Volume 4, Chapter 2: A Vast Array of Thoughts Part 6

A sky full of stars spread out before me. I had stumbled onto the deck of the ship at night trying to find a place. "This is amazing...". It was an order of magnitude above what we usually see in books and pictures. It was a beautiful sight. This is the sort of night view you won't be able to see in large cities. And there were a few male and female students looking up at the starry sky while holding hands and rubbing shoulders. I felt a bit lonely watching that. Since it was dark out with little light I could not see their faces. And I don't care much for romantic outings like that anyways.

But among the students looking up at the night sky there was one girl who was standing alone in a silhouette. "No, no". Even if I called out to her now, I can't just say 'why don't we view the stars together' and try to pick her up that way. I don't want to be there when her boyfriend arrives. But I was interested to see who that girl is so I approached her. The girl noticed me and turned to look at me. "A...a...Ayanokouji-kun?". "That voice...is it Kushida?". And so the girl, Kushida, emerged out of the shadows with a surprised face looking at me.

"Are you...alone?". Perhaps Kushida's here to meet her boyfriend. Thinking that made my chest tighten and hurt. "Yeah. I can't sleep right now" she told me. "Oh, I see". So she's not here for a night view date with her boyfriend after all. I felt relieved knowing that. It seems Kushida just got out of the bath, there was a very comforting scent coming from Kushida who was wearing a jersey. It seems it's the same scent as the shampoo given to us in our rooms.

"Are you not cold?" I asked her. "I'm ok. More importantly, are you here alone Ayanokouji-kun?" she asks me. When I nodded, Kushida laughed happily. "So we're both alone then? I'm a bit happy" she says. ".......". I should have said a nice one-liner at this point, but of course I couldn't say it.

On the contrary, my heart rate is increasing just by being alone with Kushida in a place full of couples. Kushida must hate the situation though, deep down inside. "In any case, I'll be taking my leave" I tell her. "You're leaving already?". "Yeah, I'm getting sleepy" I reply to her. Of course I didn't want to sleep at all but it can't be helped. "I see, then I'll see you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun!". "Good night, Kushida".

After exchanging farewells with her, I pathetically turn my back to leave. But then. "Wait!!!" Kushida screamed and jumped into my chest. I could feel her warmth even through her jersey in this cold weather.

"K-k-k-Kushida? W-what are you doing?" I ask her. Of course, in this unexpected situation, I was panicking. It was beyond my understanding. ".....". But Kushida did not answer me immediately.

Then, in a small, squeaking voice. She says "Sorry...suddenly I...felt a bit lonely being alone by myself". She whispered that to me while being in my chest. Those words were like a boxer's punch to me and my brain went blank for a moment. And for a few more seconds, Kushida kept burying her face in my chest. And then suddenly, as if a spell was broken, she released me and took her distance.

"S-sorry. I suddenly hugged Ayanokouji-kun...good night!". I couldn't see Kushida's face very well in the dark, but I had a feeling she was also blushing. And without saying anything, Kushida ran away, leaving me to stand there holding my chest to feel the warmth that she left behind.

Thanks to this, I won't be able to sleep anymore tonight. I can't return to my room like this. So I decided to walk around the ship for a while. "Aahhh...that surprised me. Now that it's over I feel a bit thirsty now" I say to myself.

There should be a few vending machines on the first floor and so I decided to head there before returning to my room. But then near the vending machine, I found a strange group of three people. There was Chabashira-sensei, and Class B's Hoshinomiya-sensei and Class A's Mashima-sensei. They were sitting on the sofa and quietly spending their time. This area is technically not off-limits to the students, but since there is a bar here that none of the students could enter, students usually avoid coming here.

I came here for a change, but it seems like I've stumbled onto the chance to gain some information. I erased my presence and slowly and quietly approached them. "You know, it's been a while. Since the three of us got together like this". "It's fate, in the end we all chose the path of the teacher". "Stop it. There's no point in talking about that". "Oh yeah, speaking of which, I saw you on a date. New girlfriend? Mashima-kun, you're surprisingly motivated on that front".

"Chie, how about you? What happened to your former man?". "Haha, I broke up with him after two weeks. You see, I'm the type of girl that does it with a man and breaks it off before the relationship gets serious" Hoshinomiya-sensei replies.

"That's usually the man's line, you know". "Ahh, but I'm not doing it with Mashima-kun. You're my best friend after all, I'd hate to ruin our friendship" she tells Mashima-sensei. "Relax. It's not about that". "Uwaaa...that's a shock all on its own" Hoshinomiya-sensei pours whiskey into an empty glass and drank it all in one, large gulp. Compared to that, Chabashira-sensei was slowly sipping on sake as if it were a cocktail. "More importantly, what are you going to do, Chie?". "What're you talking about so suddenly?".

"Generally, the policy here is to put all the representatives of each class in the (Dragon) group". "I'm not intending on messing around here. Indeed as far as attitude and grades go, Ichinose-san is the top of my class, but the probability of success in society cannot be measured by numerical parameters only. I decided there is a hurdle she must overcome before that. Besides putting her in (Rabbit) group is fitting. A rabbit is cute right? Going pyonpyon, just like Ichinose-san" Hoshinomiya-sensei said.

"I hope you're right". "Hoshinomiya's words are indeed reasonable, is there some hidden meaning behind them?". "I just don't want you to make judgments based on personal grudges". "Are you still talking about what happened 10 years ago? I thought we got over that...". "I wonder, you're the type to run their mouth as soon as I'm not immediately in front of you. You're the type that's not satisfied unless you're one step ahead. That's why you put Ichinose in (Rabbit) group right?". "What do you mean? Explain, Hoshinomiya".

"I genuinely thought Ichinose-san needed to learn a lesson so I had her removed from (Dragon) group. Speaking of which, Sae-chan was also focusing quite a bit on Ayanokouji-kun. It's just a coincidence right? Coincidence, coincidence. When the island test ended, you seemed glad Ayanokouji-kun turned out to be the leader?" Hoshinomiya-sensei said. "That's unrelated". But Mashima-sensei nodded as if he were convinced. But then he spoke to Hoshinomiya-sensei in a strict tone. "There's no specific rule for it but I want to protect our morals. I'd like to avoid reporting on a colleague's failure" he said. "Hey, you might not trust me. But don't just blame me, Sakagami-sensei is also a problem right? Class C already has a bad reputation since another person should've been in (Dragon) group but Ryuuen-kun was sent in instead." she replied. "Indeed, the students this year seem to all be special". I have gotten quite a bit of information on the exam already so I decided to go back. If I stayed, I'd only get wrapped up in further trouble. I already know now that Ichinose was sent to scout me. It seems my movements are already been noticed and restricted.