Masao cleared his throat, cutting off the girls' increasingly elaborate—and entirely incorrect—theories.
"You're wrong again, Fujiwara-senpai."
"Wrong again?" Chika didn't seem the least bit discouraged. If anything, her eyes sparkled with renewed determination. "It's a tough one, I'll give you that, but you can't stump me! I've got it! It was a fateful park bench, wasn't it? You both just happened to sit on the same one, purely by chance…"
Masao didn't let her finish. "Nope."
"A first meeting under a cherry blossom tree?"
"Wrong."
"A hero—no, a Masao-saves-the-damsel scenario?"
"Also wrong. And why did you feel the need to change the word hero to my name there?"
After several failed attempts, Chika's patience was wearing thin. "If it's not this and it's not that, it can't possibly be that you two are childhood friends, can it?"
Masao's eyes widened in a perfect shock. "Fujiwara-senpai, how did you…?"
Seeing his expression, a flicker of triumph crossed Chika's face.
"Wait, did I actually get it right?" Could her wild guess have actually hit the mark? She really was a genius!
A mischievous grin spread across Masao's lips as he delivered the final blow. "...got it wrong again."
The triumph on Fujiwara's face instantly morphed into a pout, her cheeks puffing out in indignation. "Masao-kouhai, you're so mean! Teasing your senpai like that is just cruel!"
Seeing her reaction, Masao couldn't help but look smug. "What's the matter? If you really can't figure it out, you could always try begging me for the answer."
His gloating was the final straw.
"I am not begging my mean kouhai!" she declared, sticking her tongue out at him.
Then, in a brilliant tactical pivot, she turned a sweet, pleading smile on Yukinoshita. "So, Yukinoshita-san, won't you please tell me how you and Masao-kun met?"
"Hey, that's cheating!" Masao cried, witnessing her blatant end-run around his defenses.
Fujiwara giggled, delighted by his protest. "Hehe, how is it cheating? No one said I couldn't ask a primary source."
"Hah. You think you've won? It seems I have no choice but to unleash my ultimate move." Masao's expression shifted into one of grave seriousness.
Fujiwara watched him warily. "M-Masao-kouhai, what are you going to do?"
"Yukinoshita," he implored, his voice dripping with dramatic desperation—the kind that would have ended with him on his knees if decorum allowed. "I'm begging you! This is a once-in-a-lifetime request! Please don't tell her!"
(The collective, unspoken thought of everyone present: Your ultimate move is just... begging? How lame.)
"You're cheating too, Masao-kouhai!" Fujiwara shot back. "Don't listen to him, Yukinoshita-san! Tell me, please!"
Caught in the crossfire between the two, Yukinoshita Yukino felt the beginnings of a headache. The scene had all the hallmarks of mediating two children fighting over the last piece of candy. Yet, for all the noise and bickering, she found the atmosphere strangely… agreeable.
While that trio was engrossed in their drama, a separate alliance had formed.
Shirogane Kei and Fujiwara Moeha, both at an age captivated by all things adorable, had naturally gravitated toward Jahy. And Jahy, who possessed a sociability that somehow surpassed even Chika's, had instantly befriended them.
By the time Shinomiya Kaguya returned to the present moment, the social landscape had completely realigned. Her gaze drifted from the trio of Masao, Fujiwara, and Yukinoshita—a picture of boisterous, almost flirtatious squabbling—to the other trio of Jahy, Kei, and Moeha, who were sharing some private joke amidst cheerful laughter.
Her head turned left, then right. And then, the devastating truth dawned on her.
'I'm being left out.'
She stood isolated in the center of the lively group.
Surrounded by laughter and cheerful chatter, she felt a piercing loneliness. She considered joining Fujiwara's group, but she wasn't close with the other two, and the thick, rom-com aura surrounding them felt impenetrable.
She thought about approaching Moeha's group, but the intimate, girly dynamic made her feel like an intruder.
For a long moment, Shinomiya Kaguya stood utterly still, frozen in social paralysis.
'It's not as if I require company,' she told herself, forcefully redirecting her attention to the pandas. 'They are truly captivating. Yes. My focus is solely on the pandas. I haven't even registered the others. I am not being isolated; I am choosing to isolate them.'
It was a flimsy self-deception, and she knew it. The reality was an almost physical discomfort, a sensation of ants crawling relentlessly over her skin.
'Time has stopped. I want to disappear.'
None of the other six noticed Kaguya's quiet crisis. The sole witness was Hayasaka Ai, observing from her discreet distance.
'Poor Miss Kaguya. All alone in a crowd... She must be internally screaming. What a tragic sight. She could really use a hug right about now. I wonder... would this be the perfect moment to call the Student Council President?'
—
Just as Shinomiya Kaguya approached the precipice of complete social despair, a voice rang out like a divine intervention.
"May I have your attention, visitors! The Panda Enclosure is hosting a special event today! All interested guests, please gather here! It will be great fun, with fantastic prizes! The first-place winner will receive thirty minutes of close contact with a panda!"
The announcement echoed through the area, repeated three times to ensure no one missed it.
The effect was immediate. Visitors began streaming toward the sign-up area, and the group's focus snapped to the new development.
"That sounds amazing! Let's all enter!" Fujiwara Chika exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement. "First place gets to actually interact with a panda! We have to try!"
Yukinoshita, her own interest visibly piqued by the prospect of getting near the creatures, gave a firm nod of agreement.
It was only then that Fujiwara remembered her best friend. "You'll join us too, right, Kaguya-chan?"
Kaguya, who had been standing perfectly still while hanging on every whispered word, had been desperately awaiting this very invitation.
The simple acknowledgment sent a wave of relief so strong it was almost overwhelming.
'Fujiwara-san... you are, without a doubt, my best friend.'
It felt as if a lifeline had been thrown, pulling her back from the brink of a lonely abyss. It turned out that not even the great Shinomiya Kaguya was immune to the chill of being overlooked.
"Let's go together," she replied, her voice steady despite the internal tumult.
The others were equally intrigued, and soon their entire group had registered. Within minutes, over a hundred people had signed up—a modest crowd, attributable to some unforeseen circumstances that had thinned the usual weekend bustle.
The panda enclosure was more than spacious enough to accommodate everyone.
Organizing an event for so many on the fly was a challenge, but the staff were well-prepared, with systems designed for crowds far larger than this.
A staff member gathered the participants and raised a megaphone.
"Alright, everyone, listen up! The event has already begun! Each of you holds a participant number. Will the twenty contestants holding green tickets please step forward? Congratulations, you are the winners of the first preliminary round!"
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