The restaurant dimmed again, that mechanical hum pressing against their ears.
The voice asked:
"Next question: Who understands Hachiman Hikigaya best?"
The reactions came instantly.
"Oh, that's easy. Me," Hiratsuka said confidently, jabbing a thumb at herself. "I'm his teacher, after all. I've spent years watching him."
"As if," Iroha scoffed, flipping her hair. "Obviously it's me. I'm, like, his kouhai. And super cute."
"…You barely know him," Kawasaki muttered.
"I'll say Komachi," Yui offered timidly. "She's his sister, so she must understand him best."
"Komachi isn't present," Yukino interjected coolly.
"Then… maybe Yui-chan herself?" Ebina teased, grinning. "You're always sticking close to him."
Yui turned bright red. "I-I don't—!"
"Obviously Hayato," Yumiko declared, clinging to his arm.
Hayama gave her a pained smile. "…I don't think that's true."
"Of course it's me!" Zaimokuza bellowed, one foot on the booth like a general. "My sworn brother-in-arms! Our souls are bound by destiny!"
"…No one," Hachiman muttered under his breath. "That's the point."
The voice cut them off.
"Wrong. Commencing projection."
The Service Club room.
Hachiman slouched at the table, brushing off criticism with another self-deprecating remark.
"Stop lying," Yukino said sharply, her blue eyes unyielding.
He blinked, caught off guard.
Her inner thought echoed:
"…He thinks no one sees through him. But I do. Always."
The cultural festival.
Whispers, judgment, tension hanging heavy in the classroom. Hachiman shouldered the blame, painting himself as the villain again.
Yukino's voice cut through:
"…Don't decide everything on your own."
Her thought followed:
"…He'll always try to carry everything. Even if it breaks him. That's why someone has to stop him."
Another flash.
The Service Club again. Yui nervously chattering, Hachiman silent, head propped in his hand.
Yukino glanced at him, then set her book aside and simply sat near him.
No words. Just presence.
Her thought whispered:
"…He doesn't need pity. He doesn't need saving. He just needs someone who sees him, and stays."
The projection faded.
The voice declared:
"Answer: Yukino Yukinoshita."
The restaurant buzzed.
"Ehhh?! Yukino-senpai?!" Iroha squealed."…Expected," Kawasaki muttered."I-I thought maybe it was me…" Yui whispered, her lips trembling."Well, that's boring," Ebina pouted. "I wanted a plot twist.""Obvious," Haruno said, though her eyes glinted.
Yukino sat still, her composure like ice. But her knuckles were pale where they gripped her skirt.
Across the table, Hachiman muttered, "…Figures. She's always been annoyingly perceptive."
The voice intruded once more:
"Proceeding to the next question."
The lights brightened, but the mood in the room had shifted again — quieter, heavier, as if everyone knew the questions were only going to cut deeper from here.