Author's Note: Been ages since I started this one. I wanted to continue it but was at a loss deciding where to go with it. I decided to just start writing and see what happens. So, chapter 2..
Oh dear reader, so begins the political career of me, Yuu Narukami. I've heard it said that all politics is war, and what is war? Let's go right back to Sun Tzu for that one. To summarize, he said, "All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable. When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far; when far, we must make him believe we are near." You've got to know what your enemy is going to do before he's even decided. I'd wager you don't want to hear me prattle on about ancient Chinese military doctrine, so, if I can be succinct, the key to deception and knowing your enemy in that old saying, "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."
"Alright! I hope you guys are feelings as pumped about this as I am! It's the dawning of a new day! It's morning in Inaba!" the energetic Chie proclaimed as she led her two male counterparts into an empty room in Inaba High School.
"It's 7:30 in the morning Chie, why are you so energetic right now?" came the reply from Yosuke. As he followed lethargically with his eyes toward the floor. "Seriously, how many cups of coffee did you drink this morning? Nobody should be this wired about coming to school half hour early just to talk before class."
She spun around to face Yosuke and snapped back. "I don't even drink coffee! I'm always raring to go when it comes to standing up for what I believe in! If you would rather be doing something else, well, I don't see anyone holding a gun to your head to be here!"
Yosuke sighed. "I want to win this election, don't get me wrong, but I was having such a great dream this morning before Yuu came by my house to wake me up. It was bliss. I was dreaming that Yukiko and I were…" His words stopped abruptly. He recognized that he had metaphorically walked into a post.
Yosuke's eyes slowly rose to observe Chie, who was now staring him down like a wild animal stares down rivals in an attempt to intimidate and defend ones territory. Yosuke observed her stance.
Arms crossed.
Head cocked.
Eyes wide.
Most worrisome was the way her right foot tapped the floor, which signaled that he better choose his next words very, very delicately.
"Do continue," Chie said ominously. "How did this wonderful dream conclude?"
Yosuke weighed his options. What would be less painful? Saying nothing of trying to lie his way out of it? He decided silence would let Chie's imagination run wild, which was a dangerous proposition.
"And we totally did our homework and both got A's on our test next week. I was so happy to ace that test! What a great dream!" he stuttered, hoping she would at the very least go easy on him
Chie focused he gaze on him intently for a few seconds, before relaxing her glare and taking a less menacing pose.
"Oh, I guess that's okay" she quipped, "except, we don't have a test next week." She cocked her leg back as Yosuke bent over and covered his head, letting out a yelp in anticipation.
When the kick never came he raised his head to see Chie shaking her head with a smirk across her face. "Really now, do you think I'd do that here of all places? We've got planning to do, and you've got to be a part of that. You wouldn't be any use if I sent ya to the hospital."
Yosuke sighed. Fooled again.
"An old married couple," Yuu said dryly.
Neither of his friends chastised his comment, as they both looked away to hide their blushing.
The trio took their seats at one of several small round tables in the room.
"So, here's what we know," Chie began, "The student council election is coming in three weeks, and there are several positions in contention. We've already decided that Yuu should go for the President's position, because he's been our leader through and through. Other positions are Vice President and Treasurer. I thought that if we each ran for one, we'd have a better chance of winning, and actually getting to the bottom of this whole student club fiasco."
"Definitely! That will improve our odds of getting some changes around this place." Yosuke replied. "What do you want to run for Chie?'
"Well, I figured you've got some experience with money and that kind of stuff, since you're pretty much the second in command at Junes, so you should run for treasurer. I'd go with Vice President."
"Good thinking Chie. I like it!"
"Thanks. I was also thinking we should include the rest of the gang in this. We've been through so many challenges together, so we should stick together on this one too!" Chie beamed.
"Are there any other openings on the council? I thought it was just the three positions. Do you have something in mind for the rest of our crew to do?"
"Well, I guess I didn't think that far ahead," Chie admitted.
"Hmmm, there's got to be a way for them to help," Yosuke said as he lost himself in thought.
"There is," Yuu proclaimed. "I've got an idea for each of them. We're going to employ their various talents and strengths on the political battlefield."
"Alright!" Chie and Yosuke said in unison. "But how exactly?"
"We're going to bring Naoto into the fold to act as out intelligence agent. She'll gather info on our competitors that we can exploit to our advantage. Next, we'll need Rise to act as our spokesperson. She's a crowd pleaser, and really knows how to speak to the masses, especially impressionable young males. While we're at it, I think you've all noticed the effect a certain bear has on the opposite sex. Teddy will help us wrangle the female vote. Kanji will have an important role too. We'll need some muscle, because I've got a feeling that the current student council won't want to play fair. The rest of the team might not be running for council, but they'll be important in helping us win."
"Man, sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this, dude! That's why you're my bro!" Yosuke said cheerfully.
"What about Yukiko?" Chie inquired. "You didn't mention her name."
"Well, she's been telling me how hard it's been balancing life at the Inn and school lately, so I thought she'd have a hard time adding this election stuff into her schedule. But, you know Yukiko. She'd help her friends with anything, even at her own expense. It just didn't seem fair to me to ask her to sacrifice her time."
Chie swooned, "I wish someone was that thoughtful about me."
Noticing that Chie was lost in a romantic day dream, Yosuke rolled his eyes and nudged Yuu, calling attention not their lovelorn friend.
"Earth to Chie. Earth to Chie," Yosuke called, one had covering his mouth in order to mimic a radio while snapped his fingers with the other hand. Chie shook her head and came back to reality.
"So that's that. We've just got to ask them to help us out. But keep it on the down low from Yukiko, okay? I'll mention it to her eventually, but let's wait to see how much effort this thing actually takes before we burden her with it" Yuu explained, and the other two nodded in agreement.
"So, the next time we meet, we should figure out exactly how we are gonna get people to vote for us. Let's sign up for the election before class, and then figure out what our next move should be," Chie suggested.
The group rose from their seats and exited the room, feeling like they had made real headway in their budding campaign. Before going to their homeroom they stopped by the election signup sheet in the main lobby, and were not surprised to see nobody had entered their names. They knew students weren't very interest in the student council. However, they knew that could prove problematic in getting them out to vote.
The trio entered their homeroom just before class began, and seated themselves as the morning bell rang. They had narrowly escaped with their freedom intact, as tardiness meant detention after school. Perhaps extra detention if you were an unfortunate young male that had caught the eye of Ms. N. Kashiwagi. Luckily, the rest of the school day passed uneventfully.
As the bell to end classes rang, the group left the room after some small talk. Yuu had planned to text Chie and Yosuke later to figure out the best method of convincing their other comrades to join the campaign.
As Yuu walked towards the exit he noticed a growing crowd of students around the sign-up sheet for the election. Maybe students were more interested in this thing than he thought. Maybe someone else had even put their name on the ticket.
Yuu nudged his way through the crowd to observe the poster. He could see that someone had written their name under his on the President column. He finally got close enough to read the sheet, where he observed his own name "Yuu Narukami," and directly under it, another name ,"Yukiko Amagi"
Now, dear reader, what did I say about friends and enemies?