Chapter 96: Maybe It's a Win
The three got out of the car.
Crossing the neatly trimmed garden, the group headed through the main gate, then walked along the corridor toward the living room.
Halfway there, Little Sakurai suddenly tugged on Chika's sleeve.
Secretary Fujiwara turned back to look at the boy, "What is it?"
"It's candy time."
"Candy? Sorry, I didn't bring any candy with me."
"...Then is it okay if I don't eat today? I don't like candy, but Doctor Onee-san said I must eat it every day." Little Sakurai said cheerfully.
Hearing that, Shinomiya Kaguya turned and glanced over, then said to Hayasaka Ai: "Haya… Herthaka, are there any desserts in the living room?"
She felt that Little Sakurai was just making an excuse to eat sweets.
"Of course there are." Hayasaka Ai nodded.
The Shinomiya household lacked nothing of the sort, and it was all high-end stuff.
...
A few minutes later.
In the reception room, everyone was casually chatting.
There was still some time before dinner.
Hayasaka Ai was making tea.
"Where will Zero One-kun sleep tonight?" Shinomiya Kaguya asked.
"Wanna sleep with us?" Chika tilted her head and asked.
But even if he was still a kid, he was still a boy.
"That probably wouldn't be appropriate."
Fujiwara Chika still wanted to chat with Shinomiya Kaguya about love-related topics.
If Little Sakurai was there, with his personality, it'd be impossible to have a conversation.
Sakurai Saki at ten years old was the kind of boy that even Fujiwara Chika felt had no idea how to read the room.
"Can Herthaka-kun sleep with the boy? They're both guys, so they'd probably have more in common." Chika suggested again.
Beside them, Hayasaka Ai, who was preparing tea, froze.
∘ ∘ ∘ (｡· v ·｡) ?
She hadn't expected to get roped into this.
Hayasaka Ai liked Sakurai Saki, but that didn't mean she'd extend that affection to his little brother. When it came to babysitting, Hayasaka Ai had no interest whatsoever—unless the child was her own.
She already felt it was exhausting enough looking after Shinomiya Kaguya.
If she had to deal with another kid today, she'd rather die!
But if Shinomiya Kaguya actually gave the order, it'd be hard to refuse—mainly because there was no reason to refuse. Who told her to be pretending to be Herthaka-kun right now?
Hayasaka: (つ╥﹏╥)つ watashi no baka...
"Ah! I forgot! We have another guy here, don't we?" Shinomiya Kaguya seemed to have a sudden realization.
Right! Just leave Little Sakurai to Hayasaka! Why didn't I think of that earlier?
Hayasaka Ai forced a smile as she stepped up to the two.
She then put down the teacup in her hand.
Her Ojou-sama really was too careless!
Then she looked at Little Sakurai.
'He really does look like Sakurai-chan.' She hadn't taken a close look earlier.
"Sakurai-kun, want to sleep with the big brother?" Hayasaka Ai said gently.
Maybe she could dig out a few secrets about Sakurai Saki from his younger brother—Hayasaka Ai thought so.
Little Sakurai had been burying his face in the pastries this whole time.
Hearing that, the boy looked up at Hayasaka Ai without saying anything.
A few seconds later.
Little Sakurai spaced out for a moment, then nodded.
————
That night, Shinomiya Kaguya and Fujiwara Chika were lying in bed chatting, both already changed into their pajamas.
"Do you think Zero One-kun is asleep now?" Shinomiya Kaguya asked curiously.
"Kids sleep really early, so he's probably asleep by now." Fujiwara Chika guessed.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
...
Meanwhile—
In Hayasaka Ai's room.
Ai-chan, still in her black short-haired male disguise and wearing boys' pajamas, let out a deep sigh.
"Kid, you're still not sleepy?"
It was already past ten.
Just a bit longer until it was time to report the situation to the Shinomiya main house.
Because there were no children's clothes, Little Sakurai had just been forced to change into a baggy pair of pajamas. Tilting his head, the boy said: "People with superpower don't need to sleep~"
Hayasaka Ai maintained her gentle smile as she softly asked, "Are you missing your big brother?"
A perfect topic shift!
(๑>•̀๑)
Just steer the conversation toward Sakurai Saki, then extract secrets from his little brother's mouth!
"Nope~" Little Sakurai grinned mischievously, "Because I am him. Who the hell would be so narcissistic as to miss themselves?"
The boy looked down at his left chest, then at his small hands.
He had finally figured out the reason why he couldn't use his superpower.
He hadn't planned to do anything bad, so what was there to be afraid of?
"Didn't eat candy today, so my thinking speed is a bit faster…"
"Huh?" Hayasaka Ai didn't understand.
"Nothing! Big brother, I wanna go outside and play!" Little Sakurai gave a sweet, innocent smile.
If it had been a normal girl who saw this, her maternal instincts would surely have kicked in.
But Hayasaka Ai—someone who had to babysit every single day (cough*Kaguya*cough)—had long since built up immunity to this kind of attack.
Kaguya: ( ｡ •̀ ⤙ •́ ｡ )
"It's already late." Hayasaka Ai rejected him without hesitation.
"Okay." Little Sakurai didn't insist either.
He felt that he still had plenty of time.
Half an hour later...
"Umm~" Little Sakurai rubbed his eyes.
He looked like he was getting sleepy.
Of course, he was just acting.
Seeing that, Hayasaka Ai turned off the ceiling light and switched to a small lamp that gave off a soft orange glow: "Go to sleep."
After saying that, she stepped into the small study next door to prepare her report for the Shinomiya main house.
A few minutes later, Little Sakurai quietly got up, then pressed his ear against the study door.
He heard the person inside seemingly talking to themselves. After listening for a moment, he carefully crept toward the door.
Just a bit further!
Then he could find a place no one would notice and use the superpower he had awakened today to fix his physical state...
Heh heh~
Sakurai Saki? That coward who's too scared to use his own superpower? Just let him die already!
To want a normal future for himself—Little Sakurai couldn't accept that.
Setting limits for oneself, clearly a beast, yet trying to pretend to be a sheep, or even a rabbit—Little Sakurai didn't want to become someone like that!
Back when he was eating cake in the living room, a vague piece of information about today's superpower had appeared in his mind.
That was also the reason he agreed to sleep in the same room as Hayasaka Ai.
[Today's Superpower: Time Controller
Effect: Can accelerate, rewind, pause, or fix time. This power only applies to individual objects or beings.
Side effect: When emotions fluctuate strongly, the mind and body will regress to a point in the past. The amount of regression depends on the intensity of the emotional fluctuation.]
A person with a superpower won't be killed by their power—but will be killed by their past self. As long as Little Sakurai fix his physical state, then when today ended and the power vanished, the side effect would also disappear. In that sense, Sakurai Saki would be "killed."
But calling it being killed wasn't exactly accurate, because in essence, Little Sakurai and Sakurai Saki were no different.
Just as Little Sakurai reached the door and was about to put his hand on the knob—
Hayasaka Ai heard the sound.
"Where are you going, little brother?"
"I wanna go to the toilet…" Little Sakurai answered shyly.
Hayasaka Ai suspected that the boy had overheard her conversation with the main house, so she immediately ended the report early.
"I'll take you…"
Little Sakurai looked up at her, feigning innocent curiosity: "Big brother, who were you talking to just now?"
"…With a bad person." Hayasaka Ai replied gently.
"Are you a bad person too?"
"Yeah, I'm a bad person." Hayasaka Ai felt extremely guilty for having reported Kaguya's movements.
"Then that's perfect!" Little Sakurai's expression suddenly changed.
The boy waved his hand, beckoning Hayasaka to come closer. Once she lowered her head, Little Sakurai leaned in and whispered into her ear:
"Then I don't have to feel guilty about killing you anymore~"
As he spoke, Little Sakurai reached out and placed his hand on Hayasaka Ai's head.
Immediately, a wave of superpower energy spread out. A sharp, splitting headache struck the boy, making him grit his teeth in pain.
'Goddammit! Even the powers that awaken each day are locked!?'
But reality wasn't quite what he thought.
To be exact, Sakurai Saki himself had sealed off all abilities related to the brain, head, and limbs. In this state, aside from the auto-regeneration ability, Little Sakurai couldn't use anything else. And since today's superpower was managed by the brain, the resulting backlash was a migraine.
Little Sakurai realized he couldn't kill anyone.
So he simply gave Hayasaka Ai's head a gentle pat.
"I just used my superpower to kill the evil part inside Big Bro. Now you're a good person!"
Upon hearing that, warmth bloomed in Hayasaka Ai's chest.
"Thank you." She also patted Little Sakurai on the head.
Little Sakurai ducked shyly and let out a giggle.
"No need to thank me~"
'Tch, the side effect will disappear tomorrow, huh…'
If I can't stop myself from growing up, then I'll just have to find a way to drive that guy insane!
Little Sakurai couldn't comprehend Sakurai Saki at all—nor did he want to.
Someone born with superpowers had no reason to repress themselves. Little Sakurai believed he was a superior being, someone who deserved the admiration of others. And yet, his future self had sealed away his own powers, wanted to live as a normal person, and even fell in love with one of those carbon-based lifeforms...
Little Sakurai found it utterly laughable.
'Later I'm gonna sleep cuddled up with that guy!'
He figured that if his future self wanted to live a normal life, he'd have to make damn sure that couldn't happen!
Little Sakurai: ( ≖‿ ≖ )
If he hugged that guy and slept beside him, and the side effect suddenly disappeared mid-sleep...
Muahahahaha~
(๑˃́ꇴ˂̀๑)
In his mind, a phrase he had just seen on a smartphone screen popped up — [social death!]
Two boys sleeping together in an embrace — I wonder what kind of face my future self would make when he wakes up?
Ahhh, the anticipation is killing me. Such a pity I won't be there to see it.
"Haa~" As he schemed his prank, Little Sakurai let out a long yawn.
(っ˕ -｡)ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁
Because he hadn't taken a "good-behavior candy" today — the kind used to suppress superpowers and reduce strain — he was genuinely feeling sleepy now, extremely sleepy in fact.
In that state, Little Sakurai stumbled forward and collapsed into Hayasaka Ai's arms.
[Social death plan: epic failure!]
He hadn't even gotten to start. If it had really worked, Sakurai Saki might've had to haul a whole train and flee Tokyo in the middle of the night.
Sleeping next to your romantic rival — just imagining it would have made Sakurai Saki's face turn pitch black. Fortunately, things hadn't gone that far.
"Getting sleepy, huh?"
Hearing the boy yawn, Ai-chan guessed he really was about to fall asleep. Just moments ago he had made up the excuse of needing the bathroom to try and sneak outside, but now he was yawning nonstop.
In the end, he was still just a kid~
Thinking back to the comforting words he had said earlier, Hayasaka Ai's expression softened considerably.
'Just like his big brother… also a kind person.'
❀.(*´◡`*)❀
Gently, Hayasaka Ai picked the boy up in a princess carry and laid him on the bed.
She glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly midnight.
After thinking for a moment, Ai-chan pulled a blanket from the nearby cabinet and lay down on the sofa beside the bed.
———
Middle of the night.
Past 3 AM.
Sakurai Saki slowly opened his eyes.
He reached out beside him—only to touch nothing…
Sakurai turned his head. In the faint glow of the room, he could clearly see "Herthaka's" face not far away. After a few seconds of blank staring, he looked up at the ceiling.
Ayo, wtf?
Why the hell am I sharing a room with my romantic rival? Where even is this place?
What happened yesterday?
The last thing he remembered was Hayasaka Ai confessing to him, and then… because of the overwhelming emotions when they kissed, his body had somehow regressed back to childhood.
Everything after that? Total blank.
"Guess I accepted her confession?"
Maybe he'd be able to tell next time he saw Ai-chan, just from her behavior.
As for texting her something like—[Yo Ai-chan, are we dating now or what?]
…No thanks. He'd rather not ask anything that dumb.
Sakurai Saki sat up, just about to get out of bed—
(* ´ ﹃｀*)!
"Herthaka" suddenly rolled over in his sleep, causing Sakurai to flinch.
After watching for a few seconds and confirming that "Herthaka" hadn't woken up, Sakurai quietly swung his legs over the side of the bed.
He silently slipped out, then found the uniform placed nearby.
Glancing back at "Herthaka" to make sure this man was still asleep, Sakurai Saki began undressing.
The adult-sized pajamas—which had previously looked oversized on Little Sakurai—now fit him perfectly. He carefully folded them and set them aside.
After finishing changing into his uniform, Sakurai Saki pulled a small notebook and pen from his pocket and scribbled down a few lines. Then, under the cover of darkness, he quietly left the Shinomiya estate.
There were definitely surveillance cameras around the estate, but no one had the time or interest to dig into a minor incident like this. Besides, with Sakurai's skills, avoiding the cameras was a trivial matter.
Compared to leaving behind suspicious traces, his sudden appearance here was the real mystery.
If possible, Sakurai Saki didn't want his identity exposed to normal people—it would be a pain in the ass to deal with the consequences.
'So Herthaka-kun is actually the Shinomiya family's butler, huh.'
Leaving the Shinomiya estate, Sakurai thought to himself.
————
The first day of Golden Week.
At 5 AM, as usual, Hayasaka Ai woke up—only to find that the little boy from the night before was nowhere to be seen.
She glanced around the room, and soon spotted a small handwritten note on the desk by the computer.
The handwriting was neat, but clearly childish—something only elementary school kids would write.
The message said that "big brother" had suddenly messaged him and came to pick him up.
"Why would Sakurai-chan come pick someone up in the middle of the night?"
As for how he even knew where the Shinomiya estate was, Hayasaka Ai didn't think much of it—it'd be easy enough to look.
"..."Hayasaka Ai removed her boyish wig, then got ready to take a bath.
After preparing the hot water, she sank into the tub and closed her eyes.
Even though the note Little Sakurai left was full of holes, no matter how she looked at it, Ai couldn't come up with a better explanation.
In fact, as Sakurai Saki's girlfriend, she even felt an obligation to help cover this up.
Her mind flashed back to last night—
"Could it be that Little Sakurai really is an Esper?"
Hayasaka Ai buried her face in the water, blowing bubbles.
Esper—no matter how she thought about it, it just seemed impossible.
She slapped her cheeks gently, trying to clear her head, then stretched her arms out in the bath.
"Next time, I've gotta ask Sakurai-chan~"
As his girlfriend!
Just thinking that made Ai-chan gently shake her head.
"Hehe, girlfriend~"
(∩˃ω˂∩)
Yep—still makes her ridiculously happy~!