"We are not using my cat" I told Yukinoshita firmly.

It was simply not a possibility. To drag Kamakura out of the warm, comfortable, safe environment that is the Hikigaya household would be a crime worthy of death.

Isn't the saying 'be nice to other if you want them to be nice to you' or something like that?

I refuse to have that bad karma on my hands.

Well, I don't really believe in that kind of stuff, but you can never be too careful. After all, what if I had some weird curse on me or something? That would suck.

"And why might that be?" responded Yukinoshita.

"It would be unfair to Kamakura?"

"Why was that phrased as a question?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about" I responded, turning my head away.

I heard Yukinoshita let out an exasperated sigh.

"Kamakura is your cat, I presume?"

"Yeah."

"So, what might your grandiose reason for not using Kamakura be?"

"I'm glad you asked. You see, Kamakura has lived a life of luxury within the Hikigaya household. From birth to current day, he has been raised with a certain standard of living. To drag him outside on a day as cold as this, forcing him to miss his afternoon nap, would be quite rude from any and all perspectives."

Yukinoshita quirked her eyebrow at me, but I pressed on.

"Furthermore, because of my undying affection fo—"

"Is that really the reason?" Yukinoshita interjected coldly.

No.

"Yes" I sweatdropped.

"I see."

It's not that I don't want to help Kakakaki-san. It's that, uh, there are better ways to do it! Yeah. It's not that I don't want to walk home and walk back just to bring Kamakura, or anything. And I mean, I'm super, totally fine with standing outside in the cold waiting. Yeah, total—

"It would not be because you don't want to go home and get your cat, would it?"

"Of course not" I responded in my best poker face.

"Nor would it be due to your opposition of waiting outside, now would it?"

I felt eyebrows twitch in slight annoyance.

Oi, what are you, a mind reader? Can you hear my thoughts right now? If so, just know that I find your accusatory statements quite rude.

A tense silence hung over the club room, neither Yukinoshita nor I daring to give in first.

I met her unblinking, icy gaze as best I could. Seconds ticked by. Time seemed to warp around me. The silence was deafening. In contrast to Yukinoshita's icy gaze, I could swear the room was heating up at an alarming rate.

"W-well, it's fine either way, right?" commented Yuigahama, saving me.

Yukinoshita and I broke gazes, instead turning our attention to the third person in the room.

"And why would that be, Yuigahama-san?" asked Yukinoshita.

"I mean, I can just bring my dog, Sable."

I stiffened at the mention of her dog's name. It was the first time I had ever heard the odd name, but I knew which dog she was talking about.

I knew how it looked. I knew how sounded. I even knew how it smelled.

Why? Oh, because I had to grab it to save it from becoming roadkill. Courtesy of…

… a particular pink-haired club mate of mine.

I stared at Yuigahama while she and Yukinoshita started discussing the possibility of substituting Sable for Kamakura in our ridiculous plan.

There are very few memories that I actively try to remember. Most things get thrown into the void at the end of the day. Only things that are important, such as the cause of my hospitalization, do I end up keeping.

I wondered what Yuigahama's plan was. So far, she has acted like nothing ever happened. As if I didn't jump in front of a car for her dog.

Which, by all means, works for me. If anything, I would prefer not to have 'hero' stamped on my forehead. That's a surefire way to garner some attention. What I'm saying is that in the end, everything worked out for me. The dog didn't die, and I didn't get dragged into the spotlight.

It's a win-win situation.

But… why?

It worked out great for me, yeah, but something still sits uneasy with me. It's too… complicated. Indecisive. A problem that grows the longer it goes on unaddressed. I have the bad feeling that it wasn't something I could just ignore, as much as I wanted to.

Go for one or the other. Confront and thank me or ignore me completely. Don't play this in-between game of getting close while pretending nothing happened.

It's aggravating.

Realizing that I was subconsciously gritting my teeth, I forced myself to relax. A let out a quiet sigh, letting my tension wash away with it. I unclenched my right hand and leaned my head back on my left hand.

"Then, would it be possible to retrieve Sable today in time? Kawasaki-san should be leaving within the hour." asked Yukinoshita.

"Hmm… it might be tight, but I think so. My home isn't too far away" responded Yuigahama.

"Of course, it does not have to be today. If it is more convenient, we could simply re-schedule to tomorr—"

Forcing myself upright, I grabbed the blazer off the back of my chair and lazily threw it over my shoulders.

"This is too much effort for a plan that might not even work" I commented, turning towards the door.

"What do you mean?" responded a voice a knew at Yukinoshita's.

"Even if we bring our her 'gentle' side, then what? Suddenly she starts coming home on time? Everything's fixed and everyone is suddenly happy? As if. I don't think Kawakaki—"

"Kawasaki" Yukinoshita interjected, correcting me.

"Right. I doubt Kawasaki needs animal therapy."

"Hoh? So, then, you have a better idea?" Yukinoshita asked haughtily.

"Dunno. We'll see" I threw over my shoulder as I slid the club room door opened and stepped out.

And like that, I was out and about, making my way through the hallways towards a place I knew well. The dungeon (classroom) that Hiratsuka-sensei banished late students (innocent victims) to stay after-school to atone for their sins (sleeping in).

Resting my forehead against the hallway glass, I waited a moment until Hiratsuka-sensei noticed me. Raising my hand and waving her over, she sighed and before putting down whatever documents she had in her hands.

While she walked over to the door, I took a moment to observe Kakisaki. She seemed to be pretty engrossed in whatever she was working on, barely even glancing up when Hiratsuka-sensei slid the door open.

"What are you doing, smooshing your face up against the windows like that? Don't you have club?"

Pushing myself away from the glass so that I was standing back on my own two feet, I nodded.

"Yeah. The reason I'm here is club."

Hiratsuka-sensei raised an eyebrow at me.

"You came all this way for something club related? How'd they bribe you this time?"

"My cat, his comfort, and mine."

"Huh?"

I waved away the train of thought.

"Never mind. More importantly, how much longer is Kakiwaki stuck with you?"

"It's not 'being stuck with me', you brat. It's necessary detention, and it ends in five minutes."

"Hmm… okay, give me those five minutes."

Hiratsuka-sensei stared at me for a moment, trying to decipher my hidden motives.

It's a good thing I couldn't be bothered to have any, or else this witch of a woman would find them.

"Knock yourself out" Hiratsuka-sensei relented, stepping out of the way.

Giving her a silent nod of thanks, I made my way into the classroom. As I shuffled my way closer and closer to Wakasaki's seat, I couldn't help but notice a couple odd things about her.

She seemed… surprisingly devoted to what I now saw was exam prep.

"May I?" I asked once I got close enough, breaking her from whatever trance she had been in previously.

She stared up at me, quickly covering up her surprised expression with a poker face. I stared back down at her, my back yearning for relief.

Maybe I should get one of those back-brace things. Oh, or one of those 'sleep while standing up' harnesses. I have a feeling they'd be super convenient.

In lieu of words, Wakawaki just continued staring up at me. Her 'leave me alone' aura was quite powerful. Maybe some other time I'll ask her how she got it so high-level.

"I'll take that as a yes" I commented before spinning the seat of the desk in front of her around and promptly plopping down into it.

I watched as she hastily scooped all of her things closer towards her, eyeing me suspiciously the whole time.

"Yo, I'm Hachiman Hikigaya. Nice to meet you."

"A-ah. Saki Kawasaki. Likewise" came her guarded response.

Kawasaki? I see. I mean, what? I totally knew that's what it was.

"So, whaddya in here for, young lass?" I asked with exaggerated gruffness.

"Huh?"

"Did ya get caught stealin something?" I continued, committing to my bit.

Kawasaki looked at me, her expression of surprise once again peeking its head out from behind the poker face she kept up.

"No, u-uh, I was late this morning. Hiratsuka-sensei made me stay after school since it's my third offense."

"I see" I responded in my normal voice.

Alright, everything is going well. Nice and slow, ease into it.

"Hey, so, your brother's super worried about you coming home really late and afraid that you're pushing yourself too hard" I said in monotone.

Takes too much time. This way is better.

"H-hah!? What are you saying?"

"Hey, your brother's super worried about you com—" I started repeating.

I was forcefully stopped when her (admittedly rather slender) hand grabbed my face, blocking off all air circulation.

"That's not what I meant. I was just surprised that Taishi went and asked you for help, of all people? We don't even know each other. I mean, we just met like thirty seconds ago!"

Tell me about it.

I grabbed onto her wrist and pried her hand off my face, taking in a deep breath once I was freed.

"Long story short, we might not know each other, but apparently, our siblings know each other."

I gently placed Kawasaki's hand back down on the desk and waited for her response.

"… Oh" She said eventually.

"Yeah, oh."

"So, exactly how did it come to this, with you sitting here and talking to me?"

I laid my cheek down on her desk and breathed out a sigh. I hate giving context.

"So, what you're saying is that… you're a sis-con?"

Grr, this girl…

"No, for the fifth time, I am not a sis-con! And even if I was, I don't want to hear that from some closet bro-con."

Kawasaki's eyes widened in indignation as she slammed the desk with her fist and stood up from her seat.

"Hah!? Talk about being a hypocrite, you lazy closet si—"

The abrupt sliding of a door stopped both of us in our tracks. Bending my head back unhealthy amount, I saw that Hiratsuka-sensei had returned.

"You two done yet? You could have been out of here ten minutes ago, you know."

Frantic shuffling caused me to return my head within normal human boundaries.

"Oh, crap! I've gotta go, I'm late" Kawasaki exclaimed as she stared at her phone screen while scooping a desk's worth of school supplies into her bag.

In the blink of an eye, she was up and wrestling with her bag's zipper as she started making her way towards the door…

… only to catch hit her knee on a desk and proceed to fall over rather unceremoniously.

Black lace.

My, how daring.

Sliding off my seat and crouching next to her, I snagged her bag from the floor and calmly rearranged the contents while Kawasaki picked herself back up.

Zipping up her bag properly, I held it out to her when she got her bearings back.

"T-thanks" she said, taking the bag from my outstretched hands.

"No problem" I replied, straightening myself back upright.

"I really do have to go now though"

"Alright. But Kawasaki…"

"Y-yeah?"

"… let's talk tomorrow."

"Fine."

"You better not run away from me. I'll find you either way, and I won't be very happy if you make me run around the school."

"I won't. S-so, see you tomorrow."

"Mmm. See ya." I finished, giving her a small wave as she turned away from me.

Tiredly dropping back down into my seat, I let myself rest for a moment. The only sound I could hear was retreating footsteps that eventually disappeared.

I barely got anything out of her today. I have the vague idea that she is working somewhere, and if I had to bet, it's something to do with her younger siblings. She had a look… that look. The same one I have whenever Komachi comes up in a conversation.

"Quite the player, aren't you, Hikigaya-kun?" came the witch—I mean Hiratsuka-sensei's voice, tone full of teasing.

I groaned out loud, slapping my hands over my eyes. I forgot she was here.

I'm way too tired to deal with anything of anyone else right now.

I refuse.

I'm changing it up a bit with the SakiSaki situation. I always did see the 'animal therapy' part as useless. Well, it gave us some Yuki"nya"shita fanservice, but other than that it didn't make much sense.