COTE x Naruto: New Beginnings

Chapter 5: The Student Club Fair

As she ate her new lunch with Kei and a few other girls in the class, namely Satou Maya and Matsushita Chiaki - whom she'd gotten to know briefly thanks to Kei - music played through the speakers.

"At five PM Japan Standard Time today, we will be holding a student club fair in Gymnasium No. 1. Students interested in joining a club, please gather in Gymnasium No. 1. I repeat, at five PM-"

"Ooh, we've got to go!" Maya exclaimed, making Sakura look at her curiously.

"Are you interested in joining a club, Maya-san?" Sakura asked with a smile, the other girls curious as well.

"Only if something interests me. If there's something like a design club, I will join for sure!"

"I don't think I'll have any time for clubs. There are more important things to do, and joining a club seems like a hassle and waste of time to me," Kei shared, making Chiaki nod.

"That's a good point. I think the classes here will be challenging, too, I don't think I'll have any time for clubs either, but maybe if I find something interesting... What about you, Sakura-san?"

Sakura thought about it. At her former school, she hadn't done any after-school activities - she'd been busy as it was. Now, however, she had plenty of free time. She thought that perhaps if something interested her, she'd join.

"I think I want to join a club... I wouldn't mind a sport, but I'm worried I'll be ignored as a beginner and will hold the club back..." Sakura mused.

"I think that you should join a swimming club then, Sakura-san. I don't think you'll hold anyone back there - you'll probably lose all the races, but that doesn't matter to you, does it?" Chiaki suggested, the other girls nodding along.

"Yeah, let's see if there's a swimming club or a design club. What do you say, Sakura-san, are you interested in swimming after all?"

With a small grin, Sakura nodded. "Sure, swimming sounds fun," she said finally.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soon enough, it was almost five PM, and the four girls made their way towards the gymnasium, but not before stopping by the dorms to drop off some clothing they'd bought.

It had been the first time Sakura had gotten to hang out with other girls and go somewhere with them, and she felt that her money was well spent.

"Oh wow, it's so full here..." Maya noted, Kei nodding with a frown.

"Right? It'll feel uncomfortable with all these people cramping the place, ugh, couldn't they have just stayed at their dorms or something?!"

"That's hardly fair, don't you think? They could say the same about us," Sakura argued half-heartedly, her eyes glued onto the stage where an older girl was standing, waiting for the right time to begin her speech.

Apparently, that was now as she cleared her throat and began talking, the hush naturally dying down.

"Thank you all for waiting, first-year students. We will now begin the club fair. A representative from each club will explain their function. My name is Tachibana, the student council secretary and the club fair's organizer. It's nice to meet you all."

After that, the representatives lined up; it was quite a diverse crowd. What interested Sakura the most, however, was the guy dressed in a judo uniform.

'I don't think I'd mind doing that...' Sakura thought to herself, eyeing the upperclassman with interest.

"Hey, on a second thought, I don't think I'd mind doing Judo," she whispered to the girls, who looked at her in astonishment.

"Seriously? I never imagined you'd be the type to do something dangerous like that, Sakura-san!" Maya exclaimed, but she quieted down after she noticed she was being quite loud.

The club representatives all went over their clubs - the ones that caught Sakura's interest for different reasons were: Judo, swimming, tea ceremony, and calligraphy, but there were even more clubs, such as basketball, various arts-related clubs, archery, and so on.

By the time they were done, the students resumed their conversations and idle chatter filled the gymnasium.

"Nothing interested me sadly, I thought about the tea ceremony club, but I think that it would be too proper there for me," Maya bemoaned.

"I don't think I'll be joining a club either," Chiaki agreed.

"Hey, Sakura, were you serious about joining Judo?" Kei interrupted, looking at Sakura with both exasperation and interest as if she couldn't imagine anyone finding such a club interesting.

"I don't see why not, fighting sounds fun. I'll check it out at least, and if I don't like it, I'll join the swimming club," she explained.

"Hey, hey, look up at the stage - that guy kinda looks lost, doesn't he? He's been standing there for a minute now! Maybe he's nervous to speak?" Maya said suddenly. Chiaki looked unsure.

"I don't think he looks lost or nervous... Oh, he's got a really intense air about him, kinda scary,"

Sakura looked up at the podium to see the person they were talking about. He was about 170 centimeters tall, with black hair and sharp glasses.

He seemed very collected, his expression blank as he stood in front of the microphone, surveying the loud first-years.

Was he another club representative, perhaps?

The other first-years began noticing him too, some finding his silence awkward and funny, thinking he was perhaps shy.

"Do your best," someone shouted. Others laughed and shouted something similarly inappropriate towards their senpai.

But he remained silent, his piercing eyes slowly beginning to intimidate everyone and silencing the room. That made Sakura feel very impressed, and she felt curious about this upperclassman.

"What's up with him, staring at us like a freak?" Kei muttered under her breath.

"I'm the student council president. My name is Horikita Manabu," he said, the gym having gone silent.

"The student council is looking to recruit potential candidates among the first-years to replace the graduating third years. Although no special qualifications are required for candidacy, we humbly ask that those considering application not be involved in other club activities. We generally do not accept students involved elsewhere."

Huh, the student council president? That seemed fitting. He did have a very proper feel about him, he looked very serious too. He also reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite think of who.

"Furthermore, we in the student council do not wish to appoint anyone who possesses a naive outlook. Not only would such a person not be elected, he or she would sully the sanctity of this school. It is the student council's right and duty to enforce and amend the rules, but the school expects more than that. We gladly welcome those of you who understand this."

There wasn't a single pause in his speech, and Sakura felt like sweat-dropping.

"Geez, way to motivate people to join," muttered Kei sarcastically, though she looked as intimidated as the other girls did.

The student council president then thanked them all for coming, before dismissing the club fair and mentioning the reception area where anyone interested in a club could join one.

"That was intense... Well, Sakura-san, do you want me to accompany you to the reception area?" Chiaki offered.

Sakura smiled at her gratefully. "I'd be glad," she said warmly, happy to finally be making friends at last.

"I'll come with as well," Maya jumped in, turning to look at Kei.

"What about you, Karuizawa-san?" she then asked. The other girls were much more cautious about using first names or addressing someone without the proper honorifics than Sakura and to a smaller degree Kei were.

Kei only shrugged, looking as if she didn't particularly care.

"Why not?"