They say that being alone in a room with your school's top beauty will make your mind wander.
But at this moment, with Yukinoshita Yukino sitting beside him, Narumi Tōru was not at all like that. He was propped over the desk, staring absentmindedly at the clouds drifting past the window.
Today was the first day Yukinoshita Yukino and Narumi Tōru were alone together.
Yukino sat composed and elegant in her seat, lifting her teacup for a small sip now and then, occasionally glancing at the curl-haired boy opposite her who offered only a profile. She was curious about what the boy beside her might be thinking, but pride and reserve kept her from speaking first — after all, Hiratsuka-sensei had been startled when Yukino had suddenly burst into tears on their first meeting.
"Yukinoshita, if this guy dares to trouble you, come tell me. I'll sort him out properly!" Hiratsuka had nagged over and over, convinced they must have had some sort of spat before — which only made Yukino want to burrow into the earth and hide.
How do you explain that the tears were just an uncontrollable reaction to seeing the person she most wanted to see again?
Putting aside the embarrassing part, the boy beside her looked exactly like that strange person from the simulation — same face, same name. The only difference was that this boy looked a little younger; maybe that's why she couldn't find him on any graduate lists or class photos.
Is it really him? Or is this some cruel joke the "simulation" played on her?
The person she'd dreamed about was actually sitting next to her, and yet she found herself unable to start a conversation; instead she wrapped herself in cool detachment.
If only she could know what the quiet Narumi Tōru was thinking.
Of course, if she knew, she'd probably regret having asked.
"Damn… that cloud looks like a golden mushroom that ate too much and then… exploded."
Narumi, lost in his own train of thought, rubbed his eyes — then noticed Yukino's gaze and turned toward her.
She forced her expression to be unmoved, trying to put him off with a chilly stare. Narumi responded in kind: he blinked, then stared right back.
"…Is something the matter?" Yukino finally broke first.
"Oh, weren't you the one staring at me? Why are you the one asking?" Narumi returned the question as if it were obvious.
"I'm just curious. You've been lounging there like a student with nothing better to do — basically the poster boy for half-day idleness. So why did Hiratsuka-sensei think it was a good idea to have you join my Service Club… or rather, to join my club?" Yukino's intended questions — "Have we met before?" "Do you remember me?" — came out as a probing, unyielding aside.
Yukino's own awkwardness left her helpless.
"How can you assume I'm doing nothing? Maybe I was thinking about something important just now."
"Oh? Then what was it?"
"Yukinoshita Yukino is clever enough to figure it out herself. Hint: enoki mushrooms."
"...?"
"Never mind, don't think too hard about it."
Feeling his offbeat thought wasn't really suitable for the conversation, Narumi waved his hand. Regardless, Yukino's approach had the desired effect — it made the lethargic boy sit up straight.
He wasn't only thinking nonsense, though. He'd just come out of a simulation and returned to reality, and the first person he ran into was Yukinoshita Yukino.
Was she the same person who'd appeared in the simulation? Or had the system created a Yukinoshita-shaped sample and inserted it into the simulation? If she was the same person… did she carry memories of that simulated period?
Those messy questions knotted up like a tangled ball of yarn — and Narumi was the sort of person who didn't bother to claw at knots if he could avoid it. It's like giving an irresistible ball of string to a lazy cat: it'll just lie there.
"So annoying… can the system just come out and explain what's going on?" he thought. Of course, no disembodied explanation came.
"Tsk — slackers get docked pay, huh." he muttered.
"You're a little unusual, Narumi." Yukino said, folding the paperback beside her teacup and lifting one eyebrow with interest. "For example, being in the same room with me but behaving as if you couldn't care less."
Under the table, Yukino felt a slight tightening in her black stockings and crossed her legs a bit closer together — tiny betrayals of the tension she tried to hide.
Yukino launched the first probing volley, playing the politely distant part like someone meeting a new classmate.
"Do I have any reason to interest you?"
Narumi scratched his chin, thinking — either playing dumb or actually puzzled.
"During adolescence, fantasizing about pretty, cute members of the opposite sex is pretty normal."
"Then fantasizing about pretty, cute members of the same sex is normal too, right?"
"...?"
A subtle expression flickered across Yukino's face. She hadn't exactly been protecting her 'adorable' chest just now — after all, the boy in front of her might not care about that at all. Could this person really not be the Narumi from the simulation — maybe even have a different orientation?
"Just giving an example. I'm the type that bends rather than breaks," Narumi said, rubbing his nose. He smiled, but his eyes remained mostly unchanged as he looked at Yukino.
"Why would I be head-over-heels just because Yukinoshita Yukino is nearby?"
"Because I'm very cute." Yukino said with absolute conviction, as if she'd just stated a universal truth — something that the simulated Narumi had once affirmed as well.
"Oh, well I'm handsome. I can be cute too." Narumi flashed a victory-sign with his fingers; the neat features and slightly wavy black hair did give him a certain charm.
"Looks like a win-win — I win twice. Yay."
"…Childish."
Yukino, who had just loudly declared her cuteness, pouted and called him childish.
Still, the face in her memory began to line up with the face before her — the same grin, the same slick banter. Maybe, maybe he really was the same person. It made her heart skip.
Under that deliberately indifferent expression lay a tangled knot of feelings she could no longer deny. Even if he didn't recall every detail of their shared past, if his personality was the same, no matter how many times fate reset things — Yukinoshita Yukino would be drawn to him. That was undeniable.
If only they were the same age, not stuck in the awkward middle with Haruno — they could create memories that belonged only to the two of them. That thought had its appeal.
Yukino closed the book; time, which had felt suspended on her, began to inch forward again.
If "Narumi Tōru" truly was "Narumi Tōru," then this time she would not let him disappear from her world. This time their story would not lead to a bad ending.