Chapter 4Who Decided That A Key Will Always Open A Door?
"─Hello?"
"Are you okay? Did everything go as planned?"
As the bell that signaled the end of the cleaning activities resounded, I called Uenohara.
'Yeah, I'm heading for the main entrance right now. So, should I guide Otsuki-san?'
"Yeah, tell Otsuki-san to wait at Point E. I'll be there soon after meeting with Hinohara-senpai."
'Roger that.'
After talking for a while, we hung up, and I slung my backpack over my shoulder and left the classroom.
According to the information I'd gotten earlier, Hinoharu-senpai's cleanup duty was off on Fridays. She should have already left the classroom, and if I went to the Student Council Office now, we would most likely meet soon.
I quickly descended the stairs and walked toward the Arts Building.
As I was about to cross the hallway to the Student Council Office—
"Shiozaki-senpai...?"
For some reason, I saw Shiozaki-senpai running towards me from the direction of the bicycle parking lot.
—What's going on? Why does Shiozaki-senpai look so confused?
As soon as Shiozaki-senpai saw me in front of the Gymnasium, he rushed over to me.
"Shiozaki-senpai, what's wrong?"
"Nagasaka, thank goodness I found you."
I was interrupted mid-sentence and took a step back, surprised.
Wh-What's going on? It's not like Shiozaki-senpai is so panicked.
I looked down and saw that Shiozaki-senpai was still wearing his indoor shoes. The fact that the usually diligent Shiozaki-senpai went out with his indoor shoes on only added to the seriousness of this situation, and an ominous feeling began to rise within me. And then—
"—Hinoharu's moped is missing."
—What?
"Usually Hinoharu is the first to go to the Student Council Office, but today she wasn't there. I felt something was wrong, so I looked at the bicycle parking lot..."
I felt the blood drain from my face.
—No way...
Did Hinoharu-senpai... ...come home...?
"Oh!"
I ran to the bike parking lot and looked around frantically.
Sure enough, Hinoharu-senpai's moped was nowhere to be seen.
—This is bad... ...This is really bad!
If Hinoharu-senpai isn't here, we can't continue this "event"!
I clenched my fist and punched a nearby iron pole in frustration. D*mn it! Why didn't I consider this possibility!? Did I underestimate this situation because I know Hinoharu-senpai's true feelings?!
Regardless, I must hurry up and catch up with Hinoharu-senpai!
I turned around and looked at the clock tower in the distance.
It was exactly 4 pm.
I had two hours until the 6 pm deadline.
I knew where Hinoharu-senpai lived. If I rode my bicycle as fast as possible, I could get there in 20... no, 15 minutes. If I can bring her back, we still have time. D*mn it, I should have come by bicycle too...!
W-Wait, calm down. First of all, do we know if Hinoharu-senpai has gone home? Maybe she just left the school premises for a while...
And even if Hinoharu-senpai did leave, what if she didn't go home but went somewhere else...?
Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.
—Hinoharu-senpai has a moped. Its movement range covers the entire Kyougoku City, literally anywhere...
Without solid information, it would be impossible to find Hinoharu-senpai.
And if I make the wrong decision.
It'll be game over.
...This is bad.
This is very, very bad—!
"—Kouhei, Kouhei!"
"Roger that. Maisagi Castle is all that's left," I said.
"Okay. Then, I'll send Otsuki-san there now," Uenohara replied.
"No, we're short on time. I'll go and surround this area. Have Otsuki-san stand guard at the south entrance. That's the place Hinoharu-senpai is most likely to use and has a good view, so Otsuki-san will definitely see if Hinoharu-senpai passes by."
"Understood, I'll let Otsuki-san know."
I hung up the phone and left immediately.
The grounds of Maisagi Castle Park are vast. On top of that, the park is surrounded by a moat and railroad tracks, with overpasses running through, so it seemed like it would take more time than I had imagined to explore all the potential locations.
I walked past the shopping district arcade and checked the first parking lot near the moat — but missed out.
Next, I continued north along the stone wall — again, a miss.
Turning left before the railroad crossing, I headed west and then south.
I carefully checked every location, including the small spaces along the roadside, making sure nothing was overlooked.
From time to time, I glanced into the garden, looking for signs of someone's presence among the white walls bathed in the setting sun.
And then...
After checking all possible locations...
I finally arrived at the south entrance. "Hah, hah, this is impossible..."
I leaned against the handlebar, panting.
The moped was nowhere to be found.
Could it be... ...Hinoharu-senpai isn't here either? The only other places I can think of nearby are the station building at Kyougoku Station or the Prefectural Library at the north entrance. But Hinoharu-senpai doesn't visit those places often.
Is that really a waste?
Is it too naive to think that we can find Hinoharu-senpai easily?
The moment I thought that, the feeling of my chest being squeezed tightly, came back.
"Hey, Nagasaka-senpai!"
Suddenly, I heard someone calling my name from a distance.
I looked up and saw a girl in a sailor uniform waving at me from the park entrance, across the bridge over the moat.
Otsuki-san...
Right, we were supposed to meet here.
I got off my bike and ran towards Otsuki-san.
"Nagasaka-senpai! Are you okay? Your back is soaking wet!"
"I'm fine, really... ...I've drunk a lot of water."
While saying that, I took a sports drink from the front basket of the bicycle and downed it.
"Oh, Nagasaka-senpai! Look at this!"
"Hmm?"
Otsuki-san showed me her smartphone.
I threw the empty bottle into the basket and focused on the screen.
"I checked the Management Office over there, and... ...this is Sachi-senpai's moped, right?"
A moped, license plate number 1583 —Oh!
"So there it is! Hinoharu-senpai parked it inside the park!"
I tapped my forehead.
That was a blind spot. I thought there was only a parking lot in the surrounding area, but it turned out to be a small space next to the Management Office!
"You found it?"
"Yeah! I just got here!"
Okay, that means Hinoharu-senpai must be inside the park...!
I quickly looked at my watch.
It was 5:30pm.
Damn, I've spent more time than I thought! Can we search the entire park in the remaining 30 minutes...?!
Not only that, we also have to persuade Hinoharu-senpai, so we can't take it easy!
"What should we do now? Should we split up—?"
"Wait, Otsuki-san, stay near Hinoharu-senpai's motorcycle! Now that we've come this far, I don't want to lose each other!"
"Oh, right...! Roger that! I'll stop Hinoharu-senpai if I see her and contact you immediately!"
"Thank you! I'll also do the same if I find Hinoharu-senpai!"
While wiping the sweat on my neck with the back of my hand, I left my bike and started running.
*
I ran around the garden area, looking for Hinoharu-senpai's silhouette.
"Hah, hah, why does a castle have to be so high up...!"
It's not just the height that's the problem, but there are too many nooks and crannies, making it exhausting to search thoroughly without missing a single spot.
Even so, this narrowed down the possible locations to just two.
The highest point is the less popular Tenshudai, or Shaohibi (memorial).
However, the entrance is covered with colored cones due to ongoing restoration work on the stone walls. There is no way a rule-abiding senpai like Hinoharu-senpai would go there.
That leaves Shaohibi, but it's quite a distance from my current location, and it will take some time to get there.
I had less than ten minutes left.
I could only afford to go to one of the locations now.
I took a moment to catch my breath, straining to give my brain oxygen.
Thinking, thinking, thinking—
Where will Hinoharu-senpai be? Which place will she choose?
After much thought and hesitation, I finally made a decision.
The place I decided on was—
*
"Finally, I found you...!"
—At the highest point of Maisagi Castle Park.
A restricted area, Tenshudai offers a panoramic view of Kyougoku City.
"N-Nagasaka-kun...!"
There, in one corner, stood Hinoharu-senpai.
"D*mn it, why do you have to break the rules just at times like this...!"
"Wh-Why are you here...?"
I gasped, my eyes flickering between the confused Hinoharu-senpai and the stunning scenery.
—In the end, I trusted the information I had gathered. This place holds childhood memories for Hinoharu-senpai; a place where she played as a child and tried the reckless act of climbing a rock wall.
Yeah—
For Hinoharu-senpai, this place was a reminder of when she enjoyed her days innocently.
"Huh..."
I took a moment to catch my breath and pulled out my smartphone from my pocket. I must inform Otsuki-san about Hinoharu-senpai's whereabouts.
But... ...it might be too late now.
I must convince Hinoharu-senpai with my own words.
"Hinoharu-senpai..."
Hinoharu-senpai, who had a puzzled expression on her face, suddenly turned around, leaning against the railing behind her.
The sun was setting, sinking behind the distant mountains, illuminating the figure of Hinoharu-senpai.
"Come on, stop this, this running away."
"I'm not running away or anything like that."
"Until when are you going to keep lying to yourself...? Look, I've even prepared this."
While speaking, I showed a photo of Hinoharu-senpai's candidacy form on my smartphone.
"-! Wh-Why do you have that...?"
"Shiozaki-senpai found it. It was thrown in the trash."
"..."
"You were planning to candidate yourself all along, weren't you? And you even went so far as to throw it in the trash on purpose, doing something so cliché..."
"..."
"You really want them to realize your true feelings, don't you, Hinoharu-senpai?"
Hinoharu-senpai looked down and muttered, "...Anyway, it's too late now. There's no turning back."
"Uenohara is on alert. With just one message, she can hand this over on your behalf."
"Th-That would be rigging the Student Council President Election! It's against the rules if an unrelated person sends it on your behalf!"
"It's not against the rules if the candidate herself wants to deliver it."
"Oh..."
Hinoharu-senpai covered her mouth with her hand and bit her lip.
...I'm glad Hinoharu-senpai left the candidate name field blank.
As long as Uenohara's name was written there, there was no way it could be canceled.
"All that's left is for you to say 'I'll do it'."
"Why... ...Why has it come this far... ...why...?"
"I told you. I want you to show me what you think is the best school life."
"..."
"No, more than that."
I scratched my head, then looked directly into Hinoharu-senpai's eyes, glittering in the twilight sunlight.
"I just... ...I just want you to smile happily, Hinoharu-senpai."
"...!"
"I want you to smile innocently, like you did at the Festival. Because that's when you look most like yourself, Hinoharu-senpai, and it's very charming."
"...Ugh..."
"So I don't want you to hold back. I don't want you to give up on what's best for you."
"...Ugh."
"So please. Become the Student Council President and show your ideal self!"
─Hear my sincere words.
Hinoharu-senpai─.
"That's impossible. That's impossible...!"
Hinoharu-senpai pulled back the words that were about to come out.
Biting her lip in frustration—
Hinoharu-senpai gave up on her own "happy ending".
"Hinoharu-senpai!"
"No matter how much you say so, the impossible is still impossible! I can't do what I want! There's no point in being someone everyone can't accept!"
Hinoharu-senpai covered her ears with her hands and shook her head while shouting.
"No, that's not it! What matters is what you want to do! And then, based on that, make yourself acceptable..."
"That's impossible! That's not how it works!"
D*mn it, even if I say so...!
Only Otsuki-san's words and the idealized image she created can reach Hinoharu-senpai!
"I don't like it! Because, because, that's—!"
Hinoharu-senpai squeezed her face.
Hinoharu-senpai showed me, for the first time, a painfully sad expression.
A lonely and childish face—
"Something like that is scary! Playing around like that, alone, is no fun at all!"
─Letting Hinoharu-senpai's emotions explode.
Hinoharu-senpai detached herself from me and started running.
Hinoharu-senpai's running was unsteady, and she could barely keep her footing on the stairs as she struggled to move forward.
I could easily catch up to Hinoharu-senpai if I wanted to.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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