When Haru got home, Yukino had just finished repairing her cat-ear headband.
Utaha was sitting on the sofa to the right. On the surface, she was watching TV, but in reality, her eyes kept drifting toward Yukino.
Both greeted him casually when he came in. Yukino calmly set the cat-ear headband beside her, not at all embarrassed to be seen with it.
After all, she'd already worn it and even done some decidedly indecent things while wearing it. As long as there weren't outsiders present, she didn't care who saw.
"You were gone for quite a while," Utaha remarked. She'd originally wanted to ask why he hadn't replied to her message, but remembering that she'd sent him a candid photo, she changed her wording on the spot.
Haru's next words immediately caught both girls' attention:
"I just ran into Kato."
"…Hm?"
They reacted in perfect unison, both letting out the same questioning hum.
For a brief moment their gazes met, then each looked away, feigning composure.
Setting his bags down, Haru scooped up the fat housecat and absentmindedly stroked it as he explained:
"It was coincidence. She sprained her ankle, so…"
By the time he finished recounting the incident, both Yukino and Utaha seemed relieved. They even asked with surprising generosity about Megumi's condition.
But then Haru pulled out the voucher.
"Oh, one more thing... I should tell you. Kato and I took part in a store promotion and won a prize."
Utaha casually accepted the coupon, glanced at the grocery bags, and smirked. "You're starting to look more and more like a househusband."
Yukino's eyes flicked over the coupon, one brow arching. "What sort of promotion?"
"What else could it be?" Utaha waved it off. "Some dart-throwing or ring-tossing nonsense."
She'd seen plenty of such events before, even joined in with her mother once but they'd always lost.
"You're being a bit one-sided, senpai." Yukino's rebuttal was quiet but firm.
Utaha looked at her in surprise. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
"If it were something so ordinary, he wouldn't have bothered to mention it," Yukino replied flatly.
"…Is that so?"
Utaha turned a questioning gaze toward Haru.
He coughed lightly. "Well, to be honest, the event we joined was called… the Couples' Challenge."
"What?" Utaha shot to her feet.
Yukino, on the other hand, only nodded calmly. "Just as I suspected. And you really went and said it out loud."
"You mean.... you and Megumi pretended to be a couple out in public?" Utaha's face darkened.
Of course she'd been guarding against that girl all along.
Haru scrambled to defend himself. "No, no... we never once said we were actually a couple."
Utaha's expression said she wasn't buying it.
Yukino crossed her arms, speaking slowly. "He's telling the truth. But as for what Kato was thinking… that's another matter entirely."
"That's what I thought, too."
Utaha drew a long breath. So Megumi had finally made her move. And to think it hadn't even been planned... they'd just happened to meet outside. There wasn't much point complaining about that.
Besides, since Yukino wasn't pressing the matter, Utaha, the one who'd made the first "secret move" herself, couldn't exactly raise too much of a fuss.
And just like that, the subject seemed to die down.
…Until later, when Haru was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Yukino came in quietly, stopping just behind him.
"Have you ever thought about how you'll face them in the future?" she asked.
"Them" clearly referred to their parents.
Haru turned, meeting her cool, beautiful eyes. "I've said it before... I'll take full responsibility."
Yukino sighed, half exasperated, half angry. "Do you realize how ridiculous it sounds, hearing a shameless playboy talk about responsibility?"
"…Sorry."
"Apologies won't change anything, you know." Her words cut sharper than she intended.
Then she asked, "Aside from this Couples' Challenge… did anything else happen?"
"They insisted on taking a photo of us, for the record," Haru admitted.
"As expected. Events timed around Valentine's Day always pull tricks like that."
She took his phone when he offered it, her lips tightening at the sight of the picture. A flicker of annoyance stirred inside her.
If only I'd gone shopping with him myself…
If she'd been there, she would have been the one standing at his side, not Kato.
Handing the phone back, Yukino's tone was cold. "You've already apologized in words. Does that mean you also have… other plans?"
Haru gave a sheepish smile. "Not exactly a plan, but… I thought I'd cook you a feast."
"Heh. I figured as much."
Her lips curled in a derisive smile, but inside she let out a quiet sigh.
Because she could feel it... her own changes.
The longer she spent with Utaha, the more things they did together, the more she realized how much she herself was changing.
Once, she would have flatly rejected something as absurd as a "three-person party." Now, she didn't refuse.
She recognized, deep down, that she didn't want to leave this so-called playboy.
Which was why she wasn't surprised at all by Kato's move. She'd long ago seen that Megumi was a girl who hid her depths well. Even her sister had said as much.
No... what Yukino found more surprising was how much Utaha minded.
But she understood that too. They'd been friends... helping each other, even opening up a little. To then be undercut like this… of course Utaha would feel bitter.
Yukino thought about it in her own terms. If it were her older sister Haruno trying to steal away her boyfriend, she'd be furious too.
Thankfully… that sort of thing would never happen.
Yukino thought.
…
The days passed peacefully until the last Sunday of February, when Utaha suggested an outdoor shoot. The film club, plus Shizuka as their "unpaid laborer," headed out in the afternoon with equipment in tow.
On the surface, Utaha hadn't shown any hostility toward Megumi these past weeks. They chatted as if nothing had changed.
The shoot, however, was focused entirely on Kato, with the supporting cast filling in around her. Haru had even called in his friends from school, who were eager to help. Filming a short movie was exciting enough; free snacks and drinks only sweetened the deal.
Originally, Utaha had wanted Yukino to play the heroine, but Yukino preferred to stay behind the scenes and refused.
Thus, the main role went to Megumi, with Utaha taking the secondary role herself... unlocking, as a high schooler, the legendary achievement of writing, directing, and acting all at once.
Of course, she hit plenty of obstacles along the way. Yukino solved most of them for her, but Utaha was learning, step by step.
That day, they managed to film a street-corner scene while the crowds were light. The plot was simple: after accidentally killing a wicked man, Megumi's character is confronted by a witness who tries to blackmail her, setting the story in motion.
Because of the recent "Couples' Challenge," Utaha had shamelessly cast Haru as the corpse.
And before that death scene, Haru's friends played thugs who brawled with him, giving Megumi a reason to "kill" him in the script.
"So, what do you think?"
After wrapping the scene, Utaha gathered everyone around to watch the raw footage. She asked calmly, but her hands... hidden in the folds of her skirt.. were tightly clenched.
"It flows really well. No problems at all," Shizuka said first, after a long day lugging the boom mic.
"Yeah, I liked it."
"Same here. Everyone acted great."
The others all agreed.
Utaha finally turned toward Yukino. "And you? What do you think?"
Yukino replayed Haru's "death" scene twice, frowning.
"…Don't you think you made him look a little too good?"
Haru puffed up shamelessly. "That's just reality. No need to spell it out."
The comment got a laugh from everyone, lightening the mood.
Utaha kept her composure. "I was just filming normally."
"Was it really just normal?" Yukino's voice dripped skepticism.
Utaha frowned, not answering immediately.
Seeing that, Yukino's tone turned flat, almost cutting. "When I keep quiet, you get upset. When I say something, you get upset. Don't you think the problem might be with you, senpai?"
~~~~~~~~~~
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