Night slowly fell, and countless twinkling lights dotted Tokyo's skyline, like a meticulously painted starry sky spread across the city's embrace.
The outlines of the high-rises stood clear yet soft beneath the yellowish lights, while the occasional airplane trail across the sky lent the city a touch of distant poetry.
Nagumo Renji, the majority shareholder of the nightclub Night Song in a prime location, was flirting with his secretary in his office.
"Chinatsu, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met. Your eyes are as beautiful as the Milky Way in the sky."
Nagumo Renji lied without batting an eye, as he had done countless times before. Thanks to his handsome, weathered face that seemed full of stories, even the corniest pickup lines never failed him.
"Renji~"
His secretary went along with the mood, lowering her head to kiss him.
Nagumo changed secretaries on average once a year, casually dumping each one when he got bored.
His son, Miyabi Nagumo, had inherited the Nagumo family's fine tradition, too.
"Am I late, Honami?"
"No, I just got here, too. Shall we go to the Student Council?"
"Yoshi, let's go!"
Vice President Nagumo watched Nagami arrive with Ichinose, his expression stiffening. The distance between them, in particular, set off alarm bells in his mind.
A womanizer's instincts told him that Nagami seemed to be one of his kind. Like attracts like, as they say. But courtesy demanded he greet them anyway.
"Yo, Ichinose, Nagami."
"You two came at just the right time. You'll be visiting the clubs today to recruit assistant judges for the Sports Festival events. The PE teachers alone can't handle such a high number of matches."
Student Council President Horikita ordered.
"There are a lot of students, so each event will need at least four rounds, from preliminaries to finals. The Sports Festival has thirteen events, so we'll need at least thirteen judges. If you run into any trouble, contact me or Nagumo right away. The Student Council can provide whatever help you need."
"Let's go, Honami. We'll start with the Track and Field Club."
"Oh, right away!"
"Kagami, why aren't you nervous at all when you come to the Student Council? Every time I see the president's serious face, I get chills down my back."
"You'll get used to it, Honami. I can see you becoming president someday—taking down Horikita, then taking down Nagumo."
"Haha, thanks for the vote of confidence."
Knock, knock. They knocked on the Track and Field Club's door and went in.
"I have no problem being an assistant judge. But is there any reward for being a judge? If it costs us points in the class rankings, I'd be losing out."
"Then what would it take to convince you, senpai?" Ichinose asked.
"If you give me your contact info, I might consider it, cute kouhai."
"Uh, well..."
Faced with her senpai's harassment, Ichinose was at a loss. Giving him her contact information wouldn't be a big deal, but she felt a little put off by him taking advantage of the situation.
"You're pushing your luck, senpai." Nagami put a hand on Ichinose's shoulder and stepped forward.
The senpai was about to argue back, but when he saw the well-defined muscles barely concealed by Nagami's thin shirt, his confidence immediately faltered.
"The Student Council won't make students work for free. You know the Student Council has considerable power at this school. We can not only negotiate with the Student Council Board, but even change school rules. We're only at the planning stage for now, but there'll definitely be Private Points for assistant judges and the like."
Nagami imitated the president, promising rewards to those beneath him. Of course, a workhorse like him had no chance of getting any points himself.
"Oh, I see! I'm in."
"Then, senpai, please fill in your contact info on the form."
After the senpai dutifully filled it out, the pair set off for the next club.
Not long after they left, someone in the club belatedly spoke up.
"That guy... He looks like that violent kid from Class 1-D. What's his name again? Nagami something."
"I heard he sent three Class D students to the Infirmary for a week not long after school started. They were all reserve members of the basketball club, too. Someone from the basketball club told me."
"Seriously? That's terrifying. He goes that hard on his own classmates, too. He really is a violent thug."
"Looking at his build, is he even a student?"
"One punch from him could kill a guy."
"Scary."
The unknown senpai broke into a cold sweat, grateful he'd backed down.
"Arigato, Kagami. Having you around makes the work feel so much easier."
"It was nothing."
In the end, fifteen students agreed to sign up as judges. They returned to the Student Council Room at almost five.
"Nice work. Review these promotional materials, and stamp them if everything looks good."
She looked at the stacks of copy submitted by the News Department: "Burn, Youth! It's Time to Get Moving!" "The Must-See Showdown: Second-Year Strongest vs. Third-Year Strongest," and so on.
"The News Department's headlines always know how to grab people's attention."
Stamp, stamp, stamp! Approved.
At six in the evening,
"That's all for today,"
Student Council President Horikita said, while Vice President Nagumo invited Ichinose out.
"Ichinose, are you free tonight? There's a karaoke get-together."
"Hmm~ Sorry, I have things to do. I still need to coordinate the class's sports practice. Sorry, senpai."
Ichinose turned him down outright. Watching her chat and laugh with Nagami, Nagumo felt a pang of defeat.
"Honami, how did you end up becoming friends with Nagumo? You do know what his reputation is, right?"
"Well, there are a lot of reasons. I was feeling down after the Student Council President turned me away, and Nagumo-senpai was willing to make an exception and take me on as a trainee. I'm really grateful. My dream since I was little has been to help more people."
(A classic womanizer's trick: taking advantage of someone when they're vulnerable.)
"Have you ever thought about what he finds attractive about you? Katsuragi from Class A is impressive, too. How come Nagumo never goes after him?"
"Uh, you're so blunt. Actually, I get it. I'm not a stupid girl, but when you put it so bluntly, Kagami, I feel like I'm just some useless decoration."
"The Student Council is just a bunch of rabble."
"How about we make a bet? If I come in first in Private Points at the Sports Festival, you have to leave the Student Council. Deal?"
"Can you win, Kagami? This is a competition for the whole year."
Ichinose looked at him doubtfully.
"I'll win. They're the ones who'll have to challenge me."
Looking at Nagami's determined expression, Ichinose felt a mischievous impulse well up inside her.
"Okay, it's a deal."
If it's Kagami, I don't mind him being a little selfish! He really is such a kind person.
(Little Nagumo, you took advantage of Honami when she was vulnerable. Don't blame me for giving you a little present. You brought this on yourself.)
What kind of woman did womanizers fear most? The answer was a clueless woman. When a clueless woman broke up with a womanizer, she'd drive him crazy by constantly clinging to him, making it difficult for him to move on to another relationship.
Some went even further, wanting to die alongside the womanizer. Without a doubt, even the most accomplished playboy was helpless when faced with someone who wasn't afraid to go all out.
"Class D has only one lovesick guy who's a sucker for pretty faces. Better to keep that opportunity in the family."
(I heard Nagumo has a childhood friend who's also his senpai. I'm kind of curious why he won't date someone close to home. Is she an ugly duckling?)
Before you continue