"This is truly…"
Even though she had received advance notice from Asakura in the Line group (the group name was 'Yanami Countermeasures Headquarters,' Yanami: "Why does my name sound like a monster?"), when Yukinoshita Yukino arrived at the clubroom, she was still startled by the four identical Yanamis in the room.
She carefully considered her words, then continued: "Spectacular."
The Yanamis greeted her. Yukinoshita Yukino, as always, maintained a straight face, merely nodding slightly to acknowledge their presence.
"Yukinon, you're here!"
Yuigahama Yui, who was dizzy from being bothered by the four Yanamis, was overjoyed to see their side's combat power arrive.
"What's wrong?"
Yukinoshita Yukino put down her school bag and asked her curiously.
"Anna's moods are unexpectedly high…"
Yuigahama Yui chuckled dryly.
Yukinoshita Yukino glanced at the desks pushed together—these were used as a dining table during yesterday's gathering, and now they were set with small plates of snacks and such. Although it was still morning, the Yanamis seemed to already be having an afternoon tea party.
Then she looked at the Yanamis who were still chatting and found that they were talking about some trivial, insipid topics.
So the girl sighed softly.
"If you feel uneasy, it's okay not to force yourself to pretend to be calm and hide it—" She said to the Yanamis, "Anyone would feel uneasy in such a situation. It's nothing to be ashamed of."
The Yanamis' lively chatter was like a pause button had been pressed. The clubroom, which had been as noisy as a market, suddenly became quiet. They just looked at Yukinoshita Yukino with unreadable expressions, and the latter's brow furrowed slightly—after all, being stared at strangely by four identical people was, no matter what, a bit unsettling and frightening. However, even so, Yukinoshita Yukino had no intention of retracting her words.
"I see, so Anna is feeling uneasy?"
Yuigahama Yui realized upon hearing this.
"That's not it at all! We just suddenly discovered the profound pleasure of chatting with ourselves. If girls chatting is 'Girls Talk,' then ours is 'Yanami Talk'!"
One of the Yanamis voiced her opinion, and the other Yanamis nodded in agreement.
"From yesterday's interaction, you can tell that the only difference between different Yanamis is, at most, that 'rock-paper-scissors will determine a winner.' At other times, even their reactions when speaking are completely identical. In this situation, chatting with each other is not much different from talking to oneself."
Yukinoshita Yukino analyzed calmly.
"What's wrong with talking to oneself?"
Yuigahama Yui asked curiously: "Children who are a bit… lacking in the head seem to like talking to themselves."
"Occasionally, we also wonder if Yuigahama-sensei is black when cut open…"
The Yanamis, who had been nonchalantly categorized as 'children who are a bit… lacking in the head' by Yuigahama Yui, all had lines of black on their foreheads.
"The decisive evidence is this."
Yukinoshita Yukino ignored the interaction between Yuigahama Yui and Yanami Anna, only pointing to the small plate on the table.
The plate contained triangular corn chips, a very common puffed snack.
"Is there something wrong with these corn chips?"
Yuigahama Yui asked, puzzled.
"How long has it been since Yanami started eating snacks?"
Yukino counter-asked.
"Uh…"
Yuigahama Yui thought back: "When I arrived, these snacks were already on the table, and then Yuki just arrived. About twenty minutes passed in between?"
"Then, the corn chips that would normally be devoured in thirty seconds by a single Yanami, are now in such a small dish, and yet there are still some left after at least twenty full minutes. Don't you think something is wrong?"
Yukinoshita Yukino analyzed calmly.
"What?! This kind of reasoning makes it sound like we're gluttons!"
"Even Yukinoshita can't slander people!"
"Exactly!"
The Yanamis exclaimed indignantly.
And Yuigahama Yui, after pondering for a few seconds, nodded: "Makes sense."
The Yanamis were speechless and began to reflect on what kind of image they usually projected in others' eyes.
"However, it's been less than thirty minutes since Asakura sent the message saying he was going to pick up Yanami…"
Yukinoshita Yukino took out her phone to check the message in the Line group: "So he only spent ten minutes picking up Yanami from home and bringing her to school?"
Then she saw two of the four Yanamis show expressions similar to dead fish eyes.
"I thought that guy would visit normally… but he actually just drove a flying car and burst in directly from the second floor…"
"Even when I said no, he'd forcefully tie a rope to the anti-theft bars and just pull them off, saying things like 'I've always wanted to try this' and 'Why don't you live in a closet.' My family thought there was a burglar and almost ended up in an irretrievable bad ending…"
Yuigahama Yui's maternal instincts kicked in as she went over and rubbed the Yanamis' heads: "You've worked hard~"
And Yukinoshita Yukino, after a moment of silence, said.
"It's Doraemon who lives in a closet, isn't it?"
"That's not the point, is it?!"
"Yukinoshita's way of thinking seems to be getting closer to Asakura's?!"
The Yanamis all complained in unison.
Yukinoshita Yukino froze for a moment, then covered her forehead, showing a self-loathing expression: "Damn it, have I been mentally polluted without realizing it…?"
She forced herself to calm down, then asked the others in confusion: "Speaking of which, where is Asakura? He ran off to bring Yanami here, but now he's gone?"
"As for Takkun, he said that in order to solve the Anna's problems, he's going to go kiss a middle schooler now."
Yuigahama Yui said.
"…Huh?"
"Yukino's expression is as distorted as Asagumo's was when she heard that just now."
Before Yukinoshita Yukino could doubt whether she had misheard and intended to re-understand what Yuigahama Yui had said, the clubroom door opened again, and Chihaya Anon gracefully walked in from outside.
"Good morning, girls…Whoa?! There are so many Yanami seniors! Have they multiplied again after only one night? What do you mean, 'Why don't you know about this'? It's perfectly normal for me not to know! What do you mean, 'Anti-Yanami Headquarters'? Is Yanami-senpai a monster? What do you mean, 'Everyone made a Line group'? Eh eh eh? Am I the only one not in the group?! What's going on? Is this bullying? Am I, Anon, being taken advantage of?!"
☰