"And we're done!"
"Yay!"
June passed into July. Just like any other school, Soubu High had just finished the end of first term exams and was in anticipation of the upcoming long summer vacation in the second half of July and the entirety of August.
It was Monday, the sixth of July when the Soubu students scrambled to check whether they had passed the exam or not. This time around, the grading of students came out much earlier than usual, because after the exam the weekend came immediately. This gave the teachers the much needed time to grade.
Of course, just deciding scores was easy. However, the real issue came with the teachers actually analyzing the students' grades where they were the weakest and trying to solve that problem. But that could easily come later.
And for the first time in the school's history, Soubu actually published the top earner.
However, Monday was the time for the School Assembly.
"-While we have yet to complete the analysis, I'm pleasantly surprised to realize that despite the various, sudden changes in school policy, the students of Soubu remain hard at work to learn and challenge their own limits."
Basically, the principal was implying that the average grades of the students had risen. Hachi was confident about it too, since she had been working extra hard for the end of term exams this time because there was precious, precious summer vacation waiting in the middle of the month.
The air suddenly felt hot for some reason, because everyone was eager to know the results of their hard work as soon as possible. Every breath. Every shift of the strands within their muscles. They all contributed to the fiery and hot atmosphere.
"Did I get stranded in a random shonen manga again?" Hachi loosened her collar, "Damn, this assembly is far too long.
"In the end, I don't think I have many things to say except to congratulate you all. However, before you're all dismissed, we have some important announcements. Shiromeguri-kun, please take over."
Shromeguri Meguri was the name of the current Soubu Municipal High Student Council President.
She was a girl with silky black, braid-hair who wasn't that tall or busty. Her face could be said to be beautiful but generic. However, there was something about her eyes and her smile that made her distinct. Her doe eyes reminded Hachi strongly of Iroha, and yet, those dazzling eyes oozed gentleness and maturity. Shiromeguri Meguri calmed the heart of the students by merely appearing on stage, and everyone became more focused again.
"Uwah, it's Meguri-senpai!" Iroha muttered.
"Yahallo, Meguri-Meguri-Megurin is here~!" The president cheered aloud while making a girlish pose like an idol.
Hachi almost tripped despite standing still from the sheer absurdity of the situation, and she realized she wasn't the only one. The teachers all either glared at the person at the podium or looked away in shame.
Yes.
Even Makihito and Sawako froze there from shock. Shiromeguri-senpai was a person who looked much more elegant whenever she wasn't saying anything. A beauty in vain.*
Of course, that wasn't to say that this side of her personality wasn't charming on its own, as evidenced by the sporadic cheer "Meguri-tan**!" from some of the students.
"Ahem." Meguri composed herself, "I'm sincerely grateful that the Principal has allowed me to stand here and inform you that, after arduous searching and a long wait, we have finally found a suitable candidate for the next Student Council president."
The murmurs of the student body grew increasingly louder as she spoke. So far, the election issue seemed to be the one issue that everyone couldn't be arsed to deal with This was mostly because June, when the election usually happens, takes place right before the grueling end of term exams.
"As you may remember, so far we have yet to find any volunteers." Maguri smiled, "However, finally we found a volunteering person that was fully interested in filling the position."
As the student body suddenly became deathly silent, footsteps could be heard. They grew louder and louder, echoing within the spacious multipurpose gymnasium. Everyone's eyes widened when they saw Yukino walk up to the side of the podium and stand beside the shorter senior.
"And her name is Yukinoshita Yukino-san from Class 2-I."
Sudden waves of mixed emotions were expressed through voices as the reveal fully sunk in the hearts and minds of the students.
"Good morning, everyone." Yukino coldly greeted primly and properly, like someone of elite background would. "It is an honor for me to stand here besides President Shiromeguri and meet you all."
"As far as I'm aware, I was the only candidate on the list. Therefore, it is very obvious that, barring a significant vote of no confidence, I will assume the position starting next week. And my presence here is to make sure that's not happening."
Shiromeguri nodded, and the main projector turned on as the entire gymnasium became dark, much to the temporary state of panic among the audience.
"Here's the list of the proposals I have prepared to accomplish as the student council president." Yukino confidently said, "And I can assure you, campaign promises have been discussed beforehand with the teachers as well as the school committee. Therefore, all these policies realistically can be implemented in the short term and long term."
"Mother of God."
"Is she for real?"
"That's the Ice Queen for you."
If it was any other candidate, they wouldn't go to such lengths to promote themselves. The students would be too bothered by not having a functioning student council, and anyone in her position would do. A boilerplate campaign speech was more than enough.
However, Yukinoshita Yukino wasn't that kind of person. For her, a half-ass inauguration wouldn't be acceptable. She had to earn the trust of the students.
Perhaps, Hachi had been underestimating the depth of Yukino's determination all along.
"For example, the enforcement of discipline will be intensified." Yukino closed her eyes, "We'll have more frequent bag inspections, without announcement. The dress code will also be enforced and the teachers will participate in this as well."
One could just tell the massive disappointment coming from the student body. Soubu's loose dress code was one of its secondary appeals. It allowed the students to dress however they wanted as long as they wore the proper uniform.
The new uniform codes were more standardized and put more emphasis on modesty as well. Despite this, there was nothing that would directly effect most of the students.
Even the infamously slutty idiot trio of class 1-C.
"Eh, that's a bit boring but I can manage." Chisato commented, "I was expecting something drastic, like not allowing hair dye."
Anko scoffed as she tightened her shirt, which normally would show her cleavage, "Yeah, I just have to button up a little bit."
"The extent of forbidden items would also be more specified. We won't confiscate your books, games, or anything as long as it isn't illegal. Likewise, my proposal for No Uniform Fridays is ready for approval as soon as I've filled the position."
The last part absolutely caused a riot among the students, even as Yukino continued to speak about her future policies. For a public high school student, a no uniform day sounded absolutely like something out of a dream. And yet here, a student council candidate was proposing something like that in a campaign speech.
"Woah, Yukinoshita-senpai isn't joking around..." Iroha gasped.
"I think I just shat a brick," Hachi muttered for some reason, "Yukinoshita-senpai is using the carrot and stick*** approach to everything."
"K-kyarrot and stikku?" Iroha asked.
"Reward and punishment." Benio whistled, "What a formidable person, I wouldn't want to get on her bad side."
"By increasing the number of benefits, the blowback from stricter rules would also be lessened," Sawako muttered.
Makihito leaned closer and added, "This kind of approach would be popular with both the teachers and the students, so of course she'll get a lot of votes just for that alone."
"No Uniform Fridays is too good to pass up." Anko cackled, "One vote for me."
"Ditto." Chisato gave a thumbs up in approval.
"Same here." Benio shouted.
"Man, the turnout and votes will be amazing." Hachi scoffed, "Yukinoshita-senpai's limit knows no bounds."
"-and that's more or less the summary of my plan as a Student Council Presidential candidate. The details will be available on the Soubu Student Council's website. Thank you for the attention. Please give it some thought and your votes if you find my plans agreeable. That's all."
Without any prompting, the students approved her speech with thunderous applause as Yukino finished her brief yet concise campaign.
...
Prior to the end of term exam, grades and ranks were only told privately to the students. Of course, the students were free to ask about someone else's grades without hassle. It was just that it was rarely shown in public like this. It seemed that aside from transportation regulations, the school had also undergone several policy changes, most of which the students aren't aware of.
"Hacchan won first place again." Iroha gasped when she saw the top earner on the English test. Specifically, Hachi had a perfect score.
Iroha noticed that Yukino and Hayato had won the first and third place from among the Second year's. And they had also won the first and second place in Japanese.
"Hayato-senpai is really amazing, kyaah!" Iroha excitedly shrieked.
"Yukinoshita-senpai is on a roll." Hachi twitched. A score of 500. Literally the only person in the entire school who hadn't missed a single question. "As expected from our student council presidential candidate."
Hachi looked at the student rankings and noticed her total grades had improved. Now it was 452, and she ranked 42nd in the first year, just beating out Benio and putting her at 43.
Sawako had earned second place despite having the exact same score as before.
"Uhh, I didn't get into the top fifty." Iroha cried, "And I thought I had tried so hard!"
"Calm down, Iroha-san. I'm sure you're fine." Sawako tried to calm her crying classmate.
Honmoku Makihito found himself being disappointed when he noticed he was ranked 49th. "My rank dropped."
"Your scores remained the same though?" Benio asked.
"Yes." Makihito nodded.
The gap between the top 50 and top 20 students was tremendous, but Hachi noticed that there seemed to be general improvements across the board.
"The top fifty is a heavily contested area for these exams. It seems that a lot of students improved their grades slightly. The Principal more or less addressed it this morning, remember?" Hachi pointed out.
"I see. So it's like that." Makihito sighed in defeat, "I'm sorry, Sawako-san."
"D-don't worry about it." Sawako furiously waved him off, "It's not as if you're losing grades or anything, Makihito-san!"
"It can't be helped." Hachi patted his shoulder, "I'll be waiting in the clubroom, Fujisawa."
"Umm, let's go together-"
"You still have important things to talk about right?" Hachi smiled.
The implication was clear that, for better or worse, it seemed that their school grades would have some impact on their relationship. Why else would Makihito apologize to her like that?
It wasn't pretty clear when exactly their relationship changed from close friends to lovers, but Hachi could at least tell that much, that it happened somewhere between this exam and the previous one.
Even though Sawako was shy and Makihito was the perfect representation of a gentleman, only the willfully blind would miss that cue. And Sawako was really grateful for it.
やはり, 俺の 女子高生 デビュー はまちがっている。
As Expected, My High-School Girl Debut is Wrong.
Disclaimer:
Original Story by Watari Wataru
Chapter 21: Ambiguity
And so, Hachi decided to immediately head for the special building where the clubrooms resided, including her own juvenile literature clubroom.
She didn't expect that, in addition to Hina, Yumiko and Saika would also waiting in front of the door.
"Ah, there she is."
For some reason, even though Hina looked calm, Saika look shaken and Yumiko was grim.
"What's with the serious atmosphere?" Hachi joked.
"Hey, how serious are you about playing Tennis?" Yumiko asked.
Hachi legitimately didn't get the question at all. She wasn't even a member of Tennis club, and her role in training Saika had become less and less important as his ideal body had begun to take shape.
In fact, after July, Hachi's role in the tennis club might as well have officially been over. She had had no intention to visit again starting next semester.
It was actually kind of sad since she would spend less and less time with Saika. However, at the same time, Hachi was also determined to ask him out during summer vacation. Hachi was banking everything she had for that one moment and she couldn't afford to get distracted.
She had always been a goal-oriented person, even if her means could be seen as impolite. She loved Saika. She wanted to spend more time with him. And that was what mattered. That was the truth of the matter.
Using Tennis as a pretense to get close to him was bad enough, so Hachi had made sure Saika understood she only did tennis because of her goal of keeping herself in shape. And training Saika while she was at it. Saika most definitely understood that Hachi didn't see tennis as a hobby.
But Yumiko probably wouldn't get that. They had never had a serious talk about it at all.
"I only play tennis to keep myself in shape." Hachi frankly answered, "And to help Totsuka-senpai too."
Totsuka Saika, to put it bluntly, was fucking dense.
Hachi never once hid the fact that she was attracted to him. Yumiko must've known about it too.
"I see. Helping Totsuka, huh." Yumiko scoffed, "If that's the case, join the tennis club and play in the tournaments."
"What kind of bullshit are you even on?" Hachi raised her eyebrows and asked rudely.
"Miura-san, please stop." Saika begged, "Hikigaya-san has done enough already!"
"Shut up! This is for your own sake too." Miura snapped, which made Saika take a step back in fear. Even though his body had been reshaped to become manlier than it had been three months ago, his temperament hadn't change all that much.
He still got pushed around by Yumiko's domineering nature.
"Yumiko, calm down and explain properly." Hina told her friend, "If you don't say it properly she'll misunderstand."
"I'll keep it short. I want you and Totsuka to participate in the Chiba Peanut Bowl and win there."
"Chiba Peanut Bowl?" Hachi raised her eyebrows, and then pulled out her phone to browse the internet.
The Chiba Peanut Bowl was a grade five Tournament that was held every year, right at the beginning of Summer vacation. As a grade five Tournament its level of players were expected to be lower than the other competitions. But by how much? It was said that a lot of promising young tennis players began their debut in this tournament, meaning competition would be tight.
"A grade five tournament." Hachi read aloud, "Do you want to make me embarrassed? There's no way I could win that at all."
"You have to read the subtext." Yumiko hissed, "Any experienced player worth shit never participates in the Chiba Peanut. Even two years ago I pretty much skipped it. The Chiba Peanut Bowl exists to show off nameless newbies in Chiba City. That's all. It's a Grade Five tournament for a good reason."
"Why?"
"Because right after the Chiba Peanut Bowl concludes, there'll be the Chiba Junior Tennis Circuit, a grade four tournament where all the good players will be." Saika explained, "This was actually a deliberate move, as decided by Chiba Prefectural Tennis Association. By holding them side by side both experienced and inexperienced players can have equal representation."
Newbies who participated in the Chiba Peanut Bowl would have no leftover strength to fight in the higher level tournament. Likewise, experienced people who wanted to participate in the Junior Circuit would have to save their strength instead of taking both tournaments at once.
Hachi could see that, but...
"If you both win in the Chiba Peanut, then this club can be saved." Yumiko's gaze softened a bit, "Because this club hasn't participated in any tournaments since last year, Soubu Tennis Club is facing the threat of budget cuts."
"Is that really true, Totsuka-senpai?" Hachi sharpened her eyes in horror, while Saika just grinned, trying to hide his pain.
"It really can't be helped. The regular members seem to actively avoid participating." Saika responded, "But even so, I'm entering this tournament of my own volition. Hikigaya-san probably has something important to do."
It wasn't as if Hachi had made any plans yet.
It was just that...
"If you agree to join that tournament, I'll also be participating in the Chiba Junior Circuit." Yumiko told her, "And if I somehow manage to win, I'll also join the Chiba Junior Tennis Tournament. All under Soubu Tennis Club's banner."
It was the official grade three tournament that fourteen year old Yumiko had managed to win two years ago, back when she was still famous and said to be one of the most promising young players in the entire prefecture. Then she had decided to stop playing for some unknown reason and disappeared from the world of tennis.
Hachi still hadn't gotten that story. But she had never bothered to find the answer anyway.
As for Saika, Hachi could see why he would join this tournament. Saika wanted to see how much of his hard work in the last four months mattered. Entering the Chiba Peanut Bowl was something perfectly rational for him to do.
But for Hachi to enter that tournament, it would be way too much to bear. In fact, if she were to gauge whether it was worth compromising her principles for the sake of helping Saika...
"I have no reason to join." Hachi told her flatly, "Of course, I'll come to cheer you on, but I'm not joining."
Yumiko and Saika's expressions couldn't possibly be more contrasting from each other.
From the beginning to end, Saika had always supported Hachi's decisions. Even if he wanted her to be a fellow member of the tennis club, he put his desires aside and his support was what caused Hachi to make her own club.
Yumiko, on the other hand, was different. She didn't just look disappointed. She looked downright devastated by Hachi's rejection.
And so, Yumiko quietly left with heavy footsteps.
Hachi wondered if she had been too hasty, having left her reasoning unsaid. Yumiko might have something she wanted to say too, but she never said it.
Deep down, Hachi felt somewhat awful and doubted herself.
"Ebina-senpai ... do you think what I did was wrong?" She asked.
"I'm very sure you have a good reason to reject her." Hina gently smiled and patted the much taller junior, "However, I also believe Yumiko had very good reasons to ask you this. It might just be my selfishness, but perhaps you could talk things out again later when both of you feel more focused and calm."
Why would Yumiko choose her? She was already close with the rest of the Soubu Tennis Club members. They didn't even talk to each other that much. So why had Yumiko selected Hachi over them?
It was kind of confusing.
"Ebina-senpai, are you alright?"
"Yeah." Hina replied, "It's just that, between Yumiko and Zaimokuza-kun, I've felt a bit bothered these few past weeks."
"Zaimokuza-senpai, huh."
He had been practically missing in the last month and not showing up at all for club meetings in the last two weeks. However, he still traded information, drafts, and other stuff during the month of June through e-mail and the occasional phone call. Hachi didn't feel too worried since the club members maintained close communication with each other.
But now that the crisis of the exams had passed, Hachi grew increasingly anxious about him too. She had yet to see him even once in the past two weeks!
"...how about we go to check on his class instead?" Hachi proposed.
"Will it be alright?"
"It's better than doing nothing."
So Hachi and Hina went to class 1-C and knocked on the door as they entered.
"Please excuse me."
"Hmm? Do you need something?" One of the boys asked.
"Excuse me Senpai, we're from the juvenile literature club. Is Zaimokuza-senpai here?"
"Zaimokuza? He's absent. His parents called and informed the teachers that he was a little unwell."
"A little unwell?" Hina asked, "Was it bad?"
"Probably not. The teachers said it was probably the stress of exams getting to him and he's resting in his parents' home at this very moment."
"Huh?" Hachi blinked, "What do you mean parents' home?"
Logically, his parents' home would be his home right?
"I'm not that close with Zaimokuza, but I believe he lives alone in an apartment close by because his parent's house is outside Chiba City." The boy explained, "To be honest, he didn't look that good during exams. Plus, he got really thin. Some of us were actually worried whether he was eating enough."
It was true that Zaimokuza had been losing a lot of weight. The last time the had met him he didn't look as chubby as he had before. He probably weighed above average at most.
Hachi couldn't really imagine him getting even thinner. That would be bad for anyone's health, for sure.
"Thank you for informing us then." Hachi smiled and nodded, "Please excuse us."
Hachi could just see the worry brewing on Hina's face. She was the most anxious of everyone else in the club.
"What should we do?"
"Tell Fujisawa first, then we call him." Hachi told Hina firmly, "I mean, if he can still answer us then it might just be fine."
"Yeah." Hina said, unconvinced, "I hope he's alright."
Of all the club members, Hina had always been the one most supportive of Zaimokuza. Even though Hachi tried not to ignore him, Hina remained the one who paid the most attention to him.
Hachi wouldn't be shocked-no, Hachi was almost convinced that Hina had feelings for him.
"Ah, you two came at last." Sawako greeted, "I was worried when no one was here."
"I came here to barge in!" Iroha shouted.
"We're trying to find Zaimokuza-senpai." Hachi told her, "Apparently he was absent because he felt unwell or something and has currently gone to his parents' house."
"Eh?! He was?" Sawako held her lips in shock.
"Huh, he didn't come again..." Iroha tilted her head, even though she only came here occasionally, she knew Zaimokuza was one of the members too.
"Let's ping his ass to make sure he's alright." Hachi activated her phone wifi and used the school internet to make a free VoIP call.
Then when he accepted the call, Hachi put it on loudspeaker so everyone could talk with him.
"[Moshi-moshi, this is Yoshiteru.]"
"Ah, Senpai, we've heard you're absent from school." Hachi told him.
"Is everything alright, Zaimokuza-kun?" Hina asked hastily.
"[Ah, Ebina-sama, thank you for worrying about me.]" Zaimokuza laughed, "[Actually, I've been losing my appetite these past few weeks and decided to visit my parents because I missed their cooking. I've been here since last week after the exams actually and have started to regain my lost weight.]"
"Ah I see," Hina said in relief, "Have you been eating well?"
"[Yes, I eat a lot over here.]" Zaimokuza excitedly answered.
"Are you sure you don't want us to visit?" Hachi asked frankly, "Not every day you might get a home visit by three beautiful girls, right?"
"[I'm flattered, but you don't have to. I might stay for two or three more days here, and the school already knows as well." Zaimokuza answered.
"About your latest novel, Senpai." Sawako awkwardly said, "It was really good. I think it's good enough to compete in a beginner's award even, but..."
"[But?]"
"I don't know. I feel it was much more mature and complicated. It doesn't feel like a Light novel at all." Sawako earnestly said, "I believe you should send it to the Summer Novel Bodansha Award."
"[Bodansha? I wouldn't dream of it.]"
Hachi's eyes widened in realization when she noticed something truly off. But she wasn't sure if she should say anything yet.
She was afraid of making things worse at the moment.
"I believe you have a chance." Hina assured him, "Even Yukinoshita-san praised your work this time."
"[I see. Then I'll complete the epilogue and send the draft to Bodansha when I'm recovered. See you later.]"
Hachi closed the call with a deep sigh and stood up.
"Hikigaya-san, you noticed it too?" Sawako asked.
Hachi gruffly nodded, "Yeah, I know that."
"Something weird is going on." Hina hummed.
"Eh? Eh? What's going on?" Iroha was dumbfounded and completely confused by the tension and hopelessness that filled the room.
"Zaimokuza-senpai's belief in his own writing was boundless and he has always been ambitious." Hachi opened the window to remove the pent-up air from the room, "He always said, 'my light novel will be a success and there will be an anime adaptation soon!', or something along that line. No matter how much he was criticized he would always take it in stride."
"And yet, just as his writing has improved ... he was acting kind of strange. As if he was losing confidence and passion." Hina explained, "Plus he said he had problems eating ... that's just not normal. That much stress can't be healthy."
"Well, there are things that only family can solve. Us outsiders could only do so much." Hachi closed her eyes, "Let's just hope that he gets all the help he can from his parents. Besides, he said his condition is improving. I don't think he was lying."
"Yeah, me too." Sawako nodded, "I mean, anyone would miss their parents cooking if they lived alone."
"Me as well. I perfectly understand Zaimokuza's feelings since I'm living on my own too..." Hina clasped her hands in front of her lips again, "Now we can only wait."
Hachi looked outside the room as she leaned on the window frame.
Recently she had noticed that she was becoming complacent again.
Since the shenanigans involving her old classmates and Orimoto, Hachi had never really felt pressured or anything. Her daily life seemed to get only better and better. However, at the same time, she was bothered that everyone else seemed to face an endless amount of problems.
Hachi wondered. Could it be she was deluding herself, thinking that she had nothing to worry about at all? Was she running away from something? A problem that she was desperately ignoring, whose existence she refused to acknowledge?
Or maybe nothing had happened because Hachi never truly opened up to anyone. Sure, she always showed herself to practically everyone, but ... had Hachi ever truly cared for anyone here? She had never tried to understand people around her better.
Zaimokuza was the biggest example of that.
The thought alone horrified her. Could she even call them her friends if their attachment to her remains one-sided like this?
She never once worried about Iroha, Sawako, Saki, or the others. Hachi always thought highly of herself, and indulged in her own selfishness and arrogance.
She always thought she had understood people well. But the one that she didn't understand the most, was herself.
It was like there was a tiny hole in the middle of her heart. A missing void that should be filled by something small, yet important.
Even though she had a lot of friends, even though she was having fun all the time, her passions remained unfulfilled.
She wanted more. More of everything.
Perhaps, that was one thing that Hachi lacked. Drive. Ambition. Greed. Wishing for something ... more. Hachi always listened to her rationality and conscience.
But humans aren't meat robots driven by a binary computer. They have something irrational and illogical: they all have hidden desires.
Hachi had been suppressing her own desires in favor of realistic expectations. Because getting what you expected never hurt, and not getting what you wanted always hurts.
And that was why she felt like she had always been distant with the people around her.
She was afraid of being hurt.
Perhaps it was best for her, for once, to listen to what she truly wanted.
"Ano ... Fujisawa ... sorry if this sounds demanding." Hachi mumbled, "What was the deal with Honmoku ... if you don't mind?"
"Hmm, yeah, that was a weird vibe you had back there." Iroha huffed, "Tell us, tell us."
"No, you don't have to tell if you're bothered." Hachi frantically stopped her with a pale face, "I mean, I'm just curious ... that's all."
"Ah, I don't really mind." Sawako smiled happily, "You see ... my parents are really strict, and ... well, my father wouldn't approve of someone academically average."
Hachi, Hina, and Iroha all squeezed their eyes painfully. Of course, there was always those kinds of parents too.
"Makihito-san has been working hard to fulfill that expectation. And I think he was anxious. If he were to be removed from the top fifty he was afraid of my parents changing their mind."
"I see." Hachi wrily smiled, she needed to cheer up Makihito later. That poor, nice boy deserved a break every once a while. "Poor Honmoku."
"Well, it's not as if my father hasn't known him. We've been with each other for a long time even though we weren't dating until recently. And I'm very sure, deep down, my father truly likes Makihito-kun's personality, since he's always been honest and hardworking." Sawako let her chin on the table and covered her face with her arms, which was rather uncharacteristic for her.
However, everyone had their moments of breaking their act. Even Hachi felt that way too.
"But I'm afraid, that as a girlfriend, I failed to support him." Sawako cried, "I'm afraid that Makihito-san might not get it."
"Then you just need to make sure he gets it." Hachi replied, "Like... how far have the two of you have gone so far?"
"Have you kissed?" Iroha asked.
"Or maybe you went to love hot-" Hina was about to say something but was cut off.
"Holding hands, sometimes." Sawako frantically flailed about with a steaming head, knowing where the conversation would head if she didn't stop it immediately.
"I see. Well, I don't think Honmoku is the type to rush forward about something like that, but..." Hachi held her chin, thoughtful, "It's just me speaking hypothetically, but if I was that kind of guy, and I'm unsure whether our relationship can hold ... it would be nice if the girl I liked showed me some bold affection. At the very least, it would comfort me a lot."
"B-bold affection?" Sawako's eyes widened.
"Like a kiss." Iroha pouted her lips exaggeratedly.
"Or sex." Hina bluntly stated.
"ANYTHING BUT THAT!" Sawako screamed.
"I think Honmoku would freak out if Fujisawa went that far." Hachi dismissively waved. It would be super out of character for her and Sawako didn't seem to be that eager to advance their relationship that far either.
"So what are you proposing, Hacchan?" Iroha asked.
"Hug him gently****?" Hina proposed.
Everyone glared at her as they had had enough of her perverted suggestions, which made Hina realize her mistake and clarified it hastily. "I mean it! A real hug. Not the lewd kind!"
"Well, I think that would be a nice step up." Hachi smiled.
"Yeah, yeah! You can hug him!" Iroha agreed.
"If you encourage him in that position, your words will surely reach him." Hina finalized.
"A hug, huh." Sawako smiled slightly, though she was embarrassed. It shouldn't be that much riskier than holding hands like usual. "I suppose I'll do that later."
"Well, kissing somewhere besides the lips might also work." Hachi counted, "Like his cheek or his forehead..."
"Or he can kiss your navel or the back of your knees*****!" Hina chuckled, and when she saw their murderous glares again she decided not to correct her blunder this time and doubled down, "Hey, anywhere but the lips!"
"Senpai is too lewd." Everyone else looked away in disgust.
"I'm perfectly innocent! It's not even in sex scenes!" Hina frantically defended her assertions. Because it was true anyway.
...
Three days later, Zaimokuza still hadn't come to school, and Hachi's worst fear came true. Something must've gone wrong somewhere and Zaimokuza wasn't at all fine like he claimed.
If it was like this, then they didn't have much choice. They would have to see Zaimokuza in person.
Hachi tightened her biking gloves as Hina put on her helmet. Both of them looked grim and miserable.
"Let's visit Senpai!" Sawako said, determined as she turned on her blue scooter.
"Be safe, everyone. Don't get reckless just because you get to drive outside the city." Iroha warned, then jumped on her pink scooter. "Ahhh, I'm just going to join you anyway!"
Hachi wordlessly nodded, and switched the gear as she revved up and let her bike runs wild, followed by the three other girls.
* [Chihayafuru]
** An excessive/corrupted version of -chan suffix, which usually used to call overwhelmingly cute person/character. For example, used by many Otaku to idols and moe characters.
*** In English
**** Hug is also a soft euphemism for making love in Japanese.
***** A common scene in harem franchise [Amagami] where the hero kissed some of the heroines in that exact manner. It was portrayed as playful and chaste because Amagami was set before the turn of Millenium, thus different teenage culture.