Haruno rested in Genichi's arms like a lazy cat.
Her long hair spilled across his arm, the strands brushing against his skin and tickling him.
One finger traced slow circles across his chest, one after another, as though she were playing a melody only she could hear.
Her breath was warm and gentle against his neck, carrying a faint fragrance.
Genichi looked down at her. Her black eyes gazed up at him, shifting like two unfathomably deep pools.
The corners of her lips curved into a faintly coquettish smile, an expression Genichi rarely saw on her face.
Haruno, the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita family and a formidable businesswoman who commanded respect in the corporate world, acted like an affectionate young woman whenever she was with him.
"Genichi."
Her voice was as soft as cotton candy.
"Could you give Yukino a chance?"
Genichi paused.
He naturally understood what Haruno meant. She wanted him to give Yukino, her proud and aloof younger sister, an opportunity to obtain supernatural power.
Yukino's face appeared in his mind. Her expression was nearly always impassive, her gaze sharp, and every word she spoke seemed to carry thorns.
She was the student he had infuriated so thoroughly that her entire body had trembled, yet she had still forced herself to remain calm.
Genichi shook his head.
"Are you sure?"
His voice was calm, though it contained a trace of hesitation.
Haruno nodded, continuing to trace circles across his chest.
"Yes, I'm sure. Yukino is intelligent and capable. If she had power, she could accomplish a great many things."
Genichi remained silent for a moment before asking a question.
"Can you guarantee that Yukino won't become a blade in someone else's hand?"
Haruno's finger stopped.
"Can you guarantee she won't let someone exploit her so-called sense of justice and turn her into their tool?"
Haruno's expression stiffened.
Her finger remained suspended against his chest, no longer moving.
A complicated light flashed through her eyes. There was hesitation, concern, and a trace of guilt that even she had not noticed.
If she did not understand her own sister, she might have confidently declared that Yukino would never allow such a thing to happen.
But Haruno understood her far too well.
Yukino had been stubborn and inflexible since childhood, always adhering to her own standards of justice.
She despised hypocrisy, compromise, and anyone who abandoned their principles for personal gain.
She believed she was right. She believed her judgment could not be mistaken. She believed that as long as she upheld justice, she could change the world.
But the world was never that simple.
Haruno remembered how Yukino had once defended a classmate and confronted their teacher, only for that classmate to turn against her and accuse her of meddling in matters that did not concern her.
She remembered how Yukino had insisted on exposing a school scandal during middle school. The student council isolated her, her classmates ostracized her, and she eventually hid alone in the library and cried.
More recently, Yukino had established the Service Club at school because she wanted to help people in need. Yet her insistence on teaching people how to solve their own problems instead of simply giving them what they wanted had driven countless students away.
She was too direct, too sharp, and completely incapable of taking a more tactful approach.
What would someone like her become after obtaining power?
She would use her power to uphold what she considered justice, punish what she considered evil, and correct what she regarded as unfair.
But could she distinguish true justice from a convincing lie?
Could she see through the schemes hidden beneath the surface?
Could she avoid being manipulated by people more intelligent and cunning than herself?
Haruno could not guarantee it.
Genichi looked at her conflicted expression and already knew the answer.
"If you want me to grant Yukino power, she'll have to form a blood pact with me and drink the blood wine. Once she does..."
He did not finish, but Haruno clearly understood what he meant.
Once Yukino drank the blood wine, her life and death would rest in Genichi's hands.
If she betrayed him or did something he could not tolerate, he could reclaim the power he had granted her at any moment.
Once she lost that power, she would die.
It was not a threat. It was simply a rule.
The rules governing the Schrift could not be changed.
Haruno deflated.
Her finger slid away from his chest, and her entire body sagged against him as though all her strength had been drained away.
She closed her eyes. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her lips pressed into a thin line.
Genichi could feel her heart beating much faster than usual.
"Yukino would be better off remaining an ordinary person."
Genichi's voice was soft and comforting.
"This world isn't that dangerous."
It was the truth.
Yukino could not see vengeful spirits. As far as she was concerned, those things did not even exist.
She only needed to live like an ordinary person. She could go to school, return home, eat, sleep, occasionally argue with her classmates, and bicker with her sister.
She did not need to know that the world possessed another side. She did not have to face its darkness or dangers.
She could continue living an ordinary, peaceful life.
"But this world isn't safe, is it?"
Haruno's muffled voice came from against his chest.
She had already entered the supernatural world and seen the vengeful spirits hidden beyond ordinary people's perception.
They curled up in corners, floated within shadows, and followed pedestrians like hungry beasts waiting for an opportunity to pounce.
Those spirits posed no threat to her, but they were far too dangerous for an ordinary person.
What if a vengeful spirit targeted Yukino one day?
What if Haruno could not reach her in time?
She did not dare continue that train of thought.
"Is it really impossible?"
She raised her head and looked at Genichi, her eyes filled with pleading.
"Please give Yukino one chance."
Her expression was pitiful, like an abandoned puppy.
Genichi knew she was only pretending. This woman had learned at a young age how to use that expression to get what she wanted.
He also knew that he should refuse.
Yukino's personality made her completely unsuited to possessing power.
She could become someone else's weapon. She could be exploited, injured, or even killed.
Giving her power would not help her. It would only harm her.
Yet as Genichi stared into Haruno's eyes, he found himself unable to say no.
He sighed.
"Fine."
Haruno's eyes instantly lit up like two lamps.
"Really?"
"Really, but I'll only give her one chance."
Genichi's voice was calm and serious.
"If she refuses, that will be the end of it. If she accepts but fails to satisfy me, I'll take the power back."
Haruno nodded vigorously, a radiant smile blooming across her face.
"Thank you, Genichi!"
She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Then she sprang out of his arms and hurried away.
When she reached the door, she stopped and looked back at him.
"I'm going to get Yukino right now!"
Genichi watched her disappear through the doorway and listened as her footsteps gradually faded down the corridor. He could only shake his head.
That woman really was something else.
He rose and walked to the window, gazing out at the night.
Moonlight poured over the city, bathing everything in a silvery glow.
The distant streetlights cast dim yellow pools across the roads. Cars occasionally passed by, their headlights cutting through the darkness before vanishing into the distance.
Yukino.
Would that proud and aloof girl be willing to drink the blood wine?
Would she entrust her life and death to him?
Would she willingly step into this dangerous world?
Genichi did not know.
However, Haruno had asked him, and he had agreed. He would honor that promise.
As for the outcome, that would depend on Yukino herself.
He turned away from the window, walked over to the table, and took out a bottle of wine and a glass.
The wine he poured into the glass was crystal clear.
He bit the tip of his finger and let his blood drip into it. The crimson spread through the wine like a blooming red lotus.
Then Genichi sat down on the sofa and waited for the sisters to arrive.
(End of Chapter)
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