Chapter 57 - .

2: The meeting smoothly jumps into motion but gets nowhere. 

The community center where I was meeting with Isshiki was fairly close to our school, and I got there in only a few minutes by bike. 

I'd never actually gone inside the community center before, but I'd seen it many times just passing by, so I didn't have trouble finding it. 

It was right by the station, on the same street as a large mall, the Marinpia (nickname: Maripin), and a lot of neighborhood housewives were there in the evening. There were also kids mixed in here and there among them. The Maripin in the area made it the perfect place for high school kids to stop by and hang out after school—I myself would occasionally stop by the bookstore, arcade, or batting center. 

Upon arriving at the community center, I parked my bike in the bicycle lot. 

I looked around the area a bit, but I didn't see Isshiki. Well, it wasn't like we had specified a clear time to meet. 

If I'd known it'd be like this, maybe it'd have been better to come together… 

But in order to avoid Yukinoshita and Yuigahama suspecting I was helping Isshiki on my own, we had to meet away from the school. Right now, it would be cruel to take a student council–related request in front of Yukinoshita. But still, it would be irresponsible for me to not help Isshiki at all. There was also the option of excluding Yukinoshita only, but that would seem like a cruel betrayal, too. Considering the way things were with the Service Club at the moment, the optimal decision would be for me to operate individually in this matter. 

Mentally summarizing the conclusions I'd come to once again, I sat down at the entrance of the community center by the stairs. 

As I stared off into space, Isshiki came out of the convenience store on the other side of the street. She was carrying a heavy-looking bag in one hand. Noticing me, she trotted over. 

"Sorry to make you wait! I was just doing a little shopping…" The convenience store bag must have been heavy, as she exhaled a little tired breath. 

"…No, it's fine," I replied as I reached a hand out to her. 

For some reason, she avoided my hand, staring at me. She tilted her head, as if she didn't get my meaning. "What?" 

"Why're you glaring at me? Weren't you playing up how heavy your stuff was 'cause you wanted me to carry it?" I asked. 

Isshiki stroked her hair and looked away. Out of surprise or confusion, her face was pink. "Agh… Oh no, it really was just heavy…" 

Oh, is that right? I got the impression she'd see most guys as heavy lifters and nothing more, so I'd read too deep and assumed that was the message. You know, since Tobe had been running errands for her automatically. 

Isshiki was frozen for a while, but then a thought seemed to hit her, and she suddenly stiffened and took a step away from me. "Ah! Ah! Wait, 

wereyoujusttryingtoputthemovesonmeI'msorryitalmostgottomefora second,butI'vegotmyheadonstraightnowandnoway." 

"Oh, uh-huh…" 

How many times does she have to reject me…? Denying it is just a pain in the ass, at this point… 

But if her heart will start pattering over something that meaningless, she'd better watch out, or she'll be a whole bundle of nerves when she's traveling. Is your heart gonna pound every time the flight attendant lifts your luggage? It won't, right? …Ah, mine would (revised for flight attendants). Wait, hold on. Even if it's not an FA, if it's a blue-collar sort of lady, I'd feel some butterflies… A woman who supports herself really is great! (Revised for aspiring househusbands.) 

"Well, whatever." Completely ignoring everything she said and did, I yoinked the bag from her hands. 

"Ah… Thank you…" Isshiki squeezed the sleeves of her cardigan and offered a vigorous bow. It meant I couldn't see her face, but her surprisingly honest thanks embarrassed me. 

"…It's nothing. Just a part of the job." 

If you have to say thanks for every little thing, it winds up turning into like what Komachi always says: Thank you! I love you, Big Bro! I'd meant to indirectly tell her not to worry about it, but I instantly wound up regretting my statement. 

"Wow! You're so reliable! Then I'll ask you to handle it next time, too. " She squeezed her hands in front of her chest with a beamingly bright smile. 

Ahhh, suddenly this bag feels heavier… What's in here anyway? 

The unexpected weight of the bag made me peek inside to see various snacks and juice. Well, I guess it was what you'd call tea snacks, or catering, the sort of thing that's typical for these types of meetings. 

Whenever you don't know what to say, you eat these snacks and drink tea to fill the silence. It's like how when you burst out with an insincere-sounding Ha-ha! in conversation, then you suddenly pop a mint. Whenever someone does that, you realize, Oh, this person feels awkward talking to me… 

By the way, if they ask, Do you want a mint? even when you're not talking, that's an indirect way of saying Your breath stinks! So be careful! You might actually be sick! Wait, that's what you're supposed to be careful about? 

But anyway, picking out snacks of this nature is difficult. Anything that makes too much noise or smells too strong will just be a bother. Curious as to what sort of things Isshiki had bought, I took a little peek in the bag. 

Hmm. Mild-flavored chocolates, fruit-flavored hard candies, and soft crackers… Yeah, these aren't bad choices. I'd give her points for the fact that all of them were individually wrapped. Then there's no need to set out plates and whatnot, and you won't get your hands dirty. It's not a hassle to take them home after, either. 

"Huh, you're being surprisingly considerate," I said, a little appreciative, and Isshiki puffed up with a pout as if that was quite unfair for me to say. 

"What do you mean, surprisingly? I'm a pretty considerate person, you know! Well, the other school will be bringing some stuff, too." "Oh. Then isn't this unnecessary? Since this is in their budget anyway. You should just eat all their snacks." 

"We can't do that…," Isshiki replied, stiff-faced. 

Huh, she really is thoughtful about certain things. She had to mean we couldn't come empty-handed every time when the other school was bringing things. 

If they were entertaining us and we were totally guests, that sort of consideration would actually be unnecessary, but we were going to be jointly hosting this event, and since we would be equal participants in this, it would probably be best to maintain that equality, even concerning something as minor as snacks. 

Dealing with another school is a pretty big hassle. When I thought about how this was bound to affect matters when we actually got to the task at hand, the bag in my hand felt quite a bit heavier. 

Isshiki brought me along through the community center. 

I'd never really been there before—what do you do in a place like that? Does it have a doo, doo, doo-da-loo BGM that has a recovery effect on the community? No, that's a PokéCenter… 

The interior was kind of like a government office, with a cold and tranquil air flowing through. It felt like one of those places where you couldn't talk too loudly. Maybe that was because there was a library on the first floor. 

I followed Isshiki up to the second floor, and there, the look of it changed a little. I could hear people's chattering and the sound of music coming from somewhere. 

The stairs continued upward. I ascertained the music was coming from the third floor. 

When I looked up the stairs, wondering what they were doing up there, Isshiki's eyes followed mine. "There's a big hall on the third floor. We'll be doing the Christmas event there." 

"Oh…" 

I could hear faint thumping; maybe there was a dance club in session or something. 

Hmm…so it's basically like a type of citizens' public hall. It's like a facility for people of the region to gather and hold various activities. So then how is it different from a normal public hall? Does it just feel bigger? 

Being not very familiar with this sort of facility, I was goggling all around while Isshiki walked ahead of me and stopped directly in front of a room. 

Over the door, a sign read LECTURE ROOM. It seemed this was where they were holding the meetings. 

Isshiki knocked on the door. 

"Yes, come in!" A voice came from within, and Isshiki took a breath before she put her hand on the door. 

A wave of chatter flowed out from the opened door. It looked like a school classroom inside, with desks and chairs. 

"Hiii, guys!" Greeting them all in a cutesy manner, Isshiki went in first. When I followed her, there wasn't any particular sign of the chatter settling down—no one was even looking at me. It seemed they were all caught up in their own conversations and not paying attention to me. 

But they did notice Isshiki, and a voice called out above the commotion. Looking over, I saw a boy wearing the Kaihin High School uniform raising his hand. "Iroha, over here, over here." 

"Oh, hellooo!" Waving her hand, Isshiki headed for that group. Naturally, I wound up following after her. Unsurprisingly, they were capable of perceiving me when at close range; the guy who had called out to Isshiki gave me a questioning look before he whispered into her ear to ask, "Who's that?" 

"Oh, he's my helper!" 

That's a pretty sloppy explanation to give with such a broad smile, Isshiki. 

But that must have been enough to satisfy him. He offered an appreciative "Ohhh" before turning to me. "I'm Tamanawa. I'm the student council president of Kaihin High School. Good to meet you!" 

"…Uh-huh, likewise." Struck by his particularly brisk self-introduction, I was wondering if I should say my own name or not. 

But Tamanawa wasn't at all bothered by things of that nature. "Oh, it's so great to be able to plan together with Soubu High!" he said. "I'm hoping we can cultivate a robust, respect-driven partnership to enable the most synergistic effect possible." 

…That's a real punch to throw right at the beginning. Half of it was gibberish to me, so I had no idea what he was saying, but anyway, it seemed Tamanawa was the one who'd arranged for this Christmas event. That much was clear from every word he said. 

Since he was Kaihin's student council president, when he started talking, those nearby all shuffled over. He introduced everyone to me as they came, but frankly, I couldn't remember them all. Well, I doubted I'd ever see them again once this event was done, so it wasn't like I had to commit their names and faces to memory. 

Just meeting so many people was exhausting, drawing a sigh from me. Leaving it to Isshiki to handle that situation, I took a seat a little ways away and watched her and the others. 

Then, my gaze landed on someone among the masses who was staring at me in surprise. She was blinking, apparently shocked to see me here. Then she stood up and came over to me. "…Wait, Hikigaya?" 

"…Hey." Hearing this unexpected someone say my name had startled me, too, and it took me a moment to reply. I started sweating in spite of myself. 

She wore the uniform of Kaihin High School in a slightly casual manner, while her hands combed through her wavy, artfully messy black hair. 

Kaori Orimoto. 

She had been in my class in middle school and was also the girl I had confessed my feelings to long ago. I'd had another unexpected encounter with her recently and gotten her involved in an unexpected situation, too. Both the distant and more recent past between us had not made for very pleasant memories. 

Now that I think about it, Orimoto goes to Kaihin. If she's here, does that mean she's on their student council…? 

It seemed she was wondering the same about me. "Huh?" she said in surprise. "You're a part of Soubu's student council, Hikigaya?" "Not really…," I replied. 

Orimoto nodded as if that made sense to her. "Oh, really? Then you're in the same spot as me. I'm here 'cause a friend invited me." As she spoke, she was peeking behind me and glancing all around. 

Was she searching for something? "You're alone, Hikigaya?" she asked. 

"Yeah, I generally am," I answered, and Orimoto sputtered, then held her stomach as she burst into laughter. 

"What the heck? You're such a riot." 

"Uh, that wasn't a joke…" There was nothing to laugh about there, was there…? I can't be the butt of the joke when there's no joke… But if there was one, would that make the joke the seme and me the uke? I'm neither, though! 

But thanks to Orimoto, I had learned a bit about this group. Though this was going to be a joint event between the Soubu and Kaihin student councils, it seemed there were some volunteers participating, too. 

"It kinda seem like there aren't many kids from your school, doesn't it?" Orimoto asked. "Or is it just that we have lots?" 

"I dunno…" This was only my first day, so I didn't know much about the interior workings of things. But when I looked around, I saw more than ten kids from Kaihin. By comparison, on the Soubu side… 

Wait, huh? Our student council is… Oh, there they are. They were all clumped in the corner. Aside from Isshiki and me, in our school's uniform there were one, two…four, huh. What's more, compared with the kids from Kaihin, they were kind of shrinking away. It was like they felt inferior. 

"True, there aren't many of us…" 

"I mean, you can tell just by looking, right? Well, not like it matters," Orimoto said, and then she seemed to lose interest, gliding away from me and back to her seat. 

As if switching places with her, Isshiki returned. She gave Orimoto a once-over, then muttered, "Is that someone you know?" 

Your tone suggests the idea of my having acquaintances is what's in question here, so please lay off, Irohasu. Also, hey, you've seen her once already, okay? Well, that had been from a distance, so maybe she didn't remember. That meant I wasn't quite sure how to explain the situation, but in the end, I decided to go with the usual explanation. 

"Yeah. Well, she was in my class in middle school." 

"Huh…" Though Isshiki had been the one to ask, she didn't seem very interested in the answer. She sat down in a nearby chair and started opening the snacks and stuff she'd bought. Once the Kaihin students took notice, they started setting out their own drinks and snacks, too. 

It seemed the meeting was going to start soon. 

Everyone headed for their designated seats at desks that were arranged in the shape of a blocky U. 

Now then, which corner shall I occupy…? Hey, protecting one of the four corners actually makes me feel like one of the four holy beasts, I was thinking when I felt a little tug on my sleeve. 

"Heeey, come over here." 

"Oh, I'm fine in the corner, though…," I said, but Isshiki would not let go. I tried tugging back to escape her grip, but it remained firm. Why's she so strong? She's holding on to it in a cute way, but I totally can't shake her off… 

"Come onnn, come onnn, it's gonna get started." Then she tugged me again. 

"I get it! You're gonna stretch my shirt." 

Well, no matter where I sat, I wasn't going to be saying anything during this meeting anyway, so it'd all be the same. So I can at least sit in a spot close to the snacks. Reluctantly, I gave in and sat next to Isshiki. 

Though the desks were arranged in a U shape, sitting right at the head, in what you would call the seat of honor, was the student council president of Kaihin High School, Tamanawa. We were in the corner on the right side. 

Looking around again, I saw that just as Orimoto had said earlier, there were more people from Kaihin. Numbers-wise, they had about twice as many bodies present, but the difference felt bigger than the number itself. The biggest reason for that had to be the noise level. The Kaihin side was quite lively, with boys and girls mixed together, but the Soubu kids were very markedly quiet. 

Well, Kaihin had been the ones to come up with the idea, so it was no wonder they were more enthusiastic about it. They were like the organizer, or the sponsor or whatever. Our seating placement expressed that even further. 

Inferring the power balance from this situation, it seemed Kaihin was in charge of various affairs, while our school's position was…more often devoted to support, if I had to put a name to it. 

After confirming that everyone had taken their seats, the Kaihin student council president, Tamanawa, clapped his hands. "Right, then—let's begin the meeting! I'm glad to be working with you all today," he said as if he was used to this sort of thing, and everyone bobbed their heads casually in response. 

Finally, the meeting had begun. 

Tamanawa called out to one of the Kaihin kids and had them go to the whiteboard. Watching the pen squeaking out the characters out of the corner of his eyes, Tamanawa announced, "Let's begin with a thought shower, like the last time." 

Huh? What's that cool-sounding thing? That's not in my moveset. 

Or so I wondered for a moment, but it was actually nothing, just brainstorming. There are various more minute definitions, but basically, it means for a group to freely present ideas. 

"The topic of discussion will be, continuing from last time, cogitating on the content and presentation of concepts for the event…" 

As Tamanawa moved things along, the Kaihin students raised their hands here and there, and they began to present the ideas each of them had come up with. 

I watched in silence for a little while. I mean, like, jumping in when you don't really understand the situation causes trouble for others! I wasn't cutting corners and slacking. I was being considerate! 

Someone from Kaihin said, "Considering the market demands of us high school students, we really must actualize innovation based on youth-minded values…" 

Hmm, I see. They have a point. 

Yet another person from Kaihin chimed in, "So then, of course, expediting a win-win relationship between us and the community is a prerequisite." 

Y-yeah. Well, I get it. 

A different Kaihin student added, "This may necessitate strategic thinking on matters of cost performance. And then pursuing collaborative consensus…" 

Uh—uh-huh… That's right. 

After listening in silence to their meeting thus far, it hit me. 

…What the hell is this meeting? 

Not only did I have no idea what they were doing, I didn't really get what they were talking about, either. Am I stupid or something? 

Feeling uneasy, I looked over at Isshiki beside me to see her nodding and making appreciative sounds like "Oooh" and "Ahhh." Did you know, Raiden? 

It would have been awkward if I fell too far behind when I'd come to help, so I stealthily checked with Isshiki. "Isshiki, what are they saying right now?" I asked her quietly. 

She turned her head slightly toward me. Her head was tilted cutely. 

"Huh? Uh…" And then she made a vague sort of exhale with a shrug. 

What's that supposed to mean? That sounds like the noises Ai-chan makes when she plays table tennis. 

She was reacting with all those oohs even when she didn't understand things? I gave her an exasperated look, but she didn't seem bothered. She was smiling casually as if to say, Don't worry about it! 

"Well, they're proposing lots of stuff." 

"Uh-huh…" I guess if they're saying they'll come up with ideas, then we have to be the one to carry out their plans… Well, I think I could cover that well enough on my own. 

I don't hate simple labor. Repetitive mechanical tasks are acerbating to the spirit, but the acerbating of my spirit has long been thoroughly exacerbated to the point of reprobation. If you don't have to act with care or use your head, that's easy in its own way. 

I figured, eh, I'd make sure to be good and listen to precisely what it was we would be doing. But the discussion didn't seem to have much substance… 

Tamanawa, who was in charge of proceedings, also appeared to realize that. 

"Everyone, I think there may be something more important here…," he declared in a weighty tone, and tension ran through the assembled crowd. As expected of a student council president, he had a certain amount of gravity. Attention gathered on him, everyone wondering what he would say next. 

He swept his gaze over the whole lecture room, and then with a slightly exaggerated gesture like spinning a pottery wheel, he began. 

"We should think logically, utilizing the rational formation of ideas." 

Isn't that saying the same thing? How many times are you going to think? 

"We should take the customer's view, fostering a client-side perspective." 

Like I said, aren't you saying the same thing? How many times are you going to become the customer? 

I think I had a slightly strained smile on my face. But everyone else was in awe, staring at Tamanawa with sparkles in their eyes. 

…This is no good. It looks like the president is the same as all the rest of them… 

More likely, similar sorts of people had come together here—had been gathered here. 

After all that, the meeting continued along the same lines. 

"So then we should consider outsourcing…" 

"But that methodology would be a nonoptimal strategy." 

"I see. So then we should account for possible re-sche, going forward." 

What the heck is re-sche, a restaurant with great beef tongue? Why are these guys all using nothing but technobabble? What is this, Mahouka? 

This sort of discussion continued, like, "Game-changing innovation!" "Dialoguing and collaborative negotiation!" "The solution is resultsoriented!" This was beyond the sort of added English in modern hiphop music—I think they might have been some hip-hop hiiighly intelligent individuals. 

Whaaa…? They're so intellectual and socially conscious… I feel like all this big brain energy is gonna cause me to lose consciousness, here… 

Where do we come from, and where do we go? 

It was the sort of meeting where such thoughts would cross your mind. Just where had this meeting come from, and where was it going? 

Before I knew it, the meeting had ended without anything resembling a proper conclusion. 

But brainstorming is often like that. It's about trying to get as great a variety of ideas presented as possible. It's done with the sole goal of creating ideas. So then perhaps this meeting had not necessarily been entirely useless. 

However, I was bothered a little by the fact that nearly all the ideas had come from the Kaihin side. Though the Soubu students had been there, they'd hardly said anything. Well, after that barrage of highbrow lingo from earlier, it was no wonder those of us from Soubu shrank away. Not even Isshiki, the president, would feel like she could voice her own ideas in an atmosphere like that. 

She was currently in an animated conversation with the Kaihin student council. 

There was nothing in particular for me to do, so I kept to myself across the room, zoning out as I watched Isshiki. When she noticed me, she found an appropriate moment to finish her chat and then came over to me. 

"Hey, did you get the gist of it?" 

"Nope…I didn't understand anything." 

Isshiki was probably asking me if I had recognized the point of this meeting or not. Of course I got that much, but unfortunately, with all the business speak flying back and forth, I wasn't sure it would be accurate to say I comprehended what was said. 

Isshiki must have picked that up from my expression. She breathed a short sigh. "Yeah, it all sounded kinda difficult, huh?" 

Well, it wasn't so much that the words used were difficult, but rather their vagueness rendered the ideas they were conveying incomprehensible. A trivial distinction to Isshiki, I guess, as she put on a charming and cutesy smile. 

"But they really like it when I go, Wooow! Or I've got to work hard at this, too! For the rest, all I have to do is respond to the lingo, and we're good." 

"You're gonna get stabbed one day…" 

Even if that method worked now, I worried that eventually, she'd face severe retaliation. Seriously, omega males will fall for that so easily; it causes so many tragedies… These types can be weirdly pure, single-minded, wholehearted, and earnest, so they misunderstand easily. Damn, when you really think about it, these types are really great guys! Why don't girls like them?! How bizarre! 

As I was pondering this, Isshiki mused out loud, "Hmm…but you're sometimes like that, too. It's sorta like you're overcompensating for something…" She almost laughed. I swear I heard a lol added after that comment… 

"Don't assume I'm like them. I'm not overcompensating. I'm overly self-conscious." 

An overcompensating type is basically someone who wants to emphasize their strong ambition for personal growth. They're mildly cringey kids who try to present themselves as competent and different from other people, and they throw around cool-sounding business and economics terms in a pseudo-intellectual manner. It's not that different from M-2 syndrome. 

Meanwhile, the overly self-conscious types are basically mildly cringey kids. It's not that different from M-2 syndrome. 

"Aaagh, I don't really get it," Isshiki muttered, exasperated. 

Well, neither do I. But regardless, I'm sure both groups are cringey to others around them. 

"Anyway, I've worked out what it is we're doing, so let's get on that." Isshiki pulled out a handful of papers. 

Oh, so her conversation with them wasn't just chitchat. Was she asking about what roles those of us from Soubu would be filling, since that didn't come up in the meeting? 

Meetings are often pointless. I think it's more common for the important things not to be decided in meetings but in private discussions between VIPs. Isshiki's rather shrewd in that regard. And perhaps because she's a cute first-year girl, they've been treating her well, too. 

"You're getting along with them pretty well, huh?" 

"Hmm. Well, I suppose so." Isshiki put her pointer finger to her chin and tilted her head in thought before letting out a laugh. "…Wait, aren't you the one who taught me that it's cute when a younger girl wants to learn things from you?" 

"I didn't teach you anything like that…" I mean, yes, I did suggest the merits of skillfully using that position. But I didn't recall saying anything so specific. Wait, maybe this is what happens if you interpret something in the Isshiki manner… Oh dear, have I unknowingly created a monster? This sort of thing is bound to tear the soccer club apart… 

"But, well, given the way things are going, can't we let them handle everything? You don't need me," I said. 

Isshiki looked at her shoes, struggling to reply to that. "Ahhh, um, I guess so…" 

I assumed there had to be something she was worried about, so I waited for her to continue. 

But I didn't get to hear that because someone rapped on our desk. "Hey, Iroha-chan. Can I ask you to handle this, too? We went and handled the bigger part, after all." 

Tamanawa, the student council president of Kaihin High School, had appeared. It seemed he had an addendum to his recent discussion with Isshiki, as he handed her a few more papers. 

"Oh, sure!" She accepted them smoothly. No trace of her earlier gloom could be seen on her face. 

"Thanks. If there's anything you're confused about, feel free to ask. I'll be sure to fill you in." Tamanawa gave a charming smile and waved before leaving. Isshiki returned the gesture as she watched him go. 

"Okay, let's do this." Turning back to me, she gathered up the extra printouts she'd been given and started passing them out to the other members of the Soubu student council. "So that's the deal. It looks like our job will be writing up the record of proceedings. Right, then—I'll be counting on you all to handle that," she said, allotting work to each member. Their reactions were quite lacking. They seemed far less motivated than the other student council, which was harmonious and happy. 

Well, it'd be weirder to be fully enthusiastic about work. Real weird. 

But I could understand our student council not hopping to work when their responsibility was merely to carry out what the other school had planned. They probably didn't want to be treated as an afterthought. 

I accepted the records from Isshiki, too. Aside from that, there was also the schedule for future meetings and the task checklist. It seemed our job for now was to brush these up. 

We carried out this work in silence. 

Then one of the student council members suddenly stood to hand the printouts to Isshiki. "Is this all right, President?" 

"Ah, I'll check over it." Upon accepting them, Isshiki's expression stiffened. 

The boy facing her opened his mouth, too, as if he wanted to say something. "Oh, about this…" 

"Yes…?" 

"No, actually, never mind…" The boy, who looked like a student council executive, swallowed the rest of what he was going to say and looked away. "Thanks," he said quietly, then returned to his seat. 

When I followed him with my eyes, thinking, Haven't I seen him before? Isshiki noticed and explained in a whisper, "That's the vice president." 

I suddenly realized. Oh, that guy from second year… I didn't know his name, but I'd kind of seen him around on the same floor at school. So he was our vice president, huh? Well, even if I knew the president, it wasn't as if anyone else would be that well-known. 

He's in the same year as me, huh? That would explain why Isshiki was speaking politely to him. 

Hmm. This is rather complicated. 

It's difficult to have an underling who is older than you, and it can also be a little disconcerting to have a superior who's younger than you. When I had that convenience store job, it was really hard to get along with this new employee who was older… When they're learning about the job from you, they act diffident, almost tiptoeing around you. 

It seemed even Isshiki, who was used to being cosseted by her elders, knew that struggle. 

"Seems like you're having a rough time," I commented. 

"Yeah… I don't think he likes me very much. But that's how things are, at first." Isshiki's face clouded for an instant. But then with her usual, somehow provocative smile, she quickly added, "He'll get used to me eventually." 

Well, it's true that it's hard to get along perfectly as best friends from the very start. There will be some disputes, disagreements, and differences of opinions. 

But there's potential there. If something has just begun, it can change in any number of ways. At the very least, it's not like a certain room that's now closed. 

"Hey…" 

Hearing her call me, I jerked my head up, and there was Isshiki's face with a questioning expression. It seemed my hands had stopped working. To fill the awkward silence, I started talking as I wrote. "Anyway, how long should we keep doing this?" 

"Yeah…it's almost time to wind down for the day." 

Following Isshiki's gaze, I looked at the clock hanging by the entrance. It was already quite late. Most clubs would have called it a day by now. 

Then the door underneath the clock opened. 

"Oh, you're here." The one who appeared was a woman in a suit and a white coat: my homeroom teacher. She walked over to us, long black hair fluttering and high heels clicking. 

"Miss Hiratsuka." 

Why is she here…? I thought, confused. 

She sighed in dissatisfaction. "It seems this is being added to my workload, basically… Good grief. Us young underlings are constantly being loaded with more work; it's awful." 

Of course, you're one of the young ones… I found myself giving her a gentle look. 

But she looked back into my eyes—and her gaze wasn't so different from mine. "…You're alone, Hikigaya? What happened to Yukinoshita and Yuigahama?" 

From the way she spoke, she seemed to take it for granted that I would be there, but she'd also figured the other members of the Service Club would be present, too. Oh, now that I think of it, Isshiki said the one who told her to do this joint event was Miss Hiratsuka, huh? 

In other words, she had to have sent Isshiki's request to be accepted by the Service Club. And indeed, in the past, maybe we would have accepted this request as a club. 

But things were different now. 

"Oh, no, I'm just helping as an individual." I shifted my gaze to the printouts in my hands. 

"Hmm…" Miss Hiratsuka watched me steadily as I worked, saying nothing for a while. I didn't explain any further, either, focusing on moving my hands and copying out sentences and words that meant nothing to me. 

"…Well, all right, then." With a short sigh, Miss Hiratsuka looked at Isshiki, then back at me again. "Hikigaya and Isshiki, huh…? An interesting combination." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" I didn't find it amusing to be paired up with her. Isshiki seemed to feel the same way. I could almost hear the extreme displeasure on her face: eugh. 

That's a little mean, Irohasu… 

Seeing our expressions, Miss Hiratsuka gave a bemused smile. "Well, it's a little… Anyway, it's getting late. Go home now and do the rest another time. It looks like that's what the other kids are planning to do." 

Now that she mentioned it, some of the Kaihin people were starting to get ready to leave. 

"Yeah, then I guess we'll go, too," Isshiki announced to the rest of the student council, and they all started tidying their things. 

Then Isshiki lowered her voice—she must have been trying to keep Miss Hiratsuka from hearing—and whispered in my ear, "I'm gonna go eat with their student council before I go home, so you can go ahead and leave first." 

Inviting me isn't even an option, is it…? I'm thankful that she really gets it. "Then I'm going," I said. 

"Roger. Well then, I'll see you again tomorrow." Isshiki gave me a joking salute, and I replied with a casually raised hand before heading to the door. 

That was when I remembered something I'd forgotten to ask. "Oh yeah. Can I take it we're starting at about the same time tomorrow, too?" 

"Yeah, that's generally right." 

"Roger, got it." 

The start time was probably later in the day because the Kaihin students needed a little more time to arrive at this location. For us, that meant there was some time before the meetings started. 

As I wondered about how I should spend that narrow slice of time, I left the community center. 

What is happiness? 

It is a kotatsu. 

"Oh, Big Bro! Welcome home." 

When I finished the long day and returned home, Komachi was in the living room. Her eyes were half-closed. She was looking pretty sleepy. The cause of her sleepiness was probably the kotatsu, a heater that uses a heavy blanket underneath a tabletop, which I hadn't even noticed had been brought out into the living room. 

So at last, it's returned…this devilish machine. A kotatsu is a machine for the production of useless people. In my opinion, if you sent a bunch of kotatsu to an enemy nation in the winter, you could invade it easily. 

"Komachi, don't study under the kotatsu. It'll make you sleepy, and if you fall asleep there, you'll catch a cold. Those things ruin people," I scolded her, but she shot me an unamused look. Oh dearie me, is this girl in a rebellious stage…? 

"Uh, that's funny coming from someone snuggling into it himself…" 

Ha-ha-ha, what are you talking about, dear Komachi? I'm not in the kota… Ahhh! I slid under the kotatsu without even realizing it?! 

While putting on this very stupid act, I really was already inside the kotatsu. 

…Iz so warm, meow… 

After a long day and the return along the cold road at night, the infrared rays felt so nice. I stretched out my legs lazily, and they touched something soft. 

And then that soft thing came to wrap around my leg. A soft something that moves… Is it Komachi's leg? I thought, looking over at her, and when her eyes met mine, she grinned. 

To think she'd flirt with me by twining her leg around mine in the kotatsu… Recently, my sister has been unusual… Actually, oh man, what the heck, this is really embarrassing! …That needy little brat. 

I kicked my leg out as if to say, Cut that out, and that soft sensation moved away. 

And then something crawled out of the kotatsu. It was the cat, 

Kamakura. What had been twining around my leg had been not Komachi but him. Why do cats immediately make human legs their pillows? 

After leaving the warmth, Kamakura stretched out long and exhaled a hmf. 

C'mon, are you like a middle-aged man coming out of the sauna? 

Kamakura snorted when he saw my face, disgruntled about having been kicked out. Or was it that my feet smelled…? Don't act like that. It makes me anxious… 

"Bro, why're you glaring at Kaa like that?" 

"No reason…" 

He had left the kotatsu, but Kamakura must have been a little cold after all. He leaped onto Komachi's lap, and this time he curled up to nap there with his paws tucked in. I'm sure he slept plenty in the afternoon, but he's still gonna sleep? 

Must be nice to be a cat. I'd like to live that kind of lifestyle, too. 

Komachi started petting Kamakura on her lap. Ahhh, if you do that, he's never gonna leave… 

Oh yeah. Watching her, I remembered something. "Hey, Komachi. What's this?" I pulled out the letter that was still in the chest pocket of my uniform. 

Taking care not to move Kamakura, Komachi leaned over to examine it. "Huh?" she said calmly. "It's exactly what it looks like." 

"Uh-huh…" Does she seriously want household appliances…? What the heck is with this girl? If I do say so of my own sister… 

But Komachi wasn't interested in explaining further and just petted Kamakura while humming. 

…Well, I didn't want to make things awkward by pressing her and bringing up her message at the end. I decided to take that list as a reference, while I carefully considered something else to get her. 

Neither of us really talked, just passing the time in mindless silence. 

Suddenly, Kamakura twitched and stood up. He scratched his ears with his back leg, and then with a crisp expression on his face, he left the living room. It looked like he was heading for the door. 

That meant our mother had come home. What's amazing about Kamakura is the way he goes to greet Mom and Komachi. By the way, he never comes to greet me or Dad. 

After a while, there was the clack of the front door opening, followed by the tmp-tmp of footsteps going up the stairs, and then Mom appeared in the living room. Kamakura was following behind her. 

"I'm home. Agh, I'm tired." She threw her bag down where she stood and tossed back the coffee she must have bought at a café on the way back. Seeing how tired she looked, Komachi and I offered her some appreciation. 

"Welcome home, Mom!" 

"Yeah, bet it was a long day. Where's Dad?" I asked, thinking that if he was home, I'd pester him for money to buy Komachi a present. 

But Mom tilted her head, gave me a blank look, and replied with a vague noise. 

"Huh?" 

Hey, hey, Mom? You can speak words, right? You can communicate with your husband? Or are you just not interested in him at all? 

"The schedule is packed at this time of year, so I doubt he can come back so easily. I've brought home work, too," Mom said naturally, without any particular attempt to hide it. It seemed less that she was uninterested and more that to her, something so obvious wasn't even worth trying to hide. Huh, I'm sure it depends on the industry, but employees at this time of year sure are busy. I wouldn't be able to take still having to work even when it was this close to Christmas, come on. I want to become the sort of adult who makes sure to spend the Christmas season with family. I'm absolutely not going to get a job. 

As I was cultivating an unwavering spirit of unemployment, my mom opened her mouth as if something had suddenly struck her. "Oh yeah, Hachiman. You're not doing anything, are you? Reserve us a tub of chicken pieces. And a cake, too." 

"Hmm?" I replied. Why me? And wait, you don't necessarily know that I've got nothing to do, right? Or Hmm? for short. Wait, that's not a great abbreviation, is it? 

"I've always asked Komachi to do it, but this year, she's a little busy…" 

"Oh, it's fine. Gimme money." I wasn't unwilling to do it if that was the reason. I'd never really thought much about it before, but when I'd been studying for exams, I'm sure Komachi did lots of stuff for me, too. Plus, she does most of the chores, normally. I should do it at times like these, at least. 

When Komachi heard my reply, she jumped in. "Komachi can do that much, at least." 

But for some reason, my mother waved her hand, almost laughing. 

"It's fine, it's fine, we're already placing a burden on you as it is, Komachi, because of our work. You should make your brother do things sometimes." 

Hey, that's not how it is. It's not. I do actually have the intention to do chores. But once I decide in my heart that I'm gonna do the chores, the deed's already been done! (By Komachi.) 

I was about to make an excuse, like, It's helpful to have a competent little sister, but also tough! But my mother was completely ignoring my reaction, pulling her wallet out of her bag. "Oh, I forgot to withdraw some cash. You mind waiting until next time?" 

"Sure." After that brief reply from me, my mother gave a thank you and yawned, then cracked her shoulders and left the living room. 

Watching our exhausted mother go, Komachi muttered, "She doesn't have to worry about Komachi." 

"Well, that's parental affection for you. Don't worry about it. Just study hard," I said. 

Komachi frowned for a moment, then tried to cover it with a somewhat cynical smile. "Hmm, I can't say I like hearing people say that…" 

"Oh, sorry. I couldn't think of any other way to say it." I'd told her to study hard on instinct. But someone studying for entrance exams hears that so often, they get sick of it. Besides, my dumb little sister can't be slacking on her studies. 

I don't think you should tell someone who is already working hard to work hard. And really, when you hear that from someone who isn't working hard, it only comes across as annoying. 

So then how should I support her? Mmmgh… 

As I groaned to myself, Komachi smiled. "Bro, at times like these, I love you works." 

"Is that right? I love you, Komachi." 

"Komachi doesn't love you back, but thanks, Bro!" 

"So cruel…" Tears welled in my eyes. Big Brother put quite a lot of heart into saying that. I'll even flash my brake lights five times for you! 

After a stint of gleeful laughter, Komachi stood up. She was probably going back to her room to study. "Okay, that was a nice break." 

"That's good…" 

"It's important for you to have breaks, too, Bro. Like, if you're worrying too much about things, doing something else will distract you, right?" 

"Well…I guess, yeah, that's right." I had been about to say, Isn't that an excuse for running away? 

But then I remembered a certain someone who was also averting his eyes, and I couldn't bring myself to give Komachi a hard time anymore. 

3: Once more, Hachiman Hikigaya asks himself. 

In the classroom after school, I breathed a big sigh. 

I had to go to the meeting at the community center to help Isshiki later that day. 

I wasn't particularly bothered about that, though. 

Being a part of these meetings was a pain right now, but Kaihin High School was running things. That meant those of us from Soubu would merely do as we were told. The brainstorming session had enlivened discussion, and motivation was high. "Intellectualness" was high, too. 

But the thing that bothered me was the Soubu High School student council. Judging from how things had gone the day before, I couldn't say our representatives were functioning well. And the biggest factor there was likely the rocky relationship between Isshiki and the rest of student council. 

It seemed having a first-year as the president presented more of a burden than expected. She was only one year younger, but a gap of one year is pretty big for us high schoolers. Both parties clearly felt that distance, and that reservation and anxiety seemed to be getting in the way of their interactions. 

It'd be nice if I could have helped with that, but that was a problem for Isshiki and the student council. It wasn't a problem I could solve. I couldn't even handle our club of merely three people. 

Besides, it wasn't a huge issue, as things stood. We just had to make it to Christmas. 

The student council had been formed only recently. Eventually, they'd reach acquiescence—otherwise known as getting used to it. 

Considering this, I breathed another sigh. 

There was still some time before the meeting would start. Until then, I'd be in the clubroom. I wasn't telling Yukinoshita and Yuigahama about helping Isshiki, so I had to show up for now. I didn't want to make them suspicious by skipping all of a sudden. 

That clubroom was empty. I was sure it'd be best not to bring in anything more. 

But still, showing up only to head out to some unspecified task… It wasn't as if I had anything to do there, but being on standby was part of the job, too. So it could be harder than expected. 

The Reality Marble that I'd learned without even realizing it, Unlimited Double Works, has activated… It seems a bizarre double life is about to begin… 

Breathing a short sigh, I heaved up from my chair. 

Yuigahama had already left the classroom. It wasn't as if we went to the clubroom together every single time. I think both of us were certain the other would go. That was how it had been so far, and how it would continue to be. 

Leaving the classroom, I walked down the hallway to the special-use building. 

It was unquestionably getting colder over time, but it really is hard to sense a clear difference over the course of just a day or two. The chilly hallway I walked through that day wasn't really much chillier than the day before. You won't sense the moment that the crisp late autumn turns into winter on a day-to-day basis. 

So the clubroom down this hallway was probably indeed colder than it had been the day before. We simply hadn't noticed. 

Putting my hand on the door of the clubroom, I went inside. 

"Oh, Hikki." 

"Hey." With a casual greeting to Yuigahama and Yukinoshita, I sat down in my chair. 

I glanced around the clubroom. 

Yukinoshita returned her gaze to her paperback, while Yuigahama was having a staring contest with her cell phone. As I'd expected, it wasn't much different from the day before. 

One chair was by the window. One chair maintained a confused distance from it, not too close and not too far. And one chair was placed on a diagonal from that window seat, facing away. 

The other chairs were piled up with the desks we didn't use. 

The thin cover of dust on those desks and the small mountain of finished books indicated the passage of a small span of time. 

Yuigahama said something to Yukinoshita, and they had their usual exchange. With the sound of their trivial conversation in my ears, I picked up a paperback. 

This was the daily scene we had been reenacting over and over these past few days. Nothing off could be detected here. You couldn't say anything had changed. 

All that was different from before was the number of times I checked the clock. 

I looked up without moving my upper body, shoulders, or neck—only my eyes. I took quiet, surreptitious glances, so as not to reveal what I was doing. 

How many times had I done that, over and over? The long hand wouldn't move like I wanted it to, but finally, it arrived at the position I'd been waiting for. 

The girls were discussing a different topic from a moment ago. After I was sure of their cheerful voices and peaceful smiles, I slowly exhaled. 

"Oh yeah… Can I go home early today?" I asked, quietly closing my paperback. 

The girls both stopped talking and looked at me. "Huh?" 

It was a little early for sunset. Normally, we'd still be in the clubroom at this time. 

Yuigahama must have felt this was strange, as she looked confused when she asked, "You're leaving kind of early today. Do you have something?" 

"…Yeah. My mom asked me to reserve some fried chicken," I replied. The first reason that came to mind popped out of me. I had in fact been asked to do that, so on my way back, I'd stop by the KFC. 

Yuigahama nodded as if that made sense to her. "Oh, reservations, huh?" 

"Yeah, for Christmas. The party tubs are supposed to be pretty popular, so it's best to do it early. Though Komachi did it last year." 

"Oh yes, she's studying for entrance exams now, isn't she?" Yukinoshita said in acknowledgment. 

"That's the deal. So see you." 

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Yuigahama called out to me as I stood up. 

Yukinoshita added, "Say hello to Komachi for me." I replied to the both of them with a casually raised hand, then left the clubroom. Behind me, Yuigahama now started saying this and that about Komachi's entrance exams. 

In the silent hallway, even through the division of the door, I could faintly hear both their voices. They tugged at my back as I left. 

As soon as I was out of the school building, I headed to the community center. 

Parking my bicycle in the lot, I walked a few steps and hefted up the bag on my shoulder, though it wasn't particularly heavy. 

When I got to the entrance, I heard footsteps running to me from behind. 

"Hiiiiiiiii!" With that call, there was a tmp and a light impact on my back. Even without turning around, I knew who it was. There's only one person who uses that tone, and aside from my little sister, Komachi, the only person who would do something like this is Iroha 

Isshiki. 

"Hey," I replied, turning around, and the owner of that voice was exactly who I expected. She was puffing up her cheeks in a grumpy pout as she gave me a little glare. "That's a real nonreaction…" 

"I mean, that thing you do is so manipulative…" And besides, I'm used to it from Komachi… 

"Nawww, of course I'm sincere!" Isshiki pressed a hand to her cheek bashfully. 

Uh, you don't have to be so deliberately calculating about it…, I thought, looking over at what Isshiki carried to see she had a bag full of snacks and plastic bottles that day, too. 

Wordlessly, I reached out as if to say, Give that here. 

Isshiki looked a bit surprised by the hand reaching out to her but then giggled and handed over the bag. "But, like, I think what you're doing is pretty manipulative, too…," she teased. 

"Naw, of course I'm sincere!" Tragically, my big brother skill activated on auto. Doing something like that consciously would make me so embarrassed my hands would sweat. Agh, and once I was conscious of it, my hands were suddenly slimy. 

As we conversed, we entered the same lecture room as the day before, and I saw everyone from Kaihin and Soubu was already there. 

"Oh, Iroha-chan." The student council president of the other school, Tamanawa, raised his hand and called out to Isshiki. 

"Hellooo!" she replied as she sat down in the same seat as the day before, and I followed. 

It seemed we were the last to arrive. Everyone sat down in their chairs one after another, and all eyes gathered on Tamanawa. "Right. Then let's get started. Thanks again for coming, everyone." After Tamanawa made his introductory remarks, the meeting began. 

First, Tamanawa confirmed the record of proceedings that we'd put together the day before. He whaled away on his MacBook Air like clackity-clackity-SMACK, until he seemed to get eyestrain, pressing the bridge of his nose, and opened his mouth. "Hmm, I think things still aren't quite solidified, so let's continue with the brainstorming from yesterday." 

Uh, this is beyond "not quite." We had no idea what you were talking about in that meeting yesterday. And that had made the record of proceedings incredibly abstract. 

I hope we can write a proper record of proceedings today, I thought as I listened to the meeting. 

Kaihin got the ball rolling. 

"This is a special opportunity, so it'd be nice to do something fancier." 

"Yeah! That's a good idea. Like, something big, you know?" 

Turning to look toward the familiar-sounding voice, I saw that the sudden, enthusiastic agreement had come from Orimoto. 

Tamanawa gave his MacBook Air a serious look. "…It's true, we may have arranged something too small." 

Huh? Really? Something got arranged? I looked at the record of proceedings, but I only saw stuff about utilizing strategic thinking and the rational formation of ideas, or whatever. 

Maybe they'd decided something I didn't know about, off somewhere else. A little uneasy, I said to Isshiki, beside me, "Hey… I don't know what we're doing…" 

"…Well, nothing specific has been decided," she replied quietly, slightly exasperated. 

As for what had been decided currently, that was just the date, the place, and the goal. 

The event was set for Christmas Eve in the large hall of the community center, with the goal of facilitating volunteer work to contribute to the local area. It would be a Christmas event for the kids at the preschool and the elderly at the senior center right next door. 

But the most important thing—the actual activity—had not been decided. 

I'd assumed we would now be discussing the concept and direction of that activity, but I wasn't getting that sense at all. 

"So I figure we should scale it up a little." Tamanawa did a general summation of their opinions, then asked Isshiki, "What do you think?" 

"Hmm, I guess so." When he asked her opinion, Isshiki smiled sunnily and answered vaguely. Tamanawa smiled back, apparently taking that as a yes. 

Then from nearby, I heard a sigh. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it was from the vice president. 

I agreed. 

Even if I was merely the humble helper, I didn't want my workload blindly and indiscriminately increased. I had to make sure to argue against this. "Isshiki, we don't have the time or the manpower to do anything bigger." There was no point in addressing the room, since I was nothing more than one simple laborer, so I had meant to only whisper in her ear. Then our side's representative, Isshiki, would speak for me. 

But it seemed Tamanawa had heard that, too. 

"No, no, don't be like that." With some rather sweeping gestures, Tamanawa began to instruct not just me but everyone present. "When brainstorming, you don't reject opinions. If issues of time or personnel prevent expansion, then we ask how we manage that. That's how we develop the discussion. You can't come to any conclusions right away. That's why your opinion is invalid." 

O-okay… You rejected my opinion fairly instantly, considering… 

Tamanawa gave me a charming, nice-guy smile. "Let's discuss how to make it possible!" 

So you've already decided to scale it up…? 

Nobody objected to Tamanawa's proposal. Or rather, his speech just now had prohibited any negative opinions from being raised. 

After that, we heard several ideas on how to scale up the feel of the event and how to actualize it. 

"How about involving the local community?" 

"We aim to close the generation gap." 

Though I was basically recording the events of the meeting, we kept getting proposals I wasn't sure whether to write down or not. 

"Why don't we bring in more of the nearby high schools?" Yet another idea from Kaihin. 

Come on now; why do overly compensating (lol) types want to do things as groups so badly? I wonder if their intellect was so high, it caused them to ascend to another dimension, leading them to dream that they had become part of the Data Overmind. 

But there was no benefit to be had in including additional high schools. It was already unmanageable as it was, and most of all, if any more people got into this with more ideas, nothing would ever get resolved. And there would certainly be even more work, too. That was the one thing I had to avoid… 

But if I were to simply reject that idea, my objection would be crushed again. What could I do to avoid that? 

…I have no choice. 

When rejecting their ideas, I'd have to be indirect and play by their rules when I chose my words. That would mean things would get long, so it'd really be difficult to get Isshiki to speak for me. 

"I'm just tentatively joining the brainstorming process, but to offer my own counterproposal to that last suggestion, I think it may be best to hope for the greatest synergistic effect by engineering a more seamless liaison between the schools—what do you think?" I worked in a bunch of jargon, thinking to myself, How do you like this?! The sudden statement from an unexpected source brought up a stir of murmurs. Orimoto, who was sitting diagonally from me, stared at me blankly. 

But right now, there was only one person I was trying to persuade. 

And I was right. Tamanawa loved the jargon and jumped on it. 

"…I see. Then we should go with something other than a high school. So university students!" 

So that's no good, huh…? Damn it! At this rate, this is going to spiral way out of control. I have to do a follow-up attack now. "Uh, hold on. Then we'll be unable to take critical initiative. And obtaining congruity with stakeholders requires a partnership where a clear mission statement can be unmistakably whiteboarded…" 

"Hey, what are you talking about…?" Isshiki was drawing away in horror. Oh, I didn't really understand what I was saying myself. Mission statements had nothing to do with it, either. But I had to say this now. 

Raising the jargon content ratio had been an act of desperation, but 

Tamanawa nodded in approval. "Indeed. So then…" 

Good, good. It seems like I've persuaded him this time! Aw, he gets it, once you talk to him. He's a pretty good guy. So I've argued a man down again? I want to know failure! 

Or so I thought for but a brief moment, when Tamanawa stuck up his index finger. "How about having the nearby elementary school join? That could gain us favor from a different sector, aside from us high school students!" 

"…What?" What is he talking about…? 

While I was still reeling from his sudden proposal, Tamanawa further elucidated his idea. It seemed he very much liked his own proposal. "Hmm, I suppose they call it gamification? If we design it so they have fun while performing tasks, we may be able to get help from the local elementary school students as well." 

"That's a win-win solution," someone from Kaihin agreed. 

Then Orimoto clapped her hands and pointed at that guy. "A winwin! Yeah, that's it!" But why…? 

It seemed not only Orimoto but the majority of the others also agreed. Tamanawa nodded in satisfaction and seemed to assume that it was decided, as he started giving directions. "We'll handle making appointments and negotiation with the elementary school. I hope I can ask the Soubu student council to handle things after that," he said to Isshiki with a broad smile. 

But Isshiki was staying noncommittal. "I guess we could," she said, in a way you couldn't take as a yes or a no. She'd never been keen on this job in the first place—she had to feel negatively about increasing the workload. And that made her reluctant. 

But Tamanawa pushed her. "How about it?" 

"…Okay, we're on it!" Isshiki replied with a beaming and brilliant smile. 

Well, of course she did. From where she stood, he was an older boy and also the student council president of another school. He wasn't someone she could refuse that easily. They'd probably been forcing ideas on her like this the whole time. 

Now it was certain we'd be getting more work. 

I heard another sigh from the vice president. I felt ready to do the same. Nothing but sighs! 

On its own, having our workload increased was grating. 

It would be best for me to resist a little here and there and bet on the chance that it would reduce my work, even slightly. I'm willing to work as hard as I have to, if it means less work… 

"Hey, is it all right for us to be deciding this on our own?" I asked. 

"I think it would be meaningful for us to display initiative," Tamanawa replied as he pushed aside his bangs with a fwsh! 

Conversing with this guy makes my head hurt… Pressing my forehead, I said, "That's not what I mean… If we're gonna have the elementary school kids help out, then the kids will have to participate in the event itself. And that's gonna cause capacity problems with the venue." 

They had decided on the community center as the venue in the initial stages, and that decision was obviously not going to be overturned. So then there was an upper limit to the number of people who could participate in the event. We couldn't just toss anyone and everyone into it. 

When I explained this, Isshiki nodded. "Oh, that's right. And we don't know how many people will be coming from the preschool or the senior center…" 

You haven't even confirmed that…? 

It seemed to me there was a lot we had to do before we scaled this thing up, but still, Tamanawa wouldn't give in. He incorporated my opinion but stuck to his argument. "Hmm, then we'll check that. And if we can discuss other matters as well while we're at it, that would be even better. Then we decide the number of elementary school kids participating and try contacting them." 

So it was decided what we were doing, for now. 

Soubu would confirm with the preschool, while Kaihin would be going to the senior center, and based on what we got there, we would approach the elementary school. 

Well, it is what it is… I'd succeeded in limiting the number of people participating. I figured I should appreciate that I'd avoided having to deal with an unspecified majority. 

That's right, Hachiman! But I suppose there might be good in things, even if we don't see it! 

Finishing up the meeting—or rather, brainstorming—for the time being, each of us decided to get straight to our tasks. 

"Um, what do we do now?" Isshiki started off, once she'd gathered me and the Soubu student council together. "There's other work to do, so I'm thinking we should decide who's going to the preschool and who'll put together the record of proceedings…" 

Hmm. Well, there was no need for everyone to bother heading over to the preschool just for confirmation. It should be fine for just a few to go there. The question was who would go, but…on that point, there was frankly no need to bother discussing it. 

Before I could offer a comment, the vice president reluctantly began, "Perhaps you should be handling any negotiations, President…" 

Isshiki's shoulders slumped. "O-oh… Yeah, true. Of course…" 

Well, it'd be fair enough to have a representative go at a time like this. Rather than deciding on who would go do that, Isshiki should have been assigning tasks to the rest of us right now. 

The vice president must have had some concerns of his own, as he added, with some reservation, "Yeah…and I think there'll be a lot of other things, too… Not just this…" 

"Agh…yeah." 

Isshiki's attitude made the vice president give a tiny sigh. 

Oh, so that was what his sigh during the meeting meant? 

Unlike me, he was not displeased about the increase of the workload. 

The source of his dissatisfaction was Isshiki. 

I see… I really do get that subcontractor feeling here, in a bad way. 

The Soubu High School student council, vice president included, wanted Iroha Isshiki to act more presidential. 

But she was constantly deferring to the other student council president, and she tended to let him force his ideas on her. What's more, because she was a first-year, she was also diffident with students from our school. The way the student council saw it, they probably wanted her to stop worrying over all that and get to work now. 

Well, it's human nature to worry, so just telling her not to wouldn't necessarily make her stop. They had no choice but to carry on with this awkward relationship for a while. 

But since I was the one who had made Isshiki the president, I also had some responsibility there. I had to support her properly for the duration of the event. 

"I'll come with you to the preschool, Isshiki. Let's have the others handle the rest while we're gone." I turned to the vice president. "That's okay, right?" He nodded. 

Watching our exchange, Isshiki seemed a bit relieved, and her expression softened. "Right. Then that's what's happening. I'll go make the call," she declared, and she pulled out her phone to contact the preschool. Though we were going there only for a confirmation and a brief meeting, we couldn't suddenly barge in unannounced. We had to make an appointment beforehand. 

While I was waiting for her to finish her call, I zoned out, thinking, Nothing to do, huh…? And then from the corner of my eye, a familiar face approached. 

Orimoto casually raised a hand and came to talk to me. "Hey, Hikigaya, when you were in middle school, were you on the student council or anything?" 

"No, I wasn't." 

We were in the same middle school, and you don't even know that? I thought, but considering further, even I didn't remember anyone from the student council at the time. The reason was actually because none of them had inflicted trauma on me, so I get the sense they were probably good people. I feel bad for forgetting them. They didn't deserve it. 

It seemed Orimoto was searching her own memories of the past, as she nodded. "Yeah, yeah, of course. But you seem kinda used to this stuff, don't you?" 

"Not at all," I replied, but thanks to my involvement with the cultural festival and athletic festival and such over the course of nearly a year, I'd accumulated some basic EXP. I'd gained a level of tolerance to this kind of work, compared with before. 

"Actually, like, now that I think of it, why are you helping out?" 

"Well, because I was asked." 

"Huh…" My explanation made her pause for a moment. She gave me a hard look, and it was a little uncomfortable. I twisted around to escape from her gaze, and that was when she asked me something outrageous. 

"You broke up with your girlfriend?" 

"What?" I asked her back, unable to really understand what she meant by that question. What is she talking about…? 

Orimoto glanced over at Isshiki, who was on the phone off to the side. "Oh, I figured that's why you're going for Isshiki-chan." 

Uh, like I said, what are you talking about…? Isshiki's cute, but I wouldn't get anywhere with a girl like her, and I wouldn't even want to in the first place. "I'm not going for her… And I haven't broken up with anyone. I've never even had a girlfriend." 

Why do I have to hear this stuff from the girl I confessed to a long time ago? Is this some kind of new long-term bullying tactic? I just love the way I answer honestly, regardless. If this were Japanese Folktales, I'd come out successful in the end. Oh wait, that wouldn't work; I don't have a dog. Or a lump. Wait, was the lump a different story? 

Orimoto blinked. 

"Oh, is that right…? I thought you were dating one of those girls." Which girls…? I asked with a look. 

Orimoto understood my silent question and spun her index finger in the air. "You know, those girls from when we hung out." 

There was only one time when Orimoto and I had hung out, but the two of us hadn't gone out alone or anything. Hayama had also been there, along with Orimoto's friend. More accurately, though, I'd been an extra added in to fill out the group. 

That was when Hayama had schemed an encounter with two girls— Yukinoshita and Yuigahama. Orimoto had to be talking about them. 

"They're…just in the same club as me." 

I couldn't quite come up with the words to accurately signify our relationship. I'd meant to state the plain facts, but I didn't know if that was correct. Anyway, how well did I understand the meaning of the words the same club? 

As I was about to start considering that, Orimoto cut my thoughts off with a dumb-sounding "Huuuh?!" noise. "So you're in a club? What club?" 

"…The Service Club." I didn't know how to explain it, but if I told some weird lie and we wound up talking more about it, I'd be in trouble. 

Orimoto's reaction to my plain, truthful answer was to burst into laughter. "What the heck, I have no clue what you mean! That's so funny." 

"Uh, no, it's not…" 

She clutched her stomach as she laughed hard. Well, it was true that I didn't really get the point of the Service Club. But it wasn't particularly funny. 

I really couldn't laugh about it. 

Once Isshiki finished her call, I accompanied her to the preschool. It was basically next door to the community center, so it was easy to meet people there. And because it was a public day care center, it was easy to talk to the school administration. 

Isshiki had just scheduled an appointment, so when we arrived, we were immediately let inside. 

The sights of the preschool, which I'm sure were buried somewhere in my memory, and a wafting sweet scent like powdered milk made me feel somehow nostalgic. 

I didn't know if I should call them classrooms, but in the rooms I could see through the glass windows, everything was tiny. Inside, little kids were playing with wooden blocks and running around. Stuck up on the walls were indecipherable crayon pictures with wriggling characters, with flair added by tulips and shooting star decorations made from colored paper. 

I'd gone to preschool, too, but I don't remember much from that time. Back then, I think there's a possibility someone told me, "Zawsze in love," or I got a key or lock or something, but unfortunately, I don't remember at all. 

Being somewhat curious, I was looking around appreciatively, when through the glass, my eyes met with those of a day care worker inside the room. 

She whispered a bit with the other day care worker beside her. From her look, she was clearly suspicious of me. Yes, all you mothers, the crisis management at this preschool is perfect! I recommend it! 

I scooted away at once and called out to Isshiki, who was walking ahead. "Looks like I'm not very welcome here." 

"Yeah…you've got a scary look in your eyes, after all…," Isshiki said, looking straight at me. 

That was mean! I thought she'd say something in my defense! 

However, even if we'd called beforehand, of course they'd be a little wary to see a high school boy appearing in his uniform. It wouldn't be good for me to continue following her and scare the children and the day care workers. 

"…Actually, I'll go wait over there." I pointed to a place in the hallway by the wall where the kids wouldn't see me. 

Isshiki put a hand to her waist and breathed a big sigh. "Guess you have to, huh? Then I'll deal with things here." 

"Thanks," I said, sending her off. It seemed she was going to go talk in the staff room that was just past here, as she continued straight on down the hall. 

But anyway, waiting here despite having come all this way was, like, the most useless thing possible. 

Now then, how do I kill time until Isshiki's done talking with them? I wondered as I checked around the area. I could sit down in the hallway, but that would make me even more of a shady character. I was staying behind to avoid making the kids and day care workers suspicious, so doing that would be voiding the point. 

I've got no choice. I guess I'll stand here and zone out… 

A long time ago, I did this day-labor job working for the display of model rooms in an apartment building, and I held a sign for hours under the blazing sun, standing there and doing nothing else, so this was no big deal. Back then, I'd killed the time zoning out for about eight hours. It was a pretty tough job, but there were so many deductions, like from the temp agency and for insurance and stuff, it made me tear up… Yikes, is my wage this low…? 

In comparison, this place had a roof and walls, and it was just for a short time. That alone made it seem like a good work environment… Yikes, is my aptitude for corporate slavery this high…? 

I was spacing out like that, thinking trivial thought after trivial thought, when the door of a nearby classroom opened gingerly. 

What's that? I wondered, looking over to see a young girl tiptoe out. She sneaked over to the entrance, where she started looking all around. Stretching up and jumping in a very cute and nimble manner, she did her best to see outside, but when she couldn't see anything, she trudged back. 

Her bluish-black hair was divided into two pigtails and tied with scrunchies. That, combined with her pretty, cherubic face, made for a very adorable little girl. 

When she noticed me, she called out a quiet "Ah!" and approached me. 

Then she tugged on the sleeve of my blazer and looked up at me, open-mouthed. 

This isn't good—is this, like, where I get reported to the cops for suspicious behavior or something? But we're inside a preschool, and there's no one else here, so it's okay, right…? 

"…Hi. What's up?" Of course, I couldn't ignore her in this situation, so I tried to keep my tone calm as I addressed her. 

Then she tugged even harder on my sleeve, so I slowly bent down. Once I was about on her eye level, she said with worry, "Hey, Saachan isn't here yet." 

"Oh…is that right?" 

What's a Saa-chan…? Does she mean her mom? Small children do mix up their words a lot when they talk. When Komachi was little, she called me Big Bo instead of Big Bro. I'd think for sure she was Tora-san. 

I'd built up a resistance to little kids, thanks to having Komachi, but of course I didn't remember how I'd handled her when she was this little. I'd been young, too, after all. So then how should I deal with this…? Whatever the case, I couldn't let her go outside on her own. So then should I take her back into the classroom? 

"Saa-chan will show up soon. Go play over there until then." Gently pushing her little shoulders, I brought her to the classroom door. She was surprisingly obedient, coming to the classroom with me. 

Then, right when I was about to reach out to the glass sliding door, she tugged on my sleeve again. "Oh! That's Saa-chan," she said, pointing to a crayon picture posted on the classroom wall. 

I have no idea which picture she's pointing to… She'd probably drawn a picture of her mom or something. But since there were multiple pictures up, I didn't know which one it was. 

"Which one's Saa-chan?" 

"That one!" The little girl pointed vaguely at the wall. But with all the pictures taped there, I really couldn't tell. 

Hmm… I wonder which it is… 

I crouched down again to look from the girl's perspective. "…Okay, I get it. This is right." I raised my right hand. "So then, this is left." Then I showed her my other hand. 

She nodded, raising her hands in the same way as she repeated, "Right, left." 

"You got it. Okay, raise your right," I said, and she energetically shot up her right hand. "Now raise your left." This time her left hand leaped up with vigor. Hmm. Looks like she understands right and left properly. 

So, then…, I thought, pointing to a picture stuck on the wall. "Okay, here's a puzzle. How many from the right is Saa-chan?" 

The new game made the little girl's eyes sparkle. She started to count, folding down her fingers. "Ummm…the fourth!" 

"Right. Good job," I said, lightly patting her head. I see—so that's Saa-chan… 

…Yep, no idea who that would be. In the end, I couldn't tell which was the correct picture. But I'd spent a bit of time with her, and that must have distracted her for a while. 

When I was about to prompt her to go into the classroom, a kind voice called out from behind. "Kei-chan." 

I turned around to see someone quite familiar. It was my classmate Saki Kawasaki. 

The little girl she'd called Kei-chan broke into a beaming smile and ran off. "Saa-chan!" 

When Kei-chan jumped on her, Kawasaki tenderly petted her hair. Then she gave me a suspicious look. "…Why are you here?" 

"Um, well, work…" 

I actually wanted to ask Kawasaki why she was there, but before I could ask, she opened her mouth. She shot a stealthy searching look around behind me. "Hmph… Where's Yukinoshita and Yuigahama?" 

I'd figured she would ask that. If I was going to mention work, that would refer to Service Club activities. Kawasaki had been involved with those a few times before, so it was natural for her to be asking that. But there was no need to bother telling her about what was going on. She hadn't been probing that deeply, and telling her about our private affairs would just make her uncomfortable. So I'd keep it simple. 

"…They've got other stuff to do. I'm here alone." 

Kawasaki gave me a hard look, but then she said, "…Oh," and briefly looked away as if disinterested. 

"You?" I threw the question back at her, and Kawasaki gently grabbed the shoulder of the little girl she'd called Kei-chan. 

Then she muttered with shy hesitation, "I…came to pick up my sister." 

"Ohhh." Ahhh, so Kei-chan is her little sister? That's good… For a second there, I was worried she was Kawasaki's daughter… 

But now that she explained it, their facial features really did resemble each other's. Kei-chan had a pretty hopeful future. I pray she will grow up into a meek and modest girl, 'cause her big sister is scary. 

With that wish for Kei-chan in my heart, I looked between the Kawasaki sisters. I'm not sure how Kawasaki interpreted my gaze, but she sounded a little flustered as she said, "Oh, um, this is my little sister, Keika… Come on, Kei-chan, say your name." 

"Keika Kawasaki!" When prompted, Keika raised her hand energetically, as if she were responding to roll call. 

"I'm Hachiman." Feeling my heart warmed by Keika's cheer, I told her my name in return, and she blinked her big eyes. 

"…Hachi…man? …That's a weird name!" 

"H-hey! Kei-chan!" Kawasaki hastily admonished her, but her tone was still kind. She seemed softer than she was normally. She was actually being a proper big sister, completely different from when she fusses over her brother. 

"I think it's a weird name, too, so it's fine. Anyway, so you pick her up and drop her off, huh? That's a lot of work," I said. 

Kawasaki was curt. "Not really… Normally, our parents do it. I help out on days I don't have cram school." 

"But don't you live pretty far away?" Kawasaki's house is in a different school district from my middle school, but I think it's not far from my house. From there to here would be about a station or two on the train, I guess. I don't really know if that's a fair distance for a kid's day care, but it's definitely not in the neighborhood. That seemed tough. 

But Kawasaki stroked her own long hair as she said quietly, "Yeah, but when they drop her off, it's by car… Right now there aren't many openings at preschools, and this municipal one is cheap." "Huh, I see." She's kinda domestic. 

A little impressed, I was looking at her when the shopping bag in her hand caught my eye. She must have done some shopping for dinner before coming, and the green onions sticking out of the bag looked even more domestic. 

"Before, I was always working, so I couldn't come, though…" 

"Ahhh, now that you mention it, yeah." 

"Uh-huh…," Kawasaki replied, and her voice was warm, her gaze focused on Keika. Then suddenly, that gaze shifted toward me. 

Looking at me hesitantly, her lips started moving silently as if she was struggling to say something. It didn't seem like she'd spit it out even if I waited, but when she just stood there, it made me think she was gonna say something. I found myself fidgeting. 

This is kinda embarrassing, so don't… "…What?" I asked. 

Kawasaki shook her head hard. "I-it's nothing." Her ponytails swayed restlessly as she did, and Keika followed the trail of the ends with her eyes, like a cat. 

When I was drawn to look over, too, I saw Isshiki at the end of the hallway. 

"Oh, there you are. Heeey!" 

Isshiki was on her way back, seemingly finished with her discussion in the staff room. If she'd finished the confirmation and the meeting, then our job was now over. Not that I did anything. 

"…U-um, I'm not intruding, am I?" Isshiki asked in concern as she noticed Kawasaki's presence. 

Kawasaki glanced back at Isshiki, and Isshiki froze up with a frightened twitch. 

Oh, that's normal for Kawasaki, so you don't have to be scared. She might look like a delinquent glaring at you, but she's all bark and no bite. She's a good girl. But if I were to explain it like that, Kawasaki would probably get angry again. 

While I was wondering what I should say, Kawasaki flicked her hair back and turned away, then put her hand on the glass sliding door. It looked like she meant to say good-bye to the day care workers, then get going home. "…See you," she turned halfway back to say, then pulled Keika's hand. 

Keika squeezed Kawasaki's hand back as she raised her free hand, waving it wide. "Bye-bye, Haa-chan!" 

"Yeah, see you." Casually raising a hand, I waved back at her. 

But where did "Haa-chan" come from? Does she not remember my name? Let's make sure to keep track of people's names. You must never do it the lazy way and remember it as, like, "Hachi-something." 

As I watched the two of them go, Isshiki stood next to me and shifted her gaze from the departing Kawasaki to me. Sounding a little confused, she said timidly, "Y-your acquaintances are all kind of unique, huh…?" 

I won't deny it, but you're one of those unique acquaintances, too…