Night arrived.
Still in the same luxurious apartment.
Bringing home committee work, Yukino finished dinner around 7:30 PM. She cleared the dishes and took them to the kitchen.
Her long black hair was tied back in a ponytail for ease of movement. After putting on a cream-colored apron with a cat paw print pattern, the phone in her pocket suddenly rang.
Who would call her at this hour…
For some reason, Yukino felt a slight, inexplicable excitement.
With a feeling even she didn't understand, she took out her phone and glanced at it. The slight curve at the corner of her lips vanished instantly. She answered the call expressionlessly.
"What's up this time, Nee-san?"
"Ugh, those are the first words in a sisterly chat…" Complaining like that, the woman then spoke in her most annoying and astonished tone, "You seemed so down yesterday, but today you're full of energy? Let me guess, does this have something to do with a certain someone…"
"If you keep guessing, I'm hanging up." Yukino gave her no chance to tease.
She switched her phone to speaker and placed it on the shelf nearby. Seeing her slightly flushed ears in the mirror, she took a deep breath to calm herself, then turned on the faucet. Cold water flowed over the dishes and her hands, covered in plastic gloves.
"You're so heartless." A bored sigh came through. Haruno's tone returned to calm, "Though I'm curious about what happened between you two, you wouldn't tell me anyway. In that case, I'll just… call Yuu-chan later."
"Do whatever you want."
At this point, Yukino had zero interest in what this person planned to do.
As for how Yuu would respond when questioned… she could roughly imagine, so she wasn't worried.
After all, she hadn't done anything with him that couldn't be known to others. If Haruno wanted to ask, let her ask. Just don't bother her.
Suddenly, her dishwashing paused.
Her own sister was a creepy stalker of her male friend—realizing this, Yukino's expression became extremely complicated, as if she'd swallowed a bag of oddly flavored jelly beans.
Was this bad fate? Why did it have to be Yuu? And she, stuck in the middle, would likely find life even harder.
Now, Yukino could only sigh deeply over it.
She could only hope her sister wasn't serious, that it was just a fleeting interest. Once bored, she'd "play" with someone else. She hoped her sister wouldn't keep pestering her and her few friends.
"…Yukino-chan, are you listening?"
"Of course."
Gathering her scattered thoughts, Yukino turned off the faucet and picked up a towel to dry the dishes.
"There's a gathering this weekend. You all have to attend. I heard some foreign company presidents will be there."
Saying it with little interest, Haruno then asked curiously, "Isn't that pretty normal? What does it have to do with me?"
"Natsukawa Masuzu, your classmate from the Natsukawa family, will also be at the gathering. I'm just letting you know to see if you want to come." Haruno said casually, "Though the answer's probably obvious…"
"No."
A place full of lies, calculations, and everyone wearing fake masks was like a sulfuric acid hell for Yukino. Staying there for even a few minutes was torture.
Though she could endure it and wouldn't act childish when she had to go… if it could be avoided, she'd avoid it.
"I knew it." Haruno wasn't surprised. She continued, "What if Mom asks you to come home too?"
Hearing those words, Yukino couldn't help but hesitate for a few seconds. She glanced at the phone showing the ongoing call.
"…Please tell Mom that I'm going to a friend's house this weekend. If there's nothing urgent, I'll come home another time."
"A friend?" Haruno immediately caught the keyword. "Yukino-chan? The cold, solitary Yukino-chan going to a friend's house to hang out? That's rare."
"It is rare." While placing the clean dishes on the rack, Yukino tried to keep her voice steady. She said nonchalantly, "It's not hanging out, more like a cooking class."
"Oh? Yukino-chan can't cook?" Haruno laughed with keen interest.
Yukino looked up at the ceiling and explained calmly, "Though he knows basic cooking, there's still plenty of room for improvement."
"I see. He must want to make bentos for Yuu-chan, right? Hmph, such an obvious attack strategy…"
"That shouldn't be the case. Even if he did, it wouldn't be as good as his own cooking."
"Then why's he still asking you to learn cooking?"
Yukino rubbed her stiff face, sighing silently.
"How would I know… Anyway, that's how it is. I'm busy this weekend. You guys go to the party."
"Alright~ It's rare for Yukino-chan to go to a friend's house to hang out. Mom probably won't force you to come now either. Don't worry."
"Mhm, thanks. See you."
After a half-hearted goodbye, Yukino promptly ended the call.
She placed the phone against her chest. Her chest rose and fell, her breathing slightly labored for some reason.
Leaning against the fridge, she looked at herself in the mirror.
Her pale face quietly flushed bright red. Her gaze darted away slightly, like a child lying and afraid of being caught.
Yukino couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
"Diverting attention, not telling the truth to avoid lying, shifting focus to unimportant things…"
She always used this way of speaking. It was amazing how she felt no guilt at all for fooling people.
But to avoid further trouble from her sister, Yukino, who didn't want to lie and wasn't even good at it, could only temporarily mimic someone's speaking style and successfully fool her quick-witted sister.
"But even if it's just mimicking, why is my heart beating so fast…"
Thinking of Yuu. Thinking that she shouldn't have shown weakness earlier. Thinking that her speaking style should've been a bit more cunning.
With a hard-to-detect excitement, Yukino untied her ponytail, letting her glossy black hair, shimmering like graphite, fall loose. She prepared to head to the bathroom for a shower.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Haruno set down her phone, staring intently at her sister's contact avatar.
"Something's off…"
As for what was off, she couldn't quite explain it right away.
But that was the strangest part.
No one understood her sister better than she did, even more than Yukino herself—Haruno always held onto this confidence.
When it came to her sister's feelings and emotions, she could sense something was wrong just from her tone. She could guess five or six parts of the truth from a few words. In person, she could even read Yukino's thoughts on the spot, like mind-reading.
Of course, not having to worry about Yukino lying was a key factor.
But ever since her sister mentioned going to a friend's house, Haruno suddenly couldn't read her true thoughts—it sounded like the truth, but there was also a feeling that she was deliberately blurring the focus and playing a small trick on her.
How to put it…
It felt very familiar.
This way of speaking—was it mimicking her, or…
A speculation gradually formed in her mind. The phone in her palm tightened unconsciously.
Haruno slowly narrowed her eyes, the corners of her lips curling into a meaningful arc.
"It shouldn't be what I'm thinking…"