Nighttime.
Everyone should be lost in their sweet dreams by now～
"Fuu!"
Originally deep in a lovely dream date, Shiro suddenly jolted upright!
Just as things were about to get good, the girl suddenly turned into a pig's head!
Do you know how much psychological damage that can cause a boy?!
After a moment of confusion,
Shiro glanced at the two big sisters cuddled up to him on either side and slowly came to his senses.
Wait... he didn't even need to dream for this, huh?
Wasn't this way more thrilling than a dream?
However!
That dream must have been a sign!
Shiro's squinted eyes gleamed dangerously — someone was trying to steal his pig's head!
That pig's head was proof of his dream to become a god-tier chef — he couldn't let some schemer (like Iori, Kouhei, etc.) ruin it!
Mimicking his first sneaky operation, he carefully slipped out of his warm paradise. He had to find out who was trying to steal his pig's head!
It must be that idiot Kitahara. He was sleeping in the living room tonight — that bastard must have gotten hungry in the middle of the night!
Shiro tiptoed into the living room.
And sure enough!
The spot where Iori had been was now empty!
"Splish, glug glug, splash～"
Strange noises came from the direction of the pool.
Damn it, not only did that bastard steal his pig head, now he's eating it by the pool too?!
Shiro's mind immediately conjured up a vivid image of Iori, naked, sitting in the pool with a plate of meat floating in front of him, eating meat and drinking sake while reciting poetry to the moon.
!!!
Even I couldn't enjoy life this much!
Pulling out the sleeping powder he always carried with him, Shiro prepared to give the bastard a little surprise attack!
He slowly approached the pool. He had to… he had to...
{{(°△°; "}}!
He had to call the cops!!!
Instead of the poetic scene he imagined, what met Shiro's eyes was the site of an outright murder!
Chisa and Aina were stomping on Kitahara's head, trying to drown him in the pool!
Maybe... maybe he should just go back to bed?
Click!
A flash went off — Shiro had instinctively taken a picture!
Instantly, Chisa and Aina locked their eyes onto Shiro!
Σ(っ °Д °;)っ!
Shiro stared at his hand in horror. He had unconsciously snapped a photo!
Seeing the two girls' increasingly dangerous (shocked and panicked) expressions, his brain raced at full speed.
Think, Shiro, THINK! If you don't come up with an excuse, you're going to end up drowned along with Kitahara! Just imagine Chisa and Aina using their feet to stomp on your...
...Why did that sound kinda exciting?
GOT IT!
With Chisa and Aina looking at him in total confusion, Shiro staggered away, snapping pictures as he walked, pretending to be sleepwalking!
After all, with his permanently squinted eyes, no one could really tell if he was awake or asleep!
Perfect!
Shiro, you're a genius!
However, the path of genius is never smooth... Before he had walked very far, Shiro bumped into something.
He cracked his eyes open a little — and was met by Kitahara's ghastly face.
╭(°A°`)╮
"Holy crap! You turned into a ghost so fast?!"
"You're the ghost, you bastard!"
"How did the water ghost get out of the pool?!"
"What the hell kind of fantasy are you running with, idiot? I'm training, damn it!"
"Stay away from me! I'm sleepwalking!"
"You think we're that stupid?!"
"..."
After a heated scuffle, Shiro was finally "convinced" and understood the situation...
"So you're seriously practicing diving?"
Shiro looked at Iori, completely bewildered. That earlier scene had clearly looked like a murder attempt!
"Of course! Why else would I be wearing diving goggles?!"
Iori waved the goggles in his hand. No way would Chisa and Aina give him goggles just to enjoy the scenery before he drowned!
"...What are you even trying to achieve?"
"Isn't it obvious?! It's because of you three bastards! If you guys found out, you'd totally laugh at me!"
"...Do you want to count again how many 'three bastards' are actually here?"
"..."
Iori clutched his face in agony. If Kouhei had been here too, it would've made a full set!
"Please, don't tell Kouhei about this."
He gave up. Still... even if just one person didn't know, it was better than nothing.
Smack!
Shiro solemnly slapped Iori on the shoulder and said loudly, "Don't worry! I'll absolutely not tell Kouhei that you can't pass the diving test!"
"..."
That extremely loud declaration threw the whole scene into dead silence.
"You trying to tell him in his dream, you bastard?!"
"That was definitely not my intention…"
(;?＿?)
Shiro started sweating nervously. Man, even after being so loud, why hadn't that blond guy woken up yet? Were the senpai all snoring that hard?
"So, are we still continuing? It feels like our strength alone isn't enough — with Shiro here it'll be perfect."
Now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, Chisa suggested this. Just now, when she and Aina tried to stomp on Iori, he kept struggling, and it wasn't very effective.
Hearing this, Shiro and Iori exchanged a glance — instantly picturing a scene where Shiro was stepping on Iori's head.
Σ_(???」∠)
Both of them dry-heaved uncontrollably!
No way in hell!
"No, there's still water in the diving goggles. Let's use the previous method!"
"The previous method?"
Five minutes later...
Iori was soaking comfortably in the pool, a towel on his forehead, looking like he was enjoying a bathhouse.
"Is this really going to work...?"
Chisa and Aina were skeptical. This just looked like a bath!
"It'll be fine! This is when I'm the most relaxed!"
Iori looked up at the starry sky — the dazzling light beautiful like the ocean itself.
"Maybe this way I can observe that scenery even more closely.
I'm going to do everything within my ability!"
Iori had come to terms with himself. He loved the ocean — and he loved being with everyone too. There was no reason to keep running away just because he couldn't swim.
Afterward, Iori told Chisa and the others to go back to sleep. He wanted to stay and enjoy the beautiful night by himself, hoping for a sudden breakthrough.
"Why are you still here..."
Iori stared speechlessly at Shiro. For some reason, being naked around this scumbag made him feel extremely unsafe...
(???)
"I want to go back too, but I'm scared..."
Shiro was genuinely afraid, because...
Iori's current posture was exactly the same as the one from his dream! He was scared that if he left, the guy would transform into the full nightmare version!
He hadn't forgotten why he snuck out in the first place!
(′｀;)?
"You and Azusa... you're not—"
"Excuse me."
Before Iori could finish, an unfamiliar voice interrupted.
Both of them looked over to see a man wearing what looked like a government worker's uniform, sharp-eyed and imposing!
"I'm a police officer."
{{(°△°; "}}!
The two of them jumped in shock, then forced themselves to calm down. After all, they were law-abiding citizens — nothing to be afraid of!
Probably…?
"We received a report about some suspicious male and female activity here. Did you see anything?"
"Ahahaha... no, there's just been the two of us here."
"Yeah, yeah, obviously no girls around, the caller must have been seeing things."
Both of them looked a bit nervous. Iori was especially tense because he wasn't wearing any clothes — if they got caught like this, he'd definitely be labeled a pervert!
Shiro was nervous because...
He had gotten into plenty of trouble back in high school over romantic disputes — so why the hell did Tokyo cops get involved in relationship drama anyway?!
"Is that so?"
The cop's eyes were full of suspicion, clearly regarding the two of them as shady individuals, especially with that giant iron pot nearby!
"Well... Kitahara, I'm heading back to sleep. It's super late."
Shiro yawned, casually picked up a pair of swim trunks by his feet, and started heading inside. As he passed Iori, he flashed him a dazzling smile～
YOU BASTARD!
Iori's eyes widened in horror — because that bastard Shiro had picked up his swim trunks!
With the cop standing right there, he couldn't get up at all!
Watching Shiro about to vanish indoors, Iori made up his mind!
He held up five fingers!
Ding～
"Transaction complete, my dear ATM gentleman～"