.
[-Continuation-]
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[Hachiman's POV]
"I am fine." Yukinoshita replied with a few words.
But was she really?
I couldn't help but recall how she had fallen ill during the Cultural Festival in the show.
Overwork was the likely culprit, which, by the way, I am not going to let happen, but I had my doubts about that being the sole reason.
"Let me know if anything is up." I said, giving her a serious look for a moment.
"Now, shall we?" She gestured toward the conference room door.
But I caught a faint flush that crept up her neck as she averted her eyes.
Was I making her flustered? That was... kind of adorable, in a way.
"After you…" I replied, with a crooked smile on my face.
As we stepped inside, I caught her shooting me a sidelong glance, her brow furrowed ever so slightly.
Yeah, she was definitely flustered – the great Ice Queen, thrown off her game by a little well-intentioned concern. Who would have thought?
We both entered the conference room together.
It was big, I guess.
I mean, it was about the size of two regular classrooms, with gaudy seats and tables that seemed more suited for staff meetings.
By the time we entered, roughly half of the attendees had already gathered, scattered around the room, and engaged in quiet conversation.
There were seats assigned to the commit member according to the year and the class, so yeah, 'we' had no choice but to sit apart.
Within a few minutes, the room was filled to capacity.
"Um, I am Shiromeguri Meguri, the student council president." A voice rang out.
I turned to see a senior girl with short brown hair standing at the front.
"I will be extremely happy if we can cooperate with each other to ensure this year's Cultural Festival goes off without a hitch." She paused, seemingly gathering her resolve, before continuing.
"U-Um...S-So let's all do our best, everyone! Yeah!"
Senior Meguri, finished with a simple remark that made you think she was saying to 'go get 'em!'
Well, why don't we entertain her and bring in some chaos here..…
…
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[Same Day(:evening)]
The club room was already unlocked.
When I slid the door open, Yukinoshita was there, no different from the norm.
"Hi." Yuigahama greeted me with a more formal look than her typical excited demeanor.
Well, that's how our relationship turned out in the end after that conversation, and I am satisfied with where we stood - no tension, at least from my side.
But I definitely needed to fill Yukinoshita in on the details later. She looked curious, to say the least, from her facial expression, but for now she maintained an oblivious front, like she was waiting for me to come out myself.
Soon though, Yukinoshita's expression shifted from confused to a perplexed and angry look.
She slowly lifted her gaze towards me.
"Have you finally lost it, Hikigaya?"
Yuigahama was caught off guard by Yukinoshita's sudden outburst, her eyes widening. "E-eh? W-what happened, Yukinon?!"
I waved a dismissive hand as I approached them. "Come on, don't be like that."
"Honestly, Hikigaya….." Yikinoshita sighed, and her expression turned into questioning, bordering on frustration. "Is that what you meant by 'make a move'?"
Playing dumb, I feigned a shocked look. "What? Don't tell me I 'give false hope' or something like that."
Yuigahama watched our exchange with a nervous smile, clearly not understanding the context of our conversation. But certain phrases like 'make a move' and 'give false hope' were enough to make her mind go in all directions.
"Maybe I will leave." She said hesitantly.
"Why would you leave, Yui?" Yukinoshita asked.
"It is him who ended up taking the position of Chairman of the Planning Committee for the Cultural Festival."
"What?! Hikki is the Chairman of the Planning Committee! How did that happen?" Yuigahama's jaw dropped.
"Ask him." Yukinoshita gestured toward me.
Taking the opposite chair from Yukinoshita, I settled in.
"Let me explain then..."
…..and so I explained.
"Wow, I never would have imagined Hikki would throw himself at something like this! I mean, he was sooo grumpy when Ms. Hiratuska practically forced him into the committee as a member of our class." Yuigahama said it with disbelief.
"Is this what you meant by being 'nominated'?" Yukinoshita deadpanned, shooting me a look that said, 'I know you are up to something.'
Meeting her gaze, I allowed a small smirk to play across my lips. If she thought I was going to make things difficult for her as payback, she was absolutely right. This was going to be entertaining.
"In any case, we should start planning in earnest." Yukinoshita stated, all business once more. "I expect you to take this responsibility seriously."
I let out a dismissive sigh, preparing for what was about to come.
"Okay, I gave up…" Lifting my hands in surrender, I took a deep breath before continuing.
"Please help me out, Yukinoshita." I begged.
"Eh…" Yuigahama.
"?...!?" Yukinoshita.
That managed to startle both of them, who were not expecting this outcome.
"You know I can't handle the work of the whole Chairman thing, right? So I am making a request to the Service Club."
"Hikki, you are just planning to dump all the work on Yukinon, right?" Yuigahama jumped at me.
Hey, don't go spilling my thoughts like that, girl.
….and did she forget that we are supposed to be friends of a friend?
"Sorry, all Club activities are suspended during the Cultural Festival. And I was about to announce it today." Yukinoshita.
"....Mmm, is that so? Okay, makes sense. Then why don't you do me a personal favour then?"
"I reject." Without missing a beat, Yukinoshita's response was swift and resolute.
"Hey, don't give me that..." I protested, trying to find a comeback. "Leaving loners alone for stuff like class events only leads to disasters, you know!"
"Pftt…" To my surprise, Yukinoshita let out a soft chuckle as a hint of amusement danced across her face.
"You are hopeless." She added with a smile, rolling her eyes but with a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
"Hey now, this isn't a joke–!" I started to retort, but the words faded as realization hit me.
".....Were you just messing with me?"
"Thought you would never catch on." Yukinoshita met my accusing gaze with a level stare.
For a moment, I just looked at her, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth or if this was all just a trick.
".....does that mean you are accepting my request?" I asked.
Yukinoshita seemed to consider her words carefully before responding. "I am in the Planning Committee as well, so as long as it doesn't go farther than that, I can assist you."
A sense of relief washed over me, and I nodded slowly. "That would be more than enough. You can handle the frontal attacks, doing the discussions and ordering everyone as it suits you best, while I divert them towards you."
Yuigahama, who had been eagerly watching our conversation unfold, couldn't hold back any longer.
"I knew it, Hikki! You're just planning to dump the whole thing on Yukinon!" She burst out, a mix of amusement and frustration evident in her tone.
I gave her a look of annoyance. "What wrong in carrying me for once….?"
Before she could respond, an idea struck me, and I turned back to Yukinoshita with a mischievous glint in my eye. "You know, maybe you should be the Vice Chairman. That would make our roles reversed from the Service Club."
"...t-that's brilliant, Hikki!" Yuigahama exclaimed, caught up in amazement, but she corrected herself. "I-i mean, you can't do that to Yukinon!"
"Why can't I? Anyway, I will inform the committee about it. See you…"
.
[To be continued…]
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