Unlike the newly established elementary and kindergarten divisions, Shuchi'in High School wasn't much different from an ordinary high school at the moment, still teaching regular subjects like national language, math, geography, etc.
Therefore, the middle and high school students were basically the same as when Lott and Genos attended… a regular elite school gathering the children of officials and the wealthy.
"Look." Reaching the edge of the playground, Ishigami pointed towards the center of the field, where a group of high school students in sports short-sleeves were undergoing long-distance running training.
Among them, a slender figure, though female, was far ahead of all the boys, leading the pack, instantly catching Lott's attention.
"Yukinoshita Yukino?" Lott subconsciously uttered the name of the woman he was chatting with just five minutes ago.
That's right, the female high school student with long, straight black hair, a slender figure, and an icy, exquisite face… who else could it be but Yukinoshita Yukino?
But to be accurate, it was an enhanced version of Yukinoshita Yukino. Because the Yukinoshita Yukino in Lott's memory... couldn't jiggle like that.
Although not as exaggerated as Erina and the others were in high school, this girl was still above the average level for high school girls. Probably on par with Yuuki Asuna during her high school years.
"Is she..." Just as Lott was about to ask, Ishigami handed him a student information form.
[Name: Tsurumi Rumi]
[Age: 17]
[Class: Class 2-A]
[Parental Status: Both Deceased]
[Profile: Parents killed in the Vaccine Man Incident ten years ago. Currently lives on association subsidies.]
"Rumi?" Lott raised an eyebrow.
"Lott-san, should we call her over? I suspect she might be the..." Ishigami didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.
He suspected that this might be the birth mother of 'Rumii'! If Lott were to get her pregnant within the next two years, the timeline would match up.
"...No need." Lott had no intention of being bound by the future.
If he deliberately approached an unfamiliar woman just for a child that would be born in the future, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
Lott turned and left. Before Ishigami followed, he took one last look at Tsurumi Rumi on the playground and commented, "If it's her... then we wouldn't have to worry about the Third Young Miss Rumii lacking milk."
Just as the two turned to leave, Tsurumi Rumi happened to cross the finish line. Stopping to catch her breath, she happened to see that retreating figure.
Ignoring the surprised looks from the P.E. teacher and her classmates, Tsurumi Rumi quickly ran after him. Finally catching up, Tsurumi Rumi shouted, "Wait!"
Initially, neither Lott nor Ishigami paid much attention, thinking she wasn't calling for them. Tsurumi Rumi had to quicken her pace and shout louder:
"Please wait! Lott-san!"
This time, Lott and Ishigami turned to look at this C-cup enhanced version of 'Flat-nee-san'.
"What is it?" Lott turned and asked her.
Ishigami silently stepped aside and left.
Having just finished a long run, her breathing was already somewhat labored. Under nervousness, Tsurumi Rumi stammered for a long time before barely managing to articulate a sentence: "Th-that... Thank you! Thank you, Lott-san, for avenging my mom and dad!"
She was referring to the Dragon-level monster Vaccine Man Incident that destroyed the border area of A-City ten years ago.
Originally, Tsurumi Rumi had always regarded Genos as her benefactor. However, after the video about Lott's childhood was exposed during the Universe's Number One Martial Arts Tournament, Tsurumi Rumi learned that it was Lott who killed Vaccine Man, while the credit was just given to Genos.
"It's nothing. I was just training Genos at the time, that's why I intervened. It wasn't to avenge your parents." Lott waved his hand, indicating the girl didn't need to mind.
"No! The ancient texts say, 'A gentleman judges by actions, not by intentions'. Regardless, you did avenge my mom and dad. I still need to thank you!" Tsurumi Rumi said with a serious expression.
Lott couldn't help but laugh. "You're very different from her."
If it were Yukinoshita Yukino in the same situation, while she might also thank him, she would definitely only say something extremely awkward and half-baked like, "Although you are a beast who does whatever he wants relying on his power, this time you indeed did the right thing."
She would never straightforwardly say 'Thank you' like the Tsurumi Rumi before him. But that was limited to the high school version of Yukinoshita Yukino. Through recent chats, Lott found that the current university version of Yukinoshita Yukino seemed to have changed quite a bit.
Hearing this, Tsurumi Rumi was momentarily stunned, not yet realizing who Lott meant by 'her'.
Lowering her head in silence for a moment, Tsurumi Rumi mustered up her courage and said, "C-can I treat you to a meal? J-just a meal..."
One had to admit, Tsurumi Rumi's heart was beating like a little deer. After all, through watching the videos, she knew Lott had a daughter named 'Rumii' in the future.
When she, then a middle school student, saw Rumii in the video, she was utterly shocked, wondering why she was in there.
And after that, what kind of thoughts would Tsurumi Rumi have? One could refer to the Yukinoshita Family for a similar case.
"Don't be bound by things that happen in the future. How you want to live is your own business." Lott, who, including his previous life, could be considered past fifty, was uncharacteristically kind to remind her. An old hand like him could easily see Tsurumi Rumi's little thoughts.
"I-I just want to treat you to a meal to express my gratitude. N-nothing else. D-don't misunderstand..." Tsurumi Rumi retorted reflexively, but from an angle Lott couldn't see, her two small hands were interlocked, fingers twisting unnaturally.
"Heh~ Alright, alright. But let me treat you instead." One had to admit, without that sharp-tongued, awkward personality, Flat-nee-san's face was quite attractive.
A little tsundere, but with less 'tsun' and more 'dere', and the 'tsun' was just right, making it hard to dislike her. Not to mention she was a Cup-size enhanced version of Yukinoshita Yukino.
…
Lott directly took Tsurumi Rumi to the elementary division's cafeteria.
Tsurumi Rumi, entering this place for the first time, was completely dumbfounded, 'Was this really a cafeteria, not a star-rated hotel?'
And she had never seen a cafeteria where the staff outnumbered the students.
Lott said this was nothing, as the kindergarten division was even more exaggerated. According to Genos, he was planning to go kidnap Liu Mao Xing and others, plus borrowing the so-called Legendary Cookware from Alice, specifically to cook for Trunks.
Lott found a seat near the door and waited for his daughter to enter.
Before long, a group of elementary students entered the cafeteria in a grand procession led by Aerith.
"Daddy!" Maki, seeing Lott, happily waved her little short arms vigorously.
A little boy next to her suddenly said proudly, "My dad is a company president! He can earn 3 million a month!"
Another little boy said disdainfully, "So what? My dad is a regional Professor! He manages an entire region! Trainers there have to ask my dad if they want Pokémon."
The speaker was Lei, Kukui's son.
"Oh, so he's just a pet keeper. My dad is the champion of The King of Fighters Tournament!" Hearing this, Lott took a closer look at the little blond kid.
He remembered him as Terry Bogard's adopted son, who supposedly used connections to beg Kagura Chizuru for a long time to get him squeezed in here.
But the winner of the last KOF Tournament was indeed Terry.
There's no helping it… with Kusanagi Kyo gone and Yagami Iori not participating, it naturally fell to Terry and Sakazaki Ryo.
After asking around, Terry's adopted son, Rock, looked around with a sense of accomplishment and finally set his sights on Maki: "What does your dad do?"
Aerith, who was using the group's live stream function to record the happy daily lives of these 'second-generation fighters', couldn't hold back a laugh.
Meanwhile, Terry Bogard, far away on the King of Fighters planet, almost choked on his own saliva.
'Damn kid, what are you saying?!'
Aerith laughed, her body shaking, causing the camera to shake incessantly. Coincidentally, it captured Lott and Tsurumi Rumi, who were also watching the fun with amused smiles, in the frame.
Instantly, countless people were stunned.