[OreGaIru : New Me!]

.

[-Continuation-]

[-Next Day-]

.

[Hachiman's POV]

"...*yawwwwwwn~" A long but soft yawn escaped my mouth as I parked my bicycle.

"Ugh, I am sleepy."

Yesterday was really a tight schedule, from reviewing Zaimokuza's manuscript to completing a few of my own personal tasks, and by the time I finished reading the novel, the sun was rising.

—fuushh~

"...!?!.. *swish."

Just as I was about to turn and make my way towards class, a sudden movement caught my attention. A bag swung in my direction, aiming for my right shoulder. Swiftly dodging to the left, I narrowly avoided it.

"...G-good morning, Hikki~" Yuigahama greeted me excitedly, ignoring her failed attempt to [Ambush] me.

…noob… 

"...*sigh, few things never change." I muttered under my breath, internally shaking my head at her antics.

That peculiar greeting, the 'Hikki' nickname, and what's even worse is that I am starting to get used to it.

"Did you say something?" Yuigahama asked, noticing my muttering.

"...*shake." I shook my head slightly from left to right, denying her claims.

I half-expected her to press further, given my obvious lie, but to my surprise, she let it go.

Instead, she observed, thoughtfully poking her cheek. "Hey, you are not very energetic today."

Meanwhile, I couldn't shake off my curiosity about her sudden appearance in the parking area. She usually doesn't come to school on a bicycle, according to what I remember. This couldn't be a mere chance.

Is she waiting for me?

Don't overanalyze, Hichiman.

Some things are better left alone.

Pushing aside my idle thoughts, I responded with a light sigh. "*sigh, well, unlike a certain someone, I actually reviewed the manuscript."

"Eh?" Yuigahama blinks a few times. "…Ah…H-hey who said I didn't read them? I-in fact, I'm sooooo sleepy right now…"

"Yeah, yeah. I believe it." I replied, unconvinced.

"...Hmm~" - "..."

As Yuigahama hummed innocently, silence took over, maintaining a comfortable distance between us as we walked side by side.

After a moment of quiet, Yuigahama broke the silence. "Hikki, I wanted to thank you for yesterday..."

"About what?" I feigned ignorance.

So here it comes, I suppose.

I am still not good at handling this kind of stuff…

"..Um-m, you know, standing up for me when that stuff with Yumiko happened."

"Oh, that whole thing." I pretended to recall the incident just then.

"To be honest, I was pretty clueless about what was going on. I had my headphones on. So, the timing just happened to be right, and I only intervened because the food was really terrible. It's even worse than your cookies." I retorted, brushing off her gratitude.

In truth, I don't like what I am doing.

Standing up for her on my own accord when she actually didn't ask for help, and then not even accepting her appreciation.

...that's what I call a cowardly move.

If you take action, you should own up to it, whether it brings praise or criticism.

"So don't bother." I stuck to my act, and fortunately, we arrived at our classroom before she could say anything more.

.

For the first time since the start of my second year, I found myself sleeping through nearly all of my classes. Well, it's not like I was hell bent on never sleeping in class.

Anyway, after regaining my [Drowsy] state, and once the sixth period was past, I decided to head for the clubroom.

Pushing open the door, I was met with the rare sight of Yukinoshita nodding off at her desk. "Good work last night."

I called out, hoping to rouse her. However, her gentle yet rhythmic breathing indicated she was deeply asleep.

As I gazed at her, with her black hair gently waving back and forth, her smooth, almost transparently white skin. Her huge, teary eyes. Her well-formed pink lips… I found myself entranced, as if I could watch her slumber indefinitely.

In my [Mind's Eye], I could already picture her with a pair of black cat ears and adorable wrinkles on her face, a whimsical image that made me smile.

Damn, I need to capture this moment.

I mean, like, RIGHT NOW.

Unable to resist, I reached for my phone, only to freeze when I heard her speak, her lips barely moving. "...I am surprised. You actually have the nerve to do it."

—!????

Attempting to salvage the situation, I stammered. "...W-would you believe me if I said I was just checking my phone's camera?"

You know, like taking a selfie. Huh... does my phone even have that feature?

Yukinoshita raised an eyebrow, her expression unreadable. "Certainly not when it is from your mouth."

Oh God, she won't file a case, right?

Come on, even if it IS THE Yukinoshita Yukino we are speaking of, she's not that merciless, right?

.

"This one begs your pardon…" Zaimokuza once again spoke in his usual fashion and entered the room.

"Haa..ha.." A small chuckle slipped out of my mouth, which I immediately controlled to not escalate into a total laugh.

But, man, that was really funny.

"...*cough. Seeing as everyone is present, will we get down to business?" Observing that all eyes are on me due to my recent slip-up, I tried to act all professional to shift the topic elsewhere.

"Yeah, let's get over this matter." Yukinoshita added, while Yuigahama just nodded her head rigorously.

"Well then, let's hear your impressions." Zaimokuza docked himself into a chair and crossed his arms arrogantly.

There was a sense of superiority coming from God-knows-where on his face. It was an expression overflowing with confidence.

However, Yukinoshita, sitting across from him, looked unusually apologetic and started off with. "I am sorry. I don't really understand these kinds of things too well, but…"

Zaimokuza responded completely calmly. "I don't mind. Even ones, such as I occasionally wish to hear the opinions of the common folk. Speak your mind."

Fu*k! I really commend this bastard's ignorance levels.

"I see." Yukinoshita responded shortly and took a deep breath, stealing her resolve. "It was boring. In fact, it was almost painful to read. It was beyond imagination."

That was the beginning of Zaimokuza being cut down into pieces started….

-[Yukinoshita Yukino Strikes]-

Strike-[1] : "Oofgh!" (:clutching his heart)

Strike-[2] : "Ufghh! O-Ooo… You're wrong! All the supernatural battle novels lately have used lots of furigana…"

Strike-[3] : "Hnghhh! B-but novels that don't have that kind of thing in them don't sell… so you have to… That is…"

Strike-[4] : "Pnnghyahhh!!" (:fell on both of his knees)

-[Yuigahama Yui Strikes]-

Yuigahama probably saw that and pitied the poor fellow, so she seemed to try and think of some compliment she could pay him and said. 

"U-umm… Y-you sure do know a lot of tough words…"

Knockout Strike : "Uwaaagghhhh!!"

"You directly [KO]'ed him…" I muttered.

Though her thoughts were aimed at encouragement, her phrasing totally fell into the category of being absolute taboo for aspiring novelists.

After all, think about it…

It meant that it was the only good thing Yuigahama could say about Zaimokuza's novel. And it was absolutely equivalent to being told that your work was not interesting at all.

"W-well then… Hikki, go ahead." Yuigahama immediately ran away as she offered my turn to strike.

"G-gnnghh… H-Hachiman. You understand me, right? The world I created, this vast landscape of light and novel magnificence… You understand it, right? You understand this profound story I spun, and all these other fools cannot hope to appreciate… Right?"

Zaimokuza looked at me with eyes of absolute trust. I guess that, as a man, I had to answer truthfully here.

Yeah… I understood you all too well. I nodded reassuringly.

I took one deep breath and spoke kindly. "So, just who did you rip-off to write that?"

"Hnghh?! B-bbnggh… Gurgle…"(Zaimokuza) 

"…You're the one with no mercy. That was definitely much more cruel than mine." Yukinoshita looked at me as Zaimokuza passed out, crashing right into the wall without moving a muscle.

His empty eyes stared up at the ceiling, and a single tear streaked down his cheek. It was the look of a man who was ready to die.

.

After wrapping up the review session, we all agreed to leave a bit earlier than usual today.

"Would you read my work again?" Having replenished some of his [HP] by now, Zaimokuza faced me and Yukinoshita with fire in his eyes.

"Are you a complete masochist?" Yuigahama quipped.

Looking at him with a knowing smile, I asked. "After everything we have said, you still have the galls to take another shot?"

"Of course. That certainly was quite harsh criticism, making me think that I wanted to die.… However, those words still made me happy. To have something I wrote for fun read by someone else, critiqued by someone else… That is definitely a good thing." Zaimokuza declared, with a grin on his face, that was more Zaimokuza Yoshiteru than a master fencer general.

"Fine, I will indulge in that literary madness of yours once more." I responded.

Yeah, I could see some light.

"But before that, read this." I added, taking out a folded paper from my pocket.

"What is this, Hachiman?" Zaimokuza inquired.

"After you gave us the manuscripts yesterday, and while I did read it, I thought it would be better if you could get to hear a few more opinions. You know, the more, the better. So I uploaded it to a small writer group website I happened to stumble upon recently." I explained.

"Is this the list of reviews?" Yuigahama piqued, her expression a mix of curiosity and confusion.

"Not exactly. They're more like comments. And no, I won't explain the difference." I countered.

"...W-who even asked you that? I know the difference." Yuigahama retorted.

"I bet you do."

"Yukinon, look, Hikki is treating me like an idiot again." Yuigahama complains childishly to Yukinoshita, who was walking beside us.

While we were having our chit-chat, we failed to notice that Zaimokuza lagged behind, until we took a few steps and a distrustful voice reached our ears.

Turning around, we found him on the ground, supporting himself with his palms as he clutched the paper I had given him with trembling hands.

"Aggrrghh…! Hachiman! How can you do this to your Old Partner? Did you forget how we braved those hellish times together…I trusted you. How can you? What if they criticize my story? I can't bear it….Is this what a betrayal is? It certainly is painful."

One could notice a small teardrop formed in his left eye.

…*sigh, he is overacting again…?

.

.

[To be continued….]

★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★