“Welcome home, Master Yukkie!” Mina exclaimed.
Prior to his arrival, Mina had texted Yuuki instructing him to ring the intercom instead of simply unlocking the door himself. He was bewildered, but did as she said all the same. He didn’t know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t Mina jumping at the doorway dressed in a bizarre white maid cap and matching white apron.
“I’m home,” Yuuki responded, taking a step to the side to reveal Yui, who stood right behind him.
As soon as Mina realized that he’d brought a guest, she opted for a hasty retreat. She turned her back to them and ran off deeper into the apartment, her brisk footsteps echoing from within.
Yuuki and his faux girlfriend were exposed to the sight of Mina’s usual skimpy outfit. This time, she wore nothing but a T-shirt and a pair of panties, and her apron had been short enough to only barely cover her panties from the front.
“What in the world is she wearing?!” shouted Yui. “Why doesn’t she have anything to cover her underwear?!” Yui was so surprised that she almost choked on her breath at the sight of Mina’s getup.
“She’s wearing a T-shirt at least. That’s something.”
“You can’t be serious! Does she always prance around the house naked like that?!” Yui stared at Yuuki with palpable disgust. Her death glare was so intense that she’d probably come to the conclusion that Yuuki forced his sister to talk and dress in that lewd way.
“I guess maids are pretty popular these days. Especially the ones that do the house chores and whatever,” Yuuki explained, doing his best to clear any strange misunderstandings Yui might’ve had.
Despite his best efforts, Yui continued to cast dubious glances at him. He tried not to think about it too hard as he showed her into the apartment and the living room proper. Mina, however, was nowhere to be found. Yuuki figured that she must’ve been really surprised by Yui’s sudden appearance, seeing as he didn’t tell her ahead of time.
“Give me a moment,” he said to Yui, urging her to sit on the sofa for the time being while he searched for Mina.
When he reached Mina’s room Yuuki noticed that her door was slightly ajar, along with a pair of curious eyes peeking through the gap. Their eyes met, and Mina immediately tried slamming the door shut. Her effort was wasted, as Yuuki was both faster and stronger than her; he was able to grab onto the knob and force the door open without any issues. As soon as he entered the room, Mina hurled herself at the door and leaned her back against it.
“Phew,” she heaved a sigh of relief, clearly hoping that nobody else would enter.
“Why did you try closing the door?” Yuuki asked. He noticed that she’d taken off the apron and was now wearing a pair of shorts along with her T-shirt. “So you can wear clothes like a normal person.”
“Hey! I’m not some kind of caveman!” she retorted.
“You sure about that?” he asked sarcastically. “We have a guest over. Come on out and say hello.”
Mina beckoned Yuuki over, so he dutifully crouched down to her level. She whispered softly in his ear, “Yukkie, you can’t just do that.”
“Do what?”
“Pay someone money to be your girlfriend.”
“It’s not a rental service. I’m not paying her anything.”
“Smells like a scam to me.”
“I’m telling you, it isn’t. That girl is my... girlfriend.”
“Your whaaa—?!” Mina yelped in confusion, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. The shock sent her reeling backwards, and she nearly lost her footing before dramatically freezing in place.
Is it really that surprising? Yuuki thought.
“Y-Your girlfriend?! Who exactly is your...” Her voice trailed off.
“You’ve already seen her. Remember that selfie you saw the other day?”
“The selfie? Hmm,” Mina pondered. She slowly opened her door back up and snuck closer to the living room to get a good look at their unexpected guest. “Ah! Is this Yui, maybe?”
Yuuki wondered if it had taken Mina so long to notice because Yui had been wearing such heavy makeup in the selfie, and because the impression she was giving off now was quite different.
“Oh no... it’s Yui in the flesh. What do I do?” she said flustered.
Yui turned to look at Mina with a forced smile and waved her hand. Mina had intended to be super stealthy, but apparently Yui could clearly see everything from where she sat, making the situation significantly more awkward for her.
“Oh crap! She just waved at me!” Mina cried.
“Yeah, yeah. Now let’s go introduce you to her,” Yuuki said, pushing her from behind. Mina, however, refused to move and braced her legs, so Yuuki ended up grabbing her arm and forcibly dragging her along.
“Are you sure she doesn’t bite?” Mina managed to whisper that terrified question into Yuuki’s ear despite standing right in front of him.
“Stay on your toes, soldier. She’s an unpredictable one,” Yuuki responded.
“I can hear everything, F-Y-I,” Yui interjected, glaring daggers at Yuuki. Her angry expression vanished almost instantly once she turned to look at Mina. Yui flashed a smile at Mina and spoke to her in a soft tone, dragging out her vowels all the while, “I won’t hurt you, see?”
Yuuki had the foresight to warn Yui in advance about how shy Mina could be around strangers, but it appeared that Mina’s behavior was no obstacle to Yui. She spoke to his sister in a coaxing, gentle manner that he’d never heard her use before, and she was so smiley that it was borderline creepy.
“You can think of me as a loving older sister! Your caring older sister Yui would never do anything to harm you,” she continued, still elongating her vowels and almost sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than Mina.
Wonder if she gets bullied by her own older sister or something, Yuuki thought to himself.
Mina was clearly still nervous, and her eyes were wandering around the room in an effort to avoid eye contact. “Um!” I h-have a question!” she finally declared with determination, seemingly having made her mind up and staring Yui directly in the eyes.
“Anything!” Yui responded.
“What color panties are you wearing right now?”
“... What did you just say to me?” Yui asked, the soft expression she had a moment ago now nowhere to be seen.
Mina awkwardly turned to face her brother and again whispered meekly into his ear, “I wanted to break the ice, but I think I messed it up, Yukkie.”
“What exactly were you thinking, Mina? And anyway, she’s probably wearing those white panties. With the ribbon.”
“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear when I warned you about sexual harassment,” Yui interjected once more. She was glaring at Yuuki like she was about to put some sort of vicious curse on him.
“I’m sorry on behalf of Yukkie. He says inappropriate things sometimes,” Mina said, inserting herself between the two of them and bowing her head apologetically.
“Throwing me under the bus the first chance you get, huh?”
“So does he pay you by the hour? Or is this a dare you were forced to do?” Mina abruptly inquired.
“Now you’re just doing it on purpose. I’ll say it again: Yui is my girlfriend,” Yuuki asserted.
“Umm, yeah, I’m Yui Takatsuki, and I’m Yuuki’s girlfriend. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Since when have you guys been a couple?” Mina asked in a puzzled tone, alternatively looking at her brother and Yui.
“Uhh... since today, I guess?” Yuuki responded.
“Today?! Which one of you confessed first then?”
“Well...” Yuuki faltered, turning to Yui for help.