After finishing our ti at the ski resort, we arrived at the ryokan at 5 p.m.
The exterior had a historic feel, but the interior, including the lobby, was well-maintained and gave off a clean impression.
"This is a nice ryokan, huh? Oh, Kanzaki-kun, I already picked up the room keys for us."
"Got it. Thanks. Then let's head to the room and drop off our luggage."
Kanzaki seed to have been about to go get the keys himself, but Hirata had already gone ahead to the lobby and picked them up for us. He always takes the initiative to handle even the smallest inconveniences for others. There's nothing about Hirata that isn't admirable.
"Man, staying at a ryokan really gets hyped."
"Yeah. The traditional Japanese atmosphere feels fresh compared to usual."
During the walk, Iijima muttered to himself, and Hirata responded. The fact that we can have these casual conversations at all is entirely thanks to Hirata's communication skills.
As the four of us walked, Matsushita—who had likely also picked up her key from the lobby—approached us.
"I was thinking we should talk about the group activities for tomorrow. Would it be okay if all the girls ca to the guys' room later tonight? It'd be easier to decide things face-to-face."
While we've already loosely planned things, nothing's set in stone yet. And in terms of building camaraderie, planning together is a good idea.
"Sounds good. Then we'll leave the timing up to you girls—just send us a ssage when you're ready."
Of course, no one objected to Matsushita's suggestion, and Hirata smoothly wrapped things up while keeping the girls' convenience in mind. Iijima looked at Hirata like he was so kind of god.
"Ah, right, Hikigaya-kun."
As I was thinking the girls would probably enjoy the hot springs next and turned to head back to the room, Matsushita stopped .
"What's up?"
"Actually, just now, sothing like a handkerchief you had was turned in as lost property at the lobby. I thought you should check it out, so would you mind coming with ?"
If it was mine—or even if there was just a chance it was—I should confirm it. I decided to go back to the lobby with Matsushita.
"Then I'll take Hikigaya's luggage to the room."
"You sure? Thanks."
I thanked Kanzaki, handed him my things, and headed to the lobby with Matsushita.
"So, did you actually need sothing from ?"
"...Did you figure it out?"
Once Hirata and the others were out of sight, I asked, and Matsushita grinned awkwardly.
"My handkerchief is still safely in my pocket. Even if I had dropped it, it'd be weird for you to notice."
Before coming to the ryokan, we'd all been skiing separately. Even if I had dropped it on the way from the bus to the ryokan, no one would've noticed.
Clearly, Matsushita had so other reason for stopping . She raised her hands in surrender.
"Sorry, sorry. I wasn't trying to trick you or anything."
"I know. If you were seriously trying to deceive , you'd have co up with sothing better."
"Hey, that makes sound like so kind of villainess."
I'll refrain from comnting on whether she is or isn't.
"So, what did you need? If it was sothing for , you could've just said it outright."
"...I wanted to."
"Huh?"
"I wanted to explore the ryokan with you."
Twirling her hair bashfully, she muttered it almost under her breath.
"...You didn't have to go through all this trouble. I would've agreed if you'd just asked."
"But, you know, it'd be awkward to say in front of the group. And just inviting you would've been weird, right?"
I guess she was considering the group dynamic. If misunderstandings arose, it could cause issues for future activities.
Still, I'm honestly happy she invited . So my answer was already decided.
"Where should we start exploring? I kinda want to check out the souvenir corner."
"! Okay! This ryokan seems to have a lot of fun spots too!"
As we started walking, Matsushita smiled happily and fell into step beside . She seed to know more about the ryokan's facilities, so I decided to let her take the lead.
"Though, I didn't expect you to be into exploring like this. Kinda childish, huh?"
"S-Stop, that's embarrassing..."
......
By 9 p.m., most students who had finished dinner were heading to the ryokan's main attraction—the large communal bath. For Matsushita Chihiro, this was no exception. For most of the girls, it was one of the things they'd been looking forward to the most.
Excited, Matsushita undressed, spread out a face towel to subtly cover herself (as per etiquette), and slid open the door to the bath.
"Wow."
A wave of steam rushed past her, and a bath area far larger than she'd imagined ca into view. Inside, there were two large indoor baths, and while there was only one outdoor open-air bath, it was massive. A fair number of people were already using it, judging by the scattered voices she could hear.
After rinsing off lightly, Matsushita stepped into the main bath.
There, she spotted two familiar faces from their group.
"Shiina-san and Kamuro-san are here too, huh?"
"I just got here with Kamuro-san."
"Mmm..."
Hiyori answered with a smile, but Kamuro was so relaxed in the bath that her response was barely audible.
"Kamuro-san, you really like baths, huh? You look super comfortable."
"Mmm..."
"She's been like this since we got in."
Matsushita chuckled and slowly subrged herself up to her shoulders, letting out a blissful sigh.
"Mmmnnn~! Hot springs are the best!"
Stretching, Matsushita's gaze fell on Hiyori, who was also enjoying the bath, and she couldn't help but stare.
"?"
Hiyori looked puzzled as Matsushita studied her.
"Shiina-san, your skin is really pretty."
Her unblemished, fair skin—untouched by sunburn—was so flawless it was srizing.
"Eh, really? If anything, Matsushita-san has a better figure, and your skin is so smooth and glossy."
"Shiina-san is just... how do I put it? Naturally radiant? Like, effortlessly beautiful... Anyway, you're really pretty."
"...You're making blush."
Hiyori turned away slightly, and Matsushita couldn't help but feel genuine admiration, even as a fellow girl. With charm like that, it was no wonder guys were drawn to her. But since Hiyori herself didn't seem interested in anyone other than him, Matsushita couldn't help but smile wryly.
"I'm heading to the open-air bath. What about you two?"
"I'd like to go too. I'm curious about what it's like."
"I'm... good..."
Matsushita stood, Hiyori followed, and they left Kamuro behind to enjoy the open-air bath.
"Wow, the open-air bath is pretty crowded... Huh?"
As they stepped outside, Matsushita noticed sothing.
"O-Oh wow, it's like an all-star lineup..."
The open-air bath was currently occupied by Sakayanagi, Ichinose, Horikita, Kushida—basically all the most famous girls in their year. Matsushita was a little surprised but figured they wouldn't interact much, so she brushed it off.
"Ah, Shiina-san and Matsushita-san, co join us!"
Almost imdiately after entering, Kushida—who had been talking with Ichinose and Horikita—called out to them. Since both Matsushita and Hiyori had so history with Kushida, they could respond positively.
"Oh, right! You two wanna join our love talk?"
""Love talk?""
Matsushita and Hiyori's voices overlapped at Kushida's question.
"We were just chatting with Ichinose-san and Horikita-san about it. Wanna join?"
"I don't recall agreeing to this."
"A-Ahaha."
Horikita softly denied it, and Ichinose gave an awkward laugh.
Matsushita almost wanted to ask, Were you really talking about love? but bit her tongue.
"Matsushita-san and Shiina-san are both popular with guys. Are either of you seeing anyone?"
Kushida had an ulterior motive—she wanted to dig up potential weaknesses.
But she'd picked the wrong targets.
"I am. I have soone I like."
" too. There's soone I really love."
They answered without hesitation, their cheerful tones making it clear they had nothing to hide.
"Eh, eh?! Seriously?!"
"W-Wow, you two are so bold...!"
"..."
Kushida was shocked by their lack of sha, Ichinose was flustered by sheer embarrassnt, and Horikita—while silent—kept her eyes fixed on them, equally stunned.
All three were surprised, but they each had their own guesses about who the two liked. However, since they weren't close enough to pry, they didn't ask.
"About the guys you like..."
But Kushida, desperate for information, decided to go all-in.
"Could it be Hiki—"
『You see that, guys?! Hachiman's still the king!!』
「「「「「!?」」」」
The na of the person dominating the conversation echoed from the other side of the wall separating the n's and won's baths, stunning everyone. The open-air baths were only divided by a single wall, so voices carried easily.
"That voice... Ishizaki-kun, right?"
"But what does 'king' an?"
At Matsushita's question, everyone tilted their heads. It wasn't a word typically used in bathhouses.
『Oi, oi!! Ain't nobody here who can compete with our Hachiman!!』
『Ishizaki, give back my towel.』
A competition? Towels? More question marks floated above everyone's heads.
『Like hell I'm losin'!! Go!! The other king!!』
『I just want to enjoy the open-air bath...』
"Now that's... Sudou-kun's voice. And Ayanokouji-kun's."
"And what's this 'king' thing about? Horikita-san, any ideas?"
"No clue. More importantly, what could possibly be so exciting in an open-air bath?"
"But they said 'the other king,' and judging by the order of voices, it's probably Hachiman-kun and Ayanokouji-kun, right?"
The word "king" stuck in their minds. The n's side was way too rowdy for no apparent reason.
All of them felt oddly fixated on it, unconsciously wanting more information. Silence fell over the group.
『King vs. King!!』
『Go for it, Ayanokouji!! You're our class's hope!!』
『Don't lose, Hachiman!! You're our secret weapon!!』
『『We'd rather not...』』
"...Hikigaya-kun and Ayanokouji-kun don't seem too into it."
That much was obvious, but they still had no answers.
『T-This is—! A draw!!』
"...Looks like a tie."
Not that we know what they're competing over, Horikita added silently.
The wall separating them couldn't muffle the sheer chaos on the other side, leaving everyone bewildered.
But the truth was finally revealed by Hashimoto's remark.
『As expected, Hachiman and Ayanokouji's————are king-level.』
「「「「「...!!!!?」」」」
The quick-witted girls imdiately connected the dots between the earlier conversation and Hashimoto's statent, and all of them promptly subrged their faces in the bathwater.
Their already heated bodies flared up even more, their faces burning to the point of dizziness. But between the embarrassnt and awkwardness, none of them dared to leave the bath.
"(W-Why am I... getting so flustered over this...!!)"
Kushida hadn't realized until now, but the recent awareness of Ayanokouji's size being branded into her mind left her equal parts humiliated and frustrated.
"(A-Ayanokouji-kun is... a king...!?)"
Ichinose, similarly affected, had been in the bath too long. The heat made it hard to think straight, and her head spun.
"(Ngh!...!! Nnnngh!!!!)"
Horikita, feeling the most intense sha, had inadvertently visualized the guys' conversation. Combined with the ntal image of Hachiman's equipnt, her emotions were in complete disarray.
"(H-Hikigaya-kun... If even the guys call him a king, then... that ans...!!)"
Matsushita's mind was flooded with impure thoughts. She blew bubbles into the water, trying to shake them off, but the heat in her face and body refused to fade.
"(...Hachiman-kun...)"
Hiyori, anwhile, was recalling certain acts, her body burning for entirely different reasons as she whispered her beloved's na in her heart.
"(Fufu, how pure everyone is.)"
Arisu, observing from a distance, smirked at the five girls who refused to resurface—though she failed to notice her own flushed cheeks.
....
Bonus Scene
"What a terrible experience..."
"Let's just go to the baths earlier when there are fewer people from now on..."
Forced into a situation reminiscent of last year's mixed training camp, Ayanokouji and I left the baths early. We'd enjoyed the open-air bath enough, but the fatigue was catching up.
"Seriously, though, how do they get so hyped over that?"
"No idea."
No point dwelling on it. We changed into yukata and stepped out from under the noren.
Just then, an unusual group of five girls—Hiyori, Matsushita, Horikita, Kushida, and Ichinose—erged from the won's bath at the sa ti.
"Rare combination."
"...Hikigaya, they're acting weird."
None of them would make eye contact with us. The only exception was Hiyori, who was staring at with... that look in her eyes. The one she gets when she wants to kiss in private.
"...Why won't they look at us? Did we do sothing?"
"No clue. Hikigaya, ask them."
"Ugh, fine..."
If we'd ssed up, apologizing was a must.
That said... Hiyori's expression was dangerous.
"...Did we do sothing wrong?"
I kept my voice low to avoid startling them, but all five flinched exaggeratedly.
Honestly, I could've just asked Hiyori, but my instincts scread danger, so I excluded her.
"Horikita, can you answer?"
"...!!?"
She was the most likely to respond, so I called out to her—but still, no eye contact.
At this point, the only option was to force it. I stepped closer, cupped her chin, and made her look at .
"If we did sothing, just tell ."
"—————"
Finally eting my gaze, Horikita's face was red as an apple, her ears burning. Her eyes swirled with confusion, her shoulders trembling. Then, as her gaze flickered downward for just a second—
"Mmmmphhh!!!"
A perfectly executed slap struck my cheek with a crisp SMACK!
...Did I really make Horikita that angry...?
"I-I'm so sorry! D-Does it still hurt? Is there anything I can do...?!"
"I'm fine. More importantly, I didn't actually make you mad, right?"
"O-Of course not! I was just... confused, and I... I can't believe I slapped you... I-I'm so sorry, this is no excuse, but... i-it's my fault, I... H-Hikigaya-kun, I..."
"Calm down, Horikita. I'm not upset."
"B-But your cheek is red...! I-It's swollen! I-I'll get ice—no, first I should—!"
"It's just from the heat. Really, I don't mind, so relax."
Horikita, unusually flustered, kept fussing over until the heat in her body finally subsided.
=================================
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