The Two Who Were Absent

"Airi, let me take you somewhere fun."

"Okay... Huh?"

As Airi cried out in surprise, he scooped her up in his arms.

Then he activated his ability to slow down time tenfold.

With a small leap, he covered ten meters.

He darted around the island like a ghost, eventually reaching the shore.

But he didn't stop. Activating every muscle and bone in his body, he charged across the surface of the sea, his superpower bolstering him.

"Wow... so fast..."

Airi clutched her chest as her heart pounded. The wind made her squeeze her eyes shut.

The seawater didn't impede his stride. It was as if he were running across solid ground, with only splashes of water marking each step.

For the first time, Eito felt so completely at ease. The scenery before him flew by like slides in a projector.

That's right. With his physical strength and the tenfold time dilation, he was running at over 100 meters per second. At that speed, the law of conservation of momentum allowed him to run across the surface of the sea.

The cruise ship he was heading for drew closer at an incredible speed.

He could use his ability for a maximum of four minutes, but that was more than enough.

Using his final leap, he bounded up onto the cruise ship.

He found an empty spot and set Airi down.

As soon as she was on her feet, Airi looked incredibly excited. She tugged at Eito's clothes.

"Eito, are you a superhero?"

"Yep. I'm the superhero sent from above to save you, Airi."

"Hmm, you're lying."

Airi turned away. She wasn't an idiot like Yamauchi.

He leaned close to Airi and whispered:

"Only you know about this, Airi. You absolutely can't tell anyone else, okay?"

"Mm-hmm... But..."

Airi suddenly lowered her head again, looking a little downcast.

"What's wrong?"

"Um... it's nothing."

Eito stroked her head.

This girl had a unique charm, but she lacked confidence.

Her personality was the exact opposite of Suzune's. She always looked at everything in the most pessimistic way.

She always blamed herself for everything that went wrong.

She only ever hurt herself and never hurt anyone else.

It was the sort of personality that was both frustrating and heartbreaking.

"Airi, where's your room?"

"Huh... Oh, over there."

"Take me there."

To avoid running into anyone on the ship, he activated his superpower and made his way toward their destination, dodging the security cameras.

At last, they arrived at Airi's room.

Several girls shared the room.

From what he'd learned by asking around, one of them was actually Kikyo.

"Airi, come here."

"But... this is Kushida's..."

"It's fine. She won't mind."

"Okay."

Airi nodded and walked over.

If Kikyo knew what he was about to do, she wouldn't just mind—she'd kill him.

But he didn't care. She'd been causing him trouble all along, and he wasn't a masochist. How could he not pay Kikyo back?

They could hurt each other all they wanted.

As if she knew what was about to happen, Airi approached him one step at a time, unable to meet his eyes.

When she reached him, he gave the girl a gentle but firm push, guiding her down onto the bed.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, he placed his hand on her smooth leg and stroked it gently.

"Airi, you're beautiful."

"...Mm."

"Can I see all of you?"

"...Okay."

He had no idea how much time had passed.

When Eito opened his eyes, Airi was lying in his arms.

The blanket covered her curvy figure, and only he could feel how lovely she was.

He pulled his hand away from where it had been resting on her, then stood and looked outside.

The view beyond the window was pitch-black. Only the moon hanging in the sky shone like a faint candle, illuminating the surrounding darkness.

The cruise ship was quiet.

As he looked down at the water, his gaze suddenly sharpened.

A sturdy figure was gliding across the surface of the sea.

There was no doubt that the agile figure was Koenji.

Perhaps he was simply incredibly lucky. While gliding along with ease, he happened to look this way and meet Eito's eyes. He even waved at him.

"..."

Eito closed the window.

The movement woke Airi. She looked up at his face, then shyly burrowed under the blanket, leaving only one eye visible as she stared at him.

"What's wrong?"

"About what we just did..."

"That's right. Everything that belongs to Airi is mine now."

"..."

"What is it now?"

"Actually, online... I..." Airi hesitated, looking a little nervous.

"Yeah, I know." Eito held her close, feeling her warmth. "But could you only show that side of yourself to me from now on? Otherwise, I'll get jealous."

"Mm-hmm."

Airi smiled sweetly.

The last weight on her heart had finally been lifted.

Then the two of them fell asleep again.

As they slept, though, the faint scent of Kikyo lingered on the blanket, making him feel a little strange.

He woke up early, at four in the morning.

There was something he needed to tell Airi.

"Airi, stay on the ship for now. I'll go back by myself."

"Why?"

Airi clung to his arm, a hint of reluctance on her face.

"Be good and listen, okay? I'll come back to see you tonight."

"Okay, then."

Hearing that, Airi blushed a little. Was he coming back to see her tonight so they could do that again?

She didn't ask him why.

That was one of Airi's good points. She was as obedient as a baby.

As for the real reason...

Life on the island was indeed a little harsh for Airi, and she didn't have any especially close friends there. Staying on the ship would be easier for her.

Besides, he couldn't stay by her side all the time. He still wanted to go find Ryuen and have some fun.

After settling Airi in, he quietly returned to his tent under cover of darkness.

The Two Who Were Missing

When he returned to the tent, he moved very quietly, but someone still noticed him.

That was only natural, since he'd been gone all night.

Ike, who was sleeping beside him, stared at him like he was a suspect.

"Where'd you go? Don't tell me you went off to meet a woman."

He replied calmly:

"Yeah. We didn't just meet up, either. We went all the way."

"Hey, hey, you're lying, right?" Ike shook his shoulders in disbelief. "How could you betray the Virgin Alliance?"

There was an alliance like that? How pathetic.

He propped his chin up with one hand and sighed.

Ike said, "What's with that look? Are you feeling sorry for me? What, you think being a virgin makes me pathetic? Let me tell you, girls like innocent guys even more. To them, you're nothing but a male slut."

Ike was right. The younger they were, the more popular guys like that were—especially pretty boys.

Still, that had nothing to do with him.

"Ike, whether you're popular or not, I just feel sorry for you. Sigh, it's so hard for a popular guy like me to stay a virgin. Compared to me, you've got it easy, Ike. You'll never have to struggle with that your whole life."

"Damn you! I'm gonna kill you! Take this!"

Smack!