"Phew— finally we managed to get through this play. Good work, everyone! And Ryuichi... sorry for hitting you too hard, my bad."
Everyone kept staring at me. Well, I could guess the reason.
"Forget about it. Tomoki, what the hell happened in the last scene?"
"I kind of forgot my lines. Let's just say I got struck by lightning too."
"Sigh~ You should apologize to Tachibana-san and Edomae-san. Your improvisation gave them a hard time after all."
"You're right, I'll do that."
"Good. But enough criticism. Regardless, I think you did a good job. You actually adapted really well in the last part. We could feel your passion for it."
"Right!? For someone who forgot his lines, I was able to ad-lib without stuttering! I was so relieved when I finally died there."
"..." — He just gave me a stern look.
"Sorry..."
Even though it had ended, we still needed to clean up the auditorium. It took hours to remove the stage backgrounds and make sure everything was put back in its place.
By the way, Ryuichi couldn't help so he already went home with his parents.
"Tomoki-san! Good work!"
"You too, Tachibana-san! And... sorry for the trouble I caused you."
"Don't mind it! Actually, I really liked how you acted there. Though, the only thing I'd point out is— try holding back your strength next time."
"Yeah... I already apologized to him."
"I see... Tomoki-san, thank you!"
"Why so suddenly?"
"I heard from some students that you stood up for me."
"Rather than me, Ayame-san deserves the thanks. She handled the situation better than me."
"As expected of both of you... I guess I should've relied on you two from the start."
"You can always rely on us. But hey, I liked how you challenged him and even his girlfriends."
"Though I ran away in the end."
"To be fair, it was three against one. It was bound to be difficult... just like when you, Ryuichi, and Ayame-san ganged up on me that day. Remember?" — I joked, trying to lighten the mood
"Pftt— You're still crying about that? It was just a game!" — She started joking.
"But you get my point, right?"
"Yeah... I guess?"
"Come on, what I'm trying to say is—"
"Hehe! It's okay, I'm just messing with you... thanks again."
"Don't worry... Tachibana-san, by the way, are you still drawing?"
"Yeah! Don't worry Tomoki-san, I won't give up on my dreams just because of that. Next time, I'll show you, Satou-san, and Ayame-san and ask for your opinions."
That took me by surprise. I thought she'd be feeling down because of the mockery she suffered from Senpai.
But it seemed it was a needless worry.
"Nice! I can't wait to see that."
"Then, Tomoki-san! See ya!"
"See ya!"
Well, everything's already clean. I should start getting ready to go.
"Hey, Tomoki-kun, are you free right now?" — Ayame-san asked me.
"Yeah, I am."
"I want to talk with you. Would you come with me?"
Is she mad because I suddenly changed my line? Or because I hit Ryuichi? Or maybe because I provoked Senpai?
Well, about the last part, I don't regret it, but it doesn't change the fact that Ayame-san handled everything in the end.
But where are we going now? I didn't know there was an upstairs... does this auditorium have a second floor?
"So, do you like it?"
It was the rooftop. There was nothing up there, but what was astonishing was the view — and the contrast the sky made with the sunset.
"It's amazing. Though, are we even allowed up here?"
"No, since there's no fence around. But nobody really comes here since there's nothing to do."
"I see... so did I mess up?"
"What? No! Do you think I came here to scold you?"
"No, of course not."
"Mou~ I just wanted to show you this view. I thought you had more faith in me."
"Well, I kind of made a lot of blunders today, so..."
"So much happened after all... Tomoki-kun, what I wanted to talk about is what happened in Shouta-senpai's classroom."
"..." — So... in the end, she'll scold me. I'm ready!
"Never say you'll leave this school again."
So it was about that.
"Sorry, I really got worked up at that moment. I'll be more careful."
"But you really meant it, didn't you? I know you weren't lying."
"The most prestigious co-ed school... at first, I agreed to apply here because it'd look good on my curriculum — not to mention how easy it was to get the scholarship. And as expected of this Academy, there are a lot of facilities, the lessons are interesting, the cafeteria food is delicious, and I bet there's more to see..."
"..." — Ayame-san kept listening quietly.
"But what Senpai did was awful, and if anyone says he was right, I'll definitely complain. And if it's someone who works as an educator, like a teacher or the principal... I'll be disappointed. For me, that's basically giving a green light to harassment in this school."
"Fufu~ As for the principal, I give you my word she won't blindly believe whatever Senpai or anyone else says. She's devoted to providing the best education here. Rest assured."
"I see... Ayame-san, there's something I'm really curious about."
"What is it?"
"How do you know so much about Senpai? Is he your acquaintance?"
"No, I don't even know his name to begin with. The only thing I knew was that he sought therapy because he helped you for a few days. At first, I thought he was just someone who lacked patience and got stressed. But I felt something was off when he suddenly changed his attitude after seeing you, so I started thinking about the reason behind it."
"But how did you notice he was jealous of me? It could've just been that he was annoyed by my presence. After all, I really did make him waste his time teaching me without any progress."
"If your presence only annoyed him, he'd have avoided you, nothing more. There's no reason to be disrespectful. But instead, when you two started arguing, it was clear as day he didn't like you — starting with his sarcasm. The only reason I could think of was envy."
"And how did you figure out why he got annoyed at being asked so often? As far as I understand, that happened because he really wanted to help me and get closer to me, but how did you come to that conclusion in the first place?"
"Because of his girlfriends — and Satou-san."
"I see... wait, Ryuichi!?"
"Yes. He stood out the most among the male students. Of course, there's his family background, but he's one of the few male students — maybe the only one — willing to represent their voices. Everyone respects him for that."
"I knew he was amazing, but not to that extent."
"Pftt— Ahaha!" — Ayame-san suddenly laughed.
"Why are you laughing? I'm lost now."
"Sorry, sorry. Didn't you realize it? Who became the male students' representative?"
"Oh, I see... now all the attention's on me. But how is that connected to Senpai's desire to help me?"
"Everything. Tomoki-kun, you didn't only gain the acknowledgment of the male students — but of the girls too. And when I say girls, can you guess where I'm pointing?"
"That I gained his girlfriends' attention."
Right... that time Ryuichi and I eavesdropped on their conversation.
"Exactly. And by their reactions, it looked like they felt guilty about Senpai's jealousy toward you. I guess they complimented you when talking to him, which only made things worse. That's why, when he saw how poorly you did on the test, he couldn't accept that you were getting so much attention."
"Last question: do you think he liked Tachibana-san in the end?"
"I don't know if he liked her, but he was interested enough to neglect his own girlfriends. Though judging by his reactions so far... I'd say he became obsessed with her — more because of you than her."
"That's really messed up."
"It's not like I'm totally right, I don't have concrete proof either. This is just my deduction based on what I know so far."
"Still impressive. Not just your deduction, but how you handled everything — unlike me, who got all worked up."
"Just so you know, I was angry too. Why do you think I kept pressuring him with questions?"
"Now that you mention it, you're right. Doing all that just to mock Tachibana-san is nerve-wracking after all."
"That too... but for me, it's even more unforgivable to mock you. There's no way I'd let someone deny all the effort you've put in so far... That's why, Tomoki-kun, don't leave this school just because of someone like him. You have Satou-san, Tachibana-san, Shouta-senpai and his girlfriend — not to mention Shirakawa-senpai and Kirishima-san, who have high expectations and trust in you. And... well... it's embarrassing to say, but... you have me as well."
The wind blowing her hair and the beautiful contrast between its colors and the sunset were breathtaking.
But I wasn't frozen because of that — it was because I remembered something important at that moment.
[...You're not alone...]
Leaving this school... haha! I can only laugh at my own stupidity. Did I forget what I promised myself back then?
Yeah. I still need to repay all the kindness she's given me — and still gives me.
"Ayame."
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"Fufu~ You're welcome. Tomoki!"
♦♦♦Meanwhile♦♦♦
"So these two fools dared to insult our god."
"Wait a minute, we can explain!" — said the girl with glasses.
"You girls should stop joking around. This is a serious matter!" — complained the tomboy girl.
"Joking? You really think we're joking, huh? Because of your actions, our god is thinking about leaving this pitiful land. Tell me, how will you two fix this?"
"You're a bunch of lunatics!" — said the tomboy girl.
"It seems you two still need some discipline. Please, teach them a lesson."
"Hey, I didn't say anything!" — said the girl with glasses.
"Stop! This is gross!" — shouted the tomboy girl.
...
PSST, PSST.
"KYAAAAAA!"
...
"Leader, don't you think we went too far?" — asked the right-hand follower.
"I think we were merciful, considering what these two have done. Imagine what would happen if our god actually left this place." — said the Leader.
"Then everything would go back to the way it was before... no, maybe even worse."
"E-excuse me, but why worse?" — asked the newbie follower.
"Allow me to enlighten you. First, there's our Ice Prince — the one who once defended the idea of separating male and female students. Now he's starting to see us in a new light... but that could easily change if his friend, or rather, his light, fades away."
nod — Both the newbie and the right-hand follower nodded.
"Then, we have our new couple from Class 2-A who, let's be honest, none of us ever expected. If not for our god, the male student Shouta wouldn't even be here. And without him, the tendency for male students to transfer to all-boys schools would only increase."
nod
"And lastly, our Queen— the one who was born with everything in her hands, yet still longs to find the treasure that will fill her soul. She finally found it, to the point of casting aside all other treasures just to claim that one. In other words... a high chance of no more investment in the male student scholarship program from Edomae's company."
gulp — Only the newbie follower looked shocked.
"Though, our Queen needs to be careful."
"What do you mean?" — asked the newbie follower.
"Morikawa Tomoki is like the sun — he brings light and warmth to this world. She's so attached to him that she's trying to seize him for herself... but little does she know, he's not something that can be possessed. If she tries, she'll only end up burning herself."
"Whoa... I gotta say, you're really impressive, Leader!" — the newbie follower complimented her.
"Though everyone would call you crazy, I'm impressed too." — said the right-hand follower.
"PSST, PSST!"
. . .
"You can take off your costume already. It's gross." — said the Leader.
"PSST, PSST?"