"Seriously?! This is the third one this week! Why do these clubs keep getting cancelled?!" Yosuke was aghast as his eyes crawled over the poster in the school lobby. It read:

TAEKWONDO CLUB WILL NOT BE ESTABLISHED THIS YEAR.

"Well don't act like it matters to you!" Chie chirped. "Your name wasn't even on the registration list! I would know, because I actually signed up! I have a reason to be upset!" She shook her head, displaying her frustration.

Yosuke shot a wounded look at his friend. "Hey! I put my name down for the astronomy club and student newspaper, and they axed both of those too! It's not like this trend hasn't effected me too!"

Chie rolled her eyes. "The only reason you signed up for those was because most of the names on the list were girls! And don't try to deny that!" she said slowly to emphasize that Yosuke was not fooling anyone.

"Who's denying it?! If anything, it makes this even more tragic for me!" Yosuke wiped an imaginary tear from his cheek and looked to the ceiling.

"…..There are no words….." Chie whispered to herself.

Yosuke adopted a more serious posture. "Well we can both agree to this; this nonsense has got to stop! Student Council is supposed to be sponsoring these clubs and running them. Why are they even bothering to make signup sheets if they're gonna cancel every freakin' one! We all paid student fees at the beginning of the year to set up these freakin' clubs! " he exclaimed.

Chie smirked and placed her hands along her hips. "Ya, I remember, you made a big scene about having to pay the $150 student fee. We couldn't even start class that morning because you made such a protest!"

Yosuke shrugged and raised his arms into the air. "Well some people had to pay for that out of their own pocket! Since I started working, my parents have cut off the gravy train!"

"Calm down! Let's leave the past in the past, I didn't think mentioning it would get you into such a tizzy…sorry…."

"…It's okay." He breathed in and then exhaled deeply.

"Anyway, back on subject! Just what the hell are we gonna do about this?" asked Chie.

"Let's go see the student council" Yosuke suggested.

"I just wanted to join the film club..," said Yuu, who was standing alongside his friends but had been careful not to get involved in their bickering. He did however think to himself that his two friends were destined to end up together. Still in their teens, their banter reminded him of an old married couple.

"You're telling me that the student council doesn't have the money to get these clubs going?!" Chie asked, the volume of her voice rising higher and higher with each word.

The group had entered the student council room, which had been set up in a room on the second floor. The room was well furnished, but the student council was not present, save one member.

"In essence, yes," confirmed the lone student council representative, a male student whose name nobody in the group knew.

Chie raised her eyebrows. "How the hell is that possible? There are what, like, one hundred and fifty students in this school, and each one paid $150 bucks at the beginning of the year for student fees, so in total that's…so that's….that's….um…. how much is that Yosuke?" She asked, stuttering over her words.

"Um…just a sec, let me see." Yosuke began counting his fingers.

"$22,500" Yuu said robotically, breaking his silence.

Chie fired a determined look back at the council representative "Yeah! You can buy a car for that price! How are you gonna stand there and tell me that you don't have enough money?!"

"Finances can be very complicated. I'd rather not try to explain it to you," the rep replied.

She gritted her teeth and the blood rushed through her veins, making her face deep red. "Are you trying to imply that I wouldn't be able to understand!?." Her eyes widened as a tense silence fell.

"Well, your reputation precedes you. One cannot kick their way through finances," the unnamed student replied with a meek smirk.

Chie's mouth hung open, but she was unable to form any words. She let out a quiet gasp instead.

Yosuke stepped forward and stood straight, making himself appear bigger than normal. "Listen dude, I don't know why you think you've got the right to put on that holier than thou attitude, but you've gotta do two things. First, you've got to apologize to my friend. And second, you've got to explain exactly why that money isn't being put to use!' Only Yuu noticed Chie blush and her eyes sparkle with gratitude as Yoskue defended her.

"Fine, sorry, whatever. As for the second point, the money is being used for the benefit of the student body," he responded.

"Why do I find that so hard to believe?" Chie piped.

The council rep looked toward Chie. "Frankly, I don't care if you believe it or not. If you're so concerned about it, why don't you run for student council and see for yourself?"

"Run for student council?!" Chie and Yosuke asked together.

"I really don't care one way or the other what you do. But if it will keep you from bothering me while I have important things to do, you can nominate yourselves as the elections for next semester are coming up. I'm sure you've seen the posters around school. There president, vice president and treasurer are three of the more notable positions open to challengers."

"Yeah…I did see those," Chie recalled.

"Well then, do what you will, now if you'll excuse me," the mystery boy said as he disappeared out the door.

"So what are we gonna do! We've got to get elected right?!" Chie was beaming with excitement. New challenges usually got her heart pumping. The trio decided to reassemble on the roof of the school to contemplate what to do.

"Do you really want to do that? I mean geez, that will take a lot of your time" Yosuke asked, displaying the pragmatism that his female friend sometimes lacked.

"Well one of us should at least run for president of we are gonna get back at that jerk!," She fumed.

"Don't take it so personal. You know that is your biggest weakness right?" he said with a friendly grin.

"So what! We need to do this!" It was becoming clear that she was adamant. Turning away was not an option for the Investigation Team.

"Well, who should run for president? I'm not sure I can sacrifice that much time. I've got a job. And no offense, but do you think you're going to get people to vote for you if you keep exploding like that, Chie?"

"…Point taken" she answered back, blushing.

The idea hit both of them at the same time. As their eyes locked, they knew they'd reached the same conclusion. Their heads turned to their quiet friend in unison.

"Heeeyyyyyyy," Chie chimed. "How about you, Yuu?"

He remained silent

"I think you'd be the best choice among us! You're charming and handsome and well spoken without being wordy. You're a natural leader too! All the things you need to succeed in politics!" Chie explained with a wide smile as she grabbed his hand pleadingly. "Will you do it?"

"Oohhhhh. So the truth comes out! You think he's handsome! Oh, that's adorable!" Yosuke quipped teasingly. He rarely passed on an opportunity to pester his friend.

She released Yuu's hand quickly and turned red. "Anybody would look handsome standing next to you, jerk!"

"And there you go with that temper again…hehe…I think I know you better than you know yourself," he said coyly.

As his friends stared each other down, Yuu spoke up. "I'm on board. With your help, I'm going to get elected and fix this problem….no matter what."