At the Yukinoshita family estate, te at night...

  Normally, Yukino lived alone in a rented apartment away from her family home. Returning here was rare and hardly something she looked forward to.

  But tonight, she had received an ued message from her mother, askio e back immediately. Her first instinct was to refuse, she'd rather use the time to tiraining alone. Frankly, despite beied by blood, Yuki little affe for her mother. It recisely this strained retionship that had driveo live indepely.

  However, her mother had cimed that it was a matter of life ah for the family. With no other choice, Yukiurned home.

  As she ehe first person she ran into was her older sister, Haruno, who had just arrived as well.

  "Yukino!" Haruno called out, waving. She looked tired likely from handling the pany's affairs retly but her exhaustion faded the moment she saw her sister.

  "Hm," Yukino responded quietly. Among her family members, her sister was the only one she felt any real attat to.

  In the past, Yukino had plicated feelings towards Haruno: part admiration, part jealousy. She had always wao surpass her sister. Now, as a sorcerer, she had finally gained abilities that set her apart. But strangely, that sense of aplishment she once craved wasn't there anymore.

  Maybe we're just on different paths now, Yukino thought, shaking her head to dispel these thoughts.

  "What's on your mind?" Haruno asked, notig the ge in her sister's demeanor. She had always been sharp, and it seemed to her that Yukino was ag… different.

  "Nothing," Yukino replied, brushing it off. Her gaze shifted to the Yukinoshita family mansion. "Did… someone in the family pass away?"

  The mansion had been decorated in a way that suggested m, something Yukino hadn't expected.

  "I don't kher," Haruno replied with a frown. "I've been buried in work at the pany tely, practically living there." She sighed, her expression momentarily softening as she thought of Ryuji. "I haven't even had time to see Ryuji…"

  Yukino g her sister with sympathy. "You should take a break, sister," she said quietly. "If you ever need help with anything, you e to me."

  Haruno's eyes widened slightly. Yukino to help? In the past, such words would never have e from her sister. Yukino had always been stubbornly indepe.

  "It's not an illusion," Haruno mused, smiling. "You really do seem different, Yukino."

  "People grow up," Yukino replied, her voice steady and mature. Haruno had initially inteo tease her, but seeing the posed look on Yukino's face, she held back.

  "Growing up suits you, but I miss the Yukino who'd get flustered whenever I teased her," Haruno sighed. "What happeo the little sister who'd panic at my jokes?"

  Yukino allowed herself a small smile. "Maybe it's my turn to tease you now, sister."

  "Tsk! Go ahead and try, then!" Haruno challenged, grinning. No matter how much Yukino had ged, she was still her beloved little sister.

  The two walked side by side into the aral house, exging pyful words. Soon, they found their mother, Fumino Yukinoshita, kneeling in the hall, dressed in m attire.

  "What's going on?" Haruno asked, her voice serious as she and Yukino shared a wary look.

  Fumiheir eyes, her expression stoic. "As you see, your father has passed away."

  Both sisters froze, momentarily speechless. Of all the things they'd expected, this was not one of them. Their father had always been a quiet, almost invisible presen the household. He was a man who had married into the Yukinoshita family and, due to Fumino's dominant personality, often seemed more like a shadow than a head of the family. Yet, despite their ck of a close bond with him, the news of his death was still shog.

  "What… happened?" Yukino asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Fumino didn't respond immediately. Instead, she gestured to a maid, who soourned carrying a ptop. She pced it in front of the sisters, who exged a puzzled gnce before fog on the s.

  A surveilnce video began to py. In the video, they could see their father alone in one of the rooms, drinking. Then, out of the shadows, several twisted, hunched figures emerged—cursed spirits, their grotesque forms barely humanoid.

  Their father looked terrified, but being an ordinary man, he had no means of escape or defense. Within seds, the cursed spirits closed in on him, and the s went dark.

  "Those were cursed spirits…" Yukino whispered, horror spreading across her face.

  "I think you uand now why I called you both back," Fumino said, closing the ptop. "The existence of cursed spirits and sorcerers is being widely known. Some families have already started hiring sorcerers for prote."

  Haruno frowned, pieg together her mother's iions. "You want us to…?"

  "Yukino. Haruno," Fumino tinued, her voice cold and direct. "This is about the survival of our family. Haruno, I believe you know what you o do."

  Haruno ched her fists. She uood what her mother was implying, that she should use her retionship with Ryuji to secure his prote for the family.

  In the past, Haruno had always obeyed her mother's orders, but this time she hesitated. Her feelings for Ryuji were genuine, and she didn't want her retionship with him to bee tainted by her family's expectations.

  "I'm with Ryuji because I chose to be, not because of the family," Haruno said firmly.

  Fumino's expression darkened. "Do you uand what you're saying, Haruno?"

  "Yes, I do." Haruno's voice was unwavering as she looked her mother in the eyes, defiant for the first time. She wasn't willing to sacrifice her feelings for the sake of family obligations.

  Yukino, watg her sister stand up to their mother, felt a swell of admiration. She's amazing, she thought, allowing a small smile to form.

  But Fumino's attention soon shifted to her younger daughter. "Yukino, you've grown up, but now it's time for you to repay the Yukinoshita family. Times have ged, and we rength more than ever."

  In the past, Fumino had been tent to let Yukino live indepely, with pns t her bato the family fold once she graduated college. But the rise of cursed spirits had shaken her sense of security, and now, she wasn't willing to wait.

  Haruno immediately intervened. "Mother, Yukino is still young, and she o focus on school. If anyone has to take on this responsibility, it should be me."

  But before Haruno could tinue, Yukily pced a hand on her sister's arm, stopping her.

  "Yukino?" Haruno looked at her, ed.

  "Thank you, sister," Yukino said softly. "But her of us o make a sacrifice."

  Haruno's eyes widened. She'd noticed that Yukino seemed different tonight, but she hadn't realized just how much she had ged.

  Meanwhile, Fumino frowned, sensing a hint of rebellion. "Yukino, do you even know what you're saying?"

  "Yes, I do." Yukino's expression was calm but resolute. "her I nor Haruo give up anything for this family."

  "What do you mean?" Fumino demanded, anger simmerih her cool exterior.

  "If it es to that," Yukino said fidently, "we don't have to stay with the Yukinoshita family."

  The weight of her words hung heavily in the air. Haruno's surprise turned into a proud smile, her little sister was standing up for herself in a way she never had before.

  Before Fumino could respond, her expression shifted to one of horror. Her gaze was fixed on the shadows around the room, where twisted, hunched figures had begun to materialize.

  Yukino and Haruno turheir eyes widening as they reized the cursed spirits from the surveilnce video, the same spirits that had killed their father.

  "Haruno!" Fumino's voice was filled with panic as she turo her eldest daughter. "Call Ryuji! Now!"

  Haruno's heart sank. She hadn't anticipated something like this. "I… I left my pho the office. I rushed over so quickly, I didn't bring it with me!"

  The cursed spirits tio close in, their distorted forms casting long shadows across the floor.

  Yukino ched her fists, feeling the weight of her newfound power surge within her. It's time to put my training to the test.

  With a calm but determined look, she stepped forward, positioning herself between her family and the advang cursed spirits.

  "Yukino, no!" Haruno reached out, but Yukino shook her head.

  "It's okay, sister," Yukino said firmly, her eyes sharp and unwavering. "I'm not the same person I used to be."

  ***

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