Misha sat by the open window, enjoying the cool breeze. A lock of long brown hair twirled idly around one finger while her other hand tapped out a rhythm on the windowsill. The constant signing she performed throughout each day made it feel weird to ever leave her hands idle, even when she wasn't translating for Shizune. The president was currently rummaging around for something or other in a storage desk, having promised that today she had a "surprise" for Misha and the other council members.
"Maybe it's something for me!" Misha hoped out loud, knowing that Shizune couldn't hear her.
The distinct creak of the door opening cut through the air. Misha knew who had come in before she turned to look; the tap of Lilly's cane was impossible to miss.
"Hi, Lilly~! Don't worry, nothing's moved around today!" Misha said.
"Thank you, Misha," she replied, blue eyes staring at nothing as she made her way over to a familiar seat, no longer needing her cane now that she knew the room's layout.
Misha hopped down from the window and half-sat, half-leaned against Lilly's desk, now tapping her light tune into its surface instead.
"Late again, Lilly! Shicchan's gonna be maa-ad~!"
"I think she'll forgive me if it was to recruit a new member. Well, a possible new member."
"Oh! Who is it, who is it, hm~? Is it that boy with the glasses and the scarf? He sure was asking us a lot of questions about the council the other day!"
"No, not him… Please, come in."
Lilly turned towards the door and gave a welcoming gesture with her hand. Misha noticed that Lilly hadn't closed it after her like usual… instead, something was holding it open. No, someone! A pair of thin fingers curled around the door's edge and a single wide eye peeked out above them, most of the girl's face hidden by deep purple hair.
"Hm~? Who's there?"
"H-hello…"
The mystery girl walked around the door and took a couple tentative steps into the room. Her long, purple hair and deep grey eye immediately struck Misha as pretty, but there was something off with her demeanor. The poor girl held one hand up to her chin while looking down at the floor, her shoulders visibly trembling—she was clearly afraid of something, although Misha had no idea what. Was there a bug somewhere that they had missed? Misha looked briefly around, but couldn't spot anything scary or gross… just the same old club room, nothing in it but Shizune's oblivious backside, still fiddling around with her "surprise."
"Misha, this is my good friend, Hanako. She's interested in the student council," Lilly said.
"Is she~? Oh, are you, are you, hm~?" Misha asked her.
"U-um… I g-guess…" Hanako said meekly.
"You… guess?" Misha repeated. Then, after a brief pause, she crossed her arms and turned her face up in laughter. "Wahaha~!"
Hanako looked up from the floor for the first time, genuinely confused by Misha's laughter. Lilly took the opportunity to stand up and take Hanako's hand, gently guiding her a bit further into the room and closing the door behind her.
"We can always decide later, of course. Things haven't been too… lively, as of late, so I thought it might be good for everyone if Hanako joined us for a meeting. Just to get out a—err, to see what we do."
"Hm~? What was that again?" Misha asked, confused by Lilly's sudden switching of her last statement.
Before Lilly could answer, all three girls jumped as an unnaturally sharp snap resounded throughout the room. Shizune had finally turned around, looking equal parts surprised and skeptical towards the new person standing in her council room. Lilly sighed, for her part looking equal parts frustrated and resigned to the situation. The blind girl had asked Shizune to respect her sensitive ears several times by now, but the message never seemed to get through Misha. Either that, or the president was just that stubborn…
Shizune was already signing away at Lilly and Hanako. Misha pushed hastily off of the desk and took up a familiar stance between the two parties, forming the third point of a triangle as Hanako shrunk back behind Lilly, cowering away from Shizune's fierce glare. Misha noticed that Shizune seemed like she was trying not to look right at Hanako, which was quite strange for Shizune, but she was too focused on her interpreting duties to give it much thought.
"Umm, what are you doing here? Who is this?" Misha asked Lilly, automatically speaking for Shizune while simultaneously trying to sign back to her the very answers to those questions. The attempt to speak both sides simultaneously didn't work out very well, causing Misha to give a nervous laugh as she stopped and gave it another try, this time focusing only on her sign language. Lilly waited patiently while Hanako looked everywhere except at Shizune. The obvious questions were soon cleared up, but Shizune had another one to follow.
"Well then~!" Misha proclaimed, puffing her chest out and turning to Hanako with her hands on her hips, getting back into her familiar groove as Shizune's mouthpiece. "If you're really going to join the student council, Shicchan wants to know what skills and qual—qual-i-fies? Qual-if-fie… Qualifiers! What skills and qualifiers you have~!"
Hanako had nothing to say to this, and Lilly was looking more displeased by the second.
"Rika quit just last week, and Saki has missed the last two meetings. It looks like she won't be coming to this one, either. We're getting a little too short on members to be giving them entrance exams, aren't we?" Lilly asked rhetorically. "But, I suppose… Hanako plays board games, for one. She's rather good at chess. Surely our esteemed president can appreciate that?"
Shizune paused at this, as if considering how to react to Lilly's deft riposte. Then, her eyes lit up and a grin spread across her face, clearly having landed on an idea.
"Is that so?" Misha asked, relaying Shizune's curt response. She gave Lilly and Hanako her best attempt at a serious face, trying to grill a response out of them without realizing that the question was, like Lilly's, entirely rhetorical.
"E-Err…" Hanako started, settling on just pointing at Shizune instead of continuing. Misha turned back to see Shizune holding up a large box decorated with detailed pictures of old-timey soldiers charging through cannonfire with their muskets. The surprise! Misha had completely forgotten. This must be it… a new game? The word "RISK" was printed across the top half of the game box in huge, bold red letters.
"Risk?" Misha asked aloud, more to herself than anyone else.
[The game of global domination!] Shizune signed excitedly to her, after setting the box down on a nearby desk. She began to push others together to form a makeshift table that they could all sit at, assuming that everyone present would play.
"Hm? What is it?" Lilly asked.
"It's called 'Risk.' The game of global domination!" Misha proclaimed, her voice matching the excitement in Shizune's quick movements.
"Oh dear. That does sound like a game Shizune would enjoy… I'm afraid we may not have the time today, though. We were expecting something a bit less… involved," Lilly said, decidedly not matching Misha and Shizune in enthusiasm.
Hanako, on the other hand, looked like something other than a deer in headlights for the first time since entering the room. She was clearly still nervous but even Misha could see the spark of interest in her eyes.
"I-is it… like ch-chess?" Hanako asked, taking an unconscious step out from behind Lilly's shoulder.
"Huh? Sure, sure~! It's just like chess! Wahaha~!" Misha declared. "Shicchan will show us how to play. It'll be lots of fun!"
Lilly sighed.
"You don't know how to play, Misha?" she asked in a defeated voice.
"Nope, I've never seen this game before. It looks fun though. And it's really big! Wo-ow~! Here, Hacchan, come sit by me! Yay~!"
Misha took Hanako's hand and pulled her towards the table where Shizune was setting up the game board. Hanako gasped and jumped slightly in surprise, causing Misha to pause and look back, but Misha just smiled at her and insisted.
"It's okay! Come on, let's play, let's play~!" Misha repeated.
"Oh… O-okay!"
Lilly picked up her cane and tapped her way over to the other three, the last to take a seat around the board. Hanako picked up a baggy of small plastic soldiers and began examining them curiously while Misha began signing to Shizune about the game rules.
"How complex does this game look, Hanako?" Lilly asked.
"U-um… I don't kn-know. It's a really big map of the w-world… so… a lot, I g-guess."
"My, my. Chess is already enough for me, I think. Perhaps I'll sit this out and make us some tea."
Shizune responded immediately upon Misha's signing of this idea.
"Participation is mandatory for all council members, Lilly~! Shicchan says, since Hacchan is so good at games, she can move your pieces around for you!"
Lilly's frown deepened.
"Misha, please tell Shizune that this board isn't made for me," Lilly said, moving a hand gently across the board's smooth surface to emphasize its lack of any ridges or bumps that she could use to navigate.
"Wahaha~! Shicchan knows that, silly! She says it's a map of the Earth. You know that, don't you?"
"Actually, I'm not—"
"Don't worry about it! It'll be fine! Me and Hacchan will take care of everything! Isn't that right~?" Misha continued, cutting over Lilly's protests and smiling at Hanako. The purple-haired girl gave a small grin and nodded in response, unable to stay completely sullen in the face of Misha's enormous smile.
"We could still use some tea though! Puh-lease! I still gotta learn the rules so there's a few minutes!" Misha continued.
"Maybe you can tell Shizune that if she wants some tea, then she should—"
"Oh, sorry, that wasn't Shicchan. I wanted some tea for everyone! Ah, but Shicchan does say we better not spill it on her new game!"
Lilly looked ready to keep protesting, but after a pause, she seemed to reconsider and then just complied with a gentle sigh. With Shizune obsessing over her new toy and Lilly's realization that Hanako was enjoying herself a bit after all, the air in the room seemed to get considerably lighter as teacups were set out and the game began. Looking for an ambitious early conquest, Shizune set up as many troops as she could in the Americas. Misha declared that they were all from Japan and therefore placed her forces in East Asia, leaving Hanako and Lilly to spread out in the center of the world.
Misha only had a tenuous grasp on the rules, but she was more than content to simply declare her intentions and then let Shizune roll dice for all the battles in her stead. Likewise, Lilly couldn't do any more than give such general orders as "I'd like to expand in Europe," but Hanako was a quick enough study to carry these orders out well enough. Lilly and Hanako quickly formed an axis consisting of Lilly in Europe and Hanako in Africa, while Shizune conquered the western hemisphere uncontested and Misha held most of Asia (with many of her troops worthlessly stationed at her "empire's capital" in Japan, deep behind her front lines).
[Hey Shicchan, they're working together and not attacking each other!] Misha signed.
[Of course they are. Lilly can't really play, so Hanako has both their troops combined, practically speaking.] Shizune answered.
[Does she? Wow, Hacchan really is good at games, isn't she? She's as strong as both of us put together!]
[No, I want it this way. It's better to have a stronger opponent who can really challenge me.]
[Well then let me help! We'll team up and squish her in between us!]
"My, my. Is there something we should know about it?" Lilly asked, seemingly able to detect their signing through the long silence it had created.
Shizune glared daggers at her. Misha wondered if it annoyed Shizune that she couldn't pressure Lilly with her stares, since Lilly couldn't see her face.
"No, no, nothing~! Sor-ry!" Misha answered. "Shicchan says there's no teams in this game. So we all have to attack each other! Wahaha~!"
"Do we?" Lilly asked, turning to Hanako.
"U-um, maybe… I-I looked at the r-rulebook, but I-I don't remember th-that…"
She took the rulebook and began to look at it, but Shizune snatched it away from her and started flipping through it for herself, causing Hanako to yelp in shock and look down.
[Shicchan! Don't scare her like that!]
[This is war, Misha! And it's my book!]
Misha frowned at this and gave Hanako an apologetic look as Shizune continued turning the pages until she found the one she wanted. She turned the book around to face Hanako and held it up to her, pointing to a particular passage.
"See! It says only one player can win!... Does it?" Misha said, looking at Hanako for confirmation.
"W-well, it does…"
Shizune closed the rulebook and set it back down, considering herself the victor on the matter.
"I-It didn't say players c-can't team up… e-earlier in the game…" Hanako continued meekly.
"Well, well. Isn't that interesting?" Lilly commented.
This drew a scowl from Shizune, but instead of pressing the issue any further on its current front, she decided to take a different angle of attack.
"… Shicchan says she'll just take us all on and win anyways! Wahaha~!"
"I suppose she can try," Lilly said. Misha chose not to sign this particular comment back to Shizune, wanting to get back to playing the game.
The world war now raged on two main fronts; across the two major oceans, the Atlantic and the Pacific. Shizune made an ambitious attempt to strike out at both Asia and Africa at the same time, but with most of Misha's army already sitting in Japan, this gave Misha good reason to "defend her capital" without diverting any forces at all to attack Lilly or Hanako. Hanako, too, seemed more than happy to maneuver both her and Lilly's troops against Shizune without antagonizing Misha. Shizune's attack forces were quickly ground up and the Americas were left wide open to counter-invasion.
Before they knew it, Shizune had been almost completely wiped off the board; Misha attacked North America and Hanako sent her own troops into South America from Africa while attacking North America with Lilly's men by way of Greenland.
"Hm. Shicchan says we got lucky dice rolls against her!... Isn't luck a kind of skill, though? Anyway! She says, she says, she'll still win the war, even if you won this battle! Great job, Hacchan~!"
"I wonder if there will be another 'battle' after today…" Lilly remarked.
"A-another one? Can we pl-play again sometime?" Hanako asked.
"We're not done with this game yet. I'm out of it, but you still have to see who wins between all of you!"
"W-wait, what? Y-you're not—"
"Oh, sorry, that was what Shicchan said. Wahaha~!"
"Must we really finish the game? I think it's getting late, and I'm rather tired… can we declare a peace treaty?" Lilly asked.
"Since Shicchan can't play anymore anyways, I don't think she'll mind… haha, she says we're being sissies!"
"I don't mind being a sissy. We did conquer the globe, in our way."
"I-I don't want to fight you," Hanako added.
"It's settled then. A truce! And we divide up the world here!" Misha declared, slamming a palm down on the Atlantic ocean for emphasis. Her gesture caused game pieces to go flying, many landing on the floor. "Whoops! I guess they all got blown up by cannons! Wahaha~!"
Shizune stayed to help pick up the pieces and put the game away, but her sour mood was tangible to all, and she made her way out swiftly and silently when they were done.
"Ahh. Poor Shicchan. She doesn't like to lose!" Misha said, scratching the back of her head as she watched Shizune's figure disappear down the hall.
"It's a shame she feels that she must always win. None of us won, but none of us lost, either. Only our devoted president did," Lilly said. "You seemed to enjoy the game, Hanako."
"Y-yes, I had fun. I-I didn't know the student council played board games at th-their meetings!"
"Wahaha~! This was special, because Shicchan bought a new game, she really wanted to try it out. We have to do a lot of paperwork and stuff too! But yeah, sometimes we can just have fun. We're in charge, so we decide!"
"I th-thought it would be bigger. If it's, if it's only th-this… maybe I can do it…" Hanako said.
"Well, we used to have more members, back before—well, it used to be bigger," Lilly said.
"B-before what?"
"Nothing. It just used to be more people. Let's go, shall we? I haven't even begun my homework yet…"
The short walk back to the girls' dorms consisted mostly of Misha talking at Lilly and Hanako, neither of which seemed to mind, occasionally giving brief answers or nodding along. They began with Lilly walking in between the other two girls, instinctively placing herself between Hanako and anyone else, but at some point Misha snuck around behind her and put Hanako into the middle instead. When they got to Hanako's room, Misha put a hand on Hanako's shoulder, which no longer trembled at its touch.
"It was fun to meet you, Hacchan! Come back and hang out with us some more! The Student Council can always use more people, yes, we can! Nighty-night~!"
Hanako gave a weak smile in response.
"Thank you, Misha."
After Hanako had gone into her room, Lilly and Misha walked a little ways further down the hall together. It took Misha a moment to notice that this was odd, because Lilly's room was in the opposite direction. Having arrived at her own, she put a hand on the knob and turned to Lilly quizzically.
"I wanted to thank you too," Lilly said, giving Misha the most genuine smile she'd shown all day.
"For helping you take over the world? Wahaha~! You got this one for free, but next time all bets are off!"
"No, it's not about the game. Well, it's not mainly the game. To be honest with you… that's the longest I've ever been able to get Hanako in a room with someone besides me and Akira. She's been taking private lessons while she gets used to life here at Yamaku, so she rarely sees other people. I think she had some fun tonight, and I also think that's because of you, Misha."
"Really? What did I do?"
"You just played with her. You didn't ask about the scars."
"Scars? Oh, those! Wahaha, I barely noticed! Why would those matter? Hacchan's a cutie~!"
"I see. Well, not everyone thinks so. I'm glad you do. Good night, Misha."
"Night! Bring Hacchan around again sometime. Or I'll make you play us in Risk without her! Wahaha~!"