Bingo!

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[-Continuation-]

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[Third Person View]

"Our Cultural Festival: Alone but Not Lonely." Yukino read, the irritation clear in her voice.

"..." A heavy silence blanketed the room for two long seconds.

Then, unexpectedly, laughter erupted from two distinct sources.

Heads swiveled in confusion, some to the right, others to the left, seeking out the source of these unseemly laughs.

"Haahaheehah..." A melodious, almost musical laugh rang out from one side of the room.

"Heehhe..." The other produced a deeper, more subdued chuckle.

"That was funny." The first voice was managed between giggles. As the laughter subsided, the speaker continued, a hint of mischief in her tone. "Isn't it, Hachiman?"

The only person who could call him by that name in such a playful, teasing manner was Haruno.

From across the room, Hikigaya Hachiman nodded, a proud smile playing on his usually impassive face.

"Hum... it is indeed a good one." He agreed, his voice carrying a note of satisfaction.

The remaining members of the committee exchanged glances between Haruno, Hachiman, and Yukino, their facial expressions displaying a unique combination of uncertainty and nervousness.

Standing stiffly, Yukino narrowed her eyes as she glanced between Hachiman and her sister.

Before Yukinoshita could articulate her objection, Haruno's hand shot up, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"I am in for it." She declared, her voice carrying a hint of challenge.

Before anyone could react, Hachiman's hand followed suit, a lazy grin spreading across his face.

"Yeah, I approve too." He drew, seemingly enjoying the chaos he might inadvertently create with this action.

The room erupted into a flurry of whispers and confused glances. Committee members looked back and forth between Haruno and Hachiman, trying to decipher this unexpected alliance.

Seeing that two influential figures in this room had just given their approval, and suddenly, more hands began to rise tentatively.

The unexpected turn of events even baffled Hachiman himself.

He had proposed the slogan thinking, it was merely amusing, never expecting it to gain traction, let alone support from others.

Yukino stood rigid, her knuckles white around the paper she clutched. Her eye twitched almost imperceptibly as she fought to maintain her composure.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to continue after counting down the votes. "Moving on to the next proposal..."

As she read through the list, Hachiman watched her closely.

Her voice was still steady, but he caught the slight tension in her shoulders.

"And now, for the final tally." Yukino paused, a flicker of relief crossing her features.

"The winning slogan is '[Chiba's Specialties, Dancing and Festivals! If We're All Fellow Fools, Let's Dance and Sing a Song!!]', with 15 votes. It beats the... previous suggestion by one vote."

"Well, it's decided. Everyone, please update the slogan with the one that we decided on." Hachiman commanded with no disappointment in his voice.

"Yosh!!" Immediately, the Cultural Festival planning committee restarted into action with my call.

Choosing the slogan must've been some form of tradition that deepened the unity between everyone, as they were overflowing with motivation.

"Alright punks! Let's remake those posters!" Public advertising barked out.

"Wait a second! We haven't figured out the budget yet!" The finance accountant snapped back.

"Stupid! Toy with the abacus afterwards! It's now or never for me!"

"Whatever! Make sure to retrieve the thumb tacks after you fix the posters! Those are getting counted too!"

And so forth…..

Even the item management guys were beginning to chip in.

As the meeting adjourned, the room buzzed with excited chatter about the unexpected turn of events.

Yukino's eyes met Hachiman across the room, her gaze a mix of exasperation, relief, and something that might have been grudging respect.

Hachiman, for his part, offered a small shrug and a half-smile, as if to say.

Then, from the corner, he noticed Haruno, especially making her way to him.

Now that the committee was earnestly working, she was supposed to just stay put according to Yukino's order despite having free time since she was taking a break from practice…..

What wouldn't I do to be in her place? He muttered in his heart.

"Hey there, working hard over here?" Haruno inquired, patting his head in that overly familiar way of hers.

"…As you can see." Hachiman mumbled a response, acutely aware of how close she was as she peered at his computer screen.

She said with a smirk. "Ahh… You're not working at all."

"Why? I totally am…" He protested weakly, knowing full well that he had been caught slacking.

Well, actually, I am taking a rest from yesterday's work. Is what he wanted to defend.

Haruno looked at him and made a snobbish smile.

"Hikigaya? Time for a pop quiz!" She chirped, her tone playful, but with an underlying edge. "What can effectively cause a group to unify the most~?"

Hachiman furrowed his brow, considering the question. It felt like a trap, but he answered anyway. "In the eyes of an enemy...?"

"Bingo!" Haruno's smile widened, but her eyes grew colder, like ice forming over a deep, dark lake. "You nailed it!"

Her true intentions were evident from that frigid smile.

Haruno chuckled and looked down at him. "So what are you, Hachiman? A wise leader or a villainous dictator? Hm, I think you're most inclined to the latter one."

Hachiman tried to brush her off. "Leave me alone…. and don't act as if you are not doing the same regarding Yukio-!"

Before he could finish his accusation, Haruno's fingers pressed against his lips, effectively silencing him.

The sudden contact made him flinch, but her grip was firm. "I don't like perceptive kids, okay?"

Hachiman stood there, frozen, caught between the urge to push her hand away and the realization that he might have stumbled onto something he wasn't prepared to handle.

–Pom!Pom!Pom!

Suddenly, Yukino appeared, piling a bundle of documents in front of Hachiman.

When he looked up, she was staring down at him with intensely cold eyes.

By now, her composure is mostly regained, but irritation is still simmering beneath the surface.

"I hope you're both satisfied with your little stunt." She said, her gaze flicking between the both.

Hachiman shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant despite his lingering shock. "Hey, I just threw it out there as a joke. Didn't think it would cause such a fuss, or get any votes, really."

"Well, it certainly livened up the meeting." Haruno laughed, clearly enjoying the situation. "Don't you think so, Yukino? A little excitement is beneficial for committee morale."

Yukino sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "If by 'liven up' you mean 'cause unnecessary chaos and nearly derail the entire process', then yes, I suppose it did."

"I was being productive."(Hachiman)

"If you really want to be productive, Chairman, do your work. Dispose of the documents for the slogan change. Also, the minutes…" Yukino moved her hand to her mouth and went 'ah' as she raised her face.

"That's what you're already doing now. Then, send a notification to every group regarding the slogan change."

Hachiman couldn't help but protest. "Hey, you clearly made that up just now, didn't you?"

"Why would I do such a thing?" Yukino replied, her face a mask of innocence.

"You clearly did."(Hachiman)

"Anyway, get it done today."(Yukino)

Feeling overwhelmed, Hachiman turned to Haruno for support. "Impossible…. Big sis, don't you think so?"

Haruno, ever the troublemaker, chimed in. "Hachiman, she is simply jealous that I might steal you from her."

Hachiman scoffed at the idea. "You think so? But you know you can't do that, right?"

"Ahhh! I am hurt, little brother. How could you say that~?" Haruno feigned distress.

"Cut it out you too." Yukino, clearly fed up with our banter, interjected.

As Hachiman was drowning in hopelessness, Haruno lifted her arm and waved it so Yukino could catch sight of it. "Should I do it too?"

"Big sis, you are a bother, so go home." Yukino curtly said.

Haruno's eyes then welled up with fake tears. "So mean! Yukino, you are so mean…! Well, I don't have anything better to do, so I am going to help out anyway. Hachiman, give me half of that."

When Haruno reached out to the pile of papers, Yukino placed her hand to the side of her head. "…Jeez. I am going to review the budget, so if you are going to do something, then let's go and do that."

…..

[-After A Week-]

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[Hachiman's POV]

As the Cultural Festival approached day by day, Sobu High began heating up, in contrast to the declining temperature.

The classrooms of all the years are clamorous since the morning.

Today was for all-day preparation before the day of the event.

Tables were set up and combined together to build a stage.

The conference room I am in now sees a rush of traffic in and out.

The door of the room, which was typically closed, looked like it had stayed open the entire day.

Yukino and I are inside, swiftly clearing work.

Haruno was spinning around in her chair, discussing something with Senior Meguri.

I don't really care, but Haruno has way too much time, doesn't she? When I join a University, will I also have a lot of free time?

That would be really nice.

"Chairman. The test updates to the homepage have been completed." Someone reported.

"Understood. I will just confirm." I checked them.

After a couple of minutes, I gave the signal. "Sure. It looks good."

From my right side, Yukinoshita also cleared one job after the other. "Right. Please deploy the production environment to the website."

"Yukinoshita, the volunteers don't have enough equipment!" An assistant committee reported.

"The volunteer management section should discuss this with the representatives of the volunteers. Please rent out the equipment according to what the item management group decides. Send a report to us afterwards."

"The volunteer rehearsal is running behind schedule, so we will move them to the end of the opening ceremony rehearsal. So keep that in mind."

Once she finished giving out instructions, she breathed out.

Haruno snuck up behind Yukinoshita and embraced her. "That's my Yukino!"

"Get away from me, don't get close to me, go home." Yukinoshita faced the PC while giving her the cold treatment.

The other executives nodded their heads in agreement. The ones who went through thick and thin were them. So, of course, they'd feel much stronger about it.

"This is how a planning committee should be! Ahh, I feel so gratified right now."

Everyone nodded to Haruno's words. Everyone was satisfied. They were aware that they had fulfilled their obligation as the Cultural Festival planning committee.

Haruno expressed a smile in that instant. "Tomorrow's going to be so fun… right?"

Her gaze was directed at me for only a moment. Just what kind of future those dark eyes gazed at, I still wasn't sure.

It was only a little longer until the opening of the festival, full of barbaric fervor, youth, deception, and fabrication.

At long last, tomorrow was the Cultural Festival.

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