"Whew..."
"Can't go on anymore..."
(?ˉ??ˉ??)
"No strength left..."
The three collapsed on the floor like dried fish.
Even though they hadn't done much, they were completely drained. Turns out pulling someone's underwear really is exhausting work.
"You three..."
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Three books were slapped onto their faces. Chisa and Nanaka came over, clearly not amused. For the club, diving was serious business—they hadn't forgotten why they came here in the first place!
"Tomorrow the diving license course starts."
"So let's review first!"
"Y-Yes ma'am..." ×3
The three replied half-heartedly. It felt just like when teachers tell you to review at school—in one ear, out the other. Straight-up ignoring it.
"Aina too!"
Even Aina, who was lying lazily on the couch, didn't escape Chisa's devilish discipline.
...
"So, how are you three sleeping tonight?"
The two senpai looked guilty. They couldn't possibly sleep on the floor or on small beds due to their size.
"..."
Iori and Kouhei went silent. Mentally, they may have won, but...
That didn't change the fact that they'd fallen into the water.
"Hey! I earned that bed! I even got injured for it!"
＼(`Δ')／
Shiro stood his ground—no one was taking that bed from him.
"Eh? Shiro, weren't you gonna sleep with us?"
{{(°△°; "}}!
Shiro froze in fear as Nanaka let his secret slip.
Big sis, why would you say that out loud!? I was planning to sneak in quietly! You ruined it!
"YOU SCUMBAG! So this is what you meant by sleeping on the floor?!"
"You sneak AND hog the bed?! Playing dirty, huh?!"
Iori and Kouhei instantly rose up, their books now rolled into clubs, ready to strike. Shiro, too, picked up a book, and the three clashed like ancient warriors.
"These were the rules! Winner gets the bed!"
"Traitors don't get to play, scumbag!"
"Think about my poor Pablo, you jerks!"
"You think you're the only one suffering?! Same here!"
The three were visibly bruised from their earlier misadventure—clearly, their little brothers were all out of commission!
(′｀;)?
Nanaka and Azusa looked at each other, completely dumbfounded. Why were these idiots suddenly fighting again?
Tokita, being the sensible one, didn't hide anything and explained the whole situation: the bet, the room shortage, and the falling into the water. Once the girls understood what had happened, they sighed in unison.
Sometimes, these three were just like a bunch of kids.
"Alright, alright~ Shiro, no more fighting. Since you're already sneaking into my room tonight, you can't go claiming someone else's bed too, okay?"
Azusa smiled warmly as she gently separated the three of them, worried that if she didn't, they'd keep brawling until morning.
"But…"
Shiro looked heartbroken. That bed was something he fought hard for—he'd even sacrificed his own comrades to get it!
poke poke~
Azusa leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "I'll make it up to you tonight~"
!!!
At those words, Shiro instantly spun around.
Of course he wasn't going to bicker with those two idiots anymore! Let them have the room—his mind was already elsewhere. And no, it definitely wasn't because of that vague and mysterious promise!
(??ω??)
"There's something seriously wrong with that guy."
"Damn it, that bastard! Why does he get to sleep with Azusa?!"
Iori's face twisted in pure rage. He was this close to becoming the next Yamamoto. Jealousy really did make people ugly.
"Well, maybe it's because he's better looking than you?"
"You traitor! Whose side are you on, Kouhei?! Why are you defending the enemy?!"
"I'm just telling the truth. And besides, I'm part of the 'good looks squad,' thank you very much."
Kouhei flashed a peace sign. Iori didn't want to admit it, but… yeah, his two best buddies were idol-level handsome.
He quietly scanned the room.
Two hot older sisters, cute Chisa, the makeup monster, two hosts, and two beasts...
Why did it feel like he was being lumped into the "beast" category!?
A single tear rolled down Iori's cheek
. Why did the club have to recruit such good-looking people? Those two punks should just go become influencers or something!
"..."
"What's that idiot thinking about now?"
"Who knows. Probably nothing good."
Aina stared at Iori with a face full of disbelief. She could feel a wave of negative energy radiating off of him just now. No need to guess who the source was...
How on earth did she ever fall for that guy anyway?
...
Though Iori was wallowing in self-pity, life had to go on. More importantly, the room issue still wasn't resolved.
Shiro's sudden retreat left Iori and Kouhei a bit off-balance. Sure, one less competitor was good, but...
It still wasn't enough!
There was only one bed left. One of them still had to sleep on the floor!
Iori and Kouhei stared each other down—this was the moment they officially shifted from allies to rivals!
"Kitahara, someone like you doesn't need a bed! Idiots should sleep on the floor!"
"Hah? You're the hopeless anime freak here! Go merge with the floor, dumbass!"
With Shiro gone, the battle became even more intense. Truly, triangles are the most stable structure…
"Alright, alright, calm down, you two. I say we settle this with footage from earlier,"
Tokita pulled out a camera—Shiro had brought it to record their fall into the water, and now it would serve as critical evidence!
"Let's see who really hit the water first!"
He turned on the camera...
And was immediately greeted by a full screen of mosaic censoring. It was nothing but Yamamoto and company's naked tragedies.
"..."
Silence. The room fell deathly quiet. Somewhere, a crow cawed overhead.
Yoink!
Shiro lunged and quickly flipped the photos to the ones showing Iori and Kouhei falling into the water!
Damn that camera! Why did it have to bring up those images first?!
For the record!
He was not a pervert! He only recorded that footage to have leverage against those animals!
Luckily, everyone collectively chose to ignore the censored madness. No one wanted to see that stuff anyway.
Except Azusa, who subtly gave Shiro a thumbs-up. Her little Shiro was finally growing up!
Perfect—now they had even more in common. Yep, her training was paying off. She decided then and there: next time, she'd show him Part 2 of that four-person film.
Poor Shiro had no idea that, because of one slip, the movies he'd be watching soon would never be the same again.
Right now, though, he was busy analyzing Iori and Kouhei's fall photos with the others.
From the pictures, it looked like their heads were at the same level, but unfortunately for Iori, the wave tilted slightly—
—making Iori's head the first to hit the water!
Meaning the winner was… Kouhei!
Ta-dah~
"The wave doesn't count! It's just margin of error!"
Iori shouted, frustrated. It was clearly the same level, dammit!
"Pathetic, Kitahara. Just admit defeat like a man!"
"No way! I demand a rematch!"
The two started brawling again. Not only had the photo failed to settle things, it only made them worse…
"Sigh, now it's even more of a mess. If they don't get good sleep, it'll affect tomorrow's class."
"Exactly. No one can sleep well on the floor…"
The others were worried. This was the crucial time for the diving license course—they needed proper rest.
"Don't worry! I'll step in!"
Shiro walked back in with a pervy grin, holding some tools he'd packed "just in case."
Being prepared never hurts!