Chapter 1: And So, They Were Served Tea Once Again.
Kawa-something came to the Service Club in the late afternoon as we were about to finish up. It was our first case in a while after the election. Yuighama had suggested to Yukinoshita that we all "took a break" for a while and the latter reluctantly obliged. And after that declaration of mine, it was prime time I took a break as well.
But seriously, couldn't you have come in a little earlier, Ms. Kawa-something?
As she entered the room, the silver-haired girl anxiously looked around her, as if to check if someone had tailed her there. She looked back into the hallway once more before gently sliding the door closed.
"Kawasaki-san, good afternoon" said Yukinoshita, who was in the process of putting away the tea cups, "Do you need help with anything?"
"Yahallo, Saki-saki!" said Yuigahama, who sat directly opposite of me at the long table.
"Do you need help with anything?" Yukinoshita said.
"Well.. yes"
"Wow, but you came awfully late." Yuigahama said.
"Look, if you're about to go home then I can come again tomorrow.."
"Nonsense, our duty here is to support other students in time of need. Our schedule is mostly a guideline." Yukinosita said.
I'd much rather you stuck to the schedule though.
"We will stay here until our job is complete. Now, please sit down, Kawasaki-san, I'll prepare you tea."
Kawasaki grabbed a seat from a corner and sat down beside Yuigahama. At that point, it seemed her anxiety had not died down yet, or was that because she was enamored by the charms of our Gahama-san here?
Yukinoshita served each of us tea and went back to her seat at the other end of the table. After taking one sip of the hot tea, she began working.
"So, what brought you here today, Kawasaki-san?"
Kawasaki was visibly confused when asked.
"Haven't you guys noticed?"
"Notice what?" Yuigahama said.
Kawasaki took a big sigh. "Am I really the only one who noticed it, or have I just gone insane?"
"Please explain to us the details. Save for Yuigahama-san, we are not really caught up with the current discussions. And in this case, it seems even she is not in the know, either."
"It's about the new bill." Kawasaki said.
Ah, I knew it. Of course, Kawasaki of all people would be up in arms about it.
I had a hunch about what she came in for, but didn't dare to confirm it myself. Isshiki's landslide victory was weird to say the least, and her actions after, which bordered on reckless, were even weirder.
"I see", Yukinoshita said. Somehow that one sentence from Kawasaki gave her all the resources she needed to connect the dots. But of course, this is Yukinoshita, she is naturally capable of that. What's also natural is how cold, and all around unfazed, she was as she explained her thought process back to Kawasaki.
"Bill IRH-01: Representative Contributions Act: 'All homerooms are to contribute half of their monthly class fund collection to the Treasury, effective from next month'. Kawasaki-san, considering your circumstances, I take it you have an issue with this new bill?"
"Like I said, it's not just me. Practically everyone is talking about it right now."
"Now that you mention it," Yuighama said, "I noticed that people have been gossiping about the same things a lot lately. Something, something about money, but that's all I was able to catch, could it be about this?"
"It is about this." Kawasaki said.
"But that is strange, if this bill is unpopular with the Student Body, by now, somebody should have brought this issue up to the Council, or in fact, even the teachers." Yukinoshita said before taking another sip of her tea.
"That's the thing. I have no idea why nobody is doing anything about this. That's why I came here today."
"If you are not comfortable openly bringing up this issue to anyone, then why not go to your homeroom teacher, or the guidance counselor? Surely, that would be more effective than asking us."
"W– Well.." Kawasaki said as her cheeks turned red, "I.. I don't really see eye to eye with my homeroom teacher.. Or my guidance counselor."
I think it's more accurate to say homeroom teacher AND guidance counselor.
"A– Anyway! You just said that 'it's your job to help those in need' or whatever but now you're telling me to go back the way I came? Are you going to help me or not?"
"While I don't think such an attitude deserves any help, you're correct that it is our job to support you, now that you have nowhere else to go. So please rest assured."
"Man, aren't you a drag.." Kawasaki mumbled.
Yukinoshita took yet another sip and sat there in silence for a moment.
"My only worry is that if this story gets out, this would become a much bigger issue than it would have been if someone had gone to the teachers to begin with. But if your requirement is that we do this discreetly, then we shall deliver on that. We must make our move before the teachers notice."
"Too late."
Suddenly, the door slid open violently, its thunderous impact with the frame resonating through the room. From the hallway, a menacing figure emerged, its shadow loomed over the four of us in the room. Slowly, a woman in a lab coat approaches with her arms crossed, and a face filled with murderous rage.
"S– Sensei, " said Yukinoshita, who was not as stricken as the rest of us, "How many times have I told you to kn– "
"Enough, Yukinoshita." said Hiratsuka-sensei, "I heard everything."
That look on her face, to say she was angry would be an understatement of the century.
"I leave you guys to run things here because I believe that most cases you get are within the scope of what you can handle, and that if you can't handle it, you would raise the issue to the people who can. This is one such case."
"With all due respect, Sensei. I believe supporting Kawasaki-san is well within our ability."
"Except this just isn't about her. The district already finances our school in many ways, including the Student Council, and part of that fund came from your working parents. The reason Kawasaki, and not the others, came here today is because she is in charge of her own allowance. Imagine if one of your friends said to their parents that 'I'm paying into the Treasury on top of what you already paid!'. You imagine what would happen then! Do you still think you can tackle this issue?!"
After a short minute of silence, Yukinoshita put down her tea, her gaze following along with the ceramic cup.
"I– I apologize for talking back to you, Sensei.."
Hiratsuka-sensei, who herself had just realized what she had done, let out a sudden glottal sound before continuing calmly.
"I– I'm also sorry for raising my voice. But you all have to understand the weight of the situation here. I knew right from Monday's homeroom when your rep relayed this new bill that this is a terrible idea. I was just about to go talk some sense into Isshiki until I saw Kawasaki sneaking about in the hallway. What if you guys did something drastic and the story gets out?"
"You made that very clear, Sensei." said Kawasaki, "I'm sorry that I tried to deal with a problem way over my head. I should have gone to you right away"
"We're sorry, Hiratsuka-sensei." said Yuigahama with an apologetic smile.
Sensei returned the gesture, and then shared the sentiment over to the rest of us.
"Honestly, even if nobody came to me, I would have done something. And even if the other teachers won't say anything about it, I will. This is not something that the faculty should let go easily."
"I agree, Sensei." Yukinoshita said, "It is certainly strange that the other teachers are still quiet on this issue."
"Exactly, adults aren't necessarily smart, but something like this has got to raise some major alarm."
Hiratsuka-sensei thought about something for a moment.
"I'll ask them about what they think of the situation, then I'll go talk to Isshiki, and if necessary, the principal."
"I see, in which case we'll leave Kawasaki-san's case to you, Sensei."
Wait, hold on, what the heck are we doing?
"Yukinon is right, I guess something is better left to the adults. Right, Saki-saki?"
Huh?!
"Quit calling me that.. although, yeah, I do agree with you."
"Alright, you guys just hang back– "
"No."
And the room fell silent once more. The conversation was nothing more than a clam before the storm, it seems. Everyone's eyes immediately fell upon me, their gaze filled with awe.
"Wha–? Hikki? Why?"
"Hikigaya-kun?"
"I somehow knew that was too easy." the teacher said.
She let out one long sigh, and looked straight at me with the look that says 'I'm done with this person'.
"Alright, what is it, Hikigaya? I'll let you make your case. But if it turns out you're just testing my patience, don't accuse me later of being mean."
That display was nothing short of pathetic. How far have we fallen that we would put on this veil of solidarity? It took so long to build up this framework for finding the truth, yet when a real crisis arrives we resort to comfortable complacency and easy solutions. Maybe we were on break for way too long. We have gone soft. I have gone soft. I cannot allow it.
"Do you remember what Isshiki's request was during the election?" I said.
"Yes, to help her lose the election in a manner that would not affect her image." Yukinoshita said.
"And that's the keyword right there: image." I said.
"What of it, Hikigaya?"
"Sensei, Isshiki-san had worked hard to try to preserve her image while trying to lose the election at the same time. And now she has literally won. Please pardon me, but I don't think that it makes any logical sense that she would willingly make a beeline for a scandalous impeachment like this. Isshiki Iroha is not a stupid individual."
Yukinoshita and Yuigahama suddenly hunched over a little, their faces filled with curiosity.
"Okay, go on." the teacher said.
I continued, looking back and forth between all of them.
"Do you remember what happened with her campaign?"
"Yes, she swapped out her entire team for your classmates." Yukinoshita said.
That's right. After I met with her in the library that time, she never came back to me again. The next thing I knew, she had won the election and the new Council was composed of her as President, Tobe as Vice-President, Hayama as Secretary, and Ebina as Treasurer. I have no idea what was her justification for this move, but it turned out to be a big hit that led to a 98% turnout.
"Oh yeah! Hayato and the others are now on the Council!" Yuigahama said.
"That's right." I said.
"What, Hikigaya." the teacher said as anxiety started to fill her face "So are you accusing your classmates of forcing her to draft this bill?"
I cannot deny the possibility, and that's what makes this infinitely harder than it has it be.
"No, Sensei. What I mean to say is that there are many moving parts here that we do not know about. I don't completely oppose the idea of confronting Isshiki-san, I just think it's too early for you, and especially you, to talk to her now."
"Then how late do you exactly want me to approach her, Hikigaya? Don't you understand? This is the sort of thing that makes the national news. If we don't act now, a lot of faces you know are going to end up on the front page sooner or later. Why do you like to over-complicate things?"
The fact that it would cause such a sensation is why an authority figure like her cannot act now. If anything, Hiratsuka-sensei's intervention should be kept as a last resort.
"Sensei," without skipping a beat, Yukinoshita chimed in. "It may just be his usual paranoia speaking, but I do think Hikigaya-kun has a point."
"Oh, not you too, Yukinoshita." the teacher said before taking another sigh.
"If Isshiki-san is suddenly implicated, then a lot of people connected to this, whether innocent or not, are also going to get implicated as a result. If it is within reason, could you please give us some time to figure out how to deal with the Isshiki administration and the relevant players ourselves first?"
"I– I agree, Sensei!" Yuigahama said, "I also believe Iroha-chan and the others are innocent. They wouldn't do something like this!"
Hiratsuka-sensei grumbled something for a second before letting out an explosive groan of frustration, followed by some aggressive hair pulling.
"Fine! I'll give you some time! But remember this: if the parents get even a hint that there is something like this going on, I am taking back this case, you understand?"
Not a response we expected, but it was good enough to warrant the smiles of the two. Even with my tirade earlier, I couldn't help but join in on the mini-celebration. And we needed that, since from here on out, it was only going to get harder. The very next day, we started working on our plans right away.