A few days passed and as usual, I didn't waste any time and quickly made my way to the cafeteria.

Usually, most people meet up with other students from different classes for lunch, so you really have to punch your way through the idle groups of people in the hall if you want to get to the cafeteria before all the good stuff runs out. As I made my way to the cafeteria, there was already a line forming, so I quickly joined the others.

When it was my turn in line, I ordered my usual. When I paid for my food, I received my pork cutlet sandwich and chocolate milk from the cafeteria lady and thanked her before making my way to my usual lunch spot. As I was on my way to my lunch spot, I spotted Isshiki waiting for me against the wall.

"Hello, Senpai!"

She's as cheerful as ever, which is refreshing, to say the least. "Yeah, hey."

After I said that, I went and opened the door for her as I placed my bag down and got myself situated. As I was about to get ready to eat, I noticed that she brought a bento that was packed relatively well.

"You can cook?"

"A little bit, hehe. I'm still experimenting with different recipes, but I'm pretty confident in my abilities."

"Ah, I see."

As I said that, we gave our thanks and began eating away. Compared to my meal, she had a wide variety of Proteins, Carbohydrates and sources of Fiber that must've taken at least 30 minutes or so to make. For someone like me who can only cook Curry and Chicken Cutlets, I was surprised at how well her lunch looked.

"I can see you looking from the corner of your eye, Senpai."

"A-Ah, my bad. It just looks like you put a lot of effort into making it."

"Oh, well days where I don't feel like eating bread, I take 20-30 minutes in the morning to make lunch for myself. Would you like to try a Spring Roll? I have four and I don't mind sharing one with you."

"Sure, then…"

I felt kind of weird taking food from a junior but free food is free food regardless of who it's from. When she placed the roll in my hand, I thanked her and took a bite.

"It's good,"

She kept the same soft smile she usually has before she turned her attention to the lunch I brought. "Pork Cutlet… is this what you usually eat every day?"

"Well, yeah. I can only make curry and chicken cutlets, so there's no point in waking up early to make that when I can eat something just as good in school."

"That makes sense, but I fear for your health, Senpai…"

"You don't have to, I'm fine."

"Well, I'll take your word for it."

Those soft words escaped her mouth and then the conversation suddenly died. As the two was us were eating, I broke the silence.

"Just so you know, Sudo and I went to the Student Council together and got everything sorted together. So, things should be settling down soon."

"Really? That's... surprising."

"It feels like he's planned this whole thing out in advance, but I honestly don't know at this point."

I don't have the slightest clue why he would do something that reckless for almost nothing in return.

"Eh, I wouldn't know either. Now everyone's saying he's lame and stuff now because he faked everything, and he even got suspended for it. Sudo-senpai is a troublesome person for sure, but he's really not that bad."

"Really?"

"Yep. It's not like he takes your lunch money on sight whenever he wants, he's just a very troubled person, like you."

She cutely said those words which were effective at stinging my heart for a moment. "At least we're not a manipulative sly fox, like you."

At least I hope he's not manipulative.

"What do you mean?"

She tried to plead ignorance, but I won't fall for it. I wonder how many guys she has under her finger? Damn, that's a scary thought.

"Are you really going to deny it? You're not fooling anyone, just saying."

"Whatever you say, Senpai."

As soon as Isshiki said that, we heard the door open from behind us. The two of us turned and saw Sudo.

"Yo,"

I can't say that I'm not surprised that he showed up. While Isshiki on the other hand sighed at his presence.

"What do you want now?"

"Don't worry, I'm not here to start trouble." When he said that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. "Here."

Taking it, Isshiki opened it and was surprised at the contents of the envelope. I can see it contains a fair amount of cash.

"Is this…"

"It's not all of your money, of course, but most of it is in there. I only told Hikigaya this, but I'm leaving all the shit I did before in the past."

"Why the sudden change? Just not too long ago you were extracting money from me, and now you're done?"

"You were a special case, and since that's done, I'm moving away from that and moving onto a bigger project."

"A bigger project…"

"Indeed. Well, enjoy your time with Hikigaya. I'll be going now."

He left for the door leaving the two of us alone with the after math of the situation. Seconds later I also got up and went for the door, with the intention of going after Sudo.

"I'll be back,"

When I got back inside the building, Sudo turned around at the sound of the door then he faced me with a smile.

"Are you going to ask me for my hand in friendship?"

"Hell no."

"Then what is it? I told you already, I decided to change."

"Why, though?"

"Why would I tell you something like that? Better yet, why do you even care?"

"…"

I struggled to find an answer to his questions, so the silence continued to drag on, which he sighed at.

"I can understand Iroha, but you? Why are you even here? Just go back outside unless you're willing to work together with me."

"What do you mean by that?"

He smiled as I said that. "You remember the Service Club, don't you?"

I felt my heart skip a beat as he said those words. Just how does he know about the Service Club?

"How do you know about the Service Club?"

"Curious, are we? I know everything about the Service Club except one small thing."

"And that is?"

"Now, now. If I say it now, you won't bother telling me, so let's make a deal. You get to ask me whatever you want, and I get to ask you whatever I want. But only one of our questions gets to include the words 'Service Club' in them, but both cannot include them. So if those parameters are not met, the deal is void."

What a pain. It seems like some kind of trick but I'm probably just going to come up with a question that includes the words Service Club in them.

"If the deal fails, then it'll hurt both of us, not just me."

"I'll just contact your previous club mate Yuigahama Yui, or your previous club advisor Hiratsuka Shizuka and find out through them."

"Then why don't you?"

"Because I want to hear it from you, the source itself. Plus it's fun this way, right? Think about it as a mutual exchange of information."

He smiled at me then we heard the lunch bell go off moments after. It wasn't long until students started to fill the halls to return back to their classes.

"Let's leave it at this. Find me when you want to exchange information, but don't feel pressured to do so. You probably won't hear from me again if you choose not to do anything, so that'll be that. I'll see you around."

As soon as he waved me down and joined with the wave of students in the hall, I heard someone call out from behind me. I turned around calmly expecting the person to be Isshiki

"It might be rude of me to ask, but what did you two talk about?"

The two us of started to walk and talk as we had less than a few minutes to get back to our classrooms.

"Nothing of importance, but I'll probably be in contact with Sudo again down the road."

The Service Club is gone. After I quit, Yuigahama quit shortly after, and then the club disbanded because of the lack of club members. Yukinoshita went on to pursue the Student Council while Yuigahama went off with her clique. For me, well… I thought I was going to live the rest of my high school life alone and in peace, but I somehow found a way to break my solitude.

"I see, well knowing you, I won't have anything to worry about. But if you need anything, do let me know, okay?"

"Sure,"

As soon as I said that we stopped in front of her class. We said our goodbyes then I proceeded to make my way to my classroom which wasn't too far from here.

With the school week coming to an end, usually, I would be at home playing video games or reading, but I've found myself in a small shopping district where me and Isshiki agreed to meet at. Her job is in this area, so I guess she chose this location for convenience's sake, which made things easier for me. The weather was also starting to get warmer, but it was still quite chilly outside, but it's nothing I can't handle.

As I was waiting in the station outside of the shopping district, I heard a voice call out to me. As expected, she's here. Her hair fluttered in the wind as she ran over to me, seemingly out of breath.

"Good afternoon, Senpai!"

I looked at her while she caught her breath. She was wearing a beige jacket and a white skirt that fit her quite well.

"Yeah, good afternoon. So, are we ready to go?"

"Yup, let's go!"

The two of us then walked side by side with each other as it felt like she was guiding me to the first location. As the two of us walked together, I caught whiffs of her shampoo, perfume, or whatever that pleasing smell was. It smelled like coconut and some sort of wood that was incredibly pleasing to my nose. Not only is my nose stimulated, but my eyes as well.

"You're not dressed half-bad, senpai. I'll give you 5+ points for that!"

"What in the world is this point system that you're playing with?"

"Fufu, I'm just grading you on your performance today. For your reference, of course."

I don't know if it's strictly for my own reference, but oh well. But it's strange, not once have I heard of this point system that people use to grade someone on a date. Is this the new fad for this year or something? I must be really behind on this kind of stuff.

"Right... so where are we going first?"

"Here!"

She pointed at a café that seemed to be popular in the area. I guess this is the place she'll be treating me to.

"Alright, let's go."

When we went inside, I was greeted by a calm and somewhat lively atmosphere that was occupied with subtle music playing in the background. Upon entering the café, we were greeted by the receptionist and then she led us to a booth. After we received the menus, the waitress left us.

"Let's order coffee together, senpai."

I looked at her then I turned the menu to the page with the drinks and my eyes went to the coffee options. Lattes here are 250 yen, which better be the best coffee I ever had. Lattes usually include a shot of expresso in them, so I'll probably go with that.

"Are the lattes any good?"

"They're one of the best drinks here! The dark roasts are pretty good along with the refreshers. But the snacks are pretty mediocre for the prices if you were wondering."

"Oh, alright. So, just the coffee?"

"Yep!"

She then called over a waitress who was nearby to take our orders. After our orders were taken, the two was us were left with silence. Even though I'm not experienced in social environments like these, I know that you can't let silence like this prolong for long. If this was an actual date, she probably would've gotten up and left without paying for the things she bought. So what can I even talk about?

"So what ya gonna do after graduation, Senpai?"

While I was thinking about what to talk about, I was gracefully saved by the will of God.

"Uh, I'll probably just go to any university that accepts me and figure it out from there."

"Ah, is that so? Were you in any clubs in middle school or high school? I think schools look at stuff like that, right?"

Well, the conversation seems to be moving but not in the direction that I want it to. Bringing up the Service Club right now is the last thing I want to do, but if I lie to her who knows what would happen. As I finished that thought, the waitress returned with our drink orders, and we thanked her before taking a sip. It is high quality coffee for sure, and my taste buds are more than satisfied with my purchase.

While we were enjoying our coffee, I decided to answer her question after having time to think it over.

"Nah, I wasn't in any clubs. I always went straight home after school, so I never bothered with clubs."

It wasn't a complete lie, but it was believable enough for her to not pry further into my personal life. But I don't doubt that she'll eventually figure it out and she might resent me for lying to her.

"Ah, I see."

With that, Isshiki went to sip on her coffee in silence. What's this? Does she want me to bring up something to talk about?

"Aren't you in some club? Who are the other members?"

Her face lit up after I asked that question. "Maya-chan and Saki-senpai are great people! But Saki-chan is really blunt, and many boys are intimidated by her because she's a bit masculine, but she's actually really sweet. Did you know she's been in the club since she was a freshman? She's a capable woman, if I must say."

Huh, sounds like Miura in a way. "Ah, I see. Were you always in the drama club, right?"

"Well... I used to be the manager of the Soccer Club until Hayama-senpai left to join the Student Council. So, when he left, I left too."

"You liked him, huh?"

I mean, who wouldn't? He's the definition of a 'Perfect Guy'. Handsome, popular, and has a way with words, just how can such a person exist? He must have a flaw to him or something.

"A-Ah, well... yeah."

She was flustered as she got those words across to me. "I see. Are we going to order any food here or did you want to go somewhere else?"

"I'll let you choose the next place, Senpai."

"Ah, alright." I thought about where to go for a second before I got an idea. "Well, if you're ready let's go."

"Okay,"

She smiled and then called over the waitress. The waitress then gave us the bill and she thanked us for dining here. After we paid the bill, we found ourselves outside of the café.

"I'll be relying on you Senpai, please lead the way."

I'm not sure if there are any bakeries in the area, which means I'll have to look for alternatives as well as the actual bakery. After a few minutes, I managed to spot a bakery across the street. Upon spotting it, I told her, and she looked across at the bakery.

"Ooh, a bakery!"

After she said that, we crossed the street, and entered the bakery. As I opened the door for her, we were greeted with crisp air from the AC unit above our heads.

"Welcome,"

After we were greeted by the worker over the counter, the two of us went to look at what they had to offer.

"Is the anpan good?"

She looked like a child as she eyed the Sweet Bean bread. 125 yen huh? Must be good. They also got peppermint meltaways, small cakes, and chocolate fudge bars.

"Yes, they sell out quickly along with our peppermint meltaways. We also sell individual slices of cake with 10 different available flavors."

She kept a warm smile and a friendly attitude toward us as she advertised the products, which seemed to be effective at persuading Isshiki.

"Oh, I see! I'll get two anpan and two pepper meltaways. And, uh... do you want anything?"

"I'm the one paying, you know?"

She laughed awkwardly as I said that which I sighed subtly at. "Please add one more anpan to the order."

After I said that, she totaled everything up and gave me the final price. "535 yen, please."

I paid her then I received the goods. After we left the bakery, we grabbed a table outside of the shop and started to dive into the bread.

"So good!"

"Yeah,"

Her enthusiasm was hard for me to reply to, but they were really good. "You really like this stuff, huh?"

She giggled. "Yes, I do. Thank you for paying for my meal."

As I watched her eat her bread, I guess she really does look like a kid in a way. Even though we're not far apart in age, our relationship really does seem to resemble senpai and kouhai.

"So, what do you want to do now? You wanna grab a bite to eat or keep walking around?"

She stopped eating and looked at me as I said those words. "Sure, I guess I'll put the rest of the food away, then."

With that, we got up from our seats and began walking. As we were walking, I noticed that there were quite a handful of people in the area, especially in small groups. I guess this location isn't terrible compared to the Chiba shopping district, or some of the other smaller shopping districts where they primarily consist of family-owned businesses.

"You said no Saize, right?"

"Yep. I'll be grading you based on your eating preferences, so pick something that you normally eat."

"I normally eat Saize, though."

"But Saize can't earn you any points; don't you eat anything else besides that?"

"Well..."

As I said that, I eyed a small ramen shop in between two small antique shops. Isshiki was not happy to see that I chose ramen for lunch, but she also wasn't completely against the idea either.

"Ramen, huh..."

"Yep, how many points can I get for this?"

"Hmm, I'll let you know later. Anyway, please lead the way, Senpai."

When we entered, the temperature shifted, and it was considerably warmer here than outside. And moments after entering, we were welcomed by a loud, friendly voice. "Hello, welcome!"

This wasn't a new-age ramen shop, it was an older shop that probably dates back to at least the 90s or something, which means there should be a ticket machine here. After I spotted the ticket machine, I lead Isshiki to it.

"Have you had ramen before?"

"N-Not really, no."

I guess she was a bit nervous about trying ramen for what it seemed like, her first time. Well, an expert like me should be able to guide her through her first experience effortlessly.

"So, there's a wide variety of flavors to choose from, but for a starter, choose shoyu."

"R-Right."

"Now, choose how much fat you want. I recommend a low amount since too much fat can ruin the taste of the ramen if you're not used to it."

She then marked the low-fat amount on her ticket. I went with miso and chose a moderate amount of fat for my broth. As we completed our orders, I went over to the chef and handed him our order. After then handed me a table number which he would call out when our order is ready, the two of us occupied an empty booth.

"Wah, it's kind of hot in here, don't you think?"

She took off her jacket and placed it on the seat, which revealed a thin white shirt that complimented her appearance quite nicely.

"Most ramen shops are."

"Ah, okay. But you know, these bowls look really heavy to eat, I'm not sure if I can finish it all."

Isshiki scanned the room for a moment, observing the other customers with their food.

"Just eat what you can, it's on me."

"Oh, really? Even though you paid for my sweets from the bakery?"

"This is probably your first time, right? I'll cover it, but only for this time."

"Fufu, I see."

She let out a sneaky grin and, at that moment, I heard the chef call out our table number. We went to grab our bowls and returned to our seats.

"Ah... I wonder if I can get a take-home box, or something."

"You probably can, anyway, itadakimasu."

As usual, Chiba ramen never fails to satisfy my taste buds. While I was enjoying my ramen, Isshiki finally decided to try her bowl. And her first mouthful left her speechless.

"Wow..."

She muttered those words to herself as the two of us ate the rest of our food in comfortable silence.

After we finished our food, I paid the bill and the two of us left the ramen shop. Isshiki stretched her body as she was finally able to stand after almost finishing that entire bowl of ramen.

"I admit, I was kind of skeptical about trying the ramen, but it was surprisingly really good!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

She smiled. "Okay, where to next?"

We're still going to keep doing things? Damn, dates are a pain in the ass. How much more am I supposed to endure until I can go home?

"Uh, I dunno. I'm not familiar with this location at all."

"Hmm, let's walk around for a bit and window shop, yeah?"

"Yeah, sure."

With that, the two of us went on to walk off the ramen and also to window shop. Since Isshiki has a job, I don't doubt that she'll want to purchase a thing here and there, and if that happens then I'll be stuck waiting for her until she's done. That's just going by simple logic, who knows what can happen.

Over an hour passed and the two of us agreed on calling it a day. While even though the sun was still out, there was a slight dip in the temperature, and the breeze got chillier.

We spent the last hour or so inside multiple stores and checked our various crystals, wood carvings, and other homemade items. The time flew by since I wasn't subjected to strictly looking only at women's clothing, otherwise, I would've bored myself to death.

"Thank you for your time today, I had fun."

And according to Isshiki, it seems she had a good time with me today. Which is good, because we spent a considerable amount of time together this afternoon, so it would've sucked if she didn't enjoy herself even a little bit. Hell, even if she didn't, she would've got a free meal out of it, so that accounts for something.

"Yeah. How many points did I earn today?"

She took a second to herself as she thought about the answer. "About 45 points or so."

"Out of 100? What did I do wrong?"

She giggled. "You brought me to a ramen shop, which wasn't the worst but it also wasn't the best, so you lost 5 points. I also subtracted 20 points for your demeanor, and another 20 points because you didn't compliment me at all today. It's a requirement to tell your date how good they look, you know?"

"Well, at least I didn't lose all my points, so that counts for something, right?"

"I guess so, but keep note for future reference, okay?"

"Yeah, alright."

She brushed aside my response and kept a warm smile on as we started to walk back home. As the two of us were walking on our way home, we passed by her bookstore, and I noticed she suddenly stopped as she faced a person on the steps. When I noticed, I turned my attention to her and she was looking right at me. My heart rate increased in a matter of seconds. It's Yuigahama.

"..."

Her apparent silence didn't say anything, but her facial expressions said a thousand words about the situation the two of us faced in the past. I joined the Service Club in my second year after being forced by my guidance counselor. Not too long after that, I quit, and less than a week later Yuigahama confessed to me.

"Let's keep walking."

"A-Ah, right."

While we walked away from Yuigahama, Isshiki decided to inquire about what just happened earlier.

"Umm, do you know Yui-senpai by chance?"

"You know her?"

"Well, she's my coworker."

Now that's interesting. I guess after she quit the Service Club she went on to get a part-time job, but I wouldn't have thought that these two were coworkers.

"I see. Well... she was my old clubmate."

"You lied then?"

She sounded so disappointed after she realized I had lied to her.

"It's a long story with her and the Club President, so yeah, I lied. Sorry."

After I joined the Service Club, I was subjected to verbal abuse from Yukinoshita and Yuigahama. Less than a month later I got tired of it, so I quit. But that led to a harsh disagreement between me and Yukinoshita. Then Yuigahama confessed to me a week after I quit, which felt like a terrible attempt at either trying to make up for her behavior or trying to get me back into the Club, which I accused her of, and it backfired on me completely. Miura talked to me about it and I just explained my side of the story, she wasn't hostile about it, rather she accepted it without killing me.

"I see,"

But even so, between the two of them, Yuigahama is the most deserving of an apology from me. I thought she confessed to me just to bring me back into the club, so I called her out on her on that assumption. This is the first time I've seen her since that day, and I can feel the past gnawing at me. I'll probably talk to her again at a better time, but for now, it continues to sit in my mind.

"So, who was the Club President?"

At this point, there's no reason for me to not tell her. Yukinoshita Yukino was the Club President before she went on to pursue the Student Council. Ice cold to the bone, and never had an ounce of compassion for anything and just said whatever she wanted with a straight face. I personally don't want anything to do with that bitch ever again. But she's the most popular student in school, so I hear about her on occasion which is inevitable.

"Yukinoshita Yukino."

"Ah, her, huh?"

"Yeah. It's whatever though, it's not like we were close or anything like that."

"Right... but I still don't like how you lied to me Senpai. I hate liars, okay?"

"Do you hate me then?"

Even if she does, it's not like I'm going to bawl out my eyes because my kouhai hates me for lying to her. But if it's genuine hatred, then that can be a bit unsettling, to say the least.

"I don't, since it's not that big of a deal. But you lost all your points for today because of it. How do you feel, Senpai? Lying to your sweet junior for nothing, how repulsive!"

"I feel so guilty, Irohasu."

"Ugh, don't call me that again please."

I gave her a small smile. "Well, let's get going now, I still need to study for my entrance exams."

"Ah, right."

With that, we resumed walking at our normal pace. I do need to study for exams, but I also need to figure out what I should ask Sudo. I can ask him whatever I want, but both of our questions cannot include the words Service Club in them. So, what can I ask him then? I could ask him if he was involved with Hayama before, but I don't really care about Hayama. I can ask about Isshiki, the rugby player, there are so many options to choose from, but that's why I'm going to think about this overnight and see what happens.

AN:

It's funny how I realized that this is an OC-centric fic last chapter. Oh, well. Regardless of that, thank you all for reading. I really appreciate your kind words, constructive criticism, and feedback on my story.