Thursday was the final day of the candidacy period.
The official list of candidates was scheduled to be posted on the school bulletin board tomorrow morning, so for now, the only thing anyone was talking about was the fact that Rui had filed her papers.
I was curious about how Nozomi Himesaki was handling things, so I reached out to her over LIME. She seemed to be agonizing over the decision. Apparently, the girls around her were pushing her to run, but this year’s election was different from previous ones; she was facing the insurmountable wall known as Rui Kuroki.
As a bystander, I couldn't help but hope that this might be the catalyst for Himesaki to finally make some friends, but maybe I was being too meddlesome.
"Hey, Ryouta, stop spacing out. Get over here and help."
"Eh? Ah, sorry, Yuria."
After school, Yuria and I had remained in the classroom to work on a certain project.
"The campaign officially kicks off tomorrow, so we need to make sure Rui has a sash to wear while she gives it her all."
That’s right—we were making a campaign sash.
Apparently, almost every candidate in previous years wore one during their election activities. Rui had said she would make her own once she got home, but Yuria, worried about how busy Rui’s schedule was, had stepped up. "I'll make it," she’d declared, and I naturally ended up getting dragged into helping.
Since Airi had a "date with her boyfriend" (which was actually her part-time job) and Rui was at her usual track and field club practice, it was just the two of us.
As for the materials, we’d managed to secure leftover supplies from the art room thanks to Airi’s expansive social network. Since she couldn't help with the manual labor today, she’d contributed by pulling some strings.
To think that Airi was actually close with those art club otaku girls who spoke exactly like Tanaka... It just went to show that her connections were as wide-reaching as those faint veins you sometimes see on a pair of massive breasts. Not that I’d actually seen the real thing, of course.
"Ryouta, your hands stopped again! I know you're thinking about something gross!"
"I was just... pondering the aesthetic of veins on a well-endowed chest."
"Do your work seriously!"
Yuria pinched my cheek for my wandering thoughts.
"Seriously, Ryouta, your 'normal' driving is a total road hazard. Maybe you should surrender your license—and by license, I mean get a vasectomy—before you become a truly dangerous adult?"
"Wh-What a terrifying thing to say! If you lay a hand on my 'son,' I won't show any mercy, even to you, Yuria! Now, hand over those thighs as compensation!"
"Sigh... Fine, the thighs can wait until later. Just finish the sash already."
"Eh? O-Oh."
So later is okay... God, Yuria really is the best.
With thighs dangled in front of me like a carrot on a stick, I began working at triple my previous speed. We had purchased the base fabric, so our plan was to write Rui’s name on it and then finish the decorations with the supplies from the art club. With two people, it didn't look like it would take long.
"You know, being alone with you after school like this feels kind of fresh. We didn't even get this during the Cultural Festival," Yuria remarked.
"You think so?"
"I haven't really been able to talk to you about anime much since the second semester started, so I'm going to make you listen to a whole lot of it while we work."
"Huh? We're always talking about it on LIME."
"I have more I want to talk about! Like the latest chapter of Breast-Kyun!"
From that point on, Yuria’s anime talk didn't stop, firing off one after another like a machine gun. When Yuria talked about anime, she was truly in her element. It made her easy to talk to.
By the time 7:00 PM rolled around, Rui’s sash was finally complete. We had kept the decorations to a minimum, resulting in a wonderful, clean design where the name "Rui Kuroki" stood out beautifully.
"Phew... That actually took a while."
"But it's amazing that you could make such a professional-looking sash in just a few hours, Yuria. You seemed really used to this. Have you made one before?"
"Well..." Yuria’s expression turned bittersweet, though her lips curved into a small, nostalgic smile. "A best friend of mine back in junior high once decided on a whim that she wanted to run for Student Council President. We made one together back then."
"That friend... the one you had a falling out with after your otaku secret got leaked? S-Sorry, I didn't mean to make you remember that."
"No, it's fine. I was the one who brought it up. Besides, I don't really feel anything toward her anymore."
"But..."
"I’ve told you this before, Ryouta. I have you now. We can't change the past, but we can change everything about the future. That's why I want to treasure what we have."
"Yu-Yuria... Man, that’s embarrassing."
Between her and Rui, I honestly didn't know why a loner like me was so wanted and treasured... but as long as I was helping them, I supposed it didn't matter.
"I want to stay friends with you too, Yuria. I'll work hard to make sure you keep feeling that way."
"Given that, I wonder why you're doing nothing but staring at my thighs right now?"
"Hey, you're the one who told me I could do whatever I wanted with them. Is it wrong to look?"
"Sigh... This guy, honestly."
Yuria shrugged in exasperation, but then she softly stroked her own thigh.
"Well then, since we've finished the sash... do you want to touch?"
"Eh... O-Oh."
The time was 7:23 PM. A classroom with just the two of us. In a situation with no one else around, rubbing her thighs was... as expected, way too erotic!
"Then... don't mind if I do."
Forget just touching—just as I was about to launch myself at Yuria’s thighs with the momentum of a rugby tackle, the classroom door was flung open with a loud clack.
"Well, well! What a coincidence to find you two here! I saw the lights on in Ryouta-kun’s class and thought I’d stop by. I never expected to find the two of you!"
As usual, I was thwarted by the perverted nuisance known as Tanaka.
"Ta-Tanaka! You bastard!"
"Wh-What’s with that reaction? I went out of my way to grace you with my presence!"
It was getting to the point where I could probably file a police report for Tanaka's perverted blocks.
"No, well... Anyway, Ryouta, the sash is done, so let's call it a night," Yuria said.
"O-Oh, yeah. Good idea."
The atmosphere between Yuria and me turned awkwardly heavy, like a high school couple whose parents unexpectedly came home early from their part-time jobs, ruining their plans for sex.
"Wait, you two! What is with this raw atmosphere? You look exactly like a high school couple whose parents unexpectedly came home early from their part-time jobs, ruining their plans for sex!"
"Why are you using the exact same analogy!?"
"I don't quite understand, but Ichinose-san’s skirt is a bit disheveled... Did you two actually do something lewd?"
"Stop that! We didn't do anything! Right, Yuria!?"
"Eh... Ah, yeah."
"That reaction! You definitely did something lewd, didn't you!?"
"I said we didn't!"
Seriously, this girl always finds the most annoying way to meddle. And just when I was about to tackle Yuria's thighs and go for a "try" in every sense of the word... Dammit!
"Anyway, Tanaka, what were you doing here this late? Did you forget something?"
"Oh, that. I forgot to submit a certain document to the teacher."
"A certain document? What, Tanaka, are you behind on your assignments again?"
"I am not! I can't say what it is yet because of confidentiality... But hehe, you'll find out soon enough, Ryouta-kun."
Tanaka spat out a parting line that made her sound like a final boss and then waltzed out of the classroom. She’d said something equally cryptic during our phone call the other day... Was something actually going on?
"Wait! Forget about Tanaka! Yu-Yuria, I’d like to request one more round of sumo drills with you!"
"That makes zero sense. Besides, the mood is totally gone now."
"No way... I see. This is how sexless marriages begin..."
"Se-Sexless!? Married!? We're not even dating yet! Stop saying weird things and let's go home!"
"Gueh!"
While her face turned even redder than usual, Yuria smacked me on the back with all her might. I’d only said it as a joke... but well, I suppose that was good enough for today.