Classroom of the Elite: The 100 Elites Who Really, Really, Really Love

by legalinmybooks

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka has been cursed (blessed) by The God of Love who accidentally linked Ayanokouji and 100 different girls/women. They are to become soulmates bounded by love and fate. If their relationship with Ayanokouji fails, the girls are fated to die in an accident. It's a matter of life or death. Will Ayanokouji survive ANHS with 100 potential soulmates waiting for him? Wil

22. Chapter 21: Cruise Ship Harem

"What do you mean?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Don't lie to me. Class D's sudden victory, Class C ending up with zero points, and every other class losing points. The fact that your own classmates had no idea on what happened." said Sakayanagi, counting with her fingers. "That means one thing... somebody played their cards in the right way and succeeded without anyone noticing."

"Of course. It was all Horikita's plan."

"Fufufufu. You're quite amusing, Ayanokouji-kun. Using a sick classmate as a shield and your main strategy."

"All part of Horikita's plan."

"Horikita-san doesn't have the capabilities to come up with a complicated and effective plan as this. However, a certain person does."

"Well to everyone else, it was all Horikita's plan."

"Very well. If you wish to remain hidden for the time being, then so be it. It's been a while hasn't it, Ayanokouji-kun. How I long see you again. Although you have grown the last time I saw you, everything seems to be the same."

"I wish I can say the same to you."

Ayanokouji glanced over at Sakayanagi's petite body and Sakayanagi gave him a cold look as the atmosphere between the two darkened and became much colder.

"Do you mind repeating that again, Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Sakayanagi, with a cold and hard look on her face.

"Ah... it's nothing. It's just an observation." replied Ayanokouji.

"Observation, you say?"

"Yes. You're quite cute and your petite body adds to your unique charm. I didn't say that was a bad thing."

Ayanokouji's comments took Sakayanagi by surprise who didn't expect those kind of compliments from him. She didn't know that Ayanokouji could have a way of words especially in way of flirting and charming with people from the opposite sex. Sakayanagi's face grew a little red before it broke into an amusing smile.

Oops. I think I got into a habit with saying things like that. I suppose being around my various soulmates caused this habit to sprout up. Does this counts as harassment?

"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun. I don't think I've expected something like that to come out of your mouth. I suppose being surrounded by various girls have an interesting effect on you." said Sakayanagi.

"You noticed?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Of course. Masumi-san reported to me that a certain brown-haired boy was seeing around several female classmates. It looks like you're having some fun, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Coincidences can be freaky. I happen to be the area at the wrong time. Is there anything else you want from me?"

"I'll be frank. I just wanted to see you face to face again. It's been a long time since we chatted face to face."

Ayanokouji and Sakayanagi locked eyes and Ayanokouji looked into her deep violet eyes which sparkled and he was surprised that his soulmates power did not work right there and now. Ayanokouji reminisced about the past and how they met.

*Flashback (about 7 years ago)*

Ayanokouji was sitting alone in a big empty white room all by himself as he sat down in a desk, writing something on the paper. It was the usual test that he had

to take and all of the questions on the paper were all too easy for him. He easily wrote down the answers with ease and with no panic on his face as he finished the last problem before placing his pencil down. A buzzer rang out and an instructor approached Ayanokouji and picked up the paper.

"6 minutes and 9 seconds. Impressive as always." said the instructor, looking at the clock. He looked over the test real quick before nodding his head. "A perfect 100 as well. You may head back to your room."

Ayanokouji nodded and left the testing room and down the empty white hallways. It's the exact same path that Ayanokouji took yesterday. And the day before. And the day before. Every day. This has began Ayanokouji's routine for the past 2 years ever since he's been alone in the White Room. But today was something special and different. Ayanokouji sat alone in an empty white room with almost a minimalist interior with no furniture and decorations. It was basically a cell. He was reading a textbook on calculus integrals since it was the next topic on the test and Ayanokouji needed to study up before physical exercise training. Suddenly, Ayanokouji heard a soft knock on the door and he turned towards it. He was confused by this sudden gesture since everyone from the White Room don't knock, they simply come in and it was all business.

Before Ayanokouji could say anything, the door opened and it revealed a little girl, who seemed around Ayanokouji's age. She was quite small and petite with short lilac-colored hair and a black beret on her head. The noticeable part was that she was using a thin cane and she was wearing a yellow dress. Ayanokouji frowned and confused on why there's a child here and wondered if she has gotten lost. Before he could say anything, the girl walked into the room and closed the door, sealing the duo in Ayanokouji's room.

"Hello there." said the girl. She had a smug smile on her face as she approached Ayanokouji.

"Who are you?" asked Ayanokouji. "I'm Sakayanagi Arisu."

"Sakayanagi... That name doesn't surround familiar. Why are you here?" "Why to meet you, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka-kun."

"How do you know who I am?"

"That's a little mystery for you to figure out, but I have one thing to declare to you. I will be the one to defeat you and to prove my superiority, false genius. I will destroy your father's most prized masterpiece."

Ayanokouji remained silent as he observed Sakayanagi before speaking. "Can you do it?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Fufufu. Of course, I will." giggled Sakayanagi, amused by Ayanokouji's question.

"Then, do as you please and go ahead."

"This is going far better than what I expected. I'm beginning to enjoy our interactions thus far."

Sakayanagi walked over to a table where there was a chessboard and she sat down on one of the chairs. Ayanokouji looked at her before sitting down on his bed and returned his attention back to his textbook. After a few quiet moments, Sakayanagi cleared her throat which got Ayanokouji's attention.

"Ayanokouji-kun, let's play chess." suggested Sakayanagi.

"Are you sure? I have never lost in chess." said Ayanokouji, looking up from his book.

"So did I. Let's see who's the best."

Ayanokouji put his textbook down on his bed before making his way to the table and sat down on the opposite side and facing Sakayanagi.

"White or black?" asked Ayanokouji.

"I prefer not to be given a handicap nor give you the advantage. Let's decide on a chance of luck." replied Sakayanagi. She grabbed the two king pieces and hid in behind her back before showing Ayanokouji her balled fists. Ayanokouji studied Sakayanagi and tried to read her face to gather more information on where she hid the white king, but to no avail. It will be decided by a 50/50 chance.

Ayanokouji decided to choose the left one and Sakayanagi revealed it to be the black king.

"Too bad for you, Ayanokouji-kun." said Sakayanagi placing the king pieces to their original spot before flipping the chessboard where the white pieces are on her side.

"Let us begin." said Sakayanagi, immediately moving her pawn with no hesitation.

Ayanokouji responded immediately and the opening phase of the game was rapid as the duo didn't hesitate and moved their pieces almost instantly.

Ayanokouji noticed how good Sakayanagi was and how aggressive her moves are. It was clear that her strategy was focused on offense and aggressively forcing opponents to be on the defensive and taking their pieces quickly from key positions. Ayanokouji's knight and three pawns were trapped by Sakayanagi's advancing knight, rook, and pawns. He quickly changing his moves and took a pawn with his own pawn, hoping to sacrifice it to gain some momentum and Sakayanagi smiled before taking it with a knight.

Ayanokouji quickly captured another pawn with his bishop and to pincer her knight with his own bishop and pawns. It was good against beginners and weaker opponents to force them to panic and blunder more pieces for Sakayanagi's aggressive approaches, but Ayanokouji found a way out and moved his key piece: the queen. Sakayanagi's eyes widened and she seemed to have stopped. This was the first time that Sakayanagi stopped and didn't immediately make her move and she seemed to be thinking about her next move. After a minute of thinking, she made her next move. The duo spent about 20 minutes playing the game and Sakayanagi did her best to hold on, but Ayanokouji is slowly winning the game as more and more pieces were being taken by him. Sakayanagi switched her tactics to a more defensive position as Ayanokouji went on the offensive.

Ayanokouji's knight, bishop, and forward pawns had pushed deeper into Sakayanagi's side of the board and he managed to break Sakayanagi's castling a few turns prior. Sakayanagi had control of the left side of the board, but Ayanokouji had some pawns and rook to defend his king. Sakayanagi decided to make a risky play and took Ayanokouji's knight and Ayanokouji recognized what she was trying to do. Ayanokouji paused for a moment before taking her queen his own queen and Sakayanagi took his queen her pawn, a queen trade. It was down to their other powerful pieces. Ayanokouji had a rook, two bishops, and knight, and 5 pawns left. Sakayanagi had a rook, one bishop, two knights,

and 4 pawns left.

Ayanokouji move his rook to an unexpected spot on the board which caused Sakayanagi to pause and studied the board. She began taping her fingers on the table before moving her rook down the board to Ayanokouji's side. Ayanokouji saw that Sakayanagi's plan was to force a check on his king to slow down Ayanokouji's advance, but Ayanokouji blocked with his pawn. The duo continued making their moves until Ayanokouji had more pieces and he was about 3 moves from winning the game. He had taken down Sakayanagi's defenses and managed to stop her advances on the king. Sakayanagi didn't have the pieces to win the game before Ayanokouji could checkmate her.

Sakayanagi's pauses became longer and more frequent as the end of the match is upcoming.

"This match is ending soon. How interesting." muttered Sakayanagi. "Does this change your perception of me?" asked Ayanokouji. "Perhaps. It's still not over yet."

"The game will be over in at most 5 moves." "It seems so."

"Check."

Ayanokouji moved his rook that he had set up earlier on the match and checked Sakayanagi's king. Sakayanagi froze and her fingers retracted from her king that she was trying to move.

"Allow me to take back what I said, Ayanokouji-kun. You're indeed a genius. There is nothing false about it." said Sakayanagi.

"Why did you change your mind so quickly?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Let's just say that there's a personal belief of mines that contradicts on this place. The place that you were born in and grew up in. What you and your father stand for."

"I see. A fresh new perspective can be terrifying."

"Of course. I'm sure you will feel the same way if you leave this place." "Who knows? Maybe I will or maybe I won't."

"To be honest, Ayanokouji-kun... I've playing chess for about 2 years. About 2 years ago, I saw a certain boy through a glass inside of a cold, white room playing chess and overwhelming his opponents with such skill and precision. The boy looked like nobody was a challenge to him and even looked bored during his matches. As soon as I saw that, I knew that I had to go against that boy. I believe you know who that boy is."

"2 years ago? You are quite skilled, Sakayanagi. Even as a child, you're at least one of the toughest players that I have faced. You're on par with chess instructors that I played regularly against."

"Thank you for the compliment. Fufufu."

"However, you're no match against me. Perhaps in a few years, you may be on my current level."

"Oh? I would like to face you again in future, but let's enjoy this moment, shall we?"

Before Sakayanagi can make her move, Ayanokouji heard footsteps coming from the hallways and it seemed that they are approaching his room. Then, the door threw open as Professor Ayanokouji and another man entered the room.

"Arisu? What are you doing here?" asked the man. The man has in his late 30s with lilac-colored hair with glasses and wearing a sharp black suit. It was clear that he was Sakayanagi's father.

"Sakayanagi. I've allowed to visit this place again, but security is top priority." said Professor Ayanokouji, sounding displeased.

"Forgive, Ayanokouji-sensei. My daughter is a little mischievous and curious about this place. I didn't expect her to find Kiyotaka-kun."

"How troublesome. It's best that we leave now. We don't want to disturb his studies."

Professor Ayanokouji shot his son a cold look and gestured for him to return back to his textbook before ushering the 2 Sakayanagis out of the room.

Sakayanagi shot Ayanokouji one last happy, but smug smile on her face before leaving the room and Ayanokouji being left alone in his room. The hidden message was clear on her face: until next time. Ayanokouji stared at the door for a few moments before making the last move that checkmated Sakayanagi.

"Checkmate." said Ayanokouji. Then, he moved all of the pieces back to their original position and returned back to his bed. Ayanokouji was thinking on how strange that encounter was and how it was different from his usual routine.

Sakayanagi Arisu... Until we meet again if the circumstances allow me to.

Those were the events on Ayanokouji's and Sakayanagi's first meeting. Ayanokouji recalled on how skilled Sakayanagi was especially after 2 years of learning. He wondered on how much she has improved during the past few years.

"I have no intention in exposing you. You have my word." said Sakayanagi. Ayanokouji nodded gratefully and he didn't want to have even more attention on him.

"But, I will like to see your next move and compete against you for our reunion." continued Sakayanagi.

"Hmm... I hope your expectations aren't too high." replied Ayanokouji. "It's too late for that, isn't it? First, I must deal with some few pests."

Sakayanagi had a smile on her face and it looked like she was talking about Katsuragi and it seemed like she's a little girl playing with her dolls.

"Now... I have some suspicions on how Class D won the exam. Care to explain?" asked Sakayanagi. Ayanokouji began explaining and during the explanation, Sakayanagi filled in some of the the blanks and it seemed that she understood some of Ayanokouji's plans and that she was just looking for clarity and confirmation.

"Impressive as always, Ayanokouji-kun. Class A had a devastating defeat." said Sakayanagi.

"Will you finally step in?" asked Ayanokouji.

"No, not yet. Katsuragi-kun and his faction must take another loss before he surrenders the class to me. He has already told me to give him one last chance before he surrenders the class to me."

"Are you fine with losing more class points?"

"It doesn't matter. The other classes don't pose much of a threat to me."

Sakayanagi flashed a smug and confident smile. She was fully confident in her abilities even if her class took heavy losses, Ayanokouji knew that she has the ability and strength to back it up.

"Don't disappoint me, Sakayanagi." said Ayanokouji.

"I won't ever think of doing that, Ayanokouji-kun. Fufufu." said Sakayanagi. The duo fell into a melancholy and peaceful silence.

"Will that be all, Sakayanagi?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Yes. The purpose was to see you again after all those years." said Sakayanagi. "I'll be going."

"Bye, Ayanokouji-kun." "Goodbye, Sakayanagi."

Ayanokouji turned around and left the library and Sakayanagi remained sitting at her chair and she looked over at the chess board on the table. The pieces on the board was the same position that she was in when she was facing Ayanokouji all those years ago. She noticed that she was in an unwinnable position and knew that she would've lost if her father hasn't come to get her.

"This time... I won't lose, Ayanokouji-kun. Just you wait and see. Fufufufu." said Sakayanagi, quietly. Then, she grabbed her queen piece and knocked over the

black king, Ayanokouji's king piece.

*Timeskip (few hours later)*

Ayanokouji was walking to a outdoors food court at one of the lower decks. There was a decent amount of people for dinner and Ayanokouji got some yakisoba and strawberry milk boba drink. He sat down at a table overlooking the ocean as he watched the sunset down and it looked like the sun was going to be swallowed by the ocean. Ayanokouji's phone buzzed and he got a message from Tanihara's band group chat.

Tanihara: Hey! Does everyone want to me up for a improv band meeting? Nakajima: Shouldn't you have told us beforehand?

Tanihara: Sorry! I was busy with some things so I didn't have time to message you until now.

Tsube: I'm fine with that. I'm finishing up dinner right now. Tanihara: Okay. No rush. Let's say about a hour from now? Isoyama: Seems good to me.

Nakajima: Fine. I'm okay with that too. Where are we meeting? Tanihara: Ayanokouji-kun?

Ayanokouji: Okay. Just let me know where. Tanihara: Hang on...

Tanihara went silent for a bit and Ayanokouji turned off his phone and enjoyed his dinner. After a few minutes, his phone buzzed and he saw a notification from the group chat.

Tanihara: Here's the location: the karaoke place on the 4th floor. We'll meet in the lobby.

Nakajima: Sounds good.

The rest of the band agreed and gave a thumbs up emoji along with Ayanokouji, who sent it before turning his attention back to his dinner. He spent another 10 minutes eating before he finished completely. Ayanokouji got up and threw his trash into the nearest trash can and walked down the deck. He decided to take a walk and to kill some time before meeting with the band. He took a deep breath and he could smell the salty and fresh air of the ocean. He noticed that some seagulls flew by the ship in flocks and some of them are more brazen and flew closer to the ship, as if they are taunting the ship and its passengers.

"Ayanokouji-kun?" called out a voice. Ayanokouji turned around and saw Kyousuke Okyia on the deck.

"Hello, Kyousuke." said Ayanokouji. She was one of Azuma's friends and they meet briefly before during the first month and before Azuma became his soulmates. Kyousuke has medium-length magenta-colored hair. She had strands of hair hanging over the right side of her face and it covered some of her face and right eye.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" "Yeah."

"Ahh... the ocean is really nice. Summer is the best!" "Hmm... I hope next year we get to see the ocean again."

"Yeah. Maybe another cruise ship. That would be cool. Hopefully, it's less stressful and not another surprise special exam."

"Yeah, me too. At least we have points now."

"Yeah. I didn't expect Horikita-san do something like that. I thought she didn't like us, but I guess we're wrong about her."

"Horikita tends to give off a bad first impression, but she's not too bad once you get to know her a little better."

"Yeah. I guess you're right since you're the first one that was hanging out with her when school started. Honestly, some people thought you were dating before Mii-chan showed up."

"Really? How many rumors about me dating girls are there anyways?" "Let's see. There's Horikita-san, Kushida-chan, Mii-chan, and..."

Kyousuke began counting on her fingers and she listed a bunch of girls from Class D which are his soulmates. Ayanokouji was a little surprised on how many rumors were based off him and his encounters with his soulmates. It seemed that most people like gossip that involved huge scandals or someone else's love life.

"Stop. I think that's too much." said Ayanokouji.

"Hahaha, yeah! But, I think you and Azuma look good together." said Kyousuke. "Really? I'm not dating her."

Ayanokouji quickly shut that down before Kyousuke could say something. She smiled and raised her hands in surrender.

"Whoa... whoa! So quick already! All right, buddy. I'm just saying." said Kyousuke.

"I can't tell if you're being serious or just joking around to embarrass Azuma the next time you see her." said Ayanokouji.

"Who knows? Maybe both?"

That's my line. At this rate, everyone is just going to use it. I should get full rights and claim that phrase.

The duo chatted for a bit about trivial things and there were talking about things

that classmates would usually talk about. They weren't close enough to talk about personal and certain topics, but they could at least have a conversation and make lighthearted jokes. After a few minutes of chatting, Kyousuke's phone buzzed and she picked it up and looked at it.

"Sorry, Ayanokouji-kun. I gotta go." said Kyousuke. She gave him an apologetic look.

"It's alright. It was nice talking to you." said Ayanokouji. "Yeah! See ya around!"

"Bye, Kyousuke."

Kyousuke gave Ayanokouji a final wave before she walked further along the deck and eventually, her retreating figure disappeared. Ayanokouji decided to take a walk and watch the scenery for the remaining rest of his time. As he took his evening walk, his phone buzzed and he got a few messages and invitation.

He sighed as he realized that tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

As Ayanokouji walked onto the front of the ship, he noticed there's a food stall that was selling gelato. He decided to get some gelato as a dessert and he choose the custard flavor.

I wonder if it's like ice cream. It looks like it, but the texture looks a little different.

Ayanokouji got a spoonful of gelato and took his first bite. The texture was more smooth and is more elastic than ice cream and it had a nice pleasant custard flavor. Ayanokouji ate his gelato while watching the nice ocean view in front of him. Then, he threw away the empty gelato container and made his way towards the elevator. The elevator had some few people and he selected the 4th floor when he got into the elevator. After a few minutes of going to different floors and various people getting into and out of the elevator, Ayanokouji arrived at the 4th floor. He made his way around the 4th floor and eventually found the location that Tanihara requested on the group chat. Ayanokouji entered the karaoke shop and found Tanihara and Tsube in the lobby waiting already.

"Ah! Ayanokouji-kun!" said Tanihara.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun." said Tsube. The two girls greeted Ayanokouji as he approached them and he noticed they had their instruments with them.

"Quick question: do they allow people to bring their instruments into the karaoke room?" asked Ayanokouji, gesturing to Tsube's guitar case which was slung over her shoulder.

"I've asked them and they said it's allowed. That's the only place that I could find that has soundproofing on the walls and a place where we can't disturb the public." said Tanihara.

"We can also sing some karaoke too!" said Tsube. The two girls began chatting about their favorite karaoke songs and what songs they normally choose when doing karaoke. Ayanokouji wondered if they are going to actually do some band practice or just do karaoke for the entire time.

"What about Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Tsube, turning her attention to Ayanokouji.

"Honestly, I normally don't sing when I'm doing karaoke. I'm a terrible singer." said Ayanokouji.

Well, it's the truth. I don't sing when I'm doing karaoke because I have never done it before.

"Don't worry. We won't laugh at you." said Tsube, with a playful teasing smile.

"Trust me. It's not good." said Ayanokouji. He knew that his monotone voice is probably not going to be the best singing voice in the room and frankly, he didn't want to even attempt it out of sheer embarrassment and lack of experience. They chatted a little bit about karaoke and their experiences while waiting for the other girls to arrive. After a few minutes, they heard a voice calling for them.

"Sorry! I'm late!" said Isoyama, seemingly out of breath. On the other hand, Nakajima seemed more composed and the two girls apologized for their tardiness. Tanihara quickly rented out a large karaoke room and the group headed towards their room.

When they entered the room, the lights immediately turned on, revealing a large room with a huge table in the middle with booths on both sides along with a

huge flat screen TV against the wall. Ayanokouji noticed that the walls of the room are soundproof, similar to the practice room that the band rented out. He could see microphones and a few tablets on the table alongside a few other items on the table. It was clear that this room could host an entire class for a karaoke party.

Isoyama whistled at the size before quickly taking a seat and grabbing a tablet off the table. Nakajima and Tsube placed their guitar and bass case on the booth seats and began pulling out their respective instruments. Luckily, there's enough space for Tanihara to set up her keyboard piano and within a few minutes, everyone's instruments were set up. Isoyama couldn't bring her drum set with her on the cruise ship due to certain restrictions, so she decided to cheer on and participate in the practice even though she can't play.

"Let's begin!" said Tanihara. Ayanokouji was with Tanihara as he watched and coached her. Nakajima and Tsube were both playing and jamming together.

Isoyama was still on the tablet as she was tapping away.

"Relax a little bit and you're making some mistakes and pressing the wrong keys. Make sure to keep them curled up." said Ayanokouji.

"Okay. A little bit nervous and need to warm up." said Tanihara. She began playing again and the more she played, the better she got as she warmed up. Her fingers became less tense and her confidence seemed to have increased. After a bit of playing, Ayanokouji gave Tanihara some feedback.

"Not bad, but you need to work on memorizing which keys is which. You're having trouble with the E and F keys." said Ayanokouji.

"Yeah. The F key is to the left of E key, right?" asked Tanihara, scratching her head.

"It's the other way around. You could play basic tones and songs, but you need to incorporate more notes and keys. Let's first start with memorizing where each keys are."

"Uh... Okay. Let me check."

Tanihara pulled out her phone and searched up the piano key layouts, so she can see. She frowned as she placed her phone on top of the keys where she can sit

down and play the piano while looking on it.

"Try to play it while using the guide, but eventually try to play without it. With enough practice, you'll unconsciously know where every key is based off your memory." said Ayanokouji.

"I'll try." said Tanihara.

"You can do this later, but you can use tape or sticky notes to label your keys. It's better than your phone."

"Okay. I'll try that."

"Ayanokouji-kun. Tanihara-san." said Isoyama, approaching them with a tablet. "What's up, Isoyama?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Do you guys want something to order?"

"Hmm... I just ate not too long ago. Maybe a drink will do for now." "I'll let you choose."

Isoyama handed Ayanokouji the tablet and he selected the drinks section of the menu and selected an oolong tea for himself and he noticed that there were some drinks and some food that was already on the order list.

"What about you Tanihara? Do you want anything?" asked Ayanokouji.

"I'll take a melon soda." said Tanihara. Ayanokouji selected it before handing it back to Isoyama.

"Okay. I ordered it!"

Tanihara thanked Isoyama before returning her attention back to the piano and under Ayanokouji's watch, she began to practice and memorize the keys. Every once in a while, Ayanokouji placed Tanihara's phone face down to prevent her from constantly looking at it and told her to play the keys that he asked. After a couple of tries, Tanihara managed to get most of the keys, but was still having trouble with E and F keys.

"F is the more to the right than E in the alphabet, so it's to the right of E." said Ayanokouji, giving her a tip to help more memorize the location of the E and F keys. He noticed that Tanihara tends to make most of her mistakes on those keys.

"That's... helpful." said Tanihara. After a few more minutes, there was a knock on the door and Isoyama opened the door, revealing a staff member pushing a cart into the room. The staff member delivered all of the food and drinks that was ordered on the table before leaving. There were chips, snacks, and various drinks that the entire group ordered.

"Why don't we take a break?" suggested Ayanokouji. Tanihara nodded and the entire group sat down together by the snacks as they grabbed the items that they ordered.

"Wow! I can't believe that we're getting all of this for free." said Tanihara, sipping her melon soda.

"I know right. I asked the staff and he said that the school is paying for all of it. This is the best!" said Isoyama, popping a chip into her mouth.

"How long are we staying on the cruise anyways?" asked Nakajima. "I heard it's two more weeks." said Tanihara.

"That's crazy."

"I could go through an entire bucket list and have some fun while doing it!" "I would've had to sell my house and take a loan to take a cruise ship exam!"

The girls began chatting about trivial things and at this point, Ayanokouji is quite used to it. Being around girls and having conversations. Of course, there are many types of girls with different personalities, so not every conversation is the same.

Isoyama pulled out a microphone and turned the TV on with the remote. She began scrolling through the songs.

"Whoa, Isoyama-san. We're just taking a break before getting back to practice."

said Nakajima.

"C'mon! It's just a little break, right? It doesn't hurt." said Isoyama.

"I mean... Isoyama-san does have a point and... we're in a karaoke booth. Might as well sing a few songs." said Tsube.

"But..." said Nakajima.

"A few songs won't hurt. C'mon!" said Tanihara. "Okay... just a few." said Nakajima, reluctantly agreeing.

*Timeskip (2 hours later)*

Nakajima put down the microphone after her song has finished and looked over at the clock on the wall. She yelped out loud which got the attention of everyone.

"Hey! It's been 2 hours!" said Nakajima, with panic in her voice. That got the attention of everyone who turned their attention towards the clock on the wall.

"Eh?!" shouted the group as they were stunned on how much time has passed during their little break.

"I-Impossible!" said Tanihara.

"Oh man... we're having such a blast." said Isoyama.

"Did we even practice that much?" asked Tsube. "Probably like half a hour." replied Ayanokouji.

During the 2 hours of their little break, Isoyama, Nakajima, Tanihara, and Tsube all took turns singing songs. They tried to get Ayanokouji to sing a song, but he refused. They also ordered some more drinks and snacks during their little session.

"We don't have much time before curfew." said Nakajima.

"Let's sing a few more songs then!" said Tsube. Since there's not much time before curfew, they decided to spend the rest of their time having fun rather than

practicing. Tanihara finished another song and everyone was giving a round of applause.

"You have a good singing voice, Tsube-san." said Tanihara. "Yeah. Did you join the choir club?" asked Isoyama.

"No. I l just like singing, but I don't practice or do anything about it." said Tsube, looking a little embarrassed.

"No way. Have you considered joining the choir club?" "I could, but I need time to practice on my guitar."

"I know! Maybe you can be our singer." said Tanihara.

"What?!" yelped Tsube. Nakajima and Isoyama both were both surprised as well by Tanihara's sudden suggestion. It was clear that none of them knew about this.

"What do you mean?" asked Nakajima.

"Uhh... I think it will be cool if we actually performed in front of a live audience." said Tanihara. Tsube winced and looked very nervous while Isoyama seemed slightly interested. Nakajima seemed fully against it.

"You need to give us a heads up before we joined the band." said Nakajima, running her forehead.

"Sorry! But don't you think that's cool? Playing in front of people instead of each other."

"Not everyone is comfortable doing something like that."

Tanihara looked at each band member and only Isoyama seemed to be considering it. Nakajima and Tsube looked like they are against that idea.

"Tanihara-san. I'm just a beginner on the guitar. There's no way I'm ready to play in front of a crowd. I'm not as good as Isoyama-san."said Tsube. It was a fair point because not everyone in the band were experienced and confident enough to play in front of an audience. Not to mention that the 4 girls have not played

together. One person can succeed, but the whole band needs to be succeeded in order to have a successful performance.

"I guess you're right about that, but we can practice and then play!" "Look what happened when we tried to practice." said Nakajima. "We can do better I guess." said Isoyama, scratching her head. "Wait, Isoyama-san. Are you on board with the idea?" asked Tsube.

"I think it's cool, but it's okay if you guys aren't okay with it." said Isoyama.

"I'm not okay with it." said Nakajima and Tsube. Tsube was a beginner which is understandable why she was more hesitant and less confident in performing. Her skills and confidence are lower than the other band members, but Ayanokouji was a little surprise on why Nakajima was against it. She was playing the bass for just as long as Isoyama on drums and he wondered if she was lacking confidence.

"Okay. Not everyone is ready to play in front of an audience, that's okay. We'll practice and until everyone is ready and want to play." said Tanihara. She reluctantly accepted the fact that not everyone was open to her idea and was comfortable and had the confidence as her. Despite still learning the piano, Tanihara had the confidence to play in front of an audience which Ayanokouji could respect. He couldn't tell that if it's foolishness or bravery.

After that discussion, everyone returned back to the karaoke as Tsube picked up the microphone to sing her song.

"Ayanokouji-kun. Are you sure that you don't want a turn?" asked Tsube. "It's fine. I prefer to watch than sing." said Ayanokouji.,

"One day... we'll get you to sing.~" "That day would never happen."

That got some giggles from the other girls including Tsube.

"Don't be too sure about it, Ayanokouji-kun. I'm get you one day." said Tsube. "You don't have to try so hard... Your song is going."

Ayanokouji pointed at the screen and Tsube yelped as she lost some points when she missed the opening sequence of the song. She quickly started singing and the other girls were laughing. Tsube managed to finish the song, but her score was lower than usual because of the mistake. Tsube pouted at her score and suddenly, a notification came on the TV screen. It notified the group that their time is coming to an end in 10 minutes.

"We should get going." said Tanihara. The rest of the group agreed and finished their drinks before going. They exited the karaoke building and made their way to the elevator. There's about half a hour left before curfew and the school gave a generous amount of time for the students before curfew. They selected their respective floors where the students' rooms are and the elevator was filled with chatter. Since the boys floor was closer to the 4th floor, the elevator stopped there first and Ayanokouji got out of the elevator.

"Bye, Ayanokouji-kun." said Tsube, Isoyama, and Nakajima.

"Later, Ayanokouji-kun. Thanks for the help." said Tanihara. The girls gave him a wave and their final goodbyes before the elevator doors close. Ayanokouji began making his way back to his room, but he was pulled aside by someone.

"Ayanokouji, you bastard!" said Yamauchi, trying to put Ayanokouji in a headlock, but failed miserably. Ayanokouji quickly ducked and backed away from Yamauchi.

"What do you want?" asked Ayanokouji.

"What do I want? You promised me Sakura's email, but you were screwing around with a bunch of girls!"

Ayanokouji wanted to say that it was not the case, but from an outsider's perspective, it could be true. Especially when Ayanokouji and a group of girls came out from an isolated and soundproof room like a karaoke room. Of course, Yamauchi, being the pervert that he is, had the completely wrong idea when Ayanokouji with a group of girls. Ayanokouji wondered if Yamauchi was actually following him the entire time or just happened to see him leave

Tanihara and the rest of the group by the elevator. Ayanokouji debated whether or not to give Yamauchi, Sakura's email address without her consent. It was also clear that Yamauchi has an ulterior motive. Ultimately, he decided it was a really bad idea and decided not to.

"Well, this is kind of hard to say, but...I lied to you before." said Ayanokouji . "Wait. You lied?" yelped Yamauchi.

"Do you really think that I would know Sakura's email address?"

"So... You didn't know her email address at all, Ayanokouji. You lied to me?" "Yeah. Sorry."

"Sorry? What does that mean? I'm not looking for an apology, I'm looking for her email! How are you... How dare you trick me!"

"Can you give me just a little more time?"

"More time?! 'Show me a liar and I will show you a thief'!" "Then are you going to make Sakura tell you?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"You know, Sakura said she hates guys that are all talk." "You mean guys like you, Ayanokouji?!"

"Of course she hates me. But it should be obvious why I couldn't give you her contact information. I don't want you to make the same mistake I did, Yamauchi. If you forcibly asked her, it wouldn't go anywhere. It'd be pointless."

"You're just making excuses. You never knew her info in the first place." "Yeah. And I'm sorry. But I know for sure that she doesn't hate you." "But what the hell should I do?"

"Did you know that Sakura loves digital cameras? I've heard that her camera

doesn't work, and she doesn't have enough points to buy a new one. But what if you got one for her, Yamauchi? If you gave it to her as a present?"

"Oh, she'd be happy, for sure, but...I don't have any points, either."

"Well, we did win the island exam. If you save enough points, you'd get enough points to buy tons of digital cameras. Right?"

"So if I do my best, there's a chance I can get a new camera for Sakura?"

Yamauchi looked like he was about to burst. He could see the solution to his problems.

"Now, Yamauchi Haruki, you need to achieve real results. Work hard, and show Sakura how manly you are. Only then would you be a guy who deserves to go out with a former idol." said Ayanokouji. He was trying to direct his energy elsewhere and hoping to avoid Yamauchi's wrath. He hoped that it will be a temporary solution before he could find a permanent solution to deal with Yamauchi.

"I'll do it, I'll do it, I'll do it, I'll do it! I'll give it everything I've got and win Sakura!" shouted Yamauchi.

"That's right, Yamauchi. You can definitely do it."

"Yeah! I'm definitely got it! I'm so psyched that I'm going to the gym!"

With that, Yamauchi happily and confidently marched off towards the elevator. Ayanokouji wanted to call out to him that curfew is almost here and that he's going to be kicked out of the gym, but decided not to tell since Yamauchi looked like he's not going to listen. Ayanokouji walked back to his room without any more interruptions. He sighed and noticed that Yukimura is the only one in the room and he was on his bed and reading a book. They gave each other a nod before Ayanokouji changed into a set of comfortable pajamas before laying down in his bed.

"Are you sleeping?" asked Yukimura. "Yeah." replied Ayanokouji.

"I'll turn off the lights in a few minutes." "Thanks."

"Good night."

Ayanokouji covered himself with a blanket and covered his head to block off the light coming from the ceiling and tried to drift to sleep, but he couldn't. It seemed that Yukimura has turned off the lights and was also going to sleep.

After about 15 minutes, he heard the door opening and the lights turning on. Ayanokouji heard Yukimura grumbled and his blankets rustling as he covered his head to block all of the light. He heard Hirata telling Koenji to be quiet and Koenji just laughed and was being his usual self before walking into the bathroom. Hirata muttered an apology and he heard Hirata getting into his bed. After a few minutes, the lights turned off as Koenji exited the bathroom and crawled into bed. Eventually, when everything is quiet and everyone in the room, Ayanokouji drifted to sleep.

*Timeskip (next day)*

Ayanokouji exited out of a cafe after his nice quiet, peaceful breakfast. He was wearing his swim trunks and a rash guard which might be a strange attire, but when you're in a cruise ship with multiple pools in various locations, it's not that strange for people to be wearing their swimsuits. Ayanokouji made his way to the pool on one of the very top of the cruise ship. It was apparent a very popular spot and you can such a great view of the ocean and island from the high vantage point. Ayanokouji noticed the people that invited him over and approached them. They immediately noticed Ayanokouji and waved at him.

"Ayanokouji-kun!" called out Mori. She was the first one that spotted Ayanokouji and she was wearing a stunning white bikini swimsuit with a straw beach hat. The swimsuit showed off her beautiful pale slim figure as her light- brown hair was gently draped over her shoulders.

"Hello, Mori." said Ayanokouji, trying his best to her stare at her too much.

"Oh? Having a good view, aren't you?~" teased Mori, noticing that Ayanokouji was trying not to look at her.

"I suppose. It's not every day that I get to see you in a swimsuit. It's looks

beautiful on you."

Mori's face became flustered and she averted her eyes from Ayanokouji as his blunt and honest compliments put an end to her attempt of teasing.

'Is this even human? He doesn't laugh, smile, or get fluster at all! Now that I'm thinking about it, I don't think he ever did that from the first moment I met him. I wonder what it will take to get to change that blank expression on his face! I need to try harder than that!' thought Mori.

"Ayanokouji-kun!" called out Onodera, who was in the pool, but at the edge where she's currently resting.

"Hey, Onodera." said Ayanokouji, greeting her.

"Are you going for a swim? How about you join me?" "In a little bit."

"Okay. I'll keep you to your promise."

Ayanokouji nodded and Onodera kicked off the pool's wall and began swimming to the other end of the pool in a briskly pace. He watched her complete a lap and is making her way back towards his direction.

"Onodera-san is really fast, isn't she?" said Mori.

"Yeah. No wonder she's in the swimming club. How long was she swimming anyway?" replied Ayanokouji.

"I don't know. She was already here when I got here 15 minutes ago." "Wow. She has stamina. Are you swimming Mori?"

"Yeah, probably later too."

Mori patted to one of the reclining beach chair that was next to her and told Ayanokouji to have a seat. He took a seat and the duo was sitting under a large red beach umbrella and Mori had a fruit smoothie by the table besides her. The duo chatted for a little bit and Ayanokouji listened as Mori was talking about the

island special exam and how surprising it was for Horikita to come with a plan. Ayanokouji ordered some fruit juice from a nearby staff member and as Mori and Ayanokouji was chatting, someone called out his name.

"Ayanokouji-kun!" called Kushida. Ayanokouji turned towards the direction and spotted 3 girls in swimsuits. Kushida was wearing a bright orange with tropical trees triangle bikini swimsuit along with an orange flower ornament on the right side of her head. Mii-chan is wearing a light blue frilled bikini. Icihashi is wearing a white side-tied bikini.

"Hello Kushida, Mii-chan, Ichihashi." said Ayanokouji, greeting them. The three girls stepped into the shade of the umbrella that he and Mori was sharing.

Kushida was the one that invite him and he knew that some of her friends will be coming.

"Sorry for calling you out like this." said Mii-chan, with an apologetic smile.

"It's okay. If I didn't want to come, I would've rejected your offer." replied Ayanokouji.

"Is Horikita-san okay? I haven't seen her since yesterday and she looks really sick." said Ichihashi.

"Yeah. She's getting some rest for her hard work on the island." replied Ayanokouji.

"That's good. We owe Horikita-san for getting us through that."

"Maybe we should visit Horikita-san later to check on her." said Kushida, with a smile. But, Ayanokouji could tell that it's all an act.

'Fucking bitch deserved it! Get sick and suffer, bitch. Maybe she'll get some sick that she needs to go to the hospital for a long time and never come back.' thought Kushida, gleefully. The other girls agreed with her and Ayanokouji told them that Horikita might not like the extra company and attention especially when she's sick and there might be a risk that they might catch the cold from her. In the end, they decided to buy Horikita some cold medicine and not overwhelm her with so many visitors. The group chatted for a bit before Kushida suggested that they get in the pool. Everyone went into the pool and Onodera swam up to them.

"Hi, Onodera-san!" called Kushida as Onodera approached them with lighting speed. The other girls called out their greeting as Onodera stopped in front of them, seemingly out of breath.

"Hey, everyone." said Onodera. She paused for a moment as she took a deep breath.

"Let's have some fun!"

The girls began swimming or splashing water at each other and broke into groups. Ayanokouji was hanging out with Onodera as both of them were farther from the group and is leaning against the pool's wall.

"Ayanokouji-kun, do you want to race?" asked Onodera.

"I'm going to lose against you if we did." replied Ayanokouji.

"Are you sure? I know that you were holding back. Don't think that I didn't notice that from the last time we had swimming classes."

"Why would I be holding back?"

"Your form looks a little off and it looked like you were holding back and purposely going slower."

I need to work on that. An experienced swimmer like Onodera can tell.

"Maybe my form is a little off?" said Ayanokouji.

"Nope. It looked perfect expect from your legs. It slowed you down significantly." said Onodera.

"Anyways, how was your tournament?" asked Ayanokouji, changing the subject quickly before Onodera could expose more. He figured that if he asked her about something that happened recently and Onodera is passionate about, it would divert her attention and it seemed to have worked.

"Oh... want to guess what place I got?" asked Onodera, with a smile. "5th place?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Nope. I got 3rd place! Did you really think that I will be that low?"

Onodera pouted cutely and said it in a teasing way and Ayanokouji decided to counter it with his own words. Ayanokouji made an educated guess without knowing how many people participated in the tournament and how the tournament worked.

"You're number one in my heart." said Ayanokouji. His words caused Onodera to freeze up and tongue-tied as she tried to process Ayanokouji's words.

Onodera's mind began to panic as she replayed Ayanokouji's words in her mind in a repeated loop as her heart rate increased. Onodera's face was bright red and she had a shocked expression on her face.

"Onodera?" said Ayanokouji, waving his hand in front of her face, trying to break her out of her trance. After a few more attempts, Onodera seemed to have snapped out of it. Ayanokouji cursed at himself for saying like that out of nowhere which is showing itself to be a big problem for him.

"A-Ayanokouji-kun. Y-You're quite the smooth-talker." said Onodera, chuckling and making her best attempt to play this off. She was secretly hoping that it's true and tried to calm her rapid heartbeat.

"You could say that."

"W-Wait is it the truth?!"

"Who knows?"

"Y-You can't just that to a girl and dodge it like it's nothing!" "I just did."

Before Onodera could say anything, Ayanokouji heard someone calling his name. He turned towards the direction and saw Andou wearing a one piece swimsuit and waving at him.

"Hi Ayanokouji-kun, Onodera-san!" said Anoud, greeting them enthusiastically and seemingly unaware of what happened between Ayanokouji and Onodera.

"Hello Andou." said Ayanokouji.

"Hey Andou-san. Getting a nice swim?" said Onodera, greeting her as well.

"Yep! It's the perfect weather for a nice swim." replied Andou, slipping into pool and got closer to the duo.

"By the way, are you alone?" asked Ayanokouji, noticing that Andou is not with Ichinose and her usual group of friends.

"Ichinose-san and the others were going to do some shopping and I didn't feel like going with them. What'cha doing?"

"Just talking and about to start swimming." "Do you mind if I join you guys?"

"I'm fine with it. Onodera, are you okay with this arrangement?" "Y-Yeah. The more the merrier!"

Onodera quickly yelped out a response and nodded her quickly. Andou looked her in a strange way and sensing that something is wrong.

"Are you okay, Onodera-san? Your face is kind of red." said Andou, pointing out Onodera's flustered face.

"Oh?! U-Uh... I got a little sunburn. I should get sun screen. I'll be right back!" said Onodera, finding an opportunity to get out of there. Onodera quickly climbed up one of the ladders to get out of the pool and disappeared, leaving Ayanokouji and Andou by themselves. Andou suggested that they take a swim and Ayanokouji agreed since he's already in the pool and didn't want to stay there chatting with Andou. They did few warm-up half-laps as a warm-up before they began swimming full laps. Ayanokouji changed his speed and made sure to stay a little behind Andou.

"C'mon, Ayanokouji-kun! Just a little more." said Andou, encouraging him. She stopped swimming and was walking backwards slowly. Ayanokouji looked up and tried to warn her, but couldn't since he was catching his breath and it was too late. Andou ran into the pool's wall, back first, and Ayanokouji tried to stop, but it was too late.

The duo ended up basically hugging each other as Ayanokouji ran into Andou face first. Andou couldn't back off because her back was against the pool's wall and Ayanokouji couldn't stop himself from running into Andou due to his speed. Ayanokouji could feel Andou's body pressed against his and he can feel the warmth generating from her body. Ayanokouji could also feel Andou's rapid heartbeat.

"Sorry about that, Andou. I didn't see you stop. Are you okay?" said Ayanokouji, apoligzing as he backed away from Andou, who had a flustered expression on her face.

"Y-Yeah! I'm fine. I should've been more careful." said Andou. "It's partially my fault as well. At least no one is hurt, right?" "Yeah."

"Ayanokouji-kun! Andou-san!" called out Onodera as she jumped into the pool and some water doused the duo.

"Sorry about that! I'm back!" said Onodera.

"Ah Onodera-san! Do you want to have a little race?" asked Andou, quickly turning her attention to Onodera and splashing water in her face in an attempt to hide her slightly red flustered face.

"You're on. You're gonna lose anyways!" "Oh, really? Let's see."

The two girls got into their starting position and kicked off the pool's wall and began rapidly swimming towards the other end of the pool with lighting speed. Andou was quick, but Onodera was faster and Ayanokouji could tell that Andou is slowly losing speed and distance to Onodera, who reached the end first and began heading back towards Ayanokouji.

While Onodera is swimming, her thoughts were running wild in her mind as she picked up more and more speed. She recalled on what she saw between Ayanokouji and Andou as she was making her way back to the pool after chugging down a bottle of water and pouring some on top of her head to cool

herself off. Onodera saw Ayanokouji and Andou hugging and seemed very close together as if they are a couple sharing an intimate moment.

'Oh my god. Is Ayanokouji-kun and Andou-san going out? I leave them for a few minutes and I come back to something this! Calm down, Kayano. Just calm down and focus on swimming. I can ask him later.' thought Onodera, as she focused on swimming. Her body moved naturally and on instinct due to her years of training as her mind wandered around.

Onodera stopped near Ayanokouji and was out of breath. She beat Andou by a wide marigin and Andou is still making her way back and is on her final lap, making her way back towards the duo. Onodera found it the perfect opportunity and time to ask Ayanokouji her question and concerns.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun. I have a weird question to ask you." said Onodera.

"Go ahead. I'm used to people asking me weird questions." said Ayanokouji, having a bad feeling about what's about to come next.

"Are you dating Andou-san by any chance?" "No. Why do you think that?"

"W-Well... I thought I was interrupting something when I saw you guys hugging in the pool."

"I ran into Andou while we were racing and her back was against the wall, so we ended up in that position."

"Ah! Sometimes that happened when people don't pay attention. Sorry for asking a stupid question like that."

"Don't be. It's better to ask than assume, right?"

"Y-Yeah, but I feel stupid asking something like that." "I also have something to say to Onodera."

"Go ahead."

"I apologize for what I said earlier. I don't want you to get the wrong idea and have our relationship change over something that I said prematurely. I was trying to make you feel better for your placement in the tournament. I'm sorry."

Ayanokouji bowed his head towards Onodera, who was surprised by his sudden apology and immediately started shaking her head.

"You don't have to apologize for that Ayanokouji-kun. It's just that... it's kind of unexpected and it's really sweet that you wanted to cheer me up." said Onodera.

"It's still my fault for saying like that out of nowhere and causing a misunderstanding." said Ayanokouji.

"Yeah. I guess that it's out of nowhere, but thank you for trying to cheer me up." "I guess I did my best, but there's always next time. You got this, Onodera."

Onodera laughed and gave Ayanokouji her usual confident happy smile, but Onodera was secretly happy that Ayanokouji was caring enough to try to cheer her up from her loss in the swimming tournament. Although her teammates and coach was happy and proud that Onodera gotten such a high place in tournament especially from a first year student, Onodera was feeling dissatisfied and knew that she could've done better and gotten a higher place. She tried to not show it and smiled on as she got praise from teammates and opponents alike, but she never took them too seriously as she knew that it was up to her to reach her goals and focused on her next goal. It was like those praises didn't affected her because it did. Onodera was happy that people recognized her abilities and how much time and effort she spent. But Onodera felt especially happy when Ayanokouji himself said it.

"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun." said Onodera.

"Hey! Y-You're way too fast!" said Andou, finally reaching the duo. She was out of breath and she leaned against the pool's wall. She was catching her breath for a few moments before speaking.

"Is it too me or you were going faster than usual?" asked Andou.

"Really? I thought I was going my normal speed." said Onodera, tilting her head curiosity.

"Yeah. I think you were going faster than usual." said Ayanokouji, noticing it too.

"Really? You're both not messing with me?"

Ayanokouji and Andou both shook their heads and Onodera clapped her hands. "Damn! I've wished someone timed me, so I can know!" said Onodera.

"I thought I was slacking because of you." said Andou. "Hahaha! You're no match for me."

"C'mon. Let's play volleyball right now and we'll see who's slacking."

The two girls were trash-talking each other and while they were talking, Ayanokouji heard multiple people swimming towards them. It was Kushida, Mori, Mii-chan, and Ichihashi.

"Hi, Andou-san!" said Kushida, waving to her.

"Kushida-chan! It's nice to see you again." said Andou. The rest of the girls exchanged their greetings to Andou, but there was a tense atmosphere and Ayanokouji didn't noticed it at all.

'Oh? Another girl that Ayanokouji-kun knows? Don't tell me that fucking bitch is love with him too?! How many bitches does this fucking playboy know? Not only that he's surrounded by a bunch of fucking hoes. There's even more outside of my own fucking class. What the fuck?!' thought Kushida.

"Does everyone want to play some water volleyball?" asked Mori, holding up a beach ball. There was a volleyball net set up at the other end of the pool and was in its own isolated area to not disturb anyone that is swimming or playing in the water. The girls agreed and they swam over to the isolated side of the pool where the volleyball net is set up. They decided to split Andou and Onodera up since they're the only athletes in the group. The teams were Onodera, Ayanokouji, Ichihashi against Andou, Mori, Kushida, and Mii-chan. They've decided to play until the first team reaches a score of 21.

"Let's go!" said Andou, making the first serve and Onodera easily returned it

back. Ayanokouji was positioned at the back where his height can used to return any serves that are towards his direction. The ball was returned back and forth a few times before Andou spiked it towards Ichihashi and scored. Ayanokouji could tell that it's going to be a close game.

*Timeskip (15 minutes later)*

The score is 20-17 with Ayanokouji's team losing. It was Andou's serve and Onodera got ready to intercept the ball again. Onodera was the best chance to stopping Andou's spike which Ichihashi had a hard time in stopping.

Andou served the ball, and it flew over towards the back of the court and towards Ayanokouji, who sent it back towards Mori, who was near the middle of the court. Mori sent the ball back, but Onodera leapt out of the water and spiked the ball towards Mii-chan, who's in the forward left position. Mii-chan dove and tried to save the ball, but the ball hit the water and sprayed water all over Mii- chan's face. The score is now 20-18. Onodera held the ball and told Ayanokouji to switch with Ichihashi. It was clear that Onodera wanted to press forward on the offensive and keep scoring before they could lose.

Onodera served the ball and Mii-chan returned it back. The round lasted a few more serves as Mori, Mii-chan, Onodera, and Ayanokouji had their turn hitting the ball. It ended when Ayanokouji hit the ball towards the air and above the net where Onodera leapt and spiked the ball past Kushida and into the water.

"Yeah! The comeback is real!" said Onodera, giving Ayanokouji a high five. The score is now 20-19, but Ayanokouji knew that they shouldn't get too confident. One mistake will cost them the game and now it's time for Andou's team to serve the ball.

Andou served the ball towards the end of the pool where Ichihashi is, who barely managed to hit over the net. The ball clipped the net and fell towards Mii-chan, who barely managed to hit the ball over the net. Ayanokouji returned the ball towards Kushida which Kushida returned back perfectly. The game lasted a while until Mori hit the ball up towards Kushida, who hit the ball high into the air before Andou made a flying jump out of the pool and spiked it towards Onodera. Onodera tried to save the ball, but the sun got into her eyes and she missed the ball by a few inches and the ball hit the water's surface. It was the hardest spike that Andou made all game and it clearly demonstrated how good

she was in volleyball.

"Good game!" said Onodera, swimming under the net and congratulating the winning game. Ayanokouji and Ichihashi joined her as they congratulated the winning team.

"You're pretty good Onodera-san, but you're no match for me." said Andou, in a teasing manner.

"You have a killer spike!"

"I guess. That's why I was the forward position in the volleyball team, but you're pretty good. What's the score now? 68-42?"

"Okay... You might be winning, but the score is 69-42!"

It seemed that Onodera and Andou were having a bit of friendly competition and keeping track of the number of games they won when they go against each other. Ayanokouji was surprised by the sheer number of games that they played.

"Wow! You played that many games?" said Kushida, with her mouth open in shock.

"Crazy. Are you guys even human?" asked Mori, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Who knows?" said Andou, chuckling as she gave Ayanokouji a hearty slap on the back which caused him to lurch forward.

"You did pretty good, Ayanokouji-kun. Not anyone can stop my spike like that." said Andou.

"Thanks, but it kind of hurt my forearms." said Ayanokouji, looking down at his forearms which are slightly red.

"You'll get used to it."

The group spent some time swimming and playing in the water before Ayanokouji noticed that the sun is really high in the sky, indicating that it's around mid noon and knew that it's time to go.

"Sorry, everyone. I have to meet someone for lunch." said Ayanokouji. "Ahh... so soon?" said Kushida, pouting.

"Yeah. I did promise them that I would be coming. Goodbye, everyone." "Bye, Ayanokouji-kun."

"See you later, Ayanokouji-kun." "It was fun!"

"Thanks for coming."

Ayanokouji said his final goodbyes before climbing out of the pool and dried himself with a towel that he has brought with him. He made his way back to his room where he quickly showered and changed into a new set of clothes before leaving again. Ayanokouji made his way towards the stern of the ship. When he arrived, the person that he was meeting was already there.

"Inogashira. Sorry for being late." said Ayanokouji. "It's okay. I didn't wait too long." said Inogashira. "Shall we go?"

Inogashira nodded and the duo headed off into a more crowded area of the ship rather than an isolated area. They found a little bento shop that wasn't too far away and as they were looking at the various types of bentos to get for their lunch, Ayanokouji noticed how many they were and the different various ingredients that each bento have.

"There's so many." said Ayanokouji, picking up a bento box and studying it.

"Yeah. They even have cute bentos with animals and characters." said Inogashira. She was staring intently at a cat themed bento that had a cute cat face on a bed of white rice, made out of nori and other ingredients. Ayanokouji could see different animals and characters from anime that were the main theme of the bento and the creativity of the people that made it. He wondered if he should go for which bento he would like to eat or which design interest him.

The duo spent a few minutes deliberating on what bento box they should get and eventually, Ayanokouji choose a bento box and Inogashira choose a cat themed bento box. As they were making their way to the register, they noticed a small refrigerated section of the bento shop that had drinks. Ayanokouji and Inogashira both grabbed a bottle of ramune before arriving to the register. The staff member quickly scanned their items before giving it to them in a plastic bag. They made their way back to the stern where they could get a good view of the ocean and it was a nice quiet place as well. They sat down on the deck floor and lean their back against the sip as they opened their bento box. The scent of freshly cooked good wafted in their noses as the smell of the salty ocean is also mixed in the smell as well.

"Itadakimasu." said the duo. Ayanokouji got a standard bento box, but with eel as the main protein. There was white rice, potato salad, tamogoyaki, boiled eggs, boiled broccoli, cherry tomatoes, oden stir fry, some boiled tofu, and some nori as the side dishes. Inogashira had some cat themed onigiris and less side dishes than Ayanokouji, but most of the ingredients are the same. Inogashira's bento had the onigiris as the main dish and each onigiris were designed to look like a cat head: one calico and white cat. There were little ears, nose, and eyes for each cat made from various ingredients: nori, carrots, cheese, rice, and other ingredients. There also some broccoli and other vegetables under the onigiris.

Ayanokouji could see the level of detail and effort that one must go through to make something like this.

Ayanokouji tried each of the bento's components first and he could tell that the bento was made recently as the ingredients tasted fresh. He presumed they were made about a hour in advance in preparation for lunch. As Ayanokouji ate, he popped open his bottle of ramune. As they ate, Ayanokouji and Inogashira chatted about trivial things and Inogashira brough up her progress of Ayanokouji's sweater. Every time Inogashira is talking about knitting, her eyes lit up with passion and she talked more freely.

When the duo finished eating their bento, Inogashira placed a tote bag that she was carrying next to her and pulled out her unfinished sweater and some paper. It was the same sweater that Ayanokouji returned to her when she had her little run-in with Karuizawa. Ayanokouji could see that there's been some progress made on the sweater. It looked about halfway finished.

"Impressive. You're almost done with your sweater." said Ayanokouji.

"Yeah! I got most of the top section and the sleeves done! I really like the design that I've decided to use." said Inogashira.

"The nice flowery design is nice. Are they chrysanthemums?" "Yeah! Pretty good, right?"

"I personally haven't see any chrysanthemums before, but it's quite pretty."

"Really? But is this one a little too big or what?" asked Inogashira, pointing at the one in the middle.

"I think it's fine. I mean it's the one in the middle and it's meant to be eye catching, but it's fine." replied Ayanokouji.

"I tried to make some of them look like they are blooming. Does it look good?"

"Yeah, it looks pretty good. You put quite a great deal of effort in making them. The contrast of the colors and the position of some of the chrysanthemums."

"T-Thank you."

"I think that Karuizawa is wrong about what she said. You definitely have the talent and skills to make something that is not trash."

Inogashira's face was slightly flustered, but she has a happy and prideful smile on her face as she got recognized for her skills by someone that she liked. It was sort of embarrassing for her, but she was happy at the same time.

"T-Thank, Ayanokouji-kun. It means a lot to me." said Inogashira, shyly.

"I could appreciate fine craftsmanship when I could see it." said Ayanokouji. "Y-Yeah. Wait! I need to ask you about your sweater."

"Okay. Ask ahead."

"Are you really fine with anything? I could make anything I want?" 'You have full creative control. Anything is fine with me."

"Okay. I was thinking about a dark blue color with some stripes. It's going to be a solid V-neck."

"It seems good. I'm okay with the color of blue, but go ahead and let me see what you can make."

"Okay. You won't regret it!"

For the rest of their time together, Ayanokouji and Inogashira chatted about her process of making sweater and her future plans and ideas on it. Inogashira wanted to make her own sweater first as a test before turning all of her attention and effort in making Ayanokouji's. Inogashira asked Ayanokouji some few questions about what he likes and things he preferred before taking some notes.

"We need to schedule a time where I can take your measurements. I still need to finish that before I can make your sweater." said Inogashira.

"Okay. I'm free any time." replied Ayanokouji.

"I'm going to set a goal. Finish your sweater by this winter. A sweater should be used during the winter time, right?"

"Yeah, but don't push yourself too hard, okay?" "Okay, but I'm going to finish it by then."

Inogashira said it with determination and her eyes were lit up by the same intense determination and Ayanokouji hoped that she doesn't push herself too hard for his sake.

"I'm going to stop at an arts and crafts store for a bit to pick up some supplies and to get some ideas." said Inogashira, getting up. The duo had spent about a hour and a half together.

"Do you want me to come?" asked Ayanokouji. "No. An artist shouldn't reveal their secrets."

"I'll take the hint. The least I can do is walk you the elevator."

"Okay, thank you."

The duo made sure to clean up after themselves before leaving. They walked by a trash can where they disposed of their empty bento boxes and trash before walking towards the elevator. Inogashira and Ayanokouji both selected different floors and waited patiently as the elevator began to move. There were stopping at Ayanokouji's level first before Inogashira goes down to a lower level. After a few more moments, the elevator opened up and Ayanokouji got off the elevator.

"Bye, Ayanokouji-kun." said Inogashira, giving him a wave. "Bye, Inogashira." replied Ayanokouji.

"Thanks for having lunch with me." "It's no problem. See you later."

With one final smile, the elevator doors closed and left Ayanokouji alone. Ayanokouji decided to explore the cruise ship more and see what other facilities that it might have. He chosen a random floor and decided to explore. It looked like Ayanokouji ended up on a shopping floor as he saw shops everywhere and he decided to see which stores might interest him. He has gotten some ideas and began spending some time, looking at a few stores. After about a hour of exploring, he ran into someone familiar.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun!" said Yamashita, waving at him. She was with 2 other girls and Ayanokouji recognized them from their brief encounter. It was his classmate, Nishimura and Suzuki from Class C.

"Hey Yamashita, Suzuki, Nishimura." said Ayanokouji, greeting them. He noticed that they were carrying some shopping bags.

"So we meet again, Ayanokouji-kun. Has the lord of darkness captured you already?" asked Nishimura.

"No. If I was, I wouldn't be here." replied Ayanokouji.

"That's good. I thought you were captured by him when I haven't heard from you. Fear not. I, Nishimura Ryuko, will lend you my holy demigod power!"

"Thanks."

Ayanokouji decided to just go along with Nishimura and he wondered how wild and big her imagination is. Meanwhile, Suzuki was looking at Ayanokouji and whispering something to Yamashita, who nodded her head.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun... I have a question for you." said Suzuki. "Go ahead." replied Ayanokouji.

"It might be weird, but do you play any games?" "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"What kind of games?!"

Suzuki seemed really excited and the volume of her voice rose and her eyes were sparkling, filled with excitement and curiosity.

"Sotomura gave me a game. I think it's a school dating sim." said Ayanokouji. Yamashita and Suzuki looked at each other and Yamashita nodded.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun. I have a favor to ask you." said Suzuki. "I don't like the sound of this already." replied Ayanokouji. "Don't worry. It's nothing too big or serious."

"We want you to be our tester for our game!" said Yamashita.

"Eh?!" yelped Nishmura, clearly not expecting this. All 3 girls looked over at Ayanokouji, who stared at them blankly.

"Wait, what." said Ayanokouji.

"Okay. I should explain. Me, Suzuki, and Nishimura are making a game and we need a tester." said Yamashita.

"A game? What kind of game is it?"

"It's going to be a high school dating sim. It's going to be epic!"

"I see. What's the progress on the development of the game? You must've gotten pretty far if you're asking me to be a tester, right?"

"U-Uh... about that..."

Yamashita scratched her arm nervously, Suzuki averted her eyes, and Nishimura just looked off into the distance with a dramatic pose like she's waiting for someone. Ayanokouji had a feeling that Nishimura is looking for the "lord of darkness".

"Don't tell me..." said Ayanokouji.

"Okay, okay! We didn't get too far because it's our first time making a game." said Yamashita, with a slight embarrassed expression on her face.

"It's not my fault that I'm not getting inspiration." mumbled Suzuki.

"The lord of darkness has sent some minions to interfere with my programming! It has to be!" said Nishimura.

"So you basically want me to test your buggy game, so you can fix it." said Ayanokouji, getting straight to the point.

"Exactly!" said Yamashita, snapping her fingers and pointing at him.

"You didn't even sugarcoat it!" said Suzuki, with a slightly shocked expression. "I mean he already figured it out. There's no point."

"I guess, but be smooth with it at least!"

"There's no benefit for me if I do become your tester." said Ayanokouji.

"Well... you could say that you're our alpha tester and you can test our games when we become big!" said Nishimura. That offer is way too optimistic and far- fetched and it was assuming that Yamashita, Suzuki, and Nishimura could even become successful in the gaming industry.

"You idiot! That's unreasonable!" said Suzuki, whacking Nishimura in the head. Nishimura gripped her head in exaggerated pain.

"Ow! It's worth a shot. Ayanokouji-kun could witness our greatness if he stick with us." said Nishimura.

"It's gonna be embarrassing if we failed."

"So... what do you say, Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Yamashita, turning towards him with a sweet smile on her face.

"I have a few questions about this offer." said Ayanokouji. "Go right ahead." said Yamashita.

"Are you guys serious about making games? I'm not that knowledge about those type of games, so I might not be the best tester."

"Well... I mean it's fun for us. To make something that we like into a reality and something that people can play. It's kinda of cool if you're thinking about it in that way." said Yamashita.

"I'm doing this because I want to practice my drawing skills and... it's pretty hot." said Suzuki, with a flustered expression as she pushed her glasses up which revealed a bright white glint in her lens.

"There's only one way to counter the lord of darkness and it's to create something out of my own two hands!" said Nishimura.

"Wouldn't Sotomura be a better tester than me? He plays way more games and watches more anime than me." said Ayanokouji.

"Don't worry about it, Ayanokouji-kun. I did say that I will teach you the world of anime and games. Besides, Sotomura-kun has his own dreams and ambitions. It wouldn't be fair if I got in the way." said Yamashita.

"So, it's fair if you bother me instead?" "Yeah... I mean no!"

Yamashita denied it right after she said confirmed it and she had a look of panic on her face as she denied it and waved her arms in denial. Suzuki slapped her face and buried her face in the palm of her hand. Nishimura whistled and seemed

impressed by Ayanokouji's words and how he got Yamashita back. "N-No. That's not what I meant!" yelped Yamashita.

"I'm kidding. It does seems interesting, so I guess I'm in." said Ayanokouji.

That's one way to see and experience the world of anime and otaku. Hopefully, I don't have to do that much besides play the game and to see if there's any bugs.

"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun!" said Yamashita, happily slapping him on the back. Suzuki nodded thankfully and Nishimura mimed wiping a sweat off her forehead. It seemed that his decision seemed to have relieved them.

"Let's add him to our group chat!" said Suzuki, pulling out her phone. Ayanokouji pulled out his phone and Yamashita sent him an invite to a group chat which he joined. The group had Yamashita, Suzuki, and Nishimura in it and they sent an emoji in the chat to welcome Ayanokouji.

How many girls' contact information do I even have at this point? I don't even know and I think I'm in way too many group chats.

"We'll ask you test the game later, but we gotta drop off some her things." said Suzuki, raising one of the shopping bags that she's carrying.

"Yeah. I'll see everyone around." said Ayanokouji. "Bye, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Thank you again!"

"You'll be seeing more of me, Ayanokouji-kun. I will be able to protect your from the dark lord and his minions!"

With those final and an interesting goodbye, Ayanokouji left the 3 girls as they headed towards the elevator while Ayanokouji explored the rest of the floor before making his way back to the elevator and making his on the deck of the ship where he could get some fresh air. It was the late afternoon and he noticed that there was a crowd on the deck and there seemed to be a line. It looked like they were waiting for an attraction and Ayanokouji approached the crowd out of curiosity. He noticed that there were mostly girls in the line waiting and he was

confused by the unequal gender ratio.

"Good morning. Will your partner be joining you later?" asked a woman, who was by the line. She was holding a sign that reads "Fortune Telling".

"Partner? No, it's just me." replied Ayanokouji.

"I see. Please wait in line. The wait time is about 25 minutes."

Before Ayanokouji could say anything, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Huh? That long?!" said an angry voice. Ayanokouji turned around and caught that person's eye.

"Ah." said Ibuki. Ayanokouji quickly moved past her and made a beeline towards the line and got there before Ibuki.

"Wait!" said Ibuki, joining Ayanokouji in the line. "Do you want something?" asked Ayanokouji. "Where's Horikita?"

"It's not like I'm with her all the time or anything. I'm alone today." "Ah, I see."

During the deserted island test, Ibuki had been sent to infiltrate Class D. Her mission was to spy on us and stir up chaos, and she and Horikita ended up trading blows in a fistfight after Horikita chased after Ibuki. Does Ibuki considered them archenemies?

"Fortune-telling is usually something you do one-on-one, isn't it? I really didn't expect this at all. Don't you agree?" asked Ibuki.

"Yeah. That's what I thought, anyway. But here we are." said Ayanokouji. "So, are you going to invite Horikita or something?"

"No, I'm not. If you want to talk to Horikita, why don't you reach out to her yourself? Try telling her that you want to go have your fortunes read together."

"Huh? Absolutely not. It's not like I have anything to talk to her about." "If that's true, then I really wish you'd stop bringing her up."

"Shut up!"

"So... girls like fortune telling?" asked Ayanokouji, nodding at the number of girls in line.

"I guess. I'm honestly fine doing in alone. What about you?" said Ibuki. "A little curiosity won't hurt if I checked it out."

"You could invite Ryuuen." said Ayanokouji, adding the last part. Ibuki shot him a scornful glare packed with disgust.

"You're joking, right? I hate seeing his face, even when I have to. I'd rather avoid him during my vacation." said Ibuki.

"I wanted to ask. During the survival test, who was Class D's leader?" asked Ibuki.

"Who knows?" said Ayanokouji.

"'Who knows?' It's not like you don't know."

"Even if I did, I couldn't tell you. Honestly, I don't know. Most of us in Class D have no idea. I think Horikita acted in secret, and somehow managed to pull everything off on her own. That's the only way I can explain what happened."

"If Ryuuen's not an option, why don't you invite a girl from your class? I'm sure you must have a friend or two." asked Ayanokouji, changing the topic. He had the feeling that Ibuki was haven't a hard time believing him.

"If I did, I wouldn't be in this situation. I absolutely despise the girls in my class."

"You know, you're making conversation with me just fine right now. Shouldn't you be able to talk to anyone else, too? I don't think you're bad at dealing with people."

"That's not true. When you talk to me, you feel something, don't you? I'm all prickly."

"Well, yeah. I guess so."

"No matter what I do, the mood always seems to turn sour. Understand?"

"If you're bad at communicating, I'm surprised you'd want to get your fortune read."

"That's the problem. I'm like someone who loves cats, but has an allergy." "But you did really well spying on Class D."

"That's different. In any case, talking to people makes me anxious. And when I'm anxious, it puts me on edge. I hate it. It's not like I want to be this way. Wait! Why am I even telling you this?"

Flustered, Ibuki abruptly turned away.

"Maybe, but it doesn't hurt for you to try and socialize with other people." said Ayanokouji.

"That's easy for you to say. You always screwing around with a bunch of girls!" said Ibuki.

"I'm not that good at that. I just happened to be there at the right time... Earlier, you said that being a spy was different, didn't you?"

"Yeah. Because it's a fact."

"What's the difference between then and now?" Ibuki fell silent for a little while before speaking.

"I don't know. It's just different." said Ibuki. It seemed like she'd given up on trying to articulate the difference.

"You haven't given it much thought." said Ayanokouji.

"Well, it's not like I can explain why they're different. I was just acting."

"No, I think it's simple. The difference between you now, and you then, is awareness."

"Awareness?"

"Your anxiety comes from being hyper-aware of situations. You project your insecurities onto others, so you freeze up when you meet someone for the first time."

"What are you talking about? I mean, maybe it's different for people who are good at communicating, but pretty much everyone gets nervous when they meet someone for the first time, don't they?"

"Of course. I'm the same way. But would you still feel nervous if you were talking to the clerk at a convenience store?"

"Huh?"

"The clerk at a convenience store you visit often. 'Do you have a point card? Would you like that warmed up?' You don't get anxious when the clerk asks you those questions, right?"

"Well, th-that's..."

"I suppose, when you put it that way, you have a point." said Ibuki, after thinking about it.

"You were ready to talk to the fortune-teller face-to-face. It's natural to feel anxious, but there's no reason to. If you don't think about communication too hard, that should relieve some of the tension."

"I see. Wait, why the hell are you lecturing me?"

"When you've been a loner for a long time, you understand these kinds of things. You wonder why you can't make friends, and you think about the differences between the people who make you nervous and those who don't. Finally, you think about where people come from and where they're going."

"You're creepy. You seem like the sort who'll turn out to be a mass murderer later in life. Were you always like this?"

"More or less. Forget what I said."

"Tch... I can't believe I have to wait that long to hear my fortune. I wonder if I have the Tenchuusatsu."

"Tenchuusatsu?"

"Wait. You came without even knowing what that is. Put simply, it's a type of fortune-telling that tells you what times are unlucky for you. That's why I came. Fortune-telling isn't all about romance and such."

"I'm going to ask you something directly. Ibuki, do you believe in fortune- telling?"

"Are you saying I shouldn't?"

"No. But it's generally not something people start to believe in all of a sudden, right?"

"I suppose a lot of people start out thinking that way. But if you can't move past that, fortune-telling's probably not for you."

"So, you're saying that nonbelievers aren't qualified to have their fortunes read?"

"No, that's not it. Let me put it this way. It's not like I believe in fortune-telling unconditionally. However, people who are overly skeptical from the very start won't get anything out of it. People who make fun of fortune-telling often lead lives riddled with contradictions themselves.

They'll say they don't believe in God or in Buddha, for instance—but when they're in trouble, they call on a higher power for help, don't they?"

"Yeah. I suppose that true... Looks like we'll be waiting for a while."

"We're only together to have our fortunes read, so we don't really need to make pointless chit-chat, right?"

"I guess you have a point."

It was a good thing since I'm not too good on making conversation and it would be a hassle to keep chit-chatting with Ibuki for another 20 minutes.

*Timeskip (25 minutes later)*

"Next please!" called out a voice. The duo entered the temporary tent. When they entered, Ayanokouji found a chamber that looked like something out of a television show. It was dark inside with a purple interior and a candle for its light source. The fortune-teller appeared to be an elderly woman, but a hood obscured her face, so Ayanokouji couldn't make out her expression. She sat with a thick book and a crystal ball. The crystal ball immediately began to glow, as if it would reflect Ayanokouji's and Ibuki's futures. There were two backless seats in front of the fortune-teller. When the duo sat down, the fortune-teller chuckled lightly and moved her right hand.

"First...you must decide which course and fortune you wish to read. A student can have their fortune read only once." said the fortune teller. There was a menu facing the duo and Ayanokouji looked at it.

"What kind of fortune are you going to read?" asked Ibuki.

"It can be about your academics, career, love life, or anything you like."

They were separated into several categories. The "Basic Plan" package seemed to include the services the fortune-teller had already mentioned. There were several packages, one of which seemed to be related to tenchuusatsu . There were even options that let you see the end of your life. Of course, there are many options were related to romance. Ayanokouji noticed that the menu had its prices crossed out and he had a feeling that if they weren't on the cruise ship, they would've been charged for the fortune telling, but since the school is paying for all of its expenses, the fortune teller limited to one fortune reading per student to make sure that she doesn't overwork herself. If the girls knew about this, they would've lined and it would've been a lot of work.

"I'll do the Basic Plan." said Ibuki. "And you?" asked the fortune-teller. "I'll take the same." replied Ayanokouji.

"Very well, let's start with the young lady. What's your name?" "Ibuki. Ibuki Mio."

"When I tell fortunes, I see the face, the hand, and then the heart of the person I'm reading. I may see something that you won't like. Are you prepared for that?" asked the fortune-teller.

"Do whatever you want." Ibuki replied. Ayanokouji saw a bit of the fortune- teller's wrinkled skin under her hood, along with the sharp gleam in her eye. She instructed Ibuki to extend both hands, then revealed her fortune.

"First, a palm reading. You have a long lifeline. You have a long, long life to look forward to. I cannot see you suffering any major illness so far."

The fortune-teller continued her reading at length, carefully providing Ibuki with predictions about academics, financial success, love, and so on. The predictions sounded ordinary and innocuous to Ayanokouji, but Ibuki listened with seeming satisfaction. The fortune-teller didn't have anything particularly negative to say. Most of her predictions were of a bright future.

She occasionally issued warnings, but they didn't seem to pose a significant threat.

"Thank you very much," said Ibuki. She bowed her head gratefully. The fortune- teller turned towards Ayanokouji and followed the same process she'd used with Ibuki, and the answers he received were largely indistinguishable from Ibuki's.

Things seemed fundamentally good, but the fortune-teller said that there would be a future time when Ayanokouji would need to be careful to avoid disaster.

Suddenly, the fortune teller froze and her eyes widened.

"Oh my! You've been blessed by the gods, young man. You have an extraordinary blessing." said the fortune-teller. Ibuki gasped and looked intently at the fortune teller and Ayanokouji had a feeling what she was referring to.

"What?! I've never heard about this..." muttered Ibuki.

"As do I. You're quite the rare customer, young man. Your gift is something that I have never seen before. It's really something out of this world."

"Really?" asked Ayanokouji, doubting that his soulmate powers is something to really brag about.

"Your abilities will be something that will get the attention of many people. Different people. People that can potentially change you. It is up to you whether

or not to embrace those changes that will be coming from your blessing." said the fortune-teller. Ibuki was confused by what the fortune teller said and tilted her head curiously as she looked over at Ayanokouji.

"Let's continue." said the fortune teller. She extended her hand again to read Ayanokouji's fortune.

"I see... It seems that you had a harsh childhood," said the fortune-teller, giving a broad answer. Ibuki sat without once interrupting, or even yawning, and listened intently.

"This is... You're the holder of the fate tenchuusatsu!" exclaimed the fortune- teller as she stopped moving her hands.

"Wha—? Seriously?" said Ibuki. The fortune-teller and Ibuki seemed way more shocked by this revelation.

"To put it simply, you've lived a life of constant misfortune since you were born." explained Ibuki.

"This is incredible!" exclaimed the fortune-teller.

I guess you can say that's the story of my life.

"So, is this fate tenchuusatsu going to apply to me from here on out?" asked Ayanokouji.

"The little girl wasn't quite right when she said that the tenchuusatsu meant you lived a life of misfortune." replied the fortune-teller.

"Little girl?" repeated Ibuki, annoyed.

"Fate tenchuusatsu is certainly rare. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that your entire life will be marked by misfortune. It's true that the overall outlook is bad. There are negatives: you won't have the blessing of your parents, or your family. However, the rest is up to you, individually. You alone decide what you can do and can't do." explained the fortune-teller, with a grim expression on her face, but Ayanokouji could see compassion in her eyes.

"I have one more piece of advice for you. Go straight home, without taking any

detours. If you stray, you might be stuck for quite a long time. Even if you do get stuck, don't panic. If you stay calm and work together, you should be able to overcome it." said the fortune-teller. With those final words, their fortune-telling session is over. The duo thanked the fortune-teller before leaving. Ayanokouji could feel her gaze directed at his back and he couldn't shake the feeling that what said will be coming true in the foreseeable future.

*Timeskip (10 minutes later)*

"So, how was your first fortune-telling experience?" asked Ibuki.

"How was yours?" said Ayanokouji, answering back with his own question.

"I was mostly satisfied, I think. That fortune-teller is actually pretty famous. People say that she's highly accurate."

"I see. It seems like a simple profession, but I guess it's actually difficult. I'm not going to dismiss fortune-telling from now on."

"Ah, I see."

The duo headed toward the elevator, but noticed that there was a crowd there, waiting to enter the elevator.

"Geh. It's really crowded again." said Ayanokouji. "Sorry, but I think I'm going to find another way. I'll take a detour."

"Yeah, me too." replied Ibuki, thinking the same thing as the duo didn't want to be stuck in an elevator full with people. As the duo made our way to the other elevator, Ayanokouji remembered what the fortune-teller had said.

"That reminds me, earlier..." said Ayanokouji.

"The fortune-teller said not to take any detours." replied Ibuki. Their eyes met Ibuki's for an instant before they decided to take the detour.

"Well, this might be interesting. Let's see how accurate her prediction was." muttered Ayanokouji. They arrived at the elevator without incident. No one else was around

when Ayanokouji hit the button to call the car.

"Is the second floor okay?" asked Ayanokouji as the duo entered the elevator.

"I'm going to the first floor, so it doesn't matter." said Ibuki. Ayanokouji pressed the first and second floor button before the elevator doors closed, and the car began to move. The duo was silent until the third-floor light blinked on, the elevator made a heavy grinding noise, then stopped. It didn't seem like we'd paused because someone had called the elevator on the third floor, It seemed more like the elevator had ground to a halt. The lights went out, and for an instant, everything was pitch black before the emergency lights came on.

"Is it a power outage?" asked Ibuki. "Seems that way." replied Ayanokouji.

If this was what the fortune-teller meant about getting stuck, then she was right on the money. Either that or it's a crazy coincidence.

"Shouldn't we use the emergency phone?" asked Ibuki, pointing at the phone. Ayanokouji quickly pushed the call button.

"There's no response." said Ayanokouji. He saw no indication that we were connecting to anyone at the emergency dispatch center after a few moments of waiting.

"Is the call not going through because of the power outage?" asked Ibuki.

"No. Elevators normally have a backup battery that lasts for several hours. The fact that the emergency lights are on right now is proof of that battery. I think this means there's some other internal failure." said Ayanokouji. He pushed the button meant for the hearing-impaired, but got no response.

"Can you try calling the cruise ship staff from your phone? We should be in range." said Ayanokouji.

"I'm sorry, but would you do it?" asked Ibuki.

"I know you don't want to talk to other people, but can't you do that much?" "Ugh."

With a disgruntled look, Ibuki pulled out her phone. When she looked at it, her expression immediately worsened. She showed her screen to Ayanokouji. A message said that the battery was low. Immediately afterwards, it died.

"I don't have anyone to talk to, so I don't usually notice when my battery is about to die. You do it." grumbled Ibuki.

"Guess I got no choice." said Ayanokouji, pulling out his phone. He froze when he saw his phone.

"Hurry up already." urged Ibuki.

"Apparently, our situation is far more serious than I originally thought."

Ayanokouji's phone's battery was at only 4 percent. He forgot to charge it last night and his phone was drained from all of the messages and time he spent on his phone with his soulmates.

"You're messing with me." growled Ibuki.

"I guess I forgot to charge my phone." replied Ayanokouji. "You're such a useless man."

"You know, you're being kind of mean, even though we're both in the exact same position. Okay, where to call now?"

Ayanokouji looked around to see if he could find contact information for emergency services, and discovered a ten-digit number near the button panel. However someone scribbled out the last four digits with a marker.

"A prank like this is evil." muttered Ayanokouji. "Why don't you call someone you know?" asked Ibuki. "Maybe Horikita?"

"Rejected."

"I thought you'd say that."

"If you call her, then that would mean she'd come to save us, right? Don't make me laugh."

"You don't want things to get messy?"

Ibuki nodded slightly and Ayanokouji assumed that she doesn't want to look weak in front of Horikita and to avoid causing a scene.

Sakura wouldn't gossip, but the situation would probably fluster her. It'd be difficult for her to help us out. Asking my other soulmates might backfire on me as they might think that something happened between me and Ibuki especially if they learned that we went to fortune telling together. If I remember correctly, the fortune teller is famous for our accurate predictions and for couples. I do not want another misunderstanding and do not want to take that risk. There's one guy that could help us in this situation. I just hope that he answers his phone.

"I'll respect your wishes, but let me choose the person we contact." said Ayanokouji .

"As long as it's not Horikita." replied Ibuki. Ayanokouji called his contact right away. After the phone rang for a few seconds, he answered his phone. He explained their situation and asked for help. Ayanokouji could hear the excitement on the other line before his contact pro

However, not long after I started talking, my phone died. The screen silently faded to black.

"Battery ran out." said Ayanokouji. "Did he get the message?" replied Ibuki. "I hope so."

The only thing left to do was sit and wait. After a bit of waiting, the situation became worst and even dangerous as the duo heard a loud grinding inside the elevator. The pleasantly cool air

emanating from the vent stopped.

"No way." groaned Ibuki. She muttered some curses as she lost her cool. Ayanokouji and Ibuki both realized the danger they are in. Being trapped in an enclosed space in the middle of summer is not good for one's health.

"Can we possibly escape on our own?" asked Ibuki.

"Looks like there's an emergency hatch, but..." said Ayanokouji, pointing up to the ceiling.

"How are we supposed to get that open?"

"I think we should wait. In an emergency situation in an elevator, the golden rule is to just wait it out."

"If you can deal with being in a sauna, sure."

Ayanokouji remained silent and calm as he removed his jacket and sat on the floor due to the increased temperature. He wanted to conserve as much energy as possible and Ibuki was doing the opposite and pacing around.

"How about you sit, too? If it's too hot, take off some clothes." said Ayanokouji.

"Huh? You can't possibly be thinking something sleazy in this situation. Are you?" snapped Ibuki, taking Ayanokouji's words the completely wrong way.

"I heard you kept up with Horikita. There's no way I could defeat someone like you in combat."

"Well, that's true, but..."

"Of course, I'll turn around if you undress. Relax." "I'm not taking my clothes off!"

Ibuki quickly sat down with a thud and the duo waited quietly for about 15 minutes, but still hadn't heard from anyone. Sweat poured down their foreheads and dripped from their hair. Ayanokouji's shirt was so soaked that it looked like he had stood under a waterfall. Ayanokouji tried to control his breathing and tried to stay calm, but Ibuki is not making the situation better. He could see that she's getting angrier by the minute. At this rate, Ayanokouji and Ibuki is about to suffer a heatstroke.

"I can't take it anymore! Move!" shouted Ibuki, finally snapping after a long time of silence. She shot up and kicked the elevator wall with all of her might, leaving

a dent. She kicked the same place again. The elevator wobbled slightly, but showed no sign of actually moving.

"You're just wasting your energy. I can't say sitting here doing nothing's the safest option anymore either, though." said Ayanokouji. He wondered what's taking the rescue crew so long to arrive. He debated internally whether or not to actually help Ibuki, so they can escape before they could die from heatstroke.

"Should we kick down the door? Hey, should we kick it down?" asked Ibuki.

"The doors are sealed tightly. I don't think you can kick it down. The more we kick the elevator, the worse it gets for us. The elevator will be shaking around and we might damage it or hurt ourselves. Plus we'll lose more of our energy if we keep getting work up."

"What do you think we should do?!"

"So, I guess the fortune-teller's warning really did come true, didn't it?" "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"The old woman told me not to panic if I get stuck. She told me to cooperate." "Yeah! I say that we kick and punch our way out!"

"Do you think that honestly will work?"

"I don't know, but I'm not staying here for another moment!"

"The fortune-teller did say that I have to corporate, then you should corporate as well. It makes it more bearable than arguing."

"Any bright ideas genius?"

"The first thing is that I'm taking my shirt off." "W-What?!"

Ayanokouji took off his shirt and placed it on the ground right next to his jacket. Ibuki looked at him with shock and disbelief and she wasn't clearly expecting Ayanokouji to strip.

"W-What are you doing?! You pervert!" snapped Ibuki, averting her eyes from Ayanokouji. Her face was slightly flustered.

"What? It's so hot that I'm stripping. I'm literally drenched in my own sweat. You should look at yourself. You should strip too." said Ayanokouji.

"W-What the fuck is wrong with you? I ain't stripping!" "Look how wet you are."

"What's wrong? Is the heat making you go crazy?" "You're the one who's crazy!"

"I don't believe so. I'm the one making rational decisions here." "Rational?! How the fuck is stripping being rational?!"

"Look at our situation... It's hot inside this cramped elevator. We've been here for almost 30 minutes with no help. The decision is simple: you can either get a heatstroke with your clothes on or not get a heatstroke by taking your clothes off. It's one or the other. And you're choosing the former. In this situation? I would rather take my chance in surviving with my clothes off."

Ibuki fell into silence as her face was bright red and she glared at Ayanokouji, who presented only facts. She gritted her teeth and sent a hard kick on the elevator's wall which shook the elevator.

"F-Fine! Don't you dare look this way, you bastard! If you do, you're fucking dead!" snapped Ibuki.

In the end, Ayanokouji was sitting down facing the elevator doors and Ibuki was sitting behind him, facing the elevator back walls. Her back was pressed against his back as the duo sat in silence. Their arrangement was set up where they could strip without the other person looking at each other. Ibuki insisted that Ayanokouji face the elevator doors just in case the doors open and Ayanokouji would be the first one to exposed as half naked rather than herself. Ayanokouji was fine with it because he's not taking his pants off and had no intention in exposing Ibuki, half-naked to the public. The duo sat in silence for another 10 minutes before Ibuki began complaining and cursing. It was probably because of

the intense heat the duo is being subjected to.

"I can't believe I have to strip in front of you." grumbled Ibuki, not pleased by this arrangement. Ibuki has taken her jacket off and only had her blouse and her skirt on. Ayanokouji wiped some sweat off his forehead, but it didn't help since he's still continued to produce more sweat.

"I can't see you. It's better than we corporate and try to survive, right?" said Ayanokouji.

"Shut up! I'm gonna beat the shit out of the person that you called for help. What the fuck is taking them so long?!"

"Who knows? If this lasts any longer, I might have to strip more." "W-What?!"

"You probably have to do the same thing."

"F-Fuck you! You just want to see me strip down to my underwear! Fucking pervert!"

"It's the most logical thing. At this rate, we need to cool down and removing another layer of clothing will help with our circulation and out clothes are already wet with our own sweat."

"I'm not removing my fucking skirt just for that! You're probably going to turn around!"

"It's just a suggestion, but I hope help can arrive."

Before Ibuki could say anything, the elevator responded and started to move.

"Fuck! Let's put our clothes on!" snapped Ibuki. Ayanokouji agreed with her and the duo quickly put their shirts and jackets back on quickly before standing up.

The duo stood up and waited for the doors to open and Ayanokouji turned towards Ibuki.

"Ibuki... You might want to cover up." said Ayanokouji, pointing at Ibuki's blouse. Her blouse was soaked with sweat and it made it see through.

Ayanokouji could see Ibuki's black bra and when Ibuki realized what happened, she glared at Ayanokouji and covered up with her jacket.

"Forget you saw that!" snapped Ibuki. "I didn't see anything at all."

After a few seconds, the elevator stopped and the doors slowly opened up. Cool air flowed inside the car. There were two adults waiting for the duo.

"Are you all right?! Are you hurt?!" asked one of the adults.

"We're okay, we're not hurt. It was just really hot." said Ayanokouji . They offered the duo a sports drinks right away, and instructed them to head over to the doctor's office for examination, just in case.

"You must have had a rough time in there." said the other adult, handing them towels.

"Yeah, it was a disaster. Fortune-telling is serious business." said Ibuki. The duo took a towel and began wiping the sweat from their hair and faces. As Ayanokouji was doing that, he saw a specific person that he called for help approached them.

"Are you all right, Ayanokouji-dono?" asked Sotomura. "Yeah. What took you so long?" asked Ayanokouji.

"I was in the middle of an OSU game and had to get 100% before I got help."

Ibuki, who was in the middle of drinking her drink, nearly spat out her drink. She managed to swallow it without making a mess and glared at Sotomura.

"You were playing a game while we were dying from heat exhaustion in an elevator?!" demanded Ibuki, glaring at Sotomura.

"Yeah! I was a good run and I wasn't going to ruin it!" said Sotmura. "You bastard! Come back here!"

Ibuki lunged at Sotomura, who quickly retreated and due to Ibuki's tired state,

she couldn't catch up to Sotomura, who quickly and safely retreated.

"I wish you luck on this conquest, Ayanokouji-dono! It will hard and painful, but you got this. You're the main protagonist after all!" called out Sotomura before he rounded the corner and disappeared. Ibuki was panting by her sudden burst of movement and was trying to catch her breath.

"Do you know that motherfucker?!" snarled Ibuki.

"He's a classmate of mines. Let's just say that he's unique." replied Ayanokouji.

"Tch... There's a reason why I don't talk to my classmates. They turn out like that bastard."

"Let's get going to the doctor's office." said Ayanokouji. Ibuki nodded and the duo headed off together.

That was bad. Was that a coincidence that it happened? I don't what would've happened if me and Ibuki were to be stuck there for another 20 minutes especially when two high-schoolers are trapped in an enclosed area, half-naked and dying from heatstroke.

*Timeskip (a hour later)*

Ayanokouji left the doctor's office after a through exanimation. The doctor checked up Ayanokouji and Ibuki and told them that they are very dehydrated and need to drink more water, but they should be fine if they take it easy for the rest of the day.

"That was a disaster." said Ibuki.

"I could at least agree with you on that." replied Ayanokouji. "Stay from me. I don't want that shit to happen again."

"I also agree with your notion. Remind me not to get into an elevator with you ever again."

"Oh? So it's my fault?!"

"Maybe. Or that it's a crazy coincidence." "Whatever. See you around."

Ibuki turned and headed off by herself and left Ayanokouji by himself. He decided to head to a cafeteria where he could get some dinner and made his way there. After a few minutes of walking, he arrived at the cafeteria and it was a buffet. Ayanokouji grabbed a tray and began looking to see what food to get for himself when he heard someone call his name.

"A-Ayanokouji-kun?" called a soft and quiet voice. He turned around and saw Morofuji standing there with a tray with some food.

"Morofuji?" said Ayanokouji. He couldn't believe that she had call out to him first rather than Ayanokouji himself doing it.

"Y-Yes!"

"Are you by yourself? Where's Manabe and the others?"

"Shiho, Saki, and Nanami were with me, but I wanted to get some fried chicken."

"Oh. I might get some too." "F-Follow me."

Ayanokouji followed Morofuji and they found the fried chicken at the nearest buffet counter and the duo grabbed some with their tongs before Ayanokouji began looking around the counter for more food. He scooped some rice, vegetables, sashimi, and sushi. He noticed that Morofuji is waiting for him and Ayanokouji had the feeling that Morofuji wanted to tell him something.

"What's up, Morofuji? Is there something to want to tell me?" asked Ayanokouji, making the first move.

"A-Ah! N-No! I mean... yes." said Morofuji, averting her eyes.

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It just looks like you wanted to say something to me."

"W-Well..."

Morofuji took a deep breath before speaking.

"I-I just want to thank you for being there for me, Ayanokouji-kun. For being patient and helping me." said Morofuji, bowing her head.

"You don't have to do that, Morofuji. I might be helping you, but you're the one that had the courage to actually speak to me. I think you should give yourself more credit." said Ayanokouji.

"No! I could say the same to you. T-Thanks to you, I could talk to someone besides Shiho, Saki, and Nanami normally. T-Thank you really."

"Ahh... you give me too much credit, but thanks. I really appreciate it. And look you managed to talk to me without that much trouble."

"Wow... I didn't noticed that."

Morofuji was also surprised that she managed to talk to Ayanokouji directly and Ayanokouji could see that her hands were slightly shaking. She's still afraid, but she's doing her best to suppress it and now she can talk to Ayanokouji which took a lot of courage.

"Morofuji... you have good friends. Manabe, Yamashita, and Nanami are here for you. They can help you." said Ayanokouji.

"Y-Yeah, I know that. But... it's kind of pathetic right? A high schooler needing a lot of help like a little kid." said Morofuji.

"Is that so?"

"Y-Yes. They're always helping me and I could barely do anything by myself. I can't talk to most people and my grades suck. I'm too quiet and afraid all the time. I can't help them at all. I'm just a burden to them. I'm... really a loser... Do I really deserve to have anyone to be my friend?"

"Morofuji... You may think that you're a burden to Manabe, Yamashita, and Nanami, but this is all in your head and the only way to find out is to ask them yourself. That is not important for now. The question is that do you accept them

as your friends? Do you like them and wish to continue your relationship." "I-I do..."

"Then, you have your answer. I think Manabe and the others see you as their friend. Otherwise they wouldn't have help you at all. Your perceived weakness and reliance on your friends could be seen as a weakness, but doesn't it also mean that you have good friends? Friends that you could always rely on and help you during your time of need? I think that's something most people don't have. A good group of friends that you could trust and rely on. Don't beat yourself up, Morofuji."

Morofuji fell into silence as she digested Ayanokouji's words before she spoke.

"Y-You really have a way of words, Ayanokouji-kun. For some reason, that really puts me on the ease. I think you're right." said Morofuji.

"That's my thoughts on it. To put it bluntly, you have friends Morofuji." said Ayanokouji.

"Ayanokouji-kun... You're my friend too." "I am?"

"Of course. You're always helping me out like Shiho and the others. I think the four of us think of you as a friend. Even Shiho probably thinks that and she even said that you might not be a bad guy. Don't tell her that I said that though."

"Don't worry. My lips are sealed."

"Thank you for helping me again, Ayanokouji-kun. That's some good advice." "No problem."

"By the way, do you want to sit with us?"

"Sure if you guys don't have a problem with me."

"I'm pretty sure we're all fine with it. Even Shiho, I think she's just warming up to you. Keep on fighting, Ayanokouji-kun."

"I'll do my best."

Morofuji giggled and the duo made their way around a buffet counter, but Morofuji bumped into someone.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry about-" said Morofuji, trying to apologize. "Hey! Watch it!"

The person that Morofuji bumped into turned around and shoved her, causing her to fall on the ground and dropping the tray thus spilling all the food onto the ground. Ayanokouji looked at the person, who was Karuizawa and behind her was some of Ayanokouji's classmates.

"Watch where you're going. You almost ruined my shirt!" said Karuizawa before walking away. The other girls followed her and a girl, Matsushita Chiaki, gave a small bow and apologized before following the rest of the girls. A staff member walked by and asked if everyone is okay. Morofuji hadn't moved and stared blankly at the ground, so Ayanokouji decided to answer for her.

"It's okay. Just an accident. Sorry about the mess." said Ayanokouji, bowing. The staff member nodded and told Ayanokouji that he will be back to clean up the mess.

"Morofuji?" said Ayanokouji. He noticed that Morofuji was shaking and seemed to be unresponsive to Ayanokouji. He reached out his hand for her, but Morofuji slapped it away. Ayanokouji saw that Morofuji's eyes were darting all over the place and she seemed to have curled up into a ball where her arms are protecting her head. Her breathing became erratic and it was clear that she seemed to be having an negative response that is purely out of fear. Morofuji began to mutter something and Ayanokouji could hear it due to his close distance to Morofuji.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... It's all my fault..." muttered Morofuji, as she repeated those words all over again. It was like a chant, and it seemed all natural like Morofuji had experienced it already. Before Ayanokouji could say something, he heard a gasp behind him. He turned around and saw Yamashita and Nanami behind him with shocked expression as they ran over towards the duo.

"What happened?!" asked Nanami. Yamashita grabbed Morofuji and began

cradling her head and whispered reassuring words.

"Well..." said Ayanokouji, trying to explain but someone cut him off.

"I saw what happened." grumbled Manabe. She walked from behind another buffet counter and she had an enraged expression on her face. This time, it was not directed at Ayanokouji.

"What happened?!"

"That bitch, Karuizawa, shoved Rika. Bitch dates Hirata and thinks she's the quuen bee. I swear that bitch needs to pay for what she did to Rika."

"Isn't that a little too far?!"

"Tch... Look at Rika. Do you think she's okay?"

Yamashita and Nanami looked over at Morofuji, who is still shaking and they both helped Morofuji up. Morofuji buried her face on Nanami's shoulder and the two girls escorted Morofuji out of the cafeteria. The staff member came back and Ayanokouji apologized again. Ayanokouji noticed that Manabe is storming out of the cafeteria.

"Manabe... do you intend to do something about it?" asked Ayanokouji.

"Yeah. That bitch needs to be taught a lesson. Are you going to stop me?" asked Manabe.

"I would advise against it, but I'm not going to do anything to get in your way." "Good."

Manabe stormed off and Ayanokouji sat down by himself at an empty table and began eating his dinner.

What an eventful day.

*Timeskip (next day)*

Ayanokouji was sitting at a table with Azuma, and they were enjoying a nice, quiet breakfast. He had received any news about the Morofuji situation and he

wondered if Nanami, Manabe, and Yamashita had resolved it yet. As Azuma and Ayanokouji were chatting, an announcement could be heard throughout the ship.

"Attention. This is an announcement to all students. All students should have received a message from the school, as indicated in the contact line. Please check your individual mobile devices and follow the instructions accordingly. In the event that you did not receive a message, we apologize for the inconvenience. Please go to the nearest faculty member for assistance.

Because the contents of the message are extremely important, please do not miss it." said the loudspeaker.

"That was about the message we just got, right?" asked Azuma, pulling out her phone and showing it to Ayanokouji.

"Probably." replied Ayanokouji as he pulled out his own phone to check for himself and found the following message.

A special test will begin soon. Place gather in the designated room at the designated time. Anyone who arrives later than ten minutes after start time may be penalized. Please gather in Room 204 on the second deck by 18:00 today.

Because it takes about twenty minutes to reach the area, we ask that you please use the restrooms now if necessary. Either silence your phone or turn it off, and make your way over.

Interesting. Another exam? No rest for the wicked.

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Soulmates

1) Horikita Suzune

2) Kushida Kikyou

3) Mii-chan

4) Tachibana Akane

5) Azuma Sana

6) Shinohara Satsuki

7) Onodera Kayano

8) Mori Nene

9) Hoshinomiya Chie

10) Ichihashi Ruri

11) Andou Sayo

12) Shiranami Chihiro

13) Yabu Nanami

14) Sakura Airi

15) Inogashira Kokoro

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Author's Note:

Hello, everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates on my stories. I've been quite busy and procrastinating a lot! Spare me please!

This chapter is just a set-up for the main show, Class C girls! Thanks for AbzuAzazel for being the inspiration. Be prepared for Morofuji's and Manabe's backstory. I found his version of them interesting, but I would like to change a few things. I would probably focus on Morofuji first.

Also, I've been creating little groups for the girls: band group, gamer group, and a few more coming in the near future. Of course, this means not every girl will get good screen time, but I'll try to add them in once in a while.

Things might be slow every once in a while, but I have some ideas on how to spice it up.

Quick question: I've been slowly updating the stories (mostly my fault), but I would like to have some be an editor for my stories. It's mostly to fix some typos and mistakes from my previous stories. DM me if you're interested.

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Until next time, my dear readers.