Monday, 10/3

The halls were unusually crowded for the end of the school day. Ren just wanted to get back to his apartment, snack on some delicious bread, and go to work, but he simply couldn't have nice things. For whatever reason, quite a few students lingered in the halls to chatter and whisper. Ren couldn't hear what about and he couldn't care less.

He turned a corner to a new hall. Just as many students littered the wooden floors, though one stuck out to Ren. Sharp red hair with a matching Shujin tracksuit popped from the side of the hallway, even more so because of the girl's position. Kasumi sat back against a locker with her head in her arms and propped up by her bent knees. Not a soul dared to approach the clearly struggling girl.

Fucking Maruki. He can wipe her memory of me, but he'll still let Kasumi struggle when she needs help.

Then again, those were the same souls that believed whatever the Newspaper Club put out. The one person in the hallway with at least one brain cell made his way toward his former friend. As he got further down the hall, distant yelling got louder and louder. Some girl, her words not clear enough to interpret, was making quite the racket around the next hallway corner.

"Hey," Ren stood above Kasumi. He realized that looking down on her would do very little good. Pressing himself against the wall of lockers, Ren slid down into position right next to Kasumi. The girl's head poked out of the arms that she propped up with bent knees. Her cheeks almost matched her hair and her puffy eyes sent the exact same message as her body language: Kasumi was not having a good day.

"Um…" She sniffled, wiping her nose with her arm. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure we've met." Ren looked her in the eye and waited. Even if she wouldn't remember the few memories they had together all year long, she could at least remember their last interaction. "Wait… I already asked you that... after all those questionable things you said."

"Ah…" That wasn't the word Ren would've used, but Kasumi would disagree no matter what. "Yeah. Sorry about that. I got you mixed up with someone else I know."

"Was it my younger sister?"

"Uh…?"

Without Ren even asking, Kasumi relieved her pain. She looked across the hall, up towards the window. Light with the tint of the afternoon poured in, giving Kasumi's face an orange glow as some tears fell. "She passed earlier this year. Our teachers used to get us confused all the time."

Ren wanted to abandon the topic as soon as possible because it hurt Kasumi more than it helped her. "Er… I don't think so. Just an old friend who I haven't seen in a while."

"Oh." Kasumi paused to look down from the window. "I'm sorry to disappoint."

"Well, I'm anything but disappointed. I met someone new." Was it a lie? Technically, yes. Ren got hung up on the part where one side of the relationship got wiped clean, so it must've been a gray area for what counted as lying, right? "I'm Ren Amamiya."

Kasumi rolled her head so that the left side of her face leaned on her arms and knees. "That's funny."

"What?"

"You're not nearly as awful as everyone says."

"Today is my cheat day to not be awful."

Kasumi smiled. "Oh, I see." Her eyes widened just a little bit, enough for Ren to notice, in surprise. "I forgot to introduce myself. Kasumi Yoshizawa, first-year. I'd bow, but…" She flared her arms to remind Ren of her predicament. "I'm not sure I feel like getting up yet."

"Take all the time you need. There's no rush, right?"

Kasumi leaned her head back against the locker, looking up towards the window again. "I suppose n-"

"My nemesis!" a voice called out through the hallway, silencing all the chatter and getting every head to turn in one direction. "I have found you!"

Ren and Kasumi craned their heads to look towards the end of the hall. In all his glory, Eiji stood in a power stance; knees bent, arms flexing, and his face doing his best impression of a superhero's day-saving smile.

"Motherfucker…" Ren mumbled under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, that's right! Eiji's here!" Eiji started walking in Ren and Kasumi's direction.

The way he throws his legs forward to show off is full of the exaggerated swagger of a raging incel with a superiority complex.

"Is he talking to you, Amamiya-senpai?"

"Unfortunately." Ren stood up, extending a hand down to Kasumi so she could do the same. "Wanna go to the libr-"

"Aha, but there is no escape for you, Ren! Your villainy ends in this hallway, the site of our prophesied duel."

"Duel my nuts, I'll duel your mom tonight, etc." It's all so boring. I don't wanna fight with Eiji, I just want him to grow out of being a middle schooler. He needs a learning experience for that someday, but is it gonna come from me? No. My days of humiliating people are over.

Ren remembered that Eiko's apology article was yet to be published.

My days of humiliating people are mostly over.

Kasumi stayed sitting so Ren withdrew his hand, leaving him free to turn to Eiji. He wanted to end the confrontation as easily as possible to not damage the volatile first-year even more.

Ren looked around the hall. Stragglers turned into a small crowd set ablaze with whispers for the transfer student's next victim. "What's up, Eiji?" Every breath Ren took got consideration as the growing audience anticipated new drama to consume.

Apparently, friendliness offended Eiji. "'What's up?' 'What's up?!' Is that all you have to say, you vile, wretched, fou-"

"Tell me what your problem with me is right here, right now, then we'll figure it-"

"How dare you play nice with me. You know my power, you know what I'm capable of!"

Oh no! He's capable of *gasp* a Shujinstagram post! And—oh my god, no—a meme on Spreddit! The horror!

"I challenge you to a duel!" More gasps and buzzing from the crowd. They enjoyed Eiji's bravery — if it could even be called that.

"I'll pass." If Eiji didn't want to talk and preferred to interrupt Ren constantly, that was fine. Ren wasn't the one with the problem, so he turned his back on the first-year. He watched Kasumi stand up. "Let's go."

"Don't walk away from meee!" Eiji yelled from behind Ren, his voice cracking in his most important moment. "I will save her from you!"

"Is he talking about me?" Kasumi whispered.

"Nah. You know Niijima-san, the student council president?"

"Of course."

"She's my girlfriend and he," Ren said, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder as they began to walk away, "has a bit of a crush on her."

"Just a bit?"

"Maybe it's more of an obsession."

"He should speak to Maruki-sensei. That's what I do whenever I feel down…"

"But you didn't go today?"

"That's because I already spoke with him." Kasumi's voice quivered as she raised her tone a little. They turned the corner, Eiji shouting behind them. Ren hoped it would be the last of the first-year, but he knew otherwise. "When you found me I just got out of a meeting with the principal and Maruki. My… ugh, I'm sorry. You don't want to hear this, do you?"

"No, I'm all ears. What'd Kobayakawa have to say?"

"He's revoking my scholarship. I'm here for my gymnastic abilities and the way the meets have gone lately brought me to this point." Kasumi's shaky sigh came in perfect time for a misstep, the girl stumbling just to catch herself a moment later. "I suppose no amount of effort could overcome everyone else's plans for me."

Ren felt terrible. Part of him felt at fault for Kasumi's gymnastic decline. Sure, she had been struggling when they met, but he believed himself to be helping when he really wasn't. To make things even worse, he let Maruki brainwash Kasumi.

Then again, what could Ren have done?

Ah, Ren. Here you are again, feeling sorry for things you cannot help. Grow up a little bit. Stop being a bitch and talk it out with Kasumi.

"You're still able to go here, right?"

"I'm not sure. My family's never been well off and we relied on that scholarship quite a bit…" Kasumi stopped walking at the perfect time. A crowd gathered down the hall, hopefully for entirely different reasons than the last one. Ren and Kasumi stood together just out of earshot of the group. "Transferring may be my only option."

"Did Maruki give you any advice? I mean, I find it hard to believe he just sat there while that happened."

"He promised me that I could finish the semester here. The principal got quiet when he said that, so I don't think they're in agreement."

"Well, tough shit for Kobayakawa. Couldn't hurt for him to ease up a little."

"Yeah…"

They both paused, the proper words for either of them to say left hanging in the air. "Look, Yoshizawa-san, I'm available if you need help with anything. Whether it's for midterms or you just wanna talk, reach out. Seriously."

"Mhm." Kasumi nodded. "I'll have to take you up on that."

"Good. I hope you stick around Sh-"

From the crowd, a voice silenced the entire hallway. "Get your live stream access codes! Buy three and get one free!" a girl yelled. Her voice was high, higher than anyone Ren knew, and could probably crack a window with the full effort given. "Preliminary debates start tonight. Join the Shujin live stream party and watch it as a community!"

Both Kasumi and Ren looked down the hall at the crowd. More and more people took notice, abandoning their lockers or conversations with their friends to join the edge of the crowd. Ren saw a short girl standing at the center of the crowd on some kind of pedestal or stool.

She's the one doing the yelling. God damn, she's loud for someone so small.

The girl's head spun around as she commanded everyone's attention, her long ponytail swinging in the same motion.

"You know what's going on?" Ren asked.

"No clue."

"Wanna check it out?"

"I would, but I should probably get home early tonight. Give my father the news…" Kasumi turned to preemptively walk away, but Ren tapped her shoulder.

"Hey. Don't forget my offer."

"I won't."

Ren nodded and waved goodbye. As Kasumi left, Ren refocused on the crowd. It began to thin as students received their little paper access codes for the live stream, or whatever those sheets of paper were in their hands. Ren approached to get a closer look.

Two students walked past him, one with a slip of paper. "So we're watching the debates with other Shujin students?"

"Yeah, sounds like it. You got ripped off, man."

"Did not!"

"Did, too. Good luck justifying eight-hundred yen after you watched a boring-ass debate."

"It's not boring. It's politics. We're gonna be adults soon, and we'll have to worry about this stuff."

"Or you could just forget about that shit. Ninety-nine percent of the stuff that happens in the diet building doesn't affect us."

"I really can't change your mind, can I?"

"Maybe if they gave out stickers… that'd make it a good deal!"

The politically-minded student sighed in partial defeat. "You'll get it one day…"

Ren gained too much distance from them to hear any of the friend's sarcastic retorts, much to his disappointment. The friend did a great job at upholding his apathy through sarcasm, reminding Ren of someone he knew.

The edge of the crowd thinned more as a greater number of students gave up their hard-earned yen for slips of paper. Ren joined the line, if only out of curiosity. He considered using his delinquent privileges to bypass the line, but waiting in the queue gave Ren more time to absorb information from around him.

"So these are the debates for the elections?" one girl asked her friend. Ren looked over to see one girl leaning her back against a locker while the other did the same with her arm.

"Kinda, but they don't matter too much. They're not hosted by the government, just the Future United Party."

"You mean the United Future Party?"

"Oh, yeah. Thanks." After the quick correction, the girl resumed her explanation. "I guess they just wanna show off and promote their candidates, so why not have a debate just to make them look good, ya know?"

"That makes sense. Kinda scummy, though, if you think about it."

"Yeah, but it's what any party would do. Plus, the UFP is one of the good ones. They refused to give Sugimura a platform earlier this year, you know."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Seems like they knew he was an awful person before the rest of us did."

Ren was so busy listening to others' conversations that he forgot to keep up with the line. "Can I help you?" one female voice said, Ren not thinking it was directed at him. "Helloooo? Can I get you a code or not?"

"Oh, uh…" Ren turned to look at the girl talking to him. The same short girl who once stood over the crowd, now at normal height, waited in front of Ren with her hands on her hips. One of those hands held numerous pieces of paper. "What exactly is this?"

"It's a live stream code. Join the lobby with the code you purchase, then you can watch the debates with all your friends from Shujin!"

"There's no way people actually buy this. Aren't the debates televised?"

"Yes, but you can't watch it with your friends that way."

"Uh… yeah, you can. Just have your friends over."

The girl looked over Ren to see the dwindling line behind him. Their conversation shifted the line over to her peer, who also gave away ticket codes. The girl in front of Ren hopped off the podium. "Look, uh… what's your name?"

Hoo boy, time for her to realize something.

"I'm surprised you don't recognize me."

"Do I know you?"

"Probably?"

"Okay… so what's your name, Celebrity-sama?"

"Ren Amamiya."

"Oh! So this is what you look like!"

"I was under the impression that everyone knew my face because a photo went viral on Shujinstagram a few days ago."

"The photo from the article I wrote?" The girl pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Yeah, I don't check my work…" She nodded as she looked down at her phone. Ren saw the photo of him on Shujinstagram upside-down. "That's a good photo of you, though. Could've given us more of a smile, though. Maybe next time!"

"Uh… you wrote the article?"

"Yep!"

"You're Kimi Kawano?!"

"Double yep!"

"Um…" Ren paused as he considered what to do. His first reaction popped out before he even had a proper moment. "Fuck you. Shit, sorr-"

"Booyah!"

"Er… you're happy that I said 'Fuck you'?"

"Duh! Isn't that the whole point of journalism?" Kimi crossed her arms as she looked up at Ren. Even with his height over her, he couldn't help but give her authority in the conversation. "Getting a reaction out of people is my favorite part!"

You know, that makes sense. Every sentence of that article was carefully crafted to piss me off while encouraging the people who already hate me. Seems pretty easy, so I'm not sure how she can take pride in work like that. It's like grabbing low-hanging fruit, then feeling tall.

"I'm surprised you don't hate me. That article felt pretty motivated."

"Eh, I got nothing against you. Ren Amamiya is just another story for me. Don't take anything I say personally."

"I don't have the direct quote, but you called me out for toxic masculinity and being evil."

"I also made it pretty obvious to anyone with a brain that the two sources didn't have a single intelligent thought going through their heads. They came across worse than you, so I don't know why you're compl-"

"I'm complaining because that article targets me and a lot of it is lies. Don't you have any dignity? Or, fuck it, journalistic integrity?"

"Can't say I do. See, it doesn't matter if journalism is truthful. I can lie all I want in those articles and still accomplish what I want."

"What's that?"

"Separate the idiots from the people who know left from right. That's admirable, right?" Kimi pushed her glasses up her nose, smirking. Ren wanted to accuse her of biting his sense of sarcasm even though he believed he didn't care—he absolutely cared. "Even for an evil-doer like you, too."

"But-"

"No buts, only headlines! Speaking of headlines, I got a new one for you: Eiko Takako Recants. How's that sound?" Kimi leaned forward to tap Ren on the side of the head and look him in the eye as she did it. She knew he wouldn't do shit about it because she took the power. "Does that satisfy you, Amamiya-san?"

"No, I-"

"Nevermind, I don't care. You want an access code or not?"

"If journalism separates the dumb from the smart, what does selling them a shitty live stream do?"

"I've got a club to run. Not my fault if the sheep want to be herded, okay?"

"How would that quote go over if I posted it on Shujinstagram, hm?"

"Go ahead and play that game, if you want. I can make things so much worse for you."

She's got a point. People don't give a shit about GRAVY's Shujinstagram. We barely get any likes on our posts outside of the members and a few others around the school. It would be my word against hers, and I'm not exactly known as morally superior.

"Fine."

"So I won't. And, because I'm feeling generous, we'll leave things amicable and square. In your terms, we're even." Kimi didn't even wait before walking away to get back to selling her access codes. Ren was left standing on the outside of the crowd, feeling like nothing more than an idiot.

Kimi Kawano beat him at his own game and it had him reminiscing about the days when he didn't care if it was right or wrong to embarrass someone in front of the whole school

Sure… totally even.

Kunikazu Okumura stepped up to the soundstage and his podium, his prepared flashy smile already on. His pitch black suit fit the stage's darker coloring and made him look sharp, far sharper than he had in any of the recent tabloid headlines. The media's daily dragging of Kunikazu's politics didn't get to him much, so long as voters didn't pay much attention to the tabloids.

On the other side of the stage, Kunikazu's opponent, Teruo Tani, stood behind his podium. On the front of the wooden podium was the emblem of the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party). Every election year, the United Future Party hosted debates with whatever parties would put forth their candidates due to the potential publicity. However, the moderators always favored the superior side.

Between the two podiums, and much closer to where the production team stood, was the moderator desk. It was far more plain and cheap than the two podiums, as the moderators received less screen time for obvious reasons. At two chairs sat a man and a woman who would serve as moderators for the evening. Before both of them were pages upon pages of notes.

Kunikazu expected his first-ever debate to be a complete wash. He knew what questions were coming because the UFP owned the moderators and he knew just what to attack his opponent on because the UFP's analysts provided him with a trusty little earpiece just out of any camera's view. They would be helping him look better for the entirety of the debate.

No distractions lingered as the lights shone brightly on the stage. Kunikazu made sure to not look directly into the camera, at least not yet, as he'd been instructed by the stage director to compose himself before they began.

"Quiet on set!" a production assistant yelled from off of the soundstage. Kunikazu glanced over to see the entire production crew gathering. Most of their work was done in preparation for the stage, leaving the live debate work to the team in the broadcast room. Cameras were set, the stage was decorated with a nice blue map of Japan, and both candidates looked the part. "Live in five, four…" With his fingers, the assistant counted out the last three seconds.

"Good evening, Japan. Welcome to tonight's preliminary debates, hosted every election cycle for aspiring members of the National Diet, all courtesy of the United Future Party," the female moderator said into the camera right in front of the moderators' desk. "Currently, we are beginning Okumura versus Tani for the lower house. Before we hear opening statements from either candidate, I'll explain the rules for tonight. My fellow moderator and I will direct our question to one of the candidates. They will be given two minutes to answer, followed by ninety seconds for the fellow candidate to retort. Tani-sama, do you understand these rules?"

"I do," Tani said in a nasal voice. He was a tall, thin man with wrinkles just setting in on his face. Surely, being on the National Diet wouldn't help with making those go away.

"Okumura-sama, do you understand these rules?"

"Perfectly."

"Then let us begin."

"My proposed adjustments to our infrastructure administration are arguably superior to our current system. They eliminate the layers and layers of middlemen between those who want things done and those who actually get things done, along with cutting the budget tremendously. The excess funds can be allocated wherever else the budget is lacking; education, public transport, healthcare, et cetera." Teruo Tani was quite well-spoken and prepared, though that was expected. Nobody made it to the elections for the National Diet without being presentable. Making it onto the UFP's debate programming was another matter, but Kunikazu would soon take advantage of that.

See, as the debates were hosted by the UFP, they were quite favorable to the UFP's candidates. They got more attention from the cameras, had easier questions, and knew what was coming from the moderators. Plus, the extra help they received from the behind-the-scenes analysts came in handy in exposing an opposing politician's character. Kunikazu simply planned to utilize the resources at hand to benefit himself, nothing more.

"Well said, Tani-sama." The male moderator held his stack of note papers in his hand, neatly packing them together and using the table to organize them. He turned his attention to Kunikazu, then looked into the nearest camera. "This next question is for both our candidates, though Okumura-sama will be answering first. How can you assure Japan's citizens of your morality and your worth to the Diet? Okumura-sama, you have two minutes."

The debate had been a breeze so far. Kunikazu rarely even needed the little voice in his earpiece. This question would be no different, surely. All Kunikazu had to do was put on a smile, act as if such a long-winded answer was normal, and put a hand on the shoulder of every viewer watching at home.

"I'd like to begin by thanking the team around me and the United Future Party. Through them, I can assure you that I'll exceed every expectation that the people of Japan set for me. I've been surrounded by too many brilliant people to fail, and that's critical to why Japan, as a whole, succeeds. Just like our government is a democracy, Kunikazu Okumura is more than just one man. I'm a representative of the team working with me and the people." Every few sentences, Kunikazu would run his hands along the smooth side of the podium while barely realizing. He developed it as a way to look less robotic on stage; a common criticism from his PR team. "As many of us know, the democracy we cherish is on the downturn. Every story coming out of the Diet describes endless fights, even among people who claim to be united under the Liberal Democratic Party. Why is this? We voted these people into office because we believed they would work together—why on Earth isn't anything getting done?" As the intensity of his words built, Kunikazu's right hand hit the podium softly to emphasize every word.

He shifted his unblinking gaze to a new camera. "We have been lied to. We were told that continuing the Liberal Democratic Party's half-century of dominance would make change easier. It is easy to dismiss what occurs as the rule of politics—there must be fighting—when that simply isn't the case. I thought like this once until I swayed in the right direction. I realized that we aren't meant to fight over our laws—we are meant to discuss them. We're meant to elaborate on them, develop them, rewrite them through discussions with everyone on the floor." Kunikazu sensed his time running out, so he brought his hands together at the front of his podium. He interlocked his fingers as he found a new camera to brighten with his smile. "Citizens of Japan, my story's been told many times over at this point. I'm an outsider to this nation's political system, but that is why I'm necessary. My ideas are unpoisoned by years of rejection, my character is resilient from my time with Okumura foods, and my name is one of the most important in the nation. The United Future Party has given me a platform for a reason, and I know that those of you who care about our future will choose to widen that platform." With his speech complete, Kunikazu glanced at Tani. He made sure every camera in the building saw his smile of victory, his pearly whites polished year after year for that very moment. "Thank you."

"And thank you, Okumura-sama, for obeying our time limit," the female moderator said. "Moving on, we will hear Tani-sama's response just after we repeat the question. So… How can you assure Japan's citizens of your morality and your worth to the Diet?" she read from her notes exactly as she'd done minutes prior.

"Before I begin, I want to congratulate my opponent for articulating everything that I would've said had I been asked to respond first, though with one major difference. You made a point of your status as a pure outsider, unharmed and unaltered by our nation's grueling politics. The character you would take into office—if you were to win—is the character you possessed before you decided to run for the Diet. Is it not?"

"Tani-sama, this is not the question for deb-" The moderator began to say, but stopped once Kunikazu put his hand up.

He looked over to Tani's podium. "It is alright, Makino-san. Both of us are adults, we can handle this like men. Tani-san, you are correct. Being an outsider to our political system was, and still is, my point."

"Then the people of Tokyo are obligated to question your character then, are they not?"

"Well, I supp-"

"In this past year, Okumura Foods has paid nearly seven billion yen in settlement money to former employees. They sued for-"

"These claims are ridiculous and I refuse to hear any more of them!" They were ridiculous because Okumura Foods actually paid eight billion yen in out-of-court settlements.

"Will you hear about the multiple flight tickets to Hajime Sugimura's private island? Or what about the Big Bang Burger cashier who suffered a heat stroke, then was kept in the storage closet until the shift ended, by which time they perished? Or-"

"This will not be allowed!" Kunikazu felt his body swelling as if it would explode all over his podium. His anger grew and grew that a candidate as unprofessional as Tani ever made it to the debate stage. Even worse, the little voice in his ear that gave constant suggestions went silent long ago. They were of no help to Kunikazu as his campaign was buried alive on live television. "I reject these outrageous-"

Kunikazu glanced at the moderator. He shouldn't have to defend himself from such accusations, especially at his own party's debates, but both of the moderators did nothing. They plainly looked between Tani and Kunikazu while allowing the exposure to continue. Why? Why were they letting it happen?

"Perhaps reminding you that your own daughter refuses to speak to you, let alone live in the same house as you, will provoke you into owning up to your unfitness for the Diet," Tani said, his face cold. He took no pleasure in tearing Okumura down, yet he continued.

Haru… how the hell would Tani know about Haru refusing to live at the Okumura estate? No one knew about that situation besides Kunikazu's trusted associates in the… United Future Party.

The truth came to Kunikazu like a bomb: Teruo Tani was a chess piece being moved around by the man at the top, all just to ruin another chess piece.

Kunikazu's face sank as he gave up on protesting. He had been betrayed. The debates were never meant to help his campaign, they were to ruin him. He served his purpose and the UFP was throwing him away publicly. The entire nation would see Kunikazu's downfall, all because Masayoshi Shido saw no purpose in keeping Kunikazu on his ship.

Why? Kunikazu had the money, he had the power… what else could he have offered?

He looked down at his hands as he felt every camera focus on him.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Japan, all of this may sound excessive. It is, I'll admit, but all of it is true because I received this information from an inside source: Kayo Murakami." Tani stopped for a moment to let the name sink in and let everyone at home remember just how important the name was. "A tell-all article will be released tonight to prove my claims. Now, do any of you still wish to support Okumura? He may be untainted by our politics, but I'd argue that even just a tour through the Diet building would make him better than the despicable person he is now. Wouldn't you agree?"

Kunikazu pushed himself away from the podium and strode off stage, all of it broadcast by the people meant to make him look good.

Tuesday, 10/4

"And, finally, what's the derivative of secant?" Makoto asked, her eyes glued to Ren's notes to make sure he didn't cheat his answer.

Thankfully, he kept his eyes closed and persevered through his furrowed brow. "Er… secant times tangent."

"Good job, Ren. That one's important to remember; you'll need it for when you start working with integrals."

"I still don't understand why you're helping me study math that's a year off."

"Because it's never too early to study," Makoto said. She packed up her own notes into her bag along with her writing utensils. "It's never too early to worry about college, either."

"When you put it like that, I think I'm behind schedule."

I keep having one-off thoughts that I'll devote an afternoon to researching some post-high-school options, but… I never do it. Too lazy, or I end up going to Leblanc and forgetting about it.

"Better get to it, then."

"Yeah, yeah. I've got other things to focus on right now."

"Such as…?"

"A girlfriend, gardening, scheming the newspaper club into expulsion, hiding from Eiji. You know," Ren said, smirking as he set aside his materials that he most certainly wouldn't clean up later. They would be left there until he rushed out the door the next morning for school. "Normal Shujin stuff."

"Is Eiji bothering you? I'm already planning to-"

"Yeah, he tried to, uh… 'duel' me the other day in the hall. But don't let that affect your decision-making process. He did it on his own time without mentioning the student council." Ren looked up at the ceiling as he paused. Did Eiji mention Makoto in their confrontation? "Er... maybe he did?"

"Well, I can't just not consider it."

"Just don't consider it."

"Too late." Makoto laughed before silencing herself to dole out justice. "I will be asking him to resign from the council at some point this month. His behavior towards both of us, especially his exaggerations in the article, were a mockery of the student council."

"Sorry that we can't send fake pictures of my ass to Eiji and have him apologize. Can't have shit in Tokyo, I swear."

"Who knows… it might be worth a shot." Ren and Makoto met one another's simple, plain gazes and paused. They held eye contact for a perfect moment in time, then burst out laughing. "Or I could just handle this seriously," Makoto said when they finally came down.

"Nope. You've convinced me. Matter of fact, I'm not stopping with Eiji. Ren-chan's nudes are going to burn Shujin Academy to the ground."

Makoto laughed, shaking her head with amused disapproval. "The newspaper club would love that, I'm sure."

"Oh, that reminds me. Guess who I met?"

"Who?"

"Kimi Kawano."

"Ah, was she as pleasant to talk to as her writing is to read?"

"'Bout the same level of pleasantness, yeah."

"Did she give you a hard time? I've heard that she can be a bit blunt."

"Eh. I think I was just looking for something to be angry at her for. I mean, I do, but it doesn't bother me nearly as much as I think it does." Ren looked over at the black TV screen. His and Makoto's faded reflections sat in the black box. "She does seem like a terrible person, though. Even she doesn't believe all the horseshit she writes."

"Some people just like controlling the attention of others."

"I'll never understand that."

"Neither will I, but we can hope that they do it in a non-harmful way, right?"

"We should hope harder."

"We did do some good, though, right? The apology article with Eiko's confession just came out today, along with an admission that elements of the story were hyperbolic."

Cool? I'm happy that it worked out for Eiko and us, but I just wanted an excuse to get up-close photos of Ryuji's elbows. Sue me.

"That's good."

"Oh, it's more than good. It means that we didn't waste last Saturday for nothing," Makoto said before she laughed at her own joke. "Kidding. Just a minor waste of time," she corrected, trying to provoke Ren with another joke.

Ren smiled. "Yeah, okay. Believe what you want."

"Kidding. I had fun doing that."

"I don't know if I'd call that fun."

"Agree to disagree. Either way, thank you for hosting the first few iterations of GRAVY Saturdays. In return, I'd like to invite you to-"

Take Eiji's place on the Student Council?

"-Dinner this Sunday," Makoto finished. She awaited a response from Ren by eagerly staring at him. "With my sister, by the way."

"Oh, how can I say no to that?"

"Then it's settled. We'll talk more about what you'll wear, and-"

"Woah woah woah, we did all that last time. How 'bout I'm in charge this time?"

"Ren…"

"I won't do anything that'll upset Sae. Promise. In fact, she'll be begging me to propose by the time dessert is served. "

"Alright," Makoto said with a shrug, laughing at Ren's vivid picture of success. "I trust you."

Wednesday, 10/5

"Psst!" Haru kept her eyes on the teacher as students behind her whispered. She'd grown used to it; tuning out the chatting of others was a requirement for sitting towards the back of the classroom. "Haru!" a voice harshly whispered from behind her.

This time was different, however. It seemed that the gossipers wanted to include Haru. She had no idea what for since she hadn't been listening, but the quality of her day up to that point gave her a decent guess.

Sure enough, her basic assumption would be proven right as soon as Haru turned around in her seat. "You hate your dad—yes or no? I got a thousand yen riding on this," a guy said quietly to her.

"Er…" Haru had no answer. Well, no answer that she wanted to share for such a rude question. Perhaps she did hate her father, she just didn't want to think of it that way. Using a word like hate exaggerated her negative feelings while no other word properly described them. She literally couldn't stand living with him and seeing him daily; if that wasn't hatred, what was? Still, no matter how reserved Haru wished to be, she wanted to be nice. "Which answer helps you?"

"I'm betting that you don't hate him."

"Then you placed a good bet." Haru finished the conversation on her terms. She dodged the question enough to avoid a guilty conscience, though she did worry about how brazen the guy was to ask her such a question. Rumors getting more and more common among gossipers erased any fear they had over discussing those rumors, encouraged by the newspaper club turning the rumors into fact.

Just a few days after her father was embarrassed on TV—which bothered Haru far less than she thought it would—the newspaper club got their take on the situation up and trending on Shujinstagram. It was a basic discussion piece featuring two of the club's writers with opposing takes on the least important issue: Haru's place in the mess.

One argued that Haru was a victim of her father's behavior and antics, while the other argued that Haru was nothing more than a stuck-up, spoiled brat who refused all that her father worked for. Haru thought they both missed the point of Kunikazu being exposed on TV and that both of them should go eat rotten potatoes until their intestines shriveled, but her opinion didn't stop them from releasing the discussion piece. It stimulated discussion around the school about the Okumura family.

Especially in the back of Haru's classroom. "You sure? I read that article on Shujinstagram, and-"

Haru turned back around to interrupt her classmate. Kind, as usual, Haru hid her anger in her words. "You shouldn't believe everything you read on there. Most of those articles are lies."

"Huh. I'll take your word for it, then," the guy said with a shrug. "But thanks for proving me right. You want half the yen?"

"No, thank you." Haru turned back around and tried to focus on the teacher.

The rumors were nothing more than mild annoyances and reminders of her situation, which wasn't exactly rare, considering that Haru woke up every morning in the Takamakis' guest room. The only thing Haru took to heart about the gossip, the rumors, and the bullshit is that anyone she heard repeating it, she knew to stay well away from.

"This is Penguin Sniper!"

Ryuji stood in front of a plain building, his skinny fists lifted like antennas to Heaven. Above the staircase up to Penguin Sniper, was a bright yellow banner that declared the location's intent. "Billiards, Darts, and Drinks," it read.

Before Ryuji stood Ann, dressed in the same outfit she wore for most of the Iwatodai trip. Jean shorts with a bright red belt, a crop top with a neon design on it, and heart-shaped earrings forced Ryuji to look at the ground to function like a normal human being.

"No, Ryuji, that's a building," Ann said, amusedly looking past Ryuji at the staircase.

Ryuji went to correct his girlfriend until he saw Ann laughing beneath a masking hand. "Oh, think you're funny? We'll see how long you're laughing after I hand your ass to you on a silver platter."

"Is that a challenge you're gonna live up to?"

"What? Think I'm not good at pool?"

"It's not that…" Ann said as she walked past Ryuji and towards the steps that led up to the Penguin Sniper lounge. "It's just that you've never seen me play pool."

Ryuji continued their light-hearted, competitive jabs while following Ann up the stairs. "No way you're good. I refuse to believe it. In fact, I'm willing to bet who pays for dinner on it."

"Alright, fine. You're on."

They stepped into the lounge. Ryuji had never been before. The only reason he knew of the spot's location was because he gave 'Best date spots Tokyo' a quick internet search and did his research. Based on his first impression, Penguin Sniper seemed like the right choice.

It was small and compact for a popular lounge, but that kept the crowd thin and the atmosphere light. There was a bar with some basic food options, two billiards tables with polished dark wood, and two digital dart boards along a wall covered in posters of fun decals and sports merchandise.

"Hi, welcome to Penguin Sniper. You here for darts, a drink, or just to shoot some pool?" a man asked behind the front counter. Ryuji glanced over the counter and saw a digital layout of the lounge.

"Billiards," Ann answered.

"Gotcha. Hourly rate is on the wall next to the cues and chalk. Take the open table, then lemme know if you need anything else."

"Thanks!" Ryuji and Ann walked over to the cool green pool table. Ryuji ran his hand along the smooth felt, feeling it lightly itch his fingertips. "Oh, yeah. That's that good felt." Ann shook her head, laughing as she looked at the rack of cues. She stood before the wall with her hands on her hips and her head cocked. Ryuji joined her at her side. "Watcha looking at?" he asked. "All the sticks are the same, ya know."

"Actually, they all have different weights." Ann turned her head and met Ryuji's eyes with a smirk. "But I wouldn't expect an amateur like you to know that." She slid a cue out from its slot on the wall and held it horizontally with both hands. "I guess I'll have to settle for destroying you with a light cue…"

I'm starting to think I'll be the one buying her food at the end of the night, Ryuji thought as he watched Ann examine her cue. It was like seeing a knight take up a legendary dragon-slaying sword and beholding the beauty of its craftsmanship.

"Whaddya mean?"

"They don't have any nineteen-ounce cues, so I'll be using eighteen; bummer."

"Uh…" Ryuji started to worry. Maybe Ann did know a thing or two about kicking his ass in billiards. "You sure it matters? I-I mean, I've never rea-"

"Oh, it matters." Ann patted Ryuji on the shoulder as she stepped away from the wall and walked back toward the pool table. "Hope you find one that suits you."

Just as Ann walked out of earshot, Ryuji muttered under his breath, "Shit…" The rack of cues went from something Ryuji never thought about to an intimidating figure. He read the weights of the cues, ranging from seventeen to twenty-three. Ryuji figured that if Ann used eighteen, he had to go way heavier than that because of how strong he was. That was perfectly reasonable, right?

Ryuji grabbed the heaviest one and a cube of chalk before he turned around. Now facing the pool table, he found that Ann had already set up the triangle for a game of 8-Ball and stood on the other side of the table. Her cue stood next to her like a wizard's staff as she awaited Ryuji's permission to break. "Ready?" she said with a smile, the same smile that made Ryuji think Ann was too far out of his league to even be an option.

It was at that moment that Ryuji knew he was going to lose. Ann had too much confidence in her stance like she'd been at Penguin Sniper a million times before without telling Ryuji beforehand. She looked like she trained for that moment for years and would whip out custom-fitted gloves any second.

"Yeah, let's do it."

Ryuji stood along the long side of the table as Ann leaned over her side. She placed the cue ball at an angle so that it wouldn't impact the triangle of balls straight on. Instead, it would hit down the side. That alone made Ryuji know he fucked with the wrong person.

Ann placed the thin end of the cue in between the tip of her thumb and her index finger. In one flowing motion, she pulled the cue back and drove it forward into the cue ball. It traveled across the table and cracked the triangle of balls hard enough to let the whole room know that a new game had just begun. Balls went every which way on the table, including the blue 2-ball.

"Solids," Ann said as she walked past Ryuji to line up her next shot. The cue ball ended up along a short wall with a perfect shot on the crimson 7-ball. Ryuji prayed that she would hit the cue ball hard enough that it would follow the object ball into the pocket for a scratch, but his luck ran thin when it came to Ann's skill. She lowered the end of her cue when striking the cue ball to induce enough backspin to keep the cue ball away from the pocket. "That's two already, Ryuji. Sure you wanna be paying for dinner tonight?"

"Yep!" Ryuji gulped as he doubled down. "You've just got lucky positioning, and stuff, so far! Just luck!"

"Hah. Whatever you say…" Ann took a straight-on long shot across the table to the opposite corner. The cue ball sent the red 3-ball into the corner pocket without any issues, rolling into the far wall and then bouncing off just enough to set up another shot. Ann walked all the way around the table and leaned over it to line up a shot on a side pocket.

Lucky for Ryuji, the yellow 1-ball rattled around in the pocket and dipped out. Ann's turn of terror ended and Ryuji could finally play the game. With the cue ball just around the center of the table, Ryuji had a few options. He had decent shots lined up at two of the corners, but they were at just enough of an angle for Ryuji to fear them. He couldn't take any chances with how good Ann turned out to be, so Ryuji turned his gaze to a more appealing shot.

On one side of the cue ball, directly in between it and the side pocket, was the green 14-ball. It was a straight shot, though with one caveat: it was touching the 8-ball. Ryuji knew most of the rules of the game, but the one rule that stood tall amongst the others was to not hit the 8-ball into another pocket until the end of the game. If that happened before the end, Ryuji would lose.

So, Ryuji simply decided he wouldn't lose. He'd take the risky shot and impress Ann with his skill while putting himself in a better position to win. Think, Ryuji, think! In those pool shot compilations, they use spin for something like this. It'll make the cue ball go away and not send the eight into a pocket. And, shit, spinning the cue ball can't be that hard, right? You just gotta hit one side of the ball. Easy-peasy, Ryuji thought as he leaned over the table.

Unlike Ann, his grip on the thin end of the cue involved hooking his fingers around the cue. In his mind, it improved his accuracy, but, in reality, the extra friction decreased his accuracy and dropped the power of his shot. That didn't stop Ryuji from giving the cue one hell of a windup, dragging his elbow back like he was about to windmill-strum a guitar. He lined up the tip of the cue with the left side of the cue ball in the hope of spinning it correctly.

Now, Ryuji was one of the people who brushed his teeth as aggressively as he could because he waged war against cavities. This same mentality extended to playing pool. Ryuji always hit the ball as hard as he could because it added a degree of unpredictability to his game and it increased his win rate by blah, blah, blah…

In actuality, the crack of the cue ball on the object ball sounded cool.

Ryuji's arm shot forward and sent the cue ball into the 14-ball. His eyes widened as the unexpected happened: with unprecedented speed and force, the 14-ball rocketed into the side pocket as the 8-ball only moved by a few inches. Ryuji breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the cue ball bounce around the sides of the table, its ridiculous level of spin keeping it going despite it seemingly not having the momentum.

After its third bounce off a wall, Ryuji sharply inhaled. He saw its new trajectory, going towards the 8-ball after everything that happened, and panicked. "No no no no no, don't you effin' dare! Come on, you little shit! Stop… stop! Stop, I said, dammit!" he yelled at the ball as he hovered over the table just in time to see the cue ball hit the 8-ball.

It's not at the right angle to send it into a pocket so- Ryuji remembered all the spin he put on the ball just as the 8-ball rolled into the same side pocket as the 14-ball. Fuck.

"Good game, Scratch Master," Ann said as she came around to pluck the 8-ball out of the side pocket. He continued staring into the depths of that foul side pocket as Ann smiled at him. Not even her beauty would pull him from the remorse of taking such a risky shot. "Hm… I'm thinking we wait in line for that takoyaki place on the corner or we try and get into that steakhouse down the street. Thoughts?"

"I… want a rematch!" Ryuji declared as he stood up straight. He rubbed the cube of chalk on the tip of his cue and stared down Ann with vengeance in his eyes. "Double or nothing!"

"I was planning on paying for dinner anyway," Ryuji muttered as he and Ann left the takoyaki stand. "Losing isn't that big of a deal." Kichijoji's streets teemed with people and quite a few couples. It made Ryuji feel more comfortable showing his affection for Ann in little ways, like walking closely at her side or just offering up a genuine smile. It took the edge off enough for him to not worry about anything.

Except playing like shit at Penguin Sniper, of course. Ryuji and Ann played more games after Ryuji's initial loss so they could get their money's worth. The true blonde won each and every game pretty easily. Ryuji got close once, coming within two balls of being able to shoot on the eight, only to scratch and give Ann a ball-in-hand. She promptly made the rest of her balls and sunk the 8-ball in devastating fashion.

"Uh-huh. Sure… just play it off like a tough guy," Ann said.

Ryuji sighed. "I gotta admit that you kicked my ass. I wasn't expecting it, but it happened. I accept my defeat."

"I thought you already accepted it when you bought this for me," Ann said, picking up one of her pieces of takoyaki out of the paper container she was given. "Thanks for paying. You didn't have to, you know."

"Wha- no. Hell no. We made a bet and I lost. What good's a bet if you can't follow it up?" Ann shrugged as they walked. Ryuji took a bite of his own takoyaki piece, savoring the taste and swallowing before he followed up his words. "And, ya know, I can't be dishonest on my first date with the Ann Takamaki." He got the smaller order of takoyaki because his mom told him to come home hungry. She wanted to make dinner for him to celebrate his first date.

"So, dishonesty is out but sucking at pool is allowed?"

"W-well, I-"

"Kidding. You played well enough for me to consider a second date."

"For real?"

"Er, I was joking, but we're definitely doing this again." Ann continued eating but walked closer to Ryuji's side. He finished up the last of his takoyaki and put his free hand around her shoulder to pull her closer. "Why don't we get the others to come sometime? Penguin Sniper is a cool spot," Ann said.

"Nah, let's wait a bit. We'll go there a bunch and get better before we invite them, so by the time we play, we'll be taking their money left and right. Should be easy."

"Or we could just do two-on-twos and I could carry you to wins."

"That works too." Ryuji accepted that Ann was significantly better than him with no chance of him catching up to her skill level by the time she ran out the table in their second game. He didn't even have to send the 8-ball in early for her to beat him in just a few turns. "Hey, how'd you get so good at pool? I took you there kinda assuming that I'd be the one winning."

"I just couldn't let you win. I'm not that good, really."

"Oh, come on. Gimme something real."

Ann laughed at her attempted dodge. "Well, when my family used to live in Finland-"

"What the eff?! Finland?!"

"Yes, Finland. Anyway, my dad had a man cave with a pool table. I spent a lot of time inside playing pool because of the cold."

"That makes a lot of sense."

"My dad taught me a lot, too, but I'm nowhere as good as him. Maybe one day you can play him."

"Hah, no chance. If you're already beating me that easily, your dad would get me changing my name and barking like a dog because I lose so much."

"Yeah… that's a good idea, actually. Now I know what we're betting on next time we play."

"Shit."

"Sorry, Ryuji. You did it to yourself."

Ryuji looked at the girl under his arm as the train station neared. She finished up her takoyaki but kept the empty paper container in her hand. She smiled as Ryuji looked down at her. "Eh. I can live with it," Ryuji said as the happiest mothereffer in Tokyo.

A/N: I have a few weeks of summer left before college starts. I'm gonna put out two more chapters of this, then I'll go on a break until I finish the first set of my chapters for my other fic and to more easily adjust to college life.

Dinner at Makoto's apartment will be the bulk of the next chapter. Obviously, Ren can no longer trip balls, so there will be a new twist to shake things up. Hopefully, things go well for Ren and he leaves dinner unscathed.

Thanks for reading yet again. Hope you guys have had a good August so far. Gonna push myself to finish the next chapter in much more quickly than this one, so I'll be back soon. Have a great week!