Chapter 155: When Faced with a Difficult Question, Just Stay Silent (Patreon)

"What are you talking about?!"

Yukino hadn't expected Kaguya to suddenly say something so outrageous — and even less expected her to barge straight into the bathroom.

"I'm using the toilet! What are you doing coming in here?!"

Annoyed as she was at Kaguya's complete disregard for fair play, it was already the dead of night, and she didn't want to wake the other two — so Yukino kept her voice low, tugged her hem down, pressed her knees together, and struck a defensive posture.

Kaguya hadn't come to watch her use the toilet, either. After saying, "Get up first," she turned her body away.

Yukino badly wanted to ask: did she really have to block the bathroom door like this?

But judging by the look of her, saying anything more probably wouldn't help.

Yukino took a deep breath, wiped quickly, pulled her pants up, and straightened her robe to look a bit more composed.

Though with someone blocking the bathroom door, composure hardly mattered anymore.

"Why aren't you asleep? Why come block my bathroom?" Yukino was baffled. She couldn't sleep, so she'd gotten up to use the toilet — why had Kaguya followed her?

Even if Kaguya needed to go too, couldn't she have waited until Yukino was done and out?

Did she really have to stage a surprise attack while Yukino was mid-business?

Without a proper explanation, Yukino wasn't about to let this go.

"I had a hunch, so I came to check on you."

Kaguya's explanation clearly didn't satisfy her — if anything, it barely counted as an explanation at all.

"And your idea of 'checking on me' is barging in while a teammate is using the toilet?" Yukino asked, her expression darkening.

"If I'd knocked, would you have let me in?" Kaguya shot back.

"Of course not," Yukino said, her smile not reaching her eyes.

Kaguya spread her hands. "Well, there you go."

"I hope you can say the same the next time someone barges in on you in the bathroom."

"I'll lock the door."

Yukino: ...

Kaguya's "I'll lock the door" line killed the argument stone dead. Wearily, Yukino said, "Just go back to bed."

With that, she picked up the kerosene lamp from the sink counter, ready to head back to her room and sleep.

"Were you dreaming about Isac just now?" Kaguya asked out of nowhere.

Yukino's movements froze for a beat, then she replied, her expression unchanged, "What are you talking about?"

Seeing her still dodging the question, Kaguya cut straight to the point. "You've been distracted all day. Ruling out anything physical, this has to be the reason."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Yukino insisted stubbornly.

At that, the corner of Kaguya's mouth curled up slightly. She didn't press further, only said:

"Wait for me a moment — I need to use the toilet too."

At that, Yukino shoved the kerosene lamp straight into Kaguya's hands. "I'm a bit cold. Here, take the lamp — I'm heading back first."

With that, she didn't wait to see if Kaguya would respond, and felt her way back to the second bedroom in the dark.

Back in bed, Kaguya's remark still echoed in Yukino's mind.

Frustrated... what a joke. How could she possibly be so... so shameless!

Only someone like Kaguya could say something like that with a straight face!

Yukino let out a heavy breath and buried half her face in the blankets.

A while later, the door to the second bedroom opened again — Kaguya was back.

The kerosene lamp in her hand briefly lit up the room, but soon, as the wick died out, the room sank back into darkness.

Into bed, and to sleep — this time, neither of them said another word.

Four days flew by, and the first week of physical training was nearing its end.

Maybe it was Kaguya's words that night that had struck a nerve, or maybe she was trying to wear away her distracting thoughts through sheer exhausting effort.

Whatever the reason, Yukino had thrown herself into training these past few days with unusual intensity, pushing herself every day until she was utterly spent and couldn't summon another ounce of strength before allowing herself to rest — more than doubling the training load Hayasaka Ai had originally laid out.

The results were striking. After training, Yukino fell asleep the moment she hit the bed — no more lying awake, and she barely even dreamed anymore.

But pushing herself this hard, wringing every last drop of stamina from her body, was never going to be sustainable. It might boost her endurance quickly in the short term, but over time her body would inevitably be the first thing to give out.

"That's enough for today."

Isac understood this all too well, and had decided to step in. He called a decisive halt to today's training — he couldn't let Yukino keep going like this.

"Wait, there are still two more sets of endurance training."

Yukino clearly had no intention of stopping.

She was breathing hard, her cheeks flushed from the strenuous exercise, strands of hair from her temples plastered to her face. Sweat had soaked through her clothes, and faint wisps of heat rose visibly from her head.

"Yukinoshita Yukino." Isac's tone hardened slightly, and — rarely — he used her full name.

Yukino froze for a moment. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something more, but after catching the look in Isac's eyes, she silently swallowed the words back down.

"Kaguya, Hayasaka — go down and take your baths. I've already heated the water for you. I need to talk to Yukino alone." Isac turned to the other two women in the room.

Over these four days, Isac's injuries had mostly healed. The splint on his right forearm had been removed, and everyday movement no longer gave him much trouble — though if he exerted himself even slightly, he could still feel a faint ache in his forearm.

It didn't get in the way of daily life, though, and he figured he'd be fully recovered in another couple of days.

Kaguya and Hayasaka Ai had apparently seen this coming, because before he'd even finished speaking, the two of them were already filing out of the room, pulling the door shut behind them.

Listening to their footsteps descending the stairs, Isac pointed at the chair in front of the fireplace.

"Sit down first, and put something on — don't catch a chill."

Yukino did as told.

Isac handed her a dry towel. She took it, murmuring a quick, quiet "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

After saying that, Isac fell silent, sitting in the chair across from her and simply watching her quietly.

Yukino pressed the towel to her face with both hands, then slowly drew it down — appearing to wipe carefully, though her attention was entirely fixed on Isac.

But even after she finished wiping her face and hung the towel back over the armrest, Isac still showed no sign of speaking.

Seeing that, Yukino pressed her lips shut as well, saying nothing.

The two of them just sat there, neither speaking, as if whoever spoke first would lose.

The fire in the hearth burned bright, the logs crackling and popping. Sitting beside it, neither of them felt even a hint of cold.

One minute passed. Yukino sat quietly in her chair, eyes lowered, lost in some thought of her own.

Three minutes passed. Yukino stole a glance at Isac and found him staring at the fire, not looking her way at all. She pressed her lips together, deciding to see just how long he could hold out.

Ten minutes passed, and her clothes were nearly dry. She swept another casual-seeming glance at Isac — only to find him staring straight at her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked away.

It was right then that Isac finally spoke, once again using her full name.

"Yukinoshita Yukino."

She paused, then forced out a small "Mm" from her throat by way of response.

Isac didn't seem to mind, and went on, "Is training these past couple of days tiring?"

"It's fine," Yukino said, not meaning a word of it.

"How fine is fine?" Isac pressed.

"...It's exhausting. Happy now?"

She sighed, sounding as if she'd finally given up trying to fend him off.

"Good," Isac said, nodding.

Yukino waited a moment, and when he offered nothing further, she finally couldn't help but ask, "Is that all you wanted to say?"

Isac thought it over. "Did you grab your clothes for your bath later?"

Caught off guard, she got out two words: "I did."

"Once Kaguya and the others are done, why don't you go first?"

"Fine."

"Need help washing your back?"

"I can manage on my own."

"Then can you wash mine?"

Yukino's eyes went wide. She couldn't fathom how he'd steered the conversation to back-washing so smoothly.

He'd just been scolding her a moment ago, and now he had the nerve to ask her for a favor like this.

Then she saw Isac rub his right forearm, as if trying to ease the ache.

Even though Yukino was fairly sure he was faking it, she still couldn't bring herself to refuse.

"Fine."

Isac's eyes lit up at that, and he pushed his luck further. "Then why don't we just bathe together?"

Yukino answered with action instead of words — she flung the towel she'd used to wipe her sweat straight at his face.

"Is this the reason you kept me here alone?" she asked.

"What else would it be? I could hardly just yell at you," Isac said, as if it were obvious. "I'm practically disabled right now. If I made you mad, I couldn't fight you off."

"Am I really the kind of person who resorts to violence when she loses an argument, in your mind?" Yukino raised an eyebrow, her tone sharp.

"Fine, honestly I was worried I'd lose the argument and end up getting lectured instead," Isac admitted.

"If you hadn't done anything wrong, why would you worry about being lectured?" she shot back.

"So you think I did something wrong?"

"Why so quiet all of a sudden?"

Isac took two steps closer, leaning his head toward her, only to be stopped by a pale hand pushing him back.

"No, you didn't... there, satisfied?" Yukino's voice sounded like it was forced out through gritted teeth.

"Right, so if I didn't do anything wrong, who did?" Isac coaxed patiently.

"Look at you — the moment a question gets hard to answer, you clam up again."

Yukino suddenly broke into a smile. "You're right."

"Now that's more like it." Isac put on a look of proud approval, about to say more, when he realized her pale little hands had already crept up to grab both his cheeks.

"Whud ah oo doig?" (What are you doing?) Isac mumbled, his cheeks pinched so hard he could barely speak.

But Yukino just said, "I've realized something — I really am exactly the kind of person you thought: one who resorts to violence when she loses an argument."

When she finally let go, Isac rubbed his sore cheeks and grumbled, "So that's what being 'right' means, huh?"

"No. I admit my earlier approach had some problems," Yukino said, exhaling, openly owning her mistake.

"Then why did you still pinch me?"

"Oh, that's because you were being infuriating just now."

"So it's my fault, then?" Isac, incorrigible as ever, moved to launch another cheek-pinching assault of his own.

"...?" Yukino's face turned into one big question mark. Then she reached out, ready to teach him another lesson.

Isac was quick — he dodged her pale little hands just in time. Right then, footsteps sounded from outside the room.

Kaguya and the others must have finished bathing.

Sure enough, the footsteps drew closer, and a knock came at the master bedroom door.

"Are you done talking? The bathwater's ready," Hayasaka Ai's voice came from outside.

"We're done. Coming right now," Isac called back immediately, then glanced at Yukino, signaling her to get moving.

Yukino shot him a look that said you got lucky this time, then rose, went to the closet, grabbed a change of clothes, and headed downstairs.

Hayasaka Ai stepped into the room, watching Yukino's retreating back, and asked, "How'd the talk go?"

"Yukino's come to a deep realization of her mistakes," Isac replied.

Hayasaka Ai looked at the smug boy in front of her and sighed. "Yukinoshita's realized her problem, all right. But I'm not so sure someone else has."

Isac blinked, then raised a hand and pointed at himself.

"I did something wrong too?"

Hayasaka Ai didn't answer directly. Instead, she strolled unhurriedly over to the fireplace and sat down, and without turning around, said, "Come dry my hair for me."

Isac had no objection. He walked behind her, unwound the towel wrapped around her head, and her dazzling blonde hair tumbled loose.

With great patience, he gathered the loose strands together, wrapped the towel back around them, and slowly squeezed the water out.

"Not bad technique," Hayasaka Ai said, eyes narrowing contentedly, freely dishing out the praise.

Then she added, "Don't forget to dry Kaguya's and Yukinoshita's hair too, after this."

"If they need it..."

"As a guy, you should be a little more proactive, you know."

Isac blinked, looking thoughtful.

"Got it?" Hayasaka Ai pressed.

"Got it, Master Ai."

"What kind of weird nickname is that?"