Outside, the knocking continued, mixed with Miku's increasingly urgent voice.
Nino was already nervous.
And she couldn't understand—Miku had already bathed earlier. Why would she suddenly want to rinse off again?
Of course, Nino didn't know that Makoto had previously gone as far as canceling his flight just to prevent the buff from throwing the Nakano household into chaos.
Things had been calm at first.
Until Nino took over the "cockpit" by force—issuing commands, restarting the flight, and bringing herself soaring into the clouds.
Sure, she was satisfied—but the rest of the house was left agonizing.
Even Ichika in her room was enduring it, forcing herself to be patient. She didn't want to come off as overly eager.
Whether Makoto saw it or her sisters saw it, she didn't want to be thought of that way.
After all, if she was seen like that, she might end up getting stuck with a nickname like "Little Pervert."
That's why she had let Nino take the flight first.
A salute to the legendary pilot—Nino!
"Nino! Open the door!"
Outside, Miku's knocking grew faster as Nino still didn't open up.
Nino lowered her voice and spoke toward the bathroom's glass door, "I'll handle Miku. You stay in there for now."
"Got it," Makoto replied, also keeping his voice down.
The feeling of a secret rendezvous grew stronger in Nino's heart.
She felt both ashamed and secretly thrilled.
Click.
She finally opened the door.
Miku stood there holding her clothes, clearly flustered but trying to keep it together. "You're done? Then move."
"Wait a second."
Nino grabbed Miku's hand and, without giving her a chance to resist, pulled her aside.
Then she deliberately asked, "Why are you taking another bath? Did you work up a sweat doing… something in your room?"
Of course Miku couldn't answer that.
She couldn't exactly say: I'm in the mood now, so please get out and let me enjoy the privacy of the bathroom.
"I'll answer you next time."
She immediately shook Nino's hand off.
Her movement was so sudden and forceful that Nino couldn't hold on.
The next second, Miku ran straight into the bedroom and slammed the door shut behind her.
Crap!
Nino was stunned.
This was an unexpected development she hadn't anticipated at all.
She glanced instinctively toward Ichika's room.
Fortunately, the door was already shut tight, and the Nakano house had excellent soundproofing—there was no way Ichika could've heard what just happened.
In her panic, Nino overlooked a detail.
Not only was Ichika's door tightly closed—so were Yotsuba's and Itsuki's.
When she had "snuck in" earlier, both Yotsuba and Itsuki were still awake and had their doors open while they were doing their own things.
"Miku! Open the door!"
Nino began anxiously knocking.
But Miku didn't want to respond at all.
Her face was burning hot, her body flushed with heat—how could she have any mood to respond to Nino, who was still knocking at the door?
At this moment, all she wanted was to calm down as soon as possible.
At the very least, she needed to suppress that strange heat in her chest—she absolutely couldn't let it take over!
Outside, Nino was growing more and more anxious.
But she didn't dare say that Makoto was still "in hiding" inside, because once that was revealed, there'd be no way to explain things to Miku.
Sneaking into the house like this had to be done secretly—there was no way she could let it get out.
She was so worried at the door that she started sweating, but Miku had locked the door from the inside, and she couldn't get in at all.
As the minutes ticked by, she began to worry that Miku and Makoto might run into each other—and her secret would be exposed.
Then she really wouldn't be able to face her sisters anymore.
She waited nervously, minute after minute. Five minutes passed, and still there was no sound from inside.
"What's going on…?"
Nino was confused.
Logically, five minutes should've been plenty for Miku to undress and start showering, but until now, she hadn't heard the expected scream from Miku, nor Makoto trying to explain.
She didn't understand it, but at least the worst-case scenario hadn't happened, so she could finally breathe a little.
"Right—his phone!"
Suddenly she remembered that Makoto had left his phone next to the bathtub, wrapped in plastic.
She hurried back to the bedroom and was just about to text him when she saw he'd already sent a message.
Makoto: "Don't worry, she didn't find me."
Nino: "How did you manage that?"
There was no second exit in the bathroom.
Well, technically there was a window, but remembering Makoto's tall and broad build, she figured unless he could compress his bones, there was no way he could fit through it.
Just as she was still trying to figure it out, Makoto messaged again:
Makoto: "I'm hanging on the wall. There's enough steam in here that Miku didn't notice me."
Nino: "???"
She imagined his position and couldn't help but want to laugh—but also couldn't laugh.
Because Miku was in there showering!
That meant the two of them had inadvertently seen each other completely.
Nino hadn't expected her impulsive move to cause such a chain reaction.
But it was too late now. All she could do was reply:
Nino: "How much longer can you last?"
Makoto: "I can hang here all day."
Nino: "This is not the time for jokes!"
Makoto: "I'm not joking. Don't worry, I won't fall before Miku leaves."
Nino fell into thought.
He's… that physically fit?
No wonder, under his "guidance" earlier, she had been rendered weak in the legs, while he was still as vigorous as ever.
...
Inside the bathroom.
The steam from Makoto and Nino's earlier bath still lingered.
Since Miku had rushed in so quickly, she hadn't given it time to dissipate before shutting the glass door behind her.
The moment Makoto heard Miku enter, he had calmly leapt out of the tub, grabbed his phone, and jumped up—using his hands and feet to brace himself against the wall.
His pose now resembled that of a superhero from a movie: Spider-Man.
The only difference was that Spider-Man wore a bodysuit—Makoto only had a smartphone.
Though it happened suddenly, Makoto didn't panic.
He understood perfectly why Miku had rushed in like that.
When someone's mind is overwhelmed with thoughts, they often miss the little details around them.
And with the bathroom full of steam, it provided the perfect camouflage for Makoto.
Miku walked right in—completely unclothed.
She didn't look up, so she couldn't have seen Makoto hanging above her.
The shower turned on, and cold water splashed over her head as she let out a long breath.
"Yep… cooling down with cold water is the right move."
She mumbled to herself.
Standing under the cold shower for a bit helped her suppress the heat inside her.
Then she turned to drain the water from the bathtub and started refilling it.
Since she was already here to cool off, she figured she might as well take a soak too.
She didn't even question why Nino hadn't drained the water earlier.
From her perspective, Nino had only rushed out because Miku had nearly broken the door down.
Forgetting a small thing like that? Totally reasonable.
Thanks to Nino's earlier actions, the most bizarre scene had now unfolded in the bathroom:
Makoto hung motionless from the wall, as still as Spider-Man.
Right below, Miku showered without a clue.
Once the tub was full again, she gracefully stepped in with her long legs.
"Mmm~"
As soon as she sat down, she let out a satisfied hum, unable to hold back the comfort she felt.
Makoto realized she wasn't going to leave anytime soon. Supporting himself with one arm, he used his left hand to text Nino:
Makoto: "Find a way to call Miku out."
Nino: "You can't hold on anymore?"
Makoto: "That's not it. I'm just worried that the longer I'm in here, the higher the risk she notices me."
Nino: "Got it. Hang on a few more minutes."
Makoto silenced his phone and looked at the figure in the tub, enveloped in steam, feeling a mix of emotions.
What he said earlier about being able to hang all day wasn't a joke.
With his current physical strength—stamina, arm strength, core power—he could easily do it.
But like he said to Nino, the longer he hung there, the higher the risk of being caught.
Who could say for sure that Miku would never look up?
She wasn't some pro-gamer taught by Coach Go—"CTs never look up" wasn't exactly a rule in real life.
So Makoto stayed calm, waiting patiently on the wall.
He figured, I already warned Nino. She should be calling Miku out soon.
What he didn't expect…
Was that the cold water had only cooled Miku down a little.
Now that she was soaking in the warm, soothing tub again, the suppressed heat inside her was reignited instantly.
So, Makoto saw it with his own eyes—Miku blushing, closing her eyes like she had made some kind of decision.
The next moment, the gentle rhythm of water echoed around the tub, like the lamenting sound of spring rain, falling with a soft, rhythmic patter.
Her voice was like a warm spring breeze brushing against a wind chime, swinging gently with rising and falling tones, echoing melodiously through the entire bathroom.
Like a master pianist coaxing a divine melody from the black and white keys.
Makoto was stunned.
Wait… you said you wanted to cool off—why does it sound like a full-blown symphony in there?!
Several minutes later, Miku let out a deep breath and lay lazily back in the tub.
Her face was flushed and delicate, her dazed, sultry eyes half-lidded.
And just then, her gaze tilted upward—and locked eyes with Makoto.
This time, it was Miku who froze in place.
Question marks popped up on her face.
Exclamation marks appeared over Makoto's.
This wasn't Spider-Man anymore—this was Failure Man!
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