Chapter 172: Keep Being Venomous and I'll Shut Your Mouth for You!
....
Night, 10:00 PM.
By this hour, everyone had already turned in for the night. The Class 1-E boys' room was exceptionally quiet today—mostly because all their "tools of the crime" had been confiscated. Otherwise, they likely would have been hosting another round of midnight hot pot and BBQ.
In the hallway, Seito approached silently. Reaching the door of the Class 1-D girls' dormitory, he carefully slid it open and crept inside on tiptoe. The room was pitch black.
Seito could even hear the rhythmic breathing of the sleeping girls. Fortunately, his enhanced vision allowed him to see the layout perfectly.
Scanning the room, he saw that most were fast asleep. Two people, however, were the exception: Eriri and Utaha Kasumigaoka.
The two girls watched curiously as Seito returned. He hadn't been seen all evening, and they had no idea where he'd gone.
Creeping over, Seito dragged his bedding between Eriri and Utaha and naturally slid into his futon.
"Pervert-kun, you really are a pervert through and through, aren't you~?" Utaha whispered, her voice laced with her usual venom. "Yesterday it was Honjou-san, today it's us. Planning to change locations every single day?"
"Heh heh," Seito shot her a look. "Keep being venomous and I'll shut your mouth for you!"
"Tch!" Utaha smirked dismissively, but she didn't say another word. She wasn't entirely sure how Seito intended to "shut" her mouth. As the thought crossed her mind, a flush crept up her neck and rapidly spread across her face.
Seeing her reaction, Seito chuckled internally. Little girl! Think you can't be handled just because of that sharp tongue?
Feeling quite satisfied, Seito turned over. Seeing Eriri with her back to him, he whispered, "Eriri, let's chat. Stop faking it!"
"Seito, you're so annoying!" Eriri turned around peevishly, glaring at him.
Seito ignored the glare, lying flat on his back.
"Why are you two still awake this late?"
"Don't you know my schedule?" Utaha countered. She was a novelist; staying up late was her default setting. Her biological clock was completely flipped. Usually, she couldn't sleep at this hour. Back at school, everyone except Seito (who slept the moment he arrived) could see Utaha constantly napping at her desk.
"Fair point," Seito mused, recalling her character and the anime scenes. "What about you, Eriri?"
Both of them turned to look at the blonde girl.
"I..." Eriri's eyes darted around. "I stay up late drawing every night."
Seito narrowed his eyes. He sensed this wasn't so simple! Drawing late? What kind of 'drawings' are we talking about? Think I don't know? He felt he had seen right through her.
"Makes sense," Seito said with faux gravity.
"But you didn't give me last week's 'study materials' yet."
Utaha: "???" Did I just stumble upon some incredible gossip?
"WAAAH! Don't say it out loud!!" Eriri shrieked, diving under her covers.
That single scream was enough to bolt everyone else awake.
"What happened?"
"Ugh... Eriri? What's wrong?"
"What's going on?"
Small bedside lamps flickered on. The girls saw Seito smiling mischievously at Eriri's spot, while Eriri was completely wrapped in her duvet like a cocoon, not even her head showing. For a moment, everyone was confused. Based on Seito's expression, he didn't seem to have done anything physical.
And what did Eriri's shout mean? Did Seito say something scandalous?
"Ahem, everyone go back to sleep, go back to sleep," Seito waved them off.
The girls were puzzled, but they didn't press it. They turned off their lamps and lay back down. Seito turned to Utaha. She was looking back at him, and the two shared a knowing smirk.
Then, Seito stood up, pulled his bedding from Eriri's right side, and moved it to her left. Seeing this, Utaha also shifted closer to Eriri's position. The two of them had Eriri completely flanked.
"Eriri, you in there?" Seito prompted.
"I'm not! Go to sleep already!" Eriri yelled from inside the cocoon.
At that moment, Kaguya Shinomiya, lying to Seito's left, reached her limit. The "Ice Queen" snapped her eyes open, her freezing gaze drilling into Seito's back.
"Go. To. Sleep!" she commanded in a chilling tone.
Seito shuddered and instinctively turned around. Meeting that icy stare, he gave a cheeky grin. "Roger that, roger that~"
He closed his eyes immediately. Seeing this, Kaguya nodded in satisfaction. On the other side, Utaha saw that the fun was over and closed her eyes too, forcing herself to drift off.
The next morning, 6:00 AM.
The first to wake was Maple, rubbing her eyes as her blurry vision cleared. She sat up and let out a long yawn. Soon after, Asuna, Yukino, and Ai Hayasaka woke up as well. Their morning routine was similar to Maple's, until...
"What on earth is this?" Hayasaka's voice was laced with pure bewilderment.
Her voice caught the attention of the other three. They all looked toward where she was pointing.
There, they saw Kaguya and Eriri—one on the left and one on the right—clinging tightly to Seito. Eriri's hair, in particular, was completely covering Seito's nose and mouth. Seito looked like he was struggling to breathe, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Hayasaka scrambled out of bed and knelt beside Kaguya. "Milady, Milady, wake up!" she urged, shaking her gently.
"Mmm..." Kaguya rubbed her eyes. "Is that you, Hayasaka? Is something wrong?"
"I slept so well today," Kaguya murmured groggily.
Hayasaka's lip twitched. "Milady... look at who you're holding."
Kaguya blinked, confused at first. Then, her eyes focused.
The next second—
"AAAAHHHHH!!"
....
Thank you for reading.