“Let’s toast.”
“Yeahhh!”
“Wooo!”
The full goukon was now on. The other guys had ridiculously high energy and I couldn’t keep up.
“Chug, obviously.”
“You guys are already maxed out.”
A short-black-haired woman was egging the guys on, and Kano was matching the energy a notch higher than her baseline.
Everyone except me and Kano had alcohol — twenty-plus. After the toast, we self-introduced.
The women went first. Mayo and Kano, both visibly beautiful, kept the male side amped.
“My turn — Kamishiraishi Rio, third-year Literature. My type — younger guys. Nice to meet.”
The black-haired short-haired Kamishiraishi-san, with a beauty mark by her mouth, said it looking right at me. Equally attractive — my heart skipped.
Kano glared from across the table. Cut me a break — try to not react to a beauty looking at you.
Then the guys. One was a third-year Engineering type, very flashy; the other a second-year Commerce, pure party-bro. Then me.
“Kujo Yuito, first-year Political Economy. Nice to meet you.”
I’d named my actual first-choice department.
“Nice.”
“Get along, dude.”
The two were strikingly friendly for a first meeting. Looks aside, maybe decent people.
“Heh — Yuito-kun, huh.”
”…Kamishiraishi-senpai, you’ve been very focused on Yuito.”
“You targeting our junior?”
Kano and Mayo were prodding her.
“Yeah, guys like Yuito-kun are my type.”
“O-oh.”
Kano was visibly bothered, the mood leaking out. I’d have to be careful with how I responded to Kamishiraishi-san to not make it worse.
Free chat began. Everyone except Kano was new to me, and older, so I was nervous at first — an hour in I’d loosened up.
“Heh — Yuito-kun and Kano-chan are childhood friends?”
“Yeah, Kano and I have known each other since kindergarten age.”
I was talking with Kamishiraishi-san — alcohol-flushed and very keyed up. A seat shuffle had put her next to me, so I had to.
Kano was nominally talking to the Engineering senpai but kept glancing over.
“Yuito-kun, you’re not used to this setting?”
“How can you tell?”
“It’s all over your behavior.”
Apparently Kamishiraishi-san reads people easily. She smirked.
“Is Yuito-kun still a virgin?”
“H-how would I know?”
“Heh — confirmed. Sure — let your senpai specially take your virginity?”
“P-please don’t tease me like that.”
“I’m pretty serious, actually.”
She was giving me a suggestive look. Don’t get any closer — my self-control’s almost out. (Also, Kano, please stop glaring at me with that could-kill-someone expression.)
We continued for a while and time flew. The goukon was wrapping up.
I’d finally get home — except apparently we were going on to karaoke as an after-party. Mayo and Commerce-senpai were going home; Kamishiraishi insisted I come along, so Kano and Engineering-senpai went too.
“Yuito, you’ve been all over Kamishiraishi-senpai.”
“She’s pushing — I’m just trying not to be rude.”
“Same-year setting — no desu/masu.”
“Got it.”
“What are you two whispering about?”
Kamishiraishi-san — heavily buzzed, energy through the roof — caught us.
“Just talking about songs.”
“Yeah, Kano and I were deciding what to sing.”
We deflected.