Early the next morning, Mejiro Dober was woken by the pleasant sound of birdsong. She opened her eyes in a daze and yawned.
Her mood was terrible. She had a really unpleasant dream.
In the dream, she had been walking with Shirayuki when someone suddenly covered her eyes and dragged her into a room. When she opened her eyes again, Mejiro Dober found Shirayuki sitting in front of her, unable to move. A person wearing a mask started getting far too close to Shirayuki, and the room was filled with sounds Dober did not want to hear. She wanted to resist, but her body would not move. All she could do was watch helplessly as her dear little sister was pulled further and further into that person's pace.
Just before the dream ended, Mejiro Dober saw the masked person remove their hood, revealing waist-length brown hair. That person held Shirayuki's face close and softly said, "Yuki-chan~"
Mejiro Dober knew it was only a dream, but she still hated the feeling, especially Shirayuki's voice. It had sounded far too real.
Rubbing her head, Mejiro Dober let out a long breath and tried to forget the unpleasant dream. She turned to look for Shirayuki beside her, only to see a raised blanket.
This child really didn't sleep properly at all. She had hidden her whole body under the covers.
With a small smile, Mejiro Dober patted the blanket. "Shirayuki, wake up, Shirayuki."
Usually, Fujiwara Shirayuki was the one who woke everyone up. Today, things were completely reversed.
After calling twice and getting no response, Mejiro Dober suddenly felt the urge to play a prank. If she secretly slipped into Shirayuki's blanket and pretended to be asleep, Shirayuki would definitely be shocked when she woke up.
Thinking this, Mejiro Dober showed a mischievous smile and quietly pulled open Shirayuki's blanket, preparing to crawl inside. At that moment, she faintly sensed that something was wrong.
There was someone else inside.
She suddenly pulled the blanket open.
Then Mejiro Dober saw a scene that almost shattered her mind.
Grass Wonder and Shirayuki were pressed close together. Their legs were tangled slightly, and their ankles overlapped beneath the blanket.
That alone would not have been too serious. The real problem was their position. Grass Wonder's shirt had come loose in her sleep, revealing the camisole underneath, while Fujiwara Shirayuki's face was buried against her chest. There was even a faint glimmer at the corner of Shirayuki's mouth, as though she had been sleeping far too comfortably there.
Boom.
It was as if a bomb had gone off inside Mejiro Dober's head. She needed a full two seconds to understand what exactly she was seeing.
Then, immediately after that:
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
A piercing scream tore through the seaside dorm.
...
"Last night, Grass and I were both half-asleep! I mistook her for a pillow. As for why we were in the same futon, maybe one of us came back from the bathroom and got into the wrong one. There were five futons last night, after all, so it's very possible someone got confused and went to the fourth one by mistake. Right, Grass?"
Grass Wonder lightly touched her cheek, the corners of her mouth raised. Ever since waking up, she had kept that expression. She usually smiled like this too, but today, anyone could tell that her smile was filled with bright sunshine.
"When I came back from the bathroom, I somehow went to the wrong place and accidentally got into Yuki-chan's futon. I'm sorry for troubling you, Yuki-chan."
"N-No problem... We just accidentally slept beside each other for one night. It's nothing serious."
Fujiwara Shirayuki laughed awkwardly and looked toward Mejiro Dober. Dober's face was full of suspicion, but under Fujiwara Shirayuki's explanation, she still chose to believe it for now.
For now, she would treat it as two people sleepily ending up in the same futon. But that position was still too much. Even now, thinking about it made Mejiro Dober's face burn. The way those two had been tangled together perfectly displayed everything Dober had once imagined about girls' affection. But why was the one tangled with Shirayuki Grass Wonder and not her? That was what Mejiro Dober could not accept.
"That is what happened. I apologize for causing you to misunderstand, Dober-senpai."
"N-No... it's fine."
Fujiwara Shirayuki also apologized. Then she lifted her head and secretly looked at Grass Wonder. The other girl was clearly following Shirayuki's lead and continuing the fabricated story. Both of them knew the truth.
Just as Fujiwara Shirayuki looked over, Grass Wonder happened to be looking at her too. Two pairs of blue eyes met. Fujiwara Shirayuki vaguely heard Grass give a soft "fufufu" laugh.
That almost teasing sound made Fujiwara Shirayuki's face redden. She remembered what had happened last night, when Grass Wonder had held her so close that she could barely move.
Who would have thought that simply being trapped together beneath the blanket could send such a strong shock through her mind? It had made her blood rush uncontrollably. Not only that, Grass Wonder had also pulled Shirayuki's head into her arms. The scent of soap mixed with a pleasant floral fragrance had made Fujiwara Shirayuki's mind grow dizzy.
Under the double influence of scent and warmth, Fujiwara Shirayuki's rationality had gradually fallen behind. Borrowing the moonlight, Fujiwara Shirayuki had slowly moved closer to Grass Wonder's chest. In the end, she had lost control and buried her face there, breathing deeply in a daze.
She might even have brushed against her once or twice without thinking. Of course, only very lightly. Very soon, Fujiwara Shirayuki had come back to herself and immediately stopped. At the time, Grass Wonder had been holding her entire head close, so she probably had not noticed anything.
Probably. At least on the surface, Grass Wonder had shown no reaction.
As for why Grass Wonder had done those things last night, apparently it was because she wanted them to be lifelong best friends.
Fujiwara Shirayuki was actually very willing to accept that. Grass Wonder was beautiful, gentle, and elegant. She had the air of a standard Yamato Nadeshiko and was almost impossible to criticize.
But no matter how she looked at it, what happened last night had already gone beyond the range of ordinary best friends. Holding each other that closely, tangling together under the blanket, and whispering like that. Did best friends really do those things?
Fujiwara Shirayuki did not know. After all, there was still a considerable difference between her, a girl by circumstance, and girls who had been girls from birth. She was still learning many things as she went.
In any case, even though both were friends, Grass Wonder and Spe-chan gave her completely different feelings. When Spe-chan kissed her cheek, Fujiwara Shirayuki felt deep friendship between them. But when she was held by Grass Wonder, what she felt was a restless itch in her heart.
However, Fujiwara Shirayuki could not tell whether that was Grass Wonder's problem or her own. After all, once Grass Wonder held her close, she had not really done anything else. At most, she shifted slightly, letting her foot brush against Shirayuki's. On the other hand, Shirayuki had secretly reacted far more strongly. Looking at it overall, the bigger problem might actually be on her side.
Could it be Chiya's influence? Even after becoming Shirayuki, deep in her bones she was still a man in his twenties with far too much energy. A girl's body could not change that part of her nature.
"Well then, I won't disturb everyone any longer. I had a very pleasant night with you all yesterday."
Looking at Fujiwara Shirayuki's flushed face, Grass Wonder smiled. After saying goodbye to everyone, she turned and left the room.
"Grass! Where did you go? Why didn't you come back last night?"
When she returned to her own room, she ran into El Condor Pasa, who shouted anxiously.
"I slept in Yuki-chan's room."
"Yuki-chan's room? Ah... Why didn't you say something?"
"I told the student council. Sorry, I forgot to tell all of you."
"I see. As long as you told the student council, it's fine. I thought you'd run off somewhere."
El Condor Pasa let out a breath of relief. "But looking at your expression, Grass..."
"What about my expression?"
"You look like you had a really good time at Yuki-chan's place."
Hearing that, Grass Wonder showed a meaningful smile.
"Mm. Last night, I found something very precious."
She hugged her arms around herself. In her mind, she remembered Shirayuki's dazed, embarrassed expression, like a small animal that had unconsciously nuzzled closer. A happiness unlike anything she had felt before filled her heart.
She made up her mind.
No matter what method she had to use, she would keep Shirayuki by her side.