"You asked for me, Headmaster?" Mahiru inquired as she entered his office once again. She'd been in the middle of class when he'd called for her, and while she had a feeling what it could be about, she tried to hold herself to see what he said.

"Yes, please close the door," Jin said, and she did as he said. She noticed a female teacher she didn't recognize was standing in the room with her. "Now, I assume you have an idea why you're here?"

"The program, right?" she asked hesitantly, and he nodded.

"Since the past couple weeks have been going well—better than they expected actually—they'd like me to appoint a second participant, and this time, they gave me the option to choose," he said. Mahiru's heart began to race in her chest. "So…I'll ask you again…do you wish to join the program?"

"I-I do, sir," Mahiru said with almost no hesitation. Somewhere in her rational mind, she knew she should be hesitating, agreeing to the idea of showing her entire naked body. Not only to her fellow classmates, both ones that knew her and ones who did not, but the world as a whole. It was a prospect that should've terrified anyone, which Mahiru supposed it did.

But thinking of Chiaki having to do it all by herself…as her friend, she couldn't stand it.

"You're sure?" Jin asked one last time.

"Absolutely," Mahiru said, and Jin nodded.

"I see. Then there are two options. One, you may strip down here and now, and she," He gestured to the other teacher, who was simply staring at Mahiru intently, "will escort you to your room, or you may go back to your room first, strip there, and then do as you wish."

"But my classes-"

"For accepting the second open position of Ultimate Nudist, you will not have to finish classes today if you do not wish to. Consider it a grace period to mentally prepare yourself, if you haven't already," he explained. Mahiru gulped as she considered it. It only took a little while to come up with her answer.

"I'll go back to my room for today, Sir," she said, and he nodded. He waved a hand at the female teacher, and she gave a bow before leaving. "Is that all?"

"Yes, thank you, Miss Koizumi," he said. Mahiru gave a bow as well and turned to leave. As she opened the door, he spoke again. "Ah…" She turned and found him smiling as he leaned forward.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Well, pardon me if it's intrusive, but…I appreciate you for this. And I'm sure Miss Nanami will too…perhaps not at first, but in time." Mahiru felt her cheeks flush, and she nodded, before finally leaving.

The halls were empty and quiet, for the most part. Occasionally, she'd pass by one classroom and hear the most insane noises, but that was normal for this school. She swore she even once heard what sounded like a chicken being strangled.

Nevertheless, her thoughts were a jumbled mess as she walked back to the dorms. She knew Chiaki would be furious, but it was Mahiru's job as her friend to make her feel better, even if it meant exposing herself as well to take some eyes off Chiaki. Though…given that Chiaki was far more attractive and…endowed than her, she figured it would be a fight.

Though she knew in the end, she'd likely cover herself the same way Chiaki did, unsure if she would be able to fully expose herself. Given that Chiaki hadn't even done so yet except specific circumstances spoke enough about what it felt like.

Finally, after more thoughts and time passed, she was at her room. She stepped inside and locked the door behind her.

She laid her head and back against the door and sighed. She wouldn't let regret creep in. She knew it would be better for her to do it so Chiaki would have a friend to relate to rather than some student in another class she didn't know. Even so…

Mahiru clapped her hands over her cheeks and then made fists, a determined expression on her face. She walked away from the door and towards the center of her room.

Along the wall were various corkboards that held the photos she'd taken during her time here at school. There were at least two photos of each of her classmates and even one she'd managed to get of Hajime. She hadn't dared take any pictures of Chiaki since the gamer had joined the program, out of respect. Though there were some times where she was tempted when the light gorgeously reflected off of Chiaki's beautiful, pale skin.

She shook her head to drive away the thought of her friend like that, even as her cheeks heated. She took a deep breath and started unbuttoning her uniform. She knew she technically didn't have to be naked until the next day, so long as she didn't leave her room (as she, along with several other students, often kept food in her room), but she felt it would be better to get accustomed to it now.

So off went her clothes. Her blazer, undershirt, and skirt all dropped to the floor, followed by her socks and shoes.

Yet standing there in only her underwear, even in the safety of her own room, felt odd. Sure, she always had to strip every morning to take a shower, but just standing there in her underwear when she always wore pajamas to bed, it was strange.

Even stranger when she reached behind her back, undid her bra, and allowed it to fall to the floor alongside her other clothes. Then, before she could question herself, she thrust down her panties as well and kicked them off.

And just like that, she was naked.

She took a deep breath, and then let it out. She was naked, standing completely bare in her room, when before she was pretty much only ever naked in her bathroom.

It didn't hit her until then.

Her body shuddered as she realized she'd be showing her body off to everyone, just like Chiaki. Teruteru, Kazuichi, Hiyoko, and anyone else in any other class who wished to look. Even when she covered herself, her butt would be on display no matter what.

That thought gave her pause, and her hands slowly moved down her body, over her modest bust and down her sides to her hips. Smooth skin met her fingertips as her hands slid across her southern cheeks and down her legs. She wasn't sure why exactly she was doing it until she finished.

It felt…odd. But somehow…in a good way. Almost…freeing.

Mahiru found herself moving before she knew why. Light, bare footsteps crept across the floor. The carpet felt soft under and between her toes as she walked to the bathroom and stepped inside.

She turned on the light and looked at herself in the mirror. Really looked.

She was naked.

Obviously, she was naked, but to see her reflection, to see her bare shoulders, bare breasts, all the way down to her stomach…it was strange. She counted the freckles on her face, and when she grew bored, she brought her attention to her chest. Soon after, she gently cupped them with her hands and frowned.

She'd never been one to worry about breast sizes, in a positive or negative way. But now, after seeing Chiaki's large bust so often, swinging around…bouncing…the mole on her chest that she wanted to brush her finger over so badly…

Mahiru shook her head as the blush crept across her face again. She lowered her hands and walked to the main room again, and faced another part of her room, one covered up by pitch-black curtains. She'd actually set up a small section in the corner for her to expose images when she used an old camera. Most of the time she used digital, but sometimes an old-fashioned camera could work just as well. Sometimes it even showed imperfections that could make the photo more unique.

Having nothing else to do until tomorrow, the nude Mahiru walked over and grabbed her camera before slipping through the curtain. She shuddered as it brushed her nipples, hardened from the slightly chilly room, and caressed her skin.

She got to work.

"Attention, class," Chisa started the next day, but Chiaki wasn't really listening at first.

She was staring at Mahiru's empty seat, where the girl had been called away from the previous day, and hadn't come back. Chiaki actually hadn't seen her at all since then, even after class, and she was growing worried. She didn't know what kind of thing could've happened, but it wasn't like Mahiru to be late. Then Chisa continued.

"So…as you're all aware, Miss Nanami had been put into a special nudity program by the school, and has done so for the past couple of weeks." Everyone briefly turned to Chiaki, who still was only paying half attention. "Well, I'd like for you all to know that someone else has joined the program."

Chiaki's heart stopped. "No…" she said quietly.

"So…be respectful, or else I'll fail you, alright?" Chisa asked, and it was clear she wasn't happy about the situation, given the harsh frown on her face. She turned to the door and cleared her throat.

And she walked in.

Chiaki felt a whirlwind of emotions as Mahiru Koizumi walked into the classroom, completely bare from head to toe, even if she was covering herself with her hands like Chiaki was. Her face was a bright red, and Hiyoko immediately shot to her feet.

"HEY! Chiaki is one thing, but why is Mahiru forced to-!"

"No one forced me, Hiyoko," Mahiru immediately said. "I…volunteered."

"You what?!" Chiaki cried as she too stood, but Chisa shook her head.

"Girls, look, you can talk about it after class, okay? For now, it's true, Miss Koizumi has joined the program alongside Miss Nanami," Chisa said, with a rather harsh tone as she gave Mahiru the side eye as if to say 'why the hell did you do that?!'

"Miss Yukizome—!" Chiaki said.

"I'm sorry, Nanami, but before you ask, no, there's nothing I can do. And again, no arguing about it until after class. Miss Koizumi, please take your seat," Chisa gestured, and Mahiru nodded as she walked over and sat down as quickly as she could. Even from here, Chiaki could see her trembling, her eyes flicking around as now several other people were looking at not Chiaki, but Mahiru. Chiaki's own eyes joined them, and she was sure Mahiru could tell from the way she shuddered.

The rest of the class proceeded mostly as normal, but both Hiyoko and Chiaki could barely pay attention as they kept staring daggers at Mahiru, who ignored them both, just as she was trying to ignore everyone else watching them.

As soon as class ended, and Mahiru was getting up, Chiaki and Hiyoko prepared to rush to her, but they were beaten as Teruteru immediately popped up in front of her.

"I must say, I didn't take you for the type~" Teruteru started, and Mahiru snarled.

"Don't even-"

"But mademoiselle! I must try, shouldn't I? To ask for your hand in your resplendent, bare beauty. For even just a single caress of you-" He reached out for her chest, but as he did, Hiyoko grabbed his wrist and bent it back so far Mahiru was shocked it didn't break. "YAHHHHHH!"

"Leave, creep," she said simply and released his hand. He rubbed his wrist and pouted as he stalked off, but he kept his eyes on the trio. Mahiru stood and gathered up her stuff into a bag that she hung by her side. Jin had left her a note the previous night from under her door that as long as she didn't use the bag to cover herself, she could wear one for her stuff and Chiaki's. It was clear he'd been keeping an eye on them, but she tried not to let it bother her.

"Mahiru," Chiaki said as she awkwardly positioned the bag at her side and stood. Her hands were firmly against her body as she walked towards and out the door, with her two friends following after.

Immediately, the students in the hall froze. Seeing Chiaki was, for the most part, normal by this point, but seeing the new naked girl next to her, everyone jumped on it. Cameras began to flash and record as people whispered. Mahiru's cheeks had never felt so hot in her life, surprised they'd want pictures of her when a much more beautiful girl stood next to her, and she almost didn't register Chiaki speaking to her.

"Why? Why did you volunteer?!" she asked.

"Because…of you…" Mahiru said quietly.

"I told you-"

"I know, but…I couldn't just stand by, Chiaki," Mahiru said. "Even when you know self-defense, even when you can protect yourself now…I can see that you still cover up. You still don't like the attention on you, so…I wanted to share it with you." She snarled as some jerk tried to get a close up of her chest, and then tried to kick him as he dropped to the floor, trying to get an upward angle between her legs. Hiyoko got in his face and started to berate him, and he took off.

"Mahiru…this isn't…it's not…"

"I-I know. I knew what I was signing up for, Chiaki." Mahiru knew it would expose herself more, but she turned to face her. "But…I'm your friend. I want to share in your burden if I can. If this means there are fewer eyes on you, then I'll do it. Anything to make you feel better." Chiaki bit her lip.

"But…this is…"

"I'll take the self-defense classes, too," Mahiru continued. "I already know a bit from watching but I'm going to participate, too."

"That's not-"

"Chiaki!" Mahiru exclaimed, and she nearly grabbed the girl's shoulders, her hands even raising a bit before she clamped them back against her body. "I…I know it's going to be rough, but I don't care. As long as you have someone to share this stupid program with, someone you trust, someone you're friends with, then I can take it. It will be okay." Chiaki stared at her for a long while, and Mahiru fidgeted as she felt almost like a model from the way people were nearly swarming them.

They passed by Gundham and Sonia, who had walked past them earlier, but had now stopped, dipping into a small alcove along the wall. The three girls stopped and watched as the two were no longer talking like they had earlier, but were making out. Then Gundham's hand slowly slid down and grasped tightly onto Sonia's ass, and she squealed. Hiyoko cleared her throat, and the two looked over at them.

"Um…this is…for…a ritual," Gundham floundered. "Yes, a demonic ritual that requires the touching of pure and impure skin, and the gentle caress of dark lips that-"

"Don't care, just do it somewhere else please," Hiyoko said, and the two nodded, quickly scattering off, likely to one of their rooms. Once they were gone, Chiaki finally sighed.

"Okay. Okay…then…I'll support you, too," Chiaki finally said, and Mahiru smiled.

"Good. I was hoping you'd say that, because…I'd like to go out. Right now." Chiaki's eyes went wide.

"Now? But-"

"I want to rip the bandaid off," Mahiru explained quickly. "I need to go into town anyway, so I'd appreciate it if you accompanied me."

"Me too, right?" Hiyoko asked, and Mahiru nodded.

"Of course," she answered, but her eyes were still on Chiaki. Once again, Chiaki didn't speak for a few seconds, but eventually, she sighed.

"Alright. I'll go with you. There was a new game I wanted to go see if it was in stock anyway." Mahiru smiled and nodded.

And with that, the three continued down the hallway and down the stairs. As they were going down, a group of boys and girls were going up. The girls immediately shielded the boy's eyes and rushed past, with the boys complaining. However, the girls glared at Mahiru and Chiaki as they passed, and even bumped into them, seemingly intentionally, but Mahiru did her best to ignore it.

Finally, they exited the building, and Mahiru shuddered at the feeling of sunlight on her bare skin. She was naked outside. Such a taboo thing told from the time you're a child not to do, and yet, here she was.

"Ah, one second," Chiaki said as she she took off down a path, and Mahiru immediately knew where she was going. Before she could think about it, she followed, and Hiyoko followed her.

Hajime was sitting alone, playing games as usual when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He smiled when he saw Chiaki, but the smile fell into an expression of shock when Mahiru also popped around the corner. She took a few steps towards him before stopping, as if frozen in place. Hajime wasn't able to stop his eyes from immediately shooting across her body. She wasn't as well-endowed as Chiaki, but the lightly-visible freckles above her breasts were almost tantalizing. Something about her more petite frame drew his eyes in and made it hard to look away.

Chiaki looked back and forth between them as Mahiru's face brightened once more, and she frowned. She loudly cleared her throat, and Hajime blinked a few times before forcing his gaze on her. "A-Ah, I was-"

"She's been accepted into the program, too," Chiaki said, acting as if his staring hadn't bothered her. "She wants to try going out, so I'm going with her. Wanted to let you know."

"O-Oh, okay. Have fun, I guess?" Chiaki simply gave him a nod and turned to leave. He choked a bit as his eyes shot to the girl's backside, which jiggled every so slightly with every step, and by the time they were gone, Hiyoko giving him a single glare before leaving, his face was red.

And he was very slightly aroused.

"Hey-"

"AHH!" Hajime jumped as he turned around at the voice behind him, covering his crotch. "I-I WASN'T-!"

"Woah, chill out, it's just me," Natsumi said, glancing at his covered crotch. A moment later, her cheeks flushed slightly. "Ah, are you-!"

"I said it's nothing!" Hajime said as he quickly sat down and crossed his legs. Appearing to shrug it off, Natsumi sat down next to him. "What did you want?"

"To…talk," Natsumi said and then sighed. "Okay, look, don't tell anyone else what I'm gonna tell you, alright?" A moment passed, and Hajime hesitantly nodded. She took a deep breath. "I've been…applying for a talent." Hajime's eyes went wide.

"You can do that?" he asked, and she shrugged

"I don't actually know for sure, but I figured it would be worth a try," she admitted. "But…every letter I've sent has been rejected. Some more formally than others. I just…" She sighed and turned to him. "Am I really not…talented?"

"Well…do you have a talent?" he asked, and she rubbed her arm.

"I thought 'Ultimate Little Sister' would be enough, but…maybe it's not…" She shook her head. "Look…I just…ugh…this is hard…"

"What is?" Hajime asked, a little confused.

"Talking, like this," she said and shook her head again. "Do you…really think…talent isn't everything?" Hajime paused for a moment to consider.

"I used to think so. I really did. I thought I was worthless for not being able to stand next to everyone else," he admitted. "But…Chiaki changed that." Natsumi frowned. "She showed me that I didn't need a talent to make her happy, to be her equal in her eyes. And sure, I still felt bad about it at first, but then…then…" He blushed.

"What? What is it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure I should say…" he said, but she rolled her eyes.

"Just spit it out!" she demanded. He hesitated, but he did. He explained how Chiaki exposed herself to him to prepare for her lessons with Tenko. His face was red at the memory as he spoke. "She trusted me to do that. No one else, just me. It was then that I realized…if she could trust someone like me, just a normal guy with no talent…then yeah…who cares about talent." Natsumi pouted.

"That's kinda cliche, you know," she said, and he laughed, surprising her with how warm it was.

"Probably, but it's true." He met her eyes. "I'm sorry you can't seem to get what you want, but you can't beat yourself up over it. Or take it out on others, because that's just going to get you enemies. And I'd feel bad if something happened to you." Natsumi's heart skipped a beat.

"H-Huh? Why?" He gave her a nervous laugh.

"I don't know…I think even without a talent, you have a lot of potential. I'd hate to see it go to waste." Natsumi gulped as her cheeks heated up.

"I-I see…" she said, and looked down at her lap. He sighed, and neither of them spoke for a while.

"Do you think we'll be a part of the nudity program?" he suddenly asked.

"God, I hope not. Seeing people in our class strutting about with their cocks and tits in my face would be humiliating," Natsumi remarked and Hajime laughed again.

"Yeah. It would probably suck," he said, and once again, there was silence.

"Do you like her?"

The question was just as sudden, and Hajime's eyes shifted to her, but she had her head turned away. "What?"

"Do you like her?" she asked again.

"Th-That's…that's…" he cleared his throat. "That's none of your business." He expected a retort, or snark, or more questions, but they didn't come. She simply huffed out a laugh and stood.

"That's fair," she said, and without looking at him, she started walking off. "Thanks for the chat. And remember…don't tell anyone what I said today. Any of it. Wouldn't want people to think I'm weak." She kept walking.

"H-Hey! Natsumi!" Hajime called, and she stopped.

"What?"

"Remember what I said, too. Please don't waste your potential on being bitter, okay? Please." Natsumi didn't answer, but she did give a small nod before she resumed walking, and soon, she was gone.

And Hajime was alone again.

He tilted his head back and looked up at the slowly darkening sky, exhaling deeply.

When did things start feeling so complicated?