Love Triangle

Something like that. I mean, she hadn’t been talking to me. It had been a

girl sitting diagonally behind me.

I remember people to an uncomfortable degree. Even now, every time I

remember that in the middle of the night, I want to yank the covers over my

head and scream, Aahhhhhhh!

While I’d been off on that particular bad trip down memory lane,

Yukinoshita had launched into a loud proclamation. “Haves giving things to

Have-nots out of the goodness of their hearts is known as volunteering.

Giving aid to developing nations, running soup kitchens for the homeless,

and letting unpopular guys talk to girls… Lending a helping hand to people in

need. That is what this club does.” At some point, Yukinoshita had stood and,

from that vantage, was naturally looking down on me.

“Welcome to the Service Club. We’re happy to have you.”

Her words didn’t sound in the least bit welcoming, and hearing her made

me tear up a bit. She hit hard, right where it hurt, and kicked me while I was

down.

“As Ms. Hiratsuka says, great people have an obligation to help the less

fortunate. I have been entrusted with this and will fulfill my responsibility. I

will correct your problems for you. Be grateful.”

I guess what she was implying some sort of noblesse oblige? Which

meant something about the duty of nobles to help the poor or whatever.

Yukinoshita, standing there with her arms crossed, was the picture of an

aristocrat. And actually, when you considered her grades and her appearance

and all that, calling her an aristocrat wouldn’t even have been an

exaggeration.

“You broad…” I just had to say something. I had to explain to her using

the best words I could that I was not someone to be pitied. “Listen, this might

be weird to say about myself, but I’m not so shabby at academics, either, you

know? On the aptitude test for humanities, I was ranked third in Japanese in

my grade! I’m one of the smart ones! If you leave out the part about me not

having a girlfriend or any friends, I’ve got pretty high specs, basically!”

“That part at the end included some rather fatal deficiencies, you know…

But your ability to deliver it in all confidence is somewhat amazing in its own

right…you weirdo. I’m creeped out already.”

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear that from you! You freaky chick.”

She really was a freak. At the very least, she was nothing like the Yukino

Yukinoshita I was acquainted with through hearsay. Though having never

actually spoken to anyone, I’d really just overheard it…

I guess I considered her an aloof beauty. At that moment, she wore a cold

smile. To elaborate, it was sadistic. “Hmph. Based on what I’ve seen, the

reason you’re all alone is that rotten personality and those twisted

sensibilities of yours.”

Yukinoshita clenched her fist as she spoke passionately. “First, since you

clearly feel so uncomfortable here, let’s give you a place to belong. Did you

know? Just having somewhere you belong can save you from a tragic end

like becoming a star and burning out of existence.”

“‘The Nighthawk’s Star’? How obscure can you get?” Someone with

lesser academic prowess than myself, ranked third in Japanese, would never

have gotten that reference. Plus, I like that story, so I remember it well. It’s so

sad, it actually brings a tear to my eye. Especially the part where nobody

likes him.

Yukinoshita’s eyes widened in surprise at my retort. “That’s unexpected. I

didn’t think an average, mediocre high school boy would be reading Kenji

Miyazawa.”

“Did you just slip in a remark implying my inferiority?”

“I’m sorry. That was going too far. It would be correct to say below

average.”

“You meant you were going too far in the positive direction?! Didn’t you

hear the part about me being ranked third in my grade?”

“Bragging over a mere third-place ranking alone marks you as an inferior

individual. Trying to demonstrate your cognitive abilities through your

grades in a single class alone is imbecilic.”

How rude could you get? She was treating a boy she’d only just met as an

inferior being. The only other person I can think of who does that is a Saiyan

prince.

“But ‘The Nighthawk’s Star’ suits you. The appearance of the nighthawk

in particular.”

“Are you saying I’m disfigured?”

“I couldn’t say that. The truth can be too painful to hear sometimes after

all…”

“You basically just said it…”

Yukinoshita’s expression turned serious as she patted me on the shoulder.

“Don’t avert your eyes from the truth. Look at reality…and a mirror.”

“Hey, hey, hey! It might be weird for me to say this about myself, but my

face is well proportioned. My own sister’s even told me, ‘If you only kept

your mouth shut…’ It would be more accurate to say that my face is the only

good thing about me.” That’s my sister, all right. She’s got sharp eyes. The

girls at this school really have no taste compared to her!

Yukinoshita pressed her hand to her temple as if she had a headache.

“How dumb are you? Beauty is an entirely subjective measure. In other

words, here, where you and I are the only people present, what I say is the

only truth.”

“Y-your logic is ridiculous, but for some reason, it kind of makes

sense…”

“And even without taking into consideration your difficulties, when a boy

has rotten fish-eyes like you do, it’s inevitable he’d give off a bad impression,

anyway. I’m not commenting on your individual features. It’s your

expression that’s ugly. It’s proof that your heart is twisted.”

Says the girl with the cute face and all that nasty stuff on the inside. She

had a look in her eye like that of a hardened criminal. Maybe we were both

what they call the utterly uncute.

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