It was a mostly average day that Chiaki and Mahiru were heading down the hallways nude, and it was unfortunate that that was becoming a normal thing.

Chiaki was just thankful that the air between the two girls only felt a little awkward. Mahiru hadn't said anything all day except for when she was spoken to. She still conversed with Chiaki, but only when she started the conversation. The gamer could only hope that would change as they got further away from the confession the previous day, though something told Chiaki there was more to it than that. She'd noticed how her friend had run away when Kazuichi looked like he'd wanted to talk to her.

She wasn't sure how to approach the subject. Her working theory was that she'd left the previous day, run into Kazuichi, and might've cried in front of him or something that would've been embarrassing. That's why she was now trying to avoid him even though Kazuichi looked like he wanted to talk to her.

Maybe it was something else, but Chiaki didn't have much to go on. At the moment though, her mind was on something else. She'd begun to notice that people had been looking at her less and at Mahiru more. She understood why, since Mahiru had been a nudist for a far shorter amount of time, and many people in the school likely already had hundreds if not thousands of photos of Chiaki circulating. She could see that Mahiru likely knew this as well, given the way she was currently looking around at everyone, glancing every once in a while at Chiaki. This made the gamer pout.

Knowing she had to do something as her friend, partially to make up for what happened yesterday, and to perhaps make some effort on a personal goal, Chiaki took a deep breath. She lowered her arms, and gasps arose around her. Her body trembled as she exposed herself in her entirety to everyone. Mahiru's eyes widened as she stared at the girl, and Chiaki looked back to give a shaky smile.

Phones were immediately out and taking pictures, pictures of Chiaki's nipples, her pussy, everything she now showed off, but she kept her arms down, clenching her fists as they walked down the stairs and towards the front door. She felt her breasts and ass jiggle with every step, every small movement, and she knew every camera was recording every one of those jiggles. But for Mahiru, and for herself, she would do it.

"Thank you…"

The voice was quiet, but she gave Mahiru a slightly wider smile for it anyway.

It felt like an agonizing few minutes as they finished the walk back to the front door, where Chiaki parted ways with Mahiru, intent on asking her about what happened later. For now, she made her way over to where Hajime was waiting for her. When she entered the small area by the bench, she saw Tenko sitting next to him, clearly bothering him again. Chiaki sighed. Had she really climbed over again?

When Chiaki approached and both Hajime and Tenko saw her, they went wide-eyed at her appearance. She gave them a shy smile as she sat down next to Hajime, aware of how he was looking at her.

"Y-You're-"

"I could tell that a lot of people were looking at Mahiru more than me so…I let them see me, to bring the attention back to me," Chiaki explained. "I was wanting to try and…get over that hump at some point anyway."

"I-I see…"

"A-And…you can look too…if you want," Chiaki said with a slight blush, and while Hajime blushed himself, Tenko rolled her eyes.

"Sounds absolutely horrible. The idea of so many men looking at my nude body would be just…ugh," Tenko said as she shivered. Hajime rubbed his neck as he glanced between Chiaki and Tenko.

"So what were you two talking about?" Chiaki asked.

"She was asking me more questions about men, like how often I shower and what I do in the shower. You know, more personal stuff…" Hajime explained.

"I've never gotten to ask someone and I'm super interested, okay?"

"Can't you ask your master?" Chiaki inquired.

"No offense to him, but he's an older man. It's different to someone my age, you know? Speaking of, another question. How do you clean up after you…er…finish?"

"Okay, Tenko, not to be rude but I actually need to talk to Chiaki about something," Hajime cut her off.

"Okay," Tenko answered as she folded her legs, but Hajime shook his head.

"In private," he clarified, and she blinked.

"Oh…okay," she said as she stood, looking a little sad as she walked away. Chiaki watched her walk around the corner, but not actually go back over the fence for some reason. When she was out of sight, she turned back to Hajime, who looked away from her, rubbing his neck again.

"So…um…there's something important I need to tell you."

Instantly, the worst possible things ran through her mind at his tone. A family member died, or maybe a student? She'd heard rumors of weird things happening in the reserve course, so was it that? Maybe he got a really bad grade and wasn't taking it well, or he confessed to a girl he liked and got rejected? She wasn't sure, but she grabbed his arm and squeezed it. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

He looked up and met her eyes, but he still looked hesitant. So she moved her hand to wrap it around his and squeeze, going for the most reassuring smile she could. That finally seemed to get him to relax a bit as he took a deep breath

"I…would like…for you to be my girlfriend."

The entire world felt like it stopped as Chiaki froze on the spot. Her eyes were locked onto Hajime's as she processed his words. Two times in a row? Was she really that desirable? But this was different, wasn't it? Hajime was her best friend, on the same level as Mahiru, someone she'd connected with almost immediately as the year started. She enjoyed all the time she spent with him, every game they played, every conversation they'd had. He was the person she'd trusted to show her body to, and he'd been respectful about it even after she kept telling him he could look as much as he wanted.

And now he was saying he wanted to date her?

"I…umm…" Her thoughts were so jumbled that she had to put a hand to her head, as it almost felt real. "I…can I…have some time to think about it?" Hajime's face fell, and she immediately felt bad.

"Yeah, yeah, that's fine. Better than an immediate no, I suppose," he said with a forced laugh. She nodded and gulped.

"I-I should…um…g-go…" Chiaki said, and she gave his hand a last reassuring squeeze before she let go and took off, her chest bouncing wildly as she sprinted back to her room, and left Hajime alone to sigh and pray for the best.

And Tenko felt sadness erupt in her chest as she backed away, and walked towards the fence, her heart feeling like it had been broken in two.

"Hey, Sonia?"

As usual, she ignored him as she was reading a book at the table. Kazuichi hadn't gotten the chance to speak with Mahiru since she'd booked it out of the door with Chiaki following after her as soon as class had ended. He supposed it was good that the two were still hanging out after the failed confession, but he'd really wanted to talk to her.

But he supposed he had something else to do first.

"I know you're listening to me even if you're going to pretend like you aren't," he said, and she still gave no indication. "I just wanted to say…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being…a lot." He saw it, a slight twitch that gave her away. "I can tell you're happy with Gundham and while…while that still does break my heart a bit, and while I'll always have some feelings for you, I know I should…move on. So I'm trying to." He saw Sonia lower the book and shift her head, looking towards him just slightly, so he continued.

"It's gonna be hard to get over you, and I think a part of me never will. But…I've been trying. I think I've found someone else. I'm going to try my best with her, and try not to fuck it up like I did with you," he went on. "I'm going to do my best to be a better person for her, and…maybe…we can be friends. That would be good enough for me, I think." He waited, but she didn't do anything at first. He was ready to walk away and leave it at that, but at the last moment, Sonia turned towards him and smiled.

"Thank you, Kazuichi. I would love to be friends with you," she said, and he felt his heart swell and his body relax. He still felt that twang of love inside that he'd always hold for her, but he felt…content. Friends would be enough.

He gave her a small bow and left the room to head back, to maybe try and find Mahiru. As he did, Gundham walked up to Sonia.

"What did he bother you with this time?" he asked, and Sonia sighed.

"He apologized," she said, and Gundham raised an eyebrow. "I think…he's fallen for someone else."

"Is that even possible?" Gundham asked half-jokingly, and Sonia smiled.

"Hey, Gundham?"

"Yes?"

"I want to be a nudist."