Oikawa smiled. He held out his hand and spoke softly, "Nice to meet you, Yukino's sister."
Hearing Oikawa's choice of words, Haruno Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Haruno-senpai" and "Yukino's sister" were two completely different ways of addressing her, with completely different implications behind them.
If he called her Haruno-senpai, it meant he was happy to have met Haruno herself.
But if he called her Yukino's sister, it meant he was happy to meet her simply because she was Yukino's older sister.
"Oikawa-kun, you really are quite something, aren't you? Well, I'm happy to meet you too."
After giving him those two calm, measured responses, Haruno shifted her gaze toward Yukino.
The two sisters locked eyes.
"Don't tell me you have something you want to consult about as well? If so, I suppose I'll have to properly fulfill my duties as your big sister today."
There was a hint of hostility in Haruno's voice, but Yukino was hardly someone who could be pushed around.
"As a consultation advisor, you certainly should fulfill your duties properly. Just make sure you don't lead anyone astray."
The two of them were like powder kegs packed to the brim.
One tiny spark, and they might explode on the spot.
Watching the scene unfold, Oikawa couldn't help feeling a little intimidated.
Women arguing was far more terrifying than men arguing.
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense. Even the students waiting nearby for consultations instinctively fell silent.
Fortunately, Yui arrived just in time to save everyone.
Sensing that something was off, she immediately walked over to Haruno and spoke with open admiration. "so the outstanding graduate they invited really is Haruno-senpai! I knew it."
Iroha Isshiki then quickly changed the topic. "Haruno-senpai, have you seen that recent movie? I think it was called Love Exposure. It was super good!"
Haruno smiled and began chatting casually with Iroha.
After some time, Iroha's eyes sparkled as she looked at Haruno with admiration. "Haruno-senpai, you're seriously so cool! I really admire you!"
"Even now, the student council from the year you were president is still considered the best student council Sobu High has ever had! I really hope I can become someone like you someday... Hehe."
Haruno was clearly getting a little carried away by all the praise. She even took the initiative to link arms with Iroha. "Oh, I'm not as amazing as you make me sound. You can do it too."
"I'll keep working hard and strive to become just like you, Haruno-senpai!" Iroha grinned.
For some reason, her smile looked a little sinister.
Oikawa had a feeling that this girl was probably plotting something again.
Still, he wasn't particularly worried about Haruno. Haruno was an old fox, after all. Compared with her, little fox Iroha was still far too young.
You could tell as much from the faint smile playing at the corner of Haruno's mouth.
Throughout all of this, though, the calmest person was Meguri Shiromeguri.
She always seemed completely unfazed, as though nothing in the world could surprise her
Come to think of it, the student council Meguri had led wasn't bad compared with those of previous years. And she genuinely commanded a great deal of respect.
Meguri seemed to notice Oikawa watching her. She turned toward him, walked over, and waved. "Oikawa-kun, long time no see. No, wait. Since we haven't met since New Year's, shouldn't I be saying Happy New Year instead?"
"'Long time no see' is fine," Oikawa replied with a smile. "Who knows? This might really be a once-in-a-lifetime meeting for us. After we graduate and go to university, there's a good chance we'll never see each other again."
Meguri froze for a moment.
Then the smile on her face grew even brighter as she nodded in agreement. "You have a point, Oikawa-kun. You chose the science track, right? Want this senpai to share some of her experience with you? For you, Oikawa-kun, this service is free of charge."
"Meguri-senpai, you guessed wrong. Oikawa chose the humanities track." Yui, who had curiously wandered over when she saw the two chatting, joined the conversation.
"The humanities?" Meguri looked at Oikawa in surprise. "If I remember correctly, aren't you better at the sciences, Oikawa-kun?"
"I'm more interested in literature."
Oikawa's answer left Meguri momentarily stunned again.
It gave off a very particular 'I'm rich, so I'll do whatever I want' kind of energy.
"I think there's a student in my class who received a recommendation to the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Letters. If you're interested, Oikawa-kun, you can ask your homeroom teacher about it when you're in your final year."
"Our school has connections with quite a few top universities, and they often provide recommendation slots. Of course, the requirements are still pretty demanding. Besides excellent grades, I think you need some kind of additional merit or special achievement. If you're considering that route, it's best to start preparing early."
"Though the Service Club probably gives you some extra points too."
Meguri patiently explained the details of university recommendations to Oikawa. It was an area he genuinely didn't know much about.
As for the additional merits Meguri had mentioned, Oikawa wasn't worried about those.
Thanks to a certain unmarried Shizuka, he had plenty of them.
Before long, the career guidance interviews began.
Haruno and Meguri entered the conference room, while Shizuka Hiratsuka and the other teachers came over from the faculty office.
The three-hour marathon of career consultations finally began drawing to a close.
Before the last session ended, Oikawa returned to the Service Club room. After tidying up, he picked up his school bag and prepared to head home.
It was almost seven.
The sun had long since disappeared below the horizon, and the cold wind was howling again.
The athletic clubs that were usually bursting with energy had already wrapped up for the day. The entire campus had fallen into near silence.
Oikawa pulled his clothes tighter around himself.
Just as he was about to head home—
"Hi!"
The moment he stepped out of the club building, he heard someone calling down to him from above.
Looking up, he saw where the voice had come from.
Haruno Yukinoshita was leaning against the window of the student council office, waving at him.
Oikawa simply stared back at her.
The meaning in his eyes was perfectly clear.
Haruno smiled, "Wait for me a minute."
Oikawa frowned slightly, but he didn't refuse. He went back into the club building and waited for Haruno to come down.
Soon, he heard the rapid thump, thump, thump of footsteps descending the stairs.
A moment later, Haruno Yukinoshita appeared in front of him.
"Haruno-senpai, shouldn't you have finished your work as a consultation advisor ages ago?"
"I should have." Haruno explained, "But I ended up chatting with Shizu and Iroha-chan for too long, and before I knew it, it got this late."
Shizu?
She probably meant Shizuka-sensei.
If Oikawa remembered correctly, the woman was already twenty-seven or twenty-eight, while Haruno herself was twenty. There was practically a full generation between them.
Oikawa really wanted to complain.
"Where's Yukino? Didn't she leave with you, Oikawa-kun?" Haruno glanced around before turning to ask him.
"Her place isn't really on my way," Oikawa answered patiently.
"You could've taken a little detour to walk her home. Isn't escorting your girlfriend part of a boyfriend's job?" Haruno wiggled her eyebrows at him, her tone loaded with teasing implication.
"Yukino can handle herself. And besides, there are plenty of things she can accomplish on her own."
Oikawa neither confirmed nor denied the "girlfriend" part of her comment. Mostly because he really didn't want to get too involved with Haruno.
Dealing with girls who were both clever and scheming was exhausting.
"Is that so? Since when did Yukino become so confident?"
Haruno didn't press the issue. Instead, she smiled, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Then, Oikawa-kun, walk me to the station. You wouldn't have the heart to make a girl walk home alone this late at night, would you?"
Oikawa was already getting a headache. Just as he was considering how to refuse, Haruno suddenly leaned closer and whispered, "Oikawa-kun, do you know how many people would kill for the chance to escort a beautiful woman like me home?"
At that moment, Oikawa became even more convinced.
Haruno Yukinoshita was basically the Pro version of Iroha Isshiki.
...The two walked side by side toward the station outside the school, looking almost like a college couple.
Haruno was quite a bit taller than Yukino.
Oikawa estimated that, at 188 centimeters, he was only about half a head taller than her. She had to be at least 170 centimeters.
_ _ _
Chiba was actually a relatively safe place, but no matter where you went, there always seemed to be a few loiterers hanging around near train stations.
To save time, the two took a shortcut through a maze of narrow back alleys.
Fortunately, Haruno wasn't the timid type. If it had been Yui, she probably would've been clinging tightly to Oikawa's arm by now.
Haruno seemed to notice him looking at her. "Oikawa-kun, want me to play the part of a helpless high school girl and cling to your arm?"
"Absolutely not!"
Oikawa looked a little embarrassed.
This was exactly why he didn't like dealing with smart, calculating girls. They could see through what you were thinking at a glance.
The streets were quiet at night. Here and there, some shops still had their Christmas decorations up.
Neither Oikawa nor Haruno said much.
All they could hear were the cars passing by, the footsteps of pedestrians, and the endless howl of the wind.
It wasn't until they were almost at the station that Haruno finally spoke. "Oikawa, I saw you at the fireworks festival last time... You and Yui."
"So." Haruno stopped walking and looked directly into his eyes. "Which one do you like more? Yukino or Yui?"
"Both."
Apparently, that answer caught Haruno completely off guard.
After a brief pause, she burst out laughing, clutching her stomach and patting Oikawa on the shoulder. "Oikawa-kun, you really are interesting. Seriously, you're so interesting! That answer was completely outside my expectations. I thought you'd hesitate and agonize over it for ages. If you had, I really would've been disappointed."
She laughed for quite a while.
By the time tears had appeared at the corners of her eyes, Haruno finally regained her composure. "Oikawa-kun, do you know you have the potential to become a real scumbag?"
"I thought I already was."
Oikawa answered with complete honesty.
Haruno fell silent for a moment, thinking. But she didn't dwell on the subject. "Oikawa-kun, do you know which university Yukino wants to go to?"
Oikawa shook his head lightly. "She's never told me."
Haruno looked at him with unusual seriousness. "Can I ask you a favor? Could you ask Yukino which school she wants to apply to?"
"I'm going to have to refuse. If she hasn't told you, she probably doesn't want you to know. I'll respect her choice." Oikawa shook his head again.
Haruno looked a little disappointed. Tilting her head back, she murmured to herself, "Maybe you're right. Being an older sister really is difficult. It'd be so much easier if Yukino were the older sister and I were the younger one."
She looked a little tired. Raising both arms over her head, she stretched lazily, the curves of her figure faintly outlined beneath her red coat.
Oikawa felt that, in some ways, Yukino probably wished she could be more like Haruno too.
"Well... see you next time."
Haruno didn't say anything else. She gave him a light wave and strode off ahead.
But just before disappearing into the crowd, she suddenly turned around. "Oikawa-kun, if you ever hurt Yukino, I won't forgive you. Got it?"
Oikawa smiled and nodded.
Haruno smiled again, then disappeared into the crowd.
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