Reborn in Type-Moon: Starting by Adopting Sakura - Chapter 10

The morning after the rain was bright and crisp, the kind of clear summer day that made everything feel possible.

Sakura woke up to find Yuu still sitting beside her bed, her fingers still wrapped around his hand. His eyes were closed, and she realized he must have stayed there the entire night.

Something warm spread through her chest. She pressed her cheek against his arm, breathing in the familiar scent of him.

"Onii-sama..." she whispered.

"You're awake."

"Ah... um..." She pulled back slightly, her cheeks going pink. He hadn't seen her being all clingy just now, had he? No, he'd just woken up too. Definitely. If she just stayed very still and didn't move, maybe he wouldn't notice how embarrassing she was being.

Downstairs, Manaka had breakfast ready as usual, though there was something off about her appearance. Her forehead was visibly swollen.

A simple healing spell could have taken care of it easily. But Manaka had left it alone on purpose. Sometimes you needed to wear your mistakes for a while, let them remind you not to be so careless. She wasn't going to let herself get caught off guard like that again.

"Manaka, what happened to your forehead?" Yuu asked.

"Oh—I'm sorry, Master. I know it looks awful..." Her voice got smaller, like she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't have.

Yuu walked over and gently touched the swollen spot. "Does it hurt?"

"What? Oh!" She looked startled. "No, no, I'm fine. I just walked into a wall last night like an idiot. It'll go away on its own..."

"You need to be more careful. A girl shouldn't just ignore injuries to her face. I'll get some medicine for it later."

"Yes, Master..."

Ding ding.

The wind chime by the door suddenly rang out.

Ordinary people couldn't even find this bookstore, let alone approach it—the bounded field around the building made sure of that. So whoever was visiting had to be from their world.

"Uncle Yuu! I'm here!"

The door flew open and Reiroukan Misaya bounced in, looking pleased with herself. She'd probably rushed over the moment she finished whatever punishment essay her tutors had assigned her this time.

Misaya had the kind of look that made people do double-takes—long black hair, striking red eyes, and a wardrobe that belonged on someone twice her age. Dark coat, black thigh-high boots, the whole sophisticated look down to the last detail. Around other people, she was all poise and princess-like grace. Even with her own father, she made sure to act like the perfect little lady.

But with Yuu? All that composure went right out the window. She was just a kid again.

She showed up at the bookstore every week like clockwork, so Yuu wasn't even remotely surprised to see her.

"Morning, Misaya. You haven't eaten yet, right?"

Yuu dropped his hand from Manaka's forehead and gave the girl a smile that was as bright as the clear morning outside.

Manaka, who'd been standing behind Yuu, shot Misaya a look that could have curdled milk. ‘Perfect. Just perfect timing. What a little pest.’

Misaya caught that glare and felt exactly the same way. ‘This stupid maid. I was here first! I met Uncle Yuu first, I asked to be his apprentice first, and now this girl just moves in and acts like she owns the place. It's completely unfair.’

She kicked off her shoes, leaving just her black stockings, and ran straight to Yuu. She wrapped her arms around his leg and looked up at him with wide eyes. "Uncle Yuu, I'm scared!"

"What's wrong? Someone giving you trouble? I'll sort them out."

"Mm-hmm." Misaya shot a deliberate glance toward Manaka. "Over there."

Yuu raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

“That lady… why is she growing a horn on her forehead? That’s so scary.” Misaya squeezed his leg tighter while staring directly at Manaka.

Manaka took a second to process what was happening, but when she caught that bratty stare, it clicked immediately.

Her eye twitched and she took a deep breath, fighting to keep her expression calm in front of Yuu. The effort was written all over her face.

Yuu gave Misaya's head a light tap. "Don't be such a smartass."

Misaya straightened up and crossed her arms, giving him an indignant look. "I'm not being a smartass! And I'm not a little kid!"

Manaka immediately switched into sweet older-sister mode, her voice taking on that gentle, nurturing tone that made Misaya want to gag. "Now, now, let's all be nice. Breakfast is ready."

‘There it is.’ Misaya's jaw clenched. ‘The perfect housewife act. Like she's the mature one here, graciously forgiving my 'childish' behavior.’ She made a quiet clicking sound with her tongue. She hated losing, especially to this one. The woman was annoyingly good at this game.

But Manaka wasn't done. She moved to Yuu's other side, just close enough that her sleeve brushed his arm as she gestured toward the dining table. "Master, you should eat while it's still warm. I made your favorite today."

Master's favorite. She might as well have planted a flag in the middle of the room. As if to say, 'I know what he likes. I take care of him. What do you do besides show up and complain?'

Misaya's eyes narrowed. Two could play at that game. She tugged on Yuu's sleeve with her smaller hand, looking up at him with an innocent smile. "Uncle Yuu, can I sit next to you? I haven't seen you in forever."

"Of course you can sit next to Uncle Yuu," Manaka said, her voice still syrupy sweet. "Though perhaps you should wash your hands first? You did just come in from outside."

Checkmate. The suggestion was perfectly reasonable, completely innocent, and absolutely infuriating. It positioned Manaka as the responsible adult looking out for proper hygiene while making Misaya look like a grubby child who needed to be reminded of basic manners.

Misaya's smile tightened at the corners. “You're so thoughtful, Miss Manaka. I can see why Uncle Yuu keeps you around for the housework.”

Housework. The word landed like a well-aimed dart. Not magical research, not intellectual companionship—just domestic labor. The kind of thing anyone could do.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees as both women smiled at each other with perfect, poisonous politeness.

The tension shattered as Sakura appeared at the top of the stairs, freshly cleaned and dressed for the day.

Misaya blinked. Another girl she didn't recognize.

That was actually part of why she'd rushed over this morning—she'd heard through the grapevine that the bookstore was getting a bit crowded lately.

"This is Sakura," Yuu said.

"Sakura?" Misaya looked her up and down with the kind of blunt assessment only kids could get away with. Some kind of distant cousin? A little sister maybe? There had to be some family connection—no way someone this young would just be hanging around otherwise.

The direct stare made Sakura duck behind Yuu, clearly uncomfortable with being sized up like that.

"Sakura, this is..."

"Reiroukan Misaya." The girl in the knee-high socks announced her name clearly and extended her hand—something silver flashed at her wrist as she offered it. "Nice to meet you. I hope we'll get along." She smiled with the kind of politeness that probably took years to perfect.

Sakura looked up at Yuu with those big, uncertain eyes. When he gave her an encouraging nod, she carefully took Misaya's hand. "H-Hello... nice to meet you too."