Kenkyo, Kenjitsu o Motto ni Ikite Orimasu

Year 5 was my first time being in the same class as Kisshouin-san.
She was a particularly conspicuous girl, so I had known about her before that, though.
A member of the famous Pivoine, and the young lady of the Kisshouin family. A hairdo like a princess. Beautiful, but a little scary, and very difficult to approach.
That was my first impression of her. And once she was surrounded by her friends, her impact only increased.
I don’t know why, but somehow I ended up being class representative with her during Year 6.
Normally, nobody from the Pivoine would agree to such a role. And of all people, to think it was that Kisshouin-san who ended up as class rep.
But thinking about it now, in 5th Grade she was part of the executive committee for the athletics meet. Looking back, I was surprised back then too.

I was a little nervous about being class rep with her. Kisshouin-san’s group is quite harsh to boys that aren’t Kaburagi-kun or Enjou-kun.
But surprisingly, Kisshouin-san did all her jobs as vice rep properly. Particularly striking was that her grip on the girls made everything go more smoothly.
And once Kisshouin-san came around, even the boys who often forgot their hand-ins would hurriedly bring them the next day.
It’s amazing. It’s not like she threatened them either, but there was just this silent pressure around her.
It kind of made you want to shout “The Boss Lady is here!”

Anyway, about that Kisshouin-san. When I called her out to help with work, she would respond quite normally.
She looks like that, and even the way she speaks is your model Suiran ojousama, but she was surprisingly… amiable?
Even when I asked her to help with chores, she agreed without a problem. Could it be that she’s actually one of those people that can’t say no?
I actually wanted to be class rep with Honda-san just like last year, but I might be lucky to have gotten Kisshouin-san since we have our class trip this year.

Honda-san. I have a crush on Honda Miharu-san.
I started liking her last year while we were class reps together, but I couldn’t find the courage to really talk to her.
When I went to the matchmaker shrine, I got Great Blessing though.
I wonder if Kisshouin-san could give me some advice. I’m kind of hoping to get a message from Honda-san in my graduation yearbook.

When I told Kisshouin-san this, she happily agreed to help me.

Ever since that day, I’ve occasionally consulted Kisshouin-san for love advice.

*

When I became a middle schooler, I ended up in Kisshouin-san’s class again. And again, we ended up being class reps together.
I’m not timid around her any more, and the two of us talk without a problem. But her appearance is as hard to approach as ever.
If you look carefully though, sometimes there are moments when her image collapses.
One time, she was walking through the garden at lunch break. I was passing by coincidentally, but a bird pooped on her head in that very moment!

“Kyaa! Reika-sama!”

“A bird…! On Reika-sama…!”

The girls around her started shouting things like,

“Quickly! To the infirmary!” and “It’s all right! It will come off in a flash! Please keep a hold of yourself!”

and took the dumbfounded Kisshouin-san away as though to hide her.

And to think that it hit her out of all those girls…

I’ll never forget how her eyes almost rolled back.
Speaking of which, she was surrounded by deers during our primary school class trip too. Maybe she has some bad karma with animals.
That day, Kisshouin-san left school early.

*

Kisshouin-san fell in love.
The guy was a third year, the Student Council President. Kisshouin-san seems to be trying to hide it, but I immediately noticed.
After all, even when I was given things to take to the Student Council Room, she could snatch it away from the side.
And each time she came back from the StuCo Room, she would be muttering to herself with a smile.
You can’t, Kisshouin-san! If somebody sees you like that, they’ll think that you’re a weirdo!

I tried telling her in a round-about way.

“Kisshouin-san, did something good happen? You seem really happy.”

“Goodness…” she replied, with her face covered by her hands.

Thank goodness. She stopped after that.

But the Student Council President, huh. Is she into those charismatic types?

*

Kisshouin-san’s love didn’t seem to be working out. I haven’t made any progress with Honda-san, so I really know how you feel!
While we were talking, she told me about a matchmaking shrine here in Tokyo.
It’s embarrassing for a guy to go by himself, but since she went out of her way to tell me, I decided to go after all.

“Kisshouin-san, I checked out the shrine and got a fortune too.”

“My. Is that so. How was the fortune?”

“Mn, unfortunately I only got Middle Blessing.”

“I see…”

“You got one too, didn’t you. How was it?”

“…I got Blessing.”

“Ah, I see. That’s a shame.”

“…”

Is she making that weird expression because she got Blessing? Then again, you can’t really call it a good result, so.
Kisshouin-san quietly clucked her tongue. A girl shouldn’t do things like that, Kisshouin-san.

*

*

After a while, Kisshouin-san completely stopped making her visits to the Student Council.
Oh? That’s weird, I thought, so I asked her,

“You haven’t been going to the Student Council recently, have you?”

but with a dreadful expression she said,

“Did you know, Class Rep? First loves never bear fruit, you know~ They never bear fruit~ Class Rep!”

and chased after me like she was cursing me. That’s scary, Kisshouin-san!

When we parted that day, just before she left, she turned around and grinned at me.

Demons, begone!

When I got home later, I wrote my first love poem. I’ll exorcise this taint through poetry!

*

*

Incidentally, for some reason Kisshouin-san will say pensively every autumn,

“It’s the season for moon viewing, isn’t it~”

I guess despite all her quirks, she’s still Kisshouin Reika. How refined.
She might be an oddball in a few places, and sometimes she looks at couples with resentful eyes, but the soft-hearted and occasionally silly Kisshouin-san is somebody I really like.

But I have to say, he observes her quite a bit too. During the bird poop incident, he was smiling away.

*

♦♢♦♢♦

*

Enjou-kun is my idol.

He does everything with a smile on his face, and even though he never looks like he studies very hard, his grades are always top class.
Rather than Kaburagi-kun who’s like an absolute and charismatic ruler, I prefer Enjou-kun’s gentle atmosphere more.
Even when Kaburagi-kun stays quiet, people get this urge to serve him. He’s good at sports and academics. His pedigree and wealth are beyond criticism too. He’s perfect. Sometimes when I see him gazing out the window, I can’t help but feel how much more mature he is than me. But all that makes him too scary to approach.
In that regard, Enjou-kun is the opposite because of how he always talks to people with a smile.

*

*

When I entered my first year of middle school, I ended up in the same class as Enjou-kun. I was class rep, but between the schism with the Internals and Externals, and all the girls gunning for Enjou-kun, everything was just insane.
Each time it was Enjou-kun who would ask me “Are you okay?” and help me out. Whenever the girls who liked him became too much, he would always warn them gently so that they wouldn’t be hurt. When it came to the Externals, he would direct them to the right people and committees to help them acclimate to the school.
That casual consideration for people…! My fellow rep Honda-san was entranced by him too.

*

*

In my third year of middle school, I was worried about how I was class rep for Kaburagi-kun’s class. Enjou-kun suggested Kisshouin-san for the vice rep.
Isn’t Kisshouin-san the female version of Kaburagi-kun!
She’s always smiling and surrounded by her friends, the number one girl that you don’t want to make an enemy of.
If Kaburagi-kun is the Emperor, then Kisshouin-san is the Empress. Scaryy!
But in the end, Kisshouin-san agreed. As expected of Enjou-kun. To think he could even persuade Kisshouin-san.
As for Kisshouin-san herself, she turned out to be easier to talk to than I’d expected.
But I’m still a little nervous. The pressure from the girls behind her is especially nerve-wracking…

*

Anyway, a certain group of girls waved the flag of revolt against her. It was Tsuruhana-san’s group.
Sparks flew between the two groups for a while, but Kisshouin-san herself simply wore a relaxed smile like they were no threat.
As vice rep she occasionally warned them for their conduct, but Tsuruhana-san’s group would shrug it off, and Kisshouin-san would leave right after.
Personally, I think it would be better if she told them off a little more harshly though. But it’s Kisshouin-san. She probably has some plan.
Because of the two groups, the atmosphere of the class grew strained. The only ones who didn’t seem to care were Kaburagi-kun and Kisshouin-san. As expected of them. They’re different to the rest of us.
But I have the feeling that something is going to happen soon. After all, Kisshouin-san’s smile never reaches her eyes.

*

It finally happened.
This morning Kisshouin-san came in with a fan. She had more impact than ever. It was like some strange aura was being emitted from her body.
After school, Kisshouin-san left the classroom smiling, flanked by her close friends.
The remaining classmates exclaimed things like, “So she’s finally making her move!?” and “Goddess Kali is here!” in their excitement.
But everyone was too afraid of going to watch.
The next day, Tsuruhana-san’s group didn’t come to our class. When I asked my friends in other classes, they told me that the group was acting abnormally quiet.
Apparently the fight ended in Kisshouin-san’s overwhelming victory.
A hero who secretly watched the fight told me in shivers,

“Her Majesty the Queen struck down her hammer of wrath. You definitely can’t oppose the Queen!”

After that, Kaburagi-kun, famous for being cold to girls, gave Kisshouin-san a friendly rap on the head, which caused the girls to go wild. Not only that, but she was getting along with Enjou-kun too!
She really is from a different world to us. Kisshouin Reika, the scariest person to make an enemy of.
Although, when I talked to the class rep from Class 5, he told me,

“She’s just a funny person.”

Even Enjou-kun said,

“Kisshouin-san is a fun person,”

so maybe I should start looking at her without preconceptions.

*

But there wasn’t anything particularly funny about her.
At most there were just a few instances. Like the time during the class trip when there was blue cake that everyone else gave up on, and she finished with a smile. Or how after eating that blue cake that nobody else did, she seemed to be sick for the rest of the trip. Or how at D*sneyland, for some reason she was the only one who ended up soaked, and her friends were cheering her up.
Oh, and that one time at the hotel when I caught her standing on one leg in the hallway. When I asked her what she was doing, she told me,

“This is the Tree Pose in Yoga.”

Is she doing Yoga because she’s the Goddess Kali?

She told me,

“I recommend the Firefly Pose and the Eagle Pose,”

but I politely declined.

Kisshouin-san was spotted by her roommate Kazami-san, who quickly dragged her into their room.

I guess ordinary people like me will never understand somebody amazing like Kisshouin-san.