'How does it taste, Yukinoshita-san?'
Mio waited until Yukino had tried everything on the table before asking.
'Very good.' A flicker of genuine surprise crossed Yukino's eyes.
She wasn't flattering her. Living alone had made Yukino fairly confident in her own cooking, and even so, she could tell there was a noticeable gap between her skills and Mio's. She had assumed her sister's constant praise was colored by affection. Compliments toward someone you cared for always came with a bias, and Yukino suspected she would be guilty of the same in that situation.
Apparently she had underestimated it. If anything, her sister had been modest.
'I'm relieved,' Mio said, smile brightening. 'I was a little worried my cooking might not suit your palate.'
'I told you,' Haruno said matter-of-factly, 'Yukino and I have similar taste. Just cook the way you do for me and you're fine.'
'Yes yes, senpai is always right.' Mio picked up a piece of chicken and held it out toward Haruno's mouth.
Haruno took it without ceremony. Then she paused.
Something was slightly off. If she remembered correctly, Mio did not usually feed her like this, unprompted. She had always deflected before. So why the sudden change?
And there it was: the moment after Mio successfully fed her, there had been the briefest flash in Mio's eyes. Relief. Like a small knot had come loose.
Why would feeding someone produce relief?
It felt like there was a reason. Like Mio needed to do it, for some specific purpose. Or maybe she was overthinking. Haruno had done her share of teasing Mio through food over the months. Mio turning it around was not impossible.
While Haruno was working through this, Yukino had quietly reached a conclusion she had been building toward: her sister and Mio were absolutely showing off at the dinner table. In front of everyone. Was there no sense of occasion at all?
Mio was mentally calculating how to land the third feeding when she felt Yukino's gaze on her, pointed and unsettling.
She blinked. Right. From the outside, those two exchanges must have looked pretty intimate.
Although they were both girls. Surely Yukino would not read into it that way.
...Probably fine.
She was still working out her approach when Haruno leaned in first, wearing the particular smile she wore when she was doing something she knew she should not.
'Actually, kouhai.' Haruno picked up a morsel and held it toward Mio's lips. 'Cooking all that must have been tiring. This is your reward.'
Mio hesitated. Then she opened her mouth and ate it.
She had almost said she could manage herself, thanks, but if she said that, Haruno might use the same line against her next time. Better to just accept it.
Haruno raised an eyebrow. Mio had swallowed without protest. That was unlike her. She almost always declined.
Something was definitely going on.
Haruno leaned in closer, voice dropping to something soft and testing: 'There's something else I wanted to try.'
Mio blinked, and before she had time to process the sentence, she had already grabbed a piece of potato and pushed it into Haruno's mouth.
Time stopped.
The System's voice arrived on schedule: 'Congratulations, host! Task complete. Yukinoshita Haruno's conquest rating with the host has increased by 2 points. Please select your reward.'
[Yukinoshita Haruno's Self-Defense]
Grants the host a foundational understanding of aikido. One card of the Yukinoshita Haruno Series.
[Yukinoshita Haruno's Disguise]
Allows the host to more easily embody a desired persona, facilitating self-concealment. One card of the Yukinoshita Haruno Series. Collecting a certain number of cards from the same series grants bonus effects.
[Pocket Money]
The host receives a random sum between 100,000 to 1,000,000 yen. Single-use card. Disappears after activation.
Mio did not hesitate for a second. She selected Yukinoshita Haruno's Disguise.
Time resumed.
Haruno swallowed the potato and went quiet.
That move just now, on any other day, Mio would have politely told her she had hands and could feed herself. Tonight she had just done it. Twice. Without comment.
And her expression now, compared to earlier, was notably calmer.
Haruno turned toward her again. She had started to lean in when Mashiro reached over and gently but firmly pulled Mio away.
Then came the look. Mashiro's small, watchful eyes, directed squarely at Haruno.
Back off.
Mio glanced at Mashiro. Even without words, she had a pretty good idea what was going on in that head.
She smiled, helpless, and held out a piece of chicken for Mashiro. Mashiro accepted it with quiet satisfaction.
So she was jealous. Of the feeding.
Could Mashiro even be jealous? She did not fully understand what liking someone meant yet.
But the grip on Mio's sleeve said something. Yeah. Probably.
Haruno watched the exchange with bright interest, then, because she was Haruno, leaned in close enough that Mashiro would definitely hear and said in a sweet, carrying voice:
'Mio. Sleep with me tonight?'
'No.' Mashiro's grip on the sleeve tightened. She stared Haruno down like a small cat who had decided, firmly and completely, to hold her ground.
Haruno had obviously done that on purpose.
Mio started thinking about how to manage the next five minutes.
Across the table, Yukino watched all of this, and became somehow more confused than before.
...