The Student Council building sat slightly apart from the main school grounds, nestled among tall trees and quiet paths. Morning light filtered through the leaves as Akira and Erika hurried inside, their footsteps echoing faintly through the wide corridor.
As they climbed the stairs, Erika muttered under her breath,
"This is really bad… my brother is going to be unbearable today."
Akira glanced at her and replied,
"I thought he was unbearable every day."
"That's different," Erika shot back. "Today, we're late, so he has a reason to be even more unbearable."
They reached the top floor and stopped in front of a large wooden door. Without knocking, Erika pushed it open.
The Student Council room greeted them with the familiar smell of paper, ink, and tea.
"Good morning," Erika said immediately. "Sorry, I'm late."
Iori sat at the president's desk, unusually serious as he reviewed documents with practiced ease. At a side table, Tōgi Seichirō worked in silence, posture straight, pen moving steadily across form after form. Nearby, his sister, Tōgi Shiro, carried a tray of tea.
Shiro brightened the moment she saw them.
"Ah, Erika-san! Akira-onii-chan! Good morning."
Seichirō glanced up briefly and gave a small nod.
"Good morning."
Iori finally looked up.
"Oh?" he said teasingly. "Well, well. Look who decided to finally grace us with their presence."
Akira nodded solemnly.
"You're welcome. Please feel honored to be graced by my presence."
A soft thud followed immediately.
Erika elbowed him in the side without hesitation.
"Don't play around."
Iori's gaze shifted to Akira, who looked like he hadn't slept all night, and then to his sister Erika, who was still full of energy. His lips curled into a knowing grin.
"…Akira-kun," he said teasingly, "you look exhausted. Did you have fun last night?"
Erika stiffened.
"Onii-san," she warned.
Iori ignored her completely.
"I know you two just reunited after years and all, but maybe slow down a little, hm?"
Erika shot him a look that looked like she was about to kill him.
Akira, meanwhile, didn't notice any of it. He looked genuinely tired, eyes half-lidded, posture loose in a way that clearly suggested he hadn't slept at all.
"I couldn't sleep last night," he said tiredly. "So I went for a walk. On the moon."
The room went dead silent.
Shiro froze mid-step, the teacups on her tray trembling slightly.
Seichirō's pen stopped moving.
Even Erika turned to stare at Akira in shock; she had no idea what he'd done last night. She'd never imagined he would go to the moon. Why hadn't he said anything to her?
Iori finally spoke.
"…On the moon?"
Akira nodded, completely serious.
"Yeah. It's a good place for a night walk. Though I got caught up in my thoughts while I was there and didn't manage to come back until morning."
Shiro leaned toward her brother and whispered,
"Nii-sama, is he joking… or is he serious?"
Seichirō replied quietly,
"I don't know. Either is possible."
Iori blinked once.
Then, slowly, he said,
"…Right."
After a brief pause, he cleared his throat.
"Then why were you both late?" he asked. "Akira-kun being late is expected, but my dear sister, you're always early, aren't you?"
Before Erika could say anything, Akira spoke nonchalantly.
"I tried to wake her up. But she captured me and sucked me dry all morning. That's why we're late."
The room went silent again.
The looks Shiro and Seichirō exchanged were… complicated.
Then.
STOMP.
A loud sound echoed as Erika stomped down on Akira's foot with all her strength.
"What nonsense are you saying!?" she screamed, her face bright red.
Akira winced, grabbing his foot. And as if deeply wronged, he said,
"I just told them the truth. You drank all my blood in your sleep when I went to wake you up."
He sounded completely earnest.
Iori's grin returned, wider this time.
"Oh?" he said. "She actually drank your blood? That development was faster than I thought."
Even Shiro and Seichirō looked stunned. They knew Erika's character; she had always said she would never drink blood directly from someone. And they'd only reunited two days ago.
Had their relationship really progressed that fast?
Erika's face turned red, but she also looked like she was about to kill someone.
Before she could say anything, Iori continued,
"But to think she drank your blood all morning… if she drank that much, is it really that good? Maybe you should let me have a taste too."
Akira replied instantly,
"Denied. Not in a million years."
"I will end you," Erika said calmly.
Watching them like this, Shiro smiled softly.
"…It feels like we've gone back to when we were kids. Akira-onii-chan hasn't changed at all."
Seichirō nodded once.
"Seems like it."
Only after Erika threatened her brother several more times and repeatedly told Akira to shut up did the room finally calm down.
After the situation finally calmed down, Erika walked over to the large table and sat down. She dropped into her chair with a tired sigh, her eyes immediately drifting to the piles of documents stacked neatly, yet worryingly high, on the desk.
"…Why does it look like the paperwork increased?" she muttered.
Iori didn't even look up as he continued writing.
"Because it did. These came in this morning."
During spring break, normal students were free. But the Student Council was different, they still had work to do. Especially in a private elite school like this, where the Student Council held considerable authority. And with great power came great responsibility, which meant even more work.
Erika leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling.
"When are we ever going to finish all this…?"
Akira, who had taken a seat beside her, glanced at the documents, then at her.
"If it's just paperwork," he said, "I can help."
Erika turned to him in surprise.
"You want to help?"
"Why not?" Akira replied. "It's just Student Council work. How hard could it be?"
Iori finally looked up, a slow grin forming on his face.
"You want to help?" he said. "Sure, you can help us out."
Then, with deliberate emphasis, he added,
"But remember, you are on this council… but we do not grant you the rank of member."
"Why!? He would fit perfectly…" Erika immediately protested.
Before she could finish, Akira stood abruptly, slamming his hand on the desk.
"What!?" he demanded. "How can you do this!? This is outrageous. This is unfair. How can someone be in the council and not be granted the rank of member!?"
Iori raised an eyebrow and replied calmly,
"Because you're not even a student yet."
Akira froze.
Only then did he notice it.
Everyone else in the room, Erika, Iori, Seichirō, and Shiro, all of them were wearing a school uniform.
He alone was dressed in casual clothes.
He was not officially transferred in yet, so he is still not yet a student of this school.
"…Oh," Akira said quietly. "Yeah. That makes sense. It's not outrageous. It's actually fair."
Iori smirked.
"Take a seat, young Starlight."
Akira muttered as he sat back down,
"Fine. So what do I work on?"
Iori slid a thick file across the desk.
"Here," he said. "You can work on this schedule."
Akira picked it up and glanced through the pages.
"How should I do it?"
Iori answered simply,
"Just make it perfect. Practical. And as efficiently as possible."
Akira nodded once.
"Understood."
He immediately went to work.
Erika watched him for a moment. A strange, uneasy feeling crept up her spine, but she said nothing.
Fifteen minutes later.
Akira placed the completed document in front of her.
"Here," he said proudly. "I optimized it. If we follow this, efficiency increases by forty-seven percent."
Erika skimmed the pages.
Then she went silent.
Slowly, she pointed at one section.
"Akira… why is the lunch break fifteen minutes long?"
Akira tilted his head.
"That should be enough, right? Chewing time varies, but fifteen minutes is sufficient for eating lunch."
She slammed both hands on the desk.
"OF COURSE IT ISN'T!"
She flipped the page.
"And why are there so many meetings scheduled back-to-back with no breaks in between?"
Akira replied, completely unfazed.
"Breaks reduce cognitive momentum. Continuous engagement improves output, so skipping them until completion is optimal."
Erika screamed,
"THAT IS NOT HOW IT WORKS!"
She jabbed her finger at another section.
"And what is this!? No human can handle this kind of schedule!"
Akira frowned slightly.
"I designed it within the limits of human biology. It is physically possible."
Erika stared at him like he was something outrageous, who would even make a school schedule like this.
Then it hit her.
Not just her.
Everyone else in the room realized it at the same time.
Akira had never gone to school.
Kindergarten. Elementary school. Middle school. Even the first year of high school, Akira hadn't attended any of them.
His only reference point was anime.
And when he worked, he never stopped unless someone physically dragged him away to rest.
Erika let out a long sigh.
"This is a school," she said. "Not a factory. Humans need rest."
Akira replied calmly,
"But I also factored in rest time."
"It's nowhere near enough," Erika shot back.
She sighed deeply, rubbing her temples.
"Forget it. I'll help you."
She knew very well that if she left him alone, who knew what kind of ridiculous schedule he'd create.
So the two of them worked together.
Akira tore through documents at superhuman speed, eyes sharp, hands never slowing. Erika corrected, adjusted, and guided him, constantly pulling him back, forcing him to think like a normal human rather than a supercomputer chasing efficiency.
With both of them working in sync, the mountain of paperwork shrank rapidly.
What should have taken the entire spring break was finished in a single day.
By the time they finally set down their pens, evening light filtered softly through the windows.
Neither of them had eaten lunch.
Erika was still full from drinking far too much of Akira's blood that morning, and Akira, having stuffed himself with Energy Bar Alpha, didn't feel hungry either. So when the others went to grab something to eat, Akira and Erika stayed behind and continued working.
Erika worked hard because she had to.
Akira, however, had more selfish reasons.
If he helped her finish everything today, she would be free for the rest of spring break. And more than that, he could spend more time with her.
The thought made him pause for just a moment.
Akira let out a quiet sigh, wondering what exactly was happening to him, what had changed to make him think like this. But he pushed the thought aside and returned to the work in front of him.
Together, they kept going.
And by the end of the day, they finished everything.
Exhausted, but satisfied, they leaned back in their chairs.
The mountain of paperwork was finally gone.