My Youth in Grand Blue!

After their failed challenge, the trio looked dejected as they returned to their books to study. Though… the book was quite interesting, attending the banquet was still way more fun!

Shiro stared at the dazzling array of hand gestures in the book, feeling like he was about to fall asleep.

Suddenly, he felt a huge softness press against his back!

Azusa had leaned her entire body against Shiro, her alluring arms gently hooking around his neck.

"Sleepy?"

The scent of wisteria flowers mixed with a faint trace of alcohol, making the already drowsy Shiro completely lose focus.

"Mm..."

Shiro slumped onto the table. He just wanted to sleep now. (.-ω-)zzz

Poke, poke~

"Shiro~ Which girl were you out playing with yesterday~?"

"(.-ω-)zzz It was Kiyoko."

Hearing this, Azusa's eyes lit up! She knew this Kiyoko—Shiro had mentioned her before, and she had even met her.

A very cute girl, exactly her type. She never expected Shiro to be with her yesterday. Then… (??ω??)

Azusa's lips curled into a mischievous smile. "So, what did you two do last night~?"

"Do? Of course, we played…"

(??.??‵)

"Played what?"

"Played bab—"

"Azusa! Bad news!"

Just as Shiro was about to continue, Iori's voice startled him awake!

Shiro sat up in a daze, looking around blankly. He remembered falling asleep in the wisteria grove. But why was there a pig squealing in the wisteria grove?

"Sigh..."

Azusa sighed with a disappointed expression. Damn it, she was just about to enjoy some fun gossip, and Iori had to ruin it!

But… seeing how panicked Iori looked, could this be another entertaining situation?!

She remained lazily draped over Shiro, watching Iori rush over in a flurry.

"Azusa! It's an emergency! Nanaka seems to have found out about me and Chisa! Can you help me think of a solution?!"

Iori was too desperate to be jealous of Shiro right now. He just wanted to stay alive!

Just now, Nanaka had suddenly appeared beside him, patted his shoulder, and mentioned the matter. He had nearly lost his soul in terror!

And those three bastards, he had clearly signaled for help with the "trouble detected" gesture! Why didn't any of them come to his rescue?!

(=?▽?=)?!

Azusa's eyes sparkled. Sure enough, Iori's situation was just as interesting!

She immediately patted her chest and promised, "Okay, no problem! Leave it to me!"

"Whew..."

Iori breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, Azusa was definitely someone he could rely on!

(;?＿?)

"Are you sure you don't want to ask what she's planning to say?"

Shiro, acting as a human pillow, kindly reminded him. He felt that if Azusa really explained things, Iori might have to find a new place to live.

!!!

Shiro's words yanked Iori back from heaven to hell. He turned to Azusa with desperate eyes. "Can you tell me exactly what you're going to say to Nana?"

"Of course! I'll tell her who you really like!"

(Kohei: (/?＼))

Σ(?д?|||)??!!!

Demon! This woman was definitely a demon sent straight from hell!

Smack!

Iori grabbed Azusa's wrist and, noticing Nana's gaze shifting toward them, quickly shouted, "Ahaha! The person I love the most is Chisa!"

Hearing this, Nanaka's face was completely hidden in shadow.

Shiro silently turned away. This idiot really had a talent for digging his own grave.

"Iorikun~"

Sure enough, in the next second, Nanaka floated over to Iori and grabbed his shoulders.

Iori frantically signaled to his friends with a "come save me" gesture.

The two seniors watching couldn't help but comment, "Iori is learning more and more through practical experience."

"Kohei, Shiro, do you want to try learning this way too?"

"…"

Kohei and Shiro silently took a step away from their seniors. What gave them the illusion that this method was an effective way to learn?

As for Iori?

Sorry, but his survival was another matter entirely.

Shiro pulled out his beloved camera, ready to capture Kitahara's last moments alive.

However…

"That's a relief!"

The situation took a completely unexpected turn. Not only did Nanaka not scold Iori, but she even looked relieved.

Click!

Shiro's high-end camera lens cracked in shock.

This wasn't right! Based on the script, shouldn't Nanaka have annihilated Kitahara by now?! Why did she look relieved instead?!

Could it be… Kitahara really knew how to use hypnosis after all?!

Shiro wasn't the only one dumbfounded. Even Iori, the person involved, was utterly confused.

He had actually survived?

"They get along so well, just like a couple~"

Nanaka's next words cleared up their confusion. She had misunderstood their relationship as merely having a close bond.

This woman was definitely in denial. (;?＿?)

Shiro was all too familiar with this reaction. Back in high school, when a girl wanted to go public with their relationship, he had the same reaction.

Azusa gave Nanaka a teasing look. She had obviously seen through her denial, but surprisingly, this time, Nanaka was at least partially right.

They weren't actually dating. However… if you looked at it from an SM relationship perspective, their dynamic was quite something.

"Hey, what if things aren't as you think and they really are dating? What would you do?"

"Azusa!!!"

Demon! She was definitely Satan's most trusted assistant from hell!

Iori screamed internally as he watched Azusa whispering into Nanaka's ear. This was pushing him straight into the fire pit!

"Hmm—"

Nanaka smiled, but in her eyes, something shifted. She was clearly contemplating deeply.

"Ahaha, I really don't know~"

"Y-Yeah! Azusa, what kind of weird question is that…"

Iori laughed awkwardly, finally feeling like he had dodged the danger.

"No, no, I didn't mean that. What I meant was… I have no idea what I would do."

Nanaka's gaze instantly changed. Her eyes became eerily calm, and Iori even detected an air of indifference toward life itself.

!!!

No way. He absolutely could not let Nanaka find out. If she did, he was dead for sure!

Iori stiffly turned his head, trying his best to maintain a natural expression.

And then…

He saw Shiro appear in front of him with a bright smile, holding up his phone. The screen displayed a video of Iori telling the entire school that Chisa was his girlfriend!

(.;゜;:益:;゜;.)

This scumbag!!!