The morning of the second day of the school trip.
After having breakfast and getting dressed, we spent time relaxing in the room until the departure time of the bus to the ski resort.
Watanabe and I were casually watching TV.
Beyond the screen, entertainers are reading out all the news from this morning and responding with honest comments.
After a while, it broke into the kitten's feature corner and the atmosphere changed dramatically.
Meanwhile, Ryuen in the same room is sitting on the one person sofa, as if it was his own sofa, and Kitou is looking at a stack of magazines that are available for free rental at the inn, one at a time.
It seems that they are all fashion magazines.
"He looks way too restless to be just reading a magazine... It looks like he's reading a murder manual."
I heard Watanabe say so. He probably whispered so that he couldn't be heard, but sharp eyes glanced at Watanabe in an instant. Perhaps scared by this, he hid in my shadow and blocked the gaze.
"He's definitely done that to some people, right? Right?"
My shoulders are being shaked, but I'd like to be allowed to concentrate on the cat feature on the TV.
"Hey, Kitou. You're not satisfied with yesterday's pillow throwing, right? Have a match against me today."
As if to bring a storm in on a peaceful morning, Ryuen said so and brought a suggestion to Kitou. It goes without saying that for me or Watanabe, it wasn't something to be welcomed.
"Fool. Are you jumping into certain death yourself? If you want to regret it, then I won't stop you."
"He-he, try to make me regret it, then."
"What kind of match do you want?"
"We're going to ski now, so it's obvious, isn't it?"
It seems that he wants a simple 'time attack' race about who finishes skiing first.
Kitou is probably not a novice either, but at least it's clear from yesterday that Ryuen's skills are high.
There is no need to go out of your way to go along with a strategy that is meant to drag you into someone else's playing field. However, as expected, Kitou quickly closed the magazine.
"You think you can win if it's skiing? I'll crush that idea of yours."
Seeming to accept it, he doesn't show any attitude of trying to escape.
"You shouldn't cause too many problems, you know? Hey, are you two listening?"
"I don't think he can hear that warning."
Watanabe's voice volume was so low that a child might say, "An ant is talking!".
I was sitting next to him and could only just barely make out what he was saying.
"I can imagine how pathetic you'll look crawling on the slope."
"Ridiculous."
They're both heating up as they interact with each other. As Kitou stood up, he rolled up the borrowed magazine and approached Ryuuen with it in his hand, sticking up the tip of the magazine like a sword.
"When you lose, you'll be as quiet as a borrowed cat the whole trip."
As if unknowingly inspired by the cat feature on television, he taunted him.
"Huh? If you ask me, I've been quiet enough already." With a slap, he swiftly swiped off the magazine.
"Can we just leave it at that? I want to watch the cat feature."
I said so and urged the two to keep their distance from each other.
"Wow, that's some big talk, Ayanokouji. Aren't you afraid that they'll target you?"
"I don't think so. There is no merit for those two to go after someone like me."
Unless I butt in too much, this will remain as Ryuuen versus Kitou until the end.
"Anyway, they seem to have gone quiet, so I'll continue watching the-"
Just as I thought so, before I knew it, the cats had disappeared from the TV.
Apparently, it was not a very long special feature, and it was over in just a few minutes.
"What a shame, Ayanokouji. You liked cats, right?"
"No, not really."
"You don't like them!?"
I just wanted to see them, it isn't as if I hold any particular love for the animal called cat.
I would have felt the same way if this was a dog feature, or even a hippo feature.
The program was cheerful for a while, but then, the breaking news came in.
"We will continue with the news, then. Former Secretary General Naoe passed away at a hospital in Tokyo after a long period of medical treatment. Comments from Prime Minister Kijima from his office:"
With numerous flashes, a stern-looking man begins to speak.
"Try a horse by riding him, and judge a man by living with him. These are the words that
Naoe Sensei told me, shortly after we met."
The Prime Minister began to talk about the deceased, and then, poof, the screen blacked out.
"It's time for the bus."
Kitou, holding the remote control with his index finger on the power button, called out to me.
"Let's go, Ayanokouji."
I am a little concerned about the two of them, but I'll still enjoy skiing.