Yukinoshita-estate parlour, faint steam curled from the porcelain cup.
Madam Yukinoshita Miyuki took a measured sip, then spoke in an unhurried yet heavy tone. "Sōgō High teems with heirs of large conglomerates. For you to stand out among them, Tatsuki-kun must possess qualities beyond the ordinary."
She did not answer her own implied question but tossed it back at him.
"Perfect scores in every exam and athletic meet, nationwide standard-test record holder, and a personal start-up portfolio valued at more than ten billion yen," Tatsuki replied just as calmly.
"Ten billion…?" Miyuki froze for a heartbeat.
Academic supremacy she could accept; but a high-school second-year personally amassing assets greater than the entire Yukinoshita household—that was staggering. Their family was old-guard politics, not a zaibatsu: total liquid assets barely hovered between five and ten billion.
"If that is true, you are a prodigy indeed," she conceded, though scepticism still flickered in her eyes.
"You flatter me," Tatsuki said, clearly unconcerned by doubt.
Satisfied with his modesty, Miyuki put down her cup and went straight to the core. "Since you are proposing to Yukino, do you believe you can shoulder her entire life?"
She expected an unequivocal yes. Instead he shook his head.
"If you cannot, there is no point continuing."
"You misunderstand, Madam."
"Misunderstand?" Her brows lifted.
Tatsuki took both sisters' hands—Yukino on the right, Haruno on the left—interlacing fingers. "I am speaking of both daughters, Yukino and Haruno."
For a moment Miyuki doubted her own vision. Yukino sat crimson-cheeked, eyes lowered; Haruno wore a blissful smile. Have they all gone mad—or is it me? She drained half her tea to steady herself, then fixed Tatsuki with a razor gaze. "You do realize there are laws. Even if our family allowed such a notion—"
"Mother, you underestimate Tatsuki—and us." Haruno finally cut in.
"Haruno, have I taught you to interrupt adults?" Miyuki snapped, unleashing the full weight of her matriarch's authority.
Yet that tried-and-true pressure failed. Haruno simply leaned over and kissed Tatsuki on the lips in full view.
"—!" Miyuki trembled with anger. "What are you doing!"
Haruno curled her lips. "Showing you that you still stand in the everyday world, mother, while we have already stepped into another." She glanced at Tatsuki. "Shall we let her see the truth?"
Tatsuki understood. In Miyuki's baffled stare his golden pupils blossomed into star-filled galaxies. Her vision wavered—and suddenly, right before her, loomed a ghostly abomination wreathed in black miasma: twisted, murky, terrifying.
"You can see me? You can see me…" The hollow-eyed thing cackled, hands for teeth clawing madly as it pounced.
"Aah!" Miyuki shrieked, stumbled, caught her shin on the low tea-table and toppled backward—head on course for a sharp corner.
"Mother!" Both sisters cried.
Tatsuki was there in a blur, steadying her. He flicked a glare at the spectre; it burst into smoke. Miyuki, trembling in his arms, clutched at his jacket. He sighed at the sisters. "Perhaps we overdid it?"
They looked genuinely remorseful; their plan had frightened their mother far more than intended. Tatsuki carried the still-shaking woman upstairs, guided by Haruno, and laid her on a futon. Only then did she realise he was holding her. She tried to rise, but he gently set her down.
"I've eliminated the spirit, Madam. Rest for a moment." He scratched his nose, embarrassed. "Your kimono is dry now, but… you might want to change."
He slipped out. Alone, Miyuki touched the fabric—still warm, but dry. Yet she could recall the hot trickle down her thigh the instant sheer terror struck. Did I…? Yes—she had lost control. And this young man had somehow saved her dignity.
Downstairs the sisters anxiously awaited news.
"She's fine," Tatsuki told them. "Body restored; only shaken and tired."
They exhaled in relief. "Sister… we must apologize," Yukino murmured. The spirit could have been dispelled instantly; they had let it appear solely to open their mother's eyes. They had not foreseen such a violent reaction.
Before they could go up, Miyuki re-entered in a fresh lavender kimono. "Come."
All four resumed their seats. She examined the room; no trace of the monster remained. After a long silence she asked quietly, "What was that?"
"An evil spirit," Tatsuki said. "They exist everywhere in the world."
"…So you three can see such things—and wield powers I never imagined." She inhaled slowly. "But I still cannot sanction the three of you together. It violates society's order. Most of all—are you truly willing to share?"
"I am."
"So am I."
The sisters answered without hesitation.
Miyuki fell silent. It was as though they no longer saw their mother, only the man beside them. She drew a breath and turned to Tatsuki. "And what future can you give them?"
His reply again upended her expectations. He shook his head.
"I cannot promise them a future."
She waited, frowning.
"Because we may have no future to promise. We're tiny before the unknown; perhaps tomorrow—or the day after—we die facing it."
"You… might die?" Panic flickered in her eyes.
Tatsuki squeezed the sisters' hands. "Yes. Even with power enough to destroy the planet, I still confront threats beyond imagination."
Haruno added softly, flame-red irises glowing, "Mother, the world is far more complex than you think. Tatsuki could end Earth—yet even he cannot guarantee victory against what lies ahead."
For the first time Miyuki realized she controlled nothing here—not even her own daughters, whom she hardly knew anymore. She managed a wry smile. "It seems you came not to seek my consent, but merely to inform me."
Haruno met her gaze. "Forgive me, mother. I can't leave him."
Yukino's ice-blue eyes were equally resolute. "I'm sorry, mother. Neither can I."
They had hoped for her blessing; but with or without it, they had chosen their path.
...
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