Fly

"Nishi-senpai, don't you think things have gotten a little... weird around here?"
Tan-Tan's eyes narrowed with an uncomfortable grimace. Sitting before her in the club room were Yamaguchi Minami and Sakai Akinari, holding hands as their eyes scanned the contents of a popular shoujo manga from the 2000s about a boy who can see the supernatural, living with a yokai feline.

"It's definitely rare for Aki to be engrossed in a shoujo manga. He must really love Minami."
Nishi crossed his arms, his pencil tapping his elbow.

"Lay off! I wanted to find one that even boys could enjoy!"
The sour face of Yamaguchi Minami twitched with embarrassment, her hand instinctively squeezing Akinari's tighter.

"I'm glad you two are a couple now, I really am, but it's just so hard to imagine Aki enjoying a shoujo manga."
Nishi scratched the top of his head with his eraser.

"Maybe it's just a display of his affection, Nishi-senpai. I heard boyfriends often subject themselves to their girlfriends' hobbies to please them. Maybe Sakai-senpai has some ulterior motives."
Tan-Tan hid her grinning mouth behind her hand, giggling in the back of her throat.

"Oh? You think Aki is trying to-"

"I said lay off!"
Minami hid her red face behind her hands, peeking through her fingers. She wasn't too fond of being teased, especially by her close friends.

"For the record, I'm not trying to get anything out of Minami. I'm genuinely interested in this manga. Natsuki is a good protagonist." Akinari cupped his chin in his palm, his eyes slightly narrowed from annoyance.

"Oh, you have good taste, Sakai-senpai! Natsuki is such a kind hearted boy, his relationship with Nyaan-sensei is a gem that can only be found in that manga. Trying to replicate it would be futile, considering the fact that-"
Tan-Tan's endless chatter attack was cut short as Nishi tugged her sleeve, leading her away from the couple.

"Come on, Tan-Tan. Let's let them read in peace. I have a special task for you as treasurer."

"Oh, a special task? Anything for you, Nishi-senpai!"
Her heart fluttered with each step, she loved the feeling of his fingers gripping her white, button up shirt's sleeve hem. Following closely behind her crush, Tan-Tan tilted her head.

"Where are we going, Nishi-senpai?"

"The student council room. Sou-chan wants to discuss something that I think you'll be excited about."
He happily trotted along, humming a soft tune from a popular mecha anime from the 90's.

Strolling into the student council club room, Nishi wore his signature half smirk, his eyes glistening with admiration as he stared at his older brother, the student council president, Kuromoto Souichi. Like a gentleman, he pulled a chair out for Tan-Tan, gently scooting it inward as she took her seat. Sitting beside her, his face wore a relaxed hint of affection.

"I trust you've been well, little brother?"
Kuromoto Souichi crossed his legs, his body leaning back in his chair as he smiled at Nishi.

"I suppose so. You look like a zombie, Sou-chan. Still surviving on WcDonald's?"
Nishi let out a soft chuckle, proudly recalling the times he and Souichi met up after classes to sneak in some junk food before dinner.

Tan-Tan sat idly by, studying the interaction between the similar faces. She felt a little curious as to why they spoke as if they didn't live together, but then again, she never asked about Nishi's home life. Judging by the way they conversed, she could gather enough to get the gist, Souichi probably lived away from home.

"I saw your rough drafts from summer camp, it's pretty impressive stuff. Is it supposed to be about Akinari and Minami?"
Souichi motioned for his underclassman to offer the manga club members some tea.

"Yup, sure is. I figured their story would be pretty interesting to write about; at the very least, as a one-shot."
Nishi gratefully accepted his cup of tea from the spiky-haired student council underclassman.

"Thank you."
Tan-Tan bowed her head slightly as she accepted her own cup from the spiky-haired student; she had recognized him from a previous awkward encounter when she came to deliver some report papers a while back. He silently offered her a raised hand as an apology for his earlier actions, to which she waved off.

"Do you think it will be finished in time for the contest? You know I'm always here to help, whether it's applying screen tone or just adding shading."
Souichi leaned closer from across the table, his eyes showing a genuine interest.

"There's no way I can put that kind of pressure on you, big bro. I have Aki and Minami for that kind of stuff, and Tan-Tan has become an excellent addition to the club."
Nishi quickly shook his head, worried that if he asked his brother for help, he would overwork the already tired-eyed boy.

"What's this about a contest, Nishi-senpai?"
Tan-Tan craned her neck upward to meet his gaze.

"That's what I brought you here to discuss, Tan-Tan. I guess, to put it simply, I'm entering my manga in an aspiring illustrators contest. I already have Aki and Minami on board to help me with the final touches, but I wanted to ask you to be my... story writer."

Her cheeks flushed with a crimson red. She didn't have time to process the fact that she was blushing so intensely. This was the first time in her life that she had ever been asked to undertake such a glorious task.

"Nishi-senpai... are you sure? That's a major commitment, I'm sure you would rather have someone else."
Tan-Tan looked down, gently brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm positive. With your knowledge of shoujo manga, I genuinely believe we could be unstoppable as a team. No pressure, of course."
His handsome smile caused her face to heat up. The tension between them was red hot.

"Tanaka-san, was it? If I may, Nishi is very reliable. He stops at nothing to make his dreams come true. As his older brother, I'm proud to have such a hardworking man by my side. If he trusts you, it usually means he considers you someone very special to him. Please, consider his offer."
Souichi sipped his tea, his eyes closed with respect and kindness toward his younger sibling.

"Sou-chan, that's embarrassing."
Nishi rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks turning faintly pink.

Tan-Tan shook her head side to side. She clenched her eyes shut and squeaked softly.
"This is all so sudden. But, if you really have that much faith in me, Nishi-senpai... I'll do it."

"What? Really?! Tan-Tan, you're the freaking best!"
Nishi's hand gripped hers, shaking it up and down with all his strength.

"Nishi-senpai, your grip..."
She tried to pry her hands away, her soft skin turning red from the intense clasp.

Tugging his hands away, Nishi rushed out the door, his eyes reflecting a dangerous gleam. The three students remaining were Kuromoto Souichi, Tan-Tan, and the spiky-haired boy.

"Kuromoto-senpai?"
Tan-Tan turned to face Nishi's older brother, her lips curling upward.

"Go ahead, Tanaka-san."

She cleared her throat, her eyes flickering to the table and the handsome eyes of Souichi.
"I hope I'm not overstepping, but do you and Nishi-senpai live in separate homes?"

She saw his eyes widen for a fraction of a second, much like the first time she had mentioned Nishi in front of him. He quickly brought his knuckles to his lips to hide a small chuckle.

"Yeah, we do. Nishi lives with our mom and I live with our dad. They got divorced when we were little."
Souichi's half lidded eyes crinkled in amusement, he hadn't expected such a bold question from this seemingly shy girl.

"I-I-I see! Sorry for bringing up sensitive subjects!"
Tan-Tan bowed her head.

"No need to be sorry, Tanaka-san. We've come to terms with it over the span of a decade. I'm sure Nishi will tell you more when the time is right."

"R-right. I better go find Nishi, I'm sure he's eager to pitch his manga idea to me."
Bowing her head one final time, Tan-Tan trotted out of the student council club room and toward her own extracurricular club.

Stepping into the manga club room, she spotted Nishi wrapping his arms around the couple, still engrossed in their shoujo manga. She smiled upon seeing his carefree grin and the soft giggles of excitement.

"Come on, Tan-Tan! Let's celebrate!"
Nishi rushed over to the small girl, his hands pushing her shoulders toward the smiling couple a few feet away.

"Celebrate? What are we celebrating?"

"We're celebrating the start of my manga... No, scratch that, our manga. All of us."
Nishi wrapped his arms around his friends, they couldn't help but lean into his embrace. The start of their future was finally beginning, the moment they had all secretly dreamed about since childhood was not just a dream anymore, it was real. These teenagers were about to create a real manga, something not just anybody could say they've done. The excitement was palpable as the four teens exited the club room, each of them chatting about their dreams while walking toward the setting sun.

"Korean barbecue, anybody?"
Nishi suggested in the midst of their chatter.

In harmonious unison, the three replied,
"Yes, please!"