Before us stretched an uninhabited island of eternal sumr. A vast, crystal-clear sea under a high blue sky—at first glance, a paradise. Yet for the students, this would be the stage for a grueling two-week survival test.
On a cloudless night, the starry sky would surely be breathtaking. A place where friends could share stories, where soone could lean close to the person they cared about—a page straight out of youth.
But for the students of Advanced Nurturing High School, this uninhabited island was nothing more than another trial.
July 19th, the day before landing on the island that would beco a battlefield. 12:36 PM. The luxurious cruise ship, San Venus, cut through the waves, heading southwest.
"Haaah... The air's nice."
anwhile, I was suffering from my usual motion sickness, standing on the forward deck, taking deep breaths of the fresh air.
The unpolluted ocean breeze was crisp, gradually easing my nausea.
The exam briefing would start after the first-years finished theirs. I needed to recover before then.
"Motion sickness, maybe?"
As I gazed at the scenery, soone lightly tapped my back twice. Turning around, I saw Matsushita, her long, beautiful hair swaying in the wind.
"Yeah, I've always been bad with vehicles. Got sick on the boat last year too."
"I didn't know you had trouble with that. Kinda surprising."
She giggled, then stood beside , looking out at the sea.
"Wow... What a view."
The sunlight danced on the water, making it sparkle like scattered gemstones. Matsushita watched with a dreamy expression, her eyes slightly narrowed.
"By the way, why'd you co up here? Most students are probably eating lunch right now."
It was close to noon, and the deck was mostly empty.
"Hmm... Just needed a break, I guess? I went to the spa with Shinohara and the others this morning, so I ate early and slipped away."
"A spa? They have that here?"
"They did last year too. It was packed this morning."
I hadn't known about the spa, but it seed popular among the girls.
With two weeks of no costics or proper skincare ahead, they probably wanted to pamper their skin while they still could.
"So, what do you think?"
"...About what?"
Matsushita fidgeted slightly, looking at expectantly. When I didn't catch on, she pouted, unable to hide her disappointnt.
"The spa's effects! Ugh, how can you not get it from that lead-up?!"
Her deanor shifted instantly—cheeks puffing out like a child's. Seeing this side of her felt oddly refreshing.
"Oh, right. Uh... Yeah."
I took a closer look at her... Well, her bare skin. The sunlight had made it hard to see before, but now I noticed her complexion was noticeably smoother than usual.
"Yeah, your skin looks really nice."
"Right? They used this amazing facial pack too—it felt so good. Wanna touch it?"
"Touch it?"
I hesitated, unsure where to even touch. After a mont, I settled for the safest option—her cheek—and gave it a gentle poke with my finger.
"Whoa. It's super soft."
"Hehe. Right? Wanna touch more?"
Well, if she insisted. As I indulged in the squishy texture of her cheek, an announcent echoed through the ship—the briefing for the uninhabited island exam was about to start.
"Looks like the briefing's starting. Wanna go together?"
"You sure? Shouldn't you go back to Shinohara and the others?"
"I'll text them later. So, c'mon?"
With a smile, she took my hand, and we headed inside.
As the first-years finished and filed out, our second-year class began gathering in the ship's theater—the designated briefing area. There were no assigned seats, so we were free to sit wherever.
Looking around, so students sat randomly, others grouped up with friends, but the most noticeable were the clusters ford by class factions. Sitting with your allies made sense—you could strategize during the briefing.
I was technically tead up with Ryūen, but he hadn't said anything. Sitting next to him during the briefing sounded like a nightmare anyway. He'd probably pick a random seat too.
"Where should we sit?"
"The back should be fine."
Matsushita didn't seem to mind, so we headed to the rear and took our seats.
Then—
"Hachiman, mind if I sit next to—?"
"Hachiman, can I sit beside—?"
From above and below, Arisu and Hiyori appeared at the sa ti, freezing mid-sentence as they realized they'd spoken in unison.
Their perfectly synchronized words made them lock eyes.
"...Shiina-san, I was here first. Would you mind stepping aside?"
"No, I definitely called out to Hachiman first. You should be the one to step back, Sakayanagi-san."
Though keeping their voices low, neither showed any intention of backing down.
I didn't mind either sitting next to , but Matsushita was already on my other side.
"I was waiting specifically to sit next to Hachiman, so I'd appreciate it if you'd concede, Shiina-san."
"I was doing the sa. Though I'm surprised to see Matsushita-san here..."
Hiyori shot Matsushita a brief glance, followed by the slightest glare. I couldn't help but feel this was unfair.
"As the leader of Class A, your presence would distract Hachiman from the briefing. I should be the one sitting next to him."
"Fufufu. What a baseless claim. Hachiman, distracted by ? Impossible. It seems you don't truly understand him."
"!... That's rich coming from you. You always flaunt being his childhood friend, but all you know are old stories."
Hiyori's retort visibly irked Arisu, her smile tightening as a vein pulsed on her forehead. But Hiyori's own lips were twitching—they were equally matched.
"Fufu, fufufu. You speak as if you understand him so well."
"Of course I do. Or at least, I believe I do."
...I'd thought it before, but these two were weirdly similar.
Not in personality, but sothing about them just felt alike.
"Well, this escalated."
Matsushita whispered beside .
"...Yeah. I should step in before this gets ssy, but I doubt they'd listen right now."
"Ahaha. ...But, I'm kinda happy, in a way."
Still smiling, she lightly pinched my sleeve.
"How so?"
When I reflexively asked, her smile softened.
"Hmm... It's like I'm monopolizing you? Right now, it feels like you're just mine."
"...Is that so?"
I didn't quite get it, but if she was happy, I'd take it.
"Ah—I guess that didn't co across. Took a lot of courage to say that..."
Matsushita muttered, cheeks reddening despite her composed act. After a mont, she slumped slightly, groaning, *"Ugh..."*—seems the embarrassnt hit her late.
"What's with this cozy atmosphere?"
Two dark voices chid in from the side. Turning, I saw Arisu and Hiyori, eyes narrowed in displeasure.
"Shiina-san. At this rate, let's have Hachiman decide."
"Agreed. That's best."
Crap. The worst-case scenario. Picking one over the other would inevitably cause problems later.
"Hachiman, if you pick , we can discuss 'that matter' too."
"That matter" probably ant the White Room. Using that card for personal gain was low.
", right?"
Hiyori, despite her few words, carried an intimidating pressure. Not choosing her seed risky.
"Hey, check that out. Two beauties fighting over sothing."
"Wait, there's another beauty on the other side?! Three girls?!"
"Damn, that guy's living the dream!"
"Huh? Isn't that Horikita Manabu's ex...?"
Whispers spread from nearby groups. For now, it was just a few, but if this continued, the entire theater's attention would be on us.
...So this was what they called a dire predicant.
"...Hikigaya. Seat. Free?"
"! Kidō. Yeah, go ahead."
In the midst of this, Kidō Shun from Class 2-A spoke up. When I agreed, he calmly took the seat beside .
"...Kidō-kun? What's the aning of this?"
"Who are you? Don't just cut in."
Arisu exuded pressure, while Hiyori radiated... sothing closer to murderous intent. But Kidō remained unfazed, crossing his arms.
"...Sakayanagi. And whoever the other one is. Look around. Most seats are taken."
He was right—the theater was nearly full.
"...I overheard earlier. Wasting ti on sothing this trivial is pointless. Sit sowhere else. If you want to talk to Hikigaya, do it later."
"Honestly, Kidō's right. You're both key players in your classes. Focus on the exam."
Having them stall here was unacceptable. I appreciated their attention, but the exam ca first.
"...You're right. My apologies. I got carried away."
"Hachiman's correct. I'm sorry as well."
Both were sharp and reasonable, quickly recognizing their own misstep. They must've been flustered earlier.
"Kidō, you saved . Thanks."
"...Don't ntion it. I needed a seat too."
Kidō wasn't much of a talker, but his intervention defused the situation. I couldn't thank him enough.
"...Still, Hikigaya, you're sothing else. Sakayanagi only loses her composure like that around you."
"She does?"
"...Yeah. I rember her getting visibly upset when you were surrounded by girls or the forr student council president."
"Why? The ex-president has nothing to do with this."
The girls, I could half-understand, but why would Arisu care about Horikita Manabu?
"...Dunno the details, but she seed threatened by him."
What kind of threat did Horikita Manabu pose? It made no sense.
Either way, the briefing was about to start. I took a deep breath and focused forward, Matsushita and Kidō flanking as the room settled into tense anticipation.
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