Logic Is My Sword

by Itherael

It's often said that one person's insanity is another person's reality, and believing such was improbable. But if you were to reach a junction where self-delusion and insanity are the only choices left to take, what else can you be expected to do? Simple, defy the irrational world by choosing the path of logic, for I refuse to compromise my principles for the sake of convenience.

4. Misunderstandings

Greetings! I bring you once more a new chapter of Hachiman's story. I wish it had come sooner but December is always a busy month to deal with, so I had to take a short time away from this page and all my hobbies.

*Dark Spirit: Beta Reader invades the A/N.*

(Dark Spirit- NirvanaFrk97): After many weeks of absence, I took it upon myself to search for our beloved Itherael once I grew worried. But alas I could not find him, we had agreed to begin writing once more after Thanksgiving before his sudden disappearance, but t'was not until my college finals reared their terrifying heads did Itherael finally return from his brief dormancy. And it was then that his true nature was revealed. (Victimizing himself/lying) He had the nerve to try and rush me through my finals when they almost killed me! I ask you all to pity this poor Beta-Reader/Co-author's tormented soul. Itherael is nothing but a tyrant! A slavedriver who-

*Dark Spirit was banished*

I think I'm hearing some odd laments lately… Nah, must be my imagination. Anyhow, let's get to the review response section.

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vietnamese guy: I (NirvanaFrk97) wanted to make a tiny reference to Touma there actually. Cool you noticed.

MALT T: It sure does, huh, and I assure you it will keep getting better.

Aquaquaqua: We already addressed the thing about the name Utaha gave him, didn't we? Well, I love details, and I personally think those tiny things are what makes a story more interesting. Well, when you do something you like, you'll manage, right? Here is more!

EiNyx: A spider-web, huh? that's an interesting way to put it. Well, I also love that pairing, just you know! And you're correct, those two are what 8man needs now. Cooking skills? Well, the time will come to see if that happened, and it will be interesting. (NirvFrk): We're going to abuse 'muscle memory' a lot in this story.

shiroryuu012: Haha, well now he can relate to those sort of protagonists, as now he's become one whether he likes it or not.

The Epic Legion: Welp, Souma is cool, Yumiko and Utaha are lovely. Megurin is so sweet, yeah, they are great characters.

Durotan: *Thumbs up*

fieryfoxpaws: He has quite a bit. Well, Yami-chan, huh… it will be a blast when she appears.

Priest: Thanks.

Alciel: I feel just the same about them. (NirvFrk: ..."Ithefrk97" isn't going to be our shipping name, right?)

Lord Alania: Considering Hachiman as a character, yeah, and as you said, the interesting part of this is seeing him deal with this with his own perspective.

SaphireHeart: He will eventually. Yeah, I like that name, too.

infadinityfollower: Hahaha, well, keeping looking forward to it.

Ena-Ena Till It Hurts: You only need to say: I want more!

TheLaughingStalkerino: Lol, yeah, it isn't.

Sven Vollfield: I have no recollection of that… and you flatter me, I just like writing. (Nirvfrk: ...Of course he doesn't remember…)

Lektorr: Gracias amigo! (NirvFrk: *laughing in spanish*)

Blue Sanctum: And here's the update. Thanks for reading.

CacciaFulmini: I think all these characters are cool and unique, but only if they are portrayed accurately, besides, we have Hachiman to help them shine. Also, here is more as you asked. (NirvFrk: Well, that's my job after all. Among other things...)

jam99chgo: Well, his past self did actually. Anyhow, be patient my good reader. Haruno's time to shine will come, I assure you.

Sweet Lulu-chan: Yeah, an Oregairu story without drama isn't Oregairu after all.

adv: Thanks for telling me so. Stay tuned.

The End Game: We just want you all to have a great time. Ty!

Mokkel: Ups, sorry for that. I wouldn't want to mess with your studies. Well, we advance a chapter as much as we can everyday, even if we only do it for one hour a day. (NirvFrk: Hope you enjoy 40k words this time around.)

Logical-kun… yeah, it's legit. Well, I strive to depict them as accurately as possible, and I'm glad I'm managing. In his words, it was sort of a gal game, which I think is a dating sim. Dw, there will be more Zaimokuza in the future, and GTO, huh? Time will tell I suppose.

NPwall: Thanks, and as you asked, enjoy.

JerichoCross: I appreciate it.

Kharn: Hahaha, interesting suggestion. We'll see.

PlantToKil: Yeah, an all-out fight would be epic. Well, Hachiman will ahve to decide that when the time comes. Of course I'm writing them, and yeah, the next update of Path of Legends is coming, so look forward to it.

Roanem: Honestly speaking, I was also skeptical if my crazy idea was going to work, and even if I would manage to get in on paper. Thanks to my beta and co-writer, I'm managing.

I agree, seeing all these crossovers merged is interesting when you view it from Hachiman's perspective. Poor Hachiman…? My friend, you have no idea.

Supreme King of all Kings: Now that you say it like that, I believe yeah! (NirvFrk: He's not going to actually become invisible, just throwing it out there.)

Guest: Yeah, he's adapting and improving, he has no choice. Enjoy what's down below.

Guest: I will have a solid end. We have a long way to go, but it will be rock solid. I approve too, Yumiko, Meguri and Utaha are great! And that's a good idea, I may do that later on.

HarimaHige: Haha, sorry about that… and the length doesn't help, I imagine. I appreciate you take the effort to do so. Your nick, huh? You will like this chapter. (NirvFrk: Oh, he'll like it alright.)

MatNErt: You think none of them would suit him? Well, considering how Hachiman does his things, they may be able to shine more than we have seen so far, as he will probably reveal their true self and make them grow. I hope you stay with my good reader, whether that happens or not, I won't disappoint you.

Flash Falcon: Reinforcements. They are huh? The monster of Logic did deserve that confession, but he may feel that accepting may be wrong as he doesn't feel those feeling belong to him. Time will tell in that regard. Yeah, Miura is a better person with him around, and be sure that he will make her better. Well, ten sure is a lot… the more the merrier XD

EvilMagicman: That's a good summary of my story, haha. I just thought the same when I saw Kiyotaka's anime. I tend to write chapters this size just so you know. Yeah, Miura and Meguri have replaced Yukino and Yui in some way… but who knows what else will happen?

Hooddies: Gorgeous? Thanks, you make me embarrassed… oh the story, hahaha! Hachiman is one of the best protagonists out there, and he makes this story what it is. My beta is also my co-writer, so we write this story together. Thank him, too!

That game, I already played it, and holly damn I was so shocked. I may consider having her appear… we'll see how this story evolves. Great game though.

Purrple Cate: Yeah, he denied, after all, before the Monster of Logic, Hachiman is a normal human, so denying at first what was happening was unavoidable. My goal with it was to frustrate people so they could relate to his circumstances, so I made a good job, I think. Here's the next chap, enjoy. (NirvFrk97: I don't know if you know this, but, Hikigaya whines a lot in the LN during his narratives. The guy isn't emotionless, only outwardly composed.)

Paodan17: Yeah, categorizing them is actually an interesting idea. Nice! You summarized the chapter quite well. I already decided on the participating shows. At most I would include two new ones later on, or maybe not. Now, go below and read to your heart's content.

Dark Durian: Well, I do know that Yuno won't be happy when she finds out… *shivers* Yeah, those two may be the key to what Hachiman desired to find.

OutOfReality08: Yeah, it's indeed different. These chap is long so you'll have plenty to read.

Tenten1001: Well, as in Stars Wars, there have to be a balance in the force, and by that I mean between the monologues and the plot. We'll try to fix all the mistakes possible, thanks for pointing that out. Thanks to you for reading and read more. (NirvFrk: I'm only one man co-writing and beta-ing this story...)

tsun: Ehhh, I already have a beta. Don't worry though, we will continue to improve. (NirvFrk: ...I take offense to that.)

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Now, let's do this! Enjoy!

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Logic Is My Sword

Chapter 03: Misunderstandings Are Routinary When It Comes To Lala Satalin Deviluke

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3-0

Misunderstandings.

No one can escape from them… Not even me despite using extreme caution to avoid them. Can these actually be worse than rumors? Possibly, they aren't as worse in results but they are far more difficult to deal with.

How did I reach that conclusion?

Let's start with what Understanding actually means theoretically. It is said to be a psychological process related to an object, be it abstract or concrete. An example would be a person as myself, or a situation, or a simple message whereby one is able to create thoughts of it and use concepts to deal adequately with said object. So then, 'understanding' is a relation between the knower and the object of understanding.

Uhh… I may be getting out of hand explaining it.

To put things simply, 'understanding' is related to learning concepts, and their theories associated with them, allowing people to predict the behaviour of an object, animal, system and therefore, in some sort weird of way, understand it... Without necessarily being familiar with the concepts or theories associated with the aforementioned object in its culture.

So then what is a Misunderstanding? It's actually quite simple. A 'misunderstanding' is a mistaken or incorrect assumption of a purpose of an object, or action of sorts. The erroneous interpretation of human behaviour, systems and situations used as base of one's personal conception and knowledge about an object in particular, whether it's vast or limited.

False information, bad timing, ill intentions, ignorance and conceitedness are some of the factors that lead to them occurring. The result, something advantageous to the one causing the misunderstanding or, an entirely wrong misconception that could damage one's thoughts about the object of interest, creating aversion from those that tried to understand it.

Take interactions with others for instance. As a child, a person is ignorant of ill intent, or at least less inclined to realize it. A group of children could include a lone child in some of their activities which leads said boy to think that they are friends. And yet the group pick on the lone boy, they say it's all in the name of harmless fun so the boy does not mind it. But as time goes on, the initially 'harmless' ribbing gradually worsens. Soon the boy isn't even invited to outings with the group and yet they go to him and treat him casually, saying that they couldn't include the boy because they couldn't reach him. You know, those kinds of excuses.

The ignorance of the boy has him accept such explanations, and still regards the others as his friends. Then later, he notices that they begin to 'borrow' his belongings asking: "Aren't we friends?" should the boy initially hesitate in lending his things. Saying such a thing does two things for the boy, it pressures him into doing as the group says to avoid being seen as the selfish one, and it lures the boy into a false sense of security in thinking the others are still his friends. These kind of situations continue to occur for a time until the group finally decides to drop their pretense of friendship and simply mock the lone boy maliciously while taking his things, knowing that he could not resist them. It is then that the young child, realizes that their 'friendship' with the group was all a misunderstanding on his part.

This realization does emotional damage to the boy, and he now finds himself being the brunt of multiple jokes. He did nothing wrong but misunderstand and yet he's the one who suffers for it. It's completely unfair and cruel, but the boy can do nothing to go against the malicious group who spawned and abused the misunderstanding in the first place.

It goes to show how even children are not immune to the cruelties of the world. There's not really any sort of innocent time in life after infancy, humanity is just too cruel.

I would know.

I was that lone child after all.

3-1

The school nurse arrived shortly after Hiratsuka-sensei. She had me stay still as she bandaged my face and wrapped my torso with some KT tape where my darker bruises were, I ignored Miura's jealous frown and Shiromeguri's pout as that happened. I did notice though that the nurse held an irritated scowl the entire time, she was probably mad for being called back into campus so late into the day. Well excuse me, sorry for getting attacked at an inconvenient time for you. You wouldn't last as an actual nurse in a hospital if you're this impatient, you knoooow?

You should actually be glad that this sort of thing happened, you don't see students that often during the day so I may have just saved your position in this school. Thank me for my misfortune dammit!

I sigh in relief when the young nurse steps out, finally able to dress myself again. I grunt softly in discomfort as I pull on my shirt. Still, I'm really glad that nobody else noticed my scars. The nurse might have been too annoyed to do so, while I caught a break with sensei being distracted hearing the girls' stories.

"So, you're sure that's all that happened?" I look up to see Hiratsuka-sensei giving me a stern stare, looking a bit too irked for this situation. She probably got self-conscious when the nurse showed up. Seriously someone marry her already. But this again? I already told you what happened woman, there's no reason for me to lie here.

"Yeah that's all," I say as I finish buttoning up my shirt.

I glance at my taped up hands, my knuckles were left pretty bruised and the nurse didn't want to take any chances. I still can't believe I was actually in a fight, and won(?). Or at least I lasted until a stalemate. That's a far cry from what I was capable of doing back in my world. I still remember my 'fight' with the captain of the karate club all that time ago, something that was both humiliating and painful. I'm not sure how to feel having these new capabilities though, it's pretty surreal actually. But this isn't the right time to think about it.

"And you didn't see who they were?" She crossed her arms, this time showing concern in her features.

"Just that they were in sports clubs. Wouldn't this just be easier to figure out tomorrow?" Of course I could barely be asked to remember who those redshirts were. Clearly their true purpose in life was for me to make quick work of them with my new awe-inspiring power.

Just kidding, this isn't anime after all. I got beaten down pretty badly plus they had their reasons and felt completely justified in their actions. Although, the leader did seem to be pretty pathetic.

"Oh? And how would we do that?" I see sensei raise an eyebrow, Miura and Shiromeguri looked on curiously as well. I grimace at the sudden attention.

"Just check the attendance of any of the school's athletes. Whoever's gone will probably be one of the guys involved. And if they show up, well, unless this place suddenly became a battle school, they'll probably be the only ones besides me with bandages."

I hear Hiratsuka-sensei chuckle. "Well, we can do that. Or, we can just ask the brat that was left behind."

I blink at that. "He's still on campus?"

She shrugs casually, "You did quite the number on him. He's out cold in the other room, the nurse went to go check on him. To make sure everything's fine with him. We notified his parents, but they said they won't be able to show up for another hour. So I'm stuck here for a while longer. Anyways, once he wakes up, I can ask him about it."

Huh… I didn't think I left him off that bad. Wait, didn't I do it to two of them? Which one's still here?

"What makes you think they'll tell you the truth? He could use my bad reputation to manipulate it in his favor," I did think of this possibility while explaining what had happened to Hiratsuka-sensei. With my bad image, I could easily be accused as the aggressor and be punished for it, my word as a 'delinquent' against theirs as athletes.

"Hah, you don't look like the type stupid enough to pick a fight against a number advantage. And you don't need to worry about him, with your two defenses here," She gestures to Miura and Shiromeguri, "You're seen as the victim in all of this. He on the other hand, can be expulsed, something I can take full advantage of." She gives me an evil grin.

I shudder involuntarily. This woman is truly terrifying, but she's right about that. Whoever got left behind is liable to take all of the blame if the others don't get found, he'll probably sell them out just to lessen his punishment to simple suspension. Well, that's that then.

"Whatever, do what you want. It's not really my problem anymore," I say with a shrug. After that I stand on my feet, suppressing a groan as a dull pulse of pain goes through my body at the sudden movement.

I take a moment to repress the sudden aches and look at both Miura and Shiromeguri. "Well, let's go to Yukihira's restaurant."

And as I would have suspected, they both stare at me in what I think is disbelief.

"What? / Eh?"

I cock an eyebrow, "What is it? That was the plan, right?"

Then Miura starts…

"Hachiman! How can you think of that right now!?" She reprimands me, stepping up to me closely. Seriously woman, am I going to have to lecture you later about the value of people's personal space? "I'm not entirely convinced with what the nurse said. You should, like, still go to the hospital or something, you know? Make sure you're really okay."

"I agree with Yumi-chan..." I narrow my gaze, Shiromeguri fidgets as I focus on her. "Y-you should at least rest a bit. We can postpone going to the restaurant for another day."

I take a step forward, gazing down at the shy attempt of Miura trying to stop me by standing in my way. I look at her directly in the eyes before she starts blushing, and eventually steps back. Shiromeguri frowns but makes no attempt of stopping me. However, the older meddling woman took it upon herself to butt in.

"Hey, they're just worried about you. Don't be like that," Hiratsuka begins to lecture me. "You took a beating, a really bad one at that." She sighs after noticing my lack of reaction, "At least let me take you home, you're in no condition to walk."

"I'm fine," I mutter, reaching out for my blazer, "Besides, Yukihira won't be open for much longer so we might as well go today." I turn to them, and I blinked.

They looked a bit disappointed. Don't give me that, I'm trying to not make a big deal of this so you don't have to worry. I don't feel as bad as I look, so I guess my fast recovery worked while I was unconscious… My body still aches like hell though…

Not that I'll let them know that.

"Listen, I'm fine..." Miura pouts, Shiromeguri doesn't look any convinced, and sensei just stares blankly. I guess I'm gonna have to be a little persuasive. "Haven't you noticed that I was out less than half an hour? If I was worse, I'd still be in bed, let alone up and moving."

The bed does look tempting though…

"But your bruises..." My senpai starts but I'm not planning to let her continue.

"Yeah, they look bad, but with your treatment they'll heal soon enough," I try to sound reassuring, but I honestly know that I'm bad at doing that. Bah… they're gonna have to buy it. "Besides, it's not like I'm gonna make much physical effort in a restaurant. It's just sitting and eating, which can be considered as resting, right? Walking a bit won't really do much. So, let's just go… Together…"

I scratch the back of my neck uneasily. Good grief, saying that last part out loud sure was embarrassing…

I see Hiratsuka-sensei sit on the bed, crossing her legs in a… very dangerous manner. I blink at that and instinctively look away. Geez... looks like the sensei of this world was more unconsciously alluring than I expected. Well she always was a beauty, and as a woman she's not half bad.

Wait, what the hell am I thinking about?

I shake my head to remove those silly thoughts. It's then that I'm made aware of a glare courtesy of Miura. What the hell!? Is she an esper!? How could she tell where my thoughts were lingering? A woman's intuition really is a scary thing…

Stop that, I didn't do anything wrong here. I was a perfect gentleman, I didn't stare like some kind of pervert, I looked away and gave her some privacy.

"Well, you have a point there," Hiratsuka concedes, arms folded, regaining my attention. "The shopping district is not that far, so I suppose it's fine," I nod my head, before she adds something more, her tone sharp. "However, promise that someone will take you home from there."

"I'll do it," Comes the immediate response of Miura, before she immediately reddens and looks down, away from our surprised stares. "I-I mean… I can do it..."

This girl… that's a very bold proclamation you just made there, you know? It's embarrassing, so please have mercy on me. I don't know if my heart will be able to continue enduring her boldness… at least don't look this desperate, woman! It's not like I'll be going anywhere…

Not for now at least.

Hiratsuka-sensei observes her and shoots at me a smug look. I suspect that she already noticed Miura's unusual amount of concern for me… Geez, this won't be good. I bet I'll be getting teased about this subject if this keeps up.

"Sure, Miura, please do so," I see the older woman grin, her eyes darting between us. "We wouldn't want him getting into more trouble on his own, right?"

Woman, you're the one causing me trouble.

I suddenly feel a pinch in my arm, so I glare at the perpetrator behind the brief pain in my limb. The glare became a look of surprise seeing that it was Shiromeguri and she was… pouting? Could it be that you're not happy with situation? I know you're probably worried about having Miura getting home at a late time should she drop me off, but it's not like I was going to accept the offer or anything...

"I don't think that's necessary Yumi-chan," Shiromeguri now held an innocent expression, yet there's something off with her tone. I feel as if certain doom would find me if I were to say anything, so I wisely kept my mouth shut. "Yuuki-kun can easily take him home since they're neighbors so you won't have to do it."

So Shiromeguri knows him? Well, he does supposedly walk with me to school every morning. She might have seen him once before and introduced herself before I finally talked to her today. Alright, guess I somehow prefer dealing with that annoying guy instead of having Miura come to my house. Now that would be an awkward situation just waiting to happen with my parents apparently being home by this time. I can already feel the headache coming on just thinking about it. And I'm not even putting Belldandy and Deviluke into the picture. Let alone Komachi, now that will cause Hell on Earth in an instant.

So no thanks. I choose life.

Miura glares at Shiromeguri, of course, she doesn't seem to be happy with how her friend had so easily sabotaged her plans. Shiromeguri feigns ignorance and looks at anything but the Fire Queen. I decide to avoid that landmine and just get things moving on.

"Yeah, whatever. Come on, let's head out already, we'll be late." I slowly walk out, careful not to anger my bruises.

I ignore Hiratsuka-sensei's knowing grin as I exit the room, the girls following closely behind me.

3-2

Well, I think these are the only minutes of silence I've had since I woke up today. And while I can appreciate that Miura and Shiromeguri are actually not saying a single word, this is getting a bit awkward. Miura still looks indignant with Shiromeguri for her suggestion while our senpai looks away guiltily. Just what I needed right now, these two not talking to each other… I may have to do something. This atmosphere is rapidly becoming suffocating.

Let's try some small talk.

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Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 03 Section: Song 01

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Right… There's a first time for anything I guess.

"Uhh… so Miura, do you usually eat at Yukihira's?" I ask, my face focused on the horizon as I leant over the wall just outside of Sobu, allowing my aching leg some rest. It's really starting to hurt again, and forcing myself to not limp is becoming a titanic feat to accomplish.

The blonde blinks and pouts, "Mou~! You already know that! Even if we didn't talk much before, we'd see each other at Yukihira's sometimes, right? Almost everyone in Sobu, like, goes there you know?" She folds her arms.

"But… it has been some time since his restaurant was last open," Shiromeguri finally speaks up, earning a disinterested gaze from her underclassman. "I wouldn't be surprised if he forgot."

"'Eeehh… Is that right?" Yikes, Miura's voice was really cold there. I see Shiromeguri flinch at it.

I clear my throat and tug at my collar. Man, the tension between this two is almost palpable. How could they become like this to one another for such a stupid reason? Weren't they best friends or something? Girls are seriously crazy!

"I was, like, talking to him, Meguri," Oh man, the Fire Queen's inner demon is coming out! "Since when have you been so meddl-"

"Miura," I cut her off, my voice as dry as I can make it. She is clearly startled, much more when I gaze at her in disapproval. I had to stop her before she said anything she'd regret.

"…Thanks, you know, for your offer I mean. I… appreciate it, but, I'd feel bad having you walk back home alone." I start, struggling to find the proper words.

"But…" I see her try to retort but I don't let her.

"And Shiromeguri was just looking out for you. A girl like you shouldn't be out late, you know?" I explain, before looking away in embarrassment. I hate having to say these kinds of lines, "Besides… We can see each other at school, right?"

"…Y-you mean it?" I look up when I hear the fragility of her voice. What I see is the look of pure innocent happiness coming from Miura Yumiko. Once again I'm taken aback at how something so initially mundane could actually be so meaningful for Miura should it come from me. I feel uneasiness creep up inside me as I'm reminded that the Miura of this world holds feelings for the 'me' that existed before I showed up.

"Yeah…" I could no longer look her in the eye, it felt wrong being the recipient of those feelings. They were not meant for me, "I'll probably keep hanging out at the same spot I took you earlier."

I glance behind Miura to see Shiromeguri looking a little sad. I'm not sure why, I can't think of a reason for her to be displeased. It was then that I realized, I just offered Miura a place where she can be alone with me. Crap, that's not good. If we spend any more time alone, it'll run risk of Miura trying to deepen whatever relationship she thinks we have. That's really bad, I can't return her feelings and if I screw up, I can wind up hurting her when the time comes to reject her. I have to avoid that.

"Uh, you and Shiromeguri can come around whenever you want," I see both girls blink at that. Shiromeguri's expression brightens as she smiles softly at me. Feeling awkward, I look away from her towards Miura instead and see the Fire Queen looking at me curiously. It's an odd expression she has, even stranger considering her previous look of happiness. I notice her blink in some sort of realization before smiling helplessly, she gives me a cute wink before I turn away with a heated face.

"Let's just go…" I grumble out, getting up from the supportive wall. I hear dual giggles behind me before I hear their steps follow my lead. Looks like the tension between the two has relaxed, that's good at least.

To my discomfort, I sense that they have placed me between each other. Miura simply smiles happily as she walks along my right while Shiromeguri peers at me curiously with her hands behind her back at my left.

"Do you feel alright, Hachiman-kun?" My senpai asks.

"Better," I reply monotonously, and she pouts. What?

"Hachiman-kun, at least look at me when you say so. You make it so hard to believe you," Shiromeguri says with a bothered tone. Well, she does have a point.

"I'm fine, Shiromeguri. Honest," I give her a thumbs up, cocking my lip upward a bit. Good grief, I hope I don't have to smile anymore than I've had this whole day. My lip muscles might wind up sorer than my whole body if this keeps up.

"Mmm..." I hear a hum from my other side. "Meguri is right, Hachiman. If you feel too much pain, just tell us. We can take a taxi or something, you know?"

I'm about to give my reply before noticing something ahead of us, three guys standing near a motorcycle. I roll my eyes as I notice that one of them is the annoyingly kind, Yuuki Rito. When they notice me, Yuuki and company rush towards us.

I sigh inwardly. Here we go again…

"Hey, Hachiman!" Yuuki calls my name as they approach. The trio stood before us, Shiromeguri nodding her head to greet them while Miura merely folded her arms and scrutinized them. For my part, I only stared at them in disinterest. New faces, great…

The three looked concerned, well, at least that's what I could tell from Yuuki and the guy with glasses at his side, the third guy made it harder, what with him wearing sunglasses and all.

Now that I look at them closely, the shorter of the two strangers embodies the look of what I'd call an otaku, not the gross type, that would be Zamoikusa, but the recluse sort that keeps his hobbies to himself. Light blue eyes, black hair that covered his forehead and roughly my height. All in all plain aside from the odd color of his eyes, I guess. He wore a dark blue blazer and blue pants, his uniform most likely.

The other guy was the opposite in every way, shape or form. He was significantly taller, with broad shoulders and resembled a delinquent, I doubt I can be accused of exaggeration. His dark hair was spiked upwards, must take a lot of hair products to keep it that way. I had to mention that his skin was fairly darker than average, a stark contrast compared to the others. Either a great tan, or he's part foreigner, one of the two but meh, not really important. He wore a black blazer, which was opened, revealing a white shirt, and his pants were black, a possible uniform from another high school perhaps? He looked a lot older to be one though.

I had to wonder, considering how late it was, why this delinquent was wearing sunglasses so close to sunset? You trying to get yourself killed driving that bike of yours? Well, who else would it belong to?

"Hachiman?" I see a worried Miura waving her hands in front of me. "A-are you in a trance or something?"

I blink at having my thoughts broken up so suddenly. Whoops, was I spacing out there?

"Ah, yeah, my bad. I was just wondering if it was alright for you two to be here." My female companions blink in confusion before I level a flat stare at the delinquent-looking fellow.

The guy in question also blinks before realization dawns on him at my implication, he begins to scowl in indignation. I notice Yuuki look between us nervously, while the plain-looking one simply fixes his glasses. I see the delinquent about to growl out some insult, but I cut him off.

"Yuuki might decide to say something stupid and embarrass himself in front of you two," I finish.

"Eh!? Wait, m-me!?" I hear the shorter idiot cry out. Wow, he's actually the shortest one out of all of us, isn't he? Both Miura ad Shiromeguri look to beat him by an inch. Hurry up and hit your growth spurt already. Aren't you a high schooler?

The taller guy stares at me, silence reigning before he suddenly starts laughing, in a dumb manner if I may add, with his hands on his hips before he steps up to me and pats my back forcefully. Tch… this guy, why the heck do you have to touch me?

"Hah! That was a good one Hikigaya! Just look at their faces," He motions his head towards Rito, Shiromeguri and Miura, who were visibly startled. "This act always pays off, huh?"

"Act?" Asks Miura, "Friends of yours, Hachiman?"

'Not really…' Is what I would have liked to say, but nothing good has happened from saying that before, so why keep bothering? Let's just play along. Anyhow, this fellow first struck me as a delinquent, but he seems rather idiotic in a friendly manner, not the behaviour one would expect from a person with his appearance. Kind of like a better Tobe I guess. But no Tobe is truly the best kind of Tobe.

"…Of sorts." I mutter.

"Well, I thought you'd look worse, Hachiman. Rito was going off about your eyes changing just now. Well... They're not pretty, that's for sure," The otaku says, I avoid his attempts to make eye contact. Stop that, it's creepy. And I think you just insulted me there otaku-san. You picking a fight? He turns to Shiromeguri. "Hello, Shiromeguri-senpai."

"Good evening, Aki-kun," She nods her head before turning her gaze to my neighbour, "Hello Yuuki-kun, long time no see." She greets him cheerfully. Then she waves a hand at the scary-looking guy. "Harima-kun, good to see you, too."

"Yo, Onee-san," The delinquent called Harima returned the gesture.

"Eh-eh-eh, h-h-hi Sh-Shiromeguri-s-s-s-senpai!" That idiot Yuuki is stammering again. This guy really is terrible with the female gender, isn't he?

As the two new faces begin teasing Yuuki for his reaction, something I feel will become a common occurrence, I focus on the matter at hand.

So Shiromeguri knows these two too? It's not that surprising if I took into consideration that Shiromeguri was very friendly and popular, especially for a Student Council President, which could have allowed her to meet students from other schools and befriend them, but what about the delinquent? Could it be that I underestimated her communication skills?

Besides that. This is Aki then? The guy that Utaha girl complained about wanting to drag her and now me into his dating sim project?

"So, Hachiman." I hear Aki speak up, turning away from an incredibly embarrassed Yuuki.

"What is it?" I mutter, with as much enthusiasm you'd have watching paint dry.

"Who's this with you?" He says gesturing to a bored-looking Miura. I notice Yuuki blanch in the corner of my eye. What's with that? Miura however, scowls. Uh-oh.

"It's, like, rude to talk about others when they're right here." She says in irritation, glaring at the plain-looking Aki. I catch Yuuki freeze as if prey in front of a predator before frantically turning away from the Fire Queen. She wasn't even talking to you idiot. For his part, Aki merely coughs into his fist and averts his gaze, that's pretty impressive actually. I absentmindedly notice Harima continue whatever brief conversation he and Shiromeguri were having without skipping a beat. "Miura Yumiko, if you must know."

Once her name was revealed, I notice the three newly arrived males show varying degrees of surprise on each of their faces. Aki quickly adjusts his glasses to compose himself, quick thinking to keep everyone else from catching that. Harima, having had his attention snapped back at us, rubs the back of his head with one eyebrow raised. How can a guy that is the epitome of what a typical delinquent looks like, look so innocent? And Yuuki… Well, the girls weren't really paying attention to this idiotic open book in the first place. Close your mouth already, why are you gaping?

"Ehem… Right…" I turn back to Aki as his voice fades briefly, his eyes gazing at both Yuuki and Harima before continuing. "...Nice to meet you, Miura-san." Suddenly, Aki gives me a puzzled expression. "I never thought I'd see Hachiman hanging with… others from his school."

No one, huh? Oh, yeah, of course. I'm the most hated guy in Sobu and the only people nice to me were previously kept at bay by the prior Hachiman. I guess I had no one to talk to before today. Wait, what about Zaimokuza, did he never…?

"With Yoshiteru as an exception of course," I just thought of that gross guy and this boy mentions him? 'Speak of the chuuni, and he will come,' huh? Are they friends or something? Aki just called Zaimokuza by his name, so that might be the case.

"Quit joking, he's not my friend," I refuse to refer to him as one even in this world, we're both fellow loners and that's all it'll ever be.

"Oh, that's right. He said something about lone spirits having no need of friends, right? What a cool guy…" Aki fixes his glasses, "Oh, I just recalled that he still has my trilogy of Road to Paradise!" He raises a fist upward, his tone also increasing. "Gah! I totally forgot due to my destined project!"

I can only deduce Road to Paradise is some sort of game. But what's this about a destined project? Is he referring to the thing Utaha mentioned? 'Destined'? He… wasn't that kind of person was he? I don't need another delusional fellow in my life.

Speaking of delusional fellows, I feel as though he said something odd regarding Zaimokuza just now...

Shiromeguri giggles at Aki's outburst, while Miura grimaces in disgust. Hey now, no need to be rude. I mean, I get it, but you don't have to let him know about it, do you? Aki, was it? Well, just like with Harima, the otaku boy seemed rather calm at first, but he's surprisingly vocal about his games. That might explain why he wants to make one of his own. These things are his passion I guess.

Something you want to strive for, huh?

…

I will do it…

I'll become the best house husband this world has ever known!

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I carefully observe the two new faces, none of them were what their appearance spoke of them. That's refreshingly different to say the least, I'm tired of the clichéd characters, you know?

"You were introducing yourselves…?" Miura growls, her brow ticking. Yikes, move the conversation along Aki.

"Oh yeah, s-sorry," Aki shakes his head and bows to her, "I'm Aki Tomoya from the Togoyasaki High School. Founder, producer and director of the circle, Blessing Software. Nice to meet you."

Blessing Software? This guy really is into games I guess… and he's respectful, so he's got that going for him. We wouldn't want him making the Fire Queen pissed. I still want to live. Now, this guy does somehow seem like someone capable of creating such a game I suppose, but was it that easy? I'm actually intrigued on how he's pulling that sort of thing off by himself.

Miura doesn't seem impressed in the slightest by what Aki Tomoya said, so she gives him a curt nod and turns to the scary looking guy, folding her arms. Noticing his gaze, the guy stops his chat with Shiromeguri and speaks.

"Well, I'm Harima Kenji. A man who has fallen in love and has recently gotten his heart broken in a tragic manner," To her surprise and mine, he speaks dramatically. What the heck is with that introduction? It just seems to out of place, and it's not like anyone asked either.

However, what was more startling was the face Miura sported in that moment. She just stood there, staring at nothing in silence. Harima Kenji furrowed a brow, probably offended by the lack of reaction. Shiromeguri grabs her hand, taking her out of her trance.

"Yumi-chan?" She peeks at her face with a concerned expression, "You okay?"

Miura blinks twice, noticing the attention she was drawing. She shakes her head and smiles at her reassuringly, "Y-yeah, I just..." She shoots me a quick glance. What is it? "S-sorry. Ehm… I guess it's cool meeting Hachiman's friends."

I internally cringe at that, stop it Miura. I might just believe that if you keep saying it.

Harima stares at her and laughs loudly, "Haha! Well, you bet that meeting a man in love is something cool!" To my surprise, he puts an arm around my shoulder, "Anyway, I'm still pissed that some little shits attacked you, Hikigaya. How many were they?"

I'm surprised to hear that, but shrug his arm off. You don't need to touch me to ask that.

"You know about that?"

"Of course we know!" Aki speaks up, looking unexpectedly serious, "Rito came looking for you, and he ran into your homeroom teacher. She told him about the incident, and he told me."

"And Aki told me, so I tagged along," Harima added. "Who knows? Those bitches may be up to something, in case you needed some muscle to watch your back."

Alright… I would have rather kept this incident inside a small circle but I guess that was out of my control. This happened while I was unconscious after all, that meddling hag should've kept her mouth shut.

Hearing what Harima said though… So, these guys were also close friends of mine, huh? Well, why else would he say that sort of thing? If they were fake, it wouldn't have sounded so… sincere. Hah… It's so much easier living in a world where nobody likes you, let alone when the people that do like you, like another version of yourself that isn't really you. Huh, the situation sounds messier when I put it that way.

"…Right. Don't worry about it," I start, unsure how to react to this kind of support.

"Yeah! Hachiman, like, drove all of them off by himself! There's no way they'd come back!" Looks like Miura couldn't hold back anymore. Hey wait, don't say it like that. I didn't really win, they just got caught and ran. And weren't you and Shiromeguri insisting that I was pretty beat up?

"Hoh! I didn't expect any less, Hikigaya," Harima raised a fist. "Still, I wish I was there with you to beat them to a bloody pulp!"

I should appreciate the thought, and actually, I can see you doing something like that, but seriously, that would have turned out worse for us, so it's better that didn't happen.

"Calm down Kenji-kun. What matters is that he's fine," Aki states, and Rito nods. "What happened exactly?"

---

Go to profile, SEE: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 03 Section: Picture 01

---

"It doesn't really matter," I shrug my shoulders. "Like you said, I'm fine, so there's no need to make a big deal out of this." I growl. Harima kept muttering something as he stood a bit away from us, while Aki stared at me inquisitively.

I ignore it and then, I start walking forward.

Miura and Shiromeguri walk up to me, the blonde pulling me by my blazer, halting my progress. What is it now? You're going to stretch it, and I don't want to buy another one.

"Hachiman, are we really going to Yukihira's? Don't act tough, you really were hurt, you know?"

"Hold up!" I turn around to see Rito and the others following, this time getting close enough to get a better look at my bandaged face. Hey, wait a second there. Why are you getting so close!? It's bad enough that these two women don't know what personal space is, I don't want you to join in you perverted idiot! Totsuka's the only one who has permission, dammit!

"Ah! You really are bruised all over your face!" Yuuki states the obvious. You were told I got in a fight. Did you expect me to come out 100%?

"Hmph. If I was there, those bitches would've been roadkill!" I double take at Harima's sudden aggression. Looks like this guy can be scary when he wants to, too. But could you please not focus that anger at me? I'm innocent here and you're scaring the others.

"Oi, relax," I find myself commanding the taller boy. Was I insane? He looks like he'd paint me black and blue, "It's not like I didn't offer any resistance. I ran them off and they'll probably get suspended by tomorrow."

Harima assumed a thoughtful expression before nodding. I sigh in relief, yet Yuuki and Aki don't seem to agree. I glare at them, before I start walking forward once more.

"Hey, Hachiman!" Miura starts, coming up to me as well, "Mou… you're, like, really hard-headed, are you?"

Yuuki's voice follows, nervous as always it seems when the opposite gender is around, "Y-yeah… we're j-j-just w-worried about you."

I'm getting tired of everyone judging and arguing every time I make a decision that doesn't correspond to their ideals. Even if they are worried, they have no voice or opinion in deciding what I do. It's my life after all… No, wait, it isn't actually… This isn't my life. Shit…

I'm not even sure if thinking this way is correct anymore, I mean, I never really experienced others worrying about me, at least, not in such a direct manner. Outside Komachi of course. I guess it's because I had just come around to realizing that both Yukinoshita and Yuigahama cared for me as they hated seeing myself getting hurt when I resolved things in the way I was good at, the old way… my way.

That was a thing of the past though, as they were not around anymore… Not the ones I knew anyway. If that's the case, why not return to that old method? I have a sick game to win, one that will require me to get to know people more personally, so I can't simply get discouraged and let such trivialities bother me. I'll do whatever it takes to succeed, whenever necessary.

I want my previous life back after all.

I turn at them, gazing at them blankly before raising a thumbs up for the third time, "I'm okay. I mean it."

They exchange glances, Miura pouting, as did Shiromeguri, Harima seemed to believe me, and Aki seemed neutral. Yuuki let out a resigned sigh before scratching his head.

"Hachiman," The otaku boy fixes his glasses, unexpectedly releasing a stoic presence. "A smile would help you in that argument, I mean, non-reactive characters are so hard to get sometimes. You need to show more reaction!" What nonsense was this guy spouting? "The secret behind cold characters is that at some point they release all their inner feelings, making everybody realize how passionate they truly were! Hinedere! You have to be a hinedere!"

"...I'm not a character of a story, idiot. I don't have tropes that describe my personality." I respond curtly. And what the hell's a hinedere? No wait, that's what Komachi used to call me! Still, what was it again?

"Mmm…?" Harima folds one arm, his other hand under his chin as he seems to be reflecting, "That's actually a protagonist I'd use."

"Just what the heck are you talking about?" Miura asks, irritated. Whoops, I almost got interested in that conversation. I nearly became kin with the likes of Zamoikusa! Gross! Thank you Miura-tan for snapping me out of it.

I had to wonder though, the comment made by Harima, mmm, is this guy knowledgeable about manga and anime? Alright, a delinquent otaku, that's one I didn't expect, but I guess it's possible if he hangs out with Aki. The bespectacled guy even called him by his name, so there's that.

"Nothing important," I reply with a deadpan. "So, as I was saying…" I look at Yuuki and company, "I'm fine. Might need some rest, but I'll be fine by tomorrow. Well, see ya."

And as I turn around, Aki's voice echo, "Hold it, Hachiman. We're coming to Yukihira's too. I still have business with you. I assume you read my message."

I did, but he doesn't need to know that.

"Is that right?" I raise an eyebrow, taking out my phone, "I was fighting by the time you sent it. So as you might imagine, I had my hands full."

Aki folds his arms, looking thoughtful, "I'm sure I sent you the message when classes ended. You weren't in class?"

"I was," I answer, glancing at Miura to see any reaction on her. I better not lie as she may accidently blow away my cover. "It probably arrived later. Whatever it was, can't it wait? I promised to take these two out," I gesture at Shiromeguri and Miura, who back at my sides.

Miura seems happy with that comment, she looked like a little kid being allowed to have dessert. Stop that, someone might get the wrong idea. Shiromeguri though, she still seems worried, which is the reason I have to do this. I won't be the reason for their grief.

"Actually," Harima's stomach growls loudly. Seriously, was your stomach planning to do that? This can't be a coincidence. I just know what's going to follow, seriously, it's such a cliche… "I haven't eaten nothing since yesterday, and I'm broke. Might as well have Yukihira feed us for free."

Tch! This guy… That was a double negative there you idiot. And the worst of all is that I was thinking just the same, at least in the grammatically correct way. I have to admit, I am curious about how good Yukihira's cooking was as everyone talks about it being great, and adding the possibility of it being free food, if what his offer earlier in the morning was the true. Free food is after all, the best kind of food. Maybe he can cook me up something I like. Wait, did my brain just stop working for a moment? I was never the type to get this excited for food like those shounen protagonists! But… Komachi did say that Belldandy's heavenly breakfast was almost as good as his, I can't be blamed for my spark of curiosity.

"I-if your friends don't m-mind u-us tagging along…" Adds Yuuki, and Shiromeguri smiles brightly. No, don't say it senpai!

"We don't! You three are more than welcome to join us!" I made the mistake of underestimating Megu-Megu-Megurin's far more developed social personality. Honestly, she's a nice person.

Harima raises a thumbs up, grinning, while Aki and Yuuki exchange glances of relief. Well, now that she said that, I guess I can't complain. I'm surprised that Miura didn't make any objection though.

"Oi, you okay with this?" I grumble softly so the others wouldn't hear, and she blinks. Hopefully, her usual Fire Queen personality can get me out of this.

"A-ah, sure. I… I want to know the type of guys you hang out with, you know?" I see her twirl her hair, averting her eyes in a shy manner. Strike out, huh?

I sigh once more and turn towards the road ahead. I have a bad feeling about this.

Now that I think about it. Did Miura completely forget about Yuuki's introduction? Well, can't say he didn't have it coming. That guy really is hopeless.

Seriously, what does that Haruna girl see in that idiot?

3-3

"Hehe, I knew you'd come, but I didn't think you'd bring so much company."

I roll my eyes at Yukihira's comment, "That makes two of us… didn't expect this either."

Standing outside the family Restaurant Yukihira, the owner, Yukihira Souma, had apparently already closed for the day. The redhead was grinning at us before his gaze landed on the females of our group. As he looked at both Miura and Shiromeguri, he instantly turned to me with a startled look. It was pretty obvious, his staring that is, but I didn't make it easy for him, standing behind the others as I always do.

All I can figure is that Yukihira was also aware of the bad treatment my previous self gave to Miura, and the fact that I never spoke, much less hung out with Shiromeguri. Noticing my cocked eyebrow, Yukihira cough into his hand, regaining his composure.

---

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 03 Section: Song 02

---

"Y-yeah, come in! Friends are always welcome!" Yukihira steps to the side, motioning us to go inside as he slides the door open. Is that a wise thing to do there? Nepotism tends to lead to ruin, especially at a place of business.

"Sup, Yukihira. I'm hungry as hell!" I hear Harima call out loud as he stomps inside. Well, I suppose he really is a freeloader. But I'm not really one to talk.

"Kenji-kun, that was pretty jerkish… but I suppose it's part of your character," Aki points out. Oi, we're not in a game or anime. Quit categorizing people. "Hey, Souma. Hope we're not intruding."

"Of course not, the more the merrier," He grins, closing the door behind us after we enter. "Miura, Shiromeguri, good to see you guys again. Been some time, eh?"

"Umm..." Miura nods, "Since you closed the restaurant, right?"

Shiromeguri puts a finger on her chin, "I think yeah… Yukihira-kun mentioned that his father left suddenly to another country if I'm not mistaken."

Yukihira knows these two personally, it seems. How so, that's beyond me. I'll keep my mouth shut and let them talk. I take a seat as they continue to talk. Yuuki sits in front of me with Aki to his right, luckily my seat is on the edge towards the windows, however Miura and Shiromeguri take their seats to my left. Where's the deliqu- Oi, oi, why are you going into the kitchen? This is exceeding the limits of trust, you know? I'd kick you straight out of the restaurant if it were mine!

"…Haha, that's right," My attention returns to my classmate and senpai. "I bet you missed two of your best clients, Yukihira-kun!"

Oh, so they know each other because of how often they've eaten here. Figures.

"Hey, don't let the others hear you. They might just get jealous about that!" Yukihira's joke seems to draw out a laugh from the others. Even Aki and Miura have smiles of amusement. I remain quiet as they begin their small-talk, uncomfortable at this warm atmosphere. I just couldn't understand it. These guys were seriously my friends?

Yukihira aside, I don't know what my alter-ego saw in the others that warranted the title of friendship. Yuuki was a spineless idiot, Aki was an eccentric otaku -possibly worse than Zaimokuza- and while I'm the last person to talk about appearances, I would have never thought to even interact with someone like Harima.

"Seriously? Yo, Hikigaya!" I hear Yukihira call out in an exasperated tone.

"What is it?" Whoops, looks like I was unconsciously looking away in a bored manner.

"You got in another fight?" He asks. This again? How many times am I going to have to deal with this question today?

Tired of answering, I simply give him a vague shrug. I just want to get my meal and head home already.

"He, like, totally got in a fight! He said he totally fought, like, six of them!" I hear Miura yell out in high spirits. I notice Shiromeguri nodding with a helpless smile.

I appreciate your excitement, Miura, but please calm down. We may be the only people here, but it's still pretty embarrassing having my actions be broadcasted in that manner. Just look how they're looking at us! Also, they were only five.

Yukihira smirked, resting a hand on my shoulder. Don't people realize that doing so is completely useless? I'm not the type that enjoys being touched either, it's really annoying actually.

"Wow, Hachiman, that's impressive," Yuuki says admiringly. You already knew that idiot, stop acting, "You usually hate fighting more than four." I notice Yuuki smile nervously as he looks at the girls, "Among other things..."

I narrow my gaze at him, what's that supposed to mean?

"By the way Souma, surely you remember that I'm still counting with you for the next trip. The team needs our nutritional cook to stay focused on the job," Aki says, his tone serious. I guess he's really into his game.

"Hai, hai, Tomoya," Yukihira waves his hand dismissively. "You don't have to remind me every time we see each other, you know?"

Harima suddenly sits near us, eating rice from a bowl in a dumb manner. Oi, you didn't steal that, right? As he does, he speaks, "Heol yweah! Foof is whaf we need!"

At least finish chewing before you speak, dammit. You're making a mess on our table.

"Well, can I get the rest of you the same as usual?" Yukihira pulls out a notepad and pen. Everyone gives their affirmatives, guess they're all regulars. I figured that I should go ahead and do the same, I'm not sure what my 'regular' is but as long as there are none of those cursed tomatoes, I'll be fine.

As I pondered on my food, Yukihira briefly approaches the counter to get the condiments. For some reason he paled, albeit briefly and coughed into his mouth, regaining his composure. What was that about? …Whatever, it's free food so anything he has ready for me will do.

"Ah, su-" I start as he returns.

"S-so, Hachiman, what'll you have? You interested in what we had for the special today?" I look up in confusion at his stutter. He had a nervous smile, and gestured at the sign right behind him. I'm not in much of a mood to try dishes, I just want to get this over with already.

"Not really. I'll ju-" I try once more, looking away.

"Are you sure? You might like it, you know?" Tch… Quit interrupting me, and let me order my food already. He was still gesturing at the sign with a stiff smile. Hah… I give a half-hearted glance at it. When I see the special, I feel my eyebrow twitch in irritation.

"You serious?" I ask flatly.

"H-huh?" Yukihira's nervous smile falters at that. Did he not notice what his own sign says? Was he really the owner of a restaurant?

"You know I hate tomatoes, idiot," I lean my head on my hand.

"W-wha? Oh… Hehe, oops. I forgot that was the special today," He looks sheepish, as he realizes his mistake. But seriously, it's called Tomato Nabe, what else did you think it was?

"Ne, you don't like tomatoes?" I lazily look over at a curious Miura. Excuse me, but why do you look so interested? Could it be… You're planning on the major event of sharing bento!? Please don't, my poor heart won't be able to take it.

"Ah? Yeah, I can't stand them," I give her my reply.

"Y-yeah, I don't particularly care for them either, you know?" She smiles as she looks away happily. What the hell? Stop acting so cute.

"…Is that right?" I mutter, before noticing the tense expression on Yukihira, who, with folded arms, stood right next to me. You got a problem?

"Ahaha… I should probably get to your meals," He scratches his head, finally heading to the kitchen, "I just hope that... Machida-san was able to find her Metronome in the back." Hoh… Making others work after hours? Oi, Yukihira, you're not a tyrant boss, are you?

Wait, what's a metronome doing in a restaurant? I notice the girls next to me and Yuuki look on in utter confusion. Good thing I'm not the only one who's lost here. Harima's off in his own world, eating his bowl of rice.

"Right…" Is all I can mutter. Hey, wait he didn't take my or-

"Puah!" I blink, tearing my gaze back towards the otaku in surprise. He looked to have apparently choked on some water and spit it out… that's disgusting. Aki coughed heavily as some sort of realization dawned on his face as his glasses somehow managed to crack. What the hell? I look around. Did I miss something?

"Oi, Tomoya. The hell's wrong with you?" Harima asks, Shiromeguri having gone up to him in worry, softly patting a still coughing Aki on the back. She seriously does worry about everybody, I can't imagine how she can keep that up without tiring. That kindness of yours may bring you problems in the near future, you know?

Aki manages to calm himself, giving Shiromeguri a reassuring smile. But I did notice how tense his body remained, so something was still up. My bubbly senpai didn't seem to catch that as she returned to her seat while he pocketed out another pair of glasses. I have no idea how you broke the previous ones, but, how many pairs do you have? Were you actually planning on ruining your last ones?

"Oh… Eh..." Aki looks at Yukihira, who was by the kitchen. As their eyes met, the redhead quickly made a motion of the kitchen knife he held with his left towards the counter. Hmmm... The condiments…? What?

Yuuki stands up and walks to the counter, grabbing a soy sauce bottle and a tiny container that was filled with pepper, "Did you need this Souma?"

I'm not sure that was it. Why would Aki panic over some soy sauce? Both he and Yukihira are acting pretty suspicious right now.

"Ah, no… That's not…" Aki weakly protests, staring anywhere but where Yuuki is.

"Huh? But you guys we-... UWAH!" Yuuki looked confused before his eyes caught something causing him to jump back in pure terror before tripping.

"Yuuki-kun? What's wrong?" Shiromeguri asks, Miura furrowed her brows in confusion.

As the idiot pales, he steps back, exchanging glances with Yukihira, who pursed his lips awkwardly and nods grimly. What's with these guys so suddenly? All I can think is that there's something behind the counter. Does this restaurant have mice or something? Probably not, it might be something else.

"N-n-nothing!" He returns to his seat and grabs the menu list, hiding his horrified face behind it, "T-There's so many dishes! W-what s-should I choose?"

You're already getting your order, idiot. Though now I'm sure. There's something amiss. They're hiding something, and I bet it's related to what Yukihira commented before heading to the kitchen. However, I have no idea who that Machida person is, but the metronome part… I feel like I heard something about that before.

Harima shrugs his shoulders, "Don't mind him. He's probably still nervous about Onee-san and the blondie."

"Don't call me blondie!" Miura growls out.

"Tch," Harima fixes his sunglasses dramatically. "Could it be that all blondes are irritable?" And while Aki looked ready to refute, he added, "Shut it, Tomoya. Sawamura-sensei is a lousy guy too and guess what, a blondie."

Ignoring the just mentioned name, I'm not sure if I can agree with him. The stereotype of blonde girls is always portrayed in a way to make them look wealthy, spoiled and irritating. It's just so normal in these times to see the blond character as the more unlikeable sort, but it's nowhere near true in actual life. I mean, Miura isn't so bad once her Fire Queen mode is extinguished and Hayama… Well, who cares about that idiot anyways?

"Hah? You want to, like, repeat that?" Harima you idiot, while Miura did sort of prove you right about being irritable, even I know that you don't say that sort of thing in front of one from the female population. That's just begging for trouble. Look! She's glaring because of you! Fix it! Fix it right now!

"..." Harima remains silent. He looks away with a grimace as he breaks into cold sweat. Oi, I understand that sort of reaction to the Fire Queen's terrorizing gaze, but doing so will onl-

"I'm, like, totally talking to you," Miura spits out.

…Piss her off… Geez, the tension between these two are palpable. Looking around I see Yuuki staring out the window in pure terror, wait, don't do that, you're going to scare someone outside with that expression of yours. Aki has also averted his gaze, fixing his glasses while also having broken out in cold sweat. My poor senpai looks completely helpless right now, having no idea how to calm down a very annoyed Miura Yumiko. And Yukihira… he's in his own world cooking… Why was he wearing a bandana?

Honestly… Am I going to have to figure something out? I really don't want to… Hah~ It really is a burden to be the greatest type of person ever~!

No, wait. I seriously don't want to do this. I have to point out that the fact that Miura had even managed to intimidate someone with the looks of Harima is horrifyingly amazing. She's truly scary when she wants to. Why would I purposefully subject myself to that kind of trauma?

"Yumi-chan..." Shiromeguri suddenly pulls Miura's cheek as she stands at her side with a look of disapproval. We all look in surprise as Miura becomes red in embarrassment. "Stop acting like that. You're scaring everybody and we're supposed to be having a good time here."

Whoa, this might be the first time I see Megu Megu Megurin act as a senpai instead of her bubbly self, but that's not what is startling. The fact that someone could lecture Miura during her Fire Queen mode was something I never thought I'd see… ever.

"Meguri~! Quit pulling my cheeks, it hurts!" Miura whines childishly, pushing her friend away, "He's the one that started it, you know?"

"Really Yumi-chan," She frowns as if chastising a younger sibling, "You're overreacting."

As my senpai's lecture continues, I feel someone nudging my arm. I look blankly at Aki, who leaned across the table to whisper something, "This is incredible. To see Sobu's Legendary Fire Queen in this kind of state. Shiromeguri-senpai must have alloted most of her points in charisma."

He was correct by all means. Shiromeguri was just exceptional at socializing, even with those like Miura Yumiko, or Harima Kenji. It's a bit refreshing to witness the extent of Shiromeguri's capabilities when she directs her charming personality towards those that are actually the opposite. But still, quit using video game terms to describe the real world. Or at least, keep it to yourself.

"Heheh," I see Harima chuckling with arms folded. "You sure know where to pick your friends, huh?" Seriously, I don't want to hear that from you.

"Here it is!" Yukihira suddenly appears before our table, holding a tray. I blink as he puts in the table several dishes. While my knowledge was a bit limited, I could recognize the Tomato Nabe, the beef stew and… wow, the Roast Pork looked amazing. Was that mine, even after he completely ignored my attempt at ordering? Hmph, I'll forgive you for your previous antics Yukihira.

Harima and Yuuki were close to drooling, even I could feel my mouth watering at the sight of such splendid banquet. Miura and Shiromeguri were staring, cheeks red, at the food before them. Huh, could it be that the trick behind calming a wild beast like the Fire Queen is actually food that looked this good?

"As expected of the official cook of Blessing Software," Aki states seriously, not looking at anybody in particular. "Chiba's proud chef, Yukihira Souma!" Somehow, that sounded like some sort of character's presentation from an anime. Stop speaking like that, you're just making a fool out of yourself.

"Happy to serve!" Yukihira says with a smirk, before patting Aki's back in a dumb manner, "I didn't say I'd join you, Tomoya. I'll have to return to Tokyo in a few days, idiot."

The bespectacled boy shook his head, standing and raising a fist, "Matters not, Souma! Your place in the team will remain intact until you return! Our dreams may take us to different paths, but as long as our hearts seek the same goal, we'll..."

I ignore the senseless blabber of the Otaku, my eyes focusing on the dish before me. I gulp in expectation, my tongue ready to taste the exquisite meal that let out an intoxicating, yet addictive aroma. Wait... What the hell!? These stupid thoughts are popping up for some reason... since when have I used such stupid words to describe food?

Everyone seemed in some sort of trance as they kept observing Yukihira's dishes carefully. I cough, and grab my set of chopsticks, making everybody return to reality, "C'mon guys, eat to your heart's content," Yukihira states, his fist crashing with Harima's in a sign of friendship. "I made plenty so dig in!"

"Thanks for the meal!" Everyone said with far more excitement than I. I can't blame them.

After that, everyone begins to eat their food in sync. Well, besides me at least. My cat's tongue doesn't allow me to eat yet. Might as well get some soy sauce while I let it cool down.

As I made my way to the counter, Yukihira puts a hand on my shoulder. I turn to him with a bothered face, yet I found myself surprised to see the stern expression he sported, "Be careful, the condiments might be a little… spicy."

I cock an eyebrow as he lets my shoulder go, folding his arms and nodding. That seems overly serious for some condiments, doesn't it?

Reaching the counter, I observe the bottles briefly, finally finding the one with soy sauce. Great, hopefully my meal has cooled down slightly enough for me to enjoy it with this. Upon gripping the bottle of soy sauce, I notice something unsettling.

Let me put it simply, there was something that shouldn't be there just behind the counter. Is that someone's head? Wait, that's a hairband, isn't it? I narrow my gaze, leaning to get a better view before I blink in surprise, the bottle slips from my grasp and falls to the ground. Breaking on impact and spilling its content.

Everyone turns to me, and I try to calm myself, "Uh, the bottle, was... slippery," Yukihira throws a piece of cloth to me. I grab it by instinct.

"You might as well clean it," He says, subtly glancing at Miura. "We wouldn't want a mess occurring inside my restaurant, right? Take your time."

Harima laughs, "Haha! Hikigaya, you're a total klutz!"

Miura glares at him, making Harima sweatdrop, "Shouldn't you be, like, worried, he could have cut himself with it. Hmph… Sometimes guys are just so…" She stands up, and both Aki and Yuuki stand in her way.

"Y-your f-food w-will g-g-get c-cold!" Yuuki stammers.

"Y-yeah, it would be disrespectful to let the food that Souma made us to get cold," Aki adds, yet Miura only needed to harden her gaze to make them pale. Oi, where does that leave me?

I can somehow see what they're trying to do, but why? Who's the person that's hiding behind the counter anyway? I was about to make comment about it before Yukihira clears his throat, earning the focus in the room.

"You're okay, right Hachiman?" He looks a bit bothered, "You don't mind... cleaning that up, do you? It'd be best if… you do."

I stare at him in befuddlement before slowly nodding my head, "…It was my fault in the first place, so it's fine." I turn around and gaze over my shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll be quick. You must be hungry, so go on ahead."

"Mmmm..." She made a humming sound, signaling that she wasn't happy, yet she relented, heaving a sigh.

"There's a dustpan and a brush there, too," Yukihira adds before pushing Miura back to her seat. "C'mon! I want to hear your thoughts, Miura." He grins and Miura is startled at his bright tone. "I'll keep his food warm so he can enjoy it too. No worries about that."

Shiromeguri smiles in agreement, "Yukihira-kun is right, Yumi-chan."

"I'm so glad to be alive!" Harima suddenly shouts, tears flooding down under his sunglasses, "This is the freaking best!" I cock an eyebrow as he rampages through his bowl.

With Harima eating, the rest follow, and they all start putting funny and embarrassing faces, the girls pressing their legs together under the table for some reason… I'll ignore that terrifying implication. Well, taking into account the rather unsubtle messages Yukihira gave me, I can only assume that he wants me to deal with this hidden person for some reason. I'd have ignored this, but my spine is telling to heed his words.

I walk inside the counter, taking a better view of the unexpected presence, who turned out to be a girl. She sat on the ground, legs bent and hands resting over her knees, while her back rested on the inner part of the counter. Her strangely red eyes were directed at me in the form of a glare. I was taken aback, but quickly regained my composure, glancing sideways to make sure the others were focused on their food.

Shiromeguri kept giving Miura bits from her own plate, so at least they were both distracted. Yuuki, Aki and Yukihira, gazed at me from their corner of their eyes as they continued their meal. I sigh in relief and kneel, the soy sauce bottle remainings between me and the girl.

Before starting to clean, I silently observe the girl before me. By all means, she was attractive. From what I could tell, she had a slim figure. I first thought I was mistaken, but her eyes are indeed red, scarlet red. But that gaze of hers is quite intimidating… I'd rather avoid falling under direct eye contact. She has long black hair, reaching her back, a white headband adorning the top of her head. That pretty face of hers though, it sported a disinterested expression that was sort of familiar.

She sported a dark-colored sailor school uniform, and black stockings… oh… there's soy sauce stains on them. I can assume that's the reason for her glare.

"..." I'm unsure of what to say, "Well… sorry about that," I start cleaning, using the cloth to absorb the soy sauce, carefully doing so to not cut myself with the shards of glass. The girl remains silent, only watched me with a dry face.

Eventually, I hear her voice whisper, "I knew it…"

What could she be talking about? Why's a girl hiding here in Yukihira's restaurant anyway?

Mmm… Could it be that she has a hidden relationship with Yukihira? It'd make sense then, as she probably decided to hide in here due to our sudden appearance in the restaurant. Is it really so controversial for two high school students to date? Well, Yukihira's a first year and she looks to be older, I guess that's it.

"I… Uh, won't say anything," I mutter. "It's none of my business." And as I was about to resume the cleaning, I raise my gaze. She's frowning.

"So… You are casting me aside, Ronriteki-kun… Shame on you."

I stop on that instant, a feeling of dread invading all my senses. My muscles tense, my breath halts, my eyes widen. There was only one person that had called me like that since I woke in this crazy reality, and that was Kasumigaoka Utaha. She was the girl I spoke over the phone this morning, right?

Ow! I jolt at the sudden pain. Looking at my hand, I notice I had cut myself with a piece of the bottle. Soon, blood makes its way out of the wound. However, this was not my worry at the current moment.

Considering what I learnt throughout the day, Miura won't be happy to know that I'm on first name basis with a girl. After all, I refused to do so when Miura asked during lunch break. Now, putting that apart, why is Utaha hiding behind the counter of restaurant Yukihira?

This is really bad… This will certainly create a huge misunderstanding! I now see why the others acted so suspiciously. Somehow I can appreciate what they were trying to do, but what kind of warning was that!? They probably know Utaha, and if I remember correctly, during the phone call, Utaha mentioned Miura as someone who it was surprising that I was talking to after some specific incident.

Yukihira's words suddenly splash into my mind like a bucket of cold water.

"You might as well clean it. We wouldn't want a mess occurring inside my restaurant, right? Take your time."

Yukihira wasn't referring to the soy sauce. He even glanced at Miura briefly while saying that… So that means there's bad blood between the two of them. How and why, I'm not sure.

---

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 03 Section: Song 03

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Damn it… It's things like these that keep reminding me that I don't know anything about this world. I really need a good source of information now that I'm stuck here… Yukihira looks to be a promising one. I'm going to have to speak with him some day when no one's around so I can ask him about my life in this world and any matter related to my other self. He seems to be the one who knew the former Hachiman better. But how can I ask without giving away that I'm not from this world?

"What happened to your eyes?" I blink, Utaha's whisper reaching my ears.

Well, I can conclude with total resolution that my most visible trait is my dead-fish eyes if my previous interactions with my world's Snow Queen hadn't already taught me that. There's not one person that hasn't pointed them out this entire day… Bah…

"You… What are you doing here?" Ignoring her question, I ask my own, "I told you I couldn't meet with you, didn't I?"

"Liar…" She says, almost quietly, "You said you had something important to do..." Frowning her brows, she adds, "More important than getting a copy of the first volume of my next series..."

"Did I?" I look upward, as in thought, "Well, things happened."

"You have bruises… So you got in a fight… Did someone hit you in the eyes? Maybe that's why they're like that." She asks and I cringed internally. She's speaking with this soft and worried tone, but she managed to say something really mean there… My eyes are just like that, dammit. If something hit them I'd be blind.

"That's not how that works..." I mutter, then I look around, while trying to find my words. "Look. We both know how these things work. I try to explain, you retort loudly, then things go bad," I pinch the bridge of my nose, "Let's just skip all of that. I'll pretend I didn't see anything and get back to the others."

Utaha glares at me, "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" She fixes her hair, seemingly uninterested, but that's obviously not the case. "This is worrying… You've never been so inconsiderate before. I can only assume something occurred." She tilts her head, "Would you at least care to explain why that Miura woman is with you? I'm actually giving you a chance to do so, Ronriteki-kun. Use it wisely."

Alright, she seems more interested in the fact that I actually came here with Miura than me blowing her off, and if the sharpness of her tone is anything to go by, I need exercise extreme caution with my answer. If I can explain everything properly, she may let me go without causing a scene. Although, it irritates me that I have to give explanations about my own life to this unknown girl.

"I got in a fight, she found me. I ended up at the nurse's office. She's a classmate, so sensei asked her and Shiromeguri to look after me," I narrow my gaze as I continue, "I ran into the others, got hungry, and finally, we came here." I start wiping the floor again, "That's all. Happy?"

She stares at me, "Not particularly." She changes her position, her legs to the side. Oi, is it just me, or does every motion this girl take ooze seduction? It somehow looked like that. Yet another dangerous woman has crossed my path… How many of them were they already?

"How did you know I'd come here?" I ask, still focused on picking the pieces of the bottle and putting them in the dustpan.

"You'd thought I wouldn't know? How silly, Ronriteki-kun," She giggles, and I raise my head to look back at her. "I know you more than you think." I feel a shiver run down my spine. That's actually really scary there…

"I wonder if that's true," I comment almost weakly.

She smiles, "It wasn't that difficult to figure it out. Yukihira-kun was in Chiba, so I knew you'd come here eventually."

Another person apparently close enough to me to guess my actions. I'm unsure if this is as bad as Haruno being close to me, she's someone I recognize but I can't stand her knowing me. Again, I feel a bit of anger that this was already established when my relationship with those who meant much more to me haven't reached this stage yet.

"So basically, you came to Yukihira's restaurant, hid here, to see what I was up to?" I simplified her actions with the data gathered, "What, don't trust me Utaha?"

Her face flushed red, a small yelp escapes her as she covered her mouth with both hands. That was undeniably cute, and sort of funny. Er… nonetheless, it was embarrassing… Stop looking at me with that kind of expression! My heart won't last too much with such a surprise attack!

Shit! Now that I think about it, Utaha was kind of loud just now! I raised my head over the counter, Yuuki was waving his arms frantically, keeping everyone's attention to himself. Yukihira turns his head to me, giving a thumbs up.

Safe… Good.

"R-Ronriteki-kun..." I blink… What was this odd sensation I feel? I return my attention to the weird girl that was… Gah!

"O-oi!" I immediately back away from her, teeth gritted, landing on my backside. My cheeks burn like if I had just stuck my head in an oven, and a trail of cold sweat rolls down my forehead. I stare in disbelief at the bold woman, who with the same flushed face, stared back right into my eyes.

"W-what the hell are you doing!?" I stutter out indignantly. It's not everyday a boy is able to have a girl like Utaha suck on his finger, or any girl for that matter. Much less with that kind of expression! Where did that disinterested and dry expression go?

"Mmm... soy sauce and blood mixed taste funny," Utaha lowers her gaze, delicately putting a finger on her mouth.

Don't say that kind of thing with a smile, dammit!

I see her rest a hand on the floor, and the other on my shoe. I look her in the face, then at her hand, which was settling on my leg, before she began to slowly crawl upwards. This girl may be just as bad as Haruno!

I restrain her by grabbing her wrists, my breathing was erratic as was hers. My heart pumping blood at 150 kilometers an hour. What the hell am I going to do!? I have to get out of this situation immediately! But I have no place to go, and the others are still…

Still…

Wait. I don't…

Hear anything…

Anymore.

I slowly turn my head, practically hearing it creak, and raise my gaze to the top of the counter. From there, Miura, Harima and Shiromeguri stared at us in utter shock. Behind them I could see Aki and Yukihira facepalming, while Yuuki grabbed his head, looking pale.

Yes, I know, this doesn't look good. But it really isn't what it looks like! I was merely restraining Utaha from doing whatever she intended, yet, in the eyes of others, it may just seem like an intimate scene between the two of us.

My previous embarrassment was gone, replaced by utter dread. Alright, first was the weird circumstances created in my house, courtesy of my family and two freeloaders, and now this…

Round two… Fight!

Now I sound like that Otaku… Wonderful…

I stand up immediately, the surprisingly bold girl following. I then blink, startled, if only because of Miura's face. I expected her to be mad, or to glare daggers at me, yet, her widened eyes only shimmered as she looked on. Shiromeguri, in contrast, stared at me blankly.

I can't stand this. Their expressions… I know what they are, I know what they meant, but they're coming from two who I never would have even imagined to look at me in such a way. Why do I keep forgetting I'm not in my world!? These circumstances stink to high heaven! Maybe the Belldandy's folk can sense it! Damn you for casting this misfortune upon me!

"Ehh… what's going on?" Asks Harima, scratching his head in confusion. I didn't expect him to be the first to ask, "Who's that girl, Hikigaya?"

Harima doesn't know her? Wait, I shouldn't be focusing on that, I have more pressing matters to attend to.

"Mmm?" Utaha raises a brow, amused, "Aren't you the author of the manga that Ronriteki-kun gave me?" She tilts her head, looking the delinquent over, "You certainly look like the main character of it."

Harima frowns, or that seems at least. I only look on absentmindedly, "Oi, Hikigaya," He points a finger at the blackhead. "You gave my manga to this girl? Didn't I tell you I wanted Kasumi Utako to check it and give me a review?"

Utaha folds her arms, eyes close, "Hmph! Don't you know that pointing people like that is disrespectful?"

"Whatever. Hikigaya..." Harima's face hardens, he looks scary… this can't be good. "You were supposed to give it to Kasumi-sensei!"

Doesn't this guy realize it? Aki takes a few steps forward, fixing his glasses, "He apparently did, Kenji-kun. She is the legendary Kasumi Utako, after all."

Harima becomes silent, realization hitting as his jaw drops to the ground… how is that even possible? Are we in some kind dumb gag anime? I don't need those lame tropes invading my daily life, the Otaku is going to be insufferable pointing them out.

Utaha's brow tenses, "Didn't I tell you to not poin-"

"Stop ignoring us!"

A high pitched voice echoed in the restaurant, every person inside turning to the source where it originated. Silence ensued, every set of eyes directed at Miura Yumiko. The degree of surprised expressions varied, although Harima looked at her with a raised eyebrow, while the rest gaped. Ignorance is bliss, huh?

I was part of those gaping of course, as I just had forgotten what was the main problem in my unwanted situation.

Utaha's startleness is replaced by a dry look, "Oh, you were there Miura-san. As always, your lack of manners is… refreshing, yet unwanted…"

Uh oh… Here it comes…

Whatever trace there was of fragility in Miura's face is gone in an instant. Fire Queen Mode is on, with a vengeance I'm afraid. Well, Ayanokouji, you're probably dead set to win this game now, seeing as how I'll probably die here.

"Unwanted?" Miura repeats with a scowl, "Let me tell you that the only thing unwanted here is you, Kasumigaoka! We were, like, having a great time until now." Her green eyes were cold. I can actually feel the room temperature dropping! Yuuki and Aki are sweating in fear, but it's to be expected.

"Is that so?" Utaha turns to me, "Ronriteki-kun, is that true, or are they merely delusions on her part?" I feel their expectation pressuring my poor heart. I look frantically between them, trying to find my voice, and all that comes is…

"Uh…"

"Don't make me laugh," Miura assumes a haughty posture, "Aren't you, like, the one being delusional?" I see Shiromeguri pulling the Fire Queen's arm from her blazer, yet she doesn't seem to notice it. I appreciate your efforts Shiromeguri, but please stop. I don't want innocent casualties to get dragged into this. "Maybe the pressure of your deadlines are, like, making you paranoid."

Utaha's calm demeanor seems to be fading by each passing second as her red eyes start to glare at my classmate. She's losing it, isn't she?

"Kasumigaoka-senpai," Aki starts, raising his hands as if to calm them, yet he's completely ignored.

"I don't want to hear that from a witch that uses expensive makeup to cover her insecurities!" Miura's brow twitches. Oh geez… somebody stop them!

"What did you say, bi-"

Harima stands between them, "Oi, oi. You two are taking this too fa-"

Zero absolute fell on the room as they both gave him the most terrifying glares I've seen in my entire life. He's going to get killed! Harima, you tried your best. I'll remember you for that!

"SHUT UP!" They sneered before focusing on one another again.

I sweatdrop, watching a chibi version of Harima skip away, "Haiiiiiiii…"

...How the hell did he do that? No, forget about that Hachiman.

"I don't know why I should be surprised. You're merely trying to hog all the attention for yourself, as usual." Utaha walks around the counter standing before Miura. She's not going to hit her, right? As I feel the worst about to come, Utaha tilts her head and sits on top of the counter, crossing her legs. Oi, that's dangerous…

I hear a weird noise behind me, I turn, noticing a scene that wasn't appropriate given the circumstances. Yuuki's nose had burst out blood, and Aki, while red too, was handing him a handkerchief. This isn't the right time, you idiots! Stop thinking about stupid things!

Yukihira only observed the situation unfold in a bothered manner yet made no move to interfere. Doesn't he realize the gravity of the situation? Yukihira, you should be worrying about your restaurant! It might seriously be blasted into smithereens soon!

---

Go to profile, SEE: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 03 Section: Picture 02

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Miura's face morphs into an amused expression, "Jealous?"

"Not in the slightest. I don't resort to violence and threats to make people hang out with me."

I stare at the two, lost at what to say.

"…I beg to differ," Yukihira comments with a shrug, ignoring the short glare of Utaha. Miura now sports a smile of victory. Well, I guess that's one point to Miura. On a side note, Yukihira, you can't side with either of them. The loser of the match will surely kill you.

"See? Even some magazines showing interviews with you that say that you're uncooperative and foul-tempered," The Fire Queen is on a roll, it seems… however, is that really true?

"Ara? You just sound like one of those detestable haters, Miura-san. Your type tend to pry into people's lives with the only intent of finding anything bad to use against creators like me," She rests a hand on her cheek, assuming an obviously fake smile. "Mm… or maybe you're actually a fan? How else would you know about that? Actually, there's only one magazine that has ever put such a comment on paper."

Which means that Miura should have researched about 'Kasumi Utako' in order to find out about that. Did she do so, or had she really just stumbled upon this information?

Miura blinks, followed by her flush indicates that this time Utaha got one point. Seriously…

Utaha raised her head triumphantly, "Who would have thought that you were also a stalker, Miura-san?"

"Y-you… always have to do that, don't you?" Miura retorts, taking a few steps towards the counter. Wait, is she really going to try to hit her this time? "Talking down on people as if you're, like, better than them."

Aki approaches me from the side as they continue, whispering, "I'm actually glad now that Kasumigaoka-senpai rejected my proposal during this year. She seems to have the rare passive ability to cause clichéd infighting in circles that are about to implode."

That means that Aki had already started his project months ago, doesn't it? So why would he want Utaha to join by this point? Meh… whatever, it's not my business. It isn't important anyways.

"Besides, Miura-san, how ludicrous to think that someone might have a good time when you are around. There are plenty of rumors about Sobu's 'Fire Queen,' and none of them favor you. They seem to be true. Even your clique has separated from you.

"H-how do you know that?" Yeah, how would she? She'd have no way to hear about it, unless...

Red eyes unsubtly fall on me before she continues, "A little bird might have mentioned it…" Miura widens her eyes in realization, her new focus: me. "Tell me honestly, besides Shiromeguri-san," Utaha knows of Shiromeguri? Wait, she's our Student Council President, of course she does. "Can you honestly say you have any other friends?"

Finally I notice Yukihira react to the argument, although he seems rather angry.

Miura lowers her head, "H-Hachiman is my friend, too."

"Is he?" From her wide smirk, I can see Utaha is amused at her current position. But I think I caught her flinching when Miura said my name. "Since when? Just because a teacher told you to look after him today?" I stare at the ground helplessly, something building up inside my chest. This is going too far… "Do you think if Hachiman-kun was your friend, he would have come to me laughing at how stupid he thought you were? He hates you, Miura-san. He always has. Hachiman-kun told me about all your futile attempts of befriending him, even the fact that you dissolved your clique to just get close to hi-"

"Enough!" I snap out loud.

I hold my hand to my face as my sudden rush of adrenaline fades from my shout. I couldn't hear anymore. What kind of scum was that alternate self of mine to actually do that to Miura? Not only had he treated her poorly on campus, but also bad-mouthed her to someone else behind her back. Kasumigaoka isn't much better than him, as she probably had also laughed at the expense of Miura's efforts. But the type of person he was… That bastard.

Shiromeguri, Yuuki and Aki deviated their eyes, fully knowing that Utaha had crossed the line. Harima had only remained silent as he leant over a wall with arms crossed, looking on in disapproval. However, Miura stood there, her face sporting a face of disbelief, yet tears soon began well up in her eyes.

"I-is that t-true, Ha-Hachiman?" She asks, her voice breaking.

What was I supposed to do? Go ahead with this farce? I wanted to tell her that it was nothing more than a lie, which would be the truth on my half, but sadly, that would be wind up as a lie because of my other self, already proven by how Kasumigaoka had spoken in a way that could only mean that she expected my support, yet…

"H-Hachiman…?" I grit my teeth hearing the pain in Miura's voice.

In the end, I couldn't say anything but glare at the ground. Shiromeguri rushes to Miura who slowly fell to her knees, crying. Harima helps my senpai carry Miura to the table, who hugged Shiromeguri with all her might, her sobs possibly destroying any hope I ever had of counting on her support.

Kasumigaoka was the most shocked by my sudden raise of volume, but then finally realization dawned on her that she had gotten carried away, resting a hand on her mouth, guilt began to set in on her face. You think that's gonna help your case Kasumigaoka? I wasn't any better, letting this situation develop until such an unsalvageable point. I'm a curse to everyone in this world. My previous self disgusts me like no one ever has. The irony doesn't escape me.

She opens her mouth to try and say something.

"That's enough already," Yukihira declares sharply, stepping between us before facing Kasumigaoka, "Is that the reason why you came here, Utaha? To cause this? I never expected you to react like that. It's my fault I let you stay here. Tell me, was that even necessary?"

"S-Souma-kun, I was..."

"Leave." He cuts her out, his voice commanding.

"Souma-kun, please, you know me. I simp-"

"Don't make me repeat myself," He turns his back to her and walks back inside the kitchen. At that, Kasumigaoka gazes at Aki, yet he only turns his back to her and sits back at the table, where Shiromeguri consoled a sobbing Miura. Yuuki nervously averts his gaze away from her.

Finally, Kasumigaoka stands on her feet and walks to me, her eyes hopeful. However, I refused to look at her. I felt like trash, she thought I would support such a disgusting act and my previous self probably would have, but I'm not that bastard, and I won't accept a person that would take part in such a thing.

"Hachiman-kun… Don't do this… W-why are you..." She starts before her voice fades, her raised hand trying to reach me fell limply as she dropped her gaze. "Could it be that all this was just a big misunderstanding on my part and you were actually toying with me…?"

I say nothing, looking away, she grabs a book I hadn't noticed until now, and throws it to the ground, before storming out of the restaurant, the slide door left open. Silence followed, only interrupted by Miura's sobs.

Looking down, I gaze at the book that was left behind. Was this what Kasumigaoka meant to give to me? I pick it up, reading the title.

"My Youth Romantic Comedy Isn't as Wrong As I Expected."

'Isn't as wrong,' huh, Kasumigaoka? But you're mistaken.

It is wrong, completely wrong.

3-4

"The food is getting cold. What are you doing here?"

"..."

I could only stare at the ground, silent. I was in the kitchen alongside Yukihira, who was currently washing some dishes. After the incident, I couldn't find it in myself to join everyone else at the table.

"When I said to 'clean up the mess,' I didn't think you'd let things go that bad." I hear him once more, finally eliciting a reaction from me.

"...That was out of my control…" I notice the chef sigh helplessly, as if expecting this as some sort of excuse. And I feel anger surge, at that implication.

"So what? You didn't bring Miura for thi-" He tries to accuse.

"I didn't." I growl out dangerously, this time my sharp tone didn't surprise me. I wouldn't do that sort of thing to anybody. No person, no matter how superficial, deserved that. Especially not Miura, she had her obvious flaws but she didn't deserve such a betrayal from my part.

It looks like my tone managed to surprise my companion, however. He paused in his work and looked over his shoulder with wide eyes.

"Seriously?" I ball my hands into fists, the sheer wonder in his voice pisses me off. That bastard other self of mine… What the hell was he doing?

"I..." I glare at the ground, "...Wouldn't do something like this…"

"That hasn't stopped you before," He pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"..." I remain silent at that. I couldn't refute it because this was something he's seen from me before. Before I even showed up.

"I listened in whenever you and Utaha would talk about her here. Figured you would do something like this eventually, from what I heard between you two." He sighs as if disappointed.

"I didn't plan on this..." I say weakly, glaring at the floor once more.

"Well, you didn't do anything to stop it," He states frankly. I hate this, he's right, but I don't want him to be. Not because I want to avoid the truth, but because I don't want to hear this from someone who's practically a stranger to me.

"I thought it was surprising when I saw you were talking to her. Miura, I mean," He pipes up. I raise my head to indicate that I was listening, "Like Utaha said, I thought you hated her."

I don't respond right then, merely look out into the dining area. Everyone was still there, Aki and Yuuki are both sitting awkwardly, while Shiromeguri looks to be comforting a downtrodden Miura. Harima is the only one eating his meal, but his grimace gives away that foul mood.

I feel a wave of guilt hit me as I look on my blonde classmate. What did I do? Rather, what did I fail to do? This poor girl was somehow pining for someone like me, and what did my other self do? He systematically ruined this girl's desired high school life and led her on for his own amusement. She held concerns for me that were far past shallowness. Dare I say, this girl may have had… genuine feelings for me. And not only did I fail to answer them, I stomped all over them by not responding to her desperate pleas.

I couldn't leave things like this. She merely wanted to search for the same thing I wanted before my opportunity was robbed from me. What kind of person would I be to ruin her search before she truly began her journey to find that one genuine thing? Even if it pertains to something that caused me trouble, I felt an obligation to fix this.

"Things change." I suddenly say as determination runs through me.

"Huh?" Yukihira looks over his shoulder in shock. I ignore him and begin to head back outside.

"O-oi… Hachi-" I hear him stutter in surprise.

"Don't get involved. This is my problem," And with that, I head back out there.

I take my time to reach the table, gathering my will and composure for what I need to do. But first thing's first, I need to get Miura alone. That is essential for my plan. I do hope that nosy chef will keep his curiosity in check. I don't need him to start teasing me because of possible things that might be said. I'll put him in my unforgivable list if he does.

Once I reach the table, the sacks of testosterone stare up at me with varying gazes. Harima looks annoyed at my arrival, you got a problem? Aki on the other hand pushes his glasses up and observes me cautiously, and Yuuki looks uncharacteristically serious as he frowns at me. I take them in stride though, for their gazes held no meaning to me. I only felt a pang of guilt upon seeing Miura flinch at my proximity, while Shiromeguri looked at me with a disapproving frown. I'm sorry senpai, this worthless kouhai of yours has disappointed you. But I can't allow them to damage my determination.

"Oi, you three," I see my fellow males blink up at me in curiosity. I look at them coolly before jabbing my thumb towards the exit. "Get out." I simply demand.

They exchange glances, looking startled. Whatever, hurry up and leave. The first to stand up is Harima, somehow looking solemn. A bit too dramatic for my taste. He looks like he has something to say to me. But, I won't let him waste anymore of my time.

"Oi, Harima. Didn't you leave your bike back at Sobu?" He freezes when he realizes his blunder. He begins to pale before grabbing his head in horror.

"DAAAMMIIIIIIITTTT!" Harima sprints out the store in a gag-like manner.

It was a stupid thing to see, but at least he's gone. Looking back at the others I see Aki Tomoya silently follow the delinquent. Before leaving though, he nods at me. I turn to the only male remaining in the table, Yuuki Rito, my unwanted neighbour.

"Whatever you do, I'll remain your friend. But…" He looked surprisingly serious. I narrow my gaze, not expecting such a face on someone like him. "It doesn't mean that I'll always support you though, or even respect you for it."

With an impassive stare, I watch him leave. Huh, he was the last one I expected to hear that kind of thing from. Maybe if you were like this more often I would've actually cared for what you had to say.

I sigh heavily, steeling myself for what comes next.

"Hikigaya-kun…" I look back to see Shiromeguri stare at me with an uneasy frown. I internally wince at the fact that the normally happy girl is showing me such an expression. But that's nothing compared to the guilt that welled up within me once I see Miura blankly stare at her plate of food.

"I need you to go too," I hope that my voice sounds calming for the both of them, I want to ease their wariness of me, "I have to talk to Miura alone."

"But…" She glances in worry at her friend.

"Please Senpai…" I softly say, I can't let things stay like this. "I won't… I'm not going to hurt her anymore than I already have."

She stares at me, and it strikes me that she was trying to decide what do. I meet her gaze, I can't look away or else she won't believe me. I have no idea what kind of expression I had, but it looks like it managed to convince her somehow.

"Okay," She nods. I see her whisper something to Miura before giving an encouraging smile at her. It didn't work as she wanted it seems, for all she got in response from her friend was a slow nod.

Shiromeguri stands up, giving her friend one last worried gaze. Then, she walks towards the kitchen, her eyes hesitantly landing on me before finally exiting the room. I recognized what her last expression was telling me, this was my only chance to make things up. Should I fail, I lose whatever relationship we had with one another, which would actually wind up being disadvantageous for me.

I still have the game to win, but, I don't give a damn about it. I only want Miura to be at ease again, she didn't deserve feeling as hurt as she was. I sigh once more, it was the moment of truth. Miura timidly looks up as I take a seat across from her.

"Yo…" I start lamely.

She blinks at that, yet her blank gaze returns almost instantly to the table. I observe her for some seconds, and sigh again. I suppose I'm gonna need more than that to actually make her focus on me.

"I..." I scratch the back of my head uneasily, "I know that an apology won't mean much."

Miura glances at me again. Looks like I'm on the right path.

"...I hurt you, no… You put your trust in me and I betrayed you…" I clench my fists as I think about what happened again. I feel disgust go through me once more when I remember that it was me that did this to her, "Saying 'sorry,' isn't good enough to make up for that. Still, I want you to know that, I…" I momentarily drop my gaze, at a brief loss for words, "I, uh..." I look at her, green eyes finally on me, they looked gelid, dry… "I've changed."

She stares at me in silence, until…

"You… have? How can I believe that?" She drops her gaze, tears threatening to come out once more. "Are you trying to make fun of me again?" She wipes her tears with an arm, "If all of it was just a joke to you, then shut it. I don't wanna hear it."

Damn it… This is far more difficult to deal with than I anticipated. It feels stupid trying to apologize for the mistakes of another person when I'm the one who is innocent here, but… as the bearer of this otherworldly body, it is now my responsibility to right all the wrongs that came with this life.

"I won't, because that's not true," I reply sternly. I close my eyes to gather my thoughts before finally looking at her directly.

"It isn't…?" She asks curtly.

---

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 03 Section: Song 04

---

"Yeah… I… Look, people make mistakes... adults, kids… teens… no matter their age, no matter their gender, their beliefs or moral values, they can all make mistakes because in the end, they are humans. No one holds the ultimate truth, no one can claim to, because we are humans, selfish beings in the search of understanding, beings that are so perverse sometimes just for the reason of reaching the illusion of happiness, that they push all others aside in order to claim it. People make mistakes because they think of themselves as superior, thinking that their truth is the one and only truth that would allow them to reach that happiness they strive to find..."

I look at the window, the night lights of the shopping district shining softly in the distance.

"They say ignorance is bliss, and I think that's completely correct," I feel my heart beating fast as I gaze back at her, there's no way I'll stop now.

"People often use their own limited knowledge and understanding based on personal experiences, assuming that their conclusion must be the truth they sought, but that's a lie, for we only use ignorance as an excuse to refuse accepting that we're wrong, that we make mistakes, that we hurt people, if it's because we're afraid of those who are actually better than us, if it's because we're jealous of those who we can never reach, or if it's because we misunderstand everything because we actually know nothing at all. All because… we just want to understand others and feel close to them."

Miura blinks, "Hachiman..."

"We're pathetic creatures, Miura," I let out a resigned chuckle, so forced that it made my throat hurt. Though the worst is… We as a species hold immense pride in ourselves, as if it truly held a meaning. Seriously, what's wrong with humanity… What was wrong with me? "...Me especially."

She looks on silently, I can see the pain in her gaze as she digests my words.

"I..." Once she starts, her voice fades again in the end.

"I can't ask you to forgive me, I lost that right a long time ago. I… I screwed up, and I've done plenty of crappy things to you and many others. But I…" I clear my throat, "I want to try again. It's a selfish wish, and I don't deserve to ask for it. But… I still want to." It's odd, I'm basically ad-libbing this point of mine, and yet… for some reason, I know I mean every word.

"I… I just don't know what to think anymore..." I blink as Miura's fragile voice echoes in the restaurant. "Kasumigaoka was always so close to you, and no matter what I did, I never managed to reach you, while she..." Her frown deepens… This must be very painful for her. "...while she..."

"It isn't like that, so don't misunderstand," Miura looked up in suspicion, but I wasn't finished yet. "I may have a long story with her, but that doesn't mean it's all meaningful." I feel a little embarrassed for what I'm about to say, but I need to say it, for her sake.

"I… uh, feel different when I'm with you, I guess… I feel more… comfortable. I want… another chance, to show you, Shiromeguri and all the others that I've changed. I told you before, I want to be selfish, I want search for that understanding, but I want to do it… alongside, uh… you… and Shiromeguri… and everyone else..."

I scratch my cheek nervously. I just can't look at her right now after saying something like that. However, the sound of her chair moving manages to make me forget my embarrassment. Miura stood up, and was now walking around the table, her tiny and barely audible steps creaking over the wooden floor. Finally, she sits by my side, and stares at me directly in the eyes, her cheeks slightly red, yet I couldn't sense nervousness this time like before.

I back up a bit, feeling uncomfortable at her close proximity, yet she reduces the gap between us again, this time even closer. Hey, wait a minute! Too close! You're too close!

"You mean it, Hachiman?" She looks so hopeful and vulnerable, I instinctively feel I want to protect her forever… Wait Hachiman, get ahold of yourself! "You really mean it?"

"...S-sure." I slowly nod my head, my voice cracking as I stutter. I clear my throat, and turn away in slight embarrassment. "Yeah, I mean it."

I nearly jump out of my skin when I feel a weight land on my shoulder. I look back to see a blonde head of hair where my shoulder should be, I look away with a red face. Oi, oi… I know this may have been a meaningful conversation for you but please be considerate to my poor heart.

"Ne," I glance back down and see Miura looking at me with a remarkably cute pout, "So, you're not going out with Kasumigaoka?"

I blink at that but still answer evenly. "Of course not, I'm not interested in that sort of thing right now."

"Really?" She tilts her head cutely. Oi, what's with that suspicious tone? I'm telling you the truth.

"Yeah," I grunt out.

We stare at each other, and damn, I'm trying my best to keep my cool here. I mean, looking at a girl's face so close in this kind of situation is so freaking difficult. I'm surprised I have managed to keep up… not that I'm gonna last much longer. Behind her haughty, Fire Queen facade, Miura Yumiko was a very beautiful and surprisingly sensitive girl.

"Then..." Miura finally averts her gaze, and I feel relieved. "I'll take your word for it," A smile cracks across her face. "But that doesn't mean I'm giving up, you hear?"

"A-ah… Is that right?

Just when I was finally homefree… Give me a break, woman.

She then gives me a brilliant smile, one so amazing that my heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Honestly, I never realized how beautiful Miura Yumiko could be. You don't actually need to wear all that makeup, you know? I avert my gaze once more. This is bad… If this lasts any longer, I'll get ahead of myself and make a severe mistake.

Remember Hachiman, if she winds up being a creation of Deus Ex, she'll have to die.

I feel my composure return to me with that sobering thought. I feel a bit of remorse along with it, but I can't forget about the game. I feel a pang run through my heart as I look on, she was giggling happily now. Please, I beg you shitty gods of romantic comedy, don't let it be her. She doesn't deserve that kind of ultimate betrayal.

Now that I think about it… by the kitchen… isn't that one of Shiromeguri's braids? Oh, c'mon, senpai. Were you eavesdropping on us this whole time? Geez, if having to say all these things to Miura was embarrassing enough, now I have to deal with the fact that you heard it too…

I stand up, startling Miura at my sudden movement. Crap, sorry about that. I came to see the sink where Yukihira should have been, yet… I sigh wearily at the implication.

"Oi!" I said out loud, mildly irritated. "Don't you know that it's disrespectful to listen in on other people's conversations?" Seriously, no one seems to respect privacy in this world.

I see that crouching head of hair flinch at my voice. Did you think you were being sneaky, senpai? Looks like Megu Megu Megurin didn't have her own version of my 108 Hachiman Skill: Stealth Hikki.

"Meguriiiii~!" I look back to see Miura pout with puffed cheeks. Cute.

"Ahaha… Sorry, Yumi-chan," My bubbly senpai walks out of the kitchen with a guilty smile. As I look back to the window in suspicion, I half-heartedly notice Miura storm up to Shiromeguri, probably to pull on her cheeks.

"Oi, you too Yukihira." I say flatly. I notice his hair appear through the window. You may be the most reliable guy in this world, but that doesn't mean I think you're above eavesdropping, you know?

"Ack. Ever the sharp one, eh Hachiman?" He looks a bit sheepish as he scratches his head. Oi, at least try to look repentant, dammit.

"So?" I start, unimpressed. "How much did you hear?"

Shiromeguri becomes a bit coy at that. Are her cheeks red because of embarrassment or because of Miura's pulling? Souma on the other hand, looks away with a complicated expression. I'm not sure what that means for me.

"A-ah… I… I heard all of it." Shiromeguri glances at me shyly, with a small smile on her face. Actually, the way she was looking at me… I can't place it… But it seemed to convey a sense of… admiration and something else? I feel odd to be the recipient of that kind of expression, so I'm clueless on how to act. Miura looks at her suspiciously.

"Meguri?" Miura leans to her so close as if trying to find something beyond Shiromeguri's face, "You're, like, putting on this weird face, you know? I don't like it, don't do it..."

My senpai panics, raising her arms defensively as she blushed. Somehow I feel like something odd was going on. I wonder what my bubbly senpai was thinking just now. Whatever it was, it's a relief to see the look of disappointment she had before be gone for good.

"W-what are you talking about, Y-Yumi-chan?" She stutters before becoming the receiver of a sudden cheek assault once more, courtesy of her friend. "N-no… it wurts, Wumi-chan..."

I feel at ease to see them back to normal, they really are close, huh?

---

Go to profile, SEE: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 03 Section: Picture 03

---

As they start to go off in their own world, I notice a deep stare from my left. I raise an eyebrow as I look sharply and Yukihira Souma, who with arms crossed and an amused expression, observes me. His golden eyes were quite piercing.

"What?" I ask drily.

"…" Despite his focused expression, he remains silent.

I cock an eyebrow. This guy is making me feel tense.

He doesn't respond immediately, "...You do seem to have changed," He mutters. "I'm not sure if it's just me, but… It just feels like you're someone completely different." I frown, yet he continues before I could retort, "Not saying that's bad, it's the opposite actually, this is the first time you actually helped someone without having crafted some rotten plan where you get something out of it."

I should have felt offended, but he may be stating the truth, so I supposed that his reaction is understandable. He doesn't seem to be completely convinced, or maybe, he thinks I'm putting up an act or something. I can't blame him though, seeing the piece of work my other self was.

Wait, this is bad isn't it? He's suspicious of me, he even pointed out that I'm different. Shit, I was careless. What if he figures it out? Well, at least figures out that I'm not the same Hachiman he knew. Maybe this could be a blessing in disguise, he could prove to be a major ally in this world if I tell him the truth. But what if I was right before? What if Deus's creation knows about Yukihira, about me? Having her find out could backfire on me should she learn who or what I am in regards to this world.

Shit… Shit… What the hell do I do now? I'm screwed if-

"Mehehe!" I blink, Yukihira's face sported an absurdly stupid expression. What's with that? "Hachiman has become such a softie. Who would have thought? Hahaha!" He starts laughing dumbly, and I seriously feel like facefaulting… But I don't, I'm not in an anime after all.

That's more of a job for Aki actually.

Well, I didn't expect such a change in his behaviour. This guy nearly had me there… I almost feel like joining in his idiotic laughter, just kidding. Seriously… who was this guy?

My inner deliberations are interrupted as I feel a punch land on my arm, soft and playful. The chef was now grinning, and I felt stunned as his eyes literally transmitted to me a sense of newfound respect. Similar to Shiromeguri's, but not nearly as intense as hers.

"Who the hell is soft, idiot?" I grumble. Honestly, where the heck did he get that?

Yukihira's grin becomes a smug smirk, "Hai, hai..." He waves a hand dismissively. Tch…

The sliding door is open in that moment. I sigh as Yuuki, the otaku and the delinquent-looking guy have returned. Mmm? There was someone else with them… Pink hair? Where have I… Hold on a-

"Hachiman? You theeeeeeere? Hachimaaaaaan?" A familiar female voice is heard, and I pale.

Shit… What's with this horrible luck? Damn you, Deus Ex!

And there she was, that clingy alien girl that had invaded my very home, claiming that she was being chased all the way from her home planet: Deviluke all the way to Earth…

Lala Satalin Deviluke.

"Yay! I finally found you, darling~!" The irritating pinkette, dressed in that strange costume of hers, exclaims once her green eyes set on me. She skips towards me with that usual smile of hers, "I was so worried!"

Kill me already.

I flinch slightly as both Miura and Shiromeguri glare at me. Wow, I expected that from the Fire Queen, but from Megu Megu Megurin? She actually looks pretty scary now…

Wait, Deviluke? No, stop! Don't come closer! I raise my hands defensively, yet it was futile as I found myself being tackled to the ground, much to everyone's surprise. I could feel two terrible gazes fall upon me as I try to get this girl off me, to no avail.

"Hachiman, I was so worried~" Deviluke starts, pressing herself against me, "Komachi-chan told me that school ended at 4:30, so it was so late that I thought something happened to you!"

The fact that I'm almost directly feeling her… assets on my chest is too much for me to take. Gah! It's freaking soft! Wait, Hachiman. Resist the temptation! You're better than this!

"G-get off him!" To my relief, Deviluke's weight on me was lifted, by none other than Miura. I blink as the Fire Queen and the alien girl look at one another. I let out a sigh before getting back up.

"Huh," Harima calls my attention, "I thought she was lying. So you actually know this chick, Hikigaya?"

Aki folds his arms, "Well, she did know his forename… and is actually calling him by it..."

That comment wasn't needed as it didn't help my case in any way, idiot.

"Who the heck are you?" Growls Miura out, twitching her brows as Deviluke seems unaware of the circumstances she had created.

Deviluke's capable of creating an object to mold memories, yet she can't read the mood around her… Does being a genius comes with the cost of zero understanding of social protocols and conventions? Maybe she was idiot savant.

I'm not good at socializing like Shiromeguri, nor am I a genius that can create such technology like Deviluke, but even a loner such as myself is aware of social protocols and what certain situations entail when they occur. This, for example, is the alien girl causing a severe misunderstanding. If having to deal with rumours wasn't bad enough, now I have to clear misunderstandings? My brain was going to explode at this rate.

"Hello!" Deviluke grabs Miura's hand, much to her surprise, "I'm Lala Satalin Deviluke! Nice to meet you!" She smiles brightly, and Miura is struck speechless. It seems she doesn't know how to react to such cheerfulness. "Who are you?"

"H-hello…" Miura manages to say, "Miura Yumiko..." She blinks before shaking her head while muttering to herself, "Why am I bothering to answer…?

I look at the others, Harima doesn't seem to care, just like Aki. Yukihira and Yuuki though, they look startled, and from what I had learned from them, I bet it's for different reasons. Shiromeguri was pouting at me…

"Ehrm…" My senpai turns to the pinkette, "N-nice to meet, you… D-Deviluke-san? I'm Shiromeguri Meguri," She scratches her cheek, "Anno..."

"Yes?" Lala tilts her head innocently.

"Are you, by any chance, not from this country?" She asks and I start sweating. Was that so easy to tell? Well, of course it was. She has pink hair and is wearing some sort of cosplay-looking dress. There's no way I can let Deviluke say anything about her origins though. There's a high chance that they won't believe her, but still, it pays to be careful.

I just hope that she still remembers what we discussed yesterday.

"Yes!" She replies happily, "I'm a..." She blinks, before assuming a thoughtful face, her eyes wandering around the room, her index under her chin. "I'm a… oh right, I'm an exchange student!"

Everyone stared at her suspiciously and I couldn't help facepalming. It's actually a relief that she managed to remember, but the way she said it… You don't sound at all convincing, Alien-san.

"Yeah…" I add, trying to remain calm, "She just came to Chiba yesterday. I was supposed to give her… a tour…"

Miura approaches me and pinches me in the arm. Ouch! That was not necessary! "Why do you have to show her around? There's, like, plenty of people that can do that instead, aren't there?"

"It's not like I'm happy about it either. My parents, uh, asked me to do it…" I retort, and while I tried, I'm not sounding at all sure.

"H-Hachiman… aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" Yuuki suddenly says. You were still here? I'm actually surprised with that request, but do tell me, why should I bother?

Meh, might as well do it. If Deviluke will remain in my house for some time, I better deal with this now to avoid future misunderstandings.

"Well... They're Yuuki Rito, Aki Tomoya and Harima Kenji..." Deviluke flashes them a friendly smile. Aki fixes his glasses, slightly embarrassed, and Yuuki nods with a red face. Well, at least you don't look stupid… wait, no, you do.

"Sup, Pinky," Harima greets her casually. At least this guy isn't a nervous wreck around girls. But, did you already forget her name? What's with that nickname?

"Mmm…" Deviluke seems thoughtful again before raising a hand, "Yo!"

Harima sweat drops. Miura glares at me again, "Why did she called you, 'darling'?"

"Isn't it customary to call a lover that?" Deviluke responds carelessly much to my discomfort. And there we go, yet another misunderstanding.

"EEEHH!?" Yuuki shouts in disbelief.

"Hachiman..." Miura lowers her head, a dangerous tone escaping her lips, "Were you actually tricking me before? Is this girl your lover?"

Yukihira sighs and Harima shrugs his shoulders. You useless lot, get lost if you're not going to at least help out.

"Hachiman-kun," Aki states seriously, as if lecturing me. "Why do you still bother with real girls? 2-D girls won't ever give you this sort of problem. They won't be as scary as Miura-san is right now."

That sounds pathetic, idiotic, and disturbing. But you still have a point there though, I must admit, they are less headache-inducing. Miura turns to Aki, and he almost yelps. Man, she must have glared daggers to him, I almost feel sorry for the guy. Yuuki steps away to avoid getting caught by Miura's field of vision. A wise choice.

"No, she isn't," I respond curtly, waving a hand dismissively. "Deviluke likes teasing people..." My narrowed eyes fall on the aforementioned girl, "Isn't that right, Deviluke?"

She stares at me neutrally, "Mmm, okay." She nods.

That response was way too simple! No one's going to believe you!

"Give me a sec, please," I say, motioning Deviluke to follow me. Miura seemed ready to voice her opinion against that, but Yukihira intervenes before she could.

"It's not surprising that Deviluke was transferred in this time of the year," He says out loud, putting a hand on Miura's shoulder. That action earned him a glare, so he quickly lifted his hand and continued, "Co…considering Chiba has so many schools, almost as many as in Tokyo, or so I've heard…"

As everyone seems to focus on him, I take this chance to drag Deviluke with me. Just outside the restaurant, I stand in a position to allow me full view of the entrance. I couldn't risk anyone peeping this time. Actually, I'm quite lucky that no one seems to be outside. Last thing I need is Deviluke drawing attention to us because of her sense of style.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I say, annoyed.

"Ah! You have bruises!" Deviluke screeches out. I feel my eye twitch at that. Don't interrupt me, dammit.

"Focus," I growl out. She blinks at that, maybe finally realizing that I had asked her a question.

"Everyone was worried that you hadn't come home yet!" She says brightly. I frown at that. I had forgotten, my parents are actually home by this time in this world. And surprisingly enough, they were worried that their son wasn't home yet. Weird, and a bit out of my comfort zone. Guess, I'll head back soon. But, I wonder…

"Why didn't Komachi come?" It is pretty odd that she didn't show up instead. Could have spared me this whole farce.

"Why…?" She repeats, not expecting that question, "Etto…" Once more, with a finger under her chin, she searches for the answer. "Komachi-chan said she was busy?"

"Busy? At seven o'clock?" I ask suspiciously. I know she had her student council meetings back in my world, and even if she still had them here they never lasted this late into the day. Was Deviluke lying for her?

"Yeah… She had homework!" She sticks out her tongue playfully.

Wait, that reaction doesn't correspond there. I'm serious about this.

"…Is that right?" I narrow my gaze. She was obviously lying, Komachi may not be the best type of student but she's usually diligent enough to have it done by dinner time. Unless… That's another change in this new world. Gah, whatever, I'm going to get a headache if I think about it more.

"Fine. Tell them I'll be back soon," I gesture towards the restaurant. "I still have business here."

She pouts, giving one killer look, "Can't I stay?"

"No," I immediately say, shoving her toward my house's direction. "Go home."

"Meanie… I'm just worried about you," She refuses to leave, but I'm not going to yield on the matter. "You have bruises, I don't want to leave you here, dummy."

Gah… I didn't expect her to make a big deal about this. I deserve a Nobel Prize for my sheer consideration this entire day. Seriously though, can't a get a break from this already?

"Look, I'm fine," I sigh in weariness, "Do the others know what happened?"

Deviluke blinks and tilts her head, "About what?"

I stare at her blankly. I think that genius must have a different meaning in other worlds or something, because this girl is really slow. But she does look capable, maybe calling her an idiot savant isn't an exaggeration.

Whatever the case, it looks like I'm clear on that. For now at least…

"Nevermind," I grunt, "I'll be home soon, tell them I'm fine," I gesture her to leave in a shoo-shoo manner. "And don't get lost on your way back."

"Mou… Hachiman, you jerk!" She puffs her cheeks childishly, "I'm not gonna save any dessert for you. Hmph!"

I sweatdrop as the pinkette walks away in a childish manner. Can't help but smile wryly despite myself. What an odd fellow. I'm glad that she listened to me in the end though, because I wasn't looking forward to have her accompanying me all the way to my house. Not to mention, a jealous Miura that would have probably refused to leave me with her.

Oh, I forgot to ask her how she found me. I doubt she just wandered aimlessly in the streets, asking for me until running into Yuuki and the others. I'm positive that this girl used one of her weird inventions to track me here, only finding the others once she neared. I may need to confirm it if she can actually do that to take preemptive measures in the future.

Also, she's obviously lying for Komachi. Well, while I suspected that Komachi didn't trust me completely, now I can see that she can trust strangers more easily than her own brother. My previous self is a freaking bastard in all ways possible for letting our adorable sister become this way.

Well, I'll deal with that eventually. Now as for the others… Alright, Miura doesn't seem happy again. She's staring at me through the window, that's… really scary there. Quit staring at me. I don't feel like going back in anymore, I might be killed at this rate. Hah… Let's just get it over with.

As I walk inside, I can hear Miura muttering something, wait… that wasn't Miura, it was Shiromeguri…? Seriously, stop that senpai, that's disturbing. Some steps echo inside the restaurant.

Oh boy… here comes the Fire Queen.

"Who was that? And what the heck was she wearing?" Good grief, that glare of hers is something I doubt I'll ever get used to.

"That was, Deviluke, a… foreigner who recently came to Japan. She's the daughter of a family friend in Europe." I offer. That was the alias that we agreed upon should anyone see her. I could have been better with the delivery, but whatever. "And she, uh, lost her luggage so she had to make do with that dress. She really likes it."

"And she came here to get you? Why?" She presses… calm down a bit, would you?

"Because… My parents sent her to check up on me once they found out what happened." I lie, it's harmless right? She doesn't need to know tha-

"Hoh… So why did they send her?" Her glare intensifies, and I feel another indignant one coming from Shiromeguri. "Does she, like, live with you?"

Crap. I slipped… really bad.

"Y-yeah," I nod slowly. "Can't really say much about it. My parents brought her so there's nothing I could do about that."

"Wow, Hachiman. That's exactly like in the game, Eternal Dream," Aki comments.

Miura turns to her slowly, eyes narrowed, "How does that game end?" She asks with an innocent voice, yet her face is displaying killing intent.

"Uh…" Aki fixes his glasses nervously, "The heroine ends up leaving to another country, and a meteor falls down on earth and everyone dies horribly."

What kind of games do you play, Otaku-san?

Harima interjects, whispering, "Oi, wasn't that the game you let me borrow a month ago? Don't the girl and the protag marry in the end and have twi-"

And before he could finish, he found his mouth being stuff with bread by Yuuki. Luckily Miura ignored them and focused her sight on me again. Not before I hear the idiot mutter.

"Safe…"

It was a pure miracle she didn't hear them.

"So, well… it's late. We should probably be leaving," I say, Yukihira coming out of the kitchen.

After swallowing the bread, Harima growls, "Speak for yourself, dude. I'm still hungry."

"Whatever," I shrug my shoulders.

"No worries," The cook grins, giving to each one of us a bag. "Here's some steak. I won't let it go to waste so take it, take it."

"Nice, Yukihira!" Harima raises a thumbs up.

"Thanks, dude," Yuuki smiles, patting his back.

Aki nods, "Thanks Souma. I will store this precious container of protein for my next nightbreak. I expect more of this once you joined officially the circle. And talking about that..." He turns to me.

"No," I retort.

"What?" He blinks, "I didn't say anything yet."

I yawn before clarifying, "You're going to ask me for something. No."

"After what happened with Kasumigaoka-senpai, I doubt it's a good idea to bring her aboard," Yuuki explains, and I'm surprised that he did. "Right, Hachiman?"

I give a curt nod.

"Well, it sucks that Kasumi Utako turned out to be such a bitch," Harima states, and Yukihira furrows his brows, not looking pleased.

"Shut up. Don't call her that," He growls out, sitting over a table with arms folded. "She may have acted pretty bad today, but she usually isn't like that. Utaha only seems to react irrationally when this guy is involved." While saying that, he points at me. What?

"Now it's my fault?" I mutter.

"Yeah," He responds lazily.

Mmm… maybe it is my fault, or at the very least, my previous self's fault.

"That's hardly fair…" Shiromeguri pipes up, "Hachiman-kun being here shouldn't make someone act that mean, right Yumi-chan?"

"Ye-… Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?" Miura cries out, "Mou…"

"Ah, well," I feel like I should say something here. I'm supposed to be amicable with Kasumigaoka after all, "Everyone has an off day, can't always help it. I'll talk to her later."

Miura puffs her cheeks, "I don't want you to…"

Moe attack: 9999 damage!

That was just as extreme as the Omnislash… I'm lucky I had a bottled fairy in my inventory.

"Well, whatever Hachiman-kun decides to do is up to him," Shiromeguri seems slightly irritated as she is avoiding looking at me. "It's late, Yumi-chan. We should go."

"What about Hachim-"

Yukihira interrupts her, "Yeah, don't worry. These guys will take him home, right?"

"Yeah, right. I can get there by myself," I retort.

"But it's not like Miura will be relieved if you did…" The redhead smirks, "Isn't that right?"

My eyebrow twitches at that. Miura sported a sudden worried expression… Geez… Yukihira can be really perceptive during troublesome times.

"Well, if you wait for me to dig in some food, I'll take you home," Harima says, pointing his thumb to the parked bike outside. No way I'm not going to get on that death trap.

"…No thanks. I want to walk, think some things over," I mutter.

Miura pinches my arm, again, "Mou, Hachiman. Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Heh… that's probably one of my many charms," I say with a wry smirk while caressing my arm.

Yukihira and Harima laughs at that, Yuuki and Aki exchanging grins. Bastards, I didn't meant it as a joke… whatever.

"Then do whatever you want! I don't care!" I blink at her outburst. I observe stunned as she picks up her bag and Shiromeguri's. "You coming, Meguri?"

My bubbly senpai blinks and nods quickly, "O-okay…"

Harima sighs, "C'mon, I'll get you two to the closest train station." He turns to Yukihira, "I'll be back, so don't close the door, ya hear?"

Yukihira drawls, "Hai, hai..." He waves a hand in a bored manner. "Not gonna wait for long though."

I guess that Harima isn't the delinquent he seemed to be at first sight. Looks are indeed deceiving.

"I can take care of myself," Miura growls.

"Sure, sure," Harima walks outside, yawning. "Let's go."

Shiromeguri nods to everyone "Bye everyone, it was an… interesting… dinner we had, hehe..." She turns to me and stares in silence.

"Oi, hurry up already! A…achoo!" Harima's sneeze could be heard from outside, and Yuuki laughed. "Damn, the sea was cold now that I remember… Hey! I'm not waiting anymore!"

Shiromeguri glances outside and gives me a helpless smile and waves a hand before heading outside. Miura follows behind her silently, I should probably apologize for making her angry. I guess she isn't a fan of my stubbornness?

"Miura, wai-" I start. Miura stops before she exits. What she does next though, is unexpected.

"Teehee~" She whirls around and performs the sacred action of akanbe before finally exiting with a skip in her step. I stand there stunned at what just happened. What the hell!? That was way too cute!

Yukihira suddenly elbowed my arm, "I thought she was mad."

"It's good that she isn't," Adds Yuuki. "She's can be really nice despite…" He blinks, Aki and me look at him in curiosity. "D-despite the rumors, hahaha." He laughs nervously… suspicious.

"Well, Hachiman. You sure you'll be fine on your own?" Asks Aki, picking his bookbag. I nod my head, "I see. Take care then, and I hope you reconsider joining my circle. You're an expert in light novels so your knowledge could be helpful."

"I won't. Probably," I respond curtly.

Aki chuckles and points a finger at me, "Just remember! The doors of Blessing Software are open to you!"

This guy is too dramatic.

"Take care, Hachiman. Make sure you mend things with Kasumigaoka-senpai," Yuuki grins and waves a hand. "Thanks for the food, Souma! Bye."

"Bye, Rito. Give my regards to Sairenji," Hoh, Yukihira seems to be quite the jokester.

Yuuki becomes absurdly red, "W-wha!? S-shut up!"

"Alright, Rito-kun! We have a long night of gaming ahead of us!" Aki waves at Yukihira before leaving the restaurant, Yuuki following. Is that really okay? It's a weekday you idiots. "Consider this training!"

"Aw man, it's a pain to go all the way up to Detective Hill," Yuuki complains. "You should move to another place, Tomoya."

"Shut up, Rito. Quit being so lazy…"

Aki's voice fades out eventually, silence remains inside the restaurant.

"I'm heading off then," I pick up my bag.

"Don't forget your steak," Yukihira points a finger at the bag in the table. I can't believe I almost forgot the free food… something must be wrong with me.

"Thanks," I grab the bag. Maybe I can finally taste his food.

"Before you go. I wanna know something," I look at the chef over my shoulder.

"Shoot."

"What are you going to do with Utaha?" He ask sternly.

Yukihira had defended the novelist despite that it was he himself that made her leave his restaurant after the incident, and he refers to her by her first name. She must be a close friend of his as was supposedly mine. Now, while I don't have any interest in that girl, for the sake of the game, I'm gonna have to fix things with her. Doesn't mean I have to do that immediately, right?

"I'll talk to her later."

He adds, "You know she said all those things because she was jealous, right?"

I click my tongue, discomfort settling in at that though, "…Yeah. I'm taking a walk to figure it out."

After yawning, the chef replies, "I see. Anyhow, give me a call if something comes up."

I raise an eyebrow as I look back on him, "Don't get your hopes too high up."

"I won't," He replies easily as I finally walk outside.

"Later," I gave a lazy wave before finally heading off.

"Heh, told you… you indeed are cooler." I hear him chuckle. Hah, and like I told you, I've always been cool.

Back on the streets, I observe the starry night sky. Whoops, looks like I underestimated how late it was. Luckily it's not completely dark, there are enough street lights to let me take my walk. I'm sure I'll be fine, this isn't the latest I've ever stayed out. Or was it? Maybe, I guess I can chalk it up to another thing this world is going to ask of me from now on.

Hah… My free time is rapidly dwindling…

So much has happened in the course of two days, and it's actually scary to think what more is probably going come. Whatever the case, I'm due for some fresh air.

Was it too much to ask to be able to eat dinner properly? Damn you, Deus Ex! Stupid, bastard god.

3-5

Maybe I should head back, I've been walking aimlessly for a few minutes now. And I'm starving. Due to Miura and Kasumigaoka's incident, I couldn't even grab the tiniest bite of food at Yukihira's. Well, I at least have this leftover steak with me, but it's probably cold. I'll need to warm it up when I get home.

I observe my surroundings. I was currently inside a park, sat in a bench. I wanted some time alone, and silence before having to see Deviluke and Belldandy again. It's funny to think that I have so few places where I can feel relaxed. And with me offering both Shiromeguri and Miura a place in my precious safe haven at Sobu, that's one less. Such is the tragedy of being such a great guy~

It's pretty nice and quiet here. Hah… But I can't stay long, it's nearly half past seven, I don't want to worry the old man and my mother too much. Honestly, that's an odd new concept to think about.

My parents being around, it's just weird. I can barely remember a time when either of them were home, let alone the both of them. I'm not sure what to think of them actually being around in this world. Don't misunderstand, I don't resent them or anything, it's just… out of my comfort zone, yeah that's it. Nothing wrong with that, it'll just take some time for me to get used to something new.

Luckily for me, I have Komachi and our two new tenants there to take up the spotlight in my stead. It'll be hard enough seeing everyone there more often, talking to them about my day is going to be a lot worse. Oh great, that reminds me. They're going to see that I'm hurt, and this time they won't have jobs to keep them from talking to me. Hah… The time when I broke my leg and they didn't visit me at the hospital seems like a distant memory now… Good times.

My gaze falls on my still bandaged knuckles for the second time of the day.

Speaking of other new things. I'm still struggling to believe that I was able to fight off those five idiots. It's scary actually, being an inhabitant of a body that already has preset capabilities. I frown deeply as I keep staring. What the hell did my other self do to warrant needing to fight? Self-defense? Defiance? Or… Did he like fighting?

I shudder at that thought. From what I've learned in these two days, my other self was a real piece of work at best, a shitty bastard at worst.

I look back my hands again. I wonder what else this new body is capable of? I doubt it'll just be fighting. I'll check on that later.

Well, I should probably get goi-

"Aw… c'mon Kouzu-senpai…" I blink as I hear someone's voice nearby, "You should stop inviting me to those reunions with you girlfriend. Ah… Always reminding me that I was so stupid."

Mmm? I look around, but I can't see anyone. Where is that voice coming from?

"Even Tsukamoto's sister has someone while… I…" A sigh follows… This is the voice of a girl, one that is apparently whining for some reason. "Argh! How could I misunderstand everything!?"

I blink, the voice is coming from behind the bench I'm sitting on, more exactly, on the other side of the bushes behind it. I really don't care to know what exactly is going on there, but that useless god said that every person I run into is important in this ridiculous quest of mine. And seeing how it's shaping up to be a girl… Meh… might as well see who's there.

I tentatively walk around the bushes, slowly and trying to not make any noise. I really hope, this isn't leading to a BAD END. I spot some swings just at the other side of the bushes. One of them was occupied by a... girl, who wore a uniform of sorts.

She seems to be holding her head as she continued to complain. There was no one else around so I suppose she just wants to let her frustration out of her chest. It's understandable… I can relate I guess. As a loner, I never had someone who I could rely on, much less tell my problems to. Anyone else could have considered this girl as some crazy chick, but I knew better. Though, I would have never vented it in a public park, too many potential witnesses. I'm the proof of that.

"Ah… I should stop thinking about this…" She stands up, yelling, "I'm so stupid, dumb, idiot, a fool, dull… eh… stupid!"

Oi, oi. There are plenty of more synonyms you know? Simple-minded, dim-witted, slow, dopey, empty-headed, moronic. If you ran out of insults, don't just repeat them, doing such will only make you look really stupid, you knooooow?

"Is there anything worse than getting dumped before even trying…? It's been some time already but still…" Her outburst suddenly ends, the girl sat on the swing again, her shoulders slumped, the very image of misery. "Still…" So she got rejected? Mmm… not that surprising, I suppose. We are in high school after all, students tend to focus on these sort of things.

I can't see her very well from this distance, so I can't tell if it's because of her looks. That attitude though, It's unusual to see a girl speaking like that. She seems somewhat tomboyish. However, this girl and I look to be pretty similar between our romantical experience, or the lack of it at least. That's one thing more I have in common with her than with those that are supposed to be my 'friends.' Yukihira isn't too bad though.

Whatever the case, I think I've heard enough. This doesn't concern me, and she deserves her privacy. Maybe I'll run into her some other time.

I turn around and give the first step onward.

*Crunch*

I stop momentarily, looking at the dry leaves I just stepped on. They made enough noise to call attention. Just my luck… I hold my breath and look over my shoulder, blinking my eyes as there was no sight of the girl I saw groaning.

Mmm? Where is she? Did I scare her off? Well, that's better for me… or… maybe…

Could it be... that she was a great spirit of the park, wandering around and dragging handsome, high-quality men to their deaths!?

Just kidding. As if that sort of thing could exist, a god's one thing but a wandering spirit? That's too much. What? Is she going to suddenly pop up behi-

"Hey."

"H-huh!?" I jump involuntarily, turning to my right. It was the girl from before… damn it… almost had a heart attack there. Was scaring me like that necessary?

---

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 03 Section: Song 05

---

"W-what the heck are you doing?" I stutter out, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart.

"That's what I should be asking!" She screeches out, "Ah! Could it be you're a molester!?"

This new girl crouches down into a defensive posture, getting ready to take down the possible threat to her safety. Which somehow became me.

"Hell no," I say in an annoyed tone, "Just implying that is insulting, what exactly do you take me for?"

The girl relaxes her posture, but keeps giving me a wary stare. Good grief…

"Then what's with those eyes, they look even worse than Imadori's!" She puts her hands on her hips and glares at me. Who the hell is Imadori? Don't compare me to a guy I don't even know, dammit.

And leave my eyes alone already!

"I was born with these eyes, woman," I put my hands up in surrender, "I can't help what genes are passed down to me."

She blinks, not expecting that response. She lets a smile appear in her face, "What's with that?"

"You picking a fight?" I growl out.

"Not really," She shakes her head, "You can't blame me though. You were spying on me, and those eyes don't help you."

So she noticed me? "Whatever… I wasn't spying," I shrug my shoulders. "I was just relaxing here a bit before heading home. Then I heard some pathetic whining." I say that last part with a hint of dryness in my voice, but I'm pretty sure it's going to go over her head.

"Eh!?" Her face flushed red, and I huff in amusement, "S-so you heard all that!?"

"That's how sound works, it travels in the air waiting to be heard by others," I say dryly, "It's a wonder how no one else was able to hear it… and you kept shouting."

"S-shut up!" As she tries her best to suppress a blush, I finally observe her properly. The light behind me was strong enough for me to get a good look at her.

She was… quite stunning actually. Dark bluish hair that reached her shoulders, a cute face, gray, big eyes, and a rather attractive physique. Hmm… her, uh, assets were rather impressive… probably around the size as Yuigahama's… er, Yuigahamas? Not that I know much about them. Just making an estimate here.

She sported a uniform I hadn't seen… Yet another new school? Her uniform was composed by brown shoes, a red striped skirt, a light colored blazer… maybe a light shade of brown, over her white shirt, which was opened at the top buttons.

"W-what are you staring at?" She growls, covering her chest. I blink in realization, "I'm gonna beat you up!"

"Nothing at all," I respond coolly, averting my eyes in an uninterested manner, before sighing. "Listen. I didn't mean to overhear you. I guess it was just a coincidence."

She still covers her chest, but otherwise, seems to be relaxing. She walks to the bench and sits.

"Alright," She nods. "You must think I'm pathetic, huh?"

"What I think doesn't matter," I put my hands in my pockets and sit on the other side of the bench, "Besides, people who act like nothing's wrong all the time are way more pathetic."

She cocks an eyebrow, "I don't know if I should be happy with that."

I look aside, trying to suppress a chuckle. Heh, nice to see she was able to catch that. She peers at me with an annoyed gaze, but I'm able to resist and continue looking elsewhere.

"Now you're the one acting like a stalker," I mutter and she yelps indignantly. "Just saying."

"Why you…" She starts before dropping her shoulders, sighing wearily. "Well, thanks for interrupting my whining."

"Thanks for interrupting my quiet," I respond blandly.

She looks at me from the corner of her eye, "Jerk."

I stand up, smirking in amusement, "In any case, it's getting late. I'm heading off, you should too."

"I know, don't speak to me like I'm some kid," She growls, standing, too.

"You sure sounded like one some moments ago," She becomes red once more, and actually gives me a surprisingly hard punch to the arm. I grit my teeth to endure the pain, which was worse considering the battered state of my body. I was just starting to feel better, dammit.

"Idiot, shut up alrea-"

*Grrrrr…*

She freezes, and I frown. What was that? A dog?

*Grrrrr…*

No, wait. It sounds close actually. I look at the girl, she was facing every but me, a deep blush rapidly spreading across her cheeks. I look around to see where the sound came from one more time.

*Grrrrr…*

Oh, so it was that… her stomach.

*Wham!*

Before I could even blink, a fist landed directly against my own stomach. I bend over from the sudden, explosive pain, forcing me to sit back on the bench again. I gasped for breath before glaring at the perpetrator of such a low attack.

"Y-you…" I gasp out, "What the hell was that for?"

She laughs nervously, scratching her red cheeks sheepishly, "Whoopsie… My body moved on its own." She claps her hands together in an apologizing posture. "I'm sorry!"

A few seconds pass before the pain began to lessen. Honestly… I was already bruised there to begin with. My breathing stabilizes as I continue to glare at her.

"Whatever. I'm outta here," I growl out, slowly getting up before trying to stumble away. Gah, shit… My aches are back again.

"W-wait!" I stop as I hear her cry out as she approached me, "Hey! Really, I'm sorr- Oh… You were hurt already…" The light must be hitting me enough for her to finally notice my bandages.

What sharp deductive skills you have there, genius. Shame the rest of your brain can't keep up. Wait, relax Hachiman. Remember: Patience, patience.

"It's fine," I stand up straight, and try to walk away once more. But I'm stopped when I feel a tug at my sleeve.

"It's not fine… You helped snap me out of my thoughts earlier, and I punched you just because I got embarrassed…" She looked down guiltily, her eyes covered by shadows as the streetlight, no longer reached them. I release a sigh when I see her begin to tremble slightly.

By all rights, I'm actually justified for my reaction right now. I was punched without provoking such an action, and it was where I already had a bruise. But it wasn't like she was mean to me or anything, she just punched me because she was embarrassed. A stupid reason and a bad quirk, but I'd be a hypocrite to judge her over one minor fault, seeing as I have these dead fish eyes of mine. But if I'm to continue running into her because of Deus Ex's task, I sure hope this doesn't become a habit of hers. Hah~ I really am a great guy!

"Hey…" I grumble softly, getting her attention, "It's fine, really."

She perks up her head, blinking, "Really? No… hard feelings?"

There are, but I'll just have to let them go, "Not really, I guess."

She doesn't seem at all convinced as her frown continues, but only until...

*Grrrr…*

This time, she simply drops her gaze in embarrassment. It seems I'm not the only one with the empty stomach here. It's a relief that mine isn't as noisy. I stare at my bag of Yukihira's steak in pure misery, before offering it to her. I look at anywhere but her, I might just cry if I caught sight at my loss.

She's stunned, "Eh? What's this?" She asks, observing in awe at the bag, before grabbing it. From inside it she takes out a red box, with the name of Yukihira at the side and drawings of some forks. "Y-you… you're giving me this!?"

"Does it look like anything else?" I retort. Stop talking before I take back my food.

She hands the box back at me, "No, I can't accept it. We're strangers, right? I don't even know your name, besides, I hit you."

"Don't remind me, idiot," I turn around. "…I'm Hikigaya Hachiman."

I lazily look at her over my shoulder, as she looks at me seriously. What now? As she approaches me, I'm forced to face her again. She smiles bashfully and with one hand, pats my shoulder while laughing.

"You're a good guy, Hikigaya!" She nods her head, "Alrighty! I'll accept it but with one condition."

Oi, oi. If anything I should be the one giving the conditions here, considering that I'm the one giving free food to you, "...What is it?"

"I'll treat you to some food next time," She grins, before a sudden realization hits her. "Wait, how about if you come to eat at my house." The thought of future free food piques my interest but…

"Hold it," I say sternly. "We just met. You shouldn't be offering your home so fast."

She chuckles, waving off my reservations, "It's fine, it's fine!" She pockets out her phone, "Here, let's exchange contacts."

I scratch my cheek, "…You sure?" She nods, and I let out a sigh.

"Hurry up!" She presses with a wide smile, leaving the steak box on the bench.

I stare blankly. Meh. She doesn't look so bad, I guess… I take out my phone and she snatches it from my grasp. I cock an eyebrow, startled as she starts transferring the data between both cell phones. A sound comes from them and she extends it back. Whoa, that was really quick.

"Here," She says and I look at the screen of my phone. I easily find my new contact.

Suou Mikoto, huh?

"Ah, well, I guess I'll see you around, Suou," My voice comes out dry.

She frowns, resting her hands on her hip, "At least sound excited, would you?" But a WILD grin suddenly appears… "Well, laters, Hikigaya!"

And with that, she spins around, grabbing her bookbag and the bag with the steak box. I watch as she waves at me one last time before running off and disappearing from my sight.

I release a long sigh. I lost my chance at free food from Yukihira's… I should be nominated for sainthood for giving it up to her. Screw sainthood! I want food damnit!

Ah… I want to die… not really. The world should die for separating me and my food… kidding.

…Maybe.

3-6

"Oi, Hachiman. What happened to your face?"

I fake ignorance as my old geezer questions me. At right his side was my mother, and at the left, was Belldandy, looking worried, and behind her, Komachi and Deviluke.

"I got it from you old man, you tell me," I reply sarcastically. A bad idea in retrospect, but I'm seriously not used to my parents showing me concern outright.

"Don't be a sma-"

"We heard about what happened at school," My mother interrupts whatever the geezer wanted to say, "Are you alright?"

Seeing her walk up to me with nothing but worry for my health feels… off. I… don't particularly like it. I had to really keep myself from retreating from her touch. Hopefully my face of discomfort will be simply taken as a reaction to her touching any bruises.

"…I'm fine," I mutter unconvincingly.

"'Fine,' my foot," She scolds me, "Look at yourself, all bruised."

Uncomfortable with her touch, I tentatively grab her hand and set it down gently, "I'm okay, honest. They look worse than they hurt."

"Honestly, boy... What am I going to do with you?" She frowns at my stubbornness.

"Don't worry!" The always cheerful alien girl exclaims, sitting at my side. Too close for my liking, "I'll cure all those bruises in the blink of an eye, Hachiman!"

As she starts pressing some buttons on her cell phone-looking device, probably to bring her one of her inventions, I snatch the phone from her hands. She makes a loud, "Ehhhhhh!?" And starts pouting, "Hachiman, what are you doing!?"

I say blankly at her. "No one knows if your invention will fail or do something wrong, so I'd rather avoid them," Although, her mind-altering inventions worked pretty well last night.

"I can't deny that some of my inventions malfunction sometimes, but I assure you that Cure-Cure Doctor-kun never fails!" I roll my eyes at yet another dumb name that came from that strange mind of hers.

"Onii-chan. You should at least try it," Komachi... always supporting her, huh?

"It's okay," I respond, "My bruises were already treated, so they'll heal soon enough. Besides, I can't just have these bruises be gone out of nowhere," I explain, and Lala nods her head, focused on me. My mother is still scowling though, "For those who've seen them, it would be plain suspicious if they suddenly disappeared."

"Hachiman has a point there," The old geezer is agreeing with me? Really? This might be the first time he took my side rather than Komachi's! "But if we do heal him, we can simply say that he's wearing makeup!" He says and raises a thumbs up at me.

"If you're going to just say something stupid, just stay quiet." I growl.

"Oi, oi! Don't be like that, boy," He scratches his head, "Mmmm? Don't tell me that saying that you used makeup will be too embarrassing for you. You never cared for what others thought, so why should you care now?"

"Because I'd never wear makeup, old man," I say through grit teeth, "I still have at least that amount of pride."

"It would help with our eyes though," He says with a chuckle.

"Then you use it. Don't drag me into those disgusting interests of yours," I bark, before my cheek is pulled by… Deviluke!?

"Hachiman! You shouldn't talk like that to your father!" She reprimands, and I can't believe it, "He's just worried for you, silly!"

"Don't worry, Lala-chan! One day he will understand what it means to be an awesome father as me, hahaha!" And he suddenly stops, deadpanning, "That is if he ever becomes one."

"Mind your own business." I mutter, annoyed. How the heck did the conversation get to this point?

Oh right, I almost forgot, "Uh, sorry," I start hesitantly, "The guys I fought, they wrecked the bike. I had to trash it."

"Wha!? Those brats wrecked your bike!?" My old man yells, "That thing was expen-"

"Hachiman…" I turn to my mother, gazing at me with worry before she smiled and… h-hugged me!? "I'm just glad you're okay. Your homeroom teacher told me that they ganged up on you. My poor, boy."

"B-but what about the bike…?" The geezer asks weakly, but I couldn't focus on that because of my current predicament with my mother's hold on me.

I was internally cringing, my body frozen completely solid. It takes all of my mental fortitude to keep from instinctively pushing her away. This is just too awkward already! Stop it! Come on, I'm not used to this! Please, give me a break already! It takes me a few moments to slowly return the embrace.

And if things weren't bad enough, the clingy alien suddenly joins the fray, much to my shock.

"Poor, poor Hachiman~" She says playfully and this time I push them back and stand from the sofa.

"I get it already, geez…" I grumble, trying to suppress a blush. Was my mother supposed to be this sickly-sweet? Whatever the case, I just need to convince them that I'm fine to get off this topic already. "Hiratsuka-sensei had a nurse check up on me, and she said that my bruises were not that bad. I just need to apply the ointment they gave me."

My mother folds her arms, "I hope that's the truth, Hachiman. Or I'll get really angry."

I shiver at that, "It is, it is, honest." I put my hands up in mock-surrender, looks like she's still has her normal fury. And it's just as terrifying as always…

"Then I'll apply the ointment!" Deviluke raises a hand, "I'll take good care of you, Hachiman!"

"Ohh… acting like a caring wife already?" The old man says as if proud. Seriously, how did you raise me with that stupid mind of yours? Thank goodness I just got your looks.

My mother sighs, "Otou-san, stop supporting that kind of behaviour inside the house," She admonishes and the old man nods as if he was a scolded pet. I appreciate it, Kaa-san, you don't know how much I do. From the pout of Deviluke, I can tell she doesn't feel the same. This girl…

"Don't worry. I can do it myself," I reassure them.

Belldandy smiles at Komachi, who looked a bit worried but couldn't voice it for some reason, and steps to me, "Hachiman-san… are you sure about not receiving extra treatment?" She asks, and I can't help becoming startled at her awfully concerned expression. "With my abilities, I can treat you."

"I know, but it's not necessary…" I reply, closing my eyes, "I need to keep up the appearance of a normal teenager, having magical powers and incredible inventions watching my back will change that."

Belldandy stares in silence, and nods, "Of course, Hachiman-san."

"Besides, you still have Komachi to focus on," I give her an encouraging nod, "I trust you to help her out in that regard."

She blinks, exchanging a curious glance with Komachi, "As you say, Hachiman-san. I will help her as much as I can."

I nod, "Good."

"What are you two talking about?" My mother asks. Whoops, I forgot that they don't remember the real reason why Belldandy's staying here.

"Nothing important," I wave a hand and she frowns. "So… what's for dinner? I'm starving."

3-7

Just as I expected, being in my own home has now become a headache. Belldandy doesn't bother much, but that alien girl is a total different story. My parents are awkward to be around since they've become even more familiar strangers in this world, and Komachi… She doesn't really try to engage in conversation with me without someone else involved. It's become a foreign household for me. Getting away from my house to get some fresh air sure sounds sad now that I think about it… But I need it.

Huh, I didn't realize how cold it became, but I'd rather be here than having to deal with the antics of Deviluke. I know I'll have to return eventually, so I'll enjoy this moment of silence.

---

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 03 Section: Song 06

---

"Yo, Hachiman! What's up?"

Well, that was my intention before my other neighbour, Aikawa Ayumu, decided to show up.

My kingdom for some peace and quiet…

I give him a half-hearted glare, this was getting old already, "I was trying to enjoy the solitude…"

Just how many people were going to interrupt my alone time? Putting that aside though, why are you wearing an apron? Just ignore it, Hachiman. Just focus on getting rid of him so we can regain our peace..

"I guess I came at a bad time," He says after letting out a yawn. "I'm so tired, damnit. Having all the house to myself isn't as good as I first thought."

I continue to look forward, "Your parents aren't around?" I lean my back on the wall, my eyes focused on the sky, "Lucky you."

Aikawa blinks, and gazes at me, startled, "Did something happen?"

"Not really," I respond with a blank expression. "What about you?" It's not like I'm remotely interested, but I shouldn't cause another scene with him like last night. Leaving Kasumigaoka on her own and reassuring Miura were bad enough as it was to warrant notice, alienating a 'friend' of mine for no real reason will look too suspicious.

"Not much. It's just a bit weird living alone," He folds his arms, speaking in a bothered manner, "Ever since my parents left on that work trip, I have to clean the house by myself, cook for myself, and well… you can imagine the rest."

I look at his apron, "Were you cleaning just now?"

Aikawa nods lazily, "Yeah… someone has to do it, right?"

That totally seems like the life of a househusband, my kind of life. He takes care of the house without having to deal with no one. Not even his parents… I'm totally jealous of him! Exchange places with me right now! You're living my dream, dammit!

"Is that the reason you didn't go to Aki's house with Yuuki?"

He nods his head, "You could say that. Got some piled up homework, too. And to be honest, I wasn't in the mood to hear Tomoya's reviews of his favorite games. That guy takes the fun out of them sometimes."

I can relate, I guess. Aki seems like the guy to be spilling out spoilers, or commenting about everything during movies and games. I won't jump to conclusions though, but he does seem to be that kind of guy. And nobody likes backseat gamers.

"So," He turns to me, his eyes looking as tired as they seemed "How are you holding up? Rito said you got in a fight?"

This again? "Yeah. Some players from the sports club tried to get the jump on me," I shrug as if it weren't my problem, "They got me pretty good, but I'm still here."

He seems thoughtful for some seconds, "That's good, pal. We'll give them back what they deserve." Aikawa clenches a fist.

I raise an eyebrow at that. Looks like I matter enough to warrant him to willingly fight for my sake. Or perhaps it's due to his own moral compass, which was then exacerbated because I was the one attacked. Never really thought of it that way, but still…

"There's no reason to," I say casually, "Fighting them again is a waste of time, they're already due to get busted soon enough anyway."

He blinks at me as he relaxes his fist, probably surprised.

"Really?" He looks incredulous that I didn't want to fight, was I seriously supposed to be that bad-tempered?

"You got a problem?" I frown at him.

"Hey, not really," He puts his hands up in surrender, "I'm just surprised, you know? You usually get back at others for these type of things."

I simply shrug back in response. I don't know why the previous version of myself was willing to do so, but I'm not going to bother. Whatever happens to those idiots, isn't my problem and I won't make it mine.

However, at least I got some information about my past self. Maybe he was the vengeful type, but somehow I already imagined he would be something like that considering the bastard he seemed to be prior to my arrival. No wonder he and Haruno got along so well, they complimented one another I suppose.

"Anyway, have you heard?" I turn to Aikawa, staring at him in confusion. "So you haven't? Remember the two murders in Chiba a while back? I just saw in the news that there's been a new murder. The police found the body of a student this morning."

Murders? In Chiba? I can't help getting a bit tense with this sudden change in subject. Seriously, I came here to relax and now I have to hear you talk about a possible serial killer? Way to go, Aikawa… You've destroyed whatever chance I had to have my peace here.

"I haven't been watching the news lately," I respond honestly, "How much does the police know about them?"

While I'd rather not even think about that, I think it's better for me to learn as much as I can from this, after all, me and my family could be the next target. Just to think about that is scary… Damn it, this world is insane. I don't recall Chiba facing such a dreadful event ever. It was always peaceful here. Now I knew this world really was a shittier version of mine… How dare they make my precious Chiba dangerous!

…Hold on a minute… Last night, wasn't there someone watching me from across the street? I feel a chill go down my spine. It couldn't have been her, could it? That other pink-haired girl that sent that disturbing message?

"Mmm… well, apparently the killer uses a sharp weapon to kill their victims," He explains, "The police thought it was a knife, but the medical examiners state that according the form of the wound and the size, it might have actually been a katana."

"What sort of serial killer would use a katana as the murder weapon?" I ask in skepticism. Aikawa shrugs his shoulders.

"Beats me, I'm not a serial killer so I can't even begin to imagine," Aikawa scratches his head, "I'm not sure if we should get worried, I mean, Orito keeps telling me it'll be okay but what are the chances he's wrong? I know I'm living alone now but..."

Orito? A friend of his, I guess. Possibly mine too.

"Is there a pattern with the people killed so far?" I inquire, narrowing my gaze.

"That's the kicker, the police can't find one. None of them are related in any way."

Alright, now this is a worrying matter. A serial killer is on the loose in Chiba, and anyone can be the next victim. The chance of me becoming the next unfortunate target is slim, but as long as there is the tiniest chance of that happening, I won't ignore it. I'll have Deviluke create something to keep my home safe. Maybe she'll at least be helpful in that regard.

"Whatever the case, you should listen to Orito," I grumble, looking at nowhere in particular. "Bad things happen more often than you think." I know that pretty well.

"You're right… I should probably tell Rito about this, but he'll start panicking and becoming even more paranoid if I do," Aikawa yawns, and tilts his head, "Maybe I can just make sure to walk him home. His parents are always traveling too and he practically lives on his own with Mikan-chan."

I nod my head. I may not like these people, but that doesn't mean I wish them any harm.

"That's up to you."

He smiles, "So, how is your relationship with Yukinoshita going?" I raise an eyebrow at that, it doesn't take a genius to figure out which one he was referring to, "Considering you now talk to Miura, you could have also changed your opinion about her." So he already knows that, too? I wonder who told him? Yuuki most likely.

"What does Miura have to do with Yukinoshita-san?" I ask drily.

"Dude," Aikawa looks startled. "Yukinoshita hates her, right? You know that more than anybody. It's either be a friend of Yukinoshita or a friend of Miura's."

"Then I suppose I'll choose Miura."

Aikawa's jaw drops, looking shocked, "W-wait! You mean that!? So the rumours are true?"

"The rumors?" So, Yuuki didn't tell him? "Oh, those ones… No, they're not. We're just acquaintances."

"You hated her," Aikawa's tone of disbelief is irritating. "What made you change your mind?"

"Who knows?" I say cryptically, "Maybe I just got bored with what I was doing before."

Aikawa stares at me inquisitively before shrugging his shoulders. It's really troublesome to realize that the rumors spread so easily, worse still that it was able to migrate to at least two schools. Or maybe Aikawa knowing could be attributed to just Yuuki having a big mouth.

"Hmmm… You really are changing, Hachiman," His bland gaze becomes unexpectedly sharp. "That's cool, I honestly thought you were being unfair to Miura, or to anyone you didn't care about…" He leans to me, as if to whisper something. "You know, I never liked Yukinoshita, even if she was a hot babe."

Idiot, the last part was unnecessary.

"Maybe I realized how rotten she was… so anything that might have happene-"

"That happened," Aikawa corrects, sporting a knowing smirk.

I glare at him, "Whatever. I don't care about what happened before. Just forget about it, so don't mention her anymore." He nods his head at my order.

"Sure, sure. No need to get all irritated, I totally support you."

After that, silence follows, we both stare at the starry sky. Eventually, the door of my house is opened, bubblegum pink hair reaching my sight. Maybe if I ignore her, she won't say anything.

"Hachiman? What are you doing out here?"

Aikawa freezes immediately and I roll my eyes. Deviluke approaches, looking curious. Man, I don't feel like dealing with this right now.

"It's not your business," I retort, focusing my gaze in the sky.

I can hear her steps as she lets out a childish whine, "Mou… Why are you so mean to me!?"

"What the heck? A cosplayer came out of your house?" Aikawa glances frantically between us, "Is this a friend, or family? Were you hiding her from me? You dirty boy!"

"Quiet. It's none of those," I growl out, "She's the daughter of an old family friend."

"That's a lame excuse, dude. No need to hide it!"

Deviluke tilts her head, "Hide what?" She waves a hand at Aikawa, "Ah! I'm Lala Satalin Deviluke by the way! Are you a friend of my Lovey-Dovey?"

Aikawa turns to me with a perverted, knowing grin. Ugh, that's really gross… Stop putting on that face! The police would throw you to jail first and ask questions later if they were to see you right now!

"Tch! Oi Deviluke, quit saying such ridiculous things," I growl, observing her from the corner of my eye. "This idiot might misunderstand what's going on."

Deviluke frowns, "What's there to misunderstand?" I blink at her unexpected reaction, "Are you shy about revealing our relationship, Hachiman?"

I turn to Aikawa, expecting another disturbing face, yet he now smiled, his teeth glowing, yet I could tell he was faking it. What the hell is happening now? I sense some sort of bitterness from you! Could it be that you're actually…

"Ah… It's good that I at least get to see a friend reaching paradise…"

Is he seriously jealous? What kind of pathetic life do you need to have to be jealous of Deviluke disrespecting my personal space? Give me a break… Good grief, I've said that a lot of times, haven't I? And in the span of just one day too...

And just before I could even make a comment, I hear some steps coming down the street. It looks like the others heard it as well, as we three stare in silence, two tall figures approach our location. I tense, recalling what Aikawa mentioned some moments ago. Maybe it was two killers instead?

As they neared, I could distinguish them. The newcomers were actually two men dressed in black suits, also wearing black glasses. It reminded me of that popular western film, something about men wearing black outfits, they fought aliens in the films I think. Aliens...

Wait… I glance at Deviluke, she's an alien… So were they…?

The American secret agency is here!? To retrieve this non-human being for the government to study!? Wait, Hachiman. How would they know...? Or more like, how wouldn't they know? All Deviluke has done since coming to this planet was to draw attention. But they couldn't have jurisdiction in Japan, could they?

Well, as a secret agency of sorts, it wouldn't make sense if people actually knew that. I can't discard this possibility. So, what now?

And after a few minutes of just staring, I found out the truth.

"Dear goodness… what a troublesome lady. We should've restrained your movements even if it meant tying your hands and feet until we left Earth."

Alright, I was completely wrong. These people weren't related in any way to the american government or any secret agency. They did look though as agents of that American movie in charge of dealing with UFO-related matters. Should I watch the movie again? Maybe I'll learn something useful in dealing with aliens.

Who am I kidding? That sort of film wasn't based in any sort of research or scientific discovery whatsoever, but only made to give one entertainment. I still refuse to believe that the tiniest gun was the most destructive one!

Whatever the case, these guys did actually turn out to be related to Deviluke. Bodyguards, maybe? In charge of her security and wellbeing, failing since she managed to escape them and come to Earth. Alright, it's either Deviluke used her genius brain to elude them or these men are just looks and no action.

"Eh? How did you two find me?" Deviluke took a nervous step away from the two newly arrived men.

The men in black surrounded Lala from both sides, just in front of my house. The dim light of the streets gave these two a more imposing presence. They were tall, muscular and looked very professional. One of them even had a large scar… Pretty intimidating seeing that kind of thing in real life.

"Hmph, it was not an easy task, Lala-sama. There was a large burst of energy that occurred after you teleported, it threw off our tracking devices for an entire day." The one with the scar said evenly as they both looked ready to restrain her at any moment.

Aikawa and me only stared blankly as these guys tried to take the Alien girl with them. To be honest, I wasn't in the mood to do anything, her personal matters didn't concern me after all. I just allowed her to remain in my house, and only that.

"Lala-sama!" Her weird hat speaks, I mean, Peke… That's what it's called, I think… "Why don't you use the bracelet?"

A bracelet? I bet it's some super advanced thing or something. Aikawa scratches his head, confusion painting his face.

"Who the heck talked just now?"

I look around in confusion as well, feigning ignorance. I could just tell him the truth, but to be honest, even I find that talking invention of hers absurd.

Deviluke shakes her head and replies to her hat, and I swear it just seems she's talking to herself. Aikawa must think she's insane, "Pyon-Pyon Warp-kun?" If it doesn't have a ridiculous name, then it can't be a creation of hers… "I can't, it was damaged during our escape… and I forgot to repair it. Teehee!"

I stare blankly as she sticks out her tongue playfully, feigning a smack on her own head. C'mon, that sort of reaction is too damn cliche, and overrated. I can't really find it cute as most people does, for me, it's just irritating. No one can pull off "Teehee-Peros" in real life, dammit.

Source: Me.

Aikawa deadpans, "Where do you find your female friends, Hachiman? You seriously know how to pick'em." I roll my eyes at that. Oi, quit staring at her with such a disgusting gaze.

As I return my attention to Deviluke, one of the two new arrivals suddenly grips her arm, "Now, this time you'll do what we say."

Lala struggled to break free, before she looks at me with a gaze of expectation. Oi, oi… What the heck can I do here, alien-san? I'm not some kind of counter to alien hunters.

"Uh… shouldn't we do something?" Aikawa mutters, "I have no idea what's happening, but your friend doesn't seem to want to go with those guys."

"You volunteering?" I ask sarcastically.

"Are you insane, dude?" Aikawa retorts. I figured as much. Don't go saying that sort of line if you're not willing to do something yourself.

I blink as Deviluke's desperate voice echoes in the street, "Let me go! No no no! I won't go back! Hachiman, help me!"

Aikawa now stares at me seriously. Oi, why do I have to be the one doing something here? Just because she's calling my name? It may seem like that but it's not the case at all.

Besides, was there anything I could remotely do now? I bet any of them could knock me out with a single punch without breaking a sweat. I don't even think that brutish girl from yesterday would stand a chance against any of them either. If my body was in better condition, maybe I would be able to do something. But even then, to what end?

Deviluke, you must be really desperate for having to bite their arms, aren't you? I would actually find this funny if not for the troublesome circumstances.

The door of my house is suddenly opened, and I feared it was either of my parents. I can't even begin to imagine what would happen if that was the case. They would call the police probably, seeing those two suspicious-looking guys trying to take Deviluke away.

"Hachiman-san? Lala-san?" Instead of it being either of them, it was Belldandy who came out of the house, sporting her goddess outfit for some reason. Aikawa instantly turns to me, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Let me guess, another daughter of an 'old family friend'?" He says with a knowing tone… This guy is so freaking annoying. Aikawa stares at the goddess as she approaches us, "And another cosplayer, too huh?"

With my arms folded, I stare blankly. Was it really the appropriate time to talk about this? But at least I was prepared for this situation, "…No, she's from America actually. A protégé of Naomi's..." He seems confused at that name, "My 'aunt' that works in America, remember?"

Aikawa lands a fist on his palm, apparently recalling, "Oh, yeah! So she brought her to Japan?"

"Hachiman!" Deviluke interrupts me before noticing the godly being. "Belldy-chan! They want to take me away!"

I look as Belldandy gives me an indifferent stare, which was something I didn't expect from someone as apparently kind as her, "What?"

She doesn't respond, so I narrow my gaze, hands in my pockets. Aikawa blinks, glancing between us as the tension could be felt in the air.

"Ehhh… guys?" Aikawa waves a hand.

"You don't seem to mind what's happening to Lala-san," Belldandy says with a severe tone. I raise an eyebrow.

"What exactly do you expect someone like me to do?" I ask curtly. I'm human you unreasonable goddess, I'm nowhere near as capable as the two of you.

She drops her gaze, her eyes wandering aimlessly, "I can sense your insincerity, Hachiman-san." I frown at that, "Your feelings towards Lala-san are cold, much colder than your feelings towards me."

Can she actually tell that? Well she can read minds, I guess sensing emotions isn't too far-fetched. But even then, the reason's simple, "Because you're here to help Komachi, she's here for her own selfish reasons and never bothered to tell us."

Belldandy seems hurt at that, which is absurd considering that I have said nothing against her. Then again, from what I've seen from her, she's an honestly good person, possibly to the extent that she may have even been sheltered from anything that was the opposite. So it might be that she just can't comprehend and therefore disapproves that I wasn't willing to help when I was completely outmatched. It's pretty unfair of her to expect that of me.

Belldandy averts her gaze and starts approaching the struggling trio on her own. I suppose that a goddess will have no problem handling something like this. Aikawa seems nervous now.

"Oi, Hachiman? What are you doing?" Aikawa is evidently worried, "You can't just let her deal with this alone. Who are these people?"

I ignore him, focusing on the goddess. I won't lie, I'm intrigued as to how she hopes to deal with them. I just hope she doesn't do anything showy.

Reaching Deviluke and her captors, Belldandy suddenly bows respectfully to them, and I felt the urge to face fault. Considering how kind-hearted she is, this shouldn't be a surprise, still, I can hardly believe it.

"It's clear that Lala-san doesn't want to go with you," She raises her head, looking weirdly serious, "So please, let her go."

Uh, I don't think that simply asking politely will be of any help there...

"This isn't the business of earthlings," The one with the scar replies.

Belldandy tilts her head, "That inquiry is incorrect, sir. I'm not an earthling, I am a goddess!" She states without a care, her tone so cheerful that is so anticlimactic in this situation.

"No, you're not!" Aikawa waves his hand, deadpanning, "She's delusional, isn't she? This isn't funny! And what's the deal about Earthlings?"

I remain silent, way to go Belldandy, you lasted all but one second with that alias we gave you. Good grief, even Deviluke kept quiet about her extraterrestrial origins and she went around walking in public in that costume of hers.

Taking advantage that Belldandy held everyone's attention, Deviluke stomps the feet of both of her pursuers, allowing her to break free from their grips. Using this chance, she slips away from them, and runs towards Belldandy.

"Please, Lala-sama," The same man with the scar starts, "Stop trying to run away from home."

"I won't!" The pinkette shouts back, exchanging a glance with the goddess. "I've had enough! I don't care if I'm a successor or whatever, I'm tired of meeting future husband candidates every single day!"

"But Lala-sama… This is your father's will." He replies.

Marriage candidates? Her father's will? Is that why she ran away? I want to say that it sounds like a stupid reason to do so, but even I can't condemn her for wanting to have her own freedom. Crap, I've been reading too much of Komachi's shoujo manga…

But her having multiple candidates chosen for her to marry implies that her family's important enough to warrant them. That means that Deviluke is some sort of noble back in her planet.

"I don't care about what Daddy wants!" Lala stick out her tongue childishly. Maybe nobility is different on other planets…

"He will not be pleased with such insolence, Lala-sama," He responds professionally, "He is only thinking of your fu-"

"If he was thinking about her at all, he'd be sensitive enough about her to realize that having a choice in that matter is important to her."

Everyone turns towards the source of the voice. Me. Oh dear, what on Earth am I doing?

"Hachiman!?" Deviluke's wide eyes land on me, hope had returned to them. Belldandy looks especially shocked that I had even bothered to intervene. Hah… I'm such a romantic…

Neither of the men looked to have appreciated that though. The other blonde one glares at me in a way that makes me feel like a deer in the headlights.

---

Go to profile, SEE: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 03 Section: Picture 04

---

"Do not interfere, humans." Even his voice follows the other guy's in the cliché of also being intimidating. It actually takes a bit of willpower for me not to back away.

"If you do, then we will remove you."

Suddenly, they start advancing, Aikawa nervously crossing his arms in an X as he pales, "H-hey wait! He's the one who said it! I'm innocent in all of this!"

"You're so miserable…" I mutter. And even after judging me for not doing anything too…

Quit panicking idiot, they don't give a damn about you. Although, these guys seem like they're highly trained, being tasked to capture Deviluke and all, so being scared is understandable. But did you really have to throw me under the bus, bastard? You couldn't even try and pretend that I could trust you?

And before long, and despite the imposing presence they had, the self-proclaimed goddess steps up to them much to my surprise.

"I would ask of you gentlemen to leave Lala-san in the care of Hachiman-san," Belldandy says with a determined face, "She is rather attached to him in this world."

"Belldy-chan…" Deviluke seems moved by those senseless words.

Oi, oi! Don't say things that could be easily misunderstood. While I had allowed Deviluke to remain with us, it doesn't mean that I'm gonna take care of her. What if they wind up thinking I want to be her choice?

The goddess continues, "Forcing her to marry someone against her will is wrong. Lala-san has the right to marry the person she loves."

The alien 'runaway' nods her head in agreement, "Yeah, totally! Ah! I really like Belldy-chan! She's so cool!"

Can't you guys read the mood? This is serious, you know? Look now, the bulky man is approaching you. I have a bad feeling about this.

"I'm sorry Lala-sama, but…" And before he can put a hand on the pinkhead, Belldandy claps her hands together, opening them in that instant to release a ball of blue energy. The magic power or whatever crashed into the man and blasted him away.

Wait… What!?

"Wow! That was amazing, Belldy-chan!" Deviluke screams in delight.

"W-what the heck did I just see?" Aikawa says in disbelief. I couldn't believe my eyes either. Seeing something that should only exist in the realms of fantasy and shounen anime occur in real life was something I couldn't even begin to comprehend.

She produced energy and launched it at that guy! How the hell was that possible!? Forget Deviluke, maybe Belldandy is the real Saiyan here! Seriously, what was this world? Aliens are one thing, but are there seriously beings that can project energy?

Well, she did say was a godde- Whoa! That other dude just lift a truck!? Shit! And he threw it right at her! I instinctively took a step back before Belldandy stopped the vehicle by simply raising her palm, some sort of invisible force repelling the truck to the side.

"Are my eyes screwing with me!?" Aikawa's jaw drops, "What kind of anime world did you drag me into!? Tomoya would be geeking out if he were here!"

"I'm not entirely sure myself…" I mutter softly, still trying to wrap my head around what is happening in front of me. If he doesn't get it, how can I be expected to? These kinds of things were impossible back in my world. Maybe Aikawa was onto to something here, this world literally had anime aspects to it.

"So, yeah! I'm gonna stay here with Belldy-chan and Hachiman forever!" Lala states with utter conviction. Excuse me, wasn't the word 'forever' too strong to use Deviluke-san? Couldn't it be, like, 'for now' or 'temporarily'? Why would you want to stay here permanently? You're abusing our kindness here Deviluke!

Ignoring our nonsense, Belldandy didn't seem at all fazed when the other man in black jumped to attack her.

"Belldy-chan!" Deviluke screamed, worried. After witnessing what she just did before, I somehow imagined what was going to occur, this was a standard cliche in anime.' "Watch out!"

"Please…" The man blinks, Aikawa and I doing the same. Belldandy clasped her hands in a praying manner, "I don't want to hurt anyone else. Let Lala-san stay here with us, please…"

Was… was… this even remotely cliche? No it wasn't… I never expected this kind of development! While I should be glad that we avoided the common tropes that followed this situation, I can't help but feel that I'm not entirely ok with it. There's a pattern that should be followed during these situations, dammit.

The man landed on the ground without any further offensive intent, startled at the sudden plea of the goddess. His determined posture was soon reduced to nothing as he gazed back at Belldandy. With such a face, who could say no? Me probably but…

"But I have to follow her father's orders," The man replied, yet his voice lacked the determination it held before.

Belldandy steps up to him, smiling, "Listen to what your hearts says…" Ok, now that's lame and cheesy already. "Your heart knows what you should do."

The man drops his gaze, lost in thought. Aikawa sweat drops, "Wow, that scary dude turned out to be such a softie. Your friend is really good."

I nod numbly at that, this was something that came all too suddenly. How was she able to confuse this professional with only a few words? Was this another ability of hers? That could be it, nothing else could explain this anticlimactic turn of events. Well, maybe I can take advantage of this momentary crisis he was going through.

"Oi," The three extraterrestrials turn to look at me, "Why does her father want her married off so suddenly?"

"Hachiman?" Deviluke looks confused at the question. It's actually a fairly good one, you know? What could possibly be so important that you own father would want you to marry so early?

The suited man glares at me from his kneeling position, "Do not question what you do not know of, human. Lala-sama is at the proper age fo-"

"Deviluke barely looks older than my own sister, how can anyone possibly believe that she's at the age to be married off?" I interrupt him. Not sure if it's the brightest idea, but more context for Deviluke's story is much appreciated.

"Human… Yo-" He tries again, but I don't let him talk.

"Why does her father want her married off?" I press, my tone taking a more serious tone. The man doesn't take that too well. I'm playing with fire now.

"…Our King no longer desires to rule over the galaxy, he wishes to retire and have his eldest daughter and her future husband to rule in his place." He replies after getting caught in Belldandy's pleading look again. Maybe I was right about it being an ability of hers, making him talk.

Hey, wait. Ruler of the galaxy? Deviluke's father wants her to be in charge of the Milky Way? Just who the heck is her father anyway? Whatever, I'll go along with this farce.

The goddess steps to him, resting a hand over her chest, "That's very selfish of him, putting such responsibility on Lala-san's shoulders, disregarding her own right to choose her future, and to choose who she will love."

I have to agree with Belldandy's opinion, what kind of father dumps an entire kingdom onto his teenage daughter? That's beyond mere irresponsibility, that's just reckless already.

"Does it seem right to you, to have Deviluke become ruler and marry some random guy?" I ask. Belldandy has his guard down, and like Aikawa said he seems to be a bit soft. Maybe I can take advantage of his sympathetic side.

"It doesn't matter what I think is right, I have orders to accomplish," He says, fixing his sunglasses. Hoh… Still adamant about that, huh?

"Why is it that you obey her father while forgetting your own morals?" I smirk darkly, "Maybe you're just a puppet he can manipulate?" The man darkens his gaze, Belldandy looking at me with disapproval, "Following a boss blindly only drags the followers into meeting their tragic ends. The span of history in this planet has proven it countless times, and I bet yours can say the same."

Aikawa scratches his head, "What are you guys talking about?"

I keep my focus, ignoring him. He had seen enough to realize that something is not right about this world. To tell him otherwise would be a waste of time. I'll deal with Aikawa once I solve this. This guardian was a tough one to crack.

"Still, this matter goes beyond what we think is right, as it concerns the future of the galaxy, boy," He sighs as I notice on the background, the man that was first blasted away getting on his feet.

"And you really think that the future of the galaxy will be secure with Deviluke and some random guy as rulers?" I ask seriously. Call me biased, but I wouldn't trust Deviluke to look over my cat, let alone an entire kingdom.

"Eeehh… I can't tell if you're actually defending me or not…" Deviluke whines, puffing her cheeks. I am, you idiot. It's doesn't matter how, but we have to convince them. Making them realize your incapability is our best shot at making him and his partner leave.

The man in black looked thoughtful. As his partner approached us, not looking happy being blasted away, the man with the scar raised a hand, signaling the other to stop. I narrow my gaze as he turns around walks towards the bulky one. Just some meters away, they seems to be discussing matters.

"What could they be talking about?" Aikawa voiced my concerns.

"No clue," I respond honestly. I can only hope that they took the bait and are pondering whether or not they should continue this retrieval of theirs.

Belldandy kept her eyes locked on the duo as the conversed, eyes hopeful. I wonder if all goddesses are like her? Those two could be easily mistaken as hitmen, yet she believes in them. I swear that blind kindness will be your downfall in the long run, goddess.

Humans are not like your kind, they are selfish and evil more often than not. There may be few exceptions but in the end, they just need certain conditions met to show what they truly are capable of. It's as simple as that.

Source: Me.

As the female duo awaited, after some minutes, the two men in black turned to us and approached. They had apparently reached a decision, and I couldn't help feeling a bit restless. I wonder why though… having them take this troublemaker away was for the best… this unwanted feeling must be about the game, I assume.

The men stood just before Deviluke and Belldandy, and to their relief, they nodded.

"An order is an order, Lala-sama," The one with the scar said, and Deviluke dropped her gaze. "However, we never intended to travel all the way to this planet, it seems that we may need to restock ourselves before we resume our task."

I raised an eyebrow in disbelief, and the alien let out a squeal. However, her happiness was short-lived as a new voice resounded in the whole block.

"Disobeying direct orders? I don't think so."

I look up, and see a spaceship floating there… Hah…

I can only assume this voice came from the large spaceship. Just how come no one else had yet to notice this scene? I mean, there's now a huge spaceship on the sky, almost covering it completely.

I'll be damned.

It was enormous and emitted hundreds of lights. It did resemble a flying saucer, like those depicted in several TV shows… I guess they weren't far away from the truth, huh? From the middle, a shiny, and intense light fell from the saucer towards the ground, just behind the men, a new presence falling through it. Now I've seen it all. As for the stunned face of the guy at my side, well, it's quite understandable.

"WHAT THE FUCK!? ALIENS!?" He shouts in shock.

I frown at his outburst. Have you even been paying attention? They already implied that minutes ago, you idiot. I'm too numbed by these sorts of things to be affected anymore, I should save myself the trouble and stay like this from now on. Only an idiot would keep trying to be rational in such insane circumstances, where normal logic can't be applied. Honestly, this world is just one giant headache...

The man who came from the sky looked… ehmm… intimidating? He had grayish hair and blue eyes both shining intensely, he was insanely tall. As for what he wore, it was some sort of armor, with spaulders and a cape included. The armor looked like something a Demon King would wear now that I think about it, like in those older adventure games. Well, the chance of convincing them is gone now, I'm afraid.

"Zastin…" Deviluke muttered.

Raising his armored gauntlet, the man Deviluke referred as Zastin states, "I can't believe that you two were about to neglect your duties because of a mere human's words. Return to the ship, I'll have a talk with you later."

They nodded stoically," As you command, Lord Zastin. "With that, lights that came from the ship dragged them up, disappearing from our sight once they reached the shiny middle of the saucer.

"What's gonna happen to them?" Belldandy asked, concerned. Geez, you're worried about them too?

He stared at us coldly, "That is not your business, goddess. Moreover, I ask of you to stand aside and let me take princess Lala with me. Refuse and I'll be forced to remove you."

So he knows what Belldandy is? Despite knowing that, he still threatens her? This guy must be dangerous. I shouldn't be here… among such beings… I'm just a mere human. On a side note, Deviluke indeed turned out to be a princess, huh.

I guess even extraterrestrial planets suffer from idiots ruling the monarchy.

"I will not!" Belldandy shakes her head, looking resolute, "Lala-san has the right to decide how to live her life, and forcing her to marry someone she doesn't love so she can rule isn't right."

Aikawa grabs my shoulders, standing before me, "Aliens, goddesses… You do know what's going on, right?" He narrows his gaze as I look blankly at him. "What the heck have you gotten yourself into!?"

"…It's not like I asked for this to happen…" I mutter, "I just met her yesterday, and for some reason, I had the bad luck to be dragged into her issues."

Aikawa drops his head, sighing, "You sure know how to pick 'em."

We both blink when Zastin raises his tone, "I won't repeat myself, goddess. Heaven has no jurisdiction on the matters concerning the Deviluke bloodline. Outsiders should stay out of this."

Belldandy shields Deviluke, raising an arm, "You're only causing her grief. I cannot ignore it. As part of the Goddess Assist Agency, I offer her my support."

Deviluke nods enthusiastically, "Yeah, I'm… ehm..."

"Lala-san has the potential to be my customer, should she wish it." Belldandy completes.

"Y-yeah! That totally!" The alien adds cheerfully.

From what I see, a confrontation will be inevitable as Zastin reveal a green energy sword of sorts, somewhat alike to lightsabers. Hey wait! That a copyright violation! Stop that right now before we get dragged into a lawsuit! Now I'm starting to get truly worried. If they fight using whatever powers they have, I doubt the entire block won't remain unscathed.

"Cut it out already, Princess Lala. Come back home!" The armored man exclaims.

"I don't want to!" She sticks out her tongue.

"Then you leave me no choice," Zastin's face darkness. Without any further word, he lunges at both Belldandy and Deviluke.

His lightsaber crashes with a force field Belldandy created, a massive pulse is released from the impact. Aika and I struggle to keep ourselves on the ground as we cover our faces. The goddess pushes the alien warrior away and sends a ball of light at him, but he cuts in half.

"Why did it stopped working!?" Deviluke whines as she tries to manipulate her phone. I can only imagine she also possess advanced weapons.

"Nice try princess, but I have disabled your phone on the chance that you wanted to use your inventions against us," Zastin smirks, pointing his sword at Belldandy. Aikawa shrieks as Zastin suddenly lifts the previous truck stationed nearby with one hand and throws it at the goddess. She momentarily turns to me, realizing the danger this sudden fight is exposing us to.

Belldandy moves swiftly towards the coming truck, and concentrates light in both her hands, extending them forward. The truck lands on her palms, and she's forces it back, however, she managed to stop it before it could cause any sort of collateral damage.

"Zastin, stop!" Deviluke screams desperately.

"There's only one way I will, and you know it princess," He readies himself to attack again. Belldandy seems lost at what to do. I bet she just realized this was no place for a fight of that caliber.

"Hold on a minute!" Aikawa suddenly shouts, dragging everyone's attention, "I don't have the slightest idea of what's happening, but if you two keep fighting, then all the people around will probably get hurt!"

The man with greyish-hair sighs, "There's no way I can stop. It's not that simple. I, Zastin, have received the direct order of taking her back, by none other than the King of Deviluke himself. I won't be able to face the King should I fail in this task."

Belldandy frowns, "But doesn't he care about his daughter's happiness? Lala-san came all the way to Earth to just escape from a forced marriage. All that effort is only because…"

However, her voices fades once Deviluke steps just in front of her.

Deviluke grabs Belldandy's hand and forces smile, and I have to admit I was a bit startled as I have never seen such an expression on her. Her smile didn't have the usual childish nature anymore as it conveyed discouragement, realization and melancholy all together.

"Belldy-chan… Thank you… But this is as far as I'll go…"

The goddess stares back at her in silence, guilt invading her face. This isn't your fault Belldandy, but hers. She wanted to be selfish, and well, she tried, but sometimes, it's just impossible to change reality. It's always cruel after all.

"Lala-san…" Belldandy whispers sorrowfully. Even Aikawa seems unhappy about this, but there's isn't much we can say or do. This was her decision.

A tiny tear appears on Deviluke's face and streams down her face before she whispers…

"I… I only wanted to find a genuine love…"

Those words struck a chord in me.

I stood there stunned as I just realized who Lala Satalin Deviluke truly is. A princess? An alien? A genius inventor? Yeah, she's proven to be each of those, but there was something far more important than all of it. I just kept ignoring it until now because I found her to be too meddling in my life, and that made me blind.

She was, after all, like me, someone who tried to escape from the harsh reality.

I only just wanted to find something genuine, whatever it could be, yet this girl had already made up her mind in what she wanted. She sought to love, whatever that was. It didn't matter how she did, all she desired was to have a choice in the matter, a choice that she was willing to risk everything for. It isn't hard to imagine how restricted her life could have been as she was the daughter of the king of a whole planet.

I may know nothing of it, but those melancholic expressions were there in her face, hidden beneath that apparently ever-cheerful personality of hers. I suspected there was something amiss when I was about to throw her out of my house yesterday, and those senseless words about love and whatnot she kept babbling on about… That was her way of expressing her desire to walk her own path under her own choosing.

Yet once more, she didn't have a choice in what entailed the future of her own life. It bitterly reminded me of Yukinoshita's situation. She ran away from her family trying to control her life, she didn't want her life dictated by others either and while it did take a while for her to finally do so, she wanted to choose her own fate and create her own future. Away from her family's pressure.

Deviluke was the same. I now understand what she was trying to do.

Before I could even realize, I was standing between Deviluke and Zastin. It seems I may have gone insane from living inside this world, but I couldn't just let a person be deprived of her freedom.

"Deviluke… I thought you were just messing with me, but I just realized something," The pinkette blinks, "I found it absurd that from just meeting me, you'd want me as your possible future husband, there was more to it, wasn't there?"

Deviluke frowns, "W-what do you mean, Hachiman?"

"It's funny to think that you were actually using me," I let out a dry chuckle. "You really are a genius…"

The alien averts her gaze as I step to her, hands inside my pockets, "W-what are you talking about?" She scratches her cheek nervously, while Belldandy looks confused.

It's time to reveal the truth.

"You wanted to marry a 'mere human' like me to get your father to stay in power, didn't you? He'd never end his reign if his planet refused to have me rule in his place, right?" I say cynically.

This is the first time I've seen such a severe expression on her, it even surprised Belldandy, "That's not the true! Never I once thought of earthlings like that!" She steps to me, too close for my liking, "But you know, yeah, I used you, but only because I wanted him to let me stay here. I like Earth so much! I… only had my ro… F-forget it!" She sticks her tongue out at me and gives me her back.

Zastin cocked an eyebrow, "Y-you, an earthling, marrying Princess Lala?" I turn to him with a dry stare, is that all he got from that? "That's blasphemy! An earthling for such a responsibility as to rule over the Galaxy?"

Alright… it seems I was indeed correct about that. The planet Deviluke most likely won't accept a human from Earth as a ruler, which would explain how the Deviluke Princess could be able to remain in Earth if she married one. But this does contradict Deus Ex's words about human capabilities.

---

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 03 Section: Song 07

---

"Don't underestimate humans, Zastin-sama," Belldandy states sharply. "They are stronger than you might think. Gid Lucione-sama is just too stubborn to accept it, and so are you."

"Nonsense!" He swings an arm, his cape flowing, "If you believe that, then let him prove his worth!" I don't like where this is going.

Zastin turns to me and raises his sword to slash at me, I feared for my life, yet I stayed in place. There's was one thing I still needed to say. I'm seriously tired and I don't feel like moving at all anymore. I just want to go to bed already…

"You think of me as a mere human, but you haven't realized how human your princess is behaving, acting so selfish and dragging me into her problems," I close my eyes.

"It's stupid how things turn out, huh?" I open my eyes, Zastin had stopped his lunge mid-swing and simply glared at me in confusion.

I then direct my gaze at the source of my current problems. "To be honest, I find Deviluke really annoying, that overly upbeat personality of yours is probably what bothers me the most." She pouts, making fists, "But not just because I dislike that kind of person, but only because you're a hypocrite."

"W-what did you call the princess?" Zastin prepares himself again to strike, but this time it's Deviluke who raises a hand to stop him. Then she focuses on me again, this time looking at me in pure curiosity.

"I'm saying that princess of yours acts more like royalty than you give her credit for," I chuckle darkly, "Faking her personality, acting like nothing's wrong when in fact everything was wrong the entire time."

"W-what?" I turn to him with a bothered look, he was pointing a finger at me. Seriously, that reaction is overdone. "How dare yo-"

I wave at him dismissively, before glaring daggers, "How can you spit out such crap about rulers and marriages when you don't give a damn about her?" I face Zastin with a stern expression, "She lied… about a lot of things, but I don't have the right to judge. I do the same, and you know what? I don't really care if she did either, because she's acts as any human would, and that's just fine."

"Hachiman-san…" Belldandy whispers, her tone conveying surprise, but I don't really care right now.

"I'm probably getting ahead of myself here, but I think that living here on Earth, it doesn't matter with who, it's what she chose to do," I look at Zastin defiantly. "Do whatever your king tells you, but nothing will change the fact that all Deviluke craves is the choice to find someone to love, one who will love her back, she wants the freedom to choose. She wants a normal life. Who the hell are you to take that away from her? Not even her father has that right."

Huh… Why am I even saying all of this? I don't really care but…

---

Go to profile, SEE: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 03 Section: Picture 05

---

Silence came, only broken by the currents of winds echoing in the street. It was rather peaceful actually, nice and cool. Wait, I should concentrate here as he could slash at me at any moment, yet it doesn't seem to be the case now that I look at him. Zastin seems to be lost in thought.

"You…" Zastin starts, yet his voice fades. Belldandy gazed at me with a warm smile, while Deviluke…

"Hachiman…"

I blink, what's with that dumb face, stupid alien? That's embarrassing, stop it! Wait a minute, could it be that you misunderstood my words? I didn't do this for you exactly, stupid alien! I just couldn't let someone who could possibly be Deus Ex's creation slip through my fingers!

"Oi, Deviluke, what is i-"

"I want to marry you," She states, her voice so serious that it made my heart skip a beat, "Hachiman, let me be your bride."

…Huh?

"…Huh?"

"You understand me so well that it's frightening…" She seems to be holding her breath, "I only wanted to have a reason to remain here, and marrying you was all I could do to accomplish it," She averts her gaze, her cheeks visibly red, "There was so much I wanted to do, but all I can think now is… that I want to marry you."

I frown at that, wasn't she listening? "Oi, didn't we just talk abo-"

"I've lost…" Came Zastin's voice. What exactly, care to tell me? The only one about to lose something here is me, you stupid alien, knight, devil, thing!

"What the heck are you talking about?" I glare at the male alien who now looked pathetic. Wait, was he crying?

"It was my duty to follow King Deviluke's order, which made me ignorant how Princess Lala felt," He lowers his head, raising a fist as he seems guilty of something, whatever it is. "No, I knew but I tried not to think about it, yet now… I have to admit my loss."

He turns around and walks away… now looking stoic? That isn't the behaviour of someone who had just cried like an idiot! Save that for cool protagonists, dammit!

"Wow… I never imagine I'd see you doing something like that…" Aikawa comments before grinning, "You do deserve this girl, Hachiman! But if you marry, don't have the after party in your house, or else, I won't be able to enjoy my peaceful time at my home."

"Shut up," I growl.

"I can't tell if the countless husband candidates from all the galaxy will be happy to hear this," I blink, what did he just say? "But I will report to King Deviluke myself that we can trust Princess Lala to you."

"Oi, don't give me that kind of responsibility!" He stops, blinking. Was he going to cry again?

*Chu~*

"W-wha!?" Every muscle in my body tensed suddenly when I felt something soft against my cheek. I instantly backed away from the bold alien girl that had just kissed my cheek. I have to thank my genes that no one in my family tree ever suffered from heart diseases. I would be dead ten times over if that were the case!

"W-what the hell was that!?" I exclaim in disbelief. Belldandy was blushing, too. Deviluke simply giggled behind her hand and sent me a coy look. Stop it!

I put a hand to my cheek in disbelief. She kissed me! That was my first! It may have been on my cheek but it's still my first kiss, dammit! My heart was racing wildly at what had just happened. I have to relax, Deviluke probably just got swept up by raw and deceptive emotions. That's clearly what happened here. Phew… Okay, let's focus back on what's at hand now. I have an opportunity to have her stay here for the rest of the stupid game, I need to take advantage of it. But first I should clear off this misunderstanding, I wasn't volunteering myself as a candidate.

"O-oi…" I eek out before clearing my throat.

"What is it?" Zastin asks, folding his arms.

Calm down Hachiman. There must be some way to solve this. Think objectively. It doesn't matter what the Deviluke princess thinks now, I can't let Zastin go back to the King saying that she will marry me.

"Zastin," I start uncertainty. "Let's not… rush things… I mean, we're still too young."

"King Deviluke started his alliance when he was seventeen, and with this alliance he put an end to the countless wars in the galaxy. Managing the galaxy should be easy in comparison," He responds casually. Oi, I'm not some super powerful alien being that can become equal to that of a super saiyan.

I sigh, that was not a good approach, "What I mean is that Deviluke shouldn't just decide on her future husband so easily," She nudges my arm, pouting. I ignore her and continue, "She should've, uh, I don't know… how about a compromise for the king?"

Zastin tilts his head to the side in thought, "Compromise?"

"Yeah… To make sure Princess Deviluke's future husband is, uh, worthy of her…" Saying something like that is making my stomach twist, but I have to resist, "Whoever they wind up being, how about if we set an amount of time for her to correctly choose a legit candidate." The pinkette doesn't seem happy about it, but who cares? "If she doesn't find one, then she'll go bac-"

"I've already chosen you, Hachiman!" She clings to my arm again. You just don't know how to give people their personal space, do you? Or maybe you don't care... Yeah, that must be it. And are you still on that? Stop it already.

I growl at her, "Let's not rush things…" I turn to Zastin, "What do you say?"

"Ah!" He lands a fist on his palm, "So you want to prove yourself to be worthy of the princess?" What sort of understanding was that? You're an idiot, aren't you? "Then how about… one year?"

No way in hell! That's way too much time! I'll probably die in six months… maybe. Could be less for all I know. That won't do at all. Besides, what is there to do to prove myself worthy of Deviluke for a whole year? It's not like I will but still…

"That will be enough time, thank you Zastin-sama," The goddess speaks before I do, bowing to him, "Be sure to inform King Gid Lucione Deviluke of this."

Who the heck told you that you had a say in this matter totally unrelated to you, annoying goddess!? After glaring at her, I notice Zastin already departing.

I sigh, facepalming. Well, could be worse I guess, like having that King Deviluke thinking that I'll marry his daughter. At least I have one year to think on how to get out of this situation… not to mention that I'll have plenty of time to discover if Deviluke is Deus Ex's creation. Although, he did say that the end of everything was near.

Once he was gone, Belldandy brightly smiles at me. Deviluke seems a bit mad for what I compromised, but meh, she'll get over it. Aikawa is yawning… He looks completely spent at the constant shock he was subjected to.

"Well, I believe I can remove the spell now," I frown, yet Deviluke is the one to speak my inquiry.

"What spell, Belldy-chan?"

She claps her hands together, a ring of light spreading all around the area, "I cast a spell to make everyone in a sixty meter radius fall asleep."

Oh, I now understand why no one noticed this… so she knew about Deviluke's plight before coming out of the house? I then hear someone clearing his throat. Belldandy, Deviluke and me turn to the person in question. It's of course, Aikawa.

"So, mind explaining what the hell just happened?"

Well, the first thing I had to do before that was sigh wearily.

3-8

"…And that's basically it." I pinched the bridge of my nose to stave off a headache. After Deviluke gave a dramatically romanticized version of the events that led to this, fortune was on my side when the ever-moral Belldandy told Aikawa a more accurate telling of what happened… with some interruptions of mine for good measure.

Funnily enough, Deviluke offered to erase his memories even before the explanations began. It was a tempting idea, but Belldandy was, as expected, against it. I already had it my way with my parents, so I had to relent this time.

Now, Aikawa stared at us awkwardly, mouth agape.

"Sheesh… If I hadn't witnessed all of this with my own eyes, I would have contacted an asylum to take you in," Yeah… I would have done the same, but it still pisses me of when you say it. "So you two are like hosts as you learn from us humans, right?"

"Yes!" Deviluke raises a hand happily, "Sorry about my family though. Daddy doesn't get the importance of my mission!"

At least she's saying a half-truth. She is curious about human life, but Aikawa believes she came here so she can become a better ruler in the future instead of just running away. It's easier on us, so we'll leave it at that. He might be stupid and a bit of a pervert when it comes to attractive females however, he was grinning at Deviluke and Belldandy the entire time. Better than being a stuttering mess at least. If only barely.

"…" Belldandy doesn't say anything, but she knows she must comply. She did say that she couldn't lie so her silence will have to be enough. "Actually…" I blink and stare at her inquisitively, "I also have a task to accomplish."

"Is that so?" Aikawa folds his arms, "I just hope nothing more like this happens again. It'll be hard enough to relax knowing that there are beings like you outside my house. No offense."

"I don't mean any harm!" Deviluke whines, "I just want to marry Hachiman!"

I roll my eyes, "Whatever the case, don't tell this to anyone else. They're both here as exchange students living in my house if anyone asks. Got it?" I glare at him as I emphasize the last part. Can't afford him being a blabbermouth.

Aikawa raises a thumbs up, "Sure, sure, buddy. Well, time to hit the sack. I just hope I don't have too many nightmares…" He turns around and walks to his house, stopping mid-way. "No offense, uh, again."

Deviluke gives a thumbs up of her own and Belldandy just nods.

"Just go away already," I mutter.

Aikawa laughs, "Hachiman, you really have changed, now I can tell for sure. What you did before was awesome!"

I cock an eyebrow, "You hadn't realized before tonight? I've always been awesome."

I'm getting a sense of Deja-vu…

"Well, now I believe it."

"Idiot," I growl and he laughs some more, going inside his house.

After that, the alien girl hugs the goddess tightly, "I'm so happy! Now I can stay here with you, Komachi-chan, my new mommy and daddy, and…" She looks at me from the corner of her eyes, smiling playfully, "And someone I think is so cool."

I close my eyes, feigning disinterest, "Ah… Kamakura is pretty cool, actually."

"Your cat?" Deviluke blinks, and Belldandy giggles, "It's as cute as you too~"

I deadpan, "Should I be happy about being compared to an animal?"

Deviluke sticks out her tongue at me before dragging Belldandy inside the house with her. I watch them go inside, only to hear Komachi's voice once they open the door. What time was it anyway?

I tap my phone screen. It's 9:40 p.m.

It was getting late… oh I have two new messages.

The first one is from… that girl I met in the park, Suou Mikoto.

- Hey Hikigaya, it's me Suou! U already know dat though (LOL). Just wanted 2 say hi, and about returning u da favor for da meat, which was delicious by da way! (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ I wanted 2 know if u'd come 2 my house on sunday?

This girl… she's too fast about inviting someone to her home, a boy no less, not to mention someone she just met today. I wonder if I should go or not. Free food though…

* I don't want to impose...

Actually, I don't want to go. Thinking about it more, even free food isn't enough to convince me to go with her. What if she's that killer Aikawa talked about? Oh, great… And I gave her my information too…

Anyway, now to check the other. The sender was Shidare Hotaru. Mmm… the dagashi girl?

- I've just arrived to Chiba, Hikigaya-kun. Ah, I brought sooooo many dagashi, there's plenty to try! My research will start again tomorrow! I'm counting on you to help me, okay? I'll reward you in any way you'd like~

…What the heck is with that last part?

* …Sure. I'll see you then.

Wait, how am I supposed to know how she looks like? Do my contacts have images to go with them? I should check on that actually. Entering the contacts menu, I scroll down the list. Well, most of them do have faces to their names, that's a good sign. I blink, stopping when I come across a certain name… Kasumigaoka Utaha.

I frown deeply as I remember what happened with her a few hours ago. She was someone that was supposedly close to me, close enough that I actually conspired with her to make Miura's life hell. While I was able to put a stop to that, it came at the cost of turning my back to Kasumigaoka. I couldn't even leave things as they were now, if I did, I'd be giving away that I wasn't the same Hikigaya Hachiman the people here previously knew. Hah… I'm not even entirely sure if I want to mend whatever wedge I created between us, even considering the game I was in.

The woman made the worst kind of impression on me, she mocked someone willing to risk her status quo just so she can achieve something she thought was genuine. I feel my stomach churn at that, my fists tightening until I feel a sting against my palms. But that genuine thing was nothing more than a cruel illusion, fabricated by my previous self and Kasumigaoka. How can I be expected to have anything more than a hostile relationship with that kind of person?

But… That was just one impression. It may have not been the best type, but it didn't show everything that made up her person. Yukihira was willing to defend her especially after what she did, even told me that I had to make up with her afterwards. And with Yukihira being one of the few I dislike the least in this new world, he might actually be someone I can rely on, if only a little. He isn't a bad guy, quite the opposite actually, and he looks to be a pretty good judge in character. Given all of that, Kasumigaoka must have some kind of redeeming qualities that he cherishes enough to call her a friend.

"I want you two to be with me when I finally make my decision."

…

I unconsciously glare at my phone when that particular memory pops up. Technically, it's been two days since Yukinoshita gave us her request and yet in this world, the date has yet to come. And… probably won't ever come.

Just two days and I already managed to fail her. Even if it wasn't out of my volition, I failed to be there for Yukinoshita alongside Yuigahama. There's a part of me that wonders what was going on in my world. Did it pause? Did I simply disappear and my world went on? …Was I replaced in the same manner I did the previous Hachiman?

I suppress a shudder as a chill ran down my spine at that thought. No, I can't think like that. There would be no purpose in me getting replaced, I was the one that was wanted for this world. And if what Deus Ex said about that Prime worlds babble was the truth, then there's no doubt someone outside of it wasn't needed. Maybe that god of time paused our worlds for us?

Whatever the case, I think I've had enough for today. I'll deal with that some time la-

A beep sound comes from my phone… another message? Mmm… it's from Suou.

- Impose? What's with dat? I told u already, it's no problem at all! Haha! Hiki-baka! Stop being such a girl! U can bring friends if u want 2.

Goodness me, this girl sure is adamant. Hey wait, who are you calling a girl? That's sexist! Apologize to your fellow gender this instant!

*…Can't you just pay me back by taking me to a restaurant instead?

Only two minutes pass before her reply arrives.

- Eeeh… that would be… like, a date, wouldn't it? Haha… Well, if u prefer dat…

I have to sigh, she's misunderstanding me already.

* Food at your house is okay, I guess.

Oh, this time her reply came in just thirty seconds! Now that I think about it, isn't going to her house worse that going to a restaurant? It's too late to go back on my word though.

- What's dat supposed 2 mean? (-_-)

* It means I'm fine with eating at your house, obviously.

This time, it takes her 3 minutes to respond. At least stay consistent, dammit.

- I didn't meant dat, jerk. Whatever, stop making fun of me. I'll send u my house's directions tomorrow… jerk.

Did you really have to repeat that?

* Sure.

With that I close my phone.

Heh, what an odd woman. Maybe she'll realize her mistake when I show up.

3-9

I sigh in relief as I finally take a seat on my beloved bed.

I hadn't realized how tired I really was until just now. I needed this, after everything that happened in the span of a single day, I at least deserve to unwind. The dull aches that occasionally course through my body remind me that my body would appreciate the rest too. Hopefully that Meru Meru brat didn't lie about my special healing being faster when I sleep, it'd be great to wake up better than I am now.

*Knock Knock*

I blink, directing my attention to the door of my bedroom. Who is it now? It's already past ten. Whoever that is should realize to not bother me in my inner sanctum.

*Knock Knock*

There it goes again… Maybe if I stay quiet, whoever it is will think I'm asleep.

*Knock Knock*

Stay… quiet…

*Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock*

Gah. Shut up already. Some people are actually trying to sleep in this house.

*Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock*

*Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock*

*Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock* *Knock Knock*

Now it's getting creepy… Komachi would've already called out to me, but I'm not that sure about my parents… nah, they probably wouldn't have knocked. Plus Belldandy is… not one… to be… this… annoying…

Deviluke… Yeah… It's definitely her.

"Aliens are forbidden in my personal sanctuary," I said out loud so she can hear through the door.

"Ehhhh!? How did you know it was me…?" Deviluke's voice comes from the other side of the door as expected, "Maybe now you can sense me because we're so in love?"

"No one else is this obnoxious," I growl out. She stays quiet then… Mmm? Did she leave...? Maybe she did… but I have this feeling she's still there. I slowly unlock the door… Geez… I don't want to open it, "Oi, Deviluke? Still there?"

"Of course, Hachiman!" I turn my head slowly to the left, noticing pink bubblegum hair. My eyes widen as I see the stupid alien girl coming from the ground, as if she used some sort of trapdoor to get inside my bedroom. I swear that wasn't there in the morning! And we're on the second floor!

"D-Deviluke…!" I stammer in surprise, "How did you…?"

She grins, "With Dig-Dig Tunnel-kun!" She raised a hand, a tiny circular device in her hand, "I can create tunnels everywhere with it!"

I sigh. It seems this will be a good time as any to talk about personal space, not invading others' personal space, and not intruding on one's safe haven. As she finally steps out from the hole on the ground, I can't help becoming tense.

I could say that it was because there was a girl my age inside my bedroom at night, which is something completely foreign to me. I don't even know how to react. The real reason though is the fact that Deviluke only sported the long shirt she wore during breakfast, which apparently belonged to me. Be still, my racing heart.

"I think I need some clarifications about your inventions," I say, not looking at her. My cheeks are probably red, so having Deviluke not look at them is for the best. "Namely what you just used to get inside, or any other item that would allow you to."

She sits on my bed… Why do you have to be so bold, Alien-san?

"Sure Hachiman! What about them?" She tilts her head innocently. Don't give me that crap.

"How many of them do you actually have?" I inquire, "I mean, where do you store them? That's your sixth one already."

Deviluke giggles in amusement, "Oh, yeah! I have lots of them!" She sticks her hand inside her shirt, between her… her… why do you put your phone there!? "See this? It's my personal customized phone, D-Dial. It uses dimension technology, where all my inventions are stored. Consider it a user's virtual space."

I drag the chair of my desk in front of the bed, taking a seat. I'm not sure if I understood what she said. Let's confirm it.

"So this is like having a magical pouch that can store items, no matter the size?"

She tilts her head, her long pink hair reaching the bed. That was incredibly intimidating. I can see way too much of you, Deviluke! I just hope that you're wearing something beneath that shirt or we're going to have some serious problems here.

"Mmm? I suppose it's something close to that," She puts a hand over her mouth, giggling again. "But it's not magic, silly."

Alright… time to draw the line then.

"Seeing as how you'll be staying here for awhile, there's some rules you'll need to follow," I inform her, resting my elbows on my knees, "First. My room is off-limits. Let me be clear, you can't enter my room without my authorization under any circumstances. Is that clear?"

She pouts, "Eh!? Why not? This room will be our love nest," She puffs her cheeks, just like some kid would do. "After we marry, this will also be my bedroom…"

Still talking nonsense, huh…?

"You don't have a say in the matter. You either respect the rules, or get out," I ignore the awkward situation and manage to look at her dryly.

She slowly nods her head, "Okay, Hachiman…"

"Second," I start, clearing my throat. "Don't use those inventions of yours too often. They're seriously troublesome to deal with, and I won't be able to explain them to others if you use them in public."

She averts her gaze, not looking happy, "Meanie, Hachi-baka…"

I ignore the nickname. I stare blankly, raising three fingers, "Third. Try not to wear that costume of yours in the streets. People might mistake you as some sort of cosplayer, and I don't want you to call much attention to yourself," I notice her tail moving behind her. "Uhh, that tail… it's part of your body right? Can you remove it?"

"Nope! You want to hurt me Hachiman?"

Well, I guess it doesn't work as it did with the saiyans. I have to wonder if a full moon would transform her into something scary. Let's just hope that's not the case.

"Does everyone on your planet have a tail?" I ask, leaning on the chair.

"Yes, all the Devilukians are born with a tail," She explains, "You must know that some tails are sensitive, like mine." As she continues, her tail, which had a spade-shaped tip, moved just before my face, "When someone touches my tail, my strength evaporates, so please, treat it with care."

I observe it as she swings it around in front of her. So it's basically a Saiyan's tail without the transformation part. What a rip-off, evolution should have gotten rid of that useless limb of yours generations ago. I do have to wonder if it does works like she says.

"I see…" I mutter. I may have to remember this in case she does something reckless. But Deviluke, isn't it imprudent to reveal your weakness? Most villains always take advantage of that in shounen manga, you know? "Just make sure to hide it from everyone."

"Okay! Any more rules?" She asks. It's rather amusing that this conversation feels like I'm dealing with a child. She sure acts like one.

"Ah, yeah… Right. Four, don't reveal your origins to anybody else," I look at the window, "Aikawa is the obvious exception since he saw all that stuff with your father's henchmen."

"You already told me that, silly."

I roll my eyes, "Just making sure you don't forget it." With my arms folded, I add, "One last thing."

"Oh? What is it?" She sits at the edge of the bed, leaning to me. I blink as her assets were becoming visible from that position. Seriously, you should be more careful doing these kinds of things, woman.

"Cut out that crap about us being lovers," I say this seriously so as to prevent any sort of misunderstanding on her part.

She blinks in surprise, "Why?"

"'Why'? Obviously because it isn't true," I reply casually.

Deviluke frowns slightly, "I don't want to."

"What?" I frown back at that.

"I don't want to," She raises her tone, much to my surprise, "I don't want to!"

"O-oi! Quiet down!" I whisper harshly, "What's your problem?"

"I don't want to, Hachiman!" She whines, standing from the bed. She began to wave her arms wildly, "I won't accept that rule! I won't!"

This brat… Stop acting like a kid.

"Cut it out already," I send her a glare in hopes to shut her up.

However, it's to no avail, "No! Hachiman is being so mean! I don't want to! I don't wan-"

Gah. This is getting really annoying already. How can I shut her up? I blink as I see her tail flick around wildly as Deviluke continued her tantrum. Well, looks like I'll be able to check if she was telling the truth about that after all. It's one way to quiet her down. Here goes.

"K-kya!" She screams once I grab her tail, her body trembling as she sits on the bed again. I grip her tail tightly and she lets out a… weird sound.

"Finally. Do you have to be so lou-" I stop whatever I was trying to say when my eye land on the alien.

Her legs were rubbing against one another, she gripped both the bedframe and her shirt tightly as she let her body fall over the mattress.

It was indeed true, she seems to have lost all her will to argue with me, but for some reason, she's making a weirdly embarrassing expression… She's completely red, and tears are forming in her eyes. Am I hurting her or something?

"Ha-Hachiman~" She whispers my name, a chill immediately runs down my spine.

C-could it be that…? When she said it was sensitive, she meant in that sort of way? You empty-headed alien! Be more specific when explaining these things!

I let go of her tail as if it were on fire. Standing from the chair as Deviluke's tense body seems to relax again, however, her breathing was agitated and she was sweating. The sight of her lying on the bed with just a shirt was just… eh… it was… too…

Uuhhh…

N-no! Stop it, Hachiman! You almost fell for that! You're a gentleman. Look away from this dangerous sight and remain pure!

And as always, life always finds the best of times to make everything go to hell for me. The door of my bedroom is opened by my mother, and behind her, is both Komachi and Belldandy. Shit, I think I unlocked the door when I thought Deviluke was still outside. Just my luck!

"What the heck is this, Hachiman!?" My mother is seriously pissed. When was the last time I saw her like that?

My sister looks between Deviluke, who was still lying on the bed, face flushed, and me, face pale.

"No, wait. This seriously isn't what it looks like," I start to say but…

"O-onii-chan! What w-were you doing!?" She covers her mouth in shock.

Then my mother steps up to me and presses her index finger onto my forehead, "Boy, I thought we agreed to 'No Questionable Behaviour' inside the house!" I purse my lips as her lecture begins, "What sort of indecent example you're setting for your little sister!"

I feel my eyebrow twitch as she continued, and I notice Belldandy looking on in pure confusion. Did she actually not know what this actually looks like? Was she really that naive or something?

"You're misunderstanding what's happening here," I retort. "Don't jump to conclusions before I even explain what really happened."

In that moment, Pops sticks his head inside the room, staring blankly at the scene in my bedroom. Suddenly, he flashes me a smile and a thumbs up. This isn't the kind of support I need now stupid perverted geezer! How is my failure in setting a good example being put up to question here instead of yours?

"Otou-san!" My mother glares at him, scowling. Oh, there it goes… at least I won't be the only one having his ship sunk, "Don't go encouraging such sort of behaviour!"

The old timer raises his hands in a defensive manner, "I'm so sorry, Okaa-chan! I'm a man with weakness! I was so proud of my son finally reaching third base that I didn't realize there was a problem!" He looks at me, serious all of a sudden. What? It's too late to act like a responsible father, old geezer, "Hey, boy. Do you realize what you have done!?"

"I haven't done anything at all, dammit!" I growl out, "Can we just skip the pointless lecture and jump to the part where you all leave?"

Deviluke finally sits up on the bed, apparently recovered from whatever happened to her when I gripped her tail, "What's the problem, mommy? Can't I visit my future husba-"

"And take her with you," I cut her off before she aggravates the problem.

"Lala-chan!" My mother stares at her with disapproval, "As a young and respectable lady, you can't by any reason visit the room of a boy, much less at night! You are not even married, and you two are nowhere near ready to have that kind of relationship. What if you get her preg-"

"Whoa! Whoa! Okaa-san!" Pops raises his tone, surprised, "Remember that Komachi-chan is here! Don't speak about that stuff in front of her pure ears!"

"Oh my…" Belldandy looked uncomfortable now. It would be weird if she wasn't, considering the absurdity of this situation. Honestly, you two are making this entire thing worse with this horribly awkward talk of yours.

"Lala-chan! You can't trust him or those dubious eyes of his to not take advantage of you!"

Oi, oi… Is that how you talk about your own son? Actually, she may know how bad I was previously to say something like that. From what I've witnessed in the past two days, it would make sense. I wonder if she's aware of my… 'relationship' with Haruno?

"Tch," I look away in annoyance, "If anything, I'll be the one who gets taken advantage of."

Silence follows and both my parents stare at me in disbelief. Komachi sports a likewise expression, while Belldandy and Deviluke look more confused. You two… Are you both dense?

And before I could blink, the shouting starts again, different points of views clashing, with a minor spoonful of whines from a certain alien girl. Seriously… I seriously can't catch a break, not even this late into the night.

I stare blankly, silent, before I sense a vibration from my phone. I ignore the shouts to read the two messages I received.

The one on top of the list is from Miura.

- Hachiman! Have sweet dreams! ( ˘ ³˘)❤

Good, grief… I appreciate the thought, but I'm far from even reaching that goal Miura-tan. I text her a simple 'same', before reading a previous message, that arrived 10 minutes before Miura's one. This belonged to my bubbly sempai.

- My first message to Hachiman-kun. It's a bit embarrassing. (⌒_⌒;) Sleep early so you can get better! I'll get mad if I see you tired tomorrow. ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ Okay? (^_^)

I let a small smile creep onto my lips as I text back at Shiromeguri despite the chaos occurring in my surroundings. A lone 'Sure' will have to do.

I look up from my phone. Gah… how can a simple misunderstanding create this much havoc? Well, I have been dealing with more than one throughout the day, and there's plenty of them I still have to clear.

Misunderstandings… huh?

How do they start, how do they end? It's all rather simple actually, it's people that complicate it. So many different points of views and interpretations that mold different kinds of conclusions, which many times end in an entirely wrong concept of the object, situation or person involved. Ultimately leading to, you guessed it, a misunderstanding.

I know that well as I myself have fallen victim to that throughout my entire life. My naiveté and my goal of trying to be accepted by others made me blind to what reality truly was, so using my limited concept of the world surrounding me and my lack of perception, I misunderstood people's intent, and that caused me to get ridiculed by those who never intended to accept me in the first place.

All I got were lies and disappointments due to my blind optimism and desperate search for company, or whatever I thought I desired when I was younger. Yeah, I was that stupid, and as such, it's not much of a surprise that people treated me as if I were.

Even with Orimoto Kaori, I completely misunderstood her kindness, one that was not only directed at me, but to everyone else, she was a nice girl after all… And that caused me to create false assumptions inside my head, believing that I was special to her. I got rejected then for my desperate wish of finally fitting in school like all others, in society. And yet it was that selfishness and stupidity of mine that helped forge the 'me' I am today.

Funny how things turn out.

So many relationships, friendships and even families can end due to that damn word, misunderstanding. It can lead you to accidentally destroy ties as well as unwillingly create them in a never-ending cycle of ignorance, stubbornness, and false assumptions. I can't deny that bad luck can play a lesser role in them, but in the end, the cruel reality of humankind is where their true origins lay.

As I look at the continuing chaos that befell on my bedroom, I can see the different points of view and misinformation crashing violently due to the bad timing of a girl who was too dense to understand what she had caused. It was ironic, and absurd.

This was a world I had no business being in. All of the people I recognize are mere spoofs of their original selves, but they already had their established relationships. Who was I in this world but a fake version of the Hikigaya Hachiman that lived here beforehand?

Deus Ex said he brought me here because he felt I was the one of the two only candidates that could possibly change this world. I don't know how much I could believe him, if I can believe him. But he saw something in me that deemed valuable enough.

But…

What if he was wrong?

What if, in his rush to protect his reality, Deus Ex brought me here on accident?

There's nothing particular special about me, my grades aren't that great, only just above average, and I wasn't physically capable than the average person. Heck, I've had to rely on my supposed gifts by the second day of my arrival. So what exactly can I do here? What can I save?

I sigh heavily as I continue watching the familiar yet unfamiliar strangers that were my 'family' and the two new anomalies in this new life. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that my existence in this alternate world was all a misunderstanding made by a god who vastly overestimated me.

So the real question is… Was I wrong or…

Was I really meant to be… here?

---

Chapter 03 End

---

GTO The Host 03

*Zzzzzzz...*

"Oi, Oi! It's time for the character presentations!"

A man with short blonde hair, wearing a blue shirt under a white suit was sleeping soundly over his desk inside an ambiguous classroom. Standing at his side was a boy with black hair that covered his forehead, who wore a dark-blue uniform and glasses.

Said boy had tried to wake the teacher Onizuka, to no avail.

"Geez… I suppose I'm gonna have to take care of this myself," The boy turns to the readers, sporting a solemn expression. "Reader and followers of this story! I'm Aki Tomoya, founder, director and scenario writer for the Doujin Circle Blessing Software!" Fixing his glasses, Aki continues, "I'm the main protagonist of the series: Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata (How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend), also known as Saekano. My main goal in the story is to create the ultimate and greatest game that will all hearts sing and dance altogethe-"

The door was slammed open, Aki's speech cut short.

An intimidating man entered the classroom, yawning before looking at the readers. With hands inside his pockets, the man that wore black pants and a jacket of the same color, black sunglasses and a headband on his head spoke, "Is it my turn yet?"

Aki pointed a finger at him, "Of course not! I was still introducing myself!" He folds his arms, "Can't blame you though, being completely disrespectful and not caring to others is one of your core characters traits."

"The heck did you just say?" The man scratched his head.

"So here it is, Harima Kenji! Deteuragonist of the School Rumble series! A romantic shounen comedy revolving around the daily lives of class 2-C of Yagami High School, along their friends and famil-"

Harima interrupts Aki as he notices him reading on his laptop, "What the hell is a deterua… whatever! Wait, are you reading all that from the internet!?"

Aki nods, "Of course! Wikipedia is very helpful!"

"Idiot! That's… actually a good idea," Harima starts reading the laptop as well as a new presence enters the room.

A girl that wore Yagami High School uniform stands before the class, hands resting on her hips. She had dark blue hair that reached her shoulders, and gray eyes.

"Hey guys," She waves at both Harima and Aki, "Can I start?"

"Of course, Suou Mikoto!" Aki steps forward, his tone stoic, "One of the main supporting characters in School Rumble! Strong, reliable, friendly and pretty, she's one of the most popular students in-"

Suou grabs Aki by his head, her cheeks a bit red, "W-wasn't I suppose to introduce myself? And what's with all that lame flattery?"

"…Oh…" Aki barely manages to speak, "Y-you're also good at martial arts, aren't you?"

"Well, I was planning to say that myself..." She sighs, releasing her grip, Aki's face crashing with the ground, "Well… that's that."

"When is Ten- er… Tsukamoto going to appear?" Harima asked and Suou shrugs her shoulders,

"No idea, maybe in a few chapters…? Why do you ask? Oh, you're dating Tsukamoto Yakumo, right?"

"Damn! That's a freaking misunderstanding!" Harima growls out, grabbing his head in desperation. "I need to clear that…" He stops, everyone in the class noticing the light coming from the window. "What the fuck?"

The window is slammed open by a gust of wind, intense light entering as the silhouette of a man seems to be coming closer. Everyone watches in awe as an armored man with grayish hair enters the class from the window, the show of lights gone.

"Was that an alien spaceship?" Aki mutters.

"Greeting earthlings, I've come to make my long-awaited introduction!" He declares with enthusiasm, "I'm Zastin. Princess Lala's personal bodyguard, and the strongest Swordsman in all of Deviluke," Everyone is still too shocked to even react so he continues. "I'm also the commander of Planet Deviluke's royal family bodyguards."

Aki nods and clears his throat, "S-sure… Zastin, a supporting character in To Love Ru series. I heard you had a terrible sense of direction. I'm surprised you managed to get here in time."

"I have no recollection of that being true. You must be talking about someone else," He responds seriously.

Suou narrows her gaze as she observes him, "Hold on a minute, why do you look beaten up? There are cracks on your armor… not to mention that big bump on your head."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," He responds, but is clear that he is lying as he's sweating.

"Now that you mention it… your arrival seemed more like you were blast towards that window than arriving here by your own," Aki looks at the passing train in the distance. "You weren't hit by that train, were you?"

"…I… have no idea what you're talking about!" Zastin exclaims, his eyes focused on the ceiling.

"It was luck then..." Harima comments, "This guy is a tough bastard."

Aki fixes his glasses once more, "Well, that would be all for today as our presentator is still dozing off. I'm Aki Tomoya, founder, director and writ-"

"Shut up!" Harima and Suou shouts.

Meanwhile, a sleeping Onizuka mumbles in his sleep, saliva over his arm, "23 years old… big boobs massage...hehehe..."

"Gross! This guy reminds me of Imadori," Suou sweat drops before turning to the readers, "Well, readers..." She winks, "See you all in the next chapter!"

---

We reach the bottom once more. It seems that this chapters keep getting longer, but I suppose that's good, as you all have more to read.

Beta note.

NirvanaFrk97: This is a legit conversation that happened between Itherael and I when we wrote the messages from Miura and Shiromeguri.

Enjoy:

Epicus Totallis: cut(e) emoticon required xd

NirvanaFreak Of '97: Already on it

(｡•̀ᴗ-)

Epicus Totallis: exclenet (excellent)

any other just in case?

NirvanaFreak Of '97: ~(ω)

Epicus Totallis: that('s) scary

NirvanaFreak Of '97: I thought so too

Epicus Totallis: xd

NirvanaFreak Of '97: (。-ω-)zzz

Epicus Totallis: mmmm

continue

NirvanaFreak Of '97: (･ω)

Epicus Totallis: ( ˘ ³˘)

NirvanaFreak Of '97: (ᵔ.ᵔ)

Epicus Totallis: how about that one(?)

NirvanaFreak Of '97: Awesome.

Epicus Totallis: xd

Epicus Totallis: （︶︿︶）(￣ヘ￣)

which is better?

NirvanaFreak Of '97: I think the right one looks more like a pout

Like a cute 'Hmph!'

Epicus Totallis: (¬_¬)

(^_^)

NirvanaFreak Of '97: Mmm, the first one doesn't suit her.

Second, well, it's simple but it works.

Epicus Totallis: ٩(๑๑)۶

NirvanaFreak Of '97: What the hell is that?

Epicus Totallis: i have no idea xd

NirvanaFreak Of '97: o( )o

(＃＞＜)

Epicus Totallis: ʕಡ﹏ಡʔ

ʔ

NirvanaFreak Of '97: ...Those are creepy.

What's with the ears?

(* ^ ω ^)

Epicus Totallis: i think si(m)plicity will work after that okay(?)

(^_^)

NirvanaFreak Of '97: Sure, let's just move on already. We took way too much time with this.

Epicus Totallis: xd

NirvanaFrk97: Yeah that actually happened… Oh and my parentheses with corrections to Itherael's messages is me subtly trying to destroy his credibility in order for me to manipulate you all into thinking that I'm the true writer of this story. It's my evil master plan to dethrone Itherael.

End of Beta Note.

Delusions are so strong sometimes, I suppose. In any case, thanks for accompanying us in this wild ride! I have so much stored for this story so keep looking forward to it. Tell me your thoughts as always and any advice as all of it is appreciated. Thanks for reading, great people! Without you this story wouldn't event exist!

Until we meet again.

- Frank