This Villainess Shall Vow to Live Humbly and Frugally this Time Around

Nineteen: Through Different Eyes: Kirihara Seiji

A/N #1: I am very sorry for this very, very, very late chapter. I wasn't expecting the school to be so much more demanding of my time and my brain space than I ever anticipated. It demanded a lot of essays and frankly, writing those absolutely drained me. I accidentally lost some of my files for this story too and I got discouraged for a while but I'm back now and hopefully, I could update this story more frequently now. For the old readers, I'm sorry for the long wait, and for the new readers, I hope you enjoy this story and this chapter.

A/N #2: Kirihara calls the other three by nicknames: Mahiro - Hiro; Kyou - Kyou-chan; Toshirou - Shirou. The others sometimes refer to Kirihara as Sei-nii.

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Kirihara Seiji POV

"Oi, find the biggest park yet?"

"No. I'm not looking for that. I'm looking for the dirtiest one."

"Let's just have Sei-nii convince his grandfather to let them do both."

The three little devils (already dressed appropriately for a sleepover) I invited into my home were huddled closely together when I came back to my room. A lot happened today and being the very kind and good-natured person that I am, I took the responsibility of comforting the little ones in such a trying day but instead of kiddies looking for comfort, I am seeing this tender moment instead:

Hiro had opened my laptop, probably hacked open by my cute little cousin because I definitely put up a password (I feel quite proud. My little protege is growing well). Kyou-chan was beside Hiro peering closely on the laptop screen (To think Kyou-chan and Hiro would actually sit beside each other without the force of a greater being. Miracles do happen). Shirou was on a loveseat on his own, browsing something on his phone. Looking a bit more closely, my cousin was actually browsing the school's website on the grounds for expulsion section (My protege is also growing up to be so ruthless. Should I be worried?).

My hell spawns are plotting for some human suffering. How adorable.

"Having a meeting without me, my hell- little ones?"

"Just a year younger, Sei-nii." Kyou-chan chirped.

"And yet I tower over you all by an inch and more."

Three enraged, resentful glares were directed at me. Scary, scary~

Their heights had always been quite a sore spot to them.
Hehe~

That why I like poking fun at it so much.

"So? What is this all about, you three?"

"We found two parks. Tell your grandfather to have them clean up both, Sei-nii." Apparently, they have the right to dictate punishments now.

And...

Oi, oi, weren't you supposed to convince me not command me?

Oh well. I'm not terribly opposed to it anyway. I'll let it pass just this once.

"Alright, alright, cousin. But first tell me about that open page on your phone. What are you planning?"

Shirou avoided my gaze. He knew that I would spot it the second he lied to me. If he doesn't answer, that was as good as an admission more than anything.

"Planning?" It seemed that I garnered Hiro and Kyou-chan's interest.

Kyou-chan took Shirou's phone without asking and Hiro peeked.

"Expulsion?" Hiro had a frown on his face.

I could quite guess what my cousin was thinking. He was looking for anything, any reason, that he could get to expel those girls from the school. If he doesn't get one, then he might create the circumstances for one. It's rare to see my calm cousin react with this kind of resentment and vindictiveness. He usually doesn't bother with the punishment much as long as the grievance was addressed but this time...

"Cousin?"

"... I want them out." It was a really soft murmur that I could barely hear.

"Huh?" Kyou-chan and Hiro hadn't heard it but I did hear it. Quite clearly, in fact.

Them. It wasn't one single person but a them. That confirmed my guess. Miyamura, Kanzaki, the other five girls involved and Koshiro. He wanted them all out. I wouldn't have interfered if it was one person but it was eight girls and one was particularly troublesome. Koshiro was a Regalia of Prestige. Her family held power even if it wasn't as much as the power our families held.

Shirou was really furious this time and more than that, it also triggered Shirou's overprotective streak. He has a tendency to take care and guard what's precious to him fiercely and then not give a single damn about everything else. Haaaa...... It's really the quiet ones you have to look out for.

"Shirou, let me handle and decide everything for this one."

"No."

Stubborn. Really stubborn. I guess this proved just how much he regarded Akina now. He probably won't let anyone insult her again or even let anyone breathe wrong in her direction. How troublesome.

"I'm not asking, Shirou." I have to be firm or this guy won't definitely let it go. He flinched. "Just trust me on this one, ok? You know I'm not one to let things go easily when something tries to mess with you three, right?"

Shirou crossed his arms, eyes still stubborn. "Consider Kouzuki-san too."

Haaaa... The life of a father was really not easy. Was this what they call the 'rebellious phase'? "Ok, ok, I'll think of Akina-chan when I make my decisions too. Happy?"

"Name"

"Huh?"

"You're not allowed to call her by her first name."

So just because he's still not allowed to call her by her first name, he won't let me too even when it's just us? "Very petty, little cousin."

The hellion just pouted in response. Geez.

"The expulsion... Won't Kouzuki dislike something like that?" Hiro's actually considering another human being's feelings. Oh my. Another miracle.

"Yeah" Kyou-chan agreeing with Hiro? Miracles. Today was the day for miracles. "Kouzuki's kind so she won't like it if they get punished like that. She might feel guilty about it even if it's not really her fault."

Kyou-chan's actually making a good point. From what I've seen, Akina seemed to be someone who won't take things lying down but she wasn't one to take the initiative to destroy her opponents either. She won't do anything unless she's directly provoked and even then, she'd make threats first and not take any action against her opponent until the boundaries were trespassed again. I personally think she's being rather naïve but I guess that's why her brothers and these three were quite determined to protect her.

She used to be so merciless that she won't let a single offense, no matter how small, go unpunished.

But then she changed, lost her crush on Hiro and just... changed. The girl who acted so proper to the point that it made her seem cold and unfeeling, now had the gall to kiss her brothers in front of me (and others) in a spontaneous show of affection. She somehow won over Kyou-chan, whose wild instincts particularly made him sharper on perceiving people, in just a single day. She made Shirou so curious about her that he couldn't bear to take his eyes off her. And Hiro, that dense brick, he doesn't even realize that his raging crush on her has been revived like a freaking zombie. But then again, that guy didn't even realize he got a crush on her the first time.

What exactly did Akina do to these three?

I turned to look at Shirou. He looked properly admonished. I couldn't help but smirk. He probably never considered that Kouzuki might feel guilty. There just might be some improvement yet.

"I'll just ask Kouzuki now then. About the expulsion thing." Was it just me or did Kyou-chan actually said something idiotic?

Before I could respond, Kyou-chan had briefly stood off the couch and plucked his phone from his charger then promptly returned to his spot. He opened his phone-