"What a terrifying stare."
Right now, Mio could clearly feel the gaze coming from Yukinoshita Yukino. It couldn't really be helped—she'd run over to ask how to make the other girl blush, then bolted halfway through, after all. If she'd known, she would've used a [Slacking-Off Card] the moment she woke up this morning. It was always like this: the more she didn't want tasks to show up, the more they did.
"I keep feeling like Yukinoshita-san's been staring over here this whole time~" Yuigahama Yui glanced toward where Yukinoshita Yukino sat. She was looking in their direction, sure, but Yui couldn't shake the feeling that Yukino was really looking at Mio. And there was something strange about the look in her eyes.
At Yui's words, Mio cleared her throat. "So, um, where are we headed next?"
Miura Yumiko checked the time. "By the time we leave the cat café it'll be lunchtime, but since we just had dessert, none of us will feel like eating. So I think we could catch a movie or something, and by the time it's over it'll be just right for a meal."
"Works for me."
"No objections here either." As far as Yuigahama Yui was concerned, anywhere was fine as long as she got to be with Mio. There was no way she'd leave Mio alone with Miura Yumiko, that was for sure.
Meanwhile, seated not far away, Yukinoshita Yukino was seriously mulling over Mio's every move earlier. Suddenly asking how to make her blush, then just as suddenly dropping the question—it didn't look like giving up. It looked more like Mio had noticed her blushing, which was why, on her way out, she'd told her to remember the cat-petting reward.
As for petting Mio herself—that hadn't even crossed her mind. Though if Mio put on cat ears, that might actually be rather nice. The thought had barely surfaced before Yukinoshita Yukino banished it. She figured Mio's words must have gotten to her—otherwise how could such an utterly bizarre notion have popped into her head?
Even if Mio's departure had a reasonable explanation, she still didn't understand why Mio wanted to make her blush in the first place. What could Mio possibly gain from her being embarrassed? She'd had this same feeling once before, at Mio's home—being suddenly asked to help "gather material" for something.
Just then, Yukinoshita Yukino noticed Mio's group had risen and looked ready to leave the cat café. After a moment's hesitation, she decided not to follow after them. Compared to her curiosity, petting cats felt just a little more important. Come to think of it, when she had time she could always go to Mio's place and pet Cake—Mio had told her not to forget that reward, after all.
Elsewhere, having left the cat café, Mio followed the other two to the movie theater. And then the two of them fell into a disagreement over what kind of movie to watch. Mio didn't much care, though—as far as she was concerned, anything but a horror film was fine.
In the end, after a fierce battle known as "rock-paper-scissors," Yuigahama Yui came out the winner, and she promptly chose a romance film. Miura Yumiko had wanted a suspense film—the kind with just a touch of horror, since in those moments Mio usually clung to her for dear life. A shame she'd lost; she'd just have to wait for next time. But no matter—next time would be when she got Mio all to herself.
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"So, um, could you two let go of my arms now?" Stepping out of the screening room, Mio looked at the pair beside her with a smile.
From the moment the movie started, the two had—as if by agreement—each latched onto one of her arms. At first it was fine; nothing much happened. But as the plot unfolded, one of them—no telling who—got worked up and yanked her hard, and just like that, a tug-of-war broke out between them. Thankfully, both knew how delicate Mio's body was, so neither dared pull too hard.
After the movie, the three of them went to a nearby restaurant. Even after a whole movie's worth of time, none of them felt particularly hungry, so in the end they just grabbed a light bite and called it lunch.
For the afternoon, after a quick discussion, the three settled on karaoke as their final stop of the day. Mio had assumed the two would launch into some kind of singing showdown, and she'd already braced herself to just coast along—but to her surprise, they actually tried to get her to sing with them. Unfortunately, even though she'd been in this world for a good while now, there still weren't many of its songs she actually knew how to sing. So in the end it turned into a singing duel between the two of them after all.
Mio noticed that, apart from turning fiercely competitive whenever something involving her was at stake, the two were otherwise no different from usual. She suddenly felt a pang of deep guilt.
Before they knew it, it was already five in the afternoon. The fun karaoke session came to an end, with the two ultimately finishing in a draw.
"Next time, it definitely won't be a draw," Miura Yumiko said, her voice hoarse.
"That's my line," Yuigahama Yui shot back, refusing to be outdone.
Sparks all but flew between the two of them.
Mio gave them a helpless look. "When you get home, remember to have something soothing for your throats. Don't go wrecking your voices." She'd tried to get them to ease up earlier while they were singing, too, but it hadn't done any good.
At her words, Yuigahama Yui gave a little nod, then said, "Um, do you want to come over to my place for dinner tonight? My mom's been saying she hasn't seen you in ages."
"My sister misses you too, so why not come to mine instead?"
Seeing the air between the two turn tense again, Mio cleared her throat. "Um, I think I'll just head home tonight. I've got several hungry mouths waiting to be fed back there."
Having smoothed things over with the two of them, Mio finally set off toward her apartment. By the time she got back, the sky outside had already grown dark.
She'd just slipped into her indoor shoes when a knock came at the door. The only person who'd knock at this hour was probably Yukinoshita Haruno—she was the only one around here without a key to the place. It wasn't that Mio wouldn't give her one; she'd just forgotten to get a copy made.
When Mio opened the door, the person before her was indeed a Yukinoshita—but not Yukinoshita Haruno. It was Yukinoshita Yukino.
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