Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e - Volume 19 - Chapter 2.1

2.1

We landed at Shin-Chitose Airport and began lining up in the airport lobby.

We boarded the bus to Haneda by class, but from here on, we started to proceed according to our groups. 

Mashima-sensei was in charge of groups 1 through 5, Chabashira-sensei was in charge of groups 6 through 10, Sakagami-sensei was in charge of groups 11 through 15, and Hoshinomiya-sensei was in charge of groups 16 through 20.

“When all the groups are in place, please discuss and decide on the seats allocated to each of you.”

Group 6 was assigned eight seats on the bus.

We were to discuss and decide where we’d sit in these eight seats.

Incidentally, we were located in two rows, with two seats on each side from the front of Car 2.

I went with my group to the area led by Chabashira-sensei.

“It looks like we’re in the same group, Ayanokōji-kun,” said Kushida.

“I guess so,” I replied. “Though, I'm sure you'll be fine with whoever you're in a group with.”

“I'm not sure... Ryūen-kun is a bit unwelcoming.”

I don't know exactly to what extent she revealed her true colors to other classes, but I believe that Ryūen and Kushida had been working together for a while. In that sense, each may be a difficult partner for the other to deal with.

I don't think he'd be a scary partner anymore, though. Kushida isn't the type of person who's afraid of anyone. Even if he were to make a malicious comment, it would have no effect on her classmates.

“I know,” she said, “but since Ryūen-kun is trying for Class A again, he might try to threaten me one day. I wasn't sure how I was going to handle it, but now I feel a lot more relaxed about it.”

Even if her true nature gets exposed, it won't affect many people.

It seems that even Kushida made such a resolution.

“Kikyō-chan!”

As if to get out of the crowd of students, a boy and a girl from Ichinose's class raised their hands.

The two were Watanabe and Amikura. As a matter of course, Kushida and Amikura seemed to be good friends. They took each other's hands and rejoiced at being in the same group. On the surface, they acted as though they were best friends, but when I thought about it deep down inside, Kushida must’ve been unmoved. I felt like I was watching an amazing spectacle.

“I'll be seeing you for five days starting now.”

Watanabe called out to me, and I slightly raised my hand in reply.

I had never interacted with him before, so this would be a good opportunity to become familiar with his personality.

That was half of the group. The next to appear was Nishino, followed shortly by Ryūen.

“Good morning, Nishino-san, and you too, Ryūen-kun.”

Kushida took the lead, smiling and calling out to them. Watanabe and Amikura followed suit.

“...”

Nishino looked a little awkward, as if she hadn’t had much interaction with Kushida or Amikura.

Ryūen didn't reply to anyone in particular but stopped and kept his distance.

“The only ones left are Kitō and Yamamura,” she said.

“If it's those two, they're already here.”

“What?”

I pointed behind Kushida and everyone noticed that the two Class A students were quietly joining us, walking side by side.

Kitō showed up and glared at Ryūen with a mixture of silent pressure and enmity.

Yamamura, on the other hand, approached with her eyes downcast, not looking at anyone.

It looked like we were all here, so we needed to decide where we were going to sit.

Having someone in the group who took the initiative at times like this was a very important factor. If a problem were to occur, I would be a little concerned about the leader of Class C’s, Ryūen.

Surprisingly though, he didn't seem to have anything in particular to say about the matter.

Was it that he had no intention of leading the group, or did he think it was unnecessary to go out of his way for something as trivial as determining our seats?

“I think it's better to seat us by gender.”

Kushida took the initiative and suggested her idea alongside Amikura.

“I'm not sure what to think about that. Does anyone have any objections?”

No one objected to the idea of having the boys and girls sit separately. Neither Nishino nor Yamamura seemed bothered. The boys couldn't complain about the suggestion either. If they did object, it would create a group of boys who wanted to sit with girls.

“Then, let's have the girls sit with the girls and the boys sit with the boys, shall we?”

Saying this, Kushida deftly started to move away from the boys' side.

Watanabe and I naturally gathered together, but Ryūen and Kitō didn’t move an inch.

“The atmosphere caused by a troublesome duo is amazing, isn't it?”

“I guess so.”

“I don't care who it is but I just can't see myself talking to Ryūen or Kitō.”

“Can you see that with me?”

“What? Well… More than those two?”

I couldn't honestly be pleased because of the individuals to whom I was being compared. Personally, I would rather be next to Watanabe and stay out of trouble. However, our wishes were not met because Kitō suddenly approached us.

“There’s no way I’m sitting with him. I have no complaints regarding you two as long as I’m not next to Ryūen.”

He mumbled this remark in annoyance and returned to his original position.

“...What do we do?”

“If we force those two to sit side by side, we're going to be in big trouble.”

Watanabe could easily imagine this and nodded his head in dismay.

“Then we'll have to go our separate ways. Who do you prefer?”

“I don't care, which one do you prefer? Either is fine with me, just sit with whomever you like,” Watanabe said.

“How about you choose whomever you like?”

Watanabe, faced with two choices that made him want to hold his head in his hands, pondered for a while before giving his answer.

“For now, I'm going to sit next to Kitō. See, he's usually very quiet. I don't think he'll do anything if we don't show hostility towards him. It's true that Kitō isn't as scary as he looks.”

He certainly had an image of being harmless to everyone except those who were hostile towards him.

Well, let's finish our greetings here, too.

I went over to where Ryūen was.

“I know it may not be what you want, but I'll be your neighbor during this bus ride. You can have the window seat as a courtesy.”

“Suit yourself.”

So far, he’s been as quiet as a borrowed cat.

“You must have misunderstood something, Ayanokōji.”

“Misunderstood?”

“The battle between me and Sakayanagi has already begun.”

Saying this, Ryūen shot Kitō a glance.

The other party, Kitō, also glared at him as if he’d expected it.

“I see. The school trip’s a place where interaction with other classes is inevitable.” 

“It’s a great opportunity to see how much of a man Kitō is. Depending on the situation, we should destroy him while we still can.”

It was a very dangerous statement that made me think that we weren't about to embark on a joyful and happy trip to Hokkaido.

Come to think of it, Sakayanagi was in group 4.

I recalled the members who were assigned to the group.

From Ryūen's class, it was Tokitō Hiroya, and Morofuji Rika.

The second semester wasn't over yet, but it wasn't a bad thing that they've already started considering the end of the school year. If the two classes were to clash when only one was ready for battle, the other would have a tough time.

The school, deciding that the group discussion was over, began to lead the way.

Ryūen was given the window seat on the bus, and I sat next to him.

The buses, which had been seating each class, were full of energy, but it was so quiet now that the previous liveliness almost seemed like a lie. 

A group designated by the school, including students from other classes–it would take some time for the students, who weren't all that close to each other, to open up and have casual conversations. As if to prove this, nearly half of the students who boarded the bus preferred to stick together based on class rather than gender.

This was an example of how it inevitably winds up when you can't take the initiative to decide who to sit next to, as Kushida did.

Still, the students were all analogous in their desire to have fun.

By the time the bus had been driving for about 30 minutes, the introductions were mostly finished and group chatter was beginning to spread a bit beyond just people's own classmates.

Then, when we were told that karaoke was available, one of the boys started singing with a microphone in hand.

“I felt some similar vibes as you from that first-year kid, Yagami. How do you know him?”

I didn't think Ryūen would ever talk to me while we were on the bus, but without warning, those words came flying out of his mouth.

He was leaning on his elbows, not looking at me, as if he were talking to himself.

“What if I told you he’s completely irrelevant?”

“That ain't gonna happen. He was going to go to you even if he had to knock out the teacher. Surely that can't be considered irrelevant?” 

“I knew him for a while. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Mmh? I'm just saying, it smells like fun to me.”

“It doesn't matter if you focus on that first year. What's important is that you get to Class A.”

“I'll do what I want to do. It might help me if I beat it out of him sometime.”

I see. He wasn’t so much interested in Yagami, but in the possibility that he might’ve been a weak point of mine.

Well, it wasn't a weakness, but it was undeniably a troublesome factor. 

“The school isn't going to tell me about it. They're going to keep it a secret. Moreover, the school seemed to tacitly approve of it. I think I saw what the stinking bastards were really like for a moment.”

“I'm sorry to hear that. Yagami is gone.”

“It's true that that guy has left, but I hear there's another girl left, Amasawa, who's been with you from the first years. I can play with her if I want.”

Apparently, Yagami left behind a bit of information.

In a one-on-one fight, Amasawa wouldn't fall behind.

In Ryūen’s case, however, that wouldn't be the end of the story.

It's easy to imagine that he would persistently continue with his attempts to gain an opening, and repeatedly try to make contact with the opponent.

Of course, under normal circumstances, Amasawa would have the ability to handle this to some extent, but now that Yagami had left the school, the situation was unstable.

“Oh well. It'll be a little while before I fuck with you anyway.” Ryūen replied, seeing my thoughtfulness.

“By the way, Ryūen, I have a question. Actually, it's something that's been bothering me since this morning.”

“What?”

I reached over into the mesh pocket attached to the back of the seat in front of me.

I reached in and pulled out a set of black plastic bags.

“I've always wondered what these bags are for.”

“Oh?”

He raised his eyebrows and snickered, as if in doubt.

“You use these bags to throw up when you're drunk, right? Are you kidding me?”

I see. If you get carsick, there’s certainly a possibility that you'll vomit.

This is what's commonly known as an etiquette bag.

“The buses used for the Uninhabited Island Exam weren't equipped with such bags. I guess they don't always have them available.”

I'd ridden the bus several times before, but this was the first time I'd seen them in the pockets like this.

I guess it's for people’s own sake, as well as the bus company's consideration.

It would be very difficult to clean if vomit and other things were scattered all over the seats and floor.

Even if you think you've studied a lot, there are countless things you don't know.

Outside of the school, I'm sure there will be many encounters with the unknown.

“You're as strange as ever. You've never even been on a bus before, have you?”

“I haven't been on that many buses.”

I've seen a lot of kids throw up because of a disturbance in the semicircular canal, but I've never been in an environment where I was allowed to throw up in a bag like this. I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that it's okay to throw up.

I've experienced a mild sensation of drunkenness myself, so I'll keep this in mind as a reminder that there are such convenient things out there.