"…"
"Big Sis…"
Yukino had found her sister at last.
It was Rei Ao who brought her here to see her sister.
But the scene before her was completely different from the perilous scenario she had feared. In fact, it had nothing to do with danger at all!
The place was in total disarray. Empty liquor bottles lay scattered everywhere, and the air reeked of alcohol.
And there was her sister, Yukinoshita Haruno, slumped fast asleep over the table.
Seated across from Haruno was none other than Hiratsuka Shizuka.
Taking in the sight, Yukino had a good guess at what had happened.
The two of them were stone drunk!
…
Earlier that evening…
"Tsk!"
Back ho, Hiratsuka Shizuka sat on her sofa, sucking in a sharp breath.
"Rei Ao, you really don't show an ounce of pity toward us ladies, do you?!"
Hiratsuka let out a wry laugh. Even now, there was a faint ache in her lower body. Still… it had felt incredible. If it ca down to it again, she doubted she would refuse. And if anything did go wrong, Rei Ao could just fix her up. She was keeping the ache on purpose so she could deeply rember this new "first ti," having refused Rei Ao's offer to heal her.
Strangely enough, she rather liked the idea.
Ding-dong!!!
She hadn't even settled in properly before the doorbell rang.
"At this hour—who'd co looking for ?"
Puzzled, Hiratsuka headed to the entryway. Looking through the peephole, she saw who was outside.
"Haruno?"
Recognizing soone she knew, she opened the door.
"Hi, Shizuka! I ca over for a drink!"
Stylish as ever, Haruno carried multiple bags, her smile bright.
"… …"
Hiratsuka rembered that the two of them had planned to drink together previously, but had kept putting it off till now.
"All that booze… Hard liquor?"
Seeing it wasn't just beer, Hiratsuka's eyelids twitched.
"Haha, well, tomorrow's the weekend. Let's have ourselves a great ti!"
Without further ado, Haruno entered the apartnt, starting to unpack.
"You sure are… Sigh…"
Shizuka pressed her hand to her forehead helplessly.
Monts later, they started drinking.
"Sssha! Feels great!"
Downing a glass in one go, Haruno indulged in a long-missed release. At ho, or in front of others, she always wore a mask. Probably only when drinking with Shizuka could she reveal a bit of her true self.
"Take it easy, why don't you."
Seeing her going at it so fiercely, Hiratsuka felt so concern.
"Haha, this counts as slow for ! Enough fuss—let's just enjoy ourselves!"
Having poured another glass, Haruno then frowned at Shizuka.
"Shizuka, why are you fidgeting so much in your seat? Is it uncomfortable?"
"Uh…"
Shizuka's face flushed.
"Nothing… I just fell earlier."
"Heh, and you're a teacher—this is too careless. If you always act like that, what guy would be interested in you? Not like …"
At that, Haruno's expression briefly darkened.
The reason she was acting so wildly tonight was that she'd encountered sothing painful, sothing she couldn't resist. Coming here was simply a way to escape.
"… …"
Hiratsuka noticed Haruno seed to have a heavy heart, so she didn't pry further. She raised her cup.
"Don't talk about it. Let's keep drinking."
"Right, drink!"
They drank several rounds, both now quite tipsy but still sowhat aware.
Finally Shizuka proposed, "Haruno, I think that's enough. Why not call a driver or sothing to pick you up?"
"Call soone?"
Haruno snickered. "I took out my phone battery—no calls, keep drinking!"
"???"
Hiratsuka was shocked. She never expected Haruno to be so irrational.
Looks like she's really troubled, Shizuka thought. Probably sothing about the Yukinoshita family again. But Haruno wasn't telling her, so there was no way to console her. All she could do as a friend was drink with her.
"Then let's keep drinking! Worst case, you can crash here!"
…
Back to the present…
The plates, dishes, leftovers, and liquor scattered in a ss were all due to these two getting themselves thoroughly drunk. Now they were both asleep, breathing evenly, obviously not dead. The strong sll of alcohol assailed Yukino's nose so intensely that she covered her face.
[Ding! Trade Completed!]
"Sister… Shizuka-sensei… they…"
"It's pretty clear—your sister and Shizuka just got wasted," Rei Ao said with a shrug, heading over to Hiratsuka's side. "They really overdid it."
Making a single remark, he hoisted the unconscious Hiratsuka Shizuka up and carried her into her bedroom. A minute later, he ca back out. Noticing Yukino still staring at Haruno in disbelief, he reminded her:
"Didn't you say your family was about to call the police? Now that you've found your sister, aren't you going to call them so they won't worry?"
Standing around idly wouldn't help.
"!"
Prompted by his words, Yukino rembered her mother. She hurriedly dialed the house number.
"Yukino?"
"Yes, it's , Mother. No need for the police. I just found Big Sis."
"Where is she?"
Her mother's voice ca through with a natural authority. Yukino pursed her lips and half-lied for the first ti in her life:
"She's drunk, so I'm taking her back to my apartnt."
After uttering that sentence, she ntally braced for her mother's reprimand about Haruno. Yet things didn't go as expected.
"… …"
Her mother went silent. After a pause, she let out a sigh.
"…Let Haruno sober up at your place. She can co ho tomorrow."
And with that, the call ended.
"?"
Yukino frowned. That attitude was wrong. Her mother had never spoken in such a… gentle tone. In Yukino's mory, her mother was always austere and forceful. Glancing at Haruno—rarely one to get so drunk—Yukino felt sothing must have happened between her mother and sister, prompting Haruno's erratic behavior and their mother's uncharacteristic response.
"Well, the trade is completed, but I'm curious. Are you really going to bring your sister back to your place alone?" Rei Ao asked. "Are you sure you can handle that by yourself?"
He didn't doubt Yukino's resolve, only her physical ability. Trying to support a fully incapacitated adult with those slim arms and legs was probably too much. Yukino understood that. Having already sought help once, much of her stubborn pride had eased.
"Would you mind carrying my sister to my apartnt, Rei Ao-kun?" she asked. But she forced herself to add, "After all, with our trade… I just want to go ho as soon as possible."
All sorts of complicated, shy, conflicted, yet sowhat relieved emotions mingled on the once-pristine "highborn flower," producing a charm that made Rei Ao want to tease her more. He gave a grin and said, "Sure thing—let's head ho."
~~~
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