It might not be obvious in front of others, but whenever the two of them were alone together, Yukino became especially affectionate and clingy.
A few minutes later, Yukino leaned quietly against Ichin's chest, her cheeks slightly flushed and a happy smile lingering on her face, completely unwilling to move.
Ichin chuckled and gently pinched her cheek.
"Alright, you should head out first. I still need to finish making dinner."
Yukino nodded, lifted her head, and gave another kiss to the corner of his lips before finally leaving the kitchen.
At five thirty, Utaha came downstairs after finishing her manuscript and sending it to Machida Sonoko. The moment she entered the living room, she saw Yukino sitting on the sofa with Peppa in her arms, smiling so brightly that it was impossible to miss.
"Oh~~~?"
Utaha walked over and sat beside her.
"What's with that dazzling smile? Let me guess... while I was upstairs working, did you sneak a taste already?"
Yukino's face instantly turned red as she hurriedly shook her head.
"No, Ichin's still cooking."
"No way. That expression of yours is definitely suspicious."
Utaha wrapped an arm around Yukino's shoulders and leaned closer.
"Confession earns leniency, you know!"
"..."
Yukino stayed silent for a moment before finally turning her face away and mumbling softly:
"I didn't sneak a taste or anything... I just went over and hugged him for a bit."
"Just hugged him?"
"We kissed, alright?! Happy now?"
"Now that sounds more believable!"
Utaha nodded in satisfaction.
"But just kissing shouldn't make you this happy for so long, right?"
"Different people find happiness in different things."
Yukino set down the increasingly restless Peppa from her lap and took a sip of juice.
"I refuse to believe your mood doesn't change after kissing Ichin either, Utaha."
"Hehe, well, that's true."
Utaha narrowed her eyes with a grin. Then, right under Yukino's gaze, she suddenly stood up and ran toward the kitchen.
"I'll go check on how dinner's coming along~~~~"
A few seconds later, Yukino heard Ichin's startled cry from inside the kitchen.
"W-Wait, hold on, I'm still mmmph?!"
Clearly, Utaha had not gone there to check on dinner.
About three minutes later, Utaha returned from the kitchen with flushed cheeks and sat back down beside Yukino.
Smacking her lips lightly, she smiled in satisfaction.
"Mhm, emotional bonding really is important. Ah, right, Yukino, I suddenly remembered something."
"What is it?"
Utaha pointed toward the kitchen.
"Look, we're having mapo tofu for dinner, right? But Haruno-san probably can't eat that."
Only then did Yukino realize it as well.
Right... although Haruno's condition this month was much better than last month, overly spicy food still wasn't good for her.
Yukino immediately frowned.
"That's my fault. I completely forgot about it. That means Sis will have one less dish she can eat tonight."
"It's fine, don't worry. I already talked to Ichin about it."
Utaha held onto Yukino's arm and smiled.
"I told him to use less spice if possible. Besides, there are still three other dishes anyway."
Yukino nodded.
At this point, that was really all they could do.
Although Yukino knew her sister would not get angry, as her younger sister, forgetting something like this still made her feel a little guilty.
At 6:15 PM, Haruno finally came home from work.
The front door opened, and Haruno's energetic voice immediately echoed through the house.
"Everyone~~ I'm home! And I'm starving!"
Utaha smiled and waved at her.
"Welcome back, Haruno-san. Dinner's almost ready! Go change clothes and wash your hands first."
"Okay! Wait for me!"
Haruno did not head upstairs immediately. Instead, she first ran to the kitchen entrance and peeked inside before happily heading upstairs.
Five minutes later, Haruno came back down wearing comfortable home clothes. After washing her hands, she sat at the dining table and happily picked up her rice bowl.
As dinner began, Ichin reminded her:
"Haruno-nee, even though I made the mapo tofu only mildly spicy, you should still eat less of it. Try to avoid overly stimulating food for a while until your body fully recovers."
"Okay okay, I know already!"
Even though she was craving the mapo tofu badly, the other three dishes were all things she liked too, so she could still hold herself back.
After dinner, Haruno collapsed comfortably onto the sofa, completely unwilling to move.
"Ahhh~~~ I'm so full. And work was especially exhausting today. I seriously don't want to move anymore."
Although this month was not nearly as bad as the previous one, it still left her feeling quite drained. Thankfully, coming home to Ichin's cooking instantly lifted her mood again.
Seeing Ichin walk out of the kitchen carrying freshly brewed tea, Haruno immediately raised her hand expectantly.
"Ichin Ichin, I want yam and red date porridge again tomorrow morning, okay?"
"Sure. That's easy enough. We still have some yam left from the batch we bought the other day, so I'll use it tomorrow morning."
"Yay!!!"
Haruno happily took a sip of tea before asking everyone about their plans for the evening.
"No one's busy tonight, right? Want to watch a movie together? No horror movies this time, let's watch something relaxing!"
Yukino raised her hand.
"I don't have time. I still have some assignments to finish."
Ichin and Utaha, however, had nothing planned, so they agreed to Haruno's suggestion.
After everyone finished showering that night, Yukino went to work on her assignments while Ichin, Utaha, and Haruno headed to the home theater room to relax with a comedy movie.
Haruno pressed the play button on the remote, then glanced mischievously at Ichin beside her.
"Hehe, the person next to you tonight isn't Yukino, so don't accidentally pull the wrong person into your arms~~~"
Ichin nodded calmly.
"Don't worry, I won't."
But after the movie had been playing for about an hour, something suddenly dropped against Ichin's right shoulder.
Turning his head, he discovered Haruno had already fallen asleep.
"Emmm~~~ but this movie's actually pretty good though."
Utaha also noticed Haruno sleeping. After leaning over to take a look, she whispered softly:
"She's probably just exhausted from work. Once she relaxed, she fell asleep right away. Ichin, take Haruno-san back to her room. It's not cold here, but sleeping in bed is still better."
Ichin nodded and carefully lifted Haruno into a princess carry. Meanwhile, Utaha muted the movie and quietly stepped outside first to turn off the hallway lights so they would not accidentally wake her.
Haruno's bedroom did not have much of a girly atmosphere. Compared to decorations, it was filled more with professional books on the shelves and several framed photos on the desk, showing pictures of her with Yukino, as well as Ichin and Utaha.
Carefully placing Haruno onto the bed, Ichin pulled the blanket over her before he and Utaha quietly left the room, turning off the lights and closing the door behind them.
From beginning to end, Haruno never woke up.
After feeling the familiar warmth of her bed, she unconsciously pursed her lips slightly, then wriggled around under the blanket until she found the most comfortable position before peacefully falling asleep again.
...