Have I ever mentioned how much I love a good menu?
When you're sitting in a restaurant, be that alone or with friends, the absolute last thing you want is to have people waiting on you to order because you were too busy fumbling through the menu. Of course, I haven't experienced this sort of social calamity, how could I when I have no friends? However, I can still imagine thousands of budding teenagers around the world perplexed by this responsibility, and maybe even feeling that their entire social life may hang on the balance of whether or not the menu of a resturaunt was simple and easy to understand.
In short, I love a good menu.
That is exactly why I am staring at this very well designed menu in front of me, and why I am studying every intricate detail upon said menu, despite having decided what I was going to order quite some time ago.
It has absolutely nothing to do with the, well, what could only be described as a "war zone" that seems to have shrouded the entire table. Of course, the table I'm referring to is the table myself and a number of other socially active teenagers are currently sharing at this popular family resturaunt.
And the "war zone" I'm referring to could only be the intense atmosphere created by both younger and elder Yukinoshita, who both seem to have been invited to this outing.
How in the world did this even happen? I thought it was common knowledge that the two of them were fire and water, and that any social event with the both of them in it was doomed to fail.
Though, Yuigahama's bashful expression of apology does give me a few ideas.
Looking around, I noticed that an abnormal amount of people had been invited and actually showed up to this. What even was "this," are we celebrating or something?
What in the world happened to get so many people together?
I mean, even Shiromeguri-senpai showed up! Does anyone here even have her number? Well, actually yeah, Yuigahama probably does.
"Hello, Nee-chan. How have you been?"
Oh wait, I forgot. The two of them haven't even begun conversing yet. The intensity of Yukino's gaze towards her sister was so strong that I hadn't even considered the possibility that they would actually begin trading words with one another.
Well, I guess it's time for me to escape.
Fear not, for I have the most powerful defense ever created by man! The old, tired, but ultimately reliable "I have to use the bathroom" card. I pity those without my foresight who will be left with no defense when the true wave hits, but I must defend myself, and I will have to leave everyone behind.
Farewell, comrades! You'll have to think of your own excuse, ha!
"Hey, I'm gonna go use t-"
"Oh, it's Hikigaya-kun! Hey!" Said Haruno, a little too excited if I do say so myself, especially considering there was absolutely no way she hadn't seen me before now.
Wait, no, there's still a chance of escape!
"Hello, Yukinoshita-san. I'm just gonna go to the bat-"
"But the waiter's here," She said through her smile, as she waved a waitress to the table,"We're all gonna be ordering now so you might as well."
Dammit, she has me.
I sigh as I deflate back into my seat, which is comfortably positioned at the corner of the booth. I compliment past me on his foresight, despite that not having totally panned out this time.
"And to answer your question Yukino, I've been very well."
"Is that so? I'm happy." Is what Yukino said, but I'm getting the feeling she wasn't very geniune about that.
Ha. Geniune.
"So what are you guys getting?"
Oh, good move Hayama. As expected of you, a very smooth and clean transition. It's as if that entire interaction from before hadn't even happened. If it weren't for literally everything about your person, including that, I might start holding some semblance of respect for you.
But, alas.
Like that, conversation slowed a bit as everyone ordered one by one. I, myself, went for a good ol' ramen since you can never go wrong with that. The fact that I have almost no money may have had some sort of influence on the choice as well, but we'll ignore that.
As the waitress left, the table, or should I say multiple tables pulled together, erupted into many small conversations. If I weren't myself, I'd probably say it looked like teenagers enjoying their youth and being roudy. Because I am myself, I'm just gonna go ahead and say that the sound is extremely obnoxious.
Why did I even come here?
Ah...
Well, that just brought my mood from mildly annoyed to depressed extremely quickly.
"Senpai!"
Ah, the winds of spring. Some unsuspecting upperclassmen is being called by a young female eager for his attention. How nice, you damn riajuu.
"Seeeenpai!" The voice repeated, obviously intent on provoking a reaction of some kind from her upperclassmen of choice.
Wait.
"Senp-"
"Yes, Iroha?" Despite her deliberately piercing call in my direction, we were actually sitting directly across from each other, making her loud tone completely unnecessary. I had been looking down at my phone so as to pre-emptively block off any forms of communication, but it seems Iroha was either that persistent or she knew me well enough to know I wasn't doing anything substantial.
It was probably both.
Now that I think about it, I haven't actually seen her in some time. I wonder why she hasn't been coming to the clubroom. Don't get me wrong, It's not like I want to do work, okay? It's just that I find it strange that she'd stop showing after so consistently asking for me to help her.
As I looked up at her, I could see she had her signature smile in place. With her head resting on her hand, she was looking directly at me when my gaze rose to meet hers.
Normally I would've asked her what exactly it was that she wanted from me, but you can't go to a social outing and be irritated that people are trying to socialize with you.
Oh wait, you can.
Well ignoring that, I am kind of curious about why I haven't seen her in a while. Since I'm socially inept at casually bringing up topics of conversation, I'll just wait until I get the perfect opportunity to bring it up.
"Soooo, how are you doing?" She asked with that same expression on her face. It was beginning to make me annoyed, and she almost certainly knew that.
"If I were at home reading a light novel I'd be great. How are you?" I said despite it not being true. Being at home wouldn't solve anything, and since I was starting to take that long nosed guy seriously, I suspect things wouldn't be "great" for some time.
"Ahhh, I'm fine now." She said, what had previously been a smirk now becoming a full-blown grin.
"What a nondescript way to answer the same question you just asked me."
Sitting back against the seat, she drawled "Weeeell, I've been doing a lot of student council stuff but that's it."
CHANCE GETTO
"Is that the reason why you haven't been coming to the clubroom?"
She said nothing for a few seconds, her gaze reflecting a hint of surprise, something I hadn't expected. Before I had a chance to press her further, her authentic expression of surprise gave way to what was clearly pretend mirth.
"Is it that you missed me, Senpai? Are you trying to hit on me right now? I appreciate your attempt but that was way too lackluster so no I'm sorry I still can't."
Was it just me or were these rejections getting increasingly positive?
Probably just me.
"I won't force you to talk about it. Just come to me when something too big for you comes up, alright?" I don't say it often, if at all, but I really do care for Iroha. We might not necessarily be friends, but Iroha is my kouhai. I don't want her getting in too deep and hurting herself.
"Sure, Senpai..." She spoke softly with her gaze turned towards her lap. I suppose she was embarrassed about being seen through, which I find is an extreme rarity nowadays. That damn fox is getting better and better at getting other people to do what she wants.
Eh? Why is it so quiet?
The table was so silent that even the sound of me adjusting in my chair was audible across the resturaunt. And now that I mention it, this entire place is empty. I hadn't been paying much attention, obviously, but I'm sure there were others here when we arrived. Also, if we're the only ones eating here, why is the food taking so long?
Something is blatantly wrong about this situation.
Bringing my eyes to Haruno, as one should always do when faced with a situation like this, I was met with a self-satisfied smile. She was staring right at me.
Why?
I glanced at Yukino, but she was only looking down and tightly gripping her blazer.
I try to talk to my kouhai for two whole seconds and this ends up happening?
With a sigh, I decided to figure out what happened. It'd irk me to no end if Haruno walked away from this having had her fun, as she usually does. I am doubly tired of this back and forth bullshit Haruno likes to play with. I'm done playing her game.
I am not her toy, and this is the last time she tries to play with me like one.
"Haruno, what did you do?" I said simply and with as little anger as I could, bringing almost everyone's eyes to me. That would be everyone except Yukino, I noted.
Her grin grew wider. I knew I was doing what she wanted. I was giving into her taunt and I knew that.
"Well, Hikigaya, I was just having fun, I don't know what happened all of a sudden." She said purposefully.
That's all she's ever doing, huh. "Having fun."
I promptly realized that Emperor Hayama was not doing his self assigned duty. That is, why the hell wasn't he talking if this table is completely quiet?
I took a look at Hayama, who seemed completely unperturbed by the current situation, and began to piece things together.
An event had taken place that was capable of making Yukino act the way she is now, and also shut Hayama up. That's something even I haven't been capable of doing no matter how many times I tell him to.
Okay, so something about their past? Maybe Haruno revealed something I myself have suspected for some time. Perhaps she had "nonchalantly" brought up a past relationship between the two of them.
It was a shot in the dark, and I'm not one to bank on complete conjecture.
"Yuigahama, what happened?" I said at a tone the whole table could hear. Trying to whisper would be stupid and only serve to make the situation worse.
"Well, uh..." She looked at Yukino before continuing, hesitant in both expression and words. She glanced at Yukino pleadingly, and could only continue when she found no sign of validation there.
In the time that this happened, I also took a fleeting look at Miura, who had her fists balled in anger. Yet, she remained silent.
Was she mad at me for having Yuigahama repeat it? Was she mad at Haruno for having said it in the first place? Both? Who knows. With that, though, the idea that a relationship happened between Hayama and Yukino had happened began to become more and more likely.
"Well, Haruno-san had brought up that uh...basically um, well..." Yuigahama, the Yuigahama was having trouble with her words. What the hell happened?
"Well basically, a looooong time ago" So far everything was I expected.
"Yukino had uh...liked Hayama." Okay, and?
"But uh, Hayama liked Haruno-san. So, she had said that "nobody was happy after that."
Okay, wasn't expecting that one. What Yuigahama had meant to say was "Haruno acted like a complete bitch and disregarded Hayama's feelings like they were nothing, while also insulting her own sister and humiliating the both of them." And so the room was awkwardly silent. At least, that was what I could gather from Yuigahama's shorthand explanation.
This explains Miura as well. As far as I can tell, she has an inferiority complex towards Yukino which had only been dwarfed by the fact that she thought nothing romantic had ever happened between her and Hayama. Now she comes to find out that Yukino had been interested in Hayama long before her?
Not a recipe for success, that's for sure.
Now, the most important question. How do I fix this and undermine Haruno at the same time?
Why the hell does a social-noncompliant like myself keep getting dropped into these problems of extreme social finesse?
"Ah," I said, nodding in understanding. "So then what?"
Yuigahama looked at me with wide eyes, seemingly confused at what I was saying.
"Don't tell me that's it?" I said as if only speaking to her despite the words being meant for everyone. "I had thought something serious happened but now I come to here it's just this. I guess there's no juicy gossip today." I said while leaning back, pretending to be pre-occupied sith my phone and leaning against the booth. My acting skills were surely beneath Haruno's, hell, even Hayama. But none of that mattered.
"Didn't you hear what she said!?" Yelled Miura, slamming the table with her palm.
Of course I did. I didn't like being yelled at by people of any gender who were capable of beating me up, but any risk is worth the reward if I can laugh in Haruno's face afterwards.
"Yeah of course I did." I said while nodding,"But didn't you hear her say it was years ago? I want something juicy as much as the next guy, but can you imagine who you were years ago?" I glanced Tattataki nodding vigorously out of the corner of my eye, which only caused me to wonder exactly what she was remembering. The most important thing was that it elicited a wince from Miura, which is exactly the feeling I'm trying to attack.
"I mean, unless everyone else thinks stuff that happened years ago is pertinent information...
You know what, maybe you're right. Just because it happened years ago doesn't mean it's not important. I mean, you guys could totally imagine doing all that stuff you did years ago right now, right?" I smiled past all the restrained groans that ensued from the previous statment, staying on the attack. "You've convinced me, Miura. All that stuff is relevant, you're completely right. How foolish of me."
I heard a nervous laugh break out from the table furthest from me, the third one. "Well, I don't think that's true. Now that you say it, it doesn't seem like a big deal at all, huh?" It was Tobe, a man who most certainly had a number of embarrasing secrets to keep. He just seemed like a person prone to making dumb mistakes.
He was wrong, though. For the standards of their little clique, this was life-threatening. Under normal circumstances, and if I had left this alone, their clique would likely dissolve as it came close to doing before. Hayama was the strongest and most important pillar of the group, but Miura played a critical role.
If this were to continue, Miura would probably first try at a new bullying streak against Yukino in an attempt to reinflate her own low self-esteem. After that, she'd probably realize just how dumb this all was and move on. Once her "love" for Hayama became truly tested, it'd shatter immediately. I think even she knows that, to some extent, which is why she fears Yukino so much. The moment Miura consciously realizes she's fallen for someone she doesn't know in the slightest, it'd crack his facade for her. That'd be the death of their clique right there. Without Miura, the entire balance of the group goes off.
While I did indeed feel guilty about perserving Miura's delusional love, if it could even be called that, towards Hayama for some petty revenge; I also had to look out for my own clubmates. Miura being off the leash would hurt both Yuigahama and Yukino.
She was complacent in her current position due to her own choices, and I wasn't going to force her out of it at the expense of people I actually enjoy being around.
Did I just admit that? No, no I didn't.
The perfect solution for that problem far in the future? Personal shame. No one will acknowledge Hayama's "dark secret" in fear of their own. They'll chock it up to "we all did dumb stuff when we were young(as if they are no longer young)" and convince themselves that it's insignificant. This will work even better for Miura, who so desperately wants to believe that.
In that same way, Yukino will also be off the hook, though I guess Miura will be a little more aggressive towards her for a while.
See? Everyone's happy.
Allowing the group to acclimate to this new information, and also because I now genuinely had to use the bathroom, I stood and slid past the Yuigahama and then Yukinoshita after her.
Now caught up in conversation, likely as an attempt to push the preceding events behind them, the table barely noticed my departure. Though, Haruno's silence at said events was certainly strange.
Glancing at her, she seemed to be wearing her amiable smile, one that would likely cause a younger me to confess on the spot. Behind that, though, was a look in her eye I couldn't quite discern. I'm not sensitive enough to others emotions to discern what it was, otherwise I wouldn't be living my current life, but I could damn sure understand that there must be a thousand thoughts running around in her head.
With a sigh, I ignored it and continued on my way.
What immediately caught my eye the very moment I entered the grimy boys bathroom were the mirrors. Three of them were on the walls, adjacent to the stall and urinals. I didn't want to be bothered with my unstable mental state so I ignored them, drained the snake, and left.
Is what I wished happened.
Instead, I finished leaking the lizard only to turn around and find myself face to face with the same scene from this morning. That being an emotionless, expressionless, and imitative mask.
After having to wash my hands while staring at such a scene, I took a few steps back to where I could see all three mirrors.
From this angle, I could clearly see all three showing that same fog, and yet only one showed the mask. Despite putting myself in a position where I would have been visible from each mirror, I could only find that mist in the other two. In that way, it began to feel less like a mirror and more like I was looking into somewhere else. It felt as if there was another person standing on the other side of that mirror. It felt like another me was on the other side of that mirror.
An idea hit me then, and I reached for my phone only to realize that I had left it in my seat. The idea had been to photograph the mirrors and see if the fog appeared there, but I already had an idea of how that would turn out anyways.
And so instead, as I had refrained from doing this morning, I let my instincts take over. My hand rose to the mirror, yet no hand met mine as it grew closer. Despite the sweat on my own face and the shaking of my fingers, there wasn't a single response from the unknown entity on the other side, not a single acknowledgement.
And yet, I felt it was expectant. As if it were anticipating me. That expressionless mask seemed to be taunting me. The same way the long-nosed man had taunted me. The same way all the others had when I was in the "Velvet Room."
I was being mocked.
I knew it.
Like that, my hand retreated. I didn't rise to it's temptation. I didn't rise to meet it as it had wished.
My fingers curled into a ball, and I struck.
Amusingly, The End Result Did Not Change
