"Hikki, wake up, Hikki" someone said.

"Hikki"

Each time my name was uttered, it would be followed by a feeling of my shoulder being shook by some external force.

"Hikki, it's time"

The process of someone calling my name and flinging my shoulder continued for a moment, until I decided to open my eyes to see who was cruel enough to disturb me in my sleep.

"Ah, it's Yuigahama" I said as the picture inside my vision becomes clear. I was sitting on the table in the clubroom, not even remembering when I dozed off.

"Hikki, it's time to go home", Yuigahama said. Initially, I did not stand up as I was trying to recollect the dream I had.

"What's wrong?" she said.

I didn't know whether or not I should tell her about it, though. The dream was a showcase of one scary possibility, and to what degree it can affect my life.

"Sorry, I had quite a dream" I said.

"A dream?"

'Heh, who am I kidding', I thought. That was Yuigahama, and she isn't a kind of person to look down on me for having a dream.

"Yeah, a lot happened, but the general idea is that I woke up in Chiba from ten years earlier", I said.

"Really? Did you meet everyone's younger version?", she said enthusiastically, as if she was genuinely interested at the same time that I was feeling anxious.

"Mostly", I said.

Of course, I couldn't have said that out of the duo, only Yukinoshita appeared in what is scientifically believed to be our brain's response to our desires in the form of incoherent and easily forgettable visions.

"By mostly, do you mean Yukinon and her sister?", she said.

"Ahh, yeah, that's right!", I said, trying my best to feign ignorance. It wasn't as if she knew of what I saw, but there simply was no point in lying to her.

"And I guess you met Hiratsuka-sensei, too, haven't you?", she added. As soon as I heard the statement, I freaked out a little. A lot of times people describe the feeling of having someone else knowing too much about you as "creepy", and I agree – at that point in time, at least. Heck, just thinking that someone may as well create a game where a flower knows you killed a character before reloading a save file freaks me out.

However, I recollected myself a moment later, that when it comes to an event that affects the entirety of a timeline, one may as well have every single possible outcome thought out. What happened then was the same, I thought, 'Yuigahama may be as well just thinking about every single possibilities – ones that she could think of, anyway'.

"Yeah, her too", I said. Her pin pointing such details, although broad, had left the atmosphere in the room very awkward. I seriously did not want to go into details regarding what I saw – it just felt vaguely unsafe, somehow. After what I said, Yuigahama did not say anything else, just staring and giving faint smiles.

It did not help with the awkward atmosphere at all, whatsoever.

Yuigahama started leaning on closer to me, her hands sliding on the table each time each and every inch she moved. Eventually, it came to the point where her forehead was connected with mine. To give you the idea of how close she was, I was actually able to feel her breath.

The hand that slid with the table were then placed on my cheek instead. Yuigahama stayed in that same position for a short moment and, without any warning, struck her lips against mine.

I groaned a little on impulse, and my eyes were gradually widened, contrast to Yuigahama's pair being closed shut. Not waiting for me to catch my breath, she started moving face around, all the while asserting her tongue beyond my lips.

A couple of seconds later, she parted her face from mine, leaving a thin strain between our lips.

"Hikki, you have no idea how much I want to really do that with you", she said. What she did to left me speechless, so much so the anxiety I had earlier was completely gone.

"Hehe, I don't really know why I'm telling you this", she said as she shed a tear, "it's not like you're real, anyway".

The feeling of uneasiness quickly rushed back into every part of my body. It was as if the word "real" and its use in that sentence brought me to some painful realization.

"Yuigahama, what in the world do you mean by that?!", I said.

"I never got a chance whenever Yukinon is around.. and you know, the day after you disappeared, Yukinon was supposed to take a day off ", she said, having her sentences cut midway from sobbing, "it was my chance to make a move!"

"But then, you didn't come", she said, "so I waited, and waited, but you still did not come, not even after Yukinon came back. I don't even remember how long has it been anymore, three months? Heh, it's been so long, I didn't even bother counting anymore.."

"You're kidding, right?", I said.

"I wish I was", she said, "ah, our time is almost up".

Yuigahama stood up and said, "Goodbye, Hikki..", and started backing off from me.

"Wait!" I said as I stood up, reaching my arms out to try to catch her. I wasn't satisfied with what I knew, and probably, Yuigahama could at least fill me up on what the heck was going on.

But as my hand was an inch away from her, I realized that what I was trying to reach wasn't her, but the ceiling of my apartment.

I put my arms down and sat up, sweating and panting heavily.

"So, it was all a dream", I said as I wiped the sweat off my face. Somehow, that statement I said was some good quality chopped onion to the eyes. I cried, feeling hopeless for the fact that I may as well be stuck for the rest of my life. Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, Komachi, and everyone else, I may not get to meet them ever again, not in the same manner. It's probably karma, I thought, my cynical self didn't appreciate their presence enough, so some god decided to punish me. The whole thing may as well be a sick joke.

'I kind of deserve this', I thought.

The train ride to school was the longest I had ever taken, with each second passed spent pondering and grieving about that dream. I couldn't get it off my mind no matter how hard I tried. I was so occupied, I did not care to converse with anyone around me, not even with Hiratsuka. During lunch time, I did not have a single bit of appetite, in fact, I felt like swallowing anything would've led me to throw up violently. I thought hurrying to my usual place will help me get hungry, but it did not help. Whatever sense I detected was somehow vomit inducing, even looking at the parked bicycles was enough to stir up my stomach.

"Hikigaya-kun, what are you doing alone in a place like this?" said by someone with a faint voice from behind me.

"Ah, it's you Hanasaki", I said in reply, "nothing really"

"It certainly looks like nothing to me", she said.

I wasn't in the mood for chatting, and usually wouldn't I strike up a conversation anyway, so I decided not to go on. But before I started ignoring her, though, a thought came to mind.

"Hanasaki, I'm sorry for asking out of the blue, but.." I paused for a second, "have you ever thought you got over something, but you actually haven't?"

Other than Hiratsuka, Hanasaki was one of the only people I was even remotely acquainted with. I know it would weird her out, but had I not ask her right then and there, then I wouldn't have anymore chance since, you know, she wouldn't pass the same place every lunch time.

"It's alright.. What you asked me.. it was a completely valid question, Hikigaya-kun", she said, "but I guess it's a bit weird being asked out of nowhere, hehe". Knew it, she was kind of weirded out.

"You see, Hikigaya-kun, I had a friend from middle school who moved to study abroad – she was my best friend", Hanasaki said, "I felt as if I didn't miss her at all, even after a year had passed. Well, at least that was what I thought anyway"

"But you see, when I was going through the old stuff in my room, I found a photo album. Curiosity drove me to open it up and see its content – all of it were pictures of me and her. Without reason, I started crying non stop", she said, "When someone you care about goes away, you may not realize it at first, but eventually you do, about how much you missed them and how much you wanted to spend time with them again"

'So even someone as shy as her is capable of such emotions, huh', I thought.

"I see. I'm sorry I asked something weird and forcing you to be so intimate, especially with someone such as me" I said.

"No, no, no! Not at all.. I mean, it's true we may not have talked much, but what you asked me made me think, Hikigaya-kun, that you and I may have a lot in common", she said, "well, I have some work to do, so I have to get going now, bye"

Hanasaki took the first two steps back, but stopped as she was about to make her third."Thanks for listening to me, Hikigaya-kun", she said one last time before setting off on her business for real.

What a good girl – not only did she do me a favor, but she also thanked me for it. Seriously, when was the last time somebody thanked you for asking them to do your chores?

"'You and I have a lot in common', huh?", I murmured, repeating one of the last things she said.

"We have one very different thing, though", I said to myself, "it's the fact that you're strong, but I'm not". She was able to live her life normally for a whole year. But then, we also have to understand that her friend just went abroad, and could be back any day – it's not like she didn't meet her friend because she went back in time or anything.

The feeling of hopelessness overwhelmed me once again, much like earlier in the morning. I didn't want to think about what I had gone through anymore, it simply was too much. I used to think I knew it all, about facades people put up when being around other people, about what truly is human nature. I was wrong. I wasn't really being clever when I theorized those things, that's something people called "being cynical".

"I guess it's time", I said as I stood up. Tears started flowing from my eyes, but I did not care. All I thought was that I have to go there, albeit without really knowing why.

Today's lunch felt a little lonely, even though I was in a room full of people. Hikigaya didn't come to 2A to check on Katakana and Hanasaki as he had been doing. I'm okay with him taking a break, but him not telling me about it made me feel anxious. Since Hanasaki wasn't there either, I somehow got the feeling that they were hanging out somewhere, and that somehow made me feel even more anxious.

Even when I was on club duty, I still couldn't bare not knowing where those two are and to what they could be doing. I stepped out of the 2A class to the corridor, where I stumbled across Hanasaki who was startled from me exiting the room suddenly.

"Hi- Hiratsuka-san, what's with the hurry?", she said.

"Good timing, Hanasaki-san. Do you know where Hikigaya-kun is?", I said.

"Ah, I last saw him at the stairs. Apparently he's heading for the 4th floor", she said.

"Why would he be heading there of all places?"

"I don't really know, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask him about his day once you get to him, it seems like he's going through a lot – if I didn't have any work to do, I would've stayed and talk to him more."

"Got it. Thanks a lot, Hanasaki-san", I said as I set foot deeper into the corridors, heading toward the stairs that leads to the upper floors.

Reaching the fourth floor, I checked through every single class there were, sliding the door opened and scanned my eyes through all the seats. I couldn't find him in any of the classes, which meant that there could only one place he could be on that very floor.

"The bridge", I said out loud.

At that moment, however, the bell rang. Knowing that I don't have much time until I will be marked "late", I ran through the corridor as fast as I can. I reached the exit to the bridge that connects two buildings together.

There I saw Hikigaya-kun standing in the middle of the bridge, looking off into the horizon with both his hands on the metal bars.

Based on what Hanasaki told me earlier, he was probably pondering about his life. I wanted to follow her advice on trying to brighten up his day, by asking him how he was doing, and maybe act tough to try to get him out of possible dismay.

But as I was about to move my foot on the platform, he moved his, not to the side where he could start walking, but on to the concrete base where the metal bars were attached to. It was when he lifted his other foot that I realized what he was trying to do.

"Hikigaya-kun!", I cried loudly, and dashed out toward him as fast I could.

I didn't know, not at all, even when I was always with him.

"Hikigaya-kun!"

He didn't stop, It was as if he did not hear me.

"Hikigaya-kun, stop it! Please!"

I didn't know how fast I ran, but it wasn't fast enough it seemed. I closed my eyes and leapt whatever the distance that was left between me and him, reaching both my arms out for him. 'Please, reach him this time, so that I could save him, so that I could make up all the times he saved me', I thought.

When head made an impact with what felt like an abdomen, I immediately held on to it very tightly. The force from the impact pushed the body down to the ground along with me. When I finally got a hold of myself, I was on top of Hikigaya-kun, face to face. It would've been embarrassing had it not been for the circumstances, but at least I was able to get hold of him.

"You idiot! Don't do that!", I cried.

"Why? What's the point in you stopping me?", he said.

"Then let me also ask you a question, what's the point in you jumping down there?!", I said.

"I've lost everything, Hiratsuka, every single thing"

"Still, if you still can get yourself an apartment of that quality, you can surely work towards replacing all that you've lost, you know?"

"That's not the point", Hikigaya-kun said, "In fact, there's no point at all. Everybody I knew.. I won't be able to meet them again in this case. I know that I have always been alone, but it's only now that I'm really alone."

"But I'm right here!", I cried out loud to the point where I screeched a little. Tears streamed down my cheeks; it felt like he doesn't see me, even when I was right on top of him, even if for the past couple of months I did nothing but stayed with him. It was very childish of him to say that he was "alone".

"I'm always here for you", I said.

His eyes and mouth were expanded wide, as if what I said had greatly changed his mind. He kept the same expression for a short while until both of us decided to sit up and face each other.

He said, "Hiratsuka.. I..", but before he could say anything else, I lowered myself to rest my head around his chest. I hushed, knowing that since we both came to an understand, there was nothing left to be said.

"Hikigaya-kun", I called out to him one last time, "hug me"

"What?!", he exclaimed.

"Just do it", I said firmly.

"Alright, alright.. just calm down", he said, wrapping one arm around my waist, and resting another on my head.

It wasn't until we heard another bell, that we both hurried back to class.

A/N: (Warning: canonical spoilers) The "bridge" is the same place as the fenced platform that Yukinoshita ran up to in Episode 8 of Season 2. I am not sure to what it actually was, but judging from the scenery, it was probably a bridge.