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[-Continuation-]
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[-Third Person View-]
"Let me drop you off at your apartment today?"
"I don't mind."
…
Hachiman and Yukino entered the familiar street corner, walking side by side.
Having decided the wait was enough, the former sneaked a glance at her and noticed Yukino once again looked unusually lost in thought.
But he has got his own thoughts spinning like a top in his head, which he just finished.
"Yukino... about the letter." The words come out clumsy, not entirely sure how to approach the matter.
Her reaction was instant - too fast, like he had hit a nerve. Her steps slowed, and she turned just enough to meet my gaze.
"Wha–!"
"Let me speak first." She cut him off before he could even begin.
"...?" He blinks, thrown off balance. Yukino isn't usually the type to interrupt, but something in her face tells him to hit the brakes.
"...Okay." He managed, though the uncertainty in his voice was obvious.
"..." - "..."
She didn't respond immediately. A pause settled between them, thick with unspoken thoughts as they subconsciously resumed their walk.
Then, after a few more steps, she finally began.
"When that piece of paper fell near my foot, and when I realized what it might be..."
She paused briefly, though her tone stayed composed, there was something under the surface.
'Anger…?' He felt very unsure.
However, Hachiman was patient and knew she was choosing her next words carefully, like she was walking a tightrope with whatever she was about to say.
She admitted. "I got really angry."
"...huh?" Hachiman blinks, surprised both by her words and his guess.
"I am not sure if the anger was aimed at you or the sender, but it was there…" She continued without caring about his surprised reaction. "And honestly, it doesn't even matter."
Hachiman was immediately overcome by his shock, focusing to follow.
"Hum... It isn't?" Confusion laced his voice.
It didn't matter? Shouldn't they try to figure that out?
But Yukino didn't acknowledge Hachiman's question. It was as if his words floated right past her.
She is clearly not interested in dissecting her feelings - at least not right now.
Getting the hint, Hachiman zips his lips and waits.
Seeing that he wasn't going to interrupt, her brows knit together, as if she were piecing something together in her head.
"Where was I... again?"
She muttered, almost to herself, her voice trailing off as a rare moment of uncertainty flickered across her face.
He almost jumped in to help her out, but before I could, she shook her head slightly, finding her place again.
"Oh, right. I was super angry."
He blinked. Super angry?
For Hachiman, those words felt completely out of place for her, like hearing a strict teacher suddenly use slang.
It was odd, almost jarring, to hear such a casual phrase slip from someone as refined as Yukino.
She either didn't notice his reaction or chose to ignore it, her voice softening as she continued.
"But after thinking more rationally..." Her eyes drop to the ground like they're searching for something. "I started to wonder if maybe... I was wrong."
That caught his attention, raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
Wrong? From Yukino?
He knows her well enough - she has never been one to dodge responsibility for her mistakes.
Yet those moments are as rare as snow in summer, leading many to mistake her for someone inflexible.
"Wrong? How?" So he asked, not hiding his curiosity.
"It's possible that I let my emotions take control." She also in turn didn't hesitate and continued. "And I might have overreacted to something that didn't deserve such... intense feelings."
Overreacted?
The word hung in the air between them.
Hachiman struggled to find clarity in her words.
Did something like that even happen? Or was she referring to the tumultuous reaction she went through internally?
Her next words come out measured. "It wasn't your fault that you got that letter."
She pauses, drawing a steadying breath that makes her shoulders rise and fall. "And I guess it wasn't really the sender's fault either. They were just... trying to express something, I suppose."
Hachiman watches Yukino carefully, noting how her fingers fidget with the hem of her sleeve.
He could feel the weight behind her words and how she was rationalizing the situation in her own way.
She sounded like she was trying to rationalize everything, pushing her emotions aside in favor of a more logical perspective.
But before he could say anything, she added. "So, after reaching this conclusion, I thought... maybe I should act like a mature person and let it go."
"..??.."
"..??.."
A faint pink tinges her cheeks - Yukino herself was startled by her own feelings.
It was the first time she has shown such obvious embarrassment and, more importantly, discomfort while acknowledging a mistake.
The sight is so unexpected that Hachiman nearly misses its significance. This moment strikes him differently than her previous self-reflections.
For Yukino, this isn't the first time she was admitting something she might have been wrong.
In fact, her entire life has been an endless cycle of self-improvement, each day another chance to polish away perceived imperfections.
Before passing judgment on others, she turns that critical eye inward, examining her own actions with merciless precision.
When she finds herself wrong - like now - she typically moves straight to correction mode.
If the mistake can't be fixed, she files it away as a lesson, another rule in her personal guidebook of - What Not To Do.
Hachiman has witnessed this pattern since their first meeting.
Her rigid self-discipline strikes him as both remarkable, painful, and revealing, just how deeply she felt the impact of her choices.
Each mistake isn't just a stumble - it's a crack in her carefully constructed foundation, a flaw she must eliminate.
Today's conclusion from her internal court session comes out quiet but clear.
"What I mean to convey is that my displeasure was unnecessary... unwarranted... and, frankly, childish. So I apologize."
Her smile reminds him of a porcelain mask – beautiful but brittle, threatening to crack at the slightest pressure. The expression doesn't touch her eyes, which remain pools of carefully controlled emotion.
The sight of that forced smile makes something in his chest tighten.
"Come on, do–!" He starts to protest, but she cuts through his words like a blade.
"THEn…" Her voice had taken on a sharp edge.
Her earlier calm and slightly embarrassed expression was replaced by simmering frustration.
She turns to face him fully, her intense gaze piercing through him like she's searching for answers in his soul. "Then why isn't the same process working here?"
He blinked, momentarily taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"I am asking you." Her voice rises like a tide, emotion spilling over carefully constructed walls. Her hands clench at her sides, trembling slightly.
"Why am I still angry, Hachiman?"
Their eyes meet, and he sees everything she's trying to hide - frustration and confusion twisted together, battling for dominance.
The vulnerability beneath her anger was palpable, making it feel like the ground beneath us had shifted.
"I thought I could just… reason my way out of this." She admitted, her voice softer now but still firm. "I believed that understanding would make it disappear."
Her blue eyes dance with determination, even as uncertainty threatens to drown it.
"When I know I was in the wrong... and that you have nothing to do with it–" The words catch in her throat before rushing out like a dam breaking.
"Why am I still angry?"
"I don't want to be angry at you…" A plea wrapped in whispered words, as if she were searching for reassurance.
"Why do I want to act like a childish person?" The question barely reaches his ears, defeating every syllable.
The struggle in her expression spoke volumes, as if she were grappling with emotions too complex to untangle.
Her gaze finds him again, desperate for answers, for understanding, and for something...
"HaaahHH…!" The laugh bubbles up from his chest like champagne, unexpected and unstoppable.
It bubbled up from deep within, catching him off guard as he clutched my stomach.
Yukino's head snaps up, her expression shifting from vulnerable to incredulous faster than a traffic light.
The anger flares in her eyes like struck matches, clearly thinking he is mocking her pain.
But he can't help it.
The absurdity of the situation hits him like a tidal wave.
She is angry because she doesn't want to be angry with him anymore?
The circular logic of it all makes him dizzy with affection.
"Heehhee…" His shoulders shake as another wave of laughter takes hold.
What else could he do?
Here stands this incredible woman, not just defending him against others but fighting with herself for daring to be upset with him.
Maybe I really did drain all my [Luck] stats to get someone like her. He mused.
The thought only makes him laugh harder.
He would trade seven lifetimes of good fortune just to keep her looking at him like this - even when she is furious.
"Haa…" His continued laughter echoes off the walls as Yukino's patience visibly thins, her lips pressing together like she's physically holding back words.
He takes an unsteady step toward her, reaching for her shoulder to steady himself.
The world tilts sideways as his foot catches on nothing but his own clumsiness.
The hallway floor rushes up to meet him with all the grace of an old friend, sending a dull thud through the building.
"Ah... great." He adjusts himself into a sitting position on the cold floor, hands resting on his knees as he fights to catch his breath.
The fall did nothing to stop his grin from spreading across his face.
He glanced up at Yukino, catching the blend of frustration and disbelief etched across her face.
She stood there, back against the door, arms crossed, her eyes locked onto mine with a kind of restrained annoyance.
The silent reprimands gather behind her eyes like storm clouds, but somehow, that only makes the situation more entertaining.
His smile refuses to fade, as stubborn as she is.
"If you don't stop laughing soon, you will die from a lack of oxygen before I get the chance to kill you myself." Her voice dances between irritation and concern.
.
….
[To be continued…]
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