Chapter 8: And so, it is decided.

My arrival at this place was an abrupt one. I do not know what I did for me to have ended up here. I wasn't given time to prepare, nor was I even told about any of this. But thinking back, I am not so sure if any of that would have been necessary. I get to live in a decent apartment; all of the bills are mysteriously paid for, without fail; and I always find an envelope containing some cash on the mail slot every single month. Everything was already in place for me right off the bat. If you minus the fact that I left everything behind, then this is not that bad of a life.

A bike from my place to school does not take too long, it's a straight path for most of it, and there are some pedestrian crossings along the way, but it's nothing too bad. At this time, I would usually be at the school gate by now, but that is not the case today. As I walked out of my apartment and made my way down the street, I met her.

"Oh, good morning Hikigaya-kun." Hiratsuka said, stopping as she saw me.

"Morning." I said.

"I didn't expect you to live around here." she said, looking mildly surprised.

"Why would you? I don't think I ever told anyone." I said.

Hiratsuka giggled, "Of course. Let us be on our way now."

Instead of hopping on my bike like usual, I decided to walk it along the sidewalk. As we continued walking, Hiratsuka of course noticed the bike.

"Are you not going to ride to school?" Hiratsuka said.

"Not really. I feel like walking today."

"I see." she said as she gave me her usual reserved grin.

The first part of our walk was spent in silence, with the only sound being of the occasional cars passing by. It wasn't an unpleasant walk, but there was something that piqued my interest. Hiratsuka wasn't looking where she was going, but at the ground. It wasn't as if she was in the zone, and whenever I stopped, she would stop too. It eventually became obvious to me that Hiratsuka had something on her mind.

"So, what do you plan to do?" I spoke up.

"About what?" she said, taking her eyes off the ground.

"About Ōmiya's plan."

"I'm not sure." she said, "I think the best course of action right now would be to provide support for the person that will be voted out."

"How?"

"I don't know." she said, "Who will be chosen? And what will the student council use against them? Without any information, I don't know what we should do."

And there's also the fact that somebody from class 3-A would be chosen too. If we somehow saved one person, then another would still be in danger. There seems to be no way out of this.

"Don't think too hard about it. I'm sure we'll figure something out somehow" I said.

"You're right, Hikigaya-kun."

That was the end of that discussion. Hiratsuka went quiet for a while, once again relying on the cars to break the silence. However, it didn't take long for things to start up again. After a few steps, she spoke.

"Hikigaya-kun."

"Yeah?"

Hiratsuka looked in front of her, and then behind, then to the side. She looked around twice, and her expression was that of concern. When she knew she was in the clear, she calmed down and continued.

"Do you.. umm.. play video games?"

I was stunned.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Do you play video games?"

I knew that Hiratsuka-sensei was somewhat of a geek, but that's her 27 year-old, single self. I did not expect that question to come from this Hiratsuka. I was at a loss for words, and she started looking more and more concerned.

"As I thought. you.. do not like them?" she said, looking disappointed.

"That's not what I meant. It's just.. I.. you.. ugh..". I said, "Yeah, I do play video games."

"Really?!" Hiratsuka's face brightened up in an instant, "Hikigaya-kun, what do you play?!"

"PlayBox, PlayPortable.. something like that, all Sonia's stuff"

"Hmm.. I know the PlayBox, but I've never heard of the "PlayPortable."" she said.

Oh crap, is that thing not released yet?

"Oh yeah, you're right. I think I'm just confused." I said, "I meant I have the PlayBox."

"I see." she said as she struggled to maintain her excitement, "What kinda games do you play?"

"Pretty much anything: FF7, Metal, Resident Bio, and even Farm Story. I don't exactly have a preference."

"That's nice. You're not the picky type, Hikigaya-kun."

"Those people who say 'I'm a genre A guy' or 'I only play genre B', they don't exactly mean that. It's an excuse to not explore new possibilities. They're only limiting their own choices."

"That's really pessimistic." she said playfully, "But I never thought you would be my enemy."

"Oh, am I now?"

"Yup. I'm a Nendo fan all the way. Flute of Time, Mujul's Mask, the Party games.. You can't beat those! Also, there are Farm Story games on Nendo systems too, you know?"

"Indeed, those you mentioned are all phenomenal titles. They really outdid themselves with the games."

"Definitely. I can't wait to play all those games again."

It was so subtle, but one word, a glowing needle in the haystack, somehow caught my attention.

""Again"? What do you mean "again"?"

As I said that, her excitement immediately died down. Hiratsuka started looking down again, her excited expression disappeared in an instant, akin to the sweetness in cheap chewing gums. She took a deep breath, as if it somehow expelled the regrets out of her chest.

"You see, Hikigaya-kun.. I haven't held the controller since last year." she said.

Rather than apologizing for reminding her of something she doesn't want to be reminded of, or even just saying filler words in between her sentences, I let the story unfold.

"Near the end of my first year, somebody found a video game magazine on my desk. I was made fun of for the rest of the term."

A familiar pattern, minus the specifics.

"Starting my second year, I decided to throw it all away. I took advantage of yearly class changes to start off with a clean slate, and meet new people. I learned to become more outgoing, I took fashion a lot more seriously – I just became a generally "brighter" person."

And this is where the familiarity ends. Hiratsuka definitely took a different path than me, but somehow ended up in the exact same place.

"I started helping others host events, and eventually I got to actually host my own. My first event went well, and so I decided to take on my next one, the Cultural Festival."

As she got there, a smile full of pain appeared on her face. Whether she did it as a coping mechanism, or she was internally laughing at her past mistakes, it was nonetheless unpleasant to look at. I felt a weight building up inside my chest, as it no doubt did inside hers, and it felt like it could pull me down to my feet. Both she and I knew what was next, but neither of us wanted to say it.

"Hiratsuka, after all this is over, let's go to Akiba."

She looked at me, speechless.

"I literally haven't been there in ages." I said, "If we don't keep up, even with our own world, then everybody else will only leave us behind. It's cruel like that."

"Really? You would like to go?"

"Of course. No meaning in asking if I wouldn't want to go myself."

The clouds were lifted, and the sky was all clear. And then, Hiratsuka stopped quietly laughing at herself.

"Yes, let's go, Hikigaya-kun." Hiratsuka said, her smile now overflowing with happiness. That apathy that was plaguing her for so long, I couldn't sense it. The face that kept asking "when will it ever end" was now the one of anticipation. If it wasn't because of school, she would have jumped straight on the train to Tokyo.

"Hikki.."

And then it happened. Out of nowhere.. came a familiar voice. A nickname, a very specific nickname, echoed faintly through the air.

Powerful yet cheery, it was a voice I have not heard in forever, so much so that it took me a few moments to realize whose it was.

I stopped and looked around, surprised, maybe even frightened. I scanned every nook and cranny of the street, down to the individual tile, but no one was there. All I saw were people going about their business and I was sure none of them called out to me. But I knew I heard something. I could feel the sweat roll down my face as I could not find what I was expecting to, it felt like I had forgotten something so dear.

"Hikigaya-kun, what's wrong?"

As I was lost within myself, I felt something pulling on my sleeves, and that pulled me back to reality. Hiratsuka looked at me with a worried look on her face as she most likely noticed me acting weird.

"Nothing." I said as I tried to make a straight face.

"Are you sure?" Hiratsuka said, her hand on my arms, "you looked really terrible just now."

"Sorry. I'm fine." I said, "Maybe I didn't sleep enough last night."

"If you're fine, then that's good." she said as she fell for my feigned wellness.

Hiratsuka and I continued on our path to school, talking about various things. Neither of us brought up her past nor my panic attack just earlier. It helped to not have to hear about unpleasant experiences often, and I was mostly able to take my mind off it. However, that voice kept lingering on in my head throughout the journey, I would hear that name in between our sentences. I had constant urges to look around, but I knew doing so would worry Hiratsuka so I endured it as we walked on.

We arrived at school with some time to spare, and students were making their way to their classes in droves. Having always arrived early, I was not familiar with seeing so many people moving through the hallway. It wasn't so bad that we had to maneuver our way through, although the current of people did keep us moving.

"Oh." Hiratsuka said, looking at her own feet, "I forgot to change into my indoor shoes."

I looked down, and indeed, she was wearing her own shoes. The pair, which carried patches of gray stains and minor tears throughout, stood out among the pristine, school-issued indoor shoes worn by those around her.

I don't remember Hiratsuka going anywhere near her shoe locker, which was a column away from mine. In fact, I don't remember us splitting up.

Come to think of it, we were talking the entire time, I thought.

"You'll be fine. Nobody really pays attention." I said, offering not encouragement, but rather reassurance.

"I don't want to cause trouble for those on clean up duty today," Hiratsuka said in a serious tone. She quickly took off her shoes, and hooked them up with her fingers. "You can go in first, Hikigaya-kun. I will be fine by myself."

Before I could give a nod of affirmation, Hiratsuka took off into the hallway, quickly disappearing into the crowd. As she had wished, I made my way to the classroom.

As I approached my classroom, I noticed someone by the door. Ōmiya was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She stood there quietly, tapping on her arm in a rhythm as she stared into space, choosing not to interact with anybody that was entering the classroom.

"Yo, Class Rep."

Ōmiya stood up and uncrossed her arms, reverting to her usual unrefined signature pose where she had one hand on her hip.

"Yo, Hikigaya."

"What are you doing?"

"Just standing around."

"Catching some fresh air? Being around arbitrarily so many people, it's no wonder you were suffocating."

"You're funny." she said, "No, I'm just waiting for our homeroom teacher. He hasn't shown up."

"I see." I said, "How's your plan coming along?"

"Actually, I want to talk to him about that." she said, "Everyone has already sent in a name."

"That's fast."

"Right, and now I have to break the news to the class. I want to ask him how I should do it."

"Why?" I said, making a confused expression, "I never thought someone like you would have that problem."

"You saw how blunt I was the other day, Hikigaya. Nobody took the news very well." Ōmiya said, averting her eyes as if annoyed at both me and herself, "I want to do it right, especially this time."

"You're only announcing the name of one unfortunate person – why are you so concerned about presenting it? If anything, the others would be glad it's not them."

"I can't say it right now. You'll know once we get inside." Ōmiya said, her eyes displaying a hint of discomfort, "You said this was my plan, but that's not true. I didn't come up with this, and I sure as heck didn't know how it would end."

"I had a suspicion it's mostly your fellow council members. This whole thing doesn't sound like something one person would just think up."

"Your suspicion is correct. The council office and us thirty other members are supposed to come up with a plan together. But this time, I didn't provide any input whatsoever."

"Is that one way of avoiding responsibility?" I said jokingly.

"Who knows?" Ōmiya said, grinning lighty, "But really though."

Then, she lowered the arm that had been on her hip the entire time. She stood in a rigid, no-nonsense fashion, her sleeves straightened as her arms did.

"Hikigaya, whatever happens, I want you to remember one thing: I speak and act as Ōmiya Miyo, member of council from class 3-F, not as Ōmiya Miyo, your friend. This is all going according to the motion carried by the student council, in the name of the students."

I wanted to respond somehow, but I knew most of it was not up to her. I had only been on the opposite end of this debacle, and I'm not sure if doing this would absorb her of any responsibility. This is so different from how it was back there, where it was all simple and clear cut. Something must have happened here between now and years later where I enroll.

"Hikigaya-kun. Ōmiya-san." said somebody down the hall, to which both Ōmiya and I shift our attention to. With the students mostly inside their classes, the hallway was clear to see. Hiratsuka, having changed into her indoor shoes, was slowly running toward us.

"I don't think Kasuga-sensei is coming this morning." Ōmiya said, "Remember, Hikigaya, it's all business."

With that, Ōmiya made her way into the classroom while her friend ran through the hallway, trying to not make so much noise. She stopped in front of me for a moment, catching her breath.

"What were you doing standing out here, Hikigaya-kun? Let's get inside."

And so, we did. Being the last person into the classroom, I slid the door close. The atmosphere was unlike anything I had experienced. There was voluntary silence of unprecedented scale, and I could feel the stress in the air. The general expressions on the students' faces were that resembling guilt. Ōmiya, who stood at the teacher's podium with a small box, had a similar look on her face.

Not even Hanasaki Saki, the joker of 3-F, would say anything.

As soon as Hiratsuka and I got to our seats, Ōmiya started.

"As you all know, the other day, I asked all of us to write a name on a piece of paper, and put it in this box." Ōmiya said as she held up the object in question, "Within a few days, I have received a name from everyone. Thank you to all of you for your diligence."

She put the box down on the podium and continued.

"I know it was difficult for us to have to police each other, but due to our unyielding vigilance, most of us, who I believe are innocent, became free of suspicion. I have tallied up the names, and apart from some abstention, we have arrived at the destination unanimously."

Ōmiya slowly closed her eyes, and remained quiet for some time. To the curiosity of her classmates, she once again started tapping on the podium in a rhythm, breathing heavily in between. After a few moments, she opened her eyes, having stopped her display of habit. She looked at somebody's general direction. It was as if an arrow was shot from her eyes, and flew straight at its target somewhere near the windows.

When I saw where it landed, my heart sank to the bottom of my stomach.

"Hiratsuka-san." Ōmiya announced. Needless to say, the chosen girl was in shock as she stared back at her friend in horror. Her mouth started visibly shaking, and her eyes opened wide. Hiratsuka looked as if she could collapse to the ground at any moment, contrasting with the rest of the class, who appeared relieved but generally stiff from guilt.

"Out of the forty names I have received, thirty-six of them are yours." Ōmiya, knowing there was no way back, continued, "Please report at the student council's room after school."

As I started rubbing my forehead in utter confusion, it happened again..

"Hikki.."

The voice from this morning called out to me faintly. And much like this morning, I started turning my head left and right, desperately trying to find where it came from. When I thought I was going to miss it again, I found it. Standing right in the middle of the classroom, miraculously not being noticed by any one else, was a girl who smiled at me. A short, light-orange hair and a side-bun to go with it. The loosely worn bow tie, the bag, and those peach-colored eyes. There was no denying it..

It's her..

When our eyes finally met, she said it once more.

"Hikki.."