"Mio, I left fresh clothes outside for you."
Yui set down the folded pajamas and looked up at the frosted glass of the bathroom door. She couldn't see a thing through it, obviously.
Her brain did something with that information anyway.
She caught herself, shook her head hard. What is wrong with me.
"Thanks."
"...I'll be in my room, then."
She fled.
The moment her bedroom door closed behind her, Yui launched herself face-first onto her bed and buried her face in the pillow.
She could feel her cheeks burning from the inside out. It was fine—she was alone, no witnesses—but the fact that she'd stood outside a bathroom door and her brain had immediately gone there of all places was a problem.
If Mio saw her like this, she'd never hear the end of it.
A knock. Then her mom's voice:
"Yui? Can I come in?"
Yui didn't know what her mom wanted, but she managed to pull herself together enough to say, "Come in."
Mrs. Yuigahama took one look at her daughter's face the moment she sat down next to her.
"Hm?" She leaned in curiously. "Yui, your cheeks are all pink."
"It's—probably just from being under the blankets earlier. Anyway, did you need something?"
"Oh, I came to make up the futon for your guest! Unless you'd rather Mio-chan sleep in your bed with you—in which case, I won't bother."
Yui opened her mouth.
Before she could decide anything, her mom was already on her feet.
"Actually, let's have her sleep with you. I've decided. This is final."
"Wait—"
The door swung shut. Yui stared at it.
Her mom had definitely never been this impulsive before. Something about today had unlocked a new mode.
...Was she misreading their relationship?
Yui and Mio are just friends, she told herself firmly.
Perfectly innocent friends.
Nothing had happened between them that—
She stopped.
They'd kissed. More than once now.
Can you really call that perfectly innocent?
She was still sitting with that thought when she unconsciously ran her tongue across her lips—like she was tasting something she was trying to remember.
Another knock, this time lighter.
The door opened to reveal Mio, fresh from the bath, toweling her hair with one hand. She was wearing Yui's pajamas—the exact same pattern as Yui's own.
"Yui, I just noticed—we're matching."
"It's just a coincidence. They're pajamas."
"They look like couple's pajamas though~"
"They're not—" Yui caught herself. "Stop that."
Mio laughed quietly and sat down at Yui's vanity to deal with her hair. She was reaching for the blow dryer when her hand stopped mid-air.
"Host..." the System said, a touch pointedly. "You're really just going to abandon that task?"
"Do you not see me fully checked out right now~"
"Understood. In that case, the task is officially failed. Yuigahama Yui's conquest rating with you has decreased by 2 points. Please select your punishment card."
Three cards appeared.
[The Unlucky One]Slightly decreases the Host's luck. Stacking this card increases the effect.
[The Sensitive One]Slightly increases the Host's physical sensitivity. Stacking this card increases the effect.
[Prefers Sleeping in the Buff]The Host develops a preference for sleeping without clothes. While wearing anything to bed, falling asleep becomes significantly harder.
Mio read all three, very carefully.
She picked [The Unlucky One] without a second thought.
Less luck also meant a lower chance of tasks triggering in the first place. Sure, it would affect other things—but she wasn't running any gacha right now, so a luck debuff was basically a buff in disguise. Checkmate, System.
She paid close attention to see if anything felt different.
Nothing.
Well. Luck wasn't the kind of thing you could feel in real time. And her baseline wasn't impressive to begin with, so maybe the gap just wasn't noticeable.
She finished blow-drying her hair and set the dryer down.
"Yui, where am I sleeping?"
"...With me, I guess. It's cold. You shouldn't sleep on the floor."
She said it like it was purely practical, and she was mostly succeeding at that.
The last time Yui had stayed over at Mio's place, they'd shared a bed. That had been fine. This should also be fine.
Mio burrowed under the blanket immediately.
"You're not sleeping yet," Yui pointed out. "It's not even nine."
"Is it really that early?" Mio fished her phone out and checked. Then, putting it back: "Maybe time just goes fast when I'm with you~"
"Don't say stuff like that—what if my mom hears?"
"Would a normal person even read into that?"
Mio tilted her head, genuinely puzzled. Back before, her girl friends had said things ten times more pointed to each other without anyone batting an eye. Yui's low embarrassment threshold was almost charming.
"My mom doesn't operate on normal logic," Yui said tiredly.
"Noted."
Just then, the System chimed in again:
"I know it's not the best timing before bed, but tasks trigger on their own schedule."
"Host, please find a way to have Yuigahama Yui kiss you on the lips before 6 AM. Succeed and you may receive a Yuigahama Yui-series card or item reward. Fail and you'll draw from the punishment deck."
Didn't I just take [The Unlucky One]? How is a task triggering already?
"[The Unlucky One] only reduced your luck by a small amount. Tasks can still trigger when conditions are met."
Mio considered it.
Yui's conquest rating was at 43. She could do this. But she'd already done one kiss task today. Stacking a second one, in bed, at night—even if it went fine mechanically, the mood afterward would be a whole thing. Too risky.
She decided to let it go.
The moment she did, something in her loosened. She yawned, pulled the blanket up, and nudged closer to Yui.
The two of them talked—easy, low-key conversation about nothing in particular—until Mio, without any announcement, was simply asleep.
······
"Yui, where am I sleeping?"
"...With me, I guess. It's cold. You shouldn't sleep on the floor."
She said it like it was purely practical, and she was mostly succeeding at that.
The last time Yui had stayed over at Mio's place, they'd shared a bed. That had been fine. This should also be fine.
Mio burrowed under the blanket immediately.
"You're not sleeping yet," Yui pointed out. "It's not even nine."
"Is it really that early?" Mio fished her phone out and checked. Then, putting it back: "Maybe time just goes fast when I'm with you~"
"Don't say stuff like that—what if my mom hears?"
"Would a normal person even read into that?"
Mio tilted her head, genuinely puzzled. Back before, her girl friends had said things ten times more pointed to each other without anyone batting an eye. Yui's low embarrassment threshold was almost charming.
"My mom doesn't operate on normal logic," Yui said tiredly.
"Noted."
The two of them talked—easy, low-key conversation about nothing in particular—until Mio, without any announcement, was simply asleep.
······