COMMEMORATIVE INTERLUDE: WHAT IF POST-COMING-OF-AGE DRINKING PARTY (PART 3)
Everyone was on their seats, giving their cheers around the hotpot but each had different drinks in hand. Nagatsuki, Kaori and I had beer. Hadzuki had wine. Aya had oolong highball. Kotori had a spirit highball.
ăZero uniformity.ă
ăIsnât that us in a nutshell?ă
Well thatâs not wrong. Everyone from the twelve families basically embodies going oneâs own way, after all. Itâs natural that they wonât even think of matching with others. Which is why deciding what to do is so important.
ăNo punishment games this time, okay?ă
ăYeah, since if we do something like that when alcohol is involved, itâll probably end up even worse.ă
Things already went so out of control back then, thereâs no telling how worse it could get with alcohol. Having one stopper wouldnât be enough. At worst, Kaori might collapse.
ăIâm really curious, what happened during the first punishment game party?ă
ăYouâre really asking about that dark history, huh.ă
If I remember, what happened then has been whispered around as rumours. That the twelve family students enrolled in the academy gathered and had a battle, with the defeated ending up humiliated or so. Some weird exaggerations were added.
ăI canât help it. It was really talked about even at the academy back then.ă
ăI wonder where the information was leaked from.ă
I stared right at Aya and she immediately broke eye contact. So you really were the source. From Kaoriâs way of speaking, I guess it was more widely known than I thought.
ăSince youâre so curious about it, wanna have a look at our dark past?ă
ăYes!ă
I opened my dark past folder and showed it to her. Itâs the pictures I took, so thereâs nothing involving me included. Which is exactly why I can show it off. Aya and the rest are probably going to show theirs off later anyways.
ăSay, what exactly is the context in this one? Kotori looking down on Minadzuki while heâs kneeling at her.ă
That one packs the strongest punch, right? Youâd wonder what exactly got that sweet Kotori so pissed off. The twelve family people, knowing the context, could only let out a wry smile.
ăThe rule was that the winner could decide the punishment for the one in last place. Kotori won, while Minadzuki and I were fighting to decide the last place.ă
ăI get it now.ă
Even without hearing the end result, Kaori understood. She knows Kotori well, after all. Of the twelve families, Kaori has been with me and Kotori for the longest. Itâs likely how she can guess what happened.
ăI have some pictures of Kotori here.ă
ăSo you really are showing those, huh.ă
ăIsnât that obvious? Otherwise it wouldnât be fair.ă
As expected, Aya showed her pictures. Itâs all in the far past already, so I wonât make a fuss about it. It doesnât change that fact that itâs embarrassing, though. Especially with that.
ăPfft!?ă
ăHey, thatâs dirty.ă
ăWhy the heck are you wearing that!?ă
Like I thought, Kaori reacted to the animal pajama picture. Itâs honestly my biggest blunder of that time. I shouldâve been a bit more aware of my appearance.
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ăArenât these basically gravure photos?ă
ăThereâs even more suggestive ones⊠Oh, from that time!?ă
The pictures from the no-boys girls night were being shown. That one was personally a large stain in my past. The boys donât know anything about this, so Hadzuki and the others have their ears perked.
ăWhy a swimsuit in the indoorsâŠă
ăThereâs other even racier stuff. See, like this one.ă
ăUwah, I canât believe Kotone agreed to this.ă
ăI lost a game. Aya is abnormally strong in those sorts of situations.ă
ăFufufu, I learnt from my first defeat and practiced.ă
Compared to when she got beat horribly, you couldnât tell it was the same person playing. To the point where I think she should consider being a pro-gamer instead of a singer. Later I heard from Rin that she was forced to help her practice.
ăI also have some pictures of you right out of bath, Kotone.ă
ăI didnât know anything about that, though!?ă
Why the heck did you take peep shots? Suddenly, I thought of turning my gaze to Kotori and she looked away. You also took pictures? Somehow, unbeknown to me, pictures of me keep increasing.
ăKotoneâs surprisingly full of openings, right?ă
ăI get that feeling too. It was really nerve-wracking to see her that time when she served customers in a waitress outfit.ă
ăWait, whatâs with that hidden event!?ă
ăI havenât heard about that either!ă
ăThere was also a time when she served in a yukata. Itâs kinda like a limited edition thing, so only a rare few saw it, I think.ă
ăI feel so frustrated.ă
You really do look like it, Kotori. That event only lasted for a few days, so itâs unavoidable that you missed it. For the waitress outfit, it was when I was drenched by sudden rain and couldnât use my usual clothes. I seriously didnât expect the owner to have one made for me.
ăNagatsuki came during the yukata time, though.ă
ăKuh-!ă
ăDonât suddenly put a target on me!ă
Glared by Kotori, Nagatsuki panicked. I canât take being the only one aimed at anymore. Dragging someone down along with me is more of my style.
ăThen let me divulge Nagatsukiâs dark history too. Itâs not pictures though, but itâs about something he wanted my advice about.ă
ăYou promised to keep it a secret, didnât you!?ă
ăAlready past expiry. Itâs unfair that only I get exposed like this.ă
ăYou just want to drag someone else down with you! What part of the conversation made me out to be a problem!?ă
None at all. Iâm just lashing out. Besides, since weâre arguing this much, everyoneâs gotten curious. I canât take it back now.
ăOkay, Kotone. Go and expose him.ă
ăăăExpose him! Expose him!ăăă
As expected of alcohol. Everyoneâs excitement is at its peak. With Hadzukiâs words, the others began an âExpose himâ call. Thereâs no stopping in this situation now.
ăNagatsuki asked me for advice for his first love.ă
With that, Nagatsuki hung his head in defeat. The others stared at me with great interest, urging me to continue. And I know this isnât enough to satisfy them.
ăIt wasnât my first time to have love counseling, so that wasnât a problem. However, things were rockier than expected and in the end, he was overtaken by a love rival.ă
ăSo it was unrequited. Was it because Nagatsuki didnât have enough momentum?ă
ăIf I had to say, it was because the other party was feeling reserved, I guess?ă
With someone from the twelve families as a suitor, itâs only natural for a daughter of a company owner to feel some reservation. After all, she has to be careful with her words yet she also canât just accept.
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ăThough the greatest factor was that she already had someone in her heart.ă
ăWell, thatâs⊠really just unfortunate, no other way to describe it.ă