Support Club

"Then I won't hold back."

Uchiha Naruto immediately perked up at that. He sat down on the sofa and said:

"Matsudaira, school rules at Jinguji require us to take part in a club after school, but I'm planning to get a part-time job, so I won't have the time. Could you use your connections to get me an exception?"

Authority was only useful if you exercised it, and favors were no different. He might as well take this opportunity to get things settled.

"A part-time job?"

At those words, Matsudaira Chiyo rested her chin on her hand as she sat on the sofa, a knowing smile appearing on her face.

"You're a new student, Uchiha, so you might not know this, but Jinguji is a private high school. Students who want to work part-time have to apply to the student council. The school board then contacts their parents, and permission is only granted once financial hardship at home has been confirmed. Getting approval is quite a complicated, tedious process."

Uchiha Naruto's heart sank. The Uchiha Clan wasn't badly off financially; he had only planned to get a job because he didn't want to ask Uchiha Senmon for money. In that case, his plans were bound to die before they even got off the ground.

Going behind the school's back and working in secret wouldn't work either. Any reasonably legitimate part-time employer hiring high school students would contact the school. Surely Uchiha Naruto couldn't go work for some shady business.

"You don't want to take part in club activities, and you also want to get a job. That's not asking for one exception, Uchiha. It's asking for two."

"But surely that wouldn't be a problem for you, Matsudaira."

"There's no need to flatter me, Uchiha."

Matsudaira Chiyo gathered her loose strands of long hair and tucked them behind her ear, smiling.

"My mother may be the chairwoman of this school's board of trustees, but as her daughter, I have all the more reason to set an example rather than break school rules."

"Oh."

Uchiha Naruto's response was lukewarm. As far as he was concerned, Matsudaira Chiyo was merely making excuses.

"But you did help me, Uchiha. While I can't break school rules outright, bending them a little shouldn't be a problem."

"Really?" Uchiha Naruto's eyes lit up.

"Uchiha, can you guess what club I belong to?" Matsudaira Chiyo suddenly changed the subject, asking a seemingly unrelated question.

Uchiha Naruto blinked in confusion. Why ask that? He had no interest whatsoever, though, and answered bluntly:

"No idea. Not interested."

"You really are no fun."

Matsudaira Chiyo glanced around at the furnishings in the clubroom and said with a warm smile:

"Reaching out to Jinguji students in need-that's the purpose of the Support Club. You can think of it as the school's odd-job service. I founded it out of personal interest."

Uchiha Naruto nearly laughed aloud. What kind of teenage fantasy was this? Did she think this was the student council or the Service Club? Struggling to keep a straight face, he said:

"I see, so it's a compensated dat... the Support Club! You're truly remarkable, Matsudaira."

Matsudaira Chiyo's brows rose, and the glare she shot him was so sharp and intimidating that Uchiha Naruto changed his wording, offering his praise in a wooden monotone.

"Uchiha Naruto, would you be interested in joining my Support Club?"

"What does that have to do with the little bit of rule-bending you mentioned?"

"What you don't know, Uchiha, is that the Support Club recently received a request from Takasaki, whose family runs an izakaya. She's having some trouble and wants the Support Club to find someone to help out," Matsudaira Chiyo said mildly, a glint in her eyes.

"So?"

"In other words, as long as you become a member of the Support Club, you can work part-time at our client's izakaya."

"Didn't you say part-time work needed the school board's approval?"

"This isn't part-time work. It's a club activity-a club activity to help our client resolve the difficulties involved in running her family's izakaya."

Matsudaira Chiyo gave Uchiha Naruto a sly wink as she spoke with a smile.

"Of course, you'll still receive your full part-time wages."

Wasn't that just exploiting a loophole in the school rules? Still, it would let him work at the izakaya with a legitimate excuse.

Uchiha Naruto didn't agree right away. Instead, he thoughtfully surveyed the lavishly furnished clubroom and asked:

"Is your Support Club an informal club, Matsudaira?"

In Japanese schools, clubs recognized by the school and eligible to request funding from the student council were official clubs. Those recognized by the school but lacking enough members could only apply for a clubroom, not funding; these were informal clubs. A step below those were hobby groups, which didn't even have school recognition.

"No, it's an official club."

"Then does it have any members besides you?"

"No."

"Ohh, I see." Uchiha Naruto nodded.

Sports clubs naturally held the highest status among Japanese school clubs, with the baseball club indisputably the most popular. It was the nation's number-one sport, after all. Basketball, track and field, table tennis, and other sports clubs were also popular and enjoyed fairly high status.

After sports came arts and culture clubs. Among these, the concert band was one of the few whose popularity could rival that of sports clubs, since major school celebrations and sporting competitions all needed the band's support.

Below the arts and culture clubs were groups students formed around their own interests, such as video games, anime, board games, and cards. Sometimes, they struggled even to gain official club status and could only exist as informal clubs.

Matsudaira Chiyo's Support Club clearly belonged to this category.

And it obviously didn't have enough members, yet it had still secured such a luxurious clubroom. That was plainly special treatment afforded to Matsudaira Chiyo as the chairwoman's daughter.

Just a little whim of power.

She then laid out the terms of the job: 1,200 yen an hour, a staff meal in the evening, and the Takasaki family's izakaya was less than ten minutes from school.

What was more, Takasaki was in Uchiha Naruto's class.

From what he remembered, she was a sweet, modest girl, as gentle as a small animal. She probably wouldn't be difficult to get along with.

The terms sounded fairly good, and Uchiha Naruto found himself tempted.

"If you join the club and accept this request, all you'll need to do is focus on your part-time job. You won't have to participate in any other club activities." Matsudaira Chiyo glanced at Uchiha Naruto, adjusted her collar again, and smoothed the creases in her uniform as she spoke casually.

"So I can leave early?" Uchiha Naruto perked up at that.

"Yes, but stop by the clubroom after school every Friday. Don't worry, it won't take up too much of your time."

Uchiha Naruto was thoroughly tempted. He hadn't been particularly keen on joining a club in the first place.

"What do you think? This way, you get the best of both worlds."

Matsudaira Chiyo handed him a club application form.