Kirie had been summoned by Ryosuke.
She never imagined Kazuki would confess to her along the way.
Ryo-kun, what is he up to?
Her thoughts were now completely focused on Ryosuke.
His behavior after they parted on the beach was somewhat puzzling. That evening, he had disappeared from Kirie's sight and taken separate actions from the other guys for a while.
What on earth was he doing?
"Ah, Kirie."
In the night corridor, he was waiting for her.
He stood in front of the room at the end of the hall.
"What's wrong?" Kirie asked, glancing around nervously.
She had just ended up talking to Kazuki about the situation, but their relationship was still a secret from their friends.
"Uh, just..." He stood in a dimly lit corner of the corridor, his expression hard to read.
Something dangerous is brewing...
Just as Kirie had observed earlier, he sometimes gave off an inexplicable aura. Even now, he carried an air suggesting he was lost in some wild, absurd thought.
And indeed...
Kirie would soon discover the truth:
"Come in."
Ryosuke placed his hand on the sliding door.
"But this is—"
"It's fine. Just hurry up."
"Okay..."
Clutching at a vague unease, Kirie followed his urging and stepped into the room.
*****
"...Shito, is that guy for real?"
In the tatami-matted Japanese-style room, one person sat cross-legged, their lips twisting into a wry smile.
"His voice... is that really okay?"
"Our room's right next door. Should be fine, right?"
The group had reserved two rooms each for the boys and girls. To maintain appearances, the boys' rooms were adjacent, while the girls' rooms were deliberately separated.
"Damn. Now I'm going to remember her in her swimsuit from earlier."
"Hey... it's all thanks to Shito, right? He must have talked her into it, didn't he?"
Kazuki still hadn't returned to the room for some reason—
"Well, he's always been bad at this kind of thing. Besides, he's got a girlfriend now, so it's fine, right? They're probably getting along famously by now, huh?"
Just as one of the men let out a crude laugh, the sound of the sliding door opening cut through the air.
The relaxed banter among the men suddenly turned tense. They all held their breath, their eyes fixed on the entrance.
The sliding door revealed—
A girl in a pink bathrobe.
*****
"What... why...?"
Kirie froze at the sight before her.
Behind her stood Ryosuke.
His voice brooked no argument: "Come in."
"But...!"
She knew he was capable of outrageous things.
But this—
This surpassed even her wildest imaginings.
"What... what is this room?"
The empty Japanese-style room.
It was on the floor above Kirie and the others' quarters, a clearly superior private chamber distinct from both the girls' and boys' dormitories.
"Nobody else is here, right?"
"Of course not. We'd be in trouble if we just barged into someone else's room."
"...Um, what's going on?"
Kirie had been suspicious ever since Ryosuke summoned her to this different floor. The rest of the group should have been relaxing on the floor below.
"Do you remember how we talked about wanting to go on a trip together just the two of us?"
"Of course."
"So I made a reservation. I figured it would be tough to suddenly plan an overnight trip just for the two of us. We should take advantage of this opportunity."
"...This room, separate from the others'? Ryosuke, you arranged this?"
"Yeah. We're keeping it a secret from everyone else."
"..."
"Kirie?"
"Sorry, I just have a slight headache—"
When Kirie heard Ryosuke's detailed plan, she learned he had been working on this scheme for some time.
With their parents' permissive attitudes, Ryosuke's family wouldn't have minded a overnight trip for the two of them alone. But Kirie's parents still hadn't given their permission.
So Ryosuke decided to take advantage of this trip, according to his scheme.
After some investigation, he discovered that the room above the boys' dormitory was available—and quite expensive, apparently. But Ryosuke booked it himself.
Just to be safe, he wore his new black cap pulled low over his face during check-in that morning. Then, during the beach trip, he slipped away from the group and returned to the inn to reserve the room alone—
"...I see. You're a real idiot, Ryo-kun."
"Really? We're alone now, aren't we? Doesn't that make me a genius?"
"Let me tell you, I'm genuinely appalled right now."
This is a surprise, but it's ridiculous. The way he's spending money isn't appropriate for a student—or even a working adult.
"...This is supposed to be a secret from everyone else, right? What about the others—?"
Meanwhile, in the room below...
"We're here to hang out!"
Moe, clutching a deck of cards, led a group of girls in traditional yukata into the boys' room. Each girl carried snacks for a late-night treat.
The boys cheered.
"Hey, we'll disturb the others if we make too much noise!"
"It's fine. We're on the first floor, and the room next door is ours too."
"But what about the upper floors—?"
"They can't hear us up there. Anyway, sit down already!"
"They're so hyped..."
Originally, the girls hadn't planned to meet the boys after bathing.
Still feeling guilty about traveling with boys without their parents' knowledge, they had decided to at least avoid seeing the boys at night as a way to justify their actions to themselves.
The guys were a little miffed about it, though.
"Thanks, Shito. You really won her over."
"Hey, if you try anything funny, you're going straight back to your room, got it?"
"Come on, man. We're just having some harmless fun."
"Of course."
Moe, being friendly to everyone, became the mood-maker for the whole group. Even the guys who had been harboring ulterior motives earlier had their spirits completely deflated.
Among the girls was Aika.
"Shinohara-san is okay with it, then? What about Kouno?"
"Kazuki-kun is tired. He's resting in the next room."
"Oh, so that's what happened... Shinohara-san, are you sure it's okay to be apart?"
One guy teased, but Aika replied with a calm smile.
"Kazuki-kun probably wants some alone time sometimes, too."
"Ooh, just like her."
After everyone had chattered excitedly about Aika's story, one guy said:
"I hope Shito pulls this off," Ryosuke said, changing the subject.
"You startled me, didn't you? To think he'd actually—"
*****
"We asked them to 'leave Kirizaki and me alone so I can confess to her,'" Ryosuke said calmly.
"Huh?"
"If we left the room empty for too long, it'd be suspicious, especially both of us at the same time."
"Right..."
"And I already talked to Aikawa-san about it."
"Moe?"
"Yeah. I told her I wanted to be alone with Kirie. Then I figured it'd be unfair to everyone else if I was the only one getting special treatment, so I convinced Aikawa-san too. By now, I bet the girls are all gathered in the guys' room."
Ryosuke smiled.
"If you still want to keep our relationship secret, just tell them 'Kirizaki rejected me.'"
"Seriously... I have no idea what you're thinking."
Kirie collapsed onto the tatami mats, deflating.
"You went to all that trouble just to be alone with me?"
"Exactly."
Ryosuke sat down across from her.
Their eyes met suddenly, making her heart skip a beat.
"Ah..."
She was drawn into his arms as if by magnetism, her lips captured in a kiss.
"Mmm, ugh..."
Instantly, her entire body melted. Ryosuke's voice, his hands, his lips—just these alone made Kirie's core burn hot, making her crave him.
She felt a twinge of shame for this wanton self, yet she welcomed it. She rejoiced in the person Ryosuke had changed her into.
"Ryo...kun... Mmm, mmm..."
The sweetest, most coquettish voice slipped from her lips.
I'm... I'm going to do it again. Here... sex... even though everyone's right below us—
Surrendering to the heat rising from her lower abdomen, Kirie squeezed her eyes shut.