"All right! Students, please get off the bus in an orderly manner. There are two people per room in the apartments. Come to me to collect your room keys."
The bus stopped in front of a ryokan, and the teacher leading the trip loudly called out to the students.
This time, the trip was led by two teachers: one was a subject teacher for the second grade, whom Nakano Yu wasn't very familiar with, and the other was Nakano Yu's homeroom teacher, an unpredictable and somewhat capable older woman, close to thirty — Hiratsuka Shizuka.
It seemed that Hiratsuka Shizuka had recently been on sick leave. He had heard that on the way to school, she had been hit by a car that ran a red light and drove in the wrong direction. Fortunately, she wasn't injured and returned to work as soon as she recovered.
The person currently calling the students to collect keys was none other than Hiratsuka Shizuka, dressed in a short denim shirt and holding a megaphone.
As for the other teacher, she was at that moment negotiating with the ryokan staff.
The ryokan wasn't particularly large, and there were quite a lot of students this time. Even though preparations had been made in advance, additional coordination was still necessary.
After getting off the bus, Nakano Yu glanced toward the top of the mountain and vaguely saw the outline of a building. That was probably the Ushi-oni base — Merlin Temple.
He hoped that the Ushi-oni wouldn't be foolish enough to cause them trouble.
Thinking that, Nakano Yu resolutely headed toward the ryokan entrance.
He hadn't gone far when a sudden shout came from behind him:
"Wait! Nakano-kun! Please, wait for me!"
Hearing the voice, Nakano Yu turned his head and saw Katsura Kotonoha running toward him, holding a bundle of keys in her hand.
Even though they weren't at school, since the event was organized by the school, Katsura Kotonoha was still wearing her sports school uniform. She tied her long black hair into a neat ponytail for practicality, making her appear very capable. However, her lively run made it difficult for Nakano Yu to look away.
With quick steps, Katsura Kotonoha soon reached his side.
"Uf~ Nakano-kun, aren't you going to take the key?"
Breathing lightly, Katsura Kotonoha waved the keys in front of Nakano Yu and asked.
Hearing that, Nakano Yu smiled and shook his head, looked at the students forming a long line for the keys, and said:
"There are too many people right now. I'll go once most of them have dispersed."
"I understand. Then, Nakano-kun, would you like to come to our room now to rest a little? If you don't have a key, you can't enter your room, right?"
After hearing the response, Katsura Kotonoha thoughtfully nodded. As if remembering something, her face flushed, and then she shyly invited Nakano Yu.
"To Katsura's room? Hm…"
Faced with Katsura Kotonoha's invitation, Nakano Yu thought briefly. He really couldn't enter his own room at the moment, and judging by the long line, it probably wouldn't disperse quickly. Going to Katsura Kotonoha's room to rest a little sounded like a good idea.
Thinking that, just as Nakano Yu was about to accept Katsura Kotonoha's invitation, Yotsuba's energetic voice entered his ears, making both the boy and the girl turn:
"Yu!!!"
Seeing the Five Sisters approaching him, Nakano Yu also smiled and responded to Yotsuba:
"Yotsuba, did you get the keys?"
"Of course! And we even got Ichika and Miku's keys! By the way, what's your room number, Yu? Mine is 315! Ichika and Itsuki are in one room, Nino and Miku are in another, I wonder who will be my roommate!"
Yotsuba approached with a wide smile, naturally linked her arm with Nakano Yu, her tone full of anticipation.
Hearing Yotsuba's words, Katsura Kotonoha, standing next to them, froze. She quickly took her key and looked at it, only to see the number on the keychain — exactly room number "215" that Yotsuba had just mentioned!
"Um, I think I'm in room 215 too."
Katsura Kotonoha interjected. Hearing that, Yotsuba quickly let go of Nakano Yu's arm, turned around, and excitedly grabbed Katsura Kotonoha's hand, starting a conversation with the girl:
"Eh! Classmate, what a coincidence! No, now I should call you my roommate! Nice to meet you, roommate. I'm Nakano Yotsuba, a student from Class C."
"H-hi, I'm Katsura Kotonoha from Class A, and I… am Yu's friend."
As if surprised by Yotsuba's energy, Katsura Kotonoha stammered a little. While speaking, she glanced at the boy who was chatting with Ichika beside them. Seeing that the boy didn't mind being called by his name, Katsura Kotonoha felt a slight sense of relief.
After talking with the Five Sisters for a while, Yotsuba was the first to pull Katsura Kotonoha to go check out the room. Seeing how excited the two girls were, Nakano Yu didn't follow but returned with Ichika to Ichika and Itsuki's room.
The room was very traditionally arranged, with a tatami floor and a small cabinet. On that small cabinet sat an old-style television.
In addition, there was a low table in the room, and in a nearby closet, cold futons and pillows for sleeping at night were neatly stacked.
Overall, the room wasn't luxurious, but it was spacious. In other schools, let alone for two people per room, such a room could probably accommodate four or five people.
After roughly checking the room's layout, Nakano Yu wanted to go in and sit a little, when Ichika ran inside first and closed the door before Itsuki could react.
Nakano Yu exchanged a glance with Itsuki, wondering what Ichika meant, when Ichika suddenly pulled the door open and a slightly teasing and seductive voice of the girl was heard:
"Welcome back! Dinner is ready, the bathwater is warm. Yu, are you planning to… eat first? Bathe first? Or…"
Looking at Ichika, whose cheeks were slightly red, Nakano Yu couldn't help but think that it would be even better if Ichika wasn't wearing her sports clothes, but a maid outfit instead!
"Dinner, dinner! I choose dinner!"
Seeing Ichika like that, Itsuki didn't seem surprised. Instead, she naturally understood Ichika's implication, then passed by Ichika and entered the room.
"Then I'll go to sleep."
Returning to reality, Nakano Yu waved his hand, said a sentence, and also passed by Ichika to enter inside.
"Eh?! Am I really that unattractive?!"
Seeing their calm reactions, Ichika was incredibly surprised, looking as if her pride had been hurt.
"Yes, yes, Ichika, please turn on the air conditioner."
Since it was tatami, Nakano Yu lay directly on the floor, and while speaking, he even ordered Ichika to turn on the air conditioner.
Hearing that, Ichika immediately discarded her hurt expression and scolded Nakano Yu:
"Yu! How rude of you! I was so shy when I said that! And this is how you react?!"
"Mm-hm, all right, next time, Ichika, tell me what reaction you want, but first, turn on the air conditioner."
Nakano Yu nodded, with a completely indifferent attitude.
Seeing that, Ichika, though speechless, still found the remote and turned on the air conditioner.
Just as Nakano Yu lay on the tatami, planning to rest a little before going to get the key from Hiratsuka Shizuka, the situation of another person — no, more precisely, one monster, was completely different from Nakano Yu's!
On a fast train, the wind howled. A large, blue-skinned humanoid monster clung tightly to the train, even though the strong wind distorted its face.
The name of that humanoid monster was Aotabo, one of the famous Japanese youkai. He was a terrifying youkai said to possess enormous strength. The reason he appeared here was that his young master, Nura Rikuo of the Nura Group, was escorting his classmates to the so-called youkai training camp.
Of course, Aotabo didn't really understand why these humans were so interested in youkai, and he didn't care.
Aotabo only knew one thing, he would always follow Nura Rikuo!
"My young master! Whether we climb the mountain of swords or descend into the sea of fire, I, Aotabo, will surely follow you!!!"