Chapter 69: Hikigaya Is Still Fighting!
The summit of Mount Fuji was capped in pristine white snow, its slopes standing out sharply against the blue sky.
It was the sort of scenery found on postcards everywhere, yet seeing it with your own eyes still had a way of leaving you speechless.
Saku looked out the window too, though he didn't bother taking pictures.
Part of the reason was his phone camera, and part of it was simply that photographing scenery from a speeding train made composition difficult.
Rather than fill his gallery with a pile of terrible photos, he figured recording a video would make more sense.
He wasn't particularly interested in doing that either, though.
"You're not taking a picture?" Yukino asked.
"I wouldn't mind taking one of you."
Yukino shot him a glare.
When she realized he was completely serious, she sighed.
"I meant Mount Fuji."
"Mount Fuji isn't as pretty as you."
"..."
Yukino turned toward the window as though she hadn't heard him and continued gazing at the distant mountain.
The tips of her ears, however, had turned noticeably red.
"Sweet talk," she murmured. "All you know how to do is fool girls."
The train continued west.
By the time they passed Nagoya, the sky outside had grown considerably brighter.
Yukino suddenly closed her book and rubbed her eyes.
"Finished it?" Saku asked.
"Only halfway."
She slipped Kokoro into the small bag beside her.
"My eyes are getting tired."
Then she took out a thermos, unscrewed the lid, and took a sip. The scent of tea drifted over, the variety she liked most.
"Want some?"
She'd noticed Saku looking.
"I don't have another cup."
"Then forget it."
Saku assumed that was the end of the conversation.
To his surprise, Yukino spoke again after a brief silence.
"What I meant was..."
She kept her expression perfectly neutral, as though the subject had nothing to do with her.
"If you want some, I can share."
Her fingers rubbed along the side of the thermos several times.
"...If you don't mind."
"I don't mind!"
Saku answered almost instantly.
Unfortunately, Yukino had already seen straight through him.
She flipped the thermos lid over and poured tea into it.
"...That's not what I imagined."
Saku stared blankly.
By normal logic, wasn't she supposed to hand him the thermos directly?
"Hmph."
Yukino held out the lid.
"Do you want it or not?"
"Give it here."
Saku's expression immediately turned dead serious as he snatched the cup and gulped the tea down.
The train began slowing.
Buildings outside grew denser, and among them appeared the distinctive tiled temple roofs of Kyoto, along with the silhouette of a five-story pagoda in the distance.
An arrival announcement sounded inside the carriage.
Students began gathering their belongings.
Then Kyoto Station's platform slid into view.
Yukino stood and straightened her skirt.
When she reached toward the overhead rack for her bag, Saku got there first and handed it down to her.
"Thank you."
"Next time, just let me drink directly from the thermos."
"...In your dreams."
Yukino paused for the briefest moment as she walked past him.
After leaving the platform, the students followed their respective teachers to a nearby inn.
Once everyone had put away their luggage, they were gathered together again.
There were no mandatory activities scheduled for the first day of the school trip.
Hiratsuka-sensei simply told them to form their own groups, explore freely, and remember to come back on time.
Once she'd finished, everyone scattered.
Saku immediately went looking for Yukino again.
"Want to go out and look around together? Sitting alone in your room is boring."
"I can read."
Yukino replied calmly.
"I still haven't finished that book."
Saku had almost forgotten.
Yukino was the sort of literary girl who could spend an entire day reading without ever getting bored, even though lately much of her spare time had been consumed by learning modeling.
"Come on."
Saku switched tactics.
"Aren't you even a little curious about Hikigaya and the others?"
「Forget the book. Let's go watch the drama! I'd feel awkward going by myself.」
Yukino's forehead practically filled with black lines.
After a considerable internal struggle, she reluctantly agreed.
She really hadn't paid much attention to Hikigaya lately and didn't know how Tobe's request was progressing.
Besides, she was technically still the Service Club president.
Completely ignoring the situation didn't feel right.
"I'm not particularly curious."
Yukino looked away.
"But fine. I'll go."
"Oh! Yukino-chan is the best!"
Saku deliberately squeezed his voice into an obnoxiously cute tone.
Goosebumps immediately ran across Yukino's arms.
"Shut up."
"If you do that again, I'm not going."
"I'm joking. Don't take it seriously."
Saku grinned.
"Anyway, let's go!"
...
Elsewhere, Hikigaya's group had received the same free-time instructions.
Just as they'd previously discussed, Hikigaya followed along with Tobe and the others.
Their destination was the nearby Fushimi Inari Taisha.
Hayama, Miura, and Ebina walked in front.
A few steps behind them were Hikigaya, Tobe, and Yui.
The deliberate distance was there so they could quietly discuss their plan.
"Hikipenguin, I'm seriously counting on you this time."
Tobe's eyes remained fixed on Ebina ahead of them as he edged closer to Hikigaya, eager to hear whatever brilliant idea he supposedly had.
Hikigaya's dead-fish eyes turned toward Tobe Kakeru.
He badly wanted to tell him that his name was Hikigaya, not Hikipenguin.
Unfortunately, he'd probably corrected Tobe countless times already without success, so he no longer bothered.
"I heard the ema here are supposed to be pretty effective."
Hikigaya thought for a moment.
"Why don't you invite everyone over to write wishes? We might be able to create a chance for you two to be alone afterward."
"Great idea! I'm going!"
Hikigaya didn't think it was particularly brilliant.
But Tobe's head was so empty that he couldn't come up with anything remotely useful on his own.
Simply having someone else make a decision for him was enough to leave him satisfied.
As soon as Tobe hurried ahead toward the other three, Yui moved closer to Hikigaya.
"Hikki."
She lowered her voice.
"Do you really think that's going to work?"
She looked toward Ebina's back.
"Lately, I've had the feeling Hina is deliberately avoiding Tobe."
Hikigaya had accepted the request on his own.
Yui wasn't obligated to help.
But Yui was ultimately too kindhearted to simply ignore everything the way Yukino had.
Yukino at least had legitimate work keeping her occupied.
Yui had no such excuse.
If she stood by and did nothing, her conscience would bother her.
More importantly, because of Saku's inner voice, Yui already knew roughly how this situation was supposed to end.
That left her conflicted.
If possible, she wanted to gently steer Hikigaya toward a different outcome.
Mentioning how Ebina had been behaving lately was part of that attempt.
She wanted Hikigaya to recognize how difficult the situation was and stop believing he had to perfectly solve someone else's romantic problem.
If Tobe and the others weren't willing to carry the pressure themselves, why should Hikigaya be the one forced to shoulder it?
Unfortunately, Hikigaya completely missed the implication behind Yui's indirect warning.
"Now that you mention it..."
He rubbed his chin.
"I've been watching their group too. The atmosphere between them has definitely felt different lately."
His eyes narrowed.
"If that's the case, Ebina probably already knows how Tobe feels."
He sighed.
"Yeah. This is going to be difficult."
Hikigaya had already guessed most of the truth.
He would've liked to back out while there was still time.
But he'd already promised Tobe.
His pride wouldn't allow him to quit halfway through.
They passed beneath one red torii after another until, following Tobe's suggestion, Hayama's group eventually reached the area where visitors could write ema.
Hayama had already figured out what Tobe was trying to do.
Unfortunately, he couldn't refuse.
On one side was pressure from one of his close friends.
On the other was Miura's wishes.
As the supposedly perfect school heartthrob, Hayama was incapable of rejecting either of them.
Among the group, Miura Yumiko was probably the only person who genuinely hadn't noticed anything.
She simply wanted to write an ema together with Hayama.
Ebina, meanwhile, had understood Tobe's intention just as clearly as Hayama.
That was exactly why she remained beside Miura almost constantly, never giving Tobe a chance to separate her from the group.
Outwardly, she showed nothing unusual.
But whenever nobody seemed to be watching...
Her eyes would quietly drift toward Hikigaya.
…