8. Hypothetical Romance

Upon hearing that, she rose from her seat.

Her hands were steady on the table, as if it were a symbol of her status quo.

Do you want to know what she would say? It’s too predictable. At least, for me.

"I want..."

There she goes again.

And somehow, I couldn’t help but pray I was totally wrong.

"You, Akira-kun."

Yep. Exactly.

However predictable as it was, my face reddened.

Taking a blow as if it were inevitable from the start.

"B-"

Huh?

"Bahahahaha!"

She couldn’t take it anymore. No, her gut couldn’t. Perhaps it tore through the composed impression she’d given when Kuze-san visited. Gone was the imposing, threatening Nanase-san. 

What remained was her true self beneath the persona: a fine line between a clown and a leader.

Meanwhile, the other Nanase-san beside me was shrinking her eyes with a sharp gaze.

"Elder sis!"

When it almost seemed she couldn’t stop herself, Rin cleared her throat elegantly.

Acting as casually as if nothing had happened. 

No, she really seemed to convince herself, thinking it never had.

"Apologize, my beloved tsundere Shiro. I couldn’t help it."

At least don’t say that while wiping your tears with a tissue…

"Anyway, that was such a good laugh..."

No, seriously. Can you stop it?

I feel like you’re pitying me for existing during a burial ceremony.

Anyway… to make things easier, I’ll call the other Nanase-san Shiro. 

Short, concise, simple. 

At first, I really didn’t want to, but… fine.

And what happened? She was, at best, reacting to what she’d said.

"Ts- Tsun?"

That stutter won’t help you solve problems in quantum physics, Nanase-san.

"I’m not!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

All of a sudden, the atmosphere shifted.

No, I wasn’t even kidding let alone making things up. 

It really hit me that way.

She once again cleared her throat, then straightened her chest as if asserting her authority with it.

"So..."

"Kamiya Akira-kun."

You’re really making this more dramatic than it should be.

"We, the Student Council, need your help."

Not so surprising, though the fact she referred to herself as 'we' was unexpected.

Could this mean the Student Council was in serious trouble—so much that they needed my help?

"I knew it! You were gonna use him again!"

Shiro finally spoke, flustered as usual, making her request predictable.

"No. You are mistaken, Shiro-chan."

"Don’t try to persuade me with that."

"I wasn’t. This is truly serious, so I need his help…"

"And yours too, Shiro."

Hearing that, Shiro was in awe. Her eyes reflected recognition she hadn’t received before.

But wait…

"Excuse me, Nanase-san, but why did you bring her in?"

She looked at me.

"Well, you see…"

"There was a problem with the Student Council’s logistics."

She sighed, then continued.

"Someone who was supposed to be in charge of the festival has been missing for weeks."

"No one could find him, yet the rumour said he was bullied."

I gulped, feeling dryness creeping into my throat.

"May I know who he is?"

She shot me a sharp glance.

"That doesn’t matter."

"What matters is that everything runs smoothly."

"Now, for the issue..."

She folded both of her hands, then continued her explanation.

"I’ll give you two choices."

"Would you rather help find this missing person, convincing him to join again?"

"Or..."

"Would you tackle those dirty tasks as a temporary member, like in the old days?"

Old days…

That memory felt distant, yet its weight hit me all over again.

I saw the students screaming for help, running from the booth.

The fire. The havoc caused by a single mistake I had never made.

It all flashed through my mind as if it happened yesterday.

"Kamiya-kun?"

That incident had stirred me deeply. I’d tried to forget.

Yet she reminded me again of those days, when we were together.

Shiro stayed by my side, as if I were too helpless to stand on my own.

"Are you… alright?"

I nodded, even though my thoughts were elsewhere. 

Imagining those negative outcomes.

"Yes. I’m just… too tired, I guess."

Shiro then shot a glare at her elder sister.

"What did you do?! Why give him those choices?! Are you out of your mind?!"

Nanase Rin, meanwhile, never flinched.

She clearly knew the stakes, yet she couldn’t—or wouldn’t—speak of it.

The newspapers had hinted at it, but no one really understood or remembered what had happened.

Except her… and, of course, me.

"Rin, it's over."

She tilted her head slightly, then gave a nod, letting the silence speak louder than words.

"I know."

Shiro looked confused—or perhaps she simply didn’t understand the full scope of the issue.

Everything had been covered up as if nothing had happened.

Rin’s eyes, however, betrayed the faintest trace of control—she had orchestrated it all.

Apparently, bribery is a very effective way to keep one mouth's shut.

Shiro’s hand already grabbed mine before I could even react.

“We better leave,” she said.

Her tone was sharper than usual, dragging me away from the council room.

Rin didn’t move. 

Instead, she tilted her head slightly, that little infuriating smile still in place.

“You’ll definitely come back, Kamiya-kun.” 

She said softly.

I barely glanced back. Shiro tightened her grip on me.

“Don’t.”

I didn’t.

And somehow, I already knew I would return.

It was just a matter of how.