Chapter 27: MAX Coffee

…

After leaving the classroom, Himekoji Akito noticed Yukinoshita.

She was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, eyes closed. Perhaps because the aura around Yukinoshita felt so icy cold, there wasn’t a single person nearby. It was very quiet.

Wait, no one?

Ah, no no, sorry. He hadn’t seen Hikigaya on the other side at first.

But really, huddling like that… he had practically no presence…

None of the three spoke, nor did they intend to. Was this the shared understanding among loners?

Anyway, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Because of that, the conversation inside the classroom drifted to them clearly, even if it was broken.

“…Um, sorry. I feel uneasy if I don’t go along with others… or rather, I end up watching their expressions without realizing it… Maybe, this disgusts you.”

Only Yuigahama’s voice was audible; Miura didn’t seem to choose to respond. So Yuigahama’s voice continued—

“How to put it? I’ve always been like this. Like, even when playing Little Witch Doremi games, I actually wanted to be Doremi or Notenkou-chan. But other kids wanted those roles too, so I always ended up being Hazuki-san… Anyway, as a kid raised in an apartment building, I got used to being surrounded…”

“Have no idea what you’re on about?”

Finally, Miura’s voice came from inside the classroom.

“Right, yeah, actually, I don’t really know what I’m saying either… But, seeing Hikki, Yukino-chan, and Hime… umm… I started thinking. Even though they have no one around them, they’re still happy. Even though they speak their minds without minding the other person, it still feels like they’re taking care of each other…”

A choked, tearful voice made her words fragmented.

Each time Yuigahama faltered, Yukinoshita’s shoulder reacted. Her eyes half-opened slightly as she tried to peer into the classroom.

Idiot! You can’t see from here! If you’re really worried, just go straight in. Such a tsundere.

And, why doesn’t that idiot inside finish saying the name after “and”!? Being vague like that just makes people more curious!

“Looking at them, I suddenly felt like my whole life spent desperately trying to fit in might have been a mistake… Hikki is just so… Hikki, you know? Laughing to himself reading book during lunch break… though it’s creepy, it seems happy.”

Creepy… Pfft!

Only here did Himekoji Akito and Yukinoshita find agreement. They both couldn’t hold back a quiet laugh.

However, Yuigahama’s next words shut Himekoji Akito right up. He stopped smiling instantly.

“And Himekoji, he’s just too… er, too energetic, too optimistic! Even though people always criticize, mock, or misunderstand him…”

“Not misunderstanding.”

Hikigaya suddenly cut in beside him, sounding casual.

Himekoji Akito felt a pain. (Lit. balls ache, used idiomatically for exasperation/dismay).

Hey, why are you so vengeful!? Just because I couldn’t help laughing at you that one time? But Yukinoshita laughed too! Go pick on her if you dare. Honestly, we’re both miserable enough without hurting each other more, right?

Of course, before laughing at Hikigaya, Himekoji had never bothered with noble thoughts about not hurting each other or anything like that.

Yuigahama’s voice continued—

“Even so, Himekoji keeps on being himself, never hesitating or losing heart. Even when doing something totally wrong, he’s always energetic and full of fighting spirit…”

“So, someone like that is obviously a pervert. Everyone knows it. No need to say it again.”

Miura seemed puzzled why Yuigahama was saying this and cut her off with her own summary.

Exactly! Saying things like this only proves he’s a pervert, one hundred percent!

Also, could she not use the word “optimistic”? It made his life sound rather pathetic.

Seriously, am I part of the “Optimism Clan” or something?

While brooding over this, Himekoji Akito suddenly felt two pairs of incredibly complex eyes fixed straight on him.

Damn! Instantly feeling pitied!

But regardless of Himekoji Akito’s feelings, the conversation inside the classroom seemed to be reaching its end.

“So… I started having this kind of thought myself. To stop forcing myself and live more freely… But, this isn’t because I dislike Yumiko-san. So… can we keep being friends from now on?”

“…Oh. Fine. Yeah.”

Miura’s voice, for some reason, sounded slightly tight, yet also almost relieved. Then, “clack,” Miura Yumiko snapped her phone shut.

“We, of course, can be friends. No… we always were friends, weren’t we?”

“…Sorry. Thank you.”

Just listening to that voice, you could practically picture Yuigahama’s trademark goofy, innocent smile.

A happy ending for everyone, as expected.

…

After that, the conversation inside the classroom stopped. The “pat, pat” sound of Yuigahama’s footsteps approached. Yukinoshita also quickly straightened up, moving away from the wall.

“Well, well. She managed to say it properly just fine.”

In that moment, Yukinoshita smiled.

A pure, flawless, perfect smile.

Himekoji saw it by accident and quickly looked away.

What the hell! I’m gonna go blind!

However, the smile vanished as quickly as a flower’s bloom. In just an instant, her face returned to its usual frosty mask.

While Himekoji Akito was still replaying that smile in his mind, the girl had already left without a care, disappearing down the hallway.

So, as Himekoji Akito and Hikigaya were left looking awkwardly at each other, the classroom door “scraped” open—

“Huh? Wh-why are you guys here?”

Himekoji Akito immediately turned his face away and started whistling innocently, trying to bluff his way out. But Yuigahama’s face was already bright red.

“Did you hear everything?”

“Nope,” Hikigaya flatly denied with a totally rotten, lifeless expression and tone.

“So what if we heard? Think we wanted to listen?” Himekoji Akito, acting utterly shameless, completely threw her under the bus instead.

“You heard everything?! You were eavesdropping?! Gross! Creeps! Perverts! Also also… Gross! Unbelievable! Utterly disgusting! It’s just too, too, too disgusting!”

“Could you be a little nicer?!” Even Hikigaya, a professional target for criticism, seemed unable to take such a direct barrage of insults. He glared with his Dead Fish Eyes and made a request.

“Hah? Nice now? And whose fault do you think this is?!”

Yukinoshita’s! It’s totally Yukinoshita’s fault!

Hikigaya and Himekoji Akito answered simultaneously in their hearts.

“Anyway, that’s what happened! You guys actually listened in! Gross! Unthinkable! Too disgusting! It’s really, really, really too disgusting!”

Yuigahama insisted. Or rather, just repeated herself.

Nothing to be done. Time for Himekoji Akito, experienced and skilled in handling abuse, to step in.

This seasoned expert expertly adopted a teasingly dissatisfied look, then suddenly flashed a cheeky grin: “Hey, Yuigahama. Call me those names a bit more. Love it.”

Then, the very next second—

Yuigahama: “…”

Hikigaya: “…”

It was very effective.

Thick black lines covered the two guys’ foreheads.

“Are you a pervert?”

“As expected of a pervert.”

The two of them said, one sentence each.

Right after that, it fell into an eerie silence for half a minute, and finally, they skipped over this awkward scene.

When Yuigahama spoke again, she suddenly thanked Hikigaya.

“Thank you, for helping me just now.”

“No… and I didn’t help at all.”

Seeming unused to being thanked, Hikigaya’s stiff body trembled as he raised his right hand to scratch his cheek.

“Also, in the end… that guy over there actually did better.”

Wow, what I did was acknowledged by Hikigaya. Did he see me standing up bravely and fall for me? Even though there’s no chance with you, Dead Fish Eyes, still thanks.

“Tch, I don’t want to thank that pervert!”

Hey, didn’t you thank him earlier in the classroom? So saying this insincerely now has no persuasion.

As soon as she finished speaking, Yuigahama suddenly stuck out her pink tongue in a cute taunt and ran off.

Are you an elementary school student? Don’t run around in the hallway!

Though I wanted to say that, what came out was another line—

“Hey, your drink!”

In the morning, Yuigahama had asked him to buy a drink, and Himekoji still hadn’t found a good chance to give it to her. Now, this opportunity shouldn’t be missed; with no one around, he pulled it straight from his pocket and threw it casually from a few meters away.

The girl caught it unsteadily after fumbling.

When she lifted her face, her cheeks were surprisingly flushed pink.

Hey, you only ran a few steps, is that needed?

“I… I wanted barley tea.”

Yuigahama said this softly. She held the MAX coffee tightly in both hands, but her eyes wouldn’t look toward Himekoji, instead shifting lightly across the ground between them.

“Oh, who remembers what flavor you like anyway?”

Actually, when Himekoji was buying it, the barley tea was sold out.

“What? Take it or leave it, if not, return it to me.”

Himekoji was speechless. After finally treating her to a drink, how did he bump into someone so picky?

“How can you give a gift and then ask for it back?”

As Yuigahama said this, without waiting for Himekoji’s reply, she suddenly carried the MAX coffee and ran off again.

Her figure vanished quickly at the end of the hallway.

…

“You like her?”

Hikigaya, who had watched the whole show and seemed to grasp something, asked instantly like a surprise attack.

“I like you though.”

Himekoji rolled his eyes impatiently.

“Hmm, that’s actually more realistic.”

“Realistic what!”

…

So, in pretty much this way, things like school romance dramas still had nothing to do with Himekoji.

Somebody quietly and cleverly set a flag like this.