"…President, please help me!"
Natsukawa Kanade blinked.
The girl in front of him—Hasaka, was it?—had suddenly lowered her voice and looked at him with a mixture of desperation and embarrassment. Her golden hair shimmered under the bookstore's soft lighting, and her eyes, though seemingly shy, carried a strange intensity.
"…Help you with what?"
He didn't mean to sound cold, but the abruptness of her plea caught him off guard. He had no idea who she was, and the situation felt oddly staged.
"I… I'm sorry. I just… I've been having trouble with someone in my class. I heard the president is really good at giving advice, so I thought…"
She trailed off, eyes darting away, voice trembling just enough to sound convincing.
Kanade narrowed his eyes slightly. Something didn't sit right. Her tone was too practiced, her timing too perfect. And that name—Hasaka. It was close. Too close.
"…You said your name was Hasaka?"
"Yes! Hasaka Ai."
"…Not Hayasaka?"
The girl froze for a fraction of a second. It was subtle, but Kanade caught it.
"…No, no relation," she said quickly, waving her hands. "Just a coincidence!"
Kanade stared at her for a moment longer, then sighed.
"I see. Well, I'm not sure how much help I can be, but if it's something serious, maybe you should talk to a teacher."
He stood up, slung his bag over his shoulder, and gave her a polite nod.
"Take care on your way home."
And with that, he walked past her, leaving Hayasaka Ai standing there, stunned.
Behind a bookshelf, Kaguya Shinomiya peeked out, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"…He saw through it?"
Hayasaka turned toward her mistress, her smile twitching.
"…He's sharper than I thought."
Kaguya's face turned red with a mix of embarrassment and frustration.
"I told you this plan was full of holes!"
Hayasaka sighed, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, yeah. I underestimated him. He's not just a pretty face after all."
Kaguya crossed her arms, pouting.
"…So what now?"
Hayasaka looked thoughtful for a moment, then smirked.
"Now? We go to Plan B."
"…Which is?"
"We stop playing games."
Kaguya blinked.
"…You mean I should confess?"
Hayasaka grinned.
"Exactly. Get on the bus first, buy the ticket later. You've waited long enough, haven't you?"
Kaguya looked down, her heart pounding.
"…I'm not ready."
"Then get ready. Because if you don't move soon, someone else will."
From the café window, they watched as Natsukawa Kanade disappeared into the crowd, unaware of the storm quietly brewing behind him.
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