Morning. Eight fifty.
While Shiina Mashiro was still fast asleep in bed, Mio had already been up for a while—fully dressed and ready to go.
There was still more than half an hour until her agreed time with Megumi, but knowing her own habits, leaving now would put her at the meeting spot about twenty minutes early.
After confirming she hadn't forgotten anything, Mio tiptoed out of the room.
In less than twenty minutes, she was already standing at the park entrance.
Just as she was wondering how much longer it would be before Megumi arrived, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in her line of sight.
That familiar figure was none other than yesterday's date—and yesterday's temporary girlfriend—Miura Yumiko.
Even from a distance, Yumiko's signature blonde hair and eye-catching figure made her easy to spot.
The moment Mio noticed Yumiko, Yumiko spotted her too.
She blinked. If Mio hadn't been wearing something different from yesterday, she would've seriously wondered if she'd somehow gotten stuck in a time loop.
Yumiko walked briskly over to Mio's side. "Mio, what are you doing here?"
"I'm meeting a friend to go shopping. What about you?"
"I... I'm meeting Hayato to go shopping."
Hearing that, Mio's calm demeanor instantly lit up with excitement. She leaned in close, eyes sparkling with curiosity: "Just the two of you?"
"Yeah. Hayato originally wanted to invite the others too, but I turned him down."
"Good call! With too many people around, you'd have zero room to make a move. Remember the techniques and strategies I taught you. If anything comes up, hit me up anytime." Mio waved her phone for emphasis, making it crystal clear she was volunteering as backup.
"Okay. If I actually need your help, I won't hold back." Then, trying to sound casual, Yumiko asked: "The friend you're shopping with—a guy or a girl?"
Normally, this kind of thing wouldn't have sparked even a flicker of curiosity in her. But right now, for some reason, she really wanted to know whether Mio's "friend" was male or female.
"A cute girl, obviously~" Mio answered without a second thought.
Something seemed to occur to Yumiko, and she said curiously: "Now that I think about it, you don't really seem to have any close guy friends, do you?"
"Probably because I just transferred here. Plus, I'm honestly not that great at hanging out with guys."
"Seriously?"
Even Yumiko couldn't help throwing Mio a skeptical look. Despite having transferred only recently, everyone at school said Mio was the most approachable person around. Sitting right next to her, Yumiko knew better than anyone—Mio could chat easily with absolutely anyone, guys and girls alike.
Saying she wasn't good at socializing? Yeah, not buying it.
"Why the sudden interest, Yumiko? Could it be you're worried I'm going on a date with some guy?"
Even though she knew Mio was teasing her, Yumiko instinctively avoided eye contact and replied with forced nonchalance: "I was just curious, that's all. Who you go out with has nothing to do with me."
"Huh!? So that's how you really feel? And here I thought..." Mio hung her head, putting on a picture-perfect display of dejection and heartbreak.
If she hadn't already experienced Mio's acting skills firsthand, Yumiko might've actually fallen for it. Instead, she just watched Mio's one-woman show with a blank expression, seemingly completely unfazed—though deep down, she did care. At least a little. Otherwise, she wouldn't have asked in the first place.
After chatting idly for a bit, Mio suddenly felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned around instinctively, only to find that Megumi had somehow materialized right behind her without anyone noticing.
Put a white robe on Megumi, strap on a pair of hidden blades, and she could straight-up be an Assassin mentor.
Yumiko's reaction was about the same as Mio's. Mio having her back turned was one thing—but Yumiko had been looking directly at Mio the entire time, and she still hadn't noticed Megumi's approach.
She was starting to seriously wonder if she'd been so focused on looking at Mio that she'd failed to notice someone walking right up to them.
That... was not a good sign.
Putting that thought aside, Yumiko finally turned her attention to Megumi. While the girl had been completely invisible upon first appearing, a closer look revealed she was actually pretty cute. She felt weirdly familiar, too—like she'd seen her somewhere before.
"She probably looks familiar because she's our classmate."
Mio's hint immediately jogged Yumiko's memory. She did seem to recall seeing this girl around the classroom often, but she couldn't quite place the name.
"I'm Katou Megumi, Miura-san."
"Oh, right—that does sound right. Sorry, I just couldn't remember for a second there." Even the usually headstrong Yumiko felt a twinge of embarrassment. They were in the same class, and she couldn't even remember the girl's name.
She was supposed to have memorized everyone's names. How had she missed this one?
"My friend's here, so we'll head out first. Remember what I told you—if anything comes up, text me right away."
"Ah... yeah."
Yumiko watched as Mio and Megumi walked away side by side. For some reason, her mood suddenly felt... complicated.
It wasn't until the two of them disappeared from sight that Yumiko pulled out her phone and saw it was only 9:20.
In the past, she rarely showed up this early. It was probably because of Mio—she'd gotten into the habit of arriving way ahead of time.
Before long, Hayama Hayato appeared.
Seeing that Yumiko was already waiting for him, a flash of surprise crossed Hayama's eyes. He'd hung out one-on-one with Yumiko plenty of times before. Based on her usual habits, she'd either show up right on time or about ten minutes late. He hadn't expected her to be this early today.
And for some reason he couldn't quite put his finger on, he had this feeling that today's Yumiko seemed... a little different from usual.
Maybe it was just his imagination.
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