"Coming out here to soak in the hot spring really was the right call."
Feeling the spring water wrap around every inch of her, Mio couldn't help letting out a sound of pure contentment.
Maybe because it was the middle of the day, there was no one here besides her and Shiina Mashiro—calling it having the whole place to themselves wouldn't have been an exaggeration.
Beside her, Mashiro, leaning against Mio, hummed in agreement.
"That's what I mean—it's so huge in here. Why is it you absolutely have to lean on me, Mashiro?"
"Habit. And Mio's body is soft and smells nice. It's comfy." As she spoke, Mashiro nuzzled her cheek against Mio's.
Even though she'd bathed with Mashiro more than once by now, this kind of naked, out-in-the-open intimacy still hit Mio a little too hard.
It wasn't that she was some innocent—she just worried she wouldn't be able to keep herself in check.
Every time she ran into this, she had to put real effort into wrangling her thoughts back under control.
And just as Mio had finally managed to settle her thoughts and prepare to properly enjoy the soak, a familiar voice suddenly sounded right by her ear: "Oh my, if it isn't my cute little kouhai~"
The instant she heard it, Mio's eyes flew open—and the first thing she saw was Yukinoshita Haruno, who'd appeared in front of her at some point without her noticing.
"S-Senpai, why are you here?"
"To soak in the hot spring, obviously. I never expected to run into my kouhai here, though—could this be the fabled thing they call fate?" As she spoke, Haruno sat herself down on Mio's other side.
Seeing Haruno turn up, Mashiro instinctively clamped onto Mio's arm—and once Haruno settled in beside her, Mashiro couldn't help tugging Mio over toward her own side.
Feeling that fine, soft contact, Mio felt a wave of heat rush across her face. Thank goodness she was in the hot spring; even if she'd gone red, no one would notice.
Any other time, Haruno would absolutely have caught the slip.
"Senpai, there's nobody else here. You really don't have to sit that close."
Mio shot Haruno a glance, then quietly turned her gaze toward the artificial rockery off in the distance.
This was the first time she'd ever been bare in front of Haruno.
Reason was telling her not to look at what she shouldn't, in case Haruno picked up on something—but in a situation like this, holding herself back from looking was flat-out impossible.
Real talk—Haruno's figure really was incredible.
Ahem.
Mio's stare only lasted a moment, but Haruno noticed it all the same.
She didn't make much of it, though. From her earlier read of the situation, she'd already reached one conclusion: Mio was into girls.
"It's not every day I get to run into my little kouhai out here, so naturally I should make the most of it and get nice and close~ Say, we're both girls—so how come my kouhai looks a little shy?"
"Probably because I don't soak with other people very often."
"Ah, so that's it. No matter—you can use this chance to soak a few more times and get used to it, kouhai. I'll keep you company~"
Compared to Mio, who was working so hard not to let her eyes wander, Haruno's gaze was a great deal more direct—it had been fixed on Mio from the moment she'd shown up.
A stare that intense, no matter how dense Mio could be, she could feel it clear as day.
Something's off here. Why does Haruno keep staring at me? That look—it's like a starving wolf about to devour me whole.
She even half-suspected that, if Mashiro hadn't been here, Haruno might've actually made a move.
Of course, what Mio mostly believed was that Haruno was just doing all this to amuse herself at Mio's expense.
After all, no matter how she turned it over, she couldn't picture Haruno ever being into her in that way.
Ten minutes passed quickly, and once Mio felt she'd had about enough, she stood up. "Um, Senpai, I've soaked plenty, so I'm going to head back first."
"Oh? Then tell me your room number, kouhai. I'll come by to hang out later."
A little thing like a room number—even if she didn't say it, Haruno could probably just ask Shizuka and the others and find out anyway, so Mio didn't bother hiding it and told her outright.
With Mio leaving, Mashiro of course got up to follow.
After rinsing off, changing into a yukata, and downing a bottle of milk, Mio felt the tension drain right out of her.
She brought Mashiro back to the room, and just as Mio was wondering whether she ought to take a nap, she saw Mashiro had already pulled out her painting tools and started sketching her.
"We finally came out here to relax—and you're still going to paint?"
"It's the first time I've seen Mio in a yukata. I want to draw it."
"Well, as long as you're happy. Just let me know if you need me to pose a certain way, okay?"
Honestly, being Mashiro's model was pretty easy—do whatever you wanted—because Mashiro had already burned the scene she wanted to paint into her mind.
And just as Mashiro was painting away in earnest, a knock suddenly came at the door.
If nothing unexpected was going on, the person at the door should be Haruno.
As it turned out, Mio's guess was right on the money.
Haruno glanced at Mio, then over at Mashiro, who was still painting, and said, "So my kouhai really does share a room with her. Now I'm getting a little jealous."
"Oh, right—Chihiro-sensei and Shizuka-sensei are here too. Did you want to go see them?"
"Nope. They're definitely drinking right about now, and I like my little kouhai a lot more than I like drinking~"
Maybe it was Haruno's arrival, but Mashiro did something she rarely did—she set down a painting that was only half finished, scooted to Mio's side, and kept a wary eye on this uninvited guest.
Haruno didn't take Mashiro's wariness to heart in the slightest; if anything, she was tempted to push her teasing of Mio even further.
But before she could put the thought into action, the knocking came again.
This time, the ones at the door were Sengoku Chihiro and Hiratsuka Shizuka.
The moment Chihiro caught sight of Haruno, a smug grin spread across her face. "See? Told you she'd be over at Shirai's place. You lose."
"Tch." Shizuka clicked her tongue, put out, then turned to Haruno. "And here I thought you'd be holed up in your own room."
"My room's just me, all by myself—why on earth would I want to stay cooped up in there~"
"You came alone this time?" Shizuka asked, a bit curious.
"Mm. I actually wanted to drag my little sister along, but she didn't feel like coming, so it's just little old me, all on my lonesome. Lucky for me, though—I went and ran into my dear little kouhai out here~"
"Forget all that kouhai business for now—come have a drink with us~" Chihiro extended the invitation to Haruno.
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