"... "
"As for finding Shouko —"
"Stop, stop, stop, I get it," Itohara interrupted her, raising a hand impatiently, "I'll cover for you when I'm off on the weekend."
Junko, seeing her plan succeed, could no longer hide the smile on her lips, her eyes curving as she raised her hand to flash a triumphant 'V' sign.
Then, with light steps, she turned and went back into the inn to attend to the guests.
Meanwhile, Tsuna and the others had a long journey, first the crowded bus swaying and bumping along the afternoon streets, then diving into the cold, enclosed clamor of the subway, and finally squeezing onto a wobbly bus.
When the vehicle finally came to a stop in front of the hot spring inn, nestled against the mountain, dusk had already settled outside the window.
The warm, orange lights marked the resting place reserved for the students on their school trip.
"We're here, we're here, finally here!"
Ajitani practically rushed out of the bus door first, her suitcase and various shopping bags, big and small, causing her to lean to one side.
As she struggled to regain her balance and stumble off the bus, she couldn't help but wail:
"So many things! I should have bought less when I was shopping. My back is breaking."
"... "
Tsuna and the others also got off the bus one after another, their hands full, shopping bags and souvenir bags weighing them down, making their knuckles turn a bit white.
Though they were all silent, the weariness in their eyes was thick and unshakeable, and even their steps showed a hint of sluggishness.
The group parted ways in the inn's wooden-floored corridor, agreeing to report to Nanase-sensei together later.
"Whoosh…"
Tsuna and Nishikata returned to the room they had been assigned on the first day. As soon as they opened the door, they saw it was empty, though their luggage was still there.
They guessed the others had gone out to play and hadn't returned yet.
The two rested in the room for a while. After Tsuna also reported his safety to his grandfather and the others on 'LINE,' he got up and walked towards Nanase-sensei's room.
By the time he returned, the other four people in the room had already come back.
"Yo! You two are back?"
"How was your trip these past few days? Were you happy staying with the lovely class monitor?"
As soon as the door was pulled open, before they even stepped inside, they heard greetings and teasing questions from the others.
The clever Tsuna nodded to the others in greeting, then chose to push Nishikata, who was hiding behind him, in front of them to handle the questions.
He, on the other hand, lay down, ready to sleep, but the chatter kept him from falling asleep, so he joined the conversation.
He also shared the snacks and local specialties he brought from his grandparents with the others, and they tasted them together.
"Hehe, you two weren't here these past few days, but you missed a fortune!"
Kitano, the guy sitting opposite Nishikata, his eyes gleaming, eagerly leaned forward: "A whole basket of excitement and gossip, guaranteed to make your jaws drop!"
"Jaws drop?" Nishikata blinked in confusion, "What gossip and excitement?"
"You can try to guess first." Kitano provocatively raised an eyebrow at the two.
"..." Nishikata immediately felt a lack of desire to continue the conversation.
"You… you guys didn't sneak off to the Girl's hot spring to peep on the first night, did you?" Tsuna said casually, biting into an apple.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Kitano, on the opposite sofa, opened his mouth slightly, his entire face filled with the shock of being precisely targeted.
Nishikata's hand, which was about to drink water, stopped mid-air. He subconsciously followed Tsuna's gaze to Kitano, and when he saw his expression, he nearly choked on a mouthful of water.
"Miyamura, how did you guess that? Did someone secretly tell you?!" Kitano looked at him in disbelief.
"..." Tsuna looked at him speechlessly.
He now only felt how normal a decision it was to call Shouko and the other Girl to his grandfather's hot spring inn at that time—the most correct decision of the year.
And Kitano, through his expression, also guessed the answer.
"Then… what happened next?"
Nishikata didn't pay attention to their changing expressions, suppressing his curiosity, and asked:
"Did… did you see anything inappropriate for children?"
"No."
Kitano waved his hand helplessly, "Nanase-sensei and the teacher from the other class seemed to have anticipated it.
They had already arranged for Staff Members to guard the edges of the partition wall between the male and female baths. Forget seeing anything, we didn't even dare to get close."
"Yuichi was warned to go back before he even got close." As he finished speaking, he could only sigh lightly, as if disappointed about something.
"... "
"But that's right, the school arranged for us to come to a hot spring inn for the school trip, so they must have anticipated this aspect long ago." Tsuna looked at him, his expression unchanged.
"Then what other gossip and excitement is there?" Nishikata asked curiously.
"Rinko broke up with her boyfriend. They even had a big fight in the cafeteria when they broke up." Kitano no longer kept them in suspense, recalling the incident and speaking directly:
"Except for you guys who weren't here, almost all of us know about it."
"Just… just that?" Tsuna blinked.
"... "
Nishikata, who had just found it a bit explosive and wanted to ask for the reason, was doused with cold water by him and no longer wanted to ask.
Seeing Tsuna's expression, Kitano was still a bit unconvinced and began to speak mysteriously: "You know Tanaka and Shanzhi, right?"
"Nonsense," Nishikata rolled his eyes at him speechlessly, pointing to the boy who had lain down to sleep as soon as he returned: "Isn't he lying right there?"
Kitano ignored him, maintaining the mysterious expression on his face:
"He plans to confess to Rinko tonight, on the last day of the school trip, at the 'Bamboo Grove Path' attraction next to the hot spring inn."
"Huh?" Nishikata subconsciously widened his eyes.
"No… Kitano,"
Male Student A, who had been listening in the corner, finally couldn't hold it in. His voice was extremely low, and he nervously glanced in Tanaka's direction as he spoke:
"Are you really… going to sell Tanaka out like that? Is that… okay?"
Male Student B, another bystander who had been silently munching on melon the whole time, immediately shrank his neck upon hearing this, nodding profusely like pounding garlic, mumbling in agreement:
"Mm-hmm… yeah…"
Kitano did not answer directly.
He turned his face, his eyes appearing somewhat deep in the dim light, scanning the two of them one by one: "What is our role tonight?"
"Role?"
"To assist Tanaka today, to be his wingmen."
"That's right."
Kitano clapped his hands suddenly, then, as if realizing something, he looked in Tanaka's direction, confirming he hadn't woken up before seeming to breathe a sigh of relief:
"It's better to invite a professional than for the three of us to assist him!"
"A professional? Who?" Male Student A was very confused.
Male Student B, on the other hand, couldn't stand it anymore. He slapped Male Student A's head and pointed to Tsuna, who was silently eating an apple.
"Miyamura?"
"Him?"
"Me?"
"Exactly!"
"..." Tsuna, under the gaze of everyone present, was speechless for a moment.
"Miyamura is a professional in this area? Since when? How come I don't know?"
Nishikata asked the doubt in his heart. If he had to say, he did know about writing novels professionally.
But whether that counted, he didn't know.