Itsuka Yagami stood on the school rooftop, with Patricia, Izayu, and Ray by his side. The breeze ruffled their hair as they gazed at the cityscape.
"So, what do you think? Did I do something useful for you, Itsuka?" Patricia Mine asked, her voice hopeful.
Itsuka nodded. "I guess so."
Patricia smiled. "I'm glad. So, if you wouldn't mind, I want a favor from you."
"What is it?" Itsuka asked.
"If you wouldn't mind, please make me your bride. In exchange, I'll do anything you want, including giving you my virginity," Patricia proposed boldly.
Izayu Mine's eyes widened. "EH!? I CANNOT AGREE TO THIS FAVOR."
Ray Skyrish's expression turned fierce. "Me too. Sorry, Patricia, but stay away from Itsuka, or I'll rip you apart."
Patricia chuckled. "My, my, fine. I guess I shouldn't go too fast, am I right?" She giggled softly.
Itsuka considered her request. "You're right. You can't go too fast. But I'll count your favor as a bride candidate."
Patricia's smile widened. "My, my, so sweet."
Izayu looked bewildered. "Eh, bride candidate? What does that mean, Itsuka?"
Ray crossed her arms, her expression skeptical. "She's right, Itsuka. What do you mean by bride candidate?"
"You'll understand soon enough," Itsuka replied enigmatically.
Meanwhile, Itori sat by a tree, tears streaming down her face as she watched the sun go down. The school bell rang, signaling the start of the third period, but she remained still. Her thoughts were a chaotic mess of guilt and regret. She felt foolish for not realizing sooner that she had been brainwashed and now she had betrayed the only family she had left. She thought she was a burden to the Yagami family ever since she was born.
But then suddenly Itsuka appeared She tried to run, but Itsuka grabbed her arm, stopping her.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.
Itori sobbed. "I'm-I'm sorry, big brother."
"Do you regret what you have done?" Itsuka's voice was firm.
"Yes, big brother, I'm very sorry. I swear with all my heart that I'll never betray you again... ever," Itori promised, sobbing harder.
"Really?" Itsuka's tone was unreadable.
He pushed Itori to the ground and got on top of her. Her face turned red as she cried, looking away in discomfort.
"Now, now, why are you acting like this?" Itsuka asked.
"I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry," Itori repeated.
"Pathetic. Don't tell me you're becoming your old self again, thinking of yourself as a burden," Itsuka said sternly.
"I'm sorry, big brother, but you need to know that what you said is correct. I am a burden that needs fixing. That's what I want right now. I need to fix myself for you to trust me again. I know you must hate me right now, so please give me a second chance. A chance to make myself better. A chance to fix myself. So, big brother, please don't leave me. You're the only family I have. Please don't leave me. I'm sorry," Itori cried deeply, her voice filled with despair.
Itsuka's expression softened. He hugged her, letting her cry into his chest for comfort. "You know, the things that broke us are not meant to be fixed. There's nothing broken that needs to be fixed. But you need to understand that not everything can be true and not everything can be false. And This also applies to you."
Itori looked up, confused. "What are you talking about?"
Itsuka smirked. "I see, still as dumb as ever. I'll just say it in a more understandable way."
"Big brother, that's rude," Itori pouted.
"I know. What I mean is, I forgive you already. Forcing yourself to fix something might be the reason you break again. Being better shouldn't be forced because that can break you even more," Itsuka explained.
"Then what do you want me to do, big brother?" Itori asked, still sobbing.
"Just live," Itsuka replied simply.
"What?" Itori looked at him in confusion.
"Just continue living as my sister. You already know you've done something wrong, so don't make it even more troublesome. You've gained experience, and that's what it means to keep living. Wrongdoing means gaining experience, and you'll get better the next time you encounter it," Itsuka explained.
Itori giggled softly, wiping the tears from her face. She smiled at Itsuka, feeling a sense of relief and understanding.
They both laughed together as they sat by the tree.
"Feeling better now?" Itsuka asked.
"Yeah," Itori replied with a nod.
She then looked at Itsuka with a serious expression. "Hey, we're siblings, right?"
"Yeah, why?" Itsuka responded.
"Is it terrible for me to be in love with you?" Itori asked hesitantly.
Itsuka sighed. "Well, you see, this might be new to you, but you're adopted."
"Eh!?" Itori's eyes widened in shock.
"Did you really never wonder why your hair is red, even though Mom's hair is yellow and Father's is black?" Itsuka asked.
"I never knew..." Itori's voice trailed off.
"I see, still as dumb as ever," Itsuka teased.
Itori started punching Itsuka's chest playfully, sulking. "That's not nice!"
Itsuka laughed and hugged her. Itori blushed, glancing at Itsuka's smiling face.
"I guess that isn't bad news for you, is it? Because you, Itori, have romantic feelings for me, am I right?" Itsuka asked gently.
The next day Itsuka Yagami walked through the empty school hallway alongside Itori. As they reached a junction, they said their goodbyes, and Itsuka headed to his classroom. Entering late, he could feel the eyes of the students on him, whispering about his recent feats—how he had reclaimed his sister from Kairo, one of the school's strongest students, and managed to reveal his true identity.
The teacher was absent, sparing him from a scolding. Itsuka took his seat, only to be confronted by Kaname Mine.
"Exactly who are you?" Kaname demanded.
"Hm? Why do you ask?" Itsuka responded, feigning ignorance.
"How did you Bluetooth your microphone to the entire school's speaker system without getting caught? And how did you manage to make the royal guards trust you and capture your enemy for spreading false rumors and manipulating the school? Why am I just finding out about all this now?" Kaname's voice was filled with incredulity.
The entire class turned their attention to them. Itsuka stared at Kaname with cold, dead eyes. The class knew about the labyrinth incident and that Itsuka had been one of the victims. They respected him for his resilience and strength, having clawed his way back to the top and defeated Kairo using mind games.
"Do you hold grudges against more students?" Kaname asked.
"Probably," Itsuka replied nonchalantly.
"Yagami, there is no revenge as good as forgiveness," Kaname advised.
"Really? If you prick me, do I not bleed? If you tickle me, do I not laugh? If you poison me, do I not die? And now, if you wrong me, do I not seek revenge? The prophecy of my word is this: if you involve yourself in others' problems, the problems that have nothing to do with you will come after you, growing bigger as they do."
"We've never seen you this cold before. What exactly happened to you to make your actions so negative?" Kaname pressed.
"Most problems in this world arise from not minding one's own business," Itsuka retorted.
"Don't lecture me, you bastard! Answer my question!" Kaname shouted, anger flaring in her eyes.
"Tsk, clean your own problems first before you get to mine," Itsuka replied dismissively.
The classroom fell silent as Kaname's anger intensified, her aura turning red and intimidating. Suddenly, Anme and Chizume burst through the window, shattering the glass. They started fighting fiercely. Chizume was losing as Anme grabbed her and threw her towards Kaname. Both fell into an infinite portal summoned by Anme, who then duplicated herself ten times and summoned another portal, sending Kaname and Chizume crashing to the ground.
The two tried to attack Anme, but couldn't land a hit as portals appeared everywhere, launching stones and magic projectiles. after looking at Itsuka, she smiled at him before she jumped into her own portal , disappearing from the scene. The classroom was now empty, save for Itsuka, who remained seated, observing the chaos.
The school alarm blared, and Kaname and Chizume lay beaten on the ground, unable to land a hit on Anme. Itsuka grabbed his bag and left the scene, the latest rumor now being the battle between Kaname, Chizume, and Anme.
Later that afternoon, Itsuka sat alone on a park bench, reflecting on the day's events.
"I guess all schools are filled with simple-minded people. My school never found out the mastermind behind all this mess. I was the one in charge, the one who should be punished. When I saw Itori not remembering me, it led me to conclude that someone had brainwashed her. This extended to my previous classmates and the students at Golden High School, who had no clue about me. This suggested that the mastermind wasn't one person. The situation couldn't be fixed unless I used mind games or magic. I chose mind games since manipulation is more fun, with a little guilt and a lot of force. You have to lie and remind them of the trust they have in you, so they'll continue doing what you ask.
"I won Kaname's trust by revealing that the labyrinth incident was hidden by the royal family. This gave me another chance since I knew someone in the royal family deeply in love with me—Patricia Mine. I asked Izayu on a date to manipulate her and warned her about Patricia, though I later found out in our date, that she has her full loyalty towards me. Izayu should then befriend her along with Ray. They would then bump into Itori on purpose, causing a commotion and reminding her of my name, Itsuka Yagami. This reduced suspicion on me but still got Itori's real name—Itori Otora. Her fake brother was Kairo Otora.
"I instructed Izayu to gather information from Mitsuri Mine, who I suspected was behind the labyrinth incident for breaking a royal rule—casually talking to royalty members, including Patricia Mine. Back to the Itsuka and Kairo incident, I found out Mitsuri's specialty was fake memories. This confirmed she was the mastermind. I later met Kairo, who insulted me while giving away all the info I needed.
"I then put up a fake character at school for two weeks to gain everyone's trust, pretending to be a weakling. During this time, I realized I shouldn't involve myself in the demon king incident and let Izayu handle it. I waited for the perfect timing, which finally came. I sensed Itori with two other girls and Kairo. I pretended to be asleep to go to the infirmary without raising suspicion, knowing Kaname would follow me otherwise. Making her angry was the safest option.
"I talked to the nurse for about ten minutes before leaving. I then went to where the four were. I exposed Kairo's lies, and Patricia called the royal guards to arrest him. But my true intention was to kill him and send him to hell for eternity. After all that, I reclaimed Itori as my sister. On the way, I realized Anme, a friend of Itori's, was someone I knew and was planning something major. But this was the excuse I needed since I hacked the school speaker and caused a commotion, where I then gave the microphone to ray, for her to hold. A major problem was what I needed to cover it up.
"I won Itori back, then returned to my classroom where all eyes were on me. I made Kaname mad, knowing something was about to happen. The fight between Anme, Kaname, and Chizume ended the class. Anme had orchestrated the chaos to help me, knowing me before Itori."
Itsuka sat back, the sky above turning a deep orange as the sun began to set. He smiled slightly, satisfied with how everything had unfolded according to his plans.
"Now I should probably accomplish more of my goals than rest for now, as I will soon need to become Death Itself, As I already have his power.