After Genichi left, a brief silence settled over the Service Club room.
Yukino Yukinoshita stood where she was, staring at the door that had been quietly shut behind him. Complicated emotions flickered in her eyes.
That man.
The man who had struck at her sore spot in the most vicious way possible.
The man who seemed indifferent to everything.
The man whose eyes carried contempt, as if nothing in the entire world was worth a second glance from him.
Yukino clenched her fists.
She had never met anyone like him before.
From childhood until now, she had seen all kinds of people. People who admired her, people who envied her, people who wanted to get close to her, people who wanted to use her.
But never once had she met someone like Genichi.
Someone who truly did not care about her at all.
That indifference was not an act.
He had genuinely treated her like empty air.
As if she, Yukino Yukinoshita, were no different from a blade of grass or a stone by the roadside in his eyes.
That feeling gave Yukino a sense of defeat unlike anything she had ever experienced.
Yet it was precisely that defeat that stirred the competitive streak buried deep inside her.
"That bastard..."
Yukino muttered through clenched teeth.
Shizuka Hiratsuka stood nearby, watching her expression, and could not help sighing.
Those two really were a perfect match.
Still, now was not the time to dwell on that. She had something far more important to tell Yukino.
"Yukino."
Shizuka spoke, her voice unusually serious.
Yukino turned to look at her.
"What if I asked you to correct his personality? Could you do it?"
Shizuka's voice was completely serious. There was not the slightest hint of a joke in it.
Yukino paused for a moment. Then a glint appeared in her eyes.
Correct that man's personality?
Make that twisted, awful attitude of his normal?
Turn those indifferent eyes, which cared about nothing, warm again?
Change his arrogance, his refusal to help anyone, into humility?
In an instant, a blazing fighting spirit flared in Yukino's heart.
"I'll take this request!"
Her voice was firm and powerful. At that moment, a fierce flame burned in her cool, clear eyes.
This was a challenge.
A challenge unlike any Yukino Yukinoshita had ever faced before.
And that challenge excited her.
She would show that man what true "correction" meant.
She would make him understand just how childish and ridiculous his attitude of indifference toward everything really was.
She would make him realize that there were still people and things in this world worth caring about.
Shizuka looked at Yukino's fired-up expression. She felt both relieved and worried.
Relieved, because Yukino had not backed down after Genichi's humiliation. Instead, she had chosen to face the challenge head-on.
Worried, because Yukino had no idea what kind of existence she was about to confront.
"Before you do that, there are some things I need to tell you first."
Shizuka's voice became even more serious. Her eyes fixed tightly on Yukino.
Yukino paused, looking at her.
"Yukino, you absolutely must not truly make him angry. If you do, you'll be in danger."
Shizuka said those words with extreme seriousness.
She could not tell Yukino that Genichi possessed supernatural powers. Even if she did, Yukino probably would not believe her.
After all, who would believe that a student who usually looked completely ordinary could summon eerie black shadows?
But she had to warn Yukino.
She had to make her understand that Genichi was not an ordinary boy.
He was not an ordinary student who could be provoked with words or persuaded with reason.
He was dangerous.
Someone who truly possessed power.
Yukino frowned slightly when she heard that.
She only took Shizuka's words as a warning about Genichi's psychological issues.
After all, from the conversation just now, she had already seen it clearly. That man's mental state was indeed not normal.
That attitude of indifference toward everything, that coldness that kept everyone at a distance, that aloof refusal to communicate with anyone: none of it was the behavior of a normal person.
"Don't worry, Hiratsuka-sensei."
Yukino's voice was calm and confident. Determination flickered in her eyes.
"I know where to draw the line."
Of course she did.
She knew what she had to do, and she knew how to do it.
She would approach that man, learn about his past, find out what had made him this way, and then use her own methods to change him bit by bit.
This was not a task that could be completed overnight.
But she was in no hurry.
She had enough time, and enough patience.
Shizuka looked at her confident expression, scratched her head, and sighed.
"I hope so."
She truly did hope so.
She hoped Yukino really could change Genichi.
She hoped that cold boy could once again recover some passion for the world.
She hoped that these two people with completely different personalities might create a different kind of spark when they collided.
But at the same time, she was deeply worried.
Worried that Yukino did not know Genichi's true nature.
Worried that she might unintentionally anger that dangerous existence.
Worried that she would be hurt during the process of "correcting" him.
But things had already reached this point. Shizuka could no longer stop her.
She could only hope Yukino truly had as much restraint as she claimed.
Shizuka turned and walked toward the door.
When she reached it, she stopped and looked back at Yukino.
"Yukino."
"Yes?"
"If... I mean, if you really run into danger, or if something feels wrong, tell me immediately."
Yukino looked at her and nodded.
"I understand, Hiratsuka-sensei."
Shizuka gave her one last deep look, then opened the door and left.
Only Yukino remained in the Service Club room.
She walked to the window and looked out at the students playing around on the sports field. Yet the face that appeared in her mind was Genichi's.
That cold face.
Those deep eyes.
That gaze that cared about nothing.
"Genichi..."
Yukino murmured his name, and a faint smile curved her lips.
That smile held fighting spirit, curiosity, and a trace of anticipation even she herself had not noticed.
"I will change you."
Her soft voice echoed through the empty clubroom.
Outside the window, a breeze passed through, rustling the leaves.
Sunlight spilled through the glass, casting mottled shadows across the floor.
A new challenge had begun.
(End of Chapter)
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