Chapter 8: Yuigahama
"Narumi, really, I might actually take your words seriously."
It wasn't that he particularly liked Haruno, but Narumi Toru found that this simulated version of himself had difficulty feeling strong emotions toward anyone or anything it was as if a crucial part of his heart, the one responsible for managing personal emotions, had been removed.
Whether he liked or disliked something, it never really stirred him. The emotions he displayed in everyday conversations were slightly exaggerated merely tactics of emotional intelligence used to maintain a stable atmosphere.
To put it bluntly, most of it was acting.
Playing the clown in social situations, making self-deprecating jokes, acting like a victim, exaggerating emotions, even pretending to be crazy all of it was a performance. It was a way to keep people at ease while subtly steering conversations where he wanted them to go.
"At least don't put on a lovey-dovey scene in front of my house," Yukino Yukinoshita said flatly, folding her arms. "Or am I part of your play too?"
She had seen right through Narumi's act whether intentionally or not, he couldn't tell.
But oddly, Narumi felt almost happy that such a frank, straightforward person existed even if her words were sharp, and her tone indifferent.
"What's wrong with acting?" Narumi shrugged lightly. "Life is like a play, can't we act it out? I forgot the rest of the quote."
"I'm sorry, Yukino," Haruno sighed with exaggerated pity. "Narumi is a good person in every other way, but his mental state can be… a bit worrying."
Yukino Yukinoshita looked at the two comedians in front of her and sighed helplessly. She was starting to regret allowing Narumi her sister's ex-boyfriend with a questionably stable mind to become the Service Club's assistant.
"Since you're a senpai, then act like one." Yukino exhaled quietly, her expression cool but tired. "Honestly, why did you and my sister ever hit it off in the first place?"
"That's because Narumi is actually quite charismatic," Haruno replied with a grin.
Narumi blinked, lost in thought, a faintly pained expression crossing his face. Yeah, why is that…? he wondered silently.
"What, Yukino wants to try it too?" Haruno said, her tone laced with mischief.
The remark stunned Yukino, freezing her in place for a few seconds before she finally waved her hand hurriedly, her composure cracking.
"Ahem—I think I already said that I have absolutely no such idea."
"Pu~ff."
Haruno chuckled, patting the secondhand car parked behind Narumi.
"That's what I meant," she continued playfully. "When we were dating, Narumi gave me rides too. Yukino, do you want to try it out?"
"...I'm absolutely certain that's not what you meant just now, sister."
Achievement unlocked: Tease your younger sister once per day. (1/1)
"Oh my, you sisters have such a twistedly good relationship," Narumi muttered, raising an eyebrow. Despite being the supposed main character, he felt more like a spectator to the family drama. With a sigh, he turned, climbed into his secondhand car, and started the engine.
"Alright, high school students," he said, glancing back at them with mock authority, "if you don't go to school soon, you'll be late."
That was enough for today's episode of The Yukinoshita Sisters Show.
"…?"
Yukino, who was used to being chauffeured to school in her family's luxury car, hesitated. She looked from her smiling sister to the curly-haired young man in the driver's seat, unsure what to make of the situation.
"Anyway," Haruno said cheerfully, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "Narumi said he was free, so let him be your personal driver. You know how much of a busybody he is I couldn't stop him even if I wanted to."
She winked at her younger sister, smiling warmly but her tone was the kind that instantly made Yukino tense.
"Or do you need your sister to come with you?" Haruno added teasingly. "After all, Narumi used to always sit next to me in my seat."
The black-haired girl froze, her lips tightening. She forced herself to look away, pretending to be calm but the stiffness in her movements betrayed her discomfort.
"...Of course I know," she said finally, her tone clipped.
With a quiet sigh, Yukino bent down and climbed into the passenger seat of the cheap secondhand car, fastening her seatbelt without meeting anyone's eyes.
"It's okay," Narumi said casually as he adjusted the mirrors. "You'll get used to it after a few more times."
He started the engine, answering Haruno's cryptic remark with equal nonchalance.
"I won't take money or kick passengers out," he added, "but if someone vomits in my car, that's a different story."
"No way," Haruno laughed, pausing in amusement. Then, after a moment of thought, her smile deepened.
"Then I can rest assured and entrust Yukino to you, Narumi. Be patient with the patient, okay?"
As always, her words carried layers of meaning.
Can't you twisted riddle-makers ever just say things plainly? Narumi thought dryly, choosing not to reply.
He turned the car stereo on, pairing his phone to the Bluetooth radio, and drove off with Yukino.
The city was waking up. Streets bustled with students in uniform, office workers rushing to catch trains, bicycles clicking over crosswalks. The gentle rhythm of morning traffic played beneath the hum of the car engine.
"Not counting the butler," Yukino said quietly, "this is indeed the first time I've ever sat in someone else's passenger seat."
Her voice was calm, but the faintest trace of vulnerability lingered in it like a ripple beneath still water.
"I'm honored to be Miss Yukinoshita's first part-time driver," Narumi replied lightly. "How does it feel?"
"It's obvious you should get a better car, Senpai."
Yukino was the kind of person who never sugarcoated her words.
"...But," she added softly, "it's funny to be driven to school by someone who isn't family."
The world outside drifted by early spring sunlight glimmering through the trees, soft breezes carrying the scent of fresh blossoms. The young man beside her had his window cracked open, and the wind lifted his curly hair, tinting it golden under the light.
The quiet, dull mornings Yukino once endured in her family's luxury car now felt strangely distant. This this was different.
For the first time in a long while, she didn't feel like she was being watched.
"...The scenery feels… alive," she murmured.
"After all," Narumi said simply, "spring is that kind of season."
As if on cue, the music on the radio faded, replaced by the voice of a cheerful announcer.
["As you may have already seen on social media, according to NASA, a newly discovered comet will visit Earth for the first time in 5,000 years. It will be visible to the naked eye in parts of Japan, the U.S., and a few other countries…"]
Comets… Narumi frowned slightly. He hadn't heard anything like that before entering the simulation. Too many details in this future felt off small deviations that stacked up into something uncanny.
Unimpressed, he switched the station to one still playing music and kept driving.
Spring sunlight filtered through the windshield, warm and steady. The girl beside him sat quietly, her gaze fixed on the passing scenery, and for once, the silence between them didn't feel uncomfortable.
Spring is the time when everything comes alive. And though this was only a simulation, Narumi had long since grown used to adapting to whatever came his way.
What he had forgotten, however, was one simple thing.
Spring is the season for love.
---
The phrase lingered in his mind like an aftertaste.
Writers, poets, and sentimental dreamers had always romanticized it cherry blossoms fluttering through the air, youth framed in soft pinks, the bittersweet scent of beginnings. For them, spring symbolized the awkward, beautiful start of love unspoken feelings drifting like petals on the breeze.
But for Narumi Toru, that sentiment was difficult to grasp.
To him, petals weren't signs of romance. They were simply the reproductive organs of plants nature's practical machinery disguised as beauty.
"Flowers are the reproductive organs of plants," he had once written in a draft. "Or rather, their rear ends. The fragrance of flowers is equivalent to the smell of farts, and nectar and pollen are their excrement. Linking romantic feelings to plant mating is just wishful thinking imposed by humans."
He had submitted that manuscript once. The editor never replied.
Inside the Service Club's activity room, the curly-haired youth spoke with such conviction that even the other two couldn't help but exchange a look.
"I wrote this passage in my novel," Narumi said, resting his chin on his hand, "but the manuscript I submitted just disappeared without a trace."
"Fortunately," Yukino replied coolly, "the editor's review skills were up to par. This kind of statement definitely wouldn't work in a novel."
Hachiman Hikigaya let out a small sigh, his expression unreadable. Yet behind those dead-fish eyes lingered a faint spark of reluctant agreement.
"After all," he said, "not everyone can accept the facts. It's difficult for people to rationally accept common sense when they're chasing romance."
"In the end," Yukino added without missing a beat, "it's just that they're showing off their knowledge in the wrong places, so it's normal they don't get much out of it."
Her tone was smooth, measured almost clinical. Then she tilted her head slightly, her gaze sharp but composed. "No wonder you fell down."
Narumi blinked, amused. "Fell down?"
"Popular novels these days," Yukino continued, "are fragmented, fast-paced, and purely for entertainment. Nobody wants to be lectured and criticized while they're trying to relax. That's human nature and the current state of things. If you can't recognize that, it's understandable your novels aren't selling well."
Hachiman turned his head toward her, eyebrows twitching slightly. "Um… are you always this straightforward?"
Even Hikigaya, who prided himself on blunt honesty, looked faintly uncomfortable. For once, he'd met someone whose lack of social filters rivaled his own.
"Why don't you just say his writing is too bad and readers won't buy it?" he muttered.
Though, to be fair, that wasn't much better. Hikigaya's version of tact was just bluntness in a different wrapper.
"I'm simply stating the truth," Yukino replied, completely unbothered. "Their inability to accept it has more to do with reconciling their own fragile mental state. That's not my problem."
"But there are other situations too," Narumi interjected calmly.
Even when Yukino's critique was merciless, Narumi didn't flinch. He didn't show shame or irritation; he simply followed her logic and turned it around, as though he were testing something.
"It's like knowing my writing's terrible," he said, "but not being able to improve it. Even if you understand the problem, sometimes you're just incapable of solving it."
The black-haired girl, who had maintained her poise throughout, froze slightly. Her fingers paused midair as she lifted her teacup.
For a heartbeat, she said nothing.
"…," Narumi thought. Bingo.
Yukino Yukinoshita, what secrets are you hiding?
It wasn't time to expose them yet. So he smiled faintly, resting his chin on his palm and waiting.
The stillness of the room was soon broken by a small motion beyond the door. Behind the frosted glass window, something pink swayed back and forth uncertainly.
"Oh dear," Narumi murmured with a lazy smile, "it seems we have guests. Please, come in."
"Huh!?"
A startled squeak came from the hallway, followed by the faint gasp of a girl. After a few seconds, the door creaked open, and a hesitant voice called out.
"Yah, ya—hello~! I'm Yuigahama Yui from Class 2-F!"
The girl who entered had soft, pink hair tied up in a high, slightly messy bun. Her uniform was the same as Yukino and Hikigaya's, though she had clearly customized it loosening the collar, shortening the skirt just a little, giving her the impression of a carefree, slightly clumsy energy.
Her wide, friendly eyes darted around the room, taking in the scene: the poised beauty sitting by the window, the boy with dead-fish eyes glaring from the corner, and the handsome curly-haired man in a college jacket smiling faintly.
"Huh? Why are there handsome guys who aren't from our school here…? Ah, Hikki's here too!"
Hachiman's eyebrow twitched. "So just because Narumi's handsome, that means I'm not? And what's with this 'hikikomori' thing, you bitch?"
"I–I'm not a bitch! I'm still !" she blurted, face flushing red.
"Thank you both," Narumi said dryly, standing up and smiling like a proper host, "for setting such a friendly example for our first meeting."
The tension broke instantly. He pulled out a chair for Yuigahama and bowed slightly, the motion polite yet natural.
"Please, have a seat, Yuigahama-san. I'm Narumi Toru, an assistant for the Service Club and a university student. Although we're not the same age, let's put aside seniority and get along well."
"Ah—o-okay! Okay, Narumi-senpai!" she stammered, hurriedly sitting down. Her flustered eyes darted away. After a beat, realization dawned Narumi's interruption had been deliberate, saving her from further embarrassment.
"…Is this the charm of a reliable adult man?" she whispered under her breath, slightly dazzled.
"I didn't really feel that he was reliable," Yukino commented flatly from behind her teacup, "but he's certainly eloquent."
Her words sliced cleanly as ever, calm and merciless.
"Please don't let his handsome appearance fool you, Yuigahama-san," she added, sipping elegantly. "He's only good at talking."
"Thank you for the compliment," Narumi replied without missing a beat. "Being good with words is still a kind of skill."
He placed a teacup in front of their guest, unfazed by Yukino's usual sharpness.
"Ah, no, that won't happen…" Yui muttered nervously, shaking her head, still glancing at the quiet boy in the corner who had yet to say a kind word to her.
"Stop with the nonsense," Hachiman said at last, his tone sharp. "State your demands."
He still looked faintly irritated by the earlier "hikikomori" remark, but at least the conversation was moving forward.
And with that, the curtain rose on the Service Club's next problem.
End of the chapters