Collision
The walk back to the pool felt eternal.
What kind of mess did I get myself into now…?
I glanced sideways at Yuuna.
She, almost as if she'd felt my gaze, turned her head slightly.
Our eyes met for barely an instant.
I looked away immediately.
I know I said I would… but…
How on earth am I going to explain this to her?
Suddenly a blue window appeared in front of me.
[Mission Complete.]
[Reward received: ¥50,000]
I breathed out in relief.
Well… maybe with this I'll have enough money to flee the country.
Another window appeared immediately.
[Not recommended.]
…
I didn't ask for your opinion!
…
…
When we got back to the area where we'd been before, everyone had already returned.
Rika was sitting on a sun lounger hugging her knees while Mei tried to comfort her.
"Maybe someone turned it in to lost and found…" Mei was saying calmly.
"I'll keep looking a little longer," Arima added, glancing around.
That's when everyone noticed us.
I raised my hand a little shyly.
"U-umm… by any chance… are you looking for this?"
I pulled out the necklace.
Rika jumped up so fast she almost slipped.
"MY NECKLACE!!!"
She ran toward me and took it with the utmost care, as if it were a treasure.
"I thought I'd lost it forever… thank you, Aika-senpai!" she said, her voice breaking.
"I-It was nothing, I found it by accident…"
Rika kept bowing over and over, which made me feel oddly uncomfortable.
I wasn't used to being thanked so much.
In fact I wasn't used to being thanked at all, I thought with slumped shoulders, remembering my days as an office worker.
Harada smiled.
"It turned up after all."
"What a relief…" Mei sighed.
…
…
The atmosphere quickly settled back into calm.
Some people went back to the pool.
Others went to play volleyball near the water.
Arima was already shouting from the court.
"Pass it! Pass it!"
"Don't kill her with the ball!"
"It was an accident!"
Laughter filled the place again.
I preferred to sit for a while. Mei and Yuuna did the same.
It was nice watching everyone else have fun.
Then without meaning to… I glanced sideways at Yuuna.
She was already staring straight at me.
I looked away.
Five seconds later…
I looked again.
She was still watching me.
Why does she keep staring at me?!
…
Mei seemed to notice.
"Did something happen between you two?" she asked, tilting her head.
The two of us answered at exactly the same time.
"N-Nothing!"
"Not at all."
Silence.
We looked at each other.
We both looked away at the same time.
Mei blinked.
"…R-right…"
A few seconds passed.
"Hey."
I heard Yuuna's quiet voice.
I ignored her.
"Hey."
I kept staring at the pool with completely fake interest.
On the third try, I felt her tug at my swimsuit, snapping the strap of my top.
"Kyaa!"
I flinched and quickly covered myself with my hands.
"W-what do you think you're doing?!" I whispered.
Yuuna was smiling with absolute calm as she leaned toward my ear.
"I believe you were going to tell me what you were doing with those photos."
I smiled stiffly.
"Photos?"
"The photos."
"Ah…"
"Those photos."
I let out a completely fake laugh.
"Haha…"
"I think it'd be better if we just focused on enjoying the resort…"
Yuuna shook her head slowly.
"Don't try to change the subject."
"Change the subject? I would never do something like that."
"You promised me an explanation."
"And you'll get one."
"When?"
"Later."
"How much later?"
"Very… much later."
She sighed.
"I told you I wasn't going to let you escape."
I puffed out my cheeks slightly.
"W-what's so strange about it? Any normal girl takes photos."
"A normal girl doesn't act that suspiciously."
"There is absolutely nothing suspicious about me."
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
My phone started vibrating like it was trying to take off.
I froze.
What on earth?
I pulled it out at full speed.
I'm sure I put it on silent!
The notifications kept coming one after another.
Yuuna raised an eyebrow.
"I suppose that also happens to any normal girl."
"Haha…"
"Yes… completely normal…"
Yuuna leaned a little toward me.
"How interesting… the exact same thing happened last time."
A cold sweat ran down my spine.
"W-what a coincidence, don't you think?" I answered with a nervous little laugh.
Yuuna took out her own phone.
Started typing.
…
"What are you doing?"
"Drafting a report against you."
"A WHAT?!"
I raised my voice way too loud without meaning to. When I looked around, Mei was still watching us with a confused expression, and I just smiled awkwardly like nothing was happening.
I quickly leaned toward Yuuna and lowered my voice.
"W-wait! Stop… you win."
Yuuna stopped typing.
"Well then?"
"It is… suspicious, but I can't tell you here."
"Why not?"
"Because it would be a problem if anyone else heard."
She was quiet.
I took a deep breath.
"I promise I'll explain when we have a chance."
I pressed my hands together.
"So… no reports, okay?"
Yuuna studied me for a few seconds.
Finally she put her phone away.
"Fine."
"But don't think about dodging me."
"I-I won't…"
We both looked up at the same time.
Mei was watching us even more confused than before.
"I-Is everything really okay?"
She blinked several times.
"You're both acting very strange…"
I smiled way too fast.
"Everything is perfectly fine!"
"Yes," Yuuna nodded with complete naturalness. "Nothing's wrong."
Mei alternated her gaze between us for a few more seconds.
She didn't seem convinced in the slightest.
But in the end she just murmured:
"…If you say so."
…
…
…
I let out a long sigh as soon as I sat back down.
Seriously…
What a day.
…
I took advantage of a moment of calm to check my phone — I had a pile of notifications.
I looked at the follower count on Lonely Fans.
63,829.
When did I pass sixty thousand?
It felt like it had been growing way too fast lately.
…
…
I opened the comments on the photos I'd uploaded.
Aika-chan is adorable even in a bikini!
I died seeing those photos!
The hottest girl in the world!
My heart can't take this much! Please be my girlfriend!
I NEED MOOOORE!
My hands hurt from thinking about you so much, gorgeous.
…
That last one sent a small shiver through me.
"People on the internet are a little scary…"
Then I opened the donations.
And my eyes nearly popped out of my head again.
ShadowKing
¥35,000
That bikini suits you so well it should be illegal.
…
I'm still amazed this person keeps being so consistent…
Thirty-five thousand yen…
Just from him.
Plus all the other donations.
Plus the mission reward.
I did the mental math.
"…"
"…"
I think with this I could buy better shampoo.
I nodded very seriously.
Sometimes you have to treat yourself…
"…"
"…"
"Maybe some conditioner too."
"…"
No.
No, let's not go crazy.
…
"Aika-senpai!"
Rika's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Come play! We need more people!"
I looked up.
Arima was holding the volleyball while waving his other hand.
…
Well…
Why not?
The three of us decided to join.
I wouldn't call myself particularly skilled at sports, but I was somewhere around average.
Arima immediately suggested we make mixed teams, and what seemed like a considerate gesture toward the girls quickly turned out to be an act of pure cowardice.
Turns out Rika was so good she'd been humiliating him for a while and he wanted to be on her team.
Nobody could hold back their laughter at the situation.
After a while, while Rika was arguing with Arima, I took the break to drink some water.
Watching them made a smile slip out of me.
Just as I was about to take a sip…
"Aika-chaaaan!"
"…"
Huh?
I lowered the bottle.
I looked around.
I didn't see anyone.
"Did I imagine that?"
I raised the bottle to my lips again.
"AIKA-CHAAAAN!!"
This time it sounded much closer.
I turned my head.
And saw a figure running toward me with both arms wide open.
"AIKA-CHAN!!"
"HUH?!"
"PFFFFT!!"
All the water shot out of my mouth.
Directly.
Into his face.
…
…
The world went silent.
Bibi stood completely still.
Soaked.
A drop slid slowly down his cheek.
His smile disappeared.
"You…"
A vein appeared on his forehead.
"…you little brat… you did it again…"
I gripped the bottle hard.
"Bibi?!"
I started coughing.
"Cough! Cough! I-it wasn't on purpose!"
"Now I'm actually going to kill you!"
Just as he was about to launch himself at me, arms grabbed him from behind.
"Bibi, calm down."
The blonde let out a small laugh.
"You can't murder people in a hotel."
"Watch me try!"
I recognized that voice immediately.
"Melissa-san?"
She smiled and raised a hand.
"Hey, Aika-chan."
"What a coincidence running into you here."
A bad feeling crept down my spine.
"W-what are you all doing here…?"
My voice came out much higher than normal.
I must have made too much noise, because I immediately heard footsteps behind me.
"Shimizu-san?"
It was Arima.
"Are you okay?"
He looked at the strange group in front of us.
"Do you know them?"
My brain started smoking.
"I-I…"
"N-no…"
I couldn't finish the sentence.
"Hello, Aika."
…
…
I felt my blood run completely cold.
No…
Tell me this isn't real…
…
I knew that voice perfectly well.
I turned my head very slowly.
There he was.
B-Boss Ryuji…?
And Reiko-san too…?
What on earth are all of you doing here?!