COTE Year 2 Reimagined

Volume 4:Part 4

"Nanase-san, please...I didn't mean it like that. Just call me what you've been doing so far. That's fine."

I nodded at her to assure her that I understood her intentions. She giggled and gave me a nice smile. Haruka-senpai was really kind. I'm glad Ayanokoji-senpai could have a friend like her.

A few minutes later, I noticed she was still looking at her tablet, so I decided to check and see if anything was wrong. She was looking at our points, which had been going up at an extremely fast rate all day. It seemed like Ayanokoji-senpai was really holding nothing back and going to as many tasks as possible. They were now in the top 50% and, at this rate, would be in the top 25% by the end of the day.

"Ayanokoji-senpai really is amazing, isn't he?"

I decided to comment on it since she seemed interested in what he was doing.

"Amazing? What makes you say that Nanase-san?"

Did she not think Ayanokoji-senpai was amazing? Or maybe she was trying to find out more about him through me.

"I mean, he's been doing tasks all day, right? And we earn double the points today, so your group managed to jump up the rankings really quickly."

Haruka-senpai looked back to her tablet and started thinking more. Was she suspicious of Ayanokoji-senpai?

"Is something wrong, Haruka-senpai?"

"No...its just a feeling, I'm sorry."

I nodded at her and decided to look behind me. Airi-senpai was keeping up with us, but barely. I always checked behind to make sure she's with us since I noticed early on that her athletic abilities were not that good.

We kept walking forward until we finally reached our third area of the day.

Haruka-senpai ran forward and jumped at one of the two guys in front of us, pulling him into a hug. She then grabbed the other guy's arm and pulled him closer, too, so she could hug both of them. Airi-senpai, who was left out, started moving towards them and got pulled into the hug by Haruka-senpai. It was strange because it felt like the only one actually enjoying that Hug was Haruka-senpai herself.

When I arrived at where they were standing, I noticed the two guys looking at me in confusion. So I decided to introduce myself. As usual, I started by putting putting my right arm behind my back and pressing my left hand against my chest and giving them a warm smile.

"My name is Nanase Tsubasa from Class 1-D.  I'm Ayanokoji-senpai's travelling companion and friend."

I then bowed to them. I had rehearsed this introduction many times before to make sure I have a good first impression on anyone. I started adding the travelling companion note during this island exam and added the friend line after Ayanokoji-senpai reached his hand out to me. I got somewhat worried when I thought Ayanokoji-senpai disapproved of my introduction, but thankfully, it seems he was mistaken.

When I looked back at them, the guys seemed confused, which in turn confused me. I had thought my introduction was quite clear.

"You don't have to add that last part anymore Nanase-san,Kiyopon isn't with us anymore."

Haruka-senpai giggled, and I felt embarrassed. How could I make such a silly mistake? Now, my first impression would be ruined.

"I apologise for the confusion. I am Ayanokoji-senpai's former travelling companion. Currently, I am Haruka-senpai's and Airi-senpai's guardian angel."

I corrected my introduction and bowed at them once again. Calling myself an "angel" sounded presumptuous, but I didn't mean it in that way.

"My name is Yukimura, but since you're calling Haruka and Airi by their given names, you can call me Keisei as well."

I was confused since when I memorised the names on the OAA, his name wasn't Keisei, but I didn't object to his request.

"I'm Akito."

Akito-senpai raised his hand in greeting.

"It's a pleasure to meet the both of you. Ayanokoji-senpai asked me to watch other Haruka-senpai, but I will make sure to keep you both safe as well."

I gave them a warm and confident smile to make sure they wouldn't have any worries. For some reason, they seemed to doubt my abilities.

"Nanase-san is actually more than she looks she's been doing a ton of tasks and gathering food for all of us today."

Haruka-senpai came to my defence. The boys were still confused, but they didn't argue any further.

Keisei-senpai decided to speak up next.

"There's something weird going on. We've been getting a ton of points all day. Is our system broken somehow? Have you guys been doing tasks or what?"

Did Keisei-senpai not know about Ayanokoji-senpai's abilities? Should I lie and try to keep his abilities a secret?

"Yeah! Airi and I have been doing too many tasks, and we've been doing great thanks to Nanase-san's help. I think Kiyopon might also be doing some tasks himself, so that's why."

Haruka-senpai was lying. Airi-senpai looked at her but didn't comment. Was she trying to keep what Ayanokoji-senpai was doing a secret? Either way, I decided not to intervene.

"I see. It still seems way too much, but I guess that kind of explains it. Speaking of Kiyotaka, why isn't he with us? He told us to go to our areas and forget about the tasks."

"He probably prefers to be alone. I mean, it's Kiyopon, you know! He told us the same thing, and I think he's right. Today, we completed tasks obviously for the doubled rewards, but starting from tomorrow, I think we should just focus on our areas."

"I don't quite agree. But if you all insist, then I would follow."

Keisei-senpai looked at the other two, and they both nodded. It seemed like they all agreed to Ayanokoji-senpai's plan of only focusing on the designated areas.

I led the group to the centre of the area as usual, and we started to eat while waiting for the final area to be selected. I checked the tablet again, and Ayanokoji-senpai was still completing tasks as fast as he could.

I hope he's okay. If he gets attacked by him, then I don't know what would happen.