Author's note: So writing a harem in this particular setting while having absolutely no NTR happening is kind of challenging, but I don't think it's impossible. It's what I'll be trying to do with this fic. While it is pretty smutty, I do want it to be absolutely, completely wholesome. In order to that, you're all just going to have to trust where I'm going with the story. With that being said, we heard that you like waifus, so we put three different waifus in this chapter.

Chapter 6:

"Hachiman…"

A pair of lips descended on his own, softly brushing against them. It was the slightest of touches, a bare glance, tantalising. No sooner had they made contact than they lifted again. He frowned, frustrated at being deprived of them. Leaning upwards, he chased them, finding them again, hungrily grasping for them with his own. The contact lasted longer this time, long enough for him to experience that indefinable, slightly salty taste of someone's mouth. Yet, within seconds, it moved away from him again, out of his reach. Annoyed, he scowled at the woman looking at him from above, a familiar, maddening grin on her face. She knew just how infuriating this was for him, and she was enjoying every moment of it.

"Stop teasing me," he grunted.

"Hmm? Really? You seem to be liking it though."

"I'm not," he replied bluntly.

The smile became a little wider, even as a pair of violet eyes glinted with mirth. Framed by curtains of long, night black hair, they had absolutely no business gleaming like that in a dark bedroom with no lights on. High cheekbones accentuated contrasting features: a slightly upturned nose and slightly moist, glistening pink lips. Though she was a good deal older than him, she was still young. As a matter of fact, he could care less about the age difference. The mere sight of her drove him crazy.

"My, my," said Shizuka. "Just when did you become so assertive?"

In answer, he reached up and grabbed her shoulders, making sure she couldn't get away this time as he pulled her in closer. She didn't fight it, instead willingly adjusting her arms so that her hands gently cupped his face, even as he brought her face close and mashed his lips against hers. Patience gone long ago, Hikigaya entered her right away with his tongue, aggressively attacking her own with it. Despite lacking experience, his burst of energy broke down her defences, and he felt her moan slightly into his mouth, a deeply satisfying feeling that immediately made a certain hard part of him even harder.

"And I thought you said that to work was to lose," chided the older woman.

"I'm just proving my skills," he replied. "Househusband's gotta be able to please his wife, right?"

"Sigh. I'm torn about that. On the one hand, I'm disappointed as your teacher."

"What about as a woman?"

The smirk on her face grew.

"Now that's a different story. Are you ready for round five?"

Without waiting for an answer, she reached down to grasp his shaft, guiding it to her entrance. Once more, he felt his head rub against her now familiar folds. Whatever he had heard about this getting less intense with repetition was a straight-up lie: the touch of her special place had felt better with each successive time, as though his cock was getting used to making itself at home in it. Now, just the slightest touch was sending jolts of pleasure through him.

"Hurry up…" he managed to grunt out, breathing harshly. "And put it in."

Knowing she had won, she obliged, and he felt himself slide in with ease. Of course, that didn't mean her walls didn't immediately wrap around him, squeezing so tightly, he was surprised he didn't release his load right there. On the bright side though, the practice had paid off. Grasping her hips, he thrust upwards while pulling her closer as he did so. The slapping of flesh began to echo through the room as they moved. She arched her back, the movement pushing her butt out further, giving him an even better grip on her wonderful ass. His fingers practically sank into her flesh, and he increased his pace, pistoning into her with everything he had.

"Ahh~ Hachiman… Hachiman…"

Her expression had changed, the teasing glint had vanished, replaced by something far warmer. Those eyes felt like they were looking right into his soul. And he wanted them to stay, and make their home there forever. He never wanted to let go of her. As if reading his mind, she lowered her lips, and they shared another kiss, more passionate this time.

"I'm… almost there…" he said.

"So am I. Let's come together."

Moments after that, his thoughts went blank as pleasure exploded in his cock.

He opened his eyes, slowly. He blinked a few times as his vision adjusted, and a ceiling came into view, different from the one moments ago. This one, of course, was one he knew well, it being part of his own room. Despite this, he was half expecting the stunning woman to be here atop him right now. That had been quite the vivid dream.

Is this why VR is so popular? He wondered idly. Still, it wasn't as though what he had seen had been a dream. Not entirely anyway. What was the right word for when you saw something that had actually happened? Only hours ago in fact?

Once more, his mind raced back to the previous evening, and the time spent with a certain homeroom teacher. Thinking of some of the things they had done brought a blush onto his face. But it also brought a smile. It was a little strange feeling this way about someone. If it had been anyone but Shizuka, he would have been alarmed by it. But precisely because it was her…

I'm okay with this.

Getting up, he decided to go through his morning routine and head to school. He wasn't quite sure how this relationship would work moving forward. Given who he was, it wasn't surprising that he was thinking about the future already. For now, meeting up in secret was fine. But in a year, he'd graduate. What about then?

We'll figure it out when we get there. We'll figure out a way to make it work.

Until then, this was good.

Of course, as he was thinking that very thing, he had no way of knowing that life wasn't even remotely through with its store of curveballs.

Making his way downstairs, he stopped at the dining table, where Komachi was already having breakfast.

"Morning," he said.

"Ah, Onii chan, you're up. Pretty early too. I thought you'd be out for a while longer."

There was a sly smile on her face as she spoke. He swallowed nervously. Did she somehow… know where he was last evening? But that couldn't be possible. He had checked to make sure no one was following him when he left school. Did she track him through his phone? No, that didn't sound like her. This wasn't a Mission Impossible film either, there was no reason for her to go around in full spy mode like that. No, he needed to think calmly and logically. After school, he went over to Shizuka's place, where he spent a few hours. Coupled with the travel time, it meant that it was around 8 pm or so when he returned home. Which was pretty late for him, especially considering that since leaving the Service Club, he'd gotten into the habit of returning straight home after school. That had to be it. He came back pretty late, tired and happy enough from his exertions that he went straight to bed after greeting Komachi. Given how much she unduly concerned herself with his life, and the single track her mind ran on, she could have only come to one conclusion about why he was late in coming back home. Of course, on this occasion, her conclusion was correct, but still, he felt at least mildly offended. He could have been at a gym or MMA dojo too. Though he'd never been in either before. Maybe it would be a good idea to join one, because at the moment, his girlfriend could bench him. Although that was arousing too, in its own way. He shook his head. He was more than a little messed up.

In any case, having quickly run , he now knew that Komachi believed (correctly) that he had spent time in female company, but did not know who exactly constituted that female company. This was simultaneously a relief and a headache. While he knew for a fact that Komachi wouldn't out them to anyone else on purpose, mistakes happen, and they absolutely could not let slip the fact that Shizuka and he were together. It would mean the end of everything. And as the older person in the relationship as well as the teacher, it would be infinitely worse for her than for him. At the very least, it would be the end of her career.

I can't let that happen.

He looked at Komachi, who raised an eyebrow, sly smile still on her face.

Right. Play it cool.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Eh, well, you were in a pretty good mood when you came back. And you were kind of tired too. Putting two and two together, I figured something good must have happened to you."

Close! Too close to the mark!

"Aha, yeah. I hit up an arcade and got a 10 match winning streak on Street Fighter Turbo."

Komachi's expression immediately became deadpan.

"Ah, is that so? Well, good for you, I guess."

He all but physically heaved a sigh of relief.

Sorry, Komachi. At least wait till I graduate. I'll be able to tell you then.

The two finished off breakfast before they set out. Komachi was going with her friends today, so he was free to bike at his own pace. He ended up arriving with more than ten minutes to spare. He briefly wondered if he should loiter around and deliberately go in a bit late. At this point, the start of class banter with Shizuka had become a ritual, and it was fun. Well, except the bits where she punched him. But she would be more gentle now that they were together, right? Right? Perhaps it was best if he didn't think about it. But in the end, he decided not to push his luck. Given what they were doing, it was best if they didn't interact too much at school. That she gave him more attention than other teachers was already a known fact in his class. Probably the only reason nobody thought too much about it was because of how much of a non-presence he was. Given that, maybe it was best if they kept it a bit more low-key at school.

Having come to this realisation, he decided to head straight to class after chaining his bike at the stand. As he was doing so, he heard a voice from behind him.

"Hikki…"

Turning around, he saw the familiar figure of Yuigahama. Well, familiar, but the truth was, she wasn't the same girl he remembered from the Service Club. Over the end of year break, she'd grown taller. Now her eyes were almost level with his. She'd also let her hair grow out, abandoning the old bun hairstyle in favour of letting it hang free, framing her face in long curtains. The bubbly, energetic nice girl from 2F was gone. In her place stood a mature, calm, beauty. Her orange tinted eyes when they looked at him weren't nice. But they were warm and kind. She'd changed the way she wore her uniform too. Her blazer was properly buttoned up, the red Soubu ribbon tied more neatly. It revealed less than before, but he found his cheeks heating up. It was as if the Yuigahama he was seeing in front of him now was an entirely different person. No, that was not quite right. This had always been her. He just never saw it when he was in the Service Club. She was practically glowing these days, after he was gone. The thought sent a sudden pain through him.

He tried to keep it out of his voice and face the best he could.

"Yuigahama… did you need something?"

Even as he said the words, he found himself slightly regretting them. Ending a conversation quickly was a skill he'd valued highly. Now, it was coming back to bite him. With a shock, he realised he wanted to do the exact opposite, and prolong this moment. It was just that he'd never learned how to do that.

The smile on Yuigahama's face grew slightly, becoming even warmer. If he looked more closely, there was a hint of sadness to it, though that may just have been him imagining things. She shook her head. "Not at all. I just wanted to talk to you. Can I not do that?"

He almost took a step backwards at the sheer unexpectedness of her direct answer.

In the end, he shook his head though.

"I didn't say that."

She closed her eyes, nodding softly.

"That's good then."

"E-eh?"

"Well, I would have been sad if I had lost that too," she explained, with a bright smile still on her face. It broke his heart a little to see that smile. When he'd left the Club, he'd been thinking more of what he'd lost with Yukinoshita. But all the time, Yuigahama had been silently working to try and keep the three of them together. It hadn't been fair to her at all. Not even a bit. Yet, she had carried that weight, never complaining about it. Hikigaya couldn't deny that in her own way, she was probably the strongest of all of them.

"You're quite amazing, huh?"

The words slipped out before he could stop them.

Yuigahama blinked a few times, then her face gradually grew more and more red.

"E-eh? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," he replied. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Ah yes. About that. Hikki… do you want to hang out today after school?"

His eyes widened for a second.

"After school, huh…"

His instinct would normally have been to refuse outright. But his thinking must have somehow been distorted by Yuigahama, because he couldn't reject the idea right away. Maybe a part of him wanted to spend some time with her too. But there was something else: namely, after school was when he spent time with Shizuka. Compromising on that was out of the question. Yet, for whatever reason, he couldn't find it in him to turn Yuigahama down right away.

"I might have some plans today," he said slowly.

To her credit, Yuigahama had gotten much better at containing her reactions. Even so, she couldn't entirely hide the downcast look that crossed her face for a second. His heart dropped, and he quickly continued.

"But maybe I'll be able to make it," he said. "I'll need to check. I can't make any promises, but I'll try to see if I can do it. Is… that okay?"

Her gaze flicked right back up to him, eyes glittering so brightly, it was almost blinding. Once again, he felt my heart drop. For everything Yuigahama said about not being a nice girl, she was a kind, pure soul, one who should have had better people around her. He might be willingly blind, but he was not completely dense. He was aware of her own feelings as far as the Service Club… as far as he was concerned. For all the time he'd spent with her, he knew surprisingly little about Yuigahama, even less than he did about Yukinoshita. Was it arrogant of him to think that that year had been her first time feeling that way for someone too? He felt unclean. In some way, he felt he'd soiled her innocent, honest feelings with the way everything had gone down. She should have gotten a better resolution to it all. Certainly, a better ending, or even more appropriately, a better beginning and middle too, with someone who valued her properly.

All of a sudden, the way he'd acted after leaving the Service Club seemed so incredibly selfish to him. Yes, he'd been hurt. But even then, he hadn't been the only one who'd suffered. He'd tried his hardest to move on, not even thinking about the fact that Yuigahama would have had to do the same too.

"Mmm! I'll wait for your answer, Hikki! Let me know, okay?"

Dumbly, he nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"Well then, I'll be waiting, okay?"

With that, she skipped away with light steps. Once more, he felt a slight redness on his own face.

When exactly did Yuigahama become so cute?

He shook his head.

Dangerous, dangerous! I'm thinking some pretty messed up things right now. Need to get my head out of the gutter.

Trying not to think too much, he decided to head to class. The conversation had taken a while, so it was best to not dawdle any further if he didn't want to be late.

As it turned out, classes went by quickly. His heart did skip several beats when Shizuka walked in during homeroom and their eyes briefly met. He thought he could see the faint hint of a smile on her face, but aside from that, the two kept to their arrangement, giving no sign that they knew each other outside of school. During lunch, he decided to head to the rooftop again. On his way, however, he took the chance to text Shizuka, asking her if she wanted to spend time with him again today. He wondered briefly if she'd be too busy to reply, but as a matter of fact, her answer arrived within seconds. She would be a little late getting free from work, and if it wasn't a problem for him, he should definitely come over in the evening. He quickly texted her back in the affirmative before putting his phone back in his pocket.

Evening, huh?

That gave him some time. He would be able to hang out with Yuigahama after all. As he made his way to the roof, it occurred to him that she had never mentioned if anyone else was coming. Most of the time in the past when they had hung out together, it had always been in a group. With Isshiki and Yukinoshita in it too. For a second, he wondered if this was just a plan to get him to meet up with the Service Club again. That would be bad. He was certain Yuigahama wasn't malicious. Nice or not, there was no doubt in his mind that she would only do what she thought was best for him. At the very least, their experiences together had given him that much faith in who she was as a person. Yet, that didn't mean he had the same faith in her judgement. She was, after all, the type to want all her friends to get along, as evidenced by her few attempts to be a bridge of sorts between her clique in 2F and the Service Club. If she was attempting to bring about some kind of reconciliation between him and Yukinoshita, it would be… awkward to say the least. Even so, he couldn't quite bring himself to pull out his phone and text her to ask about it.

She's put herself through quite a bit for my sake. I guess I can at least endure this much for her.

Sighing, he decided to text her to let her know he'd be free for an hour or so after classes. Before he could even put his phone away again, he got a reply.

"Yay! We'll go together then. And Hikki, wait for me properly this time, okay?"

Surprisingly, her old unnecessary use of emojis was absent, as was her almost painful reliance on abbreviation.

Who are you and what have you done with Yuigahama? He thought. He shook his head. He'd find out more when they met, probably. For the moment, he continued onward to the roof. Opening the door, he looked around, searching for Kawasaki, until he heard her voice from right behind him.

"Yo. Took ya long enough."

He looked up, before remembering that the last time he'd done that, his eyes had received an inadvertent treat. To his surprise (and disappointment, Kawasaki was sitting down on the ledge this time, giving him no such view.

"Yo," he returned the greeting.

"Wanna come up here?" she offered, patting the spot next to her.

Hikigaya glanced up at the ledge. It was within his reach, if he stretched a little onto his toes. He could probably scramble up to it if he really tried. However, he was far more of a biker and runner than a callisthenics guy, meaning he didn't have much faith in his ability to do pull-ups. If he were to try to get up there and fail…

Ugh. I'll probably jump straight off. I don't think I could live with the shame.

Before he could deliberate further on whether he should make the attempt or not, Kawasaki leaned down slightly, offering him a hand.

"Come on," she said.

The offer was thrown out so naturally, Hikigaya found himself reaching out before he even knew what he was doing. When his fingers were right about to touch hers, he seemed to realise what was happening, and panicked, stopping suddenly. He made to pull back, but it was too late, Kawasaki moved forward and grabbed on. He looked at her in surprise, and saw an uncharacteristic grin on her face, completely unlike her usual stoic expression.

"Yer reactions are a bit slow, aren't they?" she said teasingly. Before he could answer, she pulled.

What the actual fu-

He found himself rising through the air, and quickly adjusted by using his free hand and both legs to brace himself against the concrete as Kawasaki pulled him up. A moment later, he found himself sitting next to her on the doorway's ledge.

"There we go. That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

Hikigaya stared at her, mouth slightly open. Did this woman have actual superhuman strength or something? Or was he simply underweight? As an aside to the reader, it's worth mentioning that there exists a certain condition called myostatin related muscle hypertrophy. A rare condition, this drastically reduces the production of the substance that restricts the growth of muscle. As a result, those who have it are able to grow far stronger than ordinary humans. Ah, and there's an even rarer variant of the condition that also leads to slightly modified muscle density and composition, allowing the body to produce far greater force than normal, while seemingly being no larger than it would otherwise be. The girl known as Kawasaki Saki may or may not have possessed said condition, which may or may not have made her of interest to 5th dimensional observers, along with having the benefit of scaring off anybody trying to mess with her, as well as most suitors. That, in turn, may or may not have been the reason behind her adoption of the tough girl persona the reader knows so well. This author will neither deny nor confirm this.

In any case, Hikigaya found himself making a mental note to add some weight training to his daily routine and join a gym. For the moment, however, he decided to take it in stride, opening his lunch box and holding it out to her. Having already done this the previous day, this came naturally, and in turn, she held out her own box, and the two traded.

"Ya look a bit happier today," Kawasaki commented as they ate. "Something good happen?"

Hikigaya's mind flashed back to the previous evening, and he felt his face grow red.

"Y-yeah, you could say that."

"Eh, really?"

For some reason, she sounded just the tiniest bit wistful as she spoke. Hikigaya, being observant, noticed it right away. It was a strange thing given Kawasaki's usual nature. As tough as she was, at some point of time, he had automatically assumed that her way of dealing with anything would be to simply power through it. It was a bit of a naive assumption: he knew quite well that there weren't any human beings who could simply deal with everything that way. Everyone had times when they struggled a bit with life. Kawasaki was probably dealing with a lot at home. Given that she had to take care of three siblings, it wasn't at all surprising that she might feel a bit left out when she learned that even the class's sole other loner, Hikigaya himself, was out there having fun.

With this (erroneous) understanding, he decided to take action.

"Hey, if there's something I can help out with, you can always tell me, you know?"

He looked away. Saying this kind of thing was awkward, but Kawasaki might be the one person in existence who had the common sense to not misinterpret it. With this (again erroneous) understanding, he decided to make the offer.

"I'm not in the Service Club anymore, but I can lend a hand from time to time."

When she didn't immediately reply, he turned to look at her, and found her staring right at him, eyes wide open and glittering, face red.

W-what the hell is with that expression, woman? Are you trying to give someone the wrong idea?

In a voice so soft, he couldn't even hear what she was saying, she muttered something.

"What?"

She fake pouted, frowning slightly. The contrast between her actual annoyed look and the expression on her face right now couldn't be greater. She looked adorable, and again, this is why no rule 34 artists have drawn it. If only they knew, the actual key to world peace and cure to cancer lay in that face.

"... Tomorrow," she said, in a slightly louder voice. With some effort, she looked up, meeting his eyes again. "Can you come over to my place tomorrow?"

He was sure the request had something to do with looking after her siblings, since that was a task she had given him before once or twice. Even so, he couldn't stop his brain from immediately jumping to another conclusion.

Calm down! You've already seen how strong she is. You don't want your back snapped or anything. I'm more of a Tekken guy than a Mortal Kombat fan anyway, and I certainly don't want her to do a fatality on me!

"S-sure," he said. "Tomorrow's a Saturday, so I guess I'm free."

She nodded, bangs covering her eyes so he could no longer see the look on her face.

"I-it's a date then," she whispered.

"What? I didn't quite hear that."

"N-nothing! Never mind! I'll be waiting for you. Come over in the morning, around 10. Is that okay?"

"Y-yeah, sure. That works for me."

With that, a silence fell between them, but it was far from an unpleasant one.

As classes for the day ended, he packed up his books and materials. Normally, this would be the part where he headed out right away to avoid getting stuck in the mob of students on their way out. However, on this occasion, he stayed behind. He threw a glance in the direction of the reason for this course of action. Much to his surprise, Yuigahama had already finished packing. As he looked on, she rose gracefully. The fire queen known as Miura said something he couldn't hear from this distance. Unlike the version of her in the past, Yuigahama replied in a few quick words, not the least bit flustered as she gave her response. Again, though he couldn't hear her words, he could tell what she wasn't doing: she wasn't making excuses. She was holding her ground and communicating clearly. As if all that wasn't enough, Miura didn't push the matter at all, accepting whatever Yuigahama had said. The two parted, and the latter began to make her way towards him.

Did… I miss something? Just when did she grow up so much?

He didn't have time to ruminate on that, however.

"Hikki! Ready to go?"

"Y-yeah," he answered, getting up and slinging his bag across his shoulder. For a moment, he wondered if he should ask her about the Club. By now, he was certain this must be some kind of plan on her part, in which case, they must be coming along too, and she wouldn't really need to explain her absence to them. Still, he did have other questions. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" He didn't explain any further, but the meaning behind his question was clear enough. In the past, he'd often avoided being seen with Yuigahama and the others in any situation that might give people any misconceptions. And sure enough, her face grew red at the implications. But to his surprise, she was quite calm as she answered. "I don't mind being seen with Hikki," she said, simply.

He felt his jaw physically drop open a few inches.

He couldn't come up with a reply to that one, remaining silent instead as the two of them made their way out of the school campus together. It was only once they were already a block away that he finally spoke up.

"So where are we going?" he asked.

"About that, there's a nice karaoke place I know."

"Karaoke, huh? I should warn you, I can't sing in key to save my life."

"That's okay," she replied brightly. In a much softer voice that he couldn't hear, she continued. "It's not like we're going there to sing anyway."

It didn't take too long to reach the place by bus. The front lobby looked about exactly like what one might expect from a place like this. Hikigaya stood by silently as Yuigahama walked up to the receptionist to book a booth for an hour. She must come here pretty often, huh? She did seem quite used to the whole process. If that was the case, the employees here must be used to seeing her here with the class clique. He wondered if any of them were curious why she'd come here with someone else today. And sure enough, he spotted the guy behind the counter shooting him a curious (and slightly envious glare).

"Hikki! Let's go!"

Yuigahama walked over to him. Before he could react, she grabbed one of his hands, and began to lead him forward excitedly. Recent events had gotten him a little more used to physical proximity with women, which might be the one reason he wasn't freaking out at the moment. With that said, however, he was more than a little surprised that he couldn't see Yukinoshita, Isshiki or Komachi anywhere.

As the two of them entered their booth, he decided to ask her about it.

"Say Yuigahama. Are the others going to be late?"

"Eh, what others?"

It was at this precise moment that he realised that a communication gap had occurred. He swallowed.

"Umm… w-well, I thought you brought me here to hang out with the Service Club."

Yuigahama cocked her head to the side slightly. The gesture would have been beyond adorable if it hadn't been for the danger it represented.

"Service Club?" she said. "Why would they be here? I told you I wanted to hang out with you, right, Hikki?"

Oh.

Oh.

And just like that, quite a few pieces fell into place.

As he'd noted before, he wasn't oblivious to the feelings she'd had for him. But that was back then. All of that had ended when he'd left the Service Club, right? The logical part of his mind pointed out that he had been the one to leave. There was no evidence to suggest that Yuigahama's feelings had changed in any way. He shook his head. That line of reasoning made no sense. He'd confessed to Yukinoshita, who was more than likely Yuigahama's best friend. It hadn't been his intention to hurt Yuigahama in the slightest. Even so, what he did… wouldn't it have been incredibly hurtful? It would basically have been a slap in the face to her feelings. To make matters worse, he had gotten turned down and left right afterwards too. To be sure, he hadn't asked Yukinoshita out in front of Yuigahama. Even on his worst day, he wouldn't stoop so low. Yukinoshita wasn't the type to gossip either. Yet, maybe this was something even she would have needed to talk to someone about. And besides, even if she didn't… Yuigahama was no fool, no matter how much he teased her by calling her ditzy. She would have figured out what had happened. Wouldn't that have been enough to kill whatever feelings she had for him?

It had to be.

He had thankfully never been in the position where someone he'd liked had asked another person out before he'd even had the chance to confess to her. But if that had happened, he didn't think his feelings could have survived a blow like that. He exhaled. Yes, there was no way Yuigahama still thought of him like that. The thought made him feel relieved, yet, for some reason, he also felt a pain somewhere inside that he couldn't explain.

"Hikki… sit down, will you?"

"Y-yeah, sure."

Yuigahama put her bag down and took a seat on the couch. Cautiously, Hikigaya did the same, making sure to keep a respectful distance between them. As the air conditioning kicked in, she sighed slightly, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the cool air. He found himself looking away. It was ridiculous. Through sheer chance, he had seen Yuigahama in way more revealing situations in the past, more than once. Yet, now, the slightest gesture from her had him hot in the face. This new, changed version of Yuigahama, calm, relaxed and warm, was completely unreadable to him.

I'm completely pathetic, aren't I?

He had always known that Yuigahama had feelings for him.

And he'd always run from that, for his own, selfish reasons.

He'd been the one to walk away from her.

And now that she had changed somehow, he was unable to stop staring at her. He didn't have the right to be doing this.

"Hikki, what song do you want to do first?"

She had the remote in her hand, and was scrolling down the list of available tracks.

"A-anything's good. I can't sing anyway, so I'll leave the choice to you."

"Ah, okay," she said brightly. "Then I'll choose."

He blinked a few times, then closed his eyes, smiling bitterly. The Yuigahama of days gone by would have pestered him endlessly until he chose. She really, truly had moved on, in more ways than one.

Everyone's moved on. Even me. And the world doesn't stand still, or wait for anyone. Do I really have the right to feel sad about this?

Before he could answer that, the music began to play. A low bass hum that lasted maybe a second, before the first notes of the synth played. As the drums and guitars kicked in, the vocal lines arrived, and Yuigahama began to sing. Hikigaya was aware that she had a good voice. Although he'd missed most of it, he'd caught some bits of her performance at the cultural festival. Even so, being able to hear her properly from up close was an entirely different experience. He wasn't able to look away from her, even for a second.

Finally, when the track ended and she sat down again, he was able to release a breath he wasn't even aware he had been holding.

"Yuigahama…"

"Hmm…?

Once upon a time, he wouldn't have been able to say it, but the new, slightly more confident him was able to get the words out.

"That was amazing."

He glanced at her, hoping what he'd just said hadn't come out unintendedly weird. On the contrary, her eyes were shining, the smile on her face bright enough that it might overpower the sun. She was practically glowing with happiness.

"Ehehe, thanks, Hikki!"

His face felt hot, and his heart was pounding in his chest. He didn't say a word. Given the situation, he had no idea what might come out if he opened his mouth. The Yuigahama before had been… well, he couldn't claim to be able to read her. But at the very least, he'd had an idea of what to expect from her.

Before his thoughts could go any further than that, she slid on the couch, until she was sitting right next to him. Even with the air conditioning on, she was close enough that he could feel the warmth of her body. Automatically, he slid away a few inches. It wasn't even the nervousness: it was just something he'd conditioned himself to do from years of being called a weirdo and a creep. It happened without him even thinking about it. However, Yuigahama was having none of it. Grasping one of his arms, she pulled herself closer to him.

"You don't need to sit all the way over there, Hikki," she said cheerfully.

"Yuigahama, I… sorry, I didn't want to intrude on you…"

"You're not intruding. And I don't mind."

A slight dusting of red appeared on her cheeks, and she pulled him even closer, until their sides were all but squashed together. Alarmed, Hikigaya was about to protest, until she leaned her head against his chest, resting against him. "Just for a little while," she said in a soft voice. "Isn't this okay?" Her voice was neither the bubble, energetic one he'd come to know and even like. Nor was it the voice from the time he'd faked a confession to Ebina, and she had openly cried. It was calm, like she had been the entire day. There was a strength to it now that hadn't been there before. But that didn't mean there wasn't a tinge of sadness to it as well.

"Yuigahama, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I've put you through a lot, haven't I? It's because I'm so weak. All this time, you've been picking up the slack for me. And I never even noticed."

He looked down at her face as she hugged him a little tighter.

"If it's for Hikki, I don't mind enduring a little pain."

Unable to find a reply to that, he remained silent, the two of them staying like that for a while.

"The truth is," said Yuigahama. "I'm in love. And I don't want to give up on these feelings… on the person these feelings are for."

Impossible.

His eyes widened. Before he even knew what was happening, something was rolling down his eyes. He shook his head.

This can't be real. There's no logical reason for it.

Absolutely none.

No reason for her to have had those feelings in the first place, and even less for them to have survived what I did to her. They can't be for me. They can't.

I don't deserve them. Not even for a second.

"You're thinking, aren't you? That's what you always do, after all. Even now, you're probably looking for some kind of explanation. A way you can fit it into your own twisted logic. Because without doing that, there's no way you can accept it. That's just who you are. But I don't hate that about you."

She finally looked up, and their eyes met.

"I know this isn't the kind of thing you can reply to right away," she said. "I know that just isn't how you are." She smiled. "And that's okay. I'll wait for you, as long as I need to."

"You shouldn't," he said softly. "There's definitely someone out there who wouldn't even need to think before answering that question."

"That someone isn't you," she replied. "And so, they automatically lose." Reaching out, she touched his face gently. "Think. Writhe. Struggle Agonise. That's your way, isn't it? Before I knew it, it became my way too. I know you need to go through all of that before you'll even consider being with me. So I'll do it too. I'll think. Writhe. Struggle. Agonise. And I'll wait. Because I love you."

Over the many, many years since humans first invented language, writers, thinkers, storytellers, philosophers and people from all walks of life have tried to describe the precise moment when one finds out that one is genuinely, truly loved. Some of these people have succeeded, spectacularly. As insufficient as words can be, those very same imperfect worlds painted pictures that were imperfect, and perhaps precious for that very reason. For a certain jaded loner whose optimism and hope had been stamped out long ago until a certain aggressive homeroom teacher had somehow managed to revive it, these descriptions had always come across as unbelievable. Exaggerated and downright disgusting. Mere lies peddled to sell people on something that couldn't possibly exist in real life.

In that singular moment, the walls of the karaoke booth, of the building they were in, all faded away. Even the ground and sky that lay beyond those disappeared. For that brief moment, the world around Hikigaya Hachiman vanished, leaving only Yuigahama Yui, leaning against him, her bright eyes staring right into his.

The moment passed soon enough.

But while it may be gone, it didn't disappear from Hikigaya's mind, his heart, and his soul.

"Yuigahama. It'll be getting late. Let me walk you home."

Her eyes glittered for a moment, before she nodded.

They walked down the streets together. Neither of them said a word. Neither of them needed to. When they arrived at Yuigahama's house, she turned around to look at him, a slight smile on her face. Once more, Hikigaya felt his heart skip several beats.

Yuigahama, about to say goodbye, stopped.

This time around, I'm not leaving. I'm not letting go.

Facing him with determination, she instead raised a hand.

"I'll see you soon, Hikki."

Hikigaya nodded.

"Yuigahama…"

He hesitated. This had happened once before, hadn't it? He was certain that the time they had gone to the Summer Festival together, she had been about to confess to him. That time, he had stopped her. That could easily have been where it all ended. Often, there are no second chances, Yet, Yuigahama had not relied on chances. With her own strength, she had stepped forward, and said what she needed to say. Ironically, this time, it was Hikigaya who had something to say. If he couldn't say it here and now, he feared he might never be able to say it. It was strange. Once upon a time, he had desperately wanted Yuigahama to not look at him, because he feared not being able to return those feelings. Now, he couldn't look away from her.

"Yuigahama… even if it all comes to nothing. Even if we can't be together. Even if I'm never able to give you what you're looking for, you need to know this: you're amazing. I've never met anyone as strong as you."

It was sickening. It was disgusting. Just knowing what was going through himself.

But the truth was, he wanted nothing more than to run forward, and wrap his arms around her. Even if it was wrong. Even if he didn't deserve to.

But he couldn't do it.

He already had feelings for Shizuka. And he would do right by her.

Before Yuigahama could reply, he turned and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

This should have been long enough. By the time he arrived, it should be evening. If it wasn't, he'd wait outside her apartment.

As it turned out, it was indeed evening by the time he got there. He rang the doorbell. It was opened within seconds.

"Finally," said Shizuka. "I was wondering when you'd get here-"

Before she could say another word, something crashed into her. To her intense surprise, she found the absolute last thing she had expected she ever would: Hikigaya was holding onto her with all his strength, hugging her as tightly as he could. She didn't know what had happened, but she knew what he needed at that moment, more than anything. Without a word, she wrapped her own arms around him, holding him close. Stepping back, she pulled him into her apartment, and closed the door behind him.

What neither of them knew was that from the moment Hikigaya had run, he had been followed.

Standing across the street, hidden behind a car and having seen everything, was Yuigahama Yui.