"Yumiko, it's a day off, but you're up this early, so today you're getting ready to go on a date again, right?"
Hearing her older sister's teasing, Yumiko Miura couldn't even be bothered to argue back, answering perfunctorily, "Yeah, yeah, that's right, I'm getting ready to go on a date with Mio right now. Unlike some people who don't even have a girlfriend and can only hole up at home on their days off, huh?"
Yumiko's older sister, who had been about to say something more, was instantly sunk by her little sister's words.
This wasn't right. Normally, after hearing that kind of teasing, shouldn't her little sister get all flustered and tell her to shut up or something?
How come she'd gotten so aggressive all of a sudden?
As much as she wanted to fire back, she couldn't find a single point to counter with, since she really didn't have a girlfriend.
"What are you two talking about? I think I just heard the word 'date.' Is one of you getting ready to go on a date?" Yumiko's mother came out of her room.
After glancing at her two daughters, she seemed to remember something, then said apologetically to her eldest daughter, "Sorry, I actually assumed for a moment there that you were the one going on a date."
"???"
Seeing her sister get shut down like that, the corners of Yumiko's mouth curled into a faint smile. "Um, I'm heading out now. I'll probably be back a bit late."
"If you're not going to be back, remember to call home," her mother reminded her.
"Barring anything unexpected, I'll be back."
As the front door closed, Mrs. Miura noticed that her eldest daughter, who had been curled up in the kotatsu just a moment ago, had suddenly vanished. Just as she was wondering where she'd gone, her eldest daughter walked out of her room, her pajamas now changed into going-out clothes.
Seeing this, her mother asked, a little puzzled, "And where are you off to?"
"Out for a walk."
"Hm?"
She knew exactly how much her eldest daughter hated the cold. By her usual habits, in weather like this she wouldn't go out if she could help it. What had gotten into her today?
"I've been wounded by Yumiko. Now I'm going to go find someone who can soothe my injured heart."
"You always like saying things nobody can understand. If you want to go out, then go. Just remember to come back early."
"Mm."
Yumiko's older sister walked straight to the door. After opening it, she felt the cold wind blowing in at her face, and quietly closed it again, muttering under her breath, "Never mind. The cold wind out there will only make my wounds worse. I'd better heal up slowly in the warm kotatsu instead."
As if she'd seen this coming all along, her mother gave a soft laugh. "If you want to find a relationship, then go socialize more. You think you can just hole up at home and wait for romance to fall into your lap?"
"Urusai."
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Yumiko had originally figured that by heading out this early today, she'd be able to arrive at their meeting spot ahead of Mio Shirai.
But what she didn't expect was that, after she'd just gone downstairs and taken only a few steps, she'd spot Mio's figure under a tree not far off.
The moment Yumiko saw Mio, Mio noticed Yumiko too. She raised a hand and gave it a gentle wave, a sweet smile spreading across her face.
Before Yumiko could even react, Mio walked over to her side with light, breezy steps and skillfully looped an arm through hers.
That's right, this was that familiar feeling.
Suppressing the urge to let the corners of her mouth lift, Yumiko asked softly, "Mio, why are you here?"
"Because I just couldn't wait to see you, of course~" Mio said in a sweet tone.
Then Mio added, with a perfectly straight face, "Actually, this routine isn't half bad. You should jot it down, Yumiko. You can give it a try when you get the chance."
"Ah... yeah."
For just a split second there, she'd almost forgotten that she and Mio were on a mock date.
"Anyway, where are we planning to go today?"
"Let's just wander around the shopping district. Tomorrow's Christmas, but a lot of shops have already started running promotions today."
"Okay."
With their decision made, the two soon arrived at the shopping district. The shops lining both sides were hung with all kinds of Christmas decorations, and there were even shop assistants in Christmas outfits doing promotions.
Even though Christmas was tomorrow, you could already see plenty of couples around.
As if she'd suddenly thought of something, Mio asked curiously, "Oh right, Yumiko, have you asked Hayama out for tomorrow?"
"N... not yet." Yumiko looked a little guiltily at a nearby shop.
"Eh!? Hayama's really popular, you know. What if someone else asks him out first?"
"It's fine. Hayama usually doesn't agree to other people's invitations that easily."
Not being familiar with Hayato Hayama, Mio didn't think too much of it and just gave a small nod to show she understood.
Meanwhile, Yumiko seized the opportunity to ask in return, "Um, Mio, have you made plans to spend Christmas with anyone tomorrow?"
"Plenty of people have asked me out, but I haven't decided yet~"
The main thing was that the people asking her out were basically all guys from school, or girls she wasn't close with, so she had zero interest.
The other thing was that she didn't really care much about Christmas anyway. Compared to Christmas, what she cared about more was the Comiket right after it, something she'd been looking forward to for ages.
Hearing Mio's answer, Yumiko quietly let out a sigh of relief, while also feeling a tiny bit of regret.
If she weren't worried about Mio seeing through her little secret feelings, she'd have asked Mio to spend Christmas together long ago.
Tucking away her wandering thoughts, Yumiko fixed her gaze on the Christmas-clad shop assistant not far off. "Mio, don't you think the Christmas outfits are pretty cute~"
"They really are. If you want to see one, Yumiko, I could put one on just for you~"
Honestly, after hearing Mio's words, she reflexively pictured Mio in a Christmas outfit in her mind, and it... actually did seem pretty nice.
Right as her thoughts were running wild, Mio seemed to remember something, then tugged at the hem of Yumiko's clothes. "Oh right, Yumiko, do you notice anything different about me today?"
Hearing this familiar question, Yumiko instinctively took a look at Mio in that moment. At first glance she didn't seem all that different from usual, at most she'd put on some makeup. But she quickly recalled the last time Mio had asked her this question.
She asked, testing the waters, "Don't tell me you're wearing that?"
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