.
[-Continuation-]
[-Next Day-]
[-Location : Hikigaya Household(:Morning)-]
.
[Hachiman's POV]
I slammed a sheaf of papers against the table.
Its contents were as inscrutable as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
"…what did I expect from him?"
It was early in the morning. As my eyes fell over the words on the page, a strange chill ran down my spine. The cause of this uncomfortable sense of déjà vu was, of course, the outline for the next volume of Writer Zaimokuza Yoshiteru's story, which he had put excruciating detail into.
Would it have killed him to finish the first volume before starting the next one?
The story made no sense whatsoever, and there were glaring plot holes just from the outline.
Everything was crap. So I wrote it in red.
This.Is.Crap.
…there, all good now.
.
.
[-Same Day-]
[-Location : Soubu High-]
.
[Hachiman's POV]
Sixth period finally ended after boring me to tears.
Since I was a steady and diligent student, I didn't talk to anyone during class and spent the time in silence(:dozing off).
Incidentally, sixth period was an oral communication class, so I was forced to converse in English with the girl sitting next to me, only for her to start playing with her phone the moment it began.
I thought I would get told off by the teacher who was looking around, but she didn't notice me thanks to my Unique Skill of erasing my presence, so I could relax.
I expected no less of myself.
…except I couldn't actually turn that skill off.
As those thoughts went through my mind, a silly commotion was unfolding behind me, as if saying - 'This is youth!'
…
.
Without paying much attention to their needlessly loud discussions, I quietly exited the classroom and made my way to the Guild room(:Club) on the fourth floor.
I slid open the door, without bothering with a formal announcement, a practice I had abandoned long ago as it was deemed unnecessary.
In the heart of the [Service Guild], Yukinoshita Yukino sat in her usual spot with her typical cold and unchanging expression.
The only difference this time was that she was reading a fashion magazine instead of her usual paperback novel.
How uncharacteristic of her.
She also shifted over to the summer dress code, instead of her blazer, she was wearing the school-prescribed summer vest. School-prescribed was a synonym for tacky-looking, but Yukinoshita gave off a refined air when she wore it, and she looked strangely good in it.
Or there is nothing strange about it.
"Yo." I greeted.
Yukinoshita let out a short, terse sigh. "Oh, it's you, Hikigaya."
After that, her eyes instantly dropped back to the fashion magazine.
"I take it you are aware of the context of the book you are holding."
"Seriously. That's your first thought."
"I never said it was the first thing I thought, per se. In fact, the first thing I thought was that you look good even in your summer vest." I admitted not hiding my thoughts.
"...thanks, I guess." She reposed in a monotone tone.
Oh, that's new. I thought I would be once again branded as a pervert.
As the awkwardness settled in the air, I wondered what to say.
Well, now that is really awkward, I think Yukinoshita was in the same situation, though she was acting by turning the pages of the magazine.
Luckily, I was in the middle of taking my seat, so I continued, putting my bag aside and not stopping there. I opened my bag and took out a book of my own.
…the silent, awkwardness in the air slowly diluted by the time I completely settled.
.
Time started ticking in as usual.
…and soon a minute passed by.
I sat on the chair, semi-cross legged, leaning one hand behind the top rail and holding a book in the other hand.
"So, Yuigahama is not coming." Yukinoshita finally broke the long silence.
Yuigahama hadn't shown her face in the clubroom for the past few days. Perhaps Yukinoshita had been hoping she would come today.
"Who knows? Maybe she is busy with some other work." I responded carefreely.
"The day before yesterday she had a physical examination at the vet's, and yesterday she had some errands to run at home…" Yukinoshita whispered quietly as she gazed at the screen of her cell phone.
She was probably looking at the text messages Yuigahama had sent her – the messages that had never reached me.
"So you guys are texting each other back and forth…?" I questioned, my voice implies being left alone.
"She didn't text you? That's odd…?" Yukinoshita sounded perplexed.
So, she doesn't know? But more than that, I am interested in what she said in the second part.
"What's odd about her not texting me?" This time, I was the one with the puzzled look.
"Well, you see, Yuigahama seems to enjoy texting with you."
"?.?.?.?" The need to open my mouth to express my confusion was nonexistent, as my facial features conveyed it with the utmost accuracy.
Looking at my baffled expression, Yukinoshita proceeds with a more detailed version.
"You remember when Yuigahama had to sleepover at my house because you set the meeting time with Kawasaki for the morning [5:00]…."
"You don't have to stress it to say it is all my fault, you know." I replied with annoyance.
Unbothered, she continued. "At that time, she seemed really upset about not getting a reply from you. And she also called you an 'idiot' and said, 'Is this how you text a woman?' and it was like she was expecting something more. So I thought she liked to text with you more than she does with me."
Ooh, now she is complaining about trivial things like text messages.
"I think you got the wrong idea. In fact, that was the last time I texted her, or she texted me both ways…"
"I see." That was all I got as a reply, and we both moved on to doing our own activities.
It was quiet in the clubroom.
The only noise that could be heard was the flimsy sound of Yukinoshita turning the pages of her magazine.
That reminded me. Our club has been full of ruckus lately. In the beginning, when only Yukinoshita and I were around, silence reigned. When it didn't, the two of us were just abusing each other.
–b..urr..rr!(:mobile notification)
Then the silent air that was built was broken by the small disturbance of vibration sound produced by a cell.
The vibration sound was so small that if it were another time, it would have gone unnoticed by its owner.
The phone belongs to Yukinoshita, and the sound is a notification of a message.
"Sorry about that…" Yukinoshita first apologized to me for disturbing my peaceful reading time, which was all over the place to begin with.
I replied. "I don't mind."
Yukinoshita then proceeded to check out the reason for the notification sound as she took out her phone.
…
After a few seconds, she closed her flip phone and put it aside.
Yukinoshita opened her mouth. "I just received a text from Yuigahama. She said she won't be coming today either."
"I see." And NO, I wasn't trying to imitate Yukinoshita.
"Did you perhaps have a talk with Yuigahama?" Yukinoshita asked, as if understanding the reason behind Yuigahama's sudden reverence for club activities.
"I did." I reveled.
"Is this what you were talking about when you asked for my help at that time…?" Sighing softly, she looked up and asked, mentioning our conversation.
"To some extent."
"Say, Hikigaya, if I had helped you then, could this have been avoided?" Yukinoshita questioned me seriously, wanting to know my opinion.
"..." I took a moment to think properly and replied. "Probably not."
Yeah, honestly, my intention was never to ask for or expect to receive any help from Yukinoshita regarding this matter. All I wanted was to give her a heads up beforehand. And that's what I did.
"..." After a moment of silence similar to mine, she asked to move on. "So what now? If Yuigahama no longer intends to come…"
"I am surprised you are not blaming me…" I expressed.
"It can't be helped. You just said you couldn't avoid it."
"And if she really isn't coming because of a 'small' conflict you have mentioned, which I presume is a 'small one' then I think it's better this way as it was bound to happen sooner or later."
She is ruthless, isn't she….? And isn't she talking a little more than usual? It was like our roles were reversed while she was doing all the talking, and I responded with small sentences.
"Why don't you ask her?" Keeping my thoughts to myself, I asked.
Yuigahama was still keeping in contact with Yukinoshita, so she would probably answer her if she asks.
But Yukinoshita shook her head weakly. "I won't go that far."
She continued. "If I asked her, she would probably answer that she would come. Even if, perhaps, she did not want to… she would most likely do it anyway."
"Yeah, I guess…"
.
[To be continued…]
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