Taishi looked like a walking corpse.
He mechanically got dressed, then stared blankly at Oikawa. His hair was a complete mess, enough to make anyone frown.
"Go wash your hair and your face."
Taishi looked at Oikawa. His lips moved slightly, as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he lowered his head and walked toward the bathroom.
Soon, the sound of running water came from inside.
Taking advantage of the moment, Kawasaki moved closer to Oikawa and whispered, "Taishi... he's going to be okay, right?"
"He'll be fine. Don't worry. He's just under too much pressure from the exams. He needs to let it out." Oikawa gently rubbed her head, comforting her as he changed the subject. "Where's Keika? I haven't seen her."
"She fell asleep. She was worried about Taishi, too. She even cried quietly for a long time." Kawasaki still looked deeply troubled, her concern written plainly across her face. "Oikawa, how about I come with you two? I... I really can't stop worrying."
"It'd actually be less convenient if you came. Anyway, I promise I'll bring you back a happy Taishi."
The sound of running water stopped.
Taishi emerged from the bathroom with damp hair, still hanging his head. His mood looked just as low as before.
Kawasaki's eyes darted anxiously around, clearly not knowing what she should do.
"Don't worry," Oikawa reassured her once more. "Taishi and I are heading out. I'll bring him back safe and sound around ten tonight."
Under Kawasaki's worried gaze, the two left the house.
A cold wind howled outside.
Oikawa took off his scarf and wrapped it around Taishi's neck.
"Thanks, Oikawa-nii."
Oikawa didn't say much after that. He simply walked aimlessly through the streets of Chiba with Taishi, waiting for him to speak first.
After about ten minutes, Taishi finally spoke, his voice slightly hoarse. "Oikawa-nii... lately, even when I'm resting or eating, all I can think about is what I'll do if I can't get into a good school."
He kept his head down, staring at the ground. He couldn't bring himself to meet Oikawa's eyes. "I... I feel like if I don't get into a good school, I'll be letting Saki-nee down. She's smarter than me, but our parents only saved enough money for one of us, and she chose to give it to me. She... she shouldn't have to work this hard in the first place."
On one hand, studying was genuinely difficult for him, forcing him to work himself to exhaustion. On the other, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was the one holding Kawasaki back.
She needed money for college, so she took on part-time jobs, coming home exhausted day after day. And all of it... was because of him.
"... do you think I'm... just pathetic?" Taishi's voice trembled.
Sobu High was a school with a very high academic standard. No matter how hard Taishi worked, reaching its level was difficult for him.
Meanwhile, some people could get in without even trying.
Taishi was actually a bright, energetic boy. He wasn't bad-looking, and he was naturally athletic. He was exactly the kind of sporty guy Iroha Isshiki had said girls would love.
Oikawa smiled and ruffled Taishi's hair. "You think about way too much nonsense. If I didn't know you were fourteen, I'd think you were forty."
"Getting into a good high school really is important. But honestly, it isn't nearly as important as you think. At least, I don't think it's more important than the tears Saki shed for you."
Taishi still kept his head down.
Those words didn't seem to have lightened his mood at all.
Oikawa had never believed that two or three simple sentences could magically open someone's heart, so he continued. "Honestly, even if you don't get into Sobu High, there's no reason to despair over it. You might think that if you fail to get into Sobu, your whole life is a complete failure. But that's not true."
Taishi raised his head, waiting expectantly for Oikawa to continue.
Oikawa looked up at the distant sky and smiled easily. "You know, I'm actually the author everyone online loves to tear apart. Copycat Transmigrator."
Taishi's eyes widened in disbelief.
Oikawa continued. "You probably think that after becoming famous overnight with Your Lie in April, selling over a million copies, Copycat must be some once-in-a-generation genius, right?"
Taishi nodded frantically.
"But did you know I've been writing light novels since sixth grade? I submitted something every year. And I got rejected every single year."
"I still remember one editor's reply. He emailed me, 'You're not suited to being a light novel author. Your work is garbage of the worst kind.'"
"But..."
Oikawa stopped walking. He looked Taishi directly in the eyes and spoke with complete seriousness.
"So what? Think about it carefully. Failure follows you throughout your entire life."
"Isn't that just what life is? You can't live in the past forever, Taishi. Remember this. You can fail ten thousand times. But when that one opportunity, maybe your only chance to succeed, finally appears in front of you, you have to seize it. Hold on to it with everything you've got."
Taishi still seemed to be stuck on the revelation that Oikawa was Copycat.
He had heard everything Oikawa said afterward. Whether he'd remember it all was another question.
"What? You don't believe I'm Copycat?"
Taishi shook his head.
Oikawa didn't say anything. He took out his phone, called Chris Yamada, and handed the phone to Taishi.
The call connected quickly.
"Oikawa-sensei? Is something wrong?" Chris's voice came through the phone, his concern immediately apparent.
Oikawa was silent for a moment before speaking, "Editor Yamada, could you do me a favor? I need you to prove something for me. Tell him that I'm Copycat, the author published under Full-Drive Bunko."
Chris Yamada paused for a moment.
Then he immediately played along. "I'm Chris Yamada, an editor at Full-Drive Bunko. Oikawa-sensei is indeed the author Copycat, who writes under Full-Drive Bunko."
"I don't know who's holding the phone right now, but if you have any doubts, you're welcome to come to Full-Drive Bunko and verify it yourself at any time. Our address is 28 Kaitian Street, Ginza, Tokyo, and my number is..."
Taishi hurriedly shoved the phone back into Oikawa's hand.
"Thanks for the help, Editor Yamada."
Oikawa hung up and patted Taishi on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's go play some basketball. After that, we'll buy some ingredients and head back. Your sister can make us a few of her specialties."
Then Oikawa smiled. "Taishi, remember this. Failure will always be a part of life. But you have to keep yourself ready for that one chance to succeed."
Taishi's expression was a sight to behold.
Shock, disbelief, admiration... all kinds of emotions were mixed together.
But the gloom was gone.
"Yeah." Taishi nodded heavily and walked alongside Oikawa, as if his body had suddenly been filled with energy.
Oikawa didn't know how long Taishi's excitement would last.
He didn't believe one conversation could completely erase all the worries in Taishi's heart, either.
But it was undoubtedly a good start.
Wasn't it?
...
..
Oikawa mooched a meal off Kawasaki, then watched Sailor Moon with Keika for a while after she woke up.
He finally got home sometime after ten.
The moment he walked through the door, a message from Kawasaki arrived.
[Kawasaki]: Did you really start writing light novels in sixth grade and get rejected every single year?
Before they left, Taishi had asked Oikawa whether Kawasaki knew that he was Copycat.
After learning that she had known all along, Taishi had been rather resentful about it.
The main reason was that Hachiman's little sister, Komachi, really liked Your Lie in April. Taishi had always wanted to give her a signed set of the novels, and he'd apparently mentioned it to Kawasaki more than once at home.
Oikawa was genuinely speechless at Taishi's shameless simping.
[Oikawa]: Of course that was fake. Your Lie in April was my first light novel. I'm such a genius, how could I possibly have been rejected?
After Oikawa sent his reply, Kawasaki remained silent for quite a while.
[Kawasaki]: Then was that line about "failure being a constant throughout life" something you made up on the spot too?
[Oikawa]: Kinda. I heard it from someone else.
Kawasaki seemed to be on the verge of losing it.
[Kawasaki]: Then which part of what you told Taishi was actually true?! You jerk.
The "typing..." indicator under her name remained there for a long time.
Oikawa smiled and sent another message.
[Oikawa]: It's true that I'm completely in love with you.
He sent her a few more messages afterward, but Kawasaki didn't reply.
So, after washing up, he climbed straight into bed.
"Feels like I'm going to have a good dream tonight."
After turning on the electric blanket, Oikawa quickly drifted off to sleep.
...
..
The next day, after school—
Everyone from the Service Club had gathered outside the Student Council meeting room.
Oikawa couldn't help feeling a little nostalgic.
He'd thought that after the school festival and sports day were over, he'd never have to come back here again.
Yet here he was, returning to the scene of the crime.
Oikawa had originally thought he could handle the job alone.
But Yukino and Yui had both insisted that, since it was a task Shizuka-sensei had assigned to the Service Club, they should all come together.
Well, more people never hurt.
After they knocked, a voice from inside quickly called out, "Come in."
It sounded like Iroha Isshiki.
Oikawa opened the meeting room door.
Iroha, who had apparently been busy with something, turned around. The moment she saw him, her face lit up, and she hurried over with quick little steps.
"Senpai, what are you doing here? Did Shizuka-sensei ask you to come help?" Iroha quickly guessed why Oikawa had come to the meeting room and immediately began chirping away beside him like a little bird.
"Yahallo!" Yui took the initiative to greet Iroha, then stepped neatly between her and Oikawa.
"Hello, Yui-senpai. Oh, Yukino-senpai came to help too? Thank you, both of you." When speaking to Yukino and Yui, Iroha was noticeably more reserved.
There was even the faintest hint of hostility in her eyes.
"So, is this career guidance session for middle school students?" Oikawa casually asked.
"Middle school students?" Iroha shook her head. "No. This one's for students who haven't figured out whether they should choose the humanities or science track. The career guidance sessions for middle schoolers you're talking about should be next month."
Oikawa awkwardly rubbed his nose.
Good thing he'd asked. Otherwise, he might have made a complete fool of himself.
Seriously. Why did they need so many different career guidance sessions?
...
Inside the meeting room, the tables were still arranged in a large rectangle, just like they were during meetings. Apparently, they hadn't started setting things up yet.
"We need to rearrange the seating, and during the consultations, the Student Council will need to be on hand to help out whenever necessary." After saying that, Iroha gave Oikawa a resentful look. "Although, I have no idea who it was that told me being Student Council president was such a glamorous, prestigious job. Ever since I became president, all I've done is run around doing odd jobs."
"Ahem. There's honor in honest work. Come on, let's get moving." Oikawa rolled up his sleeves and headed into the meeting room.
Yui was grinning from ear to ear, while the corners of Yukino's lips curved upward slightly as well.
"Senpai really is slippery, isn't he?" Iroha complained, then began assigning tasks to the three of them.
"Oikawa-senpai, please help Makito move the heavier things."
"Yui-senpai, you can arrange the chairs."
"And Yukino-senpai, I remember your tea is especially good. Could you prepare some tea for the advisors?"
The ease with which Iroha gave orders made her seem like a completely different person from before the New Year.
Yukino and Yui both agreed.
Meanwhile, Oikawa had already gone with Makito Honmoku, the Student Council's vice president, to help move the heavy items around the meeting room.
In reality, it was mostly leftover equipment from past sports festivals, things like iron shot puts and other miscellaneous gear.
Oikawa and the vice president worked together to clear the clutter out of the room.
Makito looked apologetic. "Senpai, I'm really sorry to trouble you all, but the Student Council is seriously short-staffed right now."
"It's nothing." Oikawa waved a hand and smiled. "Though, your Student Council seems a lot more harmonious than before."
During the Christmas party, Sobu High's Student Council had been a complete mess.
Now, they seemed to work together with remarkable coordination. That was no small change.
"We have you to thank for that. If it weren't for you, we probably would've been humiliated badly at the Christmas party."
Oikawa simply smiled without saying anything.
He didn't think it was all his doing. If the Student Council had become so harmonious, Iroha probably deserved much of the credit.
Without him even realizing it, she had become quite a capable Student Council president.
...
After they finished turning the meeting room into a consultation room, students gradually began arriving.
Quite a few were familiar faces.
Miura and Yamato were among them.
Honestly, Oikawa seriously questioned whether those two even needed to attend this consultation session.
Just as they'd said in class, the humanities track was obviously the easier path for getting into higher education, and neither of them had ever planned to attend a particularly prestigious university in the first place.
Still, Oikawa didn't particularly care.
Yukino stood off to one side, looking somewhat nervous.
Ever since Iroha had told her that Haruno Yukinoshita would be invited to serve as one of the advisors, she'd been acting like this.
Oikawa didn't know what she was worried about.
Class 2-J was the international advancement class. They didn't need to worry about choosing between the humanities and sciences at all.
Nine times out of ten, their goal was the University of Tokyo.
Shizuka Hiratsuka had asked Oikawa before whether he wanted to transfer into that advanced class.
He'd refused without hesitation.
If everyone in the classroom was a study addict, he'd lose his mind.
Especially when he woke up from a nap and saw everyone around him furiously scribbling away. The guilt alone would be unbearable.
Before long, Haruno entered everyone's field of view.
Iroha and the familiar Meguri-senpai were accompanying her.
There was something a little strange, though. Haruno didn't immediately look toward Yukino.
Instead, she smiled brightly at Oikawa, raised a hand, and waved at him. "You must be Oikawa-kun. Wow, Meguri-chan has been talking about you the whole way here. Nice to meet you. I'm Haruno Yukinoshita, Yukino's... big sister."
"If I remember correctly, you played a pretty important role in both the school festival and the Christmas party, didn't you? My silly little sister has really had you looking after her!"
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