Meeting

"Hmm? Yukina?"

Seeing Yukina, who seemed to have run all the way here, slightly out of breath and wearing a surprised expression, Chiba, with his right leg raised in the middle of a side kick, turned back in astonishment.

"Why is Hirohiko repairing our house? What happened to the kitchen? Why is there an extra set of bedding? What exactly happened? How did the house change so much the moment I came back?"

Looking at the bewildered Chiba, Yukina fired off question after question like a barrage.

This string of questions not only showed Yukina's surprise, but also successfully left Chiba with no idea where to begin answering.

Still frozen in his side-kicking pose, his face turned diagonally behind him, he blinked and opened his mouth, but did not know where to start.

"Chiba... you didn't tell Yukina about this?"

At that moment, Hirohiko's head, wrapped in white cloth and dressed like a carpenter, poked out from the roof as he spoke with mild surprise.

"No..."

Hearing Hirohiko, Chiba raised his head, shook it, and replied.

"Heh..."

Hearing that, Hirohiko closed his eyes, turned his head, and sighed in helpless exasperation. "You should at least have informed the lady of the house about something like this..."

After that reproach, Hirohiko walked across from the other side of the roof with a series of taps. Reaching the eaves, he looked down at Yukina and said solemnly, "Sorry, Yukina. I came in without permission."

"No! That's not it..."

Hearing Hirohiko apologize, Yukina hurriedly shook her head. As close friends, she would not have minded Hirohiko staying for a few days, or even moving in. She would have been happy about it, in fact. It was only because she had not lived here for several days, and then came back to find so