When Akira arrived at school on Monday and resumed his university life, he felt a little nostalgic for the days he had spent with Sajuna.
After finishing his required classes, Akira walked into the office with a completed club application form in hand.
Teacher Nakamura was sitting at his desk, looking at his computer and organizing the content he needed to teach.
"Teacher Nakamura."
Akira called out.
Teacher Nakamura heard his voice, turned around, and saw Akira holding the application form.
"Oh, Akira-kun, is there something you need?"
"Teacher, I'm here to apply for a club."
"You're not joining a club?" Teacher Nakamura asked curiously. "Has your comprehensive club managed to recruit enough members?"
Teacher Nakamura took the application form Akira handed him and glanced at the names written on it.
"Wakana, Murakami Kouki, Kashiwagi Shiki." Teacher Nakamura nodded. "It seems they are all serious people."
"Including yourself, that makes exactly four people."
He nodded again. "Are you aware of the school's club assessment criteria?"
"Could you explain it, Teacher?"
Akira asked politely.
"Actually, it just requires the club to submit a work report to the school every year." Teacher Nakamura hesitated slightly. "I feel like a club like yours might have trouble writing a work report."
"I think we can write it like a newspaper report," Akira said calmly. Since it was a club meant to help others, most of the work would probably involve trivial daily matters.
He was not worried about lacking material to report, but rather whether the school would recognize the necessity of such a club's existence.
After all, he was not a child from a zaibatsu family who could maintain a club with only himself as a member without consequences.
"Then I'll be your faculty advisor."
Teacher Nakamura accepted Akira's request and placed the application form on his desk. "I'll report it to the school later."
"However, coordinating a clubroom might take a few days. Do you have any other questions?"
Teacher Nakamura asked, clearly eager to return to organizing his lesson plans.
"No, I don't."
Akira answered honestly.
"Alright, you can go back now."
Akira had barely taken two steps when he heard Teacher Nakamura call out from behind him.
"Oh, right, Akira-kun. Your grades can't drop."
"Got it, Teacher."
Akira replied weakly.
Grades were the foundation of his future happy life, so he absolutely had to keep them stable.
How could he allow his academic performance to decline just because of a club?
Moreover, he was studying hard for love.
What a tragic yet firm resolve.
Akira even admired himself a little.
Back in the classroom, Akira walked over to Kashiwagi Shiki, who was chatting with others.
"Oh, it's Akira. What's up?"
The three people chatting turned their heads at the same time, as if perfectly synchronized.
These three really had a good relationship.
Akira always felt like a third wheel.
It was just unclear whose relationship he was intruding on.
After silently complaining to himself, Akira got straight to the point.
"Kashiwagi, Murakami, I just spoke to Teacher Nakamura about forming a club, and he agreed."
"So please fill out the club application forms, and I'll take them to the teacher for registration."
"Oh, I'll give you the forms later."
Kashiwagi Shiki and Murakami Kouki were excited at first, then immediately got angry.
"Hey! Shouldn't you have brought the application forms when you told us, Akira?"
"I feel like you're wasting our time!"
Morita also chimed in with a grin.
"How about it, Morita, do you want to join my club?"
Akira asked with obvious ill intent.
"No, I still prefer playing football."
Morita refused without hesitation, then seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right, Akira, what's the name of the club?"
Morita asked, realizing Akira had not mentioned it before.
Kashiwagi Shiki and Murakami Kouki also looked over, clearly curious.
"I don't know."
Akira smiled awkwardly.
"You don't know?!"
The three shouted in unison. The club had already been approved, yet its name had not even been decided.
"How about 'General Affairs Department'?"
"Why does that sound like an administrative office?"
The three complained.
"Then how about 'Service Club'?"
"That sounds like a maid training center."
Kashiwagi Shiki protested.
"Eh, Kashiwagi, you actually like maids?"
Morita suddenly glanced at him.
The topic instantly shifted to Kashiwagi and maids.
"Why would you think that?"
Kashiwagi Shiki asked, flustered.
"Because Murakami and I didn't associate it with maids at first."
Morita pointed at Murakami Kouki, who nodded in agreement.
"My first thought was just that it sounded strange. I didn't think of maids either."
"It's pretty easy to associate, isn't it?"
Kashiwagi Shiki tried to explain.
"Then how about 'Wish Fulfillment Club'?"
"That sounds way too old-fashioned. It's basically a complaint desk."
"How about 'Volunteer Club'?"
"We're not really a volunteer club."
Akira nodded. "That's true. We only do what we want to do."
"Then how about calling it 'DWF Club'?"
Akira decided.
"Eh? What does that mean?"
"It stands for 'Do With Friends'. Basically, it means doing things you want to do with friends."
Akira felt that the name he came up with was pretty good.
The three felt many complaints building up in their chests, but seeing Akira's confident expression, they did not feel comfortable saying anything more.
They could only silently conclude that Akira's naming sense was truly terrible.
The three unanimously decided that Akira should never be involved in naming anything again.
Thus, the club's name was settled: DWF Club.
Akira did not plan to actively recruit members with such a strange club name. He would just leave everything to Teacher Nakamura.
After all, weren't all the clients of that "Service Club" also introduced by their teacher?
When it came to copying homework, Akira was very skilled.
After finishing his conversation with Kashiwagi Shiki and the others, Akira went to Wakana and told him about the club.
Wakana was still relatively withdrawn, and forcing him to interact directly with many classmates would only make him uncomfortable.
"Reading the air" was an important skill for high school students.
But blending into the atmosphere was just as important, so as not to feel out of place.
Many people struggled between these two skills and ended up living an unremarkable university life.
Marin was clearly the type of girl whose surroundings changed with her presence.
As for Wakana, he probably did not know how to blend into the atmosphere at all.
After all, Wakana often avoided situations that made him uncomfortable, quietly living his university life alone.