"How did it end up like this?"
Miura Yumiko looked over at Yuigahama Yui a little ways off and let out a wistful sigh.
This was supposed to have been a one-on-one date between her and Mio. But thanks to Yui muscling her way in, the date had been reduced to an ordinary shopping trip.
The moment Yumiko had spotted Yui, Yui had noticed her too.
She'd walked up with a smile and greeted her. "Morning, Yumiko."
"Morning. You're really early today."
"Can't help it—I forgot to turn off my alarm, so I woke up early. You're one to talk, though, Yumiko. You look gorgeous today~" Yui wore her usual bright, energetic smile.
"Well, obviously—I want Mio to see me at my very best~"
Yui hadn't expected Yumiko to be quite so blunt. She was taken aback for a second, but got over it quickly. Back when Yumiko had been chasing after Hayama Hayato, she'd been just the same—never hiding how she felt in the slightest. That was exactly the part of her Yui envied so much.
Even now, Yui still couldn't be as direct about it as Yumiko was.
"Who'd have thought the two of us would end up love rivals one day, huh~"
At that, Yumiko gave a small nod. "Rivals in love, sure—but you're still my good friend. That said, good friend or not, when it comes to the girl I like, I'm not backing down an inch."
"Same here."
The two exchanged a glance, and, as if on cue, both broke into a faint smile.
Then something seemed to occur to Yui, and she asked, curious, "Actually, I've been wondering—how come you suddenly gave up on Hayama and fell for Mio instead?"
"Suddenly? It wasn't really that sudden. I just hadn't noticed it before."
Yumiko thought it over for a moment, then said, "You know how Mio was always helping me figure out how to win Hayato over? Somewhere along the way, without even realizing it, I think that's when I started falling for her."
"We're both girls, so at the time I didn't recognize it as a crush. If I had, Mio would've been my girlfriend ages ago!"
"You're as confident as ever, Yumiko."
The amicable mood between them abruptly turned heavy again.
Just then, Mio's voice sounded in both their ears. "Morning, you two~"
With Mio's arrival, the tense air dissolved at once—though a faint undercurrent of rivalry still lingered between the other two.
"So, um—where are we headed now?"
Even though this was supposed to be an outing, Mio hadn't bothered to ask where they were going. She rarely gave it any thought when she went out these days; she just followed along with whoever had invited her, and that was that.
To put it plainly, Mio had gotten used to letting other people take the lead.
She was even starting to enjoy it a little.
"Let's go look at some clothes. Winter's almost over, so it's about time to switch out our wardrobes for the season," Yumiko suggested.
"I was thinking the same thing."
"Then let's get going."
Mio took the lead, heading off toward the shopping mall.
Beside her, Yumiko's gaze drifted, almost of its own accord, to Mio's hand. Back when they used to go out together, Mio would always take the initiative to loop an arm through hers—sure, most of the time she'd only been playing the role of her girlfriend, but Yumiko had grown used to that feeling.
Now that it was suddenly gone, Yumiko couldn't help feeling a little off-kilter about it.
If it were just the two of them, alone together—would Mio act like she used to?
While Yumiko was lost in that wishful thinking, Yui had already slipped up to Mio's side and taken her hand.
Since Mio wasn't going to make the first move, then she would.
In the past, with Yumiko around, Yui never would have dared do something like this.
But she wasn't the same as before. Doing nothing at all only meant getting beaten to the punch by someone else.
Seeing this, Yumiko couldn't hold back either. She strode right up to Mio's other side and, mimicking the way Mio used to do it back when they'd "dated," looped her arm through Mio's.
Sandwiched between two beautiful girls, Mio should, by all rights, have been thrilled.
And yet, in that moment, what she felt was pressure like nothing she'd known before.
She was already starting to regret coming out to shop with the two of them at once.
If it had just been one person, things never would've turned out like this.
But there was no point dwelling on that now. Since she couldn't fight it, she might as well sit back and enjoy it.
Before long, the three of them arrived at the shopping mall.
Since it was a Saturday, foot traffic was heavy, and three beautiful girls of such distinct styles naturally drew plenty of eyes.
Especially given the peculiar mood hanging over them, more than a few passersby began speculating about just what the relationship between the three of them was.
"Um—there are kind of a lot of people here. How about you two let go of me for now?" Mio said in a small voice.
"It's precisely because it's so crowded that we can't let go. What if you got lost?" Yumiko said with a smile.
She couldn't help thinking back to the practice dates she used to go on with Mio. Back then, she too had felt embarrassed by the crowds and wanted Mio to let go—only for Mio to come up with every excuse under the sun to keep holding on.
Who'd have guessed that one day it'd be Mio's turn to get shy?
If only it were just the two of us, she thought.
"Am I some kind of little kid?" Mio couldn't help grumbling.
"I don't have any particular reason. I simply don't want to let go, that's all," Yui said with a smile.
Mio glanced at the two of them and, in the end, gave up struggling.
After that, the three made their way into a clothing store.
And just as Mio had predicted, the two of them set about picking out outfits for her.
"Mio, I think this dress would suit you really well."
"Mio, I bet you'd look great in this one."
Mio had barely finished changing into one outfit before the next was already being handed to her, with no breather in between.
At this point, she felt as though she were playing Nikki—except the stylists were the two girls beside her, and she was playing model for both of them at once.
Where on earth had this sudden competitive streak come from?
No. She couldn't let this go on any longer.
Having changed into yet another outfit, Mio stood in the fitting room, drew a deep breath, then pushed the door open and stepped out in front of the two of them. "Um—you two shouldn't just focus on dressing me up. How about I pick out some outfits for you two instead?"
"No thanks." Yui and Yumiko said it in perfect unison.
"Eh?! Why not?"
"It's a little rude to say this, but... your taste in clothes is honestly kind of hard to describe," Yumiko said with a sidelong glance, lowering her voice.
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