— — — — — —
Maybe it was because they finally had something fun to look forward to, but whatever the reason, everyone finished their tasks unusually quickly.
Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama successfully got Haruno Yukinoshita to agree to attend the Christmas event, and she was even willing to show up for free.
Isshiki Iroha quickly finalized the remaining event details with President Tamanawa from Kaihin High.
As for Ebina Hina... She only needed one walk through the venue before pinpointing exactly what needed to be adjusted for their The Little Prince musical.
For her, it was easy. The props from the last performance were still around, and as for the cast... she could just drag them back by force if needed.
The two leads, Hayato Hayama and Saika Totsuka, would probably be more than happy to help.
And so... after everyone met up at the civic hall and did a quick setup of the venue, they headed home.
Oikawa thought they could just leave for Tokyo Disney Resort right away, but Yui and the others absolutely insisted on going home first to change.
Girls really were a hassle.
...
After throwing together a cup of instant noodles at home, Oikawa headed to Maihama Station right on time.
From there, it was less than twenty minutes by train to Disney.
He hadn't been especially excited for the trip. But the moment he actually saw the park, he couldn't help feeling a little hyped.
Even on a weekday, the place was packed.
The first thing that caught his eye was the huge Mickey-shaped flower display near the entrance. A little farther in stood the pink-and-white castle.
Even the train arrival jingle had that cheerful Disney tune.
After passing through the ticket gates, Oikawa quickly spotted Yui and Yukino waiting inside.
Yui was wearing a beige coat over a cute knitted sweater, with a long blue scarf wrapped around her neck.
She looked bright, warm, full of youthful energy.
Beside her, Yukino looked a little reluctant, dressed in a white coat that perfectly matched her cool, elegant vibe. A plaid scarf hung neatly around her neck.
"Oikawa-kun, over here!" The moment Yui spotted him, she started waving excitedly.
"Just you two?" Oikawa asked as he approached.
"Mm! Isshiki's still on the way, and Hina... ah, Hina, over here!" As she spoke, Yui noticed Ebina coming through the gate and waved her over.
Oikawa blinked. "You're not wearing your glasses?"
Seeing Ebina without her signature red frames felt strange enough that he asked without thinking.
Ebina shot him an annoyed look. "I already answered that before, remember? My eyesight isn't bad enough that I need them all the time."
"Anyway, where's Isshiki?" Ebina asked, hooking her arm through Yui's and casually nudging her chest with her elbow before throwing Oikawa a teasing glance.
"Hina... quit it." Yui's cheeks flushed red.
"Oh, oh, Isshiki's here!" Yui suddenly started waving again.
Oikawa's gaze followed the movement automatically.
And at some point, Ebina had drifted beside him. In a low voice, she murmured, "Oikawa-kun, staring like that could get you accused of sexual harassment."
"What are you talking about? Is this some new scam? Careful, or I'll call the police." Oikawa turned to her with deadly seriousness.
"..."
Ebina froze for a second, then burst into laughter, "Oikawa-kun... you really are interesting."
"When you're a man out in the world, you've got to know how to protect yourself." Oikawa glanced at Yui, who was running over to meet Isshiki, then leaned closer to Ebina. "By the way, don't forget the photo set you promised me. At this rate winter's gonna be over before you deliver. You're not planning to back out on me, are you?"
Seriously.
Did he really have to keep reminding her?
It had been over a month since the school trip, and he still hadn't received the promised bikini photo set of Yui.
Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.
What was wrong with the world these days? A promise was a promise, wasn't it?
Ebina muttered under her breath, "No wonder Yukino calls you a shameless pervert."
Oikawa raised a finger. "Ebina, let me enlighten you with a universal truth... there are only two kinds of men. The kind who are perverts both inside and out... and the kind who only keep it hidden on the inside."
"I'm the first type. Honest. Straightforward. Nothing to hide."
"The second type? Those creepy old train gropers, and the guys who act all righteous and proper."
He gave her a meaningful look, "Watch out for those. They're the really dangerous ones."
He then tapped his chest and smirked. "But me? I'm a model man of culture, got it?"
Ebina tilted her head up and stared into his eyes.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then she slowly turned and walked away.
The disgust in her eyes was impossible to miss.
Oikawa shook his head and muttered to himself, "Too young. Hasn't been beaten down by society yet."
Only men understood men.
And honestly... what man wasn't a pervert?
...
..
Once everyone had arrived, they headed into Tokyo Disneyland together.
Yui, Yukino, Ebina, and Isshiki naturally paired off arm-in-arm. Leaving Oikawa as the only one walking alone.
He couldn't shake the feeling he was being excluded.
What made it worse was that Isshiki kept glancing back at him every now and then with this look of pure sympathy.
Oikawa decided not to bother arguing with her. A real man didn't pick fights with girls.
...
The moment they stepped into the main plaza, an overwhelming sight spread out before them.
Right in the center stood a massive Christmas tree, towering high above everything else. It was covered in every kind of decoration and glittering ornament imaginable.
And at night... when all those lights came on, this place would probably feel like a dream.
"Wow, it's huge! So pretty!"
"That's enormous! I've seriously never seen a Christmas tree this big in my life!"
Yui and Isshiki both gasped in amazement, immediately pulling out their phones and shoving them into Oikawa's hands.
"Oikawa-senpai, take my picture!" Isshiki's sugary voice, paired with that teasing, half-shy expression of hers, was almost unfair.
Oikawa felt a chill run down his spine.
Finally, they asked a passerby to take a group photo first.
Then Ebina helped take one of the Service Club trio.
After that came the solo and pair shots.
"Oikawa-kun... let's take one together," Yui said it awkwardly, fidgeting and avoiding eye contact.
"Sure."
The two stood side by side for the photo.
When it was done, Yui stared at the picture on her phone, smiling to herself.
"Oikawa-senpai, me next!" Isshiki ran over with a grin and handed her phone to Yui.
Yui looked a little unhappy about it, but she still took the phone.
"Yui, take one for me and Oikawa-kun too." Ebina stepped up beside him, hands clasped behind her back. "Ten years from now, when Oikawa-kun's rich and famous, this picture might be worth money."
Right before the shutter clicked, she quietly leaned a little closer to him, a bright smile curling at her lips, "Oikawa-kun, I'm looking forward to the day you make it big. When that happens, don't forget your old classmate."
Her smile looked genuinely sincere.
"Make it big?" A cool voice suddenly cut in. "Who's to say Oikawa-kun hasn't already made it?"
When Yukino's icy voice reached his ears, Oikawa genuinely felt the temperature drop.
"No, no. Nothing like that. I just happened to get first place in the grade once. That's hardly 'making it big.'" Seeing the look in Yukino's eyes grow colder, he quickly changed course.
"Yukino, how about we take one too? I only beat you this time because I got lucky. When finals come around, first place will definitely be yours." He gave her the invitation with all the sincerity he could muster.
"Hmph. Of course first place will be mine." The frost in her eyes softened a little, though her voice stayed just as cold.
"Yukino, I'll take the picture for you and Oikawa-kun." Yui quickly volunteered.
Beside her, Ebina gave a helpless little look, like she already saw through everything.
"Yui, your scarf got something on it. Go check over there. I'll handle taking Oikawa and Yukino's picture."
Before Yui could object, Ebina had already taken the camera and stood in front of them.
"Say cheese!"
Click.
The photo was taken. And in that captured moment, Yukino wore the faintest smile.
Rare, delicate.
Like the thaw of snow in early spring. The kind of smile that made you feel lighter just looking at it.
Not long after, they left the Christmas tree behind and moved on to the next attraction.
Walking at the very back, Oikawa wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Please. Not a second round of that.
...
After leaving the tree, their next stop was Space Mountain.
It was basically a roller coaster, though not quite as intense.
After waiting in line, the staff guided them into the "space train."
It had two seats per row, split into front and back sections, six rows total. There were five of them, which meant they had to share with a stranger.
The stranger ended up sitting with Ebina.
Yukino sat with Isshiki.
And Oikawa... ended up sitting beside Yui.
Once everyone was strapped in, the train began to move.
"Oikawa-kun... are you scared?" Yui's voice trembled slightly. "It's so dark... I'm kind of nervous."
The train slid into darkness, swallowing the tracks ahead.
"Relax. I'm right here." Oikawa wasn't scared at all.
If anything, he was excited. To him, this "space train" felt less like an actual thrill ride and more like one of those viral optical illusion gifs online, the kind with spinning circles that tricked your brain into seeing movement where there wasn't any.
"Mm."
A moment later, he felt a hand clutching his arm.
Then, as the train picked up speed, it began to shake violently. Then came the steep downward slope.
The walls around them lit up in flashing purple. The glowing patterns looked like endless rows of electronic circuits, and every few seconds bright white lights flickered through them.
Brighter. Brighter.
And in his ears came a constant chiming, like the sound of traveling through time itself.
Then, in the next instant, the tunnel went pitch black.
Yui's hand, which had been gripping his arm, suddenly slid down and grabbed his hand instead.
Oikawa could even feel the sweat on her palm.
The darkness didn't last long. Ahead of the train, streaks of lightning began to crackle into view.
More and more. Thicker and thicker. Until all the lightning converged into one point, blasting straight into the track ahead and tearing open a glowing rift.
Then, lights began sparkling all around them.
It felt like they had entered outer space itself, those countless points of light becoming distant stars and planets.
Then the train shook violently again. As if preparing for another jump through time.
The whole thing felt like it might fly apart at any moment.
"Don't be scared, Yui. I'm here."
Beside him, Yui was trembling. Whether from fear or the violent shaking, Oikawa couldn't tell.
"Mm... I'm not scared!" Yui forced herself to sound brave.
After what felt like forever, and after more twists and turns than Oikawa could count, the train finally burst out of the tunnel.
The view suddenly opened up.
Countless planets floated before them, spread across an endless sea of stars.
It was breathtaking.
For a while, everyone just sat there in silence, taking it all in.
Meanwhile, Oikawa and Yui still hadn't let go of each other's hands.
Yui finally calmed her breathing, but the warmth in his hand only made her heart pound even harder.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Right now, she felt even more nervous than when they'd been racing through the tunnel.
Part of her suddenly wished the train would slow down, so she could hold onto that warmth longer.
But unfortunately... the starry sky gradually faded, replaced by light as the ride came to an end.
It was over far too soon.
How cruel.
...
..
"Come on, hurry! Let's get on already!"
Ever since arriving at Disney, Yukino had seemed a little unwilling to be there. But now, for the first time all day, there was actual excitement on her face.
Because the next attraction was Bamboo Forest Brawl, and naturally, it was full of pandas.
This happened to be Yukino's absolute favorite.
Meanwhile, Isshiki and Ebina had gone off to another attraction, the parade.
Compared to pandas, that clearly interested them more.
"Okay, okay."
Oikawa followed behind Yukino and climbed into the ride car.
The moment he sat down, he regretted it.
The seats were already cramped enough. And somehow, he'd ended up right between Yukino and Yui.
This was dangerous territory.
And, as expected, the car hit a sharp turn, sending Oikawa's whole body crashing straight into Yukino.
"Ah, sorry!"
A visible blush spread across the girl's face.
"Get off me already!" Her voice came out flustered and furious. "You're blocking my view of the pandas!"
On the other side, Yui puffed out her cheeks when she saw how close Oikawa and Yukino were.
Clearly unhappy.
But unfortunately... this so-called Bamboo Forest Brawl shook like crazy.
Not even a minute later, another hard turn. And this time, Oikawa crashed right into Yui.
The feeling was completely different.
One side was firm and bony.
The other... soft. Very soft.
For a split second, Oikawa found himself not wanting to move away so quickly.
But then, a cold chill crawled up the back of his neck.
He immediately straightened up and sat rigidly in the exact center.
"Oikawa." Yukino's voice drifted into his ear, calm and icy. "You'd better sit properly."
"It was an accident, okay? This ride shakes way too much. What am I supposed to do?" Oikawa looked genuinely helpless.
"It's okay." Yui's voice came like a blessing from heaven. Like an angel. "I know Oikawa-kun didn't mean it. I'm not mad."
But Yukino's stare at Oikawa sharpened several degrees.
"See? Even Yui said—" Oikawa couldn't help trying to salvage his image. He knew Yukino had definitely noticed that he'd been enjoying that fall onto Yui a little too much just now.
"Quiet." But before he could finish, Yukino stripped him of his right to speak.
Yui quietly giggled to herself.
Oikawa sighed, a headache building. At this point, all he could do was empty his mind and try very, very hard not to think about accidentally crashing into Yui again.
.
.
.