Chapter 7: Perfect Scoundrel
[Achievement Completed – "Disordered Heartbeat Memories: The Target Isn't of the Opposite Sex."]
No way. Hachiman Hikigaya, you really are…
"Oh dear, so Hikigaya-kun isn't the first client, but a new member of the club."
The dead-eyed boy slapped his cheeks lightly, as if trying to wake himself from a bad dream. Across from him, Narumi Toru poured himself another cup of black tea, the faint aroma curling into the air like steam rising from a scene too calm for its own good. He sat down next to Yukino, completely ignoring the subtle "→_→" glare she shot him.
"In that case," he said smoothly, "we haven't received any requests yet."
"I see. So, what are your thoughts, Narumi-senpai, as our assistant?" Yukino asked, her tone cool but composed. "Could you find us our first case?"
Narumi lifted his cup and smiled faintly. "Oh dear, that's a bit demanding. College students don't have many connections left from their high school days."
In the real world, Yukino Yukinoshita's Service Club had always been an enigma something Narumi had only heard about in passing. But now, within this simulation, he was living the scene itself. Everything was too vivid, too precise the sunlight, the faint hum of the air conditioner, even the steam rising from the tea.
So this is what a recreated world feels like.
He chuckled quietly. If all else fails, I could just call in Hiratsuka-sensei. She'd probably make her own request something tragic like "find me a boyfriend."
"If our seniors were the same age as us," Hachiman muttered, arms folded, "they probably wouldn't have had so many troubles."
"Yes," Narumi replied simply, setting down his cup. "That's true."
For a brief moment, as he looked between the two teenagers before him, it almost felt real. They looked like normal classmates sitting together after school one cynical, one proud, and one somewhere in between.
If this weren't a simulation, maybe the three of them could have actually been friends.
Narumi leaned back slightly, letting his eyes drift toward the black-haired girl reading quietly beside him. Yukino Yukinoshita sat in perfect stillness, posture straight, her attention fixed on a paperback novel in her lap. The sunlight from the window traced her profile in gold calm, distant, and beautiful in a way that felt fragile.
Her fingers brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, revealing the clean lines of her face almost sculpted, too flawless to be entirely human.
"...?"
Narumi found himself watching longer than he should have. As if sensing it, Yukino raised her gaze, her sharp blue eyes locking with his. She didn't speak, but her silence alone was an answer the unspoken I see you staring.
Narumi only smiled and pointed lightly to his watch, his expression unreadable.
"…," she remained quiet, then reached into her bag, producing a small white pillbox. Without comment, she opened it and swallowed a pill with her tea.
The gesture was simple, almost habitual yet somehow, it carried weight.
Across the table, Hachiman Hikigaya blinked in confusion, his sharp eyes darting between the two.
"It's just a vitamin," Yukino said before he could ask. "Would you like to try some, Hachiman?"
"N-No, that won't be necessary."
"That's true," she replied smoothly, eyes half-lidded. "You don't look like someone who's lacking in nutrition. You have plenty of DHA."
"Haha." His laugh came out awkward more air than sound.
Yukino, as always, wielded her words like precision instruments. Narumi couldn't help but smirk at the exchange.
Hachiman, meanwhile, already looked like he regretted every life decision that brought him here.
Naturally, he had no way of knowing that Yukino's words were a cover that she had just told a small, unintentional lie.
Before long, the hour grew late. The soft glow of the setting sun cast long shadows through the clubroom windows. Hachiman quietly gathered his things, mumbled a farewell, and slipped out. The door clicked shut, leaving only the faint hum of silence and the sound of Narumi's soft yawn.
He glanced sideways. Yukino was cleaning up the teacups, movements precise as always.
She hides it well, he thought. Too well.
Then, as if on cue, her voice broke the quiet.
"Senpai," she said, her tone steady. "Aren't you going to ask me why I deliberately hid my illness?"
Narumi smiled faintly, resting his chin on his hand.
"Given Yukino's personality, it's normal. You don't want others to see you as weak."
He straightened the chair he'd been sitting in. His tone was casual, but the air between them felt heavier.
"But if there's ever a time when you really can't hold on anymore and it's inconvenient to ask others for help then come to me."
Her hands froze mid-motion. "...Senpai," she murmured, "the way you're talking makes it sound like you know me very well."
Narumi only shrugged. "Well, I did date your older sister. Don't let how Haruno teases you fool you she actually cares about you. Quite a lot, in fact."
He chuckled softly, almost nostalgic. "She talks about you constantly."
That much was true. Haruno Yukinoshita her charm, her sharp tongue, her twisted affection all centered around one thing: her little sister.
Seven or eight times out of ten, Yukino's name would find its way into their conversations.
Proud remarks laced with envy, compliments masked as criticism. It was affection disguised as provocation.
Yukino had always been the unreachable little sister the one Haruno couldn't help but both love and challenge.
"…Why do you include me in your chat history?" Yukino asked suddenly, her voice carrying quiet irritation. Her back was turned, her words soft but cold.
"Never mind," she said quickly, before he could reply. "I don't care what kind of sister my sister is in her eyes anyway."
Narumi tilted his head, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
It's obvious that you do, he thought but didn't say.
After a pause, he chuckled lightly. "Do you want to know how Haruno described you to me?"
"As I just said," Yukino replied, pushing open the door, "I don't care about Mr. Camera, whose ears and brain are both broken."
He ignored the jab and followed behind her. "She said you're a diligent, hardworking younger sister though your personality's a little hard to read. Like a cat. Always graceful, but hard to predict."
He smiled, the tone half teasing, half sincere. "Of course, she's the least qualified person to say that."
"Sigh... If only I could get your ears repaired, senpai."
Her sigh sounded more like reluctant amusement than anger. Watching Narumi talk to himself, Yukino could only shake her head. He was a strange man infuriatingly carefree, yet oddly reliable.
But still…
> If you ever find yourself unable to cope, and it's inconvenient to ask others for help, come to me.
She couldn't forget those words.
They weren't close. He was just her sister's ex-boyfriend a man she'd met again under strange, simulated circumstances. And yet, something in his tone lingered, quiet but reassuring.
Yukino Yukinoshita looked up at the curly-haired youth walking beside her, half a head taller, his expression calm and unreadable.
"…Making promises that cannot be kept will damage one's credibility," she said softly.
"Oh?" Narumi's voice was light, almost playful. "But I'll keep my word."
The boy smiled, the sunlight catching in his eyes, and turned his gaze toward the far end of the corridor.
"Could it be that the president of the Service Club, who wants to fulfill other people's wishes, actually has some incredible wish that hasn't been fulfilled yet?"
Yukino paused mid-step, her calm eyes wavering ever so slightly.
If I say yes, will you help me?
Her cool, composed voice sounded uncertain for the first time.
"…In the capacity of a Service Club assistant," Narumi replied after a pause.
For once, his tone lacked its usual playfulness. The calm, smug air he often carried fell away, replaced by something quieter more human.
In this strange "future," perhaps he was the only one she could rely on.
"Yes," he added softly. "If you make that request."
Narumi glanced sideways at the girl walking beside him, her long black hair swaying lightly as they crossed the empty corridor. He didn't hesitate he never did. Whether it was because of his connection to Haruno or because he had simply grown fond of Yukino, even he couldn't say.
Regardless of his identity as Haruno's ex-boyfriend or as the Service Club's supposed "assistant" he thought helping Yukino might be interesting. And if it could ease that persistent loneliness behind her sharp exterior, then perhaps it was worth doing.
Even though Narumi Toru knew he was trapped within a simulation, even though he retained every memory from his birth until now, he still found it hard to reconcile the two versions of himself—the high school boy he remembered and the university student he had become.
The person struggling the most with that transition, though, wasn't him. It was his "new" ex-girlfriend Yukinoshita Haruno.
In reality, Narumi had known her only by reputation. She was an extraordinary graduate from the same high school as him smart, confident, and, of course, the elder sister of Yukino Yukinoshita. He had never even held a girl's hand before, so the idea that someone like her had once been his girlfriend felt surreal.
And yet, within this simulated "future," it seemed that version of himself had done the impossible.
Not only had he somehow captured Haruno Yukinoshita's attention, but according to the memories embedded in this reality, their relationship had been far from innocent. They had kissed, embraced, and… well, for a pair of teenagers in their prime, it was hard to imagine they'd stopped there.
Unfortunately, by the time Narumi's consciousness entered this simulation, their relationship had long since ended. The memories remained, but they were like replaying a completed visual novel frozen scenes, unchangeable choices.
In other words, Narumi Toru now existed in a state of Schrödinger's virginity.
He sighed. Damn it, why can't I ever land somewhere good?
"Oh dear, Narumi, you look like you just missed a supermarket sale."
A familiar, teasing voice snapped him back to the present.
At the entrance of a high-end apartment building, Haruno Yukinoshita stood with a shopping bag in one hand and that same mischievous smile on her face. She reached out and poked his cheek playfully with a slender finger.
"What, you've lost your patience after only waiting ten minutes?" she asked sweetly. "You were the one who volunteered to pick Yukino up from school, remember?"
Narumi blinked, momentarily disoriented by her presence. Then he turned to glance at the secondhand car parked beside them, as if to remind himself why he was here in the first place.
Right he was playing the role of the Service Club's "assistant," doing his best to get along with Haruno's younger sister, Yukino.
That meant things like picking her up and driving her to school, or accompanying her on her weekly hospital visits.
Of course, it wasn't as if Narumi was some carefree college dropout. He simply had no interest in competing with his peers in the usual race for credits and success. Skipping elective courses was, in his view, the pinnacle of efficiency.
"Haruno," he said lazily, "are you really the type who'd be fine letting her ex-boyfriend spend time alone with her dear little sister?"
Rather than answering, Haruno laughed softly and leaned a little closer. "Oh, I have great confidence in Yukino's taste in men."
Narumi grinned. "Then I'd better be careful not to let her fall for me."
Haruno smirked. "Narumi, your mouth is still as charming as ever."
Her voice held no bitterness only amusement, like an actress revisiting an old role.
"In that case," she added quietly, "bringing you to that child's side might be the best thing I can do for her."
Narumi's eyes narrowed slightly. "?"
But before he could question her, Haruno turned her attention toward the building's elevator, watching as the doors slid open with a soft chime.
A familiar figure stepped out.
"...Narumi-senpai and… Sister?"
Yukino Yukinoshita froze for a split second, her normally composed expression faltering.
To any outsider, the sight before her would have looked like a perfect tableau: the elegantly dressed older sister and the curly-haired young man leaning casually against his Car. Together, they could have passed for a stylish couple a contrast of warmth and poise, wealth and quiet charm.
That was precisely why Yukino's expression darkened the moment she saw them.
"It's… a bit counterintuitive to keep flirting even after breaking up," she said curtly.
Having never been in a relationship herself, Yukino's understanding of romance was more theoretical than emotional. She was not some "pure love goddess," as her admirers might believe, but rather someone who had chosen distance over vulnerability a girl more suited to solitude than attachment.
That's why the sight of her sister and Narumi together so casual, so comfortable made something uncomfortable twist in her chest.
"Oh my," Haruno said playfully, brushing a hand through her hair. "What does it matter? Or perhaps you want to learn how to flirt, Yukino? I'll reluctantly let you have Narumi~"
"Please don't joke like that," Yukino replied immediately, her tone sharp. "I didn't mean it that way. I simply think your behavior is inappropriate, Sister."
"Well, well~" Haruno cooed, undeterred. "Anyway, we broke up amicably. Neither of us has someone else right now, so if old feelings rekindle, that's only natural, isn't it?"
She smiled wickedly and, with that same teasing confidence, rested her hand on Narumi's shoulder.
Narumi didn't flinch. He simply gave a light shrug, wearing the same easygoing expression as always.
"Get back together? I don't mind," he said, tone deliberately nonchalant. "But the condition is you'll have to be the one to win me back, Haruno."
A faint grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
This, he thought, must be exactly how his simulated self would act, smooth, detached, just a little bit dangerous. The kind of man who didn't pursue, didn't refuse, and didn't take responsibility.
A perfect scoundrel in a perfect script.
Though honestly, he mused, it feels a bit too natural for comfort.
End of the chapters