Chapter 12: And so, those frothing feelings are.. (part 1)

It was a busy morning on the day of the Literature Club exhibition, and that was no doubt due to the effort Hiratsuka had put into advertising the day before. Despite being really early (it was before homeroom), quite a lot of people came in. We were met with all sorts of faces, those we had seen and those we had not.

The exhibition was split into two sections: on one side the visitors could look through the club's book collection at the shelf, and on the other was a row of rolling bulletin boards on which the club's original works and their accompanying watercolor painting were posted. Due to the nature and length of the original works, and of course the attractive pictures, the bulletin boards attracted more people, who would look through one thing quickly and move on.

The members had prepared most of the things on the board a long time ago, but some of it was hastily completed yesterday, like the calligraphy and even a painting Hiratsuka had me do. Never had I understood the plight of the Art Club so well, with my work being laughed at constantly by those who passed by the bulletin boards.

The book shelf attracted less people, although the people who came by stayed a lot longer than those who were there for the short poems and pictures.

Right in the middle of the room, in the midst of the chaos was a sort of reception table where Hiratsuka, Narita, and I sat in that order. For most of the morning exhibit, Hiratsuka would answer any questions the visitors had, while Narita and I simply handed out souvenirs like calligraphy or post cards that were essentially minified versions of what was on the bulletin boards. (Oh, need I remind you I wasn't a member? I was only there because Hiratsuka dragged me there. Literally, she grabbed my collar and dragged me here)

"Hiratsuka-san," said a girl standing by a bulletin board. She pointed at a poem and said, "Sorry, but would you mind explaining this one? I don't really get what it's about."

"I'll be right there," Hiratsuka said as she stood up. She jogged toward the rolling bulletin board, and stopped beside the visitor. After taking a quick glance she started explaining.

"Oh, this one. The meaning is not really so important since it's all flowery metaphors. What's important is the message it's trying to convey."

"Message?" the girl said.

"Yes," Hiratsuka said, "And the message is that we ought to forgive even the greatest of evils. That's because if you were put in a difficult spot, you too would have done something you're not proud of."

That explanation seemed to have piqued the girl's interest. For a while, she stood there in awe at Hiratsuka's explanation.

"Wow, that really is profound," the girl then looked at Hiratsuka with a sort of defeated smile, "But if somebody did something really bad to me, I'm not sure if I could forgive them so easily, haha."

"You simply have to alter your mindset a bit." Hiratsuka said, "For example, when I get angry at someone, I usually try to put myself in their shoes. That usually gets rid of my anger."

"Now that's a mindset worthy of the Exemplary Character Award, Hiratsuka-san!" the girl said, "I'll make sure to nominate you, haha."

Hiratsuka then looked at the girl, her eyes full of curiosity, "But that aside, I never knew you were into literature, Touyama-san!"

"Oh, it's not like I'm that into it or anything, it's just that I saw your advertisement on the announcement board and got interested, so I thought I'd swing by."

"I see," Hiratsuka said before looking at some specific people across the room, "Nishiyama-kun and Minami-kun over there seem to also be in the same situation as you."

"..Ahaha" the girl said with a troubled smile, "I guess even the boys can be interested in stuff like this too."

See, without any sort of context, this seems like any other regular conversation. A person comes to visit and has a small chat, what's wrong with that? Well, in case you have forgotten, that girl Hiratsuka was talking to was the same person that testified against her in her trial the day before. And the two names she just mentioned? They belonged to the guys who were also on that jury.

In fact, all of the faces I saw the other day all visited at some point, including Ōmiya herself. The class representative came by earlier, looked around for a bit, and then left. Despite saying with all her heart that she wanted to be friends with Ōmiya again (and the fact that she was interacting with the other council members just fine), Hiratsuka didn't seem to have the courage to do anything – she simply watched as her best friend looked through the exhibition. They did make eye contact, but that was about it.

"I suppose so." Hiratsuka said.

"Anyways, I'll head to my classroom now," the girl said, "See you later, Hiratsuka-san."

"See you later, Touyama-san. Please come visit us again any time."

Hiratsuka stood there, standing by in case the other visitors wanted to ask questions, and still completely oblivious to the possibility that something might happen. After a moment, Hiratsuka made a face as if she had realized something. She looked at me, who was still sitting down. With that worried expression, I was sure she must have made the connection.

"Hikigaya-kun!" she said, "I forgot to ask Kasuga-sensei if he had assigned any homework yesterday!"

That is what's worrying you right now, Hiratsuka-sensei?!

"..Right, and?"

"We missed his class, remember?" she said, "Would you mind going to the faculty office and asking him? I have to keep watch here."

I let out a sigh.

"Alright, fine." I said before turning to Narita, who was looking at me with a worried smile, "Narita, I'll leave the post to you."

She nodded happily before waving at me. I waved back at the twin-tailed girl and stood up, preparing to leave for an errand.

When I arrived at the faculty office, the place was still mostly dark. There was only one part of the room where the lights were on, and a faint aroma of coffee could be traced back to over there. In that spotlight sat a man who was diligently tapping away at his laptop computer. He wore a white shirt with rolled up sleeves, and a pair of black trousers. He had his top button undone, and didn't appear to be running a tie.

I walked up to him from the darkness, and the teacher immediately stopped what he was doing. He turned to me and said, "Ah, Hikigaya-kun, good morning."

I greeted Kasuga-sensei and asked him whether or not he had given any assignments yesterday.

"Assignments? Nah, I didn't give any." the teacher said, "We just had a discussion about Section 7, so just read up on that, I guess?"

"Yes, sir." I said.

The teacher took a quick sip from his paper cup and immediately flinched when he realized his coffee was maybe a bit too hot.

"How is Hiratsuka-san?" Kasuga-sensei said, "I heard she's holding an exhibition today."

"Yes, and it's going well." I said.

"I see, that's good," he said as he started to type again, "What about Hiratsuka-san herself?"

"I'm not sure how to comment on her situation myself, but I do at least know that she wants to be on good terms with the class rep."

"I can't say I don't know where she's coming from," he said with a troubled smile, "Things really worked out for them last year, so I guess she wants things to go back to how it was then."

"Last year."

"Yea, last year. Together, their grades were good, and they would often host events together. Everybody loved and respected them. Really, they were an unbeatable duo." The teacher said with an almost melancholic expression. He took a deep breath and put his cup of coffee down without taking a sip.

"But considering everything that happened between now and then, I'm sure she'd have to resort to some really extreme measures if she wants to fix things up," he said.

The teacher then turned his attention back to his laptop and started hammering away at the keys again.

"Well, she did make Ōmiya the Student Council President, so I'd say that's pretty extreme." I said.

"I see, I see.. that's completely understanda– " Kasuga-sensei typed down a few more words before stopping suddenly, "Hikigaya-kun, could you repeat that?"

"Yesterday, the principal asked her who should replace the current president, and Hiratsuka confidently answered 'Ōmiya-san'. He was so happy with her answer that he said he'd 'make Ōmiya the president right away'."

The teacher slowly turned to me, his face frozen solid. He stared at me for a moment (very uncomfortable, by the way), before launching himself from his chair, not to embrace me with his gentle arms, but to violently grab my blazer.

"She did WHAT?!" the teacher said, his tone completely polar opposite of what it was just now, "I'm the Council's advisor, why am I not told about this?!"

Scary! Kasuga-sensei is scary! Please let go of me!

"I.. I don't know, sir." I said.

"Gah, Hiratsuka-san!.. She could have at least talked to me about it!" he said, finally releasing me.

"S– Sensei.. I don't think it could be helped." I said as I pat my blazer, "Initially she was offered the position herself, but she declined. At that point she already wasn't in her best shape, yet she was put on the spot. I'm sure it was quite a lot to grasp all at once."

"That geezer!" he said, grabbing his short-black hair with both of his hands, "Why does he think it'd be a good idea to ask her?! It'd be a sight to behold if he actually comes down here and sees how things are!"

Hey, isn't he your boss, and not to mention, your uncle?

After letting out a puff of air, Kasuga-sensei sat back down on his chair, resting his arms stiffly on the armrests. He looked up and stared at the dropped ceiling as he pondered about something. A few moments later, he looked back down and sat up straight.

"Hikigaya-kun, in order for the transfer of power to complete, the secretary, Minase-san, has to come to me to get some documents stamped," he said, pausing again in order to go through his options of words, "If memory serves, those documents should be at the council's office, on the shelf to left, in the 'Special Requests' file."

Then, the teacher said the next sentence, putting obvious emphasis on certain words "If some unfortunate thing were to happen to those documents, then Secretary Minase wouldn't be able to complete the paperwork required for Ōmiya-san to become president."

Him telling me all this.. And to be honest, I didn't think it was that horrible of a plan, considering everything. Sure, it's a little risky, but I've put myself through worse. What bothered me, however, was the fact that there was clearly a major player missing from this plan.

"Sensei, if you're the council's advisor, and you don't approve of Ōmiya being the president, couldn't you simply refuse to sign the Secretary's papers?"

"Well, working under Principal Hanasaki brings its own set of shackles. I've already gotten under his nose by intervening the other day, and I feel like if I do anything again.. Hah, maybe I should go back to college and get that doctorate he kept bugging me about.."

The air suddenly got heavy again, much like how it was the other day. But rather than devolve into a tirade, it simply fizzled out.

"Sorry, that was quite inappropriate.. " the teacher said, "I let it become personal again, just like the other day."

"N– no, don't be, Sensei."

"I want to do whatever I can to help, but right now I'm not in a good spot myself so I can't afford to be careless." Then with a mischievous grin, he continued, "On the other hand, 'kids are cute no matter what they do', or so they say anyway. "

"I understand. Then it would be a complete waste if such information wasn't put into use.."

"Indeed, Hikigaya-kun, it would be a waste, indeed.."

And that was it for the conversation between me and Kasuga-sensei. A little bit after that, another teacher came in and scolded him for not turning the lights on. After getting the faculty office up and running, Kasuga-sensei had me help him carry his stuff and we both headed to the classroom.

Lunch came by, and I was once again asked by Hiratsuka to help with the exhibition. Of course, I declined, but as usual she dragged me all the way to the clubroom with sheer force of will. Just like this morning, I sat down to the right of Narita, helping her handout the souvenirs, while Hiratsuka walked about in case any visitors had any questions.

There weren't as many visitors as in the morning. On the upside, that meant that we could just sit back and relax, and on the downside, that meant that all we could do was.. just sit back and relax. When things were quiet, Narita brought out her novel, while I just fiddled with the postcards.

Obviously, I didn't have my smartphone on me – I left it at my place – but even if I did, do you really think I could have done anything with it? Imagine just whipping out a five-inch smartphone out in front of people who didn't even know smartphones existed, it would be the talk of the town. People would go around saying I was a detective from the future.. I'm not a detective, I'm a nocturnal hero that competes with detectives!

"Ah– "

While I was dabbling in some weird what-ifs, Hiratsuka suddenly reacted to a figure that appeared at the door. It was a girl with ash-brown hair that was tied up with a burgundy scrunchie at the side of her head, a pair of yellow eyes that stared at Hiratsuka's gray ones. One hand firmly on her waist, and the other flying freely in the wind, the girl walked slowly toward Hiratsuka, who at that moment had turned into stone.

"Y– Yo" the girl said, fiddling her side ponytail as she approached.

"O– Ōmiya-san.."

Hiratsuka took a few tiny steps back, but ultimately decided to stop. The same person that came by this morning, but didn't have the chance to greet her friend because of the volume of people, she was now giving Hiratsuka full attention.

"I'm here to look at your stuff," Ōmiya said before walking off to the row of rolling bulletin boards while Hiratsuka stayed where she was. The class rep started going through the club's works one by one, giving each a seemingly proper look. She stopped at one of the watercolor pictures, one that depicts a mythological scene.

"Wow, this one is awesome," Ōmiya said. She pointed at the picture and asked "Did you guys paint this?"

Hiratsuka, having found some courage, walked up to her classmate, having two hands on top of each other in front of her as if she was a professional receptionist.

"Y– Yes," Hiratsuka said, "Narita-san and I painted this together."

"Hmm… So you two drew this together, huh?" Ōmiya said slowly before looking at the seated Narita and switched back the pace with a smile, "Good work, guys."

Narita did not return the gesture, but instead looked back at Ōmiya in fear. The timid girl grabbed my blazer's sleeve and cowered.

"Narita-san, as shy as ever," Ōmiya said with a playful grin. She then shifted her attention back to the literature display. Once again, she looked for a while, and eventually stopped at a poem. "Hmm.. good, good." she said. After taking her eyes off the display, she turned around and walked across the room to the shelf where the collection of books was. Hiratsuka followed her, standing back a few steps.

Slowly, Ōmiya reached in and brushed her fingers through the collection, spine by spine.

"Ah, I remember this one!" She pulled out a book and turned to her friend, "Hiratsuka-san, didn't you lend me this once?"

"I.. I did," Hiratsuka said, "I'm surprised you remember."

"Of course I do, you let me borrow it for that book report," she said, "It was such an amazing book."

As she said that, Hiratsuka's eyes started sparkling.

"R– Right?!" she said, practically breathing smoke, "I told you it was amazing!"

"Yea, you can always trust Hiratsuka-san when it comes to books!.. And hey, didn't I borrow this one too?"

"Oh yeah, you did!"

While the two of them have gotten to ball rolling, there was a certain someone that wasn't exactly thrilled about the momentum. Narita, who was watching the whole thing with me, leaned closer and spoke into my ears.

"H– Hachiman, are they really okay?" the twin-tailed girl said, her low voice making her words barely intelligible.

"..I don't know." I said, trying my best to match her level.

"W– What do you mean?!" she exclaimed, but instead of a louder sound, a sharper wind of the same level hit my ears.

"I mean just that, I don't know.."

"Oh, c– come on, Hachiman!"

If you of all people don't know, then I don't freaking know, Narita!

I have no idea what they were trying to do there. I don't know what their relationship was like to begin with. I couldn't care less about that, in fact, I couldn't really care less about anything that was happening in front of my eyes. If all of the ugliness came to light, and they both still decide that this is their path.. If that's their desired arrangement, then who the hell am I to intervene?

That's right, I couldn't care less if they decided to become "friends'' again, no matter what their definition of that word is.

However..

After all that they have been through, there was one thing I absolutely could not let happen. No matter how much they enjoyed each other's company, if I let that one thing pass, then there would be no justice. I'll put this particular matter into my own hands, and after that, if they really are "friends", they can cheer each other up all they like.

".. Narita" I said, tilting my head towards her, "I have something to do, so.."

Narita chuckled, "You go.. I'll keep an eye on them."

"Thanks, Narita." And also, sorry.

For a moment, I let my hand stop as I pondered whether what I did was right.

When I arrived at the Student Council's room, I saw nobody. Just as Kasuga-sensei said, there was a metal shelf to the left side of the room, each tier containing folders upon folders of documents that were lined up neatly.

It was such a perfect opportunity, but yet I hesitated.

No, this is not about whether or not it is right, this is about me..

I looked at the four-tier rack in front of me and put the question of morality to rest. Much like Ōmiya who went through the Literature Club's collection, I went through her files, binder by binder.

Let's see, 'Special Requests' file.. 'Special Requests'..

"H– Hikigaya-senpai?!"

Crap.

Looking back, it probably would have been a good idea to have someone stand guard outside, but too late for that now. I turned to my right where the door was, and there they were.. two people who I didn't know, one guy, and one girl, both about equal height as me. I think I saw them the other day, too, but that's about it, really.

"Who are you?" I said.

"I.. I'm Minase from Class 2-B," the girl said, "I'm.. the Secretary of the Student Council."

A timid girl, despite her position as a core member of the council.

"W– What do you think you're doing, Hikigaya-senpai?!" the girl said, trying her hardest to put on an authoritative look.

What would be an appropriate response here?

"Hmm, me?" I said, shrugging, "This shelf is a bit messy, so I thought I'd help clean it up."

"Liar!" the girl said, "You're obviously here to steal documents!"

Seems I was not convincing enough.

"If that's the case, then so what? Is it wrong for me to look at these documents? I'm a student here, too, you know?"

"It– it's obviously wrong!.." the girl said before turning to the guy standing beside her, "K– Kanda-kun help me out! You say something, too!"

The guy had been standing there for a while now, and he didn't seem to have remotely any sense of urgency to what was happening right in front of him. He had been staring at my general direction up until then, but he and I had not shared eye contact – at best, he would be looking at my neck. Suddenly, he made an expression I could only describe as "somewhat terrified".

"Minase-san.. " the guy said, "..What are you talking about?"

"Huh?!" the girl said before pointing at me, "That's Hikigaya-senpai!"

"But I don't see Hikigaya-senpai? That's a shelf, Ms. Secretary."

"Kanda-kun, this is not the time to be making jokes! Ōmiya-senpai said to look out for him, remember?"

"I'm not making jokes, I'm pretty sure it's just us in here," the guy said, shrugging carelessly, "Anyways, I'll go take a seat over there. You take it easy, Minase-san."

"Y– You've got to be kidding.."

The guy walked toward the tables on the other side of the room and sat down. The Secretary watched in painful silence as her ally distanced himself from the scene. It looked as though she wanted to give up, but she still was not out of hope, as evident when she turned back to me.

"Hikigaya-senpai, I'm not letting you have the documents."

If Hanasaki was here, things would have been a lot easier..

Nah, who am I kidding? She'd probably do the same thing that guy just did. Can't really expect much from her. That said, that girl had already contributed heavily by giving me crucial information, some of which I'll be putting to use in this situation.

"So, Ōmiya told you guys to guard this shelf, huh?"

"That's right. She knew you'd come, so she entrusted this shelf to Kanda-kun and I."

"Why are you following her orders? Isn't she just an honorary member without a role? Even as a second year student, you technically outrank her, Secretary Minase."

"T– that's because we look up to her!" she said, "She's the one keeping us together!"

"That's a very admirable thing to say.. but I'm afraid you're lying."

"Eh?!'

Now comes the first piece of information.

"You actually hate her, don't you?"

"Wha– "

"The guy that just bailed on you, as well. Kanda.. right? The Safety Officer.. That guy hates Ōmiya as much as you do. Actually, I've also heard that you really hate it when he complains to you all the time about her.. it drives you nuts, doesn't it?"

The guy twitched, almost gasping as he heard their relationship being spelled out. The Secretary didn't seem to fare much better. That being said, I am taking some creative liberties here, as the information I was given didn't go into more details than "like" or "hate".

"W– What are you babbling about, Hikigaya-senpai?.." the Secretary said as sweat rolled down her face.

"In fact, it's not just you two.. Other second year members also hate Ōmiya, don't they?"

"I– don't know what you're talking about.." the girl said, "I'm grateful to Ōmiya-senpai because she helped me get to where I am today.. You wouldn't get it, Hikigaya-senpai!"

"And why do you think they let you on their staff in the first place, Secretary Minase? Do you honestly believe they would actually entrust you with the responsibilities that come with being a secretary?"

"I– .. " she said, taking one step back as she fumbled for words.

"l'll tell you the reason," I said, raising my index finger in front of me.

"D– don't say it, please!"

"It's all about the appeal. They let you second years in so they can say to everyone, 'Hey, look! We've got underclassmen onboard, look at how open-minded we are!'." I pointed at her and continued, "And that's what you are, Ms. Secretary, you are merely a mascot!"

I didn't know if I got her, considering I made up like half of that. In reality, Ōmiya could have genuinely respected these guys, but the reaction I was getting at least tells me that's not what came across to them. For the time being, It's best to capitalize on that.

"If you decide to go through with the paperwork and make Ōmiya the president, it'll only cement your position as her personal tool. Is that truly the fate a person of your caliber deserves, Secretary Minase?!" I said.

"I've heard enough, Hikigaya-senpai!" the girl said.

She dashed forward and headed toward the shelf where I stood.

"I'll complete the paperwork, and Ōmiya-senpai will acknowledge my work for sure!"

Crap, if this gets physical, that guy surely won't sit back..

The Secretary reached out and picked out a file with pinpoint accuracy as if that shelf was a natural extension of her. The girl opened up the file and started turning the pages of documents. Her finger slid against the pages, and they flipped. One by one, she looked through that file.

"... Huh?"

However, when she hit the plastic cover, all of us in the room knew what had happened. That Ōmiya.. so she had this covered, huh? How cunning..

"Heh," I said as I looked at the Secretary, who was transfixed by what she saw, or rather, what she did not, "It seems like Ōmiya never trusted you with your own job."

Looking down at the file, something caught my attention. When I saw the header, it instantly sent a chill down my spine, and that document had nothing to do with Ōmiya becoming president. I stood beside the Secretary, who was still holding the file in shock, and read what was on it to see if I was just imagining things. Turns out I wasn't.

'Disband Order for the Literature Club' says the header.

'The Literature Club is to cease all club activities and hand over all its creations, written or otherwise, that were completed as part of said activities to the Student Council by the date below (tentative).

The clubroom is to then be repurposed into an auxiliary storage for the Student Council.

Further, Hiratsuka Shizuka-san (Class 3-F) and Narita Narumi-san (Class 3-A) are prohibited from participating in club activities together henceforth (enforcement at the Student Council's discretion).'

The document was signed by the current president, but the content had Ōmiya's name written all over it. It finally made sense why they were at the exhibition this morning.

Once again a sudden urge engulfed my being. I grabbed that last document, instantly crumbling half of the page, and pulled it straight off the file's binder. The Secretary, still dazed, was unfazed by my sudden yanking of the important paper. The guy at the table stood up for a bit, ready to go to the Secretary's aid, but when he saw that she was mostly unharmed, he sat back down.

Just when I was starting to think that maybe it was all for vengeance, I realized, what I was doing was justified after all.