Monday, back to class as usual.
"Hayasaka mentioned something to me earlier."
At the student council office door, Rinji and Kaguya chatted.
"She said you really dislike the president being too close to me."
"That's right. Although you've helped me and the president a lot, and I'm grateful, the president is my boyfriend now. It's not good for him to be too close to you."
"...Shinomiya."
"Hm?"
"Do you realize I'm a man?"
"I do."
"The president is also a man."
"I know that too."
"...I feel like you're very biased against me. Why just me? Your jealousy really doesn't care about gender. Ishigami is close to the president too, but do you tell him to stay away?" Rinji asked.
"Ishigami is a good kid."
Kaguya turned her head to the side.
"Don't worry about what he said."
"Then why are you worried about me?"
"..."
"Say something, Shinomiya."
"..."
Kaguya wasn't sure what she should say. She couldn't very well admit she felt threatened by a kouhai a year younger than her.
Even though he was a boy, Rinji possessed a charm that ignored gender. When facing him alone, she still saw him as a boy, but if Shirogane was present, his gender blurred in her eyes.
It was honestly terrifying.
"Forget it, I'll just tell the president first."
"Hm? What are you going to say?"
Kaguya turned her head and found Rinji already pulling out his phone to send a message.
"Sending a LINE to the president: 'Shinomiya hopes I stay away from you…'"
"What are you doing!!?"
Kaguya panicked, rushing to snatch the phone from his hand.
"Shinomiya, what are you doing? Weren't you the one who told me to stay away from the president?"
"But I didn't tell you to inform him about it!" Kaguya shouted, her face red.
If Rinji actually sent that message, she couldn't imagine how Shirogane would see her.
"You really are troublesome."
"Ugh..."
---
Inside the student council office, everyone was present.
Ishigami and Rinji sat idly on the sofa, while Iino stood near the door, observing. Shirogane sat at his desk, with Kaguya standing beside him.
They clearly didn't want to expose their relationship in front of others but still wanted to be close, so they secretly held hands beneath the desk, hidden from view.
As for Fujiwara…
"I think…"
Unlike her usual cheerful demeanor, Fujiwara looked at everyone with a serious expression.
"Recently, it feels like my presence in this fanfic has been fading."
"Good!"
Rinji immediately shouted and clapped his hands enthusiastically.
"So me becoming less noticeable makes you that happy, Rinji-kun?"
"Because that means you'll cause fewer incidents, Secretary Fujiwara."
"Am I really the kind of person who always stirs up trouble in your eyes?"
Rinji: "Absolutely."
"Honestly, what's wrong with keeping the atmosphere lively in the student council?" Fujiwara sighed. "If this keeps up, my presence will get thinner and thinner until I'm not even mentioned in the future chapters."
"Good!"
Rinji and Ishigami clapped together.
Rinji: "We can just let Secretary Fujiwara live on in our memories."
Ishigami: "Shuchiin's thick school regulations can't hold you back, Fujiwara-senpai. Who would've thought you'd voluntarily step down from the stage of history?"
Fujiwara: "Hey, I'll seriously beat you two up."
"W-Well," lino quickly cut in, "I've always respected Fujiwara-senpai!"
"Ah, as expected, only Miko-chan cares about me~"
Fujiwara couldn't help patting lino's head, making her shyly lower her head.
Afterward, Fujiwara looked back at the rest of the student council.
"Outside the student council, I'm actually really popular, you know."
Ishigami: "That's just because they haven't worked with you."
Rinji: "It's only because your tits is huge."
"…"
Everyone stared at him in shock.
"…Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"No, it's just surprising." Fujiwara looked at Rinji, flustered. "I didn't expect someone like you to say something so perverted."
"So what if I did? Do you think I care how others see me?"
Rinji spread his hands.
"If you think I'm disgusting, that's fine."
Fujiwara: "How should I put it… if Ishigami said that, I'd definitely feel disgusted."
Ishigami: "That's prejudice."
"But when Rinji says it… it feels kind of different," Fujiwara muttered. "Like a kid forcing himself to say grown-up things just to look mature."
Rinji: "So what kind of image do I usually have in your eyes?"
"Forget it!"
Fujiwara didn't dwell on the topic. Instead, she crouched down and searched under the table.
"As punishment for ignoring me, let's play this game!"
"So after all that, you just want to stir things up again, right?"
Not long after, Fujiwara pulled out a writing board from under the table. On it were the words: "I Love You Game."
"Let's play this~"
"…"
The "I Love You Game" was simple.
Face the other person and say "I love you." If the other person got embarrassed, the one confessing won. If not, the one being confessed to won.
"Turning something as sacred as a confession into a game… Secretary Fujiwara, you've basically said goodbye to romance for life," Rinji said.
"Hoho, only someone as pure as Rinji-kun would say that."
Fujiwara gave him a sly smile.
"You and Ishigami-kun mocked me just now, so I assume you won't lose at such a game, right?"
"If the opponent is you, Secretary Fujiwara, I really can't lose." Rinji said blankly. "Honestly, I can't even see you as a girl."