What Are the Conditions for Joining the Drama Club? (5.5k)

"Hmm... It still feels a little awkward. Oh well, let's just stick to our own way of addressing each other from now on. Anyway, I'm used to calling you Sister Xue."

"Okay, Ichika."

After exchanging a couple of joking remarks with Amasawa Ichika, Yuki herself tilted her head and looked at Kitagawa Ryo with a mischievous glint in her eyes:

"And then there's Kitagawa Manabu..."

"Senior Kitagawa!"

"Excuse me, are you Kitagawa-senpai?"

Before Xue could even finish her own teasing, several First Year girls appeared out of nowhere and surrounded them, calling them "senior" one after another.

Looking at the 'Ultimate Attracted to Younger Women' shining brightly in his talent list, Kitagawa Ryo suddenly realized what a mistake it was to run to the First Year floor at this moment.

"Actually, it was because I saw you when I visited ANHS Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School last year during the Cultural Festival that I decided to apply!"

"Um, thank you."

"I really love your drama performances, senior. Does your Drama Club have any recruitment plans? Let me join! I'm even willing to be your student affairs secretary!"

"The club's recruitment will be held tomorrow in the Gymnasium. Also, there is no position for a life secretary in the club."

"Senior! Do you have a girlfriend yet?"

"Open the forum and search for keywords; someone will tell you the answer."

"That's too much trouble. I can just file a complaint here on the spot..."

Before a barrage of troubles could arise, Kitagawa Ryo, caught off guard, decisively grabbed Amasawa Ichika -First Year group. He could still hear two suggestive comments behind him, like, "You look good running, senpai," and "It's a shame you don't squeeze me with those long legs."

"... Ryo wasn't this exaggerated even when he was in second year, huh?"

After being carried along at a frantic pace for quite a while, almost reaching the dormitory building, Amasawa Ichika belatedly came to her senses and uttered this comment with a face full of confusion.

She knew that the guy she liked was never short of female admirers, but she had never seen such a frenzied, zombie-like frenzy before. Even on Valentine's Day, the girls from three different grades combined didn't create this kind of man-eating atmosphere.

"Indeed, this is the first time Liang has met them, after all."

Xue, equally confused, shook her head. Even if love at first sight did exist, it was becoming so widespread that it seemed a bit abnormal. For a moment, she forgot about the classic romantic comedy trope of simply standing up and declaring herself Liang's girlfriend.

"Anyway, I'll be going to the First Year' area less often from now on."

Kitagawa Ryo couldn't really explain it, so he could only give a somewhat frustrated reply, while inwardly continuing to complain about his counterpart in another timeline. He wanted to interview him about his thought process in order to establish connections with so many girls much younger than him one after another, and then unlock this ridiculously absurd 'Ultimate Attracted to Younger Women younger men'.

"No problem, I'll just go find Ryo in the second-year class later."

In response to Kitagawa Ryo's reply, Yuki nodded in deep agreement.

Then, led by Kitagawa Ryo and Amasawa Ichika, she successfully obtained her dormitory key from the dormitory manager and carried up her necessary luggage along with it.

Each grade uses a separate dormitory building. Girls generally live on the upper floors, while boys live on the lower floors. Yuki's assigned dormitory room was room number eight on the eleventh floor, which is 1108.

"I remember Ryo was in room number eight, right?"

"Yes, but it's on the fourth floor."

The three of them chatted casually about their dorm room as they rode the elevator up.

"For everyday necessities, Sister Xue can just go to a convenience store. For larger items, I recommend using home delivery service; you can order on your phone."

At this point, Amasawa Ichika winked meaningfully at Xue again:

"If there's anything you want but don't know where to buy it, feel free to ask me. I'm an expert in this area."

"Okay, I've got it. I'll definitely ask Ichika later."

As the three chatted, the elevator ascended to the eleventh floor. After finding their room, Xue used the key she had been given to open the door. The room was empty and looked rather simple, but there was still room for them to sit.

"Oh right, Hotaru asked me to bring this to school for Ryo."

As Yuki opened her suitcase to put her change of clothes into the closet, she suddenly noticed something tucked inside and quickly took it out and handed it to Kitagawa Ryo:

"She should have told Liang beforehand."

"Yes, I know, it's a belated Valentine's Day gift from Ying."

Taking the small gift box from Yuki's hands, Kitagawa Ryo casually lifted the lid and glanced inside. Besides the wrapped chocolates, there was a handwritten letter with the words "To my dear brother" written on the seal.

Thinking he would open and look at them separately when he got back, Kitagawa Ryo put the two items back into his bag, then casually asked:

Should we invite Sakurako along?

"Okay, I'll send her a message later. I don't know if she's finished on her end yet."

"Oh right, you two weren't assigned to the same class."

"Yeah, she went to Class B."

"I thought it would be Class A."

"Maybe it's because she's a bit withdrawn? Actually, she's quite cold to outsiders, and unlike me, she doesn't retain any memories of the past. Ryo and Ichika, please don't be surprised."

Just twenty minutes after Yuki kindly offered this explanation on behalf of her younger sister, the three of them finally managed to reunite with Tsubaki Sakurako, who had rushed over in a hurry.

"Sorry, something came up with class and I was held up for a bit. It's been quite a while, Kitagawa-senpai."

"Long time no see. Something came up in class, but it's the first day of school, after all. This is Amasawa."

"Yes, I met you at the Cultural Festival. Hello, Amasawa -senpai."

"Hey junior, looking at you two from this angle, you really do look alike."

Although the small talk among the group sounded quite normal, and Tsubaki Sakurako remained as listless as ever, seemingly uninterested in anything, Kitagawa Ryo still felt something was off.

Just now, his phone received a message from Sakura Airi, saying that First Year student ran to the door of Class 2-A, peered inside for a while, and then ran away.

Based on the description of his appearance, this mysterious person was none other than Tsubaki Sakurako, who was standing right in front of him at that moment.

After all, his older sister Xue, who looks similar to him, has been staying with him every step of the way during this time, so she definitely couldn't have gone to the second grade again.

In other words, Tsubaki Sakurako wasn't delayed by class matters as she claimed; rather, she rushed over from the second-year students after receiving Yuki's message.

Thinking about this, Kitagawa Ryo became increasingly suspicious.

What exactly is his future sister-in-law up to?

Chapter Six: What are the requirements for joining the Drama Club? (5k5)

"The Keyaki Mall hasn't been this lively in a long time."

"When we first enrolled last year, we also came here to shop a lot. It's only natural, after all, we had just received 100,000 Private Points."

While waiting for the waiter to serve their food in the private dining room they had booked in advance at the Keyaki Mall, Kitagawa Ryo also drew back the curtains of his room and glanced outside. Many First Year who had just enrolled hadn't even had time to warm up their 100,000 Private Points on their phones before they were already generously deposited into various shops around here.

"For most freshmen, this month's 100,000 points should be the largest sum of Private Points they've received in a long time."

After casually making that comment, Kitagawa Ryo drew the curtains again, sat back down in his seat, and proactively asked Tsubaki Sakurako, who had been engrossed in playing on her phone since entering the room:

"How's Class 1-B doing today? I watched almost the whole thing with Class D."

"Our class... is pretty normal in all aspects. It's mainly because someone is organizing it. There's a guy named Takahashi Osamu. When I left, they were still organizing a party and team building activity. The atmosphere was pretty good."

Tsubaki Sakurako put down her phone, briefly summarized what she had seen about Class B, and finally gave her own evaluation:

"This kind of stress-free class suits me quite well."

To be honest, Tsubaki Sakurako wasn't really that interested in Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. She was just following in her older sister's footsteps and wanted to try to find the answer to the question that had been bothering her since childhood. She also planned to be a nobody in class.

"Huh? I was thinking of having Sakurako figure out a way to become the Leader of Class B, but it seems like you've already given up?"

Xue was somewhat dissatisfied with her younger sister's attitude of giving up and shirking responsibility.

"We already have fewer people than the other side. If this continues, the First Year's strength will eventually be consolidated by Ayanokoji."

"Snow doesn't need to take this so seriously. Compared to what's going on between me and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, I'd rather you both enjoy your life in ANHS and act according to your own thoughts and preferences."

Before the atmosphere could worsen, Kitagawa Ryo preemptively defined the situation between himself and the First Year, then turned to Tsubaki Sakurako with a smile and said:

"Sakurako, do whatever you want. If Yuki puts pressure on you behind your back, then come talk to me."

"Tch... Do I look like the kind of older sister who would put pressure on her younger sister in private?"

"Hard to say."

Seeing Kitagawa Ryo's resolute attitude, Yuki had no choice but to temporarily relent, pouting and shaking her head.

"Then I won't interfere anymore. Sakurako, do whatever you want."

"Okay--"

He slightly dragged out the last syllable, but his tone remained as calm as ever. If he didn't know that this child wasn't a test subject of the White Room, Kitagawa Ryo would have suspected that the other person had also studied in the White Room. In some ways, he was quite similar to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Before long, the restaurant staff brought out all the dishes, and the welcome dinner for the two sisters officially began.

"Club recruitment starts tomorrow. Do Yuki and Sakurako have any specific ideas?"

"Clubs? I remember Arisu is a member of the Student Council now, right?"

"Yes, the Student Council vice president."

"Then I'll go to the Student Council."

Unlike Yuki, who made her decision quickly, Tsubaki Sakurako simply shook her head:

"I don't have any clubs I particularly want to join, and I don't even want to go to the event tomorrow. Is it mandatory for every freshman to go? And does ANHS require every student to join a club?"

"There's no such rule, including tomorrow's information session. Anyone who wants to go can go, and we won't force anyone who doesn't. Clubs really do vary from person to person, but I still suggest that Sakurako go and check it out tomorrow. Maybe she'll meet someone she's interested in or likes, and it's good to make more friends and enrich her campus life."

Theoretically speaking, Tsubaki Sakurako cannot be considered Kitagawa Ryo's first known sister-in-law, after all, Honami has a younger sister Maki.

Firstly, because of Hotaru, he was already quite familiar with Ichinose Maki. Secondly, her personality was that of a very innocent and naive little girl, completely different from the much colder and more distant Tsubaki Sakurako in front of him. Therefore, Kitagawa Ryo was also trying to find a way to get along and talk with her in order to find an atmosphere and rhythm that would satisfy both of them.

"I think Sakurako could try joining Ryo's Drama Club."

As if she had thought of something, Xue, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke up and made this suggestion.

After all, compared to the Student Council, the Drama Club is the club that Kitagawa Ryo truly belongs to. If it weren't for what happened with Sakayanagi Arisu, she probably would have signed up for the Drama Club herself. But now that she has decided to join the Student Council, she hopes to leave someone she can trust in the Drama Club as well, someone to share Kitagawa Ryo's club activities with her on a daily basis.

She knew that the Drama Club was entirely made up of girls except for Kitagawa Ryo. Although half a year ago she would probably have handed it over to Amasawa Ichika without hesitation, now... well, it can only be said that someone is stealing from her.

"Drama Club? But I don't know much about drama."

"If you're interested, you can come in and learn from scratch. After all, in our club right now, the only ones who really have a foundation are myself and Hui."

"Well, I didn't have much experience in this area before, but I'm gradually getting familiar with it. Besides, Ryo and Hui do most of the work, so there's no need to put too much pressure on yourself."

With explanations and persuasion from Kitagawa Ryo and Amasawa Ichika, Tsubaki Sakurako seemed somewhat moved and finally nodded in agreement:

"Then I'll go to the site tomorrow to take a look."

"Well, the recruitment should be handled by our club's two vice presidents, Hui and Honami. They're both easy to talk to, and there shouldn't be too many people signing up..."

Kitagawa Ryo was about to say, "There probably won't be many people signing up," but then he remembered what had happened to him in the First Year hallway that morning, so he swallowed those words back.

"Sakurako has a very good foundation, whether it's her posture or anything else."

"Oh, thank you for the compliment."

Since it was still the first day of school, Kitagawa Ryo didn't talk to the two of them much about the rules of ANHS, the current situation of the class, or Special Exam. Instead, she focused on talking to them about daily life, giving them advice that sounded trivial but was actually very practical. Amasawa Ichika played a supplementary role, since Kitagawa Ryo herself couldn't really say anything like which brand of sanitary napkins was better.

After finishing his rambling explanation of the dormitory arrangements, just as Kitagawa Ryo was about to take a sip of tea to catch his breath, he suddenly saw Yuki extend her right hand to him. Her open palm was fair and delicate, and seeing that he didn't react immediately, she gently hooked her four slender, pale fingers (excluding her thumb) inward a few times, making a gesture as if asking for something.

"Key."

Seeing her older sister so naturally continue, Tsubaki Sakurako added:

"Give me a key to the cool dorm room."

Then, without any surprise, the other person took a key out of their pocket and placed it in the sister's outstretched palm.

Here, for you.

She felt that the world was largely sick.

"It was much more convenient before. Living in the same room saved us the trouble of visiting other rooms. The dormitories for First Year and second-year students aren't even in the same building. The conditions at ANHS seem even worse than at White Room."

"So, a single dorm room is actually worse than a double bunk bed?"

"That depends on the situation. If I could stay with Ryo, a double bunk bed would be better than a single one in my opinion. But is this even feasible? Doesn't it say that you can buy anything with Private Points here?"

"No matter how you look at it, there's not enough space. After all, we're not little kids anymore, and the bed size is completely different."

Tsubaki Sakurako listened intently to Kitagawa Ryo and Yuki's casual conversation, trying to unravel the clues to find traces of what had happened back then, but the more she listened, the more confused she became.

She knew that the White Room was White Room, and she also knew that her sister was a student who was eliminated from the White Room, but from the way the two of them were talking, it seemed that they were roommates and shared a bunk bed in the White Room?

But over the years she had also seen other students eliminated from the same hospital in the same White Room, and clearly none of them had mentioned such details.