Notes: Most of this was written a very long time ago. It probably shows in the style. I've been spending the past few months working on a different project. Some recent IRL events have caused a sharp dip in my motivation to write and my confidence in the quality of my own writing. So I wasn't really sure if I would ever post anything again. But I figured that, since current works were in limbo, I may as well dust up something that's been lying around and try to finish it. We'll see what the future holds.

oOo

Interlude: Fukuoka

The digital clock on the bedside table read 9:13. On a normal Saturday, this would be considered quite early by my standards. After all, being a loner meant that I had no social obligations whatsoever, which also meant that I could continue to improve my already healthy relationship with my bed.

But then again, I highly doubted that any loner would ever find themselves in my current situation, fearing for my life.

I suppose you're likely wondering exactly what that situation was. Well, for starters, I woke up with hair in my mouth. Now, while this was obviously quite an uncomfortable experience, it certainly shouldn't warrant any panic or fear of impending doom. I suspect most reasonable people would be thinking this way. Unfortunately, however, the hair did not belong to me, and I was not in my own home, nor was I alone in the bed. The warmth pressed against the side of my body told me that instantly. It also woke me. Like fully woke me up. I was as alert as if I'd drank five cans of MAX coffee.

I turned my head to confirm what my body was already telling me.

And apparently Yukinoshita had indeed, during the course of the night, cuddled up close enough to me that I could feel pretty much every curve of her body pressed against my side. Even through two layers of clothing, her nightwear and my own, the only thought running through my brain was soft. And she smelled really good, some combination of flowery and fruity that made me want to bury my face in her hair. I would've done it too if I didn't think that I'd quite literally lose my life as a consequence.

But seriously, for as pleasant as everything felt in the moment, I couldn't even enjoy it. My mind was far too consumed by fear to appreciate the fact that Yukinoshita Yukino was using me as a pillow.

Maybe if I survived this ordeal I could look back fondly on this memory.

Shit shit shit. Yukinoshita's going to kill me. Was there any way that I could extricate myself from this dangerous situation before she woke up? Perhaps I could slip out of bed unnoticed and then simply pretend that none of this ever happened. Hell, I'd just claim that I couldn't sleep next to her and went back to the floor.

But extricating myself proved to be far more difficult than anticipated. Mostly because my arm was trapped in quite possibly the worst place possible. That is, it was trapped beneath Yukinoshita's chest. Which, by the way, I could confirm did indeed exist.

No, no, no! This really wasn't the time for those kinds of thoughts.

Anyways, each and every time I attempted to extricate myself from under the covers, her arm that had become entangled around my waist insistently tightened its grip on my torso.

So much for my escape plan; I was trapped. The sense of danger encroaching increased tenfold. Was this how all prey felt, in that fleeting moment before they were ripped apart by their predators?

As I was pondering this fact, the girl to my right shifted, and the arm that had been wrapped around my body slowly retreated, along with all the softness. And despite my body's disappointment at the loss of the soft warmth, my mind did settle down just a tiny bit.

It was clear that Yukinoshita was awake, and yet I was still alive after all. The Yukinoshita eruption that I had been terrified of had not been realized…yet.

"Uhm…-good morning," I gulped.

"...Good morning," the girl beside me whispered. She'd rolled onto her side and our eyes met.

I froze.

Something about those cerulean orbs trapped me in place. I wasn't sure why, but I found it impossible to look away. I couldn't break eye contact with her even if I wanted to.

And in the moment, those rather intense feelings of fear for my safety that had engulfed me when I had woken up to discover that Yukinoshita and I were cuddled rather closely together were now replaced by a similarly intense eagerness to memorize this incomparably cute sight of Yukinoshita with bed hair. It was a different overwhelming emotion that was taking hold of me. Unidentifiable and yet oddly familiar, but I didn't get a chance to think on it for much longer, because Yukinoshita chose to look away and the moment, that feeling between us, disappeared.

Despite the fact that Yukinoshita had started avoiding my gaze and taken to hiding behind a curtain of long black hair, all I could find myself thinking about was just how gorgeous Yukinoshita looked. To be fair, Yukinoshita's appearance had always been flawless, but I had never much of a reason to pay attention to her in the past.

Now, somehow I couldn't ever get her out of my head, which only served to make my wake-up call that morning ever more difficult. My entire being was becoming hyper aware of her, from the way she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear to her slightly reddening cheeks.

"D-Did you sleep well?" I tried to distract both her and myself with small talk.

"...Yes. The bed is surprisingly comfortable," she murmured while still avoiding eye contact. "What time is it?"

I glanced over at the bedside clock.

"It's 9:20."

"...Don't stare at me so much," she muttered.

"Sorry. I wasn't- I just- I mean- I didn't mean to…" I trailed off awkwardly.

She sighed.

"I was hoping that you could forget the events of the previous night, but I suppose that it would be too much to ask for."

"Yeah! Absolutely! I mean, no! It's not too much to ask for! Nothing happened last night! Totally agree with that."

She gave me a suspicious look.

I raised my hands to indicate my absolute sincerity.

After a couple of seconds of searching my face for any dishonesty in my expression, she gave a huff of annoyance and rolled out of bed, disappearing into the adjoining bathroom.

"Phew," I breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed as though the future generations of Hikigayas were safe.

Having settled that issue, I rolled over on the bed to turn on my phone, which I had left charging on the bedside table after it had died the night before. It wasn't until after I had turned it on that it occurred to me that Komachi surely would have been worried about me after I hadn't gone home the night before.

You have 14 unread messages.

That was… substantially lower than what I had expected, but it was still problematic all the same. How was I supposed to explain to Komachi that I had randomly decided to take a trip with a girl? She probably wouldn't believe a word that came out of my mouth.

I quickly scrolled through them.

Onii-chan, when are you getting home?

Onii-chan? You there?

Baka Onii-chan! I'm worrying myself sick here. You didn't get into an accident or anything right?

Pick up your phone already Onii-chan, this isn't funny!

I found out what you're doing from your teacher. You've changed so much, Onii-chan? Who knew you had it in you to run delinquent and elope with a girl?!

I certainly felt guilty that I'd worried Komachi that much, but some of that stress was alleviated because somehow, my incredibly resourceful sister managed to get ahold of Hiratsuka Sensei's phone number.

The only problem?

It appeared as though my always considerate teacher had straight up told my little sister that I'd gone on a trip with a girl. Alone.

Mere minutes after just barely escaping one life-threatening situation, I was fucked yet again.

The interrogation awaiting me when I arrived home would probably be worse than the Spanish Inquisition.

oOo

We arrived at the station for the train to Fukuoka an entire half hour before its scheduled departure. The rain had mostly cleared up from the night before, but massive puddles were still everywhere on the street, which made the hike to the station rather difficult. We had left inordinately early though, because we were both in agreement that we didn't want to miss the train.

I suspected that both of us also really didn't want to talk about the fact that we'd woken up cuddled together in the same bed, so we left early to avoid evoking any more memories as well. It had been awkward enough when I'd forgotten my towel when I'd gone for a shower this morning and had been forced to ask Yukinoshita to hand it to me across the sliding door.

There were a few more places that we wanted to see in town. They were mostly local shops. I bought a couple more souvenirs for my parents, and looked carefully for something cute for Komachi. I mean, it was the least I could do for not telling her about this trip. I had a feeling I'd be losing even more Komachi points after this was all over.

Alas, fate was cruel. Not one of the damned figurines or fridge magnets or keychains were cute. They were all boring, old people stuff.

We also visited one warigo soba shop. It was a bit heavy for brunch, but it was probably the most famous local food, and so I overruled Yukinoshita's protests and dragged her there.

It was delicious, and even Yukinoshita grudgingly admitted it when she finished her bowl.

After a couple of hours of exploring, we finally made our way to the station. Yukinoshita was breathing rather heavily by the time we arrived. I led us over to an empty bench to sit down and recover our stamina with all the extra time we had. I was rather thirsty, and managed to find a vending machine which sold some Sportop. I would've taken some MAX coffee, but they were nowhere to be found. I inserted a couple of coins in to purchase two, before heading back to the bench and handing one over to Yukinoshita.

She muttered her thanks and reached for her bag, but I shook my head.

"But-"

"This isn't a hotel room. This is a hundred yen drink. Just take it," I said sternly, and for once Yukinoshita didn't argue with me.

So we sat sipping our drinks while we waited for our train to start running.

"Say Hikigaya-kun," Yukinoshita said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"You've talked a lot about this person that helped you before. And… and you mentioned that you'd tell me the full story of what happened. I was wondering…-"

I stretched my arms out over my head.

"Yeah sure. I suppose you already know most of what happened to me when I first encountered the Syndrome. And I've mentioned that someone helped me out. She's a Soubu alumnus. Her name was Tsurumi Rumi."

"Tsurumi Rumi… doesn't ring a bell. You said she was an alumnus?"

"Yeah. She was a couple of years older than me. I tried looking her up in the school records in the library after school once, but I couldn't find any record of her."

"Hmm," Yukinoshita tapped her chin in thought. "If she's a couple of years older… I could ask my sister. She knew everything about everyone during her time in high school. And they definitely would have overlapped if she was two years older than you."

"Oh…ah, thanks."

"Did you apply to Soubu because you thought you had a chance to see her again?"

"Well aren't you perceptive?" I grumbled.

"It was written all over your face. But I'm curious, who was Tsurumi-san? Who was she to you?"

I paused. I hadn't considered that question for a long time. I'd always considered her my first crush. One of my biggest regrets is being unable to confess to her, on that last walk by the beach during that gorgeous sunset. It'd been over three years since I'd last seen or spoken with her.

"She was… my first crush, I guess. The first person that I could say I fell in love with. She was the first person I told my story to. And I guess I really liked her because she was the first person that showed me kindness. And the first person that actually listened to me."

I always looked back at those times on the beach with Rumi-san as the best times of my life. It felt like someone believed what I said. It felt like someone understood me. That feeling of acceptance, and of encouragement and belief… it's impossible to describe how much it had meant to me in the moment.

"So what was she like?" Yukinoshita asked, giving me an unreadable look.

"She was kind. Really really kind. I mean, she was willing to sacrifice hours upon hours of her time just to cheer up some dour kid two years younger than her. She was a great conversationalist too. She'd do a lot of the talking and I'd just listen to her. I don't even remember most of the things we talked about, but what I do remember is that her voice was beautiful. I could listen to her talk all day, even if it was in a completely different language."

"So what happened then? Judging by what you've said, you're not in contact with her anymore."

I looked away. "Yeah. She disappeared one day. And I could never find her again. I tried for months and months, even after I got released from the hospital, to find her. But I could never do it. It was as if she had moved to a completely different country."

"Perhaps your suspicions were actually the truth?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. I kinda wished that she would've said something if that were the case. Even a simple heads up would've been better than just nothing at all. There were a lot of things… a lot of things that were left unsaid."

Yukinoshita was quiet for a few moments.

"Do you… do you still hold feelings for her?" She asked quietly.

I pondered that question. It had been so long since I'd last seen her. And she'd be a university student now. If nothing else, I was well aware of how much people could grow and change. If I met Rumi-san again… how would I feel about her?

"I don't know," I admitted. "I haven't seen her in a very long time."

Things fell silent between us again. Yukinoshita was looking down at her lap, her hands fidgeting and twisting at her skirt. I found the sight rather distracting, so I took to surveying our surroundings in the station instead. There were still a lot of puddles about; leftover rain that had pooled up from the storm.

"So how did she help you with the Syndrome, exactly?" Yukinoshita spoke up suddenly.

I started, and turned to look at her once more.

"...I guess she helped me realize the important things in life. She showed me that life didn't have to be miserable all the time, and that everyone could be happy if they really really tried to be happy. I was deluding myself; thinking that I had to be handsome and charismatic in order to be happy. That I wasn't suited for happiness, simply because I wasn't born 'popular'. And I'd lived my whole life up until that point thinking that I should be satisfied with living my life steeped in mild unhappiness. But she helped show me that there's no sense in trying to conform to societal standards of popularity if all it does is make you miserable. Find your own happiness, she said."

"That's it?"

"Is that not enough, Yukinoshita? What did you want me to say? That she provided some sort of mystical healing? Or that she was a god in disguise? She was just a regular girl. But she cared about me. She showed me the value of myself, without the need to become someone I wasn't. And she gave me comfort and companionship when I needed it most. She closed the wounds that the Syndrome had opened, and I'll forever be grateful to her for it."

"I… see." Yukinoshita murmured. Her eyes were distant, as if she were lost in thought.

We were silent until the train arrived.

oOo

The train was packed. There was not a single open seat. It seemed as though everyone that had been delayed by the typhoon had piled onto this one train. Thankfully, we had seats, although we were blocked in by a snoring businessman who had an unnecessarily large briefcase that kept bumping into my leg.

I would have tried to move away from it, but that would mean moving closer to Yukinoshita, and despite everything that had happened the previous night, the idea was not one that I was particularly excited about pursuing.

She was scary, alright? And she'd been totally silent since our conversation on the platform!

And so I was perfectly content to spend the trip much as we had done the day before: reading our novels quietly without incident.

And things would've proceeded just as I'd planned, until I felt a soft weight fall onto my shoulder.

I glanced over and froze.

This had to be a mistake right? Some sort of accident? A curse from the romcom gods? Yukinoshita Yukino was sleeping on my shoulder as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

She looked illegally cute while doing so.

It felt strange; it wasn't so long ago that Yukinoshita had wanted to run away, to return home and likely never speak with me again. And yet, here she was, trusting me enough to use me as a pillow. I thought about saying something, but I also didn't want this moment to end. I didn't want to stop something that felt so right. So instead, I pulled out my novel carefully and began to read, ensuring that there weren't any unnecessary movements that might disturb her rest. It was a little stiff and awkward to move, but it was worth it to see her sleep so soundly and peacefully.

She must have been really tired, for she did not stir once during the journey.

It wasn't until the scenery outside began to change, when we began approaching Fukuoka proper, that I gently shook Yukinoshita awake.

"Yukinoshita, we're almost there."

She groaned in protest and refused to move. "Five more minutes."

"You're missing out on an amazing view! You can see the entire shoreline from here!"

"I'll be able to see it when we decide to visit."

I sighed and left her alone. It wasn't as though I particularly disliked her snuggling deeper into my shoulder.

A little while later I tried again.

"Yukinoshita, we're pulling into the station soon. Wake up."

She mumbled something indecipherable, but opened her eyes blearily and stretched.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Sleeping Beauty."

"If I find that you've attempted to kiss me during my slumber, Hikigaya-kun, I'll have you arrested for sexual assault."

"Don't you think that, even if I had kissed you, that'd be a little extreme?!"

"I think a three to five year prison term would be sufficient payment for stealing a maiden's first kiss."

"You're cra-wait what? Your first kiss? Y-y-you mean you've never-"

She laughed at the expression on my face.

"My my, Hikigaya-kun, I didn't realize that you were so interested in my first kiss."

"W-what do you mean? I'm not interested in the slightest. It's just surprising that you'd even talk about that kind of stuff. It doesn't really seem like the type of thing that you'd be interested in anyways."

Yukinoshita simply slung her bag over her shoulder and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Come on, we're wasting time," she said, glancing back at him over her shoulder as she stepped off the train.

oOo

It was a little cooler than I'd been expecting when we got off the train. Fukuoka in the summer could reach upwards of forty degrees, which when combined with the natural humidity of the region made it a sticky and uncomfortable place to spend too much time outside. But I suppose that, with the typhoon having just blown through the region, temperatures would be a little on the lower side. Still, it didn't take that long before I started sweating. Yukinoshita too looked uncomfortable in the heat, and had even taken off her cardigan and folded it carefully into her bag.

Somehow, she still managed to look impeccable in a T-shirt and blue skinny jeans, turning heads as we walked down the street together.

"Hey Hikigaya-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you decided on where to go first?"

"Huh? I thought it was you that wanted to explore Fukuoka?! Why am I the one that has to plan where to go?"

"You asked me out on this trip, Hikigaya-kun, and you expected me to plan it out? Cruel! Insensitive! Ignoramus!"

"H-hey! I'm paying for most things, aren't I?!"

Wasn't that the deal? The person that invites others on a trip is responsible financially for said trip? I'd heard that somewhere. Maybe it was from my Dad?

Yukinoshita put her hand on her head and sighed in disappointment.

"You're so hopeless, Hikigaya-kun. And I was counting on you too! But I should have known. It is Hikigaya-kun after all. Pinning any sort of hopes on him… it seems as if my cognitive functions really have been contaminated by close contact with Hikigaya-kun as of late.

I spluttered indignantly.

But then she gave me a sideways smirk, as if to tell me that she wasn't really being serious. And I'll be honest, it distracted me from her sting of her words. I immediately felt better. And that frustrated me beyond belief, that she could affect me so much with only a simple expression. In an effort to distract myself, I pulled out my phone, quickly using a search engine to find the top recommended tourist sites for Fukuoka.

"Let's see… Fukuoka City Museum… Tochoji Temple… oi, it says that Uminonakamichi Park is open to the public now."

"Ara, what's that? Is that some sort of amusement park?"

"Nope. It's a leisure park. There's all sorts of events that they do, depending on the season. I think they're doing a festival around this time of year, and the resort pool complex is also open. There's also a pretty famous aquarium. Oh, and I guess it also has an amusement park built inside too."

"Sounds like a lot of different activities. Is it far from here?"

"Nah. Maybe twenty minutes by bus."

"And what about our hotel?"

I scrolled through my email quickly to find the booking, before copying over the address.

"Another thirty minutes, I think."

"I suppose the park will do for today then. But Hikigaya-kun, did you bring any swimwear?"

"Ah- now that you mention it… I didn't think that I would need it."

"Really? You came to Fukuoka without any swimwear?"

"Yeah yeah go ahead and insult my intelligence all you want. I had other, more pressing things I was worrying about when I was packing, alright?"

And it was true. I'd pretty much spent that entire night tossing and turning in my bed. Half of the time was spent wondering what on Earth had possessed me to invite Yukinoshita of all people to come on this spontaneous trip with me. The other half was spent thinking about Yukinoshita's Syndrome, and what I could do to help. In the end, I couldn't find the answer to either of those questions, so I just lost sleep for nothing. But there was no need for Yukinoshita to know about any of that.

But the verbal barbs which I had come to expect never came.

Instead, all I heard was Yukinoshita's quiet voice.

"Thank you, Hikigaya-kun, for worrying about me."

Yukinoshita really was unfair.

oOo

Uminonakamichi Park's pool resort was more than just your average swimming pool. It was huge, easily the size of a shopping mall, and it had quite a few waterslides to boot. It would be more accurate to call it a water park than a pool resort. There were different pools for all different kinds of activities; from steep water slides for the thrillseekers to heated swimming pools that were geared more for relaxation.

It also had its own swimwear shop, which was likely a fairly wise business decision, considering that there were likely plenty of poor victims like me who had forgotten their swimwear and could thus be fleeced by their rather exorbitant prices.

Seriously, ten thousand yen for a pair of swim trunks? I didn't know how I could ever make things up to Wallet-chan for this blunder.

There was a slightly awkward moment in the store when Yukinoshita was browsing through the racks with him and kept tugging insistently on the swimwear. I tried to get her to stop; with how expensive everything was, I didn't want her to accidentally rip or tear something. Knowing Yukinoshita, she'd probably make me pay for it.

"But, it's the only way I know how to differentiate between the otherwise overwhelming amount of options. I can know the quality and comfort level provided by the material by testing it. Here, this one's pretty durable, and it's made of nylon spandex. It should be quite comfortable. Try it."

"Err, don't you care about how any of it would look on someone?" I asked as she thrusted a pair of garishly bright orange swim trunks in my direction.

Even with my rather terrible fashion sense, I could tell that this one would do no favors for my appearance.

She tilted her head as if she were confused.

"Appearance? Is that not dictated by one's own natural beauty? Surely, cosmetics and clothing are only additions meant to enhance natural beauty."

"...I can certainly see that you think that, Yukinoshita, but I'm not sure if the rest of the world agrees with you."

"Then the rest of the world must be very ignorant of beauty, surely?"

I opened and closed my mouth, staring at Yukinoshita's wide-eyed innocent look.

"...You know what? Forget it."

But I did manage to convince Yukinoshita to pick out something that was quite a bit less offensive to the eyes.

"Is there any particular reason you dislike orange?" Yukinoshita wondered aloud as we exited the shop together, heading over towards the changing rooms for the pool.

"The shade of those trunks was absolutely hideous, Yukinoshita."

"If you insist. But I'd wager that if you had bought that pair, you would not have needed another one for a few years. The quality was excellent, and it was machine-washable. For someone as concerned as you were with the price, I imagine that the longevity of your clothing must be of significant importance, no?"

"...I just liked the blue ones better, okay?"

She shot me a suspicious look.

"Hmm… someone as utilitarian as you claim to be decided to pay extra money simply for aesthetics…? Could it be that there were other reasons involved that you would rather not admit to?"

Fuck.

What was I supposed to say to that?!

oOo

I felt as though the sentiment I'm about to share has been becoming more of a recurring theme recently. Unfortunately, there was no escape from it. See, the biggest issue I currently faced was that I was very attracted to Yukinoshita Yukino. This had become abundantly clear to me as we had spent more time in close proximity with each other. I would not usually mind this; it was natural and healthy to be attracted to someone attractive, after all. This was the origin of celebrity crushes and other such fantasies that weren't supposed to be reality.

Yesterday, I went to Yukinoshita's apartment to check up on her. And then somehow today, I woke up in the same bed as Yukinoshita. That was something that was supposed to be reserved for my fantasies, god damn it.

And now, after that life-changing event, my self-awareness of Yukinoshita; of her every action and word, had ballooned into something that I feared would one day become uncontrollable. This was really really bad.

Not because Yukinoshita was a bad person. I'd already established that under all of the sharp barbs and awkward conversations, she really was just a misunderstood individual, trying her best. She was a good person, and combined with her other traits… well… I was doomed from the start.

Yeah, I liked Yukinoshita Yukino. I was attracted to Yukinoshita Yukino.

And that was awful. Probably the most awful, terrible, event that could ever happen to Hikigaya Hachiman.

Why?

Because crushing on Yukinoshita was going to end in being crushed. Like I'd mentioned before, Yukinoshita was the resident Ice Queen. The untouchable scion of the Yukinoshita family. She didn't do romance, or at least not with someone like me. And even if hell froze over and we somehow got together, what'd happen next? I didn't even want to get that far ahead of myself, but all I knew was that this was definitely the path to ruin. Orimoto would seem like a happy memory in comparison if things went south here.

Anyways, if you were wondering exactly what incident had prompted such panicked self-reflection… well… let's just say that during the whole endeavor when I was trying to find some suitable swimwear for myself, I'd forgotten that Yukinoshita would also be wearing her swimsuit.

I knew I was in trouble as soon as she stepped out of the girls' changing room.

Yukinoshita hadn't even gone for anything too revealing. I'm sure that, given my reputation, it would have been expected of me to make some snarky comment about how Yukinoshita didn't have a whole lot to reveal anyways.

But see, therein lay the problem. I hadn't expected to be affected by Yukinoshita's bikini-clad look because I'd thought that she didn't have much to show. But as it turned out, not having much to show did not equate to not having anything to show.

I was caught fully unprepared.

Yukinoshita was wearing a simple, frilly, pure white bikini top that certainly protected her modesty far more than what I'd seen some of the other girls wearing as they'd headed out to the pool, and matching bottoms.

Not that I'd stared much at the other girls.

No really! This time I'm being one hundred percent truthful. I had only glanced their way a couple of times. That was inevitable, because Newton's Law of Universal Boobitation commanded my eyes to be drawn in their direction. Especially if they were well-endowed. So it wasn't my fault! But anyways, as I was splashing some water over my face from the nearby drinking fountain to clear my head, I'd heard footsteps, indicating that someone was approaching and spun around only to find Yukinoshita standing sporting a healthy blush and determinedly not meeting my eyes.

Like I said. Completely and utterly unprepared for the devastation that was about to be unleashed on my soul.

And yeah. As soon as I saw her… I won't lie.

I stared.

I stared for a very long time. How in the world could someone look so stimulating in swimwear that was designed to be the very opposite? I really wanted to curse the rom-com gods.

Yukinoshita fidgeted and twisted a lock of hair around her finger under my gaze.

Cute was the only thought filling my dumb brain.

And so I stared harder, drinking in the vision in front of me as if it were an oasis in the desert.

She blushed a deeper shade of red.

"C-could you not stare at me like that, Hikigaya-kun? It's… becoming seriously creepy."

I jumped at the sound of her voice, although surprisingly, there was little heat to it. Still, this was not good. I needed to regroup and go on the counteroffensive!

"O-of course! I uh- I didn't mean to stare. But… you're beautiful, Yukinoshita. Really beautiful!"

"Th-thanks, I suppose," she stuttered back, wrapping an arm around her stomach as if she was trying to avoid showing too much skin. It's too late for that, Yukinoshita! The image is seared into my retinas!

"Uhm… you don't look half-bad yourself," she continued haltingly.

"My, oh my, is that an honest-to-god compliment from Queen Yukinoshita herself? Note the date and time, please. An event of historical significance has taken place."

"I've decided to throw you a bone every once in a while, but it seems as though you've stepped out of line once again. Need I remind you are incredibly lucky to get a chance to witness perfection before you?"

And just like that, the old, confident Yukinoshita was back.

"I told you yesterday Yukinoshita, you're cute, but you're not my type."

Yukinoshita laughed.

"Your lies would be a little more believable if you were not still leering at me, Hikigaya-kun. That lecherous look has me seriously concerned for my safety. If you cannot control your animalistic instincts, perhaps I must keep my distance."

If this had been the me from only a few days ago, I would have backed down and likely been groveling at her feet at this point.

But things have changed now.

"You know, Yukinoshita, your whole scared for your chastity act would be a whole lot more convincing if not for the fact that you were using me as a pillow last night."

"...-Urk!" There came a strangled noise from Yukinoshita's throat, followed by a deadly glare. But I didn't care.

I'd finally won a round. I'd finally made her speechless. A cause for celebration, I thought to myself.

I hummed a tune under my breath as I led Yukinoshita to the entrance of the water park.

oOo

Yukinoshita Yukino was afraid of heights.

I filed that bit of information away into the back of my head as I watched Yukinoshita hesitate at the top of the stairs, her eyes wide as she watched the line of guests get into position one after another at the entrance to the tallest water slide in the park. It was easily thirty meters to the bottom.

I could almost feel her nervousness, which only spiked as she watched the person ahead of us get pushed into the gaping dark maw of the slide, screaming at the top of his lungs as he went.

"Next visitor, please!" Thus came the call of one of the staff members.

Yukinoshita was trembling, so I reached out and gently touched her arm.

"You don't have to force yourself if you dislike heights, Yukinoshita. There are plenty of other pools within the park." I tried to reassure her.

"W-what nonsense are you spouting, Hikigaya-kun?"

"It's not hard to tell… After all, you're shaking, Yukinoshita," I muttered so that only she could hear.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and huffed in annoyance.

"You're imagining things. I'll be going first."

She strode past me, and I could only shake my head in amusement.

Stubborn girl.

I watched as she carefully latched on to every word uttered by the staff member by the slide. When she'd gotten ready, sitting just on the edge of the slide, I caught sight of her face and couldn't help but laugh. There was a look of intense concentration on her face; she looked even more focused than the time she had watched over Yuigahama's baking attempts.

Then the staff member gave her a little push and Yukinoshita let out a small yelp as she disappeared down the slide.

"Next visitor, please!"

It was my turn, so I stepped up, glancing at the slide. It was very steep.

"Was that your girlfriend?" The staff member asked me as she watched me get into position.

"Err-"

"Keep your legs straight," she cut across me, although it wasn't as though I'd had any response for her.

"Yes ma'am."

"And don't forget to move away from the slide once you reach the bottom."

"Yes ma'am."

"Your girlfriend was terrified, you know."

"Yes m-what? She's not my girlfriend!" I tried to protest, but she cut across me again.

"So if you dragged her up here, go and buy her something nice after, you hear me?" She lectured me.

"Thank you so much for all of your helpful advice." I couldn't help but snark back.

The push she gave me seemed a little more aggressive than was strictly necessary. I crashed into the water at the bottom and was momentarily disoriented, before my natural buoyancy brought me floating up to the surface.

Crazy woman. Or maybe women were all crazy. Was there a difference?

I treaded water for a few moments as I spat out some water that had gotten into my mouth during the landing. After shaking more water out of my eyes, I looked around for Yukinoshita, but I couldn't quite find her. There were quite a lot of people around as I slowly swam away from the slide towards the edge of this pool.

Had she left that quickly? Did she really hate waterslides? I was starting to feel a little guilty for bringing her to the tallest slide first as I climbed out of the pool to get a better vantage point.

"Yukinoshita?" I called out, but I doubted it would reach her. The place was packed and only the nearest people even reacted to my call. They all just glanced over at me briefly before returning to whatever it was they had been doing.

Nope. No Yukinoshita.

There was no way she'd run off that quickly right? I mean, I'd only been talking to that stupid attendant at the top of the slide for like five minutes max. And she likes me now so she wouldn't just randomly ditch me! Right…?

I started circling the pool, but it was a truly massive construct. If I wasn't so busy searching for Yukinoshita I'd probably have marveled a bit at the size of it. And this was just one attraction of many within Uminonakamichi!

By the time I'd made it back to the entrance of the pool where the changing rooms were located I'd grown significantly more worried that I still couldn't find Yukinoshita. This was a girl that turned heads with regularity. Even on the train, or on buses, I noticed people sneaking looks at her. People always made way for her at school.

So why was it so impossible to find her now?

I gritted my teeth and was just about to shout her name out at the top of my lungs, whispers and strange looks be damned, when suddenly, as if like an angel, she appeared on the far side of the pool, clutching what looked to be two drinks in her hands.

I rushed on over to her, an annoyed expression plastered onto my face. Hey! I was really worried there for a moment that something had happened to her with the slide or something.

I skidded to a stop in front of Yukinoshita, who had managed to claim a couple of sunloungers by the pool for her own, and was wrapping a towel around herself as she placed the drinks down on the nearby table stand.

"Why are you panicking so much, Hikigaya-kun?" Yukinoshita asked, barely able to conceal her laughter as I bent over, trying my best to catch my breath. I'd been running all around the pool, so even despite my otherworldly stamina it was only natural that I was tired.

"Where…-did…-you…-go…?" I managed to get out.

"I just saw the drinks stand and figured that you would desire something nice and refreshing to drink," she replied. "Unlike someone I know, I'm actually quite a considerate girl."

"You couldn't have waited, like, two seconds for me to come out of the slide after you so that we could go together?"

"But Hikigaya-kun," Yukinoshita said, staring up at me with the utmost expression of innocence on her face. "I wanted to surprise you with refreshments."

I coughed awkwardly into my fist. Did she know what she was doing…?

"Well, fine. I was just worried when I couldn't find you, that's all."

She blushed a little at my words, and then said in a small voice, "I understand. In the future, I'll always wait for you."

This girl was going to be the death of me.

oOo

There's actually quite a lot to do in Fukuoka. Uminonakamichi Park is a real park that exists there. The park itself does indeed hold a small water park, although I have never been there in person so I would not be able to gauge the true extent of everything the place has to offer. Most of what you see here is probably fictionalized to a certain degree. I mention this only because I feel as though I've been looking at Fukuoka tourist guides for months trying to figure out what our favorite characters were gonna do once they arrived. This interlude was originally intended to encapsulate the entire Fukuoka trip, but I realized that it would just extend what was originally supposed to be a fluffy interlude from the main Syndrome plotline into something that was going to become twice as long as the other chapters, which didn't particularly feel right. We'll be headed into the next arc instead.

Thanks for reading.