An extremely sweet, soft female voice came through from the other end of the phone.
"Oh? Ms. Nakajima, hello. May I ask why you're calling me so late?" Hachiman said politely.
"It's nothing much. I just wanted to ask you about Tsurumi-san."
Nakajima continued.
"Has something happened to her recently?" Hachiman asked nervously.
"Nothing serious. I just feel that she's a little withdrawn?" Masami Nakajima carefully considered her wording before finally saying "withdrawn."
"Well... she is a little like that. It's something she inherited from her mother."
Hachiman said this with a bitter smile.
"Is it serious?" Hachiman was somewhat worried.
"Well, how should I put it? Other than the two girls she became friends with at the beginning, she basically doesn't talk to anyone else."
Masami Nakajima thought for a moment before saying this.
"That's fine, then. As long as she has friends, there's no problem. As for everyone else? She's never been the type to cater to other people, so it's nothing to worry about."
Hachiman said with a smile.
"Is that so?" Masami Nakajima frowned, clearly dissatisfied with Hachiman's explanation.
"But isn't it wrong for a child to be like this? Other children are all so lively. I'm honestly a little worried."
"So you think being different is wrong, Teacher?" Hachiman's expression turned cold.
"Is it like being naturally left-handed is wrong? Would you rather use corporal punishment to correct it and make her the same as everyone else?"
"To be frank, Teacher, I don't agree with your philosophy. In my view, since this child has this kind of personality, I can't simply kill it and turn her into a tool stamped out of the same mold just because she's different from most children."
"No... That's not what I mean. I just feel that her behavior isn't very good... If this continues, she'll easily be ostracized by the other students."
"You're worrying too much. Little Rumi was the one who excluded everyone else from the beginning."
"Exclusion isn't limited to the majority acting against the minority. It can also be the minority showing disdain toward the group."
"It's like when I was in middle school. Some classmates disliked me and kept trying to provoke me, but I simply ignored them. At most, they could only disgust themselves with their own actions."
"They had no actual impact on me."
"Likewise, Little Rumi isn't interested in those who try to talk to her, so she excluded them from her social circle from the very beginning."
"Th... That so?" Masami Nakajima listened blankly to Big Hachiman's lecture.
"Yes. That's simply how this child is, so you don't need to worry."
"Then... let's leave it at that."
Masami Nakajima was beginning to question her life choices. Which of them was the teacher, exactly?
"Thank you very much for caring about Rumi, Teacher. If she runs into any problems at school, please be sure to inform me and Yukino."
Hachiman spoke politely.
"That's only natural. The students' physical and mental well-being has always been something I care about."
"In that case, I'm sorry for the trouble. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up."
"Mm... All right," Masami Nakajima agreed.
Chapter 60: Hachiman, Move Already!
The preparations for the Cultural Festival were still proceeding in full swing. The festive atmosphere on the Sobu High campus was gradually growing stronger.
Yet Hachiman and Yukino, the two Cultural Festival committee members, remained unaffected by the atmosphere, handling the work assigned to them at their usual unhurried pace.
After finishing the day's tasks, Hachiman and Yukino would still return to the Service Club to drink tea and chat with Yui.
However, there was an unwelcome guest in the Service Club today.
"Little Yukino seems to be doing pretty well at school~" Haruno held a teacup in her hands, gently blew on it, took a sip, and then started eating cookies.
"It's been a long time since I've eaten something Little Yukino made herself."
Haruno narrowed her eyes and spoke with a hint of nostalgia.
"Has it?" Hachiman suddenly interrupted. "She makes all three of my meals, plus midnight snacks and refreshments."
"You've got some nerve saying that!" Haruno glared at Hachiman through clenched teeth.
"Do you treat Little Yukino like your girlfriend or like a free maid?"
"What? I never forced her. She does it entirely of her own free will." Hachiman continued provoking Haruno.
"Unlike someone who can't get any of her cooking at all."
"You!" Haruno's chest rose and fell violently. She looked thoroughly enraged.
"All right, are you two still children?" Yukino looked helplessly at the two people fighting over her.
"You're both adults, yet you're fighting with your own sister over cookies."
"How childish," Hachiman said disdainfully.
"Who are you to judge me? Yukino hasn't said anything. Can't sisters have a deep bond?" Haruno glared at Hachiman with her beautiful pale-red, jewel-like eyes.
"Fine. Whatever makes you happy."
"Heh." Haruno let out a cold laugh and finished the red tea in her cup in one go.
"I'm leaving first. I still have to direct the Cultural Festival. The committee chair Meguri picked isn't even qualified to be a mascot."
Haruno sighed. She really couldn't bear to watch her alma mater's once-a-year event get ruined like this.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Hachiman said this to Haruno.
"If you think I'm working hard, come help me. What use is there in just standing around talking?" Haruno rolled her eyes.
"Fine. Since you put it that way."
Hachiman lazily stood up and casually pulled Yukino over to Haruno's side.
"What are you standing there for? Do you want me to carry you?"
"Crouch down!" Haruno suddenly said.
"Huh?" Hachiman didn't understand for a moment and asked blankly.
"Didn't you say you'd carry me over? If you don't crouch down, do you expect me to jump onto you?"
Haruno looked at Hachiman seriously as she walked over to him.
"You're a little tall."
Haruno patted Hachiman on the shoulder. "Heeey~" With a burst of strength, she jumped directly onto his back.
"Hachiman-kun, get moving~" Haruno instinctively tightened her legs around Hachiman's thighs, wrapped one arm around his neck, and pointed ahead with the other.
Hachiman felt the soft sensation against his back and the hot breath brushing his ear. The corner of his mouth twitched as he found his free-spirited sister-in-law utterly exasperating.
"Why aren't you moving?" Haruno asked in confusion. At the same time, she squeezed Hachiman's waist with her thigh, trying to make him move like she was spurring a horse.
"Big Sister..." Yukino's voice was filled with chill.
"What is it?" Haruno pretended to look at her dark-faced younger sister in confusion.
"Isn't that enough?"
"Hehehe~" Haruno giggled coquettishly and jumped down from Hachiman.
"Is Little Yukino jealous?" Haruno grinned and poked Yukino's cheek.
"Ooh~ Look at those puffed-up cheeks."
"Are you done playing?" Hachiman was covered in black lines.
"I wasn't playing. Wasn't it Hachiman-kun who said he'd carry me?"
Hachiman said nothing. He simply pulled Yukino along and walked away.
"Hey~ Wait for me!" Seeing that the two of them were ignoring her completely, Haruno pouted in boredom before hurrying after them.
"Ah~ Big Sister Haruno, you're here!" Meguri Shiromeguri called out in delight.
"Could I afford not to come?" Haruno moved close to her and lowered her voice.
"Meguri, don't blame me for saying this, but you had someone as capable as Yukino available and still chose someone who doesn't even have a shell."
"Senpai~ You can't blame me for that... Your sister didn't want to do it."
Meguri Shiromeguri smiled bitterly.
"Even so, why did you choose her? What would you have done if I hadn't come this time?"
Haruno complained to Meguri Shiromeguri unhappily.
"What does that have to do with me~? I may be the Student Council President, but I've already delegated most of my authority to prepare for my entrance exams."
Meguri Shiromeguri smiled gently.
"..." Haruno suddenly fell silent and merely looked at Sagami Minami with pity.
"Just how terrible is your popularity? Even someone as gentle as Meguri ended up like this."
"Well, I'll just consider it seeing you through to the end of your final year as Student Council President."
Haruno waved her hand.
"Everyone~" Haruno called out loudly as she walked to the front, quietly pushing Sagami Minami, who had been speaking, off to the side.
"Did you finish the tasks I gave you yesterday?"
"Here we go again."
Hachiman watched the familiar smile appear on Haruno's face again. He curled his lips and complained to Yukino beside him.
"What?" Yukino asked, somewhat confused.
"She has a rotten personality through and through, but the moment she meets outsiders, she puts on a gentle facade—and they can't even see through it."
"That's because Big Sister considers you family."
Yukino gazed tenderly at Hachiman, her ten fingers tightly interlocked.
"Hachiman~" Haruno suddenly called out, waving at him to come over.
"What?" Hachiman pulled Yukino over to Haruno and took the documents Haruno was holding out in front of her.
"Work, obviously. What else?"
Haruno spoke irritably.
"Do you want to work me to death?"
"Mm, is this all?" Hachiman asked Haruno after skimming through the documents.
"There's another set for Yukino."
Haruno pointed at another stack of documents on the table.
Hachiman reached out and took it, then found an empty seat and began working.
Yukino's own documents had been taken by Hachiman, leaving her with nothing to do. So she could only sit beside him, cup her face in her hands, and stare at Hachiman the entire time.
Haruno caught sight of her sister's lovestruck expression in the midst of her busy work. The corner of her mouth twitched, but she said nothing.
The other committee members sitting in the meeting room couldn't help being drawn to the two of them. They occasionally stole a glance at Yukino as she spaced out, and when their eyes shifted to Hachiman, most of them ground their teeth in anger. They couldn't understand how someone like him had managed to attract Yukino, so they could only curse inwardly.
Such a fine cabbage, ruined by a pig.
Chapter 61: Hayama: Hachiman, Come Here
Sagami Minami felt extremely irritated. She was clearly the chairwoman of this Cultural Festival, so why was no one paying any attention to her? She glared resentfully at Haruno, who was speaking eloquently onstage, and even began holding a grudge against Hachiman, who was working diligently nearby.
"If it weren't for you people, how could I possibly have ended up with no one willing to pay attention to me?"
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