Remnants of Order: The Election Labyrinth
Yuuji Asakura never planned to be in the spotlight. He’s fine coasting where nobody notices him. Yet somehow, after a vote gone wrong, he’s on the ballot for the Harmori High Student Council president. Each vote could change everything. How did he even get here?
It starts on a humid day in May. The class rep blurts out nominations. Yuuji is busy working on his sketchbook. Suddenly, the room looks at him while ink spills over his math notes.
— “Yuuji, you’ll do it, right?” grins Natsumi Handa, never letting a friend idle. He tries to brush her off, mumbling that there are better choices. Most laugh. Not the vice-principal, who now assumes Yuuji will run.
Two days of rumors race down the halls. Being president sounds like an uphill job. Meetings, class forums, club budgeting. Yes, Harmori’s had some wild elections – one year, a pet rabbit almost won on a technicality.
“If anyone can sort this right, maybe it’s you,” calls Haruki Saito, a quiet but serious first-year who stalks nearby as Yuuji grabs bread from the vending machine.
In his head, Yuuji debates why he was picked out—He’s not flashy, never a top scorer. Does that sound like any president you know? Or maybe that’s the point.
By next morning, Yuuji faces the councilroom gates. Natsumi ropes him into a meeting with the current Student President, Nanami Suzuhara. She’s strict yet wishes, just once, for things to go smooth. “Don’t think too much. If you believe in fixing what we’ve got, people will follow.”
What’s the worst that could happen? Well, an anonymous mail spreads across groups, trashing all the candidates. Rival parties surface overnight: the Literature Club’s thinkers, Track’s ‘discipline-first’ pack, Colorful Club leaders with wild ideas like vending-machine grants for every club.
Yuuji skips lunch, stunned. In comes Renji, his former-deskmate and classic joker. Renji slides into the sunlit windowsill: “Run with me. We’ll change this place, one prank, one idea at a time. Don’t say no now.”
You ever feel the weight of a small choice blowing up in your face? Is luck real, or do we all make our own fate? If you could lead, would you shrug or would you step up?
Reports of the smearing messages start growing. Vice President Mei Tanaka brings leaks showing official correspondence is at risk of hacking. The tension doubles, especially once rumors sprout claiming school staff could meddle in the final count.
Natsumi, upbeat but sharp, begs for unity. “Maybe confidence isn’t about being right but showing up?” So the odd crew — an artist, a nerd, a jokester — piece together their program in Mr. Takeuchi’s empty history classroom weekly.
Numbers start changing. On Tuesday, leading by two points. Friday, plunging beneath the Basketball Club by seven. It’s never stable. Meanwhile, baked goods vanished from the staff room, making everyone edgy if you want to know about side dramas.
Clubs swarm them for campaign debates. Old Recital Hall, four in the afternoon.
The panel moderator barely keeps up. One leader throws shade. “You can’t even manage your own time—what makes you think you’ll handle ours?” Yuuji glances down, ink thread running on his hand (from doodling). He nearly walks—but then stares straight at the audience:
“Maybe the thing we’re weak in is being too alone. But that’s why we’re up here now. Even if we mess up, let’s agree to care for the school for real. No masks. No excuses.”
Packed seats stay silent, then dim giggles spark a chain outburst. Will words be enough? Real doubt swims with him, but something does shift. Confidence or just nerves, he can’t tell.
Are school elections a farce — or do they show who’s really ready to take charge? Did you ever doubt your ability until the test arrived unplanned?
Last day to sway the votes, and news drops: Mei and Renji hack out a path to reveal who’s behind the smear campaign. All trails lead to an unthinkable source—the vice-principal, desperate for her own chosen candidate to win.
Natsumi types furiously, prepping evidence while Renji produces a log for the school-wide forum. Naked truth by sunset.
But it’s not so closed. Just as Yuuji walks up to the school entrance, above them unfolds a strange projection on the wall, someone else’s manifesto video hijacking the day: “It’s time a student council mattered. You’ll never silence us. We run things from the club floor to the gates; pick wisely—”
Without a word, Yuuji grips his sketchpad. Across from him, every rival, friend, or onlooker turns, ready for whatever happens at tomorrow’s election—even as the school moderators scramble to pull down the video feed and find who’s now playing puppet master to every group in the school.
What choice means most—cheating or action, quiet protest or tough truth—if you had the keys for one week only, would you risk shaking it up for everyone? The real count comes next. Doors crack, students lean in…the day after can’t come soon enough.
