I swear I officially have PTSD from the phrase "you sleep next to him!"
The polished wood floors of the lobby squeaked as I stepped in, and there he was.
Shinji.
My eternally, now super jealous classmate and walking insecurity bomb.
He stood next to the water cooler like he was on the lookout for a jump scare. The moment he spotted me, his face twisted into that same dramatic anime rival glare he'd probably been practising in the mirror.
"Ara, ara, ara", he said, crossing his arms, "if it isn't the maid of honour himself."
"Oh, it's you, you Kurumi Tokisaki wanna be", I said, already sipping the water he was obviously guarding.
He scoffed. "So, sleeping in the same room with four girls, huh?"
Here we go.
"It's not like that," I replied, "It's part of my job. Their butler made the call, Do you think I want to be in the same room as four human versions of bombs?"
Shinji scoffed as he flapped both his hands in front of me, "Yeah, right. There's your butler, aka your wingman in disguise. I know you've hired him… How much are you paying him, though that's the real question?"
Before I could answer, he walked in.
A guy I'd never seen before, at least he wasn't in my class anyway.
Tall. Like, tall-tall. Sharp features, clean-cut hair, tidy uniform, except for the slightly oversized glasses perched on his nose, which made him look like he accidentally wandered out of a shoujo manga and into our lives. A perfect split between 'intimidating senpai' and 'socially awkward honour student.' I turned to glance at Shinji, who was eyeing him up as if he knew him, but I could tell that he wasn't one hundred per cent sure; half of his face was covered thanks to his mask. But like I'm not the one to judge, considering my state, but the moment my eyes lay on him, I got a weird tingling feeling up my spine as if my body was trying to warn me off something. Or maybe even him. He stood by the check-in desk for a moment, fidgeting with a guide pamphlet, clearly unsure if he was in the right place. Then his eyes landed on me. And without a moment's hesitation, he walked over to me.
"U-uhm… Excuse me?" He said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm not sure how true this is, but like umm." He paused, still playing with his leaflet. "Are you… The one staying with the sisters?"
The words hung in the air for a moment.
Shinji's eyebrows practically shot into orbit.
"Wait, what, you know them?" I blinked. "Do you?"
The guy flushed pink like someone had hit a switch.
"N-no! I-I mean… I've just seen them around school. They seem… Um… close to you." He scratched his cheek and looked away. "One of them… Uh… Stands out."
Before I could ask which one, the sound of heels clicking across the floor derailed everything. Arisa, Reina, Yuki, and Nao entered the lobby like they were shooting a commercial for 'Goddesses on Vacation.' I turned to get the guy's reaction and saw his face. His eyes went wide, and the mystery guy's soul physically left his body. He squeaked. Yes. Squeaked. Then ducked behind a tall plant, using a pamphlet to cover his face like it had magical invisibility powers.
"What was that about?" Arisa asked, raising an eyebrow as she glanced around.
"Not sure he was about to say something, but now decided to Photosynthesise," I muttered, trying not to laugh.
"Okayy?" Arisa replied, slightly tilting her head.
"Okay, everyone! Stay in your assigned groups and follow me!"
The teacher clapped her hands together at the front doors.
*
The village itself looked straight out of a historical drama. Curved roof tiles, old-style wooden walls, narrow stone paths, paper lanterns still dangling from strings. We passed a few locals sweeping their porches, bowing politely as we walked by.
Nao instantly ran over to a giant Jizo statue.
"Look, Souta! It's like a chibi Buddha!" she shouted. "Can I ride on his head?!"
"Absolutely not," I replied, dragging her back.
Arisa posed under an archway.
"This lighting is divine," she said, snapping selfies like her life depended on it. "Souta~ take some of me! And only me! And maybe some with you and me in it!"
"No thanks, I already have trauma stored in 4K," I muttered, ducking her phone.
Yuki walked ahead of everyone, hands softly swaying, acting like she was in a shojo drama. I swear she was checking door sizes.
"These inns better be the same size as ours," she said under her breath.
What's up with her and the sizes of things...
But the real surprise came from Reina.
She'd been quiet for most of the walk, which was fairly normal for her, until a wild fox darted across the path, fast, sleek, and way too close.
Reina jumped, then, without a word, clung to my sleeve.
"Whoa, you okay there?" I asked, slightly holding her up.
"...Sorry," she muttered, trying to pull away quickly. "It just startled me. I didn't mean to-"
"N-no, it's okay," I said, suddenly aware of how warm her hand was.
"Foxes are intense. Vicious. Very much untrustworthy creatures, and hey, sometimes you can get some diseases from them"
Reina nodded her head quickly. I swear I could see the fear building as I explained a bit more about foxes, but of course, once you give one sister too much attention, the other's become more and more… Annoyed Though they were behind me, I could feel both their eyes shooting daggers through both Reina and me, as we walked a bit ahead. But the moment I stepped away from Reina just a little bit.
Arisa and Nao immediately pounced.
"Ooooh Reina~!" Arisa sang. "Holding his sleeve like a proper little housewife? Aww, how cute~"
Nao giggled. "I knew you were hiding something behind those calm eyes~!"
"I wasn't!" Reina flushed red, her eyes wandered towards me before quickly pacing ahead in front of all of us.
Both Arisa and Nao looked at me, and Nao kept her happy face, as her usual innocent self does, but I could see a hint of twitching in Arisa's brow, almost like she was holding back something.
But the chaos wasn't done.
A few minutes later, we found ourselves at a slope of the pathway; it wasn't anything super deep, but it was enough to make the timid Reina a bit hesitant about going down.
"Um Souta…" Reina asked, looking down the steep slope. I looked back slowly, making my way down.
"Yes, what's up?" I asked, confused, but I could see Reina's eyes wandering around the area, clearly nervous. If anything, the fact that she was really readable made it much easier to understand what Reina was thinking, considering how quiet she is. I liked that about her. Made my life ten times easier.
"Um, could you carry my bag for me? I think I'll need my hands free to get down." She asked nervously.
"Of course I can," I replied, smiling at her.
I walked up slightly before taking her bags and helping her slowly down the slope.
But then right behind us, the same girl who prided herself on making sure she wasn't making any mistakes, the same girl who made sure to let me know how dumb I was for accidentally tripping on a man-killer stone.
Yuki tripped.
Or did she?
I couldn't tell, but from what little glance I did get off the scene, it surely did look like she could have maybe… Caught herself, but that wouldn't have made any sense?
Would it?
She stumbled forward, lightly bumping into me. I barely caught her by the shoulders.
"Oh, uh, you okay?"
"Yeah," she said flatly. "That was clumsy of me."
But her eyes met mine for a fraction of a second too long.
"Yeah, I guess I'm the one who gets to call you clumsy now", I said, letting out a little chuckle, but it quickly faded away, as her scowl returned.
"Hmph, it was the one time unlike yours, I swear I need triple the amount of hands to count the times you've fallen or almost fallen because of your lack of self-awareness."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, leave me alone," I replied, waving my hand. I turned around and could feel my cheeks slightly pink. My mind is slightly racing at the thought.
Did she… do that on purpose?
I couldn't tell.
Arisa and Nao didn't say anything, but they both stared… And suddenly, I was walking five feet behind everyone out of self-preservation.
As we approached a tea shop at the end of the path, I finally had a moment to breathe. The teacher was talking about local crafts and giving a spiel about the shrine on the hill, but my brain was focused elsewhere.
The girls were warming up.
Reina, Yuki, and even Nao were acting less little sister-y than usual. Arisa, of course, was in full diva mode. And somewhere, hiding behind a plant, was a guy who clearly liked one of them.
This trip might kill me… But it was starting to get interesting.
Next stop: dinner.
And if I knew these girls, peace was no longer on the menu.