Ski Trip! On The Bus.

The bus arrived at the Kamisato Service Area. It was just past 10:00 PM.

We had left in the evening, and the group had gathered at the university at 7:00 PM. Since I hadn’t eaten dinner, I was starving. But I had something special to look forward to here.

Waiting for me as I stepped off the bus was Toko-san. While we were seated toward the back of the bus, Toko-san was sitting near the front with Kazumi-san. When our eyes met, Toko-san gave me a bright smile.

“Shall we eat our lunch together?”

“Yes!”

The reply burst out of me with excitement. I walked side-by-side with Toko-san into the service area’s food court. Once we sat down, Toko-san pulled four paper boxes out of her tote bag. Two contained sandwiches, and the other two were filled with side dishes like fried chicken, wieners, and rolled omelets. There were four types of sandwiches: egg, tuna, ham and cheese, and vegetable.

“You really made a lot for us,” I said, feeling a wave of genuine emotion.

“It wasn’t that much, really,” she replied with a slightly embarrassed smile. “Besides, thinking about eating with you made the cooking fun.”

We bought drinks from a vending machine—bringing them along would have just been extra weight. I sat next to Toko-san, eating the same meal.

If I told my high school self about this, he wouldn’t believe it.

After all, Toko-san was known as the “Shadow Miss Joto” and the “True Miss Campus.” In this club, she was treated like a goddess. To me, she had been the “unreachable senior” I had admired since high school.

I stuffed a sandwich into my mouth, feeling an indescribable sense of happiness. Occasionally, members of the club passed by, looking at us with envy. I felt a small sting of superiority.

“By the way, is everything okay on your end? Is Honoka causing trouble?” Toko-san asked just as I reached for my second sandwich.

“Eh? Oh, uh, yeah, I’m fine.”

Loud? Yes. But so far, Honoka hadn’t caused any actual trouble.

“I see. That’s good then. It’s quite rowdy in the back, so I was worried she might be bothering you.”

Toko-san spoke with a calm expression, but I sensed a trace of loneliness in her tone.

Toko-san and I had started dating on the night of the Christmas party—the night we exposed Kamokura and Karen’s infidelity. Even so, we had only gone on three dates and shared one kiss. And right in front of Toko-san and me, Honoka and Meika-chan had declared themselves “candidates” for my affection.

Being around those two… I wonder if it bothers Toko-san even a little bit?

That thought had been weighing on me throughout the bus ride.

“Toko-san, maybe I really should be sitting near you?”

Toko-san was sitting with her best friend, Kazumi-san. If we used an auxiliary seat, I could technically move next to her. But Toko-san shook her head.

“It’s fine. Stay with Meika-san and Honoka.”

“But—”

“This whole situation is our responsibility, isn’t it? Meika-san and Honoka were only called in because the club needed the numbers.”

When she put it like that, I couldn’t argue. As Toko-san said, they were participating in this trip as a favor. Given that, we shouldn’t make them feel unwelcome.

“I want them to have fun memories—to feel like they were glad they came. So, during this trip, please,” Toko-san added, as if to emphasize the point.

“Is it okay if we join you now?”

The voice belonged to Kazumi-san, accompanied by Mina-san and Manami-san, two other second-years who were central figures in the club. Toko-san and I had just finished our meal.

“Of course,” I replied, just as Toko-san nodded with a smile.

“We didn’t want to interrupt a couple’s precious time,” Kazumi-san said as they sat down across from us.

“It’s quite lively in the back of the bus,” Kazumi remarked, echoing Toko-san’s earlier sentiment.

“Sorry for the noise,” I apologized.

“You aren’t the one being noisy, Isshiki-kun. It’s the guys in our year, right?” Mina-san interjected to back me up.

“Honestly, those guys… just because high school girls joined the trip, they get that worked up?” Manami-san’s tone was one of utter exasperation.

“Well, Honoka-san is Toko-san’s sister so she’s quite a beauty, and she’s got a great personality for it. Meika-chan is a classic cute high schooler. It’s not surprising the college guys are making a fuss,” I said.

Kazumi-san rested her chin on her hand and smirked at me. “To be liked by two beauties like that… you’ve really grown up, Isshiki-kun.”

Mina-san nodded in vigorous agreement. “It’s a world of difference from when you were being run ragged by Karen.”

“Is this thanks to Toko’s ‘education’?” Manami-san directed the question to Toko-san.

“Wh-what do you mean, ‘education’? I haven’t specifically told Isshiki-kun to do anything…”

“Don’t hide it, don’t hide it!” Mina-san waved her hand dismissively. “Isshiki-kun started changing around October, right? Around then, the way Toko looked at him was already suspicious. And then that exposure at the Christmas party… it’s obvious you two were in cahoots.”

Manami-san agreed. “Exactly. Come to think of it, it was strange that Kazumi suddenly joined our club too. It wouldn’t be surprising if Toko and Isshiki-kun were connected behind the scenes since back then.”

I remained silent and took a sip of my coffee. Since the “Revenge on X-Day” was long over, I didn’t mind if Mina and Manami knew, but it felt inappropriate for the words to come from my mouth.

“But what I’m really curious about is the night after that Christmas party,” Mina-san said, leaning in.

“Nothing special. Normal things just happened normally,” Toko-san replied with an indifferent face, bringing her coffee cup to her lips. However, I noticed a slight tension in her hand.

Toko-san really has no intention of talking about that night, does she?

I felt that keeping quiet was actually worse for her reputation. That said, I couldn’t exactly jump in and say, “Actually, nothing happened.”

“And what exactly are those ‘normal things’? That’s what I want to know~” Manami-san chimed in. I used to think she was the reserved type compared to Mina, but apparently, she was intensely curious about this topic.

“Matters between a man and a woman aren’t something to be discussed easily with others,” Toko-san said, standing up. “I’m going to the restroom.” She walked off briskly.

“Ah, she’s running away!” Mina-san stood up to follow her.

“I’ll go now too!” Manami-san followed suit.

Are they going to chase her into the restroom to keep asking? Surely not?

As I watched the three of them go, I realized Kazumi-san was staring at me from across the table. She was still in the same position, chin resting on her hand. When our eyes met, I thought I saw a subtle glint of amusement in her eyes.

“Um, is something wrong?”

This time, Kazumi-san’s eyes broke into an unmistakable smile.

“I was just wondering how far you two actually went that night.”

I fell silent. How much did Kazumi-san know? I had told Ishida the truth. So I had assumed Toko-san had told Kazumi-san everything too.

“Don’t make that face. I know nothing happened between you two that night. I was just wondering if there’s been any progress since then.”

I see. I exhaled a sigh of relief.

“Nothing ‘weird’ has happened… but we might have moved forward, just a little.”

Kazumi-san seemed satisfied with my answer and nodded quietly.

“I see. Well, I hope this trip helps you two get even closer.”