Jitsu -A different story-

One of the rules or requests that was told to the guests in a ryokan was to respect the tranquility within the place. That same thing made the atmosphere quite silent, only broken by some workers or guests who walked the halls from time to time. However, ignoring that, most of the time that silence was noticed since most of the guests duly respected that.

Maybe it was something that would never disappear, or that only on some occasions was it completely interrupted, and in reality, that was happening right in the living room near the hot spring area.

"Hahaha! Did that really happen?" Shizune's laughter filled the area where both she and Mio were sitting, and the reason for that reaction on her part was Mio's story.

"I swear. I'm not against both parties paying or whoever made the invitation has any intention of doing so, but I keep wondering how he came up with the idea of ​​inviting me and still making me pay for everything after how horrible the date was." Mio was raising her arm while moving her hand a little as if she wanted to emphasize what she was saying while frowning a little.

Going back in time a little, Mio had just told one of the stories about her bad luck in love, but at the same time, it was something she had already left in the past and only remembered as quite a hilarious situation, so it didn't bother her to tell Shizune and have her laugh about it.

"I guess you can find everything out there… I don't exactly remember having a bad experience in that regard, but it's fun to hear it from someone else." Since Mio wasn't bothered by it, Shizune also didn't avoid expressing what she felt or thinking it was quite funny.

"I really hope you don't experience something similar. I guess that's what happens to me for not giving myself enough time to get to know someone and just going by appearances." Right now, Mio would love to have something cold to drink so she could drown her sorrows that way, but being accompanied by Shizune helped her with that too. "I think similar things have happened to me because I'm not very assertive when it comes to getting to know a guy, maybe I should try to take the reins from now on…"

That last bit had come out of Mio as a sort of whisper that Shizune could hear clearly, and since she didn't have much to say about the ideas Mio might have, Shizune simply kept watching her until she came back to herself, although something would make her attention abruptly change towards the entrance of the room because a person had just become visible to her, and that person was none other than Kurono.

Shizune was aware of her gaze meeting his, which had made Shizune realize that she had really taken her time talking to Mio. Shizune was about to raise her hand and wave at Kurono to get him to come over, but before she could move even a bit, something else happened and made Shizune's entire attention shift.

"Shizune-san, Shizune-san…" Mio's voice was completely audible to Shizune, especially since she had gotten close enough that the distance between them was barely existent while the volume of her voice was much lower than before. "Did you see it?"

As had happened several times before, all Shizune could do was show a confused expression for Mio to explain what was going on.

"I mean, did you see the handsome who just entered the room?" Shizune's confusion only lasted a millisecond after hearing that as she had no trouble guessing who Mio was referring to… But at the same time, she was holding back a smile that wanted to form on her face as she continued listening to Mio. "I know, I know you already have Kurono, but you should see him… Actually, I think he's perfect to put into practice what I thought…"

As if Mio wasn't aware that she was muttering out loud again the last thing she said, she moved away from Shizune a little so that she could also see the "handsome" she was talking about. Shizune had already covered her mouth as Mio stopped paying attention to her and seemed to have no intention of trying to clarify some things, and that was because she was interested in how everything would develop.

For his part, Kurono had long since left the hot springs, he had even tried the sauna as well, but once he left and didn't see Shizune, he went to the room, but he didn't find her there either. He had waited for a while, but since Shizune still hadn't returned, a slight concern formed in him and he decided to return to the hot spring area, being able to sigh in relief once he saw her.

Despite all that, he had been a little surprised when he saw her accompanied, although what had surprised him the most had been that that girl took Shizune and they started to whisper a little, and although he was quite confused by it and didn't notice any sign or indication from Shizune, he simply continued to observe what was happening until he saw how the girl raised her hand and greeted him.

"He greeted me back, Shizune-san!" Although Mio's reaction seemed a little excited once she saw how that handsome man greeted her as well, she actually lowered the volume of her voice again at the same time as she turned her attention to Shizune.

"I already saw him, Mio-san… And I must say, he's really handsome. Oh, it seems that he is coming here." Hearing Shizune's words, Mio turned her sight at full speed and saw precisely how Kurono approached where she and Shizune were, which made her feel somewhat nervous.

Kurono again saw how there was some kind of conversation between Shizune and that girl, and he had moved out of simple curiosity to know what exactly was happening. He had already arrived near the table, and although he intended to talk to Shizune, who had a small smile on her face, and understood the situation a little better, the voice of that girl was the first thing he could hear.

"Excuse me, I think I confused you with someone else, haha..." Mio's voice was a little different from the way she spoke to Shizune, and the truth was that no one besides her really knew what she had in mind to say those words. "But since I made you come here, why don't you take a seat for a moment?"

Even though Shizune still felt a strong urge to laugh, she felt a little curious about Mio's way of acting since she didn't know if what she was doing was some sort of strategy to get someone's attention.

"Don't worry, I came over since something caught my attention, although I don't think I will reject your idea." The words that Kurono had just said actually made Mio feel a little more nervous. She had told herself that maybe she should try to be a little more assertive, but the reality was that she didn't know what to do next other than try to start a small conversation.

Something else that had to be mentioned was that the moment Kurono mentioned that his gaze was completely focused on Shizune, but Mio didn't notice this since she was quite distracted.

"Hehehe… It's funny you should say that since I think my friend got quite a bit of attention from you." Shizune's voice was the next thing heard, and there were different reactions due to the content of her words. On one hand, Kurono thought he finally understood what was happening, and on Mio's side, she turned her gaze to Shizune with a face of disbelief and embarrassment since she was completely exposing her.

"I… that…!" Mio was trying to find the perfect excuse, but at that moment she could only let out those slight stutters while the reddish tone that was appearing on her face could be noticed.

"Oh… So that's what it's about, it seems it wasn't a mistake to come tonight." Kurono had guessed correctly, and following Shizune's game a little, he began to ramble a little while noticing Mio's expressions. "The truth is that now I feel very curious about you."

It was then that Mio became aware that Kurono's gaze was totally focused on her. She could see Kurono's features perfectly, especially those deep dark eyes he had and his great height, as well as his robust body, and putting aside any exaggerated thoughts she was having at that moment, she couldn't help but feel nervous because of him.

"Although I think we can talk about that calmly, after all, ever since I entered the room, I haven't been able to take my eyes off you." Maybe that comment would make Mio's heartbeat even faster and still not know what to say, but the reality was quite different from that.

It was true that Mio heard Kurono's words, but his gaze was not focused on her, and from what she could tell, that man who was quite attractive in her eyes, had all his attention on Shizune. The next moment, Mio watched from the front row as Kurono took Shizune's hand and raised it before kissing it lightly as if it were any other greeting. Mio's mind broke for a moment, but the thought that was really on her mind was that, once again, she had lost to Shizune...