"I'm home~"
Yuigahama Yui pushed open the front door and called out happily.
Following behind her, Shirai Mio quietly said, "Excuse me for intruding."
Mrs. Yuigahama, who was reading a magazine in the living room, smiled when she heard their voices and replied, "Welcome home~"
"Mom, Mio is staying over tonight. Is that okay?"
"Of course. Do you need me to stay out of the way tonight?"
Even Yuigahama Yui panicked at her mother's words. She waved her hands repeatedly, then immediately dragged Shirai Mio into her room.
She was afraid her mother might say something even stranger if they stayed any longer.
Yuigahama Yui's room could not possibly have been more familiar to Shirai Mio.
She sat directly on Yuigahama Yui's bed and said, "Looks like your mom has already figured it out~"
Hearing Shirai Mio's words, Yuigahama Yui nodded gently and whispered, "My mom figured it out a long time ago. She's actually pretty supportive too. She said that as long as I like you, that's enough."
"That's nice~"
Seeing the wistful look on Shirai Mio's face, Yuigahama Yui could not help thinking of Mio's family situation. She hurriedly reassured her, "Um, I'll always stay by your side."
"Mm? Why are you suddenly saying something like that?" Shirai Mio lay sideways on Yuigahama Yui's bed, hugging her pillow as she looked at Yui in surprise.
She was terrible at dealing with sudden confessions like this.
Yuigahama Yui instinctively wanted to explain herself, but after thinking about it, she felt there was nothing that needed explaining.
"Um, I'll go get something to eat and drink. Wait here for me, okay?"
"Okay."
When Yuigahama Yui walked out of the room, Mrs. Yuigahama directly handed her a tray of fruit and drinks she had just prepared. "I knew you'd come out, so I got everything ready for you in advance."
"Thanks, Mom."
Yuigahama Yui took the tray and returned to her room.
Shirai Mio was now sitting at her desk, apparently looking at something.
After setting the tray down, Yuigahama Yui curiously walked closer and realized that Shirai Mio was looking at the photo displayed on her desk.
It was a photo of her and Shirai Mio together.
"Do you still remember where we took this picture?"
"Tokyo Skytree. How could I possibly forget?"
Shirai Mio casually put the photo frame back in place, then ate fruit while chatting about things that had happened in the past.
Just then, Yuigahama Yui seemed to think of something and asked curiously, "If we're staying in my room, what do you even do for it to count as a date?"
Hearing that, Shirai Mio's expression stiffened. She looked at Yuigahama Yui nervously and said, "Yui, you're not thinking about anything strange, are you?"
"I..." Yuigahama Yui was just about to say she was not when she suddenly realized that what she had said did sound a little suggestive.
"I am thinking about it. Wouldn't it be stranger if I wasn't thinking about anything?" Yuigahama Yui said seriously as she looked at Shirai Mio.
"I mean, you're not wrong, but aren't you being a little too direct?"
It had been the same when they ran into Hayama's friend group today. Yuigahama Yui had directly told everyone that the two of them were on a date. Did she really no longer care about what other people thought?
Just then, there was a sudden knock at the door, followed by Mrs. Yuigahama's voice. "Yui, I've already run the bath. I'm going back to my room now. Unless something unexpected happens, I probably won't come out again before morning. But even so, remember to keep the noise down. It wouldn't be good to disturb the neighbors."
Yuigahama Yui opened her mouth, but before she could try to say anything, her mother's voice disappeared. She could faintly hear the sound of a door closing.
Her mother had probably gone back to her own room.
Yuigahama Yui turned to Shirai Mio and found Mio looking at her with a bright smile.
A little embarrassed, Yuigahama Yui asked, "Um, do you want to take a bath first?"
"I don't mind either way. Yui, want to bathe together?"
"I-I think that's fine!"
This time, Shirai Mio had already expected Yuigahama Yui's answer, so she was not surprised. She chuckled, climbed off the bed, and entered the bathroom together with Yui.
This was Yuigahama Yui's first time bathing together with Shirai Mio.
Even though they were both girls, when she saw Shirai Mio taking off her clothes, her heartbeat still sped up uncontrollably.
"Yui really does have a great figure."
"D-don't grope me!"
"I'm not groping you. I'm just scrubbing you down~"
Fortunately, Mrs. Yuigahama had already returned to her room. Otherwise, those sounds really would have been easy to misunderstand. No—at this point, it could no longer really be called a misunderstanding.
About half an hour later, Shirai Mio emerged from the bathroom feeling completely refreshed. She had discovered that Yuigahama Yui had become much more direct lately and had even learned how to fight back verbally, but when it came to actual physical contact, she was still far too inexperienced.
In sharp contrast to the refreshed Shirai Mio, Yuigahama Yui's fair cheeks were covered in a deep blush. What had just happened in the bathroom had been a little too stimulating for her.
Still, now that she thought about it, although she often looked at "study materials," most of her materials were about two girls falling in love. She did not actually know very much about that side of things.
After this experience, Yuigahama Yui felt that she needed to expand her collection of "study materials."
Otherwise, if something like this happened again, she would probably end up completely on the defensive.
When dealing with Shirai Mio, she absolutely could not allow herself to stay on the defensive. That was a lesson she had learned through long experience.
After returning to the room, Yuigahama Yui blow-dried Shirai Mio's hair while asking, "Mio, do you have any plans tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow? I made plans to go see the cherry blossoms with Mashiro and the others."
"I see."
Yuigahama Yui nodded thoughtfully. She had originally hoped she might be able to continue her date with Shirai Mio tomorrow, but it looked like she had been thinking too optimistically.
Still, having Shirai Mio stay over tonight was already enough to make her very happy.
Although, if she could do just a little more with Shirai Mio right now, she would be even more satisfied.
For example, kissing.
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