Meanwhile, in the luxury apartment.
After returning from school to her solitary residence, Yukino tried to do other things to distract herself, but her mind kept wandering and she couldn't settle down.
As she sat on the sofa reading a book, Yuu's image unconsciously appeared between the lines. Even after putting down the book and closing her eyes for a brief rest, she could almost smell his lingering scent in the quiet and lonely living room, merging with her in an intimate embrace on the sofa, in every corner of the living room.
It was probably an illusion caused by Yuu's hug.
So, Yukino took another shower, trying to wash away the scent from her body. However, for some reason, as the shower gel was rubbed onto her skin, her heart rate quickened. The touch of fingers on every sensitive area of her skin felt like an electric current, as if someone had just gently and powerfully rubbed every part of her body in the bathroom, leaving a mark that was difficult to fade in a short time.
Unconsciously, Yuu's figure appeared in her mind. Instantly, Yukino shook her head with a flushed face—what did that have to do with Yuu!
Not to mention she wouldn't have any physical contact with him at all, Yuu was her best friend's boyfriend. Even just having such thoughts was tantamount to betraying her best friend!
"This is teenage syndrome... even if I truly like him, I would never have thoughts that cross the line..."
Blaming this fantasy on hormonal imbalance, Yukino, the pure love warrior, decisively turned the hot water to cold, and for this time, she took a cold shower, forcing her flushed skin back to snow-white.
She knew that doing this would make her very uncomfortable, and with her physical condition, she might even catch a cold.
However, nursing a cold alone at home was better than struggling in a love triangle... At least the former wouldn't violate Yukino's beliefs, and wouldn't make her feel like a different stranger.
But while showering, she was surprised to find that the cold water didn't give her too much discomfort, nor was there any process of self-restraint she expected to do with gritted teeth and a trembling body. Although she could feel the water was very cold, it felt like bathing in warm water. Her body's reaction was so flat that it made her feel like she was dreaming.
"It seems I should just sleep again..."
Normally, she would never engage in such lazy acts as sleeping in late, unless she had a cold or fever.
However, on vacation, she couldn't concentrate on books for even half a word, nor was she interested in browsing the internet to watch cat videos. With so little entertainment to pass her time, of course, she could only lie in bed, close her eyes and clear her mind to calm her emotions.
Holding her forehead, Yukino came out of the bathroom and sighed softly. She hadn't expected the first day of her winter break to be this bad.
She returned to the bedroom, sat in front of the dressing table, and began to dry her hair. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, which somehow looked different, her mind became chaotic again as her hair strands flew around.
(Were the words Tenkuji-kun said to me sincere?)
Undeniable sincerity. Precisely because of that, she became agitated and panicked, and hastily fled from the warm, pounding sound of her own heart.
(What exactly did Tenkuji-kun want to tell me? Why is his current self so different from my memory, giving such a strange feeling?)
(With Tenkuji-kun's personality, he would never recklessly confess his love, knowing that I couldn't accept it... So, could the reason be related to what he hastily wanted to tell me?)
(After all, the Tenkuji-kun in my memory never had intimate interactions with me. Could it be that he, like me, fell in love with the other party through increasingly close companionship day by day?)
(If that's the case, why didn't he show any signs of it before? And why could he form a relationship with Yuigahama-san so naturally, and display affection every day in the clubroom, in front of me?)
Rationally, Yukino's analysis was like that. But emotionally...
Although her memories were filled with his figure, why was it only this morning, Yuu who suddenly hugged her with such gentle eyes that felt strange, actually made her feel the most familiar, and the throbbing sensation far surpassed previous times?
Compared to his current self, his past self felt fake, giving a very unreal feeling.
"Is this just an illusion..."
Slowly putting down the hairdryer, Yukino frowned, her hand gently pressing her left chest, as if wanting to confirm the floating and always unstable feeling inside her.
The more she thought about it now, the more she felt that something was very strange everywhere.
In fact, ever since she was driven by an unclear urge in the morning, ignoring the train stop and walking to the school clubroom to read, Yukino felt as if she was enveloped in a thick fog, with the surroundings feeling floating and unreal.
The most important thing was...
Suddenly she remembered something, pulling out the drawer under the dressing table. Inside it was a necklace neatly wrapped in a handkerchief.
Beneath the glittering silver chain hung a clear, pure white snowflake-shaped crystal. Right in its center was embedded a sky-blue gem, sparkling with pure light.
From its material and craftsmanship, the necklace appeared expensive, feeling warm like jade to the touch, as if continuously emitting a slight warmth—a work of art that gave warmth, completely contrary to its snowflake-shaped exterior.
But Yukino swore that she had never seen this necklace, which should have been the main item in a jewelry auction. Moreover, when she woke up in the morning, this object was already hanging around her neck, clinging tightly to her bare skin.
The second strange thing was here.
She, who had absolutely no habit of sleeping naked, and had no memory of taking off her pajamas last night, was apparently curled up under the blanket completely naked, wearing only this necklace. When she woke up and realized this, Yukino just sat speechless on the bed hugging the blanket. After a while, with a confused and frightened feeling, she began to check the doors, windows, and her body.
Of course, the tightly locked doors and windows wouldn't allow even a mosquito to enter. The floor, bed, and blanket only had her traces. No part of her body felt pain, and the pajamas she should have been wearing were neatly stored in the closet, as if she hadn't worn them since last night.
Finding no clues that could explain the situation, Yukino even began to suspect if some mischievous fairy had entered her bedroom through the ventilation or something, undressed her, gave her this necklace as compensation, just to see her panicked expression upon waking.
Of course, this conjecture was too unrealistic. Finally, she could only comfort herself with 'sleepwalking'—
As for the necklace, since she couldn't find any reasonable explanation, for caution, she took it off and stored it in the drawer, planning to ask her mother for help to examine it after returning home.
"Wait, so it's not like there were, absolutely, no clues at all..."
As she realized this, her slightly confused and distressed eyes suddenly sparkled.
Yukino suddenly rose from the dressing table, raised her right hand high, and looked at the necklace with a sharp gaze.
At this moment, logic and emotion connected, gathering countless possibilities at a speed approaching overclock.
—Sherlock Holmes once said, first, eliminate all impossible conclusions. Whatever remains, no matter how strange and incredible, must be the undeniable truth.
Firstly, even if she sleepwalked, there's no way she would walk out in the middle of the night and find such an expensive necklace to bring home.
Therefore, this necklace must have been given by someone else, and perhaps that person was the one who put it on her neck—she just forgot.
Secondly, despite it being winter break, she was driven by an unexplainable urge to go to Sobu High, and met the person she liked there. Was all of this truly just a coincidence?
If not a coincidence, could it be that she had actually promised Yuu to meet there—she just forgot.
Thirdly, did Yuu confess his love in the clubroom just because he suddenly wanted to flirt and take advantage of being alone with her?
"No, he clearly came prepared. When he met me, he already knew what to say. Even when rejected, he didn't panic, instead saying that he was already certain of my feelings, looking as if he had expected it."
"If you think about it carefully, his tone when confessing his love wasn't one of eagerness to express his feelings, but rather a sense of relief like fulfilling a promise he had made—it's just that I forgot everything, and he wasn't surprised, he already knew why I felt panicked and shocked."
"Fourthly, still about Tenkuji-kun."
"His attitude was clearly illogical. Usually, he was always loyal to Yuigahama-san, able to mercilessly reject any woman's love confession, and even when the most beautiful girl in the world secretly liked him, he always maintained a distance as a 'soul friend' and never went further."
"How could it be that after Christmas Eve, he suddenly became so obsessed with me that he couldn't control his desires, and the loving gaze in his eyes made no effort to hide at all?"
"Unless, I forgot something very important to both of them. Something that, if forgotten, would make the whole world feel very strange."
"Is this what you wanted to tell me..."
Yukino murmured softly, her slowly enlightened gaze seemingly piercing the sky-blue gem, seeing Yuu's relieved and happy smile.
Because she knew him, because she liked him, because she always paid attention to him.
Therefore, no matter how absurd the possibility, as long as it had something to do with Yuu, Yukino was willing to believe it.
"...The condition is, he has to talk to me nicely, and not launch a sudden attack that would surprise me too much to think."
"But I really... why did I only remember now? He already gave the answer from the start!"
The black-haired girl sighed helplessly, her thin and soft lips slightly closed, but her tense nerves unconsciously completely relaxed.
Like a student who, in the last minute of an exam, finally found the formula to use for the last math problem, she narrowed her eyes casually and confidently, chuckling softly as she mumbled to herself:
"'Even if you don't remember anything, you must still love me... Wait for me, who loves you, to come find you'"—Why didn't he just say that from the start?
"Tenkuji-kun, you're just as foolish as I am."
"Even saying it directly might still make me think there's something wrong with his head, but it's much better than suddenly hugging me and confessing his love, right?"
"He knows my personality very well. After being treated like that, how could I possibly remain calm and listen to what he had to say?"
—However, no matter what.
This was the answer to all the problems that had arisen since she woke up this morning.
Although Yukino didn't yet know what exactly happened, how Yuigahama was doing she also didn't know, and the reason she slept naked was better not thought about further...
However, the thin, cold fog at the end of the open road had now disappeared.
Because Yuu was waiting for her ahead, what was floating was no longer floating, and what was vague was no longer vague—as long as Yukino stepped forward, she would surely be able to dispel all confusion and rediscover her elegant and strong past self.
Yukino took a deep breath, her skin, whitened by the cold water, was now adorned with a slight healthy blush. Her reflection in the mirror no longer looked agitated, like a traveler who had long been trapped in a labyrinth finally found a signpost, and had thought about the next step to take.
First and foremost, of course, was to call Yuu, whom she had just threatened to hate. After apologizing for her agitation, the two of them would sit together and talk about 'amnesia' and 'the necklace' as he suggested.
However, before that, there was one thing Yukino wanted to do.
"I remember there was a plot like this in a short story... a girl with amnesia slowly remembers what happened in the past after putting back on an object given by her boyfriend as a token of love..."
Although her cheeks flushed and her heart rate increased because of the words 'boyfriend,' she still couldn't help but stare at the exquisite snowflake necklace in front of her with a curious gaze, like an innocent girl waiting for her prince charming to come pick her up.
Then, with an experimental attitude, Yukino brushed her hair to her chest, lowered her head, preparing to put the necklace back on.
But before she could—
*DING-DONG!*
Suddenly, the doorbell rang, accompanied by a less-than-polite knock on the door.
"Yukino-chan, you're home, right? If so, open the door quickly. Onee-san came to visit, you know~"
That lazy and overly casual tone, it must be Haruno.
"Nee-san? Why is she coming now..."
Muttering in confusion, Yukino wasn't stunned for too long. She wrapped the necklace back in the handkerchief, stored it in the drawer, and walked towards the entrance.
"What's wrong? Why didn't you inform me before coming?"
As she opened the door, she immediately questioned her sister, acting as if facing an uninvited guest.
As usual, the college student outside didn't care about her sister's sharp attitude. Haruno waved her hand, signaling Yukino to move aside quickly, because it was very cold outside and she wanted to quickly get into the warm house.
"Look at you, does a sister need another reason to meet her sister?"
"Then please inform me first."
"I can't. I happened to be passing by today, so I stopped by. There's no point in informing just one or two minutes in advance, right?" Casually taking off her sports shoes and stepping inside, Haruno looked around the living room, which didn't look any different from usual, then smiled meaningfully.
"Or perhaps, you're afraid of being caught while being intimate with your boyfriend at home?"
Closing the door, Yukino frowned, staring at her sister's back with an uncomprehending gaze.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Where would I get a boyfriend?"
(Moreover, that tone of hers, faintly feels like there's ill intent towards me... What's with this hostile aura?)
"Hmm~ Maybe I misunderstood."
Haruno shrugged, walking slowly a few steps on the wooden floor. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she turned around and smiled at her sister.
"Oh, Yukino-chan, speaking of boyfriends, I have some good news I want to tell you first! It's a secret that even mom doesn't know, you know~"
"W-What?!"
Almost without mental preparation.
Her hand had just left the doorknob, Yukino instantly tensed, her eyes wide, her mouth slightly open, and she couldn't utter a single word, as if choked.
What truly surprised her wasn't the so-called 'secret told only to her and not to mom,' nor her sister's unusually enthusiastic attitude, let alone the bright smile that rarely came from the bottom of Haruno's heart.
Rather—
"Here it is."
Haruno pulled out her phone from her pocket, pointed the screen towards Yukino, and pressed the power button.
The screen lit up. A shared photo used as a wallpaper was clearly reflected in Yukino's bright and clear blue eyes, as if frozen into a stiffly colored painting.
As if she had expected it, Haruno laughed cheerfully and said:
"Surprised, right? I've been dating him for a long time, I just kept it a secret from everyone for various reasons. But since it's almost the end of the year, I thought of announcing it now and giving a New Year's surprise... And as my sister, and his good friend, I thought I should tell you first!"
"That Tenkuji-kun of yours—Yuu-chan, is actually my boyfriend."