Next Target, 200PS!
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"Hmm?"
However, Shizuka's flustered reaction only made Haruno far more suspicious.
Judging by her demeanor, it didn't seem like she had a boyfriend.
"Don't tell me... gasp!"
As if suddenly realizing something horrifying, Haruno inhaled sharply.
"What?"
Snapping out of her distracting thoughts, Shizuka looked at Haruno's exaggerated reaction in confusion.
"NO, SHIZUKA! NO MATTER HOW LONELY AND DESPERATE YOU GET, YOU CAN'T JUST GO OUT AND BUY A MAN! DO YOU KNOW HOW DIRTY THEY ARE??"
"What are you talking about??"
Shizuka was still lost.
But looking at Haruno's horrified expression, it finally clicked. "Do you think I went out and hired a host? Are you insane?"
"..."
Was that not it? Haruno knew Shizuka's personality inside and out. Looking at Shizuka's face contort in disgust, she could tell her friend was being honest. She truly found the idea repulsive.
"Then who exactly is it?"
"Just drop it! I'm not telling you!"
Are you kidding? There was no way she was letting Haruno find out about Kai. It was one thing for Sonoko Machida to know—after all, Sonoko was the one who dragged her down this rabbit hole in the first place.
But Haruno was a completely different story.
If Haruno found out, Shizuka couldn't even fathom how ruthlessly and endlessly she would be teased and manipulated.
"Fine, fine!"
Haruno was inherently an incredibly curious person, but when she saw Shizuka acting like an impenetrable fortress and shutting down all questions, she decided to step back for now.
She'd just have to find an opportunity to dig for clues elsewhere.
"Anyway, you haven't even told me why you asked me out tonight. Don't tell me it was just to chat!"
Eager to prevent Haruno from probing any further and terrified of accidentally letting something slip, Shizuka hastily changed the subject.
"Or did you want to ask me how Yukino is doing?" Shizuka was well aware of Haruno's massive siscon complex.
Even though Haruno would never openly admit it, Shizuka knew that the person Haruno cared about most in the entire world was her little sister, Yukino.
"A bit of both, I suppose. How is Yukino doing?"
"She's doing quite well. She's made several new friends in the Service Club recently, and she's becoming much more cheerful and open."
Truthfully, when Shizuka first formed the Service Club, it had felt like a bit of a joke.
She hadn't actually expected it to succeed. But now, seeing her students grow and improve so much, she felt a sense of pride as their teacher.
Still, it felt like she hadn't really done much herself.
No, wait... If it hadn't been for her forcing them together, the Service Club wouldn't even exist.
'Exactly! I was very useful.'
"Cheerful, huh?"
Haruno didn't notice the quick changes in Shizuka's expression. She just sighed quietly.
Even though she had always hoped Yukino would open up and be happy, hearing that her little sister was actually thriving filled Haruno with an unexpected, sudden wave of melancholy.
After all, it meant Yukino was increasingly outgrowing her need for an older sister.
"Speaking of which..."
That thought suddenly reminded Haruno of something important.
"Do you know someone called Kai?"
"W-What?"
Shizuka, who'd just been feeling proud of herself, instantly panicked when she heard his name.
'No way. Has Haruno already found out about me and Kai??'
Wait! That's impossible... No matter how smart Haruno was, there was zero chance she could deduce her relationship with Kai out of thin air.
"Kai. He's one of your students, isn't he? Do you know him?"
Completely preoccupied with thoughts of her sister, Haruno didn't notice Shizuka's momentary panic. She pressed for an answer.
"Ahem!"
Seeing that Haruno seemed purely curious about Kai the student, Shizuka suppressed her alarm. She quickly collected herself, cleared her throat, and put on a serious, professional face.
"You mean Kai? Yes, I know him. He's in my class, and he's also a member of the Service Club. Why are you suddenly bringing him up?"
"He's in your class? Then you must be quite familiar with him, right?" As expected, Haruno was too focused on the Yukino connection to notice Shizuka's stiff demeanor. She eagerly pushed for more information.
"Ugh."
'Could I say I'm not familiar with him? I'm far too familiar with him. He knows my depths, and I know his length.'
Naturally, Shizuka couldn't say that out loud. She just looked at Haruno with feigned confusion.
"I suppose you could say I'm familiar with him. But what exactly do you want to know?"
"It's nothing, really."
Haruno might put up walls with everyone else, but with Shizuka, she usually told the truth. After all, if she couldn't even be honest with her one true friend, her life would be far too pathetic.
"I just noticed that he's gotten quite close to Yukino. I wanted to ask you if he harbors any... intentions toward her."
"Ugh."
Knowing Haruno was an obsessive siscon, it wasn't surprising she was keeping a close eye on Kai.
However!
The real problem was that Shizuka knew exactly what kind of Playboy Kai was.
While she didn't know the exact details of his dynamic with Yukino, if anyone tried to claim he had zero intentions toward her beautiful little sister, Shizuka wouldn't believe it for a second.
'Should I tell her the truth?'
She weighed her friendship with Haruno against her relationship with Kai.
Mhm!
"I suppose they're somewhat close, but they're just in the same club. I think you're overthinking things."
Shizuka spoke with a perfectly straight face, her tone sounding entirely natural.
But inside, she was cursing nonstop.
'You bastard! If you dare double-team me with Sonoko again, I'll never forgive you!'
She was covering for him again.
Damn it. She should be jealous, or at least gloating over his impending doom! Why was she spending all her time constantly running interference and covering for this guy??
"Overthinking?? No, no, no! That's just because you haven't realized that my Yukino is the cutest girl in the entire world!"
"..."
Haruno loudly and proudly broadcast her obsessive siscon manifesto. Since they were practically alone in the izakaya, she had zero shame.
Shizuka could only stare at her in exasperated silence.
"So, what's your master plan?"
After a moment's thought, Shizuka decided not to try to dissuade her. After all, if she were the kind of person who listened to reason, she wouldn't be Haruno Yukinoshita.
"It's simple. I'll use my charm!"
Haruno declared, wiggling her eyebrows with a smug grin.
"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you as his teacher. I'm just going to conduct a little field test to ensure there aren't any individuals with malicious intent lingering around Yukino!"
Knowing he was Shizuka's student, Haruno offered a small reassurance.
Looking at her brimming confidence, it was clear Haruno didn't believe failure was even a possibility.
And if Kai didn't fall for her trap? Well, that would prove he was an upstanding, honorable guy. If that were the case, she'd have no problem letting him stay by Yukino's side.
"You..."
Shizuka opened her mouth to warn her, but ultimately closed it. This wasn't the right time to try to talk her out of it.
"Suit yourself. Just don't show up crying to me when you lose!"
Others might not know, but Shizuka was intimately familiar with Kai's capabilities. She highly doubted Haruno's little tricks would even scratch the surface against a seasoned predator like him. In all likelihood, Haruno was going to end up getting played like a fiddle.
"Relax! Relax!"
Mistaking Shizuka's warning for concern, Haruno waved her off dismissively.
"I promise you, nothing will go wrong!"
"..."
'The more you say that, the more likely everything is going to spectacularly blow up in your face.' Whatever. Shizuka couldn't be bothered to argue anymore. She returned to her drink in bored silence.
However, their drinking session was abruptly cut short.
"I'm so sorry, Shizuka. Something urgent just came up at the company. I have to go!"
After taking a phone call, Haruno sighed heavily, stood up, and grabbed her coat.
It really was true. The poor girl barely had any time to rest.
"Are you serious? You brought me out here to drink, and just as the mood is really starting to lift, you're leaving? You're so busy all the time that you'd think the Yukinoshitas are a huge, dominant corporation!"
At the end of the day, they were just a prominent regional family. If you placed them in the heart of Tokyo, they couldn't even compete with a mid-tier conglomerate.
"If we actually were a conglomerate, I wouldn't be this busy!" Haruno complained with an exasperated sigh.
"I don't know what's going on lately. So many of the company's projects have run into bizarre problems. I have no choice but to go deal with them!"
Speaking of this, Haruno couldn't stop herself from complaining.
The Yukinoshita family's primary business was in real estate and construction. Everything had been running perfectly fine until very recently.
It was as if they had suddenly been cursed. Construction sites were experiencing bizarre accidents almost every other day. Minor injuries were one thing, but a few days ago, a worker actually died on-site.
And these incidents weren't isolated; they were happening across almost every single Yukinoshita construction project.
It wasn't just Haruno who was overwhelmed. Even the current head of the Yukinoshita family—Haruno's mother—was drowning in crisis management.
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