"So why are you here?"
Shiro, sporting a swollen pig-like face, looked at Aina in confusion.
At this moment, his once-handsome features were nowhere to be seen. If the girls who admired him saw this, they'd probably bury Iori and Kohei alive.
"...So you really forgot what today is?"
Aina looked at him speechlessly. This was completely different from the god-like figure she had imagined! And where was Kiyoko?!
"Eh? Isn't it the freshman welcome party? Freshmen... Sorry, I haven't slept in a while, my brain isn't working properly."
Shiro turned his head away awkwardly. Damn it! He actually forgot that Aina was the freshman this event was for…
"..."
Aina sighed.
Shiro was nothing like the forums described. She couldn't wait to see how those fangirls would react to this goofy and clueless side of him.
"So where's Kiyoko?"
Aina asked with a gossipy look. She was dying to know what happened next.
After their mixer ended abruptly last night, they had tried to find Shiro and Kiyoko, but the two had vanished into thin air.
The only place nearby was a sketchy love hotel, and its owner looked like a straight-up delinquent. No way they went in there!
Having been tormented by curiosity all night, Aina couldn't hold back her gossip-loving heart any longer. She was now fully convinced, Shiro had to be the scumbag who had abandoned Kiyoko back in high school!
"Kiyoko? No idea. She's probably still sleeping. We stayed up pretty late last night."
As he spoke, Shiro yawned again. Looked like he really needed to catch up on sleep later.
Hearing his words, Aina's face turned bright red. W-Was this really something she could hear for free?!
"T-Then shouldn't you be with Kiyoko right now?"
Aina stammered.
According to TV dramas, at this moment, the male lead should be by the female lead's side!
"(?′｀)? With her? Why?"
"...Isn't a boyfriend supposed to stay with his girlfriend?"
"But I'm not her boyfriend (;'A`)."
"..."
That one short sentence completely fried Aina's brain.
Not a couple?! But they slept together?!
Just what kind of relationship did these two have?!
Aina stood frozen, staring at Shiro as he yawned and walked away. She immediately pulled out her phone and called Kiyoko!
Kiyoko… Kiyoko might have been deceived by a scumbag again!
"Beep... beep... beep..."
"Moshi moshi~"
A lazy voice answered. Kiyoko was lying on her bed in the hotel, having just taken a shower and ready to nap.
"Kiyoko! This is bad! That scumbag tricked you again! Kamishiro just said you two aren't even dating!"
Aina shouted in a panic. She couldn't let her best friend get played by a scumbag again!
Hearing Aina's words, Kiyoko smirked and lazily replied.
"Well~ this matter, Aina, you don't need to worry about it. I know what's going on. But rest assured, that guy, Shiro, won't escape from the palm of my hand!
I might even need your help when the time comes!
That's it, Aina, I'm so sleepy~ I'll tell you all the details when I get back. Then I'll give you a good description of how it feels~"
"Who wants to hear about that feeling?!"
Aina's face turned bright red as she hung up the phone. How did a perfectly normal girl turn into an old man with that kind of attitude?!
Also… what exactly is the relationship between you two?! Is this even a normal kind of relationship? Why do I suddenly feel like I've become your spy?! (ﾟДﾟ)
Aina felt exhausted, like she was about to cry. Why did making just one phone call leave her feeling so drained…
Aina slumped her shoulders as she made her way to the trio's side. Looking at the three bruised and battered faces before her, she let out a deep sigh. So exhausting~
"By the way, Aina, did you join our club because you knew what kind of department we were?"
After drinking a bottle of beer and sobering up a little, Shiro asked curiously. After all, aside from turning into a zombie-like drunkard, she seemed... mostly normal?
"Huh? Isn't this the diving club?"
Aina looked around as she spoke. It was pretty obvious this was a diving club.
Her face lit up with a dreamy expression. "I used to really admire diving~ I always thought it was such a grown-up hobby!"
Seeing her expression, the trio couldn't bear to break the truth to her. They could only nod along.
"Uh-huh."
"That's right."
"It really is admirable."
Aina continued, trying to express her love for diving and integrate herself into the group.
"I also find the colorful fish in the sea really fascinating. But what I look forward to the most is diving in the beautiful ocean together with my college friends. Doesn't that sound like something out of a drama?"
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she imagined herself diving alongside Iori~
Seeing how hopeful Aina was, the trio all turned into deadpan "dot-dot eyes."
"Is that so…"
"Didn't expect you to love diving this much."
"You really can't judge a book by its cover."
The three sighed in unison.
They never would have guessed that this zombie-like girl loved diving so much. Since that was the case, they had to do something!
In the next second—
"In that case, I strongly advise you not to join this club!"
"What awaits you is nothing but hell!"
"It'll paint your pure, youthful canvas with censorship mosaics!"
The trio gravely warned her, their serious expressions making Aina feel like she had been lied to all this time!
"…Wait, isn't this supposed to be the diving club?"
Aina looked around again, feeling suspicious.
Diving equipment, diving gear, enthusiastic seniors, a welcome party for new members…
This was clearly a perfectly normal diving club!
At that moment, Azusa suddenly sneaked up behind the trio, leaning against Shiro's back. Her voice, like that of a devil, whispered into their ears.
"Tokii and Bukki are really looking forward to getting a new recruit~ So if you scare Aina away…"
{{(°△°; )}}!×3
Hearing this, the trio immediately rushed forward, frantically trying to introduce the club to Aina.
"Ahaha, we were just kidding! Of course, this is a diving club!"
"We do diving activities too, hahahaha."
"Come on, come on! I made some special PaB-style oolong tea just for you!"
(′｀;)?
Aina looked at the three of them in confusion. Are they acting up again?
Also… Shiro, are you sure that "oolong tea" is actually something humans can drink?!
"Hey! New recruit!"
"Come introduce yourself to everyone!"
Aina, who had been fooling around with the trio, quickly stopped when she heard the seniors calling out to her.
She turned to see that everything had already been prepared. Now, all that was left was for her to introduce herself before the drinking party began.
Looking at the group of muscular seniors before her, Aina shyly introduced herself. "I'm Yoshihara Aina, a first-year student at Oumi Women's University."
"Ohhh!"
The seniors erupted in applause, giving her encouragement.
"I'm really interested in diving, but I have no experience…"
"Ohhh!"
The seniors cheered again—except this time, they were down to just their underwear.
"So I hope to learn from everyone in the future!"
"Ohhh!"
The seniors looked at their new recruit with satisfaction—now completely stripped of their clothing!
Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)??
"Doesn't this club seem a bit… weird to you guys?"
Aina stared at the trio in shock. Why did the seniors take off their clothes every time she said something? Did her words have some kind of magical power?!
However…
When she turned to look at the trio, she was shocked once again.
(メ｀ロ′)/
"When did you three strip?!"
The trio, wearing nothing but underwear, looked at Aina blankly while munching on sashimi.
"Isn't drinking and stripping pretty normal?"
"At the Spring Festival, you saw them like this too, didn't you?"
"That day, you blended in with them just fine."
"…So it turns out that wasn't just because of the festival atmosphere."
Aina covered her face in despair.
She had always thought that everyone got drunk and wild only because it was the Spring Festival… but no, this was their normal state!
What was wrong with the guys in this club?!
"Aina~ What's wrong?"
A gentle voice called out beside her, and Aina immediately felt like she had found her savior!
"Azusa-senpai, what on earth is going on here…"
(′°Δ°`)
Aina looked at Azusa with a blood-drained face.
She had celebrated too soon.
Because compared to those wild seniors, Azusa was no better—she was wearing nothing but a bikini top…
"Never mind, forget it (／.＼)"
Looking at the group of nearly naked beasts around her, Aina felt like she had wandered into some strange place.
'No, wait! There's still Kotegawa! She must be a normal person!'
Aina thought of Chisa, the champion of the beauty contest. She had to be a normal, sensible person like herself!
"No, Chisa, I meant organizing a mixer, not sitting on my back."
"Want me to step on you a few times?"
(ﾟДﾟ)
Aina's expression went blank as she watched Chisa sitting on Iori's back, her feet even stepping on his face…
What the hell are you guys doing?! Why is Kotegawa acting like this too? Do normal people treat others like chairs?!
Meanwhile, Shiro was off to the side, snapping photos like crazy.
He had become somewhat famous on the school forum, with every post he made attracting tons of comments and discussions. His popularity made other bloggers green with envy.
Too bad none of them could replicate his posts, because…
Who the hell would stalk Chisa and Iori just to document their "happy life"?!
Thanks to Shiro's posts, Iori had been dominating the top of the school forum for ages. If it weren't for the so-called hypnotic curse, he probably would've been buried alive by now!
"You three, what are you doing?"
A gentle voice drew Aina's attention. She turned to see a woman with the grace of a Yamato Nadeshiko gently pulling Chisa and Iori apart.
She even scolded Shiro, poking his forehead and taking away his camera as punishment.
"A normal person!!!"
Aina grabbed Nanaka's hands in excitement.
After so long, she had finally found a normal person in this club! It was truly a miracle! (T▽T)
But Nanaka was confused. Was Aina just happy about joining the club?
Normally, she'd be happy to chat with a new member, but right now…
She was eager to check out Shiro's camera. Rumor had it there were tons of photos of little Chisa inside!
It was just a shame most of them were with Iori… She'd have to edit him out.
"Don't ask anything!"
"You didn't see anything, got it?"
"(*?????) Nanaka-nee, my Nanaka-nee…"
Shiro wore a mournful expression. The image of Nanaka, who could have been the perfect wife, was shattered!
But… this wasn't bad either?
This siscon trait was also kind of a charm point?
Speaking of which, if Iori and Chisa actually got together, wouldn't that mean he could bring Nanaka-nee home too? That way, Nanaka-nee and Chisa wouldn't have to be separated!
Shiro glanced at the idiot beside him. At this moment, Kitahara was scratching his butt…
(=ω=;)
Never mind. There's no way this idiot would get past Nanaka-nee's approval.
On the other hand, Aina took one look at the trio's expressions and instantly understood—she gave up.
As expected, no matter how she looked at it, this club didn't seem to have a single normal person!
She turned around and once again looked at her surroundings.
A dive shop, just like before. Then, naked men, beer, hard liquor, and wild beasts going crazy…
PaB had no normal people besides herself!
On the sofa—
Azusa watched the newcomers fooling around with a beaming smile. At this rate, PaB now had a scumbag, an idiot, an otaku, a natural airhead, and a ghoul… a total of five people!
PaB's future was bright!