Tearfully, Yuigahama Yui Begs
The fourth day of the festival preparations went by just like the preceding days.
Despite the amount of work that has been left unfinished and those that we haven't even been able to begin with in the first place, the committee members all went home much earlier than the planned time just like the previous days.
Or at least, that was what it looked on the surface.
"Do you think your plan will work?" the ever so vigilant Ice Queen, Yukinoshita Yukino asked me from my side as we exited the campus grounds together.
"Nothing in this world happens in 100% certainty."
Given how far behind schedule we were in the Cultural Festival preparations and how much we need to catch up in the near future, we had no other choice but to limit our studying to just in our respective homes. In other words, the meetups for our study group were cancelled altogether.
With that being the case as well as the cancellation of all Service Club meetings until the end of this event, for better or for worse, we could now go straight home after committee work.
My vague manner of speaking only served to irritate the other person Yukino and I were walking with.
In contrast to the black hair that Yukino and I both had, his hair was blond though he did happen to share a similarity with her through their blue irises.
It was Hayama Hayato.
It was only the three of us this afternoon as the other clique members who ended up being Festival Committee members as well namely, Yui and Miura insisted on letting us go ahead as they were waiting for Ebina who was still busy with our own class' preparations.
"Hikigaya, do me a favor and stop talking in riddles like Haruno please," the repressed Hayato complained with a grimace on his face.
"I wasn't really doing it on purpose and it just sort of rubbed into me because of working with her for quite a while now," I snickered. "But now that I know it bothers you this much then I'll be sure to act like that whenever you're around."
"Whatever," Hayama sighed and went ahead to talk to Yukino instead. "I'm surprised you went along with this plan, Yukino-chan. You normally wouldn't approve this kind of approach in the past."
The ravenette beside me answered while being a little displeased.
"It's not like I approved it, it's more like I was unable to come up with a better alternative. That's all. Do you understand, Hayato-kun?"
A mild (in Yukinoshita standards) glare was cast on Hayama's direction which made the Blond Prince shiver and instinctively raise his hands in surrender.
"Yes ma'am."
Meanwhile, I was nodding to myself while I listened to the exchange of these two childhood friends.
Yukino is using sophistry now, huh? The girl is finally learning. Well, she does plan on entering the political world after all.
"Hachi-kun, what are you grinning to yourself for? It's disgusting. Stop that. Right now." the Ice Queen redirected her wrath towards me. "Also, you haven't even answered my question earlier."
Now that she was just a few steps away from being mad, I was compelled to answer.
"I wouldn't be able to give you a number but I'd say that the chances are pretty high."
"On what basis?" Yukino's brows furrowed in suspicion.
"I've been observing his habits for the past few days, you see. Despite how he seems to be trying his best to screw over the festival preparations, all the documents that we want him stamped still end up getting approved without exception, provided they are reasonable of course."
"Isn't that good for us?" Hayama tilted his head and raised one of his brows in confusion.
"It is but if his goal is the cancellation of the festival, then why does he bother stamping them? Wouldn't it be better to think of an excuse like saying you forgot or you carelessly put it in the shredder without realizing or while you were drinking water your hand slipped and you poured it on all of them by accident? You know, something along those lines."
As I enumerated every single scenario, Yukino's face slowly but surely turned into a grimace before finally warping into a scowl.
"And here I thought that Sagami-kun was a terrible Festival Chairman," Yukino closed her eyes in disappointment as if refusing to even look at me like I was a failure of a human being. "You are clearly way worse, Hachi-kun."
"Hey! I never said that I'll do something like that; I was just stating some examples! Besides, I'm not even a chairman in the first place!" I exclaimed exasperatedly.
While Yukino and I were arguing, Hayama began analyzing everything that I just said.
"Now that you mention it, assuming we're right about his goal, his actions really don't make sense, huh."
"Yeah," I supplemented. "Either way, everything will be made clear once the Cultural Festival ends. In the same manner," I turned my attention back to Yukino. "We'll know tomorrow if my plan worked or not."
"I suppose so," Yukino sighed. "By the way," a curious glint manifested on the clear lapis lazuli orbs of Yukino. "You do have a back-up plan in case this one doesn't work, right?"
I immediately averted my eyes as I wiped away some beads of sweat on my forehead.
"We'll simply cross that bridge when we get there. Hahaha."
The top two students of Sobu sighed with disappointment but they humbled themselves when I made a face that said something along the lines of 'hey, if you two are so smart then come up with your own ideas. I'm listening.'
I may not have a Plan B but there is a very easy way to circumvent that.
Just don't fail Plan A.
It's that simple.
*bzzzt* *bzzzt*
I fished out the phone from my pocket and looked at the contents of the mail I just received before finally sighing.
"Looks like I have a couple of errands to run so I'll be heading this way," I say in an unmotivated tone while I oriented my body to face the direction opposite to where I was heading with the other two. "See you tomorrow," I languidly waved exact same manner that I say goodbye to them everyday before finally heading my way.
"Yes, see you tomorrow, Hachi-kun/Hikigaya."
The two waved back while being completely unaware of what was about to happen next.
Or more appropriately, what already happened.
…
"Sorry I wasn't of any help," the apology came from Saki who was red to her ears as she bowed on her seat.
It was lunchtime on the next day and because we had to talk about the Cultural Festival matters, we were once again gathered in the Service Club clubroom and by we; I mean not only the club members but also the other members of the clique.
As the only person who is in a similar boat as Saki, it fell onto me to comfort her.
"It can't be helped. Loners like us can't use the power of friendship after all."
In actual fact, I did use the power of friendship myself but because it was not something I could share openly, we'll leave it like this for now.
Saki scowled. "Would you stop calling it that already?! You're distorting the meaning of friendship on my head!"
In order for there to be a chance that the Cultural Festival to even happen, we needed to find a way around the three rules that the Committee Chairman came up with.
To nullify the first rule which said that the representatives could choose to help out in their class if they wanted to and effectively cut our manpower down to almost half, we needed to talk to the representatives of each respective class and somehow convince them to get back to work immediately.
Of course, such a hurdle could not easily be overcome by just a handful of people.
And that's where the power of friendship comes in.
The power of friendship, in other words, connections.
The ability to shamelessly ask for a favour from other people of which you have interacted with in the past while promising to potentially pay them back when the time comes which, more often than not, never happens.
By a stroke of good fortune, a majority of the people in this room just happen to be the most influential students in Sobu.
Virtually no one can say no to Hayama.
They also can't outright ignore Miura.
The other honour students will at least hear Yukino out.
The juniors in the respective sports clubs of Saika, Tobe, Yamato and Ooka would lend an ear to their senpais.
If he asks them nicely enough, Zaimokuza should be able to persuade the other otakus.
I'm sure Ebina has a way to motivate the fujoshis into helping out.
As for the second years, you would have to be very brave or stupid to refuse a direct request from Iroha, the current Student Council President.
We also have our bases covered with the first years through Komachi and Taishi.
It was sufficed to say that the younger Sagami's rule number one was now rendered moot.
"Ugh! You're the worst, Hikio."
Miura glared at me with burning passion.
Hmm, is it weird that I find this expression oddly nostalgic?
After all, it's been a while since she made that kind of face towards me.
Yes?
No?
In any case, letting her stay mad any longer doesn't sound like a good idea so I had to quickly think of a good response.
"Sorry but this is an emergency after all. We can't be getting too picky with our methods."
"I understand but…" Miura looked away to the window and pouted. "You know what? Nevermind."
With the almost erupting Fire Queen reduced to a calm kindle, we could now proceed with the rest of this meeting's agenda.
"Aniki, what do we do about the second rule?"
The second rule involved not staying over way too late in school in order to finish as much of the work as possible.
Unlike the first rule which made you want to instinctively commit murder; this was a mild annoyance at best.
After all, there were some advantages to this rule.
The sooner the students are able to exit the campus, the earlier they could rest and be ready for another productive day tomorrow.
Had we not been behind schedule, then there wouldn't be any issue with this rule but because that's not the case, it's become a real hindrance.
Luckily, among the three rules, it was the easiest one to maneuver around.
"It's nothing a little proper scheduling and planning can't fix, Kawasaki-kun." Yukino answered in my stead as she put a printed out schedule on the table for all of us to see.
In that piece of paper was a complete timeline of all our pending work arranged by priority where the tasks that could only be done at school was properly highlighted while a special note was attached to the rest which can be prepped or finished at home or wherever.
"As expected of Yukinon!"
"Wow! It's so detailed, Yukino-san!"
The carefree pair composed of Yui and Komachi commented with beaming smiles on their faces.
I wasn't sure if they really understood what was written on that paper or not given their happy expressions.
Like what was implied on the timetable that Yukino prepared, the only way to turn things around given our current situation was to sacrifice some of our free time at home and work on our tasks from there.
The only issue with this schedule though was whether or not the other representatives are willing to exert that much effort.
Well, if it comes to that, we'll have no other choice but to rely on the power of friendship once again.
Regardless, the true turning point of all of this was dependent on whether we can do something about rule number three or not.
After all, we wouldn't be able to proceed with a lot of transactions without the seal of approval from the chairman.
"So? Was it successful?"
Prompted by Hayama's question, it was now my turn to bring out a piece of paper.
So that everyone can see what was on it, I put it in the middle of the table beside the schedule that Yukino showed earlier.
"This is?!" Ebina inspected the contents of the paper only to be shocked at what was written on it.
The rest became curious because of Ebina's reaction and thus, crowded around the paper to read it as well.
As for Hayama and Yukino who already knew what the contents of the document are, they only checked if the all-important chairman's seal was there or not.
"He actually stamped it," Hayama said with an expression that combined relief and disbelief.
"Yep, along with our previous two measures this will be the deciding factor," I smiled before handing over a small item that easily fit on Komachi's hand. "Well then, we'll be relying on you, Komachi."
"I'll be entrusting you with this one as well," Yukino also handed her the timetable that she prepared.
Given Komachi's position, it was only proper that these two key items were in her possession.
Komachi was confused about the significance of the two articles given to her at first but upon recalling the previous arrangement we made, she made a look of realization and puffed her chest.
"You can count on Komachi, Onii-chan! Komachi will do her best!"
Now then, time to see how effective these measures are in practice.
…
I was treated to a surprise immediately upon entering the Student Council Office.
Today, all of the seats prepared for the student representatives are occupied just like they were on the first day.
But of course, I wasn't the only one in shock.
So was the younger Sagami, if the beads of sweat on his face and how his mouth kept repeatedly opening and closing was any indication.
Thus, in this day shounen anime/manga was proven right.
The power of friendship is indeed unbeatable.
Huh, I should use it more often.
Despite the fact that Yukino and I handed two important things to Komachi, neither of us told her exactly when to use them so color me impressed when my imouto decided to take the offensive now while Sagami was still in a vulnerable mental state.
"Chairman-san. Chairman-san."
Even from where I was sitting, I could see the thousand-watt smile of Komachi that has always compelled me to do anything that she asked for in the past and even the present.
I'm pretty sure Sagami was feeling a similar compulsive effect given that Komachi was standing so close to him.
"Y-Y-Yes?"
"Do you mind if I show to the others what work we should be prioritizing today?"
Still looking a little confused, Sagami absentmindedly answered.
"P-P-Please do."
"Alright, then."
With that, Komachi enumerated the tasks that we had to prioritize following Yukino's timetable.
To make it easier to understand, everyone else was given a copy of the same document.
After that short discussion, all the members of the committee then proceeded to completing their own respective work.
The long table that the representatives sat around was now encircled completely with a laptop for each student. The room was blanketed with the mixed aroma of tea, coffee and sweets while the sound of countless clicks from multiple keyboards and idle chatter echoed all throughout its four corners.
While I wouldn't describe it as the most conducive work atmosphere, it was at least way better than the previous days where no one was working on anything for a majority of the time.
"Hey, you."
It would've been way better if a certain girl beside me stopped saying 'hey, you' for the past few minutes though.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
I finally turned to my side when a pissed off Sagami Minami decided on getting my attention physically by grabbing my forearm with her hand.
"Do you need something?" I mixed in a little sarcasm as I asked.
"You having fun ignoring me or something?" she complained while still having a scowl on her face.
In response, I shrugged nonchalantly.
"I wouldn't be able to understand who you're trying to call if you just keep saying you. I do have a name after all."
If Sagami wasn't already mad earlier, she sure became mad now after hearing my response.
That being said, it's not like that was my problem or anything so I chose to redirect my focus on the laptop screen in front of me.
A few seconds later.
"Hikigaya…"
It was a soft call but because of my retroactive Selective Hearing Hikki, I was able to filter it out from the rest of the ambient noise in the room.
"Yes?"
"What exactly do you do in this part?" Sagami asked as she pointed at something on her screen.
Well, if she was talking to me without insulting me or getting mad at all then I guess you can say that this is some progress between us.
"Let me take a look," one second was all it took for me to understand what she was having trouble with. After all, it was something I had trouble in the past too but unlike her, I overcame that obstacle through my own effort, but that's beside the point. "Ah… Well, I guess you would have some difficulty with this if you weren't used to it."
As I knew she wasn't too comfortable with asking help from me, I decided to bring her laptop a little closer to my side and show her how things are done instead of guiding her from behind as she did it herself.
"That's the gist of it, if you get more proficient with it; there are some shortcuts and the like as well."
"Hmm, I see. So this is how you finish so fast, huh," she nodded repeatedly before donning a cheeky smile. "With this, I might even be done faster than you today!"
Heh, work for the Yukinoshitas for at least one month first, then we can talk.
But of course, I was tactful enough not to say that out loud.
If this little competition could get her motivated then I don't see any harm in playing along…
There was no way I was going to lose though.
"Speaking of which, why are you so hardworking now? Where was all this motivation last year?"
"Y-Y-You got a problem with that?" Sagami tried to act tough but it was obvious from how she was flustered that she was ashamed of her past actions. As she should.
"Not really, though I am curious."
"It's that you know," she averted her gaze away from me and her voice became even softer as she continued. "An older sister has to cover for the mistakes of her little brother after all."
"Is that so?" I asked in slight confusion.
It's not like I found her statement incorrect. As an older sibling myself, I can even sympathize.
What got me puzzled was something else instead.
Hmm, maybe their relationship isn't as bad as I originally thought?
"That's right so if you'll excuse me, I still have some work to do."
The nerve of this girl to talk like that when she was the one who disturbed me by asking for my help earlier.
I was half-tempted to click my tongue in frustration.
She had a point though. We didn't have time to waste. Besides, that was probably the maximum amount of interaction that Sagami Minami can tolerate out of Hikigaya Hachiman for the day so I'll leave it at that for now.
When I was finally free of Sagami, I immediately went back to work. Somewhere down the line, my gaze inadvertently fell to my right side. Upon doing so, my eyes laid upon the face of a truly vexed Miura.
"Uhmm, Miura-san, is there something wrong?" I unconsciously switched to a more formal way of calling her because of my fear.
"Nothing," she answered while turning away from me and resuming her work instead.
The don't talk to me aura that enveloped her was thick enough that you'd think she could manifest a STAND that will pummel me any second from now. [1]
Beside her, I could see Hayama enjoying the scene of carnage from the sidelines.
When we made eye contact, I immediately sent him a distress signal.
Hey! Do something!
In response, the blond bastard smiled radiantly like he was truly enjoying this sequence of events. Unlike the princely smile that never fails to capture the hearts of countless maidens, this expression was much more sinister.
If I had to put it into words then it was…
Yes.
Very similar to mine.
Wait just one second, is he trying to pick a fight?
Joking aside, I could clearly identify a fake apologetic tone with his smile.
Sorry, impossible. You're on your own.
After dropping that response, he redirected his attention back to his laptop in a much better mood than a few seconds ago.
With a Sagami Minami who seemed way too set on trying to one-up me on one side and a pissed off Miura Yumiko on the other, there wasn't much I could do now but just delegate the rest of my mental resources towards completing all the work assigned to me for the day… Not like I didn't plan to do that in the first place.
Seriously, I just don't understand women.
…
The fruits of our efforts that day could easily be seen on the next morning.
Before today, it was difficult to tell whether it was festival season yet or not.
Through circumventing the unnecessary rules made by Sagami, a lot of the pending approvals have been taken care of and you can now see several booths-in-the-making around the school grounds.
The school gate itself was also undergoing its own modifications.
Truly, such progress would have been impossible if it weren't for the additional manpower we secured by brazenly taking advantage of our connections.
Witnessing such a sight, I couldn't stop myself from letting my true thoughts leak.
"Ah, isn't having friends nice, Yui?" I said to a girl beside me, who I just happened to have met with en route to school, while smiling as amiably as I could that I may have even looked like a saint but if Yui's disgusted expression was any indication, I didn't achieve the intended effect.
"I agree with you, Hachi but saying it at this kind of timing makes it hard for me to accept," she then spoke in a louder voice than usual. "Apologize to the word friendship, now!"
"As usual, you're the worst, Hachi-kun," the disdainful voice that made you feel like winter was near even though it's not even autumn yet came from the girl with long black hair who was trailing a few steps behind Yui and me.
In the entirety of Sobu, there was only one student who spoke in that exact manner.
Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Yahallo, Yukinon!"
"Yo, Yukino."
"Good morning to you two," Yui and I waited for Yukino to catch up to us after we exchanged our respective greetings.
"Class hasn't even begun yet and you're already acting like a scumbag, Hachi-kun," Yukino criticized with a judging tone.
"Hey, you make it sound like I'm a scumbag when class starts," I protested vehemently to which the Ice Queen just smiled in a smug manner.
"Oh? Was I right?"
This girl.
The way her lapis lazuli eyes sparkled made it seem like she genuinely believed her assumption.
Before I could offer another retort however…
"Stop it, you two!" Yui exclaimed as she got in-between us. "Really, can you save that kind of arguing when it's just the two of you? You're leaving me out of the loop here," she finished with a sigh.
"My bad. Just that…" I made eye contact with Yukino who was on Yui's other side. "It's been a while since we did something like this, huh?"
"Yeah, that's true," Yukino put a hand to her chin and seemed to have begun reminiscing. "Things have been quite hectic lately after all."
"It's just like the Service Club when it was just the three of us last year all over again!" Yui supplemented in great cheer.
"Though, it would really be nice if the Cultural Festival wasn't as troublesome as last year though," I inserted in my own complaint. Upon doing so however, the two girls accompanying me suddenly went silent. "Uh…" I wanted to ask what was wrong but given how uncomfortable they both appeared, I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Despite how lively the school looked with all the decorations and whatnot, the three of us walked through the campus grounds and entered the main academic building without exchanging a word.
The silence persisted until we reached the stairs where we have to separate to go to our respective classes.
"Hachi!" just like always, Yui was the one who broke the silence first.
When I saw that her expression was on the verge of tears, I found myself trying to appease her by wearing a reassuring smile.
"Yes?"
"I may not be that good at it but I'll do my very best at being one of the committee members so..!" Yui was unable to continue her words because tears began pouring down from her eyes, prompting her to sniffle.
Luckily, whatever it was that she wanted to say to me…
It seems like Yukino already knew about it.
They were probably thinking of the exact same thing.
The blue-eyed ravenette gave Yui a handkerchief so she can wipe her tears while Yukino herself rubbed her back so she can sooth her.
"…Don't do something like you did last year," Yukino's eyes resolutely gazed at mine but her expression wasn't as intense as I expected it to be, in fact, it was rather sorrowful. It looked like she was also right on the edge of crying though she was faring out way better than our mutual airheaded friend Yui.
Last year's Cultural Festival.
How could I forget about that event?
Or rather, even if I tried there was no way for me to forget it so easily.
That was most probably my first official social suicide, at least in my second year of high school.
Though a falling out between the three of us didn't occur like it did with the one in Kyoto, it set me up in this wrong thinking that it was fine if I was the only one hurt.
Just because I was used to the pain, doesn't mean it was okay for me to keep getting hurt.
Because if I get hurt, those who care about me will get hurt as well.
That was especially true now that I have more friends to take into account.
Unfortunately for them, it's a bit too late for this now but for promises' sake let's just strive to not do anything too reckless for the remainder of the event, yeah?
"Sure, I promise."
By coincidence, Yui's nose cleared up enough so she could speak clearly after I made my vow.
"If you break your promise, we'll get mad."
The pout that Yui made combined with how she said those words made me instinctively fear for my life.
Who knew she could be this scary as well?
Right, for my sake, let's seriously strive to keep that promise.
SS 1: Melancholically, Sagami Sugita Reminisces About The Past
"Ugh…"
The lone Sagami Sugita woke up to an empty Student Council Office with nothing but two stacks of documents to keep him company.
"I fell asleep, huh."
All the papers on one stack have all been stamped while the other one which is relatively thicker than the two still contained transactions that required his approval.
Seeing the number that he still had to go through made him sigh.
It didn't help that the sun was well on its way to setting so without even looking at the clock, he already had a rough idea of how late it currently is and how much later it would be when he'll be finished.
"Hah, why am I even doing this?" he grumbled as his eyes and hands worked through one paper after another.
Saying those words made him recall a distinct memory of his from the past.
It was around the time where he first attended school.
He got into a fight one day for reasons he can't quite recall anymore and as anyone would expect, his parents punished him for getting himself into trouble.
That night he wasn't allowed to get dinner.
Just when he was about to cry himself to sleep while having an empty stomach…
*knock* *knock*
Soft sounds of knocking came from the door of his room.
Given how the sound came from the lower section of the door, there was no way that an adult was the one who knocked.
As such…
"It's me."
Even on the other side of the door, he could easily recognize the voice of his older sister.
"Nee-chan!" he exclaimed as he got up from his bed and opened the door. "What are you doing here?!"
"Hehe. I brought you your dinner," the older sister puffed her chest with pride as she handed a bowl of rice with karaage and some pickled vegetables to her younger sibling. Her entire figure was basically saying 'hey, I did something amazing, you can praise me now, I'll allow it.'
Looking at his older sister acting in such a manner blew away all the sorrow that he felt earlier.
All that was left in him was disappointment.
It was only after he took a sniff to temporarily remedy his runny nose did Sagami Sugita finally speak.
"What are you doing, Nee-chan? Tou-chan and Kaa-chan are going to really punish you tomorrow once they find out."
Even at such a young age, Sagami Sugita had always been the more level-headed one between the two siblings.
"Eh? Eh? Aren't you supposed to be thanking me instead or something?"
"Nevermind that Nee-chan, go back to your room now before it's too late."
The little brother tried to push his sister away from his room but the latter decided to force her entry instead, even choosing to close the door behind her after doing so.
"No."
"Why not? Didn't you hear what I just said?!"
Sagami Minami only became more stubborn after hearing her brother's words.
"So what? I'll just get punished with you. It's no big deal. I can handle that much."
He knew she was putting on a front. That's because between the two of them, it was always her who cried first every single time.
It's been that way for the longest time that he could remember.
Even then, she still chose to do something stupid like this.
He clearly remembered that this was the point where he just gave up.
Besides, at that time he was way too hungry to argue about anything anymore.
As such, he decided to accept the food being given to him and just dig in.
"Thanks."
It was the response that Sagami Minami waited all that time but now that she heard it from her brother's mouth directly, she had trouble thinking of her own answer instead.
In the end, with her limited vocabulary as a child, she went with the first thing that popped out of her head.
"Yeah, anytime."
The smile of the younger Sagami Minami at that time now overlapped with the expression of the current third year Sobu High student who despite having screwed up majorly last year still had the gall to show her face publicly in school.
If it was anyone else, you'd be wondering whether the girl had thick skin or was just straight-up clueless but because she was his brother, he knew that it was most definitely, a case of the latter.
Even so…
"Ah, it can't be helped. Although she's an idiot, that girl is still my sister after all."
After saying that, his face became filled with resolve and he was able to eventually unite the two stacks of papers into one.
While he was busy doing so, he was not able to notice the fact that the door to the Student Council office was left slightly ajar.
Unbeknownst to him, one of the documents in that pile of stamped ones was something he was not able to check.
The content of which are as follows:
For the duration of the event preparation, the Festival Committee Vice-Chairman is allowed to freely use a duplicate stamp of the Committee Chairman as issued by the Student Council for the following documents:
Approval of each respective class' activity for the festival.
Booth arrangements for the available space on the campus grounds.
Presentations that will take up the time slots in the opening and/or closing programs of the festival.
Transactions that do not involve a monetary value above ****** yen.
This was undoubtedly the trump card that Hikigaya Hachiman prepared to counter the third rule that Sagami Sugita made.
Had he been able to even as much as glance on this paper, there was no way it was ever going to be approved.
And yet, for some reason it did.
The answer to that was simple.
Sagami Sugita was not the one who stamped it.
But that begs the question.
If it wasn't him, then…
Who?
SS 2: Enviously, Miura Yumiko Grumbles
"This is…"
Miura scratched her head as she looked at the unfamiliar interface on her screen.
With the advent of technology, a lot of conveniences have been added in real life that made work much more efficient.
This included large-scale event organization as well.
As a leading educational institution in Chiba, Sobu procured such software in order to allow their students to have an edge over those from other schools.
That didn't mean however that all the students of the school were proficient in the use of such software.
On the first few days, Miura only had to deal with the more basic tasks so she didn't have too much trouble. Now that time is short, even someone like her had to deal with specialized work like this. Because she felt that it would be insensitive of her to reject the assignment given to her especially knowing their current situation, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.
Put it simply, Miura Yumiko was in a pickle.
Despite that, she didn't appear too troubled.
While she genuinely wanted to help out in the festival preparations, she'd be lying if she said she didn't have an ulterior motive for being here in the first place.
This should be a good enough reason to talk with him, right? I mean, it's for work after all.
After preparing that excuse in her head, Miura's hand slowly approached not the flashy blond boy on her right-hand side but the gloomy one with unkempt black hair on her left.
Just when her fingers were about to make contact with his shoulder…
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
Sagami Minami, the girl on the other side of Hikigaya Hachiman called him.
Judging from the displeased expression that he wore initially, Miura thought that their conversation wouldn't take that long so she just waited for them to finish instead.
She was after all, a patient girl.
It was definitely not because she was shy or anything.
However, it became clear a few seconds later that that wasn't the case.
In fact, somewhere along the line she even noticed that it was Hikigaya himself who was trying to engage in a conversation with Sagami.
Even if she tried to ignore the two, she found her focus being involuntarily drawn to them every other second and each time it happened, she would end up frowning.
To describe her as jealous would be an understatement but there was no way the current Miura would admit that even to herself.
She was a second too late and that fact frustrated her even more.
Had that not been the case, then she might've ended up being the girl that Hikigaya was talking to instead of Sagami Minami.
As the attentive person that he was, Hayama Hayato could not help but notice the worries of the blonde girl beside him however he'd be lying to himself if he reached out to her solely because of concern. In truth, he was a little intrigued.
"Yumiko, is there something troubling you?"
"Ah, yeah," Miura answered a little absentmindedly. "I'm having difficulty with this you see and I wanted to ask for Hikio's help but he's a little busy."
"I see,"
"I mean, aren't the two of us from the same class supposed to be partners? What's he doing helping out a girl from another class instead?" Miura grumbled in a voice soft enough that Hayama could find her rant still audible while leaving Hikigaya none the wiser.
The irony of the situation felt so surreal and amusing that he ended up accidentally letting the franker Hayato take over.
"You like him, don't you?" Hayato whispered with a mischievous smile.
"Eh?!" hearing those implicating words immediately turned Miura as red as a tomato. "That's..!"
"Ah, you don't have to say anything, I get it already," the reaction that Miura made was more than enough to serve as an answer for Hayato. "Well, I'm not really Hikigaya but if you need help on something, I can give you a hand if you don't mind."
Miura alternated her gaze between the busy Hikigaya and the vacant Hayama for a few seconds before finally making her decision.
"I'll be relying on you, Hayato," Miura resigned herself to her fate and bowed.
"Sure, if you'll have me," Hayama smiled wryly and proceeded to guide the Fire Queen through the said software while making sure to focus only on the functions of the program that she required for the tasks currently assigned to her so that she won't end up with any information overload.
"Mm, I get it all so far. Thanks, Hayato."
The fact that Miura could now thank him so naturally in this manner without stuttering or getting flustered was proof of how times have now changed.
"Anytime," amused, a flavour of mischief was then mixed with Hayama's usual smile. "I'll be rooting for you."
"Eh?!" Miura wanted to say some sort of excuse but knowing that the Blond Prince in front of her wouldn't be so easily fooled; she gave up on the idea. "Mm, thanks."
To think that her past crush would become her new wingman and her old wingman ended up being her tentative new crush (tentative because she is still unsure) furthermore, said new crush was also currently talking with the girl who used to despise his entire existence.
It was such a shoujo manga-esque development that it gave her a headache.
In the end, Miura Yumiko decided to do the thing that all other girls with complicated love problems do.
"Hikio, you idiot."
Put all the blame on the other person making her feel these weird emotions in the first place.
SS 3: With A Flawless Smile, Yukinoshita Haruno Plans Her Revenge
"Wasn't that a little excessive, Otouto-kun?" a rare concerned tone came from Yukinoshita Haruno sitting opposite to the cynic who has now recently become her honorary little brother, though she began treating her in a similar manner way before it became official. "Do you have any idea how much I panicked when you asked for that kind of stuff out of the blue?!"
They met up on a café a ways away from Sobu.
In exchange for a little favor that Hikigaya asked of Haruno, the older sister said that they should talk over dinner together, just the two of them.
Since the price range of the establishment was a little on the upper side of the spectrum, there weren't that many people so it was an ideal place to have a conversation away from the ears of others.
"Like you're one to talk," Hikigaya Hachiman sighed. "I learned from your family to never rely on something uncertain like chance and if I didn't apply it in this situation, I felt like I wouldn't get a wink of sleep tonight."
"Okay, I admit that we're partly to blame but still," Haruno sighed. "Surely, there was another way around this."
If he could think of something this unscrupulous from such a young age, how much more resourceful would Hikigaya Hachiman be in the future?
Had the Yukinoshitas accidentally awakened such a frightening monster?
Hikigaya joined both of his hands and rested his chin on it before finally sighing. "Believe me when I say that I didn't wanna do it too," he lowered his gaze and made it so that it was his forehead that was touching his hands. "I'm currently reflecting on it."
If he was this remorseful about it, then Haruno judged that he was not too far deep yet.
Yes, yet.
She herself cannot deny that there exists a possibility where he will do something like this again in the near future but when that time comes, it was her responsibility as his older sister to stop him from going astray. It didn't matter if they were bound by blood or not.
"Otouto-kun," Haruno grabbed one of his forearms and gave it a light squeeze. Her touch lacked its usual mischief and instead was just filled with pure concern. "Tell me what happened."
"Right."
Like so, Hikigaya narrated what has happened to the festival preparations so far that led him to take such a drastic measure.
"I see, so it was that bad, huh?" Haruno nodded empathetically.
"Yeah, that's why I needed to do something that will have guaranteed results," Hikigaya awkwardly scratched his head as he reasoned. "By the way, I'm surprised you had some time off today. Shouldn't you go and spend it with Yukino or something?"
At that, Haruno raised one of her brows and crossed both of her arms on her chest in indignation.
"And just who do you think was the one who forced me in this situation in the first place?!"
"Right, my bad," Hikigaya scratched his head and looked away in embarrassment.
Haruno kept her amethyst eyes on her honorary little brother and examined him.
He is a Monster of Logic.
As these words imply, he was someone whose actions are driven mostly by logic instead of emotion, even more so than the average person.
Put it simply, he wouldn't do something if he didn't have to do it. [2]
Conversely, if a task really had to be done and he was the most appropriate person for the job, then he'll do it without any hesitation.
He was that kind of person, under normal circumstances at least.
In the end, despite being a so-called Monster of Logic, Hikigaya Hachiman was ultimately a human.
And logic, though encompassing a great portion of his self, was not his entire existence.
After all, a human being is anything but consistent.
There is one exception in which Hikigaya Hachiman abandons all his logic and acts in a completely reckless manner.
Several precedents could easily support such a claim.
Yes, it was none other than when he was working on a request.
In the end, everything all went back to that Service Club that his favorite Sensei roped him into joining.
"Was this rashness of yours because of a request?" Haruno asked while keeping a strict gaze on Hikigaya.
It was not the fearsome glare that the Yukinoshitas are known for.
It was the look of a concerned older sister.
There was anger, yes, but unlike the righteous fury of a mother who only wanted to guide her child to the proper path, the sister just wanted to know the reason why her little brother was acting rebellious in the first place. That way, she could help him out if she could.
This was perhaps one of the truer faces of Yukinoshita Haruno that Hikigaya Hachiman has encountered so far.
Against such an expression, he could not bring himself to lie but because there were some parts about what she was asking that he himself was unsure about, it was not like he could tell her the complete truth as well.
"Yeah, something like that," in the end, Hikigaya chose to answer vaguely as he began stirring his overly sweet coffee which should already be lukewarm.
Haruno began to dissect the meaning behind her brother's answer.
There was no reason for him to word out his response in that manner.
After all, a request in the Service Club is equivalent to a business transaction in Hikigaya Hachiman's head.
It was nothing he needed to hide.
Unless…
"Was it a girl?"
Hikigaya's body stiffened after the surprise attack made by Haruno, making him involuntarily stop stirring his coffee.
In order to make her not suspect anything, Hikigaya needed to be very careful with what he was going to say next and when he was going to say it.
It was only after around the count of three did he decide to finally say something.
"Does the gender of the requestor matter?"
Needless to say, Haruno did not fall for his tricks.
After all, if this was enough to mislead her, then Yukinoshita Haruno would never have been given the honor to be the next CEO of Yukinoshita Corporations.
"Fufu. Who is it? Is it someone I know? Come on. Don't be shy and tell your Onee-san allll~ about it…"
Hikigaya looked at Haruno's teasing expression and sighed.
The more things change, the more they stay the same it seems.
This was none other than Yukinoshita Haruno's twisted way of showing affection to those he considered to be her younger siblings.
After working with her for quite some time now, he could understand some of her idiosyncrasies already.
He knew that despite the lightheartedness of her tone, she was running several calculations on her head about the potential identity of this girl, whether she is harmful or not and how to silently remove her should she prove to be the former.
In her amethyst-like irises, there wasn't only curiosity but also an emotion that Hikigaya would not be acquainted with had he not become an honorary member of the Yukinoshita family.
It was bloodlust.
Jeez, I'm happy that she cares about me so much but she should really tone it down a little.
In order to steer the conversation away from this dangerous direction, Hikigaya opted to change the topic.
"Haruno-san, if you have the time, do drop by at Sobu during the Cultural Festival. She may not be good at showing it but I think Yukino would appreciate that."
Haruno was a little bothered by Hikigaya's forced transition but she was quick to change her gears. "Oh? Then how about you, Otouto-kun?" she inquired with a teasing glint in her eyes.
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
Hikigaya blinked in genuine surprise.
One of Haruno's brows twitched a little when she realized that her little brother actually wasn't able to take the hint.
"Do you want me to come to the Cultural Festival or not?"
Hikigaya was perplexed at why she was asking him this question. After all…
"If Haruno-san really wanted to go, I don't think I could stop her regardless of my thoughts on the matter," the pessimist answered matter-of-factly.
"…"
Haruno was left speechless with her mouth moving up and down for a few seconds without being capable of saying a single word.
What Hikigaya said was true.
After all, last year she pretty much just invited herself to the event without regard for the thoughts of others.
Realistically, what was stopping her from doing the same thing this year?
She didn't expect such a response to come out of Hikigaya's mouth.
Then again, the reason why she was so drawn to Hikigaya Hachiman in the first place was exactly because he didn't act in an orthodox manner so this wasn't anything too new.
However, there were rare occasions such as this where she wanted nothing more than for him to say the more standard replies instead. Something along the lines of 'it would be better if you came'.
Then again, he wouldn't be the Hikigaya Hachiman she knew if he acted in such a predictable manner.
To say she was torn would be an understatement.
"Otouto-kun is an idiot."
"Haruno-san, did you say something?"
Upon being asked, Haruno smiled once again though her eyes didn't carry over the jolly sentiment that you would expect.
"Nope, nothing at all," she hummed merrily but that feigned joy only served to give Hikigaya a bad premonition for his future.
He could only hope that his worries were wrong.
Spoilers, he was absolutely right.
…
Back at her own apartment and after having taken a nice warm bath, Haruno decided to dial up a certain someone as a little payback to Hikigaya for one-upping her earlier.
When the caller on the other side picked up, she immediately switched on to her nice girl mode, the mask that she's been putting on for such a long time now.
"Hello!" Haruno smiled cheerfully even though she wouldn't be seen by the person she was calling. "By any chance, are you free during this day?"
SS 4: Covertly, Ebina Hina Makes Her Own Arrangements From The Background
"Ah, Iroha-chan! There you are. Yahallo!" Yui greeted as soon as she saw the distinct shade of flaxen hair from her kouhai.
"Oh, it's Yui-senpai! Yahallo!" Isshiki responded then upon seeing the other two girls beside Yuigahama, she greeted them as well. "Yahallo, Miura-senpai and Ebina-senpai too!"
"Yahallo, Isshiki-san."
"Hello, Isshiki."
The other two senior year girls answered.
"Where are the other senpais?" the three girls shared a smile between themselves as they heard Isshiki's inquiry.
She might've tried to hide it in her cutesy manner of asking but the trio already knew that when this fox asks where the other senpais are, the only one she was really trying to look for was that senpai, in particular.
"They went ahead," Miura answered as a representative for the three. "The three of us still had something else to do together so we couldn't go with them earlier."
"I see," a trace of disappointment was evident on Isshiki's honey-colored eyes.
Fortunately, Ebina just had the thing to cheer her up.
"Actually, we were hoping you would join us," Ebina offered but in the middle of her statement, the nature of her smile changed into something different that the other girls could only describe as being similar to a black-haired cynic they mutually knew. "I promise you it won't be a waste of your time."
…
Having hung out in different kinds of cafés over the past three years of being a high school student, it was safe to say that Miura, Ebina and Yuigahama have gone inside every single one around the vicinity of Sobu.
Even so, there was always one place that these three, despite having different criteria in judging whether a café is good or not, collectively agreed is the best one.
Coincidentally, it ended up…
Not being the same café that Hikigaya and Haruno met up in.
After all, given their limited budget as high school students, cost was also part of their respective rubric albeit unintentionally.
After entering the establishment, even the picky Isshiki Iroha could not find any faults with the taste of these three senpai.
You could even say it was to be expected from the most popular girls in Sobu.
As a side note, this café was the one that Hikigaya accompanied the same trio of girls with when they were trying to set-up his date with Isshiki during her birthday.
"Does Ebina-senpai have something she wants to talk to me about?" Isshiki asked immediately after the quartet finished giving their orders.
This tendency to cut to the chase was surely influenced by that fish-eyed senpai of hers but the other three who are in the same year as that guy didn't bother pointing that out even though they collectively thought of the same thing.
Ebina pulled out her phone from her bag, opened her gallery to show one particular image before putting it in the middle of the table for the others to see.
"Do you recognize who this is?"
Because of how they were seated around the table the first two to have gotten a proper look was the pair opposite Ebina which was Isshiki and Yuigahama.
It was a young man right around their age wearing the complete suit-and-tie package. His hair was properly combed and he also wore a pair of glasses to complete his getup.
In the photo, his right hand can be seen placed on his left breast while he was in the middle of a bow. While it wasn't captured completely because of the limitations of the camera, it looked like he was interacting with a couple of girls simultaneously. Despite that being the case, he didn't look proud or lecherous at all, in fact, his expression remained stoic.
"I don't really recognize him at all," Isshiki tried to squint her eyes to get more clues only to end up with nothing. "He looks cool though but I can't help but feel annoyed when I say that out loud."
"Hmm, he looks familiar. Where have I seen him before?" Yuigahama wondered while putting a hand to her chin.
"Let me see," Yuigahama passed the phone over to Miura upon her request. It only took one glance for the Fire Queen to figure out the true identity of the guy in the photo. "Oh, it's Hikio."
"You're joking?!" Isshiki suddenly snatched the phone away from Miura's hands to take another look. Her eyes widened in disbelief once she noticed the vague but unmistakable resemblance. "This is Hachi-senpai?!" her question was directed to Ebina.
"Yep that is without a doubt, Hikitani-kun alright," Ebina matter-of-factly said.
"Eh?! Seriously?!" Isshiki exclaimed as she kept looking at the photo and turning the phone around to check whether her eyes were playing tricks on her or not.
"It's amazing how you recognized him right away, Yumiko," Yui opened up a different topic as they waited for Isshiki to cool down after hearing that revelation.
"He looked similar to that time Hayato invited me to the Summer Ball after all," Miura then turned towards Ebina who was beside her. "Actually, I'm more surprised about the fact that you got a photo of him while he's wearing this kind of attire, Hina. Isn't he usually pretty guarded with things like that?"
"Well, he was really busy at the time after all so he probably didn't notice," Ebina confessed without any guilt in either her tone or expression.
Just when they were about to stray away from the main topic…
"Wait, so what does Hachi-senpai in formal wear have anything to do with our talk?"
Isshiki finally snapped out of her trance.
Though she tried her best to hide her embarrassment, she was utterly failing at the task, if the remnants of the blush on her cheeks were any indication.
"Oh, it's related alright," Ebina leaned a little closer to Isshiki and continued. "I would like to ask a favor from you, Isshiki-san. You see…"
After a short explanation from Ebina, Isshiki began to carefully ponder her senpai's proposal.
"So Ebina-senpai is asking me to use my position to make a special exemption for Hachi-senpai during the day of the festival because Yui-senpai and Miura-senpai will be there to cover for him?" Isshiki reiterated a portion of what Ebina said to her. "Did I get all of that right?"
"Yep, that's the gist of it. Our class really needs Hikitani-kun's presence after all."
Isshiki Iroha didn't see anything wrong with the request. After all, it fully covered their bases, what with Yuigahama and Miura, subbing in for Hikigaya. Worse comes to worst, they could also ask Yukinoshita herself to pitch in.
That being said, since Ebina worded it as a favor…
"What's in it for me?"
…Then it was only expected that Isshiki will get something in return.
Needless to say, taking into account this particular kouhai's personality, Ebina already saw this kind of development coming.
As such, she prepared something beforehand that she was sure this sly fox cannot ignore.
"VIP Treatment," Ebina said in a similar manner a poker player would when they wanted to go all in.
Isshiki's honey-colored eyes glimmered after hearing those two words.
Of course, as someone who enjoyed the authority that came with the position of Student Council President, she wouldn't let the chance to get special privilege like this go away.
This was especially true when it concerned matters regarding that senpai of hers.
He did sort of owe her after all and being paid back in that kind of manner sounded very appealing to Isshiki's ears.
"Deal."
Thus, behind-the-scenes, a contract between girls was sealed with slices of cakes and cups of coffee as their only other witnesses.
SSS: Desperately, Orimoto Kaori Asks For His Help
Just because you set your expectations low doesn't mean you still won't get disappointed.
Hikigaya Hachiman understood this more after he received a call from yet another female acquaintance who seemed to want nothing more than to disturb his summer vacation.
"This is the emergency you were talking about?" Hikigaya remarked while raising an eyebrow judgingly at the perpetrator who in turn looked away from his gaze guiltily.
"Okay, maybe I exaggerated what I said on the phone a bit," the brown eyes of Orimoto Kaori, the girl that changed him for better or for worse, were wordlessly pleading him for forgiveness. "Just a little bit."
"A little bit, you say?" it only took one glance at the notebooks, reference books and printed handouts arranged on the table for Hachiman to guess what this was really all about.
He should've known that something was weird when Orimoto told him that her current location was in a newly opened café even though she said she was in an emergency.
It was nothing more than Orimoto's unfinished summer homework.
"I'm going home," Hikigaya said disinterestedly before turning his feet towards the opposite direction of Orimoto's table.
"Wait! Hikigaya, I seriously need your help! It's really really bad this time!"
Orimoto tugged on to one of Hikigaya's arms, making him face towards her direction. There were already tears on Orimoto's eyes but Hikigaya remained unmoved.
"You reap what you sow."
"Please! I will admit that it was really my bad this time but I can't help it, it's our last summer as a high school student after all!"
All that excuse earned her was a frown from Hikigaya.
"Don't make a face that assumed that you said a valid reason just now," he chastised Orimoto like a concerned teacher would to his student.
"I'm really sorry!" Orimoto apologized with even more tears forming on her eyes.
"Let go already!"
Unfortunately, given how the situation looked from the outside, it most certainly looked like Hikigaya Hachiman was in the wrong.
After all, if you weren't provided any context of the scene and you see a girl tearfully pleading to a guy who was about to leave her, you'd easily come to the conclusion that he is the most despicable person in the planet.
"The worst..!"
"Scum..!"
"Poor girl..!"
Selective Hearing Hikki easily picked out the insults from the peanut gallery and putting himself on their shoes, Hikigaya couldn't find it in him to blame them.
To cause such a scene in order to create a situation where he would find it hard to refuse her request, had the girl in front of him been either Isshiki or Haruno he'd first, he'd suspect that everything was an act but because it was Orimoto Kaori he knew that the stars just happened to line up in her favor.
After sighing, the logistic pessimist took a seat opposite of Orimoto. "This won't be free," Hikigaya threatened to which Orimoto could only nod.
"Thank you soooooo so much, Hikigaya. I'll pay you back, I promise."
"Let's just get this over with…" he muttered as he grabbed the nearest reference book from his side.
…
It must be nice to know someone who goes to a more advanced school than you do.
Hikigaya thought to himself as he quickly scanned the reference material intended for Kaihin Sogo High students.
To make it so that Hikigaya won't end up answering Orimoto's homework for herself, Hikigaya's role was to summarize some contents of the lessons for Orimoto so she could use those to answer faster.
This allowed Hikigaya to get some studying done for himself for the upcoming university entrance exams so it was not as if his time was completely wasted.
It was currently lunchtime.
So as to not ruin their momentum and waste any more time in general, the two decided on having lunch on the same café for now.
At this point, Orimoto was around 40% done with her homework already. No, scratch that.
It was more appropriate to say that she was 40% done with the parts that she absolutely needed to finish.
How she was able to make so much progress could only have been thanks to the efforts of Hikigaya Hachiman.
She may have called him as a last ditch effort but in actual fact, he was the best reinforcement for these kinds of scenarios, perhaps even better than the likes of Yukinoshita Haruno, assuming Orimoto had her contact details.
After all when it came to cutting corners, he was most likely second to none among those of his age group. His experience with working in part-time for the Yukinoshitas and acting as a tutor for the clique only bolstered that fact even more.
Though it was homework intended to be finished during summer vacation, it was actually something that can be completed in around a week if a student was willing to commit more or less around eight hours a day.
Fortunately, Orimoto was at least able to do 15% of it before she called Hikigaya over but it was still far from ideal.
In all honesty, it was impossible for Orimoto to finish everything today.
Logically speaking, it was futile to think that you can finish an activity in less than 24 hours when it was meant to be done in around 40 hours.
That's why Hikigaya made Orimoto gave up on that thinking.
Instead, what he did was sort all of Orimoto's homework based on two factors.
The first is whether it needed to be passed in the morning or the afternoon. This will determine which subject must be prioritized first as Orimoto can just try to finish the afternoon subjects tomorrow morning during class hours.
The other is if Orimoto's grades are high or low in each respective subject. This allows them to know how much effort Orimoto will have to apply in each one. Naturally, she would have to try harder for the subjects where she had low marks as that will go a long way towards elevating her final grade.
With all this, Hikigaya effectively cut Orimoto's workload by half.
The rest now hinges on how fast Orimoto herself can answer the questions on her homework though whether her answers are correct or not was a whole different issue together.
"Well now is a good time as any so let's talk about my payment," Hikigaya put his chopsticks down before he began talking.
"Uhh…" Orimoto scratched her cheek and looked away. "I can treat you for lunch?"
"As tempting as that is, I'd like to ask something else from you, Orimoto," the edges of Hikigaya's lips curled into a vague smile. "Do you think you can organize that mixer thing again?"
When he finished his statement, Orimoto accidentally let go of her chopsticks making it almost fall down to the ground.
"Eh?"
"What the heck are you doing, Orimoto?" Hikigaya asked in mild panic, snapping Orimoto out of her trance.
"Sorry, I thought I heard something weird. Could you repeat what you just said, Hikigaya?"
"Like I said, I'd like you to organize that mixer thing once again."
"Oh." Orimoto then leaned a little closer to Hikigaya. "I don't think it will be a problem but if you don't mind me asking, which among my friends are you aiming for Hikigaya? I might be able to help you."
Despite saying all that, Orimoto did not look like her usual enthusiastic self but Hikigaya chose not to comment anything about it and instead prioritized clearing the misunderstanding she was having first.
"I think you're getting the wrong idea here, Orimoto," Hikigaya sighed as he scratched his head. "I'm asking for this favor not for myself but for the other guys on the clique."
"But why?"
"Just as a little thank you, I guess. Those guys helped me realize something obvious you see and I kinda wanna show my appreciation to them. After recalling how much fun they had in our previous meet-up, I thought they might enjoy a gathering like that again," Hikigaya explained clearly.
"Is that so?" without her noticing, the edges of Orimoto's lips curved into a smile. "Just as a reference, do you mind answering my question earlier?"
"About that, I don't really think someone like me has the luxury of choice so my preference and such do not matter."
"Why would you say that?"
"No reason," he went with a noncommittal answer as he couldn't quite come out and say 'well, you rejected me after all'. If he did that at this kind of timing, then he might even end up making Orimoto uncomfortable of his presence. "In any case, can I safely assume that we have a deal?"
"Mm, I'll see what I can do," Orimoto nodded while smiling.
"Tell me if the girls are fine with it or not, I have to inform the others on my side after all. We can just finalize the details later through mail."
"Will do."
With Orimoto's agreement, the deal between the two of them was sealed.
"Alright, let's get back to work then."
Recalling the fact that she still had so much more to do almost made Orimoto discouraged but after being helped so much by Hikigaya, she couldn't afford to do something like that.
"I'll do my best," she declared before going back to the last problem that she left prior to having lunch.
…
By the time Orimoto finished, or rather, when she reached a point where she didn't need Hikigaya's input anymore, it was dark outside.
"It's already this late, huh," Hikigaya silently nodded to Orimoto's comment.
There was no way he could just let a young girl go home on her own like this.
Scratch that, he probably could but if his mother or sister ever found out about it, he was sure he was going to be flayed alive.
Let's not even get started with his honorary mother.
He didn't know what exactly would happen but he wasn't brave enough to find out.
*growl*
As Hikigaya juggled between his options, the loud bellow of someone else's stomach disturbed his thoughts.
When he turned to his side and spotted a scarlet-faced Orimoto, he didn't need to be a detective to figure out what was going on here.
"Shall we have dinner?" he offered. "It will be my treat."
"No way, Hikigaya!" Orimoto shook her head and waved her hands about in refusal. "I can't possibly impose on you any more than I already have!"
For a moment there, he thought that she didn't want to eat with him in particular and that almost made his trauma resurface but upon hearing that it was because she owed him enough already, it made him relax.
"You can think of it as your reward for doing well today. Besides…" Hikigaya felt his own stomach rumble though not as loud as Orimoto's earlier. "I'm quite hungry myself."
Since Hikigaya said that much already, Orimoto found no reason to refuse.
"Then, let's go to Saize."
Recalling that one double date incident with Hayama made him feel doubtful.
"You don't have to be too considerate of me, Orimoto. You're more than free to choose something else, you know?" Hikigaya tried to say it more subtly but it seems that Orimoto was able to recall the same memory as him.
"Oh, that time was because Chika was there. I normally have no problems with Saize whatsoever," Orimoto scratched her cheek awkwardly and began to explain. "Besides, I can't take too much time because there are still a couple of questions I need to finish up at home after all and Saize is the perfect place for that."
If she was this insistent about it, Hikigaya thought there was no more reason for them to argue though it would've been nice if she had said something along those lines last year after the double-date in order to clarify things between them but he thought it was better late than never.
"Saize it is then," Hikigaya concurred.
The two walked together side-by-side in a distance that was neither too near nor too far. It was a perfect portrayal of their own relationship.
They get along well enough to be in talking terms but by no means could you ever describe them as close.
A short silence followed after that conversation where the two just kept walking towards their agreed upon destination.
That brief tranquility however was broken when Orimoto noticed a detail she normally wouldn't miss.
"Wait, isn't the station that way?" Orimoto pointed towards the direction opposite to where they were currently heading.
"It's okay," Hikigaya approached a parked black vehicle and started its engine. "We're not going by train anyway."
Since Orimoto mentioned it was an emergency, Hikigaya asked special permission for him to use his motorcycle.
While the emergency ended up being a false alarm, it was still a blessing-in-disguise as it secured Hikigaya a way to get home without subjecting himself to the hassle of the evening passenger rush.
"Hop on," Hikigaya handed a jacket and a helmet to Orimoto. "You're not afraid of riding a motorcycle, right?" he asked just in case though the person he was talking looked like she wasn't listening to him anymore.
"Wow this is yours, Hikigaya?!" Orimoto exclaimed as Hikigaya got his own helmet out and prepared his gloves. For the time being, he'll take that amazement as an affirmation.
"Sort of."
"You could've just easily answered with a yes or no," Orimoto remarked while being a little annoyed.
In response, Hikigaya shrugged. "It's a bit more complicated than that though."
While Orimoto made herself comfortable behind Hikigaya, the latter looked through the readings on the various gauges of his bike to check if it was in optimal condition to go.
By the time he was done…
"Hikigaya, I'm ready!" came the excited voice of Orimoto which was muffled by the helmet she wore.
What grabbed his attention however was not what she said but rather what she did.
That was because at the same time that Orimoto declared she was ready, she also wrapped her arms around Hikigaya's abdomen thus, making him feel her presence behind him.
Why are they always this unguarded?
Hikigaya lamented to himself.
While he was sure that he had completely cast away all improper attachments he had in the past with Orimoto, it doesn't change the fact that he was currently a guy alone with a cute girl.
Improper thoughts were slowly but surely invading his mind so in order to put a stop to it; he had to make his move now.
"Orimoto."
"Yes?"
The innocent manner in which she responded only made Hikigaya feel guiltier.
Orimoto really thought nothing about the situation.
The best thing for him to do here was to respond in kind and not think too much about it as well.
Besides, as compared to Haruno's, Miura's or Kawasaki's… Wait, that's also inappropriate!
Hikigaya shook his head and set all of his mental resources towards just driving.
"It's nothing. I was just going to tell you that we were about to go."
"Okay. Let it rip, Hikigaya!"
He planned on doing exactly that. After all, the sooner they arrive at their destination, the sooner he was going to get out of this dilemma.
Loner Skill No. 111: Rider Hikki.
Azazel. Hikigaya Hachiman, heading out! [3]
While he was supposed to have been the one treating Orimoto to dinner tonight, an indecent part of him can't help but think that he was the one getting treated instead.
Author's Note:
As it turns out, today is the first anniversary of Part 1 of this series.
So if I didn't mess something up, this should be out on the same day.
Even I can't believe that I was still able to continue writing this given the premise of this fic.
Regardless, I could only say thank you for all of your support.
Here's to hoping for another awesome year with you guys as well.
I'll admit though, I originally wanted to write the second chapter of Last Counsellor but when I saw that the anniversary was fast approaching, I tried my best to finish this as soon as I can.
That didn't mean I rushed this though, I would never sacrifice quality over speed though I will say to not get too used to a relatively quick update like this one please.
The next update won't be coming that soon as like I previously mentioned, I'll be updating my second fic instead.
I won't make any exact promises because I'm pretty sure I'll end up breaking them so all I say is that I'll be writing the next chapter soon.
Alright, now for our usual guessing game.
This time, I want you to guess which character will I use in the title of the SSS.
Although I mentioned in this chapter that what just happened was the last day of summer, that was only from Hikigaya's perspective. There are still other characters we haven't played around with yet.
Today's hint: Feel free to exclude all the names of the characters I've used as the titles in this current update. That's all.
If you're interested in participating, feel free to include your answer in your review.
Now with that out of the way, time to get on to the reviews from the previous chapter.
NNathann: Unfortunately, the kick-off for the festival will really only happen in the next chapter so I can only ask for your patience for now. Given what I've written so far though, you might have a rough idea of what's going to happen already.
Godzilla is the goat: Thanks for the praise. Relax, nothing is going to happen with this fic. I'm still very much motivated to continue writing this series, it just so happens that I have a different audience with my other fic and I can't keep them waiting as well. So yeah, I'll be back with another chapter soon, it might just take a little longer than usual.
Gid Lucione Deviluke: Now now, you know the drill with this series already. Unless I established some excuse, I won't write about something that direct. Sorry about that. As for OC reappearance, well that will really depend on what happens later down the line so right now, I can't tell you even if you ask.
Coochies: You are literally on fire. What the heck. Either way, good job on getting that guess, I'm expecting more from you in the future. Ah, it seems your Fate knowledge is around entry level. It's a good basis for me though because I made sure to write that first chapter taking that into consideration so it's nice to see that you can still enjoy it without being too deep into the lore. Unfortunately, it might get a little difficult to relate once I start incorporating other characters though.
AkihisaKaito: Thank you for your kind words. Well, it's a good thing that you like both the humor and the friendship aspect because aside from the occasional drama, it's the only thing I've got going hahaha. As for who Hikigaya will really like romantically in the future, that's still pretty much up in the air at the moment. All I can say is just support which ship you want to support but just in case, make sure to support many. Hahahahaha!
Thank you all for these reviews. Your input is very much appreciated.
To everyone else who takes the time to read this fic, a huge thank you to all of you as well.
That's it for this chapter.
I hope to see you all again in the next one.
Reviews, follows and faves are all very much appreciated.
May everyone's good wishes and realities intersect.
Morii Hikikko
References:
1 – STAND is the power used in the latter part of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
2 – Half of Oreki Houtarou's catchphrase from Hyouka.
3 – A modification of what Setsuna F. Seiei says in Gundam 00 when he is sent to battle.