Starting from Their Seventeen Years Old

The home economics classroom — the one with the sewing machines lined up along the wall.

Yamada Kenta was tidying up his needle-and-thread kit.

Beside him stood Hazuki, a classmate, holding her autumn school uniform blazer up to the light and scrutinizing it from every angle.

With the October cultural festival just around the corner, the two of them had been assigned to the executive committee together.

Today, they'd come to the home economics classroom to work on the festival banner they were in charge of.

But while Hazuki had been moving supplies in the storage room, she'd accidentally snagged her blazer on something and torn a small hole in it.

Yamada Kenta took one look and decided it wasn't too bad. He simply borrowed the needle and thread already in the classroom and sewed it up for her.

"Wow, Yamada-kun, you're amazing," Hazuki said, staring at her blazer with wide eyes. "I never would have guessed you could do this — and so neatly, too!"

The tear at the hem of her blazer was completely gone.

Not only had he sewn it shut, but to keep it from looking like it had ever been mended at all, Yamada Kenta had gone to the extra trouble of using several colours of thread to stitch a tiny, adorable rabbit shape over the spot — identical to the little bunny hair clip Hazuki was wearing in her bangs today.

Hazuki kept touching the little rabbit on her blazer, then touching the one in her hair, back and forth, the delight written all over her face.

"It's nothing, really," Yamada Kenta said, rubbing the back of his neck, a little flustered by all the praise. "I make figures and cosplay costumes sometimes, so I've picked up a few sewing tricks along the way."

Just as the two of them were chatting, the home economics classroom door swung open.

They both looked toward the entrance.

There stood Tsushima Kagami — and behind him, an enormous crowd of girls — all frozen in the doorway.

"Oh, Kenta — you're here too," Tsushima Kagami said, greeting him first.

He glanced over at Hazuki beside Yamada Kenta. She looked like the girl he'd spotted through the window of that Ikebukuro livehouse last time, walking with Yamada Kenta.

"Kagami, what a coincidence." Yamada Kenta smiled and stood up. "Are you all here to use the classroom?"

"No rush on our end," Tsushima Kagami said. "If you're still using it, we can just head back."

He'd barely finished speaking and was already turning to shepherd everyone back out — the last thing he wanted was to be a third wheel.

But Yamada Kenta immediately spoke up.

"Actually, we were just finishing up."

He picked up the banner beside him and held it out for Tsushima Kagami to see.

"Oh? That's a promotional banner for the cultural festival, isn't it? Kenta, you joined the executive committee?"

"Yeah," Yamada Kenta said. "Apparently the festival's a pretty big deal this year — they're even getting a TV crew. They were short on people, so Komoe-sensei drafted me in."

"Fair enough. Do your best!" Tsushima Kagami gave him a pat on the shoulder and grinned.

"Like I'd slack off without you telling me that."

"It's all yours then. Hazuki-san and I will get out of your way."

Yamada Kenta, apparently still not reading the room, gathered his things, banner in hand, and prepared to leave. Hazuki gave a small, polite bow to Tsushima Kagami and the others, then followed him out.

Once the two of them had disappeared down the hall, Ijichi Seika — their classmate — spoke up, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Is Yamada-kun... going out with that girl?"

"Who knows. I'd be happy for him if he was," Tsushima Kagami said.

If a normal, well-adjusted girl could get Yamada Kenta back on track, that would suit Kagami just fine.

What he was afraid of, he added privately, was that Yamada Kenta's freakish talent for attracting the most catastrophically unsuitable women would rear its head again.

Meanwhile, already well clear of the home economics classroom, Hazuki was secretly tiptoeing into Yamada Kenta's footprints as he walked ahead of her — then, apparently bored of the game, scurried up to walk alongside him.

"Hey," she said. "That was the legendary Yukinoshita-kun, wasn't it?" She tilted her head. "And are all those girls behind him the legendary harem everyone talks about? I thought the Manga Research Club only had three girls in it — that was way more than three."

Yamada Kenta stopped walking.

He turned to look at Hazuki.

"That's all made up by the Newspaper Club," he said, his voice flat and serious. "They love spinning fake gossip. Please don't repeat stuff like that."

"Kagami is my best friend. I know what kind of person he actually is."

"And that kind of rumour hurts the girls around him too. I don't want Hazuki-san to be part of spreading it."

Hazuki blinked at this — it was the first time she'd seen Yamada Kenta with such a serious look on his face. Then she let out a small laugh.

"Alright, alright. I'll apologise to your friend."

"And I won't bring it up again."

"And I won't spread any rumours."

"So please stop making that face."

"Honestly — you look just like my dad when you do that. It's kind of scary."

"...Do I really look that scary?"

Yamada Kenta realised he'd probably overreacted. He rubbed his face, then smiled with an apologetic tilt of his head.

"Sorry, Hazuki-san. I got carried away."

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Come on, get back to the executive committee."

Hazuki gave him a push on the back to hurry him along — then, once he couldn't see her face, quietly stuck out her tongue with a grin.

Back in the home economics classroom.

"Pfft — Kagami, what even is this thing?"

"It's hideous."

Sayuri held up the neat little drawstring pouch she'd just finished making together with Hiroi Kikuri, then looked at the enormous rag-like blob Tsushima Kagami had produced, and mocked it without a shred of mercy.

The other girls, watching Tsushima Kagami suffer one of his rare and spectacular craft failures — losing even to Sayuri — took in his thoroughly embarrassed expression and quietly began to snicker.

Tsushima Kagami looked down at the... thing in his hands with deep unease, then glanced around at the others: Yukinoshita Shizuku and Machida Sonoko had each made an adorable stuffed animal; PA-san and Kosaka Akane had both produced neat little handkerchiefs; even Ijichi Seika and Hiratsuka Shizuka — two former delinquents — had turned out clean, confident needlework as if it were nothing.

"Ahaha, everyone's domestic skills really are top-notch, aren't they."

It seemed that with a stat cap of around 50 in all relevant abilities, even Sayuri had unexpectedly beaten him.

The System had truly never once let him down in the department of letting him down.

"This won't do at all," Kosaka Akane said, setting her handkerchief down with a smile and shaking her head. "Never mind the quality — at this rate it won't even be finished in time for our performance."

"Kagami, just finish the design sketches and I'll take them to a proper tailor to have them made. Should still be in time."

Tsushima Kagami nodded.

He'd only tried this to see if he could somehow cheat his way through the task. Apparently not.

He stared at the object in his hands — neither quite a cloth nor quite a bag.

Taking a cue from Sayuri's proper drawstring pouch, he folded a channel along the edge, threaded a cord through it, and suddenly the shapeless blob at least resembled a very large bag.

Once it was done and laid flat on the table, Tsushima Kagami picked up the black marker pen he'd brought along and began drawing on the center of it.

The girls leaned in, curious.

In large, bold strokes, Tsushima Kagami wrote the character [罪] — Guilt — right in the middle.

Before anyone could even ask what he was doing, Tsushima Kagami pulled the bag over his own head with an air of deep satisfaction, yanked the drawstring tight, and turned to face the room — whereupon he immediately realised he couldn't see a single thing.

[Congratulations! Random task complete!]

[Reward has been distributed!]

Hm?

That works?

Tsushima Kagami barely had time to marvel at how absurdly he'd completed the task before he felt a dozen pairs of hands patting and squishing his head and cheeks from all directions.

"This is hilarious! What even is this?!"

"Stop touching! Stop!"

"Keep that up and you'll rub all my brain cells away!"

Tsushima Kagami swatted away the various unknown hands, loosened the drawstring, and finally pulled the — head-bag? — off.

Then, with a thoroughly satisfied smile, he announced:

"This is my stage costume!"

"Are you sure this is a girls' band and not a comedy duo?" Machida Sonoko asked from the side.

"Oh, well — with Sayuri around, pivoting to stand-up comedy or manzai any time we feel like it is always an option," Kosaka Akane said, barely containing her laughter.

"So why, exactly, is this your stage costume?" Yukinoshita Shizuku asked, turning to Tsushima Kagami with genuine puzzlement.

"Well, isn't it a bit weird for a guy to show up in a girls' band?" he said. "With this on, at least no one can assume my gender."

"And that makes it... less weird?" everyone said in unison, pointing at the bag in his hands.

"At least the audience can't make any assumptions!"

"So — what do we call it?" Sayuri suddenly asked.

Everyone paused. Did a head-bag need a name?

Tsushima Kagami turned to her with a look of warm approval.

"Great question, Sayuri."

"Let's call it the [Tsumibukuro] — the Guilty Bag."

While the rest of the room was still trying to tune into Tsushima Kagami's wavelength, the three members of the Manga Research Club were already applauding.

"So does Tsumibukuro-kun have any particular lore?" Machida Sonoko pressed on.

"Lore, huh?" Tsushima Kagami scratched the back of his head, slightly sheepish.

Then he pulled the Guilty Bag back over his head and yanked the drawstring tight.

"Why don't you all experience the lore for yourselves?"

With that, Tsushima Kagami struck an unmistakably threatening pose — the universal body language of someone about to start a game of tag — and lunged toward the group.

The girls shrieked with laughter and scattered in every direction.

Tsushima Kagami shuffled forward step by step, navigating entirely by sound.

"You'd better not let me catch you," he intoned in a low, ominous voice. "Because if I do... heheheh~"

Everyone now fully understood what the lore of Tsumibukuro-kun was.

But given that this was Tsushima Kagami — illustrator of adult manga — no one was even slightly surprised by a concept like this.

Still, they played along perfectly, letting out playful squeals and scattering to the four winds — then deliberately making noise to lure him in their direction.

Oh my.

No wonder ancient emperors were so fond of the game of chasing their beauties through the palace.

Tsushima Kagami had always found that sort of thing baffling, if not a little dull, whenever he'd read about it.

But today, right now, Tsushima Kagami felt he finally understood those ancient emperors.

Question: How amazing would it be for a commoner in ancient times to have his own harem?

Answer: Amazing enough that the Emperor would steal it from him.

Waves of delighted squeals drifted out through the home economics classroom windows.

A certain section chief from the Newspaper Club happened to be passing by. He stopped, produced a notepad, and began scribbling down everything he could observe.

A few swift strokes, and a brand new eye-catching piece of gossip was born.

By the time he finished, the Newspaper Club section chief had written — with great scholarly confidence — that comparable events were, in fact, also documented in The Tale of Genji.

____

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