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Ch. 39: New Year's Tea, Spiked, Part II

"You really should take it easy with alcohol," she lectured me, though not in a nagging tone.

Knowing that she bought my bullshit, I could smile again. "I know, I know... But we were in high spirits, s-so, yeah."

Ui looked at me, rubbing the back of her hand whilst thinking. "...Well, just be sure to tell me if you're feeling unwell or tired."

I'm sure she had a lot more to say to me, but seeing the state I was in, she probably thought that I wouldn't even remember half of the things she'd say. Which, honestly, might be true. Anyway, I was relieved to be spared from Ui's angry lectures.

"Yeah, sure..." I muttered, shaking my head a bit, as the snow on my hair had melted into water.

Ui leaned in a bit. "Do you want me to take a look at that bruise?"

"Nah."

"...Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Giving her a quick glance from the corner of my eye, I slowly started to get up, all the while trying to keep my balance. Guess my progress was so shaky that Ui had no other option but to step in. She walked over to me, putting one of her hands under my armpit, and offering the other one to me.

"Here," she said.

I felt like denying her offer, but quickly came to a different conclusion as I grasped her hand. Using her as support, I slowly but surely got back on my feet. Ui, however, didn't let go immediately, instead leading me closer to the stairs. There, she noticed something, finally letting go, and slipping behind me.

"Oh, wait a second, let me take your coat."

She didn't even give me the chance to take the coat off myself, instead starting to slowly peel it off of me. I spread my arms to make it easier for her. Having taken my coat off, Ui stayed behind me, out of my vision for a bit. I was just blankly staring at a wall with half-open eyes, slowly swaying from side to side.

"...Ah?"

Hearing a confused utter, I turned to look over my shoulder. "Hm?"

Ui was holding my coat, looking a bit surprised. As she noticed me looking at her, she shook her head.

"N-Nothing, it's just a... bit dirty."

Well, I spent more seconds lying on that house's floor than any hygiene inspector would recommend, so no wonder. Ah, shit, hope she didn't notice the reek of cigarettes... Nah, she most likely did, but I can always blame Tadaaki for that... Huh, weird; mentioning him made me think that I'm forgetting something...

Ui hung my coat in the foyer's closet, before returning back to my side. She glanced at the stairs, and then at me.

"Can you walk upstairs?" she asked.

I was getting a bit tired of all her worrying, even going as far as rolling my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, it ain't like my leg is broken..."

Right after, I was overcome by a small sense of regret for talking to her like that. Thankfully, Ui didn't seem to mind it too much, taking it only as my drunkenness talking. Regardless, Ui motioned me to go on ahead, and as I began climbing the stairs up, she followed close behind me, probably in case I'd trip or something. Seriously, gal, stop worrying too much. At least let me get a few more bruises to teach myself why I should never drink a fuckload of whiskey in one sitting...

Getting upstairs, the first thing I noticed was the pleasant and tasty aroma of food, which made me realize I hadn't eaten anything in a while. I turned to look at the living room, and sure enough, the kotatsu was set full of snacks. Around the kotatsu sat Yui, Jun, Azusa, and my sister, Tamiko. I actually managed to forget that they'd be here, too, so I was taken by surprise for a second. As they all turned to look at me, I gave them a wave.