Haruno: "Yukino, I might not be able to make it. There's something urgent with the student council that I need to handle."
In truth, she never planned to go to Yukino's apartment in the first place. After rescuing Yukino with the phone call, she had already come up with this excuse.
Now, seeing Yukino daring to call her in that tone, there was no way she would go to her apartment. She wanted to see how far Yukino would let things go with Hoshimi if she didn't show up tonight!
And if anything inappropriate did develop between Yukino and Hoshimi, she'd show them exactly what it means for divine intervention to arrive from the skies!!
Her apartment was only ten kilometers away from Yukino's. At most, it would take her ten minutes to get there by car. If something were to happen between them, she didn't believe they could finish the job in ten minutes!
She'd arrive at the scene in less than ten minutes! A divine intervention, breaking down the door! There was no way those two youngsters wouldn't be scared out of their wits!
"..." A cruel, silent smile curled up at the corner of her lips.
"Are you really not coming, sister?" On the other end of the phone, Yukino was handling Hoshimi's affection while suspiciously asking.
"Yukino-chan, sorry~ I didn't expect the student council to have this last-minute issue." Haruno lied smoothly, with not a single hint of hesitation in her apologetic tone.
"I see..." Yukino gently stroked Hoshimi's face, then thoughtfully asked, "Sister, can you tell me why you wanted to see me earlier?"
After half a second of consideration, Haruno replied, "Yukino-chan, no rush. Once I'm done with the student council business, I'll come find you tomorrow. I'll tell you when we meet in person."
Lying is troublesome. Once you tell the first lie, you need a second, then a third and fourth to cover it. The more lies, the greater the chance of being found out.
Yukino is smart, and that brat Hoshimi is even smarter. In front of two clever people, saying too much would only lead to mistakes!
There's another reason too: over a phone call, Yukino isn't as affected by her influence and can think clearly with that sharp mind of hers.
But in person, Yukino's mental shadow would prevent her from making sound judgments. In those moments, it's harder for her lies to be exposed.
That's why she preferred explaining things face to face.
"Yukino-chan, things are urgent here. I'll hang up now. See you tomorrow."
Not wanting to risk slipping up, Haruno swiftly hung up, not giving Yukino a chance to ask more questions.
Beep... beep... beep...!
Back in Yukino's apartment, she stared at her phone, a bit dazed.
She hung up that fast? Could it be that the matter really is that urgent on her sister's end?
"..." Yukino felt a bit confused, but she had a vague sense that something was off.
"Yukino, what's wrong?" Seeing her puzzled expression, Hoshimi hooked her chin and gently turned her head toward him, examining her adorable, somewhat clueless look.
"Nothing..." Yukino tossed her phone aside, choosing to ignore the small sense of unease within her.
If her sister was busy, that was fine. It was actually a relief she wasn't coming over—Yukino didn't really want to see her sister at night anyway.
"As long as it's nothing," Hoshimi said with a glint in his eye as he pressed his forehead against hers. "Yukino, since your sister isn't coming tonight, does that mean we can..."
"Get lost~" Yukino shot him a glance, pushing his head away. "Hoshimi, it's getting late. You should head home. Don't forget, you still have the pre-exam test tonight."
"Oh~~" Hoshimi gave Yukino a meaningful look. "Yes, we do have a test tonight, don't we~?"
"..." Yukino's face flushed as she thought of something. She grabbed a sofa cushion and threw it at Hoshimi's head.
"Yukino, I didn't even say anything! Why are you getting so worked up?" Hoshimi laughed, dodging her chaotic attack while winking playfully at the blushing Yukino.
"Hoshimi Kiyokawa! Go back to your house right now!" Yukino, too flustered to come up with a retort, became even more embarrassed and threw herself at him.
This damn idiot! He always knew exactly what would embarrass her the most!
Even though this issue was her own personal dilemma, Hoshimi—being the one who benefited—couldn't bring it up! If he dared, she was willing to fight!
"Ouch~~ I've been defeated~~" Hoshimi dramatically flopped down on the sofa in Yukino's house, making no effort to resist her.
"Hoshimi! You..." Yukino, blushing deeply, was about to say something when she suddenly noticed a bruise at the corner of Hoshimi's eye.
Her heart softened, and she poked him in the chest, pretending to be annoyed. "Stay right here, don't move."
With that, she got up and headed to the study.
"Hmm?" Hoshimi leaned his head back, watching Yukino walk away with curiosity.
What was she doing? Going to the study... Did she come up with some new punishment?
Hoshimi couldn't quite figure it out, but he did notice something interesting—looking at Yukino's back from an upside-down angle made her hips seem even more shapely. Was that just a visual illusion?
He pondered for a moment and decided to stay in the same position and check again when Yukino returned.
A short while later, Yukino came back from the study with a first aid kit.
Hoshimi, still observing, noticed something else amusing—the upside-down angle even made her chest seem more curved! Incredible!
"Hoshimi, what are you staring at?" Yukino paused in front of the sofa, sensing a hint of malice. She narrowed her eyes and studied Hoshimi, who had a rather contemplative look on his face.
A woman's intuition told her that Hoshimi was probably criticizing her figure again!
"I'm admiring my cute Yukino-chan~" Realizing that her expression was becoming more dangerous, Hoshimi grinned, sat up, and took the first aid kit from her hands, pulling her into his lap as he did so.
"Hmph~" Yukino snorted softly, too tired to argue about what was going on in his mind anymore.
She lifted her pale, delicate hand and gently touched the bruise near Hoshimi's eye. "Does it hurt?"
"Mmh, it hurts so much," Hoshimi nodded vigorously.
In reality, it didn't hurt at all—if Yukino hadn't touched it, he would've forgotten the bruise was even there.
"...Let's put some medicine on it then." Yukino leaned over, opened the first aid kit, and took out a spray for reducing bruises.
"Hoshimi, close your eyes," Yukino instructed, glancing at him.
"Mm..." Trusting her completely, Hoshimi obediently closed his eyes.
Then Yukino placed her soft hand over his eyes, ensuring that no medicine would accidentally get into them.
Spritz—spritz—!
The cool spray touched the bruise near his eye, a stark contrast to the warm hand covering his eyes.
One side felt as cold as freshly thawed snowmelt, while the other was as warm as sunlight in the winter...
"Hoshimi..." Yukino's breathing suddenly grew heavier as she looked at him, eyes closed.
For some reason, she felt an inexplicable urge toward him in that moment.
"Hmm? What's up, Yukino?" Hoshimi asked.
"..." Yukino bit her lip, her eyes shining slightly as she whispered, "Hoshimi, you can't see anything right now, can you?"
"..." Hoshimi paused for a moment, then replied in a strange tone, "Yukino, you're covering my eyes—what do you think? Of course, I can't see."
"That's right... Hoshimi, you can't see..." The light in Yukino's eyes grew brighter.
He couldn't see light, couldn't see her... So, could she be just a little bit reckless?
Yukino licked her lips, leaned in close, and whispered in his ear, "Hoshimi..."
"Hmm?" Her warm breath, carrying the scent of her perfume, tickled his face, making Hoshimi's nose itch. He sensed something unusual and asked, "Yukino..."
Before he could finish, the familiar softness of her lips silenced him.
It was Yukino's kiss. Having kissed her countless times, he immediately recognized it.
He was a little puzzled—why was she suddenly sneaking in a kiss now?
While half of his mind wondered about her actions, the other half simply enjoyed the moment...
After a few seconds, he figured it out.
When one's eyes are covered, the lack of vision causes the other senses to become more sensitive. As a result, the sensations from the kiss felt much more intense.
In short, Yukino was amplifying his sensations by limiting his vision.
Realizing this, Hoshimi was genuinely surprised.
This was impressive... Yukino had learned such advanced tactics. Truly remarkable—the clever and resourceful Second Miss Yukinoshita never failed to surprise.
Who knew how long passed before Hoshimi finally saw light again.
"Hiss~~" The sudden brightness made him squint his eyes reflexively.
"Hoshimi, you should head home now. It's getting late..." Beside him, Yukino, her face flushed red, hurriedly urged him to leave.
Half-squinting, Hoshimi took out his phone and glanced at the time.
At 8:00 PM, it was indeed time to head home and prepare for the pre-exam test. He was determined to score full marks on tonight's test.
"Alright, I'll go home and shower first, and I'll come back before bed to grab the test papers." Hoshimi stood up, eager for the reward that came with scoring full marks.
"Hoshimi, wait…" Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, Yukino swiftly raised her hand and grabbed Hoshimi's wrist.
"Hmm?" Hoshimi turned back to look at Yukino.
"Hoshimi, take the test at my place," Yukino said, suppressing her embarrassment and staring seriously at him.
"Huh?" Hoshimi was stunned and asked in surprise, "Yukino, are you saying you want me to hold you while we sleep?"
"..." Yukino froze for a moment, then snapped, "Hoshimi! What I mean is for you to take the test at my house! My house!! You can do it in the study, or the living room! No need to go to the dream world! Just take the test in reality! Got it?!"
Hoshimi scratched his head, "Why? Isn't taking the test in the dream world fine? Why suddenly in reality?"
Yukino stood up, closed the distance between them, and stared into his crimson eyes, speaking firmly, "Hoshimi! Just answer 'yes'! Why do you need so many reasons?"
"..." Hoshimi suddenly felt a headache coming on.
He knew Yukino was holding him accountable for bringing Kotoko earlier today and making a scene.
It was already 8:00 PM, and it would take nearly four and a half hours to complete all five subjects. Adding in the time to go home, shower, and get ready, it meant he wouldn't enter the dream world until 1 AM.
Normally, he would go to bed at 11 PM, and that's when he would bring Kotoko into the dream world.
If he went to bed at 1 AM tonight, it meant he'd be delaying his and Kotoko's entry into the dream world by two whole hours...
Yukino was likely using this as a way to make Kotoko jealous…
This was going to make things a bit complicated for him when explaining to Kotoko…
Moreover, Yukino probably suspected he was cheating in the dream world and wanted to use the real-world test to verify his actual abilities.
He wasn't afraid of proving his abilities, but it would be tricky to smooth things over with Kotoko afterward.
"Hoshimi, you must take the test at my place today!" Seeing the hesitation on his face, Yukino felt as if she had caught a fox by its tail. She narrowed her eyes, staring intently at him.
Her intention was simple: she wanted to confirm his real capabilities.
She wasn't accusing Hoshimi of cheating in the dream world, but what if? What if Hoshimi had found a way to cheat that she couldn't detect? Wouldn't she be at a major disadvantage?
So, taking the test in reality to verify his true level was the best way forward. If he really had the skills, then all the effort and sacrifice would have been worth it.
"Alright…" Hoshimi nodded reluctantly.
Good things never come easy. It seemed there was no avoiding the complications with Kotoko.
But fortunately, he and Kotoko understood each other well, so calming her down would be easier than dealing with Yukino. After all, there were shortcuts…
Yukino: "Great! Let's start the test right now, no problem?"
Hoshimi: "Sure."
As soon as he spoke, Yukino grabbed his hand and led him toward the study.
...
Four and a half hours later, in the study.
Hoshimi stood to the side, smiling as he waited for Yukino to grade the final subject—English. Yukino, on the other hand, was feeling heavy-hearted as she worked through the last paper.
The results of the first four subjects were already in:
Language: 98.
Math: 100.
Science: 100.
Social Studies: 100.
Except for Language, he had scored full marks in everything. If he got full marks in English too, she would have to reward him as promised.
Scribble—Scribble—
The pen glided across the paper, with only two big questions left to grade.
The second-to-last question was completely correct.
"..." Yukino's heart sank.
She didn't even feel the need to check the last essay. Hoshimi's English was excellent, and a simple essay wouldn't trip him up. By high school standards, his English essays were good enough to be used as templates.
So, the result was clear...
Sigh! To be thorough, and out of the last bit of hope, Yukino took a deep breath and read through Hoshimi's English essay word by word.
The conclusion was undeniable: full marks.
"..." Yukino sighed in relief and marked 100 on Hoshimi's English paper.
Full marks are full marks. A reward is a reward. It was inevitable anyway. She had already prepared herself.
At this point, there was nothing left to fear...
===
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