In life, why do we tend to expect things when it comes to relationships or just people in general? When you get a girl's phone number, you expect her to reply within a certain time frame, or expect her to reply in a particular way. But when she doesn't reply when you want to, or when she doesn't answer in the way you wanted, you get disappointed because you got excited at the moment. Humans have a natural tendency to pin their hopes for happiness on fulfilled expectations. So, if your favorite anime always airs every Saturday or Sunday, but if the anime studio delayed this week's episode for whatever reason, you will most likely get disappointed. You always expect that show to air every week at a specific time, but you never expect the possibility of a delay in the airing schedule. But how about for people?

I believe we as humans tend to delude ourselves when it comes to people. You may find yourself imagining scenarios that you wished would've happened at the moment. When that happens, you ruin the image you had of that particular person and replace it with a fake one that abides by your ideals and expectations. So, when that image gets shattered, you get disappointed because you thought that they were going to act a certain way, and that leads to resentment. You feel like you've been treated unfairly because everything you expected from this person gets destroyed. So, why do we do it? I can accept reality you know, but there are times where you just subconsciously set expectations for people whenever you get excited about something.

Expectations and people go hand and hand, so that relates heavily to my relationship with Kawasaki. As much as I tell myself not to do it, I still find myself doing it and it's a bad habit. I'm not expecting anything from my relationship with Kawasaki, but at the same time, I am. I am expecting her to reciprocate this desire that I have, but that expectation could very likely get shattered like before with a specific person I know. I just want this one thing, and I want to experience that feeling again even if it is for a short amount of time.

As I was in deep thought, I walked down the stairs only to get met with two pairs of people.

"Oh. Hey, Hachiman."

"Totsuka…" I said, averting my gaze to the other person who was by his side.

"Hachiman, it is good to see you, my comrade."

I haven't seen these two in a while, but it was a surprise to see the two of them together.

I spoke as I was slowly walking down the stairs. "Yeah. But it's strange to see you two together, what's the occasion?"

"Well, Zaimokuza-kun and I were planning to go to Size right now."

Zaimokuza, you dog. How did you do it? Or was it Totsuka that initiated it?

"Really?" I said asking Totsuka, getting a strong nod from Zaimokuza, which I partially ignored.

"Yup. I also figured it was a good idea to read over his new light novel, which is pretty good by the way."

Ah, so he forced his new light novel down his throat. Totsuka, I'm sorry that you had to go through such a thing.

"Indeed. I recently joined the writing club and they are all eagerly waiting for my next arrival. The only thing those people know how to write is fan fiction, so I feel like a god amongst these peasants whenever I enter through that door." He said, with Totsuka laughing awkwardly.

"Is it better than the time when you asked me for help?"

"Exponentially better. They are assisting me in this journey as well, and they are less critical than Yukinoshita-san, which makes taking criticism a lot better."

Yeah… good times, huh?

"Right," I paused. "Well, I'm going to head home now, see ya," I said, walking away from them only to get stopped by Totuska.

"Hachiman, you should come to Saize with me and Zaimokuza-kun. I haven't seen you in forever, and I feel it'll be nice to talk to you again like before." He said, with a small tint of pink in his cheeks.

As he said that, I could see Zaimokuza from the corner of my eye with an expression of disappointment. Sorry, buddy, but I'm not going to let this opportunity go to waste.

"T-Totuska… I'll tag along, don't you worry," I said, cheerfully.

As I said that, I began walking with them as we slowly made our way out of the building.

Now that I think about it, didn't I ask him out before, basically? I mean, like friends, but I made it seem like it was kind of asking him out. We didn't spend time with each other during that time frame, but fortunately enough, I bumped into them and now I'm tagging along.

As we were walking, I decided to break the ice. "So, Totsuka, is his new manuscript actually good? Or did he pay you to say that?"

He laughed, then Zaimokuza answered. "N-No it's good! If it wasn't I would've been kicked out of the writing club by now."

"Well, he isn't technically wrong, Hachiman. But I don't really understand this kind of stuff, but it was an interesting read for sure. Lots of unexpected plot twists and stuff, you know?"

Huh, maybe it's worth a read after all.

"Is that so? Maybe I'll give it a read one of these days, like before. It's the same genre, right?"

"That's right, so you'll most definitely like this kind of writing, Hachiman."

Zaimokuza's writing wasn't the best, but I have to commend him for his passion for writing. Even though his piece back then wasn't the best, actually it was pretty garbage, but you can tell he put his heart and soul into that manuscript. So, if he actually writes a fairly decent story with that same passion and heart, then you're probably looking at a potential solid light novel.

"So, what have you been doing since the service club has been disbanded, Hachiman? I wanted to make a request, but I was informed that the club no longer exists, which led to me joining the literature club."

"Well, umm… nothing."

Everything I've been doing after school has not been productive even in the slightest. Watching anime, playing video games, sleeping is not really productive. Granted, you can argue that reading is productive but other than that I've been doing practically nothing with my time.

"You should stop by the literature club one of these days! We can use a reader like you in our club!"

"Wait, I never said I was going to join the club. I only said I'll read your paper."

"Ah, but you're not doing anything else with your time, right? Come join, you'll be an alpha amongst these peasants."

"You're obviously getting some sort of ego boost out of this thing. You're lucky I even considered reading your story, so don't push it."

"Fine, you win this time. But I wasn't lying when I said we can use someone like you in our club. The other members will appreciate your knowledge and taste."

My taste is garbage, (mostly) so I don't understand what this dude is even talking about. But the thought of joining another club seemed out of the line for me. Occasional stops here and there might be okay, but full-on joining another club? No, I don't think so.

After walking for about ten minutes, we found ourselves in front of Saize. I put my bike into the bike rack and made our way inside. As soon as we walked in, I noticed that there were lots of high school students occupying the room. Even though it seems that Saize has a reputation for being cheap, you can't say that this isn't a bad spot to eat at. Sure, the food might be overcooked and greasy at times, but it has good price value that you can't get anywhere else.

When we gave the cashier our orders, we took a table number and made our way to the nearest booth.

"It's kind of packed, huh?"

"The one nearby the school is always packed, I'm surprised we managed to get a booth."

"Indeed," Zaimokuza said, reaching into his bag. "Oi, Hachiman."

"Hmm?"

He softly tossed his light novel manuscript across the table, which caught me off guard.

"Do you seriously carry this around with you?" I said, turning to the first page.

As I was reading the first page, I noticed how much he improved since the last time I read his writing. It still reeks of self-insert, but it has drastically improved to the point where this could be a legitimate light novel with years of revision.

"It's not bad, are you almost done with the main story? Or is this the whole thing?"

"Oh, trust me. I won't be done with this story for years, I want to make sure it is perfect before publication."

"Right," I paused, looking at Totuska. "How's tennis going, Totuska?"

"W-Well, we're getting better but we're still trying to improve as much as we can."

"I see," I said.

"What about you, Hachiman? How are you doing regarding your rejection?"

I tensed up a bit after hearing his words. So, my confession/rejection public to the entire school? How the hell did people even find out that I got rejected? I am not on any type of social media, so it must be trending on Twitter or something.

"Ah, yes. This has been the new talk of the school for quite some time, Hachiman."

"I got rejected, so what?" I said, nonchalantly.

"What did she say, Hachiman? Spill the beans."

"I'm sorry, Hikigaya-kun. But I must do this. It's not you, it's not even close to it being your fault… it's me"

I'm still wondering why she chose this ending. What did she want to do? And why couldn't we do it together?

"You don't have to force yourself, Hachiman."

T-Totsuka…

As he said that, the food arrived, but that didn't stop Zaimokuza from bugging me about my rejection.

"Well, if you don't want to tell me, then I suppose that's fine. But you need to tell us about that particular woman that I saw with you at the arcade!"

Damn, so he was there. He must've been a ninja or something, a big, loud ninja.

"Ah, Kawasaki-san, right?"

Totsuka knows too? Ah man, does everyone know my business now?

"How do you know?"

"I saw you guys after school one day. So, I kind of figured it was her. But it is her, right?"

I sighed. "...Yeah,"

He smiled. "Well, that explains her unusual behavior in our homeroom. It's all because of you, huh?"

Those two are in the same homeroom, huh? It was quite crazy to believe that almost all of my acquaintances were all in one room together. Kawasaki, Yuigahama, Hayama, Ebina, Totsuka…

Somewhat surprised, I answered him. "Wait, what kind of unusual behavior?"

"Hmm. Now that I think about it, she's been on her phone more often now. And she's always smiling and stuff. Do you have her number? Do you guys text during class?"

"Nah, we don't."

"Huh… that is weird. What do you think, Zaimokuza-kun?" As he said that, we both turned to him, awaiting his response.

"Who knows, but those two are definitely going out! They even went to the arcade together, can you believe that? I sympathized with you because you were a loner, Hachiman. Now, you became the very thing you swore to destroy."

"I think I heard that line somewhere before…"

"Regardless! Don't get yourself rejected twice now, I'll be rooting for you." He said, with a thumbs up.

"Yup, same!"

I formed a small smile. "Thanks,"

These two weren't my friends, but the feeling whenever the three of us talked was always refreshing, to say the least.

As I checked my phone for the time, I got a message from Komachi about five minutes ago.

Komachi: Home, now.

Scary, too scary. Is she mad? Was it something I did? There was only one time I saw Komachi genuinely upset, and that was after the Kyoto trip. Even so, it was something that only took a little bit of talking to fix. It shouldn't be too bad, right?

I was just about done with my food, so I was able to leave without hesitation. "I have to be going now," I said, getting up from the booth.

Zaimokuza looked at me, unusually winking his eye. You guys finally got your alone time, so don't mess it up.

"I had a fun time talking to you, Hachiman. We all should hang out again, what do you guys think?"

Zaimokuza looked at Totsuka and gave him a stern nod. Ah, this guy is definitely gonna mess this up. You'll be in my prayers, man.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind. I should get going now, later." I said, walking away from them.

As I made my way out of Saize, I grabbed my bike and began pedaling my way back home. It wasn't that dark outside, nor was it bright. The sky was a light blue, and it illuminated my surroundings entirely. Compared to the usual sunny days and gloomy days, right now everything around me felt so crisp and aquatic, it felt different, yet so comforting at the same time.

As I continued to ride my bike, I began to dive into deep thought about the past, as usual.

I already said that I wanted to understand Kawasaki more, and I wanted to spend more time with her, that was an undeniable fact. But how can I go about putting these feelings of mine into words? I couldn't even say three simple words to the girl I loved, so what can I do in this situation? Will it make sense for me to essentially ask her out? No, just doing that will be a problem in itself, and I don't have the balls to do something like that, not yet.

But after giving it some thought, I realized that there are things that I can do in regards to my feelings. But the timing needs to be right, and will I need to rehearse the lines in my head before acting. Even so, it is something that I think I will be capable of doing for her, and myself.

As I stopped in front of my house, I locked up my bike and I walked up the stairs. I dropped my shoes and entered the living room.

"I'm home,"

"You, we need to talk." She said, getting up from the sofa and making her way toward me.

I gulped, then answered. "S-Sure, what's up?"

"Taishi told me about you and Saki-san. What's up with that, Onii-chan? Anything you want to tell me?"

"W-Well, some things happened after my fallout with Yukinoshita, so I just happened to get involved with her."

"I see," She paused. "Do you like her?"

I felt my body temperature rise quickly after hearing her say that. I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested in her but is that the same thing as liking someone?

"I'm not sure." I lied.

She smiled. "Well, whatever happens, I wouldn't mind having her and Keika-chan as my sisters. I really like Yukino-san, but things happen, right?"

Unfortunately, things do happen, and things don't always end up the way we want to. The visualizations I had about her in my head were so profound, it was almost like they were ready to manifest into the material world at any second. I could see the three of us talking and spending time with each other, but the reality wasn't that kind. I kept in mind the probability of her rejecting me, but I was confident that it was going to work out in my favor, but it didn't.

"Right," I said, walking in the direction of my room.

"One more thing," As she said that, I turned back and faced her. "What's this?" She said, holding the picture of the service club.

"Throw it away, I don't want it."

I don't want that photograph anymore. That was during a time where I voiced my desire in front of them, and when I cherished the time we spent together as a group. Having that photo there in my room, and looking at it every morning and night was special to me. But that was back then, and now I have no reason to keep holding onto the photo.

"Are you just going to forget about them entirely? Is this it? Is this the end?"

I breathed in and out before reaching into my bag for my cup. "No, but I'm keeping the cup they gave me so I can remember them. But that photo no longer has any meaning to me, it can burn in hell for all I care."

I could keep the cup, but I do not want to see the picture because it would constantly remind me that no matter what I do, I can never get back what is lost.

"They gave you that cup, huh? Can I see it?"

"Sure," I said, giving her the cup.

"And you always keep this around with you?"

"I always bring it to school, I just like having it around with me, I don't know why."

She formed a smile after hearing me. But it wasn't a cheerful smile, it was a weak one, a smile that displayed sadness.

"Yukino-san made a mistake rejecting you, Onii-chan." She said, still observing the cup.

I didn't bother answering her because I didn't know what to say. She did make a mistake because I can't understand why she would reject me in the first place.

"But, at least you have Saki-san, right? And I've noticed that you're starting to get a little better as of recently. And it seems it's all because of her, right?"

"Yeah… it's because of her." I did not lie in this statement, it was the truth.

She handed me back my cup and spoke. "Good luck, Onii-chan." She said, walking back to her room.

If you only stay in the house, then the chances of anything happening to you drops to a steep 5 percent. 1% consists of some incredibly rare and fatal occurrences that will only happen to you once in a lifetime. And the other 4% are external issues that you may or may not be able to control. Your job can file for bankruptcy and you may get a call from HQ saying you no longer have a job. These things are incredibly rare but they do happen to some people. So, whether or not you choose to stay in or go out, the possibility of bad news from any source is always up there. But how about for the other 95%?

Once you entered out the real world, in public, then the chances of anything happening are extremely high. But, I learned that expecting these things to happen whenever you go out is futile because you will get disappointed when you come home and didn't find $5 on the floor, or if you didn't get a girl's number when you were at the mall. You could be walking around one day and a stranger could compliment you on your outfit, or haircut. Granted, things like this don't always happen, but they will not happen in your home. That's why even though I don't like crowds, or people for that matter, going out was always an adventure in itself. Whether it's school, the market, or the mall, you may find yourself getting involved in things that you might not have anticipated happening at all.

I wonder if this applies to my involvement with Kawasaki. If I didn't stay after school that day, and If I didn't go up to the roof that evening, would I still have found myself involved with Kawasaki? I couldn't say for sure, but something is telling that we would have crossed paths regardless of what happened. Even so, she has instilled a strong image of herself into my mind and I need to do something regarding my feelings toward her. Saying that I liked her was silly, but I couldn't deny that I am interested in her. So, what can Hikigaya Hachiman do in this situation? I don't have any excuses to play, so it needs to be of my own will.

The day was lively, and the clear blue skies managed to bring even the loneliest of loners out of their homes to enjoy the weather. I found myself leaning up against a wall staring at the sky, awaiting Kawasaki's arrival. The two of us managed to make plans for this weekend. And we ended up choosing an outdoor mall that was quite popular amongst high school students. I haven't been to this mall before. This one was further than the one I went with Yukinoshita and Komachi, but not far enough for me to complain.

As I was observing the afternoon sky, a voice from my right called out to me. "You're here early,"

Her skin-tight white shirt in addition to her jeans was so simple, yet so eye-catching at the same time. Her hair was in a ponytail, which made her smooth, white skin more apparent, which had me lost in her appearance before speaking.

"Well, it's better to be late than sorry, as they say."

"Right," She paused. "You don't look too bad. Did your sister pick out your clothes?"

"I can dress if you must know." I paused. "So, what did you want to do here anyway?"

She texted me that she wanted to go out to the mall, but she never stated the reasons why. I don't have anything I'm interested in buying, so everything all hinges on her.

"I wanted to check out some stores and hopefully pick out some things that I like."

"Is that all? We could've done that at a local store and find the same things for $20 cheaper."

"Hiratsuka-sensei was right, you do have a bad attitude."

"Leave me alone,"

She smiled, and she started walking to the entrance of the mall, and I obediently followed behind her.

As soon as we walked in, I noticed that there were a lot of people here, but since this mall was so open, there was a lot of breathing room. The sun was shining right in the heart of the mall, and it felt nice to feel the warmth of the sun as we casually walked around the area. As we continued to walk, I also noticed that there was another level to the outdoor mall. The ground level featured a lot of things, including various patches of grass in the heart of the mall. But the upper level seemed home to the majority of the shops that were present here. I haven't been here before, but it seemed like a nice place to go to. And it's not as chaotic as the public mall not too far from my house, so being able to walk without someone stepping on your heel was a good feeling.

As we were walking, I broke the ice after I noticed that Kawasaki was yawning heavily. "Did you not get enough sleep or something?'

"Does four hours count as enough sleep?"

"Well, according to your body, it doesn't look like it."

"I just study a lot for the subjects I'm having the most trouble with. Even with all this studying I'm doing, I'm barely managing a high C in those classes."

"What subjects?"

"History. Our new history teacher is so boring, and his lectures are confusing as well. Not to mention the fact that history sucks, and I'm totally bad at memorizing things."

An opening!? Should I take it?

"Isn't Totsuka in your class? Study with him."

Surprised, she answered. "Aren't you well informed,"

"I'm not a stalker or anything, okay? He told me that you guys share the same homeroom."

"I wasn't thinking anything of the sort; you're just overly self-conscious."

I flinched a bit after hearing her words. "Shut up," I said, passively.

"Huh? You shut up." She said, with some hostility to her words.

We were silent after that, but I decided to continue the conversation. "All things aside, don't overwork yourself, alright? And try to get some more sleep too, or try drinking some Maxx coffee as I do."

"W-where's this coming from?" She said, disregarding my statement about the Maxx coffee.

Hey, sometimes you just need a little Maxx coffee in your life and you'll be all good. Granted, there's like a day's worth of added sugar in those things, but they're still freaking good. If I drink more than one a day I start to feel my heart acting up, which scared me into only drinking one. But I would drink black coffee since it has no sugar, and the bitterness hits different when you're used to the oversweet drinks.

"Well, Yukinoshita used to overwork herself a lot, and she was on the verge of a complete burnout during the cultural festival. So, I don't want the same happening to you, it wouldn't make for a pleasant sight."

Seeing someone burn out? Okay, but seeing a friend or someone you're close to burn out is something you don't want to see.

"O-Oh, I see." She paused. "You still think about her, huh?"

I took a deep breath in through my nose, and out through my mouth before answering her. "Yeah…"

I already said it before, getting over her is going to take some time. Will I get over her during my last year of high school? Probably not, but I'm sure it'll subside into the past once I hit university. Getting over someone you genuinely loved is sure tough, especially when there's nothing you can do to make things right.

"I see," She said, but immediately had her attention drawn to a nearby store.

"Let's go in this one." She said.

When we walked in, we were greeted by the employees and we began our shopping in the first store of our "date." Now that I think about it, this is a date? She said she wanted to hang out with me, so what can you call this outing right here? Now's not the time to overthink, Hachiman. Let's try and stay present so we can get the hell out of here.

As she was looking at the selection of clothes, I decided to casually look at a few of the clothing items on the display table. Upon looking at the price of one of the items, I immediately put it away. God damn, how do people afford clothes like this? Or better yet, how the hell can Kawasaki afford these clothes? I feel like you can find the same things at a lesser-known store for half the price.

"The prices here are really steep."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, but they have some really cute stuff here that I want to try on. And I have a 30% coupon, so I'll be able to afford at least one thing here."

"Uh-huh, right."

She picked up a shirt and faced me. "Wait right here, I'll be back."

I quickly shot back a response. "Huh? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to try this on real quick. Just stay here, and don't do anything that'll get you arrested."

"Ugh, alright." She smiled and walked to a dressing room which wasn't far from where we were at.

Alright, code dark freaking red. I'm alone in a woman's store and I'm not sure how to conduct myself right now. I have to make myself look like I'm just waiting for Kawasaki, but how? I couldn't wait by her dressing room or I'll definitely get kicked out of here in a matter of seconds. I guess the only thing I can do is awkwardly browse the selection of women's clothing.

Before I knew it, Kawasaki made her way toward me, wearing the shirt she picked out. "What do you think?"

"I don't even know what to say, other than it looks damn good on you," I said, trying not to look at her chest which was enlarged due to the shirt.

"Really? Thank you, I think I'll get it."

"Yeah, check out so we can leave. I feel like I'm being watched by everyone here."

"Well, it's to be expected, right? But since you're with me, you don't need to worry about anything."

"Ugh, that doesn't help." She chuckled cutely before heading back to the dressing room to change.

Damn it, I'm back in this situation again.

When she left the dressing room, we made our way to the cashiers to check out, which didn't last long because the other customers here were still browsing.

As we left the store, we made our way outside, and began walking with no destination,

History. Our new history teacher is so boring, and his lectures are confusing as well. Not to mention the fact that history sucks, and I'm totally bad at memorizing things.

I could spend more time with her by using the excuse of studying. And I'm good with history too, so it all pans out in the end. This makes things a lot easier to go about things, but what should I say?

"Hey… you said you were bad with history, right?" I said.

"Yeah, why?"

"W-Well, maybe we can study sometime? I'm still third in Japanese, so I'm sure your grades will benefit from a couple of sessions."

Damn son, that was a lot more stressful than I would've liked it to be.

"You're serious?"

"If you don't want to, then that's fine."

"I-It's not like I don't want to. It's just that I didn't expect you to say something like that, it surprised me."

Is she cluing in on my motives? Does she know? Ugh, I wanna die.

She continued. "But to answer your question… I'll study with you one of these days." She said, with a slight shade of pinking forming on her cheeks.

"Is the local library fine with you?"

Somewhat disappointed, she answered. "Oh, yeah that's fine."

"What? Were you expecting somewhere else? I mean, we can study at the bookstore if you want."

"N-No, the library is fine."

I didn't understand her disappointed expressions, but I didn't bother looking too much into it. While we were walking, Kawasaki grasped and stopped in her tracks.

"What?" I said, noticing her gaze on the arcade. "We went to the arcade not too long ago, do you really want to go again?"

"Quit being a buzzkill, Hikigaya, I think it'll be fun."

I sighed, giving it, and began walking in the direction of the arcade. The arcade she wanted to go to seemed small, and it probably didn't feature that many notable games. Even if they did have a few good games there, I bet there were lots of people waiting to get their turn on it.

When we walked in, Kawasaki walked around at a fast pace around the building, in search of something.

As I expected, there wasn't much here. There was a hockey table, a basketball game, a few crane games, and one Walking Dead game. And the cost for the game currency was expensive, do these guys want us to take out a loan or something just to play their games? My mom didn't give me a lot of money, and I don't want to waste it on arcade games.

"Hikigaya, come over here."

I walked over to her after seeing her pop up from the corner. When I turned the corner, I noticed that there was a connect four game in the corner.

"Let's have a rematch, or are you scared that you're going to lose again?"

I smiled. "Are you challenging me, Kawasaki?"

She smiled as well. "That's right." We set up shop shortly after hearing her response.

Like I said before when digital connect four games had timers, so you need to use every second of your time wisely. You may know where to place your piece, but with 20 seconds left, you can use that time to pick out your next location for your piece. And like most games, if you can't get them during the initial stages of the game, then you're probably dealing with someone who's experienced enough to get to the end game.

As we began the game, we took turns placing pieces and it was going to continue until someone got connect four. I lost to her last time just due to sheer luck, but I feel like I could've played my cards differently during that game. The more pieces you place, the fewer moves you'll be able to make. That's why it's important to set up shop during the early stages of the game. You'll have multiple routes for the end game, and you'll have a higher chance of winning compared to trying to win the last second. You should be trying to win now, not when you're about to lose, that's the key to this game.

When the game was at its climax, I was able to set up 2 different routes for me, while Kawasaki only has one to work with. The thing is, she will be able to block one of my routes, but I'll still have the other one on my side. By the time she blocks one of my routes, I'll be able to win the game.

"Cheater," She says.

"You're right, this was fun."

She sighed. "Alright, let's get going."

"Huh? Is that all you wanted to do?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to beat you one more time. And it was fun the last time, but it was even better this time."

I didn't bother answering her, so we walked out of the arcade in comfortable silence. As we were walking, I noticed that she was yawning again. "You really are tired, do you want some coffee or something?"

She finished yawning, then answered. "Yeah, I think I can use the caffeine"

Clearly.

"Let's get you a Maxx coffee, it'll wake you up instantly."

"Is there like a half and half version of that drink? I'm not trying to die due to that crap."

"Quit being a buzzkill, Kawasaki, it'll be fun."

She sighed. "Fine."

I smiled in response, as we walked to the nearest vending machine, which wasn't far from us. When I received the can, I gave it to Kawasaki and she immediately inspected the nutrition facts of the drink.

"How the hell do you drink this stuff? Do you not like the idea of living or something?"

"For someone who doesn't like my attitude, you sure like to complain a lot."

"Shut up," She said, taking a sip from the drink.

Taken aback, she answered. "This is actually not that bad, I can see why you like it so much."

"See! You just need to open your mind to the goodness that is Maxx coffee!"

"Wow, you really are passionate about this stuff. You should consider being a shareholder in the company."

"I need money for that, and I am dead broke."

"Right," She said, handing me over the can.

"Do you not want it anymore?" I said.

"Yes, that's why I'm giving it to you. It has too much sugar for me to finish, a couple of sips was fine."

"Suit yourself," I said, taking a big gulp from the can.

We kept the conversation going as we were slowly walking outside. We haven't been in a store or anything in a minute, we've just been outside enjoying the weather. I wonder if she's interested in going to some other places while we're here.

"When did you get into this stuff?"

"As I was searching the web back then, I got an ad for it and I ended up getting a can later at school, stupid cookies."

"So, this stuff basically consumed you, huh? I wonder if you took a blood test recently because I am kind of curious to see those test results."

"You want to see my blood test results? Who even says something like that?"

"Stop acting like I'm the weird one here. If anything, you're weirder than I am."

"Yeah, I am a weirdo, but at least I can admit it. But can you?"

Oh? Does Kawasaki not like the sudden pressure that I put up on her?

"A-Anyways… you're good at Japanese right? Like, do you study or something? Because ranking third in Japanese is no joke."

"I do study a bit for history, but not as much as someone like Hayama or Yukinoshita. I just have a natural ability in Japanese. So, I'm sure if I studied and applied myself more, I would have that first place spot secured."

It was true. I didn't study Japanese at all because it was all too easy for me. Sure, some things are challenging and I'll be able to overcome them by studying. But there's no point in doing that because most of our high school grades are pointless to a degree. Yeah, grades are important and all for transferring to a university, but it's not worth the stress and the loss of sleep. But some parents are more strict than other parents. Some parents might want you to get the best grades possible. And some just want you to pass, or rather they expect you to pass. I'm on track to graduate and I got the grades for university, so I'm all good.

"So, what? You average close to a perfect score on the tests, right?"

"Just about. The test scores are public to the class, and I'm usually right behind Hayama since he's in second place."

"And what about math?"

"Ah, I fail everything related to math. But don't worry, I'm not ashamed of it or anything because I plan on majoring in humanities in university.

Whether it be a social worker, gym teacher, or a counselor, I won't need a high mathematics grade for any of that. Granted, the prerequisites may require me to take a few math and science courses. But that shouldn't be a problem, the real problem is the professors. Because if you get a crappy professor then you're in for a real ride.

"I see," She said, with a semi gloomy expression.

"What is it?" I said.

"It's just that it seems like you got everything figured out already. We're gonna graduate before we know it, and I just seem lost with what to do regarding my career. I guess it's just stressful."

I chuckled a little bit after hearing her. "You'll be fine, don't worry. It's not like you're behind on your bills or anything, you still got time."

"Yeah, you're right." She paused. "Let's get some food, I'm starving." She said, with a demanding attitude.

"O-Okay. Umm, how about there?" I said, pointing somewhere.

"I don't care, as long as I get to eat."

What the hell? Is this how women act when they're hungry? Just imagine how they act when they're on their period. The female species, such an enigma.

When we arrived at the food joint, I chose something simple since I ate beforehand and I'm not that hungry. But Kawasaki ordered a curry that looked heavy as hell in the picture presented on the menu. There are some things that you only eat when you haven't eaten all day, like a curry. Trying to eat curry from a restaurant requires an empty stomach. When you eat curry at home, you choose how much you get to eat, but not when you order.

When we got our food, we made our way to a booth and sat down with our meals. I began to eat my food in a slow-paced manner, while Kawasaki didn't waste any time devouring her food. Did she not get enough sleep and didn't eat enough this morning? People say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But I believe all meals share the same significance, you need each of them equally and one isn't more important than the other.

"Did you not eat enough this morning either?"

"W-Well, not really. I just made enough for my siblings, and there weren't many leftovers for me. So, this is like my first actual meal of the day."

With me being the older sibling, I was in charge of taking care of Komachi back when she was a tot. But after the years passed, it came to a point where she took over the household chores. She cooks, cleans, and does the laundry. I practically have no responsibilities in the house, other than retrieving various grocery items from the market. If Komachi was younger, like Keika's age, then I'm sure I would have it a lot harder than I do now.

"So, that's how it is in your household, huh?"

"Oh. Yeah, basically." She paused, taking a bite from her food. "And what is it like in your household?"

"Komachi does basically everything nowadays. I used to do the things she's doing now, but she decided to take over. So, I got it easy compared to you."

"Even if that is true, you guys seem pretty close, so that must be nice."

"Are you and Taishi not on the same wavelength or something?"

"Well, he's just getting to that age, you know? So, maybe he'll be more comfortable talking to me about certain things when he gets older."

As I was once a freshman in high school at one point, I could understand what she was talking about. It's not easy trying to get 14-15-year-old boys to open up about themselves, female or male, it's not that easy of a task to accomplish. Initially, they'll close themselves off until they get older and hit a point where they're comfortable talking about their problems. Right now, I think he's still having trouble talking about this with himself. So, trying to get him to open up is practically impossible.

"I think he just needs alone time and some personal space. Trying to force him to open up about himself won't work with teenage boys. At one point in time, he'll come to you, you just need to wait for that day."

"Really? Is that how it is?"

I can safely assume that his confidence about certain things is at an all-time low. He's probably barely comfortable talking about these things with himself, so he just needs time to himself without outside factors trying to barge in. With me, my parents didn't bother asking me about my life, and Komachi was too young for me to talk to. So, naturally, I didn't open up to anyone for a while. But things like this, especially with boys, will get better with time.

"Yeah, you just got to trust him that he'll be able to solve his problems himself. Or when he gets comfortable enough to open up to you."

"I see. Has Komachi ever opened up to you?"

"No, she hasn't, but I opened up to her before."

Because of that, I was given a reason to save the club I once cherished with every fiber in my body. Because of her, I was able to preserve the place that kept my contact with Yukinoshita intact. Even so, it still wasn't enough and it was all a sham. But if I hadn't gone through that, then I wouldn't be across from Kawasaki Saki right now. So, maybe I had to lose them both to find Kawasaki, but only time can tell at this point.

"You did?"

"Yeah, it was a long time ago, and it was of my own volition. I decided to open up to her, and it was completely my decision."

"Huh… that's interesting."

"Is it?"

"Yeah. I think it's interesting how we can just casually talk about our families like this because I don't have any friends, you know? You're like the only person I talk to, so it feels nice to be able to talk about stuff like this with you, especially when you got a sister as well."

When you try talking about sibling problems with people who don't have siblings, it could be rather difficult. They might have a vague understanding of what you're trying to say, but they don't have that deep connection to the root issue like you do. When I talk to her about this, it's almost as I don't have to overthink about what I want to say at all, it's like the words just flow right out of my mouth. It's like I could talk to her about this kind of stuff forever without the urge of stopping. It's almost as I want to keep talking to her and to continue to stay involved with her. Is this what it means to like someone?

"That is interesting indeed," I said, with my words trailing off.

As we were eating in comfortable silence, she decided to break the ice. "S-So, about that study session, w-when are we going through with it? I have a test in a couple of weeks, so I could use the help." She said, slightly embarrassed.

"O-Oh. Well, I guess next week Saturday, then."

"Got it, next week Saturday." She said, continuing to eat her dish.

The evening blew by quickly, and the blue skies were replaced with the night sky, and the vast array of stars making itself present to everyone here. The various decorative lights illuminated the mall, completely changing the scenery here, making it seem like a completely different environment. But after we spent hours here, we decided to part ways with the mall and made our way to the station for our departure.

These 3 something hours blew by quickly since I was locked in the present throughout the day. Time seems to slow down when you're stuck in the past or the past. But when you're enjoying every second of the day, then you wish that the day would never end. But you can't stop time, eventually, everything will come to an end, no matter what. We will all die eventually, and there is nothing you can do to stop that inevitable fact. That just gets you wondering if the human experience is the only life we get to experience.

We didn't do much shopping other than a few purchases from a few stores. I didn't get anything here because I don't have anything that I necessarily need. Clothes? I'm good. Books? I'm covered. I don't understand the point of shopping for new clothes when you already have a lot of other clothes. Maybe people like that thrill of going to a store and picking up something new, then never wearing it again so they can repeat the process over and over. Who knows, though.

While we're on the second floor of the train patiently waiting for our stop, Kawasaki broke the ice by yawning aggressively.

"Are you like this at school too? This could all be avoided by sleeping a little more, you know?"

"I think I need to invest in some coffee products. My grades are probably slipping because of my lack of sleep."

"Or maybe you're not just as smart as you thought."

She glared at me in response. "I'm too tired to be upset at you, but just know that was a low blow."

"I'm only joking, don't take it too seriously."

"Right…" She said, lazily.

I didn't bother responding to her since she seemed incredibly tired. As I was busy waiting for the train to stop at our station, I felt a subtle weight on my left shoulder.

"Kawasaki?"

"Just let me sleep for a while before the train stops." She said, before closing her eyes with a tint of pink in her cheeks.

I admired her for a few seconds before averting my gaze to its original positioning. Her voice was so soft, and she looked incredibly beautiful when she was in this vulnerable state. It was similar to how Yuigahama put her head on my shoulder a while back. But this time felt different, I didn't mind having her head on my shoulder. Everything about this moment was perfect. But just like everything else, this moment will eventually have to come to an end.

When the train stopped at our station, we both exited the train in a slightly uncomfortable matter that quickly dissolved as we began walking down the block in the direction of our homes. We didn't speak to each other during the duration of the walk, but since our houses were close to each other, the silence was going to be short-lived.

Even if everything I have with Kawasaki goes down in flames, I'll be glad that I was able to experience these moments. I want to keep spending time with her, but again, there are only so many things that I can do. I did manage to ask her to a study session in a week, but that won't be enough. To preserve this sense of calm, a confession is going to be needed at one point in time. After getting rejected in the worst possible way, I don't think I have it in me to confess to someone again. But I don't want to have to wait for her to take the initiative, but that might be the only option I have at this point.

As we were walking, she stopped in front of her house. "I had fun today. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, me too. Night." As I said that, she walked inside her house. When she went inside, I began my stroll back to my house.

AN:

5.5k words of Saki/Hachi huh? It was fun to experiment around with their relationship, and I think I nailed it quite well. Also, if you're expecting fluff yeah goodluck, I cant write fluff for shit lol.

What did you like about the chapter? What did you dislike? Any reviews is appreciated since I don't have anyone looking this over. And since no one is looking this over there may be some spelling/grammar mistakes. Oh, well.

Also, sorry for the self insert with the Obi-Wan line, I just had to do it.