“But, well, while nobody is going to help you if you remain stagnant…I suppose I could help you a little just this once, now that I’ve given you that first push you need. If you ever regret chasing your dream, then you can come complaining to me, and I’ll listen.”
“Just listen? That’s it?”
“Pretty comforting knowing you’ve got someone to talk to, right?”
“Wow, I can sure count on you,” Masachika replied, his voice devoid of emotion, a deflated smirk matching his tone. But after sharing a sincere smile with the president, he adopted a more serious expression and bowed deeply to him.
“Thank you… That really helped. It was very motivating, too.”
“I really appreciated you opening up to us.”
“Oh, really? I’m glad.”
Touya beamed as his two younger clubmates bowed respectfully, when suddenly a knock echoed through the room and the supervisor for second-year students opened the door and poked his head inside.
“Touya, you have a moment?”
“Oh, uh… Of course. What is it?”
Touya retired from the room as the teacher waved him over, leaving an abrupt silence in the student council room.
“I guess even without some grand cause…it’s okay to simply run for student council president for my own sake,” murmured Alisa.
“…Yeah.”
Masachika nodded in agreement, their eyes naturally drawn to each other as they shared a quiet smile.
“…It looks like you’ve found your answer.”
“You too, Alya.”
“Yeah,” Alisa said with a faint smile. Then she faced forward again, her expression dignified. “I’m going to become the student council president for me and me alone.”
She spoke slowly, as if she were checking if she really felt that way.
“I don’t want to be a part of the First Light Committee. I don’t even have any special reason why I need to become the president. There’s nothing specific I want to do as the president, either.” And even while acknowledging that, she declared, “But that doesn’t matter. I’m going to become the president because that’s how I want to live my life, and I don’t plan on letting you or Yuki take that position away from me.”
There wasn’t the slightest trace of doubt in her eyes as Masachika studied her profile, squinting his eyes a bit as if staring into a spotlight.
“I…want to return as the successor of the Suou family because I want to change,” he replied, facing forward once more. He could feel Alisa’s gaze tickling his cheek, but he continued to look forward as if he were facing his inner self while he genuinely added:
“While I do want Yuki to be free again, I’m doing this for myself. I want to regain the pride I once had and become someone I can like…” After a brief pause, he declared, “So I’m going to take over as the Suou family’s successor and seize the position from Yuki.”
Silence enveloped the student council room, their declarations dissolving into the air until the lingering afterglow had completely faded.
“We’ve made up our minds, it sounds like.”
“…Yeah.” Masachika nodded, tilting his head. “But…”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing really…” He paused momentarily, then sighed in resignation, realizing there was no use in hiding it. “I was just wondering how I’m going to convince my grandfather. It’s great that I made up my mind and all, but he already said that he wasn’t going to take me back if I ran for vice president…”
As Masachika was scratching his head in a demoralized manner, Alisa calmly replied:
“If you can’t convince him with logic…then maybe it’s time to just be honest with him.”
“What?”
“If logic won’t work…then you’re just going to have to speak from the heart and appeal to him with your emotions. If you honestly tell him exactly how you feel, like Touya just did…then maybe he’ll understand?”
“Uh…? Hmm…” Masachika grunted skeptically and was pivoting his entire body toward her—when he suddenly recalled the conversation he had with his father a few days ago.
“Don’t get the wrong idea, though. It’s not that he doesn’t love his family. Far from it. He cares about his family in his own way…”
…Really? If there is even the tiniest bit of hope…then maybe I should take a chance.
The claim was that even the cold-blooded head of the Suou family cared about his kin, meaning that there was a chance he could be swayed if his family opened up to him.
But, well, I can’t think of any other way to go about this, so I don’t have much of a choice.
It was highly unlikely that Masachika possessed the skills necessary to persuade this wise old man, which meant he would have to take a gamble a try to appeal to his heart. It would at least be worth a try.
“…All right, I think it’s about time I have a heart-to-heart talk with him,” Masachika announced, his determination straightening his slouched posture. But a faint shadow almost immediately clouded his expression.
A heart-to-heart…
He reflected on his own words and lowered his gaze. A heart-to-heart… In other words, he needed to have an honest conversation. But he would first have to understand how he truly felt, meaning he needed to delve deeper inside himself. That was the first step.
Tell him how I truly feel…
He was almost immediately caught off guard by Alisa’s unexpected announcement.
“I’m going with you,” she exclaimed, as though it were only natural.
“Wee?!” he shrieked bizarrely, spinning to the side to face her.
“You said it yourself. We’re in this election together.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Besides…”
Alisa somewhat averted her gaze, bashfully fidgeting with her hair.
“I told you that I’d be there for you…”
Masachika blinked a few times, then let out a small, sheepish laugh.
“If you keep acting embarrassed like that, you’re going to start making me feel embarrassed,” he teased.
“O-oh, shut up. You’re the one who said it first.”
“Yeah, and that’s also why it’s so embarrassing.”
It was one of those moments that he would remember years later in the shower and cringe at, and that thought alone sent a faint chill down his spine. He faced forward once again, wrestling with his thoughts.
But is that old man really going to change his mind just because we decide to be honest with him?
He chose this path simply because he couldn’t think of any better option, but the idea that it could actually change Gensei’s mind felt, in truth, like nothing more than wishful thinking on Alisa’s part, since she had no idea how stubborn that man could be.
“Hmm…”
The plan was still missing something. Simply laying his heart bare before his grandfather wouldn’t be enough. But right as dread began coiling in Masachika’s gut, there was a knock at the door, followed by Chisaki stepping inside.
“Hey! Huh…? Where’s Touya?”
After energetically greeting them, Chisaki surveyed the room, blinking curiously.
“Oh, hey. A teacher actually just stopped by and took him somewhere.”
She tilted her head slightly as she slid into the seat Touya had vacated just moments earlier.
“By the way, did something happen? I heard some pretty distressed voices.”
“…You heard that? Even though the door was closed?”
“Huh? Yeah?” Chisaki nodded as though it wasn’t strange in the slightest.
“…Wow.”
And so, Masachika decided to stop thinking about it and just accept it. After all, the soundproofing in the student council room was fairly solid, and he knew he hadn’t been loud, either. In other words, Chisaki was simply special, and stressing about it wouldn’t lead to anything productive.
“We were just discussing how I could convince a stubborn old man to listen to me, but he can’t be reasoned with…so I’m kind of in a pickle here,” revealed Masachika with a resigned note in his voice. Chisaki, however, raised an eyebrow and effortlessly replied:
“If reasoning with him isn’t going to work, then you’re just going to have to use force.”
“Yeah, why use big words when smash? Derp,” jested Masachika, when suddenly, a flash of inspiration raced through his mind, his eyes flaring wide as his hand drifted instinctively to cover his mouth.
“Kuze?”
“…On second thought, you might actually have a point.”
“Wait. Really?”
“Masachika?!”
Masachika sank deep into thought, seemingly oblivious to Chisaki’s startled expression and the wide-eyed astonishment on Alisa’s face. Before long, he had managed to formulate a plan with a certain sense of assurance. Wasting no time, he promptly contacted Ayano to arrange a meeting with Gensei, and two hours later, he got his reply. They were to meet the next day right after school, leaving him with almost no time to prepare.