Chapter 58: "Fair" "Competition"

Shin returned to the student council office and found Hinamori already inside.

He couldn't help letting out an inward sigh. What must be faced had to be faced eventually.

"President..."

Hinamori stood up rather nervously, wearing the expression of someone who had done something wrong.

"Why are you here?" Shin asked.

"I... I originally came to look for you," Hinamori said in a low voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Senior Kaniwaza was just here."

A sudden sense of foreboding rose in Shin's chest.

"And then?"

"When she saw me here, she asked why I was in this room. I... I said I came to find you, and she accused me of skipping class and threatened to tell my homeroom teacher. I... I couldn't help myself and ended up arguing with her for a bit." As she spoke, Hinamori's head sank lower and lower.

"Just an argument?" Shin asked with a calm expression.

"...Perhaps some of the things I said were a bit harsh."

Hinamori reflected that, putting everything else aside, Senior Kaniwaza was, after all, a close friend of the President. Back during the practical training in the living world, the President had even taken a direct blow from a Gillian to save Senior Kaniwaza.

To take such a bond of life and death and speak of it in the manner she had—she had truly gone too far.

Shin took a deep breath. "How harsh?"

At a loss for how to reply, Hinamori certainly couldn't bring herself to repeat those words all over again. Stealing a glance at Shin's expression, she figured the President must be angry.

"President, I'm sorry, it was my fault. At that time, I..."

"Did you skip class to come here?" Shin interrupted.

"...Yes."

"Kaniwaza didn't say anything particularly harsh to you, did she?"

"...I'm sorry, President, I was wrong. I'll go apologize to Senior Kaniwaza." Hinamori looked on the verge of tears.

Shin's mind was in turmoil, and he silently cursed himself for the mess he had created.

He walked over to his desk, sat down, and let out a long sigh.

"Hinamori, go back to class for now."

"..."

Hesitating, Hinamori stepped closer to Shin and once again lowered her voice. "I'm sorry, President, I really didn't mean to treat Senior Kaniwaza that way. I... I was just too angry at the moment, so..."

Shin countered, "You're usually someone with pretty stable emotions, aren't you?"

"I..."

Shin waved his hand, signaling that she could leave.

"President..."

Hinamori's eyes instantly turned red.

Shin felt only irritation—an intense, suffocating irritation.

And regret.

He might have rushed things, leading to his inability to handle any of this properly.

As for Rukia, he had no idea how she was doing; he hadn't even seen her today.

Hinamori eventually left the student council office. Suddenly feeling completely overwhelmed, she buried her face in her hands, unable to understand how things had suddenly turned out this way.

Clearly, her relationship with the President had just made a breakthrough, yet not a single thing that happened afterward brought her any joy.

Hinamori didn't return to the classroom until the afternoon session.

Sitting there, completely absent-minded, she suddenly sensed someone sitting down beside her. Mistaking the person for Rukia, her expression instantly brightened.

Yet when she turned her head, she discovered it was Renji.

Her disappointment was plain to see. Without a word to him, she turned her head back.

"Um... Hinamori..."

Renji began, hesitating.

"What is it?" Hinamori replied listlessly.

"I have something to say to you."

"..."

Gathering his courage, Renji spilled out a torrent of words: "Hinamori, I think you're a really great girl. You're very cute, your grades are excellent, especially in Kido, and you're gentle, cheerful, and understanding..."

After listening to this string of compliments, Hinamori finally cast a suspicious glance at him.

"However..." Renji continued, "there is only one girl in my heart. You probably already know who that person is, Hinamori. So, I'm sorry, Hinamori. I'm not worth you feeling this way, and I also hope you and Rukia will stop fighting over me."

With a slightly dazed look, Hinamori cast a rigid gaze not far away toward Kira, who wore a distinctly "this has nothing to do with me" expression.

Renji looked sincere. "Hinamori, I truly hope you and Rukia can make up and be friends again."

"..."

Far from being angry, Hinamori suddenly burst out laughing. Her laughter carried a sense of release, as if she were purging all her pent-up negative emotions.

"Abarai, you really are... a little cute."

Panicking, Renji protested, "Hinamori, I really only like—"

"Alright, alright," Hinamori interrupted. "I appreciate your good intentions, and it's rare for you to be so devoted to Rukia. But... you've got it all wrong. Perhaps my earlier words gave you the wrong idea, but I don't feel that way about you at all—not even a little bit! Rukia and I can sort out our own issues, so stay out of girl matters."

Renji wore a puzzled expression. *She doesn't like me?*

Their conversation had drawn curious glances from several surrounding students. Feeling that Renji was making a fool of himself, Kira took the initiative to come over and drag him away.

Once quiet was restored, Hinamori's gaze grew dim once more.

Another day passed.

Hinamori arrived very early. Just as she pushed open the classroom door, she saw that Rukia was already seated at her desk.

"Ru—"

Her face lit up with joy, and she started to speak, but caught herself.

Apart from the two of them, there was no one else in the classroom yet. Hinamori walked over.

"Rukia..."

Rukia had heard the footsteps long ago. Hearing her name called, she slowly raised her head and noticed that Hinamori didn't look very well.

"...Momo."

Hearing herself addressed that way, Hinamori smiled.

"Morning, Rukia."

"Yeah."

Hinamori stood there, hesitating for a moment.

"I'm sorry."

Both of them spoke at the exact same time and froze.

Hinamori immediately said, "I'm the one who's sorry, Rukia."

Rukia gently shook her head, as if wanting to say something, then finally said, "Sit down and let's talk."

Hinamori took her seat and looked at Rukia. "I shouldn't have treated you like that, Rukia. You were right; my attempts to push you and Renji together were driven by my own selfish motives. And... when I confessed my feelings for the President straight to your face, that was also selfish of me. I thought if I spoke up first, you wouldn't be able to—I'm sorry, Rukia."

Rukia spoke slowly, "You had the courage to speak before me, and there's nothing wrong with that. Someone always has to speak first."

Hinamori reached out and took her hand. "But Rukia, I don't want to lose you as a friend."

"...Yeah."

"Can we go back to the way things were?"

Softly, Rukia murmured, "How could things ever go back to the way they were? What about the President?"

Hinamori's throat tightened. She actually wanted to blurt out that her relationship with the President was no longer what it used to be, but looking at Rukia before her, she lacked the heart to deal her another blow.

After some thought and inner struggle, she made a decision.

She wouldn't mention this to Rukia for now, nor would she rush to establish a relationship with the President.

It was better to reconsider this matter over the long term. Besides, the President would graduate in a little over a year; he would be assigned to the Fourth Division, she intended to enter the Fourth Division herself in the future, and Rukia would undoubtedly go to the Sixth Division.

By then, Rukia's feelings for the President would likely have faded with time.

She could confess the truth to her then.

With a smile, Hinamori said, "Then let's just compete fairly."

"..."

Staring blankly at Hinamori, Rukia didn't know how to respond.

Deep down, she felt this wasn't fair to Hinamori, because the President had once said he liked her, yet she hadn't shared that with Hinamori.

As far as Rukia was concerned, in this so-called fair competition, Hinamori was already out of the running...

Yet she didn't want to lose Hinamori as a friend either, fearing that blurting out the truth would be more than Hinamori could bear.

After a brief internal battle, she could only nod.

"Alright, fair competition."