Overlapping Kouhai Traits
At 7 a.m., the Hikigaya family left home on time—those who had work went to work, and those who had school went to school.
After dropping Komachi off near her school, Shirou turned down a side road and headed toward the international school he attended.
A week had passed, and the damaged wall at the school gate had already been repaired. At that moment, footsteps approached quickly from behind.
"Good morning, Shirou-Senpai," Mash said cheerfully as she caught up.
"Oh, good morning, Mash," Shirou smiled and greeted the pink-haired girl. She really seemed to enjoy going to school—whether it was cultural classes or physical activities, she always seemed to be having a great time.
"Are you going to practice in the archery club this morning too?" Mash asked.
"Yeah. After all, I'm here on a scholarship and I'm the team captain. I can't just slack off," Shirou replied with a light laugh.
"Got it. Then I'll go change and come over too," Mash said.
"Mhm," Shirou nodded.
The archery club did have its own changing rooms, but they were mostly used by the boys. The girls usually changed into their archery uniforms in the women's changing rooms outside before heading over.
"Senpai! Shirou-Senpai~!" another girl came running up at that moment.
She had a pretty face and a cute voice that always carried a touch of spoiled affection.
Her light tea-colored hair curled slightly and was just the right length to cover her neck. She was a first-year student and the student council president—Iroha Isshiki.
"Yo, if it isn't Isshiki. Rare to see you at school this early," Shirou called out.
"Now's not the time for 'yo,' Senpai! Listen to me—ah!" Isshiki suddenly noticed Mash and stopped.
"..." Mash silently observed the girl who had appeared out of nowhere.
She now understood why Fou reacted that way to wild boars and puppies.
"Forget it! Senpai, just come with me for now!" Isshiki said, grabbing Shirou by the arm and pulling him along.
"Why are you dragging me? It's not like you can't talk in front of Mash," Shirou asked as he was pulled along.
"But if that girl's here, then my kouhai value gets totally overwritten!" Isshiki finally stopped behind the school building and declared her reasoning with full confidence.
"You could just not act like a 'kouhai,' you know," Shirou said to her.
After all, he never really felt like he was being respected.
"Eh? What?! Are you trying to say, 'I don't see you as a kouhai, I see you as a girlfriend instead'? A confession in a place like this?! No way! That's totally inappropriate! I can't accept that! At least take me somewhere with candlelight dinner before saying that!" she responded dramatically.
"Why am I getting rejected three times over when I didn't even say anything? Seriously, what the hell is going on in your head? You are the student council president, aren't you?" Shirou retorted, staring at the girl lost in her delusions.
"Aww, don't be like that~! Weren't you the one who encouraged me to become the student council president in the first place? Don't tell me you're trying to back out of that now?" Isshiki patted Shirou's shoulder with a playful laugh.
This girl—despite wearing such a sweet and cute expression—could speak with terrifying tones.
It was like she had mastered ventriloquism or something.
"Well… yeah, I guess that did happen," Shirou admitted, unable to refute her.
She was the type who wanted to be liked by everyone. So she'd always try to fit the role others wanted from her, communicating in ways the other party would find appealing.
She acted cutesy and well-behaved in front of boys, which made her popular with them. But among girls, many found her fake and didn't like her at all.
Because of that, she became a target in her class. Dozens of girls nominated her for student council president as a kind of passive-aggressive move.
Back then, the former student council president brought Isshiki to the Service Club, saying she wanted to find a way to lose the election gracefully.
The international high school they attended was a top-tier institution focused on university prep.
Students either came in on scholarships as elite academic performers, were sports/art stars capable of competing at a national level, children of influential political families, or just plain rich.
So, there wasn't much interest in the student council president position—an exhausting, thankless role with little actual power. Thus, Isshiki had no competition.
But Shirou had realized she didn't entirely hate the idea of becoming president.
In fact, her little devil personality seemed to enjoy the thought of finding a way to slap back at the girls who didn't like her.
"Well then, why not just take the position?" Shirou had said at the time. "If you need help, you can ask me."
"Eh? Senpai? If you're saying that… then okay, I'll do it," Isshiki had hesitated but then replied.
"But~ Senpai, you'd better take responsibility," she said, looking at him with big watery eyes, her soft voice carrying a flirtatious undertone.
And now, here she was, coming to him for help.
"Senpai~~ you have to help me, or it'll be super bad. Boo hoo hoo…" Isshiki whined while tugging on Shirou's sleeve with one hand and wiping her eyes with the other, as if she were brushing away tears.
No, no, no. At this point, even if you act cute and try to trigger my protective instincts, it's too late.
But crying? Isn't that cheating? If someone misunderstood this, what would I even do?
"...Fine. Just tell me what's going on," Shirou asked helplessly.
"You'll help?! That's great!" Isshiki immediately beamed with a brilliant smile, looking like a completely different person from the one crying a second ago.
"Okay, so what exactly is this terrible situation?" Shirou asked.
"Uh-huh. Actually, the student council got assigned this super annoying job," Isshiki said, hanging her head low. Just remembering it seemed to suck the life out of her.
"Annoying job? What kind of job is it?" Shirou asked, noticing how gloomy she suddenly looked. He had a bad feeling—it must've been quite serious if she was asking him for help.
"Christmas is coming up, right? We have to coordinate with nearby high schools to organize a Christmas event for the local community, mainly for elderly people and kids," Isshiki explained slowly.
"A joint event? Yeah, that definitely sounds like a pain. Who came up with that idea?" Shirou asked, puzzled.
"Senpai~ How could I have come up with something so troublesome?" Isshiki giggled playfully, winking at him like she was accusing him of asking something he already knew the answer to.
"So someone proposed it, and you just agreed immediately?" Shirou asked, guessing based on her personality.
"As expected of Senpai! So smart~!" she clapped her hands and praised him.
"Uh-huh. Then I'm heading back to the club. Good luck," Shirou said as he turned to head back to the archery club.
"Waaaah! Don't go, Senpai~! I can't handle this on my own! And everyone's busy during Christmas!
People with friends are going out, and people without friends are grinding FGO's Christmas event!
If you don't help, I won't be able to get NP5 Riding-on-a-Sheep Attila-chan(Altera the San(ta))!" Isshiki wailed as she clung to the back of Shirou's uniform, pulling hard to stop him from walking away.