CHAPTER 4
Uh, are you pulling my leg?
“Too…hot…”
The sizzling sun’s rays beat down on Masachika as he walked, a gym bag hanging over his shoulder. Despite only being eight in the morning, the cruel August sun was already raring to go. The walking part was fine. It was stopping at the crosswalk and having sweat drip down his body that aggravated him.
“I guess this will make the water at the beach feel even better, though.”
He had to tell himself that, or he wasn’t going to make it. Yes, today was the day the student council was going on the beach trip Touya had planned and invited them to before summer break. They were meeting at the station closest to school at eight thirty. From there, they would take the train for a while before getting on a bus to the Kenzaki household’s vacation home. Masachika, who was more of a homebody, was feeling a bit restless because he was excited to swim in the ocean for the first time in a long while. However, the moment the station came into view…he instinctively froze.
“Too hot…”
He wasn’t talking about the temperature…at least, the outside temperature. There was another reason: Touya and Chisaki were already waiting up ahead, and Masachika could tell from afar how hot and heavy things were between those two. They were clearly blushing in anticipation as any young couple in love would before going on vacation together. They were facing each other, gazing into the other’s eyes and holding hands, for crying out loud. Not just one hand. Both hands. Fingers interlocked.
“I can’t go over there now…”
Maybe waiting at a distance would be for the best…but the moment that thought came to mind, Chisaki looked back, and they made eye contact.
…Wait. Could she feel that she was being watched? From this far away?
“…Looks like I have to go over there now.”
After mustering up the courage, he unenthusiastically waved to them as he approached. That was when a familiar, luxury foreign car passed by him and stopped at the terminal in front of the station, where two passengers got out from the back seat, grabbed their suitcases out from the trunk, and joined Touya and Chisaki. It was Yuki and Ayano, of course.
Good timing, Yuki. Now I don’t have to feel awkward walking into the middle of whatever that was.
He imagined himself raising his hands in victory as he joined the four in front of the station.
“Hey, guys.”
“Morning, Kuze.”
“Morniiing.”
“Good morning, Masachika.”
“Good day to you, Mr. Masachika.”
After everyone exchanged greetings, they briefly discussed the plan for the day until the final two members showed up—ten minutes before the meeting time.
“Sorry to keep you all waiting.”
“You have our deepest apologies.”
The older sister was waving with the most cheerful of smiles, while the younger sister simply bowed her head in a very serious manner as she approached. The contrast between the Kujou sisters’ personalities was like day and night.
I feel like a fish out of water here!
That was the first thought that came to Masachika’s mind when he took another look at all the girls, who were not in their school uniforms for a change.
Every single one of them looks incredible!
He knew that Alisa, Yuki, and Ayano wore very fashionable clothing on non-school days, but Chisaki and Maria were extremely stylish as well. He could already feel people staring at them. You could even hear people say, “Are they doing a photo shoot here?” and “Are they famous?” if you strained your ears.
We’re just your average student council… It really does look like we’re about to do a behind-the-scenes photo shoot for some pop group, though.
Their style was starting to make Masachika feel self-conscious about his off-brand shirt and pants.
“Good morning to you, too, Masachika,” Alisa said emphatically as she turned to face him.
“…Yeah, hey.”
She most likely called him by his first name on purpose and greeted him like that because the others were there…and of course, Yuki took the bait.
“Oh my. Alya, you started calling Masachika by his first name?” Yuki asked, hiding a vulgar smirk behind her ladylike smile.
“Yes,” Alisa replied, showing not even a hint of hesitation. “After thinking about it, I thought it seemed a little standoffish to address my running mate so formally when he uses my nickname. Especially since I call you, my rival, by your first name. So I decided it would be best to call him by his first name as well.”
Alisa smoothly explained her reasoning. There was no doubt that she’d planned this answer in response because she expected someone to bring it up.
“Is that so?”
Much to Masachika’s surprise, Yuki seemed to be convinced rather easily by Alisa’s confident explanation and smug smirk. Yuki then appeared solemn and continued:
“Perhaps it was insensitive of me to continue being so friendly with Masachika even after I declared I was running for student council president…”
“Huh?! N-not at all. I don’t mind. Y-you two have been friends ever since you were little. It’s only natural that you two get along so well.”
“But I should have considered your feelings, too. I did something very callous…”
“I honestly don’t mind!”
Masachika got a bad feeling in his gut for some reason as he watched Alisa frantically respond to Yuki’s unexpected apology.
“…Are you sure it doesn’t bother you?”
“I’m positive. I—I don’t plan on getting in the way of your friendship…”
“Really? Thank goodness!” Yuki responded happily, her face glowing as she took Alisa’s hand with a beaming smile.
“We may be rivals after the same position in the student council, but let us put all that behind us for now and enjoy our vacation. Truce?”
“Oh, uh…sure. Let’s do that,” agreed Alisa, albeit somewhat hesitantly. However, Masachika could see the sinister grin lurking behind Yuki’s smile. It was as if her expression were saying, “You agreed! No take-backs!” You’re the one always starting fights, Masachika thought, but he kept his mouth shut because he didn’t want to ruin the mood.
“All right, guys. Everyone ready? Let’s get moving,” Touya encouraged while he began walking toward the station entrance.
“Come on, Masachika! Let’s go!” cheered Yuki as she spun around, seemingly in the best of moods. She skipped over to him and tried to grab his hand, but he swiftly pulled it away, avoiding her grip as if he had predicted her attempt. Yuki, however, showed no concern at all and leaped forward with her arms open wide to wrap them around his, when…
“Come on, Yuki. Ready to go?”
“Huh? Masha?”
…Masha, who had stealthily snuck up on Yuki from the other side, quickly wrapped her arm around Yuki’s.
“Wh-why are we locking arms?”
“Because Alya won’t lock arms with me,” pouted Maria. Masachika and Yuki thought that still didn’t explain why she’d gone for Yuki instead. Yuki, however, swallowed her doubt the instant Maria’s body wrapped tightly around her slender arm. Her eyes briefly narrowed like a creepy old man’s while she stared at Maria’s breasts pressed up against her. Of course, Masachika noticed Yuki’s reaction as well. He could even clearly read her mind: “Whoa! These things are incredible!”
“Giggle! I’m so excited. ♪ Hey, Yuki? Do you like octopus ink?”
“Huh…? Octopus…ink…? On food? Wait. Have you had it before?”
“Nope. ♪”
“O-oh… Okay…?”
For a few seconds, Masachika watched Maria guide Yuki to the station by the arm before he turned to Ayano and Alisa.
“Ready to go?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
They followed closely behind the others with only a single shared thought in mind: Masha’s tough.
Around two hours had passed by the time they transferred to the region’s local train line.
“Wow, check out the inside of this train. Looks like something you’d see in an old movie. ‘Booth seats’? I think that’s what they’re called? Anyway, the seats are facing each other, which is interesting.”
“Agreed. I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this in the city except for a few express trains.”
“Oh, hey! Look! The doors don’t automatically open! You have to press a button to open them!”
“Oh my. You’re right. ♪ I wonder what would happen if you pressed them while the train was moving?”
“Although I doubt the doors would even open, I still better not catch you pushing any buttons, Masha.”
“Hey, I want to take a picture. Ayano, go stand next to Alya for a second.”
“Like this?”
Their eyes curiously darted around the old-fashioned train as if they had stumbled upon romantic ruins. Each member posed in their own way for Yuki, who was in charge of taking pictures during their trip with the student council’s digital press camera, when they suddenly noticed an old lady who appeared to be a local smiling in their direction. Touya lightly cleared his throat.
“Mmm… Well, now that we have taken a picture, I think we should split up into two groups: a group of three and a group of four to give everyone a chance to speak with people they don’t usually get to spend time with. It will allow us to bond as a student council as well.”
“That’s a great idea! How about we split the first-year partners from one another?”
The student council would spend the next forty minutes on the train interacting in two twenty-minute sessions at the suggestion of the student council president and vice president. They were split up into two groups that sat on opposite sides of the aisle.
“Really looking forward to getting to know you.”
“Me too.”
“What is this? A marriage interview?”
Yuki sat next to Masachika, while Chisaki and Touya sat across from them during the first twenty-minute session.
I thought we were supposed to split everyone up so we could talk to people we don’t normally get a chance to hang out with…so why are the president and vice president still together? …Whatever. I shouldn’t say anything.
Chisaki, who was sitting right across from him, was giving off this vibe that was saying, “Touya and I are a package deal,” so Masachika decided to swallow his annoyance. He was but a simple worker in the student council. There was no way he would be able to survive the vice president’s iron fist…which was both metaphoric and literal.
“So, uh…what are your hobbies?” asked Masachika, starting the conversation, since Yuki wasn’t saying anything.
“Now this really sounds like a marriage interview.” Touya smirked wryly while Masachika’s shoulders jokingly drooped.
“Yeah, you’re right… Hmm… Then when did you two first fall in love?”
“Now we’re doing a press conference to announce our engagement?”
“W-wait. Do you really want to know?” Chisaki smiled bashfully with both hands covering her blushing cheeks.
“Hmm? Wow, I wasn’t expecting the enthusiasm,” Touya said, raising an eyebrow at his girlfriend, but her eyes were already dazed as she retraced her memories.
“I first noticed I was interested in Touya when… Hmm… Before I tell you that, I need to tell you a little about my childhood.”
“Awesome. I’m all ears.”
As Masachika leaned forward in his chair with deep interest, Chisaki grinned. She gazed at the scenery out the window and began to speak with a note of nostalgia in her voice:
“It all started when I was just a timid, little girl who didn’t even have it in her to kill a bug…”
“Wait. Who’s the story about again?” Masachika instinctively joked with a straight face, taken aback by her unexpected reveal. However, Chisaki showed no concern regarding his rude remark and continued:
“I know this isn’t something people should say about themselves, but I was a really good girl and super cute, to boot. Just like a little kitten.”
“Yeah, bloodthirsty lions are pretty cute when they’re kittens.”
“I was always very skittish. I spoke in a small voice and was timid…so of course, all the attention-seeking boys at school bullied me. Whenever I went somewhere alone in town, weird old men would always start trying to talk to me. People would stalk me and try to kidnap me… I stopped going to school after a while because I was so afraid of people and distrusting of men.”
“…Wait. Really?”
Masachika immediately stopped joking around, although he remained somewhat skeptical of the serious story. He swiftly shot a glance at her boyfriend, who looked back at him grimly. It seemed like Chisaki wasn’t making up the story.
“My mom always protected me, and I never had any terribly traumatic experiences, either, but…it was enough for me not to want to go outside anymore and stay locked away in my bedroom.”
“…”
“Then one day… Maybe you know it? There was an anime called Flame Sword.”
“Huh? Oh yeah. I know it. It’s pretty famous, so I watched it online.”
Flame Sword was an original anime that came out a few years ago. The fate of the world was in the hands of a young heroine known as the Spiritualist. After she was kidnapped by an enemy nation as a young girl, the hero, a young man, set out on an adventure to save her. He met countless friends and defeated terrible foes during his journey before eventually reaching the truth of their world and its secrets, which only the heroine knew. Put simply, it was a traditional fantasy tale.
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