Hirata Yosuke

On the way back to the classroom with Ayanokoji after lunch, Konoe heard music coming through the school's PA system.

"The Club Fair will be held in the First Gymnasium at five o'clock this afternoon. Students interested in joining a club, please gather in the First Gymnasium. I repeat..."

The announcer had a rather cute voice.

"Are you going to check out the clubs, Konoe?" Ayanokoji asked.

"Just call me Konoe. And I can call you Ayanokoji, right? I'm going to try inviting Hirata. If it works out, I can pass along the information, too."

Hirata had probably been spending most of his time with girls lately. Today, he seemed to have been planning to invite Ayanokoji to lunch. Maybe he wanted to make some male friends as well, so he might accept an invitation from Konoe.

Ayanokoji nodded. "Then I'll try inviting Horikita."

Konoe nodded too, then returned to his seat. He planned to watch Hirata for a while. Hirata seemed to be sorting through the textbooks he'd need for the afternoon classes. He looked like a diligent student.

The gyaru who'd been holding Hirata's arm earlier—what was her name... Karuizawa Kei—had started chatting with him again. She was probably hoping to invite him to the Club Fair.

If Konoe watched much longer, Hirata might get snatched away, so he went over to talk to him.

"Hello, Hirata. Karuizawa." Konoe stepped forward and interrupted their conversation.

"Hey, Konoe. What's up?" Though a classmate he didn't know well had approached him, Hirata seemed happy.

"...Hi." The gyaru, on the other hand, seemed a little unhappy to have been interrupted.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go to the Club Fair with me, Hirata. I'm pretty interested in the Soccer Club."

"Really? Let's go together! Sorry, Karuizawa, but I'd like to go with Konoe. Besides, I don't think you're interested in the Soccer Club, right? Thanks for inviting me. Maybe we can go together another time?"

Konoe had thought all three of them might go together. He hadn't expected Hirata to turn Karuizawa down outright, though he could guess why.

Hirata's image as a promising young man, along with the impression the Soccer Club gave the girls, had made him very popular. For the past couple of days, girls had been surrounding him. The boys greeted him, too, but whenever one tried to befriend him, the girls' hostile glares drove him away. Hirata, it seemed, wanted to make male friends without getting too close to any one girl.

Karuizawa glared at Konoe with clear displeasure, even hostility.

"I understand, Hirata. And Konoe, I look forward to seeing you there." Karuizawa fixed Konoe with a fierce stare.

Only then did she notice that, although Konoe's introduction had been unremarkable, he was actually quite handsome. His air of quiet intelligence was different from Hirata's sunny, outgoing charm. But could this guy really play soccer? He didn't look especially athletic...

Karuizawa sighed softly and returned to her seat.

"...I feel a little bad about that. Thanks for inviting me." Hirata scratched his head. "By the way, you didn't seem like someone who'd played much soccer before. Do you want to give it a try?"

"Sorry, Hirata. I'm somewhat interested in the Soccer Club's membership, but I invited you because I'm interested in you."

"That's fine, too. Just call me Hirata, or Yosuke. And I can call you Konoe, right?" Hirata gave him another sunny smile.

Konoe nodded. "How about we exchange contact information? Then we can go to the Club Fair together this afternoon. Actually, I'd prefer it to be just the two of us. There's something about the class I want to tell you."

Hearing that it was about the class, Hirata became serious as well. "Sure."

As usual, every Class D student had something to do during class. As for Sudo, the red-haired student, he hadn't shown up at all.

After school, Konoe went to the gym with Hirata. He noticed Ayanokoji and Horikita had arrived as well, which surprised him. He'd thought Horikita would turn Ayanokoji down.

"There are quite a few people here. Looks like most of them are first-years." Konoe casually started a conversation.

"This school's clubs must be really good, so I guess the first-years are interested," Hirata said. "Are there any other clubs you're interested in, Konoe?" He'd gotten two pamphlets from an upperclassman and handed one to Konoe. It looked like it had detailed information about the clubs.

"The standards are definitely high. It seems some clubs and athletes have even competed at the national level," Konoe said, reading the pamphlet.

"And the facilities are incredibly well-equipped. Look, there's even an aviation club with a flight simulator. That's so impressive. Though some clubs don't seem to be here—I haven't seen a karate club." Hirata sounded enthusiastic. The Soccer Club he was aiming for was probably excellent, too.

"But wouldn't it be hard for inexperienced students to excel in any field? Whether it's sports, flying, or diving," Konoe said. Though the facilities were excellent, he still needed to think carefully about whether to join a club.

"I think it depends on the person. If you're really interested, then even as a beginner, you could keep working hard in such a great environment and have a chance, no matter what."

Konoe had no intention of joining a club. He'd better get to the point.

"First-years, sorry to have kept you waiting. We'll now hear from representatives of the various clubs. I'm Tachibana Akane, the Student Council secretary, and I'll be hosting today's briefing. Thank you for being here." The girl with her hair in a bun finished speaking onstage. Konoe knew he needed to get started soon, too.

"Actually, yesterday..."

Konoe told Hirata about his two suspicions and asked him to help figure out what to do about the assessment. He also told him that Class D might be competing against the other classes in their year.

Hirata had plenty of questions, but Konoe patiently and sincerely answered each one. By the time they were done, representatives from all kinds of clubs had introduced their clubs and said beginners were welcome.

"I understand. I think there's a very good chance your suspicions are right. I'll explain everything to the class during tomorrow morning's meeting, and ask Chabashira-sensei about it then, too," Hirata said earnestly. His response was just what Konoe had expected.

"Just don't mention my name. I hate trouble, so please."

"All right. But thank you for telling me about this. It's important to the class. So you're a good person too, Konoe." Hirata gave him another sunny smile. Seeing that earnest, unblemished smile made Konoe feel a little guilty.

He'd only wanted someone to take action so he could protect his points, while he himself wasn't planning to do much.

"Th-thanks."

Only after he'd finished talking with Hirata did Konoe notice a student standing at the microphone onstage. He wasn't saying anything, just silently gazing at the first-years.

"Hey, did he forget his speech?"

"Good luck!"

"Which club is he from? Hahaha!"

No matter how the first-years reacted, the upperclassman onstage made no move. He just stood there.

"What's he doing? Where's the host?" The gym grew noisy in an instant. Even so, the man onstage remained unmoved, standing quietly where he was.

The relaxed atmosphere gradually shifted in an unexpected direction.

The noisy gym fell silent, and a tense atmosphere settled over the room. The first-years stopped calling out, and no one spoke.

The silence lasted for more than thirty seconds. At last, the upperclassman slowly looked over the first-years and began to speak.

"I'm Horikita Manabu, the Student Council President."

At the name Horikita, Konoe glanced toward Ayanokoji and saw Horikita Suzune staring tensely at the stage.

"With the graduation of our upperclassmen, the Student Council will be recruiting candidates from among the first-years. We have no special requirements for candidates, but anyone who joins the Student Council may not join another club. As a rule, students who wish to participate in both the Student Council and another club will not be accepted."

President Horikita spoke with a gentle yet serious tone. The other first-years had fallen silent not simply because he was the President, but because the student called Horikita Manabu had commanded the room with his presence and bearing.

"Our Student Council does not want people with naive ideas to run for office. The Student Council has the right and responsibility to change the School Rules, and that is why people expect so much of it. I hope anyone considering a candidacy will apply with that in mind."

With that, he stepped down and left the gym. Even after the host returned to the stage, the first-years remained silent.

"Thank you for your effort, everyone. This concludes the briefing. We'll now begin accepting applications. Applications will remain open until the end of April, so take your time to consider your options and bring your form directly to the club you hope to join."

Maruko Tou Tachibana Senpai dispelled the tense atmosphere. Only then did the upperclassmen begin accepting applications one by one.

"Sorry, Konoe. I'm going to join the Soccer Club. Want to come with me?" Hirata asked.

"I'm the one who should apologize. I said I was interested in the Soccer Club, but... Thanks, Hirata. I saw someone I know over there, so I'll leave you to it."

Hirata nodded and headed toward the Soccer Club.

Konoe walked over to Ayanokoji. "How about you, Ayanokoji? Any clubs catch your interest?"

He noticed Horikita had disappeared at some point.

"I'm not sure yet. I need more time to think about it. How about you?"

"I've more or less decided."

"By the way, Ike just invited me to join the Class D Boys Only Group. Want to join?"

"Pass. I'm a little tired, so I'm heading back." Konoe yawned. He was a little worn out.

That left Ayanokoji alone. He'd meant to look for Horikita in the crowd, but in the end, he gave up.