The activity building was unusually quiet.
The empty hallways echoed with nothing but Oikawa's slightly unsteady footsteps. He had a feeling his legs were going to be killing him when he woke up tomorrow.
Then again, he probably wasn't the only one with that problem.
The Student Council office, normally bustling with activity, was deserted today. Most people were probably still watching the so-called awards ceremony, though some of them might simply have found a quiet corner somewhere to slack off.
After changing into his indoor shoes, Oikawa headed upstairs toward the Service Club.
The moment he reached the door, he caught the fragrant smell of black tea drifting from inside.
A smile tugged at the corners of Oikawa's lips. He slid open the door to the Service Club, and, just as he had expected, Yukino was there.
Yukino was wearing her gym uniform. Her hair looked slightly damp, clinging to her face. Apparently, the marathon had worked up quite a sweat.
Oikawa had never seen Yukino in her gym uniform before.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, he sneaked a few glances.
There still wasn't exactly much to look at, but there was something subtly alluring about her like this.
Maybe it was the pair of black stockings covering her legs?
Oikawa thought he had figured it out.
Yukino shot him a sidelong glare and said sarcastically, "Is there ever a time when you can't act like a pervert?"
"Everyone appreciates beautiful things."
Oikawa had long since developed a thick skin. He picked up a mug, poured himself some black tea, and returned to his seat. "By the way, Yukino, you got back pretty early. Did you really run the entire marathon?"
"I only took a short break. I could obviously have kept going, but the teacher decided to disqualify me…" Yukino sounded quite indignant.
Being forced to withdraw halfway through was humiliating for her. She might have been slower than the others, but she had believed from beginning to end that she could make it all the way to the finish.
"Oh."
Oikawa didn't exactly agree.
Even though the women's course was only a little over thirty kilometers, Yukino had never exactly been an athlete.
Willpower alone had its limits.
"You think I couldn't have finished?" Yukino narrowed her eyes, an ominous look appearing in them.
"How could I possibly think that?" Oikawa answered without hesitation. "If it were someone else, maybe I'd have my doubts. But you, Yukino Yukinoshita? I completely believe you could run the entire thirty-something kilometers. Unyielding determination can always overcome a weak body."
A small smile appeared on Yukino's lips, along with an expression that clearly said, 'Good answer.'
"What happened to your leg?"
Yukino suddenly looked toward Oikawa's calf.
Following her gaze, Oikawa looked down and noticed quite a bit of blood on his lower leg.
He froze for a moment.
Then he remembered the slide he had made when he reached the finish line.
'Did I hurt myself doing that?'
"It's probably nothing serious. I must've scraped it while running."
Oikawa was still a little surprised. Apparently, he hadn't come down from the adrenaline rush. Otherwise, how could he have failed to notice that he was injured?
"Wait here. I remember there's a first-aid kit in the club."
Yukino went over to the cabinet in the corner and searched through it. When she found the first-aid kit, she let out a small sigh of relief. "Looks like you're in luck."
She took out some disinfectant, cotton swabs, and bandages, then walked over to Oikawa and crouched down in front of him.
"Uh… I can do it myself. Um.."
Oikawa felt a little awkward. He shifted his position and extended his leg.
Then he found himself faced with a rather unfortunate angle.
'This perspective is… kind of bad.'
He was just about to say something to Yukino, but before he could, she had already pressed the disinfectant-soaked cotton swab against his wound.
"Ah! Slower!"
"What are you yelling about? I haven't even pressed that hard."
Oikawa's face darkened at the unfortunate choice of words.
It was obvious Yukino wasn't very experienced at this. Her movements were clumsy enough that it genuinely hurt.
But soon enough, Oikawa discovered a new way of dealing with the pain.
Instead of feeling guilty about the awkward angle, he found himself enjoying the situation far more than he probably should have.
He once again confirmed something in his mind.
Yukino definitely wasn't flat-chested. Compared with Isshiki, she could absolutely be said to be rather well-endowed.
"Does it still hurt?" Yukino raised her head, intending to check how Oikawa was feeling.
And then she saw the way he was looking down at her.
Yukino froze.
Then, almost instinctively, she glanced downward.
"Go die!"
She viciously jabbed the disinfectant-soaked cotton swab into Oikawa's wound.
A pained howl immediately rang through the Service Club.
Some things in life were destined to be a mixture of pain and pleasure.
Oikawa was experiencing exactly that right now.
It hurt. But somehow, he was enjoying himself too.
...
..
The Service Club fell into a deathly silence.
Yukino sat there with a cold expression, reading her novel and radiating an unmistakable stay away from me aura, particularly toward Oikawa.
As for Oikawa, after wrapping a bandage around his wound, he quietly returned to savoring his black tea.
"Could you stop making that noise?"
Oikawa's tea-drinking had apparently offended Yukino's ears, as she immediately shot him an icy glare.
The sight reminded Oikawa of one of those ridiculous internet memes where someone gets fired for stepping into the office with their left foot first.
Yukino was obviously just looking for an excuse to pick a fight.
"The tea you made is just that good. How come I can never beat you at this?"
"Hmph!" Yukino had been ready with a retort, but Oikawa's unexpected compliment left her at a loss for words.
The two of them fell silent again.
Oikawa tilted his head and studied Yukino.
Skin as pale as snow. Long, dark eyelashes.
Most of the time, she resembled some untouchable goddess of ice.
But anyone who actually got to know her would realize how easily embarrassed she was. That cold expression of hers was less a natural temperament and more a layer of armor she wore to protect herself.
"How can someone be this pretty?"
Oikawa murmured the words just loudly enough for both of them to hear.
As expected. Yukino's face quickly turned red.
She turned toward him and glared furiously. "Stop looking at me!"
"Can't do that." Oikawa rested his head on the desk, still watching her from the side. "When I come across something beautiful, I feel like I'm losing out if I don't look at it at least a little longer."
Persistence wins in the end.
And if Oikawa wasn't embarrassed, then Yukino was the one who had to deal with the awkwardness.
She bit her lip, apparently at a complete loss when faced with someone as shameless as Oikawa. She gave a cold snort, turned her back to him, and ignored him.
Still, she showed no intention of leaving the Service Club.
"Yukino, does Hayama like your sister?"
Oikawa's question immediately sparked curiosity in Yukino's eyes. She turned back around and looked at him. "Why would you suddenly ask me that?"
"I was just curious. A few days ago, during the university guidance meeting, your sister asked me to find out which university you were planning to apply to. I turned her down. Then today, Hayama asked me the exact same thing."
After hearing Oikawa's explanation, Yukino furrowed her brows thoughtfully.
She hesitated for quite a while before finally speaking. "I don't know whether Hayama likes my sister. But the two of us were practically raised by her when we were children. Hayama has always looked up to her."
"Your international class doesn't have assigned groups, right? Since both your sister and Hayama asked me about it, I'm curious too. Which university are you planning to attend?"
Yukino fell silent for a moment, her expression becoming rather thoughtful.
"I'll go to a university here in Chiba. The same one my sister attended, Chiba University."
Chiba University was actually the best university in the prefecture. It was full of future politicians and business leaders from Chiba. In a place like that, your network could be even more valuable than your grades.
After a brief pause, Oikawa looked directly into Yukino's eyes. His expression became serious. "Yukino, you know you don't have to keep following in your sister's footsteps, right?"
Back at Disneyland, Oikawa had already realized that Yukino had been chasing after Haruno's shadow for years.
He had thought she had finally begun to let go of that knot in her heart.
Apparently, it wasn't going to be that easy.
"That's why I chose the humanities. They're completely different from what my sister studied. And I haven't made up my mind about Chiba University yet. I might change my mind."
Yukino tidied her messy hair. A smile appeared on her lips.
"See you tomorrow, Oikawa." Yukino picked up her schoolbag and walked over to the Service Club's door.
"See you tomorrow."
Oikawa planned to rest for a little while longer and head home after the sun had gone down.
But just then, the club door suddenly opened before Yukino could leave.
Yui appeared in the doorway, an awkward expression on her face.
'This girl... Don't tell me she was eavesdropping outside the whole time?'
Oikawa froze for a moment.
Knowing Yui, she really was capable of something like that.
The only question was... When did she start listening?
Inside the Service Club, the three of them stared at one another.
Nobody spoke first.
Oikawa was now certain that Yui had been outside listening to his entire conversation with Yukino.
'Man, there are way too many traps in the school.'
Still, judging from Yui's expression, Oikawa figured she had probably only heard the part about Yukino's university plans.
At most, she had also heard that Hayama might like Haruno.
Neither of those things was particularly important.
Oikawa sighed inwardly.
He had a feeling he'd have to watch what he said from now on.
He really needed to stop getting caught with someone lurking around the corner.
---
Saturday—
At eight that evening, Oikawa turned on the television right on schedule.
Tokyo TV was airing Episode 3 of Your Lie in April.
The episode started with Kaori dragging Kousei to a café, where she discovered an old piano and challenged him to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" with two children.
Kousei played beautifully, even improvising on the melody, but halfway through, the sound of the piano suddenly disappeared from his ears. He stopped playing and ran away.
Kaori refused to let him run away from music and decided to make him her piano accompanist for her upcoming competition.
Kousei tried everything to avoid her, but Kaori and Tsubaki kept chasing him down until he finally agreed.
With the competition approaching, Kousei began preparing to perform with Kaori, despite knowing that the moment he sat at the piano, he might once again be swallowed by silence.
Just then, a LINE notification sounded on Oikawa's phone.
It was a message from Utaha Kasumigaoka.
「!!! Senpai, why did you have to write it so sadly?! Kaori and Kousei are so pitiful! They deserve a happy ending. Waaaah!」
Seeing Utaha's message, a smile crept across Oikawa's face.
After thinking for a moment, he replied, "It's all Tokiomi's fault!"
「Tch. Senpai is definitely going to get absolutely roasted by the fans of Your Lie in April today! But seriously, the lines are written way too well! Senpai, how did you come up with something that beautiful?」
Come up with it?
Oikawa scratched his head.
He had basically copied the entire Your Lie in April word for word. Where was the need to come up with anything?
After ending the conversation, Oikawa returned his attention to Episode 3 of Your Lie in April.
There was no denying it.
A-1 Pictures really knew what they were doing.
The way they switched between warm and cool color palettes was practically flawless. Every transition felt completely natural.
After twenty minutes, Episode 3 came to an end with Kousei saying, "The town that I live in is starting to take on color."
This April... Kaori Miyazono had finally begun changing the life of the boy she had secretly loved for so very long.
Within the ACGN community, animation was always the medium that attracted the most attention.
And thanks to its outstanding quality, Your Lie in April anime quickly began appearing all over social media.
Some of the creators covering it already had hundreds of thousands of followers.
On YouTube, one creator in particular quickly put together a video introducing Your Lie in April after Episode 3 aired.
The title was: What Is Your Lie in April Really About
The moment the video started, the creator's opening line was already dripping with sorrow. "I loved you for ten years, yet you spent an entire April weaving the lie that you didn't love me."
"I'm Kappa, and this year is destined to belong to Your Lie in April!"
The video quickly surpassed 100,000 views.
A huge number of people discovered the light novel Your Lie in April because of it.
They also learned the name "Copycat," the infamous author behind it.
And, more importantly, they learned that the story ended in tragedy.
Quite a few people were so intrigued that they went out and bought the complete series.
And then... Almost in perfect unison, they stormed into Oikawa Toru's Twitter and unleashed their fury.
Some people took it even further.
One viewer actually called into a local news program simply because the show had a song-request segment at the end.
The bald host spoke with a distinct Osaka accent and had a naturally hilarious way of talking. "To wrap up today's program, let's listen to a song. This one is "Orange," performed by Seven Oops."
Sad music slowly began to play.
Over on YouTube, the moment the music started, countless colorful comments began flooding across the screen.
Oikawa came across the video too.
Unlike the heartbroken viewers, however, he was practically grinning from ear to ear.
It wasn't that he didn't feel sorry for Kousei.
It was just that this generation of internet users was way too good at taking things to the next level.
Who would have thought they'd actually find a local news program with a song-request segment and use it to mourn Kaori?
The sheer absurdity of it was almost impressive.
After thinking about it for a moment, Oikawa retweeted the video.
Then he added a comment, "Waaaah! My Kaori! You are always alive in my heart!!!"
Perfect.
Now there was no way his readers could accuse him of not empathizing with the characters.
He really, really loved his readers!
.
.
.