Life As A Student Council Officer

…or maybe not.

“Ryuu.”

A tall young man stood imposingly in front of me, who was about to go home after Marika's briefing. His scowling face looked even scarier than usual as he glared at me.

“Ah…I might actually die before starting my Student Council career.” I thought while trembling with fear.

“Come with me.”

Ouji turned his back at me and walked away briskly. This scene brought déjà vu as I recalled my first day of school, when Ouji took me to meet Sakuya.

“Could it be…that he’s going to beat me up this time?” I raised my guard as I trailed after him. “Is he taking revenge because I fought with Sakuya? Or could it be…that Sakuya asked him to call me? Is she going to apologize?”

I calmed down once my thoughts went toward that direction. My heart started thumping loudly with anticipations of seeing Sakuya again. Ever since that day, I had purposely avoided Sakuya, and so did she. I was pondering over the words that I should say to her when Ouji stopped walking.

“This place is good enough.”

“…eh?” I inadvertently let out a stupid voice.

We were standing in the vacant lot behind the school. It was the ‘historical’ site where the school-wide delinquent war occurred earlier this semester. Contrary to my expectation, there was no one else in that place.

“Um…Ouji-senpai, why did you call me here?” I cautiously asked him. “Do you want to beat me up for betraying Sakuya after all?!”

Ouji turned to face me. “I didn’t bother you, did I?” He asked back.

I was taken aback by the unusual question. “N-No. I just finished the briefing with the Student Council, and about to go home. Um, do you need something from me?”

Ouji fell silent when he heard my answer. I waited patiently for him to say something.

5 minutes…

10 minutes…

Even after I waited for 15 minutes, Ouji had yet to say something.

“Senpai…I’m sorry, but can you make it quick? I have to go home and study.” I lost my patience and urged him.

“Yeah. It’s just…that…”

After mumbling to himself, Ouji once again shut his mouth.

“Argh, I can’t do this any longer!”

I turned my back to him.

“Sorry, but if you have nothing to say, I’ll go back first. I’ll listen to what you have to say once you’ve figured it out, Senpai.” I started walking away.

“…are you really going to abandon Kagura-san?”

My feet instantly stopped.

“Abandon…?”

“Kagura-san was really sad when you joined the Student Council. She never said anything about you, but she started smiling less than before. At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to recover…”

“And what does that have to do with me?” I interrupted Ouji.

“…what?” He sounded taken aback.

“I’m saying, what does Sakuya-san’s condition have to do with me?” I repeated myself, a hint of anger seeped into my voice.

“That’s…because you abandoned her, that…”

“I didn’t abandon her!” I whirled around and glared at Ouji. “Did she say that to you?!” I demanded.

“N-No, she didn’t say anything, but…”

“Then stop meddling between us!” I took a step forward and shoved him back. “Stop making her as the victim when you don’t know anything! I abandoned her, you said?! Don’t make me laugh! Why the hell do I get treated like the bad guy when she’s the one who pushed me away?!”

Ouji fell silent under my barrage of words, but I had no intention to stop. All of the frustration that I suppressed back then came to me in full strength, blinding me with anger.

“I’m just trying to help her! I’ve even told her that with the way things are going, she won’t be able to achieve what she wants! I’ve asked her so, so many times to listen to me! It was all for her sake! So how could she discard me like an unwanted chess piece?! Even though…!” Even though all I wanted was to be her strength!

Ouji didn’t say nor do anything, even when I kept shoving him back. He just quietly listened to my words, accepting my anger in Sakuya’s stead. His calmness snapped me back to my senses, and I was disgusted with myself for letting anger took over me.

“Forget it, just treat it like I never said anything.” I distanced myself and turned my back at him. “Sakuya-san had already thrown me away, so you don’t need to bother with me anymore, Senpai. Farewell.”

“…I’m sorry.”

His words made me stop in my tracks for the second time.

“I’m really, really sorry for selfishly deciding that it was your fault, Ryuu.”

I looked back and saw Ouji lowering his head to me. It was the first time he lowered his head for someone other than Sakuya. Ouji was a prideful person, who would never acknowledge someone weaker than him. But such a person set aside his pride and sincerely apologized to me.

“…please raise your head, Senpai. I’m sorry too. I was swept by anger and said those mean things to you.” I couldn’t help but say so.

“Ryuu, are you…seriously going to join the Student Council?” Ouji raised his head and stared at me.

I felt a pang of guilt in my chest, but I ignored it. “Yeah, I’m serious. I didn’t do this to get back at Sakuya-san. It’s true that I’m still angry at her, but I chose this for my own sake. It has nothing to do with her.”

“…I see.” Ouji sighed with a resigned look on his face. “If that’s your choice, then I have nothing else to say. Just…please remember that there’s always a place for you in that classroom.”

I bit my lips and looked away. “Yeah, I’ll keep it in mind. See you later, Ouji-senpai.”

I left him behind without looking back.

*****

I let out a sigh as I watched Kagura-san leading the study session with a deep frown on her face. She hadn’t truly smiled after her fight with Ryuu. Not even once. I wondered if I should’ve pushed harder for Ryuu to come back with me.

“Ouji-senpai, please stop scowling more than usual. Your face looks even scarier, you know?”

“Hiiro.” I turned to my cheeky junior, who took the chair next to me nonchalantly.

“From your expression, I assumed that your talk with Ryuu yesterday didn’t go well?” Hiiro asked calmly.

At this point, I wasn’t even surprised that Hiiro knew about it. “Yeah. He made up his mind to join the Student Council. Even though I’ve told him how much Kagura-san is suffering…” I muttered half-begrudgingly.

Hiiro laughed at my words. “Senpai, you need to remember that Ryuu is different from the two of us. He doesn’t have the same blind devotion to Sakuya-chan. While it means that he’ll disagree with her from time to time, it also means that Ryuu is capable of stopping Sakuya-chan if she ever strays.”

After saying that, Hiiro smiled bitterly.

“Unlike us, who can only follow blindly behind her.”

“And what’s so wrong with that?”

“Huh?” Hiiro was surprised to hear my rebuttal.

“If Ryuu’s role is to stop Kagura-san whenever she strays, then our role is to faithfully guard her back. So that she won’t ever feel lonely.” I answered resolutely.

Hiiro stared at me blankly for a moment. Then he smiled.

“I guess you really are my Senpai.” He teased me. “Your wisdom surprises me sometimes.”

I stood up from my chair. “I think we need to fix your cheekiness. Come with me. I’ll beat it into your stubborn head, Hiiro.”

“My, how scary. Do you really think I’ll quietly let you beat me up, Senpai?” Hiiro leapt to his feet with a belligerent grin on his face. “I’ve been wanting to steal your position since quite a while. Don’t you think Sakuya-chan will love me more if I become the strongest?”

“I may have been defeated by Kagura-san, but I haven’t lost to anyone up until now.” I cracked my knuckles.

“You two.”

That icy voice made both of us jump. We slowly turned around, facing Kagura-san who was smiling widely. But her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Can I ask what are you two planning to do? Hmm?” She pressed us.

“Um…sparring?” Hiiro timidly offered the answer.

“If you guys have that much energy, then surely you can handle more work, right?” Without ever losing her cold smile, Kagura-san added a pile of homework onto our desk.

The two of us had no choice but to answer, “…yes.”

*****

“I’ve told you repeatedly that your club is way too noisy!”

“And I’ve told you many times that we’re the light music club! What else are we supposed to do other than make music?!”

“Then find another place to practice! How the hell are we supposed to focus on painting with all those crappy noises?!”

“You, did you just insult our music?!”

“Okay, let’s stop right there.” I interrupted the two bickering students.

One of them was the president of the light music club, while the other was the president of the art club. Their club rooms were next to each other, which created endless friction between them. The two clubs had been at each other’s throats since the clubs’ foundation, or so Mitsuki had told me.

“I think I got the gist of it. Basically, the art club was disturbed by the light music club’s practice, right?” I concluded.

The art club’s president nodded vigorously, eager to get me on his side. On the other hand, the light music club’s president glared at me.

“Oh boy, this is going to be hard. If I’m not careful, one of them is going to explode on me.” I held back a sigh. My head throbbed with ache. “Why did I ever think that these guys would be easier to handle than delinquents? Those simple-minded guys can just settle things by punching each other, but the clubs need actual solutions for their problems. Marika-senpai definitely tricked me!”

“Have you two tried looking for a different classroom?” I suggested.

“Why should my club move because of their noise?!”

“Why should my club move just because they’re too sensitive?!”

The two of them immediately snapped at me.

“Right…then, how about the art club using headphones during club activity?” I tried suggesting something else.

“Once or twice is fine, but if you suggest we keep using headphones every day, my club might just go into a strike.” The art club’s president twisted his face in disgust.

“Hmm…” I groaned as I tried to think of another solution.

“Then, you should stay outside when he’s inside.”

A memory suddenly crossed my mind. Back when I still hung out with the delinquents, there were two delinquents who especially hated each other. Despite Sakuya’s presence, they would bicker endlessly. Unsurprisingly, they irritated everyone around them—including Sakuya.

Thus, Sakuya gave them a certain order.

“If this guy comes here first, then you should hang out outside the classroom. And if you come first, he should stay outside. If you’re unhappy with my decision, I’m always open for discussion.” She said so while cracking her knuckles.

“Her so-called discussion is basically just beating them up until they listen to her.” I smiled wryly when I recalled that scene. Then I quickly came back to my senses and shook my head. “Why do I keep remembering Sakuya-san? We have nothing to do with each other now. And it’s even more annoying that her past solutions keep helping me with my duties.” I exhaled a sigh, but proceeded to try Sakuya’s solution.

“How about this?” I spoke again. “The two of you can make a schedule. When the art club is working inside the classroom, the light music club can practice outside. And when the light music club practices inside, the art club can have an outdoor activity.”

The two presidents fell silent as they mulled over my suggestion.

“What should we do if it rains?” The art club president asked with a frown.

“The sound of rain should muffle the instrument’s sound to a degree. It will be fine for the two clubs to stay inside.” I explained.

They kept pondering over it for a few moments with difficult faces. I waited with bated breath for their decision.

“…fine, I think it’s better than nothing.”

Surprisingly, the art club president backed down first.

“…the light music club also agrees with that.”

The other president willingly agreed.

I secretly let out a relieved sigh. “Then, please discuss a schedule that will work for the two of you. If you encounter some other problem, you can call me again.”

*****

“Aaahh…it’s so tiring…”

I flopped on the table once I returned to the Student Council room.

“You did great.” Mitsuki, who had accompanied me back then, offered a word of praise.

“What?!” Asahi jumped to his feet with exaggerated surprise. “D-Did Mitsuki just compliment someone?!”

Thwack!

The next second, a book found its way to Asahi’s face.

“I think you’ve gotten used to your duties.” Mitsuki continued speaking, ignoring Asahi’s writhe of pain.

“Y-Yeah, I agree.” Asahi returned to his seat while holding his bruised nose. “You’re doing even better than Mitsuki, who blatantly ignored the clubs’ problem and let them solve it themselves.”

Thwack!

“…shut up.”

“Man, you should really stop provoking your twin.” I stared coldly at Asahi, who got smacked with another book.

“I do agree with Mitsuki-kun’s assessment.” Yuuki piped in from his desk. “It’s only been a week since you joined, but you’re unexpectedly very helpful.”

“T-Thank you, President.” I scratched my cheek to hide my embarrassment.

Yuuki had treated me coldly in the beginning, for he was still suspicious of me. Maybe he thought Sakuya sent me here to be her spy. But as I diligently fulfilled my duties, Yuuki slowly lowered his guard and started warming up to me.

“A week, huh? I wonder how Sakuya-san is doing with her study sessions?”

Before I realized it, my thoughts had wandered to Sakuya again.

“Stop it, idiot! You don’t need to worry about her anymore! So what if she fails at her bet?! She’s the one who ignored your advice and pushed you away!” I quickly shook off my thoughts.

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Ryuuji-kun?”

Asahi’s face suddenly filled my vision.

“Whoa!” I jerked back and nearly fell off my chair. I swear, this guy acted like he had never heard of the term ‘private space’. “I-It’s nothing. Speaking of which, where is Marika-senpai?”

“Ah, if it’s Marika, she said that she needed to run an errand from a teacher and will be back later.” Yuuki answered my question. “Do you need something from her?”

“No, I don’t exactly need anything…I’m just wondering if there’s anything else I can help with, seeing that I’ve finished my work for today.” I shrugged.

Asahi immediately perked up. “Then, you can help me with this accounting book—”

Thwack!

“Do it yourself.” Mitsuki cut off her twin’s request with a third book smack. At this rate, Asahi might need a plastic surgery for his poor nose. “Ryuuji-kun, don’t spoil this idiot.”

“Yeah, I know. Marika-senpai told me as much.” I nodded.

Asahi was a capable yet lazy person. He always put off his duties until the deadline was nearby, forcing him to work super hard to finish it off. Despite Asahi’s unreliable method, he always produces good result. He was completely different from his twin, who preferred to finish her duties as soon as possible, so she’d have leeway to double-check everything.

Their differences were like the sun and the moon—just as their names implied.

“If you’re done for today, then you can go home early.” Yuuki suggested. “It’s almost time for the exams, right? I’m not worried about your grades, but Student Council officers are expected to be role models for other students. You probably should start preparing for the exams.”

I cringed when I realized that I'd completely forgotten about the final exams. “You’re right, I shouldn’t let my guard down. I’ll go home first, then. See you tomorrow, President, Mitsuki-san, and Asahi-san.”

I bid them goodbye before leaving the Student Council room. I began planning on which subject to study first, and yet…