"Nothing. Just sleeping."
Hachiman adjusted Yukino's position, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. The two of them pressed closely together, clearly feeling each other's body heat.
Hachiman stroked Yukino's cheek and said in an exceedingly gentle voice, "Go to sleep. We still have all of tomorrow."
Yukino obediently closed her eyes. However, during the time between closing her eyes and falling asleep, the girl clearly felt a certain part of him gradually rise and press against her lower abdomen.
The girl, pretending to be asleep, could not help blushing with embarrassment. Under this unique experience, she gradually drifted off.
In the middle of the night, Hachiman vaguely felt, between sleep and wakefulness, that his lower body was wrapped in something warm, damp, and sticky.
But after a whole day of exhaustion, Hachiman fell back into a dream.
When he woke again, it was already morning. Hachiman felt that something was wrong.
He felt that some indescribable part of his body was damp, cold, and sticky.
No way. Hachiman's heart jolted. Unwilling to believe it, he reached downward, but reality forced him to accept the truth.
Hachiman covered his cheek with his exposed left hand in frustration, while his right hand followed the cold sensation until it reached Yukino's panties, where he felt the same thing.
What the hell? Is this some kind of international joke? Hachiman suddenly felt that his entire life had turned bleak.
Hachiman's right hand trembled as he pulled it back, but what he saw on his hand was not his own seed.
"What the hell is this?" Hachiman stared at the mottled blood on his right hand, beginning to question his entire existence.
He lifted the blanket and found that the blood extended all the way from Yukino, soaking part of the bedsheet and the clothes of both of them.
"Huh?" Hachiman was dazed for a long while before cautiously patting Yukino's cheek with his clean left hand.
"Mm, good morning, Hachiman."
After being patted awake, Yukino greeted Hachiman first.
Then she sensed that something was wrong and glanced downward.
Yukino fell silent and covered her cheek with her hand.
Seeing Yukino in a state of collapse, Hachiman said nothing more. He simply stepped forward and gently picked her up. A little blood dripped onto the carpet, leaving a trail of crimson marks behind them.
Hachiman casually took a clean towel provided by the hotel and sat beside the bathtub with Yukino in his arms.
He dampened the towel with hot water, wrung it out slightly, and wiped the blood from Yukino's body.
When the wet towel touched Yukino's legs, the blood came away with it, revealing the fair skin beneath.
However, after only a few wipes, the towel was already soaked through with blood.
Hachiman dipped the towel into the water again, wrung out the bloody water, and continued wiping the exposed skin stained with blood.
By the time Hachiman had cleaned away all the blood except that at the source, the towel was completely saturated red.
"Can you manage the rest yourself?" Hachiman asked softly.
Seeing the blood staining Hachiman's hands, Yukino bit her lip, then gave an almost imperceptible nod.
After washing his hands, Hachiman handed Yukino another clean towel, took one for himself, dampened it, and walked out.
After leaving the bathroom, Hachiman checked himself and found that only his thighs had been stained a little. He took off his underwear, which was red only on the surface, and threw it away. After wiping his legs clean, he found his clothes and put them on.
Hachiman then looked at the large stain on the bed and felt troubled. In the end, he decided not to think about it and sat on the sofa, waiting for Yukino to finish cleaning herself.
After a while, Yukino opened the door and walked out. Hachiman turned his head at the sound, then suddenly widened his eyes.
Yukino had come out wearing only a bra. Her exposed, smooth skin confirmed what Hachiman had first imagined at her house.
Looking at the vacant-eyed girl before him, Hachiman felt that this sudden blood loss had affected her rather badly.
For that reason, Hachiman did not point it out. He simply took her underwear from her bag and handed it to her, then gave her the clothes she had changed out of the previous day.
The girl did not deliberately avoid him. She merely stood there woodenly and put on her clothes one piece at a time.
Just as Yukino raised her leg, Hachiman turned away, folded the bloodstained bedsheet, and placed it in Yukino's bag.
After checking and making sure they had left nothing behind, Hachiman took Yukino's hand and led her outside.
Outside the elevator, they met Komachi and Yui, who had also just gotten up. Seeing Yukino and Hachiman walk out holding hands, Komachi smiled mischievously. "Onii-chan, you must be feeling super great right now, huh~"
Yui also greeted Yukino and Hachiman. "Ya-ho~ How did you sleep last night?"
"It was all right."
Hachiman answered vaguely.
After leaving the elevator, Yukino stiffly handled the checkout.
Yui then moved beside Hachiman and asked in a low voice, "Why do I feel like Little Snow's in bad shape today? Did you bully her?"
"No. She got her period, and you know how her condition is—she's physically weak, so she's just a little..."
Yui gave an understanding look and said regretfully, "Then we can't play, can we? It's such a shame, since we finally managed to make it to the seaside."
Hachiman shrugged, indicating that there was nothing he could do.
Meanwhile, the cleaner in Hachiman's room stared blankly at the bloodstains on the carpet and the bloodstained men's underwear in the trash can.
When the cleaner saw the several towels in the bathroom dyed completely red with blood and the mysteriously missing bedsheet, they finally could not hold back.
They took out their phone, snapped several pictures, and posted an article on their social media account.
"A man may have castrated himself at the hotel where I work last night."
An article with this title quickly spread across the internet in Chiba.
By evening, Hachiman and the others returned from the beach.
Yukino finally reacted. She gently tightened her grip on Hachiman's hand, signaling for him to come closer.
When Hachiman lowered his head, she whispered into his ear, "You're not allowed to tell anyone about today. Otherwise, I'll kill you."
Hachiman chuckled softly. Looking at Yukino's face, which seemed red enough to drip blood, he patted his chest and promised her.
After getting out of the car, Hachiman knocked on the window. Yukino looked at him in confusion.
"I took care of those things. They're wrapped in the bedsheet inside your bag. No one will find out."
Yukino awkwardly said, "Thank you."
Then she hurriedly closed the window and told the driver to leave.
After Yukino's car disappeared from sight, Hachiman stood there and led Komachi home.
And so, the twenty-fourth chapter arrived without anyone realizing it: the midterm exams were drawing near.
Hachiman opened the door to the Club Room. Yukino and Yui were already seated.
When she saw Hachiman enter, Yukino blushed slightly. She had probably remembered that not only had she slept with him and suffered a sudden hemorrhage yesterday, but she had also been seen completely naked by the guy standing before her.
"Oh~ Yui is actually reading? What a rare sight."
Hachiman clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Ugh~ Don't mention it. The midterms are coming up soon, you know."
Yui lay sprawled across the table, rubbing her hair with a troubled look.
"Now that you mention it, they really are coming up. I think there's only a week left."
Hachiman put down his schoolbag and tapped the table with his index finger.
"Eh? Then why doesn't Hikki look worried at all?"
Yui looked puzzled.
"Don't let his usual idle appearance fool you. This guy ranked third in Japanese."
Yukino, who had been reading a paperback nearby, suddenly spoke up.
"Hayama was second, and the first is the ice beauty right in front of you."
Hachiman continued after Yukino.
"What? So I'm the only one worrying about this?" Yui wailed.
"Everyone who can get into Sobu High has a high deviation score. Normally, they wouldn't be troubled over their grades."
Hachiman said it casually.
"Hey! Hikki, what's that supposed to mean? I got in through my own ability too!" Yui glared angrily at Hachiman.
"I never said you didn't, did I?" Hachiman looked baffled at the girl before him, who resembled a dog that had been stepped on the tail.
"Ugh~ I feel like I'm going to fail this exam."
"I was planning to study this weekend, but then we went out and played for two days."
Yui spoke despairingly.
"Well, you can't blame anyone for that. Wasn't it you who suggested going out, Yui?" Yukino mercilessly twisted the knife.
"Pfft." Poor Miss Dango clutched her chest and collapsed.
"All right, don't be like that."
Yukino patted the back of Yui, who had already turned into a plaster statue.
"At worst, we'll study with you."
As Yukino comforted Yui, she also gave Hachiman a meaningful look.
"Huh? Oh! Right, right. At worst, the two of us can study with you."
Hachiman froze for a moment, but their years of understanding let him immediately grasp Yukino's meaning. He quickly joined in and coaxed Yui.
"Ugh~ Really? Little Snow, Hikki, you're both so nice to me."
Poor Yui still did not know that the two people before her had already been completely honest with each other, aside from taking the final step.
"So, what are we doing now?" Hachiman asked Yukino only after he had finished speaking.
"Studying."
As she spoke, Yukino took out her Earphones.
She pulled out her phone and tapped the screen several times, then plugged in her Earphones and tested the volume. Satisfied, she nodded and continued reading the book before her.
Hachiman also took his Bluetooth Earphones out of his pocket and continued listening to music.
Yui suddenly went dumbfounded as she looked at the two extraordinarily well-coordinated people before her.
"Weren't you going to study with me? Why are you both listening to music?"
"I usually do this when I read. I can't hear any noise at all."
Yukino explained.
"Mm, exactly."
Hachiman echoed her.
"Besides, when you study, you still have to rely on yourself. Just ask if there's anything you don't understand."
"Mm, okay. ヽ￣д￣;ノ"
Yui casually took a book from her schoolbag and began flipping through it. However, it was not long before she looked troubled.
"Hikki~ What is this?"
"What? Let me see."
Hachiman took the book from Yui as he spoke.
"Huh? What is this? Newton's Third Law?" Hachiman stared at the physics textbook and felt a headache coming on.
"Well, I've already decided to choose the liberal arts track, so you should ask Yukino about this."
Yukino rolled her eyes, took the book from the foolish Dango's hands, and patiently explained it to her.
After a while, she began to question along with Hachiman how this Dango had managed to get into Sobu High. They went over several concepts again and again until their mouths were dry, yet Yui still could not learn them.
Yukino collapsed helplessly into her chair and covered her forehead with one hand.
Across from her, Yui also lay dejectedly on the table.
"Ugh~ Little Snow, I feel so useless."
Before you continue