In the end, they still ended up drinking.
After heading back to her own place to grab a change of clothes, Yukino brought her four cats along with her to Ichin's apartment.
She let the cats out of their carriers and allowed them to roam freely before placing her clothes on the sofa and heading into the kitchen.
"Utaha, do you need any help?" Yukino asked.
Utaha was taking out the flour, preparing to make breakfast for the next morning. She nodded. "Then could you help me boil some water?"
While the two of them busied themselves in the kitchen, Ichin was in the bedroom putting away the clothes they had bought earlier. Once he was done, he came out to help Utaha and Yukino knead the dough, starting on the breakfast buns.
After finishing the dough, Ichin glanced at the pork that was thawing and said, "Should we make a bit more? Haruno-nee and the others next door will need some too. They're all going to work tomorrow—after drinking, they shouldn't skip breakfast."
Yukino agreed softly. "Yeah, we should make more. Otherwise, my sister definitely won't eat breakfast."
Once the filling was prepared and the dough was left to rise, Ichin said to Utaha and Yukino, "You two go take a bath first. I'll handle things here."
Making a little over twenty buns was easy for him—once the dough was ready, he could just start wrapping them.
Utaha nodded and led Yukino out of the kitchen.
"Yukino, which one of us is going first?" Utaha asked with a smile. "Or should we go together? The bathtub's pretty big—more than enough for the two of us."
Yukino couldn't help shrinking back slightly, frowning. "The way you say that… it sounds kind of suspicious."
"Relax, relax. My orientation is perfectly normal," Utaha said cheerfully. "Come on, let's soak and chat a bit. I'll show you some new clothes I bought a few days ago—Ichin hasn't even seen them yet!"
Yukino blinked. She had a feeling those "new clothes" weren't exactly normal, but she still followed along.
A few minutes later, Yukino rushed out of the bedroom with a bright red face, returning to the living room. She sat down and pulled two of the cats into her arms, forcing herself to calm down.
She had expected Utaha's clothes to be outrageous—but she never imagined they'd be this outrageous.
The shock they delivered was on the same level as that day she'd seen a certain ribbed little umbrella—utterly incomprehensible.
Utaha, meanwhile, strolled out of the bedroom calmly and sat down beside Yukino with a smile. She patted Yukino's head and said, "Alright, it's not like I said you had to wear them. You should start with the basics first. Jumping straight into that stuff really is too stimulating for you. Come on, let's go take a bath."
Pulled to her feet by Utaha, Yukino glanced back toward the bedroom before following her toward the bathroom.
"Honestly… my stock of strange knowledge has increased again."
---
Monday.
At seven in the morning, the alarm clock rang on the dot, waking Ichin from his sleep.
After struggling for a bit, he finally reached out and slapped the alarm off.
Opening his eyes, Ichin looked at Utaha and Yukino nestled on either side of him and slowly sat up.
The double bed, which had once seemed more than spacious enough, was now making him seriously consider replacing it.
Scratching his slightly messy hair, Ichin was pondering how to get up without waking the two of them when Yukino woke up at just the right moment.
Rubbing her eyes, she slowly sat up—and then froze when she saw Ichin sitting there, looking straight at her.
Seeing her dazed expression, Ichin smiled and gently pinched her cheek. "Good morning, Yukino."
The sensation on her face snapped Yukino fully awake, and she immediately retreated back under the covers.
Watching Yukino burrow back into the blanket with only her eyes exposed, Ichin leaned down with a smile and kissed her on the forehead.
"Alright, since you're awake, get up. Don't you have class this morning? Hmm… let's skip the morning run today. I think we've had enough exercise already."
His words only made Yukino even more embarrassed, and her body really did feel tired.
In terms of stamina, she truly wasn't very strong.
Before she could respond, Ichin suddenly lifted the blanket and scooped Yukino up in a princess carry, walking straight out of the bedroom.
"Come on, let's go soak in the bath."
"Eh? W-wait—wait a second!"
---
An hour later, it was time for breakfast.
After calling Haruno to make sure she was awake and telling her to get everyone washed up and over for breakfast, Ichin looked at Yukino, who was sitting quietly on a chair, eating her buns in silence.
Sitting down between Utaha and Yukino, Ichin smiled. "Are you mad?"
Yukino shook her head. "No. I just… didn't quite process everything first thing in the morning."
The bath really had just been a bath. Ichin had been considerate of Yukino's stamina and hadn't pushed her early in the morning—but even so, the whole process had left her flushed and flustered.
Utaha, on the other hand, took a sip of coffee and leaned over, saying, "I only woke up a few minutes later than you two, and you were already in the bathtub. Ichin, when we move to a new place in the future, shouldn't we get a bigger bathtub?"
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. A bigger one would be more comfortable."
This morning's bath made Ichin feel that maybe it was time to start looking for a new place sooner rather than later.
Maybe during the upcoming spring break, he could start checking.
Another half hour passed. After Ichin, Utaha, and Yukino had all finished eating, Haruno finally arrived with Shizuka and the other two.
"Morning, Ichin! What's for breakfast?"
"Millet porridge, meat buns, vegetable buns. For drinks, you can have milk or coffee," Ichin replied as he stood up from the sofa and headed to the kitchen. "Sit down first. I'll bring out the food that's warming up."
After sitting down, Shizuka rolled her neck and sighed. "Guess I'm not young anymore. I drank a bit too much, and this morning feels awful. Luckily, I already took leave last night, so I don't have to go to school for the class meeting."
Haruno laughed and patted Shizuka on the shoulder. "See? I told you—hurry up and quit smoking. Drinking now and then is fine, but smoking is bad for your health~~"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll quit."
She nodded as she said it, though whether she'd actually follow through was another matter entirely.
After Haruno and the others quickly finished breakfast, it was time to head out. Haruno needed to send her two friends back to their apartment to change clothes before going to work herself. Fortunately, there was still plenty of time, so there was no need to rush.
As for Hiratsuka Shizuka, she had already taken the day off—so she was even less pressed for time. She planned to go home, ensure a bit more sleep, and only head to school around noon.
---
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