The garden of the Imperial Magic Academy.
A favorite place for students to walk, date, or just rest.
...
Yu sat on a bench.
Liam had stepped away, telling her to wait here.
Across from her, a couple of students sat holding hands, wrapped in each other's arms.
Yu's eyes were starting to stick together. She was just about to fall asleep.
but something stopped her.
The couple had done something strange: they pressed their lips together.
Yu blinked. Once. Twice.Their lips were still touching.
She stood up. Walked over. Leaned in closer.
— "What are you doing?"
— "Ah? Yu?!" The girl jerked back, blushing. Her boyfriend coughed awkwardly. "Aren't you with Liam?"
— "Liam stepped away. What are you doing?"
— "Uh—ah? We're, uh, kissing."
— "Kissing? What for?"
— "Well... people kiss when they love each other..."
— "Liam never kissed. You two don't love each other. Why are you kissing then?"
— "Ahaha—? Well, that's... You and Liam shouldn't kiss either. Siblings don't kiss."
— "Then you shouldn't kiss either. But you're kissing. So it must be for something."
— "Yu, you and Liam love each other differently," she said, slightly annoyed.
— "No, you two don't love each other. But you're kissing."
— "Khh! You just don't get it! It's nice to kiss someone you love!" she said, now raising her voice.Her boyfriend had effectively swallowed his tongue by this point.
But even her half-shouted outburst didn't make Yu's sleepy expression shift.
— Yawn "Don't get it. I'm sleepy. Bye~"
— "A?!" A flock of birds shot out of the nearby tree at her voice.
Yu calmly walked back to her bench and lay on her side.
The couple hurried off in opposite directions toward the dorms.
'Not comfortable lying down.'
But Yu just rolled to the other side, tucked her tail under herself, and closed her eyes.
'But Liam said to wait here.'
...
Some time later, just as she was dozing off, footsteps approached.
They stopped about a meter away from the bench.
— "Get up," Liam said. "Let's go to the room."
Yu's fox ears twitched, and she opened her eyes.
— "Yes."