"Why?"
Yukino's hand, which had just been about to reach for her phone in her pocket, paused because of that sentence.
As if her earlier lewd behavior had never happened, Masuzu combed her long hair with her hand and said slowly: "Isn't this a very simple matter? First of all, Dango-chan's status isn't the same as ours. She's the official girlfriend that Yuu chose to date, even without the pressure of a mission, you know~"
"I don't see any reason to exclude Yui, because we're both his girlfriends."
Staring at Masuzu's slightly condescending gaze, Yukino answered very firmly.
Although she still had a little worry and anxiety about whether Yuigahama truly accepted her relationship with Yuu, more than her own feelings, Yukino didn't want her best friend, who was truly dating Yuu, to be kept in the dark in a situation like this, only able to wait for everything to end without knowing anything.
Her boyfriend had fainted without cause, was forcibly kissed by someone in the car, and now his room was being raided by several women who had feelings for him... After this, even more outrageous things might happen. Meanwhile, Yuigahama wasn't by his side, unable to stop any of this, and unable to help him at all.
The feeling of shock and helplessness after learning the truth made Yukino's chest tighten just imagining it. She truly didn't want her best friend to feel the same pain.
So, she said firmly, word by word: "I don't know what the past is like in your memories. To me, Tenkuji-kun and Yui are a couple with a good and intimate relationship. Everything we're doing now, and everything Tenkuji-kun is experiencing now, must be immediately told to her."
"Or, do you have a reason to hide it from her?"
"Pffft!"
Stared at with such intimidating truth by Yukino, Masuzu couldn't hold back her laughter, like a villain mocking the naive thoughts of the protagonist before a major battle. After a small chuckle, she crossed her arms in front of her chest and said slowly:
"You're right~ Just like cancer can't be hidden from family, if an accident happens one day, the damage will be even more severe for those kept in the dark, right?"
Yukino frowned: "Can you stop using analogies like that..."
Masuzu ignored her and continued speaking on her own.
"I know too. You think the reason I don't want Dango-chan to come is purely because I want to exclude her, the official girlfriend, so that we mission targets without official status can continue acting freely, right?"
The corner of Yukino's eye twitched slightly: "Honestly, I didn't think that far... So you're thinking that?"
"...I thought you would think that."
Masuzu's calculating expression became awkward. She coughed awkwardly a few times, but quickly refocused.
"I'll say it first: as long as Yuu can wake up safely, let alone letting Dango-chan come to take control of the situation, even if we have to lock the two of them in the same room and wake him up with unspeakable exercise, I sincerely don't care."
"I care!" Sora, who had been listening to their conversation, interjected unhappily.
"Don't worry, that's impossible to happen." Masuzu couldn't ignore this little girl's opinion. She reassured her, then turned back to Yukino.
She suddenly stepped forward, and her tone became aggressive.
"Besides, do you think Dango-chan isn't my best friend? While you two spent Christmas Eve together upstairs and your fierce fighting sounds echoed throughout the apartment last night, we were watching JOJO downstairs to soothe our wounded hearts!"
"Dango-chan even specially went upstairs to give you Christmas gifts, and her eyes were red when she came back! You dare say you're thinking of her more than I am?! How shameless!"
Although it was a shout that sounded very honest and fiery, the slight twitch at the corner of her lips gave the impression that she was holding back laughter.
Sora, who was observing, sneered indifferently. She didn't care at all whether her older brother had really done something to that flat-chested black-haired woman—
After all, Masuzu's words were completely untrustworthy. Just looking at her expression, she was surely just spouting nonsense to disturb others.
Although the suspicion about what Yuu did last night hadn't disappeared, unless Yuu admitted it himself, as a little sister who always believed in him, Sora would never waver just because of others' words!
"Wh-what did you say..."
On the other side, because she was too shocked, Yukino didn't notice the oddity in Masuzu's expression. She only retreated a step with a shocked face.
Her trembling pupils contracted into pinpricks as if recalling something she couldn't believe. Her dry lips mumbled in a daze:
"So I really did something like that with him... Waking up in the morning without wearing anything, that was because of him too..."
She stood right in front of them. No matter how small Yukino's mumble was, Sora and Masuzu could quickly catch the keywords.
"Waking up in the morning..."
"Finding yourself without wearing anything?"
Both were stunned, then simultaneously showed similar shocked expressions. They stared at Yukino, whose white skin flushed and who turned her head away with a beet-red face, in disbelief.
"No way... Dango-chan trusts you two so much, and you actually did it?!"
Masuzu couldn't help but widen her eyes, clenching her fists. The sourness and reluctance in her heart turned into condemnation toward Yukino: "Too envious... No, too cruel! Is your friendship not worth six hours of passion?!"
"You were about to say envious earlier... Wait, that's not the point."
Feeling those two gazes piercing, Yukino frantically flicked her long hair, covering the side of her face that was already as red as a sunset.
Then she stared at the corner of the wall, took a deep breath, and tried to defend herself in a calm tone:
"Even though you say that, I don't remember anything now, and no physical abnormalities appeared... M-maybe, I took it off myself!"
"Tch, is that your final excuse?" Masuzu sneered coldly. She suddenly turned toward Haruno, who was still searching for something, and raised her voice.
"Haruno-san, your sister—"
"Wait, wait a moment, the issue isn't certain yet!"
An inexplicable fear and panic surged in Yukino's heart. Ignoring her shame, she turned, and tried to cover Masuzu's mouth with her hand, attempting to prevent the war aimed at her from breaking out.
"We'll discuss this after Tenkuji-kun wakes up! If we cause trouble now, we might miss the best time to save him!"
Letting her mouth be covered by the warm and soft palm, Masuzu stared at her flushed, ashamed, and panicked face. Her blue eyes emitted cold scorn and disdain.
As if saying—Then, beg me not to spill it.
Yukino gritted her teeth. She urged her with a serious and firm gaze to assess the situation and accept her plea. Don't start an internal conflict at this critical moment.
As the two faced off, Sora slowly set aside her shock and murmured softly.
"Yuu desperately didn't want to say the details, so last night he really was with that flat-chested black-haired woman... Wait."
Suddenly remembering something, Sora turned to Masuzu and asked with a pout: "Hey, you obsessive silver-haired woman, turns out you weren't making it up? That sound really came from upstairs to downstairs?"
Masuzu irritably brushed away Yukino's hand and sighed in feigned sadness: "Sorry, only that sentence was made up. Originally, I thought Yuu wasn't the type to choose Yukino before his other girlfriends. I didn't expect them to be forced against (together), fall in love mutually, collaborate in crime, and share intimacy..."
"You can't use proverbs carelessly!" Yukino bit her lip and glared at her. She pulled at her collar to release the heat. Even now, she still didn't dare face the reality.
"The issue isn't certain. Don't say it as if I really slept with him until we get definite proof... And besides, even if I did become his second girlfriend, I would never do something so shameless on Christmas Eve and leave Yui behind, you know!"
Masuzu just crossed her arms and continued sneering: "Huh, that's not necessarily true..."
The debate hadn't reached a conclusion when suddenly, Haruno's joyful voice came from the desk in the depths of the room.
"Found it!"
What specific item did Haruno discover that could be the key to the mission?