Private Shuchiin Academy, second-year building, clubroom—afternoon.
After filling out the support club application form that Ishigami handed him, today was the day Rinji would attend his first support club eting with Ishigami.
"This is my first ti joining sothing like this."
"Sa here."
Ishigami Yu and Rinji headed toward the clubroom.
The support club performs during the sports festival—cheering, dancing, or sotis singing. Since the content changes every year, a eting was necessary to plan this year's the.
Click.
The door opened, and after greeting those inside, Rinji and Ishigami stepped into the room.
The desks had been arranged into a circle, and the club mbers sat waiting. While Ishigami didn't draw much attention, all eyes turned to Rinji—many with subtle unease.
What Rinji did during the student council election was still fresh in everyone's minds.
"You two must be from Class 1-B? Takamine-kun and Ishigami-kun, right? Welco to the support club~"
Just as the mood started to freeze, a girl cheerfully broke the silence.
A third-year upperclassman.
Her short pink hair was swept to the side by a black ribbon, revealing her clean forehead. Her vibrant tone and friendly aura imdiately made her likable.
Her na was Koyasu Tsuba—a popular beauty in Shuchiin Academy.
Many male students joined the support club just to make a good impression on her.
"Hello, Koyasu-senpai. I'm not late, am I?"
"Not at all~ Co on in."
She smiled warmly, casually hooked Rinji by the arm, and led him to a seat, gently pressing him down to sit.
Her easygoing, playful nature and striking appearance made her well-known and admired throughout school.
After Rinji sat down, Ishigami took the seat on his left, while to Rinji's right sat a classmate—Onodera Rei. The usually expressionless blonde gyaru stared at Rinji in shock.
"...Why are you looking at like that?"
"Uh… are you insane for joining the cheer club?"
"Ishigami invited . Said it'd help improve my reputation or sothing."
"Well, he's not wrong… but with your current reputation, joining group activities might be…"
"You an I'm asking for trouble?"
"I didn't say that, but… expect so side-eye."
Just like Onodera said, many first-year students in the room watched Rinji with suspicion.
"Ignore them."
"...You really don't care what others think? That's kind of enviable."
Once everyone arrived, Rinji and Onodera stopped chatting.
The club president was a third-year nad Kazeno, a muscular guy whose build stretched his school uniform tight.
Rinji was envious of his physique—though he hadn't stepped into a gym for months.
"After so discussion, I'll be the president and Koyasu will be the vice-president."
"OK~"
"Support that~"
"Aweso!!"
Rinji: "..."
As the room suddenly beca lively, Rinji felt out of place.
"Most support club mbers are normies—popular, outgoing, and surrounded by friends," Ishigami explained, seeing Rinji's confusion. "They're also usually top students… oh, right, you're first-year second rank."
Aside from Rinji and Ishigami, who clearly didn't fit in, the rest of the students had already gathered at the blackboard, enthusiastically scribbling down sports festival slogans like "Burn Bright, True Crimson Team!" and "The Wind-Forest-Fire-Mountain Squad is HYPE!"—all stuff Rinji couldn't comprehend.
Even worse, they clapped and cheered for each other's ideas like they were having a blast.
"...Ishigami, will this really help improve my reputation?" Rinji said, deadpan as he watched the energetic group. "I'm already seen as a villain—I don't want people thinking I'm an idiot too."
"They say this is how it's always done."
Most of the support club mbers were stylish, trendy types who spoke in the latest slang.
Rinji's Japanese was proper and clear—but that didn't help with slang and buzzwords.
The two of them sat like outcasts—awkward and isolated.
"Hey, Ishigami, let's quit now while we still can."
"Let's observe a bit more."
At that mont, President Kazeno wrote down a slogan on the blackboard, aiming for sothing 'creative':
"Wind-Forest-Fire-Mountain THE Real ✰ Most HYPE ✰卍 ~Insta Shiny Crimson Team."
"This'll be the official slogan."
"Nice!"
"Quick, post it on Insta~"
"Let's ClubOff for today!" (aning: let's take a break from club duties.)
Rinji: "...I don't get any of this."
Feeling disconnected from the group was miserable, especially since they'd likely have to train together soon. The more he thought about it, the more quitting seed like the right move.
"What do you think, Ishigami? Should we leave now?"
"...Yeah, okay."
The two "shut-in" misfits stood up, ready to go.
"Oh, right—about the uniforms," Kazeno suddenly said.
He drew two stick figures on the board: a boy in the girls' school uniform, and a girl in the boys' uniform. Above them was written: "Did we switch bodies or sothing?"
"This year's support uniform will be: boys wear the girls' uniform, and girls wear the boys' uniform. Borrow what you need from classmates."
Whoosh!
Ishigami, who had stood up, suddenly sat back down and forced Rinji into his seat too.
"Hey! Ishigami, you—"
"Sorry, Rinji. I just realized… we shouldn't waste our youth drifting through high school. We need to participate in group activities!"
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