"So fast already?" The now nearly forty-year-old Hiratsuka Shizuka, who, much like the 'Flat-nee-san' known for criticizing countless crossover's protagonists, could be said to be undefeated in fighting across crossovers, widened her eyes in surprise upon seeing Lott and 'Yukinoshita Yukino' standing together in the video.
She no longer worked at Shuchi'in Academy but had returned to her family business as the heir.
Before she turned 35, Hiratsuka Shizuka's parents had taken a hands-off approach. But after passing the 35-year mark, they couldn't take it anymore.
If you could find a man to carry on our legacy, fine, we wouldn't say anything. But pushing forty, and the 'first layer' is still intact? Damn it, get back here and inherit the family business now.
In the Hiratsuka Family's office building, Hiratsuka Shizuka, who had shed her iconic white lab coat for a neat black suit, stood with her mouth agape.
When she first saw Rumii, who bore an 80% resemblance to Yukinoshita Yukino, in the video before, she was quite shocked.
Now, seeing Lott actually standing with Yukinoshita Yukino was even more startling.
But the next second, Hiratsuka Shizuka also realized something, 'Wait, no, no, no! Why is this Yukino wearing Shuchi'in's high school uniform?'
Unlike Lott, who hadn't seen Yukinoshita Yukino for years, the Hiratsuka and Yukinoshita Families had business dealings.
While Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't meet the Yukinoshita Sisters daily, she saw them a few times a month without issue.
She knew very well what Yukinoshita Yukino looked like now. Although her chest still lacked significant curves, she had long shed the naivety of her high school days, and her aura was completely different from the girl in the light screen!
'And also...' Hiratsuka Shizuka glanced a couple more times at a certain area of Tsurumi Rumi.
While it didn't have the earth-shattering 'power level' of a Kasumigaoka Utaha or a Busujima Saeko from back in the day, capable of bursting the school uniform, it still made Shuchi'in's slimming black uniform bulge slightly.
Forget the Yukinoshita Yukino from high school, even the current university version of Yukinoshita Yukino didn't have that level.
"Hey, help me check this girl's information." Hiratsuka Shizuka picked up the landline on her desk and called the data department.
Although not comparable to the top conglomerates, the Hiratsuka Family still had such connections.
Similar events occurred in other major families. Basic information about Tsurumi Rumi was soon delivered to the desks of leaders like Prime Minister Fujiwara, Nakiri Senzaemon, Sawamura Sayuri, and Yuuki Shouzou. This naturally included... Mrs. Yukinoshita!
When she saw the information sheet bearing a face practically stamped from the same mold as her second daughter, but with the name field reading 'Tsurumi Rumi', Mrs. Yukinoshita was utterly stunned.
And after seeing the lines [Age: 17] and [Measurements: 82/60/83] on the form, Hiratsuka Shizuka concluded that this girl definitely had no relation to the younger Yukinoshita Sister.
Time seemed to freeze. The previously lively chat group, buzzing with discussions about Terry Bogard's adopted son Rock's outrageous statement, instantly fell silent.
It had to be understood that ever since Rumii first appeared in the exposed video years ago, everyone… whether casual observers, the Yukinoshita Family, or even people on Lott's side, had (tacitly assumed that either Yukinoshita Yukino or Yukinoshita Haruno would eventually become the mother of a Saiyan.
But with Tsurumi Rumi's appearance... Even Yukinoshita Yukino herself, currently preparing for her graduation ceremony, was dumbfounded.
'There was someone who looked so much like me!?'
At that moment, Aerith turned off the live stream and hurried over to pull the kids apart. But it was already too late to stop the gossip storm.
Finally, someone broke the silence in the chat.
[Nino: @Yukinoshita Yukino @Yukinoshita Haruno, Hahaha! Come one, come all, look at the clowns!]
The strong-willed Nino had never gotten along with these two sisters. Now that such thing happen, it was the perfect time to kick them while they were down. After all, Yukinoshita Haruno had always had the upper hand when arguing with her before, precisely because she held the 'Rumii' trump card.
But now, the tables had turned completely. The real mother isn't you, and you were still using her as a weapon?
In less than a few hours, the focus of the entire universe shifted from Cloud to the Yukinoshita Family.
No matter how embarrassing Cloud was, how much heat did he really have? News related to Lott was the real hot topic.
Even Yukinoshita Haruno, who had grown up in the cruel business world, felt stifled and unable to speak after Nino's direct verbal assault.
Although Nino was a spoiled, willful princess raised in an ivory tower, if they truly went head-to-head in an argument, Yukinoshita Haruno could verbally destroy her.
But after Nino's relationship with Lott became public, Yukinoshita Haruno didn't have the guts anymore. The appearance of Rumii had given her the trump card to stand up to Nino. But now, suddenly, they were saying that card didn't belong to their family. Damn it, their dignities were thoroughly on the mud now.
But to be fair, Yukinoshita Haruno no longer had time to think about how to retort Nino.
Calls from various business partners came one after another, stating they wanted to cancel their business relationships with the Yukinoshita Family.
In recent years, the Yukinoshita Family's status had risen steadily. While not enough to threaten giants like the Fujiwara or Nakiri Families, they could still compete with families like the Yuuki or Kashiwazaki.
The reason was that everyone thought one of the two Yukinoshita Sisters would become a 'Mrs. Lott' and wanted to use that connection to get close to Lott.
But now, looking at it... Well, it turns out they were wrong all along.
The mother of Rumii isn't from your family. So why should I give you this project? I might as well go to the Yuuki Family. At least Yuuki Asuna is Busujima Saeko's disciple, that connection is stronger than yours.
Mrs. Yukinoshita and Yukinoshita Haruno couldn't keep up with the incoming calls.
But halfway through the chaos, the Sis-Con Yukinoshita Haruno remembered a serious problem… how was Yukinoshita Yukino doing over there!?
One had to admit, people with Sis-Con or Bro-Con attributes often had accurate intuition. At that moment, the university-level Flat-nee-san was facing a situation comparable to, if not worse than, Cloud's on the Planet Fantasy.
Because Cloud, ever since his defeat by Gintoki Sakata years ago and his return from the Grand Kai's planet, had been despised by everyone.
But Yukinoshita Yukino, after being mistaken for Rumii mother, was practically fawned over wherever she went. Even leading conglomerates like the Shinomiya Family had to show her some respect.
Describing it as the 'pinnacle of her life' was no exaggeration.
But now, with Tsurumi Rumi's appearance, Yukinoshita Yukino's university classmates realized, "What the hell… so we've been fawning over the wrong person all these years. Damn it, wasted effort!"
"How ugly," Yukinoshita Yukino muttered to herself, sitting alone in the first row of the classroom.
Although her personality had become more polished compared to her high school days, this time she was truly disgusted, having personally experienced the ugliness of human nature.
"Yukino-chan..." Her former fellow Service Club's member, Yuigahama Yui, wanted to go comfort her, but was pulled away midway by Miura Yumiko. After all, Yukinoshita Yukino was now being targeted by the entire school.
If Yuigahama Yui intervened, not only would it be no help, but she would also become a target of exclusion. And let's not forget, Yuigahama Yui came from a commoner background.
Yukinoshita Yukino could at worst drop out and still be supported by her family, but Yuigahama Yui didn't have that option.
However, Yukinoshita Yukino really didn't need to attend class anymore. She received a message from her mother:
[Don't go to class. Come back. I've arranged to meet Lott for you. You two need to cultivate some feelings.]
Originally, Mrs. Yukinoshita wanted to use her daughter's account to chat more with Lott, wait until their feelings heated up to the maximum, arrange a meeting, and then they could go to a hotel the same night. But she didn't expect a C-cup version of Yukinoshita Yukino to appear halfway. Mrs. Yukinoshita felt she couldn't wait any longer. They need to strike now!
Although Tsurumi Rumi's appearance made everyone think she was the real mother of Rumii, Mrs. Yukinoshita believed there was still a chance to turn things around.
After all, they can't exactly time-travel to grab Rumii for a paternity test, right? How can you be so sure it's not their Yukinoshita Family's seed?