--
Yanami's heart stirred as the footsteps drew closer, but she still didn't turn around, pretending to read casually.
"Um… Yanami, could you teach me history later?" The boy's voice sounded at her ear.
"Why don't you ask your Karen-brand encyclopedia for this? Anyway, my grades aren't as good as hers; I'm not as gentle as she is, and I'm not as good at teaching as she is." Yanami still didn't look back, her voice a little low.
She knew it wasn't good to throw a tantrum like this—especially since Kiyono hadn't chosen that seat himself. The more she compared herself, the wider the gap between her and Karen seemed to grow, yet she just couldn't control it, and her mood sank.
Silence hung for a moment.
Then Kiyono spoke.
"Karen is indeed very gentle, and her notes are meticulous and beautiful; she's practically a perfect girl."
Yanami's lips pouted almost imperceptibly. "Yes, yes—she's pretty, her handwriting looks machine-printed, and even her notebook smells good…"
"But I'm not very good at dealing with perfect things."
The blue-haired girl suddenly looked up. Under her gaze, Kiyono scratched his head and coughed.
"…Although gentle, perfect teaching is nice, I prefer a relaxed atmosphere where I can eat snacks while taking notes—like that porridge last time, with all the random ingredients thrown in."
Yanami stared blankly, her eyes widening little by little.
The world seemed to light up all at once.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
She could clearly hear her own heartbeat.
Her face inexplicably grew hot. She turned her face away, answering with an almost imperceptible hum.
"Oh, is that so…"
After a brief pause, Yanami suddenly sprang up, her smile bright and cheerful.
"Let's go eat!"
She had regained her usual vitality.
What neither of them noticed was that, in a dark corner of the classroom, a girl silently cast her gaze upon them.
Kiyono and I are now classmates…
She wanted to say hello—to say long time no see.
She wanted to ask him, Are you Fuyutsuki-sensei? …No, no, better not to ask that. If Kiyono brought up those chat logs, she'd want to die!
Even though she cared immensely, she still didn't dare speak up, only watching from afar like this, secretly rejoicing in her heart.
"By the way… Kiyono, do you want to join the Literature Club? You're a light-novel author, after all!"
In the school cafeteria, Yanami raised her eyes to the boy opposite her, asking casually.
She could feel it—the flow of time beginning to accelerate.
She wanted to create more memories.
So a club was a good excuse.
"No time," Kiyono said bluntly. Forget clubs—he could barely come to school often as it was. He had already arranged this with the school, of course, after revealing his identity as a best-selling author.
By the way, aren't you eating too much?
Today, Yanami ordered a large tonkatsu donburi and a hamburger steak, plus a salad and grated daikon.
"Don't worry about that. The Literature Club supports 'ghost members.' You just need to register your name, and you can come whenever you want!" Yanami shoveled down her donburi.
"I can take a look, but joining is out of the question for now."
After finishing their meal, the blue-haired girl still wanted to buy a packet of cookies from the convenience store for an afternoon snack. Kiyono had no choice but to wait for her under a nearby tree.
At this hour, there were hardly any students at the convenience store, and the baskets on the long table were almost empty. Yanami trotted back, complaining:
"My usual strawberry flavor is sold out…"
Kiyono resisted the urge to comment and was about to head back to the classroom when he suddenly saw a figure rushing toward them from the other end.
He narrowed his eyes. That fringe covering her right eye and her petite figure… Was that Komari?
The school bell echoed across campus.
"Club President, senpai, this is the first volume of the novel I wrote. Please take a look!"
In the Literature Club, the literary girl lowered her head, raised her voice slightly, and handed over the manuscript in her hands.
"Komari has already finished the first volume? I'm really looking forward to it—let me see! I'll tell you in advance, I won't hesitate to point out any flaws in the text," he said eagerly.
The club president was still as gentle and thoughtful as ever.
The gloomy girl couldn't help but grin foolishly.
What had been her original intention for working so hard? Wasn't it to become better—to get closer to the person she liked… Hmm? But why was she only thinking of the club president now?
Komari fell into deep thought.
And Kiyono, hearing the bell, was just about to soak in the atmosphere of youth when Yanami, under Karen's curious gaze, dragged him to the Literature Club.
Pushing open the door, they were greeted first by a bookshelf packed with books; the air carried a faint scent of ink, and the table was covered with various items and picture books.
A boy-and-girl pair sat at a wooden table, reading the pages in their hands with serious expressions. Next to them, the familiar gloomy girl waited silently, playing with a strand of her hair.
This place could almost be considered a holy site for "defeated heroines." After all, such a small club had managed to gather three legendary "defeated heroines." Kiyono looked around with interest.
Yanami quietly whispered to him:
"This is Tsukino Koto-senpai. She's Tamaki—the club president's—childhood friend! Their relationship is very good!"
"This is Tamaki—the club president. He's senpai's childhood friend."
—Why did she specifically repeat it twice?
Kiyono gave Yanami a sideways glance.
"Excuse me, could you please wait a moment? We're currently reading Komari's novel." The club president, with a bit of a literary-youth vibe, looked up with an apologetic expression.
"Eh? Komari's novel is already finished? I want to read it too!"
Yanami naturally leaned over to the girl's side and asked expectantly, "What about mine, what about mine?"
"Here… here it is." Komari silently handed her a stack of manuscripts.
And the last remaining person… Komari's gaze drifted, landing subtly on Kiyono; but when the boy looked over, she quickly shifted her eyes away.
Kiyono is here too. I didn't prepare anything for him—isn't that bad? But I already showed it to her as soon as the novel was finished, so, so it should be fine!
H-He should know, too…
"Don't mind me, I'll just pick out some books to read." Kiyono glanced at her, smiled, and stood before the bookshelf, his fingers tracing the spines.
He took out a copy of Demian—a book a certain young lady loved to read—and sat down on a nearby chair.
For a moment, only the rustle of turning pages and faint breathing remained in the room.
Komari stood by, clutching the hem of her clothes, her gaze drifting between the floor and Kiyono.
Her mood had been a bit nervous at first, since she was showing her novel to the club president and the others; but, for some reason, the moment she saw Kiyono, a sense of peace and tranquility filled her heart.
Since Kiyono… since Fuyutsuki-sensei praised me, then it must be fine, she whispered to herself.
Time passed; thoughts drifted. At some point, the club president's voice pulled her back to reality.
"Komari, I've finished."
The setting sun outside the window burned like fire. Tamaki—the club president—put down the last page of the manuscript and, after several seconds of dazed silence, turned to look at the petite girl beside him.
Kiyono closed the book in his hands as well, observing.
"H-How was it?"
Komari asked… Why was her voice so calm?
"Komari, you're really amazing."
The club president sighed with a complex expression—a mix of relief, admiration, and a touch of envy.
"You definitely have talent, Komari. I think this has already reached the level of commercial publication. Even speaking personally, I'm full of anticipation for what comes next. This is absolutely not a lie."
As the club president, Tamaki possessed a certain literary sensibility; he had also serialized novels online for a year or two, so he knew well both the quality of this work and the immense effort the girl had poured into it.
"You must have worked very hard on your writing during this time, Komari."
Tamaki moved closer and gently patted her head, like an older brother encouraging his little sister. Under the soft sunlight, the scene looked very youthful.
"Heh… heh-heh, not really."
The gloomy girl reacted as she always did.
But…
Huh?
Strange.
Why wasn't she as happy and elated as she had imagined?
She had worked herself ragged, and the results of that effort were now recognized and praised by the person she liked. Two joys overlapping—surely a dreamlike moment of happiness—but…
Komari suddenly froze. If it were her usual self, a simple "Komari is so cute" or "You did great" from the club president would have made her happy for an entire day. If he patted her head as well, she'd be smiling in her dreams. But what was this faint emotion in her heart now?
She stood there, troubled—feelings complex and hard to describe.
Another girl shared the same feeling.
"Komari, you're really amazing…" Yanami finished the last page of the manuscript, and the chocolate stick in her mouth slipped onto the table.
This volume was unexpectedly good. Of course, it was still far from Kiyono's level back then, but it was already far ahead of their peers in the Literature Club.
A ripple spread through her heart.
So that's how it is. The girl who was always timid and insecure was also taking big strides forward; without realizing it, she was even about to surpass her.
But Yanami hadn't changed anything.
And—and… if Komari successfully published in the future, she would be considered Kiyono's junior, right? They could chat freely about novels, discuss their favorite characters, and let their ideas clash…
As the thought spun on, Yanami fell silent.
Ring, ring, ring, ring. A phone chimed, breaking the delicate atmosphere. Komari took out her phone and hurriedly said:
"I-It's almost time for my part-time job. E-Everyone, I'm leaving now!"
Kiyono watched her retreating figure.
M-My stomach is so hungry…
Komari jogged across campus, but halfway through, a sudden pang of pain and weakness spread through her abdomen, even knitting her delicate brows.
Ah… it seemed she'd only eaten a few cookies at noon.
She stopped, one hand covering her stomach, lips twitching—today, because she'd been so preoccupied with her novel, she had not only forgotten to bring her bento, but she'd also been a step too late to buy bread at noon, so she'd been running on breakfast all day.
"Th-There's no time… I'll just grab something at the store."
Komari glanced at the time on her phone and grit her teeth. She had stayed too long in the club; now she was almost half an hour late.
Just then, a call came from behind her.
"Komari! Don't run!"
She instinctively turned and saw a familiar figure running toward her.
…Kiyono?
"Take these."
Kiyono stopped in front of her and handed over a bottle of warm milk… and a bag of bread?
Komari stared blankly for several seconds.