The bus eventually arrived at its destination, and everyone piled out after gathering their things.

“We're staying at this rickety old place?” Reina asked, staring at the building incredulously.

Cho slapped her on the back in a show of comfort. “Come on, Rei-chan. It's not that bad right? Your house is, like, totally worse!”

Reina, however, didn’t appreciate the comment that came along with it. “Wanna take that back, punk?” she asked with a threatening frown.

“She's not wrong.” Taitchi added helpfully.

“Shut up!”

“Alright, everyone,” Takagi said, gathering everyone’s attention. “The school pre-registered us so there's no need to check in. Me, Sakurai, and the other teachers will handle the last-minute paperwork, so go and check out your room. Where was it, Mister Ogino?”

“Ah, my hands are full with the luggage. Can you take the map, Miss Shinkai?”

“Yes, of course.”

Ogino Akko and Shinkai Koharu, the two other chaperone teachers accompanying the class on the trip, moved to exchange the map between them so that the latter could look at it.

“Here. It's first on the right when you enter the hallway.”

“Uh, hold on,” Reina cut in. “Did you say ‘room’? As in, one room?”

Takagi nodded. “That shouldn't be a problem, right? The room's big enough for everyone to sleep comfortably, and I trust you guys not to do anything fishy.”

Cho grinned slyly as she shielded her mouth with one hand. “I dunno about that. I mean, you're putting Yuu-chan and Wattan in the same room, ya know? Are we gonna be able to sleep tonight?”

Yuuna and Wataru, the two in question, blushed at her implication, but stayed silent.

“Oh ho ho. No denial? Teacher, I think these two should get their own room.”

“Overruled. If I was aiming for that, I'd have brought you all to a love hotel.”

“Might as w-well have,” Kaho said as she rolled her eyes. “Putting us all in the same room is b-bound to make something happen.”

Takagi pinched the bridge of his nose in response to his students’ reactions. “I just said I trust you guys, didn't I? Are you telling me not to?”

““““No, sir!”””” Came their collective response.

“Good. Now go to your room already, and don't forget to change into your yukatas. The teachers will share a different room, but we'll be nearby. Just in case.”

“What happened to that ‘trust’ from before, huh...?” Ryuko muttered as the students walked off. The group proceeded to their room and found it easily. Once inside, they marveled at the size of it. Takeshi let out a slow whistle.

“I know he said it was big, but damn. You could fit a whole class in here, let alone ten people.”

“Well Masuta counts for t-ten people on his own, so this is perfect,” Kaho sniped. Ryu let out a sad whimper at her words.

“That's not even remotely true!” Cho was quick to come to his defense, brows furrowing as she tried to correct Kaho. “...It's more like three. Or maybe five?” Ryu let out another shrill whimper as his shoulders slumped.

Reina rolled her eyes, ignoring their exchange. “I don't care how big it is, I can't believe I even have to sleep in the same room as you animals. Ugh, I'm taking the corner. Nobody come near me or I'll claw your eyes out.”

With her threat lingering in the air, Reina headed to one corner of the room before pulling out her cellphone.

“Ah, on that note I’ll get the futons.”

“I’ll help.”

Wataru and Takeshi walked over to a closet and slid it open, revealing a multitude of different futons. After procuring ten of them, they began passing them out to everyone one by one. Eventually, Takeshi reached Ryuko and Emi, and the former grinned at him as she received hers.

“Thanks, man. You excited for this or what?”

“Heh, you know it. When do we ever get out of that classroom?”

“It is starting to feel a little suffocating in there, so it's nice to get away for a bit,” Emi agreed.

“I hear ya,” Takeshi nodded at her. “Reminds you of those trips we took back in elementary, right? We were going to Ryokans left and right back then.”

Ryuko let out a chuckle. “Yeah, I can still remember when your mom went as a chaperone that one time. She freaked hard when she found out that the baths were mixed.”

“‘Mom, it's fine! We're just kids!’ Hahaha, I remember those days.” Takeshi joined in her laughter while clutching his stomach, while Emi smiled fondly from the side.

“It feels just like yesterday. I can't believe we're already in high school now.”

“The three of us've been together for so long that time just seems to fly by, ya know?” said Ryuko.

“Now we've got all these new friends, so the party hasn't stopped yet. Let's make some cool ass memories here.”

“Hell yeah.”

“Ah, r-right!”

Ryuko and Takeshi shared a fist bump, which Emi sheepishly joined in on after a moment. Soon, the teachers arrived to tell them that the day was theirs before heading to their own room. After changing into their yukatas, the group gathered in the center of the room.

“So what should we do first, guys?” asked Cho.

Before anyone could respond, a sudden voice filled the room. “Perhaps I can be of assistance.”

Everyone turned to the door to see a woman standing there, clad in a kimono.

“And you are?” Reina asked while looking at her suspiciously.

“Yamamuro Eika. I'm the owner of this Ryokan.”

Wataru’s eyes widened at the name. “Yamamuro… as in, Yamamuro Sakurai?”

The woman known as Eika let out a giggle as she covered her mouth with one hand. “Well, many have said that my sister and I are quite similar, and not just in name.”

Cho’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head in shock. “Ehhhh?! Miss Sakurai has a sister?! And she works at the Ryokan we went to?!”

“Yes, it's true. We even share the same birthmark on our neck. See?” She lifted her head up to reveal the small black mark on her neck.

“B-Birthmark? I always thought that was just a h-hickey,” said Kaho.

Ryuko looked slightly awkward as she nodded in agreement. “Yeah, me too. I was always like ‘You're an animal, Teach!’ whenever I saw it. Huh, no wonder she always looked confused.”

Eika suddenly cleared her throat awkwardly, confusing everyone in the room.

“...Anyway, I came here to give you all this.” She procured a pamphlet from her sleeve and handed it to the group. Wataru took it and looked it over as everyone looked over his shoulder.

“Yamamuro Inn… so that's what this place is called. Ah, and it lists all of the activities offered here.”

“Yes, it's a page from a pamphlet that I brought for you all, along with a map of the area. Please use it to find your way around and enjoy yourselves.”

“Thank you very much, Miss Yamamuro.” Yuuna said with a polite bow of gratitude.

The woman returned the bow in kind. “No, it was my pleasure. Feel free to explore the inn at your discretion, though do take care not to hurt yourselves.”

“Roger that!” exclaimed Cho. With one last smile, Eika slid the door closed. Once she was gone, Wataru glanced down at the pamphlet once again.

“Looks like they've got things like a pool, a games room, karaoke, shops, a restaurant, and even a movie theater.”

“A m-movie theater? Isn't that a b-bit much for a Ryokan?” Kaho’s eyebrow went up questioningly.

“No kidding. I didn't see any workers when we came in, so does she run this place by herself or somethin'?” Ryuko asked.

“No way,” Takeshi replied. “How's a restaurant gonna run itself?”

“Maybe…” Emi put a hand to her chin in thought. “It's self-sustaining? Like, we can use the facilities ourselves?”

“Akemi's right,” Wataru said. “It says here that many of the facilities don't require workers. The restaurant apparently has pre-made food that only needs to be heated up, and guests can even cook their own food as long as they follow the rules posted there.”

“We can cook our own food? I've never heard of a Ryokan that offers something like that.” Yuuna’s eyes widened at the news.

“I guess that means we got a good deal coming to this place,” said Taitchi.

“Speak for yourself,” Reina retorted. “Getting to see a bunch of handsome servants catering to my every whim was the only thing I was looking forward to. Hahh, what a waste.”

“Hey, look at it this way Rei-chan. We've got the whole place to ourselves, right? This is gonna be great!” Cho beamed her way, leaving Reina visibly disgusted as she averted her gaze.

“Where should we go?” Yuuna asked inquisitively as she peered over Wataru’s shoulder at the pamphlet page. “There are so many options that it's hard to choose one.”

“Pool! Ryu wants pool!”

“Are you a f-five-year-old...?” Kaho muttered.

Emi smiled placatingly. “Well, it is pretty hot outside…”

“How about it? Does the pool sound good to everyone?” Wataru pitched the question to the group.

Ryuko waved her hand dismissively. “Sure, but I didn't bring a swimsuit or anythin'. Hopefully they've got some there.”

“Me neither.” Yuuna agreed.

“Yeah, same here.” said Takeshi.

“I doubt a-any of us brought swimsuits.”

“I brought one!” Cho exclaimed. “I anticipated that a situation like this might happen, so I came prepared.”

“Prepared for what...?” Reina said with furrowed brows.

“It says here that they have swimsuits available. We're free to borrow as many as we want as long as our trip is paid for,” Wataru explained as he read from the pamphlet page.

Ryuko clapped him on the shoulder. “Well that's great then. Let's head out while there's still sunlight.”

With everyone in mutual agreement, the group headed out to the pool area via the map provided in the pamphlet page. When they arrived, they noticed a building that sat at the entrance to the pool.

“According to the map, these should be the locker rooms,” said Wataru. “They're separated by gender, and both of them come with showers. The swimsuits should be inside.”

“Aww yeah, let's gooooo!” Cho shouted, already sprinting for the entrance to the girls’ locker room.

-----

Reina let out a satisfied hum as she gazed at herself in one of the mirrors in the locker room. Deeming her appearance to be perfect, she grabbed a towel and turned to the other girls that had finished changing.

“So? How do I look? Stunning, right?” she asked as she placed a hand on her hip, striking a pose to show off her generous assets and curves.

“You look great!” Emi praised. “Yoshida's a lucky guy, huh?”

Her comment caused Reina's smile to fade as she rolled her eyes. “Him? Please. I'd rather get the approval of a mule.”

“Ehehe, sorry…”

Ryuko closed her locker and approached them as she slung her towel over her shoulders “You do look great though, Fukuoka. That diet's definitely doing somethin' for you.”

“Naturally.” Reina smiled in satisfaction, then turned her gaze on the two of them. “And you two look…” She paused, giving them a once over while noting their widely inferior chest sizes. “...well they suit you, at least.”

Ryuko let out a chuckle as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Ahaha. Coming from you, that's some high praise.”

“Oh, thanks!”

“C-Can we just get out of here already? I h-hate this place.” The three of them turned to see Kaho approaching, clad in a full-body wetsuit and looking unhappier than ever.

“Ahhh… Okeda,” Ryuko started hesitantly. “Not quite sure that fits the definition of ‘swimsuit’.”

“Wh-What are you saying? You can s-swim in this.”

“Well despite that, it really suits Okeda.”

Reina raised an eyebrow as Emi once again offered out unbridled praise. “Do you ever have anything bad to say about someone?”

“H-Huh?! What do you mean?”

“Just… nevermind, I'll do it.” She shook her head dismissively and stepped forward to address Kaho. “That wetsuit looks like garbage on you, Okeda. No one's gonna compliment you if you go out looking like that.”

“I-I'm not looking for anyone's approval a-anyway...! Wh-Why should I objectify myself by e-exposing so much skin, huh?!”

“Calm down, Okeda! She was just joking…” Emi interjected quickly, trying to placate the situation. Reina turned to stare at her in disbelief before rolling her eyes yet again.

“Ugh. I'm outta here.” She turned and headed for the door, glancing over her shoulder on her way out to see what Cho and Yuuna were doing. “Koime. Asano. Are you done yet? We're gonna leave… soon…” Her steps slowly came to a full stop once she realized what exactly they were up to.

“God damn these things are huuuuge! Wattan's such a lucky guy!” Cho shouted as she groped Yuuna’s bare breasts.

“Kya~! Koime! Let me go already! I have to put my swimsuit on!”

“Just a little more! I gotta commit this to memory…”

“Koime!”

*Thwap!*

Cho rubbed the spot on her head where she had been struck by a swimsuit top. “Ow ow ow... Can't say I've ever been whacked with a swimsuit before. Guess there's a first for everything.”

“Have you had your fun?” Yuuna asked while shielding herself with her arms. “Can you please let me change now?”

“Sure, sure, but I'd loosen that top a bit if I were you.”

“Wh-Why?”

“Oh, nothing. I'm just thinking you might score some points with Wattan that way.”

“What… What do you mean?”

Cho didn’t answer, and instead slowly slinked away behind some lockers. “Ahaha… hahaha… haha…”

“...”

Unable to process what she witnessed, Reina simply ignored it and headed out.

-----

Meanwhile…

“Take that!”

Wataru let rip another vicious slap from his towel that struck Takeshi in his rear, causing him to yelp out as he jumped away.

“Ouch! Argh, I'll have my revenge!”

“Come on then!”

As the two continued their battle, Ryu silently continued looking through the swimsuits that were all much too small for him.

“Here.” Turning, he spotted Taitchi handing him a pair of swim trunks. “This one's elastic. It should stretch to your size.”

“R-Really? Thank you…”

“No problem,” he responded as he turned to leave.

“Ah.”

Ryu’s sudden exclamation stopped him, and he turned back to him. “Hm? What's up?”

“Yoshida… looks good.”

In response to his words of praise, Taitchi glanced down at his toned physique and shrugged. “Thanks. You're okay with going out in just that?” he asked. Ryu hesitated, but eventually nodded.

“Normally no. But Ryu is with friends. Ryu will be fine.”

Taitchi offered a small smile. “That's good. None of us are here to judge you, so try and relax.”

Seeing Ryu's nod of affirmation, he turned his attention to the other two boys, who were still rough-housing.

“Counter attaaaaaack~!”

“Curse you, knave!”

“Hey…” Taitchi started, his eye twitching slightly. Feeling the dark energy coming from him, the two boys stopped and turned to see him smiling, the anger in his expression evident. “How about you get dressed now?”

““S-Sorry!””

After everyone was finally in their swimsuits, the boys exited and headed to the pool to see that the girls were already there.

“Jeez, took you long enough,” Reina complained.

“Whoooaaa! Masuta, you look great! Naisu gatto (Nice gut)!” Cho yelled, offering a thumbs up and a wink as she spoke the last part in english.

“Th-Thank you…” Ryu said as he pressed the tips of his index fingers together shyly.

“Yoshida too. Hard to top those pecs,” Ryuko added.

“...”

In the midst of checking him out, Ryuko noticed Taitchi’s gaze was elsewhere, and turned to find that he was staring at Reina with an unreadable expression. The girl met his gaze for a while before eventually turning her head to the side.

“Wh-What? If you have something to say, then say it.”

“Then I will. You look amazing.”

“Ghh... Sh-Shut up. I don't need your flattery, so save it.”

A smile spread across his lips as he approached her. “It wasn't flattery. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were a model. You have such a gorgeous body.”

“I… I said shut up...!”

Finally reaching her, he leaned in until their faces were close enough that she could feel his breath on her face, turning it red.

“So, what do you think of me?”

“U-Um, I…”

In order to avoid his gaze, she glanced down at his chest, only for her face to go completely red at the sight of his abs. She quickly took a step back and turned away from him.

“It should be obvious that-... I mean I-I think it goes without saying that you look… you know…” she stammered while absentmindedly twirling a bit of her hair with one finger.

Satisfied, Taitchi righted himself and smirked at her. “Good enough. You pass.”

“C-Can we get into the pool now? It's hot out here.”

“I doubt the weather's what's gettin' you all hot and bothered, Fukuoka. Even I'm starting to sweat after seeing that up close,” Ryuko said.

“Yeah, me too. I mean, look at those abs! Delish~!” Cho wolf-whistled to bring the point home. From the sidelines, Ryu looked down at his pudgy build, a complicated expression on his face.

“So, uh… how about we get a turn now?”

“Right. How do we look?”

Vying for their own share of the girls’ praise, Takeshi and Wataru started striking poses as the rest of them took in their appearances.

In response to Wataru’s half-naked form, Yuuna was sent into an almost immediate fluster. “A-Ah, u-m… W-W-W-Wataru... Y-You look u-u-um… look… um…”

Wataru struck another pose, showing off his evenly toned chest “I'm actually pretty confident with how I turned out. I'm glad all that kendo's paid off. Pow~!” At the next pose, Yuuna had to physically turn away to hide her burning face.

“So, how about me?”

Striking a pose similar to Wataru, Takeshi gave a confident smirk to the group that had begun walking towards the pool.

“Come on, I'm itchin' to start swimmin' already!”

“Let's go, let's go, let's gooo!”

“Pool! Pool!”

“F-Finally.”

With the group having left him there, Takeshi went silent for a few moments before speaking softly. “...Emi. Comfort me.”

Emi, who had stayed behind, gave him an apologetic look. “Heh, sorry Takeshi. Maybe next time?” And with that, she turned and ran after the others.

“Wh-Why is it now of all times that you don't have anything nice to say?!”

-----

“Take that!”

“Right back at ya!”

“Ryu hits the ball next!”

“There!”

As a few of the students (namely Cho, Ryuko, Ryu, and Wataru) continued knocking the beach ball around the pool, Yuuna took note of the drinks tray that floated around aimlessly.

“It didn't seem like much when I took it, but this is really luxurious, isn't it...?”

Kaho, who’d refused to get in, spoke from the poolside, her chin nestled between her knees. “I kn-know, right? How the hell does Miss Yamamuro have s-so much money?”

Emi, who sat next to her, spoke up as she kicked her feet through the water. “Yeah, especially since it doesn't seem like this place gets many guests…”

Suddenly, Takeshi floated by in the pool, drifting on his backside with his hands behind his head. “Who knows? At least it means we get this kind of luxury to ourselves!”

In the next moment, Reina floated past him in the opposite direction on a pool mattress. “You said it. This martini is to die for.”

“M-Martini?” Kaho looked at her incredulously, as did the others as they stared at the drink clutched between her fingers. A couple of seconds passed before Taitchi suddenly appeared from under the water, having apparently been pushing it from underneath.

“It's grape juice,” he explained.

“It's a martini! And who said you could stop?!” With a shrug, Taitchi went back underwater and the mattress continued floating on its way as she took another sip of her drink.

“Heh…”

“A-Ahaha…” Both Emi and Yuuna let out awkward chuckles in response to the strange scene.

A scene that was almost immediately followed up by Cho’s loud shout “Hey, watch out!”

“Huh? Ah-”

In the next moment, Kaho was suddenly hit full force by the beach ball as it slammed into her face. She let out a grunt as she was knocked clean on her back. After having a silent debate and rock-paper-scissors game with the others that had been playing, Cho meekly swam over to retrieve the ball.

“U-Um… hey Okeda?”

“...”

“S-So about that ball next to you…”

“...”

“Could you, um... pass it here, please?”

“...Sure.” Suddenly taking on a creepy smile, Kaho stood and retrieved the beach ball.

“I'll pass it b-back right now!”

“O-On second thought, you can keep it!”

Without another word, Kaho sent the ball flying towards her, nailing her right in the face. “Gah! I'm hit!”

“Retaliate!” Wataru dove for the ball and sent it back to Kaho, who caught it and returned it right into his gut. “Agh, man down!”

“Wh-What's going on here...?” Ryuko looked on in confusion as the situation seemed to only escalate further and further.

“Ryu founds more balls!”

“Oh no…” Takeshi’s eyes widened in dread. With the sudden increase of beach balls in the pool, things soon descended into pandemonium. Nearly everyone had armed themselves and joined in the battle.

“Fire!”

“As you wish, Your Highness…” On Reina’s command, Taitchi used a ball-launching machine to shoot beach balls at everyone rapid fire. All the while she laughed haughtily into the back of one hand.

“Ahh-hahahaha! You fools can't hope to compare to my ingenuity!”

“We found this in the storage closet,” he explained.

Under the fire of the beach balls, Cho shielded herself with her arms. “Ack! This tyranny must end! Everyone, let's target the evil queen! Masuta, charrrrrge!”

“Uooooooo!”

“Oh crap…” In the face of a full frontal charge from Ryu, Reina turned and pointed in the opposite direction. “Fall back!”

As the chaos ensued, Emi and Yuuna had taken cover beneath a pair of lounge chairs, smiling awkwardly.

“Heh…”

“A-Ahaha…”

To Be Continued.