"Yuigahama-san, I've liked you for a long time. Would you... go out with me?"
Mio looked at the boy standing in front of her—flustered face, nervous energy radiating off him in waves. He was from the next class over; she didn't even know his name. Why had he suddenly come to confess to her?
If it were a cute girl confessing, I might actually think about it.
But a guy? Hard pass. I have zero interest in fencing.
What Mio didn't fully realize was that she'd become something of a ceiling-level beauty at this school. Add in her naturally gentle disposition, and she apparently gave off the vibe that confessing to her might actually work—even with a growing list of failed attempts to prove otherwise, people still lined up with hope in their eyes.
At first, her classmates would gather around to watch the drama unfold. By now, though, they'd all gotten used to the routine.
Mio offered her most courteous smile. "I'm really sorry—I'm not really looking to date anyone right now. Let's just stay friends."
The boy's expression crumpled. Still, he pressed on, a little desperately: "Can you at least tell me what kind of guy you like?"
"I'm sorry."
Yui had been keeping half an eye on Mio the entire time, and when she heard the clean, definitive rejection, something in her chest quietly unclenched.
...Why does Mio turning someone down make me feel relieved?
She turned it over in her mind. If I just think of Mio as a close friend, I shouldn't care either way, right? So why—
The answer was already pretty obvious. She just wasn't sure if she wanted to look at it directly yet.
Mio came back to the classroom and found Yui staring into space. She slid over curiously and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"I was just... thinking about how ever since you transferred here, you've had all these people confessing to you," Yui said, genuinely curious. "And every single time, you turn them down so fast. Haven't you ever met anyone who made your heart skip a beat?"
"Of course I have." Mio put on an expression of exaggerated sincerity, gazing at Yui like she was the moon. "That would be you, Yui~"
Yui had fully seen that coming. She knew perfectly well Mio was teasing her. But even so—even knowing that—her heart gave a small, stupid little leap.
"If you're not going to be serious, stop messing with me."
"Ehehe~"
Mio stuck her tongue out, and the bell rang before Yui could retaliate. She returned to her seat with a helpless sigh.
The afternoon passed in a blink.
When the final bell rang, Miura Yumiko—who had been asleep for basically the entire day—finally straightened up.
She stretched with a long, theatrical yawn, then turned to Mio. "Mio, what time is it?"
"Time to go home. Yumiko, you're sure you didn't do anything weird to me last night?"
"I didn't!"
Yumiko shot her a glare, but the sleep creases still pressed into her cheek made it genuinely hard to look threatening.
Before she could follow up, a notebook landed on her desk.
"Today's notes."
Yumiko blinked. As far as she could remember, Mio never took notes. Had she done this specifically for her?
She pressed her lips together and said, very quietly, "...Thanks."
"Say it louder~"
"I said what I said. Hmph~"
Mio watched Yumiko's completely predictable tsundere response and felt the corner of her mouth pull into a smile.
Just then, a flash of distinctive silver-white appeared in the classroom doorway.
Mashiro.
It was usually Mio who went to find Shiina Mashiro after school. She hadn't expected Mashiro to come to her first.
Mio grabbed her already-packed bag, said her goodbyes, and made her way quickly to the door.
She looked at Mashiro standing there and grinned. "Mashiro, I was just about to come find you. What made you come over?"
"Because," Mashiro said simply, "I missed you."
"Mashiro, it should be illegal to say something like that with a completely straight face!" Mio winced. The System had just chimed: Shiina Mashiro's conquest rating toward the host increased by 1 point.
"Illegal?"
Mashiro tilted her head, clearly not following.
"Never mind. Let's go." Mio ruffled Mashiro's hair, then took her hand and started toward the art club room.
Yui watched them disappear down the hallway and let out a quiet sigh. She'd thought about joining a club with Mio—but she was pretty sure drawing wasn't exactly her strong suit.
"Yui." Yumiko's voice came from beside her. "What are you standing around spacing out for?"
"N-Nothing. I was just about to head home."
"Since we're both heading out—you want to stop by that dessert place near the station?"
"But didn't you say you were going on a diet, Yumiko?"
"I've gone half a month without dessert. I'm allowing myself one treat. Just this once."
Yui hesitated, then nodded.
So it was a popular-clique outing after all.
On the way to the dessert shop, Yumiko noticed Yui seemed distant—like her mind was somewhere else entirely.
"Yui, is something bothering you?"
Yui's first instinct was to deny it, but she was probably being pretty obvious. She'd felt obvious all day.
After a pause, she leaned in close to Yumiko's ear and whispered, "Yumiko... what does it feel like? When you like someone?"
Yumiko blinked, clearly not expecting that. Then her face lit up. "Yui, do you have a crush?"
"N-No! I just watched a drama over the weekend and got curious, that's all. You'd know, right, Yumiko?"
"Hmm-hmm-hmm~ Obviously I would. Liking someone means—you're happy when you're together, you miss them when you're apart, you want to be with them every second of the day. And whenever they're in the room, your eyes just sort of... drift toward them without you even—"
Yumiko stopped.
Because she'd just remembered something.
Lately, she kept finding herself staring at Mio for no reason. And at home, she'd catch herself thinking about a certain white-haired girl again and again.
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