Early the next morning.
Yūto opened his eyes. The first thing he did was check whether anyone had opened the window or door.
Only after confirming that no one had entered did he haul Yugito Nii out from under the covers.
He lifted Yugito Nii straight up like a cat, a thread of drool stretching from the corner of her mouth to the pillow.
Her eyelids were glued tightly shut, and her long flaxen hair was a tangled mess.
"Five more minutes..."
She mumbled those words, then lost consciousness, clearly falling asleep again.
Yūto felt mentally exhausted.
Was she really a prisoner?!
Anyone who didn't know better would think he was raising a daughter!
Now all he wanted was to hurry back to the Land of Fire so he could dump Yugito Nii back on Kumogakure.
Helplessly, he let go of Yugito Nii, leaving her to wriggle back under the covers, then got up and left the room.
Before long, he returned with a basin of water.
Yūto stood beside the bed, watching Yugito Nii curl up beneath the covers like a cat, unwilling to leave even a single strand of hair exposed.
He sighed, set the basin on a low cabinet nearby, and wrung out a towel.
"Yugito Nii, get up." He reached out and lifted a corner of the covers, revealing her messy flaxen-haired head.
Yugito Nii immediately let out a disgruntled whine and burrowed deeper under the covers with her eyes closed, as though that would let her escape reality.
Yūto grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and lifted her like a kitten.
Finally forced to open her bleary eyes, Yugito Nii still had red pillow marks on her cheeks.
"Yūto, you bastard..."
She protested indistinctly, her limbs dangling limply.
"Shut up. Head up." Yūto