Prison School: No More Prison

Chapter 16: Me and You and Her

As two students of Hachimitsu academy walked next to each other, slightly trembling, one of them suddenly stopped.

"W-Wait… I have to go to my room to put on some underwear"

"H-Huh? W-What are you saying? don't tell me you're chickening out!"

"N-No! But what if… She asks us to show them that we're not using each other's underwear! It would be terrible if we went there naked!" Kiyoshi said while sweating.

"... O-Okay, you're right… Go to your room fast and I'll text Chiyo we're coming, a-alright?" Hana said, her face looking paler than usual.

As they both ran to their rooms, Chiyo looked through her window. The stars looked beautiful. 

For a second, she regretted not being able to see the stars on Tanabata, but after the situation she lived in there, she didn't even want to think about that day anymore.

"...?!"

Her thoughts were interrupted as she noticed two things from the other side of her window: First, a big black cloud appeared from nowhere, slowly covering the beautiful sky. And second, she noticed a couple walking in the courtyard. To her surprise, she recognized them both, one of them was a big boy, one of Kiyoshi's friends, the other one was a blue haired girl, who was holding the boy's arm in a romantic way, slightly blushing at it.

"... Hey, Mayumi…"

"Y-Yeah?" 

"Are Andre-kun and Risa-san dating or something?"

"H-Huh?... O-Oh! Yeah, I heard so, after the sports festival it looked like they become pretty close, and lately they been walking a lot together at night, the other girls take pictures of them and comment on how cute they look, but Risa-san and Andre-san are pretty shy about it"

"I-I see…"

Chiyo just stared at them through the window, at first she felt a bit… disgusted. Seeing a man walking next to a girl suddenly felt… strangely terrible…

But on the other hand, she felt a bit jealous, jealous of seeing a boy and a girl being in a happy relationship…

While Chiyo was thinking about her feelings, Kiyoshi arrived at his room. He quickly ran to his bedroom, where he found Shingo and Gakuto writing some stuff on paper.

"K-Kiyoshi-dono! Did something occur? It's terribly late!"

Kiyoshi quickly grabbed a pair of briefs while sneaking Hana's underwear in a little compartment on his desk. "N-No… It's just that… I'm going to talk to Chiyo now…"

"E-Eh?! Right now? It's past midnight dude!" Shingo looked a bit perplexed at his words.

"I-I know, but this is my opportunity to set things straight…"

"... I see… Yours truly wishes the best of luck upon you!"

'Luck, huh?' Kiyoshi could think to himself.

"Yeah! You have PBR-sama on your side now, don't you? Don't you dare disappoint it!" Shingo added with a friendly smile.

"You guys… thanks!"

As he ran outside, his thoughts invaded him again. 

'I'm so glad to have them… I know that whatever happens tonight… I'll have them by side'

Before going to the girls' dorms, he quickly stopped at the men's restroom.

'I-I should empty my bladder before going to see Chiyo… Just in case…'

Unknown to him, the blonde haired girl was doing the same thing, while thinking similar stuff as he was before.

'W-Whatever happens tonight… I hope Meiko and Mari remain my friends…' She murmured as she left the bathroom cubicle. 

Before leaving, she grabbed a small bag, holding it really close to her chest…

'... I hope she keeps it…'

Kiyoshi's POV:

After a fast bathroom break, I ran towards the girls' bedrooms, trying to remain silent to lower my chance of being called a pervert once more. I've been trying to fix my reputation, it would be terrible to me if I suddenly lost it again…

…

But well… If Chiyo decides to tell the whole school about what happened today… It would only be fair to me to be labeled as a pervert or worse…

After all, it's not my reputation that matters… It's Chiyo's happiness…

As I finally reached Chiyo's room, I found myself strangely attracted to a small window found in the hallway. A big dark cloud could be found in the sky, blocking the precious stars I saw a few minutes ago.

"h-hey!" A whisper came from the other side of the hallway, Hana suddenly appeared carrying a… bag?

"h-hey… I was wondering where you were"

"I had to grab something… Have you knocked yet?"

"N-No… I was waiting for you…"

Both of us looked at the door in front of us. It looked menacing to say the least. I gulped as I felt my hands trembling…

"O-Okay, you knock Hana"

"W-What?! Y-You're the man, you do it!"

"N-No way! Y-You're the one who was told to come!"

"B-But…" Hana's pupils shrink as she looks at the door. "I can't do it!"

Shit… I'm the one who made us both fall into this situation, right? Hana only did this to save Chiyo from a pervert like me… I guess it's only right for me to do it, a true man would do so…

"F-Fine… I'll do it"

".... o-okay…" Hana whispered

Before I could touch the door, I looked at my arm covered in bandages. I felt that every bad omen I had today was finally hitting me… my whole body was telling me something:

'You knock that door, it's your end'

A shiver ran through my whole body.

B-But… I'm a man of my word… I said I was gonna do it, then I'll-

Before I could finish my thinking, the door opened itself.

"... W-What? You guys are here already?"

To my surprise, it was none other than Mayumi-san, looking a bit anxious about something. 

To be fair, I probably looked the same or worse.

"M-Mayumi? What are you doing?" Hana asked first.

"A-Ah… Chiyo-chan asked me to give you three some space… S–So I'm going to Satou-san's room until you're done!" She said with an awkward smile.

"I-I see… Sorry to put you through this…"

"I-It's okay, as long as Chiyo gets better…" She said with a sadder voice. "Whatever is that you two talk to her… P-Please, make her come back to who she was before…"

"H-Huh?"

"N-Nothing… See ya…"

And so Mayumi left, leaving Hana and I next to an open door. Taking a glance through it, pitch dark was the only thing that could be seen, the only thing lighting the room was their window, that just had enough light to see two chairs in the middle of the room.

"B-Before we enter…" Hana said. "C-Could you promise me something?"

"Y-Yeah?" 

"W-Whatever happens in there… J-Just don't leave me alone on this one" She said both blushing and quivering.

It's not that often that you can see someone like Hana being this… scared.

"I-I won't…"

We both took a breather as we set our heads straight…

"... L-Let's go…"

"Y-Yeah…" 

And so, we both entered Chiyo's room.

[...]

It took both of us a hard second to finally see what situation we were getting in.

Inside the room, in front of the two chairs, layed a bed where a figure could be seen watching us enter. Not a single word was said as Hana closed the door.

Chiyo's face was impossible to see. She looked like a shadow more than a person, simply hiding in the dark. But, even like that, I felt her eyes deeply piercing me.

The two of us walked to the empty chairs and sat one next to the other, Hana leaving the bag she brought by the floor.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Silence. Not a single sound was heard from inside the room, that only made my staggering breathing only louder for myself.

To say I was starting to feel anxious would be an understatement. I felt like my heart was about to explode. 

"... You came faster than I thought" 

She was the first one to speak. I almost forgot how her voice used to sound… But to be honest, I didn't remember it like this.

"I thought you two would take some more time to come… If you even did, that is"

Nor Hana or I had the balls to say a word… Her voice sounded like a person that found the murderer of their family, about to take revenge for what they've done.

"... I guess you came here to apologize… Right?"

My hands trembled and so did my lips… Was this… Chiyo? It can't be…

Mayumi's words came back to my head… 'make her come back to who she was before'... Now I understand…

"Y-Yes… We are here to do that…" I decided to speak, but my head went down as I did so, slowly losing strength in my voice…

"... You are here for the same reason, Hana?"

"... y-y-...yes" Hana was in a similar position as me. 

"... I see… Before that, there's some stuff I want to understand…" Chiyo said with an almost irritated voice. "I heard some really weird stuff while I was in here… For example, that you, Kiyoshi, are now the secretary of the USC, is that true?"

"... Y-Yes… It is" It surprised me that she suddenly changed the topic but… At least I think this would let me have a moment to relax.

"I suppose this has something to do with my sister, right?"

"... Y-Yes… Mari-san gave me this opportunity to fix my reputation and to… help Meiko-san and the others…"

"... And you just took it?"

"H-Huh?"

"You thought you deserved a chance to 'redeem' yourself? To fix your image?"

"N-No, it's not that…" It's true, on the outside, it sounded like I was just trying to make a comeback, but I've been doing my best to help others with their problems, especially with the festival… "I took this position as a chance to help others… As soon as my part of the job is done, I'll no longer be the secretary…"

"...So, what you wrote to me in that letter, was it true?"

The letter? So she did read it… Maybe that's why we are here…

Hana looked a bit confused as Chiyo mentioned a letter, that's probably because I never told her I did so… I'm sorry Hana, please don't misinterpret what I'm about to say.

"Y-Yes… I'm thinking about leaving the school for good"

Hana looked at me, perplexed by my words. Her eyes went wide as she bit the lower part of her lips.

"Is this just a way for you to escape from what you did? Are you trying to run away?"

"N-No! It's just that… Everyone in school has been so irritated by my presence… I've been called 'Dickyoshi' for almost half of my time here, not to mention I spent more than 2 months in prison… I'm not trying to run away… I'm just trying to… let everyone in Hachimitsu free from seeing the disgusting piece of shit I am…"

"..."

"..."

None of the girls said a single thing to that…

It was true… I am a piece of shit. It would be for good if I just left this school and left all of its students alone…

"And you, Hana?"

"E-Eh?"

"You're here to redeem yourself too? I heard from Mayumi that you were looking to contact me, why is that?"

"I-I… Wanted to apologize and to t-try helping you come back to school…"

Hana tried maintaining a straight face as she spoke, but her sweating and voice cracks didn't help her image.

"... Ah… So you truly came here to talk…" Chiyo's voice suddenly changed, reminiscing to her old softer tone. "I guess I can give you the chance to do so…"

She finally moved closer to us, letting us see her face.

Chiyo's beautiful face was finally in front of my eyes again. Having a quick look at her, I found her eyes a bit irritated, probably from crying, with some heavy eye bags.

W-Was she… Testing us?

"But you two have to promise me two things"

Chiyo's face suddenly straightened up as she raised her hand.

"Y-Yes!"

"Y-Yes"

"First, I want you to be honest with me. No lies, no games" Her eyes were piercing us. "And second, the moment I say I'm done, that's it. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Yes" We both said at the same time, making her close her eyes a bit… angry?

"Ok… Let's start… I'll hear whatever you two have to say…"

"..." Both of us just stared at her with a bit of disbelief, not truly understanding what happened, but we both knew what we had to say.

I was the first one to stand up.

"Chiyo… I'm sorry. I'm deeply sorry. I lied to you, I did something unspeakable to you and I ruined a really special day for you…" As I said that and my voice slightly broke, I got on my knees. "I'M TRULY SORRY FOR MY ACTIONS! I WISH FOR NOTHING BUT YOUR OWN GOOD!" I said as I bowed at her.

"M-Me too… I lied to you, I got you in a terrible situation and I also ruined your birthday…" Hana got down too, bowing with a trembling voice and body. "I-I'm truly sorry, Chiyo-chan… I-I want nothing but to pay for what I did and to see you get better too!"

Both of us remained like that for a few seconds. I could hear Hana panting right next to me.

"... That's enough… You two can get up…" Chiyo said in a mixed tone, she sounded a bit angry as well as awkward. As we stood up, with no idea of what more to do, Chiyo spoke once more. "So you two came here looking for both my forgiveness and my well being, right?"

"...Yes"

Hana nodded.

"... I see… Then let's start from scratch" Chiyo looked at me directly. "As I said before, I don't want any more lies, so I guess we should start from the first lie you ever told me, Kiyoshi"

"...Y-Yes… I think we should"

That's right… I never confessed about peeping in the girl's baths… I guess it's time-

"You never liked sumo, right?"

"...H-Huh?" Ah… that's right, I almost forgot. My first lie to her was saying I liked sumo, though she had noticed before. "Y-Yes… That's right"

"Why did you lie to me about that?"

"... I–I… I wanted to talk to you… And seeing how few chances I had to do so… When you finally approached me… I lied without even doubting it… I'm sorry for that"

"... Is it true what you wrote then?"

"...w-what?"

"In your letter, you said you were… Trying to get into sumo… Is that true?"

"A-Ah! Y-Yes, it is! I-I thought that… If I did so… I could become a good person in your eyes… I-I'm sorry for doing something so stupid…"

"..."

Chiyo just gave me a weird look and then closed her eyes as she catched some air.

"So… You also said you did peep on the baths that day, is that also true?"

".... Y-Yes… I did… A-At first I didn't want to join the others, but the others convinced me to do so… B-But when I found out you were going to be there I…"

"You what?" She said coldly

"I tried to stop them… Then I saw you leave the bath and I joined them again, just to mess it up and… I ended up being part of the peeping incident"

"..."

Chiyo just looked coldly at me, her eyes looked furious. 

"Then you also lied to me the day I met you on the window, right?... Was it to secure our 'date'?"

"... I-I don't know… I did want to tell you but… The words just didn't come out…"

"... You also said that after that, your first incident with Hana occurred…" Hana's body trembled a bit with that phrase. "Was that truly an accident or you did it on purpose?"

"N-No, of course not! I-I didn't want to do something like that to Hana!" I said trying to defend the only thing I did right… at least I think I did…

"..."

Chiyo gave me one last look before changing her whole mood. She looked a bit more relaxed, a bit happy even.

"... I'm glad… You're actually telling me the truth…"

"E-Eh?"

"I knew that you peeped on us that day… If I'm not wrong… You were the one I met in the dressing room, right?"

"H-How did you-"

"Well, there's only a few people in school with a haircut and hair color like yours, and with the fact that you were the only guy missing as the others got caught… It wasn't that difficult to find out what happened" She said with a weird smirk on her face.

"I-I see… I'm sorry for keeping this to myself for this long… I-I'm truly sorry"

"... That brings me to the question, Kiyoshi" She said as she turned into a serious face. "Why did you try to stop the others from peeping at me?"

"E-Eh? W-What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said"

I-Isn't it obvious? I wanted to maintain your purity, Chiyo-chan! You shouldn't be the object of such perversion!

"Sorry… Let me rephrase my question so we can delve into it a bit deeper" She said with a more elegant tone of sorts. "Why is it that you try to negate any type of… 'lewd' thing with me? Wouldn't you want perverted things to happen to me?"

…

I looked at her with a perplexed face. I wasn't the only one, Hana, who has been silent since we started apologizing, looked even more confused than me…

"C-Chiyo-chan, t–this idiot probably did so! H-He must have-"

"Hana, please remain quiet, this question is for Kiyoshi to answer…" Chiyo said in a slightly irritated voice. Hana quivered a bit on her chair. I've never seen both of them act like this… Just what is going on? "Please, answer me, Kiyoshi"

This is not only going too fast… But it feels like it's going nowhere…

"I- uhm… I didn't want to do anything you wouldn't want to! Chiyo-chan, you are too pure for a dumbass like me to-"

"When we were in the gym's storage room… I asked you to touch my breasts…" Chiyo said firmly, without a single hint of embarrassment. "You declined, giving me your own shirt so I had something to wear… Why was that? A true pervert wouldn't have done that"

"Y-You… you were crying, I wouldn't do something like that to the person I loved"

Chiyo remained silent as she looked at me.

"That means that… You wouldn't try anything perverted with me? Even if you yourself are perverted in nature?"

"I-It's not like that… I-I… Did want to do perverted things w-with you" I said blushing. "B-But if it was you… I wanted it to be consensual…"

"... I see…" Chiyo looked a bit more reflective. "...I seems like I made my mind about you, Kiyoshi-kun"

Eh? 'kun'?

"I've been thinking a lot about what happened on Tanabata… I've been dealing with a lot of mixed emotions. I felt dirty, betrayed and worst of all… Abandoned."

Hana and I just looked nervously at her.

"But… The thing I've been thinking about the most is… Why would the boy that told me he loved me lie to me?"

I gripped my pants as she said so…

"Listen… I can accept you lying about liking sumo, about the stuff you did with Hana, about peeping, but… Why did you lie about not having Hana's underwear? Or worse… Why did you have them to begin with?"

I started sweating once more… But this time, I knew what I had to do… Chiyo wouldn't fall for any more lies, and I shouldn't do it either…

"I-I… I thought that if I didn't have them on… Y-You wouldn't accept my confession…"

"... You are lying, aren't you?"

"N-No! I'm not! I truly thought that!"

Hana glanced at me with confusion. I could only glance back feeling as nervous as a dead man could.

"B-But… I lied because I didn't want you to think that I was even more disgusting than I truly was…"

"..."

Chiyo looked at me. Her whole face seemed annoyed at my speaking.

"I guess you don't even get it, right?"

"...h-huh?"

"... Listen, Kiyoshi… You may be the most disgusting pervert I've met…"

My heart sank into sadness as she spoke with the truth…

"...But, that doesn't mean I hate you"

"... E-Eh?!"

"I did my best to blame you as the culprit of everything bad that happened on that day… But my mind could only think about the good stuff you did" Chiyo said while lifting her head up. "I guess… Even after everything that happened… I still like you a lot…"

My mouth just gaped at that statement.

Was this really happening? Did she just say… She still likes me?

Hana seemed equally as surprised as me, her face turning red as she heard Chiyo's words.

"For better and for worse, I guess my feelings for you didn't disappear, this doesn't mean I'm forgiving you for what you did, but now I think I understand what happened…"

She suddenly got up from her bed and looked me straight into the eyes.

"You may be a pervert, but you are not a bad person"

I simply broke down into tears as I heard her say that.

End of Kiyoshi's POV.

Hana's POV:

Before I could even react, Chiyo had seemingly accepted Kiyoshi's apology. Not only that, but she told him she still had feelings for him. It all happened just minutes after we entered, but it still felt like an eternity to me.

Kiyoshi felt on his knees, crying as loud as always.

"K-Kiyoshi, not so loud, idiot…" Is all I could say.

"S-S-Sorry…" He said as he cleaned his tears.

"..."

Chiyo remained still as she saw us talk. A slight pout appeared on her face…

"Still, Kiyoshi…" She said making us both have her attention. "If you wish to gain my trust again… We'll have to start from scratch. No more lies, no more… p-peeing" She said, a bit disgusted…

For some reason, I'm glad she didn't like getting peed on.

"... O-Okay… Does that mean you're coming back to classes?"

Chiyo looked at him a bit surprised, yet maintained a straight face.

"Yes… Starting tomorrow I'm going back to my classes"

"T-Then… W-What are you going to do with us?"

"..."

She glanced at me. At first I tried to remain still, but my legs trembled a bit. 

If Chiyo wants to… She can basically kill our reputation for the rest of our lives. I wouldn't blame her, but… I-I don't want to lose it all…

"... I guess I won't say a thing, just don't do something like that to me ever again…"

"Y-Yes" Kiyoshi said as he cleaned the remaining tears from his face.

I guess this went better than expected. It all seemed so fast. I thought coming here was going to be our death but… It's strangely nice finally being able to talk to her…

As I lost myself in thought, Chiyo sat down and looked in my direction.

"There's one last thing I want you to answer me, Kiyoshi"

I knew what she was going to ask, and though we prepared ourselves for this, I still trembled a bit.

"Y-Yes?"

"... Could you show me what underwear you are wearing right now?"

"..."

Without saying anything, Kiyoshi took his pants slightly down, just enough to show some gray briefs, similar to the ones I have… In my bedroom.

Chiyo looked at him, finally breaking her tough attitude to blush a little the moment she saw his underwear. Then she turned at me.

"Hana, could you do the same?"

"..."

Without saying anything, I showed her the same thing, slightly moving my pants down, a green and white set of panties slightly leaning out. It was embarrassing, but way better than being naked or using his underwear in front of her.

"... Okay… Now… Kiyoshi"

"Y-Yes!"

"Would you do me a favor?"

"Y-Yeah"

"Would you please leave Hana and I alone for a bit?"

My body trembled. I looked at her, who shot a weird glance at me. 

"w-whu-what?" Is all I could say.

"Please… I want to discuss something with her in private" Chiyo didn't look at me anymore, just looked at Kiyoshi with a weird look.

Talking in private? With me?

That can only mean one thing… She's going to ask me about-

"W-Wait Chiyo-chan" Kiyoshi interrupted my thoughts. "I promised Hana-sam I wouldn't leave her alone while being here…"

Now of all moments, Kiyoshi finally decided to act like a gentleman. I felt a slight blush forming on my face. Chiyo must have noticed as she looked at me with a side eye.

…

I guess I can't drag him down now.

Everything that has happened… The accident on Chiyo's birthday, Our fight, everything… It all happened because of me…

I'm finally understanding it… I'm the villain, right?

"... Kiyoshi"

"Y-Yes?" He looked at me.

"It's okay… Thanks for trying to help me" Is all I could say as my head went down.

"B-But!-"

"Just go"

Kiyoshi huffed a bit confused, but then turned towards Chiyo.

"C-Chiyo-chan… I don't know what you're going to say to her… But please do not blame everything that happened on her… It's all my fault…"

I just glanced at him, Chiyo doing the same thing.

After a few seconds, Chiyo gave him a faint smile.

"... Don't worry, I won't"

We both looked at her, it felt that Chiyo was her once again, even if it was just for a second.

[...]

Kiyoshi left the room, leaving us both one next to the other. She sat on Kiyoshi's chair and looked at me. 

My eyes could go any higher than her neck, as looking at her eyes would kill me in an instant.

She just stared at me, waiting for me to say something…

"..."

"..."

But I didn't know what to say… Where to start…

Kiyoshi has already said most of the things I could have done… It surprised me that she even accepted to hear us in the first place.

"...So, Hana" She suddenly broke the ice. "We're both alone… Again"

"...Y-Yes…"

I tried to maintain my posture, because now that Kiyoshi wasn't the center of attention, I had to try my best to not look like a mess.

"... It's time for you to tell me the truth…" 

"..."

The truth about what exactly? 

"... You know… It seemed so weird to me when you told me you wanted to be like me some weeks ago…" Chiyo said with a weird smile on her face.

"E-Eh?"

"I mean… I thought you hated me! Every time we talked, every time I saw you, since the moment the sports festival started… You started treating me in a really distant way"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"But now I get it! It all made sense when you and Kiyoshi finally told me the truth" Chiyo's face went back to its serious look. "You trying to save me from Kiyoshi? Really? Now I know…"

"..."

"That you were lying about that too"

"..."

"So… Now that he's gone… Why don't you tell me the truth, Hana?" She said a bit angry at me.

"... T-The truth? About what?"

"About why you did what you did… Why did you tell me all that? Why did you show me everything after all you did to hide it?"

My throat started hurting again, as well as my heart… This was the third time this has happened, The only other moments… Were on the train stop and after Kiyoshi and her became a couple…

"I-I wanted to save you! Really! I-I didn't want that piece of crap to date an angel like you!"

"..."

"I-I did all that just so you could be saved from him! I tried my best to tell the truth! B-But when we both confessed our… sins… I lost it because I knew h-he was wearing my underwear!"

"... And how did you know?"

"E-Eh?!"

"How did you know he was doing so?"

"I-I… I thought that… If I was wearing them… He would be too…"

"..."

She looked at me with a piercing glaze, her eyes drilled mine the moment I tried to look at her.

"... So my worries were right…"

"H-Huh?"

"You two were closer to each other than I thought…"

"W-What?! N-No!" I screamed. My voice must have broken a bit because my yell was echoing in the room.

"Hana, you're either lying to me, or lying to yourself!" Chiyo said angrily. "Not even me would have gone that far to prove their point as you did!"

"I-I-"

"So just spill it! Tell me what you truly feel!"

"..."

My heart started beating really fast. The air didn't reach my lungs. My mind was overheating trying to find an answer…

Nothing… I didn't really know what to say… My mind was blank

Before I knew it, I started crying… But unlike Kiyoshi, my sobbing was stopped by someone's hands reaching mine.

"Hana. I'm giving you the chance… Please be honest with me" Chiyo said, holding both of my hands. I couldn't feel any bad intention in her actions, yet it didn't feel good.

Suddenly, something appeared in my mind. I wouldn't call it a flashback, but I saw many memories go through. 

It was like a voice talking to me. Like if there was another Hana in the room whispering to my ear.

"... I was… Jealous"

"... Jealous?"

"I was jealous of you, Chiyo-chan" I said as tears fell down my face.

"..."

"I really wanted to be like you… I wanted to be an angel…" I cleared my eyes. "I did my best t-to be like you, I really did, but it didn't work out…"

"... And why did you do that?"

"... I–I… I don't know… I just thought that way… Maybe I could stop being so afraid…"

"... Afraid? Afraid of what exactly?" Chiyo held my hand a bit higher.

"... o-of frogs…"

"... Huh?"

"..." 

What did I just say?... Frogs? 

Oh yeah… They are disgusting… I am scared of them.

"..."

"..."

She just stared at me, as tears ran down my face. Nothing else was said, I spoke enough.

I told her my truth.

"... I guess this is the best I'll get from you, right?"

"E-Eh?" I said as I looked up, Chiyo was slightly smiling.

"To be honest, I wanted to speak to you, more than anyone else. I was worried you would end up even worse than I…"

"W-What? W-Why?"

"When everything happened, I felt so dirty, I felt disgusted… But now I remember… You went through the same, right?"

"H-Huh? b-but that's-"

"You are really strong, Hana-san, I want to be as strong as you are" She said with a kind smile.

I couldn't help but cry harder, as she held my hands like an angel helping a poor human.

"I'm sorry, Hana, I'm sorry I made you feel like this and I'm sorry for slapping you that time…"

"N-No! *sniff* I'm sorry for ruining everything!"

"In any case, thanks to you… Now I know the truth. Thank you Hana… I accept your apology"

Was she really apologizing to me? H-How good can this girl be… She's more than an angel… She's a saint! A goddess even!

I had already prepared myself to be thrown out of school. To be casted out as a crazy perverted woman or worse…

But she understood how I felt and… Forgave me…

Chiyo Kurihara… Thank you…

"But I want you to know something, Hana"

"Y-Yes?"

She stopped for a second as she let go of my hands, And after catching some air, she looked me in the eyes.

"I still like Kiyoshi. Maybe not as much as before, but he has helped me multiple times, as well as every one of my closest friends… So if I do end up fixing my relationship with him… I'll ask him out"

"E-Eh?"

W-What? N-No! Did she learn nothing from all of this?

"I hope that doesn't bother yo-"

"W-WHY?!" 

Without noticing it, I screamed at the top of my lungs…

End of Hana's POV.

Chiyo's POV:

As Hana screamed at me, I finally came back to my senses.

I may have gone too far trying to get answers from her, especially seeing how much she tries to hide her true feelings.

I stood up straight and looked at her.

She quickly realized what she did as she unfroze from her position.

Her face started blushing as she did, but I could only think one thing:

This only proved my point, Hana likes Kiyoshi.

If anything, this was just the confirmation I probably didn't need, but I wanted to hear it from her, it's a shame.

"I'm sorry… I talked a bit too much"

"N-No! I-I'm sorry for screaming…" She said as her voice went down.

We both looked at each other a bit confused on what to do next…

"I-I'm sorry, Chiyo… I always ruin everything for you…" She said while looking down.

"... Hana…"

…

I don't want her to feel bad for this but… If I'm doing this, I want to do it right…

"Listen, If I'm going to give you a second chance on this… I want you to start being honest to everyone… That includes yourself as well"

"... o-okay" She said in a low voice.

"So please, get your head up, the Hana I know wouldn't look down like that"

"... Y-You're right, I wouldn't" she said as she looked a bit better by my words.

"... I guess we're done then…"

"S-Should I go now? Y-You should get some rest, you know?" She said with a forced smile on her face.

"... We can talk later… I still have some things to say…"

"... S-Sure…"

As I followed her to the door, we found both Kiyoshi and Mayumi on the floor next to it.

"H-Huh? O-Oh! You two finished talking huh?" Mayumi looked a bit nervous at me.

"... Yes, we did" I smiled at Mayumi, who looked surprised at me.

"C-Chiyo-chan!" She jumped at me with tears on her face. "You finally smiled! I missed your cheesy smile so much!"

"A-Ah! Sorry Mayumi… I'm better now"

Kiyoshi looked at me with a complexed face, while taking some glances at Hana who was behind me.

"W-Why are you still here, Kiyoshi?"

"A-Ah… I felt like I would be betraying Hana if I just left… A true man wouldn't do that!" She said with a drop of sweat on his forehead.

"H-He's telling the truth, he was waiting until you guys finished talking…"

"... I see…" I felt a weird feeling on my chest again… One similar to what I felt on my birthday…

"I guess you two should go to your bedrooms…"

"W-Wait, Chiyo-chan!" Kiyoshi came closer to me. "I-I want to… Thank you again… I'll promise to be a better person from now on!"

"... Mmm! Don't make me regret what I said"

"I-I won't!" He bowed at me.

"We'll talk later ok? I'm getting a bit tired" I said with a slight smile on my face.

"S-Sure! Good night, Chiyo-chan!"

"B-Bye…" Hana said from behind me.

[...]

As both Mayumi-san and I went into our room, she brought some treats from Satou-san's room and we both sat on our beds.

"Hey… Chiyo-chan" I heard Mayumi's voice on the top bed.

"Yes?"

"So um… Did it go well? C-Can I ask what happened?"

"Uhm… Let's just say it went as best as it could… I think"

"R-Really? S-So uhm… You're coming back right?"

"Heh, of course. Tomorrow we can go to eat something after class if you want to!"

"R-Really?! Then let's go have some ice cream! You can show me all that sumo stuff you like, okay?"

"... Sure, I'd love to…"

…

As Mayumi drifted into sleep, I just stared at the mattress I had on top of me…

I did what I didn't want to at first… I accepted both apologies from the two people that did not only ruin my birthday… But that ruined my first school year…

Well, maybe I'm exaggerating, but…

Kiyoshi… He's the first guy I've ever fallen in love with… Yet he lied to me, he… covered me in his stuff and now… I simply accepted his words as if nothing ever happened?... Maybe love is blind… But how blind can I be?

On the other side… Hana not only lied to me… He lied to Kiyoshi as well, she says she did this just for my safety and all but… 

She just doesn't want Kiyoshi to be with me…

I knew she used to hate me for that, probably because Kiyoshi told her he was trying to confess to me… But to do this is just…

"Unacceptable…"

Should I really forgive them? 

I gave them a second chance more than anything else… I want to see how the two of them act from now on…

But what I truly want to see is… If Kiyoshi truly chooses me. Not only in love but… In a-adultness…

My cheeks went a bit redder when I thought that.

Trying to hide my face on my sheets, I turned my head to the other side of the room. The two chairs where the two of them sat looking at me… And in the middle of them, a small bag was just sitting there.

"Uhm?"

I stood up trying not to make any noise so Mayumi wouldn't wake up.

When I opened it, I found a small box that was really familiar to me…

It was Hana's birthday present. She told me it was a set of tea.

On it, there was a small note:

'I'm truly sorry. 

I'm giving you this tea set so you can share some better experiences with the people you like'

…

I left the small bag in a better place and layed down on the bed again.

"... Kiyoshi… How do you truly feel about her?"

It can't be something serious, right? But… He was wearing her panties as a lucky sign… I guess boys wouldn't do that to anybody… r-right?

…

Boys can truly be disgusting…

…

Then… Why? I never even liked this type of stuff… The only time I tried anything mature like that type of stuff. I ended up crying from embarrassment… W-Well, it was mostly because of the things I heard of my sister but…

I-I want Kiyoshi to choose me for that too…

…

I guess Hana and I are basically fighting for the same person then…

…

As I blushed, One last thought came to me:

What do I like about Kiyoshi, and what does he like about me?

The question remained in my head for the rest of the night.

End of Chiyo's POV.

Kiyoshi's POV:

As Hana's talk with Chiyo ended and we said our goodbyes, I decided to accompany her to her bedroom, just to check on her and see what they talked about.

We both walked together, but she remained a bit far ahead from me.

She looked a bit less anxious, but both of us still looked a bit paranoid.

"S-So uhm… How did it go?"

"... E-Everything's fine I guess…"

"What did you two talk about?"

Hana seemed to stop for a second, turning a little red as her eyes quivered.

"N-Nothing… She just made it clear that this is just a second chance of sorts… S-So we better not fuck it up…"

"F-Fuck it up?"

"Yeah… If she just tells everyone what happened, then we're both dead, remember?"

"...Y-Yeah…"

"... S-So uhm… G-Guess we two still have to take care of each other… As well as Chiyo…"

"S-Sure… I promised you so, right?"

"E-Eh?!" Hana stopped as she looked at me.

"W-What?"

"T-The promise?"

"Y-Yeah, i promised to not abandon you, right?"

"A-Ah… Yeah…"

As we reached her bedroom, we both looked at each other.

"So… I guess we're both back at square one, right?"

"Yeah… We still have the festival ahead though"

"Guess you'll have to still be with me, I'm sorry…"

"..." Hana remained silent 

Did I say something wrong?

"W-Well, g–guess I'll get goi-"

"Wait"

She suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Y-Yeah?"

"... It's okay… I don't blame you for what happened. We both fucked it up"

"... Hana-san…"

"J-Just go… I'll see you tomorrow anyways"

"Y-Yeah, bye!"

As I left the scene, the stars shone through the window. 

"Ah… so pretty"

The giant black cloud disappeared only leaving an even better sky behind.

I guess all those bad omens were just coincidences. Today went… Pretty well!

I still have to prove to Chiyo-chan that I'm becoming a true man! Just like Andre! The festival will be my chance… And now that I won't have to leave… I'll also have the chance…

To live the WET T-SHIRT CONTEST!

…

W-Well, that's of course if I don't fuck it up on the way…

We still have to make sure the festival goes well… I trust the guys with their plan.

As I reached my room and went to bed, I could only set my eyes on PBR-sama on my right. 

He was behind all of this right? Thank you, my god!

… Still…

What was all that… What did Hana and Chiyo talk about… And all that bad luck stuff… It has me worried…

W-What if something is about to happen? During the festival?

…

N-Nah, I'm just thinking too much. Maybe I should just go to sleep.

…

I closed my eyes and started dreaming about a beautiful beach. 

It was a sunny day, a really hot one too. The beach was giant, I could even see PBR-sama on the water, floating just near the coast.

Chiyo, the guys and the councils are there, with tons of other students there. Just there, tons of hoses and water buckets appeared, covering all the girls in water, making their shirts stick to their clothes.

My face went red, seeing a place full of beautiful nipples hitting in front of me! And even better than that…

Chiyo, totally covered in water, walked towards me, with a blushing face and a really pretty smile.

"Ah~, Kiyoshi-kun, could you please help me? I'm so wet!"

"Of course, Chiyo-chan! I'll help you with it!"

I grabbed a towel and covered her with it.

"Could you dry my body, please~?"

She said with a really sensual voice… A true man wouldn't say no to that!

As I started covering Chiyo's beautiful body, my hands accidentally touched her breasts, but instead of acting upon it, she just giggled.

"You want to touch them, don't you?"

"Y–Yes Ma'am!"

"Then… Do so…"

I started doing so, making her slightly moan. Her sensual voice made me blush as I squeezed harder.

As I continued groping them, and my happiness reached its peak, I suddenly felt something was off about them.

"J-Just be more gentle, idiot"

"E-Eh?"

Before I could realize, I was actually touching Hana's breast.

"H-Huh?! w-whut"

I woke up just as that. My whole body felt stiff and covered in sweat.

W-What was that? I-Is this… A message from PBR-sama?

…

N-No, that can't be… I guess it was just a dream… A really good one…

But I shouldn't dream of something like that… Chiyo wouldn't want me to do something like that to her…

I just closed my eyes and drifted to sleep again, hoping to ever have the opportunity to live something like that.

To be continued…

---