Shaking his head to try and get his thoughts in order, Shinji turned towards Hikari with a serious expression. "Horaki-san...am I to understand that if we had another girl tag along, it wouldn't be...well, as awkward?"
Hikari blinked. "Well..." She paused, and actually gave it some serious thought. (In the background, Toji and Kensuke were trying desperately to keep Kaworu from launching into a seemingly innocent explanation which would nonetheless be
way too inappropriate. Mana was simply getting more irritated by the fact that her question wasn't getting answered.) "...hmm. Not only would it be a better and less...
problematic balance between the sexes...but it would make any adult supervision more palatable, in my opinion. Though, that does bring to mind an important question: who would be your chaperone?"
"...I...haven't thought that far, yet?"
Hikari sighed. "Planning ahead is important Ikari-san,
especially when you're talking about a cross-country trip. Were you all going to take a train, or were you going to take someone's vehicle? And if so, who's going to coordinate the itinerary, your rest stops, travel expenses..."
"...that's a lot of stuff."
"And this is why this sort of thing needs some grown-up supervision!" she exclaimed. "No offense, but you look like you've got a lot on your mind, so I'm not blaming you for overlooking this stuff...but it
does need to be accounted for."
(To say he had on a lot on his mind was underselling it.)
(
You can't unlearn what you've learned.)
"...but I don't really know any adults who'd be free," he admitted. "Misato-san...
maybe, but she's still recuperating..."
A new voice cut in. "Well, who says the grown-up has to be an adult?"
The duo turned their heads towards the one who had spoken: a young man with frizzy black hair, wearing glasses and a delivery boy's outfit. "Amamiya-senpai?" blurted out Shinji.
"I've been told that's my name," he cracked. His eyes turned towards the freckled girl before he continued. "Judging by your authoritative voice and
slightly exasperated tone, you must be a Class Rep from the Junior High branch...
and you're getting on my kouhai's case for not thinking about the five P's."
Hikari blinked. "Five P's?"
"
Prior
Planning
Prevents
Poor
Performance."
"...that's a good one," she muttered, whipping out her phone to type out a memo to herself. "I'll have to remember that one...but yes, I am a Class Representative. For class 2-A, to be precise. And you are?"
"I'm a second year from the High School branch at the Academy, and I've been looking for an excuse to spend some time away from this city. The way I figure it, it would also allow me to mark off my summer assignment."
"Summer assignment?" asked Shinji. "What kind of summer assignment would helping us involve?"
"Ah...I've heard about this," said Hikari. "The '
Kouhai Summer Assistance Program'; it's something that's been in place for several years now. Basically, to promote civic virtue and to influence older students to assist their juniors, High School students have to help Junior High students with a project, or with home life, or with personal problems. Personally, I think it's quite a nice ideal-"
Ren interjected with "which doesn't pan out perfectly well all of the time, because some students try and game the system-"
"-but that doesn't explain why you would offer to assist Ikari-san with this. Do you know each other?"
"I tutored him once." Amamiya did not specify
what the tutoring had been about. "But he's also taken up playing a neat card game that I'm pretty skilled at, if I do say so myself." To punctuate his point, Ren pulled out a few playing cards (an ace of spades, queen of diamonds, and a king of hearts), manipulating them expertly between his fingers. With a sleight of hand, the three cards combined on top of each other; he then flipped them over, revealing only one joker: a wild card. "Figured I'd give him a few pointers."
(The writing on the back of the Melon Patch business card was telling: Arisato, Narukami, and Amamiya are your Wild Card senpai.)
The subtext was clear enough for Shinji Ikari. "Thank you, Amamiya-senpai."
"What mode of transportation would you be using?" quizzed Hikari.
Ren pocketed his cards, and pulled out his wallet; he showed his Class 1 license with not only a Semi-Medium Vehicle category, but also a Heavy Motorcycle license class. "I think I'll be able to rent a vehicle, no problem."
Hikari narrowed her eyes. "That's quite an impressive license for someone your age."
Amamiya shrugged. "Better to have than to have not. Besides, if it weren't for the lowering of minimum driving ages a few years back, I'd only have an Ordinary Motorcycle license at most. But, I guess it seemed a bit inconsistent, given how many teens and
preteens were being actively recruited to fight in the Metaverse, you know?"
"...that's a fair enough point," admitted the Class Rep. "If that's the case...it would just be a matter of getting another girl to accompany you, and I don't think any adults would reasonably complain..." She discreetly glanced at him. "Ikari-san, given your...
work...are you even allowed to leave the city?"
"I got my father's blessing." More or less. (
Calling it a blessing is a stretch.) "...and I think I have an idea..." He reached for his phone and dialled one of his contacts. After a few moments, the lady on the other end picked up. "
Moshimoshi."
"
...Ikari-san?" answered Mayumi.
"Hello, Yamagishi-san."
"
Is...there something I can help you with? You're not one to call, usually."
"Well...I'm going on a road trip soon, and since we only have one girl compared to three boys in total, I was informed it would be a good idea to bring another girl along. To balance things out." Maybe? Honestly, it's not like he had to worry about Kensuke or Toji doing anything untoward to Mana (because she could quite literally cut them in half with her giant axe), so it honestly seemed a bit arbitrary. "Would you like to come along?"
"
...is...is this an invitation?"
"...I guess it is, technically?"
"
Um...I see, well...hmm...I...I think I can..."
"Do you have to get parental permission?"
"
I don't think I have to worry about that. Has it all been planned out?"
"I...can text you the details later, but it's coming together pretty quickly...thank you, Yamagishi-san."
"
It's...not a problem, Ikari-san. I...guess I'll talk to you later?"
"Yeah. Goodbye."
"
Bye..."
Shinji Ikari hung up, lowering his phone back into his pocket. "Will that do it?"
"...who was that?" inquired Hikari. "Yamagishi...as in the head of the Literature Club?"
"The same."
"A club president adds more legitimacy. A smart choice," she said with an approving nod.
Shinji shrugged wordlessly. (It's not like he knew any other local girls outside of Rei Ayanami...and he had the strangest feeling that her schedule was far more complicated and lacking in free time than even his own.)
xxxx
Little did they know, but across the city, Mayumi Yamagishi was looking at her phone with a flushed face.
Did...did a boy just invite me to join him on summer vacation...?
She glanced towards her large book collection. (Her traitorous eyes drifted towards the shelf devoted to romance novels and
shoujo works.)
I was insufficiently prepared for this possibility!
xxxx
"...if that's the case...then I guess it's just a matter of Aida-san, Suzuhara-san, and Kirishima-san getting permission to go with you," finished Hikari. "That might be easy or hard."
Ren Amamiya chuckled, typing onto a phone. "Eh, parents and guardians are easy to deal with if you know em' well enough." His senpai then held the phone forward, and
wait a second that was his phone. Shinji impulsively reached for his pocket; his phone wasn't there. (How did that happen?! When had he grabbed it?!?) "I put in my contact number. Text me when the plans are finalized."
"...the fact you managed to pickpocket Ikari-san's phone in plain sight without either of us noticing is
very impressive, but I also feel a lot more concerned now," bluntly said Hikari.
Amamiya chuckled, rising to his feet. "Hey, can't blame me if you didn't see me coming. Anyhow...break time's over. Gotta get back to my deliveries. But first..." He glanced over towards the other four teenagers, who were
still carrying on the harem conversation.
"Seriously Toji, I think
Magical Mentor MacLeod would be a good one for her to start with, because it deals with a bunch of harem tropes and silly rom-com cliches before doing a genre swerve to an epic plot and
fantastic action-"
"Ken, you lost your right to make
any recommendations after you said
Escapulario+Lichgirl was the new popular thing, and I got
yelled at when someone saw me reading it at school!"
"Okay, first of all, that was
all your fault for reading a work with
that many comedic panty shots in class; don't put that kind of rookie boneheaded move on me. Secondly, that series is notorious for its author's 'tastes', so
anyone who saw you reading it in public was going to think you're a bit of a pervert. Third, that was part of your weird phase in middle school where you tried to expand your social clique beyond athletic stuff, and you just came off as
hilariously inauthentic."
"Dude, come on, that's a low blow."
"Face it Toji, you were being a
poser."
"Why you-!"
Kaworu chuckled at their banter. "Such energy and passion spent over such a bawdy subject."
"Seriously, is no one going to tell me what a harem is?!" asked Mana, almost on the verge of yelling.
"
QUIET!" yelled Hikari, defaulting to 'Class Rep' mode. She pointedly ignored the angry stares from the other patrons and staff of Neo Hagakure, focusing solely on her peers. (Shinji couldn't help but admire the ability to flip that kind of focus on and off at will.) "You will
drop this conversation right now or I'll
MAKE you," she hissed.
"...yes'm," muttered a properly chastised Toji and Kensuke. Kaworu simply returned to his ramen, while Mana appeared nonplussed.
Ren cleared his throat, drawing Mana Kirishima's attention. "Long story short, any person who has multiple romantic partners at the same time can be said to have a harem."
"...that's
it?" replied Mana with an incredulous expression. "Why was answering my question so freakin' hard if that's all it was?"
"Some people like to make it complicated," answered Amamiya with an easy grin. "And when it gets complicated, there's lots of
drama involved. One of my roommates...oof, the stories
he could tell..."
"Sounds like a hassle," grumbled Mana.
"It pretty much always is."
"Then I think I'll pass." She glanced oddly at Toji, Kensuke, and Kaworu. "Seriously, why'd you guys try to make it so damned difficult to understand?"
Toji and Kensuke sputtered out answers to various degrees of incoherence, while Kaworu loudly slurped his noodles. Hikari sighed, shaking her head in the way of one trying to save off an impending headache. "I'm going to go apologize on our behalf for making such a commotion..."
As the pigtailed girl walked away towards a member of the wait staff, Shinji couldn't help but marvel at how briefly yet
intensely chaotic things had been.
Amamiya clapped a hand onto his shoulder. "Well kid..." He leaned in towards his eye, discreetly whispering, "you seem to have quite the interesting set of
Confidants this time around..."
Shinji just
barely managed to restrict himself to a slow turn, shifting his head just enough that he could see Amamiya's face out of the corner of his eye. "...I'd like to think so."
"Then I suppose we'll be keeping in touch, then."
And so did Shinji's fellow Wild Card depart, grabbing a bunch of delivery orders in the process.
It was strange to think of how quickly things were coming together.
I...I hope this is the right thing...
xxxx
/so
//for certain manga/anime works of renown
///try and guess the original titles based on my lawyer-friendly name changes
////
