Hikigaya Hachiman's gaze kept drifting around uneasily.
There were two reasons for this.
First, the seat closest to the corner—the safest position in the room, as far as he was concerned—had already been claimed by a black, naturally curly-haired boy with an easygoing, friendly smile. His sanctuary was gone.
Second, ever since he'd entered the room, he'd been under the unbroken scrutiny of Yukinoshita Yukino.
As for Hiratsuka Shizuka, after delivering him here, she'd waved her sleeve and left without a second thought—very clearly handing control of the situation over to the two students present.
"That teacher didn't even knock before coming in…"
The beautiful girl whose demeanor was as cold and composed as her name spoke calmly.
"My name is Yukinoshita Yukino. Please, have a seat. You may start your self-introduction whenever you like."
Just like that, the girl with an untouchable, look-but-don't-approach reputation throughout the school sat there with icy poise.
"Nice to meet you, nice to meet you. You're Hikigaya-kun, right?"
The curly-haired boy smiled brightly and spoke up.
"I'm Narumi Tōru. Narumi's fine, Tōru's fine too— whatever you prefer. Looking forward to working with you~"
Compared to Yukinoshita, the curly-haired boy—smiling brightly and clearly good with people—didn't seem like a big deal at first glance.
And yet, Hikigaya couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen that harmless-looking face somewhere before.
One thing was certain, though:
Both of their social levels were way above his.
What is this, some kind of prank? These two look like a gloomy loner × cheerful extrovert "normie" mixed doubles team…
"Uh… n-nice to meet you. I'm Hikigaya Hachiman…"
Interacting with strangers was like sitting on needles for him, but for someone who'd spent his life being ignored and overlooked, the hardest part was always taking that first step of self-introduction.
"Oh! Hachiman Daibosatsu!"
The boy calling himself Narumi Tōru pressed his palms together solemnly, then grinned and winked.
"That's a great name. Just hearing it makes you feel blessed and protected."
So people he'd met in the simulation really could meet again in reality.
To be honest, Hikigaya had left a pretty good impression on Narumi back in the simulation—a classic case of sharp tongue, soft heart. If they could get along just as well in real life, that would be even better.
I—I wasn't ignored… I even got complimented on my name…?!
The sudden praise from the curly-haired boy completely overturned Hikigaya's understanding of social interaction. He froze for a moment, then hastily found a seat while trying to hide the unnatural redness creeping onto his face.
"..."
What he didn't notice was that Yukinoshita Yukino had been watching their interaction the entire time with a subtle, probing gaze—only withdrawing it once Hikigaya finally sat down.
She vaguely remembered something like this happening before—the familiar scene felt like part of an endless loop replaying itself again and again.
"So, Hikigaya-kun," Yukinoshita said after clearing her throat, putting on her club president demeanor, "are you here to join the Service Club, or to submit a request?"
"Uh… honestly, I don't really want to do either…"
His voice grew quieter as he spoke, and his dead fish eyes drifted unconsciously toward the approachable-looking Narumi beside him.
"N-Narumi, you're part of the Service Club too?"
Compared to Yukinoshita, who clearly looked hard to get along with, Narumi—friendly and also male—felt much safer.
"Huh? Me?"
After chuckling lightly, Narumi gave an ambiguous answer.
"Well… what do you think?"
"That's… not very clear."
"As long as you think I am, then I am. And if you don't, then I'm not."
The boy was smiling, yet there was not the slightest hint of laughter in the curve of his eyes.
Alarm bells rang loudly in Hikigaya's head. Based on years of observing humanity, this guy might actually be far more dangerous than Yukinoshita, who was cold but straightforward.
"Don't listen to his nonsense," Yukinoshita cut in flatly. "Right now he's basically a half-off-the-books member."
She didn't give Narumi any room to play it up, instantly exposing his deliberate mystification.
"And just like you, Hikigaya-kun, he's another hot potato Hiratsuka-sensei dumped on me."
Narumi snapped his fingers with satisfaction. Despite wearing a pleased expression, the words coming out of his mouth were pure self-deprecation.
"Yup~ That's the truth. We're sewer rats. Filthy bugs hiding in the sunny corners of youth, observing humanity while pretending to be superior and satisfying ourselves. That's why we've been exiled here, right, Hikinezumi?"
"Some of that might be true, but please don't lump me into that group." Hikigaya forced a strained smile, "And where did that extremely-not-hard-to-say nickname even come from?"
He never would've imagined that here, of all places, he'd somehow end up being the relatively normal one.
The exchange felt oddly familiar.
Yukinoshita Yukino remained silent, but her sharp eyes carefully tracked every move Narumi made as he talked with Hikigaya.
"And you—what excuse did Hiratsuka-sensei use to drag you here?" Hikigaya continued. "You didn't write something honest on a form you shouldn't have, did you?"
"Uh… that's not important!"
"So you did write it, didn't you?!"
Nope. You've been deceived.
"Perfect timing. I was curious about that too."
Yukinoshita, who had been quietly sipping her tea, raised her chin slightly, a hint of amusement appearing on her face.
"Hikigaya-kun, don't be fooled by Narumi-kun's rather unintelligent appearance. He's actually very good at diverting topics and controlling the flow of conversation."
"Oh, thank you for calling me a handsome idiot, Yukinoshita!"
"Did I say even half a word about 'handsome'?"
"Being handsome is an objective fact. Adding it on doesn't change anything."
"Then I'll reject that without any subjective emotion."
The topic's already being derailed!
Hikigaya's dead fish eyes darted around. He was now absolutely convinced that this boy possessed terrifying conversational control.
What he didn't know was that beneath Yukinoshita Yukino's outward calm, she felt a quiet sense of disappointment.
So there's no absurd 'down-on-his-luck novelist profile' this time… Even if the writing was terrible, if it had shown up…
Then the likelihood that the Narumi Tōru before her really was the down-on-his-luck novelist "Narumi Tōru" she knew would rise a little more.
"Well, well, does the reason you were labeled a problem child really matter that much?"
The curly-haired boy glanced at the slightly dazed Hikigaya and smoothly guided the conversation back.
"Don't you two think our current situation feels a lot like the opening of a movie once dubbed 'the greatest teen film of all time'?"
"The greatest teen film… Stand by Me?" Yukinoshita thought for a moment and offered her guess.
"He probably means The Breakfast Club," Hikigaya said, still not quite used to this atmosphere—hesitating so much he almost raised his hand before answering.
"Correct."
Narumi grinned and gave him a thumbs-up, a small dimple appearing on his clean, refined face.
"Problem kids are forced into detention by the principal, locked in a room together until they write an essay titled 'Who Am I.' That's not so different from our situation now, right?"
Seeing both of them looking a bit lost, Narumi stood up from his chair, growing more animated as he explained.
"At the end of the day, adults have always looked at us through fixed lenses. Using the simplest words, the most convenient labels: a rich girl with strange ideals, a socially withdrawn shut-in, a mentally unstable little lunatic. Who's next? As long as we're problem children, we're all the same once we're gathered here."
As Narumi spoke passionately, the previously flippant air around him vanished entirely. Yukinoshita Yukino, who'd been half-lidded until now, held her breath and listened intently.
Trigger keyword: "movie."
If even their hobbies overlapped this much… then surely…
"Does a madman care why he was locked up in a mental hospital? No! Does a madman care what diagnosis the other patients have? Also no! We're all insane anyway! We're the mentally ill of the 21st century!"
Yukinoshita more or less understood what Narumi was doing—using exaggerated, mock-worthy theatrics to help the newly arrived Hikigaya shed his discomfort and blend in as quickly as possible.
Even though he wasn't doing exactly the same things as in the simulation, the core logic behind his actions was strikingly similar.
So he really is…
"And who are you calling mentally ill?!"
Hikigaya's expression softened without him realizing it as he laughed back—clear proof that Narumi's goal had already been achieved.
Come to think of it, 21st Century Mental Patient sounded like the name of a rock song.
"…Ah."
At that moment, Hikigaya remembered where he'd seen the curly-haired boy before.
"I remember now… you're…"
In his memory, the boy had shown up during the guitar club's recruitment. Hikigaya, fresh into the school year, had noticed him in passing.
Why?
Because that applicant's skill had been, frankly, indescribable—and his ears still hadn't recovered.
"—The bassist who brought a bass to audition for the guitar club and played so badly it was physically painful to listen to!"
"…Pfft."
For the first time, Yukinoshita Yukino completely lost her composure, letting out a snort of laughter with no malice behind it.
The curly-haired boy rubbed his natural curls, not the least bit embarrassed.
"Hey, hey. Going to a guitar club to play bass is totally rock 'n' roll, okay?"