This chapter is almost the complete episode 5 of the second season of Oregairu, except I did cut off the last third of the episode, as you will witness. As such, this chapter won't end in the clubroom, but in the library with... You will see soon enough.

Unrelated note: I came up at the very last minute with the title of this chapter, which do so happens to be one of the songs I didn't know about from one of my all time favorite bands. Of course, I had to check the lyrics first, because as I have mentioned in the past, I like for the chapter and the song used on each chapter's name to have a matching theme. And surprisingly, you could say they do! Who would've thought?

The question though is: Who is really setting up who?


Evening in the Hikigaya household, Hachiman's room

Hikigaya 'Hachiman' can be seen in some clothes he uses as pajamas, a spare version of his casual outfit as Damian, sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen, phone at the ready on the left side of his keyboard. Right now, Damian is steepling, with an unreadable expression on his face, elbows firmly planted on the wood, hands laced together, his position letting only the upper part of his face visible.

Yesterday was the day he ended up in the infirmary because of his now 'girlfriend' Hiratsuka Shizuka, and had a talk with Iroha Isshiki, who also ended up there for an entirely different reason.

After Damian lowered his 'Hachiman' mask around the sly foxy kouhai and tried to make her understand something about himself as much as he 'tested' her, the two had a more in-depth and serious talk regarding some current issues, one of them being the current incoming election for the School Council Presidency.

Damian won't lie, he had half a mind to originally go find the perpetrators of the 'prank' and give them a little bit of sharp tongue, if not a good fist or two to the face. But that wouldn't do Iroha any favor.

So, back to the drawing board, and pretty much forced to adopt the only method left, the 'Hachiman way'.

He talked to Zaimokuza in the library today and formulated a plan his friend would help him with. Said plan was simple, and yet risky. In more ways than one, Damian felt himself not far away from feeling like many politicians he loathed in both his life, due to how immoral the entire thing was, should he and Zaimokuza were ever caught.

Of course, he would leave Iroha out of this, as well as Yui and Yukino. None of those three had interfered, nor participated, or even been informed of his decision, and if it stays unknown to them at all, the better. He'd rather take the blame for himself, going as far as to lie and save Zaimokuza in the process.

Heh... Am I slowly reverting to the person I once used to be? Willing to let sacrifice my head for people who wouldn't do the same for me? That sounds like a very 'Hachiman' thing to do. Maybe he and I weren't so different after all...

Although, I can't decide whether this is a good, or bad.

On the screen his stares at, a large window with several tabs opened, the main one being the center of his focus.

Brown-red eyes lower themselves down to the bottom right corner to check on the small clock, showing the hour and date of the soon-to-be-over day.

Almost 9:00 pm. Komachi is still in the bath, and should come out of it in about a few minutes I'd say. Given the time of day it is here, if my calculations aren't wrong, then it means that over there, it must be...

*Ding*

Damian's lips parted from behind his hands, and they stretched into a satisfied grin, which would show his contentment with his fangs bared.

Huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh! Working like clockwork! Now this is what turns me on, when everything goes according to plan, no matter how hard or tough it can be sometimes. Let's see...

Placing his right hand on his mouse and moving the cursor to the corresponding tab, he clicked on one of the tiny smaller tabs this one contains, with a name, rather a pseudonym on it.

He too, choosed a pseudonym, as to keep his identity a secret, but would watch events unfold like a hawk, and decide if and when to intervene. At least, as much as he was allowed to, due to his daily schedule not exactly matching up with this 'type of study'.

"Hey."

"Hey too. How have things been on your side? Anything interesting?"

"Nah. It's pretty boring most of the time. Thankfully there are some rare moments where something slightly eventful happens, but other than that, dull routine all the way."

"I feel ya."

Damian's grin widened a bit after reading those words. Oh, if the person knew who they were talking to...

"That's what she said."

"...Hah hah hah! Talk about funny... Die please."

"... Sorry, no can do. Too painful, and too young to do that yet. To top it of, I might not be optimistic, but you never know what kind of opportunity is around the corner, and that I would be missing if I were to die."

"Well, when you put it that way..."

"See? And you keep saying that I make no sense? Take a lesson or two before coming back, and maybe then I'll treat you as an equal, or close enough. But you still have a long way to get there, trust my words."

"Whatever you say, asshat! As if I need to get a moralizing taunt by some random on the fucking internet! Get off your high hose and learn some humility, for a change. That would do you some good."

Ouch! Actually ouch! Well played there!

Oh, the pride he was feeling in his mind and body, swelling at what is happening in real time!

He feels happiness when he is with Shizuka, with Komachi, with many of the girls he meets and that he knows have a thing for him, but this is a another kind of happiness, another kind of pride. This isn't about love or about romance, no.

This is about oneself, so to speak.

"Sorry, but I won't be able to stay for long right now. It's nighttime, there's school tomorrow, and I'm kinda tired. You gonna stay connected all the afternoon, or not?"

"... Dunno yet. Probably. Why?"

"If I can't sleep, I might come back later in the night. So it's 50/50. In case I don't, as short as it may have been, good to have some news. Take care, and keep your eyes out for you know what."

"Gotcha! Maybe later than, otherwise, good night!"

Clicking on another tab, Damian glances on the side and sees on his phone a missed call.

"Shit! That might've been that dumbass, and I was too focused on that business to bother watching over for a call. Guess I'll have to call him back."

Unlocking his phone and ready to push the call button, another call from the same ID comes in, and this time, he answers.

"Yo."

"It is I."

"Step one is complete. We're moving to the step two."

"I can't say I wholly agree with this 's very dangerous."

"Are you changing your mind, by any-"

"Don't get me wrong! I'm worried that I'll be held responsible for executing it,and that you'll drop me like a lizard drops its tail to save itself, nothing more! I'm warning you that I am prepared to expose you, should that be the case."

After the caller spoke, a pregnant pause could be the only sound heard until...

"Hah. Hahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's it! That's the spirit! And should I be the one getting caught instead of you, I'll throw you under the bus like any sane person would do to a friend they trust with their life. Do you see now how fun all of this can be, Zaimokuza?"

"... Sometimes, you really give me the bad guy kind of vibes, you know that?"

Damian, having his laughter slowly dying down, chuckles at Zaimokuza's slightly hesitant voice.

"Don't worry too much about anything. Remember the plan? Even if anyone tries to find us, they won't have any proof since the person behind this account doesn't even exist. Once the vote ends, it will be as if it has never been there. A perfectly legit and legal rigged election for a noble cause. No harm done, none taken."

"Did you know, Zaimokuza? When a problem isn't considered as such, it then becomes null and void."

"Mmmh, if you say so. See you later."

"See ya."

*click*

"Hmm? What are you doing on your computer, Damian-nii? Playing some games again?"

Damian turns his head to see Komachi with a towel wrapped around her lithe frame, and another one in her hand, that she uses to dry her hair.

For fuck sake Shizuka, let's do it already, so I can give myself to Komachi soon enough! I swear, she has to be so sexy on purpose...

"Nope, not this time. I've had enough of O and S for today."

"O and S? What's that, Damian-nii?"

Oh Komachi, you just asked a very dangerous question there. You're not aware of what kind of ignorance just went past your lips, and the tip of your tongue. Well, maybe I can 'enlighten' you, if you want...

"Onii-chan, why are you undressing me with your eyes?"

"Because that's exactly what I am doing, Koma-chan. And while you want to call me a pervert for it, I could call you a pervert for acting like that on purpose. I mean, it's not a secret at all that after the other night, you want to spend some us time with your beloved 'Damian-nii', right~ ?"

Komachi turns bright red on the spot at being exposed, half-expecting that her beloved Damian-nii would tease her in such a... pleasing way.

Ever since she felt his touch on her body, he literally lit a fire that can no longer be extinguished, and she adores beyond reason being with him.

Komachi walks towards him with a pep in each step, and sits on his lap, shuffling a bit as she feels his strong and warm arms wrapping themselves around her.

Damian, handling Komachi's physical teasing as best as he can, still lets out a muffled groan of pleasure when he feels her soft and fleshy behind grinding against his lower body, waking up a certain part of his anatomy in the process.

His lips part open, and he gently bits her on the right side of her neck, making her releasing a moan of her own, one that contrary to him, she can't contain because it just feels so good, so right, so...

Perfect!

Everything is perfect with her Damian, her Gomi-chan! From the way they wake up, they spend time together under the same roof, the way the laugh or argue over silly things before making up, the way they sleep, the way they would cook together sometimes, the way he makes her feel like a woman in bed, even though they haven't fully done it yet...

He is the man for her. The man of her life!

And she is his!

Komachi moves her head to the side, and hungrily makes out with her lover, who is now just as turned on as she is.

Soon enough, the room is filled with screams and grunts of delight, and the bed creaks with the rhythm of two teenagers blissfully lost in their love den, despite not being able to truly show that they belong to each other...

...Yet.


Sobu High School Library, afternoon

"Senpai~, it's such a pain to copy this." Isshiki Iroha whines, as she taps the tip of her pencil on top of the sheet she is filling, Damian sitting across from her on the other side of the table of the library, is doing the same, only in silence.

When her complains is met with no response, the sly fox tries another approach to make the man talk to her, and possibly giving her informations she could then use later to her advantage.

"By the way, that girl you were out with the other day, was it Hayama-senpai's girlfriend?"

Iroha couldn't see it, but inside of Damian's mind, the simple mention of the name 'Hayama' was already enough to make him grit his teeth in anger.

But he was busy making her coming one step closer to being president of the Student Council, and wouldn't let it show under any circumstances that the blond fraud of a classmate pisses him off to no end.

"Who knows? Don't know, don't care." He answered with the most bored and devoid of life tone he could muster, controlling himself much better than he was at the sight of Komachi last evening.

Bad! Bad! Don't think about that now! Concentrate!

Yeah, it is one mood, or the other, unfortunately. Either a complete degenerate with murderous intent towards a classmate, or a complete degenerate with lust-filled intent towards his 'technically' biological little sister.

Who did you just called a 'complete degenerate'?

Uhm... Nevermind.

"Awww, come on. You can tell me."

"After we finish this." He replies, leaving no room for debate.

Figuring that she insisting further would lead nowhere, Iroha keeps writing names on the sheet, while musing to herself out-loud that 'It won't seem like there'll be a problem, and that it's okay'.

Now, if I remember correctly, this is where Hachiman would 'subtly' ask if Iroha likes Hayama, or to be more accurate, what does she thinks of him. Let's try a different method and see if I get the same result, a rejection.

"You're a freshman in her first year of high school, you probably don't know much about the guy aside from the fact that he's popular and good looking... What makes you have a liking for him despite the obvious and superficial stuff that anyone can see or guess?"

Damian carefully words his interrogation in his mind before delivering it with a curious tone, even though it is pretty rhetorical considering the fact that the answer is part of the question.

This takes Iroha by surprise, and she recoils a bit in her seat, a sign that doesn't escapes Damian's scrutiny.

Here comes the pain...

But the only thing that comes out of Iroha Isshiki's slightly parted lips is... silence.

?

"Senpai..."

"Mh?"

"If you think for a second that I will let you, Guy B, learn why I have my sights set on Hayama-senpai, Guy A, then you are sorely mistaken. Not only that, but is that some jealousy I hear in your voice? I admit that I tried to pry some informations out of you so I could increase my chances to win him over, and I do find it flattering that you are manifesting so openly your concerns for my love life, but if there happens to be a blooming romance between you and I in the future, I must first be sure that I give him a fair chance before I can move on, and be at ease with my feelings for you. That's why for now, I am sorry but I have to politely and respectfully decline your confession."

Damian stares at Iroha Isshiki, whose head is now bowed forwards, his mouth lightly ajar from the 'sort-of' rejection he just faced.

Okay, I don't exactly remember the dialogue here, but I am preeeetty sure it wasn't that much of a mouthful.

Hmm, interesting. If I analyse carefully what she just said, she admits a potential future between us, wanting to give that dickhead a 'fair chance', and perfectly understood what I tried to tell her about the other day, that he is Guy A, whereas I am Guy B. So I was right from the start to believe that she knew all along what I meant while playing...

My, my! You, Iroha Isshiki, are really a piece of work. You have a lot of potential. You just need to train yourself more, and one day no doubt, you'll be in the same league as Haruno. I don't consider myself to be that smart personally, so maybe I'm a bit above you, but clearly in-between you both. Still, what an unexpected twist!

...Omoshiroi...

"Hmm. I see. Thank you for honesty, but you didn't have to copy my way of making a long-ass monologue. Though, I have to say, it's better that way. As much as it's a pain to be the one monologuing, you convey many informations at once, and at the same time make sure to clear any potential misunderstanding while keeping vital infos to yourself. Nicely done!"

The calm tone of his voice, the easiness he displays at complimenting her for not just her answer, but also the smart way she used to dodged the question, using his own method against him, like a proud teacher praising its student, and the look in his bored eyes...

Iroha Isshiki had barely raised her head, as soon as her eyes made contact with him, she was forced to bow back, because this time, she was having her cheeks full of a pink blush, her stomach tied in a knot, and her heart skipping a beat or two.

The image of a relaxed, almost smug looking Hikigaya 'Hachiman', Damian, with a small smirk on his lips, his eyes half-lidded eyes having a touch of mirth in them, and messy dark hair made her realize what she had already figured out.

'He is too good looking! Hayama-senpai, my feelings for you are under attack! Damian-senpai might steal my heart from you anytime soon if he keeps being so... himself! I am starting to fall for him, am I not?'

"Keep writing down or else we'll be there the entire day."

The smooth deep voice pulls out Iroha from her trance, and she nods dumbly before pondering on their current activity.

"Ne, Sen-.. Damian-Senpai..."

Hmm? She adds my name now? Odd, but not unpleasant.

"Is there any point to this? What we are doing right now?"

"Frankly speaking, not really."

...

"Then why are we doing it?"

"There is a very slim, if not zero chance whatsoever for you to beat Yukino or Yui, no matter what you do. So in that sense, it is pointless."

It takes Iroha back a bit to hear the cold, harsh truth of the whole situation. After all, Damian, clubmates to both Yukinoshita and Yuigahama knows better than most why they are all part of the Service Club. Their combined efforts have already helped solve many tricky requests.

Yukinoshita is the younger daugther of a couple of rich, wealthy politicians involved directly in the diet of Chiba, the model student of this whole high school. Prestige could pretty much be the word you'd come up with when thinking about her.

Yuigahama is part of the most popular group of high school, with Hayama himself and Miura Yumiko, the 'Fire Queen'. Needless to say that against popularity on one side, and fame on the other, a mere freshman coming out of nowhere like Iroha Isshiki doesn't have much of a shot at being elected...

"Well, it's not like I want to win, but if I'd actually happen to win, it'd be kinda scary."

Damian put down his pencil, pushes his elbows on top of the table, steepling, and closes his eyes.

"As I said, you have next to no chance at defeating them. Not only that, but even the people who initially backed you won't vote for you. To put it bluntly, you're with you back against the wall. They might be laughing their asses off right now, and they'll be laughing even harder when they see you lose."

Damian is met with silence, Iroha probably taking in the brunt of the impact as much as she can handle.

"...Doesn't that pisses you off?"

Iroha lifts her eyes to look at the man across from her, and can see the frowning face, attitude still perfectly composed but now opened, anger filled eyes of Damian. If Iroha isn't upset for the predicament she's in, Damian is for the both of them!

"I may not be the best when it comes to giving advices, but life taught me one very important lesson throughout my years of living: If someone does something nasty to you, get back at them! Make them pay tenfold! Give them a taste of their own medicine!"

"It's good to try and be nice with everyone, but teenagers are nothing more than a bunch a cruel, merciless scumbags to one another. Because they are legally under their parents' protection, they naïvely believe that every act or crime they do will go unpunished. They'll get scolded at best, get away with a light slap on the wrist at worst, and next week, they'll do it again to someone else, endlessly repeating the process until some poor soul won't handle it. You don't want that one being you..."

The younger girl absorbs every syllable as if she was drinking pure fresh water from an oasis in the middle of the desert, after enduring several days of thirst and exhaustion.

He may say he isn't good at giving advices, but with twice or so her lifetime of experiences in many kind, surely he knows what he's talking about, how the world works, and how to help her.

Damian stares silently as Iroha clutches her pencil in her slender hand, a scowl on her face, looking to the side, muttering how she would like to be able to, until he grabs the papers he had been filling previously in his right hand, and shows it to her.

"Then here you have it. Your reason, your motivation, your weapon. What do you think those sheets are, Iroha?"

Iroha stares beck into the cold brown-reddish abyss that are his focused eyes, never leaving her form for a single second.

"A... list of backers?"

"Exactly. But they aren't a list of people backing for anyone. It's a list of people backing a specific candidate: You, Isshiki Iroha!"

Iroha takes a few seconds to understand what is currently happening around her, and gasps loudly in shock. She then stares down at the small pile of sheets she too had been writing names on, and realizes that she has been, unknowingly, making herself the potential future President of the Student Council all along!

"The rule says that you need at the very least thirty of them. But if you find more, you can get as many as you want. That reinforces the idea that the more backers you have, the more you are qualified for the job."

"Not only that, but you do have a support account for you on the internet. Followed by a good third of the entire student body of this school. With that many supporters, I'd say that you have over 80% of winning."

Iroha feels frightened, due to the pressure that will soon become unbearable on her frail shoulders.

In the own words of Hayama Hayato, Isshiki Iroha isn't one to lower her mask and reveal her personality so easily, even around people she is close to. However, in this instance, it seems as so she is doing exactly that, whether she realizes it or not.

Fear is a powerful emotion, that will make even the bravest and most courageous people break their tough facade and show how scared they are inside, be the reason be logical or illogical.

"B-But I can't pull it off just like that! And even if I did win..." The fox exclaims herself, before her tone drops almost to the level of a whisper, her expression turning doubtful.

"...'I don't think I could handle the job? I'm not really confident, and I have my club anyway?' Were those the words you were about to say, Isshiki? Then once more, listen to what this old man has to say, and you'll hopefully understand where I come from."

Damian took her words and her breath out of her body, his eyes fixated on her as he raises his right hand towards her, the fierce and serious expression still on display.

"I would certainly be a tough deal to juggle between being both President of the Student Council and a member of your club, but there are many things to gain from it. What would those be, to you?"

Iroha thinks for a few seconds, before speaking again.

"Hmm, experience and stuff, I guess? And it'd look good on my record... You know Senpai, you-"

Damian interrupts by tapping calmly on the wooden table the fingers of his left hand, stopping mid-motion when he interrupts Isshiki again.

"You are right, at least on a surface level. But let me teach you what you really gain from those things!"

He then places his right fist in front of Iroha, and starts raising his index finger.

"'I'm Student Council President as a first-year, but I also still attend my own club!' That is the first point. As a first-year, you would be forgiven for failing, since you are new to high-school and can get easily drowned in responsabilities of all kind: Homework, club duties, and many more. The pressure is already big enough as it is, so placing on top a demanding job like being the president of the Student Council, the figurehead if you will, adds another weight on your shoulders. But if you manage to do a decent job, you will be able to exert your revenge on those who 'pranked' you, and it will look good on your record, as you said."

A second finger is soon rising.

"Second: When you don't want to do Student Council work, you can use your club as an excuse, and vice-versa."

"B-But it would be hard work, wouldn't it? Or-"

"Three: If it ever gets to that point, you can use that chance to talk to Hayama. You might as well have him helping you, and if you do catch him after your club, you'd get the perk of asking him to walk you home."

The three fingers all raised, Iroha Isshiki is left baffled by how easily, how casually Damian can place the different pieces of an incredibly complex puzzle like that, and explain with simple yet clear sentences the pros and cons of the situation at hand.

"Senpai, are you secretly a genius or something?"

Damian laughs it off by snorting and rolling his eyes to the side, retreating his right arm as he lays back into his own chair.

"No. Years, decades of practice, learning the human behavior from all kinds of people, the way things work in this world, analyzing every little detail and making a connection step by step to lead to the best outcome possible without neglecting what can potentially go wrong... I've had time, Iroha. Enough time to make mistakes, pacing back and forth, thinking back to the proverbial 'what did I do wrong?', dissecting every move, every word, before reaching the most probable conclusion as to why my plans failed. The more I made mistakes, the more I would learn from them, the less I'd make later on. You unfortunately need to fall to get back up, and learn to start walking properly."

Absorbing her Senpai's words of wisdom like a sponge absorbs water, Iroha looks at the sheets of paper stacked on top of one another, and decides that it's worth a shot. This gives her back the confidence she previously said she lacked.

"Well, if I have this much support, I guess there's not much of a choice."

Her voice dips down, and the faintest of a pink hue can be seen on her cheeks as her smile softens.

"And that proposal is attractive in its own way. And... I don't want people in my class laughing at me behind my back."

Seeing the gentle smile, the kind whisper of a voice of one Iroha Isshiki, Damian can't resist this cute younger girl attitude, and is reminded of many persons he had met in both his life, and the few good memories he still has of them.

This girl... No matter how much she tries to put a mask on her face, she can't hide the fact that she is genuinely is a good soul. A poor helpless girl stuck in a hard situation, trying to do her best and to remain positive no matter what. Heh, I woudn't mind having her in my life, by my side... Along with a few others of course!

"I'll let you twist my arm, Sen~pai~!"

He is almost shocked by how fast she recovered, and is now showing again her foxy facade.

But he knows. He knows that he didn't just imagined the sight from a few seconds ago.

Rattling a bit against the floor, the legs of the chair were pushed back as he stood up, and walked to stand behind Isshiki. There, he did something neither she or he had planned, but he needed to do it, to say it, to act as his guts told him!

Placing both his hands on her shoulders from behind and giving a light squeeze, Damian looks down at Isshiki Iroha with a serene and peaceful expression on his face. The latter is shocked by what happens and stares back at him, but feels that it is rather comforting, despite being slightly strange.

"Iroha, I want to let you know that, should you need my help, as long as you don't abuse it for your own means, and for as long as you want, I'll be there for you. As a senpai, as a friend...or more, if you want me to be. You are one of the few important people I have now, and you'll do great. So don't worry, okay?"

This completly steals the breath and air out of Iroha's lungs, and she sits here, with a fierce blush on her cheeks now, the blood burning like fire, her heart feeling constricted, butterflies dancing in her stomach...

Iroha Isshiki is entranced by this vision, this version of her Senpai, her Damian-Senpai...

'My Damian-Senpai? H-Hold on! Wait! AAAAAAAAH! What am I thinking this? Stupid, stupid Senpai making me fall for him instead of Hayama-senpai!'

But even if it seems wrong in her mind, her heart tells her that it isn't. The opposite, actually.

'I mean, he helps me with this, he is good looking, he is cool whether he knows it or not, he is wise, he has been through a lot and keeps pushing nonetheless, he makes my heart beating loudly in my chest and for some reason I can't explain, I feel safe around him...'

'I really am falling in love for Damian-Senpai, aren't I?'

The dawning realization and confirmation of what she had previously assumed no longer being a fleeting thought in her mind, Iroha Isshiki gives a gentle smile, raises both her arms up, and places them on Damian's own.

Seeing this odd gesture, Damian lowers himself, and slowly, carefully, Iroha's hands lock themselves behind his neck, causing their faces to be only inches away from one another.

Smooth, warm, and moist lips make contact with the skin of his right cheek, grazing ever so slightly the corner of his mouth, for a few seconds.

"I am glad I have a senpai like you, Damian. Please take care of this kouhai of yours, for as long as you want~."

"!"

Damian's eyes widened, his eyebrows shot up in surprise at Iroha's boldness, and yet...

He doesn't mind.

He just keeps being there, in this awkward embrace they share, her face full of trust, relaxed, and happy.

"I thought you said you still wanted to give him a 'fair chance'. And yet here you are, almost kissing me? Not that I don't like it, but, I can't help but wonder if you really meant those words now."

Iroha nods in the affirmative, accidentally making the tips of their noses rub together, something else that shocks them, but they get over it quickly.

"I meant it, just like I mean what I say, Sen-pai~."

Damian stays silent for a few seconds, his eyes on the side before looking back at her.

"And what if you confess to him, and he accepts? What of me, then?"

To his continuous surprise, Iroha closes her eyes and let out an amused giggle.

"I choose who I date, who I fall in love with, and who I want to have my first kiss with, Sen-pai~."

Pulling him back towards without giving him a warning, Iroha Isshiki kisses him again, this time on the left cheek, but still hitting a very tiny bit of the corner of his mouth in the process.

She lets go of her hold over him, for now she thinks, and he raises himself while staring at her with an owlish expression on his face.

Damian is not an easy one to get flustered, something even Komachi fails at doing sometimes. But this once, Iroha Isshiki, his sly and foxy kouhai may just have done that.

Not that I will tell her that...

...Yet!


A lot of mysteries and the plot thickens?

Nah, that really doesn't sound like something I would do! I don't have the mental capacity to do things like that! What I produce is more 'bland', tasteless if anything.

I do believe that Iroha Isshiki and Hikigaya Hachiman were originally a good match for each other, romantically speaking. So since Damian is at least 60-ish percent similar to Hachiman, why wouldn't those two be a good pair then?

Komachi sure does get hot and bothered more often, and who exactly was the person Damian was writing to, when missing Zaimokuza's first phone call?

And uhm, yeah, as you saw in the first few lines before the chapter began, I did place the ending sooner than it was in the episode. And no, I won't pull on you a 'D and D Game Of Thrones' excuse by telling you that it was intentional and that I wanted to 'Subvert expectations'. No! It was simply me being lazy, sort of. But I also DO like leaving things on a cliffhanger, even it it's a blueballing kind of move. So Iroha Isshiki is not yet declared as winner, but since this series of fanfictions is pretty much a retelling of the Anime/Manga version of the story with its twists, you can tell that while some things will change with time, some others won't.

Honestly, I could've rewritten and added my part to the missing chunk of the story, and made it end like the chapter, adding bits and pieces. But it would've started to become a bit too much like the anime at this point, and it's not what I want.

Hence, the following chapter will (probably, fingers crossed) contain: Iroha Isshiki being officialized as President of the StuCo, Yui doting on Damian a bit in the clubroom, Yukino being Yukino, Shizuka being a childish yet lovable adult, and who knows what else. So don't forget to stay tuned!

Hontoni Arigatogozaimasu! (Oh and yeah, tell me if I should include more Japanese words as well. It helps creating a vibe, you know?)