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Tsukimi (月見) or Otsukimi (お月見), literally moon-viewing, also known as Jugoya (十五夜), refers to Japanese festivals honouring the autumn moon, a version of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Tsukimi traditions include displaying decorations made from Japanese pampas grass (susuki) and eating rice dumplings called Tsukimi dango in order to celebrate the beauty of the moon. Seasonal produce are also displayed as offerings to the moon.

The shadow on the moon is said to be the result of the shade of the magic Katsura Tree, which cannot be cut down. A man being punished by the gods was sentenced to cut down a giant Katsura Tree on the moon, but it grows back and he can never leave.

With the Athletics Carnival coming up, as well as cram school, my after-school lessons, as well as the Bea-tan doll, each week was just swamped with things to do.

The Bea-tan doll was particularly bad. Since training for the Athletics Carnival made me so physically exhausted that I always went to bed the moment I got home. At this rate the doll wouldn’t have any progress at all!

I had planned on asking the other club members for advice but they were so busy with the wedding dress and their own projects that I couldn’t find the chance to. I was actually the club member with the most free time.

‘I should probably help somehow~ But there just isn’t much that I could do~’ I had thought, but my new Vice President, Azai-san, told me,

“As the boss, all we need you to do is be our rock.”

Boss… I was the boss, wasn’t I? What if the day came when they all started calling me ‘Boss Lady’…?

Anyway, our only male member, Minami-kun, was really proving his worth as far as the wedding dress was concerned.

“Your embroidery skills are truly remarkable, Minami-kun…” I praised him.

“I’m not that good. I’ve just been doing it for a long time is all…” he shyly disagreed.

No, really, he was so good that it would be fine even if he boasted about it.

“Ummm… By the way, Minami-kun. Is it true that Ririna has been calling you ‘Shop Boy’?”

“Eh-, ah, yes,” he replied as his eyes swam.

Oh my god! That idiot, Ririna!

“I must apologise. I only just heard about it. That girl has been too disrespectful of you. I will make sure to tell her off myself, so could you please forgive her? I truly am sorry.”

“No! I don’t really hate it or anything! Well, I mean I did at first but I’m actually quite fond of it now. Really.”

“Eh-, you like it!?”

Was Minami-kun actually some sort of masochist?!

“Ummm… Ever since Kotou-san began calling me ‘Shop Boy’ other people who never spoke to me before used that name to talk to me. I’ve made more friends thanks to that too. And before I was ‘Shop Boy’ she called me Apprentice(Minarai). My name Minami Raita can be shortened that way, right? And isn’t ‘Shop Boy’ better than ‘Apprentice’?”

“I honestly have no idea…”

“Really? I think ‘Shop Boy’ is definitely better.”

…Minami-kun, are you sure you haven’t been brainwashed? Well, as long as he was happy I suppose.

“If Ririna ever causes you trouble, please do let me know at once.”

“Gosh, she wouldn’t. Oh, but could I actually ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

Minami-kun looked down as he fiddled with his knitting needles.

“What do you think Kotou-san thinks about boys who like handicrafts…?”

Eh…?

*

*

The towel thing had blown up even more.

“Oh yeah. Shuusuke lent me it once, and I liked it so I bought one too,” Kaburagi had said, which caused a little boom. By now pretty much all the girls in Zui’ran were using that towel.

I asked Yukino-kun,

“Enjou-sama uses that towel as well, does he not?”

“Did you not like it? I’m sorry… It just seemed so nice that I bought one for Oniisama as well…”

He seemed so down that I denied it in a panic.

“I liked it very much!”

Yukino-kun was kind, so it made sense that he bought one for his beloved Niisama. I guess it couldn’t be helped then…? Yeah.

*

*

More confident now after the summer, I had put my name down for the 100 metre sprint. Just like I did every morning with Coach Mihara, I made sure to stretch before I began training. Thanks to school I could only run on weekends now but 100 metres was still no problem for me.

Just running 100 metres that is. My speed was another matter, I soon realised. Oh dear…

Still, now that I was registered for it I could only give my all!

During my practice sprints, sometimes I ended up with Wakaba-chan once in a while. I guess she signed up for it too.

Today, Wakaba-chan and I were lined up at the start line. I overheard a girl from her class whisper,

“You get it, right…?”

Hm?

Throughout the sprint, Wakaba-chan was making good time. But then just before we reached the finish line, she began to slow. Eh!? What the heck was this!?

“You were so fast, Reika-sama!” the people around me praised when I passed the goal, but just now that match was totally fixed, wasn’t it…

What the heck! What happened to sportsmanship!? I wouldn’t be happy even if I won like this!

Wakaba-chan’s expression didn’t betray a thing. She didn’t look like she minded at all. But I* minded. It was match fixing. I could let it slide this time since we were just practising, but it would be a huge issue if we did this on the day.

I called out to her without hesitation.

“Excuse me, Takamichi-san.”

“Yes?” she asked in surprise.

“You lost on purpose just now.”

“Eh? I, uhhh…”

I could see her looking at our spectators, unsure of what to do. It was obvious that everybody was watching us, my followers included.

“Winning because somebody handed me the victory does not make me happy in the slightest. Stop trying to accommodate me and just run as fast as you can. If I lose to you then that is simply proof that I am lacking.”

“Aahh… All right.”

Ruining the race with match fixing would just spoil everybody’s fun. It would spoil my fun too. Plus, if that Athletics Carnival maniac found out about it he would be angry for sure.

I think everybody cooperated because I lost pretty much every time after that.

*

The group I was assigned to for the real sprint was filled with girls even slower than I was. They really were accomodating me…

*

*

*

Each night I worked on Bea-tan’s parts while I fought to stay awake. The Kaburagi family invited me to a moon-viewing party but I of course declined. As If I had time for that. Moon-viewing parties were just eating parties for me anyway. I made sure to eat a lot at home.

Since it was a waste not to celebrate though, I decorated my room with susuki pampas grass and watched the moon on my own with salted bean daifuku to eat.

Sometimes I shocked myself with how refined I was.

Since tomorrow was a weekend I stayed up extra late to get more needle felting done.

Lately I had been shutting myself in my room the moment I got home. I guess Otousama finally got curious became he came to my room to check up on me.

“Otousama has been worried about you, Reika,” he said, “Lately you haven’t been leaving your room except to eat.”

“I apologise for that. However, I am quite busy preparing for the school festival,” I replied without stopping my hands.

I have no idea what he was thinking but he began talking about helping me out. Maybe he was trying to bond with me or something. Apparently he thought he could do it too after just watching me a few times.

“What do we have here. Otousama will do the torso,” he said.

“Do you know how, Otousama?”

“What do you mean ‘do I know’. It’s easy. Leave it to Otousama.”

But despite talking big the Tanuki was unbelievably bad!

“Otousama! You have broken off part of the needle inside! Aah! The torso is all flattened now!”

“Ohh! Sorry! Don’t worry though, if I do this…”

“Noooo! Just stop touching it! This part is dented now! Waaaah!”

Don’t joke with me, Tanuki! The torso was half-done already and you ruined it! God, what the hell! What the hell was this!

“Get out!” I screamed on the verge of tears.

God, I quit! I was going to sleep!

“Otousama was wrong. Forgive me, Reika,” I heard from beyond the door, but it was no concern of mine! This tanuki could just go repent by cutting down the katsura tree on the moon!

I was laying in bed with my pillow over my face. It was impossible for me to make it on time now! God, I was just sick of everything!

*

The next morning, Otousama’s secretary Sasajima-san came to visit.

“Reika-ojousama, apparently something happened…?”

Since Oniisama was on a business trip and apparently Otousama couldn’t wipe his own butt, he even went and called Sasajima-san here on a day off. What the hell was this tanuki doing!

“Sorry for wasting your weekend, Sasajima-san.”

“Please do not mind it. Do you think you could show me the handicrafts project you were working on?”

I said that it was fine again and again but he insisted, so I reluctantly brought the parts to the living room.

“I see…”

Sasajima-san began examining the torso from multiple angles.

“I’ll be borrowing this for a moment,” said Sasajima-san before using the needle to pull on the wool in the dented parts. Ehhh!?

Before long, Sasajima-san had skilfully restored the parts that Otousama ruined, and after some consultation of the design sheet, even finished the torso entirely.

“You’re amazing!”

“I am honoured.”

That was a capable secretary for you! To think that even handicrafts was child’s play!

All that was left were the head and legs. And the legs were almost done. Didn’t that mean I would make it on time!?

“Thank you so much, Sasajima-san!”

“It was no problem at all. Ojousama, do you think you could make up with your father now?”

“…Yes.”

In consideration to Sasajima-san who had given up his day with his family for this, I decided to forgive Otousama. I still had to thank him as well though. We had received a lot of dried fish as mid-year gifts, so I offered him as much as he wanted. Oh! Otousama had some good alcohol too, didn’t he? Here, take some! Oh, and some of Okaasama’s super high class bathing powders from France. I really recommend them, they’ll help keep you moisturised in the coming season. Oh, and sweets! Take some sweets too.

“And Sasajima-san, please do not forget to claim weekend penalty pay as well, all right?”

“You say some surprisingly working class things, don’t you, Ojousama…”

With gifts in both hands, Sasajima-san was seen off by Otousama and I.

“Otousama, please do not trouble your secretary with every little thing.”

“Got it…”

“And besides the weekend rates, make sure to give him a bonus too.”

“Got it…”

“Naturally all of this will be coming out of your own pocket, Otousama.”

“Got it…”

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The Tosa Nikki (Tosa Diary) is a poetic diary written anonymously by the tenth-century Japanese poet Ki no Tsurayuki. The text details a 55-day journey in 935 returning to Kyoto from Tosa province, where Tsurayuki had been the provincial governor. The prose account of the journey is punctuated by Japanese poems, purported to have been composed on the spot by the characters.

The Tosa Nikki is the first notable example of the Japanese diary as literature. Until its time, the word “diary” (nikki) denoted dry official records of government affairs, written by men in Chinese. By contrast, the Tosa is written in the Japanese language, using phonetic kana characters. Literate men of the period wrote in both kana and Chinese, but women typically were not taught the latter, being restricted to kana literature. By framing the diary in the point of view of a fictitious female narrator, Tsurayuki could avoid employing Chinese characters or citing Chinese poems, focusing instead on the aesthetics of the Japanese language and its poetry.

Around the time when each student was decided in their class which events to appear in, Iwamuro-kun wanted to talk to me.

“Actually, I’m slated to appear in the costume race again but…”

This time his class was going with Peter Pan as their theme. Wasn’t that fine? You’ll get to wear cute outfits again, you know~?
Ah, but I guess he wouldn’t have been picked for Tinkerbell…

“My class were pretty enthused about the Cinderella we did last year. That’s why they bugged me to do it this year too… I mean, I don’t mind of course but… I’ve been wondering what Nonose-san would think of that…”

Apparently this was about the maiden in love worrying about what his crush would think about his cross-dressing.

“I think Nonose-san would find it funny and have a great time.”

“Maybe. You don’t think she’d be disgusted…?”

“Then what if you just didn’t participate then?”

“…”

Ah, he was conflicted. I see, so he wanted to cross-dress that badly. There weren’t all that many chances for him to openly cross-dress after all.

“…There’s something wrong with me, isn’t there?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s weird that I have so much fun dressing like a girl…”

Iwamuro-kun’s expression was depressed. Eh!? Was he agonising over his secret hobby!?

“That is simply not true! It hardly hurts anybody so you have the right to do what makes you happy! And you do not need to worry! The world is overflowing with men who secretly wish they could try being a girl!”

“Eh? …Really?”

“Absolutely! Please think back. Think about last year’s cross-dressing maid café. Do you not remember all of the boys who gleefully put on the maid uniforms? It was certainly not just you, Iwamuro-kun. Have you ever read Ki no Tsurayuki’s Tosa Nikki? Even a thousand years ago there was a senpai of your hobby. It is okay. You are not the only one, Iwamuro-kun. If you still feel worried then I will ask Nonose-san myself what she thinks about the cross-dresser in the race.”

“You’d do that!?”

“Yes, leave it to me. I am absolutely on your side, Iwamuro-kun.”

“Master!”

With a brighter expression than before, he told me, “Even if I end up as Wendy, I’m going to curl my wig!” before heading off.

I suppose I needed to track Nonose-san down now. Iwamuro-kun’s awakening was probably in large part due to my temptations, so I felt a kind of responsibility for him.

I found her chatting with some friends in the classroom.

“Nonose-san,” I said casually.

“Yes, Reika-sama?”

“Actually, during the Athletics Carnival, would it be possible for you to take over the class for the periods when I am participating myself? I do apologise for this. I still feel bad for the time we went on that excursion…”

“Of course it’s possible! I’ll help as much as you need me to. Please ask whatever you need!” she said.

“Reika-sama, if there’s anything we can help you with then don’t ever hesitate to ask for our help!” said one of her friends.

“Thank you. Hearing that overjoys me.”

Her friends all agreed to help. Now was time for the main topic though.

“Speaking of the Athletics Carnival, apparently in the other classes they have been having a great time forcing the costume race’s female roles onto their boys. It sounds like fun, does it not?”

“Goodness! Is that’s what they’re doing!?”

“Actually, the class I was in last year had a boy who played Cinderella. That was a great time.”

“Huh. Ahh! Wasn’t it Iwamuro-kun that did that?” she said as her face lit up in remembrance.

“Why yes, it was. Iwamuro-kun is a diligent person so he truly gave the role his all. Because of that, I think the costume was very polished.”

“It was, wasn’t it. I feel a bit bad but I was dying from laughter as well. Who could have imagined that huge frame in a dress… Haha,” she chuckled.

At the very least, Nonose-san didn’t seem to be disgusted. Alright!

“Say, Nonose-san? Could I speak to you for a moment?”

She followed me away from her group of friends.

“The truth is, Iwamuro-kun is cross-dressing again for the costume race this year.”

“Eh, really?”

“Yes. Although the details are being kept hush-hush until the day, that is what I was told.”

“Huuh~ Iwamuro-kun is cross-dressing again. Maybe I should tease him about it later.”

“The issue is that the person himself is a little worried about how others will see him.”

“Gosh. He shouldn’t have any reason to worry at all. I actually really want to see it again.”

“I thought you would say that! Then please tell him that as well! Let him know that you look forward to it.”

“I will then. Maybe if the circumstances permit I’ll get a photo to commemorate it too. But huh, cross-dressing again. Maybe our class should do something like that too.”

Incidentally, my class had decided on ‘The Town Musicians of Bremen’ for our costume race, with the competitors dressed as different animals.

And as for why it ended up as ‘Town Musicians of Bremen’, thanks to my mouse and sheep costumes last year everybody had this weird idea that I liked costumed animals. That’s why they, in a show of misguided consideration, decided to try and put in as many animals as they could for me.

Hold on guys, I don’t actually have much interest in costumes. I just wore those because I had to.

Anyway, although they had chosen that theme for my sake I firmly rejected it. As for my reason…

“Last year Kaburagi-sama cautioned me for my lax attitude in failing to wear a nose. But running while trying to breathe in that would be too much for me…”

Just bringing up his name had caused an immediate effect. As expected of the Emperor.

But after that they stressed to each other that ‘the Emperor is fussy about noses’ and began preparing them for the costumes. Oh boy~

At any rate that was what was happening with my class as a whole, but right now I was talking to Nonose-san about Iwamuro-kun. I brought up the idea of having her help me with Iwamuro-kun’s transformation.

“Last year I gave Iwamuro-kun help with make-up and his clothing. I must admit I had a lot of fun.”

“Really!? That sounds so fun!”

“Well, this year pretty much everybody in his class is helping him, so I am unsure how well they will take if we intrude. Still, I think just a little bit would be fine.”

“Yeah. I want to try putting make-up on Iwamuro-kun too.”

“I have no doubt that he will allow you if you but ask.”

I even managed to get her to invite Miharu-chan and Class Pres. Gosh, what a skilled cupid I am!

*

*

*

Now that he was discharged and healthy, Yukino-kun gave me scented candles and towels from the UK as a thank you for carrying him to the nurse’s office.

Unfortunately he wouldn’t be allowed to participate in the athletics meet.

“Please do your best in my place. I got you the towel for when you’re training. I’d be really happy if you used it,” he told me. Yukino-kun! You’re such a good boy!

“The aromatic candles are like the ones that Niisama uses at home. They smell really nice, so I think you’ll like them, Reika-oneesan.”

The same scented candles as Enjou… I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. But Yukino-kun had meant well by them. In that case I’d accept them gratefully.

I was going to be competing in the three-legged race with Ru’ne-chan. Last year I suffered a frustrating loss against Wakaba-chan but this year I was taking 1st place!

The two of us headed outside to train when I caught sight of Wakaba-chan being bombarded by bean bags. Don’t tell me she was competing in the ball toss event? So reckless… You’re going to end up black and blue, you know.

Ru’ne-chan and I began our three-legged training. While we were training I heard girls cheering from the other side. In the ring of girls were Kaburagi and Enjou, training for their own races. It was nice to  know how lively they were.

The longer I practised with Ru’ne-chan, the more our breathing grew in sync. Seeing our progress, we decided to take a short break.

I immediately used the towel I got from Yukino-kun. It was a towel that he’d picked as being the softest one, so little wonder that it felt wonderful against my skin!

“Oh my. Doesn’t the towel that Reika-sama is using seem to match Enjou-sama’s?”

“Eh?”

Somebody with a sharp eye had noticed the towel I was using. When they brought it to attention, everybody who had been cheering for those two began to compare our towels.

“My! They really do match!”

“I know that brand! Very few shops in Japan sell it!

“Could it be that one of them had given the other as a present…?”

“No! I received this from Enjou-sama’s younger brother!”

“Goodness! Even your families know each other!”

“That is not what I…!”

I tried to deny it but nobody could hear me over the noise of the girls.

Yukino-kuuuuun! It wasn’t just the candles that matched!? That’s something you really need to tell me in advance, okay!

Sometimes the pure and good-natured Yukino-kun would create dilemmas without knowing…

I sealed that towel away as something to only be used at home.

*

Ah! My Bea-tan doll hadn’t progressed at all!!

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
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Kaburagi had no interest in any girl outside of Yurie-sama. Unless he had some reason to, he would never speak to a girl of his own accord. Yet…

“Sup, Takamichi.”

“Ah-, hello.”

Each time he passed her in the hallway he would greet her just like that. It was like they were good friends.

What’s more, from what I heard, Kaburagi would call out to her in the same way when he came to her class to visit Enjou.

It wasn’t something that people could brush off with ‘meeting by chance’ anymore. Kaburagi wasn’t the sort to call out to a girl just because he ‘met her by chance’.

Even worse was that thanks to that, Enjou was calling out to her like a friend as well, these days. The result was that Tsuruhana-san’s No. 2 and her friends were picking on Wakaba-chan even harder now.

And my friends were all gossiping as well. Serika-chan and Kikuno-chan even asked me to ask Kaburagi about it at the salon. Ehhh~

Honestly though, what on earth happened during the summer, Wakaba-chan?

*

*

*

Wanting to seek refuge from the powder-keg the high school was turning into, I often hid in the Handicrafts Club or the Petite Pivoine. After school today I was heading there to meet with Mao-chan.

The weather forecasts had predicted a typhoon, and the skies were beginning to grow cloudy… I gazed out the hallway window as I headed to the Petite salon. While I was doing so I caught sight of a small crouching figure.

“Eh-, Yukino-kun!?”

Upon closer inspection I realised that it was Yukino-kun crouched in the hallway and grasping his chest painfully. I rushed over in panic.

“What’s wrong, Yukino-kun!?”

He wouldn’t answer. Yukino-kun was paler than usual, and just continued to wheeze shallow breaths.

“Is it an asthma attack!?”

Yukino-kun nodded. This was bad!

While struggling to breathe, Yukino-kun was looking through his bag for something. Huh?

What he pulled out was his inhaler. His arms were trembling and he was struggling to shake it, so I took it from him and shook it in his stead. Would this help him? He inhaled the drug with a whoosh, but his wheezing hadn’t gotten better. Maybe it wasn’t something that worked right away.

“Yukino-kun, let’s just head to the nurse’s office, okay?”

“Okay…” he quietly replied.

I held my hand out and helped him up, but he was too unsteady on his feet to walk.

“Yukino-kun!”

I quickly stopped him from falling but we wouldn’t be able to get there like this. What was I to do? I desperately searched my mind for ideas when it hit me.

“Yukino-kun! Climb onto my back!”

“…Eh…?”

I squatted down and faced my back to him. There wasn’t anything I could do except piggyback him!

“But…”

Yukino-kun was hesitant but now wasn’t the time for that. His face was still as white as a sheet. Maybe the medicine had worked because he looked a little more comfortable than before but in no way did the attack look over!

“Come on, hurry!”

At my urging, he timidly let me carry him. I immediately felt the burden. He might have been thin, but he was already a 1st grader. It was heavy. Would I really be able to stand like this!?

But Yukino-kun was struggling to breathe right next to my ear. The hands around my shoulders were ice cold.

Fine! Women were all about guts! Awaken, the power of the muscles I gained during summer jogging!

Nuoooooooooooooooooohh~!!

With Yukino-kun on my back, I stood up and steadied myself. I could do this!

“Yukino-kun, hold on tightly, okay?”

By a stroke of good luck, somebody from the Petite Pivoine had come by, so I asked them to bring our bags to Mao-chan before heading straight for the infirmary.

Goooooooo! Show them your guts! Aim for Honoluluuuuuuuu! Uoooooooooohhh!

I ran steadily through the hallways of the primary school building with Yukino-kun.

*

*

When we got there, the nurse immediately had Yukino-kun lie down on the bed.

“Are you all right, Yukino-kun? The nurse said that she would contact your family as well as your Oniisama so they should be here right away, all right?”

“Yes… Thank you very much… Reika-oneesan…”

Lying down made breathing harder, so right now his upper body was propped upright.

“Does it happen often? Attacks like these…”

“Today’s attack was because the typhoon’s coming…”

Apparently his asthma got worse during weather like these. It was just terrible! Typhoons came every year! Did he end up like this each and every time!?

“I’m fine,” he smiled weakly while sipping warm black tea.

He wasn’t. You aren’t fine, Yukino-kun!

That was when Enjou arrived.

“Yukino!”

He made a beeline for Yukino’s bed and began checking up on him.

“Did you use your inhaler?”

“Yeah…”

“A car is coming to take you to the hospital. We’ve let the hospital know already.”

“Okay…”

With Enjou’s help, Yukino got down from the bed.

“Can you walk on your own?”

“Yeah…”

Mao-chan and Yuuri-kun had brought our bags here so we brought them to the carpark to see the Enjou brothers off.

“Kisshouin-san, thank you for helping my brother. I’ll definitely repay the favour.”

“Yukino-kun is a precious and adorable kouhai of mine. Thanks are unnecessary. Please do hurry to the hospital. Could you let me know how he is tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Sorry, and thanks.”

We waved as the car drove into the distance.

“Yukino-kun looked like he was in pain…”

“Yes.”

Please let Yukino-kun get better…

*

*

The next morning, Enjou called me into the hallway. I flew through the greetings and immediately asked him about Yukino-kun.

“Enjou-sama, how is Yukino-kun doing!?”

“We’re hospitalising him just to be safe but it wasn’t too bad this time. I think he’ll be discharged tomorrow or the day after.”

“I see…”

Yukino-kun was being admitted again. Poor Yukino-kun…

“Kisshouin-san, yesterday you carried him all the way to the infirmary, didn’t you? Thank you. He must have been heavy, right? It gave me a shock when Yukino told me.”

“No, he was not particularly.”

Rising up to Mihara-san’s relentless daily training had really been worth it. My pitiful muscles had definitely shown growth. Admittedly I didn’t train my arms at all, so they were shaking with muscle pain this morning, though!

“Yukino was a bit depressed about being carried by a girl, you know.”

“My!”

I didn’t hurt his pride as a boy, did I? Speaking of which, he was worried about his height during the summer party, wasn’t he.

“Then please apologise to Yukino-kun for me.”

“Why are you apologising? I really am grateful that you went that far for him. Thanks.”

Enjou bowed to me. I quickly stopped him since I noticed pedestrians looking at us. Please give me a break here.

That was when I noticed Kaburagi and Wakaba-chan heading down our way. So the two of them had arrived to school together again.

I wonder why they had suddenly grown so close. I sooooo wanted to know…

“Do you want to know?”

“Uehh!?”

Enjou read my mind again!

“Want me to tell you? Why Masaya suddenly got closer with Takamichi-san…”

“Eh…”

It felt like Enjou’s eyes had lit up in mirth.

“No! I am fine, thank you!”

Never play with fire!

Oh boy, oh boy! That was close.

“Now, please excuse me!” I said, and headed right back to my classroom.

After all, I had to hurry to class! Today was the day we would be picking which events we would be entering for the Athletics Carnival! There wasn’t any time to concern myself with other people’s romances!

Actually, after the incident with Yukino-kun, I was feeling a little more confident now. Maybe I would enter one of the races this year.

“Reika-sama, will you be entering the costume race again?”

Yeah. Not that race.

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If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

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Not long after the opening ceremony, the incident with Wakaba-chan and Kaburagi was the talk of the school, and already it had caused waves to spread.

Plenty of students had come to them to find out the truth, but both of them gave the same answer.

“We just met at the gates by chance.”

Whoa, whoa, you think any girl who Kaburagi just ‘met at the gates’ would be able to walk in while having a friendly chat with him?

When they pressed her further though, she said that mostly they were just talking about that last exam before the break, or about maths, or physics, and pretty much all about their little competition for better grades. Thanks to that, everybody tentatively accepted it, for now. It wasn’t a secret that Kaburagi had called out to her at the rankings boards for the term-end exams.

But you knooow… Although everybody else might have believed that Kaburagi was only interested in her as an academic rival, as somebody who had read Kimidol this whole situation just reeked of suspicion to me. As if that wasn’t enough, at the Summer Party I found out that he had gotten over Yurie-sama.

I’m pretty sure it was true. I think that waltz with her was his farewell to his first love. Even I couldn’t help but feel sad for him. I’d never experienced anything like a love of over 10 years, but it must have been hard. It wasn’t unreasonable that it took him over 8 months to get over it. He had liked her for 14 years after all. Not that I didn’t pity Yurie-sama for being wracked with guilt all that time, though.

A first crush of 14 years was pretty long though. Kaburagi must have been 2 or 3 at the time. Who knew that a 2 year old infant could even have a crush. I voiced my thoughts to Enjou and he told me that Kaburagi had just said that because that was when he first met Yurie-sama. The crush actually really began when he entered kindergarten. At least that’s what Enjou thought.
I heard that the kindergartener Kaburagi had followed her around crying “Yurie~ Yurie~” and Yurie-sama said that he was so cute that she couldn’t help but always play with him.

Yurie-sama had been in primary, and considered him a bold but adorable little brother who adored her.
Kaburagi had been a preschooler who was glued to her, and thought of her as the girl he liked.
Despite the disparity in how they saw each other, it was still the closest they had ever been. Perhaps it might have been the happiest time in his life to Kaburagi…

Ah, but when I met them at the summer party, both of them seemed happy and well, so all’s well that ends well, I supposed.

*

*

*

No sooner had we entered 2nd Year did they hold the election for Student Council President and Vice President. This year the strongest candidate for President was, obviously, student council member Fellow Stalking Horse.
Not only were his grades good, but he had served as the StuCo President in middle school as well. Plus, he was popular with the girls.

In the end nobody could rival him and he won the place without any trouble. And then, instead of being voted in, the President chose their Vice President from within the Student Council, and of all people Fellow Stalking Horse nominated Wakaba-chan!

Eh!? Wakaba-chan was part of the Student Council!? I mean she had great marks, so I guess it was pretty natural but… Huh.

This had never happened in the manga. Manga!Wakaba-chan was already hated by everyone by the time she entered 2nd Year, so it wasn’t possible to begin with. But although some people still hated her in this world, she had almost no connection with the Emperor. I guess that’s why she managed to join.

If you looked at it a certain way, Wakaba-chan was so talented it was almost crazy, so she would definitely help them a lot. Do your best, Wakaba-chan!

Ah… But then the Pivoine never switched presidents until the end of the year. Youko-sama wasn’t stepping down any time soon. Was Wakaba-chan going to be okay…?

*

*

The 3rd years were stepping down everywhere else but it had nooothing at all to do with me, so I was as carefree as could be when the Club President dropped a bombshell.

“Reika-sama, would it be possible for you to take over as President of the Handicrafts Club?”

“Ehhh!? Me, the President of the Handicrafts Club!?”

The President was checking my interest. Who could have foreseen this happening.

But gosh~ Me? It’s me, you know? The girl who was stuck as a provisional member until last year, you know? Still the least skilled member of the club, you know?

“I… Although I enjoy handicrafts, I lack much knowledge and I only recently became a full member. Would it not be pushing it to have me as the President…? I can hardly see the others agreeing…”

When there were so many skilled and orthodox members of the club around, I didn’t think they would agree to making a maverick like me the President.

“That’s not something you need to worry about. This was something we decided on together. Everybody else wants you to be the next club president as well.”

“Eh-, they said that?”

“Yes. Don’t you love handicrafts? Everybody knows that you came during the summer and tried your best to help with the wedding dress.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong. During the summer break I tried to come here as often as possible. Even if I couldn’t embroider, and was almost no use in helping with the dress, I did make some decorative roses and I helped with the clean-up.

“Compared to ability or knowledge, what I think is most important is how you feel about the Handicrafts Club. I don’t think it’s so easy to find somebody who loves this club as much as you do, Reika-sama.”

“Reika-sama, we’ll all be here to support you as well, so could you please become our President?” asked Azai-san from my grade.

Before I knew it, everybody else was gathered around and asking me to be President as well.

Me, as the President of the Handicrafts Club…

“Are you… all truly fine with me…?”

“Of course!”

Everyone nodded with a smile.

Last year I was resigned to being a (provisional) member. This year I had finally become an official one. And now, to be the President of the Club…!? If this wasn’t a vigorous climb in ranks then I didn’t know what was!

“I shall do my best!” I declared, and everybody cheered and clapped.

From today onwards, I was Kisshouin Reika, President of the Handicrafts Club!

*

*

Ah. But the newest Club President hadn’t made any progress at all on her school festival submission. What to do?

“I can’t wait to see the Bea-tan doll~ Please make me really cute, okay! Bea-tan is so looking forward to this! Aa-tan is too!” came the email from Bea-tan, which just piled on the pressure…

When I tried making the face, one of the eyes half came off and turned into something from a horror movie. Dog Lover-kun could never know.

*

*

*

It seemed that during the summer remedials, Class Rep and Iwamuro-kun had really grown friendly with Honda-san and Nonose-san. Recently I occasionally caught sight of them together.

Apparently Iwamuro-kun liked Nonose-san. I see he still liked girls, even with his crossdressing hobbies…

Besides them, I often saw Fellow Stalking Horse and Wakaba-chan together, since they were both Student Council members. Sometimes I even saw Kaburagi casually saying hi to her.

I was in the salon when Youko-sama muttered something between sips of her tea.

“The new Student Council is going to be a problem, one way or another…”

I immediately escaped the salon to head to the Handicrafts Club.
G-, Gosh, I’m so busy now that I’m the Club President.

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Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

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It’s basically always the cradle or the grave for our dear heroine.

The two of us drew circles to the music. Despite the height difference, Yukino-kun was doing his best to lead. And he was only six! What an amazing boy!

“You dance well, Yukino-kun.”

“Really? It’s not hard to dance because I’m too short?”

“Why, not at all. I happen to be enjoying myself immensely, thanks to your leading.”

“Ehehe. I’m having a lot of fun too.”

Soooo cuuuuute! Dancing with an adorable little angel like this? I’m so happy!

We were moving through the hall, step after step, when I made eye contact with Mao-chan whose eyes were glittering. Then Enjou who was still dancing with Aira-sama. He looked taken aback. I was probably going to hear complaints about this later, but…

“I hope I’ll grow taller soon. I wonder if I’m this short because I hate milk.”

Yukino-kun was actually so cute that all thoughts of Enjou disappeared for the moment. To think that he was worrying about his height. He really was a boy. It wasn’t something to concern himself over at all. He was still in 1st grade so there was a lot of growing left to do. Actually, I kind of wished he’d stay cute like this forever.

His hair glowed amber in the light as I continued to follow his lead in circles around the hall.

*

*

After that one song we left the dance floor, since I had to think about his body as well.

Cheeks slightly flushed, Yukino-kun drank plum juice, while I helped myself to a non-alcoholic margarita. Yummy!

“Are you all right, Yukino-kun? Are you tired?”

“I’m fine. How about you, Reika-oneesan?”

“I still feel fantastic.”

Maybe the jogging I did over the summer was why my stamina seemed better than before. The day after tomorrow I was headed to the Imperial Palace with Mihara-san as the culmination of my summer training. I wonder if I would be okay. It was five kilometres after all. I could already see all of the real joggers looking at me like I was completely out of place.

“You know, Yukino-kun, for a 1st grader you are very good with the waltz. Did you practice a lot?”

“That’s not true. Compared to Niisama I’m not much.”

Yukino-kun watched his brother again.

“I think you were plenty skilled.”

Actually, if Yukino-kun had danced as flawlessly as Enjou, it might have been a little creepy even.

“Have you finished your summer homework?” I asked him.

“Yes. I finished most of it in July, so when I was done I stayed at a cool villa for a while.”

“Goodness, is that so! What a good boy you are!”

“It was too hot for me to go outside so I didn’t have anything else to do. Niisama helped me with the parts I couldn’t do.”

“Enjou-sama did?”

I’d been thinking this for a while now but Enjou sure was sweet on his brother.

“Yes. Although Niisama was too busy to really be around much… Oh, Niisama is coming over.”

Having finished dancing, the four of them headed our way, still the centre of attention.

“Niisama!”

“Yukino.”

With one hand Enjou signalled a waiter for a drink, while he plopped the other down on Yukino-kun’s head.

“Yukino, you haven’t been causing trouble for Kisshouin-san have you?”

“Of course not,” he sulked in offence.

Ohhh! It was rare seeing this expression on Yukino-kun. I guess he was more comfortable acting childishly when it was his older brother.

Aira-sama greeted me with a smile.

“Long time no see, Reika-chan.”

“It has been a while, Aira-sama.”

And it really had. The last time I met her face-to-face was actually during that incident with Kaburagi, right? Not that we hadn’t sent each other the occasional email.

“It’s been a while, Reika-san. Do you remember me?”

“Of course I do, Yurie-sama.”

Was there anybody who could forget as wonderful a person as her? Yurie-sama laughed gently at me.

“Yukino! How you been!” said Kaburagi before ruffling Yukino-kun’s hair.

Yukino-kun tried to swat his hands away, but his hair was already a mess, and Kaburagi was having fun holding on.

Stop it! Don’t be so rough with him, you fool! You’re going to snap his poor little neck!

Before I could stop him, Aira-sama and Yurie-sama delivered Yukino-kun from evil, and the two of them tidied his hair again.

“What are you doing, Masaya!” scolded Yurie-sama.

Whoo!

“Kisshouin-san, thank you for looking after my brother.”

“You mean the dance? In that case it was very much the other way around. I owe him my thanks for being considerate of a wall-flower like me.”

Whether it was Yuuri-kun or Yukino-kun, the Petite Pivoine was just filled with gentleman. Honestly, I was envious.

See? Off in the distance some primary school girls were sneaking glances our way. Apparently Yukino-kun was already incredibly popular in the primary section. I felt a little bad now for monopolising him.

Mao-chan and Yuuri-kun came over to greet Yukino-kun at those girls’ request.

“Yukino-kun? Say, how about you come talk with everybody at the Petite?”

“Okay. Niisama, I’m going.”

Yukino-kun waved goodbye and headed for his own friends.

“Had you planned on coming to this party, Aira-sama, Yurie-sama?”

I hadn’t heard a thing about that, you know.

“Youko-san invited us quite passionately, but I was still on the fence about it,” explained Yurie-sama before giving a happy smile, “But then Masaya invited me to come with him, so…”

Kaburagi invited her!? And Yurie-sama agreed… Don’t tell me his romance really bore fruit!?

Enjou gave me a helpless smile.

“I think you’re misunderstanding, Kisshouin-san.”

“Eh?”

“There’s nothing going on between Yurie and I,” said Kaburagi.

“Eh?”

This time the four of them smiled at me.

“Masaya came over, you see, and told me that he had come to terms with things. He apologised for everything, and thanked me for waiting all that time.”

Yurie-sama’s eyes seemed a little wet.

“It was my fault for not being clear with him. Because of that I hurt him so much. When I heard that he had gone to Toujinbou, and then again when he went to the Sea of Trees, each time it felt like I was being gutted. I wasn’t sure I was alive…”

Her hands began to tremble, like she was recalling those very moments. Kaburagi’s one man heartbreak journey had caused a lot of shock for those involved, hadn’t it. You know, the destinations being what they were.

“Even when I heard that Masaya was getting a little better, I hadn’t thought I’d ever be able to face him again. I didn’t think he could forgive me. But then… Masaya came to visit me the other day…”

This time Yurie-sama had finally broken into real tears. Kaburagi looked apologetic, and handed her a handkerchief. She must have really suffered… Yurie-sama had always thought of him as her adorable younger brother after all.

This time it was Kaburagi’s turn to talk.

“It wasn’t like I didn’t know how she felt. But fourteen years of those feelings weren’t so easy to deal with… I’m sorry, Yurie.”

She shook her head to let him know it was fine.

“But I finally got over it,” he continued, “I might not love you in that way anymore, but you’ll always be special to me. That’s why if you ever need me, I’ll always come to help. No matter where you are, Yurie.”

Ah! That was the line from Kimidol.

I see. This meant he really had gotten over her then. It might have been annoying with the poem anthology and all that, but seeing all of them smile made me feel happy for them.

“Reika-san, I heard from Aira that we caused you quite a bit of trouble. Sorry. But thank you as well.”

“Oh gosh, no, I did really nothing at all.”

“Yeah,” commented Kaburagi, “The two of us just shared the pain of heartbreak.”

Oii! What the hell are you saying!

“Eh-, your heart was broken too, Reika-chan? By who!?”

“Goodness, Reika-san. It must have been rough.”

Stop! Please! Stop looking at me with pity like that! Stop asking who did it! Kaburagi, stop nodding knowingly like that, damnit!

And now Enjou was sniggering in the background, damnit! Ahhh, geez! Come back, Yukino-kun! I need your soothing angel blessings!

*

*

*

And so the summer break ended, and what I had to show for it were memories of finishing the Imperial Palace run, half-dead.

Today I would enter 2nd Year.

──And then that morning of the opening ceremony, an incident rocked the school.

Kaburagi and Wakaba-chan arrived at school together, chatting happily all the while.

“Reika-sama, what on earth is that supposed to be!?”

“Reika-sama! Why is Kaburagi-sama with Takamichi-san!?”

With Serika-chan shaking my left arm, and Kikuno-chan shaking my right, I was rocked too, physically.

I! Don’t! Knoooooow!

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

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My summer break was busy. Jogging in the early morning, going on trips, sometimes going out with my group or Sakura-chan too. Sometimes Otousama or Okaasama would drag me here or there. And then heading to the library between that. My goal there was, of course, the boy who looked like Naru-kun.

I tried to sit as close to him as possible but things didn’t always work out. When it didn’t I would sit somewhere else and study properly, but when a seat freed up I would move to shorten the distance.

The times when I was lucky and the seat next to him was free, I could feel my heart throbbing in excitement.
I had leered at his belongings once to see if I could get his name but it didn’t work out.

I was pretty much one step away from being a stalker wasn’t I? I vowed to never follow him at least. If I did that I think it would be over for me as a human being… So for now I’d stick with being a stalker in-the-making.

I didn’t have much time left to make my dream come true either. What on earth was I doing…

*

*

Since my previous life, my dream was to have a date in school uniforms. Walking together in uniforms, going home together after school! And awkwardly holding each other’s hands… Kyaaah!

How niiiice, how cuuuute~ Oh, and it would be dreamy to ride on the back of their bicycle too. Sitting sideways on the bicycle rack… Waahh!

In the past when I had ridden on the back of Naru-kun’s bicycle I liked to imagine that we were lovers. Oh boy. When it came to romance I hadn’t aged mentally at all, had I.

Speaking of which, when Naru-kun was in high school, I received quite a shock when I saw him walking with what seemed to be his girlfriend. When I asked my aunt about it, she said that her son was dating a girl from his school. It just left me in a slump though. I was in primary school at the time. Aah, curse the age difference!

Because Obasan had told all our relatives about it, at New Years Naru-kun was teased to death by all the uncles and aunts. Large family gatherings will never stop being a bane for young people…

Anyhow, the date in school uniform. I only had about a year left with my uniform. Please, God! Grant my romance spring before then!

*

*

*

The President wanted to show off the Pivoine’s power, so they put in extra effort for the Pivoine Summer Party this year. A result of that was an abundance of old boys and old girls in attendance. Besides the alumni were the Petite of course, and anyhow it was just a lot of people.

When I arrived I went over to greet the President.

“My, what a wonderful dress, Reika-sama. The kimono from the firefly party suited you as well, though.”

“Thank you very much, Youko-sama. The way your pearls look against the colour of your dress reminds me of the moon in the summer dusk sky.”

“I inherited these pearl earrings from my mother,” she smiled happily.

“By the way, Reika-sama,” she began, “Has Maihama-san from Yurinomiya said anything to you since then?”

“No, but thank you for your concern.”

Since everybody else was arriving to greet her, I decided to take my leave. After looking around a little I spotted Sarara-sama, so I headed over with quick steps and called out to her.

“Sarara-sama, gokigen’yoh!”

“Gokigen’yoh, Reika-sama.”

Although I knew she wasn’t some aloof loner anymore, unfortunately I still didn’t talk to her at school so much. Still, I really admired the way she firmly lived in her own world. That’s why whenever we met at a party or the salon I’d take the initiative to speak to her first.

“How have you been spending your summer holiday, Sarara-sama?”

“I haven’t been doing anything really worth mentioning. Although, I did manage to get my hands on a book that was out of print.”

Ever the bookworm. She only ever brought up crazy-complicated titles. I honestly never had a clue. Usually I would just smile along.

We were still chatting when I noticed a brightly smiling Mao-chan, coming my way with Yuuri-kun in tow.

“Reika-oneesama!”

“Mao-chan! And Yuuri-kun too.”

Tonight she was wearing the lemon-yellow party dress that Okaasama bought her.

“Mao-chan, you look so cute in that dress!”

“Thank you very much. Yuuri-kun complimented me too.”

The two of them smiled at each other. My, what a gentleman you are, Yuuri-kun!
I’d better keep the incident with Imari-sama a secret from him.

I was listening to the pair talk about their summer holiday when suddenly things grew noisy. Eh? What was happening?

I looked towards the entrance where it was the noisiest and saw Yurie-sama being escorted in by Kaburagi. Ehhh!?

And then in behind them came Aira-sama escorted by Enjou. What was the meaning of this!?

Whether it was because she was avoiding him or simply because he was being considerate of her, the two of them hadn’t been seen together in public since that winter.

Nobody openly discussed it, but those of us in the Pivoine, and even people outside of it could more-or-less sense that something had happened between the two. And little wonder. Kaburagi who had always been by her side for one reason or another had stopped chasing after her entirely. And neither hide nor tail of Yurie-sama hadn’t even appeared at the firefly-catching party.

On top of that once you consider that this all coincided with the drop in his marks pretty much everybody wanted to know what had happened. Treading clumsily around the topic would have just enraged Kaburagi though, so everybody kept their speculations silent.

That was the situation when the two of them showed up at the summer party. Everybody was focused on them.

They paid it no heed though, chatting amiably with drinks in hand as they had always done so in the past.

Before long Kaburagi whispered something in Yurie-sama’s ear. After looking surprised for a moment, she smiled and the two joined the rest of the dancers doing the waltz, Kaburagi leading skilfully. His expression was gentle, and his eyes were filled with affection for her.

Could it be that Kaburagi’s long-time love had finally borne fruit!? Now that he was in 2nd year, both his face and physique were mature and I could even see the two of them looking good together.

Enjou and Aira-sama joined the waltz as well, and with four of the most attractive people in Zui’ran dancing there, the whole hall felt dazzling and fantastical.

“It’s so magical… I wish I could be down there,” Mao-chan sighed dreamily.

“Then shall we dance too?” asked Yuuri-kun.

Mao-chan seemed shy so I placed my hand on her back and pushed.

As I watched Mao-chan dancing with an excited expression, I thought back to my waltz with Oniichan when I was her age.

“Are you not going to dance, Reika-sama?” asked Sarara-sama.

“Eh?”

Did she think I wished I was down there? Hmm… The waltz? Oh!

“If you wish to see me dance then I ask for the head of Jokanaan~” I said, holding out a silver platter, posing like Salomé.

“…I see,” she replied without a change of expression.

The best literary joke I could come up with was a complete dud…

I put the platter down on the table and pretended that this hadn’t just happened.

That was when Yukino-kun came along. Ohh! An angel to save me from this awkwardness!

“Good evening, Reika-oneesan.”

“Yukino-kun!”

I was in a good mood because it had been a while since I’d seen him.

“Sarara-sama, this is Enjou-sama’s younger brother, Yukino-kun!” I proudly introduced him.

“Gokigen’yoh, Yukino-san. I am Nouzen Sarara.”

“I’m Enjou Yukino. It’s nice to meet you.”

His smile was so cute!

“You aren’t going to dance, Reika-oneesan?” he asked as he watched his own brother dancing.

“Unfortunately I have no partner.”

After staring blankly at me for a moment, he burst into a bright smile.

“Then please dance with me!”

Ehhhhhhhhhh!?

“Ah, but…”

“Am I not good enough?”

Guh… Don’t look sad!

“…Then, if you are fine with me, shall I accompany you for a song?”

Yukino-kun immediately beamed, before taking my hand.

“Please!”

Sarara-sama saw us off as the two of us joined the dancers.

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

Join the Evil God Army on discord!
https://discord.gg/0uufyDAsTZXQaMz1

Would like to remind you of Matsuo Bashou who I first introduced to you in Chapter 58. He’s written a number of famous poems on cicadas, for example:

yagate shinu
keshiki wa miezu
semi no koe
The cry of the cicada
Gives us no sign
That presently it will die.
~ translated by William George Aston

shizukasa ya
iwa ni shimiiru
semi no koe
Such stillness――
The cries of the cicadas
Sink into the rocks.
~ translated by Donald Keen

Hi guys! Final note before we get into the chapter, just a heads up to anybody who used to follow our Tashinami scanlations that Komorebi bugged me into getting things running again, so expect fortnightly releases.

Chapter 12 came out about a week ago, and translations/redrawing/cleaning is complete for Chapter 13, so expect it soon.

I suppose you have Komorebi to thank for all this.

It was a bit of a shame that the firefly only had the lifespan of a week. I couldn’t bring myself to have it spend the rest of its life in a cage so I decided to let it out in the Zui’ran Forest. To be honest I had actually wanted to show it to Mao-chan. Ah well, I was sure there would be another opportunity.

Anyhow, that was how I found myself at school during the summer holiday. I opened the cage and I thought it was going to fly away, but it just landed on a nearby bit of grass and stopped moving.

…Don’t tell me it was it dying already!?

I picked up a stick and poked at it only for it to fly off and land on another blade of grass. Apparently it wasn’t dying, it was just taking a rest. Die well, firefly!

I left the forest after cheering it on in my heart.

*

*

Places with vegetation really were cooler, it seems. The moment I left the forest I was assaulted by a wave of heat. Shielded from the glare by my parasol I lightly jogged for the school building. Those athletics clubs members really impressed me with how they trained in this heat. I hoped they watched out for heat stroke.

After entering the school I was cooling down in the hallway when Class Rep and Iwamuro-kun came along.

“Oh? Kisshouin-san, you’re here today?” Class Rep asked.

“I had an errand. Are the two of you here for the remedial?”

“Mhm.”

The school ran remedial classes for those who were interested. Unlike my time in middle school where I was going because of my grades dropping, these remedials were special classes for those willing to study more.

“I recall that you said Honda-san would be taking them as well?” I asked quietly.

After checking that nobody was around, Class Rep happily affirmed nodded.

“We’re even in the same class. Since Iwamuro-kun is in the class class too, together with Nonose-san, the four of us are studying together.”

“My.”

It looks like the remedials are working out for you after all, Class Rep. Aren’t you making a lot of progress this summer?

“They came over and commented that the two of us seemed close with you, Kisshouin-san. Somehow it all feels like it’s thanks to you.”

Ohh? Thanks to me, is it? I didn’t actually do anything though.

“If I was of at least some help to you, then I am glad.”

“You’re my Love Guru. And Iwamuro-kun as well. The two of us get along strangely well. Right, Iwamuro-kun?”

“Guess we do.”

“I see,” I said, “I had always thought you two would.”

At first glance, Iwamuro-kun and Class Rep didn’t seem to have any similarities at all, but in truth the two were both members of the Maidens Society.

At that moment, something flew in through the window and hit me in the back of the head.

“Oww!”

Eh!? What!? Did somebody throw a rock at me!? But I could feel something on my head.

Suddenly a piercing noise like an alarm clock came from the left side of my head. Eh!? This sound was…! Don’t tell me!

“Kisshouin-san, there’s a cicada on your head!”

“Aaaaah!”

I knew it!

I knew it! Gross! Scary! Noisy!

The noisy cicada on the side of my head continued to “sing”. I didn’t want to touch it, just from the size alone! Dragonflies might be one thing but not cicadas!

Having lost his cool as well, Class Rep reached out for my head but he stopped when the cicada threatened him with its wings. I was frantically shaking my head left and right as well but it wouldn’t let go. In fact I caught a glimpse of it during the process, which just gave me goosebumps. Gross! Scary! Noisy! Gyaaaah!

By now I had completely lost my mind and only cared about getting rid of it. I was shaking my head back and forth like a half-crazed rock star. Leggooo!

“Please hold still for a bit!” said Iwamuro-kun before adding, “Sorry if this hurts.”

Tall as he was, he reached around me and smacked the cicada off my head with the back of his hand!

“You did it, Iwamuro-kun! Kisshouin-san, it’s gone!”

“…Ueeh!?”

I was dizzy from all the shaking but I caught sight of the cicada on the ground, lying on its back.

Maybe the smack had rendered it unconscious or something, but after laying still for a while longer it go up and flew out the window.

“Are you okay, Kisshouin-san?” asked Iwamuro-kun.

“You don’t look well. Shall we go to the nurse’s office?” asked Class Rep.

“Thank you, you two. Sorry for panicking and scaring you…”

The cicada had scared me so much that I had been screaming without thinking. I’ll never be good enough to understand how Bashou-sensei can find that noise poetic… Aah, that really scared me.

“Ah! Kisshouin-san, there’s a broken cicada leg in your…”

Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaahgh!

*

*

After the nightmare with the cicada I immediately booked a shampoo at my hair salon for right after. I didn’t explain to them why. I just asked them to give my hair a thorough washing.

After Iwamuro-kun and Class Rep got rid of the leg for me I had them make sure nothing else was weird about my hair, and asked them to keep the whole thing a secret.

“In Southern France they say that a cicada is good luck. I bet something great is going to happen!” they said to cheer me up. Do you really think so?

Then while Class Rep continued checking my hair, Iwamuro-kun said,

“If you find a reversed curl, there might be good luck for your too,” causing Class Rep to search more fervently.

Apparently he even found one. Good for him…

*

A few days later I visited Sakura-chan’s house for the first time in a while. Since it was summer I brought her ice cream from a chocolate chain famous around the world. The strawberry flavour was rich and delicious! And the chocolate chips inside were great too!

The two of us were hanging in her room and just enjoying our ice cream as we told each other about how we were doing.

“Is Akizawa-kun not here today? Oh, club activities?”

“Yeah. Training camp, and practice matches, he’s just been really busy. And he’s got a summer class at cram school too. Even though it’s summer break I don’t have much time with him.”

“I see~”

“And speaking of Track Club! Hey, do you know that 1st year who became the manager for the club?”

“Eh? Nope. I didn’t even know our track club even had a manager.”

“You do. You need to pay attention to that girl for me. Managers have ulterior motives. They always do.”

“Uwah, what the heck is this bias.”

“Think about it. At an all-girls school like mine none of the athletics clubs have managers. At Zui’ran the Track Club for both the boys and the girls shares the same Manager position, but pretty much all the girls who take it act as the Manager for the boys’ athletics clubs. Nobody’s even heard of a girl doing it because she just loves the sport. I need to go cheer for Takumi at their next meet to stop this girl. I can’t wait for the next School Festival.”

“Ah well, give it your all~”

Sakura-chan’s Akizawa-kun-defences were rock solid as always.

“You don’t seem to care at all. Well, whatever. How about you, Reika? Anything happen recently?”

“Hmm~ Not really? Oh, I guess Maihama-san picked a few fights with me.”

“Maihama? Did she do something to you?”

“Not really. At worst she badmouthed me a little, or started a row with me. For some reason she sees me a rival for Zui’ran Emperor.”

“Oh. Speaking of which, a little while ago I happened to overhear her talking about some girls at Zui’ran being eyesores and loitering around the Emperor. Don’t tell me she was talking about you?”

“Huh? I don’t recall ever loitering around the Emperor, but…”

But that probably was me she was talking about. I mean, considering the way she glared at me…

“So what’s this about Maihama-san being the Queen of Yurinomiya?”

“She just pretends to be one. She doesn’t have the ability.”

“I see~”

“Are you really okay, though? If she gets too bad I’ll help.”

“Thanks, Sakura-chan. But it’s totally fine. I mean, sorry to her, but I’ve never found her scary. Like at all. I do find her annoying though.”

“That’s fine then.”

But Maihama-san, huh~ Kaburagi doesn’t seem to be interested at all, but I guess he can’t reject her too harshly thanks to Yurie-sama. Whatever happened to Yurie-sama. She wasn’t there at the firefly-catching party, and I never heard anything about her.

I wondered how things between her and Kaburagi turned out. Was Kaburagi over it yet?

He hadn’t made any progress with Wakaba-chan yet. He wasn’t going to have one more relapse into Yurie-sama was he? But then Yurie-sama was slated to go to America after she graduated from university. Hmmm…

Ah well, not like other people’s romances were anything to do with me… Tomorrow I needed to go to the library again. Sometimes I’d sit next to him and have delusions in my mind about being a high schooler couple.

This summer I had, without even realising, become a fine stalker in the making.

“I was shaking my head back and forth like a half-crazed rock star.”
was literally,
“I was shaking my head back and forth like I was performing the Renjishi.”

The Renjishi is a kabuki ‘lion dance’.

“Since it was summer I brought her ice cream from a chocolate chain famous around the world. The strawberry flavour was rich and delicious! And the chocolate chips inside were great too!”

I figure it was inspired by this.

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Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

Join the Evil God Army on discord!
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Mushi mezuru himegimi, or The Lady who Loved Insects (虫めづる姫君), is the twelfth-century Japanese tale of one who defies social convention and breaches the decorum expected of a Heian court lady.

The protagonist befriends insects, names her attendants after them, and engages in poetic exchanges involving furry caterpillars, leading to laughter on the part of others. Portrayed as even more eccentric is her disregard for her physical appearance: she leaves her hair untrimmed; has unplucked eyebrows; neglects to blacken her teeth; and allows herself to be seen by men.

Donald Keene has suggested that, while the reader may be attracted by her independence of mind, the author was probably trying to satirize those with eccentric behaviour and unconventional tastes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_who_Loved_Insects

“Gokigen’yoh, Enjou-sama, Reika-sama.”

The President and her followers greeted us as they came our way.

“The fireflies are splendid, aren’t they? It truly transports you to another world,” murmured the President as she gazed out over the garden.

I couldn’t help but give a self-depreciating comment.

“It would be nice if they flew a little closer though…”

I heard Enjou stifle a laugh in the background. Stop laughing! We still haven’t established whose fault this was!

“Perhaps. But who is to say that the loveliest view isn’t from here?”

As expected of the President. What a great way of putting things!

“Kisshouin-san,” said Enjou, “If you really wanted to see them up close, shall I go catch one for you?”

“…Just the thought is enough, Enjou-sama.”

Your eyes are totally laughing at me, Enjou. Who knew he was so easily amused.

I heard people laughing melodiously from Maihama-san’s direction. Surrounding Kaburagi, and Maihama-san next to him, were countless fireflies floating about.

“Look, Masaya-sama! The fireflies are…!” she exclaimed proudly, trying to stress that it was like the two of them were being blessed as a couple.

Why were all the fireflies gathering around such a noisy person? Had she prepared some kind of bug attractant?

In contrast to her high spirits, Kaburagi seemed expressionless and gloomy. Being popular had its own troubles, didn’t it.

“The young miss besides Kaburagi-sama… Maihama-san, was it? From Yurinomiya…”

The President’s gaze turned sharp.

“Yes, Youko-sama. She has intruded on our school a few times.”

“Some of the students at Yurinomiya called her the Queen.”

The words of the Pivoine member shocked me. The Queen of Yurinomiya!? I had thought she was some small fry but she was ruling as the Queen of Yurinomiya!?

“Goodness…” the President smiled sweetly.

Her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

They wouldn’t say anything rash with Enjou here, but I was already looking for a path to retreat.

But, tired of dealing with Maihama-san, Kaburagi suddenly spotted his best friend and came over.

“So here you were, Shuusuke.”

“Oh? Were you looking for me?”

“Kaburagi-sama, thank you very much for inviting us today,” thanked the President as our representative.

The rest of us began to follow suit. Kaburagi exchanged a few words with us before telling Enjou that he had something he wanted to talk about. He obviously just wanted to escape from Maihama-san.

“Let’s talk inside then,” agreed Enjou.

The two of them tried to leave but Maihama-san stubbornly followed after.

Or at least she tried, but Enjou gently rejected her.

“We just want to speak alone for a little bit, so do you think it would be possible to just give us a bit of time?”

“You won’t see these fireflies every night. Try and enjoy yourself,” added Kaburagi.

With that, this time they really did leave her to head inside. A splendid escape, Kaburagi.

Now that we had nobody we needed to watch our words around, the atmosphere exploded in tension. Maihama-san wasted no time in beginning her attack on me.

“Goodness, Reika-san. I saw you earlier. It must be so pitiful that even the fireflies won’t pay you attention. What a shame that you couldn’t become Tamakazura tonight.”

So she was listening that time with Mrs. Kaburagi… Maihama-san’s face as she glared at me was a sight to behold.

“My! Reika-sama is unlike a certain somebody who the fireflies pay any attention to. I must say, you reminded me less of Tamakazura, and more of the Lady who Loved Insects. For one thing those are quite the eyebrows you have,” retaliated the President before I got a word in.

“Hohoho,” laughed the other girls.

“The Lady who Loved Insects!? That’s quite a rude thing to say,” Maihama-san glared at the President.

The President smiled, unbothered.

“I suppose it might be. Perhaps we shall say that the insects were simply attracted to Kaburagi-sama’s brilliance instead. Watching the two of you made me think of a bug zapper. My, that’s a beautiful dress you have on. Let me guess, inspired by the Japanese Moon Moth?”

“Wha-…! Hmph! If I’m a moth, I suppose that makes you the carniverous plants trying to eat me. How scary! I’d better get Masaya-sama to protect me!”

“Hohoho, it’s a shame then that Masaya-sama won’t pay you attention at all.”

“Is that something you lot should be saying? Even though you’re in the same school, and some in the same year, no matter how much time passes you still seem to be just part of the crowd to him.”

Maihama-san had quite some guts to pick a fight with her…

From a distance it might have looked like two young girls chatting amicably, but in truth they were trying to kill each other verbally.

“Unfortunately for you, Reika-sama over here is close enough that Kaburagi-sama played a song on the piano for her. That Chopin piece was wonderful, Reika-sama.”

“Eh!? Ah, yes-!”

Uwah, you’re throwing me onto the frontlines too!? My hair was tied up to match my kimono though, so my offensive power is reduced by 20%, you know? And my sword is made of foam.

“Kaburagi-sama played the Fantasie Impromptu and the Minute Waltz for her. His rendition of the Turkish March was wonderful too.”

Ah! She casually added in the songs played for Mao-chan too!

“Oh…? I see. Then perhaps I should ask him to play me some piano as well.”

“Perhaps you should. Whether he’ll agree is a different matter, though.”

S-, Scary… The exit strategy! What’s the exit strategy!?

And even though it was all the President and Maihama-san talking, why was it that Maihama-san was staring venomously at me!?

Their battle continued for a while longer, until Maihama-san left.

The President gazed at her leaving.

“That girl is quite unrestrained in Yurinomiya, you know. Putting on the airs of a Queen and telling her followers to isolate those that she doesn’t like,” she commented, “Using a group of people to isolate a single girl. You can tell what kind of person she is just from that.”

“I feel sorry for the girls of Yurinomiya, to have people like those in charge.”

Eh… Is that something you girls can be saying?

‘One man’s fault is another man’s lesson.’

People in the past said really wise things, didn’t they.

I gazed at the fireflies in the garden and brought my thoughts elsewhere. It would have been nice to see them from closer.

Suddenly my arm felt itchy, and I realised a mosquito had bitten me. The fireflies avoided me, but the mosquitoes were okay? What was the meaning of this.

I wasn’t allowed to scratch it despite how itchy it was, so I used my nails to carve a cross on it. So itchy! I had better go to a dermatologist tomorrow.

“Protecting the members of the Pivoine is my duty as the President. Reika-sama, if anything happens with Maihama-san, come and tell me immediately. I’ll always be on your side.”

“Thank you very much…”

No matter what, I’d never tell her a thing. Just thinking about a battle between Zui’ran and Yurinomiya was scaring me.

“Uhuhu.”

“Hohoho.”

We laughed into the night.

*

*

The next day Enjou had sent me a bug cage with a single firefly inside. During the day, the firefly was just some black bug.

Japanese Moon Moth:

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Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

Join the Evil God Army on discord!
https://discord.gg/0uufyDAsTZXQaMz1

On the last day of Mao-chan’s stay with us, we were taking her to the aquarium. The place we chose was the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise.

“A romantic play-island!” was the catchphrase for the place, which felt like it was picking a fight with me. As the Chief of the Forever Alone Village, I wasn’t exactly happy about it.

Mao-chan had a man in Yuuri-kun. When I met them at the summer party last year I had noted to myself how heartwarming it was to watch the two of them, but you know, sometimes I was just a liiittle jealous of them.

But the real problem was Ririna. Ririna. That incredibly spoilt and wilful girl. But last night one thing led to another and Ririna casually dropped the massive bombshell that a number of boys had already confessed to her. It was like my entire world-view had been turned on its head. Shock! Ririna had been confessed to!? And more than once!?

A mindblowing reveal from the girl I had under-evaluated as being a fellow loner in romance.

It had been so shocking that I was flustered and didn’t know what to say when Ririna looked at me strangely and put the nail in my coffin.

“What? By the time we’re in high school, pretty much everyone’s been confessed to once or twice, right?”

Noooo! Not right! Nobody’s confessed to me even onceee! Even if you add in my past life, not even onceee!

Whether in studies or in romance, Ririna had crushed me in every contest──

*

She was just a Ririna! A Ririna!

Dark emotions seethed inside like volcanic fumes, but I put a lid on it and greeted Ririna and Mao-chan with a smile. Since Mao-chan asked for it, I began to brush her hair.

Mao-chan would be heading home after this so we loaded her bags into the car, and then it was off to the enemy island!
Being summer break and all, the aquarium was packed with people. If we weren’t careful we could get separated. The tiny Mao-chan in particular warranted special care. I decided to hold her hand.

“Mao-cha-”

“Mao, hold my hand so you don’t get lost.”

“Yes, Ririna-oneesama.”

The two held hands in comfortable companionship and then entered the aquarium without another thought. Leaving me behind.

…That was fine. I had Oniisama. Right, Oniisama? Oniisama, please stop playing with your phone and pay me attention.

Mao-chan’s favourite attraction had been the beluga whales. I on the other hand had always loved polar bears. Bears that were white. They were so cute, weren’t they. I had postage stamps of them too.

After last night’s games, Mao-chan had opened up to Oniisama. Today they were hitting it off, and she was calling him Takateru-niisama now. Having been demoted to ‘Ojisama’, I bet Ichinokura-san would be pretty devastated if he learnt that Oniisama had taken the ‘-niisama’ title…

The underwater glass tunnel with the dolphins had been nice.

We spent a while just watching the dolphins from there. Just the scenery made you forget about the heat outside. Still, white bears took the cake for me.

After enjoying every bit of the aquarium, we left for downtown Yokohama as we discussed the idea of going to the aquariums in Osaka or Okinawa next time. Right now though, we were going to eat and shop.

“I invited somebody else with some free time today, so mind waiting a little bit?”

Somebody else? Gasp. Don’t tell me you’re introducing a girlfriend, Oniisama!

“Ah, see? Here he comes.”

Somebody was waving to us as they came down from the other end of the street.

“Imari-sama!?”

Wahh! It had been so long. Whao, that cool guy aura was amazing as always.

“Don’t just summon me out of the blue.”

“As if you were doing anything.”

“Wow, you’re rude.”

After a bit of friendly verbal sparring, Imari-sama flashed us a friendly smile.

“It’s been a while, Reika-chan. And I don’t think I’ve met these two before. I’m Monozono Imari. For whatever reason, I’ve been friends with Takateru here since primary.”

“I’m Taka-niisama’s cousin, Kotou Ririna.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Sawarabi Mao!”

“Nice to meet you,” he said as she shook hands with them both.

“Ah,” he said, “Something for the girls. Here. Salt and butter. Great for warding off heatstroke, you know?”

What he handed us were nice caramel sweets from a French store well known for it. They were over 150 Yen each. I expected no less from Imari-sama. I tried one of the red-wrapped caramels and a fruity flavour spread through my mouth. Yummy!

“Won’t they melt in this heat?” asked Oniisama.

“We’ll try not to walk outside then. I hate the heat,” Imari-sama replied.

Imari-sama guided us into a shopping centre. I thought it might be boring for him to wait while us girls shopped, but instead he played along with a smile, mentioning that something suited us, or that we looked cute in something else.

When we went up the escalators he even casually took Mao-chan’s hand, who ended up completely entranced by him. It’s terrible, Yuuri-kun! You’ve even got rivals here!

When we went accessory shopping I found this lovely glass hair ornament that chimed when you move your head.

“Wah! Those are so magical,” exclaimed Mao-chan as she looked at them.

They came in different colours too, so Imari-san asked which she liked.

“You two are fond of this one? In that case I’ll make them a commemoration present for all three of you.”

Ehhh!?

At first we tried to refuse, but Imari-sama’s tongue was so smooth that we ended up obliging before we knew it. Mao-chan went with pink, I went with red, while Ririna went with blue. Imari-sama personally helped Mao-chan put hers on, so she was completely captivated by him. Uwawawa, but Imari-sama really was dreamy!

I was watching him when Ririna tugged on Mao-chan’s sleeve and brought her to a corner.

“That gentleman is dangerous, so you can’t fall in love with him,” she warned.

What on earth are you doing, Ririna.

Suddenly, I happened to hear Oniisama’s conversation with him from behind us.

“You know, if you keep doing stuff like this, somebody is going to end up stabbing you again.”

…Eh?

Apparently Ririna had quite an eye for things.

*

In the evening we dropped Mao-chan and Ririna off at their houses. The three of us entered returned to my home, but after a while Oniisama and Imari-sama went out again.

Since I was tired from having fun all day, I opened the door to my room only to meet with the bobcut doll from yesterday, clattering and walking my way.

*

*

*

Today was the firefly catching party, hosted by the Kaburagi family. It was being held in a Japanese-style garden at their hotel. Okaasama had excitedly dressed me in a kimono. It was made from blue-green silk, and looked suited for the summer. Otousama had said something or other about Okaasama looking beautiful in her deep purple kimono.

We arrived on scene, and greeted the Kaburagi couple before doing the same to some of the acquaintances closer to our family. All of the walking around had tired me, so after the greetings were done I went to look for a seat.

That was when somebody held a drink out to me.

“Here.”

“Enjou-sama.

“Good evening, Kisshouin-san.”

So he was here too…

“So you’re wearing a kimono today. It really suits you, you know.”

“Thank you very much.”

I looked around for anybody else when he gave me some rather misinformed help.

“Masaya is over there.”

“I was not particularly searching for Kaburagi-sama.”

“Oh, okay then. I just thought that you’d want to greet him as the son of the hosts, that’s all.”

What, are you trying to say that I don’t have manners or something?

The party had already started, so the night garden was filled with flying fireflies.

“Wanna go look?”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

Since I was already here, I did want to. Then again, they had said all that stuff about Tamakazura hadn’t they. And I was wearing a kimono too. I’d hate for anything weird to happen because of this.

“Masaya seems to be going over, so let’s head over too.”

“…All right.”

I already told you I don’t care about Kaburagi.

Countless fireflies were flying in the garden. The way they floated around the guests looked like something out of a fantasy. Uwahh! How dream-like!

I tried to approach them too, but the fireflies floated away. Huh?

I approached. They ran. I approached again. They scattered to run away.

…This was weird. I knew there were chrysanthemum-based insecticides, but the perfume on my kimono was absolutely not that. Why.

“Goodness! Maihama-san seems so popular!” somebody exclaimed.

I looked over to find the fireflies gathering around Maihama-san, turning her into a modern day Tamakazura.

When she noticed that all of them had avoided me, Maihama-san began to chuckle.

I lost…

The role of Tamakazura for this chapter went without a doubt to Maihama-san.

Stop laughing, Enjou! You’re standing right beside me! How do we know it wasn’t you!?

*

At that moment, the President of the Pivoine, Youko-sama, appeared on scene with a photogenic smile, other Pivoine members in tow.

Oh dear. I had a bad feeling about this…

I win. Actually I forgot about the media thumbnails and scared myself just now while uploading the aquarium pictures.

Otousama had said something or other about Okaasama looking beautiful in her deep purple kimono.

Specifically the colour was ‘shoubuiro’ which is the colour of… shoubu flowers. Iris sanguinea.
You can google ‘菖蒲’ in images for an idea. In general though, the colour is like a deep purple on the more cooler side of the red-blue purple spectrum.
http://www.7key.jp/data/design/color/purple/syoubuiro.html

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