Bab 42: Ch 42. Yukinoshita Haruno's Deduction
Although she was somewhat worried about her sister, Yukinoshita Haruno didn't rush into action.
Firstly, she understood her sister's personality well and believed that Yukino wouldn't easily give in.
Secondly, as Hiratsuka Shizuka mentioned, Hoshimi Kiyokawa's identity was troublesome, and she needed to carefully consider her approach.
Additionally, she needed some time to check the surveillance footage.
Haruno had installed four pinhole cameras in her sister's apartment, placed in the entrance, living room, bedroom, and study.
She did this not out of malice, but simply to observe Yukino's growth and adorable moments, and to monitor her social interactions.
Now, these pre-installed cameras could help her figure out when Yukino and Hoshimi Kiyokawa started their relationship and how far it had progressed.
Once she had a preliminary understanding of this, she could then devise a strategy to probe Hoshimi Kiyokawa.
So, the first thing to do was clear.
Check the surveillance footage at home!
With her thoughts in order, Yukinoshita Haruno decisively skipped the remaining classes for the day. She took out her phone and sent a message to a close classmate, asking them to help her take a leave of absence and bring her books.
Then, Haruno put away her phone and quickly returned to her residence.
...
Upon returning home, Haruno entered her bedroom, turned on her computer, pulled up the surveillance, and set it to a classic four-square split-screen to view the footage from the four pinhole cameras simultaneously.
After confirming that Yukino had not yet returned to the apartment, Haruno minimized the live surveillance feed and opened the 'face search software,' uploading the past month's surveillance footage for rapid search.
The 'face search software' could quickly find scenes and timestamps where a person appeared in the footage, saving her from the tedious task of combing through long surveillance videos for Yukino's appearances.
On a daily basis, she had many things to handle—household matters, school affairs, her own private matters, and so on.
Often, by the time she finished everything and returned home, Yukino was already asleep, or she herself was too tired to monitor the footage.
In such cases, the 'face search software' was crucial. It allowed her to find the timestamps when Yukino was home and selectively view some interesting moments.
For example, the adorable sight of Yukino watching cat videos on her laptop in the study, or the minute when Yukino changed clothes before bed, or the scene of Yukino bending down to change shoes at the entrance after coming home.
These were all delightful moments worth revisiting.
Thinking about her sister's usual adorable moments, Yukinoshita Haruno felt much better.
"Mmm~~" She stretched in her chair.
Seeing that the software search would take a while, she used the time to go to the kitchen and prepare an afternoon meal, making herself a cup of coffee as well.
After eating and drinking to her heart's content, a refreshed Haruno returned to her computer and began checking the footage according to the timestamps provided by the software.
Although the software significantly reduced the workload, it was still a month's worth of surveillance footage, which would take considerable time and effort to review.
Therefore, Haruno was prepared for an all-nighter.
Time passed, the sun set, and the moon rose...
By the time the sun was up again, Haruno had finally finished reviewing the past month's surveillance footage.
"Ha~~"
Haruno stretched and yawned.
She stood up, drew back the curtains, opened the window, and stood by it for a moment, breathing in the fresh air with squinted eyes.
"Much better..."
Feeling a bit more comfortable, Haruno took out her phone and sent a message to her classmate, asking them to help her take a leave of absence for today and tomorrow.
Then, Haruno lay down on her bed, closing her eyes to think about her next steps.
Through her detailed review of the past month's surveillance footage, she indeed found some things she had previously overlooked.
First, she confirmed that Yukino and Hoshimi Kiyokawa were not overly intimate. At the very least, they hadn't reached the point of visiting each other's homes.
Secondly, it seemed that Yukino had been having nightmares recently.
Zooming in on the surveillance footage, Haruno noticed that for the past ten days or so, Yukino woke up every morning looking pale and sweaty, as if she had been having nightmares all night.
Moreover, little Yukino seemed a bit weak, having wet the bed out of fear of the nightmares...
That was in the surveillance footage from last Tuesday morning. Haruno saw Yukino, with a red face, getting up to put the sheets, mattress cover, and duvet cover into a trash bag, then replacing them with new ones.
Feeling excessively embarrassed, little Yukino had stumbled into the bathroom.
Seeing this footage, Haruno was almost shocked out of her wits. Her adorable sister, at this age, still wetting the bed?
So, she immediately edited this piece of footage out.
Of course, this video was for her eyes only, something to savor alone, and she wouldn't use it to tease Yukino, as she couldn't explain how she knew about it.
However, this incident led her to a hypothesis.
Could the bond between Hoshimi Kiyokawa and Yukino have started when Yukino was dealing with that 'black history' trash?
It seemed possible...
Otherwise, she couldn't think of how her sister, who kept others at arm's length, could let someone into her heart.
Following this conclusion, she could deduce the development of Hoshimi Kiyokawa and Yukino's relationship.
Hoshimi Kiyokawa discovered Yukino's embarrassing secret, prompting Yukino to approach him to keep it quiet, leading them to grow closer during their interactions.
Simultaneously, the fear of her secret being exposed caused Yukino to have nightmares, fearing social ruin if Hoshimi Kiyokawa revealed it.
The repeated nightmares weakened Yukino's mental defenses, giving Hoshimi Kiyokawa the opportunity to take advantage.
This was the most reasonable answer she could infer from the surveillance footage.
Thus, it seemed that the rumor about Yukino and Hoshimi Kiyokawa dating might not be true, possibly just a rumor due to their close interaction.
However, there was another possibility: could Hoshimi Kiyokawa be blackmailing Yukino into a relationship using her secret? This wasn't impossible.
If it was the latter...
"..." Yukinoshita Haruno calmly opened her eyes, bloodshot from the all-nighter, filled with a chilling coldness.
The truth would be revealed soon.
"..." Yukinoshita Haruno closed her eyes, silently contemplating all possible outcomes.
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