Chapter 11: School Trip, Part 1 (Parts 1-2)

Chapter 11, Part 1

Finally, the day has arrived… today I'll return to my home country after such a long time!

Everyone at home is still sleeping, including me.

But that changes when suddenly my alarm rings very loudly.

Ah! My alarm is so loud it startles everyone!

— Ah!

Those screams came from my room too.

What really scared me were those screams.

— Ah!

They make me fall out of the hammock.

— Ah, don't worry, it's just my alarm. — I tell them.

The girls come down to the living room.

— Why do you have such a loud alarm?! — Chikara asks me, very annoyed.

My alarm is a super loud song; I'd be embarrassed to describe exactly what it was…

— I just wanted something that would really wake me up…

I say, smiling and scratching my head.

— …

— Anyway, Miru-chan, Hiroki, go get ready for the trip. Meanwhile, Neko-chan and Chisato-chan should head home.

— It's too early, Uraseku-senpai. — Neko-chan says, a bit sleepy.

Everyone leaves the house to prepare at their own places, except for Neko and Chisato-chan, who will just go home to rest.

Neko-chan carries Yasuragi, who is still asleep, and Miru-chan takes Ai, who is in the same state.

The rest of the day I spend preparing.

I take care of the crops, handle the pupusería for three hours, and then start packing with Kibō.

— Hmm, do I have everything I need?

— Let me check…

Kibō starts reviewing my luggage.

— Let's see… clean clothes… council papers… SPF 50 sunscreen… I'm not fooled, idiot! I know you're hiding your hentai manga in there!

— Prove it!

Kibō digs through my underwear and pulls something out.

It's a manga… but it's not hentai!

— Put that back!

— I knew that bulge in the front wasn't normal; it doesn't even show when you're wearing them… — he responds indifferently.

— What do you mean by that?! Ah, whatever, give me that.

I snatch the manga from him and put it back under my bed, then grab the last things to pack and close the suitcase.

— Alright, now let's go to the pupusería, I need to lock it up properly.

At the pupusería, I take care of turning off the lights and putting everything away.

Once I finish, I go out and look for the keys to lock up, but then Makoto arrives, apparently sick.

— H-Hello Uraseku, are you ready? Achoo!

— Bless you, are you okay? It looks like you were out in the rain all night.

After asking him that, he responds very annoyed:

— Idiot, I was out in the rain looking for Chisato!

— Huh? But I told her to let you know.

— She didn't… that Chisato forgets that I worry a lot about her.

Kibō jumps at me and, very excited, says:

— Hey! Let's go already!

— Can you go in that condition, Makoto?

— Don't worry, I'm stronger than a simple cold… Achoo!

Makoto, Kibō, and I head to the school and then to the airport.

Did I lock up the pupusería? Hmm… I don't remember, but I'm sure I did.

The trip to the airport was relatively short since we live in Kawaguchiko, very close to Mount Fuji. Traveling to Haneda Airport in Tokyo was quite exhausting, but the good news is we finally arrived.

It's very rare for this airport to have direct flights to El Salvador, but fortunately, President Nayiks has sent us planes. Very kind of him, I suppose.

After arriving, I meet up with Miru-chan and Hiroki.

— It was a long trip… but at least I got to see the city from the window. — Miru-chan says.

— Yeah, we should visit someday to get out of this hole of a city we live in. — I reply.

— Hey, respect your place of residence… — Hiroki tells me.

We all let out a big sigh, showing that we're really tired; the trip and the preparations were so long that it's almost nightfall.

But someone seemed to have not a trace of tiredness.

— All student council members of Adachi Institute, please gather!

That was Kuroda-san. Hearing him, I go to see what he has to say.

All the council members have gathered, and I quickly notice that the only one missing is Makoto.

— Uhm, the student council president, Fujisaki-san, is sick and unable to carry out his duties, so as the vice president of the student council, I will replace him on the trip. We all have things to do, so it's time to take care of them.

According to what we discussed in the student council, I'll be distributing tickets among some students.

Additionally, all the council members will be flying together on the same plane.

— Everyone has their seats numbered on the ticket, please try not to lose it.

Time passes really slowly while I distribute the tickets.

I asked Kibō to hide because the topic of the diamonds is really unknown in this part of Japan.

Finally, when we are called to board the first plane, I take my ticket and head to my seat.

Each row has three seats, and according to my ticket, the assigned seat is the middle seat of the right side row.

As I take my seat, someone approaches.

— Excuse me, this is my seat.

I make room for him to enter; it was none other than Sora, the blonde guy who looks like a kid.

Apparently, he got the seat next to my left, right by the airplane window.

— Oh, it's you. — I say.

— Ha! I'm glad I got to sit with you, Uraseku-kun. — he replies with a smile.

As we get comfortable, Kuroda-san arrives and sits to my right.

Sora almost climbs on top of me to greet him.

— But look at that! Welcome to the best row, substitute president!

— Good evening.

— Eh… such coldness. — Sora says, quite disappointed. — At least I'm with Uraseku.

— Well… I-I suppose.

— … It seems like I got stuck with the most boring people on the plane… Also, it looks like you haven't slept much, Uraseku-kun.

It's true, I'm really feeling very sleepy.

— Well, it's going to be a long trip… I think I'll sleep a bit here.

— Huh? Oh well, just do your thing.

Sora pouts as if he's annoyed.

After takeoff and reaching a considerable altitude, my eyes close until, at some point, it becomes difficult to open them.

...

Damn it… again.

...

I'm back in that place covered by dense fog… what does it want now?

...

It's really boring here, it makes sleeping feel like a punishment rather than a rest.

However, I don't see the silhouette anywhere, but I do see something very small and big-headed approaching…

— K-Kibō…?

It was indeed him…

— Rasec…

— What's going on?

— I don't know… Are we trapped?

That would be a problem.

— Wait! — With that, Kibō flies into the darkness.

— Hey…!

My voice, again, I can't speak louder…

Wait, again? Have I been here before?

... The background music is really calm, but it's so melancholic that it only emphasizes my loneliness...

I love that combination of such strange notes, majors, minors, sevenths… flats… at a very… slow tempo… an adagio… 52 beats per… minute…

Damn it… why do I feel so weak?

With that, I fall to the ground, covered by the dense fog that has turned an even darker gray.

— K-Kibō...

...

**Chapter 3, Part 2**

— Uraseku-kun has been sleeping for a long time...

That voice… it's Sora…

— Should I wake him up?

I hear his voice from afar; I'm still really asleep.

I unconsciously lean against Sora.

— Ah! Hey, don't lean on me!

Sora pushes me and I fall onto Kuroda-san.

— Gah! — That scream was from Kuroda-san.

Apparently, he was so surprised that he punched me, waking me up.

— Ouch! Huh? Oh!

— I-I'm sorry! Are you okay?

The punch was the least of my worries when I saw through the window what I thought I'd see.

Those beaches, those majestic volcanoes, those serene lakes.

I hope I didn't mess up the flag pledge when I recited it in kindergarten…

I mean, we're finally in El Salvador!

After such a long time, we land at the airport.

When we get off, we are greeted by the Japanese ambassador to this country, who takes us to a lounge at the airport.

— Welcome to El Salvador! I'm Tanaka, the Japanese ambassador to this country. It's a pleasure to meet you.

With that, we all bow.

— Thank you very much for welcoming us, Tanaka-san. — Kuroda-san, who is at the front of us, responds.

— We are really grateful that you chose this country as your destination. We contacted the student council president to organize all our routes and places to visit. Also, I heard that one of your companions can speak both Spanish and Japanese. If anyone has a question and a guide is not nearby, please feel free to talk to him.

— He's talking about you, senpai! — Miru-chan says cheerfully.

— Huh? Well… I'm not that great at Japanese…

— Don't be modest! We know you're good at this, buddy. — Kenji tells me.

— I suppose it wouldn't hurt to be with you this time. — Hiroki says to me.

You don't fool me, Hiroki. You want to be close to see that anime…

— Yes, we trust you! — Sora tells me.

Wait, when did he start trusting me so much?!

I have no escape, I'll have to do work here too…

— Well… I'll do my best.

With that, we take the buses and head to the hotel where we'll be staying, one that's next to the Costa del Sol.

It's funny that we come from the Land of the Rising Sun only to end up at the Costa del Sol.

We check in and head to the conference room.

While we wait for instructions, something unexpected happens.

The doors open, and some really polished shoes appear, a painted beard, the presidential sash, the hat worn backward.

He is undoubtedly…

The person who enters takes the microphone and speaks to us in Spanish, which is then translated by his Japanese interpreter:

— Hello, good morning everyone, I'm Nayiks!

Oh, right! Without a doubt, all the previous characteristics could only belong to one person in the world, and some Arab or Palestinian, but in this case… Nayiks, the president!

— I mean, the president, I really hope you enjoy your stay, and I understand that you have someone who understands both Spanish and Japanese.

— It's true, it's a pleasure, President Nayiks…

I reply very bashfully as he smiles at me.

It's not like it's the first time I've seen him; I really don't care, I turn red only because of the nerves.

Just when I thought everything would go normally, something unexpected happens.

— And I'm glad you chose this country… — he takes a breath, then says: — Because before, in previous governments…!

— Gah!

Here comes this guy with his speech about the previous governments!

— Ah, sorry for the interruption, Supreme Leader President Nayiks! But I think everyone is tired, why don't we move on to the dormitories?

With that, he looks at me seriously, then says:

— Umh, okay.

Phew… fortunately.

I just saved us from an hour-long speech.

Kuroda-san takes control again and gives us instructions.

— Alright! The rooms have been assigned. The distribution is as follows: you'll share rooms with the people you were seated with on the plane, which is why we didn't mix boys and girls.

That means I'll be with Kuroda-san and Sora…

Neither of them is my friend, although they could be.

No, I'm not that extroverted to…

— Ah!

— That's great, it means we'll be together, Uraseku-kun!

Sora hugs me by the arm while I was thinking about that.

— Hey, let go of me!

I start moving my arm to try to get him to release it.

— K-Kuroda-san, could I be near my friends instead?

— That was the decision. You can visit them whenever you like, but not too late.

— I see…

— If you'll excuse me, I have things to do. Go to your rooms and unpack.

With that, Kuroda-san leaves with the president and the ambassador.

— Hey! After unpacking, could we go to the beach?

— Sure, but let go of my arm!

Our room has three beds, as expected. I wouldn't have shared if there had only been one.

Sora and I unpack; he changes into his beachwear and heads out ahead of me.

Meanwhile, I put on my swimsuit, the best I could imagine. 

At the beach, I call everyone to give instructions, but they look at me strangely.

— Over there you can rent surfboards, there are fruit ices for sale, you can swim at the shore, and this flag indicates the sea's danger level. It's green, so it's safe.

Kenji raises his hand and says:

— Why do you look so silly?

I shouldn't get questions like that when speaking in public…

— W-well, since there are no questions, you can go.

Kenji approaches me and says:

— Where's your swimsuit?

— It's this one.

My swimsuit is a pair of blue pants and a long-sleeved blue shirt, fully covered even with very strong sunscreen.

It's more likely for the sun to get a tan than for me to.

— Hey, buddy, but you're here to get a tan; the sun is delightful, you need vitamin D!

— I don't want to get a tan.

He looks at me strangely for a moment, then tries to forcibly take it off.

— Take it off!

— N-no, wait, I'm not wearing anything underneath!

While we're wrestling over that, Miru-chan arrives, in a swimsuit!

— Hello, guys!

Her swimsuit… it's really beautiful!

Even though it's not as daring as the others, it makes her look adorable.

Kenji and I are almost drooling and nosebleeding.

— Give me five. — Kenji says.

— Don't do that in front of her, idiot! — I say quietly.

Then, Hiroki arrives.

— What's up?

— …

— Why are you dressed like that?

Miru-chan asks me while I'm thinking of a response.

— You look really silly. — Hiroki tells me.

— Hey, why don't you go swim or something? We didn't come here to critique me.

— Ummh, I don't know. But I want to go surfing. — Hiroki says.

— You surf?

I ask as he goes to rent a board.

— Of course, not like you…

If only he knew.

— Hahaha! You know something, Hiroki? You forget I'm the world champion of… well… I can surf too…

I rent a board to show him that I can indeed surf.

— Let's see who does it better.

Apparently, Hiroki is serious.

Kenji and Sora come closer when they hear there's going to be a competition, while Miru-chan watches us with one of her friends.

— Come on, loser buys lunch for everyone! — Kenji says as Hiroki and I head into the sea.

— Yes, let's have them buy! — Sora shouts from the shore.

— Alright! — Hiroki and I respond as we hear them.

We start waiting for a wave far out in the ocean. The good side is that the water won't go past our knees if we fall.

— I'm going to make you eat sand in front of Miru-chan. — Hiroki says.

— In this case, it would be sand, don't you think?

— Tch… I'll tell you that…

Before Hiroki finishes his sentence, Kenji interrupts us.

— Go! Surf already!

— Y-yes!

Hiroki and I head into the sea, waiting patiently for a wave until the perfect one arrives.

— Alright!

Despite not having trained on the board for a while, I easily catch it.

Everything goes normally, until…

— Ugh… I'm so hot!

— K-Kibō!

Kibō suddenly emerges from the diamond.

I try to hide him again so no one sees, and in the process, I fall off the board.

The waves drag me to the shore.

Miru-chan runs towards me.

— Uraseku-senpai! Are you okay?

When I stand up, I start vomiting salt water mixed with sand and fish!

Damn it, I lost because of Kibō…

He should have stayed in the hotel room!

Finally, Hiroki reaches the shore safe and sound.

— Ha! I beat you, you'll have to pay for everyone's lunch.

I wipe my face and tiredly say:

— I forgot to tell you… that President Nayiks… ugh… has paid for everyone's food…

— Huh?

Everyone around me is surprised.

— Why would he do that? — Sora asks.

I really don't know; I guess he's just so happy that a Japanese institute is visiting the country.

— S-so… what was the point of this competition?

Apparently, none…

What a waste of time.

Immediately after, we head to one of the beach restaurants to taste the real flavor of this place.

Although, to be honest, I don't like seafood…