You're Beyond Saving

"Where are you heading?"

"Didn't you hear the announcement at noon?"

"...I guess I didn't. After lunch today, I didn't go straight back to the classroom. I wandered around a bit instead, so I may have been somewhere the broadcast didn't reach. Could you tell me what it said?"

"Basically, there'll be a club orientation in the First Gymnasium at five this afternoon."

"A club orientation..." The words stirred a little interest in me, but on the surface, I decided to turn it down. I might end up getting dragged into something else.

"Are you not going?" Ichinose asked again.

"I don't think so. I probably won't join a club anyway. I'd rather head back to the dorms with that time."

"Raku doesn't have anything else to do, so it'd be good to learn a little about them. Teacher Hoshinomiya said that students who excel in their clubs can earn extra points."

"Finally, the time has come! I'm definitely joining the soccer team!" Shibata Sou leapt excitedly to his feet, then rushed off toward the gym with the others.

He was certainly energetic.

"I'm not particularly interested in money, and I already have plans with Kanzaki."

"Hm? With Kanzaki?" Ichinose turned her attention to the conversation and looked toward my neighbor.

"Yeah. Raku and I agreed to have dinner together tonight... but before that, I want to stop by the club orientation."

"..."

"Then you should go too, Raku. It can't hurt to learn a little." Ichinose gave me a cheerful smile, then ran off to join the group of girls.

"..."

Under all kinds of pressure, I was forced to follow Kanzaki to the First Gymnasium. I hadn't expected many students to show up, but when we arrived, there were even more than I'd imagined.

I couldn't understand what kind of mindset drove students to want to enrich their free time. I wasn't exactly a strict minimalist, but I'd definitely avoid going out of my way to make trouble for myself.

Kanzaki and I found seats toward the back of the gym. While we waited for the orientation to begin, we read the pamphlets handed out at the entrance.

"Hyperbaric oxygen chamber..." Kanzaki muttered in disbelief.

A hyperbaric oxygen chamber? I remembered that it was modern medical equipment. Did this school also run clinical trials for hospitals?

I flipped to the page Kanzaki was looking at. It mainly introduced the track and field team. After carefully reading the description, I was surprised to find that it was just a piece of basic first-aid equipment. What? Was this really for basic treatment and not treating people on the spot?

Who needed hospitals anymore?

I tried to suppress the shock I felt and kept flipping through the descriptions of the clubs. The pictures and information in the pamphlet made it clear that this school had real expertise in this area. Its club facilities were far better equipped than those at schools of a similar level, and even professional facilities paled in comparison. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that international competitions could be held here.

"Are you thinking of joining a club, Kanzaki?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I was thinking about it, but now it doesn't look like it'll work out."

"Is it because they're so professional...?"

"Exactly." Kanzaki nodded, looking a little incredulous. "You can tell just from this pamphlet. I only wanted to join a club because I was interested, but the clubs at this school don't seem very welcoming to newcomers. They give off a kind of 'keep out' vibe."

"Yeah. It makes them all seem like they expect you to pursue it professionally."

"More or less... What about you?"

"Not at all. Even if there were a laid-back club like a 'Going Home Club,' I wouldn't join. I'd rather live in peace than take on pointless work. Probably." Even I wasn't sure about that.

"Sounds like you've never been in a club before."

"What about you?"

I'd assumed you were just like me, but I guess I was wrong.

"Don't lump me in with you. I was in the track and field club in middle school, though I wasn't the team captain... But exercise probably isn't your thing."

"I do the most basic exercises." I didn't know what had given him that impression, but I still tried my best to salvage my image.

"I don't think your 'most basic' even reaches an ordinary person's level. That's the kind of person you are."

"We've known each other for less than two days. How can you judge my daily habits based on my personality? If you don't mind, could you go a little easier on me? That actually hurt."

"I'm just telling the truth. You wear your habits on your face, so it's not hard to figure them out." Kanzaki finished with a mocking glance.

"..."

Wow. Were people really this scary these days? Their powers of observation were way too advanced.

Just as I was about to argue with Kanzaki, a woman's voice came from the side of the stage, echoing through the gym over the loudspeakers.

"First-year students, please quiet down. We're about to begin the club orientation. I'm Tachibana, the Student Council secretary, and I'll be hosting today's session. It's nice to meet you."

It was starting.

After the host, Tachibana, finished her greeting, the club representatives lined up onstage. They were all kinds of people, from a muscular upperclassman in a judo uniform to an upperclasswoman dressed in a beautiful kimono.

"Can boys join the dance club?"

"Of course, but I don't think many boys would choose to dance nowadays. Society has basically decided that dance is an art form through which women display their beauty, so men might feel uncomfortable, in more ways than one..." After I said that, Kanzaki's gaze turned toward an upperclasswoman dressed in what looked like a dance costume.

"Do you want to join the dance club so you can watch the upperclasswomen dance?"

"Please don't think I'm that lecherous. I'm just curious, that's all."

I'd seen a few male dancers before, but I couldn't spot any among the people onstage.

"Of course I know. Your thoughts wouldn't even go that far."

"...If you don't mind, I'd like you to take back what you just said."

Kanzaki ignored me. Meanwhile, the female student in her dance outfit began introducing the club.

"My name is Kiryu Manabe, and I'm the dance club's leader. We've won the national competition several times, so you don't need to worry about the quality of our instruction. Of course, we'd rather dance and have fun together than train hard all the time. We welcome students who are new to dancing, so please be sure to join our club."

That was a pretty pointless speech. I guessed all the other introductions would be just for show, too. Welcoming beginners was probably just a way to get points from them. They'd take their membership fees, make them realize they weren't good enough, then conveniently kick them out.

People could be so devious.

I listened listlessly as the upperclassmen repeated their clubs' meeting times and locations, along with their enticing descriptions. The calligraphy and tea ceremony clubs made me feel I had to pretend to be a little interested, but aside from that, nothing stood out.

As the introductions went on, the noise around us grew louder.

It was getting hard to hear the presentations.

"Isn't a teacher going to manage this? At this rate, we won't be able to hear anything," Kanzaki muttered in my ear, making me look around the gym again.

The entire gym had descended into a rowdy frenzy. Students freely discussed the various clubs, but the teachers who were supposed to be supervising did nothing. The representatives onstage didn't acknowledge the noise and continued with their presentations.

"This is so disorderly," Kanzaki complained.

"They've probably left already. We're not planning to join a club anyway."

"We should see it through to the end. Besides, we don't have any homework to do today."

"Fine."

Gradually, the people onstage began leaving one by one, until only one person remained. A man. He hadn't said a word the entire time. From beginning to end, he'd simply stood there, silently watching us all. He was still doing so now.

He was about a hundred and seventy centimeters tall, with neat black hair atop a slender frame. His sharp, well-defined eyes revealed an intelligent gaze.

He stood before the microphone, gazing out at us with a composed air. People seemed to mistake his behavior for nervousness, and someone made an odd remark. We couldn't make out exactly what they said, but it was clearly meant to mock him.

Even so, the upperclassman was unmoved. He simply stood there in silence. Suddenly, an invisible presence spread through the room, and the laughter died down. Unease and tension began to pass through the crowd, making everyone feel uncomfortable.

The entire gym remained silent for over thirty seconds.

"I am Horikita Manabu, the Student Council President." The man's authoritative voice slowly carried through the gym.

"We're recruiting candidates from the first-year class. There are no special requirements, but anyone considering running for the Student Council should avoid joining any other clubs. As a rule, we will not accept anyone who wishes to join both the Student Council and another club."

Was that for the sake of fairness?

"Our Student Council rejects anyone with naive ideas. Such people will only bring shame to our school."

With a few concise words, Horikita President thoroughly extinguished any thought we might have had of treating the Student Council as a joke. Then, without taking questions, he turned and left.

The entire gym was still reeling from the shock he'd caused.

"He's pretty forceful," Kanzaki remarked.

"He's the Student Council President, after all. His position is a little special."

"Thank you, everyone. This concludes the orientation. We'll now begin accepting club applications. Applications will be open through the end of April, so anyone who decides to apply later can take their form directly to the club they wish to join. That's all."

After the Student Council President left, Tachibana took charge again and calmly explained where to go.

"Do you want to look around some more?"

"No need. I've learned enough. I couldn't handle an 'interest' that intense."

"Then let's go eat."

"Let's go."

And just like that, I'd somehow managed to make a second person at this school whom I could call a "friend."

You're Hopeless

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School

Although it was a high school, students could enter the workforce directly after graduating, skipping the value associated with a university degree. It also boasted a 99.9% chance of finding work in one's desired field, and the entire campus was equipped with the latest technology.

A school like this had an extremely unusual system, one that was full of freedom.

Although the Student Council served as a bridge between the students and the school, there was no clearly established need for class officers. In other words, terms like "class representative" and "PE representative" generally weren't used among the students. Instead, there was a prominent leader.

In our class, however, there was almost no chance of having a leader, at least not before Ichinose failed. That was the result of our class environment. In the end, we still held an election for class officers, but the class representative wasn't the same thing as a leader. It was more of a symbol of unity.

The reason for electing class officers was that it would help classmates support one another. Ichinose had proposed the idea during homeroom, and everyone agreed to maintain order. Unsurprisingly, Ichinose was elected class representative, while Kanzaki Ryuji, whom I was fairly close to, somehow became the vice representative.

I guess they liked his intelligent gaze.

Throughout the whole process, I was on edge, afraid someone might call my name at any moment. There were minor positions like health representative and class affairs representative, but I still didn't want to get involved.

Refusing to take on any responsibilities might make me stand out, but that didn't include becoming a class officer. If I accepted a position, I'd inevitably be saddled with the corresponding label and leave an impression people wouldn't forget. Someone who wanted to stay in the shadows ought to avoid that kind of thing.

During the nominations, I noticed Ichinose kept glancing my way, but I pretended not to notice and rested my chin on the desk.

"Want me to nominate you for a position?"

"Sorry. If I offended you, I apologize."

"...That apology of yours is so cheap and perfunctory. I guess I should've expected it. You wouldn't take part in anything that required a serious contribution."

"Hey, shouldn't this count as teamwork? On that front, I'm one whole grade above you—I'm a C, and you're a D+."

"Neither of us deserves praise for our teamwork."

"True. We're both terrible at it."

"But I'm curious why your evaluation is one grade higher than mine. You seem like someone who's completely disconnected from the class."

"That's harsh. I'm so disconnected I can't even get called a loser? At least show me a little respect."

"Sorry, but that may be the best I can do."

"That's so pathetic..."

As the class voted on the PE representative, Kanzaki and I chatted back and forth. Since Ichinose was leading the proceedings and everyone around us was caught up in the lively discussion, we could talk as freely as we liked.

"But are you really sure there's nothing between you and Ichinose?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're just sitting in front of and behind each other."

"Still, the way you talk to each other seems pretty intimate. Even now. She keeps glancing over at you, like she really wants you to take a position."

"Hm, does she?" I pretended not to know and glanced toward the teacher's desk. Ichinose wasn't looking at me then. "I don't see it."

"My estimation of you has just dropped another level."

"...Why?"

"You don't even have the most basic powers of observation."

"...But there really is nothing between us. If I had to say, I was probably the first student at this school to meet Ichinose."

"Sure, sure. I wasn't thinking anything else. I just thought you might have known each other before."

"If we weren't in the same class, how could I possibly have met Ichinose?"

"The odds are low, but it's not impossible that Ichinose came looking for you."

What? Not me approaching Ichinose, but Ichinose approaching me? Thinking back to when we met, she had been the one to speak first...