A Tyrant's Will

SS1: Ichinose Honami - A Secret Meeting

As I walked down the school hallway, I couldn't help but notice the eerie silence and the faint echo of my footsteps as I made my way towards my destination. The absence of the usual chatter and sound of bustling and commotion made me feel uncomfortable and my skin crawl. It was as if I was in a totally new environment.

Of course, it wasn't surprising that no one was at the school, since today was Sunday. But it still kind of creeped me out. Just a little bit.

I kept thinking back to that email I received and couldn't hide my trembling and nervousness. What would the student council vice president want to discuss with me? I already got rejected from the student council, so there should be no point arranging a meeting, right?

Well, there's no point thinking about that now. I finally arrived at the student council office on the fourth floor. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

I quickly entered the room and took a quick look at my surroundings. Everything looked exactly as last time when I came to do an interview with the student council president. However, instead of Student Council President Horikita sitting behind the large desk, the seat was now inhabited by Vice President Nagumo.

"Good morning. Please, have a seat."

"G-Good morning, Nagumo-senpai." I stuttered. I took a deep breath and sat down in my seat. Ugh, get it together, Honami! You're giving off such a bad impression!

"Ichinose Honami from first-year Class B, correct?"

I gulped. Well, I guess he wasn't completely incorrect. I did start off in Class B, but now...yeah, let's not talk about it.

"Yes," I managed to squeeze out. Gosh, why is it so hard to talk normally when you're nervous? I've done tons of one-on-one interviews before. What makes this one any different?

"What did the Student Council President say to you?" Nagumo-senpai asked.

"He said that now still wasn't the time..."

I still remembered that interview as clear as day. I came knocking on the student council door right after enrolling, but I got rejected after my interview. I was incredibly dejected after hearing the news, but luckily my friends were there to cheer me up. They've saved me too many times to count at this point.

"That's rather strange, isn't it? The student council needs new blood. If first-years don't join, then it'll be impossible to train future members. Just imagine how much trouble that would cause for me, the next student council president, you know?"

"I guess I'm just not worthy enough to be on the student council."

"Don't be ridiculous. I've heard all about you from your homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya-sensei. You were the president of your student council when you were in junior high. On top of that, you had excellent results on the entrance exam too. You are more than qualified to join here. In fact, I'd say you're quite exceptional, Ichinose."

"Thank you very much," I said, though I couldn't meet Nagumo-senpai's eyes. The tingling of guilt and shame after everything that's happened still gnawed at me from the inside.

"I think I know why President Horikita rejected you, Ichinose. You see, he's quite a stickler for position. He probably rejected you because you weren't in Class A."

"I see."

I responded apathetically, but deep down I felt even more unhappy. On May 1st, even after I found out we got demoted to Class C, I still felt that my class had a really good chance to reach Class A. However, after Ryuuen-kun arrived and showed the difference in strength between us, I became even more depressed after my failure. If it wasn't for Hoshinomiya-sensei, I would've stepped down as class leader and locked myself away in my room. I would've isolated myself from everyone and wallowed in my own self-pity, just like I did in the past.