(A/N): i havent touched this story in about 4 days so lets get back to it
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
How? How are we in this situation AGAIN? Me and Hachiman were sitting in front of Hiratsuka-sensei. This time it was for our desired career and workplace. As you could imagine. I picked my room for my desired workplace. As for my career, I couldn't really think of anything. It's not like I could wright, "Be lazy for 20 hours and then get 4 hours of sleep." And I couldn't say something like, "Youtuber or Twitch streamer" because I don't stream, don't have the necessary equipment for streaming, and don't want to stream. It seems like a lot of work that I don't feel like putting in. So I wrote down,
Hiratsuka-sensei: "Cat caretaker. My cat named Myst mainly stays in my room, sleeps with me, lays on my lap and keyboard, and I have decided to take responsibility in taking care of her and loving her. I will feed her and give her love for as long as she lives..."
She seemed clearly angered. Imagine if that was what I actually wanted to pursue as a career. I wouldn't mind it, but I wouldn't get any money out of it. If I went to an actual cat nursery and took care of cats there, then Myst would be mad and feel that I'm cheating on her.
Hiratsuka-sensei: "Do you think this is a career? To take care of your cat? If that was a career then I wouldn't be standing in this spot today, I'd be in my room. But it's not. You're both redoing your applications." She grabbed a cigarette and started smoking.
Y/N: "Can I try one?"
Hiratsuka-sensei actually ended up handing me one, just to see what I would do. I grabbed the cigar, and threw it in the trash can that sat in the corner of the room, we all watched as it fell in. Hiratsuka-sensei looked back towards me.
Y/N: "Can I try another one?"
Hiratsuka-sensei: "If you're gonna throw them all away then no."
Y/N: "My plans have been foiled." She lightly chuckled before saying,
Hiratsuka-sensei: "Also your workplace is going to be attended by other students in groups of three. You guys can team up with whoever you want, so come prepared."
Y/N: "I don't want people coming into my room."
Hiratsuka-sensei: "You really want to work in your room, huh?"
Timeskip to my cousins hanging around in my room
(;'༎ຶД༎ຶ')
I walked towards the Service Club door. This time I actually knocked, I wasn't making the same mistake twice. Yukino, instead of saying come in, opened the door herself, and saw that I lay behind it.
Yukino: "There you are."
Y/N: "Were you looking for me?"
Yukino: "Well... Y-Yes. But only because you were coming late and I can't let you run away. I have been tasked in disciplining you."
Y/N: "Awww, Yukino cares about me."
She turned around swiftly and sat in her seat with a 'hmph'. How has she managed to get so cute recently. I-I mean, she's acting weird recently.
I took my seat and we talked a little. Mainly just about why I was late and I explained to her that I was bullied by Hiratsuka-sensei. Hachiman was also there, but she let me leave before I could tell what what was happening. Before I left the room, I prayed to the gods that he wouldn't be mildly injured. Hachiman, of course, was punched in the stomach before I left the room entirely so I guess my prayers were a little half-assed, sorry Hachiman. After that, we stayed silent. I started another light novel, the last one I read was very... interesting, to say the least. Well, that wasn't important. If anything, this was the perfect time to relax. There was no awkward silence. No anticipation for what the other was going to say or if the other person was going to say anything at all. It was just a peaceful-
Hachiman: "*opens door*" He quietly walks to his seat.
Yukino: "You didn't see her?"
Hachiman: "See who?"
Yuigahama: "Hey! There you are!"
Hachiman: "What's with you?"
Yukino: "You hadn't shown up to the clubroom, so the only option was to look for you, Yuigahama-san wanted to, at least."
Hachiman: "You don't have to use inverse word order to let me know you didn't want to find me, I know."
Yuigahama: "I even went around asking people, you know. And they were all like, 'Hikigaya? Who's that?' That made it really hard to find you!"
Hachiman: "W-Well, sorry."
Yuigahama: "It's not like I mind, just... So... like...
"?"
"G-Give me your phone number! 'C-Cause I shouldn't have to run around looking for you! It's embarrassing! And I don't want people asking what our relationship is..."
"Fine with me, I guess. *hands her his phone*"
"You want me to type it? Also, I'm amazed you can just hand you phone over to someone" I wouldn't do that for my life.
Yuigahama-san then started to type his phone number onto her phone. I then felt something tug my shirt, so I turn to look and Yukino was there. She looked away and nervously said,
Yukino: "I need yours as well..."
Y/N: "Huh? Oh, uh, okay."
I gave her my phone number and she copied it down on her phone. She texted me just to make sure that it worked. She sent a picture.
Y/N: "Yup, it worked."
Yukino seemed happy so she sat back in her seat and continued reading her book with a small blush on her face. I couldn't lie, I had one too. I mean, I had just given my number to a girl, what else could you want as a 2nd year? I looked at my phone and stared at the new number that resided there. I will never forget this moment for the rest of my life.
Then, Yuigahama-san looked at her phone, and her face showed one of surprise, then to sadness.
Yukino: "Is something wrong?"
Yui: "Huh? Oh, no, nothing's wrong... I got a weird message, so I was just a little surprised."
Yukino: "Hikigaya-kun, if you don't want to end up in court, you should refrain from sending such vulgar messages in the future."
Hachiman: "You just assume I'll sexually harass someone, and you act like I'm the culprit. Let's see your proof!"
Yukino: "I think your words are proof enough."
Geez, when will you learn? She never stated that you even sent a sexual message, and your response makes it seem like you were prepared for this question.
Yukino: "There are certain lines the criminals always say. 'Where's the proof?' 'Impressive deduction skills. You should right novels.' 'I can't stay in the same room as a killer.'"
Hachiman: "That last one sounded more like a victim's line. You might as well call it a death flag."
Yukino: "Is that so?" I guess sometimes Yukino can get a little confused.
Yui: "No, I don't think Hikki's the culprit."
Yukino: "Where's your proof?"
Yui: "Well, I mean, it was about people in my class. So Hikki has no connection to them."
Hachiman: "I'm in the same class as you..."
Yukino: "I see. Then, Hikigaya-kun can't be the culprit."
Hachiman: "She considered that valid evidence..." I mean who WOULDN'T?
Then there was a knock at the door. Hayama-kun opened the door and walked inside.
Hayama: "Uh, I wanted to ask a favor... This is where the Service Club meets, right?"
Hachiman awkwardly smiled at him. Yukino and I just stared angrily. I never liked being around him, he always seemed so 'happy to be alive' and I couldn't stand it.
Hayama: "Hiratsuka-sensei said this was the place to go if I had a problem. Man, I had such a hard time getting out of my club meeting-"
Y/N: "No one cares, what do you want?"
Hayama: "Uh, oh, about that..." He grabbed his phone and showed the weird text messages that Yuigahama-san had gotten earlier.
Yuigahama: "That weird message..."
Yukino: "'Tobe is a delinquent from Inage. He stakes out West High kids at the arcade. Yamato dates three girls at once. He's total scum. Ohoka takes out rival schools' aces with rough play.' A chain mail, huh?"
Hayama: "Since this started going around, it's been really uncomfortable in our class. And it makes me mad to see someone writing this stuff about my friends... Oh, but I don't want to find out who did it. I want to know how to settle this thing peacefully. Can you help?" He finished that sentence with a heart warming smile. Except this trick wouldn't work on someone like me. Hachiman describes it as 'The Zone'. A person who's life is so complete and full that others stay with them and fall under their 'charm'.
Yukino: "Hmph. In other words, you want us to get the situation under control."
Hayama: "Yeah, pretty much."
"Then, we'll have to find out who did it."
"Yeah. I'm counting on- Huh? Why do you have to do that?"
"Chain mail... It is a despicable behavior that tramples upon the dignity of others. They only slander others with the intention of hurting them, while never letting their own identities be known. To stop it effectively, it must be eliminated at the root. The source is me." How many times has she been messed with that she dealt with this situation as well?
Yui: "Eliminated it at the root, did you?"
Yukino: "At any rate, people like that must be thoroughly destroyed. That's my way. I will find the culprit. I believe a single word can stop them. I'll let you decide what to do with them after that. Is that all right with you?"
Hayama: "Sure, that's fine..."
Yukino: "When did the message first start to show up?"
Hayama: "Last weekend, wasn't it?"
Yui: "Yeah."
Yukino: "Did anything happen in your class, Yuigahama-san, Hayama-kun"?
Hayama: "Nothing in particular.."
Yui: "Yeah, it was the same as always."
Yukino: "*Looks towards Hachiman and I* Just for the sake of asking, what about you two?"
Y/N: "I sleep during class."
Hachiman: "Last weekend? So it was pretty recent... Workplace observation?"
Yui: "Ah, that's it. It's because we're being split into groups!"
Timeskip brought to you by a blushing Yukino
Yui: "I think I know who did it!"
Yukino: "Explain?"
Yui: "How people are grouped in events like this affects their relationships afterward. Some people get really sensitive about stuff."
Hachiman: "We're doing our workplace observation in groups of three, so if there was a group of four friends, one would be left out. Of course, he'd kick someone out to avoid being excluded."
Yukino: "So, for starters, we can assume that one of those three is the culprit."
Hayama: "W-Wait a minute. I don't want to think that one of them is the culprit. That message said bad things about all three of them. I don't think any of them did it."
Y/N: "Actually, if it were me, I would purposely say something bad about myself to avoid suspicion, and leave one out so that they would be the most likely culprit."
Hachiman and I both nod at the same time.
Yui: "You guys are creepy..."
Yukino: "Can you tell me more about them?"
Hayama: "Okay... Tobe looks like a bad guy, but he's the most easygoing, and the mood maker. He's always the most proactive in events like these. He's a good guy."
Yukino: "So he's a class clown who isn't good at anything but making a scene." She said as she wrote down on a piece of paper.
Hayama: "Eh-..."
Yui: "..."
Y/N: ":)"
Yukino: "? What's wrong? Continue."
Hayama: "Uh, Yamato is really level-headed and a good listener. He does things at this own pace and puts people at ease. He's a good guy."
"So he's dense and indecisive."
"Ohoka is great with people. He's good natured and always helping someone out. He's a good-"
"So he reads people's moods like a weathervane."
Hayama was smiling, but he had a sweat drop on his face that showed his clear surprise. Yuigahama-san was the same. I don't know if I've become a sadist, but I enjoyed it all.
"Any one of these could be the culprit. What Hayama-kun has said doesn't give me much to go on. *Looks towards Yuigahama, Hachiman, and I* What do you three think of them?"
Yui: "Eh? That's hard to say..."
Hachiman: "I don't really know them that well."
Y/N: "I could care less for them."
Yukino: "Then, could you investigate them for me?"
Yui said okay, but she had a clear look of discomfort on her face.
Yukino: "I'm sorry. It's not a pleasant thing to do."
Hachiman: "I'll do it."
We looked towards Hachiman.
"I don't care what the rest of the class thinks of me. Plus, finding fault in people is one of my 108 talents." I don't even have one talent and this man has 108, where have I gone wrong?
Yukino: "I won't expect too much. And you?"
She spoke to me.
Y/N: "Inform me when another message pops up. If it was one of them, then they would be on their phone to send that message. If they aren't on their phone, question the ones that are. This message won't be sent while they're together, if that's the case then it's someone in our classroom or one of them, if it is sent when they are together, then whoever is on their phone at that moment should be deemed a culprit."
Yukino: "Perfect. I didn't expect you to put thought into this."
Y/N: "Not really, I kind of just said whatever would take the longest and hardest to do."
Yui: "I'll do it, too! I can't just leave this to them!"
Timeskip to the lockers brought to you by NordVPN
Yui: "Sorry! I couldn't find anything out!"
The entire charade of her trying to get info out of the other girls was entirely useless, even causing one of them to have a nosebleed of shipping the boys together.
Hachiman: "Well, you were doing several things wrong from the start. I'll do it next."
Yukino: "Do what?"
Yui: "You going to ask around?"
Hachiman: "No, I'll watch."
Yukino/Yui: "?"
Y/N: "That was my plan but sure dude."
Timeskip to the part where you actually somewhat contribute
Hachiman: "I will now disclose one of my 108 talents: human observation. Only about 30% of human communication is language. The other 70% is gathering information from eye movements and other subtle gestures. In other words, thinking paradoxically, I can achieve 70% of human communication alone, without talking...Okay, that's not how it works."
Then, Totsuka appeared in front of Hachiman as they had their weird discussion, I wasn't really paying attention to what Hachiman was saying to me, I was more focused on whether I should buy a drink from the vending machine and not be able to buy anything tomorrow, or save it and buy something tomorrow. As I was thinking however, Hayama came up to Hachiman to speak with him. At this point I took a gander to the other boys in his group to see what they were doing whilst he was gone and...it was stale. They weren't even looking in the same direction as each other.
Y/N: "Hachiman."
He looked at me, I looked towards the other boys, which prompted him to look at them as well. He picked up on what I was trying to tell him, we both nodded at each other and headed back to the club.
Timeskip brought to you by too many fucking timeskips
Yukino: "Well? Did you figure something out."
Hachiman: "I didn't figure out who the culprit is, but I did figure out one thing."
Technically I did and told you but sure
Hachiman: "That group, is Hayama's group."
Hayama: "Uh, what do you mean?"
"I said that wrong. I mean, everything is for Hayama's sake."
"I don't think that's right."
"Hayama, have you ever seen those three when you're not with them?"
"No, I haven't..."
"When it's just the three of them, they don't get along at all. In simpler terms, Hayama is their friend, and the others are just their friend's friend."
Yukino: "Let's just assume what you say is true. It still only reinforces their motive. If we can't pin down the culprit, the issue will never be resolved."
Hachiman: "Hayama, if you want, I can solve this. I know a way those three can become friends, without searching for the culprit and without having anyone to fight anymore."
He then turns around with an almost evil/creepy smile.
Hachiman: "Wanna know how?"
We all stare at him, a little worried to what he had in store. In reality, it was only to have them work in the observation thingy I forgot the name of, I also need to find a career for that still but God knows what I'll pick.
TImeskip brought to you by not enough sauce between Yukino and Y/N so I did this
I entered the club room a little later than usual to find Yukino entirely in her phone having an internal struggle. I quietly sit in my seat, she seemingly still has no idea of my presence. Finally, she presses something on her phone and brings it to her ear and takes a deep breath. My phone's ringtone went off which scared Yukino much more than it should've as she dropped her phone. She turned to me startled.
Yukino: "How long..."
Y/N: "Depends, how long were you thinking about calling me?"
"It was only to make sure you weren't running away."
"Sure."
"...I wasn't struggling."
"Mhmm."
"..."
"No more excuses, huh?"
"Just, shut up..."
She went to put her phone away before realizing it wasn't in her hands anymore.
"Looking for something?"
She turned toward me to find it residing in my hand. She angrily reached forward and asked for the phone.
Yukino: "Give it to me."
Y/N: "Say please."
"Please."
"You have to mean it."
"..."
She went silent and looked away from me.
"Please..."
I gave her the phone back and she put it in her pocket. She seemingly had nothing to say, which is quite strange, considering she likes to talk big a lot.
Y/N: "That was a nice experience, right?"
Yukino: "Please, shut up."
(A/N): i got bored so i made that ending part between them, I might do it for all of the chapters, although they wont get into the deep romance type shit until later, we're only five chapters in so ill just have the ending of chapters be for them so that you guys can leave somewhat satisfied with it, dont know if it should be entirely connected to the plot but whatever happens, happens.