You Are My Guide

[Read the content warnings before opening the story!] The final installment of my Kunimitsu fanfic series. The next story will be from a different series, with a different male lead.

A cute little girl moves in next door to the future pillar of Seigaku. Then an accident leaves her without parents.

"Kunimitsu, her parents are gone. You have to take good care of her."

He's only two years older than her, but he still decides to take responsibility. He'll guide her, hold her hand, and take her parents' place in teaching her and watching her grow up.

The little girl is gentle and adorable. What makes him happiest is that she accepts his recommendation to take up tennis. She studies the game diligently and listens to him. Her talent is no less than his own. He believes that one day, like him, she'll set her sights on the national tournament...

He was wrong. Somehow, without even realizing it, he trained the little girl into a lazy couch potato who wouldn't move unless told and had no desire to win.

Could something be wrong with the way he teaches her?

The little girl likes him and clings to him. She wants to be with him every moment of every day.

"Kunimitsu, can you stay by my side forever?"

"I can."

But time passes, and when he wants to pursue his dream, he discovers he has to choose between staying by her side and making his dream come true.

He decides to leave so he can give her a stable future.

The little girl sets aside her usual gentleness and obedience and looks at him. "I hope you don't regret making this decision."

He's only leaving for a little while. Once he achieves his dream, he'll come back. He hardens his heart and leaves. But he never expects that the moment he steps out of the country, the little girl will undergo a dramatic change in personality.

The road to his dream is steep and winding. Just as he's about to hit a dead end in his pursuit, the little girl appears before him and climbs even higher than he has before he can react. With unquestionable force, she leads him away.

"I'll make your dream come true my way. This time, I'll be the one to guide you."

Author's content warnings:

1. This story was born from my frustration with the NPOT plot. The story changes from the first year of middle school! The village won't fall ill! The male lead won't get hurt! If you're a fan of the original, especially the NPOT plot, run!

2. Everyone is a villain, including the two from the German team and the sponsor. Niji is the only decent person in this story. Yamato won't catch a break or have a single good day. He'll be disgraced and ruined. Yamato fans, run! Casual fans, run too! Anyone worried he'll suffer, run!

3. The female lead is exceptionally skilled at tennis. She runs faster than the male lead.

4. This is my last Kunimitsu-centric story. The next one will be about someone else. XF's single NPOT has used up all the love I've had for this series over the years.

5. As always, this is a story about the female lead's growth. She's strong, and her gentleness is entirely a façade she puts on for the male lead. For a while after he leaves, he goes a little crazy because he can't accept it. But he pulls himself together soon enough.

6. (Important!!) The entire story is complete!! The full manuscript is finished!! It's 550,000 words! Feel free to jump in if you're interested! I might be unreliable, but my manuscript is reliable!

Upcoming story: Will You Marry Into My Family, Chuuya? Complete manuscript! 550,000 words.

#This is the author's first attempt at a new genre. If you don't like it or aren't used to it, pack your bags and run. The author can even help you pack. A strong female lead who grows throughout the story.

Before he had a hat, the hat guy found a beautiful, doll-like little girl near the Dock in the rain. She was kind and beautiful, and while running for her life from pursuers, she accidentally stepped on him, then made it up to him with a delicious pizza.

So he beat up the bad guys and took her in.

But the girl, who looked cute, harmless, homeless, shabby, and pitiful.jpg, was actually a ruthless money-making machine who scared him.

Life is cheap in the Dock, but when he was badly injured, she spent every last penny she had to snatch him back from death's door.

"You can earn more money after it's spent, but you only have one life. No matter how much it costs, I'll keep you alive, because you deserve to live."

The day the kind girl gets her reward and is adopted, she hands him a million in savings.

"Some things can be fixed with money when they happen, but once the chance is gone, no amount of money can bring it back. So I'm leaving this money with you. If you ever need it, spend it."

Several years later, he has become a core member of the organization. Then he sees her after a sudden family tragedy, determined to die. He pulls out all the stops and saves her.

"Your parents are gone, but I'll give you a new family. Do you want that?"

"I do."

And so the two of them get together.

But years later, when the truth about the girl's background finally comes to light, he retreats again and decides to let her go for her future. He lives in darkness, while she belongs in the light. If he keeps her by his side for his own selfish reasons, her talents will remain hidden forever. He can't do that to her.

The girl angrily tells him, "Just you wait," signs the divorce papers, and storms out.

But years later, when the girl has grown into a woman, made a fortune, and returned to Yokohama, she sits in the luxurious office of the Mafia boss. Her voice is gentle, but leaves no room for anyone to question her.

"I hope you'll honor the promise you made back then, Mr. Mori."

She stands and walks over to him.

"Chuuya, will you marry into my family? I've prepared the bride price."

Also known as Black and White and Light and Darkness.

Content warnings and notes before reading:

1. The timeline is chaotic throughout. I never got it in order while writing, and the outline is already set, so I don't want to change it. Just enjoy the plot. The original is great; any OOC characterization is my fault. There are headcanons everywhere, so consider this your advance warning that everyone will be OOC (...)

2. The female lead is a saintly little angel who values life above all. She won't repay blood debts with blood, but she's very good at making her enemies miserable (...) Her trash-talking skill tree is fully leveled, and she can challenge the national treasure for bamboo shoots anytime.

3. Her starting skills are multilingualism and excellent taste. She's highly intelligent, highly educated, highly alert to danger, and well-mannered (but the male lead can make her vanish in an instant). She's a ruthless money-making machine and physically weak.

4. (Important!) The male lead is really written as a Mafia member. He'll have bad habits and won't be very well educated. The hat guy will quit smoking. The female lead is so exceptional that the male lead feels inferior. There will be misunderstandings, melodrama, and a little chasing-after-the-wife. There is no premarital romance; the story skips straight to married life with plenty of intimacy.

5. As always, the female lead grows throughout the story. This is the first story I've ever written where the romance is clear from beginning to end.

6. Oda Sakunosuke survives! (...)

7. She won't take part in any organizational business. She judges each matter on its merits, stands by what's right instead of taking someone's side just because they're close to her. But she will favor her own side when it comes to Oda Sakunosuke and Izumi Kyoka.

8. I later found out I'd gotten the age wrong for the female lead's biological father, but the outline was already set, and I don't want to change it. Her father is Francis. He's ten years older than in the original. I haven't read the manga, so this is based entirely on the anime and my own imagination. Feel free to explain any mistakes in the setting, but even if I change them, I won't revise this story.

9. I've obscured everyone's height throughout because the male lead is too short. I hope he'll grow a bit by age twenty-three (...)

Upcoming story 2: I Became a Police Officer in the Bungo Stray Dogs World

Synopsis:

One day, Irie Haruka, who gave up her original career path to become a police officer in honor of her parents, discovers that the BJD doll her friend gave her has suddenly come to life.

Irie Haruka: (screams in terror like a goose)

Oda Sakunosuke, who died four years ago and suddenly comes back to life inside a BJD doll, opens his eyes to find a cop as the first person he sees as an organization member.

Oda Sakunosuke: Well, aren't I amazing? (x)

Oda Sakunosuke: (dejected) The ramen shop owner is dead, the kids are dead. I don't want to live.

Irie Haruka: (immediately intervenes with the professionalism of a police officer) No! You can't die! Life is precious. You can't just throw it away!

A while later

Irie Haruka: (sighs) My dad died, and my mom died too. Actually, my dream is to die in the line of duty...

Oda Sakunosuke: (grabs her) No! You can't die! I won't let you die!

One day, while she's doing her job as a police officer in Tokyo, a transfer order suddenly arrives

Irie Haruka, you're ordered to keep the organization in Kanagawa in check.

Irie Haruka: Huh?!

Also known as A Rookie Police Officer's Growth Story and A King's Police Officer: Growth Diary.

Read the content warnings before starting!

1. The pairing is with Oda Sakunosuke. I'm not sure I'll get the male lead's personality right.

2. The female lead is an ordinary, serious police officer, a champion of justice, and a Sixth King who joined halfway through. She works as a police officer in Tokyo in the first half, then transfers to Kanagawa. The Port Mafia aren't good people except when protecting Yokohama. The female lead earns a fixed government salary all her life, lives frugally, and will never get rich. (Like me right now x) This is a rookie police officer's coming-of-age story. She gradually matures.

3. The plot is chaotic. The original is great; any OOC characterization is my fault. Treat any differences from the original as headcanons.

4. You could almost treat this as having no pairing. The male lead is a background character who supports the female lead at home. They're used to having each other around and support one another, but there's almost no romance. The focus is on their careers.

5. I'm partial to the hat guy, so the female lead will have lots of scenes with him. They interact frequently at work, but they're just friends. Their dynamic is like two cowardly dogs arguing, all bark and no bite. They're on opposing sides and neither will cross the line between them. There's no romantic subtext. Their personalities are completely unrestrained around each other.

6. The Russian will die early.

7. For details that can be checked in Japanese sources, I'll use those. For anything that can't, I'll fill in with Chinese sources.

8. If you can't stand it, just leave and find something else to read. No need to tell me if you drop the story. I already have 350,000 words prepared and won't change the plot based on reader comments.

Theme: No matter how hard the road, there will be someone to clear the way and guide you forward.