"Yes, I'm jealous—and what about it? I'm not just jealous—I want to eat you."
Yukinoshita Haruno stared down at her white-haired little kouhai, genuinely baffled by whatever gave this girl the nerve to tease her.
Mio tested her grip. Didn't budge. Haruno had her completely pinned, and no amount of squirming was going to change that.
Strategy shift. Mio softened her expression into her best helpless-and-pitiful look, aiming directly for whatever sympathetic instinct Haruno might be hiding.
Haruno was not, as it turned out, hiding any.
She'd been about to let Mio go. But the moment she saw that face—that very deliberate, very manufactured please have mercy face—something in Haruno quietly decided she'd rather not.
In full view of Mio's wide, slightly panicked eyes, Haruno leaned down and kissed her.
This was nothing like the light, glancing kisses from before. This one was something else entirely—deeper, more insistent, the kind that didn't leave room for protest.
In some sense, this too was bullying. Just a very particular variety.
Mio's defenses crumbled almost immediately. Any coherent thoughts she'd had dissolved into something warm and indistinct, and she stopped fighting entirely.
The room's atmosphere shifted into something considerably more charged.
At some point, a phone rang.
Haruno broke away. She straightened, glancing down at Mio—still flat on the bed, chest rising and falling a little unevenly, eyes slightly unfocused—and licked her lips with the quiet satisfaction of someone who had won something.
She checked the screen. Then she looked back at Mio.
"That's far enough for today, little kouhai. I'm heading out." A pause. "Don't miss me too much."
"W-who would miss you," Mio murmured, barely above a breath.
Haruno turned away. The moment she did, her expression dropped into something considerably less cheerful. She really, truly despised getting interrupted at moments like this. Next time: phone goes off first.
After Haruno left, Mio lay there for another while before her head came fully back online. She brought her fingertips to her lips—and noticed, with mild surprise, a trace of something she could only describe as regret.
Has it really been long enough that my body is starting to do things on its own?
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Saturday arrived without ceremony.
Today was the day she'd arranged to meet the editor from Fujikawa Fantastic Bunko. Mio was up early—not because of that, but because she'd simply woken up and couldn't get back to sleep.
Mashiro usually slept later. With time to spare before breakfast would do any good, Mio decided to go out for a walk.
She'd just stepped into the hallway when the door directly across opened at the same moment, and Yukinoshita Haruno emerged.
They looked at each other.
Haruno's brow lifted—just slightly, genuine surprise—then settled into a smile. "Good morning, little kouhai."
"Senpai, please tell me you haven't been crouching by your door waiting for me to come out."
"Not at all. Pure coincidence this time."
"...Okay. What are you up to?"
"Errands. You?"
"Just a walk."
They found themselves standing in front of the elevator at the same time, waiting for the same down button. Haruno spoke first:
"It's cold out. Don't get sick—or I'll have to come visit with green onions."
Mio's hand instinctively moved to cover a portion of herself that she deemed at risk.
If someone else had said that, she'd have laughed it off. With Haruno, she had genuine cause for concern.
The elevator opened. They rode it down to the lobby.
Outside, Mio turned to Haruno with a bright smile. "Have a good morning, senpai. Bye."
"Hold on. I still want to walk a little with my little kouhai~"
"But didn't you say you have errands?"
"My car hasn't arrived yet, so~"
Trapped by circumstance and her own upbringing, Mio fell into step beside her.
The street was clear and quiet, foot traffic sparse. They walked side by side on the pavement without urgency.
It was Mio who broke the comfortable silence first. "Senpai, can I ask you something?"
"Mm?"
"Do you actually like me?"
A question like that would have made most people flinch. Haruno just looked over at her and smiled—that easy, unruffled smile—and said: "Of course I do. And I assume the next thing you're going to ask is why."
"...Maybe."
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes."
"Kiss me and I'll tell you."
Mio had, in fact, predicted this answer. She checked her surroundings—empty enough—leaned in, and pressed a quick kiss to Haruno's cheek.
Then she waited.
Haruno's car appeared at the curb at exactly the wrong moment. Haruno stepped toward it, opened the door, and paused halfway in—one hand already waving the driver forward.
"I'll tell you the reason next time," she called back.
"That's cheating, senpai!"
The car pulled away.
Mio stared after it, lips pressed together in mild indignation. Fine. Doesn't matter. She's coming back eventually.
The irritation drained out of her almost as quickly as it had arrived. She tucked her hands into her pockets, expression settling back into something lighter.
She turned toward the park.
She'd been half-joking to herself about running into Yuigahama Yui this early, but here she was thinking about it anyway. Too early for anyone to be out, probably.
She was just about to find a bench and sit down when she felt a tap on her shoulder from behind.
She turned. Kato Megumi stood there in her running clothes, expression as placid as always.
"Megumi? What are you doing here?"
"Morning run."
Mio looked at the running clothes. It was about as pointless a question as asking an air conditioner repairman what he did for a living.
She was mentally composing something better to say when the System spoke:
"Task: Before parting with Kato Megumi, kiss her once or more—limited to the cheek. Success may reward a Kato Megumi series card or item. Failure draws from the punishment deck."
"Task: Before parting with Yuigahama Yui, kiss her once or more—limited to the cheek. Success may reward a Yuigahama Yui series card or item. Failure draws from the punishment deck."
"...???"
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