Reincarnation: Yukino Yukinoshita Is My Childhood Sweetheart

After finishing his tea, Haru headed to the fridge to check the ingredients. Dinner was a foregone conclusion—Yukino would definitely be staying.

Yukino, having her fill of cuddling the cat, got up and made her way toward the study. "You have quite a few photography books on your shelf, don't you?"

Haru glanced over his shoulder. "You're diving into study mode already? This is supposed to be your rare time to relax."

"For me, reading is relaxing," Yukino replied matter-of-factly.

Haru immediately countered, "Then how about I teach you instead?"

Yukino arched a skeptical brow at him.

With a straight face, Haru declared, "Most of what you know about photography, you learned from me. If you ignore your very own expert teacher and go study by yourself, it'd be a serious blow to my sense of accomplishment."

Of course, he wasn't being entirely selfless.

The truth was, teaching Yukino always rewarded him with unusually high-quality experience points.

Every single time.

"Your sense of accomplishment... Are you being silly again?" Yukino sighed, a touch of exasperation in her voice.

Even so, she didn't head to the study. Instead, she settled back into her seat with the cat nestled comfortably in her arms.

Closing the fridge door, Haru proposed, "How about this: you teach me how to cook, and I'll teach you photography. Fair trade, don't you think?"

"Is this about your so-called sense of accomplishment again?" Yukino shot him a disdainful look.

"I'm giving you the chance to teach me, which is a gift in itself. I'm handing you a sense of accomplishment on a silver platter."

"You're an idiot."

Yukino muttered the words softly, but her lips curved into a faint smile.

If Haru was willing to teach her, she wouldn't bother trying to extract knowledge from books.

After all, being alone together like this was her favorite way to spend time.

Since Haru had made the suggestion, Yukino abandoned any thought of lounging further. She gently placed the ginger cat on the sofa and joined him by the fridge. Opening it, she inspected the contents. "Looks like we don't need to shop for groceries. This will do."

"What's the lesson plan, Yukino Sensei?" Haru asked, his expression comically serious.

Yukino raised an eyebrow. "If you don't act stupid in front of me, I don't mind being called 'Sensei.' I might even enjoy it."

"And yet, I'm being perfectly serious here!"

"That's exactly why you're being stupid. You're only acting serious to hide it."

As the two bantered, Haru grabbed an apron and brought it over.

Just as Yukino reached out to take it, he said, "Let me help you."

Her body stiffened for a moment but quickly returned to normal.

When Haruka stood behind her, his breath brushing lightly against her neck, Yukino felt her cheeks flush slightly.

The sensation of the apron being tied around her waist pulled her thoughts back before they could wander further.

"All done," Haru said casually.

"Thank you," Yukino replied, keeping her tone steady. But inwardly, her thoughts were a swirl: He was so close just now… I could smell his shampoo… and feel the warmth of his breath.

Haru noticed her faint blush but resisted the urge to tease her with a remark like, "Oh, you're blushing." He knew that would undoubtedly earn him one of her signature death glares.

By the time they entered the kitchen, Yukino had already returned to her usual composed self, slipping effortlessly into teacher mode.

From slicing vegetables to seasoning, every movement she made was smooth and precise.

It was as if she could cook blindfolded.

Haru glanced at his own cooking level: [Cooking Lv. 3]. Then he watched Yukino, who looked like she could chop vegetables with her eyes closed.

A line from a certain movie popped into his head: "My power level is only 6,000… hers is at least 10,000."

In this situation, it translated more accurately as: "My level's only Lv. 3… Yukino's is easily Lv. 8 or higher."

"You're spacing out," Yukino noted, her sharp observation cutting through his thoughts.

"Sorry, it's just… you look really cute when you're focused on cooking," Haru admitted, both apologizing and slipping in a compliment.

"I know I'm cute," Yukino replied smoothly. "But that's not an excuse for losing focus."

"Give me two more minutes. I'll try to come up with a better one."

"…?"

The kitchen buzzed with activity as they worked side by side, while outside, a sudden downpour began.

Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and rain hammered against the windows. The heavy rain arrived out of nowhere—just moments ago, the sky had been clear.

Holding a spatula, Yukino glanced uneasily at the darkened sky.

Her expression had an oddly domestic air, like a young wife worrying about her husband being caught in the heavy rain.

Snapping out of his wandering thoughts, Haru asked, "What's wrong?"

"If the rain keeps up like this, I won't be able to go home," Yukino said softly.

"Then just stay here," Haru replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Yukino froze.

Haru remained very serious: "You've stayed over before. I'll tidy up the guest room for you."

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she stayed silent.

It was true—she had stayed over before.

That had been last year, when Haru's mother was still around. She'd come over to play with the cat and ended up running into his warm and welcoming mother, who had insisted she stay the night.

But this time was different.

There were no parents around.

Just the two of them.

"Well, I'll leave it to you, then," Yukino finally said.

She trusted Haru. Even in a situation like this—alone with a boy—she wasn't worried he'd try anything inappropriate.

Still, this would be her first time spending the night alone at a boy's house, and that realization stirred a faint sense of unease.

No matter how mature and composed she seemed, Yukino was still just a high school girl.

Silently, she felt relieved she'd already moved out of her family's home. Otherwise, staying over would've been far more complicated.

[Cooking in progress. Experience +63.]

[Cooking in progress. Experience +86.]

Watching his experience bar climb rapidly, Haru's mood soared.

Whenever he cooked on his own, the experience gain was pitiful—barely ten points.

But with Yukino, a "multitalented genius," assisting him, the gains were massive.

And later, when he'd teach her photography? Even more experience points!

This was what you called a win-win situation.

...Where he won twice.

Later, as Haru cleaned up the guest room and prepared fresh toiletries and a bathrobe for Yukino, she accepted the robe with a peculiar look.

I didn't even say I'd take a bath here.

Reading her expression, Haru quipped, "Knowing you, there's no way you'll skip a bath on a hot day like this."

Yukino didn't deny it, though her mood remained complicated as she returned to stroking the cat.

After dinner, the two sat in the living room, where Haru began teaching her photography.

With his [Photography Lv. 8], he was more than qualified to be her instructor.

[Teaching in progress. (Instruction) Experience +71.]

The rising experience values showed how efficient Yukino's learning process was.

By 8:30 PM, Yukino felt satisfied with her progress. Picking up the bathrobe, she glanced at Haru, who gestured toward the TV. "Go ahead. I'll just watch something while you're in there."

Nodding, Yukino headed for the bathroom.

As she undressed, she touched her face, feeling the lingering warmth.

It really is a little warm.

Standing before the mirror, she found herself spacing out.

Her upbringing had taught her to care for her body with a certain level of delicacy, and it showed in the reflection before her.

Snowy white skin, flawless and smooth like porcelain, framed her figure. Her long, slender legs, pressed together, left no visible gap. Every line was elegant, almost mesmerizing.

She recalled Haru's teasing remark from before: "Your legs are the ultimate weapon—perfect 'stockings model' material. Add some black tights, and you'd be absolutely dangerous."

At the time, she'd scolded him for being stupid.

But afterward, she'd secretly bought a pair of stockings to try on.

Pressing a hand lightly to her slim waist, she sighed, glancing upward.

Her chest, though perfectly proportionate, had never grown much.

This afternoon, she'd overheard a clubmate gossiping about a certain senior.

"Did you hear? The president got into it with that bullying senior, but luckily, Kasumigaoka-senpai backed him up. They even went to the principal's office together! Since when were they so close?"

The words echoed in her mind as Yukino closed her eyes, recalling the senior's figure.

Utaha Kasumigaoka.

Her figure was unreal.

Even more striking than Yukino's own sister.

And she wore black tights.

Yukino opened her eyes, her gaze sharp and wary.

She was a formidable rival.

A walking embodiment of "dangerous."

A true threat.