Shuchiin Academy.
It was a prestigious school with an ancient and honorable origin, founded as a facility to educate upper-crust children.
The focus on nobility was gone, but many talented students born into wealthy, distinguished families and shouldering the nation's future still attended the school.
Naturally, ordinary people would not be permitted to lead and bring these people together.
"Hey, isn't that?"
"It's...the student council!"
Such amazement and overwhelming praise tended to be uttered in their presence. The presence of the student council of Shuchiin Academy. As people who were trusted with such prestigious positions, they were indeed elites among the elites.
The Secretary, Fujiwara Chika!
Born and raised in a long line from a politician family, her grandfather had been a Prime Minister and her father was the current Minister of the Left. Her mother was a diplomat, which gave Chika the much needed and broadened horizons she needed!
Mastered no less than five languages, her communication ability is matched by her sheer physical beauty and easily approachable nature that makes her the most sociable member of the student council!
The General Affairs Manager, Hikigaya Hachiman!
Said to be the closest person to the President of the Student Council, not many people knew who he was or what his origins were. Hikigaya Hachiman had entered Shuchiin through a scholarship, just like the President, and he even scored in the top 8 in the periodic exams. Though not a part of any club, his athletic abilities were well known!
As head of General Affairs, Hachiman had ties with Shuchiin's top VIPs, acting as a liaison between the Student Council and the Clubs. Combined with his aloof and reclusive nature, Hikigaya Hachiman was surrounded by rumor and myth, to the point that no one knew what about him was true and what was false.
"Fujiwara-sama is beautiful and kindhearted as always."
"Hikigaya-senpai is cool. Well, not as cool as President, but he gives off this mysterious aura!"
"Unlike the President and Vice-President, they couldn't look more opposite, huh..."
"Ah, but what do they say, opposite attracts? Kyah!"
"True, true, they look so good together as well!"
And so, just like the President and Vice President, there were rumors about romantic affairs between the Council's Secretary, Chika, and General Affairs Manager, Hachiman.
As for their opinion...
"...Man those guys are retarded." Hachiman remarked after he had heard it all again.
"I know right. There's no way we would date." Chika winked mischievously, "I'm not into ugly loners anyway."
"Indeed. Just like I'm not into bestiality." Hachiman snarked.
"Wha, what is THAT supposed to mean?!" Chika punched Hachiman, to no effect.
The nonexistence of romantic tension between the two was mostly well known to people who were close to them. Indeed, if one simply gauged relationships based on intimacy, they barely qualified as friends!
The fact that they were often seen hanging out together was mostly due to Student Council work. And really, aside from President, Hachiman didn't really have friends to begin with!
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 3 - Miyuki wants to support...
"Love advice?" Miyuki quirked his eyebrows.
In front of him was a student named Tsubasa. His doe eyed expression was directed expectantly at Miyuki as he begged for help, "Yes, I don't know what to do. But, I heard you've been in over a hundred love battles! So I'm sure you can help."
The desperation in his voice was clear. Indeed, gathering enough courage to ask such pertinent questions to the President of Shuchiin Academy's student council was no small feat.
Maybe he had potential.
Miyuki looked down for only a moment before he looked back up, facing him again, "Alright then, it's my duty as the Council President to resolve any problems students have."
And with that, Miyuki opened the door to the council room.
...But that wasn't the main problem!
"Well, I'm fine giving advice, but where did all that 'hundred battles' nonsense come from?" He thought in panic.
That's correct. Shirogane Miyuki, 16 years old, the #1 man in the entire academy, blessed in overflowing intelligence and cool, masculine charm.
Love experience...ZERO.
"Then how could the advice I give him possibly be any good?"
However, Miyuki thought about the consequences of being honest. Indeed, imagine if he told Tsubasa he had no experience.
"He's a virgin."
"No way he's a virgin?"
"What a letdown!"
Miyuki could just imagine Kaguya, looking at him with unbearable smugness and pity in her expression as she said; "How cute."
NO!
"I must absolutely weather this!" Miyuki thought as he sat on the opposite side of him and loudly declared. "Leave this to me."
Just in time for Hachiman to enter the council room with a box of equipment.
Tsubasa looked like he was about to faint when his eyes met Hachiman.
"Don't mind me, I'll just play a game over there." Hachiman sat on the edge of the President's table.
"Sitting over there...you want Shinomiya to scold you again?" Miyuki sighed, "Nevermind, what do you need?"
"You see." Tsubasa awkwardly explained, "There's this girl in my class, Kashiwagi. I want to ask her out!"
Why does that name sound so familiar? Miyuki wondered.
"But I think she'll turn me down." Tsubasa's morale seemingly descended lower and lower as he looked away in embarrassment, "So I want to try and build up our relationship first, but I'm not sure how."
Hachiman rolled his eyes at him, "Kashiwagi Nagisa?"
"Yes."
"I see. Aiming for a VIP, you sure are confident." Hachiman scoffed.
Miyuki looked like he was about to kill Hachiman with just his sheer anger. He looked back at Tsubasa, who seemed to have shrunk one size smaller from that added mental burden. "Hachiman, shut up. But, now that you mention it, you know Kashiwagi too?"
"She has ties to the Mass Media Club and is part of the Volunteers Club. See her a lot while doing my job." Hachiman told him, "At least you have good taste."
Tsubasa perked up again. "I know right?!"
"So, let's just begin with the basics. What's your current relationship with her like?" Miyuki asked him seriously.
"W-well, she gave me chocolates on Valentine's Day."
Hachiman closed his game console and stood up, "What kind of chocolate?"
"Three choco balls," Tsubasa said, "Wait...they're obligatory chocolates, right?"
Miyuki looked like he was about to sink into the depths of despair. Looks like he realized the hopelessly, grave situation this guy was in.
Wrong!
Hachiman simply didn't understand the sheer depths of Miyuki's hopelessness in romance, and how he viewed the value of reward given to him.
Shirogane Miyuki was, to put it simply, popular beyond measure!
However, his experience with gifts and chocolates was incredibly bizarre, and even Hachiman never saw a glimpse of it. Indeed, one such bizarre example was someone giving Miyuki chocolate full of hair this past Valentines!
Not even Hachiman had experienced that much weirdness. His understanding of Miyuki's understanding of romance was shallow beyond measure!
"No, I think she definitely has a thing for you."
Hachiman looked like he was about to stab Miyuki in the back, which terrified Tsubasa so much that he curled up on the sofa.
"President...let me take it from here." Hachiman said with an incredibly deadpan tone.
"What the hell are you going to do Hachiman?" Miyuki wondered. Still, Hachiman always found a solution to his problems. And in Shuchiin Academy, Miyuki trusted him the most. Even more than he trusted Kaguya and others.
Just this once, maybe Miyuki should just shut up and let someone who knows better take part in the problem-solving.
"First of all, you...who are you again?"
"Ah, you can call me Tsubasa."
"Tsubasa, asking what kind of chocolate are choco balls, are you out of your mind?" Hachiman asked him straight away, "Just think for a moment. No, wait, you're classmates so you should know what else she gave to other boys."
"I think she didn't give them any?"
"See what I mean?" Miyuki pointed.
"Ah, but I think she gave them wrapped to the girls," Tsubasa added, which made Miyuki choke.
"Then this is simply beyond obligatory chocolate." Hachiman said, "It's pity chocolate."
Tsubasa looked like he was about to kill himself!
Miyuki seriously wanted to intervene. Hachiman was about to commit a murder of confidence right before Miyuki's eyes. This was not acceptable!
"But forget about chocolate." Hachiman told him, "How often do you talk with Kashiwagi? And how does it usually go?"
"W-well, she always greets me in the morning. We occasionally talk about the lessons and stuff?"
"So It couldn't be said that you're strangers, hence the chocolate. Kashiwagi didn't even give any to the other boys, meaning at the moment, your position is actually more than just a classmate but less than a friend."
Well, how much more, Hachiman couldn't really say. But indeed, Hachiman's impression of Kashiwagi Nagisa was that she was actually rather reserved and shy about boys.
Perhaps there was a loophole in her guard that this meek guy could use to slip in?
"So there's hope?" Tsubasa steeled up as he heard Hachiman's matter of fact statement.
"Not yet, all that I can tell is that Kashiwagi doesn't consider you threatening."
"Threatening?" Miyuki and Tsubasa chorused in shock.
"To put it simply, Kashiwagi probably would not expect you to approach her at all, unlike other boys. She's rather famous isn't she?"
"Y-yeah."
Indeed, Kashiwagi Nagisa was well-known not just because she was outgoing and kindhearted, she was also the daughter of a director of a major shipbuilding company. In spite of her rather ordinary, seemingly cute appearance, she ranked quite high in Shuchiin's social hierarchy.
"I just remembered, Kashiwagi is your rival in exam grades too?" Miyuki clapped his hands together at his recollection.
"I wouldn't really call her a rival." Hachiman rubbed his chin, "It's not as if I specifically compete with anyone. But yes, she's also a top scorer in our grade. In fact, on average her grades are higher than mine. I only beat her in Japanese and Social Studies, but the gap between our math scores is tremendous."
"But anyway...looking at the situation like this, she gave you chocolates with the expectation that you would NOT see anything deeper in it." Hachiman stressed.
Hachiman basically told Tsubasa that she was out of his league and that the chocolate she gave to him was meaningless.
"No way..." Tsubasa looked like he was about to cry.
"How you can be so sure, Hachiman?"
"Oh, haven't I told you before? I'm a veteran on the battlefield of love." Hachiman cockily said, "And I lost every single time."
"Eh?! But how?" Tsubasa asked in disbelief, "Your popularity isn't that much behind President's you know?"
"That's in Shuchiin." Hachiman said, "In fact, you remind me of my junior high self."
Indeed, back when Hachiman was still but a normal boy in a normal school, a boy that didn't really have much self-esteem or awareness, he was just as naive and impressionable as Tsubasa was now.
Miyuki looked on in horror, watching how Tsubasa's confidence only seemed to shatter and reach rock bottom. It was one thing if he gave up on Kashiwagi, but if this kept up Tsubasa would practically give up on himself as a person.
It doesn't have to end like this.
It won't end like this!
"Is there anything else you can recall that's important?" Miyuki desperately sought for some kind of validation. He wasn't going to let someone fall into complete despair right in front of him like this.
"Yeah, actually, recently... Kashiwagi asked me if I had a girlfriend and when I said no... her friends laughed."
"That means you're super popular!" Miyuki bluffed.
"Huh?!"
"Women are creatures of deception." Miyuki lectured him, "The fact that they asked you in the first place means they're interested and seeing if you're available!"
What the fuck?
Wait, Miyuki might be onto something.
Hachiman thought deeply.
"Is...is that true?!"
"Of course! Why else would she ask if that wasn't the case!" Miyuki pointed out stridently, "It must be because you started to look more attractive recently!"
"Maybe there is something. It's definitely not Kashiwagi though." Hachiman hummed.
"How could you be so pessimistic?" Miyuki berated him. Seriously, it was as if Hachiman's negativity was shooting off the charts! And he's making things extra difficult for Miyuki do to anythign worthwhile.
"I'm being realistic." Hachiman glared at him, "You said women are all deceptive creatures? Well, that's not true at all. Kashiwagi is a nice girl, which makes it all the more hopeless."
Hachiman's mind flashed back to his dark days of junior high. Indeed, as a junior high student, Hachiman was far, far more awkward.
The first time he saw her, he remembered her curly brown hair and her carefree, non-judgmental smile.
"So, your name is Hikigaya, right? Nice to meet you, Hikigaya."
For whatever reason, the images became blurry. Curled brown hair turned into long, straight hair with a lustrous, healthy sakura color.
"Yo, Hiki-san, I can call you Hiki-san right?"
"Just greetings with them will get them on your mind."
"E-mail? How about LINE instead?"
"Wait. How do I get into e-mail, Hiki-san?"
"Start texting each other and your heart will be set a flutter."
"What is that? You're hilarious!"
"Hey, hey, do you know about the newest codex released? It was hilarious! Ah, I'll let you borrow it later!"
"If they call you, you're pretty much done for. Enjoy staring at your log, grinning like a fool. However, don't be fooled. That's what they call kindness. If you're nice to me, you're also nice to everyone else."
The image of girls changed to an image of a boy, about as tall as himself, with light blond hair and a stupid, confident smile.
"Hachiman, let's join the student council! I'll be the President!"
"End up with that kind of expectation and you'll always end up with that kind of misunderstanding."
And before long, I stopped hoping. A highly trained loner. Once bitten, twice shy. As a veteran in this battlefield called love, I've gotten used to losing. Reality is cruel. Never forget that true kindness begets no reparation. If to lie is kindness, then kindness itself is a lie
That's why, I hate nice girls.
And Hachiman refused to lie.
"Just forget about Kashiwagi and focus on what's more important." Hachiman patted Tsubasa's shoulder, "And you might actually get a girlfriend soon."
"Huh?" Tsubasa was pulled back to reality after sinking deep into thought after he had heard Hachiman's rant. It wasn't as if Tsubasa didn't relate to his diatribe, Hachiman certainly had a point. But what did he mean by it?
"Suppose there's a small chance that they're not just teasing you." Hachiman continued, "Suppose that Kashiwagi asked you as a favor of someone that actually is attracted to you. Would you be willing to accept that girl's feelings?"
"There is that possibility too." Miyuki snapped out of his daze and agreed. "Asking someone for that kind of help is not that uncommon among close friends."
"In other words, there's the possibility one of Kashiwagi's close friends is attracted to you." Hachiman grinned, "Don't be too hopeful though, I was saying hypothetically after all."
"But..." Tsubasa averted his eyes, "How could I respond to their feelings if I don't know them?"
"Isn't it the same as your situation? How close are you to Kashiwagi? How much does she know about you?" Hachiman shrugged, "Let's just say you confess to her right away, what do you think her reaction would be?"
"...Ah, that's true."
The possibility of rejection was almost 100%.
"Understanding your own value as a person is a step in the right direction. Only then, can you put an effort into something truly rewarding."
"Understanding your own value as a person, huh?"
Hachiman and Tsubasa looked at the chuckling Miyuki, who had been, mostly, quiet until now. Miyuki raised his face, and his peerless confidence had returned. "You forget what the most important thing is."
"The most important." Miyuki stood up and pointed at Tsubasa's chest, "It's what you feel."
Hachiman sharpened his eyes.
"Your value as a person? Don't joke with me." Miyuki growled, "Who gets to decide that in the end? It's you! You're the one who can decide your own self-worth!"
"You feel you're not good enough for Kashiwagi? Well, that's just what you feel." Miyuki presented himself, "The man you see in front of you didn't just pop out of thin air! Do you know how much time and effort I put into making myself like this!"
The blood and sweat Shirogane Miyuki had spent to climb the stairway into the levels of academic genius and the position of Student Council President, not a small number by any margin on that path full of tears and suffering.
Hachiman knew about it, more than anyone else in the world. Because Hachiman always walked right beside him.
"You feel you're not good enough, then why are you sitting here being a weakling?! Start thinking about what you see best in an ideal man, and then-"
Miyuki slammed the table so hard, startling Hachiman with the furiousness and passion he was exhibiting.
"Put in an effort to make yourself an ideal man that everyone would fall in love with. Only when you can hold your head high and carry yourself with pride, then Kashiwagi might even fall in love and confess to you!"
Tsubasa's eyes widened in shock.
At the end of the day, it was a real battle of conviction and belief between Miyuki and Hachiman. Miyuki, a man who would walk through hell to reach for heaven, and Hachiman, a man who would rise from his own ashes no matter how many times he got burned.
Both of them raised a valid point, and it was up to Tsubasa to decide which one of them he should follow.
"I understand now." Tsubasa seemed to lose his fear, and instead, stood up brimming with newfound confidence. "Thank you for telling me all of this."
"Looks like you've made a decision." Hachiman sighed.
"Well, I'm still not entirely sure, but now I'm not as confused as before."
Those people who have lost their way in the desert, for them, seeing the footprints left by someone else, it would be a rekindled hope.
No longer confused, Tsubasa was presented with two options, both of which were logical and made sense.
Hachiman's option: give up and choose an easier path of self-reflection. Miyuki's: keep going and choose the harder path of improving oneself.
Both of which were options that Tsubasa needed to choose from.
"...I think I now understand why people call you the Shadow President, Hikigaya-san." Tsubasa smiled, "Though people think you're a little scary, you are truly the President's biggest rival and ally."
"Shadow President, huh?" Miyuki grinned at Hachiman teasingly, "That's a very loaded title."
"Shut up, I didn't come up with it." Hachiman blushed a bit and walked away hurriedly out of embarrassment.
Though he wasn't part of the Council cabinet, he was known for publicly standing up against the President and Vice-President. His peerless bravery earned him many ominous nicknames such as Shadow President, the Enforcer, and Kurogane*.
Rumors sure are a terribly powerful thing. It could easily change the perception put upon someone, even an entirely opposite image.
Of course, it wasn't that Hachiman considered it a burden. His entire image was very much a Machiavellian blessing.
Shirogane Miyuki and Shinomiya Kaguya were both ideal rulers. They were both feared and loved by their subjects. Fujiwara Chika was much beloved by the student body, but no one truly feared her.
"It is better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both." That was what Machiavelli had once said.
For Hachiman, asking to be loved was way too much. To be feared, it was the only privilege he could enjoy.
As soon as Hachiman reached for the door however, he saw Chika running up to the door like a bat out of hell. She yanked him out of the doorway without even saying anything.
"What the hell, Fujiwara?!"
"You promised me we're going to play Warhammer! Someone needs to play the Tau Empire!"
"Blueskins again? Why don't you use them yourself?"
"Because shooting is for the sissies! Melee combat is the way to go! But I need a backup! So you're perfect!"
Hachiman pulled a slipper out of nowhere and slapped Chika on the back of her head with it.
"ACK!"
Scenes like this aren't entirely uncommon sight for Shuchiin student. That's how the rumor started in the first place. Contrary to the job description, Hachiman was not always on the bottom of the Student Council totem pole.
How dare she's asking his help while at the same time insulting him like that!
Needless to say, Fujiwara Chika was not a nice girl.
The result of Today's battle: Draw!
* Shirogane means silver and Kurogane means black steel/iron.