Reincarnated into the world of you-zitsu

Friends

(Anime S2 cruise exam spoiler alert, but I think at this point most of us have already watched S2.. right?)

Summer vacation starts, we packed our bare essentials according to the list the Teachers provided us and boarded the luxury cruise in an orderly manner, class by class.

Just before the cruise leaves the docks for its destination, I turned around and leaned against the railings, spotting Sakayanagi standing at the port and waving us goodbye.

Sakayanagi had previously explained to the class that she was unable to join us on the luxury liner and told us to rely on Katsuragi-Kun should any situation occur on the cruise, he was our class rep, for now.

She also told the members of the Sakayanagi faction that they were to talk to Hashimoto if they ever needed to urgently talk to her. I mean, better be safe than be sorry.

On the cruise after putting away our belongings, our class joyfully split up and wandered all across the ship to explore the various activities and facilities available for us to enjoy.

"Hey, do you mind looking around with me?"

A reddish purple haired girl with bangs brushed to the left, along with a portion of her knee-length hair tied up at the side to form a pony tail approached me with a slight glint of embarrassment in her eyes. It was Kamuro Masumi.

Rightfully, Masumi was supposed to be doing all the dirty work for Sakayanagi. Since I've taken majority of those jobs on, she was left with only a few minor yet tedious jobs to do for Sakayanagi. I did kind of feel a bit sorry for her, since I took her job.

If the outlier of Class C was Ibuki, then the outlier of Class A would be Masumi. Of course it isn't like Masumi has zero friends like Ibuki, its just that she exudes a certain aura that makes people feel rather awkward around her, causing her to be alone half the time. Hence, her approaching me was just her own way of saying, 'Please take care of me' since her 'master' Sakayanagi was absent.

"Ehh... Sei-chan, you're not coming with us?"

"Nah, I think I'll go with Masumi-chan, I have something other than the pool I want to check out and I need her to accompany me. Going to strange places alone is scary after all!"

"Strange places? Where are you-"

"Shhh!! I'll tell you later! Meet up with you guys at the pool!"

"Kaaaaay!"

Fufu~ Is this what they call 'Film-induced Tourism'?? Right. It is the act of travelling to places where famous movies or films were shot to see not only how the scene was filmed but also, in some cases, to see how the location inspired the film, not that it applies to my current situation.

Right, to those who have guessed it: Ding ding ding! I'm going to the place where Ayanokoji said the famous, "Spread your legs" to best girl Karuizawa Kei!!!!! AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

"Tanaka-san? May I ask where we're going?"

"To the bottom of the ship. I just wanna see the inner workings of a ship."

"A hobby?"

"Not really, I'm just curious. If you asked me how a ship floats I wouldn't have any idea, frankly speaking."

Masumi cocked her head to her side. She didn't understand my actions. If I was in her position, honestly, I wouldn't either.

The person called Tanaka Sei just isn't acting like her normal self.

Heading downwards, we were met with the twist and turns of various corridors which all seemed to lead to a dark and eerie place. There was only one corridor which seemed to be lit up, albeit only a tad bit.

Hmm... If I were Ayanokoji pretending to be Hinata, leading Karuizawa in a trap, I would choose a place that is easily accessible. So probably that pathway then.

Pointing towards the pathway, I motioned Masumi to follow me.

Our quiet steps echoed throughout the corridor, making the atmosphere all the more spooky and perhaps, a little frightening.

Since entering this place, Masumi hasn't let out a single sound from her mouth, let alone talk.

"BOO!"

I shouted, suddenly turning around with my arms up, mimicking a monster.

"Eek!"

Tears formed in her reddish purple eyes. She looked genuinely scared out of her wits. Then her brows crinkled.

"Hey! What was that for!"

I looked at her reaction and burst into fits of laughter.

"I- pft- I just wanted to relieve the tension, since you looked so stiff and tense.

Were you scared?"

"Well- What do you think I screamed for then?"

"Well well, you just stay here then, since you're so scared, I wanna check something out."

"Wait-"

Whilst joking around with Masumi, I found the same room that Ayanokoji used to manipulate Manabe and friends into harassing Karuizawa.

Creaking open the door, I found that other than a bunch of steel pipes with instructions plastered on them (probably meant for the ship wrights), the room was practically empty.

I took out my phone. Yep, no signal.

Now, what would a fan do if they were suddenly thrown into a room that their favourite character or couple first met? That's right. Collect evidence which screams: I WAS HERE

I immediately took a screenshot of the sign indicating that there as no signal and started snapping shots of the place where the deed was done (not in that sense) from various angles, occasionally squeeing at the 'good' shots I had taken as I imagined how the scene played out.

All throughout this, Masumi, who had followed me into the room despite my recommendation not to do so, was staring at me as if I had gone mad.

I'm telling you, I'm perfectly sane.

It'll be way too suspicious if I did the same thing after the second special exam though, it would make me feel like a stalker, hence I'm collecting fan pictures for self-consumption before the incident has even occured.

"Are you done? Can we go back? This place is giving me the chills."

"Yup, I think I'm done here, let's go back up."

Going back to the rooms, I bumped into the A class girls who just finished looking around the facilities.

"So... Sei? Where did you go?"

"The bottom of the ship. It was reaaaaally interesting you know? There were like 6 different paths but only one path had like a proper light working so we went that way but still it was really spooky. Oh! Oh! And I managed to scare Masumi-chan!"

I prattled on and on. The rest of the girls looked at me in exasperation.

"Erm.. Sei? We lost you there."

"Ah- Oops! Sorry guys, when I get curious or interested about something I get lost in my own world."

"Hmm? Could this be your 'vacation mode'? I think you talked about it before."

"Ahh yep. I get kinda swept away by the vacation mood so my personality kind of changes. Nice to meet y'all"

The rest of them burst out laughing.

Smiling, I hoped to get even closer to them, as friends.

This place wasn't just a novel, it was an actual world. All these people existed outside the novel, but they all have their individual quirks and traits, making them them. These people would be my good friends that will remain as my good friends, even after the story ends.

Eru: For those wondering what I'm gonna do about the 2nd cruise exam, I think I'll go with the Zodiac exam instead of the Planets, the planets are something I'm not too familiar with.