Warm water trickled steadily from the faucet, cloaking the private bathroom in a gentle mist.
Haruno Yukinoshita adjusted the low stool and patted the seat.
"Sit here, Utaha," she said with a playful grin.
Utaha Kasumigaoka obediently settled in front of her. Haruno squirted body wash onto a bath sponge and began scrubbing Utaha's smooth back.
It was a back so pale it nearly glowed, glistening like fine jade beneath the steam. Even as a fellow woman, Haruno found it hard to resist the temptation. Keeping her hands in check? Nearly impossible.
"Haruno-nee…"
Utaha twisted around, puffing her cheeks in mock annoyance. Her arms instinctively crossed over her chest.
"Utaha, your skin is seriously unfair. I'm jealous. Youth really is different," Haruno said half-dramatically, sighing as though wounded. "They say beauty is the sharpest blade. Looking at your skin… yeah, I get it."
"Are you calling yourself old?"
Utaha raised an eyebrow and reached back to give Haruno's waist a cheeky pinch.
A light red mark imdiately surfaced on Haruno's fair skin, sending both girls into a fit of laughter.
Just then, Yukino Yukinoshita, freshly rinsed and wrapped in a towel, slid open the glass shower door and stepped out.
"Yukino!" Utaha perked up with a radiant smile. "Co sit in front of . I'll wash your back."
"No need. I've already cleaned up."
Yukino shook her head and stepped quietly into the bathtub. Warm water rippled around her, rising to her collarbone.
She subrged herself in silence, letting the water ease her mind.
She had once wrapped herself in layers of ice cold, sharp-tongued, untouchable. That was how her classmates at Soubu High described her behind her back. And she never cared. She didn't explain, didn't bow to expectations, didn't change.
But since the apocalypse began… sothing had shifted inside her. Quietly. Slowly.
"If it were the old , there's no way I'd be sharing a bath with my sister. Let alone with Utaha."
She glanced at the two girls fooling around across the room. A sigh escaped her lips.
"Two childish idiots," she muttered. "Still acting like kids, even in the bath."
With her mouth and nose just beneath the surface, she blew a stream of bubbles. Her half-lidded eyes shimred with sothing unspoken.
"…Hey, Haruno-nee. Is the milk ready?"
The playful splashing was getting louder. Yukino couldn't take it anymore and raised her voice slightly.
"Oh right! I forgot to bring it in," Haruno called back. "Yukino, could you grab it for ? It's just outside in the wooden basin."
At that mont, Haruno was mid-wrestle with Utaha, both girls laughing breathlessly. Utaha, blushing from the teasing, still managed to shout,
"Wrap that towel tight, Yukino! Don't let a certain soone catch a peek."
"Sosuke's not that kind of guy,"
Yukino huffed, furrowing her brows.
Still, she cautiously tiptoed out of the tub and gently slid open the bathroom door, peeking outside.
"…Still, being careful can't hurt."
Once she confird the coast was clear, she stepped out quietly.
…
At so point, a light rain had begun to fall outside. Sosuke Kitahara had no choice but to retreat from the deck and return inside the yacht.
The cabin was quiet… except for the girls.
He could hear their laughter echoing clearly down the hall.
"Seriously, why do girls get so noisy just taking a bath…"
He drained his juice and glanced down at his empty cup. A small pantry was tucked at the rear of the cabin. Surely, making another glass of juice was a reasonable excuse.
He muttered to himself, "Just gonna pour so juice… Sitting in the living room with nothing to drink is kinda sad."
Saying it aloud made it feel like an official mission. With the glass in hand, Sosuke gently pushed open the door…
And froze.
So did Yukino Yukinoshita.
She was standing right in front of him, holding three cartons of milk.
Wrapped in only a towel.
Their eyes t. Both of them stiffened like statues, as if the universe had hit the pause button.
Yukino's eyes widened in shock. Her mouth opened slightly words caught on her lips.
She hadn't expected this. Not in the slightest.
Her first instinct was to cover her mouth, smothering the gasp rising in her throat.
Her long hair was still wet, sticking gently to her cheeks. Her snow-white skin was flushed from the bath, glowing pink. She clutched the milk cartons to her chest, both to shield herself and to cover up. But the towel, damp from steam, clung tightly to her curves.
Bare feet. Pink cheeks. That adorable, panic-stricken face.
Any man would short-circuit.
Why is she out here…?
He had just heard them playing around in the bath.
Then he saw the milk in her hands.
Ah.
So that's why.
But by the ti he figured it out, it was already too late.
He raised his empty glass and mouthed the words: "Just here for juice."
Yukino, still trying to calm her racing heart, responded with a silent,
"There's juice in the living room."
There was no juice here. She knew that. He knew that.
Sosuke gave a sheepish smile and tapped his head, silently mouthing "Sorry" while pressing his palms together.
From inside the bathroom, Utaha called for Yukino again.
Flushed and flustered, Yukino gave Sosuke a final glare before turning around.
She reached for the bathroom door, but out of instinct glanced back once more.
Sosuke hadn't looked away. He was still staring.
Her first thought: Is the towel not covering enough?
She checked. Towel was secure.
Then she realized…
He was staring at her legs.
Panicking, Yukino shoved the bathroom door open and darted inside, slamming it shut behind her.
Bang!
Only… a corner of her towel had been caught in the door.
Sosuke blinked.
He could imagine what must have happened inside.
Click.
The door creaked open just a crack. The towel was yanked inside. The door slamd shut again.
Ka-chak.
Locked.
Sosuke slowly exhaled and stepped back.
He had expected her to berate him with icy sarcasm.
Instead… she ran away.
Back in the living room, he poured himself another glass of juice and gazed out the window.
The moon shimred above the sea.
Tonight, it looked… whiter than usual.
Like soft, snowy skin.
…
Back in the bathroom, Yukino was no calr.
Her face, already flushed from the bath, was now burning red.
"Why did I agree to go out there for her…"
She leaned against the wall, steam swirling around her.
Her heart was still pounding.
"He didn't see anything… right?"
But then she rembered his dazed expression. The way he stared like he'd been struck by lightning.
If he didn't see anything, why did he look so stunned?
"No. I had everything covered. There's no way."
Still… she couldn't shake the thought.
She covered her face with her hands and groaned.
What would she even say to him next ti they t?
But then, for so reason…
She rembered his warm arms around her.
His breath against her cheek.
What is wrong with …
"I was wrapped in a towel. It's not like I was naked."
She tried to rationalize it.
"It's basically the sa as a swimsuit…"
Though in truth, she had never worn one in public.
Still, she instinctively made excuses for him.
Yukino shook her head again and forced herself to let go of the swirling thoughts.
Aside from the embarrassnt… she didn't feel afraid.
Not really.
Maybe that was the scariest part of all.
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