(I accidentally posted my not-so-revised document, as you may have noticed. Yes I posted this using my phone, and now I realized that there's ALOT of errors, some punctuation/commas/periods/italicized words were missing. I've been trying to re-upload numerous times, but the chapter refuses to be updated.)
Sorry
Please forgive me for causing such a blunder on my part. I will prevent myself from making mistakes like these in the future.
Now let's continue the story!
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As usual, I couldn't take a nap properly on my train from Tokyo to Chiba, and I just sat there, mindlessly looking outside, observing the view of tall buildings and congested roads.
My Father wanted me to stay with him a while longer, but he relented and gave me leave to go home alone.
As if I would want to attend one of those annoying parties, but I had to admit that the beds in our room were great though.
Regardless, I wanted to go home as fast as possible, I still had work today too you know.
Plus, I wanted to stay away from Onee-sama, I'm getting bad vibes from her. Oops, I mean Yukinoshita Haruno. Her little sister was quite cold and rude, even labeling me as dead-eyes-kun. But I think its fair, I did call her Sigh-chan.
I walked away from the train station; we arrived roughly around 30 minutes after our departure from Tokyo. I called a taxi as I was too tired to walk all the way home.
Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic, and we arrived home in no time. I paid for the taxu fare and stepped outside the vehicle.
Ah, how I've missed you, door-chan, and you too doormat-chan, sorry for stepping on you by the way. Finally, I am away from the horrors of the outside world!
I was broken from my inner monologues when heard quick footsteps from inside the house, it was probably Komachi.
"Onii-chan welcome back! I'm glad your'e here because I was so lonely this morning. Mom had to go out early." She opened the door and tackled me.
"Yes, yes, I am the best Onii-chan in the world..." I say as I walk inside, with her still clinging to my chest and her legs dragging on the floor.
She lets go of me and brings in my bag, which I left outside. With a sigh, I collapse on our carpeted floor.
Home sweet home...
I heard Kamakura meow from somewhere in the house. What a bad cat, not even welcoming me home. I would choose genetically engineered cat girls over Kamakura anytime!
"Wheres Dad?" Komachi asked, noticing the absence of our Father.
He has something important to attend to, so I just went on ahead. I wanted to come home as fast as possible to see my cute imotou." I said the last part in a sarcastic tone.
Your next line is, "H-Haaah? W-What are you saying? Stupid Onii-chan!"!
"H-Haaah? W-What are you saying? Stupid Onii-chan!" She stuttered and stumbled over her words.
I also felt her lightly kick me leg.
Kicking a man while hes on the floor? 100 years of dishonor! Also, what she said was a completely overused line by all little sister figures in nearly 99.9% of anime that I have watched.
"Your souvenirs are inside my bag." I mumble.
"Yay!" Her earlier demeanor of embarrassment was replaced to that of glee and excitement.
"So, Big Bro, how was your trip? Did you finally bring a girl home?" she asks as she begins to rummage through the stuff I brought with me.
My mind goes back to what happened last night on the Ball and my meeting with the Yukinoshita sisters.
And, umm...the embarassing moment I had with Sigh-chan, which was unfortunately witnessed by her elder sister.
Come to think of it, when we were walking down the stairs after that little incident, Haruno-san suddenly giggled, and when I took a glance behind me, Sigh-chan looked like she had seen a ghost, with her already white complexion becoming all the more whiter.
I wonder what that Snow Woman saw that made her pale?
"The only girl that I need in my home is you and Mom. I bet that scored a lot of Komachi points!"
She lightly giggled at my reply.
"Ok, anything new you wanna tell me?" she inquired.
"Well, I learned that I got the highest entrance exam scores in Sobou." I say hoping that she would praise me for my efforts. Ha!
"That's to be expected. Anything else?" she said in a bored tone.
Oi, I appreciate that she thinks that highly of me, but the way she said it made it sound like it wasn't a big deal!
I sacrificed my blood, sweat and tears you know! Figuratively speaking of course...
"Hmm, there's this store in front of our hotel that sells souvenirs. I got ripped off there." Tch, I'm never going back to your store, old man!
With a stretch, I felt some of my joints pop, and I got up to get some breakfast.
"There's some eggs and miso soup in the refrigerator." Komachi said as she tore open the bag of souvenirs and began to inspect them.
I was too lazy to heat the food, so I just ate them as it is.
"These are pretty nice!" Komachi exclaimed as she dangled a shiny keychain of Tokyo Tower in front of her.
"Tell Kawasaki-san to come over, I bought stuff for her and Kei-chan too." Hmm, now that I think about it, how many times have the two of them visited our house?
"Hoohh, whats this? Are you making a move on Kawasaki-nee, Onii-chan?" She said with a trashy teasing smile.
Its good to see that she got that trashy smile from Dad.
"Umm...I guess I bought them as a sign of thanks for hanging out with you...?" I say as I cocked my head at my own words. I don't even know why I bought them in the first place.
At my reply, she sighs and continues rummaging through the bag like a raccoon. If she continues to sigh like that, I will be forced to call her Sigh-chan 2.0
With that said, I continue my breakfast, but my eyes fall on our wall clock.
8:20
I'M ALMOST LATE FOR WORK!
With a rush, I stuff all the food in my mouth and quickly drank some water.
"Onii-chan, I'm happy that you love my food very much but slow down! You might choke!" My cute imotou exclaimed in an exaggerated manner.
"Yes, I'm in a hurry you see." I zoom towards the bathroom to take a quick shower.
Ten minutes later, I quickly rush upstairs to get a change of clothing.
I grab whatever I think was decent and went downstairs.
"Oi Oniichan, I know that you got a job so you can stop trying to hide it." Komachi coolly said.
What? How did they know?
I gave her a questioning look.
"Mom saw you the other day at that bookstore; her place is not far away from where you work y'know..."
Hmm...I forgot to take that into consideration...
Maybe Ill drop by later...
"Ah, I see. Then see you later." I put on my shoes and went to the door. I was about to decide to ride my bike, but I ultimately decided against it My intuition tells me that I'm going to go somewhere after work tonight
"Ok, stay safe!" I heard her voice as I closed the door behind me.
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"Hikigaya-kun, what do you do on weekends?" Shiromeguri-senpai asked while chewing her food. I was going to reprimand her but my bubbly senpai was too cute.
"Well, I stay at home, read books, play video games and sometimes go cycling around the neighborhood." That's what every guy my age does these days, right?
Wait, I bet they hang out with their friends too...
We were currently having lunch in the staff room. I bought a Chinese take-out and decided to eat here with her. Shiromeguri-senpai had a homemade bento for lunch, along with some green tea. I can hear Tatsumi-san talking to someone on her phone in her room.
"What kind of games?" she asked as she picked up a slice of carrot with her chopsticks.
"Fighting games and RPG adventure. I prefer games that have a deep story line."
I remember a few years back when I was playing Pokemon on my Gameboy on the corner at school. Some kid accidentally bumped into me, which caused me to press a wrong button, leading to me being unable to catch Entei and the bastard ran away again.
Shiromeguri-senpai closed her eyes, while chewing her food with full cheeks.
Needless to say, it was so cute I wanted to hug and pat her head right there.
"Say Hikigaya-kun, I want to get a habit of reading a book, but I don't have any particular tastes yet. What do you recommend for a beginner like me?" She asked.
Hmm This was sudden...
I think for a bit while slowly chewing and swallowing my food, with Shiromeguri-senpai patiently waiting for my reply.
What to recommend, I wonder...?
"Ok, lets start with topics that you might get interested in. What do you know about Greek Mythology?" I slowly ask her.
"Greek? Umm...I think I know Plato, Aristotle and Karl Marx...?" She looked up in wonder, half-questioning herself in the process.
The first two were Greek Philosophers, but how did she associate KARL MARX with Greek Mythology?!
Plus, the guy was a German!
"Ok, what about history?" I inquire again.
"I get easily get bored of history...hehehe..." Her laughter trails off, her eyes refusing to meet mine.
Hey! History can be fun to read too you know! Ill let this slide for now, but I will make an effort to make Shiromeguri-senpai see history in a new light.
My favorite topics in history were the unification of Japan and Rise and Fall of the Mesopotamian Civilizations.
"Literature, like poetry and epics?" I ask.
I always wanted to join a literature club back in middle-school, but they refused me because they said that I look too creepy to be able to appreciate literature.
How does ones look even connect to how he can appreciate and write literature?
"Too many deep words..." She replied.
"What about Egyptian Mythology?"
"I'm not fond of any kind of mythologies..." she says with a worried smile while scratching her cheek with her finger.
By Ra, this is going to be difficult...
"Hmm, Ok. Lets go to novels. What do you think about Horror Novels?"
"Your'e asking me that right off that bat?! I'm scared of stuff like that!" she exclaimed while forming a cross with both of her index fingers in front of me.
Oi, I'm not a ghost, nor a demon...
But if I had a choice, I'd rather become a vampire.
Wait, with my eyes, I'll probably be mistaken for a zombie...
"Mystery and Psychological?" I say with a tired voice, this is surprisingly mentally draining me...
"Hmm, I'm indifferent, I guess?"
"Science Fiction?"
"Too complicated, some explanations are too complicated to understand." she says.
Hmm, I can relate. I barely understood what just happened after I finished Neon Genesis Evangelion, even though its an anime and not a Novel.
"What about romance? Surely a girl like you would like to read them, no?" I say hopefully. I always avoid this genre, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth and most the story is just plain bland.
She lightly blushed, but managed to hide it quickly.
"I used to read them before, but I stopped because I think it was becoming unhealthy..."
Oh?
"How so?" I was genuinely curious.
"Well, reading stuff like that, especially if your'e a girl, gets to your head you know? It also gives you unrealistic expectations to guys around you. You expect them to reach the image that you created from them in your head. In the end, your'e the one being unfair to them and everything you did was useless..."
I was taken aback by her reply, and I didn't really know how to answer. After a bit of thinking I managed to form a vague, yet comprehensible reply.
"Ah...that makes sense when you put it that way." I say quietly.
I have recently learned to never have expectations, or at least lower them to that point that when things don't turn your way, you wont be too hurt because you already had low expectations in the first place.
Just like every group activity in my middle school. I always knew that no one would want to group up with me, so I made it a point to never expect too much, that way, the pain was bearable, at least...
I guess that's how I started to become the pessimistic, realistic and nihilistic person that I am today...
"So yeah, since then, I avoided romance novels." She said with a troubled smile and twirling a strand of hair.
"I see, well, I can't think of any other things that you might get interested in reading..." Well, I still had manga and Light Novels up my sleeve...
Ah, to heck with it, it's not like I have anything to lose anyway.
"Shiromeguri-san-"
"Senpai"
"Shiromeguri-senpai, what about manga?"
Her eyes lit up for a moment.
"Oh, so you read manga Hikigaya-kun?" She says with a hint of interest in her voice.
"From time to time, yeah." I reply.
Manga is the type of thing that you cant say that you like a lot at the start of the conversation. You have to know where the person you are talking to stands on the subject.
"A lot of the guys and some girls in my class read that stuff...maybe Ill give it a try." She replied with her mouthful. Ah, I can see a piece of lettuce stuck between her teeth...
I grunted in reply as I finished my food.
"Shiromeguri-senpai, our lunch break is almost over, around ten minutes at least." I say with a glance at the clock.
Her eyes widened in surprise, then glanced at the clock behind her.
"Ah! Silly me!" With that she began to hastily shove her food in her mouth.
"Please don't rush eating. You might choke, and I would have to carry your workload this afternoon." I say as I neatly wiped my mouth with a tissue, then disposing it in the nearby garbage bin.
"That's what you're worried about?!" she exclaimed. A bit or rice went flying to my face, but I quickly managed to avoid it.
"Ill be going ahead to check our inventory." I say as I head towards the door.
"W-Wait for me!" She called out.
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The clock struck 6:00 pm.
Finally, my work today is over, my back hurts from all the lifting I had to do. Some new shipments arrived and the wheel on our cart broke.
So, I had to do everything using physical labor.
Of course, I couldn't let this slide, I refuse to work while there's a faster and more efficient alternative at my disposal! So I told Tatsumi-san of my predicament, and she said that she'll get the cart repaired as soon as possible.
Needless to say, I hope she keeps her word...
"Thanks for the hard work, Hikigaya-kun!" Shiromeguri-senpai calls me from the other side of the room with a comfy smile.
"You too." I remove the employee vest from my chest and cleanly fold it and place it on my locker.
With that done, I sit on the chair in the middle of the room and wait for Shiromeguri-senpai to finish so we can go home together.
*Whats this, Hikigaya? Your'e already going home with Shiromeguri-senpai?*
Oh please, if my Mom found out that I didn't accompany my female co-worker to the train station, she would disown me and kick me out of the house.
Plus, we have been doing this procedure for a week already and I don't really have a reason to deny her request, nor do I feel uncomfortable in her company.
"Hikigaya-kun, do you mind joining me for a while longer? I have a few things to buy." She looked at me with wide and expectant eyes.
Damn, how can I say no when shes looking at me like that?! This is so unfair! Is this Shirmomeguri-senpai's new passive skill?!
I made mental calculations on the possible amount of time that this...request, might take to finish.
Hmm...
"Well, I don't have anything to do this evening, so I don't mind, I guess." I say in a bored tone after glancing at my watch.
She sighed with a hint of disappointment.
Oi, what did I say wrong?
"You sound like you're just coming with me to kill time..." she said in a dejected tone as she put her purse over her shoulder and began to walk towards me.
W-Well, I cant deny that there's a bit of truth in what she said just now...
Before I can reply, I hear Tatsumi-sans voice.
"Hikigaya-kun, Meguri-chan."
I turn around and see Tatsumi-san just exiting the restroom.
"Yes?" I ask.
"Hmm?" Shiromeguri-senpai follows after me.
"Follow me; I have something to give you." She says as she turns her back on us and heads to her office. Her hair swirling in the process, while my eyes lingered a bit on her long and slender legs.
Wow she looked pretty cool.
I looked to Shiromeguri-senpai with an eyebrow raised, and she shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.
Hmm...
I got up and went to the office, Shiromeguri-senpai following close behind. Of course, I open the door for her.
She mumbled thanks as she walked past me and I followed her inside.
When we entered Tatsumi-sans office, she was already sitting down on the chair behind her desk waiting for us to take a seat.
"Well then, I have something important to tell you and you may not like it."
I hummed in response and Shiromeguri-senpai nodded her head.
"There was a certain miscalculation this month. We had small misunderstanding with the mall authorities regarding the rent payment. Unfortunately, I had paid them too much and they agreed to allocate the extra portion to next months payment. We're a bit thin on cash lately..." she said with a troubled tone.
"So, I decided to cut your salaries a bit. Its only for this month though."
Hmm, that's understandable, guess.
"Ah, I see..." Shiromeguri-senpai says in a far-off voice.
"But don't worry! I still plan to compensate you one way or another!" Tatsumi-san exclaimed loudly and startling me in the process.
Don't do that please, I might get a heart attack.
She opened one of her drawers and fished out two pieces of papers and gave them both to us.
My eyes slightly widened in surprise, when I received mine.
"This is...!" I hear Shiromeguri-senpai's voice from the side.
"That's right! Its a free three-month membership to a taekwondo studio that my cousin owns!" Tatsumi-san explained.
Tatsumi-sans bookstore, Tatsumi-sans Taekwando Studio, whats next? Tatsumi-sans Ramenhouse?!
"Wow this is pretty neat, isn't it Hikigaya-kun!?" Shiromeguri-senpai cheerfully said and looked to me with expectant eyes.
Being weak to those kinds of looks, I looked to the side to prevent myself from feeling too self-conscious.
"Y-Yeah, I guess so..." I say as I try to avoid making eye-contact with her.
The wall over there was pretty interesting...
"Your salaries will be back to normal a month from now. I'll inform you the details of your Taekwondo membership on a later date." Tatsumi-san said as she took her ledger and began flipping through the pages.
"We're going to be Taekwondo masters, Hikigaya-kun!" Shiromeguri-senpai said in a cheerful manner.
"I highly doubt we can become masters in three months, Shiromeguri-senpai." I give her a small strained smile.
Well, it might be possible. If we had a hyperbolic time chamber, a portal to another dimension where time passes 10X slower, or we had the power to stop and resume time infinitely…
"Thanks for informing us, Tatsumi-san. We will be going on ahead." Shiromeguri-senpai stood up and I followed suit.
"Ok, thank you for your hard work. See you tomorrow." She waved at us and I closed the door behind us.
Shiromeguri-senpai looked down on her clothes and began to straighten up herself.
She wore a sky blue long-sleeved blouse today, and wore a long flowing white skirt that ended a few inches above her feet. After checking herself one more time, she opened her small purse and began rummaging through it.
During that time, I was just patiently leaning on the wall near the door that led outside of the staff room.
My Mom always told me to never tell a girl to "Hurry up!", doing so will get them triggered and give you the silent treatment.
Hell hath no fury than a woman pissed off. Did I say it right?
I heard an "Hmph!" from Shiromeguri-senpai, and she finally turned around and faced me.
"Well Hikigaya-kun, shall we get going?"
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Our first stop was the grocery.
We already bought a bunch of stuff, but not really a lot. Even so, I insisted to use the cart so I can lean and put my weight on it from time to time. I had to admit that it was a bit childish, but it was fun nonetheless!
We stopped at the fruits section, and Shiromeguri-senpai began examining the watermelons. All the while making a, "Hmmm~" sound. One caught her eye, and she grabbed it and put in near her ear then tapped it a bit.
She made a face that said that she was unsatisfied and turned to me.
"Hikigaya-kun, what do you think about this one?" She handed me the fruit.
I have no idea what I should do, so I just imitated her.
Pound! Pound!
"I have no idea what I'm doing..." I confessed and put the fruit back on the fruit stand. She lightly giggled at my reply. Come to think of it, is there even a scientific basis on why we pat a watermelon? How does the resulting sound correlate to the fruits ripeness?
I will do further research on this, and write a thesis. When I present this to the scientific community, they will award me with a Nobel Prize and a small loan of a million dollars.
Of course, they would have to force me to stand on the stage, and when the lights fall on me, "I'm going to say No, turn those lights off! OFF!"
"Neither do I." She replied with a small smile, and went on ahead, with me following close behind her.
Her left hand gripped the front of our cart. Almost like she knows that I'm going to get lost.
Ah, this takes me back when I was at the grocery store with my Mom when I was a kid
I followed Shiromeguri-senpai to the coffee and milk isle. She quickly put her desired items in the cart and I told her that I would be going to the other side to pick a creamer.
Hmmm...There's too many to choose from, I cant pick
"Hikigaya-kun," I hear Shiromeguri-senpai's voice from my left side, "are you having trouble choosing?"
"Hmm." I nodded to the shelves.
"Ill help you pick one." From the corner of my eye, she stood next to me with our shoulders touching, and began to stare intently at the coffee creamers in front of us.
"Hmm~." She put a hand under her chin and furrowed her brows.
For the next few moments, we were boring holes at the coffee creamers, but my ears caught the conversation of some people within my vicinity.
"What are the two of them doing?" An elderly female voice asked.
"I don't know..." Came the reply of an elderly gentleman.
"They look pretty young, are they newlyweds, I wonder?" The female voiced asked herself, more than to her male partner.
"Cant be, they are probably girlfriend and boyfriend."
Good grief, what a cliché scenario.
Am I in a crappy light novel?
Or even worse, am I in a fanfiction?
While I was not really bothered by their comments, I took a glance at the female beside me, and she was the exact opposite.
Her cheeks were slightly pink, and when her eyes met mine, she yelped and quickly grabbed a random product in front of her.
Ah, I wanted the other one though...
"Hikigaya-kun, lets go." She says while leading me and holding my arm.
Oi, too close! Too close!
The elderly couple, who made the situation a bit awkward, caught our eye and smiled at us. Shiromeguri-senpai gave them a sheepish smile while I nodded at them.
"Shiromeguri-senpai, don't let their words bother you. We probably look like siblings from another perspective." I say, wanting to extinguish the awkward atmosphere.
While walking, Shiromeguri-senpai looks to me with questioning eyes and a tilted head.
"Huh? Really?" she asks.
"I dunno, if I had brown hair at least, maybe that can fool them." I broke eye contact with Shiromeguri-senpai because she was now giving me an intense analyzing look.
She looked like she reached a conclusion inside her head and returned her gaze to the front.
"Hehe, I just thought about you with brown hair and you looked weird." She says with a small giggle.
The thought went to my head, and I immediately cringed just imagining myself with brown hair.
As we were walking, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
That can only mean one thing...!
I slowly and discreetly looked behind.
Apart from a few random people, there were no suspicious individuals in sight.
Hmm...
"Is there something wrong, Hikigaya-kun?" Shiromeguri-senpai's voice broke through my thoughts.
"Ah, its nothing. If you don't have anything else to buy, lets to the cashier and go out of here." I say, eager to go home already.
She nodded her head and we made our way to the cashier.
I noticed that she was still holding my arm, I wanted to tell her to let go of me, but I couldn't think of the proper word choice to make it sound like she was bothering me or making me uncomfortable.
I sighed in defeat, in the end, I was the only one being overly self-conscious...
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We just got out the grocery store, my purchases at my right hand and Shiromeguri-senpai's at my left. She finally let go of me right arm, ah, I can feel my joint pop from its prolonged non-movement.
"So Hikigaya-kun, do you want to go somewhere?" She asked as we sat down on the nearby bench to rest our tired legs.
"I'm going to go to the sports store I saw earlier, a tennis racket that I had my eye on for a while finally went on sale." I nearly forgot about that racket from how busy I was on these past two weeks...
"Do you mind if I go with you?" She asked with hopeful eyes.
"Well, not really-"She cut me off before I could finish what I was saying.
"Great!" She said with a loud voice that earned the looks of a few passerby.
I gave a tired sigh. I'm too tired to deny her anyway...
After resting our legs for a bit on the nearby bench, I dragged my weary body, with Shiromeguri-senpai by my side, to the sports establishment.
We went straight inside, and I got the racket without any problems.
With curiosity shining on her eyes, Shiromeguri-senpai asked, "Hooh, is that the on you want, Hikigaya-kun? May I see it?"
I handed her the top quality racket that was a bit expensive, but now that I had saved a bit of money, this baby is now mine!
The racket was made from high-grade material and was very light too. Common rackets tend to get slippery on the grip as time passes by, but this was specifically made to prevent things like that from happening. Its always a long-term investment to buy something of high and superior quality, rather that something that's cheap and was standard-quality.
"Its pretty nice." She commented.
"That's all I needed, Shiromeguri-senpai, lets go to the cashier and go home." I say with a bit of more enthusiasm in my voice, especially the go home part.
I held the racket a little too close to my chest as we made our way to the cashier, but on the corner, I accidentally bumped into someone.
At that moment, I felt a cold and wet sensation on my t-shirt.
I look down on my t-shirt, now stained with and splattered with what appears to be orange juice.
Tch...
With furrowed brows, I look down on the perpetrator, and I see that it was actually a girl.
The girl in question had blond hair, whether it was natural or artificial, I do not know. She wore a pink frilly blouse and a pencil skirt that ended several inches above her knees; she also wore fashionable and carried with her a small purse.
My Riajuu alarms are going crazy!
"Hey! Watch where your'e going you idiot!" She said in a loud voice and an angry facial expression.
Goodness, how rude...I can see Shiromeguri-senpai frown at the girl from the corner of my eye.
I said nothing but offered her my hand to help her up, but that seemed to make her even angrier.
She swatted my hand away like an annoying fly.
That hurt my feelings more than it hurt physically…
Without my help, she briskly got up and held the remnants of her spilled juice. I see some of its contents of her purse.
Oh my, it looks like fuel to a flame...
She looked at me again, this time I had a clearer vision of her.
Objectively speaking, she had a body that would make most girls make a run for their money. Her clothes accentuated her pretty figure, which went well with her flowing blond locks of hair. What she was wearing was what I could call fashionable and trendy. Her legs also looked pretty toned and slender.
*Hikigaya, do you have a fetish for legs?*
I'm not going to answer that.
Anyway, her green eyes full of fury met my dead and hollow ones.
"Now look at what you did! My purse is ruined, you creep!" She exclaimed.
I shook my head and gave a sigh, I have no time for this.
"Sorry, but you should also be aware that food and drinks are not allowed inside this store. If you hadn't brought that beverage inside, it would have saved us a lot of trouble." I say in a bored tone. Good grief, this is one of the many reasons why I avoid going to places where there's too many people. Things like these are bound to happen, one way or another.
It took a few seconds for her to fully absorb what I said, haha riajuus, always have slow cognitive processes.
When she finally did, she seemed even angrier than before.
I sensed that things would escalate even further, and I thought of the perfect plan to end things right here.
"I'm quite in a hurry and I have no time for this. So for conveniences sake, I'm just going to apologize to you." I say as I give her a slight and stiff bow.
You might say that that's pretty low, but I don't care about trivial things like that at the moment.
That seemed to please her a bit, and I could see her anger cede a bit. She still looked pissed off though...
Her gaze lingered on me, and I realized that she was taking a good look at Shiromeguri-senpai, almost like sizing her up.
Shiromeguri-senpai on the other hand, held her gaze and gave her a troubled smile, but her eyes were firm.
"Tch, well, I'm sorry too for being rude. Just be careful next time..." She said in an irritated and sarcastic tone, and went out of the store. Her blond hair swaying as she walked away from us.
"Creep..." she muttered when she thought she was out of earshot.
Pff, an insult that basic has no effect on me!
Well, at least she had the decency to apologize, but that might have been her sarcasm on her part though...
I turned to Shiromeguri-senpai, amazed at her calming and serene aura as usual. If I was in front of a million people, about to make a speech or something, my nervousness would go away once I was within Shiromeguri-senpai's passive aura skill Area of Effect range.
She began to rummage through her purse and took out a few tissues.
"Well, that was something..." She muttered as she closed the distance between us and began wiping away at my chest, eager to at least lessen the mess on me.
I should be embarrassed, flustered, or stuttering with a blushing face, but I felt like this was natural. Almost like how a Nee-san would take care of her younger siblings when they make a mess of themselves.
Huh, so this is what having a Nee-san is like...
I wish Shiromeguri-senpai was my Nee-san...
When she looked satisfied with her work, a member of the staff came by and we explained what happened.
Of course, I was the one who had to apologize in behalf of Blondie.
Good grief, I looked down on my shirt and remembered that I was stained, at least my racket was safe
"Hikigaya-kun, go buy a new shirt, you look icky!" Shiromeguri-senpai said as she pushed me towards a bunch of t-shirts that were on sale.
"Hai, hai..." It was useless arguing against her, and I was too exhausted to do so anyway...
I picked a random t-shirt, and payed for my purchases with Shiromeguri-senpai in tow.
We were walking to the exit of the mall, and we passed by Tatsumi-san's Bookstore. It was already closed, and I realized that it was getting late.
My stomach imitated the sound of thunder, and I saw Shiromeguri-senpai held a hand to her mouth and began to giggle.
I looked to the side to hide my embarrassment. Damn you stomach...
"You must be hungry, Hikigaya-kun, I heard that you know. Do you want to get some dinner?" she asked while giving me a small smile.
While I would seize this chance any day to get a free meal, I was already very tired and wanted to go home as soon as possible.
Well, assuming that she would be the one paying anyway, seeing that she was the one who invited me. But that would have hurt my pride as a man...
"Ah, maybe next time, Shiromeguri-senpai, I'm already worn out you see." I weakly replied.
She gave me a searching look, and then had a look of realization.
"Well, you do look like your'e going to collapse any second now." She said with an amused smile as we continued walking in a comfortable silence.
The sky was dark, as expected. It feels strange hanging out with someone until early evening. Come to think of it, this is the first time I hanged out with an acquaintance...
No, calling Shiromeguri-senpai a mere acquaintance would be insulting to her.
She had helped me a lot, these past few days at work. From the moment I met her, she never showed any hidden intentions, or fake personalities. Nor did she give any observable discomfort when she speaks to me. Whenever we're at work, I would sometimes observe her from afar, trying to figure her out. Oftentimes, I would try my best to look deeply into her words, and I would find myself at a loss, for I failed to see any kind of malice in her...
Be they on the outside or inside.
I may be getting ahead of myself, but I think I can say that Shiromeguri-senpai is my first...
...friend.
The thought made me smile, and she noticed it too.
"What are you smiling at, Hikigaya-kun?" she asked with curiosity as her head tilted to the side.
I shook my head, a small smile still framing my face.
"Its nothing."
With that she nodded at me and resumed looking ahead.
We reached the station; the place was abuzz with crowds of people, just looking at those crowds made me dizzy. We stayed outside the crowded area to say our farewells.
"Well, Hikigaya-kun, I'll be going this way." She motioned behind her.
"Yeah." I hand her the bags that I've been carrying for her. She reached out her hand, and our fingers made contact for a moment, before separating.
"I had fun today." She gave me a grateful smile. Truly, a smile that you would want to protect.
"Yeah, me too." I reply.
She inhaled deeply and gave a long sigh. From that simple act alone, I could tell that she too was tired.
It's amazing how a simple sigh can give so many meanings.
"See you tomorrow then, Hikigaya-kun." She gave me a small smile and a wave.
"Ok, stay safe, senpai." When I said that, her smile grew bigger. I was trying to suppress the blush that was about to adorn my face.
I returned her wave, and she turned away from me and disappeared into the crowd of people.
I turned around too, and reveled at the sight.
"Well, time for me to go home..." as well I muttered as I walked into the crowd.
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"Haa-chan! Welcome back!" I hear the voice of a small girl.
"Welcome back, Onii-chan!" I hear Komachis voice.
What is happening here?
Those thoughts ran through my mind when Komachi opened the door and greeted me, while Kei-chan hugged my right leg.
"K-Kei-chan? What are you doing here?" I look down on the little girl that gave me a cheeky grin.
"Kei-chan and Kawasaki-nee are here because Mom invited them for dinner!" Komachi explained.
"I see."
With that Kei-chan reluctantly let go of my leg so I can change into my indoor flip-flops.
Wait, Kawasaki-san is here too?
I heard Mom call Komachi, and she quickly went back, but not before motioning me to lean down a bit so she can whisper into my ear.
"Kei-chan and Kawasaki-san are here because Kei-chan wanted to play. Mom arrived from work and invited them for dinner. So make sure to score a lot of points from Kawasaki-san! Tehee~!" she whispered and skipped away towards the kitchen.
Good grief, now my little sister is planning behind my back.
Plus, I thought I told her to stop saying that annoying "Tehee~!", I felt many of my brain cells die when she said that.
Kei-chan began to pull on my hand, motioning me to with her to the living room. I began to walk awkwardly, the difference in our height, plus the fact that I had to slouch a little, made it look like I was a Homo Erectus.
When we reached the living room, I put the stuff that I bought on the sofa, and I saw Kawasaki-san in the kitchen with an apron around her. The apron hugged her figure nicely, and I can see her long pretty hair tied in a ponytail.
I don't know why, but seeing her like that inside my house made me flustered.
"A-Ah, Hikigaya, your'e back." She said with an awkward smile.
"Y-Yeah, I'm h-home...?" Why am I questioning myself?!
"Welcome back, Haa-chan! Saki-chan~, can you be a dear and put these on the table~?" I heard my Mom from inside the kitchen.
"Y-Yes!" She broke eye contact with me and quickly went to attend to my Mothers request.
"Haa-chan! Lets play!" Kei-chan squealed while still holding my hand. She also pointed to some toys that were cluttered on the coffee table.
That Gundam really looks familiar
Same with that Doremon toy and T-rex…
Hmm...
Hey! Those are mine! Komachi or Mom must have gotten them from my room.
As much as I want to sit down and play with Kei-chan, I was also terribly thirsty.
"Let me get a glass of water first, ok? Haa-chan is very thirsty." I patted her head while she pouted. Her mouth forming into and upside down V.
Kyah! That's so cute!
With that, I went to the kitchen to quench my thirst. I saw Mom expertly handling the pan, while occasionally changing the intensity of the flame, while Kawasaki-san was watching intently. Komachi was preparing the table while humming a tune.
Mom would sometimes give her inputs on her cooking, and Kawasaki-san would ask questions on the proper manner in cooking the dish.
What they were talking about went through my head because cooking isn't exactly my strongest attribute...
After quenching my thirst, I went back to the living room as promised, and began playing with Kei-chan.
She picked up a toy dinosaur and started making guttural sounds, trying to mimic the sound of a Tyrannosaurus-Rex. I chose a Gundam, and I made it fly above as if I was the one piloting it.
Suddenly, she made the T-Rex fly towards the Gundam, its jaws holding the head of my robot.
"Haha! I win!" she exclaimed.
Wait, we were fighting?! Someone give me the manual for this game! I want a rematch! A rematch, I say!
"Kei-chan, thats cheating. T-rexes cannot fly." I say.
"I still win!" she made a bratty grin that reminded me of Komachi.
Good grief...
We continued playing after that, and shortly before I was about to ask if the food is ready, I heard my Mother's voice "Haa-chan! Kei-chan! The food is ready!"
Upon hearing that, Kei-chan got up, held my hand, and began going towards our dinner table.
On the head of the table, sat my mom, flanked by Komachi to her right, then Kawasaki-san. Kei-chan sat to my Mothers left, and I sat next to her.
Oooohhh, the food looks good!
A large chunk of tuna, grilled to perfection lied in all its glory at the center of the table. The other dishes were chicken curry, my personal favorite, some Japanese salad, pork ribs, boiled eggs, and of course, miso soup.
Of those dishes, I only know how to cook chicken curry and boiled eggs haha.
This was a good change to the hotel food that I've been eating yesterday.
I would choose my Mothers homemade food over overpriced hotel food any day!
"Hikigaya," Kawasaki-san called to me from across the table, "I should be seated next to Keika, she might make a mess while eating..."
I look to Kei-chan, and she gave me a pleading look.
HHHHNNNGGGG! Mah hart! Mah sole!
"I think I can handle I messy mouth or two." I say with confidence, I was the one who cleaned up Komachi's mess when she was still little after all!
She didn't know what to say after my reply, so she gave a sigh of defeat.
I gave Kei-chan a thumbs-up from under the table, and she began to laugh heartedly.
My mother smiled at the scene, followed by Komachi and Kawasaki-san.
Amidst the laughter of the little girl beside me, a thought crossed my mind...
I wonder what Dad is doing right now?
Wait, I'm making it sound like he's dead...
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"Hikigaya-shachou, is something bothering you?" I turn and it's one of my employees from the Chiba prefecture. I forgot the young man's name though...
"Ah, nothing, I just feel like I'm forgetting something..." I furrowed my brows and stared at the view outside. Hachiman said that this place had a beautiful view during night time. I believe this place was called, Cafe Luna. Tokyo indeed has a spectacular view at night, especially at this height where you can almost see Chiba if you know where to look.
A shame that he didn't stay for a day longer, but who am I to prevent my son from doing what he wants?
I may be his father, but I do not control every aspect in his life.
Before this all happened, my son and I barely had social interactions at home. Me and my wife would always come home late, and our children would be sound asleep as expected. This dragged on for the most of my family life.
With that kind of childhood, I'm proud to say that Hachiman had become very independent. He makes his own decisions, and takes full responsibility should negative consequences arise.
I am proud of him, yes, but at the same time, I feel like I have failed him, as a Father...
A shrill ringtone from a smartphone startled me. I glanced at my companion and he gave me a look said, "May I be excused?".
With a simple nod that I gave, he gave me a bow and took his leave.
And now I am alone to my thoughts...
"AH!" I exclaim a bit too loudly, thankfully, the other patrons in the cafe haven't noticed. But I finally remembered the reason for my presence here.
Yukinoshita-san of the local Diet invited me for a drink, I wonder what he wanted to discuss about...
And, of course I accepted, what kind of idiot would shy away from free food?
CHAPTER END
WOOOOOOOOOO! Damn this took a while to write.
I will spare you the cliche and overused excuses. (My laptop broke, so I had to write everything on my notebook and then rewrite it on my crappy phone. But now it's repaired and I successfully rewritten everything, of course adding and cutting a few pieces here and there...)
-Shachou means president.
The next chapter would have a time-skip of around three weeks after the events of this chapter. Let's just say that our beloved protagonist is very busy in those three weeks...
So, trivialities aside, what did you think about this chapter? Don't forget to write a review if you want! ( Love reading your reviews, be they good or bad ones.)
You can always write down some suggestions you know...
Ivanov117 here, saying, au revoir.