Chapter 8: Chapter 8 - The Student Council President

Kuro Kurogane had found an amazing revelation about the way of the world.

School libraries were way better than classrooms.

They were quiet. Calm. And best of all:

They were a space away from having to deal with twins.

That was reason number one as to why school libraries were considered holy ground.

This is why, after school had let out, Kuro sat quietly at the back of the library, hidden among the other books, and read the latest book of his favorite manga series, a romcom, for his own personal enjoyment.

Pure joy.

No yelling, no runaway nakedness, and no bullying.

Just other people’s pain, not his own.

Excellent.

While turning the page in the book, Kuro adjusted his glasses.

"I can’t believe my buddy from kindergarten is going to marry me!"

Kuro looked at the title with a blank stare.

"...That author has serious problems."

"Yeah."

Kuro’s heart stopped.

Someone had spoken to him from right behind him.

Slowly, he turned his head.

If Kuro could, he would not have dropped the book.

Standing right there was the student council president.

Rika Saionji.

Long dark hair. Perfect stance. Pointy eyes.

The type of girl teachers loved and students were scared of, academically.

Rika was the very definition of a model student.

Kuro was as good as dead.

Rika looked at Kuro and the book.

More silence.

Kuro began planning his way into the casket.

"You saw nothing."

Rika adjusted her glasses with a smile.

"The story has an incident in which the protagonist accidentally walks in on the heroine while she is in the bath that will be given in the 12th Chapter of the web novel."

Kuro blinked.

"...what?"

She then kicked him into the vending machine.

"...what?"

"The little sister character wins in the web version."

Kuro stared at her.

Rika stared back.

Then slowly...

Rika sat down across from him.

"...continue reading," she said softly.

For one brief moment, Kuro’s brain totally shut down.

"Are you going to confiscate this?"

"Why would I?"

"You’re the student council president."

"And?"

"...you’re supposed to be the responsible one."

Rika thought for a minute before answering Kuro.

"I am responsible."

Then Rika reached into her own bag and pulled out a manga volume.

And Kuro found out that the book she was reading looked worse than his.

"...you are secretly a nerd."

Rika’s expression had a smirk to it.

"And you are secretly judging manga genres but you read them."

"...fair point."

For the first time in days...

Kuro relaxed back into his chair.

A normal conversation.

No screaming.No psychological warfare.No near-death experiences.It was strangely refreshing.

Twenty minutes later, they were discussing manga just as two friends would.

"This author repeats the same misunderstanding every story arc," Kuro stated.

"Because misunderstandings create tension," Rika suggested.

"Kinda lazy writing," Kuro replied.

"Not really, more like efficient writing," Rika corrected.

Kuro narrowed his eyes.

"You sound passionate."

Rika proudly readjusted her glasses.

"I have high standards."

"You have a ridiculously high potential hidden power level."

Rika gave a small smile.

A very tiny smile - But somehow so very adorable.

"Everyone assumes I only read academic books."

"Because you appear to be an arresting officer when it comes to fun."

"...That was rude."

"True, but rude."

To Kuro’s surprise , Rika softly chuckled .

Actually chuckled, not a polite schoolgirl student council chuckle .

But a real chuckle.

Kuro blinked.

"...Do you actually laugh?"

Rika immediately regained her composure.

"...I regretted that immediately."

"Too late now."

For some reason, speaking to her was conversationally easy -

Possibly because she didn’t continuously invade his personal space -

What an enlightening experience for him.

For some reason, what happened next was a disaster.

Yep, it would be.

Of course it would be.

The library door opened.

Akari walked through the door stretching like she just woke up.

"Aoiii, I swear I just saw Kuro-kun vanish once more—"

She stopped.

Aoi stopped beside her.

Both twins looked across the library at Kuro.

Kuro was seated beside another girl.

Kuro was chuckling.

That changed the mood in the library -

Kuro thought.

Death was now fast approaching him.

Akari’s smile seemed to freeze partially in place.

Aoi’s eyes had narrowed so much that they were practically gone.

Meanwhile, Rika was looking passively at both girls.

".. Is she friend of yours?"

Kuro sighed.

" Yes , unfortunately."

Akari started walking slowly in his direction.

A little slower than he thought she should be walking.

With deliberation.

"Kuro-kun~"

"...What?"

"You never mentioned that you’re with the head of the student council!"

"We just talked about manga."

*Silence*

Rika opened her eyes for a second time. "...You told her ."

"I panicked."

Akari looked suspiciously at Rika.

"...You read manga?"

Rika crossed her arms defiantly.

"There is nothing wrong with literature."

"That wasn’t my question."

Aoi quietly looked at the manga volume next to Kuro, then Rika, then Kuro again, all the while thinking, calculating, and running a threat assessment.

Kuro recognized the signs immediately: bad, very bad.

Rika was surprisingly calm.

In fact...She appeared somewhat amused.

"You must be Akari and Aoi."

Akari blinked.

"You know who we are?"

"Student council records."

"That sounds a little creepy."

"It’s literally my job."

Aoi quietly sat next to Kuro, without permission, as always.

"...What were you talking about?"

"Kuro-kun has a horrible choice in heroines," Rika said with a calm statement.

"No, I don’t."

"You defended the tsundere character."

"Only because she showed character development."

"She was seriously assaulted."

"Emotionally justified."

Akari did not speak.

She slowly redirected her attention to Aoi.

The silent twin communication system was activated.

Kuro could sense imminent danger.

Then, out of nowhere, Mina appeared at the entrance of the library.

"Oi, gloomy bo-"

She didn’t finish as she stopped.

"...Whoa."

Her eyes were very wide.

"You’re really, really spending time with the President!?"

"Ugh," Kuro said, grabbing his palm.

"I hate this school," he replied.

Mina looked at Kuro in amusement. "Kuro-kun’s popularity scale is just about to blow up."

Akari was smiling too.

Very loudly.

Too loudly.

"Kuro-kun doesn’t need any more girls bugging him."

"Oh?"

Mina leaned against the library shelf, teasingly.

"Are you possessive or what?"

Once again Aoi methodically opened her notebook.

Rika watched her do this and immediately realized it.

"...What are you writing?"

"Just observing."

"...About us?"

"Yes."

"That’s kind of unsettling."

"Yeah," Kuro said in an exhausted manner.

"You get used to it," he added.

"No, you don’t," Akari said at once.

That’s a good point as well.

After a while, the library closed for the evening.

Rika stood up and began to put her books back in order.

"I have to do my student council duties."

Then she looked at Kuro.

"...Can you lend me volume seven tomorrow?"

Kuro gave her a blank stare.

"Do you really want it?"

"Yes, they cut out some important parts in the manga of that one."

"Wow, you’re way deeper into this than I thought."

For some reason, Rika looked proud of herself.

"Of course I am."

Then she walked away, gracefully.

So graceful it was almost scary to watch.

There was silence.In an ominous way.

Kuro turned to look at the twins.And they were both smiling.And they were both very scary.

"...What?"

Akari crossed her arms. "You looked happy."

"...Okay?"

Aoi quietly closed her notebook.

"You rarely laugh at others."

Kuro was suddenly struck with feelings of confinement and entrapment.

"No, it’s not like that."

Neither one of them replied.Somehow, this was worse.Later that night, Rika was walking peacefully with books in the hall.

Until she started to notice something odd.

At the far end of the hall , two shapes stood partially hidden in shadow.

Aoi and Akari stood staring at her without saying a single word.Smiling.

Rika hesitated for a moment.

"....Oh."

For the first time today, even the President of the Student Council felt a little uneasy in their presence.