"S-Senpai?"
Shirai Mio stared blankly at Yukinoshita Haruno standing in her doorway. She'd just called to say she'd be back late today—so why was she suddenly here at the door?
Maybe Mio's expression was a little too obvious, because Yukinoshita Haruno let out a soft laugh. "Things wrapped up early, so naturally I came back early. Aren't you surprised?"
"A little, yeah." Right now Mio was endlessly grateful that Yukinoshita Haruno didn't have a key to her place.
If she'd just pushed the door open and walked in, she'd have caught Yukinoshita Yukino draped over her—and Mio didn't even dare imagine what would've happened then.
She glanced back at the living room, a little guiltily. Yukinoshita Yukino had already gone back to petting the cat, as if nothing had happened at all.
That let Mio quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
Just as she was about to wave Yukinoshita Haruno inside, Haruno suddenly leaned in close, eyes narrowing. "Why do I get the feeling my kouhai's looking a little guilty?"
"Me, guilty? No way. You're overthinking it, Senpai."
An elegant little smile curved Mio's lips. The more she dodged right now, the easier it'd be to make Yukinoshita Haruno suspicious.
Yukinoshita Haruno studied her cheek carefully.
And just as Mio started wondering whether she'd let something slip, she felt something soft press against her cheek.
She turned her head, startled, to find Yukinoshita Haruno smiling at her—and only then did it click that she'd probably just walked right into a trap.
"Senpai, that's s*xual harassment, you know."
"Sorry. My kouhai was just too cute, so I couldn't help myself."
Like Mio would buy that line. This wicked woman was definitely just trying to tease her.
And wasn't Haruno being a little too bold? Her little sister was right there petting the cat. If she got caught, it'd be awfully hard to explain.
Mio shot Yukinoshita Haruno a look, then led her back to the living room.
Seeing her older sister, Yukinoshita Yukino—still petting the cat—felt a flicker of panic cross her eyes. But she couldn't bear to disturb the cat curled up in her lap, so she just forced a calm expression and greeted her sister.
"Weren't you not coming back this early?"
"Why are you asking the same question as my kouhai?" For once, Yukinoshita Haruno let a little dry retort slip.
"So—was there a reason you called me over?"
"Nothing special, really. I just didn't want you getting bored stuck here all by yourself."
Hearing that, Yukinoshita Yukino frowned slightly. She didn't quite believe her sister had called her over just for that.
"Senpai was worried you'd go stir-crazy cooped up at home all day," Mio cut in, "so she asked me for a few photos of Cake."
Mio hadn't even finished before she felt Yukinoshita Haruno's gaze land on her—but she carried on as if she hadn't noticed a thing. "And she wanted to see you once before the new term starts. In other words, she's worried about you."
With that, Mio promptly made her escape.
Because if she stuck around any longer—well, she'd already felt the way Yukinoshita Haruno was looking at her turn more and more dangerous.
Watching Mio's fleeing back, Yukinoshita Haruno couldn't help the faint smile tugging at her lips. A moment ago she'd been acting like she feared neither heaven nor earth, and now look at her. This little kouhai really was interesting.
Noticing the smile on her sister's face, Yukinoshita Yukino was a little startled. It had been a long time since she'd seen that expression.
It seemed that ever since she started seeing Shirai Mio, her sister really had changed quite a bit.
Just then, as if something had occurred to her, Yukinoshita Yukino said, "Sis. Shirai sometimes needs someone to act scenes out with when she's writing scripts. If you've got the time, play along with her more often."
"Hm?"
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Meanwhile, Shirai Mio had just gotten back to her room when a chill ran through her—not from the temperature, but from the distinct feeling that someone had her in their sights.
Maybe she'd heard the door open, because Shiina Mashiro, who'd been napping on Mio's bed, slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Mio, she mumbled drowsily, "Mio, are you coming to sleep too?"
"I just came to check on you. Did I wake you?"
Shiina Mashiro shook her head gently, then hugged Mio's pillow and closed her eyes again.
To avoid waking Mashiro, Mio tiptoed over to the desk and sat down. She figured she'd wait ten-odd minutes before going back out to check on things.
But right then, the System's voice piped up in her ear. "Yoo-hoo~ I'm baack."
"Can I pretend I didn't hear you?"
"Dame~ I've got actual business with the host this time."
"That's exactly why I don't want to hear your voice!" Mio sighed mournfully.
With this many people around, no matter whose task got triggered, it was bad news for her.
And the task she least wanted to trigger was, of course, anything involving Yukinoshita Yukino.
There were three System-assigned targets in her home, and she'd just finished a Yukinoshita Yukino task. By all rights, it shouldn't be Yukinoshita Yukino again.
Turns out, Mio had overestimated her luck.
"Host, find a way to hold hands with Yukinoshita Yukino for ten consecutive minutes before she leaves. Letting go at any point resets the timer. Success may reward the Yukinoshita Yukino Card Set or an item reward. Failure means drawing from the Penalty Card Set."
"Why does it have to be handholding?!"
"What's wrong with handholding? It's so simple, and it only has to last ten minutes. For the host, that's gotta be a piece of cake, right?"
Mio's mouth twitched. If it were only Yukinoshita Yukino, the task really could count as fairly easy. But with Yukinoshita Haruno around, any task involving Yukinoshita Yukino got bumped straight up to hell difficulty.
Holding hands for ten minutes without Yukinoshita Haruno noticing—as far as Mio was concerned, that was flat-out impossible.
She could practically picture the grisly fate awaiting her if Yukinoshita Haruno caught on.
After mulling it over, Mio decided she'd at least give it a shot. If it really didn't work, she could decide whether to use a [Freebie Card] to clear it outright, or just let the task fail.
If she didn't even try, she'd never quite be able to let it go.
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