Final Exams!

In a pure sense of technicality, final exams existed to gauge the academic advancement and understanding of students. The results of the exams were the general approximation of the sum of their studies.

HOWEVER!

For the short-term focused youthful students, passing the exam was their goal. No matter how it was accomplished, they would go through hell to get a good result in the exam.

The journey to that goal does not matter, all that matters is their grades and rank placement!

...but this isn't a story about the exam.

"Oh, boy some people are slipping," Hachiman remarked when he saw his grades had remained the same as they had previously. But, now he was ranked 7th in the year. The exam, the gap between the 4th and 5th rank, was way too big.

"It's the end of the school year so it's natural people started slacking off." Miyuki smugly remarked.

"I don't want to hear that from YOU." Hachiman snarked.

First Year Group, 5th Exam of the Year, Top 50 Rank.
1. Shirogane Miyuki, 491
2. Shinomiya Kaguya, 490
3. Yukinoshita Yukino, 489 (1 up)
4. Shijo Maki, 486 (1 down)
5. Kashiwagi Nagisa, 482 (2 up)
6. Abe Kazune, 479 (1 down)
7. Hikigaya Hachiman, 476 (1 up)
8. Taiga Arakawa 474 (2 down)

"Kashiwagi up two places and you climbed one, it's a total, assured defeat." Miyuki smugly told Hachiman.

"Do I look like I give a damn?" Hachiman groused. Indeed, his grades were the exact same as they had been before. On the other hand, Nagisa gained 4 points over the last exam, beating Abe.

"It's fine! You don't have to be so sad. But your name is not Hachiman anymore, but Nanaman!" Miyuki declared loudly.

Hachiman pulled out a slipper from somewhere and slapped him across the back of his head in response.

Indeed, after an exam was always the time when Shirogane Miyuki was the most obnoxious. Hachiman knew this very well in the one year they had known each other. And because of this, he could be seriously annoying.

"Ah, it's the slipper of doom." Someone whispered.

Indeed, it was also one of the reasons why Hachiman had gained a series of ominous nicknames. It was because he could literally hit the President or Secretary in broad daylight and get away with it. No one saw the Vice President get hit, but perhaps there was a good reason for that.

It was said that even the Shuchiin VIPs feared the slipper of doom!

Actually, that was all pure hot air. But, Shuchiin is an ocean of rumors, and sometimes it's hard to distinguish between lies and the truth.

The relationship between Hikigaya Hachiman and Shuchiin VIPs was very complex. However, compared to the previous General Affairs Manager, it could be said that Hikigaya Hachiman had a somewhat different role from the actual job description.

In terms of actual position, Hikigaya Hachiman would be a Public Relations Officer, a position that doesn't exist on paper - at least, not in the Shuchiin Academy Student Council.

Before, the President would handle all public relation matters between the Student Council and the Club and Class Representatives. However, as of recently, the need for much more frequent communication between individual clubs and the council necessitated delegating the task to people of a lower position.

This increased workload and responsibility were what caused the previous General Affairs Manager, currently, a second year, to quit half a year ago.

In the end, that task fell upon the shoulders of Hikigaya Hachiman. Despite not being part of the primary cabinet, he was designated as a primary mediator between the council and the clubs outside scheduled meetings.

There was much debate occurring whether a reorganization and redefinition of the position was needed. Shuchiin was a school of tradition; and traditions are sacred. Indeed, one such debate involved Miyuki and Kaguya.

From the past to the present, the Shuchiin Academy Student Council was filled by six people. Four primary cabinet positions: the President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. And two Secondary cabinet positions: General Affairs Manager and Auditing Officer.

Miyuki argued that with the current situation of Shuchiin, the system of 4 primary cabinet positions and 2 secondary cabinet positions was no longer sufficient and more people should be added.

Kaguya argued that the redefinition of council positions and job descriptions would be sufficient and there was no need for the additional post to be added.

A consensus had yet to be reached and the had been debate postponed. In spite of this, six months since the previous upheaval, the general situation leaned more and more in favor of Kaguya's proposition by default.

And now, the postponed debate was to be resumed because...

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 4 - Miyuki wants to expand...

"Resignation letter?" Hachiman raised his eyebrows.

Miyuki raised the said letter and gave it to him. "Our senior Auditing Officer resigned. His reasoning was that his grades have slipped and if possible he wants to concentrate on his studies since he is starting his third year."

"What a load of bull. We all know the real reason why. A lowered grade was simply an excuse." Hachiman scoffed, "Our senior hates us to the bone."

Indeed, after what happened in the General Student Assembly last year*, there was this odd rift between the new and old members of the student council. The previous General Affairs Manager and the recently resigned Auditing Officers were their Senpais. Both of them weren't on good terms with the current Primary Cabinet. As a result, while they never skipped their work, they only showed up when everyone else was missing.

"Regardless of his actual motives, it was a very valid excuse. However." Kaguya continued, "There's nothing we can do about it."

Truthfully, Hachiman knew Kaguya had been the one who felt the happiest about the resignation. Hachiman didn't know if Miyuki knew, but Miyuki probably had a hunch about it. He was just way too nice to speak his thoughts aloud.

"That means we will need a replacement officer, right?" Chika asked, "I mean, our Treasurer is about to officially join anyway."

"Yeah, he's going to attend school starting next year." Kaguya affirmed, "Though he already started working for us since last semester."

"A good time for Council Reorganization then!" Miyuki declared.

Hachiman and Chika both became deathly pale when they remembered what had happened the last time this topic was brought up.

"I disagree." Kaguya quickly spoke, "Since it has come to this, we should just do some recruitment. That way we can focus on assessing the qualifications of candidates with our undivided attention."

"However, this is the end of the year. In the future, the student council's responsibilities will not decrease, they will only continue to steadily increase even more." Miyuki argued, "Expanding the council would lay a foundation for our successors."

"Our successors will still have to follow our path and standards, or do you have so little faith in them that you need to make their job preemptively easier?"

On the surface, it was as if Kaguya and Miyuki were arguing about this professionally and impersonally.

That was wrong!

Hachiman knew how utterly selfish their motives were. Each of them might have valid excuses to back their arguments, but deep down, their stakes in this entire debate were very much personal.

Shirogane Miyuki came from a poor family. He had no mother and his father had no stable job. To support the family livelihood and make end's meet Miyuki had to work part-time almost every day, while, at the same time, study hard to maintain the highest grades in the entirety of Shuchiin Academy.

In fact, they were so poor that without a scholarship Shirogane Miyuki wouldn't even be able to attend the school at all.

Miyuki almost had no social life outside the Student Council as a result. And for him, the bigger the council the better.

Kaguya was entirely the opposite.

Living her life on a loner's path, the Kaguya that Hachiman first met was ice-cold and contemptuously prickly. In fact, Hachiman used to worship the ground Kaguya walked on because, to the past him, Kaguya was pretty much the epitome of an Ice Goddess of Lonerdom. Someone who was blessed with perfection in every aspect of her life. Grades, talents, wealth, praises and attention, and yet can still go through high school life alone.

But, she changed. Ever since she had met Shirogane Miyuki, the glacier surrounding her heart had begun to melt, and Kaguya started to open up to the people surrounding her and Miyuki.

However.

Even now, the traces of the Goddess of Lonerdom still remained. Kaguya still had a hard time connecting with new people. Kaguya was against expanding the council precisely because it didn't make her comfortable.

"Fujiwara-san, what do you think?" Kaguya asked, with a frighteningly threatening face.

"Hachiman, say something, please?" Miyuki begged desperately.

Personally, Hachiman would like to agree with Kaguya. He too was against expanding the council.

However, doing so would mean betraying Miyuki.

As much as Hachiman often argued with him, Hachiman would never betray Miyuki, not when it was something that Miyuki truly wished for from the bottom of his heart.

But lying about his own interest would also means he was betraying Miyuki all the same.

Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.

What about Chika?

Logically, Chika would like to take Kaguya's side of the debate. At times like this, her personal opinion couldn't be relied on because there was too much pressure. It was an obvious conflict of interest.

Maybe Hachiman should intervene?

"Asking Secretary Fujiwara about it is rather unfair without the Treasurer also being present. And I'm from the secondary cabinet, so it doesn't matter what I say," Hachiman said flatly.

"But isn't the current arrangement the most problematic for you?" Miyuki asked.

"I have no issue with it." Hachiman shrugged.

Indeed, while the VIPs were a frighteningly gigantic pain in the ass to deal with, Hachiman being their mediator gave him a shield that would protect him from any problem that he didn't cause himself.

Miyuki looked at him, disappointed.

Indeed, taking a path of neutrality benefited the status quo. Ergo, by not taking either side of the argument, Hachiman was indirectly supporting Kaguya, who wanted the status quo to stay.

It was like someone abstaining from voting in an election. Their decision to not pick any side meant they were indirectly responsible for supporting the winner.

And in the world of Kaguya and Miyuki, there was only ever a winner and a loser. In terms of position, Kaguya was the defender and Miyuki was the attacker.

A stalemate was a win for the defending side. This was true for any situation involving more than one side, not just the management of an organization, but also competitions and in court.

Hachiman felt a little guilty, however, speaking out loud would hurt Miyuki even more.

Indeed, it was up to Fujiwara Chika to salvage the situation.

"Why don't we just postpone it and see what happens later." Chika said lightly, "After the arrival of our Treasurer and recruitment of a new Auditing Officer we can assess our workload again and judge whether it's reasonable to keep the current situation or if we need to change it."

And once again, Chika also took a position of neutrality, which, once again benefited Kaguya's side of the argument.

Love was not the only battlefield that Shirogane needed to fight in this council. Indeed, rules of war dictated that an ideally placed and equipped defending military could take as much as three times their own numbers in invaders.

With number parity and an equal amount of intelligence between both sides, Miyuki simply had no chance of winning.

"I guess we'll still have to work until late at night again next year." Chika sighed.

Chaos Theory!

Secretary Fujiwara's casual remark added an element of chaos into the argument, which had just almost came to a conclusion. Like the Big Bang, an expanding mass of possibilities and alternate viewpoints came suddenly and abruptly, flooding both Kaguya's and Miyuki's minds!

And both of them came to the same conclusion!

If the number of people in the student council did not expand, they would have to work longer in the council, which meant they would have an excuse to spend more time together.

As previously said before, for Shirogane Miyuki, the council WAS his entire social circle at school. For Kaguya, it was no different. It was the only place where Kaguya and Miyuki could meet freely without having to think of an excuse.

A simple remark from Fujiwara Chika pretty much demolished the entire conflict. It was like a goddess had descended from heaven with a proposal of a ceasefire that would satisfy both sides of the war.

Meaning, Miyuki would easily back down and discard his proposal to expand the council, again.

...as if Hachiman would let him!

This status quo was already annoying enough. Having to work long hours was not only bothersome, but it would also seriously stress Hachiman out having to deal with their inevitable conflicts of love.

Giving them an excuse to do more of the same? Haha, no.

Indeed, it was time for Hachiman to strike.

"Ah, true, that means President will have less time working and studying, again. Or I guess you would rather skip sleeping in that case."

Kaguya was the first to flinch in response this time.

Indeed, if one took a hard look at Shirogane Miyuki's daily schedule, one could say that he was living a very unhealthy life. The worst part of it was that Shirogane Miyuki spent no more than four hours every day sleeping.

"Ehhh? Are you alright?" Chika asked in plain and honest concern. "No wonder you always have those ugly bags under your eyes. I thought those were birth defects!"

Leave it to Fujiwara to say something unintentionally cruel! Hachiman slapped the back of her head with a slipper.

"They're not ugly," Kaguya mumbled.

Chika looked at her, "Huh?"

"No, nevermind, they are ugly yes." Kaguya quickly backtracked after she accidentally slipped out her true opinion.

"I'll manage somehow." Miyuki crossed his arms, optimistic. "I mean we've been like this for half a year. What's the problem with another half-year doing this?"

Hachiman's phone beeped as he received a message that he showed to everyone. "Ah, the President of the Astronomy Club wants to consult about their activities for the upcoming spring vacation."

"I see." Miyuki smiled, "Then you should go, don't forget to bring the papers with you."

"Of course."

And so, Hachiman departed and walked out of the Council room with a smile.

"Hikigaya-san."

Kaguya's voice stopped him even though he was barely ten steps away from the door. "What it is, Vice President?"

"You said that on purpose, didn't you?"

Hachiman scoffed. "I was born into a relatively well-off, though middle class, family. Even though my parents are wage slaves we have a luxurious, private house that they paid for with hard cash, not a mortgage."

For him, Kaguya, and Chika money had never been a real concern. Hachiman's family was not rich per se, but his household was certainly part of the upper-middle-class demographic. The struggle of living through painstaking part-time jobs between school and sleep, Hachiman would never be able to understand it.

"You never said what you truly wanted." Kaguya's voice was low and firm. "I'd like to know your honest opinion."

Hachiman turned back to see Kaguya's expression, it was completely different from before.

It was the same Kaguya that Hachiman had first met a year ago. Her eyes were dark, calculating, and unmoving. Her expression was perpetually stone cold and uncannily serious.

Kaguya the Loner Goddess. She had come back.

"Keep the council as it is." Hachiman said to her, "That is what I honestly want."

Indeed.

Hikigaya Hachiman knew full well of Shirogane Miyuki's struggles and pain. And yet, their interests remained the opposite. Inhumanly cold, selfish, honest, and uncaring.

Hikigaya Hachiman was not a nice guy. Unlike Shirogane Miyuki.

If Kaguya had even a shred of humanity in her, she would not let Miyuki suffer even more in the upcoming year. But, if she was selfish enough to keep going, then it was beyond hopeless.

If Kaguya still maintained her current position, then she, too, wasn't a goddess. Her existence would be equally as wretched as his own.

"Isn't that what you wanted as well, Vice-President Shinomiya?"

For the first time since they had met, their interests finally aligned.

"Certainly. Keeping the council as it is is desirable." Kaguya closed her eyes. When she opened them again however, her eyes were shining with a pure sense of innocence, and her expression had softened a great deal too. "But just doing what we want would be irresponsible, no?"

She was the Goddess of Lonerdom no more.

"Look who's talking." Hachiman said mockingly, "No matter what the outcome, it's good for me. And for President as well."

That's right.

It wasn't as if Hachiman didn't feel pain for being so uncaring. If his hidden desires remained unfulfilled for Miyuki's own good, then maybe it was a worthy trade-off.

However.

Hachiman was too selfish and cowardly to make that decision alone. He needed Kaguya to do that.

"Then it's decided." Kaguya smiled, "Let's support the President's plan to expand the student council."

Indeed, maybe Kaguya was just as hopeless as Hachiman expected. Because they cared too much about the person named Shirogane Miyuki.

So Hachiman and Kaguya returned to the student council room hastily.

"On second thought, I guess we DO need to expand the council members after all." Kaguya cheerfully said.

"Oh, what gives?" Miyuki cockily asked, "You were so adamantly against it before."

"Well, I had a good talk with Hikigaya-san about it, and I realize that maybe it is for the best." Kaguya winked.

"Yeah, I don't mind keeping my current position as a StuCo delegate, but someone needs to deal with the actual job of General Affairs as well. I've been slacking off on that part for quite a while." Hachiman explained, "And to be honest, I don't want that extra load either."

"Most excellent!" Miyuki posed a victory salute, "But really, how could you convince her so easily like that?"

Kaguya made a naughty face and teasing smile, "It's a secret between us."

"Ehh? Why? Tell me about it at least." Chika pouted and shook Kaguya.

"Nein." Kaguya said as she danced around, "It's just between me and Hikigaya-san."

Hachiman looked at Miyuki only to see how dark and furious his face had become. Indeed! The way Kaguya had phrased it made it look like they were sharing a secret so intimate that not even Miyuki was worthy to know.

Jealousy intensifies!

"Hey Hachiman." Miyuki's eyes were quite murderous as he gripped Hachiman's shoulder tightly, almost crushing his tendon. "We're the best of brothers, right? Please tell me even if it's only a little bit. I'm super curious."

Hachiman glared at Kaguya, who was still playing coy with Chika about it. There was one thing that came to Hachiman's mind at that moment.

I want to kill this two-faced bitch.

And so, Hachiman took a deep breath and relaxed.

"Fuck this shit, I'm out." Hachiman slipped out of Miyuki's grasp, briskly walked over to and opened a window and jumped out. However, he didn't just jump out with the intention of harming himself.

Indeed, it was an emergency maneuver that one can learn when escaping from danger, such as an earthquake or fire in a the building.

Forcing a forward momentum as he jumped, paying attention to the landing area, the positioning of his feet, and usage of a rolling movement to reduce impact. Hachiman's exit actually scared quite a few students passing by.

It was, quite literally, a scene out of action movie!

Anyone untrained would have been hurt by such a move. But let it not be said that Hikigaya Hachiman didn't take pride in his athletic ability!

As Hachiman stood up, recovering from his landing, his eyes met those of Hayasaka, who was the only person on the scene who wasn't surprised by his stunt.

"YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY FOREVER, HACHIMAN!" Miyuki yelled from the second floor angrily. Smoke and the fires of jealousy filled the air of his surroundings.

Hachiman stuck his tongue out in response and went on his way to the Astronomy club.

Hayasaka finally realized who that had been. But, by the time she had done so Hachiman was gone.

"So that's Hikigaya Hachiman, huh."

The result of today's battle: Hachiman's retreat

* Note: I'm not entirely sure of WHAT happened, but Akasaka notes it was the reason why we never see The General Affairs Manager and Audition Officer. See Volume 4 Extra/Chapter 40.5