Student Council Room.Shirogane Miyuki straightened up from his desk, having finally finished the last of his tasks. He stretched lightly and looked over.
"Sakurai, if you're free, let's head back together."
Ishigami Yu had already left earlier. Sakurai Saki stood up as well.
"Oh, right—Sakurai."Shirogane's tone remained casual, but his words shifted weight."I'll take over the tutoring."
Sakurai blinked, caught off guard."Actually, I—" he started reflexively.
Shirogane cut him off with a shake of his head."Sakurai, you don't need to do these things for me. You don't have to learn to handle things my way. And definitely don't help others if it goes against how you really feel."
A year ago, Shirogane had reached out to Sakurai first—invited him into the Student Council.But that didn't mean he wanted Sakurai to become a second Shirogane.
"This isn't about passing on the torch.""You're not my successor."
His way of doing things—amiable, conciliatory—helped reduce conflict.But Shirogane knew better than anyone that it came with a price.And he didn't want Sakurai to live like that—bottling everything up and calling it virtue.
"If you dislike it, drop it. If you like it, do it. When you messaged me last night, I figured you hadn't completely given up, so I chose to support you."Shirogane picked up his bag and walked over, stopping in front of the unmoving Sakurai.
"Now that you've decided not to continue, I'll back you in that too. It's that simple."
He patted Sakurai's shoulder with a light smile.
"Don't overthink it. Want to come over for dinner tonight? You haven't seen Xiao Gui in a while."
He scratched his nose awkwardly.
"She asked about you last night—'Why hasn't Saki-nii been coming lately?' she said. Honestly, she's my little sister, but I think she likes you more."He gave a wry laugh."I'm kind of jealous."
The joke was clumsy and not particularly funny.But it managed to bring a flicker of life back into Sakurai's face.
Shirogane added more lightly now, "It was just a random request from the principal anyway. It won't affect my recommendation, and tutoring after school won't tank my grades."
He lifted Sakurai's bag and declared with a grin:
"After all, I'm a genius!"
"A genius who has to study ten hours a day?" Sakurai shot back dryly.
"Plus two hours of part-time work every day," Shirogane nodded seriously."I'm what they call a hardworking genius."
How shameless. Sakurai rolled his eyes.
"Try getting rid of your raccoon-eye dark circles before bragging," he muttered, taking the bag from Shirogane's hands.
"Also, for Student Council work, start delegating to Somiya-san. Give me back general affairs and Secretary Fujiwara's share too. If you weren't trying to help Ishigami integrate, I bet you'd be secretly doing accounting work as well."
Shirogane froze.
"…You knew?"
"Of course. With so little visible work, no wonder Fujiwara has time to run around being herself. Every time I came in, I just double-checked your docs and helped Ishigami process data. To be honest, the workload compared to the so-called 'benefits' of being on the Council? Completely disproportionate."
Shirogane looked embarrassed.
Sakurai narrowed his eyes.
"Secretly taking on everyone's load—does that make you feel like a cool nighttime hero or something?"
"It's not cool?" Shirogane blinked, confused.
"No, it's just stupid."Sakurai didn't pull punches."No one thanks you. They just get used to it. That's how people are."
Unsung heroes don't get remembered.The ones who play to the crowd get the spotlight.
"Forget it," Sakurai exhaled. "Do what you want. If you're not afraid of being nagged by those five, I won't waste my time convincing you otherwise."
He walked ahead into the corridor, leaving Shirogane to catch up.
"It's not like I'm confident either," Shirogane admitted as he followed."I've never been good at dealing with girls."
"Not even back in middle school?" Sakurai glanced sideways.
"I mean, look at my eyes. Most girls probably think I'm glaring at them. Only masochists would consider me."
"...True," Sakurai agreed mercilessly.
Shirogane rubbed his eyes, sighing.
"Xiao Gui told me to try contacts the other day. Said it might soften my expression. Honestly, it stings when every girl in the hall ducks her head the moment I walk by."
Sakurai didn't respond right away.He looked out the corridor window.
Five o'clock.
An hour had passed since school ended.
If Nakano Itsuki wasn't in the library right now, he might actually be impressed.At least it meant she knew when to give up and wasn't the type to cling.
The hall was quiet—no cleaning crews, no club noise.
Sakurai finally spoke again, returning to their earlier topic."Next birthday, I'll get you a pair of glasses."
"Keep squinting at stuff, your eyesight'll just get worse."
Shirogane nodded. "Speaking of birthdays... Did you get Fujiwara Secretary a gift this year?"
He was pretty sure her birthday was March 3rd.
Though the three of them had been in the same class last year, Shirogane's relationship with Fujiwara Chika was only so-so—amicable, sure, but not close enough to exchange birthday gifts.
Obligation chocolates on Valentine's Day? Yeah, that seemed about the level they were at.
"She already ate them. Before I even wished her a happy birthday," Sakurai Saki sighed.
Birthdays were honestly a pain when it came to choosing gifts—especially for the opposite sex.
Jewelry and accessories were too ambiguous, and crystal ball music boxes felt too outdated. In the end, Sakurai had settled on handmade wagashi. Delicate, seasonal sweets—simple but thoughtful.
Unfortunately, before he even had the chance to give them to her, she had already devoured them.
"Eh? Sakurai-kun! These sweets are super delicious! Where'd you buy them!?"That had been her response.
Sakurai's gaze drifted as he remembered.
Good thing she only had one birthday a year.Any more and he might die from the emotional whiplash.
"What about Hayasaka? You two seem pretty close too."
"Games," Sakurai replied with ease this time.
Ai-chan was easygoing. She was happy with co-op games they could play together.
"Games?" Shirogane echoed, clearly struggling with that concept.
Would a girl be happy to get games as a gift?
Then again, if it were Fujiwara, she'd probably be thrilled to get a board game or something weird and niche.
Maybe it wasn't so far-fetched.
"Yeah. Along with twenty hours of dedicated co-op gameplay," Sakurai added dryly.
Shirogane: "…"Are you sure you're giving a gift and not selling a subscription plan?
They continued walking, idly chatting as they passed the second-year classrooms.
Then Shirogane came to a sudden stop.
Sakurai also halted a few steps later, frowning."…Shirogane?"
There, at the door of an empty classroom, a girl was curled up.
Nakano Nino.
She heard their footsteps, looked up with a face full of silent grievance, then immediately averted her gaze, lowering her head again.
Shirogane didn't move. He stood frozen in place, frowning faintly.
Sakurai sighed and stepped back to his side.
"Let's go, Shirogane." He gave him a light pat on the shoulder."You don't have to take home every stray cat you see on the street."
Shirogane got the message.
Don't get involved.
But just as they passed her by—
"Stop!!"
They did.
Sakurai turned slowly, irritation surfacing.
"Are you sure?" he asked, flatly.