"Well? You liked the movie, right?"
After walking out of the screening room, Shirai Mio smiled at Yukinoshita Yukino as she spoke.
"It was all right." Yukinoshita Yukino's tone remained as calm as ever.
"Your expression while you were watching the movie didn't look anything like it does now~" Shirai Mio took out her phone and opened the video she had recorded earlier.
The lighting was rather dim, but the video still clearly showed Yukinoshita Yukino watching the big screen with complete concentration. Every so often, the corners of her mouth would even lift, and at one point she had meowed along with the movie.
After watching the video, Yukinoshita Yukino instinctively tried to snatch Shirai Mio's phone.
But Shirai Mio had prepared for that. She immediately stepped back, put some distance between them, and said with a smile, "Yukino, you wouldn't want anyone else to see this video, would you?"
"If you don't want my sister to find out that you secretly came out on a date with me today, I suggest you delete that video."
"Come on, I was only joking." The instant Yukinoshita Yukino brought up her sister, Shirai Mio's attitude softened.
To be perfectly clear, she was not afraid of Yukinoshita Haruno. She merely wanted to avoid a little unnecessary trouble. Mm. That was all.
It was a bit of a shame, but Shirai Mio still deleted the video.
After confirming there was no problem, Yukinoshita Yukino finally nodded in satisfaction and asked, "So where are we going now?"
Shirai Mio took out her phone and checked the time. "Next, of course, we're going to your place."
"My place?" Yukinoshita Yukino froze for a moment, then quickly remembered the research she had done beforehand. If a couple made one person's home the final destination of a date, then that usually meant······
Even Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes showed a trace of panic when that thought occurred to her. "You haven't forgotten that we're only pretending to be a couple, have you?"
"Of course I haven't. When I said we're going to your place, I meant I'm walking you home. It's already getting late. What did you think I meant?"
As she spoke, Shirai Mio seemed to realize something. She moved closer to Yukinoshita Yukino with a grin. "You weren't thinking I wanted to go to your place and do something strange, were you?"
"No." Yukinoshita Yukino avoided Shirai Mio's gaze and took the lead toward the elevator.
Just as the two of them went downstairs and were preparing to leave, Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly grabbed Shirai Mio and pulled her around a corner.
"W-what's wrong?" Shirai Mio asked, completely baffled.
"I think I saw my sister."
Hearing Yukinoshita Yukino's words, Shirai Mio instantly grew nervous as well. She cautiously poked her head out and looked around carefully.
It did not take long for her to spot Yukinoshita Haruno from behind.
It was only her back, but Shirai Mio and Yukinoshita Haruno practically saw each other every day. There was no way Mio could mistake her for someone else.
Why was Yukinoshita Haruno here by herself?
Shirai Mio exchanged a look with Yukinoshita Yukino and said, "How about we sneak away?"
"Let's wait until my sister leaves."
As she spoke, Yukinoshita Yukino looked at Shirai Mio's brilliant silver-white hair. Hair that color was incredibly conspicuous no matter where she went.
Yukino was worried that the moment they walked out, they would be spotted immediately.
Shirai Mio knew her hair was a problem too. She nodded helplessly, then continued peeking out to watch Yukinoshita Haruno's movements.
Just then, Yukinoshita Haruno seemed to sense something and turned to look behind herself.
However, she did not notice anything strange.
"Was I imagining it?"
Meanwhile, Shirai Mio, hidden around the corner, silently patted her chest. Fortunately, she had reacted quickly enough. Otherwise, Yukinoshita Haruno would already have spotted her by now.
Before Shirai Mio could even calm herself down, Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the restroom. "My sister seems to be coming this way."
"Eh!?"
Yukinoshita Yukino's original plan had been for her and Shirai Mio to take one stall each, then stay inside for a while and come back out after her older sister left.
But once they entered the restroom, she discovered that there were quite a lot of people inside and not enough free stalls for both of them.
With no other choice, Yukinoshita Yukino pulled Shirai Mio into the last available stall.
A young woman who was touching up her makeup saw this, surprise flashing through her eyes as she murmured under her breath, "Are young people this wild nowadays?"
Another young woman beside her heard that and laughed. "You have some nerve saying that about other people. Back then, weren't you the one who dragged me straight into an empty classroom and then······"
Before she could finish, the first woman covered her mouth.
While the two young women flirted outside, Shirai Mio looked at Yukinoshita Yukino inside the last stall, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "How long are we supposed to stay in here?"
The warm breath made Yukinoshita Yukino a little uncomfortable. She replied quietly, "I don't know either. Let's wait fifteen minutes first."
"Fine. Why do you think your sister came here alone? Does your family own property here too?"
"Who knows? Maybe she came to buy something."
The two of them waited in the cramped stall for more than ten minutes. Only after confirming that there was no longer any sound outside did they cautiously open the stall door a crack.
After making sure Yukinoshita Haruno was not in the restroom, they finally walked out of the stall together.
A girl who had just entered the restroom saw the two of them emerge from the same stall, and the shock in her eyes was indescribable.
Feeling somewhat awkward, Yukinoshita Yukino immediately grabbed Shirai Mio and hurried out of the restroom.
Although both of them desperately wanted to leave, they moved with exceptional caution to avoid running into Yukinoshita Haruno.
After another ten-odd minutes, the two of them finally made it safely out of the shopping center.
Shirai Mio let out a long breath. "Come on. I'll walk you home."
Yukinoshita Yukino had originally wanted to say there was no need, but after hesitating, she still nodded.
As the two walked slowly down the street, Yukinoshita Yukino asked softly, "So our temporary relationship ends here, right?"
"Mm. Though if Yukino wants to keep going, I wouldn't mind extending it a little."
"Heh."
······