink. If he really wanted to blackmail or intimidate her with brute force or some whim, he certainly had the power. If he had an odd sense of fun, it wouldn't be impossible
Once she fell quiet, her imagination started running wild: reenacting scenes from a trashy TV drama"Madam, you wouldn't want to" And then to recall that Rei Ao had done exactly that sort of threatening was unnerving.
Next to her, Haruno lay on her side, biting her thumb in agitation.
Rei Ao Shizuka Yukino
She kept replaying the connections among those three. Should she call Miss Shizuka and get the full story? Maybemaybe she misunderstood?
They were both lost in complicated thoughts, when
"Yaaaah!"
"???"
"!!!"
Their eyes went round.
A scream! A wail!
It was Yukino!
Being the doting big sister she was, Haruno immediately sat up.
"Another demon?!"
Still hypersensitive from earlier, she jumped out of bed, about to dash out and rescue Yukino, who she assumed was being attacked again.
But her mother called out in a firm voice:
"Haruno, stop!"
"Mother! Yukino's in danger!"
She was in no mood to listen, almost yanking the door open.
Click!
Mrs. Yukinoshita switched on the light. Haruno froze when she saw her mother looking at her gravely.
"Haruno, I taught you that no matter what happens, you have to remain calm at the most basic level."
"But"
"No buts!"
"Quiet down and listen. Yukino is in no danger. She justbecame an adult."
As she said this, Mrs. Yukinoshita's expression flickered with all sorts of complex emotions.
"Huh?"
Haruno blinked. Her quick mind immediately caught her mother's meaning. She did as told and strained her ears. Soon enough, her face went bright red.
The unmistakable sounds left no doubt. Yukino was finejustgoing through a "mature moment," as her mother had phrased it. Haruno had been far too jumpy.
Now they both stood there, unsure what to say. Haruno was worried over how quickly Yukino had "given herself away." Mrs. Yukinoshita was dismayed at how casually Yukino and Rei Ao were going about itdespite the mother and sister being right in the house. They were also both astonished at the intensity of it all.
A long, embarrassed silence settled between them.
Finally, click, Mrs. Yukinoshita turned off the light again. In darkness, with no way to see each other's expressions, the tension lifted a little.
"Haruno, try to sleep. You must be tired."
"Mm."
Haruno climbed back onto the bed. Both agreed, silently, not to bring up Yukino's situation. If they just hurried to sleep, maybe in the morning it would feel like nothing had happened.
But that turned out to be terrifyingly naive. They assumed that those initial moans were Yukino's peak. They had no idea she'd been deliberately restraining her power. Once she gave up holding back, it turned into an earth-shattering affairespecially combined with Rei Ao's potency.
Their minds reeled with one single impression:
Heaven-shaking, earth-shattering.
5 AM.
"Rei Aop-please go"
With the last of her strength, Yukino tried to push him away. The fact that all this happened under her family's roofright next to her sister's bedroomnearly made her want to die on the spot. If people found out he spent the whole night here, she wouldn't want to live anymore.
Rei Ao, sensing her apprehension, relented for the time being. He gave her sweat-dampened forehead a gentle kiss.
"Goodnight, Yukino."
"Mm~"
Yukino's response was a soft, kittenish purr. Rei Ao forced himself to leave her bedroom. Though he'd intended to stop at the guest room, he ended up walking right past it, continuing through the hall to the living room instead.
The living room lights were off, everything dim. Yet Rei Ao spoke:
"Sis-in-law, it's not even dawn yet. Why're you sitting here in the dark instead of sleeping?"
""
There was a pause, and then Haruno's voice cut through the blackness.
"Heh, my dear brother-in-law, you don't think your late-night ruckus was a bit much?"
Though her tone was amused, an unmistakable chill seeped through her words. Clearly she hadn't slept a wink.
She only had one pair of earplugs, which she'd given to her mother. And that rackethuman cries, the shaking walls and floorwas more than an ordinary person could tolerate.
Let alone the fact that Haruno was stewing in bitterness, watching the precious treasure she'd guarded for so long get snatched right under her nose by this unstoppable force.
Regulating her emotions, Haruno remained seated on the sofa, staring into the dark where she couldn't actually see Rei Ao. Suddenly, she said:
"Rei Ao-kun, would you mind having a chat with me?"
~~~
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Chapter 452: I like them all!
"Rei Ao-kun, could we talk for a bit?"
Haruno invited him for a chat.
"I personally don't mind chatting with my dear 'sister-in-law,' as long as you don't mind that I'm half-naked and drenched right now."
"You"
"Don't get the wrong ideait's just sweat, notsome strange stuff between me and Yukino."
""
Haruno was speechless. Did he really need to spell that out?
"Maybe you just want to rub it in my face that you slept with my sweet Yukino-chan?"
"Pfft, I had you all wrong. I originally thought you preferred older women, so I dropped my guard. Turned out that your 'feelings' for Shizuka were just a lie."
She wished the lights were on; she'd have stared directly into his eyes to read his expression. But wanting to "see through" Rei Ao's thoughts was probably a pointless endeavor. Because
"You're mistaken. I am into older women."
"Huh?"
"But not just older women."
"What does that mean?"
"I can be into older women, I can be into little girls, I can be into younger sisters, gyaru types, black-haired beauties, you name it."
In the darkness, Rei Ao stepped closer to Haruno. His mere presence made her so tense she almost forgot to breathe. Finally, she heard him say:
"Only children pick just one. I want them all."
""
Haruno now felt certain of one thing: Rei Ao was a shameless playboythe worst kind. A complete womanizer.
"How can you say you're being fair to Yukino or Shizuka?!"
She demanded an answer. In the next second, she felt warm breath against her ear. She had no idea how he'd moved so close without making a sound in the dark, and her body froze.
"Sister-in-law, if I told you Yukino and Shizuka already know all about this, would you believe me?"
"That's impossible!"
Haruno absolutely refused to believe it. Whatever Shizuka might think, there was no way her "absolutely correct" sister, Yukinoso strict and uprightwould agree to something so messy.
"But it's the truth," Rei Ao said, pulling back a little. He gave a soft chuckle. "Sis-in-law, you're forgetting something: you, I, Yukino, and even Shizuka inhabit completely different worlds."
"You're trying to measure us by ordinary human standards. Now, you want to stop my 'relationships,' yes?"
"That's right. I can't possibly accept such a twisted, chaotic arrangement!"
No matter that Rei Ao could end her in the blink of an eyeHaruno wouldn't back down. The thought of him freely "juggling" Yukino and Shizuka made her entire body tremble. She couldn't accept it!
"I feel your conviction, Sis-in-law. You really are the ultimate sis-con."
Rei Ao acknowledged her fierce protectiveness of Yukino.
"But let me ask you: do you really think you can stop us? Wouldn't that hurt Shizuka and Yukino more in the end?"
"What do you mean? I'm obviously acting for their benefithow could I be hurting them?"
From Haruno's standpoint, a pure, healthy relationship would be far better, wouldn't it?
"Huh." Rei Ao let out a cold laugh. "I'll be clear: both Yukino and Shizuka can easily live for centuries. Maybe millennia. Possibly even more. You think they can enjoy a normal romance in that situation?"
"Who but me could accompany them for eternity?"
"!!!"
Haruno's breath caught in her throat as he brought up the question of lifespans again. She had no retort. If Yukino was no longer an ordinary human, her life would last far beyond normal. So how could she enjoy a typical relationship?
What did that leave her with? Endless cycles of menmarrying, having children, outliving every husband and child, one generation after another? Or clinging to one beloved for their brief mortal span, then living alone for countless years afterward?
The very thought made Haruno's head spin. Neither option was something she could bear imagining.
"See? There's nothing you can do," Rei Ao said with a shrug. "And that's not even counting the fact that you will age and die long before Yukino does."
"Stop!" Haruno rasped, her voice hoarse. His cold logic about their difference in lifespans was overpowering.
Finally, she asked:
"Howhow could I enter your world? Gain a longer life?"
She raised her gaze, and even in the darkness, it was obvious her eyes were burning with intensity. She wasn't seeking immortality for its own sake; she just wanted to stay by her sister's side for as long as Yukino lived.
