oregairu-vtc1

Chapter t1. Haruno Yukinoshita is Plotting Something yet Again

The jazz melody playing in the cafe seemingly became louder. I hadn’t even noticed it before. But now I started hearing all those “pam-pam-pam-toosh” being played somewhere inside the cafe. These sounds were too different from the traditional New Year chants, and I couldn’t calm myself down though when I sat in place.
My restless eyes that were roaming around the table a moment before now switched to the people sitting down at our table. Yuigahama was looking at them in confusion, her eyes full of worry. The reason of her confusion was located right at the other end of the table. Unlike Yuigahama, Haruno Yukinoshita had a bright smile.
After having accidentally encountered us she wished us happy new yeah, made some polite conversation and moved to our table.
“Been a long time since I’ve seen Hikigaya-kun and Gahama-chan together!”
“Yeah, what a coincidence!”
“I know right?”
“Mhm!”
I listened to their merry conversation and couldn’t shake off the feeling that it all was for show. I felt sweat trickling down my spine from this thought. Wondering why they did that I looked at Haruno-san sitting opposite of me. She noticed my look, smiled knowingly, hmm’ed and slowly squinted. Her eyes now resembled those of a predator who spotted the prey. I felt chills despite the functioning heat.
Averting my eyes from Yuigahama and Haruno-san I noticed Hayato Hayama’s awkward look; he tried to smile while carefully giving affirmative responses to the girls and completing his order. So good to be the guy who can read the mood… That meant I too could occupy myself to buy some time, I got it! Superb, I’m impressed! Gotta make a crane or a rabbit from tissues. I was just going to start when I heard the conversation that worried me.
“So date, huh… You’re friendly as always. No Yukino-chan this time?” Haruno-san asked with a smile while playfully nudging Yuigahama.
“Um, we just came to pick Yukinon’s present.”
“Oooh, her birthday’s coming soon. Right.” Haruno-san nodded, then fetched her cellphone and start dialing. Hayama saw that and made a wry smile.
“She’ll probably won’t pick up. She told she wouldn’t come,” Hayama said, seemingly to keep the conversation going.
“Yep. But maybe she changed her mind?” Haruno-san replied and brought the cellphone to her ear. Her eyes squinted and I couldn’t comprehend what she was thinking, but she clearly was having fun.
“If she answers the phone, she’ll most probably come. Come on, pick up the phone, your big sis is being sad here...” Haruno-san pretended to cry. She redialed while staring at her phone. Yuigahama eyed Haruno-san with a strange look. Hayama apparently understood what she thought.
We have a tradition of gathering our families every New Year for a dinner. We’re waiting for the parents right now.”
“Oh… Congratulating everyone is probably hard...” Yuigahama muttered, impressed.
“Not really once you get used to it,” Hayama replied. Right. Especially with thouse communication skills of yours. Or more like the not-upsetting-anyone skills. But yeah, such things are a matter of habit. Hayama’s people skills were of course high, but going through this several times certainly helped.
And Hayama had plenty of opportunities to attend public events thanks to both school and his parents’ wealth and status. I was his complete opposite. Even though I attend the school I don’t engage in communications with people. My family wasn’t any better: I couldn’t even properly greet the relatives. Probably that’s why Hayama’s words “we’re waiting for parents” grabbed my attention.
“Hey...” I said, not knowing how to start a conversation with him properly. Hayama turned to me and showed he was listening.
“Then we’ll be in you way. Maybe we should go somewhere else?”
“Oh, right,” Yuigahama agreed. But Hayama just shook his head and reassured us with a smile.
“No worries. I’m sure Haruno-san’s glad she has someone to spend time with,” He said and looked at Haruno-san. She was still sitting with the phone by her ear but apparently overheard our conversation since she quietly nodded. Seeing this Hayama turned to us.
“See? Nothing to worry about,” He said hinting for me to agree with him. I didn’t.
“It’s gonna be uncomfortable talking to your parents.”
We just stumbled upon each other. Meeting their parents would be real awkward. Please postpone the meeting until the time we get to know each other better, I mentally replied Irohasu-style and looked at Haruno-san, who now was sitting absentmindedly diagonally from me.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Even if you say so...” I said and Haruno squinted at me. Hey, I’m not that close with Hayama. Oh god why do I have to go through this?
“Hmmm….” Haruno-san said with a bored tone. Then her face lit up as if she got an idea and she started redialing again.  Most probably trying to reach Yukinoshita. It wasn’t too loud inside the shop so I could clearly hear the dial tone. But Yukinoshita didn’t pick and Haruno-san only heard the voice mail announcement instead, so she constantly cut the call and dialed again.
What, another redial? What are you, Hiratsuka-sensei? My god. She had probably inherited this trait from her teacher. If someone had been calling like that to me, my phone battery would have died long ago. Haruno meanwhile dialed the number with the dull eyes, then again, and again, and again.
“Oh?” She said in surprise. Apparently the surprise was genuine. I heard the tired voice coming from the phone.
“Hello...” Yukinoshita said with a sad voice. Haruno-san’s tone, on the contrary, was perky.
“Hey there Yukino-chan! It’s your big sis! Can you come to us?”
“I’m ending the call.”
So fast!  Both Yuigahama and Hayama smiled wryly. But Haruno-san seemed to get used to such a reaction, so she immediately replied with a merry voice:
“Oh really?”
“... What is it?”
Haruno-san smiled:
“Imagine that: I’m with Hikigaya-kun right now!”
“Stop lying. What-”
“Hikigaya-kun, here,” Haruno-san said and immediately pushed her phone to me..
“Hey- Wait-”
I looked at the phone, then at Haruno-san, but she hid her hands behind her back and clearly didn’t want to take the phone back. I heard Yuikinoshita’s voice from the receiver; she was calling Haruno-san. Okay, fine, I’ll reply.
“Ummm… hey,” I said, not knowing what exactly to say. Judging by the silence afterwards she was speechless. Then I heard an exhale.
“I’m astonished. What are you doing there?”
I would like to know that myself. Initially I was shopping...
“I was passing by and she caught me,” I said at the evil boss while trying to explain myself. But Yukinoshita stopped me with another sigh.
“Fine, I’m going. Give the phone to my sister.”
“Yah, sorry,” I apologised for some reason, wiped the phone with the tissue and gave it to Haruno-san. She conversed with Yukinoshita for some time and ended the call.
“Yukino-chan is coming!” She said with the satisfied smile. Somehow me and Yuigahama didn’t share her delight. She really liked to make people do what she wanted. Well, I knew that before of course, but seeing it happen before your eyes was really eery.
Hayato Hayama made a sad sigh, as if agreeing with us. He probably was the only one who was used to this trait of hers. Or maybe he gave up already. That tired smile of his wasn’t the one that was formed in one day.
“And what did you buy?” Haruno-san asked putting her phone away and moved closer to Yuigahama. The latter showed her the contents of her bag.
“I, um, bought her the indoors socks...”
“Hm… Oh, yeah, her apartment’s floor’s real cold this time of the year.”
“I know right? I visited her some time ago and the floor was really chilly.”
“Yeah, don’t like the cold either.”
They were chatting just like the normal girls would. Me and Hayama meanwhile didn’t have much to talk about, so we just kept on listening.
“A birthday present...” Hayama muttered and looked at me.
“What did you buy by the way?”
“This and that.”
“Okay,” he replied and turned away and continued listening to whatever Yuigahama and Haruno-san were talking about, saying something on his own from time to time. I instead simply watched the seconds hand on his wrist watch slowly circle. It simply moved in intervals without changing the tempo.  After each full revolution it returned to the beginning. But the image the clock hands created together was never the same, even though nothing changed for the second hand. Yet it constantly was in a different position in relation to other hands.
“Maybe I should present her something too. Been a long time since I’ve done that,” Haruno-san noted suddenly while looking at the gift wrap, then threw a glance at Hayama.
“What do you think, Hayato?”
“Yeah...”
Hayama shrugged and turned to the window. Somehow I didn’t think he looked at the street lamps lighting up. I looked at his glass reflection and suddenly had a thought: what had he presented to her in the past?
x x x
Time passed by uncomfortably slowly. Almost half an hour had passed since the call to Yukinoshita. To reach us from her apartment she’ll need some more time. And it was us who called here over so far from her place, and now we couldn’t leave. The coffee I’ve sipped was long gone, and the cloud of steam from the teapot was also no more. Yuigahama was fidgeting on her seat in irritation, throwing glances at the entrance. The only calm person here was Haruno-san. She checked something on her phone, then tapped the screen and showed something to Hayama.
“Check it out.”
“Quite cute, yes,” Hayama said with a smile. Haruno-san hmm’ed and smiled.
“Such a typical answer from you, Hayato,” she replied and Hayama shrugged. I didn’t know what she asked him about, but his reply was too polite. But yeah, that indeed was typical of him. Haruno-san immediately lost interest in us, stood up, moved to me and showed her phone screen to me. The screen showed some kind of pajama. Unsaturated pastel colors, some sweets-like thingies; overall it was really cute. Yuigahama looked at it too and whispered “cute”. Seemed like Haruno-san had been studied it for some time already. And judging by the current conversation she was going to present it to Yukinoshita.
“What do you say, Hikigaya-kun?” Haruno-san asked. She was now lying on the table, supporting herself with her elbows and dangling the phone in her hand. I couldn’t decide what to look for: her phone or her herself. She meanwhile looked me in the eyes. Why would you need such deep cleavage anyway? And your face is too close! Were this some kind of game where I had to stare at the screen, I’d lose it instantly!
“Quite cute, yes,” I said averting my eyes from Haruno-san.
“Cynical answer. So you, Hikigaya-kun,” Haruno-san proudly smiled and sat back to her seat, placed her order and started fiddling with her phone again. I was getting tired from this conversation. Sighing quietly I closed my eyes and lowered my head. Some time later Yuigahama noticed something and called. I raised my head to look and found Yukinoshita walking briskly to us.
“Yukinon, we’re here!” Yuigahama said waving her hand. Yukinoshita noticed us and approached our table.
“Yuigahama-san, you’re here too?” she asked in surprise.  Oh, yeah, I didn’t mentioned it when we talked.
“Yeah, ummm… Me and Hikki were shopping when we were caught,” Yuigahama said giggling and touched her hair bun. She was apparently in doubt about saying were were shopping for her presents, so the phrase turned out to have a double meaning.
“Shopping… All right.” Yukinoshita replied and started throwing suspicious glances  to me and Yuigahama. Feeling pressure from the question unasked Yuigahama started looking at me and Yukinoshita too. They didn’t say anything, just exchanged glances. Silence fell again, even though not for long. I heard only the other patrons talking, cups clicking on saucers, quiet music, waitstaff’s footsteps and  Haruno-san’s muffled giggling. So many sounds yet the silence was somehow unnerving.
“Take a seat maybe?” Hayama decided to break the silence. Yuigahama moved on the sofa abruptly.
“S-sit here,” she called pointing to the now free seat.
“Oh, thanks,” Yukinoshita said and obediently put off her coat, carefully folded it and sat down. Then she turned to Yuigahama.
“I apologize for causing you trouble.”
“No, it’s okay,” Yuigahama said waving her hands. Yukinoshita exhaled, seemingly calming down. After that she turned to me and looked somewhere above.
“Hikigaya-kun, umm...”
“No problem, didn’t have anything better to do anyway.”
I didn’t have any plans as to what to do when we were done with the shopping. I even felt relief that we weren’t left alone together. Though I couldn’t say I was glad I’ve encountered these people either. The culprit meanwhile smile provocatively.
“Yukino-chan, you’re late.”
“You called me out of the blue and then you dare ask such questions?” Yukinoshita answered with a dark side glance. Haruno-san only looked at her in amusement. Yuigahama, as if caught between a rock and a hard place, simply tried to smile. No! Stop fighting, o Yukinoshita Sisters!
“But Yukino-chan came here as quickly as she could...” it was said by a kind and lively voice to lighten the mood some. Hearing him address Yukinoshita-like that I turned to the source of the voice, Hayato Hayama. He realized that he said too much and smiled to smooth it.
Yukinoshita just quietly stared at him. He shrugged.
“Yukinoshita-san, would you like to order something?”
“Black tea, please...” she finally replied. Hayama quickly made an order. When the tea was brought Haruno-san made a long sigh.
“Been so long since we gathered to drink tea like this.”
“Yeah,” Hayama agreed.
Yukinoshita just closed her eyes, the teacup steady in her hands. Conversation stopped abruptly, and Yuigahama tried to resume it.
“Ah, um… Hayato-kun is your acquaintance?”
“Yep! He’s the only child so his parents really spoiled us too. Right, Yukino-chan?”
“Not really for me...”
“Oh come on. Not just his parents, everyone did.”
But neither Haruno-san’s words nor Hayama’s ear-to-ear smile didn’t affect Yukinoshita. Though Haruno-san seemingly was bothered by this at all, as she turned away.
“Been so long time ago. You were little, so when your parents were busy they left you in my care.”
Hering it Yukinoshita frowned.
“You’re getting things wrong. In fact you just dragged us along wherever you wanted. It was horrible,” Yukinoshita said putting the cup on a saucer and threw a cold look to Haruno-san. Hayama reacted to that.
“Oh, right. That time in the zoo was bad.”
“And the seaside park too. She left us alone, she shook the Ferris wheel pod...”
Their faces become gloomy after they had to remember the dark times. Haruno-san instead only merrily confirmed Yukinoshita’s story.
“Yep, yep, true that. Yukino-chan used to cry a lot.”
“I didn’t. Stop making things up.”
“I dooon’t! Right, Hayato?”
“Hehe. Well, I wouldn’t say...”
Haruno-san recalled stuff, Hayama said something to that, Yukinoshita quietly nodded. Watching them talk about their past, I suddenly realised something. No matter what they said, they did spend considerable time together and experienced things together. An outsider had no place in those memories. Even Yuigahama didn’t try to take part in the conversation, to say nothing about me. I didn’t know what kind of relationships they had in the past, and even if I did nothing would change. All I could do was sip my bitter coffee and quip some neutral phrases from time to time. And imagine some things.
I was asked once: what would have changed had I attended their primary school? What did I answer back then? Deep in the recollections of the past, I suddenly heard the cup being put on the saucer. I turned to the source of the sound and saw Haruno-san, who propped her face with her hands and was now looking at Hayama and Yukinoshita with an unreadable look.
“You were so cute back then. And are so boring now,” Haruno-san’s beautiful shining lips uttered, smiling but with an icy tone. Everyone fell silent. Yukinoshita clenched her fists on the table while Hayama pursed his lips and turned away. Yuigahama looked at me, worried. Seeing the silence Haruno-san smiled.
“But now I have Hikigaya-kun. You couldn’ve cuddled her, you know. Would’ve been fun.” Haruno-san said finishing her phrase. I felt chills down my spine that very instant. She now stared at me, her eyes questioning but dark at the same time.
“Well, nothing physical please...” I said turning away so I wouldn’t drown in Haruno-san’s eyes. She smirked in response.
“That’s why I wanna cuddle you. Cute fluffy Hachiman, come to me,” and with those words she tried to put her hand on my head. I dodged her at the last moment.
“Oh, he ran away,” Haruno-san said kindly, like an elder sister. It was rare for me to see an older smiling beauty like this, so I couldn’t say I didn’t like it. And I didn’t care if this was a real face or a pretense anymore. No person wouldn’t try to be cuter than they were, like Iroha Isshiki. You can’t blame people for that.
What I was really afraid of was Haruno-san’s darkness, the glimpses of which I caught. Right now, though, Haruno-san didn’t say anything anymore. Instead she smiled and changed the topic.
“On topic of all things physical. You have a marathon at the end of a month, right?”
“Yeah, at the end of the month,” Yuigahama answered. Haruno-san was surprised.
“Oh, not in February this year?”
“Yes. The homeroom teacher said they are shifting the schedule this year,” Hayama replied calmly. Yukinoshita’s face darkened. Oh yeah, you and your lack of stamina. She probably never liked these things.
Now carefree atmosphere was back again. It was all fine and good, but the company of five people having conversation drew attention. Of course we didn’t look overly flashy, but we still stood out. Well, they stood out… I felt the stares from behind the entrance. They all were very beautiful people. So beautiful they turned heads while walking down the street. Because of that I got the impression I became even more invisible. I’m a shadow… But the brighter the light, the darker the shadow. I’ve got nothing better to do, so I’ll just stay in the background. Just like Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. Since I didn’t take part in their talks I instead sipped my coffee more often, so the cup became empty quickly. Perfect timing! A good reason to stand up.
“Sorry, gotta step out,” I quickly said and left. In fact I didn’t have anything that urgent to do. In general, when you say “I’m stepping out” in such cafes or restaurants, everyone understands the meaning. So no one will stop you or be in your way. Probably that’s why people drink diuretic drink like tea, coffee or alcohol when they gather. They also help smooth the atmosphere, or, to be more precise, to reset it. For example if you happened to attend a banquet and encounter an unpleasant person you can always leave for the bathroom, then return and pick a different table. Maybe we should sell tea, coffee and something else under the mysterious slogan “beverage for traditional conversations”, the sales would raise. Or not. Thinking about it all on the way to the exit, I suddenly heard a very alarming phrase.
“Oh, I’ve got some business too,” a merry, perky voice said. All too merry to my taste even, to the point of being a lie. I heard the sound of quick footsteps behind me. She tapped my shoulder and I turned over. It was her.
“Take a walk with a big sis, will you? It won’t take long.” Haruno Yukinoshita said with a smile and a tilt of her head.
“But I’m, well...” I refused with a frozen smile on my own and started slowly walking to the exit, but her hand was still on my shoulder. Hmmm, I can run away this way! But at the very same moment her hand slid down and grabbed my arm firmly.
“Don’t be so cold. Let’s go on a date, Hachiman,” She whispered in my ear, suddenly drawing closer. Now that was one hell of a killer phrase. I couldn’t muster any resistance whatsoever and simply walked where she guided me, leaving the cafe behind.