"I haven't heard anything about this so-called penalty," Kanade Natsukawa—still seated with arms folded—grumbled in protest. "Wasn't this supposed to be just a casual game? Since when did I become the official prize dispenser? At least ask for my permission first, geez!"
His voice was flat, but the exasperation was clear.
Natsukawa wasn't the type to just hand over favors like snacks from a vending machine. Especially not when people kept trying to add new rules after the game was already over. They already had enough opportunities to play together and relax after school. If every little win required him to fulfill some kind of request, he'd be drowning in favors. It wouldn't be long before he was bankrupt—socially, emotionally, and probably financially too.
No way am I selling myself off like that.
"E-Eh?" Iino Miko's eyes widened as she brought a hand to her lips. "I… I didn't realize… I thought the winner always got a wish from the president, just like last time…"
Her voice was small, and her confusion didn't seem the least bit fake.
Kanade sighed. That made it even harder to stay annoyed. She looked genuinely flustered, like a puppy that got scolded for chewing something it shouldn't have.
"It's fine," he finally said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm not mad. Just… setting the record straight."
Iino's posture straightened, clearly relieved by his calm response.
"The condition I agreed to last time still stands. You haven't used it yet, right?" He looked at her evenly. "Just remember: as long as it's nothing too outrageous, I'll consider it."
He was a high school student, not some magical blue cat from the future. No pulling gadgets out of thin air.
"Ahh, Miko-chan hasn't used her reward yet?" Fujiwara Chika leaned forward with exaggerated curiosity, practically bouncing in her seat.
It was unusual, considering how long it had been since that game. If Chika had won, she would've cashed it in within the first ten seconds—and probably demanded something absolutely unhinged.
"Mm… that's because I couldn't really think of anything good…" Miko nodded honestly. "Back then, I was still a little unsure about Kanade-senpai. His reputation…" she trailed off, her cheeks tinting pink. "But after getting to know him better—spending time together—I started to feel more comfortable."
She clasped her hands in front of her lap, glancing at him.
"Now I just… have too many ideas."
"Oho~ I totally get that!" Chika jumped in, nodding so fast her pigtails danced. "Like having the president buy you lunch for a whole week, or taking a bunch of photos of him in that cute headband I made—oh! Or having him be your butler for a day!"
She counted on her fingers as she spoke, eyes glittering like she had just discovered a treasure trove of pranks.
Kanade's eye twitched.
"Oi… since when did the 'reward' become a punishment for me?"
The headband she mentioned definitely wasn't anything normal. Knowing her, it probably had glitter, animal ears, and sparkles that violated several fashion laws. And the "butler for a day" thing? No thanks.
He sent her a death glare. If looks could kill, Chika would've been vaporized on the spot.
Luckily for him—and the dignity of all student council presidents everywhere—Chika hadn't won the game earlier.
Crisis averted. Barely.
"Don't listen to her nonsense," Kanade said, turning back to Iino with a weary tone. "Just think about what you want. It doesn't need to be flashy or weird. Simple is fine. Your request, your rules."
Iino nodded softly, but…
When their eyes met, Kanade noticed something strange.
She looked away.
Her gaze darted nervously, cheeks red again. "Y-Yes… I understand…"
But her voice was weaker this time.
Was she… actually considering Chika's suggestions?
No way, Kanade thought. This junior of mine is way too serious to go along with something so ridiculous… right?
"I'm not giving bad ideas!" Chika suddenly puffed out her cheeks like an angry blowfish. "You only live once, y'know! If you win a rare prize like this and waste it on something boring, that's just sad! And besides—President! Just accept your fate like a proper prize, okay?! Obey the judgment!"
Kanade froze.
Prize?!
"I'm not the prize, you pink-haired gremlin!"
He stared daggers at her while dramatically dragging a hand down his face. This whole thing was spiraling into madness, and it was only just after school.
Deciding he'd had enough, Kanade stood up and retreated back to his desk. The UNO match had taken way longer than expected. It was almost time for class again, and he still had some official paperwork to finish. He could at least get something done before his dignity got steamrolled even further.
Chika Fujiwara, ever the agent of chaos, was still basking in her supposed victory, her cheeks puffed with pride as she leaned in to whisper more wild ideas into Iino Miko's ear. To her credit, Miko listened earnestly, nodding along as though Fujiwara's absolutely questionable advice was sage wisdom passed down through generations.
It was honestly kind of impressive—if Kanade were grading patience, Miko would've scored full marks.
Off to the side, Shinomiya Kaguya remained unusually quiet, her expression unreadable as her fingers toyed with the end of her ribbon. Her gaze subtly flicked back and forth between Fujiwara's dramatics and Miko's uncharacteristically bashful reactions.
Kaguya's mood was… complicated.
Part of her wanted to scoff at Chika's nonsense and pretend she wasn't listening at all.
But the other part? The curious part?
Well, even she had to admit—some of those reward ideas weren't completely ridiculous. From the perspective of crafting memories with the president, there were so many ways the "winner" could make use of such an opportunity…
And yet, Kaguya found herself biting her lip, a sliver of regret creeping in. It wasn't her who won that game. It was Miko—the new junior, barely acclimated to their group, who had snagged that golden ticket.
What's more, she couldn't quite shake off the feeling that this kouhai was acting a little… off.
At first, Miko hadn't seemed interested in Kanade-senpai at all. In fact, during the "welcome party," she'd barely acknowledged him beyond formalities. Kaguya had even considered generously offering to "trade" the reward with her—just to make things easier, of course.
But now?
Now this same girl was seriously contemplating how to use it—and even asking Chika Fujiwara for help?
Eh…?
Kaguya furrowed her brows.
That wasn't part of the prediction. Had she miscalculated? Was Miko really developing feelings for Kanade-senpai?
No no no. Calm down, Shinomiya Kaguya. That's just paranoia talking.
Miko was still a loyal member of the "Kaguya x Kanade Party"—the club of girls who firmly believed that Kanade Natsukawa and Kaguya Shinomiya were destined for each other. Miko herself had once said, "Senpai, someone like you is perfect with President Natsukawa! You should totally get married!"
A true supporter! A real comrade! She couldn't possibly be thinking of betraying the cause!
Kaguya nodded to herself, mentally reaffirming her confidence.
Yes. Everything was still within expectations.
Besides, she had far more pressing matters to focus on.
Like the information she had just received from Hayasaka.
Apparently, other girls—some of whom had previously been rejected—were shamelessly trying to approach Kanade-senpai again.
How pitiful. Rejected once, and yet they kept crawling back like stray cats meowing at a locked door. Have they no shame?
But of course, none of them could possibly succeed.
After all, the president's heart had already clearly tilted toward her—the haunted house date was proof! The way he held her hand through the darkness, the whispered moments, the faint blush on his cheeks—kyaa~
Level up! Relationship status: heading toward final boss confession!
It was only a matter of time before she officially claimed victory.
Then, she could gracefully introduce the president to the other poor girls—so they could witness what a perfect match looked like. Not to gloat, of course. Absolutely not. This wasn't revenge. Merely... a demonstration of fate.
Definitely not petty.
Not at all.
......
The school bell finally rang, signaling the end of classes for the day. After finishing up student council paperwork, Kanade Natsukawa slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way toward the school gates.
But as he passed an old, rarely-used storage room on the second floor, he paused.
...Huh?
There was a sound. A faint shuffling noise.
Normally, he'd just ignore it, but curiosity got the better of him. Peeking through the slightly cracked door, he spotted a familiar blonde head bent over something.
"Wait, is that… Eriri?"
That was unexpected.
He hadn't seen her around much lately, but bumping into her here, of all places?
Feeling it would be awkward to walk away after noticing her, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Yo, Eriri. What are you doing in here?"
"EEK!"
The petite blonde jumped like she'd been electrocuted, spinning around with wild eyes. When she saw it was just Kanade, her shoulders visibly sagged in relief—but her expression still screamed panic mode.
"Ka-Kanade! You scared me!"
He blinked. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"That's because—I did!!" she shouted, pointing with a trembling finger toward the far corner of the room. "There's—there's a ghost behind that curtain!"
"…Eh?"
Kanade turned to where she was pointing.
And sure enough…
Under the edge of a dusty curtain, two pale skeletal feet were clearly visible on the floor.
His brain short-circuited.
"...No way. Are we seriously doing this? Is this one of those supernatural anime arcs?"
The sun was still up, barely past 4 PM. And yet—skeleton feet? In broad daylight?
If this were a yokai, it was definitely a nasty one.
Kanade felt his heart rate spike as he stared at the motionless bones.
"This… this can't be real. Right?" he muttered, swallowing hard.
Eriri clutched his sleeve tightly. "I'm telling you, Kanade! It moved earlier—I swear it did!"
"Okay, okay… Don't move."
Natsukawa took a cautious step forward, his eyes narrowing.
There was something off. Looking closer, it wasn't just the feet. There was a whole shape behind the curtain. A human silhouette, slumped… waiting…
More importantly, it wasn't even 4 PM yet.
The afternoon sunlight poured into the dusty storage room through the grimy windows, painting golden streaks across the floor. Everything should have felt warm and peaceful.
But no.
Right now, in front of Kanade Natsukawa and Eriri Spencer Sawamura, stood the most terrifying sight known to anime high schools…
A ghost…?
No.
As the curtain stirred from a passing breeze, the full figure behind it was slowly revealed—a skeletal body, propped limply against the wall. Its empty sockets stared into nothing, mouth frozen in a perpetual grin.
"..."
Kanade's eyebrow twitched.
So it wasn't a ghost. Just a skeleton.
A very still, suspiciously model-like skeleton.
"…Yare yare," Kanade muttered to himself, letting out a sigh. "Looks like we're dealing with a skeleton monster now. What next, zombies in the science lab?"
"S-skeleton monster?!" Eriri yelped beside him.
She clung to his arm like her life depended on it, her whole body trembling as if she'd been struck by lightning. Her sky-blue eyes were wide, tears already pooling in the corners.
"C-Calm down! It hasn't even moved!" Kanade said quickly, trying to pry her fingers from his sleeve, but she only latched on tighter.
Seriously… this girl was like a cat afraid of cucumbers.
To be honest, the "monster" was pretty pathetic. It had no sword, no armor—just bones. At best, it looked like a tutorial enemy in an RPG. One punch and it'd probably fall apart with a dramatic clack-clack.
"There's nothing to worry about," Kanade assured her. "But open your eyes and take a proper look."
"I-I can't! I'm too scared!" Eriri shook her head like a child refusing vegetables.
Kanade groaned softly and gave her a flat look.
"…Shouldn't you look when you're scared? What if it was real? You can't escape from something you're too afraid to face."
Eriri paused, blinking at him with teary-eyed confusion. Her lips wobbled like she wanted to protest, but his voice was calm—grounded. Somehow, that made it worse.
"…B-but what if it really jumps out?"
Kanade gave a half-smile and tilted his head. "Then I'll protect you. Now, go on—look."
He gestured toward the "monster," lips twitching slightly. Not in mockery—but in gentle encouragement. After all, if Kasumigaoka-senpai were here, she would've roasted Eriri into the next dimension already.
Reluctantly, Eriri peeked through the curtain once more.
And then—she blinked. Once. Twice.
"…Eh?"
The skeleton wasn't rusted, nor did it have tattered robes or glowing red eyes. There was no eerie aura, no cursed markings, no ominous fog swirling around its feet.
Instead, it was… sparkly white.
Dazzling, even.
Whiter than any human teeth she'd ever seen. Honestly, it had better skincare than half the school.
"…Nani kore…?" Eriri muttered, her brain finally catching up.
It wasn't a monster. It was a model.
The kind you see in biology rooms. The kind with screws in the joints and detachable limbs for science class.
Kanade stepped forward and tugged gently at its bony arm. It wobbled slightly with a metallic click.
"See?" he said, giving it a little shake. "A full jointed plastic skeleton. Perfectly harmless. Probably shoved here during club cleanup."
Eriri's face flushed red.
"I-I knew that! I just—was being cautious, that's all!"
Kanade chuckled softly, but didn't tease her further. Her overreactions were loud, yes—but kind of endearing. She was the type who'd scream and run in a kiddie haunted house.
"Anyway, what are you even doing here? Weren't you supposed to be at club?"
"Hm?" Eriri blinked, then lit up with sudden pride. She clasped her hands behind her back and grinned, her little fang tooth gleaming.
"Because I won~! In the school's art competition! Since I got first place, the school gave me permission to use this storage room as my personal workspace!"
Hmph! She puffed out her chest like she'd just saved the city.
Kanade raised an eyebrow, then reached out to ruffle her golden hair.
"Yoku yatta. Good job, Eriri."
"Ehh—don't mess up my hair! Mou…"
But the little smile that tugged at the corners of her lips betrayed her complaints.
Even if she had scared herself silly over a prop skeleton, right now, Eriri was beaming brighter than the afternoon sun.
*****************
I'll see you tomorrow with the updates for the other book and this one. Hopefully,no black outs.