Chapter 232: Miko-chan's War of Words
Iino Miko stepped onto the stage with somewhat heavy footsteps.
From under the platform, nearly all the students turned their eyes toward her. As the first student council president candidate to give a speech, everyone was still willing to listen to what Miko-chan had to say.
However, among these people, not a few had rather poor impressions of her. It made sense—normally, Miko-chan appeared at places like the school gate in the morning, or in the courtyard during lunch breaks or after class, doing her job as a disciplinary committee member.
In the disciplinary committee, it seemed like she was the only one who took things seriously. The other committee members were all rather lenient, some even leading the way in not following school rules. This was a place full of rich kids, who on the surface acted polite, but the number of students who had been scolded by Miko-chan wasn't small.
What's that saying again? Karma comes around.
The atmosphere was cold, the entire auditorium quiet enough that even the drop of a pin could be heard.
'Everyone is just waiting to see me embarrass myself, aren't they.' Iino Miko stood at the podium, looking down at the hundreds of students below, and in an instant she felt breathing itself become difficult.
As expected, she still hadn't overcome her stage fright.
'So many people.'
Iino Miko held her script, timidly glancing down at the crowd below. She opened her mouth, intending to introduce herself, but found she couldn't get a single word out.
From below came the sounds of whispering, mixed with a few stifled chuckles.
That only made Iino Miko's situation even worse.
More than ten seconds passed.
Miko came back to her senses.
She suddenly remembered Sakurai Saki's words from earlier, then lowered her gaze.
'Sakurai-senpai.'
She couldn't give up, she had to speak, she couldn't let senpai down.
————
Beside them.
Ishigami Yuu and Shirogane Miyuki looked at Iino Miko standing frozen in place, each with a different expression.
Shirogane Miyuki somewhat wanted to step in to help.
Ishigami Yuu, on the other hand, looked like Aizen, as if everything was within his control.
"As expected, it turned out like this. Clearly she knows she's not good at this, yet still forced herself to do it—ending up like this is perfectly normal, isn't it?"
But those who work hard shouldn't be ridiculed. Even if you don't acknowledge her, at least listen to her finish speaking before denying her, right?
This school really was full of trash.
"..." Shirogane Miyuki couldn't quite stand it anymore, he stepped forward, intending to go help Iino Miko.
Just then, Shinomiya Kaguya—who had just finished her own speech and stepped out for a drink of water—walked over.
"Hm? Miyuki-san, are you planning to do something unnecessary?"
"...Sorry."
"I don't deny your way of helping others, but I think it's unnecessary for you to go up there— Iino Miko has already regained her composure." Shinomiya Kaguya looked toward the girl on stage; Miko-chan's eyes were gradually becoming resolute.
"Trust your juniors and friends a little more." Shinomiya Kaguya said, then turned her gaze toward Ishigami Yuu: "Ishigami-kun, your expression is rather interesting."
"I didn't expect she could do this on her own… No, that's not it." Ishigami Yuu's eyes suddenly sharpened, realizing that while Iino Miko outwardly seemed to be looking at the audience, in truth her entire focus was fixed on a single person.
That person was Sakurai Saki, sitting in the front row.
'So that's how it is— as long as Iino focuses on one person, she won't feel nervous anymore.'
Even if it was only a temporary solution, it was still a good method.
...
Under the stage.
"Sakurai, don't you see that junior girl is looking at me?" Miyazaki Kazuki said quietly.
Miyazaki: ( • ̀ω•́ )✧
Sakurai: (¬_ ´¬ )
"…Maybe." Sakurai Saki didn't bluntly point out that the guy was just daydreaming.
Miko-chan might be easy to coax—praise her a few words and she'd float to the clouds—but there was no way she'd ever spare a glance at someone like him.
"But I really feel like she's looking at me."
"I don't think she's paying you any attention at all."
"I think I look pretty decent myself, so why hasn't a single girl ever confessed to me?" Miyazaki Kazuki rubbed his chin as he spoke.
"I think men should be a little gentler." Even though Sakurai Saki felt he wasn't qualified to say this. In the past, he had used fists, kicks, and harsh words on girls more than once.
The first time he met Hayasaka Ai, Sakurai Saki had outright cursed at her. That their relationship later improved was completely thanks to Hayasaka Ai's endurance. Many times, he suspected his girlfriend might be a masochist.
"You have the right to say that? Damn it, you and gentleness don't have a damn thing to do with each other, got it?!! Back in the summer when I practiced kendo with you, I got injured— it still hurts now, damn it." Miyazaki Kazuki rubbed his neck; his throat had once been pierced by Sakurai Saki's strike, that blow nearly sent him straight to God.
"Come on, we're brothers! Don't sweat the small stuff." Sakurai Saki said with a goofy grin.
"If I weren't weaker than you, I'd have pinned you to the ground already! Just now you even tried to steal my seat, when clearly there was an empty one right next to it!" Miyazaki Kazuki ground his teeth.
"Sorry, I don't accept guys." Sakurai Saki refused.
"I didn't mean it that way…" Miyazaki Kazuki scratched his head in frustration.
On stage, Miko began talking about the regulations, one of which proposed that all male students must shave their heads bald.
"Shave heads?" Miyazaki Kazuki frowned.
"Miyazaki, let me tell you a way to get a girl's attention." Sakurai Saki suddenly spoke.
"Next time you meet a girl you like, you can use this method."
"What method?" Miyazaki Kazuki asked without suspicion.
The one across from him now already had a girlfriend— and she was one of Shuchiin's top beauties.
"Oppose!" Sakurai Saki's face was full of seriousness, not looking like a joke at all.
"What do you mean?"
"For example, right now, that girl up there is talking about shaving heads, so you must oppose shaving heads! Hurry, it's a golden opportunity—try it, I guarantee you'll get a reaction from a girl." Sakurai Saki said.
"But I'm not interested in Iino Miko."
"Practice first, understand?"
"Got it." Miyazaki Kazuki nodded, then suddenly shouted: "What era are we living in!!!!!! And you're still talking about shaving heads!!! What good is that?!"
Sakurai Saki nodded with satisfaction.
Good, now there's a sandbag to work off on— Miko-chan, do your best!
Sakurai to Miko: ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧
Miyazaki truly was a Shingen-ryu fighter known for his booming voice— that shout was deafening!
"Senpai over there! Do you even know what brand image means?! The reputation of our Shuchiin has been declining year after year!! Outsiders all think we're just a bunch of spoiled rich brats!!!"
"What the hell's that got to do with me?! You say all this stuff, who the hell even understands?!" Miyazaki Kazuki wasn't very quick-witted; he really didn't get it.
————
"They're actually arguing now." Shirogane Miyuki twitched at the corner of his mouth.
And it seemed, this wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
"The speech has turned into a debate." Ishigami Yuu was dumbfounded as well.
Moreover, not just the first one, but more and more people were joining the discussion—was Iino planning to verbally battle all of them?
"What she's saying isn't wrong. In recent years, because of disciplinary issues, the neighborhood association refused to grant night permits, which made it impossible to hold evening activities at the cultural festival, limiting the festival night hours to before 8 p.m." Shinomiya Kaguya rested her right hand under her chin, showing interest.
She had realized that the one who just made Miyazaki Kazuki speak out was Sakurai Saki.
'Actually helping the opponent set up tactics— let's see how you explain yourself later.'
Kaguya was a little angry.
( ｡ •̀ ⤙ •́ ｡ )