"Shirai, are you asleep?"
In the pitch-black room, Eriri's voice rose quietly.
But minutes passed, and all she got back was the steady, even sound of Mio's breathing.
Turning onto her side, Eriri studied Mio's silhouette and let out a soft sigh.
She wasn't sure if it was because she'd napped earlier in the day, or because of the certain someone lying next to her—but even though it was almost two in the morning, she wasn't the least bit sleepy.
And it wasn't just that she wasn't sleepy. Her mind was running at full tilt, stubbornly fixating on all kinds of strange thoughts.
Just as Eriri was working hard to calm down and slip into sleep—
She felt Mio shift beside her. Before she could react, Mio, who had been keeping a comfortable distance, suddenly scooted over and draped an arm and a leg across Eriri, treating her like a body pillow.
In the dim room, Eriri could just make out her silhouette—but she could feel Mio's faint scent and the warmth of her body with absolute clarity.
Why? Why was this happening?
Sure, she and Mio were both girls, but even if Mio had unconsciously turned her into a body pillow, she shouldn't be this keyed up about it, right?
If Mio had been awake and able to see just then, she would have found Eriri stiff as a board, a flustered blush painted across her pale cheeks.
Eriri had assumed she could fall asleep once she calmed down—but she quickly realized that being hugged like a body pillow by Mio made calming down impossible.
With no other option, she gingerly pried Mio's arm and leg off herself and shifted a little further toward the edge of the bed.
But every time she moved away, Mio scooted right along with her. Her bed was wide, but she hit the edge fast—any further and she'd be on the floor.
Feeling Mio's arm and leg settle over her once more, Eriri gave up struggling and resigned herself to being used as a body pillow.
If Mio hadn't looked so thoroughly asleep the whole time, Eriri might have genuinely started suspecting she was awake and doing it on purpose.
Like that, deep into the small hours, exhaustion finally dragged her into sleep.
When she woke again, it was six thirty in the morning.
Her phone's alarm was what pulled her out of the dream.
Eriri opened her eyes slowly. There was still a trace of post-sleep haze in them—but it was quickly replaced by shock and embarrassment.
She turned her head instinctively. Mio wasn't there.
She silently let out a breath.
Normally she'd burrow back under the covers for another fifteen minutes or so after waking up. Not today.
Today, she got out of bed decisively, went straight to her wardrobe, and dug out a dry pair of panties to change into.
This was a little embarrassing to admit, but she'd had a wet dream last night.
As a doujinshi artist, such dreams weren't especially rare for her. It was just that last night's dream had been about her and Mio.
Whatever she was thinking about, a blush climbed her cheeks again.
She tapped her cheeks lightly, then pulled off her clothes. She'd just changed into the dry pair when the bedroom door opened, and Mio walked in.
The moment Mio stepped inside, she saw Eriri in the middle of changing—and the pair of panties Eriri had just taken off, still draped over the chair.
Eriri whipped them behind her back the instant she noticed, but Mio had already caught a glimpse of just how not right that pair of panties looked.
One look at Eriri's panicked face, and Mio had a pretty good idea what had happened.
Getting up first thing in the morning to change panties—what else could it be?
She herself had been through it more times than she could count.
Getting caught in the act like that was a full-blown social death, which was why she went to extreme lengths every time to make sure Shiina Mashiro didn't walk in on her.
At that thought, Mio just smiled and gave Eriri a normal morning greeting, saying nothing else about what she'd seen.
Teasing Eriri right now would have set off a nuclear meltdown.
At the greeting, Eriri tightened her grip on the panties and stammered, "G—good morning. Where did you go?"
"Just to wash up. I made breakfast, too—come downstairs once you're ready, or it'll get cold."
With that, Mio turned and left the room, as if she'd noticed nothing at all.
Watching the bedroom door close behind her, Eriri blinked. Getting caught changing underwear after a wet dream—by the object of said dream—was there even anything more socially catastrophic than this?
She'd already braced herself to get teased—but for once, Mio had let it slide.
She was certain Mio had noticed. Mio must have deliberately stayed silent out of consideration for her feelings.
Seemed this white-haired little bitch's personality wasn't all bad after all~
Shaking her thoughts loose, Eriri quickly got dressed. While washing up, she rinsed out the panties she'd just taken off, too.
Once she was finally ready and headed downstairs, she found Mio had already finished eating and was sitting on the living room couch, chatting with her mother.
Seeing her daughter finally coming down, Sawamura Sayuri said brightly, "Eriri, hurry and have breakfast. Mio-chan made it herself—it's amazing."
"Ah, okay."
Eriri answered, shot Mio a slightly bashful glance, then sat down at the dining table.
Her mother was right—Mio's breakfast really was excellent.
If nothing had happened earlier, she would have been able to enjoy it properly. But as things stood, every time she thought about what had happened upstairs, she wanted to find a hole and crawl into it.
By the time she finally pulled herself together, she realized the delicious breakfast had vanished—she'd wolfed it down without tasting a bite. Felt like a total waste.
Breakfast done, Eriri said goodbye to her mother and dragged Mio out the front door with her.
This was her first time actually walking to school with Mio.
Just as she was trying to figure out what to chat about, a familiar voice called out from behind them.
...