The unguarded Haruno was supposed to get shoved straight to the floor by her, with the System's voice ringing out by her ear.
That was how the script should have gone. And yet, Mio did pitch forward toward Haruno, but instead of knocking her down, she ended up gathered into the other girl's arms.
Just like a Hero Saves the Beauty scene.
When it came down to it, it was all because of Mio's physical constitution. Other people could push her down just fine, but she couldn't push anyone else down.
On the other hand, Haruno had been keeping an eye on Mio's every move the whole time. The moment Mio's body wobbled, she'd already stopped in her tracks, ready to catch her.
Even though she'd already seen through the fact that Mio's fall was faked.
Holding Mio, Haruno said with a sunny smile, "Long time no see, and now my kouhai's even picked up a Tripping Over Nothing trait. That, I did not see coming."
Cradled in her arms, Mio struggled a little, but still couldn't break free of Haruno's hold.
Thinking about how easily she got knocked over, Mio just gave up struggling, then put on a bashful expression and said, "Thanks, Senpai. I wasn't watching my footing just now. Good thing you were here, or I'd have been in trouble."
Mio put on a convincing act, but Haruno could still tell the other girl was faking it on purpose.
Mostly because Mio's staged stumble just now had been a touch too deliberate.
If her guess was right, the goal of Mio's little fall just now had very likely been to knock her down to the floor.
They hadn't spent that much time together, but it wasn't exactly little either, and there was no grudge between them, so it was basically impossible that Mio meant her any harm.
So why would Mio want to knock her down?
And it wasn't just this time. Several times before, it'd been the same. Mio would suddenly, inexplicably want to do something strange to her: a sudden closeness, a sudden distance, as if something had abruptly come over her and driven her to act that way.
Haruno released her hold on Mio, then said, "Better be careful next time, kouhai. After all, I can't protect you every time."
"Mm. I'll watch out next time."
Mio twitched the corner of her mouth. She had a sneaking suspicion Haruno had figured something out, that this was her way of saying, don't pull a clumsy stunt like that fake trip again.
But no matter. As long as Haruno didn't leave, this task wouldn't fail. She might've dodged it this time, but could she really dodge the next one too?
At that thought, Mio walked over to Haruno's side and asked, "Where are you planning to sleep tonight, Senpai?"
"I'm fine sleeping anywhere, but if it's an option, I'd actually rather share a bed with my dear kouhai~"
Hearing that, Mio raised an eyebrow. She didn't think Haruno was serious, but come to think of it, the other girl really did seem to like sleeping next to her. Last time was the same. Even with Mashiro right there, she'd still chosen to sleep at Mio's side.
Did sleeping next to her somehow make for a better night's rest?
Brushing off that strange thought, Mio said with a smile, "If you don't mind the squeeze, Senpai, it's fine by me~"
"Let's skip it this time. If I slept next to you tonight, I'm afraid I'd get kicked off the bed."
"I'm actually pretty well-behaved when I sleep. Something like that shouldn't happen."
"I never said it'd be you~"
At that, Mio's mind jumped straight to Mashiro. She gave a polite-yet-awkward little smile and said nothing more.
Soon, the two of them returned to the living room.
Mio noticed Haruno had her back turned, seemingly lost in thought, with the couch right in front of her. Even if she pushed the other girl down, she wouldn't get hurt. This was clearly a great opportunity.
But the instant Mio readied herself to make her move, she suddenly hesitated.
Hesitated over whether she should act, because she couldn't shake the feeling that this was an opening Haruno had deliberately given her.
Such a perfect chance was sitting right in front of her. If she didn't take it, getting another opening this good would be tough.
But if she just shoved the other girl down like this, the task would be completed, sure, but it'd be hard to explain to Haruno why she'd done it.
A flicker of conflict surfaced in Mio's eyes. In the end, she still walked over to Haruno's side, but instead of acting, she asked, curious, "What are you thinking about, Senpai?"
"Just thinking about tomorrow's schedule, that's all."
"Didn't you already take care of everything?"
"That's how things are. Once you deal with the old problems, new ones show up. Can't really be helped." Haruno gave a rare helpless smile.
At the same time, she was a little surprised, too. She'd just left such a huge opening, and yet Mio still hadn't made a move. Had she guessed wrong?
As Haruno mulled over the question, Mio's voice rang out again: "Senpai, there's a favor I'd like to ask. Would that be okay?"
"What favor?"
"Could you maybe help me out with a little experiment? You know I draw manga, right? I'm the one writing the script, and one scene has been troubling me for a while now: the scene where the male lead pushes the female lead down. I keep trying to figure out how to make it more romantic, but I haven't landed on the right choice."
That reason did sound plausible, if Mio hadn't deliberately tripped just now.
Haruno's lips curved in amusement. Looked like her guess hadn't been wrong: the deliberate fall just now had been to knock her down, and now this goal was even clearer. Again, it was about knocking her down.
But she still couldn't figure out what Mio's purpose in knocking her down was.
Could it be that Mio was into girls, and the reason she wanted to knock her down was to do something strange to her?
Even if Mio were into girls, she probably wouldn't actually do something like that, and whether she even could was another matter entirely.
Unable to puzzle it out, Haruno decided to grant Mio's request. She wanted to see, for herself, what game Mio was really playing.
"Sure~ Though this spot doesn't really seem ideal, does it? How about your room?"
"Really? Is that okay?" Mio put on a delighted expression while her mind raced at full speed, starting to map out all sorts of poses, because if she was going to act, she had to commit to the bit.
"Of course. It's just a small favor like this."
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