When your regular attacks improve, adventures get way easier

The end of summer vacation didn't mean the end of

summer, and the heat was stubbornly hanging on into

September 1.

I was in a slightly aged classroom, yawning after the first

early morning in ages. Across from me was Hinami, sitting

up straight with her big eyes open wide and alert.

For the first time in a little over a month, Hinami and I

were having a morning meeting in Sewing Room #2.

"All right. Before we talk about the next steps, we need to

go over a few things." Hinami sounded as brisk and efficient

as always.

"Such as?"

I looked around the classroom. The place didn't feel as

run-down as before—maybe because every time we met

here, we brushed aside some of the dust and moved the

desks and chairs around so it was easier to talk. Now it had a

faintly lived-in feeling. What hadn't changed was Hinami's

cool attitude.

"You finished training for your part-time job over

summer vacation, didn't you? How did that go?" Hinami

tucked her silky hair behind one ear as she spoke as clearly

and fluidly as ever.

"Oh, that's what you meant… Well, training was two

hours a day for five days with the boss and other employees.

Nothing special to report. I had a close call with Mizusawa,

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but I haven't had a chance to talk about it with him yet."

"Gotcha. So nothing's changed since we last talked… In

that case, we'd better set your new goals for the second

semester today."

"'Kay."

So it was time for more "goals."

We were back to our usual routine after a summer

vacation full of challenges: the overnight trip to get

Nakamura and Izumi together, my dates with Kikuchi-san,

and the argument and reconciliation between Hinami and

me. Just like before, Hinami was focused single-mindedly on

the future.

"After five full days of training, I was hoping you'd have

taken the initiative on some independent study…but I guess

I expected too much."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I did have good intentions,

but…"

"Hmph. Did you wear yourself out rebelling against me?"

"Uh…"

"You're such an open book."

"Shut up, you don't have to tell me."

This was so familiar, interjecting pointless banter into

our strategizing for my personal growth.

But…

"Whatever. Anyway, let's talk about your goals moving

forward."

"Okay."

There was just one thing.

"We had a minor checkpoint of you going out alone with

a girl other than me, and you've completed that objective. So

I suppose the next one should be sharing secrets with a girl."

Hinami shifted her gaze away, slightly uncomfortable.

Yes, just one small thing had changed.

"…Do you have a problem with that?" she curtly asked.

She was getting my approval for the goals she set.

"No…," I said, reflecting for a moment. "I'm not making

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any shallow speeches or telling a girl I like her, but

otherwise, I'm fine. What did you have in mind?"

I was getting better at comparing Hinami's objectives

with my own values and telling her what I thought. She

gaped slightly, momentarily surprised by my outspoken

reply, but quickly regained her composure.

"What I said, pretty much. When you share a secret with

someone, it shows that both of you see the other as special,

and it's also a sign of trust. It'll be a big step toward your

mid-term goal, which is to have a girlfriend by the time you

start your third year of high school."

"Er, okay."

"But it has to be mutual . It's not enough to tell a secret

without hearing one or to hear a secret without telling one.

You each need to open your hearts to the other."

I'd already thought of Kikuchi-san's secret about writing

a novel, but apparently, that wouldn't count because it

wasn't mutual. But if I told Kikuchi-san a secret, would that

check the box?

As I was thinking, Hinami batted her eyes at me oh-sovulnerably.

"Just like this secret relationship between you and me…"

"Hey, wha…?"

My face was on fire after her sneak attack. She smiled

playfully and watched my reaction.

"What's the matter?"

She peered into my face with her big eyes, delivering the

follow-up punch.

"N-nothing…"

"Really?"

She grinned with satisfaction, seeing me so tongue-tied,

then resumed her neutral expression and pointed at me.

"You need to strengthen your defenses against this kind

of thing. Normie girls are naturally good at getting close to

guys. If you can't stand your ground, they'll get the upper

hand."

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"You…"

As usual, she had me wrapped around her finger, and I

pulled myself together. Ugh, shit. My defenses were

currently around zero, so this stuff stung. I will not give in.

"And I know this is obvious, but I want you to give your

daily goals everything you've got. Of course, you can't forget

your short-and mid-term goals, either. And finally, the most

important thing is—"

"I know!" I interrupted her rapid-fire stream of orders

(partially as a retort to her previous jab, too). "If I come

across a situation I think would net me some EXP, you want

me to take the initiative and jump in."

Hinami blinked twice. "…You got it. Glad you

understand."

"Okay."

I raised one eyebrow to show I did. Not long ago, I didn't

even know how to make that expression. It was a tiny taste

of revenge. She pursed her lips in a brief pout, then quickly

grinned.

"The sooner you learn how to improve yourself, the

faster things will proceed."

I knew I didn't fully understand her, but even if I

couldn't explain why, she made sense.

"That could be." I nodded, feeling oddly satisfied.

"'Cause it is ."

Hinami looked pleased with my response. Watching her,

I had a sneaking suspicion that she had me in the palm of

her hand. Well, she did . Let's be real.

She was still way beyond my level. All the same, I didn't

like constantly losing to her, and I wanted my revenge, so I

decided to deliver one more shot.

"Plus, when I figure out my own strats…it's more fun ."

She furrowed her brows suspiciously. "More fun, huh?"

Hinami examined me up and down, her gaze rising from

the tips of my toes all the way up to my head.

"Yeah," I said with an extra shot of confidence.

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"Priorities, y'know?"

I grinned.

After we'd argued on the platform, we'd had another talk

at the place where we first met, and I gave it to her straight.

The most important standard for all this was my own desires

—what I wanted.

For me, being true to myself was like becoming my

character in a game—really throwing myself into something

I love and enjoying it to the fullest. What I wanted wasn't a

temporary misconception or something I had to convince

myself to believe. It was real.

Of course, I had no proof for my theory. I couldn't lay it

all out with logic. But I'd really pressed this point, and I'd

need something to show for it if I wanted Hinami to be

convinced. Not that I had any idea when that would happen.

As I thought about all this, the confidence steadily

drained from my smile. I was starting to worry, actually, and

my smile started feeling like a mask that was covering up my

anxiety. Yeah, what am I going to do about all this?

Hinami must have sussed out my weakness, because she

gave me a sadistic look.

"Proving it is certainly going to be a merciless, virtually

impossible assignment. I'm looking forward to seeing what

you come up with," she said.

"Uh-huh…"

All I could do was nod helplessly as she reminded me

that she still had the upper hand. That was the Hinami I

knew—she never left herself open for a millisecond, and she

refused to let me hide behind ambiguity.

"Anyway, we'll put that aside for now," she said,

changing the subject.

"Okay," I agreed. "On to today's assignment?"

She sighed, smiling. "Yes. I'd like you to observe our

class for a while."

"What should I observe?"

"For your previous assignments, you've been working on

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basic skills, such as your expression and way of speaking,

and learning the fundamentals for manipulating the mood of

a group. You've also completed some basic training on how

to establish yourself in a hierarchy."

"Yeah."

I'd made a habit of training my muscles for my

expression and posture. I'd practiced getting people to take

my suggestions when I went shopping for Nakamura's

birthday present and applied that experience during

Mimimi's student council speech. I'd joked around with

Mizusawa and Nakamura as part of my practice in casual

conversation, too. When I thought about it, I'd actually

accomplished a lot.

"Which means the next thing you need to do is start

applying them."

"Okay." Made sense. "And…you're saying observation is

necessary in order to do that?"

Hinami nodded.

"You've built up your abilities and learned the basic

rules, and those make up the foundation of some of the skills

you've practiced now. You already have most of the basic

techniques down, more or less."

"I do?"

"Well, you're not great at them yet, but yes," Hinami

said. "Anyway, you don't go and learn new things right after

you start applying the basics, do you? Application is just

polishing those skills and using them in real situations. This

practice is part of polishing, plus you'll develop your ability

to decide what to use when. Those two points will be very

important… But I don't have to tell you that, right?"

"Yeah…," I said, thinking about Atafami . "I get what

you're trying to say."

Atafami was the same. Once you learned the basic

moves, you had to get better at using them until you could

whip out whatever you needed when you needed it. If you

mastered that, of course you'd improve. And when everyone

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starts using them, we call them "combos" or "strats."

"So, practice and decision-making. For practice, all you

can do is repeat, repeat, and repeat until you've got it down.

But for decision-making, as long as you're conscious of your

strats on a daily basis, you should be able to improve

somewhat."

I thought about it and decided she was right.

"And that's where observation comes in?"

Hinami smiled affirmatively. "Yep. Who talks when, and

why? What are the relationships in the class? What

determines them? When the group decides on what to do

together, what factors caused that to happen? I want you to

carefully observe, analyze, and verbalize all those things."

"So…I'll be observing people and groups? To get better at

decision-making?"

Hinami stood up and walked over to me. Then she

leaned down to my ear and breathily whispered, "Hexactly."

"Eeyah!"

Once again, she smiled with sadistic satisfaction as I

jumped up, my face burning.

"Anyway, that's the deal. Hopefully, you'll also be

analyzing normie skills and weaponizing them for yourself."

All of a sudden, she was talking in her regular tone

again, implying I'd overreacted.

Cool and sadistic—that's Aoi Hinami for you.

* * *

"Hey, Fumiya."

Hinami and I had left Sewing Room #2 a few minutes

apart. When I got to the classroom, Mizusawa was talking by

the back windows with Nakamura and Takei. He casually

raised one hand as he called out to me in his smooth voice.

"Hey, Mizusawa."

Consciously imitating him, I smiled casually, raised my

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hand as nonchalantly as possible, and returned his greeting.

Since he already knew I was aping his moves, I didn't try to

be subtle. I wasn't at his level yet, but I was getting pretty

good compared with before. Or so I hoped.

I wandered slowly to the back of the classroom,

wondering what to do.

There was a choice here.

I had to decide whether I should keep walking toward

Mizusawa until I joined up with the Nakamura Faction. In

terms of EXP, the answer appeared to be yes, and I did want

to level up, so that seemed like a good option. But was two

whole days together enough to allow me to join their group

at school? The overnight trip felt like a separate thing, so

maybe I was still forbidden from getting too close to them

here. After all, this was me we were talking about.

To buy myself some time, I took smaller and smaller

steps as I approached. I had to make a decision. And in the

midst of my embarrassing internal struggle, Takei suddenly

pointed at me with amusement.

"Farm Boy, what's with the shuffling? What are you, a

penguin?!"

"Sh-shut up!" I shot back. Hinami had taught me it

wasn't good to sit there and take it all the time, and I'd seen

she was right through experience. It was another one of

those things you gotta practice. Plus, Takei's normal

speaking voice was what most people would consider

shouting, so telling him to shut up was instinctive. Thank

you, Takei's loudness. Just…keep it down when you're

calling me Farm Boy.

The wave of normie aggression wasn't going to end that

easily, however, and my relief after the comeback was shortlived.

"How do you expect a stupid Fumin to walk?" Nakamura

sneered.

I wasn't sure how to respond, but in a situation like this,

speed outweighed content. I took a deep breath.

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"Who are you calling stupid?"

"Uh, you? Duh."

He fired back immediately. Ugh, typical Nakamura. He

had no trouble punishing me with a full combo. But I

couldn't give in now. The most valuable challenges are the

ones just on the edge of your ability level. I should be

thinking of this as a lucky opportunity for snagging EXP.

I was just about to snap back as strong and as smoothly

as I could when it happened.

With no emotion, like it was no big deal, Nakamura took

one step to the side in the little circle he'd formed with

Mizusawa and Takei. There was a space big enough for one

more person. It was like…an invitation.

"…Uh…"

What?

Everyone ignored what he'd just done and started

talking again.

I was so surprised that I didn't manage a comeback for

Nakamura, but I finally picked up my pace and approached

the circle with some nervousness.

I stepped into the open space.

The new circle was made of Nakamura, Mizusawa, Takei

—and me. What a mismatched group. Suddenly, something

touched my butt, and I looked to see what it was. Mizusawa

smiled jokingly, his eyebrows raised, and punched me in the

shoulder. His expression was definitely teasing, but for some

reason, it didn't bother me. In fact, it was comforting.

I looked around the circle again. Mizusawa, Nakamura,

and Takei. I could see they planned to keep messing with

me…but I didn't sense any malice or any desire to eliminate

me from the group. My mind was still fuzzy, but…

I've always lived as a loner, but just maybe…

…if I join a group like this, maybe my life at school will

be more peaceful and fun.

Suddenly, I heard a click and returned to Earth. I looked

up. There, I saw a cell phone in a bright-red case, its camera

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aimed at me.

"…Ha! Farm Boy looks so out of it! I'm putting this on

Twitter!"

"Hey, wait a second!"

On second thought, there's nothing peaceful about this!

* * *

After a few minutes of desperate pleading, I successfully

prevented Takei from posting the photo on Twitter, and the

four of us left the classroom. They teased, I argued back, I

couldn't muster the courage to mess with them, and pretty

soon, we were in the gym. We parted ways to line up in

height order, and the opening ceremony ended without

incident.

And yes, I was happy to walk back to class alone, but cut

me some slack, okay? I can't be training all the time.

As I was sitting down before first period started, I heard

someone say "Hey!" and looked over. Izumi was waving her

hand next to her chest and smiling a little playfully at me.

Her usual friendly expression and actions were a clear

reflection of her communication skills.

"Oh, hey, Izumi. It's been a while."

Managing a reply to her sudden attack, I made sure to

lift the corners of my mouth and smile as naturally as

possible.

"For sure! Not since the barbecue, right?"

For some reason, she looked embarrassed for a second.

Huh? Then I realized it was probably because the trip had

been all about getting her and Nakamura together. After the

test of courage, Nakamura had asked her out on a date,

which counted as a small success. According to Hinami,

she'd told Izumi later about our ulterior motives, and Izumi

had been embarrassed but extremely appreciative.

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Nakamura was the only one who didn't know about it now.

Which I think is for the best.

"Oh yeah, you're right."

I got my brain moving. She'd shown some vulnerability.

Could I mess with her a little? Usually, my skills weren't up

to teasing Izumi, but she'd left herself open. After all, even a

dull blade can slice into a stomach. I'll ignore the fact that

the blade might be weak as well as dull. Anyway, I reviewed

what I knew about Izumi, found the words, and imagined

the right tone.

"So? Anything happen with Nakamura?" I asked quietly

so no one would overhear me.

Izumi blushed and looked around. "What?! Um, well…"

Success. I guess if I played dirty and made a sneak attack

on my opponent's weak point to give myself an advantage,

even I could get to Izumi somewhat.

"Um, Shuji said he was busy with family stuff over

summer vacation, so we still haven't gone out…"

"Oh, really?"

The conversation returned to normal.

"Yeah…but, um…"

"What's up?"

She glanced down. "Next weekend…we're supposed to go

shopping together," she said, clearly enjoying her

announcement.

"Oh, wow! Really?"

I was honestly happy for her, so I used my eyes and voice

to communicate it as directly as possible. I had a hybrid style

—expressing real feelings with skills.

"Yeah…"

Though they'd agreed over summer vacation to go out

sometime, they wouldn't actually meet until the second week

of September. I had to keep myself from smirking at their

typical snail's pace. Still, Izumi and Nakamura were finally

going on a date. This was good news—I wasn't wishing death

on them or even jealous.

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"You did it!"

"Yeah… I've made it this far, so I'm gonna keep going,"

Izumi muttered, nodding slowly. I think she was talking to

herself as much as she was to me.

"Yeah… Well…one step at a time, y'know?"

I did my best to sound genuine. But she took advantage

of my slightly emotional mood to make a sudden

counterattack.

"What about you?!"

"Um, me? What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean! Don't you have some news

from your love life these days, too?"

"Uh, no…" Where did this come from…? I couldn't say I

didn't have someone in mind, but I didn't have the courage

to tell Izumi about it, so I just looked away. "There's nothing

special going on…"

"That was a very suspicious response!"

"Wh-what are you talking about…?"

"Hmm? Very suspicious!"

As usual, Izumi's eyes were glittering at the prospect of

romantic gossip. But what even gave her this impression…?

"What are you two whispering about?! Are you talking

about sex?!" The voice erupting suddenly from behind me

had way too much energy, and I didn't need to look to know

who it was. I turned around anyway. Yup. Mimimi.

"Hey, Mimimi! Tomozaki was just saying…"

"Be quiet, Izumi! You don't have to tell her!"

"Oh my god, it is sex, isn't it?!"

"No, it's not!"

As the uproar grew, someone in the front of the

classroom shouted "Shush!" Tama-chan was pointing

sharply at Mimimi.

I hadn't seen Tama-chan since before summer vacation.

She was as tiny as ever, her chestnut hair shining. She

probably sat in the front because she was so small.

"If you're gonna talk about it, at least keep your voice

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down!"

This tiny girl's scolding didn't have much force by itself,

but her posture was threatening enough. Mimimi being

Mimimi, she shivered with happiness at Tama-chan's

reproach.

"Ooh… A good tongue-lashing from Tama-chan is just

what my tired body needed…"

"That's not what I meant!"

It was fun watching Tama-chan energetically complain.

Of course, Mimimi was ten times as energetic as Tama-chan.

What was with those two?

"Ah, my Tama-chan deficiency is being replenished!!"

Mimimi bounded over to Tama-chan for a good oldfashioned bear hug. Business as usual.

"Hey, stop it, Minmi!"

Ignoring Tama-chan's attempts to resist, Mimimi

nuzzled her face happily into her friend's neck. When she

was content, she lifted her head slowly and stared at Tamachan's face with a strangely serious expression.

"Oh, Tama…"

She touched Tama-chan's nose experimentally, then

looked down.

"…What?"

"You haven't…?"

She paused sorrowfully. Her gaze darted around

anxiously, and her mouth opened slightly like she wasn't

sure what to say. Wh- what's wrong, Mimimi?

"What…?" Tama-chan asked nervously.

Mimimi looked her in the eye again and slowly began to

speak.

"…You haven't changed your bodywash, have you?" she

asked forlornly.

Tama-chan was silent for a few seconds. Then she

pointed fiercely at Mimimi, her face bright red. "What I

smell like is none of your business!!"

"Nya, nya!"

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Mimimi grinned broadly and stuck out her tongue. Was I

just imagining it, or was Mimimi getting more perverted by

the day? If I didn't watch out, this could go way too far.

Anyway, once the initial uproar was over, the two of

them settled into their usual routine of scolding each other

and chatting cheerfully. Whew. I was just thinking the fuss

was over and I could get back to my peaceful routine when I

noticed a gleam in Izumi's eyes.

"Getting back to what we were talking about… Do you

have any romantic gossip for me, Tomozaki?"

"Um, no, it's…"

Another thing to watch out for: Izumi's tenacity on this

kind of topic.

* * *

I managed to evade Izumi's interrogation until the firstperiod bell rang. As Kawamura-sensei walked in, Izumi

abandoned the conversation with a satisfied smile. I guess

she's happy just to talk about that kind of thing even if she

doesn't get any real information?

"Okay, take your seats, kids. The bell's ringing!"

Kawamura-sensei said briskly. Man, she's a fighter.

Everyone stopped talking and silently sat down for long

homeroom, the first class of the second semester.

Kawamura-sensei straightened the stacks of half-size paper

on her desk and started on an important-sounding lecture.

"…You may all still be second-year students, but college

entrance exams are on the horizon. I assume you each

studied on your own over summer vacation, and you'll soon

be starting classes here at school to prepare as well. Today,

I'll be giving you a career survey and explaining your elective

options."

Completing her speech with her usual confidence, she

handed out the stacks of paper to the first student in each

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row. The survey that landed on my desk basically assumed

we were all going to university, which was obviously the goal

our school had for us. We might be in Saitama Prefecture,

but Sekitomo High was still a respectable college-prep

school.

"Please select your classes based on which exam subjects

you'll be taking…"

Instead of following the gen ed curriculum, we were

shifting into test-prep mode. Kawamura-sensei explained

that the class would be divided into several sections based

on our elective subjects and that we'd be studying the

content of the upcoming exam intensively.

After all, the exams were coming up in a little over a

year. I wasn't awful at studying, but I hadn't made any

concrete decisions yet about the future. Guess it's time to

give some serious thought to my career. So far, all I know is

that I want to try to get into university.

Kawamura-sensei finished up her explanation and gave

us some time to fill out the surveys and turn them in. Once

we were done, her expression relaxed as she flipped through

them.

"…Right. We've got some extra time, so let's discuss the

sports tournament. It's coming up in three weeks!"

"Yes! I've been waiting for this!" Takei shouted

cheerfully. The class giggled. Wow, a couple of words, and

he got a laugh.

I thought about stealing some of his skills but quickly

realized it would be hard to copy him directly. I mean, if I

said I've been waiting for this! everyone would just be

confused. He was building on his existing character, while

my existing character was a loser and mostly invisible. Sad. I

guess I better focus on observation for now, like Hinami told

me.

"Yes, Takei, we've all been waiting eagerly for this. But

what we need to do now…is pick the girls' and boys' team

captains."

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Kawamura-sensei wrote the word Captains on the

blackboard.

"Their main job is to attend the captains' meetings. The

captains from each class will get together to decide which

grades will be playing which sports, and they'll create a

schedule for using the courts. The captains will also help get

the courts and equipment ready on the day of the

tournament and manage the teams during the matches.

Basically, they're in charge of the business side of things. We

need one boy and one girl for the role. Any volunteers?"

"I'll do it!"

Takei's hand shot up so fast, it seemed almost like a

reflex. Another ripple of giggles passed through the class.

I'm pretty sure this is less a skill for Takei than an inborn

gift. It feels like the defining property of his character. You

could sum him up in one word: simple .

"Okay. If there aren't any other volunteers, then Takei

will be the boys' captain."

"Yes! I'm gonna get us soccer!" Takei pumped his fist,

burning with an innocent sense of duty.

"Except last year, you lost at rock-paper-scissors, and we

got stuck with volleyball," Nakamura jeered. The class

laughed. So Takei ran for the position two years in a row…

Wait. That jab was interesting, actually.

If I thought about it systematically, this was an

application of the messing with people skill. Nakamura was

just teasing one person, but because he did it in front of a

group, he got some laughs.

I'd practiced this already, so this might be within the

realm of possibility for me. The problem was whether I had

the courage to do it publicly, and there was a chance that

everyone would just think it was really weird… Yeah, I'm not

touching that yet. Better watch and practice some more

first.

"Who cares? Hey, Aoi! I choose you to be my partner!"

Takei energetically gestured at Hinami.

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"Hmm, but I don't think I can. Right, Kawamurasensei?"

She tilted her head playfully, nailed Takei with a smile,

then looked at the teacher.

Takei stared at Aoi in shock. What kind of trick was that?

Her ability to get guys tied up in knots was archery-onhorseback territory. If Hinami had a trait, hers was shapeshifter .

"That's right. Starting this semester, Hinami will be

serving as student council president, so unfortunately, I'll

have to reject her nomination as captain."

"No way!! I only volunteered because I thought Aoi

would be the girl's captain!"

The whole class laughed again. Were they laughing

because he was being so honest? I was good at saying what I

thought, too, but I didn't have the skills yet to give it such a

comical spin. If I wanted to copy him, I needed to practice

giving a happy-go-lucky delivery.

That aside, Takei really was crazy about Hinami, huh?

On the barbecue trip, he'd been dying to pair up with her in

ping-pong, too. Or was she just that popular?

"Ha-ha-ha. My condolences," said Kawamura-sensei.

"Do you want to quit now?"

"No way. I'm doing this!" Takei pumped his fist again.

"Ha-ha-ha. Then the job is in your hands, Takei. Which

means we have a boys' captain… Now how about the girls?

Anyone?"

Kawamura-sensei surveyed the class, but the girls just

glanced around at one another. I did my best to pay

attention to their glances and the general atmosphere. This

time, I was observing the overall mood instead of their

individual skills.

One thing I knew was that the warmth generated by

Takei's joking earlier was steadily cooling. Honestly, captain

wasn't such a desirable job to start with. From Kawamurasensei's explanation, it didn't sound very fun. In fact, it

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sounded annoying. Takei was just a special case.

I half expected Mimimi or someone to throw up their

hand like Takei had, but no one made a move. Mimimi was a

much more thoughtful person than her ditzy persona would

suggest. The class's forward momentum ground to a halt.

Suddenly, Mizusawa let out a dramatic sigh that cut

through the silence like a knife, and he turned toward Takei.

"Aw, don't worry, man. Don't feel bad just because no

one wants to be your partner."

"Wait, what?! Is that why no one is volunteering?" Takei

shouted in a tone that betrayed both his anxiety and

sadness. The guys in the class burst into laughter at his

emotional reaction. Aha, this was the same method

Nakamura had used earlier. But damn, Mizusawa's delivery

was perfect. I wouldn't expect any less, of course.

I looked around at the girls. About half were laughing,

but the other half were just smirking a little. Huh. It wasn't a

super- serious situation, but I think they were having a hard

time relaxing enough to laugh when the possibility remained

that they'd have to be captain. Makes sense. Everyone hates

annoying jobs.

What about the queen of our class, Erika Konno? I

glanced in her direction. She was slouched in her chair with

her legs crossed, bored and neutral as she examined her

fingernails. Wow. What an impressive aura. Her trait would

be queenly dignity . I looked away quickly, since I'd be in big

trouble if our eyes met.

"No volunteers for the girls' captain?"

Naturally, no one responded.

"…Hmm. In that case, we'll decide later. The tournament

isn't for a little while, and the captains' work doesn't start

until…looks like next week. If anyone decides they want the

job between now and then, please sign up. Moving on…"

But just as Kawamura-sensei was about to wrap up the

discussion…

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"…What about Yuzu?"

The queen's voice rang out sharply.

"Um, me?" Izumi floundered at being called out so

suddenly.

"You were captain of Class 2 last year, weren't you?"

"Um, uh-huh…," Izumi said hesitantly, rubbing the nape

of her neck like she didn't know what else to do.

"I thought so! You already know how to do it, so like,

why not?"

"Uh, um…"

Konno knew she had the logical upper hand here, and

she was pressing her advantage, while Izumi was refusing to

give a solid yes or no.

Yeah, I recognized this dynamic.

When I went to Izumi's house last semester, she talked

about how she always went along with the mood, even if she

didn't want to. That was probably how she ended up with the

job last year. And given how good Erika Konno was at

bending the mood to her will, I was expecting Izumi to cave

and take the job again.

But sometimes things don't go how you expect them to.

"No, but…"

"What?"

Izumi shifted her gaze nervously. "It's just…I don't want

to be captain this year…"

She answered quietly but honestly.

This was fairly surprising. I hadn't noticed a strong will

in Izumi's eyes, but she'd managed to resist Erika Konno's

grumpy, controlling gaze. Last semester, when we went to

her room, she'd told me she wanted to stop letting the mood

control her, and she was gradually making that wish a

reality. I was mesmerized. On the surface, it seemed like a

tiny, maybe even weak rebellion. But in that action, I saw

concrete signs of her will to grow, however slowly.

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There was a brief silence, and then Erika Konno looked

away from Izumi, annoyed.

"Oh. Okay," she replied a bit snappishly, resting her

cheek on her hand.

Izumi let out a soft breath, the tension draining from her

hunched-up shoulders. Her eyes looked a little moist. That

really took her outside her comfort zone, and she'd almost

cracked. Nice work, Izumi.

I felt myself relaxing, too, and I was sure I wasn't the

only one, now that the crisis had been averted. Erika Konno

truly was a powerful mood manipulator to be able to create

so much tension out of just a few words and glances. As the

tension dissipated, I started to wonder where in the world

that power came from.

A moment later, however, Erika Konno shot her second

arrow. Her cheek still resting on her palm, she absently

twirled a piece of hair between her fingers.

"Well, how about Hirabayashi, then?"

"…Huh?" Hirabayashi-san was too startled to say more

than that. She had long black hair with thick bangs, and she

was one of the quieter girls in our class. I'd seen her with

friends, but not often—she was a loner, as they say. Why had

Erika Konno named her? I tried to figure it out, but I

couldn't come up with an answer.

"Come on, Hirabayashi. You should do it. You're good at,

like, setting up and stuff."

Erika Konno gave a short, vaguely mocking laugh, which

made it clear the supposed compliment was code for You're

boring .

Then, as if they were following Erika Konno's silent

orders, the members of her group started chiming in.

"She does seem good at setting up."

"What's that mean anyway? Ha-ha."

"I hope she does it, for the team."

This wasn't outright coercion, but they were definitely

pushing her in that direction. And in the background, Erika

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Konno was watching over it all. Invisible violence inflicted

through the mood. Damn.

"Someone has to do it, after all."

"Exactly! And we have to choose the right person for the

job!"

"Seriously, though, how is someone good at setting up?

Ah-ha-ha."

Erika Konno's groupies were getting all worked up over

this as she looked on like it was completely normal.

Hinami defined mood as "the standards for right and

wrong in a particular situation ." As I observed the

situation based on the "rules" she'd taught me, I started to

draw some conclusions.

What Erika Konno and her followers were doing was

probably very simple. They were using the existing mood of

the class to indirectly attack Hirabayashi-san. Most likely,

one of the norms in our class dictated that it was bad to be

boring and practical. By that standard, plain people had a

lower status than loud attention-seekers.

By labeling Hirabayashi-san as being good at setting up ,

Erika Konno was using that norm to indirectly belittle her

and affirm their hierarchical relationship. And then after

establishing her superior status, she was trying to push an

annoying job on her.

Now that I'd laid it all out in words, I really did not like

this norm.

I kept thinking and observing quietly. How could I

intervene using the skills I had? Could I change the mood? I

searched for a way to combine my observations with my

existing skills so I could change the outcome.

But the more I thought about it, the more I felt like my

skills weren't up to the task. I mean, I couldn't even smooth

out the mood of the class in a normal situation. How was I

supposed to suddenly leap over this high hurdle?

It was frustrating, but I decided to keep watching

silently. It would have been one thing if I was the only one at

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risk, but if I screwed this up, Hirabayashi-san might get

hurt, too. Better play it safe.

"How about it, Hirabayashi? Yes or no? If you're not

gonna do it, say so."

Erika Konno made the full-court press, probably to make

the mood impossible to resist. Her groupies pushed, too,

murmuring, "Yeah!" and "Come on!"

Izumi was the only member of their group who didn't

say anything. She just stared at Hirabayashi-san with worry.

Hirabayashi-san seemed to hesitate for a moment, but

she finally gave up, smiled faintly, and raised one hand next

to her face, her arm pressed tightly to her side.

"Okay…I'll do it," she said to Kawamura-sensei.

"…Hirabayashi. You don't have to do it if you don't want

to. Plus, we don't have to decide today. We have plenty of

time."

But despite Kawamura-sensei's serious, scolding tone,

Hirabayashi-san shook her head.

"Um…it's fine. I'll do it."

She smiled weakly again, like she was trying to ward off

her own discomfort.

"…Well, okay." Kawamura-sensei didn't seem fully

convinced, but she accepted Hirabayashi-san's offer. I guess

she didn't have much choice when Hirabayashi-san herself

was volunteering. "So we're going with Takei and

Hirabayashi for the captains?"

"All good here! Can't wait to work with you, Miyukichan!" said Takei. He had the spirit, if nothing else.

"Uh, um, right… Me too."

Hirabayashi-san's brief smile then was real.

So that was what happened in the long homeroom on the

first day of the second semester. I spent the whole time

silently observing for my assignment, and what I saw wasn't

pretty. Mood maneuvers are like boxing for normies.

Honestly, this kind of thing is way outside my wheelhouse,

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but I guess it's necessary for conquering life?

On the upside, I could take some pointers from Takei's

people skills, like the way he remembered Hirabayashi-san's

first name and acted so friendly to her. The only possible

reason such an idiot could be so socially successful must be

that there was a part of him that was impossible to dislike.

To continue the boxing metaphor, he was like the mascot

character who only showed up in the ring between rounds.

I'm rooting for you, Takei.

* * *

It was break time after first period. The bell rang,

Kawamura-sensei dismissed us, and everyone wandered

over to hang out with their respective group of friends. I

glanced to the side and noticed Izumi was still sitting in her

chair, staring dejectedly at her desk. I didn't want to just

leave her, so I decided to say something. Lately, I think my

training has been starting to merge with my own feelings.

"…Izumi?"

"Huh? …Oh, Tomozaki."

Returning to Earth with a start, she tried to hold on to

her smile as she turned to me. I didn't exactly tease her, but

I had that sense in mind as I took a step closer to her.

"You thinking about…what just happened with

Hirabayashi-san?"

"Um…yeah," she said awkwardly. "…Could you tell?"

"Yeah, kinda."

Izumi sighed and lowered her voice. "It's just…I wasn't

sure what to do."

"Yeah?"

Izumi glanced quickly at Erika Konno, then smiled

darkly. "What do you think I should have done?"

"…Hmm."

I could tell she was feeling bad about not doing anything

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to rescue Hirabayashi-san. So was I.

"That's tough. There wasn't much we could have done."

Izumi nodded. "Yeah… It's not like Erika was doing

something so bad that I could have told her to stop."

"…True."

I agreed. Like Izumi said, all Erika Konno and her

friends actually did was nudge Hirabayashi-san; they didn't

force her or threaten her. Plus, all they were pushing her to

do was be captain of the sports tournament. Yeah, it was a

hassle, but it wasn't that much work. If it was so horrible to

push someone into that job, then why did Takei volunteer

for it himself? Once again, we'd return to the fact that Takei

was an idiot.

"Konno didn't force her to do it."

"Yeah…"

It would be easy to condemn her if she'd clearly

threatened Hirabayashi-san, but ultimately, the main reason

Hirabayashi-san ended up with the job was because she

herself said she'd do it. The mood had created an invisible

coercive force, but that invisibility made it hard to condemn.

"I guess all you can do is avoid making too big a deal of it

and see how things go," I said.

"Yeah, I guess so," Izumi answered, looking down and

smiling. "But…"

"But…?" I prompted.

She nodded and then continued. "If I just became

captain myself, the problem would be solved."

"…Oh." Yeah, that would be one way of rescuing

Hirabayashi-san.

"But then that would be bad for me on a personal level."

"Um, bad how?" I asked, not completely sure what she

meant.

"Well, it would be easy for me to take her place, but…"

"…Yeah?"

Izumi pressed her lips firmly together for a second. "But

that's exactly what Erika wanted."

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Now it was coming together. I thought back again to

what Izumi had told me at her house.

"…Oh."

She didn't like how vulnerable she was to the mood.

"I want to change that part of myself…so I've been

making more of an effort in these situations, you know?"

She sounded shy and a little ambiguous. I think by

"these situations," she was including the Atafami match

between Nakamura and me in the old principal's office. I

could still remember Izumi clumsily but insistently rebelling

against Konno's crew when they were attacking Nakamura.

"Yeah," I said, nodding intently.

Izumi lowered her voice a little more. "And then today…I

tried it again when I told her I didn't want to be captain.

Man, she was scary! Did you see her eyes?!"

"I was getting scared just watching!"

"Right?!"

We both giggled. Wow, laughter in a normal flow of

conversation. I had to admit it felt good that we were

laughing without even trying. I was also enjoying how the

conversation seemed kind of secret. Wait, what am I talking

about?

"Didn't I do a good job of standing up to her? C'mon,

give me some credit here!"

"Fishing for compliments much? Didn't you almost start

crying?"

"Shut up! Seriously, though, Erika is terrifying when she

gets like that!"

As I rode the wave of conversation, remembering to

tease her here and there, something occurred to me. I was a

bottom-tier character, but I wasn't the only person

struggling to grow one day at a time. Izumi was going

through the same thing as a normie.

"Aaanyway…I think you are changing little by little."

"What?! Really?"

I really meant it, and Izumi's eyes lit up. S-stop! Back up

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a step! I'm still not used to that normie smell—soft, slightly

sweet, full of teen spirit… My magic defense is practically

zero.

"Um, uh," I mumbled incoherently.

"Uh," Izumi said, examining her palms. "You did say…

that it wasn't too late for me to change."

"…Oh yeah."

When she opened up to me that one time, she'd

mentioned her troubles with the mood, but also that she

believed that would never change. And I'd disagreed.

"Ever since then, I've been trying when I can."

"…Oh, uh-huh."

Izumi nodded and smiled playfully. "Plus…you were the

one who let her have it that one time. It was so cool, I had to

step up my game, too!"

"Oh, um, thanks."

I managed to reply even though she'd just dropped a

"cool" on me and scrambled my brain. The ability to deliver

these surprise attacks is definitely a normie trait. They have

a big impact on us bottom-tier characters, even when we

know there's no meaning behind it. It's super effective!

"But…anyway. If I gave in and agreed to be captain, I'd

be going right back to how I used to be. I guess I didn't want

that to happen."

"…Makes sense."

Like she said, if she gave in to Erika Konno's

manipulation of the mood to make whoever she wanted the

captain, that would be the same as giving in to the mood

itself. Especially if Izumi didn't want to be captain.

"Yeah," Izumi said softly, sighing with deep exhaustion.

"…People can be such a chore. Especially in groups."

Her words startled me. All the struggles I'd been through

to complete Hinami's assignments, including this current

one, spun around my mind like a carousel, and before I

knew it, my mouth was moving almost against my will.

"They are… They really, really are…," I said as all the

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emotions of the past few months welled up inside me.

"Geez, you don't have to make it that big a deal!"

Izumi seemed a bit weirded out.

* * *

Since it was the first day of the second semester, we got out

of school at noon. Hinami had told me she couldn't meet

after class, so I was planning to head straight home.

According to the extremely businesslike LINE message she'd

sent during break, she was having lunch with Mimimi and

Tama-chan, and it would be hard for her to get away.

I was planning to get home as quickly as possible and

use the extra time to practice Atafami , but twenty minutes

or so after school, I instead found myself at the game center

near the station by our school.

"Holy shit! Farm Boy's good!"

Takei was standing behind me, cheering as I played.

Nakamura was sitting in the opposite arcade cabinet and

playing against me, and Mizusawa was standing behind him.

Yes, Nakamura's henchman Takei had kidnapped me as

I was getting ready to head home and taken me here

(unharmed) to the slightly smoky Cruz Game Center.

"Damn, Farm Boy, you're kind of a freak at this!"

"Shut up, Takei."

"Ouch!"

As I coldly snapped back at Takei, I racked up another

victory. It was getting really easy to fire back at him. An idiot

like him was practically holding up a neon sign saying Just

go for it! Sure made practice easier. Training-mode Takei.

The screen in the cabinet in front of me refreshed. I took

a deep breath and looked around. Unlike the arcade I went

to sometimes in Omiya, this was a small place, probably

independent. It seemed like a hangout for the semi-rough

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crowd at the local high schools—in other words, I did not

belong here.

"…Shit, dude, you're way too good. It's so… Eh. It's

whatever."

Nakamura scratched his head in irritation as he stood up

and walked over to my side with Mizusawa. Judging from

the round we'd just played, Nakamura had spent a decent

amount of time practicing this combat game called Dogfight

4 —but not as much time as I had. Maybe that was why he

wasn't bashing me as hard as usual for kicking his ass. He

hadn't even insulted me, so that was a big step forward. Sad

that it is a big step forward, but I'm gonna ignore that.

Nakamura plopped down beside me. The run-down

game center's beat-up chair creaked as he spread his legs

wide apart, invading my space. Damn. He acted like it was

totally natural to be so domineering. I squeezed my legs

together. The pressure of the situation made me nervous,

but I focused on not stammering like an idiot.

"I did practice…"

"Huh," he said without looking at me.

Mizusawa seemed impressed and peered at the screen.

"So you're good at games aside from Atafami ?"

"I'm okay. This one's pretty famous."

From what I could tell after a quick glance around the

arcade, all the games they had were famous. They probably

went for the usual suspects because they didn't have a lot of

space. I could probably beat Nakamura at any of them—after

all, I'd put in a ton of solo practice. Ha-ha.

"I've never lost to any of the guys here. You practice too

much, man. Go outside once in a while."

Nakamura was pushing me around, like always. He

really was a force to be reckoned with.

Still, I made an effort to observe, as Hinami had

instructed me. When I did, I realized his comment to "go

outside" had a similar structure to Erika Konno's comment

about Hirabayashi-san being "good at setting up."

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By labeling Hirabayashi-san as good at setting up , she'd

established Hirabayashi-san's inferior position according to

the standard that dictated plain and practical were bad.

Similarly, Nakamura had treated me as plain by saying I

should "go outside," using the same norm as Konno to put

me in my place. Nakamura at least accepted that I was good

at gaming, so his comment felt a lot milder than hers, but

the structure was identical. Must be a typical normie strat.

"N-nah, I like gaming more."

Given that I was getting Hinami's help to become a

normie myself, I wasn't sure if I should be quite so proud of

it, but what else could I say? That's genuinely how I feel, and

that's not about to change. I'm not about to give up what I

like. I'm going to beat this game of life as a gamer and have a

good time doing it.

"Whatever. Okay, Fumin, this one's next."

"Oh, okay."

"You're running him ragged, man."

"Go, Farm Boy, go!"

For all my worrying, they brushed over my declaration of

nerdiness like it was nothing, and Nakamura proceeded to

use me as his practice partner for a while longer.

* * *

It was already past six. We'd taken a break for lunch at a

Gusto diner nearby, but other than that, we'd been battling

the whole time. We'd already been playing for five hours, in

fact. Seriously?

"Shuji, how much longer are you gonna go?" Mizusawa

asked with a cynical smile.

"Yeah, Shuji, let's get out of here soon," Takei added,

sounding a little unhappy.

"You guys go home first. I'm gonna hang here a little

longer."

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"I'd like to go home, too…"

I felt like Nakamura was assuming I'd stick around as his

training partner, so I made sure to correct that idea. I mean,

if I stayed any longer, my parents would really start

worrying.

"Oh yeah? Okay, see you later."

"Later."

Surprisingly, he let me go. I thought he'd tell me to stay.

Well, okay then.

"Ready, guys?" Mizusawa said with a sigh, as if he'd

guessed what was up with Nakamura, and then he led Takei

and me out the door of the game center. I glanced back as we

left. Nakamura was sitting expressionless in front of the

game cabinet, his arms crossed, illuminated by the light of

the screen. There was something sad and vulnerable about

his face in the light of that dim, old-fashioned game center.

After we left, the three of us headed toward the train

station. The afternoon had been hot, but now the heat had

settled in favor of a comfortably warm breeze. Mizusawa

sighed quietly once more.

"Looks like it's happening again."

Takei swiveled his head toward Mizusawa and pointed at

him in agreement.

"I thought so, too! You think they had another fight?"

This was an interesting conversation.

"All he can do is wait it out. Yoshiko's super strict."

"Think it'll last for a while?"

I didn't recognize the name Mizusawa had mentioned, so

I decided to ask.

"Who's Yoshiko?"

Was there a girl in our class named Yoshiko? If so, why

would they mention her?

"Shuji has a complicated family situation. His mom is

really overprotective—one of those helicopter parents. If he

gets bad grades, messes around too much, or stays out too

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late, she gets super pissed. And she's tough to beat on the

best of days."

"R-really?"

So Yoshiko was Nakamura's mom. Was calling her by

her first name a normie thing? But now that I think about it,

I remember somebody mentioning that his mom was scary

when we had the Nakamura-Izumi strategy meeting at my

house.

"I'm guessing they're fighting right now," Mizusawa said,

checking the train schedule on his phone.

"A fight, huh…? But won't he make it worse by staying

out late?"

Mizusawa smiled innocently. "You'd think so, right?

That's the frustrating thing about Shuji."

Takei threw his head back and guffawed in agreement.

"What do you mean?"

"He's stubborn," Mizusawa said warmly. "When they

fight, Shuji stays out on purpose."

I smiled cynically.

"So…he doesn't want to see her 'cause they're fighting?

Or does he want to make her worry?"

"You got it," Mizusawa replied, pointing at me gracefully.

I sighed. So basically…

"What is he, a little kid?"

"Ha-ha! Seriously!" Mizusawa laughed loudly. "He'll stay

at a friend's house or go home really late so he doesn't have

to see his parents."

"Th-that is so childish…"

Still, it was also in character… I pressed my fingers into

my forehead, a little frustrated with him myself. Takei

grinned, as if to match my gesture.

"You're spot-on, man! He's so childish, I worry about

him sometimes!"

"You're hardly one to talk," I shot back.

"Ouch!"

I'd said what was on my mind in a natural tone. I'd

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practiced enough by now that I was able to do it fairly

smoothly and naturally. This must be what Hinami was

talking about when she mentioned repeated practice. It kind

of felt like reflexively responding with an uppercut to an

attack from the air.

"Why's Farm Boy being so mean to me today?"

"Ha-ha-ha. But come on, you really can't talk."

"Takahiro, you're getting in on this, too?"

That was basically the tone of the conversation on the

way home, and I actually felt fairly comfortable.

* * *

We split up, and I went home. My mom complained about

how unusually late it was, but I just ate dinner and headed

for the bath. As I soaked in the hot water, I reflected on the

day.

I'd gone to the arcade after school with some normies,

and we'd hung out till night, messing with one another. I'd

been careful to observe, but I hadn't forced myself to do

anything weird simply for the sake of an assignment, either.

Still, strangely enough, school had become a little livelier for

me.

Actually, the change was so dramatic, I could never have

imagined this a few months ago. But I knew better than

anyone else that this seemingly personality-transforming

change was made up of one tiny, inevitable step after

another. I wasn't using a continue, a cheat, a shortcut, or

anything else like that. I'd just advanced a little further each

day, until I turned around and realized the starting point

was far behind me.

But if that was the case…

…there was someone else who had come much further

than me.

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Just how long had Aoi Hinami been walking this path,

and how far had she gotten?

Right now, she was so far ahead of me that it was hard to

even imagine where she had started. But at some point in

the past, the one and only Aoi Hinami must have been

standing where I was now. It was probably so long ago that

her footsteps had worn away. To get from here to there, she

hadn't used a time warp or magic or anything like that. She'd

just walked straight ahead, one step at a time, like I was

doing.

But there was one major difference between Hinami and

me.

For me, each step of this journey, from the feel of the

earth beneath my feet to the landscape stretching out before

me, was new, exciting, and full of enjoyment. That's what

kept me moving forward.

But not for Aoi Hinami.

It seemed like for her, moving forward in and of itself

was the goal. She didn't enjoy the journey, she didn't look

around at the new scenery, and she didn't look back at the

starting point. She kept her gaze fixed on the goal, and she

forged ahead almost like a machine. At least, as far as I could

tell.

What had allowed her to keep at it for so long?

I had to wonder.