88 Yukinoshita Haruno: Am I Going to Have to Step In Personally?
"This isn't what we agreed on from the start."
Yukinoshita Haruno's expression stiffened slightly. A surge of anger rose in her chest, but she didn't dare show it in front of Momobami Kirari.
This two-faced Momobami Kirari actually wanted to tear up their original agreement!
"Mmm... After all, Hikigaya-kun tastes quite delicious. I don't want to hand him over to you anymore," Kirari said domineeringly. "I'll compensate you, Miss Haruno."
"This isn't a matter of compensation."
Yukinoshita Haruno replied in a muffled, sulking voice.
In Chiba, the Yukinoshita family was a prestigious, powerful household. But in front of Momobami Kirari, she couldn't even muster the courage to express her dissatisfaction.
"You're unwilling to accept it, hmm..." On the other end of the call, Kirari gently tapped the armrest of her chair with her fingers and smiled sweetly. "Then, Miss Haruno, you'll just have to hope that Hikigaya-kun doesn't get devoured by me."
"The agreement is void. Miss Haruno, please figure out your own way to obtain Hikigaya-kun's life plan."
"I won't hold back."
Yukinoshita Haruno remained silent for a long while before finally slamming the call shut.
She hurled her phone onto the sofa in frustration, collapsing into the soft cushions with a thud.
A deep sense of powerlessness enveloped her. She wasn't like Hikigaya Hachiman, who had the courage to enter that school and fight for everything he wanted. She carried far too many burdens.
"Damn it..."
Now that she saw no hope of obtaining Hikigaya Hachiman's life plan, subtle changes began stirring in Haruno's thoughts.
At this point, what she wished for was for Hikigaya to stay true to his feelings. That in the midst of that blooming garden of girls, he'd turn back and glance once more at Yukino.
Countless wicked images emerged in Yukinoshita Haruno's mind:
'It'd be best if he beat that Kirari bitch and made her crawl behind him!'
'Make her lower that noble head in front of me and lick my feet!' Haruno thought viciously, imagining Kirari massaging her foot still clad in black stockings.
'So, Hikigaya Hachiman, you must win!'
'At our weekend dinner, I'll probe Hikigaya's thoughts.'
Covering her face, Yukinoshita Haruno muttered to herself:
"Maybe I should just go and seduce that boy myself?"
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.
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The school bell rang precisely on time.
"I'm sorry, Hikigaya-kun... I didn't scare you yesterday, did I?" Jabami Yumeko asked, her cheeks slightly red and her tone a bit bashful. She glanced away, unable to meet the piercing gaze Hikigaya shot at her.
"You did." Hikigaya Hachiman responded without hesitation. His tone was cold, stabbing straight into Yumeko's fragile heart like a dagger.
"That's so harsh..." Yumeko rubbed her fingers, her face reddening further.
At that moment, Saotome and Aiura slowly walked over.
They looked a bit awkward, each holding the opposite arm at the elbow—a subconscious gesture of wariness and defensiveness.
Hikigaya Hachiman swept his gaze over the group, nodding slightly at the small "Avengers" team he had assembled.
"Looks like everyone's here."
"Now, I'll explain the secret signals."
"I'll only speak for ten minutes, so please commit everything to memory."
Hikigaya had already made up his mind—he would challenge the Ougatou sisters today. Since he suspected their gamble was based on some kind of "tacit coordination," he had to prepare for every scenario. In moments of crisis, you can't rely on tacit understanding—what you need is clear signaling.
Speaking of coordination…
One couldn't help but think of cheating during exams—it was all too similar.
Just like during exams at Sobu Junior High—cameras in the classroom, teachers walking around, flipped desks to prevent hidden notes… the school had done everything possible to prevent cheating. But even so, gifted minds always found new ways to cheat!
After reviewing some of these tricks in his mind, Hikigaya picked out a few more innovative methods for signaling.
"Aiura-san mentioned that the 'hidden rules' would be revealed through poker cards." As he spoke, Hikigaya took four cheap watches out of his bag—purchased from a 100-yen shop the day before.
"If there's a clock on site, that's best. If not, use these watches. Divide the clock into four quadrants—12 to 3, 3 to 6, 6 to 9, 9 to 12."
"Each of the four sections will represent a suit—hearts, spades, clubs, diamonds. When the hand points to a section, use body cues like tapping on the table or subtle eye contact to signal. Be sure to stay discreet—don't let the Ougatou sisters notice."
"Of course, just using this method isn't secure enough. If this first code fails... there's a backup plan."
"..."
With Hikigaya's calm, rhythmic explanation, the ten minutes flew by. He stopped on the dot and looked around at the girls again:
"Got it?"
"No problem."
Aiura and Saotome responded in unison, then awkwardly looked away after making eye contact.
"Then let's go."
Led by Hikigaya, the three striking and uniquely beautiful high school girls followed behind him, drawing plenty of attention as they passed.
"Isn't that Hikigaya from Class 1-A? Where are they headed?"
"Those three girls are wearing the Stray Cats tags… Don't tell me they're going to…"
"Hehehe, didn't think Hikigaya was that bold after all."
Having gone through the gambling incident yesterday, Yumiko Miura also gradually began to pay attention to what was happening in her grade. Today, unlike usual, she didn't leave school early. Instead, she took the initiative to start learning more about the classmates she had spent a month or so with.
Naturally, she also heard the commotion coming from the hallway. Looking through the window and seeing the three girls behind Hikigaya, a strange feeling rose in her chest.
'Is this really the Hikigaya Hachiman I know?'
'Right now, he feels like Hayama… maybe even surpassing him.'
'Is this the magic of Hyakkaou Academy?'
A sort of understanding gradually bloomed in Yumiko Miura's heart. Still, she didn't plan on bringing this up to Yukinoshita Yukino again. Mentioning it once was enough out of classmate courtesy; saying it a second time would just make her seem like a gossip.
But after thinking it over, she still decided to follow after them. There were some things she wanted to ask Jabami Yumeko about.
All eyes were on the group led by Hikigaya—three girls and one boy.
No one noticed the distant figure quietly trailing behind them: Shimotsukiuri Ouri.
She silently rose from her seat, hands folded in front of her lower abdomen, walking at the very end. Her shadowed bangs drooped down, obscuring her face. Only through the gaps in her hair could one occasionally glimpse the cold, predatory glint in her eyes—like a beast choosing its prey.
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The baseball club's indoor activity room wasn't far.
Led by Aiura Kokoro, Hikigaya and the others quickly arrived at the entrance of the clubroom.
To Hikigaya's surprise, the Ougatou sisters were already standing at the doorway, waiting. They showed no sign of surprise upon seeing him and his group.
The sisters held hands and, in perfect synchrony, gave a slight bow toward Hikigaya Hachiman.
"Hikigaya-kun, welcome."