— — — — — —
Oikawa had always hated trouble. Unfortunately, he also happened to be very good at dealing with it.
Everyone turned to look at him. But without the slightest hurry, Oikawa spoke. "If Isshiki doesn't want to become student council president, then she can just pretend to be sick before the election."
"As long as she's sick, she won't have to participate in the election. The position will naturally go to someone else. It's not like every candidate was forced to run, right?"
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone in the room frowned.
It was like an arcade tournament where everyone wanted to win.
The solutions Yukino and the others had proposed all stayed within the rules. Oikawa's solution, on the other hand, was outright cheating.
It wasn't exactly honorable. But there was no denying that cheating worked.
Simple. Brutal. Effective.
"Heh. That's exactly the kind of idea you'd expect from a scumbag." Yukino's sarcasm landed immediately.
Yui spoke more cautiously, "Um... Oikawa-kun, I mean, it would work, but isn't that kind of... bad?"
"Oikawa, you're still a student, but you can think outside the box. Not bad." Shizuka's meaning was clear enough.
"Um... actually, there's no need to argue about it. Oikawa-kun's idea wouldn't work in the first place." Meguri spoke up, sounding slightly embarrassed. "The only person running for student council president is Isshiki."
If there had been other candidates, she could have quietly pulled a few strings behind the scenes and eliminated Isshiki from the race.
"Only one candidate?" Oikawa looked at Isshiki with genuine pity.
The message in his eyes was practically: Kid, accept reality.
Seeing that look made Isshiki even more depressed.
"That's right. Across all three grades, Isshiki is the only person who's registered to run for student council president." Meguri scratched her cheek awkwardly as she explained.
Seriously? Nobody wanted to be student council president anymore?
Oikawa was dumbfounded.
It seemed Sōbu High really needed a Ui Wakana.
"Then our only option is to focus on the confidence vote," Yukino spoke again before explaining the system to Oikawa.
At Sōbu High, if there's only one candidate for student council president, the election becomes a confidence vote.
Unlike a normal election decided by majority vote, the ballot contains only two options: Approve or Disapprove.
Students simply vote on whether they want to entrust the position to the candidate.
The problem was that most people naturally chose Approve.
"If she does something that makes people lose confidence in her, then they'll vote 'Disapprove,' and she'll be eliminated," Yukino stated the plan in a completely emotionless tone.
Isshiki immediately rejected it. "No way! Getting rejected in a confidence vote would be insanely embarrassing! I refuse. I don't want to ruin my reputation."
And just like that, the discussion hit another dead end.
Silence settled over the Service Club. Only the sound of the wind outside could be heard.
Honestly, Oikawa felt this might be the worst experience of his life. No wonder Hachiman had left the Service Club.
"Meguri-Senpai, could you give us a little more time? As you can see, this isn't an easy problem to solve. We need some time to think." Oikawa finally broke the silence.
"Y-Yes, of course." Meguri nodded encouragingly. "I'm the one causing trouble for all of you. I'll keep thinking of solutions too. Let's all do our best. Then we'll come back another day. Isshiki-san, let's go."
With that, Meguri and Isshiki left the Service Club.
The moment they were gone, Oikawa turned to Shizuka and complained. "Shizuka-sensei, even if I agreed to join the Service Club, did you really have to dump something this troublesome on me? They don't want this, they don't want that, and yet they still expect some kind of magical perfect solution. What do they think I am?"
"Ah... haha. That's because I believe in your abilities."
Even Shizuka Hiratsuka seemed a little guilty. This girl Isshiki was really annoying.
"Oikawa, tell you what. If you solve this, I promise I won't bring you any new requests for the next half month." Shizuka finally made a promise, knowing full well that Oikawa wouldn't lift a finger otherwise.
"You'd better keep that promise, Sensei. Anyway, I'm heading back to the Literature Club. See you tomorrow." Oikawa stood up. His eyes lingered regretfully on the now-cold cup of black tea before he left the clubroom.
...
..
Back in the Literature Club, only Oikawa and Kawasaki were there.
"Is the Service Club's work really that exhausting?" Kawasaki couldn't help but ask.
At the moment, Oikawa was sprawled across a desk, troubled by the Isshiki situation. "Yeah. A little."
The whole thing was honestly annoying. He had to stay within the rules while also considering Isshiki's feelings.
That was exactly why he had never wanted to join the Service Club in the first place.
"Don't worry about it so much. Being happy is more important. I'll massage your shoulders. You'll feel better." Kawasaki stood up, walked behind him, and began kneading his shoulders. Her grip was surprisingly strong.
The instant her fingers touched him, Oikawa felt a strange tingling run through his body, as if a mild electric current had passed from his shoulders all the way to his fingertips. A pleasant numbness spread through him.
"Did you study massage or something?"
"No." Kawasaki shook her head. "But I used to massage my parents' shoulders all the time."
Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke.
If Oikawa had turned around right then, he would have seen that her face was completely red, as though all the blood in her body had rushed straight to her cheeks.
Oikawa let out a contented hum. "Kawasaki, you're amazing. It feels like there's nothing you can't do."
"Not really. I'm pretty dumb, actually. I study my butt off every day, and all I managed was moving up one rank."
In the midterm exams, Kawasaki had placed twenty-ninth in the entire school.
It was only one spot higher than before, but it still made her happy.
At least it proved that hard work paid off.
"Getting into the top thirty at Sōbu High is already impressive. Though most of the credit belongs to me for being such a great teacher. Hss... Ow, easy there. Is this revenge?"
Kawasaki rolled her eyes, "Narcissist."
Still, her hands never stopped moving as she continued massaging his shoulders.
Outside the window, the wind rattled the glass. The sun was sinking lower and lower, painting the room in a crimson glow. Red-orange light streamed through the window and fell across Oikawa's face.
"Oikawa..."
Kawasaki called his name softly.
There was no response.
"Looks like he fell asleep."
She withdrew her hands and moved to the seat across from him.
Resting her chin on her hands, she leaned forward just enough to block the sunlight from reaching his face.
Then she simply sat there.
Smiling. Watching him.
"He really is handsome."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Embarrassed, she lowered her head.
Like a flower that had bloomed late, hiding shyly behind its leaves, too timid to show itself.
After a long while, she finally looked up again.
Oikawa was completely asleep now, breathing in a steady rhythm.
Carefully, she reached out and brushed aside a few messy strands of hair that had fallen across his forehead.
"Your hair's getting long. You should probably get it cut."
Time passed little by little. The sunset gradually disappeared beyond the horizon.
Kawasaki felt a faint sense of regret. Why did time always have to pass so quickly?
After thinking for a moment, she pulled out her phone.
Click.
A photo appeared in her gallery.
Then she noticed Oikawa stirring.
Startled, she quickly slipped her phone away and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Oikawa, it's dark out. Time to go home."
Oikawa sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes.
His expression looked unusually dazed.
"It's dark already?"
"Yeah. We should head home." Kawasaki hid her phone behind her back, answering a little awkwardly.
"Uh... ok."
...
..
Maybe it was because he'd slept for so long in the Literature Club.
After returning home, Oikawa felt unexpectedly energetic.
He even went out for a five-kilometer run, and when he came back, he wasn't tired at all.
"Maybe Kawasaki's massage is magical?" he muttered to himself.
Her hands had been strong, but they had also felt surprisingly soft.
...Maybe he should test that again sometime.
Dinner that evening was from a nearby ramen restaurant. After eating, Oikawa collapsed onto the couch and started scrolling through his phone.
Before long, a message arrived from Utaha.
[Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Senpai, are you serious? You're coming to Tokyo for an internship during spring break? And for a whole month and a half?"]
Earlier that day, Oikawa had told Utaha about his plans.
The decision was basically final. Getting access to printing companies was his top priority right now.
Through her years as an editor, Ayame Kagurazaka could still use her connections to gather information about publishers. Printing companies, however, were a completely different matter.
His original plan had been simple: throw money at the problem. Even if it cost him ten or twenty million yen, he figured he'd eventually learn how the industry worked.
But now Shizuka-sensei had handed him a perfect opportunity. There was no way he was passing it up.
This internship might save him ten million yen.
"That's right. The current plan is a month and a half, though things could change." Oikawa replied.
A response came almost instantly: "That's great, Senpai! If you're living in Tokyo, we'll get to see each other every day. Hehehe."
Utaha rolled around on her bed, grinning from ear to ear as she stared at her phone.
If Oikawa spent spring break in Tokyo, they could meet every day.
She wouldn't have to settle for chatting online anymore.
Actually... Waiting for his next message suddenly felt unbearable. Without hesitation, she started a video call.
Beep.
A few seconds later, the call connected.
Oikawa's face appeared on her screen.
"Senpai, I'm so happy we'll get to see each other every day!" Utaha made no effort to hide her excitement.
"Idiot." Oikawa laughed as he looked at her through the screen. "Don't we already see each other every day?"
On the other end of the call, Utaha was lying on her bed in a silky camisole nightgown with a rather low neckline.
Though honestly... wasn't she cold?
"What are you talking about? That's completely different. When you're living in Tokyo, I'll be able to come see you every day." Lying on her bed, Utaha held her phone high above her face, her smile blooming like a flower.
"Then..." Oikawa grinned mischievously. "How about we just live together? If you miss me that much, wouldn't that be even better? The first thing you'd see every morning would be me. The last thing you'd see before going to sleep would also be me."
"N-no way... I am not moving in with you!" Utaha's face instantly turned bright red.
Judging by her reaction, she had clearly imagined something she shouldn't have.
"What's so bad about living together? We've already hugged. We've already kissed. If you don't hurry up and lock things down, some other woman might steal me away one day. Then you'll have nowhere to cry."
The moment Oikawa finished speaking, Utaha's eyes widened.
"You wouldn't dare! I-I'll keep a close eye on you, Senpai! I won't let anyone take you away from me!"
Her face grew even redder. Biting her lip, she gazed at him with eyes so full of affection they seemed ready to overflow, "Senpai... I like you."
"Mm."
"Mm?" Utaha puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. "What kind of response is that? You're supposed to say, 'I love you too. I'll love you forever.'"
Fueled by indignation, she sat upright on the bed and glared at him through the screen.
"Mm." Then Oikawa added, "Your top slipped."
Utaha followed his gaze and looked down at herself.
The next second, she practically turned into a cloud of steam.
She could swear her ears were about to start releasing actual hot vapor.
The video call ended immediately.
---
Utaha buried herself under her blanket and screamed in embarrassment.
"Idiot! Idiot!"
Though she was calling him names, it sounded more like pouting than genuine anger.
...
..
Another day of boring classes came to an end. As usual, Oikawa was the first one out of the classroom.
He was heading to the Literature Club... No, wait. The Service Club first.
The moment he remembered that fact, his pace noticeably slowed.
"Only one week left until December."
And once December arrived, promotion for the first volume of Clannad would officially begin.
According to Chris Yamada, they even wanted him to hold a signing event.
Just thinking about it gave Oikawa a headache.
Originally, he had intended to refuse the event. But Full-Drive Bunko had invested so heavily in Clannad. And meanwhile, he was secretly planning to start his own publishing company.
Somehow, that made him feel a little guilty toward them.
So in the end, he agreed.
That said, security would have to be airtight.
Japan had way too many assassins.
If even Shinzo Abe could get taken out by a homemade weapon, then a humble novelist like him couldn't afford to be careless.
Better safe than sorry.
"Oikawa-kun! Oikawa-kun!"
Hearing someone call his name, Oikawa snapped out of his thoughts and turned around.
"What were you thinking about?" Yui looked at him with a pout. "I've been talking to you forever."
"Sorry. I was thinking about something."
After apologizing, Oikawa asked, "So? Did you need something?"
"Can I only talk to you if I have a reason?"
"Of course not." Oikawa smiled. "When a beautiful girl like Yui-san talks to me, I'm always happy."
It was a casual compliment he hadn't put much thought into.
Yui, however, immediately blushed.
She flashed him a sweet smile before continuing, "Oikawa-kun, do you want to come over during the break? Sable really misses you."
"Sable misses me?" Oikawa gave her a teasing look. "You're sure it's not someone else who misses me?"
Yui instantly panicked.
She had never been good at hiding what she was thinking.
"W-What are you talking about? Nobody else misses you. It's just Sable."
Then she added stubbornly, "If you don't want to come, then forget it."
"How could I not want to?" Oikawa laughed. "I've been missing Sable too lately. And I'd like to see what Yui's room looks like."
He paused before smiling, "I bet it's exactly what I'd imagine. Hm.. Warm. Just like you."
Yui lowered her head. Her face became even redder.
Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like a frightened deer was leaping around inside her chest.
.
.
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