"Empathy?"

Hachiman nodded, a thoughtful look on his face as the trio continued on the tour around Chiba. "It's just a hypothesis, but given Sakuta's living conditions when we first met back then, I could only assume that he developed the syndrome in a way that allows him to feel the pain of others." He glanced towards Sakuta's chest, tilting his head towards Mai. "...As you can see, evidenced by the scars on his chest."

"Wait, if you figured this out back then, why didn't you tell me?"

"Even I can feel embarrassed, as secondary as it would be." Sakuta gave Hachiman a flat glare, and the latter coughed and glanced away from his friend. "And what am I supposed to say? That you need to be more selfish?"

"Ah, well...you have a point."

"See?"

"Well, he's pretty selfish now, so I think that it wouldn't be a problem any longer." Mai said, shooting a cheeky grin at Sakuta, who in turn glanced away from his girlfriend and scratched his cheek. Hachiman sighed, feeling some sort of secondhand embarrassment from the two.

"Can you...not do this kind of thing in public?"

"Jealous?" Dear God no.

"He is."

"Both of you, shut up." Hachiman groaned, feeling a little migraine coming on as both Mai and Sakuta snickered at him. "Well, just in case I missed something, where do you want to go next?"

"Sakuta, your turn."

"I thought it was yours, Mai-senpai."

Hachiman let out an irritated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to find some solace in the world. A few seconds of silence later, he opened his eyes to find both Mai and Sakuta staring at him with curious expressions on their faces. "No, it's nothing", he said, rubbing his temple as his brows furrowed in thought, "I just thought I needed some help with a...problem of mine."

Mai blinked, but Sakuta got the hint, narrowing his eyes at Hachiman. "Who?" He asked, his tone flat. Hachiman brought out his phone and sifted through some pictures, before showing the pair a photo of a silver-haired man wearing a heavy coat and fingerless gloves.

"Zaimokuza Yoshiteru", Hachiman intoned, tossing the phone to Sakuta, "Chuunibyou, aspiring author...and probably enough issues to drown the school into one of his own fantasies."

"So..."

"He has Puberty Syndrome, yes", Hachiman said, answering Mai's unasked question, "And yes, it sounds clichéd, but I've been seeing scenes ripped straight out of the manga and anime that he reads happening out in the hallway." A frown forms on Hachiman's face, a low growl rising from his throat, "...this is why I hate dealing with authors."

"I do remember you being close to him, though..."

"His chuunibyou paints him as General Yoshiteru, and I'm supposed to be the God of War", Hachiman replied with some air quotes, "To be honest, I actually admire his dedication to making his fantasies as accurate as possible." Sakuta opened his mouth to speak, and Hachiman shut him up with a glare. "Yes, I know how ironic that is. No need to remind me."

The others chuckled, leaving Hachiman to stew by himself as he punctuated his steps with a grunt. The trio turned around another corner, and Sakuta's eyes widened, seeing the familiar storefront with some new additions.

"Saize", he breathed out, a nostalgic smile on his face before Mai tugged on his arm. "...What?"

"Hikigaya-san's entering", she replied, and Sakuta's eyes narrowed as he spotted his friend entering the establishment.

"He could've just told us that he was hungry."

"I think that you're referring to a different kind of hunger here, Sakuta."

Sakuta glanced towards his girlfriend, a sly smirk forming on his face. "Never would I see the day that Mai-senpai would crack a joke like that, but it seems like I've been proven wrong– ow!"

"Stop fiddling around and get inside already", Mai said, a pout on her face as she began walking towards Saize. Sakuta blinked, swearing to himself that he saw Mai blink, before he tilted his head to the side and dodged an incoming can.

"Sakuta, let's go."

"Alright..."

The duo passed through the doors of Saize, and Sakuta once again relished the sound of nostalgia. Once the moment passed however, he began scanning the entire place for any signs of Hachiman, and began walking towards him a few seconds later. Hachiman could only stare at them with a slightly open mouth, his eyes wide and turning themselves on Sakuta.

"Well, you're so obvious", he pointed out, gesturing to the scenery around them as Hachiman snorted and buried his head behind a book. True to Sakuta's words, they were situated at one of the establishment's corners, along with a perfect view of the entrance. Mai hummed, mentally taking down some notes as a waiter came to their table and began taking their orders. Both Sakuta and Hachiman ordered burger steaks, while Mai herself was simply satisfied with unlimited access to a drink bar.

"Are you sure you shouldn't be eating?" Sakuta asked, glancing at her with an eyebrow raised as he was poised to devour his food. Mai laughed, looking at the window whilst scratching her cheek.

"I need to go on a diet for a few days. There's a photoshoot coming out."

"Nevermind that", Sakuta snapped, swiping up a bit of his food and offering it to Mai, "I think you've been getting thin for the past few weeks. You might actually collapse if this goes on."

Mai blinked, staring at her boyfriend and the soon in front of her own face, and promptly flushed. Hey eyes slid over towards Hachiman, who was staring at Sakuta with an unnerving expression on his face. It didn't help that his eyebrow seemed to be twitching in exasperation. "I get it, so stop showing off already."

Once again, Mai blinked, only for different reasons. A chill washed through her entire body as her eyes grew half-lidded, and she stared at Sakuta with her lips in an uncompromising frown. "Sakuta..."

"...Damn it."