"Eh??? Is this plan really okay?!"
After Yukinoshita explained her idea, Miura, with her wavy golden hair, widened her eyes in disbelief.
If she were a bit older, she'd undoubtedly be a stunning beauty with a commanding, queen-like presence.
But now, with such a dazzling appearance making such a naïvely innocent expression, it was like watching a sudden bloom of radiant flowers before your eyes an almost blinding brilliance.
"Will this really work?"
Though she asked hesitantly, a subtle excitement was already creeping into her expression. She gently grabbed Yukinoshita's hand and gave it an unconscious shake.
The two of them were sitting casually at a flat-roofed pavilion in the school courtyard, having found a spot along the stone bench to exchange information.
Miura twirled a pen between her fingers. "There's one thing I don't get. Nishimiya used to go to Kishou High School, right? Why would she suddenly transfer to Soubu?"
They were already in their second year. This wasn't exactly an ideal time to switch schools.
By now, most students had already cemented their social circles after a year of getting to know each other. For someone transferring in halfway, it was incredibly difficult to integrate.
And those who couldn't integrate… would be isolated.
"Ms. Hiratsuka said she visited the Nishimiya household," Yukinoshita replied. "It's a single-parent family. Her mother, who's always been strong-willed, has been raising both daughters on her own. Life hasn't been easy for them, especially with Shouko's condition. But recently, their family received charitable support from a certain company."
"The support came in the form of financial aid and an opportunity to attend Soubu High, which is a prestigious school."
Miura raised her eyebrows. "Still, even with that, transferring must've been tough on Nishimiya, right?"
Yukinoshita gave a quiet nod. "Her mother's very insistent. When Nishimiya was younger, she had her hair cut short her mother made that decision for her. She believed her daughter could be just as strong as anyone else, if not stronger."
Miura let out a soft sigh. "…Should we check out Class 1-D?"
Yukinoshita continued jotting down notes in her notebook. "If we were using Hikigaya's method, yes, we'd be going straight to Class 1-D and standing with the crowd. But doing that now would only alert them… Next page."
Miura opened her phone gallery and began scrolling through photos to show Yukinoshita. As the latter glanced briefly at each image, she noted personality traits and lines of analysis in her notebook with surprising ease.
Curious, Miura leaned in behind her. "Wait… is this criminal profiling?"
Coming from a family of doctors and growing up next door to the Hayama family lawyers by tradition Miura had occasionally heard strange tidbits from Hayama about the legal world.
She'd heard of professional profilers at the Public Security Bureau who could deduce someone's mental state by observing behavioral traces, allowing them to assess personality, living conditions, occupation, upbringing, and more.
"It's not that advanced," Yukinoshita replied calmly. "Just basic data consolidation and deduction. I learned a bit of it from my sister."
As the heir to the Yukinoshita family, Haruno had been required to master far more than most. Among those foundational skills was the ability to extract information from a person's facial expressions, movements, and behavior.
Haruno had long since graduated with top marks in that department. She could meet a stranger and, within minutes, deduce their preferences and dislikes then tailor her approach accordingly.
Yukinoshita herself had only learned part of it before setting it aside, so she didn't possess that level of insight. But simple character analysis? That she could manage.
"This girl her name is Kuramaki Kazue. She's the one who lost her wallet," Miura said, pulling up the saved photo on her phone. "I asked Ikeda about her yesterday. Apparently, she's pretty well-known in class."
Yukinoshita gave a soft "oh" of understanding.
A second-rate version of someone like Miura.
If Miura was what you'd call a "super high-school-level popular girl," then Kuramaki was the standard classroom-tier version.
Miura propped her chin in her hands. "It's only been a week. How did Class 1-D's attitude toward the transfer student deteriorate this fast?"
Yukinoshita's expression shifted immediately, her voice calm and knowing. "In any group, those in control secure their sense of superiority by singling out the weak. If they get everyone else to go along even passively they become complicit. That's how power solidifies."
Miura: "…"
Is the world really that terrifying???
But before she could say anything, Yukinoshita continued, "Of course, I doubt the students in Class 1-D are that calculating or skilled in manipulation. It's more likely they just went along with the flow complacent and indifferent."
Miura had heard some things about Yukinoshita's past from Hayama.
Back in elementary school, she'd already experienced more than her share of malice. All the ugliness and jealousy Yukinoshita had been through it far too early.
Her life was practically a living anti-bullying manual.
Miura quickly shifted the topic, showing her another photo. "Oh, and here this guy, Yoshida Fumio. He's a boy, so it's unlikely he's jealous of Nishimiya. But he's also been giving her a hard time subtly or not. Why?"
Yukinoshita let out a cold laugh. A faint shadow seemed to flicker behind her.
"Did you forget? Nishimiya Shouko is very pretty. She fits the kind of beauty most boys admire."
"So tell me who's easier to approach? A popular girl surrounded by friends, or a fragile girl shunned by everyone?"
Miura: "…"
That's so dark… but it makes so much sense.
Yukinoshita, just what have you lived through?
She glanced again at the photo of Nishimiya but didn't jot anything down this time.
"The only person we'll be able to talk to later is Shouko," she said softly. "I'm worried about her mental state."
Miura blinked. "…Huh?"
Yukinoshita's voice dropped, like something heavy had quietly brushed against the floor of her memory.
"When someone's been trapped in malice and pain for too long, the first ray of light they see… they might mistake it for love."
Miura's heart softened at those words.
She had an impulse to reach out and ruffle Yukinoshita's hair but her gaze drifted instead to the sliver of pale neck showing through the strands of the girl's dark hair. Smooth as porcelain. Almost translucent.
She wanted…
She wanted to touch it. Just once.
Lately, she'd been having these strange urges toward Yukinoshita more and more.
And just then, Yukinoshita turned back toward her. "And more impor-"
Miura, sitting only inches away, felt something soft brush gently across her forehead like a snowflake melting at the edge of spring.
Time seemed to freeze in that instant. The dark-haired girl's widened eyes, the rustling leaves in the breeze, and the distant, far-off sounds of campus life all fell into silence.
In that one suspended moment, the whole world stood still.
And in her mind, it felt as if countless flowers were blooming bursting into brilliant flames.
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