1

"And we're here!"

As he disembarked the class 2-C bus, Shiki exclaimed in joy as he stretched his hands out and rotated his torso repeatedly. Both of his hands swung two bags in a rather dangerous manner as he skipped his way to the side of the road.

"Finally freed from the tortures of that four-hour drive!"

More students began spilling out of the bus, and Kazuki soon followed some of them.

Stepping off the bus, he walked a bit ahead and gazed at the sight in front of him.

Two pillars marked the main entrance to Tenka Peak's premiere inn complex. A banner with the name "Welcome to Tenka Peak!" flowed along with the noontime wind, and from this distance, the teen saw glimpses of the humongous inn that the three Fuyusato classes will be staying in for the next two days.

"It looks amazing, Arata."

Kazuki looked at the person who stepped beside him, Miki Amagi, who likewise looked at the whole complex with wonder.

Some of her brown hair peeked from an adorable sun hat that she wore.

Kazuki was not sure what her focus was on, whether it was on the trees and flowers that spread out, the traditional roofs that can be seen as far as here, or on the roads that likewise branch out into different directions, deep into the sea of green in the distance.

"Yeah, it does. This place is big."

His question was immediately answered when Amagi hurriedly walked to a nearby thicket filled with blue and purple flowers. She took her phone out in order to start taking pictures.

"You seem to like the place a lot, Amagi," he mentioned as he saw the shine on his childhood friend's eyes with each shot she took.

"It is a great escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. The air is so fresh, and it makes me feel so relaxed."

Kazuki scratched his head on that remark. "I am more of a city boy myself, so I'm not sure if I can relate. I am more excited to see what facilities they have in that inn more. This is just insane."

He looked back with a slightly worried expression as he saw several more buses arriving at the drop-off area.

"It's the first time we had a class trip this grand. Something tells me some bigshot helped in splurging for this trip. I never thought something like this would happen. Our class trips were literally just us before, but now we have a class each from the three levels."

"Attention!"

Aided by the sound of the instructor's clapping, Kazuki and Amagi both turned to their homeroom teacher, who stood right at the entrance of the complex.

Mr. Tsuda tidied up his shirt before scanning the group of students that have lined up into a neat formation.

After a while, he nodded.

"Looks like everyone's here. Okay, so I'll walk you guys over in advance while the other grade levels are setting things up. Make sure to not make a fuss during our entire stay, or I'll make sure that you'll regret it when we get back."

Kazuki felt the gleam of seriousness reflect on his homeroom teacher's glasses as he said those words. It hardly surprised him. Mr. Tsuda has always been strict, by-the-rules, and quite the neat freak.

"Everyone ready? Let's get going, then. Would you care to help me lead the group, Uehara?"

"Yes, sir," said the black-haired girl as she walked to the homeroom teacher's side.

"After we check in, we'll still have a long way ahead in exploring the sights and sounds of Tenka Peak. I'll brief over the schedule when we finish checking in."

Mr. Tsuda turned back and began leading the way when Kazuki saw Shiki walk towards him.

"Feeling bad that Four-Eyes had to interrupt your super-secret bonding time with each other?" said Shiki in a joking tone as he slung his arm over Kazuki's shoulder.

"Actually..."

It was Amagi that first spoke up, to the surprise of the two boys.

"I was just reminiscing a bit... about home, that's all. Before the family came over to Shiroki City and I met you two at the park that day, I lived in a rural area, and being this high up in the mountains reminded me of it a bit."

"Speaking of nostalgic matters, remember when we all bought our charms?" asked Shiki while taking it out of one of his two bags.

He raised the knitted charm that looked like a key with a star end to eye level. "Just a few days after we graduated elementary, we agreed to save up and buy matching charms. You guys remember this, right?"

The girl's eyes widened at the sight of the knitted charm, and she reached into her pocket and took out hers. In contrast to the yellow that Shiki had, Amagi's was a deep red with black highlights.

"Of course! I always bring this with me on trips as a reminder of that day."

"Now, what about our third guy?"

Instead of answering Shiki, Kazuki slowly pulled himself away from his bright-haired friend. However, getting asked that question startled him for a second. He then closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm sorry... I left mine at home."

Those words hurt him as they slowly left his mouth. How can they not? He assumed that he just killed the mood right there, but he did not want to lie. After all, he never brings a lot of accessories wherever he goes, and he had left his star charm, a blue one, somewhere in the stash deep within his room.

Surely, his friends would understand.

Despite feeling bad about it, he put on a straight face as he looked at Shiki's disappointed expression.

"Awww..."

"I-it's okay! There's no need to bring it, anyway. Shiki just wanted to reminisce about the good old days."

At this point, Shiki had begun getting close and was about to place his arm over Kazuki's shoulder before the latter dodged.

"Personal space."

Once those words left his mouth, he felt a hint of anxiety in his heart. He would have normally reprimanded Shiki harder for his characteristic lack of respect for personal space, but Amagi's words got him thinking.

He never considered himself too sentimental of a person, but there seemed to be a hint of longing in the way Amagi said those words.

Hearing her like that took him back to when the three of them were little, in a scene somewhat similar to what lay in front of his eyes now.

Back when the three of them were naively playing at the lush community park on a side of Shiroki City far from where they live now...

"Well, what are we waiting for? Mr. Tsuda is waiting for us."

Just like that, all the longing and nostalgia from Amagi's voice disappeared as she brought everyone back to reality. She pointed ahead, and all three of them saw that the rest of the class had left them behind. At the very back was Sayaka Uehara, with her arms raised and motioning for them to hurry up.

"Oh crap! They've gone way too ahead of us!"

Shiki, trudging with his two bags, raced ahead in order to catch up with the rest of the class.

"Shall we get going, too?"

Kazuki nodded at Amagi's suggestion, and they walked towards the inn that can be seen from the distance.

2

A loud thud echoed through the room as a red paper bag filled with sweets and other snacks went flying. Shiki then planted himself face first onto a nearby cushion.

"And that's a last of it. Damn you all for making me carry your things! And you guys all got free ice cream out of me while we're at it!"

He called out to his other companions in the spacious inn room.

"To be fair, it was you who made the bets and lost," answered Kazuki, who was seated on top of his sleeping cushion on the other side of the room.

"You're not very wise in picking your battles, Shiki. You're light years away from being able to beat me in any carnival shooter. I got everything calculated."

The remark came from Jun Yamada, their navy-haired class representative who wore rectangular glasses.

Kazuki looked at Yamada's direction as the class rep began organizing his items in his corner. In addition to the bag he used for shopping a while ago, he had brought out his organizer, his notebook, and bottles of water. None were placed just randomly, and everything was aligned neatly around his cushion.

"The same goes for me and any game involving luck. Just look at my rolls," chimed in the fourth classmate with a bowl cut. He put out his phone and flexed his roster of characters in Lost Legend. "And you thought it's smart to have a bet with me over who gets to draw the better fortune at the shrine a while ago, huh?"

Kazuki had no doubts on Tomoda's luck. He had known the bowl cut classmate to be one of the most avid fans of mobile games and their pseudo-gambling systems. He always had some of the better characters among the players in the class, and only a few can claim to have better luck than him.

"It's just not my day today, okay?" answered Shiki. "You know what, I challenge you to a match at Lost Legend now!"

He pointed at Tomoda, but the classmate just brushed him off.

"Give it a rest, Shiki. You still have tomorrow to try to get back at us all."

"That's not fair," Shiki, having sat up, hung his head.

Tomoda then returned to grinding on his mobile game, while Yamada started writing something down. With the situation more or less diffused, Kazuki lay down on his cushion and looked up at the ceiling light.

It was now that he started feeling some body aches.

Along with the first year class and the third year class, class 2-C had scaled the mountain in order to reach a historical shrine said to be dedicated to a fox god. It was a full fifteen minutes of painstakingly long walking under the noontime heat of the Sun.

Then, they walked through the forest, ending up at a nature preserve a far distance away from the inn. He turned one eye to the direction of the class rep, who had his share talking endlessly and sharing his knowledge about the animals that the class got to see.

Befitting his look, Jun Yamada was a complete walking encyclopedia when it comes to the numerous plants and animals in Tenka Peak, much to the amazement of some students, including Shiki and Amagi. For a short time, he had served as an additional teacher along with the three homeroom advisers.

He also recalled that Uehara enjoyed the trip to the nature reserve a lot, especially the petting zoo section. Guess there's a lot more soft sides to her that he had yet to uncover after all.

If there's anything that Kazuki admired Mr. Tsuda and the first year homeroom teacher, Ms. Ichika, for how everything went by so smoothly. It was their ability in keeping so many things organized while dealing with such a large group of people. Things went on without a hitch.

Lastly, their destination brought them to a shopping street located somewhere in the mountain. Having lost all those bets he made along the way, everything came biting back at Shiki at this point of the trip. Of course, he, Yamada, and Tomoda had made sure to remind Shiki of the results of all the challenges and games that the bandana-wearing friend proposed.

Kazuki then looked at his male childhood friend, and he cannot help but feel a bit sorry for him. However, the Shiki he always knew would never let his spirits be dampened by anyone or anything.

As if to affirm his thoughts, Shiki quickly sprang up and raised his hands. With widened eyes, he began speaking in excitement.

"Ah, I got it! A surefire way to lighten everyone's mood before we rest up for tomorrow!"

Kazuki did not appreciate his friend interrupting his train of thought one bit, but he found himself having no choice but to listen to what Shiki was saying. The other two roommates also got up from their lying down positions in order to listen.

"Tomorrow night, we'll have a test of courage event, right?"

"Uh-huh. The student council has scouted the location around the inn already and is probably going start setting things up tomorrow," answered Yamada. "You're not thinking of doing anything dangerous tomorrow night, are you?"

Shiki shook his head. "Nope! Instead, I want to do an activity tonight that will forge our bond as brothers! As roommates for the rest of the school trip, we have to do something that will further forge our bonds with fire when we go back to society!"

"And that is?" asked Kazuki nonchalantly.

"The rite of manhood that every guy must pass through on a school trip! Just so you know, the hot springs in this inn are connected!"

Oh no.

Kazuki did not comment despite his reservations. He felt something stopping him despite him knowing full well where Shiki's words are headed.

"What do you mean?" asked Tomoda.

"What he means is," Yamada pushed his glasses up. "The boys and the girls hot springs are right next to each other, with only a bamboo barrier separating the two! You can completely hear some of the most titillating conversations if they talk loud enough!"

How did he know that? That look is making me uncomfortable, too. Class Rep Yamada?

Kazuki found himself unable to take his eyes off the stoic expression on the class rep's face. The class rep was completely serious about it, and he somehow felt that he had seen a hidden side of the serious and overly organized classmate.

"Yes! They say that the best friendships are forged through fire and tribulations! So here's what we're gonna do. We'll sync our time inside the male springs with the time when the girls come in, we'll be inside our spring, and I'll take care of the rest."

"Don't you just want to have someone to take the fall along with you should you get caught with what you're gonna do?" lazily commented Tomoda.

"Come on, can't you use some time in the hot springs to relax those sore muscles of yours? They'll get sore even more if you spend the rest of the night playing mobile games. Besides, you'll probably end up losing Fujiwara to that asshole Ishida at any rate," Shiki snickered. "Why not have a chance of seeing her in peak form? Come on, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and you're not squandering it away!"

Elsewhere, Yamada nodded his head along with every one of Shiki's words.

"Who knows? This might be the last time we'd be in a school trip with the lower years, specifically her class!"

All of Shiki's words seemed to have struck a nerve, as Tomoda quickly put his phone away.

"I got a really bad feeling about what you're doing, Shiki, but if there's one thing mobile gamers know, it is to have faith in that 1% chance of success. I'm in!"

"So now all that's left is..."

Shiki then turned to Kazuki.

Kazuki opened his mouth to protest. There is no way this is going to end well. If they get caught, who knows what would await them back in school.

No.

Screw getting back to school. Who knows what awaits them this very night?

"Look. When the most amazing member of the group comes up with a master plan, the apprentice follows. Doubly so when all your pals here are in similar wavelengths. Think of the rewards, man! I have no idea who's gonna be there later, but if it's Amagi or Uehara, talk about hitting the jackpot!"

The images of the two classmates entered Kazuki's mind, involuntarily it seemed.

Uehara's fair complexion and silky hair would likely shine under the moonlight just like one of those scenes he saw in anime. Amagi, on the other hand, was a bit on the stacked side, and the rest of her tender body would look perfect in the hot springs.

Argh! What the hell was that!

Getting a grip of himself, he shook his head repeatedly to rid of those images in his mind.

The risk-reward for this plan is too skewed, and no one sane would go along with Shiki's plan.

However, as his bandana-wearing friend raised two thumbs up and put on a grin, he cannot find it in himself to say something snarky about the suggestion.

Something stopped him from outright rejecting Shiki's offer, and he sure knew it was not peer pressure.

3

"All good to go."

Amagi finished drying her hair. She smiled as she settled down for a while and let herself sink into the steamy sensation of the shower area while recalling the trips the classes took just this afternoon.

"Everyone looked like they were having so much fun," she commented before picking up her towel and opening the sliding doors that led to the hot springs.

"Ah, there you are! You sure kept us waiting, Senpai!"

Sure enough, there she was, one of her roommates.

Akane Fujiwara waved her hand as she invited Amagi to come over. Along with her are the rest of the roommates, Lilya Bloomenfled and Sayori Misawa, both from the student council.

Bloomenfled leaned against rocks scattered across the outdoor hot springs, while Misawa was for some reason half-submerged under the water.

Amagi did not know whether it was coincidence that she ended up being roommates with her junior in the swimming club as well as two members of the student council.

"Ah! The water here is soooo good!" declared Fujiwara with a sound of ecstasy as she soon sank down the water. "This is really the perfect time to dive in and relax."

Like Misawa, she blew bubbles on the water as she mischievously sank down to eye level.

"Please take this time to relax, everyone," said Bloomenfled. The third year, normally stern and serious, had a more relaxed expression than she usually carried. She leaned back against a rock while giving a nod of approval at Fujiwara.

Without her glasses and her usual stiff expression, the senior student council member seemed much more warm and accommodating. In contrast to the impression of her being the strict and obsessive senior that Amagi had formed, Bloomenfled felt much more like an accommodating big sister here.

"The same goes for you. Student council work has got to be really tough especially these days."

"Ah, if it isn't Amagi. Looking good today," commented the senior as she saw Amagi approaching.

"Speaking of student council work... You sure you're fine with letting the boys do all the preparations for tomorrow's activity?" asked Fujiwara.

In response, the older member of the student council shook her head. "Well, I wanted to help and all, but Misawa's really insistent on taking a break. As she said, it's about time the boys pick up the slack. On second thought, I think it's about time those boys learn to do things without me as well."

"Come on, don't you all agree with me?" followed up Sayori Misawa, the peach-haired girl who is the secretary of the student council. "It's the class trip for god's sake! They won't dare letting us pretty girls do the job that they should do! It's about time we relax after all the hard work we've been doing in school."

"Now that I think about it, Saito-senpai does seem very laid back and a bit too happy-go-lucky, especially when he talks with Reijy and the rest of his clique about supposedly serious matters. It's not just once that Reijy complained to me about that guy being hard to deal with."

"Right? Right? And the guy is our president! But it's up to us girls to do all the work. The other two members of the student council are no better." Misawa finished with a sigh. "Who knows where the student council will be without our amazing Bloomenfled-senpai here."

"You're giving me a bit too much credit, Misawa."

Despite deciding to remain humble, Bloomenfled had a smile on her face. She then turned to Amagi.

"Say, how's it going, Amagi?"

"I'm just fine. Taking a dip here is really great especially after all the walking we did this afternoon," the brunette answered courteously right as her body entered the warm waters of the spring.

"Oh no no no! That's not what she meant!" interrupted Misawa.

"E-eh?"

Amagi stuttered as she was taken aback by the question. Her expression seemed to have been read by both lowerclassmen, and Misawa kept pressing.

"What she meant was how far you have gone with Arata!"

That sentence drew an "ooohhh" from Fujiwara, who proceeded to open her mouth.

"You know, the other day, we—mmmph!"

Like a flash, Amagi waded through the hot water in order to tackle Fujiwara and cover the redhead's mouth. She did this along with using her other hand to hold the redhead in place.

"No!"

"You're making yourself all the more suspicious, Amagi," sighed Bloomenfled.

Amagi, hearing this, released her hold on Fujiwara.

"Looks like there's a spicy scoop for the club up for grabs!" followed Misawa.

"Well if she doesn't want to tell it, leave her be."

The magenta-haired senior pulled her very eager junior by the hair, away from Amagi before she can even think of pouncing on the brunette for the latest gossip to write in her website.

Amagi internally thanked Bloomenfled for reeling her junior in.

"Well, at the very least, I think that it's about time you make a move on Arata, Senpai."

Amagi felt warm and flustered, and she blinked repeatedly at Fujiwara's remark. "H-h-huh, what brought this about?"

"Just so you know, Misawa and I are rooting for you. We got your back, Senpai!" Fujiwara cutely stuck her tongue out and gave Amagi a thumbs up.

"Oohh, sounds like a chance for a cool new development for the gossip mill," followed Misawa while nodding her head. The three then turned to Bloomenfled.

"I got no objections. Just try to stay out of trouble at school in case anything happens and we're good, okay?"

"Awww, can't you be a bit more supportive, Bloomenfled-senpai?"

"Hehe, it's fine, you girls," nervously chuckled Amagi. "Don't worry about me too much."

"Ehhh? You sure about that?"

Amagi paused at Misawa's question.

"You know, you seem to have an active competitor now. You cannot afford to take it so easy now."

"She's right, Senpai. It's now or never. You told me he's been staying up all night with that transfer student, right? We even saw them together when we stalked them all over Aria Alley the other night."

"I-I told you not to say anything, Fujiwara!" groaned Amagi.

Before anything else, the sound of splashing water and some voices from the other side of the bamboo wall caught everyone's attention. All of a sudden, everyone quieted down.

"W-w-wait a minute. Don't tell me..."

"Ahhh! It's your fault, Tomoda! Now we're late!"

The male voice, which Amagi immediately recognized as Shiki's, penetrated the barricade and clearly got through to the girls' side of the springs.

"Shhh! If we don't make too much noise, we might still overhear some great girl talk!"

"That's clearly Tomoda from your class!" pouted Fujiwara while talking to Amagi. The redhead puffed her cheeks out and placed her hand over her chest.

"Come on, Arata, Yamada, hurry!" said Shiki again.

Amagi felt all the blood in her face grow cold, and her mind went blank.

"A-a-arata?" she muttered, and all of a sudden, she started looking at her body and the towel that she wore around her chest.

Perhaps having seen her expression, Fujiwara quickly motioned to Amagi to keep quiet for the meantime.

Another male voice then spoke.

"You see, I have done my research beforehand. The barricade is a formidable obstacle, but if we go to a certain spot here, we can find some gaps on the bamboo wall and get a good view, but only if we do it one at a time."

"Amazing. Amazing. That's our class rep for ya!"

"Y-you really sure you wanna go through with this, Shiki?" echoed Tomoda's doubtful voice. "Now that we're about to do it... I'm feeling the jitters, you know. I thought we're just gonna be listening in."

"Plans change from time to time. You gotta learn to adapt, Tomoda!"

Misawa's grip on her towel noticeably tightened as the male voices from the other end grew softer. They obviously convened near that spot that the second year class rep pointed to.

Lilya Bloomenfled had enough and stood up with authority.

Amagi's eyes widened, and she stared at the third year student who had been shaking in place as soon as the boys' voices were heard. She knew that her senior was not shaking out of fear. That was made very clear by her facial expression and the murderous look in her eye.

Bloomenfled had both fists clenched, and she waded to a certain spot on the barricade.

"Uh-oh," commented her student council colleague. "These boys are in for a nasty surprise. Time to start thinking of the best article titles for me to work on when we get back."

Her worried expression had transformed into a smile as the voices on the other side continued.

"Shhh, you're being too loud! Maybe they're onto something now. Hurry up!" urged Tomoda.

"What are you crowding there for? For your information, it was I who told you about the secret of the barricade. I deserve to get the first peek instead of you two."

"Oh shut up, man. This was my idea in the first place, so I get to do it first!" responded Shiki.

Then, the voices grew softer and softer, but before they did, the third year student council member was already in front of the barricade.

Amagi, Fujiwara, and Misawa all held their breaths as the whole area became scarily quiet for a second or two.

Lilya Bloomenfled made the first move.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, huh?!" yelled Bloomenfled with all her might while giving one of her patented glares at one of the supposed gaps in the barricade.

A shrill chorus of surprised screams filled the air. In contrast to the standard conventions that Amagi had come across, it was not the girls who ended up on the screaming side of the situation.

She had flinched at the voice of her pissed off senior that seemed to shake her eardrums, and she could only imagine how the boys on the other side had felt.

She just hoped that they were all prepared for a long night with the member of the student council.