"I can let Mashiro slide, but why are you acting like a little kid too, senpai?"
Mio finished straightening her nearly-slipped yukata, then shot Haruno a resentful look.
"Because it's fun, obviously. Didn't I look exactly like a jealous little girl just now? I was trying really hard to give off proper girlish charm, you know," Haruno said, beaming.
Girlish charm was the last thing Mio had picked up on—all she'd sensed was the wicked woman's malice.
Neither of them had bothered to keep their voices down, so naturally the people around them heard every word.
Though Haruno's remarks sounded like they were purely to tease Mio, in Sengoku Chihiro's eyes things weren't quite so simple.
Originally she'd only half-suspected that Haruno had some kind of designs on Mio—but now she was growing more and more certain of it.
Yukinoshita Haruno definitely had some special kind of interest in Mio.
Once, while drinking with Hiratsuka Shizuka, the two of them had talked about what sort of lover Haruno would eventually choose. They'd gone on for ages and floated no shortage of guesses.
But she really hadn't imagined Haruno would actually pick a girl.
Picking a girl, fine—the problem was that her own cousin had that very same kind of interest in Mio.
Ugh, her head hurt. Her head really hurt.
Seeing Chihiro clutching her head with a look like she'd lost all will to live, Hiratsuka Shizuka asked, puzzled, "What's the matter with you?"
"Nothing. Just still not sober yet."
"Hmph. Whose bright idea was it to get into a drinking contest with Haruno?"
"As if you didn't get demolished yourself."
The two of them traded a silent glance, then by unspoken agreement chose to stop wounding each other.
Having finished dinner, the group didn't go soak in the hot spring—a lot of people would be there at this hour, and Mio didn't like baring her body in a crowded place, so she decided to go later.
Haruno and Shiina Mashiro, who'd planned to stay glued to Mio anyway, naturally followed her back to the room.
As for the two drunkards, Chihiro and Hiratsuka Shizuka, they went straight back to their own room to sleep it off.
In the inn room, Mio lay sprawled lazily on the bed, scrolling through her phone.
Meanwhile Haruno and Shiina Mashiro were busy keeping each other in check, which for once afforded Mio a rare bit of peace and quiet.
"Mio, what are you up to?"
Looking at the message Yuigahama Yui had sent, Mio thought for a moment, then snapped a photo from some random angle and fired it back.
Then she typed: "Just messing around on my phone in my room."
The photo of Mio looked great, but the sharp-eyed Yuigahama Yui still spotted, in the background, Shiina Mashiro and Yukinoshita Haruno locked in a staredown.
She'd known Shiina Mashiro had gone along on the trip—she just hadn't expected Yukinoshita Haruno to be there too.
Come to think of it, that older girl seemed to spend an awful lot of time around Mio.
Just as she was wondering what to send Mio next, in the popular clique's group chat, Tobe Kakeru suddenly popped up.
He aired his grievances about how mind-numbingly boring it was back at his hometown, then asked how everyone else was doing.
Then Yuigahama Yui watched as Mio posted into the group the very same photo she'd just sent her.
Elsewhere, Miura Yumiko—lying in the kotatsu like a beached salted fish—sat bolt upright the moment she saw the photo Mio had posted.
She'd noticed the two figures in the background as well.
One of them she recognized—Mio's neighbor, Shiina Mashiro. But who was the other one, that gorgeous, mature older girl?
Seeing her little sister's expression suddenly turn deadly serious, Miura Yumiko's older sister asked, full of curiosity, "Yumiko, what's with the sudden serious face? Don't tell me your little girlfriend just texted you?"
Miura Yumiko shot her sister a venomous glare, hesitated for a moment, and in the end still didn't send a message to ask.
If it had been a guy, fine—but it was just some girl who'd shown up. What on earth was she getting so worked up about? It's not like there are that many girls into girls out there anyway.
Someone else just as surprised as Miura Yumiko was Hayama Hayato.
A couple of days back he'd tried to ask Yukinoshita Haruno out to hang around or something, only for her to turn him down flat, saying she had something important to take care of.
Getting shot down by her wasn't exactly a first for him, so he hadn't thought much of it.
What Hayama Hayato hadn't expected was that the "important thing" Haruno had mentioned turned out to be going off to soak in a hot spring with Mio.
Somehow, it felt like Yukinoshita Haruno had taken an enormous interest in Mio.
Right now, Hayama Hayato was endlessly grateful that Mio was a girl—otherwise, his dream would've been shattered.
Only... what exactly was this unease in his heart all about?
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"Feels like it's about time. If we go soak now, there shouldn't be too many people left."
Having chatted with everyone for a good while, Mio rubbed her slightly sore eyes, then rolled off the bed and glanced at the two still locked in their staredown.
Just how long had it been now? Weren't these two getting tired?
Mio simply bonked each of them once on the head. "Come on. Time for the hot spring."
"Okay," the two answered in unison.
Just as Mio had guessed, there were hardly any guests left in the hot spring at this hour. Soon after the three of them went in, the last few remaining guests all filed out together too.
That gave Mio the feeling of having the whole place to herself once again.
If only the two beside her could behave themselves a little, it'd be even better.
Seemingly sensing Mio's kindly gaze, Haruno cleared her throat twice, then asked with feigned nonchalance, "By the way—does my little kouhai have any plans for tomorrow?"
"Sleeping. Sleeping until I wake up on my own!" Mio said without an instant's hesitation.
They'd finally come all this way for a vacation, with no need to drag herself up early to make breakfast or anything—of course she was going to sleep her fill.
That said, Mio had a sneaking feeling her body clock would still drag her awake right on schedule.
"Want me to sleep with you tonight?" Haruno's words sounded like they were addressed to Mio, but her eyes were fixed on Shiina Mashiro.
And then, sure enough, Shiina Mashiro latched onto Mio's arm and leveled a wary stare at Haruno.
"Is teasing little girls really that fun?"
"Fun? Of course it's fun." Mainly, Mio herself was hard to tease—so for the sake of her own amusement, Haruno was making do with teasing Shiina Mashiro instead.
It was both teasing and a probe.
From everything she'd observed, she could now basically confirm it: Shiina Mashiro's feelings for Mio went well beyond friendship.
This white-haired little kouhai really was popular, wasn't she.
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