Ch. 61 Are We There Yet?

Training with Saito had kept Torrey occupied for most of the weekend, but that didn't stop time from dragging on at a painfully slow rate. It felt anti-climactic. He'd been fully invested in helping his friends achieve success on their exams, and now that the it was finally time to head to Hokkaido, he just wanted it all to be over with.

            Thanks to Azami's threat hanging over his head, it was difficult for Torrey to see the big picture. There was no telling how things would end. He was committed to Central, but part of him still wanted to see the Resistance succeed. It was undoubtedly a tough position to be in.

            Sunday's routine was nearly identical to Saturday's, and, like clockwork, Saito dismissed Torrey from his apartment promptly at 7:30 pm.

            "Good luck with the thieves," said Torrey, on his way out the door.

            "Thieves? What thieves? Do you know something?"

            "Huh? No, I meant...never mind."

            "You'd tell me if you knew something, wouldn't you?"

            "Yeah..."

            "Mhm...naturally," said Saito, nodding as if to convince himself.

            On that awkward note, Torrey went back to his place to fix himself something to eat. He'd barely gotten started when he heard a knock at the door, giving him an eerie sense of déjà vu.

            Nene Kinokuni always knocked twice, then hesitated before knocking a third time. Because of this, Torrey wasn't the least bit surprised to see her when he opened the door.

            "Hey Nene," he said.

            "Hey is for horses," she replied brusquely. It occurred to Torrey just then, that were it not for her attitude, one might find Nene Kinokuni to be attractive.

            "Charming as ever, I see."

            "I'm not here to be charming. I'm here on important Council business."

            "Well you got here pretty quickly- I only just got home. Did you rush over, once you heard me come in?"

            "No! It was just a coincidence."

            "I bet you were anxiously awaiting my return."

            "I was doing no such thing! In fact, I was actually making dinner."

            "I see. It's not a coincidence at all, then. You wanted to invite me over for dinner. But you don't do invites. So instead, you came here under the pretext of 'important council business' just so you could talk to me. Aha!" said Torrey, pointing at Nene in dramatic fashion.

            "What a childish fantasy! I have something important to discuss...and I wouldn't be opposed to discussing it over a bowl of noodles."

            "I'm certainly not opposed either," said Torrey, his stomach rumbling as if on cue.

            "Y-you're not?"

            "Of course not. The soba you made me last time was delish! I'd never be able to make something like that."

            Nene's demeanor changed somewhat, and her pale cheeks now had a slightly rosy tint.

            "W-well I do work hard to perfect my craft. Hurry up and get changed, and I'll see you shortly," said Nene.

            "What, you don't like my outfit?" said Torrey, holding out his arms in mock disbelief. He was still wearing his loincloth and headband.

            "That's not what I said! It's simply not suitable for..."

            "For a date?"

            "D-d-date???"

            "Don't worry; that was a joke."

            "Oh...I see. Hahaha. Haha."

            She looked him over once, from head to toe, before quickly dashing out the door.

**************************************************************

            "So, what's this Council business about? Must be pretty serious, if you made the long journey over to my place," said Torrey with a grin, sitting at Nene's kitchen counter. She was busy finishing up the noodles.

            "It's not a big deal, I was just wondering...I mean, yes. Serious indeed," said Nene, catching herself in time.    

            "You're a lot funnier than people give you credit for, you know that? What's this serious issue?" said Torrey, noticing her slip-up.

            "I didn't realize they gave me any credit at all. But anyways, to the matter at hand. It's imperative that we have a proper head-count for tomorrow's trip north. The first-years are required to take the bus, but the Council will be flying 1st class with Totsuki Airlines. You are one of only three students to have the privilege of choosing. So, will you be taking the bus along with your fellow 1st-years, or flying with us?" said Nene, passing Torrey a bowl of soba.

            "Ohhh...this is news to me," said Torrey. In truth, he'd been so busy focusing on the other aspects of the exams, that he didn't even consider how they'd be getting to Hokkaido.

            "Obviously your Council status exempts you from the bus requirement. Given your position as the...the..."

            "What's the matter?"

            "Which seat ARE you?"

            "That's a great question, actually. I guess we never bothered to figure out the rankings after the battle royale. I could be anywhere from the 8th seat to the 10th seat," said Torrey. "You think we'd have squared that away by now."

            "Yes, a surprising oversight by the administration, to be sure. And speaking of the administration...how are you not in bigger trouble right now? I figured Azami would have your head, after Eizan's statements."

            "I don't really want to get into the details...you'll have to believe me when I say that I'm fully committed to Central now."

            "You're asking a lot, for someone who was just proven to be a traitor. But for some reason...I do believe you," said Nene.

            "Thanks. This is weird, it almost feels like we're having a normal conversation right now."

            "Very weird; we should refocus our attention on the main topic. In my unbiased opinion, it's completely unnecessary for you to ride with the...less privileged," said Nene, practically shuddering as she said it.

            "I saw that! You just bit your tongue! You were about to say something meaner."

            "That's irrelevant."

            "Hmm...first class DOES sound pretty neat, but it might be fun to slum it with the other first-years on the bus," said Torrey. Nene was taken aback.

            "But...truly you don't mean that? Those buses are so...confined. And the odors..."

            "I thought Totsuki 'spared no expense', and all that good stuff."

            "Oh, the quality of the buses is top-notch, but anytime you have that many people sitting in such a small space...like I said. Odors."

            "Sounds like you're really trying to sell me on this flight," said Torrey, giving her a knowing look. If he were wearing glasses, he would have pushed them down to emphasize his statement.

            "W-what? I j-just...that is to say...there are many things to consider, after all," said Nene, unable to meet his eye.

            "True, like who I'll have to sit with," said Torrey, cupping his chin as if deep in thought.

            "Most of the seats have already been assigned. For example, Momo is paired with Saito, and Rindo will be with Tsukasa. But...there's an open seat next to mine," said Nene, pressing her index fingers together nervously. There was a trace of hopefulness in her voice.

            "Whoa. Are you asking me to sit next to you?" said Torrey.

            "N-no! I just thought you should be aware."

            "That's right; you don't do invites. Well if you guys really wanted me to, I'd probably choose the flight. But since it doesn't seem to make much of a difference, I'll probably just take the bus after all."

            "..."

            Nene continued eating her noodles in silence. Damn it! Stupid, Nene, stupid. He was THIS close!

            Torrey took advantage of the silence to work out his own thoughts. His freedom to make a decision was actually very surprising to him.Sitting with my friends on the bus would be nice. But would Azami take that the wrong way? Should I ask him myself? Arghh...

********************************************************************

            "Wow! I forgot how nice these buses are. Really takes me back to the Friendship and Rapport Training Camp. Eh, Tadokoro?" said Soma, nudging Megumi on the shoulder.

            "Please don't talk about that," she said.

            "Soma! How can you be so relaxed?" asked Ryoko. It was true; everyone but Soma looked really uneasy about the trip.

            The first-years were standing around just outside of campus, waiting to board the buses to Hokkaido. Calling these 'school buses' would be misleading; they were more like luxury tour buses.

            "Our trial awaits us in Hokkaido, and it's important that everyone stays sharp. However...it might be a good idea to follow Soma's example. Overstressing will only make our predicament worse," said Erina wisely.         

            Soma was staring at her with his jaw to the ground.

            "Who is this girl? What have you done with the real Nakiri?!" he said, moments later.

            "Not a bad jest, Soma. But I can assure you that this IS the real Erina Nakiri," said Hisako, suddenly appearing by the side of her mistress. She whipped out some tape and proceeded to take Erina's measurements.

            "Just as I suspected. Bust, 88 cm. Waist, 56 cm. Hips..."

            "Hisako! This is neither the time nor the place!"

            "Eep! Sorry Miss Erina!"

            Erina then turned towards Torrey, who was now staring at her, too.

            "You know, I can FEEL it when you look at me that way," she said.

            "I didn't mean to! It's just...wow, 88 huh?"

            Erina quickly turned away, her face bright red. Megumi and Yuki looked away, too, pretending not to have heard. Ikumi scoffed, unimpressed.

            Just then, as if sensing that her cousin was in an awkward situation, Alice appeared with Ryo Kurokiba close behind to save the day.

            "Hey guys. Ready to show those exams who's boss?" she said with a cheery smile.

            "Alice! You're late! It's nearly time to board the buses," said Erina, glad for the change in subject.

            "I tried to wake her on time, but some mornings she simply refuses to leave her bed. Finally, I realized that all I needed to do was..."

            "Not another word, Ryo! Not another word!" said Alice. "So anyways, who's gonna sit next to Torrey? If no one else has, I totally call dibs!"

            "That's not fair!" said Ryoko.

            "Life's not fair, Red. Deal with it," said Alice, crossing her arms. It always amazed Torrey how quickly she could turn on the sass.

            "Shouldn't Torrey have a say in this? What if he doesn't even want to sit with you?" said Ikumi, locking eyes with Alice.

            "Gasp! That's obvi not true," said Alice. "You want to sit with me, don't you Torrey-kun?"

            All of the girls were now looking at him expectantly. In that moment, he wished that he'd taken up Nene's not-invite to sit with her on the plane instead.

            "W-well I'm sure it'd be nice to sit with any one of you girls..."

            "You can't say that! You have to pick!" said Hisako.

            "Yeah, Waldenpond. Pick!" said Soma.

            "Easy for you to say!"

            Torrey scanned the group, considering his options carefully. Who'd make the best companion on a long road trip? I can't possibly keep up with Alice's flirting for that long, plus Ryo wouldn't know what to do without her...I probably shouldn't separate Erina and Hisako either...Ikumi's pretty down-to-Earth, but we don't really talk that much...it's probably between Megumi, Ryoko, and Yuki then.

            "Me, me! Pick me!" said Ryoko.

            "No, pick me!" said Yuki.

            "D-don't pressure him," said Megumi, who looked even more uncomfortable with this scenario than Torrey did. It has to be her! She's a saint!

            "Megumi- I choose you!" said Torrey, pointing directly at her.

            "Waaah?!" shrieked Megumi.

            "Heh?" said everyone else.

            "Yep, it's Megumi. And that's my final answer. Non-negotiable."

            The girls suddenly looked gloomier than they had several minutes ago, when their thoughts were preoccupied with the exams. For a moment, Megumi was elated that Torrey had chosen her. Then the panic set in.

            Oh no...this is terrible! What are we supposed to talk about? she thought.

            "First years, listen up! Let's try and do this as efficiently as possible. Everyone, get in a nice, orderly line so we can divide you up between the buses," said one of the school officials over a megaphone. "It's an 18-hour drive, so let's get this show on the road ASAP!"

            It's finally time. We're heading to Hokkaido... thought Torrey. Wait, did he just say 18 hours?!

************************************************************

            Despite the official's instructions, it took quite some time to organize the first-years and load their bags onto the buses. All of the Resistance members (and Torrey) made it onto the same bus, which actually made Torrey a little paranoid.

            What if Azami sabotaged it or something? That'd be just like him...using underhanded tricks to ensure that none of the Resistance members are able to take their exams. But he said that he still needs me, and he even let me join them for the trip, he thought.

            That morning, Torrey actually spoke with Azami over the phone to discuss the travel accommodations. The last thing Torrey wanted was for Azami to suspect him of further treachery, so he straight up asked if it was okay to take the bus.

            "Of course, of course, do as you wish. It's a great chance to bond with your friends, and to make another wonderful memory at Totsuki! I needn't remind you of what's at stake here, if you were to, say, inform them of our plans for Stage 3 before the time is ripe. Ripe? What a strange expression...maybe it's 'right'? Hmm...anyways, safe travels!"

            Somehow, that wasn't reassuring at all, thought Torrey, gazing out the window. He hadn't spoken to Megumi much since they'd departed from campus.

            Is he brooding? thought Megumi. That's a tough look to pull off, but wow, he really nailed it.

            Meanwhile, one row ahead of them, in the adjacent aisle...

            "The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round, the wheels on the bus go..."

            "Jonny...could you NOT?" said Ikumi, unable to keep her composure. She was still bitter about missing out on the chance to sit next to Torrey, and to make matters worse, she got stuck with this guy instead. Plus, Jonny got the window seat.

            "Ohhh I get it. That one's not for everybody," he replied. Several minutes later...

            "Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer. You take one down, pass it around, ninety-nine bottles of..."

            "Jonny!'" said Ikumi.  

            "Oh, duh! That one's obviously not school appropriate. Hmm, what else could we sing?"

            "How about we just...don't sing?"

            "Works for me. I spy with my little eye..."

            Ikumi facepalmed.

            Meanwhile, in the row ahead of these two...

            "How could you choose him over me as your number one rival!" said Takumi, getting fired up.

            "Haha, settle down there, Takumi. Who said that Torrey's my number one rival?" said Soma.

            "The girls..." said Takumi, pouting.

            "They did? Well, it's true that I think of him as a rival. If I had to name a true rival though, it'd probably be Nakiri."

            "Seriously? Come to think of it, I never really learned about the history between you two. She seems to hold a grudge against you."

            "...it's not a story that she would ever tell you."

            Takumi's eye's widened.

            "Don't tell me...you and her..."

            "Whoa! Whoa! Hold it there, buddy. Whatever you're implying, it's not like..."

            "But it makes perfect sense. The tension. The animosity. The only thing that could result in such a strain is if..."

            "Enough already! I swear it's not like that!" said Soma, reiterating his point.

            "Are you blushing right now?"

            "Grrr...18 hours..." mumbled Soma.

            Back to Torrey and Megumi...

            "I'm glad we're sitting together, Megumi. I feel like we haven't had the chance to talk in a while," said Torrey.

            "Oh...r-really?" said Megumi, her heart pounding.

            "Yeah. So do you feel prepared for these exams? I know how nervous you usually get before tests."

            "I'm actually not that nervous," said Megumi. "Thanks to Nakiri-san's help, I'm confident that I can do this!"

            "That's great! I'm sure you'll do well, too. I just hope we don't have to..." said Torrey, trailing off abruptly.

            "..."

            "Nevermind. You said you're not nervous, but you actually look a little pale. You sure everything's all right?"

            "Definitely! Hehe, don't you worry about me," said Megumi. She was telling the truth; she felt that Erina's crash-course had prepared her well for Hokkaido. The thought of sitting next to Torrey for the duration of the bus trip was what worried her.

            "I wonder if we'll be staying at a hotel tonight? If these buses are any indication, I bet we'll have some pretty lavish digs," said Torrey.

            "Oh, that's a good question..." said Megumi.

She wanted to say something about the five-star hotel at the friendship camp, but her nerves were back at it again. An awkward silence settled over the pair. A few minutes later:

            "Umm...what's your favorite color?" said Megumi.

            Meanwhile, in the row right behind them...

            "This is a great opportunity for her, and she's blowing it," said Yuki. Ryoko and her were conversing in hushed whispers, not wanting the pair in front of them to hear their gossip.

            "She's trying her best! This is actually better than I expected," said Ryoko.

            "Really? Favorite color? Is she 5?" said Yuki.

            "Like you would know what to say in a situation like this!"

            "I know exactly what to say!"

            "Then say it, right now! Pretend that I'm Torrey. What would you say if you wanted to strike up a conversation with me?"

            "Oh...um...how about this weather, eh?" said Yuki, suddenly flustered. She couldn't even meet Ryoko's eyes.

            "See! No right to criticize!"

            Meanwhile, just behind them, in the opposite aisle...

            "I'll admit, I was quite dubious about this whole samurai business. But Torrey's training is certainly paying off, isn't it?" said Erina.

            "For us, you mean?" said Hisako.

            "W-well, one can't argue with the results..."

            "Miss Erina!"

            "He-hem. I apologize for being so vulgar. It's time we start thinking about our exams, anyway."

            "We could do some more studying, but we've still got nearly 18 hours on this bus..."

            "Very well. Hisako, where's that deck of cards you promised?"

            "Ack! I completely forgot! I'm so sorry, Miss Erina!"

            Erina shook her head.

            "And this is coming from the girl who packed my hairdryer when I ran away from home..."

            "If you'd like, I could try leaning into the aisle to listen to Torrey and Megumi's conversation."

            "Hisako, you rascal! Perhaps just for a moment or two."

            Hisako did as she suggested, but even leaning into the aisle put her slightly out of hearing range. She could only pick up bits and pieces of the conversation. After Torrey and Megumi grew quiet, Hisako pulled back into her seat, with a mortified look on her face.

            "What is it? What did they say?" asked Erina.

            "I'm not sure I heard correctly...but I think Torrey was asking her about a hotel. Then he said that she's so pretty, and that he can't wait to ravish her!"

            "H-how obscene!"