Chapter 5: Hina Ebina

The sunlight beaming through the window woke me up from a seemingly sleepless night.

The birds outside were chirping merrily and I could hear the oba-sans (1) greeting each other as they went about for their morning jog.

Damn early risers. Why can't they just bring their healthy lifestyle and overly positive attitude somewhere else?

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and yawned.What time is it… my hand reached out to the lamp table for my phone. 7:00. Too early. As I put my phone back I felt it knock into something else. I threw a glance at table and saw a shimmer of red. Glasses? I'm not myopic, if I recall.

Hold on. My eyes darted around the room, and I realised I was in foreign territory.

It was heavily 'decorated' with anime related paraphernalia. Figures of famous bishounen (2) characters stood on shelves on the wall. Books upon books filled a cupboard. There were Free! (3) posters plastered on the wall depicting the boys…doing...

All these were indicative that I was in a room belonging to a type of person commonly referred to as fujoshi (4), and there was only one fujoshi I knew of.

I looked over to my side. Poking out of a blanket was a mop of hazel usually done up in a bobbed hairstyle. I nudged her with my left elbow, the bed we were on being small enough for us to only have a few inches of space between yet being not too squeezy.

"Oi...Ebina. Wake up."

"Nn…5 more minutes…"

"Come on now."

Ebina roused awake and sat upright, facing the other direction, her back to me. A singlet covered it, and the window of it gave me a view of her glossy pale skin, free of blemishes.

She seemed to notice my staring, and grabbed the blanket to cover herself before turning to face me.

"Ah...ohayou (5) Hikitani-kun. Had a good night's sleep?"

"Mm, good morning. I'm not too sure if I had my 8 hours, but I'm feeling quite alright."

"Mm. But you're the reason why we didn't get our 8 hours last night."

"Heh. I guess you're right."

"Fua… let's get some breakfast before going to school."

"I guess I'll whip something up. Got any eggs?"

"Other than the ones you fertilised last night? Yeah I have some in the fridge."

"Woah, woah woah. That's way too direct. Plus, if they really were fertilised it would cause some trouble wouldn't it."

"Hehe."

"Come on. Lead the way to the kitchen."

"Ok~ Oh! Which apron do you want, by the way?"

"Oya? I know you're pretty, and wacky but I didn't think you'd be brave enough for a naked apron."

"I didn't say anything about me wearing an apron~"

"Che, I knew it was too good to be true. I'm not gonna put myself in a situation where you can blackmail me. I don't know where the hidden cameras are set up in your home."

"Aww, what a pity. I thought maybe I could send the pics of you in naked apron to your seme partner (6)."

"Who's my seme- never mind forget I asked."

"Hayato-kun, of course! Hihihi"

"Geh. Kono hentai onna (7)."

"And Hikitani-kun was so good last night! Yeah, he was getting all the right spots…"

I buried my face in my arms, desperately attempting to hide my shame. Why would anyone need to embarrass me when I do it to myself all the time?

"Dammit, Ebina stop making it sound so dirty. All we did was do a project together."

"Just a project? Nothing else?"

"You know it yourself."

"Hihi~ Are you mad, Hikitani-kun?"

"It's my face."

"Lol! I didn't know Hikio could be such a joker. Ne, Hina, you wanna go shopping later? I saw this really cute skirt! Yui's coming along, too."

Miura rested her face on her hands as she leaned in towards Ebina. Ebina threw a glance at me, and I shrugged at her.

"Ehehe…I would but, like, Hikigaya and I have plans later…"

"Hmm? Oh, are you two, like, going on a date?"

"Ah, yeah, something like that."

"Ehh? I didn't think Hikio would be that daring. Mind if I come along?"

'You got some balls to take my friend away from me, scumbag. I'm gonna keep an eye on you two.' Is what I could decipher from the glare that Miura gave me. Oi, oi. Isshiki's been rubbing off on you, hasn't she?

"Y-yeah, w-we're going to a… an otaku store later! So if you're still keen, we wouldn't mind, right, Hina?"

"Actually, Hikitani and I want to go alone, later, so some other time maybe, Yumiko?"

"Hah? Hmm… ok then, Hina. I trust you. Hikio."

"Ye-Yes, Miura?"

"Don't try anything funny."

I could see a tiger made of intense aura appear from behind Miura. Ko-kowaii…(8)

"Of course! W-what kind of person do you think I am?"

"A sleazebag. Creep. Stalker."

Hachiman.

"Ouch."

Critical hit combo x3! Finish him. (9)

"Jeez, what do people take me for? It's my eyes, isn't it."

"Hmm? I think your eyes are pretty cute."

"Wh-wha?"

Hachiman heart down. Too much doki.

"Yeah. They fit an uke character like you very well. Like when Hayato kisses you and your eyes widen and then you get absorbed into the kiss-"

Blood gushed out of Ebina's nose. I quickly grabbed a packet of tissues and frantically tried to cover her nose. Normally I'd be extremely freaked out by the blood but after some time of dating a fujoshi you get used to it. Ah, it seems that I've taken over Miura's role.

"Sigh...We're in public, so please, Hina."

"Hic...hah...but really, Hikitani-kun? Look around, there's no one here."

I looked around. We were at the top of a hill, on a small clearing with a bench and lamp being the only source of light. It cast a blue-ish hue upon us. Thanks, Japan government, but I don't think I'm gonna be committing suicide any time soon. (10)

I walked over to the bench, and sat down. The hill overlooked most of the town, with the lights in the background flickering, it contrasted well with the quiet, peaceful environment Hina and I were in.

"Ah...my legs are tired. I think you'll need to support me when we get older."

"Hihi...Hikigaya. What do you think of marriage?"

I looked up at Hina as she said that. She wasn't facing me, but was instead looking beyond the scenery.

"Well, obviously marriage is just romanticised slavery. You fork out money for the wedding and engagement rings, then take on 9-to-5 jobs to support a family and house, and when you get old you-"

"Will that happen if we marry?"

"Ah…"

I was caught off guard by that. Hina Ebina tends to be capable of that. This wasn't the first time nor will it be the last.

"I told you...a long time ago...that it might work out between us, didn't I?"

"Heh, yeah. Can't forget that, and I guess it did."

"Do you think it'll be the same the next time round? Except with a bigger responsibility?"

"When we went into this relationship we had no expectations, didn't we? And look how it turned out."

"Yes. But this time… I'm scared."

Ebina turned around. Behind her glasses, I could see tears forming. She took slow steps towards me.

"I'm scared. I'm scared of myself. I don't know how well I'm going to be a good wife, I don't know if I'm going to be a good mother. I'm a rotten girl, and I'm selfish, too. I said that I liked the people around me, and where I am. I know that I'm going to lose that one day. I just don't know if I'm going to get a second chance like that anymore."

"Hina…"

"Hikitani-kun… do you think we'll be able to make it together?"

By now the tears on her face were freely running down her cheeks, wetting her glasses. I stood up and walked to her, taking her glasses off with my left hand and wiping away the tears with my right.

Her cheeks were tender, and her tears were smudging up the makeup. Although I would argue that the makeup was ruining her beauty.

Ebina...out of all the girls I knew, was definitely a contender for, at least, one of the most beautiful. While she lacked the cool grace of Yukinoshita, or the cute bubbliness of Yuigahama, she was, and is, by anyone's standards, beautiful. It was no wonder so many boys asked her out, and got rejected.

However, truth be told, her personality was flawed. Take the wings away from an angel and they're nothing more than a human being. At least that's what it seems like on the surface. Beneath that, could be pure, immaculate, or defective, faulty.

In the case of this angel, she hated herself. She, despite being surrounded by people who cared for her, only minded the price tag. She was afraid of losing her precious people. Her mask rarely slipped, but when it did, it just showed how vulnerable she was.

"Hina...what do you think of children?"

I walked up to her, and gently grabbed her hands, putting them down. She sniffed and looked up to me.

"They're noisy, they're spoilt, they're disgusting and worst of all, they're always smiling. Some people think I'm unhappy, but it's just that I appreciate silence in a world that never stops talking. Children, around them, despite their parents being alcoholics, despite their parents never being at home, they're always so pure and happy."

"And...That's why you hate them?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I'm actually quite fond of them. That's why,"

I kneeled down on one knee. Thankfully there weren't any people around us or I would die of embarrassment.

"After we finish High school, I want you to marry me. After that, we're gonna make a family together. Twins named Hitoshi and Haruko, or a daughter named Homura (11), whatever. We're gonna have kids together. You're going to be an amazing mother, but I'm gonna need you to first believe that we can make it together. I have full faith in you, and I hope you have full faith in me. Even if the whole world abandons you, I'll always be by your side. (12)"

Ebina's lips curled up in a grin, and straight out of a scene from Nisekoi (13), she wiped the tears from her eyes, blazer blowing in the wind, a hue suddenly appearing, and said.

"If you say words like that to a rotten girl like me, I'll really fall for you, you know?"

I smiled back.

"Haven't you already?"

"Fufufu… you sound like a riajuu now, Hikitani-kun."

"Riajuu? No no no. This is a shoujo (14) manga."

"Fufu… I'd call this a doujinshi (15) more than anything. Sadly, it seems like you've fully gone on my route. Hayato-kun will be so disappointed…"

"Nah, I'd say he and I are both glad. Me more so because I've just captured a rotten girl."

"Hihi. Hikitani-kun I don't mind you proposing to me without a ring,"

"Ehehe…"

"But if you ever lie to me, I won't forgive you~"

"Hmph. What a rotten girl."

We picked up our bags, and left. A moth that kept flying around the lamp earlier stopped, and flew off.

(1)Oba-san means middle-aged lady.

(2)Bishounen means beautiful boy, transcending the boundary of gender. An example would be Sebastian from Kuroshitsuji.

(3)Free! Is a...sports anime about swimming. Swimming, hot, muscular, amazing-bodied guys...where was I?

(4)Fujoshi means rotten girl who's into Boy's love and other stuff like that. Ebina, basically.

(5)Ohayou means 'good morning'

(6)Seme refers to the boy who's the one on top in yaoi. Uke is the bottom. God why do I know this…

(7)Geh. Kono hentai onna means "Geh. This pervert(ed) (woman)."

(8)Kowaii here means 's-scary'

(9)Mortal Kombat reference. Fighting games in general.

(10)In Japan, and other countries, street lamps are sometimes blue. This is to dissuade suicides, as blue is apparently relaxing and calming.

(11)Reference to, once again, an amazing story. My After Story SNAFU by GodricDamp Go read it ;3

(12)Variation of a quote from Black Rock Shooter.

(13)*SPOILERS* Ebina's reaction here is inspired by a scene in Nisekoi chapter 190, right after Raku says something to Marika.

(14)Refers to the demographic of (usually) teen girls. Most focus on romance and are girly and have big eyed girls and bishounen.

(15)Doujinshi are fan made work, usually in the form of manga.

Ey yo. Ebina's chapter is done! I have to say, this is my least favourite story to write so far. It doesn't exactly have the specialness of the stories before it. But eh, it's out. Much more different from what I had first planned it to be. Also, hooray! \(^ _ ^)/ Next story's gonna be Kawasaki! Although I do have a (y*****e) Rumi story WIP. Welp gonna reply to some reviews.

NoLife1989: Not a long shot, but it's not gonna be what you'd expect.

Speechy: Well, I do try to keep him in character, but like...it's hard...and I'm a bad writer… pls forgive ;-;

Guest1: I could write chap 4's backstory, but I'd rather leave it as lore.

Guest2: Pay up, because it's Kawasaki! ;P nah jk. Er, last chapter I was only half jokingly saying that he was gonna impregnate all the girls 0.o but I'll write the other girls if I want to, or if I have the time.

hereditus: Day 9. Pls send help.

Amused Archer: Same.

boudicca: 'Courage'? more like two kids. Hehehe

80K Hikigaya: :0 ermugard

Judicar Deimos: ayy thanks. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, but I'll still try to keep in character. Meguri, huh? She's gonna be tough. But iunno just a short one, I guess. For Tsurumi I'm gonna be taking lots of liberties, tho. Or rather, somewhat more inspired by stories of her currently on this site. Like a certain Assassin's.

RalphZiggy: I'd say Yukino and Hayato aren't exactly willingly wed, but hey. Lol, ok. Gonna dedicate a chapter to your suggestion.

Aight. Think I'm done. Now gotta sleep. I got a history test tomorrow and I'm gonna end up flunking at this rate. Ciao.