"Eri, time to get up."
Eri, deep in sleep, cracked her eyes open at her mother's call and mumbled groggily, "No class today—let me sleep a little longer."
"It's still a holiday, yes, but don't tell me you forgot—we have to go pick up your report card today."
Eri snapped upright. If her mother hadn't said anything, she would have completely forgotten she needed to go back to school.
Seeing her daughter finally up, Sawamura Sayuri let out a quiet laugh. She was about to leave the room when her eyes landed on the computer screen—it had been left on overnight, displaying an unfinished drawing.
A golden-haired girl with a graceful figure and a petite white-haired girl leaning against each other. The image radiated a warmth that was hard to put into words.
Noticing her mother's gaze, Eri shook off the last of her drowsiness, leapt nimbly out of bed, and herded her mother toward the door. "I need to change—give me a minute, please."
"You've never been this particular about it before."
Sayuri kept glancing back at the drawing even as she was being ushered out. There was something oddly familiar about it, though she couldn't quite place what.
Once the door was closed, Eri exhaled slowly.
She turned back to the screen and looked at the unfinished piece with a wry smile. Lately, aside from the exhibition preparations, she had poured almost every spare hour into drawing. What started as a simple doujinshi based on the inspirations she'd gathered had somehow drifted into a full-on yuri work—and a disturbingly familiar one at that.
She had noticed something was off, but she wasn't the type to abandon something halfway through. She'd told herself she'd just work on it casually whenever she had time. Instead she kept getting pulled in deeper, and last night she'd drawn straight through until three in the morning—so absorbed she'd completely forgotten about today.
Shaking her head, she closed the monitor screen, changed into her uniform, and went to the bathroom.
By the time she came downstairs, her mother had already set out breakfast.
"So, Eri," Sayuri asked between bites, "how do you think you did on the exams?"
"Pretty well, I'd say."
"Oh?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Sayuri's face. She knew her daughter's academic track record all too well, and that quiet confidence was unexpected.
Eri just smiled smugly. "Wait until I bring the report card home. See for yourself."
She finished breakfast and headed out at a brisk pace—only to spot a familiar figure a short distance ahead.
Her childhood friend: Tomoya Aki.
He noticed her at the same moment.
"Looking for me?" Eri asked, walking up to him. "If it's about that review I owe you, I'll need a bit more time. I've been swamped lately."
"The review can wait. Actually, there's something I wanted to tell you."
He was still organizing his thoughts when a familiar voice rang out from behind them both.
"Eri~"
Before Eri could even turn around, she felt a soft warmth press against her back, and a familiar, faint fragrance drifted to her nose.
Eri arched an eyebrow. She had a strong suspicion that Mio Shirai was showing off—the answer to what she was showing off was self-evident.
After wrapping her arms around Eri, Mio turned as if just now noticing Tomoya, letting a look of theatrical surprise cross her face. "Oh, good morning, Aki-san. It's been a long—wait, no, didn't we just see each other yesterday?"
"G-good morning."
Tomoya gave a helpless look. Whatever he'd been about to say to Eri was clearly not going to happen now.
"What do you mean you saw each other yesterday?" Eri asked, instantly suspicious.
"Yesterday I went out to eat with a friend—turned out to be the restaurant Aki-san works at. The place had a couple's discount, so we pretended to be a couple. Surprisingly, it worked."
"Why am I not surprised."
Mio hadn't bothered to lower her voice, and Tomoya caught every word. But thinking back on those two and their easy intimacy the day before... no matter how you looked at it, it hadn't looked like an act.
"Speaking of which—where's your little shadow today?"
Eri's little shadow naturally meant Mashiro Shiina.
"She's been busy with stuff these past few days."
Mashiro had been consumed by preparations for her art exhibition—even Christmas yesterday had been claimed by it, which was why Mio hadn't spent the holiday with her.
"I see."
Eri was about to bring up Comiket, then caught herself—Tomoya still didn't know Mio was a doujinshi artist. This was obviously not the right moment.
"Anyway, how long do you plan on hugging me?"
"It's been ages, so this is the only way I can recharge my Eri energy." As she said it, Mio nuzzled Eri's cheek, right in front of Tomoya.
The two of them were, to put it simply, a sight to behold.
Tomoya, however, was in no mood to appreciate it. He couldn't shake the feeling that Mio was somehow doing this deliberately—targeting him specifically. Though that was probably self-absorbed thinking. They had no real connection, no history, no reason for her to single him out.
"Alright, alright—let go already, we'll be late."
What Eri didn't notice was that she hadn't really tried to push Mio away. Once upon a time, she would have squirmed even in private, let alone in front of someone like Tomoya. But that discomfort had quietly faded—and if she was being honest with herself, she was starting to enjoy it.
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