Chapter 22: Yukinoshita Yukino is No Longer a Fake End

At my request, Yuigahama gave a quiet nod without saying a word.

That was why I was able to make my move to stop Yukinoshita with confidence.

"Yukinon definitely needs your honest words, Hikki."

Believing in those words, I first decided to create a situation where she would listen honestly.

The list of supporters for Isshiki becoming the student council president, which I had been gathering on Twitter, had already exceeded four hundred. It was a list built on deceit, a castle made of sand, but it was more than enough to use as bargaining material with Isshiki.

Fully prepared, I began my conversation with Isshiki, whom I had called out to the library.

"Ah, this thing I'm having you organize? These are the supporters for your student council election."

At my unexpected words, Isshiki gasped.

If I was going to press my advantage, it had to be now.

"Say, Isshiki, aren't you frustrated? Losing the election miserably to Yukinoshita and becoming the laughingstock of the school."

She was pretending like it was nothing, but her hands were tightly clenched.

That's right. There is no way someone like you, who spares no effort in putting up a cute front, lacks pride. There is no way you'd just accept being made a fool of and stay silent.

"But, what if you win the election and become the student council president? You'd have the title of an outstanding student who became president in her first year. Furthermore, you'd gain another privilege."

"What is it?"

"Armed with the title of 'the admirable, hardworking first-year student council president who still shows up to her club,' you'd have a justified excuse to rely on Hayama. You like him, right? You want him to pay attention to you, don't you? Then this is your chance. You should be rejoicing that you now have a legitimate pretext to rely on him openly."

Listening to my words, Isshiki eventually muttered.

"Senpai, are you actually smart or something?"

"I guess."

"...But you have a terrible personality."

"Hey."

"Fine. I'll let myself be manipulated by you, Senpai."

Isshiki muttered, her voice overlapping mine. Her downward-facing gaze shifted toward me.

Her expression was a surprisingly malicious smirk. Strangely enough, I found myself thinking she looked much more attractive with a face like that.

I was reading a book alone in the clubroom, bathed in the blinding sunset.

Hikigaya-kun hasn't been coming to the clubroom for a while now, so that wasn't surprising in the least, but eventually, even Yuigahama-san stopped showing up.

...Are they angry at me for selfishly declaring that I was quitting the club? Self-loathing welled up at the thought.

But perhaps this was convenient. That kind girl might still try to worry about me even if I quit the club. That wouldn't do.

I have to completely sever my ties with the Service Club. If I don't, my lingering attachments might bring me back to this room.

Enveloped in a silence that felt far more melancholic than usual, I kept my book open. None of the contents were registering in my mind; my eyes simply slid over the strings of text.

That hollow time came to an abrupt end.

"I knew you'd be here."

A familiar, low voice.

Before I knew it, the door was open, and standing there were Hikigaya-kun and Yuigahama-san. It was rare for the two of them to come to the clubroom together.

As I observed them, I noticed they were both enveloped in a strange sense of tension.

"...Did something happen?"

Feeling slightly awkward, I called out to them. I remembered the last time I spoke with them. Come to think of it, I had said some rather dismissive things.

"We came to talk about the student council election."

Hikigaya-kun cut straight to the chase. Behind him, Yuigahama-san gave a small nod. I felt a sense of incongruity at this strange dynamic.

"As I said before, that matter will be completely resolved by me becoming the student council president..."

"No. That's no longer necessary."

Saying that, Hikigaya-kun slammed a stack of papers onto the desk.

Timidly, I checked its contents. It was a list containing what looked like people's names.

...Could this be.

"That's a list of people recommending Isshiki Iroha for student council president. There are about four hundred names in total."

"This, is..."

Why. Why is Hikigaya-kun making moves to have Isshiki-san become the student council president?

I explicitly told him he didn't have to do anything.

"Isshiki saw this and firmed up her resolve to become president. So, there's no longer any reason for you to run."

"...There's no reason for you to quit the club anymore, Yukinon."

Yuigahama-san said, affirming his words.

Hikigaya-kun saying that is, in a sense, just like the original story. But why is Yuigahama-san...?

I couldn't understand no matter how much I thought about it. I didn't know what drove them to do this.

"Why are both you and Yuigahama-san ignoring what I said!? I clearly stated that I wanted to be president because I wanted to..."

"Yukinon."

The words I spat out from the pain in my chest contained a level of fiery emotion that surprised even myself, but they were brought to an immediate halt by Yuigahama-san's gentle voice.

"Talk to us honestly, just like you did that time."

"Honestly...? I'm always telling the truth!"

"Wrong."

Hikigaya-kun's voice was also much calmer than usual. In contrast to my agitation, their completely composed attitudes only fueled my frustration.

"Ever since that request about the student council election came in. No. Probably ever since that night on the school trip, you haven't been speaking your true feelings at all."

"There's no way you could know that, Hikigaya-kun!"

"——Of course I know! The difference between your true feelings and your bluffing is almost too obvious! ...Just how long do you think I've been watching you?"

"Kh!"

My breath caught.

"Yukinon."

In contrast to Hikigaya-kun, who had raised his voice, Yuigahama-san's voice remained quiet.

"I want you to show us more of your true self. That feeling has never changed."

It was a voice so gentle it made me want to cry.

"I..."

The words stuck in my throat. Being told something like that so suddenly, I didn't know what to say.

"Yukinoshita."

Another call from Hikigaya-kun. I lifted my downcast face and looked at him.

"You probably have some similarities to me. You always make excuses for everything you do and refuse to face your true feelings. You're constantly looking for an escape route. ...But, we've blocked your escape routes. I gathered signatures for that, and I relied on various people for that. With all that said, I want to ask you. —Do you truly want to become the student council president?"

"...No."

"Then why..."

"No, no, no! For me (Boku), this club was more important than anything else, it was my place to belong, something irreplaceable! But, that's exactly why I didn't want to break it! My own selfish emotions might end up destroying this warm place! I couldn't bear that!"

Strangely, the corners of my eyes grew hot.

Once I said it out loud, it felt as though my true feelings seamlessly settled into my chest.

Because my own jealousy is painful, I want to distance myself from Hikigaya-kun. There was plenty of that, too.

But that wasn't all. If these feelings continued to grow heavier, I might eventually start seeing even Yuigahama-san as an enemy.

Subconsciously fearing that, I tried to distance myself from the two of them.

"What on earth does that..."

"Wait, Hikki."

The one who stopped Hikigaya-kun from pressing further was Yuigahama-san, who remained composed.

"Is it because of what your sister said?"

Struck at the core, I could only slowly nod. I was too scared to look at Yuigahama-san's face.

‘You've started making the face of a girl in love lately, haven't you, Yukino-chan?’

My sister's words flashed back in my mind. She was spot on, and more than anything, the fact that my feelings had grown so large that others could see through them terrified me.

"I see. But you know, Yukinon, it's the same for me."

"You too, Yuigahama-san?"

"I get shaken and tossed around by similar emotions too. There are times I direct such dark feelings toward you, Yukinon, and it's unbearably scary. ——But you know, I think that's okay. After all, we're girls."

"No..."

"Eh?"

"I (Boku)... I (Watashi) am not a proper girl! Ever since I was born, ever since I awakened! I've been a fake! A half-baked existence! That's why it's so painful! The fact that these feelings exist in my chest! The fact that I ended up harboring these feelings!"

"Yukinon..."

Mixed with sobs, I ended up laying everything bare. Before I knew it, tears were overflowing.

Ah, I've troubled Yuigahama-san. I didn't mean to say it. I intended to hide it in my heart for the rest of my life.

They probably didn't understand what I was saying. They probably had no idea what I was feeling. My chest ached with regret. My clenched fists hurt.

But even to a 'me' like that, Hikigaya-kun offered his words.

"Yukinoshita. I definitely can't say I completely understood everything you just said. But, let me ask you this one thing. ...What do you want to do? What do you want to become?"

"I..."

Memories flashed through my mind. When I first met Hikigaya-kun. When I first met Yuigahama-san. Camping together. Working hard to make the cultural festival a success. Sightseeing in Kyoto during the school trip. Spending seemingly meaningless time together in this room.

Every single one of them was a sparkling memory, so genuine that it made me want to look away.

And I was hopelessly longing for that unrealistic, sparkling thing.

Therefore.

"I want to become genuine." 

Before I knew it, my vision was filled with tears and my voice was hoarse, but those words were my honest, unfiltered feelings.

At the same time as I spat out those words, I felt like I was able to spit out various other things as well. The melancholic feeling that seemed to have lingered since the night of the school trip finally felt like it had cleared.

Without realizing it, the welling tears ran down my cheeks. My vision was blurry, but I could clearly see the satisfied looks on their faces.

Seeing their gentle expressions somehow made me cry all over again. I had stood up at some point, but I slowly sat back down in my chair, covered my face with my hands, and began weeping once more.

"...Haa. ...Hikigaya-kun, could you stop staring at a crying girl's face?"

"M-My bad..."

Feeling somewhat embarrassed by his gaze, I complained.

Having finally calmed down, I slowly stood up from the chair. My eyes still hurt a little. The sunset was terribly blinding.

"It's getting late today, so shall we head home?"

"Yeah! See you tomorrow, then!"

"Yeah."

Their words carried a warmth that had been missing recently.

...However, there was something I needed to confirm before going home.

"Hikigaya-kun, you were listening to my conversation with Yuigahama-san, right?"

"Obviously."

"Did you understand what kind of emotions we were talking about?"

"N-No, no idea at all. To begin with, human emotions are something even the person themselves doesn't fully grasp, let alone understanding the emotions of others—"

"Hmm. Well, fine."

Hearing my response, Hikigaya-kun stroked his chest in relief. ...This behavior.

I smoothly stepped closer to Hikigaya-kun, brought my mouth near his ear, and whispered, letting my breath tickle him.

"Even though you actually do understand."

"Kh!"

"Ahahahaha!"

Hikigaya-kun's panicked reaction as he covered his ear was so amusing that I laughed out loud.

I was quite embarrassed myself, so I distanced myself from him before speaking again.

"—Thank you, both of you. For not abandoning a troublesome person like me."

"I've learned plenty about dealing with troublesome people from Hikki! Leave it to me!"

"Wait, was I just getting insulted in the flow of that?"

It's exactly because Hikigaya-kun is a troublesome person just like me that he might have used a method like this. Blocking all escape routes, stripping away all excuses before letting me speak my true feelings.

Good grief, he understands me so well it's embarrassing.

"Also, I'm sorry. When I rejected your methods during the school trip, I was probably just taking my anger out on you. I hurt you, Hikigaya-kun, with deceitful words. So, I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's not like what you said was wrong. No need to worry about it now."

"Yeah, thank you. —Lastly, even though I'm like this, I hope we can continue to get along."

I'm counting on you, my genuine.

(Author's Note)

Thank you very much for reading this lengthy story.

With this, the story is complete.

I might write a short extra chapter (spin-off) after this?

I'll probably update the activity report, so please take a look if you're interested.