Chapter 5

Peaceful Days are Over

"Did something happen, Hikigaya-kun?" Her question wasn't unexpected, but it still made him tense immediately. "Your regular frown seems somehow...grumpier, than usual."

Where would he even begin answering a question like that?

Because truthfully, there was a lot he could say that would explain his current mood.

There were too many things happening at the same time, after all, to the point he barely found himself with time to process any of them before another thing pops up out of nowhere.

Because getting engaged to Yukinoshita wasn't enough, of course. No, he also needed to have Miura trying to barge in into his life with the subtlety of an erupting volcano.

And that was excluding the fact he just got confessed for the first time in his life just yesterday, a fact that was almost enough to make blood rush to his cheeks. He didn't want to imagine what Kawasaki considered 'not holding back', but something told him he was going to find out soon enough.

That scared him a bit, if he was honest...

But he couldn't exactly tell Yukinoshita that, now could he?

Even ignoring how he liked to keep things for himself, even he knew that telling his fiancée, and he was using that term under formal protest, that another girl had confessed to him was a bad move.

And the less he acknowledged Miura's existence the better if he was being honest.

Telling her she herself was also the cause of his inner turmoil wouldn't be a wise move either, especially since the fault didn't lie on her. That, and considering the conversations she wanted to have with Yukinoshita today, the last thing he wanted was to have her in a bad mood straight from the get-go.

In other words, he could not answer her question truthfully.

Fortunately, she had given him the perfect ammo needed to derail the conversation.

"You talk as if you were looking at me all the time, Yukinoshita." He wondered out loud, his eyes glued to the passing scenery showing behind the window. He had, of course, expected some sort of remark almost immediately. Yukinoshita's tongue was always sharp, and after a comment like that? He expected, at the very least, a couple of attacks to his person and personal delusions, perhaps even a hit to his eyes if he was lucky.

But when none of that came, it honestly started to worry him a bit, so he slowly teared his eyes away from the window, instead deciding to see what was making Yukinoshita take so long to bite back.

She was blushing.

Her eyes were down, her lips pursed, and there was a rosy tint to her cheek.

Seriously, what was he supposed to take from that?!

"D-do not change the subject, Hikigaya-kun!" It was hard to take on her rebuke seriously when she was squirming on her seat too.

Still, it seemed that even under her current state, Yukinoshita was not so easely fooled.

But that also worked as a perfect segway to one of the conversations he wanted, no, needed to have with her, for the sake of his dwindling sanity.

"There is something, actually." He spoke in a serious tone, hoping Yukinoshita would not see through his act. "It's about my health."

"Did something happen?" So perhaps he shouldn't have started things like that, given the cearly alarmed look Yukinoshita was sporting now.

She had forced his hand though, for if she wasn't going to listen to him, he would make her listen to logic.

"Nothing like that, but..." He continued slowly. "Maybe you aren't aware of this, but I'm not exactly the most 'outdoor' kind of guy out there."

He could have lived without her scoffing at that, thank you very much.

"And as such, taking my bike to school and back everyday is prety much the only excersise that I did regularly. Because of this, I can't help but to worry since now I've cut that by half."

Was his plan convoluted? Absolutely, but it was the best thing he was able to come up with in such a short time.

Of course, there was also the idea of just leaving earlier before Yukinoshita arrived, or straight up ignoring her until she caught the hint and stopped by herself.

But he didn't want to fight Yukinoshita. Well, not this Yukinoshita at the very least.

Her mother on the other hand...

"Hmm..." He did his best to keep his expression unchanged, even as Yukinoshita simply narrowed her eyes at him.

He did, however, raise an eyebrow in question when she suddenly opened the notebook-sorry, instruction book that was resting on her lap, and swiftly cursed through the pages until she seemingly found what she needed.

He said nothing as he saw her nod a few times at whatever she had just read, right before she closed the book and focused her eyes on him once more.

"I suppose you do raise a valid point, Hikigaya-kun." She spoke in such a diplomatic tone that he almost felt as if they were doing some sort of bussiness transaction. "Very well, I will support you on this endeavor then. I will admit that I didn't expect fot you to care about such matters given your self-proclaimed sedentary life style, but it seems you have matured more than I have given you credit."

That was...surprisingly easy.

So shocking in fact that her barely hiden jab at him didn't even registered, instead only a feeling of relief cursed through him. He had expected far more resistance, so this truly felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

This was good, of course. Really good, in fact, specially since there was still one more conversation he needed to have with her, and that one would be more trickier.

But it was his first move if he wanted to find a way to break off this engagement thing.

They were already too close to Sobu though, and he did not want to be interrupted halfway, which meant he would have to do it later.

There was always lunch break he supposed.

"Alright everyone, your next assignment is going to be a joint effort, so you will need to pair up among each other in teams of two."

A soon as those words left the teacher, the ruckus in the classroom became almost unbearable. Like excited kids, he could already see most of his classmates pairing up with whoever they considered their close friend, or whoever was smart enough to carry most of the work.

There wasn't much he could do in a situation like this anyway. The person he used to pair up with, his dear Totsuka, had been moved to another class at the start of the year, so that pretty much meant he was just going to end up saddled on with whoever poor bastard was left out.

Or at least, that is what he would have expected under regular circumstances...

"Let's team up, Hikigaya."

But normality was something he pretty much found himself sorely lacking nowadays, didn't he?

He didn't even have a chance to say or do anything before Kawasaki had set her hand on his shoulder, almost as if taking claim of him before anyone else did.

Seriously, he hadn't even seen her move!

"Sure..." She did know he didn't exactly have many options, right? There wasn't a need to act like that since there was no one else that would want to pair up with him.

Well, he supposed there was Yuigahama but...

He wasn't that desperate.

Seeing Kawasaki's aloof expresion change slightly as the courner of her lips turned upwards though, was a reminder as to why she wanted to do this assignment with him.

And it obviously wasn't because of his math knowledge.

That wasn't the strangest look he got at the moment though, for behind Kawasaki, on the other end of the room, he could see none other than Miura looking straight at them.

Although rather than just looking, it was more like the most heated glare he had seen on her.

If looks could kill, he would probably be dead ten times over by now, and he didn't even know why...

"Wait up, Hikigaya!"

Kawasaki's voice made him stop, his body tensing as he knew what was coming.

He turned slightly so he could see Kawasaki properly, his gaze meeting her narrowed eyes as they stood a few halls away from their classroom.

Fortunetly, there wasn't anyone around, probably a result of him prety much bolting out of the classroom as soon as the lunch break had started.

He didn't do it to avoid Kawasaki though, or to escape Miura's hate-filled eyes, which had not lessened even a bit between classes, but rather he just wanted to reach the club room as soon as possible so he could talk to Yukinoshita.

He should have known Kawasaki would try and follow him through, given that they had been eating lunch together for the past few days.

Which now, in retrospective, was making him feel a bit more self-conscious around her than what he would like to admit.

"You could have waited, you know?" She spoke with a huff as she caught up with him, her words only making his frown grow stronger since he knew what he was about to say would most certainly make things awkward.

It was a new experience, he had to admit, having to interact with someone that he knew without a doubt felt like...that towards him.

One issue at a time, however, and right now, dealing with the Yukinoshitas had to be his number one priority.

And as such...

"Sorry, Kawasaki, but I'm eating lunch on my clubroom today." He told her, his tone dry if not a bit apologetic just as his remained glued to her form.

When he saw her body tense and her eyes narrow, he had expected it too.

After all, didn't it look bad? She had confessed to him yesterday, while leaving it prety clear that she wasn't going to let up on her apparent romantic affection towards him, just for him to decide to not eat lunch with her on the next day after a couple of days of doing so?

To anyone's eyes, it probably looked like he was trying to avoid her.

And he knew Kawasaki was far from dumb, so she had probably reached that conclusion already.

"Look, if this is about what I said yesterday." Her words confirmed his suspicious. "I didn't want things to get weird between us-"

"It's not about that." He cut her off quickly, however, not only because he was in a hurry, but because he didn't want her to get the wrong idea. He knew how it felt to be on her end of a confession, so even though he couldn't reciprocate her feelings, that didn't mean he was just going to start avoiding her all of a sudden. "I just need to talk with Yukinoshita about a few things, and the sooner the better."

He wasn't going to go into details of course, so he only needed her to not try and dig deeper.

The small breath that she let out was probably out of relief, he assumed, but that didn't wipe the frown she was now sporting.

"Tomorrow then? We can use the time to figure out the details about the math project." There was also the fact that, even if he had wanted to ignore her, that would have made for a really awkward partnership, to say the least.

"Right." So, he could only nod and agree, hoping his impatience to get going wasn't showing on his voice.

"What are you going to eat, then?" But before he could move along, she stopped him with a question and a raised eyebrow.

To be honest, actually eating lunch had been the last thing he thought about today. Call it desperation, but his mind right now was on a one-way track mode.

"I'll just buy some bread."

"That's on the opposite side from your clubroom." She did not sound convinced, to say the least, but one missed lunch wasn't going to kill him, and he couldn't afford to waste time.

Specially if Yuigahama decided at any moment to go to the clubroom. He doubted it, since she seemed to have stayed behind with her group today, but one could never know, and given his luck as of late, he didn't want to push it.

"Just take it then." What he did not expect however, was for her to suddenly take a lunchbox from her bag before she offered it to him. "I already made it anyway, so it shouldn't go to waste."

Now, he understood that her logic was sound, but he still found himself doubting his next course of action. Sure, it made sense to not waste the food, but it didn't feel right just accepting the lunchbox when he wasn't even going to eat with her, especially since he had already been finding it hard to accept it before.

And that was before he knew she liked him, which made the gesture something that he couldn't just take lightly anymore.

He didn't want to give her false hopes or anything of the sort.

But the decision was taken for him, when she suddenly pushed it to his chest, forcing him to grab the box, and before he could say a thing, she was already walking away from him.

"Tell me later if you liked it!" And then she was gone, leaving him more than a bit perplexed. He shook his head, knowing that standing there to think about just what happened would just amount to nothing.

Kawasaki was far...bolder than he thought, and could only be glad that there weren't any other student around right now.

He did not need the extra headache.

"Hikigaya-kun?" He couldn't blame Yukinoshita for the surprised face that greeted him as soon as he opened the door of the clubroom. It wasn't like him coming here at this hour was common in the first place.

For as much fun as bantering with Yukinoshita was, he liked to enjoy his lunch my himself, thank you very much.

"Did something happen?"

"I just felt like eating here today." He answered with a shrug.

"I see..." Yukinoshita still looked caught off guard. "Would you like some tea?"

"Please." With his confirmation, it didn't take long a hot cup of tea so be resting on the table in front of his usual seat. It was as good as always, and it did help with calming his head before the conversation he was about to have with her.

"Yukinoshita?" Although her just seemingly standing there besides his seat was not helping things.

"This isn't right..." She whispered, barely high enough so he could hear her, but before he was able to comment on it, Yukinoshita was already on the move.

"Better."

And by that he meant she had suddenly, without saying anything else, moved her chair so it was resting right beside his own, right before taking a seat, so close they knees were almost touching.

He hadn't said anything as she did so, and even now as she slowly unpacked her meal, he didn't know what he was supposed to say after that little display. If he was honest, their 'seats' had been so fixed in his image of the clubroom that he had forgotten they could move the chairs around and that they weren't glued to the floor.

"I-I think this is better, no?" She spoke after realizing the weirded-out look he was giving her. "I-I mean, you're already showing initiative in our r-relationship by coming here, so I'm just doing my part too..."

Is that the impression she got? That he came here just because of her?

Well, he supposed she was technically right, but...initiative?

Considering his actual reason for being here, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Still, he said nothing even as she started eating her obviously well-crafted lunch with such a poise that really screamed 'princes' to him.

"Are you sure you are well, Hikigaya-kun?" Her voice was calm as she stopped eating, for his stare had seemingly not gone unnoticed. "Not that I mind you l-looking at me, but-"

"I actually wanted to ask you something." He interrupted her before she could say something that might make him feel even more embarrassed. "It's about the contract."

As soon as that word left his lips, he saw her body grow rigid, her gaze growing as it matched his own.

"What about it?" Even her tone had become more guarded, which was already a clear sign that this wasn't going to be as smooth as their talk on the morning.

"I was just wondering if you had actually read the thing?" He questioned, finally voicing out a doubt that he had been having for a long time now.

After all, from what he had been told by Yukinoshita's mother and his own, there was a physical, written copy that was making this whole thing legally binding somehow.

And yet, he had not seen the thing, not even once. Something about it being too delicate to just carry around, is what the Yukinoshita matriarch had said, but even so, actually reading the thing word by word might be his only chance at finding something that could help him.

Now, he could have asked Yukinoshita's mom directly of course, he did have her number after all.

But he didn't trust that woman even a bit.

And with the way Yukinoshita suddenly broke their starring match, something told him he wasn't the only one that had been denied such important information.

"Don't you think it's weird? We're the ones involved and yet we're just supposed to just accept other people's words and call it a day?" It wasn't that he didn't believe the contract didn't exist in the first place, but rather he wondered, why keep it hidden from them, the actual people that were being affected by it.

What was it written there that Yukinoshita's mom needed to keep on check?

"You...do raise a valid point, Hikigaya-kun." At the very least it seemed Yukinoshita agreed with him on that regard. "But why not ask mother about it if you're so interested then? I know you have the means to contact her yourself."

"I think it would be best if it came from both of us." Or rather, he didn't trust her mom even a bit and had a feeling she would just lie if he were to ask her directly, but if it was the two of them then, maybe they stood a chance?

At the very least, he hoped so, because if not, that only left him with the nuclear option.

And considering who was involved with that last ditch effort, he would quite honestly rather die than having to resort to that.

A short silence followed his words, with Yukinoshita seemingly mulling over what he had said. A part of him was surprised, if he was honest, about Yukinoshita not having already read the thing by herself. Hadn't she been at the very least curious about the piece of paper that was deciding her life for her? Or maybe she was still afraid of facing her mother on her own?

"Very well." No matter the case though, it seemed his words had done their job. "I will talk with mother about this so we can ask her together. It might take days mind you, since she has been extremely busy as of late."

"That's fine." It was more than fine, in fact, to the point he felt the tension leave his body almost immediately. Sure, it was hardly a win, but it was a step in the right direction, and right now that was more than just good on his books.

Now he could actually enjoy his lunch in relative peace-

"Ara? That's quite the bento you have, Hikigaya-kun. I didn't know you had such skills when it came to cooking, what a surprise."

Yukinoshita's tone was dripping with...something, he wasn't sure of what, but he knew he didn't like it, and he also knew he was in dangerous territory now.

Perhaps, opening the lunch another girl made for him in front on his fiancée had not been the brightest of moves.

"Alright everyone, pair up!"

Whatever hope he had of Hiratsuka-sensei's class ending on a relaxed note died the moment those words left her lips, to the point he had to keep himself from openly groaning in displeasure, let she decide to punish him just for that.

Seriously though, another one? Since when did Sobu even have these kinds of home projects? And on the same day to booth, did the teachers just decided to do it out of boredom?

Resigning himself to his fate already, he was more than prepared for Kawasaki to stake her claim, so to speak, given her previous actions.

But instead of that...

"Saki-Saki, let's team up!"

It was Ebina who made her move, her hands catching Kawasaki's own as she smiled down at the surprised loner.

"Eh...?" And it seemed Kawasaki herself was lost for words, to the point she was even throwing glances at him, almost as if expecting for him to say something...

Which he didn't do of course. What did she expect from him? To suddenly claim she was his partner or something?

"S-Sure..." It seemed Ebina's enthusiasm was too much, even for Kawasaki, with how she ended up relenting and accepting her offer. Kawasaki even went as far as to throw him one last apologetic look, to which he could only shrug in response.

Ebina, as far as he knew, was the closest thing Kawasaki had for a friend, so it's not like he blamed her for her decision or anything.

He would just have to work with whichever poor soul ended up being left out.

Although he had to admit, Ebina's act came out of left field, didn't it? Had something happened with Miura or something that Ebina had left her to pair up with Kawasaki?

Throwing a cursory glance towards the rotten girl, the answer he got was her already looking at him, and as soon as their eyes met, he could have sworn her eyes gained a weird glint

The fact that it was followed by her winking at him only served to made him even more alarmed.

But before he could ponder on that, his attention was taken out from Ebina's face by two factors.

First, it was the fact that the classroom suddenly turned silent, which was impressive given the ruckus that had formed by everyone trying to pair up with whoever they wanted to.

And the reason for said silence had to do with the second factor, which had his eyes growing wide as a person suddenly stood to the side of his desk.

His eyes met green just as her smirk grew in fierceness, her hands resting on her hip and her eyes shining in a way that almost had him in cold sweat.

Surely, she wasn't going to...?

"Let's pair up, Hikio."

Fuck.

"Now what?" Alright so maybe he sounded far grumpier than usual, but could anyone blame him? Miura had prety much forced him to be her partner by obviously throwing Ebina at Kawasaki, and now he was going to be forced to interact her for prolongued periods of time for at least a week wether he liked it or not.

How were there rumors already spreading around, he did not know, but it was good to know his fellow classmates had such a high opinion of him that the only reasoning they could find was that Miura just really needed a high grade and that he was decent in Hiratsuka-sensei's class.

He supposed that was better than other things they could have come up with...

But still, he could have done without Yuigahama looking at him as if he had kicked her dog.

"First Yukinon and now Yumiko." She whinned with a pout as they both walked towards the clubroom. "Hikki is trying to steal all of my friends!"

"You can have them for all I care." He grunted out, truly meaning it. If changing partners had been an actual option, he would have traded Miura with Yuigahama without missing a beat, even if that involved having to work with Tobe.

Ever so slowly though, her pout morphed into a frown, which alongside the long stretch of silence that followed, was more than a bit uncharacteristic from someone like Yuigahama, which was concerning to say the least.

"Something did happen between Hikki and Yumiko, then." Her words, alongside the hurt tone of her voice, almost made him stop on his path. A sigh did leave him however, and even as he gave her a side glance, her eyes remained glued to the floor.

"It's just something that I have to deal with between her and I." He explained, hoping that she would understand. "I didn't want to drag you into it since she's your friend and all..."

In the end, this was something he didn't want to drag others with, specially Yuigahama of all people. He didn't know how much that would last from Miura's end, however, given how she was obviously more than willing to use Ebina to help her, let alone the rest of her group.

Once more, he found himself honestly missing Hayama.

Once more, that concept by itself was almost enough to make him puke.

Maybe he was growing that desperate already.

At the very least, it seemed Yuigahama had accepted his words given the slight nod she gave him, although the fact she still refused to say anything or even look at him was more than enough to tell him that things were far from alright now.

But before he could say anything else, they had already arrived at the clubroom.

"Good afternoon, Yuigahama-san, Hikigaya-kun."

And the sight that greeted them probably didn't help with the whole 'stealing friends thing' conclusion Yuigahama had reached before.

After all, while the sight was certainly familiar, there was still something wrong with it, which had not only him, but even Yuigahama frozen on the entrance.

The reason being that their seats were moved.

Well, that wasn't right. Yukinoshita was still sitting on the far end of the room, and Yuigahama's chair was still to her right.

But now, his chair was to Yukinoshita's left.

"Yukinon..." It was Yuigahama who spoke first as they both entered the room slowly. "Why the change...?"

"I simply believe that since this our last year, we should show a more united front to anyone that decides to ask for our assistance." Yukinoshita's answer was smooth and to the point, and quite frankly it also sounded believable enough.

He knew that was bullshit.

Was this her taking even more initiative? Because if it was, he didn't like it.

He could only shrug when Yuigahama threw him a confused look, but he was fortunately saved from anything else from her as she quickly took her seat.

Which left him the only one standing, right in front of an obviously expectant Yukinoshita.

Accepting his fate, he simply took the seat, careful enough so that he didn't touch her by accident, let she start thinking he was approving of this kind of stuff.

Not that it mattered much though, since as soon as he took a seat, he felt Yukinoshita's leg brushing against his own for just a second, definitely long enough for him to know it wasn't an accident, but not enough so Yuigahama would notice.

He threw her a narrowed gaze, but Yukinoshita's eyes were simply glued to the book in her hand. Was she really just going to play innocent now?

He did his best to distract himself, by either reading or checking on his phone, but it was hard to when Yukinoshita would touch his leg with her own every so often, coincidently only when Yuigahama seemed to be distracted by something on her own phone.

She was playing with fire here, but he knew he couldn't exactly say something without making Yuigahama even more suspicious.

Had Yukinoshita always been like this? He hadn't known this part of her.

In fact, this felt more like something certain junior of his would do...

"Senpai, Yahallo!"

Speak of the devil and she shall appear, it seemed.

Ishiki Iroha had just arrived.

I mean technically speaking I did promise Iroha and there she is... by just one sentence but there she is.

Chapter was going to be longer, but this felt like a better time to cut things off. Next one will have actual Iroha stuff I promise.

Thank you all for having read this far, and speciallly thank you for all the favs, follows and reviews!

Next Chapter: Subtle Movements.

PS: Anyone else starting Honkai Star Rail today? Good luck if you are!

Plots so far:

1) Yukinoshita Yukino: "Because of my grandfather, my high-class Club President suddenly became my fiancée."

2) Miura Yumiko: "I discovered the most popular girl in the school is my old childhood friend and now she won't leave me alone!"

3) Kawasaki Saki: "My mundane high school days are being threatened by the Yakuza Princess' constant flirting!"