…
Evening, Chinese Restaurant
"Cheers!"
Kamishiro raised his glass triumphantly. As the top scorer in the afternoon's test, he successfully retained his title of "King of the Sea"!
The results matched his expectations pretty closely—Kitahara ended up being the weakest of the three.
Well—
Among the three of them, anyway… Kitahara wasn't the one footing the bill tonight.
That honor belonged to someone else.
Kamishiro looked sympathetically at Aina, who was being consoled.
So tragic—he'd forgotten to factor her in earlier.
Luckily—
Even though Aina came in last, she still passed the test. Which meant…
Kamishiro looked at the certificate in his hand, a smile creeping onto his face.
Bang!
"Talk! What else are you hiding from us?!"
After a few rounds of drinks, Aina was completely drunk, gripping Iori by the collar with a wobbly glare.
Oh, and right now, Iori only had his collar—his shirt had mysteriously vanished…
Giving off weirdly steamy vibes~
(;'A`)
"Um… I think there's probably nothing else?"
Iori's voice was filled with uncertainty—clearly debating whether to mention tomorrow's plans.
Damn.
He had originally wanted to give them a surprise!
"Someone's feeling guilty~"
Kamishiro teased as he took a sip of his drink, pulling out a camera and capturing the moment in a flash.
He was sure Yamamoto would be very interested in this.
"Bastard, I'm not! It really is a flight tomorrow. But what about you? Don't tell me you're secretly up to something again behind our backs."
Iori glared fiercely at Kamishiro, his eyes filled with jealousy. This guy was truly a winner at life!
Not only had he nearly earned back the money for this trip, but he also had a beautiful woman by his side.
Iori really wanted to live like that too!
"Well, I do have something else going on. But it's not like I'm hiding it from you all."
Kamishiro explained. He had already given up on the idea of going on a solo scouting trip. He was afraid that once they reached the destination, it'd end up being another Okinawa-style disaster. That would be truly embarrassing.
Since everyone was gathered now, it was the perfect time to discuss it together.
"What exactly are you planning to do?"
Kōhei asked in confusion, feeling like he didn't know anything at all. He was just going with the flow.
Wait… what was his original purpose in coming to Okinawa again?
"…"
Seeing the "brilliant" look in Kōhei's eyes, Kamishiro's mouth twitched.
If you ignored Maya having someone she liked, and the news of Ikegoshi's wedding, Kōhei was definitely the most carefree person in this whole operation.
Unfortunately, due to his weak stress tolerance, Kōhei had spent half the time in an emo state.
And the other half? Drunk, fired up by the motivational nonsense Kamishiro fed him.
"Well, this is actually pretty important, so I wanted to discuss it with you all."
Kamishiro's words successfully drew everyone's attention, including Aina, who was still hanging on Iori.
Something important?
It was rare to hear those words from Kamishiro.
Of course, drinking and flirting didn't count!
"So what is it?"
Iori was skeptical. Did Kamishiro really have something important to deal with?
His fish pond exploded or something?
Kamishiro said, "It's to look for a diving location for the Senpai."
Hearing that—
Iori froze, suddenly feeling like his "trip tomorrow" couldn't stay hidden anymore.
"Since we don't have any second-years, we're the only ones who can think about activities."
At least, outside of the drinking parties, the senpai were all amazing mentors!
They couldn't even imagine what PaB would be like without the senpai around.
A club with only five people… that was basically the bare minimum for a school club.
"No matter how many times I hear it, it still feels too sudden,"
Kōhei said with a sigh. The mood around the table suddenly turned heavy.
"Even though we've only been enrolled for about half a year, I guess the senpai can't wait any longer…"
Chisa also looked a bit down. She had met the senpai even earlier than Kamishiro and the others. She couldn't remember when it started, but—
Her family's store always had a bunch of naked men throwing drinking parties and playing strip rock-paper-scissors.
At first, she thought her house had been taken over and nearly called the cops.
Recalling that scene, a small smile appeared on Chisa's face.
When she threatened to call the police, the expressions on her senpai—and even her sister—were priceless.
Everyone could tell that starting this semester, the senpai gathered far less often than they did last term.
Many times, they had to force themselves to carve out time just to do club activities, all for the sake of the juniors.
"Iori, do something—make the seniors repeat a year!"
Iori: ???
Looking at the culprit who had torn his clothes into shreds, Iori had a huge question mark over his head.
Was this Cakey overestimating him a bit too much?
Make the senpai repeat a year?
Not only would that take serious connections, it'd also require incredibly durable bodies.
Those senpai were honor students!
Honor students with muscles!
How the hell were they supposed to repeat a year? Maybe, maybe Azusa had a chance.
Speaking of Azusa…
Iori recalled Nojima's answer from yesterday.
His whereabouts had been revealed by Azusa!
Though Iori still didn't understand how Azusa knew he was traveling with Chisa…
Still…
She really should go out and explore society. With that kind of talent, keeping her locked in a school was a waste!
Iori stuffed a bottle of alcohol into the Cakey's mouth and let her flop over again.
Then he looked at Kamishiro and said, "So, do you have any good ideas?"
"For a diving club, of course it has to be something related to the sea. I'm just deciding which waters to go to."
Iori nodded. That matched his thoughts exactly—the most important thing was the location.
Going overseas was too far. The senpai probably didn't have the time or money.
So they had to pick somewhere local in Japan. As an island nation, Japan had a lot of well-known diving spots.
The most famous, of course, was the Okinawa archipelago.
Okinawa's main island and Miyakojima could be ruled out—they had already visited those for previous club events.
Which left…
One other famous spot. The one he had chosen.
At that thought, Iori decided it was time to speak up.
Since they were discussing it thoroughly, hiding it any longer would be rude.
Chisa also looked at Iori, clearly hoping he would share his plan so they could all discuss it.
"Well, actually, tomorrow I—"
"Perfect timing! I'm planning to check out Ishigaki Island tomorrow. Kitahara, what were you about to say?"
Kamishiro looked at Iori with the most innocent expression ever.
Yep, completely innocent—he really didn't know what Iori had been about to say.
But from Iori's perspective, it was a different story.
That bastard was taunting him!
That's right!
Taunting!
The reason Iori thought so was simple—his chosen destination had been Ishigaki Island!
And now this jerk just happened to mention it right before he could?
What was that if not provocation?
It couldn't possibly be a damn coincidence!
Iori gritted his teeth and glared at Kamishiro. "You're a real good friend, huh?!"
Kamishiro: ???
Good friend?
Did Kitahara lose his mind?
"..."
Knowing the full story, Chisa held her head in her hands. She didn't even know what to say.
If this really was a coincidence, then the two of them were seriously on the same wavelength.
Seeing everyone's confused expressions, Chisa stepped up to explain for Iori.
"Actually, the main reason we came to Okinawa was to scout locations. And the destination we had in mind was… Ishigaki Island."
After speaking, Chisa gave Kōhei and Aina a weird look. So far, this whole trip had been suspiciously full of coincidences.
Could it be that those two were also here for the same reason?
But no… Chisa was overthinking it. Those two…
One was here to reclaim her youth, and the other had been dragged here by someone trying to reclaim theirs.
They had no idea about anything.
"Well, looks like you two really are on the same wavelength."
Kōhei joked. No wonder—they were both the same kind of bastard. Even their thoughts lined up perfectly.
Awkward?
Why would he feel awkward?
A guy who made zero effort to hide his otaku tendencies had no idea what embarrassment even was.
He just had social anxiety. But since they were all close now, that wasn't a problem.
Plus, with two cunning schemers handling everything, Kōhei was more than happy to shut off his brain when it came to club matters.
As for Aina—
Normally, she'd be red-faced and tongue-tied in a situation like this. But after drinking…
Thunk!
(ˉ﹃ˉ;)
"You two are way too sneaky!"
Aina stood up and pulled the bottle out of her mouth.
Whether it was because her usual image was too ingrained or something else—
Even with a string of drool trailing from the bottle to her lips…
No one had the slightest impure thought.
They just thought: "That bottle's dirty now. Better give it to the Cakey and make her finish it."
Can't waste good alcohol!
Meanwhile, the Cakey had no idea about the offensive plans of the Kamishiro trio.
She simply stood drunkenly with one hand on her hip and began scolding in some random direction.
"How can you only think about yourselves? This kind of thing obviously needs to be discussed with everyone!"
"..."
Kamishiro and Iori looked silently at the Aina. What she said made a lot of sense—it was their own thinking that had been too one-sided.
However…
"Could you at least turn this way when you're talking?"
"We're over here…"
Huh?
Hearing that, Aina felt like something was indeed off—the voice wasn't coming from directly in front of her.
She rubbed her eyes. At some point, the figure in front of her had become a decorative flower vase.
╭(°A°`)╮
Aina shook her head side to side, trying to find where Iori was.
But she had clearly drunk too much—she couldn't even stand steadily, let alone go looking for someone.
Eventually, with Hanabi's help, she managed to arrive in front of Iori.
Looking at the bottle of "Water of Life" on the table—now only a bit more than half full—Hanabi silently made a vow in her heart:
I will never drink with this club again.
Too scary!
What kind of girl drinks over half a bottle of 96% alcohol and is still bouncing around?!
If it were her, she would've already passed out cold!
"That's too sneaky. When did you two sneak over here?"
"..."
The two of them remained silent. How were they supposed to explain to a drunk person that they'd been here the whole time?
At this point, Aina crawled right up next to Iori. "No, this isn't right—at the very least, you have to bring me along."
Iori kept backing up. He had a bad feeling—Aina in this state felt kind of dangerous.
Gulp…
Iori secretly swallowed his saliva. The problem was, Aina like this… was strangely attractive!
Wake up, Iori! This girl's real nature is the made-up beast!
Next to him, Kamishiro had already activated recording mode.
Oh ho ho, it's time for another drunken truth-spilling! He remembered the last time—on Miyako Island—when the beast got drunk and started pulling down her pants.
Who knows what it'll be this time? A love confession? Or some other outrageous stunt?
Speaking of love confessions…
At that thought, Kamishiro glanced at Chisa beside him.
At the moment, Chisa was dumbfounded, staring at the two who were nearly touching, seemingly deep in thought.
Move!
If you don't act now, this idiot Kitahara is going to be stolen away!
Kamishiro and Hanabi were furiously exchanging glances.
One didn't want Kitahara to suddenly get into a relationship, while the other was just a pure shipper enjoying the drama.
Meanwhile, Kohei was completely the opposite—he had the face of a supporting character from an anime, proud that the protagonist was finally getting the girl thanks to his help.
(σ≧▽≦)σ
No!
This won't do!
Kamishiro felt like he had to do something.
"Um…"
Just as he was about to speak up to ease the awkward tension—
Suddenly, a pair of eyes glared at him viciously!
Like a lioness protecting her cub.
At that moment, Kamishiro had an epiphany. Maybe it was better to just let them go with the flow.
Sometimes, it's okay to let Aina experience the love she yearns for.
This was, after all, a pink-tinted college life.
Kamishiro backed away several steps, giving the two some space, and decided not to interfere.
Of course, he had to clarify—his retreat had nothing to do with the way Aina was pouting, seemingly holding something back.
He was genuinely giving his blessing!!!
Kitahara!
Open your heart and accept Aina's love!
Kamishiro could barely suppress the huge grin spreading across his face.
Aina watched Kamishiro retreat, eyes filled with satisfaction. But… her stomach wasn't quite as satisfied.
She was too drunk to think clearly now.
It was purely instinct—just the desire to get close to Iori.
Like how drunk people always seem to instinctively find the toilet.
"Um, Cakey…"
Iori had sobered up a bit at this point. He reached out to steady Aina. Let's get back to discussing which ocean area to choose.
He didn't believe Aina had any inappropriate intentions. She was probably just being a drunken mess.
But when Iori held Aina's shoulders and saw the expression on her face—
He froze. His danger radar started screaming!
"Cakey! Calm down! I'll take you to the bathroom right now!"
As someone who often got hungover, Iori was very familiar with that look.
Panicking, he tried to get Aina to the restroom.
But he forgot something extremely important.
Drunk people shouldn't be moved easily~
The moment Aina was lifted, she couldn't hold it anymore. Her stomach churned violently, something was about to erupt.
No!
It's overflowing!
Σ_(꒪ཀ꒪」∠)
Before everyone's horrified eyes, Iori's shirt got drenched—covered in all sorts of indescribable things~
Iori: (╥﹏╥)
He knew it!!!!