Club Recruitment

"That person..."

Miyama Saku lightly tapped the strap of his school bag with his finger, a subtle pause.

"Did it make you uncomfortable? You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Her tone was gentle.

"Not really." Miyama Saku withdrew his gaze from the window. "The person I made plans with is in another class in our year."

"I see—" Ichinose tilted her head slightly, then smiled in relief. "That's a relief. I was worried you might not be able to make any friends."

"That makes it sound like I'm a loner."

"Aren't you?" Ichinose blinked.

"Since school started, I don't think I've ever seen you start a conversation with anyone in class."

Miyama Saku did not argue, because she was right.

"Then I'll be heading out first. See you."

He picked up his bag, slung it over one shoulder, and headed for the classroom door. Before long, he arrived at the gymnasium. Just as he reached its entrance, a clear voice called out from behind him.

"Saku!" A girl named Shiina Hiyori jogged toward Miyama Saku from a distance.

"Whew, something came up in class, so I'm late. Sorry."

"It's fine. The briefing is about to start, so let's go in first."

Inside the gymnasium, quite a few first-year students had already gathered. Their conversations blended into a low hum.

Miyama Saku and Shiina Hiyori found an empty spot near the back and stood there, placing their bags by their feet.

"First-years, sorry for the wait."

A petite girl with her hair in a bun stood on the podium.

"Next, representatives from each club will give their recruitment introductions. I'm Tachibana, secretary of the Student Council, and I'll be hosting today's briefing." She gave a crisp bow.

"Now then, would the representatives from each club please come onstage?"

At Tachibana's words, a row of club representatives emerged one after another from the side curtain. The burly upperclassman from the Judo Club stood with his arms crossed, the girl from the Archery Club held herself with perfect poise, and the tall Basketball Club member spun a basketball on one hand... Then came the Art Club, Tea Ceremony Club, Cooking Club, and countless others, enough to make one's eyes spin.

Yet Miyama Saku's attention was not drawn to those lively clubs. He noticed a man standing at the end of the line, someone whose presence differed from that of the club members onstage.

Before long, the representatives from the other clubs left the stage one by one, leaving only that person behind.

He walked up to the microphone and stopped.

Then he said nothing.

The silence spread like a drop of ink falling into clear water, slowly and irreversibly bleeding outward.

"Why isn't he saying anything?" someone in the front row muttered.

"Did he forget his lines?" their companion whispered with a laugh.

"Hey, what's he even doing...?"

All kinds of voices rose among the first-years. Some looked at one another in confusion, while others exchanged impatient glances. Yet the man onstage did not move an inch, as though the noise simply did not exist in his world.

He merely stood there in silence, calmly looking down over the entire crowd. That silence was not stage fright, nor forgotten lines, nor nervousness.

It was more like a condescending appraisal.

Gradually, some people realized that.

The whispering began to fade, like seawater receding with the tide, wave after wave. Several boys in the front who had been laughing moments ago unconsciously shut their mouths. The change spread from front to back like falling dominoes, and within seconds, the entire gymnasium had sunk into a grave, taut silence.

After a long while—Miyama Saku counted three minutes—the man finally spoke.

"I am Manabu Horikita, president of the Student Council."

His voice was not loud, yet it was as clear as words carved into stone. There was no greeting, no preamble.

His gaze slowly swept across the room. No emotional change could be seen on his face. It was not that he was deliberately hiding his expression; rather, it was as though he had been born incapable of expression.

"With the graduation of the upperclassmen, the Student Council will be recruiting candidates from among the first-year students."

He paused briefly, as though making sure everyone was listening.

"There are no eligibility requirements for the special election. However..."

His gaze darkened slightly.

"If anyone is considering running, please refrain from joining any clubs. In principle, the Student Council does not permit those affiliated with other clubs to participate in the election."

That meant that, in principle, anyone who wanted to run for the Student Council would have to give up club activities.

Manabu Horikita seemed unconcerned with the reaction below the stage and continued. "Furthermore, the Student Council does not welcome people who run with an overly optimistic mindset."

"Our school's Student Council has been granted the authority and duty to change the order of this campus. All of this has been approved by the school and entrusted with high expectations."

His voice remained steady, but every word carried unquestionable weight.

"Therefore, we welcome only those who can truly understand that."

His words ended.

Manabu Horikita turned sharply and stepped down from the podium. His pace was neither fast nor slow, his leather shoes making firm, rhythmic sounds against the wooden floor. Without looking back at anyone, he passed through the side curtain and disappeared through the gymnasium exit.

"Saku, are you going to run for the Student Council?" Shiina Hiyori looked at Miyama Saku.

"No. Just hearing that introduction makes it sound like a hassle." Miyama Saku's voice carried an easygoing indifference. What he wanted was freedom, not to be bound by rules and restrictions.

"Then is there any club you want to join?" Shiina Hiyori seemed long accustomed to his attitude and merely continued asking patiently.

"I'll have to look around before I know. I don't want the upperclassmen treating me like their errand boy."

"I thought you weren't going to join any clubs, Saku."

"I never said that."

"What about you, Hiyori? Is there any club you want to join?" Miyama Saku asked in return.

"I don't know either. Anyway, you promised to look around with me."

"Let's go."

Miyama Saku first picked up a map showing the classrooms and recruitment locations for each club. The athletic clubs were mostly recruiting at sports facilities, while cultural clubs and others that did not require much space were in the club building.

Afterward, he collected several club brochures. A quick flip through them showed that the school's students had won a huge number of awards, putting it more or less at the top level among high schools nationwide.

"Let's check out the cultural clubs. You're not suited for athletic clubs either, Hiyori, and I'm not interested in them." Miyama Saku stretched and spoke casually.

"I'll go along with whatever you decide." Shiina Hiyori answered softly.

"Then let's head straight to the club classrooms."

They stopped at a corner of the club building. Compared to the other clubs, this place was remarkably quiet. There were no flashy decorations on the door, only a plain wooden plaque bearing three neatly brushed characters: [Tea Ceremony Club].

When they pushed the door open, a faint, tranquil woody fragrance greeted them.

A spacious tea room had been set up inside the classroom. Its decor was simple, made mostly of wood and bamboo. Aside from a few calligraphy pieces and landscape paintings hanging on the walls, there was little else to decorate it.

In the center of the tea room, four girls sat formally in seiza.

They seemed to have noticed the visitors long ago, but none rushed to stand. They merely raised their eyes in unison to look over. Their gazes were calm, carrying a hint of appraisal—just like the tea ceremony itself, unhurried and unruffled.

The one who spoke was seated at the very front. She gave a slight nod, her expression gentle yet dignified. One could tell at a glance that she was the one who called the shots among the four.

"May I ask who you are?"

"Hello, upperclassmen. I'm Miyama Saku." He inclined his head slightly, his tone polite and composed.

"Hello, upperclassmen. My name is Shiina Hiyori." Shiina Hiyori followed immediately.

"Are you here to join the club?"

"For now, we're here to observe. Though it may be a little rude to say so, I don't know much about tea ceremony myself, so I'm not planning to join."

"As for the one beside me, I'm not sure."

Miyama Saku looked at Shiina Hiyori beside him, who seemed deeply interested.

"Oh?"

The upperclassman who had asked the question raised an eyebrow slightly. Her gaze shifted from Miyama Saku to Shiina Hiyori.

This time, her expression was entirely different. Before, it had been no more than routine politeness; now, it held genuine scrutiny.

"Shiina, right?" She set down the teacup in her hand and leaned forward slightly. "Have you had any experience with tea ceremony before?"

"No." Shiina Hiyori shook her head, but almost as soon as the words left her mouth, she added, "But I really do want to join."

At that, she suddenly paused, seemingly realizing she might have been impolite. The tips of her ears reddened slightly, and she pressed her lips together in embarrassment.

But she did not lower her gaze.

Her eyes shone as though something had lit them from within, staring straight at the upperclassman before her.

The four upperclassmen exchanged a glance.

One upperclassman seated on the left let out a small laugh, covering her mouth with the back of her hand as her shoulders trembled.

"Miyama," the upperclassman said, looking up at the boy standing nearby with a trace of amusement in her voice. "You said you don't know much about tea ceremony, so you don't plan to join."

She paused, and her gaze returned to Shiina Hiyori.

"But the one you brought with you doesn't look like she's just here for a visit."

Miyama Saku did not respond.

He merely turned his head slightly and glanced at the girl beside him from the corner of his eye. She was still leaning forward, as though an invisible thread had pulled her in, all her attention tied to the small tea setting before her.

He sighed softly to himself.

Here she goes again.

Whenever Shiina Hiyori encountered something she was genuinely interested in, she became like this. The girl who was normally so quiet she was almost invisible would seem like a different person, radiating a nearly stubborn passion—not the flashy kind, but an unshakable seriousness.

"Shiina." The upperclassman's voice pulled her back from her daze.

"Y-Yes!"

"The Tea Ceremony Club doesn't require its members to have any prior experience. But there is one thing: once you join, you can't just watch without trying it yourself."

The upperclassman rose and took a fresh tea caddy and an extra tea bowl from the paulownia cabinet behind her. Then she picked up a copper kettle and slowly poured hot water over the tea scoop and tea whisk.

The tea scoop was a slender bamboo spoon used specifically to ladle matcha powder from the tea caddy; the tea whisk was a cylindrical bamboo utensil used to mix the paste and prepare the tea.

As the hot water poured down, the bamboo bristles trembled faintly, as though waking up.

"Watch carefully."

Her voice was quiet, as though she were speaking only to the tea bowl.

The tea scoop dipped into the caddy and lifted a small portion of matcha. Green powder softly fell into the bottom of the bowl. Hot water was added—not too much, not too little, just enough to cover the bottom—then the tea whisk was lowered inside.

Her wrist began to move. Her knuckles guided her wrist, her wrist guided her fingertips, and the force traveled from her arm all the way to the tips of the bamboo bristles. Foam surged upward from the bottom of the bowl, first in large bubbles, then finer and denser, until it became a soft, gleaming layer of green froth.

The entire process was neither fast nor slow, flowing as naturally as clouds and water.

Shiina Hiyori unconsciously softened her breathing.

Her gaze was fixed tightly on the tea bowl, her pupils filled with that pool of green and the churning white foam. Even her eyelashes did not tremble, as though she feared even breathing might disturb something.

"Did you understand?" Chizuru gently turned the tea bowl toward her.

"...No." Shiina Hiyori honestly shook her head. "But can I watch it one more time?"

The upperclassman looked at her, and the corners of her eyes slowly curved upward.

"Of course." She rested the tea whisk against the rim of the bowl. A drop of green water still clung to its bamboo bristles, on the verge of falling. "But next time..."

She paused, a hint of amusement entering her voice.

"I hope you'll say, 'Let me try.'"