The school day went by without incident after Yuu helped Yui carry stacks of books into the school library.
The next day, just as the sun was spilling its warm light over Yuu's house...
Four people suddenly appeared in the front yard!
Two emerged from a crimson magic circle drawn on the grass, and the other two from a navy-blue circle just a few steps away.
Maybe each group expected to arrive with only their own allies, because the moment they saw each other, they shouted in unison:
"Sona!? Tsubaki!?"
"Rias! Akeno!"
While Tsubaki accompanied Sona, Akeno was with Rias.
The four of them froze for a second, staring at each other in surprise.
Then, the serious-looking girl managed to regain her composure, blinked, and pushed up her glasses with two fingers.
"…Rias. What are you doing in front of Izumi-kun's house?"
"Oh~ what an adorable little coincidence."
Tsubaki, standing right behind Sona, kept her usual expression, though one of her eyebrows twitched slightly. She agreed with Akeno's words, who had a hand on her cheek and was smiling sweetly. Though instead of "adorable," Tsubaki would've gone with the word "troublesome."
Rias crossed her arms with queenly air.
"It's only natural for me to visit my peerage member's home. Don't you understand that?"
Sona narrowed her eyes.
"Don't tell me… you managed to recruit him?"
Not long ago, Sona had tried to recruit Yuu, but he rejected her instantly. Still, she didn't hold a grudge. Her intention today wasn't to push the subject, it was just to get to know him better and form a friendly relationship.
After all, her intuition as a leader told her that this guy was strong.
Maybe not on the level of an Ultimate-Class Devil, but definitely High-Class at least.
That's why hearing that Rias might've recruited him before her gave her a slight twinge of jealousy.
Rias noticed that expression and smirked boldly, playing with a lock of her crimson hair.
"Heh. I haven't recruited him yet. But I will today. I'll make sure Yuu Izumi joins my peerage."
'Today?'
Sona tilted her head slightly. Her calm, analytical expression shifted just enough to make Rias frown.
"What's with that face?"
"I just thought it was interesting. I wonder what your face'll look like when Izumi-kun rejects you, Rias."
"Tch…!"
Rias clenched her teeth, her smile vanishing for a second.
"I see… so you're upset, huh, Sona? Of course Izumi-kun would reject someone so stiff and boring! But I'm kind! And affectionate! Obviously, he'll choose me!"
"Kind? Affectionate? That's a very objective statement."
"Sarcasm?"
"Absolutely."
"Huh—?!"
As the two girls started acting like a dog and cat that crossed paths, Tsubaki rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Here we go again."
This is why she'd thought running into Rias's group was troublesome.
It's not like Sona and Rias were enemies, far from it. They'd been childhood friends.
However, over time, a strange rivalry had started to grow between them. As a result, every time they met, this happened.
While she sighed internally, she heard Akeno giggle softly.
"Ufufu~ what a nice morning. Kinda makes me wanna jump in too."
Tsubaki sighed and gestured to Akeno.
They were both used to this kind of back-and-forth, so they quickly got the message and managed to calm their respective masters down.
"It's rude to make noise in someone else's yard early in the morning," Tsubaki said, then narrowed her sharp gaze at Rias and Sona's backs. "Let's ring the doorbell first."
They both froze.
Apparently, they were in some kind of race to see who could open the door first. But Tsubaki caught them just before they barged into someone else's home without permission.
Sona and Rias looked at each other and spoke at the same time:
"I'm ringing it first!"
"Like hell you are!"
—Ding-dong!
They'd both pressed the doorbell at the same time.
×××
Yue was a vampire. Not just any vampire, an Atavist. That meant she had the ability to directly manipulate her own mana or cast spells without needing a magic circle.
And in fact, many Atavists could use special or unique magic.
Yue was one of those special Atavists, possessing a unique ability to regenerate her body no matter how badly she was hurt.
In theory, given her age, she should've had vast knowledge other than magic and spells.
However, as an Atavist with an ability that made her immortal, she'd been betrayed and spent most of her life buried in an abyss until Yuu saved her.
Which is why, while she could cast high-level spells without blinking… she couldn't cook without threatening to blow up the kitchen.
That morning, though, she woke up with determination.
"…Today, I'll make breakfast for Yuu."
Her small face showed a resolute expression as she muttered that.
She'd decided it while remembering the dishes they shared during their date around the city. She'd seen that Yuu really liked ramen, grilled pork rice bowls, tamagoyaki...
She wanted to recreate that for him.
Because, according to some books she read and rumors she heard back in Tortus…
The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
She wanted Yuu to fall in love with her.
And Yue, of course, had no intention of losing, being the only one who truly loved him.
The problem was that, at the end of that culinary crusade, Yue was sitting at the table with a little dark cloud floating over her head.
"I'm a terrible cook..."
One of the eggs had been scorched, the rice had melted, and the smell coming from the oven was disgusting. The breakfast she'd made was inedible.
Yuu, on the other hand, burst out laughing the moment he saw her taste her own food.
"Pfft... That was supposed to be an omelet!?"
He was now facing away from her, working in the kitchen to fix the disaster she'd made.
Yue stared at him from the table.
Her lips slowly curved, and her crimson eyes sparkled dangerously.
She stood up silently.
Barefoot, she moved like a shadow.
And when she was right behind him...
"Haah!"
She jumped.
Her legs wrapped tightly around Yuu's waist like a koala. Her arms went around his neck, and before he could react—
—Chomp!
"Huh...?"
Yue sank her fangs into Yuu's neck without mercy.
"That was for laughing at me..."
Though honestly, she'd already forgotten why she was mad after five seconds. She sucked gently as she closed her eyes and let out a soft moan, drunk on the sweet flavor.
"Nnh...~ Yuu's blood... is happiness..."
Yuu sighed while holding the frying pan in one hand, just about to flip a perfect crepe, with a vampire hanging from his neck.
"…You better not fill up on blood before breakfast."
"Mmm... this breakfast's enough for me," Yue murmured, hugging Yuu tightly from behind.
Her lips stayed pressed against his neck, letting out small, satisfied sounds. Her pale cheeks were now tinted a soft red.
She looked truly happy. Like a cat that just found the world's comfiest cushion.
However...
"No."
Yuu shook his head, making Yue blink.
"I'm making breakfast for you. A real one. Put those fangs away."
Saying that without turning around, he kept whisking the eggs in the bowl with smooth motions.
Of course, he could've created a meal so delicious it'd be considered a divine delicacy in a heartbeat, just by using his powers as the Aeon of the Beginning and the End.
After all, his dominion covered everything with duality—light and dark, life and death, creation and destruction...
And now, after becoming the Pillar of the Multiverse, his understanding of all those concepts had deepened to the point that it rivaled his grasp of his original concept. He could generate a perfect dish in a fraction of a second just by willing it with the concept of Creation.
But he didn't.
Because ever since arriving in this world, he'd decided to try and reclaim his human emotions.
And he knew that acting human was key to that.
So he cooked with his own hands, using regular utensils.
His white hair fell over his eyes as he worked in silence. Behind him, Yue clung to him, softly moaning as she drank his blood.
"Tamagoyaki's ready."
He poured the mixture into a lightly oiled rectangular pan.
He began carefully rolling the thin layers, drawing on the cooking skills he'd learned over his long life.
To the side, rice gently steamed inside a wooden ohitsu.
He prepared small bowls with tsukemono, hijiki, and some slices of grilled salmon.
Miso soup bubbled softly in a pot, and Yuu finished it with fresh tofu and chopped green onions.
At that moment, Yue slowly pulled her fangs from his neck.
She stuck out her small tongue and licked the blood from the wound, and the tiny holes closed instantly.
Still hugging him, she rested her chin on his shoulder and looked at the food he'd prepared.
Her crimson eyes widened. She blinked once and sniffed.
"Yuu... the food you made looks delicious."
In fact, it smelled even better than the meals he'd made back in the Castle of Fate.
"Get down and help me bring it to the table."
Yue pouted the most adorable pout her blushing cheeks could manage.
"Mmm..."
Even so, she let go of Yuu's waist with a soft sigh and dropped to the floor.
Together, they filled the rectangular tatami table with the colorful dishes he'd made.
And just as they placed the last dish...
—Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang through the whole house.
Yue raised an eyebrow at the sound. She was a little annoyed. Who dared interrupt her time with Yuu so early in the morning?
But the moment she felt Yuu's hand on her head, she calmed down.
It felt like Yuu was always attuned to her thoughts and feelings, which made her a little embarrassed, and at the same time, happy.
"Looks like we've got visitors." He looked at Yue, tilting his head with a smile. "I'll go get the door."
Yue nodded and sat on the round floor stool in front of the table while Yuu walked toward the entrance.
Truth was, he'd known for a while that four people had teleported into the front yard. He hadn't sensed any malice from them, so he just decided not to interfere.
Yuu opened the door.
Standing before him, two beautiful girls looked up as the door swung open, with two more just behind them.
The morning light lit up their faces.
Being greeted by four gorgeous girls just as the day was starting...
'Another good morning.'
×××
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