It took a while for Shiro to calm down, with her keeping a death grip on my hand, forcing us to walk side by side.

With our hands holding each other.

…I'm not that proud to say that her hand felt nice or that I wonder how it would feel on my cheek but… It felt nice. Just in case, I kept looking around in case people were around, but (un)luckily there wasn't anybody around, so we continued on with the tour, albeit in a slightly awkward silence.

I already showed her the places I deem important enough for her to know in the main building all the while having to deal with her, so now we stand at the walkway connecting the main building block and the special building block, "That's the special building where the majority of clubs are. Nothing special from your run of the mill schools." I wave dismissively at the building, trying to signal that I don't want to go there since there might be a chance of encountering a wild Yukinoshita that I absolutely don't want to deal with right now, then I glance back at her.

She's looking at the building then looks at me, "Can we go check them out, Hacchin?" Oh damn, she still got that glint of hers whenever she's interested in something… Never mind, not the same! Not the same! That glint is sending some dangerous signal in me! Begone thot!

I sigh, half in exasperation and an effort in cooling myself, then calmly explain why that we should not go there, "Shiro, there is –"

"Is that you, Hikigaya-kun?"

…Of course, nothing ever goes my way when I want it to.

Lo and behold, appearing out of literally nowhere (more like coming out of the room in front of us) is Yukinoshita. Fortunately, she's looking normal, so likely the anemia is just a temp status effect.

That's a relief…

Oh yeah, might as well check her bar.

"30/100 – yearning."

Huh, it increased by 5 and now it's at a… Yearning? Level. Some more to think about later.

Oh right, I quickly let go of Shiro then steps away from her while she turns her head to look at Yukinoshita, "Ah, good morning to you." She lightly bows, prompting the latter to slightly raise her eyebrows.

"…Good morning to you." Yukinoshita returns the greeting, albeit in a more subdued manner. She then turns to look at me, "Hikigaya-kun, who is she and why were you holding hands with her?"

I open my mouth to answer but Shiro talks first, "Excuse me, I am right here." I glance at her to see that she's fake smiling with her head slightly tilted.

Then I glance at Yukinoshita to see her raising her eyebrows, "Ah, yes, then would you mind answering the question instead of pointlessly cutting in?"

…This won't end well. You know, I suddenly regret turning off the choice box. Would really make my life easier right now.

I glance back to Shiro opening her mouth but instead of letting the situation devolve into throwing barbs, I step in between them, "Yukinoshita, this is Shiro Lilly." I glance at Yukinoshita now, "Shiro, this is Yukinoshita Yukino."

"Such a lackluster introduction, but I suppose I should have expected it from you. Might I add that I am the President of the club you are in, Hikigaya-kun."

"Is that so? Then I thank you for taking care of my precious childhood friend. So, from now on, you do not need to concern yourself with him more than what is required from a person of your stature."

…Great, it's the jealousy trope time now. Throw in the comedic lightning spark to complete the look why don't you stupid system.

"User request – lightning spark for comedic purpose – accepted."

…Can you see what I'm imaging right now? No? It's the middle finger I'm imagining right now. Fucking troll.

Also stick to one format damn it!

I let out a long and loud sigh then grab Shiro's shoulder, "Yo Yukinoshita, I still need to show Shiro around the school a bit more before lunch ends." Before Yukinoshita could respond, I quickly push the former away in the direction of the cafeteria.

*ZTYZTYZTY*

"…I don't like her."

Oh reeeeeaaaaally? I would never have possibly been able to guess, Shiro. Surely the amount of complaining from you on our way to the cafeteria, getting some light foods and drinks for us, then moving to my favorite spot to sit and eat wasn't obvious enough.

I keep silent while taking a small bite from my egg sandwich, even though I usually opted to just drink maxx coffee for lunch then rely on eating at home or Saize if I'm feeling lazy or something after school.

"…Hey, aren't you going to ask me why I don't like your fr-friend?"

I freeze, just as I was about to take another bite, then glance at her, "…Do you want me to?" I don't really like to meddle in other people's affairs. You don't like her? Ok. Whatever. I would only meddle if people ask me or if I see that it is needed.

…Not like the latter is really needed.

I see her set down her own sandwich, this one filled with pork cutlets, on to her lap, "…Yes. Isn't she your friend?"

Friend, huh?

"…I don't think she considers me a friend. That goes the same for everybody in this school. I'm just the social outcast, well I'm pretty sure it's worser now after something happened this past few days."

I know I said that I would like to make friends again… But can I really call… This friendship? Relationships built upon the commands of a game and can just as easily crumble if the game so wanted. If I wasn't so messed up and twisted, maybe I could convince myself that this situation can be called friendship or some shit but…

That isn't me.

"Stop that."

A quiet whisper snaps me out from my thoughts, prompting me to turn my head to Shiro glaring at me with her eyes glistening.

"That smile… I really hate it." She quickly gets up then turns her body to face me, "It's the damned same smile you used to show me in the past! That heart-wrenching smile! The-the argh!"

She bends down to hug me with her hands circling around my head, softly pushing it into her breast, "Please… Please don't make that smile again… I'm not that same little girl who had nothing to her name… I got money… So, please, share your burden with me…"

…Huh… This feels… Nice.

*ZTYZTYZTY*

3rd POV

"…We should leave them for now, Yui. We've seen too much."

"…Like yeah…"

Yumiko slowly walks away from the secluded staircase while Yui glances back at Shiro and Hachiman, both of them crying, before shaking her head and following behind the former.

*ZTYZTYZTY*

A/N

Welp... Lots of stuff happened and... Yeah. Also, I'm planning on getting rid of the ko-fi account I made since it failed and it's a sore sight for me as it's a reminder that I made my writing skills into a job. I'm not blaming any of you for the failure or anything of the sort, just my luck for it to fail, but luckily, I worked again and got enough money. Anyway, on to the comments!

Eisenhower Haloway - don't you worry! NTR *REDACTED*. Yeah, the feels are really heavy for this fic lol

ptyre - good idea, I might just do a spin-off like that

DragonTetho - ahem, yeah, I'm pretty sure it's obvious by now that I have a, at the very least, strong dislike for 8man's parents

CrazyxEnigma - yeaaaahhh, I was kinda debating on whether to go for the extreme variant or not for Shiro's backstory since I didn't really mind either way. And yeah, the backstory is cliche as hell but I like it

DrackNath - lol, good to see you back again. Yep, 8man is suffering. Yep. Yep. Yep. Nice. Lmao, I mean it's still about the dating sims, it's just not in your face anymore, and yeah that true

Sammy9992 - welp, it's because *REDACTED* or you can just see it from the title of the fic. Also, there is a reason on why 8man needed to work 4 jobs (and the fact that he could do so) but I won't say it now, and why are you surprised no one cares? It's also 8man's way of coping with the situation. Everything here got a reason to be there, even if you might think there isn't

jean29al - - user/fraaqac here my wattpad and it's at chapter 40 for Shiro's picture

CMY187 - true. Yep. Working on it. *REDACTED*. Yep