Next Day
The Kamishiro group of six began their return journey. Kamishiro had completely collapsed into his seat—yesterday's events had been a nightmare.
He was completely burned out, not even in the mood to post mockery online.
Iori and Kohei, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief.
"Whew, we're finally going home."
"Tokyo really isn't for us."
The two gazed at the scenery outside, tears silently streaming down their cheeks. In a way, they hadn't slept at all either.
After all, just thinking about the two musclemen in the room next to theirs…
Σ_(???」∠) Ugh…
"It's all your own fault."
Chisa looked at the three of them with a dark expression. This was totally self-inflicted. She and Aina had actually had a great time.
Or so she thought—until she saw Aina still sulking in agony.
"Ugh… ugh…"
"…Well, at least I had fun?"
"Aina, what's wrong?"
"Ugh… seeing this just reminded me of them going to Kabukicho…"
Aina handed her phone to Chisa. On the screen was a post from Izu University's forum.
The pinned thread read:
"Pervert Kitahara Takes On Crossdressing Challenge!!"
The picture attached showed Iori exiting the "House of Yoshiwara."
Below the post was a flood of comments roasting and judging Iori.
"…"
Chisa tilted her head slightly. Iori, nearby, had already dozed off.
Looks like he has no idea what's waiting for him back at school.
Poor guy~
Tokyo, let's not meet again anytime soon!
Pab
"Kamishiro, you bastard!"
Inside an ordinary-looking diving shop, Iori glared furiously at the bastard hiding behind Azusa-san!
Today was their first day back at school—and Iori's first day of running for his life.
As for why he still had to flee even after escaping from Tokyo…
Of course, it was because of that scumbag Kamishiro!
"Didn't you say you wouldn't post those photos on the Izu University forum?!
Why are they there—and with so many versions?!"
Iori's eyes were bloodshot. The forum had photos of him posing like Buddha and even him in a dress!
And once the post went up, the Four Pervert Kings immediately came after him.
The problem was Yamamoto, that bastard, had recognized the background as Kabukicho Street!
That damn photo barely had any signage—how the hell did he recognize it?! Just how much… "research" had he done?!
No matter how much Iori explained, no one believed him. He never imagined he'd one day have to prove he was a virgin!
In the end, Kamishiro released the full video footage, finally convincing the gang that Iori had been the victim.
The thing is…
He didn't feel happy at all!
He didn't want anyone to know about this! Damn you, Kamishiro!
Kamishiro peeked out from behind Azusa, sheepishly.
"Uh… I didn't post that thread. I only sent the photos to Azusa-san…"
Iori turned his gaze to Azusa.
But Azusa calmly said, "Oh, I just forwarded them to Kotobuki and Tokita."
Iori turned again to see two very "guilty" (visibly sweating) Titans.
"Really sorry. We were just experimenting with the forum."
"Mainly thought we could use Iori's image to promote the club. Didn't expect it to backfire…"
"You guys seriously thought those photos would attract new members?! And at least pretend to feel bad when you apologize!"
Iori screamed in frustration. These senpai clearly had no sense of remorse!
"Ohhh, so that's what happened!"
"Next time, we'll post ones of Shiro and Kohei instead."
The two seniors nodded, realizing they just picked the wrong target. They thought the whole "goofy pervert" thing would be popular.
"You guys feel zero remorse, huh?!"
(?°?д°?)
Double Crit for Iori.
"C'mon, chill Iori-kun . At least the Tokyo trip was fun, right?"
Nanaka patted Iori's head with a big smile blooming on her face.
She had enjoyed a long-overdue hot spring trip with her little sister, so she was in a great mood. Even slapped cockroaches with a smile!
"…Sorry, Nanaka-san, but I don't want to hear the word 'Tokyo' ever again."
Iori hung his head, completely depressed. Thinking of Tokyo gave him a third emotional wound.
The whole break had felt like one long escape sequence!
"Anyway, let's move on. I've got something I need to talk to you guys about."
Thinking of the angel he met at his part-time job, Iori's expression softened.
Surely she was an angel sent by God to rescue him from hell~
"Tomorrow, two of my part-time coworkers want to try out diving. One's the captain of a high school diving club, and the other is…"
Iori paused and gave Kamishiro a mischievous look.
Kamishiro twitched. He knew exactly who Iori was talking about.
It had to be… Sakurako.
But if that's the case…
"You're wrong. It's not two—it's three."
"Three?"
Iori frowned. He only had two coworkers. Where's the third?
Kamishiro silently pointed at Aina, who was already on the phone nearby.
Somehow, spies kept appearing around him…
Iori fell silent. Suddenly, he understood why Busujima-sama had asked him to arrange everything in secret.
Yep… he'd totally messed this up.
#Oops.
Next Day – Pab
Busujima glared daggers at Iori.
Why? Because she'd already spotted Kiyoko waving at her—while clinging to Kamishiro's arm.
"What's going on?"
She whispered at Iori, annoyed. "Weren't we keeping this a secret?!"
Iori averted his eyes and casually activated his lying skill.
"I don't know. Maybe Senpai told Aina?"
"…Tch."
Busujima sighed and walked over to cling to Kamishiro's other arm.
She shot a death glare at Kiyoko Kamio.
"Tomboy!"
Kiyoko Kamio didn't back down. She clung tighter and glared back.
"Green tea cat thief!"
The senpai nearby weren't surprised—these two were already familiar rivals.
Only Azusa appeared above Kamishiro's head with a sweet smile, arms around both girls, enjoying triple happiness.
As for the others, they were more focused on the new "pretty" boy that Iori brought along.
With such a beautiful face, if you didn't look closely, you might mistake him for a girl.
"Let me reintroduce you—this is Naomi Otoya-kun."
Since he was new, Iori introduced him again. Otoya greeted everyone shyly,
"I'm Otoya. Nice to meet you all."
"Oh, welcome, welcome!"
"Such a pretty face."
The two senpai warmly welcomed him. They were glad to have a high schooler interested in diving—might even recruit him next year, just like Chisa.
Only thing was… Otoya's "pretty boy" vibe overlapped a bit with Kohei and Kamishiro.
They looked toward Kohei—who was now hiding behind Aina, trembling as he stared at Otoya.
"Stranger danger!"
"…"
Well then.
Kohei's personality was still totally unique and irreplaceable. Social anxiety: max level.
On the other side…
Kamishiro was clearly suffering, being hugged from both sides. No competition there, either.
Kiyoko curiously examined Otoya-kun. She had been too busy arguing with Busujima to notice him earlier.
With a smirk, she looked at Sakurako,
"Such a cute kid. What a shame he's working in a place like that. You didn't harass him too much, did you? You do like the pretty ones best, after all."
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just colleagues with Otoya-kun. If anything, a tomboy like you who's into horse racing and pachinko you must be really close with a lot of older men, huh~"
Faced with Kiyoko Kamio's teasing, Sakurako shot back without hesitation. The two of them perfectly demonstrated what it means to be like oil and water—every meeting inevitably ended in a quarrel.
Caught between them, Kamishiro had long adopted a zen attitude: As long as they don't hurt me, whatever~
(?ˉ??ˉ??)
"Alright, everyone, time to change into swimsuits~"
After a bit of getting familiar with the place, Nanaka's voice rang out. Since the main point was to experience diving, that should come first—the socializing could wait until the after-party.
Without waiting for a response, she began undressing, quickly followed by all the PAB members—except for Aina.
"Change into swimsuits…"
"What the hell are you guys doing?!"
Just as Kiyoko and Sakurako turned around to ask where the changing room was, they were met with the sight of two large, smooth "mountains" right in front of their eyes.
As much as they hated to admit it, those "mountains" were definitely way bigger than theirs.
Wait—no!
That wasn't the point!
Why were they changing right here?! Had they never heard of something called a changing room?!
They both turned to Kamashiro for help, only to find...
That guy was already completely naked!
(′｀;)?
Feeling their gaze, Kamishiro turned toward them, confused. "You two aren't changing?"
The massive mosaic in front of them was too much to look at. Sure, they'd seen it before—at very close range, no less—but...
This was not the same context! Why was this scumbag so casually stripping down? Did he have some kind of exhibitionist kink?!
As the two of them silently looked away, Aina jumped out, shielding their eyes in shame and frustration. "Have some decency! There are outsiders here! Go use the changing room!"
She promptly dragged them off in that direction. No way was she going to let the mosaic scar these girls' eyes!
The two girls twitched. Even without looking, they could guess what kind of hellish scene was happening behind them. Thank you, Aina (Yoshiwara)!
Only then did Kamishiro suddenly realize—this wasn't one of their club sessions!
Sigh, when had changing rooms started to feel so unnecessary? Especially at dive shops?
He glanced around.
Otoya-kun seemed to be trembling amidst a group of naked men.
Hmm...
Yeah, changing rooms really weren't needed.
Kamishiro averted his eyes. As the diving club president, Otoya-kun would surely get used to it. The shivering had to be from excitement!
Otoya: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ Our club always uses changing rooms!
"So... what's up with those three?"
Now dressed in diving suits, Kamishiro watched the trio chatting ahead and asked Kohei beside him.
Iori, Chisa, and Otoya?
What kind of strange combo was that?
No—more like, how did that idiot Iori end up in that group?
Let's be honest—whether it was looks or interests, Iori didn't belong there.
"Ah, they're talking about diving in Palau."
Kohei, who'd arrived a bit earlier, explained. His social anxiety kept him from joining in.
"Huh?! Palau? That idiot Kitahara actually talking about that?"
Kamishiro was stunned. Palau required an advanced diving license. Kitahara was just a—
Hmm? Why did that sound like something a side character would say? He was the protagonist, damn it!
"No idea, but judging from his expression, he's definitely suffering."
Kohei shrugged, clearly enjoying it. Stuck between two hardcore diving enthusiasts—of course it was hell for Iori.
With Kitahara's level of knowledge, it was surprising he hadn't been verbally destroyed yet.
"Man, never thought Iori could actually make friends. That's—hey, where'd he go?!"
Kohei was just venting about Iori's nonexistent social skills when he realized Kamishiro had disappeared.
Looking up—
He saw two girls dragging Kamishiro away, leaving him all alone.
No—
Not entirely alone.
There was a "cakey" sitting across from him.
Seeing her vacant stare, Kohei silently lowered his head.
He would rather be alone.
AAAAHHHH!!! Screw all you normies!!!
Elsewhere…
Kamishiro seemed to have wandered into a bizarre battlefield…
"Shiro! Doesn't my swimsuit look great?"
"Pfft, with those tiny boobs? You're just embarrassing yourself. Look at mine—this is what you call the real deal!"
"You... what's the point of being big? It's just useless fat!"
Sakurako glared fiercely at Kiyoko. No matter how hard she pushed, she still couldn't compete. Damn that fat woman—using her weight as a weapon!
Meanwhile, Kiyoko stared enviously at Sakurako's waist. Sure, she'd won in bust size, but Sakurako's waist was seriously slender.
As for her own… well… pretty average...
Damn it! When would she get a waist like Aina's? With a waist like that, she'd absolutely crush this green tea b*tch!
"..."
Kamishiro's mouth twitched.
He understood now. He'd been dragged over to act as the judge in their swimsuit showdown.
Even though he was forced into it—
He kinda liked it (λ?_??)
As a "friend," he knew exactly what each girl's strengths and weaknesses were—possibly even better than they did themselves.
But as a judge, he couldn't make such a biased ruling. That would be unfair!
"Oh man, this is a tough one. Just looking, I can't really tell the difference, so..."
"So?" the two girls leaned in, confused.
If looks weren't enough, how would he tell?
Even if it were about feel, this scumbag had definitely already copped a feel before, right?
Just as they thought he was about to BS his way out again, they suddenly felt a mischievous hand touch something very soft.
Kamishiro, eyes closed and brows furrowed, murmured, "Hmm… Kiyoko's are a bit bigger, but in terms of elasticity, Sakurako wins. As expected..."
BAM!
Before he could finish, Kamishiro was launched into the air, two footmarks stamped across his face.
Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
"Why the hell are you kicking me?! Weren't you the ones who asked me to judge?!"
He was utterly baffled—he'd been so serious!
Click~
The two girls cracked their knuckles as they closed in. Each grabbed one of his arms and whispered:
"We said to look, not touch."
"It felt good, didn't it?"
(? ?д?)
Feeling the crushing pressure on his shoulders, cold sweat poured down Kamishiro's face.
"W-Wait, you didn't say no touching! I touched to better assess! And it's not like I haven't already—"
Crack!
"AHHHHH! I WAS WRONG!"
Kamishiro screamed before he could even finish his sentence. He never wanted to be a judge again!
No one warned him that being a judge could be life-threatening!
(?????)