June 22 2022

Hikigaya Hachiman's Path to Reformation

Hachiman in the Netherlands part 2

From the corner of my eye, I see Tsurumi Rumi briskly walk away from Yuigahama-san who had just pulled the younger girl into her chest for a hug and then affectionately patted her head. I see her get embarrassed and take a step back before saying something and coming in my direction. I pretend to ignore her while going through the rack of clothes looking for something nice to add to my modest wardrobe. She stops beside me, unsure what to do or say.

"…"

"…"

I sigh and turn to the little black-haired girl who I first met back in the Summer Camp. "Tsurumi-san, is there something you want?"

Perhaps it was from the tone in my voice or the look in my eyes, but she preferred to look to the side instead of meeting my gaze. "Do you mind if I stick around with you for a little while? Yui-san is a bit…" Her words trail off and I look to the girl in question. Yuigahama-san was helping Kawasaki-san pick a blouse that would suit her while being assisted by Ebina-san. I don't see Miura-san around, perhaps she is in the ladies' room.

"Do as you please," I say with a softer tone and Tsurumi Rumi nods. She opts to stay beside me and observes the clothes that catch my eye. Her small hands reach out and touch them, testing the softness and quality of the fabric. She follows me around for a few minutes until she takes out her phone while looking anxious and slightly nervous. My curiosity finally reaches its limit so I decided to ask her about it.

My question catches her off guard and she mutters something about her mother. I don't pry further since she had already put her phone away. Neither do I ask about her Mother, I have reason to believe that the topic may be too sensitive.

"Hachiman was the one who encouraged me to come today." She says out of the blue after a little while. I raise my brow and ask her to expound on the subject.

"Well…" she starts, "Hina-nee was the one who extended the invitation to me to hang out today. I was happy, excited and nervous at the same time when she called me and I immediately started preparing in advance. But…when I heard that he wasn't coming, I had second thoughts."

"I see. He has always had a way with words. Let me guess, he skirted around the topic and made possible scenarios and outcomes in a bid to fully commit you to his reasoning, no?" I say while holding back a smile from forming on my lips.

Tsurumi Rumi makes a slightly surprised expression. "Yeah, he did something like that. How'd you know?"

"I was classmates with him when we were still First Years and I know many things about him. Our Fathers are acquainted but I have yet to properly meet his Mother." I recall when I first saw her and mistook her for his older sister. "He has a very unique way of doing things, as well as his outlook on life."

"Hmm… I didn't know that you were so friendly with him. You two didn't look as much back at the Summer camp."

"..." Something about her words makes me stop and think. Had it been under different circumstances, I think I would have stood still as a statue as I deeply ponder her words. She tilts her head and asks if she had said something strange and apologizes. I purse my lips and reassure her that she did not. She was about to say something but stopped instead. I steer the topic in another direction while absentmindedly going through the clothes rack and making half-hearted light conversation with her.

Nothing caught my interest in the boutique because of the thoughts that plagued my mind. But Yuigahama-san bought a wide-brimmed sun hat for Tsurumi Rumi while Kawasaki-san had a new blouse and dress shirt as we left the store. The latter has a very satisfied look on her face while she fondly glances at her new purchases.

"Uwaah! That was a cute skirt but they didn't have something my size! It was either too tight or too loose!" Miura-san says flustered while clicking her tongue as our little group moves on to our next destination.

I hear Ebina-san hum and put a thinking gesture on. "I saw some nice ones but I'm fine for now." I was about to add my voice as well Yuigahama-san touches my arm and whispered to my ear.

"Yukinon, are you and Rumi-chan doing fine?" I look to my side where Tsurumi Rumi was holding my hand. She was shy at first but gradually learned to get over the initial awkwardness. Her hand was smaller than mine, and I realized just how delicate, warm and soft she feels.

"Yes, she is a good girl," I reply in a small voice.

Yuigahama-san smiles and I return a smaller one. We exchange a few kind words before she goes to Miura-san and asks her where we are going next. I would have contested some of her decisions for the group but this is a social activity in which I lack experience. Also, I was merely invited by them and even I know my place and how I should act accordingly.

Ultimately, the "Fire Queen", as Hikigaya-kun fondly nicknamed her, decides that it is time for us to have lunch. And rightly so, I am slowly feeling the initial onset of slight hunger in my belly. After seeing the mall directory, she starts leading us to a restaurant three floors above.

The little girl has not uttered a word ever since we left the boutique. She had a blank expression on her face which reminded me of a certain someone that I know. Her straight lips get slightly crooked and she clears her throat.

Now that I take a good look at her, I feel as though I am looking at a younger version of myself. We had the same hairstyle and blank neutral expressions as well. And the circumstances surrounding our relationships with the people around us leave much to be desired. Being bullied and as a social outcast and all that. Back then, I had no one else to depend on and the person who I trusted did nothing and pretended not to notice.

At least Tsurumi Rumi now has a few people looking out for her. For how long: well, that remains to be seen.

She and Hikigaya-kun are more alike than I realize.

"Is there something on my face?" She asks without looking ae in the eye.

I shake my head. "No, I was just admiring how lovely you look." A small giggle escapes from my lips when I see a light and barely visible blush appear on her cheeks. The little girl starts smoothing out non-existent creases on her clothes as she gets more conscious of her looks. She mutters a small thank you and clutches the camera hanging from her neck closer to her chest.

Despite her somewhat anti-social personality, I think Tsurumi Rumi is a nice girl at heart who just need the right kind of people around her.

Maybe...

Just maybe...

Maybe I can befriend her, just like how Hikigaya-kun was willing to befriend someone like me.

"Abababababa! Hehe!" The baby wiggles around on my lap in response to the show that we're watching. He makes a high-pitched squeal when he sees the anthropomorphic vegetables sing and dance to nursery rhymes in Dutch. We were in the living room watching the evening television, and Maria, Lukas and I have just arrived from the city. The four of us also had dinner at a nice Spanish restaurant and I let them pick for me since I had little knowledge of the cuisine served. I don't know what it was called, but it had lots of tomatoes and rice with some fish in it. It was also rather spicy, which didn't reel nice to my lips since my wound is still healing.

The baby shrieks again when he sees what I believe to be his favourite character, Mr Tomato. Good for him I guess, I don't like tomatoes but I eat them regardless because of their nutritional value.

"No clue what you're talking about Anton, but I hope 'Ria finishes soon so I can take a bath…" I mutter with half-lidded and tired eyes while pinching and pulling on the cute baby's chubby little cheeks. His Mother had already retired to the bedroom when we arrived, same with Adrianne. I had bought a cake after asking Lukas and 'Ria what her favourite kind was, but she was already asleep. It was a peace offering of sorts since she's still rather cold to me. The reason as to why, however, still eludes me.

I pull my hand back when the infant starts teething on my fingers. "Oi oi, you spat out your pacifier just minutes ago, and now you want something to chew on?"

The baby ignores me while I wipe my wet fingers on his shirt. He tries to take my hand to his mouth again, but stops and starts teething on his fists instead.

"Mlemlemlemlemlem… Shffrrrrffpt!"

What an energetic baby, he should be asleep at this time but he immediately started making baby sounds when he heard us walk up the stairs. He started crying when we went past his room so 'Ria and I brought him downstairs since Lukas is busy doing something on his PC.

I give out an exhausted sigh and lie down halfway on the soft sofa, making him sit down with his back to my chest. I put my right arm around him lest he starts wiggling again and fall from the furniture.

Ugh, my legs and feet hurt from all the walking I did today… At least the sun wasn't too hot, if it was then I'd die from a heatstroke for sure.

Tess was very enthusiastic, taking my hand and dragging me all over the city, boasting her historical and cultural knowledge as we walked past museums, streets, statues and everything that we see. When she feels hyped up while talking about something, the adorable blonde ahoge on top of her head would wobble and dance excitedly in response to her emotions. Her ahoge is just like Komachi's, if a bit longer, and the way it moves looks cute and funny to watch. She took me to a special place in the city reserved for well-maintained gardens where beautiful flowers bloomed under the gentle Sun. We took a lot of photos there and I sent them to my Mother and Komachi, who immediately bombarded me with questions asking who the older Blondie is and I've yet to answer them.

Their questions were mostly like this:

"Woah she's taller than you! Onii-chan who's that pretty Onee-san? Is she your tour guide? Is she your friend? Or maybe your betrothed?!"

"Haa-chan, I don't like that Foreigner and the way that she dresses. Remember what I told you about them!"

As expected, they're a bit too overprotective of me.

There was also this area where there were floating houses on the river being dragged through the water by boats. It was the first time I'd seen such a thing and I couldn't help but take out my phone and snap a few photos.

Lukas and Maria went to buy groceries and we parted with them earlier so it was just me, Tess and Lars. However, that lanky jerk mumbled a lousy excuse, something about his part-time job and dashed across the street while we were waiting for his cousin in the Ladies' washroom. I almost had a heart attack when a car nearly hit him! That idiot, I knew he was lying and did it on the spot since he stuttered and his fingers were all jittery and twitching! My Rank EX Observation Skills aren't just for showing you know!

She and I spent the next few hours alone together and I learned a lot of things about her. I found out that she was an ice skater, practised ballet and is part of the choir in her College. She used to be part of the StuCo, but she resigned after a single semester in office since she can't balance all of her hobbies with her new responsibilities. I'll be honest, I don't know how she can do all of that stuff and I'd love to hear how she manages her time. I think I can learn a thing or two from her. I summarized that she was the type of girl who's on friendly terms with everyone in the class and can fit in with any clique, those nice and outgoing girls. Yui comes to mind but she doesn't have any similar hobbies to Tess.

During our last meeting with the Club Presidents, some of them said their members lack the enthusiasm and spirit of what their club truly represents. Maybe Yui and I should give them a visit, I think Hayama and the charismatic aura around him can be useful. With his charisma, Yui's passive morale boost AOE and my strategic planning, the three of us will get things done in no time!

Wait, I think I went off-topic there. Where was I again?

…Oh yeah. I was talking about Tess.

When I was asked, I told her that I can play the piano, do Taekwondo and can hold my own in Tennis and Football. The latter of which I only became decent because Tobe and Hayama would always pester me to play with them. I also boasted that I once swam two kilometres because I was bored back in Middle School and omitted the part where I did it because I had no friends and had nothing else to do. The older girl was very impressed and told me to teach her how to swim because she sinks like a rock in the water. Of course, I promised her my assistance should the moment arise.

But then again, I have no idea if she's serious or was just joking.

By 5 pm we had met up with the de Mer siblings and got in the family car. Her apartment was further inland and we said our goodbyes after a short drive to her place. She invited us inside and my ears were piqued when she said that she has some Japanese tea with her, but we had to politely decline since it was getting late. I legitimately wanted to go but I didn't want to be an inconvenience to my foster family.

We're going to meet again tomorrow, if Lars ditches us again and Lukas and Maria separate from us for some reason, that leaves the two of us by ourselves. Again.

Perhaps I should make an excuse to stay at home and watch Anton and Adrianne. Maybe I can finally befriend the cold little girl who eerily reminds me of Yukinoshita Yukino when I first met her a year ago.

But I honestly don't mind.

I think Vittoria Russmoni is a very interesting girl, I admit that much. 'Tess' became a nickname while she grew up here in The Netherlands and much of her family addresses her as such except for her grandparents who affectionately call her their little 'Vita'. It's also worth noting that 'Vita' means life in Italian, and I think it's a beautiful name and cool. Aside from still learning English, she's also teaching herself how to speak her grandparent's native language. She told me a lot of things about herself and I learned much. I also taught her the meaning of mine since she was very interested in the Kanji meaning of my name.

Little Anton starts clapping his hands and laughing at the T.V programme, so much so that he starts leaning backwards. The baby's back gently rests on me, his little body wobbling with each laugh. The characters on the show start singing and dancing a Dutch nursery rhyme, and he wiggles left to right, imitating the dance of a corn on the screen.

"Hehehehehe!" Anton laughs and giggles with glee, now he's leaning on my face while I'm lying on the sofa. He's fresh from the bath and I can smell the scent of the soap on him. I can always hear him laughing in the bathroom when he's being bathed by Mrs Cathy and 'Ria.

Seriously, this baby always has a big smile on his face whenever he's not laughing or giggling! He's unlike any of the babies I've taken care of when I volunteered at the neighbourhood daycare and nursery back at home! Even Tania-chan gets grumpy when I poke her chubby little cheeks too much, she even reaches up and pulls on my bangs as revenge. One time she pulled on my eyelid and bit my cheek, I have to say that the experience was not very pleasant.

"Hmm… Being a baby must be nice…" I say out loud and yawn tiredly while looking around the dimly lit living room. "All you do is drink milk, sleep, soil yourself and just laugh it off. No responsibilities whatsoever." Anton is too immersed in the show to give me attention, or maybe he couldn't hear me since I mumbled to myself. At least he's watching it instead of teething on my fingers or something. He does that to everyone whenever the one holding him isn't paying attention.

My eyes were already heavy when I heard the door to the bathroom open, 'Ria's humming becoming more audible as she got near.

"Aaaaaahng~! That felt goooood~…" She stretches her arms upwards before sitting down on the sofa beside my feet. A small towel was around her shoulders, and I can see that her hair was still a bit wet and glistened from the light coming from the T.V. "Oh, it's Anton's favourite show. I didn't know that they aired this late."

"Hmm, he seems to love it. Hasn't taken his eyes off it since it started." I mumble against the baby's soft back since I was too lazy and exhausted to move myself. 'Ria turns to me, a Iight giggle escaping her lips when she sees the funny position that I'm in. She asks me if she should take away the infant that's using my head as a backrest to which I say that it's quite alright. Anton's warm and soft body reminds me of Kamakura, minus the fur. I honestly miss my feline friend, I wonder what his reaction if I video call him. No doubt he would be confused as to how I ended up in such a small space on the phone's screen.

After I take a peek at my watch, I slowly get up and place the infant between 'Ria and myself. After poking the baby's cheek, I excuse myself and upstairs to get a change of clothes. Upon opening the room, I see Lukas on his PC typing away at a document.

"Oh, Hachiman. You done?" He asks without turning to me. Whatever he's working on seems to be important since he stopped playing his game.

"Just going in right now," I reply while opening the cabinet that he lent me.

"Mmm, who's with Anton?"

"'Ria is with him watching T.V, I think she's going to put him back in his crib soon."

"Okay, just take your time." He yawns and his joints pop as he stretches tiredly. Looks like I'm not the only one exhausted from our day. "I'm not sleeping anytime soon anyway."

"Mm, see you later." I give him a wave and go back downstairs carrying my new change of clothes and go straight to the bathroom. Unfortunately, the de Mer household doesn't have a bathtub where I can relax and space out to my leisure. My shower was rather quick since I didn't feel that icky, and I opted not to use the hairdryer since my ears ring whenever I use it, not to mention that using it too much can damage your hair and scalp.

That's a little something I learned at my Mother's salon.

When I got out, the T.V in the living room was already off, and I see 'Ria beside the kitchen counter struggling with a milk carton while carrying Anton on her left arm. She gives me a relieved expression and walks over to me.

"Great timing! I was having trouble opening the lid on this thing!" She says and gives me the infant, his small hands clutching onto my shirt. Without another word, she takes another glass and pours one for me as well. Good thing I didn't wash my teeth yet since I forgot them in my bag. We sit down on the stool together as she offers me a loaf of hot garlic bread.

"No thanks. I'm full."

"Okay, more for me then!" She takes a small bite from it and resumes speaking after swallowing it. I see some tiny crumbs fall and land on her pyjamas. "I sometimes get hungry at night, that's why I have some snacks in the drawers. What about you?"

"Ah, not really. I'm usually done after a glass of milk when dinner is finished."

"Mm, didn't you mention that you have trouble sleeping at night?"

"Yeah. Which is the reason why I sometimes do light exercises before going to sleep. Or go out at night for a walk around the neighbourhood. I don't do it all the time during winter, the sidewalk can get pretty slippery." I say while recalling last December when I slipped and did a split on the sidewalk. My split was so perfect that Tatsumi-sensei would be so proud of me. My groin hurt though, and I had to walk slowly back home with a funny gait.

Anton starts wiggling and I adjust him so that he's sitting comfortably on my left thigh. The baby makes cute squeaky sounds and 'Ria and I laugh which was soon followed by Anton as he observed and mimicked our actions. We start recounting our activities today starting with how we met up with Lars and Tess and ending with our arrival here back in their household. I start telling her what Tess and I did while we were on our own and she nods and smiles when she visualizes the places that we went to.

"Oof. Sounds like she went into 'Tour Guide' mode huh." 'Ria grimaces and takes a small bite from a cracker in her hand.

"I'm honestly impressed that she knows so much," I say and look down at the baby on my lap. I take his little hands and start playing with them. "I didn't know that she knew about our history. Imagine my surprise when she starts talking about the great painter Hokusai and our different literary works."

"Tess is always like that when something piques her interest. It reflects in her grades sometimes: if she's not interested in the subject or topic, she has average and barely passing grades. But when it comes to things that she likes, like history, culture and arts, for example, she'll ace everything with flying colours!"

I humm and nod at the new information. Something like that is unthinkable to me where I aim for perfection in everything regardless if I like it or not. I secretly get annoyed at people who claim that I achieve all of my accomplishments without any effort. It completely disregards the hard work that I put in and replaces it with something nonsensical. I've had many sleepless nights during exams and quizzes just so I can maintain my position at the top of our year level.

"I don't know if you know yet but she's very proficient in your country's history even before we went there!" Tess says and unconsciously holds my wrist and her hand brushing against my knee, a habit of hers when she's talking to someone. She reminds me of one of my Mother's friends who visited our home once and the Aunties at the neighbourhood daycare and nursery.

Little Anton starts laughing and squirming as I start tickling his soft and plump belly. "Yeah, imagine my surprise," I say with astonishment clear in my voice.

"I only know a few snippets or two. She even bought some Dutch to Japanese books and taught herself some phrases in preparation for our trip. And she's also a fan of lots of J-pop bands and goes to their concerts on the rare occasion that they drop by here in the Netherlands." 'Ria says and starts naming those that Tess has mentioned before. I could only nod at her since I never really got attracted to that kind of stuff.

She also adds that Tess is a cosplayer with an online following which surprised me very much. The Blondie never mentioned it to me earlier today nor did her interest and fascination for J-pop. As the Brunette and I talked, I soon start to realize something which I never considered before.

From what I learned so far from talking and observing Tess, as well as the new information that 'Ria provided for me… There could only be one conclusion-!

TESS MUST BE ONE OF THOSE GROSS FOREIGNERS OBSESSED WITH JAPANESE CULTURE! EXCEPT SHE'S NOT GROSS IN THE SLlGHTEST! AND VERY WELL-MANNERED!

AN OTAKU GAIJIN!

I hide my slight internal discomfort as much as I can and continue speaking with 'Ria like normal.

"You should've seen her when we arrived at Narita. She started screaming and hyperventilating before going on her knees and kissing the ground! The other passengers must have thought that she went insane!" 'Ria exclaims and starts laughing at the memory even until tears started forming at the corners of her eyes. I chuckle as well, the thought of a young woman like herself doing such a silly thing already looks funny just by thinking about it.

"Seriously? Wow, that would have looked strange for sure… I don't believe you…" I put on a doubtful face and put a hand under my chin despite actually thinking the opposite. If she IS an OTAKU GAIJIN, then I can see that happening. It would be strange if she didn't!

"She did! Ask Lars and Lukas! I think Lars' phone was recording when it happened! Don't ask Tess though, she'll just dismiss it and say that it never happened." 'Ria exclaims. I was about to make a reply when we hear footsteps from the stairs. We see Lukas slowly peering from above and looking for the source of the sound.

"You three are still up?" He says and jogs towards us. After poking his little brother's cheek, 'Ria hisses at him when he snatches the bag of chips in her hand. "Ha! Too slow!"

She clicks her tongue and lets the matter go for now. "Hmph! Hurry up and take a bath, you stink."

The Dutchman immediately sniffs at his armpit in a blink of an eye after taking some chips from the bag. "No, I don't… You're stupid." His words cause 'Ria to shake her head in exasperation. The two have a small sibling bicker before Lukas gets some spare clothes and a towel from his room before quickly disappearing behind the bathroom's door. 'Ria and I continue talking about Tess (who for some reason has become the topic of our conversation) until Lukas finally comes out from the shower with his hair still wet and dripping onto the same clothes as before.

"Hey what the heck are you doing? Stop walking around like that and dry your hair!" 'Ria chides at him like an old annoying wife. He merely rolls his eyes at her and takes a seat across us while drying himself with a towel.

Lukas decides to join in the meantime but mostly he was just listening while adding in a word or two now and then and also eating the chips that he stole from his sister. We talk about our day, as well as other things and I was secretly glad that we weren't talking about Tess anymore. It was getting a bit embarrassing and weird knowing so much about her from her friends alone.

We decided that it was time to retire to our rooms when Anton started cutely yawning and dozing off a few times. The infant fell asleep in my arms just as we arrived upstairs and I placed him in his crib with 'Ria's guidance but not before she gives him a warm kiss on the cheek.

"See you tomorrow morning you two." We exchange good nights with her and go to our respective rooms. Lukas immediately collapses on his bed and starts snoring which I find more amazing than annoying. I feel around for my phone to see that I have unopened messages. After unlocking it, it was from the girl that we were just talking about downstairs and was just sent a few minutes ago.

"Hey Hachiman! I had so much fun today! It's a shame that you couldn't come in for tea but oh well! I'm looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow and I still have more places to show you around! Sogni d'oro~! :)"

…

…

…

W-What… There's even a cute and funny emote of a blue bugcat going to bed…

Despite dismissing it, the warm and fuzzy feeling spreading all over my body doesn't go away and I feel a blush creep up my cheeks.

Deep breaths Hachiman! Deep breaths! This is nothing to get blushing about! It's just a normal message with no underlying meaning whatsoever! Don't start overthinking things! This is exactly the kind of train of thought that got you rejected by she-who-must-not-be-named!

After feeling giddy like a cringe normie high school girl I send Tess a similar message, thanking her for everything and wishing her a good night as well. Since I wasn't sleeping anytime soon, I go through my phone's new account since my old dummy one is unusable because I forgot the password. But I can still see the call logs so that's something. I received only a handful of calls on my phone so I think I can correctly guess who's the owner of the numbers even though I haven't named them yet.

Let's see, the day of my flight up to today… I received the most number of calls from my dear Mother followed by Komachi. Haruno and Shiromeguri-senpai also called me and asked me how I'm doing and then Saki, Sai-chan, Taishi, Yui, Hina and Tobe. Hayama, Saika, Yoshiteru, Yumiko and Isshiki preferred to exchange text messages with me. As for the younger Yukinoshita, I still haven't replied to her message yet. Rumi-chan even sent me a cute picture of herself and said that Hina asked her to go and hang out with the others. I encouraged her to go and she said that she'll try asking her Mother's permission first.

There are so many people in my contacts now. I wonder how my younger self would react to this. I think he'd be filled with disbelief and amazement for sure.

After carefully thinking and considering many things, I decide to call Hina and maybe troll and tease the fujoshi a bit, perhaps get a chuckle or two while I'm at it.

"Help pick out a dress for you?" I ask her on the other side of the line while sitting down on the sofa in the living room. I had gone here for some privacy and also because I might wake up Lukas in the room.

"Yep! I'll just send them to you and listen to what you think."

I shrug in response. Sounds easy enough.

"Okay then…"

I wait for a minute or two until I hear the notification sound from my phone. I see Hina with a cheeky grin wearing a light green dress that ended below her knees. It was sleeveless and the thin straps left most of her shoulders and upper chest bare. It was modest yet very fashionable for someone of her age.

"Oooohh… I like it. It looks shiny and comfortable to wear." I give my verdict after thinking for a short while.

She starts a video call and makes a small sound of satisfaction. "Umu! I thought as much! I like this one too!" She switches to the back camera and places it on what I believe to be a small chair or stool. Hina must be in the ladies' changing room since I see the white walls, mirror and a few other dresses hung on the wall. She gives me a side view of it as well as the back and makes a little twirl for effect.

"I've seen enough. On to the next one, if you please!"

She smiles and nods in response, "Roger!" and switches the camera to the other one while she changes. I expected her to turn off the video call but then…

*Rustle*

*Rustle*

*Rustle*

*Rustle*

*Rustle*

W-What the heck-! What a tease! She's deliberately letting me listen to the sounds of her taking off her clothes!?

As if reading my thoughts, she giggles and I can already visualize the coy smile on her lips. "Uwah… Hachi-kun, I hope you're not listening and imagining lewd images in your head~?" She calls out to me in a teasing voice. "Don't tell me that you want to look~? Hehehehe…"

My other hand clenches into a fist and my eye twitches by itself. Tch-! This damn girl!

"Oh? And what if I said that I wanted to? What're you gonna do about it?" I say smugly and half-jokingly. I'm not a perv, I'm just going along with her antics and she was the one who started it anyway. But then again, if she is serious, then I can't guarantee anything…

I guess there must always be a first in everything.

I couldn't exactly see her do it, but I hear the unmistakable sound of a "Tch!" from her end.

"T-Touchè… We'll see… Fufufufufu…."

Hina tried out two more dresses, a purple and a light pink one. They were all similar yet had distinct designs that made all of them stand out. In the end, she picked the green dress and the one that was liked among all of them. We talk for a little bit after she paid for the dress. I can tell that she wanted to talk more but decided to end our conversation for my sake. My phone vibrates mere moments after I put it down and close my eyes. With an annoyed groan, I unlock it again to see a couple of messages from Hina.

What does she want now?! Is this woman obsessed with me!?

I open the message bubble icon to see several columns' worth of images that almost made my eyes comically pop out from their sockets.

Hina's bare skin on her upper chest and shoulders… Her exposed and vulnerable-looking neck made me think of indecent thoughts… A small part of her tongue sticking out through a smile and a blush dusting her pretty cheeks while she covered her eyes with her palm exposed made for an extremely suggestive image… Woah…she made a V-shape with her pointer and middle fingers and used it to spread her smooth armpit while covering her breasts but still leaving much of it exposed for me to enjoy… Hmm…those are some nice legs, not as toned as Yumiko's but still pretty to look at... It's the same with her abdomen but she's erotically biting the ends of her blouse while winking…! Wow, she's not wearing a bra and I can see her underboobs…! Just a little bit more and I could have seen her pink buds! Omaygah she's erotically lifting up the skirt of her dress just enough for me to see her soft and supple thighs!

I wasn't able to go through all the images since my mind was still a mush, but I was able to read the message attached to it.

"Since you helped me pick out a dress, here's a little reward~. Better to see the real thing instead of imagining ~."

At this moment, I'm sure that Hina has forcefully awakened several fetishes within me. I'm VERY SURE that there are some photos where she is completely nude, and she had cropped out the parts she wanted to be covered, but even so…!

Even so…!

UUUUOOOOOHHHHH! EROTIC! HINA BELLY AND CHEST! EROTIC...!

The visual stimulus was too much and I instantly pass out with a goofy aahh grin and a small amount of blood dripping from my nose.

I never thought that I'd drive my first car in The Netherlands of all places. It's easier than it looks, and that's coming from someone terrible at racing games. But I think horseracing and motor racing are way more exciting to watch than cars. If I had to rank all the games that I'm good at, then it would be fantasy MMORPG, fighting, shooting and then racing games. Gacha games don't count since all you need to "get good" are the broken meta characters that are available in the summoning pool. If you aren't blessed by RNGsus then you need to bring out your wallet as a last resort.

"Stick to your lane. Don't go over the lines and watch your side mirrors." Tess says beside me. She's been quiet the whole time and only speaks when needed. She pointed out to me earlier on the basics and we had some smalltalk when she figured that I was starting to get the hang of it. Lukas and 'Ria were back at the house and the only person aside from the two of us was Anton who was sitting comfortably on her lap and playing with a toy dinosaur. It looks to me like a hadrosaurid but I don't know its exact name.

"Yes, Ma'am."

I turn the steering wheel to the right as we drive past houses and lawns in the neighbourhood. The de Mer family lived in a nice quiet place on the outskirts of the city. The road is mostly empty aside from the occasional person biking and the scant few who are driving to work. Adrianne's school was within walking distance but her two older siblings have to use public transport to go to college. The car is small and compact just like most cars in Japan so it's fairly easy to park. I've been driving for nearly two hours now and we avoid the highways since we could get in trouble with the law. This was Tess's car and she took it upon herself to teach me when I told her that I don't know how to drive yet.

Dutch people do a lot of things at an early age huh.

After a few more minutes, she tells me to go back to the house and I soon find myself parking perfectly in their garage. Tess cheers and gives me a high five and I give one to the infant too after he squealed in response and mimicked our actions. We both go out and see that both Lukas and 'Ria were waiting and sitting on the grass in their garden under the morning sun. Freckles were visible where the morning sun touched them. They greet us with amused smiles before we go back to the house. I see Adrianne peeking from one of the windows upstairs and pretend not to notice her.

"He's a natural, that's for sure." The Blondie says and sits down on the sofa after handing me, Anton. I adjust the baby and then bend down properly to pick up the toy dinosaur which had fallen from his grasp.

"I like your car. It's really cool." Despite its age, her customized and refurbished Volkswagen Beetle is great to drive. It felt as if I had gone back in time when I sat in the driver's seat. She said that this was the same car that her grandfather, Ferdinando Russmoni, bought as a young man in Verona, Italy just after a few years when the Second World War ended. He would bring along this car here in the Netherlands when he immigrated where he later met Tess's grandmother and the rest is history. The car has gone through many upgrades through the years and is in tip-top shape and was also passed on to her Father and then to her.

Now that I know about the car's history, I'm thankful that I didn't damage or bump it into something. I can't imagine what I would have done if I did. Perhaps commit seppuku on the spot with the sword of my clan… Not that we have one.

Well, to my knowledge at least. I haven't fully explored my family's ancestral house yet, who knows, perhaps there's a cursed and sealed off Katana somewhere.

While Anton was playing with the toy dinosaur on my lap, they discuss today's plans. I'm only half-listening to the others since helping him stand on his two feet is kind of fun. His legs aren't fully developed yet but that doesn't stop him from trying.

"What about the beach?" I haven't been there in a while." Lukas offers helpfully but was instantly countered by his sister.

"It's super crowded, we should try on some other day. The coming weekend should do it."

"I'll try looking at my schedule since I have weekend classes," Tess says and starts going through her phone. She later nods with a satisfied and victorious smile and then turns to me. "I'm free on that day! Looks like we're going to the beach Hachiman!" Her bluish-purple eyes shine with enthusiasm and her smile is dangerously contagious. I had to make sure not to go blank and stare at them too much. The de Mer siblings start discussing on possible places to go and weighing the pros and cons of each while Tess and I continued our conversation. Anton starts vocalizing and tries mimicking our words but ends up saying baby gibberish. He's such a vocal baby and makes noises when someone hear him is talking. I feel him start teething on my hand but I leave him alone since I just washed my hands anyway.

"The beach huh..." She is quick to take note of the tone of my voice and inquires about it. "I'm not an avid fan of beaches. I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating - and it gets everywhere. Pools are nice but can get crowded very quickly."

Her response was a hearty laugh while her gentle hand holds my arm. I discovered quite early on that this is a habit of hers that she does to everyone. I got embarrassed yesterday when she took my arm while we were walking around the city, but hey, my A.T. Field was no match against her. Maybe she's the 19th Angel! Anyway, I don't mind the physical contact very much. I'm now used to touchy people like Tobe, Yumiko and Haruno for example. And let's not forget about my sister and mother.

"But didn't you say that you once swam two kilometres in middle school because you were bored?" Tess had a strange expression on her pretty face and her smile was slightly crooked.

"Well yes but mainly because I had no friends and I wanted to test how far I can swim out to the open ocean," I say as a matter of factly. She stiffens from my words and a shadow goes over her eyes. Despite that, I continue on. "It's quite an experience when you go to the deeper waters and look down to see the dark emptiness of the ocean. It's so...void and empty. It's like...anything could be hiding there and you wouldn't see it coming until it's right in front of you."

I see cold sweat form on her forehead and a shiver go up to her spine. With an awkward laugh, she confesses that she's quite afraid of the sea and deep water in general. She says that she's fine with pools but prefers wading in the shallows since she can't swim. She starts feeling nervous and scared when the water is dark and murky, even in the many waterways and canals that crisscross Amsterdam. So hearing what I did must be extremely terrifying for her. I don't ask what made her scared of it since it may be a traumatic incident, it's not in my place to ask and we're not that close yet anyway.

"Shallow and clear water is fine...but when it starts getting deep and I can't see the bottom..." She says with a small voice before shaking her head at whatever unpleasant thoughts that she might be thinking about. I've never seen her look so distressed before so I decided to open a new topic since she might be feeling too uncomfortable.

"So...the beach huh. I think I'll need to buy some stuff." Thankfully she takes the bait and immediately responds.

"Me too! We should check out some stores later when we meet up with Lars! He has a part-time job at the weekends but I'm sure he can come."

I start thinking if I should buy goggles and a snorkel, I've never owned one before and might as well get one since I'm here. I didn't see any coral reefs back on the trip in middle school and I'm pretty sure that the Netherlands doesn't have one because of the climate. Hmm, now I'm envious of the tropical countries!

Mrs Cathy comes down from upstairs and Tess gets up to give her a greeting kiss. She asks us if we were going to stay for lunch to which we said no since we were going to meet up with Lars. Anton makes an annoyed gurgling sound when his mother attempted to lift him from me and his little hands curled around my shirt. Instead, he reaches out to 'Ria who picks him up with a smile, his small hand around the toy dinosaur's neck. We spend time in the house for half an hour and then decide to go on our way. We say goodbye to Mrs Cathy just after Adrianne briefly makes an appearance to take her baby brother and play with him in her room. Her Mother lightly chides her for not coming down sooner but she's gone before she could even finish her sentence.

"Lars, why are you laughing so much...?"

I finally ask the question that's been bugging me for a while now. We're eating in front of a food stall on the tables and chairs provided for us. We separated from the other three not long ago and we'll regroup with them when we've done eating. I was lucky to find some takoyaki being sold in the area while Lars bought some Indonesian stir-fried noodles with vegetables and chicken. The takoyaki has a strange aftertaste to it but at least it's close enough to the ones I've tasted back home.

Some tourists behind him were talking loudly. Strangely, Lars would hold back his laughter at random times in their conversation.

My God, at this rate he's going to choke on his food...!

He covers his mouth while trying his best but despite his efforts, some tears do form in the corners of his eyes. I watch him helplessly as whenever he tries to speak a fit of laughter would come from his chest. He finally calms down when the tourists behind him get up and leave the area. I hand Lars a tissue and he wipes the corners of his eyes with it.

"Phew, wow oh my God I felt I was gonna die." He says and drinks some water. "Their accent always has me rolling."

"What the heck has gotten into you, I thought you went mad or something... Anyway, we should hurry up and finish so we can rejoin the others."

Lars shakes his head and wipes his mouth with a tissue. "Not yet, I have to ask you something." He says and starts moving his eyebrows in a wave-like motion with a small grin on his lips. "How's it going with Tess? Are you okay with her? You know, about yesterday."

His question was strange but I answer anyway. "She's nice and knows her stuff, if a bit overbearing and hyped up at something that she wants to show off."

"I see. Sorry about that, she's just the type to get super excited at things that she likes." Lars makes an apologetic bow on behalf of his cousin. "I was worried that she might have come off as too strong and forcibly dragging you around. I know you value your personal space. I apologize if she might have done something to offend you in some way."

I shrug. "Eh, I don't mind much. She did bring me to a lot of places and bought me snacks so I have no right to complain." I pause to take a small piece of fish and chips from my plate. The one that I ordered is a lot better than the greasy and overcooked one that Yui and I ate together back at Chiba. "Plus, she taught me how to drive in her nice car and was patient with me too. Now I've got an interesting tale to tell my father when he comes back." I say with a small smirk.

"Yup, I heard that from herself this morning. She even sent me a picture and - Oh look, there she is." Lars motions his head to the right. I couldn't see her at first because of the people around that were obstacles to my vision, but the cute blonde ahoge on her head bounced and moved as if calling my attention.

She was walking with 'Ria to her right and Lukas was nowhere to be seen. Tess wore fitting denim shorts that ended just above her knee and the same shoes that she wore yesterday. A thin white sleeveless blouse was under the loose long-sleeved and checkered shirt and her medium-length pale blonde hair was free and untied. She also had some fashionable bracelets on and a silver necklace which rested just below the base of her neck. I squint my eyes as she gets closer and closer and I see freckles have formed on her fair face.

"..."

"..."

"Say, Hachiman..."

"Hm?"

"Do you have a girl waiting for you back home?"

"A girl? Well, there's my mother and sister." I give him an incredulous look from his question. "And a few friends. Why?"

Lars stays frozen still and blinks a few times before suddenly coming to a realization. He shakes his head and holds his temple while muttering something under his breath and composes himself once more.

"I'm sorry, let me rephrase that. Do you have a girlfriend?"

I pause and make sure I had heard him properly. He patiently waits for my answer while soundlessly tapping his fingers on the table.

"No, I don't."

A small mischievous smile forms on his thin lips as he leans back on his chair and crosses his legs. Very villain-like if I may add.

"Is that so? Vita is single, I'm just throwing that out with no hidden agenda by the way..."

I sigh and shake my head. I'm not dense enough to not know what he means and what he's implying. If anything, the thing that I'm most surprised about is that it first came from Lars. He and Tess are as close as siblings could be despite being cousins and I feel slight envy at not having a blood relative like that.

"Yeah yeah. And I'm the long-lost son of the Emperor." Lars throws his sarcastic joke and we both share a laugh.

"But in all seriousness..." He leans forward and glances to the side. "I honestly think she's taken a liking to you. You don't have much time left, only around four weeks until you leave for Japan, no?"

I roll my eyes as Lars grins at my expense. "What brought this on... Are you playing a prank on me?"

"Just tell me if you need help! I've already set up quite a few people who became a happy couple! Don't you think she's pretty cute? At least try to think about it!" He exclaims energetically and gestures with his hands to add emphasis. I just give him a lazy nod and wave to satisfy him.

"That's a strange thing to boast about... You have way too much free time. What are you, a middle-aged Auntie?" He laughs and 'Ria and Tess finally arrive with the latter seated beside me as per our seating arrangement earlier.

Despite my best efforts, I feel self-conscious because of the female to my right so I slightly move my chair away from her which didn't come unnoticed by Lars.

"The line to the ladies' room was super long!" 'Ria says and stretches her arms upwards before slumping and resting her head on the table in front of her.

"So, what were you two boys doing while we were gone?" Lars and I gesture to our remaining food and the two girls help themselves to it. As expected, 'Ria gets up and orders some more.

"Just talking about some stuff."

"Yeah, stuff..." I hold Lars' cheeky gaze and reach out to take a chip from my plate. I bump into something slender and see that Tess and I had the same idea. She grins and tells me to go first to which I do so without further comment. The topic of our earlier conversation comes to mind and I can't help but glance at her every so often. The cute ahoge on top of her head would made funny movements whenever she'd laugh and I start to wonder if mine does the same.

Hmm... I guess she IS pretty cute, I can say that much. Hehe, I wonder what kind of face my mother will make if I tell her I'm bringing home a girl like Tess so we can get her approval...

I think it would be hilarious.