Yukinoshita-senpai, Why Are You Just Standing There Watching?

Tossing a game token and weighing the somewhat heavy electronic game pistol, the game scene slowly unfolded on the screen in front of Yuu.

The three people beside him watched, but Yuu's movements remained relaxed as he quickly skipped through the opening story until the first zombie appeared.

*BIU!*

Before the others could even see clearly, he pulled the trigger, and with a single shot, the zombie collapsed on the spot.

Then, from the edges of the screen, more zombies dragged their rotting bodies out from various angles, moving agilely toward Yuu.

Yuu was playing on the highest difficulty. If he didn't headshot these zombies with one bullet each, the screen would soon be overrun, and the word "dead" would appear.

Kouichirou and Haruno hadn't reacted much yet. Seeing the zombies closing in, Ponytail Girl couldn't help but cover her mouth, whispering anxiously:

"Be careful! They're coming!"

"…"

Yuu felt a slight urge to laugh, but his acting was like glue on his face, not allowing him to smile.

It wasn't a real zombie fight—if he died, he died. At worst, he'd just insert another coin to revive…

Besides, as long as the electronic pistol could keep up with his reaction speed, he wouldn't die.

(Nineteen bullets in hand, nineteen zombies charging, reloading takes one second, the first one reaches me in three seconds, then every half-second after that… No need to account for reload time.)

As the thought flashed through his mind, his hands were already moving.

The pistol's muzzle shifted slightly, his finger pressing the trigger quickly and steadily. After nineteen shots, everything fell silent again.

His expert-level shooting skill left a lingering warmth in his hand. Yuu exhaled softly, seeing the "Perfect" score appear on the screen, and couldn't help but let out a small laugh:

"Even though the targets move, it feels similar to shooting at paper targets."

Then his eardrums were pierced by an unexpected scream: "Kyaaa—! Tenkuji-chan, you're amazing! The strongest, unbeatable, tough! Truly a Shooting God! So cool~"

Ponytail Girl, her face enchanted, lunged forward as if to hug him but, feeling it was too sudden, switched to shaking his shoulders back and forth, deliberately pressing her ample, swaying chest against him.

The uncomfortable sensation rising from the soles of his feet made Yuu's expression change, and he quickly glanced at Haruno.

(Yukinoshita, help me!)

Kuroko… No, Haruno tried hard to stifle her laughter, stepping closer to pull Ponytail Girl away from him.

"Alright, alright, Ribbon-chan, don't get too excited~ If he couldn't even handle something small like this, how could I hire him as my coach? It's just a game…"

"But, Haruno-chan…" Ponytail Girl kept glancing at Yuu, her eyes sparkling, still wanting to say something.

Haruno looked at her with a smile, tilting her head slightly.

"Hmm?"

"…N-Nothing."

Feeling the pressure from the depths of her opponent's eyes, Ponytail Girl shrank back shyly, covering her mouth and saying no more.

But when she secretly glanced at Yuu, she couldn't help licking her lips, showing a predatory, beast-like gaze.

Yuu shivered for the second time, a chill running down his spine, an urge to flee rising within him.

(Are these university students' brains wired wrong?)

With that thought, he inadvertently glanced at Kouichirou beside him.

"(Chuckle)"

"…"

(Damn, his stare's getting creepier.)

As if very satisfied with his performance, Yuu didn't look at Haruno, his prospective fiancée, but instead openly stared at him with deeply meaningful eyes, the corners of his mouth continuously curving upward.

(Later, I need to ask Haruno-san if this guy is straight or gay.)

The screen had moved to the second level. Yuu was too lazy to dwell on what this guy was thinking and turned back to keep killing the appearing zombies.

As if venting his frustration, he cleared the clearly harder second level even faster.

Never wasting a second bullet on the same zombie, he headshot each one with every pull of the trigger, coldly racking up the high score. Ponytail Girl behind him was ecstatic, clenching her thighs and making strange "shih-hah shih-hah" noises, wanting to clap and cheer for him.

But under Haruno's friendly gaze, she desperately restrained herself, only daring to whisper: "Tenkuji-chan, saikou~"

(There really are all sorts of weirdos in this world.)

In any case, Yuu couldn't smile anymore, all his frustration bottled up in his stomach.

He glanced at the remaining levels, silently signaling Haruno to talk to Kouichirou now.

(Speaking of which, why does she need reminding? Shouldn't this be her initiative?)

(Yukinoshita-senpai, why are you just standing there watching? Don't you want to be matchmade anymore?!)

"…"

This time, she understood Yuu's expression. Haruno shrugged, no longer paying attention to Ponytail Girl, who seemed eager to shoot with Yuu… shoot zombies together, that is. She walked back to Kouichirou's side, smiling casually:

"So, how's my new coach? Pretty skilled, right?"

"Not just skilled. No wonder you said you couldn't beat him." With a strange glint in his eyes, Kouichirou stared deeply at the young man, smiling. "Is he on the national shooting team? If he's not at the next Olympics, I won't watch."

"Then you'll be disappointed. He says he's just a sharpshooter who does it as a hobby, with no plans to compete professionally."

Not revealing that the guy had even more skills, Haruno suddenly shifted the topic, smiling sweetly:

"Yuuki-kun, what about you? I heard you often work out at the gym. Got a favorite sport?"

This was an attempt to gather information, starting with casual small talk, gradually learning about interests, habits, personality, frequented places, and planning an appropriate approach.

For Haruno, every step in interacting with others was calculated—she lived in this meticulous, exhausting way.

But right now, there seemed to be one exception.

Facing this all-capable little monster who could beat her at everything, she suddenly wanted to try being a bit dumber, like a helpless hostage, living carefree for this short week.

Maybe, just maybe, she could gain something more beautiful than lies—who knows?

With that thought, Haruno couldn't help but laugh at her own naivety.

"Me? Kendo. I love the sound of clashing swords. But more than that…"

At that moment, Kouichirou's soft, low voice sounded, pulling her thoughts back.

"Could you tell me about Tenkuji-kun? I want to know more."

Haruno: "…"

Her head froze for a moment.

…Huh?

Huh????

(I didn't mishear, did I?)

"You said you want to know more about Tenkuji-kun?"

With an expression of doubt toward her own hearing, Haruno slowly raised her gaze to look at Kouichirou.

Kouichirou smiled, looking at her with equal interest, his gaze seemingly saying—

If you don't mind, could you introduce him to me?

"Haruno-san, you didn't mishear." With a firm nod, Kouichirou gave an affirmative answer.

"I'm very interested in him."

"…"

At that moment, even Haruno didn't know what expression to show.

After a brief pause, she displayed a slightly confused smile, her voice hesitating: "Hmm… Can I know why?"

"Don't tell me, Yuuki-kun, you're 'that way'?"

Kouichirou tilted his head in confusion.

"'That way'?"

Stomping the floor with her heel, Haruno suddenly sighed, crossing her arms over her chest, her brows slightly furrowed as if losing patience:

"I mean, gay. Are you targeting my coach? A 17-year-old high schooler?"

As if her rare toy was being eyed by someone else, the smile at the corner of Haruno's lips faded unconsciously, her gaze toward Kouichirou slowly becoming as dangerous and sharp as when she'd looked at Ponytail Girl earlier.

"Ah, this…"

Kouichirou froze for a few seconds before his face flushed, reacting with slight awkwardness and quickly denying:

"No, no, no way! You've got it all wrong—my orientation is perfectly normal! Though I've been curious and read some BL, I'd never betray my Shana and Louise… Cough cough cough!"

Though he hurriedly covered it with coughs, Haruno's ears weren't broken—she'd definitely heard plenty of interesting things.

BL? Shana, Louise?

"Hmph…"

Blinking thoughtfully, her shocked expression vanished, her pink lips slowly curving upward.

She lowered her hands, showing her usual friendly smile, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Kouichirou.

"Hey, hey, Yuuki-kun, how about we trade some info?"

Her tone was sweet and cute, yet firm and undeniable.

"You start."

"Ugh…"

As if a beast bared its fangs in front of him, Kouichirou's cheek twitched, and he couldn't help but take a step back.

Finally, his shoulders slumped, and he closed his eyes in despair.

"…A-Alright."

On the other side.

Yuu was tightly surrounded by Ponytail Girl, who'd finally found her chance, leaving him completely unable to pay attention to their conversation.

"Tenkuji-chan, I want to be as good as you~ Can you teach me how to hold the pistol~"

"Sorry, no time."

"Eh~ Don't be like that, Onee-san's begging you~"

"…"

(Annoying woman, so noisy!)