Chapter 4:

Hikigaya went home that day feeling good.

Two days in a row, huh? I probably have some bad luck coming soon. Oh, well. Gotta enjoy the good times while they last.

He collapsed on his bed, absent-mindedly touching his lips. Less than an hour ago, they had been pressed against Hiratsuka's, while their tongues were intertwined. He almost didn't believe his good fortune, but he certainly wasn't going to question it.

"Call me."

That was what she had said to him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone. Once upon a time, it had been little more than a convenient device for playing games, browsing the internet, and setting an alarm for the morning. Once he'd joined the Service Club, the call and message functions had seen more use, though that had slowly stopped once more when he had left. Going through contacts still felt like an unfamiliar action to him. His list seemed, even to him, to be tragically empty, despite the new names that had been added to it over the course of the past year. One by one, he scrolled past them till he stopped next to the one he was looking for.

His thumb hovered over the call icon, and he wondered whether he should press it.

She did tell me to call. But did she mean right now? Has she even reached home yet? Maybe she's driving. I probably shouldn't disturb her.

Despite all the reasons his mind was giving him, he found his thumb descend, as if by itself.

The screen display changed.

Calling : Hiratsuka Sensei

Now that it had come this far, he brought the phone to his ear. It barely had time to ring once before it was picked up.

"Finally," said a voice that cause Hikigaya's heartbeat to speed up by a few BPM. "I was getting tired of waiting."

"A-ah, sorry. I… thought you might be driving."

"My house isn't that far from school", Hiratsuka replied.

"R-right," said Hikigaya, not quite knowing how to answer that.

"Ah, you don't know where I live. That's okay: I'll send you the address."

"The address?" said Hikigaya. "What for?"

Hiratsuka's voice as she answered had some of the exasperation Hikigaya had gotten used to hearing: the exasperation of a teacher explaining something that should have been painfully obvious from the start.

"You're coming over, of course. I'd like to give you a ride there from school, but you wouldn't believe how nosy some people are. It probably wouldn't end well if they saw you getting in my car."

Her words were swimming over Hikigaya, not quite registering. He had stopped listening at "you're coming over".

"Umm… Sensei-"

"Ahem. I don't think I heard you properly."

There was a bit of a warning tone in her voice, which surprised him. Had he done something wrong?

"I was saying, Sensei-"

"Hmm?"

And there was that tone again.

He racked his brain, and finally hit upon what might be the reason.

"Hiratsuka… san?"

The unmistakable aura of impending doom was now being transferred through the phone itself.

"S-Shizuka?"

The aura disappeared, replaced by some kind of warm fluffiness that would once upon a time have caused Hikigaya to curse every happy person in existence, but now only succeeded in making him feel good.

I'm sorry, my old loner self. But if you had experienced what I have, you'd know why this is pretty great.

"S-Shizuka san. I was saying, it sounded like you wanted me to come over to your house."

"Of course. Where else are we going to mess ar- ahem- hang out?"

Woman, it's too late to change what you were saying. Not that I'm complaining about your intentions.

"I see," he stammered out, his physical voice not quite as steady as his inner monologue. "Well, then, whenever you're free."

"How about tomorrow after school?"

"Sounds good to me."

"There we go. I'll text you the address."

"Okay." He paused slightly. He felt like he should say something more. "I'll… see you tomorrow then?"

"Mhm. You will. And Hachiman? Don't wear out that special part of you tonight. You'll be needing it up and about tomorrow."

His jaw dropped open. Before he could reply, she ended the call. Looking down, Hachiman caught sight of the afore-mentioned special part of him, which was currently competing with rocks for hardness.

"You say that, but how am I supposed to sleep like this?" he muttered. Groaning, he got off the bed. Maybe a cold shower would help. Saving up stamina for the next day certainly sounded like a good idea, though he had a feeling that the sight of Hir- or rather, Shizuka, would have him up and ready to go anyway.

Wait, hold on. If I'm too backed up, won't I be too fast?

There was no denying it. Hikigaya was undoubtedly a virgin, and from his "research", he knew all too well that first-timers were often overwhelmed by all the stimulus, and ended up coming almost right away. While he sincerely hoped that he would be able to do better, his naturally cautious nature couldn't help but bring up that possibility. He wondered for a second if it might not be a better idea to jerk off just so that he wouldn't be so ready to shoot his load when it was time with Hiratsuka.

Until he realized what he was thinking.

Hold on. Am I seriously making plans for how to improve my getting laid experience? What sort of riajuu have I become?

Somehow, the thought of how seriously he was taking it all made him laugh.

His newfound confidence returned, and he exhaled, releasing his tension.

He was excited, and he wanted this. That was all he needed to know. Too much planning wouldn't change anything.

It was a miracle his overly-pessimistic, constantly analysing nature was even all right with the idea of what was going to happen, that he wasn't trying to convince himself it was all somehow a dream, or that he was missing the picture somehow.

Instead, he found himself feeling happy.

It was precisely because it was Shizuka that he could let himself feel that way.

Content with that, he decided to take a shower, have dinner, play some games, and call it a day.

Little did he know, the next day would have a few surprises in store for him.

As usual, he arrived around ten minutes before the start of homeroom. As usual, he was chaining up his bike.

It was as he was doing this that he heard a voice from behind him.

"Senpai."

Turning around, he saw the owner of that voice, someone he equal parts liked (because of how she owned her rotten nature) and disliked (because of that very rotten nature).

"Oh, Isshiki. Shouldn't you be heading to class?"

"We need to talk."

Hikigaya raised an eyebrow.

"Right now? Can't it wait?"

She shook her head.

"You were busy yesterday, Senpai. You won't get away so easily today."

Hikigaya sighed. Whenever Isshiki set her mind to something, he knew things were going to get complicated. She had a habit of not giving up until she got what she wanted.

Still, he needed to get to class, and the longer he spent here trying to get away, the more time he was wasting. It was better to hear her out and get it over with.

"Sure. What do you want?"

She seemed more than a little taken aback by how easily he went along with it, blinking up at him. It was at this point that she realized that she once more did not have a plan.

Damn it! Why didn't I think this through?

A small part of her reminded her that it was because Hikigaya generally took care of the planning for her, but she chose to ignore that. Instead, she tried to think of a way to say what she needed to.

Say what I need to… what I want to.

What do I want to say anyway?

Suddenly, all kinds of lines came to her mind, including some extremely cheesy ones. All of them were confessions. And all of them were embarrassing.

Out of the question! After all the times I've turned him down, there's absolutely no way I'm saying anything like that to him.

To further ensure that she wasn't resort to that, she ended up reverting back to her old method of doing things.

"Senpai, I need your help!"

Hikigaya sighed.

"Figured as much."

"I need you to go on a practice date with me."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Again? We've already had quite a few of those, you know. By now, you should have some idea of what to do on one."

"T-that's… I need more practice! And you're going to help me with it."

"Eh? No way, it's a pain."

Isshiki blinked.

Wait, did he just turn me down right away?

The blunt, matter-of-fact, zero hesitation shutdown was very different from Hikigaya's old complaining and groaning. No matter how much he protested and came up with excuses, they all used to be half-baked, and from the start, she would know that he was going to give in.

Which is why she knew for a fact that what she had gotten just now was a proper refusal. As Hikigaya himself might put it, she was one of the world's leading experts on fake and real rejections, so she knew how to spot the genuine thing.

"Senpai! You said you'd take responsibility!"

"But I did though. You were StuCo president for a year, and I helped out during your term. There's no way I owe you anything else."

Isshiki almost took a step back.

Just who the hell is this?

Looking at Hikigaya, she didn't see any of the hesitation or overthinking she remembered, both of which were weaknesses she had taken advantage of in the past. In a perfectly unobtrusive way, he had changed. It wasn't something like a physical makeover or a huge change in personality.

It was hard to put one's finger on.

He was… more confident? That.

But not just that.

It was as if that extra confidence had changed everything.

The Hikigaya standing in front of her now was formidable. He'd always been something of an unconventional genius, and someone with an ability to see through people uncomfortably well. It was just that he very rarely used these abilities to stand up for himself.

Until now.

It was a feeling akin to realizing that the weight you put on the bar at the gym was something you couldn't move. Or when you locked up with someone to arm-wrestle, and realized you couldn't pull them at all. Or when you played a video game with someone 10 rank levels higher than you and realized you didn't stand a chance at all.

She realized it didn't matter how much she tried being sly or cute. It wasn't going to have any effect on him.

While she couldn't have put it into exact words, she understood what had happened.

The power dynamic between them had changed.

Earlier, Hikigaya's guilt at having convinced her to become President had made him feel that he owed her. This was later compounded when Isshiki claimed that overhearing his desire for something real had caused her to want the genuine thing too. This need to make up for something, to take responsibility for his actions, was what gave Isshiki the ability to drag him around, have him at her beck and call.

In other words, the simple realization that he had taken responsibility for his actions had changed everything.

Without the feeling of owing her something, Hikigaya didn't have any reason to go along with Isshiki's unreasonable demands. She no longer had anything over him.

Normally, this would mean they would interact as equals.

However, Isshiki had feelings for Hikigaya.

And she had no idea if he had any feelings for her.

Thus, the roles were now reversed.

It hit Isshiki that this was it.

She was close to losing him now. If she couldn't speak now, she probably wouldn't ever be able to do so.

"T-then do it as a favour for me!" she said.

That surprised Hikigaya. It was unusual for Isshiki to openly ask for a favour, thereby admitting she would owe him one. But if that was the case…

"There's nothing I want from you though," he pointed out.

Isshiki bit her lip, but stayed calm.

Now that she was aware of the situation, she was thinking clearly.

It wasn't that Hikigaya didn't have the same thoughts other boys did. It was just that he was quite good at hiding them. Moreover, as much as it hurt to admit it, he simply didn't think of her that way, that was all.

But that made her next step clear.

"Really, Senpai?"

Her cutesy act wouldn't work on him now, nor would her manipulation.

All that left her with… was herself.

Ironically, a fake imouto and a genuinely rotten fox were exactly what she was.

"Is there really nothing you could possibly want from me?"

She leaned in close as she said the words, holding her hands behind her back as she did so. The result was that her chest was prominently in view, as if she was presenting it to him. There was also her usual foxy smile on her face, though somehow this time it was a little different. More sultry. Almost… inviting.

Hikigaya felt the heat rising to his face.

This girl… she never learns, huh? Fine, let's play her game.

"Nope. Nothing at all. Maybe if you were an actual fox, I could think about it."

With that, he walked away.

It wasn't until later that he realized what effect exactly his words had had.

A little way through classes, there was a knock on 3F's door, and Isshiki arrived.

The teacher in the class at the moment, who was taking History, looked at her questioningly.

"Sorry for the disturbance, sensei. Could I borrow Hikigaya senpai? He's been called to the counsellor's office."

Counsellor?

Shizuka was calling for him?

Hikigaya shook his head. No, there was no way she'd send Isshiki for that. More likely, she'd come to fetch him herself.

Which meant, this was just some excuse Isshiki had cooked up to get him out of class.

Still, given the way she was, it was best to go along with this for now. If he refused, she would continue to come up with more and more ridiculous excuses (all false), until the teacher became suspicious. Once that happened, he would most likely be thought to be involved in whatever it was she was planning, which would be an annoyance.

So to nip the problem in the bud, he stood up.

"Excuse me, sensei. Apologies."

The teacher, who was more concerned with continuing the lesson, nodded at Hikigaya before returning to the chapter he was covering. The once-loner headed over to the door, closing it behind him before turning to Isshiki.

"This again?" he said. "Are you that desperate for a practice date?"

"Just come with me," said Isshiki. Without waiting for an answer, she ran off. Sighing, Hikigaya took off after her. A few moments later, he found himself outside…

The girls' washroom?

"Isshiki, I'm not sure if you know how this works, but I'm not allowed to go in there."

In answer, the door opened, Isshiki's hand shot out, grabbed him, and pulled him inside. Some amount of pushing and shoving followed, and Hikigaya found himself inside one of the cubicles, with Isshiki.

The part of Hikigaya that had been a virgin for all the eighteen years of his life was screaming internally.

That being said, the rational part of him was surprisingly calm.

Huh. I always wondered how these bathroom quickies were initiated. Props were they've been earned: anyone horny enough to get it on in here is definitely going to keep their family line alive.

"Not to rain on this parade, Isshiki, but what you're probably doing now happens after the date, not before, and I haven't even agreed to it yet."

Even a week ago, the thought of being in this position with a girl would have been outrageous.

But a lot had changed since then.

It might have been that miraculous effect people talked about: being experienced made one less susceptible. While Hikigaya was still far from experienced, he had made out with Shizuka, and that had gone a long way towards giving him some perspective, as well as some self-respect.

So where he would have been eating out of her hand by now, he was only excited now.

Wait, that's not a good thing either.

"Senpai, you remember what you said? Well, you better keep your word. These props weren't easy to get.

Before he could protest, she began to strip. The blazer and tie came off, followed quickly by the shirt and skirt.

Hikigaya, almost entranced, couldn't take his eyes off her.

Pink. Not unexpected.

Isshiki's bra left very little to the imagination. Most of it was see-through anyway. While her breasts weren't large, they had a nice, cute shape and looked perky. Lower down, Hikigaya's eyes wandered down her flat stomach. Her panties were likewise almost transparent, giving a teasing glimpse of the treasure that lay underneath. His heart jumped for a second as he also noticed that they were moist.

Wait. I've done enough research to know what that means.

Before he could say anything though, Isshiki brought the props she had mentioned into play, putting them on.

Right now, she was in front of him, looking at him hungrily, with a pair of fox ears on, as well as a fox tail, with no visible belt holding it in place.

Hikigaya's rational side acknowledged a slight hint of panic as he realized he was way more turned on than he thought he would ever be because of Isshiki.