"So, your request is for us to give our impressions of this light novel you wrote, is that it?"
Holding a manuscript titled The Sword master Academy Series I: Phantom Nihility of the Sword Flash - Black Oak Arc, Yukino Yukinoshita asked softly, her gaze on the white-haired otaku standing awkwardly in front of them.
"That's exactly right," the heavyset boy Zaimokuza nodded, full of unshakable confidence, his eyes locking onto Hachiman.
"…Yukinoshita is the one talking to you, so why are you staring at me?" Hachiman muttered with a chill crawling down his spine from Zaimokuza's intense gaze.
"It's considered quite rude to stare at someone else while speaking to someone directly. Has no one ever taught you that?" Yukino's cold voice rang out beside him.
Zaimokuza immediately stiffened, jerking his head away.
Even just meeting Yukino's gaze seemed to sap all his courage.
After only a few seconds, sweat was already dripping down his forehead.
"Well, if it's just this kind of request, I'll accept it."
Casually tossing the manuscript into Hachiman's hands, Yukino turned to Zaimokuza. "Come back here at the same time tomorrow."
"The three of us will share our thoughts on your novel with you then."
"Eh? I'm involved too?" Yui, who had been standing around doing nothing the whole time, looked genuinely surprised when Yukino mentioned her.
Hachiman glanced down at the manuscript in his hands. To think I'd have to look at this thing again… total nightmare, he muttered under his breath.
Not far away, Yukino's head gave a subtle twitch like some inherited Hikigaya family ahoge had just woken up clearly having picked up on that comment.
"If there's nothing else, you may leave now." Dismissing Zaimokuza with little ceremony, Yukino turned and returned to her seat.
"Hikigaya-kun."
Just as Hachiman was about to rush home eager to end club time and play with his adorable little sister a cool voice called out to stop him.
"Ah, Yukinoshita. What is it?"
Upon turning around and seeing who it was, even Hachiman's trademark dead-fish eyes softened slightly.
"I heard you say earlier in the clubroom that this manuscript was the second time you'd seen it. I wanted to ask about that."
Yukino bit her soft, pink lips as if steeling herself. "According to what I gathered from Zaimokuza-kun, this manuscript is newly written. He hasn't shown it to anyone else."
"Is that really such a big deal? Maybe you just misheard," Hachiman said dismissively, waving his hand.
"No, it is important. Because I've seen this manuscript too."
As Yukino said that, the tension in her body seemed to dissipate.
"I've seen this manuscript before in a dream."
"W-what? You too?" Hachiman's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Then that means… Hikigaya-kun, you and I…"
"In the week before the opening ceremony, I kept having the same dream."
"You too… so you also dreamed about what happened after our second year began?" The secret Hachiman had buried deep inside for so long now echoed in Yukino's words. Even someone as unshakable as he was in the face of Hiratsuka-sensei's fists couldn't suppress the wave of emotion that swept over him.
"It seems so. Though I can't recall all the details clearly, the feeling of truly being there is something I'll never forget."
Yukino exhaled softly. There was a tenderness in her tone she herself might not have noticed.
"And that includes the ending…"
Before Hachiman could finish his sentence, a soft hand covered his mouth. He felt the warmth of her fingers and the subtle scent that lingered on Yukino's body.
Once again, he was drawn into that memory or perhaps that glimpse of a future not yet lived. In that dream, the girl before him wore a pristine white kimono, more breathtaking than he could describe.
Her face no longer held the frosty aloofness from when they first met. Instead, she bore a gentle blush and looked at him with a tenderness she had never shown anyone else.
The image from his memories and the girl before him gradually overlapped. Hachiman, moved by an impulse he couldn't suppress, reached out to gently touch her cheek.
To his surprise, the Yukino before him ethereal like an orchid blooming in a mountain valley neither dodged nor brushed his hand away. She simply allowed him to rest his hand against her flawless cheek.
The moment his fingers touched her skin, it felt like the entire world froze. Even the early summer breeze, which had rustled the leaves just moments before, seemed to pause, unwilling to interrupt this perfect stillness.
Several minutes passed before Yukino finally stirred from the familiar touch. Blood instantly rushed to her pale cheeks as she stepped back and, without warning, delivered a clean, sharp spinning kick to Hachiman's side.
As his consciousness slipped away, the last thing Hachiman saw… was white cotton panties.
Second time today… he thought, as everything went dark.
...
"Ugh…"
Hachiman opened his eyes, rubbing his sore jaw.
That ceiling… looks familiar.
Sitting up slowly, he picked up the ice pack that had slid off the edge of the bed.
"This… this is Yukino's room, isn't it?" he murmured, noting the familiar Mr. Pan plushies lying nearby.
"Hisss-" The pain from talking made him suck in a breath, and he quickly pressed the ice pack back against his swollen face.
Damn, she really didn't hold back.
While he was silently complaining, the door creaked open. Turning his head, he saw Yukino standing there… in pajamas.
"Oh, you're awake. Looks like Hikigaya the Frog has a pretty high tolerance for pain. I figured you'd be out until morning," she said casually.
"Why the hell did you kick me?!"
Seeing the subtle smile on Yukino's face, Hachiman couldn't help but demand an answer.
"For someone who suddenly reaches out to assault a girl, any form of punishment is fair. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that we're classmates, you'd probably be spending the rest of your life in jail."
"So you just kicked me unconscious and brought me to your house? Should I be calling this a kidnapping attempt by a female pervert?"
"It's not kidnapping. I already called Komachi and told her you'd be spending the night here."
Yukino held up Hachiman's phone and toyed with it. "Your sister sounded genuinely shocked. Like… the kind of shock you'd feel waking up one day and finding Earth suddenly part of the interstellar age."
"I mean, come on, it's not every day a guy with zero friends gets a call from a girl saying he'll be sleeping over."
"Anyway, enough nonsense. Hikigaya-kun, I brought you here because we need to talk about the dream, and about… how we'll deal with this going forward."
.....
I just finished a math exam and got dragged out to eat by some friends. When I got home, I dove right into writing.
Halfway through, I started feeling overwhelmed by all the sweetness, so I wanted to talk to my girlfriend… but thanks to the eight-hour time difference, she was still fast asleep.
My heart, man. My poor heart.
Anyway, this story is really just for me and my girlfriend, who are desperately craving a Yukino x Hachiman endgame. Don't expect any of the typical angsty drama that's so trendy these days just lots of sweet, saccharine fluff and little slices of our daily life together.
So yeah, read without worry.
And hey since I'm still writing even during my college entrance exams… how about a recommendation vote, hmm?