Hikigaya Hachiman hadn't always been assertive; far from it. He was reclusive. It was that day that things slowly changed.

Hachiman knew that coming to this school might have been a mistake.

But he was desperate. He wanted to run away.

That is, Hikigaya Hachiman was and had always been a coward. Realizing this was the reason why he decided to give up on his social life and focus on his studies.

When the boss of his father came to visit, it was when things started to brighten up.

"Hachiman-kun, with these grades you could aim for the finest schools of Japan easily."

"Ah, please don't praise him too much." His jackass of a father, as usual, didn't let Hachiman have his time to shine. But, it wasn't as if Hachiman expected anything different that day.

"I believe Hachiman had a school he was already interested in." His father said in assurance. "He wanted to go to Soubu High."

Soubu High is one of the most elite schools in Chiba Prefecture, possibly the most prestigious in the Chiba metropolitan area. It was a public school with a long history of achievement. In fact, it could be said that it was one of the top thirty high schools in the nation.

In contrast, the kind boss, replied with a smile. "How about this: I have a bunch of colleagues in several elite schools in Tokyo. I cannot promise that you can enter any of them, I believe that giving you a chance to take the entrance exam should be fine though."

Just getting such a chance, how many kids were blessed by such privilege?

"In fact, I believe that Hachiman should take a shot at entering Shuchiin." The boss smiled mischievously. "My daughter also goes to Shuchiin, after all."

"Ahh Shuchiin High, huh?"

Hachiman's father became pale as he immediately thought about it. Not just a matter of sending his kid elsewhere, but unless he carefully scraped together enough money, tuition would be a problem.

Well, maybe not.

The Hikigaya Household wasn't poor, far from it. They could be easily considered Japanese upper-middle-class at least, sitting comfortably at the top 2% of the population.

Even so, sending Hachiman to such a prestigious private institution? Virtually the most elite private high school in Japan? He and his wife would have to think hard about it.

"I'll have to talk about it with his mother."

"How about we make this a bet then?" Mr. Saionji hummed. "If Hachi-kun manages to enter Shuchiin, then the Saionji Group will personally sponsor him by paying for his tuition."

Hachiman and his father synchronously choked on their drinks.

"But that's, I can't..."

"Please accept my token of goodwill, Hikigaya-san." Mr. Saionji gravely told him. "Had it not been for your efforts, my daughter wouldn't have as fulfilling of a life as she does today."

Hachiman looked at his father, eyes wide with surprise. Well, perhaps to a degree, this useless person had brought hope and joy to many a young girl through his hard work and dedication.

His work was as an Idol Producer after all.

Even though, by doing so, he sacrificed his own time spent with his daughter, Komachi. Hachiman wondered if Mr. Saionji knew that too.

It wasn't as if Hachiman had anything to lose.

"If it was a scholarship..." Hachiman muttered. "Would it be possible to get a scholarship?"

"Hmm? Actually come to think of it..." Mr. Saionji rubbed his chin. "If you can score in the top 25 in the entrance exam, you should be eligible to earn one."

"Are you... serious?"

Hachiman was surprised that his father didn't put him down immediately. It might actually have been the first time that his father took him seriously.

"If... I can get a scholarship..." Hachiman told him. His determination was shaky, and his lips wavered as he started to get drenched with sweat. "I... I want to go to school in Tokyo."

"Hachiman you..."

His father sighed. "I'll talk to your mother about it."

The father understood very well. He understood that if he quashed Hachiman's ambition right at this moment, then Hachiman would always be left behind...

"Please take care of him." He bowed to Mr. Saionji.

...

Hachiman woke up, and realized that he had passed out after a kvass drinking binge, which was mild enough that anyone not overly sensitive to alcohol would never get drunk. Let alone hangover; he woke up fully refreshed.

What a strange dream he had had. It was an old memory, of that he was sure.

"I should go back."

He noticed there was a pair of extra bottles on the table, with a note from Ishigami.

"Onodera said it was delicious, huh?" Hachiman scoffed.

Hachiman checked his phone to have a look at the clock. Instead, he noticed several messages and notifications. One was from Momo, who let him know his rank was higher than before.

Hachiman let out a deep sigh, partly out of relief.

As much as he had absolute confidence not to fail, he would never ever try to assume his academic rank. He might say otherwise to others, how he seemed to lack enough fucks.

Shirogane Miyuki wasn't the only person who could hide his insecurities under impenetrable camouflage.

No.

Well, Hachiman was different.

Whereas people layered masks over themselves, Hachiman didn't do that. He partitioned his own mind and heart to lock away his fears and doubts. Deep inside, where no one would be able to notice.

And now the results were out, and with his fatigue removed...

His heart raced hard from all the pent up stress and tension suddenly disappearing from within his mind. It was all gone, like a leak from a high-pressure tank.

It seemed that Momo had also raised her grades, thanks to her absolute seclusion over the week prior to exams.

"Thanks, Momo." He replied to her earnestly. "Wanna go somewhere to celebrate? My treat."

[Oh, really? Just the two of us? It isn't a date, is it?]

Hachiman almost reflexively typed no, but he tried to reconsider it for once. He had been neglecting her as of recently, even though they had reconciled for the second time during spring vacation... they were still not as close as before.

Before his father caused a rift between them.

However, all his doubts were cast aside when Momo sent another message.

[Isn't there someone else you need to congratulate?]

Momo sent him that along with the picture of the Top 50, with Fujiwara Chika's name on the list.

"So Fujiwara did make it to the Top 50, I'm shocked."

[Well, that's because you were there beside her.]

?

If it were any other boys, they might think Momo was being jealous. But Hachiman, who closed his heart to even the slightest, tiniest chance of romance, took the message at its face value!

"I didn't do that much, I just gave her some studying methods that might work for her..." Hachiman replied. "If it worked, then it's less my hard work and more my luck and her effort being rewarded for it."

Such was the strength and resolve of the steel-hearted virgin who gave up on love, Hikigaya Hachiman!

The subsequent reply didn't come soon enough, and it made him worry.

[Figures you would say that, bastard. So will you reward her too?]

"No. I'll leave that to Minister Jackass."

He would congratulate Chika, but he thought that she would be happier if her father congratulated her firsthand. After all, unlike him, Chika loved her father so very much.

[LOL. You're still pissed about the spy incident, huh?]

"Nah, I let him go for that one. He still antagonizes me for no reason, though."

[You're a dense motherfucker, you know that?]

"Tell me something I don't know. So do you want anything?"

[I want to eat a metric ton of Yakiniku, don't pick the cheap or expensive stuff. You know any good places?]

Large servings and neither cheap nor expensive. So a family restaurant or an all-you-can-eat was out of the question. But that also eliminated most premium restaurants in Tokyo.

That meant going to the mid-range steakhouses as the only option left.

"I know a few."

[Pick me up at home. Bring your bike, and get dressed.]

"I drank a liter of Kvass, no bike today..." Hachiman replied.

[Oh come on, you pussy. You can't possibly get drunk on that, right?]

Technically, if it was any other Kvass, of course it would get people drunk. Hachiman's recipe had been modified to be made up less than 1% alcohol, which meant the body burned and diluteed more alcohol than it could retain.

"No bike." He insisted.

Momo should have known better than that. For all that he was willing to abuse loopholes and other faults of the system, Hachiman was an extreme stickler for the letter of the law.

That was how he had made an impression on her in the first place.

[Get me some handmade steak then, you ass! Or just bring some raw meat and veggies, we're grilling at your house. I'll be there in an hour or two!]

Hachiman smiled.

"What cuts do you want?"

[Since we're doing home cooking... Horumon, of course. A big chunk of liver and rumen, please.]

"The same as usual. Got it."

Horumon was a Kansai dialect word for discarded goods. The phrase refers to the offals of slaughtered animals. In the past, the Japanese considered the eating innards to be disgusting due to their Buddhist traditions. However, a Western-style chef named Shigeo trademarked this name for offal-based cuisine he sold in his restaurant, dating back to the 1940s.

Indeed, it fit her adventurous character!

Even though offal based food had become more popular these days, small intestines are supposedly popular with girls, some types of offals are greasy. Most girls are sensitive about their weight and thus would avoid them out of principle!

Not Ryuju Momo, though. Momo preferred her meat thick and fatty!

Hachiman had planned the route in the very second they were done exchanging messages. He went to fetch some meat from the famous importer meat market, Hanamasa, which conveniently was only two-hundred meters from school, and then go to Mejiro Station.

Transporting fresh meat with a thirty minutes train ride would not be easy, but he had the icebox that he usually used to carry kvass with him. If he put it in there, the meat would stay fresh and it also wouldn't disturb the other passengers.

Hachiman couldn't have it delivered, because there was currently no one at his house to receive it.

"Speaking of which, Komachi said she would also be coming to visit later. Oh, well."

He had a lot of shopping to do today, even though school had ended earlier than usual due to the announcement of exam results.

"Miyuki's already gone home, so I should lock up the council office in that case."

However, before he could finish cleaning up and storing the bottles elsewhere, he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." He said aloud.

When the door opened, he saw the figure of a tall and slender girl with unusually long black hair and blue eyes as clear as crystal. Hachiman could not forget that angelic beauty, even if he tried.

"Yukinoshita? What gives?"

"I figured that I'd hand in our Public Service Club reports today rather than next week." Yukino smiled. "I was lucky that someone was still here, even if it's just you, Hikigaya-kun."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Hachiman asked. "Nevermind, I'll take care of it for you."

"Is it alright? You're no longer part of General Affairs."

"I'm still PR Manager, so things concerning the school clubs still go through my desk as well!" Hachiman replied as he inspected the documents, separated them, and then stamped a few that were under his jurisdiction.

"Are you drunk? You're unusually spirited today." She chuckled. "Usually, you would complain louder than an overworked salaryman. Perhaps you're trying to extort a favor from me? Maybe I should leave quickly before I end up letting someone as uncouth as you start doing as you want."

"I'm not drunk enough to do that, so don't worry. I still have something left if you want to drink." Hachiman brushed off her implied insult and put the last bottle of Kvass on the table. "Sloppy woman."

"What is THAT supposed to mean, Hikigaya-kun?"

"You know if people saw us like this, they would start spreading weird rumors, so fix your bed hair in the meanwhile." Hachiman pointed to her head.

Yukino blushed hard when she realized how messy her hair actually was, sticking out wildly because she literally had just woken up herself. Since Hachiman didn't look much better, he was right that people would make assumptions if they saw the two of them together in their current state.

It was funny how, despite their differences in personality and attitude, they were always on the same wavelength.

This wasn't their first meeting. It was one of many meetings they had had. Even though they weren't classmates, and coming from Chiba was the only thing they shared in common.

Perhaps because both of them were impure students. And together, trying to find their place in this brutal and devious school for the elites of Japan, it was inevitable that their paths would intersect.

Incidentally, somewhere last year, the rumor of the relationship between Hachiman and Yukino was a hot topic, albeit a relatively short-lived one. It was partly covered by the fact that Hachiman was not only glued at the hip to the Treasurer Ryuju Momo but was also starting to become closer to Secretary Fujiwara Chika.

Coupled that with the fact that despite their frequent interactions they didn't exactly spend their private time together in any meaningful capacity, Hachiman and Yukino got involved with each other only due to the clubs and council matters, and it meant the rumors died a relatively quick death. Gossip tends to die when there's no fuel to burn.

"Ahem, thanks for the reminder." Yukino coughed to hide her embarrassment and then brushed her hair with her hands. "I might need to transfer out of shame if rumors of something between us returned or got even worse than before."

Wow, just with hands, she managed to fix it. Also, way to crush my confidence, you frigid bitch!

"The sentiment is shared. By the way, Yukinoshita. Did you place third again?" He asked.

"Hmm, well, according to Maki-san, at least, I placed second..." Yukino replied lightly. "Though the difference is marginal."

"Second, huh? Congrats."

"I believe you also placed sixth this time. So, congratulations to you as well." She replied.

It didn't register to Hachiman until much, much later on how apocalyptic that little piece of information was.

"Well, I'm going to put the rest of the documents aside so President can deal with it next week." Hachiman finished organizing them. "I'll close the office and return the key."

"Then, let's go together, since I also have to return the clubroom key." Yukino raised said object to emphasize her point.

Hachiman wanted to ask if Yukino was trying to flame the old rumors again... but honestly, she probably didn't give a damn. Yukino was hardly unpopular. There was no shortage of boys from notorious families gunning for her. Including a certain foreign prince...

Yukino was bringing up the rumors to annoy him more than anything else, because both of them were numb to the hearsay surrounding them by this point.

"Hikigaya-kun." She suddenly asked. "Do you enjoy your time here in Shuchiin?"

"..."

As Hachiman looked at her, he answered with an ambiguous tone. "It's not bad."

Hachiman's old self from middle school would never have imagined a situation where he would work his ass off to maintain his grades. Or let himself get involved with all sorts of people; especially troublesome people at that.

But at the end of the day, Hachiman couldn't feel anything but self-satisfaction. Perhaps, when he said that hard work betrays no one, he was trying to convince himself.

He smirked. "What about you?"

"...To be honest, it was hard work to rein in Maki-san and her friends because they're so clumsy and stubborn." Yukino smiled. "But... I couldn't ever imagine surviving Shuchiin without them."

"Is that so?"

For the first time in a while, Hachiman was finally able to see it.

Yukinoshita Yukino's genuine smile.

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 26 - Rememberance Part 2

"Wake up, shitheel!"

Hachiman woke up from his slumber, noticed his alarm clock blaring, and that one of his legs was aching.

It was courtesy of Momo digging her heel into his left leg while standing on his bed.

She was dressed in her uniform already, but with absolute fury drawn on her face. "And turn off that goddamn alarm."

Hachiman blinked and noticed his screaming phone.

Ah. Today was Monday after all. "Shit, I'm a bit late."

That wasn't to say that Hachiman would be late getting to school. It was still early enough that he could get a shower and cook some dishes for breakfast, but it wouldn't be enough time to clean the house.

"I knew you're tired, but by gods, did you just literally sleep through twenty minutes of alarm?"

"Yeah, my bad." Hachiman stretched his body a bit and then stood up. "I'll wash myself a bit and then cook something quick."

Momo sighed. "I'll cook something for us instead."

"Are you sure?"

"We've known each other for nine freaking months." She jibed. "If I didn't pick up something, I might as well stop wearing a skirt! Do you want something sweet or savory?"

A skirt had nothing to do with cooking ability, though, but Hachiman understood what she meant.

"Up to you..." Hachiman said as he went to the bathroom on the first floor.

Yesterday, Hachiman gave Komachi a ride back to Chiba. Understandably, after the hectic Sunday they spent together with Momo, he was dead tired. And that was the reason why he overslept today.

After having a sleepover on Saturday night, Momo had decided to stay for a second sleepover on Sunday. The decision turned out to be a wise choice, seeing as without her no one would have been there to wake Hachiman up.

He would have to thank her later.

"How the hell does Miyuki survive an even worse schedule?" He muttered as he showered himself. "Is it because he's replaced his blood with pure black coffee?"

He vaguely heard the whining sounds of the blender and grew afraid when he heard swearing back in the kitchen. "Don't break anything, please!"

However, his fear turned out to be for nothing when he saw Momo had served two bowls with a (partly scorched) sunny-side up egg on top of each bowl, and what looked like stir-fried meat surrounding the egg. Grated dill gave the congee a finishing touch.

It looked both cute and awful. Momo certainly had a good sense for artistic composition, but she was still too clumsy with the knife to make good cuts. Either way, they looked relatively serviceable as breakfast.

(Also, she looked surprisingly good in an apron.)

"How was it?" She asked when Hachiman had a taste.

"A bit salty. The egg's a bit burnt, and the meat wasn't cooked evenly." Hachiman responded honestly. "But maybe that's just my personal taste being picky. Otherwise, this is aright. I'll give it 6.5 out of 10."

Hachiman was a little more forgiving in his rating, going a bit higher because he knew very well about Momo's lack of cooking experience. Knowing her, however, she would feel insulted if he had tried to mince words. Because Hachiman was harsh even on his own cooking at times.

"I see. I'll learn how to cut neatly next time and measure the seasoning properly." She smiled in satisfaction. "Oh, and for lunch, we can have fried pelmeni and sausage, do you mind?"

Hachiman noticed that she scooped fried food from the pan and then let the oil drip down.

Pelmeni is a Russian dish more or less identical to Japanese gyoza. Basically, meat dumplings. Though boiling raw pelmeni for seven minutes is the standard form of cooking, there are places where pelmeni will be fried afterward.

"So Momo is cooking momo, huh?" He snarked. "Are you sure they're not burnt to charcoal?"

Incidentally, the word "momo" refers to the Tibetan and Indian variant of meat dumplings. However, it has origin in the Chinese phrase 饃饃 (momo) for steamed bun.

"Go fuck yourself." Momo popped some veins and brandished both her middle fingers in response.

"Иди в жопу, су́ка." He replied.

"Kiss your ass? I'm going to give it some tender loving, with my FEET!" She kicked him off the chair.

And so, Hachiman's Monday after the exam began with a hectic opening. Nevertheless, Hachiman was glad that their relationship was slowly but surely healing.

When Hachiman prepared his bike, he heard another engine roaring just outside, and he noticed Miyuki was there with Kei on the backseat. They were riding Hachiman's Suzuki Inazuma because they had gone to visit their dad.

"Good morning, Hachi-nii." Kai waved happily. "Thanks for lending us the motorcycle, we're here to pickup our bikes."

"Why? Just use that bike today." Hachiman said as he rolled out the Dragstar 450 out of the garage, sidecar attached and all. "You're going to be late if you pedal to school from here."

"The Shirogane siblings can be late, too... huh?" Momo smiled as she jumped into the sidecar.

"It's because Miyuki-nii's so slow!" Kei pouted hard.

"Hahaha, my bad." Miyuki cringed.

Hachiman could tell that Miyuki was still severely depressed from the results of last week's exam. The fact that Yukino kicked Kaguya from second place... it was something that indirectly hurt Miyuki too.

Hayasaka called Hachiman about it later in the evening. She explained how heartbroken Kaguya was, to the point that even Hayasaka showed visible concern?

Hachiman didn't really catch it, but just like him, Yukino might likely have been oblivious to the shitstorm she had created. Hachiman was expecting the full impact of her accidental victory against Kaguya today.

This week, it would be absolute hell.

"That sissy still hasn't recovered from the shock, huh?" Momo suddenly remarked when they started moving. Though they sat separately, a conversation was possible due to the helmet-mounted radio. "He looks like he lost sleep out of it too."

"You know how it is, lovestruck people are dumb." Hachiman snorted.

Hachiman tried to goad Miyuki into talking about it on the phone, but Miyuki was stubborn about the whole thing. It was clear that he tried to hide his concern of Kaguya out of pride, even when it caused even greater stress on his mind.

Hachiman could have directly confronted him, had it not been for the timing. The plan to go visit their father on the farm was something that Miyuki and Kei had planned since before the exams. Miyuki, despite his problem, decided not to cancel and instead borrowed Hachiman's bike.

Well, he might disappoint Hayasaka a little this time around.

However, perhaps it was time to execute Plan B.

That is, force Shinomiya out of her shell right in front of Miyuki.

This was something that Hayasaka disagreed with, partly due to her responsibilities as Kaguya's valet, and partly due to her own concerns for Kaguya as a close friend. Nevertheless, Hachiman didn't need much. Just one, one window of vulnerability was all he needed. A single gap was more than enough for Miyuki to slip in and console her.

Miyuki had always been a master of improvisation, because for the current Miyuki, formulating a specific plan for himself would be impossible.

Miyuki would know what to do.

Yukinoshita, you've really done it now. Hachiman thought.

There was a time in the past that, well, Hachiman might legit have had a crush on Yukino. Most of that was because Yukino was really different compared to the girls that he had met before.

She was smart, and she also didn't keep up appearances or try to be approachable and friendly. Yukino always told it like it was.

It was telling that the first time they met Yukino outright insulted him for being creepy. And Hachiman didn't miss the fact that Yukino would insult her friends too if the situation called for it, even when they were significantly higher in the social hierarchy than her.

Their frequent meetings were what pushed Hachiman to start speaking out his thoughts more, rather than keeping everything to himself. Perhaps without his interaction with Yukino he would not have had a solid enough foundation to converse with the likes of Ryuju Momo or Fujiwara Chika.

If Hikigaya Hachiman's ability to talk with girls was a sword, then Yukino would be the person who had forged a shape out of that pitiful iron block. Ryuju Momo would be the one who had hardened the edge and shed away the impurities through constant hammering. Finally, Fujiwara Chika was the one who had tempered him to be more flexible, yet, at the same time, tough enough not to shatter under pressure.

While Shirogane Miyuki remained to be the flames that fueled the whole process, motivating Hachiman to keep improving himself instead of giving up and returning back to his previous loser self.

He wasn't sure if he owed Yukino anything, but even if Hachiman was unwilling to admit it, he was glad that they hah had a chance to meet.

Ever since then, Hachiman knew that Yukino would make waves in Shuchiin. It culminated in the talk they had had during the formation of the Public Service Club, roughly eight months ago.

"So what are you doing, wandering afterschool?" She finally asked the actual question.

"I'm on my way to the student council..." Hachiman said. "Starting today, I'll be the General Affairs Manager."

"I see, I just happen to be on my way to the Student Council myself." She said as she raised up a packet of papers. "I'm going to establish my own club."

"Public Service Club, huh?" Hachiman looked at the title on the page visible to him. "Have you asked the teachers for this?"

"Of course. It's signed by the Principal, and we already have an advisor ready, so it's only a matter of formalizing it to the Student Council proper."

"What's the club about?"

"Basically, to help the helpless and to teach people to help themselves."

Weird, but that sounded like her alright...

"If you're interested, feel free to join." She smiled. "You have rotten eyes, but that might be the reason why you can see things other people don't."

The waves of her footsteps would eventually become a tidal wave that would tear this school asunder.

They finally arrived in the new parking area located in front of the Shuchiin Academy complex. Originally, it used to be an abandoned factory, where Hachiman had started learning parkour from Momo months ago.

"You know, these days, I feel a bit sluggish..." Hachiman said as he pointed down. "Maybe because of this."

"How about we try wall climbing sometime?" Momo suddenly became starry-eyed.

"...Just in case... we're scaling an artificial wall, right?" Hachiman asked to clarify. "And not some skyscraper or natural mountain cliffs?"

Momo squinted her eyes in disdain as her excitement visibly died down. "You suck."

Kei pouted a bit. She was watching the two being seemingly flirty, it was depressing for her this early in the morning. Not only that, but Kei was also well aware that Momo hadn't just spent one but two nights sleeping over Hachi-nii's, consecutively, this weekend.

If they were just typical boy-girl friends, no way it could happen. Hachiman usually lived alone, his mother spending typically only one night at his rent house.

Naturally, Kei was jealous.

However, Kei couldn't say anything about it without clearly exposing her own feelings for Hachiman! Shirogane Kei had always been every bit as prideful as her brother!

Hachiman and Momo stopped bickering when they saw a dark blue kei car stopping by and then sat there for a couple minutes before shutting down. As most kei cars are equipped with a turbopump, shutting down as soon as you stopped is not recommended.

The Ryujumobile was even worse in that regard, due to its oversized turbo modifications that may cause overheating. But even with an average kei car, idling for a minute or two was recommended.

Yukino got out of the car with her friends in tow.

"Thanks for the ride, Yukino-san!" Kashiwagi said. "I'm sorry you had to pick us up... one by one."

"Hah, don't apologize. Losing the bet is losing the bet!" Maki cockily laughed. "Don't forget you will have to take us home today too!"

"I'll get you back on that later, Maki-san." Yukino twitched, clearly holding in her anger.

Oh, so Yukinoshita lost a bet, and she had to pick up her friends on her way to school. How terrifying.

"Yukinoshita, you drive your own car now?" Hachiman commented. "Rich girls sure have it easy."

With that said, there's no way any other girls will be allowed to bring their own car by their parents. Either they're not rich or glamorous enough to have a family car with a dedicated driver under their employment, or they're rich or glamorous enough to have them. When it comes to Shuchiin students, there were very few exceptions.

Shinomiya Kaguya and Fujiwara Chika also came to school with family limousine, pretty much everyday. Before meeting Hachiman, Momo also generally came to school with a bulletproof car, with low-ranked Yakuza underlings as a driver and a mid-ranked Yakuza as escort.

In contrast, Ishigami Yu and Iino Miko regularly used public transport like trains or bus just fine, even though they came from a rich family. That was because their family were relatively conservative with money spending and isn't the type to flaunt their wealth.

"There are no rules that say you can't bring a car to school, are there?" Yukino smiled tauntingly. "At least I don't get too much attention by looking like a member of a biker gang while commuting to school."

"Well, I sincerely hope you enjoy Tokyo's road as they are." Hachiman scoffed, with the clear implication of the motorcycle's superiority in handling traffic jams.

"Don't worry! We're bringing a car next time too." Momo said aloud.

"It's not a good time to be envious, besides which I don't have a driver's license for a car. Do you?" Hachiman pointed out the hard facts.

"Shirogane can do it!" Momo said and huffed.

"Miyuki is not your personal driver, don't be selfish!"

Cue another bout of bickering breaking out between the two, which Yukino pointedly ignored. Instead, she approached Miyuki, who just sighed from physical and mental exhaustion.

"Good morning, President." Yukino nodded a bit. "It's rare for us to meet this early in the morning."

"Ah, Good morning, Yukinoshita." Miyuki wrily smiled, remembering what had transpired last week. "True, it's a rare occasion. By the way, this is my little sister, Kei."

"Hello." Kei bowed. "I'm Shirogane Kei, Treasurer of the Shuchiin Middle School Student Council."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Yukinoshita Yukino from the Public Service Club." Yukino greeted her. "Your brother helped me through a lot of difficulties, and I owe him for that."

"You're overstating things, Yukinoshita..." Miyuki told her with a stern tone. "It's my duty as the President to help students in need, and you were no exception."

Of course, while Miyuki kept his appearance calm and collected, inside he was jumping around in excitement. After all, it would not be Shirogane Miyuki if he didn't appreciate an acknowledgment from others.

Yukinoshita Yukino wasn't an exception.

"I suppose that's the case. Still, I hope we can work together again with future projects." Yukino waved. "Please excuse us."

"Un..." Miyuki replied with a small grunt.

"Well then, Miyuki-nii, I'm off to school." Kei also excused herself. "I'll text you whether I'll be coming home together with you or not, later."

"Yeah, be safe."

Hachiman and Momo stopped fighting for a while and then said. "Be careful on your way."

"You two should stop fighting, as well." Kei sighed. "I'm off, Hachi-nii, Ryuju-san."

...

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Shuchiin - Specifically, Class 2-A...

Kaguya and Hayasaka arrived -separately- to the usual scenery of rambunctious girls gathering together to their heart's content. Kaguya ignored it, and Hayasaka went to join the crowd because that's what she would always do.

At Shuchiin Academy, Hayasaka Ai assumed a friendly and carefree gal persona. It was a deliberate guise she crafted so that she could get along with almost anyone and thus find out relevant information surrounding Kaguya and the people close to her.

This contrast also allowed her to maintain distance from Kaguya while in the public eye.

"Hey-hey, what's so hot in the morning that's made everyone so excited?" She asked her closest friends. Or at least, people who appeared like they were Hayasaka's closest friends, unaware of her true identity and her tight-knit relationship with Kaguya.

"Eh, Ai-chan? Well..."

Hinokuchi Misuzu was the daughter of the President of a famous advertising company. She had neck-long dark blue hair tied into a ponytail with long bangs drooping to the sides of her cheeks.

"Well, about that..."

Suruga Subaru was the daughter of the President of a big IT company in Japan. She had thick silky black hair that extended just under her shoulders. Her front bang was braided to the left side of her temple, a unique take on the otherwise generic style.

"Shinomiya-san, I mean... President is..."

Hearing about Miyuki and herself being mentioned, Kaguya stiffened up.

Ordinarily, Kaguya would just brush it off. After all, the gossip involving her and Miyuki wasn't anything new. However, that would be Kaguya in her usual composed state.

Kaguya at this moment was barely recovered from the shock she had experienced last week.

"What was that about, Suruga-san?" Kaguya approached them.

"Umm, well, I'm not sure if it's legit... but..."

Subaru showed Kaguya her cellphone, with a picture of Miyuki and Yukino in the foreground, with Kei beside him.

Kaguya's eyes widened.

"Apparently, they were meeting at the parking area in front of the school just a few minutes ago."

"Ah?" Hayasaka interjected. "So what about it? Public Service Club has a close relationship with the Student Council after all."

"I think that was bull! They're never seen together at all, at least not so often that it means anything." Misuzu also desperately tried to do damage control. "People are trying to find something to talk about even if it's based on a lie."

"It's not just that." Subaru bit her lip. "There are rumors that they've been close recently. I've heard offhand that they planned the Yozakura party together too."

And that was when Kaguya lost it.