"Zou-kaicho! You can leave early! We can't just keep relying on you for everything!"
"It's alright," I said to my vice president whose name I can't remember even after three months since I never really tried to. "I want you guys to go ahead. Besides, I still have other things to do here at school after this."
"Kaicho…" The vice president looked at me with hesitant eyes. "But—"
"Go on," I said to him kindly. "I can handle this."
"Okay…"
Thank goodness he gave in. After he handed me the papers for club approvals, he left me a can of cola and left. To be honest, I just wanted to be alone in the student council room. I thought about what Creuset told me. It's true that I wanted to forget losing her but am I actually forgetting about her in the progress?
I eventually forgot and didn't do any of the papers that was handed to me and just reminisced on my memories of Tachibana Sawako. For the first time in a long while, I felt myself smiling. I mean, sure, I smile at people but I don't I've ever smiled for myself or for anything else. Before I realized it, an hour already had passed. Damn it, might as well do some work.
I left the room and went to check the club rooms to see if they're keeping up with room safety standards, which was apparently a thing student councils do. I checked up the sports clubs first and they're compliant as expected. For other clubs like Tea Club (apparently that's a real club), they were very welcoming and even offered tea (it was very bitter but I managed to smile through it). I eventually reach the Literature Club, which made Sayori really happy. Shinji and the reset of the club was just lukewarm to me. They were book sharing, giving out opinions and whatnot. After taking a drink of tea from Yuri, I left them to their activity. That just leaves…
Anime Club.
I felt hesitant to go there. Sawako loved that place. I then remembered that Sawako was the only member there. If that's the case, then the club's most likely empty. With that in mind, I marched through the hallway and entered the clubroom.
The room was lit which really surprised me. The room didn't change from how it looked before the restore. In fact, nothing was moved. Books, figures and statues lined the shelves. Posters were still on the walls. I checked the clipboard and saw that the Anime Club wasn't even included in the inspection. I guess it's been disbanded.
"I guess that's it," I said out loud. I sort of expected the club would have someone—
"Yes!?" A voice suddenly answered followed by a loud thud from underneath the table. "OW! My head…"
Apparently, someone's still here.
"Um, are you alright?" I asked, still not seeing the person underneath the table.
"No…"
"Do you need help?" I asked again. Whoever that was really sounded in pain.
"No, I can lift myself up."
I expected her to stand up, but instead I saw a girl struggling to lift herself and eventually sat herself onto a chair. A wheelchair, to be exact. What really blew me away was her appearance
"Sawako." I can't help but utter her name.
Sky blue hair. It reminded me so much of her. In fact, she looked very similar to her although her eyes were both green and her long hair were braided.
"Hm? I think you're mistaken me for someone else." She said with a gentle voice.
"Yes, I apologize for that." My heart still beat fast despite me knowing this wasn't Sawako, but I can't let her know that. "I don't think this club is active. Might I know what is it you're doing here?"
"Ah, you must be Zou-kaicho. It's nice to finally meet someone so well-known in our campus." She did a bow and then smiled at me. Which reminded me of Sawako again.
"Oh, you know me?" Come on, keep a calm look. "Then this should make this quick. I'm actually doing inspections on various clubs."
"Yes, I do realize that. I'm actually here to clean up the room and take it all home."
How is she going to do that by herself?
"So where are the others? Surely, you're not planning to do this by yourself."
It was then that she averted her eyes from mine. "It's actually just me."
"What?"
She began twiddling with the thumbs. "Since it's just me when the club was still active, there's no one else I can actually ask help from."
I can't help but facepalm. "How are you planning to do all of this on your own?"
She just looked down, embarrassed. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing? I'm just wondering if you thought this through."
"Ahaha, I guess I didn't."
I let out a sigh and placed down my clipboard onto the table. "Let me help."
"But aren't you busy with your inspection?"
"This is the last club I'm looking into so I'm actually not busy. Besides, I can't just leave you here."
"Then I'll take up on your offer." She smiled at me.
We got to work and got most of the figures and whatnot into boxes, rolled up posters and organized the volumes of manga and light novels before putting them into separate boxes. Mostly I did the physical work and she told me where to put them… Come to think of it, I don't think she introduced herself.
"I know this seems too late to ask but what's your name?" I asked as I sealed up the manga box..
Her eyes widened. "I'm so sorry!" She then covered her face with her hands. "To think I even asked for your help and didn't even introduce myself!"
Yeah, she might look like Sawako but now I can see they're clearly different people. "I don't really mind."
She lowered her hands and I then noticed that she was blushing. "My name is Tachibana Saya… Please to meet you." She covered her face again. "I can't believe how forgetful I can be."
Tachibana? How was she related to Sawako? Then I remembered something Sawako said.
President and I came to this room everyday. She's the president of the club for three years now. She would always joke about me becoming the one next in line for presidency. I always said I would be a bad president but she always laugh that off.
Why didn't you call her oneesan like most anime do, Sawako? That explains their similarities though. Still, Sawako never mentioned her to me…
"Kaicho?" Saya called.
"Oh, sorry, I was thinking about something else. Anyways, how come it's just you in this club? I would figure that anime would be very popular in this school."
"Ah, we used to have many members but its just that many of them graduated already and some transferred schools. I started this club when I was a first year and was appointed president by then."
"Shouldn't there be at least some members left?"
"Sadly, I wasn't always at the club to monitor everything. Due to my condition, I have to regularly get check-ups. Eventually, they lost interest."
I wonder what exactly was her condition. Does it involve her being in a wheelchair? Of course it does, you idiot. I wanted to ask what it was but I didn't want to sound too nosy.
"I wish someone would continue the club for me but I guess there's nothing much I can do." Saya smiled but I can tell her sadness behind her words.
Sawako was supposed to but now she's gone. Saya doesn't even know it.
Saya then picked up a plastic model from the table that was too familiar with me. RX 78-2 Gundam. Sawako blasted me one time with information about Gundams and this one was the original Gundam. The one Saya was holding was a one over a hundred and forty four scale of the original.
I remembered Sawako building a model kit; it looked very difficult with many small parts to put together and you even have to cut it from a mold that Sawako called a runner. Just to get a small figure… Just buy a figure, at least you get to play with it as soon as its out of the box.
Wait. Sawako built this plastic model. She built it since of all the plastic models of Gundam in the room, there was no original Gundam. So why was it still here?
"Saya, that plamo…"
"Oh, you know this one?"
"Did you build that?"
"Hm?" Saya looked at the model. "No, but its been here for a while. Maybe I never noticed it? It wasn't here when I started the club. Maybe one of the members left it." She then handed it to me. "Want to see?"
I took it and looked at it myself. The white robot with blue chest, and red and yellow markings. I couldn't tell if it was indeed Sawako's.
"For some reason, I really like that Gundam." Saya smiled as she looked at the model I was holding.
"Huh?"
"Whenever I visit here, I would always find that one among the models. It's not the best built model, I admit. You can even say it was made in haste."
I can see Sawako being hasty about making these… But that doesn't mean this was Sawako's.
"It's like it's supposed to be a reminder. I wish I knew who built it. Maybe it was someone close to me." Saya smiled nostalgically. "Maybe someone I treated like a sister."
There's no way she can remember anything before the restore. There's no way that this was Sawako's.
"Kaicho? Kaicho!? Why are you crying?"
I touched my face and felt my fingers get wet. What?
"Is something wrong?" Saya placed her hands on mine. "Please, tell me. I can't help if you don't."
"I miss her," I muttered. Why am I opening up to her?
"Miss who?" She asked.
"Someone I really love," I struggled to say without choking.
"Is she gone?"
I nodded.
"Did she love you?"
I only nodded again.
Saya held my hands more firmly. It felt reassuring. "Then isn't that the important part? That you loved and get loved back?"
"But I don't want her gone."
"I don't know what else to say, Kaicho. But if you truly love her, you'd live for her memory. Sure, remembering is all you can do now. Another way to see it is remembering your time with her means it all happened. Isn't that wonderful?"
I think I broke down for the first time in months. So many first times. I fell to my knees ended crying in Saya's lap. No, I never wanted to forget her. Even after the restore, I can remember her. That doesn't mean she never existed. As long as I remember, Sawako will always exists. I love her and she loved me.
Saya petted my head. "Will you be okay?"
I can only utter. "Please, let me stay like this for now."
"Okay."
