"Time to do laundry~♪"
At night, in the girls' dorm room, Hanako cheerfully holds up a basket after everyone's bathed and prepared for bed.
"Put your uniforms, underwear, socks—everything in here! ♡"
"Thanks, Hanako," Azusa says.
"W-Wait, underwear too!?" Hifumi stammers.
"Why!?" Koharu protests. "We can wash our own!"
The training camp's dragging on, and laundry's piling up. Even among girls, handing over underwear feels awkward. Hifumi and Koharu hesitate.
But Azusa, ever practical, chimes in.
"Washing together saves detergent, water, and time. Hanako's being logical. Role division matters in group tasks, right?"
"W-Well, yes, but…" Hifumi relents, placing her clothes in.
"Okay, fine, but am I the weird one?" Koharu grumbles, following suit.
Then Azusa drops a bombshell.
"What about Sensei's?"
"Wha—!?" Hifumi squeaks.
"What's wrong?"
"Y-You mean washing Sensei's too!? I-I'm not against it, but, like, isn't that… problematic!?"
"Problem? Four or five people's laundry is the same. What's different?"
"That's not the issue!" Hifumi flails.
"I asked Sensei if he wanted to join," Hanako says, "but…"
"No need. I can dry them myself."
"Dry them yourself?"
"Hmph!"Whack!
"He slapped his wet clothes, and they dried instantly. Not a drop left."
"Drying clothes by slapping them!?" Koharu gapes.
"Not a single drop…?" Hifumi marvels.
"As expected of Sensei," Azusa muses. "Could I do that with training?"
"Don't!" Koharu snaps.
In Mash's room, he waits for Hifumi, choux cream in one hand, documents in the other.
"Hifumi's late… Guess I'll eat and wait."
The papers are about Arius—scant details, mostly old.
"Nothing recent on Arius… Just ancient history."
"The Justina Saints… they harshly oppressed Arius but also, for some reason, helped them escape."
Sparse Federal Student Council info doesn't calm Mash. He grips the choux cream too hard, squishing it.
"Kivotos isolated them. Minimal supplies, constant internal strife… some probably starved." Crunch.
He's furious for Arius's plight.
"Whoops, gotta respect food." He pops the mangled choux cream in his mouth.
(They won't welcome me. Kivotos abandoned them. They might hate us all—Trinity, Gehenna, everyone. Still, I can't ignore this. Even if they throw stones or shoot, I'll see it through.)
Mash steels himself to face Arius, no matter the cost.
Click. The door opens.
"Welcome, Hifu—"
"Good evening, Sensei~♡"
Mash freezes. Not Hifumi—Hanako, in a swimsuit.
"Leaving the door unlocked? So careless. Someone might attack~♡"
"I'd fend them off."
(Not that kind of attack…) Hanako thinks.
"Why the swimsuit?"
"It's my pajamas. Don't worry."
"You'll catch a cold."
"Fufu, more importantly, I need to talk… about Azusa-chan."
Her playful tone shifts to serious as she leans close, whispering.
Mash's knees buckle. "Oof!"
"Sensei!?" Hanako catches him, arms around his back.
"What happened?"
"S-Sorry… my ears are weak…"
"Breath in your ear did that!?"
"Yeah… sorry, Hanako-chan."
"N-No problem…" (This position's bad news.)
Hanako supports a limp Mash, their pose dangerously intimate.
"Sensei, try to stand, then to the bed—Oh, Hifumi-chan! Perfect timing, help!"
Hifumi walks in, sees them, and her brain short-circuits.
"S-Sorry! I didn't know you were… I swear I didn't! Since when are you two—!?"
"No, Hifumi-chan, it's not like that!" Hanako protests. "Wait, you said 'later than yesterday,' right? You were here last night too!? In this room, alone with Sensei!?"
"What're you two talking about?" Mash groans.
"Sorry, sorry!" Hifumi babbles. "I ruined the mood! Should I leave? What do I do!?"
"Hold on, Hifumi-chan! It's a misunderstanding! Explain yourself too!" Hanako urges.
"Both of you… calm down?" Mash pleads.
Minutes later:
"Sorry for freaking out…" Hifumi mumbles.
"My fault for jumping to conclusions," Hanako says. "You okay, Sensei?"
"Back to normal. Surprised myself."
"A weak spot," Hanako notes. "Though… you'd never let anyone close enough."
Breath in his ear knocks him out—a big weakness, but who'd get that chance? No issue.
"So, Hifumi, you and Sensei…?"
"Just discussing the Remedial Class's progress. We're doing well, but can't let our guard down. What about you, Hanako?"
"About Azusa-chan."
"Azusa-chan?" Hifumi echoes.
"You mentioned earlier," Mash recalls.
"If it's okay, Hifumi-chan should hear this too," Hanako says. "She's our leader, and it'll reach her eventually."
"Okay…" Hifumi nods, tense.
Hanako's face darkens with worry.
"Azusa-chan's been sneaking out every night, not returning until dawn."
"Until dawn!?" Hifumi gasps.
"Yeah."
Mash's concern deepens, but suspicion is absent.
"That's worrying," he says.
"At first, I thought she couldn't sleep in a new place," Hanako explains. "But it's not that. I've barely seen her sleep."
"Now that you mention it," Hifumi adds, "she's always up before me and never sleeps earlier."
"We don't know what she's doing," Hanako continues, "but we need to make her rest, even if it's by force."
"Got it."
"She seems… really anxious, too."
Hanako's genuine worry clouds her face.
"As her friends and teammates, I want to ease that anxiety. If this continues, she'll collapse."
"Absolutely," Hifumi agrees.
"And you two need sleep too," Hanako adds. "Nightly meetings are great, but fatigue builds up."
"Haha, true…" Hifumi admits.
"Exams matter, but health comes first, right?" Hanako presses.
"Sure, but…" Mash hesitates. "This time's different."
"Sensei…?" Hifumi tilts her head.
"Two more tests. Fail both, and…"
Mash's face hardens. Hifumi grits her teeth.
"The entire Remedial Class gets expelled."
"Expelled!?" Hanako gasps. "That's impossible! School rules require procedures, reasons—it can't be that simple!"
"Sorry for keeping quiet. I'll explain everything."
Mash tells Hanako the full truth about the Remedial Class.
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