[OreGaIru : New Me!]

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[-Continuation-]

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[Hachiman's POV]

"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."(Zaimokuza)

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

…*sigh, he is overacting again…?

Maybe it's time for me to give some hope to the supposed light.

Yeah, I shouldn't give up this early. Although he's a bit lacking, he got possession, and finding another person is going to be a pain in the a*s.

With that running through my mind, I walked over to him, while Yuigahama and Yukinoshita simply stood there.

Yukinoshita didn't seem to care much with her usual indifference look, or at least that's what she looked like, while Yuigahama looked nervous, not sure what to do.

In just a few steps, I reached Zaimokuza, who is still on all fours.

Dropping my bag to the side, I sat on the floor in a hook-setting posture, my back facing him.

"Hey, 'Writer' Zaimokuza." I began, using a title to grab his full attention.

It is likely the first time anyone has ever referred to him as a writer. As the volume of whining decreased, the results were evident. Taking it as a positive signal, I continued my pursuit.

"Since when did you start caring about what some random nobody is yapping or gossiping about you? If you are that worried about stupid things like this in the first place, cut the Chuunibyou crap, idiot. If you are not, then stop whining like a kid."

Getting up from the ground, I grabbed my bag with one hand and dusted off my pants with the other.

Zaimokuza, now silent, looked up at me from the ground.

"What? Need help getting up? You want me dead, or what? Fucking, get up by yourself already." I said it with a dry and irritated voice, though I did pick up his bag.

Standing up, he adjusted his glasses with one hand, the other folded around his body, and then burst into laughter, "Haaaahhhaaa…. My Old Partner. You have opened my eyes…"

And there it was. He was back to his usual self. Annoying, but better than before.

So, ignoring him, I walked towards our initial path, passing by Yuigahama and Yukinoshita.

?..?! It took a moment for them to snap and notice I had walked past them.

"Wait, for us, Hikki…" Yuigahama was the first one to call me out, or more like the only one.

After a moment, everyone caught up, and we walked toward the exit quietly. Even Yuigahama, who usually talks a lot, was quiet. Zaimokuza, however, couldn't help himself.

"Hachiman, what is with this pen name, Zombie? It is unholy and tarnishes my name. And I don't identify this @mail : Zombie342@...? Is it not yours?"

"Do you really think I would use my personal account to post this garbage thing of a novel? Absolutely not. My repetition was already rock bottom in my offline life. What if someone thinks I wrote this story….? So I had to create a fake @mail account. So, be more grateful. I had to work more than necessary for you." I grumbled.

"You are being awfully mean towards him today, Hikki."(Yuigahama)

"You are trying every trick to get behind bars. First the photo, and before I could even overlook that, now plagiarism. Shameless and despicable acts, one after another." Yukinoshita found flaws in everything, but I suppose that was her way of expressing herself.

"Who in their right mind would ever steal this story…." I resorted.

"What photo? Am I missing something here?"(Yuigahama)

Damn, how in the world did the topic of the conversation suddenly turn in that direction? I need to divert her attention quickly.

But before I could come up with a reasonable and inconspicuous strategy.

…

"No, I a-m a goo-od Author!!"(Zaimokuza)

"I do alre–ady attend writin–g session."(Zaimokuza)

"Bigf–oot."(Zaimokuza)

"...literary sup–ervillain!!"(Zaimokuza)

"Care–er change? I don't wanna!!"(Zaimokuza)

…

Zaimokuza sobbed, as if each comment struck him like a precisely aimed bullet at different points in his delicate mind.

This was enough to distract Yuigahama from the previous topic, but I'm not sure whether I should be delighted about it, as the reason for her distraction was Zaimokuza's heartbreaking whining.

I just put out everything I had in me to lift his spirit not a moment ago, which, by the way, I didn't know I had in me to do so.

I doubted I could pull off something like that again, especially since the skill I used before has a heavy [Cooldown] period.

When I was left with no other choice, I looked at Yukinoshita with desperate eyes, silently asking her to handle the issue.

"Are the revi–...comments that bad? Gosh, what am I asking? Of course they must be bad…"

Yuhigayam is already doing her best to cheer him up, but I don't think it is working the way it should be.

Observing that Yuigahama's attempts weren't yielding positive results, Yukinoshita, with a defeated sigh, walked towards Zaimokuza and snatched the paper from his hands.

Without hesitation, she recited the comments.

…

"LiteraryLunacy: The author must have moonwalked on the keyboard because the writing is so out of this world – in a 'lost in space' kind of way. I left before I accidentally stumbled into a black hole of confusion."

"UndeadWit: If I had a dollar for every cringe-worthy line in this book, I could probably buy a better plot twist. This author needs to attend a writing session or something."

"SasquatchSass: Reading this book was like trying to spot Bigfoot – a lot of hype, a blurry mess, and in the end, you wonder if it even exists. Maybe the author needs to enroll in a 'How to Write 101' class with the elusive Sasquatch as the professor."

"GrammarGhoul: Is the pen name 'Zombie' a metaphor for what reading this feels like? The grammar is so undead. It's like the commas and periods are participating in a perpetual game of hide-and-seek."

"PunctuationPlague: Commas, semicolons, and periods were on vacation."

"Mid-Book Menace: It's like the novel turned into a literary supervillain halfway through – an unstoppable force of boredom that left me with no choice but to retreat. "

"PlotRetreat: Ever considered a career change? I hear there's a booming market for professional thumb-twiddlers. Your talent for dragging out plots might find its true calling there."

…

"..."(Zaimokuza)

Yukinoshita finished as silence filled the air, even Zaimokuza did not speak a word.

"Hum… How are all the comments so on point?" Then the ever-clueless Yuhigayam opened her mouth, expressing her remark on the comments.

"..." Yukinoshita and I both turned our heads towards her simultaneously, our expressions urging her not to utter another word.

Isn't she supposed to be good at reading the room? Don't tell me she is doing it on purpose. She is doing more damage than those comments. Poor Zaimokuza.

"As Yuhigayam stated, the views of the readers seem genuine and not fabricated. Furthermore, these comments, while stating nothing new, repeat the same mistakes we discussed in the club room. There is no need to be dejected by the opinions of some unknown individuals." Yukinoshita tried to console Zaimokuza in her own way.

"Now that I think about it, as Yukinon said, the comments are a lot less harsh for an online…" Yuhigayam began.

"Well, actually, I trimmed it down for Zaimokuza. They are much more toxic and harsher. No, they basically cursed him to death–!"

I should have not opened my mouth.

This time, both Yukinoshita and Yuhigayam turned their gazes towards me.

–thud!

My pointless rambling seemed to overload Zaimokuza's already overwhelmed mind as he collapsed onto the ground. It wasn't anything serious. He was just asleep, I presumed.

Yukinoshita and Yuhigayam first looked at the now-sleeping Zaimokuza and then at me, silently departing the scene without uttering a word.

Well, Yuhigayam did bid her goodbyes.

As they left, my eyes turned somber, silently observing the peacefully sleeping Zaimokuza.

It seemed like another night of not sleeping early for me.

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[To be continued…]

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