The Different Clubs

The third day of school,

"Hey, morning, Suzune."

You En waved, but Horikita Suzune glared at him with her big eyes, barely containing her displeasure.

"What's wrong? Did I get even more handsome today?"

You En patted his pocket, looking regretful.

"Ah, what a shame. I didn't bring a mirror."

"Phew..."

Horikita Suzune's breathing grew a little heavier as she recalled what had happened the night before.

After dinner last night, she had returned to the student dormitory and rushed into the bathroom, where she had dry-heaved for a long time. To be honest, the taste in her mouth still hadn't gone away when she brushed her teeth that morning.

"Weren't you enjoying yourself while you ate yesterday? I didn't see your expression change at all."

You En leaned closer, studying Horikita Suzune's little face.

"Look, your complexion's even paler today. It suits you better. That dinner last night must've been nutritious."

At his words, Horikita Suzune couldn't help recalling that taste. The peculiar sensation seemed to linger in her mouth, and she stuck out her little tongue.

You En chuckled. "So cute."

"You!"

Horikita Suzune tried to grab You En by the waist, but caught nothing but air.

"Get back here!"

"Oh."

You En obediently returned to Horikita Suzune's side, looking pitiful.

"You! Honestly..."

When Horikita Suzune reached for him, she found she couldn't bring herself to put any strength into it. She simply gave him a little pinch to show her displeasure.

"Ow, that hurts!"

Horikita Suzune noticed the other students' gazes gradually turning toward them. She rubbed her brow and said,

"That's enough! I barely pinched you!"

"Right, right. Lady Suzune is beautiful and kindhearted."

Horikita Suzune clenched her fist. "Keep going, and I'll start being mean to you."

You En knew when to quit.

After all, Horikita Suzune had a lot of physical skills on her skill panel. He was just a shut-in who wrote novels. If she got serious, he'd be the one making a fool of himself.

The day's classes came to an end, and the bell rang for the end of the final lesson.

Horikita Suzune tugged at his sleeve.

You En turned around.

"What's up?"

Horikita Suzune asked, "Um, why have you been so... well-behaved today?"

You En had actually been thinking about what was off about this school. Everyone but him thought it was merely strange or that its treatment of students was excellent. None of them seemed to feel any sense of danger.

"Wasn't that what you told me this morning?"

Horikita Suzune recalled what she'd said that morning, looking somewhat helpless.

"I never said you couldn't talk to me. It's just..."

Huh? That was strange.

She couldn't put it into words. She realized this wasn't like her; before starting high school, she'd never felt this way about anyone.

Why was that?

Horikita Suzune felt she shouldn't dwell on the question.

"Ah... anyway, just be careful."

You En looked at her, one eye wider than the other. "Suzune, you're making this so hard for me. You don't want me to talk, but then when I don't talk, you think that's not good either... Ah, whatever. I'll take the hit."

He let out a long sigh.

Horikita Suzune nodded instinctively. After a little thought, she realized something was off. This couldn't be her fault, could it?

Why did it sound as if she'd done something wrong?

You En changed the subject. "By the way, I heard they're recruiting for clubs. Other than the Student Council, clubs are the only way to interact with upperclassmen. Want to take a look?"

The words "upperclassmen" instantly caught Horikita Suzune's attention.

"Sure."

They arrived at the gymnasium.

You En looked around. Nearly half of their year had shown up—about a hundred people.

" You En, you forgot to pick this up."

Horikita Suzune handed him a small booklet.

"It's an introduction to the clubs."

You En thanked her, opened the booklet, and skimmed through it. He stopped at one page.

The clubs listed before it seemed fairly normal, apart from being a little more extravagant. They had medical-grade equipment that even some large hospitals couldn't afford to buy, costing several million dollars.

But the description of the Space Club was incomprehensible.

"Science, the study of the outside,

Theology, the search within.

We soar into the sky, then sink beneath the sea.

What will you choose?"

"The requirements for this club are way too demanding. It's hardly an interest club at all,"

Horikita Suzune said after taking a look.

"Applicants have to pass one test after another just to sign up, and they're tests designed for professional astronauts. There are so many subjects involved that even ten years of study might not be enough to master them all."

You En flipped through the rest of the club listings, then returned to that page.

Horikita Suzune reminded him, "You're not thinking of joining this, are you? If you really want to, I won't stop you, but you already have too much on your plate."

You En shook his head, then looked around at the club recruitment booths and said calmly,

"No. I'm just wondering why the school established these clubs."

"What do you mean, why?"

Horikita Suzune found the question strange. "The government funds them, so they can spend the money however they like, can't they?"

"No. Think carefully about everything we've encountered over the past two days. Do you really think there's no purpose behind this school?"

You En thought it was time to tell Horikita Suzune a few things.

As a transmigrator who knew the original story, he was the most likely to notice how strange all this was.

"What purpose could the clubs have?"

Horikita Suzune thought there might be something to what he said, but she soon dismissed the idea. No matter what, this was still just a school.

She shook her head and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I think you're worrying too much."

You En didn't continue. He looked through the booklet again and finally spotted the difference.

"Except for the Space Club, every club has regular members and full members. You only need an interest in the club to join as a regular member, but full members have to pass an evaluation. You can't start out as one."

"Other than a few people, I doubt anyone would sign up as a full member."

Horikita Suzune said, then caught sight of someone sneaking glances in their direction. When she tried to get a better look, the person was gone.

You En turned to look where she was looking. "What is it?"

"Someone seemed to be watching us. It was probably Ayanokoji Kiyotaka."

The moment You En heard that, he understood. Koji was probably interested in one of them—or perhaps both—and was watching them to see what they'd do.

You En marveled, "I'm impressed you noticed him."

Horikita Suzune didn't understand. "What's so impressive about noticing him?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about him."

There was no way You En could tell her that

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was like a "city warrior" straight out of a campus novel.

The fact that Horikita Suzune had noticed him watching them from the shadows meant she had sharp instincts.

But if he said that, Horikita Suzune would probably just roll her eyes and think he was out of his mind.

"Is there a club you want to join?" Horikita Suzune asked.

You En nodded. "I'm thinking of joining the Kyudo Club. I was also considering the Firearms Club, but they don't have one here."

"Why would there be a Firearms Club? This isn't America."

Horikita Suzune turned around. "I'm going to check out the Karate Club."

"Sure. See you later, then."

You En added,

"If you can become a full member, you should give it a try."

Horikita Suzune nodded with her back to him.

"Got it."

They headed off to the clubs they were interested in.

You En arrived at the Kyudo Club's recruitment booth. The person in charge was a senior with short, dark-brown hair and a strikingly dashing air.

She wore a fitted kyudo uniform. Resting her left hand on her dark-blue hakama, she held out her other hand and asked briskly,

"New here? Looking to join the club?"

You En nodded. "But more than the club, I'm interested in your name, senpai."

Qiao Heng laughed openly. "Hey, I'm Qiao Heng. You're a little young to be trying to win over your senpai.

"At the very least... hmm, you'd have to pass your first year successfully. And you'd need to rank in the top ten in overall ability, at the very least."

You En asked, "If I do that, can I date you, senpai?"

"Haha."

Qiao Heng reached out and lightly flicked You En on the forehead, laughing heartily. "Of course not. But I'll think about it."

"Okay, I want to sign up for the Kyudo Club,"

You En said seriously. "I need to see if I have any competition."

"Sure,"

Qiao Heng said. She had a pretty good impression of the boy in front of her. "If anyone pursues me, I'll definitely tell you. But what are you planning to do about it?"

"I'll beat the crap out of him!"

Looking at the thick calluses on Qiao Heng's hands, You En figured he probably couldn't beat any potential rivals yet. "Or I'll threaten him first, then beat him up."

"Fine. I'll be waiting for you, then."

Qiao Heng took out a registration form. "You're signing up as a regular member, right?"

"No. I want to sign up as a full member."

You En said.

"You want to sign up as a full member?"

Qiao Heng's demeanor changed, and her voice turned hoarse and low.

"Full-member evaluations last three years, and even if you pass, you'll have a lot of other responsibilities. You can quit partway through, but the evaluations aren't a joke."

"Isn't all of that in the brochure?"

You En met Qiao Heng's gaze. His amber eyes were clear and transparent, and in their depths, it seemed as if he could see tadpole-like writing writhing.

After they had held each other's gaze for a while,

You En suddenly felt a pain in his head, as if several needles had pierced it and were stirring around inside.

"You have a fine gaze."

Qiao Heng praised him, though it wasn't clear what exactly she was complimenting.

She brought both arms around You En and gently massaged his temples. The pain soon disappeared.

A cool sensation seeped in, stirring up vitality and vigor.

You En had only enjoyed the sensation and fragrance for a few seconds

when Qiao Heng stepped away and beckoned him.

"For full membership, I have to test your talent. Almost every 'advanced club' does this."

"Talent?"

Qiao Heng explained, "Someone without talent will never truly get the hang of it in their entire life. Rather than waste their time, we let them find an interest that suits them better."

You En pointed at himself. "Do I have a talent for kyudo?"

Qiao Heng turned halfway around and spun the key ring in her hand with one finger.

Orange sunlight shone through the window and fell across her pretty face. The curve of her lips seemed almost suggestive as she answered a different question.

"Your eyes are beautiful. I like them."