Chapter 8

Suddenly, her bare skin, exposed to the ceiling light, began to shine.

Her arms, shoulders, waist, and legs. Her chest and waist, unblemished by a single freckle, were covered by a matching set of light pink bra and panties.

Without a hint of panic, without even picking up the towel, Mina smiled confidently.

"Please don't worry, I'm wearing them... How about it? Surprised? Surprised?"

"There's nothing to be reassured about; that's just not appropriate."

"Why? I'm wearing them, so it's safe. These are the ones I bought the other day, aren't they cute~?"

Mina, placing her hands on her hips, struck a pose and lightly pulled at the waistband of her panties.

"Yeah, they're cute, they're cute."

Yuki said this casually.

If he were to say "not really," she would undoubtedly get upset.

But in reality, he was used to seeing Mina's underwear since he often washed them.

Mina, stretching her arms, began to spin on the spot, showing off her entire body.

"Alright, put some clothes on, put some clothes on."

When he said this, Mina put on the blouse of her school uniform that had been hanging on the back of the chair.

However, this only covered the top, leaving the bottom still visible, dangerously so.

"The bottom."

"It's fine, it's hot."

Whether or not they were visible didn't seem to be much of an issue.

Still, this was a regular occurrence; she often refused to put on clothes after a bath, citing the heat.

While he didn't think much of seeing her underwear on its own, it was a different story when she was actually wearing them.

Recently, her waist had become more defined, her hips had grown, and most notably, her chest had developed rapidly.

Worse still, she seemed to lack awareness of these changes.

Mina, sitting on the sofa with her legs folded, made Yuki avert his eyes to the side.

"If you catch a cold, don't come crying to me."

"I won't catch a cold~"

Moreover, it seemed to be a matter of her constitution; she was prone to illness, much like her mother.

She often slept in her underwear, claiming it was comfortable and helped her sleep better, which, combined with her poor habits, led to her catching colds regularly.

Soon, Mina began to blow-dry her hair.

When she asked for help, Yuki scooped up the hair at the back of her head and applied the warm air.

Her straight, black hair was smooth and silky. Despite using the same shampoo, it smelled particularly good.

"Well then..."

After drying her hair, Mina started watching TV, and Yuki stood up.

After doing the dishes, he headed to the bathroom, only to realize Mina was stealthily following him.

"I always tell you not to sneak up behind people. Don't just assume you're part of the group."

"Ah, but, but~"

"But what?"

When Mina stood behind him, she often startled him, making him uneasy.

While Yuki's defenses had increased, Mina's attacks had also steadily grown, so he could never fully relax.

When he returned from the bathroom, Mina, who had been waiting in the living room, said,

"Yuki-kun, let's play a game together!"

"I have to do my homework now, so no."

While homework was one thing, he also needed to do his English prep.

After being told by Yui to do it properly, he couldn't afford to skip it again.

"Ah, you can do that later~"

Mina grabbed Yuki's arm and started shaking it.

Every time, Mina would interfere with his studies, and when this happened, she was particularly stubborn.

Despite this, Yuki was rather lenient with Mina.

"Alright, just a little. But if we play against each other, Mina will go easy on me, right?"

"Then I'll play the game, and you can watch."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Despite his words, he obediently went along with it.

Mina had already brought the game console and set it up in front of the TV.

While Yuki watched, Mina played the game, pressing buttons on the controller.

"Hey, how do you think I can get that star?"

"I can't tell just like that."

"Ugh. Yuki-kun only plays that one game, Ace Attorney. You really like that, don't you~? But you never managed to clear it, did you?"

"Well, it's just a game. It's a bit different from reality, and it's actually simpler than you might think."

Mina, finding something amusing, covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.

Despite Yuki's love for mystery and detective games, he often missed the mark, leading to teasing from his family.

However, Yuki felt he just read too much into things.

So when he said this, Mina, letting go of the controller, suddenly stood up and reached out to touch Yuki's head, who was sitting on the sofa.

"There, there. Big brother is so cute~"

In a cajoling tone, she patted his head, which he swatted away.

But Mina, undeterred, sat down next to him and leaned against his chest.

"Big brother, big brother, big brother~"

"Once is enough."

"Big broootheeerrr!"

"You don't have to say it so forcefully."

At some point, she started calling him "big brother" because she thought he seemed childish.

Usually, she called him Yuki-kun, but when she was being affectionate, she called him big brother. So when she used this term, Yuki knew what it meant.

"What about the game?"

"I'm bored~"

"Turn it off then."

"Roll, roll, roll."

Mina, slipping behind him, leaned against him, putting her weight on him.

While this was a common way she played, the changes in her body, especially her chest, made the situation more complicated.

"Pet me, pet me."

Mina took Yuki's hand and made him pet her head.

When he made a chopping motion, she almost bit him, so he pulled his hand back.

After that, Mina tried to loop back into the same position, so Yuki said,

"Maybe we should stop this. We're not kids anymore."

"Hoowwwww!?"

"Where's that voice coming from?"

Mina sat down nearby, crossing her legs, and with her hands clasped in front of her chest, she tilted her head and gave a fake smile, trying to be cute.

This was her usual tactic when she was trying to get away with something. While her father would immediately fall for it, Yuki was immune.

However, on a whim, Yuki placed his hand on her head and patted it, and Mina's face softened.

"Don't you like this?"

"No way. More, more."

"Girls don't like being petted so casually."

"That's probably the tsundere type. But why suddenly?"

Mina's opinion wasn't very helpful.

Pushing her away as she tried to rub against him, Yuki stood up.

"Yuki-kun, that's mean. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to take a bath."

"If Yuki-kun wants to join, I'll let you~"

"Stop it. Besides, you just took a bath, didn't you?"

As he stood up to head to the bathroom, Mina grabbed his arm and said, "Wait."

When he tried to shake her off, she suddenly became serious and pointed to a cushion on the floor, saying, "Sit there."

Reluctantly, he did as she said, and Mina, sitting across from him, said seriously,

"I have something important to tell you, Yuki-kun."