Entering the Kuze family residence, we began removing our shoes when a smug, black-haired girl confronted us.
I already knew what was about to happen and sighed after seeing Masachika's gremlin of a little sister stand in place alongside her maid.
"Kuhuhuhuhu! You intruders dare invade the territory of the one and only Yuki-sama?" she declared, grinning mischievously.
"You have something to say to us, human? I must admit, you're quite foolish to stand in the way of the demon empress of the galaxy, Ayane Frieza!" Ayane shot back, laughing confidently as she stepped in front of Yuki.
My twin sister immediately played along with Yuki's antics, while I could only sigh in pity for Ayano, who stood beside Yuki with her usual deadpan expression. It was obvious she was being dragged into this. Still, Ayano really was like a ninja—despite my ability to sense Ki, I barely noticed her presence.
"Too bad, Ayane Frieza!" Yuki declared dramatically. "I, Yuki Suou, and my destined partner, Ayano Kimishima, have decided you must be eradicated from this planet!"
With that, Yuki jumped back, holding up a purple object as she strapped on a Kamen Rider belt.
"Ayano! We're going to do it!"
"What are we going to do, Yuki-sama?"
"Isn't it obvious? We're going to transform!"
Like Yuki, Ayano pulled a green object from her pocket.
"Can you stop this already?" Masachika sighed, visibly exasperated as he led everyone else further into the house. The rest of them followed, smiling awkwardly at the scene. Well, everyone except Ayane, Ayano, Yuki, and me—I stayed behind to watch.
"Don't think that the puny device you're holding will help you fight me, the galactic empress who has destroyed thousands of worlds! Mwahahahaha!" Ayane taunted, pulling a toy lightsaber from her bag.
Wait, was that my old toy? Where the hell did this shit sister of mine found that ancient relic I hadn't seen in years?
Yuki smirked confidently, gripping her device tightly. Both she and Ayano pressed their Gaia Memories, and a familiar voice of Ddraig boomed.
[Cyclone]
[Joker]
"Henshin!" Yuki yelled, calibrating the belt as sound effects blared. Ayano immediately pulled out a W mask, placing it over Yuki's face.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Not only was this whole scene absurdly and weirdly nostalgic, but they even got the colors of the mask wrong. It was the freaking Luna and Trigger combo.
"Eat this! RIDER PUNCH!"
"EMPRESS GALACTIC SUPER DUPER SLICE OF THE HEAVENS!!"
The two of them were playing around like a pair of overexcited kids, their dramatic exclamations echoing. I sighed at the scene, letting their antics fade into the background as my gaze shifted to Ayano, who stood silently beside me.
"Is something wrong, Yukio-sama?" Ayano asked, tilting her head slightly when she noticed me watching her. Despite her being the epitome of a kuudere, she was undeniably adorable.
"No, it's nothing," I said with a teasing smile. "I just think you're really cute, Ayano."
Her expression didn't change in the slightest as she responded, "I appreciate the flattering comment, Yukio-sama."
"You know," I continued, "you'd look even better if you smiled, Ayano."
Ayano tilted her head again, seemingly contemplating my words. After a moment, she raised both index fingers, carefully placing them on either side of her lips to push them into a makeshift smile.
"Like this?"
"That's… not exactly what I meant," I replied, holding back a chuckle. "But not gonna lie, that's pretty adorable too."
I fought the urge to pinch her cheeks, while the sounds of Ayane and Yuki's chaotic play continued in the background, their voices adding to the amusing atmosphere of the room.
******
"It feels good that the gang is complete again, muahaha!" the bald old man laughed, his voice booming as the table was already spread with food.
Tomohisa Kuze, Masachika's paternal grandfather and current guardian, was always the life of the gathering. With Masachika's father perpetually busy with work—even on urgent days like today, which also happened to be Masachika's birthday—Tomohisa took on the role of caretaker.
"You're still short as ever, Gramps! Muahahaha!" Sotaro teased, throwing an arm around Tomohisa's shoulders.
The old man laughed heartily. "Too bad these old bones are betraying me, but don't think that means I'm some frail skeleton! These bad boys are still fresh and ready—at least until the day I finally visit Russia!"
"You know, I still don't get your obsession with anything Russian, old man," Daiki commented from where he lounged in his chair. "Speaking of Russians, didn't you meet a blonde foreigner on the playground years ago, Masachika?"
"Now that Dai-chan mentioned it, you've never even shown us her face or introduced her to us, Masachika," Satsuki added, her curiosity piqued.
"You mean Maa-chan? Quite a nostalgic name," Masachika said fondly. "I haven't seen her since I changed my surname."
"Isn't that the first girl you called your 'first love,' Nii-sama?" Yuki smirked, her tone laced with mischief. "Too bad, Grandpa. Your beloved grandson fumbled so bad, you could've had a Russian daughter-in-law by now!"
"Want me to tape your mouth, my lovely imouto?"
"Yes, please~~~ and make it as tight as possible,"
"Oh~ my grandson's first love—and a Russian, no less? Tell me more!" Tomohisa leaned forward with an amused grin.
"Ignore it, Grandpa. It's nothing," Masachika said, brushing it off.
"Oh, it's definitely nothing, Gramps," I chimed in, whistling casually. "This 'genius' here still hasn't moved on from that once in a lifetime event that changed his life."
"Don't exaggerate," Masachika groaned. "And stop calling me a genius. You know I hate that word." He sat down on the couch, only to be flanked by Yuki and Ayane on either side, poking at his cheeks.
"Mohh~ is our dear Masachika-kun still nursing his broken heart? Let Ayane-sama grace you with her unmatched kindness!" Ayane declared, puffing out her chest.
"Don't be sad, Nii-sama," Yuki chimed in. "Your lovely sister is here and ready to comfort—cough, cough—"
"Don't push yourself, Yuki," Satsuki cut in, her voice tinged with concern. "Your body is still weak."
"You're right," Yuki sighed dramatically, wiping an imaginary tear. "I need my strength to survive this cruel world. Sob!" She sniffled theatrically, then suddenly pounced on Satsuki, wrapping her arms around her and rubbing her head affectionately against the pink-haired girl.
"So~ that's why I need my Vitamin S!"
Satsuki smiled wryly but held Yuki's hands gently, her fond expression softening. "You're really energetic for someone with such fragile health," she chuckled.
"But back to that mysterious blonde Russian," Tomoya interrupted. "It sounds like the backstory of a rom-com light novel protagonist." He adjusted his glasses thoughtfully. "In fact, I can already picture it—titled My Russian Seatmate Hides Her Feelings in Russian, But I Can Understand Her. Starring Masachika and his mysterious childhood friend."
"You've been reading way too many light novels these days, Tomoya," Rintaro deadpanned. "But seriously, it does sound like the backstory of some anime. Imagine your so-called 'Maa-chan' returning to Japan after years of living in Russia, but the two of you don't recognize each other anymore. Then, as a twist, Masha is a second-year student, and her younger, also-Russian sister ends up being your classmate as a first-year."
"You're just as bad as Tomoya at making up wild scenarios," Hachiman sighed, his head resting on the glass table as he sat cross-legged on the floor.
"Yeah, that's way too fictional. There's no way something like that's ever gonna happen," Masachika replied, shaking his head.
Even so, as he said those words, an inexplicable chill ran down his spine. He paused for a moment, glancing around the room, but quickly brushed it off. Surely, it was nothing.
As the group continued laughing and chatting in the living room, a loud growl from Takeo's stomach suddenly cut through the conversation.
"Looks like someone's already hungry," Tomohisa chuckled. "Alright, let's continue this talk after we've eaten."
"Finally, dinner time is happening!" Takeo declared dramatically, getting up as if his stomach hadn't just announced its need for food.
Taking their plates, Sotaro and Hachiman grabbed their food and settled in the living room, while the rest of us gathered at the full dinner table.
"This wasabi is freaking flaming my nose, but this sushi pair is way too good," Masachika and Daiki said in unison, both digging into their sushi, generously dipping it into the sauce with mountains of wasabi that I had brought.
"The noodles are really chewy on this one," Ayane commented joyfully as she slurped down a bowl of Niku Udon.
"Here you go, Yuki-sama."
"Ahh~~"
Yuki opened her mouth, and Ayano fed her a bite of potato salad.
"Mhmmm, it's delicious. 15/2, would recommend." Yuki gave a thumbs-up while I looked beside her.
"What kind of rating scale is that?" I asked, poking a soup dumpling open with my chopstick.
"The Yuki-sama standard," Yuki replied, turning her head toward me with a playful glint in her eye before flashing me a stylish wink.
"Did you do meth instead of math when creating that system?" I deadpanned, raising an eyebrow at Yuki.
She gasped dramatically, placing a hand on her chest as if offended. "How dare you question the brilliance of the Yuki-sama standard! It's a flawless system, I'll have you know."
"Flawless at being completely nonsensical," I muttered, shaking my head as I popped the soup dumpling into my mouth.
"It's called innovation, my dear Yukio-kun," Yuki retorted with a smirk. "You wouldn't understand genius if it hit you in the face."
"Here, Yuki-sama," Ayano said, offering another spoonful of potato salad.
"Hmph, I will forgive you for mocking my flawless scoring system only because Ayano is cute," Yuki declared with a smug expression.
"What a coincidence," I replied, smirking. "We share the same thought process."
Without a word, Yuki and I exchanged a knowing look, then suddenly extended our hands for a firm handshake. Both of us smiled, keeping our lips pressed together to hide our teeth, like two conspirators sealing a deal.
Ayano blinked in confusion, tilting her head. "Is there something I'm missing, Yukio-sama? Yuki-sama?"
We both shook our heads in unison, our handshake still firmly locked. "Nothing at all," we said simultaneously, causing Ayano to look even more confused despite her emotionless face.
Afterword:
Serious-senpai: [Author-san, is this Yuki kid going to stay in the story? Because I freaking love this girl already!]
Author-san: [Spoiler alert, she won't be that relevant at this point in the story, but if we hit the middle school arc, that's when shit really starts. This is just me introducing characters. I'm already pumped for the Kuroko bullshit basketball gameplay I will do against Teiko]
Serious-senpai: [Why don't we just do a time skip?]
Author-san: [I'll do a time skip if I'm in the mood, but for now, I want them to stay in sixth grade for a reasonable amount of time.]