My Stepsister is My Ex-Girlfriend - Volume 11 - Chapter 2

The Turbulent Second Day

Morning Loosens One’s Moral Judgment

Yume Irido

I sluggishly opened my eyes slightly to the rays of the sun, and also to something soft enveloping my body. There’s a nice smell...and someone’s breathing cutely in my ear... When I slowly opened my eyes fully, I was met with Higashira-san’s sleeping face.

“Zzz...”

Um...she’s hugging me like a body pillow. Of course, I had no memory of going to sleep with Higashira-san in my bed, so she must’ve moved over here in her sleep and proceeded to cuddle me. After all, the beds were right next to each other.

“Higashira-san...?”

“Zzz...”

It’s no use. She’s not waking up. In that case... I put my hand in between our bodies and gripped the mounds of fat that’d been squishing against me, eliciting a surprised, sluggish cry from her. Hm...she’s not wearing a bra. My fingers are sinking in.

As soon as she started seductively moaning, her eyes flew open and fell onto me.

“Morning,” I said.

“Wha...?”

She blinked her eyes over and over for a bit before she slowly began to realize what had happened, her face growing red.

“D-Did we finally do i—”

“No. Absolutely not,” I quickly said. “You just rolled onto my bed. But also what do you mean ‘finally’?”

“Oh... My apologies. But in that case, why were you fondling me?”

“I figured that’d wake you up.”

“I see...”

But to tell the truth, her breasts were just so huge and soft that I wanted to touch them, so I was merely pretending that waking her up was the real reason.

“M-My apologies. I’ll move away now,” she said.

“It’s okay. I’m not angry. If anything, your body was so soft and warm that I kinda wish I had you in my bed every morning.”

I might still be half asleep. I found myself caving to my desires and hugging Higashira-san. Doing so made her face go red and her eyes dart around frantically.

“Y-Yume-san?!”

“Sorry. Do you not like it?”

“Well, no, but...this is a large amount of stimulation first thing in the morning.”

“Heh heh. The way you’re panicking is so cute,” I said sweetly, putting my forehead against hers.

It seemed that this had made her head boil over and she stopped resisting. “I’m okay if it’s you, Yume-san... Please be gentle.”

“Oh? Then I guess I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“Th-This is too sudden...” Higashira-san moaned.

“What time in the morning do you think it is?!” a voice cried, interrupting us.

The sheet that’d been covering us was ripped off, revealing me and Higashira-san underneath. Akatsuki-san looked down at us, anger in her eyes.

I tried making an excuse. “W-We were just playing around a bit.”

“Let me in!” she yelled, diving in between us to try and sandwich her small body there.

Asuhain-san shot us an exasperated look.

A Meaningless Event

Mizuto Irido

“What’s with you almost getting seduced?” I asked Yume as we got food from the breakfast buffet.

Yume awkwardly turned away as she put pasta onto her plate. “Look, it’s not my fault. Higashira-san kept reacting so cutely, I couldn’t help myself...”

“I can’t believe this, coming from the girl who was worried I’d cheat on her.”

“B-But one could call that a form of bonding between girls! We were just playing around!” Yume said, frantically digging her heels in.

Today, she was wearing a camisole over a shirt and tight jeans. She’d elected for an outfit that was easier to move in since there was a lot of walking planned for today.

I exhaled, exasperated. “Even if that was your intention, who’s to say Isana wasn’t taking it seriously?”

“Huh?”

“Isana’s into girls too, y’know.”

“Huh? Really?!”

“I mean, her interest in the female body is higher than the average girl’s, right? Sure, it could be an aesthetic preference, but it could also be a reflection of her real sexual orientation. But that’s something that only she knows...or maybe doesn’t.”

She had never experienced having a crush until she asked me out. I didn’t even know if she was interested in real relationships. I got the feeling that her lust was much more unchecked than normal people’s.

Yume’s cheeks flushed slightly and she began mumbling. “O-Oh... I’ll need to be more careful.”

“What about you? Any girls you’re interested in?”

“No! No, no, no. I’m not into girls like that!” Yume quickly waved her hand in denial.

It’s not like it’d matter if you were. Or actually, I guess I’d have to spread a wider net of people to worry about...

Yume tilted her head. “But seriously, why did she react like that today? She was normal yesterday...” she muttered with doubt.

Probably because she’s backed up from stress and this lust-forbidden lifestyle that doesn’t even give her a chance to draw. At any rate, Yume wasn’t stressing over what happened last night thanks to her run-in with Isana this morning. I thought she’d be freaking out more, but I guess the incident has a silver lining.

Being seen talking together for too long would draw unwanted suspicion, so after filling up our trays, we went back to our seats where the rest of our six-person group was waiting. They were all wearing clothes suited for Okinawan weather: Kawanami in a plain T-shirt and shorts, Minami-san in an oversized tee with random English on it, Asuhain in a baggy shirt and culottes, and Isana in a long skirt. In particular, Isana looked like a rich lady trying to find shelter from heat. Apparently, Yume and Minami-san had picked out all her clothes for this trip. Though she drew a lot of different clothes in her pictures, she didn’t know how to dress herself. Then again, she draws school uniforms whenever she sees the opportunity.

We were supposed to sit down and discuss the plans for today over breakfast as a group, but Kawanami and Minami-san were for some reason tilting their heads and wearing difficult expressions.

“Why the long face, Akatsuki-san?” Yume asked as she brought her tray to the table.

“Well...seems like something weird’s happened,” Minami-san said while stabbing a mini sausage link with her fork then biting it.

“Like what?”

“Well, Yoshino and the others came over earlier,” Kawanami said, putting his elbow on the table. “And they asked something kinda weird. Wanna guess what?”

“Stop beating around the bush. Spit it out,” I said.

“They asked if we’d seen their guidebooks anywhere,” Kawanami revealed.

The ones that we all got?

“Huh? The ones for this trip?” Yume asked.

“Yeah, apparently their copies were stolen.”

“Stolen?” both Yume and I exclaimed at the same time.

“Strange, isn’t it?” Isana commented as she munched on her scrambled eggs. “What’s the purpose of stealing something so trivial?”

“Yeah, especially since everyone has the same one. Oh, wait, I guess the guidebooks have different seals on them, corresponding to the students’ class numbers,” Yume said.

The guidebooks we’d been given for this trip didn’t have any space for personal notes or anything. They were simple booklets with our itinerary and things to be cautious of. As Yume said, each cover had our class’s seal on them, but other than that, they were all identical. There shouldn’t have been any value in going through all the effort to steal them.

“But in the first place...” After that, I closed my mouth.

Yume shot me a confused look. “What?”

“Never mind. Just my imagination.”

I had a feeling that things were gonna get more annoying from here on out, so I stopped myself from voicing my suspicions. But how did they know they were stolen?

An Investigation That Looks Perfectly Normal

Yume Irido

A group might have had their guidebooks stolen, but fortunately it seemed that no news of my secret rendezvous with Mizuto had spread. For the time being, I put finding the person who’d seen us on the back burner, and instead tried talking to the theft victims.

The teachers had asked me to help address these sorts of things during the school trip; plus, I felt partially responsible for checking on them as a student council member. Since the other student council member here, Asuhain-san, wasn’t at the point where she was close enough to casually talk to our classmates, it meant that the task fell to me. But that begged the question...

“Why are you coming with me?” I asked Mizuto as he rode the elevator with me to the girls’ rooms on the seventh floor.

“Just tagging along. After all, you don’t really seem cut out to be a detective,” Mizuto said, emotionless, making it hard to tell what he was thinking.

I frowned at his accusation. “I’ve read a lot more mystery novels than you.”

“Most mystery novel fans don’t ever take the role of Sherlock—they’re Watson.”

“Rrgh!”

He’s right. I’ve got nothing. Even I would agree that Mizuto’s more suited to play Sherlock. After all, I hadn’t been lying when I’d said that my boyfriend’s the smartest person at the school. But even so, I had a duty as a member of the student council to hear out the problems of my fellow students.

“Just keep your mouth shut and stay behind me. They’re gonna freak out if they see a guy randomly show up in front of their door.”

“Are those three the type to do that?” he questioned.

“If you’re worried about me, just be honest and say that you are...”

True, Yoshino-san’s group was the flashiest in not just our class but the entire school. They obviously weren’t the type I could easily deal with, so Mizuto was probably worried about me going to meet them alone. I wanted to believe in the joyous possibility that he was looking out for me in his own way by tagging along.

I’d tried reaching out to Yoshino-san, the leader of their group, in advance, but I couldn’t get through. Since it was possible that her phone was off, I was left with no other choice than to knock on their door with no advance notice.

“Yeah? Who is it?” she asked before quickly opening the door. “Hm? Heya, what’s up, Yume-chan?”

Fortunately, Yoshino-san was fully clothed when she opened the door. That being said, she was wearing a revealing off-the-shoulder shirt and jean short shorts, leaving nearly nothing to the imagination in regard to her shoulders and thighs. Such an outfit was fairly against public morals. I frantically looked back at Mizuto, but it seemed that he didn’t care too much.

“So anyway,” I said, starting to explain what I was doing there.

After I was done, Yoshino-san nodded and peeked back at Mizuto. “Gotcha. So that’s good and all, but what’s up with Mizuto-kun back there?”

But before I could say anything, Mizuto casually stepped in. “Don’t mind me. I’m just here to make sure my mistake-prone little sister doesn’t trip over her own two feet.”

“Hm? Aren’t you his older sister?” she asked me.

“That’s right,” I said.

“No. Little sister,” he shot back.

Mizuto and I glared at each other for a bit. Even though we were back together, we still fought each other over who the older sibling was.

“Aha ha ha!” Yoshino-san cheerfully laughed. “It’s a whole thing bein’ stepsiblings, huh? Why don’t you guys come in? My arm’s kinda gettin’ tired from holdin’ the door open,” she said, beckoning us in.

When we entered, we saw four beds, three of which were occupied. I’d seen two of the girls with Yoshino-san frequently. The third one was someone that had been assigned to this group because she didn’t have one. She was a docile-looking girl with glasses. It kinda hurt my heart seeing her because it was like seeing my middle school self.

“So about the stolen guidebooks... Were they taken out of your room?” I asked.

“Yeah!” Yoshino-san said. “They should’ve been in our bags the entire time, but when we went to grab ’em this morning, they were gone. Right?”

Yoshino-san’s friends nodded in agreement.

“Yeah!”

“Sucks, for real!”

“Not to doubt you,” I continued, “but just to be sure, you’ve already looked in the room, right? Like, under the bed and stuff.”

Their room was currently in a state that made it hard to believe that they’d only been here one night. It was very lived in. Dirty clothes were strewn over their beds and chairs, and the tables were filled with their makeup products.

For some reason, there was a camisole about the size of a swimsuit and short shorts that resembled underwear drying by the window. It was as if they’d been living in this room for a month. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d lost their guidebooks in there.

I wasn’t sure if Mizuto had gotten annoyed, but he began rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the clothes drying in the window.

“Like we said, we didn’t lose them. They were stolen!” one of Yoshino-san’s friends said, irritated. She had her hair tied into pigtails. Her name was Imayuki-san. “I was goin’ through my bag to look for it and I was all like, ‘Oh em gee, it’s been stolen!’ And then, everyone else checked their bags, and none of us had one. How’s that possible if they weren’t stolen?!”

If all four are gone, then it does sound more likely that they were stolen.

“But just in case, want me to help look too? It might be good to have a fresh pair of eyes,” I offered.

“Huh? Well...”

“Thanks for the offer, but I think we’ll pass, Yume-chan,” Yoshino-san jumped in after seeing the girl with the pigtails, Imayuki-san, clam up a little. “We already looked all over, you know? And I don’t think anyone wants someone goin’ through their stuff.”

“Oh, yeah. I get that. Sorry for being inconsiderate,” I apologized.

“Nah, it’s all good! But more importantly, do you have any extra guidebooks?”

“I don’t... They only prepared the exact amount for each student. But if you’d like, I can lend you mine... I wrote in it a bit, but if you don’t mind, then—”

“Nah, don’t worry about it! If we really need a guidebook, we could probably snag one from the guys! But instead, could we come to you if we have any problems? Our group and yours are pretty much gonna be goin’ to the same places today!”

Oh, right. Now that I think about it, they’re doing the ocean experience course in the afternoon today too. I guess we’ll be in the same vicinity for most of the day.

“Yeah, of course. Let me know if you ever need anything,” I said.

“Thanks! You’re godlike for real!”

After that, we left Yoshino-san’s room and headed towards the elevator.

“So?” I asked, looking at Mizuto as he walked next to me. “What do you think? You didn’t say a word.”

“They blabbed enough that I didn’t need to ask any questions.”

“What do you mean?”

Mizuto began looking up at the ceiling as if he were considering something. Then he grinned at me teasingly.

“Is it really okay if I spill the beans, Watson?”

Wait, seriously? He realized something? But he knew that I liked mystery novels, so he was taking into account that I would probably want to figure the solution out myself.

“Meanie!”

“I’m just being considerate,” he said.

Though this was a familiar move by detectives to drag out the answer to the mystery, having it done to me in real life was infuriating! Now I definitely won’t ask you for the answer! On my honor as a mystery fangirl, I swore not to ask him for the answer.

The Fourth Problem

Mizuto Irido

Our destination on the morning of our second day of the school trip was the Mihama American Village. It was a town resort that tried to replicate the feeling of America. In general, it was primarily an area for shopping, but actually seeing it made me think that it was really more of an amusement park that had an American theme to it.

The entire town was colorful like a bag of foreign sweets. Growing up in a place where the signs for McDonald’s were brown made me feel like it was too bright here.

The groups would normally stick together, but the guys and girls wanted to check out different places. Ultimately, Kawanami and I mainly focused on the food places here while Yume and the others surprisingly focused on accessories and vintage clothes.

I honestly had no interest in either, but I’d decided to choose the one that seemed the most likely to be fun. I’d also get to eat lunch.

“Ooh! This really hits!” Kawanami said as he bit into a kind of fusion between an onigiri and a sandwich, which had a slice of pork and a rolled omelet sandwiched in between rice and wrapped with dried seaweed.

“Looks like you’re having fun,” I said as I put my arm on the wooden table that felt like it came from a tavern in a different world, and rested my face in my hand.

“How can anyone not have fun? It’s Okinawa! What’s got you so bummed?”

“Just some things on my mind...”

“You’re not talking about the thing with Yoshino’s group, are you?”

“That’s one of them...”

There were currently three problems I was facing: The first was Ran Asuhain suddenly asking me out. The second was the mysterious individual who’d seen Yume and me together. The third was the case of the stolen guidebooks. Normally, I’d just ignore all of them, but they were bugging Yume, so I couldn’t.

“It’d be nice if Yume could let go of things that don’t matter...”

“Don’t you like her precisely because she doesn’t?” Kawanami asked, grinning at me.

Though I’d decided to be honest with Yume about my feelings, I had no obligation to entertain Kawanami.

“Do you know anything, Kawanami? You know people, don’t you?”

“About the guidebook thing?”

“Yeah.”

“At the very least, I don’t think the guys were involved.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Yeah, and you can take that to the bank. I’m not able to get in the loop as easily without my phone, but even so, I’ve been checking in with each of the groups to get a feel for what’s what. If their guidebooks were actually stolen, a girl did it.”

“Figured...”

“You make it sound like you already knew that.”

“Just my guess since in their story, their guidebooks were stolen from their bags.”

“Oh...” Kawanami might not have had the best grades, but he was quick on the uptake. “So whaddya think their objective was?”

“Can’t say for sure yet. At any rate, I don’t wanna sling any false accusations around and ruin the mood of the trip. So I’m gonna take things slowly.”

“Wow, you can actually read the room now. Love really does change people.”

“I’ve always been able to read the room.” I gazed at the emerald sea that stretched out boundlessly under the blue sky while eating my pork-and-egg onigiri.

“Hm? Isn’t that Asuhain-san?” Kawanami asked suddenly.

I looked at where he was indicating, and I saw a familiar small-framed girl walking by herself among the crowd of domestic and foreign tourists.

“What’s she doing by herself? Shouldn’t she be with the others?” Kawanami wondered aloud.

I couldn’t exactly see her expression from here, but from the way she was walking, it felt like she was wandering aimlessly. Suddenly, I remembered the scene on the bus from yesterday. Just as she’d laid her head on my shoulder like a lost child, she was actually wandering around this foreign landscape like one too. I put my pork-and-egg onigiri back in its wrapping and left it on the table.

“Watch this for me, will you?”

“H-Hey!” Kawanami protested.

I got up and jogged through the crowd until I got to Asuhain. Then I lightly tapped on her shoulder.

“Asuhain.”

As soon as she saw my face, she jumped a little. Did I surprise her? Maybe I should keep an appropriate distance.

“What’re you doing by yourself? Where are the others?”

But Asuhain just looked at the ground in silence for a bit. “I just am. I felt like walking around alone for a bit.”

“You don’t have your phone on you. You shouldn’t go off on your own—”

“Please stop,” she said firmly, turning her back to me. “I...don’t want to talk to you.”

Then she ran off into the crowd, disappearing. Though I wouldn’t say that she’d opened up to me yesterday, I’d felt like I got a glimpse of her hoping to achieve some kind of understanding with me. But right now, as I watched her disappear, it felt like she wanted nothing to do with me. Well, it looks like I have another problem to think about. Problem four: why is Asuhain suddenly acting differently?

The First Step Forward

Yume Irido

After going around the store that only sold Christmas-related products, Yoshino and her group appeared.

“What up? Oh, they’ve got some cute stuff here!”

As she’d said earlier, their group was in the same area as ours. While we weren’t always together, they were typically in sight, and sometimes they’d come over to talk to us. When they did, Higashira-san would always clam up and hide behind me.

I’d thought that after being in the same class for a year, Higashira-san would at least be a little bit less shy around Yoshino-san, but it seemed that she still didn’t feel comfortable with gyarus.

“Hm?” Yoshino-san said, looking around as if she was looking for someone. “Where’s Ran-chan? Wasn’t she just with you guys?”

“Huh?” After she mentioned it, I looked behind me, and as she said, Asuhain-san wasn’t there.

She’d been keeping a bit of a distance behind me, so since it was obvious she was trying to avoid me, I didn’t try to approach her aggressively. Instead, I’d used Akatsuki-san to communicate with her as much as possible. Where did she go? Did we get separated somewhere? It’s crowded here, so it’s not impossible. I didn’t notice because we weren’t talking at all.

“Oh, there you are!” a voice called out.

At that moment, Mizuto and Kawanami-kun came into the store we were in. It didn’t seem like this was a coincidence, though. Judging by how Kawanami-kun was walking in front, they’d obviously been looking for us.

“What’s up? Did the two boys get lonely? Aw, you delicate flowers.”

“Not at all!” Kawanami-kun said, brushing off Akatsuki-san’s light teasing. “We saw Asuhain-san by herself. Wanted to make sure you guys knew.”

“We were just talking about that!” Minami shouted. “We just realized she wasn’t with us. If you saw her, you shoulda dragged her back here!”

“Irido tried talkin’ to her, but she ran away.”

“She did?”

“Or like...” Kawanami-kun tilted his head as if he was trying to find the words.

“She said she wanted to look around by herself. But judging by your reactions, it doesn’t seem that’s something she discussed with you guys,” Mizuto said, stepping in.

By herself? Based on her personality, I wouldn’t be surprised. But after working with her on the student council, I couldn’t imagine her going off on her own without saying a single word. In that regard, she had a very diligent personality.

For some reason, I felt like I shouldn’t ignore her. I got the feeling that the distance between us would become astronomical if I decided to let her be and instead have fun with everyone else here. At the very least, if I were in her shoes, I’d be sad. It’d make me feel as if I were just a third wheel.

“I’m...gonna go look for her,” I said.

“Me too!” Akatsuki-san quickly followed up.

“It’s okay, I’ll go by myself. I’ll be right back. Let’s meet at the, uh...Depot Central.”

If I were Asuhain-san, I’d feel so guilty if a search party came to find me. It’d be best if I went by myself. No, maybe I just wanted to.

“I saw her by the seashore near the barrel-looking chairs,” Mizuto said succinctly. “If you pass between those buildings, it’s your first left. She might still be there.”

“Got it. Thanks!” I said, lightly tapping him on the shoulder before jogging out of the Christmas shop.

I followed Mizuto’s instructions and headed to the seaside near the west of the town. There were chairs that kind of looked like barrels neatly lined up for outdoor seating and, as usual, a huge crowd of tourists along the boardwalk. Separating them and the emerald sea that boundlessly stretched into the distance was a white handrail.

Where are you, Asuhain-san? I looked around for any sign of a small-framed girl. There were a lot of tourists, with the majority of them having come as families from out of the country, but I didn’t see anybody who looked like Asuhain-san. But I’m sure if I thoroughly search for her, I’ll—

“There she is!”

Tens of meters away, I saw the figure of a girl leaning against the white railing to look out at the sea. She was wearing familiar clothes—a loose shirt and girly culottes. I’d always thought that despite not being interested in fashion trends, she had a pretty good fashion sense. I followed the railing to her and then called out to her.

“Asuhain-san?”

She silently looked over at me, but then she immediately looked back to the ocean. I wasn’t sure what to say for a little while. My first instinct was to express that I’d been looking for her, but that kinda sounded overbearing. Asking her what she was doing here was a little too insincere. That’s why, ultimately, I just decided to talk about exactly what I was seeing at that moment.

“The ocean’s...pretty, huh?”

“It is...”

Then, silence fell between us again. This is awkward. It’s like we’ve never talked to each other before. Despite working together on the student council for half a year, it was like everything we’d built up had been reset. At this rate, we were gonna stay like this forever.

If we kept this up, then we’d probably never see each other again after student council was over. Wow...how many times have I gone through this? I’ve let things slip through my fingers and have hesitated to reach out towards the things that I might’ve been able to obtain.

Even when I started high school, I relied on my spot at the top of our class as an excuse for people to come to me to be friends instead of proactively reaching out to others. Even joining the student council hadn’t even been a thought in my mind until President Kurenai invited me. I should’ve experienced this all before. Clumsily, thoughtlessly, foolheartedly, and single-mindedly reaching out to what I wanted, what I didn’t want to let go of. I’m done with this annoying cycle.

“You wanna get some ice cream, Asuhain-san?”

“Huh?” She looked at me with confusion. She was accusing me with her eyes of not being able to read the room.

I decided to pretend like I didn’t see that. I knew that if I thought too hard about it, I’d let her run away.

“It’s hot, right? Makes me want something cold. Come with me!”

“W-Wait!”

I grabbed Asuhain-san’s hand and pulled her away with me. Thanks for teaching me this forceful method by doing the same thing to me, Akatsuki-san.

I took her back in the direction of the building where I’d left Mizuto and the others, and we lined up at an ice cream store. When we got to the front, Asuhain-san ordered a soda ice cream that was blue like the ocean, and I got chinsuko-flavored ice cream since I’d never really seen it before.

The inside of the shop itself was pretty crowded, so we took our ice cream outside. Fortunately, there was a free bench next to the trees planted by the sidewalk, so we sat there. Though we had no shade from the sun, it was honestly rather comfortable compared to the summers we got in Kyoto. I stuck my spoon into the cup, scooped out some ice cream, and took a bite. A sweetness filled my mouth and made me forget the heat a little.

“I was wondering what this would taste like, but...I’ve never even had a regular chinsuko.”

It sort of tasted like a kind of cookie and vanilla, so it wasn’t as wild a flavor as I’d expected from the name. It was good, but nothing special. Asuhain-san began scooping out bites from her cup that had the blue, wavelike ice cream. When I saw her take a bite, I decided to ask what she thought.

“How is it?”

“It’s...good.”

“Wanna try each other’s? I’m curious what yours tastes like too,” I suggested.

“Huh—”

“Here you go. Open up!”

“Huh? Mmf!”

As soon as she opened her mouth in confusion, I shoved my spoon into her mouth. She looked at me with surprise.

“How is it? Which one do you like more?” I asked, smiling.

“I suppose...yours.”

“Oh, really? Let me try some of yours, then,” I said, opening my mouth.

She then very hesitantly brought her spoon to my mouth. A very refreshing taste spread across my tongue. Hm. This really is a perfect flavor for the summer.

“I think I like yours more. Wanna swap?” I asked.

“Sure...I guess.”

Then we switched cups. As we ate our ice cream, I mostly continued our conversation one-sidedly. I brought up what I thought the rest of the student council was doing right about now, some things from class, and so on, and even if she didn’t give me real answers, I kept going. It was as if I was continuously knocking on the door. By the time we both finished our ice cream, Asuhain-san finally started talking herself.

“Why are you...bothering yourself with me?” she asked, her gaze falling to her ice cream cup. “I’m not interesting in the slightest. I thought you were more reserved than this.”

It was as if she’d been carefully picking the words that were circling around in her head. I’m not sure what kind of answer she’s looking for. Regardless, I thought about it for a bit, but I had no way of knowing what she wanted, so I had no choice but to be straightforward and honest.

“Honestly, I’m...kinda pushing myself right now. But if I don’t push myself here, I feel like it’ll be over. I feel like this awkwardness is gonna keep going, there’s not gonna be any resolution or clear falling out—we’ll naturally just drift apart. I can’t help but think that’s what’s in store, and I don’t want that...”

“The two of us are just comembers of the student council... We won’t be talking to each other once we’re off it. Isn’t that natural?”

“Maybe? Yeah, maybe...”

I couldn’t find the words to outright tell her she was wrong. I felt like we weren’t just comembers. At the same time, though, could I really say we were friends? I didn’t get the sense that I knew her well enough to boldly declare that.

“But...it’d be kinda sad if we drifted apart, don’t you think?” Even if I can’t call her my friend, feelings change, don’t they? “When we first met, when we went together to Kobe, when we worked together on the graduation ceremony—all those times are in my head. So it makes me feel kind of sad when you distance yourself.”

Asuhain-san silently listened to me. We have memories together—shared experiences. It can’t be wrong for me to want to continue our relationship.

“I can more or less tell that you’ve been avoiding me,” I said. “Most likely, I did something... I’m not sure what, and I won’t force you to tell me. But even so, I don’t want to leave you by yourself. That’s...what I wanted to convey to you.”

Conveying my thoughts to others was something I’d learned from my relationship with Mizuto. Staying silent and trying to guess what the other was thinking was naive. If the other person refuses to talk, then I’ll go talk to them. It was the complete opposite of how I thought in middle school, but this was my ideal self.

“Thanks for hearing me out, Asuhain-san. Shall we get back to everyone?” I asked, standing up.

Asuhain-san nodded slightly and stood up. Though we hadn’t gotten any closer, this was the first step to doing that...or at least that’s how I felt.

The World Underwater

Mizuto Irido

After checking in to our lodgings in Nago for the second day of our trip, each group headed to their respective courses. Two groups in our class had chosen the snorkeling and banana boat course—mine and Yoshino’s—for a total of twelve people. As such, we all moved to the beach on the resort’s grounds, changed into our swimsuits, and then put wet suits on top.

We sat, lined up on the beach as the instructor explained what we needed to be cautious of. Then, we practiced breathing with a snorkel and learned the hand signs we’d use underwater. Finally, after all of that, each group got onto their respective boat and headed out to sea.

The sky was perfectly blue with no clouds in sight. The surface of the sea reflected the rays of the sun off of it, making it sparkle. Yume and Kawanami simply gazed at it, while Minami-san was freaking out like a kid. Meanwhile, Isana was by herself in the corner of the boat, her face taut from nerves.

“I pray we arrive safely back to shore...”

“Don’t be such a drama queen,” I said, sitting next to my best friend and lightly patting her tense back. “We’re not going anywhere too deep. And I know you’re not thalassophobic.”

If she were actually scared, I wouldn’t tease her, of course. All I knew was that she wasn’t very athletic, nor was she good at swimming. The reason I’d decided on this course was ultimately because I felt this would be the most enjoyable activity for her since it wasn’t competitive.

Ninety percent of the time, people who ended up hating physical activities did so because they involved competing against others—which I related to. Getting immediately eliminated in dodgeball, being deadweight on the soccer field, or getting lapped during a marathon race were all the kinds of experiences that turned people off. But with snorkeling, all you had to do was listen to the instructor and float in the water. Well, to be fair, this is what I assumed, since I’d never gone snorkeling before either.

“Just have fun out there—it’ll be kinda like going to the aquarium,” I said.

“There’s no fear of drowning at the aquarium, though! Or, well...so long as the tanks remain intact...”

“We’re actually going to one tomorrow, so don’t jinx it. But seriously, don’t worry. You have a life jacket. You couldn’t drown even if you wanted to.”

“Precisely!” the female instructor said, leaning over, a bright smile on her face. “We’ve taken the proper safety precautions, so you can enjoy the sea without having to worry about a thing! If there’s anything you’re really concerned about, I’ll help as much as I can!”

“O-Okay...”

Well, I’m sure Isana’ll be all right. She’s not paralyzed with fear enough to suddenly start talking to new people.

The boat reached its destination, and it was finally time for us to disembark and begin peering into the world beneath the waves.

To be honest, I was a little nervous myself. After all, this was my first time going in the ocean. We didn’t have swimming classes at Rakuro, and it had been quite a while since I last swam. Maybe even since I learned how.

Seeing how the twinkle of the sunrays made the coral reef sparkle soothed my nerves. I wasn’t the type that was easily moved, but looking into the sea made me realize that it was almost like looking at a different world entirely.

We followed our instructor’s directions and swam around the boat while experiencing the world beneath the waves. Yume was standing with Minami-san and Asuhain, playing with the colorful fish that lived in the coral.

Ever since Yume had brought Asuhain back from Mihama American Village earlier today, the two girls seemed to have gotten closer. Asuhain was still a little hesitant, but Yume made up for that in spades by how aggressively she was trying to interact with her.

I couldn’t help but feel proud of how much Yume had grown. Though she’d had her high school glow up, her base personality hadn’t changed at all, in my eyes. Most likely, effort alone wasn’t enough to change the personality one was born with.

Anyway, regarding Asuhain—Yume was treating her the same way Minami-san had treated Yume when they’d first become friends. Yume was pulling Asuhain along, trying to deepen their friendship. I couldn’t help but remember a certain girl from middle school, not one friend to her name, who was even more socially awkward than I, and how I’d tried to involve myself with her despite it not being something I’d typically do. Then again, both Minami-san and I’d had ulterior motives when we first tried to get close to Yume.

Meanwhile, I was doing my best to make Isana comfortable while Kawanami, who was aggressively diving in the ocean, led us around. I glanced at Isana, but judging by how wide her eyes were as she enthusiastically gazed at the ocean, it seemed I had nothing to worry about.

By the time I was finally getting used to swimming in the ocean, Yume beckoned for me to come over. I covertly left Isana and Kawanami, and swam to her. I saw what was probably a school of at least ten striped tropical fish that looked like they could fit in our palms.

Yume slowly reached out to them, and a good number of them began pecking at her hand. I imitated her, and the fish began doing the same to me. It really made me realize that they were living beings. It was obvious, but it was something that you couldn’t feel through a monitor or the glass of a tank.

Yume and I looked at each other and smiled with our eyes. Well, what do you know? I’m having a good time on the school trip after all. I couldn’t help but think that my middle school self would be pretty disappointed that I was enjoying a school trip like this.

The Mysterious Figure in the Shadows

Yume Irido

“That was so cool! It was, like, completely blue!”

“I-Indeed! And then the fish were swimming right in front of us!”

“I’m so glad the weather was nice today! No matter where you looked, it was blue! It was like we melted into the ocean!”

After we finished snorkeling, we got back onto the boat, unzipped the tops of our wet suits, and began talking about our impressions. Akatsuki-san, Higashira-san, and I had picked out our bikinis together. In particular, Akatsuki-san had been very enthusiastic when we chose Higashira-san’s. And now, even though the target of Akatsuki-san’s fixation was right in front of her, she was too excited about the snorkeling experience to even look.

“I’ve never been to the beach before, but I kinda like it,” Minami-san said while looking at the bobbing surface of the ocean. “It’s just like you said, Yume-chan. It’s like we melted into it. It was like the small things didn’t even matter anymore. I might wanna save up to come here again. You too, right, Kawanami?”

She suddenly called out to him, but he wasn’t caught off guard at all. “Hell yeah! I wanna try ridin’ a surfboard next time!”

“Surfing?! You’re tryin’ way too hard to be a stereotypical cool kid!”

“Just you watch, I’m gonna become a real man of the sea—tanned and everything!”

“Cringe!”

Minami-san and Kawanami-kun began cackling. During that time, I decided to talk to Asuhain-san, who was sitting next to me.

“What did you think? Have fun?” I asked.

“Yes... I suppose I was deeply moved.” I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it, but she looked as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “It’s just as Minami-san said; it’s as if all the small things I’d been carrying melted away into the water. It’s been a while since my mind has been so clear.”

Ever since what happened earlier today, Asuhain-san had begun talking to me a little bit more normally. But right now, she was especially loquacious. Is this the power of the great outdoors? For the record, Mizuto was leaning on the edge of the boat, staring off into the distance. Apparently, he was exhausted from snorkeling, since he wasn’t used to being too physically active. I’d heard that he’d picked this course out for Higashira-san in order to do something about her lack of exercise, but he was in pretty bad shape himself.

When our boat reached the shore, we were told we could play on the beach, using the free time we had before the banana boat course. That being said, I wasn’t exactly filled with energy, so I sat under a parasol while watching Yoshino-san’s group frolic on the beach.

“Here ya go!” Akatsuki-san said, bringing over a chilled canned drink.

“Thanks.” I took the can from her and pulled back the tab as she sat next to me.

Then, as soon as I started drinking, a teasing look crossed her face. “You got some smooth moves, if I do say so myself, Yume-chan.”

I could tell that she was hinting at something, so I suddenly stopped drinking. “Wh-What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that you were getting’ some lovey-dovey time with Irido-kun when Asuhain-san and Kawanami weren’t lookin’. You’ve gotten so crafty. Makes me sad.”

“You make me sound like some kind of mastermind...” I wryly smiled.

“But, y’know, you’re walkin’ a pretty tight rope. I know all about your little late-night pool rendezvous.”

“Huh?!”

How does she know about that? Sure, she might’ve figured out Mizuto and I met up, but she shouldn’t know the specific location. Was she the one hiding in the bushes?

“You should thank me! I stood guard for you, y’know?” she said.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I figured you were meeting Irido-kun at nine, so I went to the pool entrance about ten minutes earlier and watched you go into the pool. And then I coincidentally ran into Sakamizu-chan and the others, so we talked, and I kept an eye on the entrance to the pool. I mean, I didn’t want anyone to disturb your little rendezvous!”

Now that I think about it, we did hear other students on that floor. I guess that was Akatsuki-san and the others.

“Wait, that’s pretty much stalking.”

“Oopsie!”

To be honest, if I had been in her shoes, I might have done the same thing. After all, I’d be curious. Okay then, Akatsuki-san was waiting outside there the entire time we were talking. Hm? Wait.

“How long were you there for?” I asked.

“Until you left with Irido-kun.”

“Nobody else came in or out of the pool, right?”

“Well, of course not. I was there the entire time to make sure of that.”

How’s that possible? Then where did the person we saw go? There wasn’t another entrance to the pool. Thus, there wasn’t a place for the person to run off without Akatsuki-san seeing them. The culprit who’d gotten away from us should’ve been seen by Akatsuki-san.

But even so, Akatsuki-san was saying that she hadn’t seen anyone. She had her own alibi too since she was talking with Maki-san and the others. I was sure she wasn’t lying. In that case, where had the culprit gone? They couldn’t have just disappeared into thin air, right?

I thought about this new mystery as we finished off the day riding the banana boat. It remained on my mind even afterwards when we went to change back into our clothes.

Higashira-san let out a huge sigh of relief as she undid the zipper on her wet suit. “Phew... Free at last.”

“Yeah, that must’ve been rough, especially with so much of your top half jutting out like this!”

As usual, Akatsuki-san began getting close and personal with Higashira-san and started sliding the zipper even further sideways, revealing more of Higashira-san’s breasts. Then, after unzipping it enough, Akatsuki-san moved the neck out, up over Higashira-san’s head, and then took her arms out from the sleeves.

“Gaaah!” Akatsuki-san screamed as she was consequently flung back from Higashira-san’s now freed H cups. No, of course that’s not what actually happened. Akatsuki-san definitely wanted it to happen, so she dramatically flung herself back. Well, it is true that it’s hard to take it off by yourself when you have big boobs. It’s easier to have someone else to lend a hand.

“Do you want some help, Asuhain-san?” I asked.

“Huh? Uh... Yeah, thanks.”

I pulled on the zipper of her wet suit and came to the realization that it was a lot easier than when I’d done it myself. And then, just as Akatsuki-san had done, I pulled it over her head, and then off her arms. Then, while I was at it, I helped get the bottom half off too by rolling it. It kinda felt like I was taking care of a little sister, which was a little fun since I was an only child.

But that feeling immediately disappeared as soon as I saw her thigh. It wasn’t because I had dirty thoughts like Akatsuki-san, though—on her right leg, on the outer side of her thigh, I noticed a bandage.

“Asuhain-san...what happened here?”

“Oh...that?” It was as if it was hard to talk about for her. “That’s from yesterday. It’s mostly healed. Don’t worry.”

It took me a while before I finally said, “Oh...okay.”

I remember Mizuto saying that the person who’d seen us must’ve hurt themselves on the branch when running away. She took off the wet bandage, revealing a cut that fit someone who’d been clipped by a sharp tree branch.

What the Boyfriend Can Do at a Time like This

Mizuto Irido

Our lodgings felt like a hotel in the mountains, next to the beach, which was only a part of a larger resort with various facilities. It was almost like a town. Standing in front of the lodging area were the students who’d finished their various courses. The teachers were taking roll call, and after they finished, we’d essentially have free time until dinner. Or at least, that’s how it was supposed to have gone down, but one of the groups in our class had yet to arrive. Thanks to that, we got our free time a little earlier than scheduled, or at least until roll call.

“Got a sec?” It was during this time that Yume covertly tugged on my sleeve. She didn’t say anything further and casually pulled me away from our class. I followed her to the huge pool next to the hotel.

The hotel likely wanted to emulate the vibe of a tropical country because they had palm trees around the pool. Yume stopped in the thin shadows of one of them as the sun set.

“What’s up?” I asked her.

It took some time before she found her words and was able to wade through her confusion to break through the silence. “It’s about the mysterious person from last night.”

“Do you have a lead?” I asked.

Yume nodded. “Asuhain-san... She has a cut on her thigh.”

“Her, huh?”

“You’re not surprised?”

“Despite someone catching us together red-handed, that information seemingly has yet to spread. I had a feeling it might’ve been someone who knew us.”

With that logic, it makes sense why the culprit hadn’t said anything to anyone else. It also explains why they were aiming to catch the two of us meeting by the pool. Of course, there was the possibility that they’d just happened to see the two of us, but it was equally as likely that they’d caught on to our plans to meet there from something one of us had said. To be honest, I’d been about sixty percent sure that the culprit had been Kawanami. But if the culprit really was Asuhain, then it made sense why her attitude towards me had changed. If she’d found out that Yume and I were dating, she would stop trying to ask me out and instead act even more awkward around Yume.

“So...what are you gonna do?” I asked. “If it really is her, I doubt she’ll spread rumors. There’s probably no harm in just pretending we don’t know.”

“True...”

“Doesn’t seem like you’re into the idea,” I said, looking at her face, which still seemed taut.

She wasn’t angry. Instead, it seemed like there was still something bothering her. Most likely, she was wondering why Asuhain had decided to peek in on us at all. Asuhain didn’t seem like the type to enjoy gossip. There must’ve been a reason. Something that only she knew the answer to. But now, Yume was lost as to what to do. She’d finally gotten on good terms with Asuhain, and she didn’t want to throw that away by pressing her about this.

“I bet you suck at Ultimate Werewolf.”

“Huh?”

Yume looked up as if I’d seen through her lie. “You don’t have a poker face at all. The reason you’re an honor student is because you’re honest to a fault, right? You’re not the type of person who can hide when something’s bothering you.”

“That...might be true.”

“If you need to work up the courage, you should do it sooner rather than later,” I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. “But compared to dating your stepsibling, this is nothing, right?” I smiled.

Yume looked up and forced a troubled smile. “Yeah, true.”

I was sure that Yume had already mostly made up her mind on what to do. I’d simply given her the push she needed. I hadn’t done it as an involved party, but as her boyfriend who was in the same boat.

“I’m...going to check with her. I feel like there are still a lot of things that are being left in the dark.”

“You got this.” The best I could do was send her off with her these three short, simple words of encouragement.

Finding the Perfect Timing

Yume Irido

When we returned to our class, the group that’d been late to arrive had finally come back and was trying to explain themselves to our teacher. It consisted of three guys and three girls, and apparently the girls who’d been leading the group had misunderstood when they had to be back by. Currently, they were arguing over it.

There were fifteen girls in our class and fifteen guys, for a total of thirty students. Though it was an even split, the girls had more power because of Yoshino-san’s lead. Though I got the feeling that the guys tended to not care too much about that in general, it was times like this where some friction occurred.

In any case, after that, roll call was completed, and the group leaders had a meeting. Each class had five group leaders, and during this meeting, we needed to report the events of the day. Aside from one of the groups being late, there didn’t seem to be much to report.

After the meeting, it was time for dinner and our recreation time, which were both Okinawa-themed. We ate Okinawan soba while listening to musicians perform traditional Okinawan music. After all that, we finally had free time.

“Phew... Really feels like we’re at a resort,” Akatsuki-san said as she lounged in a chair on our room’s veranda while staring at the scenery.

From it, you could see the beach at night and all the trees that looked like they’d come from a tropical country.

“I like this. We can just be head empty, no thoughts. I feel so relaxed.”

“I’m surprised. I thought you were the kind of person who hates staying still, Akatsuki-san.”

“What am I, a tuna?!” For some reason, her quip back at me as I sat next to her was surprisingly gentle.

In terms of socializing with others, she spent her days involved with so many more people than I did, constantly messaging them. I imagined being away from her phone felt like a relaxing detox.

“Let’s go to the gift shop later, Yume-chan!”

“Yeah. I wanna look at gifts for the rest of the student council.” I glanced back into the room as I said this.

Inside, Higashira-san was sprawled out on one of the beds, and Asuhain-san was reading through her study materials. I need to talk to her alone. Mizuto’s right. It’s only going to get harder to bring this up the more time passes.

“Do you wanna come too, Asuhain-san?” I asked, prompting her to look up from her reading. “You probably want to buy some gifts for President Kurenai, Aso-senpai, and Haba-senpai, right?”

“I should... They’ve really helped us a lot.”

Good. For now, I’ve succeeded in getting her to leave the room with me. I’d never be able to find time to get her alone otherwise.

“What about you, Higashira-san?” I asked.

In response, she rolled over and waved her hand. “I will pass... I’ve nobody to give a gift to anyway.”

“What about your parents?” I wryly smiled.

Even so, Higashira-san showed no sign of moving an inch. She must’ve been pretty exhausted.

“All righty then, let’s get goin’!” Akatsuki-san said, getting up.

I thought you said you wanted to go later...but okay. I stood up and left the veranda with Akatsuki-san.

“Let’s go, Asuhain-san,” I said.

“Okay,” she said, putting her study materials back in her bag, grabbing her wallet, and getting off the bed.

After that, the three of us left the room, leaving Higashira-san by herself. After exiting outside, we walked along the sidewalk, which had palm trees—I think?—with thin leaves that were decorated with beautiful lights, which made it easy to see the path even when it was this dark at night.

It was bright yet quiet outside. The only sound was that of the continuously crashing waves, which sounded so gentle from this distance. Hearing the ocean like this really made me feel that we’d come a far way from home. Living in Kyoto, there was almost no opportunity to go near the ocean. (It’s easier to go to Lake Biwa.)

As we went around the winding sidewalk, we saw the gift shop. It was a one-floor building whose front had a large roof over the entrance. Upon going inside, we found ourselves in a space that was roughly as big as a supermarket. It had chinsuko, sata andagi, and all sorts of other sweets, along with handmade folk crafts of things like Shisa ornaments crammed into neat rows.

In between the shelves, we saw some familiar faces.

“Oh. Hey.” Kawanami-kun lightly waved.

Akatsuki-san waved back and moved closer to him. “Oh wow, look at you, buying gifts. You’ve become a proper young lad.”

“Yeah, you should already know that I’m serious about this kinda stuff at least.”

“So where’s my gift?”

“Why would you get one? Sheesh, how greedy are you?”

Mizuto shot me a cryptic gaze as I warmly thought about how nice the bickering between childhood friends was. His eyes flashed towards Asuhain-san, who was next to me. It was then that I understood what he was trying to get at.

“Asuhain-san, let’s look over there,” I suggested.

“Oh, yeah. Sure.”

This was my chance now that Akatsuki-san and Kawanami-kun were up to their usual childhood friend antics. Now, I could sneak off with Asuhain-san to the corner of the store. I was sure that Mizuto would buy me all the time I needed.

The Facts

Mizuto Irido

I casually watched as Asuhain was dragged off by Yume. Fortunately, neither Kawanami nor Minami-san seemed to have noticed. I didn’t want the two of them needlessly prying into what was going on. While I occasionally poked into their conversation in order to buy time for Yume, Minami-san suddenly remembered something.

“By the way, Irido-kun, Yume-chan told me something.”

“Oh? Do tell,” Kawanami said excitedly.

Minami-san glared at Kawanami who’d jumped onto the topic before I could even say anything.

“Butt out of this, you stupid voyeur! Shoo!”

“Okay, okay. I’ll just stand over there with my ears covered, all right? Sheesh.”

Kawanami raised both of his hands, emphasizing his surrender, and walked deeper into the store. He began looking at the gifts on the shelves while being true to his word and covering his ears. Wow, she’s really got him whipped.

After he left, Minami-san lowered her voice and continued what she wanted to talk about earlier. “So, I was talking to Yume-chan last night, and I was wondering...did something happen?”

“How about you tell me what you two talked about first?”

“Don’t worry, there’s no need to be shy. I saw you two go into the pool, after all.”

“I guess it’s pointless to ask why you saw us...”

“Oopsie!”

I’m not sure if she followed us or staked it out, but either way, this is definitely one of the things she’s good at.

“Let me confirm something first, though. How much did you see?”

“Well, I was there a little before nine—pretty much at eight fifty. Not really sure since I didn’t have my phone.”

“So you were staking us out... What makes you ask if something happened?”

“Well, after we talked, Yume-chan seemed like she was thinkin’ hard about something. That’s why I was wonderin’ if anything happened. Judgin’ by the vibes, I doubt it was a fight or anything.”

“Well, I guess something happened, in a manner of speaking...”

I wasn’t entirely sure if I should come out with what exactly had happened. If I did, I had no doubt that Minami-san’s huge network of contacts could help us out, but there was something about her that gave me pause. Plus, her best friend Yume hadn’t even told her what was going on, so...

“What did you talk to Yume about? Give me the details.”

“Pretty much the same thing that you and I just discussed. I was stationed outside the pool entrance the entire time that you two were in there.”

“Huh?” If that’s true, then where did the culprit run off to? “Is there anyone who can corroborate your story?”

“Oh, goin’ interrogation mode? But yeah, you can ask either Sakamizu-chan or Kanai-chan since they were both with me.”

“Were there any other people who knew that you were there?”

“Nope. Just little ol’ me. I wouldn’t breathe a word of this to anyone else.”

“I see...”

No wonder Yume got lost in thought after this. This is the closed-room mystery that people like her love. But in that case... “Hm?”

Wait. Wait a second. Wouldn’t that make it impossible for Asuhain to be the culprit? During our squabble this morning, I’d heard from Yume that there was already someone back in the room before her.

“Hm...”

“Gosh, why are you going into concentration mode too?! Seriously, what’s going on?!”

“Minami-san, sorry, but do you mind if I ask you one more thing? And don’t ask for context.”

“Okay, I guess. Shoot.”

“Were you watching over the pool entrance until we left the first time or the second?”

“Oh, that’s all you wanna know? I saw you two leave once and then go back inside and then back out to the elevator.”

“I see...”

If she stopped watching after we left for the first time, then our current theory would’ve worked. But if she was watching the entire time, there was no way it could’ve been Asuhain. The culprit isn’t her.

You Wouldn’t Get It

Yume Irido

As we looked at the colorful Ryukyu glass bowls lined up on the shelves, I looked for my chance to bring up what I wanted to ask her. I was waiting for the natural timing to confront Asuhain-san about the truth, but no matter how I thought about it, there wasn’t any way that was happening naturally.

Ultimately, all I could do was brace myself. If I had misunderstood things, then that would be fine. Even if she had seen us, I wouldn’t be angry. At the very least, I hoped that she’d tell me what she was thinking. That would be enough, in my mind. As I watched her glance at the Ryukyu glass, I hesitantly began talking.

“Hey...could I ask you something weird?” Asuhain-san turned towards me. I gulped once and turned away, not able to look her in the eyes, but I continued. “Where were you last night around nine?”

Even from my standpoint, this was a weird, rude question. But even so, I didn’t want to try and beat around the bush. As expected, though, Asuhain-san furrowed her brow, confused by my question.

“May I ask where this is coming from?”

“S-Sorry! Actually, last night, I was meeting with my boyfriend...” At this point, I had to come clean. I would simply keep the fact that I was with Mizuto specifically a secret. “When I did, someone saw us. I’m curious about who it was, and was wondering if you might know anything...” I glanced at Asuhain-san to see how she reacted, but she wasn’t looking at me anymore.

She let out a long, heavy sigh as she stared at the colorful glass that almost looked like a kaleidoscope.

“You’re so simpleminded...” Her response was so unexpected that I could only stare at her. “Every time you open your mouth, it’s all about love, love, love. Despite how much I perceive you as my rival, I’ve never been on your radar no matter how hard I try.”

“Asuhain-san...?”

“It’s unfair when you’re all that’s been on my mind.”

As soon as she said that, her head snapped up to look me straight in the eyes, noticing the bewildered expression on my face.

Asuhain-san pursed her lips and looked down. She looked so frustrated and embarrassed, and there was nothing I could do. I had no clue what the right thing to do here was. While I clammed up, fully at a loss, she turned her back to me.

“Asuhain-san!” I called out, but my voice wasn’t enough to stop her before she darted out of the store.

I reflexively ran after her into the brightly lit resort grounds. I needed to chase after that small back of hers before it disappeared into the darkness. I just barely caught up to her.

“Where is this coming from all of a sudden?!” I asked, grabbing her arm.

Asuhain-san still didn’t turn to look at me. “It’s not sudden at all...” she said, squeezing out these words.

“Huh?”

“This entire time... I’ve been so frustrated... I didn’t want to admit it... I was so angry... My head and feelings have been a mess...” Asuhain-san trembled. It was like watching a dam that was primed to burst. “Why can’t I stop thinking about you?! I’ve been trying for so long!”

“Did I do something? Then, I—”

“You...didn’t do anything. I... I’ve thought of you as a rival this entire time, but it looks like the feeling wasn’t mutual.”

Her rival? Suddenly, I remembered when we met for the first time on the student council, and how her eyes had seemed filled with fire to challenge me. Every time we had a test, those same eyes were filled with the desire to compete with me. Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen that same fire in her eyes since we started as second-years. No, this didn’t just start this year. She’d felt this way ever since she got the top score on the finals. Oh, I see. I...

“Why weren’t you even the least bit angry?!”

That was the first time she had beaten me. At the time, my head had been in the clouds. I’d been so happy that Mizuto and I were dating again that I couldn’t think about anything else. My rank on the test was the last thing on my mind. So when it had happened, I’d bluntly and honestly told her “Congratulations.”

“I was serious! I thought you were taking it seriously too! That’s why I earnestly kept the promise we made about my sleep schedule! I used every chance I had to study, and I finally—finally—won!” Her true, unfiltered feelings rang out into the night. “Am I weird for having tried so hard on some stupid test?! Are love-addled people like you normal?! Then tell me! How can I be normal?! Not once in my life has a guy ever made my heart race!”

How did I not see this before? I’m so dense. President Kurenai, Aso-senpai, and I—we had all gotten boyfriends. Ever since then, that’s all we ever talked about. Asuhain-san was the only one who didn’t have someone, so she was left out. I never thought she was the type who would be bothered by something like that... I thought she’d just brush off our talks as something stupid and uninteresting. I’d simply assumed all of this without even bothering to ask her.

“I... I’m so sorry. I had no idea...”

“It’s fine...” she said in a voice so cold, it made me doubt her emotional outburst earlier.

But when she turned around, there were tears in her eyes.

“You wouldn’t get it... Why would someone like me matter to you at all?” she declared these parting words, still hiding behind her mask.

The strength of my grip weakened, and she forcefully freed herself before disappearing into the night. This time, I couldn’t chase after her. I couldn’t even call after her. At this time, saying anything at all was too much. This entire time, I’d one-sidedly thought of her as my friend. It’d been nothing more than my own hubris.