Uneasy daily life

The Killer Queen floated and quickly created distance, her blood-red cat eyes fixed on the old man who had flipped and leaped up with such agility that even the thought of handling a chamber pot would make her hands tremble. Her gaze swept rapidly left and right—the old plain covered with fallen leaves and dust, the dilapidated houses, the crumbling recliner…

"……substitute?"

Kira Yoshikage's voice emerged from Killer Queen. He clearly felt that in that instant, his fist collided violently with another fist, failing to hit its target: "Are you Xiao Yun, or Bai Ying?"

"I am Xiao Yun, and also Bai Ying."

The old man slowly straightened his hunched and thin body, his cloudy eyes gradually clearing. He raised his hand to stroke his sparse scalp, his voice hoarse: "Being able to try to reverse time between two worlds, the Killer Queen truly has unlimited potential."

"Was the time travel across worlds too costly? The third bomb didn't even work completely..."

Killer Queen carefully observed the old man's condition, then raised her right hand as if to press a button: "It's alright, as long as I get rid of you, all the problems you caused will disappear—Link Fate, right? Your Stand."

The old man moved his arms nonchalantly and even hopped around a couple of times in place, his movements remarkably agile and his body remarkably stable.

Is this a change brought about by the awakening of the substitute? At this time, the white figure should be too old to walk.

The Killer Queen observed calmly, not launching an attack immediately.

The aged man and his dark stand-in stared at each other intently through the cold air.

……

Yukino Yukinoshita was standing behind the Killer Queen, her body shimmering with a faint white light. She tried to raise her fist as if to hit someone, and tentatively looked at the white figure, but the white figure seemed not to see her and did not react at all.

Try hitting this pitch-black assassin queen?

Yukino Yukinoshita cautiously swung her fist at Killer Queen, but her hand brushed past her like a phantom, without any interactive sensation.

"Is it because it's a dream that it seems so incredible? Come to think of it, what I saw and heard before, the sounds weren't Japanese, and the names and the environment I lived in didn't seem to be Japanese, but I could still understand the meaning... and the time."

"Even though I've witnessed someone's life, aging, illness, and death over decades, I can maintain a normal and stable mental state... This feeling is also similar to dreaming; no matter what you dream about, it doesn't actually affect the person sleeping..."

There are so many unbelievable things... Could it be that my lost memories...?

We should deal with the things we don't know now, and focus on solving the immediate problems.

"...How exactly can we help? What kind of help can we offer? Doesn't this guy even give us a heads-up?"

Yukino Yukinoshita frowned slightly, trying to communicate with the old man who should now be a white shadow through eye contact, but to no avail.

"That's the Queen of Assassins?"

"What's going on?!"

"Is this the scene of a battle between superpowered individuals? Where's the explanation of their abilities?"

"Even Yukino-chan is glowing."

Suddenly, other voices came from behind. Yukino Yukinoshita turned around and looked at the four of them. It wasn't unexpected—since that guy was shouting that everything was his girlfriend and he had to pay extra, it would be strange if his sisters weren't there: "You're all here? Does anyone know what to do now?"

Everyone else turned to look at Angelina, who was scrutinizing the Killer Queen.

Angelina hesitated for a moment, then looked at the old man still confronting the Killer Queen in the arena: "Uh... I don't know either, maybe I should turn into light?"

"Light?" Feng Bin and Hua clenched their fists, looking at the strange golden glow on their bodies. "Why are we glowing?"

Angelina was surrounded by a faint, pale glow, while Toyohama and Hana's glow was golden, Yukino Yukinoshita's glow was snow-white, Yukino Yukinoshita's glow was colorless, more like a distorted state caused by the high temperature twisting the air, making it look like a mosaic, and Sakurajima Mai's glow was pale pink.

The changes are clearly caused by the stand-in, and the stand-in belongs to Bai Ying...

Yukinoshita Haruno makes a suggestion: "If we stand in a circle holding hands and shout 'love and courage' or something, we can wake up from our dreams, unite to defeat the Great Demon King, and save the world—that's how it works?"

“I do have courage, but love?” Yukino Yukinoshita shook her head slightly. “I do have pity, sympathy, care, and empathy for certain things and feelings. Are you sure he’s my boyfriend, sister?”

"Well, maybe?" Yukinoshita Haruno smiled and looked at the others. "What about you guys?"

Feng Bin and Hua scratched their heads: "He seems like a guy who's good at making people angry? I mean Bai Ying, not Xiao Yun."

Mai Sakurajima pondered for a moment and said, "Well... I'm sensitive and can understand other people's thoughts, so I'm not particularly surprised that I like him, but I still can't imagine what it would be like to be a couple."

"You still don't believe me..." Angelina was a little angry. If the occasion weren't so inappropriate, she would have taken out those documents and let the others say a few more words that could serve as a boomerang. "Don't you think that by looking at Xiao Yun, you can understand what kind of person Bai Ying is? You can remember the things you've forgotten?"

Yukino Yukinoshita asked calmly, "If you know nothing about it and just accept it as a matter of course because someone tells you 'you are so-and-so's girlfriend and you really like him'—I think that would be strange, wouldn't it?"

Angelina paused, thinking, "That makes sense."

“An’an, you may have forgotten, but it really is true,” Yukino Yukinoshita said earnestly. “You were actually a puppy I raised, but you suddenly turned into a human, so you forgot your memories as a dog…”

Angelina gave a deadpan look: "I'll hit you... Huh? Then why did you guys come in?"

“Hmm…” Sakurajima Mai hesitated, “I guess it is? After all, I disappeared too.”

"Feel?"

"Pretty much, where's Yukino-chan?"

"...There is not much reason needed to lend a helping hand."

Yukino Yukinoshita rubbed her temples, trying to steer the conversation back on track: "Anyway, what can we do to help? Is there anything else we can do..."

"You're not from that side, dreaming is already the limit, trying to actually run over there is just courting death, isn't it?"

A slow, deliberate voice emerged, and the group instinctively looked down at the ground.

A woman dressed in a peculiar blue and white Taoist robe lay on the ground, her blue hair spread out like a pool of water, serving as a blanket, while she shook a gourd in her hand, making a water-like sound.

It has a pair of horns on its head, so it is clearly not an ordinary person.

Sakurajima Mai vaguely remembered her: "You're... the older sister of Director Nian? Rei?"

"Why ask about illusions and fleeting beauty? It's just that our mortal hearts illuminate the universe." Ling yawned, looking quite drunk. "I never imagined that a nap could transport me to another world, providing free labor! You've all had your share of dreams, haven't you?"

Falling asleep?

Yukino Yukinoshita was taken aback: "Shiro-kun's puberty syndrome means we have to see his past life... Is entering dreams your ability, Miss?"

Although entering the dream and talking to Xiao Yun seemed unable to change the predetermined past, it appeared to be of little use.

“That’s right. Only by giving you a sense of participation can you truly immerse yourself in it. If you don’t immerse yourself, how can you reflect on yourself and fill the blank space with color?” Ling turned over, sat cross-legged, and looked at the scene of the Killer Queen confronting the old man. He said with great interest, “The future and the past, me and another me, there are so many more things in the world than in dreams.”

I only half understand it, but that's not important.

Yukino Yukinoshita cuts straight to the point: "What do we need to do?"

Ling smiled and said, "You have already done what you were supposed to do. The rest is up to him."

"Looking at Mr. Bai's past life once is all it takes to finish?" Sakurajima Mai asked, quite puzzled. "I..."

“If time were reversed, the past would be erased, and memories would naturally disappear. But even the person who reversed time couldn’t do it perfectly,” Ling Youyou said. “Experiences leave traces, and erasing traces also involves erasing them… The fact that you were willing to come here to take the risk and watch someone’s ordinary life has already proven a lot. You just don’t remember what you did.”

Several people looked at each other.

Kazuka Toyohama aptly retorted: "Hey, can you stop being a riddle reader?"

Ling scratched his head and gestured towards the two sides that were moving: "You'll understand when you see it."

You can understand it just by looking at it?

The five people were somewhat puzzled, but they did understand.

The pale white light surrounding Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly shone on the old man, and across the distance between dream and reality, the pale white light on both of them brightened simultaneously.

The old man was shouting in a strong and powerful voice.

"The evil hand-fetish serial killer Kira Yoshikage, today is your end! Let me show you my Stand—First! I come, I see, I define! Second! Uphold the courage of the right path, and forge a true future—Link Fate: Yukino Yukinoshita!"

A kitten with snow-white fur and azure eyes suddenly appeared in front of the old man.

"Meow!" ×2.

The old man and the kitten meowed in sync.

Yukinoshita Yukino: “?”

A cold wind seemed to be blowing by...

"This is your double?" the Killer Queen asked.

The old man said proudly, "How about that? Impressive, right?"

...The appearance of a cat? It doesn't look like a melee-type Stand, but the most important thing about a Stand is its ability. What kind of ability could it have? Link Fate, linking fate? Judging the ability from the name is not appropriate, just like Star Platinum and the ability to stop time. It can't be said that they are closely related, but rather that they are completely unrelated.

The Killer Queen, merely probing to gather intelligence, asked, "What are the capabilities of your Stand?"

"Watch closely!" the old man pointed at the little white cat and shouted, "Transform!"

A burst of light shone forth, and the little white cat, lying on the ground, suddenly stretched and yawned, its body instantly elongating and growing larger.

Her long, black hair cascaded down her back, and pointed cat ears peeked out from her hair, trembling slightly. A small suit jacket outlined her slender body, and beneath the pleated skirt, stockings cascaded down her straight legs, disappearing into a pair of small leather shoes. Her hands were covered by either cat claw gloves or something else entirely, the sharp claws gleaming coldly. A slender white tail hung down from the hem of her skirt.

Her cool and beautiful face clearly resembled Yukino Yukinoshita.

Yukino's eyes widened: "The cat turned into Yukino-chan?!"

Yukino Yukinoshita said coldly, "I'm here, but that's not me... What is he doing?!"

"Yo! Yo! Come along with my beat!"

The old man suddenly started jumping around, and the cat version of Yukinoshita perfectly replicated the old man's movements.

"Yo! Yo! Twist your shoulders and step forward! Lightly touch your toes! The cat's gait is so elegant! Chin slightly raised! Indifferent gaze! I'm so cute with a cat's posture!"

Yukino Yukinoshita: "What on earth is this guy doing?!"

Angelina: "Uh... this looks like a white shadow?"

"One, two, three, four! Two, two, three, four! Good waist, good legs, good body, everyone is captivated!"

The old man was posing and preening, which was not interesting at all. Let's take a look at the cat version of Yukinoshita next to her. Her light steps moved back and forth, one hand on her hip and the other on her forehead. Her slender waist swayed back and forth smoothly like waves. Then she cast a cold look with her eyes, which was surprisingly charming.

"Oh dear, I don't think I can learn this. Could you teach me, Yukino-chan?"

Yukinoshita Haruno twisted her waist back and forth beside her, her face full of distress, displaying a different kind of wave-like movement.

Yukino Yukinoshita's blood pressure was off the charts, her fists were clenched, she was disheveled in the wind, and her sense of shame was exploding.

What weird thing is this guy doing using my likeness?!

This is an infringement of portrait rights!

boom--!

Suddenly, the Killer Queen punched the ground, sending leaves and dust flying and obscuring the view. In that instant, several stones flew towards the old man like cannonballs.

"Damn it! Based on her previous abilities, the Killer Queen could turn anything she touched into a bomb and detonate it, but she could only create one bomb at a time. There must be one among these rocks..."

Angelina began to explain instinctively, speaking at an extremely fast pace.

A dark shadow darted back and forth in the air like lightning, instantly throwing several flying stones upwards.

As the smoke cleared, the Killer Queen pressed the button to detonate the bomb.

The stone exploded with a deafening roar, and flames and a gust of wind swept away in a flurry.

A dark figure flashed behind the Assassin Queen, leaving several claw marks on her back in a flash of cold light.

The Killer Queen suddenly turned around and punched the air, revealing several claw marks on her shoulder once again.

So fast—but with limited power!

Without the slightest hesitation, the Killer Queen suddenly rushed towards the old man, completely ignoring the cat version of Yukinoshita who was giving her a gua sha attack.

No matter how powerful or how many excellent qualities a Stand has, the original user will always be the biggest burden and weakness...

He's different; he's completely become one with the Killer Queen, with no weaknesses whatsoever!

The old man looked bewildered, seemingly not yet reacting, when the Killer Queen's fist was already close to his face.

The Killer Queen delivered a powerful punch that passed right through the old man, her charging body flowing through him as if she were passing through a phantom.

That wasn't an illusion! He saw it very clearly; at the very moment it was about to hit, the old man appeared as if sunlight filtered through distorted, high-temperature air, presenting a blurry, flickering state...

"You have a double?!"

As the Assassin Queen spun around in mid-air, she quickly pulled back to create distance.

“Link Fate——”

The old man raised his hands, gesturing to Yukinoshita Haruno who appeared beside him. The only difference between her and the original was that her body was covered in blurry, distorted steam, as if coated with a thin layer of mosaic: "A lost soul, yearning for the falsehood of reality—Yukinoshita Haruno!"

The cat version of Yukino Yukinoshita landed next to the old man, stuck out her little tongue and licked her cat paw gloves, a very cat-like action.

The Killer Queen fell silent. Knowing the other's background, he immediately guessed the other's trump card: "You have two more doubles?!"

“I decided to entrust my fate to them, and they entrusted their fate to me.”

The old man slowly said, "Perhaps from beginning to end, I have never established connections with others based on myself, but have only lived through labels such as parents, wife, father and daughter, member of society. People often say that the meaning of life must be created by oneself, but people are always living with meaning assigned to them... You, who can despise everything and only care about yourself, are completely different from me. You are a pure hand fetishist to the extreme."