Where there are people, there is conflict, especially in places where women gather.
Mori Shinra returned to the classroom with a pork floss bun he had bought from a vending machine, just in time to witness a good show.
"Um... I have to go somewhere for lunch..."
"Oh, is that so? Then on your way back, help me buy a bottle of lemon tea. I forgot to bring a drink today, and I'm having bread for lunch. I can't eat it without some tea."
"Huh? B-but, by the time I get back, the fifth period might have already started... I mean, I'll probably be out for the whole lunch break, so... um..."
"Ha? Wait, what's up with you? Yui, you said something similar last time, and then you left right after school. Have you been busy lately?"
"Uh... how should I put it... I have some personal matters, it's really unavoidable, I'm so sorry..."
It was a very typical Japanese campus youth dialogue. There was pressure, betrayal, doubt, sumimasen, and even an element of suspense. It had all the essential ingredients, so to speak.
It was worth noting that the person speaking with Yuigahama was the leader of Class F's female normie group, Miura Yumiko, dubbed by gossipmongers as Sobu High's "Queen of Flame," in opposition to Yukinoshita Yukino's "Queen of Ice."
From the titles alone, one could tell that Miura Yumiko had always been secretly competing with Yukinoshita Yukino. It was for this very reason that Yuigahama Yui didn't dare to tell her directly that she had been spending the past few days with Yukinoshita and had even made plans to have lunch with her today.
The excellence of an enemy is frightening, but the betrayal of a friend cuts even deeper.
The mere thought of what would happen if Yumiko found out she was ditching her to have lunch with Yukinoshita was enough to scare her.
Yuigahama cherished her friendship with Yumiko, but she also didn't want to lose her new friend, Yukinoshita Yukino. This desire to have it both ways made her path difficult.
Yuigahama-san, you're far too greedy!
Mori Shinra had no intention of stepping in to help. In fact, although Miura Yumiko gave off a very bad-tempered impression, she held no malice towards Yuigahama. On the contrary, Yumiko also cherished her friendship with Yuigahama; her way of expressing it was just a bit rough. To those who didn't know the inside story or Miura Yumiko herself, it might look like a form of bullying.
Hikigaya was one of those people. Sensing the oppressive atmosphere in the classroom and seeing the look on Yuigahama's face that suggested she was about to cry, he resolutely stood up. The sound of his chair scraping was particularly jarring in this delicate atmosphere, immediately drawing the attention of others in the classroom.
"Hey, that's enou—"
"Shut up!"
Hikigaya decisively declared his defeat. As the loner boy at the very bottom of the classroom's social ladder, he stood no chance against the campus queen, Miura Yumiko. It was like asking a fresh college graduate to take on Mike Tyson in a one-on-one fight; they weren't even in the same weight class.
"Don't rush me, don't rush me. I got you a drink, didn't I?" Mori Shinra perfectly timed his intervention, handing the drink in his hand to Hikigaya while simultaneously pressing down on his shoulder to make him sit.
"Ah... arigato." Hikigaya looked at Shinra as if he were his savior. He admitted that he had been a bit out of his depth just now.
Even if he went for a suicide attack, the most he could do to Yumiko was splatter some blood on her. He couldn't deal any effective damage at all, and at best would just be cursed at for being "unlucky."
Shinra looked at Yuigahama and said casually, "Yuigahama, I ran into Yukinoshita on the way here. Didn't you two have plans for lunch? You should probably get going."
"Ah... right, I'll go in a bit." Yuigahama hadn't expected Shinra to suddenly say it out loud. An awkward expression appeared on her face, and her eyes kept darting towards Yumiko.
"Um..."
"You're having lunch with her? Why didn't you just say so?"
"I... I'm sorry."
Hearing Yuigahama start apologizing again, Miura Yumiko was both angry and helpless. She was about to say something more when another voice interrupted.
"On the contrary, isn't it precisely because of your attitude, Miura-san, that Yuigahama didn't dare to say it directly?"
"Ha? I've been meaning to ask since just now, who are you?" Miura Yumiko's eyebrows shot up as she asked Mori Shinra in an unfriendly tone.
"Just an insignificant classmate. More importantly, could you two keep it down? Arguing during lunch really kills the appetite. Haven't you noticed that there are fewer and fewer people in the classroom? I'd rather not hear any strange rumors from other classes tomorrow."
Shinra pointed outside the classroom, where a crowd of onlookers had gradually gathered after hearing the argument. He spoke to Miura Yumiko in a calm and composed manner.
Seeing that she had fallen silent, Shinra looked at Yuigahama. "You should hurry up. If you're late, watch out for Yukinoshita's wrath."
"I would never do something so classless."
From the doorway, a beautiful figure stepped over the classroom's threshold. Her cool gaze swept over everyone present before finally settling on Yuigahama.
"Let's go, Yuigahama-san. You were the one who made the invitation, yet you're standing me up. Don't you think that's wrong? If you're going to be late, you should at least let the other person know."
"I-I'm sorry. But I don't have your phone number, Yukino-chan..."
"Is that so? Then it's not entirely your fault. We'll let it go this time."
Yukinoshita ignored Miura, then turned and raised an eyebrow at Mori Shinra, as if to say: See? I'm not unreasonable like some people.
Shinra didn't reply, simply meeting her look with a faint smile.
Then, Yukinoshita Yukino realized something. Could it be that this guy knew she was outside all along, which is why he said what he did?
Miura Yumiko snapped back to her senses and immediately protested.
"W-wait a minute! We're not done talking!" The Queen of Flame looked exceptionally angry, the fire in her eyes looking as if it would evaporate that wisp of ice and snow.
"Is there a problem? I don't have time to talk to you. I haven't even had lunch yet." Yukinoshita raised her fair wrist to check the time, completely disregarding Miura Yumiko.
"Y-you and that other guy were the ones who suddenly came and messed things up, saying a bunch of nonsensical things! I was talking to Yui!"
"Talking? All I saw was a hysterical outburst, unilaterally forcing your opinions on someone without any consideration for their thoughts. Also, 'that other guy' has a name. You can ask him yourself."
"Ha?"
Miura Yumiko was practically burning up. It looked like she was about to explode on Yukinoshita.
"My apologies, I was unobservant. Not being familiar with your customs, I naturally assumed it was an ape making threats."
"Ngh!!!"
As the war of words reached this point, everyone present could see that Miura was no match for Yukinoshita. All she could manage was 'ha?' or 'ngh!'. She couldn't form any effective counterattack and was just taking a verbal beating.
It seemed that even a fiery queen could not escape being frozen when faced with Yukinoshita.