After that incredibly ambiguous pose, Amaori Renako finally fell silent, just as Asakura Mio had hoped.
She stopped chattering away trying to make conversation, instead finding an excuse to hurry home.
Asakura Mio didn't stop her. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say she herself hadn't fully recovered from that near-zero-distance contact.
For a moment, she'd even felt dizzyingly convinced they had actually kissed—even though her lips hadn't registered any soft sensation, so much so that in that instant, she'd instinctively wanted to lean her head forward just a little bit more.
Fortunately, the shopkeeper's meaningful light chuckle rang out just in time, jolting her back to her senses and stopping that overly transgressive impulse.
For Asakura Mio, who adored yuri, Amaori Renako's closeness was like a delicious, defenseless cake suddenly presented right in front of her mouth, so sweet she could almost have swallowed it whole.
It was just… so hard to handle.
--+--
The next day, Asakura Mio wore her newly prescribed glasses to school as usual. And perched on her nose right now was the very pair of pink frames Amaori Renako had picked out for her yesterday.
Heaven knows why, but she'd actually gone and chosen this color.
It made her, someone long accustomed to being overlooked by everyone, feel intensely uncomfortable, as if invisible gazes were constantly landing on her.
When she saw Amaori Renako walk into the classroom, their eyes met briefly in the air.
Asakura Mio just felt a bit awkward, but Amaori Renako's reaction… it was like she'd suddenly turned into a rusty robot, her movements all stiff and jerky.
Were the side effects really this exaggerated? But if so, then Amaori Renako probably wouldn't casually approach her anymore, right?
While a faint trace of loneliness stirred in her heart, the problem was at least solved.
It was clear—idols and fans needed to maintain their distance. The ambiguity from yesterday wasn't what she truly desired.
What she craved was to observe the love blossoming between the girls she 'loved,' not to participate in it herself—there was a fundamental difference between the two.
Sometimes, Asakura Mio wondered to herself: Was she someone who adored yuri, yet subconsciously feared getting personally involved?
Human nature is truly complicated.
"Wow, Asakura got new glasses!"
A lively, energetic voice suddenly sounded from behind her, startling Asakura Mio out of her thoughts. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
Another member of the 'Quintet'—and also the student seated behind her—Koyanagi Kaho.
"Y... yes…"
"Not bad taste!"
"R... really…"
"Well, change is a good thing! Go, Asakura!"
"O... okay…"
Why did she have to stammer with every single word!
Was it impossible to stay calm just because of these pink glasses? Buying them really was an impulsive decision…
Thankfully, Koyanagi Kaho's attention didn't stay fixed on her.
Once the other members of their little group arrived in the classroom, she naturally went over and joined their chat.
It's just that today, Amaori Renako was clearly distracted, and her occasional, furtive glances toward Asakura Mio were keenly noticed by the sharp Oozuka Mai.
And when Oozuka Mai noticed the distinctly different, pink glasses on Asakura Mio's face—the ones from yesterday—she couldn't help but frown slightly.
"Renako."
"Huh? What is it?"
Thinking her inattention had displeased her friends, Amaori Renako looked flusteredly at Oozuka Mai, her eyes like those of a startled little rabbit.
"Can you come with me to the rooftop?"
About the words left unfinished and unexpectedly interrupted in the tree yesterday, Oozuka Mai had already reached a conclusion in her heart. Facing this version of Amaori Renako now, she finally couldn't hold back anymore.
She needed to convey her feelings, and quickly.
Completely unaware of this, Amaori Renako just nodded and followed Oozuka Mai up to the rooftop once again.
A little over ten minutes later, when the two returned to the classroom one after the other, the atmosphere between them had grown even stranger.
So strange that even Asakura Mio could clearly tell something was off—Oozuka Mai's face still wore her usual, practiced elegant smile, but Amaori Renako's eyes had turned into dizzily spinning spirals.
What happened? Yesterday, due to being utterly shocked, she hadn't clearly heard what the two had said specifically in the tree.
After all, the incident of a 'beautiful girl falling from the sky' was bizarre enough on its own, so much so that before that near-embrace happened, Asakura Mio had no clue what was actually going on between them.
Amaori Renako's current state, however, greatly piqued Asakura Mio's curiosity.
As a shipper, actually missing the firsthand scoop right on the scene—what a blunder!
Should she go ask Amaori-san? Given the atmosphere before they parted yesterday, maybe she could find something out.
But—doing that would likely mean getting involved in the main characters' romantic entanglements. She really should suppress this curiosity.
However, even as Asakura Mio thought this, Amaori Renako, feeling the intensity of her prolonged stare, turned her gaze back towards her.
After just a moment's hesitation, Amaori Renako bit her lip, as if steeling herself, and suddenly came running over.
"Asakura-san! Can you come out with me for a minute?!!"
"Huh?"
This sudden development not only startled Asakura Mio, but instantly attracted the attention of the other four members of the 'Quintet,' and even the other students in the class.
As the most eye-catching girls in the class focused their gazes over, Asakura Mio was naturally exposed to everyone's scrutiny.
But Amaori Renako paid no mind to Asakura Mio's reaction. Grabbing her by the wrist, she pulled her out of the classroom right under everyone's noses, running all the way to an empty stairwell before stopping.
"What's the big idea, Amaori-san, suddenly doing this… I'm really troubled…"
If others started curiously asking about their relationship, how was she supposed to answer? Call them 'ordinary classmates who almost kissed'?
"Because… this is something I don't know who else I can talk to about…"
"Why are you so naturally treating me like a friend already…"
"Well—if a very important friend confessed to me, but I just want to stay friends, how should I persuade her to give up? I mean… if you get along well, isn't being friends and being lovers pretty much the same…"
This 'friend' you're talking about is definitely Oozuka Mai, isn't it?
You just got called out for a talk, came back with this problem… This goes beyond being bad at hiding things; you're a complete and utter natural-born airhead!
The ship she'd just started sailing yesterday had actually become canon?
Asakura Mio's inner fangirl soared, causing her to answer without thinking, the words tumbling out:
"Of course there's a difference! After all, friends don't think about eating your pu—"
--+--