Tuesday was the epitome of normalcy. The only notable thing about it was its sibling Thursday. These two days didn't mark anything. Neither the start, middle nor end of the working week, and of course they had nothing to do with the precious weekend either.
They were just gears that kept the system going.
So to say they were the corporate slaves of the week.
The word 'change' was unknown to them and that was the only thing I liked about them.
I woke up like always.
I was greeted by the same face in the mirror of the bathroom like always.
I had my Komachi-made breakfast like always.
I arrived at the school with my bike like on any other day when it didn't rain.
No incidents, no surprises and most importantly no contact with people that weren't my sister.
My peace of mind lasted till moments before I entered the classroom.
Miura's words of how she didn't want to be ignored flashed up in my thoughts.
I subdued the rising tension quickly. Of course that excluded the classroom. I would look like a total idiot to greet the most beautiful girl of the school as the nobody I was. Wasn't she mad at me anyway? Come to think of it I never greeted Yuigahama or Totsuka either. For a moment I even wondered whether I even participated in the rise, bow and sit procedure to greet the teacher.
I erased my presence and entered the classroom. Without further ado I went to my chair and pretended to sleep. Infiltration successful, no one noticed me. I was probably the only one in class to put effort into this kind of thing. Not to say I was the only loner. There was still Kawasaki as well, but unlike me she just didn't care if she was noticed. All she had to do was to surround herself with a scary 'don't talk to me' aura to avoid people interacting with her.
I thought a bit about which skill was superior, her aura or my stealth mode, but since I had no information about her upkeep costs I came to no result.
It was time to start my usual observation of the class. Even without Yuigahama, Miura's group was the loudest. Did my clubmate impact the volume of the group at all?
I was still on my guard concerning Miura, so I only used the corner of my eyes to watch her.
Like a floodlight of a prison tower Miura let her gaze wander across the class. The gaze didn't slow down nor sped up as it passed me.
I took it as indication that I was dead to her.
The club was surprisingly enjoyable in stark contrast to yesterday.
Yukinoshita's urge to speak about the talk with her mother had calmed down compared with 24 hours ago. After the red tea had been prepared, we stuck to our books while keeping glances to a minimum. I could truly relax in this atmosphere.
Thus when she refilled my Pan-san cup for the third time I decided to tease her a bit.
"You should have settled on becoming a maid."
The image of her wearing the maid outfit surfaced. It strangely fitted her.
All I got in return was an icy look.
"I believe I told you to stop exposing your fetishes."
"What nonsense are you talking about? I don't have a fetish." I responded with confidence. I didn't even have a type.
"Oh my apologies." Damn, she had put on her mocking smile. Although it was a little softer than from the beginning of my time with the club.
It looked kind of cute. "I forgot you were so desperate that you would accept anyone willing to be near you."
I'll take that back. It was the smile of a devil, not the least bit cute.
"That's not true at all, I actually have quite the strict criteria for women."
I could definitely see surprise in Yukinoshita's expression, before she averted her face.
"Not that it matters, but what could those be?" Her voice wasn't as firm as before and combined with the way the setting sun painted her skin red, she gave off the impression of girl who had just asked for the contact details of her crush.
"Of course the most important criterion would be the level of income. She'll need to be able to care for me."
The following silence didn't last long as it was disturbed by Yukinoshita's mumbling while she strongly massaged her temple.
"After all the time you have spent here, you still uphold that delusion of yours?"
"It certainly has been some time." I totally ignored the second half.
A question came to my mind. One that I had asked twice already, each time with a negative result. Just as I was about to ask her again, I could see her face changing.
She probably remembered the same question and prepared to give a quick response.
'It's out of question for me to be friends with you.' That was her answer back then.
It was only now I started to understand the meaning.
"Looks like you still have some way to go to fulfill Hiratsuka-sensei's request."
In the end I didn't ask a third time. That smile of hers showed me that it was the right decision.
"Indeed."
After I had pedaled home to get today's shopping order from Komachi, I found myself in front of the supermarket again. Miura was shopping here again at the same time. That came a bit as a surprise. I always thought she would be one of the 'go whenever' type.
Why was it that whenever I met her outside of school I found myself in a difficult situation?
If my earlier deduction from the classroom was correct, I shouldn't get in her way. But what if I was mistaken? Wouldn't her words of how she hated to be ignored take priority in that case?
Miura must have felt my gaze when I pondered about what to do, because she turned around to face me. Did I stare that strongly at her?
She crossed her arms and started to tap with her foot. Apparently she waited for me to come over. Well that made my decision much easier. Although that left me wondering whether I even had a choice at all and why was I the one who had to walk in the first place?
"Sup."
Since I was occupied with those other thoughts, I had put no attention to my greeting and just went with one of my usual ones.
However that was a mistake. Miura narrowed her eyes and her glare intensified.
"Good afternoon."
I quickly corrected myself but her expression didn't change.
She couldn't expect me to use 'Yahallo', ccould she? Like hell I'm ever going to use that abomination of a greeting. Wasn't she suffering enough from it with all those people using it nonstop around her?
Her gaze softened as she sighed.
"Just say hello next time."
She turned around to pick up a Kinkan. [1]
So she was at the fruit section again huh? It was probably one of the methods to stay as beautiful as she was. I quickly confirmed the success of her methods by comparing her legs with a nearby orange. Such a smooth skin, if she wouldn't constantly scream out her presence with her various auras she could be mistaken for a doll. But there was never such a moment. She was never on standby, constantly switching between scary, annoyed and bored. Rarely one got to see one of her other auras. That of a caring mother or a truly cute girl.
Maybe that was the reason why boys ran away from Yui whenever she mentioned Miura's name.
Not that most of the girls weren't scared of her either.
Or was it because of her lack of manners? I still haven't received any kind of greeting, have I?
Even Yukinoshita stuck to manners while lecturing me about them.
I picked up the few things from the fruit section that Komachi wanted and quietly excused myself to fetch the rest on my shopping list. After I had found the last item, I looked for Miura to say my goodbye and be on my way.
Guess I wasn't supposed to be this lucky as she looked to be done as well. Like yesterday I waited for her to pay again and we exited the grocery store together.
Of course I didn't repeat the mistake of the too early goodbye, but there wasn't really anything else to say either. I wasn't the type to naturally start or lead a conversation to begin with, but like Haruno once pointed out, I would still always answer when spoken to.
Would the Queen grant me such an opportunity though?
Inside the classroom there were three persons who she would talk to without restraints.
They were Hayama, Ebina and Yuigahama. Oh, and one with a so-so status. That was the result of Tobe's struggle to talk with her despite being scared in an attempt to get closer to Ebina. Every other underling had to do the first step and mostly got told off with nothing more than an intimidating 'Ha?'.
Apparently I belonged in the last category too as she continued to stay silent.
The displeased vibes on her side grew noticeably stronger the longer I remained quiet.
On a second thought, I could start a talk if I had to, like for club requests or when my life was in danger. Did that last thing ever happened? It felt like it happened this very moment.
"Is Yuigahama feeling better?"
Out of the three topics, which I believed could please Miura, I picked the safest one. The second topic would have been Hayama. At best this one was a minefield. Sooner or later I would have stepped on one and then triggered Miura's wrath. I guess it would have been sooner than later since I had nothing good to say about him in the first place.
The third topic was pink. I liked pink, she liked pink, a perfect topic. There was just one flaw with it. I would die immediately when I mentioned her panties.
Picking Yuigahama as topic shouldn't have any backlash, or so I thought.
Miura made an obvious, disgruntled face and stared holes in my head.
"Shouldn't you know her condition if you're going out with her?"
Wait, alarm! I remember this trick question.
"I'm not checking on her daily." The club requests robbed me of too many weekends and free afternoons already. Give me a break for not visiting her. That would have been extremely embarrassing as well.
"... I knew it." After a short flash of surprise on her face I heard Miura mumble something, but I couldn't understand it clearly.
"Say, when did you two start to date?" The voice asking that question was rather timid, but it still managed to carry some annoyance.
"N-no, we never dated!" I blurted this out as rash as I could. Did I fail the question again?
"Is that true?" She looked at me with earnest eyes that could see through all lies.
"Of course not!" I was confident that it was no lie. The thing with the fireworks was just a shopping tour for Komachi after all. She did call me out to a date on Valentine's day, but since she brought Yukinoshita along, that didn't count.
"Don't say misleading things then. I thought for a moment that she would have kept it a secret from me." Miura looked relieved and even a small smile appeared on her face.
That was the first one I saw during our coincidental meetings at the supermarket.
The smile had the magical power to make me feel at ease when being alone with her.
"Don't worry, whenever I went for a romantic relationship it was publicly announced to everyone."
The sentence started full energy out of concern for her, I understood that friends were very important to Miura, but towards the end my voice was completely lifeless as I recalled the memories.
"There was this friend of a friend..."
I automatically began to tell her the story as it passed my inner eyes.
"Mhh? You already said it was about you." Miura cut in mercilessly. Don't you see I need this illusion to get through the story without crying?
"This middle school friend of mine had a cute girl he liked. She was in the wind instrument club. On the birthday of this music-loving girl he had mustered all his courage and gave her present. It was a self-compiled CD of anime songs."
"Anime songs? Are you serious? No wonder you got dumped." Madame Butterfly shot another ace into my tale to disrupt me.
"Hey, I spent all night to carefully select the songs. They were neither too otaku-ish and I mixed in popular love songs from that time. Also I never said I got dumped, did I?" I tried to defend myself desperately. It was an innocent, thought through attempt. I did nothing creepy.
"Ah, you just said it was you again." I couldn't remember Yukinoshita and Yuigahama disrupting me this often.
"Aaanyways, the CD got accepted and he almost cried with joy."
"Oh, so you didn't get dumped after all?" Was that 'oh' really necessary? Classmate, what do you take me fooooor? I tried my best to ignore her inquiring look.
"So on the next day..."
"Aah, there was more to it"
Why won't you let me through this as quickly as possible? Tears started to form in the corners of my eyes.
"...during the lunch break, there came this through the PA System, 'Aaaaand the next song was requested by Class 2C's Otagaya Hachiman-kun (snicker), a love song (snicker) for Yamashita-san!'" [2]
No matter how often I talked about it, the tears were still flowing down. Whoever said that talking cures every psychological trauma was a big liar.
"Haa?! What a wicked girl. How could you fall for her?" Miura send me an accusing gaze with one eyebrow raised.
I got it at this moment. Miura might disrupt a lot, but she was a very passionate listener.
We arrived at yesterday's intersection.
Time to part I guess, a loner was very considerate after all.
"Goodbye." I used the same formality and went for the detour again.
"Where do you think you're going?"
That voice stopped me in my tracks and I turned around.
"Didn't you.. yesterday..?" Speak fluently, would you? But I couldn't. I was honestly caught by surprise. I didn't expect anything other than a 'goodbye' from her.
"Yesterday was yesterday. You originally wanted to go this way right?" That clear voice did not only cut off all my thoughts, but also the connection to my language centres.
I could only nod.
"Then come." She went ahead. Luckily I had mastered the quickstep and could get by her side quickly without having to run up to her.
The conversation was over though, how should I continue?
"About Yui. You should give her a call."
Was that an option? I thought sick visits should be done in person.
"I might."
I got a frown as reply.
"I mean, I will"
Miura softened her gaze. Jeez, she was good at dealing with people on yet another level from Yuigahama and Isshiki.
"Good, but don't forget it."
That's easy for you to say, but I was currently in a cold war with my cellphone.
Not only that wouldn't that be too meddlesome?
"Do you really think it would be fine for me to call her?" I decided to ask her directly with my concern.
"Wouldn't that be natural? You're clubmates after all."
Her logic wasn't that convincing. How much club experience did Miura have? I was pretty sure it was none.
"You spend so much time together, it will be okay."
Looks like she noticed the questioning look of mine and reinforced her reply.
"All right. I'll try." I gave her a nod to underline my resolve.
Miura stopped.
"Then goodbye."
She didn't seem angry, but for whatever reason she decided for us to part here.
Wasn't that kind of unfair, that a woman could decide that on her own, while I went through all the psychological pain yesterday? Or was it just because she was the woman she was, to be able to do it? I was fine with it though, so I didn't question her action vocally.
"Goodbye."
I went home without looking back.
At home I had to participate in 'Komachi's home cooking lesson deluxe'. I didn't know where she picked up deluxe, but at least she was in high spirits.
"All right, Onii-chan. During all these years you must have learned something from watching me cooking. So what did you learn?"
My sister was hyped, her sparkling eyes were putting so much pressure on me.
I was fully prepared though.
"Dear sister, sit back and watch the fruits of all I have learned over the years from engraving you into my brain!"
Full of confidence I started to walk and picked up the apron.
To Komachi's surprise I didn't remain inside kitchen though.
"What are you doing?"
My sister's puzzlement was understandable as I was heading for my room, but I only gave a vague answer.
"Just you wait."
A few moments later I came my room with the apron on.
It did have an effect on Komachi, she was dumbfounded with her mouth wide open. Her cheeks started to blush furiously and her index finger never stopped pointing at me. It looked like she tried to say something but no words came out.
Komachi was speechless, even I didn't expect that my action would cause such an impact on her.
"Could you please say something? I start to feel like a rare animal in a zoo if you keep pointing at me."
"O..o..o..." I guess she wanted to say onii-chan, but was unable to do so. Thus she aborted that attempt and started a new sentence.
"WHY ARE YOU NAKED?!"
That scream echoed through the house. If father had been here, I would have been killed on the spot. Maybe the same applied to my mother. Fortunately both were still at work.
"Huh, I'm clearly wearing an apron."
"But underneath..." As if she had put all energy into the previous loud scream, her voice was now nothing more than a whisper.
"Underneath is a sleeveless shirt and shorts. That's your ultimate wardrobe for cooking."
Of course I knew that it seemed like a naked apron from the front. I always had a hard time enduring that view when Komachi wore it after all.
My sister lost all her energy at my words. Her shoulders and head dropped significantly and she slowly made her way to her own room. When she passed me, she muttered something barely audible.
"Today's lesson is over."
Looks like I didn't need further education. It was all about the getup and that I had mastered already simply through watching my sister.
Wasn't that praiseworthy? So why was there no praise?
Please stop dragging your feet at least. I'm getting depressed at that sight.
Infected by Komachi's lifeless state I couldn't do anything for the rest of the evening.
My cellphone didn't do anything as well. I neither got a call nor did I contact Yuigahama.
Yumiko PoV
I felt delighted when I wrote the last sentence in my diary today. Next to Hayato the second main topic was Yui. Yui didn't seem to have hidden something from me after all. Over the last months I had asked her a couple of times if she was in a relationship, but she had always denied. Today I was able to confirm her honesty by asking the prime suspect. Of course that doesn't rule out whether she had interest in him or not.
I skimmed through the diary and finally found the part I wanted to read once more. The confirmation with my diary wasn't actually needed as I remembered it clearly. It was the moment when Yui accidentally said that there was someone she was interested in.
After that I tried to make her reveal more, but she had blocked every attempt of mine.
Judging from the circumstances it wasn't one of the three boys who accompanied us regularly. I was kind of sure it wasn't Hayato either. She didn't behave like the other girls who wanted to get close to him. Whenever it came to him I couldn't shake off an uncertainty though.
He means everything to me after all.
Even though Yui didn't seem to be the kind of girl who would steal someone from her closest friend, my heart had always wavered at that thought. There weren't many people who could resist Hayato's charm, especially not over such a long time. He is the perfect boy.
I hoped Yui really was the kind of girl I judged her to be and not the best actress in the world.
That only left Hikio to be the last possibility. Of course a lot of other boys talked with Yui, but there was nobody who spent an unusual amount of time with her. It was unlikely that she met someone in private either. We spent a lot of our time together after all, and sometimes her club took away all of the remaining time.
So Hikio, who was in the same club, was the most likely person to be that she had meant. I found the thought weird at first...
I better stop thinking about it. I didn't want to ruin my good mood recalling everything considering him.
The only important thing was that she didn't keep such a big thing, like a relationship, hidden from me.
That made me truly glad.
Hachiman PoV
Wednesday was a bad day. By default it wasn't a good one since it was a working day, but there were other aspects that made it bad. Being the day in the middle of a week, it reminded one that the weekend was still far away. Also if bad things happened on Monday, people would joke about you excessively till Tuesday, before they started to get bored of it on Friday and forget everything over the weekend. If the same thing happened on Wednesday though, the aftermath lasted fully till Friday. The gossiping people wouldn't experience the boredom over the weekend, as the target of their badmouthing wasn't present. Thus they get back into it on Monday with renewed enthusiasm. Of course this didn't apply to the big things, those still lasted 75 days.[3]
So yes, Wednesday was a bad day, even more so if one was late for school.
Just like me currently.
I stood in front of Hiratsuka-sensei, the class in tumult. Not because I was late, Homeroom just ended and everyone was busy doing their usual things. I doubted anyone had noticed my arrival, or even my absence during homeroom.
Hiratsuka-sensei had a stern look on her face and her arms were crossed.
"What's your reason for being late this time?"
Since no one was paying attention to me, besides a certain single teacher, I didn't care how dumb my excuse sounded.
"Instincts and desires."
Apparently that wasn't enough of an explanation as my teacher raised an eyebrow and wanted me to continue.
"Go on."
"You know, that we make our human bodies move subconsciously to avoid dangerous situations, right? These instincts protect the body from harm. Not just physically, but there is also mental protection. Against better knowledge people tend to hide or twist the truth if they feel that being honest would only bring forth misfortune. Clearly that wide area of coverage shows how important and strong these instincts are for our survival.
I tried my best to fight these instincts in order to come to school, but it took me quite some time to make my resisting legs move forward to school. Unfortunately that made me miss your lesson."
Surprisingly I wasn't interrupted during that sorry attempt of an excuse I made up on the spot.
She probably got some form of entertainment out of it, at least her eyes contained a lively spark. Perhaps that was just her demonic pleasure in anticipation of the punishment she would give me.
"What about the desire part?"
Despite being set on penalising me, she wanted to listen to me till the end.
I was so desperately crafting my excuse that I forget that part.
"Similar to instincts there is also the powerful force of desires. Did you know that in some countries prisoners won't receive additional punishment for escaping? In Germany or Austria it is justified with the basic desire to be free. My desire to be free from my harsh school life and my instincts to keep me safe from further harm in this public facility joined forces which was too powerful to overcome. As you see sensei, any form of punishment wouldn't be fair."[4]
That was most likely the longest excuse for oversleeping I ever gave to her.
Even Hiratsuka-sensei was taken aback by it.
"How come a normal high school student knows such things?" Sensei did you just looked down on all the other students here? Luckily no on listened to our conversation.
I would have felt bad if my improvised excuse lead to damage her reputation with the students.
"But you forgot one thing Hikigaya." What was only in her eyes before, now spread over her whole face.
"What could that be?" Ironically my instincts kicked in and made me slowly retreat backwards.
"We're in Japan, we only have our own laws to uphold."
My vision got blurry and my legs turned weak. It had been a while since the last time Hiratsuka-sensei physically punished me inside the classroom.
I could avoid falling over by kneeling down on one leg.
Holding back was an unknown term to my teacher. Out of curiosity, I didn't break eye contact with Hiratsuka-sensei. Like I expected, not the slightest hint of guilt or mercy in her glance.
"As punishment.." Wasn't I punished already? Just like two seconds ago, too. I worry about the state of your memory, sensei.
".. and to fix your lack of knowledge on the Japanese jail system, you'll write me an essay about the different types of escapes and their respective penalties."
"Yes, Hiratsuka-sensei."
I stood up again and saw her leaving the classroom.
My classmates volume didn't change at any moment during our conversation. Again I was glad that no one cared to notice us.
The club didn't receive any requests today either and even Isshiki was still too busy with the student council to drop by clubroom.
The good atmosphere with Yukinoshita from yesterday continued and I could write my essay without being disturbed. When the time of the club activity reached its end, I left the clubroom to hand over the essay to Hiratuska-sensei. She didn't have time to check it immediately but there shouldn't be any issue with it.
At home I asked my sister for today's needs regarding dinner before I made my way to the supermarket.
The first thing I did inside was to look for Miura. Since I knew how she wanted to be greeted and I would be able to go shopping by myself afterwards, I didn't feel the same tension as on the previous days. That didn't mean I was completely relaxed, it just didn't paralyze me anymore. One could say I got used to it, a bit at least.
I found her holding a single strawberry and examining it carefully, so I walked up to her.
"Hello."
"Wooaahh!" Miura's whole body cringed, visibly startled by the sudden voice. Oh crap! I forgot that I walked like always, without a sound. She turned around to give me the scariest look I had ever seen.
Her exclamation put us in the centre of attention of half the supermarket. Luckily none of the staff had heard it. Not only because they would jump to wrong conclusion due to my eyes, like I would be molesting such a beautiful girl, but also because my action produced irreparable damage.
Strawberry-chan died, squashed by Miuras fingers.
"You!" If her frown had not been that frightening, I would have found the juice running from her fingers down to her wrist kind of sexy.
I quickly pulled out my handkerchief and offered it Miura.
"I'm sorry."
Of course she was still angry, but she accepted it silently and cleaned herself.
Since the situation didn't escalate any further, the bystanders lost their interest in watching us.
When she wiped of the last bits of the strawberry, Miura returned the handkerchief.
"Why can't you just greet me like a normal person for once?"
It was more like a murmur to herself rather than a question to me, but I replied regardless.
"Well, there aren't many people who would want me to greet them. Of those who do, they tend to greet me first."
Miura let out a brief sigh before she asked me another question.
"Did you see it?" I might have imagined it but I could swear that her eyes moved away from me for a split second, but they quickly returned staring at me, more intensively than before. Not out of anger, it was more like she didn't want to miss any hint in my face that would reveal a lie of my next words. Of course I had seen the strawberry, my handkerchief had undeniable evidence on it. Since it was impossible to deny that fact, I had no choice but to feign ignorance.
"All I saw was that you checked the quality of the strawberries." To underline my sentence I sent her a questioning gaze.
"Huh?" Her green eyes were full of confusion, so to keep her from asking any further I added a reason to leave.
"Excuse me, I'll go get the things I was asked to buy."
She nodded silently at me and I walked away.
I wasn't the type to trample on a maidens heart after all.
Like the days before I waited for Miura to finish her shopping and we exited the grocery store together.
She didn't bring up the earlier incident again, for that I was glad.
"Did you call Yui?"
I would have been gladder if she had not brought up that as well.
My gaze was fixed at some point ahead in the distance, so didn't have to see her inquiring expression when I replied.
"I didn't have the energy to do so."
My head turned gradually hotter, only partly because I felt uncomfortable of not having done it. The other reason was that I felt Miura burning holes into my head with some kind of laser eyes.
I stuck with watching that spot in the distance. Since I showed no reaction to her glare she decided to use her voice.
"Why?"
I couldn't pretend not to her it, could I? I thought about putting in my earphones, but I guess it was too late for that.
"I had a cooking lesson from my sister which robbed me of all vigour."
I gave an answer that wasn't false and it would have been enough for Yukinoshita and Yuigahama, but Miura kept on asking. I had abandoned the spot too early!
"Ah, cooking is, like, not that easy." She probably thought back to the Valentine baking event.
"What did you cook?"
"Nothing." My reply seemed to have surprised her as she tilted her head in puzzlement.
I couldn't remember many situations where Miura had done that. As it was such a rare sight I decided to engrave it into my brain.
"My sister canceled the lesson early because she suddenly felt very down and it kind of jumped over to me."
Apparently she could accept my explanation as she nodded in agreement.
"Did something happen to her?"
She had the curiosity of a cat. It was only a matter of time before Yukinoshita would be all over her. I wondered for a moment whether Yukinoshita came to like me more because I had the tongue of a cat.
"She saw me in an apron and lost all energy for the rest of the day."
Miura tilted her head even further. I totally didn't say confusing stuff on purpose just to see that reaction again.
"Well, I wore the same things she usually wears under the apron, like a sleeveless shirt or shorts, thus it looked like a naked apron from the front. It kind of freaked her out."
"Of course she would, you have been staring at her with indecent thoughts for who knows how long!" I could read from her eyes that she labeled me as a pervert.
"I did no such thing. After all, I was the one who told her to put on pants, when she walked around the living room wearing my shirt as nightie, flashing her bra and panties on every movement."
Damn, I might have said a bit too much. Miura's eyes turned lifeless, pretty much like how Komachi had been yesterday.
"Ugh, just how close are you two with each other?"
"We're pretty close. Since I never had friends, she was like the only person willing to talk to me." I didn't know whether my parents talked to me because they wanted to or had to. Her question came at a good time to change the direction of the conversation. Before I went further though, I gave her a short break as she seemed to be lost in thoughts. I wondered if she tried to imagine how it was to have no friends. Could she even do it? She looked at me with an expression I couldn't read.
"She even respects the advantages of a loner's life, but is also good at dealing with people. We barely fight with each other and she is concerned about my wellbeing. Komachi is a world class sister." I started to get carried away with my praises for my sister. There were no Hachiman points to gather right now. I had to get back to earth.
"But she is also kind of an idiot, that's why she had to try so hard to get into Sobu High."
Miura still seemed to be dazed, unlike before she had not interrupted me.
"Ah." When she broke out of her state that was the only reply I got. Miura had nothing to say, but at least that response signaled that she had listened to me.
When we were close to arrive at yesterday's parting spot Miura started to talk again.
"Remember to call Yui."
So she had not forgotten the start of our talk at all.
"I will." Today I refrained from giving a vague response first.
As expected she stopped at the same spot again.
"Goodbye."
"Yes, goodbye."
I replied and went ahead. There was an urge to look back and see what she would be doing there, but I could suppress it. When I thought about it, I didn't get a greeting this day again.
After I had arrived at home it happened. My phone was receiving a call.
Komachi, who was getting ready for the cooking lesson, glanced at the phone in disbelief.
That was the call I feared the past few days, thus I was a bit hesitant to answer it, but still I did it. Not picking up would trigger something very bad after all.
"Let's meet at the same café as last time near the Chiba Station."
There was no time stated nor room for my reply. Looks like I was expected to go there immediately.
"Who was it?" Komachi asked me.
"I'm sorry, I need to skip today's lesson. Yukinoshita's sister called to meet me."
My sister threw another question at me.
"Haruno-san? Does it have to do with Yukino-san's request?"
"She didn't say anything but where to meet. However it probably does."
I didn't know the extent of their acquaintanceship, but she let me go without inquiring me further. Perhaps she just did it out of concern for Yukinoshita.
Despite being the one to call me, Haruno did let me wait at the café. She somehow knew where I lived, so if she had wanted to arrive at the same time, she would have.
I anticipated that and didn't forget to bring a book along with me.
After 20 minutes had passed a hand of a woman pushed down my book.
Just as I got to a good part.
"Have you been waiting long for me Hikigaya-kun?" She seated herself opposite of me and her eyes clearly told me that she wasn't interested in my answer at all.
"Of course, I had been waiting for days after all." That was the truth. Maybe Haruno didn't expect that answer or it was part of her acting, but her eyelids closed two times.
"If you missed me that much, why didn't you gave me another call?" Haruno rested her head on her hand and scrutinised me for my reason to have said that.
"Since it was unavoidable, I wanted to get over with it as quick as possible." The uncertainty of when disaster would strike, I couldn't endure it.
"How can you say such a thing to a beautiful onee-san like me? Don't you care about my feelings?" Haruno puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms in a way that would squeeze her breasts. She didn't look hurt in the slightest. That sight was too much for me so had to avert my face with hot cheeks.
Seemingly happy with my reaction she continued with the talk.
"I was surprised that you kept your promise without resistance."
I wonder if you can call that actually a promise. When I wanted her to come to the park last Saturday, she refused to do so until I had agreed to meet with her afterwards.
Wouldn't the whole Yukinoshita family benefit from that action? Why did I have to pay such a big price for it.
"I would have just felt bad to make others go through the same experiences as I did." Since I didn't want to break promises, I rarely made them in the first place.
It didn't have anything to do with wanting to see a beautiful woman nor with my desire to hear the results of my actions concerning Yukinoshita.
"Did Yukino talk with you about Saturday yet?" She got serious at that moment. Her eyes didn't change the slightest but her voice had lost all sweetness. It was an important topic after all.
I shook my head.
"No. She wants to wait till Yuigahama recovers from her cold."
"Oh, Gahama-chan is sick?" I even used her correct name just seconds ago, Haruno didn't care the slightest bit about her. Getting worked up about it wouldn't have amounted to anything, so I let it slid.
"Why did you decide to call me today?"
"I wanted to thank you." Haruno touched the backs of my hands and the book I still had in my grasp till then, fell down the last few centimetres onto the table.
I wasn't that surprised of her touch, she had no sense for personal space after all. The look on her face and the warmth in her voice stunned me however. If I had to guess that might have been her expression when she was honest.
Since I wasn't able to ask what she meant with it, she started to explain on her own.
"Mother seems to be okay with it for the moment and I still can live together with Yukino-chan. That is because of you."
My hands still hovered over the table with Haruno's hands on their backs, my face probably had the colour of the setting sun, bathing in its light, hiding my embarrassment.
It was actually dark outside, I guess the sun was only a friend to females.
"I-I didn't do anything."
Praise was something I still couldn't deal with properly.
"You did enough. Anything further isn't required."
Hiratsuka-sensei's word came back to me, 'it probably doesn't have to be you.'. Yukinoshita's mother probably thought along the line whether a person was still useful or not. I wondered if my role for Yukinoshita had already ended.
"Are these your words?"
"No, but I do think that you gave Yukino-chan a reason to go further on her own, even if you were not there anymore."
The atmosphere got a bit heavy, I felt a bit depressed even.
Suddenly Haruno's smile changed into something impishly. Before I could react, her fingers had clasped my hands wholly, which hadn't moved at all during this time.
"Since Yukino-chan is fine now, why don't you aim for the big sister?"
I tried to retrace my hands but to no avail. Haruno was stronger than I expected.
"I didn't aim for anyone in the first place."
Haruno stood up and relocated herself next to me, without letting go of my hands during the process.
"I heard that you accepted the possibility of a relationship though." Now even her eyes didn't let me go.
"You must have heard that wrong." I moved my body away from her.
"I doubt that, I heard it clearly when Yukino-chan was on the phone with Gahama-chan."
She not only closed the gap again, it was even shorter than before. Her perfume smelled really good.
"Didn't your mother teach you that eavesdropping is bad?"
I moved away again. How long would she keep this up?
"Silly you, it was my mother who send me for that purpose to Yukino-chan."
With a playful look she came closer again, her knee touched my leg already,
I tried once more to free my hands but her grip was as strong as before.
"What a meddlesome family."
Originally I tried to move even further away, but after I completed half of my motion I was stopped by the wall.
"Isn't that a sign that we care for each other?" Seeing me trapped in the corner, she moved all the way to me. There was no gap anymore. She moved her mouth so close to my ear that I could feel her breath. That wasn't the only thing I felt. Since she leaned over that much, her breasts pressed against my arm. I was about to faint. Seriously that was too much for me. At least she released one of my hands, but only to deliver me the final blow.
Her free hand slowly traveled along my chest.
"You like it if you are taken care of, don't you?"
Haruno's whisper echoed through my head.
My head started to spin, my heart in tumult and the emotions inside me broke free.
I thought that I would fall for Haruno any moment as one of these emotions overshadowed everything else. I couldn't quite understand it yet, but my body started to shiver from this emotion and my eyes were wide open.
Any other girl might had mistaken that reaction for something else, but fortunately it was Haruno who was with me.
"What's wrong?" Her eyes seemed to be honestly worried as she backed off me.
I couldn't answer immediately, although it didn't take too long either.
After I thought a little the answer was clear, but I was confused by it. The dominant emotion I felt was well-known to me. It wasn't something I should feel right now though.
"Fear." When I spoke this word Haruno started to pout.
I knew her well enough to see that she was just acting, but she also tried to bury an other, smaller feeling with that act. Perhaps she was hurt a little? It was a mean thing to say after all.
"You fear me? I'm way to beautiful to be..."
Haruno's sulking charade stopped midway, instead she kept looking at me with earnest interest. I had no time to pay her more attention though.
Something with my feelings was wrong.
When that happened, I did what Hiratsuka-sensei taught me to do.
I thought everything through. One by one. I don't know how long it took, but I finally reached an answer.
My gaze shifted to Haruno, who waited patiently for me to get to a conclusion. She didn't seem to be bored of waiting. On the contrary, I never had seen her this excited.
"No." I shook my head at her. "It is not you that scared me. Actually I'm used enough to you to have fun when I talk with you. What I fear is something you possess and I lack."
I wasn't bothered by her cold smile and narrowed eyes as I was used to that as well. She was always like this when she tried to look inside me.
"And what would that be?"
Without further ado I gave her my answer.
"Experience."
Just like during the time of the planning committee for the Cultural Festival I made her laugh again. The people around us started to look at the reason of the commotion and therefore could hear Haruno's words.
"Hahaha! What an Idiot!"
There was no malice or in those words so I wasn't bothered by them. What troubled me was the attention by all these strangers hearing that. My cheeks blushed slightly.
After she had recovered her composure, Haruno ordered coffee for the two of us.
Looks like she was eager to continue this.
"How do you intent to close the gap of experience? You know I could teach you a few things..."
Haruno was acting seductive again, but I knew that this time it was just that. Acting.
"Wouldn't it just put me in the same situation again? As long as I am this inexperienced I can't consider a relationship with someone of your calibre."
I was surprised at myself how I could stay so calm with such a topic.
"Why not me, what is it exactly what you fear?" She probably knew already but still wanted me to say it.
"I fear that..." I took a deep breath "...because we're not even, you'll grow tired of me and toss me away once you get bored. Or worse, I'll become another dog of yours."
"Just who could you be referring too?" Haruno's giggle gave away that we thought of the same person, so there was no need to play along with her.
"Who knows?" I shrugged my shoulders and waited for her next question.
"So if you don't want an advanced teacher, all there is left would be innocent girls. Can you be this unfair?"
That had a mean sound to it, like I would be a villain.
"Since I am just as innocent, wouldn't that make things fair again?" Strangely that reply didn't feel embarrassing at all. I guess it's different when one speaks to someone who knew the truth already.
Haruno started to look in the distance with her head resting on one hand while drumming on the table with the fingers of her other hand.
"You will actually have to date someone if you want to gather that experience. Do you have someone on your mind?"
Now that's a tricky question.
"I guess anyone who wants to will do" I gave a vague reply, but when her eyes lighted up I quickly added a condition. "As long as they are not too far ahead of me."
Haruno looked unhappy that I realised and corrected my slip-up too quickly for her to react on it.
Thus her next question was the most cruel one.
"That will apply to a few girls, how will you chose whom to date?"
How can I chose indeed? The girls that entered my mind were all good girls. I didn't want to hurt any of them. I had no experience to go by in order to anticipate whether a relationship might last or not.
"Do I have to chose?"
"Wouldn't that make you just a gigolo? I wonder what Shizuka-chan would do if I told her that."
Please don't do that. I will die for sure.
"Would it be okay if I set a time limit on the open dating?"
She stopped the drumming on the table.
"How long would that last?"
I hated deadlines, thus I wanted to push it back as far as I could with a serious face.
"A year."
"Wait a moment, I just remembered that I had to give Shizuka-chan a call."
That was obviously a lie. I interrupted her input on her cellphone quickly with a new proposal of a deadline.
"Two and a half months."
Haruno thought a while about it.
"That would be two weeks into the new school year. That sounds reasonable."
She put her phone down on the table. One gigantic crisis averted.
"Well those persons would have to agree on it too."
That was true.
"I'll explain everything properly and will see what it results in."
Since I believed Haruno to be more experienced than me, I decided to ask her something that had been on my mind for a while.
I wanted to pursue something genuine. If I go by the definition of a dictionary, honesty was required.
"Do you think there can be a relationship without lies?"
She didn't look at me when she responded.
"I have never seen one without lies."
It was the answer I expected, but it was also disheartening.
We took our last sip from our drinks and left the café.
Due to the hot coffee we just had, our breaths were strongly visible when we exhaled.
We stood next to each other, looking in the same direction.
Haruno was the first one to speak.
"See you."
"Goodbye,"
We didn't move one centimetre after saying that.
"Hikigaya-kun, I don't think I'll ever grow tired of that monster."
I wonder which monster she was referring to. One was the monster of logic, the other one a self-conscious monster. Both names were oddly cool. I would have liked to see her expression at that time, but I still had to say something as well. Without our gazes looking for ulterior motives we would be able to speak and listen freely.
"Do you still need to play the enemy for Yukinoshita's sake?"
"Thanks to you, I won't need to do that anymore."
After everyone said was on their mind we turned to look in each others eyes.
"But that doesn't mean I will stop being myself."
I made a wry smile to her words.
Haruno's mischievous deeds from Yukinoshita's childhood came to mind.
The older sister waved her hand at me with a warm smile and went away.
It was time for me to head home as well.
I didn't lie when I said I enjoyed her company. Sure it was really stressful, but it was similar to sport. One hated to do it while it was still arduous, but afterwards one was glad to have experienced it.
Yumiko PoV
My dairy laid still open in front of me and I had a staring-contest going on with it.
I had met Hikio again and like the previous times something out of the ordinary happened.
Being unable to decide whether I should write about it or not made me enter this contest.
Just why was I so hesitant about it? I didn't dislike him, his presence doesn't bother me and he even had helped me out.
I turned the pages of my diary till the part after the marathon laid open before me.
My request to the Service Club had been fulfilled at that moment.
I read it. Mhh? Again I had read it. I was pretty sure he was there at that time, but my diary only contained how Yui told me the results and stuff about Yukinoshita-san's ego.
I turned more pages to the point where I actually made the request and read it as well.
Again there was no mention of him in my diary. Just Yui asking me whether it would be okay if the result was a bit unreliable.
I remember clearly though how surprised I was at the resolve that Hikio showed to help me.
He was even considerate enough to leave the room before I started to cry.
Did I even mention him once before? The pages of my diary rustled as I kept turning them. I did not after the visit to Disney Land and I didn't during the trip to Kyoto.
That was like, totally an awful trip. I really feared that my friends would fall apart at that trip. At least till the moment I heard that Hayato would fix everything, and he did. Our group is still the same as before the field trip. I never asked how he did it though.
No one talked about it afterwards and I was just happy that our life continued with smiles on our faces.
I was restless till the end of the school trip since I didn't trust the source which told me that Hayato would do something about it.
Ah! I remember now who had said that. It was Hikio. I almost forgot about it because it wasn't in my diary.
Instead of going back step by step, I started to look for traces of Hikio in my diary from page one now.
After a while I found something. His first mention. He came out of nowhere into our lives.
The tennis match where Hayato saved me. Hikio made weird serves that lead to this moment with Hayato. I was so happy when he held me so tightly. Out of thanks for that feeling I gave him this nickname. Hikio.
I looked for more entries with him and I found one more. During the Summer vacation I hung around with Yui and we met him by chance. I stayed away from them to call Ebina, but I was quickly done with that and had heard the rest of their conversation. They talked about Hikio's upcoming birthday. Yui seemed to have a lot of fun laughing so loudly.
The pages were turned and turned, but there was nothing about Hikio from that point on.
Something happened that changed everything. The only time that I spend with Hayato which wasn't written here.
The Summer camp and the horrible night I lived through because of Hikio.
I tried no to remember it but my tears came out already.
I destroyed the friendship of elementary school girls. Even though the girls were awful that guilt of mine still remained in my heart.
And then those rumours started how he did horrible things to Sagami. I didn't like her, but I felt pity when I saw her crying on the stage of the Cultural Festival.
When Yui and Hikio started to mess with Ebina and Tobe I was really afraid. Nothing good came out of it when he was involved.
Despite all that, Yui still looked out for him. Even when it was in secret sometimes.
If it weren't for that I would have never contacted the Service Club.
I had three requests and all three were solved without anything bad happening.
My impressions of the other two club members changed for the better, even if only slightly for Yukinoshita-san. Truth to be told my opinion of Hikio was better than that of her.
Really, what was with her ego?
But why am I able to write about her but left him out? It felt wrong to do so.
I patted my dear book, once again it had helped me to reach a decision.
After I was done writing about my encounter with Hikio I could close my diary with a good feeling. There was just one more uncertainty inside me.
Did he really not know that strawberries symbolise love and are used as a romantic gift?
I wanted to buy one for Hayato, so it was embarrassing for me to be seen.
Ahhh... just when I finally had found a good one... I squashed it.
Because of Hikio. Just what is up with that guy?
Hachiman PoV
The fourth period had ended and I was in my usual spot to eat lunch.
It was your typical Thursday, nothing worth to be remembered had happened.
I liked my spot a lot. Even if it was cold, it was more endurable than the loud classroom.
Unlike a certain someone I wasn't immune to these temperatures though and slightly shivered from time to time.
Thinking back to Miura, wasn't there something I forgot to do?
I continued to eat my lunch in peace as suddenly a whisper from behind made me shiver big time.
"Hachimaaan.."
The voice was familiar but I couldn't quite connect a face to it, so I ignored it completely and didn't even turn my head. There were probably more kids with half-assed parents here with such a name.
"Hachimaaaaaaaan..."
Looks like that other Hachiman is still not responding to that whisper.
"Hachimaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan..."
Really, I'll help looking for that other Hachiman if this creepy voice would just stop.
Unexpectedly there was a sudden solar eclipse and it got even colder. My mood went below subzero too.
A fat boy, looking lost, stood between me and the sun. Your parents are probably waiting for you at the reception so shoo shoo.
Upon closer inspection that boy was really unfamiliar with me, unlike the creepy voice. I looked confused at the boy.
"Wh-what's with your weird look partner?"
The familiar voice really came from that boy and only added to my confusion, so much that I had to tilt my head.
"Who are you and what do you want from me?"
"Hmmph, how can you be so meeeeaaaaan!"
I wasn't mean at all, I really had no clue about what was going on.
My tilted head nearly reached a 90 degree angle before I finally noticed what was wrong.
"Huh? What happened to your coat?"
Why was this person, who wore a coat even during the height of summer, not doing so during the bitterly cold winter?
Zaimokuza had a scary grin on his face as if he had waited for me to ask that. I had a bad premonition.
"I'm glad that you asked. I'm not allowed to wear one anymore by my girlfriiiiiiiieeeeend!"
The bad foreshadow I had came true.
"Quick, I'll bring you to the infirmary! When did you hit your head?"
"Fufufu, I'm glad for your concern, but it's true!"
I couldn't believe my ears. Zaimokuza Yoshiteru had a girlfriend before me. I totally didn't think of his full name out of respect.
Just what was wrong with this world.
"H-how?" The shock made me lose my ability to speak properly.
He tried to make a cool pose with pushing back his glasses. Did they flash for just a moment there?
"You remember how I informed you that I would go to the Winter Comiket?" [5]
I shook my head, it was probably the first time I heard of it. Or I had either ignored or forgotten it. I wasn't sure about it.
"Aaaanyways, I met her there and we exchanged contacts."
Definitely the first time I heard of that fact.
"We texted each other for the past month and a half and decided to meet up on Valentines Day."
"Why have you not told me that earlier?" I was a bit suspicious that he could hold that back without telling me for so long.
"Nuhuh, I was afraid that she was just playing with me..."
Ah, that would have been my initial concern for him too, if he had told me so directly after the Comiket.
"So we had met on Valentine's Day and decided to make a contract."
No surprise there, Comiket-chan must have been a weird person to begin with for getting Zaimokuza as boyfriend.
"What's with that contract thing?"
"It basically is a long list of things I shouldn't do anymore so that she will stay to be my girlfriend. A very long list. Wearing the coat was one of those listed points. The list is huuuuuge."
Was it really necessary to point out the length of the list three times? You're just hurting yourself with that.
I took a good look on Zaimokuza for the first time. If he could stop his antics, wear normal clothes, goes on a diet, quit his half-assedness and get that sweat under control, he would actually be a tall man with a good heart.
My respect for Comiket-chan shot through the roof. If she was serious about it, she would be ready for an interesting long-time project. Even I wanted to see the result. I doubted that I could ever call him handsome though, but that wouldn't really be a necessity for a good result.
"Don't mess it up then."
I raised my hand to signal my intention to leave, the fifth period was about to start.
"I won't, partner!"
Haruno was right, I needed to go on dates soon.
With the ringing chime to start the fifth period, it started to be a proper Thursday again.
The teachers along with my classmates ignored my existence. Well there were a few occasional looks on me, but no one had bothered me so I didn't try to find the source. It wasn't unusual at all. Since my place wasn't in the last row of the classroom, it was inevitable that some glances would hit me from time to time.
As if the school knew that Yuigahama was out with a cold there had been no requests today either. Yukinoshita and I had tea in the clubroom without much talking the whole afternoon.
I wondered if she knew that I had met her sister yesterday, but nothing she said, indicated it.
At home Komachi handed me over the shopping list and I found myself inside the supermarket again. Miura just had just gotten in line for the register, so I didn't walk up to her today. I was familiar with the grocery store by now and finished the short list within three minutes.
I lined up as well, with two persons between me and Miura. If it were just me and her I had no problems to greet her anymore, but with people close around us I didn't feel up to the task.
All I could do was looking at her.
She wore a snow-white coat with a large sized artificial fur collar which hid half of her cheek.
Probably because of the heated area around the register the cheek was faintly red. I could only watch her in profile as Miura was about to pay for her shopping goods at that moment, but I still saw her left eye clearly. The shimmering collar tried to compete with the shining green eye that looked like a flawless emerald and lost to it. By losing her outfit perfectly brought forth Miura's natural beauty.
For a girl who didn't seem to know what pants were, she surely knew how to dress in a breathtaking way.
The area around the register really was heated well. My head got so hot I had to look in the opposite direction.
Not much time had passed till it was my turn.
I quickly handed over the correct amount of money that I had prepared beforehand and wanted to leave, but my way was blocked.
All the time I had been busy with thinking of a winter wonderland to cool myself, looking sideways at most, that I did not see that Miura had waited for me.
One of her eyes was already dazzling enough before, but now I faced both of them fully unprepared. Needless to say that I was shocked.
We didn't move, looks like she waited for me to do something.
Oh right, the greeting.
"Goo, goo, goo ..." I felt like a complete fool. My words didn't came out like I wanted to. I was surprised I didn't fall down on my knees to bow before her, like she would be some kind of princess.
Apparently she had enough of my stutter and sighed.
"It's 'hello' Hikio. How many times do I have to tell you, so you can greet me properly just once?"
She turned on her heels and headed for the exit.
"Ah, hello." I could only say that to her back as she had turned around too fast for my brain to react.
As I wondered whether this was some kind of payback for yesterday or not, I hurried after her.
She might have waited for me, but I didn't hear a greeting from Miura again.
Outside the supermarket we walked next to each other like the days before.
"Did you call Yui?"
I knew I had forgotten to do something yesterday.
"I'll definitely will do that today." My voice was as steady as it could be. At least I tried to sound like it would clear any doubt about my resolve to use my cellphone today.
Miura shook her head at me and sighed. "Just why does she put up with you."
"I guess she got kind of attached to Yukinoshita."
Scary! A frown was send my way. I made the resolve to better not bring up their good relationship again when Miura was around. That jealousy was strong.
"But what do I know, maybe she's just there for the free tea."
It didn't seem like she was buying that weak excuse, looks like she was a step ahead of Gahama-san.
Whether she sensed my concern over her feelings or just wanted to move on from the topic, she threw another question at me.
"Why didn't you call her this time?"
There was a strong reproachful vibe from the way she emphasised the last words.
"I got a call by Yukinoshita's sister and had to meet her immediately."
"So she has a sister huh..." It was kind of cute how she tried to say that nonchalantly as if to say she had no interest at all, but her glances still urged me to go on.
"She is quite the meddlesome person. That reminds me, you have met her at the academic and career center."
Miura's puzzled look gave away that she didn't remember her.
"It was the person Hayama said to be his childhood friend."
"Ha? That busty woman is Yukinoshita-san's sister?!"
The reference to Hayama made her remember, huh?
Also how did she saw Yukinoshita, the great flat wall? Aside from the size of their bosoms there were plenty of similarities between the two. It was so like Miura though, to focus on the area where she clearly won over Yukinoshita.
I couldn't stop myself to make a wry smile.
"You seem to think of the right person."
"Why did you meet with her?
She really liked to ask questions, did she? I wondered if she wanted to be a police officer after school.
"We had a request by Yukinoshita and her sister wanted to inform me how our solution turned out."
Something from my reply must have piqued her interest. Now even her eyes started to ask me questions along with her voice.
"Why would she only tell you that and how did she know your phone number?"
I had no problem answering the first part.
"I called her to participate in the solution I came up with."
"And why would you know her phone number?"
Was it this important where a phone number came from?
"It was in my call history."
"Again, how did she know your phone number?"
Is she obsessed with phone numbers or what? I really didn't want to answer that as it would just lead to more question that I was uncomfortable with. Her inquiring gaze didn't let me off though, she pressured me successfully. She would be a fine police officer.
"She got it from Hayama." It was barely more than a whisper, but Miura still understood it perfectly.
Her mouth moved the instant I had spoken those words, but her voice didn't reach my ears.
I could see on her face how she struggled with herself. After a while she had decided on a question.
"How did it keep you from calling Yui afterwards?"
I was glad she didn't press on with the Hayama topic.
"Well, her sister is even more tiring to deal with than Yukinoshita."
"So her personality is quite the handful too..."
I wasn't quite sure whether she meant Yukinoshita's personality or Haruno's breasts with the 'too', but if it was indeed the latter then I better don't ask her for clarification.
"You could say that." If she was vague, then I would be as well.
A silence followed that made me think back to yesterday.
Aside from the talk about the result there had been one other topic. Relationships.
I asked Haruno a question because she was experienced. Would it be okay to ask Miura the same question?
I had consulted her about relationships before and she had replied immediately. Miura's determination made me able to overstep my boundaries with Yukinoshita, when I asked Yukinoshita about her own career plan.
It should be fine right?
"Do you think a relationship is possible when everyone is always honest?"
Miura stopped to walk and so did I. My gaze scrutinised every tiny reaction of hers. I could see how her jaw moved, but her mouth didn't even open. Did she want to reply at the same speed as last time, but could not do so? I kind of expected her to say 'of course!' immediately. That would have been a typical reply of a maiden.
She did not. Miura did nothing for a while. Did she deliberate on her group of friends? That group stuck together with the help of small lies. I lost my belief that this was wrong at the Kyoto field trip, when I had watched them closely. But now I couldn't accept it anymore for myself. My genuine thing would be tainted this way and destroyed.
Or did she think of only Hayama? My mind stopped when I saw that Miura had found an answer she wanted to present.
"I would like for it to be possible."
That answer was certainly different from Haruno's. It was more positive, but far from the optimistic answer I had expected. I had hoped for more, but this sounded more realistic. Strangely I preferred this reply, it seemed more honest.
After it there happened something I didn't anticipate either.
Miura looked very sad and that made me feel bad. I was dumb to not have realised what a cruel question that must have been for her. Her maiden heart longed for something honest but my question forced her to think about all the lies that had piled up.
"I'm sorry."
I could only apologise to her, since I didn't know how to cheer her up. People like Yuigahama could do such things, but not me.
There had been no tears yet, but she still wiped her eyes with her sleeves.
"It's okay. Did you talk about that with Yukinoshita-san's sister too?"
"Yes." I accompanied my reply with a nod.
"Sounds like you are close with her."
This was something I wanted to deny as strongly as possible.
"Not at all, I've just –"
"What kind of person is she?"
Miura interrupted my rebuttal as if it was just a waste of time to listen to.
Was she used to my behaviour to deny everything on first sight already?
I wondered if Haruno interested her because she was Hayama's childhood friend.
"She is a mischievous troublemaker that has no sense of personal space.
That woman even talks to other people's little sisters behind their back to get hold of personal data that she could use. Even without that, she knows way too much about others to ruin their planned schedules. Yukinoshita's sister is just focused on her own fun, everything that bores her is no good such as repetitions.
Also she is way too obsessed with her little sister's affairs." Although that last part I could comprehend very well.
Miura chuckled after I finished my description.
"You have a weird way to describe people in a good way."
Something was wrong with that conclusion, did she even list to me? I clearly said words like 'mischievous'.
Well, if one didn't know the person in question, one could mistake my description for a cheerful someone, who paid close attention to others and cared about family.
My words were too tame to convey reality properly.
"It's my mothers fault to have taught me not to say bad things about others."
"The rumours how you badmouthed Sagami weren't true then?"
That came out of nowhere. The expression on Miura's face told me that it was a serious question for her.
"No, they are probably all true." That was a risky statement as I didn't know all the rumours. No one had talked to me about them after all and I only picked them up by overhearing them.
"I said it directly to Sagami's face, Yukinoshita's sister isn't here to defend herself. Therefore the situation is different"
Her face turned complicated, had she not believed these rumours before?
Luckily that didn't last long.
"For a castoff like you, you are too honest for your own good."
"What does it make you for listening to such a castoff, I wonder?"
"Ha? What do you think I am?"
Confronted with an interesting question I started to think about it. It didn't take long for me to realise that it probably just was a rhetorical question. Maybe three seconds. But this small pause was enough for Miura to raise her eyebrow.
Now she really expected an answer from me. If I only had not played along with the banter.
Yukinoshita had a bad influence on me.
It was too late, I had to think seriously about the question. Actually I knew quite a lot about Miura, mainly from Yuigahama's randomly dropped facts, but my observations weren't to be underestimated either, so it took me a while to think everything through.
I could feel how Miura's anticipation grew with every second I needed to think.
The conclusion I arrived at surprised even me. I couldn't find a mistake in my thoughts though.
"Lonely."
What followed reminded me of Miura as the Queen of fiery hell. It was too late to take the word back, I knew that better than anyone else.
I could only watch what unfolded in front of me.
Her face got red and all muscles twitched of anger. She even clenched her fist and raised it. Would she get violent like against Yukinoshita? I feared the worst as I didn't know how I should defend myself from a girl. Her glare was burning of wrath that was able to leave my soul scorched.
But instead of coming at me, Miura stormed of ahead with quick steps.
Was it that wrong what I had said? It didn't feel like it as I had thought it through thoroughly.
That's why her reaction confused me so much. I tilted my head as I watched her back getting further away. When the distance between us was around 30 metres she turned around to look at me again. Her face had not changed at all. Not a single word came out of her mouth but everything about her body language screamed that I shouldn't dare to follow her.
And thus I didn't. I remained rooted on the spot till she was completely gone from my sight.
With the usual path unavailable to me, getting home was going to take way more time today.
I hated this outcome.
Komachi proved to be a world class sister again. She must have felt me being down and gave me a normal cooking lesson without any antics.
The way she respected my mood actually cheered me up a bit.
Enough that it gave me the courage to call Yuigahama. I didn't know whether Miura would talk to me ever again or not. If she does, it would have been very bad to forget the call again.
For someone of Miura's position to be called lonely, must have been the ultimate insult. At least that was the conclusion I came up with.
After dinner was over I finally made the call.
The phone rang three times it was picked up and a female voice could be heard.
"Hello? This is the Yuigahama household."
What a weird way to greet on a cellphone and Yuigahama's voice sounded different from usual. That was to be expected though, since she had a cold.
"Hello, Hikigaya here. Sorry for the late call."
"Oh, were you worried about me Hikki?"
So direct.
"Uhm, Yukinoshita mentioned you will miss a week and I wondered whether you'll be back in school by Monday."
"Hikki-kun, there is no need to be so shy. Do you want to come over?"
Kun? What was up with...?
"Can I talk with Yuigahama Yui please?"
"Tch... you figured out already?"
It really was her mother, what a sneaky woman.
"Not immediately though, did I call the wrong number?"
"I had to confiscate her cellphone because she wouldn't stop staring at it instead of resting, you should have called her sooner."
What a caring mother, but I thought Yuigahama would freak out if she had heard that.
"I'm sorry, I had a busy week till now."
"Don't worry too much, just apologise to her properly. I'll go wake her up, just a moment!"
What an irresponsible mother to wake up her sick daughter. It was too early for her to have gone to sleep normally, she slept clearly due to her sickness.
I protested but her mother either didn't hear or ignored me.
The only thing I could do was to hang on and listen.
"Mama... let me sleep."
"Your Hikki boy is on the phone."
"...Wh-whaaaat?!"
"You don't need to do your hair, he can't seen you."
"Mama! Get out!"
"Okay, okay."
I could hear a door being closed.
"Hello? Hikki?"
"Sounds like I called at a bad time sorry."
Good, that she couldn't see my face right now. What I had heard was so embarrassing.
"No, no... it's okay... w-wait, 'sounds'? D-did you hear anything?"
"I saw nothing, heard nothing, and knew nothing at all!" [4]
"That totally was a lie!" Her high-pitched voice forced me to move the phone away from my ear.
"I can't deny that."
"Please deny it!" Even if you sounded so desperate, there was nothing I could do.
"Hahaha!" I only let out a weak laugh. "So yeah, uhm, how are you doing?"
"I'm much better now, thanks for asking."
She coughed two times. I won't be able to deny that either.
"You'll be in the clubroom on Monday?"
"Most likely yes, but before that I will be in your classroom too, you know?! I'm totally your classmate!"
Really? I didn't think I noticed someone being absent from my class.
"Good to hear you being so energetic. I'll see you Monday then."
"Ahh wa–"
I feared for a moment that she wanted to prolong the phone call, but I was thankful for her next sentence.
"See you then. Thanks for calling Hikki."
"I'm sorry it took so long."
I was already past my limit when I ended the call.
Speaking with a girl over the telephone was truly exhausting.
Yumiko PoV
...
[1] A Japanese citrus fruit with a season from November to February
[2] The story is from Yui's Birthday Drama CD
[3] The aftermath of the Sagami event where described as such a big thing in the LN
[4] This is not unique to European countries, Mexico would be another example, but I couldn't find their reasoning for it
[5] He was absent during the summer camp event because of the Comiket.
[6] An expression often used in Toradora!
Author's Note
That was the longest chapter of the story, kind of fitting as the normal life takes up most of our life time. Like the name of the chapter implies this is my interpretation of how Hachiman and Yumiko would talk to each other if they would meet in a familiar place at the end of Volume 11. For example, like Yumiko would have another request but only Hachiman is present in the clubroom. Their talk while they waited for the other members could have such a dynamic.
Yumiko's last PoV won't be in the beginning of the next chapter, but later into it. I added it here already for two reasons. To show that I didn't forget it and not to mess with my time line. It happened here, but I don't let you know at this moment.
I thought long about whether to use a story from a lesser known source or an original one of my own. In the end I decided to go with the story from a Drama CD. Since my fanfic is a strict continuation, I thought it was better not to add relevant none-canon stories about the past.
Like stated in the note of chapter 2, I'm within my planned schedule. So next chapter will finally conclude the rest of their confirmed thoughts about each other. A few were already present in this one, but not the most important ones. Of course Hachiman will explain then in detail how he reached his 'lonely' conclusion in this chapter based on the LN.
Now for the reviews. Thank you everyone for them, like last time I will address those with issues or questions.
BentShuriken I won't make them neighbours as there are two things that reason against it. 1. Hachiman doesn't know Yumiko from middle school 2. When they drove home from Disney Land Yumiko took a different train line than Hachiman (both lines are similar but it does create a slight distance). I wrote that the supermarket was 'rather far away' to bypass that.
oxcgen Thank you for pointing the you/you're mistakes out. I corrected them and will make a specific round to check for them in the future.
uchiha007 I actually thought about adding it, but since it was the very last part of chapter two, rather small and concluded 'girl' early on, I decided to leave that as a surprise. Since chapter 3 has way more of these switches, I added it every time and will do so from now on. Thank you.
Guest I thank you for your concern about the too many plot lines, but it only appears as such at this moment. Further down the story the reader has a chance to see that as well. I have to strongly reject your claim that I steal from other fanfics. Of course I don't know them all, I only read a few, but at the time of your comment (ch2), everything had its source in the LN. If there are similarities, it's because they used the same source. Example: Yukino's request, Her mother acted after she knew that Yukino didn't pick science, the path which is generally viewed as superior, in Volume 11. In Volume 10.5 in Zaimokuza's part it was revealed that Yukino had no idea what to work as in the future, much to the surprise of everyone. I combined that into problem and solution of her request in my continuation story. That Iroha had to prepare a speech was mentioned in V11, that Hachiman was in charge of these duties before and so on. I mostly mentioned such sources within the text by saying 'Hiratsuka-sensei mentioned it last time already that...' etc. I would only ruin my own fun writing this fanfiction if I stole from others.
Flash Falcon She has no romantic feelings for Hachiman at the end of Volume 11, it's all about Hayama for her. But she has at least one confirmed other feeling for Hachiman. I will state that one in the next chapter.
QS Thank you for concerns, I already tried to increase direct speech in this chapter to reduce that kind of fatigue. I know it all to well from reading the 6.25 to 6.75 Novel about the Athletic Festival.
hikigaya What's going on between them is interesting enough to me to write this fanfic and explore that route myself. It does have enough material to be pursued, but I doubt it will happen outside of video games.
If there is something you want to ask about just do so. Answers will come with the next chapter.
So hopefully I'll see you at chapter 4 again.