"I won a pair of movie tickets for a moving airing this weekend the other day~"
Iino and Ishigami both snapped to attention, the 2 of them walking up to each other while emanating a menacing aura to anyone who dared lay eyes on them. Their expressions were no different, their furrowed brows and scowls each representative of the singular thought circulating through their minds:
How do I get this idiot to invite me to the movies?!
The 2 of them stayed staring at each other, the romantic standoff remaining unbroken until Iino loosened her posture, taking out her phone.
"Hm… it just so happens that I'm free this weekend."
She glanced over at the tickets in secretary Tono's hand before continuing.
"I've been wanting to see that movie, but I don't really want to go to a theater alone…"
A decisive offensive maneuver by Iino. By leveraging Ishigami's weakness to women, her own looks, and not-so-subtle hinting, it doesn't take long for Ishigami to pick up on what she's implying. Before he could form a response, however, Tono interjected.
"Oh, by the way, there's a rumour going around that if a boy and a girl watch this movie together, they're guaranteed to start dating."
This simple statement sent a spark flying between Iino and Ishigami's minds, both of them immediately understanding the connotations that an invitation to such a movie would hold!
It would be no different than an attempt to start dating, or in other words…
Both of them scowled as the full impact of their situation sank in.
A confession.
Their thinking sped up, each of them trying to corner the other person with nothing but their minds and mouths. This time, Ishigami was the first to take action, breaking the silent standoff as he sat down on the couch across from Tono.
Is she actually trying to ask me out? In any case, I've gotta make sure.
"Oh? Iino? Were you going to invite me to go with you? A movie that makes girls and boys who see it start dating…"
Ishigami looked back at Iino with his usual slightly tired expression.
"Were you going to say that we should go see it?"
Despite his best efforts, however, Ishigami couldn't keep the hopefulness out of his voice, a detail that didn't escape the other members of the student council.
They go so well together! x3
Iino's eyes went wide and she sat down next to Ishigami, not making eye contact with him as a light blush began to form on her face. Iino thought about Ishigami's blank expression and register for a moment until she reached the conclusion:
He's totally trying to back me into a corner here!
Even after a month, these 2 are still miscommunicating and full speed.
Iino wracked her brain, trying to find the idea that she oh-so desperately needed to win this exchange before gesturing at Tono.
"Could you pass the tickets?"
She leaned back in her seat, lightly waving the tickets in front of her as she spoke in an absent-minded voice.
"Well, I don't believe in such rumours and I was under the impression that you didn't either."
She turned, looking directly at Ishigami as her voice and expression became ice-cold.
"Well, Ishigami? Do you want to see the movie with me?"
A decisive response! By revealing that she wants to see the movie, Iino has already put pressure on Ishigami to accept her offer but by denying the validity of the rumour, she has put the focus back onto Ishigami, thus forcing him to make the move in determining whether or not there'll be any… special connotations. As for his response?
Yeah, she totally just rejected me…
If you looked up miscommunication in a dictionary, you would find a picture of these two right next to the definition.
I mean, why on earth would she try to dispel any and all meaning behind that movie? What kind of person does that to someone they're trying to get with? More importantly, if she's actually into me, then why the heck hasn't she asked me out yet?!
Ishigami gave a sigh before pulling out his phone and swiping to the classroom app.
Still though, having some time where we can actually talk to each other might be nice, not to mention a break from all the work she's been giving me, so why not? It's not creepy to accept someone's invitation to watch a movie with you, is it?
"Huh, would you look at that? It looks like I'm free too-"
Or not!
In Ishigami's classroom, he found several assignments due over the weekend and when he checked his calendar, he found an event labeled: "WOW, 10am-10pm Sunday ''. As he was about to voice this to Iino, however, an idea began to brew in the back of his mind.
Wait… I could probably finish all of this in one day, but maybe there's something I can do here to check my thinking…
Ishigami looked back at Iino, putting his phone back into his pocket.
"I've actually got a lot of homework this weekend and I was going to do some grinding the next day to unwind, so I'm not sure if I can go."
Clever move! By saying that he's not sure if he can go, he's saying that he might be able to go if a certain someone persuaded him somehow, for example, he puts the onus back onto Iino to ask him to go with her! At this rate, he's practically forcing her on her hands and knees, but wait, it looks like Iino has a trick up her sleeve!
"Is that so? Well in that case, I may as well just take Fujiwara-senpai with me."
Threatening to back out entirely! A Hail-Mary maneuver that forces Ishigami to either make a move or give up on this opportunity altogether!
Indeed, for the past month (Yes, I'm retconning the 6 months because plot reasons so this is technically an AU but whatever), they've been scheming, planning, setting up verbal traps for one another to fall into, but without a major catalyst, neither of them had made an inch of progress to show for it!
However, Ishigami's far from composed! While he may be stone-faced on the outside, on the inside, he's panicking as if the finals were happening tomorrow!
Dammit! How can I recover from this? Guh… I went double or nothing and lost it all…
Ishigami visibly slumped forward, his voice taking an empty tone as he spoke.
"Have fun with Fujiwara-senpai, then…"
Iino's face went pale as she stared at Ishigami's lifeless body, looking away as panic set into her mind.
Dammit! How can I recover from this? Guh… I went double or nothing and lost it all…
With our heroes in stalemate, it seems as though the battle has ended with nothing to show for it. However, Tono filled the silence with yet another revelation.
"If this weekend doesn't work, you can always use the tickets today. After all, these coupons just expire after Sunday."
Chaos theory! On the verge of collapsing, an otherwise failed engagement can have a single point of chaos introduced into it. While it may be small, though, that one point can cause something as drastic as the big bang itself! In this instance, the addition of the new tickets has blown the pair's carefully laid traps to the wayside as scheduling has become a non-issue. The question remains, however: who will be the first to act? Ishigami frantically wracks his brain, Iino tries to think of a response, the others simply watch, and nothing happens for several minutes until Tono's the one who turns away with a more sour expression.
"Well, if you don't want the tickets, I can just give them to someone else-"
"No!" x2
Everyone in the room froze before Ishigami and Iino slowly turned towards each other, their expressions going from determined to sheepish. They stayed like that for a moment before Iino held one of the tickets out to Ishigami.
"I don't suppose you have time after the meeting today?"
Ishigami hesitated before giving a nod, not making eye contact. Not that he could, since Iino was also turned away.
"I can make time-"
"Hang on a second."
The 2 of them were interrupted by treasurer Takeno. He looked at Iino before speaking.
"Didn't you give Ishigami-sama-"
"I told you not to call me that."
"-Ishigami-senpai an extra task to do? You even said he couldn't leave until he completed-"
All of a sudden, a light *thud* was heard along with a cry of pain from the treasurer before financial auditor Kogane Kanegae gave him a scowl and turned back to face Iino and Ishigami with a smile.
"I can take care of that for today. For now, just enjoy your date, ok?"
Both Iino and Ishigami went pale.
"Hah?" x2
Chaos theory! Just that one mention of a date sent both Ishigami and Iino's minds spiraling out of orbit! On one hand, confirming the claim that this is a date would be tantamount to confessing, but any denial would give the other person an easy opportunity to back them right into a corner.
"Oh, my? Are you that embarrassed at the mere mention of the 2 of us going on a date?"
Both Iino and Ishigami braced for impact for the phrase that we all know too well:
"You really are quite cute."
The very idea of either scenario coming true would be completely unbearable, and as such…
"We'll see you guys tomorrow!" x2
…They were left with no option but to withdraw without even mentioning it.
The door closed with a tone of finality before everyone in the room breathed out a heavy sigh.
Meanwhile, Tono gave Takeno a scowl, her cheery expression immediately turning to one of annoyance.
"Seriously, Takeno-kun? I swear, you almost messed up everything."
Kogane rolled her eyes at Tono.
"C'mon. I'm sure he was just concerned about our workload."
"Yeah, of course you take his side."
Takeno and Kogane both went red as Tono gave a giggle and leaned back in her chair.
"Still though, that was a nice save there, Kogane. Remember, we can't forget our goal, right guys?"
Kogane and Takeno both gave a nod, Takeno being the one to respond.
"Well of course. It's to make sure that Iino-sama and Ishigami-sama start dating."
Tono gave a quick giggle.
"You've seriously gotta stop calling him that. I don't suppose we should get to work now?"
And with the other 2 in agreement, they each grabbed a laptop and got to work.
Results for today's battle: mutual victory.