Evening had cast a quiet stillness over the student council room.

Together, Hibari Houkobaru and Yumeko Shikiya stood in front of the whiteboard mounted on the wall, both silently writing something.

After a long stretch of silence, Houkobaru finally spoke up.

"I have to say, Shikiya, you really surprised me with that. Had Basori-kun lost the election, that wouldn't have ended as just a joke."

"Mhm… I'm glad… Tiara-chan won…" Shikiya replied, her tone detached as if she were talking about a total stranger. With her red marker, she lazily drew a spiraling flower circle^[1] on the board.

"Did Tiara-chan… make it home… safely…?"

"Yes, Hiroto escorted her back, so she's fine."

Houkobaru frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with how some of the letters turned out. She erased a few and began to rewrite.

"Say, Shikiya."

"What's… wrong…?"

"I still don't quite understand. Why exactly did you do something like that?"

—Something like that.

It went without saying she was referring to the stunt Shikiya had pulled during the nomination speech.

Shikiya paused, her marker hovering over the board. Her gaze drifted aimlessly around the room, as if trying to pluck the right words out of thin air.

"They're both… cute… I don't like it when they clash… too much…" She tilted her head slightly, giving a faintly coaxing, almost apologetic look. "Sorry…?"

"Why are you apologizing? I'm not angry."

"Because… Sakurai-kun… lost…"

Houkobaru gave a wry smile at Shikiya's remorseful tone.

"The candidate with the stronger resolve was chosen. It was a satisfying result."

"Are you… sure…?"

"Yes. Basori-kun is someone I can hand over the student council with peace of mind," Houkobaru said, her marker squeaking as she dragged it across the whiteboard.

"That's not… what I meant…" Shikiya trailed off.

Houkobaru hesitated for a split second before answering in a brusque tone.

"That's all in the past now."

For a while, the only sound echoing through the empty student council room was the squeak of markers sliding across the whiteboard.

Finally satisfied with her penmanship, Houkobaru gave a firm nod.

"What about you, Shikiya? Have you already made your decision?"

The sudden question caused Shikiya's body to slightly sway.

"Mmm… little by little… I'm deciding…"

"I see."

Another silence settled between them.

Peering at the drawing Houkobaru was working on , Shikiya murmured softly, "Tiara-chan… asked Sakurai-kun to be vice president…"

"Yes, I figured as much. And knowing Hiroto, he probably accepted, right?"

"Mmm…"

"Speaking of which, have you heard anything from the other members? Even they can't run things with just the two of them."

"Tiara-chan… seems to have… something in mind…"

Houkobaru opened her mouth to ask further, but stopped, a self-deprecating smile playing on her lips. "I suppose it's tactless for someone on their way out to worry so much… Alright, finished."

"Me too… finished…"

The two girls capped their markers and took a step back to admire their handiwork. Scrawled across the center in large letters were the words "The Rest Is Up to You!" The message was surrounded by a collage of cute illustrations and parting words.

"Hibari… is that… a penguin…?"

"Cute, isn't it? It's a new form of human penguin—Ojipen. An old-man penguin."

"That's… debatable…"

Shikiya drifted behind Houkobaru, leaning her back against her. She then raised her palm in the air, holding it just above her own head.

"Hibari… did you… grow taller…?"

"I suppose I have. Honestly, I only ever seem to grow vertically."

Neither could see the other's expression. Feeling the gentle rhythm of each other's breathing through their backs, they finally spoke, an undeniable reluctance clinging to their words.

"…It was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah… it really was…"

The current student council would officially dissolve after the sports festival the day after tomorrow, passing the torch to the next generation.

Time marches on relentlessly, whether one wishes it to or not.

Their limited three years of high school wouldn't let them stay stagnant in this one place forever.

"By the way, Shikiya, there's something I've been meaning to ask." Houkobaru stared curiously at the cat Shikiya had drawn on the whiteboard. "What's this 'Nuko'? Is it different from a neko?"

The illustration in question featured a cat lounging on a massive pillow, with the title "Nukomakura^[2]" scribbled beneath it.

Shikiya stepped up next to Houkobaru and tilted her head with a lazy sway.

"Because… 'Nuko' is cute…?"

"Because it's cute? I see. That makes sense." Houkobaru nodded approvingly.

Shikiya, who had been quietly observing her side profile, suddenly spoke up.

"Can I… kiss your cheek…?"

"No. Save it for when it really counts."

Houkobaru declared this flatly. Then, with a satisfied look on her face, she continued admiring their work on the whiteboard.

Translator Notes

1. Hanamaru (花丸) - A Japanese symbol used to praise excellent work. It's typically drawn as a red circle stylized like a flower (often with a spiral shape inside and petal-like arches). Functions similarly to "A+," "perfect score," or "well done" and more broadly used to represent a strong approval or a praise for a job and written by teachers on student assignments when the student has done outstanding work. ↑

2. Nuko is, well, a pun for neko (ねこ), which means cat. Makura (枕) means pillow. I'm sure you can draw a conclusion from that. ↑