Chapter 7:
Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudou’s
Summer Vacation
(Extra Stories)
This might be a sexist question, but what should a man aim for in life? If you asked men from all over the world, you’d probably see a pattern emerge: find a partner and make love, produce offspring, raise those offspring. Amusement parks, movies, and video games are all very well. However, the plethora of entertainment options available to us these days is just a blip in the grand scheme of human history. Nearly all living beings have sought to pass the torch on to the next generation since ancient times.
However, young high school boys have no understanding of what it means to bring forth the next generation. Instead, they simply seek any and all immediate available sexual gratification.
“Now then, I’d like to hold a strategy meeting regarding Operation Delta.”
Ike, from Class D, knelt on the floor. He used his clenched fist to wipe the sweat that began to trickle down his forehead. “I’d lay my life on the line for Operation Delta. Haruki, how about you?”
“I feel the same as you, Kanji. If this operation is a success, I won’t even mind dying!” Yamauchi shouted.
Sudou, who’d silently observed so far, chimed in. “Honestly, I’m against it. I’ll make a decision after I hear you out.”
“So then, Ayanokouji, you’re joining in too, right?”
“Is it okay if I turn on the air conditioner?” I asked. No good would come of the room reeking of sweat.
“Sure. It’s hot.”
They’d denied my first request to switch it on—something about “setting the mood”—but since we were meeting in my room, I’d had enough.
“Why is it always, always my room?”
“Didn’t I tell you before? It’s because you have the neatest, cleanest place. Other people’s rooms have tissues and shed hair and junk everywhere, and they’re dirty. There ain’t even enough room to put a foot down in Yamauchi’s place.”
“Sudou, your room’s the same, right? I mean, you got clothes and underwear and stuff all over.”
I wished they’d think about tidying up, rather than comparing their levels of filthiness.
“You know, no matter how much time passes, this room still doesn’t feel lived in. Nothing’s changed since enrollment, y’know? How about, when you get some points, you go out and buy something?”
“The next thing you buy should be carpet, dude. Carpet. My ass hurts,” said Sudou, sitting on the floor. He’d made similar statements in the past.
“I can’t just go out and spend precious points.”
For some reason, Sudou kept hounding me. “We got points for the island test, thanks to Suzune. Someone as useless as you shouldn’t hoard points,” he shot back.
“That’s definitely true. Actually, with Horikita on our side, it’s just a matter of time until we get up to Class C’s point total, right?”
Things had changed since our hopeless situation back in May. Now, with a fresh new surge of points, we were closing the gap between us and the upper-level classes.
“Come on, guys. Let’s think about the tough stuff when we’re in second semester. Right now, it’s Operation Delta.”
That was why the three idiots were gathered in my room—to discuss Operation Delta, a plan that originated over chat the night before.
“Are you guys seriously doing this?”
“Very seriously. I mean, this is the prime of our youth, right? Or are you saying you don’t like Operation Delta?!”
“Call it whatever you want, but it’s basically just peeping. Right?”
The strategic operation with the serious name was indeed all about peeping. It was a stupid plan, born out of the guys’ desire to see women naked. However, only Ike had the details.
“To peep at girls’ naked bodies… What’s wrong with that?! That’s youth!” Ike shouted.
Actually, it was a crime, and a horrible one at that. It was the kind of thing that would land Ike on the news if he were ever caught in the act.
“What’ll you do if the girls find out? They’ll be worse than angry, you know.” I tried to discourage the three.
Sudou seemed to sense my doubts, because he voiced the same concerns. “It’s dangerous, like Ayanokouji says. This isn’t the same as changing into our gym clothes in the classroom, back in elementary school, or peeping at the bath in some old-fashioned inn during a junior high field trip.”
“Don’t worry. The supercomputer known as Ike Kanji-sama devised this plan,” said Ike. He got up and confidently, arrogantly, began to explain it.
“When will we be peeping, and from where? Those are your questions, right? Don’t worry. I’ve thought everything out. Please calm down, and just listen to what I’m about to say. First, we will carefully select our target. It would be a complete waste of energy if we ended up half-assing the operation and peeping on some uggo. Also, we’ll choose from the girls in Class D. You can only achieve maximum arousal by seeing the naked body of a cute girl you know in everyday life,” said Ike.
“I agree, but none of us have really taken things to the next level with any of the girls, right?”
“It’s okay. We’ll just get ourselves to the next level. You must achieve these kinds of milestones yourself,” replied Ike. He tapped his phone and turned the screen toward us. “Did you forget? The pool’s been open since yesterday!”
“R-really? Okay then, yeah. If that’s true, we can peep! Right? I’ve never been there before. The pool, I mean,” Haruki yammered.
Looking at Ike’s phone, I saw a notification saying that the pool was open for public use for the last three days of summer vacation. Operating hours were from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
“I get that inviting the girls to the pool means they’ll have to change into swimsuits. But I don’t see how that’s going to give you an opportunity to peep,” I said.
I’d never gone to the special swimming facilities before, but there would likely be surveillance cameras. Not inside the locker rooms, of course, but in the hallways. If a suspicious man approached the women’s locker rooms, staff would confront him.
Ike remained calm, arms crossed. His expression didn’t change. “Damn, dude. That makes me sad. Do you really think I’m so stupid that I wouldn’t think of something like that? I’ve been making preparations for a long while now, dreaming of this day.”
“A long while? Okay, then, tell me this crucial peeping method,” snapped Yamauchi, unable to stomach more of Ike’s boasting.
“Oh, you want me to show my hand, eh? All right. Feast your eyes on this,” said Ike.
He’d actually drawn up a map of the facility. Seeing the depths of his resolve, Sudou and Yamauchi gasped in apparent wonder.
“Whoa. You even prepared something like this?!”
I was surprised, too. The map was even pretty detailed.
But something was odd. The handwriting on the map was different from Ike’s.
“Check it out. The special pool is at least twice as big as the one we use for our classes. As you would guess, there are surveillance cameras.”
The pool was a large-scale facility with locker rooms for men and women. Naturally, the locker rooms were on opposite ends of the hallway. The surveillance cameras’ locations were marked on the map.
"Hmm. Looking at this, there's definitely no way for us to peep."
Diverging paths separated the locker rooms, similar to men’s and women’s baths. Even if we took a single step toward the girls’ locker room, we’d be noticed. On top of that, since it’d be the last day of summer vacation, there’d probably be a lot of people around. Our chances of success were slim to none.
“I mean, I don’t think we’re gonna be able to just stroll over and peep. Here’s the crucial point: the ventilation route that runs along the floor. That vent connects the men’s and women’s locker rooms. What’s more, they divide the lockers by year, from first-year to third-year students. The men’s and women’s lockers rooms are connected by their respective year, which means the first-year men’s room is connected to the first-year women’s. It’s a miracle!”
I understood. If things went according to plan, we’d be able to see the girls change through the vent.
However, could the vent fit a person?
“The vent’s fifteen centimeters high and forty centimeters wide.”
“No one could pass through that.” In the worst-case scenario, you’d get stuck and be unable to get back out.
“Heh heh. I took everything into account. We also have this!”
Ike pulled out a small toy car out of his bag. An antenna stuck out the top.
“RC!”
A radio-controlled car that you could move freely via remote control. A camera was installed on the car’s roof. It was linked to a small display on the remote control. After Ike put in some batteries and started it up, the camera feed appeared on the remote. It wasn’t high-resolution, but it was enough.
Ike really had been preparing for a while.
“This should fit into the vent. After that, all we need to do is move the car while watching what’s on the camera. We can even save the images on the memory card!”
Ike had concocted this lust-filled plan in the depths of deepest darkness. I wondered just what terrifying things he imagined on a regular basis. This was a criminal act, thank you very much. Not even Yamauchi could be okay with this.
“Oh! Awesome! Dude, this is perfect! Right, Ken?!”
So, Yamauchi agreed. He was happily, gleefully going along with it.
“Guess so. Kinda feels over the top, doesn’t it?” asked Sudou.
“What do you mean?! This is perfect!”
It was certainly true that we could probably get away with this without being noticed. Really, Ike had taken meticulous care in his preparations. I hazarded a guess.
“Did the Professor have a hand in this peeping operation, by any chance?” I asked.
I could hardly imagine that Ike came up with this all by himself. An RC car wasn’t cheap.
“H-how did you—?!”
None of this was Ike’s forte. Besides, only someone who knew the locations of the surveillance cameras and ventilation routes could dream this up.
“Damn it. Guess there’s no hiding it. You’ve found me out. You’re right, I asked the Professor. Shit, dude, and after all the trouble I took to make you think I planned the whole thing.” Ike groaned.
“So, what’s the plan?”
Booted back to square one, Ike started explaining again.
“First, we’ll invite the girls we want to peep on to the pool tomorrow. Then, we’ll enter the locker rooms at almost the exact same time they do. Got it? Inside, we immediately go to the vent in the back. If someone is using that spot, Sudou will threaten them, and make them move. After that, we pull out towels, act like we’re going to change, and form a human wall around the vent so that no one else can see. Then I’ll remove the hatch and insert the RC car. I’ll operate it, so I need you guys to hide me. I’ll stop the car right in front of the girls’ locker room, and start recording. Once we’ve determined that they’re done changing, we’ll get the car back out,” explained Ike.
The steps were relatively simple and easy to understand. However, some parts felt a little iffy. I couldn’t just ignore them.
“So, I threaten people who get in our way, and make them move. I also need to make sure people don’t get close to us, right?” That role was appropriate for Sudou. Given his reputation, other students probably wouldn’t approach us casually.
“You guys see just how incredible Operation Delta is?” asked Ike.
“B-but, Kanji. This is a crime, dude. Like, the sin is gonna weigh heavier on me than the actual peeping.”
“You’re certainly right. It’s a crime. Strictly speaking, that is. However, think about your past. You’ve committed crimes before, right?” Ike gloated.
“Huh? The hell does that mean? What crime did I ever commit?” Sudou snapped.
“Let me ask you this, Ken. If you’re aggressive, and hurt someone, that’s a crime. Right? If an adult punched someone, the news would report it, wouldn’t they? And you’ve used violence before, haven’t you?”
“That’s… Fightin’ and violence are two different things,” answered Sudou.
“Well, I’ve never been violent in my life,” said Yamauchi.
“But, Haruki, back in elementary school, didn’t you once lick that girl’s recorder? The girl you had a crush on? And you sniffed her gym clothes, too. Or did you not do those things?” pressed Ike.
“Ugh…” Yamauchi seemed to be recalling an unpleasant memory.
“If an adult did those same things? Crime!” shouted Ike.
“Th-that’s true.”
“In other words, it’s different when it’s another minor peeping on, and secretly photographing, girls without their knowledge. If we don’t do this now, when can we?!”
His convincing rhetoric pierced Yamauchi and Sudou’s hearts. It was enough to cleanse them of guilt over committing a criminal act.
“You in, Haruki? Let the chips fall where they may,” asked Ike.
“Y-yeah. Okay, I’m on board,” said Yamauchi.
“You guys sure about this? Seriously, it is illegal,” I repeated.
No matter how much Ike tried to sugarcoat it, a crime was still a crime.
“Look, I’ve been saying this for a while now, Ayanokouji. Licking a flute is a crime, and directly peeping on someone changing clothes is also a crime. Secretly photographing someone without their knowledge is a crime. But this is what youth is for! Boys peeping on girls getting changed don’t go to jail; we only get a warning. That’s what I mean! You get it?” Ike repeated.
“Well, I’m not convinced. Technology aside, experiences like these turn boys into men, all across the world. Shoplifting when you’re in elementary school and shoplifting when you’re in high school both carry the same weight. They’re the same crime.”
This wasn’t even about wanting to see the girls changing anymore. Ike was aggressively trying to justify his actions.
“If we keep this to our current modern, high-tech era for argument’s sake, peeping like this is still secretly photographing without consent. If you get found out, you might not be arrested, but you could get expelled. Right?”
“I’m terrified of getting expelled. Like hell am I gonna peep!”
Sudou and Yamauchi threw their arms up in the air as if in terror.
“All that’s left is you, Ayanokouji. You’ll be cooperating, of course. Right?”
“I’m not interested,” I replied.
“Still, you’re cooperating. If you three form a wall, we definitely won’t be spotted,” said Ike.
He was really going to do this, even if I backed out.
“All right. I’ll cooperate. But promise me one thing, Ike. This plan is risky. If we’re caught, we’re going to get more than just a slap on the wrist. So, success or failure, promise me that Operation Delta is the only time you’ll try this. If you don’t, I won’t cooperate, and I might report it to the school, too.”
If I just flat-out objected, Ike and the others would carry out the crime regardless. By placing a condition on my offer to cooperate, I could ensure that this was a one-time event.
If we were discovered, Class D might actually come apart at the seams. We needed to understand that.
“All right already. I get it. I don’t think it’s good to try doing something like this multiple times, anyway,” Ike whined.
“That’s fortunate, because you’ll be staking your future high school career on this,” I replied. Then I added, “Let me suggest one thing. If the pool opens up at 9:00 A.M., then it’d be best to arrive right on time. If we get there first, nabbing the spot in the back of the locker room will be simple.”
“I see! Let’s go with that!” Ike agreed. “A red-blooded young man’s just gotta peep! Let’s do this, fellas!”
And that was the story behind Operation Delta.
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