"Next, let's go over the following problem."
Miura Yumiko stared blankly ahead, her mind on what Shirai Mio had just said to her.
Find a way to make her fall for me, huh?
So does that mean my confession counts as a success? Or a failure?
Either way, things hadn't gone in the worst possible direction—and that was enough.
So what should I do to make Shirai Mio fall for me?
Without realizing it, Yumiko's gaze drifted over to Mio.
And once she started looking, she didn't stop until class ended. Only when the bell rang did Yumiko snap to and realize she'd apparently been staring at Mio for a very long time.
Thank goodness Mio hadn't noticed.
Wait—now that I've already laid my feelings bare, does it even matter if Mio catches me looking?
If she was going to make Mio fall for her, she couldn't keep shrinking back like before. She had to take the initiative.
After class, the popular clique gathered around Yumiko as they always did.
Kakeru Tobe shot Yumiko a cautious glance, then looked over at Mio, wearing the expression of someone with something to say but holding it in.
Noticing his odd look, Hayama Hayato gave him a light kick to remind him to mind his words.
Bringing up that chance encounter right now would make things awkward fast.
Still, to be fair—he never would've guessed sparks would fly between Yumiko and Mio, and there was no telling how far their relationship had progressed.
Yui caught the shift in Tobe's expression too. She hesitated, then asked, "Tobe, is there something you want to say?"
At Yui's words, everyone's eyes turned to Tobe as one.
Feeling the weight of all those stares, he forced a couple of dry laughs. "N-nothing, really. Just wondering if we should all go hang out after school or something."
From what Yui knew of Tobe, if he actually wanted to go somewhere, he'd just come out and say it—he wouldn't be hemming and hawing like this.
What he really wanted to say was obviously something else.
Something to do with Mio and Yumiko.
Yui gave Yumiko a long, searching look. She seemed no different from usual on the surface, but come to think of it, Yui hadn't really seen Yumiko hanging around Hayama lately.
Wasn't Yumiko supposed to be into Hayama?
That was exactly why she'd felt at ease whenever Mio spent time with Yumiko.
But if Yumiko's fallen for Mio too...
Feeling Yui's gaze, Yumiko suddenly recalled something—Yui was always clinging to Mio, especially since this term started, forever draping an arm around her or pulling her into a hug.
There were even rumors going around class that the two of them were dating.
Yumiko had good reason to suspect Yui harbored less-than-innocent thoughts about Mio.
But even if Yui was a rival in love, she wasn't about to give up.
Just as the air between the two of them started to turn strange, Hayama spoke up. "So, what did everyone score on this last test?"
"Aagh! Don't ask stuff like that when we're trying to relax!" Tobe clutched his head, the picture of despair.
With Hayama having broken the ice, everyone fell to discussing the test, and for the moment the delicate tension between Yui and Yumiko eased.
······
Before long, noon rolled around.
Before Mio could even pull out her bento, her phone buzzed.
It was a message from Eriri, and the contents were simple—telling her to look out at the hallway.
Mio lifted her head and glanced toward the hall, where she spotted Eriri standing there, waving a bento in her hand. The message couldn't have been clearer.
After saying a quick word to the others, Mio grabbed her bento and stepped out, walking over to Eriri. "What's with the sudden summons? Don't tell me Eriri's finally willing to let me see her new work?"
"Something like that. Let's go to the usual spot."
"Sure."
Bento in hand, the two of them soon arrived at the Art Club activity room.
Once the door was shut and locked, they didn't rush into the doujinshi talk—they ate their bento first.
With lunch out of the way, Eriri finally pulled a kraft envelope from her bag and handed it to Mio.
"Give me your feedback once you've read it."
"Mm."
Mio opened the envelope and slid out the manuscript pages. After studying a few in earnest, she remarked with mild wonder, "I never expected Eriri to start drawing yuri doujinshi too."
Eriri, who hadn't finished eating yet, froze at Mio's words. Her head snapped up. The manuscript she'd brought as cover wasn't yuri at all—it was the childhood-friend pure-love kind she specialized in.
Wait—did I grab the wrong one?
Realizing something was off, Eriri lunged to snatch the pages back from Mio. "Wait—that's not it, I grabbed the wrong one."
"It's already in my hands—at least let me finish reading first."
"N-no, you can't!"
That doujinshi was filled with the things she and Mio had been through together—Mio would see right through it at a glance.
If I let her keep reading, it'll be social death!
At that thought, Eriri abandoned her food entirely and just lunged at Mio.
Mio hadn't expected such a violent reaction from Eriri. Caught completely off guard, she was tackled flat onto the floor—though luckily the pages didn't scatter, since she'd set them off to one side.
"Hm? Why's this manuscript so... soft all of a sudden?"
"Eriri, if you want to do something weird to me, you can just say so. No need to go about it like this."
"Wh-what are you talking about? This was an accident."
Coming to her senses, Eriri yanked her hands back. Looking down at Mio pinned beneath her, she couldn't help thinking: Why do I feel a bit like the lucky-pervert male lead from a harem anime?
Shaking that bizarre sense of déjà vu out of her head, Eriri scrambled to her feet. "Sorry. I just wanted to get the pages back, that's all."
"What's so top-secret about these pages anyway? Don't tell me you secretly drew me in as the heroine?" Sitting up, Mio fixed Eriri with a suspicious look.
"N-no way, how could I?" Eriri forced out a dry laugh, then snatched up the pages where they'd fallen with lightning speed.
Maybe it was her nerves, but Eriri lost her grip as she pulled the pages back, and they fluttered down like a heavenly maiden scattering flowers.
Just like the very first time Mio and Eriri had met.
······