Shiranui was ridiculously easy to please.
It’s not like I was trying to flatter her so she’d let me use it—I was just being honest. And yet, she totally fell for it on her own. It’s kind of worrying, honestly.
“Yup, yup. I’m the only one who uses it anyway! You can come eat lunch here if you want. I’m always here!”
“…Yeah. I’m cheering for you, Shiranui.”
“Why are you suddenly cheering for me?! Uh, thanks…? Is that what I’m supposed to say?”
She’s probably someone who gets lonely easily by nature.
If that’s the case, then her usual attitude makes even less sense.
She acts cold and unfriendly, as if she’s purposely pushing people away, even though that kind of behavior doesn’t suit her personality at all.
Why does Natsuki Shiranui choose to act that way?
“Here! This cushion’s for you, Kageyuki. Go ahead!”
“…Thanks.”
At the very least, I couldn’t imagine any deep reason from the girl who happily brought over a cushion.
──Soon, Oshimi-senpai arrived at the shed.
“Sorry to keep you waiting! I bought some drinks and stuff—help yourselves.”
It looked like she stopped by the school store. I ended up making her go out of her way.
She was already here for our meeting, and she still went back to buy things—I should’ve expected this. That said, refusing it now would be rude, so I accepted it with thanks.
So the three of us sat down, opening the drinks and snacks Oshimi-senpai brought.
“Alright, about what I wanted to talk about…”
That’s how Oshimi-senpai opened the conversation.
I caught a glimpse of Shiranui munching on some cafeteria fries.
“This is just a long shot, but… Shiranui-chan, would you consider coming back to the drama club?”
──────────
Everything went quiet. In front of us, Shiranui had a troubled look and lowered her gaze.
She didn’t try to answer—and then, for some reason, looked at me. Maybe it was hard to talk about this with me around… If that’s the case, I wish they hadn’t called me in the first place.
That’s what I thought, but apparently I was wrong. Shiranui spoke.
“What do you think?”
“Eh? Why are you asking me…?”
“Uh… because you’re here?”
“‘Because I’m here,’ huh.”
She probably meant that since I’m already here, I might as well give my opinion.
It didn’t feel like something I should get involved in, but since she asked, I gave it a try.
“Uh… If you’re thinking about going back, that means you used to be in the drama club… right?”
“Strictly speaking, it was when she was in middle school,”
Oshimi-senpai said.
Makes sense. It’s not like she joined and quit in just the past month. She was in the middle school drama club, but quit either before or when she entered high school.
Shiranui nodded too.
“From around summer in my first year… I was in the middle school drama club for about half a year, I think.”
“Hmm? Summer? That’s kind of an odd time to join.”
I tilted my head, and Oshimi-senpai smiled.
“She didn’t join during the usual recruitment period. I really pushed her to join.”
“You did?”
“She was already pretty well-known back then. If you see a golden apple hanging from a tree, of course you’re going to try to pick it.”
…That’s probably supposed to be a golden egg, not an apple, but I get the point.
If a younger student has talent, of course the drama club would want to recruit them.
“But, well… Shiranui-chan was just too talented and experienced.”
“…Meaning?”
“There really aren’t many students in this school who are already active and experienced before even entering. Shiranui-chan was way ahead of the rest, and I wasn’t able to manage the club properly around her.”
“So, in other words…”
“──It wasn’t Oshimi-senpai’s fault.”
Shiranui said that softly.
In short, it was probably a case of “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”
If someone has experience, it’s easy to think they should just teach everyone else—but emotions don’t always work that way. Especially for middle schoolers.
If jealousy and resentment got in the way, then it’s easy to imagine why she left the club.
“But… things might be different in high school now.”
I said that quietly. Oshimi-senpai shook her head.
“I’m not sure. Either way, I think it’s up to Shiranui-chan to decide.”
“…That’s true.”
“I think I’ve gotten better at managing the club since middle school. But if Shiranui-chan doesn’t feel comfortable, then it’s meaningless. This is just my selfish wish. I just want to properly share the stage with her one more time.”
──What do you say?
Oshimi-senpai asked with her eyes.
But Shiranui looked at me again with a gaze that seemed to seek reassurance.
“What do you think, Kageyuki?”
“I mean, like I said, I don’t really have an answer for you…”
“That might be true. But see, since you don’t know what happened in middle school, I thought you might be the most objective.”
“That just means I can say whatever I want without knowing anything. Just do what you want, Shiranui.”
“What I want?”
“Yeah. It’s better not to let other people’s opinions sway you—at least, that’s what I think.”
“Okay, then I’ll do that.”
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With a surprisingly honest expression, Shiranui gave a small nod.
Then she turned to Oshimi-senpai and quietly bowed her head.
“I’m sorry. But I don’t think I can rejoin the drama club now…”
“I figured. It’s okay. Like I said from the start—I knew it was a long shot.”
Oshimi-senpai took the rejection with no resistance.
Shiranui let out a relieved sigh and glanced at me with a faint smile. I wondered if she thought I was her guardian or something.
Personally, I had a feeling this wasn’t Oshimi-senpai’s real reason for coming.
“Well then, even if you can’t come back to the club…”
She clapped her hands lightly and continued,
“What if we just formed a temporary unit? Just the two of us.”
Shiranui blinked in surprise.
“Huh?”
“A one-time performance unit. Completely separate from the club. We’d gather people who can work with you, and put on a show. That way, you wouldn’t have any problems, right?”
“Uh…”
“You’re still interested in acting, aren’t you? You joined the club once, after all.”
“Well… yeah.”
“So? Let’s try again—this time for real. I’d be really happy to make some good memories, too.”
“………………Kageyuki…”
“Stop looking at me like that.”
“Because you’re here…”
Her tone had shifted from “because you’re here” to “because you’re needed.”
Even if she looked at me with those eyes, I felt like I was a pretty unreliable piece of straw to cling to.
From the straw’s perspective, I wasn’t even following the conversation that well.
But seeing her looking so helpless, I couldn’t just ignore her. So I spoke up.
“Um… so when you say a unit, you mean you and Shiranui would start a completely new group to put on a play together?”
“Pretty much. It’s not that unusual. Even in our club, if someone wants to do a performance outside of the regular shows, we form a team for it.”
“Really? Sorry, I didn’t know. But if you’re doing a play, don’t you need backstage staff too?”
I didn’t know the details, but two actors wouldn’t be enough.
Oshimi-senpai nodded at my question.
“Yeah. If we want to do it properly, we’ll need more people.”
“Then… don’t you need people who know what they’re doing?”
“Nope. What we need isn’t knowledge—it’s just numbers. As long as we have enough people, we’ll be fine.”
I glanced at Shiranui, and she gave me a small nod.
Hmm. Now that I think about it, basic lighting and sound work is done even during school festivals and assemblies. Actually, I’ve helped out before.
I just switched the lights on and off when told—but if that’s all it takes, then yeah, anyone could do it. I had been overthinking it. If it’s just an extension of that, it shouldn’t be too hard.
“Actually, Kageyuki-kun—one reason I called you here was for that.”
Oshimi-senpai said it clearly. In other words…
“You want me to join this unit too?”
“We still have space. You could even be an actor if you want.”
Even when she asked me to clean the club room, she must’ve been planning this far ahead.
Anyway, now that she’s said that, I can’t exactly say no.
“I’m not really into acting, but if I can help backstage or something, I’ll do it.”
It’s not like I’m deeply interested in theater.
But watching Shiranui act had sparked a little curiosity in me.
Even if I never reach her level, maybe learning it could be useful someday.
“Thank you, Kageyuki-kun! What about you, Shiranui-chan?”
Senpai turns her gaze toward Shiranui again.
Shiranui glances at me briefly, then nods silently this time.
“Really!?”
Oshimi-senpai’s eyes sparkle with excitement.
“Yes. You’ve always been kind to me, Senpai, so… if you’re okay with me…”
“Yay! Then it’s official—starting today, the three of us are a team! Woohoo!”
She raises the plastic bottle in her hand and lets out a cheer.
Shiranui looks a bit startled for a second, then raises her own bottle.
“Y-Yeah… woohoo…!”
“Woohoo!”
Both of them turn their eyes to me.
Ah, so that’s how it is? We’re already at that stage, huh?
I don’t remember agreeing to join—just to help—but it’s too late to bring that up now. I’ll think more about that later, I guess. I shake off the thought and raise my bottle too.
“Woohoo!”
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