03: Daily Report About My Witch Senpai

Summary: There is not a lot that can faze Hikigaya, a sincere and solemn office worker. One of the rarer exceptions is Shizuka Hoshino, his senior coworker who also happens to be a witch. Hoshino goes out of her way to help Hikigaya, always flying to the scene on her broom to save the day. In contrast to Hikigaya, who is always calm and composed, Hoshino is easily flustered and often scrambles to find the right words to express herself. However, the way Hoshino wears her heart on her sleeve causes Hikigaya's own heart to skip a beat.

"Achoo!"

I had to look up, straight into the night sky to see who had just sneezed and it didn't surprise me one bit that it was my senpai from work. After all, Shizuka Hoshino was a witch and as you would expect she could fly on a broom.

For some reason I called out to her. "Senpai!"

Hoshino-senpai got startled and for a second I was worried that she might lose her balance and fall down from her broom, but my worries were unfounded. I guess it's the same deal as me and my bicycle. It would take a lot to startle me and cause a minor accident. Granted, if I'm not careful, a truck might run me over, but if she's not careful, she might fall to her death. It's one of the reasons why I prefer public transport. Sorry truck-kun, not today.

Being the kind hearted person she is, Hoshino-senpai decided to have a small chat. She was still riding on the broom, but it was hovering in the air, a few feet above ground level. At this height, if she wanted, Hoshino-senpai could easily drop down and stand on the street and have a conversation with me. But I guess what she was doing was the equivalent of stopping the car, but keeping the engine running. I guess she was busy and didn't have the time to chat with me. This was her just being polite to a kouhai.

"Ah, Hikigaya-kun, I thought you and your colleagues went to a bar after work to celebrate."

Ah. So she knows about it. Has she been keeping tabs on me? I doubt it. My so called colleagues were being especially loud today, when they announced that they had closed a huge deal and to celebrate everyone on the team was invited out for drinks. Of course, I did most of the heavy lifting, but everyone else got to share the credit. That's the life of a salaryman for you. No, that's just the life of a working adult. How unfair. But I have stopped complaining a long time ago.

"Not really my scene." I told her. "I just made an appearance and slipped out." I held up the canned beverage which I had bought from the vending machine. "I'm the type who likes to celebrate my victories alone."

"Achoo!"

Before sneezing, Hoshino-senpai shot up in the sky with her broom. Was she afraid of spreading cooties? What was she, a kid? Wait a minute, now that I think about it, wasn't her behaviour just a little bit cute?

I shook my head to drive away such thoughts.

You are both adults, Hachiman.

Now that I got a good look at her, she did seem to have a runny nose. It's probably because of the cold. Even though she was wearing a long coat and had a scarf wrapped around her neck, it shouldn't be forgotten that she was flying on a broom. If it was cold down here on the streets, it had to be freezing up there, high in the sky. Didn't witches use some kind of protection, like using a warming charm on their clothes or something to protect them from the cold weather? If not, I doubt it was enjoyable to ride a broom in the winter season.

"Are you heading home?" I asked.

Hoshino-senpai hesitated. "Um, not exactly." I might have glared at her in annoyance, because immediately she let out a small, cute little squeak and provided me with the rest of the details. "You see, Koda-kun told me I couldn't leave early." Her eyes drifted towards her shoulder bag which was dangling from the handle of her broom and I had no doubt in my mind that there were some important, work related documents kept in that bag. Tch, women and their shoulder bags. I'm pretty sure if there was a goddess of creation out there, she could fit the entire known universe in her shoulder bag.

"Couldn't it wait until tomorrow?" I asked.

Hoshino-senpai shook her head, but I could tell she was not really sure. "He said it was really important."

I figured as much. I hate people like Koda. He doesn't put in the hours himself and pushes everyone else around to do his bidding and then at the end of the day he takes away all the credit. People like him should get hit by a truck. Of course, if I'm being honest, the fault doesn't entirely lie on Koda's shoulders. It helps when he has people like Hoshino-senpai around.

I know it's not my place and I know she will probably not listen to me, but I can't help it. Besides, it's just free advice. "You shouldn't let others push you around." I told her. And because I was feeling rather bold, I added one more thing. "And while you are at it, learn to say no." Of course, I realized a tad too late that I was making things awkward and perhaps making her a little bit uncomfortable. She was my senpai, I was her kouhai. Yet, I was the one giving her work related advice. It should be the other way around. This was not okay. To make things normal, I tried my hand at levity and let a smile slip through my lips. "I'm serious." I laughed. "The word 'no' has magical properties."

Thank God she took pity on me and let out a small giggle. But it didn't last for long, because she quickly started to rise up in the air and put a bit of distance between us and though I was caught off guard by her abrupt actions at first, it all started to make sense when she let out a big sneeze which could still be heard from the ground level.

"Achoo!"

This time it was not a cute sneeze. In fact, things didn't look good. If she kept flying on her broom in this cold weather, odds are she might catch a cold and fall sick. I can't let that happen. Why? Well, because I worry about her. Why do I worry about her? Because she is an esteemed colleague and my senpai. There was nothing else to it. Really. No really. Honest. I swear to God. I'm just being a concerned citizen, that's all.

"Here." I raised my hand and offered her my canned beverage. When I had bought it, the coffee was hot, but now it had become lukewarm. But it was still better than nothing. "Take it. You need this more than me, senpai."

"No. It's fine." Hoshino-senpai said, growing a bit flustered, waving her hands around a bit. "You bought it to celebrate your victory. I can't take it from you."

Oh. So she's gonna be like that. Well, it doesn't matter. I am a skilled salaryman and a horrible human being. I know how to manipulate people. Most of the time, I do it to get the job done and seal a deal and afterwards I feel a bit guilty. But this time around, I'm gonna do some good. For once I don't feel bad.

"Ah, you're right." I said, playing up my misery and acting out all depressed. "I should have realized it sooner. Hoshino-senpai doesn't want my coffee, because it's gone cold. I'm really sorry senpai. You are sneezing, and I offered to make things worse my giving you cold coffee. I am a horrible kouhai." I bowed deeply. "I offer my most sincerest apology."

"Ah, um, no – I mean…"

The plan worked. Hoshino-senpai was making all those flustered noises she did when she got anxious and worried and was shaking her head frantically. I raised my hand and looked grim and that was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

"I – you – we - Okay!"

Before I knew it Hoshino-senpai dashed forward with her broom, reducing the distance between us. I thought she was gonna crash into me.

Oh God, she has lost her mind and wants to kill both of us, I thought.

But at the last minute, she stopped her broom and leaned forward and grasped the canned beverage with both her hands.

There was a flash of bright light and the can began to glow and sparkle. I know it's probably my imagination and I think I am exaggerating a little bit, but to me, it looked like Hoshino-senpai had stolen a few stars from the night sky and put them in my can of coffee. Before I knew it the metal began to grow warm and steam seemed to rise from the top of the open can.

Hoshino-senpai looked happy. "There you go." She offered me a bright smile, way brighter than the brightest stars of the night sky. "Now it's warm."

For a second I was lost in the magic, but then I remembered what I had said before. "Right. Thanks." It was my time to be flustered, but I handled it way better. "There you go." I gave her my can of coffee. "It will help you with the cold."

And it was around this time that Hoshino-senpai remembered that she was my senior. "No, I can't. I can't take my kouhai's hard earned coffee."

How in the world was this hard earned? I just bought this stuff from the nearest vending machine. Senpai, do you really think my salary is so low that I can't even buy a can of coffee? No, that can't be right. We work at the same company. Besides, she's my senior. She should know how much I earn. Then what? Does she think I don't know how to manage my income, that I'm some otaku who wastes his money on videogames and anime figures? Is that really what she thinks of me? I hope not. Anyway, I can have my existential crisis later.

"How about we share?" I finally said. And before she could protest, I added. "I won't take no for an answer."

After a moment of hesitation, Hoshino-senpai relented and finally nodded. "I guess, that sounds fair."

As a gentleman, I let her have the first sip. Hoshino-senpai took the can from me and brought it to her lips and I watched her drink the warm coffee. Now I don't know anything about magic, but if someone told me coffee had magical properties, I would agree with them in a heartbeat.

The change in her was immediate.

After having her fill of the coffee, she let out a small sigh. I could tell the coffee had done its job. Hoshino-senpai looked refreshed and brimming with new found energy. "Thanks, Hikigaya-kun." She told me. "I needed that."

But in the next instant she went back to her flustered and anxious self. In fact, if I had to guess, the coffee in her system made it worse. "This isn't power harassment, is it?" Hoshino-senpai asked with fresh worry. "I didn't force you to let me have your drink, did I?" And then, finally she added with a blush. "I didn't get any snot on it did I?"

I checked the can. "No, you didn't." I told her, putting her mind at ease. "And no, this is not power harassment. I willing shared my coffee with you, because you are always helping me out at work." I blushed a bit too. "You are great, senpai."

"Thanks. I'm glad I'm able to help you out." Hoshino-senpai said. "Goodnight, Hikigaya-kun."

"Goodnight." I returned her greeting. And then as a small reminder, I added. "Good job working so late."

"Oh! How could I forget! I still have a job to do." And in the next instant, Shizuka Hoshino-senpai was gone, dashing away on her broom.

I couldn't help but wonder whether there were speed limits which she had to follow while riding a broom. The image of her getting pulled over and receiving a speeding ticket brought a smile to my face. Truly, I am a horrible human being.

As I walked home, I took a sip of victory, my hard earned coffee and as expected it worked its magic and brought back some life to my lifeless body. All of a sudden, I felt warm. I realized I was blushing. It's because some stupid thoughts were running around my head. Hoshino-senpai drank from this can and now I was drinking from it too. Isn't that an indirect kiss, my brain asked.

I told my brain to shut up. I'm not a highschooler. But I didn't stop blushing. I couldn't help but wonder – Was Hoshino-senpai blushing too?

THE END.

Yeah, I think I will end this story here, because readers aren't really interested in the story. This chapter only got 3 reviews. But I think I like the idea, so here's what I'm gonna do. It will be the same format - I will write a chapter based on a manga that hasn't gotten an anime adaptation yet. But instead of just Hachiman replacing the role of the male lead, I will also have the Oregairu women replace the role of the female characters. I think people will be more interested in that idea. What do you think?

Anyway, thank you everyone for all those reviews, follows and faves.

Take care.