Reiryuu Gakuen Seitokai

Encounter Arc
01    Student Handbook and Candy

And so, the time has come――.

It was during a certain morning. Pa.s.sing the school gate, Meru arrived at the shoe shelves. The first level for the high school 2nd-years’ section consist of 300 people’s worth of lockers. Heading to her own locker, having interchanged her indoor shoes and loafers, she verified that something familiar-looking was dropped on the ground.

“Student handbook[1]…… why was it dropped here?”

Seeing the solitary blue cover that fell on the corridor in front of the shoe shelves[2], Meru muttered. Could it have fallen when someone retrieved something from their pocket? Thinking for a moment, Meru picked it up.

“I have to return this, huhー……”

She opened the first page while saying that. However, after flipping it open, she immediately closed it.

“Un, put it back. Let’s put it back. Then someone will probably find it.”
“What are you mumbling to yourself so early in the morning?”

The one who called out from behind was Maiko. Taken aback, Meru laughed frivolously, “it’s nothingー”, but the student handbook she held was s.n.a.t.c.hed away.

“Student handbook? Did someone drop it?”
“Wun. It was, probably, left here on purpose. So leave it there, and let’s go. To the cla.s.sroom.”

As Meru spoke nonsensical words, giving a pretext, Maiko opened the student handbook.

“『Rengetsu Fuuga』…… huh.”

Maiko read aloud the name of the student handbook’s owner, let out a sigh, and tossed it to Meru.

“Go return what you picked up.”
“Eh, nah. Maiko-chan can go instead.”

If Meru remembered correctly, Maiko should have the same spellbound look as the other girls when they see Rengetsu Fuuga. In other words, she shouldn’t be averse to bringing the handbook back to Fuuga. Thinking so, Meru tried pa.s.sing it to her, but it was pushed back along with her arm.

“You were the one who picked it up.”
“Then I’ll drop it once more……”

In order to put the handbook that was pushed back back at its original position, Meru lifted her foot in that direction, but this time her arm was pulled. Maiko called her name, “Meru”, in a slightly strong tone, and Meru stiffened.

“Go.”
“…… Hai.”

Losing to Maiko’s pressure, Meru could only nod.

Meru headed to Cla.s.s B where the owner of the handbook, Rengetsu Fuuga was in, and sneaked a glance inside. She let out a sigh at the same time she found the target personage. Because that person was――.

“Fuuga-kun, how’s my hairstyle today?”

“Eh, reallyy? I’m happy.”
“Fuuga-kun, what about meー?”

Fuuga was surrounded by girls with a pink aura floating in the air. It’s the biggest reason why Meru refused to deliver his belonging.

Personally handing it to such a guy is something a fool would do, Meru called out to a boy nearby.

“Umー”

“I need help handing this to Rengetsu-kun but……”

Saying so, Meru begun to retrieve the handbook from her pocket, but the boy before her stopped her.

“Seriously no thanks to something like that. It’s better to hand it to him yourself.”

Not sure what kind of misunderstanding he had, but he made an earnestly unpleasant face and turned behind.

“Oi, Rengetsu! She has business with you, she says.”

Towards the voice resounded that in the entire cla.s.sroom, Meru repeatedly blinked at the unexpected happening. The cla.s.s’s gazes gathered on Meru. The gazes from the girls around Fuuga was such that it was painful.

“With meー? Who?”

Fuuga looked at Meru from the gap between the encircling girls. Meru lightly lowered her head, and Fuuga gave an apologetic smile to the girls around him.

“Sorry, I’ll leave for a while.”

“Quickly return, okay?”
“Un. I’m really sorry.”

Fuuga pushed his way through the booing girls and walked towards Meru.

“Uh, you have business with me?”

Standing in front of Meru, Fuuga gave a smile. As the glares from the girls behind Fuuga were scary, Meru quickly handed over the objective item.

“Eh? Isn’t that mine! Where was it?”

“At the corridor in front of the shoe shelves. Picked it up so I returned it. Well then, I shall take my leave.”

Informing him monotonously, Meru turned to step towards her own cla.s.sroom. However, “hang on a moment”, Fuuga called out to stop her, and Meru turned back like it was bothersome.

“…… Yes?”

“Ahー. No problem.”

She put weight onto her foot and began heading in the direction of her cla.s.sroom again, but Fuuga wasn’t finished with the conversation.

“Uh, what do you want as thanks?”
“Ha?”

There were so many question marks above Meru’s head that one could almost see them.

“Was there money inside?”

“Nah, receiving thanks just for returning a student handbook doesn’t make sense. I was wondering if there was something important inside.”

But there shouldn’t have been anything interposed there, as Meru was pondering, Fuuga’s eyes wavered greatly.

“Girls like to be thanked, and I thought you were the same, but…..”
“Ahー……”

At that point, Meru recalled the girl in her cla.s.s making a racket the other day. If she’s not wrong, that girl gave Fuuga something handmade and received a hug in return. Due to her lack of interest Meru didn’t think too deeply about it, but it sure was a strange happening. And even if it’s Meru, thinking that she’s being seen as one of his followers doesn’t feel good.

“I don’t really want anything.”

“Fuuga-kun, done yetー?”

Fuuga’s fan’s patience ran out at the conversation that still hasn’t end and her voice sprung up.

“You said you’ll be back immediately.”

“Plain……”

Certainly, Meru didn’t put on makeup and her shoulder-length black hair was also artless, but she isn’t plain. Comparatively, the girls who’re Fuuga’s fans are the ones who’re too gaudy.

“Sorry, I’m coming already!”

Fuga looked over his shoulder, and placed his hand before his face. Apologizing with one of his eyes closed, the eyes of the girls changed into hearts and they became docile.

“Somehow, like magic……”
“Sorry, they probably didn’t mean harm.”

Fuuga said so with a wry smile. She could tell from that face he made that it’s not the truth.

“Ah, right.”
“N?”

Fuuga had a smile on as usual. Perhaps having seen that face Meru had some contemplation, she searched the pocket of her white pleated skirt as though she thought of something.

“Here.”
“…… What’s, this?”

What Meru handed to Fuuga was just a candy.

“Candy.”

“Because it looked like you even had to be considerate to me. That’s quite tasty, you know?”
“Eh, hē…… but, thanks.”

Fuuga gave a smile. That smile was truly like one out of a picture, in other words a superficial smile.

“That face, I think it’ll look a little better if you suck on something sweet?”

“Those girls are waiting for you, right? Well then.”

As Meru turned her back, Fuuga’s hand spontaneously grabbed onto her.

“Is there, something else?”

“Eh?”
“Name! Tell me?”

He put in more strength in the hand that gripped Meru’s arm. Meru opened her mouth as she tilted her head.

“Kusuhara.”

“…… It’s Meru, but.”
“Kusuhara, Meru……”

Towards Fuuga who repeated the name Meru told him, “If there’s nothing else, please let go”, she narrowed her eyes.

“Thank you very much. Meru-chan.”

Her arm was freed, but suddenly having her name called, creases appeared between her eyebrows. However, as she heard Fuuga called out again, Meru gave up retorting, and this time for sure, returned to her own cla.s.s.

“Rengetsu-kun, you seem to be eating that candy a lot lately.”

Yuuri enquired Fuuga who was sucking on a candy while signing doc.u.ments in the student council room.

“Eh? Yuuri-kun, how’d you know?”

“Eh, hē……”

Finding it hard to retort at Yuuri who mostly expressionlessly impersonated the girl, Fuuga laughed bitterly.

“Is it tasty? That.”

As Yuuri asked, the candy in Fuuga’s mouth clanked.

“Un. The best.”

Thinking back to when he first held the candy in his hand, Fuuga giggled. Seeing Fuuga laugh so happily, Yuuri thought the candy must be quite tasty.

“Don’t eat so much during work that Kamishiro-kun gets angry, okay.”

“What about me?”

Hayate who returned to the student council room grinned. Knowing the degree of danger in that smile, Fuuga’s face immediately turned blue.

“Ha-Hayate-kun! N-nothing at all!?”
“Fuuga. Supplement.”

Saying that, Hayate fetched a large amount of doc.u.ments from somewhere and placed them before Fuuga’s eyes. When Fuuga started weeping and wailing Yuuri felt guilty so he helped out with half of it, it seems.

Incidentally, at that time Meru was annoyed at how her favourite candy was sold out no matter which convenience shop she went――.