— — — — — —
The library at Sōbu High was never exactly empty. Still, during lunchtime, it felt noticeably quieter than usual.
Oikawa had borrowed a copy of Love in the Time of Cholera and was sitting in a corner, reading in silence.
Beside him sat Isshiki, looking utterly miserable.
"Senpai, do you really think our campaign can beat Ebina-senpai's?" She slumped over the table. "I mean, 'help everyone make genuine friendships' sounds way too vague. I have no idea how I'm supposed to write a speech around that!"
Then she narrowed her eyes. "You actually want me to fail, don't you?"
Since they were alone, Isshiki had taken off her school blazer and was freely venting all her grievances.
"And another thing. Doesn't Sōbu High have support speeches during elections? You already promised to help me, so why won't you give the support speech? Or Yukino-senpai? Why does it have to be Yui-senpai?"
She pointed accusingly at him, "You just want me to embarrass myself. That's definitely it."
Without even looking up from his book, Oikawa picked up a sheet of paper, rolled it into a tube, and tapped her on the head.
"Ow!"
Isshiki clutched her head. "Senpai, what was that for?!"
"To wake you up." He calmly turned a page. "You're the one running for student council president. The speech is something you have to write yourself."
After a brief pause, he added, "I'll help edit it afterward, though. And as for the support speech, Yui will do a much better job than either me or Yukino. She's approachable. People naturally like her."
Taking a sip of water, Oikawa kept his eyes fixed on the novel. "Now keep going. There are only five days left. I want a completed draft within two."
Isshiki immediately put on a pitiful expression. "Senpai, can you really guarantee I'll become student council president?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe?" Her voice shot up. "At the Service Club the other day, you said it was certain!"
"Isshiki..." Oikawa smiled. "Do you know what playboys are best at?"
"...What?"
"Lying."
"YOU!" Isshiki glared at him. "If I lose and make a fool of myself, I'm never letting you off the hook."
"Then why aren't you writing faster?"
Rather than reacting to her threat, Oikawa simply urged her back to work.
"Senpai, seriously, how did your grades improve so much?"
The question resurfaced yet again.
At this point, Isshiki didn't really care anymore. Still, it had become a knot in her mind that she couldn't quite untangle.
Every now and then, the mystery would pop back into her head.
"Didn't I tell you already?" Oikawa replied casually. "I cheated."
"Seeenpaaai!"
She dragged out the word in exasperation.
"Okay, okay. We're in a library. Keep it down." He closed his book for a moment. "I just signed up for a cram school. Then I stopped sleeping after I got home and spent every day grinding practice problems. I kept that up for two straight months."
"I see..." Hearing that answer, Isshiki nodded with satisfaction. "Now that makes sense. I knew your grades couldn't have improved that fast otherwise."
A helpless smile tugged at Oikawa's lips.
Sometimes people found lies easier to believe than the truth.
This was a perfect example.
"By the way, Senpai." Isshiki leaned closer. "Have you noticed that Yui-senpai looks at you kind of differently? She might like you."
Once again, Oikawa reached for his paper tube.
This time, however, Isshiki saw it coming and dodged immediately.
"Hehehe." She grinned triumphantly. "Senpai, did you really think I'd fall for the same trick twi—"
Thunk.
Before she could finish, another paper tube appeared from seemingly nowhere and landed squarely on her head.
"Oww!"
She covered her head again. "Senpai, that's cheating!"
In response to her protest, Oikawa simply said nothing.
Soon the library returned to silence.
Oikawa continued reading Love in the Time of Cholera, while Isshiki frowned over her campaign speech.
For a moment, the little corner they occupied felt strangely peaceful.
Lately, Oikawa had been trying to imitate Yukino's reading habits. Instead of racing through books, he deliberately slowed down, leaving room to think about what he read.
Not just reading to finish. Reading carefully.
..
Across from him, Isshiki's frown deepened.
Writing essays was genuinely painful for her. The more she struggled, the more helpless she felt.
Eventually she gave up for a moment, rested her cheek on the desk, and looked sideways at Oikawa.
"You're really handsome."
The words slipped out before she could stop it.
A faint blush appeared on her face.
Not because she liked him. Just embarrassment.
"Thanks for the compliment."
Without looking up, Oikawa replied, "But if you keep wasting time, that speech really isn't going to finish itself."
He sounded like a cold, merciless deadline machine.
Isshiki puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. In the end, she could only return her attention to the draft.
...
..
Thanks to Yukino, Oikawa got his first look at the student council newsletter.
The entire notice board was dominated by a single topic: The student council election. According to the latest numbers, Isshiki Iroha currently held 67% of the support, while Hina Ebina sat at 33%.
"Looks like Isshiki still has the advantage."
Yukino had somehow appeared beside him without him noticing. She glanced at the board and spoke quietly. "Though that may not be true in a few days. Ebina-san's group is working harder than I expected. I just saw them handing out campaign flyers."
"Here. Take a look." Oikawa handed over the flyer he had picked up earlier.
As Yukino read through it, she murmured the contents aloud. "First: Make studying more enjoyable for students. Second: Increase club activity time. Third..."
She continued down the list.
"It seems Ebina-san is taking this election very seriously."
There were five campaign promises in total, and every one of them was carefully tailored to appeal to the average Sōbu High student.
"Looks like this is going to be a tough fight."
When Ebina had previously said that Miura Yumiko and Hayama Hayato were taking the election seriously, Oikawa hadn't paid much attention.
Now, though, it was obvious. Those two were putting everything they had into this.
Still... that wasn't a bad thing. If everything went smoothly without resistance, where would the fun be?
A challenge made things interesting.
Yukino looked at him with a faint smile. "Oikawa, do you need help? I'd be happy to assist."
For some reason, that smile felt slightly dangerous.
"What kind of thing is that to say?" Oikawa straightened up immediately. "You're the President of the Service Club, aren't you? This request belongs to you more than it does to me."
Trying to dump all the work on him? Not happening. Absolutely not.
"Oikawa is ranked first in the year. Surely you have at least that much sense of responsibility?"
"..."
Oikawa blinked.
Hold on. Had Yukino just learned how to be sarcastic?
"Nope."
His answer came instantly. "I'm just a thief who happened to stumble onto the king's throne."
He gestured toward her. "Yukino-san is the real ruler. The one who's occupied that throne for years."
Um... Why did that sound so embarrassingly chuunibyou?
Definitely Zaimokuza's fault. That guy had recently shoved another one of his fantasy novels into Oikawa's hands for feedback, and the lingering effects were clearly dangerous.
To be fair, there had been progress. The previous novel had been awful. The last one was merely bad. A remarkable improvement.
"...Heh." Yukino let out a quiet laugh. "Oikawa, you're really difficult to figure out."
Oikawa didn't answer.
His attention had shifted elsewhere.
Ebina and Miura were walking toward them.
"Oikawa-kun, are you scouting the enemy?" Ebina smiled the moment she arrived. "Oh? You're even holding one of my campaign flyers."
She pointed at it teasingly. "Looks like you're not nearly as calm as you sounded on LINE."
After greeting Oikawa, she turned toward Yukino. "Yukino-san, it's nice to see you again. Since the camping trip, I don't think we've really talked."
Her eyes lit up. "You were amazing during the school festival, by the way."
The sincere praise immediately brought a faint blush to Yukino's cheeks.
"Thank you."
Then she added, "You're very capable yourself."
Before Ebina could respond further, Miura suddenly stepped forward. "Yukino Yukinoshita!"
She tossed her hair dramatically. "This time, you're going to lose completely! I, Miura Yumiko, am going to crush you!"
Oikawa maintained a polite smile.
The hair flip. The dramatic declaration.
Ah, the chuunibyou virus is spreading.
"Oh." Yukino's response was flat.
"...Oh?" Miura's eye twitched. "Yukinoshita, let's see if you're still acting like that after we steamroll you!"
"Hmph!" She spun around. "Hina, let's go. We still have flyers to hand out!"
With that final threat, Miura stormed off.
Ebina gave Oikawa an apologetic smile before hurrying after her.
The two of them had come in a rush and left in a rush.
"..."
"Oikawa." Yukino suddenly turned toward him.
Her gaze was unusually sharp.
"You've heard that hateful author, Copycat, is holding a signing event soon, haven't you?"
"Of course I have," Oikawa answered without hesitation. "I was planning to go support him, actually."
He laughed. "He was even chatting with me on LINE yesterday, saying he was worried people might stab him after reading his books."
Then he frowned. "What's with that look? Don't tell me you're still suspicious that I'm that 'Copycat Transmigrator'?"
"Oh." Yukino's expression didn't change. "I only wanted to ask whether Clannad is actually supposed to be a healing story."
She tilted her head slightly. "Why are you getting so worked up?"
Oikawa scratched his head, "Worked up? Was I? I wasn't worked up at all."
"If you say so." Yukino nodded calmly. "Whether you were worked up or not is something only you would know."
"..."
Luckily, the conversation ended there.
And they each headed home.
...
..
Around eight that evening, not long after Oikawa finished his run and dinner, a video call from Utaha Kasumigaoka popped up on his phone.
"Senpai, are you ready for your autograph session?"
"Not even close." Oikawa let out a sigh as he looked at her on the screen. "How am I supposed to prepare for something like this? The comment online about wanting to stab me has over twenty thousand likes now."
His expression was full of resignation.
"Hehehe." Utaha laughed. "Well, I liked it too, but I'm definitely not going to stab you. Most people are just joking around."
Tonight she was wearing pajamas that covered her up much more thoroughly than usual.
Apparently she'd learned her lesson after the previous wardrobe malfunction.
Unfortunately, Oikawa found that slightly disappointing.
Girls, after all... should reveal what was worth revealing. Otherwise, what was the point of having such a great figure?
"If only everyone were as reasonable as you." Oikawa leaned back in his chair.
"Hmm... Senpai, what did you have for dinner tonight? Grilled fish again?"
"Not this time. I ate at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant and had chicken rice. It was fantastic."
---
The conversation went on for over an hour before they finally ended the call.
After hanging up, Oikawa yawned and walked over to his computer.
Tonight, rather than gaming or spending time with his virtual wives, he opened his writing software.
He wasn't working on the second volume of Clannad. He was editing Isshiki Iroha's campaign speech.
"Hah..."
He rubbed his forehead.
"She has to be a science-track student. This thing barely qualifies as human language."
Looking at the speech she'd written, Oikawa shook his head helplessly and started revising.
...
Thursday passed. Then came the glorious arrival of Friday.
Oikawa got up an hour earlier than usual, ran ten kilometers, devoured two packs of ramen at home, and headed for school.
As always, Kawasaki was waiting along the route.
Her head was lowered as she memorized vocabulary words.
Seeing her, Oikawa smiled helplessly. "Haven't I told you already? You don't have to wait for me."
"I just got here." Kawasaki looked up and pulled two steamed buns from her sleeve. "One shrimp filling. One beef."
Oikawa accepted them with a grin, "Thanks."
As he ate, he glanced at her face. "You know, your dark circles seem a lot lighter lately. Quitting your part-time job really gave you more time to rest, huh?"
"Yeah." Kawasaki nodded. "Mostly because my parents are both working day shifts now. And a lot of things don't need me anymore."
"I see."
After finishing the buns, the two headed toward school together.
"Morning, Oikawa-kun!"
Just as Oikawa reached the shoe lockers, Ebina approached with her usual cheerful smile.
"Morning." He yawned and opened his locker.
Then something fell out.
A pink envelope fluttered to the ground.
Oikawa froze.
Ebina's eyes widened instantly.
"Oikawa-kun... did you just get a love letter?"
Oikawa scratched his head. He picked up the envelope, tucked it into his backpack, changed his shoes, and headed for the classroom.
Originally, he'd planned to read it quietly on his own.
Unfortunately... the moment Ebina learned about it, the information spread at astonishing speed.
Well, maybe not to the entire school.
But everyone sitting nearby definitely knew. Especially Yui.
The second she heard Oikawa had received a love letter, her eyes lit up with overwhelming curiosity.
"Where is it? Where is it? Oikawa-kun, let me see! I'm so curious who sent it!"
Oikawa pulled out the envelope.
Then he immediately pulled it back.
He only waved it around for a second instead of actually showing it to them.
"Why are you all so interested? Class is about to start. Turn around already."
Right then, the math teacher walked into the room.
A few moments later, once he was sure nobody was paying attention, Oikawa quietly opened the pink envelope.
Yep. It was definitely a love letter.
The sender was a first-year girl named Tsuruoka Hideko. The contents were exactly what he'd expected.
She wrote that she liked him, that the school sports festival had helped her realize her feelings, and that she wanted to meet him behind the school that evening.
After reading it, Oikawa carefully folded the letter and put it away.
As for the invitation... he had no intention of going.
Suddenly, a small note landed on his desk.
Kawasaki had tossed it over.
Written on it were four simple words: "What did it say?"
The question was as straightforward as ever.
Looking up, Oikawa caught the occasional glance Kawasaki was sneaking in his direction.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
.
.
.