The setting sun stretched their shadows across the track. Yukinoshita Yukino's hand was still naturally held by Kanjuro. She could feel the gazes that hadn't yet fully dispersed, making her feel somewhat uneasy. Just as she was about to pull her hand back, Kanjuro suddenly spoke.
"That pink-haired girl on the court just now," his voice carried a hint of casual playfulness, "Yui Yuigahama, right? She seems quite cute, and the way she was flustered while playing was also quite interesting. Yukino, what do you think?"
Yukinoshita Yukino was slightly taken aback, a subtle bitterness welling up in her heart for no reason. She pulled her hand back forcefully, her tone returning to its usual coldness, even adding a few more degrees of chill than usual: "What? Does Uncle Kanjuro want to go back and take a closer look at that 'cute' classmate?"
Kanjuro stopped walking and turned his head to look at her. The twilight light made his handsome face appear somewhat hazy, with only those eyes exceptionally clear, carrying a smile that saw through everything.
"I'm actually a bit worried about her," he said frankly, as if he were truly just concerned about a classmate. "Classmate Miura's temper seemed quite flared just now, and Yuigahama appeared a bit absent-minded. I'm afraid she might have an accident."
To Yukinoshita Yukino, these words sounded like some sort of deliberate excuse. A sense of irritability that she didn't even want to admit to herself surged up. She turned her face away, looking toward the distant tennis court, and said coldly: "Since you're so concerned, then go back and watch your classmate play some more."
She intended it as sarcasm, but she didn't expect Kanjuro to nod agreeably: "Alright."
After saying that, he actually turned around and headed back toward the tennis court. Yukinoshita Yukino watched his unhesitating back, a breath stuck in her chest. She couldn't leave, yet she couldn't stay; in the end, she could only keep a stiff face and follow him.
When they returned to the sidelines, they saw this exact scene—
Miura Yumiko seemed to be venting all her frustration and a nameless fire onto the tennis ball. Every swing was fierce and heavy, the yellow ball smashing toward the other side like a shell from a cannon.
And Yui Yuigahama was clearly completely out of it. Her mind repeatedly replayed the scene of Kanjuro at her home last night—his gentle smile, his patient explanations, and... that brief embrace that made her heart skip a beat. Did he come to watch the tennis match just now... specifically to see me? This thought threw her mind into chaos, and her eyes involuntarily drifted toward the bench where Kanjuro had been sitting.
In that moment of distraction, a ball with a tricky angle and swift force shot straight for her knee!
"Ah!" Yui Yuigahama couldn't dodge in time. A sharp pain shot through her knee, and she cried out, losing her balance and falling onto the court. The racket in her hand also flew out of her grasp.
Miura Yumiko was also stunned. She hadn't expected her uncontrolled force to actually hit someone. A flash of panic and guilt crossed her face, and she instinctively wanted to go forward to check.
However, someone was faster than her.
Almost the instant Yui Yuigahama fell, a figure had already vaulted over the sideline fence and walked quickly to her side.
"Are you okay?" Kanjuro knelt down, his voice filled with unconcealed concern. He looked down to examine the knee Yui Yuigahama was covering with her hands; it was already rapidly swelling.
Yui Yuigahama's eyes welled with tears from the pain, but when she saw the person kneeling before her was Kanjuro, the pain seemed to lessen a bit, replaced by a huge sense of grievance and a secret joy. He... he really came over.
"Ye... Kanjuro-kun... I'm fine..." She tried to stand up but stumbled due to the pain.
"Don't move." Kanjuro held her arm. His movements were gentle, yet they carried an air of irresistible authority. He looked up, his gaze calm as he looked at Miura Yumiko walking over. "Classmate Miura, could you help by going to the Nurses Office to get some ice packs and medicated oil?"
Miura Yumiko watched Kanjuro focus on supporting Yuigahama, then saw Yuigahama's reddened cheeks and dependent gaze. The guilt in her heart was instantly replaced by a more complex emotion. She bit her lip and finally turned to run toward the Nurses Office.
Yukinoshita Yukino stood quietly by the sidelines, watching Kanjuro carefully help Yui Yuigahama to a nearby bench, watching his profile as he whispered inquiries about her injury. The setting sun enveloped him in a warm glow, and the scene actually looked somewhat piercing to her eyes.
She silently turned around and left the sports field alone. That phrase "see different scenery" now sounded to her as if it carried a different meaning. And the inexplicable displeasure in her heart became increasingly clear. Miura Yumiko ran quickly to the Nurses Office, slightly out of breath when she pushed the door open. Health Teacher Kitami Reika was sitting at her desk watching the television news, her long golden hair particularly striking in the twilight.
"Teacher Kitami!" Miura Yumiko said urgently. "Classmate Yuihama was injured during tennis practice, and her knee seems quite badly hurt. Kanjuro-kun is taking care of her, and he sent me to get some ice packs and medicated oil."
Upon hearing the name "Kanjuro," Reika Kitami's finger on the mouse tightened almost imperceptibly. The lazy expression on her face faded, and her eyes became complex and sharp.
"Kanjuro... is taking care of her?" Kitami's voice remained calm, but there was an undetectable tension. "In that case, have him bring Classmate Yuihama directly to the Nurses Office. The equipment here is more complete."
Miura Yumiko nodded, turned, and ran back out.
Shortly after, Kanjuro supported a limping Yui Yuigahama into the Nurses Office. Yuigahama's face still bore tear tracks from the pain, but with Kanjuro's support, her eyes held an unmistakable dependence and shyness.
When Kanjuro's gaze met Reika Kitami's, invisible sparks seemed to fly in the air. Kitami's expression was cold as ice, while the corner of Kanjuro's mouth curled into a faint, almost nonexistent arc.
"Classmate Miura, you go back to practice first," Kitami said to Miura Yumiko, who was still standing at the door, her tone leaving no room for doubt.
After Miura Yumiko left, Kitami signaled for Yui Yuigahama to lie on the examination bed. She leaned down and carefully rolled up Yuigahama's pant leg, revealing the already swollen knee. Just as her fingertips touched the injury, a very faint trace of power belonging to the holy bible of light quietly probed out—
Kitami's movements suddenly froze.
Through that subtle energy sensation, she clearly perceived an aura in Yui Yuigahama's bloodline that shared the same source as the man before her. This girl... was actually of Kanjuro's bloodline?!
A flash of shock and realization crossed Kitami's eyes, but she quickly masked her emotions and continued to examine the injury with a professional attitude.
"It's just a common contusion. Some ice and ointment will do," Kitami's voice was steady, showing no abnormality, but when she looked down, her gaze was bone-chillingly cold.
"Thank you, Teacher Kitami..." Yui Yuigahama thanked her softly, her eyes involuntarily drifting toward Kanjuro-kun standing nearby, her face flushing. "And thank you, Kanjuro-kun..."
"You're welcome," Kanjuro responded warmly, his gaze looking toward Kitami with a hint of provocation.
Kitami picked up the ointment and applied it with professional skill, but her tone carried a hint of subtle sarcasm: "Classmate Yuihama, the one treating you right now is me."
"Ah, I'm sorry!" Yui Yuigahama apologized hurriedly, feeling quite embarrassed.
After treating the injury, Kanjuro naturally reached out to help Yuigahama leave.
"Classmate Yuihama can walk back slowly on her own," Kitami suddenly spoke, her voice icy. "Kanjuro, you stay. I have something to discuss with you."
Yui Yuigahama looked at Kitami's serious expression, then at Kanjuro. Although she was a bit confused, she still nodded obediently and left the Nurses Office one step at a time.
The moment the door closed, the air in the Nurses Office seemed to freeze.
Reika Kitami turned around, her eyes, which usually carried a seductive smile, now resembled a frozen lake.
"Kanjuro, enough is enough." Her voice suppressed a surge of anger. "Stop going after these innocent female students."
She took a step forward, staring intently into Kanjuro's eyes, and said clearly, word by word: "And... I discovered this during my examination just now. That girl, Yui Yuigahama, is your daughter, isn't she? The daughter you had with Yuigahama Yui eighteen years ago, right?"
Kanjuro was slightly taken aback by her words, then burst out laughing, his laughter full of amusement and disdain.
"Kitami, after all these years, you still love meddling so much, still so... serious." He shook his head, as if mocking her persistence. "Also, instead of worrying about my romantic entanglements, shouldn't you be worrying about yourself?"
His gaze deepened, carrying an almost cruel concern: "I signed a contract with a demon to gain eternal life. But you... Kitami, if I recall correctly, this is already the eighteenth year, isn't it? You are barely surviving by relying on the power of the holy bible of light, but the price is that you must replace your body container every eighteen years, otherwise..."
He deliberately left the sentence unfinished, but the threat in his words was self-evident.
Reika Kitami's face instantly turned pale, but she stubbornly lifted her chin and sneered, "What if I die? I don't need your concern, Kanjuro. Even if I die, I don't want to have anything to do with you!"
Her voice was resolute, but her slightly trembling fingertips revealed her inner fear and wavering. The eighteen-year cycle was like a sword hanging over her head, and the only person who could help her survive this calamity was precisely the man standing before her—the man she hated the most, yet the one she... could not completely let go of.
Kanjuro watched her feigned composure, his eyes profound, and finally said flatly, "I hope... you can still be this stubborn when the time comes."
After speaking, he turned and left the infirmary, leaving Reika Kitami standing alone in the empty room. The setting sun streamed through the window, stretching her shadow long, making her appear exceptionally lonely and fragile. The infirmary door quietly closed, sealing Kanjuro's presence outside. Reika Kitami seemed to have been drained of all strength; she stumbled backward and only managed to steady herself by grasping the cold metal medicine cabinet.
She could feel the power originating from the holy bible of light within her slowly and irreversibly draining away. The eighteen-year cycle hung over her like a death warrant. Time was running out... perhaps only a few months, or even weeks, remained.
She gave a bitter smile, took a bottle of whiskey from the back of a drawer, twisted open the cap, and took a direct swig. The strong liquor burned her throat, but it couldn't suppress the bitterness churning in her heart. She knew Kanjuro's danger better than anyone, and she also... tragically loved him more than anyone. It was this twisted love that prevented her from standing by and watching him continue to toy with innocent girls, especially—his own biological daughter.
In the evening after school, Kitami waited at the school gate and found Yui Yuigahama, who was carrying her schoolbag and was still somewhat inconvenienced by her knee.
"Classmate Yuihama." Kitami walked up, trying to keep her tone calm.
"Teacher Kitami?" Yui Yuigahama was slightly surprised.
Kitami took a deep breath and looked directly into the girl's innocent eyes: "I hope you... stay away from Kanjuro."
Yui Yuigahama was stunned.
Kitami continued, her voice carrying an almost imperceptible difficulty: "He... is not the person you imagine. He is very dangerous, and he will hurt you."
However, the expected vigilance or contemplation did not appear. Instead, an "I knew it" expression surfaced on Yui Yuigahama's face, even mixed with a hint of scornful laughter.
"Teacher," she tilted her head, her tone possessing the cruel innocence unique to girls, "Even if you don't want me to get close to Kanjuro-kun, you should at least find a better reason, shouldn't you? 'He is very dangerous'? That sounds like a villain in a manga trying to slander the protagonist."
She paused, a blush rising on her cheeks, but her tone became more certain: "I know Kanjuro-kun is a very charming person—good grades, handsome, knowledgeable... it's normal for many people to like him."
Her gaze shifted across Kitami's face, carrying a knowing slyness: "I just didn't expect... Teacher Kitami, you like Kanjuro-kun too. Are you telling me all this because of jealousy?"
Reika Kitami was instantly speechless, overwhelmed by a vast sense of absurdity and powerlessness. The girl's inference made her feel like laughing and crying at the same time; a profound sorrow gripped her heart. She looked at Yui Yuigahama's face, which bore a slight resemblance to Kanjuro's but was filled with ignorance and longing, and felt as if she were seeing her past self, who had similarly plunged headfirst into the illusion Kanjuro had woven.
"I'm not..." Kitami tried to explain, her voice hoarse with fatigue. "I'm genuinely doing this for your own good..."
"That's my business!" Yui Yuigahama interrupted her, her tone growing somewhat stiff and showing displeasure at the interference. "Who I like to be friends with, and who I get close to, are all my own choices. I don't need you, Teacher, to meddle!"
After speaking, she even gave a polite bow, then limped away without looking back, leaving Kitami frozen in place.
The setting sun stretched Kitami's figure long and solitary. She watched Yui Yuigahama's retreating back, as if witnessing the cold mockery of fate. She raised the bottle in her hand and took another swig; the liquor went down, leaving only bitterness in her mouth.
Stopping him... perhaps from the very beginning, it was her wishful, tragic, and futile delusion. And would this love, buried deep in her heart and lasting until death, ultimately become the footnote to another cruel joke, along with her soon-to-vanish life?
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