My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As Expected

The mocking voices abruptly stopped. The girls turned around and saw a pink-haired girl.

"What? It's Yui Yuigahama..."

The girls looked utterly confused. "Yukinoshita stole the person Yui liked... Hikigaya, right? Why is she still defending her?"

Hachiman Hikigaya, who'd been dragged into this for no reason, looked up. His dead-fish eyes were full of speechless disbelief: Seriously? How did I get pulled into this?

"I've clarified things between Hikigaya and me plenty of times already. From now on, please don't turn me into a weapon for you to use to spread malice."

Sitting at her desk, Yui Yuigahama smiled brightly. "And as for why Yukinoshita is studying so hard, or what score and ranking she'll get on the next school mock exam, none of that's settled yet. I don't think it's right to mock her so eagerly when you're all classmates."

"And one more thing..."

Before the girls could respond, Yui continued, "Besides, Yukinoshita didn't steal anyone from any of you. If anyone has the right to condemn her, it certainly isn't you."

Her words were serious, weighty, and emphatic—a striking contrast to Yui's usual image as someone who got along with everyone and always wore a smile.

The classroom fell silent for several seconds.

Just then, Miura, Ono, and Kamizawa returned to the classroom together, chatting and laughing. Kamizawa was the first to notice the strange atmosphere.

She smiled in confusion. "What's going on?"

Miura immediately sensed something was off with Yui and worried she might have been bullied. "What's wrong, Yui?"

Yui sat down with a cheerful smile. "Nothing, Yumiko. Everyone's just talking about the next school mock exam."

"What? Exams are super easy!"

Miura sat down. "Yui, you're free after school from now until the week before the exam, right? Come over to my place. I'll tutor you."

Yui's face instantly turned into a mask of anguish. "Yumiko, but I..."

"Shut up, Yui! Your score on the last mock exam nearly fell into the abyss!"

Though Miura could be bossy and take it for granted that she could make decisions for others, she was truly a good friend who cared about them and worried over them.

Yumiko was the best friend Yui had made at Sobu High School.

Of all things, Yui didn't want Yumiko to cry one day because of Yukino.

The next period was a hands-on cooking class. According to the chore list on the schedule, it was Yukino and another girl's turn to go to the storage room and bring back the equipment they'd need.

Yui smiled and patted Komatsu on the shoulder. "Doesn't Matsushita have things to do for the school broadcasting club? I'll go get the cooking equipment with Yukino."

Komatsu had been dreading having to carry such a heavy basket of equipment. At Yui's suggestion, she was delighted.

Then, when Yukino returned to the classroom, Yui cheerfully approached her. "Komatsu has something to do, so I'll go get the equipment with you."

[The system has selected the best option for reversing the Negative Image: carry the cooking-class equipment with Yui Yuigahama]

Yukino glanced at her. "Oh."

After setting down her things, Yukino walked silently toward the front, tying her hair into a ponytail so it wouldn't get in the way.

There was something truly peculiar about her air. With her hair down, she looked like a delicate, fragile doll, but tying it back into a ponytail instantly gave her a vibrant, heroic air.

She really was completely different from before.

The storage room wasn't far away. It was empty except for the two of them. Yukino went over to a large basket and carefully placed the items listed on the checklist inside.

As she worked, the door behind her suddenly shut.

There was no other exit from the storeroom, nor any other source of light. The moment the door closed, everything went pitch-black.

In the darkness, Yui's voice lost its usual sweetness.

"Yukinoshita..."

Her voice was so quiet it was almost a sigh.

"Scold me, curse me, make me suffer... I don't care how. Anything is fine. Please, give it all to me."

"And only to me, Yukinoshita."

"Yumiko, I feel like things between us have gotten a little strange lately~"

Hayama said it with a gentle smile.

Miura's face filled with question marks. "Huh?"

Miura carried her chair over to Hayama's desk and sat beside it. She crossed her legs, her long, shapely limbs stretched out, and lightly rested a finger against her chin, looking lost in thought.

She'd been listening to Hayama talk about Yukino's childhood.

"Lately, a lot of people in class have been gossiping about us. Haven't you heard, Yumiko?"

"...What gossip?"

"They're saying you and Yukinoshita are, ahem... fighting over me, and making a huge scene."

Miura was at a loss for words. "...Where did such an absurd rumor come from?"

Then she said indifferently, "It's not like there haven't been rumors like that before. What can I do about it? Let them talk."

Hayama smiled. "Doesn't Yukinoshita mind hearing those rumors?"

Miura was about to say, What does Yukinoshita have to do with this? Then she suddenly remembered what Yukino had told her the previous weekend.

[Most girls who like Hayama dislike me. I don't want you to dislike me too, Miura.]

Miura's expression instantly grew serious.

She jumped up, quickly dragged her chair back to her own desk, and said, "Hayama, since we're a guy and a girl, I think we should keep our distance at school from now on!"

Hayama: "..."

Miura did the math in her head.

It had been nearly a month since Yukino had transferred to Class 2-F. The month had passed so quickly, and yet it had felt so long. It seemed like only yesterday she'd been happily looking at Yukino, and yet the time had already gone by.

It was also as if years had passed. Time had moved so slowly that she and Yukino had somehow grown so close without her even realizing it.

The next period was cooking class. As Miura gathered her things and headed to the cooking room, she sighed to her two friends. "I'm so worried about Yukinoshita and Yui's school mock exams..."

"I gave Yui a week of intensive tutoring, and marked the key topics for each subject, along with the Knowledge Points most likely to earn her a lot of marks. She should be fine, but Yukinoshita this time..."

Miura had of course noticed how hard Yukino had worked over the past month, but she was still very worried about her. She feared that something might go wrong on the exam, causing Yukino to get a poor score and lose confidence.

She'd also wanted to tutor Yukino, but Yukino said she'd already found a tutor.

Seriously, where did she find such an unreliable tutor?

They were at the same school, studied the same material, and knew how their teachers set exams. How could some tutor from who-knew-where compare to her?

As she grumbled to herself, she turned and saw Kaho laughing as she leaned over Kamizawa's back.

Miura couldn't help laughing too. "Hey, you two, don't fool around in the hallway! I'm the discipline committee member, after all."

The three of them had been close friends since childhood. Ono and Kamizawa, especially, were used to joking around with each other whenever they pleased.

With her queenly air and image to maintain, Miura didn't have the same freedom to act without restraint, even with friends she'd known since childhood.

She thought of the pink hair ribbon Yukino had given her. She'd carefully tucked it away in her bag.

Things that didn't fit her image, things she liked even though they didn't fit what others expected of her...

Miura thought that maybe she could try those things someday.

Even if it was only in front of Yukinoshita.

But when they entered the cooking classroom, Miura found it in disarray. She stepped forward without hesitation. "Quiet! What happened?"

"Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama went to get the cooking equipment, but they still haven't come back..."

Miura paused, then said, "Everyone, take your seats. Hayama, help the class representative hand out the equipment in the classroom. I'll go check the storage room for the rest."

Hayama Hayato, who'd been about to head over to the storeroom, stopped in his tracks and smiled gently as he nodded.

Miura added with a smile, "Something probably held up Yukinoshita and Yui. It's not like a teacher might ask them to help carry some materials or something."

After Miura left, Hayama and the class representative handed out the classroom equipment and checked the ingredients everyone had brought. He heard someone whispering behind him.

"Yui Yuigahama and Yukinoshita... Aren't they rivals in love?"

"They went to get things together this time. Bet they're fighting in the storeroom, hehe..."

"Didn't Yui say that whole rival thing was made up?"

"Tch, you actually believed that? Yui's way too nice."

Hayama cleared his throat and smiled. "Everyone, check the small tools you have. Otherwise, you'll end up making a dish from hell."

It had been like this for a long time, and it was still like this now.

People only saw what they wanted to see, and believed that what they wanted to see was the truth.

The world wasn't gentle or fair, and that was why it was so disappointing.

Yukinoshita.

Miura was walking briskly when she left the classroom. After a few steps, she gave up on appearances and started running.

She ran into Teacher Hiratsuka on the way. Rolling her eyes, Hiratsuka raised the lesson plan in her hand as if to smack her. "No running in the hallways!"

Miura ducked her head and ran past, shielding it with her arms. "Sorry, Teacher Hiratsuka! It's urgent. Just this once!"

Shizuka Hiratsuka watched her go with one hand in her pocket, then sighed with a smile. "Young people..."

So lively and full of energy.

Damn it, she was so jealous!

She returned to her office and slumped into her chair. After glancing at a few emails on her phone, she typed a few words, rubbed her temples, and sent the message.

[Sorry, Mom. I don't really want to go to the arranged date this afternoon.]

[It's not that I'm busy. I just don't want to go.]

As she ran through the hallway and beneath the school building, Miura felt as if she'd returned to that aquarium. In that moment, the world had become an underwater realm, and she was a fish swimming up from the gloomy depths toward the bright surface.

Swimming toward another fish.

Of course, she didn't think Yui and Yukino would fight.

Neither Yui nor Yukino was the kind of person who denied things gently and with restraint. Even if something terrible happened, they'd only stay silent.

But silence wouldn't solve anything.

As their friend, Miura felt she had to resolve the knot between them.

The moment Miura pushed open the closed storeroom door, she felt like a valiant fish leaping through the surface and sending a dazzling spray of water into the air!

With a brilliant smile, she called out, "Yukinoshita..."

Her smile froze.

Inside the storeroom not far away, Yui Yuigahama was held tightly in Yukino's trembling arms. She turned around.

Miura: "..."

The valiant fish had gone smack onto dry land.

She froze for a moment, then tears welled up in her eyes.

"Kasumigaoka... Senior Kasumigaoka?"

The blonde girl with twin-tails had stormed into Class 3-C at Toyogasaki Academy straight after class, her cheeks puffed up in anger. But the seat was empty.

The boy sitting next to Kasumigaoka glanced up at the girl and immediately turned away, hiding his head behind a textbook as if that would fool anyone.

Eriri gave him a gentle smile. "Hirata-senpai~"

Her golden hair was as immaculate as a work of art, her eyes a clear blue, her skin like White Porcelain. Any man meeting her for the first time would be drawn to her in an instant.

She was an almost flawless beauty.

She was Eriri Sawamura, a second-year student who was immensely popular throughout Toyogasaki Academy.