"S-so cute."
Yukino Yukinoshita gazed at the photo on Mio Shirai's phone, unable to hold back a soft sigh of admiration. Even the coldness on her face melted away in that instant, replaced by a faint smile.
Even Mio Shirai found herself a little dazed at the sight of that smile.
Seeming to notice her own small slip, Yukino quickly returned to her usual self.
Still, those sparkling eyes gave away exactly how she felt right now.
Absorbed in the cat photos, Yukino didn't notice that she and Mio had ended up leaning against each other.
Not that it would've gotten much of a reaction out of her even if she had. After all, she and Mio were both girls, and it wasn't like they were doing anything weird.
Yukino was looking at the cat photos, and Mio was watching her.
Once she was sure the other girl's attention was completely on the photos, Mio took a deep breath, then suddenly spoke up: "Yukinoshita-san!"
Hearing Mio call her name out of nowhere, Yukino instinctively turned her head, and before she could react, she found her lips had brushed against Mio's fingertip.
And in that very instant, the world stopped in Mio's eyes.
The System's voice rang in her ear: "Host, that was dirty! To think you'd use a method like this to clear the task."
"What do you mean, underhanded? This is called making reasonable use of the rules."
Mio had thought it over and over, and figured this little trick was the only way to clear the task. This way she could complete it without having to worry about the whole Haruno Yukinoshita situation.
Then again, come to think of it, she hadn't seen Haruno Yukinoshita in a while now. She wondered how busy things had gotten for her.
"Congratulations, Host, task complete. Yukino Yukinoshita's conquest rating toward the host has increased by 2 points. Please select your reward."
You could tell from the System's flat, robotic delivery that it wasn't in a great mood right now.
And as long as the System was in a bad mood, Mio was in a good one.
As for the reward, Mio chose Yukino Yukinoshita's Verbal Artistry, a card that could boost her conversation skills (allegedly).
Mostly it was because the other two cards were basically useless to her, so she went with this one.
The moment Mio made her choice, time started flowing again.
You could see Yukino instinctively lean back defensively, then frown and say, "Shirai-san, did you need something, calling me all of a sudden?"
"I just wanted to ask if you wanted to grab bento together at noon. I called you a bunch of times and you didn't react, so I had to raise my voice."
Hearing Mio's words, Yukino thought back a little. She really had gotten lost in those cute cat photos just now and hadn't noticed Mio's voice, so it was sort of understandable.
"Then can you explain what's up with your finger?"
"I was going to poke your cheek to get your attention. I didn't expect you to turn your head right then." The look on Mio's face couldn't have been more innocent if she tried.
To give the other girl no time to dwell on it, Mio went on: "Looks like you really do love cats, Yukinoshita-san. If you get the chance sometime, do you want to come over to my place? You can pet as many cats as you want~"
Maybe it was the promise of cats, but this time Yukino didn't refuse outright. Instead she said softly, "If I have the time."
"By the way, I haven't really seen Haruno-senpai around lately. Is she busy these days?"
"Mm. It's the end of the year, after all. As the heir to the Yukinoshita family, she's got a lot of things to deal with."
After saying that, Yukino suddenly thought of a possibility. Was the reason Mio wouldn't let her leave that she wanted to fish for news about her sister?
But weren't these two supposed to be a couple? If she really wanted to know how her sister was doing, wouldn't one phone call settle it?
Or... had something gone wrong between the two of them?
She didn't get any time to spiral into wild speculation, because the bell signaling the end of class suddenly rang.
And that was when Mio stood up, stretched lazily, and said, "It's lunch break now, so I should head back. Are you really not going to eat with me, Yukinoshita-san?"
"No, thanks. I'm used to eating alone."
"In that case, I'll get going. Remember to drink plenty of hot water."
Mio gave Yukino a little wave, then turned and left the infirmary.
After Mio left, Yukino, who was also getting ready to go, noticed that Mio's thermos was still here, left behind. Or rather, she'd deliberately left it for her.
This was probably the thermos Mio used regularly, wasn't it? So if she'd just drunk water from this thermos a moment ago... didn't that count as an indirect kiss with Mio?
The phrase 'indirect kiss' had barely surfaced in Yukino's mind before she dismissed it.
She quirked the corner of her mouth. To think she'd actually find herself thinking about pointless things like this.
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Meanwhile, back in the classroom, Mio had flopped onto her desk, utterly defeated, like a dried-up salted fish.
It was a good while before the students, having finished P.E., started trickling back into the classroom.
Among them was, of course, Yui Yuigahama.
The moment she got back, Yui rushed straight over to Mio's side and said, "Mio, are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm totally fine now."
"That's good. I was actually going to swing by the infirmary to check on you during the free-time portion of class, but who knew today's P.E. wouldn't have any free time at all."
Hearing Yui's words, Mio instinctively turned her head and let her gaze land on Yumiko Miura beside her.
It suddenly occurred to her that Yumiko had very likely pulled the classic bathroom-break escape to come find her, and maybe that was exactly why she'd left so quickly afterward.
Noticing Mio's gaze, Yumiko shot her a sidelong look and said, a little guiltily, "What?"
"Nothing. I just didn't expect you to be so bold, Yumiko."
Hearing what Mio said to Yumiko, Yui blinked. She didn't quite get what the two of them were talking about.
"It's nothing major, don't worry about it." Mio flashed Yui a sweet smile, trying to cute her way out of it.
"Eh? Saying it like that just makes me more curious, you know?"
Yui looked at Mio, then glanced over at Yumiko. Why did she feel like there was something going on between these two?
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