Chapter Text
“Truth or dare?”
“Hmmm… Ibuki picks dare!”
Nagito smiled devilishly. “I dare you toooo… perform Rasputin from Just Dance!”
The rest of the class laughed in disbelief as Ibuki jumped out of her seat without hesitation.
“While holding your breath!”
“Can do, daddy-o! Akane, gimme a beat!”
Akane began to clap her hands and stomp her feet, roughly in rhythm with the actual song, and Ibuki took a big deep breath before beginning to swing her arms in an energetic motion. It didn’t look anything like the Just Dance version, but everyone was having too much fun to point that out. Nidai began singing the lyrics as they arrived and others joined in, making an indecipherable cacophony of noise. Akane even fell out of rhythm and gave up at some point, but Ibuki hardly noticed, deep in focus as her face began to turn red.
It was Friday night, the end of the first week of Class 77-B’s completely normal school trip. Admittedly it had a bit of a rocky start, as a handful of students were extremely wary about this seemingly impossible island getaway that nobody was told they were going to before they got there. The magical pink bunny thing didn’t help much. But as a few days passed and people let their reservations go, it had turned out exactly like the stuffed animal said; just a way to spend time with your class, and get to know people better.
Right in the middle of the first chorus, Ibuki finally stopped to gasp for air, falling back onto the loveseat. Everyone cheered and Mikan offered to bring her some water, which she happily accepted.
“Alright, your turn Ibuki! Pick someone!”
“Huh, hold on… I’m gonna need a second after that one,” Ibuki panted, sending a wave of giggles through the circle of classmates.
Getting closer with someone specific was what Kazuichi had meant to do, but if this school trip had taught him anything, it was that sometimes your efforts were just simply going to be in vain. That didn’t make it an easy thing to accept though, he thought while sparing a glance at the couch across from him. Gundham and Sonia sat shoulder to shoulder, the latter clapping with joy from Ibuki’s stellar performance while the former attempted to hide his amusement in his scarf.
So they might have unintentionally ruined his school trip. And maybe his life. No big deal! He could move on, it was just a stupid crush, he’s had tons of stupid crushes and none of them lasted very long. His feelings would fizzle out, just like they had for every cute girl and guy in middle school. And so what if, not unlike a hurricane at sea, this crush had lasted an entire year with no signs of stopping? That didn’t mean anything. For sure. It definitely didn’t make him jealous of Gundham or anything. Not at all.
Ibuki sat up, having finally regained the ability to speak. “Hmm lemme think… How abouuuut Hiyoko! Truth or dare?”
Hiyoko jumped as everyone turned to look at her. “Oh! Ummm… truth.”
Kazuichi, Akane, and Nidai all booed loudly. “Boring! Hiyoko’s scared!”
“Oh shut up you jackasses! Just give me the question.”
Ibuki sipped at her water with a mischievous grin, eyes bouncing across the room at every person, before they landed on Mahiru.
“Hi-yo-ko,” Ibuki sang as she bobbed her head back and forth with each syllable. “Do you. have. a crush. on anyone here?”
The short girl’s face turned a bright shade of pink. “Oh my god what?! Hell no! You’re all a bunch of lame ass losers!”
“She’s blushing!” Fuyuhiko pointed at her face triumphantly. “Lying for sure. Is it Mahiru or Mikan?”
Mikan turned even pinker. “H-h-huh?!”
“EWWW! Why would you even suggest that nasty hag?!”
Peko nodded succinctly. “Definitely lying. My money’s on Mikan. She probably bullies her out of denial.”
There hadn’t been much of a debate about Kazuichi’s crush. He never tried to hide it, because he’d never tried to hide a crush before. Once you call somebody cute to their face, all the danger and suspense goes right out the window. For a self-aware coward, he was pretty proud that he never had trouble confessing his feelings. Of course, nobody had ever reciprocated them, but that wasn’t a big deal to him— everyone finds the right person eventually. Still, he hadn’t expected getting it wrong to suck so royally, no pun intended. She was nice to him in a way girls usually weren’t, so he thought he had a chance. Getting rejected probably would’ve been easier to process if the dude she liked wasn’t super obviously hotter and cooler than him. So Kazuichi was a little bitter.
“Nahhh, no way. I mean, Hiyoko and Mahiru shower together, you’re telling me they aren’t a thing?”
“Ew, shut up Teruteru!” Hajime kicked the stool he was sitting on, sending the smaller kid toppling to the ground.
Chiaki clapped her hands a few times to quiet everyone down.
“If Hiyoko says the answer is no then we must accept her answer. Even if we all know who bought Mahiru that stuffed bunny for Valentine’s Day.”
Hiyoko’s shouts of protest were ignored and everyone sat back in their seats. The short blonde was still fuming, and her shifty eyes spoke drama.
Kazuichi liked Hiyoko. Not in a romantic way, gross, but he thought her filthy mouth was funny. They liked making up creative insults to fling at each other, being two of the few in their class who could take an insult without crying or throwing hands. A companionship of assholery, if you will.
So if their eyes met and Kazuichi shot a subtle nod to Gundham and Sonia, that was their secret.
“Kazuichi.” He jumped, pretending to be surprised. “Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” Kazuichi said with a confident smirk that was actually mostly genuine. “Duh.”
There is only one unfortunate thing about having a companion in assholery. While being assholes to other people together is fun, friendly fire has no off switch. And Hiyoko Saionji fires like a spreadshot cannon.
“I dare you… to make out with someone of my choosing, for thirty seconds.”
Gasps overtook the class, and the room became the quietest it had all night. There was no need for him to feign his surprise this time.
“Okay, that might be a little much,” Hajime said with a nervous laugh.
Kazuichi waved his hand flippantly. “Fuck that! I accepted the dare, I knew she was gonna say some outta pocket shit. I’ll do it.”
Hiyoko laughed like a little imp. Out of the corner of his eyes, Kazuichi could see Sonia shifting in her seat, eyeing the tiny girl nervously. Just as everyone knew about Kazuichi’s crush, everyone knew Sonia wasn’t interested. The easiest assumption was that he just wasn’t her type— and considering she ended up unofficially dating Gundham, it wasn’t hard to believe. Kazuichi made a fool out of himself trying to impress her, and ever since then she simply ignored any signs of affection from him with polite exasperation. Gundham, ever in his own world, constantly impressed the princess without even trying, usually with some shit that would sound ridiculous to anyone who was raised normally. Better for someone who lives in the clouds to love on their own level instead of always looking down.
“So,” Kazuichi tore his eyes from the pair, giving Hiyoko a knowing look. “Who’s it gonna be?”
“You are going to make out with…”
Everyone knew Sonia wouldn’t be comfortable kissing Kazuichi. That would get shut down in an instant. And really, what’s the point of making drama if you don’t subvert expectations?
“Gundham.”