"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to hell."
Ishigami and Miko didn't know why Hachiman would say that, nevertheless, they knew they were in for a big surprise today.
At the start of the year, all the clubs were on recruitment sprees thanks to the flood of new blood that was the freshmen class. Naturally, with new members, there were budgetary concerns to consider.
A large sum of money was involved, enough that budget fights had become something of a tradition.
"This year will be a challenge for our Student Council due to the number of active members." Miyuki snapped his fingers, "People will question our integrity if we can't finish our work in an even faster time than before."
"Is speed that important?" Ishigami questioned, "Generally it'd take a few weeks for clubs to settle in in terms of memberships anyway."
"It's not just a matter of speed-"
"Hikigaya-san!" A girl shouted, then opened the Student Council Office door and ran in, panicked, "The captains are at it again."
"Oh come on, I'm not a member of the Disciplinary Committee. For crying out loud!" Hachiman tightened his tie and stood up, readying himself to walk out in a hurry, "How can they be so childish, we're sophomores now."
"Well, you're our PR Officer now, RIP." Miyuki patted his shoulder, "Iino, you want to join the Disciplinary Committee, right? Go and assist Hachiman."
"Huh? O-okay."
Because Miko was rather on the short side, she had difficulty keeping up with the somewhat average-in-height Hachiman once he picked up speed.
After a few minutes, they came upon the scene of the Judo Club Captain fighting a certain Kendo Club captain, with the Disciplinary Committee members trying to mediate.
"Iino, tell the Disciplinary Committee to disperse the crowd of freshmen," Hachiman told her, an order which she, despite her doubts, immediately complied with.
Hachiman didn't show any caution or fear as he simply walked up between the two and pushed them both away from each other by their shoulders.
"What the hell are you doing this early in the semester?"
"Hmmh."
Hachiman walked with them as they complained about their issues, away from the scene.
"He defused them just like that?" Miko asked, "Koba-chan?"
"Well, when you reach the stage of 'absolute trust', you'll always listen to that person." A girl in glasses said, "Most of the elites of Shuchiin trust Hikigaya-senpai to be fair and objective most of the time."
As the Disciplinary Committee dispersed the crowd, they saw Hachiman talking very calmly with the two furious club captains. Slowly but surely, they also started to calm down.
The Kendo Club Captain and the Judo Club captain ended up leaving separately afterwards.
"Thank you, Hikigaya-san." One of the second-years said.
Hikigaya Hachiman was a very strange person, Miko admitted. He seemed rather disorderly and went with his own pace, however, he had no record of breaking school rules; at least not any major ones.
And from what Miko had just heard, and seen, despite his chaotic behavior Hikigaya Hachiman was a stabilizing force in Shuchiin, often working together with Disciplinary Committee to quell conflicts between VIPs.
"It's fine. Those idiots never learn a thing." Hachiman said, "Besides which, I will have to get myself acquainted with a bunch of freshmen, so I'll be busy for a few days."
Even for absolutist like Iino Miko, it was hard to pin down whether she considered him a good person or bad person.
"Hikigaya-senpai, one question." Miko bluntly asked, "It seems that rather than being completely impartial, you make everything personal. Why is that?"
"Mmm, being impartial might be nice, but there's such a thing as perception too. After all, wouldn't you feel a difference between a stranger or a close friend giving you the same piece of advice?"
"Umm, that..."
Honestly, that was probably true for everyone.
"Shuchiin VIPs wield far greater power and influence than they should. One twitch of their fingers will effect the nation as a whole. But sometimes, you must remember that they're just kids like all of us." Hachiman grinned, "Without understanding the root of the conflict, all you do is delay the inevitable blowup. What these people need isn't a lid, but a safety valve."
By understanding the characters of people involved in the argument, Hachiman could choose the best words to deal with them.
"So you're saying you ARE that safety valve?" Miko asked again.
"Despite the rumors, my influence is rather limited to a select few people." Hachiman shrugged, "The Disciplinary Committee isn't going to run out of work anytime soon, so they could always use helping hands."
"I see."
Hachiman excused himself quickly with a wave of his hand.
"Weird guy, but he's pretty alright," Koba-chan commented.
"You have bad taste in men," Miko observed, drily.
Koba-chan was quiet for a few seconds and then said. "A true White Prince doesn't exist in this world, Miko-chan."
As always, a best friend also knows how to maximize mental damage!
"Let me dream just a little, damn it!"
...
"So here we are." Miyuki, Kaguya, and Hayasaka were facing a mountain of documents to process, "This is pretty much what we expected for the first week of the new school year."
"Do you know how to separate them all in this state?" Kaguya asked her.
"Well, I can try a little bit." Hayasaka cheekily licked her lips and then read them one by one as she separated them.
Both Kaguya and Miyuki, of course, watched over her as she did this test.
Hayasaka purposely showed an enthusiastic, but slow appearance. This way she could show that she was truly invested in the council work despite her claims otherwise.
The devil is in the details now. Thankfully, Hikigaya-san isn't here. Kaguya thought.
"That's the wrong one, Hayasaka-san," Kaguya warned when she was about to misplace a document.
"Mou, Kaguya-san, if you tell me that it'll mess up my pace!" Hayasaka pouted.
"It's fine, continue," Miyuki said.
Ah, and now Hayasaka looked shaken, what a perfect performance from her. By showing that she was losing to pressure, it would prove the fact that she was inexperienced at the job.
"Does Hikigaya-san always deal with this amount of paperwork?"
"Yes, he does."
"Wow."
To be honest, even Kaguya felt overwhelmed by the amount sometimes. So, Hayasaka could be showing genuine surprise for once.
"Which one does this belong to?"
"Ah, there."
Hayasaka also faked her level of comprehension for the more ambiguously worded documents. So far so good, but Kaguya still felt rather uneasy.
Especially when Miyuki sharpened his eyes in response. "Hmm."
It was all an engineered act. Hayasaka could do her job much faster than this if needed. But she would still have to keep up her cute clumsy gal appearance.
"Phew, sorry that took so long."
"That's faster than I thought you would be." Miyuki went to check the pile of documents rather quickly. "There are a few mistakes here and there, but otherwise this is workable considering you went in to the task blind."
"Is that so?"
"Like I said, you should have listened to my cues," Kaguya said.
"Hmm, sure, I'll listen to you next time, Kaguya-san!" Hayasaka winked.
Hayasaka more or less managed to show herself as someone with potential but having no real experience. Those kinds of people were the type that appealed to Miyuki the most. This much, Kaguya understood.
"So, did I pass this test?"
"Not yet." Miyuki's face darkened, "The second test is tool maintenance."
"Tool... maintenance?"
"Hachiman and I are both certified electric craftsman. It means we're trained and licensed to pry open electronic devices and fix them as we see fit."
"Electric craftsman?" Kaguya twitched, "They still exist in this day and age?"
"Shuchiin boasts about its history, naturally there are ugly sides to that." Miyuki said, "Shuchiin has a lot of aging equipment that no other school has, but it all remains in use because of inertia and tradition. They're out of production and out of warranty, so we have to do all the fixing ourselves."
Indeed.
Several decades in the past, before the advent of factory automation, all electronic devices were assembled by hand. Technical schools would commonly teach their students the arts of assembling electronic devices from scratch. Naturally this meant that they too could also repair electronic devices by themselves.
However, with advancements in manufacturing, modularity, and, miniaturization, along with increasing labor costs, electronic craftsmanship had disappeared from the public at large and become something more akin to bragging rights or a career-supporting secondary skill.
"Oh don't worry about that." Hayasaka said as she pulled a card from her wallet, "I'm a Class II Electrician and have a Rank B in Electronic Craftsmanship. I earned this during my part-time work."
"Hmm, that's pretty good. Well, I guess that means I have absolutely no reason to reject your application." Miyuki quickly recovered and offered a hand with a smile, "Welcome to the Shuchiin High Student Council, General Affairs Manager Hayasaka."
Hayasaka innocently grasped it and shook his hand hard in excitement, "Likewise~!"
Kaguya glared for a moment. No, she was just in denial that Hayasaka could be so easily touchy-feely with President, even in a casual capacity.
"Ahem." Kaguya said, "Since Hayasaka-san is now officially a member, wouldn't it be better if we start working immediately?"
Miyuki didn't suspect anything. Though he was usually sharp-minded, he was naturally kind-hearted and looked for the goodness in people. Hayasaka had easily wormed her way into the Student Council by exploiting this fact, combined with her extremely well-engineered acting and displays of skill.
"Sure enough, but I need to go use the bathroom first."
Miyuki didn't actually go to the bathroom.
Instead, he met Momo behind the student council building, who threw him a small bundle of documents. "I checked into her background as you requested. She's part of the Shinomiya group after all."
"Is that so?" Miyuki raised his eyebrows, "But from what I see, they're strangers. Even their classmates never see them interact, except casually."
Miyuki wasn't so stupid as to let anyone enter the Shuchiin Student Council without passing through a background check.
"The Shinomiya Family situation is very precarious." Momo explained to him, "Even compared to us Yakuza, they're very ruthless and competitive against each other. In other words, there's absolutely a zero sense of camaraderie between members of the Shinomiya household."
"Shinomiya sure was raised in a very difficult environment, no wonder she's so strong and tough." Miyuki grimly nodded, "Do you think she's truly interested in Hachiman or was that a lie?"
"Honestly, I don't know. This being Hachiman, you can't discount anything when it comes to him." Momo shrugged, "I'll make sure to keep my eyes open though. So whatever happened in the council, do your part as you see fit."
"Right, thanks."
"Later then."
Indeed, supposing that Kaguya and Hayasaka had a close relationship with each other, then the real motive could have been that Kaguya was trying to corner him into confessing, Miyuki would have to prepare a contingency.
But if her motive was about Hachiman, then Miyuki could only be curious. And maybe a bit supportive. For someone so honest and open, Hikigaya Hachiman had completely closed himself off to the idea of romance. If there was anyone who could make Hachiman believe in romantic love once again, it had to be someone outgoing and active like her.
He'd be super busy now, even though he decided to cut in half his part-time work and concentrate more on maintaining his body.
Hachiman had once told him that he should cut off a bit of coffee and get more sleep. Miyuki had defied that suggestion before, though he did cut his caffeine intake a bit. However, this time around it wasn't Hachiman who had warned him.
It was Kei.
Now that their father had a full-time job, both of them could make use of their time much better. Kei had more or less stopped delivering the newspaper, one of the few part-time jobs she could legally do at her age.
As for Miyuki himself, his self-studying efforts had reached a plateau. He was at a level where it would be nearly impossible to improve without outside support, like a cram school or tutor. But they simply couldn't afford either option.
The only solution left was to rely on friends, and that solution immediately ran into Miyuki's pride problem.
Miyuki couldn't advance without throwing away his pride, one of the few things he had that allowed him to reach these heights in the first place. With his efforts as a sword and his pride as a shield, Shirogane Miyuki had walked through a thorny path no one else was willing to walk.
"I can't drag them to suffer with me." Miyuki had decided, and so he decided to sleep a little more than before. The changes were, nevertheless, drastic.
His improved sleep cycle also allowed his brain to filter and process more information at greater speeds and accuracy than ever before. His senses, dulled in terms of sensitivity, but were also more precise.
It was like Shirogane Miyuki had been reborn. Like a blazing phoenix.
He might be able to increase his grades once again by keeping this pace. He decided to make a gamble of it and keep this pattern until the first exam.
The problem now was...
It seemed that his reborn, natural state of eyes looked rather unappealing to Kaguya. In the last Yozakura party, intervention from Hachiman had managed to salvage the situation via the use of makeup.
"But I don't want Shinomiya to see me as superficial."
"You can't market good shit without nice packaging." Hachiman told him, "Even men need to be fashionable so that girls WANT to know them better."
"You already bullshit your way to the top. What's another lie on top of that?"
Miyuki admitted that he couldn't argue against that statement; he had bluffed and lied his way to this point. Well, that and Hachiman might not wear makeup himself, but he WAS always a fashionable guy. Miyuki had learned to dress up casually from him too.
Miyuki went to the bathroom to check if his eye lines had gotten ruined. They looked perfectly fine, striking a good balance between ferocity and vitality.
He now understood why even someone as young as his little sister Kei cared so much about dressing up. A single pencil could make such a difference in impression.
Maybe he could be a little more lenient on her now.
...
Without Hachiman present at the office, due to him establishing connections with a few key freshmen, Hayasaka's first day in the student council ended up being rather lackluster.
But it was something she appreciated, rather than regretted. Her primary objective was, after all, to prevent him from interrupting the plan.
And so, when they returned to the Shinomiya residence, it was already evening. They were even late for dinner.
"President ended up wearing make-up in the end." Kaguya said as she sat on her bed, "So even men can make use of it."
"Men's make-up is often minimal and on point." Hayasaka remarked, "I see no problem in that at all."
But Kaguya probably found it rather problematic. She was a true believer in the idea of untouched, natural beauty, simply because she herself had been born and raised in a very, very strict environment and had adopted rather outdated tastes.
She looked down on people who beautified themselves through the use of makeup as vapid and shallow people. Hayasaka included.
But, for the first time in her life, this belief was shaken apart. Her very object of affection showed how much it could make a difference.
"Beauty is power. There's no place in this society for people who don't decorate themselves." Hayasaka said grimly, "I refuse to lose the opportunity to people who have nothing but natural beauty to boast about."
Thanks to Shirogane Kei, Kaguya had grown to be a bit more fashion-conscious and had learned how to pick clothes out by herself now. However, as for the issue of makeup...
"Even men are no exception tho this." Hayasaka smiled, "Well, I'm glad that he returned to being your beloved President."
"What are you talking about, stupid idiot!" Kaguya screamed in embarrassment, "I've told you I have no such feelings for him at all!"
"Is that so?" Hayasaka popped a vein, "I suppose that might be true. Then I shall apologize for making such a presumptuous statement."
"Huh?"
"When President confesses to you and you accept his confession, you will be trapped in a one-sided relationship where it'll be all taking and no giving."
"You will spend your precious, irreplaceable high school days with someone you have COMPLETELY no interest in, and, if by any chance this relationship somehow end up in marriage, it will be a very loveless one."
Hayasaka recited this in a completely deadpan voice. If it wasn't obvious, she had already reached a breaking point of cold anger by this point.
"It will probably end up worse than just you marrying for independence, money, or political power since he has none of that. And then there's also the issue of children... so wouldn't it be better if you stop trying to make him confess? And if he confesses, you should reject him instead."
Kaguya looked like she was about to cry, "Why would you say that..."
"Okay, I'll stop now. But don't make that face if you want to say you have no feelings for him. That's not how it works."
Hayasaka preferred to take her time and guide Kaguya slowly into being honest, but all things considered, shock therapy might very well be the best option. No matter what happened, Kaguya and Miyuki needed to start dating before the summer or else Hayasaka would be driven mad by the pile-up of responsibilities.
But more than just that, even if Miyuki confessed, as long as Kaguya was unwilling to settle her own feelings, she would never be happy.
Hayasaka wasn't simply saying it as blunt revenge. She was speaking the brutal, naked truth. But even then, it wasn't as if Kaguya was being stubborn without reason.
A Shinomiya wasn't allowed to fall in love.
"Speaking of which, I wonder if President is suspicious of you." Kaguya decided to switch the topic of conversation, "A simple background check would easily reveal your connection to the Shinomiya group."
"It's fine. The fact that we never spend any time together in public should be well known by this point. As long as we maintain that distance he will never find out."
The conclusions that Ryuju Momo had reached from her investigation, while incorrect, weren't at all baseless. Her deduction, in the end, was made based on the very real and correct information about the Shinomiya family and its traditions and attitudes.
The warm relationship that Kaguya and Hayasaka Ai shared, had always been the exception and not the norm. Rather than master and servant, in secrecy they were more like inseparable sisters.
This was something that only the closest of their family members were aware of, really only being Hayasaka's mother. To everyone else in the household, Hayasaka had behaved simply as a professional maid for as long as they could remember.
"If anything, the situation is far more precarious with Fujiwara-san than with President."
The disguise of 'Hayasaka-kun' was made specifically to fool none other than Fujiwara Chika. In other words, as long as she could maintain Gal Hayasaka's presence, there would be no need for him to exist.
"I'm well aware." Kaguya nodded and sighed, "You know, you should have talked about it with me more. I'll forgive you this once, because everything turned out well."
"Thank you for the leniency, Kaguya-sama."
"And... another thing." Kaguya blushed a bit, "What you had said, you being interested in Hikigaya-san. That was a lie, right?"
Hayasaka smiled for a moment, "That wasn't a lie."
Kaguya squeezed her eyes shut in utter disbelief.
"Not in the romantic sense, of course." Hayasaka's usual wide-eyed poker face returned, showing no signs of lying, "Which is the reason why my reasoning to join the council would be hard to disprove, because it's true."
Kaguya felt like she just stepped into some bizarro world. Nevertheless, it seemed that Hayasaka had no intention of betraying her and was willing to stay with her mission at any cost. But still...
"Now look at me and answer honestly." Kaguya's eyes gradually grew dimmer as her hyper-rational, extremely judgmental side appeared. Her face was frozen as if it had been carved from ice as a sculpture. "Given the choice between me and him, which one would you choose?"
"Of course it would be you, Kaguya-sama," Hayasaka said with absolute determination. "No matter how many times I lie and deceive, I'll always be with you."
That applied, of course, to Kaguya herself.
Kaguya knew there was a catch in this whole escapade, unknown factors that may compromise her trust towards her most trusted person. Kaguya knew Hayasaka was hiding something.
This might be the first time Kaguya had began to show suspicion in Hayasaka's behavior. She didn't know what had happened exactly that had made Hayasaka so interested, yet...
Kaguya trusted her enough that it wouldn't be an exaggeration that Kaguya would put her safety in Hayasaka's hands.
During the Yozakura Event, there were a lot of interruptions that more or less destroyed Kaguya's attempts to attract Miyuki and make him confess.
Starting next week, the real plan would be set into motion.
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 19 - Kaguya wants to look...
And so, the first week of hell for the new student council cabinet more or less passed.
"Do you see him?" Kaguya asked as she and Hayasaka stood on the roof of the student council's building.
"Yes, he's walking with Fujiwara-san." Hayasaka said as she looked through high-quality binoculars, "Though I suggest you should see for yourself."
"Hmm? What's that supposed to-" She started to respond as she took the binoculars and lifted the to her own eyes.
Kaguya dropped the binoculars as she stiffened from shock. Thankfully Hayasaka was there to catch them.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha." Kaguya stilted and panicked.
"What's so funny, Kaguya-sama?" Hayasaka asked, clearly joking.
Kaguya grabbed Hayasaka's shoulder and shook her, hard. Any lesser girl would get whiplash from it!
"Hayasaka! President looks dangerous today!"
"Exactly." Hayasaka said, "It seems that he decided to go all out for this New Council Formation Party."
"What should I do?"
"What should you do?" Hayasaka kept her usual face on her, "You know what you must do, Kaguya-sama."
"Tch. Looks like there's no other option." Kaguya said, "Bring it on."
Hayasaka smiled and brought out the make-up kit. The plan had been set into motion at last!
"It should be fine now." Hayasaka said as she made her finishing touches, "You're more than a match against him."
"Thank you, Hayasaka. I guess we should go our separate ways now." Kaguya told her.
"Of course. We have to maintain our distance in public no matter what." Hayasaka nodded as she pulled out her hairband, letting her side-tail go.
"Hmm? What are you doing?"
"I will also have to bring my A-game to stop him from intruding..." Hayasaka said with a menacing face.
To be honest, even Kaguya was a little intimidated by how into this, invested, Hayasaka was. Even if it benefitted her immensely, for Hayasaka to be this serious was slightly off-putting. "Ah, I'll leave that to you."
Even now, Hayasaka still felt guilty about the fact that she leaked everything to Hachiman, betraying Kaguya's trust in her. Nevertheless, it didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. Kaguya already suspected that Hachiman knew, and was deliberately interfering with her plans.
The ends justified the means.
Hayasaka received a call from Hachiman.
"Good afternoon, Hikigaya-san. As you said, Kaguya-sama reacted rather violently in response to the President's new appearance."
"[Told you it was going to work.]" Hachiman scoffed, "[The only way to make them honest is to keep escalating things.]"
"How do you know that?"
"[Shinomiya is an inherently conservative person. She doesn't like being blindsided by surprise or out of context problems, because it will force her to divert from her original plan into her backup plans. We will continue that process until she is forced to the last available option, pushing the big red emergency button.]"
"President Shirogane is a master of improvisation and bluffing, however, his low self-esteem means that he'd be easily caught off guard and make mistakes and miscalculations." Hayasaka guessed, "Is that what you intend."
"[Of course.]" Hachiman told her, "[In a war, there's no real winner. There are only people who lose the least.]"
"It's a Mutually Assured Destruction strategy, huh? You truly are vicious." Hayasaka remarked, "Well then, how are you going to deal with Fujiwara-san?"
"[Pffft, easy.]"
Hayasaka used the binoculars to see that Hachiman was on the school roof with a grenade launcher in hand. Hayasaka was skeptical it was the real thing so it's probably an airsoft replica.
"Huh?"
Hachiman fired something shiny that flew and landed near where Chika and Miyuki stood. Chika picked it up and opened it.
"It's a Gacha capsule. You put something inside?"
Gacha toys referred to collectible toys that can be obtained from a Gacha machine. The word Gacha itself refers to the shaking sound made by the machine when operated, dispensing a capsule with a random toy or item inside.
"[Yeah, a treasure and a map. It's something I made haphazardly but will keep her busy for a good fifteen minutes or so.]"
As a member of the Tabletop Club, there was nothing that interested Fujiwara Chika more than a sense of impending adventure or mysteries that needed solving. Hachiman regularly got roped into the club's schemes by Chika, so he understood the interests of those members well.
"You could use a reward. How about another kiss?" Hayasaka teased.
"[No thanks.]"
Hayasaka legit felt hurt. What kind of single, heterosexual young man would refuse a free kiss from a beautiful girl?
"Well actually I also managed to hold off Ishigami-san and Iino-san, so I want my reward as well."
"[Then we're even. I'm going down now.]"
Hayasaka screamed internally.
No! She was not attracted to him romantically. Not in the slightest. She just thought his reactions to seduction were rather amusing and great for stress relief. But it seemed that unless they were facing each other in-person Hachiman could easily deflect her advances.
...
Meanwhile, inside the student Council's office.
Miyuki looked at Kaguya with an unusual glare.
"What is it, President?"
"No, must be something I forgot."
Kaguya looked away with a mischievous smile drawn on her face. Of course, the President would be confused. After all, this was the first time Kaguya had ever worn make-up. And it was extremely subtle too.
Very thin lip gloss. Perfectly toned powder on a very light foundation. Light brown eyeliner. And the final touch: eyedrops. None of the makeup used altered the way she looked, they only highlighted her already striking, almost unmatched natural beauty.
The Kaguya currently in front of Miyuki was beyond perfection, she was the enhanced goddess, Shinomiya Kaguya!
It was a gigantic pain in the ass to convince Kaguya that no, there was absolutely no issue for her in wearing make-up at all, especially as long as they kept within school regulations.
There was a very good reason for why she caved in.
It was because Miyuki himself had already undergone rapid improvements in his look. He had experimented with the appliance of eyeliner and hair cream to strike a better contrast in intensity and charm, which at first disturbed Kaguya due to the rapid shift in balance. But afterwards?
Kaguya might have to admit this version of President truly looked appealing, and it made her uncomfortable whenever she was near him.
And she couldn't accept that President had stepped up his game on his lonesome, leaving her behind!
I'll show you what it means to dress up! Kaguya thus decided.
"Shinomiya, you've decided to pay more attention to fashion!" Miyuki gasped, "I didn't see this coming."
Hachiman guessed that once Miyuki could shift the tone of his eye lining technique from full aggression to something closer to charming but intense, it would trigger a sense of dread in Kaguya, and she'd start paying him more attention than before.
But he didn't expect that Kaguya too, would step up her appeal game.
In times like this, it's be best to remark how she's changed. Indeed, to show that you've noticed her change will earn you a lot of man-points.
Man points, manliness measurement points as devised by Shirogane Miyuki, is a system he created for his use after painstaking research into the topic of teen romance.
However, depending on what kind of remark you throw out, it may backfire. Worst case, it could even be interpreted as sexual harassment. Miyuki thought, So let's start with something innocuous, like her hairstyle... Shinomiya didn't change her hairstyle at all.
No, not hair then... Hmm, it's really hard to pin down other than her overall face, they look kind of... kind of... cu-
Miyuki turned hot and steamy when the right words finally came to mind. There was no other way to express how cute Shinomiya Kaguya looked today.
Kaguya made use of a very soft make-up tone to make her face look gentler and kinder. Naturally, this would highlight her pure innocent beauty and cuteness.
No, but if Miyuki said it now, it would be nothing but an admission of his feelings, and Kaguya might tease him again instead.
It had to be neutral. As neutral as possible.
"Shinomiya."
"Hmm?"
"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you used eyeliner too?" Miyuki straightforwardly asked.
Cowardice!
Because many boys are shy by nature, they will try to start a conversation by seeking out a common interest. In desperation, Miyuki resorted to this tried and true tactic to strike an initial conversation with Kaguya without immediately resorting to flattery.
Kaguya immediately realized this too.
But, for once, she was willing to let it slide, and smirked.
"Yes, that's right. I tried to pick the lightest color I could. Is it still visible?" Kaguya walked closer and looked up to him with an alluring smile. She was so close, if Miyuki just bent down a bit, they would be kissing.
Come on. Bend over and confess to me!
"Yes." Miyuki said with an extremely serious face, "It makes your eyes gentler and more beautiful."
Kaguya's heart stopped beating for a moment before working harder in response to the sudden stimulus of shame and fear.
She'd fallen into a trap!
Miyuki had anticipated this beforehand and had formulated a way to keep himself in control while delivering a decisive strike when she was off guard or on the offensive!
Now, confess to me.
However, the sight of Miyuki's intense eyes this close were intoxicating. So much so that Kaguya instinctively closed her eyes in response, and it made her look vulnerable!
Shirogane Miyuki was conflicted!
Anyone not completely dense would understand this situation all too well. When a girl in front of you looked up and closed her eyes, it could only mean one thing.
It was a request for a kiss.
It couldn't possibly mean anything else right?
But what if he kissed her and she ended up disliking it? What if she didn't mean it that way at all and it was something else? But if he pretended to ignore it, what if he broke the mood.
What if he decided to go with it, and then Kaguya used it to force a confession out of him?!
So conflicted.
Before Miyuki could make any decision however, Kaguya opened her eyes again and took some distance from him.
So, looks like it WASN'T an invitation for a kiss, after all! Miyuki was glad he hadn't screwed everything up there.
"It's a bit hot here, we should get something to drink." Kaguya said, "But I figure hot coffee or tea isn't appropriate for the occasion."
"Hachiman said he was bringing something delicious, so I wonder what it is." Miyuki agreed.
Both of them looked away and quietly sighed.
It was safe to say that neither of them felt satisfied today.
"Speaking of eyes," Kaguya said, without looking at him. "Your eyes are naturally gentle, President."
"Is that so?" Miyuki scoffed as he looked away over the campus grounds, "I think they look ridiculous. They make me look weak and gullible."
Kaguya couldn't objectively say she disagreed. For whatever reason, she had grown to like sharp and fierce eyes on handsome men, like those of the President (before) and Hachiman.
She thought those kinds of eyes made men look strong and tough.
Even so.
Even so.
"I'm not sure who said it the first time, but eyes are a reflection of the soul." Kaguya walked closer to him, "Rather than reflecting your weakness, wouldn't it be better to say that those eyes reflect the kindness of your heart?"
But Miyuki pretended he didn't hear that and smiled proudly.
Shirogane Miyuki didn't want to look gentle or kind.
Shinomiya Kaguya wanted to look gentle and kind.
The ideals of these two were natural opposites.
That was why they would keep their eyeliner for the next time they would meet again, too.
"Waaah, I didn't manage to get it somehow." Chika cried as she rushed up inside the office, "I'll try again later."
"You might have gotten scammed," Momo remarked as she arrived carrying an icebox with her, "Probably a prank."
"There's no way, look I found these treasures!" Chika said as she opened her palm, revealing a couple of shiny rings.
"Hmm?" Momo inspected them, "I'm not really into jewelry, but they look cheap."
The estimated total value of Chika's treasures: 600-800 yen. Not that Chika would have known!
"It's fine even if they look cheap." Chika smiled, "I can use them as dungeon rewards!"
"You looked like you had fun at least, Fujiwara-san." Kaguya smiled at her.
"Sorry, I was distracted by something and came late." Chika clapped her hands apologetically. For once, it looked rather honest on her part, so Kaguya and Miyuki had no reason to hold a grudge.
Especially since it was likely part of Hayasaka's intervention, thus indirectly part of Kaguya's schemes.
"It's fine. Let's go inside and get ready for the others to come," Kaguya assured her, "Ryuju-san should join us too."
"Is it really fine for me to join you?" Momo asked Miyuki as she handed over the icebox to him.
"Of course it's fine. Besides, these are the party drinks, right?" Miyuki told her, "Thanks a lot."
If nothing else, Kaguya and Miyuki hoped this would be an enjoyable party. The four other student council members arrived, at the office at last, fifteen minutes behind schedule.
Bonus Chapter: Chapter 19.5 - Shuchiin's Student Council Wants an After-work Party
"It looks like the office has been expanded a bit." Ishigami remarked, "I worked mostly from home so I didn't notice aside from the additional item purchase and sales."
That last part was especially odd.
"Eh, no, we just traded the old table out for a bigger one and requested an additional sofa." Miyuki said, "It should be well within budget."
This way there was enough room for eight people to sit at the same time, not counting the president's own seat and desk.
"Well then, we managed to complete the first-week hell of the year, congratulations everyone."
"Bringing in the snacks." Hachiman wore an apron and then brought several plates of weird food, something that the rich of Shuchiin would never have encountered normally.
"Wha, what's that?" Kaguya asked about the pile of swirly dried meat.
"It's dried squid, of course," Hachiman said, then put down both the aforementioned food as well as a large plate full of podded soybeans. "And this is edamame. Miyuki cooked them all for us."
Edamame, boiled soybeans in a pod, was a staple beer snack for the working class of Japan, especially during an after-work, drinking party.
"Shredded squid, squid tempura, roasted beans too." Miyuki said, "You can say that today's party theme is an authentic Japanese working-class party."
"Ah, I've heard about this." Ishigami said, "After work, the salarymen and women will go to a nearby family restaurant called izakaya and binge drink together to socialize and encourage teamwork."
"So-something like that exists?" Miko asked, "Incredible!"
"Well, the dark side is that you'd be a pariah if you refused to attend for any reason, including spending your time with your own family." Hachiman said as he pulled multiple bottles out of the icebox, "That's why I swore to myself to never work as a Salaryman."
The elites of Shuchiin could relate to him, it wasn't as if the rich had it easy when it came to spending time with their parents too. It wasn't unbelievable that the middle-class had it as bad or even worse.
"But let's put that aside and just have fun today." Momo smiled softly, "We have all sorts of drinks here, some even homemade."
"Guh, is that... beer?" Chika pointed at the strange brownish liquid in an 1800 ml bottle. Her father would probably ground her so hard she would never recover if he knew!
"Senpai, alcohol isn't allowed!" Miko shouted at him, madly.
"Don't worry, they're all under 1%." Hachiman said, "Anyway, this is a Slavic traditional drink called kvass. Even children can drink it."
"Huh? I-is that so? Then it's fine." Miko backed off, realizing that anything under 1% was considered non-alcoholic under Japan's legal code. As a legal absolutist, Iino Miko had a very black and white view on something like this.
Hikigaya Hachiman already had her played like a fiddle!
"Kvass is made of bread or dough, baked, boiled and then fermented for three days." Hachiman explained, "I made it out of old waste bread before it had gone moldy."
"How eco-friendly!" Miko became starry-eyed in response, "Does it taste good?"
"It's really good, they're also rich in vitamins." Hachiman grinned ominuously.
She's going to get corrupted. Everyone thought at the same time. But, no one was willing to stop Hachiman at the moment because they were curious how far he was going to stretch it.
At least Ishigami was determined to stop him if things went too far.
"We also have amazake and hoppy." Momo raised a bottle with white sweet sake and another one that was not homemade. Hoppy.
Amazake is a traditional sake of Japan, made by using fermented rice. It's low in alcohol and considered healthy and nutritious, and commonly enjoyed in Winter by people of all ages, including children. However historically, it was considered a working-class drink in the summer season.
Hoppy is a low alcoholic mixer drink for use with Japanese Shochu (hard liquor). However, it can also be enjoyed solo due to its mild and refreshing beer taste. A measly 0.8% alcohol content, it was originally made as a tax-free drink for the masses in the era of Post-War Japan!
"Those two are at it again..." Kaguya rubbed her temples in frustration, it was part of the reason why she was so glad that Momo was out of the council now. Hachiman by himself rarely caused too much trouble, but combined with her?
This pair of borderline criminals loved to tread a dangerous line at times. It gave Kaguya too much of a headache. However, at the same time, even Kaguya could admit that, sometimes, they brought the fun kind of chaos as well.
"Ahahaha, it's fine, as long as we're not doing anything illegal." Chika happily took the amazake bottle. "Ah, it's already warm. Here it is, Kaguya-san!"
Chika handed over the warm bottle to Kaguya.
"Heated to around body temperature is the best way to serve Amazake after all." Momo said proudly, "That's not from the icebox."
Kaguya slowly poured the amazake into three cups then beautifully put grated ginger on them. "Here, President, Fujiwara-san. It should be good for your health."
"Thank you Shinomiya." Miyuki said as he received the cups, "Unfortunately we don't have bowls for authenticity."
"Hmmmhmmhmm, let me do the rest Hikigaya-san." Hayasaka said, pumped up, "Do you prefer sweet or bitter, everyone?"
"Bitter." Hachiman and Momo said.
"Sweet." Iino and Ishigami said.
Hayasaka skillfully but hurriedly poured hoppy bottles into a kvass base, resulting in four glasses of frothy drinks. The difference was that two were closer to yellow while the other two were closer to brown.
"There are black Hoppy and white Hoppy, white Hoppy like this is fresher and bitter," Hachiman said while taking the yellow drink. "The black Hoppy is darker in color and sweeter."
Ishigami and Miko were well versed in the art of cocktails, even though they mostly drank mocktails. However, drinking low-class beverages like this was a rather eye-opening experience!
"Interesting," Ishigami said when he took a sip.
"It's like soda but different?" Miko guessed.
"This isn't quite what middle-class adults drink but close enough." Miyuki told them, "So remember this taste once you continue your parent's legacies."
Unless something really bad happened, out of incompetence or simply bad luck, children of a wealthy family would often end up as rich or even richer. That was the brutal law of the capitalist world. To break the social wall that separated Shuchiin elites and society at large was a task entrusted to Miyuki by the previous President of the Shuchiin Student Council.
Changing the entire school might be difficult, but he can begin from those who already close to him.
"W-well, even saying that my older brother is likely to inherit the company anyway." Ishigami sighed, "I'm not entirely sure what to do."
"You still have a long way to go, so think it over and maybe you might find the answer," Miyuki told him.
...
As they left behind the serious talk, the party got increasingly merrier. Unlike the formal party of the Yozakura Event, there was no need for them to behave perfectly.
"What do you think, Kaguya-san?" Chika asked as she bit half of a squid tempura piece and chewed it.
"Mmm, the squid is a little too salty, I think." Kaguya squirmed as she ate it, "Was this deliberate?"
"Yeah. Strongly flavored food works best with beer." Momo said as she took some peas for herself, "Yum!"
"Well there's also the fact that the dryness and saltiness of squid will make you more thirsty," Ishigami said, having another glass of the kvass/hoppy mixture. "T-Thank you, Hayasaka-senpai."
"No worries, sweetie." Hayasaka winked at him, she had pretty much taken the role of perfect bartender today and it made him blush.
Miko glared at them. It was unknown whether it was out of moral obligation or jealousy, however. Hachiman couldn't be arsed to interrupt. As long as Hayasaka directed her attention elsewhere he was practically free!
"That's a devious marketing strategy," Kaguya remarked with an extremely serious face, already feeling the effects as she drank another cup of now-cold amazake. "Make them drink more the more they eat, and make them eat more the more they drink."
It was a vicious cycle! Thankfully what they were drinking at the moment had very low alcohol content. If it had been legit beer and sake, they'd already be inebriated by now.
"You got it, Shinomiya." Hachiman and Miyuki snapped their fingers in perfect harmony, even their expressions were completely alike.
"Bwahahaha, they're like twin brothers now!" Chika laughed.
"We're not at all alike!" Hachiman and Miyuki shouted and pointed, again in perfect harmony.
"Are they drunk or are they just acting the part?" Kaguya winced.
Miko glared at them suspiciously. "I'll have to report them to the Disciplinary Committee if they are."
"We're not drunk at all." Miyuki and Hachiman said in unison with deadpan voices.
Thankfully the party ended without incident and everyone walked out of the room still sober. Indeed, both Hachiman and Miyuki were perfectly refreshed more than ever, if anything, because of the nutritious drinks they had consumed.
Unlike real beer, hoppy, amazake and kvass contain a whole ton of vitamins and very little purine.
"I'm going to take the train today." Hachiman said, "Knowing alcohol of any kind would be involved I didn't bring my bike."
"I'm shocked you'd even think that far ahead in the first place." Kaguya teased him.
Miko looked rather confused. "He's usually riding a motorbike, right?"
"Surprised?" Momo asked her, "The first time we met, Hachiman argued with a yakuza of my group because he didn't want to carry passengers without a helmet. So he offered to hand over his key instead."
"That's amazing, but also stupid." Ishigami couldn't really imagine keeping his calm in that kind of situation.
Miko was legitimately surprised. It seemed that despite his seemingly carefree attitude, Hachiman was a stickler for following the law to the letter. That was legitimately praiseworthy! It seems that despite his attitude, Hikigaya Hachiman fit Iino Miko's definition of a 'good person'.
"Hmm, right. I'll take the train as well, everyone is going to use the Yamanote Line right?" Chika proposed as she hugged Iino, "We can go together by train today!"
Both Chika and Iino lived in Shibuya city, so they could drop themselves off at Shibuya station.
"Umm, I'll drop in Ebisu station in that case," Ishigami said, as Ebisu station was relatively close to his home in Nakameguro, Meguro ward.
"I'll change the train from Shinjuku station, but we can go on the same train until then," Hachiman told them.
"Same goes with me." Miyuki said, "Though we're going to take different trains there."
Both Hachiman and Miyuki lived in the Setagaya ward, but were too far apart to be considered neighbors, with Hachiman living close to Hachimanyama while Miyuki was somewhat closer to Sangenjaya station.
Hayasaka looked at Kaguya knowing that she probably wanted to go with everyone on the train today, but was afraid of reprisal from her family.
"We can have the limo pick us up at Gotanda Station," Hayasaka whispered, "So they won't be suspicious."
"That's genius." Kaguya was glad that Hayasaka had found a good compromise.
"Alright, it looks like everyone is taking Yamanote line now." Momo pointed dramatically, "To Mejiro Station!"
Mejiro Station was one of the small stations that served the circular Yamanote Line, and, unlike most stations, it didn't serve any other train line, a unique trait shared with Shin-Ookubo Station.
Kaguya looked around, rather intimidated by the sheer number of people.
"Huh, looks like it's not too crowded today," Momo remarked, "Most of us should be able to sit."
"This isn't crowded?!" Kaguya gawked in response. There were more than ten thousand people here!
"Kaguya-san, this is why you need to get out more." Chika laughed smugly. In spite of her social status Chika had relatively great freedom to go around town alone. Thus she was relatively more acquainted with the lives of the average people.
"I take the train every day," Ishigami said.
"Me too," Miko said.
"Even after an expansion, the Yamanote Line operates at 167% capacity on average, compared to 200% in 2010. Also, we're not in rush hour yet, that's why there's a lot of room at the moment." Hachiman explained to Kaguya.
"It's said that the Yamanote Line serves more than 4 million people every day." Miyuki added, "It can be intimidating for people who go with this train the first time."
Basically, people are packed like sardines during the worst traffic. Rush hour is generally between 7 - 9 in the morning and 5 - 7 in the evening.
In other words, they were lucky today!
Most of the girls, bar Hayasaka, managed to get themselves a seat. The rest of them had to stand with their hands hanging on the safety loop.
However, compared to rush hour, it was empty enough that it was a relatively comfortable ride.
"Hehe, squeeze." Chika smiled, "I never thought we'd ride the train together, Kaguya-san!"
"Yeah. Me too." Kaguya blushed slightly.
For a long time, Kaguya always dreamed of what it would be like going to school or going home with 'everyone else.' All this time, for years, Kaguya could only look out from the inside of her family's limousine with envy.
She managed to experience that today, with her closest companions. And more importantly than that, even President too!
Meanwhile, Hayasaka seemed to be very content just buzzing on Hachiman. During the entire trip Kaguya was actually somewhat concerned with that. She acted unbefitting of someone from the Shinomiya Household, even if she was only a part of the servant family.
Still, she really couldn't do anything without breaking the facade of their supposedly distant relationship. She'd let it slide today.
She couldn't be happier. No, the only way she could be happier would be to experience walking together to school with these people. But Kaguya was more than aware that she was already pushing the boundary of what was acceptable here.
She couldn't afford to anger the Shinomiya Household, lest they put even more restrictions on her than before.
The risk was not worth it.
"We're taking our leave here." Hachiman and Miyuki excused themselves.
"Ah." Kaguya blinked and then smiled, "See you next week, you two."
...
The Result of Today's battle: Kaguya's Consolation Prize!