Chapter 5: Akira and the Volunteer Club
Later, under Akira’s lead, Toba was hauled to the infirmary. He returned to class just as lunch was ending.
His face was red from obvious bruises, with traces of a nosebleed. Something serious had clearly gone down, and the class erupted in whispers.
Everyone had seen Toba head off with Kotori to return the materials at the start of lunch. It wasn’t hard to guess something had happened.
But Toba? He was grinning like an idiot, looking dazed and dreamy.
His friends, suspicious, pressed him for answers, but all they got was a lovesick “Ikoma-senpai is amazing…” or “So delicate yet so cool…”
Kotori, meanwhile, stared out the window, lost in a melancholic haze.
On top of her usual “don’t talk to me” aura, she looked like a painting—stunning enough to make even the popular girls hesitate to approach.
The stark contrast between their morning and now left everyone puzzled.
Takumi, who knew the whole story, watched with a wry, bittersweet smile.
Toba had apparently fallen hard for Akira, who’d gracefully thrown him despite being a head shorter. A feeling Takumi couldn’t quite grasp.
After waking up in the infirmary, Toba had begged Akira to throw him again, pestering her to no end. The nosebleed, by the way, wasn’t from the throw—it was from getting too excited while pleading with her.
Kotori’s stunned state was likely because Toba’s actions had dredged up her fake-confession trauma.
Maybe it was best to give her some space for now.
Not like Takumi could come up with any clever words of comfort anyway. He let out a self-deprecating smirk.
He’d been a bit worried about how the afternoon’s class duties would go, but it seemed his fears were unfounded.
Kotori only tossed out curt instructions like “This” or “That way,” but Toba responded with “Got it” or “On it,” picking up her cues and getting the job done. Kotori seemed more relaxed than in the morning, their interactions almost natural.
After school, Kotori quickly jotted down the class duty log and brought it to Toba for review. He skimmed it and said, “I’ll drop it off at the staff room,” grabbing his bag and heading out. Without meaning to, they’d ended up working together.
Locking the classroom was left to whoever stayed late for clubs.
And just like that, their class duties were done.
Despite the unexpected incident at lunch, it felt oddly anticlimactic to wrap things up so smoothly.
Still, Kotori seemed out of it, her focus scattered.
Worried she might trip or get into some accident, Takumi kept a slight distance, watching over her as they headed home.
She stumbled over nothing once and nearly missed their train stop, but they made it to the point where their paths would split. Her house was just around the corner.
Is she okay now?
No, she still seemed shaky. Should he walk her all the way home?
It wasn’t much of a detour.
As he mulled it over, Kotori suddenly stopped.
What’s up?
Takumi paused, his thoughts racing, when she spoke over her shoulder.
“Hey, let’s have a debrief. Wanna come over?”
Her voice was stiff, giving nothing away.
But today’s class duty had been… eventful.
Takumi had no reason to say no. He nodded, face serious.
“Sure.”
At the Nabata house, Kotori unlocked the door, and they headed straight to her room.
They sat across from each other at the low table. Kotori, with a reserved expression but a firm, steady voice, kicked things off.
“Today’s class duty? Achievement failed.”
“Really? From where I was standing, it looked like you pulled it off, all things considered.”
“It worked out in the end. But if Akira-senpai hadn’t shown up…”
She shivered, hugging herself tightly.
She wasn’t wrong. Takumi had been nearby, keeping an eye out just in case, but it was Akira, passing by, who’d noticed something was off and jumped in to save Kotori.
Thinking back on the lunch incident, Takumi frowned, nodding.
“Yeah, who’d have thought Toba would pull something that bold out of nowhere?”
“Right? Seriously, I was shocked. Why would he even…”
Kotori grumbled, exasperated.
Takumi shrugged, like it couldn’t be helped, and replied.
“Well, you were the one approaching him, y’know?”
“Huh!?”
“What?”
Kotori’s face froze, like a pigeon hit by a BB gun, letting out a dumbfounded squeak. Her reaction caught Takumi off guard, and he let out a similar sound.
They blinked at each other for a moment.
Then, hesitantly, Kotori raised a hand, glancing up at him.
“Wait, what do you mean by that…?”
“I mean, you talking to a guy first? That’s rare for you. So Toba probably thought you were into him, and that’s why—”
“That wasn’t him being mean!? Why would he think that!?”
“C’mon, it’s ‘cause you’re cute. If you freeze up and don’t push back, it’s easy for someone to misread that as you being okay with it.”
“C-Cute!? Me!?”
“Who else would I be talking about…”
Kotori let out a wild, incredulous yelp, her eyes spinning.
Takumi looked at her, chuckling wryly. She really didn’t know?
Still flustered, she rattled on in a rush.
“B-But it’s me! I’m still the awkward girl who can’t talk right in class and floats around like a loner! I used to be this frumpy, plain chick with dark hair!”
“Yeah, but you don’t look like that anymore, do you?”
“W-Wait, you think I’m cute too!?”
“…Yeah, I guess.”
“O-Oh… ehehe…”
Caught up in her momentum, Takumi answered honestly. Instantly, embarrassment surged through him, his cheeks burning, heart pounding like a drum.
Kotori was no better, shrinking into herself after a nervous laugh, her face red as she stared at the floor.
“…………”
“…………”
An awkward silence settled in.
Both of them fidgeted, squirming.
Takumi wanted to shift the mood, but his overheated brain couldn’t find the right words.
Finally, Kotori, calming down a bit, cleared her throat with a deliberate “Ahem” and spoke.
“Anyway! I managed to handle greetings… kinda. But chatting one-on-one with a guy? Still too high a hurdle.”
Takumi crossed his arms, closing one eye and nodding in agreement.
The root of today’s mess was her lack of experience gauging the right distance with people. If she kept trying to talk to guys, she might get misread like with Toba. She needed to take it step by step.
He nodded again, encouraging her to go on.
“So, what’s the next move?”
“Maybe… chatting in a mixed group of guys and girls?”
“Hmm…”
Takumi let out a low hum. Not a bad goal.
But Kotori’s current rep in class was the untouchable Ice Princess, keeping guys at arm’s length.
She’d been swept into the popular girls’ clique since the start of school. Getting guys to join that group would be tough. Even if she tried inviting some, picking which guy group to approach would stir up drama.
Plus, the class cliques were already set in stone. Kotori approaching an existing group? No way. If she could do that, she wouldn’t be struggling like this.
As Takumi furrowed his brow, Kotori asked, a bit anxious.
“W-What do you think?”
“It’s a solid idea. But forming a mixed group from scratch? That’s gonna be tricky.”
“I’ve got a plan for that!”
“Oh?”
Takumi leaned forward, intrigued.
Kotori, pleased by his interest, flashed a satisfied grin and laid out her strategy.
“Simple: join a club.”
“……Brilliant.”
Takumi was floored. That’s the ticket.
It was still early in the club recruitment season.
He’d overheard classmates talking about which clubs to join.
A club could be a chance to shake off her “guy-repelling, hard-to-approach” image.
Plus, a shared club activity would make building relationships smoother.
Kotori straightened up, like she was getting to the main point.
“If you could join the same club as me, Takumi, I’d be… really happy.”
“Me? Uh, that’s kinda…”
“C’mon, please!”
She leaned in, pleading, and Takumi made a blatantly troubled face.
It’s not that he wasn’t interested in clubs.
But he had zero confidence he could handle one.
Past experience told him he’d just make others uncomfortable, they’d drift away, and the group would fall apart.
He couldn’t forget middle school’s class trip—his group was like a funeral, so he ended up sightseeing alone.
Sure, he’d been in the track team until an injury forced him to quit last year, but it was all short- and mid-distance solo events. He barely interacted with anyone.
Kotori knew that better than anyone.
But she didn’t seem to be saying it thoughtlessly.
Realizing he’d missed a key detail, Takumi asked.
“By the way, which club are you thinking of joining?”
“Akira-senpai’s!”
“……Nice!”
Kotori’s face lit up like she’d been waiting for the question. Takumi slapped his knee in approval.
Excited, she clenched her fists in front of her chest, diving into her pitch.
“Takumi, you can talk to Akira-senpai normally, right? So joining her club should be fine. And me! I managed to thank her properly when we met, all natural-like!”
“Yeah, you’re right. You didn’t even stumble over your words, did you?”
“Nope, shocked me too. I wasn’t sure about Akira-senpai at first, but talking to her, I got it. She’s, like, genuine—no hidden motives, just… unique. So I wanna join her club and be friends with her! What about you, Takumi?”
“Count me in.”
“Ehe!”“Haha!”
They burst into carefree laughter.
With someone as natural as Akira, club life might actually feel normal. She had that kind of charm.
Maybe they could finally be part of a group again.
The thought sent a thrill of anticipation through them, their excitement building.
But then Kotori’s voice wavered, a hint of doubt creeping in.
“I just thought… is it, like, presumptuous to want to be friends with an older senpai?”
“Uh…”
Takumi didn’t know how to answer.
He had zero connections, vertical or horizontal.
Desperate to keep her plan from falling apart, he scrambled for a response.
“N-No, it’s fine! Look, instead of jumping straight to friends, how about aiming to be, like, close senpai and kouhai first?”
“That’s it! Yeah, senpai and kouhai first!”
Seeing Kotori pull herself together, Takumi let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Trying to sound upbeat, he tossed out some encouraging words.
“Gotta join that club first, then, right?”
Kotori nodded firmly, but after a moment, her cheeks flushed, and she started tracing “No” on the floor with her toe, looking a bit sheepish as she made her request.
“About that… I’d need to talk to Akira-senpai again to join her club. I managed today, but I’m still kinda nervous…”
“Yeah…”
Her timid vibe gave away exactly what she was asking for.
Kotori, sensing he’d caught her drift, headed to her bed, flopping her upper body onto it with her cushion in tow. The usual position.
She slid her hands under her skirt, pulling down her underwear, and mumbled, embarrassed.
“……C-Could you do the routine?”
“Got it.”
Takumi gave a wry smile, sidling up to her and gently grabbing her slender waist.
The next morning, Takumi and Kotori hit the ground running to join Akira’s club.
They knew which one: the Volunteer Club. She’d said so herself.
They figured they could just turn in an application.
Problem was, they had no clue where to submit it.
The Volunteer Club’s room wasn’t listed on the school’s website, and flipping through the student handbook cover to cover turned up nothing. They even split up to scour the club building, but no luck—no Volunteer Club room existed.
Meanwhile, they overheard people saying they’d spotted Akira bustling around since morning.
What was going on?
Stumped, Takumi decided to hit up the staff room and ask their homeroom teacher, only to get a jaw-dropping response.
“There’s no such thing as a Volunteer Club.”
Even Takumi couldn’t process that right away.
The Volunteer Club didn’t exist.
So what was Akira doing?
He shot Kotori a message about it.
Her reply carried a “yeah, figures” tone. Apparently, she’d subtly asked the popular girls about Akira, but no one knew anything about a Volunteer Club either.
She mentioned that yesterday’s routine gave her the guts to ask, which floored Takumi—she’d actually brought up Akira to them? That showed how fired up she was to join Akira’s club.
Still, they’d hit a dead end.
Only one option left.
《Let’s tell Akira we want to join, face-to-face.》
He messaged Kotori, and with their resolve set, they headed to the second-year classrooms during lunch.
Kotori had gotten Akira’s class—second-year, class two—from the popular girls. But when they peeked into the room from the hallway, Akira was nowhere to be seen.
Lacking the nerve and social skills to approach upperclassmen, Takumi and Kotori figured she’d already left and decided to split up to search for her.
The school was buzzing like a festival at the start of lunch, with people darting everywhere.
Takumi, grimacing, wandered in search of Akira.
He’d been running into her a lot lately, so part of him thought she’d be easy to find. Wishful thinking. Today, there wasn’t a trace of her—no sign of her usual hustle.
Come to think of it, with over 200 students per grade and nearly 700 people, including teachers and staff, finding one person without a lead was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Time ticked by.
Checking his phone, there were just over ten minutes left of lunch. His stomach growled, loud and demanding.
Facing afternoon classes on an empty stomach would be rough.
He paused the Akira hunt and headed to the building with the cafeteria and school store.
The cafeteria was less crowded than peak hours but still lively.
Takumi thought for a second at the entrance, then veered toward the store.
It was practically deserted—not just people, but the food too. Only a few unpopular margarine rolls were left, sitting there even at half price.
Takumi sighed internally, resigned.
Cheap lunch, score, he told himself, grabbing a roll and heading to the back of the school. He plopped down on the outdoor stairs leading to the field and bit into the bread. Hungrier than he’d realized, it vanished in no time.
Should I grab another? But eating without a drink was drying out his mouth, and time was tight.
As he weighed his options, a panicked, almost scream-like voice came from behind.
“Oh no!”
Takumi spun around reflexively. A girl, struggling with a long pole—likely for gym class—lost her balance. The second he realized it was Akira, his body moved like a spring.
“Watch out!”
“Eek!”
He grabbed her arm, tumbling backward with her momentum.
He hit the ground hard, butt-first, his vision flashing white for a second. The clatter of poles rolling across the ground echoed in his ears.
Just in the nick of time, disaster averted.
Then he noticed the soft, smaller-than-Kotori feel of her in his arms. Flustered, he jumped up, pulling away, and blurted out to cover his embarrassment.
“You okay, Akira-senpai?”
“Hashio-kun… yeah, thanks to you.”
“I’ll help pick those up.”
Not wanting to overthink it, he didn’t wait for a reply and started gathering the scattered poles.
Akira joined him a moment later.
Once they’d collected them all, she gave an awkward grin.
“Thanks. Ugh, that was embarrassing.”
“No biggie… Want me to carry these? Where to?”
“Over there, the gym storage.”
She pointed to an outdoor shed at the edge of the field.
As Akira led the way, Takumi deftly pulled out his phone, texting Kotori: 《Found her. Outside, gym storage.》 He hurried after Akira, his mind racing to seize the moment.
“Need help with this stuff often? Looks tough.”
“Kinda, but it’s club stuff, y’know?”
“You always seem so busy, though.”
“Nah, just a coincidence. Like now—you’re helping me out.”
She flashed her usual warm, disarming smile.
Takumi couldn’t help but grin back, the air between them light and easy.
The conversation felt like it had wrapped up neatly.
Almost too neatly, like he was being brushed off.
But with the gym storage looming closer and their time running short, Takumi pushed forward, shifting gears.
“Still, you’re always running around, right? Short on hands or something?”
“Haha, not at all. I’m having fun with it.”
“Sure looks like you could use help… That’s why I wanted to join the Volunteer Club, but turns out, it doesn’t even exist.”
“!”
The second he said it, Akira froze, sucking in a sharp breath.
Confused, Takumi stopped too.
She let out a massive “Haaa~” sigh, her whole vibe shifting. With a sharp tch—so unlike her—she muttered in a chilling, almost menacing tone.
“What’s your angle, kid?”
“……!”
Her voice was the same, but it felt ice-cold. The sudden shift sent a shiver down Takumi’s spine.
Her gaze was razor-sharp, commanding, her refined features carrying an intimidating edge.
The pressure was nothing like the usual Akira, yet it stirred something oddly familiar, pulling him in, making it impossible to look away.
His chest churned with a mix of emotions.
As he stared, caught off guard, she narrowed her eyes and pressed him.
“Hashio… no, doesn’t ring a bell. Who’re you with?”
“I-I’m in first-year, class three.”
“Not that… ugh.”
She put a hand to her forehead, letting out another big sigh, then groaned, the tension in the air easing back to her usual self.
Looked like the conversation was over.
Akira started walking toward the storage shed again, and Takumi hurried after her.
The vibe wasn’t exactly chat-friendly anymore.
Her “don’t talk to me” aura was obvious, even to someone as socially awkward as Takumi.
He was a pro at making things awkward, but he couldn’t figure out what had set her off.
They reached the shed, and Akira set the poles in a corner.
Takumi followed suit, cautious.
Job done.
Time to head back. The warning bell would ring soon.
But Akira stopped at the shed’s entrance, turning with an unreadable expression, about to lay into him—when someone charged in.
“Akira-senpai!”
“Whoa!?”
It was Kotori. Oblivious to the mood—or unable to read it—she launched into a rapid-fire spiel.
“I-I finally found you! I’m joining! First, I’ll be your kouhai!”
“Uh, wait, what…?”
“To be your kouhai, I need to join your club! Start as kouhai, then friends, and eventually more!”
“More than what!?”
Takumi was floored by Kotori’s uncharacteristically fast talking.
She was just blurting out whatever came to mind, emotions running wild.
Sure enough, her eyes were spinning, a total nervous wreck.
Akira, hit with this sudden emotional onslaught and physical closeness, was just as rattled, her eyes spinning too.
She shot Takumi a pleading look for help, but he could only shake his head slightly.
Kotori’s rampage wasn’t slowing down.
“I-I’ll pay kouhai fees if I have to! I’ll get a part-time job!”
“No, no, I don’t need that!”
Kotori’s wild offers only flustered Akira more. She looked to Takumi again, but he could only give an apologetic grimace and shake his head.
Akira, choking on her words and tearing up slightly, tried to explain.
“Look, the Volunteer Club? It’s not a club, it’s more like a… hobby group.”
“Then us joining makes it one step closer to a real club!”
“Uh, this group’s kinda intense, eats up most of your after-school time.”
“That means more time with you, Akira-senpai!”
“N-No, sometimes we split up for tasks, so—”
“That’s even more chances to help you!”
“Ugh!”
Akira tried to gently shut her down, but Kotori’s sparkling eyes only made it worse. She glanced at Takumi a third time, desperate, but he just grimaced again.
Noticing Akira’s reluctance, Kotori faltered but then leaned in, whispering something in her ear.
“Um—”
“—!”
Takumi couldn’t hear what Kotori said.
But Akira’s reaction was dramatic. Her eyes widened, glaring at Kotori, but seeing her sheepish grin, Akira’s face twisted with frustration and embarrassment as she muttered back.
“……Fine, I get it. We’ll do a test. There’s this thing we’re shorthanded for. Handle it well, and I’ll consider letting you join.”
“Yay!”“Whoa!”
Kotori and Takumi cheered at Akira’s reluctant agreement.
“It’s helping with a festival at the shopping street nearby, so we’ll head there after school for intros.”
The two social disasters hadn’t expected her work to extend off-campus. They exchanged a glance, nodded, and replied in unison.
““We need to mentally prepare, so tomorrow or later, please!””
“!”
Akira’s face twitched at their bold response, her cheek pulling tight.
Post a Comment