Chika Fujiwara hadn't seen the previous financial auditor and treasurer of the student council in a while. The only member of the previous student council she had been keeping in contact with was Kaguya, and even then, she was often busy studying in Japan, or 'studying' with the president. That's why she was surprised when she saw someone waiting for her as she walked into the gym.

"Miko-chan?!"

Iino waved at Fujiwara with large, animated gestures while sporting a bright smile.

"Hello there, Fujiwara-senpai!"

"It's weird to see you without your uniform…"

Miko was, indeed wearing a tracksuit and track pants along with a red headband. Her bags were on the gym floor and she appeared to be struggling to touch her toes.

"So anyways, why'd you call me here?"

Iino stopped her futile attempts at stretching before creaking over to Fujiwara with a shy look on her face.

"Well, I wanted to try to get more active, and I figured that since you're always talking about how you stay fit and stuff, you'd be the best person to ask."

Fujiwara narrowed her eyes.

"This isn't because Ishigami-kun called you fat, is it?"

An expression of shock mingled with a bit of anger popped onto Iino's face.

"What? Of course not! He'd never- wait, did he do that to you, Fujiwara-senpai?"

Fujiwara was mildly amused at the murderous look on Iino's face, but as she sifted through her memories, she came to a realization.

"Ah. Actually, he hasn't directly- but that's not the point! You want to get fit, right?"

Iino gave a firm nod, clenching her fists in front of her. Pleased, Fujiwara now wore an arrogant grin as she chuckled.

"Fufufu… Then you've come to the right place! If it's you, then I'm always happy to help-"

Fujiwara stopped herself. Yes, it had been a while since she'd had her feet stepped on, or since she'd seen a man physically vomit upon even seeing a cockroach, or since she'd had to personally dive into a kiddie pool to save him from drowning, or since she'd had to feel sea slug guts invading her ears, or any number of any things, but these memories still lingered as if they had just happened yesterday. She doubled over, trying to push away the intrusive thoughts while all Iino could do was watch!

Then again, it's not like this is Miyuki, and I've already seen what normal people can do, so it's not like I'll actually be reliving that sort of thing! If Ishigami can play volleyball, then I'm sure that Miko-chan could do something as simple as push-ups and squats and stuff!

Thus, summoning her courage, Fujiwara stood up, asking:

"So, how are you at exercising, Miko-chan?"

Iino scoffed.

"What's that supposed to mean? Sure, I'm not that athletic, but I at least know that much!"

"So, your answer?"

Seeing that Fujiwara didn't seem to be convinced, Iino gave a sigh, pinching her forehead.

"If you must know, then I guess that I'm a little bad at it, or at least, as bad as someone can be at exercise- are you ok, Fujiwara-senpai?!"

The moment she heard the words 'a little bad' exit Iino's mouth, the colour drained from her skin as she fell right onto her knees, twitching a little.

"Is everything alright? Should I call an ambulance?"

That seemed to shake Fujiwara out of her stupor as she put on a shaky smile, though her face was still full of sweat.

"I-I'm sorry, I just had a flashback to a darker time…"

Iino didn't question this, merely watching as Fujiwara slowly pushed herself off of the ground and onto her feet. Swaying back and forth for a moment, she snapped to attention, tying her 'demon' headband as tightly as she could.

"Alright then. Let's see some stretching, ok?"

Iino looked surprised for a moment.

"Eh? But-"

"No buts! Unstretched muscles are one of the leading causes of injuries while exercising!"

"O-ok, then…"

Fujiwara watched as Iino sat down and reached in front of her.

…

"Alright, what are you waiting for? You're touching your toes, right?"

Iino only seemed to be leaning slightly forward and getting ready to stretch, but upon further inspection, Fujiwara noticed that every fiber of her body seemed to be vibrating and her face was contorted into what seemed like the embodiment of stress.

"Wait… Don't tell me…"

Iino sank down a little as Fujiwara began to turn a pale white behind her.

"You're seriously that inflexible?! I've seen old men that can bend further than you! I mean, what are you, a metal rod?!"

Iino began to curl into a ball, hiding her face.

"Wow… I didn't know that I was that bad…"

"I know, right?! Well, there's a first time for everything, I guess-"

Fujiwara cut herself off when she looked at Iino's face to find that…

"Oh my gosh! You started crying? Why didn't you say this?"

"N-no, this is fine. If anything it's my fault that I couldn't see myself objectively, so thank you, Fujiwara."

Miko looked up at Fujiwara with a tearful smile, eliciting a side-eye from Fujiwara. .

"I feel like I'm finally getting where Ishigami-kun was coming from when he was talking about that 'abusive relationship' thing… How to fix this? Uh… You're cute! You're so amazing, Iino! Really, you're cute, you're so adorable, you're super duper cute!"

"Really? Ehehehe…"

Before long, Iino had been sufficiently praised and was ready for their next exercise.

"Alright! For your next task, you shall do one proper jumping jack."

Iino gave Fujiwara an unimpressed look.

"Just one? Come on, even I can do something that simple."

Fujiwara's anticipation immediately drained out of her as she watched Iino roll the sleeves of her tracksuit up.

"I wonder where I've heard that before…"

Fujiwara watched as Iino got ready to jump, and…

…

Iino jumped high into the air, spreading her arms and legs as she did. Her legs were both bent inwards and one of her arms was pointed down while the other was at approximately a 90 degree angle. After just a moment, she course-corrected and held her hands together above her head (still bent) before landing on her right leg and slipping, crashing into the ground with a loud *thud*.

…

"See? Easy peasy."

"Are you serious right now?!"

Needless to say, Fujiwara was not very happy.

"Have you lost your mind?! How little coordination do you have?! I've never, in my entire life, met someone with coordination as awful as yours! At least the president was somewhat athletic!"

Tears began forming in Fujiwara's eyes, prompting her to turn around to hide them from Iino.

"A-and, then… You have the audacity to say that it was easy… Apologize to all bodybuilders everywhere!"

"I'm so sorry!"

That's when Fujiwara turned around to see Iino in a low, apologetic bow. Fujiwara gave a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Well at least you respond a little bit better to criticism than my last student. Now then, let's move onto-"

*sniffle*

Alarm bells went off in Fujiwara's mind as she saw tears beginning to form in Iino's eyes.

"Ack! You're cute, you're cute, you're cute, you're cute, you're cute!"

This cycle repeated for quite some time with Iino utterly failing at a form of exercise (doing pushups with her knees curled into her chest and hitting her face while doing it, doing sit ups by repeatedly tucking her knees into her chest, etc.) and being berated by Fujiwara before Fujiwara would realize her mistake and proceed to praise Iino into oblivion.

"I think that this is as good a spot as any to stop for now… At this rate, you might be able to do a basic workout in "

By this point, Iino was a gooey mess on the ground with a blissfully unaware look on her face. However, the moment that Fujiwara said "stop", she sprang back to her feet with a look of pure determination.

"No!"

"Eh? Haven't we done enough for today?"

"Yeah, but…"

Iino looked at the ground as her voice began to falter.

"The sports festival is in a week and I don't want to drag my team down, so…"

Iino gathered her courage, shouting to the high heavens with the spirit of a true warrior!

"I will improve and I will not tarnish the reputation of the student council!"

Fujiwara took a step back, in awe of this girl's sheer tenacity!

This indomitable spirit… Where have I seen this before?

Fujiwara took a deep breath in and a deep breath out.

"Alright then. In that case, why don't I call Miyuki?"

"No!"

Once again, Fujiwara was staring at her with a look of confusion.

"Why not?"

"Isn't that kind of thing embarrassing?"

It was at that moment that Fujiwara remembered that not everyone viewed Miyuki as a sea slug. Upon seeing the shy look on Iino's face, she pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"Look, I hate to say nice things about the guy, but Miyuki's probably the nicest, most supportive guy I know. He also told me that he started working out a while back, so he probably knows a thing or two about this sort of thing. Plus, he taught me how to rap without even knowing how in the first place, so he's probably a decent teacher too."

Fujiwara seemed to speak as though words were being wrenched out of her mouth against her will, causing great concern to Iino.

"Why do you look like you're in pain, Fujiwara-senpai?"

"It's a reflex… Regardless! Are we clear?"

Iino gave a quick nod and Fujiwara began to call Miyuki in discord. After a few rings, the sound of someone joining the call played and the speaker sounded:

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Fujiwara?"

Today's result: Fujiwara loses (due to PTSD).