Kaguya Shinomiya took a deep breath, forcing her composure to return.
"Fujiwara-san," she said, her voice tight. "Please be quiet and stop moving. You're making this very difficult."
Feeling Kaguya's grip tighten, Fujiwara Chika immediately wrapped her arms more securely around the girl's neck, holding on for dear life. She had no desire to be thrown to the ground like Masao.
Chika finally went still, but her sudden, clinging pressure only intensified Kaguya's urge to toss her aside.
'Honestly, Fujiwara-san, you're crushing me. What is the point of being so… generously proportioned? It does nothing but add unnecessary weight and complicate this entire game. I could have them surgically removed for you. I know the best doctors—it would be painless. You'd finally have a lightweight, efficient physique.'
As Kaguya's internal monologue continued, the final minute ticked away.
The other three pairs had already given up, whether from exhaustion or simple acceptance of the consolation prize. No one else had lasted.
Chika slid from Kaguya's arms, her joy exploding in a burst of energy.
"We won! We actually won!"
She wiggled triumphantly, her body instinctively breaking into a few celebratory steps of her iconic "Secretary Dance."
Masao approached, a knowing smile on his face. "Congratulations, Fujiwara-senpai. Yours was the only team to complete the challenge."
Chika planted her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest with pride. "Of course! The team with me and Kaguya-chan is the strongest!"
'The only thing you contributed, Fujiwara-san, was dead weight,' Kaguya thought, a serene smile masking her internal critique.
"It truly is a shame, then," Masao mused, his tone dripping with a feigned sorrow that his gleeful eyes completely betrayed. "Now the world's strongest team must be torn apart from within."
'Go on, event organizers. Don't disappoint me. Give us a no-holds-barred final round. I want to see carnage.'
His words instantly deflated Chika's triumphant mood. "You're so mean, Masao-kouhai!"
"Fujiwara-senpai, you should be less concerned with me and more concerned with her." He nodded toward Kaguya.
Chika turned. Kaguya was still smiling, but an aura of battle intent radiated from her. She rolled her shoulders and flexed her wrists, the picture of a predator ready to pounce.
'At last, my daily training at the archery club finds its true purpose. Prepare yourself, Fujiwara-san. Your defeat will be absolute.'
Even Chika, with her legendary inability to read a room, could feel the deadly seriousness rolling off her friend.
"Kaguya-chan, it's just a game! There's no need to be so competitive!"
"Fujiwara-san, that is where you are wrong," Kaguya replied, her voice calm and lethally precise. "One must approach all tasks, no matter how trivial, with utmost seriousness. It is the foundation of success in greater endeavors. A habit of 'good enough' in small things inevitably leads to failures in larger ones."
"Don't listen to her, Fujiwara-senpai! I believe in you!" Masao cheered, his grin widening.
"Masao-kouhai, stop adding fuel to the fire!"
"Sis, you can do it!" came Fugiwara Moeha's voice.
"Moeha?!"
"Ganbatte, Fujiwara-senpai!" Shirogane Kei added.
"K-Kei-chan?!"
"Fujiwara-san, do your best." Even Yukinoshita offered quiet support.
"Yukinoshita-san, too…?"
Chika was so moved.
So many people were supporting her! A warm, powerful feeling surged through her veins—an energy that felt like a corpse suddenly springing back to life.
"This feeling… this is it…!"
Chika's spirit ignited. Clenching her fists, she stood like a lone hero before the final boss, empowered by the bonds of friendship and family.
"Is this the power of friendship? I feel incredible! I'm not afraid of you anymore, Kaguya-chan! Bring it on!"
—
Two and a half minutes later.
"Waaah! I'm sorry, everyone! I let you all down!"
The hero, Fujiwara Chika, had been crushed by the demon queen, Shinomiya Kaguya.
The final round, as it turned out, was a test of intellect—a realm where willpower and the "power of friendship" were utterly useless. You either knew the answer, or you didn't.
Masao was the first to approach the dejected Chika.
"Fujiwara-senpai, there's no need to feel bad. To be perfectly honest, none of us actually thought you would win."
Fujiwara Moeha nodded in earnest agreement. "Yeah. It's you, Sis. There was no way you could beat Shinomiya-senpai."
The familial betrayal stung deeply. Masao was one thing, but her own sister?
She turned her tearful, pleading eyes to Shirogane Kei, her last hope for a little kindness.
"W-well…" Kei stammered, her gaze involuntarily darting away. "You… you tried very hard, Fujiwara-senpai…"
'She looked away! Kei-chan totally looked away! I saw it!'
"Yukinoshita-san…?" Chika's voice was a final, desperate whisper, her eyes locking onto the one person who might offer unbiased solace.
Yukinoshita observed the heartbroken senior with a measure of sympathy.
She found Chika's childish, straightforward nature oddly endearing. After a brief pause, she offered a lifeline.
"The second-place prize is likely to be quite desirable as well."
"You're right!"
Chika's spirits instantly rocketed back to their usual heights, all despair forgotten. "And since Yukinoshita-san loves pandas too, we can share my prize!"
A staff member arrived, holding a fluffy bundle. "Congratulations on second place. Your prize is this panda mascot costume."
Chika snatched the costume and hugged it tightly, nuzzling her cheek against its soft, plush fabric. "Wow! It's so soft!"
Her attention was then drawn to the panda enclosure, where Kaguya was being led inside by a keeper. "I'm so jealous Kaguya-chan gets to meet a real panda up close."
But then, an idea sparked. Her eyes lit up with renewed excitement. "But if I can't meet a panda… I can become one!"
Without another moment's hesitation, she began pulling on the panda costume.
Seeing her fully suited up, Masao pulled out his phone. "Fujiwara-senpai, can I get a picture? It's a very cute costume."
"You look very cute in it," Yukinoshita added.
Basking in the praise, Chika beamed.
"Hehe, thanks!" But then she paused, a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmm… but it feels like it's missing something…"
Yukinoshita studied her, head tilted. "Now that you mention it, it does seem to lack a certain… essence."
Chika's gaze drifted from the real pandas, to her own costumed body, and then to Masao standing beside her. A mischievous idea dawned on her.
"Ah-ha! I know what it is!"
She immediately shimmied out of the suit and shoved the fluffy bundle into Masao's arms.
"Masao-kouhai, you put it on! Hurry!"
"Me?" he asked, bewildered but not refusing as he started pulling on the suit. "Why?"
"You'll see! Just hurry up and put it on!"
The small audience watched with growing curiosity.
'Being stared at by everyone while changing is… a unique experience,' Masao thought, feeling a slight blush creep up his neck as he finally got the bulky costume on.
"And now, for the finishing touch!"
Once he was fully suited, Chika grabbed the panda head and plopped it firmly onto his head, completely obscuring his face from view.
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