Ayuzawa Misaki—Seika High's fearsome "Demon President"—has a secret no one can ever know: she works part-time at a maid café to support her family. But when she stumbles upon a first-year student practicing hypnosis in the student council room, her carefully guarded double life begins to unravel.
Rumors of photos showing the president in a maid uniform spread through the school like wildfire. As Misaki scrambles to contain the damage, she discovers the hypnosis was no mere "practice"—and the on
Maid-Sama! If: The Hypnosis of an Unrequited Love - The Iron Fist Faction's Trap and the Runaway Hypnosis — The President, Surrounded on All Sides on Monday
Monday morning. The front gates of Seika High were wrapped in the same bizarre fever pitch as always.
"Kyaaaa! Yukimura-kun, you're so cute again today!"
"That smile of his is seriously unfair... it's bad for my heart."
Ayuzawa Misaki watched the scene from a distance, her temple twitching. Her black hair was tied back in a single semilong ponytail, her uniform worn crisp and proper, and the air around her crackled with its usual tension. Her deep brown eyes were narrowed sharply in irritation.
(Haah... again, huh.)
Despite how desperately she'd tried to stop it, Yukimura Shouichirou was once again perfectly turned out in a frilled apron dress, bowing at the school gate with "Welcome home, Master, Miss." Soft chestnut hair, a white headband, a big ribbon swaying at his back. At this point, anyone who saw him would call him "Seika High's new idol."
Misaki heaved a deep sigh.
(That guy Kanou... he really did a number on us.)
She remembered yesterday after school, cornering Kanou Soutarou in the student council room. But Kanou had flatly refused to reveal how to break the spell.
—That was when it happened.
From beyond the front gate came a voice she didn't recognize—and yet, somehow, it felt nostalgic.
"Misaki-chaaaan!!!"
That voice cut through the noisy morning crowd at the gate like a clap of thunder.
Misaki's body gave a jolt.
(Misaki... chan?)
Slowly, she turned her face toward the sound.
There stood a boy. He was maybe a head taller than Misaki—around five foot ten. Sun-tanned skin, big round eyes. A boy with the honest, unpolished air of someone raised in the countryside. His bright brown hair stuck up in cheerful spikes.
Beaming, he came sprinting toward Misaki at full speed.
"Misaki-chan! I wanted to see ya! I really, really wanted to see ya!"
—Misaki-chan.
The way he said it. That smile. That slightly countrified way of talking.
From the depths of Misaki's memory, a distant childhood came flooding back all at once.
(Yo... kun?)
Shintani Hinata. A boy who'd lived in her neighborhood when she was little—her childhood friend. He'd always trailed after her like a puppy.
—Back then, he'd been chubbier, she was sure of it.
But the boy standing before her now was slim, and though traces of the old him remained, he'd grown handsome enough to seem like a different person entirely.
Hinata stopped right in front of Misaki and threw both arms wide.
"Misaki-chan! Can I hug ya!?"
"Wha—wait! Stop! What are you doing!?"
Misaki hurriedly thrust out both hands and shoved hard against Hinata's chest.
But Hinata didn't budge an inch.
"Ahaha! Misaki-chan, you haven't changed a bit! I'm relieved to see you're doin' so well!"
Hinata said it with an innocent grin.
Around them, the other students watched with a buzz of murmurs.
"Who's that guy? He's trying to hug the president!"
"And he called her 'Misaki-chan'... who is he?"
"Childhood friend!? Could he be the president's childhood friend!? Kyaa! What's that about—I'm so curious!"
Feeling the curious stares all around her, Misaki kept Hinata pushed back and spoke in a low voice.
"You—why are you here...! I mean, get off me!"
At Misaki's fierce glare, Hinata finally lowered his arms. But his smile didn't fade in the slightest.
"I transferred here! To this school, so I could see ya, Misaki-chan!"
—Transferred.
At that word, Misaki was speechless.
(Transferred...?)
She stared hard at her childhood friend.
(This guy... is he serious?)
Hinata's eyes were direct—he didn't look like he was lying.
—Just then, a cold gaze stabbed into Misaki's back.
She turned around.
From a second-floor window of the school building, a boy was looking down at her.
—Usui Takumi.
His light brown hair swept carelessly, his strange gold-green eyes catching the morning sun with a glint. A small piercing in his left ear.
When their eyes met, the corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.
(What's with that face...)
Misaki felt something stir uneasily deep in her chest.
Takumi slowly drew away from the window.
—But in that moment, Misaki had yet to realize that a far bigger problem was bearing down on her.
Morning homeroom ended, and in the break before first period.
Misaki was heading for the student council room.
(Today I'm getting Kanou to spill how to break Yukimura's suggestion.)
She clenched her fist, renewing her resolve.
—But the instant she opened the council room door, that resolve was smashed to pieces.
Inside the student council room, unfamiliar men were lying in wait.
All of them were the athletic type—big, well-built boys. Ten of them, at a rough count.
The moment Misaki stepped in, they all glared at her in unison.
(What...?)
Misaki stopped short for an instant.
—Then, from the center of the group, one man stepped forward.
He was a full two heads taller than Misaki. Cropped hair, sharp eyes. Around his neck was the armband of the PE Committee Chairman.
—The PE Committee Chairman.
Leader of the boys' coalition that clung to the old all-boys-school customs—known as the "Iron Fist Faction."
Looking down at Misaki from above, he spoke.
"Ayuzawa Misaki. We need to talk."
Misaki didn't retreat a step. She looked up at him.
"What. I have nothing to say to you lot."
The chairman snorted.
"Don't be like that. As president, why don't you tell us how you plan to clean up this school's mess?"
Misaki frowned.
"Mess...? What are you talking about?"
The chairman pulled a single photograph from his pocket.
It was a photo of Yukimura Shouichirou standing at the school gate in a maid outfit.
"This. The vice president is wandering the school in this shameful getup. This is clearly conduct that damages the school's dignity. And the responsibility for all of it rests with you, the president."
Misaki flared up.
"Hold on! Yukimura isn't doing that of his own free will! It's Kanou Soutarou's hypnosis! If you want someone to take responsibility, go talk to Kanou!"
The chairman fixed her with a cold stare.
"Hypnosis? You seriously believe such nonsense? You're just making convenient excuses to dodge responsibility."
"What did you say...!?"
Misaki clenched her fists.
(These guys... they meant to corner me from the start.)
The chairman thrust the photo at her.
"Listen, Ayuzawa. You're throwing this school into chaos. First female student council president, and it's gone to your head, hasn't it? You think a woman like you can trample the traditions of a former all-boys school however she likes?"
At his words, the boys around him stirred.
"That's right, that's right. Damn uppity, for a girl."
"Just quit being president already."
Misaki glared sharply at them.
"...I became president so this school could be a place where girls and boys both belong equally. The 'traditions' you talk about are just an excuse to keep women down."
The chairman snorted.
"Pretty words. Then prove it. Prove you aren't throwing this school into chaos. Prove you aren't working at a maid café. ...If you can."
—Maid café.
At those words, Misaki's heart gave a violent lurch.
(How... how does he know...)
The chairman didn't miss her flinch.
"Hit a nerve, did I? Fine. We'll leave it here for today. But remember this. We will drag you down from that president's seat, without fail."
Leaving those words behind, he led his gang out of the council room.
The door slammed shut.
A heavy silence fell over the room.
Misaki clenched her fists. Her nails bit into her palms.
(Damn it...! Those bastards, my secret...)
Frustration brought tears to her eyes. But she gritted her teeth and held them back.
—That day at lunch.
The whole school was buzzing with a strange rumor.
"Hey, did you hear? They say the president was the one who spread those photos of Yukimura-kun."
"What!? No way! Why would the president do that?"
"Who knows? But the president's always so hard on the boys, right? Maybe she got jealous when Yukimura-kun got so popular, and wanted to embarrass him."
"Is that true...? And I always thought the president was so cool..."
As Misaki walked the hallway, snatches of conversation kept hitting her ears.
(What... is that rumor...)
Misaki stopped in her tracks.
(I spread Yukimura's photos...?)
—Completely baseless.
She had never done any such thing, not once.
(It's them... the Iron Fist Faction must have started it.)
Misaki immediately landed on the culprits.
(Back there this morning, they were planning to use this from the start—to corner me.)
She bit her lip in frustration.
—But Misaki had no means to refute the rumor.
(No proof. No proof that I didn't do it.)
She could only stand by, helpless, and watch the rumor spread.
When she returned to the classroom, no one came near her.
Even the close friends she usually ate lunch with kept their distance today.
(Everyone... suspects me...)
Misaki sat alone at her desk and opened her lunch box.
—But her hand trembled as she held her chopsticks, and she couldn't eat.
(What... what did I even do...)
She felt a hot sting rise in the back of her throat.
—That was when it happened.
The classroom door flew open with a bang.
"Who's pickin' on Misaki-chan!?"
It was Hinata.
His face bright red, he swept his gaze across the classroom.
The classmates stirred.
"Who's that guy?"
"I hear he's the president's childhood friend."
Hinata strode straight up to Misaki's desk.
"Misaki-chan, are you okay? I heard—everyone's sayin' you did somethin' bad."
Misaki looked up at Hinata's face.
(This guy... for my sake...)
Something warm spread through her chest.
But at the same time, another feeling welled up.
(...But if you show up now, it'll only make the rumor bigger.)
Misaki looked away from him.
"...It's none of your business. Leave me alone."
Hinata's face fell, as if wounded.
"Misaki-chan..."
Misaki couldn't bring herself to look at him.
(Sorry, Hinata. But right now...)
She closed her lunch box and stood.
"I'll be in the student council room. ...Don't follow me."
Leaving those words, Misaki left the classroom.
Hinata just stood there, watching her go.
—After school.
Misaki sat alone in the student council room, staring out the window.
The sky was heavy with clouds.
(What... what am I supposed to do?)
She heaved a deep sigh.
(The Iron Fist Faction is trying to force me out. The rumor's already spread through the whole school. And allies... I have none.)
Takumi's face surfaced in her mind.
(Usui... if it's him, maybe...)
She picked up her smartphone to consult him.
—But just then, the council room door opened without a knock.
Misaki turned.
Standing there was Usui Takumi.
"Yo, president. Whatcha doing?"
The moment Misaki saw his face, something in her chest gave a tight squeeze.
(He... he came for me...)
She set her smartphone on the desk and turned to face him.
"Usui... did you hear? The rumor going around school."
Takumi shrugged.
"Hmm, what might you mean?"
Misaki felt a flicker of irritation at his attitude.
"Don't play dumb! The rumor that I spread Yukimura's photos! You've heard it too, haven't you!"
Takumi didn't flinch at all at her ferocity.
"Ah, that rumor. Yeah, I've heard it. But what about it?"
Misaki was at a loss for words.
(What... about it...?)
She stared hard at his face.
(Didn't he... come here because he was worried about me...?)
She felt something deep in her chest turn cold.
"...Don't you have something to say to me?"
Takumi shoved his hands in his pockets and looked out the window.
"Not really. It's got nothing to do with me."
—Nothing to do with him.
That one phrase drove deep into Misaki's heart.
(I see... so it's nothing to do with you.)
She bit her lip.
(No matter how cornered I am... it's nothing to do with you.)
Misaki looked away from him.
"...I see. Then get out."
Takumi glanced her way.
"President, it's dangerous to carry everything alone."
Misaki glared at him.
"I don't want to hear that from you! Get out!"
Takumi gave a sma
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