A repetitive action, perhaps, but necessary: my thanks to anyone/everyone who has favorited and/or opted to follow this story since Chapter 6 was posted.
Review Responses follow … naturally:
Guest: Yes, I said in back in the preamble to Chapter 1; this story is set in an AU. The end of this story is still a little way off. As for a certain *a-hem* "sequel", … patience is still a virtue; in the meanwhile, I'm "doing research" (srsly).
MrQuestionMark: Being in the position of a Director's advisor (Seria), or having had to deal with things like the Exterior Project (Misaki) might cause some people to put aside 'childish' behavior in order to handle (if not survive) such matters effectively. Maybe this is an example of the trope called: "Adults Are Useless" (thank you, TV Tropes). I opted to only give passing reference to Deadlock at this time (those who have been through NT 11 would recognize the name). Perhaps further reference just might show up later, if I can fit it in appropriately.
fencer29: Those were some rather IN-teresting theories you put forward, there. Was Misaki perhaps in some way "reaching out" to connect with Touma on those occasions, where her "clique" was noticeably (perhaps even deliberately) absent? Kamachi-sensei just might be leaving that up to the readers' imaginations and speculations.
ArmoredCoreNineBall: My own (slightly distorted) imagination shall work to provide an answer to your inquiry that should be both adequate and engaging.
Linkjames24: We've touched on this via PM; no need to reply here. Also, your recent comments on Chapters 1 and 2 are noted.
With that taken care of, … 'the pedal is put to the metal'.
Final word – there's a 'shout-out' contained in here (good for those who spot it).
Just as done previously – except for any original characters and situations introduced within this story, all characters and situations depicted herein are © KAZUMA KAMACHI/ASCII MEDIA WORKS/PROJECT-INDEX.
Chapter 7 – A Curious (if not Hilarious) Development
Just to briefly recap, following the resolution of three male students' stalking activities on her, and on her employer's recommendation, a certain female second-year high-school student had from that point on taken up an alternative accommodation arrangement, mainly to minimize the risk of a repetition of that incident. Partly because she felt no inclination to do housekeeping on her own, and considering it good practical training, Seria had decided at some point to engage her younger sister and maid-in-training, Maria, to take on such tasks.
One particular day, Maria arrived at one of said places of residence, accompanied by her classmate and fellow maid-in-training … a young girl named Tsuchimikado Maika … to (quite literally) 'clean house'. Once the security system had been disabled (Seria had passed the necessary unlock information to Maria previously), the two maids-in-training entered the place, eager to begin work.
What met them was, to say the least, a surprise. To make a long story short, there was practically little or no housekeeping work to be done. Maria was surprised at this development, perhaps at the moment more than Maika.
"Ooooh, … I think you said it's been like this for a few weeks now, Maria." quipped Maika. "And I've previously seen one of those other places, where it was a true battleground for a maid's work."
"I'm as mystified as you, Tsuchimikado." was Maria's reply. "I mean, we're talking about my big sister, who can be quite the slob at times, even if she's considered a genius at her high school. I'm almost certain no-one else was sent here before us, so I can only assume she did the clean-up work here, herself."
"So, just what could have caused this turn-around in your sister?" was Maika's next question.
Maria furrowed her brow as she strove to come up with an answer. Suddenly and after a few moments, her brow unfurrowed as a cat-like grin gradually appeared on her face. Turning to her fellow maid-in-training, Maria declared: "There can be only one logical conclusion … my big sister has gotten interested in a guy."
At that statement, Maika's face immediately lit up like a lightbulb (proverbially speaking). Her eyes opened wide, even as she squealed with excitement: "Ehhhhhhh, ….. what is this breaking news flash you're revealing? Your big sister whom you've often described as seemingly having no interest in boys up till now … has possibly awakened?"
"It's the only explanation I can think of that makes sense." came back Maria, perhaps not as fired up as Maika, but interested nonetheless.
Seemingly barely able to contain her interest, Maika fired back: "Naturally, you must take on the role of a good little sister and investigate this gentleman, who seems to have sparked such a thing in your sister!"
"Oi … not so fast." Maria fired back herself. "Generally, Seria-nee-san and I tend to skirt clear of each other's personal affairs, even with our sibling relationship. Still, there is something in what you suggest; after all, I can't let some undesirable character get close to my sister. Investigation will definitely take place, … but I'll be discrete about it, of course."
"Of course." came back Maika, now bearing a similar cat-like grin, even as both girls simultaneously engaged in a high-five with each other.
While perhaps not as much of a showcase to Academy City on the whole (or to the world-at-large) as the Daihaseisai, the Ichihanaransai (or Ichihanaran Festival) had its own appeal to some, primarily as it also indirectly serves as a recruitment vehicle for students about to make a transition from one school level to another. A Certain High School was certainly no exception to that rule, so, like many other institutions, and of course within the limits of the financial grant given to each school for that purpose, the School on the whole aimed to go as far as possible to attract as many as possible of those middle-school students who would soon be undertaking their finals.
Perhaps as a means of both relaxation and stress relief from her advisory work, Seria had volunteered to join the Organizing Committee looking over all of the endeavors planned by her School for this year's festival. Granted she was not initially placed in any definite supervisory position, but, in all likelihood, thanks to her intellectual skills as they were applied towards planning and foreseeing certain things, not to mention (so-to-say) getting the most out of the festival's budget, Seria was gradually being relied upon more and more to indirectly yet surely get things done, as the days progressed towards the actual date of the festival. Of course, it would be naive to regard her actions as completely altruistic. Indeed, a part of her hoped that Kamijou Touma would be among those final-year middle-school students who visited her school on the festival day, so it wouldn't at all hurt to make a good impression on him. At the same time, it would be in poor taste to come out directly and ask him to visit her school on that day … there is such a thing as pride, after all.
At last, and without covering all the intricate details, the actual day of the Ichihanaran Festival dawned upon Academy City. In the spirit of it being a festival rather than a regular school day, participants were permitted to forego their standard school uniforms, within limits imposed by each school's administration, of course. Accordingly, various costumes were worn by those students who had erected and were running stalls on the school compound. Meanwhile, the female members of A Certain High School's Organizing Committee opted on that day to wear either the traditional miko attire, or a yukata, while those male members who opted to do so, donned the monosuke, or male version of the kimono, with usual accessories. Seria was one of those who opted to skip the school uniform for that day, so it was no surprise when many eyes (of both genders) turned and gazed for a while to see the school's "Beauty-Sempai" adorned in a floral-patterned yukata, complete with traditional footwear. Indeed, if her rather impressive physique was noticeable when she wore her school uniform, it was perhaps even more accentuated via the yukata. It actually got to the point where photographs were taken (albeit without attracting much notice) and circulated by some students to their acquaintances or friends outside, thereby gradually increasing the volume of visitors to that school that day. Female students (particularly the current first-years) sighed if not squee'd at the sight of "Beauty-Sempai in a yukata", while some male thoughts (as expected of that age group) went instinctively to debate … whether aloud or silently … whether it was being worn in the 'traditional' manner, i.e. without any underwear present.
Even as she settled into her assigned station within her classroom, which had been temporarily converted into the Committee's base-of-operations for the festival's proceedings, Seria reflected for a moment on her earlier changing out of her school uniform and donning the yukata. That took place with assistance from Maria, who had accompanied her to Seria's school, for that express purpose. Naturally, in such an outfit, rapid movement would be difficult if not outright impossible, but Seria reasoned that nothing should happen that day requiring such a thing.
"Mmmm, ….. it suits you well, if I may say so as your imouto." commented Maria, as the final touches were applied. "No doubt you're going to turn many heads your way … unless perhaps you have yourself set on turning just one."
"Oi … that's a questionable way of talking to your nee-san, Maria." retorted Seria, in the typical exchange style usually adopted by siblings. "And just what kind of talk are you engaging in, you middle-schooler?"
"Time may yet tell whether I'm just speculating, or stating a fact." Maria came back smoothly, "although I'm surprised you decided to wear your yukata 'like that'."
"It was agreed among all the girls on the committee to do so, and we're supposed to be in the spirit of today being a festival." was Seria's reply. "Besides, I had no plans to be up and about much today, so one day of that should be fine. Of course, if anyone looks too closely, subject to my mood, if they don't desist upon a polite warning … it may be revealed whether I can still execute 'full-on soap-opera' mode, even while wearing this."
"Sure." was Maria's response to that. "Well, you've suggested what time I should return to help you change clothes again after the festival comes to a close. So, until then … enjoy yourself, nee-san." With that, Maria took her leave, while Seria secured her regular clothes and belongings, before proceeding to her classroom.
As indicated, today was intended to be just a day of relative relaxation and quiet activity, especially after all the preparatory work that led up to this moment. It was agreed previously that the male members of the Committee would do the bulk of physically patrolling the school, and any problems or incidents would be reported back to the base, either via smartphone or over an I.P. Network set up just for today by the school's I.T. Department.
Of course, if one believed that Luck, Chance and Fortune were sentient entities acting in the world, the argument could be made that they had other plans for that day.
It was not immediately recalled who first pitched the idea, but it was agreed that visitors to the School, particularly the final-year middle-school students, would be offered a complimentary cup of amazake, which is basically a sweet, low-alcoholic version of traditional sake. It was probably justifiable, as technically, most students even up to the final year of high school were all still underage with respect to consuming alcohol (at least in public). Even more significantly, oft-times, there was practically no way to determine a person's tolerance level to alcohol, except by experience. That was a fact that would be demonstrated spectacularly that day.
As the day progressed, some bottles of amazake found their way up to the Staff Room and Teachers' Lounge on the School's upper floor. Thinking that today would run relatively smoothly and without serious incident, some of the staff decided there would be no harm in having a sip themselves, and in fact, proceeded to do so. That conception turned out to be an illusion, when one of the teachers … specifically, Yomikawa Aiko (a gym teacher at the School, when not operating as an Anti-Skill Officer), on receiving a cup of the brew, discovered that something was not right, when the scent of the cup's contents reached her olfactory senses.
"Hold up, … what's going on here?" declared Yomikawa, before letting her tongue touch the liquid in the cup. A moment later, she exclaimed in surprise: "What the hell is pure sake doing here?"
"Ehhh? … are you sure this is sake, and not amazake, Yomikawa?" inquired one of the other staff members, who may or may not already have begun to get drunk?
"I'm certain." replied Yomikawa, not mentioning that she was one of a hard-drinking trio (outside work hours, of course) that included her Anti-Skill partner, Tessou Tsuzuri, and, surprisingly enough, Tsukuyomi Komoe, so that, from (so-to-say) experience, she recognized sake when it was before her.
Swiftly reaching for the open bottle, a thorough look at the label stated that the contents were supposed to be amazake, yet the contents of the bottle was definitely not. A moment later, the realization clicked with Yomikawa: "Don't tell me the consignment of amazake somehow got sake mixed in with it, or that it's all sake?" With that, she dashed quickly out of the lounge.
Meanwhile, around mid-morning that day, Kamijou Touma showed up at A Certain High School, together with some of his classmates. Up to that moment, he himself hadn't seen any of the photos of Seria wearing a yukata. However, recognizing the uniform by some of the students as they entered the building, he decided to check this school out … and possibly running into Seria wouldn't be a bad thing, either. Like virtually all visitors, Touma and his classmates were offered a drink of 'amazake', which he accepted.
Two cups later in his case (at first it might have seemed strange that the girls running the booth opted to offer him a second cup), something strange took place. Simply put, Touma, having actually consumed 100 per cent sake, had become, to put in bluntly, drunk. He was perhaps in no danger of being sick, or falling into unconsciousness, yet he was definitely intoxicated. Notwithstanding, Touma somehow managed to stay on his feet, though at times drifting from side to side. Even more curious to the casual onlooker, such as his classmates, Touma seemed to be getting quite a bit of attention from the female students; not only those running the booth, but others in the immediate proximity. The possibility that the girls had also inadvertently consumed sake instead of amazake was there, but, whether they did or not, it was still a strange sight to behold.
"Uh, … may we know your name?" a bespectacled girl with pigtails asked, with a faint but visible blush on her face.
"Touma, … Kami-(hic) … shorry, … Kamijou Touma." was Touma's reply, as best as he could articulate in his present state.
A few girls present sighed. Some even murmured rather loudly: "So Cute". Needless to say, Touma's classmates (all boys) and most male students looking on were surprised.
"So, what do you think of our high school so far, Touma-kun?" spoke up another female student, sending most males into shock at her addressing Touma by his first name, so soon after being introduced.
"Ehhhhh, … I kinda like what I've sheen so far." replied Touma. "Of course (hic), I should shee as much as I can before I choose which high school to aim for."
"Well, then," declared another girl aloud, "it's probably right to ensure Touma-kun sees as much of our school, so that he chooses to come here. Is everyone with me?"
The dozen (or more) female students present replied with hands or fists thrust into the air above them, and a resounding: "Ohh!", effectively signifying their agreement with the idea.
Thus it was that a drunken Touma, surrounded by a group of female high-school students, from all three years (all under varying levels of intoxication, possibly), and an almost equal number of males trailing behind, either out of fascination or jealousy, began an impromptu tour of A Certain High School, and one which might be recorded in history as (to put it politely) a most extraordinary event.
Stopping at a closed door, one of the girls proceeded to open it (without knocking), before gently pushing Touma in front of the group as they entered the room. One of them announced rather exuberantly to the room's occupants: "Everyone … this is Kamijou Touma-kun! He's aiming for our high school after his finals, so we're giving him the full tour!"
Curiously enough, Touma seemed to retain enough presence of mind to exercise his manners by bowing slightly, while saying (even with a slightly slurred tone): "Good Morning, everyone – shorry for intruding (hic)." In all likelihood, he was still intoxicated (at least to a degree), so that it didn't clearly register to him that he had been brought into a changing room, occupied at that instant by over a dozen female students from an as-yet unidentified class, and all in various stages of undress. Naturally, a few of the girls in the room immediately sought to cover themselves, screaming: "Kyaaaa!". Curiously, some of them seemingly froze in place, even as a thought registered in their individual minds regarding this young male student standing before them; a thought that effectively said: "Ooooh, … He's a Cutie." Even more curiously, one or two of the girls decided aloud: "Hey, that sounds like fun … I'll come along, too!", before swiftly donning either their school uniform or their costume for the day. Of course, not detecting any sign of the stereotypical reaction to such a thing (no slap to face, no hurling of any nearby inanimate object, etc.) the males present (all of them except Touma being outside the changing room) had their collective reaction escalated from outright shock to bordering on jealous rage.
Another stop along the tour, turned out to be a science laboratory. The entry was done is practically the same manner. This time, the laboratory was occupied by a mixed group of students, accompanied by an older woman wearing a lab coat over her regular clothes; presumably a teacher, if not a teacher's assistant. It was not clear to the visiting group just what was going on in the laboratory at that moment. However, the surprise entry was such a distraction, that the teacher, who was in the middle of pouring a bottle of some unknown substance into a flask on the bench before her, seemed to either pour out more than originally intended, or to pour it into the wrong vessel. The result was a small explosion, followed by a cloud of blue smoke bellowing forth to envelop the group around the lab bench. Fortunately, no toxic or harmful substance was released into the surrounding atmosphere as a result, but whatever was in the smoke thus inadvertently produced gradually demonstrated a curious effect … specifically, those gathered around the bench slowly began to scratch themselves, at times focusing on some hard-to-reach body areas. By that time, the tour group had moved on.
Yet another stop was another changing room; only this time, it was one assigned to male students. Just as before, the girls opened the door, led Touma in and introduced him to the room's occupants. In similar manner as when the girls' changing room was 'visited' earlier, while perhaps there was no "Kyaaaa!", there were many jaw drops as a supposed 'sacred space' was invaded by girls.
All of this (and more) was keenly observed by the males who followed, including some members of the Organizing Committee, who, after they had regained their composure, reported these developments back to their base … specifically, Seria's classroom. However, and to make a long story short, it turned out that neither Seria, nor the dozen or so other girls stationed there were in any shape to do much about things at the moment, since, as it turned out, the bottles of 'amazake' that were located there contained 'the pure stuff'. While perhaps there was no sort of outrageous or extreme behavior taking place (if things were allowed to progress a little longer, who knows?), the girls had collectively drained the contents of the bottles of 'amazake' that were present. Nonetheless, they were still generally coherent enough to take note of reports reaching them from their male colleagues … especially about what was going on regarding a certain male middle-school student.
On watching the monitor screen set up in the classroom and witnessing the feedback of the impromptu tour … inclusive of a video clip or two …, Seria remarked in a slurred sing-song tone, all the while with a dopey grin on her face: "Eh-heh-heh, … there goes Touma-kun."
"Hmm?" one other girl was quick to reply, "do you know that boy, Kumokawa?" Almost at once, and notwithstanding their individual intoxication levels, the other girls present sought to focus their attention on that sudden revelation.
"Mmm, … yesh (hic)." was Seria's reply; after a few seconds, she continued: "He'sh a good kid.", before breaking out into a giggling fit.
Naturally and instantly, every other girl present wanted to know about what was potentially going on, since till now, no-one could claim to have seen Kumokawa expressing any sort of interest in males.
Still under the influence of the sake, Seria drawled on: "I think he likesh older girls, too." That was probably the trigger to the other girls.
"Hmm, … now that I look at that picture, … he is kind of cute." was one other girl's comment.
"Oi, … are you suddenly taking an interest in my kouhai?" replied Seria, a strange tone entering her voice, even while intoxicated. Instantly, cat-like grins sprouted on the face of every other girl in the room.
"Your kouhai?" was the collective exclamation towards Seria.
"You bet." Seria responded without missing a beat, pausing a moment before continuing. "I'm gonna be first to be Touma-kun's shempai."
"So, then … what's your relationship with this boy called Touma?" was the next question voiced by more than one Committee member, leaning in eagerly to get the answer.
"Mmmm, ….." Seria hummed aloud, before replying in the same sing-song tone, with a smirk: "It'sh … a … she- … cret (hic)."
A chorus of "Whooo's", perhaps not necessarily in harmony with each other, erupted from the other girls at that moment.
Almost simultaneously, and having just come down from the Roof of the School Building (accidentally interrupting what was probably a confession moment between a pair of students who were there prior to their arrival), as Touma's grand tour continued, one of the girls put forth the question: "Ne, Touma-kun … by chance is there any girl around that you like?", prompting a few other girls to whisper: "So Bold!"
Touma's own inebriated state had gradually began to wear off, although it had not fully disappeared, so he was able to reply perhaps more coherently than earlier: "Now that you mention it (hic), … I think a girl I know is a student here right now."
Similar to Seria's case, a combination of "Whooo's" and "Squee's" erupted from most of the girls around him, even as Touma continued: "Lesshee, … Kubo … no, Kuro, … Kumo … ah, I remember, now; Kumokawa."
The collective gasp and jaw drop by both male and female students at that utterance, if it were a tangible physical force, might have reverberated throughout the Building. In the next instant, questions started flying from all directions, mostly from the girls present, and all generally along the line of: "What … you know Kumokawa-senpai? What's your relation to her?" As might be expected, most of the boys (particularly those who were students of the High School) gradually began looking at Touma with no small amount of venom in their eyes at the revelation.
"Wonder if Kumokawa's here, today … I should at least say hello." murmured Touma. It was a suggestion that would not be refused.
"All right, everyone." declared one of the girls. "Possibly the climactic moment of Touma-kun's grand tour is before us. We're taking him to see Kumokawa-sempai at work!"
"Ohh!" replied the other girls in tow, once more hands or fists stabbing the air above them in unison.
Minutes later, the group arrived in front of Seria's classroom. Curiously enough, a few took a moment to straighten up Touma's clothing, which had become slightly twisted out of place during the walk-about. Then, with a knock on the door, and calling out: "Excuse Us!", the group entered the classroom. The occupants were all gathered around Seria where she sat, presumably grilling her (figuratively, of course) regarding this mysterious young man, so that, at the moment, no-one in the room knew what this was all about.
"Kumokawa-sempai … you have a visitor!" exclaimed one of the girls very exuberantly, as she proceeded thereafter to bring Touma out from among the group to stand in front of them.
The collection of girls parted so that Seria was able to see who this "visitor" was. Touma was gently nudged forward so that he walked a bit towards them, stopping to bow slightly, saying: "Good Day, Kumokawa-san … everyone."
For the space of two seconds, not a sound was heard in the room. Then, slowly Seria rose to her feet, before training her eyes on Touma, with a strange look in her eyes, that, admittedly, no-one in A Certain High School had ever seen before, concerning her. Some with the requisite 'experience' would translate that look into "target sighted".
Seconds later, even as a beaming smile formed on her face, and while likely still relatively intoxicated, Seria exclaimed rather loudly: "Everyone, look … my kouhai has come to viz-hit me!", followed almost immediately by a hiccup.
As much as jaws collectively dropped (both male and female) at that, together with yet another outburst of "Whoo's" and "Squee's" (mostly from the girls), the next move on Seria's part was totally unexpected, and, considering that she was wearing a yukata, should have been practically impossible. Taking a step clear of the desk and table where she was, Seria then hurled herself at an unsuspecting Touma. Having barely an instant to exclaim: "Oi!", Touma immediately braced himself so that, hopefully, neither of them would fall to the floor; yet Seria's momentum was enough to send them both reeling back, so that, in a rare bout of fortune (perhaps), Touma was thrust into a nearby chair. The chair was a wide-bodied chair with arm-rests, so that Touma was able to land pretty much squarely in it, with Seria practically landing on him. The momentum caused the chair to move backwards via its rollers, but it rolled into a nearby desk, so that there was little chance of it going further or tipping over. Meanwhile, Seria's arms were swiftly wrapped around his head, so that (to use the appropriate term), Touma was immediately subjected to "marshmallow heaven", not to mention that, perhaps by instinct more than conscious design, his own hands were holding Seria by her waist to ensure she did not slide off him. All the while, and seemingly oblivious to those observing, Seria, all the while giggling continuously, began twisting her body back and forth so that Touma's face was securely planted in a place where no other face had been planted before. As might be expected, 'shock' and 'jealousy' factors among the male onlookers could be said to be approaching dangerous levels. On the part of the females, the reaction was more "Whoo's", accompanied by a few declarations like: "Kyaa … sempai's so bold!"
This was apparently enough to shock Touma back into almost full sobriety at this development, even though a part of him would freely admit if asked, embracing a girl, plus being in very close proximity to her rather impressive chest is nice, too. Touma managed to free his head from a most enviable position to sputter out: "K-K-Kumokawa-san ..."
Abruptly, whatever he might have said further was cut off, and rather dramatically, as, placing a finger on his lips, Seria interrupted him by saying, and rather loudly: "Uh-Uh … you call me, Seria.", even as she began to snuggle so that she was positioned rather securely in Touma's lap.
"Ehhhhhh?" was Touma's flabbergasted response.
Seria's next move was to poke him (perhaps gently yet firmly) on his collarbone three times, now speaking with a pout upon her lips and saying aloud with each poke: "Call. Me. Seria."
As might be expected, male primal instincts were, so-to-say, starting to be stirred in young Kamijou Touma at this completely unexpected development … and it was certainly "amplified" when Seria leaned forward to whisper her name directly into one of his ears, emphasizing each syllable rather clearly: "Se-ri-a." That last whisper was followed up by a small 'burp' , followed by even more giggling.
By now, Hilarity if not Pandemonium ensued. There was, as an ancient book of religious wisdom called it: "weeping and grinding of teeth", particularly by some male students who, up to that moment, had held on to a hope that seemed to have now been crushed. The female students seemed to take it much better, breaking out into loud 'Whoop'ing'; some present even applauded at what they saw. Photos or video clips were taken, to appear on the Internet and/or social media sites, later. No doubt, even if it did not get immediate attention, a part of Touma was relieved if not grateful that Seria snuggled in his lap like she was obscured anyone observing whether something had "begun to rise"; although, to be frank, a part of the male onlookers would not blame him if something did. That would still not deter the majority of male onlookers from (hopefully, it was figurative rather than literal) wishing for his immediate and painful demise.
In The End, it was either a great day, or a horrible nightmare, depending on which side one took.
Some hours later, back in the Teachers' Lounge, Tsukuyomi Komoe entered, to find Yomikawa Aiho effectively sprawled over a sofa in the room. She was not drunk herself, but merely worn out after having literally swept the High School, upon her earlier discovery that morning.
"You look like you could settle in and go to sleep right now, Yomikawa-chan." was Komoe's comment.
"Don't I know that." grunted Yomikawa. "Still, it turned out that, except for the ones up here, some at the entrance booth, plus some given to the Festival Organizing Committee, all the other bottles contained amazake. For those who perhaps unknowingly had their first encounter with sake, there seems to be no permanent harm done … although some of them might have a splitting headache to deal with either by tonight if not tomorrow, jan."
"Well, I personally wouldn't want these kids to have such a thing as their introduction to sake, but at least everything seemed to end all right." responded Komoe.
"True Enough." came back Yomikawa. "Still, with that being my priority, I have little idea of that other incident that seemed to have taken place, today. Something about a group of girls taking a young boy on a tour of the School … but that's really all I know about it."
"Oh, I heard some students talking about it on my way here." remarked Komoe. "I didn't get every detail, but it seemed they were giving the boy, who is a final-year middle-schooler, a tour of our School, to convince him to choose here after his finals."
"Ah, … well, time will no doubt reveal whether their efforts were successful, jan." was Yomikawa's response. "Now, wonder if there's any amazake left up here … I could do with a sip or two right now."
"Something very peculiar seems to have happened here, today." That was the dominant thought that sprung up in Kumokawa Maria's mind, even as she entered her big sister's school building, that evening.
From casual observation, everything pointed to the day coming to a close with minimal hassle. Even at the moment, the school's janitorial staff proceeded with the usual clean-up activities, as may be expected in the aftermath of a festival. However, a few other things were the key to triggering the thought that currently occupied Maria's mind at the moment. As she progressed towards her sister's classroom, Maria passed by groups of male students. Curiously, if she took a moment to observe closely, the overall mood of each group, if facial expressions and body language were a clear sign, was one of deep despondency. One or two seemed to be even shedding tears, while being supported (physically and emotionally) by their companions. It was certainly not the typical mode of behavior expected out of a festival. Nonetheless, Maria did not stop to inquire about it, but proceeded to her intended destination, thinking: "Perhaps I'll get answers to all this from Seria-nee-san, when I see her."
Eventually, Maria arrived at Seria's classroom. The door was opened, so that (partially as per her maid training), Maria knocked on the door, stating: "Excuse me.", before entering. The sight that met her there was perhaps as mysterious as what she saw upon her arrival. Out of the Organizing Committee, seven female students, including Seria, remained in the room, either seated on chairs or on desks – granted, the furniture in the room had to be restored to their usual positions for regular classes to resume the next day, but the janitorial staff had not reached that floor, just yet. What was even more curious was that there was one male in the room – namely, Touma – who was sitting on a desk, effectively surrounded by the other girls. To be more precise, two desks were pushed together, so that Seria was effectively sitting (if not reclining) on both desks, yet she was (seemingly) happily snuggled up to Touma from behind, her arms wrapped around his waist while at times she seemed to rest her head on one of his shoulders. The other girls were looking at this, with broad grins upon their faces. Touma's face gave the impression of one who had resigned himself to his current situation – granted that, at least in his case, his intoxicated state had practically worn off, but he was now feeling the after-effects of the sake himself, as well as from walking the entire school building as he did earlier that day.
It took one look for Maria to say, with a deadpan expression: "Nee-san, … you're drunk, aren't you?"
Seria blinked, as if to focus her vision, then replied cheeringly (or it might have been the remnants of the sake in her system talking): "Ah, my little sister has arrived (hic). Well, everyone, between her and my kouhai, here, this Kumokawa-san will get home all right, ne?"
"Uh, we're sorry about that, Kumokawa-imouto." one of the other girls interjected. "It turned out that some of the amazake procured for today turned out to be sake. I guess it had varying effects upon us, based on our tolerance levels."
"Ah, well … it's already done, so it can't be helped." sighed Maria in reply. "It will, however, be a bit more difficult to get Nee-san home, when she's like this."
"Oi … not to worry, imouto." spoke up another girl with a strange grin on her face. "Didn't Seria-san herself say she had both yourself and Kamijou-kun to take care of that?"
"Kamijou ..." Maria replied, then turning her eyes to the young man to whom Seria, apparently still under the influence, clung.
Finding his voice, Touma spoke up, with his hand raised: "Hello, … I'm Kamijou Touma. Pleased to meet you, Kumokawa-san."
"So polite." intoned some of the other girls present.
To Touma's introduction, Maria replied: "Kumokawa Maria … Seria's little sister, as you heard. Somehow I get the feeling I'm in for an interesting story concerning you and my big sister, but I suppose it can wait until the immediate problem is dealt with; namely getting her home in this state."
"Shouldn't you get Kumokawa-san to change back into her regular uniform?" volunteered one of the other girls.
"Nope to that … Touma-kun is quite cozy right now, so I'm gonna stay like this for a bit." interjected Seria, before not only snuggling closer to Touma but also breaking out into another giggling fit. The other girls also began smiling, if not giggling themselves at that, except Maria who was perhaps on the verge of facepalming. Touma of course broke out into a blush at that.
"In nee-san's present state, getting her to change clothes would be difficult if not impossible." remarked Maria. "Perhaps in a few more hours as she sobers up some more, but the main problem still remains ..."
With that, Maria's voice trailed off into silence, until, a few moments later, she and the other girls present, slowly turned their faces towards Touma, broad smiles forming upon each of their faces, as if they all tuned in to the same idea.
Shuddering under their collective gaze, as if perhaps he also realized what they had just thought up, Touma could only sigh: "Such Misfortune."
A good few minutes later, preparations for getting Seria home were practically complete. It took the combined physical efforts of all the girls present, since even while inebriated, it was virtually impossible to convince Seria to fully release her grip on Touma, even for a moment. The decision arrived at was that Touma was designated the one who would carry Seria via "piggy-back" to her destination. Maria had looked up and had access to the nearest such place, so that, naturally, she would accompany the young man carrying her sister. The only potential problem was that Seria was still wearing her yukata, and wearing it "like that" - a fact known only at the moment by Maria and the other female students present. In the end, and with help from the others, Maria opened the yukata sufficiently enough so that Seria automatically and seemingly quite willingly wrapped her legs around Touma's waist. Simultaneously, a jacket borrowed from one of the other girls was tied around Seria's own waist and draped, so as to minimize the chance of anyone seeing "that which should not be seen". It also took a few minutes to coach Touma into the proper angle at which he should position himself, so that he could carry Seria in that manner, with minimal risk of either falling forward, or backward. At least they could use the elevator in the Building to get from where they were to the Ground Floor.
Even as all were about to depart (by which time, the janitorial staff had reached that floor of the Building), the other girls all said to Touma (almost in unison, and with broad grins): "We're leaving Kumokawa-san in your care now, Kamijou-kun. You'll take good care of your 'sempai', won't you?"
Releasing one hand momentarily from gripping one of Seria's arms draped around his neck, Touma gave a thumbs-up, accompanied by a nod, signifying his agreement to do so.
The departure from the classroom to the exit of the School Building generally took place without incident … except for the piggy-back arrangement being spotted by one of the few male high-school students still in the Building. The inevitable result of that was that at least one picture was taken via phone camera, which, in due time, got circulated to virtually every other male student from the High School (and possibly some others who were not students there). The picture was taken at too far away a distance to reveal anything potentially compromising, and, as stated before, only Maria and the girls on the Committee knew for certain how the yukata was being worn. Yet, the collective teenage imaginations of the male students eventually formed a unanimous conclusion about a certain male middle-school student:
"That Lucky Bastard!"
The trek from that point to Seria's and Maria's destination proceeded quietly for the most part. Of course, it was not a continuous walk; wherever possible, stops were taken along the way, at least for Touma to rest his legs before pressing on. Even though the sun had long set, the cool evening air seemed to, at least partially, make it bearable for Touma, as well as draw Seria back to at least a state of semi-cognizance, as they went along. At some point, her legs initially wrapped around Touma's waist gradually unfolded, so that Touma had to shift his hands to hold her in place by her upper thighs. Probably across the City, many male students of A Certain High School felt a sharp pain in their chests at that moment. Seria wasn't completely sobered up by any means, but was at least able to articulate clearly. It was the subject of her speaking that threatened to cause problems, in various ways.
"Ne, Touma-kun … did you know that the best way for a girl to wear a yukata is … without … any … un-der-wear?" she murmured into Touma's ear. Of course, Maria being close enough heard it all, but for the moment, took no action except to observe Touma's own reaction. For himself, Touma went pale at that question, plus his whole body seemed to tremble for a moment. Even in the City's artificial street lighting that illumined their path, Maria could see the paleness on his face steadily replaced by a blush.
Eventually seeming to find his voice, Touma spoke up: "I-I'm really not sure how you want me to process that, Kumokawa … and even so, should you be telling something like that to this Kamijou-san?"
Curiously, there was no answer. After a further pause, Maria moved in closer, to observe that Seria had apparently dozed off at that point, her head resting on Touma's shoulder, a look of pure bliss on her face. The fact that she was drooling on Touma's shoulder did not go un-noticed either – it naturally prompted Maria to snap a picture on her phone.
"Was that a good idea, Kumokawa-imouto?" Touma spoke up again.
"It's fine, Kamijou-san." replied Maria. "Sometimes one needs something to preserve a good event, no?"
"Uh, … not that I'm in a rush to get back home myself, but ..." Touma came back in, "how much further do we have to go?"
"Hmm, ..." was Maria's reply, "judging from our current pace, I'd estimate a half-hour at the most. Probably that's sufficient time for me to learn about you and my big sister; for now, I'll settle for your perspective, okay?"
"Sure, … at least, it will likely help me stay awake myself." Touma responded, stifling a yawn on his part. After a pause, he continued: "Seriously though, will Kumokawa be all right after all that?"
Nodding sagely, with a grin on her face, Maria came back: "Not to worry much, … aside from possibly dealing with the after-effects of drinking sake, Seria-nee-san should be fine."
Suddenly Maria froze as if something entirely forgotten came to her in that instant. "Oh, … now that I think about it, I don't know whether she made any bathroom trips before we left her School. Considering as her colleagues mentioned they might have consumed quite a bit of sake today, ..."
"That does not comfort this Kamijou-san at all." Touma cut in, a look of dread on his face. "In fact, I'm now wondering whether we should engage in an all-out run before the possibility of 'that' happens."
"A nice idea, provided you knew our destination, Kamijou." Maria came back. "Besides, jerky movements which accompany running just might cause 'that' to happen much sooner. It will be all right, so don't worry about it. Now, it's time to start revealing certain things as I mentioned earlier, … isn't it?"
With that, two girls and a boy proceeded on their way, with Maria already formulating what she would reveal to Tsuchimikado Maika come the next day.
I think we can stop there for this chapter … for anything else that might have taken place, one can use their own imagination.