1st year, Story 5: Karasuma Eru

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Date: April 19th

Time: 3:48 PM

One week has passed since the new school year started. Nothing interesting in particular has happened since then, at least compared to the first couple of days.

But, that doesn’t go to say that nothing happened…for better or worse.

First and foremost, Akiya-senpai seems to have become very fond of me over the past few days. She greets me with a bright smile, teases me in a friendly way, jokes around… Honestly, everything you would expect from her!

I got to meet a handful of other seniors thanks to her, but don’t expect anything earth-shattering, we just got used to exchanging greetings for now. Heck, I can’t even remember their names, imagine how far back our first encounter goes!

Secondly, the school has been getting livelier by the day. Before that, class consisted 80% of students yawning either from a lack of sleep or because they were bored in class (the former would probably be the most used excuse if questioned by the teacher, not necessarily meaning it would be the truth), 10% of the teacher glaring at the yawning students and 10% of the lesson actually being taught without a hitch —until a hitch sprouted, that is. Almost all such instances have slowly faded away by now.

Also, the teachers are exactly like Higashiguchi-senpai described them; not just one or two, but all of the teachers that have entered my class. Of course, Nashimoto-sensei wasn’t an exception to his list, no matter how surprising this may seem.

Last but not least, speaking of Nashimoto-sensei, he handed out club registration forms during morning homeroom today. That was expected to happen around this time, since clubs started advertising themselves on pinboards just a few days ago, which is quite normal per se.

However, there was only one thing that had slipped my mind the entire time ever since I got into North High: When we had come to take the entrance exam, on the way out, every student was given a sheet with all the after-school clubs that were operating the previous year, obviously to let examinees get a rough image of the variety of activities the school offers, come next year.

So, what’s my concern all about? I’ll confess that I never took the time to check it. To be precise, I shoved it in my pocket as soon as I exited the classroom I was in. I mean, who would —or even could— be able to read something like that when trying to calm down from all the stress?! I probably don’t even know where that million-time folded sheet even is anymore!

The current issue is that I have to find out what kind of clubs this school has, all from scratch, hence why I’m heading to the Student Council right now.

I tried to rush out of class to go there as fast as humanly possible and get that list before I miss my bus, but the crowded hallway thought otherwise. Of course, I still have some time —it’s only been 3 minutes since then—, but it’s pressuring me to hurry up, or even forget about it and leave the entire thing for tomorrow just in case.

But there’s no way I’m backing down now though!

I found myself looking forward to visiting that small, kind of cramped room at the corner of the hallway again. Time was passing slowly for me. The clock in class was ticking endlessly.

*Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.*

That’s what I could only hear during afternoon homeroom, just a few minutes ago. I beamed the clock a lot of glimpses, only to be disappointed by the 10 seconds that had passed since my last one. This continuous, rhythmic ticking of the clock’s second hand seemed like it was lasting forever, to the point that it ticked me off after a while. (No pun intended, by the way.)

It really is a mystery why such a —both literally and metaphorically— monotonous sound can become extremely agonizing, nerve-racking and unsettling at the same time, to me at least.

Eventually, the time had come for homeroom to end. My patience had paid off, from the looks of it.

BUT CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GET RID OF THAT CLOCK?!

Standing outside the Council, I’m left wondering: Someone should be on duty like last time, right?

With a grain of hesitation, I knock the Council’s door three times. "E-Excuse me, is anyone there?" is the most formal thing I have ever said.

AND I FEEL MY HEART RATE SOARING THROUGH THE SKIES FOR SOME REASON!

While waiting for a reply, I noticed that less than a dozen of students are on the seniors' hallway, all walking towards the stairs to leave the school grounds.

A female voice from inside the Council room responds after a few seconds, a sense of rush being present in her voice: "Of course of course, please come in."

No, it wasn’t Akiya-senpai’s voice. It sounded...different than that.

Slowly sliding the door, I enter the room. To my left, the person that talked to me just moments ago. She is holding a couple books in her hands, exchanging them with some others in the bookshelf in front of her, all with a mild look of curiosity on her face.

Her appearance is really simple, yet captivating: Straight and let-down light-brown hair with an azure clip holding her short sideswept bangs, with her uniform being completed with a knee-lengthed skirt —considerably longer than Karasuma or Akiya-senpai’s, for instance— and white ankle-high socks.

There is also a small golden badge on her chest, making her a member of the Council. Still, she’s far enough that I can’t make out what is written on it. (More than 3 meters away, in fact, so I can’t hear any of her thoughts while maintaining this distance either.)

As she turns to look at me, her shoulder-length hair sways a little, and a quick smile flashes to replace her look of curiosity.

"May I help you with anything?" she asks me with her soft voice.

Hearing it from outside and close-up are two entirely different experiences.

I don’t know how to put this realization into words, but this particular voice has a much more calming sound to it than Akiya-senpai’s, and contrary to hers, this one’s tone seemed relaxing, as if it was created to comfort. The fact that it soothingly echoed in the empty Council room made this all the more obvious.

That doesn’t go to say that Akiya-senpai’s voice can’t become soft (when she was talking to Karasuma, it was reaaaaaaaaaaaally soft as well), but this person’s is on a whole new level.

Her accent also seemed a bit…unnatural? Like, it was undoubtedly understandable, but it sounded more like a mix of a couple accents than a natural one, at the very least. Nevertheless, it is so very subtle a detail that it barely interests anyone.

"If it’s possible, I’d like a list of all the clubs in the school," I reply to her question a bit abashedly.

"You haven’t gotten one?"

"I have, but I guess it’s history now, haha…hahaha…"

IT’S MORE THAN MERE HISTORY!

"Well, that’s a first!" she giggles.

I demand an explanation on that ‘first’!

"It will take a couple minutes to print it, so why don’t you help yourself until then?"

"Thank you very much for the offer, but I’ll be leaving as soon as it's done."

She finally turns her entire body instead of just her head to face me. That’s because she’s finished looking for the books she wanted and probably organized the ones she was originally holding in the shelves as well.

I can’t really read what’s written on the covers of those books, but judging from the pictures, they seem like they’re space related? But there’s an atom on the one she’s holding in front…

Physics…

Space…

What’s a subject that involves both?

"There’s nothing we can do if you’re in a hurry, is there?" a bright but kind of forced smile appears on her face as she seemingly hugs the books a bit firmly in front of her chest.

Unable to find a reply to say to her most likely rhetorical question, I remain silent, and with slow steps, she goes and sits at the desk on the opposite side.

To put things into perspective, there are two desks in the room; the desk Akiya-senpai was sitting at —and on, if you recall— is to my right, while the one this girl is sitting at is to my left. I believe you’re now imagining two desks pushed to the walls, creating a small path in-between; and you would be right. The only difference between the two is that the left one has a relatively thin black computer screen on it.

My gamer instincts tell me that the screen can’t be anything too eye-candy-ish when it comes to quality, but nevertheless, it must be sufficient for whatever a Student Council does on a computer.

On the contrary, I sit on the sofa. Waiting could take a while, as she said, but I’m not concerned about missing the bus anymore.

Again, the distance between us is more than 3 meters.

The sound of a computer fan rotating fills the room, so the computer wasn’t turned on until now.

Carefully placed on the corners of the desk are a blue, plain-looking and normal-sized notebook, a thick book and the 2 books she just took from the shelves, all side to side. And in order of height too? Wow, that’s some GOOD sense of aesthetics!

The title of the thick book is written on its side; 'Advanced Quantum Mechanics’, it reads.

Quantum mechanics, of course! It makes sense that the books had atoms and a galaxy on their covers!

Although, I have to ask; doesn’t that mean that she was studying here before I came in? Advanced physics aren’t something any high-schooler can handle, so these all must be for university preparation or something, right?

"U-Um… If I’m asking for too much, I can come again tomorrow and get it, I really don’t mind."

I’m not saying this to get out of the pressuring situation I’m in; rather, it's to find an excuse to make up for interrupting her studying time.

"What are you saying, my dear kouhai? Printing a page-long list is the least trouble someone can give the council!"

"So it is trouble, isn’t it…?"

"That’s nothing that should be worrying you." Her tone has gotten gentler than before. "I’m sure you can understand that I’m aiming for something that’s technically out of a normal high-schooler’s reach. You read the title on the side of this book, right?" she raises the thick book with her left hand. "I wouldn’t see any other reason why you tilted your head like an owl."

"So I’m an owl now?!"

"You can be whatever you want to be if you try!" she replies confidently.

I’M SURE THE PHRASE DOESN’T MEAN WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS!

She restores her previous serious expression. "Being a senior is all about beating the odds and continuing your life in a place you yourself will find interesting and worth spending your time on. But dreams require effort to come true, and I’m not the only person in the world that has a dream, right?" she smiles at me. "I'm well aware that I look tired, and I’ll admit that I am from all the studying I’ve been doing, but as a member of the Student Council, students’ needs are our prime priority!"

She is obviously exhausted. Sleeping bags, half-asleep eyes, quiet speaking, you name it.

The fact that she openly admits that she’s tired means that she’s serious about her goal.

She’s planning to study quantum mechanics, willing to try her best to achieve what she wants to achieve.

She’s pushing herself to her limits, even pausing her studying to assist someone like me.

It’s as if she is overexerting herself.

And despite all of that, she maintains a mild and charming smile on her face.

Wait, overexerting? That sounds exactly like—

"The moral is that we have to make sacrifices to achieve something. That’s how things work, right?" she continues.

That’s how things get really dark, if you ask me!

"Printing requires ink, and ink costs. You get me?"

"…I-I think…"

I WASN’T TALKING ABOUT THAT KIND OF DARK!

I got ahead of myself there. It’s not like there’s only one senior in the whole world that’s sacrificing their senior year to studying for the sake of hoping for a university enrollment.

It could as well be a mere coincidence, one that a mere assumption can’t favor.

"You’re a freshman, right?" she asks me while typing on the keyboard (she is plenty skilled with it, if you ask me).

I nod positively to that.

"No wonder why you seemed like a new face then. You’re in the same grade as my little sister, you might know her."

"What’s she called?"

Completely going off on a tangent, she stops typing and replies with a straight face, "I’m telling her you were the one who asked for details. Don’t blame me if she gets you wrong."

"PUTTING IT THAT WAY WOULD DEFINITELY MAKE HER GET ME WRONG!"

"So it’s my fault if you’ll be misunderstood; that’s what you’re saying, right?"

"In the first place, what’s worrying me the most is what she would hear from you…"

"The truth, of course."

"…"

SAYING THAT WITH A SMUG FACE DOESN’T REASSURE ME AT ALL!

"I’m just joking around, don't take it at face value!" she giggles. "You sure are quite the lad to razz!"

‘Quite the lad to razz’ she said… What a phrase…

"Whoopsies, my accent just showed again. Please forget you heard it, okay?" she scratches the back of her head, her cheeks getting a bit red.

"I remember nothing."

"Thank you. My family has its roots in Kansai, so it’s kind of embarrassing when the accent comes out like that, hehe…"

Yup, it’s confirmed; this girl can’t be Karasuma Eru. My main proof for this is that Karasuma’s accent is pretty normal for this region’s standards and her speech flows nicely. It’s hard to explain this some other way if her talking can’t be heard first, but I’m trying to give the general idea as accurately as possible here.

Maybe this one's sister is just someone that doesn’t really stand out. I mean, I’ve been in this school for just a week, but there are always a few students in each year that are more known than others. The best example for this is Ichijou Maria, who became quite popular because of her entrance exam scores. In that same manner, someone studying something so impressive as she is and an accent similar to hers would have become a mini-celebrity by now.

And Karasuma has neither fame nor a unique accent. (Sorry, Karasuma…)

The sound of a printer getting ready to print halts my thoughts completely.

WAIT, THERE WAS A PRINTER IN HERE ALL ALONG?!

Oh yeah, she said she would be printing the list…

I’M SO STUPID, JUST END ME JUST END ME JUST END ME JUST END ME JUST END ME!

I see her lean a bit to her right to get the freshly printed list in her hands. A few moments later, I find her crouching beside me, resting her right arm on the couch’s arm as she tells me with a wide smile, "Here you go, a list of all the clubs in North High, printed exclusively for you," while handing over the paper carefully to not crease it.

The distance between us is finally less than 3 meters.

I grab the paper softly for the very same reason. The moment I do that is the moment I realize that she has let go on the other end.

"T-Thank you very—"

Wait a moment…

Did she say ‘Exclusively for me’…?

"Even though you printed tons of copies of this a few months ago…?"

All I get in response is that same wide smile sitting on her face, still as they go. Her eyebrows are inclined inwards a bit, so she might have taken what I said the wrong way…

‘DON’T MIND THE DETAILS, KIDDO!' she thinks in a bit of an angered voice.

I CALLED THAT, DIDN’T I!

Suddenly, my eyes fall on her glittering gold badge on her chest. I can finally make out what is written on it, and both her name and position in the Council are not the ones I was imagining.

Perhaps it would be better to say that I would have never imagined them.

"Oh my, I forgot to introduce myself to you, didn’t I?"

It’s a name that should have instantly rung the ‘Of Course It Was Her!’ bell in my head.

"I’m Karasuma Eru—"

And her position is the one I would have never seen coming.

"—the Student Council President."

My ears didn’t deceive me, and neither did she. What she has just uttered is the truth and just the truth. I can't defy her in the slightest bit. I can’t make myself defy her.

I have accepted that my assumption was just plain wrong all along.

Everything I've heard about her finally connects. It all makes complete sense with the hints I was given throughout this week, yet I didn’t even take a moment to think about this possibility up until now.

On April 10th, the day of the entrance ceremony, Karasuma Eru had come to school with a slight fever. She had managed to persuade her mother to do so despite that, and almost collapsed as a result while helping with preparations in the gym, minutes before the ceremony began.

She’s hard-working because she pushed herself to go to school like normal and didn’t care about her fever, not even for a moment (if she did, she wouldn’t have come in the first place); she’s composed, ambitious, and willing, as she didn’t let the fever get to her and put up with it just to not make others do her share of work; she’s confident and optimistic, because she believed she could do everything if she tried; she’s smiling, because she didn’t want anyone to find out how much she was pushing herself to help the rest of the seniors.

Hard-working, composed, ambitious, willing, confident, —but most importantly—optimistic and smiling; these are all necessary qualities for a Student Council President to have.

And guess what! Karasuma’s older sister, Karasuma Eru, has all of them; in other words, she’s the perfect type to become a Council President.

I can no longer deny that the real deal is in front my eyes.

On a side note, doesn’t this mean that Karasuma is originally from Kansai as well!?

I...I think I might need to reconsider my life after I get home…

Anyways, it was genuinely…fascinating having the truth unravel before me.

Yeah, exactly that. I was fascinated to finally meet Karasuma Eru, let alone find out that she’s the Council President! It just gave me an adrenaline rush!

The problem now lies elsewhere though; WHAT DO I RESPOND WITH?!

Bolting upright on the couch, inside my brain is a blankness of responses. "I-I’m Yanagisawa Taichi I’m not in the same class as your sister but we take the same bus and hang out during breaks and I hope I’m not being a bother to her!" I bow continuously and nervously.

I didn’t even take a breath while saying this, and she’s now watching me exhale and inhale excessively…

Not only is my heart racing because I depleted all of the air in my body, but it’s going to break as well thanks to the embarrassment of making her see me like that!

Aah, how stress can make you look ridiculous!

"No need to be so worked up, Yanagisawa-kun!" she laughs uncontrollably, but tries to be as discreet as possible about it. "I’m not her mum or something, I won’t bully you!"

‘BULLY’ IS AN INTRIGUING WORD CHOICE!

"But…you’re her older sister…"

"Exactly." She ultimately manages to hold back her laughter. "I’m her sister, not her mum. I won’t slit your throat just because you’re hanging out with her."

WHAT KIND OF MOTHER DO THESE TWO HAVE?!

"However, I do have a coooooooooouple of questions I’d like to ask, if it’s okay with you."

Why did she emphasize that ‘coooooooooooouple’?!

"Question number 1: What do you think of her?"

"Is this a quiz show or something…?"

"I told you once already, it can be whatever you want it to be if you try!"

And I’ll say this once more; I’M SURE THE PHRASE DOESN’T MEAN WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS!

"What do I think, you say…" I sigh.

"It’s kinda sudden to ask you that when you met her just a week ago, but as her older sister, I’m also responsible for the inconveniences she causes to—"

Hearing that, I unwillingly let out "She doesn’t cause me any trouble!" as quickly as possible.

My answer took her aback as much as it took me.

"Karasuma Yumeha is—"

"—is the one whose hand I desire! Please approve of our marriage!" she says in an attempt to mimic my voice.

"Your imagination is quite applaudable, but nothing like that is crossing my mind!"

"I’m a sucker for quantum mechanics, so the possibilities are endless! And I believe in every single one of them!"

Why am I getting some Akiya-senpai vibes right now…?

It’s because they’re best friends, isn’t it…?

She was spot on on copying my mannerisms though, I’ll praise her for that.

"The mood was also ruined, what kind of responsibility will you take for that?"

"The one that isn’t on me!"

"HOW DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE?!"

She is like Karasuma; she would have answered the same way as well, I think.

It’s such a stupid reply. Awfully thought out, childish, shows irresponsibility…

"You two are just too similar when joking," I chuckle.

"Mm-hm! That we are!" she flashes a wide smile at me.

But, why I am laughing instead?

Then again, I already know the answer to this question, don’t I?

"The fact that you’re laughing means you do enjoy her company, right?"

"It can’t mean anything else. The one who should know that best should be you, Eru-senpai; your little sister is an amazing person."

These two seem like polar opposites on the outside, but I just discovered an aspect of their personalities they share that would make me scream ‘These two are definitely sisters!’ as loudly as possible: If you manage to set the right mood, they’ll start enjoying it and joke around with an irresistible radiance on their faces.

Much like Karasuma’s sudden mood shifts, Eru-senpai cheered up a lot since I came in here —although not nearly as quickly as her sister. Only a few minutes have passed, but she seems a lot happier than before. Her smile is genuine and she indirectly admits that she’s having fun…teasing…me.

That teasing part really sets my worries on the alert…

But I openly confess that the same goes for me. I’m having a lot of fun just talking to her, as if she were Karasuma Yumeha herself; another aspect that undoubtedly makes them sisters.

"I knew that she was really fond of you, but I didn’t know the reason why up until now. In all honesty, I was itching to find it out. You visiting though made me realize that reason; you’re just fun to torme— talk to for some reason!"

SHE WAS ABOUT TO SAY ‘TORMENT’, WASN’T SHE?!

Great, she also becomes a jokester when she’s on cloud nine… I get now how she and Akiya-senpai are so compatible…

‘He’s just like Yumeha and Yukino said!’ she thinks, and then giggles in her thoughts. ‘What a cute fella!’

I’M NOT CUTE!

Or, this could be the ‘Many Unneeded Definitions of the Word "Cute" Girls Have’ Dad told me about, I can’t downright deny that possibility.

"Question number 2!" her eyes and voice become fiery, before shifting to a silly tone and look altogether. "Out of curiosity, Yanagisawa-kun, what do you call her?"

"Y-You aren’t planning to go off on a completely unrelated tangent again, are you…?"

"Not at all, I’m really curious to know this time."

Is she honestly telling the truth…? I could sit here and wait about 2 minutes before I reply to her question so that I can hear what she’s thinking, but she will feel that something is dodgy if I do that.

Guess it’s confession time then…

"By your family name. That’s the most familiar I can get with girls."

Truth be told, there is but one exception to this policy of mine; Irisu Midori, who I’m basically obliged to call by name so that I don’t mistakenly refer to her brother. Keyword: Obliged.

Silently, Eru-senpai crosses her hands to form an X, accompanying it with that haunting buzzing sound you hear in talent shows when the contestant is not liked by the judges. "Buu-buu! That’s the wrong answer, Yanagisawa-kun! You have a little sister as well, don’t you? What do you call her, ‘Yanagisawa-chan’?"

"I don’t think I need to answer such a rhetorical question!"

" ‘Yanagisawa-chan’ it is then."

Let’s see… She is fond of game show-related things, soooooooooooo…

"Buu-buu! That’s the wrong answer!" I copy the mannerisms and sounds she made just a few seconds ago.

I have to admit though, that buzzing sound does sound fulfilling when you are the one making it. No wonder why judges love it!

"Aaah, such misfortune! There was but a single answer I could have given, yet I lost the game!"

Her acting is kind of terrible and unpersuasive, to be honest… Someone should start learning how to be a good actor from her sister!

"My acting is terrible on purpose, if you’re wondering."

YOU HAVE AN ANSWER FOR EVERYTHING, DON'T YOU?!

"But anyway, why are you calling me by name and not Yumeha? She even calls you ‘Taichi-san’. She’s much closer to you by now than I am, right?"

"I-I’m just not used to refer to girls by their given name."

"For reals?! Then aren’t I a girl to you?!"

How hard is she trying to keep this conversation going…?

"I-It’s just that I can’t call you both ‘Karasuma’, so I figured this was the best way to tell you apart. She even suggested that I call you by that because you’re older, but a lot of things happened and I’ve come to call her by your family name instead."

Eru-senpai heaves a huge sigh after hearing that: ‘‘She doesn’t call me ‘Eru-senpai’ here like you do though…"

You’re siblings, of course she wouldn’t…

"Does it bother you after all? Me calling you by your name, that is."

"What matters is what you’re most comfortable with. If ‘Eru-senpai’ is the one that seems more appropriate to you, then so be it."

That’s exactly what her sister had said as well when we first met.

It’s what I feel most comfortable with, huh…

Eru-senpai continues: "For the first time, Yumeha hasn’t complained about someone calling her by our family name. She always wanted to be close with everyone, so a first-name basis was a must for her standards."

"I-I can definitely see that…"

She jumped the gun by calling me ‘Taichi-san’ a minute after we met, didn’t she…?

These two sure are easy-going. No matter what, they approach everyone kindly and make them feel at home, as if you knew them from months, maybe even years ago. They know how to make your moments together not awkward, and above all, they know how to make you genuinely take a liking to them.

Observation #9: This sense of familiarity that beams around the Karasuma sisters is truly a feeling of warmth that anyone would happily accept and want to hold in their grasp for as long as possible. Calling it mesmerizing is merely the tip of the iceberg.

A mild face of curiosity is made by Eru-senpai as she looks at her phone to check the time. "My, it’s 3:55 already. You don’t wanna miss the bus, let alone keep Yumeha waiting, do you?"

Even she herself knows the answer I’m going to give, but I guess she wants to hear it loud and clear.

"I’d rather not. I already know how she’s going to be complaining about that until I get off the bus."

"I know, right!?" she replies ecstatically. "Even if you’re not late, when you leave her on her own, she goes ‘Geez, why did you leave me alone?!’ and stuff like that, and her pouty face makes me wanna squeeze her adorab’e lil’ cheeks till I wear meself out!" she gets closer and closer to me while making over-the-top hand and body mannerisms.

"…I-Is that so…?'' a weak obligatory laughter escapes my lips.

She’s quite fond of her sister, it seems… Extremely fond, in fact… Or even better, worryingly fond…

AND WHO SAYS ‘MESELF’ IN THIS DAY AND AGE?!

"Anyway, I’m really sorry that I can’t join you in the morning or now, but I take the train to come earlier in the morning and leave later than most students. Being the president really eats up a lot of my time, especially considering my field of interest."

"Don’t sweat it, Eru-senpai. We got to spend some time together even if it was for a little bit. I think we’ll have more fun next time we meet, especially if time isn’t pressuring us. No, I’m sure about it."

WHY AM I PUTTING ON A CUTE FAÇADE?! IS THIS HER INFLUENCE IN THE WORKS?!

‘He’s making me blush, oh dear… H-He sure knows a lady’s soft spots.’

THIS COULD MEAN A LOT OF THINGS THAT I DON’T WANT TO SPEAK ABOUT!

"Thank you for passing by. Truth be told, I needed a few minutes off studying to relax a bit, and I’m sure you saw that I was enjoying myself the whole time."

I’m really glad I helped her get some load off her mind. If anything though, I should be the one thanking here. I mean, she spent these past few minutes to help me feel at home here instead of studying; I believe almost no senior elsewhere would even think of doing that.

This is what I love about this school; people are always willing to put others over themselves without any complaints whatsoever.

"Well then, I’ll be taking my leave," I say as I get up from the couch, turning towards the door to leave the room. ''Best of luck studying, Eru-senpai!"

"Thank you very much, Taichi-kun! Let’s make this a great year!" she waves me goodbye with her bright smile as I close the door behind me, having thanked her a moment ago about giving me the clubs list —which I really forgot about with all our talking.

A first-name basis, huh? If that’s what she’s comfortable with, then so be it.

Right?

From the moment I got in the Council room to the moment I left, only 8 minutes had passed. (The time was 3:56 when I left the room, by the way.)

Getting down the stairs as quickly as possible to not miss the bus —it leaves at 4 PM sharp—, a single but long and slow shiver ran down my spine.

And after that, a thought crossed my mind: Karasuma Eru isn’t suit for the President’s position or the Student Council altogether.

I shouldn’t be overthinking something as pointless as this, but it was as if my gut was telling me that there is one thing that feels completely off about her. Not about her personality, not about her appearance, not about her attitude, but…

I can’t properly explain this. This feeling is not easy to put into words. It's like...

Karasuma Eru, much like two puzzle pieces with almost identical shapes, feels out of joint. That's because, to my eyes, she doesn’t fit in the place she currently is in, even if the match has seemingly been made.

I’m 99% sure that must be my imagination running wild though. I probably can’t swallow the fact that she’s the Student President yet. If she had introduced herself to me first, it might have been easier to downright accept it; first impressions are crucial to the overall impression after all, whether I want to admit that or not.

"Taichi-san, you’re late! One more minute and the bus would have left without you! Geez, what were you even doing?!"

Oh, I forgot to mention that I’m outside the bus trying to catch my breath while Karasuma is scolding me for barely making it in time, as the bus is ready to leave any moment now.

At least consider the inhuman speeds I achieved trying to do so!

I need to mention here that her characteristic ‘Geez’ really brought a smile to my face. A really nostalgic one, for some reason.

"Let’s say…that I don’t need you to introduce me to your sister anymore," I look at the sky to make the moment seem as dramatic as possible.

Karasuma’s reply hasn’t been posed yet, which made me check on her.

What I saw was the result of a great sense of humor and absolutely brilliant timing and context: Karasuma having such a graphically disgusted look on her face, as if she had heard the most pathetic excuse in all of human history.

Wait a minute…

"Sorry, you were being too cheesy that my face came out like that," she says.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

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Managed to release the chapter only 3 weeks (3.5 weeks, but DON'T MIND THE DETAILS, KIDDOS xDD) after the previous one instead of a month this time, phew! That's some progress, isn't it!

Anyways, I really really hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well! I'll confess that this is probably my favorite chapter so far, because I know I plenty enjoyed working on it! Was it because of Eru? Probably lol.

I honestly hope you enjoyed Eru as a character in her debut (as she was the main focus of the chapter), because we'll be seeing her and some other aspects of her personality frequently until her graduation! 

Should you spot a grammatical/spelling mistake, it means it got past proofreading, so please let me know so I can correct it at once!

As always, thank you so much for reading and I hope you're looking forward to the next chapter! It will focus on Fukuda and Saki this time, with Taichi's parents making a small cameo too! And boy am I excited to bring the former two back after a while, I missed them a lot!

Now then, time to relax a bit and catch up with my follows here until I start working on the next chapter! See ya around!