[Vol 2] The Cheeky Junior Gal Becomes Too Cute When She Gets Attached to Me Chapter 6
February had arrived.
It was the time of year when the student council officers began their full-scale preparations for the graduation ceremony.
The day before and the day itself were going to be hectic. In a way, I probably had it the easiest, since my only clear duty was delivering the farewell speech.
That’s how much there was to do.
The officers gathered in the student council room, and the meeting began.
“Hey, Masachika, who’s handling the venue setup?”
“Let’s see… probably Hayato and me. I’ll ask the P.E. committee chair to mobilize the P.E. committee and the sports clubs.”
“Setting up all those chairs is no joke. Thanks.”
The discussion was mainly between Kataseyama and me, since we had experience from last year.
Preparing the venue involved arranging chairs, decorating the walls, adjusting the curtains for the ceremony, and putting up banners—it took a lot of manpower. Since it also required physical work, the sports clubs were the best choice. Hayato and I would oversee the whole thing.
“Man, I didn’t realize graduation ceremonies were this busy.”
Looking over the documents, Hayato grimaced.
Hayato and Kawana would have to learn the ropes for next year’s ceremony. Though, judging by the way Kawana was already studying the materials, she seemed to have a decent grasp of things.
Monaka was sitting in as well, though she stayed quiet at the edge of the room, not butting in.
Come to think of it, Kataseyama’s test had finished yesterday. The meeting started right after, so I hadn’t had the chance to ask about it.
“Kataseyama and Kawana, you two handle the reception setup.”
“Got it. What about the decorations and the posters in the hallway?”
“Can I leave those to you too? We’ll recruit some help from the library and culture festival committees. Once we’re done here, we’ll join you.”
“Understood.”
The graduation ceremony wasn’t handled solely by the student council. For major prep work, the executive board—which included the various committee heads—and the cooperation of each committee were essential.
There were also plenty of smaller tasks: unloading and sorting flowers, preparing the corsages, and organizing gifts for the graduates.
“On the day itself, Kataseyama and Hayato will be in charge of reception. Kawana and I will take care of greeting the guests.”
“With Rui-senpai? Oh, this is gonna be fun!”
Hayato pumped his fist, only to be brushed off by Kataseyama with a dry “Yeah, yeah.” Some things never change…
Of course, the teachers would be busy on the day of the ceremony too, but duties like reception were left to the executive board.
The teachers would have their hands full guiding parents around the venue.
This was a major day for the graduating students. Any trouble would be unacceptable.
After finishing the rundown, I set down the documents and took a breath.
“That about covers everything, right, Kugenuma-sensei?”
“Hm? Why are you asking me?”
“Because you’re the advisor. What are you even here for otherwise?”
I glanced at Kugenuma-sensei, who stood there with her arms folded, nodding sagely for no apparent reason.
When she stayed quiet like that, she really did look like a capable teacher. Just… visually.
“That’s a foolish question. I’m here to watch over my students.”
“You sure you’ve got time to slack off?”
“Oh, come on! I’m going to be working overtime again tonight—can’t I relax a little?”
“Then at least give us some feedback.”
“Uh… where were we again? The graduation ceremony schedule?”
“You weren’t listening at all.”
Seriously, why was this woman our student council advisor? Probably because someone forced her into it.
Yeah, that’s on me for expecting anything.
I’ll just pretend she’s a decorative piece of furniture.
“Riko-sensei trusts us to handle things on our own, right?”
“Exactly, Kataseyama! I have absolute faith in all of you!”
“As expected! Handing over all authority to the student council takes a lot of trust. You’re trying to help us grow through responsibility, aren’t you?”
“Eh? Uh, yes, that’s right! Tsujidou, I’m leaving everything to you!”
Kataseyama had Kugenuma-sensei completely wrapped around her finger—and even managed to extract a verbal promise out of her.
She winked at me. Terrifying.
“As expected of Riko-chan-sensei!”
“Nice oneーKugenu!”
Hayato and Monaka clapped without really understanding, while Kugenuma-sensei laughed proudly.
The only one looking worried was Kawana.
“Um… is this really okay?”
“She’s been like that since last year, so you’d better get used to it. We’re the ones carrying the real responsibility.”
Well, I guess it’s better than her meddling too much…
And besides, when things really go bad, she does step in to help. …Probably.
Still, I’d rather make sure we don’t get to that point.
“Anyway, putting the teacher aside for now, that should cover the graduation ceremony.”
We still needed to work out the details and prepare various things, but the overall plan was set.
As long as we took our time until the day, everything would be fine.
“Hahaha! As expected of my students!”
“Maybe try working a little yourself, will you?”
Despite doing absolutely nothing, Kugenuma-sensei puffed up proudly.
…Well, I’d like to believe she at least did her actual teaching job properly.
As Monaka had once misunderstood, she apparently had a good reputation outside the student council room.
“By the way, Tsujidou. Come with me for a moment.”
“Me?”
I glanced toward Kataseyama.
“It’s fine. I’ll handle things here.”
Before I could say anything, she gave me a thumbs-up.
“We’ve wrapped up the meeting anyway. You can go home if you want. We’ll finish the rest later.”
“Nah, since everyone’s here, we might as well keep going a bit longer.”
“Fair point. All right, I’ll leave it to you then.”
With Kataseyama here, things would be fine.
I turned back to Kugenuma-sensei, narrowing my eyes slightly.
“So, what kind of mess am I cleaning up this time?”
“Why do you assume it’s a mess?”
“Try putting your hand over your heart and think about it.”
That assumption came from experience.
“This time is different! Oh, and Ooba, come too.”
“Huh? Okay!”
Kugenuma-sensei called over Monaka, who hurried toward us.
The three of us left the student council room and followed her down the hall. Without a word, she led us into an empty classroom.
“What is this, a parent-teacher conference?”
“I apologize for all the trouble my daughter causes…”
“Sorry, Senpai Papa can be kind of loud sometimes.”
Not sure what was going on, we decided to joke around a bit.
Also, 'Senpai Papa' ? What even is that? For the record, if I ever became a dad, I’d never call the school to complain. …Probably.
Even after we sat down, Kugenuma-sensei wore a conflicted expression.
“…So, what’s this about?”
“Ah, um, how’s the new student council going?”
“That’s kind of out of nowhere. You suddenly feel like playing the role of an advisor?”
“I am the advisor.”
“Nothing special’s happened so far. It’s only just begun.”
If anything, the only issue had been with Monaka’s situation.
Since the test was already reported to her, I figured that was why she’d called us here.
But instead, she mentioned a different name.
“I see. For example… how about Kataseyama?”
“Kataseyama? She’s doing great. It’d be insulting to say I’m worried about her.”
I’d known that since the previous council term.
The only reason I’d handled things alone before was because there weren’t any big student council events at the time.
“I’m not talking about her duties, but rather… your relationship with her.”
“Same as always, I think.”
“Really? Well, that’s good then…”
As far as I was concerned, nothing had changed between us.
We weren’t friends, but we got along fine as coworkers.
That was the truth, yet Kugenuma-sensei still seemed unconvinced.
“She seems normal to me, too.”
“And what about Ooba? How do you think she treats you?”
“She’s actually pretty nice! At least, it doesn’t feel like she’s trying to kick me out or anything!”
Though Kataseyama had been hesitant about letting Monaka join, she was the one who’d suggested the test.
She clearly drew a line between council work and personal matters, but I often saw her chatting happily with Monaka during breaks. Maybe they just clicked over fashion or something—they really did seem like friends.
“…Did Kataseyama file some sort of complaint about me? Or ask you to get rid of Monaka?”
“N-no! Of course not! No complaints or requests of any kind!”
“You’re denying that way too hard. Now it sounds suspicious.”
“I-I’m serious! Don’t you trust me?”
“You thought I trusted you before?”
Still, she wasn’t the type to lie out of malice. She was the kind of teacher who’d swallow her pride to ask students for help when needed. That much I trusted.
“You’ve been awfully cold lately, Tsujidou…”
“Senpai, you’re being too mean to Kugenu!”
“Ooba…! You’re the only one who understands me!”
Monaka comforted the sulking Kugenuma-sensei.
Don’t spoil her too much. She’ll get carried away.
“So, was there actually a point to this talk?”
“If nothing’s wrong, then that’s fine.”
Her answer was still frustratingly vague.
“Maybe Kuzuhara was just saying things again…”
She mumbled something barely audible, but I caught the name Kuzuhara. So the former president had been stirring something up, huh?
“Don’t worry about us, Sensei. Worry about yourself. And don’t make us worry about you either.”
“Aw, you care about me that much? I really do have the best students…”
“You sure have an interesting way of spinning things.”
In the end, I had no idea what she’d wanted to talk about—but it probably wasn’t important.
“If that’s all, I’ll be heading back.”
“Go ahead. Oh, but I’ll be borrowing Ooba for a bit.”
Kugenuma-sensei stopped Monaka just as she started to stand up.
“Since we’re here, why not do some chores… ah, I mean, why not go ahead with that test of yours?”
“Yay! Let’s get started!”
I definitely heard her say ‘why not do some chores’, but… whatever. If she was going to conduct the test, I’d leave it to her.
Leaving the two of them behind in the empty classroom, I returned to the student council room.
“Welcome back. Everything okay?”
Kataseyama greeted me right away, typing away on the computer. Hayato and Kawana weren’t there.
Like me, she didn’t seem to put much faith in Kugenuma-sensei.
“Who knows. I didn’t really get what that was about.”
“Heh, I see.”
“Where are Hayato and Kawana?”
“We ended up needing more paperwork than expected, so they went to the computer lab to grab spare laptops.”
"I see.”
They’d probably be back soon. For now, it was just the two of us—something that hadn’t happened in a while.
Back in the old days, the two of us would often stay behind to handle the student council’s leftover tasks. Mostly cleaning up after Kugenuma-sensei’s messes.
“It feels kind of nostalgic, doesn’t it?”
As if reading my mind, Kataseyama smiled.
She’d seen me at my weakest—back when I was struggling with my father’s situation.
Maybe that’s why. Around her, I could let my guard down just a little.
“Kugenuma-sensei really is something else, huh.”
Standing behind me, she leaned lightly against my back as I sat. I could feel the faint warmth of her through my head and shoulders.
“No kidding. She always manages to drag us into her messes.”
“Yeah… there was so much going on last year too. And Kuzuhara-senpai would just agree to everything without thinking.”
“And then we’d be the ones cleaning up the aftermath.”
“Even with our regular duties, we were always competing to see who could finish first. You were always faster, though.”
“That’s just because we had different strengths. You handled all the coordination with other groups. I couldn’t have done that without you.”
“Maybe so. …Heh, I guess it’s a little early to be getting nostalgic.”
In the quiet student council room, we found ourselves reminiscing about the past.
I couldn’t see her face, but I could imagine her expression.
Whenever she started talking about old times like this, it usually meant something was on her mind.
We weren’t friends—but as a trusted colleague, I could tell at least that much.
A brief silence settled between us.
Soon after, I heard Kataseyama shift her posture behind me—she was probably facing me now.
Then, she gently wrapped her slender fingers around my neck from behind, as if she were holding me in place.
“Hey, Masachika.”
Just then, the sound of the door unlocking echoed through the room.
“What would you do if I said I wanted to become the student council president?”
Kataseyama spoke as if she hadn’t even noticed the door opening.
When I looked toward the entrance, I saw Kawana standing frozen in the doorway, eyes wide. Behind her, Hayato was stiff as a board, holding a bunch of laptops.
“Huh… Vice President…?”
“Rui-senpai, what are you…”
Thanks to them speaking up first, the chance for me to respond slipped away.
Kataseyama quickly let go of me, breaking the tension in the air.
“Just kidding, don’t mind it. Come on, let’s all keep working hard until it’s time to go home, okay?”
She smiled at us as if nothing had happened.
“…Yeah.”
I nodded, still feeling that something about her words had caught on my mind.
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