Mio stood outside the apartment building and pulled her coat tighter as a cold gust swept past.
She glanced at a young woman nearby in a short skirt and bare legs, seemingly untroubled by the temperature.
Even with Cold Resistance, I would never.
"Senpai," Mio said, tugging the edge of Haruno's sleeve. "Where are we going?"
"Where does one usually go on a date?"
"...Huh?"
Mio stared at her. Haruno's expression had something on it she didn't often see there: genuine uncertainty. Not performed confusion—actual blankness.
"My family was very strict. I've never actually dated anyone." A faint note of dry self-deprecation crept into her voice. "Going on a proper date was out of the question."
"...A date doesn't really have a set destination," Mio said slowly. "Just being with someone you like—that's already a date."
Haruno's eyes warmed with something faintly amused. "Does that mean we're already on a date, then?"
Normally, a line like that would send an ordinary boy's heart into overdrive. But Mio knew exactly who she was dealing with. Yes, Haruno was beautiful—but beauty and trustworthiness existed on completely separate ledgers. And this woman's acting ability was directly proportional to her looks.
The prettier the woman, the better the liar. True in every world Mio had ever lived in.
"Senpai doesn't need to worry about the destination. Anywhere works."
"What about a love hotel? I've always been a little curious what they're like inside."
Even Mio paused for a beat on that one. But she found her footing fast.
"If senpai wants to go, I'll go with you."
She did not believe Haruno would actually take her there.
Haruno, for her part, filed that away with considerable interest. She thinks I won't actually do it. We'll see how confident she sounds standing at the entrance. "Well—it's only ten in the morning. Probably not the right hour for that. I just thought of somewhere else I've been meaning to go."
"Oh?" Mio was genuinely a little curious.
Half an hour later, after a taxi ride, they were standing outside an amusement park.
"...This is the place senpai has always wanted to visit?"
Haruno watched a mother and her small daughter pass by, laughing together as they headed toward the entrance. "Yes. When I was little, I used to see other kids going in and out looking so happy—I always wanted to try it. But it was never allowed." She paused. "When I was finally old enough to go on my own, I never had anyone to come with. Today seemed like the right chance. Filling in a gap from childhood, I suppose~"
Mio studied her for a long moment. Even with all her perception-boosting cards active, she genuinely could not tell whether that was truth or performance.
She decided to treat it as truth.
"Isn't the Disney park closer? And bigger?"
"Much fewer people here. I have no intention of standing in a two-hour queue for a single ride."
"...Fair point."
At the ticket window, Haruno bought two tickets without so much as glancing in Mio's direction—didn't hesitate, didn't blink. If Mio weren't already something of a minor heiress in her own right, she'd be seriously reconsidering her life priorities.
Inside, Mio unfolded the park map. "What do you want to try first, senpai?"
"Everything."
"Then let's go."
Without discussion, Mio grabbed Haruno's hand and pulled her directly toward the nearest attraction: a merry-go-round.
They joined a queue populated almost entirely by small children.
Mio surveyed the children. Surveyed the merry-go-round. Then turned to Haruno and said, with perfect composure: "Senpai, go ahead and get in line. I'll wait here and take pictures."
Haruno didn't dignify that with a response. She simply looped both arms around Mio's waist from behind and walked the two of them straight to the back of the queue.
Escape: denied.
Mio was fairly certain Haruno thought she was the one winning this exchange.
Haruno did not know that Mio considered being held like this by someone as objectively, devastatingly attractive as Yukinoshita Haruno to be an unqualified net positive.
You might come out a little ahead, senpai—but I never lose.
Their arrival drew immediate attention from the surrounding visitors, as it tended to. Two people occupying somewhere near the absolute ceiling of aesthetic potential, standing in a merry-go-round queue. People stared.
Neither of them cared. Mio had years of professional performance behind her. Haruno had been raised to be unmoved by public scrutiny. The attention slid off both of them without leaving a mark.
There were two couples in line as well, at least, which made things slightly less conspicuous.
Ten minutes later, they were on.
Mio had visited plenty of amusement parks in her previous life. She had never once set foot on a merry-go-round. There had always been something faintly, indefinably embarrassing about the idea.
As the horses began to move, Mio glanced toward Haruno a few spots away. "Senpai—doesn't this feel at least a little awkward to you?"
"As long as we're not embarrassed, the embarrassment belongs to everyone else." Serene smile. Utterly unbothered.
Haruno had expected Mio to be at least slightly flustered. She was not. Her expression matched Haruno's almost exactly: composed, calm, mildly amused.
Huh. I may have underestimated her.
When the ride ended, both of them quietly exhaled. They glanced at each other. By wordless mutual agreement, neither mentioned it, and they walked off toward the next attraction.
Next up: a pirate ship.
Mio had no fear of heights—she'd gone skydiving in her past life, among other things. A pirate ship was nothing.
But she had an image to maintain. The delicate, slightly-helpless beautiful-girl type. So as the ship began to swing, she turned slightly toward Haruno, reaching out as if instinctively seeking something to hold onto—
Only to realize, in the same instant, that Haruno was turning toward her with the exact same motion. Same angle. Same intention.
They both stopped.
Looked at each other.
Turned wordlessly back to face forward.
Nothing had happened. Neither of them had moved. Everything was completely normal.
...