Tokyo Chapter 90

Managing the sports equipment storage might sound like a job friendly to shut-ins, but it’s not exactly as leisurely as it seems.

At least, not in the morning or evening.

Before the sports festival starts, teams come to collect their supplies and gear. Shuichi Chiba and Hachiya Uchida are in charge of keeping records, so they’re kept busy running around non-stop.

It takes over an hour before they finally get a break.

“This is brutal… Feels like it’s not as shut-in-friendly as I thought.” Hachiya Uchida complains.

“Then go join the cheer squad. That’s easier.” Shuichi Chiba leans against the vaulting horse, twists open a Coke, and takes a sip.

“No, thanks! I’d rather be exhausted than do that…” Hachiya Uchida quickly shakes his head, then eagerly pulls out a manga.

“Chiba, we agreed on this before—hurry up and check this out! It’s amazing!”

“Alright, alright.” Shuichi Chiba isn’t particularly interested, but since there’s nothing else to do, he sits down and opens his system panel, snacking to kill time.

Around midday, Shuichi Chiba gets a message from Akiyama Tsuki—
 The crazy pervy student council president has finally found a chance to sneak out.

The corners of Shuichi Chiba’s mouth curled up slightly. He then looked up at Hachiya Uchida, who was completely absorbed in reading manga, and said, “Uchida, put that down for now. It’s almost noon. We should go get lunch before the others finish up.”

“Huh? I’m good. I’ve already eaten enough snacks…” Hachiya Uchida replied without even lifting his head.

Shuichi Chiba stood up, snatched the manga from his hands, and shoved two 1,000-yen bills at him. “You can’t just skip lunch. Besides, even if you don’t eat, I still need to. You bought me snacks, so I’ll buy you lunch. Now go.”

“…Fine.” Hachiya Uchida sighed in resignation, got up, and walked out. But after leaving the sports equipment storage and walking a short distance, something suddenly clicked in his mind.

Wait a second—he wasn’t even hungry. Chiba was the one who wanted food. So why wasn’t he the one going to buy it?

…Oh well. He was already on his way.

Shrugging it off, Hachiya Uchida shook his head and continued toward the cafeteria.

—

Meanwhile, on the bustling sports field, Sumire Nagase suddenly received a message.

[Could you come to the sports equipment storage entrance for a moment? There’s something I need to discuss, but I can’t step away right now. It’s about Kitagawa-san.]

“Kitagawa…”

As soon as Sumire Nagase saw that name, she couldn’t sit still. There was no way she could ignore it. Without hesitation, she turned and headed straight for the sports equipment storage.

“Sumire-chan, where are you going? Are you heading to the cafeteria?” Naomi Hajime asked curiously.

“Ah, no. You go ahead and eat first. I have something to take care of—I’ll be back soon.” Sumire Nagase replied casually before quickly walking away.

Naomi Hajime watched her retreating figure, a knowing look flashing in her eyes.

She’s probably sneaking off to meet that Chiba guy, huh?

She couldn’t help but shake her head slightly, wondering if she should say something.

But then again, her own life was a mess—who was she to give relationship advice? The words caught in her throat.

Maybe love always starts out sweet… and ends in bitterness.

Sigh…

—

Meanwhile—

“Seriously, can you two hurry up already?” Rina Tomatsu asked, exasperated, as she watched her two best friends dawdle.

“What’s the rush? We brought our own lunches, so it’s not like we have to fight for food at the cafeteria.” Ako Akasaki mumbled, dragging her feet.

Risa Mizutani looked utterly disgusted. “Can you not talk about food while standing in front of the bathroom? Doesn’t that kill your appetite?”

“Then don’t eat lunch. Give me your bento—I definitely have an appetite.” Ako Akasaki smirked. “You always act like some noble girl, but I don’t see you landing a boyfriend.”

“You little—” Risa Mizutani’s composure shattered instantly.

Just as the two were about to start another scuffle, Rina Tomatsu sighed, rubbing her forehead in frustration and stepping between them. “Cut it out already and—wait, shh! Stop, you two! It’s the class rep!”

The two, mid-wrestle, immediately froze and turned toward the opposite end of the hallway.

“…Whoa, it really is the class rep.”

“Rina, for once, you weren’t messing with us.”

Rina Tomatsu rubbed her chin, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. “Why does she look so sneaky? What’s she up to?”

“Let’s follow her! If we catch her doing something shady, we’ll never have to do homework again!”

“You idiot, failing the tests will still make us cry. Skipping homework doesn’t fix that.”

“Will you two shut up? Let’s just watch first. Aren’t you even a little curious?”

Rina Tomatsu grabbed both of them by the shoulders, pried them apart, and then, moving stealthily, led the way as they sneaked after the class rep.

Ako Akasaki and Risa Mizutani exchanged a glance, momentarily setting aside their personal grudge and following along.

The three of them carefully tailed An Akiyama, all the way to the shoe lockers. They watched as she glanced left and right, making sure no one was around, then quickly slipped a letter into one of the lockers.

Thinking she had completed her mission unnoticed, An Akiyama practically skipped away in excitement.

Once she was gone, the trio peeked out from behind the corner.

“…Did the class rep just leave a love letter?”

“The unmistakable stench of romance… I never thought someone like her would end up like Risa.”

“You want to fight again?” Risa Mizutani shot her a glare before shifting her focus back. “Did either of you see which locker she put it in?”

“I wouldn’t count on you two to remember,” Rina Tomatsu muttered, rolling her eyes as she stepped closer to the lockers, scanning the area where An Akiyama had stopped.

“…It should be this one. Chi…ba…” Rina started reading the name on the locker and then abruptly stopped.

“What’s wrong? Is it this one or not? Why are you spacing out?” Ako Akasaki walked up behind her.

“Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?” Risa Mizutani also moved in for a look, immediately frowning in doubt.

Rina Tomatsu raised her hands in surrender. “Now I’m not so sure anymore… Maybe I really did see it wrong?”

"But isn't Shuichi Chiba just some shut-in otaku? He’s gloomy, doesn’t like talking, and is hard to communicate with. Why would the class rep write him a love letter?" Ako Akasaki blurted out.

"Chiba…" Risa Mizutani suddenly remembered something. "You guys still remember what happened yesterday, right? The student council president’s mom asked the class rep to bring lunch to ‘Chiba-kun.’"

Rina Tomatsu's eyes widened in realization. "That does line up! The class rep must really have feelings for him. She looked so happy back then—completely different from her usual cold and composed self."

"Sigh… Love makes people blind. The class rep is usually so smart, but now she’s doing dumb things just like everyone else." Ako Akasaki shook her head.

"If we're talking about Chiba, to be fair, he is good-looking. But he’s a total shut-in otaku—terrible at studying, socializing, fashion, and sports." Risa Mizutani added, shaking her head.

"Wait, have you seriously ranked every guy in class? Just how desperate are you to get a boyfriend?" Ako Akasaki teased.

"Mind your own business!" Risa Mizutani snapped, fuming.

"Alright, enough pointless talk. We have no right to meddle in the class rep’s love life." Rina Tomatsu sighed, trying to cut off the conversation.

"But the student council president definitely won’t ignore this." Ako Akasaki said, resting her hands behind her head.

"That’s true. If the president finds out, there’s no way she’ll approve of her little sister dating Chiba." Risa Mizutani nodded in agreement.

"...Are you two seriously thinking about ratting them out?" Rina Tomatsu crossed her arms, eyeing them skeptically.

"No, I’m planning to negotiate with the class rep. If she wants my silence, she better lend me her homework." Ako Akasaki declared with absolute determination.

"Not interested. These two? They have zero chance. The president doesn’t even need to interfere—this relationship is doomed before it even starts." Risa Mizutani said, shaking her head dismissively.