"Oh right, I haven't asked you yet—what time's your flight tomorrow?"
Having finished dinner, Shirai Mio asked this as she cleared away the mess, glancing over at Rita.
"Six tomorrow morning. You don't need to get up to see me off—I'll slip away quietly while you're still fast asleep." Rita pretended to be reluctant to leave.
No, she wasn't putting it on—she really was a little reluctant to go. After all, her time living here had felt pretty wonderful, and she especially loved the food Shirai Mio cooked. If it weren't for business calling her back home, she might well have stayed here a while longer.
If she stayed any longer, she'd probably end up truly not wanting to leave at all.
"You're saying the weirdest things. Do I look like the kind of person who'd get up at three or four in the morning to see you off?"
"Nope."
"There, see?"
As if something had come to mind, Rita leaned in close to Shirai Mio and said, "I'm leaving tomorrow. Don't tell me you don't have some sort of gift to give me?"
"I do, actually." Shirai Mio blew Rita a perfunctory kiss, then said, "See? Now that's a thoughtful gift, isn't it?"
"That might work on Mashiro, but for me, how's that any different from nothing at all?"
"I was only joking. I've already got your gift ready. I'll get it for you in a moment."
At Shirai Mio's words, a flicker of curiosity crossed Rita's eyes. "You actually went and prepared a gift for me? You really didn't have to be so polite."
"Then I won't give it to you."
"On second thought, do give it to me."
After some playful back-and-forth, the dishes were soon washed and the kitchen tidied spotless.
Only after making sure everything was in order did Shirai Mio head back to her own room and take out the gift she'd long since prepared for Rita.
Looking at the great big gift box before her, Rita truly couldn't guess what on earth was inside.
"Didn't you say before that you wanted some doujinshi? These are all doujinshi from my collection—consider them your gift."
"You really are giving me doujinshi?" Rita said, somewhat at a loss for words.
Shirai Mio tilted her head. "What else? You're the one who said you wanted them, so naturally I'm giving you exactly what you want most. I'll have you know everything in there is from my personal collection."
"Well... I suppose that works."
Since it was Shirai Mio's collection, might she be able to dig out some of Shirai Mio's kinks from among them?
Rita suddenly found the gift rather meaningful after all.
If she really could ferret out Shirai Mio's kinks, then Shiina Mashiro ought to gain quite the advantage.
At that thought, Rita decisively tucked Shirai Mio's gift away, looking for all the world as though she were afraid Shirai Mio might take the doujinshi back.
"All right, I've given you everything I was going to give you, so I'm off to get some things done. When you head out, remember to keep the noise down and not wake me. And remember to lock the door properly and turn off the lights."
"I know, I know. You really are a nag."
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"Beep beep beep beep."
Deep in sleep, Rita suddenly heard the alarm clock go off, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Getting up in the dead of night felt, honestly, pretty awful; right now she could barely even keep her eyes open.
Still, she knew this was no time to laze in bed, so Rita forced herself to crawl up all the same.
With her luggage already packed, the first thing she did after getting up was to tidy the bed; only after folding the covers neatly did she step out of the room to freshen up.
The moment Rita stepped out of the room, she noticed the living room lights were on.
Had Shirai Mio forgotten to turn off the lights before going to bed?
It wasn't until she reached the living room that she realized there was actually someone there—and that someone was none other than Shirai Mio.
Rita looked at Shirai Mio in some surprise and said, "What are you doing sitting here instead of sleeping?"
"Waiting for you to get up—what else would I be doing? Yawn~" Shirai Mio let out a lazy yawn, then stood and said, "Since you're already up, I'll start getting your breakfast ready."
"Didn't you say you weren't going to get up?"
"Just think of me as a tsundere."
Watching Shirai Mio walk into the kitchen and start making breakfast, Rita suddenly felt her heart skip a beat.
True, she was a straight woman, but she could stand to be a little less straight; if it weren't for the fact that Shiina Mashiro liked Shirai Mio, she might well have made a move on Shirai Mio herself.
What a pity—it seemed she'd met her too late.
Reining in her wandering thoughts, Rita walked to the kitchen and said, "Thanks."
"All right, hurry up and go wash up. Once you're gone I've still got to go back to sleep."
By the time Rita had finished washing up and returned to the living room dragging her suitcase, Shirai Mio had already gotten breakfast ready—or, to be more accurate, a late-night snack.
As she ate her breakfast, Rita said, "You know, you really didn't have to wait up for me here."
"I'm already up anyway, so it's no big deal to wait for you to finish eating too."
"Don't go being so nice to me. I've got no intention of fighting Mashiro over you."
"Hmph." Shirai Mio's lips twitched. As if she'd ever believe a word of what Rita said.
Rita didn't bother explaining. Once she'd finished breakfast, she stood, pulled on her coat, and said to Shirai Mio, "My ride's here, so I'll be off."
"Mm, off you go, off you go."
"I'll be counting on you to look after Mashiro. Barring anything unexpected, there's no way we won't see each other again—once I have the time, I'll definitely come visit you two often."
"Are you sure you're not just coming to mooch free food and drinks?"
"How could you say such a thing? When a friend travels all this way to see you, isn't it perfectly natural to whip up some good food to treat them?" Rita said with a beaming smile.
Shirai Mio gave a soft laugh and said, "Let's talk about it whenever you actually show up."
Just as Rita was about to leave, the door to Shirai Mio's room suddenly opened, and a groggy Shiina Mashiro walked out. Gazing at Rita with bleary eyes, she said, "Goodbye, Rita."
With that, without even waiting for Rita to say anything, Shiina Mashiro turned and went back into the room to sleep.
Watching this unfold, Rita didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
She hadn't expected it—Shirai Mio was one thing, but even Shiina Mashiro had crawled out of bed in the dead of night to say goodbye to her. And here she'd thought she'd be leaving all alone.
Feeling that if she lingered any longer she wouldn't be able to bring herself to go, Rita said her farewell to Shirai Mio and then headed out the door, suitcase in tow.
Shirai Mio followed after her, though only as far as downstairs. Standing in the ground-floor lobby, she watched through the glass as Rita got into the car, and only then did she turn and head back up to her home.
Right now, all she wanted was a good, long sleep.
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