Kawawho interaction

Volume 2 Prologue

Prologue



When Golden Week ends, each day starts to get hotter than the last. It's also when students with too much free time on their hands cause huge commotions, which makes the days feel hotter than they need to be. I may be the cool, hard-boiled type, but I'm also ridiculously weak against the heat. And so, in my search for somewhere just a bit cooler, I turned to uncharted waters.



The normal human body temperature is 36°C. Going by that number, hanging out with other people makes it less of a midsummer day and more like a day in a furnace. Not even I am capable of coping with such high humidity and temperature.



Cats do the same thing, you know? They go to a secluded place when it’s hot. Out of my sheer desire to defend myself against the heat, I also aimed for somewhere without human presence. Mind you, it wasn’t as if I felt uncomfortable in class or thought I didn’t fit in or anything - nothing like that at all.



This was an act of instinct - or, to put it more bluntly, my classmates who don’t do the same fail as living beings. They gather in herds because they’re weak. You see, only feeble creatures form groups out of instinct. Herbivores cluster together so that they can sacrifice one of their own when they’re attacked by carnivores, and my classmates are no different. They munch on the grass with innocent looks on their faces as their friends get eaten up.



So, yeah. Strong animals don’t gather in herds or anything like that. Do they not know the expression “a lone wolf”? Cats are cute and wolves are cool. In other words, loners are cute and cool.



As those inconsequential thoughts took on an air of importance in my head, I kept moving my feet. My destination: the stairs to the roof. The route was cluttered with desks, so a single person could only just squeeze through.



If it was a normal day, then the door to the roof should have been locked tightly. But today, the padlock was opened and swaying in place. I guessed that some people from another class had gone to the roof to show off and make asses of themselves - you know that saying about smoke, fools and high places?



My first impulse at times like this was to show them up by stacking three desks and two chairs to block their way. My ability to take action made me awesome as usual. How manly. Kyaa. Make love to me.



But then I realised that it was awfully quiet past the door. How strange. As far as I knew, male and female riajuu both hated silence. It’s the same concept as animals being afraid of fire. They interpret silence as boring, so in order to convince themselves that they’re not boring people, they talk and squawk and jabber on. On the other hand, when they’re talking to me, they swallow their boredom and appeal to me with silence. I wondered what that silence really meant… no, it’s not what you think - I prefer the quiet.



From this serene silence, it really seemed as if none of those riajuu were up there. Could it be that no one was there at all?

When no one's around, you get all energetic - that's what being a loner is all about. That's how I am. It's not about being timid around others or anything like that - that's just ordinary mindfulness of others or the urge not to get in their way.



I broke down the barricade I'd just built and put my hand on the door. It was the kind of excitement I get when I wander into a noodle bar at the station for the first time, and my heart was beating the way it does when I leave Chiba and go all the way to a bookstore in Yotsukaido to buy a porn book. See, it was because I was a loner that I could experience such a unique high.



The wide, blue sky and the endless horizon awaited me past the door. The school rooftop was transforming into my private rooftop in front of my very eyes. Rich people want private jets and private beaches and so on. The loners who have private time to themselves are always winners at life, so that means loners should have status.



The sky was so expansive and sunny, as if telling me that I would someday have freedom in this confining world. If I described it in terms of a timeless masterpiece, it was like something from The Shawshank Redemption. Weeell… I never saw it, but the title makes it out to be that kind of movie.[1]



Gazing into the hazy, far-off sky and gazing into the future were pretty much the same things to me. So it was the appropriate place to fill out a certain Prospective Workplace Tour Survey Form I had on hand. The workplace visit loomed over me like the fixed date of an exam.

On that sheet of paper, I carefully listed my prospective career and the workplace I wanted to familiarise myself with, along with my reasons for doing so. I was perfectly sure of the future plans I’d instilled in myself, so my hand never strayed off the page.  It didn’t even take two minutes to write it all down.



…but then-



The wind blew. It was the kind of wind that brings purpose, the kind that heralds a fateful meeting after school. The single sheet of paper with my dreams written across it flew out to meet the future as if it had become a paper aeroplane.



I might have been using flowery descriptions, but I was of course talking about the paper I’d just been writing on a moment earlier. Oi, screw you, wind, you piece of crap.



As if teasing me, the paper fluttered to the ground, only to jump high once again just as I thought it was in my grasp.



…meh, can’t be bothered. I’d get another paper and rewrite it.  My favourite motto is “if it doesn’t work when you try, give up”, so I wasn’t that upset. While we’re at it, you can add “give up when the going gets tough” to that.



Shrugging, I started walking away - and that’s when it happened.



“This yours?”

I heard a voice. With a start, I searched my surroundings for the owner of that slightly husky and vaguely languid voice, but there was no one around me. Solitude was normal for me, but that’s not what I’m referring to right now - I couldn’t find any trace of another person on this roof.



“Where you lookin’?” I heard the voice laugh scornfully from above.



If the voice was above me, then I was sure of where it was coming from. It was from the place that protruded into the sky even further than the roof did - the ladder that reached up to the water tower.



The owner of the voice was leaning against the water tower, peering down at me. As she played with a cheap-looking hundred-yen lighter in her hand, our eyes met and she furtively tucked it away into her uniform pocket.



Her long, black hair fell all the way down her back; her ribbon was untied, revealing the curve of her chest; the unnecessary parts of her shirt cuffs were loosened up; her long, sharp legs looked made for kicking. But what made an impression on me were her ambitionless eyes, which gazed vacantly into the distance. The bags under her eyes really contributed to that washed-out look.



“This yours?” the girl asked in the same tone as before.



I didn’t know how old she was, so for the time being, I kept my mouth shut and nodded in reply.

You see, I’d have to be formal if she was my senpai, but if she wasn’t, then that would be a cause for embarrassment. True strength keeps its cards close.



“…hang on a sec,” she sighed, as she put her hands on the ladder and climbed down swiftly.



…but then-



The wind blew. It was the kind of heavy wind that sweeps away a blackout, the kind that determines one’s destiny. The single line of fabric which contained my dreams yielded to the divine wind as if burning itself into eternal memory.



I might have been using flowery descriptions, but basically I saw her panties. Oi, good job, wind, you’re the best!

blacklace.jpg

The girl let go of the ladder halfway down, landed lightly on her feet, and then handed the paper to me - but not before first glancing over it herself.



“…are you a moron?” she said curtly, practically hurling it at me.



As soon as I caught it, she lost no time in turning around and disappearing into the school building, never once looking back. I was left there alone, having lost my chance to say “thanks” or “what do you mean by a moron?” or “sorry I saw your panties”.



I held the paper she had retrieved for me in one hand and scratched my head with the other. At the same moment, the bell signalling the end of recess rang out from the rooftop speakers. Taking that as my cue, I turned my feet towards the door too.



“Black lace, huh…” I muttered, sighing with both deep satisfaction and deep consternation.



I wondered if the summer ocean wind would carry those words across the entire world.

Volume 2 Chapter 4

For now, I contented myself with poking her on the forehead. Specifically, I flicked an eraser at her head, causing her to self-destruct. Basically, I unleashed all the reserves of my power in a complete, no-holds-barred attack.



“Oof!” Komachi moaned. The rubber hit her forehead, leaving a dint. As she nursed her forehead, Komachi glared at me with teary eyes. “Hmph… and here I was praising you for being such a good student…”



“That’s because you said a dumbass thing. Now just study already, geez.”



“Stuff like that is what makes you straight-laced. Man, there are so many different types of brothers and sisters out there.

I have a friend who goes to the same cram school as me whose older sister became a delinquent. She doesn’t come home at all at night and stuff.”



“Uh huh.” It seemed Komachi had already lost all motivation to study. Somewhere along the lines, she’d closed the Target: 1800 book. By now, we were neck deep in pointless chatter time.



As I wisely ignored Komachi’s chatter, I went on studying Japanese history. 645, the year of the Taika Reforms was 645.



“But ya know, his sis was a super serious student until she got into Soubu High. I wonder if something happened to her.”



“Oh, is that so.”



Komachi’s words went in one ear and out the other. 694, the year Fujiwara-kyo became the capital was 694. Oh wait, was that 794? No, that was the Heian-kyo[2].



Still, it was enough to put me to sleep. People have a strong will not to lose to drugs. In other words, no matter how much caffeine I took, my desire to sleep might win over.

“But well, it’s his family so I can’t really say anything. We’re getting closer lately, so he’s been confiding in me, but there’s not much I can do. Oh, his name’s Kawasaki Taishi-kun and he started attending my cram school this April.”



“Komachi.”



My mechanical pencil fell from my fingers with a clatter. My tiredness had vanished in an instant.



“What’s your relationship with this Taishi-kun? What do you mean by getting closer?”



“Whoa, you’ve got a scary look in your eyes, onii-chan…”



It seemed I had been looking at her kind of seriously. Komachi was slightly startled. But this was my idiot sister here. Something might happen to her if she didn’t watch out for herself. It was natural that I’d be worried for her as a family member. If she was entangled with some boy, it wouldn’t be good for her.



Onii-chan really doesn't tolerate that stuff.



“Meh. Tell me if there’s something bothering you. I told you this before, but the stuff I do with the Service Club - which I still don’t get, by the way - might be able to help you out. I guess.”



Komachi puffed out her cheeks and smiled when I said that.



“Onii-chan, you really are a straight-laced guy!”

Volume 2 Chapter 4-2

Hiratsuka-sensei scowled openly at me. “Now then, before I punch you, I’ll ask you why you were late, just to be nice.”

She’d already decided to punch me!



“No, you’re mistaken. Please wait a moment. Don’t you know the phrase ‘fashionably late’? Basically, this is a rehearsal for when I become a powerful, elite executive.”



“I thought you wanted to be a stay-at-home husband.”



“Urk!” I winced, but soon regained my footing. “W-well! It’s a mistake to think that being late is inherently a bad thing. You get it? The police start moving after the incident happens. It’s well established that the hero arrives at the last minute. In other words, they’re always late. But who blames them for it?! No one! The irony here is that tardiness is justice!” I shouted from deep within my soul.



When I finished, Hiratsuka-sensei had a distant look in her eyes for some reason.



“…Hikigaya. Let me tell you one thing. Feeble justice is no different from evil.”



“…f-feeble justice is even better than evi- wait! Don’t hit me! No!”



Aku Soku Zan[3]. Hiratsuka-sensei’s fist sunk into my liver with precise accuracy. My body groaned from the damage. As I keeled over and fell to the ground, I let out a cough.



Hiratsuka-sensei sighed with astonishment while I writhed in agony. “Geez… there’s no end to the problem children in this class.” But she didn’t say that with disgust - in fact, she looked happy more than anything. “I’m talking about one other person when I say that.”



Completely ignoring that I had fallen to the ground, Hiratsuka-sensei clacked her heels against the floor and faced the backdoor of the classroom. I looked in the same direction from my position on the ground and noticed the appearance of a lone female student holding her schoolbag.



“Kawasaki Saki. Are you fashionably late too?” Hiratsuka-sensei called out to her with a wry smile on her face.



But the girl named Kawasaki Saki only answered with a silent bob of her head. Then she walked right past my sprawled-out body on the floor and made for her seat.



Her long, black hair fell all the way down her back; the unnecessary parts of her shirt cuffs were loosened up; her long, sharp legs looked made for kicking.

blacklace.jpg

But what made an impression on me were her ambitionless eyes, which gazed vacantly into the distance. Not to mention the black lace that seemed as if it had been embroidered by an artisan.



I swore I’d seen that girl somewhere before… wait a minute, if she was in my class, then no shit I’d seen her before.



Since I could see up her skirt from my curled-up position on the floor, I sprang to my feet with a start. I didn’t want anyone to get suspicious of me.



And at that moment, something clicked in my head.



“…you’re the black lace girl, aren’t you?”



With that, all my doubts cleared away at once.



Inadvertently, I flashbacked to a scene that had burnt itself into my eyes. I recalled the girl who had suddenly made fun of me when she saw me on the roof.



Oh, so she was in my class, huh? It was time to confirm once more that this was the girl I understood now to be Kawasaki Saki. Instead of going to her seat, Kawasaki stood where she was and looked back casually over her shoulder at me.



“…are you a moron?” Kawasaki Saki asked. She didn’t kick or punch me. She wasn’t blushing with embarrassment and her face wasn’t red with anger - it was as if she had no interest at all. She was just mildly annoyed.



If Yukinoshita Yukino was frigid, Kawasaki Saki was just cold. It was like the difference between dry ice and normal ice. Yukinoshita scalded anyone who touched her.



With a disgusted look on her face, Kawasaki brushed up a loose strand of hair before facing her seat this time. After she pulled out her chair and sat on it, she looked at the window blankly as if she was bored. It was as if she was looking outside so she wouldn’t have to look inside.



There was no one in the world who wouldn’t notice her “don’t talk to me” aura. But her “don’t talk to me” aura was still weak. No one would talk to me in class even if I had my “please talk to me” aura on.



“Kawasaki Saki, huh…?”



“Hikigaya, quit muttering the name of a girl whose skirt you looked up with deep emotion.” Hiratsuka-sensei placed a hand on my shoulder. Her hand was awfully cold. “We’ll have a nice talk about this later. Come see me in the staffroom after school.”

Volume 2 Chapter 4-3

A good-looking schoolgirl sitting on the adjacent seat nudged it back to me. I bowed courteously in response to her uncomplaining, graceful gesture.



“Oh, it’s onii-chan.”



The good-looking girl was my sister, Hikigaya Komachi. Clad in her middle school uniform, she waved at me with a cheerful smile lighting up her face.



It took me a very long moment to respond. “What are you doing here?” I demanded.



“See, I was just listening to Taishi-kun’s problems,” Komachi said as she turned her gaze back to the seat opposite of her. Sitting there was a boy in a middle school uniform.



He quickly ducked his head and bowed in my direction. I eyed him warily without thinking. Just why was this boy with Komachi…?



“This is Kawasaki Taishi-kun. I told you about him yesterday, y’know? The guy whose sister became a delinquent.”

Now that she mentioned it, I had a feeling we had a conversation along those lines. Almost all of it had gone in one ear and out the other since I was intent on memorising dates at the time. Just what even happened in the year 694 again…?



“So yeah, he was just asking me how he could get his big sis to go back to how she used to be. Oh, right. You asked about it too, onii-chan. You said I could tell you if I ever had any problems.”



Oh, I somehow got the feeling I might have run my mouth and declared something like that yesterday. “Leave it to me and go on ahead!” or whatever. Yeah, I might intend to do something like that if it was for my sister’s sake, but to completely honest, I had no such intentions when it came to her friends, much less for a boy…



“Yeah, I get it. But you know, I reckon he should talk things over with his family without any delay. Yep, in fact, there’s no time to waste.”



I figured I could weasel my way out of this if I strung some pretty-sounding words together. Then I could get rid of Komachi and go home. As those thoughts went through my mind, that Taishi kid started mouthing off like I was his senpai or something.



“You’re right about that, but… lately, nee-chan’s been coming home late and she doesn’t listen to what our parents say at all. She gets angry at me and tells me it’s none of my business when I say something to her…”



Taishi hung his head as he spoke. It seemed he was brooding over it in his own particular way.



“…you’re the only one I can rely on now, onii-san.”



“You have no right to call me onii-san!”



“Why are you shouting things an obstinate father would say?” a cool voice uttered behind me.



I turned around to find Yukinoshita and the others already approaching. Judging them to be my acquaintances from how they wore the same uniform as I did, Komachi wasted no time projecting a businesslike smile.



“Hi there! I’m Hikigaya Komachi. Thanks for being there for my brother,” Komachi greeted them with a knowing smile. One of her special traits since she was little was being able to fit right in wherever she went, often to a baffling degree.



Meanwhile, Taishi-kun, the other customer, preferred to keep to himself. He lowered his head halfway in a dutiful bow and only introduced himself by name.



“You’re Hachiman’s younger sister?” Totsuka said politely. “Pleased to meet you, I’m his classmate. My name’s Totsuka Saika.”



“Oh, you’re so polite, how charming. And oh my, what a cutie. Right, right, onii-chan?”



I grunted. “He’s a boy.”



“Haha! Funny joke! Hahaha, what are you saying, my idiot brother?”



“Er, um. I am a boy…” Totsuka said shyly as he turned his face away, blushing.



…holy crap! Is this guy really a boy?



“Uh… really?” Komachi asked, nudging me with her elbow.



“Sorry, I wasn’t sure for a moment there, but he’s probably a guy. He’s cute, though.”



“Y-yeah…” Komachi stared straight at Totsuka’s face, only half-convinced. As she murmured stuff like, “What long eyelashes you have. What pretty skin,” Totsuka blushingly looked away from her gaze, fidgeting uncomfortably.



I wanted to gaze at Totsuka’s adorable form forever, but when he made eye contact with me as if saying, “Help meeeeeee…” I tore Komachi away from him.

“That’s enough for now. Anyway, this is Yuigahama and that’s Yukinoshita.”



Komachi finally looked at the two of them after my brief introduction. When their eyes met, Yuigahama laughed nervously. “P-pleased to meet you,” she introduced herself. “I’m Hikki’s classmate Yuigahama Yui.”



“Oh, hi, nice to meet you t-” Komachi stopped moving and stared straight at Yuigahama. “Huh…”



Yuigahama avoided her eyes, sweating profusely. What, were they the snake and frog?  Their stare down lasted for a whole three seconds until a voice diffused the standstill.



“…are you done yet?” Yukinoshita interjected calmly, having waited patiently for quite some time.



It was amazing how just the sound of her voice made Yuigahama and Komachi shut up and pay attention to her. Her transparently cold voice was extremely quiet and subdued. And yet the message got across, loud and clear. It was like listening to the sound of fresh snow piling up on the ground.



So perhaps it would be more accurate to say that - rather than merely shutting up - they were in awe of her. Komachi opened her eyes wide and sat rooted to the spot in front of Yukinoshita. As she beheld Yukinoshita, she was spellbound for a moment.



“Pleased to meet you. I am Yukinoshita Yukino. Hikigaya-kun is my… what is Hikigaya-kun to me, I wonder…? He is not my classmate, nor is he my friend… I am loath to admit it, but he is my acquaintance, I suppose?”



“Why are you saying that so uncertainly and why are you so ashamed to know me?”



“You see, I was wondering if acquaintance is the proper term. The only thing I know about you, Hikigaya-kun, is your name after all. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I don’t want to know any more about you than that. And yet still I call you my acquaintance.”



What a cruel statement. But when you think about it, the definition of acquaintance is vague too. I don’t even know what a friend is, let alone an acquaintance. Was it really all right to call someone you’d met once an acquaintance? Could you still call them an acquaintance after seeing them countless times? Could you call them an acquaintance regardless of how much information you knew about that person?



Whatever. Using a poorly-defined label wasn’t a great idea. For now, it was best to prioritise the concrete facts.



“Something like ‘fellow student’ is good enough for now.”



“Indeed… then allow me to correct myself. I am loath to admit it, but I am his fellow student Yukinoshita Yukino.”

“You’re still ashamed to know me!” Well, you know what? I’m just as ashamed to know her!



“But there’s no other way I could put it.”



“Oh, um, it’s fine. I think I pretty much get what kind of relationship you have with my brother,” Komachi said kindly to the slightly perturbed Yukinoshita. I was grateful my sister was so quick on the uptake, but her sisterly love was sorely lacking, in my opinion.



“…excuse me, but what am I supposed to do?”



I turned my head. “Huh? O-ohhh…”



Taishi-kun was at an impasse, a worried expression on his face. Here he was pouring out his heart to me, but his only acquaintance was Komachi, which made his situation messy and difficult for him. No, honestly, his position was that of an acquaintance of an acquaintance, and it wasn’t like he could follow the strange turns of conversation. To say nothing of the fact that he was surrounded only by people who were older than he was. He really was in a bind. Far from drawing attention to himself by talking out of turn, he was in the sort of position where people asked him what his problem was. “Why so quiet?” and so on. If I were in his shoes, I’d want to die. Your only choice is to nod along to the conversation and occasionally laugh and smile awkwardly.



Given all that, the fact that Taishi was determined to speak his mind displayed some impressive communicative powers. I suppose you could say he was a boy with good prospects. (Not that I’d ever let him take care of Komachi, though.)



“Excuse me, I’m Kawasaki Taishi. Nee-chan’s an eleventh grader at Soubu High… oh, and her name is Kawasaki Saki. Nee-chan is… how do you put it…? A delinquent? She’s turned rotten…?”



I had a memory of hearing that name quite recently. As I stirred the milk in my blended coffee, pondering, I was attacked by an onslaught of memories. The contrast between black and white formed a gradation that stimulated my vision.



…oh, right! The black lace girl!



“You mean the Kawasaki Saki in our class?”



“Kawasaki Saki-san…” Yukinoshita uttered that name and cocked her head slightly, which showed how little she knew about Kawasaki.



But Yuigahama, who was in the same class as Kawasaki, clapped her hands in recognition, just as expect from her. “Oooh. Kawasaki-san, right? She’s kinda the scary, delinquent type.”



“You’re not friends?” I asked.



“We’ve talked, I guess, but we’re not really friends…” Yuigahama responded delicately. “And hey, that’s not something you should ask a girl. It puts us in a hard position.”



Even with girls, there were the groups, cliques, unions, guilds and what have you. Anyway, from the way she spoke, it didn’t seem like Yuigahama’s group had a particularly good rapport with Kawasaki.



“But I’ve never seen Kawasaki-san get along with anyone…” Totsuka remarked. “I feel like she’s always staring blankly out the window.”



“…oh, that’s pretty much what she’s like.” I remembered how Kawasaki Saki acted in the classroom. She was a lone girl with grey eyes who just peered at the moving clouds. Come to think of it, she wasn’t looking at anything in the classroom but rather at some faster-moving place beyond her line of sight.



“So about when did your sister become a delinquent?” Yukinoshita asked Taishi suddenly.



He reacted with a start. “Y-yes’m!”



It should be noted that he was nervous not just because Yukinoshita was scary but because a beautiful older girl was talking to him. It was the correct reaction for a boy in middle school. If I were a middle schooler I’d probably be like that too. But when you become a jaded high school student, you’d realise that she was just plain scary.

“Er, uh… it was probably around the time nee-chan entered Soubu High since she was a super serious student back in middle school. She was relatively nice back then and often made dinner and stuff. She didn’t change much even when she was in her first year of high school… she changed only very recently.”



“So it was when she entered eleventh grade?” I asked, to which Taishi answered in the affirmative.



Upon hearing that, Yukinoshita began to ponder. “In regards to changes when she became an eleventh grader, does anything come to mind?”



“This is just a generic answer, but didn’t she change her class? It was after she entered class F.”



“In other words, it was when she became Hikigaya-kun’s classmate.”



“My, my, why are you saying it like I’m the one who caused it?” I broke in. “What am I, a virus?”



“I said nothing of the sort. You take your persecution complex too far, Hikigerma.”



“But you said it yourself. You clearly said ‘germ’.”



“A mere slip of the tongue.”



No, seriously, stop it. This was bringing up traumatic memories of being treated as if I had germs. Elementary schoolkids are too cruel. They’d start being all, “It’s Hikigermaaaaa!” “You’re it!” “I used a barrier just now!” just from touching me. “Barriers don’t work against Hikigerma!” they said. Just how powerful was the Hikigerma?



Yuigahama looked at Taishi-kun. “But y’know, when you say she comes home late, just what time does she come back? I get home relatively late and stuff too. It’s not so unusual for a high school kid, y’know?”



“Oh, huh, about that.” Taishi-kun looked away, flustered.



I see how it is. He was being shy because an awfully sexy older girl was talking to him. It was the correct reaction for a boy in middle school. When you become a jaded high school student, you come to realise that you can in fact say what you like to a slut.



“But coming home at five o’clock and stuff is too late,” he went on.



“That’s more like morning…” And she’d be late too, oh my. She’d only get around two hours of sleep, if any.



“And your parents don’t say anything to her when she comes home at th-that hour, I take it?” Totsuka asked Taishi worriedly.



“No. Both our parents work, and we have a younger brother and sister, so they don’t really yell at nee-chan. Plus, it’s just so late they rarely see her around anyway… well, I guess bringing up so many kids means you’ve got quite a lot on your plate,” Taishi answered, relatively unshaken.

Hmph, a middle school boy like him had yet to realise Totsuka’s charm. When you become a jaded high school student, you’re bound to realise that Totsuka is, in fact, cute as hell.



“On the odd occasion we do come across each other, we end up fighting, and whenever I say anything, she gets really stubborn and says, ‘It’s got nothing to do with you’…” Taishi’s shoulders drooped. He was greatly perplexed.



“Family reasons, huh…” Yukinoshita said. “Every family has them.”



She had a deep look of melancholy on her face that I had never seen before. She looked just like Taishi, who had come to tell us of his troubles. By that, I mean she was on the verge of tears.



“Yukinoshita…”



But as soon as I called out to her, the clouds covered the sun and a shadow came over her face. Because of that, I couldn’t read the expression on Yukinoshita’s downturned face clearly. But the mere sight of her feeble, drooped shoulders told me she had let out a short sigh.



“You said something?” Yukinoshita answered me as she lifted her face.



Her expression was no different from normal - cold and withering.



The clouds had only covered the sun for a moment. I had no way of knowing the meaning of the sigh she had breathed in that split second.



The only one who had noticed the change in Yukinoshita’s demeanour was me. Taishi and the others went on talking normally.



“And that’s not all… nee-chan gets all these phone calls from a weird place.”



At Taichi’s words, a question mark floated over Yuigahama’s head. “Weird places?”



“Mmm. From Angel something-or-other, probably some kind of store… the manager guy talked to her.”



“What about it is so weird?” Totsuka asked.

Taishi banged his fist against the table. “I mean think about it! Angel?! It’s a totally sleazy store!”



“Huh, I don’t get that vibe from it at all…” Yuigahama said somewhat hesitantly, but I totally got the vibe.



See, the thing is, my horny middle school boy senses were tingling. Try imagining this “Angel” word displayed in Tokyo’s red-light district. See what I mean? The perverted factor just went up by fifty per cent. And while we’re at it, the word “Super” feels forty per cent more erotic.



Without a doubt, this was one sleazy store.



This brat had realised that, much as you’d expect.



“Hey, calm down for a sec, Taishi,” I said. “I understand everything.”



Delighted at being understood, Taishi wiped passionate tears from the corner of his ears and embraced me in a passionate hug.



“O-onii-san!”



“Hahaha, did you call me onii-san? Do you have a death wish?”

As the two boys were binding their souls together under the god named Eros, the girls calmly decided on their future plans.



“In any case, if she’s working somewhere, then we need to come up with a special plan,” Yukinoshita said. “Even if it’s not a dangerous store like this idiot seems to believe, the fact that she’s working until dawn is troubling. We need to find out where she’s going and stop her.”



“Yeah, but if we do manage to stop her, she might start a new job somewhere else, y’know?” Yuigahama said.



Komachi nodded in agreement. “Out of the frying pan and into the water.”



“…you mean into the fire,” said Yukinoshita.



Oh, my little sister. I ask of you, please, don’t bring shame to the Hikigaya name. Look, you’re making Yukinoshita feel embarrassed for you.



“In other words, our only option is to simultaneously treat the symptoms and eradicate the root source,” Yukinoshita concluded at approximately the same time I tore Taishi off me.



“Hey, wait a minute here. Are you planning to make us do something?”



“But of course. Kawasaki Taishi-kun is the younger brother of Kawasaki Saki-san, a student of our school. This is to say nothing of how the bulk of his worries concerned her. I believe it is within the Service Club’s line of work.”



“Yeah, but all club activities are suspended for the midterms…”



“Onii-chan.” Someone poked me incessantly in the back. When I turned around, Komachi was smiling broadly at me.



It was Komachi’s smile whenever she asked me to do something for her. A long time ago when Komachi wanted to have my Christmas present, she had this expression on her face too. Why did Santa have to ask for my Love and Berry cards[3]? There was no way I could fight against Komachi, who held the strongest trump card known as our parents’ sympathy. Damn it, she wasn’t cute at all…



“I’ll do it…” I said reluctantly.

Taishi bowed enthusiastically, like an engine in high gear. “Th-thank you!” he shouted jubilantly. “Sorry for bothering you! I promise to do my best!”

Volume 2 Chapter 4-5

“H-hello?!”



“Oh, is this onii-san? I asked for your number from Hikigaya-san.”



“I don’t have a brother or a brother-in-law.”



I ended the call right then and there, but another call came in no time. Even without seeing his face, I knew he was the persistent sort, so I gave in.



“Hey, why did you hang up?!”



“What do you want?”



“It’s just that I heard about the cat and, well, nee-chan has a cat allergy.”



Silence. Our plan was screwed.



“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”



“Sorry, I only just heard.”



“Geez, I get it, I get it. Thanks for filling us in. Later.”



I snapped the phone shut once and for all and hurried to where Yukinoshita was. Yukinoshita was crouched in front of Kamakura and tickling Kamakura’s neck. Kamakura was curling into a ball.



“Yukinoshita,” I called out to her.



Yukinoshita let go of the cat all of a sudden and only glared at me with “What is it now?” written across her face. Geez, let it go already. The way she kept glaring at me would only make me remember what happened before.



“I just got a call from Taishi and it turns out Kawasaki has a cat allergy. So I don’t reckon she’d pick the cat up even if we left it here.”



“…huh. That’s a spanner in the works,” Yukinoshita said as she stroked Kamakura’s head sadly in parting. Meow.

***

When I contacted the others to tell them that we’d given up, Yuigahama, Totsuka and Komachi returned.



“Onii-chan, you got a call from Kawasaki-kun?” Komachi asked.



“Er, yeah.” Then I said, “Don’t go giving phone numbers away to strangers. What if something dangerous happens? Be careful when you handle personal information.”



“Hikigaya-kun’s personal details aren’t such a big deal,” Yukinoshita teased me, but only half-jokingly.



“It’s not for me, it’s for Komachi. You hear me? Don’t you give your number away lightly, okay? Especially to boys.”



“No way, you saw right through me?” Komachi deflected my warning with a laugh. Well, my little sister was one of those “spare me the details” types. That didn’t stop her from being far superior to me at these sorts of things.



(Or rather, I was the one who had to catch up.)



Now that the animal therapy operation had failed, we had to come up with another plan. Not having a plan of my own, I looked to Yukinoshita. When I did, she looked at Komachi and me in turn and let out a soft sigh.



“…you get along well as siblings.” She hesitated. “I’m somewhat jealous.”



“Huh? Oh, people say that a lot when they’re an only child. It’s not such a great thing.”



“No, I…” Yukinoshita trailed off, which was rare for her.  Usually, she declared whatever was on her mind, even at the expense of hurting others. “No, never mind.”



Had she eaten something bad, like one of Yuigahama’s cookies or something?



“Now then, what are we gonna do? We gotta think of something.”



“Er, uh…” Totsuka raised his hand timidly. He looked at both Yukinoshita and Yuigahama with an uncertain look in his eyes, as if he wanted to contribute something but wasn’t sure how to go about it.



Go ahead and say it, I thought. Even if no one else would accept him, I would! For example, I would even accept this unacceptable love!



“Go ahead,” said Yukinoshita. “I don’t mind if you speak your mind. It would help us all out.”



“Okay then… so um, how about you tell Hiratsuka-sensei about it? I think she might be too close to her parents to tell them her problems. But if she were talking to another adult, she might be able to confide her problems, maybe?”



Oh, what a great call. Indeed, she might not be able to talk to her parents because they were her parents. For example, I would have absolutely no desire to talk to my parents about porn or romance. Also, I wouldn’t tell them if I went to school and there was graffiti on my desk, or if there was rubbish in my shoe locker, or if I received a love letter and got worked up over it, only to find out it was a classmate’s prank.



That’s why a third party was necessary. A reliable person with an abundance of life experience might be able to pitch in and help.



“But Hiratsuka-sensei, you say…” There was a worrying factor in there. Could you really call such a pitiful person an adult? The only thing that was adult about her was her chest.



“Compared to other teachers, Hiratsuka-sensei is very in touch with her students,” Yukinoshita declared. “There is no better person for the job.”



“Oh, yeah, I guess.” Just like Yukinoshita said, Hiratsuka-sensei really did work hard in guiding her students. She directed students who were wrapped up in their worries to the Service Club, and on a daily level she connected with the students. She could probably do what we needed of her since she was highly observant and all. “Then I’ll try contacting her.”



I explained the gist of the Kawasaki Saki situation in my text message. Hiratsuka-sensei’s phone address, which I had absolutely no use or desire for, had come in handy for once.



“That’s about it. I told her we’ll explain more at the entrance. Okay, that’ll make her come.”



After I closed off the email, we waited for five minutes.



We heard the stiff sound of her heels scratching against the floor, signalling Hiratsuka-sensei’s appearance.



“Hikigaya, I understand the situation,” she said with a serious face. “I’ll hear out the details.” She put out the cigarette she had been smoking on a portable ash tray.



I explained what we knew about Kawasaki Saki, as well as what we had surmised. Hiratsuka-sensei listened silently until I finished, upon which she let out a short, terse sigh.



“The fact that a student of our school is working at a part-time job past midnight is a serious matter. We need to deal with this quickly before it escalates any further. I’ll handle it.” Hiratsuka-sensei cackled in a rather unprofessional way. “What are you looking at? I let Kawasaki go just before I came here. And it took another two minutes to come here.”



…what was this indescribable unease that come over me? Her entire manner reeked of schadenfreude.



“Um, you do know you’re not allowed to punch or kick her?”



“Impossible… you do realise I only do that kind of thing to you?”



“No, that’s not romantic at all.”



As this was going on, Kawasaki Saki appeared at the entrance. She dragged her feet lazily and occasionally let out a wide yawn. She slung her schoolbag over her shoulder listlessly as if she didn’t give a crap about anything. Her elbows were swinging back and forth idly.



“Hold it right there, Kawasaki,” Hiratsuka-sensei called out authoritatively to her back. The sound of her voice shook the ground roughly.



At that, Kawasaki turned around, her eyes narrowing half-way as if she was glaring. As she turned around, she stooped over in a smooth motion.



Hiratsuka-sensei was tall as well, but she was inferior to Kawasaki. Her long legs, covered loosely by her boots, kicked a small rock smartly.



“…you want something?” Kawasaki said belligerently in a husky “I don’t give a shit” tone. The way she spoke so bluntly was scary. She wasn’t the delinquent or yankee “I’ll beat the shit outta you!”-type of scary. She was the older woman in a sleazy bar kind of scary. She had the kind of vibe of a person sitting at the corner of the counter, smoking and holding whisky in one hand.



On the other hand, Hiratsuka-sensei’s entire body was also emitting a similar scary aura. She was scary the way a tired old man is when he helps himself to a bottle of beer as he’s eating his fifth helping of soba at a Chinese cookery in front of the station in the sleazy part of town, yelling things like, “He’s hopeless! What a shit pitcher!” at the relay broadcast of baseball. What was this, the clash of the titans?



“Kawasaki, I hear you’ve been coming home late these days - that you’ve been coming back in the early hours of the morning. Just what are you doing and where?”



“Did someone tell you that?”



“My client information is strictly confidential. Now answer my question,” Hiratsuka-sensei said in her take-no-shit tone.



Kawasaki sighed languidly. From the looks of it, she was ridiculing sensei. “Nothing much. Does it really matter where I go? Not like I’m getting in anyone’s way.”



“But you might in the future. You won’t be a high school student forever. Don’t you see there are people watching out for you? Like your parents and me,” Hiratsuka-sensei insisted.



But Kawasaki only looked at her with a bored expression.



Losing patience, Hiratsuka-sensei grabbed Kawasaki by the arm. “Have you never considered how your parents are feeling?” she demanded seriously, clinging as if she would never let go.



Her touch was probably warm and tender. I wondered if her passionate feelings would melt Kawasaki’s heart.



“Sensei…” Kawasaki whispered, touching Hiratsuka-sensei’s hand and looking straight into her eyes.



Then-



“Like I know how my parents feel. And anyway, there’s no way you could know since you’ve never been a parent either, sensei. Shouldn’t you only say that stuff after you get married and have kids yourself?”



“Uuuuurk!”



Kawasaki had turned the tables completely. Hiratsuka-sensei lost her footing like a boxer hit by a sucker punch. She was receiving a considerable amount of damage. It seemed her feelings hadn’t gotten across.



“Sensei, you should worry about your own future before you worry about mine. Like getting married and stuff.”



Hiratsuka-sensei’s body keeled over at the continued pummelling. Her knees were trembling. So the damage had reached her legs, huh… The impact reached her hips, her shoulders and all the way up to her voice box. She croaked, but no words came out. Her eyes were watering.

The callous Kawasaki paid no heed and disappeared into the bicycle parking area. We all looked at each other wordlessly, not knowing what to say. Yuigahama and Komachi gazed pointedly at the ground, while Totsuka muttered, “Poor sensei,” to himself.



Then Yukinoshita crouched down. It was as if she was trying to avoid making a presence of herself.



Why? Why was it up to me to do something? I thought. As I watched my teacher’s pitiful state, I felt compelled to say something. Could it be… that I was feeling sorry for her?

“Er, uh… sensei?” I said, trying to think of comforting words.



Sensei turned around stiffly like she was a zombie.  She sniffed. “I’m going home…” she said in a thin, trembling voice as she rubbed her eyes with the sides of her thumbs.



And then, without even waiting for my response, she began making her way unsteadily towards the car park.



“Y-you tried your best.” As I watched her lone figure stumbling in the distance, the afternoon glow from the sun stung my eyes and caused tears to sprout.



Someone marry her already, please.

Volume 2 Chapter 4-8

And with that, Yuigahama’s plan “Operation: Gigolo Hayama’s Romcom Exploits!” went underway. What a lame naming sense.



The gist of it was simple.



Hayama would use all of his gigolo powers at once to catch and ensnare Kawasaki’s heart. (By the way, why do they say you ‘catch’ a person’s heart anyway? Not even a gigolo is capable of ripping a heart out of someone’s chest.)



Moving into position at the bicycle parking area, we went on waiting in preparation for Kawasaki to arrive. Of course, since it was unusual for us to be with Hayama, we put some distance between us so that we could observe what was going on between him and her.



Then finally, the time came.



Kawasaki walked into view, listlessly dragging her feet the same way as yesterday. As she stifled a yawn and opened the lock on her bicycle, Hayama chose that moment to appear.



“Hey there. You seem tired,” he remarked lightly.



It was meant to be an act, but he said it with such natural ease that we, who were listening nearby, couldn’t help but utter “Hey there” back at him.



“Do you have a part-time job? You shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew, you know?” he said with such casual concern.



I can’t believe that Hayama, half of me thought, while the other half was in love with him.



Meanwhile, Kawasaki just sighed with irritation. “Thanks for looking out for me. Well, later.” She started pushing her bike out without a care in the world.



But as she turned her back, a warm voice assailed her, one that would thaw even the coldest of hearts.



“Look…”



That made Kawasaki stop in her tracks. She looked back at Hayama over her shoulder from where she stood.



A refreshing early summer breeze blew in the space between those two. At this sudden romcom development, Yuigahama leaned her whole body forward with great interest, gripping her hands so tightly her palms were sweaty. Meanwhile, Zaimokuza seethed with hate and jealousy and gripped his fists with killing intent.



As the cool breeze stopped, Hayama’s voice rang out. Hayama had pretty boy sparkles all over him. He was reeking of pheromones.



“You don’t have to pretend to be so tough, you know?”



For a moment, neither of them said anything.



“Thanks, but no thanks.” Kawasaki went on wheeling her bicycle.



But for Hayama Hayato, time had stopped. He had been left behind. It took a full ten seconds for Hayama to return to where we were watching over in the shadows.



“So it looks like I was rejected,” he laughed sheepishly.



“Oh, g’jo- pffffft.” I meant to comfort him, but the words wouldn’t come out of my mouth. An unfamiliar sensation was kicking me in the stomach. Shit! My sides! While I fought to stifle the sudden feeling that had come over me, the guy next to me was on a rampage.



“HAHA, BWAHAHAHAHA! You got r-rejected! Rejected! Not such hot stuff after all, getting rejected! Bwahahaha!”



“Sh-shuddup already, Zaimokuza pfffft…” I snorted loudly.



“It’s mean to laugh, you two!” Totsuka told us off, looking as if he was trying very hard to hold back on his laughter himself. Zaimokuza’s bellowing laughter was infectious and he just couldn’t help himself.



“W-well, you see. I don’t really mind, Totsuka,” Hayama said, grimacing.



…man, was he a nice guy. He’d helped us out despite his misgivings, and because of that he’d suffered a humiliation. And yet he took it like the good sport he was.



Predictably enough, Zaimokuza stifled his laughter as he considered Hayama’s situation, and coughed loudly instead.



“Sir Hayama… you don’t have to pretend to be so tough pfffft! Hahahaha!”



“Idiot! Quit it, Zaimokuza! Stop making me laugh!”



As Zaimokuza and I roared in laughter, Yuigahama’s face stiffened. “You guys are the worst…”



“So this was a failure too,” said Yukinoshita. “It couldn’t be helped. Tonight, we’ll try going to the other store.”



“Guess so…”



I wheezed. This was fun.



It was the first time I’d ever been glad to join the Service Club. Period.

Volume 2 Chapter 4-10

Through the glass elevator I could see a sweeping view of Tokyo bay. The night-time scenery of Makuhari was dotted with brilliant lights: cruising ships, cars rushing through the bayside city with their tail lights blinking, high-rise buildings.



When we arrived at the top floor, the door opened once again.



A gentle, soothing light lay ahead. A lounge bar was spread out in front of us, obscured in darkness because of the dim candle lighting.



“Hey… hey. Whoa. This is…”



We had clearly stumbled into a place we weren’t meant to be. On a stage lit up with spotlights, a white-skinned lady was playing a jazz number on the piano. She was probably an American. Foreigner = American, after all.



Maybe I should go home after all, I thought, making eye contact with Yuigahama. She was nodding eagerly as if she could not say yes enough.



All it took was a peasant like Yuigahama to make me feel supremely at ease in this space. But for Yukinoshita, a member of high society, that was impermissible.



“Stop gawking.” She trod on me firmly with her heels.



“Ouch!” I yelled without thinking. What was up with those high heels? Those things pierced you like hell. They were freaking stingrays or something.



“Stand up straight and push your chest out. Pull your chin in,” Yukinoshita assailed my ears as she surreptitiously grabbed my right elbow. Her fine, slender fingers hooked around it tightly.



“Er, uh… Yukinoshita-san? Something the matter?”



“Don’t lose your head. Yuigahama-san, do the same.”



“Wh-wha?”



With a completely baffled look on her face, Yuigahama did as the adult-like Yukinoshita dictated. To cut a long story short, she attached her hand to my left elbow.



“Then let’s make our way,” Yukinoshita told me.



With that, Yukinoshita, Yuigahama and I began walking slowly in step with each other. When we passed through the open, heavy wooden door, we were instantly approached by a male waiter, and I put my head down.



“How many people?” “Do you smoke, sir?” I couldn’t get a word in. As he talked on and on, the man kept half a step ahead of us, guiding us to the bar counter in front of the edge of a glass window.



There, polishing the glasses thoroughly was a female bartender. She stood tall and straight and perfectly composed. Her muted expression and sleep-deprived eyes matched the tone of this dimly lit bar.



…hey, wasn’t this Kawasaki?



She gave off a totally different impression than she did at school. Her long hair was tied up in a bun, she was dressed in a waiter outfit and her movements were elegant and refined.  Her listlessness was gone.



Without realising who we were, Kawasaki wordlessly placed a coaster and refreshers in front of us, waiting in silence. I thought for sure she would place a menu in front of us and ask for our order, but of course it didn’t turn out like that.



“Kawasaki,” I said to her quietly.



Kawasaki made a slightly worried face. “I’m deeply sorry. Who may you be?”



“I’m impressed. Not even Hikigaya-kun’s own classmates remember his face,” Yukinoshita said admiringly as she sat down on a stool.



“Well, you see. Our clothes are different today, so it’s not his fault,” Yuigahama interjected as she sat down as well.



There was a vacant seat between them. If this were Othello, I’d have lost. If this were Go… oh well, not like I even knew the rules of that game.



“We found you, Kawasaki Saki-san,” Yukinoshita declared.



The tone of Kawasaki’s face changed. “Yukinoshita…” Her expression was that of someone encountering a familiar foe. It was quite clearly antagonistic.



While I doubted the two of them had ever interacted with each other, Yukinoshita was a well-known face in our school. I figured there were people who did not think kindly of Yukinoshita from how she appeared and what her personality was like.



“Good evening.” Whether she was aware of Kawasaki’s feelings or not, Yukinoshita uttered the standard night-time greeting coolly.



The two of them exchanged gazes. They were as different as night and day. I got the feeling sparks were crackling. Scary.



Kawasaki’s eyes were narrowed harshly as she poured a drink for Yuigahama. Being with Yukinoshita, someone from her own school, meant that they could only see right through each other’s transparent appearances.

“Yo, sup…?” Yuigahama said lamely, as if succumbing to the pressure.



“Yuigahama… I didn’t know you for a second. So is this guy a Soubu High person too?”



“Uh, yeah,” said Yuigahama. “He’s Hikki from our class. Hikigaya Hachiman.”



When I nodded my head in confirmation, Kawasaki sighed and smiled resignedly. “I see. So you caught me out.”



She shrugged as if she didn’t have anything to hide in particular. Folding her arms, she fell back against the wall. That action indicated that perhaps having her cover blown bothered her more than she let on. She gave off a listless atmosphere, just like she did at school, and after she let out a weary sigh, she glanced at us.



“…you want a drink?”



“I’ll have a Perrier,” Yukinoshita said in response. I had no idea what a Perrier even was.



“I-I’ll have the same thing!” That was what I was planning to say, but Yuigahama jumped the queue.



I groaned, fuming. Seriously, what was I supposed to say? Dom Pérignon or Donpen or something? (By the way, Donpen is the mascot character of a dirt cheap club. If you ordered for him, he probably wouldn’t come out.)



“Hikigaya, was it? What about you?”



That Perri-whatever from before was a drink as well as a commodore, huh… I wasn’t under any particular obligation to say anything like Townsend Harris or Ernest Mason Satow[2]. Still, for now, I’d order a drink with a person’s name in it…



“I’ll have MAX Co-”



“He’ll have dry ginger ale,” Yukinoshita interrupted me mid-sentence.



With a wry smile and a “I understand,” Kawasaki prepared three champagne glasses and poured each drink with consummate ease before placing them on the coasters. Somehow, without any words being said, we ended up putting the glasses to our lips in time with each other.



Then after a pause, Yukinoshita said, as if remember something, “I don’t believe they serve MAX Coffee here.”



“Seriously?! But this is Chiba.”



A Chiba without MAX Coffee isn’t Chiba anymore, okay? There was MAX Coffee even in the mountains, just like in the Yamanashi prefecture.



“…well, we do serve it,” Kawasaki muttered idly, causing Yukinoshita to look up at her sharply. So, um, why did these two not get along anyway? Scary. “So what did you come here for? Don’t tell me you’re on a date with that thing?”



“Goodness no. If you’re talking about this thing next to me, your humour was in poor taste.”



“Um… this is an argument between you two, so could you kindly stop randomly throwing insults my way?” I was really not impressed by being referred to as a thing. The conversation between the two of them seemed to be going nowhere, so I decided to cut to the chase. “I heard you’ve been coming home late these days. Is it because of this part-time job of yours? Your little bro’s worried about you.”



At that, Kawasaki smiled with a faint look of ridicule on her face, except it was hindered by her annoyance. “You came all the way here just to say that? Good job. You know, do you seriously think I’d stop just because some guy I don’t know or care about said that to me?”



“Amazing. Even Hikki’s classmates don’t know or care about him…” Yuigahama picked a strange moment to show her admiration.

Still, I didn’t know anything about Kawasaki either, so we were even.



Kawasaki suddenly spoke up again. “Ooooh, so the reason I was thinking things had gotten a little more irritating lately was because of you guys. Taishi said something to you? I don’t know how he tried to spin it, but I’ll have a word with him, so don’t worry.” She paused. “You see, Taishi’s got nothing to do with this.”



Kawasaki glared openly at me. She pretty much said keep your nose out of my business. But Yukinoshita was not the sort of person to back down after meeting adversity.



“There is a reason for you to stop.” Yukinoshita shifted her gaze from Kawasaki to the wristwatch on her left hand, checking the time. “10:40… if you were Cinderella, you’d have one hour left before your magic runs out.”



“If my magic were to run out, only a happy ending awaits me, don’t you think?”



“I wonder about that, My Little Mermaid. I believe a bad end lies ahead of you.”



The nature of their exchange discouraged anyone from intervening, as if matching the overall atmosphere in the bar.

Repeating sarcastic and snide remarks was a hobby of the elite. But seriously, why did they not get along? Wasn’t this the first time they had ever spoken to each other? Scary.



Someone tapped me on the shoulder insistently and talked against my ear, distracting me from my thoughts.



“…hey, Hikki. What are those two talking about?”



Oh, Yuigahama. I can really feel at ease with a peasant like you around…



The Labour Standards Act forbids minors to work past ten o’clock at night. By working even at this hour, Kawasaki was making use of the magic known as an illegal ID. And that magic would run out if Yukinoshita had any say about it.



Yet Kawasaki was as unperturbed as ever.



“So you have no inclination to quit?” Yukinoshita pressed her.



“Hm? Nope,” Kawasaki said nonchalantly as she wiped a sake bottle with a cloth. Then she paused. “Well, even if I did decide to quit here, I could always get a job somewhere else.”



Yukinoshita stirred her Perry (…or was it a Harris?) agitatedly, as if she were slightly peeved by Kawasaki’s attitude.



In this unsettling, hostile atmosphere, Yuigahama opened her mouth nervously.



“Um, you know… Kawasaki-san, why do you have to work here? I mean, like, I take a part-time job too when I don’t have any money, but it’s not like I lie about my age and work at night…”



“No reason… I just need the money.” The sake bottle on the table made a small scraping sound as she placed it on the table.



Well, I guess that’s how it goes, I thought. Money was almost always the main reason to work. There were people who did it because everyone else was doing it or because they couldn’t live without it, but I never understood those types.



“Oh, yeah, I get what you mean,” I began nonchalantly.



Kawasaki’s expression hardened instantly. “No, you don’t get it… no one who would write down such a dumbass career option would get it.”

Kawasaki and I had met sometime on the roof. She had seen the answers I wrote on the Prospective Workplace Tour Survey Form. Does that ring a bell?



“It wasn’t that dumbass…”



“Huh, if that wasn’t dumbass, I don’t know what is. You seriously underestimate the human race.” Kawasaki slammed the cloth she had been wiping the sake bottle with against the counter with a thud, causing the ceiling to shake. “You… no, not just you - Yukinoshita and Yuigahama don’t get it either.

It’s not like I’m working ‘cos I want money to play around with. Don’t put me in the same group as that moron over there.”



Kawasaki glared at me with steel in her eyes. Don’t get in my way, those eyes seemed to roar vehemently. But she was crying on the inside.



And yet, that really was a sign of her strength when all was said and done. I was not made to think that her heated words were a sigh of defeat, signifying how oh so misunderstood she was and that she secretly wanted people to like her.



Take Yukinoshita, for instance. She was misunderstood by everyone, and she did not give up or cry. But that was because she was convinced of the force of her own will.



Or take Yuigahama. When she was trying to understand someone, she didn’t give up or run away. No matter how things appeared to her on the surface, she’d go on trying to make contact with the other person, praying something would change.



“Yeah, but nothing’ll change if you don’t talk to us, y’know? It might even, like, make you stronger… just talking can lift your spirits, so yeah…” Yuigahama trailed off mid-sentence. Kawasaki’s frosty glare silenced her before she could say another word.



“Like I said, you guys definitely don’t get it. Make me stronger? Lift my spirits? Okay, then. You can cough up money for me. Can you guys shoulder the burden my parents are incapable of?”



Jesus! Kawasaki scared the hell out of me. Her words made Yuigahama hang her head in shame. “Th-that’s…” she uttered with difficulty.



“That’s quite enough,” Yukinoshita said in a frigid tone. “If you mouth off any more…” She was all the more imposing for cutting off Yuigahama mid-sentence. I was scared out of my skin.



Like me, Kawasaki winced for a moment, but she turned back to Yukinoshita with small tsk. “Hey, isn’t your dad a member of the prefectural diet? There’s no way some well-off snob like you can understand me…” she said in a quiet, whispering tone. There was a note of defeatism in her voice.



As soon as Kawasaki uttered those words, there was a sharp clatter as a glass fell down.



When I looked to the side, a puddle of Perrier was spreading from where the champagne glass had fallen over sideways.

Yukinoshita was biting her lip, her gaze pointed downwards. I would never have imagined Yukinoshita looking like that. Unable to muster any thoughts, I peered down at Yukinoshita in shock.



“…Yukinoshita?”

She gave a start. “Huh? O-oh, I apologise,” Yukinoshita said with her usual - no, with an even more frigid lack of expression than usual as she calmly wiped the table with a moistened hand towel.



I guessed that for Yukinoshita, that unusual reaction was an instant taboo. Come to think of it, it wasn’t the first time I’d seen her make that expression. Just as I was about to remember where I’d seen it before, I heard the sound of someone slamming the table.



“Hold on! Yukinon’s family has nothing to do with this!” Yuigahama spoke unusually roughly as she glared at Kawasaki. It was no joke or attempt at getting along - Yuigahama was pissed. So she could make such an ugly face too when she was mad…



Whether it was because the contrast from Yuigahama’s usual frivolous laughter took her aback or because she was aware herself that she had uttered something offensive, Kawasaki lowered her tone somewhat.



“…then my family has nothing to do with it either.”



And that was the end of that.

And that was the end of that.



Yuigahama and I - and, of course, Yukinoshita - had nothing to do with her. If, say, Kawasaki’s actions were to temporarily break the law, her parents and teachers would be the ones to take fault in that and she would ultimately be judged by the law. There was not a single thing we - who were not her friends or anything to her at all - could do for her.



“You might have a point but that’s not the issue here! Yukinon is-”



“Yuigahama-san. Please calm yourself. I merely tipped my glass over. It is nothing to concern yourself with, so don’t worry.” Yukinoshita gently restrained Yuigahama, whose whole body was leaning past the counter. She kept her voice cooler than normal and it sounded very frigid indeed.



Even though it was early summer, the atmosphere was quite cold and stifling. That was how things seemed to go today. Yukinoshita, Yuigahama and also Kawasaki spoke calmly and it led to this.



There were just a few things I understood. All that was left was to do something to fix the current situation.



“Let’s just go home already. Honestly, I can’t keep my eyes open here. Soon as I finish drinking this I’m going home.”



Come to think of it, Cinderella still had more than half her time left.



“You…” Yukinoshita sighed in disgust and was about to say something to me when Yuigahama stopped her.



“Now now. Yukinon, shall we go home now?”



When Yuigahama and I exchanged glances, Yuigahama gave a light nod. It seemed Yuigahama had realised that Yukinoshita was acting differently from her normal self.



“…very well, then let us be off.”



Miraculously enough, Yukinoshita followed my lead, as if she realised herself that she was acting strangely.  As she quietly placed a number of cash notes on the table without even checking the bill, she stood up. Yuigahama stood up from her chair, following Yukinoshita in suit.



I called out to her back. “Yuigahama, I’ll text you later.”



“…huh? Oh, uh. Right, um, okay.” Because of the direct lighting, I could see that Yuigahama’s face was bright red and that her hands were fidgeting in front of her chest. It was an action too awkward for this trendy place, so I wished she’d stop it. “I’ll wait for it, then.”



After I saw the two of them off, I tilted my glass and turned back to Kawasaki. Once I quenched a bit of my thirst, I began to speak.

“Kawasaki. Give me some of your time tomorrow morning. I’ll be at McDonalds at half past five. Got it?”



“Huh? Why?” Kawasaki’s attitude was even colder than before.



Still, I had confidence my next words would change her perspective. “I want to talk to you a little about Taishi.”



“…what?” Kawasaki peered at me with suspicious - no, more like hostile eyes. In order to avoid those eyes, I chugged down the remains of my champagne glass with one swallow and stood up.



“We’ll talk about that tomorrow. Later.”



“Hold on!” she shouted at me.



Ignoring her, I made to swagger out of the place coolly in a way that fit the store’s trendy vibe.



“Hold on! That’s not enough money!”



…damn it, Yukinoshita. She hadn’t paid for my share. Wordlessly, I returned to the counter and offered a meagre one thousand yen as a courtesy.

When I did, I received sixty yen in return. I got the feeling that I wasn’t supposed to ask her why at this point.



A single serving of ginger ale cost almost a thousand yen. This was daylight robbery…

Volume 2 Chapter 4-11

Fast forward to the next morning. Or so I write, except instead of sleeping I was down at McDonald’s at 5:00 am, nodding off and sipping on my second serving of coffee. The sky was already lit and the sparrows were busily pecking at the ground before returning to flight once again.



After that Hotel Royal Okura incident, we each went our separate ways. Once I got home, I begged Komachi to do something for me and went outside to kill some time. I was probably better off sleeping, but I didn’t have confidence I’d wake up at five.



That was one reason I’d stayed awake in that fashion.



“So you came…”



The automated door made a sound as it opened, and Kawasaki Saki appeared, scraping her feet listlessly.  “What do you want?” she asked much more irately than usual, possibly because she hadn’t gotten much sleep.



She was so pissed off the thought of lying prostrate on the ground in front of her crossed my mind for a brief moment, but I dispelled the thought and acted as casually as I could.



“Well, comb down.” I fumbled over my words with exceptional finesse. “I mean, calm down.”



Okay, so acting casual was a huge failure. But that was because Kawasaki scared the hell out of me.



That small mistake was all it took for me to loosen up, and from then on my words came out smoothly. “Everyone’ll be here soon. So just wait a little longer.”



“Everyone?”



As a puzzled Kawasaki looked on at me the automated door made a sound as it opened once again, signalling the arrival of Yukinoshita and Yuigahama.



Just after I’d parted ways from those two, I sent Yuigahama a brief text. I instructed her to stay the night at Yukinoshita’s place, contact her parents and come to the McDonalds with Yukinoshita at five in the morning. That was all - I wrote those three points to communicate a simple, pragmatic message.



“You guys again?” Kawasaki sighed deeply in exasperation.



But she wasn’t the only irate individual here.



With a sulky look on her face, Yuigahama refused to look my way.

“What, didn’t she get enough sleep?” I tried asking Yukinoshita, but she shrugged as well.



“Who knows? I thought she had a good sleep… that reminds me, after she got your text message I felt that her mood took a conspicuous turn for the worse. Did you write something lewd in there?”



“Could you, like, stop treating me like a sex criminal? And anyway, I don’t know how a text with simple instructions would make her so mad.”



As Yukinoshita and I looked at each other, Komachi suddenly butted in. “Yep, that’s my onii-chan for you! He has no basic sense of delicacy.”



“Oi, Komachi. Can you stop appearing out of nowhere just to abuse me?”



“Onii-chan, normally people send instructions in their texts when they’re in a working relationship. When you just put instructions in your texts, it really puts a damper on the conversation.”



“You were called here too, imouto-san?” Yukinoshita asked, somewhat taken aback.



“Yep, I had an errand to run. I brought him here, y’know?” Komachi said, pointing at Taishi. He grunted in response.

“Taishi… what are you doing here at this hour?” Kawasaki glared at Taishi with a mixture of surprise and anger colouring her face.



But Taishi remained unperturbed. “I’m the one who should be asking you that, nee-chan. What have you been doing up to this hour in the morning?”



“It’s none of your business…” Kawasaki severed the conversation right then and there.



But while her logic might work on others, it had no effect on Taishi, who was part of her family. Up until now, Kawasaki and Taishi had been talking one-to-one, and it was because of that Kawasaki had countless avenues of escape. She could arbitrarily cut the conversation short and leave. She could do whatever she wanted.



But now, she couldn’t do that. We encircled her, preventing her from running - and more than that, it was morning, so we could pin her down at an actual spot outside her work.



“It is my business,” Taishi insisted. “I’m your family…”



“…I told you that you don’t need to know,” Kawasaki answered, her voice weakening. But even so, her will not to speak remained.



The reason she was turning her back was because she didn’t think she could talk to Taishi about it, I surmised.



“Kawasaki, let me guess why you’re working and why you need money,” I said, prompting Kawasaki to glare at me. Yukinoshita and Yuigahama turned to me with keen interest.



The reason Kawasaki started a part-time job: clearly, only she would know. But if you thought about it, that was a hint in itself.



Kawasaki Saki became a delinquent in her second year of high school, according to Kawasaki Taishi. It would certainly seem that way from Kawasaki Taishi’s point of view. But you could not say the same from Kawasaki Saki’s perspective.



From Kawasaki Saki’s point of view, she started her part-time job when Kawasaki Taishi entered his third year of middle school. In that case, her reason fell in that time frame.



“Taishi, did something change when you entered your third year?”



“Er, uh… wasn’t that around when I started attending cram school?” Taishi wracked his head for various other memories, but that was revealing enough. As if she had guessed what I was about to say next, Kawasaki bit her lip in frustration.



“I get it, it was to pay for her little bro’s tuition fees-” Yuigahama chimed in, but I interrupted her.



“No. The tuition fees themselves were already settled by the time Taishi started going to cram school in April. The enrolment and teaching material fees are already paid by that time. That means the Kawasaki family took those expenses into consideration beforehand. On the other hand, you could say it was a situation where only Taishi’s tuition fees were settled.”



“I see what you’re getting at.” Yukinoshita turned her gaze at Kawasaki with complete comprehension and just a small amount of sympathy. “Indeed, it’s not just the little brother whose tuition fees must be accounted for.”



Right, our school Soubu High was dedicated to preparing students for university. The majority of students hoped to advance to university and many of them actually did so. As a result, quite a few people became fixated on their entrance exams at around their second year of high school, and there were also people who thought seriously about taking a summer course.



And when you’re trying to get into university, you need money every step of the way.



“It’s like what Taishi said. His nee-chan used to be straight-laced and kind. Basically, she’s still that way,” I stated in conclusion.



Kawasaki’s shoulders sagged listlessly.

“Nee-chan… I’m going to cram school, so…”



“…that’s why I said you didn’t need to know.” Kawasaki knocked her brother on the head comfortingly.



Aww, this looked like a heart-warming resolution to all the drama. I mean good for them. And they all lived happily ever after. Or so I thought, but then Kawasaki pursed her lips tightly.



“Still, I can’t quit my job over all this. I intend to go to university. I don’t want to cause you or our parents any trouble over that, Taishi.” Kawasaki’s tone was sharp.



She was clearly keeping her decision to herself, and her iron-clad will once again drove Taishi into silence.



“Um, can I just say something?” A carefree voice broke the silence.



It was Komachi. Kawasaki turned to her exasperatedly. “What?” she demanded half-curtly, half-belligerently.



But Komachi deflected her anger with a grin. “’kay, so. Both our parents have been working for ages, and so, like, when I was little I’d go home and no one’d be there. Whenever I announced I was back no one ever greeted me.”



“Um, if someone did greet you when no one was home it’d be creepy,” I pointed out. “What’s with the sudden spiel?”



“Oh, right. Onii-chan, shut your piehole for a bit.”



She utterly shut me down. Shrugging with acceptance, I held my tongue and turned my ear to what Komachi was saying.



“So then, I got so sick of coming home to a house like that I ran away from home for five days. That time it wasn’t my parents who came to pick me up, it was onii-chan. So from then on, my bro’s been coming home earlier than me. So I’m grateful to my brother for that.”



The best brother in the world - yep, that’s me all right. That heart-warming story (which I had no recollection of) was enough to bring tears to my eyes in spite of myself. In those days, I had no intention of taking care of Komachi whatsoever; I only came home early because I had no friends to play with and I wanted to see the 6:00 anime on TV Tokyo.



Kawasaki turned to me with something very much like newfound respect in her eyes, while Yuigahama’s eyes were a little watery. Yukinoshita was the only one to merely cock her head slightly.



“The reason Hikigaya-kun came home early was because he never had any friends from that time, I believe?”



“Hey, how come you know that? What, are you Yukipedia or something?”



“Well, yeah, I’m well aware of that,” Komachi admitted nonchalantly, “but I thought saying it like this would make my Komachi points go up.”



That prompted Yuigahama to speak up. “You really are Hikki’s sister,” she said wearily.



“Hey, what are you implying…?” Was she saying I was cute too? Then I would agree.



“So what are you even getting at?” Kawasaki demanded irritably.



Honestly, I was practically wetting my pants myself, but Komachi looked Kawasaki straight in the eyes with her usual cheerful smile, completely undeterred. “Even though my brother is so hopeless, he definitely wouldn’t do anything to worry me - that’s what I’m getting at. Even the little things he does help me out and it makes me feel happy.” She grinned. “Oh, that just made my Komachi points go up.”



“Don’t just tack something unnecessary on at the end.”



“No way, it’s obvious you’re just hiding from me in embarrassment. Oh, that also just made my Komachi points go up.”



“Enough already.”



Geez, since I was related to someone who said such dumb, careless things, it was no wonder I couldn’t believe a word uttered by those creatures known as women. When I regarded her like the nuisance she was, Komachi pouted and moaned in complaint. When I refused to give in to her, she gave up and resumed conversation with Kawasaki.



“So basically, just like how you don’t want to be a nuisance to your family, Saki-san, Taishi-kun doesn’t want to cause trouble to you either, y’know? I’d be happy as a younger sibling if you could understand that little point.”



No answer.

Kawasaki was engulfed in silence. And at that moment, so was I.



…crap, I had no idea what to make of these feelings I had. I could hardly believe Komachi thought that way about me. I hadn’t realised since she’d never been a troublemaker all along.



“…well, something like that, I guess,” Taishi added lamely. He turned away, his face red.



Kawasaki stood up and stroked Taishi’s head gently. Rather than her usual languid expression, she smiled ever so gently.

Even so, the problem had not yet been settled. The only thing that had happened was that Kawasaki and Taishi had learned to communicate again. Being emotionally satisfied did not mean everything is fine and dandy. It wouldn’t somehow break down tangible problems or render those problems meaningless. In the end, physical possessions and money were absolutely indispensable.



Money was a quite a severe problem for a high school student. The money you earn at some half-assed part-time job was nothing compared to the scale of the real world. It was depressing to calculate the number of hours you’d have to work to obtain the millions of yen it costs to cover the tuition fees of a private university.

Handing over one or two million yen would make us look great and all, but we didn’t have that kind of money and it was against the very principles of the Service Club anyway. It was like Yukinoshita had said that one time. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.



With that in mind, I bestowed upon her one tactic from my get-rich-quick scheme.



“Kawasaki. You know what a scholarship is?”

Volume 6 Chapter 4-2

As Yuigahama scratched her head with her ballpen, she pressed away on her calculator and proceeded to write something down on her notes. You’re kind of acting like a housewife, you know.

“Can we not make them?” said the Queen, listening and then pointing it out.

Her citizens then began giving it some consideration.

“Can anyone sew?”

“I’ve only ever done it in class, so.”

Haa, they sure have a good balance of concerns, huh? I stood at the window side, impressed, and I spotted a blue ponytail incessantly entering and leaving my field of vision.

It was Kawagoe. Probably. Kawashima had been darting glances in the direction of the girl conversation, showing a look of interest since earlier. Color me a little surprised. I didn’t take Shimazaki for someone who’d be interested in stuff like that.

Finding it somewhat strange, I decided to probe further into Okazaki’s conduct, and it looked like the words “make”, “clothing”, and “sewing” were catching her attention.

As I thought about how out of character it was for Okazaki, I called out to her. “Hey, if you want to do it, you should say so.”

“W-What the heck are you saying!? As if I’d want to!” Kawasaki bolted out of her chair to my busybody voice… Jackpot, huh? So the right answer was Kawasaki. Okay, maybe Okazaki might have been way off.

While it was fine that I got it right, she’d probably just refuse regardless of what I’d say. In which case, the backdoor was the way to go.

“Hey, Yuigahama.”

“Waaah! Hey!” Kawasaki tugged at my sleeve, petitioning me to stop. I think she should stop reacting like that, because it’s oddly stimulating for my sadistic side.

“What is it?” Yuigahama came over and placed her red pen on her ear. Are you an old man at a horse race?

“Kawasaki said she wants to give it a try.”

“H-Huuuh!? W-What in the world are you saying!? Because I can’t make something like that. Anything that fancy is impossible! I mean, I haven’t made any clothes yet before… Um, so I’ll just get in the way…”

So you’ve made things besides clothes?

Yuigahama stared at Kawasaki as she was contemplating something. Kawasaki uncomfortably twisted her well-proportioned slender body and shrank. Yuigahama’s gaze stopped at a single point.

“Hey, did you make that scrunchie yourself?” asked Yuigahama, and Kawasaki nodded. “Can I see it real fast?”

As soon as she finished saying that, she extended her hand to Kawasaki’s hair. Her long bundled hair expanded.

Yuigahama, with the scrunchie in her hand, let out a voice in admiration. The curled scrunchie in her palm reminded me of underwear somehow, so it made my heart skip just a little.

“Hina. Come over here.”

“Okaaay.” Ebina-san came over after being called. She examined the scrunchie in interest.

“This is, handmade… But, I also made one with a machine too.” said Kawasaki, and she took out another scrunchie from the pocket of her blazer. This looked like underwear too.

“Hoh, hoh… the sewing’s very neat, and the color is cute… You can make them by hand and also use a sewing machine… Great! Kawasaki-san, I’ve decided on you! We’re counting on you for the costumes~”

“Eh, wai— you can’t just…” Kawasaki tied her hair back together and showed an uneasy and reluctant expression, having been asked in incredible nonchalant fashion.

Going “now, now”, Yuigahama soothed it over. “It’s not like Hina decided on the spot. Kawasaki-san, you fix up your blazer and blouse and stuff, right? I think she’s asking you because she knows all that.”

blacklace.jpg

…That’s Yuigahama for you. She’s got quite the eye when it came to observing people.

“Ah, okay, eh?” Kawasaki replied half-heartedly, with an absentminded, but also dumbfounded expression. She was probably feeling surprised and happy that something that trivial was understood by them.

“Indeed! With the limited resources that we have, we have to figure out a way to use them as effectively as we can, and we also happen to have the technology. That’s why I want to entrust it you. Don’t worry! If something happens, I’ll take responsibility!” said Ebina-san, tapping her chest telling her to leave it all to her.

She really was a problem since she surprisingly had it together considering it’s her. Since she normally kept this wisdom of hers under wraps, it almost made me want to doubt whether this character of hers wasn’t just an act.

“If that’s the case, then, I guess I can do it…”

Ebina-san grabbed ahold of Kawasaki, who was flushed red, by the shoulders.

“Uh huh, looking forward to it. Oh and also, we’re going to patch up the clothes for the ‘narrator’. We’re going to make it somewhat shabby. We’ll make it have some smears, ones that won’t disappear.”

In her rotten “gufufu” laugh, not a shred of that wisdom was left. On second thought, I don’t get this person at all…

After confirming that the matters regarding the costumes got around, finally, there were no more actual things to do. Everyone went on to occupy themselves in their respective jobs.

Volume 6 Chapter 7-2

It was just five minutes until show time. As I was sitting idly, class 2-F grew one level louder in the classroom. I took a peek inside wondering what may have happened.

“Aww yeah! Let’s huddle up!” said Tobe.

Everyone grumbled “no way” and “seriously?” but still began forming the circle. Had this been recreation time, then it would’ve looked like they were going to start playing “Whatever Basket”[^3].

“Ya know what, we ain’t getting’ anywhere unless Ebina-san gets this goin’. C’mon, over here. Straight to the center!”

There’s no concept of a center in a huddle, I thought, but Tobe was actually indicating the spot next to him. It was a position where he could be justified in linking shoulders with Ebina-san. You’ve got some spunk, Tobe. You’re a formidable strategist.

Then, Miura pulled Ebina-san’s arm inwards as if supporting that strategist. “C’mon, Ebina. Get your butt in there.”

She was pushed inside of the huddle and she was exactly in the middle. The heart of the huddle. Everyone encircled Ebina-san. Tobe, sniff.

Ebina-san spun around and looked at everyone. Her eyes then stopped at a single point.

“C’mon Kawasaki-san, you too.”

“M-Me? I’m fine here…”

“Gosh, there you go again. You need to take responsibility since you’re the one who made the outfits, okay?”

“Huh…? Weren’t you the one that said you would do that?” Kawasaki complained as she walked towards the huddle.

Once everyone, except for me, had gathered, Yuigahama looked over her shoulder at me. I smiled and shook my head at her. Her face then turned into an upset pout.

I’m fine here, jeez. I was better off not joining. It would be more awkward letting me in there when I didn’t even do anything for the class than just leaving me out of it entirely.

Volume 6 Chapter 9-3

It was convenient enough that students would stick out like a sore thumb no matter how far away they were. It was essentially an ideal environment for digging out the enemy, Sagami.

But that didn’t mean I had the luxury to visit every single place. Time was limited. Even checking the time was already a wasteful expenditure.

The clock couldn’t tick any slower than it is now.

I couldn’t move my body faster than it is able to.

The only thing I could do was accelerate my thought processes.

Think.

Loners have one thing to boast of; that’s the intensity in their thinking. The resources that should have been meant for human relationships are directed only to themselves instead. Through repetitive personal reflection, introspection of their actions, regrets, delusions and, imagination, they develop the worthless ability to think, to the point it’s become an ideology, a philosophy. By utilizing all of that, I’ll explore every possibility, refute every conceivable conclusion, and reject them.

For the one possibility that remains, I will use every fiber of my being to substantiate it as if trying to protect myself.

Judgment on others and self-defense are the truth worth of Hikigaya Hachiman.

As long I continue to go through the repetitions, I will naturally come across an answer.

It’s a simple problem.

Right now, Sagami was by herself, most likely.

In that case, all I needed to do was follow her train of thought.

After all, when it comes to being a loner, I am one step, no, thousand steps higher. It isn’t a yesterday and today career for me, for I am a veteran.

Don’t sell me short.

Sagami was incredibly self-conscious. She should have been. In our first year, she was in a conspicuous group and she became accustomed to that environment and that hierarchy. But upon advancing to the second year, Miura’s existence led to her decline in that social ladder. Surely enough, Sagami wasn’t the least amused by that fact. But for someone so infatuated with ranks, Sagami couldn’t lift a finger.

The result, she sought out others who were lower than her. At the very least, she wanted to aim for the second best group. She should have succeeded on that front. But having already had her quality of life improved once, it wasn’t so easy to settle for worse.

And there, to satisfy herself, she had to look at alternatives.

And that was where the Cultural Festival came in.

Was the position of the Cultural Festival Planning Committee Chairwoman sufficient for that? It should have been. Even more so when she had become a Planning Committee member on Hayama’s recommendation, and as soon as she became the Chairwoman, she was commended by the so-called legendary Yukinoshita Haruno. Lastly, she was able to gain Yukinoshita Yukino’s excellent with her actual duties.

But suppose that all of that didn’t go as planned.

Suppose that she wasn’t able to obtain the things she wanted and suppose that she was outshined by even a substitute.

Sagami wasn’t able to participate in her class as much as she would have liked to because of the Planning Committee. Even if she found that unsatisfactory and participated in her class preparations, there was someone who could fill in, no, exceed what she could ever do in the committee. As a matter of fact, even Haruno-san and Hayama who were the foundations of her confidence had acknowledged that substitute.

In that case, consider Sagami’s pride, Sagami’s self-esteem, and Sagami’s self-consciousness.

It was a bitterness I understood as if I had picked it up with my hand.

It was a path that everyone had treaded through.

You’re naïve, Sagami. That was a path that I had already gone through.

Getting caught skipping school and reported to the school was one of my memories.

Back then, I was so hopelessly and uncontrollably concerned with myself that I exploded, wanting someone to look at me.

That’s why I can understand.

What it was that you wanted to do. Why you were doing it.

And possibly, why you didn’t want to do it.

You’re five years too slow.

That was something I had already gone through in elementary school.

I could narrow out the places she would go to.

When people lost their place to belong, what is it that they wished for? That is, to have someone find a place for them. If they can’t find a place with their own eyes, then the only thing they can do is have someone else do it for them.

Now, all I needed to do was map out the locations in my head.

Because she wanted someone to search for her and find her that she was still on campus. It was also a place that was easily noticeable. Thus, she shouldn’t be occupying a vacant classroom, let alone have it locked and closed off.

There was one more point.

It should be a place that she could be by herself. Hiding away in a congested area would mean she really would never be found. If she was aware of her own worthlessness, then she should have factored in that being in a group would mean she would disappear.

She couldn’t go to a place that wasn’t physically reachable. Mentally, she shouldn’t be at a place that was too far off.

Then where else was left?

There were still too many options.

I needed a little more material, material that could be proof, or even counterproof.

If it’s an explosion of excessive self-concern, then there was one other person besides me from the past.

To whittle down my ideas, I took out my cellphone.

I called the most recent phone call in my sad history of received calls.

[It is I.]

He instantly picked up. That’s Zaimokuza for you. He wasn’t fiddling with his cellphone because he had little to do for nothing. While I wanted to commend him, unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury. I quickly shot him a question.

“Zaimokuza, where are you at on campus by yourself normally?”

[Hoh, what is this all of a sudden? Bahon, I am always in suspended mode.]

“Just answer, I’m in a hurry.”

[...Surely, you are serious?]

“Tch. I’m hanging up.”

[Wait, wait, wait, please! The nurse's office or the veranda! Sometimes, I go to the library a lot! There’s also the top of the special building.]

There were people in the nurse’s office, and the veranda was being used by all the classes. The library was locked, so no one had access.

The top of the special building… The roof, huh?

[As for other where no one is usually present, there is also the space between the school annex and the club building. It is refreshing and quiet, for the sun does not reach there. It brings stability to your mind... Are you searching for someone?]

“Yeah, the Planning Committee Chairwoman.”

[Hoh, the woman who addressed us, eh? It seems you will require my powers…”

“You’re going to help out?”

[Inevitably. Where shall I search?]

“Can you look near the annex? Thanks, man! Love ya, Zaimokuza!”

[Indeed, as do I!]

“Shaddup, that’s gross!”

I cut off the call vigorously.

I had a feeling if it was the roof.

I ran as hard as I could to my class. The empty hallway was no different from a comfortable track.

But the less people there were, the higher the probability the person I was searching for would be there.

C’mon, please be there…

I dashed up the stairs with the feeling of toppling over. Luckily for me, there was someone sitting on a pipe chair at the front of my class.

The dark blue ponytail was crossing her legs in displeasure, absentmindedly gazing out of the window of the hallway.

I called out to her as I desperately tried to catch my breath. “Kawasaki…”

“What’s with the hard breathing…? Don’t you have Planning Committee work to do?”

I didn’t pay any attention to her question.

“A while back, you were on the roof, right?”

“Huh? What are you blabbering about?”

“Answer my question.”

I was limited on time, so my voice came out rough. I ended up speaking to her with a blunt tone.

“Y-You don’t n-need to get so angry…” Kawasaki started trembling with teary eyes.

After calming down, I slowly breathed out.

“I’m not angry. I’m just in a rush for the committee.”

“O-Okay, good…” Kawasaki breathed out and pressed her hand against her chest. Surprisingly, she was weak to pressure. Agh, not good, right now, the roof came first.

“So, before, you were on the rooftop, right? How did you get up there?”

“You have a really good memory…” Kawasaki whispered with a soft voice in nostalgia. Her gaze looked at me in embarrassment.

…I said I was in a hurry, didn’t I? When that showed on my face, Kawasaki got flustered and tried to go back to what she was saying.

“U-Um, the roof door from the middle stairs has a broken lock. It’s famous amongst the girls.”

…Really? In that case, it wouldn’t be odd for Sagami to know about it. The condition that it was a place that other people would be aware of was also satisfied.

“What about it?”

Kawasaki asked me again, finding it strange why I went quiet after listening to her. My feet, however, were already on the move before I could even answer.

While I may have been in a hurry, I wanted to at least properly give her my thanks.

“Thanks! Love ya, Kawasaki!” I yelled out and sprinted off.

The moment I turned the hallway, an extremely loud shriek could be heard from behind me.

Volume 7 Chapter 1

When I slightly opened my eyes, at the corner of my field of vision was a long, fluttering ponytail.

With blue reflecting hair that was tied up in a boring way, that person was making giddy faces at her cellphone and then quickly making a bored looking expression.

That brocon, is she mailing her brother again? I’d better stay vigilant when I’m texting Komachi. I’ll get called a siscon. It’ll even go as far as Sister Princess. Wait, no way.

Kawaswhateversaki, in short Kawasaki, looked around class suspiciously. Apparently, she was worried if anyone saw her grinning face from earlier.

That gaze clashed with mine.

“Eek!”

Kawasaki jumped in shock as she let out an odd, quiet shriek. As we looked at each other, her face turned bright red and she quickly went to her seat with her head hanging down.

Kawasaki had been acting like that ever since the Culture Festival; she’d never get anywhere close to me and every time our gazes met, she’d conspicuously avert her eyes.

Good, good, that’s how it should be. In order for us to both lead peaceful lives, it’d be best to be in tune with our sense of distance.

There are people who brazenly claim that humans are the only ones that slaughter their own kind, but that’s a little off base. Animals are just the same, they would kill each other in earnest for the sake of territory. School had its own set of territories and it made sense that there would be competition over them.

Furthermore, as high school students, we all belong in our respective cliques and hierarchies which mirror that of a set of different races.

We all are individually different existences.

Proof of that can be seen in the individual that is taking every step closer my way; you wouldn’t think of him as being part of the same race.

Volume 7 Chapter 3

No matter where Miura was, with her flamboyant and cool personality, she would form groups with cute girls in her immediate vicinity. She disregarded the defining differences of “cuteness” and chose at her own discretion. Hm, if that was the case, it was a little mysterious as to why Kawasaki wasn’t included in that group. She even has a good face too. She’d be better off if she fixed her brocon tendencies and unsociability too.

***

The class of 2F was much noisier than normal. It’s likely that the primary reason for that was that our year had the Hayama Hayato and Miura Yumiko cliques that served as the center of the class. When those rowdy fellows gathered, it became natural to drown in laughter and show bright smiles.

That class of ours was one level nosier than usual today.

The reason for this was because of the group formation for the field trip. An hour was allocated from LHR, but in truth, group formation didn’t really take up that much time.

People who were normally friendly with each other can instantly lock each other into a group. Now, as for why this hour was needed, it served as both kindness and torture for the loners. It was an allocated hour for those who couldn’t decide who to group with and roam.

With Yuigahama conversing with Oooka and Yamato, their group of four broke up into groups of two, and the group of me, Totsuka, Hayama, and Tobe was formed. It was the original members from summer.

Now that most of the groups had finished deciding, the time for relaxing chit chats began.

Nearby was Yuigahama’s group who was in the middle of final adjustments.

“We just need one more.”

When Yuigahama spoke, Miura twirled her curls and answered.

“Can’t we just settle for us three?”

She must be tired from trying to make a group of four. Ebina tapped Miura’s shoulder from behind who was naturally disposed to breaking the rules.

“Heyloo~!”

“Ah, Hina. About the group of four…”

Yuigahama and I turned our head in response to Ebina’s voice.

When we did, Ebina brought a figure that was beyond our expectations.

“How about Sakisaki coming with us?”

What is with that mah-jong-like name full of strength? When Ebina called her by Sakisaki, Kawasaki squirmed in embarrassment.

“I-I don’t really… Stop calling me Sakisaki.”

“If it’s okay with you Kawasaki, why don’t you come along with us? …Ah, we’re gonna be going around with those boys over there so if you don’t mind that either.”

As Yuigahama explained, she looked over in our direction.

“Ah, I see.”

The one answered wasn’t Kawasaki, but Ebina. She directed her gaze our way. That glitter in her eye was terribly sharp. She was diligently observing our group.

“Are you really sure going with the boys?”

When Kawasaki asked, Ebina responded. The stare she had directed on us was already gone and Ebina was in a state of excitement, letting out gurgled moans.

“Sure thing, sure thing, we getta see all the Hayama x Hikitani up close all we want! We’ll be able see the HayaHachi in Kyoto!”

So she was watching us for that reason huh, this girl…

“What are you saying? Besides, Hikitani is…”

Kawasaki said with a fed up tone and snuck a glance at me. And at an incredible high speed, she flicked her head back to her original position, staring at Ebina.

“Hi-Hikitani means that? N-no way, no way, no way!”

“Ohoo. It’s okay, at first, no one would imagine that kind of couple existing, but when you’re looking, it’s the only way to go! Or that’s how it’ll boil down to. In truth, whenever Hayato gets self-conscious, he would give him a dreamy look.”

“Who cares about that Hayato!”

At the moment Kawasaki said that, immediately behind her was the sound of a clanging chair.

“Ha? What’d you say?”

Suddenly, the air became tingly. It looks like she touched up on the wrath of Queen Miura.

She was tapping at her desk with a challenging attitude.

But, Kawasaki in her own way went into battle mode and while brushing her ponytail aside, she turned her head and glared at Miura.

The one who shot the gun first, in the same way she did to Yukinoshita, was Kawasaki.

“I said who cares about him. Maybe you should clean out your ears sometimes?

“Ha?”

“Ah?”

Final battle, final battle, the ultimate final battle! Freaking scary, like really…

“N-Now, now. A-Anyway, so let’s go with this group…”

Yuigahama barged into the middle and tried her best to keep the head butting at bay.

Aah, I see. Even though Kawasaki’s face is really cute, I get why she wasn’t in Miura’s group. Their sensitive personalities would end up clashing.

I don’t really want to go with these guys on the field trip…

Volume 7 Chapter 5

Yo! I’mma Hachiman! I’mma about to go to Tokyo!

With that being said, the current objective was to head to Tokyo so we could board the Shinkansen.

I woke up earlier than usual so I could head out a little sooner. When I met with my parents before leaving, they asked me to bring home some gifts, this also including Komachi’s list of requests. But you know, papa, right now I’m just a minor so I can’t buy you any sake even if I act as a proxy in your place. However, I’ll be glad to take the money that was meant to buy you some sake off your hands!

It was a short distance from Chiba to Tokyo. Actually, you could say Chiba was the closest prefecture to Tokyo. In other words, as the closest prefecture to the country’s capital, Chiba’s worth was that of a capital city so you might as well call it one. Amazing. Chiba’s so amazing.

You could make it to Tokyo in one trip if you took the Sobu Rapid Line. Another alternative was the Keiyou Line. So fast. Chiba’s so fast.

However, the two platforms for the Sobu Rapid Line and the Keiyou Lines at the Tokyo Station had terrible service. In the case of the Sobu Line, as you travel through a tunnel, you’d think “what the heck, are we going to dig for some oil or something?”. In the case of the Keiyou Line, you’d think “you can’t really call this the Tokyo Station anymore can you…?” Such was the difference in their positions. So far. Chiba’s so far.

In that case, Shinagawa would have been a more convenient alternative albeit a bit farther when wanting to board the Shinkansen.

Just how deep in the sticks are you, Tokyo, to be this far from Chiba? Does that mean Kyoto that was even farther out a completely secluded region?

I casually boarded the local train at the nearby station and transferred over to the Sobu High Express Line from Tsudanuma.

I frantically boarded the train moments just before it was about to depart and sighed with relief when the door closed. I was glad that I managed to make it on time and just as I made a face of relief, my line of sight met with eyes that reflected the blue colored rays of water.

“…”

“…”

Both of us were silent.

The other party fluttered her blue ponytail and looked outside.

Kawasaki Saki. I earnestly muttered the name that I finally recalled.

Right, I remembered that her house was pretty close to mine. The middle school districts were different because of the interposition of the highway, but the closest station was the station in the neighborhood over. Since we were transferring from the rapid line, we were going to end up boarding the same train from the same line.

“…”

Kawasaki snuck glances in my direction. When our eyes met again, she abruptly flicked her head to the side and looked outside.

The hell…

I missed the timing to greet her and should I had chosen to get myself away from this position, the other party would have noticed and I would have been assaulted with feelings of being a loser, so I was in no position to move.

In the end, Kawasaki and I leaned against the door in our respective nudges for forty-five minutes until we arrived at the Tokyo Station.

***

In addition to that, another group advanced down the aisle. It was the group of three buddy buddy girls and one loner: Miura, Yuigahama, Ebina, and Kawasaki.

“The window’s totally good for me.”

The very first words that came from the mouth of the blonde-hair girl with drills spoke of her desires. Acknowledging those words, the brown haired dough-girl began to coordinate the group.

“Okay, then I’ll be on the seat next to the aisle. How about Hina and the rest?”

When she moved the discussion to her, the black, bobbed hair girl pondered slightly before turning her head in the direction of the ponytail.

“Hmm… Saki, the window or the aisle… which do you think will take it?”

“It doesn’t really matter where I… huh?”

Saki was flabbergasted by the bizarre question while Ebina looked like she was about to break into a drool.

“Ebina, your mouth. Close it.”

Miura pushed up Ebina’s jaw. Yuigahama had a strained laugh as she watched their exchange.

The group of four girls had continued their conversation, nothing different from the usual. Glad you could make some friends, right Kawasaki. Your big brother could break into tears right now.

Whether he had noticed that the seating arrangements weren’t going to be finalized any time soon, Hayama passed through and called out with a calm voice that seemed like he wasn’t talking to anyone in particular.

“Why don’t we just sit wherever? We can move around in the middle of the trip anyway.”

As he said that, he picked the closest seat to him. He had chosen the window seat that was the center of three people.

“Oh, you’re right about that!”

The one who continued after Hayama was Tobe. He moved next to Hayama.

“Okay, I’ll be at the window then.”

When Miura said that, she maneuvered around towards the window seat across from Hayama. A befitting display of Miura; without an ounce of rejection from the audience, she moved of her own accord to the seat she had wanted.

“C’mon. Yui, Ebina.”

And then, she crossed her long legs giving off a feeling of gorgeousness, tapping at the seats, a signal to the two to come over. What’s up with that invitation, that’s like totally cool.

“Yumiko’s over there, Tobecchi is there, and…”

Yuigahama murmured in a small voice that couldn’t be heard by anyone and was thinking of various things. Before she could get her thoughts in order, Ebina pushed her along from her back.

“Okay, okay, Yui’s over there. I’ll be here.”

“Wa— Hina!”

Ignoring Yuigahama’s complaints, Ebina grabbed Kawasaki’s hand and pointed in the direction ahead of her seat.

“Kawasaki will be right there.”

“Wait, I could sit somewhere else…”

At that moment, Kawasaki made a face that said otherwise while shaking her head, but when Ebina tugged at her hand, Kawasaki sat down, unable to resist. She’s surprisingly weak to pressure, this girl.

"No worries, no worries! ♪"

Ebina, who smiled at this, had forcefully dictated the seating order halfway through. As a result, Miura, Yuigahama, and Ebina were lined up on side while on the other was Hayama, Tobe, and Kawasaki, forming a sextet.

Having been unable to ward off the efforts to make her sit in the seat next to Tobe, Kawasaki radiated with displeasure and was readying a posture with her chin on her hands, ready to doze off. Eeeh, um, Tobe’s scared out of his mind here, so could you just be a little friendlier please? Can you really call this a romantic comedy?

***

“That’s true, we should have more fun.”

When Yuigahama said that, Totsuka looked a little more motivated. True, it was only the first day. It’s a little too early in the game to be dozing off from fatigue.

That’s what I thought, but it looked like the person in question, Yuigahama, was already a little tired.

“Actually, what’s going on with you? Did something happen over there?”

Upon asking, Yuigahama slumped over.

“Well, you see… Yumiko and Hayato were behaving just like always… but because Kawasaki was in such a bad mood, Tobe looked completely scared and probably couldn’t get into a conversation.”

“I see… How about Ebina?”

“She’s just being herself… Or rather, she’s even more high-strung than usual because of the field trip, so she’s gotten worse…”

Okay, judging from your tone, I’ve got an idea on what it was like.

Tobe’s a disaster too. It’s likely that Kawasaki wasn’t too fond of the loud-mouthed Tobe and with Tobe being a wimp anyway, the delinquent Kawasaki was surely someone he wouldn’t be good at dealing with. In addition to that, Ebina was holed in her fortress on the same level of the Death Star. It was impossible for Tobe to penetrate that fortress due to his inability to use the force.

***

When we took one step inside, an unfamiliar atmosphere filled the air.

The motif was likely the Edo period no doubt.

We were only allowed the utmost minimum light in this pitch-black darkness. But, the light carefully guided our eyes in the direction of a freakishly looking symbol. And as soon as our vision became even more limited, in an obscure corner of the darkness laid a tool meant to fly out to scare people.

I calmed down and when I evaluated the situation, it was scary. Scary things were scary.

The repeating Buddhist prayers and resenting voices in this darkness made it difficult to ascertain how farther ahead the other group, whom were likely to be Hayama and the others, was, let alone see them.

As for why I could guess at that group being Hayama and the others were their characteristic conduct.

“Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh craaaaaaaaaah!”

Tobe, who was the type to get a hint, was absorbed in the atmosphere of the haunted house and because he was so freaked out, he had never left Hayama’s side since the beginning. When Ebina saw that, she chuckled in a creepy voice.

“Eek! Just now, a weird voice…”

Walking behind me was Kawasaki who tugged at my cuffs because she was scared out of her mind. Um, you’re going to rip my clothes off me, so could you stop? That was Ebina, so it shouldn’t be sc… Okay, it was scary.

When I glanced around at the props of the mansion, apparently it was modeled after a murder scene in a household during the Edo period.

It was standard for a haunted mansion, but the design was very on point. Yuigahama, who was walking next to me, stood with buckled legs and had her hands placed on my shoulders.

“I-I’m totally not good with this at all…”

As she said that, she looked around and appeared uneasy at the thought of something suddenly popping out.

“Ghosts from haunted mansions aren’t scary at all. Humans are the scary ones.”

“There he goes again with his smart mouth... But you’re kinda reliable right now.”

Moving past my theory, Yuigahama made a silly laugh, but it’s that, you know, humans are really the scary ones.

“…Basically, the haunted mansions designed to scare people are the scariest.”

“Oh gosh, he’s no good! Not reliable at all!”

Wait there, I’m actually scared right now too. If I were to come in here by myself, what I would have done was dash straight through the corridors all the while screaming “Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! Heeeeeey! Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!” in a strange voice just to drive the fear away. Ultimately, I’d end up not knowing where the exit would be.

At the moment, however, it was thanks to the others being so noisy that I wasn’t feeling as scared as I should’ve been.

It may have been the same for Totsuka as well since he showed no signs of being scared at all. Instead, he looked like he was having a lot of fun.

“Totsuka, you seem good and dandy…”

“Yup, I really like this kind of stuff.”

It may be dark, but the darkness cannot hinder my recognition of that gleeful smile. I thought for a second there that that luminance was something that could have relieved the world of its energy problems. The current period needs smiles, not oil!

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After some progress in advancing forward, a monster (with a person inside) jumped out screaming “blaaah.” Kawasaki stiffened up instantly and dashed like her life was on the line without a word. Coincidentally, that surprised Totsuka as well who frantically ran as well.

***

“If we take a small taxi, the cost won’t be that much if the cost is split between four people.

“I see.”

Hayama with his quick judgment was a big help. If you got the approval of the dependable leader, it was just a matter of time before the goons followed afterwards. Miura and Tobe had no complaints. Ebina nodded in agreement as well and went to grab ahold of Kawasaki. Totsuka looked in agreement as well and came along.

We left the line and headed towards the taxi stop.

Since there were eight of us, splitting the group into fours was the normal thing to think of.

As we walked towards the taxi stop, Hayama and Miura led the line followed by Kawasaki and Totsuka. I would act as a wall to separate the leading four from the remaining three behind me. So when we lined up for the taxis, one group of four would have to consist of me, Yuigahama, Tobe, and Ebina. At this point, the role of being the wall was important. No problem, in ball game tournaments, the one role that, without question, would eventually find its way around to me was defense. There were standards to be met when playing defense.

Hayama guided the group up to the taxi.

“Okay, let’s get in then.”

The leader Hayama suggested as he went ahead. It’ll be fine as long things went according to the flow.

“Aah. Okay, Yumiko.”

“Okaaaay.”

Once Hayama said that, Miura hopped in the car quickly. Hayama stood in front of the door and called the next person to board the car.

“Let’s go, Tobe.”

As soon as he called Tobe, he sprang out in response.

“Ah, rooooger. C’mon Ebina, let’s go.”

“Okay, okay. We’ll be going first then Yui, Sakisaki.

Tobe and Ebina went up to Hayama and got into the taxi one by one. Ebina waved to Yuigahama and Kawasaki as she got in.

“Ah, yeah, see you in a bit.”

“Don’t call me Sakisaki.”

Yuigahama responded with her own wave while Sakisaki blushed with a menacing look.

And lastly, Hayama headed towards the passenger’s seat.

“…Okay, we’ll be going ahead.”

Hayama called out without the slightest glance at me. I’m sure there was something I could have said in return, but I was interrupted by the slamming of the door.

…Hmph, I see how it is.

Now then, since I was left behind, I had to round up these fellows into a taxi.

“So, where should we sit?”

Totsuka inquired, but the proper arrangements would be me in the front probably.

“Right, I’ll take the front. You three in the back.”

The door opened automatically and once I saw Yuigahama, Totsuka, and Kawasaki entering the taxi, I opened the door to the passenger’s seat. I fastened my belt once I sat down.

“To Ninnaji Temple please.”

I gave a brief command and the good natured looking driver smiled and repeated the destination.

The car started up quietly.

As we waited for the signals, the driver started up some small talk.

“Are you on your field trip?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I momentarily looked in the driver’s direction and gave a short answer. I wasn’t intending to come off as cold, but I just wasn’t used to these superficial conversations.

“Where did you come from?”

“In the direction of Tokyo.”

A knowledge tidbit regarding the people from Chiba. When a denizen of Chiba goes to visit the rural areas and was asked where he or she came from, they’d end up answering “in the direction of Tokyo.” I mean like, it’d be hard to get it across to the other person about Chiba when you try to describe it, you know… This was basically that; it was similar to when the residents of Kanagawa prefecture butt heads with the folks in Yokohama.

From then on, snippets of conversation continued on between the driver and me. I suppose taxis had this kind of trap too…

On the other hand, the back seats were drowned in conversations reeking of girls enclosed in a room.

“Right. And like, when you were about to get really serious in that pillow fight, Yumiko started to cry.”

“You didn’t have to mention that…”

The back mirror reflected Yuigahama who was having fun talking and Kawasaki who was in a foul mood while switching her crossed legs back and forth. Speaking of which, Miura cries way too much… Totsuka giggled and pushed the conversation with the happenings in the boys’ room.

“Oh, but pillow fights seem really fun. We played mahjong and UNO on our side. Ah, Hachiman also lost and forgot about his penalty game too.”

Our seat arrangements were partition so slightly but the conversation felt incredibly distant.

Guess they’re having a blast.

As for me, the driver was oddly being considerate and kept the talking to a minimum. All I did was space out as I gazed at the landscape of the city.

Volume 7.5 Short Story 3

“So, next one then? From a resident of Chiba, Pen Name: It’s not like I need to write my name since it’s a consultation-san.”

<Pen Name: It’s not like I need to write my name since it’s a consultation-san’s Problem> [My little brother’s taking the entrance exam for high school this year, so I want to know some efficient study methods]

The straight to the point content and the sharp pen name, not to mention it was about the little brother. Somehow, a really familiar face was popping up in my head.

“Yukinoshita, you’re pretty good with this, right?”

When I asked her, Yukinoshita placed her hand on her chin and began thinking.

“Efficient… It’s not something I really give any thought to. Since I just do it normally… If anything, aren’t these kinds of underhanded methods more your field?”

“At least say ‘good at’… Well, I’m pretty normal myself though. Understand past exam questions and a thorough review of what you get wrong. Depending on the material too, you just end up remembering things indiscriminately.”

“That’s surprisingly honest of you….”

She seemed earnestly surprised, but this girl’s rather rude, wasn’t she…? Well, it’s not like I didn’t think of anything underhanded, but that actually took some effort to think up too.

“While there are techniques you could use for test taking, you still have to go through the repetitions for them to stick.”

“They do tend to say that there aren’t shortcuts to learning.”

Yukinoshita said so solemnly. Thinking any further, that’s the kind of conclusion you’d settle with.

“Alright, guess I’ll answer with that in mind.”

And, just as I was thinking about what to write for the answer, Yuigahama stood up abruptly looking like she couldn’t hold herself back anymore

“Wait a second, why aren’t you asking me!? I took the test too! I really did take it, you know!?”

Yukinoshita didn’t pay any attention to Yuigahama’s appeal as she looked at the PC screen and let out a small “ah”.

“There’s still some left in the mail. […Also, I want to know good refreshers from study fatigue.] or so.”

“It’s finally your time, Yuigahama! We’re counting on you for the refreshers part!”

“Hikki, your smile makes me upset! Besides, I’ve been giving it some proper thinking too!”

With a fit of anger, Yuigahama snatched the PC away and while moaning, she slowly typed the mail.

<The Service Club’s Answer>

[How about studying together with him?? If you tell him to “just study!”, he might not end up wanting to. That’s why, Kawasaki-san, if you study together with him, he should think “I better get to it too~”. Ah, if you teach him things he doesn’t understand, that might be really effective too! And then, when you’re done studying, if you talk about different kinds of fun stories of high school, then that would be a good refresher too! Do your best!]

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Volume 8 Chapter 1

It was the first day after the holidays and I could feel my body weighing down on me already.

To get the soreness out of my shoulders, I stretched my neck around.

The usual faces of my classmates came into view and they were chatting up storms as always. At another spot was someone with a ponytail looking outside through the window.

Kawasaki was in the classroom and stood there looking agitated. However, she looked steady and unchanging as ever.

Volume 8 Chapter 7

“If onii-chan’s going to work for Komachi’s sake, then Komachi’s gotta try just as hard, right?”

Ooh, you really did do your best. Just as I extended my hand out to rub her head, Komachi avoided it and took a step back behind me saying “I’ll do that”. She then proudly puffed out her chest.

“So that being the case, I mass recruited some helping hands.”

She spoke in a showcase kind of manner and spread her hands to show something.

And what she was showing was Kawa… Kawaguchiko-san? No, I think it was Yamanakako-san? Well, Kawawhatever-san was good enough I guess. Then again, Komachi, you knew her contact info? I didn’t even know her name, you know.

Kawawhatever-san thrust her hands into her pockets and pouted with a displeased tone while glancing at me.

“Why me…”

She grumbled with a small voice. When her eyes met with mine, she would stutter and look away. Well, I’m very sorry about this. Making you come here and all even though you don’t like it.

Well, it’s understandable if Kawawhatever-san was here since she went to the same school as me. She had the right to vote as well so it wasn’t like she was all that unrelated.

But there was one more person who was completely unrelated.

“So, why’s that here too?”

I checked with Komachi and that answered in an awfully energetic manner.

“It’s not 'that!' It’s Kawasaki Taishi!”

No, again, why were you even here … Was it that? Were you here to tell me that Kawawhatever-san’s name was in fact Kawasaki? You’re a big help.

But that apparently wasn’t the case as Komachi scratched her head and smiled.

“Even Komachi didn’t have Saki-san’s phone number, you see.”

“Aah, so that’s how it is.”

That made sense.

“Well, now that you contacted her, that isn’t needed anymore, right?”

“I’m not 'that!' I’m Kawasaki Taishi!”

Taishi tried to appeal to me again, not discouraged. If your older sister appealed to me in the same way, I don’t think I’d forget her name either. As I thought that, Kawasaki glared at me.

“Did you just say he isn’t needed right now?”

“No, um, he’s totally needed, yep…”

For keeping Kawasaki’s state of mind healthy, that is. I wanted her to stop staring at me with that sharp glare of hers that wavered between whether she was going to kill me or not killing similar to something like Kill La Kill.

“Why don’t we have a seat for now?”

Komachi spoke to mediate the situation and we moved to a table over. Kawasaki and Taishi sat in the inner seats while Komachi sat next to me. She was a woman who could nonchalantly pick the seat on the open side.

After everyone confirmed their orders, we listed down our orders on the book, set our drinks on the table, and Komachi cleared her throat.

“Without further ado, let’s begin the 'Yukino-san and Yui-san Sabotage Obstruction' plan!”

Komachi exclaimed and Totsuka and Taishi gave a round of applause while Zaimokuza nodded.

Totsuka and Kawasaki were probably filled in on the details at the beginning as they didn’t raise any concerns. She truly was a capable little sister. However, Kawasaki voiced a different doubt as she rested her chin in her hands while looking away.

“Is there any meaning in calling me out?”

“You’re a student of Sobu High School as well so by all means, we’d like to borrow your help too, Saki-san.”

Komachi giggled with a cute smile as she praised her. Stop rubbing your hands together. But Kawasaki’s attitude stayed the same with Komachi’s sly use of her hands not getting through to her.

“Hmph, I don’t think I’ll be very useful though.”

“No, just getting your opinion would help a lot.”

When I said that, Kawasaki looked at me for a split moment, but quickly went back to what she was looking at earlier.

“…You don’t really need an opinion like mine.”

Kawasaki said that, but considering our positions here, I could use her opinion as a reference.

Since I was a part of the lowest denominator of the hierarchy at school, I was already assimilated with the underlings there. As such, there would be bias on my part towards the candidates Yukinoshita and Yuigahama. The opinion of someone who had a good amount of distance between those two would serve as a better reference than mine. This was one of the necessary criteria when you were evaluating something.

Just as I was about to explain, the food had arrived.

We waited for the waiter to leave, but this caused a temporary lull in the conversation which felt like we had missed the timing. I guess I’ll at least say the conclusion.

“I need it.”

Kawasaki blinked with surprise.

“I-I see… Well, if, you say so…”

As she said that, Kawasaki pulled up her cup with iced tea in it, looked away, and sipped her straw. The sound of bubbling came from her empty cup as if she wasn’t listening. Could she be tired, I wonder?

Making her accompany us on something this troublesome made me slightly sorry for her.

“Sorry.”

When I apologized, Kawasaki let go of her cup and rested her chins in her hands again.

After she sat there thinking for a little bit, she looked at me and spoke.

“It’s okay. When you’re in that club… it suits you a lot more.”

“Huh? Why?”

There wasn’t any particular elements that made me suited with the club. Just the concepts of the words “service”, “work”, and “labor” were things I hated too.

“N-Nothing. Recently, I just thought you weren’t your usual self, that’s all.”

As expected of a loner, her observation skills were excellent. This must be the Buddha Eyes. Human observation was a skill of loners.

“Usual self”, huh?

But if we were talking about my usual self, then what I was doing right now wasn’t very usual of me. I didn’t give up on the club and instead, I wanted to try to protect it. No matter how you thought about it, it wasn’t very like me at all.

But this apparently was seen differently by others around me. Sitting next to me was Komachi who chuckled while smiling.

“I guess onii-chan really isn’t going to try to uselessly struggle this time, huh?”

Aah, that really did fit.

ven if the PowerPoint was cut off and all of our alternatives disappeared, I would still try to do something. That was uselessly struggling. I didn’t mind if I took any damage. After all, if I was just going to lose in the end, I’d at least want to get back a blow or two in to make it unpleasant for the other party.

That was something very like of me.

Then let’s try challenging with a method befitting of me.

First, let’s verify from a nearby successful example.

I faced Komachi. Komachi should be in the student council of her middle school. So that meant she had experience of being chosen at the election. She should’ve participated in campaign efforts as well. That’s why I decided to ask about that.

“Komachi, how did you win your election?”

When I asked Komachi, she moaned for a little bit as she thought and started off with a preface.

“In Komachi’s case, I won with a vote of confidence, so I don’t think it’ll work as a reference…”

“That’s fine. If you had some sort of election strategy, tell me that.”

“Okay… Let’s see. Before I announced my candidacy, I would declare 'I’m going to do it' on a regular basis. As long as I did that and nothing major came up, not much opposition would pop up.”

“I see…”

Although it wasn’t exactly the concept of victory going to the one who made the first move, if you went ahead and limited the other party’s ability to act, even if there were other people who wanted to do it, they might hesitate. As expected of my little sister, she was very crafty.

I gave her a look asking if there was anything else and Komachi crossed her arms and began to groan.

“Also… Boys might have an advantage at times like these. Well, this only applies to popular and reliable boys though.”

“Well, it’s that. It might be a bit hard for guys to vote for a girl. If it’s middle school, that kind of atmosphere might be prevalent.”

“Mmmm, well, that’s true too.”

Komachi spoke vaguely and made an unclear smile.

“What is it?”

I asked about where she was leading the conversation and she stuck up her index finger.

“In the case of girls, you make an enemy of half of the girl population.”

O-Oh… I caught a glimpse of my little sister who became a full-fledged member of women society before I even realized it. Onii-chan’s happy about your growth Komachi, but I’m just a little sad…

Sitting across from me was Taishi who was withdrawing a little. He was facing downwards blabbering about something.

“You’re so black… Hikigaya-san, you’re so black.”

“Don’t go telling someone’s little sister that they’re black.”

If anything, the one who was black was your older sister, like her panties.

Whatever the case, there were parts to Komachi’s story that served as a reference.

“Using girls’ antagonism against each other, huh…”

“The 'Two Tigers Becoming Enemies'[21] strategy!"

Zaimokuza suddenly responded. Listening to that, Totsuka tilted his head.

“But wouldn’t that mean we’d get Yukinoshita-san and Yuigahama-san to fight?”

“That’s true… Also, if everyone gets too heated up, then a proxy war would start and that’ll end up influencing things down the road…”

Komachi spoke seriously. That’s just common opinion, right? That wasn’t something that happened to you, right? I’m worried…

But true enough. That was something to be worried about. I could imagine Miura being involved in one of those proxy wars… And then Yukinoshita would retaliate with double the payback and Miura would cry. But having those two taking unnecessary damage was out of the question.

I tilted my head asking everyone if there was anything else and Zaimokuza, also Taishi, raised their hands.

“I propose the 'Empty Castle' Strategy!”

“Maybe having someone else become the candidate might work?”

You’re amazing, Taishi. You completely ignored Zaimokuza right there. Not to mention, he contributed his opinion despite being a complete outsider. This guy might be a big shot, surprisingly. But that said, that was something Yukinoshita and Yuigahama had considered and I opposed.

“I thought of that before. Besides, if they’re not up to their level, they won’t win against those two.”

Honestly speaking, the only one who could pull votes from those two would be Hayama. But those votes were now being delegated to Yukinoshita’s side while the girl group of Hayama was on Yuigahama’s side. Any other candidate wouldn’t be able to butt in at all.

Taishi started thinking once again.

“Ah, so maybe you can’t win by yourself, but what if there were a lot of you?”

“Ooh! Chiritsumo, huh!”

Komachi tapped her knees. Chiritsumo was probably the abbreviation of “if you were to amass a bunch of trash”[22] or whatever.

So flood the election with a bunch of candidates… If we did that, we certainly would be able to cut down the number of votes those two would get. Could we do it? No, the candidate most likely to get votes would win in the end regardless. That meant either of those two would win anyway.

If going against them or flooding the election was too difficult, then we had to think of another course of action.

“A way to win against Yukinoshita and Yuigahama…”

As I murmured, sitting there quietly while listening, Kawasaki spoke up.

“I don’t really care, but if Yukinoshita and Yuigahama aren’t doing it, then who’s going to do it then?”

“…Ah.”

Crap, I completely forgot about Isshiki.

“Really, you…”

Kawasaki sighed in resignation. No, no, I’m ashamed of myself too.

If we kept Yukinoshita and Yuigahama from becoming the student council president, then it would fall onto Isshiki. That’s not good. As long those three were the only candidates, one of them would have to take up the role. Talk about being backed into a corner.

As I scratched my head, I started thinking again from the bottom up with Isshiki in mind. When I did, an excessively good voice found its way to my ears.

“Homu, now that it has come to this, our last stand…”

I raised my head towards that voice and my eyes met with Zaimokuza’s eyes.

“Zaimokuza…”

“Indeed.”

Zaimokuza nodded his head in satisfaction. Jeez, a guy like you… I couldn’t help but smile.

“You have my thanks for a lot of things. I’m grateful for your feelings. It’s just that this is kind of hard to say, but sorry, you’ve been a real bother since a while ago.”

“Houngh!”

Zaimokuza was taken aback. Well, your Three Kingdoms appeals were pretty annoying… But Zaimokuza was a man who would crawl his way back up no matter how many times you stepped over him. “It’s wheat! It’ll become wheat!”[23] which was something Gen would say as I sat up straight.

“Ahem, were you not the one who proposed the idea? Is that not why I am here, laying bare my war tactics, plans, and art of war before you?”

He readjusted his glasses and looked at me.

“Well, they’re not actually things you thought up of though.”

“Silence you! In the first place, Hachiman, your chances of winning against them are close to zero. Just simple strategy won’t procure you victory. Therefore, you have no choice, but to fight with tactics.”

It felt like he was saying something quite natural…

Totsuka who was listening tilted his head.

“Um… Are strategy and tactics different?”

“Eh? Er… I-Indeed. To learn the difference between the two, all present should go ahead and use a dictionary!”

Zaimokuza tried to play the question off fervently as he looked at me again.

“From the start, trying to fight with them is wrong in itself.”

“Well, yeah, but…”

It was mortifying, but I couldn’t give a rebuttal to Zaimokuza. True enough, I wasn’t someone who could fight and win. Just fighting was useless or correctly speaking, I doubt I could even put up a fight. Not only was our difference in battle capacity overwhelming, our party wasn’t standing anywhere on the battle stage.

Not good, the situation was a lot worse than I thought.

As I scratched my head, Komachi called out to me.

“Onii-chan.”

“Hm?”

“It’s as Chuuni-san said.”

“Yeah, Onii-chan understands that too, but look here Komachi-chan…”

Let me think about it a little more carefully, okay? I spoke to Komachi like how I would to a little child for the time being.

I think “to win without fighting” was a proverb that was left by Sun Tzu. Maybe if I became Sun Tzu, I might come up with something. I’m Sun Tzu, I’m Sun Tzu, I am the one who is called Sun Tzu, Sun Tzu is I… Abiko?[24] So basically, Chiba was winning without having to fight because we already had Abiko…? I knew it, Chiba was the strongest.

As I went on a tangent while thinking, Komachi pulled at my sleeve.

“It’s not like Komachi wants onii-chan to win the election.”

“Huh? Wait, but if we don’t win.”

If we didn’t win, then one of those three would end up becoming the student council president.

“If anything, you’re not even a candidate, so it’s not even an issue about winning or losing.”

Kawasaki sighed as if she was making a fool of me. What a sound argument… No, that really was true, but come on.

“Ahaha, Hachiman’s the type of person who wouldn’t get tied down by rules after all.”

Totsuka made an embarrassed laugh and spoke to mediate the situation. What an angel. If Totsuka’s going to say that much, then maybe it’s about time we stopped being held down by that rule in the Civil Code of Chapter 4, Section 2.[25]

As I was healed, Komachi forcibly turned my body to face towards her.

“Komachi wants Yukino-san and Yui-san to stay in the Service Club. Frankly, Komachi doesn’t care about the student council election at all.”

“Ah, right… But then there’s Isshiki too…”

As long I had taken up the request, it wasn’t something I could just shrug off. Most of all, Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, Hiratsuka-sensei, and Meguri-senpai probably wouldn’t just say “okay” to it either.

Staying reluctant, Komachi stared at me.

“Onii-chan, is that Isshiki-san person the most important to you?”

“No, absolutely not.”

“Then why are you worrying about it?”

“Well, look, it’s a request after all.”

When I answered, Komachi squeezed my face with both her hands.

“Work or Komachi, which is important?”

“Komachi obviously. I have no desire to work.”

I shook off Komachi’s hands as I boldly answered with lots of love.

“Process of elimination, huh…”

Totsuka looked amazed as he made a troubled laugh. Ah, if it was Totsuka, I would’ve answered “Totsuka” unconditionally.

Komachi pouted as she lightly glared at me, but her mouth broke into a smile.

“I’m totally not happy at you being honest, but… well, fine. So, onii-chan, what are you going to do?”

“I understand what you’re trying to say. But I don’t have any intention of forcing the student council presidency on Isshiki.”

That was what they called being the self-sacrifice. That’s why I couldn’t give my approval to it. Even if there was a reason to it, that reason would’ve just been mine alone and Isshiki Iroha had nothing to do with it. Selfishly pushing the circumstances onto her; originally, no one ever had the right to force someone to be the victim.

“…Okay, I get it. Well, it’s onii-chan after all.”

Komachi looked down with slightly sad eyes, but quickly smiled in resignation.

“Uh huh, as expected, Hachiman’s Hachiman after all.”

Totsuka followed up and smiled.

“Hmm…”

Kawasaki looked a little bit surprised, but she made a smile that looked interested somehow. But whenever her eyes met with mine, she would quickly look away and bite onto her straw. She then peeked over to me and spoke.

“Whatever’s fine, but… what are you going to do?”

“Let me think for a bit.”

I silently closed my eyes.

I established the setting where I prioritize Komachi’s request and omit Yukinoshita and Yuigahama from the election. Isshiki Iroha would then be the only candidate. Since the chances of other candidates coming forth were low, I could ignore it at this point.

But there, the condition that someone had to take all the heat surfaced.

So what was the remaining problem?

The actual person’s will; it was just that one point alone.

That being the case, I had to think of a way to overturn that.

In other words, I needed to destroy every single thing related to the reason why she didn’t want to become the student council president.

When I reached that point, I opened my eyes.

“So long story short, the way we approached this from the start was completely wrong…”

Not only me, but also Yukinoshita and Yuigahama.

“Well, if that’s the case, I guess the only thing I can do is negotiate with Isshiki.”

“That is only if she is someone open to discussion… The other party is a girl, am I correct? Will your story get through to her?”

Zaimokuza muttered. His reason was kind of weird, but for the most part, I could agree, so it put me on the spot. And sitting next to him was Taishi who was also nodding for some reason. In addition to that, he asked something as if it was out of curiosity.

“What kind of person is Isshiki-san?”

“Let’s see…”

Isshiki Iroha. She would show her gentle and refreshing self, but that was all part of her calculations. The staggering difference between how she acted with Hayama and people not in her consideration like me and Tobe was quite devastating.

Putting it into words was extremely difficult. But how would this work if I said it this way?

“If I were to give an example, then it’d be something like a very uncute and charmless Komachi, I guess.”

“Ah, that might be bad, huh?”

So said Taishi.

“Onii-chan, what ever could you mean by that…?”

A smiling Komachi was scary.

“It’s basically that. It just means you’re very cute Komachi.”

I said something suitable and rubbed her head.

“Well, I’m sure my talk will get through to her. It’ll probably be okay.”

This was close to confidence. If Isshiki Iroha calculated how she would act her character, then you could also say that she was suited for negotiating. If she diligently calculated the risks and returns, then depending on what I say to her, she’d be open for bargaining.

That being the case, we had to collect bargaining chips.

No, it might be more correct to say we had to create them.

In any case, the concept was solid. Now it’s a matter of detailing out our approaches. For that, we’d need a little more information.

“Kawasaki, could you just give me some names of people who you’d think might make a good student council president?”

“Huh?”

Kawasaki pointed at herself as if she was thinking she wouldn’t be called on as and blinked in surprise. She then hesitated while moaning.

“E-Even if you tell me that so suddenly…”

“You can take it slow.”

In reality, I just wanted more time to get my thoughts in order.

“If that’s the case…”

After she said that, she tilted her head as she groaned and then she started giving out names.

“I guess Yukinoshita and Yuigahama would work. Also, Hayama, I think his name was? That guy with the obnoxious sparkling aura or whatever.”

Well, that was pretty reasonable. Yukinoshita and Yuigahama were probably beginning to amass endorsements so from the idea I was thinking right now, they were an exception. But still, her image of Hayama was something like that, huh…

Kawasaki began to ponder further.

“Ebina… could probably do the job, but well, it wouldn’t fit her.”

I agreed with that as well. She was demonstrating the very value of being in that free position she was in. But for Kawasaki to bring up her name so fast meant that they had gotten pretty close huh, how earnest of her…

After that, Kawasaki went “ah” and added with a murmur.

“There’s Miura, but I don’t think it’ll work out for her.”

They’re on such bad terms. But the fact that she mentioned her name meant she was conscious of her, huh?

The names she had listed so far were conspicuous individuals in the school. They were people with popularity. This was a convincing line up.

But the next name Kawasaki brought up was unexpected.

“There’s also Sagami too, I guess…”

“Haa? Sagamii?”

I unintentionally made a scowl when I asked her back. Kawasaki made a sullen face.

“What’s with that unpleasant face of yours? You’re the one who asked.”

“No, sorry. I didn’t mean it that way to you… But, why her?”

“Because she worked as a committee chairman for the culture festival and the sports festival. It wouldn’t be weird for her to work as the student council president.”

“I see…”

I only had a completely useless image of Sagami, so it never crossed my mind. But certainly, for people who didn’t know what happened behind the scenes, Sagami Minami was someone who took up successive official positions. Putting aside the second years, surprisingly, her record might actually be a hit with the first years and third years.

This was an unthinkable dark horse. Most of all, even if I used Sagami, it wouldn’t hurt at all. In the same way, let’s include Tobe as a candidate since it wouldn’t hurt at all there too. Well, Tobe really was a good guy, huh?

Now, with this, everything should be cleared up. What was left was carefully scrutinizing how we should move forward. For now, just as I faced Kawasaki to give my thanks, she was staring at me and her lips looked like she wanted to say something. I asked her if there was anything more with a look and she added.

“Also… you as well.”

“Aah, that’d be interesting. But I can’t get thirty people to endorse me.”

“I know, just thought I’d say it.”

Kawasaki abruptly looked away. If you knew, then don’t say it, gosh. Saying it like that makes my heart skip a beat, you know.

Anyway, the pieces were all mostly gathered. I verified each piece one by one.

“Hayama, Ebina-san, Miura, Sagami, and while we’re at it, Tobe. Also, Isshiki. We’ll have these guys become candidates.”

After I declared that, Komachi made a dubious look.

“Eh? Weren’t you going to have that Isshiki-san person be the candidate?”

“Yeah, in the end, that is. Well, it’s basically a stalking horse, something like putting up a fight, of the sort against Isshiki.”

Well, there was actually another objective beyond that, but it’s probably better to explain that little by little. Komachi looked like she wouldn’t be entirely convinced with just this, so I may have to do this step by step.

“Stalking horse… I wonder if there’d be anyone willing to do that… Actually, onii-chan, are you going to ask someone to do that?”

“Hahaha! Yeah right. That’s why we’re going to just borrow someone’s name without their permission. And then we’ll try to gather as much endorsements as we can.”

And for that happen, there was one more person whose power I wanted to borrow.

“Totsuka, do you mind if we borrow your name?”

Totsuka blinked in puzzlement as if he wasn’t expecting to get called on.

“Eh…? Even if you say that, I don’t really understand…”

Totsuka squirmed as he looked down. He then looked at the corner of the floor silently for a short moment before looking at me with upturned eyes.

“…You won’t do anything weird?”

“I promise.”

I wouldn’t do anything weird, but I might end doing something related to love instead. No, it’s possible I may have done it already.

When I answered, Totsuka warmly smiled.

“…In that case, sure. You can use my name.”

“Thanks.”

I-In that case, I’ll go ahead and use your name okay… Totsuka Hachiman sounds kind of good! It sounded like a Shinto shrine or something.

Anyhow, with this, all the pieces were assembled. Thanks to Totsuka, it felt like even the peace of my heart was included so all I could think about was how the world was all about LOVE & PEACE.

As I glowed with self-satisfaction by myself, Komachi, who was sitting next to me while thinking, spoke up.

“But even if you borrowed someone’s name, if that person denies it, then we won’t be able to announce that person’s candidacy in the end, right?

It’s just like Komachi said. As long the person in question didn’t give their consent, the notice for announcing their candidacy wouldn’t be complete. Since an incident like Isshiki had already happened, someone arbitrarily turning the notice in wasn’t possible now.

“It’s fine if they don’t announce their candidacy. Rather, it’s not necessary. It’s sufficient enough to just get the endorsements we need.”

“?”

Not only did Komachi tilt her head, but also everyone else present as well.

“What if the entire school populace gave their endorsement, what do you think would happen?”

“Well, they’d win of course.”

Komachi nodded as if it was natural. I nodded back.

“Of course they’ll win. Or rather, the other candidates wouldn’t be able to announce their candidacy. Once you already registered your name as endorsement for someone, you wouldn’t switch to another person after all.”

“Hoh, to think there was that kind of conclusion… 'Above the law' or something to that effect, I see…”

Zaimokuza spoke with admiration. But it had nothing to do with whether this would be conclusive or not. Also, that Seagal movie wasn’t related in any way either.

“No, I’m not sure if that’s written in the protocols. But I don’t think the average student is aware of these protocols anyway. But once someone gave their signature, I don’t think people would be so willing to give their name to other people afterwards.”

It’s exactly because they didn’t know the existence of the protocols that times like these were where people made their judgments according to their common sense.

If you were only allowed to endorse someone once, then collecting endorsements brings rise to another aspect.

With the exception of the simple process of eliminating weak candidates, then it would function in the preliminary election. That is, you could interpret beyond the phrase that you needed more than thirty endorsements. With this meaning, as long it was above thirty people, then it didn’t matter how many names you collected.

“That’s why we’ll flood the election with applicant candidates and we’ll gather as many endorsements as the possible limit will allow us to.”

“If we can gather everyone beforehand, then other people won’t be able announce their candidacy right!”

Taishi looked at me with gleaming eyes that screamed “amazing!”. But sorry. This wasn’t as simple as it sounded.

“Well, simply put, that’s how it is, but that’s probably impossible. This was nothing more than just stalling for time. If there were a lot of candidates, then people will worry about who to endorse. If that happens, people will be hesitant to give out their signature.”

This was extremely easygoing, but for the most part, this should act as a deterrent to those two. But since this was just a simple deterrent, it wouldn’t become something decisive.

We needed one more move.

“…Hey.”

As I thought about how to deal my hand, a voice called out to me. When I looked up, Kawasaki had a serious expression. It looked like she was lightly glaring at me, but well, this was something default to her.

“Putting aside whether this will work out well or not, wouldn’t it be bad for you if you get caught using their names without their permission?”

The older sister said while the younger brother nodded in agreement.

“That’s right, onii-san’s gonna get beat to a pulp you know, to a pulp.”

“Don’t call me onii-san.”

I thought about how I would beat him to a pulp instead, but Kawasaki was sitting next to him reservedly and she was scary so I kept it to myself.

Furthermore, Komachi, who sat beside me, pulled on my sleeve again.

“Onii-chan.”

Her mouth formed an upside “v” as she groaned. I understood even if everyone didn’t say it. They probably wanted to say to not repeat the same thing again.

“I got it. I won’t put up an appearance or anything.”

There wouldn’t be any meaning otherwise.

In the first place, I was being conceited if I thought I could move the entire student population by just having their hatred directed at me. Indeed, that’s how it is. Even if I added more objectivity to it, I needed to think of a more complete method.

“Then, who’s going to do it then?”

Totsuka asked and I lowered my shoulders.

“I guess we can’t really push this onto someone else.”

I didn’t want anybody taking the full blame for anything. I didn’t want anyone to take over this position either. Besides, it’d be a problem if the place I belonged to was snatched away from me. It was really comfortable for me after all.

“That’s why we’ll have something not human do it.”

When I said that, everyone made a “huh?” face. I had better explain it step by step, huh…

“Zaimokuza.”

“Wa, no I’m, a human though?”

Zaimokuza declared himself as human while waving his hands in a fluster, clearly saying “no way, impossible, I really don’t want to do that”. His honest reaction made me smile bitterly.

“I know. I just called your name. Are you using Twitter right now?”

“Press, press, press, I possess a surface account, a back-alley account, a locked account, a different account, a policing account. I am in charge of many a things, I should say. Leave Twitter to me, why don’t you? My kin bestow upon me as the Great Teacher of computers, after all.”

What’s with that weird laugh and dialect? Also, your relatives were probably making fun of you, you know.

Anyway, if Zaimokuza was already using Twitter, then this would make things quick. As I explained how Twitter worked to the others, I would use my phone at the same time and search Twitter with an appropriate account on the internet while showing them the screen. I would explain as they looked at it.

“Twitter is basically, well, something like SNS or a mini blog of the sort. I’m not too sure about the details behind categorizing, but you can write something with 140 characters. So, there, you have these followers… basically, you can show stuff to your readers. They can reply to you, essentially responding to you, and you can have something resembling a conversation.”

Well, I’ll leave it up to them to google the rest of the details so I could proceed on.

“What makes this thing amazing is how quickly things can spread. By retweeting something, you can get the content you write to go around.”

After finishing my super rough explanation, everybody looked like they understood as if they already knew about Twitter. As expected of today’s youngsters. Well, it’s been the thing to talk about these days. Things like self-wanted posters, information leaks, or writing something outrageous and brewing up a storm. I talked as if I knew about those things.

“So, what is it that you want to do with Twitter?”

For a regular user like Zaimokuza, it was probably a boring explanation. He urged me to go on.

“We’re going to make a fake grassroots Twitter account. But we have to ensure that it feels like there’s actually someone behind it. That fictional person will collect endorsements online.”

“Fictional person…”

Komachi looked like she understood, but it didn’t feel like she did when she muttered.

I nodded to that.

As an instant temporary measure, it would break the law at most one time.

But that was the one time it could actually be used.

“Is that even possible with the rules?”

Komachi sent me a look of skepticism.

If we’re talking about the rules, then there shouldn’t be anything written about being forbidden from online campaign activities in the student council election protocols. Well, at the time when the protocols were created, the internet was nothing more than a concept and it wasn’t as developed back then.

From the start, this kind of conduct wasn’t limited at all in the protocols.

“It’s not like we’re going to actually turn in anything, so it should be fine.”

“I wonder…”

I tapped Komachi on the head as she crossed her arms while tilting her head and I continued.

“Well, if even it doesn’t work out, any complaints or criticism will be directed towards that fictional person. We can make it so this fictional person is the one who takes the full brunt of the criticism from the victimized parties; that being, the candidate who was set up and those who supported him. By doing that, they’d be able to save face too. No one will be hurt.”

A world where no one was hurt doesn’t exist.

If there was one, then it would be a world where everyone was equally hurt.

If you were already aware of how a world wouldn’t be logical if no one was hurt, but you detested the notion that someone had to be hurt, then you had to dig up a scapegoat.

You didn’t have to pick someone that existed. All you needed was an existence that would take all the heat. This was probably my one trump card I could deal. It took quite a bit of time and it was inefficient, but regardless, with this, we can get past the hurdle of no one getting hurt.

“Onii-san, you’re amazing…”

Taishi uttered his simple impressions with a slightly stiff smile.

“Hahaha, don’t praise me too much now. Also, don’t call me onii-san.”

When I told him, Kawasaki gave me a warning with a sharp tone.

“I don’t think Taishi’s praising you though.”

Eh? Really? So he was just freaked out instead?

“B-But, that’d be nice if that worked out.”

Totsuka spoke up as if smoothing over the conversation. But Komachi sighed and looked at me with reproachful eyes.

“Well, it’s fine if it does work out…”

Usually when I say these kinds of things, Komachi would reply in a crisp manner, but her reaction had been rather slow since a while ago. That bothered me and I asked her.

“Is this idea no good?”

“Mmm, it’s not that it’s no good… But whether it’s good for onii-chan or not… I’m not really sure.”

Komachi dropped her eyes and spoke fretfully. It looked like Komachi herself couldn’t properly explain it.

Well, even I thought it was an underhanded, cowardly even, method.

“But we won’t know unless we try. There existed no other alternative as well.”

It was as Zaimokuza said. Our hands were limited. On top of that, we had tossed aside the hands that didn’t exist from the start. The duel of the strongest duelists was already inevitable. Even the duelists themselves were the ones who created the act of drawing cards. That’s what it was.

“So, how shall we proceed with this? We can indeed make an account, but just doing that won’t give us an increase in followers and we won’t even get any retweets either.”

“We’ll follow students from our school one after the other. If we find one person to follow the account, then others will come by in succession. And also… if fellow students follow each other, there’d be pressure there. It’d be particularly more obvious for the girls.”

When I explained, Zaimokuza slapped his knees.

“So that’s the game you’re going after. I see your point for the most part. If you replied as a form of greeting indicating you are from the same school, you would be requesting them to follow you. Correct?”

As expected of the Great Teacher of computers. You were very knowledgeable of things.

When you exchanged tweets with fellow students from the same school, then you couldn’t help, but have this realistic feeling of obligation. If someone said they were from the same school and followed you, human empathy would cause you to think “it’d be bad if I didn’t return the follow, huh…” even if you didn’t know the person directly. If they followed the fake Twitter account, then the tweets from this account would show up on their timeline.

“So, the user name and the tweeted content would be something like this.”

I took out a ball pen from my bag and I wrote on the borrowed napkin from the table as it rustled.


USERNAME: __-san Grassroots Account

[Sobu High School Only] This person will become the student council president! Currently, we’re looking for people to endorse him for support! People who enter their names in the list of # endorsements should retweet [Spread the Word]


As I checked with my phone, I made a model slogan like that.

“Basically, we just have to repost this at fixed intervals and build up retweets. People who retweeted will have their names entered into the list.”

We also had to think about the profile for the account. The difficult part was how we should consider presenting information. It shouldn’t be too specific, but that said, we had to aim for something that would at least make someone believe there was someone behind it. Having to create a number of things was a real pain…

For the moment, everyone was examining the model slogan and the actual tweet. Having multiple people check over something would increase precision. I was glad there were a lot of people at a time like this.

Eventually, Taishi, who was looking it over, raised his hand.

“If the candidates saw it, what are you going to do if they tried to deny it?”

I see. It was plausible that the person in question might see it… I thought for a moment and spoke up.

“We can do something like this. We can include in the content “It’s still a secret from the actual person, okay! ♪Sparkle, Kapun♪”. And besides, the support of those willing should be good enough.”

Following Taishi was Totsuka who raised his hand as he looked at my smartphone. Yes, Totsuka-kun.

“Hachiman, isn’t this everybody’s username? It doesn’t look like it’s their real name, is that okay?”

“Yeah. It’s fine if people want to expose their real name, but even if they don’t, that’s fine too.”

When I said that, Kawasaki looked at me with an apathetic look.

“There’s no way anyone would do that.”

Oh my, Kawasaki-san, your guard was surprisingly tough, huh? I don’t particular hate girls like you, you see. After all, my guard’s super tough as well. It’s important to be modest.

Even I wasn’t stupid enough to give my real name when suddenly asked for it. I knew that point.

“Well, to be honest, even a pseudonym would work too. It’s not an official endorsement list after all. We’re not turning it in anyway, so it won’t go public. It’ll make people conscious of who to vote for and we’d even be lucky if people start to think they had to endorse someone else.”

“Is that good enough?”

Komachi asked surprisingly. I nodded.

“This will have the best utility value for negotiations.”

“Negotiations…”

Komachi murmured quietly. Well, I might’ve said that a bit too stiffly there.

The true nature of this fake account existed there.

The risk hedge of putting a figurehead that didn’t exist under the rug and the controlling of the endorsements that backed Yukinoshita and Yuigahama. These were just secondary objectives.

The collected achievements of this account. That was the most important thing.

These achievements would act as the bargaining chip for Isshiki.

And then that Isshiki Iroha would become the bargaining chip afterwards.

After getting everyone’s opinion and laying out the concerning points, most of the uneasy components were gone.

Now the remaining problem was who would go about doing the deed…

Well, that’d be me and Zaimokuza.

“Zaimokuza, can I ask you to do half of the work with the accounts?”

“Very well.”

Zaimokuza nihilistically laugh. When it came to doing something of your specialty, you get awfully confident, don’t you? That confidence made it scary instead. That’s why I decided to give a warning just in case.

“Try to avoid at least getting our true identity found out. You just need to fool them for these three days.”

“Leave it to me. Long ago, there were moments of fear that had enveloped me when I tried to break past an IP.”

You had that kind of past… Well, if he was scared at some point, then he probably wouldn’t mess up badly here.

As I thought that we’d be able to get started with this, Kawasaki tapped the table. What, was that Morse code? Or so I thought as it looked like she was calling me. You could at least just call my name. Or could it be that you didn’t remember my name? Kawawhatever-san was so super cruel!

“What is it?”

I asked her and Kawasaki glanced at Zaimokuza and spoke with a low voice.

“Can that even write like a girl?”

“Should be fine. That’s Zaimokuza’s specialty after all.”

When I said that, Zaimokuza gave a thumbs-up with a bingo☆ and a wink.

“Indeed, leave it to my literary talent!”

“That’s not it… Find an appropriate account, copy and paste their sentences with some alterations or at least try to copy their style. That’s your specialty, right?”

“That’s what I thought, I dare say, nin-nin.”

Zaimokuza suddenly laughed with a hint of self-deprecation. Well, that’s a pretty important talent to have, so take care of it okay?

But still, we were past the first stage. I took a sip of my coffee that was already cold. Everyone let out a sigh and the atmosphere became warm.

In that group was just one person who had a depressed face, Komachi.

“What’s wrong, Komachi?”

I asked Komachi with a quiet voice that only she could hear. When I did, Komachi answered again with a fleeting voice.

“Will this really work out?”

“It will. I’ll make sure I get the finishing touches until the end. Leave it to me.”

“Okay…”

She answered, but Komachi continued to look down.

She cupped her head with her hands and lightly tapped.

“Onii-chan, make sure to properly talk things out with Yukino-san and Yui-san, okay? Promise?”

Komachi squeezed my hands as she spoke.

“Yeah, I will. But there’s nothing we can do with a story that isn’t convincing enough. I’ll talk to them after I prepare that.”

“Onii-chan can be really reasonable, but I’m really worried that you’ll just blow a lot of things off…”

“It’s fine.”

I’ll do something about it.

It really was a roundabout method, but if it was the only way that could satisfy the conditions, then it was the only thing I could go with.

I had my reason, I posed the problem, and now I had the solution.

The only thing left was putting everything into action.

Volume 9 Chapter 1

As I wasted time looking at the letter from Komachi, it was just about time for morning homeroom to start. My classmates would frantically rush into the class.

And in that group of people appeared a girl listlessly walking, not paying any heed to things like the chime. Her bluish, dark long hair fluttered in unison with every step.

Kawasomething… No, Yamasomething? Or was it Yutakasomething? Well, let’s just go with Somekawayutaka-san. Kawasomething-san headed for her seat, indifferent to what was going on in the class. Halfway through, her cold and composed eyes clashed with mine.

After our eyes met, we were both quiet for a moment. And then for some reason, we both froze up.

We may be strangers, but I should at least greet her. Well, it’s not like I knew her name though. Anyway, I was in her debt for her help with the student council election the other day as well. I never did get to thank her. But back to the present, I didn’t know what to say or how to talk to her.

“Aah… well, you know.”

For the time being, I spat out a meaningless sigh and empty words, hoping to find a trigger to start up a conversation. When I did, the other party looked like she may have been trying to figure out what to say as well. Her lips wiggled around and she then spoke in a small voice.

“…Morning.”

“Y-Yeah.”

She greeted me with her still stone cold expression and I reflexively gave a half-baked reply.

Because she pulled the rug from under me, I sat there unable to say anything worthwhile. The conversation didn’t go any further than that and she hurried to her desk near the window side in the back.

Well, it was kind of awkward with that long pause after all. The best choice at a time like this was to run away. Seeing that I was already in my seat, the only remaining option was in that direction.

Whether she had no sleep or whether she wasn’t motivated, upon making it to her desk, she collapsed on top of it. As I watched her, I calmly reflected on our earlier exchange.

…Hey, hey, seriously? Kawasomething-san greeted me. We both didn’t even know each other’s names, so wasn’t this some great progress?

Though, even elementary kids would properly greet people. In fact, they were even taught in elementary to be assertive when greeting suspicious people. With that in mind, for the other party to give their greeting first meant they were preemptively spreading a rumor against suspicious people! It was basically that. Something along the lines of “what are you looking at, punk, where middle school are you from?”[6] maybe?

Well, for a suspicious person whose expression loosened up from a letter that his little sister gave him, a jab of this level was expected. But wait just a moment. If my memory serves me right, I recall her grinning over a mail from her little brother, Kawasaki Taishi. Ah, that’s right, her name was Kawasaki.

…Oh my, what’s with that girl, she’s so suspicious. Next time, I’ll greet her and keep her in check.

Greetings were really important, weren’t they?

This world had become a world where you had to be wary of those who greeted you, not where you had to be wary of the misunderstanding that being greeted meant the other party wanted to get closer to you. POISON.[7]

As I watched Kawasaki, I rested my chin on my hands and looked around the room as well.

Volume 9 Chapter 3

I followed Isshiki after she finished her call to the nursery. Since it was roughly right next to the community center, making the arrangements was straightforward. Moreover, it being a municipal nursery made it easier for the school’s story to get accepted.

By making an appointment in advance, we were able to proceed inside as soon as we arrived.

The spectacle of the nursery that was once branded in my eyes in the distant past and the drifting sweet smell of baby formula gave rise to a feeling of nostalgia.

The classroom, although I wasn’t sure whether I could call it that, but everything in the room that I peeked into through the glass window was small. And inside were children playing with building blocks and running around.

On the wall were pictures of incomprehensible drawings in crayon hung like scribbled words. And decorating around them like paint were tulips and shooting stars made from colored paper.

I was also an alumnus from a nursery as well, but my memories of that time were quite fuzzy. During that time, there was the possibility that I was told something like “Zawsze in love”[36] and given keys and a locket, but unfortunately, I couldn’t remember at all.

I let out an impressed “ooh” partly due to my intense curiosity as I restlessly looked around and my eyes clashed with the eyes of a nursery teacher past the glass window.

That teacher exchanged words covertly with another nursery teacher nearby. Their stares were clearly wary of me. Mmmm, madams, here at this nursery, it’s encouraged to deal with any possible problems as soon as you can!

For now, I quickly left that area and called out to Isshiki who was walking ahead.

“It feels like I’m totally not welcome here.”

“It looks that way… Senpai, your eyes are pretty bad, after all.”

Isshiki quickly took a glance at my eyes and spoke. How mean! I even thought you’d take my side too!

Still, even if we had contacted them already, I suppose they’d still be somewhat wary if a boy in a high school uniform appeared. Going along with Isshiki only to frighten the children and teacher was something I shouldn’t do.

“…I think I’ll wait over there actually.”

I pointed to the wall of the hallway that wouldn’t be visible to the children as I told her and Isshiki placed her hands on her hips with a big sigh.

“There’s no helping it, huh? Senpai, I’ll handle things from here then.”

“Counting on you.”

After I said that, I sent her off. It looked like Isshiki would do the talking in the faculty room further ahead. She continued straight towards it.

Even though I tagged along, the matter would be settled with just me uselessly waiting for her.

I checked the area around me wondering how I would go about killing time until Isshiki was done with her discussion. I could easily just sit down in the hallway, but that would serve only to make me look even more suspicious. It looked like I got it backwards when I thought staying behind alone would ease the wariness of the children and teachers.

I guess I can’t do anything, but just stand here absentmindedly, huh…

A long time ago, I once had a part time job that lasted a day for the exhibition of a model room of an apartment complex where the only thing I had to do was continue standing for some number of hours holding an advertisement sign under the blazing sun. For someone like me with that kind of experience, this much was a breeze. I was able to kill about 8 hours by just standing around absentmindedly. It was actually a pretty tough job and there was also the time when I shed a few tears because the various deductions from being dispatched and insurance had me going “woow… my pay’s really low, isn’t it…?”

Compared to then, there was a roof, walls and the time was shorter. Just those alone made me think it was a good environment… Woow, my affinity as a corporate slave’s really high, isn’t it…?

It was that moment when I was standing there spacing out while going through repetitions of worthless thoughts in my head. The door of a nearby classroom silently inched opened.

What’s this? As I thought that, I took a look and a single little girl tip-toed out of the room. The little girl made advances towards the entrance stealthily and began restlessly looking around.

She tried her best to look outside with cute, nimble gestures such as stretching upwards while standing on her toes and jumping up, but once she realized that she couldn’t see anything, she disappointingly trudged back.

The little girl’s darkish blue hair was bounded by hair ties that split it into two. Her features displayed an innocence that made her look extremely sweet.

When she noticed me, she let out an “ah” and approached me.

After that, she pulled on the sleeve of my blazer and popped open her mouth as she looked up. Not good, was this that? Like how the situation would blow up into something bigger from a report that I called out to her? But then again, we’re inside the nursery and there was no one around, so it should be okay, right…?

“…What’s wrong?”

At this point, I couldn’t really ignore her so I put some effort to speak to her in a calm demeanor. When I did, the little girl pulled on my sleeve further, so I slowly crouched down. After dropping to about her eye level, the little girl spoke with a troubled tone.

“Um, see, Saa-chan isn’t here yet.”

“Ooh, I see.”

What’s Saa-chan…? Could she be referring to her mom, I wonder…? Little kids typically tended to pronounce their words incorrectly. When Komachi was small, she’d say oi-chan instead of onii-chan too. For a split second, I thought for sure she was referring to Tora-san[37].

Still, even if I had built some resistance to younger people thanks to Komachi, for a kid this young, I really couldn’t remember how to deal with them. I was once that small too. Now then, just how should I deal with her…? For the time being, it’d be trouble if I let her go outside alone. I guess I’ll take her to the classroom.

“It’ll be just a bit longer until Saa-chan comes. So let’s go play over there until then.”

I gently pushed her small shoulders and brought her to the front of the classroom. The little girl was unexpectedly obedient as she did what she was told and followed me up to the classroom. Just as I was about to place my hands on the glass sliding door, the little girl pulled on my sleeve again.

“Ah! Um, you see, that’s Saa-chan.”

As she said that, she pointed at the crayon pictures posted on the classroom wall. I had no clue which picture she was pointing at… Maybe it was a picture drawn by her mom? Still, there was quite a few of them so I couldn’t tell which one it was.

“Which one’s from Saa-chan, hmm?”

“That!”

The little girl vaguely pointed at the wall. But on the wall were numerous pictures so in the end, I still didn’t have a clue. Hmm… Which one could it be, I wonder…?

I crouched down again and met my eyes with hers.

“…Okay, I got it. This one is right. And this one is left.”

I raised my right and left hand in succession in front of her and the little girl nodded her head and then repeated the motions.

“Right, left.”

“Yep, yep. Okay, raise your right.”

When I said that, the little girl energetically raised her right hand.

“Raise your left.”

This time she energetically jumped with her left hand. Fumu, it looked like she knew her right from her left. That being the case, I pointed to the wall earlier with the pictures posted.

“Now then, here’s a riddle. Just how many of these are Saa-chan’s starting from the right?”

The little girl’s eyes sparkled as she went “oooh!” to the new game. After that, she began counting with her fingers.

“Ummm…… there’s four!”

“Correct. Very good job!”

As I said that, I lightly patted her head. I see, so that’s Saa-chan… Yeah, I still don’t get it. In the end, I couldn’t figure out which picture it was. But since I accompanied her for a bit, that should’ve cheered her up a bit.

Just as I was about to urge her to head on in to the classroom, a kind voice called out from behind.

“Kei-chan.”

When I turned around, a person I could remember very well was there. It was my classmate, Kawasaki Saki.

The little girl’s face perked up brightly when Kei-chan was called and she rushed up to her.

“Saa-chan!”

After jumping into her arms, Kawasaki affectionately caressed Kei-chan’s hair. After that, she shot me a suspicious stare.

“…Why are you here?”

“Er, well, work…”

In fact, I was the one who wanted to ask her why she was here, but she managed to say it first. She made a discrete look behind me.

“Uh huh… What about Yukinoshita and Yuigahama?”

I knew she was going to ask that. If it was work that I mentioned, that would imply activities of the Service Club. For Kawasaki who had been involved with us before, that was a natural question to ask. However, there wasn’t a need to explain the details to her. It’s not like she asked about it and telling her the specifics would just be a bother to Kawasaki too. That’s why my answer was simple.

“…They’re on another job. It’s just me by myself.”

“…I see.”

Kawasaki stared at me and after a short reply, she looked away in disinterest.

“How about you?”

This time I asked her and Kawasaki lightly and caressingly grabbed ahold of the shoulders of the girl who she called Kei-chan. She then mumbled embarrassingly.

“I’m… here to pick up my little sister.”

“Hoh.”

Aah, so this Kei-chan was her little sister, huh? I’m glad… I thought for a second there she was her daughter…

Still, after she said it and I thought about it, I see. Their features looked rather similar. She definitely had a bright future ahead of her, I’d say. If there was one thing I’d wish for, it’d be for her to be brought up gracefully. That’s because her onee-chan’s really scary.

As I prayed for that in my head, I looked between the Kawasaki sisters. I wasn’t sure how she interpreted the intentions of my stare, but Kawasaki spoke up in a fluster.

“Ah, um, she’s my little sister Keika… C’mon, Kei-chan, say your name.”

“Kawasaki Keika!”

When she was urged, Keika energetically shot up her arms.

“I’m Hachiman.”

As I thought about how pleasant Keika’s vigor was, I named myself as well. When I did, Keika blinked her big eyes in surprise.

“…Hachi, man…? Weird name!”

“H-Hey! Kei-chan!”

Kawasaki warned Keika in a panic. Even so, her softhearted tone didn’t change. Unlike her usual self, she gave off a very gentle impression. She was surprisingly quite the older sister. She seemed different from her brocon self too.

“No, I think my name’s pretty weird too, so it’s fine. Still, picking up your sister, huh? Must be rough.”

When I said so, Kawasaki was blunt.

“Not really… Usually my parents do it. It’s just I come on the days when I don’t have prep school.”

“But I remember your place was pretty far, wasn’t it?”

Our middle school districts may have been different, but the distance between our houses shouldn’t have been all that great. Going from there would take about one or two train stops at the most. I wasn’t too sure about the relevant distance was for them to entrust their child here, but it definitely wasn’t in the neighborhood. That point alone seemed tough. Still, Kawasaki spoke in a small voice as she stroked her long hair.

“That’s right, but when we drop her off, it’s usually by car… Right now, the nursery’s limited in space, but this city one is cheaper apparently.”

“Haa, I see.”

She seemed kind of domesticated. As I looked at her admiringly, the bag of things she brought in her hand came into sight. It looked like she came here right after doing the shopping for dinner as there was a leek sticking out of the bag. This made her look even more domesticated.

“I had part time jobs the entire time before so I couldn’t really come…”

“Aah, that did happen, huh?”

“Yeah…”

Kawasaki answered with a voice that was warm and what filled her gaze was Keika. She suddenly directed that gaze at me.

She glanced at me reservedly and looked like she was having trouble trying to say something with her mouth squirming about. It looked like she wouldn’t say anything even if I waited for her, but with her staring at me like that, it made me think there might be something after all. It’s a bit embarrassing so I’d like it if she could stop…

“…What is it?”

“N-Nothing.”

When I asked, Kawasaki shook her head. While she did, her ponytail would swing side to side and Keika would follow it with her eyes like a cat.

I watched as well and down the hallway, I discovered Isshiki.

“Ah, there you are. Senpaaai!”

The discussion in the faculty room must be over. Isshiki was back. If the confirmation and meeting was settled, then our job here was done. I didn’t really do anything though.

“…Eh, um, was it okay for me to come back?”

Isshiki noticed Kawasaki and asked me worriedly. When she did, Kawasaki made a quick look at Isshiki. Because of that, Isshiki’s body stiffened up like she was scared. Aah, Kawasaki’s usually like that so you don’t have to be scared, okay? Yankees may have that bad look to them, but they’re usually just scary and tend to be very good kids.

Still, if I were to explain that to her, Kawasaki would get angry again. As I thought about what to say, Kawasaki flicked away her hair and turned around. She put her hands on the glass sliding door. After she greeted the teacher, she looked like she was planning to head home.

“…See you.”

She turned her upper half, said that and she pulled Keika’s hand. Keika squeezed her hand back and made a big wave with her free hand.

“Bye, bye, Haa-chan!”

“Oooh, see you.”

I lightly raised my hand and waved back. Still, what’s this Haa-chan about? Maybe she didn’t remember my name? You have to make sure to properly remember people’s names, okay? Even if you remember it wrong, don’t be random about it and use something like Hachisomething, okay?

As I saw those two off, standing next to me was Isshiki who shifted her look from Kawasaki to me. And then with a confused attitude, she slowly opened her mouth.

“S-Senpai’s acquaintances are kind of unique, aren’t they…?”

I won’t deny it, but you’re actually one of them too, though…

Volume 9 Chapter 10

And then, the curtains were raised on the Christmas event collaboration

When I peeked out from the wing of the stage, there was a considerable amount of guests. Komachi, Totsuka, and even Zaimokuza were in the audience. I also spotted Kawasaki, Hayama, and the others close by as well. There was no doubt Kawasaki was here to see her little sister. As for Hayama and the others, Yuigahama and Isshiki probably called them.

***

At the very end, all the numerous narrating voices combined together and descending from the stage was an angel.

“Meeeeeerry Christmaaaas!”

Appearing from the wing of the stage was Kawasaki’s little sister, Keika. Keika was adorned in an angel outfit and was carrying out a cake. When I took a glance at the audience, Kawasaki was cheering on Keika as she watched her. Are you a mom or something?

The audience loudly cheered to the appearance of the adorable angel.

Matching that timing, the vice president and I threw open the door without a moment’s delay.

Similarly to Keika, kindergarteners donned in angel outfits entered the hall with cakes in hand. Kindergartners were angels.[79] The kindergartners carried cakes to the older people in the audience.

The faces of the older people softened to the adorable kindergartners.

But the play wasn’t over yet.

“Merry Christmas.”

On the stage, Keika, Rumi, and the child in forced servitude lighted candles. And then, the angelic kindergartners provided candlelight service of lighting the candles on the cakes they distributed.

The candles on stage and in the audience almost simultaneously illuminated at the same time. The only lighting right now was only on the pin spot of the stage. Following the angels, small flames began to expand to the audience one by one and the entirety of the hall was illuminated with a warm and soft light.

The stage and the audience were connected by the light and when the audience became one with the scenery, the audience let out a breath of wonder. That also applied to the three of us who were watching at the back of the hall.

“…Well, I suppose I’ll give it a passing grade.”

Watching next to me, Yukinoshita muttered. Despite saying that, she was making a sweet smile. Gosh, you sure weren’t honest, really.

***

After the performers and narrator were called on stage, they were introduced followed by a bow.

When Keika who performed as the angel appeared, Kawasaki was taking tons of pictures. Like I said, are you a mom or something?

Volume 10 Chapter 6

We moved the tables, lined the partitions, and the only remaining work was what the girls had to do. Since we worked so efficiently, we were left with plenty of spare time before the scheduled start of the center.
There, I spotted a figure restlessly examining the interior of the conference room at the door, coming here earlier than the others. The familiar ponytail that went back and forth at the door shook.
Her name was, I think, Honda, no, Suzuki… or maybe Yamaha? Weren’t these just motorcycle stuff? I mean, her delinquent appearance already gave off that impression. Motorcycle, motorcycle… Motorcycle, Kawasaki, motorcycle? Yeah, it’s probably Kawasaki.
Since Kawasaki was worried about whether it was okay for her to enter, I decided to call out to her.
“Hey, it’s going to take a bit longer.”
“…’kay.”
Kawasaki froze when I spoke to her. Her response was rather short, blunt even. She always reacts like this, doesn’t she…?
But having her stand around and wait pointlessly made me feel apologetic since she came all the way here. Until the room was finished setting up, I decided to pass the time with her.
“Then again, you’re actually here for the academic and career center, huh?”
“F-For the most part…”
Kawasaki’s attitude seemed agitated somehow when she answered. She certainly did feel more like a regular girl whenever she reacted like this. Though there’s a frightening air to her, her earnestly coming to a center like this made her appear like a good child. That part of her made uncle see her in a very favorable light, yep.
This is a good opportunity. I’ll try asking Kawasaki what her career path is, though I’m not sure if it’ll be of any use.
“Oh yeah, what are you doing for your career path?”
“Huh? Me? I’m… thinking of going to a public school for the liberal arts… or something.”
“Specific and vague at the same time, huh…” I said.
She started off certain about the schools she was interested in, but she ended on an ambiguous note.
Kawasaki then glared at me with half-closed eyes. “Got a problem?”
“Not at all. Not at all, okay?”
I ended up responding politely. Now, couldn’t she do something about that hostility of hers…? Of course I had no problems with it. I’d totally wish she’d stop with that real monk[5] aura of hers. She could probably shoot out some Raging Fists, too…
“But if you already picked out a place, did you really need to come?”
“…I wasn’t sure about my grades, so I just thought I’d come and ask about them
While her words were straightforward, a lack of confidence could be detected in them. It looks like she was determined to enter a public school.
Yeah, that’s right. She had siblings, didn’t she? Every family had their own respective circumstances.
Any household, no matter whose it was, had circumstances. That should apply to Hayama and Yukinoshita all the same. In Kawasaki’s case, she had a lot of siblings. She gave the future some thought and decided to go with a public institution. She had a younger sister at a nursery school, too. So there wasn’t any harm in attending a public school. What a nice onee-chan, really. Worlds apart from a certain onee-sama out there…
“Speaking of which, is your little sister doing okay? Uhh, Mii-chan?”
“Huh? Who the heck is that?” Kawasaki sent me an intense glare.
O-Oh c’mon, I just got her name wrong… This darn siscon… Anyway, what’s her name again…? Haa-chan? No, that’d be me, I think. Hachiman turns into Haa-chan. Okay, how about Kaa-chan… well, that’s for maman.
I reasoned through several thoughts and when I arrived at a name that sounded familiar, I clapped my hands.
“Oh, it’s Saa-chan.”
In that instant, silence settled in. Then, Kawasaki snapped to her senses and retreated one step backwards. With a completely red face, she violently spat out, “Huuh!? Who are you calling Saa-chan—You have no right to say that.”
“Oh yeaaah. Saki, huh?”
So that’s why she turned into Saa-chan, makes sense. However, Kawasaki didn’t seem at all too pleased and took another step backwards.
“H-Huuh!?”
Stop with the annoying “hah, hah!?” Are you T-san[6] born at a temple or something? In Kawasaki’s case, it’d be K-san? Ah, right, it’s Kei-chan.
“Kei-chan, right? Kei-chan. I just remembered,” I said.
Kawasaki sharply glared at me. “Next time you forget, I’ll pound you.”
“R-Right…”
I can’t say it… I can’t say that I forgot her little sister’s name and that Kawasomething-san’s name was fuzzy to me, too… But talking about her little sister apparently caused her to soften and she began speaking with a gentle tone, completely different from earlier.
“Next time, um, if you see her again… can you play with Kei-cha—Keika, again?”
“Mm, yeah. Well, I don’t imagine ever seeing her again, but if I do, sure.”
“Okay…”
After nodding to her reserved reply, the door of the conference room slid open and Yuigahama’s face popped out.
“Hikki, we’re done preparing.”
And then Yuigahama noticed Kawasaki, going “Ohh” and waved her hand. Kawasaki nodded back and bowed her head.
“Are you here for the center? Come in, come in!” said Yuigahama, and beckoned Kawasaki in.
As I watched her leave, I opened the door to the conference room entirely. Doing this made it easier for other students to enter.
When I was about to place the door stopper at the bottom, a voice spoke to me from above.
“Hey, I didn’t get to ask you… your career path.”
I turned around and only Kawasaki’s head was facing me.
“I’m going for a private school in the liberal arts.”
“Uh huh… So, the liberal arts.” Kawasaki stated in disinterest and walked towards Yuigahama’s motioning.
…Well, it’s the same liberal arts. In the off chance that we end up in the same classes next year, then I might meet her little sister again. So I’ll play with her when that happens.

Volume 11 Chapter 2-2

I went down to the first floor to use the vending machine in front of the school store, where I purchased a can of MAX COFFEE with a click[13].

I let out a profound sigh as I took the can.

As a guy, I couldn’t help but shrink in my seat while bearing witness to the ongoing battle between Isshiki and Miura as they silently exchanged sparks. I was tucking in my shoulders so much that I was starting to resemble Slenderman of the Western urban legends.

I got up to clean my hands. Afterwards, I made my way back to the clubroom, sipping my can of coffee to energize my exhausted body. As I climbed the stairs, I spotted an individual loitering around in front of the clubroom door.

She made restless glances periodically, accompanied by the alternating flops and bounces of her blue hair styled in a ponytail.

“…Huh, what’re you doing?” I ended up calling out to her, finding her to be too suspicious. Her ponytail jumped and she faced me in a frightful manner.

She was behaving so cautiously that she resembled a mountain cat that would pop out in the middle of the mountains. I had to the urge to click my tongue and use my coffee as bait, but this wasn’t the time to be acting so lax while trying to feed a wild animal.

What I should be doing is trying to name her, not lure her in! Umm, let’s see… Kawa-something should be good. Heeeey, Kawa-something-san. I called her internally, asking her what she needed in the process. “Do you need something?”

Upon hearing the question, Kawa-something-san let out a relieved sigh. She then proceeded to motion me over to the end of the hallway with her hand. Oh, that’s right, her name is Kawasaki Saki-san. I knew that.

While sending glances towards the clubroom, she asked, “D-Do you have a second?”

“Uh, why not go inside? It’s cold out here.”

From what I could tell, she had some business with the Service Club. Knowing that, I honestly just wanted to get in the heated room as soon as possible. But Kawasaki paused to think and then frantically shook her hands.

“Huh…? Wait, here is fine! I’m fine here! I just had something to ask Yukinoshita, that’s all…”

Why don’t you just ask her directly then…?

“Yukinoshita’s inside if you need her. So just go in already. It’s cold here, and I’ll get sick.”

The hallway of the special building was filled with a frigidity that might’ve been caused by windows being left open to air out some of the classrooms. Chills ran up my body, starting from my feet. The windows rattled in response to the wind blowing in, which sounded like they were shivering in reaction to the wind as well.

“I’m… not all that cold or anything…” Kawasaki said, turning her face away from me.

Well, you might be okay with it, but I’m not… There’d be problems if I were to get sick because of this. Spreading the cold to Komachi, or trying to recover from it, would invite all kinds of issues.

On another note, as a citizen of Chiba, the best way to cure a cold would be to consume as much garlic as possible, doused with a ton of spices. After that, a warm can of MAX COFFEE and some sleep would do the trick. And the following day, you’d find yourself in the hospital. And that’s why I think we should stay cooped in at home in order to avoid catching a cold.

The Kawasaki home was also no stranger to housing a test-taking student. Should the younger Kawasaki brother, Taishi, catch a cold and end up infecting Komachi, I may have to dirty my hands with sins and blood…

“Just go in,” I coarsely stated, my voice growing sharp due to my hostility towards the poisonous insect called Taishi for daring to approach my Komachi.

Kawasaki caved in. “I-If you say so…”

As long you understand. I’d like to lower the chances of Komachi getting potentially sick and all.

“Well, can’t have you getting sick either,” I said, opening the door. I nodded to her, urging her to enter.

Appearing dazed, she looked back.

“…O-Okay,” she said, answering with a voice in contrast to her intimidating appearance and walking reluctantly inside.

She looks like a delinquent at a glance, but she’s really just an honest, good girl you’d find anywhere. I thought as I followed her into the room.

“Welcome back, Hikki… Huh, Saki?”

Yuigahama turned towards us with a curious look, twisting her upper body and cocking her head to the side.

“Ah, yeah…”

With her awkward response, Kawasaki became the center of attention in the room.

Yukinoshita blinked at her in question while Isshiki slightly shrunk in fear. No, no, Kawa-something-san might look scary, but she really isn’t, okay?

Ebina-san, on the other hand, ecstatically shouted out to her. “Oh, hey there, Saki-Saki. Hallo, hallo!”

“Don’t call me Saki-Saki.” Kawasaki snarled.

To cool her down, Yuigahama extended a chair to her. “It’s pretty rare to see you stop by here, Saki… Then again, this is the first time, isn’t it?”

They’ve must gotten pretty friendly after the field trip for her to be calling her Saki now. I just couldn’t keep my tears from flowing knowing that Kawa-something Saki-san was finally able to have someone recall her real name, Saki. Lately, I’ve been feeling so emotional that even the weekly Precures standing their ground was enough to make me bawl.

Yep, yep, girls getting along is a wonderful thing. Very, I thought as my body warmed up. Meanwhile, Yukinoshita prepared some tea in a paper cup and inquired, “So, what do you need from us today?”

“Th-Thanks… Um…”

Though Kawasaki ignited the conversation, she wasn’t quite able to continue. Oh yeah, she mentioned how she wanted to talk to Yukinoshita about something. Kawasaki groaned, unsure of how to proceed. She was interrupted by the sound of nails tapping on the table next to her.

From that direction, Miura had a displeased look. Kawasaki, however, wasn’t very appreciative of her attitude and stared her down, Miura doing the same thing right back.

“Excuse me, who says we’re done with my issues?”

“Ha? You’re just drinking tea, aren’t you?”

I take back what I said earlier. Kawasaki-san is super scary…

Miura and Kawasaki stared daggers into each other, neither of them giving an inch. Terrible chemistry between the two of you as always, huh…? Watching the two caused Isshiki to freeze up.

In that unbending space, Ebina-san interjected. “Okay, okay, calm down, Yumiko. Saki-Saki, you’re here to talk about something, right? If you don’t mind, we’d like to listen, too.”

“I believe we’re the ones that’ll be helping…”

“Anyway, talk to us, hm?” Ebina-san asked, apparently not lending an ear at all to Yukinoshita’s grumbling.

Kawasaki shot glances at Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, and then me. She sighed and spoke.

“Well, I had some questions about making chocolate…”

The instant she asked, Miura guffawed. “What, you’re also gonna give someone chocolate? That’s hilarious.”

“Ah?”

“Ha?”

The two, once again, ferociously exchanged glares.

“…Don’t lump me together with you. I’ll have you know I’m not interested at all in what you want to do with them.”

“Ha?”

“Ah?”

…Stop it! Please get along!

After watching their quarrel, Yukinoshita sighed and shook her head. Your “how deplorable” face doesn’t mean much considering you’re just like them most of the time… Oh, but, recently, the Yukinon with the jagged heart[14] cutting knife that hurts everyone hasn’t been in action that much.

Isshiki mumbled, watching the two girls who wouldn’t back down from each other. “Senpai, your acquaintances really are all weird people…”

“Ha?”

“Ah?”

Assaulted by their glares, Isshiki immediately retreated behind me. Remember what I said about stepping on landmines…? You’re acting like a dumb cat, you know… And besides, I’m just as scared of these two as you are!

Anyway, let’s move the conversation forward since that’s the only way to be freed from their hostility.

“So, what’s this about chocolate?”

“My little sister heard some things about Valentine’s Day at her nursery, and now she wants to make some… Do you know anything small that little kids can make?”

“Anything small that little kids can make…” Yukinoshita nodded, repeating what she heard.

Ebina-san tilted her head. “Weren’t you good at household chores, Saki-Saki?”

Oh yeah, Kawasaki takes care of her house quite a bit since both her parents are busy, as well as her having a lot of siblings. I do recall seeing her with shopping bags with a long green onion sticking out of one of them. So that means she should be good at cooking, too. I looked at her and she turned her face away in awkwardness.

“…Um, the things I make are kinda plain. I don’t think kids would like them.”

“If you don’t mind telling us, what exactly are you proficient at, Kawasaki-san?” Yukinoshita asked, only to be followed with a silence.

With a stutter, Kawasaki answered, “S-S…”

S… Sweets? That sounds like something kids would enjoy. Back when I was younger, there was a time when I fought with Komachi over the Santa Claus sweet on top of the Christmas cake… Though at the time, we ended up finding out that it wasn’t all that tasty. Komachi and I stopped eating it and left it up to our dad to throw it away.

blacklace.jpg

But what she wanted to say wasn’t what it seemed. Everyone looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

“S-Simmered potato balls…”

…It’s plain.

The room was silenced by her answer that was so unimaginably plain. Everyone’s responses had been so blunt that she started shedding tears, apparently a sign of how embarrassing it was for her.

Realizing that, Yuigahama made a determined face and tried to soothe Kawasaki with an energetic voice.

“That sounds great! I can’t even cook! You’re totally amazing in my book! Right, Yukinon!?”

When asked, Yukinoshita nodded her head in earnest. “That’s true. Potato balls remind me of cat balls, so it’s rather cute don’t you think?”

“Isn’t that follow-up kinda weird!?” Yuigahama turned around with a bewildered face. You’re totally right, you can’t even call that a follow-up.

What the heck are cat balls, anyway…? Are you perhaps talking about how cats curl into a ball when they sleep? And when you roll them around, they give you this incredibly displeased look? Okay, sure, even I think that’s pretty cute, even if only for a little. But long-haired cats are like mops and attract a lot of dust, so be careful there!

Anyway, let’s stop thinking about cats and focus on Kawasaki. Then again, that weird follow-up by Yukinoshita embarrassed her even more that she was shaking like a baby kitten that was just given away. I’m so sorry that she doesn’t know how to make feel people better…

As compensation, if you could even call it that, I coughed once and added, “Well, if you’re able to cook those, you should be good.”

“Oh, that’s true. It is plain, though…” Isshiki repeated after me and answered. Although she looked confused, she wasn’t acting disrespectful or derisive.

“Yep, that’s totally something Saki-Saki would make, too!” Ebina-san erected her index finger, flashing an Ebi-Ebi smile.

Kawasaki started squirming this time, clearly finding all the praise uncomfortable, when suddenly she stopped. I followed her gaze; it was directed at Miura, seemingly concerned what she might end up saying.

Miura, however, took a fixed look at her and looked away in disinterest. With a small voice, she whispered as though speaking to no one in particular, “So you can cook.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I can…”

“Hmmm…”

As she twirled her hair with the tip of her fingers, her voice was slightly tinged with respect. I imagine Miura-san couldn’t quite cook herself, either… As a maiden, it might’ve been a skillset she aspired to have.

“If Kawasaki-san is able to cook, I suppose all we’ll need is to pitch a menu of suggestions.” Contemplating, Yukinoshita placed her hand to her chin and tilted her head.

“D-Don’t forget me! I wanna know, too! If kids can do it, so can I!” Yuigahama energetically raised her hand.

Yukinoshita sadly lowered her eyes. “…I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

“You’re being way too honest, Yukinon!”

“Actually, she didn’t say that it’d be impossible, so she’s being considerate, if anything.”

“Just how hopeless do you two think I am!?”

You’re just not self-aware enough… When it came to Yuigahama, neither menus nor the process of cooking were the problems. It’s her habitual need to throw in her ideas of hidden flavors that made things worse. The thing she made long ago with Yukinoshita had turned into something edible at the end, after all. Well, it’s not like there weren’t problems with Yukinoshita’s teaching either…

“Hey, what about me?”

“Right, right, let us in on this, too!”

Miura and Ebina, looking tired of Kawasaki’s side of the story, spoke up in displeasure while Isshiki raised her hand slightly.

“Oh, I’d like to participate for reference.”

Seeing them, Yukinoshita sighed.

“I don’t mind…” She said, sending me a glance.

“…Well, go ahead and see what you can come up with. They’re the ones who’ll be doing the work, anyway.”

“That’s true… You’re right; I’ll put something appropriate together, so I’d like to have some of your time if you don’t mind…”

Yukinoshita looked at Kawasaki, Ebina-san, and then Miura. The three of them nodded back in agreement.

Volume 11 Chapter 5-2

Thanks to Hiratsuka-sensei, or perhaps I should say thanks to the existence of this intruder, the mood of the current situation seems to have changed slightly. Accompanying the spread of the sweet fragrance, the cooking room began to be filled with a calm and quiet air.

Then, another person who fitted the image of this calm and quiet atmosphere appeared.

This kid’s bluish-black hair was split into two, and extended down to her shoulders. She wore an appropriate sized apron as well. She was someone who I definitely believed will grow into a beauty in the feature. Her set of facial features was something that I remembered clearly.

Kawasaki Keika. The sister of Kawasomething-san.

Kawasaki had first went to the nursery to pick up her sister, and had arrived here quite late with a hand carrying a grocery bag. She was now making the preparations for Keika’s clothes, and sighed satisfactorily when she was done, and began snapping photos of her, probably as a memorabilia.

That apron was probably specially modified for Keika’s size; the applique and the name embroidered on it was very cute as well.

After taking countless photos of Keika, she seemed to remember that her own preparations were not yet complete.

“Th, that, I will be doing my preparations over that…….”

She waved to me slightly in greeting, and spoke to me as though with some discretion.

Fumu. Although I didn’t know what she had to leave this place to do her preparations, but girls will always have a lot of their own matters to attend to. If I were to pursue the matter further, it would only lead to anger. Komachi was proof of that. Furthermore, in this crowded place that was full of dangerous cooking utensils, I would be worried even if she wasn’t looking at them.

“Ah, don’t worry, I will look after her.”

“Well, then I will be…….”

Saying that, Kawasaki nodded in reply and walked out of the cooking room.

I watched leave, then turned my attention to Keika.

Keika was probably tired from the day at the nursery, or perhaps she felt tired after having her photo taken countless times by Kawasaki. She seemed to be very tired, and her eyes were about to shut.

However, upon seeing me, she blinked her eyes repeatedly at me with her mouth agape.

“It’s Ha-chan!”

Seems like she still remembered me, and so, she pointed a short finger at me using all her strength

“Oh, that’s right, it’s Ha-chan. Well, technically, my name is Hachiman. Also, don’t point your finger at other. They will get pierced----“

I crouched down beside her and look at her, and at the same time extended my finger and poked her cheek. So soft, no way……

I kept poking her cheek rapidly, and Keika kept making those queer ‘Ou, ou’ sounds like a seal, looking very confused. ……Umu, the punishment shall end here. She wouldn’t be randomly pointing her fingers at other people from now on.

Although I had already achieved my objective, but the softness of her cheek made it really hard for me to put my finger away. Uh-oh, this was bad, her cheek really was that soft…… Komachi had a period of time where her cheeks was this soft as well. No, it would still be that soft even today…… As I thought this, I resumed my continuous poking of her face. Keika still had a puzzled look on her face, but then with a ‘Oh’, she seemed to have thought of something.

“Ei.”

With a shuuuu, she poked my face without any restraint.

“Ouch…… That’s why I said don’t point your fingers at others. It would be dangerous if you poked their eyes.”

As a punishment, I began to poke her again. She probably felt that this was some sort of game, and with a laugh, began to poke my face back in return. U, Un…… seems like I failed in teaching her a lesson.

I continued to poke Keika’s face, all the while pondering over how did it become like this, when suddenly, a cold voice could be heard from behind me.

“……Hey, what are you doing.”

“Eh, no, nothing really.”

Turning my head around, I saw Kawasaki in an apron. With a bowl and chopped chocolate in one hand, she was looking at me with an apathetic expression in her eyes. She took a deep breath, aas though there was something that she found difficult to express in words.

“You know, although you were a great help in looking after her, but this is, this……”

“No, hold your horses. This is not what you think it is.”

A dangerous looking male with rotten eyes poking a cute little girl’s cheeks…… The impression that one got from this was sufficient to get me into trouble with the law. If this incident took place outside, I could see this incident being circulated around on notices, and my mom making fun of me “Isn’t this you? Hahaha” to which I could only reply “O, Ah” helplessly…… Besides the above, Kawasaki’s “I thought I trusted you……” gaze made me feel a queer sense of guilt in my chest.

“This is, well see……”

I stood up and raised both my hands, indicating that I have no intention to oppose, and considered what sort of justification that I could say next. Thereupon, I felt something slumping against my feet. Looking down, I saw that I was Keika hugging my waist.

“I was playing with Ha-chan~~”

“Un, well, yeah, something like that.”

Although I had indeed wanted to play with her, but from another point of view, it was more like a young girl wanting to play with me. Ever since I was attracted by those cute soft cheeks of hers , I can hardly say that that sort of interpretation was hardly wrong.

To be able to grasp a guy’s heart at such a young age, this kid sure is scary……

Well, however, to anticipate this future prospect of hers was not wrong. In actuality, one could see that from her sister Kawasaki Saki as well, in general, she was a beauty. The only problem was that the first impression she gave was that of a Yankee. There was no trace of that intimidation or scariness in her eyes when she looked at her sister.

“……Is that so.”

Seeing Keika’s cherubic actions, Kawasaki seemed taken aback and smiled. Then, Keika smiled as well, and tilted her head, all the while clinging onto me.

“Want to play as well, Sa-chan?”

“No, no thanks. Ok Ke-chan, come over here.”

Kawasaki pulled Keika away from me, and hugged her tightly. No, I wouldn’t do anything to do her even if you weren’t so cautious?

In any case, it seems like I manage to avoid getting into trouble this time. I heaved a sigh of relief.

However, compared to how relieved I was, Kawasaki seemed a little anxious. As she patted Keika’s head, she looked towards the inside of the cooking room and began to speak.

“Is it really okay to bring her here?”

It’s not like I didn’t understand what she was so worried about. Afterall, everyone here was a high-school student, not to mention that there were people from another school as well. Keika would be a most unnatural presence amidst them. However, this event itself wasn’t any official event, and so there weren’t any clear rules to follow.

I looked at the nearby diagonal kitchen table, and saw Haruno-san talking over there with Meguri-senpai. If even that person was here, then there was no point in talking about participation criteria and the like anymore.

“Well, it’s going to be alright. There are others here as well.”

“Un……”

Hearing my words, Kawasaki nodded her head as though accepting what I had said. Well, first and foremost, the reason why this event could even take place was because of Kawasaki’s request. If she was going to feel uncomfortable staying here, I would be most apologetic, because I would at least want to fulfill her request properly. ……Then again, originally, this wasn’t part of the request but I will see what I can do to make her feel more at ease.

Just as I was searching around for the existence of those who could help accomplish this request, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard coming from behind me.

“Oh, Kawasaki. You made it in time.”

The cheerful voice belonged to Yuigahama, with Yukinoshita following behind her.

“I haven’t see Keika in quite a while.”

Saying that, Yuigahama too, began to pat Keika’s head. Both she and Yukinoshita had seen Keika during the Christmas event, so they could be considered Keika’s acquaintances.

Yukinoshita however, walked to Keika’s side but her hand seemed to be hesitant in reaching out to her. She extended her hand a little then retracted it. Seems like she was worried about whether it would be all for her to pat Keika’s head. So clumsy.

As I thought that, it seems like there was someone even clumsier.

‘That……. Today, I look forward to working with your……”

Kawasaki seemed to be vexed at what sort of greetings she should give, and in the end, managed to utter those words shyly. Maybe she felt that was unbecoming of her sister, and so, Keika who was looking up at her sister, straightened her seating posture and bowed deeply.

“Please take care of me.”

She probably learnt that in nursery. Although she said those words slowly, but compared to her sister’s curt way of saying it, it still felt more amicable, and let those who see it be more at ease.

Not only me, but Yuigahama too was struck by her cuteness and writhing about going “Kya~”. Kawasaki’s eyes were moist, as though touched by her sister’s growth.

Thereupon, Yukinoshita too smiled with affection. She grasped her skirt and slowly squatted down, and looked at Keika directly and spoke slowly.

“I look forward to working with you as well.  Well then, what sort of candy do you want to make?”

Having been asked such a question, Keika raised her head and looked at Kawasaki’s face, and Kawasaki nodded in reply.

“Ke-chan, what kind of sweets do you want to eat?”

Hearing this question, Keika seemed stunned for a short while, then spoke suddenly.

“Eel!”

“O, Oh…… I see……”

I couldn’t think of anything else to say at that point in time. I see. Eel, is it?

“Sorry, our family had eel previously, and she really liked it.”

Kawasaki lowered her head, seemingly embarrassed. However, kids were all like that, and at times they will spout some nonsensical things, and other times they would say the very first thing that comes to mind without giving it further thought…… I really can’t help but to take her response seriously.

As I thought that, Yukinoshita-san was instead placing her jaw between both her hands and seemed to be thinking about something seriously.

“If that’s the case, then how about, eel pie? If it’s pie alone, it’s easy to do it, but as to the preparation and cooking of the eels, I will have to look it up……”

“Oh- can that pie really be made through normal means?”

“Yes.”

Yukinoshita replied in a matter-of-fact manner. This girl really does know everything. Yet considering all that, it was strange that her own ‘pie’ was not made properly. (TL: Pie = pai = oppai = tits)

“If you don’t mind, want to give it a try?”

Kawasaki’s face was flushed a deep crimson as she shook her head at Yukinoshita’s question.

“No, no need for that! Just teach her something that any kid could make…….”

“Alright then, then something like chocolate truffle I guess…… Let me go collect some additional ingredients.”

Saying that, Yukinoshita walked towards the teacher’s desk at the front of the cooking room.

While waiting for her, I looked at Keika, wondering if I should continue to take care of her. However, it seems that this babysitting job was snatched away by Yuigahama.

Yuigahama took no notice of her skirt, and squatted down immediately and began to converse animatedly with Keika.

‘About eels, I know what you mean. I want to try them too~”

“Eels are delicious. Can be eaten together with rice and sauce.”

“I know right, eels are so tasty~”

“Un, rice is very nice.”

“Eh, rice…….”

Although the subject of their conversation was totally different, but the two of them seemed very happy. I mean, it would be trouble if Yuigahama were to really go and try (TL: to make the pie) it out.

However, it probably wouldn’t be a massive flop if Kawasaki and Yukinoshita were around. It seems that I, as a taste tester, has yet a need to make an appearance.

Well then, before my job starts, I guess I should go take a walk around.

Volume 11 Chapter 5-4

Amongst the Kawasaki sisters, Keika’s face was full of chocolate, but she did succeed in making something that sort of resembled a chocolate truffle, which Kawasaki was busy taking photos of. Oi, you, how many are you going to take……

***

“……Come to think of it, have I ever given some to Hikigaya?”

Her tone suggested that she really had no idea which made me smile bitterly. You don’t remember? Well, that’s to be expected.

Although Orimoto was the type who would give obligatory chocolate to whoever it was as long as they asked, I somehow did not fall under that category of ‘whoever’.

How did I accept that reality last time…… I reminisced about that and my reply came slightly late.

I coughed a little to make up for the silence, when I suddenly heard the sound of ‘Ka-cha, Ka-cha’ sound of tableware. I took a look and saw that It was Yukinoshita holding her jaw with her hand as she looked at me, Yuigahama had averted her gaze and her hands were moving about in circles, Isshiki went ‘Eh’ and nodded her head as though interested in the topic, Kawasaki was looking at me with a somewhat shocked expression, Tamanawa coughed and went ‘Fuuu, fuuuu’ as he blew he fringe. Tamanawa-san, you are a little noisy, you know……

Volume 10 Chapter 6

Eh, Totsuka, totsuka, suka, totsuka. I began searching for Totsuka in high spirits, and I easily found him. As expected of Totsuka, no matter where he was in this world, I had a hunch that I would be able to find him anyway!

I approached him and saw that he was together with Zaimokuza, and they were with Keika. Upon taking a closer look, Kawasaki was beside the kitchen table, clearing up the area as quickly as she could. I guess that the both of them had taken of the task of looking after Keika whilst she was cleaning up the area.

However, it seems that the two of them were not used to interacting with kids. Both had a look that suggested they were fighting a hard battle. Zaimokuza seems to have buried his face in the ground. At least there was still Totsuka soloing on. He was going ‘Eh’ and seemed to not know how to start a conversation with Keika.

“First time meeting you, Keika-chan. I am Totsuka Saika. I am in your care.”

“Oh. Saika….. Saika…… Sa-chan? Sa,sa-chan?”

Probably because Keika heard a name similar to her sister, she because flustered as she didn’t know how to address him.

Un un. I understand your pain. I was also flustered by Totsuka’s super cuteness.

Well, I am quite confident in my abilities to hand young girls. Time for me to step in and help Totsuka.

“Ah, Hachiman.”

“Ha-chan!”

Totsuka heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing me, whereas Keika looked up at me innocently. As I patted Keika’s head, I gently make her look at Totsuka.

“Sai-chan. Call him Sai-chan.”

“Un,Sai-chan.”

Keika’s flustered attitude from before seem to have been resolved as she knows now how to differentiate between the two. Totsuka seems to be happy upon having his name called out by Keika, and laughed with an “Aha!”

Now then, there was still one more person, that person that was hiding behind Totsuka.

“This is Zaimokuza Yoshiteru. You can call him Zai-chan.”

 “Zaimokuza.”

“No, no honourifics!? You are only doing that to me!? Is that some kind of reward in the industry!?”

Although Zaimokuza liked to exaggerate himself normally, but this seems to be genuinely surprised at having his named called in such a manner by a young girl. He was totally shocked and was stunned to the spot. No, was that actually joy? Well, who cares, it’s just Zaimokuza.

However, the ever kind hearted Totsuka did not forget to follow up on this.

“Don’t, don’t get too excited. Kids are prone to remembering weird words.”

“U, Uumu…… But my name is not weird……”

Zaimokuza shook his head as though unable to accept what he had just said.

As those two were bickering with each other, Kawasaki rubbed her hands against her apron and rushed back with quick steps. Thereupon, Keika called out Sa-chan and flew towards Kawasaki.

“Sorry, thank you for looking after her.”

“Eh, it’s nothing. Hachiman came to help as well. Are you done tidying up, Kawasaki?”

“Yes, all thanks to you all.”

As she thanked Totsuka, she stared at me. Her mouth opened and closed, as though having trouble with something she wanted to say.

“That, it’s about time to go back…… Need to prepare dinner.”

“Ah, I see.”

Listening to her, I looked at the clock. Sure enough, it was indeed close to dinner time. No wonder she was in such a rush to clean up the room.

Although it would have been fine to leave it as it is, Kawasaki was surprisingly thoughtful. Kawasaki-san, has all the makings of a housewife.

“Alright then, Ke-chan, let’s go back home.”

Okay…… Sa-chan.”

Kawasaki patted Keika’s shoulders gently. Then, Keika tugged at Kawasaki’s skirt and responded to her actions with a sweet voice. As her elder sister, Kawasaki seemed to understand what Keika was trying to tell her.

“……I understand. Wait a moment.”

Saying that, she took out a bag that was stuffed with chocolates, and passed it to Keika. Keika took it from her, looking very satisfied, and presented it to me.

“Here, Ha-chan.”

“I think she wants to give it all to you…… Do accept it.”

“Oh, oh thank you. Seems like it’s quite well-made. You did great Ke-chan.”

I kept rubbing her head repeatedly and she hugged my waist tightly. Hahaha, what a cute girl, makes me want to rub her head even more.

“……There’s, there’s probably some chocolates made by me mixed into that bag as well.”

As Kawasaki wore her coat, she said so with her face looking away. Hearing her, I looked at he truffle chocolate.

“Is that so?...... I can’t really tell. You sister is really amazing.”

“I know right! But, Sa-chan was working very hard just now too.”

With a cough, Keika puffed out her chest, and praised her sister with an arrogant attitude. Seeing that, Kawasaki gave a surprised expression before lapsing into laughter.

“You have already given him the chocolates, Ke-chan. Let’s go.”

Hearing that, Keika still did not let go of me. Witnessing this, Kawasaki continued to look at Keika intently. Thereupon, I could feel Keika trembling. Oi, surely there’s no need to look at her with such a scary face……

“Alright, let’s go, Ke-chan.”

As I said that, I began to walk, with Keika still clinging on tightly to me.

“Un, let’s go!”

Keika continued to follow me. Kawasaki gave a ‘Haa’ sigh as she followed us from behind.

“Byebye, Ke-chan. See you again.”

“Umu. SALAD BAR.” [47]

As Totsuka and Zaimokuza watched us leave, Keika waved her hands said “Byebye” to them. And like that, we left the cooking room and went down the stairs. In that time, Kawasaki helped Keika to wear a coat and wrapped a muffler around her. She was completely devoted to taking care of her little sister.

As she was doing those, we reached the entrance of the Communication Center. The sky outside was already dark.

“Do you want me to walk you to the station?”

“There’s no need. I always go back at this sort of time anyway. Don’t you have other things to do anyway?”

Kawasaki slung her bag and her grocery bag, and said something like ‘Heave-ho’, before bending down to pick up Keika. During this time, something underneath Kawasaki’s skirt flashed before my eyes. I tried to avert my eyes with all my power. Seems to be something with a black lace, but I definitely did not see anything else.

“Well then, good bye.”

“Ha-chan, byebye!”

Kawasaki lowered her head slightly in farewell, and Keika, who was now at Kawasaki’s chest bade me farewell as well.

“……Careful on the road.”

I called out to the two of them who were walking on the path that would lead to home, and watched their retreating figures getting smaller and smaller in the distance.

There was no wind and no clouds, and the winter night sky was clear.. However, it incited coldness as well. The two of them clung to each other tightly, so they probably wouldn’t feel any coldness.

I kind of regretted not wearing any coats before coming out.

Although all I had to do was to go back inside, but what was unexpected was that I did not move even one step.

As I shivered, I sat down on the steps in front of the door and sighed deeply.