"Time to eat. Are you going to get something?"
After who knew how long, watching everyone around him play in the pool, the bored Chiba Yu suddenly realized it was about time for a meal.
So he asked Karuizawa Kei, who had been sitting beside him this whole time, more out of courtesy than anything else.
He had no idea what had gotten into her. If she didn't want to get in the water, why not just go wander around with her friends? Wouldn't she be bored sitting here?
"I get the feeling you're thinking something really rude."
Karuizawa narrowed her eyes and glared at Chiba, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"No. So, are you going to get something to eat, or do you want to go find Hirata and..."
"I'll just go eat. I'm hungry anyway."
As she spoke, Karuizawa stood up from her chair and stretched.
She'd been sitting for so long that she was starting to feel tired. As she stretched, she added:
"Also, I think you've gotten the wrong idea about something. Hirata and I have always just been good friends who happen to be close. We're not dating, no matter what you think, so don't get the wrong idea!"
Watching her explain with a frown, Chiba looked a little confused, but nodded anyway. "Yeah, I get it. But why go out of your way to explain that? It has nothing to do with me, does it?"
"Huh? I just don't want you going around spreading rumors without knowing the truth. It's easy to start a rumor, but clearing things up afterward is hard."
Karuizawa's reasoning was so sound that Chiba couldn't find a single thing to argue with.
"Matsushita! Are you all going to get lunch?"
Karuizawa waved toward the pool, her voice brimming with the energy of a high school girl. People around them couldn't help glancing over.
Matsushita noticed them. She and the others exchanged looks, then, when they saw Chiba beside Karuizawa, they all broke into the same strange smile.
Noticing that they were all thinking the same thing, Matsushita answered on their behalf. "You two go ahead. We're going to play here a little longer."
"...All right."
With no other choice, Karuizawa left with Chiba. He was still trying to make sense of the situation, but she had already taken him by the hand and led him away.
As they watched the two of them disappear into the distance, Mori Nene and the others could no longer contain their curiosity. They gathered together and chattered excitedly.
"So, what do you think is going on between those two?"
"Who knows? I still can't believe Karuizawa would pass up someone as great as Hirata. I mean... Chiba's great too, but..."
"To be honest, even I was surprised when I found out Karuizawa wasn't dating Hirata. But do those two really seem like they're into each other?" Matsushita wondered.
"I don't think Chiba feels that way about her. He's really good at studying, but when it comes to everything else, he's still incredibly dense." Shinohara Satsuki joined in.
"But... that's what makes them so fun to ship, isn't it?"
"Exactly!"
"Exactly!"
They'd all been friends in the same circle to begin with. They were used to Karuizawa being assertive, but seeing her act like a bashful girl while bickering with Chiba had them completely hooked.
Besides, wasn't shipping couples perfectly normal these days?
If Chiba Yu found out, he'd definitely have something to say about it.
How could you all be so bored? What do you even do all day? Could you try doing something productive for once?
After walking for a while, Chiba brought Karuizawa to a restaurant that looked quite luxurious.
The atmosphere was serene. Students from different classes quietly savored the food in front of them, occasionally chatting with friends about how delicious it was.
The restaurant's elegant ambience immediately caught Karuizawa's eye.
Seeing her eyes light up, Chiba knew there was no way they'd be eating anywhere else for lunch.
With about a fist's worth of space between them, the two walked into the restaurant.
Karuizawa certainly had a good eye. The place was filled with students from all the different classes, which was enough to suggest that the food wasn't bad.
They picked a table at random and sat down. A waiter handed them menus.
"Um... I'll have the filet steak, medium well. What about you?"
After ordering, the two sat at the table. Chiba turned his head slightly and looked around at the other students.
To his surprise, the students here didn't seem like ordinary people.
Katsuragi from Class A, Shiina from Class C, and so on. Most of them were pretty well-known. The only ones missing were the students from their own Class D...
Just then, he noticed several unwelcome guests arriving at the entrance.
He took a closer look, and suddenly felt like his life had gone dark.
They were the last people he wanted to see right now: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, along with the three idiots from Class D walking beside him.
Chiba covered his face and silently lamented his terrible luck.
"Hm? What's with the sudden change?"
Karuizawa was puzzled by Chiba's abrupt reaction, so she followed his gaze. Sure enough, when she saw Ayanokoji and the others, a look of disdain appeared on her face.
It was clear she didn't like them. If anything, she seemed to loathe them.
Don't get the wrong idea. Karuizawa didn't actually have anything against Ayanokoji at the time. She just disliked the other three so much that he'd been lumped in with them.
"Sigh. I hope they don't cause trouble again," Karuizawa sighed.
But reality rarely went the way you expected. After sitting down, Sudo and the other two immediately started arguing over what to order, while Yahiko from Class A mocked them. Short-tempered as ever, Sudo couldn't hold back and was about to start a fight right there.
A short while later, Chiba exchanged a glance with Ayanokoji, who was seated not far away. They both noticed the helplessness in each other's eyes and silently sighed.
The little incident was finally brought to a reasonably satisfactory end thanks to Katsuragi from Class A, who stepped in to "mediate."
For some reason, Chiba had a feeling that this vacation was going to turn out to be especially rough...