“Mashiro.” Raneko spoke up, raising his hand.

  “Yes, my wonderful familiar?” Mashiro chimed back with a smile, pointing dramatically at him.

  “We still need to start working on our goal.” Raneko continued.

  “Goal?” I asked, tilting my head.

  “...The student council… requires we have a goal…” Rea muttered softly in between sips of tea. “To be official… so we…”

  “Right. Every year, the Tea Time Book Club writes a novel or creates a manga to sell at Comiket events!” Mashiro exclaimed, placing her fists on her hips as she puffed out her meager chest.

  “Comiket? As in that otaku festival that happens in summer and winter?” I asked, wanting confirmation.

  “Exactomundo, my dear Watson. Good to know you’re in the know, Yuru-kun!”

  “You didn’t seem like the type to know that kind of thing.” Eliba stated bluntly. “When we first met, you didn’t even know what a signature was.”

  Eliba was becoming more and more suspicious of me. I could tell, as her glares were becoming more frequent lately.

  “Ah… I heard about it from my sister…” I lied.

  “Right.” Eliba closed her eyes, crossing her arms. “Our sisters are total manga otakus. My sister is always on the phone with Mia talking about Comiket this time of year.” Her eyes left me, seeming rather distant for a moment. Though, there was a hint of annoyance. Was she thinking of her sister?

  ~Though, I never would have pinned Serbi as a manga enthusiast.

  “Anyways, the problem here is that we haven’t even started on it. We’ll run out of time at this rate.” Raneko said sternly.

  “Huh? Why?” I asked bluntly.

  “Well… you see…” Mashiro looked away, nervously pressing her fingers together.

  “Our leader can’t decide on a story.” Raneko muttered, his tone of voice clearly showing how annoyed he was.

  “Eh?” Was all I could say. Their reasoning wasn’t exactly lining up for me.

  “Well. I do have a vague idea for the story, it’s just…” Mashiro’s voice trailed off. “I don’t have any clues about what to do for the protagonist.”

  “The protagonist huh…” I repeated, leaning back into my seat. “I guess that is pretty important. What did you guys do last year, though?”

  “Well, we made a manga but…” Mashiro once again avoided eye contact, her eyes darting around the room as she twiddled her thumbs.

  Raneko sighed. “We ended up having Rea do all the writing for us, and the rest of us focused on translating it into a manga.”

  “Rea did…?” I looked over at Rea for a moment.

  She gave a slight nod. “Want to… read it later..?”

  “S-sure…” I mumbled, my breath catching slightly.

  I quickly averted my gaze from her.

  In the corner of my eye, I saw Rea tilt her head, her eyes soft with quiet confusion.

  “Anyways, I don’t want to pile so much on Rea again. So that’s why I suggested we work together on the story this time.” Raneko said with a sigh, firmly placing his palm against the table as he eyed Mashiro.

  “I know, I know. But at this rate, we won’t finish it unless we rely on Re-” Mashiro mumbled, raising her hands in surrender as she shrunk back.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “Absolutely not.” Raneko answered immediately.

  “I don’t mind…” Rea tried speaking up. “...Just please stop… arguing…”

  “But Rea…” Raneko looked at her with worry and concern, in a similar way that Mia or Ake would me.

  Rea’s face flustered a bit, her cheeks turning slightly pink as Raneko’s face drew closer. But behind that, a hint of distress from Mashiro and Raneko’s bickering.

  I held up my hand and spoke up.

  “You just need a protagonist, right?” I said, thoughtfully as my mind shifted through thousands of stories. “What kind are you looking for?”

  “I don’t know. Just… protagonist energy!!! Our story is about a boy who struggles alone and climbs his way to the top because nobody in the world will accept him.”

  ~Eh? Sounds familiar… Though, it also seems pretty standard for a shounen protagonist.

  “Blade of Nails and Ideals, Volume 4, Page 14, bottom-left panel. Neil Aster said ‘I shall hammer the nails I slept on into this world so they may learn the truth of my pain.’” I said, quoting a story from memory.

  The room fell silent.

  ~Wait. Why did I say that out loud?

  Everybody turned their eyes towards me, their gazes seeping into me— piercing me. Raneko’s eyes were filled with skepticism, as if I said something strange and off-putting. Eliba’s eyes narrowed further, her suspicion clearly growing as she tapped her finger against the desk and muttered something under her breath.

  But Rea— her eyes simply studied me, as if I had intriguied her. Yet, there was a quiet concern there as well. I could see it clearly. Her eyes had softened and her fingers which were gently caressing her teacup had came to a complete halt.

  I swallowed hard, a quiet mix of embarrassment and fear welling up from within.

  ~Crap. Not again…

  Mashiro suddenly ran over to me, leaning forward and making intense eye contact over the corner of the desk. “YOU KNOW THE EXACT PANEL?!”

  “Uh.. Yeah…”

  “Nobody ever talks about Blade of Nails and Ideals anymore! It finished serialization three years ago! I can’t believe somebody else knows it, and this well!”

  “Yeah… normal people don’t memorize stuff like that.” Eliba chimed in, but Mashiro’s immense excitement overshadowed her words.

  “That’s it!” Mashiro exclaimed, grabbing me by the shoulders. “That’s protagonist energy! You should be our protagonist, Yoiya!”

  “...Huh?” I managed to mutter.

  “...Congrats.” Rea said softly and gently.

  “Huh!?”

  “I mean… I hear you even got the protagonist seat in class. To otaku like us, its an honor to sit there! You’re the perfect person to base our protagonist on!” Mashiro went on, placing her fist gently against her chin as she thought aloud. Her grin seemed to continuously grow bigger, her eyes appearing to almost sparkle. She then turned to Raneko and Eliba. “What do you guys think?’

  “Works for me.” Raneko said, reclining back into his seat as he stretched his arms towards the ceiling.

  “Whatever.” Eliba muttered in response, not seeming to really care either way.

  It was a bit difficult to keep up with Mashiro’s energy. But something she said caught my attention.

  ~Protagonist seat? That seat in the back of class by the windows? An honor? It feels more like a curse to me…

  “Come on, Yuru-kun! Won’t you please be our protagonist?” Mashiro grabbed me by the hand, her eyes pleading with me as she inched closer and closer.

  “...Fine.” I muttered. “Just don’t use my name.”

  “Huh? Alright. What should we call the protagonist then…?” Mashiro stood up, looking to the other members for suggestions.

  “...Kioku…” I whispered.

  “Kioku…? That’s a great name! Let’s use that!” Mashiro said happily, her smile beaming.

  Mashiro’s voice along with the others’ began to fade into the distance as I sank deep into thought and nostalgia.

  ~Kioku. The name the other voidborne tried to give me back then… A name that meant: memory.

  I felt a tug on my sleeve, bringing me back to reality.

  I looked over to see Rea staring at me, her fingers lightly gripping my sleeve.

  Her mouth opened for a breath and then she spoke.

  “Are… you… okay?” She asked.

  “Yeah.” I smiled, slightly blushing. “I’m fine.”

  ~I wonder if… I could continue making memories like these. Precious memories like these.

  ~I wonder… what my future holds.

  ~And I wonder…

  I felt my heart pounding in my chest— it thumped, fluttered, and warmed my entire body. My cheeks also felt rather warm as I stared at Rea’s face.

  ~What is it that I’m feeling right now?