The closing ceremony!
For students of all grades, the closing ceremony would be the official cessation of formal student activities. The school would be closed as a place to study, with only some students remaining to continue club activities during vacation.
Everyone had been excited as they entered the main hall for the Principal and Student Council President to make their closing speeches.
"I wish for all students to have an enjoyable and profound spring vacation." Miyuki concluded, "That is all."
Time passed quite rapidly as the students scrambled to finish their unfinished business that couldn't be stalled anymore, and the Student Council was not an exception.
At this very moment, the student council was compiling end of year reports done by the various clubs and preparing to put them in locked storage. And they were still waiting for people who were handing in their reports late.
"Yay, Spring vacation, yay!" Fujiwara Chika danced around happily, "I have so many places to go. But first, an Okinawan beach resort!"
"A beach-side vacation? In the spring?" Kaguya asked.
"It's actually rather popular to go to Okinawa in spring because it wouldn't be as hot as in the summer, but still warm enough that you can enjoy the beaches just fine," Miyuki told her, "The same way people can still enjoy skiing in Hokkaido, even in early April."
Indeed, despite being a country with relatively modest territory, Japan enjoyed quite a bit of variation in weather and seasons due to its elongated shape stretching from north to south. Not to the point of entirely different climates, but almost close.
"What about you, Hachiman?" Miyuki asked, "You haven't told me where you'll be going."
Hachiman blinked as he picked up his bag, "I didn't? I thought I told you I'm going to Gunma for three days, then back to Chiba."
Miyuki shamefully grinned, "Heh, must've forgotten it."
"Gunma, why?" Chika giddily asked.
"Ryuju wanted to stargaze properly, as Tokyo's back-light pollution is rather severe." Hachiman said, "She wanted to go to Hawaii, but I told her that the Japanese countryside is probably cheaper and easier. So we're going to Chiba Village instead."
?
Kaguya and Chika both tilted their heads.
"The two of you going to spend three nights together in the countryside?"
Kaguya and Chika both imagined Hachiman and Momo looking at each other intimately under a sea of stars and gasped in realization.
"With members of the Astronomy club yeah." Hachiman said, "We got the adviser on-board too, though it was a pain in the ass to get permission."
Oh, so it WAS a club activity!
"If you think about it, Shuchiin doesn't even have the school trip program that other schools have, so it's understandable." Miyuki sighed.
School Trip!
In typical schools in Japan there exists a program called the school trip. The collective students of a grade would travel outside the city they resided in and spend a couple of days and nights exploring a different aspect of Japanese environment and culture.
For example, it was common for students from the Kanto region to travel to Kyoto or Okinawa. Inversely, students from the countryside would instead have a school trip in the thickness of Tokyo's metropolis!
School trips existed as relief from day to day activities, effectively acting as a school-arranged vacation. It provided students a time to relax and enjoy traveling while also learning about different regions of their country and their history.
In most high schools, this event often happened around the second year. Shuchiin however, did not have such.
"Well, it's not like I don't understand why. Especially as a commoner student." Hachiman said.
"What do you mean by that, Hikki-san?" Chika approached him.
"You see, families pay the cost with their own pocket money. Combine the high standards of accommodation and security demanded by wealthy parents, and this means the cost of a school trip here would be exorbitant for a normal student like me and Hachiman." Miyuki winced a bit, "Plus most Shuchiin students are well traveled, making the idea redundant."
"Ehhh? But going with everyone would be fun." Chika pouted.
There was a knock on the door, and Chika hurriedly opened it.
"Excuse me."
Chika actually had to look up a little bit to see the girl's face. Her slim, slender body actually matched with her slightly above average height, making her presence rather obvious.
Her silky, lustrous black hair reached to the height of her hips. That length of hair was almost certainly hard to take care off for most girls. Her clear blue eyes were like that of a mountain lake, scanning the place with clarity.
"Ah, Yukinoshita, a bit late handing over the report this semester?" Hachiman asked.
"I am not making excuses, but I put the blame solely on Kashiwagi-san. If the council has a complaint, then feel free to send her one." Yukino smiled.
"Whoa, merciless as usual even to a fellow member." Hachiman averted his eyes away.
Of all girls in this school besides Kaguya, this girl was the only one that frightened him, quite a bit in fact. If Kaguya was a deceptively lethal ice queen, then Yukinoshita was a savagely brutal snow princess.
Indeed, in Shuchiin Gakuen, the only girl who could match Shinomiya Kaguya in beauty and brains would be her.
Yukinoshita Yukino!
The current reigning president of the Public Service Club ranked third in overall academic scores in her year!
She was the second daughter of Yukinoshita family. Her father was a National Diet's Representative from Chiba, and her family company dominated the regional construction market! Nevertheless, by the standards of Shuchiin, her family name could be considered big but not unusually so. Because of this, she didn't really stand out at school at the start.
Until she became President of the Public Service Club. At that point she represented Kashiwagi Nagisa as a member of the school VIPs.
It was an odd situation indeed, but, with Yukinoshita's strong personality and intelligence, combined with Kashiwagi's full support behind her, she was still accepted as one of the topmost feared students in Shuchiin Academy!
"Ano, Yukinoshita." Miyuki asked, "What do you think of the idea of a school trip?"
"School trip?" Yukino raised her eyebrows, "You get to see and experience the country's cultural heritage with fellow students. It serves as a more fun and relaxing way of studying. After all, an event like that is also common everywhere, and often called a study tour outside Japan."
Indeed, study! At the end of the day, the intent of a school trip was for the students to study in a way that it did not bore their minds but instead gave them a newfound interest beyond the small world they were confined to!
"I don't think that's the point," Hachiman argued.
"Well, then what IS the point of going on a school trip then?" Yukino sharply asked.
"It's simply a simulation of adult social life." Hachiman put Yukino's documents in the same pile as other club reports. "If you ever go on a business trip with your boss, you won't get to choose where to eat or sleep, but if you compromise you can still have a modicum of fun. School trips train you to trick yourself into that kind of mindset."
Kaguya and Chika both became deathly pale when they heard Hachiman's response. What kind of lethal borefest was a school trip? Moreover, what Hachiman said had made way too much sense.
After all, both of them came from privileged families, so they got to choose where to go, where to eat, and what to do. It was their subordinates role to follow along. The crushing reality of Japan's corporate culture was something too real for them to imagine.
"That sounds awfully restrictive," Kaguya mumbled.
"I don't want to go on a school trip! No way!" Chika whined.
"Please don't listen to his incessant rambling. I'm very sure everyone has something to look forward to and be excited about." Yukino commented, "Is he always like this in the council too?"
"He's not usually this terrible." Miyuki felt a sense of second hand embarrassment, "My apologies."
Hachiman rolled his eyes and idly commented, "No. I'm too busy herding a bunch of lemmings."
Indeed. Hachiman had way too much time invested in dealing with the council, whether it was dealing with the clubs or Kaguya and Miyuki's romance shenanigans. There was simply no time for Hachiman to have a prim and proper monologue!
Because of this, being in Yukino's presence was probably one of the only times he could relax. Well, relaxing when he wasn't alone at least.
Still, Chika did notice how Hachiman looked completely off guard. And thus, she asked. "Uh oh, Yukinoshita-san, are you two close?"
"Close by what definition exactly?" Yukino glared at her, making Chika shiver in fear.
And yet, despite that, Yukino kept smiling.
"Awawawawa. I mean as a friend or something!" Chika quickly hid behind the sofa that Miyuki was sitting on.
Kaguya watched intently. This Yukino girl sure had a strong presence. Still, Hachiman looked like he was legitimately afraid of her. So perhaps rather than friendly, they were tied closely by animosity?
However, Kaguya felt something really unsettling about her character. As if something was incredibly out of place. And she wasn't sure why.
Was it because Yukino was always smiling?
"Well, we're both from Chiba, so you can say we share some common background in that sense. But otherwise, we might not even be of the same species."
Kaguya flinched and Chika eyes bulged in shock. Miyuki spurted the coffee he was drinking aside.
Indeed, to casually throw out such blatant remarks, it was rather unbecoming coming from a proper lady of Shuchiin. Even at the heights of Kaguya's cold and unfriendly attitude, she never blatantly insulted someone to their face like that.
But Yukino was different!
After all, despite coming from an elite background, Yukinoshita Yukino was also an impure student. She had only started attending Shuchiin Academy this year. She didn't know the culture and norms of Shuchiin very well.
"We're both descendants of Homo Sapiens, so don't just throw around such moronicly unscientific insults just to make a point." Hachiman gritted his teeth, "Are you going back to Chiba during vacation?"
"Yes, I intend to spend the vacation in the family house. What about you, Hikigaya-kun?"
"Well, to Gunma for three days of stargazing, then to Chiba for three days," Hachiman said.
"I see. Hopefully, both of us have a fulfilling spring vacation then." Yukino smiled lightly, "Please excuse me."
And just like that, Yukino left soundlessly. Even the way she walked was rather elegant.
"Savage." Miyuki slurped the remainder of his coffee, "What the heck did you do to anger her like that Hachiman?"
"Huh? Nothing, that's just how she is."
Miyuki couldn't say they were close. After all, the only time Miyuki would meet Yukino would be in club meetings. Hachiman would have a lot more interaction with her, so maybe Miyuki just had the wrong impression?
"Even you said that it was clear that you're acting a little different too." Kaguya winked mischievously, "Am I wrong to guess you have romantic feelings for her? How cute."
Chika screamed internally.
Wait, if Hikki-san has romantic feelings for her, then...then...!
"Shinomiya-san, please don't drive people into suicide with such baseless accusations," Hachiman said with a poker face; but his voice was deep and cold, full of disgust.
"Oh, is that a no then?" Kaguya tilted her head, legitimately confused.
Hachiman took a deep breath. "Of course not. We barely count as friends from the same prefecture."
Chika sighed in relief.
This WAS Hachiman they were talking about. After all, his density rivaled that of Osmiridium*, it would be quite an enormous effort to make him open his heart and romance him!
Miyuki, on the other hand, understood very well. Indeed, Hachiman only acted like this in front of people he would consider worthy of friendship. Hachiman often brush off insults from people he wasn't close with.
It wasn't just Yukino, but he also acted similarly with Chika and Momo. He would dish out as much as he received. It was just that in the case of these girls, Hachiman would go on the physical side of things. Perhaps with Yukino Hachiman preferred verbal sparring.
On the other hand, Hachiman was always on guard in front of Kaguya, pretty much revealing that they were hardly close. Though Kaguya used Hachiman as bait all the time, despite knowing the distance between them.
Well, it was partly Miyuki's own fault for falling for the bait all the time. Because of this, Miyuki encountered so many losses and setbacks. At the same time, Hachiman helped Miyuki survive so many trials and tribulations. He would not dare to blame his best friend for his own weaknesses!
Of course, there was also the adage: Si vis Pacem, Parabellum. If you want peace, prepare for war. The best way to preserve peace was to build up the necessary arsenal for future, inevitable conflicts!
In other words, Miyuki would try to avoid straining his mind too much with needless thoughts. It was very clear that there was absolutely no chance of romance blooming between Hachiman and Kaguya. He wasn't going to fall for her bait again.
A zen mind, ultimate focus and peace of mind in the face of adversity, was something Miyuki would strive to achieve during this vacation!
やはり, 彼らが望む告白は間違っている.
As expected, the Confession they want is wrong
Original Story by: Watari Wataru and Akasaka Aka
Written by: ZeroXSEED, Co-Writer/Editor: GoukaRyuu
Chapter 9 - The Student Council wants relief...
Of course, the so-called peace was something hard to strive for!
For whatever reason, a helicopter was landing smack dab in the middle of the parking lot!
"Who called for that helicopter?!" Miyuki gasped, "Who?!"
"That would be me," Momo said in a deadpan when she suddenly show up without care.
Hachiman smacked her head with the dreaded slipper.
"Why did you call for a helicopter, Ryuju-san?" Miyuki asked.
"Hmm, there are a few good reasons. But mainly we needed super quick transport for this." Momo rubbed her aching head then pointed at the helicopter which began to take off again.
Leaving the figure of a young girl dressed in an indigo sailor uniform. Everyone knew the girl was not from a school close by.
Her hair was cut at medium length and was a bit messy, but the glossy dark blue color revealed that it was kept both clean and healthy. Her dark blue eyes looked around the school before she settled on the council members.
"Ah, Onii-chan! Miyuki-nii!" She waved, "Komachi-chan is here!"
"Komachi-chan?" Miyuki blinked and then laughed, "I see, so you came to visit!"
Hachiman put back his slipper under his pocket. "I could've just taken you along tomorrow."
"Well, I want to visit Miyuki-nii and Kei-chan while I'm at it. After all, they're going to their grandparents tomorrow." Komachi jumped twice and then hooked her arms around Miyuki's own. "Is that bad?"
"Not really." Hachiman looked at Momo, "But still, you're too much."
"Be thankful to me, bastard." Momo kicked his shin, blushing.
"Ano, this is..." Chika asked.
Kaguya inspected the younger girl, who dared to cling so close to President, with contempt. She could see some similarities with someone, but her mind was much too clouded to make the connection.
You shameless little animal! Who are you, some kind of blood-sucking maggot? Perhaps a little pest extermination is in order...
"She's my little sister, Hikigaya Komachi." Hachiman introduced her, "She'll be a third-year junior high student starting in April."
"Domo!" Komachi skillfully jumped away before spinning herself like a ballet dancer, which was rather amazing considering she was wearing her school's leather shoes.
"Komachi-chan, you rushed here because you missed your brother so much." Miyuki shook his head, "I'm super envious. I wish Kei would be like that."
Komachi jumped close to Miyuki again and smiled, "That's right. I miss Oniichan so much I came here with a helicopter. That merits a lot of Komachi Points, nee?"
"That's right, Komachi-chan's a good girl." Miyuki innocently gave her a head pat.
Hachiman looked at Miyuki in disbelief. Did he not realize that Komachi had a blatant crush on him? Then again, with how estranged he and his own sister were in the past few years, it wasn't as if Hachiman didn't understand Miyuki's thirst for sisterly affection.
Hachiman turned to look at Kaguya, who seemed to be plotting what was essentially assassination, and decided to save his sister from her impending doom. No time to spark another stupid love war when it was time to celebrate vacation!
"Anyway, these are the people from Shuchiin's student council. This is Vice President Shinomiya Kaguya."
Kaguya snapped out of her cold rage and nodded, "Domo."
"This is Secretary Fujiwara Chika."
"Hai sou desu!" Chika practically leapt for the chance to see the cutest little sister in the world, or so Hachiman claimed. "So you're Komachi-chan. Cute!"
She really was a good match against her little sister, Moeha, too. Komachi was rather unpolished, with almost no makeup on her face, and yet her natural cuteness shined through well.
"Yes, Komachi is here." Komachi nodded.
Kaguya grinned wickedly when she saw Chika instantly sweep Komachi's full attention. It was a good thing indeed. The less she paid attention to Miyuki, the better!
On the other hand, not everyone was happy.
"Not even wasting a second to butter up the little sister, huh." Momo grouched, but she decided to let it slide. "Hachiman, we should go and finish that."
"That? Oh right." Hachiman nodded, "Sorry Komachi, you didn't come here bringing anything right?"
"Oh yeah, I actually didn't bring anything else." Komachi stuck her tongue out, "The Helicopter took me straight from school."
"I fully expected that to happen when Ryuju said she would send a ride to Chiba." Hachiman pulled out an envelope out, "Here, go and buy some clothes. Take Kei along too."
"Whoa, so much money!" Komachi eyed her brother cautiously when she peeked into the envelope, "Onii-chan are you doing something shady?"
"Perfectly legal, hard earned cash from yours truly." Hachiman proudly puffed out his chest, "But please, don't tell father and mother about it."
Miyuki looked at Hachiman full of doubt. Hachiman probably bullshitted his way into legal loopholes and questionable money again. Unlike Miyuki who truly earned his money through normal part-time work, Hachiman was involved in some really weird shit that he preferred to stay as away from as possible.
Then again, he knew that Hachiman would never accept bribes and full-on dirty money, so it should be fine.
"Hachiman, is that really fine?"
Hachiman looked at Miyuki, fully knowing that Miyuki was very prideful. The disparity between their wealth was enormous. Not as big as Miyuki against everyone else in Shuchiin, but it was still remarkable.
As such, there were moments where Miyuki would feel reserved toward his friend, even one that was as close as a brother to him. And having him shelling out so much money to buy clothes for his little sister was a bit...
"Don't worry, Kei is like my little sister after all." Hachiman pointed to himself with a confident thumb.
Miyuki smiled knowingly, "Alright then."
Indeed, for all his pride as a hard-working young man, Shirogane Miyuki was a total, shameless cheapskate! Truly, Hikigaya Hachiman and Shirogane Miyuki knew each other so well!
"Kei?" Kaguya asked.
"My little sister. I'm very sure I've told you about her before?"
"Very often."
Kaguya had an impression that Miyuki and Kei didn't get along too well. Yet from the way he talked, it was clear that Miyuki cared a lot about his little sister.
If only her own older brothers had been so loving, maybe Kaguya wouldn't have ended up so twisted.
That's not to say Kaguya have exceptionally bad relationship with them, but everyone strives to advance the Shinomiya family agenda, and as result, quite a little distant from each other in conventional family sense.
"Well, Kei is very attached to Hachiman. But I don't think it's because Hachiman spoils her or anything." Miyuki murmured, "Perhaps it's a shortcoming on my part as an older brother."
Miyuki was indeed lacking. Suppose that Miyuki was her older brother, born in a refined, rich family with so many things available to improve his character, there wouldn't be any flaw!
But that was not reality.
"In my humble opinion, it would be rarer to see a brother and sister getting along so well." Kaguya told him sadly.
Seeing Hachiman and Komachi openly smiling as they talked, Kaguya wondered, was the Hikigaya family simply just an anomaly?
"Well they only have each other, so I guess that's why." Miyuki crossed his arms, contemplating.
"Your little sister, I'd like to meet her someday."
"You can meet her today, in fact." Miyuki rolled his eyes mischievously.
Kaguya blinked, "Eh? What is that supposed to mean?"
Shirogane retreated quickly, tongue stuck out. Indeed, the war for confession thus come to a temporary halt!
"Kaguya-san! Kaguya-san! Want to join us?" Chika called her.
"Eh? Me too?"
Hachiman temporarily split with his sister again, he and Momo walking toward the bike parking. Kaguya and Chika decided to tag along with Komachi, waiting for Kei, Miyuki's little sister, to come.
Miyuki himself decided that he would go home early preparing for tomorrow's departure.
"Is it really okay for us to send her off like that?" Momo asked.
"Not like you give me any choice." Hachiman said, "Komachi should at least pack her clothes first but you didn't give her any chance at all."
"Oh."
Hachiman looked at Momo's disgruntled expression. It was crystal clear that her impatience was getting in the way of her objective again.
Hachiman fully knew what Momo's original intention was; to go shopping for clothes with Komachi. However, by delivering her via helicopter it gave Komachi too much attention.
And because of this, Chika was getting interested in her. And now Kaguya had also joined in. Momo would feel out of place even if she did join now.
"I can do this alone just fine, you and Komachi should go shopping and I can always distract Fujiwara and the others if you ask," Hachiman told her.
"Shut up." Momo kicked him, "Besides we're going to Gunma later, I can have her for three days to myself."
The heart of a maiden was complicated indeed, and while Hachiman understood her mindset, he doubted he would understand what she felt even if he tried.
That was why Hachiman had slim hopes of actually getting a girlfriend of any kind!
Meanwhile, shadowy figures loomed over the area, watching the scene unfold with a high-resolution camera in hand.
"I saw him walking with the Ryuju group's daughter." He reported, "I don't see any guards."
"[Good, follow him and don't make any noise.]"
The result of today's battle: Cease Fire!
* A heavy alloy metal of Osmium and Iridium. Often considered the densest non-radioactive alloy on earth, and also extremely hard.