To the students of Shuchi'in academy, Miko Iino always exuded an aura of authority wherever she went. Even now, at the start of the supposedly casual event that was the scavenger hunt, there was a serious air that emanated from her, engulfing the entire field. When her back was turned to the students like it was now, she seemed almost unreachable..
"The president sure is something, huh?"
"I wonder what's going on in her head at times like these…"
Meanwhile, in Iino's mind…
This day couldn't get any better! I won the bread eating competition, my last event's nice and low pressure, and best of all, Ishigami was cheering for me!
Iino giggled to herself, holding her mouth in her hands as a grin began to appear on her face.
At this point, it's only a matter of time before he confesses his undying love to me. This is the best!
She's on a bit of a high horse.
Iino turned back, her eyes scanning over the crowd until her gaze converged on a singular point, or rather, a singular person.
Wait, is he actually watching me from the front now?
Indeed, Ishigami had made his way to the front of the crowd. While his hands were obscuring his mouth, he appeared to be muttering something to himself. Iino's thoughts?
I'd bet that he's cheering me on under his breath because he's too scared to get found out by everyone around him! He's so adorable~
I'd call her out for being on a high horse again, though it's hard to do that when she's 100% correct.
Still, I wonder why the race hasn't started yet. Aren't we running a little late?
Right as she said that, however, her attention was immediately diverted by the sight of a sweat-drenched Mitama whizzing by them. Kicking up a path of dust behind her, she stopped, panting in front of the 8 contestants for a few moments before straightening herself up.
"Alright, everyone! It's time to start the scavenger hunt! You guys ready?"
We were ready 5 minutes ago, but who's counting?
Mitama took out two top hats, setting them down on the floor in front of her.
"When it comes to the rules, it's just your average scavenger hunt, but with a twist. First, each of you'll draw a lot from the top hat on the left. After you bring whatever was written on it back here, then you'll draw from the right."
Iino raised her hand, prompting Mitama to raise an eyebrow.
"Yes, president?"
"You said that there was a twist? Do you mind letting us know what that is? Oh, and you don't have to call me president here."
Mitama merely flashed her usual smile, nodding as she spoke.
"There's more, president, but I'll let you guys know that once you've all gotten your second object. Now, without further ado, here are your lots! Now, remember, you're not allowed to go until I say 'go'. We cool?"
When everyone nodded, Mitama went up to each of them, handing them each a slip of paper. Iino looked down at hers when she received it, reading out:
A beret…
"On your marks, get set, go!"
###
Meanwhile, Takeno and Kogane were busy talking amongst themselves.
"You really think that her plan'll work?"
"You should have more faith in Mitama. Not a single one of her plans has failed yet, you know?"
"I guess… Say, is that the president?"
There was almost a sinister glow in Iino's eyes as she marched towards the first years. The students cowered back in fear, Iino's aura of menace overtaking them. Meanwhile, as for Kogane…
"Hey there, President-sama! Is there something that you're looking for from me?"
When'd she start calling me 'President-sama'?
Deciding that this would be better ignored, Iino simply stuck her hand out, her serious expression not fading in the slightest.
"Your beret. Could you lend it to me, plea-"
"Yes, of course!"
Iino nearly flinched in surprise at how quickly Kogane shoved her beret into her hand.
"Yikes. Looks like the president's got the whole council wrapped around her finger."
"You know she can hear you, right?"
"Eep!"
Iino merely sighed at the statements of the students around her as she returned to Mitama who was wearing a massive smile on her face.
"Looks like you're back, President-sama!"
"Just wondering, were you going to explain the twist you mentioned earlier?"
Mitama gave a light laugh.
"President's as sharp as ever!"
Despite her best efforts, Iino felt the edges of her mouth lift up as she scratched the back of her head, walking off.
Ehehe… Someone really oughta give that girl a reality check…
Miko Iino and praise have a bit of a dysfunctional relationship.
She's not going to ask me for more information?
Mitama scratched her head for a moment before shrugging as Iino began to scan through the crowd once again.
Alright. If I'm looking for someone that I admire, there can only really be one person. Everything from their stature to their demeanor to their hair is worth praise! With that in mind… Where is Fujiwara-senpai? I could've sworn she was around just a moment ago-
At that moment, when Iino finally spotted her. And when she did, her face contorted into a scowl as a single line of thought flew through her mind:
That thieving harlot!
Iino's gaze locked onto Ai "Thieving Harlot" Hayasaka before she gave a sigh and began scanning the crowd once more.
So, what now? Maybe I could look for Rei or Kobachi, but-
"Yo."
Feeling a tap on the shoulder, Iino again had to turn around before finding herself face to face with…
"Ishigami?"
All the other contestants had long since found their 'object of admirations', thus putting the collective attention of Shuchi'in academy squarely on the two people standing in the middle of the track.
"What are you doing here?"
Iino's tone was one of slight irritation, prompting Ishigami to close his eyes and think for a moment.
What am I doing here? Knowing Iino, she could probably take this and spin it into a scenario where I confess. But…
Reopening his eyes, Ishigami looked at the girl in front of him. Takina a deep breath, he extended his arm to her, saying:
"I'm your vice president, aren't I? It's my job to help you out in these kinds of situations."
And that was all it took. Because before Ishigami knew it, he was already being whisked away to join Tono and the others. Despite the crowd and the atmosphere, however, the only thing that Ishigami could focus on at this moment was the light touch of Iino's fingertips on his.
The last time we were holding hands…
He shook the thought out of his head, however, as he and Iino approached Tono.
"Perfect! Now that all the contestants have found their objects, I've just got one last teensy little twist to throw at you guys!"
Ishigami had a feeling that it was going to be a bit more than just a teensy twist.
Nevertheless, Tono continued with the same amount of flourish that she had before as she said:
"As you know, you've all brought someone who you admire! But just being able to find someone you look up to quickly isn't everything! As such, the sports festival committee has decided that, starting in reverse order, each contestant will list as many things that they admire about their partner as they can!"
Pausing to let this information sink in, Tono simply smiled as she clicked on a remote, causing a jumbo-tron that neither Ishigami nor Iino had even noticed to flare to life, showing an image of them to the entire school.
"Eh? What is-"
"By the way, your professions of admiration may or may not be broadcast to the rest of Shuchi'in for the purpose of fostering a caring environment where we're not afraid to compliment one another!"
Another pause. Ishigami and Iino were so shocked that they didn't even protest. Ishigami merely stared at Iino, skepticism beginning to brew within him.
Putting how Tono got her hands on the StuCo jumbo-tron aside, isn't Iino going first? So, she's gonna have to list off things that she admires about me…
Immediately, an unpleasant memory found its way into Ishigami's mind, eliciting a grimace as he remembered the words "No redeeming qualities" being how Iino thought of him. A new image was beginning to be conjured in his mind, one of a sinisterly smiling Iino slowly sliding her finger down his chest as she says:
"Ah? You wanted me to praise you, Ishigami? Honestly, if you're going to act like that, then I'll have no choice but to say that you really are quite cu-"
"Ishigami."
Hearing Iino's voice, Ishigami fell right back to reality, the image in his mind being dashed and replaced by the sight of the person in front of him. He watched as Iino took a deep breath, both of them acutely aware of the amount of eyes on them. But Iino had experience with this, at least. The feeling of having all eyes on oneself wasn't unfamiliar to Iino, nor was it to Ishigami. But now, there was no resistance. Rather than malice, or annoyance, or apathy like they were used to, there was only one emotion being felt in the crowd at this moment:
Anticipation.
"Oi, Kogane?"
Kogane turned to her side, smiling at Takeno.
"What is it?"
"Is it just me, or are people paying a weird amount of attention to this?"
Kogane simply smiled, turning back to face Iino and Ishigami.
"Couldn't it just be because this is the president and vice-president? Maybe everyone's finally realized the amazing chemistry they have!"
"Something about the way you said that tells me that you have something to do with it."
Kogane smiled, bringing their hand to their mouth as they giggled.
"Fufufu… You think?"
"Well, that was about all the confirmation I needed. Don't tell me you gave everyone the same sermon as you did for Tono and I?"
Kogane laughed again, shaking her head.
"Of course not! I've just been doing some work behind-the-scenes, that's all."
Allow me to explain! As a daughter to a manga artist and a large streamer and having discovered her passion for social media and videography from a young age, Kogane is no stranger to subtly manipulating the masses using the power of the internet. As such, even after losing much of her support in middle school, her skills remained intact, thus allowing her to make full use of the relative anonymity provided by the internet to regain a rather sizable following.
With the backing of the mass media club, the influence of information was at her fingertips. With a single PR campaign, she could swing the opinion of Shuchi'in academy in whatever direction she so pleased. Naturally, having this much power comes with great responsibility, so naturally, Kogane decided to dedicate her efforts to one purpose:
"You turned the whole school into President X Ishigami-sama shippers?"
Kogane pouted, shaking her head.
"First of all, it's Ishigami-sama X President. Second of all, it's not like I have the whole school under my thumb or anything. I've just done enough work that the general sentiment around here is 'it would be nice for them to get together' or 'they'd make a cute couple' or something like that."
"Huh…"
In any case, Iino and Ishigami couldn't stay silent forever, and just as Ishigami was beginning to doubt himself, Iino continued.
"First of all, you, uh…"
Iino grit her teeth, pausing as she looked at the ground.
It's just for the competition. Nothing more, nothing less.
One deep breath in and out later, she was back.
"I've seen how hard you work, Ishigami."
Iino was staring just above Ishigami's head, but was standing far enough away that this fact was unnoticable to the onlookers.
"In about a year, you went from failing to the top 10 in our year. That's… not something to scoff at."
Ishigami would have protested that this was largely thanks to the help of the people around him, but in the moment, the only thing that he could think of was:
She's actually… complimenting me?
Iino continued, still taking deep breaths as she worked herself into a groove.
"You've… also been getting more diligent. The focus that you have during our… council meetings shows me that you're… really taking school more seriously."
Ishigami decided against informing her of his desire to play video games during the meetings.
Well, that stings a little. Maybe I should actually take things more seriously.
Nevertheless Iino continued. Before, her register was punctuated by pauses that Ishigami interpreted as her avoiding using a filler syllable like 'um' or 'like' but now, even those miniscule pauses were beginning to disappear as her eyes began to trail slightly downwards.
"You've also done a lot for the school. If it weren't for you, a lot of the work that the previous council put in would have been wasted."
Ishigami raised an eyebrow.
But you should take credit for that too. It's thanks to you that I even joined and stayed to begin with…
And as Iino continued to list things from his helpfulness to the other council members (Honestly, I'd rather just be at home playing games) to his handling of the Otomo situation (I acted like a selfish idiot…), the disconnect between what he heard and what he saw in himself led to one conclusion:
I have to do better. If this is what Iino thinks of me, then all I have to do is live up to her expectations.
After that, the rest of the 'Admiration Professions' were rather forgettable to Ishigami as these thoughts continued to swim about in his head.
Still though, it's nice to be complimented by her for once…
Today's result: the student council wins.
Speaking of which, what were they up to before the competition, anyway?
