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[-Continuation-]
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[-Hachiman's POV-]
"I guess…. you don't have to worry about my finances either. I-isn't that great….?" My voice crackled with sarcasm as dry as dried out desert.
My eyes were half-closed, and my mouth was twisted in a weird smile that didn't look happy at all.
"....."
Silence.
No reply.
Yep. That wasn't going to cut it, it seemed.
What now?
As I racked my brain, to cobble together a coherent thought, a voice called out from a different direction.
"Huh? Hikigaya? Is that you?"
…??Hm..??
That voice-!?
The sound of my own name, spoken by that particular unfamiliar yet aggravating voice, sent a jolt through my system.
Memories I had written off as 'dark' came rushing back, messing up my consciousness with unwelcome nostalgia.
No. Not her.
Not here.
Not now.
My already on edge body from the conversation stiffened up, only to add up to my irritation, ready to break at the slightest provocation.
Before I even realized it, I snapped my head around so quickly it felt like my neck might crack. My eyes narrowed to the slits of mean-looking, searching for the source of the voice before I even registered who it belonged to.
My brows furrowed so deeply they almost obscured my vision to an extent, but before my brain could fully catch up, my mouth was already moving.
"What!?" I snapped, the word flying from my mouth like a poisoned dart.
My volume wasn't anywhere loud enough to be labelled as 'shout' and is actually relatively close to my normal pitch.
My expression had settled into something neutral, almost eerily blank, as if the fury simmering beneath the surface had found a way to hide in plain sight.
Despite that, the abruptness of my response sent a visible ripple of surprise through the group, pointing out how uncharacteristic I was from my usual.
Anyway, my eyes finally caught on to the source of the interruption, and I found myself face-to-face with two high school girls.
One stood slightly behind the other, using her friend as a human shield against my unexpected hostility.
The girl in front had a short bob haircut with a perm, all bouncy and curly.
But it was the other one who caught my attention - slanted eyes that were now wide with surprise.
She was undoubtedly the one who had called out to me.
"…Orimoto."
I breathed, the name escaping my lips before I could stop it.
In that instant, the puzzle glimpses of my memory snapped into place.
Her full name, Orimoto Kaori.
Isn't she the chick the previous 'me' asked out back in junior high?
Man, I hate this…!
Of all the times for the past to come knocking, it had to choose now.
Orimoto's expression shifted slightly at the sound of her name, though I couldn't tell if it was recognition or discomfort. Probably both.
"Oh, this is a new character!" Haruno's voice chirped, sounding way too excited for the situation.
She and Ryota were the only ones who seemed unaffected by my outburst.
Instead, Haruno's eyes gleamed with curiosity, while Ryota looked on with his usual easy-going smile, oblivious to the undercurrents of tension.
Even Yukinoshita, normally as unflappable as an ice queen, seemed a bit startled. Her eyes were a bit sharper than normal, and her back was extra straight, like she was ready for anything to happen.
As for Orimoto and her friend, their initial reactions had been a mix of shock and, perhaps, a flicker of fear.
But after Haruno's casual commentary broke the moment, their expressions shifted into something else entirely - embarrassment.
However, it wasn't the usual kind of embarrassment - that stems from when you accidentally interrupt someone.
Or find yourself in an awkward situation - which would have made sense given the current circumstances.
No.
Their present embarrassed expression went beyond simple social discomfort.
I could see it in their eyes - the way they glanced at each other and then back at me.
It was the kind of embarrassed look that was shared when you realize you have been startled, maybe even intimidated, by someone you thought was beneath you.
That's how they saw me, after all.
To them, I was still the same weirdo from junior high.
The loner.
The outcast.
The one not worth their time or consideration.
And now, here they were, feeling ashamed - ashamed for letting me, of all people, provoke such a reaction.
I could practically taste the superciliousness in the glances they shared.
But honestly? It didn't bother me one bit.
If that's how they chose to see me, so be it.
Still, as the flare within me began to cool, I realized one thing clearly - I had overreacted, or more accurately, wrongly reacted.
I mean, I didn't feel particularly sorry for Orimoto and her friend.
Sympathy wasn't exactly my strong suit, especially when it came to ghosts from my past.
And honestly, I couldn't bring myself to feel much for them, not after what had gone down back in junior high.
However, I had to admit, at least to myself, that they weren't to blame for my current state of agitation.
For all I knew, the voice calling out could have belonged to a passing waiter or, worse yet, a terrifying thought - it could have been Yukino herself.
That would have made things a hundred times worse.
Realizing my mistake, I felt a twinge of guilt twist in my chest.
I hadn't meant to snap, not like that.
With a weary sigh, I turned back to face the girls, consciously softening my expression and tone.
"Sorry about that. It wasn't my intention."
"...." - "...."
They glanced at each other again, still unsure how to respond, their smiles, forced and awkward.
But I didn't wait for their reaction.
I turned back to our group - Haruno, Ryota, and Yukinoshita.
With a slight nod, I offered them the same apology. More out of courtesy than necessity.
The tension seemed to dissipate slowly.
Yet, Orimoto and her friend stood there, clearly at a loss for how to proceed after their disastrous greeting.
"...." - "...."
They shared another look, a silent conversation passing between them.
It was Haruno who finally shattered the uneasy silence.
She clapped her hands together with such sudden enthusiasm that everyone jumped a little, startled out of their own thoughts.
"Well now." She began with a tone that was far too bright for the situation.
Her eyes scanned Orimoto and her friend, as if she were sizing them up for an elaborate game.
"Those are Kaihin Sougou High School uniforms, aren't they? Not Soubu High."
Her gaze swivelled to me, sharp and knowing, like she had just caught me in some elaborate two-timing scenario. "So, lovely ladies, how exactly do you know, Hikigaya?"
"Oh, um, we attended junior high together." Orimoto stammered, clearly trying to diffuse the situation, but sounding far less confident than she probably intended.
"How exciting!" Haruno exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Hikigaya, why don't you introduce us to your... friends?"
I winced at the word 'friends'. It felt like rubbing salt in an old wound.
From the corner of my eye, I caught Ryota's sympathetic smile. Always the peacemaker, he seemed to sense my discomfort, but remained silent.
Suddenly, I found myself the center of attention, all eyes trained on me, waiting for me to do something. Anything.
"Right, well..." I muttered, feeling that all-too-familiar discomfort clawing at the back of my mind. I fumbled with the words, my voice trailing off like an awkward cough.
"This is Orimoto and... uh..." My hand floundered toward Orimoto's friend, and it hit me, I didn't even know her name.
Great. Just great.
"Nakamachi." The friend supplied quietly, still looking like she wanted to disappear.
"Yes, Orimoto and Nakamachi." I continued. "We were in middle school together. And these are Yukinoshita, Haruno, and Ryota."
Yukinoshita, who had been watching everything with her usual cool gaze, finally spoke up.
"I see." She said, her voice crisp and clear. "It's... interesting to meet some of Hikigaya's former classmates."
The word 'interesting' dripped with sarcasm, as though she had just taken a bite of something unexpectedly bitter but was too well-mannered to spit it out.
It was a verbal eyeroll, wrapped in a veneer of politeness.
I wasn't surprised by her reaction.
If anything, it was expected.
Yukinoshita had likely picked up on the subtle shift in Orimoto's attitude, the almost imperceptible sense of superiority that now clung to her words and actions.
It was a look I had seen countless times before, directed at me - familiar, yet no less irritating for its familiarity.
Yet, despite sensing it, Yukinoshita hadn't shown outright displeasure.
Perhaps, like me, she was still trying to determine if her intuition was correct.
….and I bet it was not only her but the rest of the two also noticed it.
Orimoto shifted a little awkwardly, her eyes darting from younger and eldest Yukinoshita, taking in their appearances.
She was clearly picking up on the undercurrent of tension, but seemed unbothered.
Right. It didn't take long for her natural confidence to reassert itself.
Her friend, though, looked like she was mentally planning her escape route.
But Orimoto?
She was already regaining her confidence, especially now that she stood in front with a familiar face from her past - the 'loner.'
She had that look, the one that said, Oh, right, I was just caught off guard for a moment, but I remember now. He's not someone to be worried about.
With a slight adjustment to her posture, she stood a little straighter, as if physically brushing off the awkwardness of the last few minutes, likely thinking that this encounter wasn't as unsettling as it initially seemed.
When she spoke again, her voice carried a forced cheerfulness that grated on my nerves.
"I never expected you of all the people to enter Sobu High, you know?" She said, her tone a strange mix of admiration and invasive curiosity.
"That's super surprising. You must be even smarter than I thought!" A small laugh escaped her. "I mean, you never really talked to anyone, so I had no idea what you were up to."
Her gaze then drifted to my blazer, which was a clear indicator of my school.
Of all the prominent public college prep schools in the area, the only one with a blazer was mine. You would understand where the student was from with just one glance in this area.
And then, the rest of her interest was directed towards the person sitting next to me, Haruno, as if it were natural.
"Is this your girlfriend?" She asked.
"No…" I barely managed to open my mouth before she barreled on.
"That's what I thought~! I was like no way too!"
As Orimoto cackled, her accompanying friend, also struggling to suppress her own mirth, covered her mouth with one hand.
I opened my mouth to clarify, but someone else beat me to it.
Which, by the way, I wasn't complaining about at all.
"He meant it's not her."
The statement hung in the air, simple yet potent.
I watched, transfixed, as Yukinoshita rose from her seat, her movements are as graceful as a swan taking flight.
She smoothed her skirt with a casual elegance that seemed almost rehearsed, yet entirely natural, like a queen adjusting her robes before addressing her court.
The air around her seemed to shift, colder, sharper, like the first snap of winter.
"I am Yukinoshita Yukino, Hachiman's girlfriend." She announced, her voice carrying the weight of royalty addressing their subjects. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Her gaze swept across our little group, landing on the woman beside me.
"And this..." She continued, gesturing with a sweep of her hand that wouldn't have been out of place in a period drama.
"Is Yukinoshita Haruno, my elder sister."
"Haaa….."
Haruno gave a soft, teasing chuckle in response to the sudden formal introduction but said nothing.
She leaned back, crossing her legs, content to watch the drama unfold like a spectator at a private show.
For just a moment, something passed between the two sisters, something subtle, almost imperceptible to an outsider, but it was there.
A glance, a flicker in Yukino's usually composed expression.
It was brief, a nonverbal exchange so quick that it could've been missed by anyone not paying close attention, but it left an impression.
Her eyes, typically so steady, betrayed a momentary unease.
It was as though she had stumbled upon some internal realization, a thought or emotion that had caught her off guard.
Her composure wavered, just slightly, before she regained control, slipping back into her calm, poised demeanor as though nothing had happened.
But for those few fleeting seconds, something had shifted.
It wasn't enough to cause concern, she seemed okay, her expression once again collected and serene.
For now, I decided to let it go, not pressing the matter.
Yukinoshita was good at handling herself, even when something clearly bothered her.
Instead, I shifted my attention to something a bit more interesting.
By this point, it was more than clear - If Yukinoshita had harbored any doubts about the nature of Orimoto's regard for me, the preceding exchange just now had dispelled them entirely.
Her eyes, usually cool and composed, now held a glint of steel.
It was clear she had judged Orimoto and her friend as unworthy of even basic courtesy.
The words hung in the air, a declaration that felt both defiant and deeply satisfying.
Oh shit. My girlfriend is royally pissed.
For a brief, glorious moment, I savored the looks of sheer astonishment that bloomed on Orimoto and her friend's faces.
Their eyes widened, jaws slackening in disbelief as they took in Yukinoshita's ethereal beauty.
Yeah, I know - she is breathtaking.
And she is with me.
How is that for a plot twist?
….
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[To be continued…]
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