>7< The Ema of Wishes

Chapter 7: The Ema of Wishes

A few more days passed, and it was finally Friday after school, marking the beginning of the summer vacation, which would last for two months.

Amid the cheers of the students, the bell rang for the final class of the day.

Zaimokuza finished packing his things and headed toward the Service Club.

"Hey, Kuza! Wait for me. Let's go find Yukinon together," a cheerful voice called out to Zaimokuza.

Zaimokuza turned around speechlessly to see who it was, and sure enough, it was Yui.

"Hey, Yuigahama-san, could you not call me by such a strange nickname? It feels really awkward."

"Hehe, I think it's cute! Isn't it better than calling you a useless otaku?"

"True… wait, no… sigh, whatever you like," Zaimokuza said, giving up the struggle.

The two of them walked into the Service Club together, where they were greeted by the familiar sight of a beautiful girl reading a book.

"Yahallo, Yukinon!" Yui greeted energetically as she ran over to sit beside Yukino.

Zaimokuza nodded in acknowledgment and then pulled out a chair to sit down.

Yui and Yukino started chatting about various girly topics. As time passed, Zaimokuza suddenly spoke up.

"Yukinoshita-san, can I apply to join the club?"

Both girls looked at Zaimokuza in surprise.

"Why?" Yukino asked.

"Well, I feel like my so-called social anxiety has gotten much better, and if I don't apply to join the club, I wouldn't have a reason to keep coming. Besides, I really like this clubroom. I can chat with friends and learn a lot of extracurricular knowledge from you, Yukinoshita-san."

"Friends?" Yukino murmured softly.

"Huh, Kuza, you're not a member yet?" Yui asked, puzzled as she looked at Zaimokuza.

Yukino and Zaimokuza both sighed and said in unison, "You're not a member either, you know?"

"Huh? Oh, I didn't even realize. But I've been coming to the clubroom regularly."

"Yuigahama-san, to join the club, you need to fill out a form and submit it to the teacher in charge for approval."

Yui panicked, "Oh, okay, I got it! I'll fill out the forms, however many there are, just let me join the club!"

Seeing her reaction, both Zaimokuza and Yukino couldn't help but laugh.

After Yukino handed them the club application forms, and with the approval of Shizuka, the two of them officially became members of the Service Club.

"Bye, Yukinon, Kuza! You can invite me out to hang during the vacation!" Yui waved as she said goodbye to them.

"Oh, sure, if I have time," Yukino responded calmly.

Then, the three of them said their farewells at the school gate and went their separate ways.

.....

As he walked along the road, Zaimokuza pondered the next steps of his plan. First, he intended to use public surveillance around Kusanagi Godou to determine when he would leave for the airport. Before Godou arrived at the airport, Zaimokuza planned to post a bounty on the black market, labeling him as an A-class target with a reward of 50 million yen. The mission would be to seize the slab in his possession and keep him detained for a week, ensuring he couldn't go to Sardinia and cause trouble.

The plan for Sardinia would have to be decided as things progressed. However, the ring Zaimokuza had borrowed from Rias gave him a bit more confidence. When he learned from Koneko that this ring was specially crafted by Rias' brother to protect her, Zaimokuza couldn't help but develop a favorable impression of the senpai he rarely saw.

As Zaimokuza passed by the shrine near his home, he paused.

He thought it might be a good idea to offer a prayer at the shrine for some peace of mind.

After climbing the long staircase and stepping through the shrine gate, he was surprised to see nine girls sitting on the ground, panting and resting.

"Huh? Zaimokuza-kun, what are you doing here?" Honoka noticed him and asked curiously.

"Me? Oh, I came here to offer a prayer. Kosaka-senpai, what are you all doing?"

"We just finished our training and are taking a break. Oh, by the way, since you're our first fan as μ's, you don't have to be so formal—just call us by our names," Honoka replied cheerfully.

"Huh? Really?" Zaimokuza looked at Honoka, unsure of what to do.

"Of course, of course! Try calling my name first."

"Well… Honoka-senpai."

"Mm-hmm! Very good, Zaimokuza-kun." Honoka placed a hand on her mouth and gave a playful, mock-serious cough, but her exaggerated posture made the other μ's members giggle as they covered their mouths.

"Zaimokuza-kun, would you like to join us for some training? You really need to work on that belly of yours. If you keep it up, you won't be able to get a girlfriend!" Honoka teased, pinching Zaimokuza's stomach.

"Wow, it really is soft!" Zaimokuza sighed in exasperation, staring at Honoka.

"Come on, Honoka, don't bother Zaimokuza-kun like that. Sorry about that, Zaimokuza-kun," Kotori apologized as she gently pulled Honoka away.

"Oh, it's fine, Minami-senpai."

But as soon as he said that, Kotori pouted and said, "Really, you can call me by my name too."

"Then… Kotori-senpai." Kotori smiled happily and nodded in response.

"So you're μ's first fan, huh?" A small girl with black twin-tails and a stern expression stood with her hands on her hips, looking at Zaimokuza.

"Uh, who are you?"

"Ah, this is Nico Yazawa, a third-year senpai and the last member to join μ's," Umi explained.

"Hmm… wow, such a tiny person is a third-year? Don't most third-years look like Tojo-senpai and Eli-senpai?"

"What did you just say, you rude little—" Nico fumed, glaring at Zaimokuza with gritted teeth.

Zaimokuza quickly realized how rude his comment had been and hastily apologized.

"Ah, I'm sorry, senpai. That was wrong of me."

"Hmph, since you're our first fan, I'll let it slide this time," Nico replied, though still slightly huffy.

Zaimokuza breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, um, senpais, could you tell me where to write an ema in this shrine?"

An ema is a wooden plaque used by the Japanese to make wishes. This tradition dates back to the Nara period. Emas come in two sizes: large and small. Large ema are more like plaques and are quite rare, while small ema are more commonly used by the public. People write their wishes on a wooden plaque about 15 cm long and 10 cm high and offer it to the shrine, praying for the gods' protection. Initially, ema depicted horses, but over time, the designs became more varied, often reflecting the nature of the wish. The evolution of ema designs mirrors changes in Japanese life and local customs, full of cleverness and optimism.

Suddenly, Nozomi stepped forward and said, "Follow me, Zaimokuza-kun. I sometimes work part-time at this shrine, so I know my way around."

Zaimokuza followed Nozomi's lead and picked up an ema from a wooden wall filled with them.

Honoka leaned in close to Zaimokuza and teased, "What kind of wish are you going to write, Zaimokuza-kun? Are you wishing for a girlfriend?"

"N-No, that's not it," Zaimokuza stammered, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Though, I wouldn't mind falling in love before I die," he muttered under his breath.

"Before you die? Are you planning to die, Zaimokuza-kun?" Honoka asked, startled.

Realizing that Honoka had overheard his muttering, Zaimokuza quickly tried to explain, "No, no, that's not it. I just said it without thinking. I guess I just don't see myself as someone any girl would be interested in. Ahaha."

"That's not true at all! You have your good points, Zaimokuza-kun. Like how you kept your promise after the last performance—you're a really kind person," Honoka said, her words making Zaimokuza blush a little.

"You know, Honoka-senpai really is my ideal type," Zaimokuza blurted out.

"Eh!!" Honoka exclaimed, her face turning red as well.

"Oh my, has Honoka-chan just been confessed to?" Nozomi teased from the side.

"Stop it, Nozomi! Don't make fun of me!" Honoka protested, playfully tackling Nozomi as they began to wrestle with each other.

"Haha, okay, I'm sorry! Forgive me!" Nozomi laughed as they playfully scuffled.

As they continued to fool around, Zaimokuza quietly wrote his wish on the ema.

"I hope this journey goes smoothly!"

He then hung the ema on the wooden wall and was about to say his goodbyes to the members of μ's when a mature, sultry voice suddenly called out.

"Oh my, could this be the Zaimokuza-kun that Koneko-chan often talks about?"

Zaimokuza turned towards the source of the voice. Standing there was a stunningly well-proportioned girl with the grace of a Yamato Nadeshiko—Akeno Himejima, a third-year senpai at their school and the vice president of the Occult Research Club.

"Ah, hello, Himejima-senpai. Thank you so much for lending me the props," Zaimokuza said politely.

"It's no problem at all. Rias also thinks you're worth investing in, though I'm not entirely sure why. If you want to live a peaceful life, you could always return the ring to us now. Would you like to reconsider?" Akeno suggested with a gentle smile.

Zaimokuza smiled back and replied, "No, I don't want to live a peaceful life like this forever. I might die there, but if I don't try, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. I was really unsure a few days ago, but after seeing them performance, senpais, I learned how to turn the power of dreams into the strength to change the present. If I don't try, I won't even have the power to change my current situation."

Akeno found herself growing a bit intrigued by this unusually resolute young man.

"Oh my, then you'd better do your best, Zaimokuza-kun. If you were to die, I'm sure Koneko-chan would be very sad," Akeno whispered playfully, leaning in close to his ear.

Blushing furiously, Zaimokuza quickly stepped back several paces. Amused by his reaction, Akeno couldn't help but find it entertaining.

"Let's hope that ema protects you and keeps you safe," Akeno said more seriously, her tone suddenly shifting.

Looking at the now serious Akeno, Zaimokuza let out a deep breath and smiled. "Thank you so much for all your help. Really, thank you," he said, bowing deeply.

After saying his goodbyes to the girls, Zaimokuza returned home and began keeping an eye on Kusanagi Godou.