"Eriri, over here."
Seeing the window swing open, Aki Tomoya waved up at Eriri as her head poked out, gesturing to let her know where he was standing.
"Tomoya, did you need something?"
From what she knew of her childhood friend, he wouldn't come looking for her without a reason.
"I just wanted to ask—have you thought about your impressions of WHITE ALBUM yet?"
Just as Eriri was about to open her mouth to say something, she suddenly felt a pair of hands settle on her waist. She instinctively turned her head—and there, crouched on the floor right behind her, was Shirai Mio, those hands still resting comfortably on her sides.
Eriri shot her a fierce glare, a silent warning not to pull any of her weird stunts, before turning back to look down at the yard.
Watching Aki Tomoya's excited expression, she wondered what sort of face he'd make if she told him that one of the writers of WHITE ALBUM was, at this very moment, sitting in her bedroom.
But one look at Mio's face—that heart-fluttering beauty that could even make other girls swoon—and Eriri decided against it. Knowing Aki Tomoya's personality, she could easily imagine what would happen if he came face to face with the creator behind one of his favorite works.
"I already told you, didn't I? There's not much content in that manga yet. Wait until there's more—ngh!—more material, and then we can talk."
"Hm?"
Aki Tomoya looked up at Eriri, a little puzzled. He'd just noticed that her tone had sounded slightly off, like she was holding something back. Her expression, too.
"Oh, I picked up the latest issue of the magazine—want to read it?" Aki Tomoya said, holding up the magazine in his hand.
"N—no need, I've already read it."
A moment ago, to keep Mio from doing anything ridiculous, she'd tried to lightly kick at her. But the instant she raised her leg, Mio had caught it.
This white-haired little bitch had then, of all things, decided to launch a tickle attack on the sole of Eriri's foot. Thankfully it wasn't the unbearable kind—but even so, holding it in was excruciating. All Eriri wanted right now was to wrap up this conversation and properly punish Shirai Mio, who clearly had no idea what she was getting herself into.
"I see. Then let me recommend one more novel to you before I go—Koisuru Metronome. It's a masterpiece. A genuine masterpiece!"
"I'll check it out when I have time. I have something to take care of, so let's leave it at that."
Without waiting for Aki Tomoya to respond, Eriri shut the window, spun around, and lunged at Mio, who had been trying to make a break for it.
Mio hadn't expected Eriri to end the conversation with Aki Tomoya so decisively. She'd barely made it two steps before Eriri tackled her to the floor.
Eriri pinned her down effortlessly.
She realized that, while Mio was struggling fiercely, there was almost no strength behind it—she could hold her down easily, even with her own slender frame.
Pinned beneath her, Mio made the most pitiful face she could muster. "Eriri, I'm sorry, I won't do it again."
"A second ago it was 'Sawamura-san, Sawamura-san,' and now suddenly it's 'Eriri'? So you like getting handsy while I'm in the middle of a conversation?" Eriri set her hands on Mio's waist and launched her counterattack.
Meanwhile, down below.
Aki Tomoya blinked, staring up at the now-closed window. When he'd tried to pitch Koisuru Metronome to Eriri before, she'd been almost violently opposed. This time she'd actually said she'd read it when she had time—something felt off.
And Eriri's expression, her flushed cheeks, just now—it made it look like she was holding something back.
Plus, on any normal day, wouldn't she have invited him in for a bit? Why had she ended the conversation so abruptly? Not that he had time to come in today anyway.
Aki Tomoya didn't have the luxury of dwelling on it. His phone rang—his coworker at his part-time job, telling him to hurry up, the shop was packed.
Hustling off to work, Aki Tomoya glanced up at the second-floor window one last time, then swung onto his bike and pedaled away.
He wasn't sure if he was hearing things, but from inside Eriri's room just now, he'd thought he caught some very strange sounds.
He must have imagined it.
A few minutes after Aki Tomoya had gone, Eriri's punishment of Mio finally drew to a temporary close.
Mio lay sprawled on the floor, face flushed crimson, a glimmer of moisture at the corner of her mouth. Her clothes and hair were thoroughly disheveled, as though she'd just finished a strenuous workout.
While she'd been delivering the punishment, Eriri hadn't paid much attention—but now, looking at Mio in this state, she suddenly found she couldn't quite look away.
To Eriri, Mio radiated a kind of unsettling, unfamiliar allure.
Eriri actually caught herself licking her lips.
A long moment passed like this before Mio finally caught her breath. Then she looked up at Eriri with wounded, reproachful eyes.
The expression was exactly the one a maiden might wear after Eriri had done something unspeakable to her and then walked off without owning up to it.
Noticing Mio's expression, Eriri snapped back to herself. She instinctively looked away, muttering, "Wh—whose fault was it for getting handsy while I was trying to talk?"
"Even so, Sawamura-san, you were way too rough. The things you did to me just now… I almost couldn't take it~"
"...?"
Eriri stared at her in exasperation. Even reduced to this state, she was still flirting? Wasn't she afraid Eriri might lose her restraint and keep going?
Maybe catching the shift in Eriri's expression, Mio blinked, then put on a face of perfect innocence, as if nothing had happened at all. "Anyway, Sawamura-san, we should get back to studying."
"Since you're helping me study, I'll let you off this time. But if there's a next time, I'll show you what real cruelty looks like!"
She'd figured something out today: Mio was all bark and no bite—one good shove and she folded completely. Thinking back to Mio's pleading face just a moment ago, after all the times Mio had teased her, Eriri couldn't stop the faint smirk from creeping onto her own lips.
With Eriri off her, Mio slowly pushed herself upright and straightened her clothes. Her skirt had ridden up to her waist during the struggle, but since it was just Eriri in the room, it didn't really matter.
Soon enough, Mio was back to her usual elegant self—save for the lingering faint flush on her cheeks.