Chapter 2: The Girl Who Can See Evil Spirits
"Yukinoshita, I brought the person for you."
At the door of the clubroom with the Service Club sign, Hiratsuka Shizuka pushed open the door and dragged Hikigaya Hachiman inside.
Hearing the noise at the entrance, Yukinoshita Yukino, who had been reading by the window, sighed, closed her book, and looked up at Hiratsuka.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, I believe I've reminded you to knock before entering, haven't I?"
"I did knock."
As she spoke, Hiratsuka knocked on the already open door in front of Yukinoshita.
Yukinoshita Yukino: ...
"Alright, since I've brought the person over, I won't keep disturbing you two."
Saying that, Hiratsuka gave Hachiman, who stood behind her, a little push forward, then closed the door and left.
Hikigaya Hachiman stumbled a few steps forward, and suddenly in his field of vision appeared a pair of slender legs clad in black stockings.
"Where are you looking?"
Before Hachiman could look more closely, Yukinoshita's cold voice reached his ears.
When he looked up, he saw Yukinoshita looking at him with an expression like she was looking at society's scum.
"Nothing..."
Originally, he wanted to explain that it wasn't intentional to get so close, but thinking that Yukinoshita wouldn't believe him even if he did explain, Hachiman simply shrugged, walked to the back of the room, pulled out a chair, and sat as far from her as possible.
Yukinoshita frowned, watching Hachiman complete this entire process.
In truth, when she finished her previous sentence, she vaguely sensed that she might have misunderstood him.
But since Hachiman didn't refute her, she wasn't sure whether she had or hadn't misunderstood...
Seeing him sit far away and no longer move, she refocused her attention on the book in her hands.
While Yukinoshita was immersed in her book, Hachiman, on the other hand, quickly grew bored.
To pass the time, he let his eyes wander around the room.
Naturally, the first thing he looked at was Yukinoshita sitting by the window.
At that moment, the girl was bathed in golden sunlight.
Her snow-white skin appeared even more delicate and fair under the light. Her silky black hair swayed gently as she turned the pages of her book.
Perhaps because her hair blocked her view, she frowned slightly, then raised her delicate hand and tucked her hair behind her ear.
Hikigaya Hachiman was briefly entranced.
This should be against the rules.
Why is there another woman in the world who fits his aesthetic so perfectly, besides Komachi?
"Um, is anyone here?"
Suddenly, a hesitant female voice came from outside the classroom door.
"Please come in!"
Hearing the voice, Yukinoshita looked up.
Glancing at Hachiman, who was now sitting up straight, she called out toward the door.
Click...
As the door opened, a girl with similarly long, lustrous black hair entered.
As soon as she stepped inside and saw Hachiman sitting there, her expression turned strange.
"He's a new member of the Service Club arranged by Hiratsuka-sensei."
Seeing the girl look toward Hachiman, Yukinoshita thought she was puzzled about his presence, so she explained.
"Is that so?"
The girl nodded at Yukinoshita's words, but her gaze toward Hachiman remained strange.
Seeing this, Hachiman took the initiative to introduce himself: "I'm Hikigaya Hachiman from Class 2-F. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Yotsuya Miko from Class 2-E. Nice to meet you."
After their introductions, Hachiman nodded and returned to spacing out in his seat.
But soon he noticed that Yotsuya Miko kept sneaking glances at him during her conversation with Yukinoshita.
Knowing very well what he looked like, Hachiman quickly checked his clothing for anything out of place.
Finding nothing wrong but seeing that Yotsuya Miko still looked at him, he frowned, then gathered spiritual energy in his right hand and slapped the evil spirit clinging to his clothes.
The spirit immediately shot out from his clothing.
"!"
Seeing the spirit fly toward her, Yotsuya's pupils instantly contracted.
Though scared to death by its sudden appearance, she managed to hold back a scream.
But it was obvious this room was no longer safe...
Yotsuya thought to herself and immediately stood up, trying to leave the classroom.
"Yotsuya-san, is something wrong?"
Yukinoshita, who couldn't see the spirit, was puzzled when she saw Yotsuya suddenly try to leave.
"No, it's nothing..."
Realizing that her sudden departure would be too abrupt, Yotsuya forced a smile and picked up the chair she had knocked over before sitting back down in front of Yukinoshita.
But at that moment, Hikigaya Hachiman, who hadn't spoken since introducing himself, suddenly opened his mouth.
"You saw it, didn't you?"
Their eyes met, and Hachiman clearly saw surprise—and then joy—flash across Yotsuya's face!
"Sorry, I just remembered I have something to take care of..."
After a moment of hesitation, Yotsuya quickly gave Yukinoshita an apologetic look, then grabbed her school bag and ran out of the clubroom.
"Eh, wait..."
Yukinoshita was caught off guard by her sudden departure.
She had been prepared to listen to Yotsuya's troubles and think of ways to help...
She reached a hand toward Yotsuya's retreating figure, but the girl ran out without looking back.
"Well, I should get going too..."
Sensing the awkwardness in the air, Hachiman stood up and grabbed his school bag, heading toward the door as well.
At the doorway, on impulse, he turned around and looked back.
Against the backdrop of the setting sun, Yukinoshita's lonely expression came into view, and Hachiman felt his heartbeat quicken.
What a hopelessly good person...
He gave a bitter smile and called out to her:
"Tomorrow..."
"Hm?"
Yukinoshita looked up at him, puzzled.
"I'll be back tomorrow afternoon too. That match we talked about—I'm going to win for sure!"
With that, Hachiman shut the classroom door.
"Oh? Hikigaya-kun, you sound pretty confident. But I'm not planning to lose to you!"
Though Hachiman had already closed the door, Yukinoshita still spoke through it toward him.
What she didn't notice was that a faint smile had quietly appeared on her perpetually cold face.