"Onii-sama~"
A soft warmth pressed against Shirayuki from behind.
Rice Shower hugged her, rubbing her cheek against Shirayuki's back like a clingy little cat.
"Good morning, Onii-sama."
"Morning, Rice Shower."
Shirayuki reached back and gently patted her head.
Honestly, she hadn't expected Rice Shower to accept her existence so completely after barely half a month.
Now, Rice Shower didn't only run to Chiya's side. She also came looking for Shirayuki. Compared to Chiya, who spent most of his days buried in office work, Shirayuki was a student, so she ran into Rice Shower much more often.
Their relationship had grown closer through each repeated "Onii-sama."
At first, it had only been simple greetings.
Now? Head-rubbing. Hugs. Clinging.
Rice Shower's behavior toward Shirayuki had already become almost the same as how she acted around Chiya.
Actually, maybe because this was still new to her, Rice Shower had developed a strange little spirit of exploration when it came to Shirayuki.
"Onii-sama's body smells so nice. Did you use some special body wash?" Rice Shower asked, sniffing Shirayuki's hair.
"Just normal body wash."
"Onii-sama's fingers are so soft and slender. They feel so smooth."
"Really? I think Rice Shower's fingers are very cute."
"Hehe. Onii-sama~"
Rice Shower nuzzled against Shirayuki, happily acting spoiled.
Back when Rice Shower hadn't known Shirayuki was Onii-sama, she had always kept her distance. She never let Shirayuki touch her, nor did she ever approach Shirayuki on her own. But now that she knew the truth, all those walls came crashing down. Rice Shower had started clinging to Shirayuki without the slightest restraint.
She enjoyed Shirayuki's sweet scent, her soft fingers, and the smooth warmth of her back. It was a completely different feeling from being with Onii-sama as Chiya. From Shirayuki, Rice Shower felt something almost motherly. A gentle, accepting warmth.
Of course, being spoiled by Onii-sama as a man was wonderful too.
But being spoiled by Shirayuki had its own special flavor.
Still, that also made Rice Shower wonder.
If Shirayuki was Onii-sama, why did the two of them feel so different?
Could it be that they actually weren't the same?
But then Shirayuki showed her that gentle smile and softly stroked Rice Shower's ears.
And just like that, all of Rice Shower's doubts vanished.
That movement.
That expression.
They were exactly the same as Chiya's.
The person in front of her was her Onii-sama. No one could imitate that.
Maybe it was because of the body, Rice Shower thought.
When she was beside Fujiwara Chiya, all she had to do was rub against him a little and he would immediately get flustered.
But with Shirayuki, no matter what Rice Shower did, Shirayuki remained perfectly calm. There was no sign of her getting worked up at all.
Of course, Rice Shower wasn't trying to do anything with Shirayuki. She still liked Onii-sama as a man. As for this female version of Chiya, Rice Shower simply liked her. There were no other feelings mixed in.
That was why Rice Shower concluded that the difference between Shirayuki and Onii-sama must be because of their bodies.
Shirayuki was a girl.
So she wouldn't feel that way toward other girls.
The moment Rice Shower thought that, she suddenly relaxed.
In other words, she didn't need to worry about the female version of Onii-sama getting stolen away?
Recently, Rice Shower had been having nightmares every night.
She kept dreaming that she had pushed her own Onii-sama into Treve's arms. In the dream, the two of them lived happily together, while she curled up alone in some forgotten corner, silently crying.
Now that she knew Shirayuki had no interest in girls that way, Rice Shower's whole life suddenly brightened.
She had not done something that would leave her regretting it for the rest of her life.
Thank goodness the female version of Onii-sama had a maiden's heart!
Rice Shower quietly let out a breath of relief.
These past few days of nightmares had even given her dark circles under her eyes.
Now, she could finally sleep properly.
"Onii-sama, can we go out together this weekend? Rice Shower wants to make up for what happened last time."
"Mm. Sure."
As it happened, Orfevre had also invited Chiya out that weekend.
Since spending the weekend together with Chiya was already impossible anyway, Shirayuki didn't really mind who she went with.
Still, Shirayuki hoped she would get another chance to go out with Chiya.
Recently, her body had been acting stranger and stranger.
There were times when a faint, restless warmth would suddenly rise inside her. At night, she would dream about being together with Chiya, and when she woke up in the morning, her clothes would feel uncomfortably damp, forcing her to head straight to the bathroom.
Shirayuki gently touched her own body.
Her heart thumped faster and faster.
The moment she remembered last night's dream, remembered Chiya holding her tightly in his arms, her thighs gave a small, involuntary tremble.
That feeling came again.
Burning hot.
"Rice Shower, let's hurry. Class is about to start."
"Eh? Mm… okay."
Rice Shower followed behind Shirayuki as they quickly entered the school building.
The moment they stepped inside, Shirayuki rushed straight into the restroom.
A little over ten minutes later, she came back out.
Strands of her pure white hair clung to her forehead.
Her face was flushed as she turned on the tap and rinsed her hands with cool water.
What is wrong with me? Just thinking about it makes me lose my composure like this…
After splashing water on her face, Shirayuki looked at herself in the mirror.
Before she knew it, she reached out and lightly touched the glass.
Beautiful white hair, like hazy moonlight.
Deep sapphire-blue irises.
Soft, graceful lines full of girlish charm.
And atop her head, those fluffy white ears, cute and lovely enough to make anyone stare.
The girl in the mirror had a strange magic to her.
A pull that made it impossible to look away.
Meeting those blue eyes, Shirayuki slid her fingers along the girl's cheek in the glass, as if she were caressing the girl inside the mirror. Her pale hand slowly pressed against the surface, overlapping with the reflection.
Then she saw the girl in the mirror smile.
So cute…
Pink lips.
A delicate face.
The girl before her looked like a dessert waiting to be tasted.
Shirayuki swallowed.
Just as her fingers drifted toward her collar, the class bell rang.
She jolted awake as if from a dream, hurriedly straightened her clothes, grabbed her bag, and rushed toward the classroom.
At noon, after Shirayuki finished making lunch and prepared to deliver it to Chiya, Seiun Sky suddenly wandered in.
"Good afternoon, Shirayuki."
"Sky, did you sleep until now again?"
"No way. Seii-chan is a very hardworking girl. I woke up super early."
"Liar."
"Has Seii-chan ever lied to anyone?"
"Way too many times."
"I never knew Seii-chan's evaluation in Trainer's heart was so low… sniff, sniff."
She pretended to cry for all of two seconds before quickly pulling out the lunchbox hidden behind her back.
"Ta-da!"
"Hm? That's…"
"Lunch Seii-chan prepared for Trainer. Packed full of Seii-chan's feelings, you know."
"For me?"
Shirayuki accepted it.
"So, Trainer? Are you deeply moved?"
"You can cook?"
"What's with that reaction? Seii-chan's cooking skills are great. I'm basically the model of a good wife and wise mother."
"I almost believed you."
"You'll know once you try it, Trainer."
Seiun Sky smiled brightly.
"Since Trainer's lunch is already taken care of, this one belongs to Seii-chan, right?"
As she spoke, Seiun Sky picked up the lunchbox Shirayuki had just finished making.
"If it tastes bad, I'm not paying."
"Relax, dear customer. Satisfaction guaranteed. Come on, let's go to Trainer's place together."
With that, Seiun Sky led Shirayuki out of the room.