With a guilty conscience, Iori tried to act natural as he slinked over behind Aina.
Now that he had handled Kamishiro, with that guy's sinister level of scheming, he would definitely come up with something very spicy to distract Nanaka san.
But…
It was still one vs. one. The situation wasn't stable yet. At best, it was a tie.
The ideal solution was to get everyone to steer the topic away together!
That's why he was now sneaking behind Aina, trying to see what kind of question Aina had written, and whether he could work with it.
But then—
Iori's curious gaze gradually turned into pure horror.
Someone was trying to set him up!!!
The paper in Aina's hand clearly read:
"I've done things I shouldn't have in Kabukicho."
!!!
Dead memories resurfaced. In Iori's mind, he saw the shadow of that store in Kabukicho…
And its "special services"...
Σ_(???」∠) Urgh!!!
That was definitely something that shouldn't have been done!
No, even thinking about it was a mistake!
"Cakey, YOU?!"
Iori shouted, pale-faced, hoping to get Aina to change her question.
This question not only brought back memories that should've been sealed away, it might also deepen Nanaka's misunderstanding of him!
A double attack—mind and body!
It had to go!
"Iori?! How can you peek at someone else's question?!"
Aina shouted in surprise, clutching her paper to her chest.
But it was pointless. That paper held no secrets from Iori anymore.
"That's irrelevant!"
Iori cut her off. "Cakey, I think instead of that boring question, we should ask something more meaningful!"
Like, maybe help your bestie ask which girl Kamishiro has liked the most out of all the ones he's dated.
Your bestie would love that question!
"Oh? Is that so…"
Aina lowered her head so her expression was hidden. Just when Iori thought she'd agree—
He saw a very familiar look on her face!
The kind you'd often see on his creepy friends!
There was a red glint in Aina's eyes, like she was barely holding something back, and the paper in her hands was on the verge of crumpling.
"I think… this is a VERY important question!!!"
Seeing this,
Iori broke into a cold sweat, his face drenched.
So scary!
What's with her?! She looked totally triggered!
Did any of them say something that would set her off? Not a word about makeup, right?
And come on, is the Kabukicho question even that important?!
Everyone knows what happens in Kabukicho by middle school!
Honestly, it'd be weird if you didn't do something there!
In that case… no matter how you looked at it, his past actions weren't normal.
Because if fulfilling one's desires is something you should do, then Iori had clearly failed, he had nearly lost all desire entirely!
A strange sense of melancholy suddenly washed over Iori.
Forget it…
Just give up. Maybe this question will bring surprise answers from someone else.
Like Kamishiro. Or the two senpai.
After all, it's Kabukicho.
Any normal guy should be curious about that place!
Well… okay, maybe these three weren't "normal," but compared to Kohei, they were saints.
Thinking of Kohei, Iori suddenly felt curious what that golden retriever had written. He wanted to sneak a peek again.
But just then, Azusa spoke up.
"Alrighty, everyone done writing? If you're finished, drop your papers into this bucket~"
As she spoke, Azusa came up behind Iori and plucked the paper straight from his hands.
Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
Heh heh~
She'd been watching this naughty boy the whole time. Cheating isn't allowed~
Neither is peeking~
{{(°△°; "}}!
Iori stood there dumbfounded, watching Azusa's back.
He suddenly felt like this entire game was created with the sole purpose of targeting him.
There was no escape now. Iori sat in his seat, metaphorically butt-naked, trembling as he awaited judgment.
"Now then, the first question is—"
Kamishiro, using an overly theatrical voice, announced the start of the second round of the game, purposely building suspense.
Specifically, suspense aimed at Iori.
Looking at the drenched Iori, Kamishiro's lips curled into a devilish smile.
This is what happens when you dare to threaten me!
"I'm gonna destroy you!"
"But—eh?! Nanaka nee, I'm the one who's supposed to announce it!"
Originally, Kamishiro had planned to tease Iori a little more, but in the next second, the slip of paper in his hand was snatched away by Nanaka-senpai.
And not only that she even patted his head like she was calming a child, using a sweet, coaxing tone.
"Be good, Kamishiro~ Let's move things along, okay~?"
( ?ˇ?ˇ? )
Well… what else could he do?
Kamishiro didn't actually want to give it up, but… she patted his head. She was so nice to him!
Left with no choice, Kamishiro obediently stood behind Nanaka-senpai, with no trace of the bratty behavior he'd shown just moments ago.
Iori: (???)
Seeing this, Iori almost felt like self-destructing on the spot with that bastard.
Isn't there any professional integrity left?!
But there was one good thing—at least Nanaka-senpai would just read the question without dragging things out.
So, the first question was…
"I'm a cat person."
Whew!
The moment he heard the question, Iori breathed a huge sigh of relief. He didn't know who wrote it, but he was beyond grateful!
Finally, a normal question!
This one didn't require much thought. Everyone just placed their coin under the handkerchief and wrote on a slip which side they thought had more people.
* Voted more cat people: 5 people
(Azusa, Kamishiro, Kotobuki, Tokita, Kouhei)
* Voted not more cat people: 4 people
(Iori, Chisa, Aina, Nanaka)
Both sides looked supremely confident, each certain they were going to win!
Especially Iori. He clearly remembered reading a report that said most Japanese were dog people. So the club should follow the same trend, right?
At the very least… this club has plenty of dogs!
"Reveal!"
At Azusa's command, Kamishiro lifted the handkerchief.
5 vs. 4—Cat people win!
"Whaaaat?! No way! The reports all said dog people were the majority!"
Iori clutched his head in disbelief. It didn't make sense, there were so many dogs in this club, and yet cat lovers outnumbered them?
"Hahahaha, that report's outdated. These days, cat people are the majority in Japan."
"Too bad~"
The senpai explained to Iori and the others with a smile, handing them each a glass of alcohol.
Gotta follow the game rules~
"..."
Kamishiro and Azusa exchanged glances and then silently stared at the group chatting so cheerfully.
So… "cat person" really just meant they like cats…?
The two of them suddenly felt completely out of place. Their first thought had been… outfits, cat ears, and plug-in tails…
Crap, their minds were way too dirty!
Thankfully, neither of them were what you'd call normal people.
After briefly scolding themselves for their pervy thoughts, they quickly tossed the idea aside.
Like that fleeting "saint mode" after finishing certain activities—useless!
Gulp gulp gulp~
Downing the drink in one go, Iori clutched his mouth in agony, trying not to throw up.
It was way too strong!
"Man, what a disgrace."
"You need to start training from scratch!"
The two senpai shook their heads, looking at Iori with eyes full of disappointment.
Last semester, this guy was using the stuff as mouthwash! Now he can't even handle a tiny cup? Pathetic!
Time to whip him back into shape!
"Alright, onto the second question~"
Having failed to get the kind of question she wanted the first time, Nanaka quickly downed her drink and eagerly pulled out the second slip of paper.
"Second question—"
'To be honest, I think Iori's is pretty small.'
Pffft!!!
Iori couldn't hold it in anymore. He exploded, spewing his drink everywhere.
In an instant, he teleported to Kouhei's side and grabbed the golden retriever's collar with a furious expression.
"It was definitely you, you bastard!!!"
"Hey hey hey, there's a bunch of people here! Why are you singling me out?"
Kouhei shrugged calmly. In this anonymous game, as long as you don't admit it no one can prove anything.
Even if they guessed right, there's no evidence~
Besides, honestly, he did think Iori's was kinda small. Even compared to himself there was a gap—don't even bring up Kamishiro or the senpai!
"Who else could it be?!" Iori roared. This didn't need deduction—it was obvious!
Only Kamishiro or Kouhei would do something like this, and he'd just flipped Kamishiro to his side earlier. No way that guy would go down with him now.
After all, he's just a lonely single dude, while that bastard has a whole harem. No chance he'd risk it all to die with a virgin!
(?????)
At that moment, Iori felt like crying.
He even had a strong urge to self-destruct!
Ahhhh!!!
No—he couldn't.
He still hadn't lost his virginity!
That had become his life's obsession. Until he did, he had to survive—no matter how low he had to stoop!
So… the culprit could only be this damn golden retriever!
"Iori, calm down. It's just part of the game."
"Trying to expose the question writer is against the rules."
The two senpai pried Iori off and dragged him away. The fun of an anonymous game was in not knowing who wrote what—you can't ruin that!
As he was pulled away, Iori glared murderously at Kouhei. This game was way too targeted against him!
Seeing that, Kouhei gave him a totally punchable grin. Yep—it was him!
Iori: (▼皿▼＃)
…
Since this question was more… sensitive, everyone thought a little longer before answering. Some of the girls even snuck a few glances at Iori's size.
He was starting to get really self-conscious.
And what was with those pitying looks?!
Stop comparing me to the senpai! We're not even in the same weight class!!
(?????)
As Iori's expression approached tears, everyone made their choices.
The majority vote followed immediately.
Final result—
* Voted Iori is small: 4 people
(Kamishiro, Kotobuki, Tokita, Kouhei)
* Voted Iori is not small: 5 people
(Iori, Nanaka, Azusa, Aina, Chisa)
Seeing the result, Kamishiro and Kouhei's smiles turned… wicked.
"Small can be cute too~"
"Heeey?!!"
Iori snapped, collapsing to the ground in despair.
"So… you've always thought I was tiny?!"
His pride was crushed!
Like, the kind of crushed that makes you scared to undress after drinking!
"Huh?"
"What are you talking about?"
The two senpai looked at Iori, puzzled at why he was reacting so dramatically.
"Just now, you…"
Iori pointed at the slips they had written, the implication clear.
If they thought most people would vote "small", didn't that mean they agreed?
My self-esteem!!!
"Ohhh!"
"So that's what you meant!"
Realization dawned on the two senpai.
"You misunderstood, Iori."
"Misunderstood?"
Iori eyed them warily, wondering how they were going to explain this.
"Kotobuki and I just wanted another drink."
Tokita-senpai pointed to the bottle beside them, and even swallowed hard as he said it.
You could tell the senpai were a little thirsty.
"This game only allows the minority to drink!"
"So you all don't think I'm small?"
"Hahahaha!"
Faced with this question, the senpai didn't respond. They just laughed heartily.
"…"
Iori's mouth twitched. That move was honestly way too explosive.
But then again, considering it was the senpai… suddenly it all made sense.
…
"Reveal!"
Since everyone had made their choices, Kamishiro immediately pulled away the cloth to reveal the result.
5 small, 4 not small !
Bang!!!
Seeing the result, Iori dropped to his knees and started pounding the floor.
"This is even worse than the majority vote game earlier!!!"
His self-esteem was completely shattered!
"Who was it?! Besides these two bastards, who else were the three that picked 'small'?!"
With one hand grabbing Kouhei and the other Kamishiro, Iori roared at the group.
Even as he roared, he straightened his back, trying to prove his manhood!
However…
Standing next to Kamishiro and the senpai, Iori really didn't have anything to brag about.
Right — just now, to further humiliate Iori, Kamishiro had removed his "special equipment."
The difference was like basketballs vs. ping pong balls?
(λ?_??)
In an instant, the girls' gazes toward Iori grew even more pitying.
"Hey hey, Iori, you can't ask who picked what."
"That's the whole fun of an anonymous game!"
Two senpai patted Iori sympathetically on the shoulder, then handed him their glasses of alcohol with deep reluctance.
"Here, drink this reward first."
As the smell of alcohol hit his nose, Iori cried — the full-tears-streaming kind.
This was just too cruel!!!
I don't want to play this game anymore!
(╥_╥)