[b]HOSHITANI YUUGA[/b]

[color=00aeef]“Oh really?”[/color] Yuuga raised an eyebrow but cringed when Chiyu bowed. This girl really didn’t know how to sugar-coat, huh.

This was not the sort of response he wanted with so many people watching. Were his club members going to think of him as some kind of tyrant? Or was he gonna come off as more of a charismatic diplomat type? He guessed that it depended on what kind of stance he was taking, whatever the mood was. And right now the mood was getting really, awkwardly formal. Yuuga laughed nervously in response. He needed to defuse quickly.

[color=00aeef]“All the clubs, huh? Even those guys on the Kendo team?”[/color]

Damn, was that too on the nose? Too cynical? He must’ve sounded like a salty bastard just then. Quickly now, before the tide of conversation became too unfavourable for the both of them.

[color=00aeef]“I mean… it’s just that…”[/color] More effort into his smile. Don't let the Treasurer know that he had no idea what he was doing. Yuuga scratched his head, recalling President’s rant last week about the other ‘glory-hogging sport hounds’ and their budget bonuses, [color=00aeef]“The Kendo Club’s the school’s clear favourite. Nothing wrong with that. But we’ve got more than twice as many recruits than last year. You’ll have to ask Prez for more details but personally I don’t know how we’re gonna handle these many members with a cut budget. Are you sure there’s no way to work around us?”[/color]

Was that good enough? No, one more push should do it.

[color=00aeef]“And this is just between us,”[/color] Yuuga said lowly, knowing full well that his club members were listening in, [color=00aeef]“But we’ve got a lotta first years still showing up. Wayy more than we can handle with a cut budget. Plus, kyudo's been a staple in the school community for ages! A lotta people could get affected here.”[/color]

His strategically off-hand remark triggered whispers of agreement from the older club members, garnering some small satisfaction in him. Jackpot. Even if he couldn’t negotiate their budget back, it’d still look like he tried.