Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabu Kome wa Machigatteiru - Volume 01 Page 9

  "Well, before you say that, please, try them." I kept a relaxed smile as I tried to keep the corners of my mouth from twitching. With that smile, I pretended to believe that my preparations were flawless--that I hadn't expected criticism, that I was absolutely certain of my victory.

  "Well, if you're going to go that far…" Yuigahama timidly put a cookie in her mouth. Yukinoshita also took one without saying anything.

  There was a pleasant crunching noise, then immediate silence. It was doubtlessly the calm before the storm.

  "Th-this is!" Yuigahama's eyes widened as she searched for the right words to express the taste.

  "They're not really anything special… I mean, some parts are pretty hard to chew! They're not really that delicious, seriously!" Her emotions turned a full 360 as she went from surprised to furious. It might have been because of her huge mood swing, but… Yuigahama sent a glare my way.

  The silent Yukinoshita looked at me suspiciously. It seemed as though she had somehow figured it out…

  I noted both of their expressions, and then I gently lowered my eyes.

  "I see. So they aren't delicious… Even after I tried my best."

  "--Ah… Sorry." Yuigahama awkwardly lowered her eyes to the floor when she saw my downcast gaze.

  "I guess I'll throw them out." I snatched the plate, then turned to walk away.

  "P-please, wait."

  "…what is it now?"

  Yuigahama had grabbed my hand to stop me. She didn't let go or answer me; instead, she grabbed one of the uneven cookies and put it in her mouth. Then she bit down on it, grinding her teeth together.

  "They're not really bad enough to throw away… And they're not as gross as I said they were."

  "…I see. Then, are you satisfied with them?" I cracked a smile, and Yuigahama silently nodded before quickly looking away. The light of the sunset streamed through the window, making her face seem red.

  "Well, to be honest, those are the cookies you made earlier…" I told her the truth nonchalantly, without flinching. I hadn't ever said that I'd made them, so I hadn't lied.

  "…huh?" Yuigahama raised her voice. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open… In other words, she was an airhead. "W-what?" Yuigahama blinked her eyes. Yukinoshita and I exchanged glances; it seemed that Yuigahama didn't get it, not at all.

  “Hikigaya-kun, I’m not sure I understand what you were trying to do… Was there any meaning in that farce of yours?” The displeased Yukinoshita stared at me.

  “There is a saying that goes, ‘If there is love, love is okay!!’” I flashed a brilliant smile and gave a firm thumbs up.[1]

  “That show is so old…” Yuigahama responded in a small voice. Well, it was a show that aired when I was in elementary school… Yukinoshita, meanwhile, stood there with her head tilted in open confusion. It seemed that she didn't understand.

  “You guys are trying to jump too many hurdles.” I unconsciously broke into a smile. Man, what was that sudden sense of superiority? It was as if I was the only who knew the right answer… I couldn’t stand it.

  “Jeez… The point of hurdles isn't to jump over them, it’s to finish the race as quick as possible. There’s no rule that says you have to jump over them. You sh-” I unintentionally started babbling.

  “I understand what you’re trying to say, so just stop talking.”

  ‘--ouldn’t worry about pushing, barreling or blowing down those hurdles.’ That's what I meant to say.

  “You’re trying to say that our efforts so far have confused our means and our ends, correct?”

  …I didn’t really get what she meant, but I was sure that she was trying to say the exact same thing as me, so I just nodded and continued.

  “The point is the painstaking effort of making those handmade cookies. If you don’t stress that you made them, then there’s no point…

  It won’t make someone happy if they’re exactly the same as storebought. You could even say that it’s better if they taste a little worse.”

  “A little worse?” Yukinoshita's face showed her complete lack of understanding.

  “If you make the recipient think, ‘Ah, I see. These aren’t exactly well-made, but they tried their best!” then they’ll mistakenly think, ‘You tried really hard for my sake…’ Even though that's kind of pitiful.”

  “I’m sure it’s not that simple…”

  Yuigahama looked at me suspiciously; her look basically said, ‘What the hell is this virgin going on about?’

  Guess there’s no helping it… Perhaps my next step should be something a little more persuasive.

  “…This is the story of a friend of a friend, but… When he had just begun 10th grade, it was the start of the semester, so it was the time to decide who would be the class representative. As you might expect, all the boys were in their teenage angst stage[2], so they were all reluctant to be chosen. So, naturally, they ended up having to choose someone at random. By some natural turn of events, my friend of a friend was chosen, and the teacher handed the reins over to him.

  First, he had the task of choosing a female representative. It was a lot of responsibility for a shy, reserved and timid boy.”

  “All those words have the same meaning… And your introduction is too long.”

  “Just shut up and listen… At that time, one girl opted to run for the position. She was a cute girl. And like that, the new male and female class presidents were inaugurated. The female representative wore a bright smile as she said, ‘I look forward to working with you for the coming year.’ Then she began to talk to my friend of a friend about various things, so he started to think, ‘Huh? Does she maybe like me? Maybe she opted to run for president once I’d be chosen. She’s talking to me a lot, so that definitely has to mean she likes me!’ It didn’t take very long for him to convince himself, probably about a week.”

  “Whoa! That’s quick.” Yuigahama raised her voice in surprise as she nodded her head.

  “Don’t be stupid; you can’t put a timeline on love. So, anyway, one day after school, when they were collecting a printout that the teacher requested, he mustered the courage to confess.

  ‘H-hey, do you have anyone you like?’

  ‘H-huh? No way!’

  ‘That answer definitely means you do! Who is it?’

  ‘…who do you think it is?’

  ‘I told you I have no idea. A hint! Give me a hint!’

  ‘Well, I don’t really want to…’

  ‘Well then just give me one of his initials. It doesn’t matter if it’s his last or first name, so please!’

  ‘Well… I suppose that’s okay.’

  ‘Really?! Score! So, what is it?’

  ‘…H.’

  ‘Huh… Does that mean… me?”

  ‘Huh? What are you saying? There’s no way I would! That’s so gross. Could you just stop it?’

  ‘Ah… Haha… Right, yeah. That was just a joke.’

  ‘Um… It doesn’t seem like it was… Well, we're done, so I’m going home.’

  ‘Y-yeah, okay.’

  "So then, once I was left all alone in the classroom, I watched the sunset as tears fell down my face… And to top it off, when I went to school the next day, everyone knew about it.”

  “So it was about you after all…” Yuigahama murmured, feeling awkward as she averted her gaze.

  “Wait, what? Don’t be stupid. Nobody said it was about me. That was just a, you know, a figure of speech.”

  Yukinoshita didn't even consider my explanation, simply sighing in annoyance. “As soon as you said it was the story of a ‘friend of a friend’, I knew. I mean, you don’t even have any friends.”

  “What did you say?!”

  “Putting aside your traumatic experience, what was the point of all that?”

  There was no way that it would end well… That incident made girls start to hate me even more. The boys made fun of me by giving the nickname ‘Narugaya’ and Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.[3] I tried to get a grip on my
feelings, then I continued talking.

  “Well, what I’m trying to say is, males are helplessly simple. They get the wrong idea if you just talk to them and they’re happy just to get homemade cookies. So…” I paused to look at Yuigahama. “Those cookies aren’t really anything special… They’re a little hard to bite here and there, but to be honest, it’s fine even if they aren't that tasty.”

  “Sh-shut up!” Yuigahama’s face burned red with anger. A moment later, a plastic bag and some greaseproof paper came flying my way. She may have hit me, but the fact that she chose things that wouldn’t hurt meant that she was actually pretty nice. Wait… Could that possibly mean that she likes me? Or was that just a joke? As if I could go through that experience again…

  “Seriously, Hikki! You’re pissing me off. I’m leaving!” Yuigahama glared at me, grabbing her bag as she stood up to leave. She turned towards the door with a ‘hmph!’ and began to walk towards it. Her shoulders were really trembling.

  Crap. Maybe I said too much… When I thought about it, I realized that letting my foul mouth run wild in class again was in bad taste. So I tried to follow it up with something better.

  “Well, you know… If you give off the impression that you tried your best, won’t you touch a man’s heart?”

  Yuigahama looked back over her shoulder as she stood before the door. I couldn’t see her expression with the light of sunset shining behind her.

  “…Hikki, would you be touched?”

  “Huh? Oh, yeah, I would be touched, big time! I mean, if anyone is this nice to me, I'm already ready to fall for them. And don’t call me Hikki.” I responded instantly.

  “Ah… Okay.” Yuigahama gave me an indifferent response and immediately turned back toward the door. She put her hand on the door handle and was about to leave, but Yukinoshita called out to her.

  “Yuigahama-san, what should we do with your request?”

  “Oh, it’s okay… Don't worry about it! Next time, I’ll try my own way. Thank you, Yukinoshita-san.” Yuigahama turned to face Yukinoshita with a smile. “See you tomorrow.” She waved and left the room with that… But she was still wearing her apron.

  “…I wonder if that really went okay.” Yukinoshita stared at the door and whispered to herself. “I think that people should try to reach their own limits and surpass them… That would be what's best for Yuigahama-san in the long run.”

  “True, I guess. Hard work will never betray you… Though it may betray your dreams.”

  “What is the difference?” The wind caressed Yukinoshita's face as she turned toward me. Her hair was swaying gently in the breeze.

  “Working hard isn't enough to ensure that your dreams always come true… Un fact, it's far more common for them not to. But you can still find solace in the fact that your tried your best.”

  “That’s just simple self-satisfaction.”

  “Well, it isn't as if you’re really betraying yourself.”

  “How self-indulgent…You disgust me.”

  “Society, you included, is much too harsh to me… You should at least let me be nice to myself. In fact, I think everyone should treat themselves more gently. If everybody is hopeless, then there's no such thing as a hopeless person.”

  “This is the first time I’ve encountered a pessimistic idealist… If your ideas ever catch on, then the world will fall into ruin.” Yukinoshita seemed surprised, but I happened to like my way of thinking.

  Some day, NEETs will make a nation of the NEETs, by the NEETs, for the NEETs, NEEToria… Though it will probably perish in just three days or so.[4]

  3-8

  I finally understood the purpose of the service club’s activities: in short, the club gives advice to students and helps them solve their problems. However, its existence wasn’t particularly well known. I, for one, didn’t even know it existed, and it’s not as if I’m completely ignorant of our school.

  If you consider that even Yuigahama didn’t recognise this club, then someone must act as a go-between and lead people here for advice. That someone is Hiratsuka-sensei.

  Sensei must sometimes send students who have problems and worries here… To this isolation ward, that is.

  In my time in this sanatorium, I've just read books. After all, seeking counsel means revealing your insecurities. Talking about something like that is a high hurdle for emotionally sensitive high schoolers.

  Yuigahama came here on Hiratsuka-sensei’s word; otherwise, there’s no way anybody would have come here. There were still no customers, but business was open as usual. Yukinoshita and I were both the sort who didn’t mind silence, so the times we just put our all into reading, like we were now, were peaceful.

  That’s why that hard knock on the door echoed so loudly.

  “Yahallo!” Yuigahama Yui slid the sliding door open with a stupid, insipid greeting. I averted my eyes from the bare legs barely covered by her short skirt, but they soon found their way to her wide-open blouse. She really was a girl with a lot of slut power.

  Yukinoshita laid eyes on her, then she gave a huge sigh, murmuring to herself. “…what do you want?”

  “Huh? Am I not really welcome here…? Um, Yukinoshita-san… Do you hate me?” Yuigahama’s shoulders began to tremble.

  Yukinoshita sighed as though she was thinking about it. Then she replied in a mundane voice. “I don’t particularly hate you… I just think you’re a little hard to deal with.”

  “When a girl says that, it means that she hates you!”

  Naturally, she didn't want to be hated. She just looked like your typical slut on the outside, but her reaction was just what you'd expect from a normal girl.

  “So, do you need something?”

  “Well, you know how I’ve been really into cooking lately?”

  “No, this is the first time I've heard that.”

  “Well, this is just as, like, thanks for the other day, but I made some cookies…”

  The blood quickly drained from Yukinoshita’s face. If you thought about Yuigahama’s cooking, then the first thing that came to mind was that deep black iron ore sort of thing that she had made before.

  Even I got thirsty when I thought of that.

  “Well, I don’t have much of an appetite right now, so I’m fine, thank you. Your gratitude is enough.” Yukinoshita had probably only lost her aptitude just now… But Yukinoshita was kind enough not to say that.

  Yukinoshita had politely declined, but Yuigahama still hummed contentedly as took out a cellophane package from her bag. It was clearly a cutely-packaged bag of blackened cookies.

  “Well, it’s actually fun when you try it… Maybe I’ll try making lunch or something next! So anyway, Yukinon, let’s eat lunch together.”

  “No. I like eating by myself, so I don’t really want to… Also, please don’t call me ‘Yukinon.’ It makes me sick.”

  “No way… Aren’t you lonely? Yukinon, where do you eat lunch?”

  “Here, but… Hey, are you listening to me?”

  “Ah, okay then, well… I’m free after school, so I’ll help you with club activities. Well, like, you know… I'm returning the favor? Yeah, I'm returning the favor, so don’t worry about it at all.”

  “…are you listening to me?” Yukinoshita was clearly lost in Yuigahama’s constant waves of conversation. She kept looking to me, as if to say ‘Do something about her.’

  As if I’m going to help you out… You always verbally abuse me, you haven’t paid me back for that Yasai Seikatsu I bought you… And she’s your friend.

  Honestly, Yukinoshita had sincerely attempted to tackle Yuigahama’s problem, so that’s probably why Yuigahama was trying so hard to pay her back. Therefore, Yukinoshita had the right and responsibility to accept her gratitude.

  It’d be bad to interfere, so I closed my paperback book and immediately rose from my seat. I muttered my ‘See you later’ quietly, so they wouldn’t hear, and prepared to leave the room.

  “Ah, Hikki!”

  I heard my name an
d turned around to see a blackened thing flying towards my face. I caught it reflexively.

  “I kinda need to thank you too, since you helped out as well.”

  It was something deep black and heart shaped… How ominous. Still, she was trying to thank me, so I accepted.

  Oh, and don’t call me Hikki.

  Chapter 4 - Nevertheless, class is going well

  The ringing chime signaled the end of fourth period, sending a wave of relief through the classroom. Some people ran off to buy lunch, some noisily dug through their desks for their bento boxes, and the rest left for other classrooms.