Chapter 88, Chapter 76, the Service Club missing one person.
“Yuigahama-san didn’t come today either.”
Within the Service Club, just before the club activities were due to end, Yukinoshita Yukino gently closed her book.
A clear and ethereal voice caught Hachiman Hikigaya’s attention, causing him to stiffen momentarily, then the sound of turning pages rang out together with his unclear muttering, “Hmm…”
“It could be something.” She sighed lightly, her sharp gaze immediately focusing on Hachiman Hikigaya whose eyes were evasive and full of guilt, “Did you do something? Did you quarrel with Yuigahama-san?”
“No… how could that be…” He rebutted, stating defiantly despite having no substantial grounds, “In the end, quarrels only happen between close friends.”
Indeed, there was not enough of a relationship between him and Yuigahama to reach the point where they would quarrel, so that incident couldn’t really count as one. If he had to put it another way, two people misunderstanding each other, being forced to stay together, and parting ways again after the misunderstanding was resolved.
“Your curse energy betrayed you,” Yukinoshita Yukino pointed out bluntly, “It seems you haven’t been properly practicing your control over your curse energy.”
“Hmm…” A stiffness crept over Hachiman Hikigaya’s face.
I forgot about this all, why does Senior Lin Qi teach everything to Commander Yukinoshita? Will there be nothing I can hide from her?
No, by that conversation, resetting my relationship with Yuigahama should have calmed me down. On the contrary, if I hadn’t done that, my restlessness would cause fluctuations in my curse energy… Could it be that she’s bluffing?!
What a despicable woman!
In any case, tonight Hachiman Hikigaya decided to go home and thoroughly review his past incidents, giving himself a strong dose of reflection. Until he could perfectly control his curse energy to prevent any outburst due to emotional instability, he vowed he wouldn’t show his face to Yukinoshita Yukino again.
“You should confess your crime; it might reduce your sentence,” said Yukinoshita Yukino.
“No, I merely cleared up the misunderstandings with Yuigahama; why should I be sentenced?”
Stuck for words, Hachiman Hikigaya explained from the beginning to the end — from saving her dog during the start of term to conversing with her.
“Gentle girls treat me the same as others, but I always forget this fact. If reality is cruel, then lies must surely be gentle. So gentleness is a lie, hence I detest kindhearted girls…”
Hikigaya lowered his head and spilled out his heart, clutching the paperback tightly.
“Hey, dead-eyed kid,” Lin Qi suddenly interrupted, “Could you be a child lacking love all along?”
“S-sigh…”
Lin Qi’s words stabbed like a sword, leaving him instinctively holding the collar at his chest.
“Surely not, a girl who occasionally talks to you, takes care of you alone in school, makes you think she has feelings for you?”
“Mmm!”
Hikigaya suddenly lifted his head, staring at Yukinoshita Yukino in shock — as if saying, how did you know?
“Just as I thought,” Lin Qi smirked, pointing with Yukinoshita Yukino’s fingers and mocking him cruelly.
Unable to speak or get angry, Hikigaya could only roll in his internal world amidst the shame of his dark history.
“Enough now, don’t exaggerate,” Yukinoshita Yukino pressed down her right hand controlled by Lin Qi with her left hand, “Hikigaya-kun has suffered enough from your overt ridicule.”
Hey, stop, you’re not comforting but stoking the fire!
“Oh, it’s been a long time since I met such an idiot.” Lin Qi laughed, nearly catching his breath, “The self-centered affection leading to suffering, finally becoming reluctant to trust others’ feelings, truly fits the bill.”
“…” Hikigaya pursed his lips.
“Stay like that, it’s better,” Lin Qi sincerely encouraged him.
“Heh… I agree, haha…” A stiff smile tugged at the corner of Hikigaya’s mouth.
“Alright, Parasitic Bug, don’t cause trouble anymore,” Yukinoshita Yukino stopped further teasing of poor Hikigaya, “Regarding this issue, I think you’re overcomplicating it.”
“Hehe, is that so.”
“Just as you said, it was a misunderstanding. Neither you nor Yuigahama intended to show kindness to each other, thus neither of you was in need of pity. In this incident causing misunderstandings, both of you are victims, aren’t you? Then shouldn’t the blame be placed on the aggressor?”
Yukinoshita Yukino declared solemnly, “The car that hit you was actually driven by my family’s car.”
“Eh…” Hikigaya was taken aback, although he had suspicions, the confirmation still caused surprise.
“I was in the car,” Yukinoshita Yukino said.
After revealing the long-held truth, the young girl felt much relieved.
Had it not been for Lin Qi and these harsh yet inevitable happenings, she definitely couldn’t reveal the truth so calmly.
“Hmm…” Hikigaya was speechless.
“Strictly speaking, the perpetrator should be the driver of the car,” added Lin Qi, “Because Yukinoshita was merely sitting inside.”
“Hah…” Hikigaya looked perplexed, but Lin Qi was right: Yukinoshita Yukino was only seated in the car and did nothing, thus not deserving the role of perpetrator.
Her status should be that of an observer.
However, it seemed as though Yukinoshita herself wanted to take the blame.
Lin Qi knew Yukinoshita was spiraling too deeply and spoke out preemptively to interrupt her build-up.
“But, it might be a good thing that Yuigahama is absent,” reminded Hikigaya suddenly remembering something crucial, “Previously, Yuigahama almost got attacked by a cursed spirit.”
“That’s true…” Yukinoshita Yukino pondered.
Certainly, having Yuigahama continue within the Service Club poses risks considering potential cursed spirit attacks, as well as hindering their discussions on the jujutsu world.
“We’ll leave things as they are.”
…
After School – Become a Jujutsu Sorcerer
