Evening, 7 PM.
Mio Shirai had barely made it through her front door when she caught it — a rich, inviting smell drifting through the apartment. Based on years of cooking experience, she was pretty sure it was curry.
Which makes no sense, she thought. No one else in this apartment can cook.
Puzzled, she slipped off her shoes and stepped into the living room — and immediately spotted Haruno Yukinoshita in the kitchen, wearing an apron, moving around like she owned the place.
Haruno glanced back at the sound of Mio's footsteps, offering a soft smile. "Welcome home, darling~"
Mio's arms broke out in goosebumps. Not that she'd ever admit it, but... watching Haruno cook was genuinely charming. For just a second, she'd had the strangest déjà vu — like a girlfriend waiting for her to come home from work.
The feeling vanished the moment she remembered who she was dealing with.
She walked into the kitchen and asked, a little warily, "Senpai, what are you doing in my apartment?"
"I missed you, obviously~" Haruno said in her sweetest voice.
Mio rubbed the goosebumps off her arm. "Seems like you've wrapped up your business elsewhere, since you keep showing up here."
"I really did miss you."
When Mio showed no reaction, Haruno sighed and dropped the act. "Can't you play along, just a little? I even cooked you a whole dinner."
The smell was undeniably good. And an old saying popped into Mio's head: If someone's being unusually nice to you for no reason, they're either planning to rob you or trick you.
"...So, senpai. What do you need help with?"
Haruno didn't look remotely surprised. She smiled, eyes crinkling. "My, my. Leave it to my favourite kouhai to see right through me~"
"Tomorrow's Christmas, isn't it?"
"Mm. And?"
"Every Christmas up until now, I've spent alone. This year I kind of wanted to spend it with someone — and when I thought about who'd be best... it kept coming back to you~"
Mio rolled her eyes. "You told me the amusement park was your first time, and then I found out from Yukinoshita-san that you went all the time as a kid."
"That was my first time at that specific amusement park. Technically speaking, it was still a first." Haruno didn't even blink.
She drifted closer, nudging Mio with her shoulder, slipping into a coaxing, cutesy tone. "Come on~ pretty please?"
"It seems like you have no shortage of admirers, senpai. One word from you and I'm sure plenty of people would love to spend a 'wonderful Christmas' with you."
"Doesn't my dear kouhai also have plenty of admirers? I've never seen you go on dates with any of them."
Mio opened her mouth — then closed it. ...She's got a point, actually.
After a pause, she asked, genuinely curious, "So why do you actually want to spend Christmas with me?"
"Because spending Christmas with you sounds fun. Is that not enough? Do you already have plans?"
"I don't."
On her way home, Mio had actually been wondering who to spend Christmas with. She didn't have any strong feelings about the holiday itself, but spending it with a beautiful girl? That sounded pretty decent.
"See? You don't have plans, I don't want anyone else — so let's just make it work~"
And while Mio was still on the fence, Haruno added: "If you spend Christmas with me, I'll agree to one condition of yours. Anything you want — I mean it~"
"Oh, that reminds me — you made me the same offer last time. I still haven't used it."
"I know. You can cash it in whenever you're ready."
Honestly, Haruno's offer was tempting. A guaranteed success on any mission involving her? That was huge. But spending time with Haruno was stressful enough without a mission — if one triggered while they were together, the pressure would be on a completely different level from dealing with anyone else.
And Mio had a feeling this invitation wasn't as casual as it seemed. Haruno didn't do things on a whim.
"Make it two," Haruno said. "I'll agree to two conditions."
"Deal!" Mio agreed without a moment's hesitation.
Haruno let out a soft laugh. "Here I was thinking our relationship was close enough that we didn't need bargaining chips. Guess we're just... this kind of friends after all."
She gave Mio a look of wounded betrayal.
Mio yawned lazily. "Senpai, you don't actually seem to need anything from me. I'll go tell the others dinner's ready~"
She turned and headed next door — and never noticed the small, satisfied smile that curved Haruno's lips.
Next door, Mio found Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei and Chihiro-sensei, as expected. Unusually, for once neither of them was drinking. They were both hunched over something, so absorbed they didn't even notice Mio arrive.
She peered over their shoulders. "What are you two looking at?"
"Road trip routes," Hiratsuka-sensei said, shooting Chihiro-sensei a look. "Because someone decided to spring a road trip on me right before break."
"I told you about it before," Chihiro-sensei said, a little guiltily. "You just thought I was drunk-talking."
"You can research after dinner. Food's almost ready."
"Roger~"
Haruno's home-cooked meal was something else. Or more accurately — it fit Mio's palate way too perfectly to be a coincidence.
Mio had reasonable cause to suspect the entire dinner had been tailored to her tastes.
It wouldn't have been hard. Haruno had shown up to mooch meals often enough that she'd had plenty of time to observe. And honestly, Mio had been doing the same — quietly cataloguing Haruno's habits, tucking the observations away for later.
You never know when it'll come in handy.
What genuinely surprised Mio was that Haruno didn't stay the night. After dinner, she excused herself and left.
"I want to give you a surprise," she said on her way out.
Mio sincerely hoped the surprise wouldn't turn into a jump scare.
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