Crossover: After deciding to give up, i became popular

"Finally done…" Kanade Natsukawa exhaled deeply, stretching his back.

He had spent nearly the entire day in the student council room, managing to finish all pending tasks just before club activities ended.

"So much work on a Monday already… You guys must've had a hard time before."

"Not really. We filtered out everything we could handle. The rest were matters that required the president's decision," Kaguya Shinomiya replied, taking Kanade's teacup and refilling it.

"An entire week's worth of issues?"

"Yes."

"…" Kanade was momentarily speechless.

No wonder the workload seemed overwhelming; it turned out most of it was left over from the previous week.

"With your capabilities, Kaguya, couldn't you all have just made the decisions yourselves? Why leave them undone?"

Back when Kanade had resigned, he had told Shirogane to handle things as he saw fit during the transition. Yet, Shirogane had kept messaging him for advice, acting like a part-timer unsure of his role.

This left Kanade with mixed feelings—like a boss who used his resignation as an excuse to dump all the work on his subordinates and take a vacation.

What had only been a passing thought then now felt like undeniable reality after returning to the council.

"We've always believed that you would return to lead us, President, so we didn't want to overstep our bounds."

Kanade: "…"

Ouch. That stung his conscience a little.

If it were just Chika Fujiwara, Kanade might have suspected an excuse for laziness. But hearing this from Kaguya Shinomiya, he knew it reflected everyone's genuine belief.

Amusingly, all the leftover tasks had piled up for him to deal with anyway—a predicament entirely of his own making.

Still, being back in the council and spending time with everyone again made such concerns seem trivial.

"Kaguya, do you have plans later?" Kanade asked, taking a sip from the freshly poured tea.

Kaguya's body stiffened, a wave of disbelief flooding over her.

Was the president… inviting her out?!

This was an incredible stroke of luck—the first time he'd ever made such an offer! Would they take a walk? Go home together? Or perhaps… share dinner?

Where was Hayasaka? Ai? Someone, please step in to hold off her family's interference!

Caught in her emotional turmoil, she completely abandoned her plan to "pretend to hand him tea and accidentally touch his hand."

"Kaguya?"

"Yes! Of course, I'm free!"

"Good, then I'll leave you in charge of the student council. I've got something to take care of, so I'll head out now. Here's the key for safekeeping." Kanade nodded, picked up his belongings, and left without a backward glance.

Kaguya: "…"

This was nothing like what she'd imagined!

Meanwhile, Kanade, already far from the student council room, was blissfully unaware of the anguished cries echoing within. He was on his way to the school's animal enclosure.

Perhaps it was his earlier encounter with Yukinoshita Yukino that reminded him of a long-forgotten presence—

"Hey there, Snowball…"

Crouching down, Kanade extended a hand, gently stroking the little creature's chin, earning soft "meow, meow" sounds in return.

Snowball—a kitten once jointly cared for by Kanade and Yukinoshita Yukino.

Well, "jointly" wasn't quite accurate, but Kanade had liked to think so. It gave him a sense of connection with Yukinoshita.

He had first encountered Snowball trembling in a bush, its leg bleeding and body covered in injuries.

As a devoted cat lover, Yukinoshita couldn't ignore it, and the two of them had rescued the kitten, nursed it back to health, and, at Kanade's suggestion, sent it to the school's animal enclosure.

There, it received proper care and allowed them to visit often.

The kind-hearted elderly woman in charge of the enclosure had been happy to take it in.

After that, Kanade often used "visiting Snowball" as an excuse to invite Yukinoshita out—until his confession was rejected.

"Sorry, I've been busy lately and haven't visited you much."

"Meow?"

"It's been a while, and you've gotten chubby! Looks like the food here is pretty good."

"Meow!"

"Good, good, you seem full of energy…" Kanade smiled, lifting the kitten in his hands, only to be interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Kanade?" The cold tone made him turn his head, finding none other than Yukinoshita herself.

"…What a coincidence," Kanade sighed, putting Snowball down and switching to gently patting its head.

"I come here at this time every day."

"Alright, I'll avoid this time in the future."

"…" Yukinoshita shook her head but said no more.

She didn't actually mind running into Kanade. She was merely clarifying the "coincidence."

Gracefully, she knelt beside him, holding down her skirt as she crouched.

"Have you been eating well? Don't trouble the caretaker too much, alright?"

Her smile was beautiful, but it had never been directed at him.

"Meow?" Snowball tilted its head, glancing between Kanade and Yukinoshita, as if puzzled by the distance they maintained.

"Don't worry, we're not fighting," Yukinoshita said softly.

Though she wanted to hold Snowball, she hesitated with Kanade nearby.

"Meow."

"Good girl, good girl…"

"What's your plan for the club issue?" Kanade asked, watching the adorable interaction.

"Recruit more members."

"That doesn't seem like your usual style."

"But it's the most straightforward way, isn't it?"

"…" Kanade remained silent.

After a long pause, neither spoke further.

"I'll take my leave now," Kanade finally said, standing up.

Lingering in one spot wasn't his thing.

Yukinoshita hesitated, her lips parting slightly as if to say something, but Kanade had already walked some distance away. Left with no choice, she called out to him.

"Kanade… What are you thinking?"

"Thinking?" Kanade stopped, clearly surprised by her sudden question.

"Snowball's very cute?"

"…"

"If not that, then… probably just how to make the most of each day."

"…"

"Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter. Anyway… goodbye, Yukinoshita." Kanade waved over his shoulder and walked away without looking back.

Holding the kitten close, Yukinoshita gently stroked it.

"Snowball, do you trust him?"

"Meow?"

"Thought so… He's definitely a liar…"

Notes-Read advances chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X, i have finished uploading the whole series in patreon, a total of 274 chapters you can find it in the collections, thanks for supporting me and special thanks to all the patrons for joining