"Um..."
Born into a family of scholars with elders who were either in politics or heading that way, Fujiwara Chika's face was beet red. She truly had never seen a scene like this!
As an honorary member of the Tabletop Gaming Club and a "Love Detective," she wasn't as oblivious to the world as Kaguya-chan. Naturally, she had been exposed to a bit of Japan's "traditional tropes."
Without a doubt, if the plot continued to develop this way, she would undoubtedly become an accomplice to a dark descent into sin!
"Yu... that's enough, right? If it's just to scare them..."
"In a normal situation, for a 'kind' protagonist, that would be true. After all, the sins of the child shouldn't fall on the family, blah blah blah~"
Pulling a phone from his pocket, Miyazawa Yuu paced around the coffee table with his eyes closed. The small metal box flipped continuously in his hand under the precise control of his muscles.
Her heart began to race wildly. Fujiwara Miki's breathing began to hitch involuntarily. Apparently, this madam wasn't extremely traditional; she knew at least a little about teenage pop culture.
However, her hands and feet were cold. She was powerless to resist and could only pray that the boy would lose his grip while showing off and send the phone flying. Unfortunately, that was merely a fantasy.
Snap. A hand pressed down on her shoulder. Miyazawa Yuu's gentle yet magnetic voice sounded in her ear: "But I'm different. After all, I'm a thorough scumbag, aren't I, Madam?"
"No, it's not like that! Please forgive..."
"Words are useless. Do a cat pose?"
"Ah..."
Fujiwara Chika watched the subsequent development while covering her eyes. She never imagined a human could be such a scumbag. Did this guy Miyazawa Yuu have anyone in the world he actually cared about?
Busujima Sakurako shared the sentiment. Even as the family member of a victim, she was starting to feel a bit of sympathy!
...
Outside the door, time seemed to stand still. Fujiwara Yumi covered her ears, not daring to hear what was happening in the room. Of course, she didn't run away or hide under her covers to pretend nothing was happening either.
A long time passed like this until someone anxiously shook her shoulder, finally bringing her back to her senses.
Her tear-soaked eyes were stuck shut by dried tear tracks. She had to use some effort to lift her eyelids, revealing the face of a flashily dressed woman.
"Sis... Sister?"
"What happened? Yumi, why did you send me a message out of nowhere and start crying? Don't scare me!"
"Crying..."
Blankly, she pulled her dead phone out of her lap. Yumi didn't know what she had done while she was zoning out; perhaps her remaining conscience really had made her call her sister?
"Yumi? Yumi! Honestly..."
Seeing her younger sister seemingly dazed and unresponsive, Fujiwara Tomomi frowned, gave a quiet scolding, and looked toward her parents' room.
It went without saying—her sister had been crying at the door for so long and her mother hadn't come out. Something must have happened to the latter!
Her natural short fuse ignited. She pushed the dazed Yumi aside, kicked the door open, and burst in. Then, she saw a literal "hellscape"...?
Her mother was covering her face, sobbing quietly, while on the sofa opposite her, a muscular man sat perfectly upright, clearly having the time of his life scrolling through his phone!
Besides him, two other women sat far away, their gazes darting left and right as if trying to avoid some kind of demon.
"Mom! What's going on? A home invasion? I'm calling the police!"
"Ah, ah~ I can only say 'like mother, like daughter.' When you have the upper hand, you rely on yourselves; when you don't, you talk about the law. You're quite the experts at playing both sides. Go right ahead~"
The Fujiwara family had three children: an eldest son already working, a second daughter in college, and the youngest daughter, the victim of the "traditional trope."
As the "former" designated heir of the Miyazawa family, Miyazawa Yuu usually did a background check before getting down to business. He felt no pressure dealing with the strange woman who had burst in.
He even waved his hand to signal her to go ahead. His arrogant attitude stung Fujiwara Tomomi's pride once again!
Feeling she didn't have the combat advantage, she decided to pin a "breaking and entering" charge on them first. She didn't hesitate to dial the Metropolitan Police Department, but in the next second, her mother grabbed her hand.
"Hello! Is there a problem?"
"It's nothing! I dialed the emergency number by mistake. Please excuse me!"
Forcing back her sobs, Fujiwara Miki spoke in a low voice to brush off the police inquiry. She then gave her eldest daughter a pleading shake of her head, signaling that the current problem absolutely could not be known by outsiders.
"Mom???"
Completely confused about what was happening, Tomomi's frown deepened. She instinctively felt the situation was not right; something had happened in the house that she couldn't solve!
But the source of the problem was clearly these three strangers. She shielded her mother behind her and glared fiercely at the calm trio.
However, at that moment, she finally noticed a key detail: she seemed to recognize both of the women who were looking away. One was a popular figure she'd seen at family gatherings, and as for the other...
"Fujiwara Tomomi... I expected it the moment I heard the surname. Should I call it a small world or a cursed fate?"
Irritably tapping the wooden armrest of the sofa, Busujima Sakurako didn't hold back upon seeing an old acquaintance. She raised a hand and greeted her grandly, "It's been three years, hasn't it? I'm surprised you still remember me."
"Busujima Sakurako!!!"
The name was squeezed through her teeth. Fujiwara Tomomi clenched her fists, looking exactly like a victim who had found her enemy and was about to explode with righteous fury.
But in reality, if you turned back the clock three years, Busujima Sakurako would have been a perfect substitute for Kyoko's position—and then some.
In the end, Fujiwara Yumi was just a timid little brat; her destructive power was nowhere near that of her lawless older sister. It truly was a case of the villain being the first to complain!
"Don't say my name so forcefully. It's disgusting..."
Truly not wanting to see the person in front of her, Busujima's expression looked as disgusted as if a bug had crawled onto her shoe. The truth was that the two were indeed a pair with both old and new grudges.
"To be honest, that vaulting horse incident was quite thrilling. The nail almost grazed my neck, didn't it?"
"That was just an accident!"
Her eyes instantly darted away, especially when she saw Busujima's finger brush over a faint white scar on her neck. Tomomi spat internally but stood her ground in front of her mother.
"So what's the deal! If you want revenge, come at me! What kind of skill is it to involve my family!"
"Aha! The classic line..."
Miyazawa Yuu snapped his eyes with excitement. What he loved most was a villain saying "don't involve the family"—it sounded so comedic.
However, it was a pity. The issue with the elder Busujima happened too long ago to be verified, but adhering to his simple individualistic spirit, he unilaterally chose to believe the "scumbag" Sakurako.
But since he was here for Kyoko, after applying the mental pressure, he turned toward the door and asked, "Aren't you coming in yet? Although I don't think your sister will strike a pose..."
"..."
With shaky steps, Fujiwara Yumi wanted to run away, but the pressure of social death forced her to walk into the room step by step under that terrifying gaze, hiding behind her sister.
"Yumi?"
Never expecting her daughter to be listening in, Fujiwara Miki was instantly stunned. A thick sense of betrayal mixed with humiliation surged in her heart, making her want to scream regardless of the consequences.
With the parent, the old victim, and both the new and old perpetrators present, Miyazawa Yuu stopped beating around the bush. He very sincerely made it clear that he was playing with the emotions of the Fujiwara mother and daughters.
"How does it feel? The humiliation of seeing a loved one bullied by someone else while being powerless. I hope you enjoy the taste of 'an eye for an eye'?"
"I... I'm sorry! I was wrong! So..."
A spark of hope suddenly flared in her heart. Hearing such a "moral" accusation, Yumi's DNA was triggered!
Wasn't this the classic plot where a self-proclaimed righteous person stands on the moral high ground, hoping to use a "misunderstanding-style" punishment to make the bad person reform? In other words, her mother hadn't actually suffered humiliation because of her!
"No, in fact, I actually did it."
Without even thinking, Miyazawa Yuu knew what she was imagining. Thus, he showed no mercy, placing the phone with the newly taken photo in a spot where everyone could reach it.
Although no strange text had been written on it and the clothes were perfectly intact, Fujiwara Miki's action of holding up two V-signs could hardly be called dignified.
"..."
Her eyes widened to circles. Hope had just risen only to be snuffed out. The look Yumi gave Miyazawa Yuu was as if she had discovered evil in the world for the first time!
"Everyone hopes that the punishment they receive is just a misunderstanding, but that kind of foolish educational behavior doesn't count as a real lesson."