Chapter 1: Meet the Boy
Early Morning, Inoue Residence
"The End of Otonokizaka High"
Due to the lack of participant and new applicant, the girl only school "Otonokizaka High" is said to be closed soon after all the students that are currently studying there have graduated. The used-to-be favorite school has been proved to unable to maintain its title as a...
"Huh? Well, this is just sad…" mumbled a boy as he skimmed through the article in today's morning newspaper.
"What is it Ri-Chan?" His mother asked from across the dining table.
"It says here that Otonokizaka High is going to be closed because they don't have many students" answered the brown haired boy.
"Hmm, it's not like you're going to that school." said his father uninterested.
"I know… but all those teachers and staffs going to lose their job because of this" the boy replied without looking up from the newspaper.
"Well, that's life for you... You might end up in the same situation if you failed to focus on your study Rikuo" his father said.
That's about the millionth time his father said that sentence to him, Rikuo practically have it imprinted on his brain. It's annoying to hear the same sentence over and over again, but everyone who knows his father know that you can't just ignore an advice given by Kojiro Inoue. After all, Inoue Group, one of the top of the line technological corporation in Japan, was not built in a day.
"Don't worry about it, everything's in line" Rikuo answered simply as he closed the newspaper and grabbed his bag. He then proceeds to walk to school.
The article he read this morning still lingers in his mind as he walks down the street on his way to school. Looking at some students wearing Otonokizaka High uniform he passed by, he wondered what can possibly run through their head right now. High School is a big part of one's life, some said that it's supposed to be the highlight of your life. And knowing that the silent witness of all the history you've made there is going to go away just like that, must feel terrible.
"How come that school is lacking of new applicant anyway?" He thought to himself.
Just like every other girl only school, he can only imagine that the school is nice, clean, and have a lot of great facility since girls tend to not misuse or moreover break those stuffs. He remembered one of his friends told him that the school keeps some alpaca in their school. If you compare it to boys only school, the latter would most likely looks more like a prison.
"Morning Rikuo-San" greeted one of his friends.
"Morning Makoto-San" Rikuo replied with a smile.
"There will be a student council meeting, make sure you're there after school kay?" Makoto said.
"Alright, thanks for the info." Rikuo said just before the two parted away to their respective classes.
After School, Idaikita High, Student Council Office
"…and thus conclude our project to uphold the discipline of the students in this school." the head of disciplinary committee closed his speech.
"Very well, next is the inter-school relations committee." said the student council president.
"Thank you, Mitsuru-San. It has come to our notice that the Otonokizaka High that has been in a close relationship with our school is going to be closed because they're lacking of participants. To express our concern and to show our good spirit, we think we should send a representative from our school to give them assistance in the matter" Said the head of the inter-school relations committee.
"I think that certainly is the right move Oda-San, and who is this representative?" asked Mitsuru.
"We think Rikuo-San would be the right choice for this" he answered.
The student council president frowned at this.
"Rikuo-San? But isn't he already a part of the school festival preparation team?" she asked again.
"Actually, I don't mind senpai. I don't have any club activity so I still have plenty of schedules to spare" Rikuo suddenly interrupt before Oda can answer.
"Are you sure? Won't you be overwhelmed by the tasks?" Mitsuru asked.
"Don't worry senpai, I like to help anyway…" answered Rikuo reassuringly.
This made the student council president raised an eyebrow. Rikuo, as nice as he is, she and other students can't help but feel bad seeing him as a bit of a pushover. Sure, he is kind and would help others willingly, but sometimes his kindness is taken as weakness by others that just want to use him.
"Alright then, next is the health committee…" the meeting continues.
Afternoon, Otonokizaka High
Once the meeting is done, Rikuo decided to went straight to Otonokizaka to have a chat with their student council. This is actually the first time he has ever been to that school, so he's going to need to ask direction to some students. He can't find many students wandering the school at this time since most of them already went home by now, but the fact also works in favor for him since he doesn't need to feel too awkward being a boy in the girls only school.
"But this is actually a pretty school." he thought to himself as he walks along the paved road.
After walking around for a few minutes, He noticed three girls standing in front of the main door. One with a long, straight, blue hair, another one with a short, ginger hair with a side ponytail that she tied with a yellow bow, and the last one has a long, grey hair that is also has a side ponytail that she tied with a green bow. He approached them to ask for the direction to the student council office when suddenly one of them, the one with the ginger hair starts to sing.
"datte kanousei kanjitanda, sou da susume…" the girl sings.
Rikuo was taken aback by the sudden burst of singing.
"Um… excuse me" Rikuo said.
The three girls startled after hearing his voice, obviously not expecting anyone, especially a boy to be around their school at this hour. Their face turned completely red and what comes after that makes him regretting his decision.
"AAAAAAHHHH!" the girls screamed.
"Nononono, I'm sorry if I interrupt whatever you were doing, I was just wanted to ask the direction to the student council office" Rikuo quickly explained, not wanting any security to come and kick him out. But he failed to do so and the three just dashed away, leaving a confused Rikuo standing there alone.
Suddenly, two girls came out of the school building. One is slightly taller than the other, having a blonde hair that has a pony tail, and the other has a long dark-purple hair that she tied into a twin tail.
"What is going on here? And who are you?" the blonde is clearly talking about Rikuo.
"I'm a representative from Idaikita High, here as a representative to meet with this school's student council president" He answered.
"Well, you're looking at her right now, what do you want?" the blonde asked again.
"My student council president sent me here to talk about the matter regarding this school closure, and we offer any assistance that we can give" answered Rikuo again.
"Is that so? Follow me then" instruct the blonde simply.
And so Rikuo proceed to follow the two through the long school hallway.
"Excuse me, but I haven't introduced myself, my name is Inoue Rikuo" he said as the three of them walk down the hall.
"Ayase Eli" said the blonde girl.
"Toujou Nozomi, pleasure to meet you." said the girl with the purple hair.
Rikuo can't help but noticed how empty the school is. Even though it is already afternoon, he didn't see any student doing club activity or just simply hanging around.
When they entered the student council office, it is just as empty. There is no one but the three of them there.
"So, have your student council devised any plan of action to have the school closure?" asked Rikuo.
"… No." answered Eli.
"That's fine, I'm sure we can find some ideas and-"
"No, we haven't made any plan and it looks like we're not going to" Eli cut Rikuo's sentence.
Rikuo is taken aback by this. "Why wouldn't you want to save your school? You're the student council president" Rikuo asked.
"It's not like I don't want to, but any idea that is made in haste without careful thought won't be able to overcome this school problem." Answered Eli, quoting the principal's sentence when she was the one who proposed a move to prevent the school closure.
"Then, let's not be hasty. We'll think about carefully" Rikuo replied.
The two girls were taken aback by his simple solution.
"Still, as the student council, our top priority would be to increase the quality of the students that currently studying here…" Eli rebutted.
"With all due respect Ayase-San, if you're saying that your top priority would be taking care of all the 3 third grade classes, 2 second grade classes, and 1 first grade class. Then the next student council would just be taking care of 2 third grade classes and 1 second grade class. And finally, on this school last year, the student council would only be taking care of 1 class." Rikuo stated.
Eli doesn't have anything to say after hearing this.
"Beside, you two don't need to be the only one who's working on it, that's why I'm here" Rikuo said reassuringly.
The 2 girls are quite surprised to hear his statement. Sure he has been assigned to help their school, but there is no reason for him to be so eager to do so.
"Right, then, I'll try to come up with something today and I'll return tomorrow or sometimes after that to continue our discussion" He said as he about to leave the room.
"Wait!" Eli suddenly stopped him.
"Actually… there were 3 students that come up with the plan to form a school idol group…" Eli said with hesitation.
"Wait, were they the girl with ginger hair, blue hair, and grey hair?" he asked again.
"Yes… how do you know?" asked Eli.
"Hahaha… Earlier I saw one of them sang in front of the door" Rikuo chuckled.
"That's actually a pretty good plan. So… are they like a part of a school club or something?" he asked.
"No, every club needs at least 5 members to be formed, they only have three" answered Eli.
"Then… why don't the 2 of you just join in?" Rikuo said.
Eli's face turns red hearing his statement.
"Not a chance! There's no way I would participate in such a thing!" She yelled.
"Is that so… Alright then, I'll see what I can do" Rikuo smiled just before he left the room, leaving the 2 older girls in their thought.
"The Sun Arcana… interesting…" Nozomi mumbled while looking at her tarot card.
To Be Continued