— — — — — — —
Afternoon
"So this is what Yukino saw before..."
Haruno hugged her chest tightly, staring intently at the hideous curse spirit before her.
As she approached the curse spirit, eerie whispers echoed in her ears.
"Can you see me? Can you see me?"
Haruno exhaled deeply, trying to calm her nerves.
Lynn, noticing her reaction, reassured her, "Relax, these types of curse spirits are weak."
"Got it!" Haruno nodded, wasting no time as she unleashed her magic toward the curse spirit.
Sizzle—
The curse spirit let out a shriek before vanishing into nothingness.
"Huh? Did I really just do that?"
"Without a doubt," Lynn confirmed with a nod.
Haruno beamed with joy, like a child receiving praise.
After eliminating a few more curse spirits, Lynn spoke up. "Try using your Shapeshifter Devil."
"Huh?" Haruno hesitated. "But my Shapeshifter Devil doesn't really have combat abilities, does it?"
"Not necessarily..."
Lynn, after trying it with Haruno yesterday, he had a feeling there was more to [Shapeshifter Devil] than they had previously discovered.
"I see!" Haruno nodded, taking a deep breath.
"Shapeshifter Devil!"
Buzz—
Her pupils flickered wildly as countless figures flashed before her eyes.
As long as she knew someone, she could transform into them.
And the deeper her understanding, the more perfect the Shapeshifting.
In the next moment, her mind locked onto a figure that stunned her.
It was...Lynn!
She and Lynn were already quite familiar with each other, right?
If that was the case, then why not try disguising herself as Lynn?
Haruno focused her mind, and her body suddenly became foggy.
Then—
"Nothing changed?"
Haruno frowned.
Did this mean she didn't know Lynn well enough yet?
Unacceptable!
Tonight, she had to get to know him even more deeply!
Since she couldn't disguise herself as Lynn, Haruno naturally switched targets.
She smirked. "Alright then, let's go with you, Yukino!"
Buzz—
The new Yukino modified her chest slightly and gasped, "So realistic!"
Lynn's lips twitched, barely holding back a laugh.
That's how you're confirming its accuracy?
Haruno nodded in satisfaction and focused her mind once more, adjusting her demeanor until her entire presence perfectly mimicked the real Yukino's.
Then, suddenly, an idea struck her.
"Lynn-sama, do you want me to stay in this form tonight?"
"Uh—"
"You really know how to play, huh..."
Haruno then steadied herself and carefully felt out the state of her Shapeshifting.
"Wait!!!!"
Haruno's eyes widened as she sensed something hidden deep within her.
She raised a delicate hand and focused her mind.
Whoosh—
In the next moment, delicate snowflakes formed in her palm.
Seeing this, Haruno froze in shock.
"Isn't this... Yukino's ability?!"
Lynn, watching closely, finally understood.
So that's what [Shapeshifter Devil] was really capable of?
Lynn pondered for a moment before speaking. "Try testing its power."
Hearing his request, Haruno nodded and swung her hand forward.
Whoosh—
A gust of icy snow surged ahead!
"So short..."
Watching the frost barely extend a meter forward, Haruno couldn't help but complain.
"Hmm..." Lynn rubbed his chin, analyzing the situation. "It could be because your own power level is too low, or maybe your understanding of the target isn't deep enough."
"Or..."
"It might be that abilities copied using [Shapeshifter Devil] are naturally weaker than the original."
Hearing Lynn's analysis, Haruno nodded eagerly.
She was an expert in business matters.
But when it came to things like this, Lynn was undeniably the professional.
His reasoning made a lot of sense.
That said...
"Even if the copied abilities aren't as strong as the original, I'm already super satisfied!"
With that, Haruno deactivated [Shapeshifter Devil].
Her face was lit up with excitement.
Originally, she thought it was just a simple transformation ability.
But now, realizing she could actually use the abilities of her disguised identity— That was completely beyond her expectations!
She could replicate other people's abilities.
"Your potential is impressive," Lynn praised.
Maybe once Haruno leveled up more, her replicated abilities would also grow stronger.
With special Devils, anything was possible!
After gaining some experience, Lynn took Haruno to explore the worlds of Apocalypse and Black Bullet, giving her a proper introduction to their situations.
That night, naturally, they stayed in another world.
Haruno even planned to use [Shapeshifter Devil] to give Lynn a variety of experiences.
Unfortunately, [Shapeshifter Devil] couldn't withstand intense impacts, and the experiment had to be abandoned halfway.
But this only strengthened Haruno's resolve to upgrade her ability.
With how useful [Shapeshifter Devil] was, she absolutely had to make it stronger!
— — —
Main World
Seeing that her sister and Lynn hadn't returned, Yukinoshita Yukino let out a sigh of relief, though she couldn't quite explain the feeling in her heart.
Tonight, she could finally sleep in her own bed again.
...
Bedroom
Yukino sniffed the strange scent lingering in the room, her eyes locking onto her bed with an expression of pure disbelief.
"This bed... can I even sleep in it anymore?"
She was conflicted.
In the end, with a red face, Yukino lay down on the bed.
"There aren't any spare sheets, so... I guess I have no choice."
She muttered softly.
— — —
A Few Days Later
After finishing her review of the Familia's situation and drafting a series of plans, Haruno finally returned to her home—the Yukinoshita household.
"How was it?"
Her mom, Yukinoshita Ruka asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
"It was amazing!"
Haruno's face turned red as she hugged herself, her voice dreamy. "Lynn-sama's arms are so strong... When he lifted my legs to put—"
"Stop!"
Ruka cut her off, her face dark. "I didn't ask for those kinds of details!"
"Eh?"
Haruno blinked in confusion. "Then what do you want to hear?"
"Your abilities! The Familia's status!"
Haruno smirked and then, in an instant, her appearance changed.
Before Ruka stood a perfect copy of herself.
"???"
Ruka was stunned.
"This is...?"
"Shapeshifter Devil—my ability," the other Rukasaid.
Ruka clicked her tongue. "Not just your appearance—even your voice and aura are identical...?"
Haruno smiled. "What do you think? Pretty good, right?"
Ruka nodded. "It suits you."
"I think so too. And also..."
Haruno suddenly acted shy. "Lynn-sama likes it a lot too..."
"That night, I used your form and—"
Ruka's hand trembled, nearly spilling her tea. Her face twisted in horror. "You ungrateful child, what the hell did you do?!"
"Haha!"
Haruno burst out laughing and canceled her disguise.
"Relax, relax, I was just messing with you..."
Hearing that, Ruka exhaled deeply, though her heart was still pounding from the shock.
"Of course..."
Haruno gave her a mischievous smile. "If Lynn-sama wanted it, I wouldn't refuse~"
Ruka froze on the spot.
Haruno leaned in close, whispering, "I hope you can understand me, Mother."
Ruka's face darkened as she clenched her teacup tightly, but in the end, she let out a silent sigh and awkwardly changed the topic. "Just tell me about the Familia already..."
Haruno's eyes flashed with mischief. She felt a small sense of satisfaction, a bit of revenge.
After all, her mother had been pressuring her for so long.
Haruno smiled sweetly. "Mother, I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about that."
Ruka's eyes widened in surprise.
Haruno continued in a slow, deliberate voice. "Because, after all, you're an outsider to the Familia."
Ruka opened her mouth, wanting to argue.
She had already tied the entire Yukinoshita family—including both her daughters—to this cause, and she was still considered an outsider?
Was her own daughter betraying her?
Ruka fell silent.
Haruno, seeing her reaction, didn't push further. After all, Ruka was still her mother.
"Don't worry, Mother," Haruno said as she stood up. "Even if I can't tell you the details, one thing is for sure—"
She turned to leave, her voice filled with confidence. "I will carry the name of Yukinoshita to heights you couldn't even dream of."
With that, Haruno left Chiba.
After she was gone, Ruka sat there in silence, her head lowered.
Finally, she let out a deep sigh. "Let them do as they please..."
But...
The Familia...
Ruka's eyes gleamed as she recalled something Haruno had said earlier.
Using her appearance...
"That ungrateful girl... How could she even say something like that?"
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she muttered under her breath.
Would that Lynn brat really like her... now that she was older?
— — —
Meanwhile
Miko, Yukino, and Yui were leveling up as usual when something unusual happened.
"Help!!"
A desperate cry echoed from Higurashi Shrine.
.
.
.