Years ago, in the other world . . .

It was quiet in the Hajime residence when Yuzan came home. No one was there to welcome him home as usual. The mansion they lived in was huge and extravagant. Paintings that should be hung in a museum decorated their walls. Porcelain that have existed since the old dynasty filled their hallways. Yet none of those things made their home feel more welcoming.

Mia was not home yet. He remembered her telling him about being in a class play and they had to rehearse after class hours.

He took off his uniform and stepped in the shower. The water dripped on his snowy white skin while he washed himself quietly.

He was tall and slender. He had an elegant aura about him even though he was just a highschooler. He was a good catch and everyone knew that. He had excellent grades, a very wealthy background, and a handsome face. Despite his cold demeanor, several girls still pursued him.

They would give him baked goods, leave him love letters, or even send him very inappropriate pictures of themselves. He ignored all of those. He had no interest in becoming an accessory of any girl.

The only girl who could make him smile was his sister - Mia.

Yuzan wore a dark red violet bathrobe and rubbed his hair with a towel. He opened his closet, one of his several closets, and selected a soft black shirt and a gray jersey. The jersey costed more than a salary man's annual income.

He heard the main door open.

Mia!

*

*

*

He got up from the bed and ran out of his room.

"I'm home," Mia said out loud.

"Mia! Welcome home!" Yuzan said and crouched down to give her a hug.

Yuzan's heart swelled at her super bright smile.

"How was your day?" Yuzan asked, while taking her backpack from her small shoulders.

Something passed over her face.

A fleeting worry.

Then she smiled.

"It was fine, Onii-chan," Mia said but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

Yuzan held her shoulders, his usual cold face etched with worry.

"What happened? You can tell your Onii-chan," Yuzan said.

"No, nothing happened," Mia insisted, trying to shake away his hold.

Yuzan's gaze fell on her knees.

Blood.

Her kness were scraped with blood.

"Y-you're hurt!" Yuzan sputtered.

He picked up Mia, carrying her princess style.

"Onii-chan, I'm okay!" Mia said. "Put me down!"

"No. You're not okay. You're hurt," Yuzan said.

He made her sit on the sofa as he looked for the first-aid kit.

"Mia, you don't need to hide it from your Onii-chan if you're hurt. Your Onii-chan will make it all go away," Yuzan said, smiling.

Mia frowned at her brother. He was smiling but she could feel that he was upset.

He disinfected her scrapes and put on some band-aids on her knees.

"So, can you tell me what happened?" Yuzan asked.

"I fell," Mia said.

"Yes, quite awfully too. Where was it? I shall have your school put a Persian carpet there," Yuzan said.

Mia frowned at him obviously uncomfortable with what her brother was planning.

"No, you don't need to do that," Mia said.

"Then tell me who pushed you," Yuzan said.

Mia's eyes widened.

"How did you know?" Mia asked.

"Your Onii-chan has good senses. Especially if it's something concerning you. You're not the clumsy type and it's strange that you wanted to hide this so you must be trying to protect the one who pushed you. Why?" Yuzan asked.

"It's because you'll get angry," Mia said.

"I will never get angry at you, Mia," Yuzan said, surprised that she would even think like that.

"I know. I meant you'd get angry at them," Mia said.

"Them?" Yuzan asked, struggling to control his temper and put on a smile at the same time.

Mia nodded.

"Mia, bad-doers need to be punished. If you let them get away with their bad deeds, they'll keep on doing it and there'll be more girls with scrapes like yours or worse," Yuzan said.

He was using his gentle tone, his calm voice that was so persuasive even a beggar would give up his slippers to him. He almost never used that tone because he hated asking anyone for something but for Mia, he can be the kindest version of himself . . . or the opposite of that.

Mia chewed on her lip.

"But if you punish them won't you become bad too?" Mia asked with a worried face.

Yuzan patted her head.

"Remember your favorite character?" Yuzan asked.

Mia nodded enthusiastically. "Lelouch!"

"I'm willing to be your Lelouch. I'll be the villain for you, Mia. So let me destroy anyone who hurts you," Yuzan said.

"Not fair," Mia said, pouting.

Yuzan chuckled.

"You don't have anything to worry about. As long as your Onii-chan is by your side, you will have a villain at your disposal," Yuzan said.

"Not a knight in shining armour?" Mia asked.

Yuzan raised an eyebrow. "You don't like that. Why would I be a knight?"

Mia smiled darkly.

"Then Onii-chan, can you remember their names or do I need to write them for you?" Mia asked.

"Just tell me. Your Onii-chan has a high-level memory," Yuzan said.

He was not bluffing. He was a genius who could memorize a book just by reading it once and repeat a speech he had just heard once.

Mia told him the names and Yuzan got to work.

*

*

*

Mia was enrolled in a prestigious school for the elite. Ideally, there should be no bullying there because all of the students there came from wealthy families. That was far from the truth. Because they all came from wealthy families, the competition was even worse than a normal school.

Students competed in academics, art, sports, and several contests to prove their worth. While striving to be the best in school-related activities, connections were being made among the children of wealthy families.

One would have to pick which son or daughter to befriend. Background checks were made before greetings were exchanged. Every interaction was a calculated move. Connect and evaluate. Evaluate then use. It was a hostile environment hidden behind smiles and children's merry-sounding conversation.

Mia was not good at that.

She was quite blunt with her words.

If she disliked something, she would say so. If she disliked a person, she would say that to the person's face. This made her a very unpopular kid.

She wasn't playing the game they were all playing. The game that all the children there have been honed by their parents. Most of them had been commanded by their parents to make a connection with the daughter of the Hajime family but Hajime Mia was not cooperating. She didn't want to connect. She would rather be alone than talk with people who wanted to use her.

They did try the friendly way. Girls would greet Mia and tell her that they found a cute store and would ask her if she wanted to join them. She would decline, of course. She would rather watch anime with her Onii-chan at home. Boys found her cute despite her chilly personality which she had in common with her brother. They would give her limited-edition teddy bears and even jewelry. She would decline all of those, of course. She didn't like their insincere eyes. The way they looked at her like a prized toy.

Eventually, her schoolmates found her presence annoying. They would purposely exclude her from activities. Some would destroy her work before it even got to the teacher. While others went physical. Someone would secretly push her while she's going down the stairs. Sometimes, the lights would go out while she's in the bathroom cubicle and a mop would be blocking the door.

She held it all in though. Despite her blunt personality, she was not the type to show that she was hurting. It was useless to tell her parents. She had gotten tired of their disinterest and she didn't want to worry her brother. She knew that her brother was tremendously busy with his training as heir of the Hajime business.

On that day, their teacher said they would have a class play. Everyone was to participate even the social outcast - Mia. She liked plays. A lot. But she dreaded being part of a play with classmates who hated her. She had no choice though.

Just as she dreaded, as soon as the teacher left, her classmates began the bullying. A girl started taunting her, trying to get even a word out of her but she remained quiet, not giving them the satisfaction of crying. Then they suddenly decided to play. A pushing game they said but the only thing being pushed was her. She tried to run but there were too many of them. She eventually reached the grounds outside but they caught up with her. A teacher found them and shouted at the students to get back in the classroom. She was relieved to see that she wasn't badly hurt that much. Only her knees were scraped when she fell on the ground.

Her brother coaxed out the names of her bullies. She was scared of what he would do but he told her he would take care of it and she would not get in any trouble.

In a single week, like flies dropping dead one by one, Mia's classmates started to get fewer and fewer. The teacher said they had family emergencies or a sudden illness or they had to go abroad so they needed to drop out of the school. Mia knew that wasn't really the case.

She eventually became the only student remaining from her class section so she had to be moved to a different section. No one tried to hurt her but no one tried to talk to her either. They were scared of her and she didn't know why.

Mia didn't know but all of the bullies' families were destroyed in a single week by Yuzan. He hacked their computers, dug up their dirt, and exposed them for all the world to see. He brought down their stocks drastically with their reputations, making it irreparable for them to step again on wealthy grounds. Not one family could even afford to pay for their kid's expensive school after his attack.

Yuzan was not Mia's hero.

He was her very own villain.