A secret Yukinoshita Yukino had never told anyone was that, during club activities, she would secretly observe a certain curly-haired boy.
Even though her expression always projected a cold, distant "don't get close to me" vibe, every time that boy finished his classes for the day, opened the clubroom door, and greeted her, Yukino noticed her expression soften just a little in response to his voice.
As a form of self-defense, she actually disliked this subconscious tendency of hers—to mellow because of someone else. But the heart is the one organ that cannot lie. The way her nerves always tightened a little whenever she saw him wasn't an act.
Part of it was to determine whether the boy named Narumi Tōru was the same Narumi Tōru from the simulation. And part of it was simply because everything he did was strangely hard to ignore. With full seriousness, Yukinoshita Yukino had launched an operation called "covert observation." Every time Narumi attended club activities, it was prime time for her surveillance.
But today, she had been waiting in the Service Club room for quite a while—and yet there was no sign of Narumi Tōru, who normally never ran late. Even Hikigaya Hachiman, who always arrived right on the dot, had already shown up.
Where's Tōru-kun?
Where did my perfectly good Tōru-kun go?
Yukino couldn't deny the unease coiling in her chest. She had already experienced losing someone once—she had no desire to go through that a second time.
And so, when she discovered that it was Hayama Hayato who had stopped the curly-haired boy after school, preventing him from arriving at the clubroom on time—
Her expression could hardly be called friendly.
"If this is about official business, you could have discussed it with all of us in the clubroom. If you wish to talk about matters unrelated to a request, please choose a different time. Do not take up my club member's valuable time during club activities."
Yukino folded her arms in front of her chest. Despite Hayama being a familiar acquaintance of several years, she showed him a sense of distance—mixed with unmistakable displeasure.
She's angry… right? That's not just my imagination, is it?
Narumi, who was very good at reading the room, rolled his eyes slightly. He could only chalk this up to that unpleasant incident between Yukino and Hayama back in elementary school—the source of the rift between them.
And he kept dragging me into talking about her sister, too…
Of course, Yukino's current irritation actually stemmed from something else entirely—and what that emotion pointed toward was something even she herself hadn't fully realized.
"Mm… Miss Yukinoshita, you're right. I didn't think things through carefully enough."
Hayama scratched the back of his head apologetically and accepted fault with admirable straightforwardness.
"If you truly have a request, then please head to the clubroom."
The black-haired girl made a composed please gesture. Hayama chuckled awkwardly and, following her lead, walked off in the direction of the Service Club.
"President… you're scary."
Narumi glanced at Hayama's slightly dejected back, then at Yukino's stern expression, and voiced his honest first impression.
"…Oh? Narumi-kun, could it be that you wanted to talk a bit more with Hayama-kun about my sister?"
Yukino raised her long, elegant eyebrows. The emotion hidden behind that gesture didn't escape Narumi's notice—his nonexistent fox ears practically perked up.
"No, no, not at all. I'm totally not close with Yukinoshita-senpai."
Guided by the primal survival instinct flowing through his human bloodstream, he instinctively distanced himself from Haruno.
Of course—this was a lie.
In the simulation, he had dated Yukinoshita Haruno long enough to know her inside and out—he even remembered exactly where the moles on her body were.
Still, Haruno seemed to remember absolutely nothing about him now. That oddly familiar-yet-strange feeling didn't make Narumi averse to possibly meeting her again in the future. Even bickering like before would probably feel pretty fun.
There was nothing he could do—sometimes people are just like that.
"Well, since Hayama-kun's already heading to the clubroom, we should too—hm?"
Narumi was about to wrap up the conversation and move on, when he realized Yukino wasn't showing any sign of leaving.
She simply stared straight at him with a dignified, unwavering gaze, making Narumi—who was used to lying—feel a little uncomfortable.
"…It seems you haven't noticed what's wrong at all, Narumi-kun."
After a long pause, Yukino let out a troubled sigh.
Under Narumi's confused gaze, she lowered her head slightly, reached for her collar, and undid the first button—
"…?"
Narumi froze for a split second. Her action made an image flash through his mind: a woman with features somewhat similar to hers, loosening her clothes under dim bedroom lighting—a memory from the simulation, from his time with Yukinoshita Haruno.
But unlike that memory, Yukino stopped after unfastening just the first button. She moved her hands behind her head and—
Removed the pendant hanging around her neck.
On closer inspection, it was something Narumi Tōru knew all too well.
"…My whistle?"
"Yes. You left it on the counter the day we resolved Miss Yuigahama's request. It seems you truly didn't notice at all."
Yukino handed it to him calmly.
"If it isn't something important to you… then I suppose I can understand your carelessness."
"It's not that it's unimportant. I've used it for quite a while."
Narumi took the whistle. The metal surface still retained the girl's body heat, which seeped into him through his palm.
"Still, I don't think you really needed to return it. You could've kept it."
After all, in the simulation, Yukino had always held onto this whistle.
Even if she didn't remember everything they'd been through together, keeping this token from the simulation would at least give Narumi a bit of comfort.
"Why? Do you want me to keep it?"
For some reason, Yukinoshita Yukino grew particularly sharp at this point and shifted the direction of her question.
Ah… given our current relationship, handing something so personal to her probably isn't appropriate.
Next she was definitely going to say something like, "Ah, I know I'm cute, but such intimate gestures are something I must politely decline,"—a brutally honest response that would leave him nowhere to stand. After a brief moment of thought, Narumi decided—
Strike first.
"What, President Yukinoshita, do you really want to keep it that badly?"
The curly-haired boy counterattacked, blinking his seemingly innocent eyes.
"Eh~ isn't it kinda inappropriate to keep a boy's personal item? And you were wearing it on your chest, too—I thought you hated touching strangers' things. Don't tell me you've secretly fallen for me already? This is bad, this is bad—am I just too popular or what?!"
Perfect. An exquisitely annoying, textbook example of shameless teasing—complete!
Come on, Yukinoshita Yukino. Counterattack with your icy, disgusted look and those sharp, merciless barbs!
But to Narumi's surprise, Yukino's expression didn't shift toward irritation at all.
"…What nonsense are you spouting."
Instead, she showed a rare hint of flustered confusion. After forcing herself to look composed, she hurriedly turned her gaze away and raised a hand to cover the faint redness blooming across her face.
Narumi, who had already been bracing himself to dodge a possible counterstrike, tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Wait—second young lady.
This kind of response… isn't it way too weak to be effective?