Chapter 1.5: A Crack in the Ice

I've always known that people are liars. They lie to others, to themselves, to society. It's a necessary evil to keep this farce we call civilization running smoothly. But when the person who lies is someone you thought you understood—someone you respected—it leaves you wondering if you ever knew them at all.

I've considered myself good at reading people. Call it cynicism, call it experience—I've learned to peel away facades and observe the hollow spaces people hid behind. But no matter how much I prided myself on my insight, there were things I could never see coming.

Things like the day Yukinoshita Yukino stopped being the Yukinoshita I've always known.

Yukinoshita Yukino, the embodiment of cold logic and brutal honesty, had always been an enigma. But lately, that enigma had become something else entirely.

It started subtly, in the way all life-changing things do. A slip of the tongue, a look in her eyes that wasn't quite hers. The way she would smile—not the sharp, cutting smirk I had come to expect, but something softer. Too soft. Unfitting.

A late afternoon in the Service Club, the low hum of an autumn wind rattling against the windows. Yukinoshita sat across from me, tea cup poised delicately in her hands, but there was something off about the way she stared at the table. Not distant, not lost in thought—empty.

"Yukinon, do you wanna grab some crepes after school?" Yui's voice was bright as ever, carrying a hopeful warmth that I knew would be crushed by Yukino's usual indifference.

But this time, Yukino's lips curled into a small, almost shy smile. "That sounds... nice, Yui-san."

I felt something cold coil in my chest. Yukinoshita Yukino didn't say things like that. Not in that voice. Not with that expression.

Yui blinked in surprise, her excitement tinged with confusion. "Really? I mean—yeah! Let's go!"

I watched them, my usual dead fish stare hiding the unease gnawing at me. Yukinoshita wasn't acting like Yukinoshita. The way her shoulders were too relaxed, the way she met their eyes without her usual sharp gaze.

It was as though she was... someone else.

Author's Note:
As I'm sure you've all noticed, this chapter was written from Hachiman's POV. Any .5 chapter going forward will always be written from a different character's POV. I will try to upload a .5 chapter along with every regular chapter but no promises. I'm still working on a consistent upload schedule but it's looking to be at least one chapter a week. Hopefully university assignments this semester doesn't blow my upload schedule out of the water. Anyways thank you for reading, please leave a review if you want.