During lunch break, Kawasaki Yuki had already prepared herself to invite Hiiragi Shuichi to eat lunch together.
Since Kawasaki Yuki had left home too early today and hadn’t brought a bento, she could only invite Hiiragi Shuichi to eat a set meal at the school cafeteria.
But Hiiragi Shuichi wasn’t coming to find them like he usually did during lunch break.
Instead, he was staring blankly at a notebook, flipping through it.
She quietly walked over, hoping to surprise Hiiragi Shuichi, but then he suddenly tore a page out of the notebook, stuffed it into his pocket, closed the notebook, and stood up.
“…Yuki? Is something the matter?” Hiiragi Shuichi asked casually.
“Um, it’s just… would you like to eat—”
“Hii—ragi—kun!”
Just as Kawasaki Yuki was about to finish her sentence, “Would you like to eat lunch together,” she was interrupted by a sudden voice.
She looked toward the direction of the voice, and Hiiragi Shuichi also followed the sound.
Everyone in the classroom was drawn to that person.
The student council president of Metropolitan High School, Aoba Tomoyo.
Aoba Tomoyo tilted her head with an ambiguous smile, arms crossed over her chest, her eyes carrying a hint of fondness as she shoved Kawasaki Yuki aside and walked straight up to Hiiragi Shuichi.
Hiiragi Shuichi felt his scalp tingle.
He really didn’t want to see Aoba Tomoyo.
Because ever since he’d written her name in the notebook, every time she showed up, it meant some kind of trouble was about to descend.
“S-Senpai… What business do you have?”
“Senpai? Oh… What’s wrong? Not welcoming me? Careful with the rent…”
Aoba Tomoyo had keenly caught Hiiragi Shuichi’s choice of words and deliberately threatened him.
“W-Welcome. I just wanted to ask what the matter is. Lunch break isn’t very long, and I was hoping to have some time to eat.”
“Eat? Sure, come to the Student Council Room and eat with us. We can take care of your registration report while we’re at it. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
As Aoba Tomoyo spoke, her steps grew closer, constantly encroaching on Hiiragi Shuichi’s space, forcing him to keep backing away.
Kawasaki Yuki watched this scene, her anger flaring up inside.
She reached out and grabbed Aoba Tomoyo’s arm to stop her, shouting:
“Wait! Can’t you see Shuichi is troubled? Ah…”
Aoba Tomoyo simply shook off Kawasaki Yuki’s outstretched hand.
Her eyes suddenly filled with a terrifying aura, and her words were extremely brief, yet they struck like an ice flood surging downstream.
“Shuichi… Oh?”
This sudden scrutiny made Kawasaki Yuki’s heart jump with panic.
She had never confronted Aoba Tomoyo directly before.
That natural, oppressive pressure slowly transmitted downward, planting a seed of timidity in Kawasaki Yuki’s heart.
“Oh, could you be that… little shadow tagging along beside Hiiragi-kun? Let me think… Kawasaki Yuki, right?”
Aoba Tomoyo spoke as if she had investigated everyone around Hiiragi Shuichi, but unfortunately, she showed no intention whatsoever of respecting the other party.
“I-I’m sorry…”
Kawasaki Yuki instinctively wanted to apologize, instinctively thinking she might have offended the other person.
But the next second, she realized something was wrong.
“W-Who are you calling a little shadow?! What’s your relationship with Shuichi? What right do you have to say that?!”
The moment those offensive words reached her ears, the anger that followed suppressed Kawasaki Yuki’s timidity, and she revealed that same terrifying look she always showed Asuka Ryunosuke.
Seeing that Kawasaki Yuki actually dared to oppose her, the atmosphere between the two instantly became charged and tense.
Hiiragi Shuichi had initially thought about escaping while they were arguing, but with so many eyes in the classroom watching him, he had no choice but to maintain his persona and step in to mediate.
“Now now, Yuki, no need to get angry over something like this. And Senpai… As for lunch, I can come to the Student Council Room, right?”
“That’s more like it~”
Aoba Tomoyo heard the answer and revealed a satisfied smile.
Kawasaki Yuki, however, was starting to lose her composure.
But Hiiragi Shuichi used one sentence to suppress her displeasure, saying:
“Yuki, did you want to have lunch together? How about we listen to Senpai and go eat at the Student Council Room together? What do you think?”
Though the terms weren’t exactly great, seeing that Hiiragi Shuichi wasn’t favoring Aoba Tomoyo, Kawasaki Yuki seized the opportunity and readily agreed.
Aoba Tomoyo’s first reaction to those words was displeasure, but upon thinking it through, she immediately realized that Hiiragi Shuichi simply didn’t want to watch the two of them making a scene in the classroom.
So her plan to further attack Kawasaki Yuki was temporarily shelved.
Fourth Floor of C Building, Metropolitan High School, Student Council Room.
Hiiragi Shuichi had never been to the Student Council Room before, so seeing it for the first time, he thought it was much smaller than he’d imagined.
It was only slightly wider than a regular classroom.
Inside, a redwood table with a globe sitting on it was paired with a white nameplate bearing black characters reading “Student Council President,” seemingly displaying some kind of presidential authority.
The rest of the room was furnished with a few desks, chairs, and a sofa with a coffee table.
Some were for office work, some for conversations, but regardless of function, they were all piled high with documents and equipment.
In a corner of the room, there was also a large unfolded whiteboard, apparently recording the discussion process for “Measures for Handling Problem Students.”
In another corner stood someone Hiiragi Shuichi found somewhat familiar.
“Sis… I told you to knock before entering, didn’t I? Ugh… Didn’t you say you were going to bring over a problem student? Why did you bring these two students instead?”
A voice carrying a slight chill drifted through the room, showing her complete indifference toward the two visitors.
Problem student?
That word stabbed into Hiiragi Shuichi’s ears, stirring up certain rebellious emotions within him as a young man.
Yet looking at that beautiful portrait before him, he still couldn’t help but feel entranced.
She held a porcelain teapot with delicate patterns and an understated elegance, standing gracefully in the sunlight that slanted into the room after noon.
She had just finished brewing a cup of tea.
Hiiragi Shuichi could smell the aroma of black tea wafting through the Student Council Room.
That fragrance seemed to carry the same scent as her flowing straight black hair, as if enveloping the room in a serene atmosphere.
But Hiiragi Shuichi only felt suffocated by the mood.
Her name was Aoba Toshie.
She was Aoba Tomoyo’s younger sister, and also the vice president of Metropolitan High School’s student council.
She was currently in her second year, Special Track, Class A.
As for why it was “currently,” that was because during her first year, she had been in the same class as Hiiragi Shuichi in the General Track.
Aoba Toshie glanced at Hiiragi Shuichi before quickly averting her gaze, her displeasure openly displayed without any attempt at concealment.
Though Aoba Toshie’s beautiful face was similar to Aoba Tomoyo’s when it came to expressions of disgust, hers lacked the playful “joke-like” quality that permeated Aoba Tomoyo’s demeanor.
Instead, it was pure “seriousness.”
Like a statue in a park, it would always show passersby the exact same expression.
Her attitude was the same way.
Consistent in looking down on others, never hiding the fact that she disdained them.
Otherwise, why else would she, from the very first week of her freshman year, have managed to earn the dislike of everyone in the class, only to transfer into the Special Track by her second year?
Sure enough, no matter how cute she looked, no matter how often she took first place in her grade, a terrible personality would never win anyone over.
As someone who perpetually ranked second, having taken first only once, Hiiragi Shuichi looked at these sisters and only felt a headache coming on.
Though, back when Aoba Toshie was being bullied by other girls in class, Hiiragi Shuichi had been in a position to help her.
But in the end, he chose to stand by and do nothing.
At the time, Hiiragi Shuichi had felt a certain sense of guilt, believing that inaction was wrong.
But a year later, he no longer cared about such things, having concluded that in social matters, making no mistakes was as good as making merit.
Aoba Tomoyo walked over to Aoba Toshie with a frivolous stride, her demeanor seemingly not that of sisters at all, but rather that of a superior and a subordinate.
“Little Toshie, I’ve also told you the same thing—use titles when working… And knocking? I’m the president. What president reports to a subordinate before entering their own office?”
Aoba Toshie let out a cold laugh.
She slammed another freshly brewed cup of tea heavily onto the table before handing it to Aoba Tomoyo.
“What subordinate? Next year, when you graduate, Sis, I’ll be the president. And right now it’s lunch break—who’s discussing student work with you…”
“Heh, president? Little Toshie, your student approval rating probably couldn’t even catch up to a paramecium. Your big sister has told you many times, you need to learn to read interpersonal dynamics.”
These sisters didn’t seem to have the slightest intention of hiding anything in front of outsiders.
Watching this scene before them, Hiiragi Shuichi and Kawasaki Yuki sank into a swamp of “this is somewhat hard to believe.”
Kawasaki Yuki gently tugged at Hiiragi Shuichi’s sleeve and quietly asked:
“Shuichi, are their relations really that bad?”
Hiiragi Shuichi let out a sigh and replied:
“Don’t worry about it too much. Anyway, this student council runs well enough. Bugs may be plenty, but as long as it still runs, it’s fine…”
Kawasaki Yuki nodded, half understanding.
Hiiragi Shuichi watched the sisters bickering, and his expression suddenly relaxed.
‘I think I know how to get the eraser back.’