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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---

I owed Wakaba-chan a lot now. I wanted to thank her somehow but couldn’t think of any good gift ideas.

Normally I’d be gifting something from the stores that my family were in with. Fruits from an expensive fruit store, or cookies from an exclusive confectionary that you needed connections to buy from. But it would be a bit rude to give cakes and stuff to a family of bakers, huh~ And it felt a bit like flaunting my money. Hmmmm…

After a lot of deliberation I ended up gifting her family some black tea and coffee that would go well with cakes. As for Wakaba-chan herself, I gave her some stationery with Zui’ran’s crest on it. Notepads and other consumables. After all, gifts that you could use up felt a lot less serious than durable gifts, didn’t they!

Since we were keeping that day between us, we still never really talked at school. After a while I started to wonder if I really had gone to her house. It couldn’t have been a daydream or something? I really did go, right?

*

*

*

There was only a little time left until the Athletics Carnival so every class was practising harder than ever. Everybody in my class was aiming for high scores as well, but I wonder how we would really go~

Everybody seemed to laugh as they trained, so it felt like we weren’t being serious enough. The boys were training for the cavalry battle too, by the way. I wonder if it was because of experience that running away from the start was a valid strategy to them. But considering the competition this year, wouldn’t they have a fair chance of winning as long as they tried harder?

Emperor was still sticking to his retirement.

According to the girls in his class a lot of people had asked him to participate but the Emperor had silenced them all with a wave of his hand.

He had retired, and there was no two ways about that.

Some people insisted anyhow, so the Emperor said this:

‘I’m retired so I won’t participating. But I’ll be happy to train you.’

Mmn. Thank goodness I wasn’t in his class. And more importantly, thank goodness I wasn’t born as a guy. Watching those poor boys train under him was like watching drills performed by the Spartan army… And it was scary the way their eyes shone.

*

*

One day, the Pivoine’s President butted heads with Fellow Stalking Horse.

Apparently it had all started when some Pivoine members demanded a couple of students yield some seats with a good view to them. Worse yet, those Pivoine members were only first years whilst the students sitting there were in Third Year. Fellow Stalking Horse had been of the opinion that the Pivoine kids should have respected their upperclassmen.

The President and her Pivoine supremacists on the other hand had taken exception to that. They came in and demanded to know who dared to question the Pivoine.

Right now, the air in the cafeteria was like a powder keg.

“To begin with, demanding that somebody give up a seat when they got there first is nothing short of tyranny. As if that wasn’t enough, they were upperclassmen as well. That would offend anyone’s sensibilities.”

“Upperclassmen or not, they were Pivoine. This is Zui’ran; common sense dictates that being a Pivoine takes precedence above all else. It matters not who they are. And even by your own admission, upperclassmen should be respected. Are you not violating decorum right this moment by arguing with me?”

“I’m the Student Coucil President. Protecting the students is the duty of the Student Council. You’re mistaken if you think the Pivoine can do whatever they want. You already have seats reserved for yourselves. And there were plenty of empty seats. But instead they decided that they wanted that seat and forced the person sitting there to vacate it. Don’t you think that’s being a little too outrageous? The Student Council won’t overlook selfish behaviour like that.”

“Outrageous!? Who do you think you are! How dare you speak to us like that!”

Anger crossed her beautiful features. But Fellow Stalking Horse was unperturbed.

“A member of the Pivoine is a student like any other. If they have done something wrong then I believe it falls to the Student Council to warn them.”

“Enough, you hateful upstart!”

Upstart!?

“At the end of the day, is your “Student Council” anything more than a collection of upstarts? The only reason you’ve been able to throw around the words ‘Student Council’ to have your way around here is because we have kindly allowed you to. For you to misunderstand, and even defy the Pivoine… Know some shame! The Pivoine is the symbol of Zui’ran! Comparing our positions with a gathering of glorified commoners like your Student Council is like comparing heaven and earth!”

“…!”

The President’s excessive words caused anger to flash across his face.

That was when the teachers rushed in to stop them in a panic. Fellow Stalking Horse allowed himself to be led away, whilst the other Student Council members followed behind in worry. The President and her supporters watched their retreating figures with baleful gazes.

I was frightened so I had hid amongst Serika-chan and the others early on. All I had done was watch how things developed but my stomach was still hurting and I had lost all appetite.

“This has turned into a huge deal, hasn’t it…”

“Mizusaki-kun should have just picked his words a little better. I hope he’s okay…”

As I considered my position as a Pivoine member, my hands couldn’t help but shake in the face of the inevitable conflict to come.

Scary… I wish I had a tougher heart. I might have looked like a Rococo Queen on the outside, but inside I was just a petty bourgeois.

Where had Kaburagi and Enjou been for all this?

I looked around and realised that Kaburagi had been sitting at the reserved seats, right in the middle of the fiasco. He had a fed-up look on his face.
When he noticed Wakaba-chan following after Fellow Stalking Horse in worry, he stared at her until she was gone.

*

*

The Principal personally cautioned Fellow Stalking Horse. Naturally he said nothing to the Pivoine.
I personally thought it was ridiculous too, but this was Zui’ran after all. Fellow Stalking Horse must have been incredibly frustrated, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Since the school administration had given the Student Council a warning over their attitude towards the Pivoine, the incident with the seats was tentatively settled. I could only pray that no further troubles arose though.

*

*

*

*

The day of the Athletics Carnival came.

Emperor and his Spartan Army were taking heads from the get-go. I could only imagine the hell they had gone through in training. Their enthusiasm was on another level. It didn’t even feel like an athletics carnival to them.

Well, the girls in their class were just cheering and squealing without a care in the world though.

Fellow Stalking Horse was doing just as well. Yep, yep. Exercise was the best for releasing your stress, wasn’t it. Do your best, Fellow Stalking Horse.

Before long it was time for my 100 metre sprint.

When I arrived at the gathering point, Wakaba-chan looked me in the eye and pumped her fist.

“I’m going to give it my all!”

Ahaha! Somebody was enthused. Wakaba-chan, we’re not even in the same group.

I smiled and was about to reply when some of my participating group members moved between us.

“Who are you acting so familiar with! Do you know who this person is!?”

They glared at her and pulled me away.

“Come, Reika-sama. That girl really needs to learn her place!”

And you even went out of your way to talk to me. I’m sorry, Wakaba-chan…

Still, I mean, it was a bit weird saying this about myself, but Wakaba-chan sure was fearless to talk that way to Kisshouin Reika of the Pivoine…

Considering they were basically there to give me a good experience, naturally I came first in my group.

“You were magnificent, Reika-sama!” clamoured my followers as they added to the experience with clapping.

Could it have gotten any more fixed. I wanted to bury myself in a hole…

Wakaba-chan only made 2nd place, unfortunately. She seemed to have fun though.

There was still a lot of the day to go.

---

<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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The legend of the “Straw Millionaire” is a Japanese Buddhist folk tale about a poor man who becomes wealthy through a series of successive trades, starting with a single piece of straw.

A hard-working but unlucky peasant named Daietsu-no-suke prays to Kannon, the goddess of mercy, to help him escape poverty. Kannon tells him to take the first thing he touches on the ground with him and travel west. He stumbles on his way out of the temple and grabs a piece of straw. While travelling, he catches a horsefly that was bothering him and ties it to the straw. In the next town, the buzzing horsefly calms a crying baby and the thankful mother exchanges it for three oranges. Taking the oranges, he continues on his journey and encounters a dehydrated woman. He gives her the oranges and she thanks him by giving him a rich silk cloth. The peasant meets a samurai with a weak horse. The samurai demands the silk cloth in exchange for his horse. The peasant nurses the horse back to health and continues west. A millionaire is impressed by his horse and invites him to his home. The millionaire’s daughter turns out to be the same woman he saved with his oranges. Seeing this as a sign, the millionaire insists that the peasant marry his daughter, making him a millionaire.

---

She might have casually deflected the question earlier but I couldn’t ignore that she had been hit by a car.

“Kaburagi-sama ran you over with his car over the summer?”

“Ahaha, I guess.”

Oh my god. The reason the two of them suddenly seemed so close after the summer break was because he sent her flying with his car!?

“It really wasn’t as bad as it sounds. And the car wasn’t going all that fast either. Anyway, it sort of hit me and then I got bowled over and went rolling, like this,” she said, first posing like a frog and then rolling like a ball.

“Anyhow, I jumped right off so I wasn’t really injured, okay? I suppose since they actually ran over the front of the bike a little it might have been worse had I still been holding on though~ Ahaha.”

Not just hit by a car, but then literally run over? That’s not something to be laughing about, Wakaba-chan.

“I presume that Kaburagi-sama took the appropriate measures, then?” I asked, “It did not, heavens forbid, turn into some hit-and-run incident…?”

“God, nooo~ He apologised and everything, and even though I said I was fine he took me to the hospital too.”

“Obviously.”

“But I didn’t hit my head or my back so rather than being hit by a car, it’s better to say that it just kind of knocked me over. I mean, I was wearing summer clothes so the asphalt grazed my arms and hands a bit but that was it~ Well, that and the bruises hurt for a few days I guess.”

The whole time she was speaking, Wakaba-chan was wearing a carefree smile.

“But you did get injured,” I stressed, “And even if you got off lightly, you saw what happened to your bicycle. You did press him for reparations?”

“Ehh~?! Reparations? No way.”

“What are you saying! How can you give up like that! You must squeeze him for everything he has!”

“‘Squeeze’…”

Wakaba-chan looked a little disturbed at my suggestion, but Kaburagi was rich. If he just settled out of court with her he was hardly going to miss the money!

“But actually, you know, he did offer me reparations money. And his lawyer came over to my house a number of times too. It was really exciting actually, meeting my first lawyer! He seemed really capable too! As expected of the Kaburagi family’s legal advisor! Ah, but I suppose you don’t really care about that, huh. Ummm, anyway, we refused. I mean, I didn’t really get hurt or anything, you know? But then he kept offering money as a ‘get well gift’ and in the end we didn’t manage to refuse that too. It was less than the reparations offer but it was still a lot of money, you know! Actually, the number for the reparations was so huge that when we heard it my whole family started trembling.”

“My…”

“The ‘get well gift’ he wouldn’t budge on at all, so in the end he handed over this huge ‘get well soon’ envelope,” she gestured with her fingers.

From the space between her finger and her thumb there had to have been half a million at least.

“What really surprised me was that the envelope had his family crest on it. I guess big families even have their envelopes custom made, huh~ Could it be that the Kisshouin family does that too?”

“Well, yes.”

“I see~ That’s amazing~”

Wakaba-chan, it’s really not the time to be focusing on that.

“Oh! And you know? He got me back for the bike too. I was so surprised when I found out it was some super expensive Italian bike!”

“My.”

“Somehow my 10,000 yen bike turned into a something a few dozen times more expensive. Isn’t it a bit like the story of the Straw Millionaire?”

Um, not quite…

“I was actually worried somebody would steal it, you know, it was so expensive. It’s actually still sitting in my garden. The wire lock I’m using to keep it safe even has a bell!”

“I see.”

“You know, my old bicycle had a traffic safety sticker on it and when I was hit by the car I was totally fine. I’m starting to think of it as a lucky sticker. That’s why I tried to put it on the my new one too, but Kaburagi-sama begged me not to and said that it would be blasphemy against the bike. Oh, and since the bike is customisable I said I wanted to get a basket and luggage rack but then he started talking about the design of the bike and stuff~”

Yeah, I suppose Kaburagi’s sense of aesthetics wouldn’t allow that.

Wakaba-chan said that the washing machine seemed to have stopped, so she left for a bit and came back with my dress on a coat hanger.

“It all came off~ I put on the dryer for a bit so if we hang it outside it’ll dry right up~”

“Thank you for this.”

We left my white dress fluttering outside to dry. The weather was still warm so Wakaba-chan was probably right.

Just then, a woman who I assumed to be her mum walked in.

“Wakaba, has one of your friends come over?”

“Oh, Mum. Ummmm, I guess…? This is Kisshouin-san. She’s in my grade at Zui’ran.”

“Pleased to meet you. I apologise for suddenly intruding. I am Kisshouin Reika, and I have the pleasure of being in the same grade as Takamichi-san at Zui’ran.”

“Goodness! I can’t even see you as her friend, you’re so refined~!  Really, as expected of Zui’ran!”

“Mum!”

Wakaba-chan’s mum was cheerful and kind, and somehow brought to mind my own mum in my old life.

“Mum, is it really okay to leave the shop alone?”

“I just wanted to have a little look. And Wakaba, since your friend came over did you treat her to any cake?”

“Look, I’ve got it, okay? Kisshouin-san, would you like some cake?”

“Eh!?”

Cake made by Wakaba-chan’s family! I had already decided that I had to buy some before I came home, but I was going to be able to eat it now!?

“…Would that be all right?”

“It’s nothing like the cakes I’m sure you’re used to eating, so you really don’t have to if you don’t want to. It really is just cake for ordinary people.”

“No, I would love to try some!”

“Well okay. Help yourself then.”

And that was how the two of us went into the front of the building to look at the cakes.

“Waah!”

Cake from the Takamichi cake shop! They were simple and mainstream, but they all looked delicious! Which one would I choose?

“Decided?”

“Um, perhaps this mont blanc…”

“Okaay! Maybe I’ll have one too then. Mum, two mont blancs please~”

“Ah-! I can pay!”

“Nah, don’t worry about that.”

“I must! These are your store’s stock!”

“Ahaha, it’s fine I said.”

Ehhhhh. This wasn’t right. I was being beyond shameless now!

In the end Wakaba-chan kept refusing me with a smile so the two of us returned to the living room with our cakes.

“Sorry. Thank you. I shall help myself to some now.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking us for something as small as this. Go ahead. Ah, but I’m not sure it’ll suit your tastes though…”

I carried the bit of mont blanc on my fork into my mouth.

“Yummy!”

“Really!? That’s great!”

The cake that I had dreamed about eating, ever since reading Kimidol… It was a sweet, light, and gentle flavour.

“Yes, it is simply delicious. I will buy some to bring home with me, without a doubt.”

“Thank goodness~ We’re just a small shop but lately people have been blogging about it on the internet and stuff and apparently some people even come from far away to buy from here, you know?” she told me happily before starting on her own mont blanc.

“I can certainly understand travelling for a cake like this. There were a few customers in the store too, just now.”

“Ehehe, thanks.”

Oniisama would be coming back from his long business trip today. I was definitely going to bring some cake home. I bet he was going to love it. Huhu! Aah, so yummy.

“Speaking of cake though, remember how I said I turned down the reparations money?”

“Yes.”

“Since I said I wouldn’t accept it no matter what, he replied that he would buy all of the cakes in the store instead.”

“Haah!?”

What the hell was that guy doing!

“I told him that his feelings were enough and refused. Boy was I not expecting that.”

“What a nuisance…”

There were people who were coming all the way here to buy these cakes. Just how much of a nuisance would it be if one idiot went and bought them all.

“There was a lot of back and forth between us and in the end he compromised by taking one of every cake.”

“I see… Things have been rough on you.”

Honestly, what was that guy thinking.

“Anyway, we decided not to tell anybody at Zui’ran about this whole thing. It wouldn’t sound good for his reputation right? That his car hit somebody, I mean.”

“Indeed.”

She might have escaped with just some bruising but that was still absolutely being hit with a car. No wonder neither of them would tell us how they had gotten closer.

“But in that case, is it all right to be telling me all of this?” I asked.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s just going to stay between the two of us, right? We’re not telling anybody about today, after all,” she grinned.

Oh. Right. The ikayaki incident. Could it be that she told me all this because she didn’t want me to worry about my own secret?

“I understand. I will not tell a soul!”

“Yeah. I won’t either. It’s a promise.”

When the evening arrived, Wakaba-chan’s younger siblings came home. My dress was dry by then as well, so I got changed and excused myself.

“You may as well have stayed for dinner,” her mum said.

“Thank you very much for the offer,” I replied, “But I have a curfew, you see…”

I was happy that she offered but I hadn’t said anything to my family. It wouldn’t have been good to stay out too late.

With my objective (the cake) secured, I bade everybody in the Takamichi family goodbye before leaving for home.

*

Now then, I had to casually drop Oniisama the news that I had become President of the Handicrafts Club.

---

“What really surprised me was that the envelope had his family crest on it. I guess big families even have their envelopes custom made, huh~ Could it be that the Kisshouin family does that too?”

“Well, yes.”

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
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There I was, in the middle of biting into it. There Wakaba-chan was, staring at me in shock.

“Ummmmm…”

She was the first one to say anything, but she was obviously at a loss for words.

I was in a worse state, having fallen into complete panic in my mind. My heart was beating uncontrollably.

What was I going to do. Why. I had always been so careful not to let anybody I knew spot me.
Why had I assumed it was impossible for any Zui’ran student to be at this tiny festival. Any other time I would have taken care to eat it somewhere nobody would see me.
I had been stupid beyond words. What was I going to do. Somebody from Zui’ran had seen me!

“Ummm…. What a coincidence?” she said a little awkwardly.

“…Indeed …it is.”

An ojousama frozen in the middle of biting into ikayaki? I must have looked so unbelievably stupid! Aaaahh! Why did you lose to your gluttony, Reika! You were too caught up in nostalgia, you idiot!

One by one, I could see the faces of the students at Zui’ran. Serika-chan, Kikuno-chan, Ayame-chan, Ru’ne-chan… All the members of the Pivoine. The President. Ahh! If Youko-sama found out about this I was done for! The shame of the Pivoine! Images of an enraged Youko-sama flashed before my eyes…

“Umm, are you okay?” she hesitantly called out while I was drowning in negativity. Oh right! I had to silence her!

“Takamichi-san!”

“Yes!?”

Wakaba-chan immediately stood at attention.

“Could you, perhaps, keep quiet about this…?”

“By ‘this’ you mean what happened today?”

Yeah, that we met today, or rather about how you caught me biting into stick of ikayaki…

“Ummm… Just, everything in general…”

“…Mmm, I don’t really understand but… okay. Got it. I won’t tell a soul about what happened today!”

“Eh-, truly!?”

Really!? She really wouldn’t tell anyone!?

“Yeah! It’s a promise!” she nodded firmly.

“Thank you! It’s really a promise, okay? I’m believing in you!” I stepped forward towards her.

“Y-Yeah,” she back-pedalled in the face of my intensity.

Still, she gave me another nod.

Alright! If she was anything like the manga’s Wakaba-chan then I really could trust her! Definitely! Probably! Or more like I’d have to trust her if I ever wanted a good night’s sleep again.

“Well then, please excuse me,” I said.

For now I just wanted to get away. I was keenly aware that she was not going to forget the sight of the ojousama fleeing with the half-eaten ikayaki in her hand. I was more than ready to forget about reality.

After forcing myself to smile at her, I was about to leave when she stopped me.

“Wait, Kisshouin-san. Are you going to go home looking like that?”

“Eh?”

Looking like what?

“Uwah!”

The sauce from the ikayaki was all over the breast of my white dress! Gyaah! And there were even specks of it on the skirt!?

“Nooo, what is this! Aahh! What am I going to do!?”

I hurriedly took out a handkerchief from my bag but it was hopeless. Maybe I could soak it in water. Or better yet, buy some bleach… God, I had some on my hands too! And everything was made even harder because I was still holding the damned ikayaki. Aah, I wanted to cry…

“…Um, Kisshouin-san. How about you come to my house? I think we can get rid of the stains if we’re quick…”

Eh-!? Wakaba-chan’s house!? Ah, no, that couldn’t be a good idea, could it?

“No, it is no problem, thank you. I will take a taxi home,” I turned her down with a veneer of fake calm.

But I’d be in trouble if I came home looking like this. Okaasama and the rest of my family would find out about my gluttony today…

“It doesn’t look like no problem to me… It’ll be really quick, so how about we just give it a wash and then you can go home. Okay?”

“But-”

“We can still get the stains out if we go now. Okay?”

Under Wakaba-chan’s strong persuasion I ended up going after all. How did this happen… So much had happened that I just didn’t want to think about it anymore…

Apparently Wakaba-chan had been on the way home from somewhere and just happened to pass through there. Some girl in a white dress had been looking like the very picture of a rich girl, so naturallyit caught her eye. And that girl had turned out to be me…

“Was I very noticeable…?”

“You could say that~”

Holy crap… Don’t tell me that other people had noticed me too? I thought my clothes were pretty casual for a dress.

Wakaba-chan was kind enough to walk in front of me, in order to hide the stains. I was still quietly wondering what to do with this ikayaki in my hand.

After walking for a little while longer, Wakaba-chan turned her head to me.

“We’re here~”

Her house was your everyday cake shop.

Not the fancy pâtisseries that the kids of Zui’ran frequented. Just your normal, average cake shop. With things like strawberry shortcakes, chocolate cakes, mont blancs and the like at 200~300 yen each and even cream puffs for 150 yen it was the very picture of a cake shop for commoners.

The only difference was that the taste of the cakes was a well-known 10/10.

When I read the Kimidol manga I often wanted to try the cakes from this cake shop. They were just drawn so beautifully after all. And right now that cake store of my dreams was right before my eyes!

“The entrance is at the back.”

I circled around the back with her and she opened the door to let me in. I was idling while she was busy with that and happened to look to the side. Sitting there was a bicycle with the front half completely bent out of shape.

Huh? Wasn’t this the bicycle that Wakaba-chan rode to school that one time? Ehh…? What the heck happened to it!? Was she okay!?

Wakaba-chan noticed what I was looking at and smiled.

“Ah, that,” she laughed, “During the summer break Kaburagi-sama’s car bumped into me and it broke, haha.”

“Eeehh!?”

She got hit by Kaburagi’s car!?

“Bumped…? Were you okay!? Were you injured!?”

“I was fine~ I was trying to pull over to the curb when the car hit from the side. It sent me flying away with my bike but I jumped off so I got away with just some bruises and scrapes.”

“That sounds like a huge deal to me.”

I mean, just look at the shape the bicycle was in…

Wakaba-chan just laughed and welcomed me in.

“Please excuse the intrusion…”

“Yes, yes, come in~ I suppose getting out of those clothes should come first, huh. I’ll go grab a change of clothes, so could you head to the laundry room to change first? Ah, what are you going to do with that?”

Wakaba-chan pointed at the ikayaki in my hand. What indeed.

“Well, for now I’ll just hold onto it for you. You can wash your hands over here. Ummm, right, clothes, clothes…”

Wakaba-chan ran off further into the house with my half-eaten ikayaki and came right back with clothes for me.

“Just tell me when you’re done changing. I’ll give your clothes a wash when you’re done.”

“Thank you.”

I accepted the clothes with a bow, but at that very instant my stomach growled!

“…”

Just let me disappear already.

“It’s already 3 isn’t it. Have you eaten lunch yet? I could make you some yakisoba or something?”

“No! You have been so much help already!”

“I haven’t had lunch either so why don’t you eat with me while we wait for your clothes? Oh, I suppose you don’t eat stuff like yakisoba, huh…”

“No, I do!”

I loved that stuff. I had actually planned on eating some after I finished with that ikayaki.

“I’ll go make some then! What were you going to do with that ikayaki? What if I cut it up and put it in?”

“Please take care of it…”

“Got it~” she smiled brightly before clothing the door to the laundry room.

I changed into the T-shirt and elastic waist shorts.

It was funny.

I was here in the house of Kimidol’s protagonist. It somehow didn’t feel real. My knowledge of her was one-sided and before today we had hardly exchanged a word.

“Doesn’t suit me…” I muttered as I looked in the mirror.

The horrible combination of the T-shirt, shorts, and ringlets just depressed me.

When I left the room and called out hesitantly, Wakaba-chan came running.

“I’ll take care of those stains then.”

“Eh-, are you using the washing machine for just one piece of clothing!? Think of the electricity and water bills!”

It was so wasteful! And I felt really bad for imposing too! Just running the stains under the tap would do!

“Electricity? Ummm, the sauce is pretty much everywhere though, so I thought washing the whole thing would be better. Would that damage the dress though?”

“I honestly do not care about that…”

“Then I’ll just stick it in the wash. Don’t worry! I’ll use the dryer too!”

With practised hands, Wakaba-chan sprinkled stain remover on the stains before putting the dress in a net and starting up the washing machine.

“Let’s eat while we wait.”

“I truly am sorry for causing you trouble…”

“Ahaha, it’s fine, it’s fine~”

I followed her into the dining room and then was treated to Wakaba-chan’s homemade yakisoba.

“Sorry for not having anything better. I’m not sure that it’ll suit the tastes of an ojousama like you.”

“Goodness, that isn’t true! I shall be helping myself then.”

“Eat up.”

I could see the sliced up ikayaki in it. Thank you, Wakaba-chan.

I took a bite of the food. Oh, this taste!

“Is it okay? Think you can eat it…?”

“It is delicious,” I answered her as I gobbled it down.

The taste reminded me of the cheap 3-pack yakisoba that I often bought in my old life. So nostalgic.

This would definitely never appear on the Kisshouin dinner table. Even if we did have yakisoba by some chance, it would definitely be some sort of refined dish from a high class Chinese restaurant. God, I loved this sauce so much!

In the blink of an eye it was gone. Hahh, thanks for the meal. Afterwards I gulped down the barley tea that Wakaba-chan gave me. So nostalgic…

“It seems you ended up taking care of me from start to finish…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Wakaba-chan cheerfully sipped her own barley tea.

For a while we were silent.

“Um, Takamichi-san…”

“Yes?”

I voiced the thought that had been bothering me all this time.

“Um, how… do you think of school?”

It might have been a weird way of putting it, but I couldn’t exactly say ‘Are you being bullied?’ now could I.

“How? Um, what do you mean?”

Yep. It really was a vague question.”

“Ummm… I suppose that I am asking what you think of your life at Zui’ran.”

“It’s pretty great I guess?”

“Eh-, really!?”

I mean, don’t you get badmouthed and tripped and soaked with water every day!?

Was she just answering that way to avoid worrying me? She wasn’t just acting tough was she?

“Yes. I’m really lucky to have gotten into Zui’ran.”

“Lucky…”

I had thought for a moment that she might have been making a jab at me, but Wakaba-chan smiled without any deeper meaning.

“Isn’t it though? I get to use those amazing facilities and take high-level lessons, all for free, right? Not only that but to even get paid scholarship money for getting high marks… Uku-”

Wakaba-chan’s mouth curved into a grin.

“For the mock-trials the other day, I got the best results I ever had. Just between you and me, the bonus money that they gave me for that…”

Wakaba-chan brought her hand to her mouth to stifle the laughter. …Apparently it was quite a lot.

“A school that pays you money just for studying. It’s the best school ever.”

I honestly thought it was the worst school ever for buying good grades with money, but whatever.

“I mean, even I think it’s impossible to hit the digits that I want before graduation, but if I tried hard enough, maybe half of it would be… Ukukukukuku!”

Wakaba-chan couldn’t control herself anymore and began laughing uproariously.

Digits!? How many digits did she mean?! Just how much money was Zui’ran paying scholarship students?

“Umm, but… are there not other matters…? For example, the badmouthing…” I asked awkwardly.

“Oh, I don’t really mind it,” she answered without missing a beat.

“Eh-, you do not really mind it?”

“Yes. I mean, it’s nothing physical, right?”

Um, but it totally was. Like they physically splashed water onto her and hit her with balls and stuff.

“Does it not hurt? Being treated that way…”

“Hmmm…”

It was only now that Wakaba-chan looked like she needed to think about it.

Wakaba-chan was even bolder, and even more shameless than I could have ever imagined──

“Then, just one more question. About being hit by Kaburagi-sama…”

I finally asked what I had been wondering since I got here.

---

“I’ll go grab a change of clothes, so could you head to the laundry room to change first? Ah, what are you going to do with that?”

Usually I’d put this stuff at the top but coming out of a cliff-hanger this time, it wasn’t appropriate. The laundry room she was talking about was actually the changing room in front of the bathroom.

“Japanese housing typically has multiple rooms for what in Western housing is the bathroom. Separate rooms for the Japanese toilet, sink, and ofuro (bathing room) are common. Small apartments, however, frequently contain a tiny single bathroom called a unit bath that contains all three fixtures. A small sink may also be built into the top of the toilet tank – there is a tap, with the top of the tank forming the sink, and the water draining into the tank – which runs during the flush cycle; this is particularly common in mid-20th century buildings. The room with the sink, which is called a clothes changing room, usually includes a space for a clothes-washing machine. The room containing the bathtub is waterproof with a space for washing, and often for showering, adjacent to (rather than in) the tub. As a result, bathwater is neither soapy nor dirty, and can be reused. Many washing machines in Japan come with an extension pipe to draw water from the tub for the wash.”

---

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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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While many of the girls at Zui’ran were using the same towels as Enjou and Kaburagi, a select few of them secretly used towels that matched their crushes instead. Some girls even gave matching towels to their boyfriends to deepen their love. Zui’ran was undergoing an unprecedented towel boom.

And shockingly, Class Rep’s quartet were all using the same towels!

“Oh, we just got these to commemorate our friendship, that’s all. It isn’t what you’re thinking, Kisshouin-san~” he said shyly.

That was his reply when I went to question him about it. Friendship huh. In that case, why wasn’t I invited.

Wasn’t I in on the whole ‘make-up Iwamuro-kun’ thing? Actually, wasn’t I the one that started it? And yet here I was… Ah well, I wasn’t going to get into it. And it was fine, right?. They were having fun.

And sure, there definitely were a few girls who used matching ‘friendship towels’. Honestly I was envious.

The rumours regarding my towel matching Enjou’s had finally cooled down. I wasn’t about to use them at school and risk starting the flames again. My friends on the other hand were naturally happily using the same towels as the Emperor and Enjou so I was the only one amongst them feeling left out with my normal towel. Tsk~ Invite me too, Class Rep~

One day Ririna came up to me and threw a towel at my face.

“Use this!”

Ow.

When I picked it off my face I discovered that it was a cream-coloured towel with the letters R. K. sewn on in red. Ririna, you…

I gratefully made use of it. That girl had a surprisingly cute side to her. Did she sew in my initials herself? Mn, you did very well, huhu.

After my sprint training I was sorting through my bag in the Handicrafts Club when Minami-kun saw the towel in my hand.

“Ah! The towel that I embroidered to give to Kotou-san…” he muttered.

I immediately ran to Ririna and used the towel to strangle the outrageous girl.

Ririnaaaaa! You’re unbelievableeee! Give me back my fuzzy feelings!

*

*

*

More important was Wakaba-chan. Kaburagi casually called out to her every time they met. Sometimes you could see her, Kaburagi, and Enjou standing around and talking together. Enjou might have been one thing but it was rare to see Kaburagi use any girl’s name. For every ‘Takamichi’ that came out of his mouth, his fans glared hatefully at her.

Thanks to him, Wakaba-chan came back soaked whenever she went to the taps, and it was common to see girls badmouthing her like she wasn’t right next to them.

One day I was heading to the taps, having just finished my practice for the three-legged race.

“What does she think she’s using? That towel looks like a dish rag.”

“Can she really help it? She has no money.”

“If I had something like that at my house the only use it would have is cleaning the floors.”

“Gosh. Doesn’t that mean that dust cloths are good enough for a certain somebody?”

A group of girls were sneering behind her while saying hurtful things. Wakaba-chan just pretended not to hear them and washed her face dispassionately.

The girls seemed to take offence to that because Tsuruhana-san’s Number 2 bumped into her on purpose and even tossed Wakaba-chan’s towel onto the ground.

“Goodness! Myy baaad~”

Without missing a beat, the girl used her other hand to splash water onto Wakaba-chan whose face and fringe ended up dripping wet. She didn’t have her towel to dry herself with anymore. It was lying on the ground and there were even footprints on it.

Should I go save her…?

“Let’s go, Reika-sama,” said Ru’ne-chan without much interest. Mm, but…

At that moment a group of boys just happened to be coming back from their own training. Those girls noticed too and quickly distanced themselves from Wakaba-chan.

In the centre of the group was Kaburagi who raised an eyebrow at Wakaba-chan. She was standing there soaked and trying to dry her face with her hands of all things.

“What the heck are you doing. Don’t you have a towel?”

“Ummm… I kind of dropped it…”

“What are you even doing, you idiot. Here, use this,” he said before tossing over his own towel.

I could see the instant the expressions on the other girls changed.

“Eh!? It’s fine. You don’t need to!” she said, trying to hand it back in a panic. Wakaba-chan had sensed it too.

Kaburagi hadn’t noticed at all though.

“Just take it. And you can keep it. Don’t worry about giving it back.”

He refused her with one hand and simply headed into the school building with Enjou and the others.

Left behind, Wakaba-chan picked up her own towel and threw out an excuse.

“Um, I’ll give it back to him…” she said, before running off behind him.

Tsuruhana-san and her friends were furious.

“What the hell was that!?”

Kaburagi… Seriously, what the heck was that?

*

*

*

*

*

There was a lot of trouble in my life recently.

Compared to the the storm of rumours that Kaburagi’s towel had caused, the towel incident with Enjou and I was nothing.

And each day it was jealousy-fuelled open season for Wakaba-chan in my group. I tried to stop them a few times but it didn’t go well.

It was hard just staying silent while I saw Wakaba-chan being bullied. Even though I wanted to do something, I couldn’t. I was pathetic…

And whenever I went to the Pivoine Salon, the President was always in a bad mood because of how active a leader Fellow Stalking Horse had been since becoming the Student Council President.

“This new Student Council sure are an insolent bunch…”

“The other day that Mizusaki guy was even running off his mouth about us. He really doesn’t know his place.”

“The lot of them are behaving as though they own the place after misunderstanding their own positions.”

“President, what should we do?”

The Pivoine elitists were gathered around the President and discussing how we were going to treat the Student Council from now on.

“For now we will wait and see what they do. If they disrespect the Pivoine any further we will not lie still.”

Scary… I didn’t know what to do about the Pivoine either.

And with the needle felting for the Bea-tan doll face not going well, or how my love at the library was not progressing at all, I just had a lot of worries these days.

To help change gears a little I decided to go for a walk on the weekend.

I got off at a train station far away from home and was just strolling about when I caught scent of something delicious. Gasp! I knew this smell!

Following the smell, my nose led me to a temple fair stall with ikayaki.

I knew it!

I bought one and bit into it on the spot. Yummy! It was my first time having festival ikayaki since becoming Kisshouin Reika! Sooo yummmyy!

I couldn’t get enough of this cheap flavour! Maybe it would be better to eat some takoyaki as well. But first things first, there was this ikayaki to finish off! Aahh, why did eating yummy things just melt the stress away?

Thinking back, I used to eat these a lot in my old life, back when I visited festivals. I used to go with my little sister Yuka-chan, and my cousin Naru-kun. And I used to buy fairy floss at these things too. And candied apples, and yakisoba too! We’d buy all sorts of food and share it between us. I missed that. Dad liked ikayaki the best, didn’t he.

It had been so long that the ikayaki had sent me into my own world. I had totally lost myself in it and completely left my guard down.

“Eh-, Kisshouin-san…!?”

The blood drained from my face at the voice.

---

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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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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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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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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!!

---

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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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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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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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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!

 

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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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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.

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