"Eriri, are you sure you want to walk around school like this?"
Shirai Mio turned to look at Eriri, who had linked arms with her. On Mio's other side, Shiina Mashiro was holding her hand.
Being sandwiched between two beautiful girls did feel pretty nice, but Shirai Mio still had the distinct feeling that if any other students saw this, the rumors about her would reach entirely new heights tomorrow.
She did not care very much about her own reputation, but Eriri cared quite a bit about hers.
Otherwise, she would not have spent so much effort maintaining her school persona all this time.
At first, Eriri did not quite understand what Shirai Mio meant. Then a classmate walked past them, and after Eriri caught the look in the other student's eyes—a mixture of surprise and excitement—she understood.
She quietly let go of Shirai Mio's arm and even instinctively put some distance between them.
But the moment she did that, she regretted it. She had only just said that she could not keep being tsundere, yet now she had gone right back to acting the same way.
Still, there was not much she could do about it. If she kept clinging to Shirai Mio like that, there might be rumors tomorrow about some love triangle between her, Shirai Mio, and Shiina Mashiro.
No, from a certain point of view, that would not even be a rumor.
Eriri glanced at Shiina Mashiro. Sometimes she really admired this seemingly airheaded girl. No matter what happened and no matter what other people thought, Mashiro never changed herself because of them.
Just like now. Eriri had already let go, but Shiina Mashiro was still holding Shirai Mio's hand tightly.
Why did Eriri suddenly feel as though she had lost?
Eriri shook her head and slowly walked out of the school together with Shirai Mio.
If Shiina Mashiro had not been there, Eriri definitely would have invited Shirai Mio to come sit at her house for a while.
But with Shiina Mashiro present, even if Eriri extended the invitation, Shirai Mio probably would not agree.
For the first time in quite a while, a little emotion called jealousy surfaced in Eriri's heart.
She did not let that discourage her, though. Since she had already decided to face her own feelings head-on, she was not going to give up easily.
Not having an opportunity now did not mean she would never have one.
Eriri had already made up her mind. From now on, she would start by finding Shirai Mio every day at lunchtime so they could eat their bentos together.
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Time quickly passed until Saturday.
Shirai Mio got out of bed early that morning. Aside from her biological clock, the main reason she had woken up so early was today's date.
That was right. Today was the day of her date with Yukinoshita Yukino.
They had agreed to meet at ten in the morning at the entrance to the shopping center.
By the time Shirai Mio finished washing up and preparing breakfast, it was only seven. She had the distinct feeling that she had gotten up a little too early.
Just then, the door suddenly opened and Yukinoshita Haruno slowly walked in.
Looking at Yukinoshita Haruno, who was already fully dressed to go out, Shirai Mio asked in surprise, "Senpai, are you going somewhere today?"
"Mm. I have something to take care of today, so I need to go back home."
From Yukinoshita Haruno's tone, it was obvious that she was not in a very good mood.
It was a rare weekend, and she had been hoping to laze around with Shirai Mio, only to get called back home anyway.
Seeming to notice something, Yukinoshita Haruno looked at Shirai Mio, who had also already changed clothes, and asked, "Little kouhai, you're dressed up so nicely. Are you getting ready to go on a date with someone?"
"N-no. I'm just going out to have fun with a friend." Shirai Mio gave a couple of dry laughs.
If Yukinoshita Haruno found out that Shirai Mio was preparing to go on a date with her younger sister, Mio might not even know how she ended up dying.
Yukinoshita Haruno clearly did not believe Shirai Mio's explanation, but knowing that Mio had her reasons, she did not press the issue. After finishing breakfast, she stood up to leave.
Before going, Yukinoshita Haruno gave Shirai Mio a big hug.
It looked like nothing more than a hug, but Shirai Mio alone knew that she had just been felt up.
Covering her poor little butt, Shirai Mio looked helplessly at Yukinoshita Haruno and said, "Senpai, that's sexual harassment, you know!"
Yukinoshita Haruno stuck out her tongue, then simply closed the door behind her as she left.
Shirai Mio sighed helplessly, sat down on the sofa, and took out her phone to pass the time until nine in the morning.
Because the shopping center was some distance away, and because Shirai Mio was accustomed to leaving herself plenty of extra time, she headed out as soon as it turned nine.
By the time she reached the shopping center, it was half past nine.
She had not spotted Yukinoshita Yukino anywhere near the entrance yet.
Just as she was wondering whether she should find somewhere to sit and wait, a cool voice sounded behind her. "You're pretty early."
Startled, Shirai Mio turned around to look at Yukinoshita Yukino. "Do you make no sound when you walk or something?"
"You simply didn't hear me," Yukinoshita Yukino said flatly.
As they spoke, Shirai Mio also noticed that Yukinoshita Yukino seemed to have dressed up carefully today. She had even put her hair into the rarely seen style of twin tails, which made her look rather cute.
Noticing Shirai Mio's gaze, Yukinoshita Yukino said calmly, "Since I agreed to help you, I'm going to do my best."
"By doing your best, do you mean even······"
Shirai Mio had not even finished speaking when she felt Yukinoshita Yukino's exceedingly friendly gaze land on her.
Come to think of it, that look really did resemble Yukinoshita Haruno's. As expected of sisters, perhaps?
While Shirai Mio's thoughts were wandering, Yukinoshita Yukino stepped to her side. After a brief hesitation, she still linked her arm through Shirai Mio's.
She would only do this because the other person was Shirai Mio. If it had been anyone else, Yukino would never have initiated physical contact.
"Then, from this moment on, I'm your girlfriend."
"You're supposed to be my girlfriend, so why are you talking to me in such a cold tone? You should sound more like this." Shirai Mio personally demonstrated what she meant.
Hearing that soft, almost coquettish tone, Yukinoshita Yukino could not help frowning. "Don't even think about it. We're only a temporary couple. I can't go that far. If you really want that sort of thing, I suggest finding someone else."
"I was only joking. Come on, come on. Let's start our date."
"So where are we going now?"
"Since you're my girlfriend, of course we're going somewhere my girlfriend loves."
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