Ultimately, following the interruption, it was decided via partly express and partly implied agreement that an intermission ought to be convened. All of the lay members of Kaihin Sougou's student council stood and filed out of the room, each of them shooting one last parting salvo of hostility at Isshiki as they departed. The only one of their number who didn't appear altogether bothered by the shenanigans was Orimoto Kaori, whom I had almost forgotten was part of their cohort, though she did cast a furtive glance at me as she trailed behind her fellow compatriots. Tamanawa continued to scrutinize the surface of his desk in furious detail, steam pouring out of his ears, lower lip jutting out in a child-like pout.

We were, to put it bluntly, in quite a bind. I decided it would be best for us to maintain some distance between us and Kaihin Sougou for now, and I made my way to the vending machines located in the lobby of the community center, hoping that Isshiki would follow. To my relief, she did.

I had expected her to react with shock, indignation, or perhaps some other variant of astonishment at my questioning her intelligence. Instead, to my consternation, there had been an expression that could only be described as disappointment. She had slunk back into the conference room and announced something along the lines of, "We have something to discuss in private, so I think it'd be best if we took a break for now," which had met with a mixed reaction – some had nodded, others had simply looked away. Either way, the discord between both camps was palpable, and it was all thanks to the girl who now silently accompanied me on my quest to clear my head, her erstwhile veneer of false confidence all but shattered, replaced by a face reddened with embarrassment and a noticeable outpouring of naked self-awareness.

Of course, I was tempted to ask what the point was of doing something like that. Yet I couldn't help but feel that damning her for the exact sort of socially self-defeating stunt that I would've gladly pulled had the need arose would be the saucepan calling the frying pan silver, or whatever the idiom was supposed to be. I didn't need to ask her why it was done, because I already knew why – in fact, I had already psychologically braced myself to step forward and unite the meeting in common hatred against myself, if it would give Kaihin Sougou the impetus they needed to stop waffling and start working.

The only question that needed to be asked was: why did she, of all people, do it? Why take a leaf out of my playbook and willingly transform herself into an undesirable in the eyes of the people around her? That was just not her style; it had never been.

"Oh, Hikigaya. And Iroha-chan, too."

I looked up. There, in front of the vending machines, stood Orimoto, her finger on the button as she prepared to buy herself a drink.

"Orimoto…"

"Senpai's friend from middle school…"

Orimoto gestured at the colorful array of beverages on display. "You want something? My treat. You too, Iroha-chan."

"If you insist."

"Sure, thanks."

Having gratefully received our gifts, we were beckoned by Orimoto to bring our drinks closer. She tapped each of them in turn with her own beverage, a toast to our cooperation, present and future – that is, if it weren't currently on the verge of breaking down completely. We each took a hearty swig, letting the cool, sweet liquid pacify our racing thoughts and soothe our aching bodies.

"So, I've been meaning to ask, but…" Orimoto's eyes flitted inquisitively between the two of us. "How do the two of you know each other?"

"I helped her become student council president," I replied perfunctorily. "That's pretty much it."

Orimoto chuckled knowingly, as though suddenly privy to some unspoken realization. "That's funny. I thought the two of you were going out or something. You haven't asked her out, have you?"

A stone plummeted in my chest. "Of course not. What would make you think that?"

"I dunno." A hint of mischief plucked at Orimoto's lips, but she thought better of elaborating on her statement, instead motioning towards Isshiki and saying, "You really went crazy there, Iroha-chan – I think only Tamanawa's parents have ever spoken to him like that. He's such a crowd-pleaser at school that even the teachers treat him like a friend. I feel the urge to give him a kick up the ass sometimes, but never to that extent." She reached over and clapped Isshiki on the shoulder. "Way to go, prez."

Isshiki, evidently reluctant to accept the compliment, merely nodded in response.

"Be that as it may, the 'collab' part of the event is on its last legs right now," I reminded Orimoto. "Isshiki's idea is a solid one, but convincing your president to agree with it is another matter entirely. At worst, we might end up having to do our own events without any collaboration whatsoever. We're pretty much in between a rock and a hard place."

"Sounds like you're having a hard time of things, Hikigaya-kun."

A chill ran down my spine as I heard those words, spoken by a voice that – as was par for the course – seemed to lower the average temperature of whichever room we were in by a few notches. The abrupt coldness was only magnified by my astoundment at the source of those words being here in the first place. We weren't exactly on good terms, let alone her and the student council president standing beside me, who immediately paled as though she had just seen a ghost.

Orimoto bobbed her head from side to side as she observed the newcomer. "You look kinda familiar."

"So do you. And I rarely forget a face." Yukinoshita's frigid glare shifted to Isshiki, whose already hesitant demeanor became ever the more reticent when confronted by such uncompromising gelidity. "If you can't even do your job without Hikigaya-kun following you around like a stray dog chasing a bone, then maybe you shouldn't have offered yourself up for the position in the first place, Isshiki-san."

"Why are you even here?" I turned to face Yukinoshita, whose eyes twitched belligerently in reaction to my not-entirely-rhetorical question. "Surely it's not just to make fun of-"

"You asked something of me, and of the Service Club," she replied matter-of-factly. "To help you and Isshiki with the collaboration event. I may not be in the mood for it, but like I told you, Hikigaya-kun, there are many different types of wants. And the only thing I hate more than a frivolous person is a loose end left untied. It's less than a week until the event is due to start, and if you still haven't gotten your feet off the ground, then clearly you're in some kind of trouble. Am I wrong?"

"Not… exactly," I conceded.

"Then lead the way." Yukinoshita straightened her back and lifted the strap of her schoolbag closer to her neck. "I – or rather, we – have a request to complete."


It was difficult to predict exactly what sort of effect Yukinoshita would have on the meeting between the two schools, given that she herself wasn't exactly renowned for her patience. The cynical part of me fully expected her presence to be the figurative nail in the coffin – she would lash her sharp tongue out at the members of Kaihin Sougou's student council upon discovering how feckless and delegative they were, and our very own Soubu High's collective reputation would be forever tarnished.

That forecast couldn't have been farther from the truth. In Tamanawa, who had abruptly discovered a competitive edge following Isshiki's public skepticism of his team's motivation, Yukinoshita found something of a kindred spirit, one who – despite his overt eagerness to please and habitually wishy-washy rhetoric, both things which Yukinoshita disdained – also could not stand to leave important matters undone. As someone well used to taking far too much upon her own shoulders, Yukinoshita, playing the role of a "representative" of our student council, ended up essentially talking on our behalf and striking a bargain with them that was similar to what Isshiki had proposed earlier in the day. We would act autonomously with regards to the internal planning of the events that each school sought to run, but the grander facets of the whole operation – advertisement, assistance from the local elementary school and the like – would be decided together. A handshake between Yukinoshita and Tamanawa sealed the deal, and everyone left the meeting far happier about its conclusion than they would have without the Ice Queen around to douse the flames.

All the while, Isshiki sat pensively beside me, her chair having been restored to its original position. Her countenance was far more reminiscent of the mien she had adopted during our previous meeting – one that was muted, submissive, and resigned to her fate. The only result that acquiescence served to achieve was the apparently burgeoning notion amongst both sets of students that there was someone else in the room far, far better suited to the role of student council president than Isshiki Iroha, who might as well have been wearing a dunce hat for all the good it did her. It seemed as though I was the only one in her corner, and even my desire to support her rapidly dwindled following the blatant show of competence Yukinoshita put on for the rest of us to watch.

As the meeting was adjourned for the day and we prepared to leave, Yukinoshita made her way over to us. "My debt has been paid then, right?" she asked.

"You saved our skins," I admitted. "Thanks, Yukinoshita."

She smiled in tangible triumph, her gaze briefly flickering towards Isshiki before returning to me. "Then I'll be going home. See you later, Hikigaya-kun. Goodbye, Isshiki-san." Her hair fluttered elegantly behind her as she swiveled around and exited the conference room alongside the others. Before long, only Isshiki and I were left still at the table, contemplating in the suffocating silence what had just transpired.

"Let's head back as well," I suggested. As I pushed my chair back, I felt a tug on the hem of my shirt.

"Senpai…"

I let Isshiki guide me back towards my seat. "What is it?" I asked.

"I've been thinking about this for a while, but… do you think I should just resign? From the student council presidency, I mean."

The question itself didn't surprise me, but the fact that she actually gave voice to it did. "You haven't done anything wrong. I would've done the same if I were president."

"I haven't done anything right, either," she mumbled. "Even you thought I was just being stupid. Nothing I try seems to work out."

"You have done something right," I insisted. "Without you, they would've never even thought about getting things back on track. Yukinoshita applied the finishing touches, but she has experience dealing with strangers in a committee, and you don't. That's something you'll just have to keep working to get more of over time. Your heart's in the right place, Isshiki, and you'll make a great student council president. That much I'm sure of."

A smile gradually spread across Isshiki's face, though the expression took a while to reach her eyes. When it did, though, it was hard for me not to answer it in kind.

"You really mean that?" she queried puckishly. "You're not just taking advantage of the situation to hit on me, are you, Senpai?"

"Enough of that already." Privately, I was relieved at the jab. It was the first time in what seemed like an eternity that I had witnessed anything of the Isshiki I knew. "C'mon, let's go. It's late."

As we set out from the entrance of the community center and into the bustling, noisy environs of Chiba's nightly rush-hour, Isshiki raised the question that I'd hoped in vain would've remained buried for as long as I lived. "So, how do you know that person?"

"Which person?"

"Orimoto. That's her name, isn't it?"

"Like I said when we met last week, a lot happened back then. It was an unusual time in my life." Hoping to dissuade her from probing any further, I added, "You have things you don't want people to know about you in middle school as well, right? Well, so do I."

To my surprise, Isshiki responded in the affirmative. "Yeah, I get that. Middle school for me was… weird."

Now it was my turn to be curious. "Did something happen to you then?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Like I'm telling you after you refused to tell me." She stuck out her tongue and pulled a face. "Stupid Senpai."

Just as I was about to retort, something across the road caught my attention. Within the gaps between the cars that flashed past, I spied the distant yet unmistakable figure of our savior, now engaged in a heated argument with someone beside her. Whatever Yukinoshita was engaging in furious discussion about, it clearly wasn't having the desired effect – her sparring partner remained stoic and static throughout, coldly unmoved by Yukinoshita's incandescent bluster. I couldn't hear what they were saying, save for a single phrase launched by Yukinoshita as she spun on her heels and marched away, revealing the identity of the other person to me. Upon seeing who it was, I promptly felt it wisest to flee the scene before we were spotted, but by then it was far too late – our eyes met, and a soul-crushing grin distorted her features as she waved cheerily at me and Isshiki.

"Don't follow me!" Yukinoshita Yukino had yelled through the dense traffic.

Needless to say, Yukinoshita Haruno had no intention of doing so. Not now that she had found something much more amusing to play with.