The Sisters Kill Each Other

"No... I..."

Haruno, what the hell is this "groom practice"?

Makoto Amano's face changed drastically.

He had initially discussed with Haruno that he would personally inform Mrs. Yukinoshita that she had "suddenly become" his guardian, intending to use this situation to make her feel obligated to him.

He wanted to create a sense of guilt in her so that she would abandon her plan of making him her "son-in-law and adopted son".

But he didn't expect Haruno to suddenly come up with such an outrageous plan...

Now, he couldn't even bring up the matter of becoming his guardian again.

He could only say...

The women of the Yukinoshita family really hold grudges.

He had to recite the "truth" he had known for a long time in his heart again.

"That's how it is, Amano will live in our house from now on, it's just right... I don't have to worry about Yukino's well-being."

Mrs. Yukinoshita seemed to be joking, but in reality, she was involuntarily determining Makoto Amano's future.

Makoto Amano had absolutely no room for objection.

Even if he wanted to stand up and shout, "No, I refuse!"

Mrs. Yukinoshita could use "Don't you like Yukino?" or "Do you look down on the Yukinoshita family?" as reasons to crush him.

Defeated...

Today's outcome was a complete defeat for him.

No, wait...

He suddenly turned his head and glanced at Yukinoshita Haruno, who was standing not far away, looking smug because she had plotted against him.

This situation... doesn't seem like a defeat.

So, did he lose or win tonight?

"I'm going to bring Brother Amano's luggage here right now!"

After receiving her mother's affirmation, Haruno seemed a little impatient.

"Carrying luggage? Hey, wait..."

Although Makoto Amano knew that he probably had no right to resist, moving the luggage so quickly was a bit much, wasn't it?

If they're going to move my luggage, at least let me go with them!

He reached out to stop her, but Haruno had already left with a large group of smiling servants.

"Drive."

Hehe, I wonder what kind of expression Yukino will have when she sees me later...

Haruno, who had already started heading towards Amano's house, had a joyful look in her eyes.

——

"Auntie, even if you want to keep me here because you're worried about Yukino, you don't really need to agree to Sister Haruno's outrageous proposal, right?"

Makoto Amano had heard of bride practice, but...

It's practically unheard of for the groom to go through such a thing, even in Japan, right?

"Amano-kun, be careful while eating."

Today's dinner was much simpler than the last time, just an ordinary family meal.

The only ones eating now were Makoto Amano and Mrs. Yukinoshita.

"..."

Is this... the beginning?

Groom practice?

Makoto Amano continued to pick up his bowl, feeling a bit speechless.

Regardless, he still had to eat this fragrant and fluffy rice.

——

"Ding..."

Haruno rang the doorbell of Amano's house once again.

"Elder sister?"

Yukino, who thought it was Makoto Amano returning, didn't expect to see her sister's figure on the access control surveillance.

Where is that guy?

With a mix of surprise and doubt, Yukino, who was in the middle of cooking curry, had to put down the spoon in her hand and open the door.

"Clear everything out of this room."

After Haruno walked in, she led a large group of people and rushed into Makoto Amano's room.

Well, fortunately, she had been here before, so she could go straight to the goal.

"Wait, sister, what are you doing?"

Yukino tried to stop her instinctively.

Seeing a large group of people suddenly barging in, she had been looking for Makoto Amano.

But...

Didn't that guy come back with her sister?

"No need to look for him. Brother Amano won't be returning to this home anytime soon."

After giving instructions to her subordinates, Haruno turned her attention to her younger sister.

Sniffing, she caught a whiff of the aroma from the kitchen.

Is Yukino waiting for Makoto Amano to come back so they can have dinner together?

That's quite nice. Regardless of whether it's true or not, Yukino would make a good wife.

"Where did he go?"

After realizing that the people moving things weren't causing any chaos in the room, Yukino felt a slight sense of relief.

But she still hoped for a reasonable explanation regarding her sister's purpose in coming here today and why Makoto Amano didn't return home.

"Naturally, he's at our house. Where else would he be?"

Haruno sat comfortably on the large sofa in the living room, as if she were in her own home.

"Our house... you mean Mother's?"

Yukino's emotions were complex.

She recalled the instructions Makoto Amano had given her on their way home from school.

So, at that time, Makoto Amano had already made up his mind not to come back.

"Yeah, it's been more than a day or two since Mom wanted him to be our son-in-law."

"But..."

How could that guy obediently agree to her mother's wishes?

She looked at the expression on Haruno's face and soon realized that her sister probably wasn't aware of Makoto Amano's "intentions".

"It's different this time. Mom wants Brother Amano to be officially adopted... Well, the kind of adoption where he becomes our son-in-law."

"He won't agree."

Unless...

Yukino seemed to think of something unpleasant and shook her head vigorously.

"That might not be the case. Mom has already asked him to go through the 'groom practice' at our house. As long as he 'graduates' successfully, everything will be up to Brother Amano... and your wishes."

"No, neither I nor Amano... that guy, will ever give in."

Yukino answered resolutely, unaffected by her sister's earlier remarks.

"Is that so?"

She's quite certain that Brother Amano won't agree. It seems that Yukino and Brother Amano are hiding something from me.

Haruno habitually glanced towards the door of a certain room, pondering the connection between her sister and that irritating guy.

Hmm?

The door is actually open?

"Are you used to living here, Yukino?"

Haruno curiously walked toward the door.

Isn't this room Amano's mother's room?

It had been locked all this time, so could it be...

Haruno discovered her sister's school uniform in the room, with signs that it had been slept in on the bed.

In other words, the room where her sister slept last night was actually Mrs. Amano's former room.

"This bed is so soft..."

Haruno looked at Yukino, who entered the room after her, and carefully sat on the bed.

Yukino, standing at the door of the room, observed her sister's actions while overseeing the servants' activities upstairs.

Without Makoto Amano, she was now effectively the master of the house.

"Is this room yours?"

After watching Yukino enter and put her school uniform in the closet, Haruno's eyelids twitched slightly in discontent.

Yukino is actually living in this room, which had been locked for a year?

How much does that guy, Makoto Amano, really like my sister?

"Um...."

Yukino wiped the photo frame next to the bed earnestly and then put it back in place.

"This photo..."

She didn't expect to find this photo here, and to see it placed beside the bed.

Haruno, too, had a sense of nostalgia for that time.

But if Mrs. Amano were still here, things would only get awkward.

Because at the time this photo was taken, Mrs. Amano happened to discover Haruno's feelings for Makoto Amano.

"Sister, do you remember why we took this photo together?"

Yukino couldn't recall at all.

But looking at her sister's expression, there might be an answer.

"I don't know. I just remember... at that time, Auntie insisted on having me join in for the photo."

It made her nervous back then, afraid that Makoto Amano and Yukino would be able to see something from her face.

———