The Heroines Want to Confess

Chapter 456 456: Sneaking Out, Sneaking Out

"Sorry, I just accidentally fell into the water."

Fujiwara Chika surfaced and explained to everyone on the sea.

Just now she had simply felt a sudden urge to joke around and wanted to see everyone's reactions. She hadn't expected someone to react so strongly...

It was kind of… fun.

"Fujiwara-senpai, you scared me half to death." Miko pulled Chika back onto the jet ski.

Chika held the water gun and looked around. "Wanna play a second round?"

"Sorry, I don't want to play anymore. You have no idea how worried I was just now!" Shinomiya Kaguya said with a hint of anger. As Fujiwara Chika's close friend, her heart had tightened just like Sakurai Saki's a moment ago. What's more, Hayasaka Ai's attack had been carried out on her own orders.

"Huh?"

Fujiwara Chika was full of question marks. Were these people really unable to handle even a small joke like that?

Or… had she gone too far?

"Secretary-chan… don't do that again next time." Hayasaka Ai also spoke up to remind her.

"Everyone's taking this way too seriously..."

This was the first time Fujiwara Chika had received this kind of concern.

Back in the student council, whenever she messed around, everyone would join in and play along. But this time, the reaction was completely different.

'This is the second time...' Sakurai Saki didn't stay in the sea any longer and climbed back onto the boat along the ladder.

The previous time had been at the subway station during Golden Week—also when he had met Shinoobu.

"Saki-kun, you're not angry, are you?"

Only now did Fujiwara Chika realize that she might really have gone overboard.

Standing on the ladder, Sakurai Saki turned his head to look at her and said helplessly, "I'm not angry, but don't do that again next time."

"Um."

And this was supposed to be not angry?

Chika recalled the scene of him diving into the water earlier. When he saw she was fine, his expression had been like someone narrowly escaping disaster. A dangerous thought even popped into her head then—doing it one more time.

All this time, Sakurai Saki seemed to care more about Hayasaka Ai, and even more about Shinomiya Kaguya than about her. That made a faint sense of crisis rise within her... beneath her airheaded exterior, Fujiwara Chika had worries of her own.

She had even suspected whether Sakurai Saki truly liked her or not.

'Looks like Saki-kun does still like me.'

The answer was confirmed—it was just that the price paid was a little high.

...

Night.

When it was time for dinner, everyone gathered at the yacht's bar.

'What are they talking about?' Sakurai Saki looked toward a corner of the dining area.

The girls had agreed to hold a pajama party, and he—the only man on the boat—had been decisively left out...

What kind of agreement they had reached, Sakurai Saki was actually quite curious.

And at this moment, the group of girls Sakurai Saki was paying attention to—

"In short, tonight no one is allowed to sneak over to Sakurai-kun's room." Shinomiya Kaguya emphasized.

She felt this was very necessary, since she herself was the one who had initiated the pajama party.

She wanted this summer trip to remain a bit more pure, and didn't want a certain someone taking advantage.

Hayasaka Ai said in a teasing tone, "The one who secretly snacked last night is now saying things like this today."

"You agreed to it yourself."

"I was just too lazy to argue with you." Ai-chan put on the magnanimous air of a main wife.

Fujiwara Chika froze. "Then what about me?"

As the only one in the group who had clearly confirmed a romantic relationship with Sakurai Saki, yet hadn't made any progress beyond that of friends, she really wanted to recite a White Album–style monologue on the spot—clearly I came first, got to know him first, actively pursued him first, so why, why...

Why are you two so practiced? Just how many times have you already done things with him?!

"Secretary-chan can do whatever she wants." Even Hayasaka Ai felt that Chika was pitiful.

Shinomiya Kaguya also smiled at Chika. "If it's Fujiwara-san, it's fine."

The attitudes of those two only made Fujiwara Chika even angrier.

Wasn't this basically thinking she wouldn't dare?

Who were they looking down on?!

"But with Miko, Kei, and Eve, it'd be hard to explain." Hayasaka Ai spoke from a realistic standpoint, stating this objective fact.

Chika clenched her small fists.

So frustrating.

"It could easily be misunderstood as a dirty woman sneaking into a boy's room in the middle of the night. If Secretary-chan doesn't mind, of course we won't stop you."

The more Fujiwara Chika listened, the more wronged she felt.

She wasn't dirty!

And besides, besides—

"The dirty one should be Kaguya-san, shouldn't it?"

"Huh?" Shinomiya Kaguya was full of question marks.

What does this have to do with me?!

You're aiming at the wrong target!

"Kaguya-san, I've always found this really strange. How can you accept sharing one husband with Ai-chan? On a marriage registration, there can only be one wife, right?"

"I…" Shinomiya Kaguya's face darkened.

You hit the sore spot, you cancer of the Earth!

"You even slept with Saki-kun all night yesterday." Fujiwara Chika looked at her suspiciously. "The dirtiest one is clearly Kaguya-san."

"…Is it wrong to like someone?" Shinomiya Kaguya defended herself weakly, but couldn't come up with a rebuttal.

In the end, she collapsed onto the table, sobbing softly.

'I just like him too much. Did I really do anything wrong?'

Battleship Shinomiya Kaguya, sunk!

'Hmph, it's just Kaguya-san. She thinks she can compete with me?'

After taking down a small fry, Chika changed targets. "And Ai-chan, you're pretty strange too, indulging Kaguya-san like that. You're clearly just dating Saki-kun, yet you already feel like you've secured victory? What if Kaguya-san secretly goes and proposes to Saki-kun behind your back—what would you do then?"

"She wouldn't do that…" Hayasaka Ai said so, but she wasn't very confident. Her voice trembled unconsciously.

Fujiwara Chika laughed. "Think about the relationship between Kaguya-san and Saki-kun back then, and then look at now."

Betray once, betray twice.

That's the broken windows effect.

"Don't try to drive a wedge between us." For the first time, Hayasaka Ai realized Fujiwara Chika's scheming side.

Using discord tactics, too!

Have to say… truly the child of a politician?

Seeing and hearing it from a young age, a heart blacker than ink!

"How is this driving a wedge? I'm just stating the facts." Fujiwara Chika smiled sweetly. "I'm here to join this family, not to destroy it."

Hayasaka Ai didn't believe it.

And besides, Secretary-chan, your words are way too "green tea"—the tea aroma is practically billowing out.

"If the two of you aren't planning to take Saki-kun on this trip, then let me have him, okay?"

"Suit yourself."

Hearing that answer, Fujiwara Chika secretly rejoiced.

It's just Ai-chan, after all—yowai~.

...

"Sakurai-senpai, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I was just curious about what they were talking about." Sakurai Saki withdrew his gaze and noticed that Miko had come over.

Iino Miko stepped closer to him. "Senpai~ are you free tonight?"

Sakurai Saki felt puzzled. "Aren't the girls preparing to hold a pajama party?"

"…I can use the excuse of not feeling well and sneak out." Miko stood right at the starting line, always ready to sneak a bite.

"Wait until you graduate from high school before talking about that, okay?"

"Senpai is so mean, always treating me like a kid."

Iino Miko really wanted to point straight at her chest and ask him: with this size, do you really still think I'm a kid? I can send you to Jesus with this!