Preparation

That night, after Rinya had finished everything, he didn't go home.

The girl's face was practically begging him to stay.

He smiled faintly and didn't say much. In the end, he spent the night at Matsushita Chiaki's home.

Even so, the girl seemed to understand the distance she ought to keep. To avoid damaging their relationship, she deliberately dressed warmly and turned away to sleep.

Rinya silently took note of these details...

Though they didn't speak all night, he saw how unusually peacefully the girl slept beside him and realized there were some things he really ought to talk to her about.

After all, the surveillance had been exposed. No matter how thoroughly he hypnotized that person's mind, it wouldn't change the hatred those people harbored for her in secret.

"Mmm~"

"Yeye, aren't you going to sleep yet~?"

Her long hair partly veiled her face as she turned, revealing her lovely cheek. The girl asked sleepily.

"Sleepyhead, it's getting late." Rinya rested his hands behind his neck. His expression was as calm as ever, but his eyes held a tenderness he had never shown anyone else.

"Don't wanna. I want to sleep a little longer." The girl murmured softly, like a cat.

At that, Rinya smiled gently and said nothing more.

Since today was the first day of the holiday, he seemed to remember something and casually opened his phone. Sure enough, everything was unfolding just as it had in the story in his mind.

The first message on his phone was a notice from the school: "To celebrate the start of winter break, the school will be arranging a two-week luxury cruise for all students."

"Heh~ So it's finally happening." Rinya's eyes lit up.

As he thought about it, he glanced aside and chuckled. "Chiaki, doesn't peeking like that hurt your eyesight?"

"Huh, you noticed that fast~?"

"Guess there really are no secrets when I'm with you, Yeye."

The girl opened her bright eyes, having been caught, and sighed.

"But Chiaki, after what happened this time, I'm sure you understand a few things." Rinya's voice suddenly turned serious.

"So, Yeye, do you mean you want to teach me martial arts?"

Matsushita Chiaki guessed what Rinya meant at once and asked curiously.

"You're so easy to talk to."

"But you only got half of it~" Rinya said meaningfully.

"Oh~ Then what is it...?" The girl looked puzzled.

Rinya didn't beat around the bush. He went straight into a rough explanation of his special ability involving qi.

Once he saw that she had understood most of it, he shared what he had in mind.

"Honestly, my original plan was to teach you martial arts properly."

"But you've seen what happened."

Rinya's expression grew more solemn. "I'm sure the cruise the school is about to start won't be as simple as it seems."

"So you think the best thing is to place a strand of qi in me, right?" Before the young man could continue, the girl spoke first.

Rinya usually had to say a lot to make other people understand him. To be honest, he wasn't used to how quickly Matsushita Chiaki caught on.

He nodded in praise, then continued, "Right. But I'll still let you decide. If you don't want to do it that way, I'll have someone protect you instead."

"N-no, it's just taking my clothes off..."

Her voice grew softer and softer, but then she seemed to think of something and raised it slightly. "Hmph, I-I'm not afraid."

Seeing that the girl's blush had spread all the way to her neck, Rinya smiled faintly. "If you can't do it, we can just forget it. Don't force yourself."

"W-who said I can't?"

"As long as it's you, Yeye... I'm willing." Though she was too embarrassed to look up, her voice remained utterly resolute.

"Is that so~?"

Watching the girl, who was terribly shy by nature, grit her teeth and speak with such determination, Rinya felt his heart stir.

"Then we'll be boarding the ship together later. We still have some time, so let's get started now."

"S-so soon?" Matsushita Chiaki's voice trembled despite herself.

After all, she was about to undress completely in front of a boy. Even though he was someone she liked, the naturally reserved girl couldn't help trembling.

"Are you going to regret—"

"No, I won't regret it. This way, you won't have to worry about me, right?"

The girl cut him off before he could finish speaking.

"..."

Hearing her hit the nail on the head, Rinya couldn't help laughing at himself. He'd never expected to be left speechless in reply.

"You're so clever it's a little unsettling."

Shaking his head gently, the young man walked behind her.

"Chiaki, then let's begin."

"Mhm~"

With each item of clothing falling away, the girl's stunning body, sculpted like white jade, was finally revealed before the young man~

And to place a strand of qi inside Matsushita Chiaki that would last for only a limited time,

Rinya was in for quite a bit of work this time...

Meanwhile, on the top deck of another cruise ship, no one would have guessed that the usually cold-blooded Ryuen Kakeru was drinking with Koenji Rokusuke of Class 1-D.

Though Koenji was still focused on admiring his reflection in the mirror, he seemed to listen closely to every word Ryuen said.

"How about it? I'll tell you who beat you into amnesia, and this time you can help me deal with Class D in secret."

"Oh, Ryuen, I think you may have misunderstood something. I admit I'm a little curious, but I'm not about to help you go after my own class for that."

With that, Koenji stood and walked away.

"Boss, should we..." Albert cracked his knuckles with a sharp snap and asked coldly.

After being toyed with that night, he'd spent his hospital stay consumed by rage, going over his opponent's agile moves countless times. He was waiting for the day he could land a full-force hit on him.

"No rush... I've already got a plan~"

"This guy isn't someone you can deal with using brute force~"

Ryuen watched the man walk farther away, his gaze full of malice.

It seemed the events of that day still rankled with him...

To be honest, he didn't even know who had fought Koenji, but he would get revenge for that humiliation no matter what.

The fingerprint left on his clothes by that punch had later been examined, and it really did belong to Koenji.

Ryuen's expression remained as calm as still water, but perhaps a blazing murderous intent had already ignited in his heart...