Vol. 3: Chapter 26 - Brewing Trouble

"Ayanokouji? Hasebe? Why are you guys sleeping out here?"

My body felt the extreme coldness of the place despite the usual humidity. I slowly opened my eyes and saw Yukimura's curious expression.

"I thought there was enough space inside the tents?" he asked.

I looked at my wristwatch and saw that the time was 5:07 AM.

"Haruka fell asleep while leaning on this tree... and then I kinda did the same," I reasoned.

"Huh? You could've just woken her up when you found her."

"Well, the thing is... We were already in this position before she fell asleep." I glanced at Haruka's adorable sleeping face.

"Oh... I see." Yukimura nodded understandingly. "I don't know if this is an offensive question but, are you two dating?"

Even the dense Yukimura would eventually arrive at that conclusion.

"No... The two of us just decided to talk for a bit. But... we were more exhausted than we thought, so this happened..."

That's the last bit of excuse that I can possibly tell him. I hope Yukimura believes me... It's the truth, anyway.

"I understand," he nodded. "But the two of you need to get up soon. It's already the fifth day. We're almost there." 

Yukimura walked back to his tent, probably to get something. I gently moved Haruka's head off my shoulder. I should wash up and get ready for the next day.

"Mmm... Kiyopon... Miyacchi... Kencchin... get 'em~... Airi... get behind me, I'll protect you~..." she muttered.

Huh...? What in the world is this girl dreaming about?

I stood up and stretched for a bit before scanning our surroundings. It doesn't seem like anyone else was up, which was expected given the time. The earliest ones were always either Yukimura or Hirata, so I wasn't worried even if I slept in for a bit.

"Hm?"

I noticed something strange after looking at the girls' tent.

"Yukimura, is there anyone else who's awake? Like someone who went to the toilet or something?" I asked.

The tent's entrance wasn't the same from what I could remember. If someone went to the toilet around 2-4 in the morning, I doubt they could've noticed me and Haruka since this place was a blindspot from the girls' tent in particular. But that's taking their morning dizziness into account.

If they woke up after that timeframe, then...

"I don't think so..." Yukimura answered in an instant.

That's a relief. It seems like I was overthinking things. At least we avoided some troublesome misunderstandings.

"Ah, but I remember Kushida getting out of their tent right after I went out from ours. She immediately went back inside, though."

Ah.

"She went back inside?"

"Yeah... She stepped out and walked around for a few seconds before going back in a hurry. Since she's still inside, then I'm pretty sure she went back to sleep." Yukimura pondered while narrowing his eyes a bit. "Hmm, but that's strange... Kushida was very energetic when she greeted me. It didn't feel like she was sleepy at all."

Oh...

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As time passed by, our classmates woke up one by one until Haruka finally got up herself. The others didn't really mind seeing her asleep by the tree since a few of our classmates had done the same before.

When Haruka came to, she hastily approached me with a panicked face.

"K-Kiyopon... Was I-? Were we-?"

At least complete your sentences.

"Yeah, we fell asleep last night together," I replied, cutting her off. "My bad. I think should've woken you up."

Haruka's cheeks instantly became flushed, and her hold on my jacket felt uncomfortably tight just by looking at it. Hey, you might rip it off...

She looked around for possible eavesdroppers. Seeing her pinkish cheeks, I asked another question.

"You didn't catch a cold or anything, right?"

"I don't think I can catch a cold at this point..." she answered with a slightly strained voice.

"That's good. You might wanna give my jacket back to me before you tear it apart, then."

"A-Ah, sorry."

After handing it back, Haruka regained her composure and cleared her throat.

"How about you, Kiyopon? You didn't use any blankets, right? Are you alright?" she asked after returning my jacket.

"I'm fine. You don't need to worry about that."

"Alright, that's great. I don't want to be the one responsible for our leader getting sick, after all." Haruka chuckled with a smirk. "Later~!"

And there she goes. Just like that, the usual Haruka was back in business. She walked in the girls' direction and did her chores with Airi.

Time passed by and all of us had breakfast right before the roll call. Kikyou acted the same as usual when she woke up. I don't know if she saw me and Haruka in that state, but I chose not to ask. I might dig myself a deeper hole for that.

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5th Day, 10:09 AM.

I just got back from the hilltop. Everything seems to be going well for us. Since I had a lot of time before the next round of spot-taking, I decided to help out with finding food.

"Kiyotaka-kun, we found some nice fruit-bearing trees around here. There might be a lot of them left," said Airi.

I decided to go with Airi after we split into two smaller groups.

"I see. I haven't really explored this place in detail, so you'll be my guide."

"Okay, leave it to me." Airi nodded with a smile.

If she could smile like this in the classroom, I'm sure Airi would make more friends than she could ever imagine.

She told me everything I needed to know while traversing this part of the forest. It was refreshing to see Airi try her best to talk, so I praised her for it. After some time had passed, Airi and I decided to sit beside a nearby tree to rest.

"It would've been nice if I brought my camera with me. It's too bad they confiscated it." Airi lamented with a bitter smile.

Airi's camera was personal, just like her phone. It wasn't like Ibuki's camera, which was bought with points. I knew this fact after finding the same model in the manual.

"That's true. You would've made a lot of memories with Haruka and the others."

"Why are you excluding yourself? You're the Ayanokouji group's leader, you know?" chuckled Airi.

"When did that happen? Weren't we just an ordinary friend group?" I asked in surprise.

"Akito-kun and Ken-kun decided it, apparently. Haruka-chan and I didn't have the energy to disagree."

"Well, that sounds like something that those two would say..." I replied while pondering about it myself. "Isn't it funny, though? Akito's slowly getting infected by Ken's wildness."

"Yeah, but on the other hand, Ken-kun is acting more composed at times, just like Akito-kun."

"It's probably a good thing if their qualities are rubbing off on each other," I shrugged.

As long as Akito doesn't adopt the violent side of Ken's nature, I'm sure it'll be alright. It's not like Akito's the type of guy who's easily influenced, anyway.

"Yep!" Airi sighed with a grin. "It's really fun when everyone's hanging out together. I never thought I could be this close with a lot of people."

"We told you before, right? You have what it takes to make friends. You just have to put yourself out there with confidence."

I'm sure it's not that simple for everyone, but Airi, with their help, had started to bud out from her own shell.

"Mn... Unlike before, I can finally have different thoughts about myself... Like how I can be a good friend to Haruka-chan and you guys. It's all thanks to you, Ayanokouji-kun. When we first met, you talked to me without thinking that I was strange. You might think that it's a simple and mundane event, but it left an impact on me."

As someone who didn't really talk with anyone in the class, I'm sure it did.

"I thought you were strange, though," I teased.

"E-Eh?!" Airi flinched back in horror.

"I'm kidding."

"Geez, you-!" Airi pouted cutely.

Guys like Yamauchi would probably become head over heels for Airi if they saw her like this.

"Well, at that time, when I got physically close to you, I noticed that the lenses on your glasses didn't have any distortion. That's when I knew that they were fake. You can probably count that as strange."

"Oh... Yeah, you're right. I was being careful about that, too. It's not something that one would immediately notice, but I was expecting to get found out eventually. But what's even stranger is that you never confronted me about it."

Airi chuckled once again. If she could do all these things without her shield, I'm sure many people would open themselves up to her. In some ways, she might resemble Kikyou but with a more authentic vulnerable exterior.

"Have you considered coming to class without them? You look really cute when you're not wearing glasses, you know? That's what the four of us have been telling you, especially Haruka."

"Y-Yes, I know... Haruka-chan's been convincing me to do so, but I'm still quite shy..." Airi relaxed her back against the tree and gazed at the rustling leaves. "Well, maybe it's more accurate to say that I'm scared."

"I see... It's good to take things at your own pace."

"Just like Haruka-chan, right?"

"Yep, just like her. I'm sure you can do it, Airi."

"Mn..." Airi meekly nodded.

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After our group got back, Class B proceeded with lunch.

The fifth day was slowly getting by. Given the circumstances, I should make my move soon. During the fourth night, which was last night, he made his first mistake. It's time for him to reap the punishment.