Chapter 528: Iroha Isshiki Successfully Steals Someone
Time flew by, and soon it was the day to shoot the promotional video.
The gymnasium.
The venue had already been set up with simple decorations.
A multi-faceted mirror ball hung from the center of the ceiling, while streamers, wallpaper, and balloons decorated the surroundings.
"Wow, this looks amazing…"
Looking around the entire gym, Yui couldn't help but voice her admiration. Even Yukino nodded in agreement.
"It does look pretty good."
"No, it's not quite enough yet. We'll still need to divide the space into different areas," Hachiman, however, seemed a little dissatisfied and shook his head.
"There will be dining areas, rest areas, audience areas, and most importantly, the dance floor."
"But today, we're only decorating the necessary sections for the video shoot."
Hearing his detailed breakdown, Yui felt a little dizzy, and even Yukino was surprised.
"How do you know so much? Have you organized a ball before?"
"How could that be? I'm just an ordinary guy. I've never been to any ball," Hachiman shrugged.
"I just know a little bit, that's all."
Ordinary guy?
There's no way you're ordinary.
Hearing this, Yukino rolled her eyes at him in exasperation.
Light novels, kendo, cooking…
With all of Hachiman's achievements in various areas, how could he still consider himself ordinary?
Leaving aside everything else, just the other day, he casually mentioned buying a house for the sake of convenience in going to school. How many "ordinary" people can just buy a house on a whim?
It wasn't just Yukino. Even Yui gave an awkward smile, clearly not agreeing with Hachiman's self-assessment.
At that moment, a crisp voice interrupted them.
"Senpai!"
Turning towards the sound, they saw Iroha running over from a distance.
However, when she noticed the two girls standing beside Hachiman, the smile on her face faltered slightly.
As expected, Hachiman-senpai had invited them after all.
Looking at Yukino and Yui, Iroha Isshiki couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
She could only hope that Hachiman would keep his word and really be her dance partner.
Despite the disappointment in her heart, Iroha still maintained her usual cheerful demeanor.
"Yukino-senpai, Yui-senpai, you're both here too."
"Good afternoon, Iroha-chan."
Yui greeted her with a smile, while Yukino gave her a deep look before nodding.
"Good afternoon, Isshiki-san."
Iroha pretended not to notice Yukino's gaze and kept up her cute junior act.
"Mhm, good afternoon, senpais. Thank you both for coming to help out."
"It's no problem, Iroha-chan. I heard you're organizing a ball for the third-year seniors. That's pretty impressive," Yui said, sounding a bit in awe.
"Hehe, it's nothing, Yui-senpai," Iroha replied, a little embarrassed.
"Honestly, I just want to give Meguri-senpai and the others a proper farewell. After all, she helped me a lot when I first took over the student council."
This was true. When Iroha had just become the student council president, it was Meguri, the previous president, who helped her settle in and taught her how to handle various responsibilities.
For instance, when dealing with tricky situations, she was told to rely on the Service Club…
Hachiman didn't bother questioning her words and simply smiled as he asked, "How's the preparation for the promotional video going?"
"We're almost done. We're doing the final adjustments now, and once the performers are in place, we can officially start shooting," Iroha nodded.
Just as she finished speaking, a group of people entered the gym.
There were both men and women, likely the dancers for the promotional video.
Among them, Hachiman spotted some familiar faces—Hayama and Tobe were among the group.
Iroha then explained, "Since I'm the manager for the soccer club, I asked Hayama-senpai and Tobe-senpai to help out."
"As for the female performers, the student council invited some friends to assist."
"What do you think, senpai? Are these people suitable?" she asked.
Hachiman nodded in approval.
Hayama, of course, needed no introduction—he was a bona fide handsome guy. As for Tobe, while his long hair was a bit too trendy, his face wasn't bad, and with a bit of grooming, he'd be fine.
The rest of the boys and girls were also above average in appearance, easily fitting the category of attractive young men and women.
At that moment, Hayama walked over.
"As I thought. When Iroha first asked me to help, I was a bit surprised, but now it seems like this is all your doing again, Hikigaya."
"I'm not, I didn't, stop making things up," Hachiman immediately hit back with three quick denials.
"This graduation ball was entirely Isshiki's idea. She just dragged me in to help out."
"Is that so?"
Realizing he had guessed wrong, Hayama paused for a moment. His gaze then shifted to Yukino standing beside Hachiman, and he asked with some confusion, "I didn't expect you to join in on this, Yukinoshita."
From his perspective, Yukino was not the type to enjoy being in the spotlight. Her participation in the promotional video was definitely surprising.
Hearing Hayama's comment, Yukino, maintaining her composed expression, pointed at Hachiman next to her.
"Yui and I were also just dragged here to help."
Seeing Yukino shifting the blame to him, Hachiman merely shrugged, remaining silent.
"I see, so that's how it is," Hayama responded, somewhat understanding the situation now.
"It seems your relationship is really good."
Just because Hachiman said a few words, Yukino agreed to participate in a video shoot—such a relationship couldn't be considered anything but close.
In response to Hayama's comment, Yukino simply looked up and gave him a cool glance. "What about you? You wouldn't have done this kind of thing before, would you?"
"Ha ha, if a cute junior asks for my help, how could I possibly refuse?" Hayama chuckled.
"Is that really all there is to it?"
Yukino's tone carried a hint of skepticism.
After all, they had grown up together, and she understood Hayama's personality to some extent.
He wouldn't easily appear in such a setting.
Although he was now known as "everyone's Hayama," she believed that a person's nature doesn't change that much.
It couldn't just be because a junior asked him that he would participate in a video shoot like this.
Hayama didn't seem to mind her doubts and continued speaking.
"Honestly, I think the graduation ball is a great idea. There are many seniors in my club, and I also want to send them off properly."
"I see."
Yukino nodded in response, though whether she believed him was uncertain.
At that moment, Iroha clapped her hands and suddenly spoke up.
"Alright, everyone, let's divide into groups! We'll need to change outfits soon to start filming."
Hearing her words, everyone nodded and began discussing their pairings.
"Hikki…"
"Hachiman…"
Just as Yukino and Yui were both about to invite Hachiman to be their partner, Iroha interrupted again.
"Senpai, according to our agreement, you're going to be my partner!"
"Eh???"
At this, both girls widened their eyes in surprise. What shocked them even more was that Hachiman actually nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry, I won't go back on my word."
"Great!"
Seeing this, Iroha broke into a happy smile.
But the two girls on the other side were far from happy.
Could it be… Iroha-chan also likes Hikki?
Recalling all the moments between the two of them, Yui had a bold idea in her mind.
Meanwhile, Yukino switched into her Ice Queen mode, coldly staring at Iroha and Hachiman together.
To think that this "little thief" had actually succeeded in stealing a dance partner right in front of her!
All of this was Hachiman's fault—the jerk was always flirting with everyone.
No way, just one more year! I can endure this!
Remembering their one-year agreement, Yukino temporarily suppressed her anger.
After all, she was a sensible girl; she wouldn't make Hachiman embarrassed in front of everyone.
However, she certainly didn't want to be paired with any unfamiliar boys.
As for Hayama, he was also not on Yukino's list of potential partners.
Although their relationship had somewhat improved, they were still just ordinary friends.
With this in mind, Yukino turned to Yui beside her.
"Yui, let's pair up."
"Eh?!"
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