Naomi Sugimura Must Die
One autumn day at Shujin Academy, all of the student body gathered in the cafeteria for lunch hour. Himari Sakamoto entered the cafeteria with a big smile on her face because today was Pork Bun Monday! She giddily approached the lunch line and impatiently tapped her foot whenever said line came to a standstill. Eventually, she made it to the counter to get her food, but her toothy grin soon changed into a disappointed frown when instead of pork buns…she found vegetables and tofu on her tray.
"Wha-What is this?" Himari asked incredulously.
"It's today's lunch," The lunch lady said, "Fresh vegetables and tofu squares. I even seasoned it with 'I Can't Believe It's Not Meat' seasoning."
"But today is Pork Bun Monday," Himari said.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the menu's been changed," The lunch lady said.
"Who in their right mind would change the menu on Pork Bun Monday?" Himari asked.
"The student council president, Naomi Sugimura," The lunch lady answered, "She complained that weren't enough nutritious or healthy foods on the menu."
"If Naomi hates the food here so much why doesn't she just pack her own damn lunch?" Himari asked, quickly becoming irate, "Why does she have to ruin lunch for all of us?"
"I don't know, miss, I just do what people tell me to do so that I can get paid," The lunch lady said, "Now get out of my face and go sit down."
With a huff, Himari took her tray of healthy food over to the dining area where she took a seat with some of her friends, Minato Amamiya, Mana and Mitsu Kitagawa, Nariko Watanabe, Riku and Mai Mishima, and Kasumi II 'Kas' Tanaka.
"Tofu and me just don't mix," Mana said as she pushed her tray away to the middle of the table.
"I think I saw mine move," Riku said.
"Lunch is, like, the only thing worth looking forward to when going to school," Himari said, "Why does Naomi feel the need to take away the one thing that brings us joy?"
"Because she's a heartless, fun-hating, life-sucking, mansion-living, meat-despising, wench!" An incensed Kas said with balled up fists slamming on the table. Kas was so mad that she hardly noticed a small blush coming to Mai's face.
"Never knew how cute Kas looks when she gets mad," Mai thought to herself.
The eight teenagers look over at the table where Naomi currently sits as she happily eats her healthy lunch, all of them shooting hateful glares at her. Naomi notices this and just smirks to herself, almost as if she knew changing the menu would get under the collective skin of the student body.
"She does this to hurt us, you know," Minato said.
"Of course, her father is Daiki Sugimura himself," Mitsu said to her boyfriend, remembering stories that Haru would tell her daughters about her time with her ex-fiance, "Dude is as vile as they come, so it only makes sense that his offspring would be as detestable as him."
"We shouldn't have to put up with this," Himari said as she quickly stood up from her seat and went over to Naomi's table, her seven friends getting up and following after her in case a cat fight breaks out. When she saw the long-haired brunette come up to her, Naomi just looked up at her with a cocky smirk.
"Can I help you," Naomi asked.
"Yeah, you can start by explaining to us why we have tofu on our lunch trays instead of the much more beloved pork buns?" Himari asked.
"I was just thinking about some of the other students around here and how they might not eat red meat," Naomi said, feigning innocence, "Besides, everyone can benefit from a healthier diet."
"Or, the real reason, you do it just to hurt us because you have all the power and you think you can do whatever you want because of your position in this school, and because your a daddy's girl who thinks she can get whatever she wants just by snapping her fingers," Himari snapped, both literally and figuratively.
"I don't like your tone very much, Himari," Naomi said, "Do I need to tell the principal about this? That could result in you being discharged from the school tennis team. Last I checked, aren't you their star player?"
"Come on, Himari," Nariko said, grabbing Himari's arm, "She's not worth it."
Himari just shook Nariko off and continued to talk.
"You threatening to tattle might scare some of the other students around here, but it won't work on me," Himari said, standing her ground, "By the way, where do you plan on having us go for our school trip this year?"
"I know we were originally planning on going to Tokyo Destinyland this year," Naomi began, "But there's not really much to learn from that place. So instead, I was thinking we should take a trip to the opera house and see a good show."
"Opera house?!" Kas exclaimed, "Are you trying to bore us to death?!"
"I personally wouldn't mind going to the opera if I'm being completely honest," Mitsu said.
"I personally wouldn't mind it if you'd shut your mouth!" Mai said to the blue haired girl.
"I'm just trying to make sure you all get a slice of culture in you," Naomi said, still feigning innocence.
"Oh that is it," Himari said, "Someday, someone here is going to put you in your place!"
"Heh, in case you brats haven't noticed, I run unopposed every school year. And this year is going to be no different," Naomi boasted, "Who in their right mind would try and oppose me?"
Suddenly, Himari got an idea. She remembered how her mother Makoto was the student council president when she went to Shujin, "If mom could be president, so could I!" Himari thought to herself, "And I'll do this school a whole world of good when I'm elected."
"Me, Naomi!" Himari said out loud.
"What?!" Naomi gasped.
"Yeah, I second that," Riku said, "What?!"
"Yeah, you all heard that right," Himari said as she stood up on the table, "I, Himari Sakamoto, am going to run for student council president this year! And I'll do a much better job running this school than Naomi ever could! Lunch hour and school trips are the only things that make coming here bearable, and I'm not about to roll over and let some preppy brat take those away from us! Naomi Sugimura, you might be able to take our pride! But you won't take our lunch menu and school trip destinations!"
At that last part, Himari raised her fists in the air and waited for everyone to applaud. Instead, everyone just stared at her nonplussed.
"Huh," Himari sounded disappointed, "I thought for sure you'd all cheer with me. Or at the very least bumrush Naomi and put her on a cross or something."
"So, you dare challenge me?" Naomi asked as she got up from her chair.
"Yup!" Himari said as she got down from the table and entered a stare-off with Naomi, "I'm going to run against you! And I'm going to win!"
"I'd like to see you try," Naomi said
(BGM: Pillar Men Awaken Theme from 'Jojo's Bizarre Adventure')
"Bring it on," Himari said confidently
The next thing we see as the music crescendos is the 'So You're Approaching Me' meme, where Himari takes the place of Jotaro while Naomi takes the place of Dio. Unfortunately, Minato breaks the tension when he appears and grabs Himari's arm.
(Insert record scratch sound effect to end the music)
"Himari we've gotta talk," Minato said as he dragged her off somewhere, with Mana, Mitsu, Nariko, Riku, Mai, and Kas following after them.
Himari's friends had brought her to the rooftop hangout that Ryuji used when he was a student at Shujin Academy. When Himari started attending Shujin, Ryuji gave the hangout to her and she and her friends use it frequently whenever they needed to get away from the stresses of the school day. But this time, they're using it to try and talk some sense into Himari.
"Himari, we're only asking this because you're our friend," Mai began, "But are you out of your fucking mind?"
"Am I out of my mind for wanting to get a power hungry fool like Naomi out of office?" Himari asked, "If you ask me, someone should've put her in her place a long time ago."
"Believe us, Himari, we want nothing more than a new student council president too," Mitsu said, "But your reason for wanting to become president makes you no better than her."
"What are you implying, Mitsu?" Himari asked.
"She's saying that you only want to be president so you can decide where to go on school trips and what'll be on the lunch menu," Minato explained, "Meanwhile, being a student council president is more than that. It's about…"
"Ah, I'm sure I'll learn all about that other mumbo jumbo on the job," Himari said, cutting her friend off, "Besides, my mom was student council president once. If she can do the job, so can I."
"It seems your mind has already been made up about this, Himari," Nariko said, "Well, if you're that serious about becoming student council president, I guess we as your friends will do whatever we can to help you achieve that goal."
"Achieve what goal?" Came the voice of Nariko's brother, Kaito. The youngest Watanabe sibling came to the rooftop to look for his sister, only to find her chatting with their friends.
"Himari's running against Naomi Sugimura for the title of student council president, Kaito," Riku explained.
"Oh really?" Kaito asked, "Well that's interesting because I…"
"No time for chit-chat, Kaito," Himari said, "You want to help us take Naomi down or what?"
"I'd love to, but I'm actually kind of busy," Kaito said, "Because I…"
"Whatever it is you have to say, Kaito, can it wait?" Himari asked, "We've got to figure out the first step in ensuring a successful campaign. Does anyone have any ideas?"
"Well, we could post something on the school's Tweeter page (Twitter)," Minato suggested, "Maybe a political ad of some kind?"
"Great idea, Minato," Himari said, "And I know just the place we need to go. To Kosei High School!"
"We still have a few hours of the school day left, though," Kas said.
"To Kosei High School in a few hours!" Himari exclaimed as she and everyone bar Kaito left the rooftop hangout.
"Before you all leave, I think you all deserve to know that I will be…" Kaito began, only for the sound of the door slamming to cut him off, leaving him alone on the school roof, "All alone…oh well, I guess they'll find out on their own."
After school wrapped up for the day, Himari, Minato, Mana, Mitsu, Kas, Mai, Riku, and Nariko went straight for Kosei High School, the school that Himari's boyfriend Hotaru Yajima attends. There's a film studio in the school so the school's video production class can make video projects, and Himari texted Hotaru so they could use the school's film studio, and so Hotaru could lend a helping hand when preparing a political ad for Himari's campaign.
The group of nine were seen in Kosei's film studio. Himari stood in front of a green screen while Riku, Mai, and Kas operated the cameras, Minato and Nariko operated the lights, and Mana, Mitsu, and Hotaru himself stood behind the soundboard and switchers.
"Thanks again for helping me film this political ad, babe," Himari smiled at Hotaru.
"Anything for you, Himari," Hotaru smiled back before turning his attention back to his equipment, "Alright, babe, you're gonna go live on Shujin Academy's Tweeter account in three minutes."
"You have that speech I worked on?" Mana asked.
"Yeah, about that," Himari said as she took a piece of paper out from her pocket, "I get we didn't give you a lot of time to write this, but you could've at least made coherent sentences."
"Look I was on a time crunch and that was the best I can do," Mana said.
"No disrespect, but I think you might be dyslexic," Himari said as she continued to look at the sheet of paper with Mana's speech written on it.
"Oh, come now, it's not that bad," Mana said, "Read the script once and tell me what you think."
"Oh, you want me to read it?" Himari asked, "Alright, fine, I'll read it once. I'll read the words you wrote."
With that, Himari cleared her throat and began to read Mana's script:
"'Hello fellow, classmate," Himari began, "This, you should vote me! I leave power, good! Thank you, thank you. If you vote me, I'm hot'. What?" Himari stopped reading to take in that last part.
"I mean, Mana's not wrong," Hotaru said, "You are the hottest girl in the world."
"Save the flattery for later, Hotaru," Himari said as she went back to reading Mana's script, "'Lunches, they'll be better, son. Trips to fun places we be going. Himari Sakamoto is correct choice to make, Shujin Academy, so make!'"
When she finished reading Mana's script, she ripped the paper in half before saying, "This doesn't make any sense!"
"Okay then just make something up," Mana pouted, "I tried, alright."
"Just make a bunch of false promises and people will vote for you," Kas said, "You know, tell the people what they want to hear."
"That's not exactly being honest," Minato said.
"In case you haven't noticed, most people in the history of the world ever got rich or famous by being honest," Kas said.
"Alright, people, we're about to go live," Hotaru said as everyone fell silent. Minato and Nariko got the lights in the correct position as Riku, Mai, and Kas had the cameras aimed directly at Himari's face, "We're live in 3…2…1!"
When the cameras started rolling, the Japanese Flag appeared on the green screen and Himari started talking.
"Good afternoon, Shujin Academy," Himari began, "I come to you today to tell you why you should vote for me when deciding who should be Student Council President. If you elect me as your new president, I promise delicious foods and designated days to celebrate them. Not only will Pork Bun Mondays make a comeback, but so will Succulent Sushi Tuesdays, Whopper Weiner Wednesdays, Curry Thursdays, and French Fry Friday…"
As Himari continued talking, Mana turned to Hotaru, who was looking at the live stream's viewer count.
"How many people do we have watching?" Mana asked.
"A little over fifty," Hotaru said, looking at the viewer count.
"Not nearly enough," Mana said, "We've gotta attract a bigger crowd. And I think I know just the way!"
Mana then tampers with the switcher so the image on the green screen behind Himari changed from the Japanese Flag to a fireworks display. She then changes the background multiple times from the fireworks display to a fiery explosion, to under the sea, to the deep reaches of space. She then uses the switcher to throw in gifs and jpegs of funny images and memes to keep viewers engaged, and Himari has no idea all of this is going on as she continues to give her speech.
"Mana, knock it off," Mitsu said.
"Hang on, I just gotta add some background music!" Mana said as she clicked a button and the USSR National Anthem came blasting through some speakers. Hearing the music start playing makes Himari stop talking and focus her attention on the switcher where Mitsu and Hotaru were seen trying to apprehend Mana.
"What's going on back there?" Himari asked.
"Don't worry about us, babe," Hotaru said as he and Mitsu continued to try and get Mana away from the switcher, "Just keep reading your speech."
"Kind of hard for me to concentrate when this piece of Soviet propaganda is blasting in my ears," Himari said, "I don't even think people watching can hear me over this music."
"It's not Soviet propaganda," Riku said as he held his hand over his heart, a tear falling from his eye, "It's a work of art!"
Eventually, Mitsu managed to reach the button that would trigger the 'Technical Difficulties' screen. She pressed the button and the technical difficulties screen came onto the stream.
At the Sugimura's mansion, Naomi was seen in her room watching the stream on her laptop in her room as she sipped on some herbal tea.
"How pathetic," Naomi scoffed, "This dumb bitch has no idea what she's doing. Her little video isn't going to help her at all. And lucky for me, I know how to make the situation even worse for her."
The next day at Shujin Academy, Himari, Mana, Mitsu, Minato, Kas, Riku, and Mai were seen at the rooftop hangout. Minato has his phone in his hand as he looks over the comments of Himari's 'political ad' from yesterday.
"So what are people saying about my, and I use this term lightly now, political ad," Himari asked her friend before glaring at Mana, "Mana!"
"Well excuse the hell out of me for trying to make your ad more interesting," Mana defended herself.
"I don't think you want to look at these comments, Himari," Minato said.
"What do they say," Himari asked, a hint of dread in her voice.
"Well, GGGunnerDog says, 'Who the hell is this lunatic? I don't want her running this school #Naomi4Ever'," Minato read one comment, "FuntendoElbaMoon says, 'Fake and gay, LOL, get rekt scrub'. And MuttTheWuz says, 'Himari should stick to the tennis court where she belongs and leave her mug out of the political arena'."
"Yikes," Himari said.
"And those are the comments I feel comfortable reading," Minato said, "Most of these comments are either chauvinistic or very perverted."
Himari quickly became depressed upon learning everyone's reaction to her political ad.
"Look on the brightside, Himari," Mai said, "Things can only go up from here."
Suddenly, Nariko enters the scene, phone in hand.
"Guys, we have a problem," Nariko said.
"What's wrong, babe?" Riku asked.
"It's Naomi," Nariko explained, "She just uploaded something to the school's Tweeter page."
"What is it?" Himari asked.
"See for yourself," Nariko said as everyone gathered around her phone so she could show everyone a video of a smear campaign against Himari.
In the smear campaign video, it just contains a picture of Himari that's slowly zooming in on her face as the image slowly becomes monochrome. As this happens, Naomi's voice is heard narrating.
"During a field trip to the Shinagawa Aquarium, Himari Sakamoto was caught trying to ride on the back of one of the dolphins," Naomi was heard saying, "Do we want that kind of immaturity or savage behavior to represent our school? I know I don't. A vote for Himari Sakamoto is a vote for animal abuse. Himari Sakamoto: Animal Abuser! Don't let her abuse you, Shujin Academy."
Himari was taken aback. She couldn't believe that Naomi would resort to these tactics.
"This is a goddamn smear campaign!" Himari said, aghast.
"Holy crap, I remember that day," Mana said.
"Why did you do that again?" Mitsu asked.
"Okay, first off, I was like seven years old when that field trip happened," Himari said, "I was a dumb little kid, I didn't know any better. Second, we've gotta fire back at Naomi somehow. This shall not stand!"
"I'm reading you loud and clear, Himari," Kas said before turning to Mai, "Mai, Riku, follow me! We've got work to do!"
Kas and the Mishima children left the rooftop hangout, leaving their eight friends to wonder where they ran off to.
20 Minutes Later… (Very coarse language coming up, reader discretion is advised)
Riku, Mai, and Kas return to the rooftop hangout as Kas takes out her phone.
"Alright guys, get a load of this," Kas said as she showed everyone a video she uploaded on the school's Tweeter page.
At the start of the video we see Kas standing at the front of the academy as either Riku or Mai record her. She then begins to speak.
"I've come to make an announcement," Kas began, "Naomi Sugimura is a bitch ass motherfucker! She pissed on my fucking dad! That's right! She took her spoiled fucking bratty puss out, and she pissed on my fucking dad! And she said her tits were 'THIS BIG!' and I said that's disgusting! So I'm making a callout post on my Tweeter dot com! Naomi Sugimura, you've got tiny tits! They're the size of these walnuts except way smaller!"
At that point, Kas took two walnuts out from her pocket before tossing them aside and reaching for something offscreen.
"And guess what? Here's what God looks like!" Kas said as she pulled out a massive water gun from offscreen, "That's right, baby! High tech! No jokes! None of daddy's money! Look at this, it looks like the Death Cannon from Planet Wars!"
She then points the water gun at something else off screen. The camera is moved to the side to show a shoddily made diorama of Shujin Academy.
"She fucked my dad, so guess what, I'm gonna fuck the school!" Kas exclaimed as she took aim with her water gun. "That's right, this is what you get! MY SUPER LASER PISS!"
But before she could shoot her water gun, she changes her target to another shoddily made diorama of the Sugimura's mansion.
"Except I'm not gonna piss on the academy!" Kas said, "I'm gonna go higher! I'm pissing on Naomi's Mansion!"
And with that, she pulls the trigger, sending a jet of water flying out of the gun and onto the diorama of the mansion, destroying it.
"How do you like that, Naomi?" Kas asked as she looked directly into the camera, "I pissed on your home you idiot! You students have until the end of the week to vote for Himari Sakamoto! Now get out of my fucking sight before I piss on you too!"
The video ended and Kas, Mai, and Riku were awaiting their friend's response.
"What the hell did we just watch?" Minato asked.
"Our smear campaign against Naomi," Kas answered.
"That wasn't so much a smear campaign as much as it was a bunch of curse words and random crap," Mitsu said.
"Hey, I was trying to tell a lie by saying that Naomi is a heartless Father-Fucker with A-Cup Angst," Kas said.
"I don't think that's going to make anyone turn against her in the election," Nariko said, "And what was the point of shooting a water gun at the school and Naomi's mansion?"
"To let people know I'm not messing around and I will set it off up in here if things don't go our way in the election," Kas answered.
"I feel like some people might think you're going to do a terror attack on the school," Minato said.
"Maybe an act of terror is what we need to get Himari into office!" Kas suggest.
"Okay, no, we're done going with your ideas," Mitsu said, "In the time it took you to make…whatever that video was, Mana and I made our own little smear campaign and posted it to the school's Tweeter page. Take a look."
Mitsu took out her phone and showed her friends the video they made.
In the video, we see Mana and Mitsu standing on the rooftop, looking out into the horizon before turning to the camera.
"The student body of Shujin Academy is made up of some of the most wonderful people you'll ever meet," Mitsu said.
"Made all the more beautiful by the parents who raised them." Mana chimed in.
"But do you want to know who isn't a wonderful person with an even less wonderful parent?" Mitsu asked, "Our current president Naomi Sugimura!"
Mana was seen grabbing a picture of her father, Daiki Sugimura, offscreen, and on that picture Daiki has devil horns and red eyes that were clearly painted on
"Her father, Daiki Sugimura, was engaged to our mom," Mitsu explained, "And he was no saint, trust us! He was abusive, a womanizer, and possibly worst of all, cruel to animals! The apple clearly doesn't fall far from the tree as ever since she became student council president, she's abused her power and made those beneath her feel less significant. Is someone like Naomi the kind of person you want in charge of Shujin's student body? Think about that when you vote this Friday."
"Himari Sakamoto for Shujin Academy Student Council President," Mana said as the ad ended.
"Wow, very nice work, babes," Minato said happily, "If that doesn't get under Naomi's skin I don't know what will."
"Glad you liked it honey," Mitsu said.
"Alright, people, enough smear campaigning," Nariko said, "We've got to get to work on getting more people on Himari's side. And I think I know just the way!"
After school, we see Himari sitting on a fancy chair that's situated on a small flatbed trailer, which is hooked up to a golf cart that's being driven by Nariko, with Kas in the seat next to her. On top of the golf cart are some speakers. Nariko puts the keys to the golf cart in ignition, and the three girls drive off into the city in hopes of finding members of Shujin Academy's student body.
The girls pass by the local Big Bang Burger where they see some of their classmates hanging out by the front door drinking milkshakes and eating fries.
"Himari Sakamoto for Shujin Academy Student Council President," Himari said on a megaphone, "Vote for me this Friday!"
Nariko and Kas look at the group of kids in front of the fast food restaurant while they watch Himari as they drive by.
"We're getting attention, that's good!" Kas said happily.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Nariko said as she continued driving, "Look over there."
Nariko pointed in front of a clothing store where more of Shujin's student body were hanging out. This time, however, Naomi was there handing out buttons and banners, promoting her campaign.
"Vote Naomi Sugimura for Student Council President," Naomi said, "My father is a member of the Diet, so I'm basically a president already!"
Nariko, Kas, and especially Himari glared at Naomi as they approached the clothing store.
"We should run her over," Kas said angrily.
"No, that's what she wants us to do," Nariko said, "Instead, we've got to draw attention away from her. Kas, drop the bass!"
Kas presses a button in the golf cart that turns on the speakers that are on top of the cart. When she did that, music started playing that caught everyone's attention.
(BGM: 'I'm the Real Slim Shady' by Eminem)
"Hey, look over there," one of the students said as they looked at the passing golf cart.
"Eyes on me please," Himari said on her megaphone, "If you vote for me, expect more displays of awesomeness like this to bless the halls of Shujin Academy. I bring more to the table than Naomi could even fathom! Stick with me and you'll never know another unhappy day!"
Any members of Shujin Academy's student body that were in the area flock to Himari's golf cart and start cheering for her while also dancing along to the music playing. This doesn't sit well with Naomi at all, who just watches the golf cart drive away in shock and awe.
"It's working!" Nariko said, "The song is actually working!"
"I'm the better leader, yes I'm the better leader, and all these other leaders just don't make things any sweeter. So won't the folks voting for me please stand up, please stand up, please stand up," Himari rapped along to the music, entertaining her followers even further.
The longer Naomi watched Himari make off with all of her followers, the angrier she became. That's when she came up with a wicked idea to get her revenge. She ran out of the area in a hurry, hoping to run into the golf cart in the process.
Near Inokashira Park, the golf cart was seen driving by the front gates as Himari continued rapping along to the music and everyone kept following her, singing their praises. Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a nearby building, Naomi was seen loading a slingshot with a rock. She pulls the slingshot back and shoots the stone, which hits Himari directly in the forehead, hurting her and causing everyone to start panicking. Once she saw that her rock hit its mark, Naomi leaves the area.
"AH! MY HEAD!" Himari cried as her followers started panicking and dispersing.
"Himari what happened?!" Kas shouted.
"I got hit in the head with a rock!" Himari cried, "This is an act of jealousy, of cowards!"
"Let's get her back to my place," Nariko said, "This place just isn't safe."
As Himari still held her head in pain, Nariko drove off to her house so they could dress her wound.
At the Watanabe Residence, Nariko was seen applying cover-up to Himari's bruise as Kas stood by and watched.
"Man, that was crazy," Kas said, "I can't believe someone flung a rock at you, Himari."
"We really should have sprung for some plexi-glass, then maybe we wouldn't be here right now," Himari said, "You think Naomi did this? Or maybe one of her followers?"
"Who knows," Kas said, "For all we know it could've been that one guy relaxing on the grassy knoll we were passing by."
"What matters is that your wound looks better," Nariko said as she stopped applying cover-up to her friend's forehead.
"Good," Himari said, "So what's the plan now?"
"I'm not too sure, Himari," Nariko said, "We're not loaded like Naomi, so we can't make tons of buttons or banners to promote your campaign. I think the only thing we can do is wait for the big debate on Friday, and then after that it's off to the polls."
"We're not going to become strippers to get people to vote for us, Nariko, are you crazy!?" Kas asked.
"I was talking about the voting polls, Kas," Nariko said, unamused.
"Right, right, I knew that," Kas said embarrassed as Nariko turned her attention back to Himari.
"Between now and Friday, I advise you to lay low and figure out possible answers to any and all questions that'll be asked," Nariko said, "Think you can do that?"
"Oh yeah!" Himari said with a confident smirk and a nod.
At long last the big day has come, Friday; the day of the debate followed by the voting. Everyone in Shujin Academy gathered in the auditorium for the big debate as both Himari and Naomi were seen standing behind their respective podiums, ready to speak. In the front row we see Minato, Mana, Mitsu, Nariko, Kas, Riku, and Mai.
"I can't believe it all comes down to this," Mai said, "Probably the most important part of any election."
"If Himari messes up here, even just a little, it's game over," Mitsu said, "Every word counts here."
"Have faith guys," Minato said, "Himari's not one to go down without a fight. I know she'll pull through, I just know it!"
A few more moments of waiting and Mr. Ushimaru comes up on stage to kick the debate off.
"Alright, everyone, silence!" Ushimaru said as the audience fell quiet, "The debate for who the next Shujin Academy Student Council President will be, is now underway. Our two candidates will now take any and all questions in regards to their campaign and this school. The time to ask questions will be over when he do this…"
Ushimaru takes an airhorn out of his pocket and blasts it, causing everyone to cover their ears.
"...At which point, voting will begin," Ushimaru continued, "The candidate with the most votes is our new Student Council President. You may start asking questions…now!"
One student in the back stands up and asks his question.
"What are your plans on improving the school's lunch menu?" The student asked
"I firmly believe that lunchtime is a sacred time here," Himari began, "Not many people enjoy coming here, and some folks aren't fortunate enough to have a good meal. So, if I'm elected president I'll make sure to get all kinds of comfort food in our cafeteria. Tempura, curry, macaroni and cheese, pizza, chili cheese fries, miso soup, you name it and I'll have it!"
The student body nod and voice their agreement in what Himari is saying before falling silent to give Naomi a chance to talk.
"How pedestrian," Naomi scoffed, "When you keep me as president, I promise more gourmet cooking in our cafeteria. Lobster, filet mignon, chicken cordon bleu, and so much more. If we're going to change the menu, we might as well do it in style."
The student body cheer in agreement at Naomi's statement before a student in one of the middle rows stands up to ask her question.
"What's your stance on providing students with…ahem…personal items like pads, tampons, and…er…condoms," The student asked.
"Every woman's bathroom in this school will be stocked with tampons to quell your Aunt Flow when she visits town," Naomi said, "And I'll make sure you boys get all the condoms you could ever want."
As everyone chatters over what Naomi just said, Himari speaks up.
"Notice how she didn't specify the quality of the tampons and condoms," Himari said, "If I'm elected president, I'll make sure the girls get the softest and comfiest pads and tampons, and for the boys who want to be pleased as much as they want to please back, I'll get you all ribbed condoms."
Everyone cheers at Himari's plans when providing the student body with prophylactics.
Another student stands up to ask his question.
"What do you plan on adding to this school to make coming here more enjoyable?" The student asked.
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that this school gets a swimming pool," Himari said,
"Most of the other schools around here have one, why shouldn't we? Besides, this'll open up opportunities for Shujin Academy to have a diving team, a water polo team, and of course, a swim team."
There was some applause when Himari gave her pool idea. But then Naomi gave her idea on how to make school more enjoyable.
"A swimming pool? Please," Naomi said, "Everyone needs to an opportunity to de-stress. So, I promise to implement rooms solely meant for napping. And other rooms for T.V or movie viewing. And even rooms for our, ahem, geekier classmates to play video games in."
The student body practically roared, their cheers were so loud. Himari was getting ready to answer another question when Mr. Ushimaru came back on stage.
"Alright, that's quite enough," Ushimaru said, "Besides this story can only go on for so long. Anyway, it's time to cast your votes! Take out your phones and log onto the school's Tweeter page. The first thing you'll see is a poll that'll help in deciding who you want to be Shujin Academy's new Student Council President. If you want Naomi Sugimura to stay president, click on her name. If you want Himari Sakamoto to be y our new president, click on her name. But if you want neither to be president, click on 'Other'."
"Other?" Mana asked, "Who's other?"
"He'd rather not say," Mr. Ushimaru said, "He'll only reveal his identity if he wins."
Himari's eight friends looked at each other in confusion before turning their attention back on stage.
Mr. Ushimaru says, "You may start voting…now!"
The auditorium was silent. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Everyone was focused on placing their votes while Himari and Naomi waited on stage in anticipation for the results. We see one student click on Himari's name on her phone. We see another click on Naomi's name. But then we see a third student click on 'Other'. After a few minutes, the voting process is done and someone comes from offstage to hand Mr. Ushimaru the results, which were inside a sealed envelope.
"Thank you," Mr. Ushimaru said as he took the envelope and began to open it up, "Shujin Academy, your new Student Council President is…
…
…
…
"...Other!" Mr. Ushimaru said with a hint of shock in his voice.
"WHAT?!" Himari, Naomi, Mana, Mitsu, Minato, Kas, Mai, Riku, and Nariko were heard saying.
"This is an outrage!" Naomi bellowed, "I demand a recount!"
"Who the heck even is 'Other' anyway?" Himari asked.
"That would be me," came the voice of Kaito Watanabe, who walked on stage to address the student body.
"Kaito?!" Nariko exclaimed, "You're the academy's new president?!"
"Yes," Kaito said, "If you all would've given me the chance to talk the other day I would've told you that I was running."
"But you didn't campaign or anything!" Naomi exclaimed, "Who did you have to snuggle up with to beat me?!"
"As soon as I heard Himari was running against you, I decided to throw my hat in the ring," Kaito explained, "I knew that given Himari's spunky nature and you're overall, for lack of a better term, bitchiness, this would inevitably lead to a smear campaign. And I was right! While you two were busy duking it out, I was slowly gathering a good amount of votes from the student body, most of which are still amazed by my courageous act against Sota Hayashi. Furthermore, I actually really care about this school and I want to see it improve. Naomi, you only cared about the power, and Himari, you only cared about the lunch menu and where we'd be going on school trips. Me, I care about more than that. I want to make Shujin Academy a place people will look forward to going to in the morning. I want to make this place a second home to some people, and unlike you two, I can live up to my promises. I don't just say what I say because it's what others want to hear. My parents raised me to be a man of my word, and if I say I'm going to make changes to better Shujin Academy, I'm going to do everything in my power to make those changes a reality."
After hearing his speech, everyone applauded. Even Himari couldn't help but be happy for her friend as he takes the position of Shujin Academy Student Council President, and she claps along with everyone.
"Although one question still bugs me, Kaito," Nariko said, "Why are you classified as 'other'? Why not go by your real name?"
"Meh, it was more fun this way," Kaito said.
"Ugh!" Naomi whined in disgust as she pointed at Kaito, "You are all a bunch of idiots for making this dunce student council president! How could you just toss me aside after everything! I'm perfect, better than all of you!"
"Are you really going to start monologuing now?" Kas said in annoyance, "Just get off the stage and lose gracefully."
"Fine!" Naomi pouted, "Have that little dork run this school! I hope he runs it into ruin! Then you'll wish you still had me as president! Mark my words! You'll all regret this day!"
And with that, Naomi storms off stage with rage filled tears leaving her eyes.
"Hollow threats, gotta love 'em," Riku said smugly.
"Well that concludes this assembly and this school day," Mr. Ushimaru said, "Have a nice weekend, everyone."
One by one the student body leaves the auditorium, leaving just Minato, Mana, Mitsu, Kas, Riku, Mai, and Nariko as they join Himari and Kaito on stage.
"Congratulations on becoming the new president, Kaito," Nariko said as she shook her brother's hand, "Sorry we didn't let you say something about your campaign earlier."
"It's okay, sis," Kaito said, "It's all water under the bridge now. I just can't wait to tell Kimiko that she's going to be first lady of the school!"
"Hey, where's Kimiko anyway?" Himari asked, "I would've thought she'd appear at least once in this story."
"Oh yeah, she's been home sick all week with mono," Minato said.
"What?!" Kaito exclaimed, "Is she alright?! Why didn't anybody tell me?!"
"You said you were busy so we didn't want to bother you with it," Minato said, "Don't worry though, she'll be back on her feet by the next episode."
"Well, good," Kaito said.
"Hey guys, what do you say to celebrate Kaito's victory we all go to Bikkuri Boy, my treat!" Himari said.
"Now you're talking!" Kas exclaimed as her friends cheered along with her.
The group of nine leave the auditorium and out the front doors of Shujin Academy towards Bikkuri Boy, happy that Kaito became the school's new president, and even happier that they put Naomi Sugimura out to pasture.
END