ONE day in homeroom, Nonoka stood up in front of the class to give a proposal. “I’d like to ask all of you to join me in practicing for the upcoming Sports Day!”
The general students mostly responded positively, with nods and murmurs of agreement, while the Corporate students were markedly less enthusiastic—that is to say, they completely ignored Nonoka like she wasn’t even there.
This, of course, wasn’t an isolated display of social dichotomy at Sosei Academy, rather a microcosm of the whole—one battle in the ongoing war between the privileged and the masses.
But Nonoka, ever the protagonist, would not be content until she had utterly shattered the status quo. “Would the Corporate students also like to join us?” she added, calling us out explicitly.
One prickly lady took it upon herself to respond. “No thanks. What if I jam a finger?”
“A jammed finger?” Nonoka repeated with a frown.
Oh, no. I can just tell this girl is about to make a fool out of herself.
“But,” she began to say.
“Nonoka,” I interjected firmly, cutting her off before whatever version of, you can’t be serious, it’s just a finger, could escape her lips. “It’s your right to decide how you feel about that day. But just as we respect your choice, we expect the same courtesy in return. You may not care, but Ms. Akane is a pianist.”
The aforementioned prickly girl, Akane, was deeply passionate about her art and performed in recitals from time to time. She refrained from physical activity because to her, a jammed finger was a very real and very serious injury. Nonoka could suggest that she partake in some less risky activity, but dismissing her very valid concerns as “just a finger” would’ve been utterly insensitive and a big misstep for the heroine to make.
Nonoka seemed to realize this right away. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea,” she quickly expressed, bowing in apology to Akane.
That seemed to utterly disarm Akane. She stammered back, “Well, now you do,” and turned her head away dismissively.
Phew. That was one hiccup averted. For once, I found myself grateful for Nonoka’s sharp perception—even though it was usually used to see right through my villainess guise to the schemes underneath. Grumble, grumble.
On second thought, I may have extinguished one fire by starting a bigger one. Nonoka was supposed to inspire and unite the class to perform their best for the event. That was how they originally won, and I just threw a wrench into that whole development. Uh-oh. As my eyes nervously wandered the room, searching for a way to get the plot back on track, they suddenly caught Rikka’s gaze. She gave me a knowing smile, then turned toward Nonoka.
“Ms. Nonoka, you don’t strike me as the athletic type, so I’m quite surprised to see you so gung-ho about Sports Day. Is there a reason for this, if you don’t mind sharing?”
Rikka! Oh! I can always count on you to understand me!
But wait… Huh?
She understood me? How?
Whatever. I brushed the thought from my mind. This was no time to question how Rikka knew what my intentions were. This was an opportune chance I was going to take.
Nonoka fidgeted, a flicker of apprehension crossing her face before she managed to speak, “I, um… I used to live in an orphanage.”
The classroom let out a collective gasp. Even the general students found this shocking, let alone the gentry who looked at Nonoka as if she had just professed she was from Mars. Rikka, however, seemed oddly composed. Or maybe she was frozen in shock? I cleared my throat pointedly at her to snap out of it.
“Pardon my surprise,” she stated. “I had no idea.”
“Yes,” Nonoka replied. “Though it wasn’t for very long.”
“I…I see,” Rikka uttered, still processing the revelation. It didn’t take her long to recompose herself.
I’d always thought of Rikka as cut from the same cloth as Shizuki—driven, rational, and unshakeable. Yet here she was, shaken. Then I realized: Of course. Nobody could be completely equivalent to Shizuki.
“I wasn’t there long,” Nonoka repeated, “but I connected deeply with a young girl. We became very close, almost like sisters.”
“Like sisters,” Rikka whispered.
At the same time, I noticed Ruki also react, his eyes drifting away. Were they both thinking of Ruri?
“She’s…She’s in the hospital now,” Nonoka added quietly.
Well, if there was one sentence guaranteed to secure Nonoka the support of two powerful allies without questions asked, that was it. I could only imagine the weight with which those words tugged at the Yukishiro cousins’ heartstrings. But if it were anything close to the anguish I’d felt when I first learned the news, then my heart went out to them.
Rikka seemed to struggle to find her words. “Is it…serious?” she finally asked weakly.
“The doctor said it’s a simple medical procedure,” Nonoka answered. “But at ten years old…”
“She’s afraid,” Rikka finished for her.
Nonoka hung her head. “Yes.”
There was a palpable shift in the atmosphere of the classroom, like an errant rain cloud had flown in and released a sudden deluge to soak the room in a gloomy, heavy air.
Cutting through the heavy silence, Ruki interjected. “What does all this have to do with our Sports Day?”
Nonoka took a deep breath before explaining: “It’s…a little complicated. You see, I always talk to her about this school, including our Sports Day. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, she promised me that if our class won, she would brave the operation.”
“I see,” Ruki articulated as he sniped a glance at me. Was he looking for an ally? Perhaps someone else with a sickly younger sister who understood the heartache he was experiencing?
If so, then yeah. I feel your pain.
I feel it—but I can’t show it.
As the enemy, displaying empathy for Nonoka was one of the last things I was allowed. I feigned indifference and pretended not to notice Ruki.
Nonoka continued to address the class, her eyes snapping open suddenly as she clasped her hands above her heart. “I’m aware this is my responsibility alone. There’s nothing in it for any of you; it’s selfish of me to even ask, but please—help me. I must get her the care she needs.”
With that, she bowed deeply and the room fell into silence. When she finally raised her head a moment later, her eyes seemed imbued with so much courage, so much strength—I was positive I wasn’t the only one captivated by them.
Ruki was the one to break the silence. “I’m down for a little practice. I can’t speak for all of us, but I had no intention of losing in the first place.”
Rikka jumped in right after. “When there’s a little sister involved, what more can you say?” she added with a smile.
With the two most influential voices giving support, the rest of the Corporate students quickly fell in line. Excitement began to spread through the general students as well, and soon, the entire room was abuzz with energy.
Amidst the rowdiness, two voices—my underlings turned rivals turned underlings again—looked to me for guidance. “Ms. Mio. What are your thoughts?” Sayaka and Asuka asked.
I smiled as wickedly as I could. “Oh, am I supposed to care?”
As I said that, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Riku glowering at us. Good.
But then Asuka and Sayaka looked at each other, nodded—and said something truly unexpected. “So, this is what Rikka meant.”
Rikka? What did Rikka say? That I could be surprisingly merciless? I mean, yes, I am the villainess, so that isn’t wrong.
I barely gave their words another thought for the rest of homeroom. The bell rang and I gathered to leave, but I barely made two steps when a voice arrested me.
“Ms. Mio,” came Riku’s voice, chasing after me in the hallway.
Without missing a beat, I flicked a lock of hair from my shoulders and smiled. “Yes?”
He held my gaze firmly. “You heard what Nonoka said. Will you not help her?”
“Help her? Now why in the world would I do that?” I asked back, presenting myself as the woman without a heart, utterly confused as to why I would help another when there was nothing in it for me.
His gaze narrowed. “Why do you keep playing the heel?”
“The heel? Whatever could you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb with me.”
“You’re delusional.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
He paused. “So I am.”
Hah. Flawless victory…
…my ass! What?! Even Riku figured out my ploy? How?! Seriously, why can’t everyone just let me meet my doom as the antagonist in peace?!
Okay, maybe my approach here was flawed. Just maybe, intentionally playing up the villainess angle to stimulate Nonoka’s growth made me look like a teensy-tiny bit of a tsundere. But this was fine. This was a temporary problem. If there was one axiom I believed in, it was that trust can take years to build, but seconds to destroy. I could be the tsundere now all I wanted—as long as I could be the bad guy at the very end. One, truly despicable act—that was all I’d need to reach that cathartic denouement and unite Nonoka with her love interests.
This was why I embraced those allegations—or tolerated them, I suppose. This incoherent, jumbled mess I got myself into was just for now. They could suspect me all they wanted. I just had to grin and bear it because the payoff would come. Not now, but it would.
I smiled wickedly once more. “Remind me again why I’m obligated to listen to anything that girl has to say?”
Riku fell into thought, then said, “Kibasen, was it?”
“That’s the event I was drawn for, yes.”
“You’re just afraid you might lose in such a plebian sport, aren’t you?”
What a thinly veiled provocation, I thought. But the original villainess would’ve fallen for something so blatant, wouldn’t she have? Well, isn’t this a surprise? Seems like not everything is going against me.
“Don’t make me laugh. ‘Losing’ is not in a Sakurazaka’s vocabulary.”
A softball finally came my way. I’d be an idiot if I didn’t take it. And thus, I rose to the challenge. With my pride as a Sakurazaka on the line, I would devote myself to Nonoka’s cause (secretly, of course). As Riku stood slack-jawed, I shot him one final smirk before pivoting on my heel and walking away.
If only I had known at the time that there was even a fraction of a chance I wouldn’t be able to back up my words.