I'm Ebina Hikana. Just a fujoshi otaku girl who lives for her rotten delusions in the corner of the classroom.
But I have a secret I can't tell anyone. I've accidentally seen the whole messy, tangled relationship between Hachiman, Yukinoshita, and Yuigahama—the three people who should be the center of the class.
At first it was just observation. Hachiman's eyes full of resignation, Yukinoshita's back that looked so lonely, Yuigahama's smile that she forced to be bright. No one else noticed, bu
After School Black Hole: Ebina Was Watching - The Gospel of the Observer — The God of the Classroom
"……Oh my."
My voice dropped softly into the empty after-school classroom.
Once everyone's gone, the classroom falls quiet — almost like a living thing holding its breath. It was so lively just a moment ago. Now, the May sunset slanting through the windows dyes the deserted desks orange.
After checking that the door was locked, I returned to my seat. Second from the back on the hallway side. This is Chiba Prefectural Soubu High School — the academic deviation score is around 62, I think. The school building has four floors, and our class, 2-F, is on the third floor of the main building.
I reached deep into my desk. Hidden between textbooks and notebooks, where no one would find it.
My fingertips brushed against the cool, crisp feel of paper.
"……Okay."
What I pulled out was a B5-size college notebook. The cover was blank. When I opened it, the pages were packed solid with writing. Fine characters in black ballpoint pen. Arrows, diagrams, and keywords occasionally underlined in red.
This is my treasure. The one thing I can never show anyone.
My third observation notebook.
The first one covered from right after I started school until summer break. The second, from summer through winter. And this one records everything from winter until now. Flip through the pages, and the entire web of human relationships in Class 2-F is laid out in full.
Who likes whom. Who dislikes whom. Who goes completely unnoticed by whom.
For example, Hayama Hayato-kun. The center of the boys' group, with that refreshing smile — probably the nicest person in this class. The other boys loosely orbit around him.
"But you're just too kind, you know."
I glanced at a note I'd scribbled in the margin. *Hayama's smile → sometimes looks pained.* I wrote that at the end of April. No one else has noticed, but every now and then — just for a split second — he forgets to smile.
Then there's Miura Yumiko. Queen of the caste. Beautiful, strong-willed, yet fiercely kind to her friends. She stands at the top of the class alongside Hayama-kun.
But on Miura-san's page, I'd added this: *Attachment to Yuigahama — abnormal.*
"……Fufu."
I couldn't help but laugh. It's a habit of mine. Whenever I spot these distortions in human relationships, the corners of my mouth loosen on their own.
Because, I mean — isn't it fascinating? Everyone hides things deep inside their hearts, things you'd never know just by looking at the surface.
I kept flipping through the pages.
The school caste. That term doesn't just apply to Soubu High — it's probably a system that exists in every school. No one decides it, but it forms before you know it. There's a top and a bottom, a middle, and the fringes.
But I don't fit into any of those.
"Because I'm a fujoshi."
Ebina Hina, the otaku character. My hobby is BL fantasies, and I occasionally say weird things that make everyone recoil. But that's just fine. If people think I'm gross, no one pays any attention to me.
Even while being part of Miura-san's group, I occupy the safest position of all.
With my semi-long black hair loosely tied back with an elastic band, behind these round fake glasses — what exactly am I looking at?
I'm 157 centimeters tall. Petite, flat-chested, and — though I hate to say it myself — I've got a body shape that's seriously just background character material. White blouse, gray pleated skirt. The kind of girl you could find in any class.
But I know.
I know everything about this classroom.
I turned my eyes toward the window. On the north side of the school building, the tennis courts were visible. Right now, the first-year tennis club members were picking up balls out there. Totsuka Saika-kun should be among them.
I looked back down and opened the notebook to the very last page.
That page alone was even more densely packed with writing than the others. Notes spilled into the margins, arrows crisscrossing in a tangled mess.
Three names.
Hikigaya Hachiman. Yukinoshita Yukino. Yuigahama Yui.
"……It's such a mess, isn't it."
I let out a sigh without thinking.
The relationship between these three — honestly, it's just terrible.
Hachiman-kun is a boy with rotten eyes who thinks of himself as a loner. He got into a traffic accident the day before the entrance ceremony, and while he was hospitalized, he missed his chance to make friends. So now, he's always sitting alone in the very back by the window, reading a book.
But it's not that he likes being alone.
*Observation on Hikigaya Hachiman: Self-deprecating, but fundamentally a soft-hearted person. On April 17th, he showed a smile — but only to Totsuka Saika. A face he would never, ever show to anyone else.*
Yuigahama-san is his opposite. Bright, energetic, and she smiles equally at both Miura-san and Hachiman-kun. But from where I'm standing, that smile of hers looks just a little forced.
*Observation on Yuigahama Yui: Hides her true feelings from Miura Yumiko. For some reason, her voice rises by a full octave when she's in front of Hikigaya Hachiman.*
Yukinoshita-san is different from both of them. Top of the grade academically, beautiful, someone everyone looks up to. But she has no friends. No — I think she deliberately keeps them at a distance.
*Observation on Yukinoshita Yukino: Affects an air of aloofness, but sometimes her eyes look terribly lonely. Though she spits venom at Hikigaya Hachiman without mercy, for some reason she's weak against Yuigahama Yui.*
These three have gathered in a strange club called the Service Club. The clubroom is on the fourth floor of the special wing. It should be the old AV prep room — a space about thirty tatami mats wide. The advisor is the Japanese teacher, Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei.
I've passed by the clubroom just once. Long desks and folding chairs lined up, the schoolyard visible through the window. Apparently Yukinoshita-san brews tea, because several tins of tea leaves were stacked in the corner of the room.
Hachiman-kun, Yukinoshita-san, and Yuigahama-san.
These three pull at each other, hurt each other, and yet can't seem to look away.
It's like a love triangle straight out of hell.
But no one else has noticed any of this.
"……Ah."
Outside the window, I spotted a familiar figure from behind.
Hachiman-kun. Walking alone toward the shoe lockers. Hunched back, sluggish, with a gait utterly devoid of motivation. He's probably heading to the Service Club right now.
Watching that back of his, I suddenly remembered.
One year ago. Spring.
It was the day before the entrance ceremony. April 7th, a little past three in the afternoon. The location was a sidewalk along the national highway, about a ten-minute walk from Mihama Station.
I happened to be walking alone. After the acceptance results came out, I'd felt like checking the route to school, just because. Then suddenly, a blaring horn and the screech of sudden brakes echoed through the air.
When I looked, a small dog had darted out into the road. A chubby little thing with brown fur.
And right behind it, a boy was chasing after it —
It was Hachiman-kun.
Without hesitation, he scooped up the dog and threw himself in front of the car. A big, black limousine. The brakes shrieked, but it was too late.
A dull *thud*.
Hachiman-kun's body was flung onto the asphalt, and he stopped moving.
The person who came running up then was Yuigahama-san.
"Sable! Sable!"
That's when I learned the dog's name was Sable. Yuigahama-san hugged the dog, crying, and then she looked at Hachiman-kun lying there and cried even harder.
But that wasn't all I saw.
The limousine's back seat. The window was open just a crack, and I could see inside.
Yukinoshita Yukino was sitting there.
Pale as a ghost, trembling, staring straight ahead. She didn't try to help, and she didn't apologize. She just sat there, frozen, her face rigid.
I could tell whose car it was right away from the license plate. An upscale residential district in Chuo Ward, Chiba City. The family of a prefectural assembly member. Yukinoshita-san probably told the driver, "Just go." The car sped off immediately.
I saw all of it.
Hachiman-kun was hospitalized at Chiba City General Hospital for three weeks. Even now, he probably has no idea what kind of car hit him. There's no way he'd ever imagine it belonged to Yukinoshita-san's family.
Yuigahama-san has always been grateful that Hachiman-kun saved her beloved dog. But she doesn't know that the car's owner was Yukinoshita-san's family.
Yukinoshita-san never, ever mentions the accident. But she's probably being crushed by the guilt. That's why she's so obsessively fixated on doing "the right thing" in the Service Club.
I'm the only person in the entire world who knows this.
"……Like a god."
I murmured the words, staring at my notebook.
This tangled, messy relationship — the three of them spinning in circles. None of them knowing the real truth, yet still drawn to each other, still hurting each other.
And I've been watching it all from the outside.
But just watching isn't enough anymore.
I opened a fresh page. On the blank white paper, I let my ballpoint pen race across.
*Intervention Plan for the Three.*
First, shake Hachiman-kun. I'll use one of the few people he's opened his heart to — Totsuka-kun. If I make a small request of Totsuka-kun, Hachiman-kun will definitely move.
Next, corner Yuigahama-san. I'll leak just a tiny bit of the true feelings she's been hiding from Miura-san. Miura-san will absolutely get angry, and when she does, Yuigahama-san won't be able to run away anymore.
And finally, Yukinoshita-san.
"I'll be making use of your guilt."
If the three of them clash with their true feelings laid bare, it'll definitely work out.
If that happens, everyone should be able to find happiness.
"……This is my perfect scenario."
I set down my pen and closed the notebook with a soft snap.
Before leaving the classroom, I looked out the window one more time. Hachiman-kun was already gone. Instead, I could see Totsuka-kun hitting balls on the tennis court.
Tomorrow, I'll try talking to Totsuka-kun.
And then, with Miura-san — over tea at Pastarino after school.
I tucked the notebook into my bag and left the classroom. Walking down the hallway, my face naturally broke into a grin.
Because I just can't help it — I'm so excited.
From now on, I'm going to —
Without anyone knowing, like a god, I'm going to set this story in motion.
Heading down the stairs, I suddenly stopped.
The Service Club room is on the fourth floor of the special wing. At this hour, all three of them should be there.
The scent of black tea. Hachiman-kun's sighs. Yuigahama-san's bright voice. Yukinoshita-san's cold words.
(*……Maybe I'll take just a little peek.*)
But no. It's still too early.
"Not yet."
I smiled and headed for the entrance.
When I pushed the door open, the outside breeze felt wonderful. The sunset had dyed the entire schoolyard orange, and in the distance, I could hear the shouts of the baseball club.
I see. Summer's almost here.
Inside my bag, the observation notebook sat heavy.
But that weight — it's the weight of the beginning of my war. A war I'll fight all alone.
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