One day later.
Kamishiro and the others returned to Izu, mentally and physically exhausted.
Yesterday, they had done a full inspection of Island.
Because the workload was so heavy and time was tight, everyone had to split into groups.
Aina, this time, had proactively kept her distance from Iori.
It was just too embarrassing!!!
Thinking back to when she puked all over Iori while drunk, Aina's face turned bright red.
She wished she had a time machine to go back and strangle her past self!
She puked all over her crush!!!
Aina felt like she was losing her mind. Her youth was slipping away from her…
Q: After vomiting all over your crush, is there still hope?
(っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)
If the roles were reversed, she definitely wouldn't like a boy who puked all over her after getting drunk!
Even if it were Iori… well, maybe? Sort of?
But…
It's not the same!
Totally not the same!
She liked Iori, which made her uncertain. But Iori didn't like her to begin with—and now it was over for sure!
At that thought, Aina's face grew even more gloomy.
Normally, after getting drunk, Aina wouldn't remember much.
Like during the drinking party on Miyako Island.
But this time was different.
This time, Aina puked!
And as everyone knows, when a drunk person vomits, they usually sober up a bit.
Add to that Kamishiro's "war correspondent" footage, and every detail of the event was recorded crystal clear.
AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!
Someone make her lose her memory!!
Also!!
KILL Kamishiro, THAT BASTARD!!!
Aina gritted her teeth at Kamishiro. That jerk!
Who in their right mind films videos all the time?!
What she didn't know was that Kamishiro had noticed everything ahead of time and started filming on purpose.
If Aina ever found out it was all premeditated, her killing intent would be even stronger~
（λ_`）
Kamishiro whistled innocently, pretending he hadn't noticed Aina's sharp glance.
He had no intention of returning to GB with the rest of them.
"Um, I'll take Hanabi home first."
Kamishiro said, wrapping his arm around Hanabi.
Ah, such are the troubles of working adults—unable to just go out and play freely.
Unlike students, who can skip class every now and then without much consequence.
Of course, they're all good students; classes only start tomorrow, so they'll make it back in time.
That is…
Yamamoto and the others probably won't make it back in time…
Kamishiro remembered the messages Rie had sent him over the past couple of days.
"Kamashiro-kun, Yuu-oniichan got kidnapped again. Do you know where they are?"
"Kidnapped AGAIN? Where are those bastards?!"
"WHERE?!"
"..."
With Kamishiro and the others no longer their target, Yamamoto and his crew had apparently focused all their energy on Mitaraishi.
They were probably still in Okinawa, engaged in some elaborate game of cat and mouse.
Poor Rie… With Yamamoto and the rest always around, it might be impossible for her to ever spend a peaceful night with her beloved Yuu-oniichan.
Still, their counter-surveillance techniques were laughably amateurish—they hadn't even discovered the tracker he planted.
Kamishiro had already earned himself a Fukuzawa from selling their location intel to Rie.
‵(･ω･´)
Yes, the reason this chase game was even continuing was all thanks to Kamishiro constantly selling out Yamamoto and crew's location to Rie-chan.
Under the pretense of "special training," of course.
He sincerely hoped they could hold out just a little longer~
Meanwhile—
Hanabi gave Kamishiro a sidelong glance, then brushed her hair aside and turned to Chisa and the others.
"Sorry, I have to head off early because of work. I really enjoyed spending time with everyone the past couple of days. Thanks for taking care of me."
Seeing Hanabi so formal, Chisa waved her hands frantically and said, "No, no, it's us who should thank you. We hope you'll visit again, Hanabi san!"
Chisa smiled shyly. After spending time together, she had grown quite fond of this older sister figure.
Especially since she was interested in diving!
That made Chisa like her even more!
"Alright, alright, no more polite talk—we're heading out."
Kamishiro cut off the niceties. When it came to gratitude and apologies, Japanese people could keep it going endlessly.
They'd all shared the same room—no need to act like strangers anymore.
"..."
(¬_¬)
Chisa stared at Kamishiro speechlessly. She got the feeling he was thinking something… indecent.
This guy seriously had no sense of delicacy. She suddenly felt a bit bad for Hanabi san!
…
Watching Kamishiro and Hanabi walk away, Kohei turned to Aina, looking somewhat thoughtful.
"Is it really okay to just let them leave like that?"
Hm?
Aina looked at Kohei in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Ah, you know, didn't you have that friend with the weird hairstyle who told you to keep an eye on Kamashiro? Is it okay not to tell her anything?"
As he spoke, Kohei made a ponytail gesture on the side of his head.
{{(°△°; "}}!
Oh crap?!
Aina suddenly realized—she'd been so focused on Iori that she completely forgot about her bestie Kiyoko!
If she told Kiyoko now… wouldn't it be a little too late?
A scenario popped into Aina's head.
Kiyoko: "You're telling me something this important now? They've already had their fill!"
Kiyoko: "Taste my Dragon Claw Fist!"
Remembering Kiyoko's infamous Dragon Claw Fist, Aina shivered and instinctively hugged herself.
Yeah… maybe it's best not to tell Kiyoko after all.
(;ﾟ＿ﾟ)
Aina: "Kamashiro? Who's Kamashiro? I don't know anyone by that name."
∑(′△｀)?!
"Huh? The squinty-eyed guy who just left!"
Apparently, honest and sincere Kohei still didn't get what Aina was trying to do. He just thought she had sudden amnesia.
As weird as it sounded, if the person in question was a Cakey, it was… plausible.
So he kept describing Kamishiro's appearance in hopes of jogging her memory.
"What squinty eyes? You've got the wrong person—there's no such guy."
Aina kept inching closer as she spoke.
Seeing that threatening smile, Kohei quickly nodded.
"Nope! Didn't see anything! No squinty eyes here!"
Seeing this golden retriever boy being so cooperative, Aina gave a satisfied smile.
Kiyoko absolutely must not find out about this!
She didn't want to experience the shame of that Dragon Claw Fist ever again!
As for Kamashiro…
Aina wanted to stop him, but Kamashiro and Hanabi san had already disappeared down the street.
Looks like… it's too late now…
Sorry, Kiyoko-chan!
I really didn't mean to this time… (っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)
Just this once!
Starting tomorrow, I'll report to Kiyoko-chan every single day to make up for this mistake.
As Aina walked back to GB with guilt in her heart, she suddenly spotted three very familiar figures…
Aina: {{(°△°; "}}!
Why the hell are they here?!
…
As everyone noticed the familiar figures approaching, their eyes naturally drifted toward Aina.
Weren't those Cakey's best friends?
Such a tight bond?
They were only gone for a few days and already came in a group to pick her up?
"What a friendship to be jealous of."
"Go on, go to them."
Iori pushed the Cakey forward, his eyes filled with envy. Why couldn't he have that kind of friendship in college?
Thinking of Yamamoto's disgusting face and the beasts in his major…
Iori suddenly felt there was nothing to look forward to in his college life.
Wasn't this basically an all-boys school in disguise?!
Aina had been trying to pretend she didn't see them, but before she could react, Iori had already shoved her forward.
Seeing no way out,
She could only brace herself and head toward her trio of besties.
On the other side—
Kanako and the others watched Aina and Iori's interaction with shining eyes.
Kanako: "Hahaha, I win! Pay up, pay up!"
Keiko: "Don't rush. That was just a small gesture—there might be a twist coming!"
Kiyoko: "That damn yellow-head! Went off alone with Aina and didn't make a move at all?!"
Hearing what her bestie trio was saying, Aina twitched visibly.
Could they please lower their voices when making bets about her?
She was feeling hurt, you know!
(っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)
From the moment she saw them, she knew exactly what those three were up to.
She regretted it deeply now.
Regretted telling Kiyoko she'd be going to Okinawa with Kohei!
She just wanted to reassure her friends that she'd be safe…
Who would've thought it'd instantly turn into gossip fuel?!
Especially since it was Kiyoko! The one who inherited the spirit of a middle-aged man!
She told Kanako and Keiko about it the same night.
And throughout the Okinawa trip, the group chat had been buzzing non-stop!
All sorts of nosy questions:
"Hey hey, did you find that boy?"
"How's he getting along with that girl?"
"How are you getting along with Kohei?"
"Are they sharing a room?"
"Are you sharing a room with Kohei?"
"Be sure to stay safe."
"If you need protection, I recommend Okamoto!"
AAAAHHHHH!!!
What kind of questions are these?!
Because of the presence of Keiko and Kiyoko, those two veteran shippers, the group chat always veered off into inappropriate topics.
And what's worse—these two had their eyes fixed on her and Kohei…
Damn it!
There's no way anything would ever happen between her and Kohei! They were just good bros!
…Well…
Even if they slept in the same bed, they were still just good bros!
(/////)
Among them, only Kanako had asked about Iori.
But… it was all gossip!
When Aina saw the messages, she could already picture the flames of pure, burning gossip desire in Kanako's eyes.
Gossip from a "pure love faction" is even scarier!
She felt like—if Kanako didn't have academic responsibilities to tend to, she probably would've flown straight to Okinawa to watch the drama unfold in person!
"..."
All she could say was thank goodness Kanako hadn't come. Otherwise… things on her end would've been way more chaotic.
At the very least, their plan to blend in as locals and their dealings with Ikegoshi would've been exposed even earlier.
At first, Aina had answered some of their questions.
But the moment Kiyoko and Keiko started turning the questions toward lewd territory, she stopped responding entirely.
Because—how was she supposed to answer that kind of thing?!
Eventually, once they realized Aina wasn't replying, they slowly gave up on prying into that line of questioning.
She thought they had finally let it go.
But who could have guessed—
Who could've guessed they'd pull out on-site gossiping tactics?!
And literally the moment they stepped off the plane, no less!
Damn this friendship!
Nope—she had to do something to divert their attention!
To avoid being interrogated under "torture," Aina frantically worked her brain into overdrive.
First target—
The most persistent of the bunch: Kiyoko!
Hmm, dealing with her was actually quite simple. The aftermath might be a bit much, but she could handle that later. For now, survival came first!
"Hey, Aina…"
"Wait a sec!"
Just as Kiyoko was about to speak, Aina cut her off. Under Kiyoko's confused gaze, Aina pointed in a certain direction.
"Just now, Kamashiro and his editor lady walked off that way. Oh, and they were snuggled up together."
Kiyoko: '∑(′△｀)?!'
Kiyoko: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ!!!
Hearing that, Kiyoko didn't even have time to ask Aina how she knew—let alone ask her any questions.
Because nothing—nothing—was more important than gossip about her own boyfriend!
Emmm…
Well, maybe it could be argued?
After a brief internal struggle, Kiyoko decided to leave the mission to Keiko and Kanako!
Getting a confident nod from both of them, Kiyoko dashed off in the direction Kamashiro had gone.
The reason for her urgency?
The "Tiger-Dragon Love Hotel" was in that direction!
"..."
Perfect—one pain-in-the-neck down!
Aina's eyes then turned toward the sweet, innocent Kanako!
Her sharp, predator-like gaze startled Kanako. But when she remembered she didn't have a boyfriend, she straightened up with newfound confidence!
Today, she was definitely going to get some answers from Aina—nothing would stop her!
…Or so she thought, until—
Kohei was suddenly dragged over by Aina.
"Mm, this is Miss Maya's younger sister. She probably knows who her sister's crush is."
Kanako: {{(°△°; "}}!
Wha—?!
Kanako had totally forgotten about that post her older sister made! She hadn't hidden her identity—after all, this was a girls' school, and people who liked her sister were rare. There was nothing to be concerned about.
But—
She had forgotten about Kohei!
Obviously, Kohei had forgotten about her too—until Aina's reminder lit a fire under him.
That's right—Maya's sister is right here!
As her little sister, she had to know her big sister's romantic history!
"Please tell me!"
Faced with Kohei—who had apparently overcome his social anxiety just for her sister—Kanako's expression turned stiff.
Damn you, Aina!
"Whew…"
Having handled another one, Aina let out a deep sigh of relief. Great—now only Keiko was left.
As for Keiko…
She probably cared a lot about her little brother. So if she just steered the topic toward Keiko's younger brother…
Aina already had a plan in mind. All she had to do was—
Wait.
Keiko was suddenly gone from her field of vision.
???
Did she… retreat without fighting?
Before she could celebrate, Aina suddenly felt her body tense up!
That feeling—someone had just grabbed her buns!
Keiko!
This was a public place, damn it!
But Keiko, ever the experienced onee-san type, didn't care about Aina's embarrassment. Her technique was subtle—no one else could possibly see!
"Ehehehe~" Keiko giggled like a pervert.
Caught you~