~

    The day passed without further incident, Souda did not manage to pluck up the courage to talk to Sonia, or really anyone else for that matter. As the day went on and he had time to think over the implications, he found himself growing more and more mortified, until he refused to face anyone at all. He hoped to avoid people - this was proving to be much more emotionally taxing than he had thought.

     The next morning he decided to arrive early again, and hopefully hide in the back, in the shadows, until the room was full, so he wouldn't have to face anyone alone. However, his bright idea failed the moment he stepped into the room, and both Fuyuhiko and Peko were sat on either side of a desk, talking quietly amongst themselves. A set of red eyes, and one green set, swung towards Souda as he burst into the door, lolling tiredly against the frame.

     "Fancy seeing you here.." Peko said with a barely contained snicker, and Fuyuhiko eyed him in amusement, and Souda got the impression that no matter which way the conversation was going to go, he wasn't going to like it much.

      "What's with that look?" Souda asked nervously, tugging at the collar of his jumpsuit, which was loose anyway. He just felt anxious, and nervous habits were hard to shake - fiddling with his clothes was one he'd kept his whole life.

     "Anxious, Kazuichi?" Fuyuhiko snickered, and Souda shifted his weight against the door frame, leaning free of it. He kicked the door to behind himself and shuffled begrudgingly further into the room, closer to Peko and Fuyuhiko.

     "What's got you two looking so smug?" He asked suspiciously, hoisting himself to sit upon a nearby desk, folding his arms, eyes flitting between the two.

      "Nothing at all," Peko snickered quietly behind her hand, and Souda narrowed his eyes on her. She cleared her throat before speaking again, trying to appear serious, but that was cracking in favour of her showing amusement. "You and Gundham seemed to be having a good time,"

    "Oh, that's what this is about?" Souda scoffed loudly, rolling his eyes and turning away in embarrassment. He wouldn't admit it, but his cheeks were flushing an alarming shade of red.

     "A make out in the middle of the class, huh?" Fuyuhiko said with an obvious smirk. Souda violently smacked his forehead with the open palm of his hand.  He should've guessed.

      "You definitely seem to be getting on rather well," Peko hummed approvingly, the amusement shining brightly in her eyes, and Souda found himself flushing even more.

    "H-He knows we aren't serious! I told him what's going on, he agreed to help me!" Souda rushed out his explanation quickly, and Fuyuhiko pulled a somewhat disappointed face - he had expected Souda to be dumb enough to fully go through with it, though he supposed daddy Gundham being aware did make the situation a little easier, they just had to keep the charade up for the rest of the week, and it should all blow over - or so Souda hoped.

     "And he actually agreed to that?" Fuyuhiko snorted, raising an eyebrow. "That seems questionable..."

     "We made a deal, he's helps me out, and he gets something in return, it's totally consensual, it's fine..!" Souda rushed out again, his cheeks a violent red.

     "What's he getting in return from you?" Fuyuhiko questioned dubiously, crossing his arms suspiciously.

      "He didn't actually say what...." Souda trailed off nervously, all sort of violent and horrific images shooting through his mind - most of which included assisting in the care of Gundham's various animals, many of which he would bring to Hope's Peak on a daily basis.

      Fuyuhiko and Peko suddenly shared a knowing look, and it made Souda itch with discomfort, being left out of the loop like this, surely it concerned him far more than it did them.

      "Wh-What's with that look? What are you thinking?" Souda asked quickly, frowning in annoyance.

        "I'd bet my hat on him wanting your virginity," Fuyuhiko snickered in amusement, fixing Souda with a smug stare to watch the reaction, seeing his face slowly be engulfed by a bright red blush, colouring his cheeks.

     "V-Virginity?!" Souda almost toppled off the desk top as he stuttered it out in shock, shaking his head vigorously.

     "What, you're not a virgin?" Peko teased with a raised eyebrow, and Souda spluttered in indignation as a few of the classmates began to file into the room, not paying the three much attention, or paying attention to what they were saying, which was probably for the best while Souda's dignity and pride were at stake, although both of which had long since been shattered.

       "Th-That's none of your concern!" Souda grumbled loudly as the majority of their classmates were now in the room, and Souda crossed his arms over his chest defensively, lifting off the desk he had been on to allow Hiyoko to get to her desk.

     "What's going on here?" She darted her narrow eyes between the three of them, obviously sensing something was awry, and having no desire to miss out on any gossip or blackmail material.

     "Souda owes Gundham his virginity," Fuyuhiko snickered deviously, and obviously did not feel the least bit intimidated by Souda's angry glare. Hiyoko's eyes widened a fraction, before she started giggling darkly behind the sleeve of her kimono.

    "I-I see...~" She snickered out, barley able to speak around the barley concealed laughter.

      "I wonder who would top...~" Mahiru contemplated, appearing over Hiyoko's shoulder, having obviously heard the conversation, and the pink tint on her cheeks told the whole story of what was playing out in her mind as her eyes took on a contemplative glaze. Hiyoko noticed and quickly pulled a disgusted face, rolled her eyes and lightly smacked Mahiru on the hip, muttering 'stop being gross'.

      "Do we even need to ask that question?" Fuyuhiko continued to snicker.

     "Thank you...!" Souda sighed out loudly in relief, rubbing the centre of his forehead in a display of how done he was with these four, and the whole situation in general.

      "Obviously Gundham would top," Peko said, and Fuyuhiko nodded to her as Souda's jaw dropped in horror, while Mahiru was far away in her own fantasies, and Hiyoko just scrunched her face up in disgust.

     "Sh-Shut up!" Souda couldn't think of anything else to say, so just attempted to berate them half-heartedly.

      "What seems to be the issue here, my mortal?" A deep voice asked as Souda felt a muscular arm encircle his waist, and he almost leapt out of his skin at the alien touch, having never felt anything so close before, and he had definitely not expected it to feel so pleasant or secure, already knowing that Gundham was the one with his arm around him.

     "N-Nothing!" Souda rushed out to the prompt of everyone's knowing stares, his face a bright magenta to match with his hair.

     "That best be the case," Gundham fixed the four with a dark stare which made even Peko and Fuyuhiko jolt back in shock of how serious he seemed, and Fuyuhiko contemplated how the angry glint in Gundham's eye seemed far too genuine and aggressive to be simple acting.

       The last person to enter the classroom was the princess herself, Sonia Nevermind, and her smile was as dazzling as usual. Somehow, the look in her eye told Souda that she could tell something was not quite right, yet her smile remained as perfect as plastic. Something definitely seemed a little off with Sonia, but no one else seemed to notice or care, and Kazuichi couldn't put his finger on what it was.

     "Excuse me," She called out politely, gaining most student's attention, turning to where she was stood by a desk, just inside the door. She flashed them a stunning smile. "I have an announcement to make!~"

     "Well, it can be made after class...~" Chisa bustled into the room, a bulging blue folder under her arm, and Sonia gave a small nod, moving to her own desk. Gundham's arm unwound from Kazuichi's waist - he had forgotten it was even there, it was so comfortable - and Gundham gave him a look he couldn't decipher, before leaving Kazuichi to his own desk.

      As he sat down, Kazuichi contemplated what could be Sonia's announcement. He didn't have a clue what it would be, but after what had been going on between him and Gundham, he resolutely decided that he would not like it.

~

(Publishing again because wattpad is a dickhead and isn't saving when I delete the notes at the start...)