Please don’t fight over me!

"It's finally over. Come on, Hikaru. Let's go."

"Okay."

After homeroom was over, Masachika gathered his belongings and looked up at his two

best friends. As it was after school hours, the classroom was very relaxed.

"Hmm? Takeshi, you're going to band today? What happened to baseball?"

"No baseball today. The schedule's a little irregular at the moment."

"Oh."

Takeshi and Hikaru played in the band club together, but Takeshi was also in the baseball

club. His reasoning was very Takeshi. It was simple and showed just what kind of pervert

he was: "I'm gonna do both sports and music to double my chances of becoming popular

with the ladies."

"You going straight home, Masachika?"

"Yeah, I've got nothing else to do."

"You should join a club, then. You're a little late, but they'll still accept you."

"Rather not waste my time."

"Dude, you're only young once. This is your time to live."

Takeshi shook his head at his friend's laziness, then gazed up at the ceiling in an

exaggerated manner.

"Clubs strengthen the bonds of friendship! The smell of mud, sweat, and tears after

countless days of hard work together…and burning feelings of love as pure as the vast blue

sky!"

"Friendships die due to differences in opinions… The smell of metal, blood, and tears

after countless days wasted…and a burning jealousy as dark as night when the top players

on the team steal all the girls for themselves."

"Quit it! Stop bringing up only the negative things! Our clubs are nothing like that!"

"Yes… Friendships are fleeting."

"See?! Look what you did to Hikaru! Now he's joined the dark side!"

"Sorry, Hikaru. I shouldn't have said that. Go enjoy your club."

"Love hurts far more than it helps…"

Masachika and Takeshi panicked as the light in Hikaru's eyes suddenly went out and his

shadow darkened. After finally managing to purify Shadow Hikaru'stainted soul, Masachika

said his good-byes and headed over to the shoe lockers.

"A club, huh…," Masachika muttered unenthusiastically as he watched the soccer club

gather in the schoolyard.

Masachika had plenty of free time to join a school club now, unlike in middle school

when he was extremely busy with the student council. It wasn't that he didn't feel conflicted

when he saw his friends having fun in their clubs, but none of the clubs spoke to him. He

didn't feel moved.Joining a club would be more of a pain in the assthan it was worth. Starting

something new was exceptionally exhausting to Masachika.

"I'm probably going to keep letting opportunities slip by until I eventually end up doing

nothing…," he muttered in self-deprecation. But all he felt wasfrustration. There was nothing

that inspired him.

"Oh."

All of a sudden, his smartphone began vibrating in his pocket. After making sure there

weren't any teachers around, he took out his phone and gazed at the message on the screen.

Masachika sighed softly before turning on his heel.

After making his way down the hallway, he knocked on the door to the room he'd been

asked to stop by, opened it, and met the eyes of Yuki Suou, the person who'd sent him the

message. Yuki, who was squatting before the shelf and organizing the equipment, cheerfully

smiled at him like a flower, held her skirt down, and stood up.

"Masachika! Come here, come here!" she proceeded to say in the sweetest of voices

while running over to him. She put on a cute act and really played it up—far different from

her usual elegant, ladylike self. If anyone else at school had seen her, they would have fainted

in shock while wondering if she had eaten something funny, but Masachika simply smirked

and played along.

"Sorry, my dear. I hope I didn't keep you waiting!" he shouted in a coaxing voice,

prancing toward her as well. Yuki would most likely get a pass if caught in the act due to her

beauty, but what Masachika was doing was objectively disgusting. At any rate, Yuki didn't

seem to care, and she continued:

"Well, you did! I've been waiting for you for sooo long! ♪"

"Hey! You're supposed to say, 'Not at all. I just got here, too.'"

"You two sure are close."

Masachika froze the moment he heard the cold voice drifting from the other side of the

shelf. His expression remained frozen. He looked in the direction of the voice, where he saw

the blue eyes of a reproachful glare peeking between the gaps of the equipment stacked on

the shelf.

"Oh, Alya. Didn't know you were here."

"Well, excuse me for being here."

"No, you're fine. Ha-ha…"

Masachika forced a smile at Alisa while sending Yuki a protesting gaze, but Yukisimply

tilted her head to the side as if she had no idea what was going on and smiled gracefully like

the gentlewoman she was.

You filthy little…

Masachika had a strong urge to flick Yuki's forehead in retaliation, but he knew he

couldn't in front of Alisa, so he just cleared his throat and moved on instead.

"Ahem… So…? You wanted my help organizing the equipment?"

"Yes, it's far too much for us to do alone. Do you think you could help us?"

"Sure, I guess… I feel like I'm being used, though."

"It's just your imagination."

"Yeah, I'm not so sure about that."

Masachika and Yuki continued to joke around as they headed to the back of the room.

"Ready to get to work, Alya?"

"Ready," replied Alisa without even looking away from the equipment on the shelf.

Masachika smirked while taking the equipment list Yuki handed him.

"Anyway, do you think you could start helping out with these?" Yuki asked.

"Desks and folding chairs… You want me to count them and make sure none of them

are broken, right? Got it," Masachika replied. "By the way, this has been bothering me since

middle school, but…is this really the student council's job?"

"I have no clue, but it really helps to have a good idea about the kind of equipment and

supplies we have for events."

"I guess that makes sense, but this is way too much work for only two girls."

"The president is supposed to be here soon to help, but he's very busy, so who knows

how much longer it's going to be."

"Ohhh. All right."

Masachika went straight to work, once again realizing just how understaffed the student

council was. He made sure the number of chairs and desks matched the number written on

the list while removing chairs that had ripped cushions, missing leg caps, and the like.

"I'm impressed. You've still got what it takes."

"Yeah, you know me."

Masachika made sure not to show how tired he was as Yuki showered him with praise

and Alisa gazed at him from behind with admiration.

Damn, my arms are starting to hurt.

It was clear to Masachika that he had way less stamina now compared with two years

ago when he was working hard in the student council. His arms and lower back were already

hurting from stacking all the folding chairs.

Oh gosh. I'm beat. This sucks. I wanna go to sleep. I should have never agreed to do

this. I could have at least tricked Takeshi into helping if Yuki had sent me that message a few

minutes earlier. Why even ask for my help if the president is supposed to come?

Although Masachika inwardly talked a lot of trash, he converted his complaints into

energy and worked quickly.

"Masachika, do you think you could give me a hand?" Yukisuddenly asked from behind.

"Hmm?"

Masachika turned around to find Yuki pointing to a cardboard box on the highest shelf

with a slightly troubled expression. Yuki was small even for a teenage girl, so it would be

difficult for her to lower a box off the top shelf all by herself.

Now it makes sense. She needed me to help with all the heavy lifting and grabbing stuff

in high places.

He walked over,stood a bit farther down than Yuki, and lowered the cardboard box from

the top shelf onto the floor.

"Thanks, Masachika."

"No problem… Hmm? What are these?"

After catching a glimpse of small colorful boxes under the slightly ajar lid, Masachika

curiously opened the cardboard box to find multiple tabletop games inside.

"Card games, board games… What is all this?"

"It apparently used to belong to the tabletop club before it disbanded a few years ago.

So now it's the school's property, since the club bought all of it with their budget."

"Oh… So the school's still lending this stuff out?"

"Yes. Most students have no idea these games even exist, though."

"No doubt about that. When would anyone even use them?"

"Maybe for their booth during a school festival? Or for a club party, perhaps? I actually

played a few games with the new student council members at the welcome party the other

day."

"Oh? Who won, by the way?"

"Uh… I ended up winning, I suppose."

"Figured."

"And second place?"

"Less talking, more moving, you two."

"Oh, right. Sorry, Alya."

"My bad."

They straightened at Alisa's scolding, ended their conversation, and returned to their

tasks. The only thing on Masachika's mind after that was work. Silence reigned over the

room for the next long few moments. Only the sounds of boxes being moved and pencil lead

scraping paper could be heard until Alisa whispered in Russian:

"<Pay attention to me, too.>"

Masachika took a critical hit to the heart! It was a surprise attack, which made it super

effective!

Ahhh! Wait. No. This is just Alya flashing! She's just flashing me verbally! I can't react!

Masachika clenched his teeth, desperately fighting against the irritating tingles running

down his spine, while Alisa simply enjoyed the thrill. She enjoyed saying something

embarrassing with the thought that no one would ever understand her. In other words, this

wasn't how she really felt, and reacting to what she said would only make things worse!

"<Pay attention to meee! Look at Talk>"

The pressure was on!

Masachika could barely stand it as he listened to her endless singsong whispers. It was

to the point that he couldn't deny that this was how she really felt anymore.

How can she even say all that?! Is she seriously not embarrassed?! Masachika mentally

screamed, but it wasn't as if Alisa wasn't embarrassed, either.

Hmm?!

Alisa inwardly groaned in agony. Her heart raced for more reasons than one as she

crouched in front of the shelf and tended to her tasks, constantly glancing at his back, despite

thinking he didn't understand. But she felt relieved every time she saw him going about as

if nothing was wrong.

H-heh. He has no idea, even though I'm making it so obvious… H-hmph. Take a hint,

jerk.

They worked back-to-back while trembling in embarrassment. It was a humorous sight

from an outsider's perspective.

"<Pay attention to meee! To>"

Ack! N-no, I'm not going to lose! There's still no proof that she's even talking about me,

either! Maybe she wants Yuki to pay more attention to her…

"Alya, is everything okay?" Yuki asked from nearby the door, even though she hadn't

noticed their weird behavior. Alisa's heart skipped a beat, but she still promptly managed to

change her expression and tone.

"Oh, sorry. I was just singing a little song.

"<I wasn't talking to you.>"

Aaaaand it's me! I knew it, but I didn't want to admit it!

The relentless three-hit combo almost knocked Masachika out cold, and his knees

trembled.

"O-oh, a Russian song, huh? What's it called?"

Alisa swiftly turned around and looked at him. Maybe it was only his imagination, but

she seemed a bit happy as well. Regardless of the truth, the thought alone did a lot of damage

to Masachika.

"It's called…"

"You forgot what it's called?"

"No, I remember. It's called…'A Feeling Gone Unheard'?" bashfully replied Alisa with

hooded eyes.

"Oh…"

Masachika died.

"Well, that should do it. Thank you so much for helping us, Masachika."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

About an hour after starting, Masachika had emptied his mind and detached himself

from the physical world, which helped him speed up his work considerably. The three of

them finished organizing far earlier than expected, but when they left the supply room, they

were approached by a large male student.

"Oh, you're done already?"

"Oh, if it isn't the president. Yes, we finished earlier than expected thanksto Masachika's

help."

"Awesome. So you're Masachika Kuze, huh? I'm the president of the student council,

Touya. I've heard a lot of good things about you."

"Uh-huh. Nice to meet you, too."

Masachika bowed, then looked up at the guy. He didn't need to be introduced because he

already knew who he was. His name was Touya Kenzaki, and he was a second-year student

and the charismatic president of the high school student council. He was a large guy but not

just in height. He had broad shoulders and a thick chest, so he looked even bigger closeup. He wasn't the best-looking of guys. If anything, he seemed old for his age; this, coupled

with his large stature, made it hard to believe he was still a high school student. However, his

eyebrows were well groomed where they hung over his stylish glasses. But what stood out

most of all was his extremely confident expression, which gave him both charm and a strong

presence. Just one look at him would make it clear that he was someone you could count on.

That was why everyone naturally felt they would be okay with him in the lead. Perhaps rulers

such as kings had a regal presence like his. Most guys at school had extreme doubts at first

when they heard that one simple guy was leading four beautiful, talented girls all by himself,

but everything made sense the moment they saw him. Masachika honestly felt the same way.

"Well, I need to get going."

"Hey, wait. I'd feel bad sending you home without thanking you somehow for helping.

I know you need to get home, but let me treat you to dinner."

"I appreciate the thought, but…"

Masachika was hesitant. Of course, he was uncomfortable being treated to dinner by

someone he had just met, but he also had a bad feeling in his gut as well. He wondered if

perhaps this was what Yuki was really after when she asked for his help.

"Why not take him up on his offer? It's not like dinner is waiting for you at home, right?"

chimed in Yuki as if to confirm his suspicions.

"Yuki…"

"Hmm? How would you know that?" asked Touya as he and Alisa stared at them in

utter bewilderment.

"Because we're childhood friends," said Yuki with a straight face.

How does that explain anything?

Masachika—and probably Touya and Alisa as well—thought that, but the overwhelming

power behind Yuki's archaic smile kept them from saying anything.

"Okay, then… That's all the more reason for us to go grab something to eat. Alisa, Yuki,

you're coming, too. I want to thank you two for today as well."

"Thank you very much."

"…Right. Thanks."

"If you say so."

Before Masachika even realized it, it had been decided that the group was going out

to eat. While he wasn't thrilled about it, he didn't feel like arguing over it, either, so he

hesitantly went along.

So this is the power of the president…

While inwardly sighing, Masachika casually turned to his side to look at Alisa.

"…What?"

"Nothing."

"Excuse me? You know it's rude to stare at a lady's face for no reason."

"Sorry."

He looked forward and reflected on his behavior, since she was completely right.

And this is the cold, heartless accountant of the student council…

Thinking about such nonsense, Masachika began to daydream.

"<You're going to make my heart race if you keep doing that.>"

Masachika nearly died again, but he continued to stare forward. He could sense Alisa

grinning and glancing in his direction, but he didn't have the capacity to respond. He was

already long out of MP. He returned to emptying his mind while slipping into his shoes at

the school entrance and then stepping outside. That was when they ran into the soccer club,

which most likely had just finished practice, but the athletes naturally moved to the side the

moment they saw the four of them.

They aren't moving out of the way for me. That's for sure.

Even as they passed by, the soccer club members' eyes were glued to them, especially

Alisa. Yuki was the next in line for most stares, followed by Masachika, who was only being

looked at because they had no idea who he was. It was as if their eyes were saying, "Who

the hell is this guy?"

Can't blame them.

Even though Masachika himself realized that he didn't belong there, it still didn't help

how uncomfortable it made him. However, neither Alisa nor Yuki batted an eye, despite being

gawked at. They didn't seem to care. When they left the school, the environment changed,

but the situation did not. Even people merely passing by couldn't take their eyes off the two

girls, but everyone except Masachika seemed to be completely used to it. They walked down

the street for around ten minutes until they reached a restaurant. Touya was the first to sit

down after they were led to a table, so Masachika urged the other two to go ahead so he

wouldn't have to sit across from him. However…

"Here, Masachika. Have a seat." Yuki innocently smiled while offering the seat right

in front of Touya.

"You heard the lady, Alya," said Masachika, feigning ignorance, as if he was throwing

her a hot potato.

"She was clearly talking to you."

The stalemate continued for the next few seconds until Touya finally broke the silence.

"Come on, just have a seat, Kuze. The waitress is waiting to take our order."

When Masachika glanced to his side, a waitress was idly waiting with a tray carrying

four glasses of water, so he gave up and plopped himself down in the seat in front of Touya.

Yuki then smoothly slid into the seat by his side while Alisa sat next to Touya.

"I know it's a little late to bring this up, but isn't it against school rules to wear our

uniforms off campus?"

"Don't worry about it. We often go out to eat like this when the student council works

overtime like today. Plus, it's an old rule that nobody follows anymore anyway. So just order

whatever you want and enjoy yourselves. Keep it within five thousand yen, though."

"I thought you were really cool up until that last sentence, President."

"Heh! It's not the wallet that makes the man, Yuki."

Touya's playful response broke the ice, helping Masachika to relax as well. But it was

still too early to let his guard down. Everyone ordered, keeping their meal under a thousand

yen per person, and Masachika soon became the topic of conversation.

"Anyway, I'm still surprised you managed to organize everything that quickly. I totally

thought it was going to have to be finished tomorrow," stated Touya.

"We wouldn't have been able to do it without Masachika's help. Having a man around

really makes a difference, especially one who's used to this kind of work," Yuki immediately

chimed in.

"I bet."

"Masachika is incredible. It doesn't matter if it's physical labor or desk work. He gets

the job done without even a single complaint. And he's quite the negotiator, to boot."

"Yuki, stop making me sound way better than I am. You're overselling me."

"It isn't often Yuki speaks this highly of someone, though. What do you say? Interested

in joining the student council? We actually don't have any general members to help us out."

Masachika was not surprised in the least that it had come to this. After glaring hard at

Yuki beside him, he replied:

"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in joining the student council. I already had my fill

in middle school, and I'm done."

"Hmm… While I admit things in the student council are a bit more intense in high

school, it's much more fulfilling as well. We're given a lot more freedom to make decisions

compared with other schools, and to be blunt, it positively affects our transcripts."

Touya was just being truthful. Simply being part of the student council at Seiren

Academy put one in an extremely beneficial position. Not only would it give them advantages

for getting into university, such as positive letters of recommendation, but the positions of

president and vice president were also elite titles that went beyond the usual school pecking

order and held significant meaning after entering the workforce. There were even social

gatherings solely for people who used to be the president or vice president of the student

council at Seiren Academy, an institute known for producing impressive graduates who went

on to work in politics, finance, and elite business establishments. If you could function as

a member of the student council for a year, then it was essentially guaranteed you would

succeed in the workforce as well. Conversely, if you did a poor job managing and caused

a major problem, then you would be labeled incompetent for the rest of your days. Yet in

spite of that, there were still countless people who fought for the position of vice president

and president. Furthermore, the quickest way to work your way up to those positions was to

become a general member of the student council first.

"Sorry, but I just don't have the ambition. I don't plan on going to a different university,

and I'm not really interested in making connections with big shots after graduating, either."

But none of that was enticing to someone who didn't have any specific dream for their

future and idled the days away like Masachika.

"Come on, don't be like that," said Yuki. "Let's join forces. Let's run together."

"Seriously? You're already asking more from me? Besides, you don't need me. It's

pretty much guaranteed you're going to be elected president next election cycle, right? You

were president in middle school, after all."

"I want to run the student council with you, Masachika."

"No way. It's too much work."

Over 90 percent of the guys at school would agree to help Yuki without even giving it a

second thought, but Masachika continuously turned her down. Touya stroked his chin while

watching them in amusement.

"Masachika. Yuki isn't guaranteed to win, just to let you know. There are plenty of other

candidates, including Alisa here," mentioned Touya before glancing at Alisa by his side.

When Masachika instinctively looked over at her as well, his eyes immediately met hers.

"Alya? You plan on running for president, too?"

"Yes, I am going to run against Yuki next year."

Alisa looked over at Yuki, who was smiling calmly, but Masachika could practically see

the flames roaring behind the two girls.

"By the way, Alisa, you sit next to Kuze in class, right? What do you think of him?"

Touya promptly changed the subject to lighten the mood, but he ended up only adding

gasoline to the fire.

"What do I think? Honestly, I can sum him up in one word: uncommitted."

"Oh?"

Touya appeared to be greatly interested in Alisa's heartless remark. He then glanced in

Masachika's direction, but Masachika simply shrugged because she was right. In fact, he

was actually thinking, Yeah, that's the spirit. Yuki talked me up so much that I need someone

to bring me down.

"He always forgets his textbooks, he barely pays attention in class, and it would be faster

to count from the bottom if you want to know where he stands with his grades."

"At the very least, he does do the bare minimum, so he isn't failing any of his classes,"

explained Yuki as if to balance out Alisa's relentless critiques, causing one of Alisa's

eyebrows to twitch and the flames behind her to reappear.

"…Yes, I know he's passing his quizzes, since I'm the one grading them. He manages

to get good enough grades on them to avoid having to take the makeup quizzes, and I can

somewhat admire that, but he could do so much better if he applied himself."

"Masachika has always been really smart, after all. He got into Seiren Academy even

though he barely studied for the test. Oh. Of course, I only know this because we grew up

together."

"Kuze's really athletic, too, but he's hopeless when it comes to ball sports for some

reason. He even jammed his finger playing basketball in PE the other day."

"He's always been bad at ballsports, eversince we were little. I'm not any better, though.

Masachika's favorite sport in PE was always long-distance running."

Whoosh! The imaginary fire behind Alisa roared higher. Masachika literally began to

sweat, despite it not actually being hot. It was even stranger since Yuki had the calmest,

coolest look on her face.

"S-sorry to keep you waiting," hesitantly squeaked the waitress carrying their food. She

forced a diplomatic smile as the two young girls sitting by the aisle continued to emit an

alarming aura. She appeared to have been holding the tray for quite a while, sadly enough.

Today was not her day.

"Oh, great. The food's here. Let's eat."

Those simple words from Touya ended Alisa and Yuki's staring contest and restored

peace to their table—much to the waitress's relief—sending Masachika's respect for him

through the roof. Touya, however, already had a girlfriend, so naturally, none of this would

ever develop into love.

After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant and discovered that it was already dark

outside. The rest of the conversation during dinner was peaceful, since Touya, the host, led

the discussion for the most part and Yuki, who had strong communication skills, would back

him up and keep things moving. Masachika and Alisa were exclusively listeners, so while

there were no conflicts, that was all that could be said for them. During that conversation,

both Touya and Yuki repeatedly invited Masachika to join the student council, but he refused

each time.

"""Thanks for dinner."""

Masachika, Yuki, and Alisa offered Touya their thanks after Touya finished paying for

the meal and joined them outside.

"No problem." He nodded, then began to lead the others toward the parking lot while

wearing a thoughtful expression. "I know Alisa lives nearby, so she walks home, and Yuki

is taking the train back like me, but what about you, Masachika?"

"Oh, I can walk home from here, too."

"All right. Then walk Alisa home on your way. I'll take care of Yuki."

"Okay."

The fact that Masachika promptly agreed like a gentleman, as if it was only natural,

made their respect for him grow even more. Yuki, however, suddenly raised a hand.

"Ahem. President? I really appreciate the thought, but I already have a car coming to

pick me up."

"You do?"

"Yes. I need to wait here until it arrives, so please don't worry about me."

"…Okay. See you next week, then."

After seeing Touya off as he walked down the road toward the station, Masachika's and

Alisa's eyes met.

"Ready to go?"

"You don't need to walk me home."

"Come on, don't be like that. Let's go. Later, Yuki."

"Have a safe trip home."

"See you later, Yuki."

"See you, Alya."

Masachika and Alisa began walking in the opposite direction Touya left in, and Yuki

gave a small bow in farewell.

"How far's your place?"

"It's about a twenty-minute walk."

"Oh. That's kinda far."

"What about you?"

"Me? Around fifteen minutes, give or take a few. It probably isn't too much farther than

your place depending on how fast you walk."

"Oh."

Then there was a hush. They walked in awkward silence until the door to a local chickenskewer joint a little way up ahead opened and a group of men in suits came busting out.

"Tsk. The guys in development have absooo-lutely nooo respect for us in sales!"

"I think you've had a little too much to drink, Boss."

"Mr. Isoyama, we should probably keep our voices down."

A middle-aged man with glassy eyes and a bright-red face babbled drunkenly and loudly

as his subordinates tried to calm him down. Masachika moved Alisa to the inner edge of the

sidewalk to let the obviously intoxicated individuals pass by. Although he made sure not to

make eye contact, the man they had called Boss suddenly caught sight of them while he was

passing by. He immediately grimaced with disgust as if something about them bothered him

and raised his voice:

"What the hell? What are these kids doing out this late? Banging? Ya gonna go hit that?

All kids wanna do these days is fool around! Ya should be back home studyin'!"

"Mr. Isoyama! Shhh!"

"That's enough, Boss. Let's go home."

"Shaddap! Look… The hell is that?"

The man crossed into their personal space, ignoring his men's pleas, and stared hard at

Alisa before letting out a snort.

"What are ya, a little gray rat? What kind of dirty hippy parents let their daughter dye

their hair like this? What a disgrace!" shouted the middle-aged man, making sure everyone

could hear. Alisa immediately stopped in her tracks.

"Alya, hey…"

Recognizing Alisa's fury, Masachika urged her to ignore the drunk so they could avoid

any trouble, but she shot the man a cold, piercing gaze.

"Embarrassing for a man your age to act like this," barked Alisa with unrivaled contempt.

Though her voice was small, it rang out clearly among the boss's and his men's shouting.

Every businessman there froze in mute amazement, but their boss's expression quickly

twisted into rage. He pushed his men away and stomped over to Alisa. She turned to face him

as well and stood strong, showing no signs of retreating, but before he could get in Alisa's

face, Masachika swiftly slipped in front of her, smiling so sweetly that it was hard to believe

a clearly enraged man was approaching them.

"Long time no see, Mr. Isoyama. I haven't seen you since my brother's wedding."

"O-oh, uh… Yes?"

The man was caught off guard by the sudden polite greeting and stopped in place.

Bewilderment clouded his face while he stared at Masachika as if the unexpected turn of

events had sobered him up a little.

"I'm glad to see you're doing well. My brother told me what incredible business partners

you all have been, so it left a really strong impression on me."

"O-oh, yes. Of course." The man nodded, even though his expression made it clear he had

no idea who Masachika was. Nevertheless, the words business partners were enough to make

him start to panic. As the other businessmen and Alisa watched in confusion, Masachika

continued, still with a gentle smile:

"Now that I think about it, you drank a lot during my brother's wedding as well. You

really love to drink, huh?"

"Oh yeah. I live for drinking on the weekends like this. Ha-ha-ha!"

"I bet. Oh. By the way, thisis my fiancée," boasted Masachika with a laugh as he placed a

hand on Alisa's shoulder. She stared wide-eyed at Masachika, mystified by the unimaginable

turn of events. "She is an incredibly smart woman. I'm just lucky to have her."

"Oh… Yeah… She does seem like a very smart young lady."

Although still creasing his brow in confusion, the middle-aged man was now praising

Alisa. Masachika, who was still smiling gently with a cold light in his eyes, lowered his tone

and added:

"Right? She has her mother's hair, too. Her mother is not from Japan, by the way. What

do you think? It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Y-yeah…"

After taking a closer look at Alisa, the man probably realized Masachika must have been

telling the truth when he noticed her "non-Japanese" features. Awkwardly, he then faced

Alisa and slightly lowered his head as if he had suddenly sobered up even more.

"I, uh… I apologize for my rude behavior. Being intoxicated is not an excuse."

Masachika dropped the piercing glare and calmly replied:

"We accept your apology. Right?"

"…"

He glanced back at Alisa over his shoulder, but her eyes were silently still locked on

the man. Nevertheless, Masachika nodded as if things were settled, wrapped an arm around

Alisa to hide her expression, and encouraged Alisa to walk away with him.

"Well, we should be going."

And just like that, he led Alisa away. After they walked in silence for the next few

minutes until the businessmen could no longer be seen, Masachika took his hand off her

shoulder and sighed.

"Seriously, Alya? What you did was dangerous. He was drunk. You knew you were

going to piss him off, didn't you?"

"…I don't care if he was drunk or not. I couldn't let him insult my parents like that."

"What you did was still reckless, though. What if he punched you?"

"I may not look like it, but I'm trained in self-defense. I can handle a drunk," replied Alisa

in a flat voice as if she was forcing her overflowing anger back down her throat. Masachika

understood where she was coming from, which was why he had no idea how he should handle

this.

"At any rate, he admitted he was wrong. Let's just let it go."

"…Fine."

After Alisa let out a deep sigh, her expression returned to normal, and she regained her

composure.

"By the way, you two knew each other?"

"No? I have no idea who he was."

"…What?"

Her jaw dropped. Masachika's lips curled into a half smile as he added:

"I surprised myself, really. I wasn't confident that I could lie to his face and get away

with it."

"W-wait! What?! So, like, you seriously had never met him before today?! What about

your brother's wedding?!"

"I don't even have a brother."

"Wh-what the…?"

"I get that he was drunk, but I still can't believe it went that well. My heart was racing

the entire time. Ha-ha-ha! Ah, thank goodness that worked." Masachika laughed, acting

innocent. Alisa, on the other hand, looked like she had a headache.

"…What was the point of all that?"

"Hmm? Uh… He was intoxicated, for starters. Plus, with all that blood rushing to his

head, I figured I'd bring up work to try to calm him down. And…"

"And what?"

Masachika shrugged after glancing at Alisa and seeing her suspicious glare.

"…What he said really pissed me off, so I thought I'd threaten him a little. And hey, it

worked. Nobody got into a fight, and he even ended up apologizing. Can't imagine a better

outcome than that."

"Sigh… I'm impressed that you can tell one lie after the other like that on the spot. I

think you have the potential to be a con artist."

"Rude. I am insulted you would say such a thing about a pure and innocent little boy

like me."

"Uh-huh…"

"Oh, come on. Don't look at me with dead eyes like that. This is way worse than being

insulted."

Alisa snorted out a laugh at the pathetic look on Masachika's face. She then promptly

started walking ahead, but Masachika quickly caught up until he was by her side.

"Thanks," she muttered faintly while still looking ahead.

"No problem," he replied while still looking forward as well. They didn't say another

word to each other after that. They continued on in silence until Alisa eventually stopped in

front of her apartment complex.

"This your place?"

"Yes. Thank you for walking me home."

"No problem."

As they faced each other at the entrance, Masachika nervously scratched his head before

giving her one last reminder.

"Hey, I know it's pretty unlikely something like this will ever happen again, but if it

does and you're alone, ignore it. It's not worth the risk."

"What, are you worried about me?" Alisa smirked teasingly.

"Yeah, I'm worried about you. You can be socially inept at times," replied Masachika,

looking her straight in the eye. She blinked a few times at the serious response, then softly

muttered:

"Oh."

Alisa turned around and faced the entrance.

"…I guess I'll start being a little more careful, then."

"I appreciate it."

"…"

She walked a few steps forward before stopping in front of the automatic door.

"Hey, Kuze," she said without looking back.

"Yeah?"

"Are you really not interested in joining the student council?"

"Wait. Seriously? You too?"

"Just answer the question."

There was no way he would be able to joke his way out of answering that firm tone.

His smirk faded.

"I'm not interested in joining the student council," he replied in a tone just as firm as

hers to make it clear there was no hope of him ever joining.

"If…"

But she didn't back down. There was even a sense of urgency in her voice as she

continued:

"If I…"

But it ended there, and a few seconds of silence followed.

"Forget it. Good night."

"Good night."

After making sure Alisa got inside her apartment complex safely, Masachika turned on

his heel, looked up at the night sky, and muttered to himself:

"What do they expect from me? Both Alya and Yuki."

He had a rough idea what Alisa had wanted to say, and that was exactly why he pretended

not to know.

"I can't do anything," he added in a self-deprecating manner before he set out for his

own home, smothered in a faintly blue cloud of loneliness.

"I'm home."

When Masachika stepped inside his apartment, he noticed a pair of shoes lined up on

the floor and raised an eyebrow. He and his father were the only ones who lived here, and

his father was currently abroad for business as a diplomat. And yet there was a pair of shoes

set neatly that wasn't his nor his father's.

The hell? I thought she said she was going home.

Masachika headed straight to the living room with a crease still in his brow, opened the

door to said living room, and found Yuki there. She was dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and

sweatpants, with her hair sloppily tied up in a ponytail, while sitting in a chair and watching

anime on TV like she owned the place.

"Oh, hey. Did you get Alya home safely?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Huh? I'm staying here tonight."

"I didn't hear anything about you staying here tonight."

"Because I didn't tell you," Yuki stated calmly while still facing the TV. Both her

appearance and behavior bore absolutely no similarities to the perfect young gentlewoman

everyone knew and loved at school. It was such a dramatic change that people who had never

seen her like this before would believe it was merely someone who resembled Yuki.

The anime came to an end, and a commercial began to play. It was for a dark-fantasy

comic getting a live-action movie.

"I'm seeing this tomorrow," Yuki suddenly revealed, pointing at the screen.

"Cool."

"And you're comin' with me."

"First I'm hearing about this."

"Because I'm tellin' ya now for the first time."

Masachika glanced at the commercial while Yuki sighed, showing no signs of guilt.

"I thought you hated live-action adaptions like this."

"Stop! I don't want to hear it!" Yuki suddenly shouted, thrusting her palm forward as

if to keep Masachika from making any more casual remarks. She then hastily sputtered, "I

know, I know. Once they announced the cast, I figured there was a ninety percent chance it

was going to suck! And to tell the truth, the commercials aren't doing it any favors, either!

But I think it's wrong to just put it down without giving it a fair chance first. It might actually

not be a train wreck. It could even turn out to be a hidden gem! I know. I get it. The only

reason they keep producing these trash live-action adaptions is because people like me keep

spending money to go see them. I know it's my fault!"

"Okay, okay, okay. Let's calm down and take a deep breath. I feel like you're about to

tell me you know a dark secret you weren't supposed to know."

"Because I do! I know that we're not related by blood, Masachika! We may be brother

and sister, but… Ahem! What are you trying to make me say?! We're definitely blood

related."

"I like how you emphasized 'definitely.'"

"I mean, it does happen sometimes. You think you're siblings, but you're actually

cousins. I guess that doesn't really count, since cousins are still blood related, but you get

my point."

"Yeah, and being cousins is okay because you're not actually siblings."

"You're clueless."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ugh! Actually, being siblings is what makes it good!" Yuki insisted passionately with

her eyes opened wide.

"Makes what good?!"

Yuki Suou. While she played Masachika's childhood friend at school, she was actually

a fellow nerd and friend…as well as his biological sister, who went to live with their mother

when their parents got divorced.