the more chaotic Nanpa Street, the buildings were neat.
Perhaps that was the reason the wind blowing through felt a little stronger.
The north wind was still cold, despite the sun.
The ramen had left both my stomach and heart in a warm and comfortable state, so it wasn't like I was dying to go home right that minute. Still, I wasn't very keen on a long march, either.
When I turned to Isshiki to ask if this would take any longer, she pointed ahead with a bright smile.
"There. That one."
Glancing in the direction she was pointing, I saw a rather chic-looking café.
With its wood-paneled exterior, broad windows to let in natural light, big parasol on the terrace, and a menu written in chalk on the blackboard that sat on the frontage, it was the definition of fancyschmancy. Come on, is this for real? This is Chiba. Are we even allowed to have fancy cafés?
How about it? This is fine, right? We're going in, right? It wouldn't make sense not to go, right? Isshiki was saying without words as she tugged on my scarf.
Listen, this isn't a leash, okay? "Well, this'll work, I guess."
I mean, it was cold, and anywhere was fine by me. This was the kind of place I'd never go if I'd been alone, but since Isshiki was with me that day, I'd probably be forgiven for darkening their doorstep.
"Okay then, let's g… Ohhh, shoot." Isshiki froze on the spot.
"What? What is it?"
With a yank on my sleeve, she brought me to a stop. Uhhh, these aren't reins…
Looking panicked, she circled behind me. Sneakily poking her head out from behind my back, she pointed at the storefront. "Look over there."
"Hmm?"
When I did as instructed, a couple came out of the café: a slightly timid-looking girl with braided pigtails and glasses, and a normal boy you'd see anywhere, with no particularly special characteristics… The two of them left the shop, then kept walking in the opposite direction from us.
"Huh." Watching them go, arms folded, I considered. Hmm…I've seen them somewhere before… Who were they, again?
A murmur came from behind me. "That's the vice president and the secretary."
…Ohhh, yeah. I should know them.
Hey, wait. Why were the two of them coming out of that café together?
"What, are those two dating?" I asked Isshiki.
Hopping away from my back, she cocked her head. "I dunno? I don't think so? I mean, assuming they're dating just because they're hanging out is a little close-mi—" Isshiki froze, then violently whipped back toward me. "Ah! Wait, were you just hitting on me? It's pretty shameless to act like you're my boyfriend when we've just hung out once so could you wait until we've at least gone out a bunch of times. I'm sorry." She shoved her hands out in front of her as if putting distance between us, then said that all in a rush. She rattled it off so fast, when she was done, she had to take a deep breath.
"…Yeah, sure, whatever you want." I don't even want to bother asking why she's interpreting it like that… It was getting ridiculous, counting the total number of times she had rejected me…
"Let's just go in. It's cold outside," I said to her, heading into the shop, and she pattered after me.
"Ah, wait uuup!"
Being that this was a classier brand of café, it was pretty nice on the inside, too. The tables and chairs seemed to have been carefully selected, and each set had a different style. The walls and the shelving were decorated with cute ornaments—it was the sort of interior that seemed like it would win over women.
We were shown to the right side from the entrance, with sofa seating that was fairly standard, compared with the other stuff in here. The light of the sun poured in from the street-facing window.
Isshiki, seated opposite me, immediately opened her menu. "Aghhh, man. It's so hard to decide, huh?" Despite the interrogative intonation, it seemed she didn't particularly expect a response from me, as she flipped through the menu at her own convenience
Emphasizing a love for sweets to play up her girlish act—impressively cunning, Irohasu. Very impressive. But, well, I'm sure there are plenty of girls who just like sweets, not as a ploy. There's a cookie monster in the clubroom who's always eating snacks, after all… Though lately she's also been eating a lot of crackers and stuff, too.
As Isshiki waffled over her choices, I zoned out watching her, and when she noticed my gaze, she spun the menu around to me.
Huhhh, they've got a lot of stuff… Macarons and roll cake, cheesecake, crème brûlée…and gelato and sorbet, eh? What is the difference between gelato and sorbet? Is this like asking about different members of the Shoufukutei rakugo school?
As I was thinking these trivial thoughts, comparing the text with the photos, Isshiki's head jerked up from her menu. "I've made up my mind."
"Okay. Then I'll call the server."
When I did, Isshiki pointed to her menu and ordered, "Assam tea and the macaron sandwich, please."
"And your house blend…and gelato."
Once we placed our orders, it was peaceful for a few moments.
The faint bossa nova–style background music, the warm air of the café, and the soft sunlight of the early afternoon created a unique atmosphere. The voices of the other customers were somehow distant and muffled, like sounds filtering through underwater.
That drew my attention just that much more to the person before me.
Isshiki seemed used to coming to this place, incredibly relaxed as she sank deep into the sofa. Leaning her cheek on her hand, elbow on the armrest, she turned her face to the window. She must have been looking forward to the macaron sandwich, as she was humming softly.
While listening to her quiet song, I gazed at the scenery out the window. Outside was the familiar city of Chiba, but seen through the single pane of glass of this stylish café, it seemed more dreamy than usual. Perhaps a café has the magic to give you these delusions.
Or did Isshiki come here because that was what she liked about it? Though she wasn't the only customer come to visit.
"Do you come here with the student council?" I asked, remembering the pair we had just seen, and Isshiki's head jerked toward me. She shook her head.
Then she suddenly clapped and put a hand to her chin as she considered a moment. "Ohhh, you mean the vice president and the secretary? Mayyybe this place did come up in conversation last week."
"Huhhh." So then we just happened to run into each other, huh?
Or maybe Mr. Vice President had taken this opportunity to ask Miss Secretary out, saying something like, Why don't we check out that café Isshiki was talking about? Eugh, cringe!! What the heck are they doing in that student council room? Stop screwing around and work.
…No, wait. Maybe it wasn't the vice president making the invitation.
If that timid-looking secretary mustered up her courage to ask him out, then that would kind of make me want to cheer her on! Though it doesn't particularly make me want to root for him! I feel like in my head, the vice president went into the same category as Tobe. In the sense that he's yet another victim of Iroha Isshiki.
As I pondered these matters, the perpetrator in question, Iroha Isshiki, was continuing to talk. "So, like, I was asking the vice president things like where do you hang out on weekends and stuff. For today. For today!" she said, as if emphasizing that last part, and then looked up through her lashes at me.
Did she just say that twice because it was important? This girl… That sort of blatant call to attention is not worth a lot of points, in Hachiman terms.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but I'd rather you prepared in more fundamental areas…" You know, like asking if I want to go first, or actually explaining to me why you wanted to hang out at all. There were lots of things you should have done…
It seemed Isshiki meant to ignore my complaints, blatantly averting her eyes as she hemmed and hawed under her breath, changing the subject. "Well, I honestly wasn't expecting to nearly bump into them here…"
She trailed off, then brought her gaze to the front again, fixing her eyes straight on me. And then—as if she didn't want anyone around to hear—she cupped a hand by her mouth with a bashful smile and whispered conspiratorially. "Next time, let's pick some place where there aren't so many people we know."
"Is there gonna be a next time…?"
My voice had gone dry from surprise and imagining this "next time" that would be brutal.
Isshiki glared at me. "Why are you acting so reluctant?"
"It's not like I don't want to go… Well, um, you know, I'll be sure to take appropriate measures to ensure the matter is dealt with."
"From that answer, it doesn't feel like it'll actually ever happen…" Isshiki sighed, then looked at me with a slight twist of a smile, exasperated. "Oh!" she exclaimed with a sparkle of excitement in her eyes. When I turned around to see where she was looking—in other words, behind me—right at that moment, the server was bringing over her macaron sandwich and tea.
Her order, followed by my gelato and coffee, was placed neatly on the table. Isshiki watched it ecstatically before pulling out her phone and beginning to snap photos. For some reason, she was even taking shots of my gelato, not just her own cake.
Why is it that girls take pictures of food? Is it a food diary thing? Or is some trainer at a RIZAP gym telling them to send photos of their meals?
Satisfied with her pictures, Isshiki put down her phone. Now we can finally eat, I thought.
Isshiki's hand shot up. "Oh! Pardooon! Can I ask you to take a picture?" she called, and a server popped up and respectfully accepted the phone from Isshiki.
More pictures? Just how long is she going to make me wait?! I'm eating my ice cream! I thought, picking up my spoon, when she smacked my hand down.
Looking over, I saw her leaning slightly forward over the table, making a perfect posed expression toward the server holding up the phone. "Come on! Give me a peace sign!"
"No. You don't need me in your picture. And my ice cream is gonna melt."
"It won't melt that fast. C'mon, hurry," Isshiki retorted quickly without turning toward me. It seemed she couldn't maintain that pose for very long. Her cutesy mask was slipping a little, too.
"Um, sir…" The server was giving me this uncomfortable smile as if trying to see what to do. It made me feel not only uncomfortable, but pressured, too.
S-sorry for bothering you while you're working…
"Come on. Come on."
With Isshiki urging me, I had no choice but to slide my plate off to the side and lean over the table.
"If you could go a little closer in…," instructed the server, holding the camera, and I leaned forward a bit more.
Suddenly, I could smell shampoo. Sliding my eyes in that direction, I saw Isshiki's soft-looking hair flowing down. Her face was shockingly close. Just as I was about to automatically jerk back, the server called, "Oh yes, that's good. Say cheese!"
Then I heard the sound of a shutter click two, three times.
"Thank you sooo much!" Isshiki called out to the server.
Sinking deep into the sofa, I watched her accept the phone from the server. I never thought taking a photo could be so exhausting… Maybe there was some truth in the old saying that having your photo taken will steal your soul.
My sigh made the steam rising from my coffee cup vanish. I wanted to drink it before it got cold. "…Can I eat now?"
"Oh, yes. Go ahead," Isshiki replied casually as she checked over the photos.
Aw man, I bet my face was all red, I thought. To cool my head, I went for the ice cream that I'd been forced to wait on.
…I knew it would melt.
By the time I paid for the food and left the café, it was already dark out. It seemed quite some time had passed as we sat there engaging in trivial conversation and enjoying the food.
A bit of a breeze had come with nightfall, and the chilly air was coming in through the gaps of my loosely wrapped scarf, making me shiver. When I tugged together the collar of my coat and tightened my scarf, Isshiki emerged from the café after me.
"Sorry to make you wait. I almost forgot to take the receipt." She bopped herself on the head bashfully and stuck her tongue out, and I could almost hear her giggle, Tee-hee.
She knew what she was doing…
Why would she even need that receipt? I just paid for the both of us. And hey, she took the receipts from the Ping-Pong place and the food ticket from the ramen shop, too, huh…? Is she going to file them on her tax return or something?
"All right, then let's just head for the station," I said.
"Okay," she replied, and when I nodded back at her, we started off, neither of us particularly leading the way.
Some people were headed toward the station, while others were just coming from it. The flow of traffic clashed, and the face of the city transformed to nighttime. It was the weekend, so the streets were busy.
It wasn't that late, but a yawn slipped out of me anyway, maybe because of the Ping-Pong. It seemed the same was true for Isshiki, walking along the sidewalk beside me, and she caught my infectious yawn.
When she realized I'd seen her, she looked a little self-conscious. Then, clearing her throat as if to cover it, she came a half step closer to me. "Wellll, I guess I'll give you ten points for today," she declared out of the blue. It seemed this was my grade for that day's Date Course Investigation Exam.
"Just out of curiosity, ten points out of what?"
"A hundred, duh."
"Why's my score so low…?"
I was trying, in my own way. Come on. Don't you think that's a little harsh? I complained with my eyes.
She began counting her fingers on her gloved hands. "Ummm… First of all, minus ten points for not being Hayama."
"You're asking the impossible right off the bat."
What the heck? Who does she think she is? Princess Kaguya? And she's grading me by subtracting points. Hachiman thinks adding points just might be better in order to encourage growth. Let's develop our strengths!
Obviously, she couldn't hear the screams of my heart. She lowered another finger on her left hand, and then another as she counted off. Please stop. Your fingers are lowering for now, but my heart will sink forever…
"And then minus forty points for your behavior in general?"
"Well, that's fair." I nodded automatically. In fact, I must have put in some real effort, if that was all that got deducted. Rather than me putting in a good effort, I should say that Isshiki had been the one making an effort here, in having forgiven it.
"At least you're self-aware…" She sighed, her voice tinged with resignation.
Oh, so she hasn't actually forgiven me, huh…?
Professor Isshiki's scoring continued. Suddenly squeezing her right hand in a fist, she sent it straight into a light punch in my side. "And minus fifty points for being so eager to hang out with a girl when she invited you."
"You're the one who invited me… And wait, now it's zero." It didn't hurt where she punched me, but mysteriously, I did feel a little stab to the heart. I just happened to remember someone that moment, and it weirdly stuck in my head.
As I rubbed my ribs, Isshiki hopped ahead one step, stuck up a finger, and puffed out her chest. "But I had fun, so I'll give you an extra ten points."
"…Well, thanks."
So that gave me the total of ten points, huh? She was merciless with her scoring, but the last part was a little sweet. I would have given myself the same score.
We gradually drew near the station as we talked.
I was going on to the Sobu Line, while Isshiki would probably head home by monorail. So then we'd be parting ways here, in front of the station.
"How was it for you?" Isshiki asked me hesitantly as we approached the short staircase that lead to the roundabout. Her face was slightly downturned, so I couldn't see her expression, and I couldn't tell at a glance what she was asking about.
I doubted it was too different from what I'd been thinking about just now.
"Well, basically what you said… Though I'm a little tired."
"Did you need to be that honest? …Whatever. It just means you put all your energy into having fun with me!" She lifted her head, a cutesy smile on her face. I couldn't help but make a face at her customary slyness.
Seeing my reaction, Isshiki pouted. "Why are you acting like I'm a high-maintenance pain in the butt or something…?" She puffed up her cheeks, then pointed her nose in the air and strode off a little on the fast side. As she passed by me, she said in a sulky tone, "All girls are high-maintenance, you know."
That made sense to me. With a little shrug, I hurried to catch up to her. "…Yeah, I'm sure. Everyone on the planet is annoying."
"Including you! Geez!" Spinning around, Isshiki was giving me such a beleaguered look, it didn't even compare to the one I'd given her just now. Ouch.
Perhaps our mutual beleaguered feelings slowed our pace a little. Regardless, the station concourse was just ahead. Threading through the throngs of people emerging from the turnstile, we arrived right in front of the same ad screens where we'd met up that day. Isshiki stopped. I halted in my tracks.
"Anyway, today has been educational. Thank you very much." She thanked me with surprising honesty, then slowly bowed.
I was taken aback by the utter sincerity and politeness, and when I muttered something flustered like Uh-huh or Mm or No, thank you, she lifted her head and giggled like she found me funny. "…You be sure to put our research to good use, too, okay?"
Her gaze was overflowing with kindness, but there was just a bit of severity behind her words.
"…Sure. Well, uh, thanks for today, then."
It was true that I'd learned a lot—through no fault of my own, though. Isshiki was a unique person, but I highly doubted my experience would be directly useful for anyone else. Because everyone is a special case for someone, and everyone is different.
"See you at school, then," she said.
"Get home safe."
We exchanged farewells, and then Isshiki headed to the stairs for the monorail platform. The escalator slowly rose, and she gradually drew away.
Suddenly, she spun back around to give me a little wave. I raised a casual hand in response, watching her as she grew distant.
Girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice.
Iroha Isshiki's version of nice is sweet and spicy. And probably bitter and sour, too. And a real hassle, something you won't know until you try coming into contact with it.
I'm sure it's not unique to Isshiki—the other girls in my life would have it, too.
What is it, exactly?
Watching Iroha Isshiki go until she was out of sight, I wondered that, just a bit.
3
There lies the deadline they absolutely cannot fail to make.
The clubroom seemed colder than normal.
Since we'd told Miss Hiratsuka about the clunking heater, we'd been asked to refrain from using it until the repair technician came to fix it.
The clubroom was unoccupied during the day, so this had minimal effect on our lives, but it was a different story after school. We needed to perform our duties as the sun was slowly setting, and the temperature was dropping. This meant that despite being indoors, I had my scarf tight around my neck. The only other heating device in the room was the electric kettle.
Except that wasn't its intended use. As always, the electric kettle was being used purely for boiling tea. But its humidifying effect helped; little wisps of steam were better than nothing.
It's hard for humans to adjust to losing a comfortable lifestyle and go into "starvation mode." Whenever I felt the cold air radiate off the floor, my hand would stop moving instead of turning a page in my paperback.
The club hardly got any visitors anyway. If I was just going to be killing time, I'd say my house was definitively more comfortable. I could even go to Starbucks or something, even if I felt a little out of place, and it might be better to read while surrounded by pretentious types (lol). Anyway, why is it that those pretentious types (lol) at Starbucks deliberately choose seats by the window to type away on their MacBooks and show off their new books? Do they want to be those bugs that stick to the window at night?
Well, it would be hard to read at the popular Starbucks. In that sense, the sparsely populated clubroom was superior. I wasn't averse to the quiet and cool atmosphere. But in the winter, the coolness really revved up a lot.
My spot was right by the wall adjoining the hallway. This wall was so thin, we could have been in a cheap hotel room. It would be more accurate to call this a panel. So it was not much to rely on when it came to keeping out the outside air, and drafts seeped in from the cracks between the sliding doors, too.
"…Hey, can we call it a day? I'm cold," I said to the two sitting by the window, shivering.
Once I became aware of it, I just couldn't take the cold anymore.
Yukinoshita looked up from her book and cocked her head. "Is it? …I suppose it is. What do you suggest we do about it?" She put her hand to her chin in a thinking pose.
"Really? I'm totally fine," Yuigahama responded.
Of course she wouldn't be cold.
As soon as Yuigahama had felt the slightest bit cold, she'd gleefully moved her chair to squish right next to Yukinoshita. They shared a blanket hanging over both their laps. Normally, Yukinoshita would complain about the heat or the annoyingness and move away, but she was letting Yuigahama do as she pleased for this day only.
The both of them were looking downright cozy.
Part of it was because they were sitting in a sunny spot, but the biggest factor was that they were sharing body heat.
You guys look so warm…
As I was gazing upon this happy pair, Yuigahama straightened up from her position leaning on Yukinoshita. "H-Hikki, is it cold over there?"
"…Yeah, well, it's cold, yeah." When she brought it to my attention, I felt the cold air creeping up on me to make me shiver. I found myself unconsciously rubbing my arms.
"Oh…" Yuigahama flipped up the blanket once, as if checking its size. And then with a moment's pause, as if feeling hesitant, she let out a little sigh.
She flicked a gaze over at me with questioning, puppy-dog eyes, which made me fidget.
Yuigahama took in a deep breath like she was going to say something, her full chest rising and falling with determination. Her meek voice didn't match her grand gestures. "I—I see…"
As she was hemming and hawing under her breath, Yukinoshita took over with a gentle smile. "Why not put on a jacket?"
I knew it. I grabbed my coat as she suggested and hung it casually over my shoulders without putting my arms through, like a woman suffering from the office air conditioner blasting in the summer.
Isn't it time to go home yet…? I wondered. I was having a staring contest with the clock hanging on the wall when there came a knocking on the door. Agh, someone's here… Looks like I won't be able to go home early.
"Come in," Yukinoshita called out, ignoring my dejected slumping. After Yukinoshita gave the go-ahead, the door opened.
"Hello, everyone!" When our visitor bobbed her head in a bow, her pale hair swayed. Large round eyes peeked out from under the gaps in her flowing bangs, and her lips formed a faint smile.
Iroha Isshiki had come to our clubroom yet again. But her greeting was rather more polite than usual, and it gave me the slightest hint that something was off. I've kinda got a bad feeling about this…
"Ohhh, Iroha-chan. Yahallooo!" Yuigahama raised a hand and called to her, and Isshiki waved back, the sleeves of her cardigan fluttering.
"Yeah, hellooo!" Returning her greeting, Isshiki strolled into the clubroom, then stopped suddenly. "…Is anyone else cold in here?" She gave Yukinoshita a questioning look.
Yukinoshita smiled, at a loss. "Yes, the heater is broken right now."
"Ohhh, really?" Isshiki said with disinterest, picking up a chair. She headed over to Yukinoshita, sat herself right down, tugged over the blanket, and joined their impromptu human kotatsu.
"H-hey…" Yukinoshita's tone was partly confused and partly accusatory as Isshiki suddenly pasted herself against her. Isshiki didn't seem to care. "Sooo waaarm! " she said to herself as she snuggled in closer to the other girl.
"Ah, should we pack it in more?" Yuigahama suggested gently.
"Ohhh, thanks sooo much!" Isshiki sounded like a spoiled child. Now Yukinoshita was being squeezed from both sides.
Stop it! Don't press Yukinon any more! She's already flat to begin with! A wind blows over her Kanto Chest Plains! If you're going to press her, at least push up!
I never would have said that out loud. As I was worrying about whether I should put a stop to the Isshiki/Yuigahama sandwich, the squishing continued.
"…Agh." Yukinoshita sighed in resignation, then drew her chair back slightly, opening up a space so that it was easier for Isshiki to get in.
Isshiki gleefully exclaimed, "Yaaay!" She moved her chair over in little scooches, somehow getting even closer to Yukinoshita.
Yukinoshita gave Isshiki an annoyed look, but her hands did not say the same, as she reached out to the quilted teapot cover and began pouring tea into a paper cup. "…Would you like some tea?"
"Th-thank you very much." Isshiki accepted the steaming cup, and holding it in both hands to keep them warm, she began to sip.
They look so warm…
But anyway, Yuigahama isn't the only one getting special treatment. You've also gotten softer on Isshiki lately, too, hmm, Miss Yukinoshita…?
Now that I was thinking about it, though, for Yukinoshita, they would be her first real friend and real junior. It was kind of charming to see her take on a bit of a caretaking role.
As I watched the three warm-looking girls from my chilly spot far away, Isshiki, seeming quite comfy as she drank her hot tea, gave me a little bow. "Oh, thanks for the other day." "Hmm, yeah," I replied noncommittally.
Yukinoshita and Yuigahama looked over at me, wondering what we were talking about.
Urk, it's kind of hard to explain…
The two of us had just gone to hang out together. That was all it was, but if I went out of my way to tell Yukinoshita and Yuigahama, We just hung out; it was nothing, it would seem like more than just
"nothing."
But remaining silent brought about its own weird feeling of guilt. Well, I guess I've already made it a big deal by feeling guilty in the first place, huh…? Ewww, Hachiman is such a creep…
As a result, all I could do was let out a meaningless exhalation, a combination of a sigh and a moan. This must have appeared suspicious, as Yukinoshita's eyebrows came together, while Yuigahama glanced between Isshiki and me.
Oh dear…
For a while, the clubroom fell into an awkward silence. Despite the cold, I could feel the sweat glands on my head gradually opening up.
Isshiki cleared her throat softly, breaking the tension. "Sooo I've kinda been thinking…maybe the student council should make a free magazine," she announced, making a remark completely unconnected to our earlier comments.
Yukinoshita gave her a questioning look. "Hmm? A free magazine?"
Nice one, Irohasu! I've been liberated from their scrutiny…
"A free magazine is, like, one of those, right?" asked Yuigahama.
"Yeah, one of those," Isshiki replied, completing a brief exchange in which no information was communicated whatsoever.
The other day, when Zaimokuza came to the clubroom, I did recall the discussion touching on free magazines, so it seemed even a few, brief comments like that was enough to get it across.
What was not getting across was her goal.
"But why a free magazine?" Yukinoshita asked with a tilt of her head.
Isshiki drew one hand out from under the blanket and waved a finger as she explained, "We report our accounts at the end of the fiscal year! So the vice president and the rest of student council have put together the paperwork for that, but apparently this year, we actually have some budget left over."
"Ohhh…," I said. The previous student council president had been Meguri. Megu rin was so fluffy, I didn't really get the impression she was very tightfisted when it came to money matters. It kinda made sense to me that she'd leave leftover funds.
But Iroha Isshiki—Iro hasu—the current student council president, was so shrewd that I was sure she'd be having an eye on the money…
As I was mulling over the matter, just as expected, Isshiki smacked her hands in front of her chest and grinned brightly. "Since we've got the money, wouldn't it be best to use it? It seems like a free magazine would be just right."
"That doesn't mean you need to make us do extra work…"
That makes no sense. No matter how much money you have left over, creating work for yourself is simply a mystery… This girl is definitely plotting something…, I thought, giving her a suspicious look. Isshiki just gave a cutesy "Aha!" to skirt the issue. Th-that's even more suspicious…
"But then, Iroha-chan. If you have extra, wouldn't it be best to save it up? Saving is important, you know?" Yuigahama chided. Sounds like something a mom would say…
But if this were Isshiki's own money, she'd be right. The difference here was the fact that this was the student council budget.
Yukinoshita, who had been listening to them talk, must also have realized this, and she put her hand to her chin. "I'm sure they can't."
"Why not?" Yuigahama asked, leaning her head on Yukinoshita's shoulder.
"Since if they have budget left over, they might have their budget cut next year. If I were in charge of determining their budget, that's what I would do," Yukinoshita explained.
"Yes! That's exactly it! Sooo wouldn't it just be better to splurge before the end of year, to keep my budget from getting cut next year?" Isshiki inched in real close, then leaned up against Yukinoshita cutely in an attempt to win her over.
"Too close…" The answer was feeble and filled with confusion.
Sandwiched from both sides, Yukinoshita was cramped like an unfortunate passenger on the train at rush hour. Mm-hmm, such good friends!
But, well, it's not like I didn't know where Isshiki was coming from. Though it wasn't actually Isshiki's money. What the heck is she saying, "my budget"…? It's the student council's. But if it would fit in that budget, then the printing of a free magazine itself wouldn't really be a problem.
"Seems fine to me. Though I dunno what kind you're making," I said with little interest.
Moving away from Yukinoshita, Isshiki turned back to me. "About thaaat, we've basically already decided. I was thinking it'd be nice if we could feature, like, places to hang out, or good restaurants, or cute cafés."
"Ohhh, that sounds nice! And it might be cool to add in clothing stores, or those shops with the little household items, too!" Yuigahama got all excited about Isshiki's idea, squishing even closer to Yukinoshita.
Yukinoshita was really suffering now. "So you're imagining something like a mini community bulletin, or a community magazine. It seems like there would be a demand, content-wise…"
But places to hang out, good food, and cute cafés, huh…? I feel like that rang a few bells. What was it, "People are nice"? Places to hang ooout and good fooood and cute cafés are waiting, right? The only part that fits is the food, huh? Guess I'm wrong.
"If we're talking community magazines, then would it be kinda like Chiba Walker?" Yuigahama asked, turning her body toward Isshiki.
"Yep, yep." Isshiki nodded, leaning forward enthusiastically. Finally freed from the other girls, Yukinoshita let out a short sigh.
Isshiki continued her explanation. "If it spreads information, we can just go out to have fun and call it research while we guzzle down the bankroll."
With that cutesy cute smile of hers on, she was endorsing something close to embezzlement. Guzzle down funds…? This isn't a developer's comment about extorting microtransactions in a gacha game…
Yukinoshita and I were both utterly disturbed, but Yuigahama was tilting her head.
"Bankroll…"
I can just see her imagining cake… It's not a Swiss roll.
Isshiki must have seen from our faces—Yuigahama aside—that we were completely put off, and she puffed up her cheeks in a pout. "Ohhh, you told me before, didn't you? Like, if it's getting bankrolled anyway, then use it how you like!" she said.
Yukinoshita shot me a cold look. "I see you've been teaching her nothing good…"
"Wait, I didn't say that," I argued back.
Isshiki shook her head, giving me a sulking, grumpy look. "You did!
You definitely said it when we were planning the Christmas event." Did I say that back then…? Something about how it was a joint event with another school, so not to worry about the money and use it all up… I did, yeah. Give this girl an inch, and she'd take a mile. Except she'd completely twisted what I said…
"People could take what you're trying to do as appropriating student council funds for personal use…," Yukinoshita said, her manner accusatory.
Isshiki replied, quite indifferently, "Buuut this could be a good opportunity for everyone at school to learn about these things, and we can enjoy ourselves, too, sooo isn't it win-win?"
My! That Tamanawa boy has been such a bad influence… Your father won't let you spend time with a boy like that!
"When you put it like that, it doesn't feel like a bad thing…" Yuigahama said thoughtfully.
It was hard to make a sweeping claim that this was wrong, if having fun was to the benefit of everyone else. It was like commodifying your hobby. Ideal, really.
I got that Isshiki's proposal was not unreasonable. What remained was the issue of whether this was realistic.
Yukinoshita folded her arms, considering this for a moment. "But then will your application for the funds actually go through?"
"Aw, Yukinoshita! Making sure it goes through is the treasurer's job!" Isshiki answered, giggling like she found this absolutely hilarious.
She's a hot mess… Well, if anything happens, she's the one taking responsibility, so it's fine, I guess.
If the treasurer was responsible for the expense report going through, then it was the duty of the responsible party to get thrown under the bus! Taking responsibility was their responsibility!
Who knows if Isshiki was aware of this, but it seemed she had more than enough enthusiasm to make up for any deficits. "Sooo then the only issue is the free magazine… How should we make it?" she asked, starting up this new topic like this was the reason she'd come.
Hmm, enthusiasm is the one thing she has in spades…
"I dunno… It's not like we've ever made a free magazine…," I said.
"Yes…it's fair to say we know nothing on the matter," Yukinoshita agreed.
Listening from the side, Yuigahama clapped her hands as if remembering something. "Oh, but before, we did that page in that community magazine."
"Oh, now that you mention it, we did…" I think that was the thing Miss Hiratsuka had brought to us. She'd been saddled with making one to revitalize local businesses or something, so she'd gotten us to do a spread on weddings aimed at the younger generation. It had been a real struggle.
Thinking back on that, we were discussing it a bit when Isshiki suddenly leaned forward. "That sounds like a great idea! I get the feeling it'll work!"
"With that, we just needed to fill up one extra page. Creating something from scratch is an entirely different situation. It's impossible," Yukinoshita chided.
Isshiki dejectedly sat back down again, shoulders slumping as she gazed up at Yukinoshita. "…Is it really?" "It is really," Yukinoshita said coldly.
When Isshiki sniffled, looking resentful like a begging child, even Yukinoshita was speechless, quietly glancing away.
Oh no! At this rate, Yukinoshita is definitely going to give in!
Yukinoshita could be brutally objective when it came to logic and words, but when pressured by emotions and gestures, she gave in with surprising ease. Source: her usual exchanges with Yuigahama.
With Isshiki's innocent eyes on her, Yukinoshita twisted around uncomfortably.
Yuigahama cut in. "Hey now, couldn't you just do a little research on how to make one of these things? And ask people who might know some stuff and get them to help… Then we'd be able to do it with you!"
Isshiki grinned. "You're so nice, Yui!"
But if you really scrutinized her words, she was implying to "come back when you're actually ready," disguised in a gentle way.
As expected of Yuigahama. She knew how to suck up to Yukinoshita, which meant Isshiki's pleas were not effective on her.
"Well, Yuigahama's right," I said. "If you really want to do it, then you should take some time to prepare."
With all three of us criticizing her, Isshiki's expression became troubled, her eyebrows in an upside-down V. "I can't." "Why not?" I asked.
She looked down before muttering solemnly, "…Because it's almost time for the closing of accounts."
I got the feeling we'd just heard some very heavy words.
Oh yeah, it's right before the end of the fiscal year, huh? My parents seem busier than usual, too. It seems that around this time of year, all the corporate cogs out there had a lot to do.
According to the Internet, which is always right, the reason in
February and March you get merch like Blu-ray box sets or OVAs coming out all at the same time is because it's near the end of the fiscal year.
Well, this isn't limited purely to anime-related things. It's common enough to shove out product around this time of year to bump up the annual sales and balance the accounts. Source: my mom and dad. They were working frantically that day, like every day…
"I didn't really understand all the details myself, buuut it looks like if we're gonna shove it into this fiscal year, we have to do it before the expense report at the beginning of March, and we're already past the beginning of February, so right now is our only opportunity!" Isshiki said in a rush, waving her hands as she explained quite earnestly. Her gestures were very cute, but hearing her say terms like fiscal and expense report and shove was not…
Well, I understood there wasn't much time. They'd assemble all their receipts and invoices within the month, then process them at the beginning of the following month.
Which means we have to finish the job this month, huh…?
Though we weren't far into February, it was a short month. And even if it was just a free magazine, starting up a whole magazine from scratch was a monumentally difficult task.
"Totally impossible. Give it up," I said. Yukinoshita quietly nodded, and Yuigahama got this awkward strained smile.
You can lean forward and look up at me with those wibbly eyes, but it's no use. What's impossible is impossible. I slowly shook my head.
Isshiki quietly stood. "Hey…there's something I have to talk about…," she said in a lowered voice before softly walking over and stopping in front of my seat. She kept her face turned away as if she felt hesitant.
"Talk about what…?" I asked, but Isshiki just wouldn't say it.
Yukinoshita and Yuigahama were both giving her questioning looks.
Isshiki ignored our confusion, and then for some reason, she undid one button of her blazer, then another. Wait. What the heck is she doing?
I wasn't the only one shocked—Yukinoshita's and Yuigahama's mouths were hanging open, too. Hey, wait, seriously, what is she doing?! Oh man, hey, um, you're not gonna strip, right?! Do you know how much trouble that would cause for me?
As Isshiki twisted around to pull off her blazer, she gave a little grunt of effort. Then she reached under her pink cardigan with one hand and began rummaging around in the chest of her blouse.
"Um…" She sounded unsure as she fished around in there. With each movement, her loosely open collar revealed flashes of her collarbone. Feeling like I shouldn't be looking at point-blank range, I averted my eyes, but that just made the sound of rustling clothes and her breathing seem more suggestive.
"I don't know what you're doing, but do it far away from me. Go." With my face turned down, I shooed her away with my hand, leaning away as much as I could.
Isshiki let out a particularly big sigh. "Ah, here it is," she announced, and with another rustle, she pulled out some paper. Her other hand gently took mine, and then she pressed the paper into my palms.
The sudden touch of her hand, the feel of her thin, supple fingers, and her mysteriously soft skin made me freeze up in surprise, and she jerked her hand away. Left in my grip were the warm pieces of paper.
When I realized that warmth was from her body heat, it just about made my hand ooze with sweat. I timidly opened my clenched fist.
There were a few of those pieces of paper. Skimming over them, I saw rows of familiar characters. Printed at the top was Receipt, while underneath was written the name of a bowling alley and a café. There was even the food ticket for a ramen shop, too.
No way, these receipts…
With a gasp, I figured it out, and when I lifted my head, my eyes locked with Isshiki's. She was grinning.
You looked? You saw them, right? Then you get it now, right? her smile seemed to say, and with that before me, any explanation in words was unnecessary.
Isshiki put her hand out, prompting me to return the receipts. When I complied and handed them back, she took them carefully in both hands, then tucked them away again in the chest pocket of her blouse.
"Sooo about what I wanted to talk about…" She repeated what she'd said before in a sweet, coaxing voice. It seemed she meant to imply that I was complicit here.
But I didn't think I had anything to do with this. I'd paid for myself, and it's not like I'd received any monetary benefit.
So then why do I feel so guilty…? It was fun, so then in the broadest sense, I benefited from her bankroll? No, but…well…
Maybe it was just because Isshiki had brought out those receipts with such confidence, but I became more and more worried that maybe I had done something bad. I could kind of understand why a victim might be pressured to confess to a false accusation…
I cleared my throat, then turned back to Isshiki. Time for a plea bargain!
"…L-let's just hear more about it, for now."
"Has she blackmailed you?!" Yuigahama cried out in shock.
"Agh…" Yukinoshita sighed in exasperation at the same time.
Some time passed since Isshiki had headed back to the student council room to grab some papers so that she could talk to us about the details. While we awaited her return, Yukinoshita poured us more tea.
As the steam rose from our cups, the smell of black tea wafted through the room. The heater still wasn't working, but the tea and the jacket over my shoulders kept the cold from bothering me too much.
"Sorry for the waaait!" The door was flung open with a rattle, and Isshiki bounded into the room.
She dumped the file folders in her arms, then began spreading out on the desk what seemed to be the relevant materials. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and glee like a child looking at a flyer for a toy store right before Christmas.
Seeing her enthusiasm did make me want to make this free magazine happen somehow, but this wasn't something that would just work out with enough enthusiasm, guts, and idealism.
First of all, we needed an accurate grasp of the situation. The more you understand the nature of the work, the more cornered you feel about your present situation.
If there's no wiggle room in cost or schedule, then it can't be actualized in the first place, and if you are fully aware of that and forced into an unrealistic plan anyway, that kills motivation. Conversely, when there's leeway in the budget and schedule, you think it'll be a cinch and end up with a train wreck from some careless mistake. Awww man. In all the scenarios I'm envisioning, everything falls to shit as soon as the work is assigned…
That is precisely why the correct route is to understand your capacity for work. In fact, it would be better to not accept responsibilities in the first place. Or, in the case where refusal isn't an option, you should negotiate to reduce as much of your workload as possible. Having been in the exploitative environment of the Service Club for the past year, I had finally become enlightened to this.
I called out to Isshiki while waiting for her to finish laying out all the papers. "Let me make this clear: We still haven't decided we're going to go through with this. We'll hear what specifically you plan to do, and based on that, we'll consider if we can do it or not."
"Right. I'm fine with that!" she answered cheerfully, beaming at me.
Ack…when you look at me with those hopeful eyes, it makes it really hard to say no…
While I was choked up, Yukinoshita took over, beginning the discussion so we could move things along. "All right, could you tell us about your printing plans?"
"Right. Ummm, wellll, I contacted the printing company that we placed an order with for the Christmas event and asked them some stuff." Isshiki grabbed a few papers from her collection. It seemed she had a pamphlet, plus a written quote.
Holy crap… She's already spoken to the printing firm? For someone who can't make plans, she's certainly proactive…
"They recommended this…" Isshiki pointed to one spot on the pamphlet.
Beside her, Yukinoshita examined it. "Eight pages full color… That's quite a bold move…" She pressed her temple as if she was starting to get a headache.
Isshiki had on a shy smile. "Ohhh, well, that was what we decided on! The conversation kinda just went in that direction!"
"What kind of conversation just 'goes in that direction'…?" I asked in exasperation.
Isshiki puffed up her cheeks. "I meeean, when an adult tells you something, you wind up going with it, right?"
"I get that. I understand where you're coming from…" Yuigahama nodded along in emphatic agreement.
Kids these days… I hope no adults or older kids try to take advantage of them.
"For the number of copies…well, we can just go off the budget… We can secure space within the school, if need be, and they can be recycled… It seems the risk of remaining inventory would not be a concern." Meanwhile, Yukinoshita wasn't listening to either of them, going over the materials at her own pace and muttering to herself.
Hmm, Discommunication Girl… I'm worried about you for other reasons!
After poring over the pamphlet, Yukinoshita looked up to push the papers over to me. I took them and flipped through them as well. They described the steps involved in a simple printing process.
"They'll handle the design and input the information for production… So all we have to do is draft the content and rough design," Yukinoshita explained.
"Hmm. Seems like it won't be any different from the community bulletin," I observed.
Basically, we'd be fine if we focused on getting the content done. However, we still had to prearrange the photos and article text. Prearrange is term that conveys a particularly excessive level of pretension.
"Though it's quite a few more pages than what we did before…," Yukinoshita replied, grim resolve in her voice.
Yuigahama seemed peppier than usual. "But, like, we've got the student council this time around, so if we all share the work, we can figure it out, right?"
"Oh, you're mostly right…," I began, when I caught sight of Isshiki quietly turning away with a sour look on her face.
"…"
"…Isshiki? Why are you so quiet?" Yukinoshita smiled brightly at her, voice tender and gaze warm. But strangely, I sensed no warmth there, and the sight made a shiver run down my spine.
Okay, that really skeeves me out…
It seemed Isshiki felt the same fear—no, she must have been even more rattled, as she flailed in a panic. "Ah! Oh, n-no! Um…everyone's a little busy right now with the end-of-year stuff, but once that's done, I think there should be no problem…"
"…In other words, you're saying we can't expect help this time." Yukinoshita let out a weak sigh.
Isshiki's shoulders slumped apologetically. "No…"
"C-come on, guys, there's nothing we can do about that. If you don't have enough help, maybe you could ask some friends to give you a hand… Let's just…do whatever we gotta do!" Yuigahama said encouragingly as she made a fist.
But when she says whatever we gotta, I think she more means just "let's do whatever"…
Anyway, we could see the labor cost and quantity. We'd gotten a grasp on the minimum number of personnel available. All that was left was to learn the schedule. Figure out that part, and we could decide if it was possible or not.
Isshiki had just told us the plan in rough and that it was within the month, but we had to pound out a more detailed schedule.
"So when do you have to get it done, exactly?" I asked her.
"Soon, real soon." Isshiki pulled out the schedule sheet and tapped it. "Right now, the budget will be perfect if we get the discount for the early plan. For that to happen, we have to hand over this…input info? Whatever. We need to give that to the printing company by mid-February."
Oh-ho, an early-bird discount. They have those? If she's making it with the remaining funds, then it should be no problem. And this looks like it'll make it just perfectly by the accounting deadline, too—that Irohasu knows how to manage her money! I thought, doing my best to escape reality, but even so, I couldn't ignore one phrase that had stuck with me.
When I was tilting my head thinking, Hmm? By mid-February? Isshiki added in a quiet mutter, "…So in, like…two more weeks."
"What? That's impossible. Two weeks is totally impossible," I answered instantly, flailing my hands in refusal.
Opposite me, Yukinoshita nodded slowly. "That's not correct. If we assume there will be an editorial check to confirm all content to be published and apply for revisions, then we should assume we have one week."
"Even less time?!" Yuigahama turned to Yukinoshita in shock.
"We're just talking about the best-case scenario if everything goes well… We're already behind schedule from the get-go… We should consider unforeseen situations and try to accelerate the process." Yukinoshita went on with her logical and dispassionate explanation until that point, but it seemed that once she'd said it herself, even she understood it was unrealistic.
"…Of course, this is only if we were to accept this request," she added, then glanced over as if to check with me. It seemed she meant to cede the final judgment. It was apparent this would be a bone-crunching schedule, but I couldn't say it was absolutely impossible.
A week, huh…? Wait. Assuming we pause operations on Saturday and Sunday, and today's date… I tried to count out the exact number of days, but I just couldn't do the calculations right. Huhhh? Has Little Hachiman always been this bad at math?
Well, the accurate numbers were in my head, but my heart would not accept them.
"Hey, just tell me this—," I said. "How many more days left do we have until the deadline…?"
"Um…" Yuigahama looked up at the ceiling with a vacant expression, sticking up one, two fingers as she began to count. Then her expression twisted up— Erk!
Yukinoshita looked at us with eyes filled with grief. "…I think you will feel more hopeful if you don't count."
"If you're saying that, then hope's already long gone…," I moaned.
When I was glance-glance-glancing over at Isshiki, suggesting this would be a no-go, even her expression was grim.
"…So…we can't after all?" she muttered brokenly, her voice fragile as if restraining sobs. Her eyes welled up, her breath hot. Her fists clenched around her skirt trembled slightly. Her thin shoulders twitched, and then slowly, timidly, her eyes gazed into mine. Each and every one of those gestures was filled with fervent emotion, making me want to do something for her.
But none of that! I'm already used to that sort of tearful persuasion from my sister Komachi! If you grew up with her, you'd gain immunity to it whether you liked it or not! And I'm used to accepting her pleas without hesitation.
"So we just have to make it work over the next few days, huh…?" I automatically replied in the same way as I normally did with Komachi. This big brother nature of mine was the worst!
"Thanks sooo much!" Isshiki beamed at me.
Meanwhile, though, the girl beside her gave me an ice-cold look, then blew out a deep sigh. "…You're always so soft."
"C-come on, now… That's one of Hikki's strong suits…and his shortcomings," Yuigahama said. Just when I was thinking she'd intervened for my sake, the uncomfortable smile on her face turned into a frigid look.
Uh, I'm really sorry…for causing you trouble… I almost apologized to both of them reflexively. But Isshiki had brought this on us in the first place. It's not my fault. It's hers! I looked over to Isshiki to see her heaving a sigh of relief. Not that there was much on her chest to heave.
"Ohhh, you guys are such a big help! I've been counting on it, you know."
The admirable attitude evaporated, and she did a total 180, beaming like she was smugly pleased with herself. Well, I kind of saw this coming anyway. Whatever.
But if she's going to put on an act, I wish she'd keep up her coy antics right to the end! Good grief, there are no hopes or dreams.
It was going to be difficult to make the deadline, but we somehow had managed to set out a schedule. Our progress would affect costs, but the budget was fine at the current stage.
However, we had not decided the most important part: what we were doing.
"Well then, let's get this planning meeting staaarted!" Isshiki cried, drawing out her words, and Yuigahama was the only one to offer light applause. Though Isshiki took the lead at the start, a heartbeat later, she was looking over at Yukinoshita as if to say, What should we do?
With Isshiki's gaze on her, Yukinoshita put her hand to her chin thoughtfully. "I would suppose we should begin by considering the concept."
"Can't we just go with what Iroha-chan proposed?" asked
Yuigahama. "Like, featuring local spots and good restaurants."
"Oh, yes! I think that's a good idea! The best plan would be something where we can use up the funds on 'research'!" Although it seemed that Isshiki completely agreed with Yuigahama's opinion, I got the impression she had ulterior motives…
Yukinoshita gave a little shake of her head. "If we had spare time, that would be enough, but given the situation, it will be hard to fill eight pages. We have to think of other articles, too."
"Is there anything else you want to do?" Yuigahama asked Isshiki.
Isshiki folded her arms, flopping her head from side to side. After a full few minutes of moaning, she muttered, "…Not really."
Yukinoshita's shoulders slumped, while Yuigahama pulled a strained smile. What else did you expect them to do?
Beginning with a concept, as Yukinoshita suggested, was very much the standard mode of attack. A concept should have led us to conclude that we needed to publish a free magazine. These were the logical steps to make something. However, for Isshiki, the publication was the goal, and the concept was an afterthought.
Right now, we needed to figure out what the readers would gain from the final output, not about what we wanted to communicate as the creators.
"If we don't know where to start, wouldn't it be faster to calculate backward from the goal?" I suggested.
"Excuse me?" I must not have articulated this well, as Isshiki tilted her head at an angle, looking at me with narrowed eyes.
This girl is so aggravating… I'm trying to help you out here, you know…
Even if I wasn't getting across to Isshiki, it seemed Yukinoshita had picked up on my intentions. "By goal, you mean the readers?"
"Yeah. I mean we should target our audience and make something they want to read."
"The readers… We're just handing these out at school, right?" Yuigahama asked, and Isshiki nodded.
Well, I didn't know how it would work out down the road, but for now, it should be reasonable to have a prerelease version or launch version or whatever be disseminated within the school.
Our target audience was starting to vaguely come together, so I narrowed it down further. "And it's gonna be released in March, right? The third-years will be graduating. So our main targets will be current first- and second-years."
"Depending on how often we put out issues, the new students might also be included in our target audience," added Yukinoshita.
"Ohhh, I seem to remember the incoming class is usually eager for this type of thing!" said Yuigahama.
"That's true—new students would pick it up out of curiosity," Isshiki agreed.
All three of their opinions were converging in the same direction. Meaning our main readership had been decided.
Having narrowed down our audience, we'd just have to plan with that in mind while adjusting our goals to meet these expectations.
Yukinoshita paused her note-taking, looking over what she'd written. "If our target is going to be incoming students, the issue can revolve around introducing our school with one segment to feature local spots… It just might work."
"It's admittedly generic, but it's a safe choice for a first issue," I said. "Slap on the appropriate title to tie it all together, and it should look pretty legit. Something like A Guidebook for Your New Life." "Ohhh, sounds legit…" Yuigahama was impressed.
Isshiki seemed satisfied, too, clapping her hands in agreement. "I like that! So then what do we do to introduce the school?" She looked between me and Yukinoshita with expectation.
But Yukinoshita just shot her a dull look, implying that she needed to think for herself.
Ohhh, brutal…
Isshiki faltered under Yukinoshita's cold gaze, and she gave little glances over at the other girl. "It could…promote the clubs or something, I guess? …I guess?" Isshiki seemed to shrink in size, squeezing her hands against her chest.
On the other hand, Yukinoshita listened without a word, nonverbally asking if she really thought that was adequate.
And then there was Yuigahama, watching the exchange with an anxious expression.
A momentary silence dominated the clubroom. The tension rendered Isshiki speechless and a little choked up from tears.
Stop iiit! I can't watch this! Give her the right answer—stat!
I don't know if my wishes got through, but a smile finally broke on Yukinoshita's face. "…Well, I suppose that's fine." Sweeping her hair off her shoulders, she nodded.
Beside her, Isshiki let out a sigh of relief. "Then it's settled.
Okeydoke, then we're introducing clubs. Clubs, hmm? Clubs…"
Nodding like all was fine and dandy, Yuigahama started scribbling the names of a bunch of clubs.
Yukinoshita popped over to take a peek at her notes. "Even just this should be enough. I think we can fill two pages." "I wish it could take up another page," I said.
Eight pages didn't seem like much, except it was. The reader took no notice of it, but trying to fill all of them took time. When we worked on one page in the community magazine, we'd struggled. A lot.
"Yes…," Yukinoshita agreed. "It may be a good idea to select a club for a feature article to keep with the general theme." "The tennis club!" I called out.
"The soccer club!" Isshiki responded at just about the same instant. We glared at each other.
"It's got to be the tennis club! Everyone wants to join." Look, everyone reads Prince of Tennis, and I get this feeling the sport is more popular lately.
But Isshiki wasn't backing down from her side, either. "It's clearly got to be the soccer club. That's what everyone wants to see: Hayama," she preached with sincerity.
O-okay… Name dropping Hayama weakened my argument… It was true that his photo would earn the free magazine a good reception. I knew Minami Sagami would gleefully steal multiple copies. And then Miura would wait for when nobody was around and sneakily take just one. Oh, but if Totsuka's photo were in it, I'm sure everyone would— Wait no, I take that back. I want to keep that just for me!
As I was moaning and battling this dilemma in my heart, Yuigahama looked a bit uncomfortable with the idea. "Hmm. If just one club got preferential treatment, people might complain…"
"Ahhh, yeah, some people might not be happy about that," I agreed. Just the sort of thoughtfulness I'd expect from you, Yuigahama. Nice thinkingahama.
Even if we didn't intent to, we didn't know how others would take it. If we wanted to avoid unnecessary quarrels, it would be easier to take the safe route to use the same template for everyone.
It seemed Isshiki had a different opinion. She knit her eyebrows and bent her mouth in an upside-down V, making her displeasure clear. "Whaaat? Can't you just ignore the haters?"
Ohhh, she's hard-hearted… But Isshiki was right. Someone was bound to complain, no matter what we did.
With a short sigh, Yukinoshita turned back to Isshiki. "We can't do that. This is an official publication by the student council. It would be best to have a measure of consideration… Since the one who will field these complaints is you." Though her words were cold, the way she said them expressed gentle concern for Isshiki.
"…I mean, that's true."
It seemed Isshiki picked up that Yukinoshita was saying this out of consideration for her. Isshiki reluctantly nodded. Though it wasn't so easy to tell, Yukinoshita was doing her best to be supportive of her juniors.
The other good upperclassman, Yuigahama, chirped, "Oh, so, like, Hayato is the chairman of the captains' association. What if the feature was on the club captains?"
Isshiki whipped up her face, and she flashed a big smile. "That's a great idea! I'll interview him!"
"All right, then let's fill a page with that interview article," suggested Yukinoshita.
Now that we had a plan, we just had to take that down to the specifics.
On the list of clubs, Yukinoshita wrote down items like name, then photo and comments and other things we wanted to request of them, and put it all together.
Attentively watching her take notes, Isshiki suddenly commented, "What about the Service Club?"
Yukinoshita and Yuigahama raised their heads and exchanged a look. Whether they were checking with each other or just confused, there was a moment of silence.
I ended it. "We don't have to put in this club."
"Why not?" Isshiki asked with a tilt of her head.
"Why not? I mean…" Her gaze was so direct, I found myself not knowing how to respond. To overcompensate for going quiet, I forced myself to say something I didn't really mean.
"It's kind of embarrassing to write about ourselves…"
Yuigahama nodded. "Urk, that's true…"
"I mean, nobody knows about this club anyway, so no one's exactly looking to read about it," I continued.
Yukinoshita put her hand to her chin. "Hmm, it's not as if we're actively recruiting, either…"
"Right? And besides, if we can reduce our workload by even one thing, we can focus on editing."
Even as I said that, I knew my real reason was different.
It was simply that I didn't know what to write. How could I explain this club or define it? I still didn't know the answer.
I was ready to make some more excuses, but Isshiki's sigh cut me off. "…Well, if that's your rationale, then I guess that's that."
It seemed I'd won her over. Isshiki cracked open her notebook and flipped through it, before turning back to Yukinoshita and Yuigahama. "Is this basically okay, content-wise?"
"Yes. And then about the locations to be featured…," Yukinoshita started.
Isshiki pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Ohhh, I've already looked into that! These are my photos of the places!"
"Ohhh, I wanna see!" Yuigahama peered over. Naturally, Yukinoshita, sandwiched between them, also looked at Isshiki's phone, though she seemed cramped.
Isshiki's finger swiped across the screen. With each swipe, I heard girlish remarks like "Cute!" or "Nice" or "Could you show me that photo just one more time? Yes, the one with the cat merch."
Sitting in my chair away from them, I listened to the excited chatter as I zoned out on my own phone.
And then suddenly, their conversation stopped.
Curious, I glanced over at them, and Isshiki had this Uh-oh look on her face. Yuigahama and Yukinoshita were shooting daggers in my direction.
"Uh, what…?" I asked.
"Ah, um, well, like, I—I was just thinking I'd like to go, too…" Yuigahama laughed, while Yukinoshita beamed at me.
"…You look like you're enjoying yourself in that photo."
Are you guys cold in here? Brr! It's freezing! I hope they fix the heater soon…
There was the click of a cup being set down on the saucer.
"Well then, it seems we already have source material for those locations," said Yukinoshita.
"Yep!" Isshiki answered as she put away her phone. It seemed she intended to use the photos from our expedition for the free magazine. Or so Isshiki explained, and though I don't know how Yukinoshita and Yuigahama took that, I was freed from their icy stares.
"So then Iroha-chan will be in charge of this," Yuigahama said, making a circle on the notepad.
We'd decided on the content. Now for the division of labor. It wasn't just assigning pages; we also needed to pick roles.
Yukinoshita summed up what was written on the notepad. "I'll handle page composition, schedule management, and design. Yuigahama, you handle interviewing the clubs and editorial stuff." "Roger!" Yuigahama answered with energy.
Yukinoshita nodded back at her, then glanced over at me. "And Hikigaya…"
"I'll be the cameraman."
Taking photos of the clubs meant I could legally take pictures of Totsuka. I was totally raring to go, like, Leave the camera work to me, snap-snap-snap, but Yukinoshita's response was a merciless one.
"Writing, interviews, photography, planning, production, proofreading, client relations, accounting, and miscellaneous tasks."
That's a lot of responsibility…and things that seem irrelevant! I made sure she knew I was disgruntled.
Yukinoshita shot me a nasty look. "Problem?"
Not a specific one. I have a problem with everything, I was thinking, when Yuigahama tap-tapped on Yukinoshita's shoulder.
"H-hey now, Yukinon. Look, he's already handled the data collection on those locations…," she mediated.
Yukinoshita didn't seem quite happy, but she let out a little sigh and flipped her hair. "…Fine. Well then, just writing and miscellaneous tasks is enough."
"…Roger."
As I nodded, I also went Capisce! with a sideways peace sign to acknowledge—in my head. Well, it would be fastest for me to handle the wordsmithery. It'd take us longer to proofread if Yuigahama or Isshiki wrote it, and I feel like Yukinoshita would be too formal in her writing.
With each of our roles decided, we were ready to get started. Isshiki timidly raised her hand. "Ummm, what should I do?"
"You're editor-in-chief, of course," Yukinoshita answered instantly.
"Ohhh…that sounds real cool." Yuigahama gave a smattering of applause as to celebrate.
Well, Isshiki had been the one to come up with this, so it was reasonable for her to have the job with the most responsibility. However, it seemed the one in question didn't know about that last part, and she was tilting her head to the side. "What should the editor-in-chief do?"
Yukinoshita sighed in resignation. "Yes… First, get permission to publish information and photos of these businesses."
"Right! I'll go check!" Isshiki exclaimed. Morale was high, it seemed.
Yukinoshita added, "And secure a channel for distribution. Have you already decided where they will be handed out?"
"In front of the student council room, and, like, in front of the teachers' room and places with high foot traffic?"
"Then go get permission to use those."
"Right! I'm going to tell Miss Hiratsuka."
"And if I could ask you to make copies of this on your way back?" Isshiki accepted the notepad from Yukinoshita and clasped it tight to her chest, then saluted us, palm out. "Right! Understood! …Wait, are you just sending me on odd jobs?" Her shoulders slumped.
Ahhh, busted.
"General supervision and permissions, negotiation with outside parties, the final check, and appropriate support are all your job," Yukinoshita explained.
Isshiki sounded like she was impressed, then stood up. "Theeen I'll go tell Miss Hiratsuka!"
"Thank you."
As Isshiki was passing by me in order to leave the clubroom, she grabbed me by the sleeve. "Let's go."
"Uh, go by yourself…"
"If you're with me, you can be like a lightning rod—whoops, I mean lead to lightning-fast ideas, right?! And you're reliable!"
You didn't have to correct yourself… But as she said, I do have a reputation for being a lightning rod. If my presence would make the conversation go smoothly, then I would just pop over there and get it done with.
"Guess I'll go, then." Slipping out of her grasp on my sleeve, I left my chair.
Then there was some scraping of chairs as Yuigahama stood. "Oh, then I'll go, too!"
"Agh… If we're to explain the materials, it would be best for me to go, wouldn't it?" Yukinoshita sighed, then quietly got up from her own chair.
"Okay! Let's all go together!" Yuigahama grabbed hold of both
Yukinoshita's and Isshiki's arms, then briskly headed for the door.
Hmm, body heat seems like a good defense for the cold hallway…
Well, if all three of them were coming, I could probably just stand there and do nothing. Following the girls, I left the clubroom behind.