"Thank you."
Tsushima Kagami accepted the towel and roughly wiped his hair and face, yet his gaze unconsciously drifted toward Yukinoshita Shizuku.
That dark blue jinbei was clearly too large for her; the sleeves hung long and loose, and the hem almost covered her knees, but unexpectedly, it made her entire presence seem somewhat softer. She stood barefoot on the floor, her hair still wet and dripping water.
Tsushima Kagami paused, only now realizing that Yukinoshita Shizuku must have already taken off her soaked dress in the bathroom. She was currently only draped in the jinbei, which meant...
Is she wearing underwear underneath, or did she take that off too, and is currently going commando?
"What are you thinking about?"
Seeing Tsushima Kagami staring blankly while holding a towel in one hand and stirring the pot of ginger soup with the ladle in the other, Yukinoshita Shizuku extended a hand from the oversized jinbei and waved it before his eyes.
Looking at her smooth, pale arm reaching toward him, Tsushima Kagami snapped back to reality and smiled.
"You'll catch a cold like that."
"I'm still filling the hot water."
"Then go get your change of clothes first. The water will be ready soon."
Yukinoshita Shizuku nodded upon hearing this.
"Then I'll go up and get my clothes first."
"Achoo!"
Just as she prepared to turn around, Yukinoshita Shizuku suddenly sneezed, followed by a bit of runny nose slowly trickling down.
Tsushima Kagami pulled a tissue from the box nearby, wiped her upper lip for her, and then had her hold it.
"You should go back to the bathroom and soak first. I think the hot water is about ready."
Tsushima Kagami pushed Yukinoshita Shizuku toward the bathroom.
"Un... Underwear."
"I'll go get it for you," Tsushima Kagami said as he walked.
Yukinoshita Shizuku thought for a moment and finally nodded.
"It's in the drawer on the right side of the wardrobe."
"Okay, okay. What color and style do you want?"
"Oh, whatever."
Yukinoshita Shizuku was thus pushed into the bathroom. Seeing that the hot water in the small, simple bathtub was nearly full, she was just about to shed the jinbei and rinse off when she remembered the bathroom door wasn't locked yet.
So, she turned the latch on the handle to lock it before finally letting the jinbei slide off her body. In the mirror beside her, a smooth, naked body filled with beautiful curves leapt into view.
Yukinoshita Shizuku turned to look at herself in the mirror, her cheeks involuntarily flushing red. She didn't know why, but after taking off all her clothes in the bathroom earlier, the thought of 'what would happen if I just draped the jinbei over myself to bring Kagami a towel' had suddenly echoed in her mind.
Honestly, how could she have such a thought, and actually put it into action? This wasn't like her usual self at all!
Fortunately, Kagami didn't show any strange reaction.
Yukinoshita Shizuku breathed a sigh of relief, but for some unknown reason, a wave of inexplicable loss surged in her heart.
She slapped her own cheeks with both hands to sober herself up.
It must be because we're used to living together. We've long been accustomed to each other's existence, so there wouldn't be any strange thoughts. Just like family.
No, Kagami and I are family. That's right. Because we are family, there's no need to worry about these things.
Yukinoshita Shizuku finally found a reason to explain her abnormal behavior just now. Only then did she turn on the shower head, letting the water stream slide down her exquisite curves.
After washing up, just as Yukinoshita Shizuku was preparing to start soaking in the bath, she suddenly paused and looked at the bathroom door.
He still has to bring me my change of clothes later. If the door is locked, won't he be unable to send them in?
After thinking it over, Yukinoshita Shizuku walked back to the door, twisted the latch on the handle back, and released the lock. Finally, she entered the bathtub.
Yukinoshita Shizuku immersed herself in the warm water and let out a long sigh. Her body gradually warmed up, yet her thoughts were still drifting through the storm from earlier.
She remembered how Tsushima Kagami had been stunned by her question, then replied, "I'm a moron." She remembered his clumsy figure as he turned sideways to block the rain for her. She remembered his helpless and apologetic look when the typhoon blew him into the middle of the road, leaving him in a dilemma. She remembered the motion of him taking out the jinbei and draping it over her.
She remembered him saying, "Don't let go"...
She lowered her head to look at her blurred reflection in the water, the corners of her mouth curling up unknowingly.
"Just like a moron."
Tsushima Kagami arrived at the room shared by the Yukinoshita mother and daughter on the second floor. This room was slightly larger than his, but it didn't have the large window for natural light that his room had, so regardless of whether it was day or night, it appeared extremely dim if the lights weren't on.
Unlike the concise-to-the-point-of-simple layout of Tsushima Kagami's room, the mother and daughter's room clearly had more furniture. They were girls, after all; many aspects were more particular than for boys. Moreover, there were many furniture items brought back from their home in Setagaya, which presumably carried many memories.
Tsushima Kagami opened the wardrobe directly, then pulled open the drawer on the lower right. This layer was bras, and he opened the next layer down, which was panties.
He glanced at the drawers on the left side—presumably Mrs. Yukinoshita's underwear.
What? Open it and take a look?
This isn't a reenactment of Family ~ The Cries of Mother and Sisters.
Besides, since Mrs. Yukinoshita was usually so busy she left early and returned late every day, when it was Tsushima Kagami's turn to do housework, she washed her own intimate apparel anyway. There was nothing to see.
Tsushima Kagami quickly rummaged through the drawer. Remembering Shizuku had said "whatever" earlier, he found a set of pale cherry-colored underwear, then took a set of pajamas she usually wore in hot weather, closed the wardrobe, and left the room.
Yukinoshita Shizuku, currently soaking in the hot bath, suddenly heard approaching footsteps. Presumably, it was Tsushima Kagami bringing her change of clothes.
She looked at the unlocked door. Yukinoshita Shizuku didn't know why, but her heart suddenly began to beat violently.
Until she heard the footsteps stop outside the door, followed by a knock and Tsushima Kagami's voice.
"I put the clothes at the door. You can take them in and change later."
Outside the door, Tsushima Kagami was placing the clothes into a laundry basket, which he set down beside the bathroom entrance.
Just as he was about to turn back to check on how his ginger soup was boiling, he heard Shizuku's voice drift out from the bathroom.
"Um... could you bring it in for me? The door isn't locked."
"Okay."
Yukinoshita Shizuku curled herself up tightly, immersing her entire body as much as possible into the bathwater, leaving only half her head above the surface blowing bubbles as she stared nervously at that door.
She watched as the door handle slowly turned, then the door was pushed open bit by bit, the gap gradually widening.
Just when she thought Tsushima Kagami was going to walk in...
The door opened a crack about two palms wide and stopped moving. Then, a hand holding a laundry basket extended inside.
He simply placed the basket just inside the door.
"I'll put it here then."
"Don't soak too long. If the ginger soup gets cold, it won't taste good."
With that, Tsushima Kagami pulled the door shut again.
Inside the bathtub, Yukinoshita Shizuku breathed a sigh of relief. She slowly sank the remaining half of her head into the water, and only bubbles could be seen rising ceaselessly to the surface.
____
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