Chapter 20: I can't understand you (Part 2)
(Yukinoshita Yukino POV)
I passed out, huh? And not to mention, in front of those two guys of all people.
How frustrating, I could imagine those two vulgar guys making fun of me tomorrow.
Then I felt something cold touch my cheek so I opened my eyes instinctively.
"Cold!" x2
Yuigahama-san and I blurted out that in unison.
Then we found out that it's a bottle of Pocari water that touched our cheeks.
And the one who holds those cold Pocari water is Hikigaya-kun.
"Here. Take it you two." said Hikigaya-kun.
I'm still in the middle of confusion but I took it anyway.
"Thank you. How much is it?" I asked.
"Don't be bothered by it, in fact, you two can take it as an apology." said Hikigaya-kun.
Apology?
"Even though I know you guys would find it merciless and definitely don't like it yet I go for it anyway." said Hikigaya-kun.
I casted my gaze down.
He's indeed right, his actions today seem unjustified compared to usual.
Tenma-san has warned us about this possibility but I really don't think he would bring up the matter about our relationship this fast.
However, even if he doesn't bring it up, I've planned to bring it up today despite neither having any idea how to properly do it nor courage to do it anyway, that's why Yuigahama-san and I purposely used the request as an excuse to summon him for a talk.
I thought that all I needed to do was to be serious about how the three of us are really important to each other.
But to think that Hikigaya-kun actually went as far as to push our relationship past over friendship like this.
It's almost like he's the light version of his cousins today.
"Hikki…" said Yuigahama-san with a weak voice.
"Just so you know that I'm not doing this because I was ordered, begged, manipulated or threatened. It's because I have a reason to be that much patient, enough to make me hurt Yuigahama without much hesitation today." said Hikigaya-kun with a poker face.
"Can't you just stop adding more insult to her/my injury?!" Yuigahama-san and I retorted at the same time.
I guess even his habit of being unable to resist retorting rubbed off on both of us as well.
"You've said it before that if you let me go, you won't be able to get a hold of me again, right? Yukinoshita. I felt that toward you and Yuigahama as well. You two aren't the only ones who miss our shared time. But unfortunately for Yuigahama, I'm no longer able to see her in the same way as you anymore." said Hikigaya-kun.
You really can't stop it, can you?
Yuigahama-san quietly packed her belongings and was about to leave.
"Yuigahama." called out Hikigaya-kun.
"It's fine, Hikki. *Sniff* Don't worry *sniff* about me." replied Yuigahama-san with a sob and dashed away from us.
My hands instinctively reached out for her and instinctively pulled back.
Then I turned to Hikigaya-kun.
"Is this a good thing, not telling her that?" I asked.
Hikigaya-kun closed his eyes for a moment.
"I believe getting us on the same page needs to be done before I answer so tell me what do you mean by that." said Hikigaya-kun.
Is this really the time to get on my nerves?
"Although you kept emphasizing my name in your request, you purposely left the opening for her in it, right?" I asked.
He did emphasize some parts of his request to ensure we wouldn't misunderstand. However, he hadn't corrected the certain part even though he had chances to do so.
Christmas Day.
Hikigaya-kun sighed.
"That's really too late to ask, isn't it?" said Hikigaya-kun.
"Is this really the time to get on my nerves?" I said as I prepared to display my aikido on him, in which he lifted his hands up in defeat.
"Fine. If you want to hear that badly. I won't deny that I did leave the opening on purpose. However, whether it's right or wrong that she's left untold, it's up to you." said Hikigaya-kun.
"Up to me?" I asked.
"Assuming that Yuigahama knows about it, what will your acceptance of my request mean to her? Seriously, you want me to hammer that point despite it hurting you?" asked Hikigaya-kun.
I went silent upon that.
It's not like I want to be hammered by that, I just want to atone Yuigahama-san's sufferings even if it's just a bit and one-sided.
The moment I accept his request, it's the same as I admit that I do have feelings for him in front of her.
I accepted his request, knowing that she also has a thing for him as well, and had it longer than me, but still couldn't reach her goal.
Although Hikigaya-kun did give her a chance, the responsibility of handing it over to her fell on my answer to the request.
I could have just denied his request and given her the chance she was supposed to get to correct herself.
But I can't. I'm a bad liar. There's no way I could fool them.
And the idea of me being seen as a liar by them, especially him, really doesn't sit well with me at all.
"I know it's sudden so you could make up your mind until that day. You know what I mean, right?" said Hikigaya-kun.
Of course, I know. He asked me to go out with him on Christmas Day, but he has never said anything about whether we will still go out with each other afterward or it will end right away.
It's up to me whether I will give Yuigahama-san another chance or not during that day.
Just thinking about it really makes my heart hurt.
"Can you tell me what kind of reason makes you go that far even though you don't want to do it?" I asked.
Hikigaya-kun just calmly sipped the bottle of Pocari water.
Wait. Isn't that mine?
And then Hikigaya-kun stated his reason which I couldn't get it off of my head once I heard it.
"I want something genuine." said Hikigaya-kun.
Although it's incomprehensible to me, somehow I felt like that line alone sums things up altogether.
And for some reason, upon hearing that I could feel that my heart became more and more restless.
"I… don't understand you." was all I could say.
Suddenly, a pair of birds made a loud voice interrupted both of us.
If my ears didn't deceive me, they were both shouting 'Times up, you two idiots!' and 'I want to go home!'.
"Even the pet inherited rudeness from their owners, I see." said Hikigaya-kun while rubbing his temples.
I couldn't agree more.
"Well, let's go back, Yukinoshita. It's already late." said Hikigaya-kun as he grabbed his belongings while the two birds voluntarily snuck themselves into his shirt's pockets.
"You're right." I said as he escorted me home afterward.
Today three of us managed to open up to each other, or so I thought.
(Yukinoshita Yukino's room)
"Why are you coming here, Nee-san?" I asked.
I have a guest today, a beauty tyrant guest that just by hearing her teasing voice could double my exhaustion and annoyance in an instant.
My older sister, Yukinoshita Haruno, of all people.
"Can't this Onee-san visit her cute little sister at all?" said Nee-san.
Normally I would find it annoying whenever she did that, but today is different.
Instead of a usual lively, cheerful, teasing voice, her tone is more like trying to hide her overload of stress.
"Want to know that much?" asked Nee-san.
Can't I just be allowed to at least take a break from dealing with ESPer at home?
"Hmm… Yukino-chan. Looks like something unusual happened to you today as well, huh?" said Nee-san.
Nee-san's eyes sparkling afterward and I knew what she's going to say next, especially when her stress level was high.
"It can't be helped. I will tell you after dinner." I said.
"Mou~ Yukino-chan. You should just tell Onee-chan abou—wait, you're going to tell me yourself?!" said Nee-san, surprised.
If only I'm not too tired myself then I would resist even though it might end up in vain anyway.
And with that, Nee-san started to check my body temperature as if she thought I caught a cold or something.
(Sigh) Let's face it since this isn't the rudest thing she's capable of doing anyway.
(After dinner)
"Wow. That must be tough for you, Yukino-chan. That explains why you're so out of character today." said Nee-san.
"I don't want to hear that from you! What's with coming to my club yourself asking Hikigaya-kun to do that embarrassing request, not to mention that you're visiting me too frequently lately." I retorted.
And that's all because she thought I was too fragile to handle Hikigaya-kun's cousins, wasn't it?
Thanks to that, our relationship became more complicated.
Seriously, don't assume I wasn't strong enough! I'm not a baby!
"And who was it again that passed out after facing her two arch-nemesises even though she declared she's strong enough beforehand, not to mention that it happened in front of him of all people?" retorted Nee-san.
Ugh...
"Speaking of Hikigaya-kun, what a cunning and scary boy he is. Took advantage of Yukino-chan's emotional outburst and cornered her to make her pull her feelings out of her prideful mouth." said Nee-san.
If it weren't for Tenma-san's warning I wouldn't let it out.
Then I felt like my head was patted.
"Good job, Yukino-chan. Onee-chan proud of you." said Nee-san.
"Is it really a good thing, I wonder? Although I treasured our relationship, I don't know if it is what I think it is." I said.
The patting stopped and now I'm being pulled into a hug and my face was buried into… Let's say that I begrudgingly believe that boys my age envy me right now.
"Rather than saying it's a good thing, I would say you picked a better decision among the two." said Nee-san.
"Huh?" I asked.
"From what you told me, has Hikigaya-kun ever told you that he still gives her a chance even now?" asked Nee-san.
"He did say it himself that he left the opening on purpose." I said.
"And you know what he meant by 'purpose'?" asked Nee-san.
"Isn't it because he let me give her one last chance if I wish to?" I asked.
"I don't think so." replied Nee-san.
"Huh?" I asked.
"My dear sister. He did say he let you give Gahama-chan one last chance if you wish to, but has he ever said anything about he will give her that chance just because you agreed to give it to her?" asked Nee-san.
My eyes widened and my breathing became racked, probably because of being hugged.
"I'm afraid that if you wish to give Gahama-chan a chance on that day you will only get a bad end in return." said Nee-san.
"No way." I muttered.
Nee-san released me from her hugging and sighed.
"Do you think the boy who claimed he wanted something genuine will just go for codependency merely because the relationship between you three isn't anything to sniff at? Especially when you've said it yourself that Ichi-chan has warned you about him being a monster of reasons." said Nee-san.
I bit my lips in silence. That's unarguably true.
"Onee-san knows that you still doubt whether your own feelings for him are what you think or not, but I think Hikigaya-kun is also in the same boat as you. The difference is that he knows he doesn't feel that way toward Gahama-chan and is starting to find out what kind of feelings he has towards you while you are desperate to find a way to not hurt Gahama-chan, thinking that she deserve Hikigaya-kun's affection more than you, right?" said Nee-san.
As expected of Nee-san, she saw through me.
Despite the fact that I'm not perceptive when it comes to this kind of matter, I can say I started to understand her feelings thoroughly lately.
Yuigahama-san has been put in the situation where she was left out when Hikigaya-kun and I bantered, and now I got the same experience as her when his cousins joined the club so I understand more and more about what her feelings should be.
Since she's my only friend, do you think I wish to hurt her more than she already is?
"Then what should I do?" I asked.
"I have never said you shouldn't reject him, Yukino-chan." said Nee-san.
"Huh?" I said.
"You have to figure it out carefully yourself since I believe that you've already given enough details to do so at this point, Yukino-chan." said Nee-san.
"I guess you're right." I replied.
I want something genuine.
That line again.
While I was lost in thought, Nee-san's phone rang.
"How was it, Suzuki?" asked Nee-san.
Then Nee-san's face turned gloomy and angered.
"I was right, huh?" said Nee-san angrily.
"What's wrong, Nee-san?" I said, worriedly.
"Looks like I can no longer avoid getting questioned, can't I?" said Nee-san, dejected.
"To sum it up, both of our romantic comedies are wrong as expected, Yukino-chan. However, in your case, it could be the start of an unexpected war, I guess." said Nee-san.
"Hah?" I said.
"Heh? you want to spend the time talking with me until morning instead of getting some rest, Yukino-chan?" said Nee-san.
For her to give out such suggestions, whatever the matter is, it must be really complicated and has a lot of impact on her.
Considering that I've already worn out myself I will put this matter down for the time being.
Not to mention that I could hardly believe I could sleep well tonight.
And little did I know that Nee-san already left when I was finally in the world of my dream.
(Yukinoshita Yukino POV Ended)
(Narrator POV)
*Knock knock*
The door of Yuigahama Household was knocked on early Sunday morning.
Yui, who already finished her breakfast and happened to wander around nearby the door, volunteers to open the door herself.
When she opened the door and noticed who knocked the door, her intention of greeting turned into a jaw-dropped surprise.
The person she saw was a teenage boy of average height and build cladded in Sobu High uniform. He has medium-short black hair and an ahoge. His most prominent feature is a set of dead fish-eyes.
It's her classmate and probably her unrequited love, Hikigaya Hachiman.
"Hikki?!" said Yui.
"Yo." replied Hachiman.
Before Yui could say anything, her pet dog, Sablé, leapt out of the living room and came to greet Hachiman as well.
However, instead of approaching Hachiman and clinging to him, Sablé stopped its movement in front of Hachiman and hid behind Yui's legs.
"Sablé, what's wrong?" asked Yui.
"Seriously, are my morning eyes really bad enough to scare a dog away?" muttered Hachiman.
"No, that's not true, Hikki. C'mon Sablé, properly greet Hikki." said Yui.
Sablé, however, refuses to do that and just scoots further away from Hachiman and eventually runs into a woman who has been watching the two teenagers' conversation this whole time just to get caught in her arms.
If Yui has become a full-fledged adult figuratively, she would look like this woman for sure.
There's no need for anyone to have sharingans to determine that this woman is Yui's mother.
"So you're Hikki-kun. Welcome, Yui has been talking about you a lot. Please come in." said Yui's mother with a smile on her face.
"Mama!" said Yui, blushed.
"Good morning, . Nice to meet you." greeted Hachiman as he took off his shoes and casually proceeded into the Yuigahama Household.
While Yui's mother took care of Sablé, Yui and Hachiman were left alone in the living room.
"So, Hikki. Why are you coming here?" asked Yui.
"It's simple. I'm here to invite you to Pasera, that's why." replied Hachiman.
"EHHHHH?!" screamed Yui.
"Is it necessary to act like a cockroach touching your cheek over such things?" asked Hachiman, startled.
"Calm down, Yui. I almost dropped the teas I brought for you two, y'know?" said Yui's mother.
"Ah! Sorry Mama!" said Yui.
"So, your answer?" asked Hachiman.
"It's so sudden but I'm fine with it. However, isn't it a lot easier to just text me instead of coming all the way here? Also, …" said Yui.
"Also?" asked Hachiman.
"Is Yukinon fine with this?" said Yui.
Hachiman sipped the tea and answered.
"I happened to pedal all the way here so I decided to pay you a visit while I'm at it. Also, about Yukinoshita, it's implicitly fine by her, isn't it?" replied Hachiman.
"Is she really fine with it?" said Yui.
"Well, your house has a dog so it's fine if she's not here." replied Hachiman.
"I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT HER PHOBIA, YOU STUPID HIKKI!" shouted Yui.
"Ow! My ears!" said Hachiman.
"For Christ's sake, Yui. Don't scream in the house." said Yui's mother.
After that, Yui got an earful from her mother in private while Hachiman just drank his tea in silence.
(15 minutes later)
After a long wait, Yui finally showed up.
It appeared that Yui got scolded for five minutes and she spent another ten minutes redressing herself for a date.
"Um… Hikki… How do I look?" asked Yui, clearly asking for his comment.
"Well, you're cheerful and outgoing, I guess?" said Hachiman.
"I mean my clothes!" said Yui with her face reddened for some reason.
"It looks better than the one you wore on the day you let Sablé run into me while I was taking a break on shopping." replied Hachiman.
"Ugh…" groaned Yui.
Although she wanted to yell at him, she couldn't afford to get another earful from her mother, not to mention that what Hachiman commented isn't really not on point.
Her appearance, to put it simply, other than the fact that she put up her makeup and lipstick to decorate her face, her clothes are pretty much around 80% the same as the clothes she wore during the mentioned day.
"Let's hurry up and go to Pasera or else there will be no seat left for us today." said Hachiman.
"Uh um!" said Yui, a little confused.
Hachiman and Yui left the Yuigahama Household as Yui got on the back seat of Hachiman's bike and Hachiman pedaled his bike all the way to Pasera.
"Is it just my imagination or Hikki smells differently today?" asked Yui.
"What are you? Sablé?" asked Hachiman.
"I'm not a dog!" replied Yui.
"It's just a deodorant. Let's get in there." said Hachiman.
Once Hachiman and Yui found themselves the available seats, they ordered a honey toast (Hachiman's treat).
Although everything seems too sudden, Yui was glad she got to enjoy her time with Hachiman despite the fact that it could be perfect if it weren't for his request to Yukino a few days ago.
After they finished their honey toast and paid the money for it, Hachiman and Yui walked out of Pasera.
However, after a coincident single glance at what was left on the table, Yui narrowed her eyes and gazed at Hachiman's back.
Before they reached the parking lot where Hachiman parked the bike, Yui's right hand moved at high speed, attempted to hit Hachiman's cheek.
But unfortunately for her, Hachiman managed to stop her hand before it hit his cheek.
Once Hachiman looked at her, Yui's tears already rolled out of her eyes.
Before Hachiman could say anything, Yui spoke.
"Give it a rest already! How dare you disguise yourself as Hikki and deceive me like this!" said Yui.
Hachiman's eyes blinked briefly.
"What are you talking about?" said Hachiman.
"Stop fooling around. You're Sanshin-kun, aren't you?" said Yui.
Hachiman released her hand and covered his mouth, fake yawning.
"How can such an airhead be able to even figure out my identity this accurately, I wonder?" said Hachiman who indirectly confessed that he's the fake one.
It turned out that the current Hachiman was Sanshin, or Sanshokuin Hassen all along.
"Hikki never passes the opportunity to order MAX Coffee whenever he has a chance, yet you don't do it even though it's in the menu you're reading." said Yui.
"For someone whose perception seems to be lower than her pet dog's, that's pretty fast to see through my acts." said Hassen.
Even though he said as if he's surprised about Yui's perception, his face said otherwise.
In fact, Hassen already left so much hints to indicate that he's a doppelgänger of Hachiman but still took Yui really long to notice.
"But still not fast enough, right?" said Hassen.
Sablé is the first one to notice that even though Hachiman and Hassen have the same face, the same thing couldn't be said about their scent and aura.
Also, even if Hachiman could get her address by some unknown means, he's never a morning person and definitely too lazy to bike all the way to Yuigahama Household in the first place, not to mention that he's not a kind of person who brave enough to discuss such invitation while he's in the girl's house.
So much hints that Hassen's mocking remarks aren't completely unjustified, especially when he could fool her this long without telling a single outright lie.
"Has Hikki asked you to do this?" asked Yui.
"Hmm… How should I put this? He just said it during the spur of the moment and I just find it interesting to find out about it." said Hassen.
"What did he say?" asked Yui.
"He wondered if you or that wimp Yukinoshita caught a cold from him or not so I think I will check you out despite the fact that tomorrow will answer his wondering itself anyway. Since your mother allowed you to go outside I guess you're fine." said Hassen.
"Hikki was sick?" asked Yui.
"Yes, numbnuts. And instead of worrying about himself, he's worrying about you guys. Well, since Hachiju's medical skill is super reliable I guess it makes sense he doesn't need to worry about himself. Also, he said neither you nor that wimp Yukinoshita should visit him in order to avoid being guaranteed of getting infected." said Hassen.
"Then what's the point of inviting me to Pasera?" asked Yui.
"Aren't you glad one of your wishes came true since you got to have a date with Hachiman at Pasera he promised you during the cultural festival? I even ordered the same ridiculous honey toast you ate together with him without paying attention to your surroundings that day, y'know?" said Hassen.
Yui couldn't help but feel the urge to hide into the nearest hole she could fit in right now.
"Although we're not resumed our fight since the day you guys collapsed, that doesn't mean me and Hachiju are done with you wimps. So why don't we settle this once and for all during Christmas?" said Hassen.
"Settle?" said Yui.
"On Christmas Day, Hachiju, his girlfriend and I will go to the place where Hachiman and that wimp Yukinoshita would spend their time together. From what you have experienced today, it shouldn't be that hard to figure out what I meant, right?" said Hassen.
"Don't you dare!" shouted Yui.
Even Yui could understand how terrible and cruel the meaning is.
If she let that happen, not only Yukino, but Iroha also risk being made fun of in a horrible way possible.
"Then won't you just go out with me on that day?" said Hassen.
"Say what?!" voiced Yui in a disbelieving tone.
It's natural since he's definitely one of the last guys in the world that would say such things.
"Did you forget that both you and that wimp Yukinoshita once fell for my disguise? Not to mention that even though you were told about it you still got fooled today anyway, and it's possibly applied to Yukinoshita as well." said Hassen.
"What are you trying to say?" asked Yui with her eyes narrowed.
"No need for us to go out for real. By deciding to go out with me on that day, you will gain the reason to turn down that guy's confession for good. Are you sure you want to dismiss this opportunity?" said Hassen.
Yui's eyes widened the moment she heard that.
Her classmate, Ooka, has planned to invite her on a date during the Christmas Day, the same day that Hachiman would be going out with Yukino.
Yui knew about it since the latter didn't pay attention to his surroundings when he spoke his thoughts.
The problem is that Yui doesn't have any proper reason to turn him down and Hassen's proposal is definitely useful.
It couldn't be helped to doubt how does Hassen know it, but Yui quickly dismissed that doubt since even her secret promise with Hachiman could still leak to Hassen's ears without them knowing once so this case probably the same.
"Also, on Christmas Day, they will meet at the promised meeting spot instead of one picking up another at their respective home, in case either you or that wimp Yukinoshita picked out the real Hachiman, both me and Hachiju will take it that we lost the battle and won't messing with both of you anymore. Not a bad deal, isn't it?" said Hassen.
"Are you serious?" asked Yui.
"Of course we are. However, in case that both of you failed to pick up the real Hachiman then that means you guys don't have what it takes to stay by his side to begin with and he's nothing more than a mere unusual figure to you guys." replied Hassen.
"Very well, I accept the challenge! I will definitely prove you wrong!" said Yui.
"Good luck then. And in case you showed up and could point out the real one before that wimp Yukinoshita it would be your victory so try hard then. This is probably the Christmas Day I'm really looking forward to the most." said Hassen.
At this time, Yui really wishes she doesn't understand his words but unfortunately she does and regrets it, especially the part where she just accepted his deal.
Now she's forced to choose between friendship and love, Hassen magnificently cuts off all her escape routes.
"I don't understand you. Why do you have to go this far?" muttered Yui.
Even though he definitely heard her muttering, Hassen just silently sends her home before pedaling home himself without going to check on Yukino due to him feeling too lazy to do so.
Not many people could understand how Hachiman's cousins (biological brothers to be exact) function, much less their overprotectiveness level for someone important to them.
I don't understand you. Why do you have to go this far?
After pedaling for a moment, Hassen stopped as Yui's words came to his mind, so he stopped pedaling and glanced back at Yuigahama Household with his eyes narrowed.
"Why do I have to go that far, you ask? As if an outsider airhead like you could understand anything about the three of us. I guess it is better that you didn't realize that I did my best to show my gratitude for your kindness for giving Hachiman sweets during the time he's got hospitalized to you." muttered Hassen before he continued pedaling.
Unbeknownst to Yui, one of the reasons for Hassen's doing was to thank her despite the fact that he ended up hurting her feelings in the end.
And unknown to her that she's managed to actually piss off Hassen unintentionally in the end.
(Narrator POV Ended)
A/N: Chapter 20 for you readers, please enjoy.