Chapter 6

The classroom, which had been dull and silent just a minute ago, now bustled with life after the bell rang and the teacher had said goodbye for the day. While most of the students were busy packing up their belongings and talking about their plans for the afternoon, Shuya stayed seated at his desk. He hadn’t moved even a millimeter since bell rang. His textbook was still placed in front of him, open at least 10 pages ahead of today’s class. Bored out of his mind, Shuya kept going over what to do now that school had ended in his head, and while his mind went over the 2 usual solutions; to go home or to go for a walk around town, he suddenly overhead a conversation taking place at the desk ahead of him. 

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t know where she is,” said a female voice Shuya felt quite familiar with, and when he looked ahead, he saw Hanako standing in front of her desk, surrounded by two girls who looked at her in desperation. Hanako, on the other hand, had a rather annoyed look on her face and she kept rubbing her neck while diverting her eyes. 

“But she’s your sister, you must have some idea of where we can find her,” said one of the girls standing in front of Hanako. Shuya didn’t feel like he had seen her before. She was tall and thin, with short black hair and a round face. Despite her cute face, her posture was straight and her voice was firm, giving off a sense of authority to those around her. 

“Well, I really don’t know anything,” said Hanako while she continued packing up her belongings. “She was here earlier in the day, but she disappeared during lunch break. She skips school almost everyday and I don’t know where she goes.” 

“B...but... what are we going to do then?” said the other girl in an almost stuttering voice. In contrast to the first girl, she was much shorter, making it hard for Shuya to get a good look at her, but her voice sounded a little familiar. Maybe she was a 3rd year, that would make sense, thought Shuya as the conversation in front of him continued. 

“We really REALLY need Iyori’s help,” said the short girl in desperation and with huge pleading eyes. “Can’t you at least try to call her?” Hanako, who had just zipped up her bag and swung it over her shoulder, looked at the girl in front of her who was still looking up at her like a lost puppy. 

“Sure, but I doubt she will even answer my call in the first place. And if she did, I don’t think I could ever convince her to come back to school.” 

“Even still, we would like you to try,” said the tall girl with the same firm voice as before. Hanako looked at both the girls and after muttering a quiet ‘fine’, she started going through her bag to find her phone. Then, just as her fingers got a hold of the hard surface of the phone, Hanako felt a presence nearing from behind and when she turned around, she widened her eyes, finding Shuya there. 

“Are you looking for Iyori?” asked Shuya and looked at the two girls who both sent Shuya a confused look. 

“Do you know where to find her?” asked the short girl, eyes sparkling with hope, and Shuya’s smile quickly turned into a smirk. 

“Specifically, no, I don’t know where she is,” said Shuya and saw the sparkles fade a little. “But I can make sure she gets here within an hour.” The sparkles quickly returned and it seemed like Shuya had also caught the attention of the tall girl, while Hanako still looked at him with the same shocked expression as before. 

“Do you want me to get her for you?” 

*** 

Iyori sat on the usual bench in the usual park, holding a pencil in one hand while scratching her head with the other. Something just felt off today, no matter what she tried to draw, it just didn’t come out right. If only she had gotten one or two requests for a date, she would at least have something to do, but not even that went her way. She didn’t want to go home, but she didn’t want to draw either, feeling more and more annoyed everytime she looked at her sloppy sketches. Feeling like she would die out of boredom, she prayed to God that something would happen, anything that could drag her out of her misery. 

And as if the heavens had heard her prayer, deciding to give her a helping hand, Iyori felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. 

“Mr. Takahashi is requesting a date.” Iyori stared at her phone, eyes widened and her mouth agape. Her mind was going crazy, trying to come up with even one single reason as to why he would do this. Was he really that bored? Was he trying to mess with her? Only one thing was she sure of, that boy was definitely not normal, but in spite of all that, Iyori still felt her finger lingering over the “accept” button. 

“At least it will keep me entertained for a few hours,” said Iyori to herself, whereafter she closed her eyes and clicked on the button. After opening her eyes again, she let out a sigh, wondering if she had gone crazy too, but she quickly shrugged it off and sent Shuya a message to ask where they should meet up. 

“Same place as last time?” wrote Iyori and looked at her phone while waiting for a reply. 

“Actually, I was wondering if we could meet up at school.” Iyori looked at the message and once again wondered what this boy was scheming. 

“Why? Somebody might see us,” replied Iyori. 

“We will just meet somewhere less crowded,” replied Shuya and quickly followed up with another message, “I know it sounds weird, but we have to meet up at school, I will explain it to you when you arrive, just hurry.” 

“Alright alright, I will get on the next train. It leaves in 10 minutes.” After sending the last message, Iyori locked her phone and put it in her pocket, whereafter she quickly packed up her things and walked to the train station. 

Even though Shuya had told her they could meet somewhere less crowded, Iyori didn’t feel comfortable walking around in school in her casual clothes, so as soon as she got on the train, she went to the bathroom and changed back into her school uniform. 

What is he up to? thought Iyori while looking at herself in the mirror. No answer came to mind and she simply shook her head and left the bathroom, waiting for the train to reach her stop. 

He is definitely up to no good, thought Iyori to herself as she walked down the road leading to her school. 

Definitely, thought Iyori again, but she still kept moving forward, her curiosity getting the best of her. As long as no one saw them and started spreading any weird rumors, it would be alright. Thankfully the campus was almost completely empty when she arrived. Iyori didn’t realize how late it had gotten, but walking down the empty halls, she was quickly reminded. 

While she continued walking down the halls, she looked around for Shuya and after turning another corner, she finally saw a young boy leaning against a wall, looking down at his phone with an unbothered expression. Iyori stopped in her tracks and cleared her throat to get Shuya’s attention, which immediately got him to look up. 

“Finally,” said Shuya while putting his phone away. 

“I got here as fast as I could,” said Iyori and walked closer to Shuya, already regretting her decision to meet up with him. “Why did you want to meet at school anyway?” 

“Not telling,” said Shuya and looked at Iyori with a smirk. 

“What?” said Iyori even more annoyed. “You said we had to meet up at school and you would explain it when I got here.” 

“I don’t have to explain it to you,” said Shuya in the same calm voice as before. “They will do that for me.” 

“They?” Iyori barely managed to get the words across her lips before she was ambushed by two girls who grabbed both her arms and dragged her along with them. 

“Wait, what’s going on?” yelled Iyori in confusion and turned her head to get a glimpse of her kidnappers. 

“Keiko,” said Iyori when she saw the tall girl on her left side. “And Mei?” continued Iyori as she looked at the girl on her right side. 

“Sorry for the rough treatment,” said Keiko and Iyori turned her head to that side again, “but tough times calls for tough measures.” 

“What?” said Iyori who was still in shock about the whole situation. She turned her head again and looked at Mei who was looking back at her in an apologetic manner. 

“I... I’m sorry,” said Mei with her bright voice, “but Keiko is right, we... we really need your help.” 

While the comical scene unfolded in the empty hallways, Shuya walked right behind the three girls with Hanako next to him. They kept walking until they were standing in front of the art club room and Shuya watched in excitement as the drama came to an end. Once everyone was inside the room, Keiko went to the door and quickly locked it while Mei guided Iyori to a chair and made her sit down. 

“Will someone place explain to me what’s going on?” asked Iyori annoyed, legs crossed, while she glared at the two girls in front of her. The room was dead silent, until Keiko walked up to the table behind Iyori and grabbed a pile of papers, whereafter she walked back to Iyori and placed them in her lap. 

“Flyers,” said Keiko and looked directly into Iyori’s eyes. 

“Flyers?” asked Iyori and Keiko nodded. 

“You already know this, but most of our club members graduated last year, so we are in dire need of some new members if this club is going to make it. That’s why we need to make good and interesting flyers to grab the attention of the 1st years.” Iyori looked at Keiko as she explained the situation, but not a hint of emotion was shown on her face. 

“So? Make them yourself,” said Iyori and shoved the stack of papers back into the arms of Keiko. 

“We... we already thought of that!” said Mei, who was finally speaking up loud and clear as she stood before Iyori, blocking her way to the door. Being much shorter than Iyori, she tilted her head to look up at Iyori, sending her the most pleading look she could muster. 

“We all know you are by far the best artist in this club. Only you can make something that is artistic enough to catch the eyes of the students.” 

“Don’t flatter me, I don’t even come here anymore,” said Iyori and tried to divert her eyes, but Mei made it hard for her to keep up the tough act. 

“We know that... we know you don’t come here anymore and we know you don’t want to do this. But we really really need your help and even though you might have forgotten about us, we haven’t forgotten about you and how talented you are. Please, help us out, just this once.” As if Mei was staring directly into Iyori’s soul, buttering her up little by little, the expression on Iyori’s face suddenly softened and she let out a sigh of defeat. 

“Fine,” yelled Iyori and the faces of both girls lit. “Then tell me, what do you want me to draw on them?” 

“Actually...” continued Mei. “We haven’t really been able to come up with anything.” Iyori shifted her eyes between the two girls and looked at them in disbelief. 

“You have got to be kidding me? Not only do you want me to draw the flyer for you, I also need to come up with the content. It will take me all night. 

“The good news is, you only have to draw one and we can copy it so we have enough to fill the entire campus.” 

“I know that already, but that just means the one I draw have to be close to perfect, otherwise my sloppy drawing will be spread across school.” 

“You could never be sloppy when it comes to art,” said Keiko and put her hand on Iyori’s shoulder, looking at her with eyes of determination. 

“You should know...” whispered Iyori in a low voice while thinking of her sketches from earlier. 

“What?” asked Keiko and Iyori quickly shook her head, changing the subject instead. 

“Alright, I guess the faster I get the started, the faster I can get out of here,” said Iyori and walked towards the table in the middle of the club room. 

“Yes, that’s the spirit!” said Keiko, although one could wonder if it really was for the right reasons Iyori felt motivated. 

While Iyori started gathering the art supplies she needed, Mei and Keiko continued bothering her with flatter and encouragement. Shuya and Hanako stood in the background, confused and marveled at the same time. Hanako, because of the fact that Shuya had actually gotten Iyori to show up at school and Shuya, because of the fact that Iyori actually agreed to the two girls’ request when she arrived. 

“Shuya Takahashi” said Hanako all of a sudden and Shuya curiously turned his head. “How on earth did you manage to convince Iyori to show up at school?” 

“Well...” started Shuya and hesitated for a bit, thinking about how much to tell her. 

“Yes, I’d very much like to know that too.” Both Shuya and Hanako felt their bodies twitch when they head an unfamiliar male voice speaking and when they turned their heads, they noticed a young student standing next to them with a curious look in his eyes. 

“Oh, sorry if I surprised you,” said the student, “Yusuke Sasaki, 2nd year student and member of the art club.” Yusuke held out his hand towards Shuya who, a bit reluctantly, shook it. 

“Shuya Takahashi,” answered Shuya. Yusuke was a bit shorter than Shuya, looking like he was about the same height as Keiko. Unlike Shuya, whose hair was short and combed back in a presentable manner, Yusuke’s hair was long and covered most of his forehead and eyes. If Shuya didn’t know better, he would think he was part a visual key band or maybe a J-rock star. 

“Hanako Mikami,” said Hanako and bowed politely to Yusuke. “Um... how long have you been standing there? Didn’t Keiko lock the door?” 

“Oh, I’ve been here since the beginning, but I guess you didn’t notice me because your focus was on three girls,” said Yusuke and laughed quietly 

“Mikami, you say,” said Yusuke after he stopped laughing. “Are you Iyori’s sister?” Hanako nodded. 

“Now that you say it, I do see the similarity between you. Your whole style is just so different that I didn’t even notice at first.” 

“It isn’t just their style that’s different, their personalities are polar opposites from each other,” said Shuya. 

“Yeah, well, I guess that’s how it is with most siblings,” said Yusuke and continued, “I have two older sisters and they’re as different as day and night.” 

“Really?” asked Shuya. 

“Are you an only child?” asked Yusuke and laughed. 

“Yes, is it that obvious?” 

“Pretty much,” answered Yusuke and then shifted his attention to Hanako who seemed to have drawn back a little. “Say Hanako, are you interested in art?” 

“No... not really,” said Hanako, a little surprised by the sudden question. “I’m a member of the debate club, but I am way too busy right now to keep up with all their club activities.” 

“Ah, yes, 3rd years have it the worst. I am not looking forward to next year,” said Yusuke, “what about you, Shuya? Are you interested in art?” 

“Me?” said Shuya, “no, I have no artistic abilities at all.” 

“Really? That’s too bad,” said Yusuke. “I have been the only boy in this club since I joined and my biggest wish is for another boy to join so I can finally have a friend to hang out with.” Yusuke looked at Shuya with eyes resembling a puppy and Shuya slowly felt the sweat sliding down his forehead. 

“I... I see... that sounds rough.” stuttered Shuya, finding it impossible to divert his eyes from Yusuke. “But anyways... I’m not interested in art.” 

“Are you a member of any other club?” asked Yusuke. 

“No.” 

“Then there’s nothing stopping you from joining!” said Yusuke thrilled. 

“I just said I wasn’t interested in art. Besides, I can’t draw for the life of me.” 

“We can teach you. Yeah, it’ll be fun!” 

“What are you talking about with so much enthusiasm over here?” asked Keiko, who had left Iyori in Mei’s care. 

“Shuya is going to join the art club!” said Yusuke and Shuya looked at him in shock. 

“Really?” asked Keiko. 

“No, I never said that!” said Shuya and looked at Yusuke with a serious expression. “Yusuke, I’m sorry, but I really suck. I will never be able to learn how to draw.” 

“It can’t be that bad,” said Yusuke and grabbed Shuya’s hand, dragging him towards the table where Iyori sat with her head resting in her palm, looking like she was struggling with the finishing touches. 

“Hey Iyori, can we borrow a pencil?” Iyori sent Yusuke a confused look, but when she saw the nervous look in Shuya’s eyes, she happily gave Yusuke one of her pencils. 

“There you go,” said Yusuke and handed the pencil to Shuya. “Just give it your best shot.” Yusuke grabbed a piece of paper and placed in front of Shuya. 

“Alright, you asked for it,” said Shuya and sat down on the chair next to Iyori, slowly starting to draw something that seemed to resemble a house. Keiko and Hanako gathered behind Shuya and curiously looked over his shoulder while Iyori continued struggling with her own task. After a while, Shuya put down the pencil and even Iyori couldn’t help but sneak a peak, and when she saw the sad attempt of a drawing he had made, she immediately burst out laughing. 

“That... that is...” stuttered Yusuke, while Keiko tried finding a word for what she was looking at. 

“It looks like something a 2 year old drew,” said Iyori in between her laughs. 

“Are you making fun of my stick man and his stick house?” asked Shuya, irony filling his voice. “It actually turned out better than I imagined.” 

“You were right, you have absolutely no artistic abilities,” said Iyori. 

“I told you,” said Shuya. 

“That doesn’t matter anyway,” said Yusuke suddenly, “you can still join the club, right Keiko?” 

“He managed to get Iyori to show up, and for that, we owe him,” said Keiko. “If he wants to join, he is welcome. What do you say, Mei?” 

“The more the merrier,” said Mei with a huge smile. 

“Wait, what about me? Don’t I have a say in this?” asked Iyori and looked up. 

“But... you are never even here?” said Keiko cold. 

“No, but I’m still a member and I definitely don’t like the idea of Shuya joining. He has no skills, nothing to contribute with.” 

“You don’t contribute with anything either,” said Hanako who was standing in the background and Iyori glared at her. 

“What do you think I’m doing right now?” said Iyori and gestured towards her half finished flyer. 

“Actually, the more I think about, the more I feel like it might actually be fun to join the art club,” said Shuya and everyone looked at him in surprise. 

“Really? That’s GREAT!” shouted Yusuke. “Welcome, welcome!” Yusuke immediately grabbed Shuya’s hand and shook it violently up and down. 

“You have all gone mad,” said Iyori and rolled her eyes. 

“Weren’t you in the middle of something,” said Shuya and Iyori felt her blood starting to boil, but she quickly took in a deep breath and decided to get back to her flyer. 

An hour later, everyone gathered around Iyori and looked at the completed flyer, fully colored. 

“I love it, the art really captures your eye the minute you see it,” said Mei, the first to speak up for once. 

“I like the colors you chose,” followed Keiko. “They are very pleasing to look at, it doesn’t feel like you’re attacked like some of the flyers the other clubs have made.” 

“And you also capture the whole essence of our club in the drawing,” said Yusuke, whose eyes were shining when he looked at it. “We surely did well in getting you to help us.” 

“I am sure this will make a lot of people want to join your club,” said Shuya who also looked completely enchanted by the drawing. 

It suddenly turned quiet in the room and everyone turned their eyes to Hanako, as if they were expecting her to follow up with a compliment of her own. A bit confused she managed to let out a short sentence. 

“It looks good.” With everyone satisfied by her contribution, their turned their attention back to Iyori. 

“Now we just need to go copy it and then hang it on the boards around the school,” said Keiko and looked determined, but Iyori quickly got up from her chair and handed the flyer to her. 

“You can do that just fine on your own. My job is done, I’m going home.” 

“Of course, we can just do it tomorrow, it has gotten pretty late already,” said Mei and looked at Iyori with her kind eyes. “We are really grateful for your help.” Iyori diverted her eyes and silently muttered a;

“You’re welcome.” 

“I guess I will leave too,” said Shuya, but he immediately felt a pair of eyes piercing through his soul. 

“You are not going anywhere before I have a talk with you,” said Iyori and walked right up to Shuya, whereafter she grabbed him by his tie and dragged him out of the club room, the rest of the members watching the scene in confusion. 

“Hey, calm down, do you want to kill me?” said Shuya while he struggled to follow along with Iyori’s fast pace, but she didn’t let go of his tie until they were far away from the club room and anyone’s sight. 

“Why the violence?” asked Shuya after Iyori finally let go. 

“Why, you ask?” said Iyori while her eyes turned red. “’Why’ is exactly the question I want to ask you. Why are you meddling in my business? What do you think you’re doing?” 

“Why are you so angry? You got to spend the afternoon doing what you love and I even paid you to do it. Shouldn’t you thank me instead?” asked Shuya, but Iyori didn’t look even slightly grateful. If looks could kill, Shuya would be dead a long time ago. 

“You must have a lot of money if you have no problem spending them on stupid things like this,” said Iyori. “Or maybe you just have nothing better to do with your time.” 

“It’s probably a mixture of the two,” said Shuya in a calm voice. “and besides that, I just love seeing you so frustrated.” Iyori had to do her utmost to hold back the urge to punch Shuya right in the face. 

“Do as you please,” said Iyori after taking in a deep breath to calm herself down. “But don’t expect me to come running every time you make a request. So if you joined the club in hope of annoying me, then think again, because I have no plans to come back again anytime soon.” Iyori turned around and started walking down the hallway, away from Shuya. 

“Iyori,” said Shuya and Iyori slowly turned around.

“What?” 

“Your flyer.” 

“What about it?” 

“I really liked it, it was beautiful. I meant it when I said I am sure this will help the club recruit new members.” Iyori looked at Shuya for a moment without saying anything. His voice sounded genuine and there was no smirk on his lips. 

“Whatever you say...” said Iyori and quickly moved on, scared by the thought of Shuya actually giving her a genuine compliment.

Hello everyone!

Proofreading this chapter was such a pain, I honestly don't know where I left my head when I wrote it, there were so many mistakes and weird sentences and  structures. So it took a while, but I think I feel satisfied with the end result and I hope you do too.

Anyways, I hope you'll let me know your thoughts in the comments down below and remember to take care of yourself and stay safe!

Love, Annalise~