"Yo, long time no see, Yukinoshita."
Hiratsuka greeted Yukino, who was currently stepping down from a high-end black sedan.
"Long time no see, Hiratsuka-sensei." Yukino returned the greeting with an elegant posture that left no room for fault, "Or perhaps, I should call you my older sister's friend (unmarried)."
Hiratsuka's face twitched.
If this were an anime, a cross-shaped popping vein would definitely have bulged on her forehead by now.
"Listen to you," she said with a skin-deep smile, "It's as if she's already married."
"Oh? Isn't Hiratsuka-sensei also still a fresh, youthful person who has just entered her twenties?" Yukino asked in mock surprise.
"Tsk, is everyone from the Yukinoshita family so smooth-tongued?" Haruno's friend (unmarried), who was already fast approaching her thirties, grinned. "You were way more obedient when you first enrolled."
"Just a joke."
"Saying that kind of thing completely expressionless doesn't look like a joke at all!"
Faced with Hiratsuka's complaints, Yukino simply turned around, took a bottle of Japanese sake labeled "Yumei" (Dreamlike) out of the car, and handed the expensive-looking bottle to Hiratsuka: "This is a fine sake prized and hoarded by my older sister."
"Oh, oh! As expected of Yukino, you are much more sensible than your headache-inducing sister."
Hiratsuka's eyes lit up, and she happily took the bottle of sake.
In truth, her personal wealth was quite substantial; after all, an ordinary high school teacher could hardly afford to drive an Aston Martin.
It was just that for certain fine sakes that had reached the "collector's item" tier, they weren't easily acquired on money alone.
"...I really never expected to hear such a critique from someone else."
Even though she was the one gifting the alcohol, hearing Hiratsuka say this still made Yukino feel somewhat conflicted.
After all, whether in the eyes of her parents or the business partners of the Yukinoshita family, her older sister was clearly supposed to be far more "sensible" than she was.
"Come to think of it, two months ago you quite liked keeping a stiff face and acting all serious."
Hiratsuka also sighed with emotion, "You are much cuter now."
"Regarding the point that I am very cute, I am well aware of it even if Hiratsuka-sensei doesn't say it."
Yukino said expressionlessly.
After all, she was someone who could righteously declare "I am very cute" right to the face of someone she had only just met.
Furthermore, though it wasn't anything to be proud of, during her childhood and formative years, she had indeed encountered troubles because she was too cute—such as her personal belongings being stolen, or being disliked and isolated by girls her own age.
Be that as it may, she did possess a certain self-awareness that she had undergone some changes; at the very least, her self from two months ago would never have done something like bribing Hiratsuka with alcohol.
"You really are full of yourself. What are you, Narcissus (Note 1)?" Hiratsuka said in a tone carrying a faint hint of disdain.
"Rather than Narcissus, I would prefer to be Icarus."
"Do you like watermelons (Note 2)?"
"I simply yearn for freedom," the young girl said softly, her gaze drifting toward the distant mountain forests, "Even if it is destined to lead to destruction in the end."
"You're only a high school sophomore, so stop keeping words like 'destruction' and 'death' constantly on your lips. Can't you say words that match your age a bit better?!" Hiratsuka said helplessly, "Like 'Umei' (Dreams), or 'bonds', or things like that."
"Hiratsuka-sensei is truly young." Yukino wore a polite yet mockingly sharp smile, "I mean in terms of mindset."
"I would be a lot happier if you didn't append that last sentence," Hiratsuka's mouth twitched, but for the sake of the sake, she didn't lose her temper—had it been Hikigaya, he would have already eaten three punches by now, entering the execution phase of 'Your Star of Death flashes in the heavens': "Don't tell me you're about to say something like 'you'll understand when you reach my age', right?"
"Human beings don't have a way to grow backward," Yukino said casually.
"The way you say it makes it sound as if there are creatures that can grow backward." Hiratsuka narrowed her eyes.
"The immortal jellyfish can reverse its aging process by reverting from a medusa back into a polyp."
"Well, I am truly sorry for not being a simple organism like a jellyfish."
"Furthermore, among the earliest complex life-forms currently on record, there is the Dickinsonia from the Ediacaran period..."
"Let's leave the topic of jellyfish at that for now."
Hiratsuka let out a sigh first, then looked back at Yukino, "Jokes aside, you really do look a bit different compared to before. It seems working alongside that guy has had some effect. Has something changed in your state of mind?"
"The past me wanted to change a world that extends its malicious, venomous fangs toward exceptional people, in pursuit of an unchanging 'genuine article'..." Yukino paused for a moment here, "But after witnessing the complexity and unreasonable nature of reality, I realized that wanting to change a reality like this is unrealistic. The only correct path is to enrich and strengthen oneself."
"As expected of a Yukinoshita. I originally thought you were the type who wouldn't turn back until you hit a brick wall, but now it seems your brain is much more flexible than your stubborn sister's."
Hiratsuka, who had no idea what the young girl had actually gone through, simply assumed the girl had yielded to reality in the literal sense. She nodded approvingly. Remembering that the girl always seemed to be reading various books, she suddenly felt gratified: "I imagine your grades must have improved again over the summer break..."
Yukino: "Which is why I've been learning Jujitsu and Capoeira recently."
Hiratsuka: ?
Isn't your method of enriching yourself a bit strange?
"If I remember correctly, you've studied Aikido before, right, Yukinoshita? And your rank seemed to be pretty decent too."
Hiratsuka, who had also studied Aikido and knew exactly what Yukino's level was, found it difficult to understand: "Is there really any need to learn other martial arts?!"
"Human beings are far too fragile; one must make thorough and complete preparations." The young girl replied earnestly, "I do not want to regret not having learned a few more methods to protect myself when facing a dilemma."
'Just call the police already!' Hiratsuka complained inwardly.
However, reflecting on the fact that the girl's physical stamina was indeed quite poor, learning a few more martial arts might give her cardiovascular functions a bit of a workout, which didn't seem like a bad thing. So in the end, Hiratsuka didn't say much more, though her expression was somewhat complicated.
'From a purely physical standpoint, this child's future boyfriend won't ever be able to defy her, will he?'
☆
Note 1: Narcissus is the youth in Greek mythology who turned into a daffodil flower because of his own narcissism.
Note 2: What Yukino was actually referring to here was the figure in Greek mythology who used wax to make wings and ultimately plunged to his death because his wings melted from being too close to the sun. However, Hiratsuka likely felt that following that topic would be a bit heavy, so she deliberately treated it as the female lead from the anime Heaven's Lost Property (who loves watermelons)—though the latter isn't exactly lighthearted either.