November 11 2022

An Unexpected Tryst at the Rooftop

Hiding in Plain Sight

I don't like being stared at while diligently working on my class presentation for Japanese History that I have to present tomorrow. Much less if it's from a cute girl like Yuuko who's also adding in her puppy eyes and cutesy look.

"Hikigaya-kun…" She is seated beside me with her head lying on the chair's armrest to look at me straight in the eyes. She's quite close and I can smell the fragrant perfume that we bought together last week. Though my nose didn't quite enjoy the ordeal since I kept sneezing for the next day or two after sniffing probably a whole aisle's worth of bottles.

"No," I reply adamantly with a firm voice.

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"You're gonna make me cry… Huhuhuhu…" She covers her face with her hand and peeks through the corners of her fingers.

"I highly doubt you can willfully let out torrents of tears, Sumiya-san. But you are quite welcome to try." She pouts cutely when I flush her with a cheeky smirk. Yuuko huffs out annoyed that she still hasn't broken through my defences and latches onto my right arm which forces me to stop writing.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeease!!! I'll do anything!"

"Sumiya-san, I would greatly appreciate it if you would let me go." I use my left hand to gently push her face away but her grip only tightens in response. I can feel my arm being rubbed between her breasts and even though we've done some R-rated stuff before I still instinctively cringe away from them. I think it's even gotten worse since I jump at the slightest contact which leads me to get teased. I felt my elbow graze Ehime's left boob yesterday and I jumped away too fast and accidentally hit Sagami's nose as a result.

"Come on! Pair up with me! Minami and Ehime bullied me!" She cries out and points to the two talking together a few seats in front of us. The way that she's pointing reminds me of those funny and crudely drawn soyjak comics that Yoshiteru shows me in our private group chat with Hina and Saika. Sagami holds out her middle finger and Ehime turns to us with a strangely unamused expression on her face. It's weird seeing her look so serious. Writer-sama! Please bring back her usual mischievousness!

"Uwah… Yuuko, you lost at janken pon. We've only allowed a maximum of two people. You complained about the initial result and demanded another one. You lost five rounds in a row and we did it fair and square." She says with a deadpan expression and tone and goes back to what she is doing.

"Uwah… Five rounds?" I glance at her, not knowing the humiliation that she went through. "Good grief, that's so pitiful. It's so pitiful that if I don't help you out right now, I feel like this will come back and bite me on the butt in the future."

Yuuko rubs her head on my shoulder and celebrates gleefully with a victorious witch-like cackle complete with her tongue out. "Fufufufu…" I ignore the curious glances being sent my way and sigh. Most of them were from the girls as usual.

Speaking of glances, Yumiko has been glaring at us so powerfully that I'm afraid that I may turn to stone at any given moment… I've got to prepare an Anti-Petrification spell just in case…

She slowly let's go and moves her chair closer to mine until we're joined at the hip. Her eyes light up and a grateful smile graces her lips.

"Thanks, Hachi-kun~, you're a lifesaver~." She whispers the last part so only the two of us can hear. "Why were you so reluctant to help me out by the way? Oh, and I know that you were eventually going to give in. Tehee~!"

I click my tongue. She saw through me in an instant!

"I-It's better for you not to know…"

Reason: I want her to beg for it as my sadistic side demands.

She leans dangerously closer to me, closer than a female classmate would do to a "friend" of the opposite sex.

"Look around Hachi-kun. Some of the girls in the classroom have been huddling and whispering to each other for a while now. It's not too far off to say that a few of them have already reached a certain conclusion." One of the groups glances at us before huddling together again.

"Let them figure it out," I whisper back.

"I'm tired of all this hiding. It's been three and a half months!" She sulks on her armrest and morphs her face into a cute blob like those moe blob characters.

I can't help but nod in agreement with her. "Trust me. I am too but just give me a little bit more time to prepare, okay? I'm…still not mentally ready."

A look of understanding flashes across her face. She straightens up and reaches for my hand before stopping herself.

"Right… I'm sorry I should have been more considerate." Yuuko whispers back and hangs her head low seemingly out of shame.

"Hey, don't be so down." I was about to put my arm over her shoulder and stopped myself just in time and pretended to stretch my arms instead. Looks like we're both doing certain things unconsciously.

She grins when she realizes what I just did and we both chuckle at the silliness of it.

"In any event, I'll just match your pace Hikigaya-kun. Now then, let's begin!" She exclaims loudly and grabs her schoolbag and brings out her study materials. Wait, did I just see lipstick in there?! That's not allowed at school! As the disciplinary officer who also leads the academic and non-academic clubs during events, it's within my authority to confiscate it and keep it locked up in the Stuco room!

But since she's pretty cute and also happens to be my girlfriend, I'll let it slide just this once…

"You hyped me up! Let's finish this class presentation." She declares with a fire in her eyes which I have not seen being used in this context.

I laugh awkwardly. "Well, the thing is, I'm already done writing everything and our topic is relatively short and easy. I'll just split it and let you pick which part you want."

The fire in her eyes gets extinguished as quickly as it appeared and the bag falls from her hand to the floor with a thud.

"Oh."

"That's it for today kids! I'll see you next week! Students who are taking the red belt practical and theory exams, you better pass it or it's another three months of Aikido and Judo practice! My name is on the line here! Don't disappoint me!" Tatsumi-sensei announces with a loud voice that echoes all around her studio.

Many of us collapsed on the floor with heavy breaths but we still manage an acceptable reply to her.

"Yes, Sensei!"

I open my eyes and see a girl with jet black hair styled in a hime cut fashion staring coldly back at me. Right beside me is her cousin who's also the same as I am.

"What's gotten into you two today? You're working harder than usual." She says in a dull tone and continues fanning us with her limited series Hello Kitty X Gundam Collab event fan in which only fifty thousand were manufactured and sold all across Japan. Fifty thousand may sound like a lot but you'd be surprised to hear that it all got sold in less than two days. Isshin waited in line for hours and bought one for each of us and I still haven't opened mine.

"No clue what Isshin is thinking about in this bald head of his but I'm sure about you Hikigaya," She says and motions towards the area where a few people were waiting with most of them being parents or older siblings. I see a familiar figure among them who waves at me when our eyes meet.

"Ever the loyal and attentive girlfriend I see," A cold yet amused smile appears, "You're a lucky guy Hikigaya. How'd a loser like you snatch a girl like her? And one of those Gyaru types even."

"I'll take that as a compliment Shinna."

"I don't like normies, especially Riajuu and Gyaru. But I'm sure that you're already aware of that. I wish they'd dig a hole deep into the earth and never see the light of day ever again. They should all turn into insects so I can pour gasoline over them and watch them burn to death." Shinna had said so sometime before. She's kind of like me, to be honest, and even now I still find normie fags annoying. I bet if we were classmates in Sobu we'd get along pretty well with Yoshiteru.

"Yes yes, I know of your hatred of normies. Try to keep it down when Yuuko is around, okay? And isn't Isshin a normie? Do you hate him as well?"

"Yes." She instantly answers with a freezing voice and earns a wince from her cousin.

"Ouch! What the hell! Even if you're joking, that still hurts you know!" Isshin exclaims and hits her leg, which she retaliates and I stop the two before they start fighting again.

After cooling off for a little while, we get up and get changed so we can go home. The Kuro shoo me away and tells me to hurry up and get to my girlfriend. I know it's their way of giving us some privacy. It also frees us of the awkward situation when a normie-hater(Shinna) meets their arch-enemy (Yuuko).

She takes my arm and holds my hand as a familiar warm feeling spreads throughout my body. It's a busy Sunday evening and the trains are packed with people at this time. We only have a few hours left together so we quickly go on our way.

"Your friends are nice. It was funny watching you goofing around with them."

"Yes, they are. In any case, where do you want to go? And if we're going shopping, I'm staying outside in case you start picking out perfume for me to smell. My nose hasn't recovered from the previous beating." I say and unconsciously rub them with my finger. My response earns a pleasant laugh from her.

"No silly. I was thinking of getting Sushi tonight in those restaurants that have those conveyor belt things. It's been ages since I went to one."

I shrug. I haven't been to one either. If she says it's good then I'm sure it's good.

"Lead the way."

Unfortunately, the place that she leads us to is temporarily closed because the owners and the workers are on a vacation in a place called "Boracay" as stated by a notice on their entrance.

"Hm…"

"Drats! Okay, time for plan B! Ramen shop here we go!" She says and drags me to a brightly lit Ramen stall near a public park. The stall is one of those types that only open at night, are frequented by tired and depressed salary men(corporate slaves), are quite cheap and also manned by a nice elderly couple. It's quite a homely place and we find the last vacant table much to our luck.

I order a large serving of Tonkotsu Ramen while she had a small Shio Ramen, I also add in steamed gyoza as well as some fried squid. I am quite literally starving and eat my fill to sate my appetite. Tatsumi- sensei always reminds us to eat a lot after every session and I dutifully take her advice to heart. Yuuko eats more slowly, carefully slurping up the noodles to prevent her blouse from getting dirty. We don't talk much when we eat and the silence that comes over us is calming.

I eat her leftovers when she can't take another bite and finish everything else. My mama always told me to not be wasteful with food!

"Poor Hachi-kun, you must have been starving. I'll make sure to bring you something to eat next week." She moves to get up and pay for our food but I tell her that I already paid for it.

She sits back down with a disgruntled expression. "How much was it? Let me pay you back."

"Don't worry about it, it's my fault for not having lunch today."

"Are you really fine with working the whole Saturday and half a day on Sundays? What's with the sudden schedule change."

"I'm covering for Shiromeguri-senpai. She's preparing for her exams this coming winter."

"Seriously? That's like, four months away!" Yuuko exclaims with disbelief. Can't say I blame her, I had the same reaction when Sempai told me. "That's waaaaaaay too much of an overkill. Is she applying for Tokyo or Chiba?"

I shrug. "Don't know. I'll ask her tomorrow in the StuCo if I see her."

We talk for a little while and get up when we see a few more customers headed our way. They see us do our considerate act and bow in thanks. Instead, we head for the nearby park and sit on a bench.

"That was a nice dinner. The elderly couple was super nice and gave me an extra salted egg in my broth." She quips happily and leans her head on my shoulder. There are not many people around except for the odd late-night jogger walking their dog and salaryman(corporate slave) having a smoke under a streetlight.

"I'll tell my friends about this place. They could use the extra business," She takes out her phone and starts tapping away. "How would you rate the place Hachi-kun?"

I put my hand under my chin and give her words some thought. "A nine out of ten. The Shio Ramen was a bit salty but it won't be Ramen if it wasn't salty."

"Hehehe. That's already a given." She makes a short review of the place and adds its exact address and a single photo in her numerous social media accounts and group chats. Not long after posting it, her phone starts buzzing with notifications.

I whistle. "Wow, that was fast."

Yuuko gets all smug and puts her vacant hand on her hip. "Fufufufu! I may not look like it but I have a lot of followers online!" She declares proudly with her entire being glowing and emanating an aura of pure cheekiness. As expected of a gal gyaru archetype: being extremely proficient in social media skills!

"Oh yeah! Hachi-kun, I've been giving something some thought." She says and turns to me.

"And what would that be?" I ask her, eager to know what caused the new light of interest in her eyes.

"I want to get a part-time job!"

Hello, it's been a while. I've come to enjoy writing shorter chapters as opposed to my former habit of exceeding 10k words. You may have noticed it if you checked my recently updated fics. Oh and I tried writing a crossover with Genshin! Please check it out if you're interested and let me know your thoughts!

My reply to Minus lQ's review: "Even though this isn't as popular as the main story, I still enjoy reading these slice of life what-ifs, so keep writing them!"

Yeah, I'm not really bothered much if my works aren't popular. I just love writing in general and share it here with all of you. I mean, if I stopped because they weren't popular, then my main fanfic would have stopped getting updated way back in 2017! And it already has 2055 followers and 1841 favourites!

Thanks for the support and you should write to your heart's content! Everyone starts somewhere!

Goodbye and I'll see you lot next time!