Chapter 4 - Bond

BZZZ… BZZZ… BZZZ…

"H-Hello? Is… Is this Hikigaya? For…"

"Hahahaha!"

"Shut up Riko, I'm doing it!"

"For the longe-"

... Don't I get enough of this shit at school? I'm surprised they even have the energy to pester me after everything that happened today. Shouldn't they should be out gathering nectar or snatching flying insects with their tongues? Go interact with your own species.

"You're fuckin' dead, dead, DEAD!"

Like these rednecks, for example. Do you see them mingling with Triads? With hipsters? Of course not.

"Sorry it has to be like like this Ervin, but you're kinda cutting into my business. So... I kinda have to cut into you."

"Wait, wait, we can work somethin' out, Travis. Please, I- AAAHHHHH!"

I can't stand when people make that face. I already see it everyday, just let me play MVT 5 in peace.

"Travis Parker Enterprises!"

Enough.

"What's a goin' on in he- oh my god! Ervin!?"

Stop making that stupid face!

"Jesus Christ! Whaddya do to Erv-"


I think I deserve an iced coffee after the day I've had.

... But why do they bother putting a pull-tab on it if it's just going to snap off before the can opens all the way? Maybe I can just push the ta-

Ow! "Shit!"

Bad idea. Let's see how you handle a screwdriver, you little bastard.

'You'll have to try harder than that, kid! Ohohohoho!'

Fuck you! Just open, you little shit!

'OWWWWWWW!'

... That was much more difficult than it ne-

'It's... everywhere... so cold...'

I guess I pushed a little too far with the screwdriver. Pierced right through the bottom, too. No big deal, I'll just get ano-

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?"

"..."

Deep breaths, Hachiman. Just clean it up, no big deal. You're better than this. Just-

"Onii-san...?"

"... Komachi."

Why are you making that face?

"Is... Is everything, okay? I heard a noise..."

'Kid... She looks... so disgusted... with you... Ohoho... hoho...'

"S-Sorry, Komachi... There was this bug on the wall..."

Actually, I think there's more to it than just 'disgust.'

"I-I just threw my can at it... I-It surprised me, you know? I'll... I'll clean this up, so... please... don't tell Mom and Dad about this... Okay?"

"Okay... I'll be upstairs..."

"L-Let me know if you need something... Okay, Komachi?"

"..."

'I think... she's afraid of you... kid... You're a... goddamn monster... Oho... ho..."

... What am I doing?


N0rmieh8tr: 195

realandspectacular: 341

Am I playing against Shakespeare!? I bet you're using an online dictionary, you cheating piece of shit!

"... Onii-san?"

Komachi... To be honest, I'd rather not deal with her right now. We weren't exactly close before, but now... I'm sure it's going to be awkward. Seeing your big brother throw a temper tantrum over a beverage can must be disappointing... I'm glad I don't have any older siblings to disappoint me like that.

"You need something?"

"Can I... come in?"

"... Sure."

"..."

Yeah... This is uncomfortable.

"Listen, Koma-"

"What are you playing?"

"... 'Words with Others.'"

"Mmm... never heard of it. How do you play?"

Please, sit. Make yourself comfortable. It's only my room, why would you need to ask?

"... You just spell stuff out. Hard letters like 'J' and 'Q' are worth more than easy stuff like vowels. And there are these multip-"

"Oh! you have 'jonquil.'"

Excuse me? "What?"

"'Jonquil.' J-O-N-Q-U-I-L. Right there."

... 78 points. Maybe I'm just abhorrent at this game.

"Komachi, how do you know a word lik-"

"Grandma and Grandpa sent a postcard a while back! It had a bunch of pretty yellow flowers on it, and Mom said they were 'jonquils.' Heehee."

Wait, make that sound again. What was that? I need to record it.

"So... now what"?"

"That's it. The person with the highest number of points at the end wins."

"..."

Sorry to disappoi-

"So technically... those were my points, right?"

"... What are you talking about?"

"I found the word... so they're my points, right?"

"I don-"

Wait, why are you hugging me!?

"You were in a bind, so I helped you out... I gave you some of my points..."

Let go of me.

"So maybe next time, when you're in trouble... I can lend you some more 'Komachi points...' and you don't have to get so mad..."

Let me go! W-Wait, please don't cry!

"You were really scary, Onii-san..."

No crying...

"I'm sorry, Komachi..."

"It's okay... just don't do that again..."

Those are definitely your tears, not mine.

"Geez, you're not supposed to cry! You're a boy!"

"I'm not crying. Shut up and wipe your own face."

I'm really not crying, I swear.

"Heehee!"

Dad, I'm sorry. You were right all along. I understand now.

"Thanks, Komachi..."

"Don't mention it, Onii-chan! Oh! I bet I earned a lot of points with that!""

She's precious. Truly the pride of the Hikigaya family.

"Maybe... five-million! Whatdya think, Onii-chan?"

So, when the boys come crawling...

"Hey, don't get greedy, brat!"

I'll help you hide the bodies.