118 - The Classic One

RAW

The study session at Ayaka’s house had turned into a lively gathering. To break the monotony, they started a game of King’s Orders, which brought unexpected energy to the room.

At one point, Saki developed an odd condition—bursting into laughter every time she glanced at Tomoya's face—but overall, everyone seemed to be enjoying the game much more than anticipated.

"Alright! I'm the King this time! Number 3, sing the chorus of a song you're confident in!" Tomoya declared triumphantly.

Holding the chopstick marked with the number 3, Ayaka gave a hesitant "Eh?" as she grimaced. She hesitated for a moment before softly singing a trending ballad. Although far from the passionate rendition Tomoya had envisioned, her quiet, heartfelt performance, with her cheeks flushed red from embarrassment, struck a chord with Haruto.

The next round saw Haruto becoming the King, and his command led to Tomoya falling victim to Shizuku’s special forehead flick, leaving him defeated.

The game continued with various commands, each more creative than the last. By Shizuku's third turn as King, the group was fully engrossed in the game.

"Now that everyone’s hooked on the fun, shall we move on to the classic command?" Shizuku said with a mischievous glint in her eye, twirling her chopstick with the crown mark.

"What classic command?" Ayaka asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Shizuku broke into an uncharacteristic grin.

"King’s Orders wouldn't be complete without this: the Pock—oops, I mean, the Hokky Game!"

She triumphantly held up a box of snack sticks, showcasing it to everyone.

"Number 2 and Number 1 will play the Hokky Game!" she declared.

As soon as the words left her mouth, the room erupted into chaos. Everyone scrambled to check their numbers.

"Oh, I’m number 3," Saki said.

"And I’m number 4… which means..."

The group slowly turned to Haruto and Ayaka, who were holding the chopsticks marked 1 and 2.

"How fitting for Haru-senpai and Aya-senpai, the beloved couple!" Shizuku teased, her smirk growing wider.

"Alright, you two, take this Hokky stick and bite down on each end," she instructed.

"W-Wait, Shizuku! Are we really doing this?" Ayaka stammered, flustered.

"The King’s command is absolute. Come on, hurry up!" Shizuku urged, inching closer with the snack stick in hand.

"B-But doing this in front of everyone..." Ayaka protested.

"We’ll close our eyes during the game. Problem solved. Right, Haru-senpai?"

"Wait, hold on! Didn’t we agree before starting that the commands should be within reason?" Haruto tried to argue.

"This is reasonable. Couples playing the Hokky Game is completely normal. Isn’t that right, Aya-senpai?" Shizuku said, turning to Ayaka.

Caught off guard, Ayaka hesitated before nodding faintly.

"Well… if it’s something couples normally do, then maybe it’s okay..."

"Wait, Ayaka! Are you serious?" Haruto exclaimed.

Their previous "practice as a couple" during summer vacation had clearly skewed Ayaka’s sense of what was normal. Haruto hadn’t expected it to backfire like this, especially not now.

As Ayaka reached for the Hokky stick, Haruto desperately tried to stop her.

"Hold on, Ayaka! Isn’t this a bit much to do in front of everyone?"

"But… Shizuku said it’s normal for couples to do things like this, right?" Ayaka responded.

"It totally is," Shizuku chimed in, nodding.

Looking for an ally, Haruto turned to Saki.

"Help me out here, Saki!"

"Sorry, Haruto, but Ayaka can be pretty single-minded sometimes," Saki said, grinning.

"Come on, you’re her best friend! Help me stop this!"

"It’s no use. When Ayaka’s this set on something, even I can’t stop her," Saki replied with a shrug.

Haruto then looked to Tomoya, who, unsurprisingly, glared at him with envy.

"Haru, I hate you. Explode," Tomoya muttered under his breath.

Realizing no one would come to his rescue, Haruto resigned himself to the inevitable. Ayaka, her face bright red, hesitantly bit down on one end of the Hokky stick and gazed at Haruto.

"Haruto-kun..." she whispered, her voice trembling with embarrassment.

Haruto stared at her, the Hokky stick, and the situation he couldn’t escape. Finally, he sighed and leaned in, opening his mouth to bite the other end.

But just as he was about to, Ayaka suddenly pulled back, snatching the stick from her mouth.

"I-I can’t do it!"

"You can’t back out now, Aya-senpai!" Shizuku protested.

"I-It’s too embarrassing to do this in front of everyone..." Ayaka stammered, shaking her head furiously.

"We have our eyes closed, though," Shizuku pointed out.

"It doesn’t matter!" Ayaka exclaimed, cheeks still flushed.

She clapped her hands together.

"That’s it! The King’s Orders are over! This was just supposed to be a break from studying, right? Let’s get back to it!"

"Aya-senpai, you’re totally running away," Shizuku teased.

"I am not! Now stop grinning and get back to studying!"

Amid Ayaka’s flustered attempts to regain control of the situation, the others laughed and agreed to resume their studies.

---

As the group studied and chatted, the evening sunlight began to tint the sky a soft orange.

"Whoa, it’s already this late?" Tomoya said, glancing at the clock.

"Time flies when you’re studying with everyone," Saki added, stretching.

Realizing the time, they began to pack up.

"Thanks, Haru. Thanks to you, I’ll pass this test without any red marks," Tomoya said, clapping Haruto on the back.

As the study session ended, Shizuku picked up a Hokky stick, took a bite, and smirked.

"Too bad we didn’t get to see the Hokky Game, but teasing Aya-senpai made it all worthwhile."

"I’m not your toy!" Ayaka protested, her voice drowned out by the others' laughter.

The study session ended on a lively note, with everyone in high spirits.