In the quiet light of early morning, Yukino slowly opened her sleep-heavy eyes.
Above her was the familiar ceiling. Beside her—an even more familiar, warm embrace. She subconsciously clutched at the blanket and only then did the mories of last night co rushing back.
Her cheeks flushed again as if by reflex. She bit her lower lip gently, trying not to make a sound as she shifted slightly, sitting up just enough to take in the scene before her: the peaceful, sleeping faces of Haru and Utaha.
So… it really happened.
She lay back down again, covering her blushing face with her hands.
She rembered it all vividly. Even right up to the mont she stepped into the bedroom last night, she had been utterly nervous. Her heartbeat had felt like it would never calm down.
But when the mont actually ca—surprisingly, she wasn't scared anymore.
All that remained was a quiet, overwhelming shyness.
Sothing like this—intimate, rule-breaking, emotionally charged—wasn't the kind of thing she would ever have imagined herself doing. Let alone going through with it.
But now… it had beco real.
She closed her eyes again, letting her mind rest for a minute. Then, slowly, she opened them once more.
The room was completely dark. The curtains had been drawn tight, not even a sliver of morning light could creep in. Still, Yukino could more or less guess what ti it was.
She was already used to Haru waking up early to exercise. Occasionally, she even joined him for so light sculpting workouts at ho. That routine had sharpened her sense of ti to a fine edge.
Wait a minute… Haru usually wakes up around this ti.
Why is he still asleep today?
Was he finally feeling tired?
Or… was he just pretending?
Yukino carefully sat up, about to check on him, when suddenly—Haru turned toward her.
She froze, caught off guard. Then narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed.
"You were pretending to sleep after all," she muttered softly.
"Not really," Haru replied, his voice calm and low. "I just thought, since both of you were still asleep, I'd close my eyes for a little longer."
His gaze lingered on Yukino's delicate features.
A girl just waking up is always beautiful.
Especially when that girl is Yukinoshita Yukino.
Her usual deanor had nothing to do with flirtation or seduction. And yet, with her face slightly pink and her expression still dazed from sleep, there was an unmistakable gentleness to her—almost alluring.
Her shoulder, barely revealed from under the blanket, was smooth and fair. Her skin, firm and soft, had a luster like white jade in the dim glow from the phone light under the pillow. The lines of her neck were graceful and pure.
To witness sothing like this on a quiet morning—even soone as composed as Haru couldn't help but feel his heart stir.
Her eyes, her lips—every feature gently stirred sothing in him, reminding him of all the monts from last night that still lingered vividly in his mind.
Feeling his intense gaze, Yukino blushed even more. But she didn't look away. Instead, she t his eyes with quiet composure.
"So we really reached this point… huh, playboy."
He wrapped an arm gently around her waist, careful not to tighten it too much. "Thank you."
Yukino leaned in, burying herself in his warmth as she let out a soft sigh.
"You should be thanking her."
Her words clearly referred to Utaha.
Haru blinked. "Wait, you an… she brought it up?"
"Of course. You think I'd be the one to propose sothing like this to her?"
"…Good point. Yeah, no way you'd ever make that suggestion."
"Hmph. Jerk."
She called him nas again, but her voice was so gentle it lted into the silence.
Only she knew what she was truly feeling inside.
"…Have you thought about what happens next?" Yukino asked in a whisper.
Haru lowered his head slightly, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair. "How about this: we walk forward… together. All of us."
"Not great, but... not enough to make mad either."
"Thank you, Yukino."
Yukino didn't respond to his soft, gentle voice. She simply tightened her arms around his waist.
There's a particular kind of beauty in a girl who's just woken up—drowsy, quiet, a little vulnerable.
Haru knew that well. Which was why, last night, he couldn't help but feel like the Gods had been unusually kind to him.
"Senpai probably won't wake up for a while. Are you getting up for your morning workout?" Yukino asked while curled up in his arms.
"Not today," Haru replied. "Today feels… special. I'd rather stay with you two."
Yukino let out a soft snort. "If you stay here, she's definitely going to feel awkward when she wakes up."
"Why would she?" Haru asked, genuinely puzzled.
Yukino blushed and replied with a hint of annoyance, "We just went through that kind of thing. Even I feel awkward about it. You think my 'defeated rival' won't?"
Haru blinked, then chuckled. "You're still calling her that?"
"Well, it is the truth. Why shouldn't I?" Yukino answered seriously.
Sure, they had both "tead up" and still ended up losing to Haru's insane stamina. But Yukino had been training longer than Utaha. She'd had more one-on-one instruction from him. In terms of pure physical endurance, she actually had the upper hand.
What truly made her happy, though, was that last night—Utaha had actually begged for rcy in front of her.
How humiliating for you, Senpai.
A short while later, Utaha stirred awake.
Just as Yukino had predicted, the mont Utaha saw the two of them already awake, her face flushed red, and her expression turned increasingly flustered.
She tried, admirably, to act composed—only for Yukino to casually murmur, "Defeated rival," which instantly made her temperature spike again.
Haru had no choice but to step in as the peacemaker, cooling the growing fire between the two girls.
That morning, he experienced the rare bliss of being caught between two beautiful girls.
It wasn't until 7:00 a.m. that he finally got out of bed.
The girls had pushed themselves hard last night, worked up a serious sweat. Naturally, they'd want to shower. Haru decided to leave early to give them privacy—and spare them more awkwardness.
Sure enough, the mont he left, Yukino and Utaha visibly relaxed. But when they both sat up against the headboard and accidentally locked eyes, the silence was thick with unspoken thoughts.
"…My tights got torn," Utaha said with a sigh, eyeing the shredded black stockings tossed to the floor.
Yukino gave a faint, teasing smile. "If you weren't so willing to play along, he wouldn't have dared tear them, would he?"
Utaha gave her a scandalized glare but didn't argue.
After all, she had lost.
Losers, as the saying goes, don't get to complain.
They sat there in silence for a bit, until Utaha suddenly muttered, "Yukinoshita."
"…What is it?" Yukino turned her head.
"Last night… who went first?"
Yukino's expression darkened. "Why do you like asking such dumb questions?"
"Because it was all a blur," Utaha said, blushing but clearly emboldened by Haru's absence. "I'm just… curious."
She frowned, thinking back. "I rember wanting you to go first, but you were too shy and refused."
Yukino shot her a blank stare. "Weren't you just as bad?"
Seriously, who could throw themselves at a guy like that in front of another girl?
Utaha suddenly burst into giggles.
The more she laughed, the more amused she beca. "Oh, wait, now I rember. I gave you a little push… and then you pretended to be mad but ended up going along with it anyway. Tsk tsk, saying no with your mouth, but your body was very honest."
Yukino's face turned colder and colder, but Utaha just leaned into it, grinning. "This is what I call: The Yukinoshita Yukino I Pushed Forward. Are you mad?"
Yukino gave her a freezing smile. "Only soone as shaless as a loser would try to claw back so dignity with cheap words."
Utaha was montarily embarrassed, caught red-handed.
She avoided eye contact and tried to mask her feelings. "So… are we friends now?" she asked, voice unusually quiet.
Yukino blinked, clearly not expecting that question.
After a short pause, she replied in the sa calm tone, "If it's about working on sothing serious together… then yes, I can recognize you as a friend."
Utaha gave a "I figured you'd say that" smile.
She didn't push it. She simply pulled off the blanket, walked off the bed completely naked, and said, "I'm going to shower. Coming?"
"I'll co."
Yukino's answer was imdiate.
As Utaha passed by her ruined stockings, she sighed again. "Those were expensive. And that guy didn't hesitate at all when tearing them."
Yukino instinctively wanted to snap at her—Do we really have to talk about this kind of thing right before a shower?
But then she rembered Utaha's earlier question—friends—and decided to let it go.
What's done was done. And she had agreed to it, after all.
From now on, the three of them were going to have a lot of ti together.
Yukino blushed at the thought and felt a fresh wave of frustration rise within her.
That guy's stamina is just monstrous.
Sohow, even with two girls, it felt like they were being pushed past their limits faster than usual.
Was it the excitent? The novelty?
Yukino had a good guess. But she didn't dare dwell on it too much.
If Utaha figured out what she was thinking, they'd probably start fighting again.
That whole day, Haru didn't leave the house. Yukino and Utaha stayed as well. The three of them played gas, discussed story ideas, and brainstord script drafts.
For the next two days, however, Utaha didn't drop by again. Haru assud she was feeling a little embarrassed.
But according to Yukino, even if Utaha hadn't shown up in person, she was still very much active—ssaging Yukino nonstop online.
Compared to before, their conversations were far more frequent. They were starting to look like… real friends.
And just like that, the new year quietly arrived.
Yukino returned to Chiba, and Haru originally planned to go back to his hotown as well. But to his surprise, his parents ca over instead.
He didn't mind. Actually, it was a perfect chance to show off his cooking.
As he prepped the ingredients, replying to New Year ssages on his phone, his mom suddenly approached him from behind.
Thanks to his enhanced body and perception skills, he could detect even his silent orange cat walking behind him—let alone a human. So when his mom crept up with deliberately quiet steps, he was already expecting a playful scare.
What he didn't expect was for her to suddenly say:
"That girl from your school, Kasumigaoka Utaha, she's pretty well-known, isn't she?"
Haru turned around, caught off guard.
She continued, "Your father and I ran into her at the grocery store this morning. Pretty clever girl—recognized us just from our looks."
"Did she? Well, that's not surprising. Senpai's always been very sharp," Haru said calmly.
But then his mother leaned in, lowering her voice.
"I only chatted with her briefly… but sohow, I made a few discoveries."
Haru felt a chill run down his spine.
Oh no.
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