The next day, at 10:30 in the morning.
Ichin yawned as he walked out of the bedroom, looking like he hadn't slept nearly enough.
Mahjong really was addictive— the four of them started around ten and didn't stop until after two, almost three in the morning. Haruno and Yukino didn't even bother going back home; they just stayed in the guest room at Ichin's place.
Utaha was still fast asleep in the bedroom. Ichin didn't wake her—might as well let her rest.
As soon as he reached the living room, he heard sounds coming from the kitchen.
"At this hour…?"
Walking to the kitchen doorway, he saw Yukino already busy cooking, and his entire expression turned into I knew it.
"Yukino, why are you up so early? Don't you want to sleep a bit more?"
Yukino, who was chopping vegetables, turned to face him.
"It's fine. I usually wake up early anyway. And today I actually slept in—I woke up at nine. I've already started lunch. If you're hungry, I made some sandwiches."
Ichin chuckled and nodded.
"Thanks. I'll go wash up first."
After washing up, he ate a sandwich, drank a cup of coffee, and then joined Yukino in preparing lunch.
It wasn't until a little past eleven that Utaha and Haruno finally woke up.
Both stepped out of their rooms wearing sleep gowns, hair completely messy.
Haruno greeted cheerfully,
"Morning, Utaha!"
"Good morning, Haruno-nee. How'd you sleep?"
"Pretty well. Just… waking up without Yukino next to me meant missing a pillow." Haruno stretched lazily, then her eyes turned mischievous as she scanned Utaha's nightgown like a pervy old man.
"Utaha-chan, want to shower together?"
"Nope."
Utaha refused with a smile.
"Go shower back at your place, Haruno-nee. We're all girls, sure—but I still don't want you taking advantage of me."
"Tch~~stingy."
Haruno stuck her tongue out playfully. Not in a hurry to bathe, she instead followed the smell of food straight into the kitchen.
"Good morning~~ Yukino-chan~~ give your sister a hug!"
"Stay away!"
"Haruno-nee, I'm still right here! You're about to flash everyone!"
"It's fine, I haven't flashed anything yet. Right, Ichin—want to take a look?"
"Get out! OUT!"
Hearing the chaos from the kitchen, Utaha just smiled helplessly, shook her head, and went to the bathroom.
At noon, after the four finished lunch together, Ichin sat slumped on the sofa, still drowsy. His lap was occupied by Peppa, equally lazy and unwilling to move.
"So… any plans for this afternoon?"
"Probably not."
Haruno looked just as sleepy as Ichin. After stuffing herself at lunch, drowsiness kicked in again. She yawned loudly.
"I'm going to take a nap later. It's finally the weekend—I need to rest. These past few days were exhausting. Yukino-chan, want to go back and nap too?"
"I'm not going."
Yukino shook her head while using a cat toy to play with George.
"I want to go buy some things. We're low on vegetables and meat, and the cats are almost out of food. We still have four days left before we go back on the 31st."
As soon as cat food was mentioned, Ichin suddenly remembered—they were running low on cat food too.
"Yukino, if you're going to buy cat food, count me in. I need to restock as well—and get some canned food too. Utaha, do you want to come along? We could walk around the shops a bit."
Holding the remote, Utaha shook her head.
"I'll pass. I'm still not feeling well. I want to nap first this afternoon, then write."
"I see. Then Haruno-nee, want to come with us?"
"Nope! Your big sister is going to sleep!"
Haruno looked absolutely exhausted. She wobbled to her feet and waved a hand weakly.
"Ichin, take care of Yukino for me~~ I'm going to bed~~ goodnight~~~"
Just how sleepy was she?
Ichin shrugged and turned to Yukino.
"Well, then let's head out. We've got a lot to buy."
"Mm. Let's go."
Yukino nodded, stood up with him, put on a thick coat, and headed out.
"Ah—wait, Ichin!"
Utaha suddenly called after him, running from the living room to the entrance.
"When you come back, bring me milk tea! Pearl pudding flavor, half sugar, hot!"
"Okay, got it."
Downstairs, Ichin drove and took Yukino straight to the supermarket.
Even though it was Christmas Day, it was also Saturday, so the supermarket was quite crowded in the afternoon. The two didn't wander around and went directly to the produce section.
And immediately found Yagami Kou and Rin, who were also selecting vegetables.
These two hadn't been in the apartment on Christmas Eve—they'd gone to Kou's house instead. No one knew when they came back.
Seeing that the two hadn't noticed them yet and were still passionately discussing which vegetables to buy, Ichin walked over.
"Kou, Rin."
"Hm?"
The two turned around. Seeing Ichin and Yukino, Yagami Kou grinned.
"Good afternoon, Ichin, Yukino—wait? Yukino? Not Utaha? Have you changed your heart?"
"…Kou, do you want to lose your mouth?"
Ichin rammed her lightly with the shopping cart, not bothering to hide his annoyance.
"Utaha just didn't want to go out. It's cold today, and she shouldn't be outside in her condition."
Rin smacked Kou's arm and apologized,
"Sorry, Ichin, Yukino. This idiot is a bit too hyper today. Anyway, let's pick our groceries and chat."
As they shopped, everyone talked about their Christmas Eve plans.
Rin indeed spent it at Kou's place, and they had a very pleasant evening.
But when Kou heard that Ichin and the others played mahjong all night, she let out a dramatic gasp.
"What!? I totally forgot we could've played mahjong at home! Karaoke was way too exhausting! Ichin, are you doing anything tonight? Let's play mahjong together!"
"We could. Haruno-nee would definitely love that."
Ichin nodded, then his expression turned complicated as he recalled last night's battle.
"But if we play… be mentally prepared. When Haruno goes serious, she's terrifying. She won a lot of my money yesterday."
The stakes were small, sure—but Haruno won a lot, and her hands were big hands every time.
Yukino nodded vigorously at the side. As her actual little sister, she suffered less, but Ichin had lost the most last night.
But Yagami Kou wasn't afraid at all. Instead, she looked fired up.
"No problem, no problem! A little gamble makes things fun! Hurry and finish shopping so we can go back—I can't wait any longer!"
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