"Oh, if it isn't Hayato~"
As Hayato Hayama's group approached, Haruno spotted them immediately — though she'd already noticed them a while ago and just pretended not to.
"Haruno-nee-san. And Shirai." Hayama walked up to the two of them. On the surface he looked exactly the same as always, but Mio — sharp-eyed as ever — caught the flicker of something complicated in his expression when he glanced between her and Haruno.
Why Hayama would look like that didn't concern her much. What concerned her was why he wasn't with Yumiko.
Yumiko had specifically said yesterday that she was going to hang out with Hayama today.
She'd even run a practice date specifically for the occasion.
Had he found some excuse to dodge it?
"Hayama-kun, Christmas of all days — how come you're not on a date with a girl?"
The question clearly caught him off guard. He let out a wry laugh and said, "Well, I haven't seen you on a date with a guy either~"
Mio tucked herself closer against Haruno's arm and beamed. "But I am on a date — with my senpai~"
Haruno gave a very cooperative nod. "That's right, we're absolutely on a date."
Their tone made it obviously a joke. And yet Hayama couldn't shake a faint sense that something was off.
The truth was, he'd tried to ask Haruno to spend Christmas with him yesterday — and been turned down on the spot.
"Sorry, I already have plans~"
It wasn't the first time she'd said no to him, so he hadn't dwelled on it. But he hadn't expected Mio Shirai to be the plans.
They're both girls though. Nothing to worry about. Probably.
While Hayama was still quietly analyzing the situation, Mio glanced around with an exaggerated look of confusion. "Hmm, I don't see Yumiko anywhere?"
"I called her last night," Kakeru Tobe said, shrugging. "She said something came up and she couldn't make it."
"I see." Mio nodded slowly, brow faintly creased.
Haruno noticed. "Something wrong?"
"Nothing. Don't worry about it."
But something definitely feels off. Yumiko not asking Hayama out made no sense — that wasn't like her at all. Even with a third wheel in the way, she would've shown up regardless.
Had something actually come up?
"Haruno-nee-san, where are you two headed?"
"Us? Shopping for clothes. Want to join?"
If it had been just Haruno, Hayama might've said yes. But with the current situation — he could only smile awkwardly and shake his head. "Maybe another time."
"What a shame. I was hoping to do some serious damage to the shops today."
Once Hayama's group had moved on, Mio turned to Haruno. "Didn't senpai just say you wanted to sit somewhere and get a drink?"
"I just didn't want anyone interrupting our date~"
Haruno seemed to think of something then, and leaned in close to Mio's ear. "Kouhai... Hayato's pretty handsome, don't you think? Not even a little bit tempted?"
Mio sidestepped and rubbed her now-slightly-pink ear. "Nope. I like pretty girls like you, senpai."
She wouldn't have said that so bluntly to anyone else — but Haruno was a different case. Whether Haruno would take her seriously was Haruno's problem.
Even Haruno was caught off guard for a moment. It sounds like she's teasing me — but I think she means it.
That wasn't exactly surprising, given Mio's behavioral patterns. What surprised Haruno was that Mio had said it out loud, voluntarily.
Was she testing Haruno's reaction? Or was this a move to make Haruno distance herself first?
Either way, she's underestimating me.
"What a coincidence — I happen to like pretty girls like my kouhai too. Sounds like we're made for each other~"
Before Mio could respond, a voice rang in her ear — the System: "She's got a point, honestly. You're both terrible women who flirt with everyone and say things nobody can tell are real or fake."
"It's not like anyone'd take you for a mute if you just kept quiet!" Mio curled her lip.
By the time she'd finished silently arguing with the System, she found Haruno had drifted right up into her face without her noticing.
Mio tensed. "Senpai, why are you suddenly so close—?"
"Watching my kouhai zone out, obviously. I've noticed you drift off like this a lot. And when you do, your expressions are surprisingly expressive... almost like you're having a silent conversation with someone."
Mio nearly broke out in goosebumps — but thankfully no ten-pull notification dropped. She steadied herself and said, "I just suddenly remembered something from the past."
She'd braced for Haruno to press further — had already prepared deflections.
Instead, Haruno looked at her for a long moment, then said simply, with total sincerity: "You really are adorable~"
"Huh—?"
Watching Mio's baffled expression, Haruno let out a quiet laugh.
Outwardly she looked no different from usual. But what she didn't show — what Mio didn't catch — was that a moment ago, as she'd looked at her kouhai, she'd had the sudden and startling urge to kiss her.
This wasn't the first time.
It only happened around Mio. No one else had ever made her feel this way.
Strange. With everyone else, nothing. With Mio, it was like some sort of inexplicable gravity.
And Mio, for her part, had a creeping feeling that the way Haruno had just been looking at her was... dangerous. Like she was being sized up as a meal.
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