[Hikigaya Hachiman, 5th June, 0700 hours]

Cycling is the optimal mode of transport to school, for reasons unrelated to finance and environmental concerns. Similar to the idle waiter at a restaurant or the busy janitor sweeping the floor, nobody pays any heed to a schoolboy on a bicycle. For the past year or so, this method of commute had allowed me to go about my business, involving interaction with several unrelated individuals and the conducting of countless questionable activities.

Today was no exception. As I pushed my bicycle into its designated slot, a figure slowly but surely approached me. Halfway across the courtyard, I realised it was a female student. As she slid into the shadows where I stood, I saw that she was the student council president.

Shiromeguri Meguri, one of my most trusted subordinates. How ironic it was that my most loyal lackeys were the ones I had no direct hold over. Hayama, for instance, was serving me out of a sense of gratitude for saving his father's company from going bankrupt a few years back. Shiromeguri-senpai had been a nameless girl with no particular talent until she got involved in Chiba's underground and I used my connections to pull her out. Following that, I placed her on Sobu High's seat of authority and she had been serving me well ever since.

Both Hayama and Shiromeguri-senpai obeyed me with the hope that this system would serve as a good platform to exert their influence and change Sobu High for the better; personally I believed that their efforts were useless, but I wasn't going to break it to them anytime soon. In a sense, the leash that I kept on the both of them was much less substantial than blackmail or bribery, yet so much stronger.

I nodded in acknowledgement. "Shiromeguri-senpai."

White hair tied neatly into two loose braids, dreamy yet warm eyes, a disarming and nervous-looking smile... she played the part of an innocent girl extremely well. No wonder members of the student body liked her so much. She swallowed, clearly steeling herself for this rare but important interaction.

"Boss, I-"

"Address me normally when we're in public," I commanded, dropping my voice to an almost inaudible volume. "We don't want any eavesdroppers, do we?"

"R-right. Hikigaya-kun, I got the documents you requested."

Ah, the required resources for my next attack on the Service Club. I rubbed my hands together in anticipation. "Wonderful. What's the unlucky group?"

"The Tennis team," Shiromeguri-senpai replied, handing me a clear plastic file. Further inspection revealed the photo of a petite looking girl with short white hair, dressed in a baggy green tracksuit.

"Wait, that's the target you chose?"

"Totsuka Saika, captain of the tennis team. As per your instruction, I filed a demotion to Group C. Um... was I not supposed to?"

"Nah, it's fine," I replied, mind racing. "Incidentally, why is the captain of the tennis team a girl? I specifically told you to ban female club representatives to foster gender inequality and breed discontent among members of the student body."

Did Shiromeguri-senpai disregard my orders on purpose? In that case, why did she purposefully select this particular captain for my personal use when she knew I would question her failure to follow my regulations? Does she think I'm completely stupid? Is this a proclamation of war? I don't understand this girl!

"...Hikigaya-kun. That's a boy."

...Oh. Never mind, then.

[Hikigaya Hachiman, 5th June, 1315 hours]

Yukinoshita frowned as she regarded our newest client. "You were demoted for 'a lack of participation in club activities'? That certainly sounds strange."

Totsuka Saika nodded earnestly. A sudden demotion would usually drive a student to crushing despair, but he showed none of it here. Honestly speaking, I was fairly impressed.

"I have been attending training consistently, Yukinoshita-san!" he said emphatically, before dipping his head shyly in a way that would undoubtedly give nosebleeds to a good portion of the male student population. "N-not that I think you doubt me or anything..."

"I believe you, Sai-chan!" cheered Yuigahama, pumping her fist into the air. "Don't worry, we'll help you get your rank back like I promised!" Upon hearing this completely empty proclamation, Totsuka cheered up considerably, much to my puzzlement. If the promise came from Yukinoshita I would understand, but how did someone as unreliable as Yuigahama elicit such a positive reaction?

Speaking of which, there was a myriad of things that I still didn't understand about Yuigahama, but it didn't really matter. As long as I took her social skills into consideration, she wouldn't pose much of a threat to my plans; all I would need to do from here on was to prevent Yukinoshita from finding too much evidence that pointed to me being the mastermind.

"By the way," I said. "What are all these people doing here?" About thirteen tennis players in purple tracksuits shifted uneasily, forming a squirming fabric cloud behind their tiny team captain.

Totsuka laughed nervously. "Oh, they're always overly concerned about my well-being and follow me around everywhere... do I need to send them out?" A chorus of embarrassed protests began, but died immediately after the small white-haired boy set his team with a stern glare.

No doubt these were individuals with extremely low assertiveness, if they could bring themselves to willingly follow such a weak-looking leader. However, this sorry bunch was an integral part of my latest plan to topple the Service Club. The Tennis team, like most other sports clubs, had all its members in Group B. Normally clubs would discard any demoted members immediately, but in the case of a team captain getting demoted, matters would be slightly more complicated and hence clubs tried to prevent that as much as possible.

Unfortunately for the tennis team, they had been chosen as stepping stones for my ambition. Unfortunately for the Service Club, they would have to convince every single member of the tennis team to demote themselves to Group C, along with Totsuka. And no matter what the extent of the tennis players' loyalty was, it wouldn't take much pressure for their true colours to be revealed...

Yukinoshita cleared her throat. "I have grasped the situation, and logically there are only two options. The first is for all of the members present to demote yourselves to Group C."

Once again, the members of the tennis team shifted uneasily as Totsuka sadly cast his eyes to the ground. Then one of the braver souls spoke up. "Um... well, we've never really been demoted before, so we're not really sure how to..."

"That's no problem!" interjected Yuigahama. "I'm sure I can arrange something! And Hayato-kun won't suspect anything because I'm not promoting anyone. Are you guys willing to sacrifice yourselves for Sai-chan, though?"

Foolish girl. I scoffed internally. What makes you think anyone would willingly climb down the social ladder? Don't you know an excuse when you hear one? There's no way this method is gonna wo-

"We'll do it!" proclaimed the vice-captain. The remaining members roared in assent.

...wait, what?

"Hold on," commanded Yukinoshita. "You do know what demoting yourselves entails, right?"

"Of course!" boomed the vice-captain. "But we'll do anything for the Captain! Do not underestimate the power of our loyalty!"

I watched helplessly as my perfectly crafted plan fell to pieces right before my very eyes, courtesy of a bunch of fools who let their hormones make decisions for them instead of their brains.

I need an opening... something... anything! I scanned the multitude of exuberated faces, and my gaze fell upon a dejected one... There!

"What," I hissed, turning to Totsuka. "You're okay with this?"

Totsuka had been looking uncomfortable to begin with, but upon exposure to this direct attack his expression turned doubly constipated. "I..."

"Using your friends to take the fall for you is simply disgusting," I whispered amidst the raucous cheers and Yuigahama's chirps of thanks. "Is that all they are to you? Disposable pieces of trash?"

Totsuka's lower lip quivered. The shadows on his face lengthened and darkened. Miniscule tears started to form at the corners of his eyes...

"Well?" I growled. "Is that how it is?"

"N-No!"

The chatter ceased immediately. Yukinoshita sensed the sudden lack of background noise and jolted awake from her semi-vegetative state. I watched her eyes calmly sweep across the room, settle on Totsuka, dart up to me, and form their own conclusions.

Aaaaaand... busted. Looks like I let my guard down once again.

"T-that's not what I want at all!" whimpered Totsuka, all traces of his previous collectedness slowly dissipating into the humid afternoon air. "You guys may be okay with it, but you can't sacrifice yourselves for me! I won't allow it!"

Totsuka sniffled. The tennis team shuffled its collective twenty feet, casting ten dejected faces to the clubroom floor.

Yukinoshita's tact had improved in leaps and bounds since the day we first met; she allowed the heavy silence to settle in for ten whole seconds before speaking up.

"The only alternative will be to bring Totsuka-s... Totsuka-kun's rank back up to Group B."

Eleven heads (twelve if you counted Yuigahama) perked up instantly.

"According to the school rules," continued Yukinoshita, "the rank of a sports club member can be raised if he/she makes a significant contribution to the school's track record. This includes, of course, performing excellently in a competition."

Ah yes, that little rule. I had approved its implementation only because a meritocratic system promotes competitiveness and unhealthy rivalry; never would I have thought that it would be used against me. As expected of Yukinoshita.

That being said, the school rulebook was essentially a plethora of meaningless text and downright unreasonable directives, punctuated by multiple microscopic layers of fine print. The fact that Yukinoshita had actually bothered to go through the entire thing spoke volumes about her capability and drive.

"T-that's right! Nationals are in a few months, right? There's still a chance for me to fix this!"

"According to my calculations, the competitions end a few days before the next club inspection," Yukinoshita stated like the mechanical search engine that she was.

The mass foot-shuffling resumed. "I don't really know how to say this," said the vice-captain, after a lengthy pause, "But Captain Totsuka isn't really that good at tennis..."

"He can train!" exclaimed Yuigahama, who simply couldn't get depressed. "I've been practicing and my cooking has been getting better. I'm sure it'll be the same for you, Sai-chan!"

"It will be exponentially difficult," said Yukinoshita gravely. "Are you prepared to undertake this trial?"

"I'll do it!" came the reply without hesitation. "For my friends, I'll do whatever it takes!"

"Captain!" sobbed the vice-captain. "We'll follow you to the death!"

I grit my teeth as the clubroom exploded into a myriad of sound yet again. Time for a change of plans...

[Hikigaya Hachiman, 5th June, 1345 hours]

"Hikigaya-kun," said Yukinoshita as soon as the tennis club and Yuigahama had filed out of the clubroom. Her eyes had a steely undertone to them. "Would you mind explaining your actions?"

But I had prepared myself for this interaction. "What, you think I bullied him into making that decision? I simply voiced the concerns that were already on his mind."

Her eyes narrowed further. "Is that so? It looked to me that you were trying to impede the Service Club's progress by giving us more work to do."

A direct attack, as expected of Yukinoshita. "I was furthering our progress," I replied smoothly. "If we lowered the entire team to Group C, we'd be playing straight into the school administration's hands. Wouldn't it be better to reverse the demotion directly?"

Yukinoshita sighed. "This club is a part of the system and has little to do with our objectives-"

Checkmate. I feigned a look of surprise. "We're not helping them? Even though they are part of the student body?"

She flinched, ever so slightly. "No, it's just that-"

"How could you be so heartless towards the victims of this rotten system?" I gasped. "In the first place, what makes you any different from the people who run it?"

The question hung in the air. After a lengthy clash of wills, performed via intensive eye contact, Yukinoshita sighed and looked down. "You're right. I apologize for my erroneous judgement."

Score! Little by little, I was beginning to expose Yukinoshita's hypocrisy and chip away at her resolve.

[Hikigaya Hachiman, 5th June, 1400 hours]

As usual, Hayama picked up on the first ring.

"Oi. Do you and your friends like tennis?"

He hesitated, as always, before replying hesitantly: "Not... particularly, no."

I stood there at the centre of the vacated corridor, malice coating my smile. "I think you do."

"...I'm afraid I don't quite follow."

"Starting tomorrow, all of you will love playing tennis, and you will love it very much."

[Hikigaya Hachiman, 6th June, 1315 hours]

The sliding door burst open, a physically impossible feat for a sliding door.

"Emergency report!" exclaimed Yuigahama, dragging Totsuka behind her. "Hayato-kun and the rest of the Group S students are using all the tennis courts!"

"What?" hissed Yukinoshita. "Doesn't the tennis team have first priority to those?"

"That's how it is on paper," Totsuka mumbled. "But Hayama-kun's word is absolute and all..."

"Is there any way for you to train elsewhere?" I asked, knowing full well that there wasn't.

Totsuka shook his head. "The Yakuza have been hanging around all the courts in the vicinity a lot recently, so I can't use those."

How fortunate that I had planned around all potential obstacles and made arrangements for this to happen a few days prior. 'Paranoid Foresight' (rated 53 out of 108) was a pain to use, but it had come in fairly useful here.

"That's a pity," I drawled, eagerly eyeing Yukinoshita's slightly trembling figure. "Looks like you'll have to give up on nationals-"

Yukinoshita's eyes flashed.

"Oi, don't do anything rash-"

Yukinoshita stalked out of the clubroom, leaving behind three (two, if you excluded me) stunned students in her wake.

Checkmate.

[Yuigahama Yui, 6th June, 1330 hours]

By the time we got to the tennis courts, Yukinoshita-san was already arguing with Hayato-kun and Yumiko, even though it probably was no use. I tried running to them, but a hand landed on my shoulder and roughly pulled me back.

"Stay down," hissed Hikki. "She can handle this by herself."

How? I wondered. Nobody can win against Hayato-kun, because he never fights in the first place! He simply repeats his points in a different way and everyone agrees with him...

But this was Hikki, who probably knew more about these things than me. Yukinoshita-san trusted him and his abilities, so I figured I should too.

"Yukinoshita-san," Hayato-kun was saying with a tired smile on his face. "There is no rule that students cannot use the tennis courts during recess."

Yukinoshita-san's cold blue eyes blazed with fury. "The tennis team gets priority to the courts."

The shadows on Hayato-kun's face grew darker even as his smile stayed, and all of my Group S friends looked at him anxiously. That was the face he made when he had to do something that he didn't want to do, something that would make other students suffer.

"There is no rule that states that either," Hayato-kun said. "In the new and updated rulebook, that is."

Yukinoshita-san's eyes widened in sudden realisation. "And when were the rules updated?"

"Yesterday evening," said Hayato-kun, smiling wryly as his accuser bristled with rage. "We have every right to be here, Yukinoshita-san."

On my way up the social ladder, I had been prepared to join a group of bloodthirsty students, but it was not like that at all. Hayato-kun did a lot of bad things sometimes, but I could see that his heart wasn't in it. We all could, actually. That was why we followed him despite having to do these things along with him.

Upon seeing his face, my heart clenched. Hikki did say to leave them alone, but seeing all these unhappy faces... I pledged that I would never forgive Sobu High's mastermind for as long as I lived.

Don't worry, Hayato-kun! I'll save you and everyone else soon, but first we'll need that tennis court!

Ignoring Hikki's grunt of surprise, I stepped forward.

"Hayato-kun," I said. "Tennis is boring. Can we do something else?"

All my Group S friends gasped and tried to motion for me to stop. I ignored them.

Hayato-kun looked genuinely surprised. 'This is the first time you've said anything of the sort to me, Yui." An implied 'why?' hung in the air.

"Yeah," I replied. "I'm normally fine with doing whatever you do, but I really can't comprise this time. Let's do something else, please?"

"It's 'compromise', Yui," sighed Hayato-kun. "And I'm afraid I can't go with your suggestion. Or maybe all of you can go do something else while Yumiko and I stay behind? We really want to play some more, you see."

Yumiko turned to him, agape. "Hayato, wha-"

"We really love tennis, don't we, Yumiko?"

She deflated. "R-right."

This was the point where any normal person would have given up. It was probably the point where everyone was expecting me to give up. And maybe I should have.

"No," I said. "I want you to leave the court as well, Hayato-kun."

Yukinoshita-san stared at me in shock, not understanding why I would go to such lengths. In her mind, going against the mastermind directly was probably a stupid move. I hoped I would earn her trust someday, but this was all I could do for now...

"Yui," said Hayato-kun gently. "You need this court for a club request, right? It's not worth it to do this just for the sake of your club. You know that, don't you?"

"I love this club," I replied, "because we all aim to do the right thing. I know what you're trying to do, and I kinda know why you're doing it, but it's wrong. Really wrong! So I won't compromise, no matter what you say!"

Hayato-kun looked really conflicted. His face had turned white, and his eyes were moving so fast that they seemed to be darting between me and Hikki. The tension reached a breaking point, and then-

"We'll play for it, then," Hikki announced, stepping out from behind me.

Several sets of eyes turned in his direction.

"Pardon?" said Hayato-kun.

"There's no need to be so rigid. Since you evidently can't handle things by yourself," Hikki glared at Hayato-kun, who flinched ever-so-slightly, "we'll just compete for the right to use this court."

"Don't mess with us!" Tobe-kun barked. "Hayato-kun started using this court first-"

"It's fine," Hayato-kun cut him off. "I think it's a great idea, in fact." He turned to Hikki. "We'll be playing doubles, right? Yumiko, you're with me."

"Alright," said Hikki. "Yukinoshita, let's go."

Yukinoshita-san snapped out of her stupor. "R-right."

As the four players prepared for the match and a multitude of students gathered around to watch, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. This was obviously great for us, but how did Hikki get Hayato-kun to agree with him so easily? I knew he had really good skills and insights, but to pull off this downright impossible task...

I frowned.

[Yukinoshita Yukino, 6th June, 1400 hours]

This was certainly a sudden, unexpected turn of events; first Yuigahama-san's sudden act of treachery to her social group, then Hikigaya-kun's seemingly impossible role reversal and successful negotiations. All of it had happened so fast that my head was still reeling. To top it all off, we were now competing for ownership of the court.

But such a dazed and unaware state was not befitting of the president of the Service Club. While picking up my racket, I composed myself and thought about these events clearly and rationally.

Yuigahama-san, despite clearly being on Group S's side, had openly opposed her superior Hayama Hayato, a completely unprecedented action. Since there was no possibility that the individual named Yuigahama Yui would have the fortitude to pull off such a daring stunt, that scene must logically have been a skit planned by Hayama-kun to fool us.

What exactly was he trying to fool us into believing? By ordering Yuigahama to use her own significant influence to attempt gaining ownership of the tennis court, he was probably aiming to make Hikigaya-kun and I believe that we had a chance to succeed.

Despite the fact that I had let my emotions get the better of me and had acted rashly just mere minutes ago, I was fully aware the whole time that my actions were futile. For Hayama-kun to offer us just a sliver of hope in this interaction, he must have been planning to crush it completely upon further negotiation, effectively weakening our resolve. Such was the cruelty of the mastermind behind Sobu High's system.

Did Hikigaya-kun see through this plan from the start, immediately jumping at the chance to challenge the top caste to a fight? Recruiting him seemed to be a good choice.

Even right now, Hayama-kun was probably thinking of crushing us in this game, in front of a significant portion of the student body. However... I stole a glance at Hikigaya-kun, who flashed a thumbs-up.

We have a trump card up our sleeves. You may think yourself as physically capable of besting us at sports, Hayama-kun, but you can't beat a man who's spent half his life in Chiba's underground!

We took our respective places on the court. Totsuka-kun stood by the side, having been requested to act as judged. It was just like Hayama-kun to mock us so, I thought, as if saying that we couldn't win even with a judge biased in our favour.

"Match Start!" Totsuka-kun announced.

Hayama-kun started with a normal serve in my direction, ostensibly to test my capability. So I did likewise to Miura-san by smashing the ball in her direction. The ball flew, a light green blur, to rebound lightly against the ground and collide full force into her unsuspecting stomach.

Totsuka hesitated. "One-Love!"

A chorus of gasps resounded around the court as Miura-san wheezed and fell onto her back. Even Hikigaya-kun stared at me in shock as the Group S students moved to help her up. Hayama-kun's face slowly took on an expression of fury.

"I played by the rules," I said. "Miura-san was unable to receive my hit due to her own incompetence."

"Even so," hissed Hayama-kun, whose face was now shadowed by a frown that concealed the full extent of his rage. "You crossed the line, Yukinoshita-san."

Beside me, Hikigaya-kun smirked, dead-fish eyes narrowing. "Come at us with everything you have, then. We've gotta make this match fun, after all."

As Hayama-kun took his serving position and Miura-san took her place behind him, I silently calculated that our victory was decided. Even if Hayama-kun's capability surpassed mine, his partner was more or less out of commission, and he wouldn't be able to take on both myself and Hikigaya-kun at the same time. This match would end in the Service Club's definite victory, and even if Hayama-kun went back on his word and refused to cede the tennis court to us, the tale of his defeat and humiliation would be the talk of the campus for a long while.

Hayama-kun served, his arm a blur. Something rocketed past my head, narrowly brushing my ear.

"One-All!" Totsuka-kun called.

What... just happened?

"Be careful of what you wish for," said Hayama-kun darkly. "Next time, I won't miss on purpose."

"Get behind me, Yukinoshita," mumbled Hikigaya-kun, stepping forward. "It appears I'm not the only one here who has spent lots of time around criminals."

Dazed, I stepped back.

"It's your serve," called Hayama-kun, tossing the ball to our side. Hikigaya-kun's hand vanished momentarily and the ball disappeared from its parabolic trajectory halfway in the air. Then his body moved, an indistinguishable blur, and the ball shot towards the other side of the tennis court.

The battle had begun.

The group of students marvelled as the ball flew around the court, barely visible and appearing to hit the ground in more spots than one. In a downright unreal fashion, it moved with a speed that the human eye was unable to follow, filling the tennis court with a plethora of green blurry lines.

Even more astounding were the two players. Their bodies forming two blurs that danced around the court, twisting themselves into impossible angles just to receive each others shots, Hikigaya-kun and Hayama-kun looked absolutely inhuman. Even more impressive was the fact that both of them weren't even bothering to pay attention to the ball, instead studying each others' movements and responding accordingly.

Simply put, this wasn't a tennis match anymore.

Hayama-kun stumbled as the ball clipped his racket, rocketing behind him.

"T...Two-One!" Totsuka-kun stammered, then for further clarification shouted "In the Service Club's favour!"

Hayama-kun picked himself up and tossed the now deformed ball out of the court. "Can we get a new ball, please? This one's unusable."

Hikigaya hunched down, visibly panting.

My blood ran cold. I had thought that Hikigaya-kun had won that round due to his superior physical capability, but the truth was that his shot had gone awry due to the changed shape of the ball, and Hayama-kun had missed it because Hikigaya-kun's movements did not match the direction where the ball had been hit. What this meant was that Hikigaya-kun had gotten extremely lucky for that round, and by the look of his exhausted state, this luck would not have the chance to manifest itself again.

The match resumed, but with significantly less gusto on one side than the other.

Hikigaya-kun stumbled. The ball flew clipped his racket.

"Two-All!"

The ball whizzed past Hikigaya-kun, a good three metres from where he was standing.

"Two-Three!"

The ball streaked forward like a green meteor and slammed into Hikigaya-kun's abdomen. His eyes widened, the capillaries within rupturing.

"Two-Four!"

"Time out!" I called. Hikigaya-kun sank to his knees, attempting to breathe but instead choking on his own spit. Ignoring Hayama-kun's smirk, I knelt down beside my partner.

"Sorry, Yukinoshita," he gasped, sweat streaming down his face. "That guy's a monster."

"Don't apologise," I said, rubbing his back as he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the tennis court floor. "The fault is all mine."

Perhaps if I had considered the situation rationally and come up with an alternative solution, or perhaps had been of more help to Hikigaya-kun in this match, we wouldn't be in this situation. As it stood, however, the Service Club was going to return empty-handed today; what's more, with Group S's attention now fixated on us.

I inwardly cursed my foolishness. After all the mistakes that I made, how could I face my clubmates, my comrades, my client? I stared up at Totsuka-kun's face...

And took hold a glimmer of hope that surfaced amongst the sea of despair.

[Hikigaya Hachiman, 6th June, 1430 hours]

'Playing Dead' (rated 75 out of 108) involves the heightening of certain bodily functions and the suppression of others to fake symptoms of nausea and, in certain desperate cases, sudden epilepsy. Thanks to it, Yukinoshita didn't doubt my lack of enthusiasm and was probably blaming herself for everything that happened; my plan was progressing nicely.

I had almost burst out laughing at Yukinoshita's reaction to Hayama's physical capability. As my most capable subordinate, Hayama had been assigned to do some of my underground work, and I had made him my sparring partner to prepare him for the trials to come. He'd just been training under my supervision for about a year, yet he was able to keep up with me for such a long time during the match... something akin to self-satisfaction swelled up in my chest.

Overall this was a pretty good win, I told myself as I shakily stood back up. Even if the Service Club didn't disband after this huge blow, they would be well on that path. Soon, negligence and stagnancy would lead Yukinoshita and Yuigahama to drift apart. It was just a matter of time now.

Well, it's been fun...

I paused. Yukinoshita was staring at Totsuka with a sort of strange gleam in her eyes; like a drowning man clutching at a straw, yet so confident that this straw would keep him afloat. I squinted... there it was, the flame of renewed resolve burning bright in her cerulean orbs.

Oh, crap. It's not over yet, is it?

"Totsuka-kun," called Yukinoshita. "Hikigaya-kun is out of commission. Would you mind swapping out with him?"

Totsuka started, evidently shocked. "M-me? No way, there's no way I-"

"Just now, I noticed that you managed to follow the ball and Hikigaya-kun's movements perfectly well with your eyes, and that you made no mistakes in your judgement. This means that you can react to Hayama-kun's shots, right?"

"Yeah..." replied Totsuka, clearly flustered. "But I can't bring myself to react to my opponents' shots quickly enough, no matter how hard I train. Thanks for doing all this for me, Yukinoshita-san, but I can't-"

"How about all your friends, Sai-chan?" Yuigahama yelled. "They'll all waiting for you to raise your rank back up!"

"That's right," said Yukinoshita, smiling slightly like a chessmaster with mate in four. "Is that all they are to you? Disposable pieces that you have no problem discarding when they outlive their usefulness?"

Totsuka sat up straight, as if a switch had been flipped.

"It's not like that at all!" he declared. His answer was no different from when answering me, but this time the conviction in his voice was clear. He stood up and faced me. "I thought about what you said, Hikigaya-kun, and I decided that you're wrong! You know, if you didn't speak some sense into me yesterday, I would have let my clubmates sacrifice themselves for me. I'm not sure if I care for them as much as they care for me, but what I'm sure of is that I can't rely on them forever! Yukinoshita-san, I'll do it!"

Tch, my actions backfired on me? Unbelievable. Even so, I thought as Totsuka positioned himself on the court, the Service Club was going to lose anyway. There was no way they could beat Hayama with this pathetic level of capability.

"Let's stop this farce, Yukinoshita-san," Hayama said, flashing a charming smile. "Totsuka-kun has nationals in a few weeks, right? You can't push him too hard."

"Those who know me well enough know that I do not lie," replied Yukinoshita, completely disregarding his taunt. "Now mark my words: This boy will defeat you: right here, right now."

"Match Resumes!" called Yuigahama. "Two-Four, Group S's favour!"

Hayama served, the ball streaking forward like a comet, slowing slightly only to graze the court floor and continue onward. Totsuka lept for it, but he was too slow; the ball grazed his racket...

...and was promptly returned by Yukinoshita. Hayama stood still for half a second in shock, before his body blurred and he performed another smash.

"What's this?" he laughed. "I thought Totsuka-kun was supposed to be my opponent here?"

"We're playing doubles," retorted Yukinoshita, returning yet another shot that Totsuka missed. "I will simply offer my support until the right moment."

It was ridiculous; Hayama would try smashing the ball, Totsuka would leap for it according to Hayama's body movements and miss, but Yukinoshita would react to Totsuka's movements and hit the ball for him. At that moment I reached a sudden realisation; most of my training with Hayama had involved him reacting to my blows, and as a result Hayama had not been trained in offense. All he could manage was straightforward smashes. And at the rate this was going, he would run out of stamina soon...

At the same time, I couldn't help but marvel at Totsuka's unwavering tenacity. Here he was, lunging and stumbling towards every shot that Hayama made, ending up on his knees or with a faceful of dirt, yet he always got up in time to respond to the next shot. Yukinoshita, too, was returning the ball extremely weakly to buy time for Totsuka to recover from each hit; in a dysfunctional sense, they made a good team.

After what seemed like hours, Totsuka finally landed a hit. Hayama moved to return it, but the ball rebounded in a different direction after hitting his racket. Dazed and fatigued, Hayama could only watch as the ball spiralled out of the court.

"Three-Four!" announced Yuigahama. I grit my teeth, frustrated.

"Hayato!" yelled Miura from behind Hayama. "Don't give up!"

"End the match already!" I called. "The outcome has already been decided!"

To the onlookers present, it seemed like I was taunting my opponent. But the truth was, in fact, much more sinister.

"N-not yet," rasped Hayama. "I still can... I have to..."

"No," I said, glaring at him. You know what you have to do to get out of this situation. You've had your chance, now do things my way.

Desperation showing in his eyes, Hayama served, a weak shot that barely grazed the net. Seizing the opportunity, Yukinoshita smashed the ball back at him...

Time slowed. The frustration and desperation on Hayama's face deepened, but loyalty won in the end. It always did.

Movements barely distinguishable to the human eye, he sidestepped the ball. Miura only had a tenth of a second to register what happened before it slammed into her stomach for the second time that day. Her eyes widened as the breath was forcefully expelled from her lungs.

"Hayato... why..." she whimpered, before collapsing in a soft heap.

Hayama gave the stunned onlookers a tired smile as his friends flocked around the unconscious girl. "Sorry, but we'll have to continue our match another day. I'll need to send Yumiko to the nurse's office."

The onlookers chimed out in sympathy and disappointment. Yukinoshita and Totsuka, who knew full well what had actually happened, could only stare in shock. I watched, bemused, as they stared at Miura's unconscious body, the mindless students who didn't know anything, the tennis ball that had been dodged with the wilful intent to injure... everywhere but the grieved look on Hayama's face.

[Hikigaya Hachiman, 6th June, 1600 hours]

"To sacrifice his own comrade like that... I can't believe him!" snarled Yukinoshita. "And to use my actions for his own ends... I'll destroy him and the system he set up, even if it's the last thing I do!"

Yuigahama was silent, probably reconsidering where her loyalty lay. I paid her no heed.

"More importantly, what're you gonna do about Totsuka?"

Yukinoshita looked up, annoyed that her rant had been cut off. "Totsuka-kun's problem? It's been solved already."

"But his rank hasn't been elevated and he hasn't done anything significant in nationals yet. Are you saying we should just leave our job undone?"

"Hikigaya-kun," Yukinoshita sighed. "Have you forgotten the premise of this club? We simply lend a helping hand to those unable to help themselves. When all is said and done, Totsuka-kun's success will depend on his own efforts."

"So this is considered a success for our club?"

"Of course," came the reply without hesitation.

That's one more failure for me, then.

[Hikigaya Hachiman, 6th June, 1700 hours]

I sat on a bench in the light of the setting sun, watching as members of the track and field club conducted their meaningless training activities.

I'd had it planned perfectly, and my plan had been executed perfectly. There was no oversight, no incompetence on my part or the part of my pieces (none that could have been foreseen, anyway), yet Yukinoshita had found a way to overturn the tables in an instant. It was almost as if the Service Club was some righteous organisation in a Shounen manga that was protected by plot armour.

At the moment I didn't feel any anger, just a kind of hollow resignation. I had gotten unlucky this round and had lost as a result, that was all. I would try harder next time... or would I, really? The idea of crushing the Service Club seemed to have lost its attraction.

Someone sat down next to me. It was Shiromeguri-senpai; it had to be. Nobody else in the school would have bothered.

"I watched the match," was all she said.

"You got to view my humiliating defeat, then?"

"The one you planned or the one you didn't?"

Laughter escaped our lips. Mine came out feeling empty.

"It's probably not my place to say this," Shiromeguri-senpai said after a while, "but I think what you're doing is a nice change of pace."

I laughed dryly. "You approved of something I did for once, huh."

"Of course!" she smiled warmly. After everything that she had gone through, it was a wonder how she could still do that. "You finally got a club and made some friends, didn't you? That's a huge step towards a normal high school life!"

I bristled. "A normal high school life is exactly what I don't want to have. And you do know that I'm trying to destroy this club, right?"

Shiromeguri-senpai shrugged. "You destroy clubs all the time."

We sat in comfortable silence.

"At any rate," she continued, "you've been looking much happier for the first time in ages."

My eyes flicked upward. "Happier?"

"Yeah! Like you've actually got something to look forward to."

I considered this. Making my mark in society was a mundane and long-suffering task, and the forest fire of my resolve had been weathered into a flicker before I'd noticed it. Perhaps 'something to fight for' was what I'd needed all along.

I shrugged. "Eh, it's not coming along anyway."

"I never approved of this system or the way you do things. I'm grateful for all you've done for me, but what you're doing is wrong," Shiromeguri-senpai said. "I'm not sure what you're trying to do with the Service Club, but there's a chance it'll change you for the better, I would like you not to give up."

I'd known she was going to say something like that, but it still stung when she did. "Changing is exactly what I don't want to happen. And if you hate my methods so much, feel free to stop leeching off my influence anytime."

"It's not like that and you know it," she rebutted gently, resting a hand on my head. I restrained myself from breaking her wrist reflexively; she had spent much more time than me defending herself against criminals and could probably crush my skull at a single hint of hostility.

"You've ruined so many lives, but you've helped so many in return. With ulterior motives, of course, but that doesn't erase the fact. I've considered betraying you so many times, but every time I think of that all the things you've done just kinda cancel each other out in my head. I'm probably just biased, though." She let out a light chuckle. "There's more to humanity than the filth you see on the surface. And if this fight can help you see whatever's underneath, I'll support you in every way I can."

I smirked. "Even if I plan to ruin yet more lives needlessly?"

She smiled. "I'm betting you won't get to that point."

I grinned. "I'll work you to the bone, you know."

She laughed. "More than you already have?"

I had suffered a crushing defeat today. I had humiliated myself. I was not an antagonist worthy of the Service Club's efforts. But in the light of the setting sun and the light of Shiromeguri-senpai's smile, that didn't matter so much anymore.

[Hikigaya Hachiman, 6th June, 1730 hours]

This is usually the point where I make a meaningless and immature monologue, ranting about why I lost to the Service Club and why it won't happen again. But that won't be happening anymore. More important than these trivial victories or defeats, I have realised that the true meaning of this fight lies in the fight itself.

In comparison to all of society's fake standards and farcical relations, could this be the closest thing I've experienced to something genuine? I wouldn't be bothering to think about it if I knew, so I suppose I'll keep thinking.

It's time to stop hiding myself in fear of being found out. It's time to stop taunting my opponents with simple, harmless plans while prodding them to weaken their resolve. I must acknowledge the members of the Service Club as opponents worthy of my full strength; only then will this battle have meaning.

Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, watch your backs. Next round, I'll crush you entirely!