Chapter 26: Yukino's Path
Hiratsuka Shizuka took the cigarette from her lips, blew out a long trail of smoke, and took a deep breath. "I've been here since you started rambling about the Seven Deadly Sins. This kid has been here just as long."
She patted Hachiman on the shoulder. Hachiman snapped out of his daze and gave Akishin a small, apologetic nod.
"Chishima-sensei."
"Yo."
Akishin nodded back with a grin, then tossed one of the shinai toward Hachiman.
Hachiman fumbled a bit but caught it, meeting Akishin's gaze before gripping the wooden sword with a resigned sigh.
Shizuka looked at Akishin, then turned her attention to Yukino. After a moment of hesitation, she asked, "Yukinoshita, what do you think? Chishima-sensei isn't entirely wrong. I acted as your guarantor to open this Service Club, but you've been here for a year and nothing has changed."
Yukino felt a profound sense of confusion—or rather, her mind was in total disarray. It was like a devout believer suddenly discovering the cold hard facts of science. The "divine miracles" she had believed in turned out to be nothing more than self-delusion.
She didn't even protest when Shizuka smoked right in front of her.
Deep down, Yukino understood her own situation; she simply hadn't possessed the courage to face it. She had opened the Service Club hoping to save herself by saving others. It was a nice sentiment, and her logic was sound, but she lacked experience. She had trapped herself in a beautiful illusion of her own making—essentially, a waking dream.
She hadn't wanted to wake up.
Yukinoshita Yukino was lost. No one communicated with her; no one dared to argue with her. Standing at the crossroads of life, she hadn't dared to move forward because the path ahead was shrouded in fog. So, she chose to walk in place.
It was safe. She wouldn't get hurt by the thorns on the road if she never went anywhere.
This was exactly what Yukinoshita Haruno wanted to see. She didn't want her little sister to get hurt again, not like in elementary school. Yet, at the same time, she desperately wanted Yukino to grow up and find her own way.
This internal contradiction drove Haruno to hurt her own sister. She would wound her with one hand while providing hidden care with the other. She wanted her sister to grow within a "controlled" environment of pain.
But the results were disastrous. The relationship between the sisters had only deteriorated. Haruno had made one fatal mistake: she and Yukino didn't live in the same world. Their life experiences were worlds apart. Yukino spent most of her time at school, and beyond keeping a watchful eye, there wasn't much Haruno could actually do.
Shizuka saw the symptoms and knew the truth, but since she didn't have a better solution, she had simply let it be. That was until she found Hikigaya Hachiman. She had brought him to the Service Club hoping the two would influence and change each other.
In another timeline, that plan would have worked. Yukino would have found friends, learned to understand others, and engaged in heated debates. At the crossroads, she would have stopped being confused and stepped forward, guided by her companions. Even knowing there were thorns ahead, her friends would have given her the courage to walk. Two people—no, perhaps three—growing together...
That "Something Real" they would eventually seek was simply the act of acknowledging one's own choices.
Of course, Akishin didn't know any of that. He had no idea what the "future" held. The future is a realm of infinite possibilities, and what happens in a novel or manga is just one potential path. Akishin's very presence had already knocked the world off its set trajectory. No one knew how things would develop now.
Well, except for the author.
Generally speaking, though, one could predict that things wouldn't turn out too badly.
After a few moments, just as Hikigaya was about to speak because he couldn't stand the look of turmoil on Yukino's face anymore, she finally broke the silence.
She took a deep breath, looked directly at Hiratsuka Shizuka with slightly glassy eyes, and spoke with a trembling voice. "My apologies, Hiratsuka-sensei. I was wrong."
Then she turned to Akishin, bowing her head. "Thank you for your guidance, Chishima-sensei. Please... tell me how I can change."
"Just keep going! This path of yours isn't wrong. In fact, it's quite good."
Yukino looked up, bewildered.
Akishin continued, "You should keep walking that path, but on one condition: you have to actually move forward. You can ask him for help more often. He might be able to provide some insight."
Akishin pointed at Hachiman. Hikigaya looked left and right before pointing at himself in disbelief.
Akishin gave a firm nod and a smile.
Yukino looked at Hachiman with doubt and skepticism. But since Akishin had suggested it, she nodded and said, "I look forward to working with you, Hikigaya-kun."
"Ah! Right!" Hikigaya stood up straight in a panic and bowed. "The pleasure is mine, um... Yukinoshita-kun!"
Akishin smiled, and Shizuka—still biting her cigarette—smiled too. Then, suddenly, her lips felt light. Her cigarette was gone.
Akishin was holding Shizuka's cigarette. Right before her eyes, he dropped it to the floor and crushed it under his heel.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, smoking is bad for your health. No smoking allowed!"
"Chishima—Akishin!"
Shizuka gritted her teeth. But since her students were watching, she could only clench her fists and hold back her fury. Just you wait until later!
Akishin spoke up again. "By the way, I wanted to add one more thing. Since this is a club, it needs club activities! Yukinoshita-kun, in the past year, have you actually done anything?"
Yukinoshita Yukino: "..." Actually, no.
Akishin went silent. "...So, you just sit here and read books every day?"
Yukino nodded slowly.
Akishin shot a glare at Shizuka.
Shizuka looked away. What was she supposed to do? Yukino was a lone girl; Shizuka didn't want to force her into any potentially dangerous "service" activities!
Hikigaya Hachiman watched the whole exchange with his usual half-lidded, dead-fish eyes.
"Haaaah..."
Akishin sighed and turned to Shizuka. "Hiratsuka-sensei, since Hikigaya-kun has joined the Volunteer Club now, you should introduce students with problems to this place in the future." That way, she could vet the requests first.
"I was planning to do that from the start." Shizuka sounded a bit miffed that Akishin was stealing her thunder. She was the life-guidance counselor, after all!
At least, that's how it was supposed to be.
After a few more words, Shizuka excused herself, saying she wanted to head home early. Akishin then turned to Hachiman and asked if he was still willing to learn kendo.
Hachiman thought about it for a long time before answering weakly, "Chishima-sensei, I still have club activities to attend to."
Yukino was watching closely. If Akishin decided to teach Hachiman inside the Service Club, she would kick him out no matter what. This was the Service Club, not a dojo! Despite the lecture she'd just received, she wouldn't compromise on her principles.
She met Akishin's gaze like a stubborn cat, glaring back at him sharply.
Akishin laughed. "Relax, I won't interfere with your club. I'm only teaching him because I find him interesting. You can learn my style..."
He looked down at the shinai. "In the future, I'll only teach you during PE or when you come to my place. I have a small dojo there. Besides..."
Akishin looked at the dazed Hachiman. "My kendo prioritizes the heart. Technique is secondary. With enough practice and a bit of talent, you'll master the moves. But the heart is what matters most!"
Akishin stood up, grabbed the shinai, and stepped toward Hachiman. "Today, I'll teach you the foundation of my style: [Sword Meditation]. But for now, you'll start with the [Breathing Method]!"
Hachiman took a step back. The pressure radiating from Akishin was immense. It wasn't the raw terror from earlier that morning; it felt like being at the foot of a massive, heavy mountain.
"In that case..." Hachiman hesitated, his hands reflexively tightening around the wooden sword. "Do I need to perform a formal student-teacher ceremony?"
Yukino watched intently, waiting for the answer.
Akishin took three steps back, shook his head, and said, "No. You don't need to do any of that. Or rather..."
A strange smile played on his lips. "You aren't qualified to call me your master yet! I haven't acknowledged you, Hikigaya Hachiman! Right now, I'm just teaching you some kendo."
Not... qualified!
Hachiman's grip on the shinai tightened even more. He felt a sting of failure—which was weird. Shouldn't he be used to feeling like a loser by now?
Yukino unconsciously squeezed the book in her hands. She hadn't expected the answer to be "no qualification." She had expected a "sure" or a "whatever."
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