No one knew how happy she had been when she heard the news. She'd had to fight with all her might to keep from getting carried away and doing something stupid again.
But she was still so, so happy.
"This is wonderful, everyone... Everyone finally realized that Yukino is a good person. Now everyone will like her..."
Her voice was already starting to tremble.
Yukino had wanted to say that no matter how exceptional a person was, it was impossible to earn everyone's praise and affection.
But she nodded anyway. "Mm-hm. It's wonderful."
Miura fell silent for a moment, then lowered her head and let out a sob, resting it lightly against Yukino's shoulder.
"I'm not crying..."
Her voice was choked with tears.
Yukino was a little taken aback, but she still reached out and gently patted Miura's back.
Classmate Miura really was such a clingy kid.
"Yuki..."
Yui had just reached the entrance to the school building, carrying three schoolbags in her arms. She looked up and happened to see the scene, and her steps came to a halt.
Her voice quickly faded into the wind.
In the shadow behind the school building, the two figures leaning against each other looked so close.
But Yui, standing there in a daze, felt as if a distant, endless galaxy had come between her and the two of them.
Kasumigaoka: [Does Yukino remember that cat from downstairs at the apartment building the other day?]
Kasumigaoka: [I put up notices downstairs for several days, but no one came forward to claim it. It really must have been abandoned.]
Kasumigaoka: [I adopted it!]
Kasumigaoka: [What do you think? Isn't it cute?]
Kasumigaoka: [Image.jpg]
As soon as class ended, a whole bunch of messages came in on her phone right on schedule. Ninety-nine percent were from Miss Kasumigaoka, and the rest were junk ads.
Along with Kasumigaoka's Line messages came a photo. In it, the tiny kitten lay on its back on the bed, obediently showing off its soft belly. It gazed at the camera with a sweet, slightly dazed expression.
Damn it.
Faced with such a cute little kitten, there was no way she could lie and say it wasn't cute.
Kasumigaoka, you're so underhanded!
Yukino: [...You can't even take care of yourself, and now you're getting a cat?]
Yukino had always had an inexplicable fondness for cats, but, ironically, they didn't seem to like her much.
Almost every cat that came near Yukino would instantly bristle, crouch down, and arch its back, looking ready to fight at any moment.
Kasumigaoka: [Still better than someone like Yukino, who cats can't stand. Hehehe.]
Yukino: [...]
Where had Kasumigaoka learned to be so passive-aggressive?
Kasumigaoka: [I don't feel like going out this week, so how about we move this week's tutoring session at home to my place?]
Yukino: [Get lost.]
Kasumigaoka: [You can pet a sweet little kitty who won't fight back~]
Yukino: [...I'll think about it.]
Yukino usually turned her phone off during class. Sometimes she wouldn't even turn it on until she got home after school, when she'd leisurely open a search page and look up some information.
Because in the past, aside from Haruno, who occasionally traded barbs with her...
—there really hadn't been anyone else who contacted her. _(:з"∠)_
But things were different now. In this absurd, topsy-turvy world, she had somehow, against all odds, made some friends.
Miura, who always sent her screenshots of anything interesting or fun, was undoubtedly the first friend she'd ever made in her life.
Miss Kasumigaoka, who always seemed lazy and indifferent, but appeared to be carrying some lonely thoughts in her heart. She had been sharp-tongued before, and still made cutting remarks at Yukino from time to time.
Unbelievable!
Why weren't you this sharp-tongued with anyone else?
And finally, Classmate Yui, a hopelessly kind person who could never learn to say no, and who was even willing to show kindness to someone like her.
"Yui, Yui, please help me out! My stomach hurts, so I need to take the day off~"
The class's sports representative grabbed Yui's hand with tears in her eyes, looking ready to refuse to let go unless Yui agreed.
Yui stood there helplessly, forcing a smile. "Um, I don't really know anything about assigning people to the events..."
Yukino saw another task for Yui appear on the Light Screen before her. She lowered her eyes and ignored it, then sent Kasumigaoka another message.
[Have you named the cat?]
When she and Kasumigaoka had first met, Yukino had thought the woman was sharp-tongued and awful. But after getting to know her through this tedious point-farming arrangement, Yukino had come to think she wasn't so bad.
Well, actually, Yukino was pretty forgiving toward anyone who helped her farm points.
Yui Yuigahama, meanwhile, was still caught in a dilemma.
Aoba, who had drawn the short straw and become the sports representative this year, looked like she was planning to call in sick.
The Sports Meet was less than two weeks away, and each class and group had started preparing in advance. For the sports representatives, the biggest headache was assigning students to the events.
Everyone was either a wimp who was practically a shut-in or a young woman who cared about keeping up appearances. They all wanted to choose easy events, had little interest in the Sports Meet, or simply wanted to slack off and not participate.
So being the sports representative was an awful job.
The teachers wouldn't approve the list unless there were enough participants. If she assigned people by force, her classmates would resent her. One wrong move, and she might end up being ostracized by the whole class.
That wasn't an exaggerated concern. Japan had a long history of school bullying, and it was impossible to know what ridiculous little thing might get someone ostracized.
Everyone lived with their guard up.
And Yui was being far too cautious.
"It's really simple!" Aoba looked at her with a pitiful expression, as if she had no choice but to ask for help. "Just write down the names of the people and events for the Sports Meet. You don't have to worry about anything else, Yui!"
Miura was at a meeting with the disciplinary committee today, while Ono and Kamizawa were busy with club activities. Otherwise, Aoba wouldn't have felt comfortable asking Yui.
Yui forced a smile. "Well... okay."
What an idiot. How could it possibly be that simple?
Sure enough, when second period ended that morning, hardly anyone had come forward to sign up with Yui. At this rate, Class 2-F would definitely be the last class to finish putting together its list.
Teacher Hiratsuka would inevitably fly into a rage, then start assigning people herself until the list was full.
With no other choice, Yui stood up after class and said, "The Sports Meet starts in two weeks! If you want to sign up, come register with me!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the classroom burst into laughter.
"Who wants to compete? It's such a pain."
"Yui's too honest. Aoba ran away, haha!"
"Yeah, Yui, just leave it alone. The teacher can assign people herself when the time comes."
"I don't want to do the long-distance run no matter what. Please spare me that one, Yui. QAQ"
"You're so nice, Yui. You won't make me do it, will you? Boo-hoo."
The moment she finished speaking, everyone shut her down.
Yui stood there awkwardly, as if she'd been cemented into a wall.
She wanted to sit back down, but couldn't bring herself to. She wanted to say something, but couldn't get the words out.
She could only feel the whole class laughing and chatting casually, each little sound pressing down on her heart like a muffled thunderclap.
Yui really was very bad at making people do things they didn't want to do.
Kasumigaoka finally replied.
[Star. I named her Star... Um, what do you think of it?]
As a devoted fan of Love Metronome, Yukino immediately thought of a line from the book.
[There are countless stars in the sky, so don't cry. Even the worst child can find a star of her own.]
—Tch. What a coincidence.
Thinking that, Yukino finally couldn't stand what was happening in the classroom any longer.
She sighed and lifted her eyes.
The one who stood up even faster than Yukino was Hachiman Hikigaya.
Hikigaya was a rather unusual boy in their class. His grades in the humanities were often among the top three in the year, and he was pretty handsome, but his dead-fish eyes looked especially frightening. There was even a rumor going around the class that he was a delinquent from outside school.
But thanks to that rumor, even though Hikigaya kept to himself, he had never had to deal with any of the awful things that came with school bullying.
At that moment, he tapped on his desk, looking quite fierce. "If we don't sign up soon, Teacher Hiratsuka will come and assign people herself. Then things will be worse for everyone, and we'll end up dragging even more people into it."
Hikigaya, the self-destructing god.
Sure enough, the moment he said that, he drew everyone's ire, and the awkward atmosphere around Yui vanished in an instant.
"What's that supposed to mean, Hikigaya? Do you think we're little kids who get scared every time we see a teacher?"
"So what if the teacher gets mad? She might not assign me anything, hehe."
"If Teacher Hiratsuka keeps losing her temper like that, she'll never get married."
"No wonder Hikigaya isn't popular. He really doesn't know how to read the room!"
They were all proud teenagers. Even if they'd started to regret things after considering the consequences, they weren't about to admit it in front of their peers.
Yukino rubbed her forehead, listening to them.
She hadn't spoken up earlier because she'd wanted to see whether Yui could stand up for herself a little.
But now it seemed she might as well give up and go to bed.
Yukino stood up and walked over to Yui. "Sign me up."
Everyone in the classroom was a little surprised when Yukino stepped forward.
Yukino was famous at Sobu High School: once a menace, now an icy princess; brilliant in both academics and sports, beautiful, from a wealthy family, and possessed of an imposing presence. She also got along well with Hayato Hayama and Yumiko Miura, the school's two biggest Social Butterflies.
And unlike Yui, who was often taken advantage of because of her own kindness, Yukino wasn't like Hikigaya, who was either self-destructing or on the verge of it.
Yukino rarely spoke in class, but lately more and more people had come to accept that she had a lot of influence both in the class and around the school.
The moment she stood up, the strange atmosphere of laughter and irritation in the classroom died down.
Yui looked a little lost. "Huh?"
What do you mean, huh? A hopelessly kind person like you is going to end up being cheated out of your money and your virtue, losing everything.
Yukino said succinctly, "Sign me up for an event."
Yui could only stare at Yukino as she approached.
Yui hadn't been surprised when Hikigaya stepped in. They were at least sort of friends, after all. But Yukino...
She bit her lower lip, then sat back down. "Ah... Classmate Yukinoshita, which event do you want to participate in?"
Yukino deliberately raised her voice a little. "What are the easiest events?"
Yui gave a soft "Oh," and looked over the list. "The Two-Legged Race, and..."
Yukino didn't wait for her to finish. "Sign me up for all the easiest ones."
Then she added, perfectly seriously, "This is the proper way to use a sports representative's authority, isn't it?"
Before you continue