Yukino exchanged a few casual ssages with her sister in the group chat before setting her phone down.
As for Haruno's cheerful "Wanna hang out?", she didn't take it seriously at all.
Knowing her sister, if Haruno were truly under pressure again, she wouldn't just ssage casually—she'd either call directly or show up at their door without warning.
Yukino still rembered what Haru once said:
"If Haruno ever feels suffocated or stressed out, she'll co find you to unwind."
And honestly, she agreed with that.
Even though their relationship as sisters was far from gentle or affectionate, Yukino had to admit—her sister had always looked out for her in her own way, from childhood until now.
"She's probably just bored and looking for soone to drag along," Haru comnted from the side.
Yukino nodded slightly. "My suggestion: ignore it. Unless she's genuinely in a bad place emotionally."
"That's what I was thinking too."
After dinner, Yukino quietly went to change her clothes and packed her professional cara.
Though she'd already fild Haru in his tokusatsu suit once before, that ti was purely spontaneous. Both she and Utaha had only used their phones. The video quality wasn't exactly… archival material.
This ti, the outing team had changed from Utaha to gumi. Yukino, however, didn't seem to have much of an opinion about the switch.
Yukino was well aware of how gumi's feelings for Haru were growing more and more obvious.
But ever since the incident involving Utaha's blatant interference, she herself had begun to notice that her own feelings were subtly shifting.
Especially after teaming up with her senpai and still losing so miserably—that was sothing she found hard to believe.
"Does this guy even have a limit to his stamina?"
With curiosity bubbling in her chest, Yukino quietly entered the bedroom—only to find Haru slumped over the desk.
Is he tired?
She thought for a mont. He hadn't seed particularly busy lately. The only thing he had been doing regularly was coaching her through her daily training.
Then it clicked. Every morning, he went out to train, and on top of that, he tailored her als every day based on her activity levels. Day in and day out like that—it was no wonder he looked exhausted.
Yukino's eyes softened. She tiptoed closer, thinking maybe they could skip today's outing and let this idiot rest for once.
But just as that warm thought settled in her heart, sothing didn't feel right.
Haru certainly looked like he was napping, his face buried in his arms in a typical resting pose. But… his wrist was moving.
As she approached, she finally saw it clearly—on the lower shelf of the desk was a phone, and the screen was open to the photo gallery. His fingers occasionally swiped across the screen.
And the photos?
They were all of her.
In an instant, all of her tenderness evaporated.
She stood there with a dark expression, watching in silence. Judging by how organized the gallery was, he had clearly created an entire album just for her. There were pictures from their childhood, travel photos, and even candid monts that spanned almost her entire life.
Yukino rubbed her forehead, sighing softly. "No wonder you didn't co out after going in to change clothes. You were sneaking a peek at my pictures?"
"It's not sneaking," Haru said calmly, lifting his head with a surprised look. "I'm appreciating them. But when did you get here?"
Yukino didn't answer right away. Instead, she looked like she was deep in thought.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"I'm trying to figure out what weird idea you've co up with this ti," she replied coolly.
Haru closed the album and replied with a serious expression, "Why do you say that? I was simply admiring your beauty."
"If that's really all you were doing, I wouldn't mind. But…"
Yukino's tone paused, suspicion clear in her eyes.
"Knowing how sharp you are, there's no way you didn't notice coming in."
Haru feigned surprise. "Didn't expect you to catch that."
Yukino sighed again. "Just be honest. What are you plotting now?"
He held up his phone, looking regretful. "I just realized… you're missing a few iconic photos in your album."
"Iconic?" Yukino frowned. "What kind of photos are 'iconic' to you?"
A mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes. "Obviously, Catgirl Yukino."
Yukino turned on her heel and walked off imdiately.
Her voice, filled with disdain, trailed behind her. "I knew nothing good ever cos out of your mouth."
She left without hesitation, her face full of annoyance—but Haru was secretly delighted.
Her reaction ant that, if he just persisted a little more, she'd eventually agree to put on the cat ears and let him take those adorable pictures.
Of course, Haru's goal was still lingering from Utaha's bold suggestion:
"If Yukino's willing to wear cat ears, then I'll wear bunny ears—and I'll do anything you ask."
There's no way Haru wasn't tempted by that offer.
Catgirl Yukino and Bunnygirl Utaha? What kind of man could possibly resist that kind of lineup?
And judging by Yukino's reaction today, the plan might actually work—it would just take a bit of ti.
He had a good feeling about it.
At 6 p.m., Haru and Yukino t up with gumi outside.
Naturally, Haru was wearing the Ultraman Zero suit he'd borrowed from Furukawa.
gumi greeted Yukino politely, then looked at Haru with sparkling eyes. "So this Ultraman suit really is borrowed? You didn't make it yourself?"
Before he could respond, Yukino cut in. "Yes, he borrowed it from Furukawa. I was also surprised at how perfectly it fits him."
Haru casually explained, "Furukawa made the suit based on my asurents."
That made both girls freeze.
It was the first ti either of them had heard such a detail.
Before Yukino could process it, gumi asked, "Does that an Furukawa has… a high affection level for you?"
His expression darkened beneath the helt. "I know what you're trying to say, but you're way off. My friends are all perfectly normal!"
…Though one of them does have a thing for crossdressing.
Yukino, uninterested in this line of conversation, changed the subject. "Let's start filming, Kato."
gumi nodded, but glanced at Yukino as if wanting to say sothing.
Yukino, almost like a mind-reader, spoke up first. "If you want to talk about Utaha-senpai, let's do that later."
gumi blinked in surprise, but quickly rembered just how sharp Yukino was—of course she would have figured out her intent.
Without another word, gumi obediently took out her phone.
Haru, anwhile, began striking Ultraman poses for the cara.
The scene didn't draw much attention. Cosplayers doing photo shoots on the street weren't exactly a rare sight.
In fact, the only one drawing glances was Yukino.
Just by standing there, her beauty turned heads.
But since she wasn't alone, no one dared to co over and chat her up.
Haru, now more experienced, didn't feel nearly as awkward as last ti.
The biggest reason? He suddenly rembered—he was in a full-body suit. No one could see his face, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about.
So people don't wear masks to hide—they wear them to be themselves.
Midway through the shoot, they encountered another cosplayer passing by.
Yukino and gumi didn't think much of it, but Haru couldn't help glancing over.
The girl smiled warmly at him. "Hello, Ultraman Zero!"
Haru stared at the glowing halo on her head. "Wait… are you Alice from That Millennium Ga?"
"Yup! You play Blue Archive too?" she asked cheerfully.
He felt a twinge of disappointnt—she was far too friendly.
If only she had said "I swear, a box!" in true fandom fashion, the vibes would've been perfect.
They exchanged a few more words before going their separate ways.
Yukino snapped a few candid shots and then, through the cara, spotted a familiar figure.
"Look over there," she said, motioning with her eyes.
gumi turned first and was surprised to see soone sitting on a nearby bench. "Is that… Hiratsuka-sensei?"
Haru tried to adjust his vision—limited by the small slit in the Ultraman mask.
"Should we go say hi?" gumi asked.
Yukino shook her head. "Don't. Didn't you notice? Her makeup is very different from usual."
Only then did gumi and Haru realize that Hiratsuka-sensei, sitting quietly with her head down, looked rather downcast—but she was wearing flawless makeup and an outfit that accentuated her figure.
It looked exactly like she was on a date.
"That's strange," gumi whispered. "Utaha-senpai once told that Hiratsuka-sensei didn't have a boyfriend… but today's outfit really screams 'date night.'"
"Not a date," they both said at the sa ti.
Yukino turned to look at Ultraman's big round eyes and couldn't help but snicker.
gumi blinked. "Then why is she dressed like that?"
Yukino didn't answer directly. "We'll find out if we go talk to her."
She already had a pretty good idea.
If Hiratsuka-sensei had gone to the trouble of dressing up so beautifully, only to sit alone on a bench at night…
Then the answer was obvious.
A failed blind date.
Yukino sighed. The year had barely started, and yet another matchmaking attempt had ended in disappointnt for Shizuka. That kind of emotional blow couldn't have been easy.
Just as she was thinking that, she noticed Haru walking straight toward the bench.
Both she and gumi watched, puzzled.
Haru reached out his hand to the dejected Shizuka and asked with absolute seriousness—
"Miss, do you believe in light?"
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