Chapter IL.

The following day, the boys and I waited on the street in front of the institution for Natsui to arrive at school.

'Do you think she is going to come?' I murmured, anxiously, my eyes set on the floor.

'Yes, she's a strong person,' Gōjun replied, and I looked at his face, addressing him a small smile. 

I wondered what Shunsui was planning. He had put only Gōjun in confidence.

'Here she comes!' the reddish-brown-haired young man announced, and immediately, we followed his eyes onto the ginger-haired girl, who was arriving with Yūsei Nishoji by her side. 

She was walking slowly, hesitantly, with her eyes lowered, her back humped.

Oh, Natsui…

'Ohayō!' I greeted her, with an encouraging smile, when she reached us.

She looked at me for a second, before she averted her eyes, and greeted me back, awkwardly, 'O- Ohayō!'

'I decided to walk her to school this morning,' Yūsei informed us, and I told him that he did well, giving him a thankful look.

As a group of students went past us, at that moment, the ginger-haired girl stiffened, her eyes welling up with tears, as they gawked at her, laughing mockingly amongst themselves. 

Instantaneously, I grabbed her hand to hold it tightly in mine, and the blond male did the same thing on his side. 

She stared at us, her eyes frantic.

'It's going to be alright!' I told her, reassuringly, before I looked at Shunsui and Gōjun's face. They appeared confident of themselves and this boosted my own confidence.

'Come!' the reddish-brown-haired young man declared, with a smile, as he stepped forward to make towards the gate of the school. 'But I have to warn you; you're going to be really surprised!'

Eh?

'I don't think "surprised" is the right word!' Gōjun stated, before he, unexpectedly, sent his arm around my neck to bring me to move, and therefore, ushering Natsui and the blond male along with us.

I looked at his face, blushing.

A few seconds later, as we passed through the gate of the school, I had an impression of déjà-vu. Just like on the previous day, the bell was ringing and all the students were grouped in the yard in front of the notice board. However, the atmosphere was much more agitated than the day before.

Everyone was either staring at their cellphones or the board, with their faces glowing bright red and filled with indignation; some students weeping, others shouting.

'After you!' Shunsui told Natsui, Yūsei and I, as he directed us to the notice board, a cocky smile lingering on his lips.

We stared at his face for a minute, even more intrigued, before we wounded our way through the crowd to the front, with Gōjun and he following us quietly from behind. 

Our eyes went wide with shock at the sight of the new pictures that have been put there.

They were erotic pictures, not of Natsui, but of several other students of the school! 

Without any delay, we checked our cellphones. We had received a file that contained such pictures of nearly each and every student of the school, as well as its personnel!

Natsui and I looked at each other, flushing tomato red; the blond male reddening too.

'It's not me on this picture! It's not me either! These are montages!' the students were shouting amongst themselves, completely disheveled.

'Eh?! That's strange!' Shunsui told them, with a malicious grin. 'I remember telling you the same thing yesterday about Mizoroge!'

At this, everyone became silent, their expression mortified.

Is this- Is this what he was planning?!

He has made photo-montages of everyone and asked the expert to upload them on the site-web of the school!

I stared at him, unsure about whether I should felicitate his genie or feel a little abashed by the nature of his plan!

'I see that the person who is behind this has spared no one!' he snickered.

'What is this?! What does this mean?!' the director shouted, furiously, as he flounced his way out of the genkan to into the yard, by that instant. 

The man looked like he was going to burst a vessel.

'We're at a school, here! Who has dared to do this?! I want the culprit to denounce himself immediately! Has he thought of the reputation of our school?! And how did he dare to put a picture of m-me?!'

Eh?!

There was indeed a picture of him on the board!

Shunsui!

I covered my face with my hand, flushing even deeper.

The director was not the only one to be enraged. Our teachers arrived behind him, shouting angrily that they want an explanation, certain that it was the work of one of the students of the school.

'I want everyone in the gymnasium and now!' the director shouted on top of his voice, and Shunsui sent his arm around his neck, telling him, cheerily, 'Now! Now! It's the first good idea that you've ever had! Let's all head to the gymnasium and quick!'

'What- What are you doing?!' the man stammered, skipping away and readjusting his tie. 'I'm a director! Not your friend! Please, show some respect!'

'Hai! Hai!' the reddish-brown-haired young man uttered, dismissively, with a wave of the hand, and I really thought the man was going to burst a vessel this time.

We all headed for the gymnasium, but when we entered the hall, we noticed that there had been a change. Somebody has installed a projector on the stage, and I understood that it was Shunsui's work when I saw him overtake the director and the other personnel of the school in their walk to climb onto the platform and grab the laptop that was there.

'What is he doing again?!' the director exclaimed, in exasperation, while Shunsui told everyone of us to wait for a few minutes, that there was something that he wanted to show us.

***

While all the students and school personnel were heading towards the gymnasium, Hiyori Miyatsu managed to skip away discreetly to enter the genkan of the school to into one of the desert corridors of the institutions. Taking her cellphone out, she dialed a number urgently.

Her respondent didn't answer at first, and as the minutes ticked by, she grew more and more agitated. 

When the man finally picked up her call, she demanded at him, instantly, 'What are you doing? Why did you make photo-montages of all the personnel and students of the school, including myself, to upload them on the web?! I had given you only the pictures of my cousin!'

'What are you talking about?! I didn't do anything!'

'Yeah, right! Do you think I'm going to believe you?! Is it more money that you want?! I've already paid you enough for the lame job that you've done with the pictures and video! I should never have employed you! I should have employed a professional!'

'I really don't understand what you're talking about! I didn't do anything, I'm telling you! Wait! I'm going to hack the system again and check what's happening! It must be another hacker!'

'And why would another hacker do anything like that?! Look, I don't give a damn about whether it's you or not, but just take my bloody picture off that website immediately, understood?! I believe that it must be in your capacity!'

'Okay, I'm in front of my computer now. Give me some times...'

'I'm waiting.'

***

Everyone was stupefied.

Turning away from the projection screen, Shunsui declared, 'You've heard her! Last night, I've had cameras installed everywhere in the school. And now to confirm that this is not a video-montage, I'd advise you to hurry up and verify it by yourself!'

Even before he had finished his sentence, all the students and personnel of the school rushed in direction of the building in question, and we tagged along with them.

'Is it done? Listen, just close the damn site-web, okay?!'

'Miyatsu!' the students roared, and instantly the dark-haired girl flung around, her cellphone slipping her hand in shock at our sight of the number of people who had appeared behind her in the corridor, including ourselves.

She took an involuntary step backward, her expression completely panicked.

'Oh my god! So, it was really you?!' Natsui gasped, and falling down onto her knees on the ground, she covered her mouth with her hands to muffle her sobs.

'It's all over, Natsui!' I said, getting down on the floor by her side to caress her back comfortingly for a few seconds, before I looked at Shunsui's face, my heart swollen.

He did it! He held his promise! He has cleared Natsui's honor! 

'How could you?!' the students demanded at the dark-haired girl. 'Mizoroge is of your own family!'

'Oh please, none of that with me, you bloody hypocrites!' she retorted, more than discomfited. 'You didn't give a damn about whether the pictures and video are montages until this moment, when it's your face which is on the frame! How does that make you any better than me, huh?! You're all accomplices!'

All the students lowered their eyes in shame, falling silent. 

Only the director reacted.

'You should be ashamed of yourself, my girl, for what you have done!' he shouted. 'With my power of director, I declare you here and now expelled from Shigeizumi High School, with no chance of ever rejoining our institution again! And know that the reason of your expulsion will appear in your school records! This compromises all your chances of ever entering university!'

And on this, the man flung around and walked away, the other members of the personnel tagging along with him, ordering everyone to hand over their cellphones at the direction before they back to their respective classes. 

The students got moving on the spot and everyone apologized to Natsui as they went past her, their expression deeply ashamed.

'Sakuya! Itsuko!' Hiyori Miyatsu called at their back as they were preparing to leave, her expression frantic now.

The two girls stopped to look at her, with a dejected expression, telling her, 'We had warned you the other day at the hotel. But you didn't listen to us. You knew what to expect!' 

The two girls turned back around to give Natsui a small pat on the shoulder, in sign of apology, and walked away.

The dark-haired girl's eyes shifted onto Yūsei, in distress, and the latter muttered at her, 'You're absolutely disgusting!'

'I would advise you to leave the country!' Shunsui stated to her, and even if his tone was cold and his expression showed nothing, his eyes had a threatening glint in them.

The dark-haired girl stared at the five of us for a long minute, completely disheveled, before she flung around and ran away.

'Well, I guess that's another "all is well that ends well"!' Shunsui declared, with a large smile, when he turned to face us. 'The bad guy is punished. And the reputation and honor of the Miss is restored!' 

Getting to her feet, Natsui looked up into his eyes, tearfully, to tell him, 'Thank you from the bottom of my heart!'

'Oh, I was not alone in it!' the reddish-brown-haired young man informed her, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. 'Gōjun spent the whole night helping me to put everything into place!'

'Thank you to both of you!' Natsui said, giving both of them a grateful smile, and seeing her smile, brought a smile to my own lips. 

My heart was filled with joy.

Shunsui… Gōjun… Thank you infinitely! 

'I have to thank the two of you too,' Natsui declared at Yūsei and I, with the same grateful look. 'Thank you for having stayed by my side.'

I blushed, and so did the blond male.

'Oh, you're welcome!' we told her, very quickly. 

***

After all the pictures had been deleted from everyone's phone and the website, the director announced that school was dismissed for the day. Yūsei proposed to Natsui to walk her home and the two left together, while Shunsui decided to drop Gōjun and I to our respective homes.

'Once I'm home, I'm going to go off to sleep!' the reddish-brown-haired young man told us, with a yawn, as we entered the car.

'Same here!' Gōjun stated, before he averted his eyes, covered his mouth with his hand and turned his face slightly away, to ask, 'But say, do you mind if we make a small stop at the supermarket on the way?'

The supermarket?

'Do you have something to buy?' Shunsui asked him.

'Yes,' he mumbled, and I almost thought that it was a blush that he was trying to hide. 'I would like to buy... cat food. And a few toys for- you know whom!'

The reddish-brown-haired young man and I looked at each other's face in astonishment.

Yamcha!

Can it be that he's actually growing attached to the little ball of fur, even if he refuses to admit it?!

'No problem!' Shunsui asserted with a large smile, before he dug his hand into his bag and took out a small packet to hold it out to me, telling me, 'Ah, Hime, this is for you!'

Eh?

I looked at the packet in his hand. It was flat and in gift-wrap, tied with a red thread.

'What is it?' I asked him, timidly.

'It's a picture of you and… Well, you'll see when you open it!' he answered, cheerily.

A- A picture of me?!

I flushed tomato red and almost had a nose-bleed as only one type of picture came to my mind! 

'Wah! No, I don't want it!' I cried, closing my eyes and pushing it away with my hands.

You debauchee!

***

Meanwhile…

'Natsui...' Yūsei Nishoji said.

Looking up instantly, the ginger-haired girl realized only then that the blond male was no longer walking by her side. Coming to a stop, she turned around to find that he had paused down a few feet away behind her. He was fixating her with a serious look, his fists balled up by his sides.

'Yūsei…?' she whispered- a bit intrigued when, out of the blue, the blond-haired young man crossed the small distance between them, and cupping her face with his two hands, he pressed his forehead down against hers, closing his eyes.

The girl's eyes went wide with astonishment, and she panicked, her face reddening.

'Wh- Wh- What is it?' she stammered.

But he didn't reply at first. He simply remained like this for a whole minute. And then, when he finally pulled his forehead away, he released her face to grab hold of her hands, and staring into her eyes, he declared, 'Natsui, would you like us to go and take lunch together? As a couple?'

She stared at him, breathlessly, her heart skipping a beat.

***

On the other side…

Hiyori Miyatsu looked at the screen of her phone, tapping her feet agitatedly where she was sitting on a bench of the plaza. Her father has left her fifty missed calls.

Bloody Shunsui!

'Hiyori,' she heard a familiar voice called, at that moment, and looking up, she caught sight of Teruaki Kume, who was arriving into this direction. 

Jumping to her feet on the spot, she ran to the dark-haired male to throw herself at him in a hug. However, the young man didn't return the embrace.

'It's a good thing that you called me! I wanted to meet you too to talk to you!' he stated, and she pulled slightly away to look at his face, asking him, 'Why are you being so cold?'

'Hiyori, I know what you've done!'

Her eyes widened at him a little. She, immediately, thought of Shunsui Shigeizumi.

'It was three of your classmates. I think one of them told me his name is Hasegawa.'

She clenched her teeth. Hasegawa and his two dogs!

'Well, is there a problem?' she asked him, with a confused look. 'I mean, what's the problem?'

'Are you really asking me what the problem is?' he demanded at her, grabbing her by her shoulders to hold her further away from him. 'The problem is that you've gone really way too far this time! It's far worse than what you did last time! How could you do this Hiyori?! Let's forget about your blood relations with her for a minute! How could you do this to her as a girl?! It is rightly said that the biggest enemy of women, are women themselves! It's really over between us this time!'

He shoved her away, and she stared at his face, in indignation.

'Are you serious? Are you breaking up with me because of what I did to that b****?!'

'No, there's not only that. I've also realized that I really can't forgive you for what you did the other day- flirting with that guy, Yūsei something. I don't want you to contact me ever again!'

And on these words, he flung around and started to walk away.

The dark-haired girl stared at his back, her eyes bulging with anger and feeling completely degraded.

'Who are you to break up with me?!' she snarled. 'I'm the one who is breaking up with you! You pervert! You want to present yourself as a great defender of women, while you've been using my body?!'

Pausing down to turn half around to look at her, he stated, 'If I've been "using" your body, so have you been "using" mine! No feelings, only sex, remember? It's you who said it. We're quit!'

And on this, he left, leaving the dark-haired girl there fuming. 

Her phone started to ring again in that instant, and she pressed the answer button angrily, snapping, 'Hello?!'

On the other side of the line was her father's voice.

'Hiyori, where are you?!' the man shouted, in an infuriated tone. 'I've called you at least fifty times! Can't you answer your phone?! I want you to bring yourself at home immediately! I'm waiting for you! I've received a phone call from the director of your school earlier while I was at work. He told me what you've done. I couldn't believe my ears! And I couldn't believe my eyes either when your mother showed me the parcel we've received this morning from Shunsui Shigeizumi. They contained pictures of you with a young man entering and leaving Hosoi Hotel! Your mother has been crying ever since. You've completely shattered our faith in you! Do you even realize what you've done? We're lucky that your cousin and the school did not inform the police. And we're lucky that the Shigeizumi do not attack themselves to my company! We'd be left completely destroyed! You can't stay in this country anymore! I'm sending you to China to live with my sister- your aunt. It'll be your punishment. You don't have any future in this country from now on anyway!' 

He hung up on her, and shaking with fury, the dark-haired girl hurled the phone on the ground, breaking it.

Damn you, Natsui! It's all because of you! 

No! No, It's not because of her! 

It's because of that girl, Hime Kirigakure! 

It is because she's friends with you, Natsui, that Shunsui has involved himself into this so much like he did! 

Hime Kirigakure, you're going to pay me for it!

***

In the evening... 

As I was preparing my bag for school tomorrow, I fell onto a small packet in it. 

Picking the parcel up in both my hands, I stared at it for a minute, my face red. It was the packet that Shunsui had tried to give me in the car this morning. I guessed that he must have put it in my bag while he was waiting for Gōjun and I to come out of the supermarket; I had left my bag in his car to take only my purse with me.

I was about to make for the dustbin to throw it away when, I told myself that maybe I should open it first to have a look at it; just in case.

Turning my head slightly to the side and pulling my face as far as possible from the packet, I pulled at the string and undid the gift-wrap to take a peek at the picture with a single eye.

My breath caught.

Eh?!

Instantly, I turned my face back to the front to stare at the picture more closely, with wide, puzzled eyes. 

Contrarily to what I had expected, it was not a Hentai photo-montage! It was the picture Shunsui had taken of the three of us in the Higanbana field during the Golden Week, when we were lost in the mountains! He had got it printed! But that was not all. There was something written on the back of the picture! A message, which said:

What were you thinking, you little pervert?!

Lol.

My face heated up completely now.

It was Shunsui's hand-writing, but he has signed the message in both his name and that of Gōjun!

I covered my face with my hand, feeling so much embarrassed of myself. 

However, I couldn't help but shake my head at my own self and laugh in good humor after a minute. I could almost hear the boys laughing to themselves too, as they tried to imagine my face at the discovery of the joke.

Thank you for reading!