Friday arrived, the day after the official announcement of the candidates and the start of the campaign trail.
I made my way to school, the lingering exhaustion from the previous day still heavy in my bones. I’d caused quite a stir yesterday by cross-dressing in front of the school entrance as students were heading home. In fact, I’d drawn so much attention that the lines of whose campaign was whose were starting to blur.
Strangely enough, Rui’s fans seemed to appreciate my appearance—a complete mystery to me—and a surprising number of students had asked to take photos. The news that Rui Kuroki’s campaign assistant was cross-dressing had even reached the underground bulletin board, Tanaka’s primary battlefield. Right now, the board was dominated by a clash of topics: Tanaka, the faceless digital warrior known as the "Ado of Natsuhama," versus me, the cross-dressing pervert nicknamed "Rui Kuroki (Male)."
"Man, I’m supposed to be Tanaka’s nominator; I wonder if it was really okay to do that," I muttered.
Lost in thought, I reached the school gate only to find a mysterious crowd gathered.
Wait, what was going on?
Rui and Himesaki were standing right there in front of the gate, wearing their campaign sashes. Students were stopping in their tracks, forming a ring around them.
"............"
"............"
They were locked in a silent staring contest, radiating an intensity that rivaled a pre-fight boxing press conference. Rui wore a composed smile, while Himesaki was cute yet desperately baring her competitive spirit.
"I won't lose, Kuroki-senpai."
"And I... won't lose to you, either."
The onlookers grew excited, and some even let out a rowdy whistle.
No, no, no, how did it turn into this?
"Hey, Nozomi-chan! Why are you two staring each other down like that?"
"Rui, what do you think you're doing?"
After a moment, Rui’s recommender—a third-year senior—and Himesaki’s classmate stepped in to pull the two apart. The situation settled down as they began their campaign activities in separate locations, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Even so, I was worried, so I headed straight for Rui first.
"Geez, Rui, that’s not like you at all. What happened?"
As I approached, Rui was being soothed under the shade of a tree by her recommender, a charming senior with a boyish look.
"G-Good morning, Senpai... and Rui."
"Ah, look at that. If it isn't Boyfriend-kun."
"B-Boyfriend-kun?"
"Well then, I think I’ll head to the study room now. Can you handle the campaigning with him today, Rui?"
"Yes. Senpai, thank you as always."
The senior gave me a wink before taking her leave. A boyish, charming senior... yeah, that's a top-tier attribute right there.
"Senpai already has a boyfriend, you know. You shouldn't look at her like that, Ryouta-kun."
"How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of my head? Anyway, more importantly..." I cleared my throat to get us back on track. "What was that just now? It’s rare for someone as cool as you to get into a staring contest."
"I just... I glared at her because she was insistently campaigning right next to me. Then it just turned into that. Besides, that girl seems very conscious of me."
Well, anyone would be conscious of you... I pushed that perfectly reasonable retort aside for the moment.
"Isn't it because you're conscious of Himesaki, too? If it were the usual you, you'd just do what you had to do regardless of who was nearby. But you actually glared at her."
"...Hehe. As I thought, you see right through me, Ryouta-kun."
"Well, obviously."
Rui looked up at the sunlight filtering through the leaves and took a breath.
"I’m so fixated on being perfect that I’ve ended up putting myself on edge for this Student Council President election. An election isn't like sports where things can be swayed by the luck of the draw; there's no excuse to fall back on if the results don't go your way."
"Rui..."
Even in sports, Rui had stacked victory upon victory, effectively making luck her ally.
"The first-year votes will likely go to Himesaki-san in a landslide. That’s why I want to make sure the second and third-year votes are secure. So, as I thought, after school I’ll also—"
Rui was more serious than I’d ever seen her. Her eyes were so sharp it was almost frightening. After school... in other words, she meant to skip the Track and Field Club.
That wouldn't do. It was exactly because things were like this that I had to say something to her.