All the Heroines are my Ex-girlfriends

Chapter 117: Kurokawa Akane

A stormy day.

Inside Yukima's house, it was completely unaffected.

Except for the fact that the daily sunlight streaming into the house had been greatly reduced.

In this mansion, nearly nothing had changed.

Still warm, still peaceful.

Kasumigaoka Utaha held the phone between her ear and shoulder, chatting with the guy on the other end of the line.

In front of her.

A pile of bright red fur and a pile of snow-white fur were tangled together.

"How's it going? Are they getting along?"

Yukima Azuma's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Surprisingly, they seem to be getting along well, licking each other back and forth. They kinda remind me of Lonely-kun."

Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled teasingly.

"Utaha-senpai, clearly, the one who likes licking back and forth isn't just me."

"I'm not saying it's not like me."

"Uwaa, sounds a bit ecchi~."

"Mm, I wonder when these two little ones will have kittens. Take a guess, do you think they'll be bright red, pure white, or mixed colors?"

On the other end of the line, Yukima Azuma seemed to fall into thought for a moment.

Then.

"Senpai, you know, if I remember correctly, Shiratamaru is also a female cat, right?"

(note: Wait, I always thought Shiratamaru was a male cat...)

Kasumigaoka Utaha touched Shiratamaru's hind leg with her finger.

While Shiratamaru was still confused, she lifted its hind leg.

"Oh, looks like you're right. If that's the case, this could be a bit tricky. Maybe I'll adjust Hogyokumaru's setup in the novel later?"

"Senpai, let's leave it to the cats to decide. As their owners, we shouldn't interfere too much."

Yukima Azuma's helpless voice made Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckle softly.

She gently placed Shiratamaru's hind leg back down.

Shiratamaru tilted its head, looking at one of its mistress.

After confirming that its mistress wasn't planning to play with it,

Its two-colored eyes turned back to the new member of the house.

In the aesthetics of cats, is bright red a beautiful color?

Anyway, judging by Shiratamaru's reaction,

It probably isn't a bad color after all.

The two cats played happily together.

Shiratamaru stuck out its small tongue, grooming Hogyokumaru's fur.

In the animal kingdom, this action signifies closeness within the family.

At the same time, it also establishes a hierarchy.

Despite being a "magical creature", Hogyokumaru willingly accepts being beneath Shiratamaru.

This was truly quite surprising.

"Ah, it's raining."

Yukima Azuma's voice suddenly came from the other end of the line.

Kasumigaoka Utaha stood up from her seated position.

"Lonely-kun, do you need me to come pick you up?"

"No, no, senpai, just stay at home and wait for me. With the weather today, an umbrella wouldn't help much anyway."

Yukima Azuma's voice was mixed with the sound of howling wind.

On a stormy day, umbrellas of average quality would be flipped upside down immediately, even breaking the frame.

Even high-quality umbrellas, though they may withstand this storm, would require a lot of effort from the person holding them.

Not to mention, the rain blows in from all directions—one umbrella can't possibly cover it all.

Therefore, Yukima Azuma refused Kasumigaoka's offer.

"Well then, you take care of yourself. Don't let anything happen on the way. I don't want to become a widow just yet."

Kasumigaoka Utaha teased while walking toward the window.

She looked out the window, watching the rain pouring heavily and the leaves being blown away by the fierce wind.

Although she was joking, her eyes were filled with concern.

"Don't worry, it's nothing major. I can handle it just fine."

Yukima Azuma's voice had a soothing effect.

"After the storm, I hope the sky clears up. If the clouds dissipate, we can go to Hokkaido to see the comet clearly."

"Hmm, but I heard that Hokkaido is hardly affected by the rainy season or storms. Not sure if that's true."

"Now that you mention it, senpai, do you have any suitable swimwear? We can buy it there, but maybe we should prepare ahead of time—"

Yukima Azuma's voice suddenly stopped.

Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was smiling, noticed that something seemed to have happened on the other end of the line.

"Utaha-senpai."

"Yes, Lonely-kun?"

"I just saw a 'patient' who's a bit special. I want to check on them. I might be a bit late."

"If you need me to help with anything, anytime, just say so, got it Lonely-kun?"

"Hehe, understood. I just hope by that time, senpai won't find me bothersome."

The two said their goodbyes and hung up.

....

A few minutes ago.

Today, Yukima Azuma had visited Laplace Corporation.

Some factories had gradually started mass-producing smart furniture products that met the required standards.

After this storm, the sales plan could be put into action.

On the way back from Laplace Corporation,

The streets were almost completely empty.

The sky was overcast,

The wind howled fiercely, sweeping the branches and leaves from the trees by the roadside, with fallen leaves scattered everywhere.

Japan is one of the areas heavily affected by storms.

After all, it is an island nation surrounded to the sea.

When a storm is about to make landfall, television stations continuously broadcast warnings.

They urge people to stay indoors and limit going out unless necessary.

Police officers will also patrol the streets, urging people to return home early.

"Ah, it's starting to rain."

Cold droplets of water landed on his cheek.

Yukima Azuma was talking to Utaha on the phone, mentioning that it was starting to rain.

The raindrops hit the ground with a patter,

And in the strong wind, they turned into gusts that slammed into her face.

Yukima Azuma instinctively picked up his pace.

The raindrops falling from above grew steadily larger.

It wouldn't be long before the light rain turned into a torrential downpour.

He reached an overpass.

He just needed to walk straight through,

And he would reach a street with covered sidewalks.

By walking down that street to the end, not far from there, was Yukima's house.

Although getting wet was inevitable,

It wouldn't be too disastrous.

As he thought this, continuing her conversation with Kasumigaoka Utaha over the phone, he calmly walked over the overpass.

The overpass was narrow, and Yukima Azuma passed by someone.

Suddenly, a sticky sensation appeared on his face.

He raised his hand and lightly wiped it with his index finger.

When he brought it up to his eyes for a closer look,

He saw a streak of red blood, which quickly washed off his fingertip in the pouring rain.

Even though the rain was pouring down heavily,

Yukima Azuma still caught a strong metallic scent of blood in the air.

He turned around to look.

In he line of sight,

The person he had passed earlier was standing still beside the overpass railing.

Normally, would anyone stop in the middle of a storm like this?

If they did, they would probably look up at the sky, letting the rain pour directly into their face, possibly with some kind of melancholic expression.

But this person was not like that.

She was intently staring out over the railing.

In the relentless rain, the road below the overpass had become hazy, as if covered in fog.

This scene would make anyone who saw it feel something was wrong.

But, as mentioned before in Chapter 78,

Yukima Azuma was not the type to jump into situations when something seemed off.

His actions were driven only by his own motivation.

An unrelated stranger, even if they died right in front of him,

He would feel no emotion.

Even if he could help, he wouldn't feel guilty for doing nothing.

So, Yukima Azuma was about to turn around and continue walking toward the covered street.

At that moment,

A sudden gust of wind blew away the stranger's hood.

Her short black hair and beautiful face were revealed when the hood fell.

Yukima Azuma felt she recognized her and immediately recalled who she was.

Kurokawa Akane.

A star on screen, a talented actress well-known in the industry.

Previously, Yukima Azuma and the three girls had watched a dating show where this girl participated.

That impression made Yukima Azuma linger for a second to look at her.

In this moment,

The girl stood before the overpass railing, her fingers gripping it.

On her cheek, a few cuts suddenly appeared, with droplets of blood splattering out.

On her arm, clear bruises could be seen.

Clearly, no one was around her.

But she seemed like she was being assaulted directly.

Could the strong wind today be enough to cut skin?

Certainly not. If the wind could cause that, it wouldn't have left a wound as if struck by a hard object.

Yukima Azuma finally understood where the sticky sensation had come from.

A term appeared in Yukima Azuma's mind.

Adolescence Syndrome.

It is a supernatural condition caused by emotional trauma.

It only occurs during adolescence, a time when one's emotions are most sensitive.

It is also a concept from Yukima Azuma's novel The Youth of a Lonely Boy Will Not Dream of a Passerby Heroine.

And now, this setting from the light novel in his memory seemed to be materializing right before his eyes.

"Utaha-senpai."

Yukima Azuma spoke into the phone.

He was slightly worried about the situation in front of him.

After all, there were quite a few girls going through puberty at his house.

Although Yukima Azuma was confident he could protect them from harm and prevent any psychological trauma,

It was still better to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

After summarizing a few points,

Yukima Azuma hung up the phone.

Through the relentless rain, he made his way toward the girl named Kurokawa Akane.

At this moment, Kurokawa Akane had climbed over the railing of the overpass.

With just a release of her grip, she would fall.

Would she die?

Falling onto the road below, in such a torrential downpour, the chances of death were very high.

After all, visibility was limited, and the waterlogged streets would make it difficult for the vehicles below to stop in time.

But Kurokawa Akane had lost all hope in the world.

So, she slowly loosened her grip.

At the moment when the sensation of falling was nearly upon her,

A powerful pull from behind reached her.

An arm wrapped around her waist.

Kurokawa Akane felt herself being yanked backward.

Then, she fell to the ground.

Since someone had acted as a cushion, she didn't feel any pain.

The sensation of being steady on the ground returned.

But at this moment,

Kurokawa Akane began to twist and struggle.

"No! No! Let me go!"

She screamed.

She resisted the approach of the stranger who had just saved her.

Like an injured cat, no longer trusting anyone.

Compared to death,

The person who reached out to save her was even more terrifying.

Her hands flailed wildly, and her legs kicked in confusion on the ground.

Her fingertips brushed against something.

Immediately after, a sticky sensation, different from the rain, fell from above.

Blood dripped onto her face, causing Kurokawa Akane's panicking brain to begin to recover a little of its function.

She stopped struggling, lifted her head to look up.

Above her, a strong arm was protecting her, preventing her from hitting anything while she was flailing.

At that moment, a cut on that arm was bleeding.

It was from when she had scratched it with her nails during her frantic movements.

Realizing this,

Kurokawa Akane's eyes widened, and her pupils contracted.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Desperate apologies spilled from her lips.

She tried to free herself from the arm that was protecting her.

She kneeled before the person she had hurt, even bowing her head to apologize without hesitation.

"I'm sorry! I truly apologize!"