Reincarnation: Yukino Yukinoshita Is My Childhood Sweetheart

On the way to school the next morning, Yukino wore a stiff expression.

Every time Haru tried to strike up a conversation, she would glare at him in frustration, her eyes practically demanding: Where did you even learn those weird techniques?

Haru could only cough awkwardly in response.

Last night, after returning home, he had noticed how tense Yukino seemed, her emotions clearly weighed down by something on her mind. So, he suggested playing a game together to help her relax.

It worked. Her mood lightened considerably.

And with that, she had let her guard down.

So, when Haru dramatically asked, "Would you like a leg massage? I happen to be quite the expert."—she actually agreed.

It wasn't the first time, after all. Though she still felt a little self-conscious about the sensation of his hands on her legs, making her blush slightly, she managed to endure it.

But then… Haru accidentally discovered the hidden potential of Auto-Aim Lv2.

Apparently, the skill didn't just help him lock onto Megumi Kato—it also let him perfectly sense Yukino's emotional changes, guiding his hands to the exact pressure points that would bring her… well, pleasure.

Purely out of scientific curiosity, he decided to explore further.

Less than two minutes later, Yukino—her face flushed red—collapsed onto the sofa, completely limp.

It was as if he had flipped some kind of switch. The moment it happened, she lost all strength.

At the time, Haru had found her flustered and embarrassed expression utterly adorable.

And then… she noticed something amiss with his pants.

Blushing furiously, she shot him a sharp glare before fleeing to her room in a hurry—so hastily, in fact, that she didn't even stop to pet the cat.

Alone in the living room, Haru muttered to himself, "So you have megalophobia, huh?"

A long silence followed.

Then, out of nowhere, Yukino spoke coldly, her eyes suddenly sharp as if she had just uncovered some great truth.

"Did you secretly watch those movies that are restricted for your age?"

Haru couldn't help but chuckle. Me? Secretly watch? Please… I broke up with Fukada Sensei and Shinoda ages ago.

Since she couldn't get a straight answer, Yukino remained suspicious as they arrived at school.

That morning, Yui had arrived unusually early. The moment Haru stepped into the classroom, she beamed and waved at him.

He nodded in response before making his way to another classmate's desk. Handing over a small bag, he said, "Thanks, Furukawa."

"Huh? No need to thank me! We're all gamers, after all. Gotta help each other out. But wait—don't tell me you already got tired of those games?"

"Nah, I still enjoy them. In fact, I liked them so much that I bought my own copies."

"Oh? So, do you play anything else? We should chat about it sometime."

"Sounds good."

With that, the conversation ended, and Furukawa turned to his friends.

Haru sat down and flipped through his study notes, thinking that he might try aiming for the top ten in the next test just for fun.

That was when a voice interrupted him.

"Amamiya, help us settle this!"

Looking up, he saw two classmates—both of them wearing intense, righteous expressions, clearly unwilling to back down.

He was confused. Just a few minutes ago, they had been chatting and laughing together.

"What's going on?"

"Furukawa here is being absolutely ridiculous. Can you believe he actually said something like this?!"

"Huh?" Haru was puzzled.

"This guy had the nerve to claim that The Legend of Zelda is the greatest game of all time!"

"Hey, I stand by that! What's wrong with saying Zelda is number one?!"

"Don't be stupid! Persona 5 is obviously the best!"

Ah.

Now Haru understood.

He had seen this kind of thing before—two people getting into a heated argument over their favorite game, show, or character. And if there happened to be a neutral third party nearby, they'd drag them in as a judge.

It was a phenomenon that seemed to persist across all ages.

Drawing on his vast experience in such matters, Haru simply smiled and said,

"Well, personally, I prefer the Rance series."

Silence.

The two classmates froze.

Then, someone nearby snickered. "Oh, please. Everyone knows Kaleidoscope is the real king."

"Nah, Summer Rhapsody and Being a Maid in the Demon World are where it's at."

Just like that, the conversation derailed entirely.

The two stopped arguing.

Haru just watched with a smile, feeling sour in his heart, this is youth.

....

After school in the afternoon.

Something felt different about the karate club today.

Although Haru and the club captain were sparring as usual, the rest of the members sat quietly in an almost disciplined manner—none of the usual chatter or casual gossip.

Because today, they had a guest.

Kasumigaoka Utaha ignored the subtle glances from the male students, her gaze locked solely on Haru.

Their fight was intense—both dodging and attacking with precision.

But the difference was clear. The upperclassman was slowly being pushed to his limit, looking like he could be defeated at any moment. Meanwhile, Haru was merely pretending to struggle.

[Your (Fitness) skill has leveled up.]

[Fitness Lv9: (1357/100000)]

After yet another level-up, the gap between them widened even further.

Not to mention, in real combat, Auto-Aim practically functioned like an aimbot.

As long as he stayed focused, he could effortlessly land precise strikes on his opponent's weak points.

At this point, he had to deliberately hold back his strength and speed just to keep the match looking even.

During a break, his opponent wiped away sweat and asked, somewhat unsurely,

"You've gotten even stronger… No, wait. You've been holding back all along, haven't you? What kind of monsters are freshmen these days?"

Haru chuckled. "Our gap is actually very small. Just a little bit."

He even made a tiny gesture with his fingers.

The senior let out a helpless laugh. "There's no way it's just a little! Every time I fight you, I feel more and more powerless. It's like one of these days, I'm just going to lose completely… But I guess I should thank you. My combat experience has improved a lot because of you."

"A man should never say he's powerless."

"…You've got a point. Let's go another round later!"

Once practice ended, Haru left the karate club, only to find Utaha naturally falling into step beside him.

"So, this is how you usually spar with your upperclassmen?"

She saw that he was about to speak, so she handed him a bottle of water she had prepared beforehand, then picked up a towel.

Caught off guard, Haru could only accept it with a nod. "Yeah, this is how we usually train. If we have time in the evening, we'll even find a place to continue practicing."

"That dedicated?" Utaha raised an eyebrow in surprise. Her bright eyes widened slightly, creating an unexpectedly alluring contrast with her mature figure and still slightly youthful features.

"You're not planning to enter this year's karate tournament, are you?"

"Not really," Haru replied, taking a sip of water before pausing in thought.

With his Fitness skill already at such a high level, participating in a tournament might actually be a great way to gain more experience points.

Given his relationship with the karate club captain, joining as a sparring partner or temporary member wouldn't be a problem at all.

And over the past few days, he had already learned most of karate's core techniques—his enhanced physique made mastering them incredibly easy.

So, he changed his mind. "Now that you mention it… I think I am interested."

Utaha gave him a curious look. "But when I asked Yukinoshita-san earlier, she told me you mostly train in mixed martial arts and wrestling."

"I've actually practiced karate too."

"Oh? Which style?"

"You even know about karate styles?" Haru was genuinely surprised.

Utaha smiled playfully. "Don't underestimate my intelligence, Amamiya-kun~ I did my research on the four major styles—Shotokan, Wado-ryu, Goju-ryu, and Shito-ryu."

"Impressive."

"So, which one is yours?"

"I practice… Water Stream Rock Smashing."

"…Huh?"

....

Meanwhile, in the Photography Club

Yukino was in the middle of answering a question from Megumi Kato when Yui, sitting in the back, mumbled in confusion,

"Kasumigaoka-senpai isn't here today… Yukinoshita-san, do you know why?"

"She's in multiple clubs, so it's normal for her to be absent sometimes."

Yukino's tone was calm and composed.

But then, Megumi Kato casually remarked, "Senpai doesn't seem like the kind of person to be inconsiderate. If something really held her up, she probably would've told us in advance, don't you think?"

Yukino froze.

A realization struck her.

Kasumigaoka-senpai was at the karate club!

She shot up from her seat before abruptly stopping, turning to look at Megumi, who had casually exposed the truth.

Their eyes met.

Megumi's face remained unreadable, her tone as indifferent as ever.

"What's wrong, Yukinoshita-san?"

Yukino remained silent.

At this moment, she felt exactly like a background character in a wuxia drama, suddenly realizing just how vast the world truly was.

Have I underestimated the heroines of this World…?

She suddenly recalled a joke Haru had once made:

"Now this one is the real heavyweight."

And for the first time, she felt it was the perfect way to describe Megumi Kato.