Chapter 182 — Hiratsuka Shizuka: What's Going On?

"I suggest you don't do that."

Haru stood at the bedroom doorway, facing Utaha, who was holding up her phone with an excited look, and Megumi, who seemed interested as well.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything else—just record her sleeping posture with my phone," Utaha promised confidently.

Haru's expression remained unchanged. "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

Then he looked over at Megumi. "Are you joining in on this too?"

"No, I just wanted to remind you that Yukinoshita's nap time should be almost up," Megumi said, showing the time on her phone.

Neither she nor Yukinoshita usually napped for very long — they needed to stay sharp and clear-headed.

Taking naps for too long only makes you groggy, and it messes up your sleep schedule, making it harder to fall asleep at night.

"Move aside!"

At Megumi's reminder, Utaha suddenly became anxious.

She carefully grabbed the door handle, turning it slowly to avoid waking Yukinoshita inside.

As she stepped into the room, phone raised, her eyes immediately locked onto Yukinoshita lying under the covers.

Haru shook his head, lowering his voice. "You're definitely going to get caught."

Utaha sounded confident but softened her tone. "I'm only taking a quick shot of her sleeping posture. Even if she notices, she probably won't care that much."

"No, I'm pretty sure Yukino would mind."

"You might even get roughed up by her."

Haru, seeing Utaha was determined to cause trouble, decided not to interfere anymore. He had pretty much expected how this would end anyway.

Megumi stood beside him, wisely keeping her distance instead of rushing in like Utaha.

The two of them just watched from the doorway as Utaha, barely containing a mischievous grin, pressed her phone camera right in front of Yukino.

Since Yukino was mostly curled up under the blanket, the only thing Utaha could capture was her face.

Shooting from so close, Utaha couldn't help but feel a little envious. Even when sleeping, Yukino looked so proper and beautiful.

Just as Utaha's thoughts drifted, Yukino's delicate features suddenly blinked open.

Startled, Utaha quickly pulled her phone away and smiled gently, "Good afternoon, Yukinoshita."

The sleepiness faded swiftly from Yukino's eyes as she slowly sat up. She glanced at the coat hanging on the bedside table, then at Haru and Megumi standing by the door.

After a moment's thought, she seemed to have figured out what was going on.

With a cold expression, she smoothed back her hair and said in a low voice, "Senpai, are you looking to cause trouble?"

Utaha, still smiling confidently and unaware of the gravity of the situation, replied softly, "No, I was just curious about what you look like when you sleep. Now I've seen it — you sleep very obediently."

Yukino responded coolly, "Weren't we resting in the same bedroom before?"

"That day I was too tired to even look."

"Oh?"

Yukino threw back the covers, revealing her long, shapely legs.

Haru folded his hands behind his back in a silent prayer.

Megumi watched, puzzled, and whispered, "What is she doing?"

"Hopefully, she'll be okay," Haru muttered under his breath.

A question mark appeared above Megumi's head.

But soon, she understood why Haru was saying that.

Suddenly, Yukino stood up and grabbed Utaha's wrist holding the phone with precise control.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

Ignoring Utaha's surprise, Yukino used a standard grappling hold and effortlessly pinned her down onto the bed.

She had trained for this since childhood alongside Haru. Ever since her physical weakness had been "optimized," facing Utaha — who had only just begun training years later — was like catching a chick.

Especially since Utaha had been caught completely off guard this time.

"You like recording videos, right?"

Yukino held Utaha's wrist tightly, used her body weight to pin her down, then grabbed the phone and shoved it in Utaha's face.

"Wait! That's an ambush! A dirty ambush!"

Utaha gritted her teeth in protest.

Yukino smiled coldly. "Ambushes are never dirty, especially when our matches were never fair to begin with…"

She looked down disdainfully at Utaha's flushed face.

"The funniest part is hearing you call it an ambush."

Utaha was both angry and embarrassed. If anyone was unfair, it was definitely her — how many secret escape routes had she created?

Still, she wasn't willing to admit defeat.

And with Haru and Megumi watching at the door, she couldn't lose face like this.

So she gritted her teeth and struggled. But Yukino's grappling was flawless — this wasn't some beginner's hold — and she completely dominated Utaha.

To be safe, Yukino pressed her body down, locking the wrist tightly.

Utaha's face flushed red as she kicked her legs wildly on the bed, even losing her shoes in the process.

"Are you going to help?" Megumi asked, amazed and amused.

Haru shook his head, "They'll stop on their own."

But the next second, Utaha started begging, "Haru, help me!"

Yukino's sharp eyes immediately darted toward him.

Haru stayed still and sighed, "I told you not to do stuff like this. You insisted — why make things harder for yourself?"

Utaha grumbled, "Help me get her off so we can have a fair duel."

Yukino just laughed. "You? Seriously?"

Utaha pressed her lips tight, silent. Clearly, she wasn't willing to give up.

Haru then said, "Want me to bring some snacks?"

Utaha froze.

Megumi immediately chimed in, "If you do, please bring some chips."

Yukino smiled and added, "And a glass of juice for me — room temperature."

Haru looked surprised. "You want to warm her up with warm juice?"

Yukino's smile grew wider. "Not a bad idea. Just depends if you're willing to pay the price."

"Yukinoshita!" Utaha kicked wildly in frustration.

But she still couldn't break free.

It was like her bunny girl outfit had "merged" with her body — she was now a rabbit caught by the hunter Yukino.

Haru wisely left the room.

He didn't dare respond to Yukino's last comment.

No matter what he said, Yukino would probably pin him down next.

Wait — being pinned down by Yukino? Somehow, that didn't sound too bad…

Haru headed to the vending machines at the inn to pick out snacks, while he'd have to step out again to get the juice Yukino wanted.

He had already scoped out the route — there was a place selling juice and milk tea less than 100 meters away.

Just then, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

A familiar female voice said, "What a coincidence, Amamiya."

Haru hadn't grabbed the chips yet and turned to see Hiratsuka Shizuka, dressed warmly.

"Why are you here?"

"Of course, to enjoy the hot springs. The ones on the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture are quite famous."

She glanced at the snacks dropping from the vending machine, guessing, "Did Yukinoshita come with you?"

"Not just Yukino," Haru picked up the chips.

Shizuka smiled. "Which room are you staying in? I'll come say hi."

"I'm going to get juice for Yukino first. Want to come?"

"Sure, I'll grab a couple of beers too."

"Isn't there beer in the vending machine?"

"Not the kind I like."

They bought their drinks together and returned to the room.

Before entering, Haru warned, "Sensei, if you see anything strange, don't be surprised."

She chuckled, "I'm your teacher, an adult. There's nothing I haven't seen before."

They went inside.

Megumi, standing by the bedroom door, was the first to notice them and was a little surprised. " Hiratsuka-Sensei?"

"It's you, Megumi? You're here on vacation too?"

They had become acquainted during the photography club's film shoot, so there was no surprise.

But the moment Shizuka stepped into the bedroom and saw Utaha pinned on the bed by Yukino, she froze.

Utaha's face turned even redder — being caught like this by an elder was humiliating.

Yukino, however, was calm. "Sensei, no need to be surprised. Senpai started it."

Shizuka stared at the two of them blankly, then looked at Haru confusedly. "What's going on?"

Haru answered, "They're having a friendly exchange."