"You little brat! What exactly are you plotting! You think just because there are people around, we won't dare do anything to you, huh?!"
"We don't care! Either way, right now! Instantly! Get in the car and drive us to a normal water park!"
In front of the water park entrance, Miyazawa Yuu smiled as he looked up at the azure sky, remarking on what a beautiful day it was. It looked like he and Nanaka-san could play all day.
Come to think of it, there's an all-you-can-eat buffet for lunch. I wonder if the ice cream is a separate purchase or included~ ahaha~
"Dammit! This kid is completely ignoring us!"
Not even receiving a glance, Imamura Kohei saw the shadow of a "dead pig unafraid of boiling water" in the bastard Yuu, and his face turned a shade darker with rage!
Lunge, press. He locked his arms around Yuu's legs and craned his neck, pulling forward with all his might. "Pull harder, Iori!"
"I'm giving it everything I've got! What is this guy made of? How is he this resilient?!"
Sweat poured from his forehead. Kitahara Iori gritted his teeth, using every ounce of his strength. As for Kohei's accusations, he wasn't accepting any of them!
If he could, he'd rip Yuu's arms right off, but he literally couldn't do it! Even with their combined strength, they couldn't tear this muscular beast apart! Expecting him to do it alone was a bit much!
"...So embarrassing!"
"You can say that again..."
Watching from the sidelines, Kotegawa Chisa and Yoshiwara Aina stood among the crowd with flushed cheeks, feeling as though the thing in their heads called "shame" was currently on fire!
Honestly, how could these guys be so thick-skinned, especially Yuu! He clearly has the power to suppress Kohei and Iori instantly, yet he lets them do as they please. What on earth is up there in the sky that makes him look so peaceful!
"Ugh... Kohei! Stop it!"
"Wait a second, Aina. I... I'll finish off this bastard in a second. At worst, we'll drive ourselves to another water park!"
"That's not what I mean!"
As Kohei turned to give her a Wink~☆, Yoshiwara Aina stamped her feet in embarrassment at the following well-meaning smile!
Since words clearly weren't solving the trouble, she rushed forward and delivered a hand-chop to Kohei's head, explaining manually: "No! I mean, I can just buy a couple's ticket with you!"
"Eh?"
The tension in his arms loosened. Kohei stared blankly at the girl who was looking down and fidgeting. He never expected Aina to be so proactive. For a moment, he couldn't find a reason to keep attacking Yuu!
Abruptly looking up and locking eyes, Aina saw Kohei frozen in place. She had no choice but to grab his hand and charge into the cover of the crowd—she didn't care who lost face, but she and Kohei were done being humiliated!
Flap!
"Ah~ Aina and Kohei are so mean. Just dropping my legs like that hurts!"
His feet back on the ground, Miyazawa Yuu watched with wicked amusement as Kohei was dragged away. He then raised his head with a "kind" smile. "Iori, do you want to keep going? 1 vs 1?"
"You bastard! Give me the car keys!"
A headache—it was just one big headache. Kohei, that spineless bastard, betraying them was entirely within Iori's expectations; after all, it was obvious Yuu had set a trap for him.
However, there was one thing he was unhappy about: Kohei and Aina could grit their teeth and buy two couple's tickets, but...
Frowning, he pushed the calm Yuu to make him stand up, then reached out his hand to settle for the next best thing. "You guys play here. I'll take Chisa and find somewhere else!"
"Sure~"
Moving his wrists, which had been squeezed red by Iori, Yuu leaned sideways and stared at Iori like he was an idiot for two seconds before tossed the keys to him.
Catching them steadily, Iori's expression transitioned from annoyance to confusion. He looked down at the keys, then at Yuu's meaningful expression, leaning back tactically to offer a reasonable suspicion.
"Yuu, we don't have a blood feud, so there shouldn't be a device on the car that explodes if I get a few kilometers away from you, right?"
"Don't worry~ how could there be such a thing."
"Good!"
Closing his eyes and shrugging, Iori still had a basic level of trust in Yuu. Expressionless, he walked over and grabbed Chisa's hand, leading her toward the parking lot without a word. If this place won't have him, somewhere else will. Yuu could plot against Kohei and him, but he shouldn't involve Chisa. It might be a desperate move, but forcing Chisa for the sake of Kohei and Aina was not the PaB way!
"But, you know..."
Panic flashed in her eyes. Chisa hadn't expected Iori to be so angry. She followed for a couple of steps while frantically signaling for help from her sister and Yuu!
Seeing this, Miyazawa Yuu crossed his arms and spoke slowly again, pinning Iori to the spot—
"Driving requires a license, right? I'm sorry, but it seems Nanaka-san took your and Kohei's licenses out when she did the laundry last time~"
"!!!"
His footsteps halted. Iori belatedly checked his wallet. Everything was there except his driver's license, which had vanished!
Looking at Nanaka-san in shock, he realized why she was so eager to do laundry shortly after arriving in Palau. She was waiting for this! But Nanaka-san loves Chisa the most, how could she bear to do this! The culprit was definitely...
"Yuu! You actually forced Nanaka-san! You're worse than a beast!"
"Tsk, why is every black pot tossed onto my head?"
"Well, Yuu is always so disobedient~"
Hiding behind her boyfriend, Kotegawa Nanaka was overwhelmed with shame, unable to face Iori's shocked and condemning gaze. Her roasting, however, remained sharp.
Seeing the misunderstanding deepening, Chisa was annoyed by how dense Iori was. But seeing him still trying to argue on her behalf, she could only bite her lip and gently tug at his sleeve. Before he looked over, she lowered her head and whispered in a voice barely audible.
"Um... Iori, actually, I can... pretend to be your girlfriend for a bit~"
"???"
A string of question marks floated over Iori's head. He thought something was wrong with his ears! Though they had been fake boyfriend and girlfriend since the start of school, Chisa had never proactively offered "girlfriend services"!
And what was with this shy girl! Give him back his cold-faced Rakshasa Chisa!
"Yuu! It's over! Chisa's head seems to be broken! What do we do?"
"Hiss... you really are a bit of a mood-killer, aren't you?"
With dead-fish eyes, facing Iori—who would rather believe Chisa's brain was broken than believe she would pretend to be his girlfriend—Miyazawa Yuu held his head, wanting to say the guy really lacked self-awareness.
But reality is often harsh. Even if Iori is a scumbag who likes stripping, as a human, he is quite qualified. For a "qualified human" like Iori to win the heart of the cold Chisa... that should be considered reasonably convincing, right?
"Don't get the wrong idea! It's just..."
With her hands on her hips, Kotegawa Chisa was visibly flustered after saying the word "girlfriend." Pointing a finger, she suppressed her trembling, embarrassed tone and explained with righteous dignity: "The day before yesterday, didn't you stand in front of Mom for me?"
"Oh~ the time I was almost killed by her gaze..."
"Exactly!"
Pointing excitedly at Iori, Chisa's eyes darted around as she said something even she didn't believe: "Even if your methods were wrong, since you had good intentions, I'll begrudgingly partner up with you to experience this high-end water park!"
"Eh?"
"Don't overthink it! It's definitely not because I was moved or anything. In short, it's just repayment!"
"Total tsundere~"
Ruthlessly exposing Chisa's hole-ridden disguise, Miyazawa Yuu leaned against the petrified Iori, shaking his head with a "proud auntie" smile. A girl lying because she's embarrassed and blushing—while not as seductive as Nanaka-san—really hits the "XP" spot!
"Ugh..."
Incredibly embarrassed, Chisa also knew that "tsundere" was outdated. After making her declaration, she lost all her strength and crouched on the ground, burying her face in her knees, leaving only one eye exposed.
"And your answer, Iori?"
"Gulp~ I can't!"
"Eh?"
Iori's Adam's apple bobbed as he spat out those words. Yuu was prepared to laugh at him, but this answer completely fried his CPU. He had considered that Chisa and Aina might be too shy to take the first step, but Iori's rejection was completely unexpected!
Three gazes converged simultaneously—astonishment, confusion, and disappointment. But Kitahara Iori didn't respond to any of them, because...
"You motherf—"
Gazing behind Chisa, Iori's art style shifted to heavy Araki-esque lines. He gritted his teeth, his expression turning contorted with terror as he yelled: "DON'T COME OVER HERE!"
"Iori! You traitor! DIE!"
"Secret Art: The Jealous Kiss of the Perpetual Virgin!"
"Nojima Beam!!!"