Click——
Hearing the sound of the door close, Su Yuzu sat up.
The blanket slid down the girl's shoulders. In the dim room, only a faint glimmer of dawn seeped through the gap in the curtains.
Still seemingly a little dazed, Su Yuzu subconsciously hugged Tsukiyomi Fuya's blanket, her gaze falling straight onto the black gossamer veil the woman had left behind on the floor.
Reflected in her eyes was still the woman's slender... figure as she fled the room.
Mm——
Fleeing.
Pursing her lips at the sweet, sticky taste left on them, the still-dazed Su Yuzu could nonetheless sense that Tsukiyomi Fuya had fled in a fluster.
Just like last night.
Just like when Tsukiyomi Fuya had hurriedly told her to rest.
Su Yuzu slowly got up.
The girl stood barefoot on the wooden floor of the observatory's attic.
She bent down and picked up the gossamer veil that belonged to Tsukiyomi Fuya. Even without deliberately sniffing it, she could smell that faint, sweet, cloying fragrance.
Just like... the scented balm she had dreamed of in her dreams.
After pondering for a moment, Su Yuzu hung Tsukiyomi Fuya's veil neatly by the bedside.
Then she took a spare school uniform out of the Material Inventory and rustled her way into her clothes.
The corners of the girl's lips curled upward bit by bit.
Last night she had rested very well.
Or rather——
Su Yuzu actually hadn't rested that well in a very, very long time.
Although she also slept soundly when she held Soga Yura, but... every time she was together with Soga Yura, they always ended up going to sleep very late.
Sometimes she even had to carry Soga Yura to the bathroom to bathe.
And she had to tiptoe about, terrified of disturbing Sister Iori, who lived very close by.
The last time Su Yuzu had slept this comfortably was back at Unohana Chiyo's home.
Only an older sister like Unohana Chiyo or Tsukiyomi Fuya could give Yuzu that sense of security—almost maternal—that only a mature, gorgeous older sister could ever bring her.
However——
If she savored the thought carefully, although Unohana Chiyo and Tsukiyomi Fuya both had equally lovely figures.
Still, between one older sister and another, there were subtle differences.
Although Unohana Chiyo sometimes acted far too reserved in front of Yuzu, with a kind of bashfulness and clumsiness utterly at odds with the woman's mature, gorgeous appearance.
Yet that reserve, bashfulness, and clumsiness gave one a delightful surprise—like peeling open a fully ripe peach only to taste a hint of unripe, tart sweetness.
As for Tsukiyomi Fuya... Su Yuzu lowered her head and thought of bright, gentle moonlight.
Last night.
She seemed to have once held that moonlight in her hands.
On the first floor of the observatory, Tsukiyomi Fuya, having hurried downstairs, fretted over her own carelessness.
Her right hand pressed against her chest.
Her burning ear tips were so keenly sensitive that she could seemingly even trace the very path of the hair strands falling beside her ears.
Her fingertips even seemed to carry the faintest scent of yuzu—or rather, of fragrant citron.
"If only I had endured just a little more..."
"Yuzu could probably have slept a while longer." Tsukiyomi Fuya recalled the dazed look on the girl's face the moment she had just woken.
"Insufficient sleep is a major taboo for a girl who's still growing and developing."
"But." Her thoughts then turned to the contrast between Soga Yura and Su Yuzu.
Apart from her figure, Yuzu's height also seemed to be a touch taller than Soga Yura's now.
Perhaps the one who needed good sleep and ample nourishment wasn't Yuzu after all.
Looking down at the seemingly overly provocative nightgown on her body, without the gossamer veil draped over it, this nightgown seemed a little too... risqué.
But Tsukiyomi Fuya immediately realized something.
Yesterday's clothes had already been taken off and were sitting in the washing machine.
The clothes she could change into were still... in the room, but Yuzu was in there now.
Tsukiyomi Fuya could only drape on a wool coat and fasten a few of its buttons.
But the coat had been designed in the first place to accentuate a woman's mature charm, so even with the buttons fastened, its neckline still plunged deep, and the lace at the chest of her nightgown could faintly be glimpsed.
But it didn't matter anymore.
Tsukiyomi Fuya set about preparing breakfast for the girl.
Pitter-patter——
She heard the girl's footsteps coming downstairs.
In Tsukiyomi Fuya's eyes, the girl sat down 'cautiously' and 'reservedly' at the table in the dining area.
"Yuzu, is a beef and cheese sandwich all right for breakfast?"
"There seems to be some lettuce in the fridge, too."
"Okay." Su Yuzu nodded obediently. "Tsukiyomi-senpai..."
"Do you need any help?"
While Tsukiyomi Fuya was downstairs, Su Yuzu took a glance at [Operator Development], and while she was at it finished her daily routine... remotely 'checking in' on Kujou Katora.
If it got too late, Kujou Katora would already be at work.
Su Yuzu was a very considerate girl, after all.
"No need~"
"Yuzu just has to wait and eat."
Tsukiyomi Fuya pushed the freshly prepared milk in front of Yuzu. Su Yuzu stared blankly at the wool coat on Tsukiyomi Fuya's body, as though... she had thought of something.
Tsukiyomi Fuya's cooking was surprisingly good, beyond Yuzu's expectations.
But when she thought about it, it made perfect sense.
Living all alone for so long, with plenty of time to study food and drink.
At the same time... with the cleverness to reach the Fifth Sequence, it would be strange if her cooking tasted bad.
What's more, Tsukiyomi Fuya, who could afford a mobile base vehicle, used ingredients that by no means looked like cheap stuff.
As long as she didn't burn them to charcoal, it would be hard to make them taste bad.
Cutting the sandwich diagonally, Tsukiyomi Fuya pushed the larger portion in front of Yuzu as well.
She watched with contentment as the girl ate quickly in small bites.
All of a sudden she felt she understood the joy her colleague got from raising a hamster.
And besides... wasn't Yuzu so much cuter than any hamster?
"Are you full?"
"If you're not full yet... Teacher... no, I have more here."
Su Yuzu nodded vigorously, but after seeing Tsukiyomi Fuya's smiling, pale-purple eyes, she still obediently took the other half of the sandwich from her.
Su Yuzu counted as half a Physical-type Esper.
Exercising regularly as she did, her appetite was still a bit larger than that of an ordinary girl.
Tsukiyomi Fuya was suddenly rewarded with a kind of joy like Feeding a small animal.
She propped her arm on the table, rested her chin in her hand, and simply watched Yuzu, brimming with delight.
"These days..."
"If Yuzu isn't used to the taste of the base canteen, you can also come to the observatory to find me."
"Okay!" Su Yuzu tilted her little head up slightly, swallowed the food in her mouth, and then nodded vigorously.
Watching the girl's adorable movements, Tsukiyomi Fuya felt her mood lift a few degrees.
Under Su Yuzu's stunned gaze, Tsukiyomi Fuya slowly reached out and wiped the cheese off the corner of the girl's mouth.
"Sen..."
"Senpai."
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