Uninhabited Isnd, 10:00 PM.
The moon hung high in the night sky, its silver light draping the nd in a soft glow.
At this hour, Css B’s camp had been swallowed by darkness, the only sounds remaining were the chirping of crickets nearby and the distant murmur of a waterfall.
Everyone in Css B had likely gone to sleep…
A head slowly emerged from the shadows, gncing around cautiously.
After confirming the coast was clear, a small, dark figure tiptoed out from the trees, swiftly making its way toward the boys’ tents.
Ducking low, he darted between cover, rolling when necessary, carefully maneuvering through the terrain like a master infiltrator.
With another agile roll, the figure arrived just outside the tent. A smug grin crept onto his face as he reached for the zipper—
Only for multiple fshlights to suddenly shine in his face.
At the same time, zippers from surrounding tents were swiftly undone.
Shit! It’s a trap!
Realizing he had been caught, the intruder instinctively turned to flee, but a slender hand shot out from the darkness, gripping his wrist with precision.
Before he could react, another hand pressed firmly down on his shoulder.
And then—
The synchronized sound of footsteps rapidly approached from outside.
The tent had become an inescapable cage.
Defeat was inevitable.
Overcome with dread, the trapped figure could only throw his head back in despair and wail to the heavens.
"My life is over!!!"
With his invincible stealth ability shattered, the would-be escapee had no choice but to reveal his true form—
None other than Kōdo Ikusei's shadow, Uesugi.
And those who stood against him?
Css B’s justice enforcers, led by Css B’s light, Ichinose Honami, alongside every single member of Css B—minus one Uesugi.
Faced with overwhelming odds, Uesugi abandoned any thought of struggle and instead attempted his usual trick—talking his way out.
"Ahem. Wow, everyone’s here! Why aren’t you all asleep at this hour?"
His tone was uncharacteristically obedient, almost… suspiciously simir to Ichinose’s usual demeanor.
The response he received, however, was far more intense than he had expected.
"Are you serious?! A whole person just disappeared! How the hell were we supposed to sleep?!"
Himeno Yuki, who had been gripping his shoulder, was visibly agitated—a rare sight.
Hamaguchi Tetsuya adjusted his gsses with a furrowed brow.
"You left—without telling anyone—wandered out of camp alone, and didn’t return even by 10 PM. With a situation like that, Uesugi, how do you expect anyone from Css B to sleep soundly?"
Even Shibata Sō, who had never shown anger toward Uesugi before, looked furious.
"On top of that, we’re on an uninhabited isnd! It’s covered in dense forests, rivers, and kes! No one knows what kind of danger you might’ve run into! Uesugi—if something had happened to you, we’d regret it for the rest of our lives!"
Kanzaki Ryūji, too, wore an unusually serious expression.
"If we hadn’t triple-checked with Hoshinomiya-sensei that your watch was showing you were safe, we were this close to unching a full-scale search. Uesugi, this time… you really crossed the line."
…
Uesugi froze.
All this time, he had acted according to his own pns, believing he had everything under control.
But now…
He suddenly realized—
He had been wrong.
Turning his gaze, he saw nothing but the faces of his cssmates, their eyes filled with concern and worry.
He had never considered their feelings…
He had assumed that as long as he brought them victory, they would be happy.
But he had been wrong. To them, there were things far more important than winning.
He couldn’t bring himself to meet their eyes.
Especially—
The expression of the girl still gripping his wrist.
Lowering his head, Uesugi took a deep breath and spoke with sincere remorse.
"…I’m sorry. I made everyone worry."
Shibata let out a long sigh before stepping forward and patting Uesugi on the shoulder.
"We’re fine. As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters."
Then, gncing toward the girl who had remained silent the entire time, he added,
"But you should probably start thinking about how you’re gonna expin yourself to her."
With that, he turned and left the tent.
One by one, the others followed suit, leaving behind only Uesugi and—
Ichinose.
Once the st person had exited, the tent fell into complete silence.
Neither of them spoke.
The atmosphere between them grew heavier with each passing second.
Hoping to break the tension, Uesugi forced a smile and attempted his usual easygoing tone.
"Uh, Ichinose, listen. I went out to find—"
"Shut up."
Ichinose’s head remained lowered, her face hidden in the shadows.
Her voice was calm—eerily so.
Uesugi hesitated, his mouth opening slightly. But after a brief moment of thought, he shut it again.
Then, for the first time, Ichinose moved.
She stepped forward, slowly closing the distance between them—her right hand gradually rising.
Uesugi saw this and didn’t dodge.
Instead, he took a step forward, ready to accept whatever punishment she had in mind.
But to his surprise—
Ichinose suddenly released his wrist.
Then, without warning, she threw herself into his arms.
The force of her embrace momentarily froze Uesugi, his body stiff with shock.
But within moments, his arms instinctively wrapped around her, holding her close.
And that was when he realized—
Her body was trembling.
Uesugi regretted it.
He regretted wandering around for so long.
He regretted waiting for the bite mark to fade before returning.
He regretted not telling her in advance that he was leaving, that he would be back at night, that she didn’t need to worry.
"Ichinose, I—"
"Shut up! No talking!"
She immediately cut him off, her grip tightening around his shirt as if afraid he would slip away again.
Then, after a long pause, her voice softened.
"Just stay like this. Don’t say anything."
Uesugi simply held her, making sure she could feel that he was there.
Time passed.
Neither knew how long they remained that way.
Finally, in the stillness of the night, Ichinose’s voice broke the silence.
"From now on… don’t ever scare me like that again."
Lowering his head, Uesugi ran a hand gently through her hair and whispered his answer.
"Never again."
The tent fell into silence once more.
After what felt like an eternity, Ichinose spoke again, her tone lighter this time.
"Are you hungry? I saved you some dinner."
Uesugi smiled faintly.
"Yeah. I’m starving."
"Wait here, I’ll heat it up for you."
Ichinose finally loosened her hold and stepped outside the tent.
Uesugi took a breath, watching her go.
"I’ll come with y—"
"Stay put!"
She whirled around, pointing a finger at him.
"You’re not going anywhere tonight!"
"…Oh."
---
T/N: thats so cuteee!!!!
"......"
- Gardevoir
(End of Chapter—Support the transtor at [patreon.com/WiseTL]!)