Forming the Temporary Study Group (3)
"The first! Arisugawa Iris Friend-Making Countermeasures Meeting is now in session!"
Iris shouted.
"Attendees: Me, Arisugawa Iris, the proposer and chair of this agenda!"
And then.
"Arisugawa Iris's one and only friend, Honjo Rena-chan! Woo-hoo!"
Clap clap clap.
Iris's applause echoed hollowly through Art Room A.
Once the clapping was done, Iris hurriedly grabbed a red marker and scrawled 'Friend-Making Countermeasures Meeting!' on the portable blackboard in her crooked handwriting. True to form as a lovable high school girl, she didn't forget to add hearts and cute decorations.
"Rena-chan, pass me that red marker over there?"
"Bossy much?"
"But you look like you're enjoying it too, Rena-chan?"
"Your eyes must be fucked up then."
Rena grumbled but obediently stepped onto the stand and added her artistic flair to Iris's creation. Drawing on a blackboard was still as fleeting yet thrilling as ever, past or present.
The board wasn't that big, so the work wrapped up quicker than expected.
"Done! Rena, you can sit now!"
"No more decorating?"
"Nope! It's perfect!"
Rena climbed down from the stand with a regretful look.
Perfect.
Her own section looked a bit sloppy compared to Rena's, but that only made it feel more youthful.
Satisfied, Iris pulled out her smartphone and snapped a photo of the board.
Even this somewhat childish act would one day become cherished memories, preserved forever.
'Alright, time to get started for real.'
Arms crossed, Iris wiped the smile from her lips and adopted a solemn expression.
Her ruby-red eyes swept across the art room.
It felt empty now that everything from yesterday's chaos had been cleaned up.
True to the meeting's theme of friend-making, the participants numbered just two: Iris and Rena.
"Ahem!"
Iris cleared her throat.
"We now solemnly declare the countermeasures meeting open!"
"Oh no, disaster. I already wanna go home."
Rena's face twisted in agony.
She'd been all excited drawing on the board, but now that the actual meeting was starting, her annoyance was plain as day.
No student could be thrilled about losing their entire lunch break—the most fun part of school—to this.
Iris prodded Rena.
"Got any ideas popping up? This is the moment we desperately need genius artist input!"
"I got nothin', so let's just eat..."
Rena rubbed her grumbling stomach.
With only two people in the room, her hunger complaints rang out extra loud.
Iris grinned.
"Oh well, can't be helped then. Let's eat and meet!"
"So we are doing the meeting..."
Rena flopped face-first onto the desk in despair.
There were only two of them anyway.
Iris decided to ditch the rigid formal meeting structure.
Meeting-cum-dinner.
A supremely efficient process that handled food and discussion at once.
"What'd you bring for lunch, Rena-chan?"
"Like I'd pack any."
Rena propped her chin on the desk, grumbling as she sat back up.
Growing up in a broken home, Rena had no connection to homemade bentos.
Her dad, who left for work at dawn because of his crazy schedule, couldn't make her one—and she didn't want him squeezing out time for it anyway.
On school trips, she'd always brought convenience store stuff.
Of course she'd be jealous of bentos packed with parental love. She'd be lying if she said otherwise.
But she endured.
Because heaven had taken pity on her and sent along these heartfelt bentos.
"Knew it, so I brought plenty!"
Iris beamed as she pulled out a three-tiered lacquered bento box that looked heavy just staring at it. The contents were extravagantly luxurious—stuff no ordinary household would ever see.
Even though it was a sight she saw every time, Rena let out her habitual gasp of awe.
"Whoa. Seriously, I feel bad for your housekeeper auntie packing this every day."
"Cooking's her hobby."
"Tell her thanks from me for real."
Rena expressed her gratitude for the generosity of Iris's family housekeeper.
'Gotta bring a gift next time I visit.'
Who knows—maybe the only reason Rena hadn't cut ties with Iris yet was this bento.
Iris, who would've been a total loner without the housekeeper, puffed up proudly.
"I even asked her to skip the green peppers and cucumbers you hate!"
"Thanks. Oh, karaage—my fave."
"Special request for extra!"
"Good girl."
Feeling better, Rena stretched out her arm and patted Iris's head.
Iris shuddered with delight, covering her mouth at the sight of pint-sized Rena on tiptoes.
"When you do it, it feels so taboo... This must be it—maman?"
"Wanna die?"
"Aaaah! Sorry! Pet me more, maman!"
"Get off me, you tit monster! This is why I hate praising you!"
Rena shoved away the clinging Iris in horror.
But with her much smaller frame, there was no way she'd win in a strength contest. In the end, she had to play maman for a good while as Iris tormented her.
About five minutes later.
"So."
Rena—who anyone could see was Western-featured—skillfully picked up a piece of karaage with chopsticks.
"You still haven't given up?"
Before they knew it, the countermeasures meeting had fizzled into a reflection session on yesterday's flop.
"If I back off now, it feels like I lost! My pride won't allow it!"
"Pfft."
Rena chewed thoughtfully on her karaage.
'Pride in friend-making? Really?'
For Rena, who'd only ever found friends annoying, Iris's obsession made zero sense.
Especially since she'd gotten by just fine without any until now—suddenly going all-in was super suspicious.
Gulp.
Rena swallowed her karaage and grabbed some pickled mackerel sushi next.
"Any methods come to mind?"
"If I had any, we wouldn't be meeting!"
"So basically jack shit. My bad for expecting anything."
She'd hoped it'd be different this time. Rena felt like an idiot for even thinking about it.
"Still, I'm trying a change of perspective."
"A wha? Change of perspec?"
Rena hurriedly gulped down her sushi and feigned shock.
Iris, who always charged straight ahead bullheadedly, talking about changing perspectives?
Unbelievable.
"You do grow sometimes, huh?"
"Think I'm still the old Iris and you'll be in for a rude awakening!"
People grow. Iris was no exception.
"Oh yeah? They say big tits mean big idiot, so I figured you were too."
"Idiots don't crack top 10 in school, idiot Rena."
"Whatever."
Rena clicked her tongue. She always dodged when facts didn't favor her.
Anyway, Iris kept the dinner-meeting going, munching on braised potatoes.
"First off, putting Shin Tae-il on hold. Gonna dig deeper before approaching carefully."
"Just drop it. You got wrecked bad enough yesterday."
Rena subtly tried to dissuade her—getting involved would just mean more headaches.
Rena had heard the rumors too.
Everyone buzzing about whether the iron-wall queen Iris had finally fallen.
With all the chatter, it was impossible not to hear.
At this point, even if Iris started it, Rena suspected Shin Tae-il might've spread it on purpose.
Maybe because the rumor protagonist was next door, or because the newspaper club was in class 8—the classroom had been a madhouse since morning. Rena's head throbbed.
If an outsider like her felt it that bad, Iris—the actual subject—must've had it way worse.
Love stories always drew everyone in, regardless of age or gender.
Even in the college-prep class, full of proper kids, they were still hormonal teens with peak sensitivity. Boys and girls craving youth couldn't resist the magic of "love."
They'd probably given Iris tons of side-eye, even if no one asked outright.
Didn't need to see it to know.
"Just brush it off like you're not involved. World's full of people—why cling to that one? You're too good for it."
Iris looked touched by Rena's advice.
"Worried about me, Rena-chan?"
"Like I wouldn't be."
Rena pouted her lips out a few inches.
She hated Iris's roughhousing, but they were friends. Worrying about rumors hurting her was natural. Or whatever.
"Ugh... I'm so moved!"
"Gah! Let go, tit monster! Your boobs are a fuckin' weapon!"
Iris finally released her after a barrage of curses. The lingering, wistful gaze made Rena feel genuine fear for once.
"Ahem! Back on track. This time, targeting Katsuragi."
"The morals committee girl? Why her?"
"She seems to like BARD too."
"Kinda basic for a 'perspective change.' You sure about that info?"
Wasn't this the Iris who'd gotten shut down hard by Shin Tae-il just yesterday?
Rena basically didn't trust Iris by default.
"Feels like she'll blow up the same way if you hit on that Shin whatever."
"Nope! I mulled it over in bed last night."
For beauty's sake, Iris was strict about sleeping before 10 p.m.—but this one worry kept her up past midnight.
"So, thinking it through, it wasn't Shin Tae-il who's the BARD fan—it's Katsuragi!"
"Ah, so like, he got tickets for his girlfriend? That kinda scenario?"
"Bingo!"
Iris snapped her fingers.
It lined up with what Rena had guessed yesterday.
Way more plausible than just assuming Shin Tae-il was the fan.
Of course, it wasn't ironclad.
Still, Iris acted like her theory was 100% fact.
"What if you're wrong?"
"Can't move forward if you're scared of failing, Rena-chan!"
Iris declared.
People grow by overcoming the fear of failure.
Of course, it fell on deaf ears with Rena.
"No, if you're gonna charge in blindly, what was the point of all that filtering and skipping before?!"
Back in middle school, when Iris first sang about wanting friends, Rena had busted her ass helping.
They'd been tighter then, less rough around the edges.
Believing friendship meant devotion, Rena had given her all to hook Iris up.
It'd failed spectacularly. Total shipwreck.
"I went through hell for you...!"
Feeling her past efforts wasted, Rena teared up and vented her frustration.
Iris gently wiped her tears.
Her shrill voice dropped low.
Rena flinched.
"Don't cry, Rena. Your hard work back then made me who I am today."
"You...! Always like this...!"
"Like what?"
Iris's smile was pure and innocent. Rena sighed.
Getting mad felt stupid now.
"Forget it... I'll shut up. So how're you approaching her?"
As Rena calmed, Iris switched back to her usual tone and shouted.
"Obviously, bond over BARD talk! Hit the summer concert together, and if she shows band interest, casually suggest joining~."
Band suggestion.
Overexcited, Iris had spilled her true intentions and froze.
"Ah."
Her pupils shook.
Rena slurped her miso soup with a sigh.
"What, so you just wanna start a band after all. Still not over it?"
"Uh, yeah..."
Rena shot her a disgusted look, and Iris finally shrank back.
"After that middle school beatdown, you still clinging?"
"Dreams are allowed, right...?"
Forming a band.
It was Iris's lifelong dream, unfulfilled.
Not exactly like BARD, but she wanted to form one in high school, share their vibe.
Admiration meant wanting to be like them, ultimately.
Iris too.
Staring at that shining star on stage, she'd thought, I wanna shine like that.
She already shone—but it paled next to BARD.
Iris was an unnamed speck.
Izumi, meanwhile, had passed that stage with her own moniker.
People called her star "Firefly," "the band's princess," or just praised the whole group as BARD.
"Back in middle school, didn't you lure BARD fans the same way?"
"They were all fake fans! Not real ones!"
Iris fumed—they hadn't even bought an album, let alone joined the fan club.
"That Shin whatever too?"
"Probably...?"
Iris couldn't say for sure.
"He looked super tight with BARD's manager."
"Manager?"
"Yeah. In a photo."
Rena gasped. Stalking again?
"Not stalking—info gathering! Gotta know basics before meeting someone!"
"Talking like it's a business deal. He your client or what?"
"Anyway!"
Iris hurriedly changed the subject.
"Shifting targets to Katsuragi."
"Doesn't seem like a great pick..."
"It's fine! I said I'm learning. Not charging blindly."
Katsuragi Ayane was tight with Shin Tae-il.
Approach carelessly without a plan, and it'd end like last time—big chance.
"Lucky me, thought of a good way."
"What?"
Rena asked, and Iris pressed a finger to her lips with a sly grin.
"Final exams!"
The most student-like, hard-to-refuse request.
Prepping for finals.