Hiiragi Shinoa made a funny face at Qiuyun Yuhe.
"Hmph, I am nothing like that. I just hate people who don't show any respect, unlike certain violent maniacs."
Qiuyun Yuhe had no counterargument and remained silent.
Hiiragi Shinoa wore a victorious expression and continued to press him.
"You still haven't answered my second question. What are you doing here?"
"Stroking a cat, as you can see."
Qiuyun Yuhe stared at the three-minute countdown on the light screen while absentmindedly scratching the kitten under its chin.
"And you?"
"Waiting for someone. My older sister asked me to help pass along a message," Hiiragi Shinoa said with a mysterious air.
"Let me tell you, my older sister is super amazing. She told me a super big secret~"
Hiiragi Shinoa's older sister? Wasn't that Hiiragi Mahiru?
How was she still alive when the apocalypse was almost here?
Well, it probably would be soon.
Seeing Qiuyun Yuhe deep in thought, Hiiragi Shinoa asked, "Aren't you curious about what the secret is?"
"Curiosity killed the cat. I'm not interested," Qiuyun Yuhe said indifferently.
It was just the end of the world anyway; was it really that hard to guess?
"Hmph, you'll regret not listening. If you call me big sis, I'll tell—"
"Ah! I found Feather-crane brother, who went to the Western Heavens to fetch the scriptures!"
Before Hiiragi Shinoa could finish, a child's voice interrupted her.
Hearing the familiar voice, Qiuyun Yuhe turned his head and saw Hyakuya Taichi pointing at him in surprise.
"Taichi?!"
Qiuyun Yuhe started to stand up to greet him, but Taichi turned and ran.
"I'm going to tell Mika-brother and Akane-sister!"
Without paying any more attention to Qiuyun Yuhe, Taichi vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.
"You know him?" Hiiragi Shinoa asked curiously.
"Yeah, a kid from a nearby orphanage. I used to hang out with them a lot."
"Huh! The Hyakuya Orphanage?"
Qiuyun Yuhe was somewhat surprised that Hiiragi Shinoa knew about the Hyakuya Orphanage.
"You know it?"
Hiiragi Shinoa didn't answer, merely nodding.
*My sister told me the kids in this orphanage were all test subjects. How could Little Snow Wolf be hanging out with them?*
"Hey, is that swaggering guy over there the person you're waiting for?"
Qiuyun Yuhe suddenly patted Hiiragi Shinoa's shoulder and pointed at a figure approaching in the distance.
Hiiragi Shinoa looked closely, though she had never met the person herself.
In the uniform of Shibuya First High School, with a fierce look in his eyes—that had to be him!
"Ah! That's him! Damn it, this is all your fault! I missed the best timing for my entrance. No time to talk, bye-bye, Little Snow Wolf!"
With that, Hiiragi Shinoa ran toward that figure.
*My fault? What kind of logic is that?*
Shaking his head inwardly and letting it go, Qiuyun Yuhe looked at the light screen.
Three...
Two...
One...
Done! Time to clock out!
Judging by his hairstyle and expression, the man Hiiragi Shinoa was waiting for must be Guren Ichinose. What were they going to talk about when they met?
He was so curious, but with his current strength, eavesdropping would definitely get him caught.
Whatever. *The Catastrophe at Sixteen* seemed to be about events before the apocalypse; he could just go back and read that.
Just as he was about to leave, a pair of warm little hands covered his eyes.
"Guess who~"
"Mika, even if you deliberately lower your voice, I still know it's you."
Qiuyun Yuhe pulled away the hands covering his eyes, turned around, and saw Hyakuya Akane looking at him with a mischievous smile.
She crossed her arms over her chest and made an X shape.
"Nope, wrong guess!"
Mika was also smiling from ear to ear, with the other children standing right behind them.
"Feather-crane brother guessed wrong! As punishment, you have to buy us candy!"
"Oh great, you guys are teaming up to prank me!"
Looking at everyone, Qiuyun Yuhe felt a warmth fill his heart.
Hyakuya Akane pouted in mock anger.
"Who told certain people not to come play with us for almost ten months? We thought you got sick or something."
At this, Qiuyun Yuhe could only manage a sheepish smile.
"Sorry, sorry, I've just been really busy lately."
Mika suddenly stepped forward and gave Qiuyun Yuhe a big hug.
"I'm so glad to see you again, Yuhe."
Qiuyun Yuhe was slightly stunned at first, then smiled and hugged Mika back.
"Thanks, me too."
Hyakuya Akane chimed in, "You're biased, Yuhe, you only hugged Mika."
The other children echoed her sentiment.
"Yeah, yeah! We want a hug from Feather-crane brother too."
Qiuyun Yuhe laughed helplessly.
They really were just a bunch of little kids.
"All right, then let me give each of you a hug full of love!"
Qiuyun Yuhe hugged everyone one by one.
Hyakuya Akane was the last.
"Come on, Akane, you aren't going to be shy, are you?"
Qiuyun Yuhe joked, opening his arms.
"I... I am not..."
Hyakuya Akane hugged Qiuyun Yuhe shyly, her little face as red as the sunset on the horizon.
"That new hairstyle really suits you, Akane."
Akane had indeed changed her hairstyle to twin tails, making her look all the more playful and innocent.
"Taichi said you were on a date with a girl, so why are you all by yourself? Quick, where did you hide her?"
Mika looked around and stared curiously at Qiuyun Yuhe.
Akane also snapped out of her joy and looked at Qiuyun Yuhe.
"It's not a date. We only met half an hour ago. Look, she's the one over there talking to that tall guy."
Speechless, Qiuyun Yuhe pointed in the direction of Hiiragi Shinoa.
Mika looked in the direction Qiuyun Yuhe was pointing.
"Huh? That tall guy looks so familiar. I feel like I've seen him before..."
"I remember! Yuhe, let's go over there quickly!"
"Huh? Why? They're talking, it wouldn't be polite for us to barge in since we don't know him."
Mika looked somewhat anxious.
"No, Mr. Saito said that tall guy might be a pervert, and that girl could be in danger."
Completely bewildered, Qiuyun Yuhe was dragged over by Mika.
Akane and the others followed close behind.
...
"Uhm~ So, do you really have to tell her all of that word for word?"
"Yes, absolutely."
"Uhm~ Adult romance is really hard to understand. Don't you think this is way too twisted?"
Hiiragi Shinoa stood with her arms crossed, tilting her head as she questioned the man before her.
Just then, a child's voice of about her own age rang out.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing to that girl?!"
At the sound, Guren Ichinose looked over to see a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy running in his direction.
The boy was pulling another silver-haired, purple-eyed boy who looked utterly resigned, followed by a whole gang of children.
"Uh... haha, hello there, what a coincidence."
Qiuyun Yuhe greeted Hiiragi Shinoa and Guren Ichinose.
"Yuhe, why are you greeting this fierce-looking guy? Mr. Saito said he's a pervert!"
"Pfft—"
Hiiragi Shinoa had been a bit unsure of what Qiuyun Yuhe and the others were up to, but upon hearing Mika's words, she couldn't hold back her laughter.
"Hey, kid, you have terrible manners!"
"Are you all right?"
Mika completely ignored Guren and asked Hiiragi Shinoa instead.
"No, this is a huge deal~ I almost got attacked by a tall guy with a twisted view on romance. It was so dangerous~"
"I knew it!"
Failing to catch the exaggeration in Hiiragi Shinoa's tone, Mika assumed a look of "I knew it all along."
Guren clutched his fists tightly in frustration.
"Whatever, just make sure you deliver that message."
It wasn't Hiiragi Shinoa who answered him, but Mika.
"Don't move, I'm calling the police!"
"So noisy, you brat!"
"If you dare hang around here again..."
"Shut up, brat, I'm leaving right now. Talk about a day of bad luck."
Guren turned and walked away, and Mika finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Say, Little Snow Wolf, are they all from the Hyakuya Orphanage?"
Hiiragi Shinoa walked up to Qiuyun Yuhe and looked at the children.
"That's right! Yuhe is our very best friend, the kind we grew up playing with. Who are you?"
Hyakuya Akane grabbed one of Qiuyun Yuhe's arms and hugged it tightly against her chest.
Hiiragi Shinoa clearly hadn't expected this and froze for a moment.
But she quickly recovered and put on a mischievous smile.
"Oh~ So you guys are childhood sweethearts? The kind who are going to make babies together when you grow up?"
"Eh?! N... No way! What... What are you saying?!"
Akane's face turned beet red and she stammered incoherently.
Deciding not to tease any further, Hiiragi Shinoa waved at Qiuyun Yuhe.
"Nice meeting you, Little Snow Wolf. Come visit me at the Hiiragi Family when you have time~ Bye-bye~"
With that, Hiiragi Shinoa skipped away.
After that, Qiuyun Yuhe and the kids played until dusk before heading home.
"Let's see what interesting things happen next."
After finishing dinner, Qiuyun Yuhe eagerly returned to his room and opened up *The Catastrophe at Sixteen*.
"So that's how it was!"
"Oh oh oh!"
"Interesting~"
At two in the morning, Qiuyun Yuhe closed the book and yawned.
"Haahh~~ Well, the next six months won't be entirely boring after all."