"Then Nino, what about you? Why were you in Miku's room?"
"Me? I..." Nino blushed and stammered, unable to come up with a good excuse. She couldn't possibly pretend to be sleepwalking, could she...
"Nino, you didn't really try to sneak into Shiratori-sensei's room at night, did you?!"
At those words, Nino thought: what else would she be doing there? But of course, she couldn't say that out loud.
"Alright, alright, let's not focus on what I was doing. The point is, Shiratori is gone!"
"Gone... Shiratori?" Miku frowned upon hearing Nino's words, then walked into Yotsuba's room.
Sure enough, on the bed in Yotsuba's room, there were only stuffed animals—nothing else!
Seeing this, Miku instinctively reached for her phone to call Hakuto. But behind her, Itsuki stopped her.
"Don't bother. Shiratori-sensei's phone is right there by the bed..."
"You don't think something's happened to him?"
"You don't have to worry about him..." Nino waved it off. She knew exactly what kind of state Hakuto was in—danger?
It'd be more accurate to worry about him being the danger!
Right now, Nino really wanted to confirm the suspicion in her heart. She looked toward the door of Ichika's room not far away and raised an eyebrow.
"I think Shiratori-sensei might've just gotten hungry and gone out for a late-night snack?" Itsuki wasn't too concerned.
After all, they lived in a lawful society—and Hakuto was pretty capable.
"He might even bring us something back..." Itsuki waved her hand. "I'm tired. I'm going back to sleep..."
"That so..." Yotsuba nodded. What Itsuki said made sense—Hakuto wasn't a child.
They didn't need to be overly worried about his safety.
But his sudden disappearance still caught her off guard.
"So no need to panic... By the way, Nino, why is your hand on Ichika's doorknob?"
"I want to confirm something..." Nino's eyes were sharp.
If she didn't find Ichika inside that room, she was going to the security booth to check the surveillance footage—catch them in the act!
"Do we really need to wake Ichika?"
"She's probably already asleep..."
"Nino, you're not seriously thinking Shiratori-sensei is in Ichika's room, are you..." Itsuki asked cautiously.
But when she saw the serious look on Nino's face, she realized Nino wasn't joking.
"Shiratori-sensei wouldn't be in Ichika's room..." Itsuki tried to reason with her.
Hakuto wasn't like Nino.
He didn't have a habit or reason for midnight intrusions. Even though Nino didn't say it out loud, everyone knew what her goal was.
If Hakuto did pull a night raid, it'd be like a top-tier veteran doctor from a big hospital strapping on a medicine pouch to go serve as a barefoot doctor in the countryside!
Was that necessary? Not at all! That doctor had more patients than he could handle—people were fighting just to get on his appointment list!
It was the same logic with Hakuto!
That's why Itsuki didn't believe Shiratori would be in Ichika's room. She felt the more likely scenario was that he really had just gone out for food.
"Whether he's in there or not... we'll find out!" Nino steeled herself and twisted the doorknob to open it.
Clack clack clack~
"Locked?!" Nino's eyes widened.
"Does Ichika usually lock her door?"
"We don't usually go sneaking into each other's rooms at night..."
Nino frowned. Regardless, if the door was locked from the inside, that meant someone was in there. She just didn't know if it was one person—or two.
"Nino, aren't you being too paranoid?" Itsuki stepped forward and stood beside her.
"Instead of thinking Shiratori-sensei is in Ichika's room, wouldn't it make more sense to think he's just being mischievous and watching us from some corner of the house?"
"Quiet... I'm thinking."
"Fine, whatever you say." Itsuki waved her hand, feeling mentally and physically drained from the whole ordeal.
But just then, Itsuki suddenly remembered why she came in the first place.
Nino was right in front of her—perfect time to ask her directly!
She crossed her arms, let one hand hang loosely and the other supported her head, then leaned sideways against Ichika's door.
"Nino, I want to ask—"
Before she could finish, there was a sudden sound from the door she was leaning on.
Clack clack~
Itsuki: (;一_一)? Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)!
Before she could react, the door opened, and she lost her balance and fell to the floor.
She hit the ground so hard she saw stars. When she came to, Ichika—dressed in pajamas—was standing in front of her.
"Ouch ouch ouch!"
"Itsuki? Nino? What are you two doing banging on my door in the middle of the night?"
"I didn't knock..." Itsuki wobbled as she got up. She felt like she was about to throw up her dinner.
Nino stared at Ichika, trying to read something off her face.
But Ichika looked like she had just woken up, even a bit annoyed—a clear sign she had been disturbed from deep sleep.
"How could this be..." Nino knew Ichika was a good actress, but not that good—she showed no signs of guilt at all.
Could it be that she was wrong?
"Middle of the night..." Ichika yawned. "What, are you all planning to raid Shiratori's room together?"
"Not there... not there..." Nino frowned, ignoring Ichika's comment. "So where did he go..."
For some reason, the images of Nao and Ginko suddenly popped into Nino's mind.
No way. Nino wasn't the jealous type, but would he really sneak off and strike at the main base like that?
Meanwhile, Yotsuba crouched down wearily and said to Miku beside her:
"Miku, where do you think Shiratori-sensei went?"
Miku shook her head. "No idea..."
"Could we be hallucinating? Maybe Shiratori-sensei never stayed over and already left?"
Miku shook her head again. But at least the good news was—she was sure Hakuto was alone. At least no one else was sneaking around with him...
"Miku, how about we play a round of Three Kingdoms Kill?"
"It's late... and we still haven't found Shiratori..."
"Huh? But it's not like Shiratori-sensei is in any real danger, right?"
To Yotsuba, Hakuto was practically invincible. Her earlier concern was only about the possibility that he and Nino had gone off on a secret date.
Now that all five sisters were here, there was nothing left to worry about.
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