"Thank you so much for today!" "Well then, I'll be taking my leave now..."
Having successfully made edible cookies Yuigahama , Yui expressed her gratitude once again to the two standing in the hallway, then happily hurried home.
Yukino Yukinoshita watched Yui disappear from her sight with a smile on her face. In an instant, her expression turned icy cold. "Hmph!"
Casting a glance at Hachiman Hikigaya beside her, Yukino snorted coldly and strode toward the service club.
"That really was a misunderstanding..." Hachiman followed behind Yukino with an expression of helplessness, trying to explain what had happened earlier.
"Is that so? Then let's just treat it as a misunderstanding."
Noticing Hachiman about to catch up from behind, Yukino quickened her pace even more.
By the time the two returned to the service club, Yukino was already slightly out of breath, sweat forming on her forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"
Hachiman's concerned eyes looked at Yukino, who had become tired just from walking quickly for a short while. "Don't worry, it's just that my stamina is rather weak..."
Taking a deep breath, Yukino adjusted her breathing back to normal.
I really don't think someone's stamina could be this bad... Hachiman silently thought but simply nodded to show he understood and didn't press further.
After all, everyone has their secrets.
Yukino was unwilling to tell him why her stamina was so poor, and he didn't want to pry.
"I didn't expect it to take this long..." Yukino muttered to herself as she packed her bag.
"That's true. I didn't expect her cooking skills to be that bad either..." Hachiman thought, and also...
The thought of someone unlucky having to accept Yui's burnt cookies as a thank-you made him silently mourn.
"But at least we completed her request." Yukino finished packing and, while passing by Hachiman, added, "That's true..."
Hachiman nodded, also carrying his bag, and followed Yukino toward the exit.
No matter how difficult the process was, they had solved Yui Yuigahama's request and successfully made cookies as a thank-you gift.
"Are you walking home?"
Surprised, Hachiman noticed Yukino walking home while he was riding his bicycle.
Although he didn't know Yukino's family background in detail, as a prominent figure in school, it was reasonable to assume Yukino could be picked up by a car every day for commuting.
"I walk home every day."
It was unexpected for Yukino to run into Hachiman after school.
She had just realized that her apartment and Hachiman's home were in the same direction.
Hachiman turned his head to look at Yukino's face after hearing her answer.
For some reason, though it was a simple statement, he read a complex emotion in it.
Shaking his head to dismiss this strange thought, he politely said goodbye to Yukino and rode his bike home.
Watching Hachiman's fading back, Yukino suddenly stopped. She reached into her bag and pulled out a neatly folded certificate. "I forgot to return this to him..."
Sighing, Yukino looked at the certificate in her hands.
Due to Yui's request and two unexpected interruptions along the way, she had forgotten to give the certificate back to that perverted peeping guy.
Looking in the direction Hachiman had gone, his figure had already vanished below the horizon. No choice. "I'll have to wait until tomorrow."
Saying this, Yukino refolded the certificate, put it back in her bag, and continued walking forward.
As night fell, Yukino finally returned to her high-class apartment. Pushing the door open, a pair of high heels were casually tossed at the entrance.
Knowing who had arrived, Yukino crouched to neatly arrange the heels, then changed her shoes from leather to cotton slippers and entered the living room.
Clothes were casually thrown on the floor one after another, and water sounds came from the bathroom. Judging by the scattered clothes on the floor and sofa, and the sound from the bathroom,
Yukino could easily guess the scene of some uninvited person opening her apartment door, stripping off everything, and heading straight for the shower.
As Yukino helplessly stood in the living room holding clothes, the water stopped in the bathroom.
The bathroom door opened, and with a wave of heat came out a woman wrapped only in a white towel — looking very much like Yukino herself, but with a figure that completely overshadowed her.
"Sis, what are you doing here?"
Seeing the stunning woman in front of her, Yukino showed a trace of helplessness. She had chosen to live alone outside home precisely to avoid meeting her mother and sister.
"It's because I haven't seen my adorable little sister in such a long time."
Yukinoshita Haruno held another towel, drying water from her hair. But when she saw Yukino staring at her in the living room, her face immediately broke into a smile that could drive countless men crazy, and she lunged toward Yukino.
"You still haven't dried off yet!"
Seeing her sister rushing at her, Yukino's eyelid twitched.
Just as she tried to dodge, Haruno grabbed her waist and threw her onto the sofa.
"What does it matter? You're going to take a shower later anyway, right?"
Haruno's smile grew wider as she noticed Yukino's wet clothes revealing cute underwear underneath.
"After some time apart, Yukino, you still cute style, huh?"
While her hands roamed on her sister's body, a strange laugh escaped her lips.
Seeing Haruno's hands getting bolder, a surge of strength suddenly burst from Yukino's body, and she pushed Haruno off her.
Covering the glimpses of skin revealed by her disheveled clothes, Yukino backed toward the edge of the sofa, warily watching Haruno's smiling face.
"What exactly are you doing here?"
"That's such a heartless question..."
Hearing the distance and caution in Yukino's tone, Haruno stretched and her expression returned to normal.
"There's a banquet tonight, and Mother asked me to bring you home."