But in the end, the only thing this girl stood to gain was a parting.
Lin Ye would never end up with Rui Tachibana.
Bringing the matter up with Rui Tachibana today hadn't been because Lin Ye had asked her to help. She had come to settle this issue entirely of her own accord.
But clearly, Rui Tachibana wasn't going to accept it so easily. Her feelings for Lin Ye ran deep.
"No need to thank me. I have a certain amount of involvement in this," Yukino Yukinoshita said, shaking her head. "Student Tachibana, please prepare yourself. As far as I understand it, Student Lin intends to come and explain things to you, and to break up with you."
"Mm, I understand. Thank you for the warning. I'll prepare myself. But my answer is still the same. I won't accept it."
Yes.
Rui Tachibana would not accept it.
She had gone through so much to get Lin Ye to agree, to make the two of them officially lovers. How could she possibly accept that outcome without a fight?
She thought back to all the times she had taken the initiative, all the hints she'd dropped. She had even told him that if he agreed, she was willing to fulfill the duties of a girlfriend.
That was as good as saying outright that she was willing to sleep with him. And still, Lin Ye had refused.
It had thrown her into a spiral of self-doubt.
And now, when Lin Ye had finally agreed to date her, how could she possibly let go so easily?
She meant to use this relationship to reach her goal: to understand the love her sister spoke of, and to learn from Lin Ye's own mouth exactly what secret had passed between him and her sister.
At the very least, this relationship as lovers gave her more confidence.
Compared to what they'd had before, this new arrangement offered far more avenues to work with.
Faced with Rui Tachibana's resolve, Yukino had no further options. All she could do was accept it.
Rui Tachibana's one-sided determination wouldn't change anything anyway. Lin Ye's stance was firm. At worst, he would use Hypnosis to make her agree to the breakup.
Yes.
By now, Yukino Yukinoshita had realized that she was gradually coming to accept Lin Ye using Hypnosis to handle problems that were nearly impossible to resolve by normal means.
Some things really were too difficult to solve any other way.
"Goodbye, Student Tachibana."
With that parting word, Yukino Yukinoshita rose and left.
On the way back, though, she caught sight of a figure standing at the entrance to the International Class.
It was Meguri Shiromeguri. The Student Council President of Sobu High.
"Student Yukinoshita."
Spotting the person she'd been waiting for, Meguri Shiromeguri walked straight over, a trace of nervousness and worry on her face.
"How did things go after yesterday? Is Sis Haruno all right?"
She was perfectly fine, of course.
Shizuka Hiratsuka had worried about the wrong person. Meguri Shiromeguri, on the other hand, was worried about Haruno.
Which, honestly, left Yukino at a bit of a loss.
The one who had bullied Meguri Shiromeguri was her sister. And the one Meguri Shiromeguri was worried about was her sister.
If Meguri Shiromeguri ever learned the truth, there was no telling how she would react.
In that moment, an impulse welled up in Yukino Yukinoshita: to tell Meguri Shiromeguri the truth, to let her know that the person who had bullied her was her sister Haruno. She very much wanted to see what expression Meguri Shiromeguri would wear then.
But in the space of a blink, the thought was snuffed out.
Yukino Yukinoshita simply wasn't the sort of girl who took private amusement in such things, and she wanted even less to become a woman like her sister. So she resisted the temptation of that little entertainment.
"Um... Sis Haruno, is she..."
Seeing Yukino Yukinoshita's odd reaction, Meguri Shiromeguri grew anxious.
She had enormous faith in Haruno, but if Lin Ye had resorted to threats, would Sis Haruno have been forced to compromise?
After all, some things, once exposed, were hard for anyone to bear. Even if Sis Haruno didn't consider herself, she would have to consider the Yukinoshita family.
That was what ran through Meguri Shiromeguri's mind.
"It's fine, President Meguri. There's no need for you to worry so much."
Yukino Yukinoshita's answer put Meguri Shiromeguri's mind somewhat at ease.
If Yukino, the younger sister, said so, then Meguri Shiromeguri could relax.
No matter how poor a relationship two sisters had, a younger sister couldn't possibly not care about her elder sister.
It never occurred to Meguri Shiromeguri that Yukino wouldn't care about Haruno's safety and well-being. Compared to whatever Yukino had with Lin Ye, blood ties between sisters were surely the closer bond.
"Thank you."
"It's nothing. If anything, I should be thanking you, President, for caring about my sister."
"No, no, no, it's really nothing. Sis Haruno was my Senpai, and she looked after me a great deal back then. This time she even came all the way to Sobu High herself, for my sake, to stop Lin-kun from... uh, ahem, from that. So it's the most natural thing in the world for me to be worried about her."
Having said her piece, Meguri Shiromeguri gave Yukino Yukinoshita a grateful nod, then turned and headed back to her own classroom.
During second period, however, she received a message from Haruno.
The message drained the color from her face.
She couldn't sit still after that. She got up, went to her homeroom teacher's office, and requested leave for the afternoon.
The teacher agreed without asking many questions.
At noon, once she'd finished the bento she'd brought with her, Meguri Shiromeguri formally left Sobu High and made her way to a certain high-end apartment.
Meanwhile, on the other side of things, the Service Club had only three people in it: Yukinoshita, Yui Yuigahama, and Iroha Isshiki.
Iroha Isshiki picked listlessly at her food, her eyes dull.
"Why didn't Senpai come today? Did something happen?"
Iroha Isshiki knew about yesterday, about Haruno Yukinoshita taking Lin Ye away.
"I'm sure nothing serious happened," Yui Yuigahama answered automatically, swallowing a piece of chicken.
She knew about yesterday too, and she still couldn't work out why Yukinon's sister would show up at school out of nowhere to haul Lin Ye off, acting like he'd done something terrible.
What had the three of them done after they left? What had happened?
Yui Yuigahama was dying to know.
Right then, both club members turned to look at Yukino Yukinoshita at the same time, waiting for an answer.
This time, Yukino Yukinoshita was the only one who knew, the only one who could give the two of them an answer and satisfy their curiosity.
"Ow..."
Yui Yuigahama felt something press down on the top of her foot.
At first she was puzzled, but then she caught Iroha Isshiki's pointedly meaningful stare, and understanding dawned.
"Yukinon... um, yesterday... did something happen between you and Student Lin?"
It was obviously a cue for her to ask the question, and Yui Yuigahama went along with it. She was the one closest to Yukinon, after all. Fine, let her be the one to ask.
"Nothing much."
That answer, naturally, satisfied neither Yui Yuigahama nor Iroha Isshiki.
"Senpai, just tell us. Maybe we could offer some ideas and help sort it out," said Iroha Isshiki, convinced she had something to contribute.
"Right. If Student Lin did something bad, we could help make it up to you," Yui Yuigahama added.
She didn't say anything about whether Yukinoshita's sister Haruno had come to cause trouble. She was the girl's own flesh and blood, after all, and badmouthing someone's real sister was definitely out of line.
"It's nothing important."
Yukino Yukinoshita still had no intention of talking.
But Yui Yuigahama wouldn't let it go. Now that lunch was over, she pulled out every trick she had and racked her brain trying to get Yukino Yukinoshita to open up.
In the end, Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't hold out against her, and offered up a reason she'd thought of on the spot.
"My sister came to talk to Student Lin because of his feelings for me."
It was a fairly plausible reason.
But somehow it still felt just a little off.
Iroha Isshiki put her finger on what was strange: why would Haruno come to the school first thing in the morning to find Lin Ye?
If it were only a matter of romance, surely it wouldn't warrant that.
There had to be something far more serious behind it to drive Haruno to such lengths.
What could it be?
Iroha Isshiki thought it over.
Could it be...
A possibility struck her.
What if Senpai had used Hypnosis on Haruno-senpai as well, done something awful to her, and then Haruno-senpai had remembered it, which was why she'd come straight to the school to settle accounts with Lin Ye?
Once the idea occurred to her, she couldn't shake it.
She was certain that had to be it.
Senpai had definitely let things get out of hand, using the power of Hypnosis to do all sorts of outrageous things to Haruno-senpai, to Yukino-senpai.
And Haruno, having recovered the memories and the energy of that day, hadn't been able to stand it and had come looking for him.
Iroha Isshiki swallowed. Senpai really did play a wild game.
In the end, he'd abused that power of Hypnosis after all.
Still, she glanced at Yukino Yukinoshita's beautiful face, thought of Haruno-senpai's brisk, dashing air, and considered the charm of those two sisters. Being tempted, and then acting on that temptation, wasn't exactly incomprehensible.
Yui Yuigahama instinctively didn't buy it either. Sensing the matter couldn't be that simple, she asked, "Yukinon, and then? Your sister doesn't approve of Student Lin, so she told him to stay away from you?"
A sister's concern leading Haruno to demand Lin Ye keep his distance from Yukino, that wasn't out of the question at all. If anything, it seemed quite likely.
The two of them waited for an answer again.
Yukino Yukinoshita pressed her lips together and offered another explanation. "My sister did have that in mind, but Lin Ye refused."
"Uh, Student Lin likes you. Of course he'd refuse."
"Mm."
"Student Lin really does like you. But there's no way your sister will accept that outcome so easily either, right?"
"That's my business. I don't want my sister interfering," Yukino said.
Iroha Isshiki asked nothing further, because she already had her answer. She didn't believe what Yukino Yukinoshita was saying. Not a word of it.
Haruno coming to the school in person could never have been over something so trivial.
And if she remembered correctly, Haruno had clashed with Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei just to take Lin Ye away.
Mere romantic trouble would never have escalated to that.
But then...
Wasn't Haruno-senpai afraid of being hypnotized by Lin Ye again?
Afraid of being made a puppet again after the Hypnosis, of losing her memories and her sense of self all over again?
Iroha Isshiki couldn't make sense of it.
The main reason she couldn't take a completely hard line with Senpai these days was precisely that fear of being hypnotized a second time.
She never wanted to go through that experience again.
She had no idea what kind of person she'd become if she were hypnotized once more.
No idea whether she'd ever recover the lost memories a second time.
Hm?
A thought struck Iroha Isshiki.
Could it be that Miss Haruno knew she couldn't be hypnotized? Or maybe...
That Senpai no longer dared to use Hypnosis at all? Otherwise there'd be no reason for Miss Haruno to be so reckless.
In that moment, Iroha Isshiki made a bold guess.
Senpai's Hypnosis probably had a time limit on how long it stayed in effect. Otherwise, why had her memories come back?
Senpai's Hypnosis probably had a usage limit too. Say, only working once per person.
Otherwise, why would Haruno-senpai be so brazen?
Otherwise, why hadn't Senpai used Hypnosis even once since that day, only holding it over her as a threat instead of actually using it?
The more she thought about it, the closer her guess seemed to the truth.
In that instant, Iroha Isshiki's eyes lit up. She knew the flaw in Senpai's ability now.
She no longer needed to tiptoe around him the way she used to.
She could go back to attacking as boldly as she once had.
A smile spread across Iroha Isshiki's face that she couldn't hide.
And that smile did not escape Yukino Yukinoshita's notice.
As she saw it, Iroha Isshiki was probably delighted because she'd concluded there was no chance of Yukino dating Lin Ye.
All she could say was that the girl was reading far too much into things.
She and Lin Ye were already lovers. Already engaged, even.
In the future they would be husband and wife.
Her only real rival was Mai Sakurajima. As for every other woman, she didn't care in the slightest.
Rui Tachibana might carry the title of Lin Ye's girlfriend, but that relationship would be over soon enough.
"Senpai, I have a solution."
Iroha Isshiki suddenly raised her hand, drawing both of their attention. "If Senpai just helps me become Senpai's girlfriend, then Haruno-senpai can rest completely easy. Don't you think?"
Having said it, Iroha Isshiki nudged Yui Yuigahama with her foot.
The corner of Yui Yuigahama's mouth twitched. She didn't much want to answer, but faced with the boy who was nominally her own boyfriend, it seemed she had no choice.
Though if Isshiki became Lin Ye's girlfriend, did that mean she herself was really... a buy-one-get-one-free bonus?
"I can't help you. Do your best on your own," Yukino Yukinoshita said.
"Senpai, so you're agreeing to let me be with Senpai!"
"It has nothing to do with me."
"Then that's wonderful. I was worried Senpai secretly had feelings for Senpai. If I got together with him and ruined your chances with him, that would be truly awful."
That radiant smile had Yukino Yukinoshita scoffing inwardly, over and over.
She knew exactly what Iroha Isshiki's little performance meant.
It was enough not to care.
She had no need to care any further.
What she had with Lin Ye was not something a mere underclassman could shake.
And most crucially, Lin Ye would never give Iroha Isshiki the slightest opening.
So Yukino Yukinoshita felt entirely secure.
"I'm starting to miss Senpai. I'll go find him after school," Iroha Isshiki murmured, as if to herself.
But she was watching Yukino Yukinoshita's reaction.
Only, Yukino Yukinoshita remained as calm as ever, not a flicker of change on her face.
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