"Ahem..."
Saisyu Kusanagi cleared his throat, stepped forward, and forced what he believed was his most "fatherly" smile. He reached out to pat Cloud's shoulder.
"Child... all these years out there... you must have suffered."
His voice brimmed with guilt and emotion. The acting was Oscar-worthy.
However, before his hand could touch Cloud's clothing—
A slender jade hand shot out like lightning from beside him, seizing his ear with pinpoint precision!
"Ow! Ow ow ow! Shizuka! What are you doing?! The children are watching!"
The man who'd looked so imposing moments ago instantly transformed into a rooster with its ear caught, grimacing in pain, losing all dignity.
"Kusanagi! Sai! Shu!"
Shizuka Kusanagi, the queen of the Kusanagi household, still wore her composed smile, but her beautiful phoenix eyes blazed with the fierce fire of "wifely authority"!
Her voice was gentle as a spring breeze, but her words were colder than a Siberian blizzard!
"I told you years ago—when you were young and thought you were handsome, you shouldn't have been flirting with every woman you met!"
"Look at you! Look at what you've done!"
"Now you've brought home such a big 'surprise'! Where am I supposed to put my face?! Where is the Kusanagi clan supposed to put its face?!"
As she spoke, the hand gripping his ear twisted a full 360 degrees!
Saisyu's eyes nearly watered from the pain. He could only beg for mercy: "I was wrong! I was wrong! Shizuka, I really was wrong! Give me some face in front of the children—I'll kneel on the washboard when we get home, okay?!"
The hundreds of solemn-faced Kusanagi clan members kept their eyes down, noses straight, as if seeing nothing, hearing nothing.
But their slightly twitching lips showed they were... struggling mightily not to laugh.
Kyo and Aoi wore matching "can't watch this" expressions and quietly turned their heads away.
Clearly, this kind of "family drama" was a regular occurrence in the Kusanagi household.
Cloud stared at this remarkably "down-to-earth" scene, his face blank with shock.
Wait, what happened to the noble family intrigue and dramatic reunion? How did this suddenly turn into a public execution of a "henpecked husband"?
Just then, Shizuka finally released her grip, having vented her anger.
She elegantly straightened her kimono, then turned to Cloud with a gaze so warm it could melt ice.
"You must be... Cloud?"
Her voice was full of maternal warmth.
"Y-yes, Auntie." Cloud felt somewhat overwhelmed by the attention.
"Ah, what a good child." Shizuka reached out to take Cloud's hand with genuine affection. Her gaze was like a mother-in-law inspecting a prospective son-in-law—the more she looked, the more satisfied she became. "So handsome, so powerful—so much better than my own idiot son who only knows how to cause trouble."
In the distance, Kyo felt an arrow pierce his knee.
"Child, these years out there... you must have endured so much hardship?" A hint of sympathetic tears glistened in Shizuka's eyes.
"It's all that irresponsible man's fault! Don't worry—from today on, this is your home! If anyone dares bully you, Auntie will be the first to make them pay!"
This "sharp tongue, soft heart" approach instantly maxed out Cloud's affection for her!
He even began to wonder if he might actually be her real son.
...
However, not everyone shared Shizuka's welcoming attitude toward Cloud's arrival.
Right in the middle of this "melodramatic" yet "heartwarming" welcome ceremony, a discordant voice suddenly rang out.
"Uncle, Auntie. I think this matter... is far too hasty."
A young man emerged from the crowd—his features bearing some resemblance to Kyo, but his eyes more sinister, his bearing more arrogant.
This was Kyo's cousin, Kusanagi Souji.
"Our Kusanagi bloodline—how noble and pure is it?" Souji's gaze cut toward Cloud like a blade. "How can we acknowledge someone based on mere empty words from... an outsider of unknown origin?"
"Souji! What are you saying!" Kyo's expression darkened instantly.
"Am I wrong?" Souji sneered. "Kyo, I know you built a friendship with him during the KOF tournament. But friendship cannot be conflated with family bloodline!"
"Unless..." A challenging gleam flickered in his eyes. "He can prove to us that what flows through his veins is... the pure blood of Kusanagi!"
His words instantly dropped the atmosphere to freezing.
Both Saisyu and Shizuka's faces showed displeasure.
Meanwhile, in Cloud's mind, that familiar voice—always eager to stir up trouble—rang out.
[Ding! Classic "face-slapping" plot detected—System Quest activated!]
[Quest Name: Teach "Cousin" a Lesson]
[Quest Objective: In the upcoming duel, use pure Kusanagi-style Ancient Martial Arts to defeat Kusanagi Souji, letting him deeply understand what "protagonist halo" means!]
[Quest Reward: Source Points x30,000]
[System's Trash Talk: Host, don't hesitate! It's time to show your fake brother just how well his teacher taught him! Wreck him!]
"Sure."
Before Kyo could get angry, Cloud stepped forward with a smile, happily accepting the challenge.
"I agree—letting fists do the talking is... much more direct than using words."
...
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