Before long, riding his motorcycle, Miyahito quickly arrived at Shuchiin Academy.
After briefly explaining his purpose to the guard, who had already received the Student Council's notice, the guard directed Miyahito to the academy's dedicated parking lot and let him in.
'Thinking about it now.' Riding slowly along Shuchiin's internal roads, Miyahito looked up through his helmet visor at the beautiful campus environment around him.
'If I hadn't stubbornly refused to comply back then, I'd probably be walking this road all the time now.'
Unable to help but chuckle, the corners of Miyahito's mouth curled up slightly.
Parking the motorcycle properly in the spot, he kicked the side stand and tilted the bike slightly before getting off.
"Phew..."
Taking off his helmet, Miyahito put it away. Just as he picked up the visiting sweets he'd bought on the way, along with a few copies of his latest signed album he'd grabbed from the agency, he was about to call Miyuki-nii to ask for the exact location of the Student Council office.
Just then.
"Excuse me."
Suddenly, a somewhat gloomy voice reached Miyahito's ears.
Following the sound, he looked over.
"Are you Aragaki Miyahito-kun?"
Looking at the boy in front of him—wearing the Shuchiin summer boys' uniform, a pair of over-ear headphones around his neck, and hair that was a bit too long—Miyahito felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
'Have I seen him somewhere before?'
Thinking this, Miyahito nodded at him.
"Yes, I am Aragaki Miyahito. May I ask your name?"
"Mm, looks like I didn't look for the wrong person." Muttering softly, the long-haired boy raised his hand slightly, gesturing for Miyahito to follow, and replied. "I'm Ishigami Yu. President Shirogane asked me to pick you up. Please follow me."
"Oh, thank you for your trouble, Ishigami-kun."
Hearing the introduction, a look of realization flashed across Miyahito's face.
No wonder he looked so familiar.
So it's him! The true man! Ishigami-kun!
"I really appreciate you going out of your way to pick me up, Ishigami-kun."
"Don't mention it. It's no trouble at all. President Shirogane just happened to ask me."
"Still, I have to say thank you."
"Aragaki-senpai is really polite."
"Ah, Ishigami-kun, you've got it wrong. I'm not a senior." Rubbing the back of his head as he followed Ishigami toward the Student Council office, Miyahito scratched his cheek in embarrassment at being called 'senpai'. "I'm a first-year. If you don't mind, you can just call me Aragaki or Miyahito."
"A fellow first-year, huh? Then I'll call you Aragaki-kun."
"Yeah, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too."
After reintroducing themselves, Miyahito could clearly feel a shift in Ishigami's attitude. Previously, not knowing if the other was a senior, Ishigami had been somewhat reserved and polite. But upon learning they were in the same grade, Ishigami's demeanor visibly relaxed.
"By the way, Ishigami-kun."
Saying this, under Ishigami's curious gaze, Miyahito took an autographed album out of the bag he was carrying and handed it to him.
"This is just a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it."
"Eh, I couldn't possibly..." Just as Ishigami instinctively tried to decline, the moment he saw the album in Miyahito's hand, he froze in his tracks.
Then, he looked up, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at the smiling Miyahito.
"Aragaki-kun, this is...?"
"My autographed album."
"Auto...graphed... album?" Ishigami looked down at the album shoved into his hands, then looked back up at Miyahito.
Looking down at the album, looking up at Miyahito, looking down again, and looking up again, he asked once more, his tone filled with disbelief.
"This is... Aragaki-kun's... album?"
Watching Ishigami's expression shift from dumbfounded to shocked, Miyahito suppressed a laugh and nodded.
"Yeah, that's right."
"...."
"Does that mean Miyani-sensei is... Aragaki-kun?"
"Mhm." Miyahito nodded again, then looked as if he remembered something, pointing at the album in Ishigami's arms and blinking. "Oh, right, Ishigami-kun. I got this album early from the agency. If possible..."
"Please keep it a secret for now. After all," Miyahito leaned in a bit, feeling slightly embarrassed, and pointed at the album. "This album isn't scheduled for release until next week. If it leaks early, my manager will catch me and tear me a new one."
What else could Ishigami do but nod?
Oh wait, no. He was currently too excited to speak at all.
After a good while, Ishigami, seeing his idol for the first time, finally managed to calm down.
Taking a slight, deep breath, his expression still holding a trace of excitement, he looked up at Miyahito as if on a pilgrimage, his voice trembling slightly.
"Please excuse my behavior. I'm a fan of yours, Miyani-sensei."
As he spoke, Ishigami reached out his hand with a somewhat serious demeanor.
"Yeah, thank you for your support, Ishigami-kun." Finding it a bit novel to face a stranger who was a fan (Shirogane Kei didn't count, as they were already acquainted), Miyahito smiled and shook his hand.
"I really love Miyani-sensei's The Reason I Wanted to Die." Gripping Miyahito's hand a bit tighter, Ishigami unconsciously lowered his head slightly.
Letting his long bangs cover his eyes, his tone trembled slightly out of his control.
"I love this song very much. It helped me a lot... If it weren't for this song, back then..."
Listening to Ishigami's fragmented words, faintly recalling a bit of the boy's past experiences, Miyahito felt a surge of emotion and raised his other hand to gently pat his shoulder.
"I'm truly glad it could help you."
"Yes. Thank you, Miyani-sensei."
Thank you for giving me the courage to keep going.
...
Meanwhile, in the Student Council office.
"So slow! Is Ishigami-kun even capable?" Lying on the coffee table like a puddle of soft mud, Fujiwara Chika, her face full of impatience, couldn't help but look back at the tightly closed door behind her again.
"There, there, sit up properly, Fujiwara-san," Shinomiya Kaguya, sitting elegantly beside the President, advised softly. "If you act like that, you might leave a bad impression on Aragaki-kun."
"Ehh...." Hearing this, Chika looked up at Kaguya, whose dignified posture and overall aura perfectly embodied the definition of a noble young lady, and reluctantly sat up.
"But it's still so slow! President! Why don't you call and ask?"
"Just wait a little longer, Secretary Fujiwara." Shirogane Miyuki, who was reading a book, looked up and smiled, soothing the highly impatient Chika. "Ishigami-kun just notified me that he picked up Miyahito and is bringing him over now."
"But this is way too slow!"
Chika glanced at the snacks and drinks she had brought over early from the Board Game Club on the desk, then looked back at the closed door, muttering softly.
"If he doesn't hurry up, the snacks will stop tasting good!"
Aren't those packaged snacks?! What do they have to do with time, other than expiring!!
Miyuki and Kaguya, who happened to internally tsukkomo the exact same thing at the same time, shook their heads in perfect unison and secretly sighed together.
"Sigh..."
Just then.
The long-awaited Student Council door was suddenly opened.
And along with it came a familiar voice from one of their Student Council members, Ishigami Yu.
"Yes! I will definitely treasure it! This is amazing! An autograph!"
And another voice.
"You're exaggerating, Ishigami-kun, but I'm glad you like it."