At Sōbu High, even during break time, the divide between the popular kids and the social outcasts remained crystal clear.
Yukinoshita, a social misfit through and through, sat quietly at her desk solving problems, sketching diagrams, memorizing vocabulary. When she was focused, she became blind and deaf to the world.
Unbothered by gossip or idle chatter.
In the corner of Class 2-F, a group of popular girls clustered around Yui Yuigahama's desk. Though Yui herself sat quietly, the group's attention still centered on Yumiko Miura, who naturally held the air of someone born to be at the center of attention whether she was sitting, standing, or merely breathing.
When a bunch of high school girls gather, their topics almost always boil down to fashion or gossip. And today, the latest whispered rumor had everyone's ears perked:
"Is Yukinoshita secretly crushing on Yumiko?"
Yui hesitated for a moment before whispering, "We've been speculating nonstop, but it's all just our gut feelings, right…?"
She tactfully avoided mentioning how Yukinoshita had been cold and indifferent to everyone lately including Yumiko.
"Would Yukinoshita even like someone? Is that even possible?"
If someone said Yukinoshita could confess to a complete stranger and get a yes on the spot, if someone said she could go on a different date every day with a different guy no matter how ridiculous the rumor Yui wouldn't be surprised.
The only thing she found hard to believe… was Yukinoshita genuinely falling for someone.
Yukinoshita's sudden transformation into a diligent student had stirred up skepticism. Some people were waiting for her to slip up, others were cautiously hopeful. But Yui? She'd never believed in it for a second.
Whether it was a change of heart or a desire to better herself it was all just part of her latest scheme to mess with people's feelings.
Yumiko liked to act proud, like she'd never be caught dead getting close to Yukinoshita. But in truth, she was naïve, kindhearted, a little nosy, and at times comically easy to manipulate.
The idea of a reformed Yukinoshita harboring a silent crush on her? That was the perfect bait for someone like Yumiko. There was no way she'd stay cold.
Honestly, Yui believed that if Yukinoshita the new long-haired, straight-banged version ever made the effort, no one would be able to resist becoming her friend.
Or perhaps... even something more than a friend.
That was just how magnetic Yukinoshita could be.
Yui wasn't the type to force people into anything not others, and not herself. She tended to go with the flow. She hadn't known Yumiko long, maybe just over a year, but she did consider her a close friend.
Which is why she couldn't stand to see Yumiko walking down the same path she once had.
Junko Ueda tapped a finger against her lips, her eyes still on her phone, only half-listening to the conversation until now. Something she'd just read seemed to spark an idea, and her tone turned playful.
"This could actually be tested, don't you think?"
Yukinoshita the ex-school delinquent turned ice queen had definitely piqued her curiosity.
Turning toward Yumiko, Ueda flashed a mischievous grin.
"Yumiko, wanna test it out?"
"Who'd be interested in something so dumb?!"
"So... you're scared, huh?"
"Scared? Me? Get real."
Without hesitation, Yumiko grabbed a book off her desk and smacked Ueda on the head with it.
The queen of Sōbu High didn't take challenges lightly.
(Though truth be told, the queen of Sōbu High was incredibly easy to bait.)
"Say the word. The phrase 'I'm scared' isn't even in my vocabulary."
Yukinoshita felt a sharp pang of guilt for what little was left of her conscience.
A few days ago during gym, Yumiko Miura normally so athletic somehow twisted her ankle during warm-ups like she was a total klutz. It was baffling.
And, as expected, the system that had practically fused itself with Yukinoshita's soul responded instantly to the incident.
[System recommends: 88% chance of positive impact on reputation. Option: Carry Yumiko Miura to the nurse's office in a cool and confident bridal-style lift.]
Was this a joke?
Yumiko Miura the same girl who couldn't stand her, the reigning queen of the popular crowd, the campus celebrity adored by all, Yukinoshita's natural-born nemesis. There was no way she'd throw away her hard-earned "cold and distant" persona to do something so dramatic.
Back off, you manipulative reward prompts. Back. Off.
If it came to that, Yukinoshita would rather be booed out of school, exiled to the streets, or swan dive off the school building before she ever did something so humiliating.
…Okay.
Fine.
The truth?
She physically couldn't pull it off anyway.
Yukinoshita had terrible stamina. She'd even started taking Aikido lessons just to have some form of self-defense. But still, her strength left much to be desired.
If she attempted to carry Yumiko like that, it wouldn't look "cool and confident." It would look like she'd tripped over herself forty times before even making it out the door.
So, with great inner turmoil and no small amount of pain, Yukinoshita abandoned the mission.
Later that week, just before class ended, Yukinoshita sat at her desk, earbuds in, listening to English vocabulary drills. From the corner of her hearing, she vaguely caught her classmates returning to their seats, chatting loudly about something involving umbrellas.
Ugh. Noisy as ever. She turned up the volume on her phone and buried herself deeper in her work.
Blissful silence. Let the chaos of the outside world fade away.
But that peace shattered during the final period before dismissal.
Dark clouds swept in without warning, and rain came pouring down in a sudden, merciless downpour.
Several students began whispering in panic clearly caught off guard without umbrellas. But Yukinoshita remained unfazed.
She even gave herself a little mental pat on the back. Of course she was prepared. Mature, meticulous, thoughtful girls like her always were.
Well… in truth, it was more out of habit than anything. Years of being isolated had trained her to carry everything she might need.
The forecast that morning had mentioned a chance of rain. And for someone as catastrophically anxious as Yukinoshita, that was all the warning she needed.
After reviewing the day's lessons for ten minutes post-dismissal as was her routine she finally left the now mostly-empty classroom.
Just as she reached the doorway, her system chirped again.
[System recommends optimal action: Place umbrella in the public umbrella rack and leave the school without it.]
"…Are you serious?"
Why would that help her reputation?
At Sōbu High, students were discouraged from bringing wet umbrellas into classrooms. Each room had its own umbrella rack in the hallway to keep things clean.
So the system was suggesting that… she leave her umbrella behind? So someone else Yumiko could take it?
Was the entire school so petty that they'd only believe she had a heart if she got soaked in the rain?
This school... this system… they were somehow worse than that golden retriever version of herself from before.
Still grumbling, she shoved her umbrella into the rack and used her backpack to shield her head as she dashed into the rain.
She vanished quickly down the road.
Only after she left did a few remaining students slowly approach.
"Yumiko's the only one left in class without an umbrella," someone whispered. "She must've left it for her. No doubt about it."
"She let herself get drenched just to make sure Yumiko had a way home…"
Even Junko Ueda, who had come up with the experiment in the first place, looked stunned.
She'd seen the forecast and bet it wouldn't rain thinking the whole thing would be called off. Just in case, they'd tried baiting Yukinoshita during the last break: talking loudly about Yumiko not having an umbrella.
If it rained, they'd see if Yukinoshita had been paying attention. If not, well, they'd drop it.
But as if fate itself wanted to prove a point, the heavens had opened up during the final class.
No one had expected this.
That Yukinoshita the former delinquent, now cold and distant would willingly get soaked to make sure someone else stayed dry?
That wasn't apathy. That wasn't coincidence.
That was care.
That was… a crush.
Yumiko really hadn't brought her umbrella. Normally, she and her friends just huddled under one and shared. It was never a big deal.
But Yukinoshita, in her lovestruck haze, hadn't thought that far.
Kana Onozawa gasped dramatically. "Yumiko, she seriously likes you…"
Yui stared silently at the rain, eyes fixed on the spot where Yukinoshita had vanished.
Kana reached toward the umbrella rack, trying to grab the one Yukinoshita left behind, but Yumiko stopped her.
She clutched the umbrella to her chest, ears burning red and gaze darting all over the place.
Then, flustered beyond reason, she barked,
"Go hold your own umbrellas!"