V13 8-2

8-2
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At last, we reached the reception office and Hiratsuka-sensei knocked on the door. The voice of the person who requested me coolly sounded out and I remember having heard that voice somewhere before. It seemed the visitor was Yukinoshita’s mother after all.
I followed Hiratsuka-sensei into the room and there someone gracefully standing next to the window turned around to face us. The person before us, wearing a wisteria-coloured kimono moderately decorated with peach blossoms, was truly an unimaginable beauty.
Coffee had already been prepared and placed at the seat of honour. Yukinoshita’s mother sat there and with a friendly voice asked me to sit down as well. I quietly obeyed and Hiratsuka-sensei took a seat next to me.
“We’ve met the other day as well, haven’t we.”
“Yes... Nice meeting you then.”
I answered with a twitching smile. Her formal smile overlapped with Haruno-san’s features and frankly I wasn’t very good at dealing with it. As if she could tell I was nervous from my state, Yukinoshita’s mother raised a hand to her mouth; smiling as if she was lovingly looking at a small animal.
“Then let’s start over… May I ask about your reason for being here today?”
When Hiratsuka-sensei cut in, Yukinoshita’s mother gently smiled and took out her smartphone.
“Ah, that’s right. Then getting straight into it… This, were you the one who thought of it?”
On the low table was the phone screen that was displaying the official site of the dummy prom.
Absorbed in the thought that this was the finale of the match, I laughed a little. Because I’d wanted this shameless attitude calling for diplomacy during this critical moment. While this sense of crisis is being called an accidental trigger, there had been no other option but to call for a compromise.
“It could be the opinion of some students. These days there are quite some flashy high school students.”
As I said a line I’d been told somewhere before, reworded with sarcasm mixed in, Hiratsuka-sensei’s elbow hit my side. Yukinoshita’s mother looked at that with a smile and responded with a certain tone of voice.
“I see…”
Yukinoshita’s mother placed her hands on her temples and narrowed her eyes. Her gestures reminded me of the gaze of big cats as they went into hunting mode.
I started to get a bad feeling as sweat gradually began to run down my scalp. I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve never been wrong about bad feelings.
Suddenly, Yukinoshita’s mother began to speak.
“Running another proposal isn’t a bad move, but the flaws stand out a bit. Also, even if you increase the number of choices, it will still be difficult without resolving the fundamental problems. What’s your opinion on that part?
That gaze and tone of voice had changed to become so much colder than before. A cold chill ran down my spine. The last part of what she said seemed a question aimed towards me, but my head couldn’t get around to an answer.
Yukinoshita’s mother rejected the dummy prom proposal we’d made because it was just something used to run against the original proposal. Had she heard something from Haruno-san in advance? No, judging from her actions the other day, she wouldn’t go out of her way to tell her mother when it seemed there would be discord.
In other words, it simply means she saw through our plans. In addition, because she could point it out from the beginning, our plans were crushed before they even started.
I should have replied, but I had lost my words and I was left dumbfoundedly looking at Yukinoshita’s mother.
The person on the other side was calm and composed as she hid her mouth with a folding fan, smiling as if she was enjoying this. That figure appeared as if she was looking forward to what hand I would play next.
Though she could make a face like that, I could only put up a bitter smile. The things I had thought of saying had all blown away. As long as her first hand remained calling out my plan as something just used to run against the original, there was no meaning in exchanging words about it. Besides, the dummy prom plan had been seen through by both Hayama and Haruno-san the very first time they saw it as well. I had already lost the moment I thought it would go through someone like Yukinoshita’s mother.
“The real problem, the one about the self-restraint at a prom; the fact we can expect a subset of students to rebel against it is true. The risk of this happening in a place not in our awareness still exists.”
Seeing me unable to reply, Hiratsuka-sensei promptly intervened.
“Therefore, it might be wise to choose situations that falls within our management to some extent. The Student Council’s side have revised their plans to find a way that will satisfy both sides.”
Hiratsuka-sensei handed documents that she’d set on the side table to Yukinoshita’s mother and gave me a part of them too. Flicking through them, I could see the revisions from what Yukinoshita and the others had said the other day. Yukinoshita’s mother also examined through the documents but had a dull reaction to it with a somewhat sour expression.
Hiratsuka-sensei’s follow up itself was in line with my ideas. But, seeing the dummy prom completely as just an alternative plan made our persuasive attempts feel strongly like we were on the defence. Yukinoshita’s mother also had a troubled look as she turned her neck.
“I see… It looks as if you’re bringing together components to make persuasions, but I wonder if they would understand… Because there could be people on the inside also stubborn about this.”
Yukinoshita’s mother mixed her words with a bitter smile. Though her wording was different, it was something I’d heard somewhere before.
“Even if we continue talking like this, to change everyone’s opinions, they’d need to be here.”
Not paying attention as the other side continued to talk, I lightly closed my eyes and searched through my memories. If I remember correctly, it was Yukinoshita Haruno who’d said it; that she didn’t care about how the prom itself turned out.
In that case, for what reason did Yukinoshita’s mother bring up that subject here.
The answer was simple. Because it had resulted in a problem.
Yukinoshita’s mother had a way of solving it and the one tool required existed here. It would do nothing but erase the dispute; her idealism and actions didn’t matter. She had a habit of seeing things as problems and avoiding uproars. Thus, she was just playing along.
But that’s why we proposed the dummy prom; to lead her to something more reasonable. That aim itself was definitely not wrong.
It’s just, where we’d drawn the line was wrong. Methods are methods, tools are tools, and to that end, there was no concept of friend or foe.
This time, Yukinoshita’s mother was the messenger. She was only a negotiator sent by the other party.
My opponent in this game isn’t Yukinoshita’s mother. She was just another piece on the board; the strongest queen.
In that case, there was still a hand I could play.
There was probably just one person in this world, something only I could use, even if I wouldn’t be forgiven for using it just once; the absolute lowest and worst means.
However, if I only had one card left in my hand, then I had no choice but to play it.
“To persuade that ‘everyone’ you speak of, can we ask for your cooperation?”
Maybe my statement was unexpected, Yukinoshita’s mother tilted her head. A movement so innocent, I dropped a smile. Their reactions when they’re told something out of their expectations were truly so similar.
“There is a way of persuading them, isn’t there? Then wouldn’t the end result change depending on who says it?”
What’s important isn’t “what is said”, but “who says it” may be an overused phrase, but it is the truth. The subset of stubborn caregivers and such could be convinced if it was Yukinoshita’s mother saying it instead of me. They would also know they’d be dealing with an opponent who held a higher rank than themselves and it’s because of this I was asking for her assistance.
The nature of this game was nothing other than to take the opponent’s queen.
“...In fact, it wouldn’t be very persuasive if it was someone like me who isn’t really known by anybody talking.”
With a dry laugh and a pitiful voice, I had played check on the unknown black king.
“That’s not true. I think you’ve done well in such a short time. It was to the extent I became curious who it was.”
After Yukinoshita’s mother smiled and spoke as if she was truly impressed, she turned her neck.
“My apologies, had I asked you what your name is?”
And then she lowered her eyebrows and asked like she wasn’t that sorry.
In a moment, Hiratsuka-sensei held my wrist to restrain me. She understood well that if I said my name here, the other side would get some kind of meaning out of it.
But my turn had been over the moment the other side had asked. All that was left was to fulfil my role as another piece on the board.
This piece usually never had any use. They were good-for-nothings that had no place on the board except to take up space.
But, in just one circumstance were they capable of removing the queen from play.
“It’s Hikigaya Hachiman.”
When I named myself, Hiratsuka-sensei breathed out a small sigh as if she had given up and let go of my wrist.
“Hikigaya…”
Yukinoshita’s mother placed a hand to her mouth while repeating my name in a small voice and wandered her gaze downwards. Seeming like she finally remembered something, she raised her head.
“I see… You’re…”
I returned her gaze with a formal smile. I can’t do it as well as Hayama or Haruno-san, but I tried as best I could. Maybe it was effective, because Hiratsuka-sensei looked like she was playing dumb.
The problem starts here. As I’ve named myself, I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes in my statements or behaviour. Whether it be coercion, insolence, or even being overly sucking-up, any of it could be seen as intimidation.
And so, as long as I’ve been cornered, mistakes from now on will become my fault and becomes something the other side could take advantage of. That’s why I have to act with sincerity and convey that we have no ill intentions.
“We caused you terrible trouble on that occasion. Your parents were left with many things to do and excuse us that we couldn’t greet them.”
Her words were as flat as possible and her lowered head was neither too shallow nor deep. Just fulfilling with as much duty as she held responsible. There weren’t any other unnecessary emotions within.
This was one form of diplomatic etiquette. It wasn’t an excessive show, but just enough.
Maybe she thought the message was correctly conveyed, she returned to her composed self.
“We truly apologise for the trouble caused by one of our own. How was your leg injury? We offer our sincere apologies for the inconvenience it must have caused.”
I positively act in response to Yukinoshita’s mother deeply lowering her head.
“I made a full recovery thanks to you. To the point my leg became even sturdier than before. You can watch me dance when the prom is on.”
At that moment I moved just my foot around as my shoes made tapping noises and showed off how random my step work was. As I did so, Yukinoshita’s mother observed, placing her hand to her mouth as she pleasantly laughed.
“What bad manners.”
Hiratsuka-sensei hit my waist with a smack and thanks to that I could finally stop clowning around. I scowled at myself for acting so foolishly and I refrained from letting out a deep sigh.
Still smiling as Yukinoshita’s mother watched, her eyes narrowed and she murmured to herself.
“...has quite the nerve.”
Her gaze was so cold it made me feel as if she was evaluating me and I was being frozen solid. In those eyes that looked as if they could see through everything, I felt nauseous.
But that gaze soon loosened. Yukinoshita’s mother opened her folding fan and hid her mouth as she giggled. That was this person’s way of laughing honestly.
“I’ll do it.”
“Thank you for your help.”
Until the very end, I tried to maintain my composure as I answered; wiping the sweat from my forehead while pretending I was combing my fringe. My shirt was tightly sticking to me from cold sweat and my throat was so dry it hurt even just by breathing in.
Looking in hindsight, all I’d done was name myself and talk about that incident in the past. That name, that conversation, those themselves had no meaning. That’s why whoever heard it can give whatever meaning they want to it.
Yukinoshita’s mother had been smiling for some time now, but it disappeared as she flicked the fan closed.
“Alright… let me try talking to the caregivers. It would help if the teacher could also be present.”
“We will adjust to your schedule.”
I listened as the adults discussed business. My nervousness from before had been cleanly cut and I began to feel a surge of tiredness. Without realising it I was staring up at the ceiling, sighing deeply, and standing in a daze.
“Hikigaya. Can you do something for me?”
“Y-Yes.”
Suddenly being talked to, I straightened my back in panic. It looked like the conversation had progressed quite a lot while I hadn’t been listening.
“I can’t leave after this. Can you tell Yukinoshita to continue the revised plan for the prom? How you tell her, I’ll leave it to you.”
“Ha… I got it...”
Hiratsuka-sensei just nodded as I answered without having understood the flow of the conversation. Her eyes were telling me to hurry up and go. Well, it was true we didn’t have much time left until the prom. The decision-makers should be promptly told of this.
After I stood up, Yukinoshita’s mother sitting on the other end smiled.
“Hikigaya-kun. Let us meet again.”
“Hahaha… Please excuse me.”
Playing it off with a dry laugh and without giving a direct answer, I bowed and left the reception room. If possible, I didn’t want to meet her again...