"Hm? Isn't that Aki-kun? Didn't expect to run into you here~"
At the sight of Tomoya Aki in a waiter's uniform, Mio blinked in genuine surprise. Last she'd heard, wasn't he working at a different restaurant?
Tomoya was equally surprised — though less by Mio herself, and more by the fact that she was with yet another girl. A different one from last time. Where last time had been an adorable, cutesy-type beauty, this one was a sleek, composed older woman.
And just like last time, the two of them seemed very... close.
"Kouhai, is this someone you know?" Haruno gave him a single disinterested glance.
"Mm. Same school — he sort of counts as your kouhai too~"
"Oh, is he."
Haruno gave a small nod and, once she'd satisfied herself that Mio and the boy were nothing more than ordinary schoolmates, turned her attention back to her phone. As the Yukinoshita heir, she had no shortage of things requiring her attention even on holidays — a fact she deeply resented.
"Aki-kun, spending Christmas working instead of going out with a girl?"
"Yeah, things have been a little expensive lately. Gotta put in the hours."
Winter Comiket was coming up, plus a game he'd been tracking for months was about to release. Income was a priority.
Also — and this was more fundamental — he had zero interest in real-world girls, and no one to spend Christmas with anyway.
He wasn't sure why that suddenly felt a bit... melancholy.
He shook it off, took their order efficiently, and headed back behind the counter.
His senpai materialized beside him almost immediately. "Tomoya-kun, are those two at table thirteen gorgeous or what?"
"...Yeah."
Even Tomoya, who'd sworn off 3D girls entirely, had to concede: both Mio Shirai and the older woman with her were objectively top-tier.
"Get this — they're a couple. The dark-haired one kissed the white-haired one right in front of me! When am I ever going to find a girlfriend like that?"
"...Couple?"
"Yes! Why, is that surprising? Don't tell me even you're having thoughts about real girls now?"
"No chance. Just... surprised."
He genuinely hadn't expected Mio Shirai to be dating someone — let alone some beautiful older woman. Last time he'd run into her, she'd been with a completely different girl.
A thought crossed his mind. Eriri Sawamura had been spending an awful lot of time around Mio lately. He was slightly worried Eriri might become another casualty of whatever Mio had going on. He should probably warn her.
Then again — he'd known Eriri since childhood. She was the straightest girl alive. Mio probably didn't stand a chance.
He was still letting his thoughts wander when a hand landed heavily on his shoulder.
He turned around to find the manager's expression, which required no words.
Tomoya got back to work.
Meanwhile, since this outing was with Haruno and not Eriri or Megumi, Mio didn't have much reason to pay Tomoya any further attention. If she'd been out with either of those two, she might have enjoyed showing off a little. The urge to do that was, admittedly, maybe a teeny-tiny bit twisted.
Cough cough.
She redirected her attention to Haruno, who'd been staring at her phone since they sat down and clearly was not enjoying it.
Makes sense. Getting called for work stuff during a holiday is the worst.
Once Haruno finally set the phone down, Mio asked, "More stuff to deal with, senpai?"
"It's handled."
Haruno clearly didn't want to talk about it. She redirected her gaze toward Tomoya working in the distance. "You seem pretty familiar with that boy, kouhai. You're not secretly collecting guys behind my back, are you?"
"Senpai, even if I were collecting anyone, it would be girls. Not guys."
"Good. If you ever go looking, make sure I'm first on the list~" Haruno rested her chin on one hand, smiling over at Mio.
Anyone else would have been completely stumped by that line. Only Mio could catch and return it this smoothly — Haruno found that genuinely satisfying.
She did find herself wondering, though — Mio's usual pattern was to pull little stunts all the time. But today, not once. Was she not doing anything, or was she doing things Haruno hadn't caught?
What exactly is behind all those little moves of hers? That question was part of why she'd suggested this outing in the first place. At this point, she doubted she'd get her answer today.
"Senpai, any plans after lunch?"
"After lunch — come sleep with me~"
"...???"
Mio stared at her like she'd grown a second head.
"You heard me," Haruno said pleasantly. "I want you to sleep with me."
"Excuse me. I'll see myself out."
She didn't actually move.
"I woke up early this morning," Haruno said, "and I always take an afternoon nap. But napping alone is boring. So I want company. Good enough reason?"
"How are you bored while you're asleep?"
Mio had every reason to suspect this was a trap of some kind.
"Relax. I genuinely just want a nap. I won't do anything weird." Haruno said it with complete sincerity.
Sleeping together was, in fact, one of her goals for today. She stayed over at Mio's place often enough — but with Mashiro Shiina always around, there were certain things she hadn't been able to verify. This was the only real chance to do it.
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