Chapter 7: Forest School Episode
At the end of April, when cherry blossoms had completely fallen, and green leaves started to appear on the trees here and there,
the first-year students of Seira High School were on a bus heading to a remote training facility for their forest school.
“Did you watch the manager’s video yesterday?”
“It was so interesting, right?”
“Our tactics are getting a lot of attention because of that video.”
“Oh, really? That’s amazing. What was it, like ‘cute’ or ‘peek-a-boo with the little bit of her bra showing’?”
“Oh no! Delete, delete, delete!”
“…Ugh. This is bad; I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
As the students chatted excitedly on the bus,
there was one guy grimacing with discomfort.
His name was Saito Minazuki,
a foolish high schooler who, despite being in high school, was looking forward to the overnight stay and ended up pulling an all-nighter.
As a result, he was now struggling with motion sickness, something he usually didn’t experience, and was currently battling nausea and discomfort.
“Hey, I’ve got a bag ready anytime. Come on. No, actually, don’t come.”
“Preparation is pointless if you’re not going to use it, Akashi-kun.”
“Itochi, want some candy? Apparently, eating spicy habanero candy helps a bit. It’s delicious!”
“…I’ll pass. If I eat that, I might die for real.”
“But if you eat it and die, you’ll be released from this suffering.”
“…Nice idea, Kanzaki. Yakumo, give me one.”
“Okay.”
“Wait, don’t take it seriously. Don’t eat it! It was my bad.”
“Haha, it’s the first time I’ve seen Minaka-chan panicking like this. Oh, and by the way, Minazuki, want some chocolate too? It’s effective.”
“…I’ll eat.”
With various care (or not) from his friends, Saito managed to endure.
However, with over an hour left until they reached their destination, the prospect of enduring was disheartening.
Would he make it through until they arrived?
Staring at the large mountain outside the window, Saito felt anxious.
An hour and a half later.
“All right!! We finally made it!”
In the end, everything went smoothly.
That’s because Saito fell asleep around thirty minutes into the journey.
Eating the chocolate Lily gave him somewhat alleviated the discomfort, and the overwhelming sleepiness from the all-nighter took over.
Before he knew it, the remaining time passed quickly in the comfort of his dreams.
However, the difficulty he experienced until then didn’t change, and as soon as he got off the bus, he cheered.
(Ground that doesn’t sway is the best!)
Saito relishes the greatness of treading on the earth.
“Hey, Saito, don’t just stand there in front of the door. Move a bit back.”
“Sorry.”
However, he couldn’t bask in the afterglow as Lily pointed out that he was obstructing the passage.
“Thank you.”
“Over there, it looks like a gathering.”
“Okay, Haruki. Your zipper is open.”
“Whoa, really? Since when? Did someone see it?”
“When we parked in the parking lot, some girls from our class saw it.”
“Lies! Why didn’t you tell me, Kai kun?”
“I was planning to observe when you’d notice.”
Thanking the driver and picking up the luggage they had entrusted, the friends and students headed towards the accommodation where everyone was gathering.
“Everyone from Group 3, this way! The order of the groups doesn’t matter, so class leaders, please take attendance and report to the teacher.”
“Okay, roll call.”
Arriving at the accommodation, Homeroom Teacher Chie Hayama instructed the class leaders to take attendance.
Saito, chosen as the class leader by rock-paper-scissors, glanced back to confirm that all members were present.
The team consisted of six members:
Saito, Kai, Haruki, Lily, Shuri, and Minaka.
Since the childhood friends wanted to be in the same group, that’s how the team was formed.
Although they had already confirmed that everyone was present since they were sitting close to each other on the bus, Saito double-checked the count.
“Three, six. Alright, everyone’s here. Hayama-chan, all members of Group 5 are present.”
Satisfied that everyone was present, Saito reported loudly to Chie.
“Understood. Thank you, Minazuki-kun. But, please don’t call me ‘Hayama-chan.'”
“Roger.”
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At that moment, like the other class leaders, Saito received a scolding for using a nickname for the teacher, but since this was a usual occurrence, he casually brushed it off.
“Chie-chan-Sensei, everyone from Squad 4 is here.”
“Chie-chan, everyone from Squad 3 is here.”
“Oh, come on, everyone, stop with the playful names! Alright, now that we know everyone’s here, let me explain the plan for the next steps. Please open your bookmarks.”
The other group leaders called the teachers with nicknames like Saito did, Chie went on to review the upcoming schedule and extended greetings to those who would assist during the forest school.
Once done, the groups temporarily split into male and female teams, each placing their belongings in the assigned rooms.
Squad leader Saito received two keys from Chie and tossed one to the vice squad leader, Shuri.
“After thirty minutes, we’ll meet at the cafeteria, so don’t be late.”
“Got it. Lilicchi, Minacchi, let’s go.”
“Alright then, see you later, Saito.”
“Yo, let’s go too.”
Stressing the importance of not being late for the next meeting, Saito and his friends head towards the dorms after parting ways with the girls’ group.
“…Lily is still the same. Didn’t even mention the names of Kai and Haruki. Well, this is an event to deepen connections, does she even understand that?”
Along the way, Saito couldn’t help but be frustrated with the actions of his childhood friend.
“Machigane-san is known for hating guys, so it can’t be helped.”
“Even so, since we’re in the same group, at least be a bit friendlier.”
Haruki, being kind-hearted, tried to reassure Saito, but seeing Lily being cold even to his friends made him feel sorry.
“Don’t worry, Saito. I don’t mind, and Haruki is probably happy to be treated coldly.”
“Huh, really? Haruki, are you an M?”
“I’m normal. I’m not affected at all, Saito-kun. And Kai is just delighted to be treated coldly.”
“It’s a fact.”
“Kuhaha, I’m glad you guys are friends, really.”
“Blush.”
“Ahaha, this is pretty normal.”
However, despite Saito feeling down, his friends reassured him,
When Saito expressed my gratitude to them, Kai and Haruki scratched their cheeks in embarrassment and smiled shyly.
“It’s the first time someone said that to me.”
While scratching his cheek, Kai said something like that.
“It’s probably a joke. Haruki is interesting, short, and looks like a mascot character, so he was popular.”
But for Saito, who had been interacting with Kai for about a month, it was unbelievable that Kai had no friends.
Surely, it was just his usual joke.
“Not really. I have a blank expression, so people couldn’t understand what I was thinking, and they found it creepy.”
“What the hell, they have no taste. They should appreciate the interesting stuff he says with that expressionless face. Right, Haruki?”
“…Yeah, you’re right. It’s surprising that Kai didn’t have friends, considering how entertaining he is.”
Thinking that way, it seemed Kai truly didn’t have friends, and those he had met so far didn’t see the uniqueness in him.
Despite the generally expressionless demeanor, his emotions were clear, his way of speaking was peculiar and amusing, and he was skilled at taking photos.
There weren’t many people as entertaining as him.
When seeking agreement from Haruki about these guys wasting their potential, he shook his head in disbelief.
“My back feels itchy. Let’s go to the room already.”
Unable to endure the praise from his friends, Kai turned away and walked briskly.
“He’s terrible at hiding embarrassment.”
“It’s so obvious when you look at it like this.”
“Shut up. If you mock me any further, I’ll post a photo online of Saito puking, and Haruki staring at a girl’s panties.”
“Mine wouldn’t have much impact, but Haruki, yours peeking at a girl’s panties is a serious offense. It’s practically a crime.”
As the other two teased the embarrassed Kai, he threatened to spread photos online.
One of them, if released, would cause a major issue, and Saito distanced himself from Haruki, thinking he was staring at someone’s panties.
“No, that was an accident! I was just climbing the stairs, and a girl’s skirt happened to lift. I’m not at fault. And why do you have such a photo, Kai!?”
“I was trying to take a photo of the sunset from the emergency staircase, and it just happened.”
“Sometimes you act like the protagonist in a romantic comedy, Haruki.”
What started as teasing Kai ended up with roles reversed, with Haruki now at the receiving end.
While making fun of Kai, he had unwittingly become the target. As always, Haruki was being teased, and the three of them returned to their usual banter.
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