Mejiro Dober gently washed Shirayuki's back.
Although the two of them had been living together for a while now, this was the first time Dober had seen Shirayuki like this.
She still remembered the day she had been told she would be getting a roommate. She had been so nervous she almost did not want to return to her room at all. Then, hearing a sound, she had opened the door anxiously and found Fujiwara Shirayuki kneeling outside.
Even if the pose had been rather strange, Dober had still been captivated by the white-haired girl who looked like she had stepped out of a fairy tale. Her delicate features, slender frame, and almost unreal presence had all left a deep impression on her.
After speaking with her, Dober came to understand Shirayuki's simple and sincere reasons for coming to Tracen. She had seemed so earnest that it was almost endearing. Even back then, Dober had wanted to become very good friends with her.
Of course, with Dober's personality, that was not the sort of thing she could ever say out loud. She could only keep that subtle distance between them.
Then one day, Shirayuki suddenly suggested helping her overcome her fear of crowds, and even her fear of men. From that moment on, the distance between them shrank rapidly. Outside of class, they were almost always together, and that was when Dober's feelings toward Shirayuki began to change.
At first, Shirayuki had been a close friend and a valued junior.
Then, gradually, she became like a little sister.
Dober had thought those days would continue until graduation.
But then Shirayuki said something that changed everything once again.
She said she had never seen men as romantic partners.
Hearing that was like being struck by lightning.
From that point on, all kinds of tangled thoughts began to stir in Dober's mind.
What if… the reason Shirayuki had done so much for her was because her feelings went beyond ordinary friendship?
Dober knew what Shirayuki was like. McQueen had said many times that Shirayuki was kind to everyone, the sort of person who naturally got along well with others. Maybe Dober was no exception.
But even so, part of Dober wanted to believe that Shirayuki's kindness toward her was special.
Even though their time together had not been all that long, Dober had already realized that her world was full of this little white-haired girl. Every time Shirayuki called her "onee-chan," it touched something deep inside her, the part of her that had always longed to become someone dependable and mature.
In Shirayuki's eyes, Dober had found a kind of value in herself.
The value of being an older sister.
And perhaps, something more than that.
In the bathroom, while watching Fujiwara Shirayuki tremble slightly under her touch, Dober leaned in a little closer.
She had helped Ryan and Bright wash their backs before, but neither of them had reacted like this. Ryan had simply laughed it off, while Bright's expression had been a little teasing.
But Shirayuki was different.
It was as though even the gentlest touch affected her more than it should.
As Dober carefully moved the towel over her shoulders, waist, and arms, Shirayuki's reactions kept changing. Dober stole a glance at her face from the side and saw that it had already turned bright red.
She was embarrassed.
At that moment, Dober became more and more convinced that Shirayuki did not see her in the same way she saw everyone else.
Perhaps Shirayuki truly did hold special feelings for her.
The thought made Dober both excited and nervous. At last, she lowered her hands.
"Shirayuki, I'm done."
"…Ah, thank you, Dober-onee-chan."
Her voice sounded a little unsteady.
"Do you want to soak in the bath now?"
"Yeah."
"I'll join you."
"…Eh?"
It took Shirayuki a moment to fully process what she had just heard. Her ears twitched upright.
"But the tub is small. If you want to use it, I can wait."
"Two people can fit."
"Two people!?"
Shirayuki's voice had started to sound genuinely flustered now.
Ever since earlier, she had been gripping her ring tightly and reminding herself over and over that she was Fujiwara Shirayuki, that she absolutely could not let her thoughts wander in the wrong direction. Even Chiya's side had already shut down and gone off to sleep in an attempt to keep things under control.
And yet the restless heat in her body still refused to settle.
It was becoming impossible to ignore.
At this point, Shirayuki was beginning to suspect that this had nothing to do with Chiya's side at all.
Was it possible that this body itself was simply more affected by girls?
There was no way for her to know. That was the sort of question you would have to ask the Three Goddesses themselves.
Right now, she was too overwhelmed to think clearly about any of it.
Dober had already cornered her.
"It's fine. Look, the tub is plenty big. I'll get in first, and then you can sit in front."
Shirayuki could not find any words at all.
Was that really something people did?
"It's normal, isn't it? Older sisters and younger sisters bathe together all the time."
That may have been true in theory, but in their case, things felt anything but simple.
At this point, this no longer felt like a bath.
It felt like a test of endurance.
Shirayuki had come in wanting to relax, but Dober had managed to turn the whole thing into something completely different.
She had repeated form is emptiness, emptiness is form in her mind so many times that the phrase had lost all meaning. At this point, there was nothing left that could stop her thoughts from wandering.
Dober tested the water with her toes, confirmed that the temperature was just right, and slowly stepped into the bath. Then she looked up and reached out her hand.
"Shirayuki, come in."
The sight before Shirayuki's eyes was almost too much to bear. Bathed in steam and light, Dober looked so beautiful that the image nearly made Shirayuki's mind go blank.
And then, suddenly, a warm sensation spread across her face.
A thin stream of blood trickled from her nose.
"Sh-Shirayuki!?" Dober's eyes widened. "You're bleeding!"
Shirayuki touched her face and looked down at her fingers.
Red.
Not only that, but she had already felt faint for a while now. The bathroom was hot, and her body was even hotter. Her mind had started to drift long before this happened.
Only then did Fujiwara Shirayuki fully realize it.
Whether it was Chiya or Shirayuki, the people who could truly affect her had always been women.
The world tilted.
And then everything went dark.
When she woke up again, it was already past midnight.
She slowly opened her eyes and found a light blanket draped over her. A small bedside lamp cast a soft glow through the room.
She tried to move, but a gentle hand touched her forehead.
"Shirayuki."
At the sound of that voice, she turned and saw Mejiro Dober sitting beside the bed in white pajamas.
"Dober-onee-chan… what happened to me?"
"You fainted," Dober replied. "The school nurse said the bathroom was too hot and you passed out from the heat."
"I… see."
Lying there, Shirayuki more or less understood what had happened.
Agnes Tachyon had once told her that her skin was almost like a baby's. Which meant her body did not regulate heat as well, and she was more likely to overheat in hot environments.
Back then, Tachyon had warned her not to stay in hot baths for too long.
She had only given a vague answer and never really taken it seriously.
Now it seemed Tachyon had been completely right.
"…Sorry," Shirayuki murmured. "I caused you trouble, Dober-onee-chan."
"I'm the one who should apologize," Dober said hurriedly. "This is my fault. I caused all of this."
At the root of it all, Shirayuki had fainted because of her.
Dober had wanted to test something, to see whether Shirayuki truly had feelings for her that went beyond simple friendship. And the result had been painfully obvious. Shirayuki had gotten so flustered she had fainted on the spot.
That left Dober with mixed feelings.
She was happy, because it meant Shirayuki's feelings really might be special.
But she also felt awful, because Shirayuki had literally collapsed because of her.
After fetching the nurse and confirming that Shirayuki was alright, Dober had stayed by her bedside the entire time, waiting for her to wake up.
It had taken three full hours.
Dober lightly touched Shirayuki's forehead, checking her temperature again.
"Is there anything you want to eat?"
"No…"
"I see… Then do you have any plans tomorrow? Do you want to go out together?"
"I already made plans with friends."
"Friends? Who?"
"Special Week. And her senpai, Silence Suzuka."
Since it was two people, Dober found herself relaxing a little.
Right now, she was very uneasy about Shirayuki going out alone with any girl.
Dober glanced at the time. It was already eleven at night.
Fainting did not count as proper sleep. She reached out and gently fixed Shirayuki's hair.
"Try to sleep a little more," she said softly. "When you come back tomorrow, we can talk."
"Then I'll sleep a little longer, Dober-onee-chan."
Fujiwara Shirayuki closed her eyes again.
Her head still felt slightly dizzy.
She found herself wondering whether poor heat tolerance would affect her future races. That thought lingered in her mind as she drifted off once more.
Watching Shirayuki's breathing gradually even out, Mejiro Dober stood up.
Now that she more or less understood Shirayuki's feelings, and since she herself did not reject that kind of relationship at all, perhaps the next step was not impossible.
In fact, she thought feelings between girls might even be more honest and pure.
Still, if they truly wanted to confirm each other's feelings, there were still two obstacles.
One was the opinion of the head of the Mejiro family, meaning Dober's parents.
The other was Shirayuki's cousin, Fujiwara Chiya, who was also Dober's trainer.
What exactly would those people think of the relationship between the two of them?
Once Shirayuki was fully asleep, Dober brushed the strands of white hair away from her face and quietly admired her sleeping expression for a while.
Then she took off her shoes and lay down beside her.
It was not because she wanted to take advantage of Shirayuki.
It was just in case something happened during the night, she wanted to notice immediately.
Besides, sleeping while hugging your little sister was a perfectly ordinary thing, wasn't it? Back when relatives came to stay at their house, Ryan-onee-chan had held her like that too.
The only difference now was that Dober had become the older sister.
Thinking that to herself, Dober turned and looked at Fujiwara Shirayuki, who had curled up like a small child. Then she gently pulled her into her arms.
So soft.
So warm.
Like hugging a small animal.
Breathing in Shirayuki's familiar scent, Mejiro Dober finally fell asleep.
Morning came with the sound of birdsong.
Shirayuki slowly opened her eyes and looked toward the bright window.
What time is it?
She squinted at the clock on the wall. On Chiya's side, he had apparently stayed up too late playing games, so he was still fast asleep. His side was a blur of darkness, and from time to time strange shapes drifted through his mind.
Was that… a dream?
Probably.
Those images were not appearing in front of her eyes but floating in her mind. Even if their consciousness was connected, each brain still had its own state of operation.
Right now, Chiya was dreaming.
It was annoying, but if she forcefully woke him, then she would also understand firsthand how miserable sleep deprivation felt.
She could only put up with it for now.
Shirayuki shook her head and tried to ignore it.
Then she noticed a hand resting on her shoulder.
Looking at the pale, slender hand, Fujiwara Shirayuki slowly turned around and saw Mejiro Dober in white pajamas, pressed against her back.
She was holding Shirayuki in her arms like a child clutching a pillow.
Seriously… this first thing in the morning!?
Shirayuki instantly became fully awake.
Still half-asleep, Dober's hand had started to move on its own, drifting absentmindedly along her waist and chest while she murmured something that sounded vaguely like "snow."
I've somehow ended up being the passive one… No, that's not the issue here!
Shirayuki quickly caught her hand and stopped her before things got any stranger.
The moment Shirayuki touched her, Dober opened her eyes.
At first, all she saw was a blur of white.
Then a pair of bright blue eyes came into focus.
"G-Good morning, Dober-onee-chan."
"…Shirayuki…"
She said it almost like a sigh. Then, still not fully awake, she tightened her arms around Shirayuki's neck and shifted even closer.
Looking like a body pillow trapped in someone else's embrace, Shirayuki hurriedly called out, "Dober-onee-chan, wake up already, wake up!"
She had never in her life been this physically close to another girl before. It felt like all the impossible things fate had denied her were suddenly being dumped on her at once.
That was when Dober finally came back to her senses.
The instant she realized what position they were in, time seemed to freeze for two full seconds.
"Shirayuki!?"
She let go in a panic, only to realize their legs were still tangled together. She jerked her legs back, rolled away, bumped into the wall, and finally stood up in total confusion.
"I was worried something might happen to you during the night, so I slept beside you. That's all. I didn't mean anything else!"
"I know, I know. Just calm down first."
The two of them ended up sitting at opposite sides of the bed.
It took almost half a minute before Shirayuki's racing nerves finally settled down. Then she looked over at Dober, whose face was still red.
"Dober-onee-chan."
"W-What is it, Shirayuki?"
"I'm heading out with Special Week and the others today. I'll be back later."
"Alright. Be careful."
"I'm leaving, then."
"Do you have everything you need?"
"Yes."
"Come back early…"
Shirayuki got dressed and left the room as though the awkwardness from earlier had not really bothered her that much.
Listening to the sound of the door closing, Dober slowly lay back down on the bed.
She buried her face in Shirayuki's pillow and breathed in the lingering scent there.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly grabbed her phone and made a call.
"Bright."
"Oh my, what is it, Dober?"
"I want to bring something to visit Shirayuki's cousin. What do you think I should bring?"
"Shirayuki's cousin… Trainer Chiya? Isn't he your trainer too?"
"That's true, but this time I'm not thinking of him as my trainer…"
"I see. Then let's meet first. Are you at school?"
"I'm in the dorm."
"I'll come find you in a little while."
After that, the call ended.