Chapter Text
“Ah. Hello, Shinomiya.”
President Shirogane stood behind his desk at the far end of the room, watching through the window as the other students made their way towards home. He gave the Vice-President a brief glance over his shoulder before returning his attention to the student body. All in all, he was trying to look cool.
“President,” she said by way of greeting, offering the slightest nod of her head. She leaned against the doorway, keeping the entrance to the Student Council room propped open with her shoulder and maintaining as much distance between Shirogane and herself as possible. “How was your weekend?”
“Well enough,” he responded casually. “I get restless if I go too long without something to do, but it was helpful to have some time to myself after all the business with the Culture Festival.”
“I’m glad you were able to relax. The preparations for the Festival were taxing on everyone, but…” With a vulpine smile on her lips, she took one step into the room, letting the door close behind her. “I suspect you were under more pressure than most.”
Kaguya initiated the first attack. Knight to D5. A direct assault on Shirogane. By stepping out of the doorway, she both placed herself physically closer to him and let the door itself close them off from any prying eyes.
Here I am, She challenged. Come and get me.
Shirogane stepped out from behind his desk, one hand on the back of his neck, laughing easily.
“You may be right. Between organizing the various stalls, doing work for my class’ project, and trying to visit all of the other events, I found myself with very little free time. Of course…” He let his hand drop and fixed Shinomiya with a piercing look. “You had plenty on your plate as well. Were you able to find the time to enjoy the festival yourself?”
Bishop to E6.
A bold move, Kaguya thought to herself. By asking me what I enjoyed about the Festival, he’s put me in a position with only two options—admit that the time I spent with him was my favorite part or retreat. And retreat is not an option.
“I quite enjoyed the bonfire,” Kaguya evaded easily. “Getting chosen to light it was such a huge honor.”
Pawn to C4.
Shirogane took another step forward. “I heard it was quite something,” he replied. “I wish I’d been there to see it.”
Knight to F6.
Kaguya stepped forward herself, not ready to back down. “Do you?”
Rook to D1.
“No,” Shirogane replied.
Another step.
Queen to G5.
The two of them were only inches apart now, faces red, and hands being kept at their side through sheer force of will.
“When I didn’t see you at the bonfire, I thought you’d left early,” Kaguya admitted in a voice just barely above a whisper.
Shirogane’s whole body trembled. He could almost feel the warmth radiating off of her.
“I didn’t,” he replied.
“I know,” she said.
The two stared into each other’s eyes. Shirogane’s were tired and pleading, almost exactly the same as they had been that night, when he begged her to take the final step.
It’s your turn to lose control, Kaguya thought.
Her own eyes burned with an intensity Shirogane had never seen before, a longing so potent that to refuse it was akin to defying the force of gravity.
Let me show you what I’ve learned, he thought. Let me show you exactly how much I've—
The door opened, and the two lovers practically flew to opposite ends of the room, facing away from each other, a visible flush still on their cheeks. They were spared from having to explain anything as the sound of bickering filled the room; Miko and Ishigami had arrived.
“...and I’m telling you , there is nothing romantic about the blatant theft of school property!” Miko charged inside, head held high, barely even registering Shirogane and Kaguya’s presence.
“Nobody’s saying it was romantic,” Ishigami argued, hands in his pockets, while he stared—annoyed—out of the corner of his eye. “But we got a lot of publicity from this Arsene guy, way more than any previous year. We’re even trending on social media.”
“A devastating blow to our reputation,” Miko fired back. “We finally convince the neighborhood that we can be trusted enough to warrant special allowances for the bonfire, and then we make the front page for blatant violations of school conduct. It’ll be a miracle if we’re ever trusted with anything again.”
“What on earth does the thief have to do with the bonfire?” Ishigami snapped, throwing his hands into the air. “They’re completely unrelated, and nobody but you would ever draw any connection between them. Miyuki, Kaguya, what do you think?”
The two blinked and scrambled for any sort of response.
“Well, I—uh—I certainly see where Miko’s coming from,” Miyuki offered, choosing the option that seemed least suspicious. “The Festival’s entertainment goes through an approval process for a reason.”
“Yes, but—” Kaguya protested before she could check the impulse. “Well…at the end of the day, nothing too substantial was lost. It certainly seems like the pros outweigh the cons here.”
Before Miko had time to cross-examine them, the doors to the Student Council Chamber opened once again as Fujiwara Chika stepped inside.
“Are we discussing the Love Thief of the Culture Festival?” she asked excitedly, practically skipping into the room. “Such passion, such panache. I can’t think of anything that could have more perfectly encapsulated what the celebration is all about. Once I find out who it was, I’m going to suggest they repeat the same display every year.”
Miko shrugged. “I suppose some frivolity can be excused in order to ensure the students get a proper celebration. Within certain parameters, of course.”
“Oh, come on!” Ishigami exploded. “I say the exact same thing, and you treat me like a villain, but if Fujiwara says it, she’s the soul of wisdom!”
“Well when you do something with your life to make your opinion worth anything, maybe I’ll start treating you with the same respect,” Miko snapped back.
A clap of Shirogane’s hands brought silence to the room.
“Well, now that we’re all here,” he said, calling the council to order, “I want to discuss the agenda for today. We all put in a lot of extra time preparing for the Festival, and I’d like to start by congratulating everyone on a job well done. All the reviews I’ve heard so far have been overwhelmingly positive, and your efforts are largely to thank for that. As such, I propose we take today off, recuperate from all the work we’ve done, and prepare to face the next bit of the school year well-rested and refreshed.”
Having finished, Shirogane set his gambit into motion.
A modest enough proposal, so nobody would expect any sort of ulterior motives. Ishigami and Fujiwara will take any opportunity to have the day off, and Miko worked almost as hard as I did. Once they all agree, I simply have to ask Kaguya to help me finish up some small task, and we’ll have our privacy.
“Hell yeah,” Ishigami replied, “I haven’t had any time to play any of my new games recently. Taking a day just for me is exactly what I need right now.”
“Of course the baby would look forward to his nap time,” Miko scolded. “Sorry, President, but I must disagree.”
Miyuki turned to the girl; he hadn’t expected any pushback on the idea, and the firmness to Miko’s tone caught him off-guard.
“While the Culture Festival may be over, our work is far from finished,” she declared. “Even over the weekend, I heard from plenty of students who accidentally left valuable objects behind on school grounds.”
“Lost and Found doesn’t strictly fall under the Student Council’s jurisdiction,” Shirogane replied.
“But it’s not a good look for us to shove that job onto somebody else,” Miko replied. “And the quicker we reunite students with their belongings, the more favorably they’re likely to look on this year’s festivities. Besides, even if we think it went well, we have to take the opinions of our fellow students into account. What did they like? What would they change? We cannot call ourselves Student Council Representatives if we don’t actively seek out their feedback.”
“I see,” Shirogane responded, his voice level. “All excellent points worth considering, but to that end, I think it’s only fair to make sure the rest of the council agrees.”
I can salvage this. Miko will yield to Fujiwara, and there’s no chance Chika will pass up the opportunity to go home.
He turned his gaze toward the Secretary and his breath hitched in his throat. She stood just behind Miko, smirking at him much the same way she had at the gymnasium yesterday.
“I certainly appreciate the gesture, Miyuki,” Fujiwara drawled, opening her arms wide in a tableau of gracious condescension. “But in all honesty, I didn’t do nearly as much work as you’re giving me credit for. The Board Game Club’s project didn’t even get approved, so I’m happy to do whatever it takes to make everything go more smoothly. ”
Damn it, Shirogane realized a second too late. She still thinks the person I kissed was Miko, and this whole disagreement is nothing but couple-drama to her. Couple-drama that she gets a front-row seat to. I knew she was petty, but I never thought she’d go this far. Still, if Shinomiya agrees, I have a majority. Giving Miko and Fujiwara reason to be suspicious isn’t ideal, but it’ll have to do.
“I’m afraid I have to agree with Miko as well,” Kaguya said from her place behind the couch.
Miyuki wheeled on her, eyes wide in the face of her betrayal. Was it possible she hadn’t picked up on his intentions?
Oh President, Kaguya thought to herself with a grim satisfaction. So short-sighted.
“While a day off would certainly be nice—as Miko said, there’s still plenty of work to be done.” She paced around the front of the couch, eyes closed with her lips curled into a light, playful smile. “Besides, I’d already scheduled my day around having Student Council work to do. If you had texted us ahead of time to let us know we were going to be taking the day off, I might have been more inclined to take you up on your offer. But since you’re only bringing it up now, I don’t think I’d even be able to make use of the time.”
But of course you couldn’t text us ahead of time, could you President? If everyone else in the Student Council started heading home, but you and I lingered behind, you ran the risk of somebody noticing. And here I was, excited to see what plan you came up with. Oh well, guess I’ll have to do the heavy lifting.
“Aw man, this blows,” Ishigami complained, kicking the corner of the couch. “I still vote for Miyuki’s idea, but I know when I’m in the minority.”
Kaguya stepped over to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder—an action that even now caused him to seize up in a sort of panic.
“To be perfectly fair, though, I do think Miko is overstating the amount of work left to us,” Kaguya conceded. Before the other girl could interrupt, she added, “While helping students regain their lost possessions is a good use of our time, we really can’t do anything unless those students reach out to us specifically. Just hearing rumors that it happened isn’t really enough for us to act on.”
Miko’s face went flush, but still she held her ground. “We should still be reaching out to the neighborhood to maintain that relationship and to ask if there’s anything they want us to do differently,” she protested.
Kaguya merely shrugged. “That would require…what? One email to the Parent-Teacher Association? Something that should be done sooner rather than later, granted, but it’s certainly not something that requires all hands on deck.”
“You’re overlooking the biggest thing,” Miko argued. “We need to get feedback from the students. That means writing a comprehensive survey about the event and coming up with some incentive to get them to fill—”
Before she could even finish making her argument, Kaguya pulled a thick manilla folder out of her bag and tossed it onto the table. Confusion evident on her face, Miko leaned over and opened it, revealing a stack of papers—each one labeled, “Shuchiin Culture Festival Survey.”
Miko’s eyes went wide as she took the pile of surveys up, reading closely. “You already wrote some up?”
“Only one page each, each question asking them to rate individual aspects of the Festival on a scale of 1-10 with room for more specific comments under each of them. The final question asks for any recommendations for next year. I’ve printed out one for each homeroom class. We can ask the teachers to make an appropriate number of copies for each student and hand them out at the beginning of the school day tomorrow.”
See, President? That is how it’s done.
Shirogane made his way around the table, coming to a stop just behind Miko as he read the surveys over her shoulder. “This is very well done, Shinomiya. I suspect we could even persuade the teachers to offer some extra credit to students who fill out the whole thing. Should help incentivize more of the student body to participate.”
“Very well done, Shinomiya .”
Even while she maintained her icy demeanor, her heart pounded in her chest as she ran those words over and over in her head.
“Thank you, President,” she replied softly.
“Unless there are any objections to the survey as it stands, I think we have our tasks for the day laid out,” Miyuki announced as Miko distributed a copy of the survey to Ishigami and Chika, neither of whom seemed particularly interested in checking it for mistakes. “Some of us will need to stay behind and write up those emails we were discussing, while others can be in charge of distributing the surveys to each of the teachers and explaining our goals with them.”
“Miko,” Kaguya interjected. “Perhaps you and Fujiwara should distribute the surveys to the teachers. As a member of the Ethics Committee, you should be able to impress upon them how important it is that the students feel comfortable making their voices heard.”
Miko gave a quick, dutiful bow. “Between Fujiwara and I, nothing is impossible,” she declared.
“Excellent,” The President announced. “Meanwhile, Kaguya and I can draft up the email to the PTA as well as one to the student body, letting them know that if they lost anything at the Festival, they can reach out to us. And Ishigami…you can go home.”
“Hell yeah!” Ishigami cried, throwing his fist into the air. “Blood Racers 3, here I come!”
“Hold on!” It was Fujiwara’s voice that cut through Ishigami’s jubilation. All eyes turned toward her.
“Fujiwara, is something the matter?” The President asked.
“There is,” she said definitively, her arms crossed and her nose turned upwards. “I don’t think it’s fair that only Ishigami gets to go home.”
“But you just said you wanted to stay,” Kaguya protested, her icy calm quickly melting under the heat of her frustration.
“Well…that was when I thought we were all staying,” she said, stumbling through the lie. “If only one of us goes home, it feels like special treatment.”
Of course, Shirogane thought bitterly. She never actually wanted to do any work; she just wanted to cause problems between Miko and I. But since Miko and I will be working separately, she has no further interest in staying here.
Kaguya opened her mouth to respond to Chika, but she caught Shirogane’s gaze out of the corner of her eye. He shook his head almost imperceptibly. She knew his mind was working as quickly as hers, and she started to see the path it was taking.
It would be safer to have Chika off school grounds entirely , Kaguya realized.
But if we let her go, Miko will complain and make Ishigami stay , Shirogane reasoned.
And if we let them both go, sending Miko out to do the harder job alone will look either suspicious or lazy. Unless… Kaguya realized the plan at the exact same moment Miyuki began setting it into motion.
“Hm,” The President raised a hand to his chin and looked at Chika thoughtfully. “You raise a good point, Fujiwara. But it’s also not fair to saddle Miko with all the survey work herself.”
“If it were one of us, of course, it might not be too bad,” Kaguya added. “But since Miko is a first year, she really needs an upperclassman looking after her.”
“T-that’s not true!” Miko stammered, indignant at the condescension. “I’m just as capable of handling this on my own as either of you would be!”
“Yeah!” Chika added, rushing to Miko’s side and wrapping her arms around the shorter girl’s head. “Miko’s an extremely hard worker, and it’s just passing a few papers out.”
“That’s…that’s right…” Miko replied, a deep, scarlet color creeping to her face at Fujiwara’s compliments.
“Really?” Kaguya raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. “I suppose it’s possible we underestimated the girl, President.”
“Perhaps,” Shirogane responded, pacing back towards his desk in much the same position he had been in when Kaguya arrived—his attention toward the window. “But as Student Council President, I have a responsibility to make sure that no member of the Student Council feels overburdened.” With an incisive glance, he locked eyes with the first-year over his shoulder. “So, Miko, I think it’s up to you. If you think you can handle it yourself, Chika can go home. But if you don’t think you’re up to it…”
“Of course I’m up to it!” Miko stamped her foot and straightened her posture defiantly. “If Secretary Fujiwara needs time to rest, then she should have it. I will hand out the surveys and make sure the teachers understand the importance of their completion.”
Checkmate.
Chika squealed, giving Miko another tight hug. “You’re absolutely the best, Miko. I owe you one.”
Jumping back from the girl, Fujiwara set her feet toward the door. “Ooh, what should I do with all this time? I could catch a movie, I could do some shopping at the mall, I could call Kei…”
Ishigami offered little more than a wave and a nod of his head as he followed her out the door. Miko was hot on his trail, surveys in hand. Almost as suddenly as they had arrived, the other Student Council members were gone, leaving only Kaguya and Shirogane behind closed doors. There was a long silence as the two stood on either end of the room, making a concerted effort not to look at the other.
“I’m impressed, Shinomiya,” The President said, breaking the silence. “I knew we’d likely need to do a survey, but I hadn’t considered Miko would bring it up. You came prepared.”
Kaguya smiled at the floor. “And you handled the Fujiwara situation quite well. Not even my plan would have gotten rid of her as effectively.”
Despite the general stillness of the room, Kaguya had to raise her hand to her cheek to keep her heart rate under control. At length, Shirogane turned to her.
“I guess we’d better start working on those emails,” he said.
She met his gaze. “I guess so.”
The two stared at each other from their opposite ends of the room, neither of them willing to make the first move. Nonetheless, they could feel their self-control crumbling bit by bit at every passing second.
The air between them was electric.
It’s your turn to lose control , Kaguya thought to herself, her mind and her body replaying every iteration of what she and Chika had done to prepare for this moment. You’re going to give yourself to me. Nothing held back.
I’m ready to show you what I’ve learned, Shirogane thought. I won’t freeze up this time. Whatever you throw at me, I’ll be ready for. I just need you to take the first step.
There was a long silence.
And then, they rushed for each other.
At the exact same time.