Before I had a chance to blink, midterms came. Although the material was not a stroll in the park, it felt fair. Luckily, there were few trick questions. Due my loner tendencies, I recalled most of the details in the class lectures. My attention in class had finally paid off.
Surprisingly, the English exam seemed easier this time. Maybe studying with someone else benefited me, even if that person was like a dull knife in the kitchen. Tests were still a pain, so I still wanted finish as soon as I could.
After grinding through English grammar multiple choice questions, I approached a section with essay writing. That made me reminisce about the Japanese essay I wrote for Hiratsuka-sensei. In spite of pouring out all of my feelings, I was forced to rewrite it due to it being unconventional.
At that moment, I caught myself preparing to hand in my essay early. I paused, and decided to wait before submitting. Carefully revising my essay to ensure it was free of any cynical thoughts, I removed a quarter.
An assignment was something I could rewrite, but I was not risking anything on my midterm. Exams were remarkably longer than assignments, and I learned my lesson from my previous assignment.
My English teacher would likely not permit midterm rewrites especially if the reason was silly like writing crap. Unlike Hiratsuka-sensei, the English teacher was strict, traditional, and old fashioned. After a late night of marking, I imagined he would read my essay, and wince due to his lack a humor.
The resulting mark would be nasty. Once I asked him to rewrite my midterm, he would recognize me as the kid who got on his bad side and gave him more work.
Even I knew not to mess with the wrong teacher. After adding some fluff words, I made an essay of a reasonable length. I finished my English exam, proud of my work.
Once all the exams were over, I sighed in relief. Even though I was confident I did well on the exams, finally finishing them all felt liberating.
I bet Yukinoshita was first place on all the exams again. Considering Yukinoshita's upbringing, there was probably high pressure on flawless academics. After the last lesson ended, I headed towards the service club.
"Yahallo, Yukinon!" Yuigahama said.
"Good afternoon, Yuigahama," Yukinoshita said.
Though it was just Yuigahama being Yuigahama and Yukinoshita being Yukinoshita, it was unexpectedly revitalizing after a long time without club activities.
"Hey, why don't I get a greeting?" I said.
"A dog like you deserves no greeting. Maybe if you sat down on all fours and beg for a greeting, you can get one," Yukinoshita said.
Though these banters are quite a blow on my self-esteem, I do find them quite fun.
"Hey, don't be mean Yukinon," Yuigahama said.
Well at least one person was on my side.
"Dogs are great animals too!"
Okay, my ego just got destroyed twice in the last ten seconds. That was probably a new record.
"By the way, Yuigahama, how did you do on the essay," I said. I wonder if Yuigahama would be able to write a good essay, I do not recall working on writing with her.
"Eh, even I know to study something I'm not good at. My essay writing had bad grammar, but during that review session, I think I caught up. I don't expect an amazing mark based on my writing skills, but it should be passable."
"As for the main topic of today, there is a fireworks festival coming up," Yukinoshita said.
"Oh great, Yukinon! Though I probably need to buy a new yukata. My old one's worn out with several holes. It isn't fit to been seen."
"I could use a new yukata as well," Yukinoshita said.
"Well, good luck," I said. The two were surprised but suddenly their eyes were staring at me. I grimaced as I sensed an aura of displeasure.
"You're coming too Hikki!"
"What, why should I come? Plus your expressions scare me," I said.
Before I knew it, Yuigahama had puppy dog eyes all over her face. I managed to resist that. Yukinoshita's sad face failed to work on me as well. But from behind, I suddenly heard an angelic voice.
"Are you really not going, Hachiman?" he said with tears.
How did Totsuka get here? I did not know Totsuka would be going. In fact, given this ridiculous timing, it was probably set up by the two girls. Now that they knew my weakness, I was powerless.
"So what time should we meet then?" I said. As usual, it appeared I had no choice. Even if Totsuka was not going, I was weak to his words.
"Is everyone free at 10 in the morning?" Yukinoshita suggested.
Everyone felt it was a good time and agreed. Well it appeared like my plan for the weekend had gone down the drain. And here I had a plan to do an anime marathon with Komachi. It would have been a nice reward for finishing the exams. I went back home, slightly annoyed.
"Come on, that is great Onii-chan! There are not that many opportunities where you get to hang out with cute girls. In fact, I want to go the festival too!"
Was my precious sister Komachi going to the festival with Taishi? I need to purchase some pest control for the bug.
"Anyway, let's do the anime marathon today since we will need to go shopping on the weekend," Komachi said. I sat on the large leather couch and Komachi sat beside me. They day slowly drifted away as we got lost in the lives of the 2D characters.
The sun rays from the window fell on my face. What a beautiful morning. I woke up a bit earlier than I expected, snuggling in my warm blankets. Waking up right after the exams on the weekend was calming.
"Hey Onii-chan!"
I stared at the clock. The red leds displayed 7 AM. Waking up now would be fine, but there was no school today. After all, it was the weekend. The weekend was a perfect time to catch up on my beauty sleep. However, that was quite difficult with a certain person bothering me. Maybe I should ignore it.
"Onii-chan!" the voice got louder.
I continued on with my sleep. I closed my eyelids and lay down on the soft, fluffy bed cushion. The blankets were so warm and comfortable. I could relax for days.
"Onii-chan, WAKE UP!"
The voice was now booming and shook the room like an earthquake. I swear that was not the voice of a normal little sister. I fought against the urge to sleep and slowly opened my eyes. Before I figured out what happened, my warm fuzzy blanket got snatched away.
Why does the world have to do this to me? Not only do I get bullied at school but I get bullied at home. I could only laugh at my luck.
"Anyway, today is a special day," Komachi said with a big grin on her face.
"Huh, how is today special?"
"You get to go out with two beautiful women, plus the best little sister, me! Aren't you glad?"
"I guess, it doesn't seem terrible."
"What kind of response was that, you idiot! Talking to a girl like that… if you're not careful they'll leave you, ya know. Though I'll always be by your side, regardless of how stupid you are and whatever terrible decisions in life you make. Yay, I bet that upped my Komachi points."
Only my little sister could insult me and still be cute. Now that I thought about it, the shopping event was planned for today. Yuigahama needed to get her Yukata for the fireworks festival. The time everyone agreed to meet was 10 AM in the morning which did not require waking up early.
"Well anyway, I made your omelet rice for breakfast, get ready and head downstairs!"
I walked to the washroom, washed up and made sure my teeth were shiny and then headed downstairs. A scent of omelet rice filled the air. I was fast so the food was still fresh and hot. I took a waft of the scent, and breathed out. Then I did it again. It was like I was meditating.
"Hey, what are you doing, stop being a weirdo."
"Come on, it was because the food smelled so good," You should be happy. "I bet that was a lot of Hachiman points."
"I don't want any of your Hachiman points, but I'll forgive you for being a creep."
"What, I didn't do anything wrong!"
I sat down and started chowing down on food. Surprisingly, it tasted as great as it smelled. It was so crispy and soft that even after I finished the meal, I could feel the warmth still lingering in my stomach.
Looking at the time now, it was 7:30 AM. It was still much too early to go outside. I began walking back up the stairs to head back to bed. However, I could not move. Looking back, I immediately realized. Komachi was tugging on my shirt.
"Hey, Onii-chan, what are you going to wear?" Komachi asked.
I searched through my closet and found a pair of simple sweatpants and a t-shirt and put them on.
"Come on, Onii-chan are you serious?" Komachi asked. "That is not what you wear on a date! I guess we have no choice, none of the clothes in your closet pass the test. Pack up, and lets go shopping early!"
I packed up and brought my wallet and keys before heading out with Komachi. Luckily, there was a clothing shop nearby. A large red signage showed Uniqlo, a casual clothing retailer with good prices. I tried on multiple jeans before Komachi picked out one.
The next step was my upper body. My current plain T-shirt was fine but I should get a jacket. Komachi and I looked together and we settled on a cheap black bomber jacket.
"We, can keep your old T-shirt as that white T-shirt contrasts well with the jacket. Oh my god, Onii-chan, could it be that you look cool? Wow, I am amazed, it was a great idea to take you out shopping," Komachi exclaimed happily. "Ok let's put those old sweatpants in the dumpster."
"Don't I need them to work out?"
"Since when do you work out, oh well, but only use them to go to the gym 'kay? By no means should you wear them otherwise. If fact, don't even wear those at home. After seeing you in nicer clothes sweatpants won't do!"
With the shopping out of the way, I went home and placed my old sweatpants back in the clothes drawer. Upon looking in the mirror, I have to admit, I do look nice. I flashed some poses. There was still some time left before I head out to go shopping with Yukinoshita and Yuigahama.
I quickly did my hair in the mirror. Riding the train the meeting place felt a bit more pleasant. There were less dirty looks at me. Even with those rotten eyes, I guess the look of jeans, a plain white t-shirt and a bomber jacket suit my look.
The train dropped us off at a station in downtown Chiba, right beside a large shopping mall. The mall was enormous, with 5 stories and multiple entrances.
The area was populated with multiple signs with gigantic advertisements, displaying trendy clothes and the newest smartphones for early adopters with money to burn. When we were two minutes away from the meeting time, I texted Yuigahama as I could not find her.
"Where are you, Yuigahama?"
"Oh Hikki, I'm almost there. Let's meet at the entrance right by the silver sculpture."
I scanned the area. There was a giant silver sculpture, so shiny that it showed people's reflections like a mirror. The sculpture consisted of three circular rings, each ring situated inside the larger ring.
It was not complex but gave off a modern look. I went there with Komachi and we waited for about 5 minutes before Yuigahama came.
"Yahallo Komachi," Yuigahama said. She paused. "Is that Hikki? Wow, good on you, you look nice today."
"Yep, it's my amazing fashion sense," I said.
"Yahallo Yui-senpai!" Komachi said. Komachi then went beside me and whispered into my ear, "See Onii-chan, I knew I was right to give you a makeover!"
I nodded in agreement. Not long after, Yukinoshita arrived in a luxurious sleek black sedan.
"Yahallo, Yukinon!"
"Good morning, Yuigahama-san. Who's that?" Yukinoshita pointed her finger at me.
"Who do you think?"
Upon hearing my voice Yukinoshita immediately realized who it was. "Hey, don't scare me like that Hikigaya-kun. Well, kudos for dressing up, I now regard you as higher than a dog."
It seemed that even the ice queen can come up with compliments if she tries.
"But still lower than a human, and a cat as well."
I sighed. I will never get my hopes up again for this girl. We decided to over to the first clothing shop that looked like it sold more traditional clothing. There were Yukatas, Kimonos, and some small accessories such as fans. It was not expensive in any way, though they were slightly cheaper for men.
The three girls with me quickly picked out ones they wanted to try on and went into to change room. Yuigahama brought two yukatas with her, the one had a silky white background with pink flowers and the other had a light yellow background with orange clovers. She tried on both for me to see and asked me on my opinions.
"I think you pull off the white one a lot better," I said. Although the other yukata matched her hair more, it made her look fun, whereas the current one made her look beautiful. Thus, Yuigahama decided to purchase the white one.
Yukinoshita took a little longer and settled on one with a blue background and a light white outline of flowers, and one that was black with red butterflies. The black one made her look like a devil especially when combined with her long black hair.
"The blue one, for sure," I said.
Komachi had better fashion sense than me given that she even picked out my outfit. She went with whatever she thought looked good without asking for a second opinion. For my yukata, I had both Yukinoshita and Yuigahama pick one for me. Mine was blue with a simple lined pattern.
"Onii-chan, sorry but I am going to meet up with some friends. Take care of Yui-senpai and Yukino-senpai!" She said before dashing off.
Upon hearing that, a few other male customers looked at me with disgust. After everyone bought some Yukatas we decided to go window shopping elsewhere. Suddenly, I see the only person I did not want to see.
I decided to hide behind a corner, hoping she missed me. She walked right by the corner without turning. That was close, I thought.
"Hey, if it isn't Hikigaya-kun!" a voice said.
I looked towards the voice. It was Kaori Orimoto, the person from middle school I have been trying to forget.
"What are you doing here?" I said.
"Is it that unusual for a girl to go shopping?"
"Hey, how do you know Hikki." Yuigahama lowered her head, looking displeased.
"Hikigaya-kun is my friend in middle school, right Hikigaya-kun?" Kaori said.
"Yep," I replied.
"So which one of those two is your girlfriend?"
"Neither."
"And here I thought you finally found someone." She laughed.
I frowned and stiffened up. That was awkward. My middle school crush saw me with not one but two girls yet I still had no girlfriend. I thought I changed but apparently nothing happened, I was still the person surrounded by nice girls.
I turned back to Yuigahama and Yukinoshita. Surprisingly, they were displeased as well.
"Anyway, I'm going to head to karaoke soon. Want to come?"
"No thanks, I still have a bit more shopping to do."
And with that she left.
"Was she really your friend?" Yuigahama said.
I shook my head. Yuigahama and Yukinoshita seemed to be in a better mood after. After shopping was finished, we discussed when we would attend the festival.
"Sorry Yukinon, I can't go with you to the festival with you, Miura wants to go with me, and has been bugging me for a while. I haven't really been talking to her much lately, so I think I'll go meet up with her. Ah Yukinon, we can still talk at the festival."
"That is fine Yuigahama-san," Yukinoshita said. Yuigahama then left to meet up with her friends, leaving just me and Yukinoshita by ourselves.
"So looks like it is just you and me," Yukinoshita said. Her cheeks showed some embarrassment.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Oh right, the festival is actually quite far from here. How about I pick up you and Komachi tomorrow?"
Could this be the first time that Yukinoshita has been nice to me?
"Sure, that sounds great."
I stayed with Yukinoshita looking at mostly clothing too expensive for me. After several hours, we said our goodbyes and parted our ways. I looked around for Komachi and we headed home.
A letter addressed to me was in the mailbox. There was no return address. I ripped it open and read the contents.
Hey Hikigaya-kun,
Remember what happened in middle school? So many boys stopped talking to me after. And it was all your fault. By the way, I thought you got a girlfriend already. I knew it, you never changed. Anyway, you shouldn't get a girlfriend. Those two are just being nice to you, and once you ask out one you will be disappointed. Besides, who will I have left once you get one? Haha, it's Hikigaya-kun after all, you probably won't ever find one. DON'T GET A GIRLFRIEND! LOL
:)
I decided to call it a day and go to bed.
A/N
Small edit: Changed characters referrals to mostly last names (What Hikigaya usually calls them) as per request.