DISCLAIMER: I do not own Oregairu. Oregairu is the property of Watari Wataru

Part 2:

I sit on my bed, covered by my blanket, and in relative darkness. The only light is the one illuminating from the LCD screen of my PS Vita, displaying a waist-length black-haired girl with piercing blue eyes and an almost doll-like face. She donned a uniform consisting of a white t-shirt with a ribbon for a tie, a navy-blue blazer that complimented her two...ahem…. assets, and a combo of low skirt and thigh-high tights that would make even the most virtuous of men wonder if they should risk it all. Truly, she was a beauty to behold, and surely no 3-D woman could ever hope to match such perfection, right?

The only thing that marred the beauty that was displayed before me was the icy cold aura she was exuding. She did not seem very pleased, and the frown upon her lips only furthered this notion.

"Kana-tan, I said I'm sorry. It was an accident and it won't happen again, okay?" I pleaded to the girl inside the hand-held console.

"Hmph. It seems that a beast guided by lust, such as you, cannot keep his hands to himself. Fine, I'll forgive you this once. But next time you'd better think twice before bringing your filthy claw talons anywhere near my skirt." The girl said, with arms crossed under her bosom and her face turned away with both eyes closed.

"Thank you soooo much, Kana! To show you how sorry I am, how about I treat you to a movie this Tuesday?" I say with a relieved sigh.

This seemed to have gotten her attention, as she opened one eye curiously.

"Oh? And what movie may this be?" She inquired with a tone of wonder.

"Haha, I just know you'll love it. I got us tickets to see Pan-chan III: Lost in the Zoo!" I say excitedly.

Kana just stood there, with her mouth slightly open and a smile forming on her lips. But she quickly caught herself and returned to her neutral face.

"I see. I suppose that is an acceptable compensation for your blunder. Alright, I will hold you accountable and accept your peace negotiations." She says with tone of superiority.

"Aww, Kana, I know how much you love Pan-chan! You can't hide your excitement from me." I tease.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Now, Hachi, you'd better start getting ready for—" she began to say.

-KNOCK KNOCK-

"Onii-chan! Get up! Get up! It's time to get ready for school!" I hear Komachi shouting from the other side of the door.

"Alright, alright, I'm getting up." I groan, dreading the fact that I will be separated from Vita-chan, and more importantly, Kana-tan, for the entire school day.

"Alright, I got to go. I'll see you later." I say with a sad smile.

"Good riddance." She says with a flip of a hair.

I smile, as I know she'll definitely miss me, and turn the console off. After that, I get up and go to the bathroom to freshen up. As I take a look in the mirror, I immediately see the effects of my nightly vigils with Vita-chan. With dark bags under my eyes, and my eyes looking even more tired than usual, I've begun to look even more dead than usual. Sighing, I wash my face and brush my teeth before entering the bath.

Once inside the bath, I recount the recent events that have transpired. On Tuesday night, out of pure boredom, I succumbed to my own curiosity and entered the world of ECSTASY GIRLS. The game was a never-ending interactive free-play where you can make relationships through various means and decisions were completely up to you. Each of the "heroines" had their own personalities, likes and dislikes, and they even reacted to your actions differently. Once you enter an actual relationship, you have the option of making the game go in real-time so that you can arrange actual dates or other events. At first, I was just dabbling, trying to waste some time. But at some point, I became infatuated with the girl whom I was wanted to conquer, simply because she seemed somewhat familiar. It's on the tip of my tongue, but I can't seem to remember who she reminds me of. Anyway, her name is Kana Kishimo. She was a high school girl with both money and brains, and a strong personality to boot. At first, I was put off by her for rejecting my feeble attempt at friendship, but then I realized something. I wasn't genuine enough with her, and THAT'S why she rejected me. Revamped with newfound purpose, I went through many events until I finally gained her honest, although snarky friendship.

By that time, I realized it was already Wednesday morning, and I had to get ready for school. Reluctant to be separated from my first ever actual friend, I deceived Komachi by pretending to head out for school, but actually hiding behind a building until she left the house so I could sneak back in. Since the house was empty, I was never found out. I could make up an excuse for school, too, so that was taken care of. I usually come home before Komachi, so she won't be suspicious if she sees me home after school, either. My plan was fool-proof, and I could enjoy my day with Kana all day without interruption. And I did just that. As the two of us spent more time together, we got closer. I learned even more about her. She appeared to be condescending, always acting superior and always alone, but under act of superiority was a sweet, caring, yet awkward girl. When Komachi came back home from school, we had dinner as usual. I did my best to not be suspicious, and I believe it worked. After dinner, I locked myself back into my room and unknowingly did another all-nighter for Kana-tan. Still unwilling to be apart from Kana-chan, and convincing myself that I won't get in trouble for not going to school yet, I repeated my deception for both Thursday and Friday.

I got a text from Yuigahama asking what happened to me, but I just made up the excuse of being sick. I told her that I'll be back on Monday, and asked her to relay the message to Yukinoshita and Hiratsuka-sensei. With that, I spent the rest of the week furthering my relationship with Kana. At some point in my journey to conquer Kana's heart, she captured mine, and the two of us eventually became a couple. ACTUAL couples, not a flaky relationship. Me and Kana have something special and anyone who thinks otherwise is just jealous. She listens to me and I listen to her. She doesn't make fun of my eyes, nor does this look down on my loner personality. Likewise, I look past her icy personality and see her for the kind-hearted girl she truly is. We may banter, but it is never ill-willed. We have an understanding of one another like no other couple ever could. If I had to, I'd give up my life for her. She is that special.

Some people may look at this situation and say that this is a clear case of game addiction, but I beg to differ. If I was actually "addicted", I wouldn't be able to stop playing the game. I am clearly able to stop playing in my own will. For example, I stop playing when I eat, sleep, and use the bathroom. Yeah, I can stop whenever I want. I just choose to keep playing because Kana-tan would be lonely without me.

Anyway, that leads to where I am today. It's Monday, and I regrettably have to attend school. If I didn't, I would seem suspicious since I already said I'd be back in school by then. Sighing, I get out of the bath and wear my uniform. After that, I head downstairs where breakfast and Komachi await me.

"Morning, onii-chan." Komachi says, mouth full of her breakfast.

"Morning, and stop talking with your mouth full." I say, yawning.

"Hey, Onii-chan, why do you lock your door now on? You hiding something?" She questions with an arched eye-brow.

"What? Of course not." I scoff.

"Uhuh…" She was clearly not impressed.

Though she wasn't convinced, she didn't pry further, to which I'm thankful for. After breakfast, I headed out to school on my bike. By the time I made it to the front gate, I still had 10 minutes before homeroom. After locking my bike, I went in to change my shoes, and headed to class. As I entered the class in stealth Hikki, I noticed that nothing was out of the ordinary. Hayama and his clique were chatting away as usual. Ebina seemed to be normal too. I strolled to my seat and saw Yuigahama coming towards me.

"Hey, Hikki." She waves as she walks over to my desk. "Feeling better?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I just needed some rest, so now I'm all good." I say, remembering my original excuse.

"Really? You don't look very good. You look even more tired than usual." She observes as she points out the bags under my eyes.

"Ahh yeah, I guess I had a hard time sleeping. I was…. Thinking about stuff." I reply.

Before she could ask me to elaborate, Hiratsuka-sensei came in and class began. Thank god.

As Yuigahama suspected, I WAS tired. Because of that, I slept through all my classes, only waking up for lunch and going to my regular spot. By the end of the day, I was rejuvenated from the rest, and was ready for club. As usual, I waited outside the classroom for Yuigahama to finish her chatting with her clique so we could go to the clubroom. Eventually, she finished and came out.

"Thanks for waiting, Hikki." Yuigahama said cheerfully.

I grunted.

The rest of the way, Yuigahama indulged in some idle chit chat and I just occasionally nodded my head to make it seem like I was paying attention. While Yuigahama was talking, I was making sure that Yukinoshita wouldn't find out that I lost our bet. Even though I was definitely NOT addicted to the game, Yukinoshita would argue otherwise and would force me to admit a false defeat, thus forcing me to accept the penalty.

After coming up with a sufficient amount of excuses to possible questions, I found myself in front of the clubroom door. Opening the door, Yuigahama enters and I follow.

"Yahallo, Yukinon!" Yuigahama says as she hobbles to her chair.

"Yo." I contributed.

"Ara ara. You were gone for so long that we were beginning to wonder if you finally turned into a fish and swam into the deep ocean, Hikifroggy-kun." Yukinoshita mocked as she began serving the tea.

"That's funny, because I was wondering if you finally turned into a computer, Yukipedia." I remark.

"I fear that if I turn into a computer, you would use me to satisfy your hormones." She shivers with her arms around herself, acting scared.

"Even I wouldn't do something like that." I argue.

"Oh? Then you admit that you would do something lecherous, just on a lesser degree." She smirks.

"Oh, come on." I complain.

"There you two go again. Back at it with the married couple routine." Yuigahama sighs with her cheeks cupped by her hands and her elbows on the table.

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"Yes, Yuigahama. Please explain." Yukinoshita pushed.

"Oh, it's nothing. Forget about it." Yuigahama dismissed.

After that, club went back to normal. It was strange that Yukinoshita didn't question me more on my absence or bring up the possibility that I lost the bet.

Yuigahama started tapping away on her phone, Yukinoshita began reading a novel, while I pretended to be reading a light novel. Truthfully, I was wondering what I should do on my date with Kana-tan tomorrow. After the movie, I want to take her out to eat.

Oh, I know! I'll take her to Saize. I know that she'll be able to appreciate the greatness that is Saize. After all, she has already converted into a worshipper of Max Coffee.

As I was having these thoughts, I felt the gaze of two pairs of eyes on me.

"Hikigaya-kun, I may be no reading expert, but I am sure that a book is not meant to be read upside down." Yukinoshita stated.

"Hikki, is everything alright? You seem to be out of it today." Yuigahama worried.

"Everything is fine. Don't worry about it." I reassure.

"Indeed, Yuigahama-san. There is no need to worry about him. With as many problems as he's got, he will never be completely fine." Yukinoshita insisted.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, have we gotten any club requests recently?" I ask, wanting to change the subject.

"Not one since Ebina's case. And she has yet to request her game back. Speaking of which, you still have the disc, correct?" Yukinoshita says.

Oh, crap! I forgot that I'll have to eventually return the game and all my data will be lost! NOOOO!

"Obviously." I blandly reply.

"We had a bet regarding that. You haven't lost yet, have you?" she asks.

"Of course not." I lie.

"Bet? What bet?" Yuigahama joins in.

Figuring it be too complicated to explain, I decided that it would be better if Yuigahama didn't know about it.

"It's nothing. Forget about it." I conclude.

"Indeed, it is nothing worth knowing." Yukinoshita agreed.

"Mou, you guys always leave me out on these things." Yuigahama pouts.

With that, the club resumed it normalcy until it was time to pack up.

Yuigahama left first, something about meeting up with Miura. So it was just me and Yukinoshita left. I figured I might as well tell her that I won't be able to make it to club tomorrow since I have my date with Kana around that time.

"Yukinoshita, I won't be able to make it to club tomorrow. I have to do something." I say.

"Oh? Hikigaya-kun with prior engagements? Surprising indeed. However, what could be so important that you cannot wait until after club?" Yukinoshita asked.

Dammit. I knew I'd have she'd ask that. I can't just give a half-assed answer, or she'll catch me. I guess I should just tell her that I'm going to watch a movie. It's not like I'm lying, right?

"I got tickets to watch the new Pan-san movie." I replied.

At the mention of Pan-san, Yukinoshita's eyes went wide.

"P-pan-san movie you say? When did you start getting into Pan-san?" Yukinoshita whispered.

"Uhh… I don't know. I guess because Komachi kept nagging me to watch it with her, and I guess it wasn't too bad." I offer.

Truth be told, that was a lie. Kana-tan kept nagging me to watch the first two Pan-san movies because they were her favorites, and that the real reason I even put up with Pan-san.

"I suppose that's understandable. After all, none can deny the greatness that is Pan-san after truly seeing how amazing it is." Yukinoshita nodded her head in agreement to what she just said.

"Yeah…."

"Now that I think about it, I was meaning to watch that movie as well. Perhaps I will cancel club activities tomorrow to celebrate your acceptance to the mystical world of Pan-san." Yukinoshita concluded.

I guess she wanted to watch the movie too. Well that's fine, as long as she doesn't get in the way of my date with Kana.

"Alright. Sounds good." I say as I get up to leave.

"Where are you going, Hikigaya-kun?" She asks just before I could exit the room.

"Home?" I offer.

"We have yet to discuss the meeting place for the movie, and you are already going home. Your lack of social gathering is quite evident." Yukinoshita says with a slight blush.

I just stand there. Shocked.

WHAAAAAAAAAAT? She wants me to accompany HER to the movies? But I have Kana! If I go with her instead, it'll be basically like I'm going out with another girl! I can't do that to Kana! And if I take them both, it'll be like I'm two-timing both of them! Either way, I'd be a scumbag. Either way, I'm f*cked!

"Err… can't you take Yuigahama? Wouldn't it be better that you weren't seen with me?" I try to make reasons, any reasons, that she shouldn't take me with her.

"As unfortunate as it is, it seems that Yuigahama simply cannot appreciate the beauty of Pan-san, so she would only get bored. And since when have you cared for what others think?" She rejects both reasons.

"But… but…. But I don't have another ticket! Yeah, I only have one. So, I'm afraid I can't take you, and even if I wanted to buy another ticket, they're sold out." Perfect. There's no way she can break down this fortress.

"Worry not, Hikigaya-kun. I have purchased VIP seating for all Pan-san movies for the next five years, so there shouldn't be an issue with the tickets." Yukinoshita reasons.

Of course she has VIP seating for Pan-san movies. That's it then. I'm going to be forced to spend my date with Kana-tan in the presence of our resident Ice Queen. If I continue to refuse her request, Yukinoshita will see it as me being suspicious, and she'll find out about Kana in no time!

"Fine. Just text me the details later." I sigh as I begin turning around. I've already accepted my fate.

"Yes, and have a good day, Hikigaya-kun. See you tomorrow." She says to my retreating figure.

On my way back home, I realize I'll have to get Kana something to make it up to her. Thankfully (not), the game has a feature where you can convert money from your actual bank account to your in-game account to buy your girl gifts and what nots. While this feature has helped me get closer to Kana, it has also almost completely drained my savings. But I'm happy as long as Kana is happy. And to keep Kana happy, I'll have to buy another gift for her so that she is not too upset by the new predicament.

The first thing I do when I get home is go to my room, lock it, and pull out my PS Vita from a secret compartment in my dresser. After doing so, I turn Vita-chan on and browse through the plethora of gifts I can choose for Kana-tan before I confront her.

In the end, I buy her lilies because I want to give her something she can hold onto. I initially wanted roses, but they were out if stock. (This game is hella realistic.)

Hopefully now she won't get TOO mad at me.

With that done, I switch on the game and come face-to-face (face-to-screen) with Kana. I explain to her the problem, and as expected, she was not pleased. However, after I gave her the (digital) rose, her temper seemed to lessen and she became a bit more understanding of the situation.

"But hey, this doesn't mean that our date is cancelled. I'll just make sure Yukinoshita doesn't see you and everything should be fine." I explain.

"Hmph. You had better not let this ruin our first date." Kana simply says and walks off the screen.

It seems like not everything is a bust. After all, my date with Kana is still on! Now I just need to make sure it's enjoyable. Maybe Ishikki's will finally come in handy.

With that, I continue on with my evening and by night fall, Kana and I are back on speaking terms and we talk until I fall asleep.

There is no doubt that today was a stressful day.

I was separated from Kana for the first time in five days.

I gained the suspicion of my younger sister.

I got a lot of make-up work for missing school for three days.

And Yukinoshita has basically ruined my date with Kana.

But even after all this, today was not the worst. I had no idea about the grief that would strike me tomorrow.

After all, I failed to notice Kana's death flag.

Author's Note

Sup guys, I'm back with a new chapter.

Before I say anything else, I want to say this: Yes, this is very OOC of Hachiman. After all, he is ADDICTED to a GAL GAME. There is no way he would remain his usual self in such a circumstance, so there was no other choice but to make him OOC.

With that said, how do you guys like the chapter? Weird, right? To be honest, this was a set-up chapter more than anything. I believe I can finish the story in another chapter or two, so I needed to set up a scenario with this. Sorry if it wasn't very good. I tried to make it realistic, but I have personally never been addicted to a Gal Game, so I don't know how one would actually act. I just went with what I see in anime, lol.

Anyways, I'm babbling. Thanks for the likes and favorites. Thanks ESPECIALLY for the reviews and suggestions. To be honest, those make my day, whether they be good or bad. It makes me feel good to know that people would actually read something that I made.

Until next time