[OreGaIru : New Me!]

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[-Continuation-]

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[Hachiman's POV]

As I casually flicked through my phone contacts, I noticed something off about Yuigahama, who was right next to me.

"Um-Hffuu…*siiiigghhh…"(Yuigahama)

She held her phone loosely in one hand, a vague smile on her lips, but her sighs were so soft that they were almost inaudible.

Yet I could see her chest rise and fall, indicating how deeply she was exhaling.

"Is everything okay?" A voice cut through the silence, bringing back Yuigahama's focus - It was Yukinoshita.

Without even looking up from her book, Yukinoshita seemed to sense that Yuigahama was acting strangely. Perhaps she had heard her sighing…

"Oh, uh… nothing, I guess." Yuigahama hesitated before responding. "I just got this weird text, so I was all like, whoa."

Yukinoshita, ever observant, turned her attention towards me. "Hikigaya. It hasn't even been a minute since I agreed upon something with you. However, I cannot support this kind of thing."

She gave a stern warning. "So if you don't want to end up in court, I suggest you stop sending those obscene texts immediately."

"Hey, don't accuse me. How could I have sent those texts when I just took my phone back from her?" I was taken aback by the accusation and quickly defended myself.

"I doubt that could stop you."(Yukinoshita)

What? I am no Magician. How could I do that?

"Is that supposed to be a complement?" I asked the same question as an earlier one.

"Nah, I don't reckon Hikki's the culprit, you know?" Yuigahama jumped in and took my side, albeit a second late.

Suddenly, Yukinoshita's hand froze mid-page turn as she asked with her eyes alone for proof. "Where's the proof?"

Damn! She is super serious. Did she want me to be a criminal that badly?

It is because of the photo incident, isn't it?

…I thought we had already sorted it out, but it seems not.

"Hmmm, well, you see, the text was about my class. So that means Hikki's got nothing to do with it."(Yuigahama)

"Except I am in the same class as you." I interjected.

"Oh, I see. In that case, Hikigaya couldn't have been the culprit." Yukinoshita stated it matter-of-factly, her tone revealing no hints of doubt or suspicion.

"Now you guys are simply messing with me." I complained.

"Weeeell… I guess these things happen from time to time." Yuigahama spoke solemnly as she snapped her phone lid shut.

"I won't worry about it too much. It is going to die down soon." Yukinoshita advised.

It was like she was speaking from deep personal experience.

–*knock~*knock~

All of a sudden, we heard a short, rhythmical rap on the door.

"Who's knocking at this hour…?" I looked quizzically in Yukinoshita's direction, asking what to do.

Nodding, she said. "Come in."

"Sorry for intruding." A familiar, male voice greeted us as the person entered.

It was Hayato Hayama - His brown hair was loosely styled as a perm, and his voice just now is a standard example of cool, which would instantly put a normal person at ease.

After entering, he peered straight at me and grinned, meeting my eyes without any self-consciousness. "*grin…"

"Hm-uhm…." I simply nodded in acknowledgement.

"Sorry about the bad timing. I have a bit of a request for you." He said placing his Umbro enamel bag down on the floor was an extremely natural movement.

"This is the Service Club, right? Ms. Hiratsuka said that this was the place to go if I had a problem that needed to be fixed." He pulled up a seat and settled in facing Yukinoshita as he spoke.

.…almost matching the level of confidence I maintain when facing Yukinoshita, which was no laughing matter.

However, if there was any difference, it would be the easy-going charm he exuded from everything he did. In contrast, my approach would be more nonchalant and laid-back, very minimal in my moments.

Hayato began his cheerful chatter. "Man, I had a hard time getting my club to let me go. Club activit—!"

"Enough." But his words were quickly cut off by Yukinoshita's flat tone.

Yep, that confirms it. She definitely does not prefer Hayato being here.

But why? I don't get it, and I don't remember anything related to this being mentioned in the series either. All I know is that he and Yukinoshita went to the same middle school and had family connections.

I have to look into this matter in the future.

But for now, that's one less opponent for me.

My eyes stayed on Hayato, tracing him from top to bottom for a second before retreating back.

During that one second, I used my [Appraisal Skill]- Athletic build, good height, medium-length blonde hair, and pale blue eyes. Overall, he has charm.

He is a perfect walking example of an 'Ikeman(:Handsome)' that every girl dreams about.

All my personal thoughts aside, Hayato's bragging about how hard it is to excuse himself from his clubmates was really something very few will experience.

And I can't really blame him or be jealous of him. I mean, he is the next captain of the soccer club.

But for some reason, Yukinoshita didn't take it in a good light and, in a reminiscent manner, got straight to the point. "You came here because you wanted something, did you not? Hayato Hayama."

Damn, that was straightforward. If it was Zaimokuza or Totsuka, they would be sweating bullets by now.

Hayato slowly took out his cell phone, saying. "Ah. Well, about that."

Pressing the buttons nimbly, he accessed the text messages and showed me the screen, but I gestured for him to show it to Yukinoshita first. Which he compiled, but not without shooting a smirk at me.

Nope.

It is not how you think it is, dude.

As Hayato brought his phone in front of Yukinoshita, Yuigahama also craned her neck to peer at the screen, and immediately she let out a soft. "Ah…"

"It's the same weird text." Yuigahama took out her own cell phone and showed Yukinoshita the text that had the exact same message as the one from Hayato.

Yukinoshita passed me Hayato's phone, and I could see the texts were identical, talking about the three same individuals, but their origins remained mysterious and unsettling.

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–Tobe belongs to a gang that hangs around at the arcade picking on people from West High–

–Yamato is a three-timing douchebag–

–Ooka played roughly at a practice match just to take out the other school's ace player–

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"A chain mail, huh?" Yukinoshita intoned reading the texts.

Hayato smiled bitterly. "Ever since these started circulating, the atmosphere in class has been getting more and more strained. Plus, I am mad since those are my friends they are talking about."

"So I want to stop it. It really doesn't sit right with me, after all." He insisted, and his voice held a hint of frustration and hurt.

However, flashing another cheerful expression, he continued. "Oh, but I don't want to turn this into a witch hunt. I want to know how to solve things peacefully. I am wondering if you could help me out."

Wow, this guy is really selfless.

I mean, as far as I can remember, during our previous confrontation on the tennis court, I played him really well. But he put aside the differences and came, asking for help from his friends.

Yukinoshita scratched her chin in thought for a while, and then she opened her mouth. "So basically, you want us to set the situation under control?"

"Mmm, pretty much." Hayato replied with a sense of relief.

"Then we must find the culprit." Yukinoshita declared, standing up, holding the book close to her chest.

?? I don't think that was the solution Hayato was hoping for, Yukinoshita.

"Sure, I will leave it to y–!" Hayato began blithely until the shock registered on his face - "Huh?!"

Yet, within a moment, he regained his composure and smiled. "Ahem, why do you need to do that?"

See, there you have it.

At that, Yukinoshita, whose cold expression was the complete antithesis of Hayato's, began to speak slowly, as if carefully choosing her words.

"Sending chain messages… that is a despicable act that tramples on a person's dignity. While they hide in the shadow of anonymity, they slander others for the sole purpose of damaging them."

I can already see how this is going to turn out.

She is going to take this quest pretty personally, isn't she?

After all, she had studied abroad, and I could only imagine the tone of these messages circulating behind her back.

And we all know how frightening females can be when infested with jealousy.

Actually, something like this might have already happened to her during her stay at our school. Who knows?

!..?!! Umm!

Just as I imagined, I could feel the tension in the room rise.

Yukinoshita spoke calmly. "Spreading slanderous words is no less of an evil thing to do. Healthy curiosity is one thing, but to continue spreading slanderous words… unless you eliminate the root cause, there won't be any results. Source: me."

As she expressed her thoughts, her words were like a blazing fire flickering underneath her veneer.

That was a kind of blood-pumping speech, and I could already see its effect on a certain someone.

"So you eliminated them…" Yuigahama said it with a rather strained smile.

Her words were a mix of admiration and disbelief, clearly influenced by Yukinoshita's powerful words.

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[To be continued….]

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