Chapter 138: Return Agreement, Embracing Suzune Horikita (Two-in-One 5k) (Patreon)

In the dining hall, Honami Ichinose sat across from Naruse, listening to his explanation.

The young man's tone stayed even as he walked her through the exam step by step, a faint smile on his lips.

He started with the checkpoint exploration, moved through the check-in scheduling, and finished with how he'd seen through Ryuen's plan.

Overall, Naruse had done quite a lot during this Special Exam, but none of it was especially complicated — he'd simply started planning early, so things had gone smoothly.

As for how he'd identified Class B's representative, Naruse didn't bother hiding it anymore.

"I confirmed your class's name on the sixth day. It wasn't that complicated, honestly — your camp's security wasn't exactly airtight."

Naruse took a sip from his cup, speaking naturally, without a trace of hesitation.

"It's just that I prepared ahead of time, so a lot of things moved forward pretty smoothly."

After hearing him out, Honami's expression turned complicated, but she immediately started using what she knew, combined with what Naruse had just told her, to review the exam results.

Class A: 190 points remaining, +150 for correctly guessing the representatives of Classes B, C, and D, +72 for checkpoint exploration — 412 points total.

Class B: 190 points remaining, -50 for having their name guessed by Class A, -50 for having it guessed by Class C, +0 for checkpoints — 90 points total.

Class C: 0 points remaining, +50 for guessing Class B, -50 for being guessed by Class D, -50 for being guessed by Class A, +0 for checkpoints; since scores can't go negative, 0 points total.

Class D: 125 points remaining, +50 for guessing Class C, -50 for being guessed by Class A, +0 for checkpoints — 125 points total.

Once she'd worked through all the results, Honami fully grasped what Naruse meant.

He truly hadn't executed some elaborate scheme. He'd simply prepared everything in advance, pushed forward on gathering information, and ended up with a flawless outcome.

"I understand now."

With her confusion cleared up, Honami let out a long breath, and the tension in her expression eased a little.

Failure wasn't the scary part. What was scary was not even knowing how you'd failed.

"Thank you for the explanation, Naruse-san."

"Heh. Now it's your turn, Ichinose-san... Go on, tell me your reasons."

Naruse paused, then asked directly.

"Why push yourself so hard?"

At the question, Honami's body stiffened slightly.

An ordinary answer would be that she did it for the class, but Naruse had already blocked off that road, so she needed something more honest.

After a long moment, the girl finally spoke, slowly.

"Because for me, Class B is a place where I can find redemption."

"Redemption?"

Honami wrapped both hands around her cup, her voice trembling slightly.

"By giving everything I have for everyone, I can find peace inside myself. That's my answer."

"And the specific reason?"

"...Something happened a long time ago that gave me this way of thinking." Honami hesitated. "Do you want to hear that story, Naruse-san?"

"Wait..."

The moment Honami said that, Naruse already understood exactly what she meant.

Because he knew the original story, he understood perfectly well why she'd developed this mindset.

Before she'd enrolled at Advanced Nurturing High School, Honami had gone through something deeply painful to look back on.

The shoplifting incident.

Because of her family circumstances, Honami had once made a mistake, and after it was discovered, her mother had forced her to publicly apologize to the shop owner in front of everyone.

That apology had left a deep scar on her psyche, one that had never really stopped affecting her.

After arriving at Advanced Nurturing High School, Class B had given her a far warmer environment.

There, she'd found kind classmates and an atmosphere of mutual support — for Honami, that kind of environment was a one-of-a-kind "redemption."

It was as though, so long as she could keep that wonderful atmosphere in Class B alive, she could forget the past, forget that unbearable memory.

It was a warped kind of "compensation" instinct.

That was why, in this exam, Honami had chosen to act on her own, wanting to help the class earn more points.

Her grades were excellent, but her physical stamina was only average, and searching the forest for checkpoints was itself a form of "pushing herself too hard."

Because these instances of overexertion had piled up one after another, something quite frightening had taken root deep in the girl's heart.

All that past she'd forced herself to bury had slowly cultivated a hidden side of her personality — one that leaned toward "heavy woman" tendencies — and if that ever found an outlet, it would come out with terrifying weight and intensity.

This was the core reason Naruse wanted to intervene early. After all, if he ever got close to her and she suddenly had a gravitational meltdown, that would be a real problem.

Naruse thought it over for a moment, then spoke.

"Honestly, I am curious about your past, Ichinose-san."

"But if it's hard for you, you don't have to force yourself to tell me. I basically understand what you mean already," Naruse said, his tone gentle.

"If you really want to know, I really can tell you."

"There's no rush."

Naruse rubbed his forehead, his tone calm as he explained.

"Ichinose-san, if you really want someone to talk to, I can be a good listener."

"But this isn't a good place for it. Honestly, the whole ship isn't a suitable environment."

Naruse paused, then continued.

"If it's alright with you, I'd rather it be after we get back to school. We can find some other time then, and I'll listen to what's in your heart, Ichinose-san."

"Where were you thinking, Naruse-san?"

"Best if it's in a dorm room — either mine or yours works."

"...Oh. I understand."

Honami didn't object. She agreed with what Naruse was suggesting — if she really was going to open up about her past, a more private place would obviously be better.

Meanwhile, Naruse quickly ran through the timeline from the original story in his head.

Today was the 7th. According to the school's schedule, the next two days were rest days, and then on the 10th they'd hold the second Special Exam — the Preferential Treatment Exam.

That exam would wrap up on the 14th, and on the 15th the cruise ship would return to Tokyo Bay, at which point everyone would head back to school, and the real summer vacation would begin for the following half month.

If he really planned to use the Mindset Repair Card, Naruse still preferred to do it in Honami's dorm room, since that would let her open up more naturally.

There were rooms on the ship too, but Honami had a roommate, which made it too awkward.

"Let's leave it at that for now, then. Once we're back at school, I'll come listen to your secret, Ichinose-san."

"Okay."

A smile spread across Honami's face. Honestly, when it came to talking about her past, the only person she could currently open up to was Naruse.

Her classmates in Class B were completely out of the question.

She couldn't imagine telling Sayo Ando or Mako Amikura that something like that had ever happened to her, but talking to Naruse about it somehow felt like no pressure at all.

"Then let's pinky-swear on it."

Honami suddenly spoke up, her clear blue eyes fixed on his face, the smile on her lips softening.

"Once I pick a time, you can't stand me up, Naruse-san."

"Of course not. I promise I'll be there on time."

"I'll be waiting."

After parting from Honami, Naruse wandered the ship for a while.

Just then, his phone buzzed with a new message. He opened it and found, to his surprise, it was from Suzune Horikita.

"Now this is interesting..."

Naruse glanced at it and realized she was reaching out to him first — a rare thing indeed.

"At nine-thirty tonight, I'll be waiting for you in Theater Five at the North Sea Theater on the third floor."

Naruse checked the time — there were still around thirty-some minutes until nine-thirty. He decided to grab something to eat first before heading over.

Time passed, and around nine-twenty, Naruse arrived at the North Sea Theater on the ship's third floor and located Theater Five.

It was a fairly small theater, able to seat maybe thirty people at most, with adjustable reclining seats and generous space between each row.

When he walked in, Naruse realized they were playing an old movie — La La Land.

Suzune Horikita sat in the corner of the fourth row, her eyes on the big screen, her expression calm.

Since the entire first-year class only numbered 160 students, and the ship was so large, with so many showings running at the theaters and main auditorium, it made sense that not every screening room would have people in it.

And this particular room happened to have only Suzune Horikita in it — she'd essentially bought out the whole theater.

Naruse walked over and sat down in the seat beside her, on her left.

At the sound of him approaching, Suzune's small hand, resting on the armrest, tightened slightly.

She was actually a little nervous.

Just as Naruse was settling into his seat, the girl spoke.

"I've been thinking about what you said, all day."

"Oh?"

Suzune reached up and touched her own cheek, as if to steady herself, then continued.

"First..."

This was an important answer, and Suzune had been carefully choosing her words in her head the whole time.

"Since I've never been in love, and never liked anyone else, I don't know what real affection is supposed to feel like."

"Second..."

"When it comes to you, Naruse-san, I really don't feel any aversion, and I don't dislike you."

"I've gotten used to having you around. That's the preliminary conclusion I've reached."

Suzune let out a breath, satisfied with having gotten it all out smoothly.

Naruse thought it over for a moment, then deliberately raised an eyebrow, sounding a little put out.

"That's all?"

The young man turned his head, leaning in a bit closer than necessary, studying Suzune's delicate face.

Feeling Naruse's breath drifting closer, Suzune's cheeks flushed slightly as she continued.

"I haven't reached a definite answer about that proposal of yours. I don't currently like you that way..."

She quickly added,

"But I am willing to accept you as my companion. That's a significant thing, to me."

"Companion?"

Suzune nodded, then went on.

"I'm very selective about who I choose as a companion. If you're willing, you're welcome to visit my dorm from now on."

"I can cook for you. I'm actually pretty good at it."

"Only someone I truly approve of gets that privilege."

Naruse couldn't help laughing at that. He hadn't expected Suzune to express herself this way — it seemed her prickly pride had already worn down quite a bit under his influence, and the softer, sulkier side of her could be developed further, in time.

But instead of showing his amusement outright, he changed his expression, putting on a slightly wounded tone.

"So it's just companions, then? I actually thought you might have real feelings for me."

The young man's acting was flawless — playing the wounded-but-manipulative type came easily to him.

Seeing his reaction, Suzune blurted out anxiously without thinking.

"Being companions is already about as close as it gets. In my life, aside from family, you're the closest person to me right now."

"Naruse-san... you do understand what I mean, right?"

In Suzune's world, "companion" was already an extremely high honor. Among all the people in Class D, there wasn't a single one she thought highly enough of to qualify as her "companion."

"Well, good. That means everything I've done up to now wasn't for nothing."

Naruse smiled faintly, and Suzune relaxed with a sigh of relief.

"But aside from getting to taste your cooking, is there anything else I get, as a companion?" Naruse's gaze settled on Suzune's face.

"...What kind of privilege?"

At the question, Suzune instinctively looked up and glared at him. Even having accepted him, she had no interest in becoming a woman that Naruse could just push around.

"For instance..."

Naruse didn't bother answering. Instead, he simply reached both arms out toward her.

In the next instant, the girl's body fell into his embrace.

"Mm?"

Naruse moved so fast — like scooping up a rag doll — that she had no time to react at all.

By the time Suzune realized what was happening, she found herself already pressed against a warm chest.

"You... what are you doing?"

knock knock

Suzune's eyes went wide. The composed state she'd been holding onto this whole time shattered completely under Naruse's sudden ambush.

Her small hands, which had immediately landed on his body meant to push him away, gave two instinctive shoves — but by the third attempt, she'd stopped struggling entirely and gone still.

"As companions, is a hug really off-limits?"

The young man's gentle voice reached her ears, and Suzune, her cheek pressed against his chest, suddenly didn't know how to respond.

The two of them had only just embraced, but each could already feel the other's heartbeat.

After a while longer, feeling the warmth radiating from his body, Suzune couldn't help but speak.

"If this is really what you want, I... I suppose I can accept it."

"After all, there's such a thing as a friendly hug between companions. If we're... if we're companions, then I'm fine with it."

"But... don't take advantage of me, or I really will get angry."

By this point, Suzune's body had gone completely soft. Her hands, which had originally meant to push Naruse away, had instead drifted around to his back, and slowly locked there.

"Of course. Everything should happen step by step. I won't go against what you want, Horikita-san."

"Mm..."

"Then that settles it — I agree to become your companion, Horikita-san."

"Mm."

Suzune could feel Naruse's gentleness, and the warmth in his tone.

"What are you planning to do about my brother?"

"It's simple, really. In the end, the outcome all depends on you, Horikita-san. If he sees the growth you've made, then I'll have done my job."

Naruse said this slowly, his tone soft.

"I see."

"Heh, seems like my efforts have really paid off. Right now, Horikita-san... you're really quite adorable, you know."

Naruse wrapped an arm around her slender waist, able to feel the youthful vitality of Suzune's lithe body.

After all, with her background in martial arts training, her arms and legs carried real strength — soft to the touch, yet with an underlying firmness. It was, honestly, a rather ideal combination.

"Are you really going to say things like that, right now?"

Suzune, irritated, gave his back a light smack.

"Alright, fine, I'll stop talking."

Suzune thought about it for a moment, then decided not to dwell on that topic, and continued instead.

"Naruse-san, even though I've accepted you as a companion..."

The girl's voice had returned to its usual cool tone, though it still carried a lingering softness. Being held in Naruse's arms like this, she had to admit, felt rather nice.

"...I'd still prefer that you not act overly familiar with me in front of others."

"There's no need to tell anyone about our being companions. I don't want other people's opinions influencing things."

"Do you understand?"

Suzune lifted her head, her sharp little chin resting against Naruse's chest, and spoke earnestly.

"Because I don't want to change how other people see me, and unless something unexpected happens, I don't need any more companions than this, either."

"It's fine. I promise."

Naruse looked down at Suzune's adorable little face, slowly lowering his head, drawing closer and closer — and noticed her face flushing red again.

"...Stop!"

Suzune, alarmed, quickly reached up and pressed her small hand against Naruse's forehead.

"Don't come any closer... I'm worried you might try to take advantage. I mean, I am this cute, so I guess it's only natural you can't help yourself."

"That's certainly true."

"Well then, let's leave it at that. When are you planning to let go of me?" Suzune asked, relieved to see Naruse hadn't pushed any further.

In truth, her own heart had also been racing just then — if Naruse had leaned in any closer, he really could have kissed her.

She still hadn't figured out her own feelings, and didn't want things to move that fast.

"Let's stay like this a little longer. As companions, you should be a bit more generous about this, Horikita-san."

"...Fine."

The girl lowered her head again, pressing her cheek back against the young man's chest.

"Do whatever you want, then."

"Mm."

And so the two of them stayed there, wrapped warmly in each other's arms, in the empty theater.