Still in Yukio's room, Sakayanagi raised her brows slightly. That seemed to be Ibuki's voice, didn't it? So she was the first one to rush over?
And judging from how worked up she sounded… It really did make Christmas Eve feel even more like it had been spent by the three of them together.
By now, Yukio had already gone to open the door.
Ibuki glanced at him once, then very naturally slipped into her usual pair of house slippers. She didn't immediately charge into the room like a raging bull.
Instead, she jerked her chin toward the living room, clearly holding something back.
"…Am I allowed in?"
"Come on." Yukio chuckled. He'd expected this from the start.
Walking back to the dorm together with Sakayanagi like that—Shiina was one thing, but Ibuki? The moment she heard about it, there was no way she wouldn't show up.
He wasn't going to hide anything, either. After all, over these last few months, he and Shiina had more or less told Ibuki about a lot of things. She'd had time to mentally prepare.
Hearing Yukio say that, the annoyed little pout on Ibuki's face softened a bit, a trace of happiness slipping through before she could strangle it.
Not that she was about to let him see that.
She gave a small, awkward nod, pleased but trying her best to hide it, and followed behind him into the little living room.
Sakayanagi, meanwhile, sat there calmly, posture still graceful as ever. She greeted Ibuki with polite warmth:
"Good afternoon, Ibuki-san."
"This should be our first time meeting in private like this. Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Sakayanagi Arisu—Yukio-kun's girlfriend."
The moment she realized it really was Sakayanagi, Ibuki suddenly didn't know where to put herself.
Standing felt wrong. Sitting felt wrong. Even with all the mental prep she'd done, the displeasure still surged up.
If it had been someone like Horikita Suzune, it might have been easier. She could just throw down and beat the hell out of her—punch out all that frustration, loud and simple.
But Sakayanagi? This sickly, fragile type? Ibuki honestly didn't dare hit her.
She had a vivid mental image of herself landing one punch and dropping straight to her knees a second later, begging Sakayanagi not to die on her.
…So instead, when she heard Sakayanagi introduce herself like that, Ibuki's dissatisfaction just kept rising.
"Hmph. Ibuki Mio. I'm also his girlfriend."
Her stance made it pretty clear: this was a face-off.
"Sit." Yukio called out casually.
He'd just finished brewing some of the herbal tea Shiina had bought a few days ago and went ahead and set out cups for both Sakayanagi and Ibuki. Cradling his own teacup, he sat down, which at least made Ibuki look less out of place.
"Here, Yukio-kun~"
Only, before Yukio could even reach for his own cup, Sakayanagi had already extended a tissue toward him.
He blinked, a bit confused. Why was she handing him a tissue out of nowhere?
He took it on reflex—and only then realized it felt… sticky.
Obviously smeared with something.
That was when Sakayanagi gently urged him on. "Didn't you say just now you wanted to blow your nose? It's fine, go ahead. I don't mind~"
"But Ibuki-san, would you mind? If Yukio-kun blew his nose right in front of you?"
"…Huh?" Yukio froze. When the hell had he ever said that?
Ibuki, on the other hand, reacted as if someone had stomped on her tail. Her eyes went wide, and she waved a hand in big, bold arcs.
"I don't mind! Not at all! You have no idea how close we are in private—why would I care about something like that?"
"Blow. Use all your strength and blow!"
The muscles in Yukio's cheeks twitched twice. He wanted to say something—but then he caught a faint whiff of aloe.
His gaze dropped, and sure enough, there was clear aloe gel smeared all over the tissue.
Colorless, transparent, sticky… It really did look like snot at a glance.
Sakayanagi had apparently squeezed every last bit of gel out from the little aloe piece they'd cut earlier and massaged it all over the tissue.
Wait, it looked like snot, sure—but what did that have to do with him blowing his nose?
Yukio was still confused.
"Hmm?" Sakayanagi leaned in a little closer, like the very picture of a doting girlfriend.
Her purple eyes were soft, her tone full of gentle concern.
"Not blowing after all? Could it be Ibuki-san lied to me? That you know she actually does mind?"
"Ha?!"
If there was one thing Ibuki could not stand, it was being provoked.
She leaned in from the other side, practically nose-to-nose with Yukio.
"Blow! Blow it right in front of her! Yukio! Blow with everything you've got! Let this woman see I really don't give a damn!"
With both girls flanking him and egging him on, Yukio found himself lifting the tissue to his nose almost on autopilot.
He didn't press it tightly against his nostrils—just held it in front of them, using it as a visual shield.
Then he made a show of it—a few fake blow sounds that were really just air puffing out of his nose.
Ibuki didn't notice at all.
She just looked as smug as if she'd just won a championship, shooting Sakayanagi a triumphant glare.
Her expression practically screamed. Well? See? I said I didn't care, and he still blew his nose in front of me. Got a problem with that?
Sakayanagi, however, took it to another level.
Maybe it was Ibuki's smug little face that did it—she wasn't about to let that stand.
She suddenly reached out, snatched the tissue right out of Yukio's hand…
And then calmly smeared the sticky snot across her own cheek.
As she spread the aloe all over her small face, she turned to Ibuki with a sweet smile that somehow radiated pure provocation—as if to say: That's it? That's all you've got, Ibuki-san? Pathetic.
"...!"
Ibuki's eyes almost popped out of her head.
T-that was snot! How could Sakayanagi just—wipe it on her face like that?! Did liking someone make you that insane?! Could you really love someone so much you'd go this far?!
Sakayanagi slowed her movements, as if she'd had enough fun, and saw Ibuki actually stunned into silence.
That wouldn't do.
Her voice took on a very clear mocking note.
"Ibuki-san, what was it you said just now? That you're also Yukio-kun's girlfriend?"
Just a simple question on the surface—but the subtext was like a slap across the face.
You say you like him? You say you're his girlfriend? And that's it? That's the level of your 'love'?
Those underlying words were more than enough to completely ignite Ibuki's temper.
Damn it—if there was anything Ibuki Mio hated most, it was this kind of taunt.
She immediately sprang into action.
Both hands shot out—both index fingers rammed straight up into Yukio's nostrils.
Then she frantically swiped the contents all over her own face. (T/N: ???)
And as if that wasn't enough, she lunged forward, hooked an arm around Yukio's neck…
Pressed her flushed face to the tip of his nose, and rubbed, and rubbed, and rubbed, smearing it all over herself.
All the while shouting right at Sakayanagi:
"Yeah! I am his girlfriend—got a problem?!"
"Huh?! Got a problem with that, Sakayanagi?!"
"…"
Only then did Yukio finally catch up to reality.
His whole expression said it all: You've gotta be kidding me.
He'd actually gotten caught off guard enough to let Ibuki dig into his nostrils?!
And now she had him in a headlock, rubbing her cheek all over his nose?!
And Ibuki—that wasn't even real snot, that was aloe.
Why the hell were you joining in?!
And Sakayanagi—your heart is way too black. This ambush was way too vicious.
Sakayanagi had stopped mid-smear as well, staring at Ibuki in utter disbelief.
Seeing how far gone Ibuki was in her frenzy, Sakayanagi quietly decided that maybe… just maybe… it was best not to push her any further.
If Ibuki really flipped out and started swinging, taking a punch would not end well.
"…No, nothing at all. It seems you like Yukio-kun more than I do."
The lie rolled off her tongue as smoothly as breathing. Conceding on this point didn't bother Sakayanagi in the slightest.
Hearing that, Ibuki finally let out a satisfied snort and released Yukio.
Yukio and Sakayanagi exchanged a look.
In perfect silent agreement, they both came to the same conclusion—there was absolutely no way they were ever telling Ibuki what that snot actually was.
....
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