AN: This fic takes place after Genshiken chapter 121 - at Yajima's house, after Madarame refuses to choose a girlfriend based on luck of the draw. It's something I threw together quickly on a call for speculation on Genshiken's next chapter. It should also be noted I don't actually expect chapter 122 of Genshiken to go like this.
Hato is referred to as male in this fic, but it's more about how I see Madarame viewing Hato than about how I view Hato.
Cheers!
..
Madarame stuttered. He went red. He averted everyone's eyes. He looked for all the world as if he wanted to take back his words. How could he have spurned Yoshitake like that? Yoshitake and the lottery sticks and the goddess of fate that would take away these problems - problems Madarame hadn't even created. He was about to say something. He didn't know what, but he was going to do it when...
"Twelve," Keiko interrupted.
Everyone turned to her. Madarame could barely contain a sigh of relief, as everyone's eyes rolled away from him.
"Twelve," Keiko repeated. She took a long draught of her beer and slumped backwards in her seat, staring at the ceiling and resting on her palms.
"Twelve is the number of guys I've dated in the last year," Keiko said. She looked bored. "I don't want to even say how many of them actually managed to dump me before I could dump them. ...Somehow watching you like this... I don't want you to be number thirteen..."
She swung her head up to crane it at Madarame. She lifted a hand up off the ground and held it out in refusal, measuring the distance between them.
"I'm out," she said.
The silence hit him and then...
"Aha..." Madarame said.
"So it's just Hato, Angela, and Sue, then..." Yoshitake narrated.
"Eh-" Angela shrugged. "I offered to share, and even that wasn't enough to convince him. Maybe I'm really not his type." She smiled carelessly. "Kampai!" she announced brightly, before downing her drink.
Madarame relaxed, his options were narrowing by the minute but still... His eyes darted to Hato, and then to Sue, who was huddled safely in Ogiue's arms.
"Sue really is a great girl. A great opportunity!" Ogiue enthused.
"I... I really don't know what I want..." Sue said quietly. She seemed to shrink... pulling herself under the kotatsu... "You should just... hatomada..." she finished in a whisper.
"..." Madarame turned to Hato. "Eh... Would you... even...?" he asked. He felt suddenly lacking in confidence.
Hato didn't answer immediately. His face was burning red, but he didn't meet Madarame's eyes. "Well... it seems... by process of elimination..." He looked at the other members of the Genshiken, to Sue and to Angela and to Keiko, and then, finally, shot a bitter and triumphant grin at Yajima.
"I win," Hato announced.
