Hikigaya's Inner World of Spring

"Yui, why are you alone again?"

Not long after leaving the public restroom, Yuigahama ran into Miura, who was jogging.

"Uh... hehe, Mom and Hachiman went ahead to run. My stamina just can't keep up," Yuigahama quickly explained.

"Is that so..."

Seeing the girl's gentle smile, Miura hesitated, then boldly speculated,

"I bet your mom thinks you're too much of a burden and decided to personally help you win over Hikigaya."

"Eh? Ugh..."

Yuigahama lowered her head in embarrassment.

"So, you better stop hesitating so much and make sure you secure Hikigaya. You have to completely outmaneuver that damn Yukinoshita! Got it?"

"Yumiko, you, I... ugh!"

Yuigahama stammered, feeling ashamed.

"But Yuki and I are friends, and Hachiman is her boyfriend..."

"I swear, why is your mindset still not straightened out?"

Seeing her friend's indecisiveness, Miura grew more frustrated and smacked Yuigahama on the butt.

"I'm telling you, even if you don't take Yukinoshita down, you at least have to do it for me! Otherwise, I'll—"

"You'll what?" Yuigahama looked up at Miura expectantly while rubbing her sore spot.

"Hmph! Nothing!"

Of course, Miura couldn't say, "Then I'll do it myself."

"Anyway, you need to change this overly kind attitude of yours. Understood?"

Miura put on a serious expression and patiently continued,

"Women are selfish. If you're too gentle, you'll suffer in the end..."

As she spoke, Miura suddenly paused.

An image of Hikigaya surfaced in her mind.

Come to think of it... he was the one who told her this. And now, here she was, saying the same thing to Yuigahama. It felt kind of...

"Ugh, Yumiko, you kind of remind me of my mom."

"Eh? Uh..."

Miura snapped out of her thoughts, her expression turning slightly awkward.

Annoyed, she retorted, "I'm just treating you like a friend, and you're making me sound like your mom?"

"No, no, that's not it. It's just... I feel like you'd definitely make a great mom in the future."

"Huh?"

For once, Miura found herself blushing at Yuigahama's words.

"W-What are you even saying? I don't even have a boyfriend yet, and you're already talking about me being a mom?"

"Uh, hehe, then you better hurry up and find a boyfriend. Next time, let me help set you up!" Yuigahama perked up at the thought of matchmaking someone else.

"You—!"

For some reason, Hikigaya's face suddenly popped into Miura's head, making her blush even more.

"I... I don't need your help!"

"How could that be? You've helped me so much, it's only fair that I return the favor!"

"No need!" Miura said firmly.

Seeing this, Yuigahama curiously asked,

"Before, you told me you weren't into Hayama anymore. So... is there someone else now?"

"N-No!"

"Yumiko, come on, tell me! As your friend, I'll totally help you out!"

"I told you, there's no one!!"

Meanwhile—

Still sitting on the toilet, Yukinoshita hadn't recovered from the shock.

[Ding! Yuigahama Asuna has helped Hikigaya Hachiman complete...]

"How could this be? How could this be? Yuigahama's mom is actually... with my Hikigaya-kun..."

Yukinoshita bit her lip, instinctively squeezing her thighs together.

To think, she only first learned about this sort of thing from Kasumigaoka-senpai.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have even known.

But now...

"Hoo..."

Yukinoshita took several deep breaths.

"Given the situation, it seems I have no choice but to target Yuigahama's mom."

After all, except for that final step—

She and Yuigahama's mom had already done everything else!

Honestly, Yukinoshita had originally thought the second mission's target would be Miura or Yui.

But now, Miura could wait. Yuigahama's mom came first!

"As for Yui... I guess I'll have to give up on her completely."

Yukinoshita sighed.

Yui had a low score, but they were still friends.

It was painful, but deep down, she could accept Yui getting close to her Hachiman.

It's just... why did Yui have to be so useless?

"…But the real problem is, how did Hikigaya-kun's corruption level shoot up so much after being with Yuigahama's mom?"

Yukinoshita furrowed her brows, feeling uneasy.

It had skyrocketed to 30!!!

Was Yuigahama's mom too powerful?

And this wasn't even all the way.

If they did go all the way, just how high would the corruption level go?

"This is terrifying. I need to make sure I lower Hikigaya-kun's corruption level at school tomorrow. This can't go on..."

---

Meanwhile—

Hikigaya and Mrs. Yuigahama slowly walked out of the women's restroom.

The atmosphere was a little awkward.

The two of them remained silent, their expressions subtly different.

Mrs. Yuigahama licked her lips, swallowed, and hesitantly spoke,

"I-I'm sorry, Hikigaya-kun. I, um, just now, I... I was only worried about you! Worried that something might have happened to your body... and you still have training later, so if you were in that state, it would've been a problem, so I..."

The more she spoke, the more self-reproachful she became.

Hikigaya shuddered, took a deep breath, and said,

"Auntie, let's just leave it at that. No need to bring it up again."

"...Okay. But just to be sure, let me ask one last time—are you really okay now?"

Her expression was slightly embarrassed, her eyes gentle as she looked at him with concern.

"!!"

Meeting her gaze, Hikigaya panicked and blurted out,

"I-I'm totally fine! Really!"

"Ah, if you're okay, that's good... that's good..."

Realizing how her words might've sounded, Mrs. Yuigahama blushed and quickly nodded.

"Then... I'll go back to running now. Auntie, you should go rest."

Saying that, Hikigaya wasted no time in separating from her, not giving her a chance to respond.

"Huff... Huff... Huff..."

However—

As he ran, despite his usual ability to keep a cool head, he couldn't help but recall Mrs. Yuigahama.

An aunt and a young girl... were completely different.

Kasumigaoka, Kawasaki, Yukinoshita—they were all inexperienced.

But Mrs. Yuigahama?

Her age, her figure, and... well, in every way, she was far more skilled.

"Cough! Stay calm!"

Hikigaya forcibly steadied himself.

She was his elder!

He couldn't afford to think about this any further!

His girlfriend was Yukinoshita!

It was Yukinoshita!

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