Chapter 64: Suzuran: Chase for Votes by warelander

''So this goes here.''

''That goes there''

''This ought to be prepared.''

''Looks like we are about done.''

Gis and Viri looked over the room they just got done setting up, marveling at a job well done.

What was once an abandoned, unused room of their high school, was now a cozy little place, with a table and a couple of chairs in the middle of it. In the back of the room was a shelf with several notepads and pens, perfect as a place for meetings of some sort.

Behind the two of them, a boy with striking white hair, also inspected the room, looking notably pleased.

''Now this is more like it! You didn't promise too much!''

Naan
Hero Wannabe

''We figured this may be what you're looking for.'' Viri kept a modest tone, trying to not sound too overly proud of herself.

''You betcha! Udon and Paana are going to love it. A fitting hide-out for a group of heroes! Hahahaha!'' The boy began to cackle in a boisterous manner, barely noticing the two teens next to him didn't seem that in awe with that declaration.

''Not sure if stuff like cleaning up the trash in halls counts as heroics.'' Gis flatly mumbled, earning himself a gentle nudge from Viri.

''He's happy with it, let's let that be it.'' She whispered back to him.

Gis nodded, not intending to possibly start an argument with their 'client', so to speak.

''Oh my what lovely work~''

As if on cue another voice entered the scene. This time even Naan caught wind of it, stopping his self-absorbed celebratory cackles to turn towards the new person.

It was a teenage girl with blonde hair, in a ponytail. Her demeanor was feminine, competent, and in an odd way, professional, with how she let her body language and expressions speak for herself.

Lala
Lovestruck Blonde

''I see my dear friends have done a splendid job. Of course, I expected nothing less.'' Lala observed the fruits of her friends' labor, giving both of them an approving wink in the process.

''You weren't kidding. Now, what's that small favor you wanted from me in exchange? Don't hesitate to ask, the leader of Suzuran High's renowned hero trio will be glad to help!'' Naan once more lost himself in his own sense of grandiosity.

All three of the other teens in the room had the same thoughts but wisely chose to not burst his bubble. Lala especially figured it was best to get to the point.

''You see, the new student body president will be voted on soon, right?''

''I do know that.''

''Great, because you see, the three of us believe that Camus van der Weide would be ideal for the position. We would like it if you casted a vote for him.'' Lala explained, trying to play a little bit into her feminine charms too, subtly speaking in a wanting, requesting manner.

Whether this went noticed by Naan was hard to tell, though he certainly didn't seem particularly put off either.

''Sure. I know his grandma is the principal of the school or something, seems like it would work.'' He shrugged, seeming neutral about the whole thing.

''Yes!...I mean, thank you for your support!'' Lala almost a little ''too'' forcefully shook his hand, enough to make some of his body shake alongside it.

With that job well done, the blonde and her friends took their leave, heading to a nearby bench to take some time to sit.

Of course, Lala was still into what she saw as her big mission, taking out a notepad ready to take some notes.

''Great job guys! Any other secured votes?''

''We did do some favors for that. Like, we got Prim a coupon for her favorite curry pudding.'' Viri began to think of an example.

''We helped Sugar get her puppet cleaned up. Someone threw it in the mud.'' Gis continued the train of thought.

''I cleared up an argument after Kari called Exaltus a momma's boy and Mano called both of them childish.'' Viri recalled.

''I listened to Komori Gal's gossip about Hagan Duck…'' Gis shook a little recalling that. The girl could keep that kind of talk going for quite some time.

''And I taught Koto how to chain in a falling block puzzle game she likes and got Ellena a dance partner in Sho. That should be enough for today!'' Lala, with a satisfied grin, put her notepad away again, now taking some time to observe her friends.

Both seemed on the exhausted side, which made sense, they had been out there doing smaller or bigger errands, on her behalf, quite a bit.

Now that she thought of it, she really did ask a fair bit of them, that much was hard to deny. Feeling a bit guilty, she wrapped her arms around both of their shoulders, pulling them close enough for their heads to touch.

''Thanks for everything guys. I know I don't say that enough.'' She admitted to both them and herself, going softer in her voice.

''It's cool.'' Gis assured her.

''It really is, but don't you think you are putting pressure on yourself with that too?'' Viri voiced her own concerns,

She did have a point there, though Lala's resolve to see it through wasn't shaken even in the least.

''Maybe a bit, but this isn't just for…you know. I really do think him being in that position will do us all a lot of good.''

That was a fair argument for sure. Hard to be bad in that kind of position, when you're related to a member of the school faculty. Viri, as the daughter of Suzuran High's coach Gigadis, may have had some legroom there too, but she never saw herself in a position like that at all. Compared to her, Camus had more of a presence to pull it off.

Gis and Viri gave Lala a sign they understood and leaned back with her, to get some time just relaxing together, after a busy day.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the building, Pupuru and Lilica stood by a news bulletin board, the last one they hadn't visited yet.

Taking advantage of the final free space, they put on a flier, promoting the upcoming election and proudly advertising Camus as the better option to vote for.

''I feel a bit silly doing this.'' Lilica voiced what she had been thinking of all day.

''Same, but this is the last one at least.'' Pupuru pinned the piece of paper to the board.

That was it, no more stuff to hand out or put somewhere. About time they both felt, after a whole day of it.

''These things sure made it easy to track where you are too.'' The two girls turned to a familiar voice and it was exactly who they thought it was.

Camus
Suzuran's Ace Student

Both girls exchanged warm greetings with their mutual friend, who himself gave a glance at the flier on the board. Not the first time he had that day either.

A sigh escaped his lips, stuff like this always made him a little contemplative.

''Lala is taking this way too seriously. Even if Cliora wins, so what? It's not that big of a deal if I don't get the position.'' A part of Camus felt guilty someone would go through something this dedicated for him, then again not like Lala was easy to stop there either.

''It just means she really believes in you and so do we!'' Lala took note of his demeanor and wanted to perk him up.

''Yeah! If someone's gonna take a ruling position for us students, I want it to be you'' Pupuru declared.

She also earned herself looks from both of her friends, with Camus scratching the back of his head, in slight confusion over her conclusion.

''That's not what being student body president means, but still, thanks. It's nice I got people that count on me.'' He warmly replied, more than enough for Pupuru to not question her own statement in response.

The trio quickly decided they should look for their other friends, a journey that proved to be short. There were only so many places one could be at in school halls after all.

Soon enough, they spotted the other trio of friends. Gis and Viri being quick to greet them, while Lala ended up surprisingly shy for her standards, upon seeing the boy of her affections.

Things went silent for a bit, it was as if a thousand thoughts went through her head.

Did she do a good job? Was she overdoing it? Did she force everyone into something with this?

Those and many more questions raced through Lala's mind. It was hard for her to not feel self-conscious with her crush around.

Camus knew, he already was aware of the effect he could have on Lala. As much as he felt it was a bit much, the last thing he wanted was to put down someone else's efforts for his sake.

He turned his head in a way that made it unmistakable that he was facing Lala specifically, meeting her glance with a nod and a smile, to inform a sense of gratitude.

The lovestruck girl's face almost immediately lightened up and before anyone could even count to five, she was already by Camus' side.

She kept telling him of all the things they had been doing all day for the election, what she figured the future with him as the student body president would be like, and much, much more.

So much more that Camus was visibly overwhelmed trying to keep track of and respond to all of Lala's speedy and lengthy babbling, much to the amusement of Pupuru, Lilica, Gis, and Viri.

Sometimes, the best reward for a job well done, is knowing some things don't change.

Authors' Notes:

WARE: This is a fun one and somewhat self-indulgent. Suzuran in this universe is very much a meeting place of characters from Madou, its successors and series related to Puyo in some form. Time will tell how deeply we choose to explore this, but the focus will always be on Puyo first.