Shuchiin Academy is a beacon for talented students with a bright future ahead of them. The vice-president of Student Council, Kaguya Shinomiya, and the president, Miyuki Shirogane, are attracted to each other, but they are both too proud to be honest about their feelings, so all they do is think about how to get the other person to confess their love. Six months pass without anything happening between them, but then one day, the secretary, Chika Fujiwara, comes in with news about how she won a pair of free tickets to see a movie, a movie that supposedly turns males and females who see it together into romantic couples. This is the trigger that kicks off the romantic game of wits...

For some reason, Kaguya and Shirogane indulge Fujiwara's idea of doing cosplay for the upcoming gathering with students from their sister school in Paris. Deep down, Kaguya thinks it's silly, but when she puts on cat ears, a subdued "meow" escapes her mouth. Moreover, that minor cosplay is an unexpected major hit with Shirogane, an avowed cat lover. He's so bowled over by her cuteness that he isn't able to maintain his usual presence of mind. The situation becomes more complicated when Shirogane follows suit and puts on cat ears, which secretly thrills Kaguya. Unable to hide their thoughts that each other looks cute, the two act weirder and weirder...

As term-end exams approach, the psychological war between Kaguya and Shirogane in the student council room ramps up. Kaguya is an all-around genius, but her pride is hurt because she hasn't yet beaten Shirogane when it comes to academics. Meanwhile, when it comes to making an effort, Shirogane is second to no one and as the president of student council, he refuses to let anyone else usurp his position at the head of the class. The two of them lie through their teeth and employ wiles worthy of Machiavelli in an attempt to get ahead of the other. At last, it's the day of finals, but which of them will the goddess of victory smile upon?

After being forced to bail out on seeing fireworks with her fellow student council members, Kaguya shuts herself up in her dark bedroom. Hayasaka, Kaguya's maid, is worried about her mistress's depressive state. She tries to cheer Kaguya up, and when that doesn't work, introduces a plan to sneak out of the family mansion. Kaguya manages to slip past a pair of vigilant butlers and reaches the venue, but the fireworks display is already over. Kaguya is in tears, since she really wanted to see the fireworks with the others, but then she hears a familiar voice: "Then, I'll show them to you."

On their final day as the 67th Student Council at Shuchiin Academy, the four members clean out the Student Council Room where they find many memorable items, one after the other. From the banner used at the French exchange student welcome party, the deck of cards that was used to cheat during Concentration, the cards from the forbidden word game, the cosplay cat ears, the inappropriate magazine that was confiscated from a student, and the movie tickets for Mr. Birdson of Birdville, each of these items bring back fond memories and they can’t stop talking about their time together. And so, the four leave the empty Student Council Room behind...

In an effort to break out of his shell and become a normie, Ishigami decides to join the cheerleading squad for the school sports festival, but much to his dismay, the team is essentially the “Tribe of Yay!” While Ishigami feels hesitant, the team meeting intensifies fueled by enthusiasm and zeal, where it is decided that all the boys will dress up in girls’ school uniforms while cheering. However, Ishigami, who is a loner, can’t think of any female friends that would casually lend him a uniform. As he begins to consider quitting the team, Kaguya appears…

The student council is asked to model for the Shuchiin Academy brochure. However, Kaguya's family has a strict policy prohibiting her from being photographed for any forms of publicity, and as result, she is unable to participate. As Kaguya longingly observes the rooftop photo shoot, the student council members propose to take a final group photo, solely for private use, on their cell phone, which makes Kaguya very happy. Just then a gust of wind blows across the rooftop, causing her to drop her phone and sending it way down below to the school grounds. Kaguya picks up her shattered cell phone from the floor and begins to reflect on all the photos with everyone she has lost, and becomes overwhelmed with sadness.

One week after enrolling in Shuchiin Academy as a special scholarship student, Shirogane had already regretted that he had come to a school he should not have. The students around him were elites born into famous families. Shirogane, who is from a modest household and enrolled from a school outside of Shuchiin's track, couldn't even find a friend to eat with, so he quietly kills time away from the cafeteria. Just as Shirogane's miserable emotions explode, an upperclassman with a student cap appears in front of him. A shining golden fourragere lays across his chest as proof of student council president. And he says that he's come to recruit Shirogane into the student council.

The moment the culture festival reached its finale, the jewel object made by Shirogane was stolen by a phantom thief who calls himself Arsène. Kaguya and the others headed to the roof where the phantom thief keeps appearing, but there was no one there. Fujiwara, who transformed into a genius detective, struggles to solve the mystery behind the calling card and uncover the thief's true identity. But Kaguya, left behind at the scene of the crime, had begun to figure out the criminal. The problem is the location. Kaguya traced the phantom thief's line of thinking and headed to where he is now...

Shroud in a cape and dressed in the guise of the phantom thief Arsène, Shirogane waited for Kaguya's arrival atop the clock tower roof overlooking Shuchiin. When asked why he would do such a thing, Shirogane answered that there was something he wanted to show Kaguya. The festival's afterparty has already begun as the sun set over this school and the students could be seen encircling and enjoying the bonfire. While the emotions that could not be expressed with words mingled between Shirogane and Kaguya's hearts... Shirogane carried out his ultra-romantic operation!!