Club Meeting

Ryouta was stunned. A small clump of rice with bits of carrots, cucumber and chicken hung in mid-air between his chopsticks. Silence hung in the air much like his food before Ryouta blinked back into reality and set his chopsticks down.

"Didn't you say it was different this time?", asked Ryouta as he folded his hands with a stern look on his face. If the same thing had happened a month ago when Ryouta hadn't met Futaba, he wouldn't have cared much for it. After all, his brother was known to not linger long on a partner. But this time he felt a mix of emotions after hearing the news. He had gotten closer to Futaba after all. She was his first friend in many years.

Ryuuji seemed unfazed by Ryouta's vexed and disappointed expression. He was prepared.

"I won't tell you the details or specifics but I think I need to tell you at least this much. We both decided it would be the best for us and we both think we are better off as friends than romantic partners. We still really like each other as two people and want to stay friends." lied Ryuuji with a very solemn expression.

When they first agreed to fake date, Ryuuji had been completely confident he could play the part. Cute nicknames, shy glances, imaginary plans discussed in front of others—it was all just another mask to him, something he could slip on and discard whenever he pleased. If anything, he had worried whether Futaba would be convincing enough to keep up with him.

But Ryuuji hadn’t known Futaba well back then.

Because Futaba never truly wore a mask at all. Even when she lied, even when she played along with his lies, her real self always seeped through the cracks—honest, hard-working, fearless. She never needed to hide who she was the way Ryuuji did. After all, Ryuuji had never believed in romance to begin with.

And yet, somewhere along the way, the mask began to feel real.

For the first time in his life, Ryuuji understood what it meant to genuinely like someone. Every relationship before Futaba had ended the same way: a few dates, growing disinterest, and eventually the familiar excuse—"I don’t think this will work out."

Looking back, he realized he had never wanted them to work out in the first place.

But Futaba was different.

With her, he found himself hesitating whenever it was time to take the mask off. What had once been an act became something warm and comforting, like sunlight breaking through after a long afternoon of rain. For the first time, Ryuuji wanted the lie to stay a lie forever.

And yet, if he truly wanted to grant Futaba’s wish, he would have to be the one to break it. So here he was, breaking his mask and his heart together as he lied to his brother.

Ryouta was about to say something before both brothers heard their phones chime. Futaba had created a group chat for the club members.

"Hey guys! I created this group chat to discuss our summer break activities. Are you all free tomorrow? I was thinking of meeting at our club room close to noon? I'll be bringing some cookies for everyone!"

Ryouta replied with a serious little 'Ok'. The group instantly flooded with reactions and emojis as Ryouta stared at his screen with his mouth open. Was that... A parrot dancing? Ryuuji couldn't help but laugh seeing Ryouta's reaction to the messages in the chat.

"Oh my god, Ryo are you that ancient?"

"No. No I know what emojis are but... They move???"

Ryu couldn't help but burst out with laughter.

Ryouta kept his phone down and looked at his younger brother laughing with a small smile on his face. That's how he always wanted Ryuuji to be.

"I kind of understand now why you were angry. And I guess at that time, asking you why you were angry is probably a bad move because you were trying to figure it out too." said Ryouta once Ryuuji stopped laughing. "But even if that was the case, your anger and emotions are not an excuse to hurt other people. Physically or emotionally. I just hope you learn that from... Our incident."

Ryuuji nodded and got up from his chair.

"I'll head to bed then, Ryo. Thanks for being patient with me."

"Wait"

And suddenly after many years, Ryuuji found himself in the protective embrace of his brother that stripped away his worries and he felt like he was 10 again. Hot tears started to cloud his vision and he could just barely manage to keep them at bay as he quickly left for his room as soon as Ryouta let go.

Ryouta chuckled to himself as Ryuuji ran upstairs to his room.

"He can be very cute sometimes" thought the older brother.

***

The plate of cookies was already half-empty by the time Hinata arrived at the clubroom. Ryouta and Ai sat at the center table, chatting quietly, while Futaba arranged books on the shelf by the wall. Near the window, Ryuuji stood in silence, staring out at the distant hills as a pot of water warmed slowly on the stove beside him.

The scene felt almost... too ordinary to Hinata.

“Am I the last one to arrive? My apologies for being late.”

“Not at all, Hina-senpai! We only got here a few minutes ago,” Ai replied with a cheerful smile.

Ryouta's mouth twitched faintly as Hinata slipped on her usual mask of composure, but he said nothing and played along.

Futaba slid the final book into place before turning around with a clap of her hands. “Great, everyone’s here!”

She walked over to the whiteboard and picked up a marker while Hinata took the seat beside Ryouta. Ryuuji didn’t sit down, but he turned from the window long enough to greet her with a small smile and a wave. Still, he seemed unusually quiet.

And it wasn’t just him.

Even Ai, despite keeping up her conversation with Ryouta, kept glancing down at her phone every few moments. Hinata had always been good at reading a room, even as a child. Beneath Futaba’s bright energy and forced cheerfulness, the atmosphere felt weighed down by emotions no one was willing to voice aloud.

'Now the question was how Miss Sakamoto planned to deal with it,' thought Hina as she smiled at Futaba ever so slightly when their eyes met.

***

Futaba was very annoyed. Every single person in the room added a little bit to her annoyance.

To start off, Ryuuji.

They had remade their contract to make sure Ryuuji's feelings for Futaba were nipped as a bud. Nevertheless, his feelings felt like a hassle to her. She knew the risk when she made the first contract with Ryuuji but it was always a possibility that would never happen. After all, Ryuuji's motivation at the time was strong. Was his motivation still as strong as then was something she couldn't avoid thinking about.

Then Ai, who had obviously been acting different since she came to the clubroom. It felt like she was on the edge for some reason. Her usual greetings replaced by nervous, jumbled words and eyes that were always flicking back to the phone in her hand which she couldn't help but play with nervously. It almost felt like she was waiting for some test results.

Ryouta wasn’t helping either.

For someone who had been so determined to start this club, he had become surprisingly passive. He was the club president, after all. Even if she knew it was childish to expect it, part of Futaba wanted him to step forward more decisively. His declaration about wanting the club to become a safe space for him and his friends had sounded sincere, but now she could sense hesitation in him—a distance he refused to close. It felt as though he was still hiding parts of himself from everyone else.

And finally, Hinata.

The perceptive glances, the perfectly timed smirks, the unreadable mask she wore so effortlessly—somehow all of it made Futaba feel looked down on. Yet what irritated her most was that she couldn’t explain why. Futaba prided herself on understanding her own emotions better than anyone else, so the fact that Hinata unsettled her in a way she couldn’t fully grasp only made the irritation worse.

Turning toward the whiteboard—more to hide the scowl threatening to show on her face than anything else—Futaba uncapped the marker and began writing down the list she had prepared the night before. The squeak of the marker filled the room for a few moments as everyone watched in silence.

When she finally stepped aside, the board read:

Summer Volunteer Ideas

- Community cleanup

- Children’s summer reading program

- Festival assistance

- Elderly care home visits

- Animal shelter support

- Tutoring sessions

Futaba capped the marker with a sharp click. “Since summer break is starting soon, we should actually do something as a volunteer club instead of just sitting around pretending we’re productive.”

“Harsh,” Ryouta muttered.

“I’m being realistic.”

Ai leaned forward in her seat, eyes scanning the board. “Oh! The festival assistance one sounds fun.”

“Of course you’d pick the one with food stalls and fireworks,” Ryuuji said with a small smirk on his face.

“That’s not why!” Ai protested immediately before pausing. “…Okay, maybe a little.”

Hinata let out a soft laugh from beside Ai. 

“At least you're honest.”

Ryouta, with his chin his hands and head slightly tilted, glanced at the list quietly.

“The cleanup and shelter support options probably fit the ‘volunteer club’ image the best.”

“Image matters,” Futaba agreed with a nod. “If we want the school to take this club seriously, we should start with something straightforward.”

Ryuuji switched off the stove and swirled the brewed tea in it. “Community cleanup feels like a big task though. If our first activity is picking up trash in a community, we might need more people for that.”

Ryouta frowned slightly as he looked at the board.

“That’s true,” he added. “Five people trying to clean an entire neighborhood would just look sad.”

Ai let out a small laugh before she could stop herself. “Now I’m imagining us standing around with tiny trash bags like some low-budget volunteer commercial.”

“We’d probably clean one street and collapse halfway through,” Ryuuji admitted.

“Only one of us would collapse,” Ai retorted back flatly.

Ryuuji pointed at her immediately. “Why are you looking at me when you say that?”

“Instinct.”

For a brief moment, the tension in the room eased beneath the small burst of laughter that followed. Even Futaba smiled a little as she crossed out the option on the board.

“Fine,” Futaba muttered. “Community cleanup is rejected for logistical reasons. And Ryuuji reasons.”

“What about the reading program?” Hinata suggested after a moment. “Elementary schools and libraries usually need volunteers during summer vacation. It’s meaningful, and it’s not overly demanding for a first activity.”

Ryuuji nodded slowly as he poured out the tea into cups filled with ice through a strainer. “That might work. We could split responsibilities too. Some people could help organize books while others read to the kids.”

Ai perked up. “Wait, reading to little kids actually sounds adorable.”

“You just want to show off how nice you are,” Ryuuji said.

“Exactly!”

“That honesty is still concerning,” said Hinata as she shook her head.

Ryouta looked back toward the board. “No, I think Hina might be onto something. It fits what we want the club to be.” He glanced around the room. “It’s helpful without being too overwhelming.”

Futaba crossed her arms as she looked back at the board. Compared to the other ideas, this one felt manageable. Simple enough for everyone to participate in without overcomplicating things, yet meaningful enough to justify the club’s existence. For a first activity, it was probably the safest choice they could make.

“…Fine,” she said at last. “Then our first official activity will be—”

A sharp notification sound suddenly pierced the room.

“Ah—!”

Ai jolted violently in her seat, nearly dropping her phone as she stared at the screen with wide eyes.

The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly.

The color drained from Ai’s face so quickly it almost startled Futaba. Her fingers tightened around the phone, trembling hard enough that the device shook in her hands.

“Ai?” Ryouta asked cautiously.

She didn’t respond.

Her eyes remained locked on the screen, unmoving, as though she had forgotten everyone else in the room existed.

Ryuuji frowned and stepped away from the window. “Oi… what happened?”

Still nothing.

Ai’s breathing had become uneven now. Small. Shallow.

Hinata’s eyebrows furrowed together as she observed her. Even Futaba’s irritation faded, replaced by unease.

Ryuuji walked over first. “Ai.” His voice lowered. “What’s wrong?”

Only then did Ai flinch, as if suddenly remembering where she was. She looked up at him helplessly before instinctively pulling the phone closer to herself. Too late.

Ryuuji had already seen the message on the screen.

And for the first time that afternoon, his expression completely fell.

The sender read: Shizu.

"I’m sorry Ai. I messed everything up again. I don’t think I can see you anymore. Goodbye."