Yuzu walked down the romance manga section of the store, Harumin groaning behind her.

"Oh, come on, Harumin!" Yuzu said. "Why's a girly-girl like you not bursting with excitement over adorable girly romance?"

Yuzu picked up another one and read the back. Despite the teasing she just did with Harumin, Yuzu wasn't as thrilled about these stories as she used to be. Her eyes glanced over to the Yuri section. Yuzu felt her fingers sweating all over the manga she was holding. She quickly jammed it back in its spot before she ruined it.

Harumin had her arms lifted behind her head while she scanned the covers. "There's only so many ways they keep playing out," she said. "I don't know, I guess I'm just getting tired of how cheesy they are."

Yuzu's eyes kept darting to the Yuri section, the art on the covers begging her to see more. She couldn't just go there! Not with Harumin watching. She'd be practically handing Harumin an armory of teasing material.

Yuzu picked up another volume, pretending to still be super interested in these ones. "Yanno," Yuzu said. "If you want, you can check out the other sections. I'm probably gonna be checking these ones out for a while. Ha ha."

"It's all good, I wasn't planning on picking anything out anyways."

Damn it! Just let me explore my confused sexuality in private, please!

Yuzu flipped through the book just to use her fingers. Her face was starting to sweat. Come on, Yuzu! Think!

Yuzu put the book back and pulled out her phone. "Oh, would you look at that?" she said. "Mama just texted. I gotta get back home quickly! Guess we're done here. Aw, that sucks! See ya tomorrow, Harumin!" Yuzu grabbed Harumin's hand and practically dragged her out of the store.

"Oh… kay?" Harumin said, her eyebrow raised. "See ya."

Yuzu smiled and waved as Harumin walked off and turned around. Not wasting a second, Yuzu bolted back into the store and right into the Yuri section. Her heart pounded as she gazed at all the covers. Yuzu's eye hit one with a blonde girl pinning a black-haired girl against a wall and she picked it out. She just stared at the cover, her head going light. She felt a weird tingling in her lower belly as her eyes scanned over the black-haired girl's body. Calm down, Yuzu!

"Huh, Yuzu?"

Yuzu turned her head and saw Harumin watching her, both standing there in silent confusion. Harumin glanced at the Yuri covers all around Yuzu and realization filled her expression. Harumin burst out laughing, clutching her gut. "I come back for my bag," she said through her hollering. "And I find out you just wanted to enjoy some girl-on-girl action. You could've just asked me." Harumin's face twisted with a grin. "I could give you some first-hand experience in that."

Yuzu whacked Harumin with the manga, her face burning hot. The store clerk scowled. Yuzu chuckled nervously. "Don't worry, I'm buying this."


"Where were you?" Mei said as Yuzu stepped into the bedroom. She was sitting at floor table. "You're not supposed to make any stops on the way home."

Yuzu nearly screamed. "W-what is that?"

Mei glanced at the new double bed in their room that Yuzu was staring at. "Have you never seen a bed before?"

Yuzu clenched her teeth. "S-so, what? Are we both going to be using it? Together?"

Mei cocked her head. "That's why it's called a double bed, Yuzu."

Yuzu jumped. She said my name again! Ohmaigawd, ohmaigawd!

Mei sighed. "Are you coming over here or not? I told you that I was going to help you study after school, didn't I?"

Yuzu took a deep breath. I'll worry about this tonight. Yuzu sat down at the table with Mei and put her bag down between them. Mei went out of her way to offer studying with me! I have to impress her! Mei picked up Yuzu's bag and opened it.

The Yuri manga!

Yuzu ripped the bag out of Mei's hands. "It's okay, I can get my own books out. Ha ha."

Yuzu's hand stumbled through her books and pulled out everything except the manga. She threw her bag hastily under the bed. For a few seconds, Mei stared at where the bag went.

"Okay!" Yuzu cheered. Mei respects hard work. If I can do well, she might start to like me! "So, what are we starting with? I hope it's not math. The numbers always fry my brain. But it's probably what I need the most help in. Let's do that. Are you good with math? Oh, what am I even saying? Of course, you are."

"We're doing English. You're obviously proficient in your first language already."

Yuzu gulped. Wow.

Mei pulled out a worksheet and put it in front of Yuzu. "First," Mei said. "I need to know what I'm dealing with. This is a simple quiz to see where your level is at." Mei lifted her hair behind her ear. Damn, that was hot. How was her hair that silky?

"Do you have a secret shampoo or conditioner that you use and are hiding it from us?" Yuzu blurted out. Her cheeks heated up. Mei just opened her textbook started reading.

Fair enough. I'm so cringe. Yuzu tried snapping her attention back to her little quiz. Yuzu filled out the first few lines. Hey, this wasn't that bad. Yuzu smiled as she recalled what they went over in class. The fourth line was tricky, though. Yuzu looked up to think. Mei was wearing a blouse that revealed her shoulders. The curve of her shoulders up into her neck looked so inviting. Yuzu idly pressed the end of her pen into her lip, the question from the quiz slipping from her mind.

Mei looked at Yuzu's progress. "You're struggling on question four?" Mei asked.

Yuzu shook her head wildly and then laser focused her attention on the question. Hold on. The answer was so obvious. Why did it take so long to figure out?

Yuzu moved on to question five. Her face started to sweat. She actually had no idea about this one. Mei was watching Yuzu's pen. Yuzu could feel Mei's disappointment radiating through her stare. She's never gonna like me…


"That's enough for today," Mei said, closing her textbook. It had only been a half hour. "I don't think you're actually that dumb. The problem is your attention span. Work on that."

Yuzu slouched forward and smiled nervously. Well, a backhanded compliment was better than nothing. Yuzu stood up and stretched out her arms. She jumped onto the bed and rolled onto her belly. If I can't impress her by studying, maybe I should just… talk to her. Yuzu rolled onto her side and looked over at Mei. She was at her desk, with a small journal. She was writing in it. Yuzu sat up.

"Is that a diary?" Yuzu asked. "I tried keeping one when I was younger. But eventually I realized that my thoughts are too much of a jumbled mess to put in words. Ha ha."

Mei didn't react.

"Um," Yuzu mumbled. Her brain was screaming at her to just run away from this awkward air, but her heart wasn't letting her. Okay, let's start with the basics. "So, what are your hobbies? You're working so hard all the time. How do you relieve the stress?"

Silence.

"I relax." Mei said.

Yuzu scratched her head and bit the inside of her cheek. "Okay," she said. "How do you relax? I love going out and window shopping and checking out cute romance manga and hanging out at arcades. I bet you're probably more into indoors stuff? Do you only write in your diary? Do you write anything else? You've got a lot of books, but they seem kinda boring to me. No offense! High level literature is great of course–"

Mei stood up from her chair. Yuzu froze. Mei crawled onto the bed, slowly approaching her. Yuzu inched backwards. What the hell is she pulling?

"I also enjoy romance novels from time to time," Mei said, her voice soft. Yuzu felt a chill through her spine. Mei crawled right up to her, her face leaning up towards Yuzu's.

Yuzu pulled her face back, but Mei kept approaching. Their faces were an inch apart. Yuzu shut her eyes tightly and her body paralyzed. Oh my god. What is she doing? Is she going to kiss me? Maybe it'll be more tender than last time. Oh my god.

"As if."

Yuzu opened her eyes. Mei crawled off the bed and sat back at her desk. Yuzu fell down and grabbed her pillow, clutching it tightly. She laid there, her heart pounding and her clothes sweating.

After several minutes, she finally settled down and blurted out, "Why did you do that?"

Silence. Why did Mei always take so long to reply? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"It got you to shut up, didn't it?"

Yuzu buried her face into her pillow, her tears soaking into it.


"I'm really sorry about this, Harumin," Yuzu said.

The two stepped into the bathroom with cleaning supplies. "How did they even know we stopped on the way home? Oh, yeah, I forgot you're living with Madam President. How are things going with her by the way? She still being a cold bitch to you?"

The insult to Mei made Yuzu's heart prick. I'm so pathetic. After what she did last night, why would I want to defend her? Yuzu slammed the mop into the bucket of water, then furiously smacked it back and forth on the floor. "I just don't know what the hell to do about her! She won't study with me! She won't talk to me! And yet she has the nerve to–" Yuzu caught herself. There was no way she was telling Harumin that Mei kissed her and teased her.

"Ugh," Harumin groaned as she rubbed the walls with a sponge. "I'd just let it go. You're only sisters, it makes sense that you'd piss each other off most of the time. That's what they're for. Emotionally supportive when things get serious, but at each other's throats the rest of the time."

Yuzu's aggressive mopping eased up. Oh. I get it.

She was the one with the wrong expectations here. She got Mei back so that they could be a family, not so that she could… what was she even trying to do?

She wanted to get closer to Mei, to get to know her better, to see deeper past her thorny exterior. Mei didn't want that. It wasn't something a sister would do. But at the same time, being all teasing and intimate with Yuzu to toy with her wasn't something a sister would do either. What the hell does Mei want? Why does she do that stuff like it's nothing? You're supposed to do that stuff with someone you like, not to hurt them!

Yuzu went back to aggressively mopping the floor, eager to get out of here and her annoying thoughts.


She's asleep. Right? Yuzu inched towards Mei who was laying on her side, facing away from her. Wow, she had an amazing curve. Go away, pervy thoughts! We have a mission! Yuzu pushed herself up with one arm and hovered over Mei. Mei's belly lifted slowly, then fell back down. It was beautifully rhythmic. Mei's face also looked so much softer when she was asleep. Damn, it was adorable. Okay, we're clear.

Yuzu carefully went back to her side of the bed and pulled her manga out of her bag. The manga shook in her hands. She looked at Mei again. Okay, okay. She won't wake up. It's safe. Yuzu turned the page and sunk into a whole new world of feelings.

The black-haired girl was a nervous shy type. The blonde girl kept teasing her. Yuzu flew through the pages, excited and frustrated. The black-haired girl kept running away from the blonde girl's advances.

Oh my god, finally! The black-haired girl accepted an invitation to lunch at her house. Yuzu's face burned as their 'date' progressed. The black-haired girl was starting to stop shying away! Yes! The blonde kissed her, and it looked like something awoke within the black-haired girl. She pushed the blonde onto the floor and kissed her even more aggressively. Yuzu put her hand on her mouth to stop herself from squealing. Oh, god. Things were getting… way too spicy. Yuzu threw the manga into her bag. That's enough for tonight.

Yuzu felt a whole new wave of motivation coursing through her veins. She wasn't stupid enough to expect anything like what happened in that manga, but she wasn't going to give up.


Yuzu strolled through the hall, giddy with anticipation. She held her bento box tightly to her. Mei may have agreed to have lunch and study with Yuzu, but she clearly did it regretfully. Yuzu lifted a fist in the air. This time I'll definitely show her how hard working I can be.

Yuzu stepped into the student council room. Mei had her box out but hadn't started eating yet. Yuzu was five minutes early. She sat down at the table next to Mei and pulled out her worksheets. She was ready this time.

"I worked on questions twenty-four through forty-eight." Yuzu said. "But thirty-six and thirty-seven really stumped me. Can you check my process and explain what I was doing wrong?"

Mei stared at the sheet and blinked multiple times as if she couldn't believe Yuzu actually got through that many problems. Hehe, gotcha!

Mei slid her papers to the side and pulled up to look at Yuzu's work. Yuzu opened her box and started eating idly while she listened to Mei's explanation of her errors. So far, her plan was working. Dividing her attention between eating and studying algebra left no space for Mei's beautiful face and hair to distract her.

"Alright!" Yuzu said, gulping down some rice. "I think I get it now. Imma get these problems right this time in a flash! Just watch me!"

Yuzu set down her chopsticks and used a hundred and ten percent of her maximum power while solving these problems. Got it! Question thirty-six is defeated. Now for thirty-seven. Yuzu got halfway through this one before something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Mei just drank from a glass of water and licked her lips. Even in her peripheral vision, the sight of that made her fingers shake. No! I won't let Mei stop me from impressing her! Yuzu grabbed her chopsticks with her left hand and started scarfing rice down while continuing through the equation. Her focus returned and she finished writing the answer with a wide stroke of her pen!

Yuzu sighed, setting down her pen and chopsticks. Then she put on a smirk and leaned back. "That was tough, but you're a really great teacher."

Mei leaned in to inspect Yuzu's work. "Your answer to thirty-six is wrong."

Yuzu felt like her heart stopped. Great.

"But it was only a little mistake with rounding it seems. Your process was all right this time, and you did it really quickly too." Mei went back to eating her meal and Yuzu snuck a glance at her. It might've not been much, but Mei consoling her efforts, and with more than one sentence too, felt like progress.

The two finished their meals, Yuzu reading from a textbook, and Mei working on something for the student council.

Yuzu drank from her glass of water. "Thank you, Mei," she said. It was the first time she'd used her name with her. Mei perked up inquiringly. "I know I must be annoying to deal with, so thank you for putting up with an idiot like me."

Mei poked the end of her pen against her chin and looked down. "You're my sister. I'll help you when you need it even if you're annoying me."

Sister.

Yuzu's heart felt heavy.

Damn it.

An ache welled in her eyes.

Stop it.

"Then"

Don't do it.

"Why do you keep toying with my heart?"

You shouldn't have said it, you idiot.

Yuzu pushed her chair back and hurried out of the room. She used every ounce of willpower to hold the tears in.

She kept walking, cursing herself for being so stupid. Eventually she reached a staircase and sat down at the top, her arms huddled between her legs. Mei wants us to be sisters. I need to give up on these weird feelings.

After a few minutes, when she was certain she wouldn't start crying, she got up to get to class. As soon as she started walking, she realized she left her bag in the student council room. Whatever. Mei will probably just ignore me like she usually does when I show up to get it and leave. Won't be awkward at all.

Yuzu reached the student council room and opened the door.

Mei was standing up, holding a book in her hand and looking at it.

The Yuri Manga.

"I see what's going on here," Mei said.

No, you don't.

"You're clearly getting the wrong idea about us. We're stepsisters, nothing more. You need to get these silly fantasies out of your–"

Yuzu ran up to Mei, pushed her down on the table, and pressed their lips together. She felt Mei's hands gripping her arms, trying to push her off. Yuzu kept sliding her lips on Mei's, tasting the feeling that made her pleased and pained at the same time.

Yuzu released.

"Stop it!" Mei moaned. "What are you–"

Yuzu's entire face streamed with tears; they fell onto Mei like a downpour. Mei looked utterly stunned through Yuzu's blurred vision.

"This is all your fault," Yuzu cried. "I don't understand anything anymore."

There's no going back now.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm such a bad sister!"

Yuzu ran away, cursing herself every step of the way.