A few days after Hajime rejected her to go to the mall together, Shiori made sure to ask her sister but she's feeling lazy so she didn't bother asking Yuno.

"Should I ask Tobio?" Shiori mumbled as she eyed her classmates. Suddenly, five female classmates draw near her as they brought a fashion magazine with them.

"Hashimoto-kun, don't you think that this dress would look pretty on me?" The first girl showed a cute pastel yellow dress and Shiori eyed it carefully. If only that looked good on her, if only she can wear things like that, then she wouldn't be agonizing so much.

"If only that suited me." Shiori mutters all of a sudden, making the five ladies react in astonishment. One girl covered her mouth while another grinned. The other girls fussed about Shiori's small remark and went closer to the crossdresser.

"Do you want to go to the mall with us then? We'll make you look cute!" One girl suggested as Shiori perked up with the sudden recommendation. She stood up and smiled ear to ear. "Really? Are you sure about that? I'm really troublesome to be with, you know?" Shiori asked as she felt her cheeks warm up with happiness.

"Woah, I can act like a girl... I didn't know that." Shiori spoke as the five girls laughed at her statement. The crossdresser then thanked Hajime for rejecting her idea because she found another nice solution for her crisis.

Meanwhile, Hajime groaned as he stared at Shiori's number in his phone. It's Friday now but he still hasn't been able to talk or apologize to Shiori. Certainly, the crossdresser forgot about what he did but Hajime? He hasn't forgotten, at all.

"Damn it, I need to apologize." Hajime kicked his desk but when he raised his legs to do so, his knee hits the top of the table and immediately, Hajime winces in pain. He sends daggers at his own desk with his eyes before resting his head on the desk. He turned towards the door as he kept his head down.

"What have I done?" he thought to himself. "If she could appear right now, then that would be beneficial to my sanity." He murmurs.

A familiar voice suddenly rings in Hajime's ears as he kept his head low. He eyed the door and when it opens, he raises his head and leans on his chair.

"Hey, Iwa-chan!"

Hajime frowns at the nickname and glares at the person who entered. "Don't call me that." He says while Shiori grabs a chair and sits beside her senior.

"So... there's a good news." Shiori informs as she leans on Hajime's desk and puts her elbows on it before resting her chin on her palm. Hajime noticed that she looks eager to tell something to him so waits patiently

"Someone asked me out." Shiori teased as she eyed her senior's stunned expression. She chuckled lightly as Hajime nodded in an attempt to comprehend the sudden declaration of Shiori. He faked a cough and exhaled. "I can't believe someone asked you out. Is it a girl or..." Hajime eyed Shiori who smirked at his interest to know.

"Why are you asking? You don't want me to bother you, right?" Shiori messed around.

She observed the older student's face and noticed his slightly gloomy expression. The crossdresser gulped as she leans on the chair. "Stop being sad! My female classmates just told me to go to the mall with them. No one asked me out, it was just a joke." Shiori comforted her senior who stared at her with irritation.

Shiori smiles at the new face that Hajime shows. "That's the face Iwaizumi-san is supposed to have! Not the sad one!" she points at his face before lowering her hands and smiling gently. "I hope you stop liking me soon so things wouldn't be awkward for both of us. Please hold on, Iwaizumi-san! You'll find another cute girl!" Shiori reassures as she stands up and claps on Hajime's back before leaving the classroom.

Hajime bit the inside of his cheek as he tried to understand the things that the crossdresser told him. Can he really like another girl, especially when Shiori keeps appearing in his life?

"Iwa-chan! Did Seijunnie talk to you?" Tooru appeared as he loomed over Hajime and waited for an answer. Hajime nodded as he showed a small smile. "She told me to stop liking her." He muttered, unknown to him, Tooru didn't know that he confessed to Shiori so the flirt covers his mouth at the sudden declaration.

"Iwa-chan, were you rejected?" Tooru asked.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you?" Hajime replied.

"No."

Hajime froze as he looked at Tooru. He gasps upon realizing his mistake and eyes Tooru who puts a finger on his mouth. "I won't tell anybody. I swear." Tooru raises his palm and smiles innocently. Hajime nods in satisfaction.

Tooru gazed at Hajime and spoke again. "Shouldn't you try to make an effort in making her like you back?"

"I don't want to force her." Hajime replies.

"Iwa-chan, tell her that you'll wait for her to like you back and court her." Tooru lectured. "Ask her out today! It's Friday and it's a good day to ask her out to the mall!" he adds.

"She's going with her friends today." Hajime comments. "Stop trying to make me court her, would you?" Hajime requests but Tooru clicks his tongue thrice. "Iwa-chan, I don't think you understand. If a man falls for his female friend, then there's no cure for that man's problems except for two!" Tooru raises two fingers.

"It's either you end up with her or stay away from her. Just those two."

Hajime glowers at his friend and raises his fist but Tooru grabs Hajime's wrist to stop him. The two then tries to push each other but Tooru quickly puts his foot out of his shoes and kicks Hajime with his foot making his childhood friend fall from his chair. Tooru scoffs at his friend before quickly wearing his shoes and running away when he sees Hajime standing up.

"Trashykawa, don't try to run away or I'll make sure you never walk again!" Hajime shouts as he chases after Tooru. "I'm not interested in negotiating with you!" Tooru yells back.


Classes finally finishes and Shiori was ready to go with her friends when the same feeling of nervousness hit her like a truck.

Shiori overthinks once again. Her mind gets filled with question as she tries to debunk all of them at once by telling herself that everything will be fine and no one will judge her. The crossdresser glances at her sister who was conversing with the class vice-president about something she doesn't know.

With a slap to both of her cheeks, Shiori forces a smile and approaches the five ladies who invited her to the mall.

"Hashimoto-kun, are you ready to go?" one girl asked her softly so Shiori nodded.

"These people doesn't know what happens to me when I wear female clothes, if they find out who I am then I'd – "

Shiori stops herself and gulps as she nervously stares at the girls. They don't look bad but from the very day the humans came to be, it's certain that looks can be deceiving. Who knows what will happen if Shiori tells the truth to these girls. The crossdresser puts a hand on her chest and notices that she's breathing heavily. Shiori grabs her handkerchief from her pocket and wipes her sweat away.

"I have to calm down. Everything will be fine." Shiori inhaled then exhaled. She smiled and stared at the five girls. "Let's go! To the mall!" she exclaims excitedly as the other girls laugh at her enthusiasm. Shiori walked and opens the door and when she does, Hajime is standing outside.

Hajime smiles at her gently.

"Let's go to the mall." Hajime says and Shiori shoots a glare at him. "I'm going with my friends, Iwaizumi-san." She spoke while pointing at her classmates. Hajime stops smiling and glances at the five girls who blushes and bows.

Hajime recalls the fact that some first-year students admire him but he pushes the thought away and focuses on Shiori.

"Can I take Hashimoto with me?" He asks as makes sure to call Shiori by her last name instead to avoid misunderstanding. Hajime waits for answer and smiles when the girls says yes. Shiori feels confused by the sudden approval of her friends and looks at them. One girl puts a thumbs up before all of them leaves.

Shiori crosses her arms and leans on the doorway the same way Hajime did when he rejected Shiori to go to the mall. The crossdresser sulked and motioned for Hajime to speak.

"Well..." Hajime tries to think of something to say. "I changed my mind. I'm worried so let me accompany you." The third year spoke as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"You acted cold to me for days and suddenly, you tell me that you changed your mind. You haven't even apologized for the mean things you said to me." Shiori continued sulking. Hajime eyed her and sighed. "Fine, I'm sorry. Go to the mall with me." Hajime apologized as he asked the younger student out. Shiori shook her head at the fact that her senior can't apologize properly.

"Okay then, let's go to the mall!" Shiori changed her attitude and stopped sulking. She then walked ahead as she pulled out her phone and texted Yuno about her little excursion. Shiori sent the message and pushed her phone inside her bag.

The two students walked and as usual, Shiori conversed happily without a single awkwardness. The ability to not feel awkward amazed Hajime who felt a bit awkward being with someone he still likes. Almost immediately, the two reached the mall and unsurprisingly, the sky was now tainted with dark blue as the snow starts to fall.

Shiori smiled as she scanned the stores around her. Clothing store, shoe store, accessory store, and many more stores. Shiori swallowed her nervousness and walked towards the clothing store named Blue Cotton. Hajime trailed after her to make sure she doesn't cause a scene.

The crossdresser hesitated on choosing a dress. She then sees Hajime grabbing a dress as well as shoes and giving it to Shiori.

"Here. Wear this. I'll pay for it." Hajime pushed the things he picked on Shiori's hands and looks away. Shiori glances at the clothing items and smiles. "Iwaizumi-san is courting me." She says as she enters the dressing room. Hajime doesn't bother facing her and just turns his back on her. He then waits for Shiori to come out and feels slightly panicky.

The question of Shiori's appearance stayed in his mind but what he's worried about is Shiori's condition. Can she come out without getting an attack?

"Hey look!" Shiori exclaims so Hajime turns and sees her wearing the dress. The third year eyed her and spotted her sweating too much. "You're sweating." Hajime points at Shiori who smiles tensely. She then grabs her handkerchief and wipes her forehead and the back of her neck.

"I'll pay for it." Shiori notifies as she fans herself even though the air is cold. Hajime frowns before speaking. "I told you, I'll pay for it." He says as he brings his wallet out and smiles when he sees the amount of money he has today. Hajime feels glad to have decided to bring lots of money today.

"Don't change anymore. We'll just pay directly." Hajime says as he grabs Shiori who stares at him, clearly puzzled. Hajime then pulls the crossdresser to the counter and tells the lady in charge of the cashier about his situation.

Shiori, on the other hand, covered her face with her handkerchief and when Hajime glances at her, she gives a peace sign then smiles with her eyes. Hajime shakes his head in amusement and let goes of Shiori's hands.

After paying, the two went out of the store. Shiori walked like a penguin because she was still tense. All of a sudden, Shiori feels something itchy behind her so she touched the back of her neck to see if there's any ants. There was none but it felt really itchy.

Hajime then noticed Shiori's action and stopped walking. "Why?" he asked shortly. "There's something itchy in my neck. Can you check it for me?" Shiori said as she turned behind and coincidentally, in front of her was a mirror. She watched as her senior checked the dress she wore.

"The price tag is still there." Hajime notified. "Uh... can you remove it? If you don't mind, that is." Shiori spoke timidly. The information that her senior likes her dawned on her and made her clench the bag she's holding containing her uniform and school shoes.

"Don't move or I won't be able to remove it." Hajime said and Shiori froze for a while. She observed the mirror that's in front of her and her eyes kept sliding to her senior's focused face. She watched as Hajime took the price tag off then dangled it as if showing it to her. Shiori then spotted him smiling gently so she looks down and turns to him before bowing and thanking him.

"This feeling is killing me." Shiori mutters to herself before walking ahead.

"Do you want to eat somewhere?" Hajime asks without looking at Shiori who kept her face covered and her eyes on the floor. "Yes." Shiori answered thoughtlessly at the mention of eat. How can she turn an invitation like that down?

Hajime side-eyed the younger student and smiled. She was walking on the mall right now even though she wasn't doing it confidently but Hajime guesses that it's better that way than for her to hyper-ventilate because of anxiousness.

"You're doing great. Soon, you'll wear the female uniform of Seijoh." Hajime blurts out. "I won't wear it. Not in my entire life." Shiori mumbles stubbornly making her senior chuckle.

"I would be really happy if you finally got over your problem."

Shiori halts as she hears what her senior told her. She finally grasps that the man in front of her likes her and realizes that he is really, truly kind. Shiori eyed her senior who turns to her and motions her to walk again. The crossdresser sighs and glances at the sky and the snow falling down.

She smiles as she finally figures out the emotion she's feeling.

Hajime watched as Shiori motioned for him to come closer. He scans the area to see if she's motioning for someone else and when he finds no one, he draws near her.

"What?" he asks. Shiori grinned as she sighed before speaking. "You still like me, right?" Shiori asks catching Hajime off-guard. He nods with hesitation and when the crossdresser laughs lightly, Hajime feels irked and furrows his eyebrows.

"Why are you lau –"

"Let's try it." Shiori cuts him off.

Hajime's eyes widen as he absorbs what Shiori told her. He backs away and gives a suspicious glare. "Stop joking around." He utters in shock but Shiori gives a small smile and continues talking. "I'm serious. Let's try it."

"I don't know if this emotion I'm feeling right now is genuine or momentary but whatever it is, I hope to understand it and know more of it... with your help."

Hajime covers his face and groans. The snow that was falling didn't help with cooling him down and only made him heat up because it made the situation more romantic that what it intended to be. Shiori laughed at her senior's reactions and went closer to him. She then placed both of her palm on her senior's cheek and tip-toed.

"Iwaizumi-san is blushing! Is it because of me?" Shiori teased as she squeezed Hajime's cheeks and ignored the shyness that's trying to envelop her. People's stares and murmurs didn't matter because someone in front of her is trying hard not to run away from her and that made her more confident about herself, for some reasons.

"Stop teasing me. Are you serious about this?" Hajime demanded a clarification as he grabbed Shiori's hands and held it tightly. Shiori nodded making Hajime do a sharp exhale and a soft smile. Shiori then pulled Hajime down.

Shiori closed the distance between her and Hajime.

The older student froze but after a second of grasping the situation he's in, he pulled Shiori by the waist and hugged her tightly while Shiori wrapped her arms around his neck. The two kissed each other before they move away from each other, huffing and puffing.

The two smiled at each other. Shiori stopped tiptoeing and Hajime let goes of the crossdresser. Shiori then takes the initiative and holds Hajime's hands.

"Let's make this clear." Shiori starts. "I'm your girlfriend and you're my boyfriend. That's how it works, right?" she asks for assurance and sighs in relief when Hajime hums in agreement. "Now that everything's clear, where should we eat?" Hajime questions as the younger student leads the way to a restaurant.

As the cold air swept down and the snow started to cover the streets, two students finally found a solution to their problems, a solution that didn't involve both of them avoiding each other.


A/N:

AHHHHH!

They're together now! Amazing, right? I think you predicted it already but guess what? I'm in chapter 22 and - never mind.

About this chapter, just because I made them end up together doesn't mean that this is the end of the story! It's far from it! I told you, didn't I? This would end with 25 chapters, assuming I plan the chapters with intense focus.

After this, we'll dive right into Yuno and Oikawa's relationshiop as well as the side couple that involves blueberry child, Kageyama Tobio. Are you excited?

I'll try to update soon, probably after I finish my declamation piece needed for a project! Wish me luck please. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! Bye~~~