Chapter 30: Because He Is Worthy
The morning sun shone upon the girl's serene sleeping face. Yukinoshita Yukino slowly opened her eyes and sat up.
The girl sitting on the bed had an unreadable expression as she recalled the scene from her dream just now.
"What kind of dream was that?"
Dreaming of bad past memories nearly made Yukinoshita Yukino retreat into herself. She rubbed her face to gather her thoughts.
All the scenes in the dream just now were experiences Yukinoshita Yukino had personally undergone in the past.
Due to jealousy, Yukinoshita Yukino's indoor shoes were hidden 60 times just in elementary school, 50 of those times by girls her own age.
Thanks to this nightmare, Yukinoshita Yukino relived the experience, which was equivalent to the suffocating feeling of a fish dying of thirst without oxygen.
Fortunately, Hachiman-kun was in the dream; otherwise, Yukinoshita Yukino would truly have been overwhelmed by the feelings of unresignedness and weakness from back then.
Dead memories were attacking her again.
She was nearly suffocated in the dream.
Although the boy in the dream was also in the appearance of a naive child, Yukinoshita Yukino recognized him immediately as Hachiman-kun.
The cowlick, an inherited trait of the Hikigaya siblings, could not be mistaken.
This was the source of Yukinoshita Yukino's conflict: she never imagined that her subconscious mind would conjure up a Hikigaya Hachiman, a child in age, to save her.
Yukinoshita Yukino sighed, immediately feeling like a terrible woman.
"Doesn't this mean I really want him to save me?
I'm not even sparing the children."
Yukinoshita Yukino, being excellent academically, naturally knew that dreams reflect inner desires and serve to make up for regrets in reality.
As Yukinoshita Yukino was thinking this, her phone suddenly vibrated.
When she saw the contact, her heart still skipped a beat.
It was Hachiman-kun.
He sent a short message.
"Yukinoshita, good morning. I was given quite a lot of cucumbers yesterday."
Hikigaya Hachiman was eating the snacks he received from Nagasaki Soyo's mother, quickly handling a bite as breakfast while typing.
"Want some cucumbers?"
Sharing the cucumbers with Yukinoshita was only one reason he thought of her yesterday; the other was that Hikigaya Hachiman wanted to check on Yukinoshita.
After all, he had accidentally dragged Yukinoshita into the illusion he created, and he wasn't sure if there were any side effects.
However, Hikigaya Hachiman certainly couldn't have guessed that the other party had already constructed a perfectly flawless rationalization in her mind.
The girl had even convinced herself.
Since the subconscious had reached the point of fantasizing about his younger appearance—a level this serious—Yukinoshita Yukino felt she couldn't even lie to herself.
She was always honest with herself.
Looking at the cucumber invitation on her phone, Yukinoshita thought about it, and decided to accept. After all, it was a kind gesture.
"Okay, thank you, Hikigaya-kun.
Just wait a moment, ten, no, I'll call you in five minutes."
Yukinoshita Yukino had already sent the first sentence but retracted it, feeling it would be rude to make him wait too long.
Realizing this, Yukinoshita Yukino quickly got out of bed, rushed to wash up, and put on a slightly more decent outfit.
"Hikigaya-kun, you can come over."
Hikigaya Hachiman picked up the bag of cucumbers he had divided that morning and rang the doorbell next door.
The door opened quickly. Yukinoshita's long hair was tied into a side ponytail resting on her shoulder, and she was wearing a pure white long dress.
She looked slightly dangerous, like a married woman.
Hikigaya Hachiman looked at Yukinoshita Yukino not just because she was a beautiful sight.
Her spirit and complexion looked good, indicating that the contamination from Hikigaya Hachiman's technique residuals was within a normal, safe range.
Hikigaya Hachiman planned to hand over the cucumbers and then return to write his manuscript.
But unexpectedly, Yukinoshita Yukino naturally opened the door, then squatted down and took out the pair of slippers Hikigaya Hachiman had worn yesterday from the cabinet next to the door, placing them in front of him.
It seemed she was inviting Hikigaya Hachiman inside.
"Hikigaya-kun, you haven't had breakfast yet, right?"
Hikigaya Hachiman thought about Yukinoshita's cooking skills and realized he was hungry again.
"In that case, excuse me for intruding."
"It's nothing. Making one serving is the same as making two."
The entire room was as tidy as it was when Hikigaya Hachiman and his sister left yesterday, with no major changes.
"Hikigaya-kun, you can just put the cucumbers in the refrigerator."
Yukinoshita Yukino placed a cup of warmed black tea in front of Hikigaya Hachiman.
Why would Yukinoshita Yukino place such trust in a peer she hadn't known for very long?
The answer is that he is worthy.
Although it was a dream and not reality, in the same scenario, Hachiman-kun would inevitably extend a helping hand to her.
This could already be seen in the matter of establishing the club.
Yukinoshita Yukino had suffered too much—experienced too many cold shoulders, jeers, and subtle insults—to realize how "great" Hikigaya Hachiman, who offered her kindness, truly was.
Moreover, Yukinoshita Yukino felt the emotion was closer to a peculiar kind of "admiration."
In Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes, the other party was the embodiment of what she imagined herself to be after surpassing her older sister.
Even more capable than her mother!
Not needing to be overly polished or deliberately catering to others, but making the world actively yield to him.
Yukinoshita Yukino immediately recalled how brilliant that guy was among the crowds at Shuchiin, an absolute core figure.
Even those two white swans, who were so superior in family background and so proud that they acted like queens, were willing to yield the spotlight to him.
They must have also been cared for by him.
Perhaps this is why, even in her dreams when encountering difficulties, Yukinoshita Yukino's first thought was of him.
Hachiman-kun is very reliable.
As stated before, this isn't proactive action on her part.
It's because Hachiman-kun is worthy.
"Sigh."
In an environment like Shuchiin, filled with a large number of excellent peers, Yukinoshita Yukino realized that she was not a genius at all, and was even more immature than she imagined.
Fortunately, Hachiman-kun has already shown her a clear path, hasn't he?
"Kill the weak self of the past and embrace a stronger self."
This makes a lot of sense. You can't make progress without breaking down.
Since Yukinoshita Yukino was a student returning from studying in Britain, she prepared an English breakfast.
It was prepared thoughtfully and looked particularly exquisite.
Seeing such a rich and photogenic breakfast, one could easily tell the depth of the host's care.
Hikigaya Hachiman stood up, took photos of the two exquisite breakfasts, and sent them to Komachi.
In Komachi's words, the purpose was to record every beautiful moment.
A reply quickly came from the other end of the phone.
"Onii-chan???
Is this a breakfast made with love?"
Hikigaya Hachiman replied with a,
"Huh?"