Chapter 66 66: Hide and Seek
Thud!
Right as Mikoto screamed, the eerie humanoid figure seemed to lose all its strength and collapsed directly into her arms.
"Yakumo... senpai..."
"Eek... Eh?"
Because they were so close, she finally heard the sea monster's voice clearly. It was... a voice she knew very well.
"Shi... do...?"
Reaching out, she realized that the "ribbons" on its head were just a massive clump of seaweed, and the horns were pointy conch shells. For some reason, Shido was wearing nothing but a bath towel around his waist, having walked straight out of the ocean basically half-naked.
"What in the world happened to you?"
Seeing the boy shivering violently from the cold, Mikoto quickly took off the haori (traditional jacket) she wore over her yukata and wrapped it around Shido's shoulders.
"Well..."
Through chattering teeth, Shido explained his tragic ordeal...
At first, Kaguya and Yuzuru had dragged him to the hot springs, presumably intending to show off their charm. However, Shido had missed one crucial detail: Kaguya had swapped the curtains for the men's and women's baths, and then quietly swapped them back after Shido went inside.
In other words, Shido thought he had walked into the men's bath, but he was actually in the women's bath. He only realized this when Tohka walked in. But by then, it was too late. More and more female students were starting to enter the bath. If he were discovered, he would face total social annihilation.
His only escape route was the back of the hot spring, which led to a cliff overlooking the ocean. After failing to sneak out with Tohka's cover, his only choice was to jump off the cliff and swim all the way back to the beach. (TL:read or watch the original source to know the spicy detail)
"You really..."
Listening to Shido's story, Mikoto sighed with an expression that clearly said, I don't even know where to begin with you.
"Anyway, let's head back first. If you stay like this, you'll catch a cold."
Kotori's healing flames worked instantly on severe injuries, but they did absolutely nothing for minor illnesses like a cold. So, Mikoto grabbed Shido's hand and led him back to the hotel.
"Thanks to you, Senpai, I'm saved."
Shido pulled the haori tighter around himself. Even though he was still freezing, he finally felt a little bit of warmth.
"By the way..."
"Shh!"
Just as he was about to say something, Mikoto suddenly squeezed his hand and signaled for him to be quiet.
"Hmph! Are you searching for Shido as well?"
"Questioning. Is Kaguya also looking for Shido?"
From around the corner of the hallway, the voices of the Yamai sisters echoed.
"Kukuku... With the help of my familiars, I have already discovered Shido's weakness. Oh Yuzuru, victory in this match shall be mine!"
"Questioning. Weakness?"
"One day, my familiar woke up and found that, for some inexplicable reason, Shido had sneaked into her bed! In other words, Shido's weakness is 'He loves sleeping in the same bed as girls'!"
Hearing Kaguya's words, Shido's eyes widened in horror. But before he could even make a sound, a small hand gently covered his mouth.
"Shh. I'll gladly listen to your explanation about sneaking into a girl's bed later. But for now, please stay quiet, Shido."
Turning his head, he saw Mikoto wearing a 'bright' smile. Even though that incident happened before they officially met—when Kotori had dragged a sleeping Shido into Tohka's room for training and was completely out of his control—staring at Mikoto's intimidating smile still made Shido feel incredibly guilty.
"Astonishment. To think Kaguya's goal is exactly the same as Yuzuru's."
"Eh? Yuzuru is also looking to sleep with Shido!?"
"Affirmative. 'If you want to conquer Shin, why not launch a night attack while he sleeps? A boy and a girl sharing the same bed is the fastest way to raise affection, right?' I received this special instruction."
"Kukuku... Isn't this getting interesting? Very well, Yuzuru. I shall show you my magnificent sleepover techniques."
"Pointing out. Kaguya's sleepover techniques are surely no different from a child's..."
While the two sisters bickered, Mikoto had already dragged Shido quietly away from the area.
"Well then, I'll take my leave here. Please return to your room, Shido, and wait like a good boy for Kaguya and Yuzuru to come sleep with you."
The young girl gave a polite bow, preparing to leave.
"Wait, Senpai! Please don't sell me out at a time like this!"
"Eh? But doesn't Shido love having girls sleep in his bed?"
The young girl tilted her head, feigning innocence. But Shido was absolutely certain she was angry because of Kaguya's bombshell.
"That's a misunderstanding! A complete misunderstanding! Kotori moved me into Tohka's room while I was fast asleep as part of my 'resistance training'!"
"Well, whatever. For now, let's just keep running," Mikoto sighed.
"Instead of running, why don't I just go back to my room? With Tonomachi and the other guys there, Kaguya and Yuzuru wouldn't dare come in, right?"
"Calm down, Shido. Think about what Yuzuru just said. The only person who calls you 'Shin' is Reine-san. If this was her idea, I'm pretty sure your room has already been converted into a single," Mikoto shook her head. Since Reine was a teacher, she had more than enough power to change Shido's room assignments.
"Besides, do you really think Kaguya and Yuzuru are the types to hold back on a night attack just because someone else is in the room?"
"Ugh..."
Shido was speechless. Thinking about it calmly, it would undoubtedly end with Kaguya and Yuzuru kicking the other guys out of the room before launching their night attack on him anyway.
"Then I'll just go outside..."
Adopting the reckless mindset of 'staying awake all night isn't a big deal', Shido turned toward the hotel entrance. But before he took more than a few steps, he remembered that he was currently wearing nothing but a bath towel and a haori. The ocean breeze at night was freezing. If he stayed outside all night, he was guaranteed to catch a severe cold.
Reine... No good, she had already sold him out.
The teachers... No good, the twins were Spirits. Forcibly stopping them would be too dangerous.
The girls's rooms... pass.
The boys's rooms... The "Riajuu Itsuka" had a terrible reputation. That was a dead end too.
After running through his options, Shido realized there was absolutely nowhere safe.
"That's exactly why I said we have to keep running."
Mikoto grabbed Shido's hand, and the two began a high stakes game of hide and seek with the Yamai sisters. While Shido briefly considered hiding in the men's restroom—a seemingly foolproof plan—Mikoto couldn't exactly follow him in there. Plus, if the sisters threw caution to the wind, the restroom would just trap him like a rat in a barrel.
For safety reasons, hotels never have just one passageway. If they were lucky, maybe Kaguya and Yuzuru would give up on their night attack once they checked Shido's room and found it empty.
However...
"Huh? He isn't here."
"Suggestion. Shido must still be inside the hotel."
"In that case..."
"Searching. We will find Shido."
As a result, Shido and Mikoto's hide and seek battle spanned up and down the hotel stairwells. At first, it wasn't too bad. With both the main stairs and the emergency stairs available, they weren't too worried about getting cornered. But soon enough...
"Kukuku. To think you'd try to hide from us. You've got guts, Shido."
"Agreement. Having searched the entire hotel, Shido must be constantly on the move."
"Hey, wanna team up, Yuzuru?"
"Agreement. Let's do it, Kaguya."
The two sisters, who were just at each other's throats, exchanged a smirk. With a swoosh, they split up, coordinating perfectly to pincer their target from both the main and emergency stairwells.
"Oh no!"
Caught completely off guard by their unexpected teamwork, Shido and Mikoto ended up sealed off on the same floor.
Footsteps approached from the left—Kaguya. Footsteps approached from the right—Yuzuru.
"It's over. There's nowhere to run."
Faced with the Yamai sisters's pincer attack, Shido's face went pale.
"Ugh... If it's come to this."
Mikoto looked left and right. Confirming there was nowhere left to escape, she grabbed Shido and pulled him into a nearby room. This was the floor assigned to the girls—which, naturally, included Mikoto's own room.