The committee meeting was set to start at four, so I still had some time until then.
If I stayed in the classroom, I wouldn't be assigned any role in particular, and I figured I'd just be in the way. And since I'd been appointed to the committee, even if I'd wanted to help, I would barely have time to do anything anyway. Then someone would have to take over for me when I left halfway, and that would be timeconsuming and leave us prone to mistakes. So clearly, it would be better for me not to bother with any of it from the start. Sometimes, abstaining from work can be beneficial.
…If I'd been put on the committee because they'd foreseen that, all I can say is: I'm impressed. In a way, my classmates might actually understand me the best.
I am an untouchable presence. Phrasing it that way makes me seem kinda cool.
At Soubu High School, only some of the clubs make presentations for the cultural festival. For example, the orchestral club has a concert, and the tea ceremony club holds a formal tea party. Generally, the students participate with their classes, and they can volunteer for additional presentations.
The racket I'd been hearing for a while now had to be a volunteer band practicing. Yet again, a guitar was seizing the spotlight, energetically picking away like pokasuka-jyan. The bass was strumming bom-boko-bom-boko—what, is this a tanuki battle?
But that was just between the main building and the new building. In all the hustle and bustle, only the hallway leading to the special building maintained its silence. Perhaps because of the shade, the air felt one or two degrees cooler.
The door to the clubroom was already unlocked. I could almost feel the arctic winds seeping out from within.
Putting my hand on the sliding door, I found Yukinoshita there, as always.
"Yahallo!"
Yuigahama's greeting prompted Yukinoshita to slowly raise her head. She squinted at the door and then hesitantly opened her mouth.
"…Hello."
"Hey." I gave my vague reply to her usual greeting and then sat down in my regular seat. "So you're on the committee, too, huh?" "Huh? Is she really?" asked Yuigahama.
"Yes," Yukinoshita replied briefly, her eyes locked on the paperback in her hands.
"It's surprising you'd do something like that, Yukinon."
"Is it? Well, I suppose so…" Yukinoshita wasn't the type to put herself out there. It wasn't that she lacked initiative. She just hated standing out. That was the Yukinoshita I knew.
"Personally, I found it surprising you were on the committee, Hikigaya."
"Oh yeah, right? It's totally not like him," Yuigahama agreed.
"Hey…I was half forced into it. Well, running miscellaneous tasks for the committee is better than being in that musical, so all's well that ends well, though."
"That reason is very like you," said Yukinoshita.
"This isn't like you, though," I quipped. It wasn't really directed at Yukinoshita. It was directed at myself. Again, I had been made uncomfortably aware of how I force my ideals on people.
"…"
"…"
Yukinoshita didn't even dignify my words with a response. She hadn't moved her gaze an inch off her paperback. In the silence, it felt like even time had slowed to a halt. The only sound was the ticking of the worn clock on the wall measuring out time, and its second hand was deafening.
Yuigahama breathed a deep sigh and glanced over at the clock. "Um…you've got a committee meeting today, too, right? I have to go to a discussion in the classroom, so…"
I picked up on what she was about to say. "Oh, that's right. Since I'm on the committee, I won't be able to come to club for a while." Maybe it would have been more accurate to say that I just wouldn't be coming in general.
Yukinoshita closed her eyes for a long moment, as if she were processing this, then closed her book, too. After that, for the first time that day, she looked at me. "…That works out well, then. I was just about to bring that up today. I think we'll have to suspend club meetings for a while, until the cultural festival is over."
"Yeah, makes sense."
"Hmm…" Yuigahama thought for a bit but finally conceded. "All right, that's fair. Since we've got the festival, maybe that's for the best, until it's over."
"Right, well, that's it for today, I guess."
"…Yeah. When you've got some free time, Hikki, be sure to help with the classroom stuff, too," Yuigahama said, and I briefly considered it.
Doing work for the class play on top of my work for the committee would be a lot of grief. Unlimited Double Works…
"…If I get the time. I'm…gonna head out, then." My reply meant I'm definitely not going to do it. Bag in hand, I stood up. Even though it was totally empty, it felt super-heavy.
…Waaah. I don't wanna go.
I wonder why going to work is so painful. Somehow, my stomach started to hurt. Is it like that mind-over-matter stuff where your thoughts affect the real world? What Marble Phantasm.
Oh well. It's work, so I'll do it anyway. But a sigh escaped me. I just don't want to get a job.
Right as I put my hand on the door, there came a knock, knock. I perked my ears up at the sound and heard some noise on the other side, like giggling.
"Come in," Yukinoshita called out, and the door opened hesitantly.
The laughter got louder, like the whispers of wind through the trees.
"Pardon me!" In came a girl I knew: Minami Sagami. She was in my class and on the Cultural Festival Committee with me, and she was serving as its chair. Two other girls were waiting behind her. They all had similar thin smiles on their faces.
When she saw us, Sagami's eyes went wide. "Oh, it's Yukinoshita and
Yui!"
Whoops, you missed one, you know? Your classmate? Also on the committee with you?
"Sagamin? What's up?" Yuigahama looked at her curiously.
Sagami didn't reply to her question, giving the clubroom a full-circle scan instead. "Huh! So the Service Club is you guys' club!" she said, glancing from me to Yuigahama and back again.
I got cold shivers. Hidden in those eyes was the cunning of a snake. For an eerie moment, her pupils almost appeared vertically slit.
"Did you need something?" Yukinoshita's tone was cold and highhanded, as it always was, even with people she didn't really know. I wondered why it felt even colder in there than usual.
"Oh…I know this is really sudden… I'm sorry." Sagami flinched a little and added an apology at the end. "I came because…I wanted to ask your help with something," she continued. She wouldn't meet Yukinoshita's gaze, instead giving little glances to her friends at her side. "I ended up becoming the committee chair, but, like, I'm just not that confident about it, I guess… So I wanted some help."
That must have been what Sagami had been discussing with Miss Hiratsuka after the meeting the day before. Yet again, the teacher had sent someone with a problem to the Service Club.
Well, I understood what she was trying to say. Anyone would shrink away after taking on a new job, or a role with a heavy responsibility. Not to mention, from what I'd seen of Sagami's manner in class, she didn't seem like the leader type.
But was Sagami someone the club should be helping?
Yukinoshita watched her in thoughtful silence for a while. Under her quiet gaze, Sagami awkwardly averted her eyes.
"It seems to me," said Yukinoshita, "that it would be straying from the goal of personal growth that you were touting, though."
Yukinoshita was right—Sagami had volunteered for this role of her own free will. When she had put her name forward as committee chair, she had claimed to take on that responsibility for the sake of her own personal development.
Sagami seemed momentarily taken aback, but she kept her reaction in check, putting on another thin smile. "Yeah, but…it's just, I really don't want to be causing trouble for the whole team, I guess. And we don't want this to fail, right? Besides, I think cooperating with others to pull it off is a part of that growth. That stuff's important, right?" Yukinoshita just listened in silence as Sagami continued without pause. "Besides, I'm a part of the class, too. I want to, like, help out with the class stuff, too. I'd feel bad if I had to say I wasn't going to show up there at all. Right?" Sagami said, then turned to Yuigahama.
"…Yeah, that's true." Yuigahama paused for just the briefest moment to think, but she agreed with Sagami. "I like doing things together with other people, too."
"Right? I want to take advantage of the opportunity to build closer relationships. So I've really got to make this a success!" The pair flanking her were vigorously nodding their agreement.
But Yuigahama frowned slightly.
I could understand how she felt, too. Ultimately, Sagami was just asking Yukinoshita to wipe her ass for her, since she'd impulsively jumped into the position. On a fundamental level, it wasn't much different from that time Zaimokuza had gone overboard online and pissed off the UG Club.
All Sagami wanted was the title of "chair of the Cultural Festival Committee," not the experience and knowledge that could be gained
through that role. If she really wanted to do her job as the committee chair, then she wouldn't have been asking for help from outside the committee. Meguri, for example, was good at getting everyone within the organization to cooperate with her like that. She came off as a little flaky, but she seemed to be managing the organization well by getting the firm support of all the student council members. Perhaps that was because of her personality, or perhaps her unreliable and delicate manner itself created a sense of unity in its own way.
But Sagami was different. It seemed to me like she was trying to gain the help of outsiders because she was embarrassed about showing weakness—trying to put on a bold front. Again, I think that's more or less what Zaimokuza did, not so long ago.
Unfortunately, when you ring up a tab like that, you have to pay it off yourself. Everyone needs to figure out eventually that just screwing up your courage in the heat of the moment generally doesn't lead to anything good. When you feel miserable about it afterward, regret your decision, and are cautioned into never repeating it again, it's its own form of growth. From that angle, it would be best to refuse Sagami's request now.
In fact, if you seriously considered what was best for her, it would be better not to just jump in. I also didn't want any more work.
Yukinoshita had been silent for a while, and perhaps Sagami was anxious about her response. She kept glancing over toward Yukinoshita, but never directly at her.
Noticing that Sagami was waiting for a reply, Yukinoshita slowly opened her mouth, apparently still gathering her thoughts and checking them over. "To summarize…you mean you would like me to be your advisor?"
"Yeah, that's it." Sagami did her best to give a cheerful nod as if to say, Just what I was thinking!
But Yukinoshita's expression was as ice-cold as ever. "I see… Then I don't mind. Since I'm on the committee myself, I can help you in that capacity."
"Really?! Thank you!" Sagami clapped her hands in an open expression of joy and took two, three steps up to Yukinoshita.
By contrast, Yuigahama was staring at her with some surprise.
Frankly, I was a little surprised, too. I'd thought Yukinoshita would simply brush off a request like that.
"I'll be counting on you, then!" Sagami thanked her casually and left with her friends in tow. Once it was only the three of us, a little of the gloom returned.
Just as I was stepping out to leave the clubroom—for real this time— Yuigahama planted herself resolutely in front of Yukinoshita. "…I thought we were suspending club." Her tone was a little colder than I was used to hearing from her.
The change was not lost on Yukinoshita, and her shoulders twitched. She lifted her head for just an instant, then quickly looked away again. "…I'm taking it on personally. You two don't have to worry about it."
"But we always—"
"It's the same… Nothing's any different." Yukinoshita cut her off before she could persist.
Yuigahama breathed a faint, resigned sigh in the face of Yukinoshita's determination. "But…we could all do it together."
"That's unnecessary. I realize it would be rather selfish to ask you to deal with committee matters. It's more efficient for me to handle it by myself," said Yukinoshita.
"Efficient? Well, yeah, maybe it is, but…" Yuigahama faltered.
Still cold, Yukinoshita focused on the cover of her closed paperback, as if to put an end to the discussion.
Having seen Yukino Yukinoshita's skills up close, I understood full well that she would indeed manage on her own.
"But…I don't think it's right," Yuigahama said, then spun around and started to leave. No one called after her. "I'm going back to the classroom." With that, she walked off. I was taken aback by the whole exchange, but I soon snapped out of it and shouldered my bag again to follow Yuigahama out of the room. As I closed the door, I turned back.
Yukinoshita was all alone in there.
She was so beautiful, it was terrifying. Like sunlight gently flowing down on a ruin after the destruction of the world—full of sorrow.
A pair of indoor shoes smacked lightly against the linoleum tile. For someone who seemed rather slow, her feet sure were quick. "Agh, man! This is so… It's so…so, so—!"
"Hey, hold on a second and calm down," I called out to stop Yuigahama in front of me.
Then the smacks on the floor stopped, and her shoes squeaked as she turned around. "What?" Her face formed a sullen frown. She was clearly in a bad mood.
Huh, I don't usually see her like this, I thought. "What's with you, all of a sudden?"
"I don't know! I just…ragh."
Don't growl. Are you a dog?
Yuigahama stomped on the ground as she sorted out her feelings and put the words together bit by bit. "It's like… This is different from usual… Like, Yukinon doesn't usually do that."
"Well, that's…"
"And you too, Hikki," she added accusingly.
"…"
Even I could tell. I'd been trying my best to act the same as I always did. But the fact that I was even consciously trying to do that was different from usual. Once you're aware things are weird, any attempt to rectify the situation makes it even more awkward. I was well and truly stuck in that particular spiral.
So it was obvious after all.
Whether she took my silence as an affirmation or as guilt, Yuigahama didn't press me any further. I was pretty grateful for that.
"Also, like…" As I waited for Yuigahama to continue, she twisted around as if she found this hard to say. "…Listen. Can I say something a little mean?"
"Huh?" Unsure what she was getting at, I gave her a vague answer.
Yuigahama looked up at me uneasily and checked one more time. "Don't…hate me for this?"
"I can't make any promises."
"Huh? I'm stuck, then…" Yuigahama stopped on the spot.
It's not like she only lets you see her good side anyway, be that out of stupidity or something else. She'll reveal her feminine calculating side when you least expect it, which makes her more than I can handle.
But still, at this rate, this conversation was not going anywhere. Well, no matter what she told me at this point, I doubted it would change anything.
To fill up the silence, I scratched my head roughly. "…Agh, it'll be
fine. I have a lot of experience hating people. Some petty little comment won't be enough."
"That's kind of a sad reason."
That was genuine pity there…
"Whatever, right? So what is this mean thing?" I prompted her to continue.
Yuigahama quietly took a deep breath and opened her mouth. "Yeah… Listen, I…don't really like…Sagamin…"
"Uh-huh. And the mean part?"
"I—I just said it…"
"What?" Automatically, my eyes went as wide as a Furby's. Pet me! "Huh? What? Was that supposed to be mean?"
"Um, we just can't get along. Or I guess you'd call this a squabble between us girls or something. I know that isn't very nice, but…"
Was that all? I guess so, if you thought about it normally. I'm sure it wouldn't make her seem nice.
However she took my silence, Yuigahama folded her hands small in front of her chest and made an inverse triangle with her fingers. "I…didn't want to show you that side of me, though," she said, focusing on a corner of the hallway.
"You're dumb." I had to snicker. You think things would change now just because of that? Idiot. "I mean, I don't like her, either."
"Yeah, but it's a little different. I don't like her. I guess, I probably just dislike her. But we're friends, so…" "O-okay…but you're still friends…"
"Yeah, I do try to be friends with her."
Still don't understand girls' definition of friend.
"But maybe she doesn't feel that way. I kinda feel like she hates me."
"Yeah, I bet. You can tell just by looking." I'm sure it wasn't quite that Yuigahama hated her, but I could sense antagonism or hostility in some form. I was going to elaborate, but then I noticed Yuigahama had frozen.
"…Huh? Y-you're looking?"
"Stop. Cancel. I'm not, actually. Not at all. I can just tell."
"Um, though…you're totally…allowed to look, you know…," Yuigahama replied, finger-combing her hair.
But, um, sorry. I'm kind of really looking at you a little bit a lot. I'm sorry for lying.
As I was repenting and apologizing in my head, Yuigahama suddenly got this faraway look in her eyes. "In first year, me and Sagamin were in the same class."
"Huh. Were you close?"
"Fairly close, I guess." Yuigahama's expression was complicated, halfway between worrying and contemplating.
"…In other words, you weren't."
"Hey, what makes you think that?!"
"Were you close?"
"Hmm, well, close enough." Another hard-to-read expression… "In other words, you weren't," I said.
Yuigahama gave a resigned sigh. "…Fine, let's go with that."
It wasn't "Let's go with that" at all; it was exactly that. The world of women is complicated and mysterious.
"Back then, we were part of a pretty prominent clique. And I guess that kinda gave her a lot of confidence."
Sagami and Yuigahama. Well, I'm sure there would have been others, but it's easy to imagine them as central figures in the class. Yuigahama had the looks, the social skills, and the knack for putting others at ease. So I'm sure she could fit herself in well with a popular A-group atmosphere. Sagami, on the other hand, was the type who could aim for such a position and find a fair degree of success, depending on the combination of people there, I think. In the cultural committee, she'd immediately found herself some friends and people to hang out with, and she turned them into a clique as one with interpersonal skills and a knack for self-promotion.
But once they hit second year, their positions changed. What was the source of this difference between Yuigahama and Sagami? Pride, and a different environment…
The greatest reason had to be Miura. The moment Miura came into Class 2-F, the position of number one was set in stone. And then, at the team selection stage, Miura chose the members of her clique based on her rather cruel standard of "cuteness."
…She really was something. She ignored the existing social hierarchy and just picked the people she wanted to be with. For good or for ill, she really was a queen.
And Miura and Sagami didn't really get along. I don't know if it's right to put it this way, but it was easy to understand why Sagami was the leader of the B-group. For Sagami, conscious as she was of social caste, it had to be humiliating. Maybe she couldn't do anything about getting booted from the top caste, but the fact that her former peer was still there must have driven her nuts.
Naturally, everything Sagami had done so far fell into place.
"So that's why I kinda don't really like what she's doing… Asking Yukinon this favor, trying to be friends with her, too…" Yuigahama tilted her head, puzzled by what she'd just said. Then she gave a little nod of understanding. "…Maybe I like Yukinon more than I realized."
"What are you talking about, all of a sudden?" YuruYuri is one thing, but if it's full-blown yuri, I can't entirely back you up there.
"No! I don't mean it like that! I… I dunno if I like other girls being friends with Yukinon… I'm acting like a little kid." She must have been embarrassed. Her cheeks were red, and she was petting her bun attentively.
That desire to monopolize someone was a bit childish. I'm sure it's fairly common among young girls. I think even my little sister Komachi was like that at some point. Humans, at their core, are not that different. We just train ourselves to repress our feelings until, occasionally, they peek out anyway.
"Girls are a lot of trouble… There's all this stuff."
It was kinda funny how seriously she was taking this, and I couldn't help but smile. "Hey, hey, boys are a pain in the ass, too. We have cliques and social groups. Girls aren't so special."
"Really?"
"Pretty much."
"Huh… People in general are a pain, huh?" Yuigahama gave her characteristic ta-ha-ha.
They really are. Humans are such a pain in the butt. I hate it, and that's why I gave up on them a long time ago. When they put in so much effort to keep up appearances, you know they're not real.
"Promise." The word left her mouth so suddenly, I didn't understand what she meant. I replied with silence and a head tilt.
Yuigahama stopped in place, gave me a firm look in the eye, and continued, "That if Yukinon is in trouble, you'll help her out."
I do recall Yuigahama saying something like that on the way back from the fireworks show. Just as then, she was so earnest, her uncompromising attitude overwhelmed me. So I answered as honestly and accurately as I could. "I'll do what I can."
"Okay. It's a relief to hear you say that," Yuigahama said, grinning. The unconditional trust made me uncomfortable.
It seems when you keep your argument short, it's much more effective. When people tack on a bunch of extra reasons, you can pick out the self-interest or contradictions, but when they just finish it off with a smile, there's nothing you can find there to argue with.
"I'm going back to the classroom, then. Good luck with the committee." She gave a casual wave and trotted off. I replied with a raised hand, then started walking again.
I parted ways with Yuigahama and continued on down the hallway to the conference room. It was past a left turn in the hallway, right on the corner. If you went straight forward, the hall would lead to the stairs on the third floor, where our second-year classrooms were.
There was a figure on the far end of the shadowed hallway, blocking the way to the staircase. It looked familiar; even though it was still a little hot out, the figure was wearing a trench coat and fingerless gloves on his hands as he crossed his arms. I ignored him and passed on by.
Suddenly, he pulled out his cell phone and started to make a call.
A moment later, my cell phone started vibrating.
It irritated me that he would go to the trouble of calling my phone even though we'd both recognized each other. Then he began a little act that made it even worse. "Herm. I cannot quite seem to get ahold of that fellow! Could it be he's otherwise engaged? …Ha-ha-ha! That could never be! Not for Hachiman! Is that not so, Hachiman?"
"I don't want to hear that from you." Now that he'd dissed me, I really couldn't keep my mouth shut. If it had been anyone else, I would've been able to snort and ignore them, but my stupid pride would not allow Yoshiteru Zaimokuza to run his mouth at me. "So what're you doing here? Stair-climbing diet?"
"Heh, how nostalgic. Once, I did engage in such training. But in long times past, I got water on the knee. Besides…my old wounds ache. Aye, I mean my chub rub."
I-is that right? I think you should take care of your health.
Zaimokuza ignored my concern and pulled out a stack of paper from parts unknown. "Of more import, Hachiman, is this. Observe! What do you think?"
"What? If it's your light novel, I'm not reading it." Usually, I'd be a bit nicer, but I didn't have much time. I was supposed to be heading to a meeting right then, and I didn't have the patience, time, energy, or goodwill to deal with him.
"Nay! Not a light novel!" His denial was pointlessly emphatic, which made me mildly curious. If it wasn't his light novel, then what the hell were those papers?
Seeing that my eyes were on his stack of paper, Zaimokuza smirked and struck a pose. "Listen with amazement! Prostrate yourself with rapt attention! And…apologize with your death… Did you know my class is putting on a play?"
"I don't care. And why do I have to apologize with my death anyway—hey, wait, wait, stop, don't say any more…"
"For a play, what do you need? A script…"
"Enough. No. Cut it out."
But Zaimokuza plunged ahead despite my attempts to restrain him. He lifted a fist high up in the air and proclaimed everything he wanted me to know. Honestly, it was really obnoxious. "Oh, 'tis no great matter. They were whimpering about how they didn't want a regular play. They wished for an original script."
"Hey, stop this. Please." I knew what came next. I knew exactly how this was going to end. As for why, because I've gone down that road once before, in middle school.
Writing an original script and playing with a scenario is only permissible up until the end of elementary school. Oh, it actually is an option for elementary school kids. You're allowed to write comic skit–style scripts for school arts festivals and farewell parties. In fact, people will love it. But the moment you start middle school, the act makes you a target for contempt.
"Heh." I laughed weakly.
"Hmm? What is it, Hachiman?" he asked.
I gazed up at the sky through the window. "Oh…just thinking about how adulthood hits so fast."
"Heh, what a curious fellow… I actually have no idea what you were talking about. That was super-weird. But no matter: Your issues are insignificant. So as for my original script…"
I got the feeling he'd taken advantage of the confusion to hurl an insult at me. I couldn't know for sure that they weren't still using my old script now…
While I hate to say it, this guy is basically an acquaintance of mine. My conscience wouldn't let me say nothing and let him walk into certain disaster. From the kindness of my heart, I decided to warn him. "Okay, I understand what you're talking about. Just don't make the heroine the girl you like. It's way too awkward. And don't give yourself the lead role in the first place."
"Ge-gerk! Hachiman, do you have ESP?!"
"No. Listen, I warned you, okay?" I don't have ESP. This was just experience talking. Ever since that day, I have sworn solemnly in my heart to never show anyone anything of that nature ever again.
"Hrr-pum, I see, I see. In other words, what you're trying to say is this…" Zaimokuza assumed his most serious expression and cleared his throat. "The recent trend is to make the villain or rival the protagonist rather than the standard hero, so that would be cooler and more popular?"
"You completely missed the point."
"Herm? Is some part of that mistaken?"
"Oh, your line of argument isn't really wrong. I mean, even for PreCure, they made the one in black the main character for the first generation. I think that's probably what they were going for there, establishing character based on color scheme. The problem is everything about you." I wanted to emphasize that very last part, but Zaimokuza's ears function at an incredible level that allows them to filter out everything he doesn't want to hear, so he just made his weird listening noises. Mfun, mfun.
"I see. You do indeed have a point. This 'Rule of Cure Black' you subscribe to…may just be it. Herm, as expected of the authority of PreCure-ology."
"Hey, stop it. Don't you set me up as an authority. I'm not worthy. Besides, I'm a Cure White stan." Seriously, authority is too lofty for me. I'm just someone who just watches it 'cause I like it. I'm a casual. I can't even tell at a glance who drew the key frames, and I just have the old-edition DVD box sets and Blu-rays. In fact, it would be presumptuous and inexcusable to call myself a true fan. I'd want to kill myself if I did.
"Herm, that reaction… He's the real deal…" Zaimokuza drew back.
"Whatever, I don't care anymore. I hope you suffer and regret it." It was no use, no matter what I said. So then he had no choice but to learn the hard way and carve those wounds deep into his heart. Love, friendship, and courage aren't what changes people. My wish was that the people of Class C would give Zaimokuza an extralarge fatal wound.
"By the way, are you going to the October film?" he asked.
"Don't be stupid. Someone like me going would scare the families and the little girls. It'd be inexcusable of me… I'll buy the Blu-ray."
"Hng! You must want to see it forthwith, and yet, you restrain yourself…a man among men!" For some reason, he burst into manly tears for me.
I'm the one who wants to cry. I'm about to go off to work right now. Why do I have to have a discussion with this guy here? I shook off Zaimokuza's gaze and headed to the conference room. My feet felt even heavier than usual.
4 Suddenly, Haruno Yukinoshita attacks.
A few days after Sagami's visit to the Service Club room, the committee was notified that Yukinoshita would be assuming the office of vice-chair. Sagami made the announcement at the beginning of the meeting the day after that, and she seemed chipper about it.
The reaction from the cultural committee was generally positive.
Atsugi had been for it from the start, and Meguri had acknowledged Yukinoshita's talents already, so of course they were on board. You could say that people had high expectations for her, and her entrance had come at the right time.
This meant one member was being discharged from my own section, Records and Miscellaneous, but there wasn't a whole lot of work for us to do in the first place. It was determined that it wouldn't be a big issue. Maybe I didn't have to come… The thought crossed my mind for an instant. But it was thanks to being shunted aside that I was able to avoid participating in the class play. I couldn't get greedy here.
Once appointed, Yukinoshita went straight to work. She revamped the schedule, disseminated that information to the committee, and arranged for each section to present a daily progress report while she checked over their work. Business was moving along smoothly.
In the east, Publicity and Advertisement worried about where to put posters, but Yukinoshita calculated the lines and volume of pedestrian traffic on a map and gave them instructions. In the west, Volunteer Management was in trouble because they didn't have enough volunteers, so she made the performances a contest with a prize.
A minion like me wouldn't know much about the affairs of the executive ranks, but I could tell that Yukinoshita was working at an incredible pace.
Anyway, though the official notices were going out under the name of the committee chair, Minami Sagami, it was easy to see that Yukinoshita was doing nearly everything.
It seemed all of it was moving along smoothly.
Meanwhile, we were going through tons of meetings.
Four in the afternoon, right on time.
Sagami looked out over the members of the cultural committee in the conference room and got things started. "Well then, let's begin the meeting."
Everyone said the formal greeting in chorus and bowed.
First, we began with the reports from each section.
"Okay, Publicity and Advertisement, go ahead," said Sagami.
The section head stood up to give their progress report. "So far, we've posted notices on about seventy percent of the bulletin boards we had planned, and about fifty percent of the posters are done, too."
"Really? That's sounding good." Sagami nodded in satisfaction.
But her warm reply was followed by a much colder one. "No. It's a little slow." The unexpected remark brought up a stir of murmurs in the room. But despite this, Yukino Yukinoshita ignored the reactions and continued, somewhat accusatory. "The cultural festival is in three weeks. If you take into account the time it takes for the guests to adjust their schedules, it needs to have been done by now. Have you already negotiated the placement on each bulletin board and uploaded a notice to the school's website?"
"Not yet…"
"Please hurry. Prospective students from middle schools and their guardians do check the website frequently."
"O-okay." The head of the advertisement section sank back down, overwhelmed.
Silence fell upon the conference room. Sagami, off to the side, didn't appear to have grasped what had even just happened. She gaped at Yukinoshita.
"Go on, Sagami," Yukinoshita prompted, and at last, the meeting resumed.
"Oh, right. Then, Volunteer Management, go ahead."
"…Right. Right now, we have ten volunteer groups participating," the group leader announced hesitantly.
Sagami was a little awkward, but she nodded. "More have applied, huh? That must be because of the prize we're offering now. Next…"
"Are those volunteers only from within the school? Have you sounded out other local groups? Look into the records from previous years and try contacting them, please. If our promotional line every year is our strong regional ties, then we have to keep the participation from regional groups high. Also, have you scheduled all the stages yet? How big do you predict the audience will be? Do you know the staff you'll need during the performances? Please come up with a timetable and submit it to me."
The moment Sagami had attempted to move on, Yukinoshita pressed the section severely. They weren't going to half-ass anything on her watch.
Things went on like that the whole time, as the meeting moved on to Health and Sanitation and then Accounting. Each time, Yukinoshita hurled demands for details and orders left and right.
"Next, Records and Miscellaneous." Before you knew it, she was the one taking control of the meeting.
"Nothing in particular," the boy in charge of Records and Miscellaneous briefly stated. Most of our work in this section was actually just archiving the day of the festival, so at this stage, there wasn't that much work to do.
Sagami, the chair, understood this, too, and she nodded and then glanced around, attempting to end the meeting. "Then that should be it for today…"
"Records, submit a schedule for the day of the event and the applications for equipment. Keep in mind that we only have access to a limited amount of video recording equipment, so if volunteer groups also intend to film, there may be schedule conflicts. Consult with them about equipment delivery, please."
"Okay…"
Even though the section head was a third-year and her elder, Yukinoshita didn't hold back. It was a little tense.
But that had to be over now. The reports from each section were done. Everyone was breathing sighs of relief and exhaustion, but the vice-chair was not ending the meeting. "Also…can the student council manage guests?"
"Yes, we can handle that," Meguri replied instantly. She was still fully attentive.
"All right then, please do. It would also be helpful if you could update the guest list from last year and bring it to me. Also, reception of general guests is Health and Sanitation's job. Please hand in the guest list beforehand."
"All right. Roger!" Meguri nodded agreeably. Then she expressed her impression of the situation in brief. "Wow, you're amazing, Yukinoshita… Just what you'd expect from Haru's sister," she added appreciatively.
Yukinoshita responded with a display of modesty. "…No, it's really nothing much."
It was true—Yukinoshita really knew her stuff. I thought she was pretty amazing, too. But the way she was going about this was dangerous.
Now that the issues had been exposed in the reports, there was some conferring about how to deal with them, and then we shared information about the schedule moving forward. Most of what had to be discussed that day was done. Once we could sense that it was over, the atmosphere relaxed. A few people stretched and groaned.
Yukinoshita seemed to notice she'd stolen the role of directing the meeting partway through and turned to Sagami. "Well then, Chair."
"Oh yeah. Um, we'll be counting on you again tomorrow, too. Good work, everyone."
Now dismissed, the cultural committee members all said their farewells and left their seats. I could hear them all chatting among themselves: Oh man, oh man, I'm tired, so tired, but wasn't that something, oh yes, really for real, I really feel like we worked our asses off.
They were all applauding Yukinoshita's talents. She was so powerful, so striking, that some tactless rumormonger even commented that they couldn't tell which one was the chair. Some members of the student council, in particular, even mentioned her as a candidate for
the next student council president. As expected of Yukino Yukinoshita.
The one in the toughest position here was undoubtedly Sagami.
They were similar enough to be compared. Both girls were secondyears, but one of them had just taken control of the meeting. One of them was falling behind, while the other had shown that she could even compensate for the first.
If Yukinoshita had been exercising her abilities independently, it would have been another story. But now that Sagami and Yukinoshita were in comparable positions, the differences between the two were thrown into relief. It was clear to everyone, and complimenting Yukinoshita was a form of disdain for Sagami.
As Yukinoshita stayed behind to handle some tasks, I saw Sagami practically fleeing with her two buddies.
Now that the direction of the cultural committee was established, operations were sure to become more efficient. Yukinoshita's working methods were worthy of commendation.
But had Yukinoshita realized…she wasn't saving anyone or anything?
After school on the day after Yukinoshita went on her rampage—er, performed wonderfully at the cultural committee meeting, Hina Ebina was performing wonderfully—er, going on a rampage in the 2F classroom.
"Nooo! When you take off a businessman's necktie, you've got to be more seductive about it! Just what do you think a suit is for?!" What do you think that suit is for?
Ebina's passionate acting coaching was leaving the boys in tears.
But not all the boys were wallowing in misery. Some of them were receiving rather fine treatment.
"Um, isn't this enough already?" Hayama said, an embarrassed edge to his voice as girls surrounded him.
"Not by a long shot!"
"We're just getting started!" The cluster of girls shot him down with glee.
The cast was practicing makeup through a ton of trial and error in preparation for the show. I could see Sagami among them, too… Well, there was still some time until the committee meeting after all.
Totsuka also had three girls assigned to him for hair and makeup, and he was utterly terrified.
"Totsuka, your skin is so pretty!"
"Yeah, it's perfect for makeup."
"U-um…this is just rehearsal, so you don't have to put on so much…" Totsuka attempted to refuse them very mildly, but his cuteness backfired.
"We've got to practice, too!"
"That's right!" It seemed to only stoke the girls' enthusiasm.
He shrank into himself even more. "Y-yeah… I—I get it. Practice is important…huh?"
I felt a little sorry for Totsuka as he wilted, but the thought of him getting even cuter weakened my resolve, and I just couldn't bring myself to stop them.
But still, the makeup team was treating certain people very differently than others. Tobe and Ooka had been finished off in just five minutes. And nobody had been willing to handle the class rep at all, so he'd mostly done it himself. To make matters worse, he'd done a decent job, which made the girls wonder suspiciously how he knew so much about it…
I was not the only one observing the goings-on. Miura was watching Hayama and the others when she seemed to have an idea. "So, like, what're we doing about the photos? We need posters, right?"
Ebina overheard her muttering and came to give her an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "Nice, Yumiko! Yes! When you're putting on a heartthrob musical, uploading character shots generates the most buzz. It's important to carefully disseminate cast information. We're deviating quite a bit from the source material with Hoshimyu, so we're pushing star power instead!"
What the hell is with that Hoshimyu abbreviation? And wait, just what business are you in here?
Miura and Ebina's conversation led the class to another topic. "What about the costumes? Are we renting them?"
"But if we rent, we might get them dirty…" The girls were hmming in indecision.
Yet again, Ebina jumped in. "No, no. At the very least, the Prince has a very specific image, so we can't use some other costume. For the others… Well, we can borrow those."
"What's the problem? Plenty of people have never seen the pictures before."
"Are you underestimating the fans of the original work?! Do you want to get trolled into oblivion?!" Ebina screeched dramatically.
This time, a voice rose up from a different direction. "Hmm, I dunno if we can rent costumes. We barely have any budget. Honestly, I kinda want to spend the money on other things…" Yuigahama scratched her head with a ballpoint pen as she punched some numbers into her calculator and scribbled something in her notebook. You kinda look like a housewife there.
"Why don't we just make them?" The queen pointed to a needle.
And so the commoners began considering the idea. "Do we have anyone who can sew?"
"I've only ever done it in class, though…"
Huh. There's a good balance to how they're handling this. I was standing by the window admiring the sight when I noticed a bluish ponytail in my field of vision.
It was Kawagoe…I think her name was. Kawashima had been glancing
inquisitively over at the other girls' conversation. That was somewhat surprising. Shimazaki was the last person I'd expect to be interested in this. Curious, I looked at Okazaki more closely. She seemed to be reacting to words like make, clothing, and sewing. That's not much like Okajima, I thought before I called out to her.
Unable to just stand there and watch, I said, "Hey, if you want to do it, I think you can just say so."
"Wh-what are you talking about?! It's not like I want to do it!" Kawasaki bounded out of her chair.
…Right. The correct answer was Kawasaki. Okajima was way off, wasn't it?
It was good that I got the right answer, but no matter what I said, I'm sure she would have been determined to deny it. So then it would be best to approach this in a roundabout way.
"Hey, Yuigahama," I called out.
"Ack! Hold on!" Kawasaki was yanking at my sleeve, pleading me to stop. She probably should have stopped for her own good, though; a reaction like that tends to pique my sadistic streak.
"What?" Yuigahama tucked her red pen behind her ear and came over.
Are you some middle-aged man at the racetrack? Come on.
"Kawasaki says she wants to do it."
"Wh-what?! Wh-what're you talking about?! I can't! There's no way I could do something that fancy! I've never done any clothes or anything yet… Um, I'd just cause trouble…"
So does she mean she's made something else?
Yuigahama gave Kawasaki a long, appraising look as she considered the possibility. Uncomfortable, Kawasaki twisted her tall, slim frame around in an attempt to become as small as possible. Yuigahama's eyes locked on a single point. "Hey, is that scrunchie handmade?" she asked.
Kawasaki nodded.
"Could you let me see for a sec?" No sooner had Yuigahama said it than she'd reached out to Kawasaki's ponytail. Her hair fluttered down and fanned out across her shoulders. Yuigahama observed the scrunchie in her hand and ohhh'd appreciatively. The little ball of fabric was kind of reminiscent of lingerie. It made my heart race a bit.
"Hina. Come over here a sec," Yuigahama called.
"Coming!" Ebina bounded over and examined the scrunchie with deep interest.
"That one is…hand sewn… But I've made some with a sewing machine, too," Kawasaki said, and she pulled another scrunchie out of her pocket. It was also kinda lingerie-like.
"Hmm, hmm… The stitches are neat, and the colors are cute…and you can sew by hand and use a machine… I like it! Kawasaki-san, I choose you! We're counting on you for those costumes!"
"Huh? Hey, you can't just…" As Kawasaki tied up her hair again, she looked uneasy and embarrassed at Ebina's super-casual request.
Yuigahama intervened. "Hey, hey, Hina is being serious about this, Kawasaki. You've altered your uniform, haven't you, like the blouse and stuff? I think she's probably picked you because she knows that."
…As expected of Yuigahama. She's so attentive to people.
"Oh yeah, huh?" Kawasaki answered vaguely, blushing and a little nonplussed. She was probably surprised and flattered that they'd picked up on such minor details.
"Exactly! There's an ideology and an art to using limited resources to the greatest effect. That's why I think we can let you handle this. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility!" Ebina smacked her chest as if to say, Leave it to me! It's disconcerting how normal Ebina can be, in her own way. Sometimes, I suspect she just hides her shrewdness and puts on that act most of the time.
"If that's what you mean, then…I'll do it…" Kawasaki's bright-red face was pointed toward the floor.
Ebina grabbed her firmly by the shoulders. "Yep, I'll be counting on you. Oh, and do some alterations on the Narrator's costume, too.
Make it kinda dirty. Make some stains—the kind that don't disappear." There wasn't a shred of shrewdness in that.
Actually, I just don't get her after all.
I noticed that the costuming-related stuff was getting started, and now there was even less real work for me to do. Everyone was engaged in their respective roles.
I did have a part to play, more or less, the one that no one wanted to do: the sacrifice to the cultural committee. So let's go get that done.
Yuigahama noticed I was about to head out of the classroom, so she looked around and called out to Sagami. "Sagamin, you don't have to go to the committee?"
"Huh? Yeah, it's okay."
"But…"
"Oh…I can't really help much, and I think I'd just get in the way instead, you know?"
"That's not true. It seems like they've got a lot of work to do, so it might be a good idea to relieve some of the burden."
"It's fine, it's fine. Yukinoshita's super-reliable. Besides, part of my job is writing up the event proposal for the class."
I quietly closed the door on the conversation behind me.
Right after leaving the classroom, I bumped into Hayama. "Going to the cultural committee now?" he asked. He was scrubbing his face with a towelette for removing makeup. He must have gone to the bathroom to wash it off.
"…Yeah."
"All right. I guess I'll go with you."
"…?" I asked with my expression alone. Why? What the hell are you talking about? I mean, it's fine if you come, but we don't have to go together, right? I mean, you don't have to go at all. Just explain, okay?
Hayama smiled. "I'm applying with a volunteer group. I'm going to get the documents."
"Oh, I gotcha." That was a very Hayama-like reason. He was acutely aware of how much attention he would draw. Of course, as that kind of person, he would be in demand for this cultural festival, too, and he was trying to meet those expectations as best he could.
Hayama didn't ask any more or say anything else as we walked away from the classroom. I felt like someone was glaring at my back, but that was probably just my imagination. Right, Ebina?
I left the classroom and headed for the conference room. There was no meeting, but to my dismay, I did have Records and Miscellaneous work to do.
Even more dismaying was the fact that I was with Hayama.
"…"
"…"
Neither of us really said much.
He'd probably picked up on my "don't talk to me" aura, and this was his way of accommodating me. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, but he wasn't acting bored or awkward. He seemed very normal. He was humming casually, as if he wasn't that concerned about me at all. Remarkably unfazed.
As for me, I was pretty unsettled.
Now very aware of how I was alone with Hayama, I was reminded of that summer camp in Chiba Village, and his cold remark from that night in the dark cabin. Thinking about how Hayato Hayama had feelings like that gave me the shivers. It wasn't that I was scared of him. What scared me was that even he lives with those emotions.
Even perfect, successful Hayama, loved by all as the undisputed good guy.
Silent the entire time, we turned a corner in the hallway.
When we reached the door to the conference room, I could see a few people inside. Was there an incident or something? But incidents don't happen in conference rooms. They happen at the scene.
"What's up?" Hayama asked casually.
A girl turned around with some annoyance, but when she saw it was Hayama, she began her explanation with an anxious "Um…" Hey. Why are you blushing?
At the rate this shy girl was beginning to talk, it seemed like we'd be here for a while. It'd be a lot faster for me to go look myself rather than listen to her. I touched the door handle, and the people around let me pass through.
As soon as the door was open, I instantly regretted it. It really is best to go along with the assessment of the masses.
The conference room was practically humming with tension. A few people had shifted over to the corners to form the gallery. There were three people standing in the middle:
Yukino Yukinoshita.
Meguri Shiromeguri.
Haruno Yukinoshita.
Yukinoshita and Haruno were standing about three steps apart, facing each other. Meguri was fidgeting behind Haruno, flustered.
"What have you come here for, Haruno?" Yukinoshita demanded like a lawyer cross-examining her sister.
"Aw, I came as an OG from the school orchestra, since I got a notice that you're looking for volunteer groups."
OG… For a minute, I thought she was talking about super robots, but that probably wasn't it. So then I thought she might be revealing her history with gangs, but that couldn't be it, either. I think it stands for Old Girl? Hey, stop slandering Miss Hiratsuka!
That was when Meguri intervened. "S-sorry, I'm the one who called her. I just happened to run into her in town, and then, you know, we hadn't seen each other in so long, so we talked about a lot of things, and we didn't have enough volunteer groups, so I was wondering if maybe…"
Nothing ever just "happened" with Haruno Yukinoshita. She only made it seem that way, which was why she was terrifying.
"You weren't in this school yet, Yukinoshita, so you might not know, but when Haru was in her third year, she volunteered with a band. It was really amazing! So I was hoping maybe…" Meguri gave Yukinoshita a tentative, beseeching look. Maybe?
"I know…because I saw it. But…" Yukinoshita gritted her teeth hard and looked down at the floor. A silence fell as she ignored Meguri's silent plea.
Then Haruno cut in with an embarrassed laugh. "Ah-ha-ha! Oh, no, Meguri, that was just for fun. But this year, I plan to do something more serious. I was hoping you could let us practice at the school a little… So that's fine, right, Yukino-chan? If you don't have enough volunteers." Haruno slung her arm around Yukinoshita's shoulders for good measure. "I just want to do what I can for my adorable little sister!"
"Don't give me that… First of all, you—" Yukinoshita swiped Haruno's hand away, taking a step back with a glare.
"I what?" Haruno stared back, not averting her gaze. She had a sweet smile on her face, but for some reason, just the sight of her made my knees feel weak.
"You're…doing it again…" Yukinoshita bit her lip in frustration as she gently looked away. Her eyes happened to meet mine.
"…" We both silently looked down. We were probably both focused on the same spot on the floor.
"Huh? It's Hikigaya! Yahallooo!" Noticing me, Haruno greeted me with vigorous cheer that really did not fit the mood.
What the hell is with that greeting? Is it the end of the century?
"Haruno…" Hayama followed me into the room and stood beside me.
"Heya, Hayato."
Haruno raised a casual hand, and Hayama answered with a casual nod.
"What's going on?"
"I've been thinking about performing with a volunteer orchestra. I figured it would be interesting to get a bunch of alumni together for it. Doesn't that sound fun?"
"Just jumping right in again, Haruno?" Hayama sighed. I'd known they were acquainted, but this was weird. It was probably because of the way he was talking to her. First-name basis, huh…?
I looked between the two of them, until Haruno noticed and smirked. "Hmm? Oh, Hayato is practically like a little brother to me. We've known each other for a long time. If you like, you can speak to me informally, too, Hikigaya. How about I call you Hachiman instead?"
"Ah-ha-ha." I refused with a dry laugh. I'd absolutely love it if she would not. The only people allowed to call me Hachiman are my parents and Totsuka.
That little bit of teasing must have satisfied her, as she returned her gaze to Yukinoshita. "Hey, Yukino-chan, I can perform, right?" "Do whatever you like… Besides, it's not my decision."
"Huh? It's not? I thought for sure you'd be the chair. Nobody recommended you for it?" She'd been recommended hard for it, and being Haruno Yukinoshita's little sister was part of the reason, too. Haruno chuckled as if she saw through everything. Yukinoshita was looking away.
"So then who is the committee chair? Meguri…is a third-year, so it's not her. Hikigaya?"
If that's supposed to be a joke, I'm not laughing. I shrugged, and my attitude made the answer clear.
The atmosphere was oddly tense when someone flung open the door to the conference room with abandon. "Sooorry! I went to check on the classroom but ended up running late!" Minami Sagami didn't seem even the slightest bit concerned.
Well, there wasn't a status meeting today, and most of the work was proceeding ahead of schedule. I could understand why she was letting things relax.
"Haru, this is the committee chair," said Meguri, and Haruno's eyes focused on Sagami.
That look again. That penetrating, cold, evil eye, like she's measuring your worth.
"…Oh, I'm Minami Sagami." Her voice wilted, overwhelmed by Haruno's flashing eyes.
"Hmm…" Haruno didn't seem to be interested in her at all, but she gave a small sigh and inched a step closer. "The Cultural Festival Committee chair is late? Because she was checking on her class? Huh…" Her tone was frightening. It was like that low, dictatorial sound was welling up from the core of her body, and it permeated every inch of Sagami. Just a moment ago, Haruno had been acting so cheerfully, so her ice-cold looks were all the nastier. This was what made Haruno scarier than Yukinoshita, and the most frightening part of all was how she didn't hide her dark feelings. That attitude told you that as long as you were submissive to her, she would approach you amicably, but if you were to defy her, she would mercilessly slaughter you with her bare hands.
"Uh, um…" While Sagami was desperately searching for an excuse, Haruno suddenly burst into a smile.
"That's what you need in a chair after all! You have to enjoy the cultural festival to the utmost! I like you! I like you! Um, it was something-mi, right? Amagami? Well, whatever. I'll call you Chair."
"Th-thank you very much…" Sagami kept her expression cheerful, even though she was baffled by Haruno's about-face. This was probably the first time she'd gotten approval since she'd come here.
As Sagami blushed, Haruno continued. "So I've got a request for you, Chair. You know, I'd like to join in on this event, too, with a volunteer group. I tried asking Yukino-chan, but she didn't seem into it. She doesn't like me much…" She sniffled pathetically. She was being so obvious it was downright pushy, but also cute at the same time. I just couldn't bring myself to be critical of her for it.
"Huh…?" Sagami looked over at Yukinoshita. Yukinoshita's indignant expression held firm. She didn't look at Sagami, either.
"…Sure," said Sagami. "We don't have enough, and if we get some alumni participating, we can emphasize regional ties? And stuff." I got the feeling she was just parroting what she'd already heard, but Sagami acted like it was her own idea.
"Yeeek! Thanks!" Haruno gave Sagami a quick and forced-looking hug. But she backed off right away and then muttered with a faraway look in her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, it's wonderful to have an alma mater you can return to, even after graduation. I've got to tell all my friends, too. They'll all be jealous."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Sometimes, you really want to come back…and this goes for me, too," said Haruno.
For a moment, Sagami adopted a pensive pose as Hayama and Yukinoshita breathed short, resigned sighs. If Sagami noticed, she gave no indication that she did as she clapped her hands. "…Really? Oh, then why don't those friends join in, too?"
"Oh, good idea! Should I contact them right away, then?"
"Go ahead, go ahead," Sagami said, and instantly, Haruno cheerily began punching in a number on her cell phone, one-handed.
Looking panicked, Yukinoshita came in to stop her. "Hold on, Sagami."
But Sagami innocently asked, "Why not? We're actually short on volunteer groups. And this covers that 'regional ties' thing, right?" Sagami was basking in her victory. But had she realized that it was Haruno Yukinoshita who had led her to just about every element of that plan?
"Besides, I don't know what happened with you and your sister, but that has nothing to do with this, does it?"
"…"
Anyone who had seen that exchange between Yukinoshita and Haruno could tell they didn't get along. Sagami had made that remark with full knowledge of that, leaving Yukinoshita without anything to say. Sagami smiled triumphantly, having gotten the upper hand with Yukinoshita for the first time.
"Saw that coming…," Hayama said briefly.
His all-knowing comment made me a little curious. I silently glanced at him for details, but whether deliberately or not, Hayama didn't touch on it further.
"I'm going to take these documents and go." And just like that, Hayama left the conference room.
The only foreign body left among the cultural committee was Haruno Yukinoshita. Once she was done with her phone call, she took a set of volunteer application papers and then started a deep conversation with Meguri, Sagami, and their friends.
Haruno wasn't technically getting in the way, but since she stood out so much, her presence made the cultural committee restless. Naturally, they were all watching her every move. Yukinoshita was the only one stubbornly refusing to look at her.
Sagami and her friends were chattering excitedly about something. I watched them, curious, to see our chairperson having a good time chatting with her friends and Meguri nodding pleasantly. Then there was Haruno Yukinoshita. She glanced my way and then stood up.
Haruno walked over and deliberately plopped down right next to me. "Are you doing a proper job, young man?"
"…Yeah, I guess so."
"This is a little surprising. I didn't think you were the type to do something like this."
"Agh. Neither did I."
"Hmm… Shizuka-chan twisted your arm?" Haruno nodded as if that made sense to her. Though there was another committee member whose presence was more inexplicable than mine.
"If we're talking about surprises, isn't your sister the odd one out?"
"You think? I thought she would do it." Not convinced, I tilted my head.
Haruno examined my face and then added, "I mean, her club is a little uncomfortable now, and her older sister acted as committee chair way back when. That's enough to make her want to do it."
Though I sensed some condescension in the way she said it, I considered the meaning of each part of her argument. It was true that club was getting kind of unpleasant. And most of all, I felt like I'd come to understand just a bit what Haruno was to Yukinoshita.
"Well, it looks like the former is more of an issue," she added, as if she'd just seen something humorous.
The relationship between these sisters was more complicated than it seemed from the outside.
Be they brothers or sisters, siblings are bound to be compared. Often, one is seen as superior. I have a little sister myself. But maybe it's because she's a girl and I'm a boy, or perhaps because we were raised to complement each other's shortcomings, I've got no sense that we get compared like that.
But with the Yukinoshita sisters, they're as similar as twins: the extraordinary older sister, and the equally talented but nonetheless inferior younger sister. If one of them were stupid, at least, then the two of them would probably not have gotten so contrary. One of them may have ended up with a twisted personality, though.
Yukinoshita was constantly battling with the illusion of her sister; she felt she could almost win but always fell short. It would be a lot easier for her if she would just run away from everything Haruno had done. But it seemed her pride, or some other strong emotion, would not let her do that.
If Haruno knew, if she understood, then couldn't she do something about it? Couldn't she find some other way to interact with her little sister?
"Um…what are you thinking?" I asked her frankly.
The scary part about Haruno was, first and foremost, that you didn't know what was going on in her head. It may be strange for me to say this, but I've been observing humans for a long time (in the worst sort of way), and if even I'm having difficulty understanding her, she's very good at what she does.
"What would I have to say for you to believe me?" she replied.
"…" I wouldn't believe anything. My impression of Haruno Yukinoshita was already set in stone. She could tell me some profound reasoning or grand ideal, but I'd still disregard it.
Apparently, my silence got the meaning across just fine. "Then don't ask." Her voice was frosty. I think that was probably genuine. No pretending, no fabrication.
After that, she didn't say anything. Haruno had a cheerful persona, but when she was like this, she reminded me a lot of Yukinoshita.
Now that Haruno had gone silent, all the sounds around us suddenly seemed louder to me. That meant I could easily hear everyone else chattering, too. Sagami's group seemed particularly engrossed in their talking and giggling.
Apparently encouraged now, Sagami called out to the room in a loud voice, "Everyone, do you all have a minute?" For a moment, the noise in the conference room died down.
When I looked at her, Sagami had stood and was surveying the room. She cleared her throat gently to ready herself and nervously began to speak. "I've been thinking a bit…and I think that maybe the cultural committee really should have a good time with the festival. Like, if we don't have fun ourselves, we can't make it fun for other people, I think…"
I've heard that somewhere before…
"I think the classroom side of things is important, too, so we can enjoy the cultural festival to the fullest. Everything is going smoothly and according to schedule, so how about we slow down the pace a little?"
There was a pause as everyone seemed to consider Sagami's proposal for a moment. Things weren't actually going so badly. Yukinoshita had been fielding concerns one after another, so you could say our progress was decent.
But Yukinoshita objected. "Sagami, I don't really think that's a good idea. We should keep an aggressive schedule to maintain a buffer…"
She was rudely interrupted by a cheerful voice. "Oh! That's a great idea. Back in my day, everyone put in a lot of work with their classes!" said Haruno, acting nostalgic for the good old days. Yukinoshita shot her an accusatory look.
But that attitude just egged Sagami on. "See? There's precedent. Besides…the festival that year was really exciting, right?" Sagami appeared to be seeking confirmation, but Yukinoshita didn't reply. Sagami took that as a yes anyway and kept going. "We should emulate the things they did right after all. I mean, we've gotta learn from the wisdom of our predecessors. Don't bring personal feelings into it. Let's consider everyone, now."
Meguri seemed conflicted as she watched the exchange.
Meanwhile, the cultural committee members were exchanging looks, but some scattered clapping suggested a few were already on board with Sagami's proposal. Apparently, this plan had been approved.
As a result, by order of Minami Sagami, the Decree of Return to Class Groups was passed (not the Decree of Return to Farming).
If everyone was going to go along with it, then Yukinoshita could not overturn the decision alone, no matter how much she argued. Sagami smiled in satisfaction, while Yukinoshita returned to her work wearing an incredibly cold expression. The way Sagami saw it, she must have felt like she'd finally managed an act befitting the committee chair.
"I just love the cut of her jib. Right, Hikigaya?" Haruno, sitting right beside me, said to me.
I'm sure it was unkind of me to suspect that this, too, was part of some kind of plot, but…
Yeah, I don't really like her.
The changes happened immediately.
Within just a few days of Haruno Yukinoshita's arrival, people started to skip committee meetings here and there. Apparently, Sagami's comments had spread to all the members of the committee. Still, they were just coming in thirty minutes late or being absent with notice. We weren't that affected. Everyone's burden increased slightly, but with rotating breaks, we created a sort of shift schedule.
But as the number of volunteer groups increased and a
proportionate number of places became willing to put up signs for Publicity and Advertisement, it created some fairly heavy recalculation of the budget, and the workload started to get lopsided. Both Health and Sanitation's and Records and Miscellaneous's workloads were concentrated on the days of the cultural festival, so it caused no problems if more of these people were to slack off. But there was an undeniable feeling that the volunteer management, advertisement, and accounting sections were a bit short on man power.
In those cases, the executives ended up shouldering the burden, mainly the student council and Yukinoshita. Yukinoshita's intervention was a big help, but still, the work had begun to pile up, and those piles just wouldn't go away.
As a member of Records and Miscellaneous, I was getting more miscellaneous-type work. Strange…I'd heard there wasn't much work here…
"Um…do you have a minute?" The head of our section addressed me.
The fact that he had asked "Do you have a minute?" rather than just "Hey" or something was abnormal. My alarm bells were ringing.
But it was for just such an occasion that I'd thought up some excellent methods for dealing with attempts to pass unnecessary work on to me. I've titled them Four Strategies for Dealing with Attempts to Pass Unnecessary Work On to You.
"Um, can I ask you to do this?"
Strategy One: As long as they haven't addressed you by name, just ignore them.
"Are you listening?" He tap-tapped me on the shoulder. Tch. Failure, huh?
"Oh, me? Eh-heh."
"I'd like to ask you to do this."
Strategy Two: If you're asked to do something, just give them a look of reluctance.
But the section head must have had a fairly strong heart, as he scowled right back at me. "…Please do it." The look he was giving me expressed even more reluctance than mine, so I was
outmaneuvered. Damn it, even that was no good?! Now that it had come to this, it was on to the next method. "Haaah… Haaaaaah…"
Strategy Three: Constantly sigh while you're working!
It's so obnoxious, not only will they never give you any more work again, they'll even roll out their last resort: saying If you don't want to do this, then just go. This was so effective for me that back when I had a part-time job, I even used this to leave on the spot and never come back. Tried and true.
But the section head was not bothered at all. In fact, he just pushed up his glasses and came to talk to me. "Are you done?"
There was no way I could have finished it in such a short period of time… If I were that good, I wouldn't be working for you.
Finally, I used my ultimate technique.
Strategy Four: Clack away annoyingly hard on the keyboard in the hope that he will leave.
The student council had temporarily loaned the cultural committee a number of computers. They not only made writing work significantly more efficient, they also helped me execute my grumpy typing stratagem.
Taka, taka, taka. TAAAN! How do you like that?! This much emphasis on how I don't want to work has to make him want to give up…
"See you, then. I'm heading home first. Once you're done, you can go. If you have any questions, ask the executives."
"'Tchabye." (Translation: Oh, I understand. See you later.)
Heh-heh, I did a wonderful job of dodging work… Now my workload is the absolute minimum! With the piles of work atop my desk before me, I was triumphant… Wait, whaaaaaaaaat?!
I clearly have work here! In fact, all I'd managed to do was give that guy a bad impression! I just acted like a jerk! What's more, "You can go once you're done" means "Don't you dare leave until you're done," doesn't it?! Nooo!
The life of an employee is rough. This was far beyond my expectations…
To make it worse, the title of "miscellaneous" must have led to some misunderstandings. Now even the extra work of others was all getting passed to me.
"Um…you're Records and Miscellaneous, right? Can I ask you to do this, too?"
"Agh, but…"
"The cultural festival is a group project! That's how it goes! We have to help one another out!" they declared quite emphatically.
Come on, copying posters definitely isn't my job. And besides, how are you helping me here? But since it was an older student talking, I couldn't refuse. Never more have I cursed the slumbering Japanese instincts inside me: the tradition of seniority by length of service.
Some people were even refusing to look at me and holding cups toward me. "Tea."
"Agh…" Why me? Hey, do they think they can just talk to me however they want, since I'm just a lackey? Maybe you've forgotten, but lackeys are humans, too, you know? Come on. If I keep working like this, I'll end up becoming a full-fledged employee. I Can Be a Corporate Slave!
Oh, damn…I should've taken a break earlier.
With projects like this, frankly, the more diligent you are, the more you get the short end of the stick. There was already a ton of work piled up in front of me, and more than I could muddle through in a day or two, as far as I could tell.
Reflexively, I sighed.
Right then, at almost exactly the same moment, I heard another deep, deep sigh. Looking toward it, I saw Yukinoshita with her hand to her temple, her eyes closed. Did she have a headache or something?
The apparent cause was right in her line of sight.
Nearby, Haruno Yukinoshita was chatting genially with Meguri as she spun a pen in her hand. It had to be her.
Having assembled a bunch of alumni for her volunteer group, she often came to the school to practice for her thing or whatever. On the way, she would often pop in at the cultural committee. She'd entirely settled in. In fact, she was a real regular.
"Hikigaya, some tea for me, too!" she called to me.
"Um, that isn't the miscellaneous section's job, though, I don't think…" I wasn't really sure, so my sentence got timid at the end. What's more, I was making her tea even as I complained. I was a tragic corporate slave by nature. I was pouring the pleasantly burbling tea out of the teapot when I heard Yukinoshita quietly putting her ballpoint pen down.
Her calmness had its own kind of awful impact.
"Haruno, if you're going to be in the way, then leave."
That might work on someone else, but not Haruno. Like a joker against an ace, Haruno was not at all perturbed. "Don't be so crabby. I'll help you out."
"It's fine. Get going, now."
But Haruno ignored that and snatched up some nearby printouts, slurping at her teacup. "Let me see. I suppose I'll give you a hand with your work, as thanks for the tea."
"Hey, stop, don't just—"
Faster than Yukinoshita could stop her, Haruno took a calculator in one hand and briskly began operations. She scratched away something with a red pen with finality and tossed the paper toward Yukinoshita. "Your income and expenditures don't match up."
"…I was planning to check that afterward." Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes in displeasure, but she still took it.
"You haven't changed, Haru." Meguri gazed over at the Yukinoshita sisters with a pleasant smile, gently soothing the tension. The effect she had even made me feel cozy.
"Well, it's not much. I'm used to it. Should I scribble off a few more?" Haruno said, starting in on a few nearby documents.
This time, Yukinoshita didn't stop her. She just pulled her lips tight and dispassionately did her work.
5 Meguri Shiromeguri is pleasantly trifled with.
What's something that never decreases in amount, no matter how much of it you do?
Work.
Such thoughts lingered in my brain as I faced the PC with empty eyes.
Even writing up the minutes for the meeting had become my job now. When the hell did that happen? I could've sworn the Records and Miscellaneous section head, some third year, was supposed to be the one doing it.
"Records and Miscellaneous, you have yet to submit the record of the proceedings from last week." It had all begun with that one line from Madam Vice-Chair of the Committee.
Who was the one responsible for it? Absent, huh? So then who was next in line? They were off, too. Then next after that? After that? After that…
After that was me.
When I was informed that I would do it, I literally snorted.
Of course there was no way I'd remember a meeting from a week earlier. Half of it was completely fabricated, a string of vague words that sounded appropriate: proceeding in earnest refer to progress report on attached sheet, suitable adjustments, and general compilation planned. It was fine. The responsible parties would take care of it. That's why they're the responsible parties.
I finished up when it was basically good enough and guzzled down some tea I'd poured for myself.
It's quieter than usual, so I've gotten a lot done, I thought. Looking around the conference room, there were fewer than twenty people working like me. Five of the people there were from student council. Originally, there should have been two kids from each class in the cultural committee, but at this point, not even half of them were there.
The one most aggressively plowing through the work was Yukinoshita. Perhaps because Haruno wasn't around that day, she was able to calmly get things done. She seemed to be working more and longer than she had before. Maybe the cause was her rivalry with Haruno.
There was also that the work volume had simply increased.
The arrival of Haruno's volunteer group must have triggered this new wave of groups, which meant we were flooded with adjustments to make.
We wouldn't have been able to manage it all with our diminished numbers if it weren't for the efforts of the executives and the student council, Yukinoshita's talents, and Haruno's help. She would occasionally float in to handle a few things when she was here for practice with her volunteer group. Somehow, we had been scraping by.
On my break, I checked up on how everyone else was doing and found someone else taking a breather.
It was Meguri. When her eyes met mine, she tried to talk to me. "Uh, um…" It seemed like she was trying to remember my name. I sensed she was about to pleasantly ask me, Sorry, what was your name again? And that would make me sad, so I decided to beat her to the punch.
"Working hard, huh?"
"Yeah. So have you." Meguri smiled. I could see a touch of exhaustion in her expression. The way things were going, the burden on all personnel was increasing. You could say there was no way around it, though, and you'd be right.
"So…," I began, "our numbers are kinda dwindling, huh?"
"Yeah…it looks like everyone is pretty busy." The conference room was so empty, it felt even larger than usual. "B-but I'm sure we'll get more tomorrow!" said Meguri. That probably wasn't going to happen.
In fact, more and more people were bound to drop out from that point on. Once this idea that it was okay to skip out had taken root, the attendance rate would plummet faster and faster.
There's something called the "broken windows theory."
Let's say there's a broken window on a building in a certain town. If you leave it be, it becomes a sign of apathy, and that apathy invites the erosion of morality, which leads to crime. The theory born from this string of causation is the "broken windows theory."
Fundamentally speaking, people are soft on themselves.
Not all members of the cultural committee had volunteered to join up. Some, like me, would have been forced into it. But they'd still do the work anyway because they believed everyone else was working hard, and the guilt would drive them forward. If you remove that general perception or compulsion that prevents people from slacking off, it all collapses. It's axiomatic.
It's a lot easier to look for reasons to not try than it is to do the opposite. I'm sure everyone has felt it before, be it when studying or dieting. You use the weather, the temperature, your mood— anything as a reason to skip out.
At some point, we wouldn't be able to handle things anymore. Meguri must have understood that, too. But nobody knew what to do or how to get out of this. Anyhow, the chair herself wasn't around, and the vice-chair was so remarkably talented, she could more than make up for the people who were skipping out.
Meguri and I both sipped at our tea in silence. I was enjoying my peaceful moment with her (though neither of us said anything), but we couldn't rest for long. As we got closer to the festival, things were getting more intense, and with that intensity would come more work.
Now there was yet another knock, knock on the door of the conference room.
Speaking of which, I've heard that the well-known dun dun dun duuun of Beethoven's "Fate" is the sound of destiny knocking on the door. If that's true, destiny sure has nice manners.
I wondered if the person knocking on the door right then would be the bearer of more work. In other words, fate means work, and I, in my attempts to live without toil, am he who struggles against fate. I think they really should turn my life into a game with the Characteristic Genre Name "RPG to struggle against the fate of work." I hope I can use the royalties to feed myself without getting a job.
"Come in," Meguri called out, since nobody had replied yet.
Someone stepped in, saying, "Pardon me." The identity of the one knocking on heaven's door was Hayato Hayama.