Ding-dong~ ding-dong~
"Finally! It's over!"
As the school bell rang, Yatogami Tohka collapsed on her desk in exhaustion.
"Was it really that tiring?"
Next to her, Tobiichi Origami gave her a flat look.
"It was that tiring! Finals are way too hard. There's still so much I haven't learned yet."
Tohka tilted her head toward Origami and tried to explain.
It had been about half a month since Shichen and Tohka had returned. And right on cue, the first term final exams had arrived.
"Ara~ looks like Tohka-san really worked hard."
Tokisaki Kurumi joined the conversation with a light smile.
"Tokisaki Kurumi…"
Origami watched her warily.
"Origami-san, we're classmates, you know. You can just call me Kurumi." Kurumi replied warmly.
"..."
Origami gave her silence in response.
"Looks like Origami-san really doesn't like me. Even though Shichen told you to get along with me~"
"You…"
"Origami-san is very disobedient."
"Kurumi-san…" Origami finally muttered helplessly.
"Ara ara~ that's more like it." Kurumi chuckled.
"Alright, alright, hand your test papers up. Next we're having a quick homeroom meeting. Stay in your seats, don't rush off yet."
Homeroom teacher Okamine Hiyori clapped her hands to regain everyone's attention.
"Quiet down, everyone. This is important, so listen carefully."
Shichen walked into the classroom just then.
"Shichen-sensei!"
"Yes! We get to see Shichen-sensei again!"
"I seriously thought Shichen-sensei wasn't going to be our teacher anymore."
Seeing him, several girls perked up immediately.
"As expected of Shichen—he really is popular~"
Kurumi sat at her desk, watching him, eyes practically brimming with hearts.
"Shichen-senpai…"
Origami, too, was staring at him, gaze sharp and focused.
"Shichen, what's going on?" Tohka just blurted out the question directly.
"Tohka, you're supposed to call me sensei at school," he reminded her.
"Nope~ Shichen is Shichen." Tohka refused without hesitation.
"Forget it. Hiyori-sensei will explain the details."
Shichen gestured toward Okamine.
She nodded and spoke seriously:
"First, we're going to decide room assignments and airplane seating for the school trip."
"Eh?"
"What?"
"Hiyori-sensei, what are you talking about?"
"Hehe~ Looks like everyone's forgotten. Before summer break, we're going on an educational trip."
"School trip?"
"Ah! I totally forgot!"
"Hiyori-sensei, wasn't our destination supposed to be Okinawa?"
"Sorry, but the destination was changed last-minute."
"Last-minute?"
"Seriously?"
"So where are we going now?"
"Um, I think it was called Arubi Island? Somewhere near Izu?" Hiyori-sensei answered uncertainly.
"Izu? Isn't that like… really close by?"
"So we got downgraded!"
"At least it's still the beach…"
"Hiyori-sensei, why?"
"Well…"
Hiyori-sensei instinctively looked to Shichen for help. She honestly didn't know the full story.
"The reason's simple," Shichen said. "A travel agency named Cross approached the school. To promote tourism, they randomly picked our school and offered to host us on their island. In exchange for letting them take photos for promotional pamphlets, they'll cover all expenses for the trip."
"What? That's a thing?"
"The school sold out for a free trip…"
"But covering everything must cost a ton, right? No wonder the school agreed…"
"Whatever, as long as it's the beach I don't care anymore."
As long as it was seaside, the students were easy to please. It's the middle of summer—there aren't many other places they'd want to go.
And for certain boys, "beach" clearly triggered other plans.
"Alright then, let's move on to room assignments and plane seating."
"I want to share a room with Shichen!"
Tohka shot her hand up immediately.
Her words made the entire class turn to stare at her.
"Um, Tohka-san, putting aside whether a teacher and student can share a room, boys and girls definitely cannot share one, okay~"
Hiyori-sensei reminded her carefully.
"Eh? Why not?"
"Why… because… well…"
Hiyori's baby face flushed red as she stammered.
She might not be that young in age, but she was still a pure virgin with zero experience. Just thinking about indecent things was enough to make her want to curl up and hide.
Pure to the core.
"Tohka, you can share with Origami and the others," Shichen stepped in to save Hiyori.
"Eh? Why? You don't want to stay with me, Shichen?"
Tohka pouted.
"It's only a few days."
"Mm… fine…"
She thought about it a moment, then gave in, albeit reluctantly.
"Wait! What did Shichen-sensei just say? 'Only a few days'?"
"Does that mean…?"
"No way, right?"
"Could they already be…?"
"No… our princess—!"
"Okay, okay. Start forming groups. Five people per group. The sooner you decide, the sooner we can end this meeting and go home."
Shichen ignored their muttering and smoothly took over from Hiyori-sensei.
"Yes, sir…"
…
July 17th.
Early morning, Shichen boarded a plane with Tohka and the others. Several hours of boredom later, they finally arrived at their destination.
On the way, only Tohka had been buzzing with excitement, glued to the window as she soaked in all the passing scenery.
Shichen realized he'd never really taken her on a proper trip before.
"Woooah—! So this is… the ocean? It's so pretty! Why is it blue? Shichen?"
Just outside the airport, you could see the sweeping scenery of Arubi Island.
There was a road and beach up ahead, and beyond that, the vast ocean. The horizon stretched endlessly where sea met sky.
The weather was perfect. Under the sunlight, the surface of the water shimmered with fragments of reflected light, the sea painted in layered gradients of blue and gold.
It was Tohka's first time seeing the ocean. Her face was full of unfiltered excitement.
"You like the ocean?"
Shichen stood beside her and gently placed a hand on her head.
"Yeah! I love it—it's beautiful!"
Tohka couldn't help but spread her arms wide, as if to embrace the vast sea before her.
"That so? Then I'll bring you to see it more often from now on. How about it?"
Shichen ruffled her hair gently as he spoke, voice full of quiet remorse.
"Really?" Tohka asked, eyes shining.
"Of course. And if there's anything you want, you can always ask me."
"Thank you, Shichen! You're the best!"
Tohka threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
Shichen held her and patted her back. "I'll do my best."
"Shichen~ I want to be spoiled like that too~"
Kurumi, who'd been with them, couldn't help chiming in, casting a very jealous look at Tohka.
"Don't get your hopes up," Origami said mercilessly.
"Oh? Is that so? What about you, Origami-san—don't you want that too?" Kurumi teased.
"I…"
Origami glanced at Shichen, something flickering in her eyes. But she quickly steeled her expression again.
"Once I fulfill my wish, then I'll pursue that…"
"A wish, huh?" Kurumi smiled faintly.
"Come on, let's catch up with the main group."
Shichen tugged Tohka along and glanced back at the other two.
"Got it."
They quickly followed.
"Shichen-senpai, have you been to this island before?" Origami matched his pace on his other side, making conversation.
"No, but I have heard a bit about it."
Arubi Island was located between two larger islands, with a total area of about seventy square kilometers.
Thirty years ago, during a series of spacequakes, part of the island's northern area was gouged out. Only in recent years had it been redeveloped as a tourist destination.
In that sense, its background wasn't that different from Tengu City.
Since it had been redeveloped, the newly reorganized areas had the same level of disaster-prevention infrastructure as other redevelopment zones—making spacequake and spirit-related risks much easier to handle.
And the part of the coast that had been cleanly severed by spacequakes had become a rare and stunning geological feature, drawing tourists from all over.
Harsh as it sounded, for this island suffering from population decline, it really had spacequakes to thank for its eventual rebirth as a tourist hotspot.
Before long, Shichen and the others caught up with the main group. Just as he was about to go talk with Hiyori-sensei about logistics, he felt a hand squeeze his.
"Tohka, what's wrong?"
"That person… she keeps staring at us."
Tohka spoke without looking back, her tone low.
"Hm?"
Shichen followed her gaze and spotted a woman holding a camera.
Click, click~
As if she'd been waiting for him to look her way, she immediately snapped several photos.