By the time the two of them made it back to Base Camp, Nishikawa Ryouko's prayers had been answered: there was barely anyone around.
Aside from Yamamura Miki, who was stationed nearby in the shade of a tree going over the supply inventory, most of Class A hadn't returned yet.
To ensure a decent quality of life for the week ahead — and to keep point expenditure to a minimum — everyone was out in the forest, busy gathering fruit and dry branches, or scouting the terrain farther afield.
After all, even if Shikime Natsu was the mastermind behind this whole "vacation," Class A had enough self-awareness not to dump every last chore and dirty job onto one person's shoulders.
Once Ryouko confirmed that nobody in the vicinity had their attention on her, the heart that had been lodged in her throat finally dropped back down — at least halfway.
She made a beeline for her own cabin. After Natsu had finished building them, everyone had been assigned their respective rooms.
Bang.
The wooden door swung shut behind her.
Right now, she felt uncomfortable from head to toe — and it wasn't just the T-shirt she was still wearing that belonged to Natsu. No, this wasn't physical discomfort. It was psychological. Natsu had girlfriends. She was not one of them. In fact, she and Shikime Natsu had barely crossed paths once before — and here she was, wearing his T-shirt, the one that had been against his skin. The feeling was... just deeply, profoundly weird.
And then there were the wet track pants still clinging to her legs, and the underwear plastered to her skin — that cold, clammy, sticky sensation was something she couldn't stand for another second.
After making absolutely certain the cabin was empty, Ryouko peeled off every piece of the miserable ensemble at top speed.
When clean, dry clothes wrapped around her body again, the sheer relief of it — that sensation of being reborn — drew a long, involuntary exhale from her lips.
She folded Natsu's oversized T-shirt neatly and held it in her hands.
That faint, calming scent — like sunlight and warmth — still seemed to cling to the fabric.
Ryouko's cheeks flushed ever so slightly. Then she gave her head a firm, decisive shake, scattering those stray thoughts out of her mind, pushed open the cabin door, poked her head out, and let her gaze sweep across the camp in search of Natsu.
She spotted him quickly — over by the area where the tools were kept.
He had his back to her, still wearing her comically undersized T-shirt, and appeared to be getting ready to deal with the ingredients they'd brought back.
Ryouko bit her lip. She checked that no one was watching, then jogged over, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him around to the blind spot on the side of a cabin.
"Ch-Change back!"
Her voice came out hushed, carrying a faint edge of embarrassment. Hadn't it occurred to this guy to swap his shirt back the moment he returned?
Natsu looked at her guilty, caught-in-the-act expression and couldn't help but smile. He didn't say anything — just calmly pulled off the T-shirt that belonged to Ryouko and handed it back to her.
She took her own shirt back like it was a hot potato, cheeks flushed pink, and murmured in a barely audible voice:
"Th-Thank you..."
The moment the words left her mouth, she couldn't bring herself to meet Natsu's eyes. She thrust his shirt back at him, clutched her own to her chest, and scurried back to her cabin.
Natsu watched the girl disappear behind her door and gave a quiet, amused shake of his head.
He pulled his own T-shirt back on.
The shirt had mostly dried out, but it had been worn by Ryouko, so it carried just a trace of residual dampness — and a faint, delicate fragrance that was distinctly hers.
Slightly damp. But for someone with the System at his disposal, that was barely worth calling a problem.
A single thought.
[One-Touch Clean]
An invisible pulse swept through the fabric in an instant. The faint remaining dampness and wrinkles vanished without a trace, leaving the shirt fresh and crisp — like it had just come back from the dry cleaner's.
Natsu gave a quiet chuckle, adjusted his collar, and turned back toward where he'd left the fish and shrimp.
The haul from the large leaf tray was impressive. No big fish like the one from lunch, but there were plenty of smaller fish and shrimp — and people were currently still out collecting fruit and other things. Tonight's dinner for Class A was shaping up to be quite the spread.
He picked up the large leaf, carried it over to the processing area they'd cleared out specifically for this purpose, and began preparing the ingredients.
It was right then that a soft, gentle voice spoke up from behind him.
"Shiki-san."
Not loud — but carrying an effortless, soothing steadiness to it.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"If there's anything inconvenient for you to do alone, or anywhere you need an extra pair of hands, please don't hesitate to say so. I'd like to contribute something to the class as well."
He recognized that voice immediately.
Natsu paused what he was doing and turned around.
What met his eyes was a beautiful girl with smooth, flowing golden hair.
The last light of the setting sun filtered down through gaps in the leaves, falling across that golden hair and casting a soft, gentle sheen. The elegant headband she wore added a quiet, intellectual quality to her presence.
It was Shiraishi Asuka — and at the moment, she had her T-shirt layered beneath a light jacket.
Watching this normally quiet, solitary girl approach him on her own initiative, Natsu had no reason to refuse.
"I'd appreciate the help, Shiraishi-san."
He gestured toward a few makeshift containers nearby.
"Could you give these fish a rinse for me?"
"Of course, no problem."
Shiraishi Asuka agreed with a smile, rolled up her sleeves to reveal a stretch of pale, slender wrist, and got to work with practiced ease.
The two of them stood side by side, working through the ingredients together. Far from awkward, the atmosphere between them had a rare, easy harmony to it.
After a little while, Asuka spoke up casually as she continued rinsing the fish in her hands.
"Earlier… I think I saw you and Nishikawa-san come back together."
She tilted her head slightly, those violet eyes drifting toward Natsu.
"Were you out catching fish together?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Natsu nodded, his hands never stopping, his tone perfectly casual.
"We happened to run into each other by the river, so we ended up working together."
"And Nishikawa-san was actually a big help to me."
In reality, Ryouko hadn't helped at all — she'd managed to get herself completely soaked and had needed Natsu to bail her out. But that was no reason not to cover for the little devil in front of others.
"Is that so."
Asuka said softly, a gentle smile touching her lips. Those violet eyes curved ever so slightly — she didn't seem to doubt it, and she didn't press further.
She set the cleaned fish down onto the nearby leaf, then straightened up and looked at the unhurried, composed boy in front of her. Her voice carried a note of sincere admiration.
"You know, we really do owe you one, Shiki-san."
"Our survival on this uninhabited island… it feels like it's gotten so much easier."
She glanced around at the solid cabins surrounding them, and at the generous stores of food on hand.
"If it weren't for you, we'd probably still be stressing over how to secure a base and find food. And the two tents the school provided wouldn't have been nearly enough — we'd have had to spend extra points just to get more shelter."
"Just thinking about what that would've looked like… it sounds exhausting."
In response to Asuka's praise, Natsu only smiled quietly.
"I am Class A's Leader, after all."
He tossed a cleaned shrimp into the basin beside him, voice light and easy.
"If everyone trusts me enough to hand me the reins, then the last thing I want is to sit back and watch my classmates struggle."
"Even for something like this so-called special exam — if I can make things a little more comfortable for everyone, then that's part of my job."
"'A little more comfortable'?"
Asuka repeated the phrase, and then she couldn't help it — she covered her mouth with a soft laugh.
"You really are modest, Shiki-san."
"This is nowhere close to 'a little help' — it's an enormous help. A staggering one."
"If the other classes could see how we're living right now, they'd probably cry from sheer envy."
With that, she turned her head, those gentle violet eyes resting quietly on Natsu. There was something in her gaze — subtle, but unmistakable.
"Speaking of which..."
Her voice softened a little, taking on a faint, nostalgic quality.
"It feels like it's been quite a long time since it was just the two of us, talking like this."
At that, Natsu's hands paused for just a moment — then he gave a small nod.
"It really has. The last time we actually talked was back in May, wasn't it."
He thought back.
Despite being classmates, the two of them had very little overlap in their day-to-day lives.
The last time they'd had a proper one-on-one conversation — it really had been back in May. A chance encounter at one of the shops in Keyaki Mall, if he remembered right. They'd exchanged a few words, nothing more.
Beyond that, Shiraishi Asuka had always given the impression of someone who existed just slightly apart from the group.
She was warm with people, socially graceful — the kind of person who made anyone she spoke with feel at ease. But at her core, she seemed to genuinely prefer her own company.
In class, she was always quietly seated at her desk, gazing out the window or reading, rarely joining in the idle chatter of the various cliques.
Even on weekends, she spent most of her time in her dorm room, or wandering alone to the library or a coffee shop.
Running into this "mysterious beauty" somewhere on campus and actually getting a moment alone with her — that was, by any reasonable measure, a rare occurrence.
That last time they'd been alone together, setting aside the casual nods of acquaintance, had genuinely been the first time the two of them had any real interaction to speak of.
She tilted her head, the beauty mark beneath her eye catching the dying light in a particularly striking way.
"In that case, Shiki-san — do you still remember what we talked about last time?"
Natsu looked at her, the corner of his mouth curving into a slight smile.
"Of course I do."
His memory was photographic — once he'd experienced something, no matter how minor, it didn't leave him.
"Oh? Does Shiraishi-san have a particular question she's been wanting to ask me?"
At that counter-question, Asuka gave a small, composed smile.
She didn't answer right away. Instead, she paused her work and let her gaze drift carefully around them.
Her eyes moved over the trees nearby, then swept across the closed cabin doors — as if confirming the state of their surroundings.
That careful, cautious manner of hers suggested she had something she very much did not want any third party to overhear.
Sensing that Natsu had noticed her little precaution, Asuka made no attempt to hide it. She turned back to him, a warm and subtly mysterious smile settling on her face.
"What comes next — I'd like it to stay between just the two of us."
Natsu raised an eyebrow slightly, then gave a quiet nod of agreement.
"Fine by me."
At this hour, most people hadn't come back yet. Yamamura Miki was far enough away, and Nishikawa Ryouko was still shut inside her cabin.
As long as they kept their voices down, no one else would hear a word.
With the surroundings confirmed, the smile on Asuka's face settled into something a little more serious.
She looked at Natsu and began, quietly:
"Actually… when you and Nishikawa-san came back together just now, I was watching."
She pointed at the shirt Natsu was wearing, then gestured toward the cabin Ryouko had run into earlier.
"You'd already switched back by the time you arrived, but in that very first moment..."
"The clothes you were both wearing didn't quite match either of your builds."
At that, Natsu let out a genuine laugh.
He looked at this quiet girl with something approaching surprise.
He hadn't expected Shiraishi Asuka to be the type with observational skills this sharp.
"The shirt Nishikawa-san was wearing was too big for her — the sleeves went past her elbows, and the hem was so long it was clearly a men's size."
"And the shirt you were wearing, Shiki-san..."
Asuka paused there, a glimmer of amusement in the corner of her eye.
"You have a good build, Shiki-san, but that shirt was visibly too tight — especially around the shoulders and chest. It was nothing like your usual style."
"And then there's the fact that you were both at the river, and Nishikawa-san's hair was still wet when she came back..."
She looked at Natsu, her voice certain.
"Nishikawa-san must have slipped and fallen into the river, soaking her clothes through. So you lent her your shirt to keep her from catching a cold — or maybe to spare her any embarrassment — and the two of you swapped shirts for the walk back. Am I right?"
It was laid out with clean logic and airtight reasoning, as if she'd been standing right there watching it all unfold.
Though of course, for someone with a perceptive mind and a careful eye, the conclusion wasn't hard to reach. Two people wearing each other's clothes — clothes that fit neither of them — was about as obvious a tell as you could ask for.
Natsu didn't deny it. He simply gave a small nod, acknowledging the truth of what she'd said.
"Exactly as you said."
He admitted it with ease:
"Nishikawa-san slipped and got her clothes soaked, so I lent her mine so she wouldn't catch a cold."
The confirmation lit something in Asuka's violet eyes — a small, curious gleam.
She looked at Natsu with an expression of genuine interest.
"I see..."
She murmured, her tone carrying a faint, layered quality.
"It sounds like you and Nishikawa-san are quite close."
"After all, exchanging the clothes off your backs… that's not something you'd do with just any ordinary classmate."
Faced with that lightly probing remark, Natsu didn't rush to answer.
He set down what he was doing, turned to the side, and gave Asuka a look that hovered somewhere between a smile and something more deliberate.
"Shiraishi-san."
"Since you brought up that last conversation — then you haven't forgotten either, I assume..."
"We agreed on one question each. Remember?"
Asuka blinked, visibly caught off guard for just a moment.
She clearly hadn't expected him to invoke that rule right here and now.
But she recovered quickly, and a graceful smile returned to her face.
"Of course."
She gave a small nod and made a gesture of invitation.
"Since Shiki-san remembers it so precisely — then please, go ahead and ask."
Natsu didn't stand on ceremony.
He looked Asuka in the eyes and put forward the question that had been sitting with him for quite some time.
"Then here it is."
"When you mentioned before that you approach people deliberately to gather information..."
"What exactly is it that you're trying to find out?"
The question stopped Asuka in her tracks.
A look of rare, genuine surprise crossed that face of hers — the one that had maintained such a perfectly composed expression throughout.
She had only mentioned it in passing — back in May, when they'd run into each other by chance. They hadn't been particularly close yet, and she'd only let it slip to explain why she'd been in that social situation at all. She'd barely said anything — just a small, offhand hint at her reasoning.
But...
She had never imagined that Natsu would have held onto it so clearly — down to the exact phrasing she'd used.
Was his memory just that exceptional?
Or was it that...
Shikime Natsu had been paying a little more attention to her than she'd realized?
If she had to pick — honestly, her instincts leaned toward the latter.
That feeling of being noticed — or more precisely, being noticed by someone like Shikime Natsu, the kind of boy who was every girl's dream — made her heartbeat stutter just slightly faster.
But as for the actual content of that information...
Asuka's eyes flickered, and she looked distinctly hesitant.
Natsu caught the shift in her expression with quiet precision.
He had no intention of pressing her into a corner, so he spoke up:
"If it's something Shiraishi-san finds uncomfortable, or would rather not share — then leave it for now."
"I only asked on a whim. I'm not set on getting to the bottom of it."
At those words, Asuka let out a quiet breath of relief and gave Natsu an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry, Shiki-san."
"My purpose… isn't something I'm able to share just yet."
She dipped her head slightly, a note of genuine awkwardness in her voice.
"Honestly, I shouldn't have said anything about it back then in the first place. The conversation just flowed so naturally that I… let something slip without thinking."
"I really didn't expect your memory to be quite this good, Shiki-san."
At that, Natsu gave a lighthearted shrug.
"If it's a secret that can't be told — should I do what they do in the movies, and erase that particular memory of mine?"
"Heh heh..."
Asuka laughed softly at that, giving a small shake of her head.
"There's absolutely no need for that."
"Being remembered by Shiki-san is, in itself, something worth being happy about."
"Now then — Shiki-san's question has been asked, even if it went unanswered..."
"By the rules, it's my turn to ask one, isn't it?"
She looked at him, a playful light dancing in those violet eyes.
"You've already used your question, Shiki-san, so no taking it back."
"Of course."
Natsu spread his hands in easy concession.
"And if my question ends up being rude, Shiki-san is of course free to decline answering."
A rare, mischievous smile had made its way onto Asuka's face. The last of the fish had been cleaned and set aside.
She dried her hands, turned to face him fully.
Those violet eyes locked onto his face, as if trying to read what lay behind it.
"Here it comes, then."
She drew a breath, and asked the question that had been interrupted earlier.
"Shiki-san — how exactly did you manage to get so close to Nishikawa-san?"
____
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