Chapter Text
“So… any plans for today?” Takano asked, as he and Ishigami exited the school. “Not really, my mom asked me to take care of something important in her flower shop.” Said Ishigami. “Wait, your mom has a flower shop!?” Asked Takano in surprise. “Yeah, I never told you?” Said Ishigami. “Nope, not that it matters, you should rush to the shop then, see you tomorrow!” Said Takano as he ran back home. “Cya!” Said Ishigami as he directed himself to the shop. It was a matter of less than half an hour for him to arrive. “Mom, I’m here. What do you need?” Greeted Ishigami, as he saw a note in the front desk. “What is this about…” Said Ishigami as he grabbed the note.
“Dear Yuu, I just hired a new employee to help around the place. I hope you don’t mind that I told her that you would show her the basics of this shop. I have to take care of something at home so I can’t be here right now, hope you understand. Love: Mom.” Read Ishigami as he left the note on the desk. “Man, I really have to take care of this, I don’t even think that new employee is even here right n-” Said Ishigami as he heard a thud from another room. “Well, that’s all there is for today! I think that lady said there were some leftovers in the fridge in the back, might as well help my-” Said a familiar voice until the source came face to face with Ishigami.
“You again!?” Said Ishigami in disbelief upon seeing Hayasaka wearing the store’s apron. “Yo, Ishigami-cchi.” Said Hayasaka casually. “No, no, no! What are you even doing here!?” Exclaimed Ishigami. “Oh… that… Well, as I told you, I’ve been trying to raise money so I can afford my trip around the world, so I’ve been hopping from job to job, but I’m having trouble finding a job I’m fully comfortable in. And by pure coincidence, I just happened to be hired for your mom’s flower shop.” Said Hayasaka as she casually walked to the aforementioned fridge. “And you already know it was owned by my mom?” Asked Ishigami with annoyance.
“Not when I took the job, but your mom has a lot of pictures of you as a child in her office.” Said Hayasaka as she pulled out a drink from the fridge, as Ishigami sighed. “Well, are you going to help me, or…” Asked Hayasaka, sipping. “Why would I need to? It’s clear that you’re all done now.” Grumbled Ishigami. “Of course, as a former maid of the Shinomiyas, this job is pretty much child’s play, but it pays generously, so if I get some extra work here and there, I could get a raise.” Shrugged Hayasaka. “Well, around these days, mom usually goes to buy materials for her garden, but she doesn’t have much time lately, if we go take care of that now she’ll at least appreciate it…” Said Ishigami.
“Sounds like a decent enough plan, where do we buy the materials?” Asked Hayasaka. “I’ll take the lead, just let me take the money for the payment.” Responded Ishigami. In around five minutes later, the two teens had already made decent progress towards the shop. Due to it being already afternoon, the sun was barely an annoyance. “So… Ishigami-cchi…” Said Hayasaka casually. “Why are you insisting on that nickname? It’s dumb.” Grumbled Ishigami. “It is, but I have been trying to be more casual as of late.” Said Hayasaka. “And is it working?” Asked Ishigami? “Like hell it is. But I feel like at least I must try creating a new identity from scratch, ever since… you know what…” Hayasaka said.
“Oh, that. Yeah, I remember Shirogane mentioning that to me once or twice.” Said Ishigami. “While on topic, how is life going at the Student Council.” Asked Hayasaka. “Oh, right. I will admit that the new reclutes were very…” Ishigami trailed off. “Troublesome?” Asked Hayasaka. “They were so damn unbearable. We mostly stuck with them because they still did their job properly. But lately, it does feel they have been getting easier and easier to deal with, it has been quite pleasant.” Sighed Ishigami. “I heard all of the new members were quite talented at their area of expertise, but they’ve all had their issues when dealing with them.” Said Hayasaka.
“Yeah, but I guess you do get used to it.” Said Ishigami. Meanwhile in a place closer than what you might imagine, Kanegae was wandering around. One of her biggest pastimes was going around the city and reporting anything mildly interesting she encounters. She was going around patrolling with camera and notebook in hand in case she ever found anything important. “Geez, lately it feels like there’s nothing happening around these parts. There’s just so many times I can make articles about the local animal shelter, or the migration of birds around the lake…” Said Kanegae to herself. “Don’t give up now Kogane! The perfect news piece might be closer than you think!” She said.
She then grabbed her backpack and took a pair of binoculars (“You never know when you’ll need them!” She always says.) and started looking around to see if she finds anything interesting. Just as she was ready to assume there were no results, a familiar mane of blue hair caught her eye. She nearly let her binoculars drop from the shock, but she got a tight grip and focused on the familiar hairstyle, and just as she suspected, it indeed was Ishigami… with an unknown blond girl? “It- it can’t be, right? I mean, the Vice President only has eyes for the President after all! It’s probably just some acquaintance, yeah probably just business stuff…” Said Kanegae.
Despite that being an attempt to comfort herself, she was surprisingly on point. “I should probably just get closer just in case…” Said Kanegae as she rushed to the location of both teens. Meanwhile, the unusual pair were getting closer and closer to their destination. “So… how are things going on with Iino?” Asked Hayasaka. “Oh… just the usual… we argue sometimes, we work out things occasionally, nothing out of the ordinary.” Said Ishigami. “Hmm… so… any plans for you to take the plunge or are you simply waiting for her to make the best move.” Teased Hayasaka, and Ishigami’s response was just a deep sigh, as if he was already anticipating that question.
“You know? You can’t simply wait until a confession comes to you, if you want to move forward you need to-” Hayasaka said until she was interrupted. “Now, I’m aware that you had to deal with Shinomiya’s bullshit back when you were her maid, but I promise you, that is not the case here. I’m not trying to coerce a confession out of Iino, in fact I am trying to set up a confession scenario where there is no chance of a rejection.” Said Ishigami. “Oh… but are you aware-” Said Hayasaka until she was interrupted again. “Yes, I’m aware she likes me, but it is not as easy as having mutual feelings, there are a multitude of factors that could affect her answer such as-”
This time, Ishigami was the one interrupted. “I have an idea, so what? Are you going to stall things out until you find ‘the right moment’.” Said Hayasaka. “It’s not like we”re at a full impasse, things have been going more smoothly lately…” Said Ishigami. “Damn, the both of you are really like lost siblings…” Mumbled Hayasaka. “What?” Asked Ishigami. “Nothing! Anyway, if all you need is a set up, then I could easily help with that. Not to brag, but I have a lot of experience in this area.” Said Hayasaka as Ishigami wouldn’t connect his eyes to her after doing that statement. “I mean… I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think fantasizing about possible dates counts as experience.”
“WHO TOLD YOU THAT!?” Said Hayasaka in horror as a huge blush formed on her face. “Oh! No one!” Said Ishigami, still refusing to make visual contact. Hayasaka didn’t need much time to connect two and two, and furiously took out her notebook. “What are you doing?” Asked Ishigami. “Replanning my worldwide tour, I need to go to America first so I can kill a certain someone…” Said Hayasaka ominously. Meanwhile, Kanegae managed to get to a range where she could see them easily without binoculars. Due to several unfortunate encounters after she has been found snooping bh someone, Kanegae has been polishing trailing someone as stealthily as possible.
She can easily manage to keep track and keep up with someone without them even suspecting they were observed. An ability that Kanegae has for a long time has tried to convince herself it is not creepy, and she does it with good intentions. “She’s blushing!” Said Kanegae to herself. “That is not good! Imagine the drama that would follow if people realized Ishigami is a player…” Said Kanegae being overwhelmed by the possibilities. “No! It’s not necessarily that! Maybe the Vice President just said something that embarrassed that girl! There’s no reason for it to be romantic.” Reflected Kanegae.
And in another attempt to delude herself, Kanegae gave yet another surprisingly on point deduction. “I should just try getting a little closer to them, just to check…” She said. Soon enough, the pair of teens and their stealthy stowaway arrived at the store where they would get what they needed. Ishigami and Hayasaka entered, while Kanegae decided to stay outside for just a little while to not raise suspicion. “A garden shop? What kind of date place is this? You are supposed to buy the girl flowers before the date, not after…” Said Kanegae as realization hit her. “Oh! I knew I had no reason to fear!” She said in relief.
But at that point, her fantasies started popping in her head, as a blush started blooming on her face. “I mean, that is really thoughtful of the Vice President, isn’t it? He probably needs the materials to make his own garden and shower the President with freshly picked flowers…” She was already imagining the scene, Iino gasping in shock as she saw her desk covered completely in flowers, as Ishigami popped out of a door of mysterious origins and bowed to her. Iino then jumped at Ishigami in a hug, as petals were raining down the ceiling, and then- Kanegae couldn’t hold the excitement and entered the store.
Meanwhile, Ishigami and Hayasaka were trying to search for the person that would give them what they needed, until they found a man near the place’s office who was seeming to check the store’s wares. “Hello, we come from the Silent Petal to pick up some stuff earlier than planned, we already have the money.” Said Ishigami. “Oh! You must be Mrs. Ishigami’s errand boy. Sure, let me just fetch the packages, I think we need to arrange some stuff first though.” Said the man. “Sure, I’ll take care of this for now Hayasaka, it’s mostly just stuff about the store.” Said Ishigami. “Sure, I will check the place in the meantime.” Responded Hayasaka as the other two walked away.
Hayasaka was looking around if she found anything interesting, but to no success. “Hmm, I guess after having to take care of the Shinomiya gardens throughout most of your life, you get exhausted from gardening…” Hayasaka thought to herself, and just as she was about to call it quits and go outside, she bumped right into Kogane, who was so deep inside her fantasies that she completely forgot about keeping a low profile. “Sorry! I was just-” Said Kanegae as she gasped realizing who she bumped into. “Don’t worry, it’s just… hey, I remember you…” Said Hayasaka when she took a glance at the girl. “Really?” Asked Kanegae nervously.
“Yeah… oh! You’re the Student Council girl back at Ishigami’s party!” Said Hayasaka. “Oh! Um… yeah…” Said Kanegae, trembling. “So, what are you doing here?” Hayasaka asked. “Oh… I was just… looking around to see if I could find a good scoop!” Said Kanegae, which was a half truth. “Really? That sounds like a neat job.” Said Hayasaka, as Kanegae sighed in relief knowing she bought her story. “Hey, no need to be so nervous, as I said, don’t worry about what happened. Anyway, have you found anything interesting so far?” Asked Hayasaka as Kanegae sighed. “Not really, I’ve been doing this ever since I was a kid, so it feels like I already explored every nook and cranny of this city.”
“Hmm, there must be something interesting you can report on…” Said Hayasaka. “Maybe you could give some information on your college life? You just graduated after all.” Said Kanegae. “Oh, I decided to not go to college for… reasons. For now I just decided to save money for my own personal projects.” Explained Hayasaka. “Oh! That can actually be a very interesting topic!” Said Kanegae in excitement. “Really?” Asked Hayasaka. “Yeah! Education is such an influential part of our culture, so seeing someone that decided to skip college may be an interesting perspective to write an article about!” Said Kanegae.
“Oh…” Said Hayasaka awkwardly. “Don’t worry, I promise it will be as respectful as possible! Just give me your contact info and we can talk later! And I promise you will get proper compensation!” Said Kanegae. “Oh… in that case, don’t mind if I do.” Said Hayasaka as Kanegae handed her her notebook and started writing down her info. Kanegae was so excited she almost forgot the reason she was here in the first place… almost. In the corner of her eye she realized Ishigami was approaching, and flinched in horror. The second Hayasaka confirmed she had written all her info down, Kanegae quickly snatched her notebook and fled the scene.
“Thanks for your time! See you later!” Said Kanegae as she fled the scene, without Ishigami ever noticing as he slowly approached Hayasaka. “Well, that’s that. We’ll get the stuff we need delivered in a matter of days, so might as well return to the store.” Said Ishigami. “Alright then…” Said Hayasaka thoughtfully. “It must be just a coincidence that girl fled the moment Ishigami was approaching, right?” Thought Hayasaka to herself. “Unless she…”Hayasaka decided to put that thought aside for now and both of them walked back to the store. By that point, night has barely just started.
“Well, that really is all there for today, I’m sure mom will at least give you a decent raise. And hopefully this counts as the training I was instructed to give.” Said Ishigami. “Oh, so that’s what this was all about then.” Teased Hayasaka. “I mean, yeah I don’t visit this shop often during the school year, so…” Said Ishigami. “Hey, dropping by every now and then doesn’t hurt anyone, and as I said, I could help you with some advice.” Said Hayasaka continuing her tease. “Haha… but thanks for the offer. I may visit if I have time. Goodbye for now.” Said Ishigami as he left the store and back home.
“Hey, it’s not like I don’t mean it.” Said Hayasaka as she looked around the shop. Taking in all she went through today. After that she received a message and quickly took out her phone, it was from Kanegae. “Hi! Kogane Kanegae here! I just wanted to confirm if this was the correct number! I’ll try to arrange a meeting whenever I can!” It read. Hayasaka gave a small smile as she laid down on the floor, knowing her first shift was finally over. “I could get used to this…” She said to herself.
TODAY’S RESULTS: HAYASAKA’S VICTORY