(II) Back to Partners Arc - Episode 22

[Ｌｉｎｇｅｒｉｅ]

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－ ＭＡＲＣＨ －

𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

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Everyone in Class 3-E was going on their graduation trip in Phnon, Southeast Asia. It was also where Kayano was having her film shoot for her new role. That's why Karma had particularly suggested going there – for her to be able to join them.

Although they just met last December at the funeral of Hayami's mother, it had been a while since they would be gathering for something fun.

Neither Hayami nor Chiba could deny their thrill for this trip.

"Hayami, you cut your hair!"

When Hayami had shown up at the airport, Nakamura was the one who first spotted her despite her short hair that was once previously reaching her lower back.

Upon hearing the blonde's outburst, the rest of the girls turned towards Hayami before flocking around her and sprinkling her with compliments and questions about her new look.

"Have you known about this?" Sugaya asked Chiba, who had arrived there beforehand.

With a nod, Chiba answered, "She wanted to have a fresh change, and cutting her hair makes her feel cool in summer."

"How convenient since we're going to a tropical country now," Sugaya said as they made their way to the line for the body and baggage inspection.

***

It was already in the afternoon when the plane had touched down on the foreign soil of Phnon. They went to the hotel first and, then, spent the rest of the day wandering around to look for the location of Kayano's shooting.

And when they did, they went there on the next day, which was posted at a designated World Heritage Site. Their appearance took Kayano by surprise.

Due to a dispute between Director Nathonni and the line producer, the line producer left the set together with the rest of the staff that he had gathered. Because of that, Class 3-E had to volunteer to help with the shooting.

Then they went out sightseeing after filming. For their last destination that night, they rode on a cruise ship that floated on the river across the city.

Everybody slowly made their way inside to the restaurant where you could also view the scenery of the riverside. A landscape that you could only find in a tropical place was displayed before them with large banyan trees and scattered duckweed floating upon the river surface. Along the shoreline were a lot of restaurant terraces with colorful lights.

While they enjoyed their dinner, a group of female dancers in bikinis performed on the stage. Afterward, live mood music started playing.

Customers went to the middle and danced in pairs. Standing up, Maehara extended his hand towards Okano. "Hey, let's dance," he said.

When he had pulled her up, Okano resisted. "No way, I can't dance."

She eventually gave in upon his urging. After moving to the dance floor, Okano followed Maehara's movements, committing mistakes every now and then. He still praised her for that as he continued to show her more general moves.

"Yowza! You two are hot!" Muramatsu teased, which has made Okano fall silent and lose her rhythm.

Then Maehara yelled over to his Class 3-E peers, "Hey, everyone else should dance, too! Just rock your bodies to the music and you'll be alright!"

Chiba and Hayami exchanged a look before standing up and joining the rest of Class 3-E. Since Hayami was already a good dancer, it was a piece of cake for her – moving her arms and legs gracefully as if she was in her own world.

On one hand, Chiba struggled on his two left feet awkwardly. Hayami, then, smiled at him reassuringly before holding both of his hands to guide him to the right momentum.

After that, they glided away from the dancing crowd and to the railings overlooking the evening riverside. The moon that was nearly restored to its usual shape hanged above the buildings and city lights. Odd enough, it felt like Korosensei was watching over them right now.

Chiba stole a glance at Hayami, who was occupied at the view. In spite of the relaxing feeling that was settling inside him, he was still somewhat worried over his girlfriend's behavior for the past recent weeks.

He couldn't pinpoint exactly what's wrong. All he knew was she had done some weird stuff amongst other things that he was accustomed to.

"We went here to take a picture for our graduation album," she said.

He nodded as he rested his arms on the railing, facing ahead at the city lights. "Good thing we were able to come back here. Last time we didn't have the time to go sightseeing."

"It's a shame." A nostalgic expression crossed her face. "This would've been a good place for assassination."

***

On the third day of their graduation trip, Class 3-E continued to offer their assistance to Kayano's film shoot. For the next scene, Director Nathonni had rented a golden Buddha statue.

The statue was a precious item worshipped in one of the villages. Already several hundred years old, it was considered a national treasure and a work of art.

While the shoot was going on, someone had replaced the Buddha statue with a fake. Class 3-E went to investigate who the culprit was.

They found out that the one who stole the statue was the leader of a bandit group, disguised as one of the staff. In the end, they retrieved the statue from the bandits and Kayano was able to finish the final scene of the shoot.

There was still time for them to explore around a bit more.

When night fell, they went back to the hotel. Some of them spent their remaining time in the recreation center, while there are those who enjoyed themselves in the pool.

But Hayami has a different plan for her and Chiba tonight.

The rooms that Nakamura had managed to reserve for the girls were good for two persons only. Due to their odd number, Hayami offered to have one room by herself since the others seemed eager in having their friends as their roommates.

Hayami didn't mind though. To be honest, it served as a perfect chance to execute her plan.

She hoped that it would work this time.

// start of flashback //

A month ago, she caught up with Nakamura and Yada in a café after several months of not seeing each other. They first talked about their college and career paths until Nakamura brought up Hayami's dating life. As expected.

She asked Hayami about their progress of 'intimacy'. When she had heard her reply, she was baffled.

"Are you kidding me?" she cried, jumping up from her seat and not minding the mixed stares from the other customers.

At first, Hayami was confused as to the blonde's overreaction. That was until Nakamura, upon sitting back down, elaborated it for her.

"Every guy wants to do it with their partner. You've been together for, what, around four years? I think that's more than enough for Chiba to wait. Right, Touka?"

"I read in some article that most couples who are dating for at least a year have already done it," said Touka.

With her famous poker face, Hayami stated, "If he really wants to do it, he should've said it by now."

"It's not that simple!" Nakamura burst out, attracting attention for the second time.

Behind the counter, the cashier was already contemplating whether he should ask them to leave, which Yada had noticed. She gave Nakamura a light pat and warned her that she was causing a scene.

Nakamura crossed her arms, returning her cool, as she raised her eyebrow. "Chiba must have been having a difficult time holding back this long. And if a guy suffers too much, your relationship is at risk," she continued.

"That's why –" she put on a smug grin "– you must give in and pop that cherry!"

Her loud proclamation was the last straw for the cashier.

When the cashier had approached their table, Nakamura raised her hand dismissively. "No need for that. I'll be taking my leave anyway," she told him as she shouldered her bag.

Then she glanced at her friends and bid them goodbyes before exiting the shop.

Elbows propped up on the table, Yada placed her hands under her chin. "You don't need to take Rio's word seriously. I'm sure Chiba would understand if you still don't want to do it," she told Hayami.

'That's the thing,' Hayami thought. 'He always understands.' And she knew that he wouldn't make the first move unless she did something.

Following that day, Hayami searched online for ways of seducing a man. She tried different methods and all had been futile:

...

(Tip #1: Make Eye Contact With Him Frequently)

Every time Hayami would do this, Chiba had mistaken her for wanting to kiss or to hold hands. No more than that.

...

(Tip #2: Wear Clothes That Flatter Your Figure)

She wore a short dress that hugged her figure on one of their dates. Chiba was stunned when he had seen her in that outfit. But when they went to the shooting grounds, Hayami was now feeling utter regret for wearing a discomfiting dress that restricted her aim. She ended up missing a lot of shots, her frustration thereby making her forget her objective on that day.

...

(Tip #3: Leave Your Fragrance)

Putting on a perfume had only made him sneeze a lot whenever they were close together. She eventually stopped, feeling guilty for making him go through that.

...

(Tip #4: Ask Personal Questions & Offer Information)

"What turns you on?"

They were lounging around in the living room of her house when she had asked him that. He froze on his seat and faced her with his mouth gaped open.

He, then, cleared his throat. "Uhmm... why are you suddenly asking that?"

"For no reason. Just wondering."

"Since I don't have that much –" he was now getting antsy at the topic "– experience, I don't know what to answer."

At that moment, she felt embarrassed for asking such a question out of the blue. It would probably be better if they don't touch on the topic further.

// end of flashback //

She also tested other techniques with no success. Because of that, she began to wonder if the problem is with her. Maybe she wasn't attractive enough or she didn't have any sex appeal.

Well, she would find that out tonight with her bold attempt. Hopefully, she'd succeed.

She was taking one last look in the mirror inside her room when she had heard a knock. Her fingers nimbly tied her robe around her body before her bare feet scuttled to the main door.

"Why did you ask me to come here?" Chiba asked right after she had swung the door open.

When he had seen her in a thin layer of clothing, his head turned to the side. "Was I too early? I can wait here outside for you to finish dressing up."

Hayami stepped back as she said, "It's okay. I don't plan on putting on any more clothes." Then she walked further inside while he shut the door behind him before trailing after her.

She sat on the queen size bed, her one hand tapping on the space beside her. "Sit down," she ordered nonchalantly.

After doing so, he gave her a quizzical look. "What are we doing?" Are they going to watch TV? Or perhaps have a casual talk?

Instead of answering, Hayami leaned closer towards him and captured his lips. This caught him off guard completely albeit he quickly recovered as his hand made its way on her neck, tilting his head to gain more entrance into her mouth.

When he had felt her arms moving around, he opened his eyes out of curiosity. He pulled away upon seeing her unbound robe and her brazen body in black lingerie.

"What are you doing?" He yanked her robe to a close to conceal her sensual figure.

She held his wrist, her emerald eyes staring right into him. "Let's have sex tonight," she said.

"Wha–" He gulped. "Are you sure about that?"

She nodded in reply.

With a sigh, his grip on her robe loosened. It's not as if he didn't want to. He just didn't expect her to be the one to initiate it.

"If that's what you want."

Leaving no time to spare, Chiba prodded her onto the bed and, then, hovered over her as he pinned her arms above her head.

His eyes glossed over her shocked face, with short orange strands splayed out, before going down to her neck and further to her chest covered with a thin layer of lace.

'Beautiful,' he thought exasperatedly.

Since his bangs were suspended away from his face, Hayami was given a clear view of his serious expression. It seemed like she was under a spell, captivated, by his intense maroon gaze.

When he had stooped lower and closer to her, she shut her eyes tight. She heard him whispered in her ear,

"Your hands are trembling."

Just as her eyes flew open, she saw him let out a small smirk before planting a kiss on her forehead.

He sat upright while she heaved herself up on the bed. With her mind still in a daze, he queried, "What made you think of doing this?"

Gawking at her bare legs, she reasoned, "Since we've been together for so long, I thought that it's proper for us to do it right now."

"I don't mind waiting if you're not ready yet."

She turned towards him. "That's the point." She pursed her lips as lines etched on her forehead with unease. "I did this so you won't have to restrain yourself anymore."

So that explains her recent odd behavior.

He glanced down, then, took her hand in his and started twiddling her fingers. "Don't worry about that. It's not a problem for me." He raised his chin as his eyes met hers behind that fringe. "I'm perfectly happy just by being with you."

A smile floated on her lips. "Can you sleep here with me tonight?" she asked softly.

He hummed followed by lying down beside her. She rested her head on his shoulder as his arm scooped around her back.

With her eyes closed, she said in a hushed tone, "Good night, Chiba."

His gaze lingered on her peaceful state as he replied, "Good night."

***

Chiba woke up from his slumber when he felt something soft and squishy in his palm. Wondering what it was, he took a glimpse at the unmoving figure beside him.

Before it could register to him what he was touching on the other side, with Hayami's back blocking his view, he gave it a light squeeze when she stirred as she let out a sharp breath.

Don't tell me – He drew his hand up just as she turned over her shoulder.

"Didn't you say that you are going to wait?" she stated with a teasing smile, still bleary-eyed.

"It wasn't on purpose," he said in defense, his ears tinged red, while his arm was still awkwardly up.

Her eyes slanted as she moved closer. "You can touch it more if you want," she said alluringly.

Mouth turning up, he clutched her hand planted on his chest. How gratifying it was for him to see her first thing in the morning. "You're such a tease."

"Clearly, you're not affected."

He chuckled and said, "Well, you almost got me last night."