[CHAPTER 18]
a way to spend summer.
Today is just like any other normal day at the school, but the students are excited about the fact that summer vacation is coming soon. Including Airin, of course. She cannot wait to spend her time without schoolwork but wonders where she should go.
'Ah, my brain suddenly wants to go outside on the vacation, but I have nowhere to go...' She closed her eyes as her head started to hurt thinking about where she should go.
"Erm, do you have a moment, Saiki?" She opened her eyes to see Kaidou and Aren talking to Saiki, who is in front of her.
"I was chatting with Aren, but do you want to get a motorcycle license with us over the summer?"
"Get lost."
"According to Aren, we can get our licenses within 2 weeks if we take a training course."
Of course, Saiki turned them down. Like he would join them, lol.
"Ah, are you looking for other people to join? I'm free." Airin joined the conversation.
"Really? But it's pretty expensive.."
"It's fine, I got nothing to do this summer." And they agreed to meet each other in a few weeks, in the middle of summer.
'Now I got something at least one thing to do in summer.' she went outside to take a walk for a while, but someone appeared in front of her.
"Oh-- hello!" Reita winked at her, but he received a smack on his forehead.
"Get out."
"OUCH HUHU-- Wait, I'm actually inviting you. We should hold a summer camp for the Occult Club!! There's a famous haunted spot near my family's temple, so..."
"No, thanks."
"HEY! YOU'RE A MEMBER OF THE CLUB, AND THIS IS MANDATORY!"
"Mandatory, my ass. Get out."
"Come on, it's just for two days! If I could win Arisu, I can set you up with---"
'With who????'
"AIRIN!!!!" He was interrupted by someone who shouted from the room nearby. It was Ichika. Wait, who is she again? Yeah, right. The forgettable character, even though she has striking pink hair. Wanna check what she looks like? It's at the beginning of Chapter 4. You're welcome.
'WHAT WAS THAT?! STOP FORGETTING ME!'
Sorry, dear. It's just that you're more forgettable than Chiyo.
"Hey there, squid!!" Reita teased her.
"FUCK YOU! I'M NOT A SQUID!" She rolled her eyes. Reita ran away before Ichika could do more.
"Ah-- I was going to ask you.." She reached for Airin's hand. "And please stop rejecting me! It's just a date to the amusement park!"
"...?"
"Erm, you see! There's a theatre group there that performs amazing shows! Not gonna lie one of the members is pretty-- but you're prettier, of course! They're even using robots since it's only four of them..."
'Robots on a theater stage?' Airin can't comprehend the words.
"It's just nearby, in Shibuya! Anyway, what it will be...?"
"... Fine."
"Yaayy! I got the reservations on the 31st, so see you!" Ichika walked away with a smile on her face.
Airin also started to go ahead, satisfied to have something new to do in summer.
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August 1st. Around this time, the school mood finally fades and students begin to shift into a summer vacation mood. This is when summer vacation starts! Except for someone.
'Today is the day my summer vacation ends.' Saiki stated, completely annoyed by the fact that the whole month of August is nothing but troublesome events that will happen, not him enjoying his vacation alone.
'And it's all of his fault.' He rushed to Toritsuka and pinched his left cheek hard enough to make his skin stretch from the pull.
"Err... Anyway, come in..." The seven members of the Occult Club entered the temple where Reita lives. It's really.. a big temple. Big enough to make them impressed.
"You really are the son of a temple family, huh..."
"Well, to be honest, this isn't my real house. You know how I transferred here, right? Well, my real home is a temple too but, you know... I had to further my training or whatever. So my father sent me here to the temple of one of his acquaintances"
"Liar. They kicked you out because--" (they couldn't handle him.)
"Shut up, squid!" He cut off Ichika from spilling the secret.
"Well, this is my room. Sorry, it's a little messy." It was a modern stylish room behind the doors of the temple.
'Hehehe! What do you think of my room!? I used magazines as references and worked hard to give them a makeover. I even hid all of my porn in the Buddha statue. So it should be perfect!'
"How many sins must you commit before you are satisfied."
"Boi, just those sins could replace the demon of lust." Airin joked.
'But this is still just the prologue. My darling Arisu!~ This entire camp was planned just so I can win you over! I'll mobilize all of my 108 worldly desires to ring your heart 108 times!'
'Well, there's a test of courage later... Wait! That means I can get a chance to be paired up with Airin!? That means... God, if you love me, make me get paired with her later!'
'Spending a night under the same roof with Kaidou... It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance! The test of courage tonight is an especially big chance! We definitely have to get paired up!' Said the simps.
If the simps have sons, does that mean the sons are called the Simpsons? Sorry. What a terrible joke I had here. Please ignore it.
Just then, the three suddenly looked at each other, and somewhat agreed on something telepathically without even talking. And then... it was midnight. They gathered in a forest nearby the temple that will be the place for the test of courage.
"Terrifying spirits reside within this forest... Although the forest itself may be large, there's only one path so it should be impossible to get lost... and yet, there are many cases of people who enter the dead of night and never come back out. Once, I heard from someone who miraculously made it back. They said that in the forest they met a young couple and a small child, everything around them was pitch black, but for some reason, they could see that family beckoning them in closer... Afterward, I did a little research and found that there was a family who committed suicide in this very forest. The age and appearance of the family the person met in the woods perfectly matched the description of the deceased family. So it seems the ghost of that family appears in the middle of the night to drag unsuspecting victims down the underworld--- OW! HOTT!!!" His story got interrupted by his chin being almost cooked by the candle he was handling.
"Oh, really? That sounds pretty made up. Maybe we should stop.." Kaidou said calmly... hiding the fact that his legs are shaking.
"That was probably not true." Ichika, being the actual calm one.
"I'm actually a little scared now..." - Chiyo
"W-We should stop this... this place isn't a place we should enter for fun... It would be bad if we went! I sense a lot of resentment here... It's really dangerous..." -Arisu. Of course, there would be someone like this in some ghost-hunting shows.
"Why don't we split into pairs and go down the path? It should be something like this, right?" Toritsuka and Arisu pair.
"Sounds good! We shouldn't waste too much time deciding, after all!" Yumehara and Kaidou pair.
"Then, let's go!" Ichika and Airin pair, which left Saiki alone.
"Wait, hold on. I... want to be paired with Saiki-senpai..."
"I'd actually prefer being with Saiki, too..." 'It's too nerve-wracking being alone with a girl...'
"HUHHH!? WHY SAIKI!?"
"W-well, Kaidou-senpai seems a little unreliable and I just fundamentally can't stand you, Toritsuka-senpai. So it's Saiki-senpai by process of elimination."
"ALRIGHT! Then to decide this fairly, we'll draw sticks instead!"
"You had those prepared from the start," Airin mumbled to herself.
"I have 7 chopsticks here with various lengths. Whoever picks the same length will form a pair!"
"S-sure... Let's do that! After all, we have plenty of time to decide." Everyone agreed.
"You pick first, Saiki!" 'CHOOSE THE ONE ON THE FAR-RIGHT! I'M BEGGING YOU!'
Kusuo rolled his eyes before picking the one on right, 'Good grief, I don't like being ordered, but being alone is the best-case scenario for me, too.'
"Oh look at that! He got the shortest stick!" He turned to the other members. "Arisu, you're next! Ah, seems like you got the mid-length!"
"Chiyo, pick one!" 'Pick the one in the middle! The one with the scratch!'
'The middle one!? Got it!'
"I picked the long one! Erm, Yamamoto-- it's your turn!" Chiyo called Ichika.
'Choose the one on the left! It's the second shortest!'
'It'll be the left one, right?!' "Oh my! Seems like we're in different groups..."
'Stop doing that.' Kusuo and Airin, have the same thoughts. Now it's Airin's turn. Without a thought, Airin chose a random stick. It's a short one.
"Well, it's my turn now!" Toritsuka said himself and picked one of the sticks.
"HEY! WHAT ABOUT ME!?" Kaidou yelled, but Reita doesn't seem to care. He chose one that'll be the mid-length, but he unexpectedly chose the longest one.
"WAIT-- LONG!?" He looked at Saiki, who was smirking behind his covered mouth.
"I was annoyed, so I turned back time to that chopstick. Oops, sorry."
"SAIKIIII!?"
"So, we're in the same group, huh~" Ichika can't hide how happy she was to be Airin's partner.
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Ichika raised the stick, "We have the same stick, so we're--- WHY IS YOURS THE SHORTEST ONE!?" She immediately checked the length of the stick Airin has and compared it to hers, then looked at Kusuo's stick and back to Airin's.
"H-HOW!???"
"Ask Toritsuka." 'This place is too dark, so he can't see it fully. But since he's the one handling the sticks, he should've felt it. But he's too idiot to know that. Kusuo on the other hand forgot to use x-ray vision to see the sticks through. Thanks, you three.'
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"..." Ichika rolled her eyes, as she glared at Kusuo's side.
'What was he thinking, choosing the stick that was supposed for Airin!?'
'I didn't even think about looking through the sticks. Tch, that idiot.' referring to Reita. 'If it wasn't for him, I'm not be here with this girl who keeps staring at me, almost wanting me to disappear.'
Without looking at her steps, Ichika accidentally tripped into a rock. Before she even stumbled and hit the ground, Kusuo was able to hold her left arm.
"Oh. Thanks, I guess." She said and continued walking. A few seconds of silence broke out when she saw the other pair, Reita and Chiyo, holding each other's hands.
"What's with them holding hands now?"
''That's terrifying."
"Saiki"
"Ay, Saiki!" Ichika was startled by Kaidou's voice.
"What? We already caught up with you?"
'Let me guess, he got scared and started right away even though he has to go 10 minutes later.'
"Where's Airin, though?" Ichika asked.
"Hm? She's at the entrance, waiting for her turn..." He responded. "Hmph, even though we split up, nothing showed up. What a disappointment."
"That's not true... something's here..." Arisu pointed at something afar. "Look... see? Over there..."
"... a boar..."
"IT'S JUST A BOAR? Wait, isn't this pretty dangerous?" - Kaidou
"Of course, it would, especially Reita and Chiyo's nearby..." -Ichika looked at the two, who seemed to also notice the wild boar.
"OH NO! IT'S A WILD BOAR!!" Chiyo immediately sat down and covered her ears. 'But it's okay! Reita will definitely protect me! Reita--'
But to her surprise, she looked up to see Toritsuka running away. Her jaw dropped, didn't expect him to run away.
"ARE YOU OKAY, YUMEHARA!?" Afterward, Kaidou stepped in to save her, and her feelings toward Toritsuka completely vanished.
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The camp is finally over, and the next two weeks of Airin's vacation were nothing but her roaming around the same local library, reading almost every single book.
"Page 21. Mine has been a life of much shame." She muttered, reading one of the books. She, later on, stopped reading the book. "Not in the mood for a depressing novel. Maybe I should read a different one."
Airin went around a bookshelf where comedy novels and mangas are located. She read the descriptions and their summary until a certain book got her attention.
"The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K: Extra Stories of Psychics? Not bad." She grabbed the two volumes and went back to her usual seat.
She was just at the introduction, but she couldn't stop giggling over Kusuo breaking the fourth wall. Well, we're also breaking the wall here, so it's not a big deal. The next events were written well and kept her entertained until she noticed a certain paragraph.
'He's reading No Longer Human?' She re-read again.
'This isn't Nietzsche, it's Dazai. Dazai Osamu's No Longer Human...'
'....Also, I forgot to mention it, but this book I'm reading was published of course by Shueisha. The price and quality are incredible, of course. You can really tell that they did their best with it. For some reason, my sixth sense told me that I should say that right now.'
'Looks like you were just promoting the book, Kusuo.' She smiled and looked at the book cover she was reading before she read this light novel.
'He read the same book, so it must be good.' She said and grabbed the three books. 'I guess I should continue reading this at home.'
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"Here it is! Let's go!" 'I can't give up on this! Riding a motorcycle is every man's dream!' Kaidou, being more enthusiastic than before, was excited to go to the boot camp for getting a license.
'It's not my dream, so can I go home?' Kusuo sighed, feeling drained from the activities he did for the past weeks.
"My name is Manabe Baiku, and I'll be your instructor. As your coach, I won't be going easy on you!" The bald guy with tanned skin introduced himself. "Be ready, Kids! 'Cause I'll be working you to the bone! BKB! Hee yeah!"
'This somewhat reminds me of the SOS chapter, except that it's BKB.' Airin thought to herself.
"Okay, let's start. Go bring a bike over." He pointed the motorcycles at the corner. Aren, being a former delinquent who rode a bike without a license before, excitedly started the engine right away.
"WHO TOLD YOU TO START THE ENGINE?" The instructor yelled.
"Huh? But you said to bring a bike..."
"I MEANT WALK IT OVER! IT'S TEN YEARS TOO EARLY FOR YOU TO BE STARTING THE ENGINE!!" he scolded, before confronting him. "You seem pretty familiar with that. You haven't been riding around without a license, have you?"
"N-no! Of course, not! Heh... heh..."
"Well, if you want to go die in an accident without a license, that's fine. But no one who truly loves bikes would ride without a license. I feel sorry for any bike that had to be recklessly driven around by some clueless idiot like you." Aren couldn't say anything. Luckily, Baiku changed the topic.
"Well, then. Let's start lifting the bike." He pushed the motorcycles over. "Try lifting the fallen bikes."
"I feel sorry for these bikes." -Kusuo, who felt sympathy for the bikes, but not for a person.
"What a hypocrite." -Airin.
"We just have to lift it!? That's not so hard!" Kaidou tried to lift it, but being the weak person he is, he can't.
"You fool. Don't just use your arms. You need to lift it with your legs." He instructed. "Grab the handle and the seat, then brace the bike against your knees and your hips. This thing weighs over 200kg, so there's no way you can..." Baiku looked at Kusuo, who just lifted the bike without following what the instructor just taught them.
"How did you lift that?"
"I used my legs."
"It looks like you just picked it up with your..."
"I used my legs."
"And you? How can you lift it? Did you two work on it?!" He turned to Airin.
"I lift it myself."
Her reason left the instructor unconvinced, so he pushed the bike over, "No, do it again."
"Got it." She lifted it again without effort, which left everyone amazed.
"Not bad. Strong women like you are impressive."
"Uhm, well! Anyways, now I know the trick, this should be easy!" Kaidou tried it again many times, but it didn't even move an inch.
"Idiot! I told you to use your legs... oh." He checked Kaidou's form "You're already doing it. Your form is perfect... It's impossible for you. Go home. Just buy one of those electric bicycles or something."
"You're kidding, right!? You're telling me to give up after coming this far!? No way! I'll definitely lift this bike!! Please, let me keep trying for just a little longer! I want to ride a motorcycle!!"
His determination to have a motorcycle license captured the instructor's heart, reminding him of himself when he was younger. "I guess I have no choice, then. You better keep bestowing our school with funds, you fool."
"C-Coach!" Shun's eyes glisten up at his words.
"BETTER KEEP BESTOWING! BKB! HEE YEAH!!"
"YES, SIR!"
"Uhm, why does he keep doing that...?" Aren asked, but no one gave him a definite answer.
And so, Kaidou's learning course began with a troubling start. Kuboyasu was worrying about him, but he would soon learn that he had worries of his own lying in wait.
The pencil snapped in half in Aren's right hand, looking confused at the lessons the instructor was teaching.
"Hey, you mid-parted four-eyes! Try telling me what this traffic sign means!" Baiku showed a no-right turn sign.
Aren doesn't know any traffic signs (wtf), but he saw them at a battle when he was a delinquent, that's why he's struggling with the signs. So he said, "Uhm... Ready for battle?..."
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? WELL, WHAT DOES THIS ONE MEAN? EVEN A KID KNOWS THE MEANING OF THIS SIGN!" This time, he showed a stop sign.
"B-Beware of blood lust? Oh! Is it watch your head...?"
"... Go home, You don't deserve a license."
"Wait! You may be right. I've been riding without a license. I've even wrecked a motorcycle before because of my reckless driving, so I can't blame you for telling me I don't deserve to ride, but... Even then, I still want to ride motorcycles! I'm not like you, it's not just admiration! That's why I came to get my license!"
His determination to have a motorcycle license captured the instructor's heart, reminding him of himself when he was younger. Wait, I just use the same sentence. Meh. Anyway, Baiku gave him a ton of books regarding the topic he's struggling with. "Honestly, you guys are helpless... If you want to know more about bikes, then boost your knowledge with those books."
"C-Coach!" Aren's eyes glisten up at his words.
"BOOST YOUR KNOWLEDGE WITH THOSE BOOKS! BKB! HEE YEAH!!" He said before slamming the door shut.
"Seriously, why does he keep doing that...?" Kusuo asked, but no one gave him a definite answer.
And so, Shun and Aren faced their challenges and began the learner's course. Until finally...
"You did it!! You finally lifted the bike!!"
"You did great, Kaidou." Airin smiled at him.
"I... I did it!"
"You did it, Shun! You're amazing!"
"It's too early to be celebrating, Kuboyasu." Baiku showed pictures of some traffic signs.
"One, no access for non-authorized vehicles. Two, sound your horn ahead. Three, designated tow truck express lane."
"Hm, all correct."
"Woah, that's great Aren!"
"How about you two, Saiki and Maehara?" The two smiled as they showed two license cards. They happily celebrated with the instructor finally telling them that they passed.
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August 31st, is the last day of the summer vacation. The day before the most depressing days at school. Well, some people dislike this day, but for Ichika, it's not.
"Ah- there you are!" Ichika waved her hands at Airin, who just got to the amusement park.
"Are we the only ones visiting here?" She asked.
"Well, some of my friends are here, but they're with their boyfriends. They didn't even notice me coming here."
'Oh. Third-wheeling sucks.'
"Anyway, let's look at some rides before going to the theater stage!! We still have an hour, so let's see it!"
Airin replied, "Then, let's go take a look around the park for a while."
Ichika was happier than ever with Airin beside her. 'Kyaaa!~ We're having a date! I don't care if it's just a friendly date, but how can you act normal when this untouchable goddess is beside you!?'
'Seems like her anger at the occult club pairing before disappeared, huh.'
"GO, CIDER-MAN MARK II!!" They noticed a stage with a lot of people watching, cheering for something.
"Oh, a hero show? Let's take a look for a while!" Ichika grabbed Airin's hand and went through the crowd to see the show.
'She's really into it...' She looked to the stage to see Kusuo and Kokomi at the stage. It was unexpected to see Kusuo wearing a helmet that was a part of the costume.
[It's Cyborg Cider-Man Mark II!! The legendary hero has returned!!]
"Saiki's there for what?"
"Who are you!? Get out of my way!" The antagonist mascot said, running towards the cider-man to attack. Kusuo ended the show by kicking it straight in the face.
[Give it up for Cyborg Cider-Man Mark II who appeared when his friend needed him most! L-Ginger has been utterly defeated!] The whole crowd cheered, from the youngest kid to a middle-aged person. Seems like everyone's hooked on the show... of course, if it wasn't for Teruhashi. When the show is over, the crowd scattered around, leaving a few people.
"That was great, Cider-Man!!" A green-haired kid jumped into Kusuo's arms when they went down the stage.
"Eh.. we just got into the show and it's already over..." Ichika left unsatisfied. "We're going to another show, so it's still alright! Shall we go now?"
"Hm? Maehara and Ichika?" They were about to walk away when Kokomi called their names out.
"Hello, Kokomi!" Ichika greeted, "I see you were here, too... hehe..."
"I thought the same, too! Are you guys going for a ride, too?"
"Nope! We're going to a musical show here. You guys want to check it too?"
'Great. Now we can't be together with Saiki in peace! But I can't reject...' "Sure!!"
"Hey, hey! Is Cider-Man also there!?" The kid asked.
"Nope, but there's a hero there, too! I think you'd like him. What's your name?" Ichika asked.
"It's Iridatsu Yuta! I'm 5 years old!"
"Great!! My name's Ichika, and this girl here is Airin! Say hi to her!"
"Eh... eep!" He shrieked and hid behind Ichika's back.
"What's wrong?" Ichika asked.
"Don't get offended by this but, I think he probably got scared of Airin, I guess...?"
"It's alright, I'm used to it." Airin made a reassuring smile towards Kokomi, which left her by surprise.
'Did I just see her smile??-- No, wait! That's not the deal here! All I ever wanted is to be alone with Saiki and it's completely ruined! Ugh.'
Airin turned to Yuta to show a warm smile and said with a relaxing voice, "There's nothing to be scared of, Yuta. I don't bite..."
Yuta's eyes glisten up, "R-really? Are you on Cyborg Cider-Man's side instead of Baron Cola's?"
'I don't what you're talking about, kid...' "Y-yeah! I guess."
"Uhm, well... We're going to a show, right? Let's go!" Kokomi and Ichika walked first along with Yuta, with Kusuo and Airin following.
"Who's the kid, anyway?" She asked Kusuo, who immediately looked at her.
"Hm? He's the child of the new neighbor beside us."
"Oh, right... I forgot."
Until then, they found themselves on a small theatre stage with a lot of audience around waiting.
"They sure have a lot of audiences, huh..." Ichika pointed at the seats, "Let's sit here!"
Just as they sat, a man's voice was heard from the stage, indicating the show will start.
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"Ah, haha! That was a great show! Right, Yuta?" Ichika talked about the show while they were walking home. The skies are getting dark, but the scenery of the sunset is as beautiful as ever.
"Yup! The hero is good! But uhm, of course, I still like Cider-Man II!" He looked at Kusuo with a huge smile on his lips.
"No need to be considerate." Kusuo patted his head.
"But the thing I like the most is Youkai Watch!"
"Hey, be more considerate."
"Although it's a bit childish, I loved the whole thing!" -Kokomi smiled, 'Even though I wasn't able to be alone with Saiki, It was fun!'
"I also love ba-doom! Pwsh! Pew pew scene earlier!" Yuta began to imitate the action scenes earlier.
"That was really fun, huh.." Airin smiled.
"Aww, looks like we're parting ways now." Kokomi pointed the other way, "I guess I'm going this way now."
"Ah, I'll go that way, too," Ichika said. She looked at Yuta and smiled, "Well then, let's play on another day sometimes."
"Eh!? But..." Yuta looked down, tears start to fall from his eyes.
"It's alright, Yuta. You can play with them next time, okay?" Airin wiped the tears falling from Yuta's eyes.
"Then, what are you going to say to them?"
"S-see you soon!" Yuta waved his hands goodbye to Kokomi and Ichika, as they parted ways.
"H-hey, Cider-Man II... I'm sleepy..." he yawned. Kusuo was about to carry him when Airin insisted.
"I'll carry him."
"You sure?"
She nodded, as she carried Yuta in her arms. Yuta then proceeds to lean on Airin's right shoulder.
"... lullaby..."
"Huh?" She looked at Yuta with half-closed eyes.
"He wants to hear a lullaby."
'Ehh....' "Then, I'll just sing the one sang in the show earlier..." She took a deep breath, as she sang the lyrics in a soft voice.
Kusuo's eyes slightly widened, 'This is... different from her voice from the karaoke chapter.. her voice is somewhat softer. What...? Why do I have to compare anything related to her? Tch.'
What a tsundere.
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