I really don't want to be reborn.

"..."

Wait!

What's wrong with this family?

Old Sawamura said it, and so did young Sawamura, making it seem as if Kousaka Kyosuke was bound to do something to Touma Kazusa.

He frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure in his eyes: "Eri-kun, what kind of image do I have in your eyes? Why do I always feel like you're wary of me?"

"Aren't you just a piece of scum?"

"I...no! Don't talk about me. What were you doing peeking around at their door just now? I'm warning you, Eriri, stop your lewd behavior. Touma Kazusa is someone I'm observing."

Sawamura's expression turned serious: "What do you want to do? I'm warning you, she's mine... I have an obligation to protect her from perverted harassment."

"Hey, what did you just say she was to you? Was it U-Love-Me?"

"It's mine, it's mine... It's none of your business!"

Eriri, who is far more arrogant than Kirino, suddenly unleashed a long-lost martial arts technique.

"Clap clap clap-"

Two golden ponytails delivered a double whammy to his face, the soft blonde hair lashing against his skin as if floating golden sand.

Delicate and smooth, like a spring rain shower, carrying the freshness of a young girl, Miss Eriri rarely reveals her charm as a woman, her posture like a puppy shaking its fur.

Kosaka grabbed her ponytail and tried to twist her twin ponytails together: "It's itchy, stop messing around. To tell you the truth, I suspect that Touma Kazusa has typical autism."

Eriri struggled to fix her hair, pretending to be nonchalant: "What does it have to do with me? I'm nobody to her, I don't care what happens to her—"

Kousaka Kyosuke sat back and waited for Moxiang: "..."

"—You're saying she has autism?"

Really fragrant!

He nodded: "You know, this kind of person has an even more pathetic social life than you. She doesn't have a single friend, and her behavior at school is universally disliked. So if her relatives could visit her occasionally..."

Sawamura frowned and remained silent.

"You know what I mean, right, Eriri...chan?"

Are family dramas good to watch?

Is it pleasant for half-sisters to love and hate each other?

Sawamura sighed softly: "...I'll probably have to trouble you occasionally, Kousaka."

"Welcome to serve."

"You... ah, I have to say, you're actually quite nice sometimes. Although you seem like a scumbag on the surface, you're actually quite gentle inside... Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't misjudge you."

As the blond-haired man stammered out his praise with an air of arrogance, Kyosuke Kosaka gradually suppressed his smile.

Thank you for considering me a good person.

But Eriri, I've never been a good person.

(You, Touma, and Ogiso—everyone is just a prop to me. I don't care about the process or the sacrifices involved. In this world, only pleasure matters. As long as I'm the one who's happy in the end, then everything is fine.)

(Lu Ge is possessed, just spouting nonsense)

--------

Chapter Nineteen: Another Year Before Spring Returns

Graduation ceremony.

The graduation ceremony at Benzen High School was nothing special. Kousaka Kyosuke idly played with the girl's fingers next to him, completely unmoved by her black stockings.

To be honest, Kasumigaoka Utaha's legs are definitely the most striking feature of her appearance, and the most attractive part of her when she's dressed.

Hmm... how should I describe her legs?

Too much description would be superfluous; just looking at the imagery, those thighs are like dusk, moving from light to darkness...

However, Kousaka Kyosuke cannot touch such beautiful legs.

Because... it's graduation ceremony after all, we can't go too far, let's be a little more serious.

"I've noticed that the more formal the occasion, the more I crave your body. Tell me why?"

"How come you have such a fetish?"

Ah, I can understand that.

The more people there are in a place, the more exciting it is to sneak around and get intimate.

Movie theaters, buses, and the changing rooms in school gyms—these are the places to have real fun—as for that dead monk who said things like "the happiest place in my life was a dark ice cellar," let's not even mention him.

The girl's fingers slid gently across her palm. Kasumigaoka Utaha's nails were neatly trimmed, giving Kousaka Kyosuke a plump feeling, like a kitten's paw.

That's cardamom.

How many buds does a girl have all over her body?

She quietly leaned closer, their bodies pressed together, feeling each other's warmth. Their intertwined fingers made time feel like a lubricant, and while the other students were bored and listless, the two of them slipped away in a flash.

This once again proves the greatness of Einstein's theory of relativity.

The graduation ceremony is very complicated, with the program including music, chorus, repeated standing up, sitting down, bowing, saluting, entering, leaving, speeches, remarks, thank-you speeches, announcing the list, awarding certificates, and so on.

It shouldn't be called complicated, but rather cumbersome. It fully embodies a national spirit—that is, to do things to the extreme.

There is a Japanese word called "一生懸命" (isseikenmei), which describes this kind of spirit, but Kousaka Kyosuke dislikes this spirit.

"Yes, I think you should always leave yourself an out, no matter what you do."

Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled and exclaimed, "Is this Kousaka-kun's awkward gentleness and attitude towards life? I've seen it all."

"No, Xiaoshi, you don't understand what I'm saying."

He turned his head and spoke seriously, immediately addressing a profound topic about life.

"You should always leave yourself an out. For example, leave your panties hanging on your thighs, wear only black stockings with a hole in them, or—stop! Your boyfriend is in so much pain!"

What a wise saying: leave room for maneuver.

Teacher Gao always surprises us without making a sound.

"Hehe, I'll strangle you, you pervert! You grotesque weirdo!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha blushed deeply, her face turning bright red, and she rubbed her legs restlessly.

Her eyes were filled with the pure, clear spring water.

If the occasion weren't so inappropriate, she would straddle him right now, mimicking a light boat swaying gently on a lake, letting him know what it means to leave nothing behind, to leave not a drop.

When it moves, it's like a mother leopard.

Kyosuke Kosaka thought his girlfriend was really amazing, and couldn't help but breathe hot air into her red ear: "Actually, Shi, haven't you realized that you've been seducing me all along? No matter how upright I am, I can't resist the temptation of a vixen like you."

He sighed deeply: "You're a vixen, cunning and sharp-tongued, irresistibly charming yet completely oblivious to it."

Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't say anything.

She felt a warm glow in her heart, but dared not speak, for fear that if she did, she would impulsively kiss him.

Of course, she was somewhat aware that he loved her very much.

…………

Senior student's resignation.

Reply.

Faculty graduate's acceptance speech.

Introduction of the guests.

Congratulations.

After a long and complicated process, everyone stood up to prepare to sing the student song "Wakakusa Moyuru" together, then "Mirai no Tabijin" (The Future Traveler), and the "Junior High School Celebration Overture" was played.

"Singing is something I'm actually not very good at..."

Just as Kousaka Kyosuke finished his self-deprecating remark, he heard an extremely bizarre off-key singing in the chorus. The voices were completely out of tune, like they came from Hokkaido, and the singers seemed utterly oblivious to it.

He looked back and almost burst out laughing.

Gennosuke Miura sang with great emotion and passion, reaching out to his graduating classmates as if trying to persuade them to stay...

Stop messing around, Miura. You've been held back a year, so stop jumping around.

His girlfriend whispered beside him, "What do you think of me in a kimono?"

Graduates typically don't wear uniforms at graduation ceremonies; boys wear formal attire, while girls usually wear kimonos. Now, she's looking at the former student council president in her cherry blossom kimono, dreaming about her own graduation next year.

"Yes, I really like it. I like everything you wear."

"That's a really cheesy answer. I know your next line will definitely be, 'I'll still like you even if you don't wear it,' right?"

"……Yes!"

"They actually admitted it?"

Finally, the closing ceremony address.

The graduation ceremony in 2006 concluded successfully.

"Miura, you're really flirtatious."

As Kyosuke walked past Miura, he couldn't help but exclaim, "You're carrying a folding fan in this season that's a bit too 'gay'? Folding fan is one thing, but can you tell me which game's 'sexy thoughts' are printed on the fan?"

"New wife! I won't let you see her or do anything with her!"

The fact that a group of people walked out basically meant that the school year was over. Kyosuke Kosaka looked into the distance and said, "I remember there was a procedure at the elementary school graduation ceremony."

"You mean the doorway?"

"Yes, the graduates walk through the flower garland tunnel, and their parents line the road to see them off as they leave the elementary school. I remember when Kirino graduated, my father participated in this event."

His expression was slightly strange: "He was clearly looking at his daughter with affection, so why did those parents mistake him for a gangster boss looking for trouble?"