Chapter 9 Epilogue

Students left the auditorium in a line according to the instructions of Toya and Masachika. There were two figures looking down at the scene from a higher place.

"Huh, my brother is still sweet."

Yuki laughed calmly with a cup of tea in the dimming room installed above the audience seats. While standing on the podium and looking down at Masachika, who was watching the students leave, she put her back on the back of the chair and rearranged her legs.

"If my brother wanted to, he could've ended this immediately… Did he give his partner an opportunity to grow, or was he simply indulgent towards a familiar person?…"

Yuki looked down on Masachika with cold eyes while stirring her tea.

"Well, good… to some extent, this is not enough to be called my enemy after all. Its naivety will destroy it soon enough… don't you think so?"

When Yuki asked without looking back, Ayano, who stood diagonally behind her, tilted her neck.

"Is that so? I think both Masachika and Alisa were very good."

To Ayano's suspicious voice, Yuki put the cup down as if she was offended, and looked back at her eyebrows.

"Ayano…"

"Yes, what is it?"

"You don't understand… You don't understand. After one battle is over, you scowl, with plenty of room to spare, even adding a shadow to your eyes if you want!　It's a waste of time to give a superior evaluation! It's also an important element in creating a strong character."

Ayano obediently bowed her head to Yuki, who emphasized while swinging her fist down on the elbow rest of her chair.

"I'm sorry. I didn't study enough."

"Come on, get a grip… Why do you think I took charge of lights and sound equipment?"

In the room, which was steamed by the heat generated by the lighting equipment, Yuki annoyedly fanned her face with her hands. Ayano tended to hesitate to open her mouth as she looked up at her master with a fan that she quickly took out of her pocket.

"While I'm afraid… Is it okay?"

"What?"

"Isn't that the stronger character… the one who loses in the end?"

"…"

"Also, as I said earlier… Eating and drinking is strictly prohibited in the dimming room."

"…"

Following Ayano's gaze, Yuki looked down at the teacup placed on her lighting control panel… and quickly realigned her legs and carefully picked up the teacup.

"…Ayano."

"Yes"

"…Let's tidy up."

"Understood"

◇

After the cleanup, the auditorium was no longer popular. Masachika and Arisa were sitting side by side in the audience, looking at the empty stage.

The other student council members also returned earlier, and the auditorium was empty. After a brief period of silence, Alisa murmured.

"I think she respected you."

"…?"

Masachika silently waited for the next word, even though he was inclined to the sudden words. Then, Alisa looked forward and said, as if to confirm.

"Taniyama-san said that you and Yuki-san were the one and only pair she admired… That's why she gave up."

"Ah…"

When he heard those words, something became clear to Masachika.

He always felt uncomfortable with Sayaka's attitude.

An attitude that seemed to be possessed by anger and hatred, which is not like the rational person she was. It was something Masachika was sure of… That's why he understood Sayaka's feelings well.

(You thought… you were betrayed)

He always wondered. Why did Sayaka not join the student organization?

The theory is that if you want to become student body president, you have to be a member of the student council in your freshman year. In fact, that's what she did in the middle school. On the other hand, if she didn't do so, it could be assumed that she had already given up on getting revenge on Yuki.

But… in fact, that was the case. Sayaka admitted that she was no match for Yuki, and she withdrew herself. She probably acknowledged her recent achievements. Without doubt Masachika would run again with Yuki.

However, in reality, Masachika chose to run with Alisa, a rival candidate of Yuki.

(That… She couldn't accept that…)

How did she see herself in her eyes? How did she feel about admitting defeat, and how did she feel about having her decision overturned?

Masachika was familiar with her expectations and trust, and the pain in her heart that she felt when she was betrayed. When he thought he had given it, Masachika was almost crushed by guilt.

"I'll do my best."

"…?"

Masachika, who was standing down while biting his teeth, raised his face to Alisa's declaration.

"You chose to run for me… it wasn't a mistake. I hope Taniyama-san will approve it someday."

Masachika felt a strong envy in the straight words and the positive way of thinking. However, unlike himself who just looked down on guilt, her appearance of raising her head and trying to move forward was so dazzling for Masachika that his chest was hurting.

Still, he was grateful for Alisa's positive thinking. It couldn't be helped if she felt down. But she realized that she should hold her head straight and go on.

"…That's right. To convince Taniyama-san… I'll do my best. I'll make you think that you'd want to vote for us next year."

"That's right"

The two nodded to each other, and Masachika and Alisa reaffirmed their determination.

This was no longer just a battle between two people. Since Sayaka was hurt and used as a stepping stone, it was not permissible to show a terrible battle.

(In the end, I was moved by her tears again)

Remembering Sayaka's crying face that he saw two years ago, Masachika smiled bitterly.

Alisa tended to hesitate to open her mouth.

"…Hey, can I ask you?"

"Hmm?"

Masanori was brought back to reality and turned his head to Alisa, but Alisa only made her annoyed look while facing him, and did not say anything else.

However, after she had been silent for a while, she finally turned to him and asked.

"…Why did you choose to run with me instead of Yuki-san?"

"…"

To that question, Masachika blinked slowly and then suddenly turned his gaze upwards. This time, Alisa quietly waited for his words.

"… I joined the student council with Yuki… because I couldn't refuse her request."

The spilled word was a monologue-like word that did not answer the question.

But Alisa silently listened to him. Masachika also repeated his words without worrying about Alisa's reaction.

"I wanted to support her goals… But the most important thing was… Probably guilt… I guess I felt guilty."

"Guilty…?"

"…"

Alisa asked her anxious words, but Masachika looked in front of her and said nothing.

Alisa, who realized that Masachika was now facing his inner self, swallowed her own doubts and turned to him.

"That's why I was always somewhat suffocated by my own thoughts… I was always thinking self-deprecatingly about how my motivation was not as good as the people around me who were working so hard on their dreams and goals."

To become the student council president of Seiryo Academy. This was the task that was supposed to be assigned to Masachika.

He had pushed it onto his sister. It was because of this guilt that Masachika could not refuse Yuki's request. Because of this guilt, he could not feel a sense of accomplishment no matter what he did.

He put all the reasons and responsibilities on his sister, and he couldn't help but feel terribly cowardly as he stood dexterously behind the scenes.

"It may sound cool to say that I'm the vice president, but… In the end, I just didn't want to be on the stage. I was not prepared to be a proud vice president, so I just stayed behind the scenes."

Alisa was terribly moved by Masachika's depressing remarks about herself.

'That's not true. There is no need to be so self-deprecating.' is what she wanted to say, but she didn't know much about Masachika, so her words would sound too flimsy.

Yuki might be able to comfort his heart.

Mariya might be able to gently wrap his heart.

Toya, Kayasaki, even Ayano… These thoughts came to mind one after another, and her heart creaked with helplessness.

Why am I like this?

Why can't I get close to people's hearts?

If I could lighten the heart of the boy in front of me, I would do anything I can.

But her body didn't move. She couldn't say a word.

She could only listen silently.

Whether or not he knew about Alisa's anguish, Masachika turned around and looked a little embarrassed from the look of looking into the distance.

"But… this time it's different"

"…?"

"This time I decided to become a vice president on my own initiative… with you."

Finally, Alisa remembered her own question. Why did he choose herself instead of Yuki? She realized that her answer to that was just being told.

"That's why… compared to Yuki, it's not like that. I decided to help you with my own will… It's my first time."

Alisa suddenly laughed at Masachika, who averted his gaze and suddenly scratched his head.

At the same time, she perceived that her existence helped to bring the heart of Masachika forward, and joy and relief spread in her chest… an indescribable tickle…

"I wanted you to say that a little more clearly?"

Alisa said mischievously, smiling at her itchy, happy sensations. Then, Masachika blatantly turned away from her face and made a return.

"Shut up, you're embarrassing me. You know what I'm talking about."

"I'm sorry. I didn't understand. Can you tell me more clearly?"

"Don't you laugh? Don't tell me. What about you?"

"What?"

Masachika immediately turned back to Alisa and approached her with a blatantly mean smile.

"Why did you agree to run for me? Can you answer me in Japanese?"

"Oh, that's easy."

When Masachika bitterly questioned her, Arisa smiled generously and said as if it were natural.

(TN: "Because it's you")

To that very clear and concise answer, Masachika desperately endured his cheeks cramping.

"What the hell was that?"

He tried to control his agitation and managed to squeeze out a few words, which Alisa must have thought were in response to her answer in Russian.

She got up from her seat as she brushed her hair on her shoulders with a fluffy smile.

"Let's go home."

"… Yes yes."

When he stood up in the same way, Masachika stretched out with an unfamiliar face so that Alisa wouldn't realize his upset.

(Oh man, that might have worked a lot better than Taniyama's tears.)

Masachika chuckled at his own simplicity, thinking that he would finally have to get serious about this.

(Well, but… it's not bad)

At least, it was much better than being driven only by guilt, as he had been in the past.

With that thought in mind, Masachika followed Alisa towards the entrance, feeling somewhat refreshed.

"Speaking of which …"

"Hmm?"

Alisa, who was ahead of her, suddenly stopped, and she looked back with a cold expression.

"Kuze-kun… what did you mean by that?"

"That?"

When Masachika tilted his head to see what she was talking about, Arisa's cheeks flushed a little, but her gaze turned stern.

"That… About my chest size…"

"Ah! Oh, that…"

Alisa's words reminded him of what he did before the debate, and Masachika wandered his gaze.

"Ah, no, that girl I knew told me about that before… Rest assured. I didn't tell anyone else, it was just speculation."

"…"

"No, it really came out in a casual conversation! That … in the anime, the character with an E-cup in the chest came out, and I said,'The real E-cup isn't that big.' That guy, the actual E-cup is about the same size as Alya's… "

Alisa stared at Masachika, whose voice gradually became dull due to a painful excuse, with an absolute zero-degree gaze… Eventually, she snorted and turned to her.

A small mutter arrives at Masachika, who felt that she had managed to forgive him and stroked his chest.

[You were just about right.]

For a moment, he couldn't comprehend it, but the moment he realized that it was an answer to a question he had asked before the debate, Masachika was suddenly at the height of his confusion.

(Almost right? How close!? Upper? Lower? E closer to F? E closer to D!? Woooooooooo!?)

Masachika's adolescence exploded at the sudden revelation of unheard-of information. Not caring about Masachika, Alisa, with her ears red, quickly left the auditorium to hide her expression. The door of the entrance slammed shut, and silence fell over the auditorium.

And—-

"Which one is it!!"

The cry of an adolescent boy echoed in the empty auditorium.