11. Yukinoshita Wants to Talk
[Reading a good book is like conversing with outstanding people.]
[Books are the ladder of human progress.]
Chiba.
The sky was dark, with the bright moon shining softly.
Yukinoshita Yukino sighed in disappointment as she put down her phone. She held her Mr. Pan plushie tightly against her chest and knees, her thin body curled up on the chair. Her clean and pale heels rested on the edge of the chair, and her translucent, delicate toes dangled just over the edge, mirroring her unstable mood.
She had not received a reply from Hikigaya Hachiman after all. It was already bad enough that he left without saying a word.
With nothing else to do, Yukinoshita Yukino turned on the nightlight. The soft reading light illuminated the pages of The Mystery of Eastern Astrology, and at the very end of the book, there was a message that read "Challenge to the Reader," which was something Hikigaya Hachiman, as a mystery novelist, always left in each of his works.
[All the information is laid out, dear reader. Can you figure out the truth?]
Hachiman's madness and brilliance were encapsulated in this sentence.
In Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes, Hikigaya Hachiman was truly a very special person. He was talented, calm under pressure, and although he was just a middle school student, he felt to her like her mother—someone like a deity.
Deep, bottomless, high, and above everyone else.
During the Service Club activities, he always managed to assist her silently from behind with the perspective of an observer. In interactions between teachers and students, he was always referred to by teacher Hiratsuka as her most proud pupil.
She recalled the middle school graduation exam, when Hachiman was harshly criticized by Hiratsuka for writing in his essay: "Without expectations, there are no disappointments. Without attachments, there's no pain. I only win for myself, and I will keep winning." Yukino couldn't help but smile uncontrollably even now when she thought about it.
She wanted to improve. She wanted to catch up with Hikigaya Hachiman.
But Hachiman was a rather self-centered lone wolf who would never engage in excessive communication with others outside of school hours. Yukino, on the other hand, was someone who would never take the initiative. So their communication remained limited to the bizarre requests of middle school students.
However, reading a good book was like conversing with an outstanding person.
Yukinoshita Yukino had long discovered Hachiman's secret. He was a best-selling writer of social mystery novels. Every word and sentence in his works pointed directly to the dark side of Japanese society, even including famous quotes like "Only the sun and human hearts are too blinding to look at."
She tried to understand Hikigaya Hachiman.
From Journey of the White Night to Malice, and now to his shift in style with his National Name Series The Mystery of Eastern Astrology.
The puzzles were difficult, but Yukinoshita Yukino was persistent.
She lifted her head once again and looked at the wall covered with various mind maps. She seemed to have had an epiphany. The longing she felt for Hikigaya Hachiman transformed into the strength of holding a pen, as she sketched her own guesses on the desk.
"I've solved it, Hachiman."
"Underneath the complex riddles is the most insane technique. Hachiman, you're just like this too."
Staring at the sketch in her hand, the brilliant technique that turned five corpses into six, Yukinoshita Yukino murmured to herself.
She was ecstatic. She grabbed the sketch and hurried out of her room, looking at the uninvited guest sitting on the couch in the apartment.
"Onee-chan~" she called softly.
"Yo, Yukino, still awake this late?" Yukinoshita Haruno, dressed in a silky purple nightgown that revealed her fair, smooth skin, lazily propped her head on her hand as she lay sideways on the sofa. She held a thick stack of documents in her hands, reading them with great interest.
"I've solved it, the challenge from Hikigaya Hachiman to the reader."
"Oh?"
Yukinoshita Haruno raised an eyebrow, immediately sitting up straight. The strap on her right shoulder slid off her body due to her rough movement, exposing her snow-white shoulder. Luckily, the spacious apartment was only occupied by the two sisters. Aside from Hikigaya Hachiman's manuscript, no one could witness this scene that can make blood rush.
"Let me see." Yukinoshita Haruno took the sketch from her sister's hand. She murmured, "By using the cruel and absurd murder techniques described in the diary, he successfully created a terrifying first impression for everyone. By dismembering his own sister, he pieced together his own body to achieve his goal of escaping without a trace."
"As expected of Hikigaya Hachiman... is he really a high school student? His depiction of human nature is so malicious and hard to look at."
After a long while, Yukinoshita Haruno slowly put the sketch down.
"Onee-chan, tomorrow I'm going to submit this answer to the publisher," Yukinoshita Yukino hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Onee-chan, can we use the company's connections to help Hikigaya Hachiman expand his sales channels?"
She then explained to herself, "I don't mean anything else, I just think his works should be read by more people. Right now, he's at a turning point in his writing, and if we help him, maybe..."
"Ridiculous!" Yukinoshita Haruno looked at her useless sister, shaking her head in disappointment. "Let's not even talk about the fact that we're a real estate company, but even if we use all the channels, it won't help him much."
"Also, Yukino, look at yourself right now—do you dare say you don't have any other intentions?!"
"I..."
Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes flickered, not daring to meet her sister's gaze.
Realizing that her tone might have been too harsh, Yukinoshita Haruno softened a little. "You've read his Malice, right? Don't you understand what kind of person he is?"
"Great gratitude equals great enmity. Although he's not that kind of person, his pride is very strong. He never asks for help, only engages in exchange. If you keep giving him things for free, you won't gain anything." Yukinoshita Haruno was blunt. "Besides, with his abilities, he'll probably find ways to cope in his new school very soon."
"New school? Where did he go? Onee-chan, do you know?"
"Of course, but I can't tell you right now." Yukinoshita Yoshino tapped her sister's forehead with her finger. "Yukino, you need to focus more on building up yourself. Otherwise, you'll never catch up to Hikigaya."
"I... I understand."
"Good, I'm glad you understand."
Yukinoshita Haruno nodded in satisfaction. "Of course, the necessary things still need to be done. But we can't let that boy benefit for free. I'll talk to him about the novel's sales channels."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Onee-chan."
Yukinoshita Haruno lay back on the sofa again, watching Yukino's figure as she returned to her room, and softly muttered, "If you can't take the first step, all your efforts will just be treading water and lead to nothing. Let me help you out."