Chapter 85 – Yukiko's Nurse Play (Patreon)

"Mai-nee, how is it today? Are you able to control it freely now?"

Inside the hospital room, Kouma asked Mai, who was now dressed in her Shuchiin Academy uniform.

Early this morning, while Ai and Yukino were still asleep, Kouma had woken Mai and sent her outside to test the state of her Adolescence Syndrome. The results had been very promising. Mai found that she was gradually able to grasp that elusive, mysterious sensation.

Although there were still occasional incidents where others couldn't perceive her, in most situations, she could now control her Adolescence Syndrome at will. If she could one day achieve full voluntary control, then it couldn't even really be called a "syndrome" anymore—it would be nothing short of a superpower that erased her very existence.

"More or less. The occasional hiccup still pops up."

Mai nodded toward Kouma and spoke softly.

"See, Mai-nee? I told you I wasn't lying. Succubus treatments really work, don't they."

Seeing the little boy's smiling, self-satisfied face, the absurdity of last night flooded Mai's mind. Her lovely face flushed crimson, and even now her body felt weak and tingling. After being injected with that much medicine, if there still hadn't been any results, then she truly would have given herself away for absolutely nothing.

"And besides, even though I barely slept at all last night... today I don't feel the least bit tired," Mai said, somewhat astonished. This morning she was brimming with energy. Even after staying up all night, her complexion was actually better than before. Her physical condition seemed to have improved considerably too.

"Well, those are the perks of dual-cultivating with a succubus," Kouma said with a light laugh. "Does Mai-nee like it?"

The little boy's words reached her ears, and Mai's lovely face blushed faintly. "At this point, does it even matter whether I like it or not?"

If she had wanted to resist, how could last night have possibly...

Mai's feet, clad in black pantyhose, pressed onto the white blanket as her delicate, jade-like hand seized the little boy's collar and tugged him forward slightly. She looked down at him from above. "Until this Adolescence Syndrome completely disappears, you have to take responsibility for my treatment."

"And if it never disappears?"

"Then you'll treat it for the rest of your life."

Mai's cheeks were flushed, but her tone was direct and resolute.

"Mai-nee, right now you really do have that mature older sister presence," Kouma said, a meaningful smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Mai paused for a beat, then suddenly caught his meaning. Instantly, she flushed deeply with mortification.

"You cheeky little thing! Next time... next time I'll definitely make you beg for mercy!" Mai gritted her teeth, speaking with fierce determination. She resolved that the moment she got home today, she would thoroughly cram on the relevant knowledge. When the time came, she'd show this little boy the fearsome learning capacity of a mature woman.

...

Ichinichi Hotel.

In a small suite costing one hundred thousand yen a night, a silver-haired beauty in a white silk nightgown lay sprawled across the large, soft bed. She stretched with feline languor, her infinitely stunning curves displayed without reservation.

"As expected of the Ichinichi Hotel. This big bed is pretty comfortable."

Vermouth yawned and got up to wash. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept all the way until noon like today.

Emerging from the bathroom, she used the hotel's built-in coffee machine to brew a cup of black coffee. Sipping the rich, bitter flavor, she opened her laptop. An unread email immediately popped up.

"Looks like the results are in."

Her elegant brows arched slightly, a trace of satisfaction flickering across her face. These past few days she'd been doing nothing but burning through the organization's funds staying in luxury hotels. If she had absolutely nothing to show for it, that would be a problem. Vermouth opened the email. Inside were two sets of personal information.

Miyako. Kouma.

"A former idol currently managing a small idol agency... The adopted son of the Yukinoshita family..."

Vermouth's beautiful eyes narrowed, her gaze settling especially on the little boy. In the footage copied from the parking garage surveillance, only those two had entered the parking structure.

Yet when they emerged, they were riding in the same vehicle as Akemi, and in those precious few frames salvaged and restored from Calvados's dashcam, the car they had been pursuing also contained Akemi together with this little boy. So Vermouth judged: if she started with this little boy first, she might just be able to reach the finish line directly.

She opened the attachment on Kouma. Inside were large amounts of information and several photographs.

"An orphan from a children's home... became the Yukinoshita family's adopted son a month ago..."

"Currently enrolled in Shuchiin Academy Elementary Division, Class 1-B..."

Vermouth rapidly scanned the information, her mind already working through how she might approach this little boy. At the same time, her eyes fell upon the handful of photographs.

They bore Shuchiin Academy watermarks and appeared to be cultural festival photos pulled from Shuchiin's official website. In every single one of these photos, Kouma was captured in the frame. Vermouth had to admit—this adopted son of the Yukinoshita family was the most beautiful little boy she had ever laid eyes on in her life.

"Hm?"

Vermouth's gaze froze on one particular photo, fixing on a stunningly beautiful woman with long, curled brown hair within it.

"Yukiko?"

A flicker of surprise passed through Vermouth's blue eyes. "When did she get back.., and it seems she's quite close to this little boy."

Vermouth narrowed her eyes. In the photo, Yukiko held the little boy in her arms, her gaze fixed entirely upon him, a smile as radiant as blooming flowers spread across her devastatingly beautiful face.

Vermouth knew Yukiko very well, so she could tell at a glance—that expression was no mere act for the cameras. She genuinely treasured this little boy.

Vermouth drained the last of the black coffee from her cup, the bitter taste sharpening her thoughts. She realized that Yukiko might very well serve as her breakthrough point.

After considering for a moment, she pulled out her phone and, from the nearly forgotten corners of her memory, recalled Yukiko's contact number.

"It's been quite a few years since I've seen that woman..."

A bewitching, seductive smile curved Vermouth's red lips as she dialed the number.

...

St. Juliana Hospital.

An ordinary patient room.

Wearing a large orange sun hat and a pure white dress, Yukiko looked at Conan lying in the hospital bed, one leg suspended with bandages wrapped around it, her lovely face filled with exasperation.

"Thank goodness it's only a minor bone fracture. You'll be recovered in a month. If it had been a full break, you'd be looking at lying flat for half a year."

Yukiko spoke in an unimpressed tone. Conan responded with an awkward, sheepish laugh. Thank goodness he hadn't pushed the super-enhanced skateboard to full throttle during that experiment.

If he had flipped at max speed, it probably really wouldn't have been just a bone fracture. While Conan felt lucky, he was also a bit depressed. If he'd gotten into an accident chasing a criminal, that would be one thing—but no, he'd wiped out just during a test run. Now he'd be stuck unable to follow Kogoro Mouri to crime scenes for at least half a month.

"Conan! I brought Mitsuhiko and Ayumi to come see you!"

"What?! Clearly, I was the one who brought you and Ayumi!"

Before the people themselves even appeared, two arguing voices had already drifted into the room. In the next moment, three familiar figures appeared at the doorway, two of them still bickering over who had led whom here.

Seeing this, the corner of Conan's mouth twitched with resignation. Still, seeing these goofballs did ease his already gloomy mood just a little.

"You're that pretty big sister who came to the school festival last time!"

Ayumi spotted Yukiko sitting off to the side, and her eyes instantly lit up as she blurted it out. Hearing the address "pretty big sister," Yukiko's mood brightened a few degrees.

"Aren't you a sweetheart! Don't you all have school?"

"We came straight over after school got out. We'll just take the train back to school later."

Genta Kojima puffed out his chest. In his eyes, being able to ride the train on their own as elementary schoolers was a symbol of true maturity.

At that moment, the phone in Yukiko's bag suddenly rang. She pulled it out—an unfamiliar yet familiar name appeared on the screen.

"Chris Vineyard... What's she calling me for?"

A trace of surprise flickered through Yukiko's beautiful eyes. Chris Vineyard was the daughter of her late close friend Sharon Vineyard. In the years before Sharon passed away, she had interacted with Chris a few times, but after that, there had been little to no contact. Receiving a call now from her late friend's daughter gave her a momentary pause.

"You kids sit here and chat with Conan..."

Yukiko told Genta and the others, then took her phone and walked over to the window to answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Miss Fujimine..."

"Chris, it's me. How have you been lately?"

Leaning by the window, watching the children chatting with Conan about school matters, Yukiko casually made small talk with Chris Vineyard.

"I've recently come to Japan for travel. It occurred to me that you were originally from Japan, Miss Fujimine, so I was hoping to ask about any interesting places to visit around here."

"What a coincidence—I came back here not long ago myself. How about I show you around properly in a couple of days..."

As Yukiko spoke, she suddenly heard Genta's booming voice directed at Conan.

"Hey Conan, did you know? That Kouma guy is also absent today! According to Kobayashi-sensei, he's hospitalized with an injury too—and it's even in the same hospital as you!"

These words reached Yukiko's ears and her beautiful eyes instantly contracted. She reflexively asked to confirm, "Kouma-kun is hurt? And he's hospitalized here at St. Juliana?!"

Ayumi and the others looked at this pretty big sister, whose expression had suddenly filled with deep concern, and nodded. "Mm-hmm! That's what Kobayashi-sensei said. Too bad she didn't know which room Asa-kun is in, or we would've visited him too."

Yukiko's beautiful eyes flickered with shifting emotions. Into the phone, she said, "Chris, I'm sorry—something's come up. Let's talk tonight." After hanging up, Yukiko stepped out of the hospital room while dialing Kouma's number.

The children watched Yukiko's retreating figure and turned curiously to Conan. "Your cousin knows Asa-kun too?" Conan stiffly shook his head, but judging from his mother's reaction, "knows" was a massive understatement. When he'd gotten injured just earlier, Yukiko hadn't shown this much of a reaction.

...

A few minutes later.

Yukiko, having strode swiftly through the hospital corridors, pushed open the door to Kouma's room and rushed to the little boy on the bed, immediately launching into a full inspection.

"Yukiko-nee-san, I told you on the phone just now! I'm fine!"

Kouma said with utter exasperation.

After a thorough inspection, Yukiko also looked through the medical file placed beside him. Only once she confirmed the little boy truly was unharmed did she finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Yukiko-nee-san, what are you doing here at the hospital?"

"My so—... ahem, a relative's kid broke his leg. They asked me to look after him for a bit."

Now at ease, Yukiko answered casually.

"Oh, right—does Eri know you're in the hospital?"

"Eri-obasan probably doesn't know. I didn't tell her."

Kouma answered truthfully. He found her question a little odd. Why would she care whether Eri knew he was hospitalized or not?

"Is there no one here taking care of you?"

"Ai-nee and Yukino-nee were here just earlier. I had Akemi-nee drive them to school... Miyako-obasan should be coming by soon."

Hearing the little boy's words, Yukiko suddenly paused. In other words—right now, at this moment, it was just her and Kouma alone here.

Sitting by the bedside, looking at that beautiful little face, a bold idea surged into her mind. Ever since that last time, Yukiko had found that Kouma's figure appeared in her thoughts every single night without fail.

She wanted to take things further, but she had been hesitating all this time, and no good opportunity had presented itself. Now, alone in a room with Kouma, this mature woman's heart could no longer be restrained.

"But what if Miyako bursts in and interrupts us..."

Yukiko pondered, her eyes drifting—and when they landed on the unlit nurse-call button beside her, a brilliant plan instantly formed in her mind.

"Kouma-kun, you wait right here. Big sister has a surprise for you."

Yukiko winked at Kouma.

A few minutes later, a puzzled Kouma watched as the hospital room door opened again. A mature woman dressed in a nurse's uniform sauntered in, her figure swaying gracefully. She extended a hand as fair as jade—the thin, taut nurse's gloves accentuating her fingers with an incredibly alluring air.

"Little boy... it's time for your regular checkup."

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