Tenkuji Residence.
"The test...?"
Watching the four girls painstakingly lift her brother onto the sofa, and after they retreated, breathless, Sora slowly walked to his side. She knelt down, carefully reached out, and smoothed her brother's messy bangs as he slept.
Her fingertips, which had been steady, began to tremble as they touched Yuu's still-warm skin.
"So, Yuu is now struggling in a very difficult and miserable situation..."
Utaha: "Uh, maybe not that miserable..."
"While I can only watch from the outside, unable to do anything, not even knowing if he'll wake up..."
Completely ignoring the large-chested foreign woman trying to say something to lighten the mood, Sora could no longer maintain her feigned calm expression.
Like a small animal seeing its kin fall into a trap, only able to await death in a severely injured state, she bit her lip hard while gazing at her brother's sleeping face, yet still emitting intermittent, heart-wrenching sobs.
"Yuu... Yuu..."
Even though all her strength instantly vanished, the girl still tightly hugged her brother's head. She didn't care at all that her soft chest was pressed so hard it was difficult to breathe; she just held him, trembling.
His cold cheek couldn't be melted by her body temperature. She only hoped that his still-beating heart in her chest could reach her brother's lonely dream, so that she could be an unyielding support, wherever Yuu might be.
"Sora-chan..."
Seeing Sora in such distress, Yukino's eyes reddened. She instinctively wanted to approach to comfort her.
However, before she could, Sora quietly straightened up. She sat on the sofa, lifted Yuu's head, letting him lean on her lap.
After ensuring that her brother was experiencing no discomfort other than abnormally deep sleep, Sora wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned to the four women standing at the living room door.
"Thank you for your hard work bringing Yuu home. From now on, leave his care to me. You may return. The door is over there; please leave and do not return."
Her tone conveyed only indifference, just like her bright, frozen eyes, resembling a winter lake that had lost its color.
The four women were stunned. Masuzu, considering that Sora might still resent her and that speaking would only worsen the situation, took a step back, letting the others take over.
The first to speak was Yukino.
"Sora-chan, Tenkuji-kun collapsed in front of me. I feel I need to stay and look after him." After giving a rational reason, she bowed her head. Her white palms unconsciously clenched tightly.
"And... there are many things I want to ask him. I want to tell him as soon as he wakes up..."
"What does that have to do with me?" Sora was unyielding. She appeared instantly mature, looking at her with calm eyes, and pointing towards the door without expression.
"Yukinoshita-san, starting today, you should only be an ordinary friend to him, right?"
(Even if I kick you out of the house, Yuu definitely won't blame me...)
After solidifying this thought, Sora's tone became firmer: "So, I don't want anyone else in our house. I will inform you after he wakes up. For now, please leave immediately!"
"I..."
Seeing her cold and undeniable gaze, Yukino was silent for a moment. Her half-raised hands didn't know where to rest, but she couldn't find any reason to stay.
However, to just leave like that, it was impossible... After all, Yuu was the one she loved. Even if the others would leave with her, Yukino still didn't want to abandon the sleeping Yuu. She wanted to be by his side until he woke up.
So, facing Sora's expulsion, she could only grip the collar of her shirt, enduring the pain in her chest and her flushed face from fever. She lowered her head, silent, and her feet stood motionless as if rooted to the floor.
"Trying to hide here..."
Seeing her intent, Sora raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Although she had only met Yukino a few times and hadn't interacted deeply, she at least felt that her brother's former girlfriend, as her name suggested, was a crystal-clear and ice-cold girl.
She had pride and stubbornness. She was not someone who would resort to such pouting and shameless actions.
...It's just that, once she thought her brother's coma had something to do with them, such stubbornness and deep love made Sora feel extremely nauseated and disgusted.
If it weren't for them. If they had never appeared.
Then the gods and chaotic trials would surely not interfere with their monotonous but fulfilling happy lives, right?
Her always strong and confident brother wouldn't show weakness in front of her, wouldn't be happy or worried about separation and reunion, and wouldn't sleep without knowing the cause.
So, ever since learning the truth, Sora wanted to say this to them—
"When Yuu was suffering the most, none of you knew his feelings, only kept forcing him to make choices, yet now you dare to pretend to care here... It's truly disgusting."
If it weren't for her not wanting to trouble Yuu, if it weren't for her wanting to be an obedient, gentle, and understanding little sister in her brother's eyes, all these grievances and anger should have been vented upon them since the cultural festival.
After her sharp words ended, Sora stroked Yuu's face, then looked at Yukino, who was frozen in place as if forgetting to breathe, with disgust, and then looked towards the other two ex-girlfriends.
"Are you two the same? Shamelessly hiding here?"
"That's right, you know."
Without looking at her sister's poor, stunned face, Haruno crossed her arms over her chest, leaned against the wall, and said with a smile to Sora: "I should qualify to stay, right? After all, Yuu-chab and I love each other. If he wakes up and finds out his girlfriend was driven away by his sister, he'll definitely be very distressed, right?"
"So what?" Sora sneered, no longer hiding her thoughts. "As long as Yuu wakes up, I don't care how he punishes me... And as for being distressed, he could just break up with you all and be with me forever. He doesn't need to care about your feelings, right?"
"Do you really think he'd think that way?"
"..."
With just that light sentence, Sora fell silent.
As if lecturing a child who knew nothing, Haruno sighed and said slowly: "What kind of personality Yuu-chan has, we all know better than anyone, don't we?"
"He won't just care about my feelings. If I throw a tantrum and sulk again, he'll even agree to various demands to appease me..."
"For example, dates and overnight stays, or letting me do yoga in his room. And he'll do everything to convince you, and won't give up even if he has to suffer stomach pains—Geez, in that case, Sora-chan will become a stubborn and insensitive sister, who will only bother her brother."
"You...!"
"I'm right, aren't I?"
Haruno raised her eyebrows high, moved away from the wall and stood in front of the sofa, looking up slightly, gazing at Sora who seemed a little annoyed, haughtily.
Her beautiful red eyes, though narrowed into a friendly arc, only exuded coldness and discomfort. Her oppressive aura enveloped the petite silver-haired girl mercilessly.
She was expressionless, and said coldly to Sora: "Besides, we brought him back, with no intention of just abandoning him because we want to preserve family feelings—we just want to find a way to wake Yuu-chan together with information transparency."
"This is the choice adults would make, unlike you, who are just childish from beginning to end."
Shaking her head with a mocking tone, Haruno suddenly bent down and breathed warm air into Sora's ear.
However, her soft voice, like cold water being poured, made Sora stiffen from head to toe:
"Imouto-chan, is losing the chance to wake Yuu-chan quickly because of your stubborn and possessive attitude the outcome you wish to see?"
"I..."