Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Ojou-Sama Who Can't Fit In
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After all, judging from Sakurase Shino's behavior, her autism wasn't particularly severe. Hachiman shouldn't be so confident that she wouldn't be able to guide Sakurase Shino.
"I'm worried about you. You don't have friends yourself and can't handle relationships well. How can you guide Sakurase?", Hachiman smiled, patted Hayase Saki's head, gave her a rewarding look, and then sat on the sofa with Komachi and Shion after Hayase Saki made space for them.
Sakurase Shino sat together with Hayase Saki and Ichinose Ayano, while Iris and Aegis sat with Gabriel.
However, Gabriel noticed that everyone was seated, except for Yukino Yukinoshita, who was sitting alone. She whispered a few words into Iris's ear, and under Iris's smiling gaze, she got up and sat beside Yukino Yukinoshita.
"...", Yukino Yukinoshita turned her head and looked at Gabriel beside her, biting her thin lips. An indescribable emotion welled up and blocked her heart.
Clearly, this was a kind gesture from Gabriel, yet she subconsciously sensed an inexplicable malice.
She didn't have friends simply because she didn't want to make them, not because she couldn't.
She really didn't care about these things at all.
Should she say that Gabriel was truly an angel? At this moment, she even took care of the friendless Yukino Yukinoshita to prevent her from feeling awkward.
Hachiman looked at the scenic view of Class 2A sitting together opposite him and silently gave Gabriel a thumbs-up.
If only Komachi sat over there too, it would be perfect.
"Hachiman, why aren't you and Yukinoshita-san talking? Weren't we supposed to discuss where to go today?", Gabriel felt that Hachiman was looking at her strangely, but since she trusted him, she didn't think too much and simply spoke to break the awkward atmosphere.
"It's not about playing. It's a club request activity.", At this moment, Yukino Yukinoshita, having suppressed her inner displeasure, took over the conversation and corrected her with a stern face.
"Yes, today's task for the Service Club is to guide Sakurase-san. If we have extra time, we can also help Ichinose-san resolve her inner conflicts.", Hachiman nodded in agreement.
"But is it just Yukinoshita-san doing it? Shouldn't we all discuss how to resolve it together?", Gabriel felt something was off. Hachiman seemed to have a tense relationship with Yukinoshita from the Service Club, as if there was a strong sense of rivalry.
"Don't misunderstand, Gabriel. We'll solve this request. It's just that I have a little conflict with Yukinoshita, so I want to use this request to settle it as well.", Hachiman shook his head and explained to the confused Gabriel.
"On the other hand, I'm a guy. If Yukinoshita can solve it, then I don't need to step in."
"If I solve this request, I'll become the Service Club president.", Yukino Yukinoshita crossed her arms, glanced at Hachiman expressionlessly, and added indifferently.
"Huh? In that case, should I help?", Gabriel looked at both Yukino Yukinoshita and Hachiman, hesitating.
She hadn't expected that Hachiman and Yukino Yukinoshita had conflicts. She had thought that today's guidance request would be easy to resolve and that everyone could happily spend time together afterward.
She was a good friend of Hachiman. If she helped Yukinoshita at this moment, it didn't seem right. But ignoring the situation didn't feel right either.
"It's fine. Help Yukinoshita first. When it's my turn tomorrow, you can help me guide Sakurase.", Hachiman smiled and didn't make Gabriel feel torn.
"If this can be resolved, then let's resolve it quickly. But if you contribute significantly and the success isn't mainly Yukinoshita's doing, then this bet between Yukinoshita and me will be nullified, and I'll challenge her again next time.", He wasn't too concerned about the bet. With Yukino Yukinoshita's personality, even if she acknowledged his position as Service Club president, as long as his methods didn't align with her views, she might still oppose him.
To make Yukino Yukinoshita truly accept and submit, it would take time and patience. After all, her way of thinking was different from Hayase Saki and Sakurase Shino.
"Then I'll see what I can do to help.", Seeing Hachiman's attitude of prioritizing helping others over his own interests, Gabriel nodded silently and agreed.
Joining the Service Club was indeed the right choice. Here, she could see Hachiman's kinder side and meet more kind and helpful friends.
However, before Gabriel's thoughts could settle, Yukino Yukinoshita coldly rejected her, "I don't need help. Based on my observations, Sakurase's problem isn't severe and doesn't require complex autism treatment measures."
"Sakurase simply needs some stimulation, something to make her curious about the world, to awaken her desires, and to break through her own mental barriers."
Yukino Yukinoshita had carefully researched how to treat autism. Generally, treatment relied primarily on educational training, supplemented by medication, requiring a complicated and time-consuming process.
But from her observations and experiments over the past two days, Sakurase Shino wasn't completely closed off inside. She still reacted slightly to her surroundings. To outsiders unfamiliar with her, she seemed unwilling to speak, unwilling to communicate, and extremely withdrawn.
She couldn't be sure of the cause—perhaps family abuse or school bullying.
But based on Sakurase's condition, it wasn't severe. If time weren't an issue, she believed that simply bringing people to the Service Club daily and letting Sakurase experience its harmonious and friendly atmosphere would gradually help her lower her defenses.
However, today was the last day of her bet with Hachiman.
Even though she didn't believe Hachiman could surpass her and successfully guide Sakurase in two days, she had to give it her all today and try to break through Sakurase's defenses.
"Hm, I agree.", Hachiman acknowledged Yukino Yukinoshita's approach. Unlike him, she didn't know the real cause of Sakurase Shino's autism, so she must have considered many options before deciding on this method.
Her idea of stimulating Sakurase wasn't wrong. Sakurase indeed needed some kind of stimulation to lower her defenses.
But not the ordinary stimulation Yukino had in mind.
Rather, the kind of stimulus that would make Sakurase, who felt deeply guilty and believed she deserved punishment, instinctively beg for mercy.
Only through this could her deeply ingrained autistic mindset be fundamentally overturned.
He did feel that Sakurase's thoughts were problematic—she blamed herself for others' feelings toward her, thinking she was the one who seduced them and that she was in the wrong.
But compared to Hayase Saki, who almost sacrificed herself for a competition slot, and Ichinose Ayano, who disregarded everything for a student-teacher romance, Sakurase didn't seem that bad.
At least she only blamed herself and wouldn't let others manipulate her into ruin.
Perhaps... this was the true meaning behind Sakurase's mission [A Girl's Plea]—accepting her request for discipline.
The key to completing her role mission was to correct her distorted views.
"Then how do you plan to arrange it?", Hachiman asked.
"First, let Sakurase-san follow us around, engaging in the normal social activities of a high school girl. Through gradually deepening social interactions, she can experience the lively atmosphere, slowly stimulating her closed-off senses.", Yukinoshita Yukino thought for a moment and spoke slowly, "If she stays in the Service Club, she might find it difficult to open up because of her habitual isolation."
"But in an unfamiliar environment, she might instead rely more on us, who are relatively familiar to her."
"…Why does this feel weird? You're basically training Sakurase Shino, aren't you?", Hearing Yukinoshita Yukino's explanation, Hachiman looked at her in astonishment.
Maybe he had underestimated Yukinoshita Yukino. He should probably hand over the task of training Sakurase Shino to Yukinoshita and let her handle it instead.
"…This is just reasonable guidance and stimulation! How is it anything like training?", Yukinoshita Yukino glared at Hachiman, nearly fuming with anger.
'What kind of nonsense is in this guy's head? How did he end up thinking about "training" in the first place?'
"Whatever you say.", Hachiman chuckled. Thankfully, Yukinoshita Yukino didn't understand human nature too well. Otherwise, things might backfire, and she'd end up as the Service Club president, lording over him.
"Why don't we visit the shops Hayase-san recommended yesterday? We're just here to have fun anyway.", Iris smiled slightly, gently shifting the topic to help her president out.
"It's not about fun. Our purpose was never to just play around.", Yukinoshita Yukino emphasized coldly.
It might look the same on the surface, but the purpose was different, which meant the actions would differ, and the final outcome would be different as well.
'This group only thinks about having fun. They are completely unreliable. Good thing I never planned to depend on them.'
Hayase Saki silently observed Yukinoshita Yukino, who showed no deference even in front of the noble elf princess, and couldn't help but be impressed.
'As expected of Sobu High's untouchable flower.'
'Well… former untouchable flower.'
Ever since the arrival of demi-human transfer students, Yukinoshita Yukino's status as a noble young lady no longer seemed all that special. Her beauty wasn't particularly outstanding in a school full of beautiful girls—only her cold and unyielding demeanor stood out.
But now, it seemed that an untouchable flower remained an untouchable flower—she never changed herself for anyone.
Ichinose Ayano, witnessing this scene, was puzzled, 'Does the Yukinoshita family not want to build ties with the elf princess? Why is Yukinoshita Yukino acting this way?'
She had been sent by her father to the Service Club to get close to the elf princess and had assumed Yukinoshita Yukino had been sent for the same reason.
The Yukinoshita family had two daughters, unlike the Ichinose family, where she was an only child. If Yukinoshita Yukino was just the second daughter, her status should be lower…
However, Ichinose Ayano only felt that Yukinoshita Yukino was incredibly strong-willed. Her position at home was probably much higher than her own.
While Hayase Saki and Ichinose Ayano were silently observing Yukinoshita Yukino, the person in question—Sakurase Shino—remained indifferent, sitting quietly beside Hayase Saki and watching the others.
"Sakurase-san, do you have any objections to going shopping with us later?", Yukinoshita Yukino looked at Sakurase Shino and asked seriously.
Although Sakurase Shino was quite reclusive and unlikely to voice any objections, this concerned her personal will, so they still needed to confirm whether she was unwilling.
"…", Sakurase Shino glanced at Hachiman. Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, she slowly shook her head.
"Then let's go. We were just shopping for clothes earlier. Though we haven't bought much, we should change things up. Do you all want to watch a movie or grab something to eat? There doesn't seem to be an amusement park nearby, only an arcade or something like that.", Since no one objected, Hachiman stood up and led the group out, deciding on their next destination as they walked.
For girls, it seemed like going out always revolved around shopping. He couldn't be sure what they actually wanted to do.
As long as he followed along, it didn't matter to him what they wanted to play.
Watching Yukinoshita Yukino walking beside Sakurase Shino, trying to guide her, Hachiman nodded in satisfaction.
It looked like Yukinoshita Yukino was "training" the socially withdrawn Sakurase Shino, but in reality, isn't Sakurase Shino also training the friendless Yukinoshita Yukino?
If he outright suggested training Yukinoshita Yukino, there was no way she would obediently accept it like Sakurase Shino did. He'd definitely need to put some effort into training Yukinoshita Yukino himself.
"President…", At that moment, the upperclassman from the "reliable" group, Hayase Saki, quietly moved closer to Hachiman and called out to him in a low voice.
"Saki, is there something you need?", Hachiman smiled and nodded. Although Hayase Saki was a bit dimwitted, she was dimwitted in an adorable way.
"N-no, it's nothing.", Hayase Saki quickly shook her head, her eyes eagerly watching Hachiman and the others, yet she was too embarrassed to speak.
Yesterday, she and Miki had prepared white-silk cat-ear maid outfits, but they never found the right opportunity.
"Onii-chan, is this Hayase-san that girl from the girls' swim team? …", Komachi stared at Sakurase Shino for a while before finally turning to Hachiman, uncertain.
"Yeah, this is Hayase Saki, the ace of the girls' swim team, the one I told you about.", Hachiman nodded.
"I see! Hello, Hayase-neesan~", Komachi greeted Hayse cheerfully while sneakily glancing again and again at her figure, as well as the equally "rule-breaking" Sakurase Shino and Ichinose Ayano.
She couldn't quite understand how someone with Hayase Saki's explosive figure could be the ace of the swim team.
If it were an elf, with magic and physical abilities far beyond ordinary people, she wouldn't be so surprised. But Hayase Saki was just a regular human, which made it all the more impressive.
"H-hello, Komachi-chan…"
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