On Sunday morning, while Haruno was still sleeping soundly in her room, Yukino had already gotten up early and come over next door.
Ichin was up as well, running on the treadmill in the living room. The two cats, Peppa and George, were sprawled on the nearby cat tree, eyes half-closed as they dozed.
Hearing the door open, Ichin glanced toward the entryway mid-run and saw Yukino coming in.
"You're up?"
Yukino nodded and walked over to him.
The weather wasn't great today—gray and overcast. The forecast said it would rain in the morning, so neither of them planned to go out for a run. They'd decided to use the treadmill at home instead.
Glancing at the wall clock, Ichin said between breaths, "Give me a moment—five more minutes."
Yukino nodded, went over to the cat tree to pet the two cats, then looked toward the bedroom.
"Utaha isn't up yet?"
"It's the weekend. She doesn't like getting up early to work out anyway. She'll probably sleep for another hour or so—won't be up until nine."
Yukino thought about it and agreed. Even on weekdays, if Utaha didn't have class first period, she would always sleep in a bit before getting up.
And it was still fine now—toward the end of the month, when Utaha's period came around, she'd probably be even sleepier than usual.
When the five minutes were up, Ichin stopped the treadmill, grabbed the towel hanging nearby to wipe the sweat from his face, and gave the spot to Yukino.
"Do some warm-up stretches before you start."
"Mm, I know."
As Yukino began stretching, Ichin went back to the bedroom, picked up a change of clothes, and planned to take a shower.
Just as he opened the wardrobe, Utaha in the bed woke up. Rubbing her eyes, she looked at Ichin and asked, "What time is it, Ichin?"
"It's still early—not even eight yet."
With his clothes in hand, Ichin walked over, gently pinched Utaha's cheek, and tidied her slightly messy bangs. "Go back to sleep for a bit. I'll wake you later."
Utaha nodded and burrowed back under the covers.
With her eyes closed, she murmured, "Did Yukino come over?"
"She did. She should be running on the treadmill right now."
"So early… no way I can get up. I stayed up too late last night." Pulling the blanket over her head, Utaha said, "I'll sleep a bit more."
Seeing that Utaha had stopped talking, Ichin smiled, left the bedroom, and went to take his shower.
After showering, changing clothes, and drying his hair, Ichin came out of the bathroom. Yukino was jogging on the treadmill at a steady pace, wearing headphones and listening to music.
When she saw Ichin come out, she took off one side of the headphones and kept running.
"I'll be done in about ten more minutes."
"Alright. Keep an eye on the time and your stamina."
As he spoke, Ichin headed for the kitchen. "I'll make breakfast. We're having soup dumplings this morning, with porridge and soy milk."
Of course, only on weekend mornings did Ichin have the time to prepare things like soup dumplings. On weekdays, breakfast was usually much simpler, and buns like these were typically prepared the night before.
The minced meat had already been prepared last night. Once the dough was kneaded and wrapped, Ichin quickly placed the finished soup dumplings into the steamer, while the porridge and soy milk were prepared alongside them.
Stretching his arms a bit, Ichin walked out of the kitchen. Now all that was left was to wait for the porridge and soup dumplings to be ready.
As soon as he stepped out, Yukino also emerged from the bathroom. A faint mist of steam still lingered in her hair, and she looked like a lotus just risen from the water, instantly drawing Ichin's gaze.
Smiling, Ichin walked over and pulled Yukino into his arms, burying his face in her hair and taking a deep breath.
"Smells really nice. Take a break for a bit—breakfast will be ready soon."
"I can rest for a moment, but I need to check whether my sister is up yet. And… don't mess around."
She grabbed Ichin's hand just as it tried to slip under her clothes, her cheeks flushing slightly as she said, "It's daytime, you know."
"Alright, alright, you're the boss."
Holding Yukino's face in his hands, Ichin leaned down and gave her two firm kisses before finally letting her go to the neighboring unit. He himself headed back to the bedroom to wake Utaha up.
While Utaha was washing up, Ichin noticed that Yukino still hadn't come back, so he went over next door.
After entering, he saw Yukino in the living room, pouring cat food for the cats.
"Is Haruno-nee up yet?"
"She just got up—she's in the bathroom."
No sooner had Yukino finished speaking than the bathroom door opened, and Haruno walked out wearing her nightgown.
Seeing Ichin, Haruno yawned and cheerfully said, "Good morning, Ichin. How does my sleepwear look?"
"Emmm—looks pretty good."
Ichin glanced at Haruno, whose long legs were fully on display, gave her a thumbs-up, and said, "Haruno-nee, get changed and come over. Breakfast is almost ready."
"OK~~~"
After finishing breakfast, the four of them headed out together to the villa. The beds, wardrobes, and other furniture they had bought at the furniture mall yesterday were scheduled to be delivered today.
When they arrived, there was no construction work going on at the villa that day, though quite a few building materials were still stacked on the first floor.
After taking a look around, Haruno said, "It's basically almost done. It should be finished by the end of next month, and by the time summer vacation starts in July, we can pretty much move in! Come on, come on—I need to check out my bedroom and think about how to decorate it!"
With that, Haruno excitedly rushed up to the third floor first.
The other three followed close behind.
The entire villa had three floors. The first floor was the main hall, kitchen and dining area, as well as a gym and storage rooms. The second floor housed the home theater and several guest rooms. The third floor consisted of the master bedroom, Yukino's and Haruno's bedrooms, and a studio that was still being set up.
Of course, there was no need for too many guest rooms. A few of the rooms on the second floor could be converted into other functional spaces, leaving just two rooms for when Ichin's parents or Utaha's parents came to stay.
Once upstairs, Haruno looked at her still-empty bedroom and pondered aloud, "Hmm, the bed goes here, the desk goes here, and the wardrobe and vanity go over there. Feels like it could use a bit more decoration—I'll need to plan this properly. Yukino, what do you think about a girly pink theme? I want to keep my mindset as youthful as a maiden's."
"..." Yukino replied expressionlessly, "Sister, back when you were a 'maiden,' you didn't have any maidenly feelings at all. You spent all your time either messing with me or thinking about how to dig pits for other people. That really doesn't suit you."
"Eh~~ I was just joking. Yukino, you're no fun at all."
Clapping her hands, Haruno said with a laugh, "Alright, let's head downstairs. The furniture should be arriving any minute now."
Five minutes later, Ichin received a call—the delivery truck had arrived at the entrance of the villa complex.
After confirming, the truck drove in, and the workers quickly unloaded the furniture and moved everything into the two rooms.
Although many decorative touches were still missing, the rooms were already starting to look and feel like proper bedrooms.
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