Shizuka, moved by a sudden softness in her heart, became unusually gentle.
She spoke softly with Haru, chatting about his daily life—from the photography club to his recent karate competition. She even asked if he needed her help in turning down the many school clubs eager to recruit him.
It was such a trivial thing, yet Haru found it slightly unsettling. It wasn't the topic that threw him off, but the tone of her voice and the tenderness in her gaze. It felt like she had entered a state where anything could be discussed, any request could be granted.
He just didn't know why.
"The hot spring thing was my fault," Shizuka suddenly said, bringing up a topic he never expected.
He blinked, caught off guard. After all, she had acted like she wanted to erase that entire incident from history. Yet now she was bringing it up on her own?
Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she forced a calm, adult-like expression."Don't overthink it. I just didn't want that misunderstanding to bother you."
"I don't think I was really that affected," Haru replied, confused.
Shizuka chuckled softly, her fingers gently brushing the elegantly wrapped gift box by her pillow."You came all the way here, dressed as Santa, in the middle of the night, to give me a present. And you say you weren't affected?"
So that's what she thought.
He almost laughed. She had misunderstood. He hadn't come because of that hot spring incident. He just saw how lonely and quiet she had looked at dinner and—out of concern and sympathy—prepared the gift on a whim.
By now, he understood Shizuka fairly well. There were some topics she was extremely sensitive about—especially age and her single status.
No doubt seeing how close he was with Yukino and the others had triggered something in her, leaving her in a melancholic state at the dinner table.
And yet, Shizuka suddenly gave him a teasing smile, her face glowing red."I was just thinking… maybe you came tonight because you're secretly drawn to my charm?"
Haru blinked. A literal question mark hovered over his head.
"Come on," she grinned. "I am an adult, after all. I offer something different from all those teenage girls, don't I?"
"…Did Haruno-san possess you or something?" he retorted with suspicion.
Her playful smile froze for a second before she lowered her voice in mock annoyance."Can't you just play along for once?"
And then he got it. She wasn't comfortable talking about the hot spring. She had forced it out to defuse her own awkwardness and tried to play it off with humor.
Haru quickly played along, giving her a mock-serious nod."You're right. Your figure would be a legendary item in any RPG. Total game-changer."
"…Game-changer, huh?"
Blushing, Shizuka raised a fist as if to hit him—but stopped. She remembered how agile he was, like a rabbit. She'd just be swatting at air.
Haru noticed and offered his forehead. "Go ahead. I won't dodge this time."
She looked at his handsome face. The image of his toned physique flashed across her mind again, making her throat dry involuntarily.
Turns out it's not just men who get distracted by physical attraction. Women do, too.
To cover her flustered state, she did something entirely unexpected—her soft fist changed direction, and instead, she pulled his face against her chest.
Haru: "???"
It lasted less than a second.
Then she gently pushed him away with a teasing smile."Alright. You've now experienced the charm of an adult woman. Time to go—and no more thinking about that day, okay?"
"…So that was a trade?" Haru was baffled. Do you even know how—uh—generous your chest is?
"More or less," she said with a smirk. "Now off you go. I need to rest."
"…Alright. Good night, then."
"Good night."
As Haru slipped out of the fragrant, warm futon, Shizuka watched him sneak toward the window like a thief—gift bag in hand. Like a monkey, he vaulted out with surprising grace.
Seeing that ridiculous scene helped ease her lingering embarrassment.
But once she lay down again, sleep refused to come.
"Seriously… why give a single woman a Christmas gift on a night like this?" she murmured, staring at the gift beside her pillow. "It's been years since a man gave me anything…"
She got up, stashed the gift into her luggage to avoid awkward questions in the morning, and crawled back into bed.
Lying on her back, staring at the ceiling in the darkness, she couldn't help but wonder—
Now that he's done here… will he sneak into Yukino's futon next?
If he does… what will they do together…?
Her teeth gently bit into her lip, a soft gleam of seductive curiosity beginning to surface in her usually clear, sharp eyes.
She was a woman too—a woman who had been single and lonely for many years.
In the pitch-dark room, a faint sound began to ripple, soft and steady, like waves lapping gently across the ocean surface. The tatami creaked subtly beneath her shifting form. From within the enveloping shadows, there came the hint of delicate moans and quiet, restrained sighs.
…
The next morning, at around nine, Haru and the group said their goodbyes to Shizuka before heading back home. She was staying behind to spend one more day with her colleagues, so naturally she wouldn't be joining them.
On the way back, Haru noticed Yukino had been lost in thought for quite a while, her eyes occasionally flickering with a confused emotion.
Unable to hold back, he asked, "What's on your mind?"
Yukino lifted her beautiful face and turned to look at him. "I was just thinking—when Hiratsuka-sensei waved goodbye to us… her expression seemed off."
"You noticed too?" Utaha leaned in from Haru's other side, curious.
Yukino nodded and turned to Megumi, who had been quietly using her phone. "What do you think, Kato?"
Megumi looked a bit surprised to be asked by Yukino. After a brief pause, she replied, "Her gaze seemed strange. It felt like… she kept looking at Amamiya-kun."
At that, all three girls simultaneously turned their gazes to him.
"So, did you meet her alone this morning? Talk about anything?" Yukino asked bluntly.
Utaha's eyes sparkled, but she said nothing. She knew about the night Shizuka accidentally entered the wrong room—but she had promised not to say a word.
"It was probably about the gift," Haru said calmly.
"Gift?" The three girls exchanged puzzled glances.
"I didn't expect to run into her here," Haru explained. "Originally, I only prepared gifts for you three. But during dinner, she looked so lonely and distracted… I just couldn't ignore it. So I prepared one for her too."
Yukino gave a small nod. "That explains it."
Utaha echoed the sentiment. "I've heard that Hiratsuka-sensei often fails at arranged dates. If that's true, then receiving a gift on Christmas—especially from a younger guy—must've touched her deeply."
Megumi added softly, "Maybe not just touched… maybe she didn't want us to leave."
Their thoughts seemed to align.
A group of older single women, together on a holiday—what would they talk about other than being single? The mood would inevitably turn sentimental.
But having younger people like Haru and the others around likely lightened the emotional weight.
Utaha then asked a question that had been nagging her. "I don't get it. Hiratsuka-sensei is beautiful and has a great figure. Why can't she find a boyfriend?"
"Maybe her standards are too high?" Megumi offered, clearly just as curious.
Yukino tapped her chin, thinking for a moment, but she didn't have an answer either.
So the three girls turned their eyes back to Haru again.
"Why are you looking at me?" Haru laughed. "If anyone here knows her best, it's Yukino. Ask her, not me."
Utaha and Megumi turned to Yukino.
"I don't know either," Yukino said simply.
"But your sister's her friend, right? Didn't you hear anything through her?"
"No. My sister and I don't talk about that kind of stuff. Unlike you, I'm not into gossip, senpai."
"Are you picking a fight, Yukinoshita?"
Haru and Megumi quietly withdrew from the conversation, exchanging a glance that said it all: Here they go again.
Once they returned to Tokyo, everyone parted ways.
The moment Haru walked into his apartment, he headed straight to the fridge to check their food stock. Yukino, meanwhile, greeted the orange cat warmly, having missed it during the short trip.
"Looks like I don't need to buy groceries. We're good for now," Haru said, closing the fridge.
Still holding the orange cat, Yukino spoke without looking up, "I'll go with you later to buy groceries."
Haru blinked. "No rush, is there? We can do it tomorrow."
"Senpai's coming over tonight," she said quietly, her face hidden behind a curtain of hair.
Haru didn't think much of it—just assumed Yukino had made plans with Utaha—and nodded in agreement.
Only after he left the room did Yukino slowly raise her head. Her face, once pale, was now flushed pink.
At around four in the afternoon, the two of them went to the supermarket together.
While there, Yukino remembered she hadn't bought snacks for the orange cat in a while, so she dragged Haru along to the pet store.
Inside, a particularly adorable British Shorthair cat caught Yukino's attention. She stood in front of the display window for several minutes, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
Haru watched from the side, teasing, "Thinking of bringing it home to keep Jelly company? Though cats are territorial. If you really want one, I can help train it for a few days."
Yukino stared at the paw-licking cat for a while before shaking her head. "Let's not."
"Are you sure? That's double the happiness right there."
"…Double the happiness…never mind. Let's just go."
Blushing furiously, Yukino suddenly grabbed Haru and walked out in a hurry.
Right now, she didn't want to hear the word "double" again.
After all, she had agreed to Utaha's suggestion.