Chapter 12: I Belong to You Now
Since Komachi was already asleep, Hikigaya was extra careful when he went upstairs.
There were only three rooms on the second floor: one for Hikigaya, one for Komachi, and one for their parents.
When he reached the last room, his parents' bedroom, Hikigaya opened the door and walked in.
Sure enough, the Yukinoshita sisters were both on the bed, apparently fast asleep, and in a deep sleep at that.
Hikigaya pulled out a new futon and blanket from the closet, laid out a makeshift bed on the tatami mat for Yukinoshita's mother, and gently placed her there.
After finishing this, he left the room.
Although he wasn't familiar with Yukinoshita's mother at all, seeing her like that did make him feel something about the harshness of the magical society.
If he had really chosen to ignore it completely, the mother and daughters would probably have ended up in a terrible state.
Even now, he still couldn't figure out why Yukinoshita's father would so casually gamble with the lives of his own family.
Back in the living room, Hikigaya suddenly lost the mood to play games, so he turned off the TV and the console.
Then he went to wash his face, brush his teeth, and take a bath.
Only after bathing until his whole body was steaming warm and relaxed did he return comfortably to his bedroom.
Then he saw someone sitting there.
This is why you shouldn't bring too many people home. They always end up interrupting your plans—be it study, entertainment, or rest, nothing ever goes on schedule.
He started to reflect on whether he had meddled too much this time.
"Just to be clear—your mom was on drugs. She brought them herself," Hikigaya said with a shrug, wearing only his bathrobe, to the person sitting on his bed.
That's right—sitting on his bed was Yukinoshita Haruno.
Moonlight streamed through the window and bathed her in a soft glow, giving her an ethereal beauty, like a lotus rising from clear water.
"I know," Haruno said. "I knew it, but it's the first time I've actually seen her lose control."
Suddenly, she stood up and walked toward Hikigaya.
Because she had just taken a bath, her hair was still slightly damp and carried a faint scent of shampoo.
She wore light makeup, her almond-shaped eyes brushed with a soft purple shadow, and her cherry lips painted with pink lipstick.
She wore only a shirt—a semi-transparent one at that—which did little to conceal what was underneath. Her long white legs were completely exposed to the air.
"So?" Hikigaya slapped his forehead. "You didn't take the same stuff your mom did, did you…"
"No, I want to serve you…" Haruno suddenly took a quick step forward, placing both hands on Hikigaya's chest and leaning in close.
"I personally think you're being totally crazy."
"Heh… I can't help but think—why do you think the Seishuin family is protecting me? And how exactly are they 'protecting' me?"
Haruno spoke in a flat tone, but the content of her words was dark and heavy.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm clean. I'm luckier than my mother in that regard.
But unfortunately, if Yukino and I don't want to end up being used and discarded one day, then someone has to pay the price."
"Your circle's really messed up.
Honestly, wouldn't it be easier to just marry your fiancé? You have one, right? Seems like a decent family background."
"What's the point of marrying a man who'd just pretend not to notice if I was assaulted? A gutless wimp like that?"
"You really are talking some messed-up stuff with a whole lot of confidence… Also, stop groping me, will you?"
Hikigaya grabbed one of Haruno's wandering hands.
Her hand felt different from Yukino's—soft, boneless, and silky smooth.
"What's wrong with it? You're a god-slayer. You're here, so you own everything here—me, Yukino, all of us. I just want you to leave your mark on this body."
Suddenly, Haruno pulled her hand out of his grip and hugged him.
She pressed her well-endowed chest tightly against his, burying her head into his chest, her body trembling slightly.
"If you can't even do that, then why bother…" Hikigaya pulled her away from his chest and, as expected, saw she was crying—a total mess, tears streaming down like rain, but she bit her lip and made no sound…
"Alright, stop being stubborn. You don't understand me at all." Hikigaya wiped her face. "To put it bluntly, you're just all talk. When it comes to actually doing something like that, you can't."
"You don't understand me either, Hikigaya-kun." Haruno's eyes suddenly flashed with a mix of hatred and amusement as she let out a chilling laugh. "You have no idea what I'm capable of becoming for the sake of a man like you."
"Wait—you're not seriously blaming me for your dad's debts or something, are you?" Hikigaya frowned.
The venom in Haruno's eyes just now had been pretty disturbing. "Let me make this clear—I have more important people to look after. I can't waste too much time on other matters. So don't blame me for being heartless later."
"Hikigaya-kun, you really underestimate me. I may not know magic, but I still know right from wrong. I know who's helped me and who's hurt me… That said, what kind of girl do you like? Quiet or vocal?"
This girl is broken… What the hell did the Seishuin family do to her?
Might as well ask, Hikigaya thought. Curiosity is a virtue.
So he asked, "What exactly happened to you? Tell me. Who knows, maybe I'll agree after hearing it."
"Nothing much. They just happened to 'casually' show me the methods they use against enemies. I learned a lot—realized just how powerless a regular person like me truly is."
As she said this, a blush spread across Haruno's pretty face.
She bit her lip and let out a sweet, cloying voice, her pale, slender arms winding around Hikigaya's shoulders.
"Please… Let us stay… We have nothing left anymore…"
"…" Hikigaya rubbed his temples. He really was too inexperienced.
This Yukinoshita mess should've just been handed over to someone from the Yomi side.
Handling it himself was a total pain in the ass.
"Alright, fine. But you can't stay in this house. I'll get things ready over the next couple days. You, Yukino, and your mom—go live there when it's done."
Hikigaya suddenly let out a cold laugh and said, "But tell your mom—no more of that drug crap. I don't want to come home every day to a house that smells like that."
"Of course. You call the shots. From now on, we all belong to you." Haruno ran a hand through her hair, smiling brightly. "What do you think of my little sister? I think instead of letting those useless men out there take her someday, she should start learning how to serve you now."
"Serve your sister my ass! Go back to bed!"
Chapter 13: Komachi's Classmate Visit
Time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, it was already the weekend.
It had been several days since that night of the Yukinoshita mother and daughter's shocking display of depravity.
For Hikigaya, purchasing a house now was as easy as buying a drink—no big deal.
In the underworld, there are three abundant things: people, money, and martial arts.
And within the scope of the Hand-to-Hand Group, Hikigaya could now mobilize all three at will.
After assigning someone from the Yomi to purchase the house, Hikigaya had arranged for the Yukinoshita family to move in.
And… that was all.
Because godslayers possess power far beyond the ordinary, no matter what kind of person they used to be, once they become godslayers, they inevitably start interacting with the world in brutally straightforward ways.
When all other factors are stripped away and only power remains, things become extremely simple—thus, godslayers naturally become demon kings who prefer to solve problems with brute force.
Hikigaya tried not to fall to that level himself, but he couldn't always avoid trouble—such as the Yukinoshita family.
Strictly speaking, their issues had nothing to do with him, but it still ended up being a pain.
This confirmed what Hikigaya had suspected before—not all magicians were good people.
In fact, he suspected most magicians were absolute bastards to ordinary people.
The power of godslayers simply made them conceal their true nature in front of Hikigaya. But give them the slightest chance, and they'd reveal themselves.
All Hikigaya could do was make sure such people feared him so thoroughly they wouldn't even dare breathe too loud in his presence—let alone think of laying a finger on those around him.
So far, he was doing a great job. The moment he returned to Japan, he scared the piss out of a whole bunch of people.
Profit might make people foolish, but only when what they should fear is no longer nearby.
In Hikigaya's view, this was yet another case of someone disrupting his personal life without warning, and so, as usual, he planned to make an example of them.
But not today. Today, he had a very important matter—his little sister's classmates were coming over to visit.
To put it simply, it was the "three idiot girls" from OreImo coming over to his house to get attention.
So after breakfast, Hikigaya sat lazily in the living room watching TV.
There weren't any good programs in the morning, so he quickly got bored. But he didn't feel like playing games either, which made him feel restless.
Then, around nine or ten o'clock, the internal phone rang.
It rang ding-dong ding-dong several times.
Hikigaya tossed aside the remote he had been fiddling with and stood up from the sofa. But before he could move further, he heard someone thundering down the stairs.
"Slow down!" he immediately shouted.
"No worries! No worries! Komachi is totally steady!"
A noisy girl came bounding down the stairs and ran toward the entrance.
"Sorry for the wait! You've been waiting a long time, huh!"
Really put in the effort to sound like that...
Hikigaya chuckled and followed behind Komachi, looking toward the door.
Yup, it was those three from the other day.
But as he was observing them, the three girls were also silently observing him.
"Onii-chan, these are my good friends!"
Komachi looked very proud.
Yeah, it was that classic "Aren't I amazing?" kind of look.
"Oh, welcome," Hikigaya nodded to them, then turned to the kitchen to pour some drinks.
From behind, the girls' voices drifted in.
"So this is your big brother, Komachi?"
"He doesn't look weird at all!"
"And he's not trash either, kinda handsome, even. Maybe Kanako should date him!"
"No way, that'd be bad!"
Chatter chatter... yap yap...
Are girls this age all this noisy...?
Listening to their "Sorry to intrude" greetings and the sound of slippers tapping across the living room floor, Hikigaya silently mused.
After a short while, he brought the tea over, carrying the tray with teacups and placing them down in front of each of the schoolgirls.
Komachi got one too, of course.
"Here, have some tea."
He said, then picked up the tray and was about to leave.
"Um... please wait a moment!"
Among the three, the one with long, black hair and a slim figure seemed rather anxious to stop him.
Hikigaya remembered she was Arakaki Ayase, the daughter of Representative Arakaki, and also the yandere girl from the anime.
He had always thought that if someone like her existed in real life, she'd be pretty terrifying. Like, one day she might just whip out a knife and stab someone—without it feeling the slightest bit unnatural.
Of course, now that Hikigaya was a godslayer, she could stab him all she wanted—she wouldn't even pierce his skin.
"Something you need?" Hikigaya casually tossed the tray. It floated lightly into the kitchen sink.
That little move stunned all three of the girls.
Seeing their faces, Hikigaya slapped his forehead.
He'd used the "trained in martial arts" excuse so many times with his friends that he'd gotten used to pulling these kinds of stunts, but Komachi's classmates clearly weren't.
"My bad." He sat down across from them. "So, what is it?"
"Ah… well, the truth is, we came today for your sake, Onii-san."
Please don't call me that...
If nothing else, your father's side is going to start with some new scheme again.
Looking at Arakaki Ayase, Hikigaya silently sighed.
Although Arakaki was a key figure in ruining the Yukinoshita family, Hikigaya didn't hold much of a grudge against him personally—and even less against his daughter.
That might be hard for the Yukinoshita sisters, especially Yukino, to accept.
But at the point where the Yukinoshita family had fallen, no matter what happened to them, there was no such thing as innocence anymore.
The wealthy and powerful gained their status through the bloody exploitation of the weak.
If Hikigaya hadn't become a godslayer, his own family would've been among the exploited.
And infighting among elites was, naturally, just as bloody.
So while Hikigaya could help Yukino and Haruno, even give them a place to stay, he had no intention of protecting the entire Yukinoshita clan.
He had no obligation. With great wealth and power came risk—and if you self-destructed, that was on you.
So, although he disliked predatory families like the Arakakis, if they didn't mess with him, he wouldn't bother them either.
There was no need to have a bias against Ayase just because of who her father was.
"Komachi said her brother's been acting strange lately, but we thought maybe he's just been busy and hasn't paid enough attention to Komachi's feelings…"
Sitting on the couch, Ayase smiled a gentle, healing sort of smile as she spoke.
Guess she hasn't snapped yet, or that smile would've turned creepy...
Hikigaya propped his chin up with a hand and listened to the girl go on and on, quietly admiring her eloquence—she could really talk.
A whole stream of nonsense, but strung together in a way that made it sound oddly convincing.
If this was all the visit was about, then fine—he could listen to them yap all morning.