"What is this obsessive woman doing again..."
Sora glared distastefully at Masuzu, who was taking a deep breath at the door. She looked around, but found that only Haruno had started searching with purpose. Meanwhile, Yukino and Utaha stood in the corner of the room, seemingly having no intention of moving at all.
Utaha was still understandable. According to her, besides meeting Yuu once during summer vacation, she had no other close connection, let alone left anything representing a close relationship... Even if there was, it shouldn't be in this room.
However, Yukino was very strange. Although she had lost her memory now, if she still loved her older brother, she should be as interested in his room as he was, and invade his personal space under the guise of searching for something. Why was she standing so calmly still?
Sora narrowed her eyes. She carefully observed the long-haired black-haired girl, who stood tall but appeared less cold and strong than when they first met.
Yukino bit her lip slightly, looking at Haruno's back as she rummaged through a drawer. Her beautiful, snow-white face showed a hesitant expression. Her eyes struggled slightly, as if she wasn't sure whether to reveal a certain secret, and feared her treasure would be snatched away as soon as she spoke.
Her hands clenched lightly in front of her chest. If she were religious, she might be holding a cross for peace of mind.
After observing for a moment, Sora proactively walked closer.
"Aren't you going to search? Until yesterday, you were Yuu's girlfriend. So, as long as it has something to do with you and was left behind, he would definitely keep it very preciously in his room. One of them might be the key to entering that dream."
"Ah, that, I..." Yukino turned, a little flustered. She opened her small mouth. The hand holding her chest unconsciously tightened.
She glanced at Sora, then at her older sister who was focused on using a wire to pry open Yuu's desk drawer. Finally, she shifted her gaze back, exhaled a sigh of relief, and her shoulders dropped. Her expression quickly returned to calm and peaceful.
"I'm sorry, even though you all say I'm his girlfriend, the me now can't remember anything. I don't know about our dating days, and I don't know what we ever left for each other..."
Yukino whispered softly. Her head was slightly lowered, like a little girl abandoned alone by her parents in a strange place, wanting to go home but not knowing the way. She exuded sadness amidst her confusion.
"Oh... so that's why you're just watching."
Sora suddenly understood. Then she felt like she was picking at someone else's wound, so she felt bad about continuing to hurt her. After nodding comfortingly, she twirled a strand of her hair and prepared to leave as if nothing had happened.
However, at that moment, Yukino suddenly released her hands from her chest, gently smoothed her long hair back, and pulled a necklace from beneath her high-neck sweater.
"Although there's no proof, this snowflake necklace that I somehow have, he must have given it to me..."
She surmised there was no other possibility.
After seeing her uninvited older sister home, Yukino didn't dwell in negative emotions for too long. She immediately cheered herself up, planning to buy something at the supermarket downstairs, and then curl up on the sofa watching cat videos to calm herself.
However, before going down, she glanced at the cold street scene outside. Perhaps influenced by some kind of impulse, she took out the snowflake necklace wrapped in a handkerchief, put it on her neck and hid it under her clothes, then went out.
As a result, the winter that usually made her curl up and her fingers freeze, was now like a docile stray cat. There was no longer the fierce cold and bone-piercing indifference.
Endless warmth spread from the snowflake, penetrating her chest and spreading through her blood. As if tightly embraced by someone's broad chest, it gave her a sense of comfort to walk forward steadily even in winter.
Yukino was initially very confused. Why an ordinary jade necklace, not a new type of hand warmer or other black technology, could do such a magical thing.
However, in this more magical situation, all those doubts seemed to resolve themselves.
"This..." Not wanting to touch the snowflake, which should still have warmth from Yukino's chest, though very curious, Sora didn't ask her to take off the necklace. She just brought her head closer, observing the necklace from top to bottom.
Then she said in a convincing tone: "He definitely gave it to you! Look, 'Y&Y' is engraved here, which should mean Yuu and Yukino... Yuu likes to do small romantic things like this, just wanting the girl to become more obsessed with him after accidentally finding it."
"Y&Y?"
Yukino was startled. She then flipped the snowflake to face herself. She frowned slightly in surprise, narrowed her eyes, and re-examined the snowflake jade of unknown material.
"No way, I've checked it very carefully. There's nothing..."
"You didn't check the chain part, did you?" Sora shrugged. In this world, no one knew more about her older brother's little thoughts than she did. "Search carefully. It's engraved on the inside of the chain connecting the snowflake jade... That man, Yuu, truly only uses useless little cleverness."
Or perhaps a bad sense of humor?
Following Sora's words, Yukino finally managed to see the ant-sized English letters engraved on the silver ring connected to the snowflake.
Y&Y.
Yuu and Yukino.
Without any proof, no matter who doubted, these three characters represented that meaning.
Yukino held the necklace in front of her eyes, staring at the three characters unmoving. Her dark blue eyes seemed to contain only them.
Although they were just simple words composed of English letters, it was like a love story full of promises and smiles, making her unconsciously fascinated, imagining what kind of complicated and winding emotional experience had occurred between Yuu and Yukino.
It must have been a memory that didn't end so well, but a memory that anyone could face without regret in the future, right?
Unconsciously, she showed a warm and relieved smile.
"I see..."
"Tenkuji-kun, is this the key you left for me?"
"Even if all of this isn't happening now, even if you didn't proactively come to confess to me, as long as I carefully examine this necklace, sooner or later I will find the secret hidden behind these letters..."
"As long as I still love you, then Y&Y will forever mean Yuu and Yukino."
Yukino gripped the necklace tightly, then carefully tucked it back into her sweater, placing it in the center of her chest.
She slowly exhaled from her lungs. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly. Her blue eyes seemed to smile, then suddenly lifted, but also rippled with a clear sparkle like a lake surface.
"In that case, the fact that I am his girlfriend needs no further doubt."
Muttering to herself, Yukino shifted a firm and relaxed gaze to Sora, and said with a smile: "Thank you, Sora-chan. Although my memory hasn't returned yet, I already know something very important to me, and I won't be confused or sad anymore."
Sora stared at her, who suddenly felt relieved, with her whole demeanor gradually returning to normal. She replied stiffly: "Huh? Oh, you're welcome... I just spoke casually, I didn't mean to help you."
Did this mean she talked too much? She felt a little regretful for no reason.
"Even so, I have to thank you."
Yukino shook her head. She glanced at her older sister, who had successfully opened the desk drawer and started rummaging from top to bottom, then suddenly turned and walked out the door.
"Where are you going?" Sora asked instinctively.
"I'm going to make a call for a bit, and will be right back."
Like a sister-in-law to her sister-in-law, Yukino naturally rubbed her small head. After a brief pause, she said again:
"Sora-chan, I want to ask Yui to come over for a bit, is that okay?"
Hearing this sentence, the one who reacted immediately wasn't Sora, who was preparing to swat her hand away, but Masuzu, who had finished sniffing at the door.
"You want to call Dango-chan? It's better not to do that."