So she really had no shame at all, huh!
Her forum inbox was completely flooded, all of it from that [What Do I Do? She Likes Me Too Much].
[How can you say that about Yukinoshita?]
[Yukinoshita would never do something like that. And even if she did, there must be some kind of misunderstanding!]
[You don't understand her at all!]
Unwilling to back down, she tried to keep arguing, only to realize the next second that she couldn't even reply!
[Your account has been suspended by the forum administrators for 99,999 days due to rule violations.]
Eriri: "..."
"Yukinoshita, did something good happen to you?"
Kasumigaoka smiled as she propped her chin on her hand and looked over. She twirled a pen between her fingers.
Her eyes were wine red. When she smiled, they looked even more like two gently rippling pools of wine. When she came close, Yukino almost imagined she could smell the wine's faint, sweet fragrance.
Yukino composed herself and put down her phone. "Nothing."
Miura had just sent her a few screenshots of her arguing with someone online. On the forum at Sobu High School, she had been haughty and overbearing, yet hadn't used a single curse word as she verbally pummeled that alt account until its owner was practically reduced to a gray, lifeless husk.
Yukino wanted to tell her that there was no point in doing any of this. Even if she tore one person down, plenty of others would still hate her, and she was already used to this sort of thing.
Besides, if that person was a victim of Blonde Yukino's harem antics, then from her perspective, cursing her out was perfectly reasonable.
But Miura had said, [I don't believe Yukinoshita is the kind of person she says she is.]
Yukino had fallen silent for a moment. [What if I really did do it?]
[Then Yukinoshita must have had a good reason.]
After that, Yukino couldn't come up with another word.
She had never experienced what it felt like to be trusted and understood without conditions.
Blonde Yukino wasn't her, but she herself was Yukino. She had never thought of denying or explaining this somewhat paradoxical situation.
She was used to keeping quiet, used to being misunderstood.
Her older sister, Haruno, had once mocked her, saying that Yukino was clearly unwilling to be treated as the family's eternal backup to Haruno, yet still unconsciously imitated everything her older sister did.
Yukino used to fly into helpless rages whenever she heard that. But now she had to admit that Haruno was right.
As a child, she thought that if she was good enough, she could earn her parents' approval. The truth was, no matter how hard she tried, she could only ever see her sister's back.
Sometimes, her mother would turn around to look at her and say that Yukino was already more than accomplished enough for the younger daughter of the family.
Yukino could never find anyone to rely on or feel safe with. The only way she could find even a little confidence that she was on the right path was to learn from a sister as accomplished and dazzling as Haruno.
But there was one thing about Haruno that Yukino could never learn.
Haruno dared to disagree with and gently advise Mom. She could naturally act cute and wheedle her way with Mom. But Yukino had never dared to do that.
A child who wasn't valued or expected to amount to anything didn't dare presume to have the privilege of acting cute or throwing a tantrum.
Kasumigaoka rested her chin on her hand and casually wrote formulas and diagrams on a sheet of paper. "But your whole vibe is completely different from last week—"
On the surface, Yukino didn't seem all that different from last week. She still had that expressionless, icy face, and lips that never seemed to say anything nice.
And yet, there was something noticeably gentler about her whole demeanor, like snow beginning to melt.
Kasumigaoka was still curious. "Did you win the lottery?"
Yukino: "..."
"Or did you fall in love? Otherwise, why would you look so uncharacteristically foolish?"
Yukino finally sighed. "This is class time. Please don't whisper to your neighbor, Sawamura."
"All right, all right."
The lessons were still extremely efficient, but never made anyone feel the slightest sense of accomplishment. No matter what the subject was, or what new material they covered, Yukino always said she understood after Kasumigaoka explained it once.
Hey, hey, are you the King of Understanding or something?!
During the break, Yukino took out a notebook and seemed to start calculating something.
Kasumigaoka, who was thinking about the plot of her New Book, was curious too. "What are you doing?"
"Calculating how much money I have left and how much I can cut back on next month."
Kasumigaoka teased her. "Does a rich young lady have to worry about money too?"
Yukino remained calm. "My family might cut off my card next weekend, so I'd better prepare in advance."
"You can predict that too?"
Then she added casually with a laugh, "If you really made your parents mad, just go home and act cute, Yukinoshita."
Yukino looked up at Kasumigaoka. "...You really do seem like the sort of awful woman who's used to acting cute."
Kasumigaoka was about to snap back, but suddenly stopped.
Just how neglected did she have to feel at home to never even consider taking the easy way out and acting cute?
A moment later, she clicked her tongue and crossed her arms, looking rather pleased with herself. "Too bad someone as awful as me is Kasumi Utako... Kasumi Utako's lifelong best friend."
Kasumi Utako was the author of the light novel Love Metronome.
"Stop showing off."
"I'm not showing off. Think about it. Don't my name and Kasumi Utako's have a lot in common? That's because I'm her inspirational best friend."
"Really...?"
Yukino said that, but she was already starting to half believe her.
Kasumigaoka gave a smug little hum. "Think about it. After volumes one through three of Love Metronome, Kasumi Utako never held another signing. If I didn't know her, how could I have gotten you signed copies of volumes one through five?"
Yukino propped her head up with one hand. "Maybe you forged Kasumi Utako's signature. You're exactly the kind of person who'd do something like that."
"Hey, Yukinoshita!"
Yukino's voice, usually sharp and sarcastic when she spoke to her, softened. "All right, I was just joking."
She rested her chin on her hand and looked over. Her gaze seemed to flow like soft ripples of water. "Since you're best friends, do you know what genre Kasumi Utako's New Book is?"
Kasumi Utako had already announced her New Book on Twitter, and Yukino, who followed her, of course knew.
She really did love light novels. She had plenty of paperbacks at home, and often carried one in her schoolbag.
For some reason, Kasumigaoka, who had just received this rare display of gentleness from Yukino, felt something in her chest grow tight and heavy.
Had she really gotten so happy just from looking at her phone?
Who had made her so happy?
A new boyfriend?
But she smiled warmly and said, "I think it's supposed to be a school story."
Yukino's eyes lit up, just as she'd expected. "A school story..."
Kasumigaoka liked seeing Yukino's eyes sparkle because of her.
She was just about to say something when Yukino asked another curious question.
"Is Kasumi Utako really an elegant, well-educated thirty-five-year-old woman?"
"Uh..."
"When is the manga adaptation of Kasumi Utako's Love Metronome coming out?"
"Uh..."
"When is Kasumi Utako's New Book going to be released?"
"Uh..."
Incredible. There was a serial-update pest here too!
"It looks like you really like Kasumi Utako..." Kasumigaoka paused, drawing out her final words in a suggestive tone before smiling softly. "...and her Love Metronome."
Yukino really did love the series. After Kasumigaoka gave her a signed set, she bought another one, claiming that one was for collecting and the other for reading.
Yukino cleared her throat, her expression solemn and proper. "Sawamura, shouldn't we get back to class?"
Whenever this person got embarrassed, she always tried to act stern. After these past few weeks of tutoring, Kasumigaoka had gotten to know that about her.
Kasumigaoka smiled. "We're almost done with every subject, so let's take another break. Besides, aren't you curious how I met Kasumi Utako?"
The drawn-out ending and the slight curve of her lips carried the distinctly mischievous air that belonged to her. From the moment Yukino first met her, she had thought she was a bad woman.
As it turned out, her sixth sense was always right.
But she was so curious!
Yukino Meow Meow was so curious that her tail had perked right up, but she still pretended to be calm. "If you insist on telling me."
How annoying. When had she picked up this tsundere streak from Miura?
Fortunately, Kasumigaoka seemed to be in a good mood today and didn't keep needling her. "Ah, let me think..."
She seemed to be remembering something from a long time ago. Resting her chin on her hand, she tilted her head slightly, her gaze growing distant.
"Back then, it was Kasumi Utako's first signing for Love Metronome. I was the first fan to arrive, so Kasumi Utako considered me her very first reader..."
It had really happened, but in her retelling, the roles of the people involved had been switched.
When the signing had been quiet and she'd felt awkward and dejected, Aki had appeared as an enthusiastic fan and showered her with praise. It had indeed made her happy back then.
Yukino puffed out her cheeks in displeasure. "I was overseas at the time..."
Kasumigaoka laughed delightedly. "You're not jealous, are you?"
"...That's an idiotic thing to say."
"Haha, all right, I'll keep going."
Kasumigaoka really did seem happy now.
Back when they had first met, even with a smile on her face, this woman's eyes had looked numb and dark, as if she were sinking into a foul-smelling swamp.
Yukino decided to be magnanimous and let her continue.
"Since I was such a devoted fan, I said lots and lots of lovely things to Kasumi Utako. That was when she started to like me."
Yukino sounded skeptical. "How could someone as kind, steadfast, and strong as Kasumi Utako develop a liking for you after hearing a few insincere compliments?"
Kasumigaoka: ...I had no idea you thought of me that way.
"Don't be fooled by Love Metronome being the Rookie King with such impressive sales now. When the first volume originally came out, it didn't do very well, and the editor even told Kasumi Utako they'd cut the series after three volumes."
Although these memories were so heavy that just thinking about them used to weigh on her, Kasumigaoka felt unexpectedly calm as she spoke of them now. Her tone even had a light, teasing edge.
"Then, when the second volume came out, sales and word of mouth started gradually improving because of my enthusiastic recommendations on Twitter. After that, Love Metronome slowly became popular."
Kasumigaoka really did have a Twitter alt account with quite a few followers. Even if Yukino wanted to see "proof," she could keep making things up.
Whether it was mischief or some impulse deep inside her, she simply loved seeing Yukino praise "Kasumi Utako."
Yukino pressed her lips together slightly. "...So, Kasumigaoka, you took advantage of Kasumi Utako when she was at the lowest point in her life and got close to her while she was vulnerable."
"You don't have to put it so harshly... Later, Kasumi Utako and I had plenty of discussions about how the story should develop, too."
"After that, Kasumi Utako started treating me as her best friend~"
Yukino held her pen and absently rested its tip against her chin, her thin lips turning down slightly. "Oh..."
Someone so good at keeping her emotions in check was showing a rare, childish displeasure.
Kasumigaoka found it amusing. "What about you, Yukinoshita? Why do you like Love Metronome so much?"
"...There's no particularly special reason."
Before you continue