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Narrator: College Break!
Out of a really convenient coincidence, the breaks at American Colleges and Japanese Colleges coincided this year. Miyuki Shirogane has spent 3 years in college, Kaguya Shinomiya and Chika Fujiwara 2 years, and Yuu Ishigami and Miko Iino 1 year. This is a rare opportunity for the gang to meet together and this wasn’t lost on Miyuki Shirogane who has organized a party at his place in San Francisco! If this opportunity was missed, who knows what could be the next time they can meet. Could even be long after Kaguya finishes college...
* Doorbell rings *
Chika Fujiwara: Hello!
Kaguya Shinomiya: Oh, it 's Fujiwara-san.
Fujiwara: Kaguya-san!
Miyuki Shirogane: Long time no see, was it easy to get here?
Fujiwara: Eh, my family just hired a driver to take me here and I came in the jet.
Am I the first one to arrive?
Hayasaka: I’m here...
Fujiwara: Oh , so it’s Ai-chan.
Shirogane: Actually, Ishigami was supposed to arrive about now...
(Distant Scream): SEE? I WAS RIGHT, THEY ARE JUST IN FRONT OF US!
Kaguya: I guess that’s them.....
Miko Iino: Oh hello, senpais! I’m so sorry we are so late, it’s just that this idiot here was about to give the Taxi driver wrong instructions and I had to correct him...
Yuu Ishigami: The hell you are on about!? I was giving him correct instructions. It’s not my fault your English is so bad.
Miko: YOU WERE MIXING UP THE ADDRESS. THE LANGUAGE DOESN’T MATTER!
Ishigami: Just shut up! Even when you were the nerd I was always the best one at foreign languages, you were barely able to talk correctly to the driver!
Shirogane: Hey! Are you going to be like this during the whole thing?
Kaguya: Now that we are all here, we should share a meal. I have something ready, just give me a bit of time to serve it..
Hayasaka: Let me help you out.
Shirogane: So... How is college going for you?
Fujiwara: Sigh.. It’s actually a lot of work. I’ve hadn't much time for anything else.
Miko: Well, Ishigami and I are going to the same college but he’s slacking too much and hasn’t even decided on a major.
Ishigami: Excuse me!? Just because you had everything figured out early on does it mean everyone else is an alien like you.
Miko: Well. College is actually easy once you have a goal. But you wouldn’t know it!
Fujiwara: A goal, huh? I don’t know if that helps that much.
I’ll be right back...
[...]
Miko: Is it me or is Fujiwara-senpai acting weird?
Shirogane: Maybe she’s just bored.
We should play some card games after the meal.
Ishigami: But what’s up with calling me out in front of everyone!?
Miko: That’s just so that you could take a hint!
Ishigami: I’m actually surprised how well-kept you have this house.
Shirogane: Well, having two girls living here sure forces you to have better taste.
Ishigami: I’m actually talking about how clean it is. I heard you don’t have a maid or anything.
Our apartment is always a mess.
Kaguya: Well,
Miko: Why do you even have to bring that up? And you are the one who never wants to clean up!
Ishigami: But you are the one who is always leaving a mess! I might clean up less, but I still clean up more than I mess it out!
Kaguya: You just need to care about the other person you are living with.
It takes time to adapt, though.
Fujiwara: Can we keep the game going?
Miko: Ok, ok... Just let me just drop this one card.
Shirogane: You forgot to yell UNO...
Miko: Damn it!
Ishigami: It’s the third time in a row.
Miko: It’s not my fault that you keep distracting me!!
Ishigami: Yeah right. As if you were even paying attention to me!!
Fujiwara: Eh, it’s my turn, welp, let me play this reverse play. UNO!
Miko: I have too many cards, let me just drop a reverse card again.
Fujiwara: So yeah I guess I had another reverse. It’s over.
Kaguya: Surprising no one, Fujiwara-san wins another one.
Fujiwara: “yay” I guess at least I am “lucky at cards”...
Shirogane: So gloomy.
Miko: Hey it got late, how about we have some drinks?
Ishigami: There goes the drunkard again. Can’t you at least wait for tomorrow?!
Miko: Bullshit! That’s so sexist! If anything, whenever we go to parties together you drink even more than me!!
Ishigami: That’s only because that’s the only way I can relax when I have to watch how you behave in such a social setting!!
Miko: And who says you can’t drink two days in a row anyway?
Shirogane: Iino... We are waiting for those that couldn’t make it today... Shijo had to take a quick trip to Japan to deal with some family stuff and she’s going to bring the Tanumas tomorrow.
Miko: Oh well, that makes sense. I can wait one more day.
Ishigami: tsk.. so when he says it you actually listen.
I am all tired with all that jet lag stuff anyway. Can’t wait to get to bed... Was hoping we could sightsee in Frisco tomorrow...
Shirogane: Yeah, it’s quite late. Let me show you guys your room.
Kaguya: Okay then. I’ll show Fujiwara and Ai-san their respective rooms as well.
Narrator: Some time later, at the kitchen table:
Fujiwara: Ai-chan? I didn’t expect you to appear here.
Hayasaka: I was going to say the same about you...
No, that was a lie.
I had the feeling you were feeling down...
Fujiwara: Looks like you can see right through me.
It’s just that, college has been a lot of work.
I realized quite late that I never did normal girl things like dating.
Meanwhile, my circle of friends is full of couples that were dating for quite a long while.
Hayasaka: Well, Ishigami-chi and Iino-chan fight all the time, so maybe we are soon going to go back to the majority of us being single...
Fujiwara: Are you fucking kidding me? Those two probably cuddled for hours in that plane. And the fighting? It’s been known that that’s the way they flirt with each other. It creeps me out to be honest. And I’m sure we both know what they are doing in their room right now...
Hayasaka: Yeah... I was just trying to make you feel better.
Good thing Miyuki and Kaguya have such a large house.
That goes doubly-so considering that Maki-san has to live here.
Fujiwara: It’s not just that, you know...
I have to con...fess something.
When you and Kaguya-san were serving the meals. I was spying on you guys and heard everything...
Hayasaka: Oh...
That talk?
I can’t believe they are getting engaged and that tomorrow’s party is to announce that. (Though I guess I should have seen it coming)
She was just so excited that she had to tell me. You were really not supposed to hear that.
Fujiwara: Yeah... But it was always so strange to think that you two are actually so much closer to each other than I was with her. I was really curious to see how you actually interact together.. .
Hayasaka: Looks like you are already paying the consequences of your curiosity.
Narrator: Chika was holding up her emotions. She didn’t want to show any tears.
Hayasaka: Well...
You are not the only one, you know.
I spent all my school days working for Kaguya’s family.
I never really had any chance to do normal girl things either.
And nowadays, I spend so little time in each country that it’s really not worth it to look for any real romance at all.
Fujiwara: When are you going to settle down...
Hayasaka: I don’t know.
I did promise myself I would visit at least one of the 200 largest countries once.
My world was so small back then, I just wanted my world to become bigger.
Fujiwara: Your junk is still taking up lots of space in my home, you know.
Hayasaka: Yeah.. Thanks for the help back then. When Kaguya kicked me out for being a neet, I just didn’t know what more to do. I needed some time to decide.
You know.
That worry-free girl persona that was a bit of a trouble maker.
I adopted it so that whenever it was necessary to skip class in order to help Kaguya, no one would think it was strange I wasn’t around.
But I always wished to become that girl one day.
Fujiwara: Well, I don’t know.
That girl was cute and funny. But I’ve come to like you better when I learned of the real deal.
It turned out you were such a hard worker and tried so hard.
Hayasaka: I’m not like that anymore.
You, on the other hand. In a life where everything was so predictable. Whenever I had to help Kaguya and you were somehow in the way, I could always count on you to make things unpredictable.
And you have kept that cool thing about you... Even now. I was expecting this to just be a generic meet up with the old friends circle. But you made it so much more interesting.
Fujiwara: You haven’t changed that much, you know. You are still a hard worker. You just worked so much that you had to take some rest.
Even as a form of rest, going all over the world is so much work. That’s not the kind of rest slackers pick.
But you just need to settle down.
Hayasaka: I don’t know. I guess I will go back to living in Japan eventually. Well, if anyone was waiting for me there...
Fujiwara: hm?
[...]
Narrator: Unlike the bursts of passion that might start to happen during adolescence, where everything moves fast and you are suddenly kissing or being kissed before you can even tell. The awkward silences of adulthood make the world stop. You are frozen in time. No longer able to run anywhere to hide. And the only way to make clock move again is to move forward and take action.
Or, perhaps...
Miko: Ugh what’s this!? I didn’t expect two people to already be here. That fridge better still have some food in it!
Fujiwara: Miko-chan!? What the hell? What’s up with you appearing out of nowhere with that super skimpy outfit? You do realize Miyuki-kun lives here, right?
Miko: Give me a break! It’s not like the Ice Queen is going to allow that guy to leave their room at all when us three are in this building.
Hayasaka: Why does it sound like you actually made the calculation for the odds of him seeing you like that...
Miko: Ishigami got exhausted, so he is sleeping. I just wanted to grab a quick midnight snack. Didn’t really have time to put on a lot of clothes.
Fujiwara: Argh!! I thought I was bummed out for being alone but I am starting to think I’m just freaking out by what you have turned into!!
Miko: Geez. Lighten up! College life is very tough and I barely have chances to have fun. I’m sure it’s the same for you. We have a party tomorrow, you can have fun too. Anything can happen!
Narrator: Miko Iino realized that by interrupting Chika and Hayasaka, she inadvertently returned Chika an old favor that she never intended to return.