[Editor's note: This chapter has been edited to remove content that breaks our content rules.]
“Here, Ayanokoji. Something cold to drink should make you feel a lot better.”
“Uh... thanks.”
Under Horikita’s and Airi’s watchful gazes, Kiyotaka accepted the soda. Even Kikyo stole a couple of discreet glances at him.
“Ichinose, want to try the water slide? Airi, you should come too!”
Unable to sit still, Kikyo made the suggestion. Ichinose agreed immediately, and the two of them pulled Airi along.
That left Kiyotaka, Ike, and Horikita. Ike gave Kiyotaka a meaningful look. Kiyotaka sighed, then said, “Horikita, come buy something to eat with me? I’m getting a little hungry.”
Horikita looked at him suspiciously. It wasn’t like him to suggest something like that, but she agreed.
Once Kiyotaka and Horikita had left, Ike gave him a thumbs-up and hurried away.
“Forget buying food. Come on the rafting ride with me. We can talk there,” Horikita said once they were alone.
Kiyotaka glanced at her and nodded.
They rented a small raft and headed to the starting point.
“All right, you two are next. The raft is rather small, and the current is fairly strong, so you’ll need to sit one behind the other. The person in back should hold on to the person in front. That shouldn’t be a problem for a couple, right?” the attendant said with a smile.
Horikita said nothing and took the front seat. Kiyotaka sat down behind her.
“Sit tight, and have fun!”
With that, the attendant pushed them off.
“Don’t forget, I’m still angry with you!” Horikita said without turning around.
The raft passed through a pitch-black tunnel before emerging into the light again.
“Will you stop being angry with me?” Kiyotaka asked gently.
“Fine...”
Chapter Twenty: Darling, What Are You Doing Here?
After taking a little time to compose herself, Horikita turned and gave Kiyotaka an exasperated look.
“You’re getting worse by the day. Now tell me—what did you want to talk about?”
Kiyotaka sighed.
“Sudo and the other two are causing trouble again. They’ve installed a hidden camera in the girls’ changing room. I can’t reveal my involvement, so I need you to retrieve it.”
Horikita froze, then rubbed her forehead with a weary expression.
“Those three never give it a rest. Do you know where they put it?”
“More or less. I’ll tell you in a minute. Make sure you deal with it properly. If anyone finds evidence against them, Class D is finished. We can forget about ever moving up.”
“All right. Understood.”
Once they got off the ride, Horikita followed Kiyotaka’s directions to remove the camera from the changing room, leaving him to wander around with nothing to do.
“Huh? Ayanokoji, why are you all alone?”
Someone called out to Kiyotaka as he walked. He turned and found Ichinose.
“Oh... I was bored, so I decided to walk around. Weren’t you going on rides with the others?” he replied evenly.
Ichinose smiled.
“I got tired and wanted a break. They’re still having fun. Want to take a walk together?”
“Uh, I think I’ll pass. People might get the wrong idea.”
Kiyotaka instinctively wanted to turn her down. Deep down, he felt there was more to her than met the eye, and thought it best to keep his distance.
“Oh, come on. I don’t mind, so what are you worried about?”
Before he could protest, Ichinose took his arm and pulled him along.
What is even happening? This is such a hassle, Kiyotaka sighed inwardly.
He had no idea what Ichinose was after. She simply wandered aimlessly through the water park with him, watching him all the while.
“Ichinose, is there something on my face? Why do you keep staring at me?”
Delighted that Kiyotaka had finally spoken, Ichinose answered eagerly.
“Oh, you finally said something! I just think you’re very mysterious. I wanted to see what makes you different.”
“And have you figured anything out?”
Kiyotaka turned his golden eyes toward her and asked calmly.
Ichinose looked thoughtful. After a brief silence, she said, “No. That’s exactly why I’m curious about you.”
Before they knew it, they had returned to the meeting point. Almost everyone except Horikita was already there. With so many people around, Ichinose refrained from saying anything more and instead whispered to Kiyotaka, “I’ll let you off this time. Next time, I’m going to uncover your secret. You’d better watch out.”
Kiyotaka merely glanced at her without replying.
“Ayanokoji, here’s your shaved ice. It’ll melt if you don’t eat it soon.”
Seeing Kiyotaka return, Sakura shyly approached and handed him the cup of shaved ice she had been carefully holding.
Kiyotaka noticed how red her hands had become from the cold. He briefly covered them with his own before taking the cup.
“Thanks.”
Sakura naturally noticed the little gesture and gave him a sweet smile.
“You’re welcome.”
They waited a little longer before Horikita finally appeared. She gave Kiyotaka a slight nod, then spoke.
“Sorry. Something held me up. What are we doing now?”
Sudo checked the time and rubbed his stomach.
“It’s almost noon. We’ve been playing all morning. How about we get something to eat and carry on this afternoon?”
“Sounds good!”
Everyone agreed. They had gathered early that morning and been enjoying themselves ever since, so they were all getting hungry.
Not long after they finished eating, the girls watched in surprise as Sudo and the other two dragged Kiyotaka away.
With that, the girls abandoned their own plans and headed off in small groups.
Once they were some distance away, the three boys enthusiastically threw an arm around Kiyotaka’s neck.
“Heh, nice work, Kiyotaka! Ike told us everything. That was some great cover!”
The trio laughed among themselves, while Kiyotaka stared into the distance with a thoroughly defeated expression.
“All right, let’s make the most of the afternoon! Let’s go!”
With that, they hauled Kiyotaka toward the attractions.
Seeing how excited they were, Kiyotaka didn’t want to spoil their fun. He spent quite a while with them before finally finding an excuse to leave.
Only after reaching the rest area and sitting down did he breathe a sigh of relief.
“Honestly, every day is such a hassle. My school life never used to be full of this much nonsense...”
“Excuse me, could you please let me through? My boyfriend is waiting for me nearby.”
“Hey, you look like a first-year. I haven’t seen you around before.”
“Yeah, why are you all alone? How about hanging out with us?”
A girl’s voice was followed by several boys pestering her.
The commotion reached Kiyotaka’s ears, but he had no desire to get involved. He kept his head lowered without even looking up.
But just because he wasn’t looking at anyone else didn’t mean no one was looking at him.
The girl surrounded by the boys was anxiously searching for a way out. When she spotted Kiyotaka’s slender figure, her expression brightened with relief. She pushed her way out of the group, ran to his side, and clung to him.
“Darling, what are you doing here? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Kiyotaka stared at Ichinose in surprise, then looked up to see several boys approaching with unfriendly expressions.
So Ichinose was the one they had been bothering. Kiyotaka felt a headache coming on.
“Come on, don’t just grab some random guy and call him your boyfriend. Why not pick me instead? Why choose a scrawny little nobody like him? He looks like a gust of wind could knock him over. He’s not good enough for you.”
“Exactly! Hahaha!”
Kiyotaka sighed inwardly. There were jerks everywhere.
Still, he didn’t want to meddle, especially since he and Ichinose barely knew each other.
Chapter Twenty-One: Collecting a Little Interest
After thinking it over, Kiyotaka began shifting away, hoping to put some distance between himself and Ichinose.
She immediately noticed. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she gave him a pleading look.
But Kiyotaka wasn’t looking at her. He was focused entirely on getting away.
In desperation, Ichinose held on more tightly.
Kiyotaka finally raised his head and looked directly at the boys who had been harassing her.