Arrival at the Osaka Hotel

Across the room, Lincoln stares at Yon and Yui with a slight frown on his face. Kanna notices he isn't listening to her talk and tries to get his attention.

"Lincoln?"

He doesn't respond, so she leans forward and pokes his nose. He jumps a little startled.

"Oh, Kanna! I'm sorry."

Kanna sits back down.

"It's ok, is something bothering you?"

Lincoln sits for a moment before resting his head on his propped-up hand. He continues to look at Yon, who is sitting closely with Yui.

"How do you tell someone how you feel, Kanna?"

Kanna, taken aback by the sudden question, cannot answer.

"Why is someone as cool as him asking me for advice on confessing?"

Kanna thinks for a moment and notices Lincoln staring at Yon and Yui. She looks back at Lincoln and understands.

"Hey Lincoln, do you like Yui?"

Lincoln gets a surprised look, then suddenly becomes flustered, frantically trying to explain that he has no feelings for Yui.

"No, no! It's nothing like that. I don't like her!"

He blushes and is obviously hiding something.

"Right. You don't like her."

Kanna smirks at Lincoln, making him even more flustered.

"Listen Kanna! It's nothing like that I-I"

Kanna leans forward, teasing Lincoln.

"Huh? What was that, what?"

Lincoln's face is as red as a tomato and he struggles to make words. The tension is so strong within himself that it finally weighs too much on him and his head falls, slamming against the lunch table. Kanna is now frantically trying to get him up, apologizing profusely.

"Lincoln! I'm sorry, I was just kidding around! Please get up!"

She lightly slaps his face quickly, trying to revive him, but Lincoln is out cold from the pressure. The bell chimes for students to return to class to make final preparations for the trip. This wakes Lincoln back up, who now has a small handprint on his face from Kanna's slaps.

He stands up and clears his throat.

"I'm going to class now. Don't tell anyone I was staring at them two, OK?"

Kanna, now a little frustrated at his sudden revival, sighs and waves him off.

"Ok, I won't tell anyone."

She stands up and the two head to their classes. The teachers all explain the last details of the trip, handing out maps, brochures, and instructions for the trip. All the students meet with their partners and head outside to the front of the school. They stopped several buses in front, ready to pick up the students.

The students all cram into the bus, bags in tow. Yon and Yui both sit close to each other, not much room available because of their bags, with Yon smiling happily, and Yui blushing, nervous about how close they are. Sam looks at clothes on her phone, while Ereen looks at her browsing from the corner of her eye, trying not to look interested. Lincoln and Kanna share earbuds and watch funny cat videos together, laughing loudly before the bus has even left. Kareen and Maka take their seats when someone bumps Maka into Kareen, causing them to both fall into their seat. Maka lies on top of Kareen for a moment, her hand on her breast. She squeezes, not realizing what she is grabbing, Kareen turning red and getting slightly mad.

"Hey, Maka... Can you get off of me, and stop squeezing my boob..."

"Huh?"

Maka looks at her hand, and her face turns blood red. She jumps up off of Kareen, embarrassed that she did something so lewd.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"

"No, it's ok..."

The two take their seats together, both blushing about the incident.

"I can't believe I touched her breasts!"

Maka bites her nails, unable to control her anxiety. Kareen sits with her head turned to the window of the bus. The two sit in silence as the buses leave for Osaka. Some students sleep, while some enjoy the sights looking out the bus window.

The bus arrives in Osaka late in the evening with students groaning and sighing about the long bus ride. The teachers do a count of the students and ensure everyone arrived safely.

"Ok, everyone! Please follow your booklet and go to your assigned hotel rooms. Your rooms are shared with your partner, which has separate beds. We expect you to all understand how to act if you are in a mixed pairing."

The boy and girl groups all look at each other, some blushing, some laughing. Lincoln and Kanna both giggle.

"We can stay up late and talk about Yon!"

"I can tell you how he was as a kid!"

The two cheerfully clasp their hands and smile at each other, while Yon stares blankly at the two, terrified of what his sister will tell his best friend. Behind Yon, Yui stands extremely embarrassed and nervous about the idea of them sharing a hotel room together.

The students and teachers enter the hotel lobby, all filling it to the max. The staff works quickly to check everyone in. Once everyone has settled, the staff assigns the class to their respective rooms. The teachers do a final head count once everyone is in their rooms and head to theirs as well.

Kanna throws her bags on the ground and jumps onto a bed.

"This one is mine!"

She spreads out over the bed and breathes a sigh of relief. Lincoln gently sits his bags down beside the other bed and face plants right down into the bed. After a moment, he lifts his head up and takes a deep breath.

"So comfy!"

The two both simultaneously let out a sigh of relief once more. Lincoln then gets up out of the bed and rummages through his bag for a moment. He pulls out a pair of socks, shorts, and a t-shirt, as well as some shampoo and other necessities for the bathroom.

"I'm going to go shower now if that's ok Kanna."

"Yeah, yeah, take all the time you need in there."

Kanna gleefully trapped herself in the bed's comfort. Lincoln lets out a light chuckle and enters the bathroom.

"Wow, this is fancy! The school really went all out."

He sits his stuff down and turns on the shower water, and enters the shower.

"Ah! That's nice... Hot to the touch!"

He stands under the hot water for a moment and remembers how close Yon and Yui were sitting with each other. He frowns at the thought of them being so close.

"Dammit... Why do I keep thinking like this lately?"

He slaps his face with both hands and shakes off the bad thoughts. He continues his shower. Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Kanna is on her phone scrolling through social media, when suddenly she gets a text from Yon.

"Kanna S.O.S! I need help here!"

"What do you mean, you need help?"

"Yui! She's in my room. I've never had a girl over before! Now one's staying alone with me at a hotel?! What should I do?"

"Relax, it's not that serious. Just act like you do when around me."

Yon sends a disappointed sticker followed by a thumbs down.

"Thanks for the help..."

"Seriously, don't overthink it. Just relax."

Kanna sends a heart sticker, and she sets her phone down on the nightstand beside the bed. She sighs while falling back onto the bed.

"This is my first time being alone with a guy beside you dummy... How am I supposed to help..."

She lies in her bed thinking for a moment, slowly becoming embarrassed at the thought of her and Lincoln being alone together. Lincoln steps out of the bathroom, still drying his hair with a towel.

"Hey Kanna, I'm done in there if you wanna shower next."

Kanna sits up, her face a little red from embarrassment, thinking about how strange it is to be with a guy at a hotel.

"Y-Yeah, sure thing."

She gets up and walks over to her bag, unpacking her pajamas. She has a matching set of pink pajamas, top, and bottom, both featuring a cute pattern in the shape of "UwU". Lincoln covers his mouth and looks away, trying not to let her see him laughing at her pajamas. Kanna notices and gets flustered.

"Don't laugh at them! I think they're really cute!"

"N-No... I'm not... hehe... I'm not laughing! They're really... tch... cute..."

Unable to hold back anymore, Lincoln laughs. Kanna, getting embarrassed, can't take it anymore and rushes at Lincoln and punches his side softly.

"Take it back! Take it back!"

"Oh! Ouch! You're too strong, Kanna! I give, I give!"

She stops punching him and the two stare at each other for a moment before both laughing.

"I guess they are a little cringe."

"No! No! Honestly, they're really cute."

Kanna blushes at the compliment.

"Thank you..."

"Don't mention it. Now go shower before I laugh at you again."

Kanna giggles a little and gets the rest of her things for the shower. She enjoys the warm water against her skin and begins thinking about how not that bad being with a boy at a hotel is.