First Day Of Ski Trip, At The Lodge: Today I Am With The Trouble-Making Sister

Because we had taken the detour down the forest trail course, we returned to the pension later than we had yesterday. Ishida had already beaten me back. The moment I stepped into the room, Ishida immediately said, “Let’s hit the bath,” so the two of us went to soak.

“You were paired up with Honoka-chan today, right?” Ishida struck up the conversation.

“Yeah.”

“She really is Touko-senpai’s sister. Honoka-chan is quite the stunning beauty herself. She’s incredibly popular with the guys in our club too, you know. It looks like a few of them are already seriously aiming to ask her out.”

“They’re just being fooled by her exterior. If they found out what she’s truly like underneath, I’m sure everyone would…”

“Is that so? To me, she doesn’t seem like a bad girl at all, despite how much you badmouth her, Yuu.” Ishida spoke as he wiped his face with a towel.

“That’s only because you haven’t actually been a victim of her stunts, Ishida. Her sheer wildness is completely off the charts.”

“Well, she is a pretty flashy gyaru on the outside. But right now, she seems entirely devoted to you, Yuu.”

“That could easily just be another one of her acts. I’m still halfway convinced she’s plotting another scheme.”

“Are you really that on guard against her?” Ishida let out a wry chuckle, leaning his weight against the edge of the tub. “What you’re saying makes a bit of sense, but I just don’t see it that way. Besides, Meika was saying something about it too.”

Meika-chan? Hearing that caught my attention. “Saying what?”

“She said that while Honoka-chan looks cheerful and easy to talk to on the surface—making her seem highly socially adept—she’s actually the type who struggles immensely to show her true feelings. In fact, apparently Meika is the only real, close friend she’s stuck by for a long time.”

Hearing that brought back memories of what Honoka had told me the night she ran away from home.

“Meika said that Honoka is actually remarkably clumsy. In more ways than one, she frequently acts entirely contrary to her true feelings. That’s why Meika is apparently quite shocked herself to see Honoka being so incredibly straightforward with you, Yuu.”

…Looking highly adept on the outside, yet being thoroughly clumsy within…

For some reason, I felt like I could understand that phrasing. And yet…

“I’m dating Touko-san. No matter how genuine her feelings might be, it doesn’t change that…”

Ishida nodded in silent agreement.

The moment we stepped out of the bath, it was time for dinner. Unlike yesterday, tonight’s meal was going to transition straight into the formal party, so dinner was set up in the grand hall. Because of that, instead of a buffet, individual dishes were laid out neatly across Japanese-style low tables. The menu consisted of standard fare: pork cutlets, rolled omelets, grilled fish, salad, seasoned wild greens, and mushroom miso soup. Since Touko-senpai and the other girls had already clustered together to sit as a group, the guys took over a separate table.

Once the meal came to an end, Nakazaki-san called out to everyone.

“Alright, once you’ve finished clearing away the dishes, we’ll start setting up for the party. Everyone lend a hand to lay out the snacks and finger food. The pension staff has already provided the drinks for us.”

We all began tearing open bags of chips and snacks, distributing them across the various tables. The drinks brought in by the pension employees were neatly arranged at each station as well.

“Right then, let’s get this started!” Nakazaki-san shouted, officially kicking off the party.

Initially, Ishida and I were chatting with some of the other first-year guys, but in no time at all, a trio of second-year upperclassmen came over to join us.

“Yuu-kun~ You’ve certainly managed to land yourself a sweet setup, haven’t you?” one of the upperclassmen smirked, holding a beer in one hand.

“What exactly are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with us,” a second senior chimed in.

“We’re talking about those two high school girls,” the third senior explicitly spelled it out.

“No, it’s not like I have any special relationship with them…”

Before I could even finish my sentence, one of them wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “’Nothing special,’ he says! You bastard, acting like such a smug lady-killer.”

“We’re going to make you drink until you collapse!” another senior declared, aggressively trying to pour beer into my glass.

“No, really, I’m not acting smug at all. Meika-chan and Honoka-san are just people I happened to get to know outside of the club.”

“Oh, so because you met them outside the club first, that automatically makes them yours?”

“Damn it all! Not only Touko-san, but even such adorable high school girls… A refined, beautiful senior, her flashy gyaru sister, and a cute high schooler—you’ve literally managed to line up a perfect three-color straight flush in your hand!”

“No, that’s way past a mere straight flush; it’s a triple limit-hand blowout! It’s the exact equivalent of holding Touko-san as a single-tile-wait for a Four Concealed Pongs hand, topped with All Honors and Big Three Dragons!”

“Um, I don’t actually know how to play mahjong,” I managed a wry chuckle.

“What?! In that case, we’ll teach you right now!”

“Yuu is the only one enjoying all the sweet rewards here. We won’t find peace until we at least take our frustration out on you over a game of mahjong!”

“We’re playing all night long! Ishida, you’re joining us too.”

“Me too? Well, I do know how to play mahjong, I suppose,” Ishida replied.

Right into the middle of this chaos, Honoka and Meika-chan suddenly swooped in. Up until a moment ago, the two had been completely surrounded by a group of about four guys.

“Excuse us~ Do you mind if we squeeze in too?”

The one who wedged herself firmly into the seat directly to my right was Honoka.

“Excuse us… Brother, make some room,” Meika-chan added. Her initial “excuse us” sounded perfectly apologetic, but it was immediately followed by a half-commanding tone as she seated herself right between Ishida and me.

“Whoa, the two beautiful high school girls have formally graced us with their presence!”

“Honoka-chan is deeply welcome to join us anytime!”

However, Honoka completely ignored the seniors’ welcoming remarks, turning her attention single-mindedly to me.

“Hey, Isshiki-san. Have you enjoyed spending these past two days with us?” Honoka asked, leaning in to peer intently into my face. Her tone was casual, but her eyes carried a tiny trace of anxiety.

“I suppose so.”

Apparently, a brief response like that wasn’t enough to satisfy her at all.

“What’s with that lazy ‘I suppose so’?! Normally, shouldn’t a response like that be accompanied by comments like, ‘It was incredibly fun,’ or ‘I wanted to stay together longer,’ or ‘Let’s go skiing together just the two of us again’?”

Honoka pouted with dissatisfaction, though she looked a little lonely.

“I do think it was fun. Far more than I initially anticipated, honestly. But you know, I still can’t help but be aware of everyone watching us, so there’s that.”

As I offered my answer, Meika-chan chimed in from the other side to soothe Honoka.

“Hon-chan, getting impatient now isn’t going to help. As things stand, Yuu-san’s emotional vector is firmly pointed toward Touko-san. We have no choice but to gradually close the distance step by step.”

I blinked in surprise, turning my gaze toward Meika-chan. In terms of appearance, Honoka looked leagues more mature, but hearing a statement like that made Meika-chan sound far more like the older, wiser sister. Contrary to how they looked, was Meika the one who actually held the reins in their dynamic?

Before I knew it, the trio of seniors had backed away. They cast a knowing smirk in my direction; they were undoubtedly planning to use this as absolute gossip fodder later on.

“I know that, obviously! But still, he spent an entire day alongside two girls as cute as us. It’s only human nature for his feelings to waver even a tiny bit, right?”

“Hon-chan, would you really prefer it if Yuu-san was the type of person whose feelings wavered that easily?”

Faced with Meika-chan’s sharp logic, Honoka hesitated before offering a quiet reply. “Well… no, I wouldn’t.”

“Exactly. That’s why we shouldn’t rush or panic; we need to carefully deepen our relationship over time.”

Listening from the side, Ishida suddenly burst out laughing.

“What are you laughing at?!” Meika-chan snapped, reacting instantly.

“Nothing, it’s just hilarious to hear you spouting such grand, philosophical advice, Meika. I was just thinking you’ve grown quite high and mighty.”

Meika-chan’s face flushed bright red with anger. “I wasn’t talking to you at all, Brother! Stop sticking your nose into things that have absolutely nothing to do with you!”

“Right, right.” Ishida turned away, still chuckling in amusement.

Watching them bicker, Honoka leaned her weight slightly against me as she asked, “Hey, Isshiki-san, you’re going to be with my sister all day tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.”

I finally get to spend proper time with Touko-san… Just as the thought crossed my mind, she added:

“But there’s a group recreational activity scheduled for the afternoon, isn’t there?”

“Ah, come to think of it, yeah. I remember hearing they were throwing some sort of event.”

“What kind of event is it?” Meika-chan asked.

“Who knows? I have no idea myself. It sounds like the upperclassmen planned it out.”

Honoka immediately chimed in. “Ooh, ooh! I know! They’re going to play ‘Zombie Tag’!”

“Zombie Tag?” I repeated.

“Yep! In regular tag, once the IT person touches you, you switch places. But in Zombie Tag, when you get touched, the number of IT people just keeps growing without any switching.”

“I see. So whoever manages to evade them until the very end is the winner?”

“Exactly. That’s why elements of running and hiding are going to be vital.”

Just as we reached that point in our conversation, the club president, Nakazaki-san, walked over to our table.

“You guys seem to be having a grand old time.”

“It’s incredibly fun!” Honoka beamed.

“Yes, we’re thoroughly enjoying ourselves,” Meika-chan added politely.

“I see, that’s wonderful. I hate to crash the party when you’re having fun, but the clock has already passed eight. It isn’t proper for high school students to linger in a room where alcohol is flowing freely. So, I’m sorry, but Honoka-san, Meika-chan, please head back to your rooms.”

Faced with Nakazaki-san’s formal request, the two pulled brief expressions of disappointment, but they quickly chimed, “Understood,” and stood up from their seats. Alongside them, Ishida stood up as well, offering, “I’ll walk them back to their rooms.”

Honoka and Meika-chan waved their hands toward me.

“See you later, Isshiki-san. Until tomorrow!”

“Goodnight, Yuu-san.”

“Yeah, goodnight.”

I offered a warm smile as I waved goodbye.