The end of the summer break marks the beginning of the second semester. And that means going back to school. The very first day of the second semester, I slept in, waking up at noon. Obviously, since the summer break had left my sleep schedule a complete mess, but also because I just didn't care to listen to the principal's boring, monotonic monologue. I arrived at school halfway through the lunch break. After buying myself some lunch, I was just about to head to the basement, until I remembered that it's always locked after the summer break, and wouldn't be opened until after the classes. Shitty policy, but no can do; there's no way to reason with those asshats at the faculty office. It took only a single text message to find my friends, who were hanging around outside, behind the school. We spent the lunch break together, until the bell rang, forcing us back to the class.

Hours passed, and the classes were over. The guys and I were among the first ones to leave the classroom, and we headed straight to the basement, which was now unlocked. Strolling through the basement's narrow corridor in one, neat line, we finally got to the club room. Opening the door, we stepped in one at the time, me being first.

"Back in town, bitches!" I jokingly yelled at the empty room, throwing my bag on the couch.

Next up was Tadaaki, who also threw his bag on the couch. "Damn, this place is musty. Open some windows, will ya?"

"And hot. Shit, why the hell is it so hot in here…?" Ichiro muttered as he walked in, his airborne bag soon joining ours.

As instructed, I used a chair to climb up and open a couple of windows. In the meantime, Tadaaki headed over to the shelf and began browsing the music section. Having nothing better to do, Ichiro headed to the kitchen area and opened the cabinet, looking at our comprehensive selection of coffee beans and grounds.

With an exhausted sigh, he glanced at us over his shoulder. "Too hot for hot coffee, all in agreement?"

"Yup," I nodded, jumping down from the chair.

"Sure, why not," Tadaaki answered, picking a CD-case from the shelf and examining it. "Mocha Cola would do just fine."

"No can do," Ichiro said, shaking his head. "We drank all the soda the day before the summer break, remember?"

"Oh, right…" Tadaaki muttered, recalling the said event.

I crossed my arms, glancing at the fridge. "And there's no milk or cream. We had to use them all, since they would've gone bad during the summer."

"Yeah," Tadaaki nodded, standing up and walking over to the CD player. "Iced coffee it is, then."

Frowning a bit, Ichiro moved in front of the fridge, muttering: "Man, I would've liked something else for a change… Do we even have any ice?"

He opened the freezer compartment. As he took a look inside, I swear I could see a flash of joy in his eyes.

"Holy fuck, there's some vanilla ice cream in here!" he announced excitedly.

Surprised by the news, Tadaaki and I glanced at each other. I bet he was thinking the same as I.

With a slight smile, I turned to look at Ichiro, voicing my thoughts: "So, Affogato, then?"

"Right on, man!" he yelled, and immediately began working with the espresso machine.

Now that that's settled, I suddenly remembered the thing I've been thinking over during the summer break. I walked over to the shelf, and began examining all the cardboard boxes there. Meanwhile, Tadaaki turned the stereo system on, and some nice 90's rock began blasting from the speakers. This is a French band, if my memory serves me right. I was tapping my thigh in the rhythm of the song, when I found the box I was looking for. I reached for it and pulled it off the shelf, causing some dust to fall down with it. Yeah, clearly no one has touched this box in a long time.

"Hm, what's that?" Tadaaki asked, taking a seat on the couch.

I set the box down on the coffee table, and after noticing Tadaaki's curious expression, turned it around, so he could see the label: Official Stuff. That, of course, didn't help with this confusion. Well, whatever. I opened the box, and began browsing through the official looking papers.

Tadaaki crossed his arms. "Seriously, what are you doing?"

I looked at him, stating the obvious: "We'll need some new members."

"Ah, shit, right, we do. But that didn't really answer my question."

I turned my gaze back to the papers, picking one up and examining it. "Just looking through the club's history. I know it won't help us to find new members, but maybe there's something we don't know. Something that could help us."

Tadaaki leaned a bit closer. "Hm? Like what?"

"Like…" I muttered, reading the paper through, and being a bit surprised. "…for example, this isn't an official club, it's an appreciation society."

"Huh, what's the difference?" Ichiro asked over from the kitchen area, having heard our conversation.

I gazed upwards, thinking. "Well, clubs are clubs. You know, regular activities, advisors, budget… that kind of stuff. Appreciation societies don't have any of that. We can have a single room for ourselves, but that's it. We need to pay for everything ourselves."

"Huh? Wait…" Tadaaki muttered, glancing around him. "You mean… all this was bought by the previous members?"

"Even this?" Ichiro asked, meaning the espresso machine he was currently working with. Those things cost tens of thousands of yen, so I understood his shock.

I nodded. "Yup, seems like it. Who knows, maybe the previous members had part-time jobs or something."

I set the paper aside, and picked up another one. It didn't take me long to realize what it was.

"Yo, check this out," I said, handing the paper over to Tadaaki. "Previous members, before my brother, used to hold coffee stalls at the Winter Festival."

"Seriously?" he muttered, examining the paper, and then snorting amusedly. "Well, look at that. It actually sounds kinda sweet."

Ichiro, who was done with the espresso, walked over to us. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Earning money is always nice."

I looked at both of them. "Wanna do it this year? It's our last chance."

They looked at each other, both shrugging.

"Well, I'm cool with that," Tadaaki said. "But, how do we get permission?"

I raised my hand like a child. "I'll volunteer to do it. I'll start attending those club presidents meetings, and find out what there's to be done."

The guys thought about it, when Ichiro raised his eyebrow. "Hey, wait a minute. Since when you have been the president?"

I wasn't amused. "Hey, if you want to waste your time listening to a bunch of asshats talking about things that'll never concern you, then be my guest."

He seemed to realize the value of my sacrifice, and chuckled. "Alright, I get it."

Tadaaki looked at the papers, and then at the ceiling. "Still, where do we get new members…?"

"Yeah, that's the problem…" Ichiro muttered, also turning his gaze up.

"Hm…" I mumbled, joining them in staring at the ceiling.

"Kyah!"

Our thinking was cut short by a sudden, feminine scream. Snapping out of our thoughts, our gazes were drawn to the door. The scream came from the hallway. The guys and I looked at each other, no one having anything to say. Regardless, everyone was equally curious. So, without a word, we all stood up, walking to the door. I peeked into the hallway, and found only one other door open. It was some storage room, if I remember correctly. Only a few steps later we got to the open door, and peeked inside. To our surprise, we found Hironaka, sitting on the floor, with some papers scattered around her. Almost as if she stumbled or something.

"Uh, yo," I said to her, getting her attention.

As she noticed us looking at her, she quickly stood up, dusting her clothes. "Oh, um, hi."

I glanced at the papers on the floor, raising an eyebrow. "Uh, you okay?"

"Uh, yes, I'm fine. I was just getting some old documentation for the student council, when this box fell on me," she explained, pointing at a cardboard box on the floor.

Well, mystery solved.

"Alright," I said with a shrug. The guys and I began heading back to the club room.

I could hear Hironaka sigh. "Oh, no, I don't need any help, thanks for the offer," she muttered sarcastically, clearly annoyed.

Yeah, gal, this isn't really our problem, and I'm sure you can manage by yourself… Wait, what did she say? Help…? I halted, thought about it for a couple of seconds, and turned around. I headed back to the storage room, where Hironaka was crouching down, picking up the papers. Looking at her for a second, I also crouched down, and began gathering the papers.

It took some seconds for Hironaka to finally notice my presence. "Eh?"

"…to be honest, we're the ones needing the help," I explained, keeping my gaze on the papers.

Hironaka kept looking at me for a while, until she got back to work. "…how so?"

"Well… You seem to know a lot of people, right?"

I could see her shrugging. "Not really, but I guess I know what you mean."

Picking up the last few papers, we both stood up, facing each other.

I handed the papers over to her. "We need members."

"Members?" she asked, taking the papers.

I nodded, slipping my hands into my pockets. "Yeah. Obviously, we'll all be graduating next spring, and we wouldn't like to leave that awesome place empty. We want to secure its future, just like all the members before us."

"Ah, I see…" she muttered, placing her finger on her lips.

"Yeah, so… If you'd bother to look for freshmen who haven't got anything better to do, and maybe convince them to come and take a look…" I said, glancing elsewhere for a while to find the right words, and then turning back to her. "…we'd really appreciate it."

"Yup," I heard Ichiro talking from behind me. Turning around, I found both of my friends standing at the doorway.

Tadaaki nodded. "Remember, the selling points are coffee, 80's and 90's popular culture, and hanging out."

Hironaka looked at us, and turned her gaze to the side, clearly pondering about the request. The following seconds felt painfully long, until she finally turned back to us.

"Alright, I guess I can ask the other class representatives if they know anything," she said, the guys and I sighing out of relief in chorus. "I'll be in touch if I find some people."

"Right, you do that. Thanks," I said, taking many steps backwards to get out of her way.

She stepped out of the storage room, giving us one last look, before heading off towards the stairs. The guys and I looked at her until she was out of our sight, after which we looked at each other.

"Well, that's that, then," Tadaaki nodded with a slight smile.

Ichiro snapped his fingers. "Come on, let's have some affogato."

We disappeared back into the club room, now with one of our problems off our minds.

Couple of weeks pass by. It was a history class, and the last class before the lunch break. The teacher was telling us about Europe and how fucked up it was a hundred years ago or so. Or at least I understood as much, since I didn't really pay attention. But it wasn't my usual case of indolence, no. I was just restlessly waiting for the lunch break to start. The classroom's clock seemed to run awfully slow, and my watch caught the same disease. Shit, I really need to find a way to pass my time… Hm, maybe I'll draw something in my notebook. Let's see… Huh, what the hell even is this? Some fat guy? He definitely needs a baseball cap, and a moustache. Heh, let's give him some sick assault rifle as well…

Ding, dong, ding, dong!

And there goes the bell. As the class ended, the students immediately began enjoying their lunch break, some turning to face their friends, and others getting up and making their leave. I wasn't about to sit around and wonder about it, so I packed my stuff, and stood up.

The teacher was watching our doings for some seconds, until he sighed, fixing his glasses.

"I'd just like to say that I know where some of you are going. I know, it's not against the rules, but still… Try to stay on your best behavior, alright? And be sure to come back to school right after."

Only a few guys bothered to look at him, and even fewer bothered to give him an answer, all of them being a quiet and half-assed 'yes, sir'. Those guys received the nastiest glances from our class's girls. Can't blame them. I left the class, immediately heading towards the lobby, while trying my best to dodge the hundreds of students swarming the hallways. Getting my shoes changed, I headed outside.

"Yo, dude, wait up!"

I turned around, finding Tadaaki and Ichiro running after me. As they got to me, we headed out together.

"Man, you disappeared from the classroom fast," Tadaaki chuckled, a bit winded.

I glanced at him. "Oh, my bad, I completely forgot about you two existing."

"Or maybe there's something that made you hurry," he muttered with a smug grin. "…or someone."

I was about to give him a piece of my mind, when Ichiro gave us both a light slap on the back.

"Today's the big day, huh?"

Tadaaki nodded, amused by Ichiro's enthusiasm.

I, too, nodded, but with a more stern expression. "Just keep yourself in line. The reason it's not against the rules is because no one has yet to do anything stupid."

"I'm not a fucking sex maniac, you know…" Ichiro muttered, frowning.

With a frustrated sigh, I pushed his head away from me. "You're the one smuggling porn mags to the club room!"

Tadaaki was grinning at our argument, when his eyes were drawn to another group of students. "Yo, those guys are going there, too. Let's join them."

Joining the group, we headed to the street, walking in a specific direction. I glanced behind me, watching the school building slowly disappear from my view. While looking around, I managed to spot a few other groups of students, all from our school, and all heading in the same direction.

Today was a special day for many of the students of Kasumimashita High School. Well, to the boys, anyway. Let me explain: yearly, the Sakuragaoka High School holds a school marathon. So, what does that have to do with us? Well, the marathon route happens to go near our school. Only a twenty minute walk to the west. Due to this fact, the senior boys of our school have a decade old tradition of skipping school and going to watch the marathon. Or well, not the marathon itself, but the sweaty girls in their gym uniforms. Understandable reason, sure, but it gets better: there goes a rumor that one of our boys actually managed to get a girlfriend from Sakuragaoka. And man, when that rumor began spreading, the attendance numbers tripled. Looking at the many student groups currently walking on the street, I'd assume there's about 30 of us or so.

Of course, both our school and Sakuragaoka came to know of this 'tradition' very quickly. But, since our school's boys hadn't done anything overly bad, and had kept the catcalling at minimum, both schools decided to let it be, since we weren't being overly obtrusive. Though, I bet there'll be a day when someone of us fucks up really bad, and the schools have to take action. If and when that happens, I hope that guy gets hanged by his balls to a flagpole. As I mentioned, this is the tradition of our school's seniors, but I still managed to spot a couple of underclassmen among the groups. Actually, I also spotted a couple of girls… It only took me a second to connect the dots, and it suddenly got very hot. Man, maybe I'm the one who should keep himself in line.

It wasn't long until we got to the road along which the marathon route went. There wasn't any official place for us to settle, so everyone scattered along the road. There was an unwritten rule to keep a good three meter distance to the road, and everyone seemed to respect it. Tadaaki had heard of a small park along the road, so we headed there. Luckily, the place was empty, though it soon got swarmed by at least a dozen of our school's students, us included. We had a good view of the whole stretch of road, there was a fence we could lean to, and the park had a vending machine. Man, this place is perfect!

There was still some time until the show, so the students spread around the park, passing the time. The guys and I headed for a vacant bench, throwing our bags next to it and taking a seat. Well, save for Ichiro, that is.

"I think I'll go buy a can of coffee, you guys want one?"

I dug a coin out of my pocket, and tossed it to him. "Sure."

"Me three," Tadaaki said, also throwing him a coin.

As Ichiro headed off towards the vending machine, Tadaaki turned to look at me. I don't like that smug expression…

"As I said before, I presume there's a particular reason you were so eager to come here?"

I glanced at him, thinking for a bit, and then nodding. "Yeah, you got that right."

He snorted amusedly, turning his gaze towards the road. "Did you stop to think what she'll think if she spots you?"

"I don't know. Maybe something, maybe not. It doesn't really worry me, since she's a very forgiving gal," I muttered with a shrug.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Tadaaki looking at me. The longer he kept doing it, the wider his smile got. Just what the hell is that guy thinking…?

"Have you confessed to her already?" he suddenly asked.

I flinched in surprise, turning to look at him. I tried to retort with something, but no words came out. So, I just sat there dumbfounded, my mouth open like an idiot.

Tadaaki chuckled. The chuckle wasn't a mocking one, it actually sounded sympathetic.

"It was all over your face, it wasn't hard to figure it out."

…Shit, that guy can read me like an open book, huh. Slowly closing my mouth, I turned my head forward, looking at the students messing around the park. We sat in silence for a few seconds. Well, he's already figured it out, so I might as well be honest about it.

"…I tried, once. Last summer, in fact," I told him.

He nodded slightly. "…but?"

"…but…" I continued, lowering my head. "…I just couldn't say it."

Tadaaki smiled slightly, sighing out of amusement. "Yeah, well, that's how it usually goes."

I thought for a bit, and then turned to face him. "You've been with the ladies. Is there any tips you can give me?"

I've heard of Tadaaki attending some house parties from time to time, and he has managed to get to know some ladies better, if you know what I mean, so I hoped he could give me some words of advice.

"…They were only one-night stands, but yeah," he muttered, scratching his cheek with a slight embarrassment. "No, I can't. Those gals were the complete opposite of Hirasawa. You know, delinquent gals. Most of them were drunk, too."

I quickly understood my how stupid my question was. "Ah, right…"

Tadaaki bumped my arm with his elbow. "But hey, you've known each other for years. It's not like you have a time limit or anything. Just take things slowly, no need to rush it. Give her some subtle flirts, just to give her the idea that you're interested… Just make sure that both you and the Hirasawa gal feel comfortable about it."

I kept looking at him for a few seconds, until I grinned. "So, you can give tips after all, huh?"

"What tips?" I could suddenly hear Ichiro asking.

We turned to look at our side, finding Ichiro walking back to the bench, carrying three cans of coffee. Ah, shit…

"Tips about making some good coffee with an ordinary coffeemaker," Tadaaki said all of a sudden.

"Huh," Ichiro muttered, giving us our cans. "How, exactly?"

"Well, the trick is to rinse the filter with water first," he explained, opening his can.

Ichiro looked at him, puzzled, until he opened his own can. "…Even I knew that."

"Yeah, but this guy here didn't," Tadaaki snickered, giving me a tap on the shoulder.

I just chuckled nervously, opening the can and drinking many gulps out of it. Phew, Tadaaki's good at coming up with lies… Wait, rinsing the filter with water? I actually didn't know that. Due to that, we spent the following minutes talking about coffee, whilst drinking the said drink.

As we finished our drinks, we dropped the empty cans under the bench, since none of us had the strength to get up. Looking around the park, I saw the students gathered in different groups. One of the groups was leaning against the fence facing the road, eagerly waiting. Speaking of them, one of them suddenly flinched, and turned to face the park.

"Hey! The first ones are coming!"

Following this, every single student in the park gathered at the fence. Not that there was any danger of losing the best spots, but the guys and I still hurried to get in the middle. Heh, it might've been a sight to behold; dozen of students leaning against a fence, all anxiously looking to their left. Squinting my eyes, I could make out some girls down the road, approaching us steadily but surely. As the girls got closer and we could make out their features better, the whispering began.

"Man, check out that brunette."

"Holy hell, how can she run with that kind of a rack?"

"You think if I throw my phone number on the ground, someone will pick it up?"

That's as much as I expected from my school's hormone junkies. But what I didn't expect was the fact that they were only whispers. I was standing only meters away, and I still had trouble hearing most of them. It's great to know that the unwritten rules are respected.

Since I know a bit about Sakuragaoka, I could connect the color of the girls' uniforms to their year. Juniors kept glancing at us, confused, and maybe a bit scared, too. The seniors, on the other hand, didn't seem to pay us any mind, since they've probably gotten used to this. Actually, I swear I could see some of them sigh out of frustration. Hopefully none of them memorize my face, since I'll have to attend their school festival in a month. Wait, shit, didn't Tsumugi tell me about some of them knowing about me? Maybe I should slip out of the view a bit…

Having watched the marathon procession for a while, I had made some deductions: The first ones were clearly members of the Athletics Club or some other sports club. The ones following didn't seem to be as fast, so maybe they just happen to be more athletic, though not due to club activities. And then came your average students. Hundreds of them, in fact. Girls of different shapes and sizes, all doing as well as you'd expect from an average teenager. It made me think, who would be the last ones? Or, actually; who would be the last? Holy shit, just the thought of being that poor bastard made me want to turn on my heels and head straight home. Maybe I should stick around to find out.

I quickly realized I was once again overanalyzing everything, so I tried to relax a bit, and just look at the girls running by. I guess it was kinda weird, bunch of guys staring at girls, but not saying a thing. Few of the girls decided to tease us by waving and making cute poses, probably hoping to get a reaction out of us. Regardless, the will was strong, and the guys stayed silent, though most of them looked like they wanted to confess their love there and then. Smirking at the situation, I once again directed my gaze at the road. Huh, that one girl actually seems kinda cute…

"Eiji-chan!"

…Oh, my mistake, she's not so cute after all. Well, luckily there's many more to look at…

"Don't you try to ignore me, you idiot!"

With a sigh, I slowly and carefully turned to look at the girl. She had come to a halt. She was frowning and clenching her fists, looking daggers at me all the while. Well, I guess that's what you'd expect from your own sister.

"What's up, Tamiko?" I asked her, pretending not to know the reason for her anger.

It made her even angrier. "Come here, I'll tell you what's up!"

I shook my head with a grin. "Can't. I need to keep a three-meter gap, you see."

She was puffing her cheeks annoyedly, probably plotting something against me. Snickering quietly, I realized to look around. Tamiko's and my quarreling had caught the attention of both the girls and boys. I managed to suppress the anxiety inside me by reminding myself that Tamiko's just my sister, and I'll most likely have to explain that fact to the other boys. Nothing wrong with tha—

"Eiji-kun?"

…

Swallowing out of nervousness, I turned to find the origin of the voice. Not that I didn't recognize the voice. It belonged to, you guessed it, Ui. She had stopped next to my sister, and had turned to face me, clearly puzzled. She eyed me for a while, until her gaze began wandering along all the confused boys glued to the fence, temporarily stopping as she recognized Tadaaki among them, and then returning to me. Timorously grinding my teeth, I tried to come up with something to say, when I happened to notice two more girls stopping in front of me, them being Jun and Azusa, both as confused as Ui. God fucking damn it, I had a plan in case Ui spotted me, but not a plan for those two nor my sister. Besides, this is just too much attention for my taste.

I raised my hand. "Y-Yo, Ui-san! What brings you here?" The nervous greeting was accompanied by a half-assed smile.

Ui didn't seem to care about my shitty joke, staying just as puzzled as she was before.

"I was just about to ask you the same. Why are you here?"

I didn't even have time to answer, when Azusa sighed, taking a step forward. "Isn't it obvious? He's partaking in his school's seniors' stupid tradition."

She then pointed her hand at us. From the corner of my eye, I could see most of the guys blushing in embarrassment and shrinking a bit. All of them probably fantasized about a girl stopping and talking to them, but none of them were actually prepared for it.

"Ah, I completely forgot about that," Ui realized, and once again turned to face me. "Eiji-kun, you really shouldn't be skipping school."

Her face was all smiles, but I recognized that strict tone of voice. That's stage two of Ui's anger meter. Stage three usually comes up when I ignore stage two. Only time I've seen the stage four was during the sleepover, when I did that stupid climbing trick. I've never seen stage five, and that's just fine by me, I like being alive, thank you very much. Though, something about it made me relax a bit, and I was actually able to smile.

I waved my hand. "Sorry, but the beginning of the second period has been really tiresome, I just needed some time off."

My bullshitting made Ui chuckle a bit. Phew, stage three averted…

"No, Eiji-kun's just being a pervert," Jun quipped with a grin.

I clicked my tongue. "Don't think too much of yourself."

I noticed Azusa glancing around her, and becoming restless. "…I think we should keep going, we're gathering too much attention like this."

"Ah, right," Tamiko nodded, and the both of them began moving, Jun soon joining them.

"Well, it was fun meeting you like this. Bye, Eiji-kun!" Ui bid me farewell, waving her hand as she gave chase to her friends.

I answered the gesture. "Yeah, see ya."

I watched them as they jogged down the road, soon disappearing among the mass of other girls. My smile slowly disappeared as I thought about it. Many, many of Sakuragaoka's students saw them talking to me. I really hope they can explain their way out of the situation before the rumors start spreading. Or, I guess there's already some rumors, but this would only feed them… Speaking of unwanted attention, I finally realized to look at the guys around me. All of them were eyeing me, both surprised and confused. Well, save for Tadaaki, who was trying his best to hide his shitty grin. I bet all the guys had a load of questions for me, but Ichiro was the first one to talk. Though, by talking, I mean grabbing me by the shoulders and shouting like a maniac.

"What the fuck was that just now!?"

"R-Relax, man," I said, trying to squirm out of his grasp.

However, he wasn't planning to let me go anytime soon. "I won't fucking relax! Not after that! Who the hell were those girls!?"

Sure, at first it was funny, but now I was getting really tired of his shit, so I grabbed his arms, pulling them off my shoulders.

"Just some friends, nothing special," I muttered, frowning unamusedly.

It clearly wasn't enough, as he charged forward for another grab. "Just some friends!? They were calling you by your first name, you fucking—!"

"E-fucking-nough!" I yelled, giving Ichiro a kick to the ankle, making him fall flat on his stomach. "Shut the fuck up!"

He tried to get up, but I placed my foot on his back, pushing him back to the ground. He turned his head sideways and looked up to see me, probably to retort with something, but fell silent as he saw my frustrated face. I was really, really tired of this.

He kept looking at me for a while, until he directed his gaze elsewhere, muttering: "…alright, just… let me catch my breath for a second."

Carefully, I removed my leg from his back. Ichiro stayed on the ground for some seconds, until he slowly started getting up, being careful to not make any sudden movements. While he did that, I turned to look at the other boys, who were staring at us dumbstruck.

"The hell are you dickweeds looking at? This has nothing to do with you," I snarled at them, still annoyed by Ichiro's outbursts.

Whatever questions they had in their minds disappeared. One by one, they turned back towards the road, though glancing at us from the corner of their eyes from time to time.

Snickering at the situation, Tadaaki walked over to us, and grabbed Ichiro by his armpit, helping him up.

Seemingly embarrassed and a bit sheepish, Ichiro raised his gaze towards me. "Just… Can you at least explain?"

I looked at him, shrugged, and turned around, walking to the same bench we were sitting on earlier. The guys followed me, and we took a seat. Ichiro was eagerly waiting for me to talk.

I thought about what to say, and sighed. "What's there even to tell? I already told you, they're just my friends."

"Yeah, but…" Ichiro started, took a second to calm down, and continued: "…you can understand me, right? I mean, that all-girls school has a legendary status, and—"

"According to who?" I cut him off, frowning a bit.

He answered my frown. "To everyone. And this time I'm serious."

I turned to look at Tadaaki, who gave an approving nod. "Yeah, he ain't bullshitting. That school's one of the most highly regarded establishments in this town, and being an all-girls school, it has gained a legendary status amongst the male students. Not just in our school, mind you."

Oh, is that actually so…? Guess I've gotten so used to the place, I don't think much of it. Okay, I admit it; if I hadn't met Ui, I'd also see the place as legendary or something.

I finally gave up. "Okay, I get your point. So?"

"…So, how do you even know those girls? I mean, I know your sister goes to that school, and I'd understand if they were just your sister's friends, but…" He stopped for a bit to gather his thoughts. "You know, the first name basis and stuff."

It felt so stupid explaining him the stuff that was so ordinary for me. Well, this was a long time coming, and it's going as well as I expected, so I might as well go through with it.

"I'll give you a chance to figure it out yourself. You've seen them before, you know," I told him, and tapped my head with my finger. "Try to remember."

"Wha…?" Ichiro muttered, and fell into deep thought. He soon emerged with widened eyes. "Oh, shit! You… You mean back in middle school, after the winter holidays? Those two girls… They were them?"

I pointed at him with a nod. "Right on."

With a surprised snort, he turned to look at the road. "Hell, I had completely forgotten about it."

With a flinch, he seemed to recall something else, and turned to face me once again. "Wait, what about that one girl? The one with the… hair ball thingies?"

He mimicked Jun hairstyle, using his hands as the quilts, which made me grin a bit. I gave him an approving nod.

"Yeah, you saw her back at the Winter Festival. You actually talked to her."

"Wait, really? I just thought my head was messed up after that fight…" he muttered, finally lowering his hands.

Tadaaki seemed to find the conversation amusing. That's probably why he decided to add fuel to the fire.

"You know, the whole story's actually interesting, if you'd care to listen."

Ichiro raised his eyebrows in surprise, while I just frowned. "Or if I'd care to tell it."

However, he had already done the irreversible, and Ichiro was eagerly waiting for me to tell the story. Story about how I met Ui, how I met Jun, how I spent the night at Ui's house, how I visited the Sakuragaoka's festival, how I came to know more and more of the students, the times we spent together, all the fun we had, all behind Ichiro's back. And so I ended up telling him, though leaving out a few details, including my personal feelings.

It took me a while to finish the story. In between, we decided to grab some sodas, which were finished by the end of my tale. Ichiro was staring at his empty can, quietly processing the story by himself.

After a painfully long silence, he finally snorted. "Shit, what a double life you've been living."

"Well, not exactly a double life, it hasn't really been a secret recently. I just haven't mentioned it, since—" I said, until Ichiro cut me off.

"Yeah, I know, since I couldn't take it."

I slowly shook my head. "W-Well, not exactly."

He snickered with a sigh, tilting his head backwards and looking at the sky. "Don't bullshit me. You've had your secret talks with Tadaaki, but always change the subject when I come around."

He then turned to face me with a sorry smile. "Don't worry, I get it. I… understand your intentions, seeing the scene I made previously and all."

I chuckled. "Yeah. I bet those guys will be talking about it a lot…"

I fell silent as I directed my gaze towards the fence, with no one to be seen. The boys had disappeared during my story. I wondered about it, when I realized to look at the road. Only a few girls running, those must be the last ones. Shit, just how long did I talk?

Tadaaki, too, seemed to realize the time. "Ah, looks like we missed most of the show."

With a grin, Ichiro threw his can away as hard as he could, and jumped on his feet. "Fuck it, I already got enough excitement for one day."

Tadaaki and I stood up too, and grabbed our bags. Though, we were unclear where to go next.

"The classes have already started, so we can't go back to school, that's for sure," Tadaaki noted, tucking the bag under his armpit and slipping his hands into his pockets.

I massaged my chin, thinking for a bit, until I snapped my fingers. "Alright, then. I say we go to the—"

"Eiji-kun, Eiji-kun!"

The frantic sounding call made us all look at the road, finding Ui. She was out of breath, and clearly very worried about something. Giving a glance at my friends, I walked to the fence, leaning over it a bit.

"Huh, what is it?"

"Have you seen my sis?" she asked, winded.

I shook my head. "No, why? What's going on?"

"She's disappeared!"

My mind began racing. Yui disappeared…? Maybe it's nothing, I think it's nothing, I fucking hope it's just nothing, but… Shit, I still got to help her.

"Something urgent came up, see ya guys tomorrow!" I yelled at my friends, before hopping over the fence, and making my way to the road.

As I got to Ui, she cocked her head. "Uh, are you coming to look for her with me?"

I nodded. "Yeah, since you sounded pretty worried."

She gave me a slight smile for an answer, before she started jogging again, me following right after her. The girls running past us gave us puzzled looks, but I tried my best to not let it bother me.

We only managed to get down the road, when Ui spotted something: Yui's club. They also seemed to be looking for Yui. Shit, it's most likely nothing, just Yui goofing around as usual… Fuck, I should stop watching those late-night crime movies, they're messing with my sense of rationality. Ui called out for the club, getting their attention, and we ran up to them.

"Have you found my sister?" she asked them.

However, we only received head shakes for an answer. Damn, if even those gals don't know where she is, then we're in some deep shit… Unless Ui has some ideas. And sure enough, she seemed to think about something.

"…Jun-chan said that she disappeared before the checkpoint, right?" she asked.

Ritsu nodded with a sigh. "Yup, that's when we noticed her disappearance."

This was enough information for Ui, as she pointed her finger up determinedly. "Ah, then I bet she must be there!"

'There' didn't mean anything to me, since I didn't even know where the said checkpoint was. But who else knows Yui better than Ui? She began walking in a specific direction, and the rest of us followed her. Though I was walking ahead of them, I still could feel Yui's club staring at me. It didn't take long for them to start asking questions.

"This guy again, huh?" Ritsu asked, sounding a bit amused.

I wasn't as pleased about it. "I'm going to tattoo my name on your palm if you won't start using it soon."

She, however, didn't seem to mind my threat, taking it only as a joke. "Just kidding. But seriously, Eiji-san, why are you here?"

I glanced at her over my shoulder. "Tradition."

"Eh, tradition…? Oh, you mean you're with those other guys, perving on the side of the road?" she asked.

"…I guess so," I muttered, facing forward.

Next up was Mio's turn to ask questions: "Shouldn't you currently be at school?"

"Yes, Eiji-kun. It's not good to be skipping classes," Ui added, even though she didn't have any objections about it just minutes ago.

I snorted and made vague gestures with my hand. "As I said before, it's been really tiresome for the past week, so even if I went to class, I wouldn't get anything done. Hell, I'd probably fall asleep right away."

"Some things never change, huh…" Mio muttered under her breath, trying to mask it with a sigh. Even though I heard it, I didn't care to comment on it.

"Ah, it must be so exciting, skipping classes and going to do something dicey," Tsumugi suddenly said, sounding a bit too excited.

I quickly turned to look at her, and sure enough, her eyes were sparkling. I mean, yeah, she's a millionaire's daughter who was raised to be a proper lady, but still, being excited about skipping school…?

I shook my head. "Yeah, well, not really. And I don't really know what's so dicey about all this."

Ritsu shrugged sarcastically. "Gee, I don't know… Maybe eyeing school girls in their gym uniforms?"

"Eh?" Ui said, slowing down a bit, but picking up the pace right after. She turned to face me, confused. "Was… Was that all it was about?"

"Huh? Uh, well, yeah, kinda," I muttered, scratching my cheek. "Why? What did you think it was?"

"W-Well, I just thought you boys were cheering us on…" she explained, having blushed a bit.

God damn it, of course she wouldn't have realized it, she's too pure. No wonder she took it so lightly when she saw me earlier today. And now that she understands it, I couldn't help but turn my head away in embarrassment.

"Guess there's no changing a young man's nature," I heard Tsumugi remarking, quietly giggling.

The following seconds felt awkwardly quiet, until Ui finally spoke: "…Don't partake in those kinds of shenanigans again, Eiji-kun. Okay?"

I'm not sure whether she wanted to give me a proper lecture or not, but I guess me being embarrassed about it seemed to be enough for her. Thank god that gal is quick to forgive.

Giving her a quick glance from the corner of my eye, I resumed looking at the side of the street. "Yeah, no danger of that happening, it was a once-in-a-year thing."

And so we continued on walking, the atmosphere being a bit too awkward for my taste. At first, we tried asking Ui where she was leading us, but every time she just answered with 'You'll see'. As we wouldn't get a proper answer out of her, the girls began talking amongst themselves, while I just kept quiet, looking at the passing scenery. That's how it usually goes with these gals. I noticed that we were heading south, and after a while, I actually began recognizing our surroundings. I had a good feeling where Ui would be leading us.

Well, I was half-right, at least. We ended up on the street where the Hirasawas live, though we didn't stop at their house, but, to my surprise, kept going. A few houses later, we stopped at a certain house. At first, I didn't recognize it, but it all came back to me when I read the nameplate: Ichimonji. Oh, right, this is where that nice old lady lives, the one who's like a grandma for Yui and Ui. I first met her a few months ago, and have seen her a few times since then, when she's happened to be outside just as I've walked along this street to Ui's house. Ui rang the doorbell, and we were soon greeted by both the old lady, and Yui. God damn, Ui was right!

Yui, bowing apologetically, sheepishly explained about how she fell and scratched her knee, and about how the old lady happened to be passing by just as it happened, so they headed inside to get Yui a bandage. Fair enough, but then Yui decided to take a break, maybe eat a few snacks, and completely forgot about the passage of time. That's the Yui-like goofiness I was expecting.

Since I was leaning against the fence, she noticed me only as she realized to look around a bit more. "Eiji-kun? What are you doing here?"

"Ah, Eiji-kun helped us in your search, since he was worried about you," Ui explained, trying to paint me as some sort of a saint.

I crossed my arms, glancing elsewhere indifferently. "Nah, not really. I knew Yui-san would be fine, I was more worried about you worrying."

"O-Oh, is that so…?" Ui muttered.

…Now that I think about it, I could've phrased that better. Eh, whatever, I guess.

To my surprise, Yui bowed a second time, this time for me, and me only. "Well, thank you, Eiji-kun, for worrying about my sister."

Flustered a bit, I couldn't do anything but sheepishly scratch the back of my head. "Uh, sure, don't mention it…"

Some amused murmurs could be heard from the girls. Ui was smiling at her sister's gesture. After a bit of standing around, she turned on her heels.

"I need to go back to school to report that we found sis."

"Huh? Oh, alright," I said and stopped leaning against the wall.

Ui was about to start running off, until she thought of something, and turned to look at me. "Ah, Eiji-kun, I have an idea! You can wait at our house, the classes end earlier than normal today."

I turned to look at the said house, which was just down the street. "Okay, sounds good."

Cocking her head with a smile, she began jogging away. "Take your time getting to the finish line!" she yelled to the club before picking up speed.

We watched as she slowly disappeared from our view. That's when I finally processed her words, and turned to face the girls.

"Ah, yeah, you're still in the middle of your marathon, right?" I asked.

I received nods for an answer. Actually, they seemed to have forgotten about it, and only now realizing the situation.

I threw my bag over my shoulder, and I couldn't help but smirk. "I bet you'll be the last ones."

Ritsu just shrugged. "Yeah, probably, but what can you do?"

Mio, on the other hand, seemed terrified by the idea, judging by her sudden flinch. Sure, I could just stay here and continue teasing them, but maybe that's enough for today. So, I slipped my other hand into my pocket, and began walking towards the Hirasawa residence.

"Well, good luck, gals. Later," I said my goodbyes to them.

They answered my goodbye. It didn't take too long for them to start messing around as usual, as their laughs and quarrels could clearly be heard. Now that's a tight bunch of friends, I'll give you that. Maybe even tighter than the guys and I. Though, I'm not sure how long it'll last. This is our third and last year in high school. After this, we'll most likely split up… The thought alone depresses me. Maybe I shouldn't think too much about it.

I got to the house. The door was unlocked, which wasn't anything new to me. I've tried to give Ui lectures about locking the doors, but she has always told me that there's no need to do so, since this neighborhood is so peaceful. Well, hopefully the Hirasawas have comprehensive insurance. Kicking my shoes off, I climbed up the stairs to the living room. All the lights were off, which was just fine by me. Throwing my bag next to the couch, I walked to it, crashing on top of it. Sure, I could read something from the bookshelf to pass the time, but right now I felt a bit tired from all the running and walking. I'll just take a quick nap…

…

I spent a whole hour pondering Tadaaki's advice, before finally falling asleep.