30,000 words, a new record for this fic. It's for a good cause, don't worry. Because now, we're finally at the final chapter of Volume 2! I made sure to go all out for this one so this volume can at least have a good cut-off before we head to Volume 3, where things will be much better, I promise. This is it, I hope you guys enjoy. Join the Discord server, by the way!
COTE: The Eroge Playlist: h-t-t-p-s-:-/-/-you-tube-.-com-/-playlist-?-list=PLzapQr6Br4elz3lo7fOkE34DjcBEnJB87
Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]
Disclaimer: I don't own Classroom of the Elite but if I did, there will be MAJOR CHANGES.
"Itadakimasu."
Both Kiyotaka and Ichika spoke a quick word of thanks before they dug into their meals, enjoying this moment of peace that can only be experienced after a time of war.
It would be an exaggeration to call the Class C-Class D conflict that just passed a 'war', though. It couldn't even be considered one, because it turned out to be an annihilation… and a waste of time for the victors.
Either way, the event has already passed and there's nothing to worry about anymore… at least until the week before their final exams arrive. However, that's not really a problem if the students are willing to dedicate one hour a day to studying their lessons instead of doing anything else.
Kiyotaka looked up for a moment to observe his roommate. "Is the food good, Amasawa?"
She shrugged as she chewed on a piece of takoyaki. "Eh. I still prefer your cooking, senpai."
"Does that mean I shouldn't buy from this restaurant again in the future?"
"Well, not really. I'm just saying that I'll always like the food you make more than anything else, hehe."
For the young man, this was a nice change from how things usually are, because he's the one who prepares meals for Ichika and himself everyday. Not that he didn't trust the girl with his kitchen, but Kiyotaka just felt that it would be awkward to have her cook for him.
For his roommate, it was… fine, to say the least? Having takeout or restaurant food for dinner wasn't particularly bad, she simply preferred whatever food Kiyotaka would make. It's just a testament to her senpai's skills in pretty much everything.
"So how did the whole trial go, senpai?" she asked, flashing an eager grin that showed she wanted to know everything, while also feeling a bit miffed at the same time. Ichika wanted to see the whole thing for herself up close, but she also understood that she had nothing to do with the case whatsoever.
Kiyotaka shrugged. He was expecting this conversation to come up eventually, either way. "It went about like how I was expecting it to be."
"A one-sided massacre?" she asked, a smug grin forming on her face.
"I guess you could say that."
Ichika began to laugh, feeling no ounce of sympathy for the unfortunate people who dared to cross her senpai. They had no idea what they were up against this whole time. "Hahahahaha, now I'm starting to wonder what exactly Class C did that's bad enough to invoke the wrath of the 'Masterpiece'!"
"I'd rather not talk about it," Kiyotaka shook his head, not wanting to remind himself of what happened with Hiyori before the trial. Even though he wasn't physically with her that time, her voice through the phone was enough for him to feel the need and desire to make Ryuuen's class suffer a crushing defeat.
"Ah, that's fine, senpai. I'm more curious about what happened during the actual hearing, anyway. You'll tell me all about it, right? I mean, it's what I deserve for following your orders like a good kouhai~" she pointed out. "Even though it was so boring to just stay here for the entire day, with nothing to do…"
"What do you want to know, anyway?"
There were stars in her eyes as she spoke, feeling excited to learn more about what went down in the student council room earlier. If only she was there to witness Kiyotaka cooking several idiotic senpais. "What was Class C like? Did they really try to pin the whole thing on Miyake-senpai?"
Kiyotaka nodded. "They did. Considering how they continued to do it in front of the student council president himself, they weren't afraid of being caught lying in any way. At least until we played our trump card, that is."
"They were that confident that they'll win the whole thing, huh? Fuhahahaha, I can only imagine what their reactions were like when Sakura-senpai finally got there!"
"It's like they saw a ghost," he remarked.
"What about the video, senpai? How did they react when they saw that Sakura-senpai still had something up her sleeve even?" she grinned.
"As if their souls were being sucked out of their bodies. It got them to panic so much that they were talking about a few interesting things while other people could hear them, which included a plan they had concocted beforehand ."
"They really tried to put Sakura-senpai in harm's way because she had the most important piece of evidence, didn't they?" she asked rhetorically, remembering a message that Kiyotaka sent her earlier this morning, which was him informing her that Ryuuen managed to squeeze some information out of Shiina and was fully aware that Class D had evidence against them.
He must have sent out many of his classmates to search for that witness, whoever it was with the intention of destroying any evidence that Class D had. Well, in the end, she would never know because she had been stuck here for the whole day instead. It would have been fun to watch someone from Class C, though…
"I had a feeling that Class C would do something to keep her from testifying, so I asked Chiaki to follow Sakura around for a bit."
"And your instincts were on point, weren't they?" Ichika smirked, earning a shrug from the young man. With that, she began clapping her hands as if she was the audience of a theater play. "As expected of you, senpai! No one would have been able to pull this off other than you!"
"I just took some precautions and it just so happened that luck was on our side. While Chiaki was following her and Kei around, two other students from Class C ran into them and knocked them both to the ground."
She grinned. "Ouch."
"While the girls were trying to get back up, those two students started stomping on Sakura's flash drive like they wanted it to shatter into pieces. They stopped eventually and ran off without looking back, but the damage was already done. There's no guarantee that the flash drive would still be functional if she brought it back to the student council room."
"A couple of idiot senpais then. They didn't even bother hiding themselves at all, that's why Matsushita-senpai caught them in the act!" Ichika giggled.
"Actually, they did. They were wearing hats to conceal their identities, even for a little bit. But you're also correct. It didn't save their faces from being caught on camera when Chiaki was recording the whole thing."
"I could have been the one to do that instead of Matsushita-senpai. I did a good job recording Miyake-senpai's incident, didn't I?" Ichika pouted, her mood doing a complete 180 out of nowhere. "It would have been way better than staying here and not being able to do anything…"
"You were not an option because I needed someone to present the video in front of everyone. I also asked her if she could get the owner of the bathhouse to testify for us, no matter how short it may be."
Even with that perfectly reasonable explanation, it didn't make the girl feel better. She could have been by her senpai's side, helping him crush those stupid Class C students instead of staying in his dorm. Ichika did understand his reasons, though.
"Then I guess that makes Sakura-senpai the key to Class D's victory, and Matsushita-senpai sealed it."
"You could add in Suzune being the bridge that led us there," Kiyotaka remarked, giving the raven-haired girl her well-deserved credit.
"I still wish I could have helped a lot more…" Ichika muttered somberly. Her expression shifted back into a sad one because this was only serving to be a reminder that she didn't do much compared to her senpai's classmates to help out. Even though she lived with him as his roommate, she wasn't of much use compared to everyone else in Kiyotaka's eyes…
He rolled his eyes in growing annoyance. There's no way this girl was actually depressed over such a simple issue., because not only is it embarrassing, it almost made him "Would you stop sulking about it already? If it wasn't for the video you took, Sakura wouldn't have had anything to use. And you helped a hell of a lot more than most of my classmates who did something only once and forgot about the whole thing afterwards."
Ichika stared at the young man for a while. She didn't say or do anything too, until she finally smiled again. "Well, if Kiyotaka-senpai is saying such nice things about me, then I suppose I don't have a choice but to take them to heart~!"
Kiyotaka leaned back in his sight and breathed out a deep sigh, before his mind did a double take and caused him to realize something strange in the girl's words. Did she really just say what he thought she said?
"...did you just call me by my name?" he asked, wanting to be sure that he heard her right and that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.
"You don't mind it… right, Senpai~?" she asked, a teasing smile forming on her face.
"Feel free," he shook his head to dismiss the issue before it could become the topic of their current conversation.
She threw her arms up in victory, like this was something worth celebrating. "Yay~! In exchange, you should start calling me by my name too, Kiyotaka-senpai~"
Kiyotaka sent her a deadpan look. "You're doing this because I started calling Suzune, Kikyo, Chiaki, and Kei by their given names, aren't you?"
"Darn, senpai figured it out! Oh well, I guess I'm caught in the act~" she snapped her fingers in frustration before shrugging in defeat.
"At least try to hide your intentions."
After having their dinner, what followed was their usual nighttime routine. Ichika was the first to take a shower, as Kiyotaka focused on washing the dishes and doing a bit of cleanup so they can have a relaxing sleep. Once the girl was done, Kiyotaka went inside the bathroom and locked the door, before enjoying the next thirty minutes to himself by being submerged in the tub.
Once the two were done freshening up, everything was quiet in Kiyotaka's dorm. It wasn't that late though, and neither of them felt tired enough to succumb to sleep, so they decided to kill some time for now.
Kiyotaka sat on his office chair and leaned back as he read through one of the mystery novels that he borrowed from the library a few days ago. On the other hand, Ichika was already on the bed, lying on her stomach and kicking her feet back and forth while she watched some videos on her phone. It's times like these that Kiyotaka could forget the burden of having an unpredictable girl like Amasawa as his roommate, because she's not that bad… when she's not trying to be annoying.
[A Special Event Has Been Triggered!]
The young man almost thought he was daydreaming when a pink text box appeared in front of him, interrupting his train of thought while he was reading through the novel. When he turned away from the book, he realized that it was simply a notification from the system and it's something that he wasn't expecting to see so soon.
Almost immediately, Kiyotaka felt a sense of dread washing over him as he realized that he was once again put into a situation like this by the system. Right after finishing two 'Special Events' earlier that lasted for many days, he was once again hit by another one of these scenarios that he would have to accomplish through who-knows-what means…
Well, it could have been worse. After all, he had just unlocked another 'Bonus Scene' earlier from completing said Special Events… and everyone knows how that worked out for him the last time it happened.
"I wonder what it is about now…"
Right after saying those words to himself, both he and Ichika heard the sound of the doorbell being rung. Someone was at the door, and both wondered who it could possibly be.
"Oooh, someone's at the door~ I better go get it," Ichika giggled as she sat up on the mattress, feeling excited at the thought of meeting whoever was outside at the moment.
Kiyotaka shook his head before standing up from his seat. "Don't even think about it. Stay where you are and don't say anything."
The girl shrugged. "I was just teasing you, senpai~"
He shook his head in exasperation before walking over to the door. Kiyotaka wondered who exactly would visit him at this time of night, as his mind settled on either Kikyo or Suzune. Those two were the easy choices, but it could also be Kei. She'd been to his room already, after all.
However, upon opening the door, the person whom he saw standing there was someone whom he didn't expect at all.
"Sakura?"
His red-haired heroine, who was also his classmate, smiled softly, but if one were to look closely, they'd notice that she was trying hard to maintain it. She was wearing a white shirt and pair of shorts that barely reached her thighs, all while holding a pillow behind her back.
"Good evening, Ayanokouji-kun."
Kiyotaka blinked a few times in surprise at seeing her, before he quickly thought about why she's here. Maybe she wants to talk about something important? Something regarding the case earlier? Perhaps it's about the discussion she had with Chabashira-sensei regarding the fucker who tried to assault her?
"Is there something you need from me, Sakura?"
Airi couldn't say anything at first, not because she was shy and was too nervous to get even a single word out of her mouth, but because she had no idea what to say. All that she could show on her face was a blank smile and nothing more, while she was panicking internally.
How does she even go forward from here? Airi knew what she wanted to ask him, but now she felt lost on what she should do. She had been debating with herself for almost an hour in her room regarding what she should do and when the more adventurous side of her won, she went to Kiyotaka's room to put her little plan into motion.
"God, I'm such an idiot! I didn't think this through before going here!" she berated herself in her thoughts for the umpteenth time today, but this time it's not because of Miyake's case. It's because of her stupidity at doing this without even thinking of how to approach the situation.
"You just have to take a risk and be confident in yourself that you can do it."
Her eyes widened slightly at that memory. The young man's words several days back echoed in her head once again, just like how they did earlier during her incident at the shopping mall. Kiyotaka's words helped her muster enough courage to throw away the fake glasses that she used to hide her identity from everyone around her.
It was his words that helped her that time and now, and it made her think about what she wanted right now. It made her think about how much she wanted this… how much she wanted to do what she had in mind.
"Take a risk… be confident in myself."
Meanwhile, Kiyotaka started to express concern for the girl. She's been quiet for a while now, like she had been frozen solid by something. Is this what she needs help with? Or is she struggling "Sakura, are you feeling okay?"
"Can I…" she tried to blurt out, but her voice fell apart all of a sudden. When that failed, she took a deep breath and tried again. "Can I sleep with you, Ayanokouji-kun...?"
"I'm not dreaming, am I?" Kiyotaka stared at her with a blank expression for a few moments, unable to come up with a response right away. He couldn't have been hearing things, but he was sure that Airi just asked him if she could sleep with him. "I'm sorry, can you repeat what you just said? I must have been hearing things."
"Can I sleep with you, Ayanokouji-kun?" she repeated.
"She's actually serious," his eyes nearly widened in astonishment just from the kind of question that she asked him. What did she mean by it, though? Is she talking about the innocent kind of 'sleeping with him' or was she actually talking about doing the deed? "You want to sleep here, as in… a sleepover?"
"Y-Yes…" she confirmed with a nod, her face turning as red as her hair. Despite her growing embarrassment, she mustered up the courage to continue. "Is it okay?"
All he could do was scratch the back of his head, unsure how to actually respond to her at first. "You do know that we have classes tomorrow, right?"
"That's okay! I'll just… wake up really early so I can head back to my room and prepare for school."
Kiyotaka hummed softly to himself as the girl tried to defend her decision. Oh boy, Airi was actually being serious about this and because of that, he was completely lost on what to do. Never in a million years could he have seen something like this happening, at least not that soon. The girl just went through probably the most hectic day of her life, and now she's planning to add to it even more.
Kiyotaka felt lost. What was he supposed to say?! He felt that the obvious answer would be to turn her down, but what if that makes Airi sad? Wait, why is that even a question, of course she'd be sad. She'd be sad and hurt from being rejected by him and it'll cause the system's reality-warping skill to activate, something that he would rather avoid happening.
Before he could decide on what to answer her, Kiyotaka felt the world around him come to a complete halt, as everything turned into black-and-white. Knowing what this meant, he simply rolled his eyes and surrendered to his fate while at the same time, he felt a bit glad that he wouldn't have to rack his brain for a possible answer to give Airi.
He wouldn't deny that his eroge superpower had its helpful moments sometimes…
A. [Are you crazy? Go back to your dorm and get some sleep already.]
B. [As long as you're sure, you can spend the night here.]
C. [I could never turn down a girl who wants to have fun with me in bed, Sakura~]
The young man stared blankly at the options that were laid before him. Of course he was left with only two choices: he could either reject the redhead's advances and tell her to go back to her dorm, or he could give in and let her inside his place.
Either way, the result of his choice will surely end up creating chaos and make him feel like sleeping in for the whole day tomorrow.
"No matter what I pick from these three, I can tell that this will bite me back later on."
Kiyotaka sighed in defeat before picking the option that looked the most normal to him. At this point, he didn't care anymore. As everything around him went back to normal as a result of his choice, he gave the girl a nod.
"As long as you're sure, you can spend the night here, Sakura."
Upon hearing those words, the girl's worries vanished in an instant. The thought of Kiyotaka rejecting her had bothered her greatly up until asking him that question, to the point that she would just take defeat and give up if he said no.
However, now that he gave his approval, Airi felt a massive weight being lifted off her. She had nothing to worry about anymore, and her crazy plan might actually see some success, despite how outrageously crazy it is.
"T-Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun! I… I was honestly afraid that you'd tell me I'm crazy and that I should just go back to my dorm."
He shook his head before stepping aside. "You can be assured that I'm not going to do that. Now come on in, before someone sees you out there."
With a look of joy on her face, Airi nodded and stepped inside his unit as Kiyotaka closed the door.
Now that she was here, the red-haired girl thought that things will now be easier for her… somewhat. The hard part was already over, and that was asking Kiyotaka if she could sleep here with him. If she had failed on that end, then her whole plan would have been a bust. Now there's only one thing left for her to do that's pretty hard…
"Sakura-senpai, you're actually going to sleep here with us? I'm really impressed! I expected someone like Kushida-senpai or Shameless-senpai to do this instead, so it's a surprise to see you here!"
…until she saw a certain twin-tailed girl sitting on the bed with stars in her eyes. This girl had magenta hair, gradient dark-red eyes, and a mischievous expression that promised nothing but trouble and annoyance for anyone who's brave enough to cross her path.
"I forgot to tell her to hide herself in the bathroom," Kiyotaka deadpanned at his devilish roommate who looked thrilled to see Airi right now.
The young man had the massive urge to facepalm at his own blunder. Now Airi was aware of the fact that there's already someone else here, and it's someone whom she barely knew anything about… other than what everyone else knows already.
This was on him, no doubt about it. Then again, he didn't expect Sakura to visit him out of nowhere and ask if she could sleep with him. He also didn't expect his dating sim power to activate and lock him in this situation.
Ichika sent a look of amusement towards her beloved roommate, who was completely lost on what to do at the moment. "Senpai, you should have told me beforehand that you were going to have Sakura-senpai sleep with us. I could have prepared for her arrival by then~"
"I-Is that… A-A-Amasawa-san…?" Airi mumbled as she was left in utter disbelief at seeing another person in Kiyotaka's dorm room, much less someone who's not even part of their class. If that's not enough, Amasawa was even dressed as if she's about to sleep.
"Eh? What's with you, Sakura-senpai? Why are you stuttering again? I thought you changed already? I was even amazed that you actually asked Kiyotaka-senpai if you could sleep here with him," the magenta-haired girl tilted her head in confusion, feeling puzzled at the shift in Sakura's demeanor.
One look at Airi's dumbfounded expression was enough for Kiyotaka to realize that this isn't something he can talk himself out of. Or try to explain in a manner that doesn't involve him. Seeing Ichika in his room must have been too much for her mind to handle, and no one could blame her for it.
"Guess there's no use hiding it anymore," he sighed in defeat before placing his hand on Airi's shoulder to get her attention. "It's a long story, but all you need to know is that she was left under my care, even though I didn't want to."
Airi raised an eyebrow. "Left under your care…?"
"Like I said, long story. It's for the best that you don't know."
The redhead nodded slowly, choosing to forget about the issue. She was at least aware that there's a connection between Kiyotaka and Amasawa because of the younger girl's actions when she was introduced to Class D. Running towards Kiyotaka then tackling him off his chair… that's something that she wouldn't forget anytime soon, especially for the reactions that it drew from everyone else.
There was still one question left in her mind, though.
"Does anyone else know?" she asked curiously.
Kiyotaka only shook his head in response, which made her eyes widen. She's the first to know that Amasawa was living with him this whole time? Hmm, she didn't really know how to feel about this but it might be for the best, honestly. If their classmates knew about this arrangement, then most of them would react in a very intense manner.
Not that she wasn't shocked herself, of course. It's more like she wasn't going to throw a fit or go crazy from learning such a shocking revelation. Airi felt confused and curious with Ichika's presence here, that's all.
"Hooooh, are you that surprised to see me, Sakura-senpai?" Ichika teased her red-haired senpai as she giggled at the gobsmacked expression on her face.
"Ichika," Kiyotaka called out to his roommate with a serious voice, which immediately demanded her complete attention. "I expect you to behave yourself, or you'll be sleeping in the bathroom tonight."
"Okay, okay. I'll behave, Kiyotaka-senpai…" Ichika raised her arms up in defeat, but continued to giggle in amusement at Airi's hilarious reaction to seeing her. "I wonder what senpai has in mind. Did he really plan to have Sakura-senpai over and he just didn't tell me? Hmm, but that would also mean that he intended for her to see me. That or I wasn't fast enough to hide in the bathroom or under the bed and now he has to deal with this problem, hehe."
Satisfied with Amasawa's response [for now, the brown-haired teen turned back towards Sakura and sighed. "Make yourself at home, I guess. I'll try to check if I have any spare pillows for you."
Airi shook her head before raising the pillow that she brought with her. "Oh, there's no need. I brought my own pillow with me. Thank you for your concern anyway, Ayanokouji-kun."
"I'm still checking if there are any spare ones," Kiyotaka shrugged before walking up to the closet that had the curtains, sheets, towels, and other pieces of linen. As he opened it to see if there were any spare pillows around, his eyes widened slightly at the first thing that crossed his sights.
A rolled-up futon was on top of the pile of folded bedsheets, perfectly available for him to take and use if he so desired.
"That's weird. I don't recall ever buying a futon…" Kiyotaka frowned in confusion and began to wonder when exactly did he purchase one, only to be hit with a wave of realization at what this was about. "Wait, no. This is because of the system, isn't it?"
He exhaled deeply. It's a good thing that his face was hidden from his two heroines, otherwise they'd see the defeated expression on his face. By now, he was sure that his eroge power was pushing him to sleep with his two heroines on the futon, most likely with him between the two of them. Unless…
"This is actually a good thing. I'll sleep down there and those two can share the bed," Kiyotaka's expression morphed into a more thoughtful one as he imagined this particular arrangement in his mind. It's obvious that the three of them won't fit on the bed, but two individuals will. He and Ichika share it every night, after all.
The only downside to that plan of action? He'll have to sleep on the floor using this futon that he found, even though it's his dorm unit which means it's his bed and no one else's. He was already forced to share almost everything here with a devilish kouhai too…
"It feels wrong that I have to sleep on the floor inside of my own dorm, but it's the option that will create the least amount of problems. They won't be sleeping in uncomfortable conditions, so there won't be any need for the system to activate that crazy skill."
With this in mind, he brought out the futon and moved his office chair out of the way so he could unroll it properly. As he did so, both Ichika and Airi watched him with curious looks on their faces.
"Senpai, why are you preparing a futon?"
"So someone can sleep on it, of course," he answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Airi blinked in confusion. "Why? We're not going to sleep on the bed?"
"Why are you even asking that? It's obvious that the three of us aren't going to fit in that bed, even if I did sleep beside you two," he pointed out before placing a pair of pillows on the soft mattress. "You two can share the bed to yourselves, I'll be down here."
"N-No! I can't possibly sleep in your bed while you're down here on the floor!" Airi gasped and shook her head furiously.
Kiyotaka waved off her concern. "I'll be fine. As you can see, there's a futon here and I'm using it. It's not like I'm sleeping on the floor directly."
"No! I can't let you sleep there in your own dorm!"
"Sakura, it's fine."
"I won't let it! If Ayanokouji-kun will sleep there, then I'll sleep there with him!" she continued to persist, capping off her declaration by dropping her pillow on the futon and folding her arms across her chest.
"Well, I'm not going to have a good sleep without Senpai by my side. So I'll join you down here too~" Ichika added before grabbing her pillow and walking over to the other side of the futon, before doing the same as Airi did..
In the end, Kiyotaka couldn't say anything to argue against their wishes and simply rolled his eyes out of growing irritation. He decided that it's better to just admit defeat and accept what's happening at this point. It's obvious that these two won't be changing their minds anytime soon, and making them sad by refusing them is an option that has to be avoided at all costs.
"Why did I even think that fighting back against what the system wants to happen would yield results?" he complained internally before turning his attention back to the two girls. "Whatever. You two can do what you want."
With that, he sat down on the futon and prepared the pillows he'd be using. He could at least make this comfortable for himself so he'd have a relaxing sleep, even with two of his heroines being by his side, which will definitely spell a hard time for him either way. Meanwhile, Airi sighed in relief at his response, while Ichika smirked in triumph.
"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist the opportunity to sleep beside two beautiful girls, senpai! You must be feeling really good about this~"
"A-Amasawa-san, there's no need to tease Ayanokouji-kun like that. He must be feeling overwhelmed already," Airi scolded the younger girl as she began lifting her shirt above her head to get rid of it.
This action was noticed by both Kiyotaka and Ichika and caused them to bear looks of confusion on their faces. Just what is she trying to do now?
"Why did you take off your shirt?" asked the young man, whose first instinct was to turn his head away before he draws their attention for being a pervert.
"Uhm… it's just a habit of mine. I sleep in my underwear," Airi blushed deeply but amazingly, she didn't look like she was about to faint from too much embarrassment or worse. At most, there was only a little stutter in her tone while she was covering her bra-clad chest with one arm. "I-Is that fine? W-With you two, I mean."
"Oh, I don't mind it at all, Sakura-senpai! I'm actually even more impressed with you. Who knew that you were like this under all that shyness?" Ichika grinned, now having newfound respect for the senpai whom she initially dismissed at first for being too shy and timid.
"Believe me, even I'm surprised at what I'm doing, Amasawa-san…" Airi blushed as she got rid of her shorts next, causing her dark purple panties to come into view. Now the girl was left in only her underwear, and yet she wasn't troubled by it. "What about you, Kiyotaka-kun?"
"Like I said, do what you want," he turned his gaze elsewhere completely, because he was quite sure that he'd end up staring at her if his eyes continued to linger. It's even worse because Airi's bra left barely any room for his imagination, and that's not even counting the fact that he had a complete view of her package back then. "I'm just going to stay quiet from now on. Not going to say anything more to her. This is getting ridiculous…"
This situation was slowly getting out of hand as the seconds passed, and Kiyotaka was unsure of how long he could last in this condition… because even guys like him have a breaking point. The White Room didn't get rid of his teenage hormones, unlike his emotions. That is, until he noticed Ichika undoing the buttons on her blouse for some reason.
"What are you doing, Ichika?" he asked, giving her a blank stare.
"Isn't it obvious, senpai?" the younger girl raised an eyebrow at his weird question, wondering why he would even ask such a thing when the answer is already obvious. "I'm doing the same as Sakura-senpai. It'll be unfair for her if she's the only one in her underwear, don't you think?"
Kiyotaka had to massage his temple with his fingers to alleviate a growing headache. "Didn't I already tell you not to do stuff like this when going to bed?"
"But I don't recall you saying anything like that, senpai. I only remember you telling me not to sleep naked, but I wasn't planning to do that. You thought of it first," she pointed out before giving him a teasing smile. Within a few moments, she had already stripped down to her underwear, sporting a black bra and panties. Ichika then struck a sexy pose by placing a hand on her hip while leaning forward "Hmm, do I excite you like that, Kiyotaka-senpai~?"
The young man hung his head in defeat, losing more of his drive to even continue this pointless conversation. The more this keeps up, the more he'll feel drained of the energy to even do anything. Kiyotaka was actually tempted to just let these girls do what they want and go to sleep already, which sounded a lot more appealing than his current situation…
"W-What did she just say?" Airi blurted out, her expression showing that she was both mortified and in disbelief at what their kouhai said.
"Trust me, it'll be better for your sanity if you ignore most of the things that come out of her mouth."
Kiyotaka tried to explain to the redhead how she would be better off not knowing anything about Ichika in general, while the latter just giggled in amusement. For her part, Airi understood that Amasawa is someone who's a complete mystery not just to her, but to the entire Class D with the exception of Kiyotaka. It may even be for the best that she doesn't know, if he's telling the truth.
"I noticed that Amasawa-san calls you by your name," she stated, shifting the whole conversation to another topic instead. "Not just her, but Kei-chan as well… Kushida-san and Matsushita-san, they call you by your name too."
Airi bore a thoughtful look on her face before she sat down on the futon and leaned closer to the young man, something that he was unable to turn away from because of how close she was. This move caused his cheeks to give off a tiny red hue that was barely noticeable by anyone, even Airi herself, but it was there.
What the hell is she trying to do, anyway?
"Can I do the same?"
"I don't mind. Do as you will," he answered in an instant so he could turn his head away again.
Admittedly, there's a part of him that wanted to continue staring at the girl's assets, but the rational side of him was still stronger and kept him from surrendering to his primal urges. Thank god for that, because he didn't really want to dig a grave for himself tonight.
While he was looking away from Airi, Kiyotaka caught a glimpse of Ichika smirking at his current dilemma, which he chose to ignore for now. Oh, he will definitely get her later for this.
"Thank you," Airi smiled, totally clueless on the kind of reaction she elicited from Kiyotaka, just from the mere sight of her being clad in just her underwear. "And you can call me by my name too, Kiyotaka-kun."
The sweet and gentle tone from Airi was like a nail in the coffin, and the young man felt that he was just about to lose it. Even his thoughts were starting to get invaded by the mental image of Airi wearing only a bra and panties… and she was just beside him too. IF that's not enough, there's another girl who was only clad in her underwear on his other side, and this one was definitely waiting for an opportunity like this to arise the whole time.
"Sleeping with two girls is bad enough. Doing that while they're only wearing their underwear?"
In order to stop himself from thinking about his helpless situation any further, Kiyotaka slapped himself across the face before quickly getting rid of his shirt. This action left him wearing only his shorts and underwear, though the length of his lower garment made it seem like he's wearing boxers instead.
This way, his heroines wouldn't be the only ones who's showing some skin and at the same time, it would keep him from thinking about their bodies any further, because he'll be more concerned about his own!
…yes, that did not make any sense at all, but it got his mind to stop thinking of Sakura and Amasawa's bodies, at least! The next best thing to do now would be to take advantage of this state and go to sleep while his mind is still free from any thoughts about Airi and Ichika in their underwear.
While Kiyotaka was struggling with handling his own thoughts that were slowly spiraling out of control, both Airi and Ichika were now going through a troubling situation of their own, and it involved a certain 'Masterpiece' who suddenly went shirtless before their eyes.
"I've already seen Kiyotaka-kun's body during swimming class, but now he's this close… he looks so handsome and hot! Kyaaaaaa!" the red-haired girl covered her mouth with both hands to stop herself from squealing in delight at what's before her.
"Hehe… Kiyotaka-senpai… such a delicious snack~ If only we can do something together…" the devilish kouhai bore a stupid smile on her face as some of her drool escaped her mouth, though she didn't care about that one bit.
"Amasawa, you turn off the lights tonight. I'm going to sleep," Kiyotaka told his roommate nonchalantly before lying down on the futon while covering his face with his other pillow. Through this, he won't have to see either of them anymore and he'll be able to sleep without any problems then!
"Aww, already? The fun is just starting, senpai. Aren't you going to welcome Sakura-senpai like a good host?" Ichika pouted in displeasure. She didn't like that her senpai was going to sleep already, when the three of them could still have some fun altogether…
"I'm feeling sleepy, and we still have classes tomorrow. Now shut up and let me sleep."
With that, he covered his face with the pillow and closed his eyes so that sleep could finally take him. He ignored the conversation that continued between the two girls and focused on relaxing his mind and body instead, which could only be achieved through a good night's sleep.
However, the arms of Morpheus never came for the young man, no matter how long he waited.
His eyes were closed the entire time, but Kiyotaka was unable to fall asleep at all. He had no idea if it's because he doesn't feel comfortable sleeping with two scantily-clad girls beside him, because he couldn't stop thinking of them, or perhaps a mixture of both. He waited and waited, but nothing happened.
Kiyotaka had no idea just how much time had passed too, but because he couldn't hear either Ichika or Airi's voice, it must mean that about an hour or two had flown by.
"Kiyotaka-kun? Are you still awake…?" came Airi's soft voice to his right.
…never mind, she's not asleep yet.
Sighing to himself in defeat, Kiyotaka removed the pillow on his face and turned his head slightly towards her. "I am. What is it?" he whispered back, not wanting to wake up their other companion by accident.
"Can you turn over here and face me?"
He hummed softly to himself. Sakura must be planning to tell him something, but he wondered what it could possibly be. Perhaps it has something to do with the case earlier? The events at Keyaki Mall? Either way, Kiyotaka shifted his position so that he was facing her and he immediately felt thankful that he could barely see anything because of how dark it is, otherwise his eyes would still be glued to the girl's underwear.
…now he'll just have to keep his imagination from running wild while he's like this.
"Do you know why I wanted to sleep here in your dorm, Kiyotaka-kun?" she asked shyly.
Kiyotaka gave that question some thought, before eventually shrugging. "I don't know, but I'm sure it's not because you're having trouble sleeping alone."
That caused the girl to giggle softly as she shook her head. "While your answer could have been a reasonable excuse, it's not the right one. It's because I wanted to be this close to you, even just once, because I know you'll be with Kei-chan and everyone else tomorrow."
"You're talking as if I don't spend time with you at all," he pointed out, a bit surprised that her reason for doing this was purely selfish.
She nodded slowly. "You do, but… someone else is always around whenever I'm with you, except when we met for the first time, I wanted to be alone with you like this. I know it's selfish of me, but while I was in my room earlier, I thought it was now or never."
"We're not alone right now as well."
"But Amasawa-san is asleep right now, isn't she?" Airi spoke in an amused tone, doing her best to stifle her giggles. "I'll take this as the two of us being alone."
"I don't know if she's actually asleep or not, because there's no way she's not hearing all of this…" he thought to himself. Being a student of the White Room would make her susceptible to hearing any kind of noise, no matter how soft it is. However, he shouldn't be focusing on his kouhai right now.
Hearing Airi's reason for sleeping here with him made him confused. There's a bigger reason why she visited him and asked if she could spend the night with him, and it's something that she can only say when no one else is around.
"What is this really about, Airi? I can tell you didn't want to talk to me just to point this out," he asked.
Airi took a deep breath and shifted closer to the young man, to the point that their bodies were within inches of each other. Her face was close to his as well, and he could feel her warm breath against his skin.
"I want to tell you something important. It's something that I want only you to hear, Kiyotaka-kun. I wanted to say this earlier, but I didn't think Amasawa-san would be here. Because she was here, I decided that I would wait for her to fall asleep so I can tell you this…"
"Wait… is she…?" he asked himself, his eyes slowly widening at the conclusion that he reached in his thoughts.
"…I love you, Kiyotaka-kun."
The young man had no form of response to her words, other than to stare as his eyes continued to widen. While he was perfectly aware of the growing feelings that his heroine's had for him, none of them have actually confessed their feelings outright except for Kikyo. But even so, the beige-haired girl never said that word… only that she liked him, and that's completely different.
Kiyotaka didn't think that receiving a confession from a girl would be like this. He was even more surprised that he was affected to this extent… is it still because of the system?
"I know that may come as a surprise, but… it's what I truly feel," Airi looked away as she began to explain her sudden confession. Because of this, she was unable to see the change in his expression. "Ever since the day we met, whenever I'm with you, it's like going through one big roller coaster ride. It may be hard to understand, but… I'm trying to say that whether we're going high or low, whether it's really fast or slow, you're always there with me. Helping me when I need you, keeping my spirits up whenever I need it, making me feel safe…"
He listened to every word that came out of her mouth and by the end of her explanation and interpretation of her own feelings, Kiyotaka managed to calm down from the initial shock he felt from hearing her confession. With that, he was able to respond properly to the girl.
"That's surprisingly deep coming from you, Airi."
Airi blushed in embarrassment as she turned to face him again. "You understood it? G-Gosh, I thought I wasn't making any sense while I was saying all of those…"
"No, I get what you were trying to say and I can see why you feel that way towards me," Kiyotaka told her. "But I have to remind you that the first time we met was when I walked in on you by mistake. I wasn't sure if you would even talk to me again after what happened."
"That's true, but it was my fault that happened, remember?" she looked away for a moment to hide her blushing cheeks, even though both of them could barely see a thing right now. "And to be honest, I don't think that I'd be here with you right now if we met through any other circumstance. I don't think we'd be close like this if we didn't meet each other that day during swimming class."
"That's a really complex way of telling me that you're glad I walked in on you, Airi."
Airi's blush deepened, but the girl felt somewhat different. The more she thought about that ordeal, the more she realized that she didn't feel embarrassed about it anymore… at least not to the extent of her reaction when it happened. Yeah, she felt like she wanted to disappear out of shame and embarrassment that time, but it's not the same anymore.
She couldn't feel embarrassed after everything they've been through ever since that little accident.
"I should be embarrassed about that, but honestly? It doesn't bother me that much anymore. It certainly doesn't compare to nearly getting violated by a perverted creep," she commented.
"The world has to be ending. I'm talking to a completely different person right now," Kiyotaka's mouth fell slightly open out of disbelief.
"Is it really that weird?" she chuckled nervously.
"Well, not really. It's just hard to believe that this is the same girl who couldn't stop stuttering every time she talks. But it's a change for the better, that's for sure."
Airi smirked. "It's also hard to believe that the Kiyotaka-kun I know would give in to violence when he saw me in danger. I'm pretty sure that you've given that creep nightmares for the rest of his life because of the beating you gave him."
"If it had been anyone else, then I would have held back," Kiyotaka shrugged, feeling no remorse or regret for what he's done. He didn't feel the need to hide or cover up his actions either. "But that bastard was someone who didn't deserve any form of mercy, especially after I let him go the first time. I'd do it again even if it meant being suspended or expelled from this school."
"I'd have killed him if I was allowed to," he thought darkly.
The girl laughed again before leaning even closer towards him. Their faces were mere inches away, but Airi didn't care ."This is exactly what I love about you, Kiyotaka-kun. You had no real obligation to help me, but you're willing to risk what you have in this school to help me. You might think I'm crazy for saying this, but my feelings are true. I love you, Kiyotaka-kun."
"I see…" he muttered, before releasing a deep sigh. He could tell that the redhead was genuine with her words and that these are her real feelings for him just like when Kikyo admitted her feelings for him. However, like with the latter, he couldn't give her a proper answer when the point of his entire superpower was to have him romance every heroine that he had.
Kiyotaka still had no idea how things would eventually come to that, but with the way his relationships with several of his heroines have developed so far, it may become reality soon enough. Who knows? Maybe his dating sim power will put an end to the jealous streaks that the majority of the girls possessed.
"Airi, I'm not sure if I can respond to your feelings right now or anytime soon, but—"
"Oh, I'm not expecting an answer from you right away, Kiyotaka-kun."
Her answer made Kiyotaka blink a few times in surprise. "Really?"
"I know that I'm not the only one who feels this way for you, and I know that you must be feeling overwhelmed from having to deal with all of this… so I'm willing to wait. You don't have to give me an answer right now," she smiled.
"Are you sure about what you want to do, Airi? I can't guarantee that you'll get the answer you want, but I won't stop you from moving on if you don't want to wait anymore."
Kiyotaka didn't know why, but the thought of Airi moving on from him made his chest tighten. Was it jealousy? Was he feeling jealous himself? Or is it possessiveness over what's supposed to be his? Either way, it's something that made him uncomfortable and he didn't like this feeling at all.
Airi nodded happily. "Of course I'm sure. This is the first time I've felt this way for someone else, and I don't want to let go of this feeling. It's not like you'll be going away, right?"
He shook his head.
"Then I have nothing to worry about, do I?"
"Guess not," Kiyotaka shrugged, realizing that he was worrying over nothing. Airi was truly a pure soul to tell him that she would wait for him, even after her personality underwent a complete paradigm shift. "As long as you know what you want to do, I won't stop you."
"That being said, I want to ask you this," she giggled for a few moments, before her expression suddenly went from joyful to downright seductive. The young man was having a hard time seeing much in the dark, but he was able to notice her half-lidded eyes and the alluring smile on her face. "Did Kiyotaka-kun like what he saw that day~?"
"Uh, what?" the 'Masterpiece' mumbled as he took a second to think if he heard her right. Did she really ask him about his thoughts on what he saw that day?
No, no, even for someone whose personality changed drastically from how she used to be, there's no way she just asked him a question like that. This was Airi, of all people… the girl who was ready to die of embarrassment when he saw her in the midst of changing her clothes in the men's restroom…
Airi shifted even closer to him, so much that Kiyotaka felt her lacy bra against his chest while her thighs almost became entangled with his. She even threw her arm around his torso to keep herself close to him. Kiyotaka did absolutely nothing to stop the girl, and he could only watch her with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"That day, at the men's bathroom. Did Kiyotaka-kun like what he saw~?"
"I…" he thought about what he should tell her, even contemplating the idea of pushing her away before eventually sighing in defeat. He may as well be honest and if Airi faints from embarrassment or something, he'll just point out that she wanted him to answer. "I guess you could say that."
"Then… would you like to have another peek, Kiyotaka-kun? You can consider this my way of thanking you for everything you've done for me~" she said huskily, her tone and voice threatening to send shivers down his spine from how alluring she sounded.
"I think I now understand why she was a very popular idol," Kiyotaka groaned internally. He still had the urge to push her off of him before things could get out of hand, but he couldn't really find it in himself to do such a thing. "Please don't. It's the middle of the night, and Ichika is sleeping right behind me. You might wake her up."
Airi thought about what he said for a few moments, before she shrugged. It looks like he managed to convince her to think twice about her actions. However, she made no move to change her position or move away from him, which made the young man curious if she was still planning to do something.
"Hmm, I guess you're right… but I know a simpler way of showing you my gratitude, Kiyotaka-kun," she smiled.
He raised an eyebrow slightly. "A simpler way?"
And without another word, Airi leaned closer and pressed her lips against his, taking him by surprise.
This definitely wasn't the first time that he had been kissed by a girl, but it was the first time that Airi was experiencing this, and she was savoring every second of it. Until now, all Airi had done with her feelings was watch the other girls who felt the same for Kiyotaka kiss him, while she remained by the sidelines.
She wouldn't deny that she felt jealous of Kei and the two other girls when they kissed Kiyotaka in front of everyone last week, making their feelings for the young man known to the entire class.
She felt especially jealous of her best friend, who boldly showed affection towards the person she had feelings for, even with everyone's eyes on her.
Not tonight, though.
None of the other girls were here. She was all alone with Kiyotaka, at least in her mind. With Amasawa asleep, Airi could at least imagine that no one was around to interrupt them.
While their lips were connected, Airi tried to move her face so that it wouldn't just be one long kiss without anything else happening. She tried to do it like how Kei would, as this was her first kiss and had no idea what she should do from here. Meanwhile, Kiyotaka shrugged to himself and surrendered to his primal instincts, returning the kiss as best as he could. He already knew what to do in this situation, so he took the lead so the two of them can enjoy this together.
It's what she wants, right? Plus, this is way more tolerable than taking off her bra just so he could get another look at Airi's Airis… even if there's a part of him that wanted just that. No, no, a kiss is definitely better than her stripping for no good reason other than to give him a private show.
The two teens continued to kiss softly for the next few moments; when Airi tried to be more forward by deepening the liplock, Kiyotaka pushed her tongue out of his mouth and kept it at a gentle pace. Airi had no problem following what he wanted and let him take the lead, because she was enjoying this either way.
Airi let out a small whimper of disappointment when Kiyotaka pulled away and even tried to initiate a kiss again, but she snapped out of her little trance before she could continue to be a victim of her desires. She blushed deeply upon realizing what she did, before she eventually giggled at her actions.
Even she can be surprised at her own actions.
"Did… Did Kiyotaka-kun like the little surprise I gave him?" she asked, smiling brightly at the young man.
"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't," he breathed out after a few moments of silence. He really needed a bit of time to process what just happened. "You could have given me a little warning, though."
"Then it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"
"I had a feeling you'd kiss me. I just didn't think you'd actually do it," he admitted.
She giggled softly before sending him a sultry look once again. "And I wouldn't mind doing it again, Kiyotaka-kun."
"I think what you did is enough for one night, Airi."
As Kiyotaka stared at the girl in front of him, a handful of new notifications began sprouting up in front of his face one after the other, but he paid no attention to any of it. The familiar sound of a camera snapping along with a musical chime also filled his ears, but he still didn't pay it any heed. His entire gaze settled on the blushing Airi who didn't look like she regretted her actions one bit.
This girl had truly changed… and now he wasn't sure if it's for better or worse.
For his sanity, at least.
['Crossing the Bridge of Love' was added to the gallery!]
[You gained 70 Affection Points with Sakura Airi!]
[Relationship Status 'Unrequited Love, or so she Thought' has been maxed! Relationship Status with Sakura Airi has been upgraded to 'My Loving Idol'!]
[Congratulations! You have reached the Last Level of a Heroine's Route! You will unlock a Special Event when you Max this Level!]
[Congratulations! You unlocked the Achievement: 'Those Three Sacred Words'! You gained 100 in Wisdom!]
[Congratulations! You unlocked the Achievement: 'The End is Near'! You gained 100 in Aura!]
While the two were locked within their own world and didn't care about anything else, they were unaware of a certain magenta-haired kouhai holding her phone up and taking pictures of what was going on behind her. She had no idea what was going on right now, but hearing the conversation between her two senpais behind her had woken her up earlier and she simply decided to remain quiet the whole time.
Ichika's actions were so subtle that neither Kiyotaka nor Airi noticed the movement of her arm as she slowly brought it down along with her phone. Upon checking out the pictures she managed to take despite how dark the surroundings were, a mischievous smile formed on her face upon putting the pieces together in her mind.
"Hehe… I'm sure Sakura-senpai wouldn't mind me getting a few good shots of this so she can always remember it," she giggled in amusement.
The second time he tried to sleep last night, which was after the little moment he shared with Airi, Kiyotaka got what he wanted. It made him think if the system had anything to do with it, which is honestly not hard to imagine. The only thing missing was the notification that spelled out 'Special Event', and that would have confirmed his suspicion.
If possible, he would just sleep in for the rest of the day and not do anything else, feeling too lazy to even get out of bed. Not only that, but he felt as if last night's events took a toll on him. However, as Chabashira-sensei had stated yesterday, just because they went through a very serious trial with allegations against one of their classmates, it doesn't mean that classes will be halted for no reason.
So, as much as he disliked it, he would still have to attend classes today. He could only hope that things don't get awkward between him and Airi later on, but considering the girl's newfound attitude, there might not be any need to worry about her at all.
Kiyotaka had no idea how long he was asleep for; when he opened his eyes, the sun was just starting to rise in the sky. However, the sun wasn't exactly the first thing that met his gaze today.
A smiling Airi who was already wide awake greeted him happily as she lifted herself off the mattress. The girl looked significantly happier for some reason, happier than she had ever been last night… must have been a good dream or something similar.
"Good morning, Kiyotaka-kun."
A beautiful smile was etched across her face as she spoke, although his eyes weren't drawn to it. His attention was directed to the pair of humongous breasts that were dangling from her chest instead.
"Are they just that bouncy?" he asked himself while watching them sway back and forth as if he was hypnotized. Kiyotaka thought about that question for a moment before immediately snapping out of it.
Boy, he was really lucky that Airi was giving him an eye smile instead of a normal one… otherwise she would have noticed him staring. Well, not that she minded it anymore, but Kiyotaka had no idea that that was the case.
"Morning," he returned her greeting with one of his own, while hiding a massive urge to groan and facepalm at his situation.
Greeaaattt, he just woke up and the first thing he sees is a close-up view of Airi's bountiful chest. This will surely not mess with his mind for the rest of the day. This will surely not ruin his train of thought every time he looks at her today. Nope, not going to happen… he won't let the mental image of her chest dictate the reason for him dozing off in his classes later on.
"Senpai must have really slept well, huh~?"
Hearing that other voice wasn't going to help his case. Still, Kiyotaka saw it as an opportunity to get his mind and eyes off of Airi's bosom so he turned towards Ichika for now. He had already seen this girl naked when they took a bath together and he was fully capable of withstanding her aggressive nature. At most, seeing Ichika in her underwear will simply annoy him because of her usual antics.
"Morning, senpai~" Ichika winked as soon as her senpai's eyes were on her. She made sure to push out her bra-clad breasts with her arm underneath her chest to try and elicit a reaction from Kiyotaka, even though she had a feeling that he would just ignore her.
"Good morning," he deadpanned.
Okay, so far, so good. He would just have to keep his mind off of Airi and her chest, then everything will be fine! This shouldn't be hard, honestly. He had faced off against more impossible odds than this! Fighting against his own urges isn't like taking on four full-grown adults all at the same time, or even defeating genius chess players from all over the world.
"Eh?" Airi mumbled as her nose picked up a weird scent out of nowhere. She sniffed it several times to try and figure out what it was, but this scent was so foreign for her that she couldn't recognize what it was. "I smell something weird."
Feeling curious, Ichika sniffed the air several times and also picked up a scent that she had never detected before. It made her both interested and confused upon what it could be. Strangely, she felt a sense of excitement from it as well.
"Same here, Sakura-senpai. I'm pretty sure I didn't wet the bed last night… did I?"
"...what?" Kiyotaka stared at the two girls in confusion as he too tried to smell the air and see what they were talking about. No more than two seconds later, his eyes widened as he felt something twitch down there. "Shit…"
"I think it's coming from here," Ichika pointed towards Kiyotaka's lower body, which was covered entirely by a blanket. "I hope you don't mind me checking, senpai…"
The younger girl grabbed the blanket and lifted it up, as she and Airi were met with the sight of a particular bulge, one that can be seen through Kiyotaka's shorts. Both girls looked on in wonder for a few moments to the point that their jaws fell open, before the young man sat up in an instant and interrupted the viewing party.
"Hold it!"
Kiyotaka grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around his lower body while using his hands to keep it there. He was unaware of it, but his face had turned red from embarrassment upon being caught in such a vulnerable state by two of his heroines.
What made this worse is that one of them is someone who'd want nothing more than to annoy him endlessly with her teasing… oh, joy. He can already see it happening, and he's not going to like any of it.
"I assure you, this is nothing. It's just a normal phenomenon for boys when their bodies are aroused and normally takes place during their adolescent years. When they're asleep, the parasympathetic nervous system takes control and because their bodies are in a vulnerable state, even a mere dream can cause arousal at a subconscious level," he explained, although it was mostly directed towards Airi because she must be feeling weirded out by him right now.
The thought of his relationship with the girl being ruined simply because of something that was out of his control put a sour taste in his mouth, and Kiyotaka didn't want to accept that outcome. Really, he did not mean for that thing to grow down there! Ugh, of all the things that could have happened while he was asleep, it's this phenomenon…
"Because of involuntary stimulation, it's easier to reach that phenomenon, so don't get the wrong idea. It's something that's caused by hormones—"
"K-Kiyotaka-kun!" Airi cut him off from his senseless rambling as a look of concern took over her features.
He quickly turned to the redhead when she called out his name. "What?"
"I-If you don't mind, I could help you."
"What…?"
"I understand that it's really hard to control yourself while you were sleeping with me and Amasawa-san right beside you. We were just wearing our underwear the whole time too, so I can't imagine what it's like to hold it in. I should help you with this problem!" she offered while leaning closer to his face.
Kiyotaka could only stare at her in disbelief, wondering if this was even Airi who's talking. Yeah, her actions last night were shocking, but this is on a completely different level! Actually, is she even aware of what she's saying? Does she know the implication behind her words? Does she have any knowledge of what she just offered him?
"Huh…?"
"Ki-yo-ta-ka-senpai"
Feeling too overwhelmed to even process everything that's happening with his usual calm and rational mindset, Kiyotaka turned towards his magenta-haired kouhai, who bore a seductive expression on her face in stark contrast to Airi's concerned look.
"I thought of you as someone who can never be phased after you managed to resist my charms in the bathroom, but it looks like I was wrong again."
"She really had to say that, didn't she?" he groaned in his mind at this girl's never-ending desire to elicit reactions from other people, because just ended up making a bigger problem here! Now Airi's gonna be curious about what she's saying and end up asking questions, leading to him admitting that he and Ichika took a bath together! Maybe he could keep that from happening by saying that the little devil was just messing with everyone with her jokes?
To his surprise though, his red-haired classmate didn't react in any way to what Ichika just said. Her full attention was still directed towards him, so it's likely that Airi flat-out ignored Ichika's statement or she genuinely didn't hear the younger girl.
That was still a close call, nonetheless.
"Who knew that sleeping with two girls in their underwear is all it takes to get a reaction out of you, senpai~?" Ichika's teasing voice snapped him out of his little trance, as she began giggling in amusement.
Kiyotaka refused to let this girl see him in a vulnerable or embarrassed state, so he sent her his usual deadpan expression in response. However, that only left him open for Airi to make her move. Now she was on all fours as she crawled like an animal towards him, not even caring about the possible consequences that would stem from her actions.
"I should take care of this problem! It happened because of me, right?"
Following her senpai's actions, Ichika went on all fours as well, and now there were two girls who were making their way towards him. This was enough for Kiyotaka to slowly back away from, but it was useless when the girls slowly advanced towards him anyway. It's like they were being controlled by outside forces and it's influencing them to do these things, but that would be ridiculous…
…if he didn't have an eroge superpower that can warp reality in an instant.
"Come on, senpai~ let me take care of you. It's only fair because you've been taking care of me, you know?"
"Kiyotaka-kun, I'll make this problem go away if you let me…"
"Why did this have to happen as soon as this day started…?" he groaned to himself while rolling his eyes hard. Last night was crazy enough with everything that happened after Airi stated her desire to sleep in his dorm, and that's on top of an already hectic day with Miyake's case and everything that happened prior to it.
The system was starting to bother him again at a constant pace and knowing how outlandish it can be, his current situation wouldn't even be the worst of it. He did unlock another 'Bonus Scene' yesterday, after all.
[You had a wet dream! Nothing to be ashamed about! You gained 15 in Wisdom!]
"Oh, shut up," he rolled his eyes again at the notification that appeared and let it disappear on its own. He felt too irritated and annoyed to do anything regarding his superpower, with the only thing on his mind right now is finding a way to keep himself away from Airi and Ichika… until they calm down from their questionable behavior, at least.
Kiyotaka tried to rack his brain for a way to possibly get out of his current predicament; he first thought about the three choices that the system hits him with during times like this, but it didn't seem like anything was going to happen regarding that. He thought about flat-out telling them no and to stop acting weird, but that might encourage them even more.
Perhaps he could put his foot down and push them away in a more aggressive way, but there's a huge risk of making them sad as a result… especially Airi.
Maybe he could focus on calming down his little friend down there, but that's an almost impossible task given that THERE WERE TWO GIRLS WHO ARE IN THEIR UNDERWEAR crawling towards him as if they were predators stalking their prey.
His eyes flew towards his phone that was just nearby. Kiyotaka thought about excusing himself to call someone so they'd stop hounding him, when he realized that that may actually work. He wouldn't be pushing them away, he would take himself out of the equation instead.
"Come on, senpai… why would you pay attention to something else when we could take care of you and your problem instead~?" Ichika grinned, noticing where her senpai's gaze was directed to which wasn't the two of them. She could already tell what he was planning, and Ichika wasn't going to let him off easily.
Ignoring Ichika's attempt at getting his attention, Kiyotaka proceeded with the only plan he had. He grabbed his phone and quickly opened up his contacts, looking for someone he could call and would likely answer him. His eyes settled on Suzune's number; his raven-haired seatmate should be awake by now, so it's likely that she'd answer him if he decided to call her.
However, before he could do anything, he suddenly received a message. It was something that made him raise an eyebrow in confusion, because it was a message from his homeroom teacher.
"I wonder what this is about…"
He couldn't think of any possible reason why Sae would message him, let alone this early in the morning. It couldn't be that she's inviting him out on a date, right? That's too soon for a woman like Chabashira Sae, considering that he hasn't raised any Affection Points with her ever since that day in the bathhouse. And, uh… it's a school day today. It's kind of hard to imagine that woman being focused on something else that's not her job.
He's sure as hell that it doesn't have anything to do with fooling around, so this must be something of the highest importance. It should be noted that Sae herself was the one who messaged him and not the other way around.
"Excuse me, you two," he told them as he stood up and walked to the kitchen, grabbing his shirt along the way, as he leaned against the sink.
"Darn it, senpai didn't give in."
Ichika snapped her fingers in frustration, while Airi didn't let it affect her and started to put on her clothes. She still had to go back to her own dorm and prepare for their classes today, which means she'll have to leave now unless Kiyotaka invites her to stay for breakfast, which she'd accept without hesitation. She wouldn't ask about it though, only if he offers it first.
Really, she was just grateful that Kiyotaka allowed her to spend the night here.
Meanwhile, Kiyotaka could feel his friend down there finally calming down after being away from Ichika and Airi, allowing him to breathe out a sigh of relief. That's one problem solved, and now it's time to see what his homeroom teacher wanted from him. He opened up Sae's message and felt quite intrigued with what the woman had to say.
Chabashira: Meet me outside of the faculty lounge an hour before the bell rings.
"I have to meet Chabashira-sensei at the teacher's lounge… well, why not? It'll get me away from these two for a while and keep me from thinking about what just happened," he shrugged to himself before turning his phone off, then proceeded to put on his shirt. "Still, I wonder why she wants to see me before the day starts."
Following his teacher's instructions, Kiyotaka stood outside of the teacher's lounge an hour before classes start and now he was waiting for the other person to show herself. He had sent her a message a while ago that he was here and didn't bother waiting for a response.
Thankfully, Airi didn't stay long; after acknowledging his teacher's message earlier this morning, the girl was already dressed in the shirt and shorts that she had discarded the night prior (thank god she did, allowing him to finally look at her without feeling weird), already prepared to leave and return to her dorm. He was actually planning to offer her breakfast, but discarded the thought when Airi brought up that they both needed time to prepare for their classes.
Airi once again thanked him for letting her sleep and even expressed her gratitude by hugging him, which he returned awkward
Speaking of which, Ichika felt sad that she was leaving so soon, especially after realizing how wrong she was in judging her red-haired senpai at first glance, although she didn't voice out her opinion. Oh well, there's still plenty of opportunities for her to encounter Airi in the future. Who knows? Maybe her senpai would come over again one of these days for another sleepover.
All in all, the sleepover that he had with Airi was one of the most bizarre yet frustrating experiences in his life. It's not the first time that he experienced a sleepover nor was it his first time sleeping next to someone, but it was definitely the first time that his companion had stripped down to her underwear as a prerequisite before sleeping. What's worse is that his other companion did the same thing under the excuse of 'making things fair', even though she really just wanted to mess with him.
What occurred earlier this morning was one of the most embarrassing moments of his life and if possible, he never wanted to experience it again. He wanted to forget about it as soon as possible and as long as nothing happens that's remotely similar to it, he may be able to do just that!
Kiyotaka was soon snapped out of his thoughts when the door to the teacher's lounge opened and. The sight of his homeroom teacher greeted him as she was wearing her usual suit, skirt, stockings, and shoes.
It made him think if Sae has at least 5 sets of the same formal outfit she wears everyday…
He bowed his head politely. "Morning, sensei."
"Hello, Ayanokouji," the woman returned his gesture by doing the same. "I don't want to waste any time, so I'll go straight to the point. That was quite the stunt you pulled off yesterday, asking the student council president if you can leave for a while to fetch Sakura,"
Kiyotaka shrugged. He already had a feeling that she was going to bring that topic up, so he wasn't surprised when Sae asked him about it. "She was taking too long to get to the hearing that Suzune was starting to get worried that she might not be able to make it in time. I volunteered to find her because I didn't want everyone's efforts to go to waste simply because Airi failed to show up."
The woman folded her arms and shook her head. "It was still a reckless stunt to ask the student council president something like that. What if he had refused to give you what you wanted? What would you have done if that was the case?"
"I don't see the logic behind imagining what could have been. Everything ended well in our favor, didn't it?"
"I just find it a bit strange that Class C would target Sakura on the very day that the hearing takes place. Sakura, who happens to be your witness who will testify for Miyake, got targeted by your class's opponents in the case."
"I was surprised as well, sensei. I didn't think they would go so far as to go after her. It makes me wonder how they even knew that she possessed important evidence."
"I was also surprised that after you came back with her, Matsushita announced her arrival with video evidence that shows their deliberate attempt in sabotaging your classmate. It could be passed off as a coincidence, but the events lined up too perfectly for it to be considered as one."
He stared at her quietly for a few moments, noticing something different in her tone. It's like she was goading him into saying something for her. "Sensei, I feel that you're trying to tell me something."
"Cut the crap and tell me now. You knew, didn't you?" she spoke through narrowed eyes.
Kiyotaka tilted his head slightly. "You're going to have to be more specific than that."
"You knew that Sakura was going to be targeted by Class C, that's why you asked Matsushita to follow her and keep watch of anything bad that might happen."
Kiyotaka hummed softly for a brief moment, all while he thought about what she said. "That's a rather interesting allegation you're making, sensei. But how would I even know that Class C would target Airi? As far as you and I are concerned, I was with everyone else in the student council room when Airi got assaulted by those Class C students."
"That doesn't explain you leaving the door open for Matsushita to take over when you informed everyone that Sakura was sabotaged by Class C on purpose. It's too much of a coincidence that she came right after you mentioned that you had evidence of Class C trying to sabotage Sakura."
"That's because we met Matsushita along the way, sensei. She told us what happened, and we came up with a plan that would silence Class C for good."
"I don't believe that Matsushita would act without the jurisdiction of someone else. Someone must have told her to follow Sakura or to keep an eye on her at least," she pointed out. "However, my biggest suspicion comes from the fact that none of those events would have happened in the first place if she went with you and the others instead of 'going home to get her evidence'. I'm willing to stake my reputation as a teacher that you deliberately told her to leave the flash drive she was supposed to use before going to her classes, and then she can go get it once classes are over."
After saying her piece, things were quiet between them at first. Chabashira threw her student a harsh glare, while Ayanokouji stared back at her with his expressionless face, her words seemingly having no effect on him whatsoever.
And then, all of a sudden, the edge of his lips curled up and slowly formed a smirk. His impassive look had effortlessly shifted into a look of amusement. What's more, the woman immediately recognized it as the same face he wore when they had that little rendezvous at the school rooftop, something that she wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon.
"…if I said that I did, what will you do about it, Sae-chan-sensei?"
Sae's serious expression nearly fell when she was faced with that damned look on his face once again. She tried to resist it, but she couldn't help it. It just reminded her of that moment too much!
"I won't do anything. I simply wanted to confirm my suspicion. Hearing Karuizawa talk about the incident that almost befell Sakura yesterday put a lot of things into perspective," she breathed out after taking a moment to calm herself. "Speaking of which, you prevented one of your classmates from being sexually assaulted, Ayanokouji. Be proud of yourself for that accomplishment."
"Beating up that bastard within an inch of his life isn't really something to be proud of," Kiyotaka thought to himself with a disgusted look on his face. Though he was happy that nothing bad happened to Airi, the fact that the perverted creep got close to her made his blood boil.
"I am curious about one thing, however. I didn't get to ask Sakura or Karuizawa about this yesterday, so I'll ask you instead," she frowned in confusion. "Why was Karuizawa unable to help her friend when she was cornered at the mall? Weren't they together the whole time?"
"Kei was trying to contact me yesterday after they got sabotaged by Class C, but I was unable to answer her calls and messages because I was at the trial. It's only after I left the student council room that I was able to call her back, but she had already left Airi and was heading to where I was so she could tell me what happened up close."
"So that explains why they weren't together when it happened."
He nodded before continuing his explanation. "Airi wanted to do something else. She wanted to go home because she copied the file from her laptop, the only place where she had it saved. There was no guarantee that the flash drive would have still worked if we tried to use it. If it didn't, then Class C would have taken advantage of the opportunity by saying we didn't really have proof or something similar. Even though it would have taken her a lot longer to get to the hearing, she wanted to be sure that there's a video that she can present without any chance of failing."
"I assume that she wasn't able to, because of the attempted sexual assault on her. Although it only makes me even more curious. If the flash drive held the only copy of the video that's not within her apartment, then how was Sakura able to present it in front of everyone?" she asked, before raising an eyebrow at him. "Did you have a copy of it in secret and you sent it to her, Ayanokouji?"
"Let's just say that we have allies from unexpected places, sensei."
"You're not going to tell me? Even though I'm your teacher?" she asked while crossing her arms under her bust.
"It almost sounds like you're starting to believe in me and what I can do, Chabashira-sensei. Had a change of heart?" he smirked again.
Sae pursed her lips tightly, resisting the urge to give him a tongue lashing for his attitude. "…whatever. In the end, the issue was resolved and you were able to lead Class D to victory."
"I think you should be saying that to Suzune instead. She's the one who defended Miyake the whole time and kept the hearing from ending badly for our side. She deserves most of the credit," he calmly argued.
"Horikita wasn't the one who pushed for Ishizaki and his classmates to be punished thoroughly," she chuckled in a rare moment of giving in to her humor. "You really let them have it, Ayanokouji. I never thought you'd be that sadistic."
"What's wrong with the demands I made for our class? I think I was being fair."
Sae laughed. "Fair? Everything that you said yesterday didn't look fair to me."
"How?" he tilted his head curiously.
The woman looked around them to see if anyone was listening. Once she was sure that it was only the two of them here, she began to speak again. "You didn't hear this from me, but Kondo and Komiya were the ones who got expelled as a result of the demands you made yesterday. Ishizaki lives to see another day. I don't know if their classmates know about it yet, but I shall find out later during my time with them."
"Are you actually happy that two students got expelled, sensei?"
"Not really, but they should have been aware of the possible consequences that their actions would bring. No matter what class a student belongs to, he will suffer the appropriate punishment if he does something that's against the rules. I hope Class C takes this lesson to heart."
"Are you sure you're not celebrating the expulsion of two students, sensei?" he asked her again, feeling doubtful of her words from her voice alone.
She threw him a deadpan look. "No. I'm more amused with their teacher's reaction when me and the other teachers learned about it earlier from an announcement that the faculty received. He didn't talk to us at all when he showed up at the lounge, most likely because he was too affected by what happened. When Hoshinomiya tried cheering him up by inviting him to a drink tonight, he lashed out at her to the point that Mashima had to hold him back."
"He's upset over losing two of his students, I take it."
"I doubt it. He's more pissed that he lost the case in such a humiliating manner," Sae smirked before letting out a soft chuckle. "He tried appealing to Horikita-kun to re-think the decision of deducting points from his class, but not once did he talk about saving Komiya and Kondo from expulsion. He simply couldn't accept the outcome where Class D gets away with the victory and more."
"Since you seem to be in a good mood, sensei, I would like to ask you this. How many points does our class have at the moment?"
"I was planning to inform Class D later on, but I suppose I can allow you the luxury of knowing before your classmates," "Based on the punishments that you came up with yesterday, a total of 144 points were deducted from Class C and transferred to ours. From 532 points, Class C now only has 388. On the other hand, Class D has risen from 212 to 356 points from the point transferral."
Kiyotaka smirked again, pleased with this turn of events. What happened earlier this morning had left his mind completely, and now he was just enjoying the ripples that were caused by their victory yesterday. There was no way that he'd have let Ryuuen get away with not just making Hiyori sad, but sabotaging Airi as well. Things were also working out in his favor regarding his bet with Sae, because they were within inches of becoming the new Class C in so little time. As an added bonus, Suzune will no doubt be happy with this development too.
"That makes Class D one step closer to overtaking Class C, doesn't it? A handful of points is all that's left for that to happen, and that'll be one class down. Two more will be left, and it hasn't even been that long since we had that talk at the rooftop, sensei."
Upon being reminded of that day, a sour expression took over Sae's face in an instant and made her forget why she was feeling elated in the first place. He just had to remind her of that day, huh? She was getting more and more convinced that one of the boy's goals in this school is to annoy her as much as he can… it's unlikely, but his actions were speaking for himself.
"Now you ruined my mood, you brat. You just had to remind me of that stupid agreement…" she seethed.
"I'm just making sure that you haven't forgotten about it, sensei," Kiyotaka shrugged. "And I don't see any reason for you to be mad. If anything, you should be celebrating. You're mocking Sakagami-sensei for what happened to him, but what if it was our class that lost the hearing? Would you still be feeling this way? Or will you be gloomier than ever and be angry at us for not doing better?"
The woman gritted her teeth, not because she was angry at what he said, but because he was right. She could easily see herself lashing out at her class for causing the incident in the first place. She'd be angry at Sakura no matter what her reason was, she'd scold Horikita for not doing a better job in defending her classmate and most of all, she'd be ashamed of Miyake for getting in trouble despite what everyone says.
Chabashira wouldn't admit this in front of his face, though.
"Fine, I guess I can give you recognition for this victory. But I'm telling you right now, you only got here because you were lucky that the student council president gave you the freedom to choose the punishment for Class C. I have no idea why Horikita-kun would leave the decision to Class D, but all of this wouldn't have happened if he didn't do that. I'd advise you to not take things lightly, Ayanokouji."
Kiyotaka shook his head and chuckled, which only served to piss her off even more. "I'll take that as your own way of thanking me, tsundere-sensei."
"My patience with you has run out. Go to your classroom already," she hid her annoyance behind a deadpan expression.
"See you later, tsundere-sensei."
A notification from the system appeared in front of his face as he bowed his head, before walking away.
[You gained 30 Affection Points with Chabashira Sae!]
As he left his teacher alone, Kiyotaka could tell that he still had Sae's attention even without turning around to see, at least until he heard the sound of a door closing which must mean she had gone back inside the faculty lounge.
Truthfully, this meeting went better than what he expected. He needed this change after everything that happened in his dorm earlier.
"I won't be as lucky, huh?" he repeated his teacher's words in his mind. "If only I didn't have a sentient dating sim superpower that can bend reality in my favor, then I'd believe you, sensei."
It was quite amusing to see Chabashira throwing her pride away to give him some praise, albeit with a little disclaimer.
Everyone in Class D looked like they were in high spirits today and why wouldn't they be? They won a hearing and totally showed Class C that they weren't to be messed with!
The news of Class D winning yesterday's case against Class C spread like wildfire and of course, the first ones to know about were the students themselves. Immediately after winning the hearing yesterday, Haruka wasn't able to contain herself and informed everyone in their class of the news through the group chat. Ever since yesterday, they were already celebrating this victory and it somewhat continued until today.
Not everyone was involved, though. There were some who minded their own business and talked about other stuff with their friends, while most of the class gathered around Haruka and Akito, discussing yesterday's events and answering questions that their classmates asked them.
The former included Airi, who was sitting peacefully at her desk like it was just a normal day. However, this day was anything but 'normal', because it's the first instance that she had gone to school without her glasses and with her hair tied in twintails. She was expecting her classmates to ask her about her new appearance or be curious at the very least but surprisingly, no one has approached her yet.
She walked into the classroom expecting people to come up to her with questions, but her trip to her desk was so peaceful that nobody approached her. Even until now, when there's only about five minutes left before the bell rings and classes officially begin, nobody
Airi wondered why no one was taking notice of her. Is it just because everyone was too focused on Akito? Perhaps no one here has any knowledge of idols and other online personalities?
Either way, she had a few important things to tell her classmates, so there's no way she's accepting this. For once, Airi was actually wishing for the attention to come to her, for their heads to turn towards her, and for their gazes to be directed to her.
"E-Everyone…!" she stood up and spoke in the loudest voice that she could muster, all while hoping that someone would hear her.
To her complete surprise, everyone in the room (except for Koenji) reared their heads and shifted their collective attention towards her. It happened so suddenly that Airi was taken aback for a few moments, before she quickly snapped out of it.
Taking a deep breath, she finally uttered the words that she wished to impart to her classmates. "I promise that I won't take much from anyone's time. I just want to apologize for my actions in the past week. I was the one who witnessed everything that happened to Miyake-kun, but I didn't say anything for nearly the whole week, even when Chabashira-sensei asked us if there's someone who saw what happened. I'm sorry for not speaking up a lot sooner!"
Nobody responded right away as Airi waited for some kind of response from her classmates. Most of them were confused on why she was apologizing, while there were some who genuinely had no clue who she was. Is she a new classmate whom they had no idea about?
A girl with short beige hair was the first one among them to say something; she stood up from her seat and offered the redhead a gentle smile.
"It's okay, Sakura-san. We understand that you have a hard time talking with other people. The important thing is that you gathered the courage to speak up and because of your efforts, our class won."
Upon hearing Kushida mention her name, many of their classmates stared at the red-haired girl with wide eyes, as they finally realized who this girl was. Some felt their jaws drop, a few screamed in disbelief, while there were those who almost fell off their chairs due to their brains short-circuiting.
"WHAAATTTT?!"
"That's Sakura-san…?!"
"No way… I didn't realize it was her."
"Isn't she supposed to be wearing glasses?"
"She doesn't have them… is she wearing contacts?"
"Wait, I think I've seen her before. She was featured in one of the magazines I was reading!"
"So you were reading those degenerate stuff again…"
"Wait, wait! I already burned it along with the rest! You saw me doing it! I just remembered something from it, that's all!"
"You better not be lying…"
"Honest, Shinohara-san!"
While the rest of Class D had varied reactions to the girl being revealed as their own Sakura Airi, the redhead herself looked somewhat conflicted upon hearing Kikyo's words before ultimately shaking her head. She couldn't find it in herself to accept that everyone will just let her actions slide that easily.
"No, it's not. This whole time, I'm my own worst enemy. I didn't have the courage to do anything that could help my classmate for almost a whole week. I only spoke up when the day of the trial was nearing, and even after I did, I almost messed things up…" she looked down sadly. "So if any of you feel angry or frustrated with me for how I've been, I won't hold it against you. I deserve it and any kind of apology won't make up for my actions."
Several of her classmates who were with her during the trial like Miyake, Hasebe, and Matsushita sent her looks of sympathy, though none of them spoke up. Hirata, on the other hand, didn't hesitate and voiced out his concern right away like the helpful classmate that he was.
"Sakura-san, you can be assured that no one is angry with you. Kushida-san said it earlier already. What's important is that the whole hearing went well and the truth came to light in the end. That wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you, so you should at least take solace in the fact that you contributed something to Miyake-kun's hearing."
Airi slowly looked up, a confused look taking over her features. "You're not angry with me…?"
"You can be assured that I'm not," Hirata smiled. "Regardless of how you felt beforehand, you still helped our class in the end. That's all that matters to me."
"I'm just glad that Miyake-kun isn't going to be expelled, and it's thanks to you, Sakura-san."
"Same. You don't have to worry, Sakura-san. I don't think anyone's mad at you."
Inogashira and Mori spoke right after him, adding to his words by stating that they held no ill feelings towards their red-haired classmate despite her self-deprecating words. They even smiled at the girl, showing their appreciation for her efforts to help Miyake in the end.
"I-I can kind of understand what you feel, Sakura-san. It's also pretty hard for me to approach other people, even if I may not look like it."
"It takes a lot to change yourself, Sakura-san. The fact that you're admitting all of this already means a lot."
"Like what Hirata said, what matters is that you still helped. That's all that matters to me."
More of her classmates showed their verbal support for the girl, surprising her even more. She expected nothing but scorn and mockery from them, but she got the complete opposite. Even Suzune showed some support by folding her arms under her chest and then nodding as a sign that she understood.
And not just her, she also saw Kiyotaka giving her a nod of his own. He didn't show it on his face (therefore she couldn't see it), but he felt happy and proud for his red-haired heroine finally overcoming this flaw that's haunted her for almost her whole life.
"Thank you, everyone…" Airi muttered, feeling overwhelmed by the outpour of support for her by her classmates despite her shortcomings. She couldn't believe that her classmates would show her this kind of support even after everything, and she knew there's only one way for her to repay all of this. "I promise that I won't be like the Sakura you knew back then! If someone wants to talk to me, I won't hide or run away anymore. If you need me to help with something, I'll do my best to help. If the whole class wants me to do something for everyone's sake, I won't let any of you down."
Almost immediately, Kei sprang up from her seat and ran towards her friend to give her a hug, which the redhead returned immediately. Following her, many of their classmates began to approach Airi and asked her various questions, ranging from her new appearance, what she saw during the day of Akito's incident, her likes and dislikes, as well as her contact information.
For the first time in her life, Airi didn't run away from the attention nor did she hide behind a camera.
She faced it head-on.
As this happened, several of the boys began taking note of Airi's killer body. They were already aware of her beauty and charm even before this, but this was different. If she was cute and charming before, then she's hot and sexy now. Her appearance didn't even change much, but she was still as beautiful as ever.
Back then, she was just an 'available option' in their eyes, in case they failed in pursuing their respective conquests. Now she made a jump straight to being a 'limited time offer', and all of them collectively agreed in their minds that the boy whom she goes out with will be one lucky motherfucker.
"Gotta say, Sakura looks way hotter when her hair is like that and without glasses."
"You think she'd be open to having a relationship with someone?"
"I'm totally confessing to Sakura-chan later on! I know for sure she'll agree to go out with me!"
"Ugh, are you serious? I saw you touching yourself under your desk while she was talking earlier and it was kind of disgusting."
"What the fuck, don't throw me under the bus like that!"
"No wonder Kushida-chan didn't like you, Yamauchi…"
"Shut up, Ike! You traitor!"
Akito and Haruka watched their classmates slowly surround Airi from their seats and smiled at the girl who was doing her best to keep up with everything that they were asking her. While it was seemingly hard for Airi to handle this many people talking to her all at once, she was actually managing pretty well.
"I'm gonna be honest, I was too focused on the whole hearing yesterday to make a comment but now I can say that Sakura-chi is like a completely different person without those glasses she used to wear…" Haruka commented.
"I almost thought the girl who was with Ayanokouji yesterday wasn't Sakura at all," Akito shrugged.
"You think her glasses are just that strong?"
"As strong as Superman's glasses since she's completely different without them. I guess the hair helps too."
Somehow, Airi was able to make it through the round of questions that her classmates asked her left and right. She was thankful that none of them were too personal and were mostly just comments and curiosity directed to her new look. That's good, because she wasn't done yet and had something else that she wished to tell everyone before classes begin. She'll have to be quick with this, though.
"And I would like to make something else clear as well."
With those words, she had everyone's attention once again. The people who were surrounding her dispersed for a bit to give her a bit of space, which she was thankful for. Afterwards, she turned her attention towards a particular individual who was sitting nearby, before taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.
The 'Masterpiece' of the White Room wasn't dumb. As soon as he noticed her gaze being directed towards him, he nearly groaned in frustration. He was even more tempted to do so when she began walking towards him.
Yeah, he had moved on from the fiasco with Airi and Ichika earlier this morning, but now a new one was about to begin.
If only he could make a run for it and bolt out of the classroom as fast as he can, he'd have done it already to escape his fate, but he didn't even want to know what that would do to Airi's psyche if he actually went down that route.
"Here we go again…" Kiyotaka sighed internally when Airi stopped right in front of his desk, knowing full well what was coming next.
He made no effort to stop Airi when she brushed some of her hair back and leaned down so that their faces were nearly touching. Several gasps were heard all across the room as a result, and the girl almost stopped in her tracks because of it.
Though she felt embarrassed, Airi was also determined. This was her chance to make her feelings known, and she was going to take it!
But before that, she looked into his eyes to see if he was truly fine with what she's about to do. He should know already, right?
Kiyotaka said nothing, although he kept his gaze firmly locked with hers. Once she noticed that he was offering no resistance to her actions until now, Airi finally leaned in and pressed her lips against his in a soft and loving kiss.
A wave of disbelief washed over the entire room when the two teens made lip contact. There were varied reactions among the students, but all of them had one thing in common: they were in complete shock at Airi's actions. It didn't take long before some of them finally found their voices and spoke up regarding what they're seeing.
"Are you kidding me?!"
"Not Sakura too!"
"I hate you, Ayanokouji!"
"At least leave some of the girls for us, man!"
"Aw, come on, man! I get NTR'd like this right off the bat?!"
"You're not even her boyfriend!"
"FUHAHAHAHAHA! And so, Ayanokouji-boy adds another woman to his list of conquests."
Nobody expected Sakura to do this, especially when this girl's most prominent characteristic was her shyness… that's what they knew about her prior to this, at least. It's honestly more likely for Mii-chan to kiss Yosuke in front of everyone here.
Above all else, this whole thing was eerily similar to a certain scene that took place more than a week ago, when the very same Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was kissed by three girls in their class. That instance garnered the same reactions from the rest of Class D, and it was also the event that led to Hasebe Haruka taking notice of him.
Speaking of which, these said individuals had some interesting reactions of their own.
"And here I thought I'd be fine with you, Sakura-san… you really can't trust anyone, huh?"
From her seat, Kikyo watched the scene with a blank look on her face. Her expression looks unreadable at first glance but if one were to observe her closely, her eyes had turned hollow and a dark aura was emanating from her body. She was also gripping a pencil in her hand so tightly that it could break into two at any moment.
"What the hell, Airi-chan? Are you really going to do this?"
Kei felt a lot of things in one sitting from seeing Airi do this. She felt shocked, confused, betrayed, and conflicted all at the same time that it's hard to tell what her exact reaction was. The blonde gyaru definitely wasn't pleased with this, though… and she couldn't help but frown at her own friend for what she did. Even if Airi was her best friend, the latter still kissed the boy whom she had feelings for and confessed to first.
"Oh, dear… it looks like I have some more competition."
Chiaki looked calm and collected from her expression alone, but she was actually irritated and mildly annoyed by this new development. She was already competing against three other girls for Kiyotaka's affection, she definitely didn't need another one. No matter, though. A simple show of dominance and assertiveness should be enough to show Sakura that she's fated to win this battle.
"That day, when Kushida-san, Matsushita-san, and Karuizawa-san kissed him… my chest started to hurt for some reason. Why am I having that same feeling now?"
Suzune watched on from her seat with a frown on her face, but it's not because she was annoyed or anything similar. It's one that showed confusion and conflict more than anything, because the raven-haired girl had no clue why she felt this way. She experienced the same feeling when Kikyo and the other two girls kissed Kiyotaka back then, but she only ignored it that time. Right now though, she was unsure if she could ignore it a second time.
Meanwhile, a certain blue-haired girl gripped the hem of her skirt rather tightly, but she was unaware of her actions. Nothing came out of her mouth, nor did she say anything in her mind, but she felt strange upon seeing Airi kiss Kiyotaka.
It's weird… she, er… kind of but not exactly (...?) did the same yesterday when she kissed him on the cheek as a 'reward' for helping her dear friend with his trial. She tried convincing herself that she only did it to thank him, but was quite unsuccessful in that endeavor. She could have gone for a hug instead, but she chose to give him a peck on the cheek…
In any case, Haruka had no clue why she suddenly felt her chest becoming heavy, nor did she know why she suddenly felt a twinge of betrayal. Surely it's not because she was jealous of Airi because her classmate kissed the person she's interested in… no, she wasn't interested in Kiyotaka at all and she's certainly not jealous…
While she was engrossed in this kiss with Kiyotaka, Airi heard everything around her and took in every kind of reaction she received. While there was some contempt from the boys' side (because of their jealousy towards) Kiyotaka, the overwhelming emotion was shock and for good reason. On the other hand, the person she was kissing pretty much gave up on a peaceful resolution to this new mess he was now included in. Whether he liked it or not, he was now in the spotlight once again.
That being said, he would be a bigger fool to not enjoy this sweet and pleasurable moment between him and Airi. True, he had been caught off guard with her actions last night, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy kissing the redhead. Like what a lot of people say, it's always a good move to find any kind of saving grace in a bad situation!
After keeping their lips locked for more than twenty seconds, Airi finally broke away and took a step back. She smiled shyly at him, while he averted his gaze and turned his attention elsewhere. Airi thought that he looked cute at that moment, doing his best to hide his embarrassment, to the point that she couldn't help but giggle in amusement.
She then faced the rest of her classmates again, who were all in need of a much-deserved explanation regarding her actions just now.
"I know that a lot of you are interested in me, so I want to get this out of the way now because I don't want to hurt anyone with a rejection if they ever confessed. My feelings are already directed towards someone else…" she explained her stance with a healthy blush on her face, while also taking a not-so-subtle glance at Kiyotaka.
Many of the boys groaned at this, upset that another one of the girls was swept away by Ayanokouji despite being a bland and boring individual. A few of the girls squealed in delight, just like how a typical bystander would react to a potential couple in the making. There were also some who threw her various words of encouragement to support her in her goal.
On the other hand, the young man himself was completely out of the loop right now, his attention being directed to the world outside of the window instead. He didn't even want to look at any of his classmates, because it might lead to something bad and that's not something he wanted to do when Chabashira-sensei could arrive at any moment.
"I wonder if Koenji's offer is still on the table," Kiyotaka thought to himself, choosing to ignore the impending chaos that this situation will bring him soon, even though he was fully aware that it's inevitable to happen either way.
He had no idea how he managed to survive such a hectic school day, especially after the stunt that Airi pulled off earlier, but Kiyotaka felt glad that he was still alive even after everything.
Classes flew by normally and for once, Kiyotaka found himself wishing that classes took longer to finish. Why? Because right when their lunch break had begun, almost all of the boys had surrounded him and demanded some answers for what happened with Airi. Some of the girls like Nishimura and Maezono did the same, as they were curious on how he felt about all this.
He was only saved when Kikyo and Suzune came in and took him away from them to spend lunch together, Kiyotaka thanked them both for a commendable effort on their part. Chiaki and Kei even joined in and kept the squealing girls from getting close to Kiyotaka.
It's like he had another protective wall surrounding him which he was surprised with, but felt thankful nonetheless. It didn't save him from being the victim of the boys' jealousy, however.
On the other hand, Airi didn't have it as bad as him.
There were still a handful of people who approached her, but they were all girls because the boys diverted their full attention to him instead. They also didn't come from almost every angle and none of them bombarded her with questions that she can't answer.
Even so, the red-haired girl was left feeling tired after everything that's happened to her today. She had never talked to this many people in one sitting before, and it made her think if her old self was actually in the wrong for choosing to avoid attention.
And that's why he's surprised to find his red-haired heroine standing outside of his door, similar to what she did last night.
"You want to sleep here again, Airi?" he raised an eyebrow at the question that the girl just asked him.
"Y-Yes!" Airi nodded, the expression on her face conveying nothing but resolve. "Only if it's fine with you, Kiyotaka-kun."
"Do you even know what you're asking from me right now?" He gave a weird look, while Airi blushed in embarrassment. "Yesterday, I overlooked the possible consequences that could have happened from the two of us sleeping together. And that's because of the hearing that we attended. But today is just a normal day."
The girl sighed deeply before she nodded. "I know, I know. It's already unfair of me to ask this of you, but I can't help it."
Airi looked up at him shyly, doing her best to keep her head raised high instead of turning away like she had always done. There's just no way that she would chicken out on this, not when it involved the boy whom she had feelings for.
Because after experiencing the feeling of sleeping with Kiyotaka last night, Airi felt that she didn't have anything to lose from asking him if they could do it again.
"While I was sleeping beside you, I just felt peaceful, like I had nothing to worry about. While I was there, lying beside you, being close to you, it was one of the best experiences of my life. Even though Amasawa-san was with us, it still felt like we were alone and nothing else mattered."
Kiyotaka stared at her for a while as he thought about her words deeply. The first answer that crossed his mind was definitely a 'no', but he already knew what that could potentially result in. He also got a reminder of what could happen if he tried fighting back against what the system wants.
Once again, his hands were tied in this situation and he had no choice but to give in. It was almost funny and pathetic to look at, the revered 'Masterpiece' of the White Room being a 'slave' to something otherworldly. He would be considered an actual slave if he wasn't enjoying the benefits of his 'misfortune' though, like getting to kiss a handful of beautiful girls and making them fall for him.
The young man was already groaning internally at the thought of his body giving in to adolescent urges once again, which will no doubt spell trouble for him when the morning comes. In that case, he'll just have to wake up earlier than both Ichika and Airi, so he can take care of any problems down there immediately.
No way he's going to let himself be subjected to that kind of embarrassment again.
With his mind made up, Kiyotaka took a deep breath and leaned "I'm only going to ask you this once. My decision will depend on your answer, but I want you to think about what it is you want to do and if you believe that it's the right decision. Understand?"
He felt thankful that she didn't answer right away. That showed she was putting some thought into the whole thing at least, and Airi wasn't rushing into this blindly.
"Y-Yes!" she nodded eagerly.
Kiyotaka wasn't surprised at her answer but again, she thought about it at least. "Do you want to spend the night here again?"
"...I do."
"Then come on inside. Ichika's going to be happy seeing you again, just to let you know," he commented. Yeah, that little devil somehow grew attached to Airi after a sleepover, which actually got the younger girl to hope that it would happen again sometime soon.
Of course, the redhead didn't know this and thus, she was surprised at what she heard.
"Really…? Why is that?" Airi tilted her head curiously as Kiyotaka opened the door
"I have no exact idea, but I have a feeling that it's because you got—"
[A Special Event Has Been Triggered!]
"What?" was the young man's immediate reaction to the sudden notification that popped up in front of his face, which cut him off from whatever he was about to say.
"I got what?"
The girl wouldn't be able to get the answer she wanted from him when the two teens heard a new voice entering the fray, and it came from someone familiar.
"So this is what you were planning to do after class, Airi-chan…"
The redhead slowly turned around to see four of her classmates standing before her, all with varying expressions on their faces. One was conflicted, one was displeased, the other was hard to read, and the last one was not amused.
"Kei-chan?" Airi blinked in surprise upon seeing her best friend, along with three other girls from their class, who were all in their pajamas. "Horikita-san, Kushida-san, and Matsushita-san too…"
"Good evening, Sakura-san. Would you mind explaining to us why you are in front of Ayanokouji-kun's dorm with a pillow?" asked Suzune, her eyes narrowing at the sight of the pillow that the redhead was holding in her arms.
Snapping out of his temporary trance, Kiyotaka quickly moved to defuse a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. Darn it, he should have let her inside his dorm sooner!
"It's nothing big, she was just—"
Suzune sent him a cold stare. "I believe I was asking Sakura-san and not you, Ayanokouji-kun."
And just like that, Kiyotaka lost the drive to say anything else.
"Well… I think this may just be the end for me," he sighed while resisting the urge to palm his face at how this turned out. "Why are they gathered together, though? Were they following Airi around or was it just a coincidence that they saw her outside my dorm and now they're all here to get some answers?"
"Sakura-san, we're waiting for your answer."
"It's a simple question, Sakura-san. And we just want a simple answer from you."
The girl in question couldn't say anything for a while, mainly out of shock that several of her classmates had caught her red-handed. Her face was bright red, almost the same color as her hair. She had been so focused on Kiyotaka that she didn't pay attention to her surroundings, and now she paid for that mistake.
However, much like earlier, Sakura Airi didn't run away from the attention anymore.
"Okay. I don't have anything to hide, anyway," Airi shrugged and took a deep breath to steel herself for what she's about to say. She was very certain that the reactions from her classmates won't be pretty, but things might turn out worse if she doesn't say anything at all. "I asked Kiyotaka-kun if I could sleep in his dorm tonight."
The expressions on all four girls' faces morphed into one that showed surprise, because none of them could have expected an answer like that. Slowly, their surprise turned into astonishment, before turning into stupefaction. It's almost as if their brains had shut down for a good while before finally regaining the ability to speak again.
"What?" asked Chiaki, being the first one to find her voice out of all of them.
"I asked Kiyotaka-kun if I could sleep in his room tonight."
Kei's jaw dropped. She thought her friend was just bluffing when she said that, but the fact that she repeated it meant that it was true. It's pretty hard to believe and she honestly had her doubts, but saying it was still a questionable thing to be discussed. She felt disappointed in Airi for this, truly.
"Wha- Airi-chan, are you even hearing yourself? This isn't a dream, you know?"
"I know what I'm asking, Kei-chan. But it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I already slept here last night, anyway."
"W-What?!" Kei's eyes widened, completely stunned at the bomb that her friend just dropped on them. No, forget a bomb. This was a nuke entirely. "You… You slept in Kiyotaka's room last night?!"
"You're lying," Chiaki muttered, her eyebrows now furrowing in suspicion. Yeah, there's no way this girl was telling the truth. She has to be lying, because there's no way Kiyotaka would even agree to that happening.
"I-If that was supposed to be a joke, then that's not a very good joke, Sakura-san…" Kikyo added, not believing the claim either, but just the thought of it made her want to puke. It better not be true or so help her, someone's gonna be buried six feet underground tonight…
Suzune was completely silent, but the gobsmacked look on her face was enough to show how she felt. Her eyes were directed towards Airi at first, before shifting to Kiyotaka, then back to the girl again. It's as though she's trying to weigh the possibilities of that scenario happening in her mind.
Airi slowly shrugged. "If you don't believe me, then maybe you'll believe Kiyotaka-kun."
All pairs of eyes turned towards Kiyotaka, who felt the urge to groan now that the spotlight was on him once again. Even when he's not in the classroom anymore, he's still the one getting attention from the people around him..
Damn it, what the hell was he supposed to say now?!
Should he just come out with the truth?! Or should he think of something that won't confirm nor deny what Sakura said?! Both options had their advantages and disadvantages, with the latter being the most suitable one if he wanted to create the least amount of trouble. At the same time, it could also lead to something bad because there's a chance that Airi might not go along with the lie.
"Ayanokouji-kun, it would be better if you answer the question," Suzune pressed on, wanting an answer from the young man as soon as possible.
"...Airi's telling the truth," Kiyotaka relented after a while, choosing to get the truth out into the open sooner than later.
Another wave of shock washed over the four girls who were with them, their eyes growing wider than ever as a result. All of them had their doubts regarding Airi and the ridiculous claim she made, though there wasn't any indication that the girl was lying.
Although, with Kiyotaka's confirmation, they weren't able to deny anything anymore and now they were having a hard time understanding things.
"This is absurd…" Suzune whispered, finding the whole thing hard to believe even though Airi's claim had been proven by Kiyotaka himself..
"I must be having a nightmare or something…" Chiaki held her head in her hands as she tried to process this information.
"If I move quick enough, no one can stop me from snapping her neck," Kikyo thought dangerously, her fingers itching to wrap around a certain someone's neck to put them out of their misery. However, her expression on the outside conveyed shock instead, so her innermost thoughts were safe from being found out.
Airi simply stood there and observed their reactions, finding them to be tamer than what she had thought. She knew that Kei, Chiaki, and Kikyo were very vocal and open about their affections for Kiyotaka, so she naturally thought that it meant they were possessive of him too.
The girl thought that she'd start fearing for her life after saying these things, but it seems like she had nothing to worry about yet.
"But… it doesn't make sense… why would you do that?" Kei muttered slowly, raising her head to look up at her friend, looking even more conflicted than ever.
"Why would I do what?"
"What you did! Why would you sleep here?! Your dorm room didn't burn down or anything, did it?"
"Because I wanted to and because I love Kiyotaka-kun," Airi admitted with no hesitation, causing the blonde gyaru to widen her eyes. "I'm sorry, Kei-chan. You're my friend and I know you feel the same as me for Kiyotaka-kun, but I want to be happy too. Just like you, Kushida-san, and Matsushita-san, I want Kiyotaka-kun to be my boyfriend."
"And sleeping with him in his dorm is your way of going about it?" asked Chiaki, recovering from her shock to point out the absurdity behind Airi's actions.
The redhead blushed slightly. "W-Well… you all normally get his attention whenever we're at school. I didn't think it would be a good move if I tried anything while we're there. So I thought of doing something when nobody else is around, and where it'll just be the two of us."
Chiaki was taken aback at how much her reasoning made sense, while a certain someone was a hair's width away from banging her head against the wall over and over for failing to think of something like this a lot sooner.
"Graaa! I'm such an idiot! I can't believe I never thought of that!" Kikyo shouted in her thoughts, while hiding her frustrations behind her innocent mask.
Kei stared at her with a mixture of shock and confusion in her features. Airi's words about her feelings for Kiyotaka was something that got through to her, and it was enough for her to realize that her friend wasn't kidding about her feelings at all.
In all honesty, Kei always had an underlying instinct that Airi harbored the same kind of feelings that she had for Kiyotaka.
It wasn't exactly a hard thing to miss. For one, there's only two people that Airi normally interacted with inside and outside of the classroom before today, being Kiyotaka and herself. She also saw how grateful Airi was towards him for helping her in her studies, which led to her passing their midterm exams. The look of pure joy on her friend's face isn't something that can be replicated anytime soon.
And yet, despite those signs, Kei never thought that it would escalate to this point. Maybe she just chose to ignore that feeling this whole time in favor of her friendship with the girl… or she actually didn't think that Airi would ever be capable of acting on her feelings.
"So Sakura-san… slept here with you?" Suzune asked after getting over her surprise, shifting her gaze towards Kiyotaka this time. She wanted to be absolutely sure that this is what took place and that there's no misunderstanding between them.
But Kiyotaka didn't say anything. He only shrugged, which gave her the answer she seeked nonetheless.
She glared at him. "And you actually gave her what she wanted, Ayanokouji-kun?"
"I didn't want to be rude and turn her down…" Kiyotaka defended his choice.
"You still should have refused, Ayanokouji-kun! Do you realize what you've done? Our class just made it through a difficult case where we might have lost had it not been for Sakura-san and Matsushita-san."
"Suzune, we were both aware of what was happening last night. I don't think Airi would even ask me if she can sleep at my dorm without knowing the implications."
"That does not mean it's allowed!" she persisted, deepening her glare. "What if the security camera on this floor caught Sakura-san walking into your room? You and Sakura-san could be expelled if there's already footage of you both."
Kiyotaka tilted his head, before turning around to face the camera at the end of the hallway, which was quite the distance. "I don't know if you're aware of it, but the security camera that's supposed to keep track of what's happening around here doesn't work."
"Yeah, I've seen that camera. But I don't think that thing works," Chiaki added. Back when she found out that Kiyotaka lived on the same floor as her, she tried to see if the security camera here was getting footage of it, only for her to realize that it wasn't functioning properly. "I don't think I've seen anything on it that shows it's working."
"So it is. It doesn't make your actions from the previous night acceptable, Ayanokouji-kun. You should have turned her down because it's wrong," Suzune continued on, keeping her glare directed towards him.
"She went back to pointing out my mistake and emphasizing on it after realizing that she had nothing to support her claim," he sweat-dropped.
"And you, Sakura-san," Suzune redirected her glare towards Airi, who took a step back out of fear. "You may have been instrumental in our victory over Class C, but that doesn't mean you can get away with doing something like this. I can't say that I understand your intentions nor your thoughts, but you made a mistake that cannot be overlooked. It's naturally prohibited for male and female students to sleep in each other's rooms, something that I'm sure you know already."
"You could have at least gone easier on Airi-chan, Horikita-san," Kei spoke out of concern for her friend. For some reason, the raven-haired girl looked angrier than the rest of them and it seems like she was taking it out on both Kiyotaka and Airi.
"Horikita-san just needed to make a point, and I kind of agree with her," Kikyo added in support of her friend.
Suzune pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed deeply. The stress brought by this whole situation was starting to get to her, and she wanted to get some rest to get rid of it. "At any rate, we're not going to let this happen again. Go back to your dorm, Sakura-san."
"I won't."
"I'm sorry?"
"I won't go back to my dorm," Airi shook her head and frowned.
Suzune glared harder at the red-haired girl, which was already spelling trouble in all capital letters for Airi. Both Chiaki and Kei had a bad feeling about what could happen next, and they began to wonder what to do. Should they move to try and calm Suzune's nerves? Or should they try and talk some sense into Airi before it's too late?
Surprisingly, Kikyo didn't try to stop the growing conflict. Instead, she stood beside Suzune in support of her friend. "You heard what Horikita-san said, didn't you? It's not right for a boy and a girl to sleep together in the same bed, unless they're married."
"Is that supposed to mean something, Kushida-san?" Airi fired back, showing no fear despite facing the two of them.
"Calm down, all of you. You're making a scene here," Kiyotaka tried to break things up by pulling Airi away from them, which Kei and Chiaki took advantage of right away. "Not right for a boy and a girl to sleep in the same bed unless they're married? Man, that girl's gonna have fun with that."
"Sakura-san, I think you're being too silly. It would be safer for all of us if you go back to your dorm unit now. It's already troubling enough that you slept in someone else's dorm, please don't make it worse than it already is," Chiaki tried to convince Airi in a more calm manner, while Kei tried to quell her classmate's growing anger.
Airi shook her head stubbornly.
Suzune clenched her fists slowly. "Don't make us resort to excessive force, Sakura-san."
Before things could completely turn south, a new voice cut through their ongoing conversation like it was butter, as the four newcomers heard a voice that neither of them were keen on hearing, mainly because they didn't like who owned it.
"Sheesh, I think you should chill out, Horikita-senpai. If you keep up with this attitude, you might never be able to score a boyfriend! Same goes for you, Kushida-senpai."
Amasawa Ichika walked out of the dorm room with her arms folded under her chest, grinning wildly at the scene that was playing out before her.
Suzune, Kei, Chiaki, and Kikyo all widened their eyes upon seeing her at this time of night, especially when they noticed that she was in Kiyotaka's dorm the whole time. The younger girl only came outside now, but she likely heard everything that was going on out here.
"What the hell…?! What are you doing here?" Kikyo spoke in a tone that was completely unlike her usual cute voice and more in tune with her actual one. For that moment, she didn't care even if her classmates found out about her mask and her real nature but fortunately for her, everyone's attention was on Ichika instead.
Ichika shrugged. "Well, I'm here to help Sakura-senpai out, Kushida-senpai. I think you're all being unfair to her, especially you, Horikita-senpai. If Sakura-senpai wants to spend the night here with senpai, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't let her. It's not like they'll be doing anything naughty, right, Sakura-senpai?"
"N-No, I wasn't planning anything like that," Airi shook her head with her cheeks growing red out of embarrassment. Now that Ichika had brought it up however, her mind started going places and she did nothing to stop her own train of thought…
"It's still wrong for them to sleep together, because boys and girls aren't supposed to do that. That's what dorm rooms are for!" Kei exclaimed, before having a moment of realization. "Hang on, why am I even answering your questions? Why the hell are you here? And why were you inside Kiyotaka's room?"
Ichika didn't answer right away. She turned her head towards Kiyotaka first, who quickly realized that she was wordlessly asking for permission if it's fine to tell them the truth. Her answer depended solely on what he would allow her to do
The young man thought about what he should do regarding this girl, because now she just made things worse with her appearance. Should he let her inform some of his other classmates/heroines that she's actually living with him? There's no doubt that they'll freak out upon learning it, similar to how Airi reacted last night or perhaps even worse.
On the other hand, he could have Ichika hide the truth from them and she'd come up with a reasonable lie that can convince them of whatever narrative she thinks of. There's no chance that all of them can be fully convinced with words, but it would definitely create tamer reactions from the girls when the younger girl tells them about it.
He eventually gave her a slow nod that signified his answer. In the end, Kiyotaka felt that it would be better to get this over with now, than create a bigger mess in the future when more of his heroines learn that Ichika lived with him. Hopefully, their reactions won't be as extreme as he thought…
Smiling at the response she got from her beloved senpai, Ichika turned back to the other girls and flashed them a wicked look. "Of course I'd be here. This is where I live, after all~"
The reaction from the four Class D girls was instantaneous, and they bore almost the same expression on each of their faces.
"WHAT?!" all four of them shouted at the same time that it's only a miracle that no one came out of their dorm rooms to investigate the noise.
Kiyotaka heaved a deep sigh. That… could have been worse, honestly. So far, telling them the truth seems to be the right thing to do all along, provided that the girls won't do anything that might get anyone's attention.
"There's no way… you have to be lying," Chiaki shook her head, refusing to believe that this bratty kouhai lived in the same dorm room as Kiyotaka.
"Why would I lie about something like this, Shameless-senpai?" Ichika giggled. "Kiyotaka-senpai is right here with us, but he's not refuting my words, is he?"
"Is she telling the truth, Kiyotaka-kun?" Kikyo spoke with a strained smile on her face, something that was getting increasingly harder to maintain the more she listened to the magenta-haired devil. "I'm going to strangle that little brat…"
Kiyotaka stared at them for a brief moment, before sighing deeply. "I promise that I'll explain, but can you at least keep all of your voices down? I'd rather not have everyone else living on this floor coming out of their rooms because you were all too noisy."
Hearing that, the girls' faces turned red from realizing their mistake. They looked around them to see if someone heard them shouting but thankfully, no one was peeking out of their rooms or anything.
Suzune turned back to the young man afterwards, a frown visible on her face despite her reddening cheeks. "Now, explain."
"I'll just tell you what I already told Airi last night since she already knows," he began, causing the other girls to look at the redhead in surprise. "She was left under my care, even though I didn't want to. Nothing more, nothing less."
Kei shook her head, unsatisfied with that kind of answer. "No, that's not enough. We need to know more, Kiyotaka."
"I don't know what else can Kiyotaka-senpai tell all of you. Even I was confused when I was told that I have to live here with him, but I quickly enjoyed everything about this place, teehee~"
"But who left you under Ayanokouji-kun's care in the first place? I find it curious how he was given no choice in this matter," Suzune pointed out. "It couldn't be someone from outside of the campus, when the school doesn't allow such a thing, so it has to be a person within the premises."
"You actually figured it out. You're right, Suzune. The one who left her with me is someone from within the school premises. However, I'm in no place to reveal who that person is because they wish to remain anonymous."
Of course, that wasn't the full truth. His father, the person who left Amasawa here, is nowhere within the campus premises. However, the person who arranged for her to live with him was, though it would definitely be a bad move if he mentioned the chairman's involvement to any of them.
Once again, painting a lie with a little bit of the truth is the right way to go.
The raven-haired girl narrowed her eyes. From that answer alone, she had a feeling that there's more to this issue than what Kiyotaka is letting on.
For now though, she'd play along and accept it. There are simply too many factors to consider when it comes to this particular kouhai that she can't drop the issue entirely.
Meanwhile, Kikyo's eyes widened as she realized something crucial that took place a few days ago; while she and Suzune were searching for potential witnesses in Akito's case, she introduced a GPS-like app on their phone that can track students down by entering their contact number or their student IDs.
She had planned to use that particular app to keep an eye on Amasawa and her whereabouts whenever possible, but felt disappointed when it couldn't track non-students and other school alumni.
"If only that app worked on people who aren't students, then we could have found out that she lived here a lot sooner!"
"Now that your questions have been answered, can I ask one to all of you?" Ichika smiled in amusement. "What's so bad about Sakura-senpai wanting to sleep with us? Her intentions don't even involve any of you, does it?"
"Because it's wrong, it's as simple as that. Boys and girls aren't supposed to sleep with each other in one room," Suzune stated firmly.
"That's true, but don't you think that excuse is useless now? I'm a girl, but I'm living with Kiyotaka-senpai. We actually sleep on the same bed every night~" Ichika grinned before she sighed dreamily. "Earlier, Kushida-senpai said that a boy and a girl can only sleep in the same bed when they're married. That must mean I'm married to Kiyotaka-senpai~!"
That last remark elicited a look of annoyance from Kikyo of all people, while Chiaki and Kei openly glared at her.
"...you are a strange case. Sakura-san has her own dorm room," Suzune explained the obvious difference between her and their classmate, as she felt her patience with this becoming even thinner than before.
"If Sakura-senpai wants to sleep here with Kiyotaka-senpai, there's nothing wrong with it. She can do what she wants."
"She could be caught going inside Ayanokouji-kun's room and get in trouble for it in the process! There's a reason why we are all given our dorm rooms, and it's for us to live in them."
"Okay, but like what Kiyotaka-senpai said, the security camera on this floor doesn't work. Nobody would see Sakura-senpai going inside Kiyotaka-senpai's dorm, unless they came out into the hallway at the same time, which, the chances for that happening are almost zero."
"I'm just going to sleep. I trust Ichika to be able to deal with this."
Kiyotaka rolled his eyes and made a tactical retreat into his room, where he prepared the futon that he slept on yesterday with his two heroines. If Airi's going to sleep here, then he may as well prepare the mattress that they'll be using later.
With the direction that their conversation was heading towards, Kiyotaka was pretty sure that he had nothing else to contribute to it, especially when his other heroines had their collective attention directed solely towards their magenta-haired kouhai.
"Who knew that letting Airi sleep with me would lead to something like this happening…" he sat down and leaned against the bed behind him, allowing himself this moment of peace despite everything that was happening outside.
Meanwhile, Amasawa smiled to herself. She was having a lot of fun pushing her senpais' buttons, but it's mainly because they went here with the intention of ruining a sleepover.
A perfectly normal sleepover, and Amsawa didn't know why. She was completely sure that the reason isn't even because they want to stop Sakura from doing something wrong.
"Are you sure that those are your reasons why you're keeping Sakura-senpai from doing what she wants~?"
"What are you saying now, Amasawa-san?"
"I don't know about you, Horikita-senpai, but it's pretty obvious that Karuizawa-senpai, Kushida-senpai, and Matsushita-senpai… they're all just jealous that Sakura-senpai did something bold with Kiyotaka-senpai a lot sooner than them."
"W-Who are you calling jealous…?!" Kei sputtered, looking horrified at that accusation.
"If you're really not jealous, then you should be, Karuizawa-senpai. Do you want to know why?" the magenta-haired girl chuckled for a few moments, before gesturing towards the other person who was with them. "Because Sakura-senpai is way ahead of you in the little race that you have. And it's all because of what she did last night! Come on, tell them, Sakura-senpai."
Ichika took a step closer towards Airi and began nudging her as a way of encouragement, while the redhead looked a bit nervous about what she'll be revealing.
"Well… it's nothing big. I just feel uncomfortable going to sleep wearing too much clothes. So I just wear my underwear when I'm going to bed…"
As Airi recounted last night's events in her head, feeling both embarrassed and happy at the same time, her classmates' jaws all but hit the floor. As if things couldn't possibly be bad enough, Airi dropped this revelation on them like it was a bomb.
"A-A-Are you telling me that… y-you slept with Kiyotaka-kun while only in your underwear…?" Chiaki stuttered.
"That's exactly what she did, Shameless-senpai~ I did it too, because I didn't want Sakura-senpai to do it on her lonesome," Ichika pressed a finger to her lips, as if to tell them that they should stay quiet. "And we'll be doing it again tonight~"
Kikyo was about to step forward with her hands reaching out in front of her, fully prepared to wrap them around Ichika's neck tightly and strangle her, only for Kei to step in front of her, completely unaware of the fact that she prevented a murder from taking place.
"How is that nothing big?!" Kei spoke in a dumbfounded tone after snapping out of her shock. "This is exactly one of the reasons why we're trying to stop Airi-chan from doing what she wants! To think that you would do something like that, Airi-chan…"
The blonde gyaru shook her head in disappointment at her friend, who just shrugged in response.
"It's a habit that I got used to."
Ichika laughed at the blonde's reaction. "It's not like you can do anything about it, Karuizawa-senpai."
That was when Suzune snapped out of her trance as well and stared coldly at the younger girl again. There's no way that she would let this farce go on any longer.
"I don't think so. Ayanokouji-kun, help us talk sense into Sakura-san, will you? If she's not going to listen to her friend, perhaps she is more willing to— where is he?"
The girl blinked in surprise when Kiyotaka was nowhere to be found, when he was just standing by the door a while ago.
"Oh, it looks like he has fallen asleep! I think we were boring Kiyotaka-senpai with all the pointless talk we were having here, hehe~" Ichika chuckled as she looked inside the dorm unit, where she saw the brown-haired teen seemingly asleep while he was still slumped against his bed.
"Very well. It falls on us to stop this from going any further," Suzune shook her head in exasperation, realizing that she would have to deal with this situation on her own. "Go back to your room, Sakura-san."
Before Airi could refuse once again, Ichika stepped forward and positioned herself between her two seniors.
"And who gave you permission to dictate what should be done within Kiyotaka-senpai's dorm, Horikita-senpai?" Ichika asked in a sweet tone.
"As his friend and classmate who is concerned for what could happen if this actually happened, I believe that it would be best for everyone's sake if Sakura-san goes back to her own dorm, so we can all do the same and have a peaceful sleep afterwards."
"Oh dear, oh dear, you must have a high opinion of yourself, Horikita-senpai~" the younger girl covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. "But I'm afraid I can't let you do that to Sakura-senpai, when all she wants is to sleep with Kiyotaka-senpai."
Suzune folded her arms and puffed out her chest. "You have no authority over me, Amasawa-san. You're not even a student here."
"Well, that's true…" Ichika sighed for a moment, before flashing that annoying smirk of hers once again. "But I'm Senpai's roommate. I live with him in his dorm, and I believe that allows me the power to decide what happens here in his dorm, especially now when he's asleep."
"But that doesn't—"
"Realistically speaking, how will you even stop Sakura-senpai from doing what she wants? Unless you plan on using excessive force like what you were saying earlier, I don't think there's anything you can do at all, Horikita-senpai. Would you do it, though? Would you take Sakura-senpai away from here even if it means dragging her with you~?"
Suzune gritted her teeth in frustration and annoyance, both in herself for being unable to answer that question and towards Ichika who was enjoying every second of this.
"Sakura-senpai can spend the night here with us if she wants to. She can make her own decisions for herself, after all. Buuuuut, I can already tell what her answer's gonna be~"
Ichika smiled in amusement as she turned towards her red-haired senpai, who bowed her head out of gratitude.
"Thank you, Amasawa-san."
Kei stared at her friend with a conflicted expression; she didn't like that Airi slept here and wanted to do it again but at the same time, she knew that there's nothing she could do about it without looking like a horrible friend.
"Airi-chan, are you serious about this?"
"Kei-chan, you may be my friend, but I'm not going to stop just because you told me to. I want to sleep with Kiyotaka-kun," she spoke in the most sincere tone she could muster. "You might not be able to understand what I mean, but sleeping with him beside me was one of the best experiences of my life. If possible, I want to feel it again… and this is my chance."
"So that's how it's going to be, huh? In that case…" Kei lowered her head for a moment, her hair shadowing all over her face, before looking up again. A look of determination had taken over her features before she spoke up again. "I'm sleeping here too!"
"...huh?" Airi breathed out, confusion evident on her face.
Chiaki, Kikyo, and Suzune were speechless upon hearing the blonde's words. On the other hand, Ichika just smirked, looking pleased with this turn of events.
"You better not close this door, Amasawa-san! I'll just get a pillow from my room and freshen up a bit!"
With those words, Karuizawa turned around and made a beeline straight for her dorm unit to prepare for what she decided to do. Her actions rendered everyone else unresponsive for a while, until Chiaki cleared her throat.
"Well, now that Karuizawa-san has made her intentions clear, count me in too. I'm definitely not going to be left out of this. I'll be right back after getting a pillow."
And with that, Chiaki was the next one to leave in order to prepare for what she had in mind.
"Grrrrr, I'll show all of you! Anything that the four of you can do, I can do better!" Kikyo clenched her fists out of anger and determination, before glaring hatefully at that smug kouhai who thinks she can do anything she wants simply because she lived with Kiyotaka. "And that little brat too… I'll put her in her place soon enough…"
Kikyo began to chuckle in embarrassment, getting Suzune's attention and snapping her out of her stupor.
"Well, if everyone else is going to do this, then it would only be fair if I do the same! I'll go get a pillow for myself. I think I might enjoy this like Sakura-san!"
The raven-haired girl didn't even get to say anything to her friend as Kikyo rushed back to her dorm unit without another word, preparing herself for this impromptu sleepover that came almost completely out of nowhere.
"What about you, Horikita-senpai?" Ichika shifted her attention to Suzune, "Even though you're a bit stingy, I don't mind you joining us. And I'm sure senpai himself won't mind, either~"
"Fine. I shall indulge in this absurd arrangement for tonight," Suzune sighed in exasperation, before sending the younger girl another icy glare. She glared at Airi as well, who shuddered at the expression she received from her. "But I'm only doing this to keep an eye on you and Sakura-san. This is for Ayanokouji-kun's sake."
"Sure, sure, whatever you say…" Ichika laughed, knowing that her raven-haired senior was making up excuses at this point while being unaffected by the clear attempt at intimidation.
And with that, the four girls had gone back to their respective dorm rooms, not because they're going to turn in for the night, but to prepare themselves. For all of them, this was the first time that they'd be spending the night in a place that's completely new territory for them, especially for Suzune and Chiaki. Both girls had lived sheltered lives because of their respective families that neither of them experienced a sleepover before, nor did they have knowledge of what it's like.
In no time at all, the four Class D girls returned in front of Unit 401, each of them holding a pillow that they'll be using. They stood in front of the door, but none of them made a move to open it yet. All of them felt quite nervous about this whole thing, and there were varying reactions from each of them.
Suzune was completely frozen in her place, Kei was torn between continuing with her plan and backing out entirely, Kikyo was blushing like crazy to the point that steam was rising from her head, and Chiaki was taking repeated deep breaths to keep herself from freaking out.
"I can't believe I'm doing this…" Suzune hugged her pillow tightly as a deep blush took over her cheeks.
"Horikita-san, you don't have to do this, you know? No one's forcing you," Kei offered her classmate some advice, which was something that she should follow herself. "If anything, we were just goaded into doing this by that annoying devil."
Suzune definitely agreed with her on that one. "How come you're fine with this then, Karuizawa-san? Judging from your expression and body language, you look like you're about to head back to your room and forget about this entirely."
"Well…"
"I don't know what Karuizawa-san's reason is for doing this, but I'm definitely jealous that Sakura-san got to sleep with him. Who knew that she's actually capable of pulling that off? Did we think that she's too much of a timid girl to make a bold move like this?" Chiaki remarked.
"You're admitting to what Amasawa-san said about you?" asked Suzune, raising an eyebrow curiously.
The brown-haired girl nodded, admitting to her feelings of jealousy. "I'd look worse if I tried to deny it, especially since the accusation came from someone younger than me, so yes. "
Suzune deadpanned. "We were supposed to stop Sakura-san from doing this, and now you're doing the same, Matsushita-san."
"Well yeah, that's true, but I don't think you're in any place to say anything, Horikita-san. You could have returned to your dorm but here you are, about to do the same as us. And to be honest, I'm curious about what it's like to sleep in someone's room."
For a moment, Horikita thought about making a retort that she's only doing this to keep an eye on Amasawa and out of concern for Ayanokouji, but thought twice about it. It would likely lead to another argument that will ultimately go nowhere once again. The earlier argument she had with both Sakura and Amasawa had taken a toll on her mentally and now she just wanted to get some rest.
"What about you, Kushida-san? Was it true that you were jealous as well? Or were you simply tricked into doing this too?" Suzune turned to her beige-haired friend, wanting to get her input on the matter as well.
"Ehehe… I suppose I was a little jealous," Kikyo chuckled nervously, while also admitting what she truly felt about the whole issue earlier. "And I'm a bit curious too. Sakura-san spoke as if she had a really great time sleeping with Kiyotaka-kun. I've never experienced what it's like to have a sleepover or even sleep with someone else other than my parents, so I'm actually looking forward to this!"
"I'd definitely enjoy this more if that little devil wasn't annoying for once," Kei huffed.
While the three other girls were locked in a little discussion with each other, Suzune was distracted by her own thoughts, with regards to what Chiaki and Kikyo admitted out in the open. It made her think about her own reasons for going along with this ridiculous arrangement and if they even had any merit in the first place.
"I said that I would do this out of concern for Ayanokouji-kun… but now that I'm here, I suddenly feel nervous about doing this. Still, I think that there's a tiny part of me that wants to do this, which is keeping me where I am instead of leading me back to my dorm."
Suzune had no way of explaining it precisely, but those were her exact feelings at the moment. As someone who was sheltered by her family and had no knowledge about social arrangements like this, the girl was deeply embarrassed about sleeping with someone else.
As far as she was concerned, based on how she was raised, Suzune believed that two people sleeping together in the same bed only happens when the pair are married, and not before.
Hearing Amasawa use her own point against her earlier made her feel annoyed that she wanted to yell at the girl outright. Luckily, she was able to keep herself composed the whole time, no matter how tempted she felt at giving in to her anger.
"Was I… also jealous?"
With wide eyes, Suzune thought about that possible conclusion for a few moments, before shaking her head to be rid of those thoughts for now. They had more pressing matters to deal with, such as entering Kiyotaka's room in the first place.
"Let's go inside."
Her voice was enough to get her classmates' attention, as they also stopped in their ongoing conversation to focus on what they came here for. With that, the girl knocked on the door a few times to announce their presence, before opening it.
"We're here," Kei announced to the people inside as they walked into the dorm unit, one by one.
The four girls didn't go anywhere else right away (not that there's much to explore when the room layout was the same as their rooms). They stayed by the door at first to remove their footwear and gather them together in one spot, which made them unaware of what was happening right before them.
"Ah, senpais! You finally arrived. We were waiting for all of you," Ichika laughed as she took off her pajama top and pants, leaving her in black lace underwear.
"Ah, Amasawa-san… Kiyotaka-kun is already asleep," Airi reminded her using a more quiet tone while she lifted her shirt off her head.
The younger girl immediately realized her mistake and covered her mouth, before she shifted to using a softer tone of voice as well. "Oops. My bad, then~"
"Now that we're here, how are we gonna— wait, why did you two take off your clothes?" Kei asked as her pupils shrunk in disbelief. She almost fell on her butt too, if it wasn't for the door being right behind her which prevented her from having an incident.
Karuizawa Kei was simply unable to comprehend the sight of her friend and kouhai taking off their clothes and to make it worse, Kiyotaka was next to them. That being said, it seemed like he was already asleep, even though he was sitting up and leaning against the bed that's behind him.
Hearing those words from Kei's mouth just now caused the three other girls to turn towards the two, and they soon found themselves sharing the same dumbfounded expression on Kei's face.
"I already said that I don't feel comfortable wearing a lot of clothes before sleeping, remember?" Airi pointed out like it was the most obvious answer in the world, discarding her shorts before she began folding them neatly along with her shirt.
"I didn't want Sakura-senpai to be the only one who's only wearing underwear, so I joined her!" Ichika stuck her tongue out while striking a cute pose, showing no regard for her half-naked state.
Chiaki blinked a few times in surprise. She honestly doubted Airi's words about only sleeping in her underwear earlier, so now it came as a complete shock to her that the redhead was actually telling the truth.
Seriously, who could have thought that the girl who was a stutter machine back then is actually capable of doing this?
"You were actually serious, Sakura-san?" Chiaki tried to ask for some confirmation from the girl herself.
Airi nodded as she stood before them wearing only a blue bra and panties. "Yes, I was. Did you think I was joking?"
"No, no, I just… found it hard to believe until now."
Ichika chuckled quietly. "My, oh my, I think you should stop underestimating what Sakura-senpai can do, everyone."
"Y-You're not embarrassed about doing this at all, Airi-chan?" Kei spoke up out of concern. What if her friend was just doing this for the sake of proving her own feelings? What if she's actually uncomfortable with doing this?
"Maybe last night, but it quickly went away. Like I said, sleeping with Kiyotaka-kun beside me was one of the best experiences of my life. I guess I forgot that I was supposed to feel embarrassed from being half-naked," the redhead shrugged, which managed to calm her friend's nerves at least.
"You're not gonna get one over me again, you cow-tits!" Kikyo observed what was in front of her with a murderous look as her mind came to a decision.
Her face was already deep red in hue just from the thought of what she wanted to do, but she didn't care. All that mattered to Kikyo right now was proving that she can do whatever everyone else was capable of, perhaps better, even if it meant being half-naked too!
It's long been clear to her that Horikita isn't her only adversary when it comes to Kiyotaka's affections, but Kikyo only realized now that she would have to put even more effort in her actions to make him look her way.
"This is unfair for you two! I'll do the same so that you won't be alone!" Kikyo whispered as she shook her head in a dramatic manner. She then began to strip, discarding her top before it was followed by her pajama pants, leaving her in her black lace underwear.
"Wha— K-Kushida-san?!" Suzune cried out in shock, unable to believe that her friend would do the same as them. Has Kikyo gone crazy or something?
"Hoho, you're not embarrassed to be wearing only your underwear, Kushida-senpai?"
"A-A little, but I don't really mind! Besides, it's not like Kiyotaka-kun is planning to act like a pervert when he's already asleep," she smiled shakily while blushing, though her innermost thoughts went a little something like this: "I wouldn't mind him staring, honestly. It would prove that he likes me the most, hehe!"
While Kushida made peace with her decision to follow Amasawa and Sakura's example, a certain girl with long brown hair felt the strong urge to do the same because of what it would mean for her.
"I can't lose to either Sakura-san or Kushida-san… Kiyotaka-kun's asleep, anyway. That might help me get over how embarrassing this is," Chiaki thought to herself whilst taking a deep breath. If Kiyotaka was awake, then that would be a completely different story. "I guess I can do the same. Might actually be more fun that way~"
Ichika smiled at the brunette. "Nice one, Shameless-senpai!"
"I have a name, Amasawa-san…" Chiaki sweat-dropped as she stripped down to her underwear which consisted of a dark blue bra and matching panties.
…seriously, that girl's been calling her by that ridiculous nickname ever since they met. Does Amasawa even know her name? Or does she genuinely think that 'Shameless' is her family name?
Seeing Kikyo and Chiaki do the same thing as Ichika and Airi was enough for Kei to feel that she was being left out, and that's something couldn't allow no matter what. Even if Kiyotaka's asleep, she can't allow her rivals to outdo her!
"Wait, I—!" she tried to speak up and declare her intention to do the same, only to remember something important about herself. She can't show any skin above the hip or to be more precise, she didn't want to, no matter what the reason was. There's something about her body that she didn't want to show to anyone… unless if it's Kiyotaka.
It was too late for Kei to back out and retract her words though, because everyone else had turned their attention towards her. If she backs out now, then the others will think that she was too embarrassed to go through this. If that happens, it'll make her look pathetic compared to the other girls, especially Airi.
"I-I guess I can do it too, but I'd like to keep my shirt on. I'm feeling cold and I don't want to have a fever," she stated with a red face, internally wishing that she could just hide herself in a hole out of embarrassment. God, why did she have to speak up, anyway…? It's a good thing that she thought of a compromise in time.
"No one is forcing you to do this, Kei-chan. Do what you want," Airi smiled warmly, completely clueless on how Kei felt right now.
That didn't make her blonde friend feel better one bit.
"You're all being ridiculous but at this point, I give up on trying to be the voice of reason. I'm going to sleep," Suzune shook her head at the absurdity of everything that's happening around her, before she walked towards the bed.
She realized that she was the only one who had their sleepwear on, and no. She's not going to take them off until she's left in only her underwear. Anyone who even thinks that she will deserves to be hanged by their feet. She's the only one who hasn't lost her mind yet, because everyone else clearly has, and Suzune wanted to keep it that way.
Seriously, what the hell is the point of being left in your underwear? Perhaps she could understand Sakura's reason to an extent, but there was absolutely no viable reason for Kushida, Matsushita, and Karuizawa to do the same! Even Amasawa's reason was ridiculous and it's because of her that this whole thing was happening.
"You say that, but where exactly are you going to sleep, Horikita-senpai? This is Kiyotaka-senpai's room, not yours~" Ichika chuckled, which made the raven-haired girl stop in her tracks.
The younger girl was right. This place isn't her dorm, so it would be inappropriate for her to sleep on the bed without permission first! But how would she be able to get his permission when he's asleep?! Should she wake him up? Have Amasawa do it because she's his roommate? Ugh, what was she supposed to do?!
While Suzune was having an internal dilemma on what to do, Kikyo quickly rushed towards Kiyotaka's left side and sat down on the futon beside him.
"Dibs on Kiyotaka-kun's left side!" the beige-haired girl almost exclaimed these words out loud and while it caused Kiyotaka to shift his position slightly, he didn't wake up entirely.
"What…?" Suzune breathed out in confusion as she watched Kikyo move close to the young man to the point that their skins were touching. She even grabbed his arm and hugged it against her marvelous assets.
"Wow, Sakura-san wasn't kidding," Kikyo thought as she snuggled closer to the young man, hugging his arm tighter against her bra-clad chest. She leaned her head against his shoulder and allowed herself this moment of peace for however long it lasts. "Being this close to Kiyotaka-kun… it feels really great. I could get used to this!"
Heh, now she's wishing for him to wake up so she could see the look on his face while she's doing this…
"Well, it looks like Kushida-senpai has made her decision~" Ichika grinned while taking a quick photo of the aforementioned girl. Hehe, surely she wouldn't mind having her photo taken, right?
Airi donned a thoughtful expression for a while. She was actually planning to take the spot that Kikyo just claimed, but the other girl had beaten her to it. Now, this left Kiyotaka's right side still completely open for her but in the end, she didn't go for it.
"I guess I can be comfortable here by his leg. I already slept beside Kiyotaka-kun, anyway," the redhead shrugged as she placed her pillow on his thigh, before lying down comfortably. This was still somewhat pleasing, but mainly because she was still close to Kiyotaka and she could even see his face from where she was.
"I'll be here on the bed," Chiaki smiled as she rushed towards the bed, moving past Suzune and almost pushing her away.
"Hey, I was planning to—" Kei wanted to proclaim that she'll be one occupying the bed, only to be left silenced at what the brown-haired girl pulled off in only a few seconds.
Instead of lying down like a normal person, Chiaki did something more unusual; with her head right next to Kiyotaka's shoulder, the girl allowed her lower body to rest against the wall, especially her legs and feet. It's a position that's normally used in practicing yoga, and yet it seems like Chiaki was planning to sleep like this.
"What were you saying, Karuizawa-san?" Chiaki smiled despite her odd position.
"Uh, are you even comfortable being in that position, Matsushita-san? Wouldn't it be better to just lie down normally?" the blonde asked out of concern for her classmate's well-being.
Chiaki laughed softly. "Oh, I'll be fine. I do yoga and stretching on a regular basis. And this way, my face will be right next to Kiyotaka-kun and I can marvel at how handsome he looks for as long as I want~"
"Figured that's what you were aiming for…" Kei sweat-dropped.
Ichika's eyes slowly widened at the unusual position that Chiaki pulled off and she immediately felt interested in trying it out for herself. "Ooooh, that looks fun, Shameless-senpai. I'll take the other side~!"
"Seriously, just call me by my name…"
With the addition of Amasawa, Horikita stared at the two girls who were now sharing the bed while at the same time, keeping themselves close to Kiyotaka in their own way. Well, that ruins her plan to ask for permission to use the bed, and now she was left with only two choices.
"I… guess I'll be occupying this spot, then…" Suzune tried to ignore the burning sensation in her cheeks, but she was failing to do so when she sat down beside him. "How do married couples deal with this after tying the knot? Do they stop feeling embarrassed right away…?"
Following Kikyo's example, she shifted closer to Kiyotaka and leaned her head against his shoulder, causing her face to turn as red as Airi's hair. To calm herself, Suzune slapped her cheeks with both hands as she took several deep breaths to recompose herself.
Even though she was still dressed in her pajamas, being this close to Kiyotaka was so embarrassing! Honestly, how could her classmates be fine with this while only wearing their underwear?! That would be a hundred times more embarrassing and now she felt even more glad that she didn't do the same thing as them.
"Hang on, I—"
That was when Kei realized she was too late to say something because Horikita had just stolen the other spot that she had in mind.
"Ugh, fine! I guess being next to his leg isn't bad…" the blonde groaned in dissatisfaction as she threw a pillow at Kiyotaka's thigh, before lying down with a big pout on her face. Thankfully, the young man still wasn't woken up by that.
"You should have been faster in making a decision, Karuizawa-senpai~" Ichika teased her.
Kei threw a harsh glare at her direction. "Shut up. I'm sick of hearing your voice."
"I was just teasing you a bit, Karuizawa-senpai."
The blonde rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Good night, Kiyotaka-kun~" Airi smiled while she was looking up at his face. Unable to help herself, she got up for a brief moment to kiss him on the cheek, which her friend had a front-row view of.
Kei redirected her stern gaze towards the redhead. "You're not the only one who can do that, Airi-chan."
The blonde rose up just like how her friend did and planted a soft kiss on his other cheek, before lying down once again. She could see Airi smiling at her even from her position, and it made Kei wonder what she had in mind.
"I'm glad that Kei-chan isn't discouraged by the fact that I have feelings for Kiyotaka-kun."
"Are you kidding, Airi-chan? If anything, this will make me work harder. I'm not giving up so easily," Kei grinned.
The two girls smiled at each other, both feeling glad that they were able to come to an understanding before the night was over. They were still friends and just because they both had feelings for the same guy, it doesn't mean that their relationship will fall apart.
"You two may be bold, but I don't think you can be on my level. I'll kiss him on the lips instead," Chiaki smirked, deciding to have a bit of fun by involving herself in their friendly rivalry.
Airi raised an eyebrow at her. "Matsushita-san, I don't think that would count as a kiss because Kiyotaka-kun is asleep. You'll be violating someone instead."
"Yeah, you want me to report you for sexual assault, Matsushita-san?" Kei joked as she and Airi shared a quick laugh.
Chiaki's eyebrow twitched. "I think you and I have different perspectives on what is considered sexual assault, Karuizawa-san. Sakura-san."
Ichika giggled and smiled at how her senpais were getting along with each other. Oh, if only her Kiyotaka-senpai was still awake to see this. He'll probably be shaking his head in exasperation, hehe.
"If you really want to violate Kiyotaka-senpai, then why don't we all strip him of his clothes right now~?" she suggested without an ounce of shame, which made the three Class D girls blush deeply.
How unhinged could this girl possibly be?
"Would you all zip it already? I would like to fall asleep, thank you very much," Suzune sighed as she tried to concentrate on falling asleep while being unaware of her own actions, which involved hugging Kiyotaka's arm against her body possessively.
"Yeah, I just want to sleep, please… I'm feeling tired from all of that…" Kikyo yawned, pushing herself even closer against the boy's body.
Their three other classmates wordlessly agreed with them, closing their eyes so that sleep could finally take over. Ichika did the same because she felt tired too, but not before smiling at all of her companions pleasantly.
"Good night, senpais~"
Although Kiyotaka was deep within the confines of sleep, a smile managed to find its way to his face, all while his heroines were unaware of it. Whether it's because of a good dream or because he could feel the presence of the girls around him, one thing was certain.
He wanted this feeling to last for as long as possible.
[Special Event 'The Best Sleepover Ever' has been cleared! You have gained a new skill for completing this Special Event!]
[King of Cuddles] (Passive Skill): Your presence is so warm and comforting that your heroines will never want to leave your side when they're asleep! Can result in very tight hugs that might give you difficulty in breathing properly.
[You gained 15 Affection Points with Horikita Suzune!]
[Relationship Status 'Partners-in-Crime' has been maxed! Relationship Status with Horikita Suzune has been upgraded to 'The Light in her Life!]
[Congratulations! You have reached the Last Level of a Heroine's Route! You will unlock a Special Event when you Max this Level!]
[You gained 10 Affection Points with Kushida Kikyo!]
[Relationship Status 'Lovey-Dovey Psycho' has been maxed! Relationship Status with Kushida Kikyo has been upgraded to 'Crazy For You'!]
[Congratulations! You have reached the Last Level of a Heroine's Route! You will unlock a Special Event when you Max this Level!]
[You gained 10 Affection Points with Matsushita Chiaki!]
[You gained 20 Affection Points with Sakura Airi!]
[You gained 15 Affection Points with Karuizawa Kei!]
[You gained 10 Affection Points with Amasawa Ichika!]
Kiyotaka would likely wake up without any knowledge of these notifications, lest he chooses to check them out himself because they disappear after a while. But that may not even happen and he'll just find out about it if he ever decides to randomly open the system's menu…
…because the first thing he'll notice in the morning after a very pleasant slumber would be his sore neck instead, followed by the sight of six beautiful girls snuggling next to him while having the best sleep they've had in a while.
[END OF VOLUME 2]
MINASAN, YONDE KURETE ARIGATŌ! AISHITEMAAAAASUUUUU! *starts playing air guitar*
-Lance
