Two Mothers and the Comedy Beyond Bamboo

by SnowPlow

An brash story of twos. The unlikely connected who met by chance. The likely rejected who met again. And...

3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Mama is always right

T-43H

I found myself at the king's seat, except I was wearing a crown of thorns.

I had snatched up a fifth chair from an unoccupied table, pushed it to that rectangular table of four, and sat down. The long edges that seated two each were taken, so I was forced to take a seat at the end of the table. Unfortunately, that was the natural head-of-the-table spot. Even worse, to my immediate front-left and front-right were GahaMama and Yukinoshita's mother respectively. Tobe and Hayama were further down.

Tobe and Hayama looked at me with apologetic eyes.

Yukinoshita's mother looked ten times less pleased with me than usual. GahaMama was sort've smiling, except in a depressed-looking way.

What the heck happened and why did I get dragged into this? The speed at which Yukinoshita's mother found me and the willingness to get physical was completely unexpected.

"Hikigaya-kun, we would like you to explain yourself," Yukinoshita's mother demanded, "That being said, I'm sure you're confused at the moment."

Yukinoshita's mother looked towards GahaMama.

"Yukinoshita-san, why don't you explain everything from the beginning, in excruciating detail?"

GahaMama pointed at herself.

"Me? Well, if you'd like me to. So, this morning, I was bouncing up and down the pavement…"

---

"Everything" didn't actually mean everything. When someone told you to drop everything, the best you could do was release all of the things that you were holding. There were, of course, more things in the world than what you were holding, but how could you drop all of that when they weren't in your hands to begin with? Point is, exaggerations exist, and boundaries are implied.

Either the mother began taking after her airheaded daughter or she just really loved talking. GahaMama began talking about literally everything from the start of her day until now. She went for a jog. She took a shower (too much detail!). She met some people on the way there. She went to the mall and had a rough time with Yukinoshita's mother. So on and so on. She spoke enough to fill a 9000-word chapter in full narrative detail. She drilled her entire day's story into my head.

"…Thank you, Yuigahama-san, but that was much more than you needed to say," defeatedly spoke Yukinoshita's mother.

She held her temple in a similar fashion as her daughter. Although she patiently listened to the end, she was undoubtedly exasperated.

"Whoops, I thought you meant, like, everything everything," apologized GahaMama, "My bad!"

She stuck out her tongue and knocked her fist against her own head. It was super cute, and I could hardly resist cracking out a smile. But that was dangerous in its own right. Next thing you know, you'll start wanting to read manga involving a cute young mom whose normal attack strikes twice.

Hayama still looked as refreshing as usual — but that was thanks to his third latté. I couldn't blame him for deciding to overdose. I don't think Tobe even tried to listen as he found that the desserts on the table were a good distraction.

"So, you wanted to know what happened in the bamboo forest? No wait, you guys just want to help out Tobe, right?"

I chose my initial words poorly. Who the heck wants to talk about that time? I tried to deflect to the other issue.

However, Yukinoshita's mother shook her head.

"I'm much more concerned about what you did back then."

GahaMama spoke, "I'd like to hear about it as well."

So, my past actions were prioritized over Tobe's present concerns, huh. I'm not sure if I should feel flattered or sorry.

"…To clarify, I didn't have any feelings for Ebina-san when I confessed," I began.

The two mothers didn't bat an eye to that statement. As I thought, that possibility was never in their minds. What they were concerned about were my methods.

"It was to protect their group of friends. Well, I'm sure you knew that too."

Back then, I thwarted Tobe's attempt to confess to Ebina-san but in a way where he would not be rejected. It allowed them to preserve their group dynamics.

However, I would never claim that what I did was the best solution, nor was it even a good one. To keep the status quo of friendship despite Tobe's changed feelings was tantamount to maintaining a lie. Calling it a solution at all was wrong. All I did was sweep it under the rug.

"I'm not proud of what I did that night. It was all that I could think of, the only thing I could do. I didn't do anything to solve it. I just made it go away."

The ballad of the unrequited, agonized losers, what a joke. To be clear, there was nothing inherently wrong with being a loser. They were simply less than a winner. Yet, if the ballad of losers was to be sung, then there was zero chance that the audience would become winners.

That didn't mean I completely regretted it. Call it unrepentance, if you want.

"But the end result? Whether it's the me of today or the me of last year, the goal would have been the same."

Tobe was sure to have been rejected that day. There was no other choice for me but to mitigate that impact. Regardless of any ifs, that was and will always be what had already been decided.

The only thing that would differ would be the method itself, not the goal. Back then, even though I knew that Tobe's actions would affect his acquaintances and relationships, I disregarded the potential side effects of my actions, especially towards those who were around me.

There were now things that I did not want to lose. If I stumbled and fell, there were others who would fall with me. I had been stubbornly clinging to myself, not relying on anyone, not accepting that things were different and maintaining my own lie. But such things, I would not do them anymore.

"Yeah, if it's the me of today, I wouldn't be so clumsy. I'd think even harder about it and make it an even bigger deal. I'd pull in more people and be a greater schemer. It was a tough problem, so I'd tackle it with an equally tough solution."

I grinned. People don't change so easily. They just get a little more mature. Though, was "mature" even the correct word when talking about a punk like me?

GahaMama gave me a smile that was as warm as the sun. The natural light streaming in from the window wasn't nearly as blindingly bright as her smile.

"I see. I'm glad, Hikki-kun. You understand it, then."

She placed a relieved palm on her chest. It was just a feeling, but if I had told the same thing to Yuigahama Yui, I was sure that she would have made the same gesture.

"Your lack of insight was astounding. But it's reassuring to hear that you've reflected on it. I have no reason to doubt you, not with all the big tricks and plots you've pulled a few months ago," Yukinoshita's mother gently spoke.

It was one hell of a satisfied face, free of misgivings. That was surprising because I pretty much used her as a pawn in said tricks and plots twice. I felt a bit guilty.

Yukinoshita's mother asked the waitress for an extra plate. They brought it over at a breakneck speed. The service here was insanely good, but that was to be expected, owing to how fancy and expensive everything was. With the extra plate in hand, Yukinoshita's mother expertly picked a few choice morsels with unused utensils, no tongs needed. Then, she handed it to me.

"Would you like to eat, Hikigaya-kun?" she asked me, "Please, don't show any restraint and help yourself."

She showed me an absurdly pleasant smile. It was excessively beautiful because it wasn't a mask used for politics, something that I've infrequently seen. Her formal smiles were already attractive. When they came without a guise, I couldn't look away. She was as eye-catching as a rare flower that bloomed at odd times.

"Th-Thank you…"

Because of that, I lost my chance to refuse. There were a bunch of sweets on the plate that were so fancy, I felt bad to even sink my teeth in them. None of the pieces were malformed; she handled her tools frightfully well.

That exchange actually felt a bit strange. I don't know how else to put it, but she seemed nicer? It's not that she treated me rudely before. Other than her strictness, she treats me quite normally. But today, it seems like she's giving me extra hospitality for some reason.

Across from her, GahaMama blew up her cheeks.

"Aww… I wanted to pick some treats for Hikki-kun as well…" she pouted.

The correct response might've been "y-you still can!" but the plate that I was given already had so many things on it that I wasn't confident that I could stomach more. I was fine with sweet things, especially if they were MAXimally sweet, but you have to draw the limit somewhere. Believe me, no matter how much of a brand ambassador of MAX COFFEE I was, personal experience (and the resultant mess in the toilet) said that drinking ten cans in a day was probably a bit over the top.

"Aha! Hikki-kun's mouth will be all dry after eating all those biscuits. Ms. Waitress, hello! Can we please get a coffee with a bunch of creamers and sugars on the side?"

GahaMama loudly made her request. For some reason, she looked rather proud of herself.

As per her order, a mug of coffee, cubes of sugar and single-serve packs of creamers were served to me.

"Hikki-kun really loves his sweet coffee! Yui told me all about it," exclaimed GahaMama.

Wrong. I don't like just any coffee in particular. It's gotta be MAX COFFEE. Randomly mixing coffee, milk and sugar will just yield a pale imitation. Nothing's going to beat the original. That goes double for the fresh aroma coming from this well-brewed cup of coffee. Give it more cheapness and additives, then maybe we can talk.

GahaMama was right, though. My throat was parched. Into the coffee, I mixed in two packs of creamers and three sugar cubes and drank the liquid dessert that I made.

Across the table, Hayama gave me a bewildered look.

"That much sugar… Can you even call it coffee anymore?" he murmured.

After he spoke, he took a sip of an americano, his fourth caffeinated beverage. I frowned, in turn. Some people thought that adding any tiny bit of sugar and milk to coffee completely ruined the drink. They thought they were so mature indulging in pure bitterness all day. Well, here's some food for thought. Elevating a beverage with sugar, improving something that was suboptimal, was the real sign of maturity. Children are satisfied with the hand that feeds them candy; adults add more sugar to that candy to make it even tastier.

"It's said that there are health benefits to drinking coffee, but if you add that much sugar, any benefits are extinguished, no?" spoke Yukinoshita's mother with a hand on her tilted cheek.

"Indeed. But all I have to do is to balance it with the fresh fruit on top of the cake," I responded before I plopped a strawberry into my mouth.

"So, the answer to unhealthy sugar is more sugar, huh…" Hayama muttered.

"'Healthy' and 'unhealthy' sugars… well, things like that are more about having a moderate quantity of sugar and having other kinds of nutrients in the food you eat. If you're already eating too much sugar, then even healthy fruits, which have sugar in them, become unhealthy," GahaMama explained.

Why am I being ganged up on all of a sudden? Didn't Yukinoshita's mother personally hand me a plate of desserts that were far unhealthier than a cup of sugary coffee?

"Indeed. Hikigaya-kun, you must learn to eat healthily. I've seen you with your bike, so I know that you get enough physical activity. If you learn to eat better, then you'll be unstoppable. In fact, why don't I teach you? The next time you have free time, please come over to our house, and I will cook for you something that's both good for you and tasty enough to want to eat all the time."

Yukinoshita's mother spoke to me with a friendly yet business-like smile. She was intent on pushing things along. Wait, did she just try to schedule a meetup? Oh no, I didn't even have the chance to refuse.

My arm was suddenly tugged from the left. The suddenness almost made me spill my coffee.

"Hikki-kun, you really like desserts, right?"

"Huh? Well, the stuff here is pretty high-class, so I do like—"

"That's great! Why don't you come over again, and this time we won't stop at fruit tarts. We can make cookies, truffles, homemade ice-cream, tiramisu, it'll be great!"

GahaMama looked at me with sparkling, starry eyes. Wait weren't some of those things kind've difficult for a beginner?

"Not just eating but teaching him how to cook… To think that she's gone so far already…"

I think I just heard something from Yukinoshita's mother that I shouldn't have. Whatever she's thinking about, she's brooding about it so hard that wrinkles were forming on her forehead. And don't hit me, the wrinkles were definitely from thinking hard and not from age!

"I never knew you were so popular," Hayama spoke with curiosity, "I wonder what it's like?"

He gave me the sort of faraway stare as if I was an animal in a zoo. I really didn't want to hear those kinds of words coming from the mouth of someone who was universally beloved. I wished he would stop looking so unconcerned and intervene. Well, maybe not. Even if he felt like doing it, he would be no match for these two women.

"Hang on, weren't we gonna talk about my issues!?" shouted Tobe.

An annoying voice flared up from afar. The four of us shut our mouths and looked in his direction.

I was genuinely confused about what he was saying, and I think the others were as well. It took me a while to remember what he was here for.

"Ah, I remember. Tobe needs advice about confessing to Ebina-san again, right?" I spoke.

Hayama briefly made a stunned expression, in realization. He slowly nodded to confirm my words.

"Let's see… In my opinion, it's possible, but it's at an extremely low chance," I declared, "There's barriers that you'd have to break through, though. Once you're in the proper zone, it's anyone's guess what'll happen, but I can tell you that the chance isn't zero at that point."

I hope that didn't come off as blind optimism from someone who had succeeded at what Tobe was trying to do.

Hayama questioned me, "What you said seemed to come from left field, yet you seem quite confident about it. I know that we've been classmates for a while, but can't you say something to back that up?"

His words might've come off as spiteful, but he was being perfectly logical. Although we were classmates, only Hayama and Ebina-san were friends with each other. He understood her better than me; that was obvious. Yet, I spoke of her like I knew her very well. It was natural that he was skeptical.

GahaMama spoke, "Yeah… I don't know much about this Ebina Hina girl, so what you said sounded pretty general, Hikki-kun."

"You ought to take things seriously when an acquaintance of yours is seeking your assistance, Hikigaya-kun," Yukinoshita's mother gently lectured, "Joking around is fine, but this is the time to patiently listen and give advice."

The two of them were misunderstanding my intentions. Though, I couldn't deny that what I said was kind've worthless without context. Also, Tobe's not my acquaintance, and I'd like to have nothing to do with him.

I spoke to everyone, "Alright, I guess I'll have to explain myself. There's a reason why I'm still at the mall, even though I'd normally head home by now. Excruciating detail is fine, I take it? I won't take as long."

I looked at Yukinoshita's mother for a response. She actually took eight seconds to think about it before reluctantly nodding. Wow, she really couldn't handle it when GahaMama was passionately narrating, huh?

"Let's go back about three hours."

---

T-46H

I was lying down on the couch reading some manga. Then, Komachi, who was sitting at the couch adjacent to me, lowered the manga that she was reading and looked at me with a stern expression was perfectly emulated from our mom.

"Onii-chan, I don't think you can be a lazy bum anymore. If you don't get out and do something productive, then there's no way that Yukino-san's family is going to accept you."

She nodded to herself as she reached for a packaged cookie from a pile on the living room table. The strap on her top (no idea what the correct terms are) slid from her shoulder to her upper arm.

"Before you give me any of your excuses, don't think that they won't know!" she lectured me as she tore open the plastic wrapping of the cookie, "They can smell an Onii-trash from far away and boom! My dream of having two onee-chans to spoil me are over!"

She draped one of her legs over the arm of the chair. Then, she threw the cookie in her mouth and chewed loudly, without closing her lips.

Before I could retort, my lazy bum of a sister kicked my lazy bum out of the house. The nerve!

Thus, I was left outside to shape myself up and to seize the day. I wasn't completely directionless, though. I was given a shopping list, and it was my duty to procure all of the items. It listed things like groceries, cleaning supplies, and other household items.

Hold on a second, was I talked into doing chores that Komachi found bothersome? My realization came too late as I was already on the train. I was locked into seizing the goods for the day.

I arrived at the mall and made a beeline for the usual department store. I was not interested in wasting my time window shopping. I just wanted to get the shopping down so that I can go back to wasting my time of my own accord.

No matter which way I turned, only strangers met my sight. It was fortunate that I knew few people and talked to even less. My highly-levelled stealth skills let me cut through the crowds without being stopped by someone for a conversation and wasting precious time (that I would later waste).

After arriving at the department store, I grabbed a basket and scoured each aisle for the necessary goods. Most of the things that I needed, I found pretty quickly. Yet, there was always a subset of things on anyone's shopping list that were, somehow, ridiculously hard to find. You would think that batteries or a laundry bag would be easy to find, but the store's staff would always put them in the most easy-to-miss spots. Batteries were not with the electronics and the laundry bags weren't in the laundry section. Rather, the batteries were hanging out near the cashiers, close to the magazines, and the laundry bags were in a random clearance pile. I get that making customers run around will expose them to more potential items that they'd want to impulse buy, but was that worth making me feel annoyed?

Because of those hard-to-find things, I spent more time in the store than I had originally estimated. I was starting to feel like checking out with a bunch of missing items, even if it would piss off my parents. If they wanted those things so badly, they can order it off the Internet.

In a last-ditch effort to find what I needed, I wandered through the stationary aisle. There, I encountered someone whom I would have rather avoided.

She had short, dark hair that only reached her shoulders. She wore a white sundress that was short enough to expose most of her legs. A short-sleeved pink cardigan covered up her shoulders. That style of dress was vaguely familiar, but her red-rimmed glasses was a dead giveaway.

She, who was currently reaching for a notebook, was Ebina Hina.

Because she heard footsteps coming to a stop at a close distance away, she sent a curious glance in my direction. The bright green eyes behind her glasses met my own eyes, and I lost the chance to pretend like I haven't seen her.

"Oh, Hikitani-kun? What a strange coincidence!"

Her cheerful voice sung out, and she gave me a whimsical smile. Those two things would've been enough to make any guy fall for her, but she sadly had a fatal flaw that I did not want to elaborate on.

Though I wanted to get away, she felt enough kinship with me to strike up a conversation. That kinship wasn't by choice. Somehow, through the requests I've worked on as a member of the Service Club, I came into contact with this girl somewhat often. Some of the requests that she's been involved in were kind've heavy too. The heavy things might've acted like the suspension bridge effect, except that instead of leading to romance, it made it easier for her to waltz up to me and involve me in her wild delusions.

She slipped the notebook into her shopping basket. Then, she closed the distance between us.

"…I didn't think I would meet someone like you here," I coarsely spoke.

"What kind of impression do you have of me, hmm?" Ebina-san bent forward and smiled naughtily, "If anything, I would think that your natural habitat is your own room."

"You've got me there."

Although I smiled wryly, I didn't feel too comfortable about being teased by Ebina-san. A certain someone with long black hair always slipped in insult after insult, and I almost welcomed the ensuing banter. Yet, when toxic words came from Ebina-san, I felt like I wanted to shed them off.

Looking past her usual perverted outbursts, Ebina Hina was an ordinary girl. Putting aside her eye-popping interests, there wasn't any reason that she couldn't go out and do normal things like shopping.

Now that I was knee-deep in a conversation with her, I had no choice but to say something. Unfortunately, I was still not a good conversationalist. The bucket of small talk topics I had was basically empty. With sweat pouring down my back, I slowly asked her something generic.

"Uh, are you getting more school supplies or something?"

"Nope, this notebook is for sketching in," she responded as she showed me its completely white pages, "Homo fan erotica… hah hah… but isn't it just ordinary fan work if the source material already erotic!?"

She started breathing heavily. I took a step back. Way to dash into pieces the expectations of normalcy.

Her passions sure hadn't changed and neither has their intensity. She was not just a consumer; she was a creator. In the past, we put her in creative charge of certain events to great effect. That's good and all, but I hoped that she won't suddenly show me her artwork.

"Hmm, I've been scrunching up a lot of my half-drawn sketches and chucking them in the bin lately," wistfully spoke Ebina-san, "I think I've hit a block. Something like a writer's block, but as an artist. I'm having trouble, you see."

Then, the reason why she decided to buy a new notebook was because she had been starting and restarting. Eventually, she ran out of paper.

I did not draw or write, but I was nonetheless familiar with a writer's block. Zaimokuza often came to me for help with his light novel endeavours. I've never really cared if he finished writing something or not, but he seemed to be satisfied whenever I gave him my criticisms, harsh as they usually were.

"Why don't you ask someone to take a look at your drawings? Maybe they can give you ideas or point out what you need to fix, and you can go from there. Not that I'm volunteering of course," I suggested.

"Buuut, who would I ask, then? Yumiko and Yui are out of the question. Asking Hayato-kun wouldn't mean anything without the HayaHachi dynamic."

Wait, what exactly was she trying to draw? I shuddered, and I was glad that I had immediately opted out.

"Ehehe. You see, HayaHachi has seen some new developments lately. The cool eyes that Hayato-kun gives to Hikitani-kun, and the annoyance that Hikitani-kun shoves right back, it's got tsundere written all over it! So, I'm usually able to draw a lot! Hah, hah…"

Wait, what "cool eyes"? Though that guy is usually all smiles, that's with other people. When it's just me and him, we butt heads. I have no idea how she sees the relationship between me and Hayama.

"But, I dunno. These days, even that's not enough. It's like, whatever I draw doesn't seem to pop out, and I can't really come up with anything good," she spoke with a lower volume.

She peered expectantly at me for a response. Wait, didn't I just say that I wasn't going to help her?

"How the heck am I supposed to know the solution? Maybe you've run out of ideas? Try something new?" I answered.

My response was about as generic as could be. Man, I'm being super normal today. I'm pretty much a normie.

A writer's block was a personal problem. No one else could probe the brain of the artist; only the artist herself could resolve her problem. I'm not an expert, but even I could see that there were an infinite number of causes for writer's block. It could be stress, depression, or other things. That didn't mean she couldn't seek for help, but because the problem was personal, the helpers had to be close to her. Just like how you wouldn't let a stranger into your own room, you'd only let a close friend into your mind.

I was not close enough to Ebina-san to offer any kind of useful assistance.

Well, I guess a real pro in the field would work too. Like a psychologist. In that sense, I guess my club is supposed to be a group of professionals, since we tackled requests without necessarily being close with the requester. But I'm not currently participating in club activities.

Ebina-san suddenly crossed her arms. She shut her eyes tightly and seemed to be thinking hard about something.

"Something new… hmm…"

Then, a lightbulb moment struck her. She opened her eyes and stared right at me with an eager expression. I had a bad feeling about this.

"Hikigaya-kun, hang out with me today."

---

I walked out of the department store, with several shopping bags in hand. Next to me was Ebina Hina, holding her own bags. If I sped up my pace, she would quicken her feet too. If I suddenly stopped, she would walk a few steps ahead, notice that I was behind, and wander back to me.

Her request to spend time with me sounded unusually earnest, and she even bothered to say my name correctly. Of course, I refused, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. When I tried to walk away, she followed after me. She stuck to me as persistently as a stalker. No, a stalker would at least keep their distance. She was closer to being a bodyguard that I did not ask for.

Turning to Ebina-san, I spoke to her, "Can you please not follow me? You're being a bother."

That came out super rude, but that's just how badly behaved she currently was.

Was she always this kind of character? I thought she was the reserved kind of girl who rejected anything radical so that things would stay the same.

"Well, I'm only bothering Hikigaya-kun, so it's perfectly fine," she responded.

She gave me a satisfied nod. Wait, why am I the exception to her own rules? Also, I was not going to agree just because she got my name right.

At this rate, she'd follow me to my house. Then, I'd be in real trouble. I reluctantly turned to Ebina-san, who was still at my side. It was times like these where I had to stand my ground, like a real man.

"S-So, um, what did you have in mind?"

Wait, those weren't the words that I was supposed to be saying. Was someone controlling my vocal cords? Hello, my brain? I'm not supposed to be this much of a pushover.

She tilted her head and thought aloud.

"Let's take a look at some hats. My old one's worn out. Then, we can sit down and have a snack, since the both of us have already been walking around a lot. After that, I'm pretty open. We can do what you want to do. Or, we can call it quits there."

"Surprisingly normal things," I spoke in astonishment.

She bit back, "Because I'm a perfectly ordinary girl with a cute face, as long as I keep my mouth shut, right?"

"…"

I was taken aback after she explicitly gave voice to something that you wouldn't normally tell to someone's face. She was not wrong. There was nothing strange about her appearance, just her mouth.

Ordinarily, one would find a person calling themselves cute to be suspect. That goes double for Ebina-san, who once told me that she didn't think that she was attractive. However, a certain flamboyant, ringed-hair girl had chosen to accept her as friend. Regardless of what they thought of each other now, their friendship started because Miura found her cute. Thus, being cute was absolute and irrefutable.

Not even Ebina-san herself could refute it. Not unless she wanted to refute Miura first.

"Then, the agenda is doing normal things," I said.

"Yep, that's right," she spoke with a few vigorous nods.

"Can't you hang out with other people, then?" I spoke with astonishment, "Miura, Yuigahama, hell even Hayama or Tobe. You've got normalcy served up to you on a platter."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be something new if it isn't with Hikitani-kun," she rapidly spoke, "You and 'normal' don't mix, so if we force the two to mix, something super wild is gonna bubble up."

She flashed me her signature rotten smile. The sunlight coming in through the glass on the ceiling reflected off her glasses, giving them a sharp glint. It looked scarily similar to the shiny glasses effect you see in anime.

"Besides, you're already here, and you just can't say no, right?" she said with a cheeky tone.

She had a devilish grin. I couldn't see what her eyes were like, because I was still being blinded by the reflected light.

"No, that's not true," I said as I shook my head, "If you ask the club something unreasonable, we'll flatly refuse."

I intentionally mentioned the Service Club as deflection. Though, it wasn't entirely off-topic. Up to this point, any requests that came my way from her was made through the club.

I knew that Ebina-san was perceptive enough to pick up on that, but she chose not to take the bait.

"I'm not talking about that. Back then, right before the field trip, I made a request to you, and you took care of it brilliantly."

"No, you can't call that brilliant in any way," I retorted.

A year ago, she made a request to the club to maintain the relationship between the boys of her clique. She stated that they were behaving strangely, going so far as to not group up with each other for the field trip. Of course, they were only behaving like that because of the plan to try to get Tobe closer to Ebina-san, but she knew that. She used them as an excuse to ask us to help keep the status quo of her group — and that status quo would include maintaining the distance between herself and Tobe.

At that time, I had grasped the true nature of her request. Furthermore, her words at that time were directed only to me.

Hikitani-kun, I'm counting on you.

I could have chosen to ignore it. I could have pretended to not know what she was talking about and prioritized Tobe's request. Even so, I kept her request at the back of my mind and even fulfilled them. I took on an extra on top of my extracurriculars.

At that time, I was content with maintaining a lie.

"That's why, I think I can trust you a little," she finished.

She, who was a liar, could place trust in another liar. The basis couldn't be more absurd. The foundation of that trust could've also been based on a lie.

"Being saddled with more work doesn't make me happy," I muttered.

She shot back, "Oh dear, I'm sad. Hanging out with me counts as work?"

"Yeah, so if we're going to do this, then let's get it over with."

Putting that exchange to a close, I let her lead the way. I would have been fine with following from behind by a safe distance. But even now, she insisted on walking side-by-side. No matter how long we knew each other, we weren't close, so I wish she would stop. You never knew who would be looking, and if rumours sprouted, I would definitely be given snow-cold stares afterward.

We went into a stylish clothing store for women. The store's size was larger than average, so it must have focused on quantity, variety and broad appeal. The prices were affordable with a student's wallet.

We navigated past the rows of shirts and bottoms to make our way to the back, where the hats were, as Ebina-san wanted to buy one. Along the way, Ebina-san occasionally stopped and browsed through a rack of clothes. When that happened, all I could do was impatiently wait for her while listening to the sound of metal hangers clacking against each other.

On one occasion, Ebina-san withdrew a sundress that was similar in style to the one she was wearing, except that it was entirely black.

"Well, Hikigaya-kun, what do you think? Would this look good on me? Or maybe I'd look even gloomier?" she asked.

She suddenly changed the way she referred to me again. I had no idea what was running through her mind.

"Why do you even want my opinion?" I said in exasperation, "My fashion sense isn't my strong point, and it's even worse if you're asking me about women's clothing."

The average high school boy's sense of women's fashion would've come from dressing up their female character in a video game, usually an MMORPG. It was easy mode for a few reasons. Clothing pieces intended for appearance usually looked nice with a lot of different items and had a clear theme going for them; the guiding hand was there. Even for the players whose fashion sense was especially abysmal, they got away by choosing to equip lewd clothing. Things were different in the real world, and public decency cut off the lewd option.

Despite my refusal to comment, Ebina-san silently waited for me to give her an opinion. She didn't budge from her spot, thus wasting time. She definitely knew that I wanted to get out of here as fast as possible and abused it.

Scratching my head, I thought seriously about it. I looked at her body up and down.

"I can't call you gloomy. What comes out of your mouth is gross, but you're at least always making a smile, even if it's sometimes disgusting. I guess if you're wearing black, you'd end up looking a little cooler."

There was refinement in black, or maybe I really like girls with long black hair. If I assume that the present Ebina-san was cute, going by Miura's tastes, then a change would pull her in the opposite direction and make her cooler.

"I don't want to be told that I'm gross by you, Hikigaya-kun," she spoke with a wry smile, "And don't people normally just give a simple 'Yes, you'd be drop-dead gorgeous in that outfit!' or something?"

Wouldn't simplicity mean an even briefer 'Yes' without the extra words? No wait, I know what this is. People who read too much manga and light novels or watch too much anime lose sight of reality. Their rotted minds begin expecting the exaggerations and dramatics in real life. Sorry, no matter how many times you call yourself a shogun, you'll never be one.

"I technically said it would fit you," I replied, "Take it or leave it."

"Then, I will take it," she gleefully spoke.

In spite of her words, she put the dress back on the rack and left it there. Then, she began making her way to the hats again. I followed after her.

When we arrived in front of the numerous racks of hats, she already began eyeing a straw hat. Come to think of it, she wore one when we went to Chiba village. She did mention that one of her hats was worn out, so it must have been that one. She must have wanted a relatively close replacement.

I fully expected her to spend some time browsing through the hats. However, she settled on her choice of straw hat fairly quickly.

She tried the hat on. I was reminded again of the reason why Miura thought of her as cute. The naturally flaxen hat made a fine combo with her bright white dress that had a conservative number of frills. She gave off quite the innocent vibe. The only criticism I had was that she was indoors. Her current attire would fit nicely under the sun.

She evaluated herself through the mirror, nodding all the while. Then, she turned to me.

"This is fine, right Hikigaya-kun?" she cheerfully spoke, "It doesn't stand out too much or look too weird?"

"No, if you didn't want to stand out, you'd choose a hat with a smaller rim or ditch the hat entirely," I replied, "But I do agree that it's fine."

My opinions actually caused her to turn back to the mirror, cross her arms, and think about it some more.

"Hmm, while I'm here, it would be a good idea to try on the other hats as well. Hikigaya-kun, can you hold on to this for me?"

After saying that, she shoved the straw hat into my hands.

Feeling confused, I watched her wear many different kinds of hats. A baseball cap made her look sportier, though I would hardly associate athleticism with Ebina-san. A wide-brimmed hat made of wool made her look fancier and more formal, which, combined with her glasses, made her seem something like a noble lady. A beret increased her cuteness, though I'm not sure how that worked. It could be the roundness, or maybe I just had good memories of berets.

She tried on several more hats. With each different hat, the expression she made changed. With some hats, she made a goofy expression. With others, she seemed pensive.

I didn't understand why girls enjoyed changing what they wore so much. Maybe they wanted to shed their old selves and go in a new direction. Maybe they thought of it as a challenge, and they wanted to know if they were attractive enough to look good in anything. That sounded rather unhealthy, actually. What was wrong with being satisfied with what you were currently wearing? Aren't you rejecting yourself? Furthermore, constantly buying new clothes was heavy on the wallet, and now I'm scared of the day where I'm expected to buy clothes for my children. Sorry, mom.

After having tried on nearly all of the hats available, she meandered back to me.

"Some of them are nice, some of them are ugly, and some of them might be even better. Though, there are caveats, and they might not go well with all of my outfits. I think I'll go with my original choice," she murmured.

I presented the straw hat back to her. She gratefully received it.

Her expression showed contentedness. But I couldn't call it satisfaction.

She didn't decide to replace the hat with something else. She didn't even decide to get both the straw hat and another. In the end, she chose to go only with the hat she wore last year. It was the safest option.

Even toddlers knew to laugh with something good and cry at something disgusting. When it was neither, the expected reaction was nonchalance.

Against my better judgement, I dared to open my mouth.

"Are you fine with it?" I asked, "Personally, I thought the beret looked pretty good."

I was at least careful not to directly say that Ebina-san herself looked good. I also knew that, because the other person was Ebina Hina, it was an exercise in futility.

"Hehe, thanks. It was good hat. But still, I'm sticking with this," she replied.

It was only after my question that her face betrayed the slightest morsel of satisfaction. But only for a single second.

---

After purchasing the hat, we left the store. We decided to go the food court.

The food court was a mall's most wretched place, yet hunger would force you to march forward regardless. Hunger was mankind's universal and timeless enemy. It was potent and right on schedule. When it struck you, there was a good chance that it struck many others simultaneously.

That's why, the food court was always busy. Many times, I've purchased food, only to be unable to find an empty table. Furthermore, I refused to share a seat with a stranger. Nothing ruins a good meal than being next to yakking loudmouth or being next to another awkward, silent creature. Now, if the person next to me was Komachi, then I would gladly ask to share the table.

Ebina-san and I had temporarily separated to purchase what we wanted. With food in hand, we reconvened and began the fruitless table-hunting task.

"Oh look, they're leaving. Let's go sit at that table, Hikigaya-kun."

She pointed at a soon-to-be-vacated table. That was way too fast. What was with that luck? Maybe they're being considerate? On my own, am I just human trash?

After waiting for the occupants to leave (they were a couple), we made our way to the table. As we passed by them, Ebina-san gave them her thanks. The two of them shook their heads at her, as if to say that it wasn't a big deal. But why did they ignore me?

We settled our food on the table and sat across from each other. Ebina-san had bought a sandwich that was filled with cold cuts — light enough on the tongue yet filling all the same. I went for the greasier option of a burger and fries. Somehow, I felt like I deserved to eat something heavier today.

We began munching on our respective handhelds. Fatty meatiness was in my mouth, yet I couldn't be helped but be distracted by the girl that constantly occupied the background of my vision. One would think that I would be used to something like this, given my history of excursions, but this was different. For one, the person in front of me was only a few steps above a complete stranger.

Ebina-san took frequent yet small bites of her sandwich. Each bite was accompanied by a happy smile. She was in no hurry to finish and would rather spend some time indulging in the flavour. In other words, she was eating normally. I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe I was expecting her eccentric preferences to spill over to her method of eating. But that was a flawed expectation. People had more than one dimension.

There was a time when I really was that simple-minded. The girl that I was close to, I once became disillusioned because I found out that she was capable of lying. Flabbergasted at realizing that even she had flaws, I walked past her, even though I should have turned around and saw her as awkward and troublesome. We shared shallow similarities, and because of her stubbornness and her unwavering conduct, I mistakenly treated her as the summit. I put her on high, even though she occupied the same ground as me. Worse than her deception to me was my deception to myself. I used her to justify my own ideals, to reach for an idol that wasn't really there.

"Is it that fun to watch me eat, Hikigaya-kun?" she cheekily asked me.

"…You already know that observing people is my favourite activity at school. Especially when the teacher is talking," I responded.

Again, Ebina Hina teased me as if we were good acquaintances. Well, to be fair, she did engage in light conversations with me in class at a higher-than-comfortable frequency. Because of those one-sided interactions, you could call us forced friends. Actually, make that reluctant friends. I definitely don't want to consider her a real friend.

However, how she teased me today wasn't usual. If she was acting normally, she would involve me in her disgusting fantasies. She still teased me, but it was lean in comparison.

"Ahh, that was delicious!" exclaimed Ebina-san as she leaned back on her chair.

The way she leaned back caused her to stick out her stomach, which she rubbed with a hand. Maybe she thought that it was bulging out, but to me, it looked as slim as ever.

"Just that sandwich was enough for you? It looked a little bit undersized," I spoke, "If you want, you can have some of my fries."

I didn't offer because I was a gentleman. I had ulterior motives. The burger I ate was a bit more filling than I expected. I could finish the fries myself, so I was trying to push some of the food in her direction.

Ebina-san seemed surprised. She even froze in place.

"…Was my offer that weird to you?" I sputtered.

Why did people always seem so surprised when I tried doing something nice? There was that time that I helped Isshiki carry her bags, only for Yuigahama and Yukinoshita to have much the same reaction.

Smiling, she replied, "Nothing. I guess that's what's normal to you."

"Not sure what you mean by that, but go on and grab some."

I pushed my plate closer to her.

She shook her head and spoke, "No thanks, I'm full."

With her insistence, I silently resumed eating. In the end, everything I bought went into my own belly. I was so stuffed that it was difficult to even stand up, so I had no choice but to remain sitting.

While I had been eating, Ebina-san didn't make further efforts to talk with me. Furthermore, she wasn't even playing on her phone. She was simply spaced out, staring into the distance. She stayed like that even when I was done eating.

Finding the silence unbearable, I began to withdraw my phone. That was when Ebina-san opened her mouth.

"So, this is what it's like to run out of things to say, huh," she murmured, "It's been a while."

We weren't particularly close, so it couldn't be helped. Because we weren't close, the number of things we could discuss was vanishingly low in the first place. After hanging out for even a little while, there was nothing left to say.

"I guess so. And it's not like you can use an excuse to run away," I commented.

Ordinarily, I would have cleanly ended things by going home, but this outing was her call. She couldn't just abandon her own activity midway, without seeming rude. Thus, she was stuck with this situation.

"Well, I did something different. And it was fun," she wistfully spoke, "But there was something missing."

"We did what you wanted to do, which wasn't a whole lot. Maybe we missed something after all?" I asked.

"No, I'm not talking about that. We did do everything, but I still feel dissatisfied," she responded.

"As I thought, maybe you should have picked a different hat."

"Hikigaya-kun, you're being obtuse on purpose," she wearily spoke.

She frowned at me and crossed her arms. Despite knowing her for a year, this was the first time that she directed her exasperation so strongly towards me.

It wasn't difficult to put two and two together. The only real challenge was remembering the important details amidst the giant red herring of a slice-of-life moment we had.

Ebina-san wanted to do normal things with me. True to that objective, she did not once have an outburst or mutter rotten things. She even properly spoke my name. I would say that we successfully achieved that objective.

Yet, even though she was the one who wanted to do it, she did not seem particularly happy about it.

"Your real objective was something else, right? I can't imagine the things that we did were outside your comfort zone."

As I've mentioned for the millionth time by now, despite her oddities, Ebina-san was, in many respects, normal. At the very least, her abnormalities did not put her as close to the edge as myself, Zaimokuza, or the UG club boys. She did have ordinary friends, and she almost certainly went out and did normal activities with them. It would be stranger if she told me that she has never once gone shopping with Miura. Ebina-san was also fairly popular, even if some of that was attributed to the popularity of Hayama and Miura. Everyone had their unique flaws and features, but ultimately, Ebina-san's features (or glitches, depending on your perspective) didn't push her down the deep end.

"Yep, that's right. Hikigaya-kun is as sharp as ever," she cheerfully spoke.

Her unexpected answer caused me to frown.

"No, you've definitely done this stuff before. There's no possible way you haven't."

"True, but it was still different. You know what's not the same, right?"

"Well, if there's one thing different, it's that you're hanging out with me instead of Miura and others. Aside from that… hold on…"

I recalled something that should've been a throwaway joke.

Because I'm a perfectly ordinary girl with a cute face, as long as I keep my mouth shut, right?

Throughout the shopping, she indeed kept her mouth shut. She kept her tendencies to herself.

But the Ebina Hina that everyone knew was someone who screamed obscenities. She was not a prim and proper girl that only said sugary-sweet things.

"Then, the Ebina-san of today, it was you that was different?"

She wordlessly confirmed it with a smile. It was only the second smile she made today with any bit of satisfaction.

Every twisted fetish she proclaimed aloud, were they but a mere social tool to act as the class clown? Did her interest in it really run that shallowly? Of course not. The notebook that she bought and what she intended to draw in it revealed that she was serious about her hobbies.

An Ebina Hina that rejected a significant portion of herself was simply not the same Ebina Hina. She verified that today.

"And after all that, I still couldn't overcome my block," she murmured.

She was still stuck at square one. Even though she had a realization, the realization itself wasn't enough to give her true satisfaction.

Ebina-san suddenly readjusted her glasses and gave me a wicked smile.

"Hehe, it's surprisingly fun to speak with you, Hikigaya-kun," she spoke, "Without having an annoying backdrop like a classroom, that is. I don't hate looking at you while you're thinking crazy hard."

"Give me a break. Overthinking things is all that I'm good for," I said in exasperation.

"Gross," she spat.

Free from stares and peer pressure, we were free to do anything we'd like. In this backdrop of freedom, we chose to make light banter while maintaining an appreciable distance. The distance wasn't forced, and neither was the banter.

There wasn't a need to gently push me away, because I wouldn't step closer anyway. Nothing will break because nothing was started in the first place.

I was satisfied with this kind of relationship, because I was bad at making friends. In the end, if entertainment and value could be derived, then that was already more than I asked for.

But that was only my perspective. What was a rope-thin bridge for me could be treated as a barrier by someone else — namely the perfectly ordinary girl with a cute face in front of me. Where I found contentment, she would find horror.

However, my previous conclusions remained valid. Thus, we've run into a contradiction.

"Only you would give me such an annoyed glare. Why won't you grin and bear with it like the others?" she teased me.

"Stop looking at me so closely. Also, you're full of trouble," I uttered.

"So, have you fallen for me?"

"Like hell. Where did that come from?"

"Ehehe… Hikitani-kun's wrinkled forehead… that venomous rejection… This is it! A new inspiration for a tsundere HayaHachi tale!"

She purposely asked me a dumb question so that my dumb response would give her a eureka moment. I just can't keep up with her.

"Hehe… hehe… But how will I put that to paper…"

She drifted off into her own world with a rotten grin on her face. A few people around us threw her a curious glance, but she absorbed it all without a hint of self-consciousness. I took collateral damage, and I shrunk in my seat.

She, who truly enjoyed her hobbies, yet purposely used it to make a fool of herself—

She, who desired closeness, yet finding it uncomfortable if others were too close—

The girl sitting across from me continually contradicted herself. She kept herself in a self-created limbo. She desired to step forward, but the moment that the status quo was broken, her feet immediately stepped back. Stepping forward also meant leaving something else that she valued behind. She was dissatisfied precisely because she was leaving things behind.

I knew what it was like to protect the status quo to that extent. Trash upon trash had led to the present golden days. One would do anything to not be thrown back into the heap. Anything that got in the way of that — including things like understanding — were discarded in the name of self-defence.

That's why I hate myself.

That was why, it was not my place to do anything further for Ebina Hina.

I never sought pity from others. When I felt discontented, I sought for the change on my own. If I accepted influence, it could only be from those who knew me well.

If Ebina Hina would not make further requests, then my role in the story had ended.

---

T-42H

"After that, Ebina-san decided to take out her newly-purchased notebook and start drawing stuff. She figured that if she at least picked up a pen, she might figure something out. Because she wanted to stay at the table and draw, we decided to call it quits there."

But given what she was going to draw, I thought it was a bad idea to do it in public. Though, again, it wasn't my place to tell her what to do.

"That's why, Tobe, you'd have to overcome this double-sided barrier that faces both the inside and the outside and— what the heck are you looking at, Hayama?"

Hayama threw at me a firmly cold stare (though one that was not quite as cold as what a Yukinoshita family member could make).

"So, this barrier you were talking about, it's because you went on a date with Hina?" he asked with dubiousness

"Oy, that ain't cool, Hikitani-kun," boisterously spoke Tobe.

"What? No, that's completely wrong. And it wasn't a date," I hastily responded.

Too late. The women on either side of me gave me piercing stares. That's bad, I'm definitely going to be killed. I quickly pieced together something convincing to defuse them.

"I'm disgusting, I'm a loner, and I barely even exist in her eyes. Would she bother doing something like that with me?"

Oooohhhhh those words hurt to say, even if I didn't mean them. However, the painful stares relaxed. Wait, how exactly did the two of them see me?

Hayama crossed his arms and made a complicated expression.

"I've always known that Hina was good at fitting in. Maybe a little too well," explained Hayama, "Even if it doesn't seem like it, she always knows exactly how to behave."

What he said was similar to what Miura had once told me. In essence, how Ebina-san behaved was determined by the people around her. Her goal was to find a place for herself while keeping others at an appropriate distance from herself — neither too close nor too far. The most efficient way of achieving that goal was to act eccentrically. People would find you funny to have around but would be too weirded out by you to get closer.

I turned to Tobe.

"Yeah. So, Tobe, you'll have to get around that. That's what I meant by a barrier. But that's not the end of your challenges. You'll have to make her desire more than what she already has and to accept what might be lost. But given her personality, she'll be reluctant. The chance is there, but it'll be difficult. And it'll be all up to you."

I've been in a similar situation before. On top of that bridge, I've cut out all escape routes to not let anything interfere with my exchange with Yukinoshita, not even ourselves. In that perfectly insulated world, there was no interference. With my own awkward words, I conveyed what I needed to say.

"That's why, if you're serious about this, I can help as a member of the Service Club by setting the stage for you and giving you some advice."

Only those close to Ebina and Tobe should be involved. Either that or professionals. Since I wasn't close with them, I relied on my specifications. It was a stupid excuse, but I wouldn't find the motivation to help out Tobe otherwise.

With a wry smile, Hayama spoke, "It's surprising to hear you take the initiative with your club activities. Though, the rest of the club isn't with you right now."

"That's true. However…"

What made up the basic building blocks of the Service Club? What were its core? Was it the room we always met up in? No, it was the members themselves.

Sorry, but my little sister is a latecomer, so she isn't one. Neither is Isshiki, who isn't even formally a member.

The ones who were there in the beginning were Yukinoshita, Hikigaya and Yuigahama.

I, Hikigaya Hachiman, fulfilled the seat of Hikigaya. What about Yukinoshita and Yuigahama?

I turned to my right. Seated there was a woman with beautiful black hair and snow-white skin. She was undoubtedly the smartest person seated at this table. She's more on the serious side, and her stubbornness shakes the earth. She was undoubtedly a Yukinoshita.

I turned to my left. Seated there was a woman with milk tea hair tied up in a bun and with high bodily specs that couldn't be hidden behind clothes. She was all smiles and was eager to please. Surprisingly feisty, she was a wellspring of energy and optimism. She was undoubtedly a Yuigahama.

"Hayama, if you look at the people around us, you could say that we have the proxy Service Club here," I said with a sly smile.

"Proxy? You mean their mothers?" Hayama questioned me with an even more dubious look.

"Huh? I get to do the same club activities that Yui is doing? That sounds like fun!" exclaimed GahaMama.

She did a pumping motion with both of her arms. She looked way too excited for some reason.

"That's quite a ridiculous notion. Even if we are part of the same family, my daughter and I are wholly different people. Yet, it is a mother's role to support her daughter, so I shall step in where she cannot."

Yukinoshita's mother stringed a whole bunch of words together with a stoic tone. Though she tried to hide it, I did not miss that faintest glimpse of a smile. Why was she looking excited too?

"So, after hearing about Ebina, what do the two of you think about Tobe's chances?"

As I asked that, I turned my head towards Yukinoshita's mother, and she took that as the cue to start first. She would definitely give a logical explanation that would allow us to establish an objective base.

She explained, "Let us consider the circumstance. Tobe-kun and Ebina-san are friends who have known each other for a long time by now. Tobe-kun wants to take the relationship further. However, Ebina-san is not only content with their current relationship, she actively rejects any attempts to get closer."

She opened her fan and hid her face behind it before continuing.

"It would seem that Ebina-san has quite a unique character, one that would be hard to get used to. Tobe-kun, would you say that you are fully comfortable with her behaviour after all this time?"

She directed her gaze towards Tobe. Her unexpectedly sharp glare caused him to seize up. It was easy to understand. Not everyone was used to dealing with the fearsome wife of a Diet member, much less a laidback guy like Tobe.

It took him a while, but he slowly shook his head. His intimidation from Yukinoshita's mother was one thing, but he must have thought about how honest he should be with his necessarily rude answer.

"Hikigaya-kun, you may call them barriers, but that is only from your perspective. Everyone's comfortable space has a different distance. You might think that the barrier is protecting a space that is still within her comfortable distance, but it could be that the barrier itself was her comfortable space."

I understood what she was getting at. You could think of it like different AoEs around Ebina with smaller or bigger radii. Which was the real distance?

It was easy to assume that Ebina-san would be fine with a closer relationship, though some sort of fear was making her keep people at an arm's length. What Yukinoshita's mother was saying was that the arm's length distance could be already considered too close for Ebina-san, and any closer would constitute as an unwanted intrusion on her self. Put another way, some people were not fine with a cat laying down on your lap and preferred that they petted a cat that was lying on a couch next to them.

"Tobe-kun, to achieve a change in your relationship with her, you must be able to influence her comfort with you. With the way things are right now, she absolutely will not accept you. If you cannot do that, then I suggest that you give up."

Every single word of her last sentence was delivered from behind her fan.

Telling a kid to abandon their hopes and dreams wasn't something that an adult, especially a parent, did lightly. Even drunkards and gamblers hoped to pass on their failed dreams to their children, to see them achieve what they could not. To crush something like that was not what an adult enjoyed doing.

Yet, when it was necessary to do so, adults had the authority to thoroughly crush it. Yukinoshita's mother wasn't at all close with Tobe, so out of a sense of modesty, she attenuated that hammering strike with her fan.

As expected, Tobe's shoulders shrank. Despite his personality, he was so shocked that he forgot how to talk. This was the quietest Tobe I've ever seen.

Tobe being so frail made the atmosphere feel strangely awkward. Hayama gave him a look filled with pity, and he looked ready to place a comforting hand on Tobe's shoulder.

Yukinoshita's mother stoically sipped from her cup of tea. This was her form of tough love. She was the type of person who would impose her own ways on others because she knew what was best for them. It was somewhat like the stubbornness that Yukinoshita Yukino used to show in the past, but her mother's maturity, knowledge and experience far outstripped hers. This gave her mother's words extra authority. Rather than simply feel annoyed, the one on the receiving end would reflect on themselves.

That being said, not everyone could handle being constantly steeped in a cruelty and bleakness. Tobe was clearly not someone who could thrive in spite of opposition.

That's where a Yuigahama could come in to play. More precisely, it was GahaMama's turn to step up.

"What are your thoughts?" I asked her.

She beamed at me. She was definitely holding herself back from saying her piece the whole time.

Her gentle and delightful voice captured our attention.

"In my opinion, love can bloom anywhere, at any time. It's a bit wild, and it seems to have its own agenda at times. It can even blossom between two people whose personalities don't match up."

Somehow, her last sentence gave me a prickly feeling at the back of my neck.

Ebina-san was only loud when she was being obnoxious, otherwise she was fairly quiet and well-mannered. Meanwhile, Tobe was constantly obnoxious and aggravating.

From those few sentences alone, Tobe managed to bounce back.

"Y-Ya think?" he murmured with a hopeful smile.

GahaMama nodded.

"Whatever happens, it will eventually be but a memory that you'll look back on when you're older," she spoke with an angelic smile.

The corners of Tobe's mouth raised up.

But I couldn't feel the same happiness. I couldn't see my own face, but I was sure that I had a dour expression.

Her words were that of a nice girl.

Just a few words were enough to set Tobe's heart aflutter.

Just a smile was enough to enkindle Tobe's hope.

But Tobe didn't know. He was unaware that kindness itself was a form of pain. He was saddled with unrealistic expectations.

This was the first bite. Once bitten, he will forever be shy.

GahaMama's intentions were surely not to harm. Even so, regardless of intention, seared upon Tobe will be a lasting scar.

I was about to say something in defiance, but GahaMama was faster.

"But I do agree with Yukinoshita-san. As much as I'd like to root for you, I'm afraid that you'll have to run a little faster before you can reach the finishing line."

Compared with her previous words, the ones she just spoke were more grievous.

Still, she maintained her bountiful smile. She took a moment to take a bite out of a macaron. Her eyebrows moved upwards in delight, but she restrained her reaction to just that.

She continued, "You'll definitely look back. But it might not be a fond memory. You might feel regret, anger, bitterness, contempt, hatred, disgust, or any number of horrible things. And they will drive you. You'll take that memory to your next experience. What you learn will strengthen you for the next time."

I gulped, not expecting to hear such words from the normally energetic GahaMama.

When you grew older, you naturally accumulated experience. But reality was filled with an uneven mix of cruelty and happiness. That unfair, yet consistent mixture meant that a person who has lived for many years absolutely experienced multitudes of suffering. It was enough to overflow out of your frail heart and out of your mouth.

"But you can make it a fond memory. Just like a delicious macaron, you'll think back on its flavour and its texture. It'll have a quaint sweetness, an unfamiliar but pleasant taste. You'll think of how bewildered you were and how things didn't go the way you expected. If she's truly important to you, then you should act in a way where you'll have no regrets down the line. Buuut, maybe it's okay to be a bit frustrated in the present."

She ended with a whimsical grin. I couldn't help but smile, and neither could Tobe or Hayama resist.

I was wrong. She was a nice woman.

I was relieved.

Even someone like her thought along the same lines as me.

I was sure that I was less tolerant of failure as her. Even so, our reactions were roughly the same.

I lock things in and threw out the key so that I would not let myself or the other person habitually come to misunderstandings—

She focused on the laughter of tomorrow, rendering insignificant the stumbles to be made—

—so that the lasting scar would instead tickle.

I looked squarely at Tobe.

"So, there you have it, Tobe. What are you going to do?" I inquired.

Tobe crossed his arms and formed several wrinkles on his forehead. He looked quite ridiculous trying to mimic an academic, as a sporty guy. If I didn't know any better, I would say that he looked like he was trying too hard. For better or worse, I did know better. When Ebina-san was involved, Tobe put on his war face.

"…Ya know, she's friendly and all most of the time, but there's these parts of her that I don't get. I told this to Hikitani-kun and the rest of them before too. Like, there's just somethin' below that I can't figure out. Maybe that's why I like her and all."

Tobe was someone who was naturally straightforward and crude. Some may call him shallow. On the other hand, he didn't have several layers of protection over his soul like some other gloomy person at this table.

Ebina-san was anything but straightforward. The mask she wore didn't fully match the person underneath. Her self was as convoluted as a labyrinth.

Yet, even if it was difficult to understand Ebina-san, it didn't take much brain power for Tobe to notice the differences between himself and herself. Her figure, her conduct, her outbursts, all of it must have constantly been in the corner of Tobe's vision and mind. He would have no choice but to start ruminating — what exactly was Ebina Hina? Before he knew it, his thoughts were filled with her, and naturally, that's where his feelings began. This was the conclusion that I had reached back then, before the Kyoto field trip.

"I don't get it at all. But I get the feeling that it's not something that I can just look away from. I totally don't get it. But that makes it even more important, know what I'm saying?"

He put on a rather brave expression, smiling with grit. I knew that look. It was the kind that men made when their decision was set in stone.

Many months after the disappointment at the bamboo forest, Tobe's feelings had not been extinguished. Furthermore, what Ebina-san sought or not sought hadn't changed from back then. What Tobe continued to not see continued to exist. That invisible fire continued to drive him.

That was Ebina-san's mistake.

"I can't put it any other way. I'm gonna confess no matter what."

That was Tobe's selfishness.

"I know it's gonna be hard getting through to her, but that's why I need your help, Hikitani-kun. I gotta make her comfortable with me, so that I can understand her better. Because if I don't, I know I'm gonna regret it."

All it took was a bit of courage and willpower, and even this frighteningly normal guy could seem cool.

The helpful words of the two mothers, he took them to heart.

He took on Yukinoshita's mother challenge to increase the level of influence he had over Ebina-san, to make her face him seriously.

He took on GahaMama's challenge to barrel through, regardless of cuts and scrapes, so he would not miss out on a crucial opportunity.

It was no longer appropriate to consider the status quo. I wouldn't even let Hayama interfere. That can go to hell, because Tobe was on the cusp of attaining something better.

But it was a crumbly edge he was clinging on to. So, I will help him. I will offer him advice from the standpoint of one who has lost much from failures and of one who has clutched onto a singular thing after gargantuan amounts of effort.

The cries of the losers fell on deaf ears. But that was exactly why you ought to be shameless. There was no point in holding back or giving consideration because they would be disregarded anyway. There was no optimal path other than a bang.

Love and friendship were limited rights granted to the winners. But rights were things that you could wrestle for. Whatever underhanded tricks you used didn't matter. It was one way to catch up to a winner.

This was a ballad for those who agonized in silence, sung at the top of my voice.

This was a requiem sung in advance of a resurrection.

"First of all, admit it, Tobe. You're a huge pervert."

---

T-41H

After holding our strategic meeting, we decided to strike while the iron was hot. It was impossible for Tobe to not be anxious, but he was not the kind of person that tended to stall.

We planned to do a quick search for Ebina-san at the food court, to see if she was still there. If she was, we would act immediately. If not, we planned to call for her tomorrow.

I doubted that she was still there after so much time had passed, but lo and behold, she was still sitting at the same table, albeit with a different beverage. It wasn't normal to spend that long here. Maybe she thought that being in an unusual environment would stimulate her creativity. Whatever the case, it was beneficial for us.

GahaMama, Yukinoshita's mother, Hayama and I would be sitting at a table close to Ebina-san but at her blind spot. We were within earshot and sight, but the amount of people and obstructions around lowered the chance of detection. There was actually nothing that we could do at this point. We were simply here to observe.

Tobe was still with us, but soon he would begin his march.

Hayama gave him one final bit of encouragement.

"Go give it your all. You were bold enough to ignore my advice, so be at least that bold when you're in front of her," he spoke with his signature smile.

That guy was as selfless as ever. Rather than being grumpy over being ignored, he decided to support Tobe when he made his own choices.

Though, the only reason why he was saying this was because Tobe was getting cold feet at the last minute.

"Oh man oh man oh man, what do I say to her, and what am I gonna do if she blows me off!" exclaimed Tobe who was definitely sweating from head to toe.

Humans were interesting creatures who could passionately proclaim something at one moment, then fall to anxiety in the next. That's what you call bluffing.

If the person in question was someone like Hikigaya Hachiman or Ebina Hina, then you would be a fool not to question their words.

Fortunately, the person in question was Tobe Kakeru. He was as simple-minded as they come and was achingly average among this group of extremes. By default, he had no dark designs under his goofy face. While he might misuse his words, he was rarely out for blood. Neither was he frustratingly tolerant. Sometimes he sought tranquility and other times, he dabbled in chaos with his buddies. He was nice enough to get along with, but he fine with spreading rumours. His loud mouth was perfectly capable of both capturing attention and being an annoyance.

It was Tobe who was the first to seriously reach for what he wanted; the consequences be damned. That didn't mean he sought for damnation. Failure was never part of the equation, not out of gross neglect but out of groundless optimism. He must've thought that things will turn out for the better after he gets what he wants.

I can't say that such a line of thinking is wrong anymore. If ignorance is bliss, then bliss must also have ignorance.

So, I, too, will give Tobe another push.

"Listen, Tobe, if you screw up, I'll jump in there and say words that I don't really mean again. That way, we can undo everything and go back to yesterday's checkpoint. Load a previous save, if you will."

At my jest, Tobe defiantly spoke, "Nah, not happening, Hikitani-kun. I'm gonna get a hard reply. Either I go out with her, or I give up. That's it. But you already knew that."

"Well-said," said Yukinoshita's mother, looking impressed for the first time, "Your confidence and brazenness will be key. Remember that."

Oy, isn't an endorsement like that really, really good? He may as well declare victory already. And why do I feel like I lost?

"Yui's not here today, so I'll say it in her place. Give it your all!" exclaimed GahaMama.

She raised one fist into the air, slightly leaning in that arm's direction. Gosh, that was cute! But if she was doing it in place of Yuigahama, that was like saying that I thought Yuigahama was cute. That got awkward really fast.

"Aw man…"

The already-nervous Tobecchi encountered a different source of nervousness. He scratched the back of his head, clearly not used to receiving plentiful amounts of encouragement from people who weren't Ooka or Yamato.

All that could've been said to Tobe had already been spoken. At this point, further words were superfluous and would only serve to delay him.

Resolutely, Tobe marched forward.

Left behind was Hayama. He watched as his friend walked once more through a forest, though one filled not with bamboo but with concrete and processed wood.

"You let him go quite easily after I showed up. What happened?" I mockingly asked.

"Nothing. I just thought I'd let him be selfish," he spoke with a poisoned tone.

He frowned. It was clear from his darkened face that he didn't think things would go as well as Tobe was hoping it would. Yet, he did not put more effort into stopping Tobe. He didn't even start privately voicing his concerns to me like last time.

"Letting things be the way they've always been, that's stagnancy. If you think about it, even getting to that ideal spot required a change," he stoically spoke.

What he said was logical. Things aren't instantly borne into their best state. There were always transitory steps. Something had to have changed. Things staying the same would be far more irregular. If you wanted things to stay completely the same, you would have to smother any blossoming changes with lies.

"So, you're letting him throw caution to the wind, is that right?" I asked him.

Hayama responded with the slightest possible nod.

"Suit yourself. But remember the last time you tried doing something that you weren't used to? Remember that disgust?" I sharply spoke.

He shot back, "But are you ever disgusted yourself?"

"Obviously not."

That was a lie. I've done things horrible enough to even inflict myself with wounds. Even so, I couldn't help but confidently reply with a no.

Shrugging, Hayama spoke, "Then that's that."

After spitting out those uncaring words, Hayama sat down at the table and returned his attention to Tobe.

He was still against the idea from a logical standpoint. In addition, from a Hayama-esque standpoint, he didn't want to see his two friends sustain injuries. That was the selfless Hayama for you.

What was different now was that he was willing to place his trust in Tobe. Hayama usually ran himself ragged defusing situations and helping others get along. He could not usually bear to see things fall apart. Today, he was willing to restrain his hand, in order to allow things to run to their proper conclusion.

Was that growth? Or had he simply given up? Whichever one it was, I didn't care enough to find out. Get your own self sorted out, idiot.

For some reason, Yukinoshita's mother was giggling at our exchange. Hayama feigned ignorance, using his concern for Tobe as an excuse. Well, that surprisingly sly part of Hayama didn't change.

GahaMama scooted her chair next to me. Her face appeared in the corner of my vision.

"Front row seats. How nice," she cheerfully spoke.

"You're way too excited about this," I said, inching away from her.

Just like how her daughter would behave, she eagerly leaned forward in anticipation, as if she was hitting the climax of a movie.

"It could very well end in tragedy. Unless you like tearjerkers," I murmured.

What's with people who enjoy TV shows or visual novels that make you cry? Isn't real life depressing enough? Are they masochists?

"Hmm, maybe. But I do want to see Tobe-kun to succeed after the help we've given him. Besides…"

She turned to me with a mischievous look. It didn't evoke a sense of danger where you'd feel like you were being punctured by needles. Rather, she looked playful, though not necessarily innocent. I already knew that I would be hit with something that was seemed innocuous at first yet would punch me in the gut three seconds later.

"I think that this counts as a sort of payback. Call it redemption," she declared with an angelic smile.

I couldn't immediately think of what she was getting at, much less respond. Even so, a shiver ran down my spine.

One should never forget. GahaMama was a fighter.

She faced forward again, ending it there. I, too, put it aside for now. The main event was about to begin.

Ebina-san was silently sketching away. Piles of crumpled-up paper littered the sides of the table. Left alone, she continued to draw, putting full concentration in her artwork.

Tobe steadily made his way toward her table. Though he went over to the seat opposite of Ebina-san, he remained standing.

"H-Hey, what's up?"

He greeted her with a crooked smile. Despite his earlier confidence, he couldn't help but be nervous.

When we were all engaged in planning, it was hard to get rid of the mindset where you thought the main event was something far off in the future. During the planning, you were manipulating the situation in your head, and the abstractness made you take it all for granted. It didn't hit you until you were actually on the spot, trying to carry it out. Nervousness and anxiety would easily take over in your vulnerable state. This wasn't a criticism of Tobe. Anyone would react in the same way when they called out to a girl that they liked.

Ebina-san widened her eyes, looking faintly surprised.

"Tobecchi… Didn't expect to see you here today," she greeted back with a meek voice.

She put down her pen. She sat up straight, giving Tobe her full attention.

"Yeah, fancy meeting you here, huh…" Tobe murmured.

"Mmhmm, what a coincidence," she responded.

After that awkward exchange, Ebina-san put herself on guard, though I doubted Tobe could sense that slight change in her demeanour. She already recognized that this meeting was not organic.

Ebina-san was already a veteran on this battlefield.

Back then, a stage was built on the foundation of a vast quantity of small lies.

But the stage today, what was it built upon?

Hayama's rare tolerance — neither willing to support it nor obstruct it.

Hikigaya's stance as a bystander — offering his twisted views as a service without directly interfering.

The mothers' challenges — to subject him to a trial so that he might grow.

And finally, Tobe — the foolhardy and shallow guy who was dumb enough not to back down and whose lack of depth meant he treasured those feelings that dwelled on the surface.

Whether we could be considered conceited or not depended on what happened next. The stage, artificial as it was, was constructed with a minimum amount of sincerity, just enough to not seem foolish.

Ebina-san must have instinctively known that to some degree. Otherwise, she would have made an excuse to flee by now.

"H-Haha, but this is a good thing. S-See, back on that field trip, I wanted to tell you something, but we got interrupted," stammered Tobe.

"Oh? What could it be?" nonchalantly asked Ebina-san, pretending to be disinterested.

Ah, she began wearing that stoic mask, a visage that will not crumble. A manager who was about to lay someone off, a teacher about that was about to give you a failing grade, everyone has seen that expression which signalled judgement. Tobe only missed it because of his nervousness.

Her hardened face attempted to appear bored, to serve as a final warning for Tobe. Back out now, before it's too late.

"Y-Ya see, I…"

Ebina-san narrowed her eyes. Tobe was unable to take her hint. Call it stupidity, ignorance or whatever, the cause did not matter. He continued moving his lips.

"I… I…"

Regardless of how things came to be, she, who refused to let others past a certain distance, had already prepared her response.

"I've really liked you for a while. No, I love you."

Tobe spoke with perfect clarity. Temporarily suppressing his nervousness, he delivered lines that were corrected in the middle to be even bolder. How long had he been reciting those words in his head, and which variant did he have in mind?

"Sorry. I'm not interested in going out with anyone. That hasn't changed from back then. I don't hate you, but I'm most comfortable with the way we are now," declared Ebina-san.

Tobe seized up. He could not even drop his shoulders.

Ebina-san had delivered a crushing rejection. Even worse, she essentially told Tobe to just be friends. All of it was delivered directly to Tobe, not to a third party. Her hand was forced, and she was forced to act in self defense against someone whom she kept as part of her precious circle of friends.

But that was exactly what I expected.

---

T-41.5H

"First of all, admit it, Tobe. You're a huge pervert. You like a girl with strange tastes, and you don't even bat an eye. If you like someone who's a pervert, that must be make you a pervert too."

"But it goes even further than that. You haven't given up on her, even after that failure long ago. You're absolutely obsessed with her. You keep coming to our classroom even after we split up. You're even starting to see things in her that no one else is seeing. A crazy obsession is the definition of a fetish. You have an Ebina fetish. Having such a dangerous fetish absolutely makes you a pervert."

"As you know, she pulls off those stunts for a specific reason… wait, you're telling me that you didn't know? A-Anyway, those tactics aren't restricted to Ebina-san. If there's anything you two have in common, it's your ability to be loud. Just like how she shouts her perversions, you must shout yours. Exclaim it to her face. Tell her literally everything. If you, I dunno, like how she wears glasses, say it to her. If there's any fantasies you have, describe them. She doesn't hold back, so neither should you."

"Those who continually push others away — those who are alone, even if they are surrounded — they won't see it coming. A passionate shout is straight out of fantasy; a shounen manga. They've spent so long secluded in their rooms that they know exactly where things are, down to the last piece of litter. If you force yourself into their room, you've added an unexpected foreign element, something that they don't know how to account for. They have no countermeasures."

"That's why, if you can break through that barrier, you have a chance of gaining a foothold — but you can alternatively slip and fall. What comes next is up to you, Tobe."

---

T-41H

Tobe had seized up, but not because he was devastated at the rejection. I had also told him earlier that he'd be most likely rejected, but he should forge on regardless.

The reason why he was frozen was simple. He was preparing himself to say something completely shocking. Anyone would freeze up if they were in his position.

"I love you. I love you a lot. I, uh, dunno how it even began, so I don't even know where it ends. Like, I see you, and I can hardly control myself, ya know?"

Ebina-san yelped, "Y-Yes?"

Tobe had a fearsome war face. He looked like he was desperately holding in a number two. This was the look of a man who had been pushed over the edge and was willing to tumble onto vines and branches.

"The way that ya look, like, it's not so flashy like the others, and it's just kinda comforting ya know? I like that a lot. Then, the weird stuff that you say… At some point it was weirder not hearing you say it? Like we're not in the same class anymore. When you giggle and smile a bit, that's cute too. Also, I really loved those chocolates ya made on Valentine's Day, they were tasty! I just wanna hang out more and more and have even more fun with you, ya know what I'm saying?"

He rambled on and on, not unlike an otaku. Ebina-san was not used to the extreme honesty directed at herself. Flustered, she alternated her glances left and right.

She took advantage of her anxious back-and-forth glances to survey the room, clearly looking for the interlopers for an explanation. Eventually, she laid her eyes on me. Well, a blind spot's only good if she doesn't turn her head. Her eyes wanted to ask me "what the heck is going on". But before I could even give any form of communication, her eyes drifted to the people next to me, and she became even more flustered.

Hikigaya-kun, explain to me what— wait, why are they here!? That was what she seemed to say with her eyes.

Well, that's just about the appropriate reaction when two of the people at this table were Yukinoshita's mother and GahaMama. I didn't think quite that far ahead, but I welcomed Ebina-san's further destabilization.

"Point is, I'm dead serious. That's why I want you to respond to me seriously too, ya know? If what you said was serious as well, then I want to know why."

The problem with those who push others away is that they have zero romantic experience. I was betting on Ebina-san's history of refusals. Yuigahama once told me that Miura tried to introduce her to interested boys, but she was completely uninterested.

Tobe wasn't a complete stranger. He was a friend. Thus, she was obligated to respond to his earnestness. She was not in a position where she could refuse.

Ebina-san let out a monumental, prolonged sigh. She had the expression of someone who was utterly exhausted. Her frown was dark. She stared at the table.

"Hanging out and all that, we can do that the way we are. I can give you Valentine's Day chocolates next year as well," she muttered.

The volume of her voice dropped. I had to strain my ears to make out her words.

"We don't need to change a thing. If we do something that we're not used to, then things could get awkward."

She began to reveal her reasoning but in a cushioned manner. It would go against her wishes to serve a harsher denial.

"As you can see, I'm quite heartless. That's why, you're better off dating someone else."

That was probably the most honesty, and therefore harshness, she had ever shown to Tobe.

Yet, Tobe smiled.

"So you think it ain't gonna work out and want me to look somewhere else for happiness? I knew it, you were kind after all."

Tobe shook her head and responded, "No, you got it wrong. That's not what I meant."

"Man, you're probably the third person who'd be so strict to my face. I'm a little klutzy, so people don't wanna be serious with me. But you're not like that. That's why I think you're kind."

Tobe's excessive optimism had surfaced.

I remember that he told something like that to me as well. I must be either the first or second, I don't know and can't remember.

Tobe was like a mob character. He was average with few things that stood out. Any characteristic of his that might possibly fall under the category of standing out paled in comparison to the virtuosos. But that wasn't a description that Tobe, himself, came up with. Others' perception of yourself was more determinant than your own viewpoint. You were out-numbered in that respect. Tobe was only considered average because others saw him that way.

It was how he utilized his characteristics that mattered. Even a butter knife could be seen as something remarkable if it was used to help a queen enjoy toast.

"I always thought that there was something more to you, but I get it now. It's cuz you're always watching, right? I think you totally understand things."

His tendency to run his mouth with a grin, used in precisely the right moment, could deliver a critical hit.

Ebina-san was similar to me in how observant she was. She must have thought that her observation skills were only used to manage the dirtiness, to come up with excuses, to lie. She must not have thought there was a single thing good about it. Its symptom was pessimism, and it was thoroughly utilitarian.

"It's real cool that you're paying attention to all of us. I get kinda sick of Hayato-kun hogging all the spotlight!" spoke Tobe before he laughed.

Tobe saw Ebina-san in a completely different light. He welcomed that observation.

Finally, I could see something resembling common ground between Tobe and me. I couldn't care less about being at the centre of attention, but I could understand the satisfaction of being with someone that would reciprocate and respond to you. To be able to spit out something idiotic and have the other side respond with vicious words, to feel simultaneously dejected at a pyrrhic victory, to go overboard and have them laugh somewhat at you but mostly with you, it was as addictive as a drug. I didn't necessarily need kind words. What I had gotten was more than enough and hell of a lot more than the zero that I started with. I was sure that Tobe felt something similar.

Maybe what Tobe believed was off the mark. But did that matter? His own perspective of Ebina Hina contributed to the overall truth of Ebina Hina. Outside viewpoints were not sources of conflict; they were sources of contribution. If you're still not convinced, just think of Miura. Would you disagree with Miura's proclamation that Ebina-san was cute?

"…It would be useless to tell you that that's not why I'm like this, wouldn't it?" muttered Ebina-san.

"It's the way I see it," Tobe confidently stated, "And that's that!"

"Jeez, you're weirdly stubborn today. Maybe there was a bad influence?"

She stretched her arms and took the opportunity to shoot towards me an accusing glare, outside the notice of Tobe. Well, that guy can be easily influenced, so it's not my fault if he picked up bad habits from a certain someone.

"You're more hopeless than I thought. You can't just take things at face value. Some day, you're going to be taken advantage of… like right now! I can see it, Tobecchi always looking at Hikitani-kun and Hayato-kun, trying to find ways to get in between them, or maybe even poke his thing between them! Hah, hah…"

Drool came out the sides of her mouth — or at least that's what could be easily imagined. She didn't act quite that uncouth (even though her words were way beyond the limits).

"Umm… Yeah! Those two are so close these days! Maybe I'm gonna lose the seat of Hayato-kun's best friend to Hikitani-kun!"

Who and who were close? Wrong, wrong and wrong. That's just disgusting, Tobe. I demand you take those words back.

Although I thought that to myself, I couldn't help but be surprised at how deeply Hayama was frowning, specifically at the last part. I thought they were good friends. He didn't have to react that poorly. Even I started feeling pity for Tobe.

Well, I forgave Tobe for his transgressions. He tried his best to follow along with Ebina-san's extreme jokes, to be at the butt end of them (don't imagine it). He was probably still a bit clueless about the subject matter, but he was better off procrastinating on this particular subject.

"Wait… Tobe… Innocence… Why didn't I think of that!? They say when you're neck-deep in this stuff, you start wanting to go back to your vanilla roots, full of hand-holding and all that. That's it! It's time to start shedding all those tags!"

Ebina-san began sketching rapidly again, with more vigour than a kid who accidentally swallowed some MAX COFFEE. With superhuman speed, she quickly filled three pages, and she didn't discard a single one. It was Tobe's turn to be taken aback.

"U-Um… C-Can I still get a response…? To what I said before?" Tobe muttered in fear.

Ebina-san spent a few more moments drawing. Then, she put down her pen in exhaustion.

She hung her head and pondered about something.

"A source of inspiration… if nothing else…" she murmured.

She looked up at Tobe with a mixture of curiosity and astonishment.

"Someone who doesn't know… it would be new to me…"

"Not sure what ya mean, but yeah, I'm serious. You're the first one I've been so serious about," said Tobe.

"I don't want to lose anything. So, if you promise me that you'll keep being good friends with everyone, then I guess I'm not completely opposed to it," murmured Ebina-san.

The very first part of her answer served to validate Tobe's gut feeling. That wasn't a false request to be used as an excuse for another request. The words she spoke were plain and explicit.

"I'm going to be truthful, Tobecchi. I still can't see you as more than a friend. That's why, if you make me feel bored, and I can't get anymore inspiration from you, then we'll just stay as friends. That's my condition."

She did not reject him, but neither could she accept his confession. Rather, she was willing to grow with him.

That guy, he really managed to break her barrier.

Tobe had a cocky look, as if to express "that's it?".

He boldly proclaimed, "Leave it to me. I've never had a boring day in my life. We can get along just fine."

That's one hell of a statement, and obviously one that wasn't true, given his disinterest in class. But taking into account his classroom behaviour, wasn't he essentially admitting that he doesn't pay attention to the teacher?

---

That was a complete victory for Tobe.

The line between crushing defeat and overwhelming victory had been atomically thin.

If Ebina-san had rejected Tobe, their current relationships would have irrecoverably changed. The only way that could have been avoided was for Ebina-san not to reject him. That may sound simple, but up to the last second, my logical mind was convinced that Ebina-san would definitely reject him.

That caveat was thoroughly crushed by Tobe. With their new arrangement, interactions would not be awkward and friendships would not be soured.

That being said, Tobe was only a step above square one. Though Ebina-san did not the deliver the death knell version of "just friends", they were still on that level, practically speaking. It was now up to Tobe to further that relationship. But that is another story that I'm completely uninterested in. Please, oh please let this be the end of it for me.

Tobe and Ebina-san spoke with each other good-naturedly for a little while longer. Then, they bade their farewells. Ebina-san remained at her table and continued drawing. Tobe walked back, towards our table.

While watching Tobe approach us, Hayama spoke to me, "I can't believe it. It went better than I hoped it would."

"Why didn't you have more confidence in him?" I responded with exasperation, "I thought you wanted everyone to just get along."

"Speak for yourself. You also didn't think it would go this well, right?" he spat back.

"Point taken."

Hayama thinly smiled and spoke, "An unexpected result. Maybe that's what it means to act brazenly and without thinking of regrets."

I hated the fact that I agreed with him.

The limbo that Ebina-san found herself in was borne by her own tempests of concerns. No matter how she acted, either as a prim and proper lady or as her usual boisterous and perverted self, the concerns would still be there.

For someone like Ebina Hina, her first choice of action was to sweep it under a rug, out of sight. Yet, it was not out of mind. Those thoughts would continue to fester, and they would root you in place. But if you did take a chance, and things happened to work out, then those concerns would seem diminished in hindsight. Though, to take that step meant to defy your concerns. Tobe had managed to help Ebina-san do just that.

Arriving at our table, Tobe announced, "Hey, I gotta thank y'all. We ain't going out yet, but I think things are gonna be swell from here on. I can feel it."

Plastered on his face was a goofy smile. It wasn't a smile of one who had won the world. It was the productive smile of someone who had survived a mid-term exam.

Hayama praised him, "Good job, Tobe. I'm really glad at how it turned out."

"You turned her expectations upside down. You may or may not have planned that out, but the results speak for themselves. You do have some potential,"

Nodding her head, Yukinoshita's mother offered some surprising compliments.

GahaMama cheerfully spoke, "If you keep treating her like that, I'm sure that the two of you will be able to grow closer and make some good memories togethers. She opened up to you, I'm sure of it."

"Aw, gee, thanks. I won't let any of your help go to waste. I swear it."

Tobe deeply bowed to the two ladies. GahaMama giggled. Yukinoshita's mother looked at him with approval.

"And thanks a lot, Hikitani-kun. It's good that you understood her enough to explain some things to me. But I'm a jealous guy, ya know? We were rivals before, but now I'll be the one to understand her from now on!"

He gave me a toothy grin after trying to say something cool. The purpose of sweat was to cool you down, and I sure was sweating hard right now. Can you not joke about being rivals in love in front of these two mothers?

"I already explained why I confessed back then. Also, my name's not Hikitani. It's Hikigaya Hachiman, Tobe Kakeru-san," I sharply retorted.

"Ah, yeah. I got it. But I'm still calling you Hikitani-kun!" he said in an excessively friendly manner.

Just because you're acting amicably about it doesn't mean I'm okay with you calling me that — or so I'd say, but he wouldn't listen to me anyway.

"It's time to head out, Tobe. I know that you haven't finished your homework yet. If you keep this up, you might not be able to go to the soccer club anymore," cautioned Hayama.

"What!? But I need help on the questions… Save me, Hayato-kuuuuun!" cried Tobe.

His gloriousness was extinguished, and he was back to being the regular Tobe.

"Fine. We're heading off to a library, then," spoke Hayama, "See you all later."

With a desperate Tobe in tow, Hayama departed. That left behind just the three of us.

"I believe that it's about time that I return as well," Yukinoshita's mother spoke.

"Yeah, me too. I was running some errands, so I bet my little sister is wondering why I've been out for so long," I said.

"I see, it wouldn't do to keep her waiting. Give my regards to your sister. And another thing, Hikigaya-kun."

Yukinoshita's mother turned to face me. She didn't hide her face behind her fan. Because of that, I was exposed to the full elegance of her face. Words like luxurious, beautiful or pale didn't cut it. I was already stunned from gazing at her from this close. Unusually, she was also showing me a golden smile. I felt light-headed. I didn't know what to do when she was showing me so much goodwill.

"If you'd like to speak with me about anything that comes to mind, please don't hesitate to reach out. Please don't restrict yourself to just the serious matters. I would like to know more about yourself, what you like to eat, what you are concerned about in your personal life, and other things. Even if you are not in the mood to converse, I would even be fine with joining you on your leisurely activities."

She spoke quite openly, not using any platitudes. It was completely fine to take her words at their face value. In short, Yukinoshita's mother was inviting me to hang out with her, as crazy as that sounded. It was almost as if she was trying to appeal to me.

I was shaken at her change of tactics. I always thought that I needed to tiptoe around her. Maybe she's trying to make me so comfortable that I'd accidentally spill something dirty. Anyway, it was unexpectedly kind of her to say all that to me, but it would be difficult for me easily accept it.

"W-Well, I'll contact you if something comes up," I carefully spoke.

"Wonderful. Why don't we exchange our contact info?" she cordially spoke as she withdrew her phone.

And just like that, my contacts list now had a rather powerful contact. Too powerful. I wish this Excalibur stayed in the stone.

Once she was finished, she turned to GahaMama.

"It was delightful to meet with you, Yuigahama-san. I've learned valuable things from you. I hope we can have tea together in the future," she spoke with generosity.

GahaMama responded to her, "Yes, I'd love that! It's always exciting to make a new friend! It's so hard to find anyone these days, so let's meet up again!"

Yukinoshita's mother gave one final bow. It was so dignified that it could make one seek to improve their own gestures of respect. That was bad. I'm definitely going to turn into a good corporate drone at this rate.

Afterwards, she left. Only GahaMama remained with me. Truthfully, I wasn't on super close terms with her, so I was left feeling kind've awkward.

"U-Um, I have to get going as well, so…"

Because of that, I muttered something rude. However, GahaMama hardly missed a beat.

"But I want to speak with you a little more, Hikki-kun," said a pouty GahaMama, "A date for next time, then? Give me your contact info too!"

"Y-Yes, we can meet up some other time! Haha…"

Seeing me so bewildered, GahaMama gave me a mischievous grin.

A Yuigahama that was a schemer — a person like that was almost as scary as a Yukinoshita.

Because of who she was, I had a feeling that the so-called date would come sooner than I expected.