Chapter 3: A fox's plan goes awry

Yukinoshita POV

"SENPAAIII!"

Once I heard our student council president's signature call from the hallway, I felt my spirits drop a second time. Isshiki-san is probably one of the last people I would want to see at this time, in this complex of a situation. On a normal day, I wouldn't dislike Isshiki's bright and cutesy character, and she usually goes on to bother…him… with her student council president duties. However, today is certainly not a normal day. Within the past hour, I've witnessed a side of Yuigahama-san I haven't seen before, and learned of something I would never have thought Hikigaya-kun would ever do. From this, I am having qualms about the imminent meeting with Isshiki-san. Since it is already after school hours, I suspect that she might already know about Hikigaya-kun's absence, and that she would come to us for confirmation. In that case, it would be our turn to comfort her, and looking at Yuigahama's condition, it looks like the bulk of the work falls in my hands. I looked over at Yuigahama and saw her looking back at me, her eyes describing a pleading look. I knew that she was still shaken from earlier, and that Isshiki would only add more discomfort to the situation.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this," I spoke, using the most gentle voice I could create. Yuigahama kept looking at me, but finally nodded a little. Now that we were in agreement, I turned to door and waited for Isshiki to appear. As if on cue, she appeared at the doorway. It reminded me of Yuigahama's entrance not too long ago. But that's where the similarities ended. She was panting a little from running, but her eyes weren't puffy from crying. In fact, she was…smiling? Does that mean…

"Hallo Yukino-senpai! Yui-senpai! SENPAAI—" she stopped and I could see her eyes scan the room. "Huh? Where's senpai?"

Oh no, Isshiki didn't know of Hikigaya-kun's…disappearance? As much as I am relieved that the word hasn't spread as much as I expected, I now felt more uncomfortable as the worst possible scenario has been realized: Isshiki does not know yet and I would have to break the news to her. I looked at Yuigahama again, and she was obviously in panic mode. I turned my attention back to the waiting Isshiki, and prepared a solution.

"Good afternoon, Isshiki-san. Hikigaya-kun couldn't make it…today." I then studied her reaction, a mixture of surprise, confusion, and…sadness? She's already saddened by my first statement? Did she see through what I said? As far as I know, only Hikigaya-kun possesses an observant skill of that caliber, and I doubt she could replicate his ability to discern a person's true motives. However, I have to resolve this problem before it escalates. The temperature in the room already fell a few degrees, and heaviness in the room became unbearable. I have to treat the situation cautiously, but I need more time.

"Ne, Isshiki-san, how about we go out and talk about what you need from us this time?" Sometimes the solution is more time to think of a better solution. Also, since Isshiki-san didn't know about his situation, she would have come to us for a different reason, most likely another request from the student council.

"What I need…ah yes! That's a great idea Yukino-senpai! The room feels a little cold, so we could go somewhere that's warmer!" Isshiki-san, did you just read my mind? "I know! Let's go to the café!"

The plan worked easily. Almost too easily. I turned to Yuigahama, and she seemed content with the decision to leave the clubroom. In fact, if my eyes weren't deceiving me, I could see a slight smile on her face. Maybe the old Yuigahama has returned, and maybe things will get better, right?

We walked out of the clubroom and off school campus, towards downtown Chiba. The café was a good ten minute walk from the school, giving me time to assess the situation at hand. Iroha Isshiki: student council president, with a bright and foxy character. In terms of her relationship to Hikigaya-kun, she could be defined as "close" to him, but I would describe them as more of a senpai-kouhai relationship, and a very lopsided one indeed. I would probably need a calculator to even find out the number of times Hikigaya-kun's help was needed by his kouhai, ironically so since one of his mottos states, "To work is to lose." The work he has done for the Service Club most likely surpassed all the "effort" he used for the first sixteen years of his life, though that doesn't really say so much now does it. Before his introduction to the service club, if a normal person were to stare into his dead-fish eyes and request him to do extra work, he would obviously reject and cut any ties with that person indefinitely. That's the Hikigaya-kun that joined the service club almost a year ago, the one who…wait, how did I go off on this tangent? Back to Isshiki-san, who I believe would have a reaction to the news. However, on a scale of one to ten in terms of intensity, Isshiki-san would probably score a six. For reference, I would rate Yuigahama's reaction as an eight, and mine as a three. As I stated before, I would not expect her to see Hikigaya-kun as much more than a pessimistic yet reliable senpai. No offense Yuigahama, but a reaction greater than a nine I would only expect from Hikigaya-kun's immediate family members and maybe even his future significant other, if that is even possible. Hah, the day Hikigaya-kun actually accepts the idea of relationships is the day the writer Wataru Watari releases Volume 12 of his popular light novel [1]. It would be quite the contest to see who stays single longer, Hiki-loner-kun or Hiratsuka-sensei…no, I am definitely not suggesting they go together, student-teacher relationships are strictly forbidden, and that is an indecent idea that only the likes of Hikipevert-kun would think of. Okay, back to the main issue. With Isshiki-san, I would have to account for all possibilities, even those that are literally impossible. So hypothetically, if Isshiki's reaction reaches or surpasses that of Yuigahama, it would certainly create a tense atmosphere at the café, and having Yuigahama around would only make the situation worse. Maybe the café wasn't the perfect location, as I would fear for the ears and sanity of its customers. Perhaps an underground bunker is more suitable, or a deserted island, or…stop it Yukino, you do not have time for this. At this time I would usually blame Hikigaya-kun for distracting me, yet the focus of this issue is…him. Anyway, maybe I'm overreacting to the situation at hand, since the probability of Isshiki creating such a firestorm is next to zero if not zero. On the other hand, the probability of Hikigaya-kun running away is also the same. With this, I unfortunately cannot leave anything to chance. Now, time to formulate a solution—

"Ah, Yukino-senpai! We're here!" Heh? I found myself staring at the front door to the café. Disappointed with my failed effort to conjure a solution, I resorted to my original method of comforting and reassuring. If it worked for Yuigahama, it should for Isshiki. I sighed and readied myself before opening the door and entering.

The café had a reasonable number of customers, judging it was a school-night and still technically winter. I led the two girls to a table near the window and we took a seat, Yuigahama sitting next to me and Isshiki sitting across. I made sure I was closer to the door than Isshiki, so I could stop her before things go south, although that was an extreme precaution. Turning to Yuigahama, I see her condition has improved since what happened in the clubroom, and I was slightly relieved. Just then, a waiter came over to take our orders. I went first.

"I'll just have green tea, please."

"Eh, I'll have the caramel macchiato." Geez Yuigahama, ordering a fancy-named and equally priced caffeinated and sugar-rich drink. On a normal day, I would be concerned about restraining a hyper Yuigahama. At least she wasn't stuttering anymore. However, when Isshiki spoke, I felt the hair on my skin stand up.

"Eto, I'll have a MAX Coffee." Suddenly, alarms started firing off in my mind. MAX Coffee. MAX Coffee. Hikigaya-kun's beloved MAX Coffee. The sickly sweet beverage that only a certain fish-eyed loner can tolerate, and one of the last drinks I expected our student council president to drink. Both Yuigahama and I were staring at her in disbelief, yet she didn't seem to notice. She continued to stare out the window, with a slight tinge of…pink? Okay…this is not right, we shouldn't be making Isshiki uncomfortable about a simple beverage choice. I quickly came up with something to diffuse the situation.

"Ne, Isshiki-san—"

"Iroha, when did you start drinking MAX Coffee?" Baka! I shot Yuigahama a cold stare, and she instantly froze and realized her mistake, and I could see her lips moving to say "Gomenasai". Isshiki then looked at us, fumbling with her response.

"Oh, ehh, well I, just started drinking it to see if it was really as bad as you guys say, since senpai always drinks it, and…well…" The situation became awkward, again.

"Isshiki-san, never mind Max Coffee. Say, how are your student council duties?" Isshiki made a complete 180 in expression.

"Oh! You know, they keep giving me so much work to do! You remember when the other schools joined for the Christmas event? Now, they like want to do the same thing with an end-of-year event for the 3rd years going off to university. I mean, that seems totally fun and all, but it means more work for the student council, which means more work for me!" Isshiki continued her drawn-out rant about her role as student council president, and a few minutes later, our drinks arrived.

"You know, I was thinking of bringing senpai here today, but he couldn't make it right?" Suddenly, the atmosphere became tense again. Why does Hikigaya-kun have to come up in our conversation so often?

"Yeah…well, Hikigaya-kun said he was busy after school helping his little sister Komachi with something. We all know he has a sis-con by now." Yuigahama looked at me with a slightly saddened look after my jab, probably because it resembled what he wrote in his letter. Luckily, Isshiki didn't notice.

"Right! I knew he had a sis-con, right Yui-senpai?" Yuigahama again had the expression of a scared cat again. Come on Yuigahama, at least try to be in your character. Surprisingly, her expression changed to one with a bright smile I've seen so many times. She must have read my mind.

"Exactly! Like, he always seems so much nicer with anything that involves Komachi! I mean, what he's doing today has to be really important that he missed school—"

"Heh? Senpai missed school today?" Yuigahama...scratch everything. If you were reading my mind, then ignore everything I meant before about trying to act in character. Just stay quiet. I internally face-palmed myself as the situation became even more complicated.

"Yes, Isshiki-san, I'm afraid that Hikigaya-kun may become a delinquent one day and won't be able to make it in society. Then, his only option left is to become a house-husband."

Isshiki started giggling. "Yukino-senpai, stop making fun of senpai so much! Though, he being a house husband does fit his character." She then lowered her voice. "I guess that's alright as well…" Huh? Now Isshiki was saying nonsensical things.

"Isshiki-san, I do not think Hikigaya-kun being a house-husband is alright for him, but I do acknowledge your effort to sympathize for his pathetic cause."

"Eh? Did I say that out loud!?" I guess everybody caught the Hiki-germs. Well, at least the issue of Hikigaya-kun has been averted, for now. I felt bad for lying to her, but now really wasn't the best time to break the news…

"Oi, it's Hayato-senpai! And Miura-senpai and Tobe-senpai and Ebina-senpai! Hallo!" After Isshiki mentioned those names, I turned around to see Hayama's clique entering the café.

"Ah, good afternoon, Isshiki" Hayama-san warmly greeted, motioning his group to walk towards our table. As they approached, time seemed to slow down as my mind entered a slight panic mode. Since they were all in Yuigahama's class, they already knew about Hikigaya-kun's disappearance, and they probably do not know that Isshiki doesn't know yet. Why does the situation have to keep getting worse? As they arrived, they apparently just noticed me and Yuigahama sitting across from Isshiki.

"Oh, good afternoon Yukinoshita and Yui."

"Good afternoon to you too Hayama-san. Interesting seeing all of you here, right?"

He chuckled a little. "Yeah, we just decided to hang out over her for a while, it must be the same for you three too."

Isshiki then entered the conversation. "Yeah! Before we came here, we were in the clubroom and it was just so cold there. I mean, sometimes I can't believe you can stay there for so long." Thanks Isshiki for that wonderful comment.

"Well, Isshiki-san, you have been coming to the service club a lot more often recently…" I noticed a slight twist in Isshiki's expression, which meant I accidently stepped on a landmine. My apologies, Isshiki-san. Now, we should be fine as long as we avoid—

"Ne, Yui, you feeling any better?" Hayama-san, why do you have to make things so complicated with that inflated chivalrous character of yours? You just had to mention this sensitive topic now? I glanced at Yuigahama, seeing her hesitate for a moment. Then her happy mask returned.

"Yeah Hayato! I feel totally better!"

"Eh Yui-senpai? Were you sick or something?" Not now Isshiki.

"No, Isshiki, Yui was a little down after hearing that Hikitani—"

"Hikigaya-kun," I cut in, "and yeah, she was a little upset after hearing that he was absent, but everything was cleared up when we heard that he was only helping Komachi with something." I waited for Isshiki to look away before I turned to Hayama's confused expression and gave him a warning glare, placing my index finger on my lips and tilting my head towards the student council president. It took a moment, but it seemed like Hayama somewhat understood what I meant, and slightly nodded.

"Yukinoshita, what are you talking about?" Miura-san refuted. "Didn't Hikio, like—" Luckily, Hayama came to the rescue and wrapped his arm around her and used his free hand to cover her mouth.

"Now Yumiko, we don't need two girls worrying about him right now." Again with his chivalrous character. Miura, on the other hand, became a mess of emotions, ranging from being disgusted about Hayama's comment to being flustered by their current body positions. Her face became an increasingly darker shade of red as the seconds went by. Miura, stop being so flustered right now, you know Isshiki's sitting right there.

"Aww…" Ebina piped up. "Looks like the Hayato x Hikitani ship sank! That's such a pity! I was so excited to see the two of them finally showing their affection for each other and taking it to the next level and—"…and there goes Ebina-san's nose as her mind apparently spiraled into space.

"Hey, what's up with you guys? You're all acting so strange." Tobe. Don't. Say. Another. Word. Hayama was about to move again before it was too late.

"Irohasu, do ya know what's up with them?" Stop Tobe. "Oh! I think I know. But it seems like Yui cheered up!" I needed to stop this, but I couldn't find my voice. "I also was kinda depressed when Yui said Hikitani…"

"Tobe-san, no—"

"Tobe, you shouldn—"

"…ran away." The temperature of the café suddenly dropped twenty degrees. Everything froze. I felt a cold sweat form on my forehead as emotions started to form, namely anger, specifically towards Tobe. Before I was about to murder him, I resisted the temptation and turned my attention to Isshiki. She was also frozen in place, her mouth left slightly open, her eyes unreadable. Everyone else reacted similarly, except for Tobe, of course. "Um, you guys okay? Did I say something wro—"

"Tobe-san," I spoke, feeling the venom and spite flow out of my mouth. "Some things are better to be left unsaid, and I hope you understand this the next time you open your mouth." Tobe jumped back a little, immediately closing that mouth of his. Silence ensued for some time, adding to the awkward nature of the situation.

"Um…I think it would be best if we were on our way, pardon for our…ehh…conversation." With that, he signaled his group to take their leave.

"Right, well it's alright. See you tomorrow." They were about to leave when I thought of something. "Oh, Yuigahama-san, you can go with them now…I'll stay with Isshiki-san." Yuigahama looked at me for a second, and she looked slightly relieved.

"Okay, Yukinon. See you tomorrow. Um…bye Iroha!"

"…"

Yuigahama got up and left with Hayama and the others. That left me and Isshiki at the table. She was still frozen in place, and the atmosphere only became more tense. Minutes passed in silence. Finally, I cleared my throat to speak. It looks like I have no choice but to speak the truth and do what I could.

"Isshiki-san, I'm sorry I lied earlier. I know I shouldn't have, especially to you."

"…"

"I hoped that I could tell you when the time was right…that was entirely my fault."

"…"

"Anyway…about Hikigaya-kun." I saw her twitch a little.

"What Tobe said…was true. Yuigahama-san received a call from Komachi that Hikigaya-kun…" I paused a moment for a breath. "Hikigaya-kun…ran away." I looked down at the table, hating myself more than ever. I looked back up at Isshiki-san, and she still sat there motionless. Her eyes weren't directed specifically at me, more like somewhere above my head…or into empty space.

"Isshiki-san, I think I know how you feel right now—"

"No, Yukino-senpai, you don't."

Those words pierced my mind, shattering my current train of thought. I was taken aback by her, but I knew better not to press any further.

"Okay, maybe I don't know, but still…I hope you understand the situation better now." I realized I was still beating around the bush. "Isshiki-san—"

"I was thinking of bringing senpai here today." I flinched a bit when she repeated her earlier words. She then closed her eyes. "I must be an idiot."

"Isshiki-san, you are most certainly not an idiot—"

"I-I knew senpai wanted something genuine."

"…"

"I even had…a p-plan." A plan? Isshiki, what are you saying right now?

"Isshiki-san…" I couldn't think of what to say. I stared at her, and I could see her on the verge of tears.

"How did I b-become like this? It's all your fault, senpai."

I was totally lost. What did Isshiki-san mean? I had to figure out myself, since right now she was also lost in her own world. I started putting the pieces of information Isshiki gave. She had a plan, and she wanted Hikigaya-kun to come to the café today…so that was her plan? It also must have involved MAX coffee somehow…right? That means…she started drinking MAX coffee because…wait. The information started meshing together into a complete picture. Isshiki planned to meet with Hikigaya-kun and wanted to drink the same thing the he usually did, but why? That's a thing that is usually reserved to…it couldn't be. That…that is impossible, even more so than his disappearance. I looked at Isshiki, who had tears running down her face now.

"Isshiki-san, what…what do you mean…"

"Y-Yukino-senpai, you should be able to figure out."

"I-I can't."

She sighed, tears still streaming down her face. "I understand, it took me so long to figure out too."

"Isshiki…"

"I always thought it was Hayato…" She was sobbing now.

"But after Destinyland, I knew what was happening…"

"…what I really felt."

"So…I thought…I thought…"

"Isshiki-san…"

"…I thought I could give h-him something genuine…"

It couldn't be. It was impossible.

"…because…"

But then again…

"…because I…"

…Hikigaya-kun running away was impossible…

"…I…like…"

…so this was nothing new…

"…senp—no... H-Hachiman."

But it still hurt.

[1]: Wataru Watari is the author of Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru .

A/N: Phew…that was intense. I always thought Isshiki had something for our favorite loner, and as proof, watch Hayama after his refusal at Destinyland, or in episode 12 of season 2 where the girls all look up when Orimoto asks whether she ever gave Valentine cookies to 8man (also confirms harem). Now, before anyone decides to roast this chapter, I have explaining to do. For those who believe the OOC is too much, I see it as more of how 8man changes those around him, basically proving his entire theory about his insignificance wrong. Also, as you have noticed, Yukino will have to deal with a similar problem of proving herself wrong. That is why she is the main character, and it follows her line. Sorry for giving some clues away, but I felt it had to be done. BTW, I got some inspiration from the OVA, with Iroha and Hachiman together. However, I won't reveal the main ship, because you know it already, using your unreasonably large amount of logic.

Also, THANK YOU for almost 100 favorites and over 150 follows. I couldn't believe how much this story is liked. Again, this is my first fanfiction, so I have underestimated myself so many times. I won't let you guys down.

Anyway, since winter break's coming up, you'll see updates coming up faster, so stay tuned. This story, as I have said before, is just getting started. There will be much more development, as well as many more surprises along the way. See you then.