Originally, this was supposed to be for a writing prompt on Reddit, but I kinda had exams at the time, and I wasn't satisfied with the original ending. That was until a certain episode of a certain show came along.

Well then, with volume 12 coming out in a few weeks, I hope that writing stories again would buy me enough time until the translations come out.

With that said, enjoy.

Reputation.

Something that the Service Club severely lacks. However, in recent times, I have begun to notice a change in the student body's attitude towards the aforementioned club. Right now, there are often times where students from all the years come up to me in an attempt to get help or advice on a particular subject, even if most of the subjects aren't my forte.

Of course, I was obligated to help them to the best of my abilities. After all, it is the responsibility of the strong to help the weak.

But because of the nature of the Service Club, some shrewd members of the student body decided to abuse this kindness of ours to their own selfish advantage.

Actually; to reiterate, it isn't some members of the student body that decided to abuse our kindness, it is actually one student. A student who is a second year at Sobu High, is a female, and coincidentally, is also the student council president.

And unless she has a secret twin sister who also happens to be a student council president at another high school, I am most certainly talking about Isshiki Iroha.

Now, I don't know if it was due to the Service Club helping her last year or perhaps, due to her own strange delusion; but it has appeared that Isshiki-san thinks that the Service Club is there at her beck and call.

Of course, the only logical progression from that thought process is that she owns all of the Service Club's resources, and therefore, she can use it whenever and wherever she likes.

There's the regular laptop that she often borrowed. I do not mind that, as I have a spare laptop just in case.

Sometimes, she would borrow the spare desks and chairs from the clubroom. Again, I have never minded that, because those are properties belonging to the school in the first place.

However, lately, she has taken the liberty in borrowing the Service Club's members.

And while I say members, I actually meant to say one member.

Namely, Hikigaya Hachiman.

And her borrowing Hikigaya-kun isn't a rare occurrence. I have begun to keep count of when she would take Hikigaya-kun away from Yuigahama-san and I for some unknown purposes, and have found out that since we've become third year students, Hikigaya-kun has been spending more time with Isshiki-san than with us.

I was obviously not bothered by this revelation, but I assumed that Yuigahama-san might be. After all we went through last year, it would be nice to sit down, have some tea and chat about nonsensical topics such as what is the most iconic plush toy in Japan, and why is it Pan-san ?

...That is Yuigahama-san's reason though, because my reason is obviously more logical and more refined than discussing the elegant taste of having Pan-san plushies on your bed.

But I digress.

So, why would I go along on this long train of thought with no apparent end in sight? Was I just ranting for the sake of ranting or was there some ulterior purpose?

Of course, there was an ulterior purpose.

Yukinoshita Yukino is, and always will be an efficient human being.

The reason for my impromptu rant was quite simple.

At the end of the makeshift long-table that we constructed out of student desks was a chair. It is a modest and normal chair. However, something was wrong. Terribly so.

No one was sitting there.

Or more specifically, Hikigaya-kun wasn't sitting there.

That was why I came to the conclusion that Isshiki-san must've dragged him off somewhere…again.

Granted, today was an especially slow day, and so far, there were no clients.

So far.

I took a deep breath to calm myself, and looked over to Yuigahama-san. She didn't notice me, and instead, decided to keep her gaze on the clubroom's door instead, as if silently praying that someone, preferably a fish-eyed loner, would come through said door.

Unfortunately, I knew that wasn't the case. Isshiki-san-according to Hikigaya-kun himself-is a slave driver. As such, if he was taken by her (Which was very likely), then he'd probably work on her silly project until the end of the day.

While I had no way of proving this assumption of mine, I'd wager that there could be no other possibilities. Hikigaya-kun is an anti-social person. Most of the time, at least.

Therefore, it stands to reason that he couldn't have any other plans which meant that the only thing that he could do to kill time was to come to the Service Club.

"He's not coming, is he?" Yuigahama-san asked, her voice unenthusiastic.

I gave a small sigh. Obviously, that was the case, but telling it outright to Yuigahama-san was hard…like not giving a stray cat some treats because you have none. Both situations were out of my control.

"Unfortunately, it appears that Isshiki-san has 'borrowed' him."

"Again." Yuigahama-san added.

"Yes...again."

A deep blanket of silence enveloped the clubroom as both Yuigahama-san and I mused on what to-

"AH, JEEZ!"

!

I immediately jumped out of my seat at her surprising outburst. Never before have I heard her make such a loud noise before.

She quickly collapsed first face on to the table in mental exhaustion, and without lifting her face up, she asked me.

"Y'know…why doesn't he just come straight to the clubroom with me instead of letting me go there first?"

Was what I could make of her muffled voice.

"I don't know. Maybe, he's slow at preparing his bags?"

"I'm always waiting for him anyway!" Yuigahama-san shouted in exasperation, "Yukinon…"

"Hmm?"

Then, in an unexpected turn of events, Yuigahama-san lifted her face up and looked at me with a childish pout stuck on her face.

"Am I really that unattractive that Hikki doesn't want to be seen with me?"

Does she honestly think that?

"Of course not. You are fine just the way you are."

In fact, if I have to make a list of favorite things or people in the entire world, you would easily be in the top three, Yuigahama-san.

But my consolation was for naught as Yuigahama-san put her face down on the table again. Obviously, without Hikigaya-kun here, things were extremely off balanced.

Like the Chinese philosophy of Feng Shui, without Hikigaya-kun, the harmony in the clubroom was completely gone.

And that was when the door opened.

I turned my head.

Yuigahama-san turned her head.

But alas, it wasn't the fish eyed loner we'd hoped for. Instead, standing at the door with a smile on her face was the target of my rant earlier.

The ever enigmatic Isshiki Iroha.

So since she was here, it was obvious that Hikigaya-kun would be following right behind her, right? Just like a normal person returning a thing that she borrowed earlier.

Of course, Hikigaya-kun isn't a thing, but that was a matter for another time.

"Yahallo, Yukino-senpai, Yui-senpai!" Her bubbly voice rang throughout the small clubroom.

Isshiki-san's over-the-top, enthusiastic greeting was met with a…not so enthusiastic one coming from Yuigahama-san, which was strange considering those two can probably power the entire Chiba prefecture with just their energy alone.

"Ah…yahallo, Iroha-chan." She lifted her hand weakly in a salute.

"Hello, Isshiki-san."

Isshiki-san didn't notice the dreariness that had enveloped the clubroom, or the disappointment that Yuigahama-san exhibited from Isshiki-san not being who she had hoped for.

…Of course, I didn't make the same face.

"Soooooo…" Isshiki-san began as she looked around the room, "Where's Senpai?"

This line of questioning prompted confusion from both Yuigahama-san and I as we both looked at each other in confusion, before it was wordlessly decided that I should answer.

"Isshiki-san," I turned to her, "You have to be more specific than that. You are a second year, true, but there are still third years who are your upperclassmen, you know."

In response, Isshiki-san just looked at me like I was the biggest fool on the planet before waving me off nonchalantly.

"Jeez, Yukino-senpai. You know who I'm talking about."

Of course, I know who she was talking about, but decided against giving her the satisfaction of receiving an answer. After all, wasn't Hikigaya-kun with her anyway? Did he finally snap under all those labor and finally ran away?

I crossed my arms in a huff, "Well, I don't. If you could be more specific with your Senpai's name then maybe, I can point you in the right direction."

"Yukino-senpaaaaaaai," Elongating her words to sound cuter; how vexing, "I'm talking about Senpai, y'know."

My eye began to twitch. Either I didn't have enough sleep for the past three days or my patience was wearing thin.

After all, even Buddha will be upset if he is slapped three times.

But luckily for me (And Isshiki-san), Yuigahama decided to take control of the conversation instead.

"Umm, Iroha-chan," Yuigahama-san successfully caught Isshiki-san's attention as the latter switched her focus, "Y'know, if there's anything you want us to tell this Senpai of yours, you could just say their name."

Yuigahama-san then added, "I mean, Yukinon and I are technically your Senpais too."

The same look that Isshiki-san gave me earlier was also given to Yuigahama-san. Since I didn't have a clear view of her face, I couldn't tell what Yuigahama-san's reaction was. But I surmised that it couldn't have been that pleased.

"Eeeeh, Yui-senpai is Yui-senpai. Yukino-senpai is Yukino-senpai. BUT Senpai is Senpai."

Isshiki-san said as she made a gesture of placing me and Yuigahama-san on one side, while placing this supposed Senpai of hers on the other.

I was totally lost on what kind of logic she was following.

Before Yuigahama-san could get in another word, I asked Isshiki-san.

"Then who is this Senpai that you are referring to, Isshiki-san?"

Even though we all know who she's talking about.

As expected, Isshiki-san gave me a peculiar look, "Of course, I'm talking about Senpai, Yukino-senpai."

"Like I said," I resisted the urge to grit my teeth, "What is his or her name? Would it be that much trouble to say their name?"

At first, there was silence, which was strange, but not unwelcomed since I'd rather have Isshiki-san not say anything in the first place.

But then, the embarrassment came.

"E-EH? Yukino-senpai, that's lewd!"

"Hah?"

"S-Saying his name? But that's too much!" Isshiki-san uttered as she grabbed her own face in an exaggerated show of shame.

"It's literally three syllables. Four, if you're using his family name."

"You don't know how I feel about this, Yukino-senpai!" She protested, turning her back towards me in a manner not unlike that of a child, "Besides, saying 'Hachiman-senpai' would be too embarrassing."

Oh, now you can say his name; and how is that embarrassing?!

Never before have I felt such frustration. In fact, I was tempted to beat Isshiki-san…in a game of chess where I could completely dominate and humiliate her.

Unfortunately, the Service Club doesn't have any chess set.

But before I could voice out my apparent frustration, Yuigahama-san touched my shoulder and whispered gently.

"Yukinon, I'll handle this, okay?"

She also had this sympathetic look on her face. I sighed in resignation before walking to the electric kettle to pour myself a cup of tea. If this exchange was going to continue, I don't think the Service Club's supply of tea for the entire year was going to last.

"Umm, so Iroha-chan," Yuigahama-san tapped her shoulder, "You could just tell us what you're here for, and we can pass that message on to Hikki."

As expected of Yuigahama-san. She sure knows how to calm down an irrational child.

Isshiki-san contemplated her offer for a while before responding, "To be honest, I came here to watch a video with Senpai."

"A video?"

"Yup. Here." She pulled out an SD card, presenting it to us like it was some sort of artifact, "I stol-I mean, borrowed this from one of the bags in the soccer clubroom."

Stole?

"But Isshiki-san," I said, "Isn't it illegal to 'borrow' someone else's belonging without their permission?"

"Yukino-senpai, I'm the soccer club manager, y'knoooow."

"And?"

"It's completely justifiable then."

What kind of train of logic is she riding?!

Rubbing my temple slightly, I gestured Yuigahama-san to take over the conversation again. Clearly, I was in no shape to handle this sort of exchange.

"So…what kind of video is it?" Yuigahama-san asked, completely ignoring the fact that Isshiki-san had just blatantly stolen someone's property.

"Ah, I was hoping to use this video to blackmail-I mean, encourage Senpai." Isshiki-san stated ever so innocently.

She just said blackmail…

"Eh, is that so?" Yuigahama-san took the SD card, inspecting it closely. From where I was sitting, the card had no writing on it so we couldn't tell the subject of the video.

"But why do you need to watch it together with Hikki?"

"Oh, because I haven't seen the full video yet." explained Isshiki-san.

She hasn't seen the full video yet she'd already planned on blackmailing, or in her words, encouraging Hikigaya-kun through it?

How suspicious.

"Isshiki-san, if I may ask. How do you plan on…" I faked a cough into my hand, "Encouraging Hikigaya-kun through this video, even though you haven't seen all of it yet?"

"Well," She gave me this…really sly smile before replying, "The first two minutes are enough for me."

"Really now?"

Now, I was kind of curious towards what kind of video this was. Of course, there was also the feeling of pity that I had for Hikigaya-kun, but it was dwarfed by the urge to know the contents of the video.

"So, with that out of the way, will you tell me where Senpai is?" Isshiki-san asked, once again, not using Hikigaya-kun's name.

"Umm, Iroha-chan, we don't exactly-,"

Before Yuigahama-san could complete her answer, I put a hand onto her shoulder, effectively interrupting her. As both of them looked at me in confusion, I swiftly pulled Yuigahama-san to the side as to not let Isshiki-san hear what I was about to say.

"Yuigahama-san, I think we should inspect the contents of Isshiki-san's video first." I said, trying to gauge her response.

As expected, she gave me a weird look.

"Why? Won't Hikki get, like, really mad if we see it?"

I began explaining, "He won't have to know. Doing this would actually help him instead. We can always confiscate the SD card from Isshiki-san."

"Besides," I added, "You are…curious, right?"

It took a while before Yuigahama-san responded, "Well…a little."

And my response was to stare at her face, because I knew that she wasn't 'a little' curious. After all, we spent quite an ample amount of time together.

Before long, Yuigahama-san gave up with a sigh and averted her gaze from mine.

"Alright, I'm very curious."

All according to plan.

With our impromptu discussion done, we turned to Isshiki-san, who, surprisingly, stayed in one place.

"Isshiki-san, let's make a deal."

"A deal?"

"Yes, a deal. You can just hand over the memory card, and we will give it over to Hikigaya-kun. Sounds good enough for you?"

Isshiki-san pouted, "No way. It won't have the same effect unless I'm watching it with Senpai."

"I see, I see." I nodded my head, in a show of understanding. In reality, I'd expected this response, and had already prepared a response of my own, "So why don't we have a compromise then?"

"A compromise as in?"

Seeing this expected response, I allowed myself to smile a little, "We will watch the video together to get a clearer idea on why it can incriminate Hikigaya-kun. And as a result, we will give you Hikigaya-kun's current whereabouts."

Isshiki-san had a contemplative look on her face, obviously weighing the pros and cons of the situation. I know that this was scummy of me, and could anger Hikigaya-kun, even though we went through such a tough period last year. However, I planned to stop the video immediately if it was too embarrassing.

Finally, Isshiki-san responded, "Only if you also give me his phone number."

His number? How forward of her. Even I don't have Hikigaya-kun's phone number…yet.

"Agreed."

The next couple of minutes were spent on locating the club's laptop in order to play the video. Isshiki-san insisted on bringing her own laptop in-which was the student council's laptop-but I disagreed in fear of Isshiki-san running away with incriminating evidence of one of our members.

When we finished setting up the laptop, we all sat next to one another, ensuring that there'll be no foul plays. Yuigahama-san looked quite confused, with her being in the middle of Isshiki-san and I.

"Well, then. Let's begin."

I said, loading the card into the laptop. A media program popped up a second later, but before it could play, I paused it.

Looking at Yuigahama-san and Isshiki-san, I once again confirmed the action with Yuigahama-san, who nodded in agreement.

Clicking the play button, we all waited.

First there was complete darkness. It was as if someone put the camera lens down. Seriously, who does that? Don't they realize that high-end cameras are expensive, and require high maintenance?

However, there was still a variety of sounds. If I had to guess, then it must've been a mixture of people moving about and talking, and music blasting away.

Was this recorded at a party or something?

Before I could think any further, the camera was picked up by someone, showing the environment of the video. As I'd guessed, there were people talking and moving about. Of course, there were speakers as well, indicating the presence of music.

There were also bright, decorative lights. If I were to guess, then this must've been a party or a celebration of some sort.

The video was very shaky; perhaps the cameraman wasn't very familiar with handling an actual camera? Other possibilities also include him being intoxicated, but I wouldn't assume that just yet.

"Iroha-chan, is this that party we had last year?" Yuigahama-san asked.

"Yup."

If I was a betting woman, I'd wager that the party Yuigahama-san mentioned was the one where all the second year students gathered up to have one last celebration together, because-in their own words- 'We will be in different courses next year'.

Not only was the party illogical, and a waste of time, money and human resources, but it also dragged the Service Club in. Just like previous schoolwide events, we were also talked into preparing the party. The evening wasn't enjoyable at all due to the fact that I was separated from Yuigahama-san and Hikigaya-kun at the start of the party.

By the time I'd reunited with Yuigahama-san, the party was already over, and Hikigaya-kun was nowhere to be found.

I knew I shouldn't have been swayed by Isshiki-san's deep smile as she asked the Service Club to help her with the event.

…Was that why she knew about this blackmail material?

Looking back to the screen, I noticed a table coming into view. On it was a blurry black mass, but as the cameraman got closer, and the black mass lifted its head up, we realized how Isshiki-san was intending on blackmailing Hikigaya-kun.

Because the black mass wasn't just any black mass.

It was a human being. A student of Sobu high. A member of the Service Club.

It was a not-so-sober Hikigaya-kun.

And I use that term very loosely.

I felt an urge to continue the video, yet at the same time, I want to save Hikigaya-kun's reputation by not watching this video any further.

Fortunately for me, Isshiki-san had the same idea, albeit with different motivations.

"Well, that's enough, right?" Isshiki-san asked the both of us, "I'll just eject the card right now."

"Oh, no. Allow me." I courteously offer my help as I quickly paused the video before reaching over to eject the memory card from its compartment.

However, in a strange twist of event, I found my path being blocked by a very familiar hand.

"We will watch this till the end." said Yuigahama-san, her voice monotone, and strangely…scary.

I found this action of hers strangely assertive, but didn't press on. It was fine by me anyways, since I could always confiscate the card any time I want to.

But that fact didn't stop the weirdness of Yuigahama-san's statement. I'd bet that even Isshiki-san was a bit unnerved by this whole exchange.

Without a single word, Yuigahama-san pressed the play button once more, and the video resumed.

The cameraman got closer to Hikigaya-kun as the latter was groggily getting up from his impromptu nap. Obviously, he was disturbed by the presence of this intrusive cameraman.

Doesn't he know that it's common courtesy to let sleeping dogs lie?

I heard a muffled voice, which was obviously coming from the cameraman, considering that Hikigaya-kun's mouth wasn't moving. But the sound quality was so poor that I couldn't make out who it was or what he or she was talking about.

Perhaps, it was due to the poor placement of the microphone or maybe-

"HAH?!"

At that loud noise, I had to take a moment to compose myself. They say that when a person is intoxicated, their neuron pathways get blocked, therefore they won't have to normal cognitive functions that they would normally have.

Hikigaya-kun's voice box suffered the same fate.

"The hell are you talking about?" The inebriated Hikigaya-kun continued talking.

Once again, the cameraman talked, but his voice was still muffled.

Hikigaya-kun had this expression that a normal person would give to a disgusting sewer trash, but it was even worse since that look was amplified by his intoxication.

"You wan' me to…" He paused, looking into the distance, "…You want me to what now?"

After a few moments, Hikigaya-kun answered again.

"So you wan' me to talk about-oh god, I'm so fucking drunk right now."

Hikigaya-kun held his head in pain, obviously not used to being drunk before. It took a few seconds before he was able to give a coherent respond again.

Well, as coherent as a drunken person could.

"Why the fuck would I do that?" His mouth sure is looser than normal, "Like, holy hell, can't you have come at a worse time? Like…god damn!"

The muffled voice appeared again. I'd assumed the cameraman was bargaining with Hikigaya-kun. For what purpose? That I do not know.

But it was painful to see Hikigaya-kun in this vulnerable state. Funny, true, but a bit painful nonetheless. I was about to pause the video myself, but when I looked over to Yuigahama-san and Isshiki-san, both of them were completely focused on the video.

I settled for sitting and watching the video silently.

"I can literally tell you how I feel in three words." Hikigaya-kun said harshly towards the cameraman. Without any context, it was hard to tell what they were talking about.

A few muffled words later, and Hikigaya-kun sighed before facing the camera.

"Alright, you want my true feelings or whatever?" He began looking directly at the lens of the camera, and by proxy, at us.

I felt a little strange…

"So what? You want me to talk to the camera like I'm talking to-,"

Just like before, Hikigaya-kun held his head with one hand while the other supported his upper body.

"Jesus fuck, why can't we do this tomorrow?"

Once again, Hikigaya-kun took a fair amount of time in recovering from the sudden headaches that he received. But once the pain was apparently gone, he looked straight at the camera through half-lidded eyes.

And once again, that strange sensation coursed through my chest.

"Alright, listen up." He started, "I'm gonna say this only once so you'd better listen."

I gulped. From what I'd gathered from his previous statements, he was going to talk about someone. A person. Since Hikigaya-kun is a relatively closed-off person, so the person that he was going to talk about must be someone close to him.

I didn't want to assume, but the person that he'll talk about will most likely be either Yuigahama-san, Komachi-san, maybe even Isshiki-san or perhaps…me.

Unconsciously gulping again, I began paying more attention to the video in front of me.

"Look, I'm not a good talker. Hell, I'll probably fail public speaking class or something…" He droned off for a bit before getting back on topic, "But whatever. Public speaking class isn't even mandatory anyway. You should probably pick, like, a subject that you like, and is useful to your life."

"But that's enough about stupid classes," He continued, "I know that spilling out my true feelings about you while I'm so drunk that I can't even walk will most likely come back and bite me in the ass later, but whatever, right? Tomorrow's me will deal with tomorrow's problems."

Hikigaya-kun took a moment to catch his breath. I took this momentary break to survey the room. Neither of those two had spoken a word or move an inch. I wasn't being pranked, was I?

"Alright, here we go."

I gulped again. He was going to reveal his true feelings about…who, exactly? Perhaps, I should wait until he lets out a clue as to who this person is.

"When we first met…I thought you were the most stuck-up, superficial, shallow person possible. I can't even…I can't even begin to describe my distaste for you back then. Which was strange, because…because, like, I didn't even know you exist back then."

Wait, was Hikigaya-kun talking about me? I know that my personality can be unbearable sometimes, but I didn't know he felt that strongly about me. Then again, even I realized that my personality was a bit…grating when we first met.

"-Not only that, but your request for something, which I don't even remember anymore, took so much time, energy and effort that I was about to bail on you. But I didn't. You know why?"

My request last year…

I almost didn't want to reminisce about it, considering that it was a very confusing period of us Service Club members. It was a focal point in transforming us into who we are today, but the fact is that the journey that it took to get here was long and arduous.

"Because you see me as me. You don't bullshit around the bush and act fake like the rest. You don't care about them. You act the way you are because that's who you are. And I don't hate that part of you."

Oh, you tsundere.

Hikigaya-kun then held his head in his hands once more. I'd assumed that it was another headache, but he kept on talking like it was nothing.

"Look, I know I'm not the best at farewells…or emotional speeches for that matter…because you'll probably be in a different course next year. Even if we are in the same course, we'll be in the different classes anyway so…"

He took a deep breath and looked at the camera, "So that's why…oh god, why am I crying? This is so confusing."

True to his words, I could see faint tears in the corners of his eyes. It wasn't the first time that I've seen him cry, but I'd doubt that I'll ever get used to it. Hikigaya-kun showing his emotions is rarer than finding a limited edition Christmas Pan-san plush.

I felt a little tug on my face. I didn't realize it immediately, but when I reached up to touch my cheeks, I could feel myself smiling.

It was embarrassing, but I guess that this was the extent of our relationship so far. To think that I had a hand in changing this anti-social loner into someone who can open himself up to other people; it's flattering to think that way. Well, to be fair, he and Yuigahama-san changed me as well.

I hope I'm not too flustered by this.

"You probably think it's weird," Hikigaya-kun finally continued his speech, "Like, we don't even know each other that well; not to mention, we got off on the wrong foot."

Did he seriously think that we were still acquaintances? I thought I'd made it clear last time that it was merely a joke. After all, he was the one that explained said joke to Yuigahama. Maybe, he was still a bit nervous about this whole 'being friends' thing. I certainly wasn't an expert in relationships.

"…and what was I talking about again?...oh right, it's weird to think that I feel this way about you even though you've never even called me by my actual name."

His actual name? I mean, technically, it is Hachiman, and I've never used it to address Hikigaya-kun. Perhaps, he wanted me to call him that? Not that I mind, though it is considerably…embarrassing to an extent.

But if Hikigaya-kun requests it, then I shall do it.

"You always call me by this weird pet name, and at first, I hated it. But now, it's kinda neat, y'know?"

Wait, what?

Pet name? What pet name? I never gave Hikigaya-kun a pet name before. Barring the occasional 'Hikigerma-kun' and 'Hiki-why-didn't-you-refuse-Isshiki-san's-request-kun', I've never actually given him an actual pet name. In fact, those two names earlier can never be considered pet names, so why did he mention pet names?

I wasn't the one he was talking about?

"Aww, Senpai…" I heard someone mumbled off to the side.

Leaning by body backwards by just a little, I spotted Isshiki-san holding a side of her face with one of her hands, as if she was embarrassed by this sudden revelation.

It couldn't be Isshiki-san, could it?

But technically, her exclusively calling him 'Senpai' might be considered a pet name after all.

"I also wished we could've hung out more. Not just, like, in school or whatever, but also at college and maybe even after that. I wish we'd hung out more during our first year or so. Hell, remember that Kyoto trip? Like the one with…the…uh…"

"Wait, what?" I heard Isshiki-san mumbling.

She had every right to be surprise, and so did I. After all, Isshiki-san wasn't here when we were first year students and she certainly didn't come with us second years on the school trip to Kyoto, therefore if Hikigaya-kun was talking about a person that actually did come with him to that school trip, AND was currently using a cute pet name for him, that person could only be…

"Aww, Hikki…"

Ah, so it was Yuigahama-san after all. The same Yuigahama-san in front of me who was currently hiding the lower part of her face, possibly in embarrassment or happiness, or a weird combination of both.

To be fair, I should've seen the signs.

A neat pet name? Check.

They met each other due to rough circumstances? Check.

He thought that she was a superficial person at first? Definitely check.

I felt kind of…hurt, I guess? I couldn't find the word, but it was a feeling similar to that of when your friend gets a higher grade than you did on the exams.

You want to feel happy for them, yet at the same time, you're envious of them.

But I'm not a normal person. I am Yukinoshita Yukino, and if two of my best friends are considering a closer relationship, then I'll be sure to help them along the way even if it hurts me. Since, after all, we promise to be more open with each other so at least, I could help them with this much.

I gave a small smile to Yuigahama-san, who didn't notice the gesture.

Good luck, Yuigahama-san.

"Oh yeah, that trip with the request of that…uh, that glass girl. Y'know, the one who's into yaoi? Yeah, that one."

Ebina-san's request? What did that have to do with anything?

"You know how I, like, gave it my all to complete that goddamn request and not one, NOT ONE SINGLE person gave me credit. Everyone at the time had their heads so far up their own ass that they can't even thank me properly."

"…what."

What was going on? Wasn't he talking about Yuigahama-san? The same Yuigahama-san who was slightly blushing right now? I was confused, and I'd assumed that she had the same feelings as well. It was clear that Hikigaya-kun wasn't talking about me or Isshiki-san.

But he wasn't talking about Yuigahama-san either…

What?

"Hell, even people that I considered friends who are in the Service club were all like 'Oh, Hikigaya-kun, you shouldn't do that, y'know. You'll hurt yourself and other people' and shit like that."

I had to hold back the urge to throw the laptop out of the window at his poor attempt at mimicking my voice.

"In hindsight, they were right…" He admitted the real facts, "But still, they could've at least thanked me for saving them time. Who knows what stupid, emotional plans Yuigahama might come up with."

So he definitely wasn't talking about Yuigahama-san as well…

Well, this is just great.

I sneaked a peek at Yuigahama-san to see her reaction, but I actually couldn't really see her face, because some of her bangs covered it. But the most reasonable reaction was confusion followed by anger.

Mostly anger.

And that wasn't just based on how I was feeling either.

"But you're different from all the rest. That prick Hayama wouldn't even bat an eye at me, but you actually thanked me. Like ACTUALLY thanked me for doing the dirty deeds. I know it's stupid, but thank you for giving me props for my work. Sometimes, I still think back to that moment, y'know."

Wait a minute. Why would someone thank Hikigaya-kun without a reason? From a logical standpoint, a person would only thank another person because the latter did a favor for them. Therefore, from the information so far, this person who thanked Hikigaya-kun must've depended on Hikigaya-kun for something.

"You're one of kind, y'know that? I hope you succeed in life and prove everyone wrong. And I mean EVERYONE, ya hear?"

Taking a deep breath, Hikigaya-kun looked straight into the camera and uttered the words that were the final nails in the proverbial coffin.

"I know I'm drunk right now, but I do know this," He gave a drunken smile.

"You're the coolest person ever. And I fucking love you for that, Tobe."

The screen immediately went black soon after, indicating the end of the video. Not long after, silence reigned supreme over the clubroom.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Motherfucker."

While what Yuigahama-san said was indeed very foul-mouthed, I wasn't very surprised. In one short and concise word, Yuigahama-san managed to convey the complex mixture of emotions that all three of us felt at that particular instance.

Sadness. Anger. Confusion.

Absolute bafflement.

But now that I had the chance the analyze what had just transpired, I had realized that what Hikigaya-kun said was completely true.

Tobe-san was a first year student as well. He was probably in the same class as Hikigaya-kun.

I'd never actually heard Tobe-san calling Hikigaya-kun by his actual name; only settling for Hikitani instead.

Tobe-san also seems like a shallow person.

Not to mention, Tobe-san's personality does seem superficial, and he probably disagreed with Hikigaya-kun a couple of times.

I held my face in my hands.

What has this world come to?

But before I could get my bearings and discard the potentially incriminating evidence of Hikigaya-kun, the door opened, and an unlikely visitor came in.

"What are you guys doing?"

Hikigaya-kun asked, his face confused at our current seating arrangements.

I looked at him emotionlessly before turning around to Yuigahama-san and Isshiki-san, whose faces also didn't show any emotions, to decide the best course of action. Without a single word, we were able to formulate a plan (A convenient ability, if I do say so myself), and it was decided that I would be the one to put it in motion.

"We were…discussing how you swing." I told him.

He looked at me dubiously before responding, "I don't play baseball."

Isshiki-san went up to him, and took one of his arms, dragging him to an empty seat.

"Aww, it's okay, Senpai. It'll be suuuuuper quick and painless, I promise."

At the mention of pain, Hikigaya-kun looked back at us with a horrified expression on his face and asked us.

"Wait, what do you mean by painless?!"

But Isshiki-san didn't say a word and just kept on smiling. He looked at me, and I responded in kind by merely staring at him.

However, there was…one person who had something to say to Hikigaya-kun.

Placing her hands ever so 'gently' on his shoulders, Yuigahama-san said.

"Hey, Hikki."

Even from where I was standing, I could see him shudder ever so slightly.

"It'll be fine. The three of us just want to watch a video with you, y'know."

Her tone was happy, but from Hikigaya-kun's expressions, even he had some doubts about Yuigahama's jovialness. Even I felt a bit of pity for him, but it was ultimately replaced by amusement.

"A video?"

Yuigahama-san nodded wordlessly, before leaning forward to press the play button.

All three of us stood behind him.

And thus, the interrogation began.

Well...first shot at humor. I hope I didn't get too rusty. Two months of isolating yourself in your own room to cram 1 year worth of exam materials, and I couldn't even go near a word document. It was hell since so many ideas formed in my head during that time.

Alright, expect another story by tomorrow or something I guess. As always, PM me if there are grammatical mistakes or plot holes, so I don't bring dishonor to my family.