"Man, it's been so long since I last came to this place."
"I know, right? And it's totally packed in here, too."
"There are tons of hot girls around. Wonder which of 'em I should bang with t'night."
As he'd originally planned, Ryuichi was visiting the club where men and women partied together for the first time in a while. Even though he had been away for quite some time, the atmosphere was just as noisy and boisterous as he remembered. He couldn't see other students like himself and his friends, but he was sure there were probably a few lurking around.
"Yoohoo, Ryuichi~. ♪"
"Chisa?"
He came across another regular visitor of the club, Chisa. She naturally grabbed his hand and invited him to sit down. Makoto and Kaname walked into the crowd to look for girls of their own.
"What a surprise to see you here. I didn't expect you to come here after that."
"Had some time on my hands, y'know? Well, I'm not gonna hang around for too long; gonna be heading home before it gets too late."
"Yep, yep, good idea. You'll be putting Shizuna-chan at ease that way."
He was about to tell her that he didn't have that kind of relationship with Shizuna, but he ended up not saying anything because he knew Chisa would pick on him a lot for it. Right in the corner of his vision, he spotted a flamboyant-looking couple deep-kissing each other and exchanging words as they gazed at each other.
"Say, you sure you wanna do this when you have a boyfriend?"
"It's fine. I've forgotten all about him since coming here. ♪"
"Haha, if that's what you say. I guess that means I'll be your temporary boyfriend for now."
"Sounds good to me~."
Ryuichi didn't know about the man, but apparently the woman had come here even though she had a boyfriend. Of course, there were some people who came to this party just to fill their stomachs, but the majority of visitors were men and women here to do things like this.
"The atmosphere here's the same as always, huh."
"A bit too late for that now, don't you think? Here, some soda."
"Thanks."
Of course, it went without saying that he wouldn't drink alcohol. As he was quenching his thirst with the glass of soda, he caught sight of a curious scene at a seat a short distance away from them.
"…Look at that."
"What's the matter?"
She turned her eyes to where he was looking as well. There, two people were sitting on a sofa, a man and a woman; however, something seemed to be wrong with the woman. Unlike the man who was proactively making moves on her, the woman seemed to be feeling uncomfortable about being here.
"Do you think she was forced to come here by a friend?"
"Ah~, yeah, that definitely sounds possible. She looks like a meek, docile girl, so I'd say she probably couldn't turn them down."
Her hair was long enough to cover her eyes, but when she abruptly looked up in fear, he could see that she was good-looking, with a face that was well-defined. Plus, she had a conspicuously well-shaped figure attractive enough to make a man set their sights on her. The way she was trembling timidly reminded him of a small animal, but…seeing her thrown into a place like this made her look all but pitiful.
"I'm gonna bring her here. You help calm her down."
"Roger that~."
If this were the old Ryuichi, he would've never thought to help her like this. Just like when he saved Shizuna, Ryuichi got up and moved to help her. As he approached them, the man looked up at Ryuichi and trembled in fear. It wasn't so bad once one got used to it, but it seemed that anyone would be scared of Ryuichi's glaring face.
"Looks like the girl doesn't want your company, eh?"
"T-The fuck you say?!"
"Do you seriously not see that? If you don't, you're not qualified to hit on women. You need to learn a little more before you come here."
"Tch… You fucking brat."
"Okey-dokey~!"
Just as the man stood up, he could've sworn he heard Kaname's voice as a drink rained down on the man's head. Using this opportunity, Ryuichi took the woman's hand and stood her up. He thanked Kaname with his eyes and then went straight back to Chisa, pulling the woman along with him by her hand.
"Nice one."
"Thanks."
"U-Umm…"
The woman seemed to be having a hard time keeping up with the sudden turn of events. He decided to leave the rest to Chisa and slurped down the rest of his soda. Meanwhile, he learnt that the woman was a first-year college student named Shirasagi Satsuki. Just as he'd suspected, she'd been forced to come here by her flamboyant friend.
"I know it might be hard for you to speak up, but you have to firmly say no whenever you don't want or like something. Otherwise, that man would have forced you into having sex with him, y'know?"
"I…know. I was so scared I couldn't say anything… I'm sorry. You really saved me back there."
Satsuki bowed her head.
"A docile-looking woman like you makes an easy target for men. You're quite the looker, and your body's got curves, so if you're not careful, you'll get devoured one of these days, got it?"
"Erm…okay."
Unlike when she was talking to Chisa, her body trembled at Ryuichi's words. He wondered to himself if she was that scared of the thought, but Chisa, standing next to him, was clutching her stomach and laughing.
"She's scared of your face, duh. She'd never guess you're in high school with looks like that."
"Huh?! He's a high school student?!"
"Yup. He's a bad, naughty boy!"
"Oh, shut up!"
Even he was aware that he was a bad and unruly kid. However, it seemed that once Satsuki heard that he was a high school student, she became a little less scared of him, and her nervousness dissipated. He didn't know what she was thinking as she stared at him, but it made him feel a little uncomfortable.
"Erm…don't you get bullied at school with those looks of yours?"
"You…are so rude, aren't you?"
"I-I'm sorry…"
"Think of it this way instead: who would be brave enough to bully him with looks like those?"
Even Chisa was casually dissing him. Just as he was about to ask for a refill for his now empty glass of soda, Chisa excused herself to go to the restroom. This left him alone with Satsuki, but he didn't have anything to talk about with her.
"…Wow."
Satsuki gazed at the aforementioned couple still deep-kissing each other so intensely that they looked as if they were about to start doing the deed any moment beside her, and she put her hand on her cheek and gazed at them shyly. Her reaction showed that she was surprisingly more interested in those things than he had expected, but well, it seemed that was how it was for everyone.
"Where's your friend?"
"Oh…err, they went to the back of the club."
"I see."
Looks like her friend was already getting on with it. He wanted to tell her to consider socializing with others, but it would probably be difficult for her to connect with the people here. Her timidness and frailty of heart meant that she might get pushed around by others and even become a target of sorts.
"Well, if you don't want to go through something like that ever again, you have to have the courage to say no when you don't want to do something. There won't always be somebody to save you like I did today. The moment you step through those doors, you're basically telling everybody that you're here to do those things. I'm telling you, no matter what the details or particulars are, it doesn't change the fact that you're an outlier here."
"..."
She drooped her head low. He wondered if he'd maybe been too harsh on her, but he decided that it was necessary for her own good. He then pressed a can of ice-cold juice against her cheek.
"Kyah?!"
"Heh, go ahead and drink it."
He handed the can over to her surprised self. Amazed, she took the can of juice and stared back at him with a slight flush on her cheeks.
"You're kind…aren't you, Ryuichi-kun."
"Hell no. Hanging out at places like these makes me a bad boy."
"Fufu, right."
Clink. She popped open the can's lid.
"…Ah, this tastes wonderful. It tastes better than any drink I've ever had."
"No shot. But yeah, that orange juice definitely does pack a punch."
By now, both of them had become reasonably comfortable with each other. Chisa's return meant that the three of them could now kill some time together, and thanks to Ryuichi and Chisa, Satsuki was getting used to the club's atmosphere.
"I think I'm getting used to this place a little more now…and it's all thanks to the two of you."
"Don't mention it. But if you don't want to go through something like that anymore, then don't come back ever again."
"That's…"
She glanced at Ryuichi.
"If I come back, will I be able to see you, Ryuichi-kun…?"
"Me?"
"Oh my~."
Putting aside for the moment Chisa's irritating smile, seemingly out of pure amusement at the situation, Ryuichi explained to her that he had only come today because he was in the mood for it. He used to come by often before, but now, although he didn't find it too much trouble, he was no longer that keen on coming to this club.
"Why don't you bring Shizuna along with you too next time?"
"Are you being serious?"
Chisa chuckled and told him it was a joke.
"Well, I come by your house pretty often, so it might be nice to get together for drinks at your place sometime."
"Don't just decide that on your own…"
In the end, Ryuichi left the club shortly thereafter. Satsuki was in safe hands since Chisa was walking her home. He didn't feel the need to call out to Makoto and Kaname to say goodbye, as they seemed to be with their partners with whom they had spent the day.
"...?"
Soon after he left the club, his smartphone vibrated. When he looked to see who it was, he found that it was a message from his paternal grandparent, i.e., his grandfather. The message said that he had transferred all the money for his living expenses next month. As usual, they didn't even want to hear his voice, which made him laugh.
"Aight, time to head home."
He'd had a good time today, having reminisced on old times for a bit before the long holiday weekend began. On his way home, he received a call from Shizuna, who amiably asked him how his club visit had gone, and when he asked if she was really that curious, she immediately said yes without hiding anything.
"Of course I want to know…or do you not want to answer?"
"Nah, that's not what I meant. Anyways, I'm actually on my way home right now."
It wasn't like she was waiting for him at his home, yet they were conversing as if they were lovers. The call ended shortly after, but suddenly Ryuichi stopped in his tracks.
"Satsuki, huh… Is it just me, or does her name sound familiar?"
He felt like he'd heard it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where or when exactly, so he decided not to worry about it too much.